Everything is going to shit.
Days wasted planning, preparing, and coordinating only to have one man screw everything up.
Thanel SummerBorn.
Leave it to a SummerBorn to ignore every command given to them and think they know better. Childish, arrogant, incompetent, not to mention temperamental and borderline bipolar. That whole family/house is a bomb just waiting to implode and Hol help us when it does. But that’s a problem for tomorrow and I have a problem right now.
The Bright Regiment, led by Thanel SummerBorn, is being overrun leaving a potential opening on the right flank for this Horde to squeeze the Annual army and bottleneck us towards the valley on the left flank and take the high ground. Then the Horde would have the opportunity to cut us off from the Wall. I can’t allow that.
The Harvest Regiment is doing well in the center, drawing in the monsters and cutting them down. Up on a small berm about 150 feet behind the fighting, I see the leader of Harvest, Yanni AutumnBorn, push forward with his mobile light infantry to make the Horde focus on them. Then they slowly pull back and encircle the monsters with the heavy armored troops. It’s a tried and true tactic. But they won’t last long if the right flank isn’t reinforced soon.
Frost Regiment is on the left flank, pushing the Horde back towards Harvest. Bright was supposed to do the same on the right, and that would have created a bottleneck to eventually enclose the Horde once their numbers had been dwindled down. But apparently Thanel had other ideas.
And of course Bloom Regiment never showed. As per usual. I’d bet a hundred pure coins that they will show up tomorrow and have some sort of excuse for being late. Completely useless.
At this point, I have two options. I don’t like either, but I’m already leaning towards one.
“Sir. We still do not know if Lord Thanel is dead but Bright Regiment needs reinforcements before the Horde cuts us off.”
Baggum AutumnBorn. Elder brother of Yanni and my right hand man for the past ten years. The calmest person out here right now; I swear I’ve never heard him yell. Not that I would want to. 6’4”, easily close to 230lbs, short red hair with a nicely trimmed beard, and a nasty scar that runs diagonally across his face from above the right eye, across the bridge of his nose, and down to the left cheek. Children have cried at the sight of him. And right now he’s waiting for an answer from me.
“We could pull men back from Frost Regiment. Have them swing around Harvest, maybe grab some of them as well, then push up on the back of Bright and stop the Horde’s momentum on the flank.”
This suggestion from another aide, one I’ve only worked with for the duration of this Annual. And honestly, it was one of the options I was thinking of myself. The kid’s name is Hulf WinterBorn and he is just about the skinniest adult I have ever seen. Granted “adult” is a loosely applied term since he just turned 17 making this his first opportunity to fight the yearly Horde invasion. But I picked him as counsel since he’s shown the smarts and competence I like to surround myself with. Aside from being skinny, he has the usual WinterBorn white hair that flows down to his neck and the high cheek bones. But instead of the normal pale blue eyes, he has deep red eyes. Clearly someone’s parents did something they shouldn’t had.
“That is one option, Hulf,” I finally replied. I can feel Baggum narrow his eyes at me. He knows what the other option I’m thinking of is.
“Honestly, sir, I don’t see any other option. Unless retreat is on the table.” Hulf says it like he’s meant to: with distaste. Retreat is never an option. Every person this side of the Wall knows that. But I also sense just a tiny amount of hope. He’s young, he doesn’t want to die. And he sees this as a losing battle. But hopefully it won’t be.
I look at Baggum. He shakes his head “no.” I smile at him and hear him huff as I look at my young aide. “I’ve never heard the word ‘retreat,’ Hulf. What does it mean?”
It seems he’s finally gotten used to my sarcastic nature since he no longer has that confused look on his face and tries to silently plead for help from Baggum. Instead, he grins but it’s forced. “It’s just some nonsense word I heard from somewhere, sir. Forget I mentioned it.”
I hear Baggum clear his throat. He’s right; I’ve wasted time deciding what to do. I need to act, not sit here and banter with my counsel while people are dying. “Commander Baggum, you are in charge of the Annual army while I am predisposed. You are given full confidence to make tactical decisions as you see best fit. Understood?”
