Standard Bearers

Led by Aaron's inspiring charge into the ranks of Earl Redburr's army, the forces of Westmark attack & the battle of Fallow River begins as Aaron finds the man responsible for the death of his family.

58.

Standard Bearers

 

They came in his wake, fighting and crashing through in their desperation to reach the foolhardy knight.    Five of them were knights of Dullerm and Westmark who loyally sought to aid their captain and friend.    But with the knights rode two in black plate armor that was battered and dented from months of fighting.     They fought with a fierceness and determination that matched the knights.  

All in Redburr’s ranks that saw them would long remember the Orc brother and sister, covered with wounds but not heeding them as they grimly plowed through the enemy ranks to aid Sir Aaron.

 

“Yesh the Merciful!” Captain Bruce roared for strength and a light seemed to shine around him as if God favored him.    He bled from perhaps a hundred wounds but all in his path fled or was killed.

 

Behind him, his sister, Lieutenant Lysa matched his fierceness.   With one hand she swung her mace at the heads, shields and pikes that seemed to dance all around her.   But in her other hand she held a tattered, but still proud standard that flowed behind her in the morning breeze.   A unicorn under a golden tree with white fruit - it was the standard of the late Queen Eioldth.

The dawning light in the east shone upon its brilliant colors.   Through the din of battle could be heard the voices of the Losasidhe Elves as they beheld it and recognized it.

“Eioldth!   Eioldth!” They began to chant as they sent volley after volley of arrows into the right flank of Redburr’s army.    The refugees from King’s Reach who had fled the capital city upon the death of their beloved Queen joined in with the rallying call and shouted her name.    Righteous fury filled them and with an increased strength they fought on, their numbers pushing Redburr’s army away from the bridge as they gained the other side.

Even the Dwarves took up the chant as they drove a wedge into the larger army that tried to push them back.

But not all the shouts were for the Queen.   Mixed in were the names of others who had died due to Redburr’s greed and cruelty. 

As they fought their way to Aaron, who was about to engage in combat with a mad Ogre, the two Orc siblings chanted the names of those they had known who had died due to the Earl’s evil, “Eioldth, Sirya, Aranthi, Thorm, King Travin, Sir Aeric, Lady Alis, Lady Abigae!”

The liturgy of their names seemed to give the siblings strength and courage, as well as the knights who rode with them.

 

Aaron did not hear them coming, for his full attention was given to the Ogre that raced toward him.    He was swinging his chains over his head as flails.    Blood rage was in his eyes as he rushed toward the horse and knight.  

Aaron imagined he could hear Redburr laughing from behind the safety of his guards.  This only fuelled his determination.

But Griz had other ideas and dodged widely to the side when the Ogre swung one of his chains at them.   Even with this evasive move, the edge of the chain struck Aaron’s helm, nearly knocking him off his horse.

But he held on and Griz circled around the back of the Ogre, which caused the creature to turn with them.

As they passed around him, Aaron could see more clearly the abuse that the Ogre had received at the hands of Redburr’s men.    

 

He knew Ogres were fierce, brutish bullies, but he could not help but feel like this one was simply a fellow victim of Redburr.

 

“I’m not the one who hurt you!”  He yelled at the Ogre as Griz took him on a wide circle around him, “The one who tortured you and hurt you hides like a coward behind that wall of men.”

The Ogre didn’t seem to hear his words, or perhaps no longer had any mind left to reason, for he rushed at him suddenly.   Griz was alert though and galloped around the brute.

Redburr’s soldiers were giving a wide berth to the Ogre and were instead quickly massing to the west of them, battling the forces of Westmark on the eastern side of the bridge.   Their vastly superior numbers seemed certain to soon push the Westmark forces into the Fallow River.        Only a thin ring of Redburr’s soldiers watched Aaron’s conflict with his foe- keeping enough distance from the Ogre so they could scatter if the brute decided to rush toward them.    Redburr remained protected behind his elite mounted guards at the edge of the open space where the Ogre threatened Aaron.        

