The Sword of Light: Book One of the Veredor Chronicles (19 page)

‘
Thousands,’ replied the Duke. ‘And they have a wyvern with
them.’

‘
A wyvern!’ cried King Ignis, clearly shocked.

Eben’s
adoptive father Erako had told him that wyverns were very evil
dragons. It was said that some wyverns flew and others crawled.
Erako had also told him that real dragons were much larger than
wyverns and often majestic and good creatures. Generally only the
smaller wyverns were evil in nature. Eben had always thought that
they were just creatures in stories.

‘
Yes, the wyvern flies in circles above the muckron horde.
It’s not very big, only about five yards in length, but it is very
ferocious. The beast killed two of our northern scouts and only one
returned to tell the tale. It swoops down and takes them from their
horses, like an eagle taking a rabbit,’ said the Duke.

‘
An army of muckrons and a wyvern; these indeed are evil
times,’ said King Ignis. ‘Armies of muckrons have not been seen in
these lands since the Forgotten Age. I recently heard news that one
such army landed on the shores of Ortaria. I plan to lead my army
south to destroy the evil army that threatens my kingdom.’ There
were a few moments of silence as the two rulers stared at each
other. ‘We must rebuild our alliance of old. If we can reform our
alliance we could march on this muckron army in the north, and
together the Ortarians and Scaldonians could destroy all the evil
that plagues our lands.’

The Duke
glanced across at his knights and then uneasily looked back toward
King Ignis. ‘My men don’t trust you or the Ortarian army beyond the
gate. They told me that you would try to trick me into opening the
gates of Orelin.’

‘
This is not a trick. You know I tell you the truth,’
protested King Ignis.

‘
Yes, I know,’ said the Duke, staring down at the white marble
floor for a moment. ‘But if you want the alliance restored you must
prove to my men and all my people that you and your army are
trustworthy. If you lead your army north of Orelin and destroy the
army of muckrons you will have the alliance that you
seek.’

King Ignis
nodded and realised there was no other way. Duke Egil was resolute
in what he had said.

‘
I see,’ said King Ignis softly. ‘I will consult with my
commanders and inform you of our intention.’

**

They returned
to the encampment and King Ignis arranged a meeting with General
Hugo and the other commanders and knights. Eben, Meara, Cassiel,
and Baftel sat at the command table with them.

‘
Garnock,’ said Meara, intrigued by the revelation. ‘He is a
very powerful member of the Fire Order. I wonder why he is in
Scaldonia, so far from the Old Guardian Mountains.’

‘
I don’t know what he is doing here, but he was interested in
Eben,’ said King Ignis.

‘
What did he say about Eben?’ asked Meara.

‘
He said that the sea would bend for him,’ said King Ignis.
Meara looked to Eben, and she pondered the saying for a moment.
‘What does that mean?

‘
I’m not entirely sure; I think one day we will find out,’
said Meara. She gave a slight smile to Eben before looking back to
King Ignis.

‘
He will restore our alliance if we destroy the muckron army
which is camped ten miles north of here,’ said King
Ignis.

‘
A muckron army!’ cried General Hugo.

‘
Indeed, we need to assess our options. How many men do we
have?’

‘
Almost twenty five thousand,’ replied General Hugo. ‘We have
sixteen thousand infantry, two thousand archers, five thousand
light cavalry, one thousand heavy cavalry, and fifty knights. We
also have eight mobile catapults and several other siege machines,
but I think we should consider turning south. If we spend our
strength fighting the muckron army in Scaldonia we may risk not
having the men to fight the muckron army in Ortaria. Perhaps we
should forsake rebuilding the alliance. The Scaldonians only have a
small army remaining here in Orelin. We would be wise to focus on
the needs of Ortaria and return home.’

The King
contemplated in silence what General Hugo had said. Everyone at the
table was looking at him and waiting for his answer.

