There it was bordered by long abandoned farmed fields, the Kingdom of Talibath; a jagged collection of grey stoned walls united by several cylindrical turrets surrounding the huddled buildings so small that they barely peeked over the parapets. At its center was the Kingdom’s Royal Castle, spires and turrets clambering over one another in no apparent order, towering over all in its dominion.

The legions had already dug a distant trench line outside the city’s walls when they had arrived. A line of fire at three levels, rifles bristling out from the trench to the kneeling musketmen behind at ground level and a final line standing behind.

This was scoffed at, for a marching shield wall would surely block the incoming fire. The worry stemmed from the hills to the north and the forests to the south, no doubt hiding the Grey rangers and whatever legions not left out in the open. An army would be able to sustain themselves there, if for a time.

The host was to wait until the Crown Steward would arrive with the full might of the capital’s mageborn. So the trenchline was dug, stakes driven to the ground and the days drifted off as the Kingdoms had reached an unspoken treaty, neither side crossing over to either gunnery lines’ range.

The rain started in the morn, a light pattering that grew over the day and refused to cease. The downpour seemed inconsequential then until the soldiers’ boots were submerged to their ankles in the flooded trenches, then to their knees. When the brown clouded water rose to their chests was the order given to march out towards the opposing trenchline.

The reasoning was simple, the continued rain would render all muskets useless, leaving the inevitability of bloody melee. So did Edus and his squad march at the backline, thousands of soldiers readying for yet another battle.

Steel toed boots crushed and flattened yellowed stalks of untilled wheat and over ripened crops. Still the rain tapped against their armor to drip and soak their surcoats, leaving them encased in their frigid metal shells. Edus shivered violently, his sword arm with a slight tremble. A foreboding air swept across the muddy fields, the anticipation of killing or being killed. The faces behind the mens’ helmets were covered in grime and soot, granting them a grim and shadowed visage.

Talibath’s forces had assembled in mass, opening the one gate to let out more and more men that watched them not far off behind their own flooded trench line, row after row of soldiers that were visible. Edus glanced sidelong at the forest standing beside, no doubt hiding their reinforcements. Then to the hills, where a legion would be waiting to charge over from the other side, which is what the mage scouts of the Jade Company had so reported days before.

They were concentrated as one bloated force, entrapped from either flank. Supply lines were harried day and night by the Grey, and if not for the rain men would have been weak from thirst.

The choice had been made, the order given. Talibath would be broken or freed, either way the siege would end by this day. Peals of thunder echoed out, blocking out the deep bugling horns to charge. The ground leveled out so that Edus could not see past the ranks of dull armored allied soldiers in front of him. The shuffling men started to hurry. They then broke into a brisk trot, for the slick muddy ground would allow nothing more. Roaring for blood, crying out to forget their fears and woe and cover it with a desperate frenzy of whoever killed first.

The soldiers of Talibath beat their shields in rhythm, answering their horn’s call with a resounding bugle of their own, even deeper in sound and more drawn out. Edus could now see the shadowed figures emerging from the treeline to the left, arrows flicking and clattering against their tightly pressed squared formations.

The men did not break rank to charge, a brisk march to Talibath’s line of fire. The familiar cacophony of cracking musket fire petered out through the tapping rainfall with the ricochet of the musket shot shattering against the steel shields. Columns moved aside for men carrying many heavy wooden ladders to drop them over the drowned trenchline.

They rushed to meet the legions of Talibath. Men wailed, men screamed, and men died. Edus looked to his left once more. Soldiers were charging out from the forest to surround their flank, only to collide against the force of the Jade mages’ combined Gifts. They stepped out from the lines of mortal (for the most part) soldiers that had blocked them from view, arms raised to summon an unseen plane that curtained off the rain, drizzling down as if there was a solid wall.

The allied legions continued to attack the front while Talibath’s reinforcements from the forest looked on, milling about with restless confusion. They then rushed around the barrier to rejoin the main force outside the city walls, heels slipping and sliding against the muddy ground for their city’s defense.

Edus looked to his right, and the Knights of Talibath appeared, trotting at a wary pace through the twisting roads down the forested hills. Actions had been taken to slow the Knights’ advance as well, felling trees away from the sight of the defenders to bar the path of the roads leading to the northern part of the field they now tread on. There Sven, Mikaal, and all the rest of the pikemen were positioned to meet the horsemen, line upon line of halberds lowered in wait behind a fortification of stakes prepared to set up with quick efficiency. The pikemen had each removed their shields at their backs to carry such a stake and had planted it angled forward, still reaching above a man’s waist.

