CHAPTER 17 – THE TEARS OF HEROES
Sorus’ finger followed the map south-west to the coastal town of Tagel.
‘Here is where the retreat stops.
His finger tapped the blot on the map. He shivered as a gust of wind blew open the flap to the command tent reminding him of how bitter the weather could become in these extremities of the Kingdom.
‘Tamar has reported that the Tanarian forces have been pushed back along the coast to Tagel, they are leaderless and in total disarray. There are also thousands of refugees gathering there already.’ He moved closer to the blue crystal, flexing his old and withered hands against the warming blue glow that radiated out from the small stone.
‘I know Tagel,’ replied Barrad, ‘It is a well-constructed coastal fortification on an outlet of land with its own port for re-supply.’ He had studied every stronghold built to understand their characteristics and advantages. ‘It is as good a place as any to retreat to, as the sea defends its back and the walls are both high and thick.’
Sorus cut in. ‘The problem that we will need to face is that it is not large enough to house and protect half of Tanaria. Most of the army have taken residence inside, but several thousand Tanarian citizens, mostly refugees from Tarctiania, lie exposed outside the walls and more are arriving daily. The rearguard are fighting a desperate action to delay the enemy, as best they could to give us a little breathing space to find a solution, but we need to act fast as our men are dying every minute.’
Barrad spoke up again. ‘Tactically there are two options as I see it. The first is to dig in and fortify the position further; perhaps by constructing another outer wall, they have one large resource at their disposal – manpower. The second option is to flee to another position. However, I think with the surrounding lands being predominantly flat and open you run the risk of being mown down by enemy cavalry. Or of course, you could combine the two options, maintain a force in Tagel and get the civilians to run for it. The advantage of this tactic would be that a large part of the Aristrian army would need to be maintained to lay siege to the remaining force in Tagel, giving the refugees the best chance of escape to any of the smaller Kingdoms further south such as Tagadir or Bohem and possibly even splitting the Aristrian force.’
Tress pitched in for the first time after listening intently to the conversation. ‘You know crossing the border as a refugee is as good as selling yourself into slavery. The surrounding Kingdoms have been compliant with their trade agreements but unlike Tanaria they still employ the use of slaves. Moving thousands of refugees into their lands would no doubt be seen by them as an invasion by us.’
‘The Kingdoms have always maintained good relations with Tanaria, I’m sure they will continue to honour their agreements.’ stated Sorus.
‘I would not be so sure, I think that Tress has a valid point. When a nation is strong people will bow to its every request, but when it is weak and on its knees you can take what you want with a swift kick to its loins.’ replied Barrad.
Surely escape and a chance of life is still a better option than annihilation?’ replied Sorus, raising his voice and feeling the stress of the situation.
Barrad sensed the strain on the magician’s shoulders and reassured Sorus, extending an arm to his shoulder, ‘Ten thousand less mouths to feed a day would increase the siege supply reserves by at least three months for the remaining troops. The defenders of Tagel may well need those three months, yet I would gladly sacrifice them if we could save the lives of the people outside the walls.’
‘You try telling the refugees to leave the safety of Tagel - just see what kind of reception you get?’ smirked Tress.
‘What shall I convey to Tamar then?’ asked Sorus.
‘Who is in command of the force at Tagel?’ asked Barrad.
‘A Staff Officer named Thorsten – his background is in logistics so he may be useful in a siege but tactically he is unproven.’ explained Sorus.
‘Has he ever seen combat before?’ Barrad asked.
‘No,’ came Sorus’s direct and unwanted reply.
‘Barrad nodded with his head in his hands, ‘God this was never going to be easy was it?’
‘Get Tamar to speak to him – he won’t like this, but get him to field-promote one of the other officers to the position of Field Commander then get the new Commander to run combat operations and assign responsibility of the siege supplies to Thorsten. When finding a new Field Commander get someone with some campaign experience, if not just find me a down-and-dirty fighter or even a pub brawler – you know the type, the kind that just keep on getting up and coming back at you even when you’ve knocked them on their arse several times. He will need that kind of tenacity. My advice is to get Thorsten to concentrate on their logistics, work parties and supplies, unhindered by the burden of command. It’s a full time job on its own. The men will need a fighter to follow and inspire them and I don’t know of any man who wilfully follows a logistics expert into battle, even if it makes sense in a siege. Offer escort to the Kingdoms, for those willing to leave, then all remaining will need to earn their keep, digging in – that may weed out the wasters when you need to work for your keep. Also tell him that we are sending help. Tagel must be defended at all costs and we must strike out at the enemy where there is opportunity.’
