EA#39:
Read From the Beginning or the start of Trial Two or Three or Four or Five or Six
The Mountain in the Clouds, Part Forty-Two
“
War was upon us.
All our walls, weapons and traps were laid in place.
And the forces of darkness descended from all around.
There was no going back now.
King Dramand did well to not flinch as he witnessed the army of Dral Graf enter the Barrow Lands from every horizon.
My friends from Titanton did not look so bold now. Gill was almost beside herself, but Riley and the others tried to encourage her to stay calm.
King Garamund shook his head in awe, but also held his kingly state and made no indication of concern or fear.
Good, I thought, because I was becoming terrified.
Fear is yet to come, a voice told me inside. For now, be steady.
Gumpelthwomp among us was the most enthused. Perhaps he had some anger to take out, and his face twisted with rage. I wanted to yell to him: these are not the ones who took your love, Giggazzibar. But I felt it would be to no avail, and just hoped the giant would remain present enough not to squash all our own troops in his haste to do battle.
The forces of Etl Drilskbat were just as my guides had described. They were numberless, stout, and resolved. They wore midnight black platemail, at least from what I could tell. Tall rectangular shields, coated and spikes, meters high, formed sheer, endless walls of marching doom. Tall spears jutted out from behind these walking barricades, and the depth of the troops covered the horizon and formed a formidable ocean of black metal as they approached.
And they came from every side. From the north marched the legionnaires and their shields. From the east there came the cavalry on fiercely armored horseback. Unexpected from our rear in the west were countless brigades of orcs and goblins, who do not tend to war alongside the armies of man.
But most fearsome of all were the dragons. Ten enormous black dragons flew in from the south to the edge of the very cliff Gumpel and I had once camped on miles behind. That same cliff face seemed to outline the southern border of the barrows. But now it became the perch for the deadly beasts that I had imagined gone from the world for countless centuries.
Even as I had told of these things to King Dramand, I had doubted them, these things my inner guidance told me of Etl Drilksbat’s army. Not merely because of their scope, but also due to their seeming impossibility. How could there be dragons, and some of the darkling races among this army?
And that’s not to account for the machines of war they possessed as well. Where we had formed our catapults and ballistas, initially planned for siege on the city and now used in a desperate attempt at survival, the army of Etl had all that multiplied by ten. And there were machines I had never seen before, huge wagons of iron and flame, which chugged along spewing black smoke into the air.
Truly, all things told, it was the darkest and most frightful army I had ever seen.
Then again, as I’ve said, I have never been to war before. I cannot say what I would expect it to be like. But something told me that this was far from typical.
Once the army of darkness had engulfed us in its numbers, there was an eerily silent, uneasy pause. It hung in the air with a heaviness. It was like the dying embers of a fire: hot, calm, and seeming without end. But in contrast, this moment was on the verge of blazing alight.
Our kings, Dramand and Garamund, conferred with each other, and with the generals in a hushed, stern demeanor. Orders were precisely dispersed from the leaders through all the segments of the Gilded Dragons.
There was a hushed breath among us. And there was this creeping feeling along my spine, almost the sort of feeling you get when walking among gravestones on a foggy night. You know the feeling.
The odds against us seemed insurmountable, even with our best preparations and the best guidance I could transmit from the gods or whoever spoke through me.
The dragons upon the cliff roared a thunderous cry of hate, sending real shudders throughout the Gilded Dragons. It was the first time I saw them show any amount of fear.
Hold steady, my inner voice told me. There is a way. You do not see it yet in your fear, but there is a way. Trust. Believe. Have faith. God is with you.
I could hardly contemplate the message before all hell broke loose.
The dark army unleashed a cacophony of sound attacks to begin. The entire mass of them, as one, let out a calamitous shout from all the troops on all sides, the conglomeration of which resounded as if the earth had folded in on itself in a rumbling, rupturing quake.