 

Griz’s training had paid off, for the horse knew to keep moving in circles around the huge opponent.   The crazed Ogre tried desperately to hit them with his dangling chains, but Aaron kept them at enough distance to prevent that.   When the brute would attempt to charge them, Griz would quickly move off in a circling pattern to one side, frustrating the Ogre’s effort.

Aaron knew that Redburr’s men would not let the cat and mouse game go on much longer.   He was going to have to fight him very soon.    Redburr and his men were counting on this.    He could bolt suddenly at the Earl and his sons, still surrounded by four walls of elite guards, but did he really want a crazed Ogre somewhere behind him while he battled his way to the Earl?

 

He looked up just in time to see a commotion to the west.    A group of horsemen were following in the wake of his path, though now they were not being allowed to move forward as he had.    Still they came through, slashing, pounding and swinging their weapons.  

Their nearness pulled the attention of the Ogre away from Aaron.    The brute had tired of chasing the knight, and to his dull mind, the newcomers seemed almost bogged down by Redburr’s cruel soldiers.   But he was free, and if he reached the river, he could escape his hell.

With a deep roar, the Ogre suddenly sprang forward, his chains whipping around, as he rushed toward the knights battling the foot soldiers.

Those watching the Ogre and Aaron fled to either side, but many in the mass of troops had focused entirely upon killing the cavaliers and were too crowded to escape.

The huge creature flailed them with his thick shackles, sending handfuls of Redburr’s men flying like thrown ragdolls.   Panic gripped the soldiers, but they could not escape and were too terrified to turn and attempt to bring him down.

The Ogre cut through the soldiers like a knife through hot wax.   He had nearly reached the Horsemen before enough of Redburr’s men found courage and attempted to overwhelm the tortured creature.   They swarmed him from all sides, but he sent them down and stomped them with his big feet as he pushed forward.

For the moment, the Cavaliers were forgotten due to the approach of a greater danger.

“Come on!”  Bruce yelled to his companions and then pushed their horses in a gap to the left between those boldly assaulting the Ogre and those in their ranks that shrank back in fear.

Through this narrow gap they went and to their delight, most of those in their way let them through, for they were thinking of the risks to their lives from the Ogre and did not want to challenge any armed foe.

By then the Ogre was fully engaged with the soldiers to keep track of Captain Bruce’s horsemen.   Aaron rode toward them and they easily broke through the ring of men to join him.

“My Lord, thank Yesh we have reached you!”   Captain Bruce said with a slight bow.    He and his sister, as well as the five knights, were battered and bloody and their willingness to follow him shamed Aaron for putting them in such danger.

“Captain Bruce, Lieutenant Lysa, and my loyal brothers-in-arms; I am humbled by your bravery.   Forgive me for my rashness placing you in danger.”

 

Before he could say anything else, Redburr’s elite guards, knowing that soon they would be attacked, decided to take the offensive.    They rushed forward, leaving their Earl and his sons standing behind them unprotected, as they attacked.

 

Aaron wheeled around and spurred Griz into motion.   Bruce and Lysa as well as the knights matched him and in only an instant both charging sets of horsemen clashed where the Ogre had stood minutes before.

Redburr’s cavaliers were skilled horsemen, but they were not quite knights.   Aaron parried a sword swipe from one of their number then unhorsed the man with a mace blow to his head.   A second horseman attempted to knock Aaron off his horse using the same technique that the Half-Elf had used, but he pulled to the right and the blow just grazed his helm.  

He delivered a backhand swipe at the horseman’s arm which knocked his opponent’s weapon from his grasp.   As he frantically reached for his sword on his saddle, Aaron brought his mace down between shoulder and neck and he fell between his horse and Griz, breaking bones as he fell.

His third opponent tried to use a large shield to push Aaron out of his saddle, while protecting himself by thrusting blindly.