‘What help are you sending,’ asked Sorus thinking that he had missed some vital point.
‘Help? Barrad sighed. ‘There is none. It is a simple lie, but men fight better when they still cling on to hope.’
‘Maybe there is still some hope,’ countered Sorus. ‘There is another matter that we need to consider and address today. There is an old saying amongst us enchanters. “There are no secrets in death.
‘Indeed, I have heard this said before, but how does this help us?’ asked Tress puzzled to where Sorus was leading the conversation.
‘Well, let me explain. As you already know, amongst Tamar’s considerable talents are dream-walking and reading minds. When Anak died in his struggle controlling his conjured beast, his essence was sucked down into some dark hell with it. As his soul traversed our astral plane his lifetime of memories and deeds were exposed, during his transition Tamar was able to read a dark secret from his past deeds.’
‘Oh I love a dark secret,’ smiled Tress.
‘You won’t like this one,’ snapped Sorus.
‘As Anak’s soul was stripped from his body when the fallen Soul Beast dragged him screaming to his doom, Tamar had total recall of his memories and unsavoury deeds over the centuries of his existence. A terrible thing to view by all accounts as the wretched creature had lived for over a thousand years with all of his dark acts preserved within him. Amongst them Tamar witnessed an evil act carried out by a very young Anak many years ago. He corrupted the Tears of Heroes with his blood magic and then handed the reins of its control over to the Brotherhood leadership, a position that is now filled by the magician Bellack.’
‘Tears of Heroes?’ questioned Tress, surprised that she had never heard of them.
Barrad cut in. ‘Allow me to explain, the Tears of Heroes is a small well on the Su-Katii Isle of Cardus. It is said to contain natural properties that protect against magic. It is an undrinkable well of red-tainted water that constantly drips from holes within the porous rocks high above the pools.’
‘How is this old well important in all of this?’ asked Tress.
‘Let me finish and I will tell you,’ insisted Barrad tilting his head in her direction and addressing her like an excited child.
‘Water from the Tears of Heroes is one of the key ingredients used in the Su-Katii Tattoo Ceremony. When a trainee warrior attains his final Su-Katii rank after the gruelling years of training, the Ceremony of the War Lords is held. The newly ordained warrior assumes his post and takes a gift from each of the warlords present, normally a sword or armour, but there have been more inventive and extravagant offerings in the past. The new Su-Katii then receives the body-tattoos as a mark of his achievement. The tattoos were said to help protect the warrior against the one element that is beyond their control – magic.’
Sorus nodded adding. ‘Anak’s magic was ingrained into their tattoos and has slowly dragged the Su-Katii under the wing of the Brotherhood’s control, making them their pawns in bringing about this war.’
Tress slowly eased her fingers around her new sabre.
‘Easy,’ hissed Barrad, spotting the slight movement. He ripped open his padded jerkin.
‘See. No tattoos. When I ended my training the war was imminent and there was no time for my tattoo ceremony. All the Warlords were already deployed to the battlefield; I was instead rushed out to my command with the promise of a deferred ceremony. I am sure from my considerable time with them, that the other Su-Katii are oblivious to the magic that now drives them, it would appear that I had a lucky escape, for I must be the only Su-Katii free of this curse.’
Tress relaxed ‘I’m sorry Barrad, but I have witnessed the Su-Katii in operation, from the sharp end – it is not a nice place to be. How could such a massive corruption to the Su-Katii go unheeded for so long Sorus?’ Tress enquired.
‘Anak’s magical corruption was very subtle in design, so much so that it went unnoticed. Imagine it working like a ball running down a very shallow incline of a hill it can cover a considerable distance with very little disturbance over time. Once it has momentum its action is set, then when it reaches a cliff edge the large drop is inevitable and its fall is clear. We have now reached the cliff edge and have found the source of the evil turning man’s desire for conquest in on themselves. The Su-Katii are now but the puppets of Bellack’s will.’
