The haze that came over me wasn't anything like the berserk rage I had heard of. A phenomenon the werebear warriors of the far north from beyond the desert at the heart of the continent were known for. I didn't turn in mindlessly murdering monstrosity though. I kept dancing among the ranks of our enemy, dodging their thrusts left and right and killing them in turn as if it were all a dream. I broke through their ranks and turned to strike those I had passed by from the rear.

I couldn't tell how long it took us to utterly break the humans. I couldn't tell how much that feat cost us. I couldn't even tell what toll it took from me. Not at least until the red haze started to fade and reality came crashing back down on me as I cleaved the last foe standing against me head to toe. I came to a stumbling stop as the man dropped dead and for a brief moment I would have liked nothing better than to drop to the ground right next to him.

I was trembling and sucking air into my lungs in big gulps. It took everything I had to just keep standing. I hurt all over. The hand gripping the shaft of my glaive as if it were a vice hurt but I couldn't even bring myself to open my fingers and let go. It probably was for the better. I might have fallen without the support offered by the weapon and eating a mouthful of bloody mud was not among the things I wanted to do.

My shield arm hurt as well. It was a dull throbbing pain. I took a moment to eye the slightly bent out of shape shield. The remnants of three arrow shafts were stuck in it and one of them had pierced my arm behind the shield as well just below the hem of arm of my scale mail. I grimaced. Getting that arrow out would not be fun. It probably would have to get pushed all the way through. I'd need to see a healer about that for sure.

I kept taking stock of my body bit by bit. On one hand I was glad that I could still feel all my bits. On the other hand though, I just wished they wouldn't hurt quite that much. My armor had held. Neither pike nor dagger had penetrated it. That didn't mean that I had gotten away unscathed though. The dozen or maybe even more bruises already forming under my armor wouldn't let me forget that simple fact.

Finally I worked past all the small and big hurts to properly take stock of my surroundings. I wasn't the only one utterly exhausted. It filled me with relief and a little pride that those taking a moment to catch their breath were my men and women and not humans or elves. Most of those were on the ground, either dead or dying. A few of my mercenaries were moving about, helping those stubbornly clinging to life along on their last journey.

There would be no prisoners taken. Not today. Not after they closed distance with us. They could have run earlier, before they got within our range. Now, it was too late. With more enemy armies nearby and no idea how the battle went there we simply couldn't bother with prisoners and we certainly couldn't let them just go. If they joined up with any of the other hosts of the Council of Kings we would just have to fight them again and no one was in the mood for that.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

I wasn't proud of that but I wouldn't be losing any sleep because of it either. A little distance away I could see the scattered remains of the enemy's archers. Tora'pheer's lancers must have caught them mostly unaware while they were still focused on the line of battle in general and especially me. Of course they had suffered some losses but they seemed rather light. Lighter than those we suffered here fighting their wall of pike for sure.

No matter how big you were, no matter how good your armor was, when facing pikes five or more ranks deep there was always a chance of an enemy you weren't even aware of ending your life. In a way I had been lucky that most of the foes in my way had aimed high rather than low. I could easily cover my head with my shield. I would have had a much harder time protecting my feet below the hem of my scale mail.

I looked at the bodies littering the ground around me. Dead, the lot of them. Death had not come easy to most of them either. Quite a few of them looked as if they had died in agony, often after suffering only minor wounds. There was nothing left to do for me here. That didn't mean that I had time to relax though.

I straightened up and gathered Mana to relay my orders via Lion's Roar once more. I could feel my head start to ache the moment I started but I pushed through the building pain. “Gather our wounded! Form back up at the foot of the hill!” It was almost too much for me. I had channeled a lot more Mana into spells today than usually.

I had continually used Cat's Grace since the battle against the Wyvern at the hill's top. I had kept up Blur as well starting the moment I had thrown myself into melee down here. I had cast Lion's Roar several times as well. I was reaching my limit. I was swooning where I stood. My orders had reached the ears of my men and women though. That is what mattered right now.

We didn't know yet how the king's war host fared after all. And there was that cavalry detachment that had left earlier today from the camp of the army we had faced and defeated. It stood to reason that they must be aware by now, that a battle had taken place here. There was a chance, a slim one at least, that they would run instead of turning back but I wouldn't bet my life or that of my mercenaries on that chance.

I watched my men and women retreat back, behind the shrubs and trees that had sprung up where Kaele had scattered those enchanted seeds. Those still able helped the wounded to reach the relative safety the place offered. I stood watching for a moment longer simply because I had no idea if I still had enough strength left in me to cross the distance. Should I try? It really wouldn't look good if I were to collapse halfway though.

It turned out that I didn't have to worry. Tora'pheer's lancers brought up our rear as we regrouped. Many of them were leading their exhausted or wounded mounts by the reigns. Some were on foot alone, their beloved ibex companions left behind were they had fallen. The captain of my cavalry herself offered me a shoulder I could lean on while we walked back and her ibex nuzzled me gently every once in a while to keep me going.

Tora'pheer flashed me a tired grin as we made our way. “What a day, eh?”

I grimaced. “What a day.” I looked up, searching the sun to get an idea just how much time had passed. I grimaced again. “And its not even over yet.”