The steady clopping of countless horses weighed down by all the armor they carried upon their backs was muted as they stepped onto the muddy soft ground. Horses’ hooves splashed and sprayed the deep puddles as they broke into a charge. Their riders were covered head to toe in what would have been shining steel, now dimmed by the rain that bounced off their dull grey armor. They were a stream of grey metal, dark horse, and purple heraldry that hung limp from all the wet.

The Knights drew closer to the waiting phalanx of halberds. Edus realized he was holding his breath, jaws clenched as he waited for the inevitable collision of many stoned heavy armored bodies ramming overhead men pressed together in a flailing helpless mush of flesh and metal. The formidable line of planned defense now seemed weak and meager to the heroic charge of the Knights.

The first Knight’s horse was skewered by the stakes, careening into the massed spearing of the pikes longer than their wielders’ height. Some horses reared back, leaving their unarmored underbellies exposed to the stabbing of the pikemen. Some smashed through the fortified line, their horses wheeling round as Knights hacked and cleaved at the halberdiers with their greatswords, only to be brought down after having butchered so many others.

All around Edus was a muddled rush of screams, clangs and clanks of steel clashing with men that howled and roared guttural and something monstrous, something primal. Still the rain pattered, ceaseless in its fall. Puddles of red gathered and seeped into the earth, traveling down the currents to reach Edus’ feet. The rain did nothing to wash away the metallic smell of fresh blood, mixing with the musty aroma of upturned earth.

All Edus could do was watch it all.

“Press forward!” Landon spat out his words to the wall of men ahead that were held by the dam that was Talibath’s own crunched in mass of bodies. “Keep pressing fecking forward! We live on or we die this day!”

The mages sagged their arms, their force spent, stepping behind the lines of men to recover. Landon turned his attention to the left flank. “Bloody shit,” he swore. “Grizwald direct the company to protect our left flank! You hold, Revus. You fecking hold until the last man.”

Grizwald howled, “Shield wall!”

The command saved many a life as a volley of arrows slicing through the countless droplets that fell upon them. Some still fell. There were still enough advancing soldiers for a company and more, hundreds strong that scrambled forward to shatter their formation. Edus raised his arm and found he had no space to strike his foe, instead stomping on the man’s foot who screamed in agony.

Only it was not the hoarse cry of a man, but a wail of a boy not yet even reached his deepening of voice. Edus paused for an instant, the boy raised his own sword in answer before Edus stabbed his sword through his throat without thought. The boy gagged on his own blood, clutching his throat, and disappeared into the packed mob of soldiers, another taking his place to face Edus.

The melee continued, for moments, hours? To Edus he lost count of the men he killed, of their faces that were pinched with mortal pain or stared back, eyes that had been bulging with rage now showing the panic that betrayed them. Just as the boy he had slain, choking on his death, helpless and afraid, pleading dark eyes that burned into his mind.

Edus fell back to rest as the next man behind him took his position, nearly slipping from his back heel. The bodies had piled up at either side, but with assured steps they were retreating to the legions battling at the front gate.

Edus glanced to the north, to Sven and Mikaal. The pikemen had persisted in their defense, bodies of horses littering the field, their riders propped still, broken. The roads to the north all led to their side, funneling the Knights to their deaths. Still, they had taken more than a few men in their charge, and Edus gritted his teeth. Idiot, he thought. Focus on the battle.

“Agh!” A man screamed, and Edus saw his replacement collapse to the ground. Edus rushed forward, barging through with his shield to shove the soldier back that had butchered his way through their line.

The man was different, for he wielded a greatsword as a Knight and swung it with unnatural ease and speed despite its weight.

“Edus get back!” Grizwald roared and barrelled through to tackle the Knight. This was no Knight however. The Knight’s pointed visored helmet glowed amber from the eye’s slit, turning to spin his greatsword with a mighty swing that grazed past Grizwald’s shield.

Grizwald had anticipated the strike as he did with every attack and turned his shield to glance off the greatsword, sparks flying as steel screeched past steel in the pelting rainfall.

Thunder echoed once more as the Knight tore out his snouted visor to reveal a disturbing grin plastered onto his stubbled face. Long brown hair hung damp upon his head, amber eyes fading to burnt umber.

“You’re a big man,” he remarked with casual carelessness as he flicked his visor to smash a charging man’s head and swiped his greatsword out with one arm to decapitate another in a spray of blood. “And no mortal born could have survived my attack.” He pointed a finger at Grizwald, “You’re a mage.”

Grizwald raised his shield, sword placed overhead in a wary guarded stance.

