Lusam: The Dragon Mage Wars Book Three (57 page)

“Sir, may I have a quiet word,” Alexia called after him. He stopped in his tracks and waited for her to catch up to him.

“Is there a problem, Alexia? If any of the men are giving you a hard time just let me know their names, and I’ll sort them out. I’m sorry they aren’t used to having female company in the barracks—” Hershel said, but was cut short by Alexia.

“No, sir, the men have been no trouble, but thank you. I needed to speak with you about Neala. She’s having doubts about the upcoming battle. I tried to talk to her about it, but I’m not sure I made any difference.”

“Everyone has their doubts before going into battle, Alexia, it’s perfectly natural,” Hershel replied.

“No, sir, you don’t understand. She doesn’t doubt her ability to fight, she is doubting her ability to use the blessed weapons Aysha gave her. She is doubting whether or not she will have the faith to use them in battle.”

“Oh, I see. That could be a big problem for her out there with all those undead walking around. I don’t suppose we could convince her to stay inside the city could we?” he asked hopefully.

“I doubt it, she believes Aysha gave her the knives so she could help Lusam, and she’s probably right. I was wondering if there was any way we could keep an eye on her out there, so she doesn’t go and get herself killed?”

“Leave it with me, I’ll think of something,” Hershel said, “and by the way, you don’t have to call me sir when we’re out of earshot of the men. After all, once this is all over, you will most likely be in command of the new female branch of Aysha’s paladins.”

“Me?… But I don’t know anything about being a paladin myself yet, how can I possibly lead others?” Alexia asked, shocked by what Hershel had just said.

“Well, you’re the most senior female paladin we currently have, and you were ordained by Aysha herself. I’d also bet a month’s wage that by the end of today you’ll know plenty about being a paladin,” Hershel replied grinning at her, but also noticing how apprehensive she’d just become. “Don’t worry too much, Alexia, I’m sure it won’t happen overnight. We still need to find more women willing to join up first, so you should have plenty of time to learn how we operate before then. Besides, most of a paladin’s training revolves around cultivating their faith in Aysha—so they are able to use their blessed weapon—and I would say you’ve already scored top marks in that regard. Then there’s weapon’s mastery, which by all accounts, it seems you score pretty highly there too, according to Renn. Which only leaves you with the history of our order and that of the High Temple’s to learn, and I’m sure I can help you with that.”

Alexia was about to respond, when they were interrupted by one of Hershel’s men bursting into the room.

“Sir, there’s movement on the southern edge of the valley. It looks like they are preparing to attack the city,” the paladin said. Hershel swore under his breath, he had been hoping for more time, but knew it had finally run out.

“Thank you Captain Garett, I’ll be right there,” Hershel replied dismissing the man. He waited until Captain Garret was out of earshot before turning back to Alexia.

“I don’t suppose you know how long it will take Lusam to read that Guardian book do you?” he asked hopefully.

“No idea, sorry. I’m not sure anyone does to be honest. All I know is that he was unconscious for about two hours when he read the one in Coldmont. Which apparently, was more than double the amount of time it took him to recover from the first book he read, according to Neala,” Alexia replied, knowing it wasn’t much help.

“I see,” Hershel replied, lost deep in thought. “We better hope and pray that he wakes up much sooner than four of five hours, or it won’t just be female paladins we’ll be short of.”

Over two hundred paladins stood in formation waiting patiently for Hershel to address them. The atmosphere was one of quiet resignation and reflection. Each man knew the insurmountable odds they faced once outside the gates of Lamuria. Their concern was not for the massive numbers of undead, but for the thousands of Empire magi massed at the southern end of the valley. The undead were easily dispatched by the paladin’s blessed weapons, but the magi, that was a different matter entirely. The Empire magi had the advantage of the high ground, and also the vast range from which they could attack. The paladins would only be effective at close quarters against them, and that would be impossible when they were massed along the cliff-tops as they were. The paladins knew that if they tried to circumnavigate the cliff-tops and attack the magi directly, it would take them far too long to reach their position. The magi would see them coming with plenty of time to react, and the general consensus was that the Empire would launch everything they had at the city before the paladins arrived. If that happened, the shield would fail quickly, and the undead would be free to wreak havoc within the city, killing everyone inside.