Baggum’s face is stoic, but I know he doesn’t approve of this. Honestly, I almost agree with him, but I just can’t help myself. “Understood, sir. I’ll send a runner to notify Bright of your arrival.” He turns to a runner, but I stop him.
“No. I’ll get there before he does. Besides, I like the element of surprise on both sides.” I jump off my horse and walk past the various personnel that make up the “counsel” I have even though I only really like two or three of them. I hear Hulf start to ask the obvious questions.
“Commander Baggum, what is he doing? Is he going to gather the men from Frost and Harvest himself? Are there other options that I am not aware of?” The kid is probably the smartest person I’ve ever met, but even though he’s WinterBorn, that level of intelligence leads him to having the SummerBorn trait of being somewhat arrogant especially when he thinks he’s the smartest person in the room. 99% of the time, he is. But right now we aren’t in a room.
I leave it to Baggum to explain everything to Hulf. I need to concentrate; it’s been awhile since I’ve done this. I stop walking when I’m twenty feet away from everyone. I used to need more space to ensure nobody was in the “splash zone” but those days are long gone.
I remove the protective outerwear, starting with the gauntlets/arm band one-piece. I need to be able to feel with my fingers. Also, I hate gloves in general. I let them drop as I undue the strings along the length of my arms. Next to go is my belt; it’s all decorative and serves absolutely no function as armor. Next is the plating along my legs. Luckily I had forgone the shin guards and only put on the thigh pieces. They limit my range of motion and I need to be limber. Lastly I took off the breast plate and just throw it behind me. I hate wearing armor but everyone insists on it so I compromise: no helmet and only the most basic armor they have.
I jump in place to get the gears turning. They’re definitely rusty. I stand tall and straight, close my eyes and begin my breathing technique. Four seconds of inhaling, four seconds of holding in the air, then four seconds of exhaling. I repeat two times, then call upon the Lunar.
I feel the familiar initial connection, the flowing of power from the other plane and into this one, specifically into me. But then comes the inevitable halt of the flow. But I’m ready for it. I start to turn the metaphorical valve to open the block. It fights me, but I was able to open it nearly half way last time. But last time I was desperate. I guess this time is the exception.
I continue to open the valve and finally feel the trickle of power flow through. The connection is established, but just barely. I can work with that. I continue to fight the valve as it tries to close and cut off the connection. I dig deep, and give it one hard shove and the valve loosens enough for me to get a 30% connection. But that’s all it’ll go. So I take what I can get and force the valve to stay. Hol-damned curse. Not only do I have to fight to open the valve, but I also have to concentrate to maintain the valve opening.
A small blast of energy erupts outward from me, causing some of the horses nearest me to spook; the splash zone. A thin layer of bright, white light envelops around me. The exhilaration of the power gets to me. I almost rush into the battle without thinking. Baggum thinks I’m addicted to it, but he could never understand even though I’ve tried to explain it to him. After today, he may never have to scold me again.
When I first learned I could connect to the Lunar, I decided to focus my abilities on close combat. I wanted to be on the front-lines, tearing into the Horde, be that bastion of defense for others to rally behind. And I was good at it. While connecting with either Lunar of Solar naturally elevated a person’s strength, speed, and durability, they could also learn to specialize in the different arts. My specialty was Manifestation. I learned to create white, opaque solid-light objects that boosted my defensive capabilities. A literal armor of light. Before the curse, at 100%, I was virtually unstoppable. Now, at 30%, I’m still something to be reckoned with, but limited in my use of armor.
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I go with the expedited choice. I create a hollow cone-shaped solid-light construct that is nearly three feet long and two feet wide. I cut it in half and place each side over my arms, hovering a few inches above my skin. I create another hollow cone, split it, and place those over my legs so it covers the outside of them from my ankles to my hips. I then make simple looking boots that cover my feet and elevate me over a foot above the ground. Not much left for any more substantial armor after those, so I make a circular breast-plate with a convex shape to cover most of my front torso and then use what is left for my little trick. A random ball of solid-light, no bigger than an apple, that hovers around my body. I learned that I can give the Lunar light a little bit of programming and it will act without me having to consciously do it myself. It will detect any incoming attack and try to block or deflect it.
