“Are you sure you got the intel right Gerok?” said his commander as he looked through the binoculars. “The valley doesn’t look safe. If we go that way, we would have to hurry…” Jaycen swallowed hard at the thought of being on Toko any longer then he had to. The small planet had a vicious, not so friendly terrain that only got worse as day turned to night.

Gerok stood behind his commander glaring at the back of his head. All it would take was one push and the prince would be over the cliff, he thought to himself. He rolled his eyes before answering, “I just got the information yesterday. They said it all checked out back at home.” He walked over to the edge of the cliff and looked down with curiosity. Gerok was a well respected captain to the prince and commander Jaycen. He loved being Jaycen’s captain but he wanted more… He despised how his commander under minded him so much. There were times Gerok felt Jaycen believed he was a complete idiot. “Once we exit the valley the Barbarian clans should be over the horizon.”

The valley cut through the mountains that ended up at the beginning of a large thick forest. The valley walls were high giving their enemy the advantage if they attacked from up top. The path through the trees was very narrow and small. Not many soldiers could fit through shoulder to shoulder so the numbers would be downsized to a single line. That was dangerous for the Sagens for they would be trapped on both sides, the entrance and exit. Jaycen turned to his head slightly towards his captain with disbelief. He didn’t trust Gerok, he didn’t trust his captain…

Jaycen was an excellent commander. He was young, strong and was well respected and trusted by his men. The Sagens loved and adored their prince who brought them great wealth and prosperity. He defeated thousands of Barbarians so far in his short time as the leader of the Sagen Army so far. “I would like to get this done before night fall. We haven’t seen any traces of Barbarians since we arrived on Toko. I think we should make haste back to our carrier and reconvene.” It disappointed the prince greatly that he has yet to spot the Barbarian leader Zou.

For many years the Sagens had grown prosperity and wealth chasing down the savage creatures. One Barbarian clan after another fell at the hands of the elite fighters. Everything had finally led up to this mission. Jaycen was hoping to catch up the leader of all the clans and end this once and for all.

Zou, the Barbarian leader at the time, made it his life mission to combine all the Barbarian clans together. He convinced them that in numbers they would be invincible. Overall, the Barbarian leader was right. Fighting against extinction was the real problem, the Sagens were too strong and elite fighters. The last few months Zou and his combined clans kept trying to evade the Sagen commander’s quench for blood. This time there was no longer a need for running. Zou had something better up his sleeve to how to deal with his enemy… Jaycen wrapped his long lock braids in his hands and twisted a band around them. He then put his helmet over his head and didn’t say another word. Instead, he readjusted his armor pulling the leather straps down tighter and securing his chest plates. “We need another plan. Standing here wasting time isn’t going to work.” “I think we should split up. I’ll take one team through the forest and meet you on the other side of the valley.” Gerok suggested.

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The young commander cut his eyes at his captain. He didn’t like the plan at all. The comment made Jaycen stop and turn his head facing Gerok, “You want to split up? We never split up remember? Strength in numbers.”

Gerok huffed and replied, “Yes but we need to cover more ground. If we see anything, we’ll know where the savages are. We will be back at home in no time.” The commander rubbed his chin in thought and nodded agreeing with his captain. As Jaycen turned his back to Gerok, he couldn’t see how thrilled he was. His grinned was as smug as his plan…

“I guess… Let’s move out.” He made a circular motion with his finger signaling his army to move on. Jaycen’s stomach twisted and turned from the sixth sense something bad was about to happen. As the young commander rode through the valley at an even pace, he stayed paranoid and on guard. He looked over to his side and saw one of his generals in training walking along side of him. Amos was very young only eighteen but skilled and extremely loyal to his to commander. “Amos… this doesn’t feel right. Stay on your…” Before Jaycen could finish stones slid down the wall in front of them. The rocks slid down the side like they were moved from up top. “Toes. You notice that?”

Amos and others behind immediately looked up as more rocks began to slide down the sides of the valley. “We need to get out of here sir. We’re sitting ducks in this valley… it’s a death trap!”

“I agree, let’s move!” Jaycen whistled as loud as he could but it was too late. Their enemy had showed face and played their move. The Barbarians lined up along side up top on the valley cliffs. They had the upper advantage over the Sagens. Archers showered arrows down to the soldiers, dropping them like flies. “Retreat! Everyone out of here!” Sagens don’t retreat, but in this case Jaycen had to save his people. He noticed quickly several soldiers falling down to the ground getting trampled by the others coming from the back. With a swift move Jaycen turned around and ran back the other way.

Amos turned in his head watching his commander run towards the attack instead of away, “Commander!”

“Get them out of here! Keep going!” Jaycen ran back and grabbed as many soldiers he had help to their feet. Fortunately for them the arrows slowed down but the rocks coming down didn’t. Barbarians pushed heavy boulders down the cliff, smashing anyone in it’s path. He and the others almost made it out when three boulders collided together around them. The blow was fatal for the two soldiers the commander was carrying. As for Jaycen, he fell to the ground broken… Amos managed to run back once the threat was over and throw his commander’s body over his shoulder. The brave commander took his last breath before reaching the carrier.

Gerok and others came around the corner just on time. They were first attacked in the forest but the numbers were few. The second attack, which Gerok wasn’t expecting, came with fury as the Barbarians tried to end them all. That wasn’t the plan… The captain lost half of his men quickly as the Sagens tried to save the others. The plan to split up failed miserably because only one group was supposed to be attacked, not both.

When the dust settled the soldiers gathered all those who were injured, the rest gather their dead and took them back to their war carrier. It was a horrible day for the Sagens, only a handful survived…