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An UnOrthOdOx View of the Glory of War
The fires of Bilbao at our backs lit our way as we passed upward into the mountains to rejoin the rest of our war party. It did not take long before we caught up with them. The smell of death permeated the air as Ghengis’ troop slowly filed towards the front and we continued on our way. A mixture of pride and fear washed over the faces of some of the younger troops in the party as each of them watched closely as the troop passed by.
“I take it things went well?” Eira asked.
“Of course. He hides in Pamplona, and to Pamplona we ride. Burn everything in our path.”
Eira merely nodded and turned to sound the advance. We rode up through the mountains throughout the night. Peaking once atop a peak overlooking Toledo. Within the city could be seen the rustling of troops and the unmistakable sounds of the dreaded War Chickens. Gathering Storm had a large contingent within the walls of Toledo, ready for a counter attack at any time. As long as we held the high ground, however, they would be at a great disadvantage. Still, it was surprising how quickly they had managed to gather their forces and float them across the great expanse. It did not matter how or why, however, they were here, and they were now the enemy.
The morning sun was now slowly creeping up over the horizon, and we made our way down into a narrow canyon. The cliffs seemed impossibly high on either side and the walls were soon glowing red with the light from the morning sun. The shadows hung long across the flat lay of the canyon floor and an eerie silence clung in the air with the only sound splitting the quiet was the sounds of our horses hooves against the soft clay of the ground beneath them.
The sound of thunder suddenly pierced the silence, reverberating across the canyon walls and echoing far into the distance. We all had stopped in search of a source for the sound, and a flock of birds slowly lifted off into the sky, disturbed from their slumber by the shock. Again the sound echoed off the canyon walls, making it impossible to place a direction to the source.
Then, right before my eyes, I witnessed as a large boulder sailed through the air, smashing against the canyon wall only to burst into a thousand pieces. An instant later, the canyon wall itself began to break apart, large chunks slowly sifting their way free high above us. Catapults. I should have known. Gathering Storm had become famous for their use during the Voxian War.
“Eira!” I cried. “Get everyone out of here. Send word for the last unit to pick up any wounded along their way!”
And with that I spurred my horse forward, an instant before large pieces of the canyon fell onto where I had just been. Looking back, I could see horses and laid out on the canyon floor. This whole canyon was a death trap. The thundering of the falling boulders was deafening, and without respite. My only thought was to get us out and assess the situation.
After what seemed to be hours, the canyon finally gave way to a short incline and we climbed up to the peak of another mountain, well out of range of the catapults firing from within the town of Toledo.
Once the last of the war party made it’s way up to the peak, I was able to see that the damages were nowhere near as severe as it had seemed within the narrow straights of the Canyon. There were a few hundred who were injured, but all would ride again, a few mounts had been injured as well, but we had brought along extras so that was of little consequence as well. I could now see down into the valley beyond. Pamplona was but a short distance across the valley, but in order to reach it, we would be exposing our flank to a counter offensive from the Stormians inside of Toledo.
As we camped there for the evening and attended to the wounded, a lone rider was seen at full gallop from the north.
“Sir, I have word from Lord Aggie, King of the Glory of War.”
Aggie had defeated Panzer in the recent election, then. “And? Get to the point! You think I give a rat’s ass who it is sitting on the throne?”
“He says you should destroy the road network as much as possible, sir.”
“Oh, he does, does he? You ride right back there and tell him that when he feels the need to bring his sorry ass down here to the fight, I might listen to his orders.” And with that, I dismissed the envoy. Still, with our superior horses, it was a good plan. The Stormian Army would be unable to catch up as we crossed the valley.
The morning saw the plan come into action as we stormed into the valley below, laying waste to the roads as we passed them by and regrouping on the far side of the valley atop a set of hills for cover. I ordered the Ravens be sent out, and my heart sank upon their return.
A massive group of Spanish forces awaited in Pamplona to the west, Stormian contingents were being reported in the north, northeast, and southeast. We were outnumbered, and surrounded.
A side note:
A partial reason for the delay of late was I have been unsure how to write of the catapults. Allot of things, I can draw upon either experience or other literary works to inspire me. Catapults were something else as I had never seen anything other than cold accounts of their volleys.
Last night, the local University held a fireworks display. Don't know why. Didn't know it was comming. I listened as the explosions echoed up two seperate canyons at either end of Ogden valley. I knew then that was how I wanted to write it...
Not happy with it at present, may come back and rewrite it some later.