This was followed immediately by the deafening booming of war drums, in the hundreds if not thousands. The rebounding noise of the beats hurtled across the Barrow Lands, reflected off the cliff face, and collided upon us as a sound wave of near physical force. Indeed it felt as though it could crush the army in one fell blow.
Then Etl’s machines and archers began their barrage, missiles from catapults and ballistas and thousands upon thousands of arrows. The iron wagons hurled flaming and exploding weapons the likes of which I had never seen or heard of, but which did great damage. Hundreds of our troops were already falling in these first attacks, and to me it seemed that it was already hopeless.
And none of the ground forces had even moved an inch towards us. Much less the dragons, waiting on high.
To our credit we held tight. The Gilded Dragon rallied to the calls of horns, and enacted our great defense.
Our barricades were lifted, and our own ranged attacks let loose. There were subtle stirrings among the army, and the opposing forces could not know just what we had planned, as much of it was unseen.
The wall of shielded legionnaires approached us then, a steady march of boots, spears held long in front of them. They were followed by the darkling orcs and goblins in a chaotic and menacing dash to battle, bearing axes and maces and whips and all manner of weaponry. Then Etl’s cavalry galloped into action from the east, covering ground quickly, swords at the ready.
The menacing black dragons loomed eerily above, but did not make a move but to claw at the cliff face and snort hot smoke from their nostrils.
Meanwhile the resolute Gilded Dragons held fast, still moving within ranks like some well-sequenced flock of animals shuffling about. Their plans were about to be tested.
Finally, our time for action was upon us. As the dark army was nearly on all our flanks, the ground beneath them suddenly opened up in rifts of hidden trenches we had dug. Shocked faces mingled with fear as rows and rows of Etl’s troops toppled out of sight, falling upon each other in painful heaps of metal and blades. Surely many of them were crushed, and most of them so tangled and caught in the traps as to have no ease in escaping.
The terrible thing about this dark army is how little they cared for their fellows. Once the trenches were filled to the brims with bodies, writhing and grasping for a way out, the subsequent lines of soldiers simply marched right over them, crushing them under their feet.
These men were seriously ruthless.
Our walls were next, tough barricades of metal and jagged spikes mixed with flammable materials like hay and cotton. As the army of Dral Graf got to this level of our defense, they pushed forward with resolve only to be met by sharp death at every turn.
And the ultimate block was when we set fire to the walls, encircling our camp in a protective wall of flame. This we found served two purposes, as it kept the ground troops out and also obscured the view of the ranged attacks upon us as the smoke filled the sky.
What we hadn’t accounted for was the heat and the hardship of breathing on our part. We had included a certain distance from these burning walls, but it was still quite a bonfire in the end. It also hadn’t occurred to us that our trap could be used against us by the enemy, as their iron wagons began pushing the burning bales of hot metal towards us.
And despite the challenge, the arrows and missiles kept hurtling over us. The Gilded Dragons were dropping like flies, and we were clearly outnumbered and surrounded.
So we doubled back into our last attempt at skirting our opponents. Tunnels had been hewn into the cliff face all morning. King Dramand had no choice but to call his army to pull back into them for our last stand. Tunnel after tunnel filled with soldiers fighting for their lives, with carefully planned walls of shields, weapons, and more barricaded traps blocking each opening.
The forces of darkness were mightily defiant of death itself and continued to plow through even the fiery barricades, burning themselves alive in the attempt. But enough of them kept making it through as their brethren fell that their numbers were still great. They closed in on our tunnels quickly.
I looked for my friends. They were there, even as orcs and goblins closed in, fighting their best fight. Corporal Riley had her war face on, out matching all opponents that came her way. Gill, once pressed for a fight, also put her all into battle, holding her own. Jax, Hayn, and Bion were all intimidating combatants as well, doing us all proud.
Kings Dramand and Garamund were not afraid to stand their ground either, and held the armies at bay with the best of their soldiers and generals.
