Wave of Death

Balian unsheathed his sword as Garlin plowed through a squad of soldiers, sending them tumbling to the sides. 

The horde of men behind him crashed over the enemy like a wave.

He squinted through the sun, whose beams were nearly blinding. Thousands of soldiers marched up ahead, surrounding the walls at multiple points. 

We need to attack at their strongest point. The few hundred on the back side of the wall isn't too concerning. The thousands on the northern side need to be our target. 

"Arrowhead!" Balian screamed out, and the men began to move into formation. Two in the row behind him, three in the row behind that, and so on, until they had formed a triangular shape. The goal would be to pierce Styte's army like an arrow. 

Balian's army had about three thousand on horseback, and nearly twenty thousand on foot. A surprise attack using their riders would deal the most damage, and they would leave it up to the footsoldiers to take down at least twenty thousand of Styte's army.

There would be massive losses on both sides, but it could possibly send Styte's army into a retreat. 

Garlin plunged headfirst into the wall of soldiers, and Balian slashed left and right at every unfortunate soldier that crossed his path. 

After a minute, Balian and Garlin were equally soaked in the blood of nearly forty enemies. 

This is going better than expected. 

That was when he saw the soldier jump from the wall. 

Suicide? No, not from that height. There was no reason behind it, no strategy. The actions of a man who wasn't thinking straight.

Balian watched as the soldier plummeted down, crashing into a knight with gold armor. 

Gold armor? The house color of Styte, Balian thought, frowning. He'd seen decorations and designs made of gold before, owned by knights from rich families, but never a full set of golden armor. He hadn't even known something like that was possible. 

Snapping the reins, Balian directed Garlin toward the new commotion. 

"Form up on me!" He commanded, and his riders began forming in a block behind him. 

Balian could hear the clash of swords behind him, signaling that his footsoldiers had entered the battle. 

Maybe Caelus will be killed. 

The fugitive child killer wouldn't leave his mind. After he'd received word of what had happened, he had informed his most trusted men to keep a lookout. They had yet to see anything out of the ordinary.

What's your plan you madman?

Balian reached the golden knight, raising his sword to strike.

The man was tall, the top of his helmet reaching higher than Balian's waist on horseback. In front of him was an old man, laying in the grass, defeated.

Wait…that's….

A flash of gold caught Balian's eye, and he leaped from Garlin. A slash decapitated his horse, sending her crumbling to the ground. 

Balian landed on his feet, immediately springing off the sponge-like ground toward his attacker. Their swords clashed and Balian felt himself pushed backward.

He smiled, ducking under the golden knight's swing. Sliding to his knees, he aimed a slash at a gap in the armor, just above the waist. The sword slid in, cutting into flesh. 

"Gah!" The knight grimaced. Wrapping a hand around Balian's sword, he yanked it out. With it, he pulled free a spray of blood. 

Balian, still holding on to the handle of his sword, spun away. 

The man that had been on the ground stood now, moving to Balian's side. "You made it."

Balian nodded at the old man. "Your hair…."

"Gone all gray and white on me," Sir Hawke said. "You, however, look the exact same."

The golden knight knelt on the ground, holding a hand to his profusely bleeding wound. 

"Who is he?"

"Kallos, Styte's bastard." 

"Never heard of him," Balian said. "I'll finish him off."

"No! Be careful, Balian. I…besides extreme luck, I haven't been able to truly hurt him. He won against me."

Balian raised his eyebrows. "Really? You are getting old, huh?"

Hawke nodded. A soldier charged at him from behind, and he spun and stabbed the man in the chest, just under the ribcage. "Yes. But not old enough to forget how to fight. I'll hold off the strays. You kill him."

*******

Styte closed his eyes.

Kaladia's last moments were upon them. He could feel it. 

A small fire burned within him, a furious little thing. It made him feel enraged. All of House Leandis would die. He would make sure of that. 

Weak.

Styte stood, knocking over his chair. He looked around, scanning his surroundings with a sudden alertness. A few of his soldiers looked over at him, confused. 

