Ragnekai Winds by Peter Buckmaster

Author:Peter Buckmaster [Buckmaster, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Peter Buckmaster
Published: 2018-01-15T22:00:00+00:00

Ch 6

Lorken

5th Day of Maia, Ten Days After Sedmund’s Death

Lorken gazed upon what lay before the Helligan soldiers. The city of Meridia. Not Bregustol. Lorken reflected that the rank-and-file of the Helligan army had not been told before they departed Gamle Hovestad that they were heading to Bregustol, but all had assumed that was where their fates lay. Then, camped at Raven’s Point, senior officers had apparently been briefed. After this the word had spread like wildfire, with sergeants struggling to maintain an orderly fashion by which the revelation was relayed to the men and women.

Lorken had thought it must’ve been a jape at first, something to stoke up morale. But it quickly became clear it was no joke and the Helligan army would strike out west, march on Meridia and take the city. The revelation left Lorken slightly bewildered. Meridia was no true friend of Helliga, especially when one considered the part the former played in his nation’s defeat and withdrawal from the north all those years ago. But open war with them seemed a strange path to take. The two city-states had even fought side-by-side against invading forces less than twenty years ago. The Helligan nation’s real enemies lay to the north as did their capital of old. Why was Lord Orben about to open a battle upon two fronts?

The next morning, they had set off in a westerly direction, heading towards the River Unn instead of crossing the Mimir. The Helligan soldiers had marched a good fifteen miles each day, setting their last camp a couple of miles from the city of Meridia. By this time of course, it was well known they were coming. Villagers stayed in their homes and the fields were bereft of labouring hands.

Lorken had enjoyed the boisterous camaraderie of the first two nights, with camp-fires, ale and songs that sang of the Helligan nation of old. He was swept up with it and laughed with newfound comrades. On the third night though, the reality started to seep in and it was noticeable that those from the Free Guard, like Lorken, did not laugh or sing as much. Nobody in the Free Guard had ever seen any kind of combat outside training, and harsh as training had been, Lorken knew the coming battle would be of a starkly different colour. Instead of blue bruises on the skin, there would be a crimson colour to the clothing. Where in training one had lost their footing, soon they may lose a limb. Or their life.

Now the Helligan forces stood in formation facing the city of Meridia. Green and white flags danced in the wind atop the walls as red and white flags snapped back below on the fields before the walls; fields now trampled under thousands of boots.

“Those walls will take some beating” commented Lorken to the figure standing to his right.

“Hm?”

“The walls” repeated Lorken to the soldier, “they’ll take some beating.”

The morning sun fell upon their surface, showing neither age nor damage, just a dapple grey of hard rock.

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