The men knew how precarious the city’s magical defences were, and knew their mission was ultimately a hopeless one. They believed they were simply buying Lamuria’s citizens extra time with their lives, and all were prepared to do so without question or regret. If they could clear enough of the undead, it might enable many of the citizens of Lamuria to escape with their lives before the city was completely destroyed. They knew nothing of Lusam, or the Guardian book in the High Temple.

Rumours had circulated throughout the barracks of a powerful young mage who had recently arrived in the city. One who had saved a group of paladins and healed their injured comrades. There was even speculation it was the same mage responsible for healing two men at The Sanctum of Light in Lamuria several months earlier. All of the rumours however, were tainted by the unbelievable tale of the same mage being able perform magic without having to speak any incantations—something no sane man could possibly believe.

Hershel silently paced back and forth in front of his men. Men he had known in some cases for many years, and shed blood with on numerous occasions. Others, he had only recently being in charge of training a few short weeks earlier in Stelgad. He knew, as well as they did, that many of them would die on the battlefield before the day was through. He could see the acceptance of it in all their faces, as he met each man’s eyes in the formation before him. They had lost all hope, and now clung only to their faith in Aysha, that she would deliver them from this life as swiftly and painlessly as possible when their time came.

Hershel knew from experience that when a man had lost all hope even before stepping foot on the battlefield, they would often quickly fall. He needed to somehow give them their hope back, or this battle would be over before it had even begun. They needed something to believe in. Something that would sustain them possibly for hours on the battlefield when all else looked lost, and that something
had
to be Lusam. He knew every man before him knew the story of the Guardians and their books, and if anything could bring them hope, it was that. He stopped pacing, and turned to face his men.

“Gentlemen, I will not lie to you, the odds are overwhelming against us, and many of us will not live through this day. But for those of you who do fall upon the battlefield, know this… Aysha
will
be there to greet you. I
know
this to be true, because she told me herself this very day, of that I swear to you in her name. When I look at your faces, I see all hope has fled from your eyes. I see only resignation, that death will soon claim you, and that our sacred High Temple will soon fall into the hands of the Empire. Well, I’m here to tell you that is
not
true. We do have hope. In fact, we have more than hope, we have a
real
chance of winning this battle.” Hershel paused for a moment, letting his men digest what he had just told them, then he continued.

“How? I hear you ask. Well, let me tell you. I’m certain by now that most of you have heard the rumours of a powerful young mage arriving in Lamuria. Well I can confirm those rumours are true—”

“Sorry, sir, but what use is one mage going to be against that army of Empire magi?” one of the men said, cutting Hershel off mid-sentence. Hershel nodded his head at the man, then continued.

“You’re right, of course son. One mage against that army would be no use at all, but he is not
just
a mage. Before arriving in Lamuria with Renn and his friends, Alexia and Neala here,” Hershel said gesturing towards each in turn, “they did something that no one has been able to achieve in over two thousand years. They discovered the location of the fabled temple of the Guardians… Coldmont.”

Everyone looked towards Renn for confirmation of Hershel’s words, unable to comprehend what he had just told them all, and what the implications were for the battle to come. Hershel continued over the top of the men’s murmurings.

“Gentlemen, that is only part of the incredible news I must share with you. Whilst they were there, they discovered one of the lost Guardian books, and what’s more, the young mage read it,” Hershel said, as the crowd of men erupted in excited chatter. He held up his hand to quieten the men, and a moment later they fell silent once more.

“What’s even more incredible, is the fact that the Guardian book they discovered in Coldmont, was not the first Guardian book he had read, but the second.”

The men seemed to forget where they were as they excitedly discussed the news between themselves, and Hershel allowed them the freedom to do so. He was already aware that the Empire knew the location of Coldmont, and the existence of the Guardian book there, so there seemed no harm in revealing the information to his men. The same applied to the High Temple, and its Guardian book. He knew full well that if he failed to rally his men enough before they entered battle, Lusam would never have enough time to complete his task, and as a result the city would fall, as would the entire world. He needed to give his men something solid to hold onto during the coming hours of battle. Something that would sustain them through the hardships of what they were about to face.