So weak.

He tried to ignore the voice, fighting off the paranoia consuming his mind. 

Rise.

An immense pressure lifted from Styte's shoulders, and he knelt to the ground. 

"My king," a guard said with concern. "What is the matter?"

"We're…at this rate…we shall lose this battle."

"No, sir. That can't be true. Our men are nearly breaking down their walls."

"Get me my Generals! Kallos too. NOW!"

The guard scampered off, and Styte stumbled to his feet. "Erosia itself blessed us. The gold a gift to lead us to victory." 

So why did Kaladia still stand? Why hadn't they won yet?

*******

"HAHAHAHA!" Caelus screamed with glee. A soldier lay on the ground beneath him, drowning in a pool of blood. 

This is the most fun I've had in forever!

He stepped over the man and sought out his next victim. 

Sooo many to choose from. Hmmm…there! 

It was a boy, likely in his early teens. Caelus couldn't remember being that age.

He approached the boy, slowly. Like a predator sneaking up on its prey. He licked his lips with excitement.

The boy's eyes found him.

Caelus lunged forward, tackling him to the ground.

The boy screamed and kicked, trying to reach for his fallen sword.

"Help! Someone! So-"

Caelus knelt down and bit the boy's throat out. The sweet taste of blood filled his mouth, dripping down his face and neck. 

The boy fell silent, and he laughed. 

Back in the Capitol he had felt trapped. There were rules and laws that you had to follow. If you didn't you could be locked away forever. 

Out here…on this battlefield, he had free reign. Anything went. However he wanted to kill was acceptable. And he wouldn't face any punishment for his actions.

Licking the blood around his mouth, Caelus snatched up the boy's sword, an extremely shiny, clean blade. 

It seems the boy wasn't able to accomplish much. 

Caelus looked around, hoping for another ripe one. They were the best, after all.

Someone lunged at him from behind, and Caelus turned to block.

The slash came from a different direction than he was expecting, and the blade hit his armor just below his right rib cage. 

Caelus grinned through the pain as the wound began to bleed. 

His new enemy looked shocked, taking a wary step back. Not giving him another moment, Caelus jumped forward, puncturing the soldier's throat with his sword. 

Blood spurted from the man's neck spraying onto Caelus's face. He licked away the drops near his mouth, immediately regretting it. Spitting out as much as he could, he looked at the man with disgust. "Your blood…disgusting. You were dying soon anyways, huh?"

The man didn't respond, blood gurgling in his throat.

"Hmmm," Caelus said, frowning. "I suppose."

Gurgle. Gurgle.

"Really?"

Gurgle.

"Ohhh okay," he responded. "That makes sense."

Gurgle. 

"Alright then."

The gurgling stopped, and Caelus turned away from his new friend.

Don't let them distract you too much. You still need to focus on not dying. 

But Caelus didn't care about that. If he died, the thoughts in his mind would die too, and that brought him comfort. They always seemed to be steering him in the wrong direction.

Find another victim! How should we kill him this time?

That idea he did like. Another victim. Caelus searched the crowd, hoping for someone to stand out. Someone he would enjoy killing more than the others. 

His eyes found a woman. Dark black hair. Beautiful. He licked his lips and stepped toward her. 

A woman on the battlefield? What is she thinking? Someone could easily sneak up on her…and kill her….

Caelus lunged at the woman, a tactic that seemed to work on the rest of his victims. He tackled her to the ground, ignoring her screams. She lost hold of her sword, which fell just out of her reach.

He raised his own sword above her, its point aimed at her throat.

She kneed him between the legs, and Caelus squealed in pain. Rolling over, he tried to gasp for breath as pain radiated from his waist to chest. His stomach turned over, and the rations he'd eaten at camp were tossed back up.

Caelus spun around, looking for the girl again but she seemed to have disappeared into the swarm of soldiers. 

Who was she? I want her. Now. Now. No one escapes me. Her life is mine!

Caelus stood, ignoring the pain. Without another thought, he took off after the girl.