Darkness Descends

They'd made it. 

House Styte's army was only fifty furlongs away. There was movement, but the army had yet to charge.

The time to approach was now.

Valia strode through the grass, which had grown so tall it reached her waist. Alon and Guron followed quietly behind her. 

The city of Kaladia was behind them now. Valia had made sure to keep a large distance between them and the city's walls as they passed it. Thankfully, they hadn't been noticed by any of House Leandis's soldiers. 

"How will they know we're not enemies?" Alon whispered worriedly. 

"If I was prepared for a war and saw three people nearing my army, I would assume it's a surprise attack," said Guron.

"You're right. Maybe we should go around. Sneak up behind them," Alon said. "Valia?"

She groaned. "I suppose I didn't think this all the way through. I'm sure all of those soldiers are so on edge that they'll attack at the first sign of movement. It's just…I didn't expect them to be mobilized so soon. I hoped to join earlier."

"So, what do we do?" Guron asked.

Valia sighed, rubbing her head. "Let me think for a moment."

She closed her eyes, hoping for any ideas. They could make themselves seem harmless. Lose all their armor and weapons. Tell the army they were villagers looking to help their country.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Her eyes shot open, and she noticed Guron backing away uncertainly. 

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"What the hell is that noise?" Valia asked, crouching in the grass. 

"Steps," Guron said, fear in his eyes. "The steps of thousands of men at once. They're marching forward."

The breath stopped in her throat. "And…we're directly in their path."

There was a rustle behind her and she saw Guron and Alon pushing through the grasses, running back toward Kaladia.

"Wait…where are you going?" Valia asked, pushing after them.

"Kaladia. It's our only chance," Guron said, covering his ears with his hands. The thunderous rumble of footsteps was likely deafening to someone with amplified hearing.

"Kaladia?" Valia asked with frustration. "They're the enemy. I'm not going to them, even if I end up in the middle of a battle."

"Then you'll die," Alon said, not bothering to look back at her. "It was a bad plan, Valia. Please, let's survive."

Valia nodded, moving quicker so she could catch up with them. "Right. Survive."

*******

General Hawke stood at the armory door, handing weapons to passing soldiers. 

"This one is a fine blade," he said confidently, passing the handle into the hands of a young boy. "It will serve you well."

The boy nodded, gratefully accepting the sword. He admired it for a moment, and General Hawke smiled as the boy strode off confidently.

No more than ten, Sir Hawke thought. The same age as Balian had been in his first battle. It wasn't fair to the child, but they needed the numbers. 

He passed another sword to a soldier. 

That battle, he thought. The Battle of Barren Creek. 

Only he and Balian had survived. Somehow the two of them had fought off the enemy, sending them into a retreat. The soldiers had been from House Ferros from the south of House Leandis.

Twenty years had passed since then. 

"Oh, how time does fly," he said aloud. 

"Yes, it does, General," Elond said from inside the armory. He reached out, handing Sir Hawke another sword. "My first battle. And I've had seventeen years to prepare."

"No number of years will prepare you for this," Sir Hawke said gruffly.

"Didn't you fight when you were young, General?"

"I did. I left home when I was fourteen. Joined House Leandis's army and killed a man the very next day." Sir Hawke paused. "Even after sixty-three years of life, I'm uncertain. I'm a general in the largest army in the world, yet I still don't feel prepared."

He passed out the final sword and set off toward the wall, Elond following closely behind.

The two began the climb back to the top of the wall. Styte's army was growing ever closer.

Sir Hawke turned to his son. "Elond. Listen. You will stay by my side, no matter what. Understand?"

"No, I want to fight."

"And you will fight," Sir Hawke said. "You have to fight. Or else we die. But I want you to fight under my supervision. I'm not letting you get hurt."

"You don't need to worry about-"

"As both your father and your general, I am commanding you to do this one thing," Sir Hawke said softly. "Please."

Elond nodded but stayed quiet.

"Good. Now let us strategize."

"Well, our walls are fairly tall, so the enemy will need some sort of ladder to scale them. We could gather stones to throw down at them as they climb," Elond said. 

