The Wrath of God by Jay Penner

Author:Jay Penner [Penner, Jay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-02T16:00:00+00:00

The excitement and energy in the room is palpable.

“Are you certain?” I ask the scout.

“Yes, sir! There is no question.”

“How big is the army?”

“We think it is at least fifteen to twenty thousand men. They march in a narrow column.”

“Have you been spotted?”

The scout bows his head sheepishly. “Yes, sir.”

Nimmuruk intervenes. “How many days before they arrive here?”

“If we stay and they march, then less than ten days, Your Highness.”

“How many horses do they have?”

“Few, sir. We noticed only a small number of horse riders and a few on chariots. Otherwise, their army is entirely on foot.”

“Composition?”

“It was difficult to tell from the distance, sir. But they most certainly have archers along with swords, mace, and ax-men.”

We question the scout some more to get a good understanding of the advancing army. It seems clear that it is the Egyptian army, but we do not know yet if the Pharaoh accompanies it, for the scout said there were no grand displays anywhere on the column—either at the head or the middle.

“We will teach them a lesson they will never forget,” says Nimmuruk, swinging his short ax.

“Let us not underestimate them, Your Highness, they have had the intelligence to group and march their armies North which means they have planned this well. Prime Minister Rishwa briefed us that their general, Wadjmose, is a formidable man.”

What is remarkable is that the Egyptians have astutely calculated that we might invade. If we were weeks delayed, then we might have to had face their army just as we landed, which might have been a disaster.

Nimmuruk scoffs. “Our tactics will destroy them,” he declares, and looks around the room. Most of the senior officers nod vigorously, out of fear or respect. I know that at least three of my Upashaktis are fanatically loyal to the Prince. I wonder what tactics the Prince speaks of, for he has had no input to any of it. What is worse is he has refused to deploy all our Daivoshaktis—he is worried that we will deplete all our weaponry and that we should hold considerable reserves for future offensives. He ignores my argument that a decisive victory now would put us on a significant advantage.

He is convinced that we can thrash the Egyptians without the full use of our Daivoshaktis.

I plead and argue with no success.

The next few days are a blur. We declare a rapid march Southward, and the army assembles for the journey. I rearrange the march plan—while the terrain is mostly benign, it is may not be wise to spread too wide and risk the enemy smashing the center. Every Upashaktis leads their unit in blocks two-hundred deep and a hundred-wide. We finalize our flag semaphores and tactical orders, and at first crack of dawn, the Atalanni army finally begins its fateful journey.

I pray to the gods, for victory, for the well-being of Apsara, and glory of the Atalanni over others.

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