“I want him punished! He savagely attacked nearly an entire unit of infantryman!” The infantry major, whose name Alton still didn’t know, was shouting in the command tent.

“You want the second in command of the strikers, a hero throughout the camp, punished for defeating the Vanguard twenty two versus one in the sparring yard?” Major Corbin replied, his voice dripping with disdain.

“He’s a rabid dog that needs to learn his place in a civilized army!” The major shouted in reply.

“Did Ricar not just start a drunken brawl among the camp followers last week?” Corbin turned and asked an aide, who pretended to be anywhere else.

“General Tavi will hear of this! You specialty units are nothing without the infantry. You will regret this, Corbin.” He finished throwing his fit and stormed out of the tent.

Alton waited off to the side for Corbin to acknowledge him. Davih and a few other captains of strikers, skirmishers and scouts were all gathered in the command tent, awaiting orders. Corbin took a deep breath and leaned over the table with a map of the mountains spread over it. He moved a few pieces around and Alton could tell he was trying to stay calm but wanted to yell at them, or mostly him.

“I hope you didn’t get it all out of your system on our own troops.” He started. “Scouts peg enemy movement on all seven passes we have scouted through the mountains. We always knew they had superior numbers and they are showing that now. Third Army is making a full retreat to Kitsu and abandoning our current location. If Edoria gets a horde behind us, it will be a rout.”

Corbin surveyed the group standing before him. “The eleven of you make up the majority of the specialty units. It will take all of you to defend these passes while the army retreats. I ask you to do this with a heavy heart. This will be the last time everyone here meets in this life. I ask you to face superior numbers on uneven terrain and know that every life you take is a soldier spared. Full details and unit compositions are in the briefing. You have until noon to leave and still beat the Edorians to the passes. The scouts have identified the best choke points. Mad God be with you.”

—

Alton walked beside Davih and the others back to the striker quarters with a heavy heart. He was about to ask the kids…no, he couldn’t think of them as kids any longer. He was about to ask Wolf team to sacrifice their lives. To buy the common soldiers and camp followers time to retreat to Kitsu. It would be a slaughter up on those passes, and they all knew it.

“Damn.” Davih said beside him.

Alton grunted his agreement. When they reached the training yard, they found the teams practicing their morning katas. Davih called them to attention, and Alton waited for them to assemble. He studied the faces looking back at him. Some old and grizzled, veterans of many difficult situations. Some bright and new, fresh off the glory of a won fight and lives saved. He knew this would be the last morning he gazed upon some.

“All specialty units are being sent out to defend seven passes against Edorian incursion. The Third Army is retreating back to Fort Kitsu and we need to hold those passes until they can. We have until midday to leave and beat the Edorians to strategic choke holds identified by the scouting teams. Your captains will have further orders. Wolf team on me,” Alton said to the assembled teams.

Wolf team gathered around Alton. He could tell they were all nervous, as they should be. He drew them off to the side and waited for his thoughts to settle. Taking a knee before them, he gazed at each of them and took a deep breath before speaking.

“This isn’t fair. To ask this of you in only your second week at camp. War is a savage crucible where humanity’s worst instincts are laid bare. It’s a grotesque theater of injustice and unfairness. The concept of fair in war is a mere phantom, lost amid the chaos of destruction. We soldiers are tied together by a desperate will to survive, pitting brother against brother. And yet, I have to ask this of you anyway,” Alton said to the silent group.

“Full combat gear and armor. We need enough supplies to last us a week. Full expedition equip, Prian and Letty, you will go to the supply depot and requisition supplies. Ask Fox teams utility for a full list. Lews, to the healers for a full kit out. The rest of you are with me. Gather our gear and drag it to the south gate. Cycle aggressively, you will need it later.”

—

Alton checked over his belt and sword while he walked. All five alta stones were filled to the brim and ready for heavy use. His repaired armor glowed softly blue as it fed on its own internal reservoir. The crafters had really outdone themselves with this iteration of armor. It was as soft as cloth and nearly as strong as iron. As long as it was supplied with mana, it was supreme battlefield equipment for a team like Wolf that relied on speed and position.