"Good! Very good!" Sir Hawke said. "I bet that'll slow them down. How about something…hotter. Tar perhaps?"

Elond nodded. "That would probably work better. Or maybe both?"

"Maybe both," Sir Hawke said with a smile. "Unfortunately, that's only effective for when they are at our walls. Defenses outside of the wall should be considered as well."

"Traps. We could plant traps outside the walls."

"Traps?" Sir Hawke asked. "What kind are you suggesting? Maybe holes that they would fall into? We don't have enough time for that."

Elond thought for a moment. He looked nervous, knowing that his father was testing him. "I…I don't know. What else could we do?"

"Well, in this situation, there's not much," Sir Hawke said truthfully. "But there is still much we can do with the men we have. Twenty thousand is too many to fit on the wall anyway. Firstly, we use our archers. If their arrows can kill a thousand or so, we'll have a good start on our hands. Next, all of our archers have swords. Even if they aren't the most skilled, we can use more close-range soldiers for when our walls are inevitably breached."

"Inevitably?" Elond asked with shock.

"Yes. Eighty thousand men. Four times as much as us. I'm not saying we'll lose. If we play this battlefield right, we have a chance. But either way, the enemy will enter our walls."

"But what about the soldiers from the capitol? General Balian and…?" He trailed off, reading the expression on his father's face. "You don't believe they'll come in time?"

Sir Hawke shook his head. "That is why we must defeat them ourselves. Show General Balian, and the king, what kind of soldiers they have. The toughest in the world."

There was a scream, and Sir Hawke looked down. Three people stood at the base of the wall.

General Hawke shot a furious glance at one of his men, who he had told to keep a look out for approaching enemies.

"We're not House Styte," one of the men called out from below. He was round and old, similar to how Sir Hawke felt most of the time. "We seek refuge within your walls."

"Please," said the other man, a tall skinny boy with hair as orange as fire. "We'll join our arms with yours against Styte."

Only three of them, and they think they have any bargaining power?

"What king do you serve?"

"King Leandis, of course. Is there truly any other?" The older man said. 

Sir Hawke's eyes moved to the woman behind them. She wore leather armor and had a long sword strapped across her back. And her hair…it was a darker shade than a starless night. Almost like….

A soldier set a bucket down next to him, and Sir Hawke glanced inside. 

Almost like tar.

He smiled. So that was it? 

Narrow Gap.

"Give them a ladder," he decided. "Let them up here."

Elond didn't protest, immediately moving to grab one of their ladders. 

Sir Hawke watched them ascend quietly, thinking of his next move. These three were no allies. Not to House Leandis. But they'd seen Styte's army. There was nowhere else for them to go. Kaladia was their last hope. Maybe he could put them to use. 

He reached out a gloved hand, pulling the woman up from the ladder and onto stable ground. "I am General Hawke," he said to his three new soldiers. "You look skilled. All of you. Where are you from?"

They were silent for a moment.

Then the orange-haired man spoke up. "My name is Alon. We're from a village just south of here."

"Which one?" He asked curiously. "I know the surrounding area very well."

Alon stiffened.

"Look, it's not important," the older man said quickly. "What about the army on your doorstep? What did you do to provoke them?"

"Nothing, honestly. I suppose being the most powerful House makes us a bigger target." Sir Hawke turned to the girl, smiling. "You're a quiet one, huh?"

She said nothing.

"I assumed," he continued. "Now, where are you from?"

All three of them became quiet. 

Perfect. "As I was saying, you three look very skilled. How about I do you a favor and not ask you where you're from, even though I already know the answer. Let's say I look past it. I still need help."

"Help with what?" Alon asked. 

Sir Hawke glanced at Elond. "An ambush. The five of us here. You three. Me and my son. We would be a small but effective group."

"That's suicide!" the old man protested.

"I don't believe so," he said. "I think all of us will survive. And once the battle concludes, you three may be on your way. I'll even find a way to make you citizens of House Leandis."

The two men looked as if they were about to protest. 

The girl raised her hand, silencing them. Then she looked Sir Hawke directly in the eyes. 

"We'll do it."