Saviour of the Crown by Paul J Bennett

Author:Paul J Bennett [Bennett, Paul J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Paul J Bennett

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Joachim Battista stared across the water. His legion was charged with crossing the river and seizing the village of Grozen, which, as far as they knew, held no garrison. To put it bluntly, this task was a deliberate insult—the Fifth’s punishment for being defeated by the Army of Erlingen. It had not been his fault, for he’d been under the orders of his predecessor at the time, but the defeat still stung. Battista had not sought promotion. He’d been happy commanding a single cohort, but now it appeared fate had revealed a new destiny for him, one that would bring him fame and everlasting glory to the empire.

He looked to his left, where the remains of the Fifth Legion waited to cross. The three Water Mages who’d accompanied the legion were supposed to do something with the water to allow his men to cross, but the seasoned veteran harboured doubts. They’d assured him that such a tactic worked to perfection in Arnsfeld seven years ago, yet that campaign failed spectacularly. True, the water crossing had succeeded, as the riverbed there had proven quite passable, yet he suspected they would encounter nothing but silt and mud here, which was sure to cause delays.

He turned to his aide, a sergeant named Marfor, a veteran of more than a dozen campaigns. “You may inform the mages they are to begin.”

“Yes, sir.” Marfor marched off, heading straight for them.

Battista considered himself a patient man, but he found the mages an annoyance. If he had his way, he’d have used boats to cross instead of relying on magic, but word had come from the marshal to proceed in this manner, so he’d reluctantly agreed.

He watched Marfor interact with the mages; though, from this distance, he couldn’t hear what was being said. The sergeant then left them, heading directly for his superior. He’d noticed a certain attitude to these mages, for they were Stormwinds, a powerful family who didn’t take well to orders. Even now, with the eyes of the empire on them, they remained in place rather than proceeding to the water’s edge.

Sergeant Marfor came to attention before his new commander-general. “They’ve been informed, sir, but they don’t appear to be in any hurry to carry out your orders.”

“That is to be expected,” replied Battista. “They are mages, after all, not warriors.”

“Are you implying they won’t follow orders?”

“Oh, they will… eventually, or they’ll be forced to endure the displeasure of Edora Sartellian. Unfortunately, since she’s not here, we’ll have to put up with their petulant behaviour, at least until we’re on Erlingen soil.”

“It’s not too late to build rafts, sir.”

“We have close to twelve hundred men to cross, Sergeant. I think you underestimate the time required for such an endeavour.”

Marfor fell silent and, like his commander, watched the three mages with intense interest. The trio finally moved to the riverbank and began waving their hands around in the air, presumably to conjure forth whatever magical power lay within them. One bent down, touching the surface of the water.

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