‘
No, Hugo. We must keep our honour. If we lose our honour we
would forsake everything we have fought for; I will never let that
happen. Ortarians don’t turn away from a fight. We stand by our
allies and friends. That’s who we are, and we won’t change now or
ever. The Scaldonians have suffered, and they are our friends; we
will fight for them. Anyone can be a friend in peaceful times; I
have learned it is in the dark times that loyalty and honour are
truly tested.’

‘
I will order the army to prepare,’ said General
Hugo.

‘
We will need to send scouts to assess the muckron army. There
is a problem though; they have a wyvern with them.’

‘
A wyvern!’ gasped Meara.

‘
Yes,’ said King Ignis. ‘Duke Egil said this beast has already
killed some of his scouts. Send only scouts who know the danger and
are prepared to take the risk.’

‘
It will be a challenge to find a man willing to take on this
task, especially if you give him a choice,’ said General
Hugo.

The King
thumped the table with his fist. ‘Forget the scouts, if we can’t
beat this army of muckrons now it will eventually arrive in Ortaria
and destroy us there. This battle will test our strength and
bravery. Order the army to prepare; we ride north in the
morning!’

**

The army
started to make preparations for leaving that afternoon. Eben sat
by a campfire with Cassiel.

‘
We are going to war in the morning,’ said Cassiel. ‘I have
never seen a muckron. I wonder if they are as terrible as the old
stories say they are?’

‘
I fought one once,’ said Eben. Cassiel was very surprised.
‘They’re fast and strong.’ He remembered back to the fight with the
muckron in the forest. ‘If I didn’t have Red with me I would have
been killed. He saved me.’

‘
Red saved you?’

Eben nodded. A
moment later Red walked quickly over to where they were sitting by
the campfire. His face was pale, and he was deeply frowning.

‘
Eben, you have to talk some sense into Stella, she’s gone
mad! She’s preparing to fight in the battle tomorrow. You have to
convince her otherwise.’

A moment later
Stella came into view and marched over. Her eyes were blazing, and
her face was red with anger. She was wearing a chainmail shirt,
shoulder guards, shin guards, and she had two short swords latched
to her belt.

‘
What are you talking to them about, Red?’ she asked
angrily.

‘
Stella! The danger is too great,’ argued Red.

‘
You know I can fight, Red. So stop trying to...’

‘
But…but, you’ll be the only woman on the
battlefield.’

‘
Meara will be there, so I won’t be the only woman,’ she
replied defiantly.

‘
That’s true, Red. Meara will be there,’ confirmed
Cassiel.

‘
Shut up, Cassiel,’ yelled Red.

‘
I’ve been through all this danger with you: Zyran, the
wilderness, Lantern Hill, and the draug. I’m not going to stand
aside now and watch from afar.’

Red didn’t
know what to say. Eben could see Stella was determined and would
not back down.

‘
If we all fight together and stay close we can defend each
other and make sure that no one gets into trouble,’ said Eben. Red
reluctantly accepted the fact that Stella was going to
fight.

CHAPTER
FOURTEEN

The army moved
out the next morning and followed the road north away from the
Orelin basin. The army looked like a giant metal serpent winding
its way up through the rocky hills. Thick dark clouds hung low in
the sky, and the air was dense as a morning mist was rising from
the ground. A little rain had fallen earlier. Eben rode with King
Ignis, Red, and Stella toward the front of the troops.

‘
Do you feel like fighting in a battle today?’ asked King
Ignis, looking across at Red.

‘
Not really,’ replied Red. The King laughed
heartily.

‘
I’m sure you will fight well.’

‘
I’ll do my best,’ said Red.

‘
Not since the Forgotten Ages have armies of muckrons roamed
these lands. The Prince of Shadows brought them to Veredor in those
days from a dark place in the cosmos. At the end of the Forgotten
Age the muckron armies were destroyed by the Astarian Fiora. The
Prince of Shadows was cast into the darkness beyond the boundaries
of Veredor.’

‘
So why have they all come back now?’ asked Red.

‘
I don’t know,’ said King Ignis.

‘
Maybe the Prince of Shadows has come back from the darkness,’
suggested Red.