It was a very foolish move, for Aaron just moved Griz suddenly backwards and the man tumbled off his horse, knocking himself out in the fall.

The next horseman was much more skilled and wielded a morning star.    He swung the wicked thing at Aaron’s head, causing the young knight to duck down onto the top of Griz’s neck.    He slashed at the man with his sword, but his opponent also carried a small shield and he easily deflected Aaron’s hasty blow.

As he reared back to swing the morning star again, Aaron shot out with his leg, kicking hard against the horseman’s shield.   It was an unconventional move and the impact sent intense pain flowing up his leg, but it had its desired effect.    The man slid in his saddle and had to drop his weapon to catch himself.

Before he had regained his balance, Aaron clubbed him across the head.   The horseman’s helm kept him from being killed by the blow, but he now tried to withdraw, only to back into one of the knights riding with the Orcs.    The knight sent a sword stroke to the back of his neck and the horseman fell off his steed.

The other knights were holding their own against Redburr’s men.   Captain Bruce had defeated three that had come at him, while Lysa had managed to kill two of her own, while clutching Eioldth’s standard the entire time.

Aaron saw one of Redburr’s sons now moving toward him, with great caution.    He and his brothers were older than Leos, who Aedric had killed outside of Westmark.   Aaron suspected that all the sons would have received training as knights, so he kept his guard up as the young man abruptly surged forward at him with his sword drawn.

Griz instinctively moved into motion at the youth’s approach.   As they neared, Aaron could tell that this son of Redburr had not been trained any better than Leos.   By his stance, he intended to try a decapitating-type of move, which was ridiculous to even consider against an armored knight.

Aaron simply ducked his head, letting the slash merely graze the top of his helm, while he swung his mace sideways into the youth’s torso.    The force of the blow, matched by his unsettled stance in his  saddle, sent Redburr’s son tumbling off the back of his horse.   His own steed trampled his master, breaking his neck.

The sight brought cries of rage from Redburr and his two remaining boys, and Aaron directed Griz directly at them.   The horse built up speed as Redburr, his sons and five other guards spread out in readiness for his attack. 

There was the sound of horses galloping up behind him and Aaron shot a glance behind him, fearful of being flanked.   But it was Captain Bruce and Lieutenant Lysa, and a short distance behind them came two of Westmark’s knights.  He reined in his horse to wait for them.

Pride flowed into Aaron at their bravery.   Lysa brought her horse to the side of his and held up the standard of Eioldth.

“It is enchanted”, She told him, “It is both a standard and a spear, My Lord.   Or a lance!”

His eyes caught the Orc lady’s gleam in her yellow eyes and he knew exactly what she meant.   Dropping his mace, he held out his hand and she tossed the standard to him.

He caught it and immediately noticed the strong, sharp end of the standard’s pole.    It would work just fine.

“My thanks, Lady Lysa!”  He smiled at her and she bowed respectfully, and then moved her horse back to fall in line with her brother and the two Westmark Knights.   They all had their weapons drawn.

 

On the hillside below, the massive army of Redburr was in a fierce fight with the determined Dwarves of Forgestone and the troops of Westmark, Dullerm and the refugees from the Southern Empire.

 

But his sight was drawn to the southern skies, as were many in the armies around him.   In the distance, across the morning skies, came a fast moving fireball.   It covered a great distance in a short time and as it neared, the roar of its flames could be heard, drawing more eyes to it.   Redburr and his sons stared at it in amazement.

A form became evident in the fireball.   It was like a huge eagle, made up of orange and yellow fire.

Then Aaron knew and he shouted in joy.   

It was the Whuo-Nao - the Firebird!  Further away, still far to the south, Aaron thought he saw two dark forms and in his heart he knew them to be the Airships Phoenix and Autumn Maid.  

Eleazar had sent the Firebird, not only to help them, but to tell them that they were coming as well.