“Stay back, Edus,” Grizwald growled. Men still fought and screamed and died alongside. They gave the mage and Grizwald a wide berth however. The other mages of the Jade Company were nowhere to be found, until Edus looked overhead to the flying figures caught in combat, blurs of motion with the ringing of flexing metal until figures fell back to the ground below with a crushing smacking squelch.

The mage glanced to Edus and shrugged, “If Edus wants to die too so be it. I’ll each grant you a swift death, but something tells me it won’t come easily to you, big man.”

Grizwald stood knees bent, ready and waiting. The mage scoffed and swung his greatsword in a wide arc. Grizwald blocked the slash and dashed forward to thrust his sword at the mage’s bared face.

The mage's eyes shined once more and batted the strike away, only for Grizwald, now so close to the mage, to headbutt his nose. The man’s head snapped back and he stumbled, nose now leaking blood, Grizwald pulling back his sword for a final strike.

The mage snarled and caught Grizwald’s sword arm with one hand, letting go of his own weapon to throw the larger man over his shoulder. Grizwald landed with a slap of splashing mud and the mage, eyes still glowing with power, lifted a foot to stamp over his head.

Edus had already rushed ahead, dropping his shield and at that instant jumped and kicked one leg up, same as the move he had used upon Grizwald, to deliver a jab of his sword that cut through raindrops and air. The mage had ducked down, spun round, and was now wrapping his armored arms round Edus’ waist to slam him upon his own head.

The hollow thunk of his helmet crashing against his skull caused his vision to blur and twinkle. He lay there dazed, gazing up at the standing mage who was then tackled by Grizwald.

Grunts of their struggle continued, but all Edus could see was the grey sky. Cold rain started to pour into the opening of his helm.

Edus propped himself up, turning his head to see the two mages wrestling in the mud. Two more of Talibath’s own broke through the line, and Edus grabbed his sword and staggered up as they charged towards him.

Edus acted as if he were still dazed, head lolled in wary exhaustion. One soldier raised his sword to which Edus with sudden swiftness caught halfway down and stabbed the man in his armpit. The remaining man slashed at Edus who jumped back and slipped from the wet earth, falling onto his back with a hard smack.

The man thrust his sword downward to be parried away and Edus kicked the man upon his knee. He knelt and yowled in pain, cut off as Edus rose to slash apart his throat, dark blood welling down.

The mage had wrenched off Grizwald’s helmet and shield and straddled the bigger man to the ground, helpless, pummeling past arms raised to ward off his strikes. One punch connected to Grizwald’s face with a burst of gore and Grizwald dropped his resisting arms, now limp.

A wake of splashing water followed towards the mage, ending with Edus appearing behind, eyes flashing with magelight. He slit the mage’s throat and then deftly flipped the sword in his grip to plunge into his exposed neck, hilt sticking out from his left shoulder.

The mage fell to both knees and scrabbled for the sword with both hands, his armor preventing him from even being able to reach it, his expression of gurgling astonishment, panicked as all the rest, until his head sagged down and was still. Crimson dripped down his cuirass to pool with the rainwater.

Edus dragged Grizwald by his feet behind the entangled knotted line of men still screaming and killing each other. But the line was holding, and Edus spotted the pikemen, tabards of dark blue and dulled gold trotting half tilt towards them.

Edus knelt beside Grizwald. His right eye was a pulpy mush, cheekbone broken in, skin purpling and bloating. His other eye flickered, breath wheezing as he held Edus’ hand. All Edus could do was clasp his hand with both of his, and wait.

“Give me… my helmet,” Grizwald croaked. Edus nodded and scrabbled in search of it, spotting it near the now dead mage. He placed the helm with careful fingers over Grizwald’s head.

The roaring reinforcements rushed to aid the shield wall, replacing the wary men spent from prolonged battle. Still the front line near Talibath’s gates continued in massed melee, neither side willing to give up an inch of ground as the piles of bodies grew to blacken the earth with all their lifeblood. Still the rain poured down, damning them all with the ground now made slush as men fought over another’s fate, slipping and falling at death’s edge.

Edus looked overhead, a flock of mages above, capes drenched and hanging off their plated collars. What colors would tip the balance of this battle, the indigo of Hearth or the purple of Talibath? Edus squinted, blinking back the rain, for the darkened cloaks flitted towards the front in seconds.

“The Crown Steward!” A man yelled. “The Crown Steward has come!”

As an unstoppable flow of water crushing past a dam, the mound of bodies clashing against each other soon shattered as the allied legions charging forward roared their victory. The men surrounding Edus rallied, fighting with renewed fervor and pushing back Talibath’s reinforcements until they too fled to the forest.

Edus stared down at Grizwald, hand still gripping his own.

“We’ve won.” Edus stated, for the captain did not answer nor stir.