‘
I hope not. The Prince of Shadows was the most terrible
adversary the people of Veredor have ever faced.’

‘
What’s an Astarian?’ asked Eben, curious to know more about
the Astarian Fiora.

‘
The Astarians were immortals who lived in ancient times. They
were a goodhearted and benevolent race.’

‘
Do any still live?’

‘
I have never heard of any who live near men. It is said the
Scaldonian Oracle is an Astarian. I have also heard that there is
an oracle in the Far Western Lands. I don’t know of any other
Astarians living in Veredor other than the oracles, and many people
don’t believe that the oracles actually exist.’

The oracles
were mystical beings that lived in the wilderness, one in Scaldonia
and the other in the Far Western Lands. Eben had heard stories of
heroes having to overcome many obstacles to find the oracles. It
had long been said that the oracles could give insights into the
deepest mysteries.

They rode on
for an hour. The mist cleared. The hills came to a sudden end and a
plain stretched out before them. Thick storm clouds had settled low
in the sky above the plain. There was no rain at all and the air
was still. From the hill they could see across a plain that
extended about ten miles to another mountain range in the north.
The road continued for two miles and they could see smoke rising
from the encampment of the muckron army. The Ortarian Army halted.
Eben could see the silhouette of the wyvern flying in circles
through the smoke that hovered over the encampment of muckrons.

‘
How many muckrons do you think there are, Hugo?’ asked King
Ignis.

‘
Thousands, perhaps six or seven thousand,’ replied General
Hugo as his eyes scanned the encampment of their
enemies.

The wyvern
started flying toward them. Eben could see the orange and red
scales of the creature as it approached. The beast had large horns,
clawed feet, and batlike wings which were dark in colour. It
ascended higher and within a minute was circling above the army of
men and screeching in a deathly shrill tone. All the men of the
army looked up in horror at the wyvern.

‘
I never thought I would see anything like that,’ said King
Ignis soberly, staring up at the evil creature high
above.

Meara rode up
to be beside King Ignis. ‘They are said to be as intelligent as
men. I believe the wyvern is spying for the enemy.’

‘
We must move quickly then,’ said King Ignis. They moved down
the slope of the hill and arrived at the plain within a few
minutes. The muckron army was marshalling itself in the distance
and preparing for battle.

‘
We will move closer until we are about five hundred yards
away from them,’ said General Hugo. ‘Our knights and heavy cavalry
will charge them. We can use the light cavalry as support. The
infantry can move in as a third wave.’

‘
What about the archers?’ asked King Ignis.

‘
They can support the infantry and stop the enemy flanking
us.’

‘
Good, let’s move out further across the plain and prepare our
position,’ said King Ignis.

Eben could
hear the drums of the enemy in the distance. Deep horns were being
blown, and all the muckrons howled. The sound of the beasts froze
their hearts.

‘
Urs-shaka, Urs-shaka, Urs-shaka!’ The muckrons growled as
they formed several lines and started moving toward the army of
men.

The Ortarian
army formed several opposing lines with the heavy cavalry and the
knights to the front. The light cavalry formed a line directly
behind the heavy cavalry. The infantry formed about ten lines
behind the last horses, and the archers stood further back. By the
time the army had formed a position the muckrons were about fifteen
hundred yards away and were steadily advancing across the
plain.

‘
Are we ready, Hugo?’ asked the King. General Hugo sternly
nodded. King Ignis rode out in front of his army on his great white
warhorse. He looked magnificent against the dark horizon and the
heavy clouds. His long red cape flew in the wind, and his bright
armour was shining brilliantly. He was like a light set against the
gloom.

‘
We fight for Ortaria! Keep your honour! Be brave! Be true!’
he cried. The army cheered all at once. ‘We Ortarians have always
fought for the good of all people! Now we are here, in a foreign
land, and we are called to vanquish this evil horde of monsters
from Veredor! I believe we have the courage! I believe we are
brave! Fight well! Fight for your family! Fight for your people!
And fight for all that is good!’ he cried. The cheers of the army
echoed across the field.