The rumble of a hundred horses loping out of Fort Lyric couldn’t drown out the overwhelming beat of Elstariath’s heart. Fort Lyric’s walls rose out of the earth and opened to the rolling hills covered in sandy colored grass and scattered trees. The safety of the inner walls was abandoned and he was glad for it.

  It allowed him to act, to meet the enemy in a straight up fight. Being to being, as honor demanded he fight.

  The night almost felt as though it were just a dimmer day. One could see fairly well as the moon was full and clear of clouds in the night sky. His night vision was partly ruined by the fort's shield lighting up the surrounding area so its defenders could better see any hostile troops attempting to skirt or climb their defenses though.

  Elstariath repurposed some of the mana that was going into the shield and stored it in his mind until the raiders saw their group. He pointed his sword skyward and large balls of light flared into the sky in front of them. Acting as mobile skylights, the lights shot into the air and steadily moved forward as the manipul gained ground on the enemy.

  Elstariath had led this charge many times, yet still felt butterflies in his gut. The 14th Legion had trained against hunting packs of monsters and beasts while in the Idaus as well as countless training regimens.

  Yet this was different. He was fighting thinking, cunning individuals that were here specifically to kill him. They weren't here because they happened to cross paths or because they were hungry beasts looking for an easy meal.

  They were trying to give him to death.

  He was ordered to give them to death.

  He was leading his men to meet their enemy with steel and magic. Elstariath had been ordered to do this. They had killed his fellow legionnaires and he was to see that they would never do so again.

  So why did his heart pound so fiercely? Why did the captain of one hundred elven knights have a shaking sword in his right hand? Adrenaline? Or Fear?

  It was the fear of death taking him, he realized, as he rode out in front of the entire group of soldiers. Fear of never seeing his family or Drina ever again.

  It’s just the first mission jitters, Elstariath told himself. He rested his saber on his shoulder, blade away from him, so nothing .

  He heard a warning trumpet blast out from Fort Lyric that was then followed by two more higher pitched blasts. Elstariath remembered these as not being a stop and retreat warning call, but a proceed with caution blast. He also saw the shield open on their left and two full manipuls of dwarven skirmishers rushing out of the gate.

  His horse’s loping gait had brought their manipul to within two hundred yards of the enemy. The enemy's guardians broke off from their groups and came together as one to slam their shields into the ground. The ground in front of their shield slam bucked and roiled out from them as a mound of earth and magical power forced its way through the earth and towards their charge. About halfway to Elstariath’s cavalry, it stopped building itself up and solidified into a fifteen foot wall of dirt.

  Elstariath responded by lifting his sword into the air and magnifying his voice with his own magic.

  “CLEAR A PATH!!!” he thundered.

  The leaders of their loose diamond formation all raised their swords high in the air. The rush of mana to the leaders from the troops behind caused the swords to glow incandescently in the moonlight as though the moon itself blessed their charge.

  “RELEASE!!!” Elstariath ordered.

  All of the cavalry swung their sabers in perfect unison, having trained this move hundreds of times in the past. Kinetic force sliced through the air horizontally in silver arcs with a swiftness that quickly outpaced their horses. The sharp edged blades of silver light all widened to meet each other and overlap, creating a giant blade that swept out in front of them as if a giant of old swung greatsword.

  The magical blades slashed through the wall that had been created in front of them. Each cut into the wall was two feet from the base of the earth. The extra energy left in the spells slammed into the ground on the backside of the wall until the energy was used up as it dissipated into nothingness.

  The wall crumbled throughout the middle and fell into clumps of dirt as nothing supported the massive amount of earth above where the cavalry had cut. Since the Frima Unity’s guardians were not channeling mana into the earth still, it had turned into a simple dirt wall. This left it susceptible to the magic of the cavalry and gravity to pull it down.

  Elstariath cursed in the saddle as he saw another wall the same distance behind the first. It sat atop of a hill as well so there was no way for them to see the fleeing enemy. He also had to make sure they weren’t just hiding behind this wall as well.

  The nobleman of House Roth slowed up the loping horses to a trot as they approached the freshly unpacked dirt the first wall had dissolved into. Elstariath cursed again as he realized they had to slow their speed. Otherwise their mounts could break a leg if they stumbled or sank too deep into the soft dirt.

  All the while, they were losing time on the enemy.

  He kept to a trot as he left the dirt mound. The cavalry commander raised his sword as a rally signal to the rest of the troops. They quickly formed up on him again. Each horse that passed over the mound packed it down more for the following troops. This allowed them to speed up exponentially as more riders passed.

  Adjusting his weight in the saddle, he pointed his saber towards the far edge of the next wall. It was roughly five hundred feet from them and would serve them better for speed if they went around it.

  The thunder of hooves rejoined his racing heart again as the manipul rebuilt its speed. His heart no longer raced in fear, but in anger and frustration from failing to choose the right tactic immediately. Elstariath was also frustrated that he hadn’t thought of a way to pack the ground at the same time as cutting through it. His face burned as he thought of how they must look like idiots right now.

  The cavalry needed to gain ground, so Elstariath kicked his horse into a gallop in an attempt to waste as little time as possible. The cavalry released another barrage of kinetic blades at the wall to make sure no one laid in wait at their sides.

  The wall crumbled again along their left flank, same as the last, revealing no one waiting behind them. It did reveal another wall, which allowed him to rest easier about his leadership. Elstariath still wished, frustration building more, that he could think of something to easily traverse the walls.