And Apalandro was a sight to behold. His dueling with the scimitar was less a battle than a deadly dance. Deadly for any of Etl’s soliders who got near him, only to be sliced and cleaved to pieces. He alone seemed to defy all odds, taking on dozens and dozens of enemy fighters.
Then there was my giant friend, one of our greatest assets, though he did become a target for attack. Huge pieces of armor had been formed for him to fend off arrows, which seemed to bounce off of him like twigs. Larger missiles knocked him about and enraged him, but didn’t seem to hurt. Though Gumpel clearly did not like being licked by fire, and he flailed about with a massive club at any who hurt him or got near. One pound of his weapon could take out a whole squadron of attackers.
And how he kept pounding.
For a moment the balance hung in a space of possibility. It truly seemed like we were keeping up with the fight, like we even had a chance.
Then the dragons reminded us of their presence. They lurched into the sky, circled about in playful spirals as cats chasing mice, then descended upon us in a flaming rage.
The dragon fire cut through the army of Hemsworth Deep with ease. Men ran scrambling around, coated in flames and screaming in pain. Even my friends Jax and Hayn were caught in it. Bion escaped narrowly, dodging to the side, only to be skewered by a massive orcish spear.
Seeing this was too much. My heart was torn open. My friends were dying. I worried so for Gill and Riley and Apalandro. And I sought Gumpel out, too. Maybe he could help us get out of there at least.
Then I saw Evenhand. He was unbound, laughing, creeping through our ranks. I saw him approaching King Dramand with a deadly purpose and small dagger in hand. I tried to call out, but it was too far and much too noisy. Dramand was distracted by other combatants and never saw it coming. And then Evenhand was there, behind the king, and loosed the blade straight through his ribs. Dramand’s blood spattered upon the earth as the man fell to his knees, his face appalled with shock.
Garamund was not far from the scene, and he caught my eye. I raised my hands and shouted again, pointing towards Evenhand. At first the king from Castle Greene looked confused by me, then he turned just in time to see Evenhand approach him. To his credit, Garamund was quick enough to fend him off, lifting his sword high just in time to catch Evenhand’s blade, then disarming the blacksmith and casting the dagger upon the burnt and bloodied ground.
Evenhand went in again, unarmed as he was, trying to wrestle Garamund and seize his sword. His massive body almost succeeded, if it had not been for the sudden approach of a mighty footfall that knocked both men to the ground, shaken and dazed.
Gumpelthwomp came then, crushing enemies merely with the steps of his big feet. He ignored the brawl of the two men I was watching and came straight for me. As he had in past, he scooped me up in his big hand, lifting me high into the sky.
Surprised by my change of scenery, but a little relieved to be above the ensuing mayhem, I took in the battle from my higher vantage.
What I saw sent new shivers down my spine, not for fear but in the strange knowing of what I was seeing.
Before me I saw my dream unfolding in a new way. Instead of golden trees burning, what I saw was two armies clashing in fire and smoke. The curious thing was that the shape they made was just the same as my tree vision. I could clearly make out two trees, roots, trunks, branches and all as the two armies clashed in warfare. And the armor of the Gilded Dragon seemed to carve out the perfect image of two golden trees, lined with the blackness of Etl’s army. All of it was enveloped in flames.
I called to Gumpelthwomp to save my friends, save Riley and Gill and Apalandro, King Garamund… He either couldn’t hear me or didn’t care. He just kept walking, even as he was being bombarded with arrows, bombs, and spears. The dragons took a new interest in his presence and veered around to approach my friend and I for a killing blow. Surely dragon fire must be the end for a giant. And surely for me.
Gods, what is happening here? You told me not to worry, to have faith, that there would be a solution presented to me. Now it’s about time, for I simply cannot imagine a way out of this now.
Please, please, help us now. What is the way to end this war?
Then from my height, all the smoke of the battlefield overcame my senses.
And I dropped into a deep, black void of unconsciousness.
“
Thanks so much for reading.
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Blessings to you,
Matthew