It all appeared quiet clear to Barrad now. During his training his teachers had seemed like reasonable enough fellows, hard but fair, but their actions and rationale had rapidly changed the instant war had been declared. Everything that he had witnessed and been taught over the years about the Su-Katii seemed to have been a charade after this last week. He alone had stuck meticulously to his father’s teachings.
Barrad cleared his throat. ‘This war must indeed have been the cliff to your ball, Sorus and I would like to be introduced to the thrower. But my father also had the tattoos, yet remained an honourable man. He taught me to try to preserve life, not take it, and most importantly never to kill for pleasure.’
Sorus patted Barrad lightly on his back. ‘Magic affects the weak-minded of us first. You have abided by your father’s code well so at least one true Su-Katii remains.’
Tress had been listening in shock at the depth of the corruption that had spanned these lands over the last hundreds of years. ‘I have but two questions concerning this. What is their aim and can their evil be reversed?’
Sorus ignored the questions, and for a few seconds the tent was silent, then at last he spoke up. ‘To be honest I don’t know if the Su-Katii can be freed of this scourge. What lies deep within a man’s heart can be impossible to change and I think that the magic just brings the worst to the front. But the Brotherhood’s aim is simple. They wish to capture the Tanarian crystal mines, one mine in particular in Bacu, less than two days from here. They have been after it for the past year. An immense crystal, now known as the ‘Moomran Crystal’ was discovered deep within the ground. A string of foreign merchants have been trying to acquire it, even before it has been extracted, offering prices far beyond its worth. Our government decreed that the crystal was to become a national treasure, to be displayed in the capital’s Central Law Court. Barrad’s eyes widened in anger.
‘All of this trouble for a stupid crystal? We are fighting a war for a piece of rock?’
‘Yes’ snapped Sorus. ‘Men have fought over a lot less, earth, soil even, so why not a rock? The difference is that this crystal could serve a purpose to the twisted magicians who have brought about these events. I notice that the timing of this war has coincided with the completion of the widening of the mine shaft that holds the stone. The mine has been prepared and is ready to give up the crystal from the earth.
‘Why don’t your magicians just group together and deal with these troublemakers, then we can end this insanity,’ said Barrad.
‘If only it were that easy,’ agreed Sorus. ‘They have spent years hiding and protecting their grounds, preparing their actions long before we knew of their plots, they have repelled all our magic and believe me we have tried to use it. No, I’m afraid that your mission here has now changed Barrad, so you must be adaptable. Isn’t that what they teach you Su-Katii? What we need from you now is to break out of these mountains and retake the mine…’ Sorus paused for a moment, not wanting to give the last of the news,
‘And it must be done tomorrow. The crystal must now be destroyed - at all costs. Shattering it will reduce its power, rendering it useless for their dark aim, for with its power they seek to free their God. Let me just surmise to say that this would be very bad for all of us.’
‘You are always full of such fine news Sorus.’ Barrad began with a sigh. ‘Today we were fighting for our lives in a sound defensive position against a larger force, we managed to survive one night, now you tell me that our fate really depends on us abandoning our superior position and fighting the larger enemy force on their own terms, in order to drive them back to the mines. Fantastic, I can’t wait to tell the men.’
‘Well Barrad as I see it, you have a huge advantage over the enemy - a magician at your disposal. Me. We also have a backup plan – Tress here, has a certain talent at infiltrating hard-to-reach areas and we will arrange a distraction to help her. She will sneak through their ranks and make her way to the mine, she carries a liquid that can destroy the crystal they seek.’
Barrad looked Tress up and down then half-joked ‘I’m sure she could reach any area that she sets her mind to, but it’s a lot to ask of her.’ Remembering his manners he continued. ‘Why don’t you conjure one of your magic portals to transport us into the mine, then we can just finish this without risking all of our men?’ he suggested.
‘No can do I’m afraid. We tried that before we came here,’ replied Sorus shaking his head. ‘They must have some magic protection deployed at the mines rather than with their main force. Tamar cannot see into the area around the mines, but we sensed a strong field of magic in use there, it has destabilised the use of the transport portals.’
‘I don’t know if it is of any help Sorus, but I still have Anak’s ring that I was commissioned to steal,’ said Tress, ‘I forgot all about it with the events of the last few days.’
‘It is of little consequence, a minor item that helped Anak to regenerate his health after the bouts of self-harming blood magic took their toll on his body. It acts much like the infused red crystals do on the body and just aids recovery. Tress’s hand lashed out across Sorus face leaving a reddened cheek. He took the slap with out any attempt to move.
