Aaron Rosenberg - Tides of Darkness

"By the Light!" Uther was standing near Turalyon and bristled at the sight. "The fiends! They wield dark magic against us!" He raised his hammer high, and its head glowed silver like the moon. "Stand fast, soldiers!" he shouted. "The Holy Light protects you!" The glow spread from the hammer, shining down upon the warriors and bathing them in its light, and when the cloaked figures raised their hands again the soldiers winced but did not fall. Then Uther came crashing down upon them, the shield wall opening long enough to allow him and the other Paladins—including Gavinrad, who Faol had happily inducted into the order—through. Again Alliance soldiers cheered, heartened by the Paladins' surprising skill and power. Turalyon felt torn. As a Paladin his place was beside them, but as Lothar's lieutenant his place was here, overseeing the men.

The Paladins and the cloaked figures were battling now, neither able to gain the upper hand. Turalyon saw one of the strange invaders clamp a hand on Gavinrad's arm, darkness radiating from the grip. But Gavinrad's holy aura shone brighter and drove the darkness away, causing his attacker to shrink back and duck a blow from the Paladin's hammer. Meanwhile the orcs continued to batter at the shield wall, tearing holes in the defense only to have another soldier step up and fill the gap.

Then a movement caught Turalyon's eye and he saw several new figures approach, towering above the orcs. Ogres! The massive creatures advanced, swinging rough clubs that were little more than uprooted trees, and whole sections of the shield wall collapsed, soldiers crushed by the powerful blows. The Horde poured forward through the gaps, sweeping in among the Alliance soldiers.

"Change tactics!" Turalyon shouted at the nearest herald, knowing the man would relay the orders with his horn. "Small shield units! Pull back to the hills and regroup!" The soldier nodded and raised his horn, blowing a short burst and then another. At the sound the unit leaders began shouting orders of their own, gathering their soldiers and retreating while keeping the orcs at bay. The Horde tried overrunning them but the Alliance soldiers were clumped too close together and kept their weapons up, jabbing at any orc that came too close. Each unit had its shields linked as well, forming a small shield wall all around. The orcs overwhelmed several units by sheer numbers, crashing into the warriors again and again until they faltered, but most of the Alliance soldiers were able to pull back successfully.

Turalyon rode along the ranks at the base of the hills, organizing them. He set up another shield wall there, and as each unit retreated to it the wall opened to allow them in, then closed behind them. Those soldiers then reinforced the wall themselves and helped bring other units through safely. Turalyon tasked the archers with keeping the orcs away from the wall as much as possible, harassing any creature that came too close to pulling down a defender. They were taking a heavy toll upon the orcs, but the Horde was still beaching ships and adding more to the battle with every minute.

"We cannot hold them for long!" Turalyon shouted to Khadgar, who had just done something to make a strange orc collapse near the boats. The orc had been dressed in robes rather than armor and had carried a staff instead of a sword, so Turalyon guessed it was a warlock, their equivalent to a mage. "We need to do something to keep them from reaching the hills! If they do get past us they'll advance straight north to Capital City!"

Khadgar nodded. "I will do what I can," he promised. The young—old wizard concentrated and the sky above them darkened. Within minutes it went from a clear day to ominous black clouds. The sudden storm centered upon Khadgar, the mage's white hair dancing about him. Lightning flickered in the sky, and an answering spark danced across his outstretched fingers. Then there was a shattering boom, and a lightning bolt leaped forth, not from the sky but from Khadgar's hands, its light splitting the darkness. It struck just shy of the shield wall, in a cluster of orcs, and they went flying, burnt to a crisp by the powerful bolt. A second one struck, and a third, and Turalyon used the magical attack to his advantage. He regrouped his men, shoring up the shield wall, and also sent soldiers forward with brush and tinder. They laid fires in the orc's path, creating a raging blaze that stopped the Horde from advancing to the west. That reduced the risk of their surrounding the Alliance forces, and made them easier to contain and block.

Nor were the orcs slow to notice. Several of the creatures stepped forward, trying to put out the fire, but elven archers shot them down before they could reach the flames. One fell into the fire instead, and screamed as it consumed him. That made the others shrink back again.

The ogres were a problem, however. One lumbered through the flames, burning its legs but otherwise not slowing down. Turalyon directed a full unit against it, and targeted it with ballistae as well. But the ogre downed many warriors before it finally fell, and others were approaching behind it.

"Target them!" Turalyon told Khadgar. "Take out the ogres!"

Khadgar glanced his way, and Turalyon saw that his friend looked truly exhausted. "I will try," the mage agreed. "But drawing forth the lightning is…taxing." An instant later a lightning bolt burst from his fingers and struck the lead ogre, killing it at once, but even as its massive, blackened corpse fell Khadgar shook his head. "That is all I can do," he warned.

Turalyon hoped it would be enough. The other ogres hesitated, even their small brains able to comprehend the danger, and that gave his men time to target them with arrows and more ballistae. The shield wall still held but the Horde was massing again, and before long it would be able to simply roll over the defenders, its losses barely diminishing its bulk. Uther and the other Paladins had not returned, and Turalyon could only assume they were still keeping those cloaked figures at bay.

He was still wondering what to do when Lothar appeared beside him. "Ready the cavalry!" the Champion shouted. "And sound the charge!"

Charge? Into that? Turalyon stared at his commander for an instant, then shrugged. Well, why not? Their defenses could not hold out forever. He signaled the herald, who blew a might blast. Then those warriors on horseback were forming up, and Turalyon swung in with them, placing himself just behind Lothar, who rode at their head. The shield wall parted for them, and they crashed into the Horde's front ranks, carving a path back through the orcs. After a minute Lothar signaled and they wheeled about, the archers providing cover as they swung clear. Then they struck again.

They were readying for a third charge when a drum beat from somewhere within the Horde—and the orcs fell back!

"We did it!" Turalyon shouted. "They're retreating!"

Lothar nodded but did not turn away, watching as the orcs turned and ran a short distance, then regrouped. Then the creatures turned and began moving again, at a fast march—to the right of the Alliance forces.

"They're heading east," Lothar said quietly. He made no move to chase them. "Into the Hinterlands."

"Are we going after them?" Turalyon asked. His blood was still racing from the charges and he wanted to run after the orcs and smash them all. "We have them on the run!"

But the Champion shook his head. "No," he corrected. "We blocked them, and held. But they are not running from us. They are going around us." Now he did turn to Turalyon, and smiled, a grim, weary smile. "Still," he said, "that is something."

"But we should go after them before they can find another place to stand," Turalyon urged. "Shouldn't we?"

"We should," Lothar agreed. "But look behind you." Turalyon turned and saw at once what the older warrior meant. Their forces were sagging now that the battle was over, and he saw men collapsing where they stood, both from wounds and from sheer fatigue. The battle had lasted for hours, though it had not felt like it at the time, and he found himself aching as well now that it was done. Plus they had destroyed many weapons, emptied most of their ballistae, and used up most of the army's firewood and tinder as well.