Maiden Battle (part 3)

Brim wet the palm of his hands with his flammable sweat. He left his middle finger and thumb dry, rubbing them together in a quick motion. From the roughness, a spark flashed, lighting the oil ablaze. He looked around, checking that everyone else had done the same.

‘Enemy estimated four-hundred metres ahead of us!’ He bellowed, making sure he was heard in the chaos. ‘Ready?! Aim! Fire!’

The artillery group flung a flurry of fireballs over the battlefield. They arced through the air, crashing into at their desired location. Upon impact, Brim turned to his designated messenger.

‘Damage report,’ he ordered.

The messenger whistled, calling a tinoo to arrive with a rolled-up letter in its talons. He unravelled it and read its contents.

‘Eighty percent of the fireballs hit the enemy and,’ the messenger said, stopping before sighing.

‘And?’

‘Barely any damage to the opposition. The flames hit them, but they died down too quickly. They seem to have mild resistance to fire.’

‘We’re practically useless offensively now,’ Brim complained. ‘How are our water reserves?’

‘Fifty percent of it has been used up.’

‘Good enough. Tell the rest to focus fully on defence. Make sure the offence group suffer from as little enemy fire as possible. The fire elementals will have to go on stand-by for now.’

‘Yes, sir!’

Brim felt dejected. Gin and his battalion fighting for their lives, while he stood there under their protection. He felt beyond useless as this new wave of mages made his battalion redundant. What else could he do? What would Gin do in his situation? Knowing him, he would try to think his way out of it.

‘Think, Brim, think,’ he muttered to himself, adopting a similar approach.

‘Leader!’ someone called out before Brim could come up with anything. Brim howled in annoyance. How did Gin manage think on the spot so well?

‘What?!’ he shouted, a bit too forcefully.

Walking towards him was a giant of a man. He had the same, rough texture in his skin as Brim did. But his defining feature were his massive hands that weighed him down.

‘Leader, use us,’ he said referring to the other mages that had similar features.

‘You’re part of that experimental team Gin came up with, right?’

‘Yes. You’ve seen our capabilities before, but you kept us on standby because we didn’t have time to set ourselves up. Surely, we can be of use now? We just have to deal with the juggernauts, right?’

‘That’s it!’ brim exclaimed. His frown turned into a grin.

‘Leader?’ the mage questioned, taken back by Brim’s outburst.

‘Sorry. Just realised that the enemy only had mild resistance to fire. Our tiny fireballs won’t hurt them, but you guys might do it with your larger artillery.’

‘Then the request is accepted?’

‘Yes. Go set yourselves up. Launch fire as soon as possible.’

‘We won’t let your trust down!’

Brim dismissed the mage then called for his messenger once more. He told him to relay the new plan. Just like before, he whistled for his tinoo. But this time the tinoo flew in a frantic fashion. It almost crashed into its owner’s shoulders as it squawked and fluttered its wings.

‘What’s wrong?’ Brim demanded.

‘I don’t know,’ the messenger responded, trying to calm the bird down. ‘Wait. This isn’t my tinoo.’

‘You can tell the difference? They all look the same to me.’

‘Yep. This is definitely not mine. Hold on.’

There was a letter attached to its talon. The messenger unravelled the letter, read its contents then gave Brim a brief summary. The bird continued to make noise but it looked calmer, as if it was trying to say something. Unfortunately, neither Brim nor the messenger could understand it.

‘The letter says the enemy juggernauts are a hundred metres from clashing with the offence group,’ the messenger began. ‘Also, there’s a side note reporting Syndra’s battalion’s situation.’

‘Did something happen?’ Brim asked, concerned by the need to report what’s happening on their side.

‘Don’t think it’s anything to me alarmed by. Just that all the animals are making noise. “constant growling, squawking etc.” They’re trying to calm them down but can’t. “Shouldn’t be anything to worry about. We got it under control but thought you should know what’s going on, in case our role gets delayed,” is what they’re saying.’

‘So, it isn’t just this particular tinoo,’ Brim mumbled to himself. Suddenly his heart sank. ‘Are we certain the enemy just has juggernauts and fire elementals? We took care of everyone else, right?’

‘No reports to confirm that yet.’

‘Get all the free fire elementals that can fight in melee combat now. Tell them to head straight over to the utility group asap.’