‘I risked my neck for that. You magicians are all the same,’
‘Calm down Tress,’ urged Sorus. ‘We are all pawns in a bigger game here, it’s not my fault Tamar needed to get Anak to lead us to the location of the Brotherhood of Keth and you were the easiest way to do it. Anak’s thirst for revenge would be their undoing. Thanks to your bravery we now know where Bellack is located, so all we need to do is penetrate his defences and bring him down.
Tress sat puzzled for a moment, ‘Of course the Sword, it is not from this world, its signature would be simple to follow and that’s why Tamar insisted I take and use the Sabre?’
Barrad burst into raucous laughter, the situation was now humorous to him. ‘What a pair we are, me fighting for a rock and you a worthless ring. How ridiculous have our lives become?’
Tress sat deep in thought as the men went about the details of their new plan of attack. She had a growing feeling in the back of her mind that this could well be her final mission; there were actions at play much larger than she had first anticipated. Pushing this thought from her mind, she began to wonder if they had all been played from the beginning. ‘What about Athene, was she just a pawn in this as well?’ Her eyes gazed deeply at Sorus’s as he went about his planning, studying and searching for any sign of deceit in the man, next they rested on Barrad. Could she still believe these magicians, was he really the one for her? She smiled to herself – only one way to find out? She unwillingly pulled her gaze away from him, how was poor Athene faring she wondered, Tamar had said that she still lived, but unfortunately with the ancient killer Titus now at her side, she is beyond any reach of help now. May her Gods look out for her.’
Brin was beyond exhaustion as he picked himself up from the mud for the second time, he realised that he had just been sleep-walking over the last hundred yards. His horse had been stolen when he fled the city and now he felt every step on his sore and tender feet. The forced march from the capital had been gruelling, but they just had to keep pushing on, as to fall behind was to die. For three days now the Aristrian Skirmishers had harried the rear guard, often riding through their thin lines and striking at the groups of refugees and stragglers beyond, knowing that this would slow the Tanarian retreat further. Over the last days he had personally killed five men at close quarters in his fight for survival, the last he had strangled after bumping into him in the pitch black of night. The nights had without doubt been the worst; people would fall into ditches twisting ankles or worse the periodic volleys of silent arrows that put the fear of god into them would fall from the blackness to claim further lives.
Bedraggled and on the edge of despair, Brin almost collapsed when he saw the long lance-tips above the small trees to his left. The armoured cavalry came charging out towards them. The other nine exhausted men gathered to the sides of Brin to form a defiant circle of shields, even though they knew that they wouldn’t stand a chance against this many riders. One man in the shield-wall shouted out in relief on spotting the large predatory fish embroidered on their banner that fluttered wildly in the wind. They were Tanarian, their banner marked them as belonging to the Tagel garrison, they relaxed their wall of shields and some of the men even fell to their knees with shouts of exuberant celebrations as the riders closed the distance to them, and stopped in front of the relieved men.
‘Hail friends and welcome to the lands of Tagel,’ cried out the lead rider. His words were monotone and lacking in conviction and his upturned face gave away his true opinion of the mud-covered figures.
‘We have been running into stragglers all morning, but none this far back. I must admit we only expected to meet with the enemy here, the Gods must favour you, as we were about to run you through. Only old Sergeant Kennings here pointed out that you fellows were all carrying round shields, rather than the square Aristrian type. Fortunately for you my Sergeant Kennings has eyes like a hawk, but even he nearly missed seeing your tabards through all of that muck.’ Although he saw no indication of the man’s rank, the way in which he spoke to Brin indicated that he was obviously born into the officer class; this was perhaps the first time that he had been genuinely happy to run into an officer of the pompous type, in the field. As an experienced tracker employed for years as a scout for the Tanarian army, Brin was no stranger to danger and had met many such men in the past. They relied on their noble breeding and wealth to demand respect, whilst often leading their men into danger rather than out of it, but now with the arrival of this fighting patrol and the knowledge that the safety of Tagel was nearby, he also found himself with uncontrollable tears streaming down his face. These last few days had been extremely emotional and now he scarcely dared to think that he may yet see his Peta again. When the Capital had begun to evacuate he had managed to secure her passage out. The merchant had been a compassionate man and it had only taken ten gold sovereigns to secure his pregnant wife’s transport, in his cart to Tagel. It had been his entire savings, yet he knew in the days to come his gold would hold little worth. He had done business with him before so he was no stranger, a rogue certainly, but fortunately a likeable one. His intention had been to then arrange for her elderly mother’s passage as well, but she had resisted the idea of leaving her home. Unfortunately as he moved about the manic streets he had been conscripted back into the service of the crown by the newly formed pressgangs that roamed the city and had ended up being one of the last to leave the deserted capital. After spoiling the water and setting areas of the city to fire he had spotted the dust cloud that marked the advancing enemy. Their army, which was vast, must have taken years to amass and he wondered how the Tanarians had been so unobservant as to miss such an enormous threat? He had been a boy soldier during the last war with Aristria and this army dwarfed the ones from his memory. Now as he approached forty he had hoped never to see such things again in his lifetime, but it was not to be. He rapidly departed the city.