They finished setting their supplies off to the side of the main road leading out of the camp. The pass Wolf team was assigned to was directly east of the camp. It was located deep in a valley littered with caves and small clumps of forest. Fox team was assigned to the pass south of theirs while a skirmisher group took one north. Each was assigned one infantry unit and one archer unit in support. That was all the army could spare while retreating in the face of a ground assault.

Alton gazed out over the terrain towards the mountains. This was Third Army’s first retreat since taking back Fort Kitsu over two years prior. The camp behind him was roiling with chaos as temporary buildings were torn to the studs and supplies loaded into carts. An offensive was launched early in the morning to push the Edorians back and buy the camp as much time as possible. His team was gathering around him as each finished gathering the supplies.

“Fear and hope mix in the air. Though I can’t tell which is stronger.” Jonah said from behind him.

He turned and saw his friend dressed in battle regalia. “Dusting off the old boots, Jonah?”

“Yes. History hangs in the balance tonight. What happens here will echo throughout the valleys. I can feel it in my bones. We are at a precipice. What lies on the other side? I can’t see it yet,” Jonah replied cryptically.

Alton grunted at his old friend. His flair for the dramatic was well known to all. As for his words, Alton couldn’t say he disagreed. The hair on his arms stood up as he reached out to his core and felt it alive with purpose and power. He lost himself in thought as he recounted the tale from the night. What one powerful general had done to turn the battle. If he could reach that level and replicate that power…

The mixed infantry and archer unit arrived and broke Alton’s chain of thoughts. Forty common soldiers and his team of eight. Against an unknown number of Edorians with mindless shock troops. Alton closed his eyes and took a deep breath. They needed him to be the unflappable Wolf of Agorra, and he would be, for them.

“Gather up! We move out now to secure the pass. Priority is to make it to the identified choke point and evaluate it for defensive positioning. Second priority is to clear any surrounding caves or ambush spots.” Alton began.

“Wolf team will advance at haste and make the choke hold first. Infantry move at the quickest pace you can arrive ready to fight. If contact is made prior to your arrival, we will signal. Prian, your communicator stone is tied to the infantry commander. Maintain two-way communication at all times. Any questions?” None were voiced. These men and women knew the stakes. Failure was not an option.

—-

Alton and Rico paced the group out of the camp and towards the pass. The grassy plain gave way to rolling hills and scattered alpine forests. This was the only valley system in Agorra that didn’t have a river or other source of water flowing through it. The vegetation was sparse and animals far less common. The team was halfway to the site thanks to leaving any heavier equipment with the infantry unit following behind.

Prian called out a dozen caves that littered the sides of the valley wall as they closed in on it. Any of those caves could hold ambush forces and would need to be searched. Alton shrugged off memories of the cave encounters these past months. This time, it would be different. Alton called for a halt and had Prian use the map provided by the scouting team to confirm which pass they were to follow. The old, worn trail they were following split off in three directions.

The central route was picked, and they continued on. After another hour of valleys and rolling hills, they reached the pass. It looked to be an old riverbed, soft sand and scattered rocks spread for a hundred feet. It would be difficult fighting on the soft and unsteady ground. They continued on and found the choke point another mile up.

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The path narrowed as it wound through a canyon with walls a hundred feet high. Halfway into the canyon, the path was so narrow only two people could walk side by side. This was as good as they were going to find to force a fight. Alton sent Prian ahead to look for signs of enemy movement and the waiting scouts. He set Amelia and the others to building a defensive position while he took Rico back to clear the caves.

—-

Amelia, Miser and Nelson took turns moving the heavy rocks from the dry riverbed through the canyon. It was exhausting work for Amelia, who lacked the mass of the other two. Letty was at the end of the canyon looking for alternate routes up the canyon walls they could be ambushed from. Lews was setting up his field healing kit near the opening where they were creating a fall back point.

Thousands of boulders littered the riverbed from being washed through the canyon over the centuries of snow melt. Alton advised them to create uneven footing through the canyon to limit the amount of soldiers that could easily pass through. The position they would hold for first contact was so narrow the two burly shields could only just stand shoulder to shoulder with shields planted. It was an excellent stalling tactic; she had to admit, but she failed to see how they would attack from it.