 

Unfurling Eioldth’s standard, he stood in the saddle, ignoring the great pain from his injured side, and waved the banner over his head.

“BEHOLD!   SALVATION COMES IN THE MORNING!” He yelled at the top of his lungs, “FOR THE FIREBIRD OF KING ELEAZAR COMES TO OUR AID!   GLORY TO YESH, ALMIGHTY!”

 

His words echoed down the hill and a moment later a yell of triumph filled the ranks of the armies of Westmark.

Aaron waved the banner in the air as the Firebird began to dive at the troops of Redburr, “MEN OF WESTMARK AND DULLERM, BRAVE DWARVES OF FORGESTONE, ELVES, FRIENDS OF THE NORTHLANDS; BEHOLD THE BANNER OF QUEEN EIOLDTH!”

A roar went up from the ranks of the Westmark forces.

“FOR EIOLDTH!   FOR AERIC AND ALIS!   FOR ABIGAE!   FOR SIRYA AND ARANTHI!   FOR THORM!   FOR ALL FREE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE!   FOR WESTMARK AND DULLERM!  FOR YESH THE HOLY!”

The roar of the Firebird was drowned out by the passionate yells of the Dwarves and troops of Westmark and Dullerm!   Aaron sat back in his saddle and glanced at his four companions, sitting on their horses, tears streaming from their determined faces.

“In the name of our God, Yesh the Merciful, let us destroy this abomination.”    Aaron wrapped the Queen’s standard around the pole and brought it up in the position of a lance.

“Yesh, Merciful Lord, May you bless our efforts here to free those opposed by evil.”

“So be it!”   The Orcs and knights with him confirmed.

“Guide my lance, Lord.”   Aaron whispered to his God, as he spurred Griz forward.

 

Never had his warhorse moved quicker and stronger than he did at that charge.   Perhaps the intelligent steed sensed the magnitude of purpose of his master, for though he was injured and weary, he shot forward like an arrow.   

Redburr’s guards had fled now, leaving the Earl and his sons alone.

“Where are your Nunmontuite legionnaires, Earl?   Where are Torrin and the Emperor?   Murderer of the righteous!”  

Redburr sensed his doom was upon him and to his credit, gave his horse the spurs and counter-charged Aaron, using a legionnaire’s spear as a lance.

Aaron thought of his parents and friends he had lost as they came together, and he felt the spear find the same gap that had foiled him earlier.   But as he reeled in pain, the standard of Queen Eioldth impacted with Redburr’s plate armor.   Had the Earl worn enchanted armor, the make-shift spear may have broke against his armor or else been deflected, but instead it drove through the Earl, piercing his heart.

Redburr fell from his horse, dead.

With the last bit of his strength, Aaron yanked the standard of the Queen from the Earl’s body and waved it in the air.    Blood covered part of it, but it waved proudly.

Around him, Captain Bruce’s group had just killed Redburr’s two remaining sons, who had decided to die fighting rather than surrender to non-humans.

The Ogre was nowhere to be seen, but Aaron secretly hoped he had escaped.

 

Below them, between the hill and the Fallow River, a great victory was taking place.    The Firebird was swooping across the forces of Redburr, setting many on fire, and they were in a full, wild, retreat.    Not a retreat, Aaron mused, coughing up blood, but total panic.    They ran in all directions and the forces of Westmark and Dullerm pursued them, as did the Dwarves of Forgestone.

They had won.  

“Griz, my good friend.”   He said to his horse, “I fear this may be our last battle.   You have been a mount worthy of a bard’s song.”

Too weak to dismount properly, Aaron tried to fall off the horse as gently and gracefully as he could; clutching Eioldth’s standard to his chest to keep it from being further soiled.

The fall jolted him and he knew the end was near.    It did not scare him, for he knew he had redeemed himself with his God.    He could hear the roar of the airships’ arrival.   Too bad that he could not present the standard to Eleazar in person.