The fires of Bilbao at our backs lit our way as we passed upward into the mountains to rejoin the rest of our war party. It did not take long before we caught up with them. The smell of death permeated the air as Ghengis’ troop slowly filed towards the front and we continued on our way. A mixture of pride and fear washed over the faces of some of the younger troops in the party as each of them watched closely as the troop passed by.
“I take it things went well?” Eira asked.
“Of course. He hides in Pamplona, and to Pamplona we ride. Burn everything in our path.”
Eira merely nodded and turned to sound the advance. We rode up through the mountains throughout the night. Peaking once atop a peak overlooking Toledo. Within the city could be seen the rustling of troops and the unmistakable sounds of the dreaded War Chickens. Gathering Storm had a large contingent within the walls of Toledo, ready for a counter attack at any time. As long as we held the high ground, however, they would be at a great disadvantage. Still, it was surprising how quickly they had managed to gather their forces and float them across the great expanse. It did not matter how or why, however, they were here, and they were now the enemy.
The morning sun was now slowly creeping up over the horizon, and we made our way down into a narrow canyon. The cliffs seemed impossibly high on either side and the walls were soon glowing red with the light from the morning sun. The shadows hung long across the flat lay of the canyon floor and an eerie silence clung in the air with the only sound splitting the quiet was the sounds of our horses hooves against the soft clay of the ground beneath them.
The sound of thunder suddenly pierced the silence, reverberating across the canyon walls and echoing far into the distance. We all had stopped in search of a source for the sound, and a flock of birds slowly lifted off into the sky, disturbed from their slumber by the shock. Again the sound echoed off the canyon walls, making it impossible to place a direction to the source.
Then, right before my eyes, I witnessed as a large boulder sailed through the air, smashing against the canyon wall only to burst into a thousand pieces. An instant later, the canyon wall itself began to break apart, large chunks slowly sifting their way free high above us. Catapults. I should have known. Gathering Storm had become famous for their use during the Voxian War.
“Eira!” I cried. “Get everyone out of here. Send word for the last unit to pick up any wounded along their way!”
And with that I spurred my horse forward, an instant before large pieces of the canyon fell onto where I had just been. Looking back, I could see horses and laid out on the canyon floor. This whole canyon was a death trap. The thundering of the falling boulders was deafening, and without respite. My only thought was to get us out and assess the situation.
After what seemed to be hours, the canyon finally gave way to a short incline and we climbed up to the peak of another mountain, well out of range of the catapults firing from within the town of Toledo.
Once the last of the war party made it’s way up to the peak, I was able to see that the damages were nowhere near as severe as it had seemed within the narrow straights of the Canyon. There were a few hundred who were injured, but all would ride again, a few mounts had been injured as well, but we had brought along extras so that was of little consequence as well. I could now see down into the valley beyond. Pamplona was but a short distance across the valley, but in order to reach it, we would be exposing our flank to a counter offensive from the Stormians inside of Toledo.
As we camped there for the evening and attended to the wounded, a lone rider was seen at full gallop from the north.
“Sir, I have word from Lord Aggie, King of the Glory of War.”
Aggie had defeated Panzer in the recent election, then. “And? Get to the point! You think I give a rat’s ass who it is sitting on the throne?”
“He says you should destroy the road network as much as possible, sir.”
“Oh, he does, does he? You ride right back there and tell him that when he feels the need to bring his sorry ass down here to the fight, I might listen to his orders.” And with that, I dismissed the envoy. Still, with our superior horses, it was a good plan. The Stormian Army would be unable to catch up as we crossed the valley.
The morning saw the plan come into action as we stormed into the valley below, laying waste to the roads as we passed them by and regrouping on the far side of the valley atop a set of hills for cover. I ordered the Ravens be sent out, and my heart sank upon their return.
A massive group of Spanish forces awaited in Pamplona to the west, Stormian contingents were being reported in the north, northeast, and southeast. We were outnumbered, and surrounded.
A side note:
A partial reason for the delay of late was I have been unsure how to write of the catapults. Allot of things, I can draw upon either experience or other literary works to inspire me. Catapults were something else as I had never seen anything other than cold accounts of their volleys.
Last night, the local University held a fireworks display. Don't know why. Didn't know it was comming. I listened as the explosions echoed up two seperate canyons at either end of Ogden valley. I knew then that was how I wanted to write it...
Not happy with it at present, may come back and rewrite it some later.
We shoulda blocked Toledo 2. That one will go down as our biggest mistake to date.
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