Alton and Rico left to clear the caves behind them and Prian was still looking for the enemy. They needed to buy the Third Army two days to retreat to Kitsu. No firm numbers had been given on how many Edorians were expected to assault these passes. Amelia’s mind was in overdrive as she tried to remember every counter siege tactic they had been taught in the academy. The team was looking to her for answers in Alton’s absence and it was unnerving her.

Letty returned and identified two paths up the canyon on either side. Once the Edorians couldn’t push through, they would turn to those and climb over. Amelia climbed up with her and stood on top of the canyon looking out at the greater mountains. It was a breathtaking sight. Pure white snow glistened and reflected the setting sun. She couldn’t see any movement from this vantage and it belayed her confidence that they wouldn’t be tested during the night.

The two women piled up rocks and boulders near the edge of the cliff to drop onto any attempting climbers. When they felt they had enough piled up, they moved over to the other side of the cliff and started again. Amelia was having to burn heavy amounts of mana to move the larger rocks and climb the cliff side. She tried cycling as she moved, but the process continued to escape her. She could move a minimal amount of mana while in motion, but it didn’t come close to replacing her losses.

When she returned to the lower canyon, she found an impressive amount of boulders littering the path. Miser and Nelson were both shirtless and coated in sweat as they worked. Amelia herself had to watch her footing on approach to the two. An idea hit her halfway down and she turned to walk back to the entrance. She circulated through her legs and sprinted towards the choke point and counted eleven seconds. Eleven seconds until contact against mana enhanced foes.

She grabbed a bag left near the river basin and walked back to the twins. The camp crafters had given each team twenty mana lanterns to work with. Each lantern would light an area of around ten feet by ten feet in a soft, blue glow. Each would last a full night and could be recharged by anyone who could infuse, which only included three of Wolf team.

The team weighed the options for placing the stones to give the best visibility. Letty took four and used them to light up the top of the canyon walls. They decided on two above the choke point, one on each side. The rest were placed every ten feet on alternating walls until they reached the end of the canyon. It was almost dark enough between the walls to light the lanterns already. No use in giving the enemy free information.

When the sun set beyond the mountain, the team strapped their armor on and waited. Prian should be returning soon after meeting with the scouts placed farther up the pass. Letty took her spot above them on the canyon wall and strung her bow. She would stay up and provide cover fire while watching for Edorians attempting to circumvent the canyon. Prian would take the opposite wall when he returned. Alton was due to return soon and she could thrust leadership back on him.

---

Rico pressed himself against the wall of the cave and waited for Alton’s signal. His sword was cradled against his chest to prevent it from reflecting the sun. His core was above half and he resisted circulating so as to not alert anyone watching with manasight. This was the fourth cave they had scouted, and each contained Edorian soldiers. Alton gave the hand signal to advance on three and then spread up three fingers, slowly counting down.

Three.

Two.

One.

He flung himself around the corner and into the entrance to the cave. Alton was opposite him and together, they pounced on the unsuspecting men. As before, two Edorian scouts were inside the cave. Both were dead before they had a chance to react. Alton went back to the cave mouth to look for danger while Rico scoured their supplies for any maps. The scouts had enough supplies for a few days, and the evidence left in the cave suggested they were stationed there for a week.

The next cave was another quarter mile down the valley. Rico looked up at the waning sun and guessed they had an hour left to cover this side of the valley. Anyone left inside the caves after nightfall was a dagger waiting in the back. Growing up on the street taught you to keep threats in front of you.

The two blades sprinted to the next cave and repeated the process as before. Each cave contained at minimum two scouts, but one large one had six. The Edorian scouts were outmatched against Alton and himself, the fights over quickly. Rico felt numb to the killing. These soldiers were converting hundreds to mindless and fighting beside them. They had no place in a civilized world.

As the sun finally set on the day, Alton and Rico returned to the center of the valley and found the infantry marching up. They made good timing considering how much gear they had to carry and without the benefit of mana. Food, water, a field camp set up, and arrows added up to a lot of weight. Alton grunted in surprise beside him, and Rico tracked his eyes to the form of Jonah among the men.

Rico had been around the older man a few times now, but never spoken to him. He was highly respected in the camp and known to be one of the stronger tier four mages. Rico was eager at the prospect of seeing him in battle. They reached the dry river bed at the same time and Alton called for the column to halt. A field camp would be set here for soldiers to rotate out and rest.

