Raven's Warrior by Pratchett Vincent

Author:Pratchett, Vincent
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: YMAA Publication Center
Published: 2013-01-31T16:00:00+00:00

Fire And Straw

The commander fought with the alcohol and the sightless scattering of his men to regain his footing in the mud and snow. He saw the flames licking skyward from the siege engines. He saw the dark smoke rising and the grey smoke migrating over the encampment. He could hear the screams and the panic of his soldiers.

Looking upward toward the sailing embers that danced now like burning stars on velvet sky, he saw the flight of the flaming arrows hit their mark. They were coming from the open plain near the fortress. “Arms,” he shouted above the din, “To arms.” Going back inside his tent he hurriedly strapped on his armor. He looked nervously to the whore and was relieved now to see that she was just a whore, and sent her flying as he ripped away the hide and threw it over his shoulders.

His page had his horse at the ready. He swung his leg up and over the saddle, and steadied the charger for control. Almost trampling the page, he kicked roughly into the animal’s sides and galloped out to gain control of the madness unfolding all around him. The stumbling, waking men followed suit, and soon the commander had wrestled order from the chaos. The damage was confined to the large war machines, and within twenty-five minutes, the soldiers were assembled on all four fronts.

The small fires on the plain were clearly his destination, and the guerillas were dark against the moonlit snow still shooting the last flames in the direction of the engines. The Supreme Commander, with monk steel held high he screamed the order, “Charge.” From all sides the troops and cavalry flooded forward towards the men who stood alone in the open. Some horses dropped and toppled riders, some infantry fell and were trampled in the fray. The traps had done their job, but the tide of this attack would not be stemmed.

Like fools the men on the plains waited, unconcerned by the forces coming against them, and then finally almost within arrows range, they bolted. Like rabbits they ran towards the walls from which they had earlier descended. As the commander and the full charge of men and horse closed in on the prey, ropes were flung down the massive walls. The fools clung as they were drawn up, but no protective arrow cover was forthcoming. The commander was elated as he saw many men being lowered simultaneously on each of four walls, dangling now between heaven and earth.

It was at best a dim-witted rescue attempt or a poorly executed second attack. It mattered not; this was the slaughter he had been waiting for; his taste for blood mingled with temple mount memories. He saw the archers set their arrows and take aim.

Now closing at full speed he shouted the order for all archers to fire, an order that was repeated on all four sides of the fortress. As the men of the night incursion approached the top of the wall

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.