Taelord was supremely grateful he had decided to take his sword with him when he chose to wander Helsng that morning. He held it now, staying near the fireplace, where he was sheltered from the press of the mob.
Eten’s family was fighting, the soldiers with them. Taelord had seen Geren be overrun almost instantly – he caught scattered glimpses of his body on the floor through the crowd, his wings and neck snapped. Two soldiers had fallen with him. The rest had their swords out and were swinging wildly, but there were simply too many rebels to fight.
As Taelord watched, a Volcarren sank an axe clean through the breastplate of a soldier. A farmer, carrying what looked like half a spear, stabbed it into a bounty hunter’s shoulder, causing him to drop his blade. A Vel swung a bone club into his head a moment later, crushing the skull.
Then there was a sound, a blast or a bellow, so loud that it shook the floor and caused everyone to look up. A horn. A horn outside. The call came again, louder this time. Closer.
“Imperials! The Empire!” The cry was taken up on all sides, relief from the soldiers mixing with fear from the mob.
Taelord drew himself close to the wall, and a moment later, figures in full plate armor began dropping from the sky and rushing into Eten’s home. They crashed into the rebels without hesitation, using their armored wings like fists, slamming them into farmers and Volcarrens alike. The armor had spikes at the bends of the winds, where they folded, and these left long bloody gashes in those they struck.
The soldiers carved a path to the survivors, dropping foes on all sides, leaving a trail of bloodied and beaten kyrie. There was almost no one left to reach. Taelord only saw one soldier and three of Eten’s family – Eten himself was on the ground, lifeless, in a pool of blood. The soldiers surrounded those who were left, and then punched their way back out of the home, taking to the air the instant they were free.
Taelord blinked. The entire rescue had occurred in a matter of seconds, and left at least twenty farmers and Volcarrens on the floor, clutching injuries. Others lay unmoving, mixed with lifeless soldiers or loyalists. After so much time spent trying to avoid killing…
But the soldiers weren’t finished. More thudded to the ground outside the home, these wielding spears. They leveled their weapons at the house, blocking the way out, more reinforcements landing behind them.
“Disperse!” someone called from behind the soldiers. “Leave this place, and no one need be hurt.”
In response, the rebels turned, and charged the soldiers.
It was a stupid thing to do, but Taelord wasn’t entirely surprised. He had seen it before in the Volcarren: at some point, the blood craze took over, and logic was left behind.
Many farmers were run through with the spears, their charges ending abruptly. But those behind clambered over them, and leapt into the ranks of the soldiers, swinging everything from real swords, to shards of Taklay spines, to mere rocks. The soldiers were overwhelmed, and the rebels poured out of the building, Taelord going with them.
He had been in enough conflicts in the Volcarrens to know that the safest place right now was ironically in the middle of the battling crowd, where the soldiers couldn’t reach him. At least until he knew he could escape safely, and search for Rehs. So he let the crowd sweep him along, being careful to stay in the middle, where the greatest danger was merely being trampled to death.
Many soldiers began to drop beneath the assault, most of them due to the attacks of the Volcarrens, who knew how to handle armored enemies. The farmers simply dogpiled soldiers before them, pulling them to the ground and raining blows on them until they stopped moving.
The soldiers tried to form ranks, but it was complete chaos. Commoners, doubtless attracted by the commotion, started to appear behind them, attacking them with ancient rusted weapons or farming tools. The commander in the middle tried to call orders, turning about frantically, but a Vel soared over the battling crowd and swung an axe cleanly into his face. The commander dropped, and the soldiers were enveloped, devoured completely by a mass of surging bodies and swinging weapons.
Taelord hung back, thinking that perhaps he could escape. He hadn’t seen Rehs yet, and in such a crowd, he should have at least gotten a glimpse of him. That meant Rehs probably wasn’t involved yet. Taelord glanced at the sky, judging whether or not he could escape to go look for him without being pursued… but then all thoughts of flying fled his mind.
A block, a perfect square of kyrie, flying in formation, flew over the mob, and then began dropping, line by line, before them. Spears came first, a double row of them, the soldiers holding their armored wings before them like shields, allowing only a small gap for the spear to poke through. Behind them were line after line of reserves, their spears held upwards at an angle. At the end came two full lines of kyrie with lighter armor and no immediately apparent weapons, though they all carried a strange device made out of dark wood, about the size of their chest. A moment later, Taelord realized they all had quivers of bolts at their sides. Crossbows, he realized with horror. Rehs had told him about them once.