“My Lord!”  A female voice came from somewhere and he opened his eyes, to see the dirty, sweaty face of Lysa leaning over him.  

“My Lord, we have won the field!”  She told him with a broad smile and though she was an Orc, crazily, she was rather pretty in an insane sort of way.   Her yellow eyes filled with tears.

“Thank you, Lysa.”  He gasped through the pain, “Give Eioldth’s standard to the King.”

“I’d rather not, my Lord.”  She surprised him by saying, “It is yours to give him.”

“I’m...dying.”  He whispered.

She closed her eyes and touched his belly, where his mortal wound bled, “In the name of Holy Yesh, Be healed!”

To his utter amazement, power flowed out of her and coursed through him, healing him!

“You’re a Paladin?”  He asked amazed, for never had he known that an Orc could be so blessed.

She smiled and leaned in close, “Yes, but please don’t tell anyone, My Lord.    My brother might be jealous.”

“You mean no-one knows?”

“Yes.    I don’t know how I received the power.   Only that Yesh gave me this blessing in secret.   I never went through a ceremony or joined an order.   Please don’t let anyone know, sir.”

“I won’t, but I feel as if your Laying of Hands completely restored me -that usually doesn’t occur. “

Lysa shrugged, “I’m glad it worked, My Lord.   I am very sorry about your family, sir.    We feared that your pain and anger would take your life as well.   Please don’t let it, My Lord.    You know where your parents and your sister are, and that you will join them one day.   They would want you to honor their deaths by making this new Kingdom a better place.”

He just looked at her, taking in her words and surprised at her wisdom.   Finally he nodded, “I know this, Lieutenant, but madness took me for a while.    I deserved to die for killing the assassins as I did.”

“They had just taken the lives of your family, my Lord; I would imagine most people would act in the same way.”

He didn’t know what to say to that, and at that moment he heard running footsteps approaching.

“Is he dead?!”   Captain Bruce asked his sister, kneeling down and then looking very surprised to see the Half-Elf seeming so fit. 

“Hello, Captain.”

“By Yesh, sir!   I feared you were dead.   I am sure I saw the spear pierce you.   How could you be so whole now?”

Lysa looked at him nervously, but Aaron just held up his hand, “Laying of Hands.” 

“Oh, well thank Yesh for that!”   The Orc Captain replied and Lysa looked relieved that Aaron’s careful answer had led her brother to believe he had healed himself.

 

The two Orcs helped him to his feet and a moment later he was joined by the other three Westmark knights who were overjoyed to see that he still lived.

The two airships were hovering over pockets of Redburr’s fleeing army, lobbing rocks from catapults.   From the decks also came spells thrown into the ranks of the army. The great Firebird also was still in action, chasing their foes as they fled. 

Many of Redburr’s men had surrendered and were being led by Dwarves or men into a make-shift containment area to the north of the hill where Aaron and the Orcs stood.  

In spite of the joy of the victory, Aaron suddenly felt overwhelmed with grief and quickly excused himself from those around him, mumbling about finding Griz as a reason for leaving.

The Warhorse was not far away and trotted back to him when he saw him approach.    He had not been seriously injured since Aaron had Laid Hands on him, and the Half-Elf was very glad of that.

Patting his flank, he mounted up, but remained separated from the others so he could weep for his parents and sister in private.   

Sensing his emotions, they quietly and respectfully left him on the hilltop and went down to join the other troops in victory.

But Lysa stayed at the edge of the hilltop for a while, monitoring him.    When she saw that he seemed to have regained his composure and was about to turn and ride off the hill, she quickly left, so he would not know she had been there.

 

Aaron knew the next few days would be bittersweet for him and wondered how he would cope.    But somehow a feeling of peace crept over him and he knew that even now he would not have to hurt alone.

With a deep sigh, he rode down off the field of battle, to face it all as bravely as he could.