Now the real fun begins.
With all my preparations complete, I open my eyes and jump towards my right flank and the failing Bright Regiment.
While in the air, I take a moment to look around the battlefield from my new vantage. Bright is worse off than I originally thought. A few sparse groups that have formed circles with each other back to back to fend off the relentless swarm of monsters. I don’t see Thanel in any of the groups. The Horde actually realized that the right was failing and is trying to move its troops over and force their way through. A few more minutes and there will be no more Bright Regiment.
Harvest has realized that Bright is failing by noticing the monsters’ movement. Yanni is trying to get the Horde’s attention, but only a few are playing that game. I can tell he wants to lead some men and reinforce Bright, but he’s too involved with holding the center line to lead any men to Bright’s rescue. Instead, someone else has taken up the lead and is heading to Bright’s rear with maybe fifty men. I’ll need to find out who that leader is.
I notice Frost has backed off. The Horde’s new direction of movement must have thrown Frost off balance and made them weary to keep advancing unless the come up on Yanni and is men by accident. But they just stand there. I swear, all but the AutumnBorn are useless. The SummerBorn are too hot-headed, the WinterBorn are too damn cautious, and the SpringBorn are too unreliable. It’s a wonder humanity has survived the continuous Annuals.
I take in the battlefield before I hit the apex of my jump. Then I focus on the largest concentration of Horde nearest Bright and give myself a little thrust from the Lunar energy in me. I land like a meteor and create a crater ten feet in diameter. The monsters that were at my point of impact are immediately crushed under the force of my landing. The next nearest are blown apart from the concussive force. The ones a little further are sent flying through the air. I stand up and look around at the confused faces. All fighting has stopped near me. No man or monster was expecting me.
Then, one of the bigger creatures roars and charges at me. I grin like a mad man and punch him as hard as I can. The top half of its body is obliterated. The gore rains down on the surrounding Horde. Some step back away from me. Good. They need to know there’s no surviving this. I’ve learned that fear can be even more powerful than the Lunar or Solar.
I don’t wait for another to challenge me. I rush forward, raise both my arms high above me, and then bring them down like a hammer to an anvil. The force blasts away the surrounding monsters and clears a way to the nearest group of men from Bright. They see me, and instantly get their second wind. They charge at the monsters, who now have their backs to the men of Bright. The other surviving groups must have had the same idea. I hear shouts, from men yelling at the monsters and the monsters screaming in pain.
I continue on, punching and kicking any monster that gets within my reach. After a few moments of uninterrupted slaughter, the monsters realize that there’s strength in numbers. Now they start to come at me in waves. My armor stops any cut or thrust made at me by their archaic weapons. My little ball does some good work when they come up behind me. It stops anything they try.
I let myself be consumed with the fight. I let the Lunar flow through me, relish the destructive power in my body, content with the knowledge that these creatures are nothing but fodder for me. It’s been too long since I’ve had this opportunity. Then I’m snapped out of it by the first sign of using the Lunar.
A sharp pain erupts from my chest. I yell and nearly collapse to the ground. At first I think a monster got a lucky hit in, but my solid-light chest plate is intact. I realize that it’s the curse trying to kill me again. Luckily, pain makes me focus. I let myself get caught up in the power. I need to better manage that feeling. I’m not here to just slaughter monsters. I stand up, take a deep breath, and focus. The curse is designed to completely stop me from connecting to the Lunar. But I found a way past it, so the curse evolved to keep me from using it once the connection is established. The primary way is to force the connection shut once open. The secondary way is to simply shut down my body and effectively kill me as long as I’m using the Lunar. So far it’s failed at that.
But I do need to end this battle quickly. And to do that, I need to find their leader.
The majority of the monsters are just that: monsters. They have no real higher intellect. But a few of them do. They can organize the rest and push them towards a common goal. Which every year is the destruction of the Wall and eventual genocide of humanity. But if the leader is taken out of the equation, the rest simply wander off, maybe form small groups at the best. Essentially, they pose little risk at that point.