Alton dismissed Rico to rejoin his team in the canyon and set to organizing the camp. Rico happily obliged, anxious to return to his friends. He made it to the slot canyon just as the last light of the day was fading. Mana lanterns were placed around the entrance and he could see the dark outlines of his team further in. Rico said a small prayer and hoped for an uneventful night of no combat.

—-

Alton set the infantry to building a field camp and set out to find his team. Jonah was at his side as they walked through the dry riverbed. His boots crunched on the sand and rock as he considered plans in his mind. Fighting in the dark was a disadvantage to the aggressors in normal situations, the mindless made this abnormal. The fiends didn’t care if there was light or not; they tracked the innate mana core of every human.

“Are you sure you're up to fighting, Jonah? This might get nasty.” Alton said.

“I’m counting on it, old friend. I have been thinking day and night since we parted at Kitsu. What made you different? What happened to push you over the fifth tier?” Jonah answered.

Alton started to reply, but Jonah continued. “Rhetorical, Alton. I think it was emotion, emotion and danger. In the cave on your first ascent, you were in a winless fight against superior numbers. At the funeral, your emotions were caught in a fever pitch. The answer lies out here,” he swept his arms out “inside the chaos of battle, all of our stories, our legends of the past were heroes of great deeds. Successful researchers that consumed themselves in their works, priests that dedicated entire lives to their faith.”

“I can learn no more reading scrolls in dusty basements. I still feel it in the air, Alton. Something is brewing that I must be a part of. I cannot tell you why, or how I know, base instinct is telling me to be here.” Jonah finished.

Alton mused on his words until they reached the rest of his team. Amelia reported on the defenses and Alton was proud of the ingenuity his team was showing. The lead sergeant from the infantry unit and Alton’s team sat to discuss the plan. Prian was yet to return with enemy sighting or numbers, so the plan would have to be malleable.

The canyon would be manned by six soldiers at a time. The two shields would rotate with each other and be accompanied by three infantry men to hold the canyon. A blade would always be in the canyon and up top on either side to prevent ambushes from above. Archers would be posted on top of the canyon wall and back further in the canyon to fire into the enemy.

Jonah and Lews would maintain a small field healing area near the entrance to the canyon. Jonah would freelance as he saw fit once the fighting got heavy. Alton trusted his judgment. There were three choke points inside the canyon that could be used as fall back points. Once out of the canyon, the field camp would serve as the last rallying point. If they failed to hold, they were to scatter and regroup at Kitsu. Alton prayed it didn’t come to that.

Prian returned two hours after night fell with eleven scouts in tow. They were racing down the pass, carrying several of the scouts between them. The rest of the company had been lost in early combat higher in the pass. Most of the scouts were beaten and battered. Lews and Jonah began tending to them. Ten would remain in fighting shape, one was on his way to the afterlife, they could only make him comfortable.

“Prian, report,” Alton stated once the healers got to work.

“Sir! Contact made with the enemy six miles up near the first peak you can see in the distance. Scout team Enir was tasked with delaying tactics and was trying to disguise the trail with brush and rocks when they were ambushed. I arrived in time to tip the fight in our direction and we made haste down the pass. The trail winds down but can accommodate high numbers of troops until a mile up when it begins to narrow. Estimated time to enemy arrival is two hours.” Prian rushed out. The scout sergeant had drawn a map in the dirt with the assistance of a mana lantern.

“Enemy numbers?” Alton asked.

“Er…” Prian froze.

“No less than a thousand, Cap.” The scout team sergeant stated to the dirt, never looking up from his makeshift map.

“Mad God shield us…” Jonah muttered. The camp was silent and his next words were felt across the souls of everyone present.

“Whispers in the shadows, chaos in the mind,

Dance with madness, strength the bind.

Against this tide, against this swarm,

We stand unyielding, we weather this storm.

Madness, our ever present ally in this crowd,

Warriors we are, fierce and unbowed.

Numbers may overwhelm, but we persist,

In the echoes of chaos, our strength subsists.

In this realm of insanity, we find our might,

A symphony of discord plays a warriors plight.

Superior numbers, we remain unswayed,

The Mad God, my shield and blade.