Jake West: Book 02 - Warriors of the Heynai by M J Webb

Author:M J Webb [Webb, M J]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781471017469
Publisher: Lulu.com

Chapter 19

24th August – The Battle of Dassilliak – Part One

A Perosyan battlehorn sounded loudly from within the Southern Army ranks. King Atrex’ sizeable army of rebels and freed slaves had at last been sighted.

“My Lord Obreth!” roared a rather excited Thargw captain. He was standing at the foot of the rise which led up to the Nadjan knight’s command post. Obreth stuck his head out of the window and nodded to the Thargw, giving him permission to complete his report. “The enemy approach. At last, they are here. Look, over there!” He pointed firmly to the north, at an assortment of dots which had appeared on the landscape and continued to grow in size and number.

Obreth smiled confidently. “Good. Make ready. Prepare for battle, I will join you now.” He disbanded his meeting and grabbed his helmet. Then he raced down to the lines with the rest of his captains to ensure everything was ready to receive the inevitable charge of his enemy.

By the time he had reached the soldiers in the front line, the Rebel Army had swelled to a considerable size. The noise it made as the thousands within its ranks marched and rode steadily towards their awaiting foe grew louder and louder, until they were almost on top of the Southern army’s position and the sound was deafening. Then, it stopped.

The whole battlefield suddenly fell completely silent. Not a thing could be heard but the faint hiss of the gentle wind. It was an eerie, uneasy silence. A silence the exhausted rebels knew would not last, a fraud, an imposter. It did not belong on those fields. It was the calm before a terrible, almighty storm which they knew for certain was coming their way. The silence, the brief respite they had before the carnage of battle, was suddenly interrupted by the faint rumblings of another vast army marching steadily towards the battlefield, an army which would come to be more feared than any in the entire history of Estia.

Obreth and the Southern Army had constructed no defensive positions to speak of. They had had very little time to prepare for this attack. All of their heavy siege equipment and camps were pointing in the opposite direction, south towards the great city. However, the trees on either side of the small valley gave them some protection against a possible outflanking manoeuvre, effectively funnelling King Artrex’ warriors and horses right onto their awaiting hoards. It was a naturally strong position for a defensive, static action and Obreth was very confident of victory.

***

The rebel King, sitting majestically astride his magnificent stallion, his unfurled banner blowing in the breeze just behind him, crested the top of a small rise. The entire valley below seemed to open up on him, revealing a large swathe of open ground sandwiched between two thick, heavy treelines. At the far end of the valley, King Artrex could just make out another line of trees and, rising above them like a phoenix, the awe inspiring sight of the city of Dassilliak.

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