‘I don’t under-’

‘Now!’

‘Yes sir!’

Brim had already turned around and began sprinting towards the utility group. His hands were set ablaze. He hoped he wasn’t too late.

****

The skies were a hectic mess. Mage-eaters flocked from the horizon, joining the Eurasian tinoos in their air-space. They paid no attention to their avian brethren, as they circled over the battlefield, eyeing their next meal. It disrupted the tinoos formation, forcing all of them to climb further into the sky. All but one, that is. That exception flapped its fiery-red wings, swooping towards its owner, landing on her shoulder.

‘What’s the status?’ Syndra called out.

The tinoo did a form of dance. It moved its wing in a methodical pattern, with Syndra nodding to it. Once it was done, she gave hand signals in return. The bird shook its head, then danced some more.

‘Huh?’ Syndra said, confused by what the bird was trying to say. ‘We already know about the juggernauts.’

It was obvious the tinoo couldn’t convey its message properly, annoying both owner and familiar alike. The tinoo squawked in frustration. Along with the chorus of animal noises behind her, Syndra couldn’t help but feel equally frustrated.

‘Not you too,’ she complained. ‘The other animals are driving me crazy, so can you please be obedient instead. Just because we’re defended by the other groups, doesn’t mean we can relax. The others need our information.’

The bird stayed stubborn. It turned around and pointed its wings towards the artillery group ahead of them. A battalion member approached Syndra, whom she concluded was what her tinoo was pointing at.

‘People are approaching,’ she reported.

‘What?’ Syndra replied, looking at her tinoo, who just tilted its head. ‘Have the enemy broken through?’

‘No. It’s the artillery group’s leader and a few others.’

‘Brim? He’s got his messenger. Why does he need to see us in person?’

The battalion member shrugged, prompting Syndra to go check the situation out for herself. She stood at the front of the battalion, her tinoo still resting on her shoulder. She stared at the sprinting Brim, whose hands was alight, wondering what was going on.

Syndra’s tinoo began squawking again. She gave it a light tap on the head, but that only aggravated it instead. It went wild, fluttering its wings right in Syndra’s face. She stumbled backwards, tripping on the shifting sands.

Syndra felt pins and needles from her shoulders. She had a look and saw blood pouring out of three lined marks. Then the pain hit her like a lupim crashing into you. Her mind was a mess. She refused to believe what she was seeing. Blood was floating in the air, dripping onto the ground.

The other battalion members froze, equally suspended in disbelief. The only one that moved was Syndra’s tinoo. It attacked the air, preventing the floating blood to get closer to its owner.

Syndra was paralysed. She watched as her tinoo fought against this unknown threat. She watched as its bravery was punished. She watched as her partner and friend was slashed into pieces by the floating blood. She quivered at the claws that formed, drenched from its latest victim. They were now aimed at her.

Brim charged at the unseen entity, landing a direct hit onto it. The sands parted where the enemy landed, allowing Brim to grab hold of him. The enemy struck out in retaliation, but it only scratched his armour.

The flames spread, burning the enemy. It was turning into ash, to the point that you couldn’t tell whether it was a man or a woman. Brim finished the stealth bestial off, ripping its heart out and letting the rest of the body to burn.

‘Alert everyone! Stealth bestials are attacking! Light up torches and watch for the shadows! Report the situation to ally fire elementals when they arrive and have them defend,’ brim ordered, sparking the utility group to move into action.

But Syndra stayed motionless. She cradled her lifeless partner in her arms, caressing its head, hoping it would wake up. She paid no attention to Brim or anyone around her.

‘Syndra!’ Brim bellowed.

‘Huh?’ she said, finally coming to.

‘Get your head straight. Your battalion is danger and you’re just sitting there!’

‘B-but-’

‘I don’t give a damn about your bird. The juggernauts were just a distraction. They sent stealth bestials to attack the utility group. I’ve ordered my men to come and defend. Now get up and do your duty as leader!’

Syndra remained where she was. Tears flowed from her eyes, as she clutched her bleeding shoulder. She was visibly torn by what had happened. If she didn’t move, she was going to be an easy target. Brim tutted and put out his flames. He then flung her around her back and began running towards Michal’s battalion. They were most at risk. They didn’t have the animals to warn them.

‘Please tell me they haven’t reached you yet,’ he said to himself.