Amensol’s Shadow: The Fox And The Wolf, Part One
The 3rd Tale of the Unseen Pillar of the House of Amensol, by Benonai
Living in a little den,
Right down a little hole,
Lived a little orphan fox,
A little sad and low.
Little did he venture out,
For big were dangers nigh,
And just a little danger can,
And will make foxes die.
A little child in a light blue dress bounced and spun as she cheered the cavalry riding over the countryside toward her. It was every little human girl’s dream to be as brave and strong as Carinna, the leader of the King’s Cavalry. The girl waved energetically as the soldiers thundered past her. She caught Captain Carinna’s eyes and Carinna pursed a subtle smile and nodded a greeting to her as she rode by. The little girl’s eyes lit up with joy at the attention and ran across the meadow back to her home, giggling and yelling to her mother.
This was the first interaction in several days that gave Carinna reason to smile. The armies of the Revenant Lord had been encroaching further and further into Kingsreach. The elves and humans who had been brought by strange forces to this land had made a pact with the other races inhabiting the land of Terminus nine years ago to fight against the now mortal god who had traded immortality for power and control. The Revenant Lord’s servants were great in number and his strength was even greater. So along with the allegiance pledged to each other, the 6 races of Terminus also made contingency plans in case his power proved too great to overcome. Three solaces were to be built where the races could take refuge: the Burning Sanctum constructed in the Petrified Forest of Ka’Kelhar, the Frozen Sanctum in the frozen wastelands of Tenebrous, and at the foot of the Roan Mountains on Kingsreach would stand the Silent Sanctum. And it was the construction of this Silent Sanctum that had occupied the humans and elves for better part of a decade.
Carinna signaled to her lieutenants to halt as she peered over a steppe onto the valley below. In the far distance, she could just see a slight haze of smoke, but she was sure of what it was. To the west, through the lands of the elves, they were coming, driving the elvish and human settlers east as the came, burning all that stood in their way.
Carinna had been born into strange times. Her family were stripped from their home in Vas Demith to be transplanted to this strange new world with no reason, as if the heavens themselves were against them. And as if to prove the point, the pantheon of gods stretching through the concoction of races brought to this new world began to physically turn against the people which they oversaw. It began with the Revenant Lord himself, one of the two gods of the Ginto peoples, deciding to break the Celestial boundary, a law of the degrees of separation from the mortals the gods had imposed upon themselves. Usurping this law, the Revenant Lord laid down his mantle of immortality for a superhuman life of power and rule that no mere mortal could stand against. Although he was able to be killed, the grotesque level of power was greater than any mortal would ever begin to resist. Having shown the way to the darker and more sinister gods of the pantheon of Terminus, he brought to himself more gods, thirsty for power and control over their subjects. In the end stood a mighty force of unimaginable power that was beyond the grip of the gods that remained beyond the Celestial Boundary. The gods could not save them now.
Carinna settled herself as she let the morning breeze blow through breaks in her armor. Just live one moment at a time, she told herself. “Pelgrim,” she called to her fastest rider, “Break down the center of the valley. The men and I will set ambush inside the treeline on the outskirts of Faerthale’s forests. Let’s see if we can’t draw a party out and pick some off. Make sure they see you, but don’t be so noticeable that they smell a trap.”
This strategy had worked countless times. The revenant army relished an opportunity to kill scouts. Their merciless tactics did weigh on the hearts of the people of Kingsreach.
“Aye, Captain,” the rider answered before heading off like a shot arrow. The rest of the men followed Carinna in the direction of the treeline far away in the distance. Many skirmishes had been won using this strategy, but the casualties over time were not boding well. If this turned into a battle of attrition, Carinna knew that the race of men would not outlast the Revenant horde.
The scout had rode out to a patch of woods in the valley clearing, maintaining a good mix of elusive behavior with a touch of carelessness to allow the Revenant war party to spy him. Movement began from the war party that had been traveling in formation up through the valley. A small team of 20 riders broke off from the group and headed in a flanking direction away from the tree line. Carinne noticed immediately the strategy they were using, and it was working in their favor. The group of riders sped ahead but not directly in the direction of the scout. Once they got within 400 yards to the side of the scout’s hidden position, they abruptly turned and galloped to his position. The scout took his cue, fleeing to the treeline a half mile from his location. The Revenant forward party gained, hoping to catch him before the forest started.
“Riders, ready!” Carinna mommanded. Her units lined up, bows ready, 30 yards deep in the forest and positioned with line of sight to the clearing. 100 yards is all they needed. The scout rode hard but not full speed as to not discourage the chase. Sensing the range, he chose a spot in the treeline and rode directly for it so not to stray into passing shot.
