Terry Simpson - Etchings of Power

How did the shade breach the Vallum of Light? And without anyone’s knowledge?

Galiana didn’t spare another moment. She leaped from the back of her dartan. When she landed, she shouted, “Ashishin, dismount! Form ranks!”

She didn’t need to look behind her to know the other Ashishin had dismounted and formed an ordered line behind her according to their strength. As in the days of old, when the shade ran rampant, they did as she commanded.

The shadeling and Sendethi forces recovered from their momentary lapse. A command bellowed out. Swords and shields rose, pointed toward the Eldanhill lines. With howling screeches, the enemy charged.

“Hold!” Stefan yelled as his dartan swept up and down the Eldanhill ranks.

In front the other cohorts, Devan, Guthrie and the Weaponmasters stood, repeating the same command.

The rumble of a thousand feet and hundreds of shadeling cries drowned out the thunder that pealed in the heavens. Boots shifted uneasily. Eyes showed uncertainty. However, not one Eldanhill defender broke formation. Not one raised a hand to wipe away the rain running down their helmets onto their faces.

Galiana’s smile tipped imperceptibly at the edge of her mouth, and she waited. Stefan and the army became as still as a venomous snake just before it struck.

Goaded by their bloodlust, the wraithwolves bounded ahead of men and darkwraith, maws spread wide, white fangs gleaming. Driven by the need to sink their black blades into living flesh, the darkwraiths sped even faster like oily, black smoke blown by a fierce wind.

The first wraithwolves Blurred, and the darkwraiths followed their lead.

“Now!” Galiana yelled. She opened her Matersense and the other Ashishin did the same.

Shade lay in thick blankets around the Sendethi, wraithwolves, and darkwraiths. Galiana ignored the Sendethi for now. The shadelings posed the real threat. Picking out the telltale trails of the Blurs, she split her Forge into several hundred different strands, loosing light and fire essences. The strands flew like incandescent arrows. When they connected, the trails blazed.

At the same time, the Ashishin behind her took a hold of the storms above. They linked the lightning with Galiana’s Forging. Several others pulled fire essences from the flames around them and added those.

When the shadelings emerged from their Blurs, sheets of lightning and balls of fire greeted them. The blazing trails coalesced amongst the creatures with loud booms. The concussions from the blasts rocked the beasts and any nearby structures, blowing holes in limbs, wood and stone alike.

The carnage didn’t deter the remainder of the shadelings or the Sendethi. If anything, it incensed them. They surged forward, screaming curses, eyes aglow with hate. Unflinching, Galiana’s Ashishin continued to tear into the shadelings. Masses of acrid smoke billowed up into the air.

The black beasts that managed to reach the first wave of Dagodin were met by silversteel divya weapons. In unison, as if a part of a synchronized dance, spears stabbed. Any shadeling that cleared the spears were met by swords.

But the creatures moved with an uncanny speed many were unprepared for. Soldiers fought to find purchase on the slippery ground as they tried to fend off the attacks. Exploiting the weakness they didn’t share with Eldanhill’s defenders, the shadelings remained in perpetual motion. As many shadelings killed, twice the number in Dagodin and soldiers died, gutted by claws, throats ripped by fangs or sliced to shred by black blades. The darkwraiths moved like greasy death among the Eldanhill forces, side stepping attacks to slice into a soldier or Dagodin who was too slow to defend.

The Sendethi soldiers reached the Eldanhill lines, engaging with wild abandon.

“Single target attacks only,” Galiana yelled. She dared not use the same Forges this close to their own forces now. The results would be catastrophic for all.

Single firebolts or balls and streams of light shot forth from the Ashishin into individual targets. Each strike sent a shadeling or an enemy soldier crumpling to the ground. Galiana concentrated on helping the trainees and lightly garbed defenders.

Stefan, his Generals, and the Weaponmasters were at the forefront of the battle. They protected any small pockets the shadelings and Sendethi came close to overwhelming. Stefan’s sword darted and sliced faster than her eyes could follow as he danced between the enemy, taking arms or spilling guts with deadly efficiency.

A darkwraith flowed toward Stefan, and the graying man turned to meet the creature. His silver armor glinted with the flames, the green insignia on his breast standing out.

Black, Hydae-forged ebonsteel lashed out as the shadeling struck. Stefan parried the attack, his divya sword flashing up. Sparks cascaded into the air.

The darkwraith circled Stefan, its movements as quick and elusive as its sword rose and fell, stabbed and sliced. Stefan was a picture of concentration and calm. He slid between the attacks, parrying each with not much more than a step or a shift of his body. The darkwraith howled in frustration.

Attacking faster and faster, its black arms a blur, its iridescent black blade near invisible at times, the darkwraith drove forward. Stefan’s defensive speed increased to match.

Then, as if the creature wasn’t pushing him back, Stefan shifted his stance, positioning his front foot forward. At the same time, he stepped to the left. The darkwraith, still in all-out attack, couldn’t compensate. Its sword flashed by where Stefan’s body once was. Stefan’s sword swung above the blow and took the creature’s head. Stefan whirled around looking for his next target.

A roar and thundering boots on cobbles sounded behind Galiana. She turned to see the heart of the Eldanhill infantry led by old man Rohan, in golden armor chased with silver, charging between the homes and alleys. They joined the fray, beating back the attackers.

But the damage had been done. More than a third of the Dagodin lay dead or wounded.

A trumpet sounded from the dark out toward the open fields. The Sendethi stopped and turned to flee. A few of Eldanhill’s defenders gave chase before the Generals yelled for them to stay their ground. What remained of the shadelings were nothing more than piles of wet ash. By now, the rain had abated and the remaining fires petered out. Blackened frames and timber filled the spaces where homes once stood. The retreating soldiers ran or limped to meet the main Sendethi army gathering in the fields.

Groans and calls for help rose from the wounded. Dagodin strode out among the carnage while unseasoned defenders still stood in place, dazed. When the Dagodin found a wounded Sendethi, they put them down with a swift stroke to the neck. This brought on fits of retching by the novices and trainees. Others who held their composure helped wounded Eldanhill defenders to their feet. Calls came for carts to move those who couldn’t walk on their own.

“Ashishin, assist with mending,” Galiana ordered. She strode to meet with Stefan and his Generals.

The former Knight Commander drew them aside, the concern in his eyes plain for all to see. “How in Ilumni’s name have shadelings managed to breach the Vallum?” Blood splatter dotted his filigreed silver armor.

Shrugs and dumbfounded looks on faces dripping water and sweat were the answers he received. Brows wrinkled with worry and anxious gazes turned to Galiana.

Just as baffled as they were, Galiana shook her head. “I have no idea myself. There is no mention in history of them being able to cross the kind of wards built into the Vallum. My other worry is if they can cross the Vallum, why not come in greater numbers?” Galiana's brow wrinkled as another thought struck her. “Where is the daemon that must have created the darkwraiths? Can they too cross the Vallum? If they can, why allow the shadelings to attack without guidance? The fight was too easy. Not once did they try to come after us.”