Finally, following the last soldier, a figure landed, resplendent in regal armor bearing the symbol of the Empire, wearing a helm which seemed to be formed from shards of metal which had all flowed together, and holding a spear. Jandar. Commander of Helsng.
Most of the farmers hadn’t reacted. They were still too focused on finishing off the last of the soldiers, and many hadn’t even noticed the reinforcements arriving.
The soldiers began to move. Taking measured steps, staying in perfect formation, they advanced on the chaotic crowd before them, only a few of whom had finally noticed them. It would be a slaughter.
“From the sides!” came a call. Einar appeared from the middle of the crowd, his simple leather mask exchanged for a metal one, painted gold. He wielded two identical sabers – a strange choice of kyrie weapon, though judging by the blood dripping from them, Taelord guessed he knew how to use them. “Take them from the sides!” he called, pointing one saber at the advancing soldiers. “Flank them! Flank them!”
About half of the crowd regained enough of their sense to realize what he meant. They split, some going left and others going right. Most of them were Vel and Volcarrens, used to combat and more aware as a result.
“Einar!” Jandar called from behind the ranks of soldiers. “End this!”
“I intend to!” Einar roared back. “Charge!”
And then, using both of his sabers to deflect spears, he attacked. He slid under the second row of spears, slicing his sabers at the unprotected feet of the kyrie. The line started to buckle. Behind him, the farmers crashed haphazardly into the failing line, breaking it completely.
And then the Volcarrens struck from the sides. Wielding heavy weapons of steel, bone, or rock, they crashed into both flanks at the same time, tearing into the spearmen. The ranks began to buckle.
Utgar crashed to the ground behind the battling crowd. How had it begun? Who had started it? And where was Runa? He hadn’t realized she was missing from the pavilion until a short time ago, and had gone looking for her. Then he had heard the horns, and been drawn here. And now… if she was down there…
It was quickly becoming a full-scale battle. The soldiers were surrounded on three sides, but more were dropping from the sky, and Utgar could see the rebels starting to be pushed back. They weren’t trained fighters; they broke easily against the organized Imperial line. The only reasons they seemed to have gotten this far was because of the experience of the Volcarrens, and sheer numbers.
That was quickly changing. More and more soldiers were joining the fray, staying in formation, striking with their spears from a safe distance. The rebels were beginning to fall – Utgar saw farmers with hoes trampled underfoot by uncaring soldiers, smiths with hammers swept aside. It was about to become a bloodbath.
“Jandar!” he called to the figure in the middle of the soldiers. “Stop this!”
“Only you can do that!” Jandar shouted, glancing up and seeing him. “I’ve done all I can! Surrender, Utgar! End this now!”
Utgar looked over the battling kyrie. That wouldn’t end it. Maybe, at one time, his surrender would have stopped this from happening. But not now. Now… he was just another Volcarren. He had no more control over this than anyone else. He caught Jandar’s gaze, and slowly shook his head.
Jandar’s expression hardened, as if to say, ‘so be it.’ “Remember, Utgar!” he called. “This blood is on your hands.” And then he joined in the fray himself, whirling his spear over his head like a staff, using the tip to slice and strike any rebel or Volcarren in range.
“No!” Utgar leapt to stop him as Volcarrens fell. He landed directly in front of the line of soldiers, his feet apart, the battle-axe he had taken from Ahnvad gripped in both hands. Before the soldiers had a chance to advance, he swept the axe before him.
He was too far away to strike the soldiers, but flames erupted from the head of the magical weapon in a wide arc, and sped towards them. It passed through their spears as though they weren’t there, and crashed into the soldiers holding them. They stumbled back, their armor no defense against the heat of the flame.
But it wasn’t enough. Utgar swung his axe again, causing the line behind to buckle as fire struck them, but soldiers advanced on both sides, forcing Utgar to back up or be surrounded.
Unfortunately, the crowd of rebels was behind him, blocking his retreat. They were disorganized, acting off of pure adrenalin, and didn’t realize what they were doing.
A spear struck Utgar in the side of his leg, and then another tore at his arm as he turned. He swung his axe again, clipping a few soldiers, and sending the rest back, scrabbling at their chests in agony as the fire burned them through their armor. But more stepped up to replace them.
It had begun with the soldiers being outnumbered. But now that was quickly changing, and Utgar knew they wouldn’t last much longer unless something changed.