“Fire!” Carinna’s bow was up and her arrow loosed from her bow, flying within a foot of the rider’s face and beyond into the breast of the lead horse of the Revenant pack. The horse stumbled, throwing the rider, and causing four other Revenant riders to be thrown in the wreck. The Ginto Revenant stumbled to his feet, trying to regain his awareness, and felt hard pinch just under his left shoulderblade. He looked down and the tip of an arrow had broken through the front of his chest. Panic set in, and he turned to find cover. He was hit again, this time causing him to lose balance and he fought his way to the ground. He couldn’t breathe. He brought his hand up to check his wound and found the arrow lodged in his neck. Blood was pooling in his throat but could go nowhere as the arrow was blocking his windpipe. His fellow soldiers fell around him as he suffocated and the world went black.
Arrows flew one after another until the first three volleys were out. At that point, the riders tucked away their bows and waited for Carinna’s order. “Attack!”
The cavalry stormed out of the woods into the clearing, pushing wide to encircle the battlefield. Half of the Revenant were already wounded from the volleys. Carinna moved in with sword in hand and locked in on a target, trying to get back to his horse. He maneuvered through a turbulent storm of dead bodies and panicked horses, making it impossible for her horse to follow directly. She picked her moment to engage and swung her leg up over the saddle and braced it against the side of the horse. Carinna leapt from the horse, sword out front and planted her feet on the Revenant’s shoulders, driving the blade into the back of his neck at the shoulders. She rode his body to the ground until the impact with the valley floor stopped her descent. She gracefully rolled off of her attacker and was back on her feet, her sword planted in the ground with her foe still attached.
The battle was swift and merciless. The Revenant had been caught off guard and had been swallowed whole by Amensol’s riders. Carinna’s warriors suffered no casualties. As she stood panting on the battlefield, she let that sink in, and for a minute, it brought her peace. But, as the commander of the cavalry of Havensong, she knew it would not be the case when her teams reported at day’s end. Some of her soldiers would not return to Havensong alive tonight. The moment of peace passed and the reality set back in. This was one of hundreds of battles that lay in wait, with the real danger still ahead. Ossari, once the protector and deity of the human race had turned on them and was mounting this offensive against them, a war she knew they could not win with swords and shields, at least not with just man and elvish swords alone. The treatise struck with the Elvonnen Giants and the Mos Cag warriors had paid little benefit, as they waited for the fighting to come to them instead of participating in the offensive campaigns. She was even sure the Red Raven Assassins would help at some point, but they would just as likely turn on them if their lives were not in danger.
She pulled a rag from her saddlebag and began cleaning off her sword. He other soldiers were spoiling the dead Revenant, looking for treasure or good weapons that could go to the King’s treasury for future use. The King’s treasury, ha. Amensol’s quest to have his legacy of confronting the enemy head on was more of an issue of pride than a smart strategy for defeating the enemy. Each soldier out in a war party was one less stone cutter or carpenter working on the tower of refuge being built in a crag at the base of the Roan Mountains, just behind Havensong. It was a much more defensible position, and Carinna had fought hard to change the battle strategy to defensive, in a bid to save as many lives as possible until their defenses were set at the Silent Sanctum refuge. Her words had fallen on deaf ears with Amensol. Usually, her opinions carried more weight than others on the King’s Council. After all, she was one of the greatest warriors of men, and her late husband, Honnai, who was an adopted son of sorts of the King, had also saved the heir’s life while sacrificing his own. Since, the King had a special place for her and Honnai’s son, whom he was never able to hold. The news of his passing on a peaceful trip to strike an agreement with allies had sent her into premature labor, and the child had almost died.
Carinna rounded up her unit and headed back through the valley and up onto the steppe. The little girl that had greeted her was still out doing chores with her mother. How much longer will Amensol risk the life of this child, holding ground that is indefensible, she thought. The idea of this helpless girl meeting a bloody end to a war party of evil Gintos overpowered the successful battle that just took place, and brought back to her remembrance her departed first love, Honnai. A tear slipped out as she rode. She hoped no one noticed.
Excellent, very well done! Having read all three parts of this tale, I am impressed with how intricately woven the story is turning out to be. I had to go back and re-read a few parts to make sure I was fully comprehending the time and place of the story, but that only added to my enjoyment. The best stories, in my mind, are the ones that work on a few different layers.
I also liked how the lore was incorporated. Having a part of the story take place on the trek to the Summit on Vesu was really engaging for lorehounds like myself. The little touches of historical information were well integrated.
Keep up the great work! Looking forward to the next chapter.