His daydreams and drifting thoughts were rudely interrupted by the cavalry officer’s next words.
‘I must inform you that Tagel is now full to the brim and unable to accept any more newcomers. My orders now are to divert all others south.’
‘No, please for the love of God let us continue into Tagel, my family is there, they need me,’ pleaded one of the men.
‘The streets are packed and thousands are now camped outside the town gate,’ replied the officer. Brin spoke up. ‘We may not look it but we are in the employment of the army, we are the rear guard, beyond us you will only find the enemy. To deny us entrance to Tagel now would be as good as a death sentence.’
The officer eyed the rag-tag group of men and his grey moustache twitched as he mulled over his decision. ‘We need tough fighting men not the homeless or the meek - we have them in droves, from the look of you, those swords have seen some action. I think that you men shall gain entrance to the town; you will report to the provost and declare your unit. What unit did you serve with?’
‘I was a scout with the 4th Regiment,’ Brin began, but stopped short as a group of twenty archers, sporting the Eagle of Tarctiania on their tabards, suddenly emerged from the wood-line behind them. They spotted the cavalry and ran towards them, only stopping to exchange fire with their close pursuers.
‘I thought you said that you were the last.’ said the commander, pulling down his helmet’s visor and spurring his horse around to face the threat. He pointed his lance in the direction of Tagel. ‘Head that way to safety and get yourselves cleaned up,’ he said to Brin and his men. The rate of fire increased from the woods and the first of the enemy archers could now be seen. One of the Tanarian archers fell with an arrow through his back.
‘Get off this field and into some cover,’ yelled the lead archer to his men. The cavalry officer shouted a command and the fighting patrol wheeled around levelling their lances to charge the emerging enemy down. Brin felt a surge of pride as he watched the Predatory fish banner ride off to engage those who had brought him so much misery these past few days. Finding a new surge of energy the handful of men hurried of towards Tagel.
The first view of the castle had been impressive. Perched on top of a rocky outcrop that dominated the town below, it had stood defiantly against anything the world could throw against it, for hundreds of years. The people of Tagel had maintained their castle well, for with its own sea port and causeway entrance, the thick castle walls had protected its population on several occasions and, as history has it, the castle had never been captured or conquered. The only downside to its defence was that it had been built in a time when the populations were not so vast. The castle’s expected capacity was only a thousand men which, by modern standards was small. Under the peace treaty with Aristria, the border Keeps and defences on both sides had been demolished, leaving only the larger castles bordering the smaller kingdoms to the south, but the defences on these structures only faced out of Tanaria. The refugees with horses had been advised to keep on going down to the south rather than stay at Tagel, as the town had quickly began to overflow. The small fishing town had a stonework fortification that surrounded it, with several wooden structures that had naturally grown up with time outside the walls. Now as Brin and his fellows approached the town there must have been at least twenty thousand people sprawled outside of the town’s walls, in makeshift shelters. The grounds around the town were packed tight with similarly exhausted refugees and the only sounds that greeted them were that of the crying children that dotted the ground. The pungent smell of the huge population had assailed his nostrils and hit the back of his throat, long before the sight of it. Now beyond exhaustion and in the folds of safety, finding his Peta would have to wait a little longer. His legs buckled and he collapsed against a nearby tree stump, pulling his cloak about him with the last of his energy, he fell instantly into a deep sleep.