Hershel was fully aware that Lusam had been unable to give any assurances as to whether or not he could defeat the Empire forces, even after he had read the Guardian book. But he knew he couldn’t tell his men that. He had never lied to his men before, and regretted having to do so now, but if he didn’t give them something to fight for, everything would be lost. He said a silent prayer to Aysha, asking her to forgive him for his lie, then took a deep breath. He held up his hand, and waited until his men settled down again, then he addressed his men once more.

“As you would imagine, after reading two Guardian books our young mage is already extremely powerful, but unfortunately, he’s
not
powerful enough to defeat that army of Empire magi out there… yet,” Hershel said pointing towards the southern cliffs, then he paused again, letting his men absorb what he had just said.

“The more astute amongst you will notice that I said the word ‘
yet
’, and I meant it, wholeheartedly. For not only did our young mage discover the location of Coldmont and the two Guardian books, he also discovered the whereabouts of a third Guardian book. That third Guardian book, gentlemen, is right here in Lamuria, and he is reading it right now as I speak. Our mission is to gain him the time he needs to complete his reading of it. If we succeed, he will emerge powerful enough to crush the Empire forces outside Lamuria. His name… is Lusam.”

The men’s cheers were so loud Hershel felt sure the Empire magi would have heard them on top of their cliff, at the far end of the valley. He saw the fresh new hope in each of his men’s eyes, and knew he had achieved what he needed to do. Now, it would be up to them.

“That was a bold move, old friend,” Renn said quietly by Hershel’s ear. Hershel simply nodded, knowing exactly what he was referring to. Then he remembered what Alexia had asked of him a few minutes earlier.

“Renn, I’m going to assign you a special task. I need you to keep the gate area clear of undead. We’re bound to have a high number of casualties, and the easier it is to get back inside Lamuria, the better their chances of survival will be. I want you to take Neala and another man with you, but keep an eye on her, apparently she’s having some faith issues at the moment,” Hershel said quietly.

“I take it she wants to go out there then?” Renn asked quietly.

“So it would seem. She believes Aysha gave her the blessed knives so she could help Lusam, and she’s determined to do just that by the looks of it, old boy,” Hershel replied.

“Well, far be it from me to try and change a woman’s mind,” Renn said chuckling. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on her out there.”

“Thanks, I’d hate to have to be the one to tell Lusam that she was killed trying to help him,” Hershel said quietly. Renn nodded, imagining the conversation and grimacing at the thought of it.

“Good luck out there, old friend,” Renn said, clasping arms with his old mentor.

“You too, old boy. May Aysha bless and watch over us all,” Hershel replied, turning back to his men. He nodded his head to Captain Garret, and he in turn bellowed an order for the men to fall in. A moment later every man was standing to attention, and silence filled the air once more.

“Okay men, listen up. I want every man with a shield standing to the left, and every man without standing to right. Now!” Hershel commanded. The men quickly separated into two groups of about equal numbers, half with shields, and half without. Hershel gave a quick prayer of thanks to Aysha for blessing their armoury earlier that day, knowing that the new shields could make a huge difference to the outcome of the fight.

“We will form up in groups of ten men. Five with shields, and five without. The five men with shields will remain at the front of each group. You will be responsible for intercepting any magical-missiles coming from the Empire magi. The five men without shields will be responsible for protecting the shield bearers. Keep your formations tight out there gentlemen, don’t give them a target any bigger than it needs to be. Our primary mission is to become the Empire’s main focus of attack, so the city’s shield survives. If we lose the shield, we lose the battle. Kill enough of those undead, and they
will
take notice of you. Remember, we are playing for time out there, so stay alive. Good luck gentlemen, and may Aysha watch over you,” Hershel said, removing his glowing sword and dropping to one knee in prayer. Each and every paladin followed his example, including Alexia and Neala.