The original plan was for Yanni and Harvest to find the leader and then have all three regiments give one hard push forward to advance. Force the Horde backwards, sneak in some men to quickly assassinate the leader, then pick off the rest after the eventual chaos of a leaderless Horde. But of course that plan went to shit when Thanel went off script. Now, with the curse actively trying to kill me, I need to find that leader, or at least whittle down the Horde’s numbers enough for Harvest and Frost to reengage and not be overwhelmed.
I jump high into the air again to look for the leader. I see the group of Harvest has joined up with the survivors of Bright and are working their way forward. The main Harvest force has readjusted its front line. They made it shallow, with only three rows instead of the normal seven, but it has allowed them to connect with Bright and now the line is whole again. Frost has finally made a decision and is pushing the Horde hard towards the right flank. The whole army is laid out like a lazy “j” shape.
I start to think I’m not needed anymore when a horn blows. It’s not one of ours. As I’m coming down from my jump, I see the Horde retreat a ways back and regroup into a phalanx formation. I land hard and my knees nearly buckle. It wasn’t even that high of a jump but the curse is working hard to weaken me. I just need to work harder. I keep my composure for the men. Right now they think we can’t lose with me fighting like this. I once thought the same thing.
I start to hear shouts from the men.
“Form up!”
“Regroup Hol-dammit!”
“I don’t care what regiment you’re from, line up like you’ve been taught! This isn’t over yet!”
That last one comes from Yanni himself. He must have ran over once the Horde broke off. Good call, I need him close.
“Hol-be-praised! I asked for a miracle then not five seconds later I see you jumping through the air and into the Horde! I thought you couldn’t do that anymore?” Yanni looks a lot like Baggum but with blonde hair instead of red and minus the scar. Without that family resemblance, Yanni would only have been able to claim bastard status in the AutumnBorn house. Their father liked his women a little too much in my opinion.
“Praised-be-Hol. You can’t believe everything you hear, Yanni.” I grin at him, masking the pain. Only Baggum knows what the curse does to me like this. Yanni smiles back, oblivious.
“Apparently so. But what’s with this?” Yanni points at the Horde, still in the phalanx formation but not moving forward. “I’ve never seen them regroup before. And what in Hol’s name happened with Bright? I thought everything was going to plan until I noticed the monsters breaking off.”
“Thanel is what happened,” I explain with contempt. “He better be dead for his own sake. As for this, I don’t know either.”
“Are they waiting for us to attack?”
The pain is getting worse. I’m having trouble keeping my breathing normal. Use the pain to focus.
“I think they are. Form up the remainder of the army into four rows. We might be able to enclose them from three sides. But we need to find the leader. Were you able to spot them?”
“I think so. It was at the beginning of the battle. A big one, dark brown skin, with some sort of crown, possibly made out of bone or wood. I only saw it for a second before it disappeared. I haven’t seen it since.”
That should narrow it down. The monsters come in sizes from four feet to nearly seven feet. Skin colors are deep, earthy and cool: green, brown, gray, pale yellow. But for one to wear a crown, it definitely has the higher intellect. No normal monster would wear something to signify importance or individuality.
Yanni yells for his lieutenants to form up the army like I instructed. I see the leader of Frost, Marde WinterBorn, give out the command as well. One of the few women out here, Marde is average height but with long flowing silver hair. She and Hulf are cousins, but most people never notice Hulf. Everyone sees Marde when she enters a room.
She turns her horse and our eyes meet. She lifts her head and smiles, like a predator looking at prey. She may be beautiful, but she’s also sadistic. I know because I’ve felt it. Her lust for power is what gave her the command she now has and she covets those who have power themselves. Her seeing me like this is only fuel to her fire.
I break eye contact and look back at the Horde. They continue to stand there, unmoving. Like statues. It brings back old memories, but I bury those fast. I have enough to deal with. Luckily, Yanni comes over and distracts me.
“The Annual is formed up. Just give the command.”
He’s excited. To be honest, despite the pain, I’m excited too.
The second part of the battle is about to begin.