  “REINFORCE THE MOUNTS!!!” he ordered. Silvery white light began to glow around the horses’ legs and lower body from magical reinforcement. This was to help lighten the load of the elven knights clad in heavy armor atop them. Though this did drain the cavalry’s mana reserves, it would hasten their pursuit while keeping their horses’ strength up.

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  Elstariath looked back at his cavalry detachment. Elven faces stared back at him with a mix of impassive determination, fear, and hints of bloodlust. This didn’t surprise him, as he knew their character, if not all of many of their names. Mainly because it had been his father who had hand-picked these knights to join him.

  Though as he saw their horses galloping, with the blue and red of the Eusa Aristocracy adorning their armor and horses, he couldn’t help but feel proud. Proud of the high and mighty elven houses for banding together. Proud for his kin. Proud for the honor that they showed each other by marching forward into danger.

  The thunder of hooves in his ears called out their battle cry to the enemy. He saw the last of the Frimans running over the next hill.

  The raiding squads in front of him were also glowing with silvery kinetic mana. They moved swiftly, slightly slower than the cavalry’s mounts. Elstariath would catch them over the next hill. He even saw them look back in surprise as the Frimans made their way over the next rise.

  This encouraged Elstariath even more. He knew they would catch them now. He remembered his training however, so as not to urge his horse into a full sprint that would exhaust it.

  Their steeds, already familiar with this practice, settled into the long rhythm of chasing the enemy. Elstariath leaned back as they moved down the hill at a faster pace and rode the momentum up the hill.

  “LANCE!!!” He shouted to the leaders. The leader’s sabers glowed bright white again as he prepared for them to engage the enemy that lay beyond the hill.

  Elstariath felt the pit of his stomach grow hollow and uneasy. Doubt gnawed within him. He couldn’t help but feel apprehensive about the fact they were about to engage the enemy. Their company's first engagement with warriors.

  They would start building the legend of the 14th Legion today.

  Hooves rumbled in his ears.

  They would bring honor to their houses through this battle.

  Sabers howled with magical power.

  They would become warriors today.

  As the horses crested the hill, the bright magical lights that lit their way in the night revealed the raiders in a tight formation on top of the next hill. The Frimans, clad in gold and green armor, had stationed their guardians at the forefront of their ranks. A bright magical dome was on full display and ready to receive any attacks they made. Next to their guardians were bruisers, shock troops that were to deal as much death as possible while also being able to defend themselves. The area behind both units was full of battlemages that were already bringing their magical prowess to bear.

  Fireballs and crackling bolts of lightning were being charged up for a full salvo. This prompted a swift call to action for Elstariath. He had not expected this change. His company was charging a fully ready position of enemies, not chasing down fleeing warriors.

  “WHEEL AND BRACE!!!” Elstariath ordered quickly, reacting with his training. He would have them circle around the group at full speed to better dodge the full frontal blast that was about to be hitting them. They would also fully embrace the shield while they probed and harried the flanks. They just needed to keep them in place until the dwarves arrived to crush them.

  Elstariath brought his saber up high and then pointed it forward to the enemy, aiming for the backline mages. He created an opening in their own shield to shoot out from. The energy that had built up along his blade shot forth as fast as an arrow and slammed into the barrier of magic. The rest of the manipul leaders released theirs immediately after as Elstariath had already opened holes in their shield for them to aim through as well. They aimed for the same general area as he had shot into.

  While his blast did hardly anything but distract the enemy, it hadn’t been intended to harm. Its purpose had been to show his fighters where to aim.

  As the officer’s shots rammed into the defensive shield, the power overwhelmed that specific section. Larger shields were generally made of evenly distributed mana, because of this, it was easier to punch through them if a bunch of mana were to be applied in small spots to force an opening.

  Which Elstariath’s officers did splendidly.

  The silver blasts of penetrating kinetic magic drilled through the large shield and stabbed into the battlemages underneath it. Four warriors were splattered upon the ground from the last five blasts that had managed to fully make it through the shield. Already, Elstariath saw some of the raiders near the blast grow uncertain in their protections.

  A few regally armored warriors, all in a general green and gold coloration, stepped in and began barking orders. Each wore a black skullcap with gold stripes that flowed down the cloth attached to the top that hung loosely down their necks. Order was quickly restored to the enemy's ranks. Healers began to check the wounded or dead for any ways to restore them.

  Elstariath took his mount to the right of the raiders with as much speed as he could muster so as to not immediately wear their horses out. The raider captains dropped their shield completely in the backlines. From this opening poured a large swathe of fire, lightning, and rocks that flew towards their wheeling formation at the base of the hill. Elstariath quickly tried to adjust the shield so as to turn it into a half dome instead of a full dome but mana could only move so fast.

  “BRACE!!!” Elstariath ordered once again.

  A salvo of deafening proportions rocked into the shielding and made it tremble. Elstariath winced as isolated spots in the shield that hadn’t received magical reinforcement yet, blew open and allowed the hostile magic to enter.

  Rocks punched into his knights. Most had braced with their own personal shielding to absorb the impact of direct hits. Small fireballs exploded in wrathful fury, enveloping elf and horse alike. The occasional lightning bolt crackled against shielding and drained its magic extremely fast, leaving the target under it fried if it happened to get through quick enough.

  They lost more riders from their horses taking hits rather than being directly hit themselves. All of the knights had been too quick to shield themselves and forgot about their steeds that carried them at neck breaking speeds. Thankfully this only seemed to occur at the outer line facing the enemy as their horses were exposed to the enemy more.

  Elstariath quickly looked back and saw that a little over ten of his knights had truly been taken out. Though plenty looked wounded and yet rode on. The 14th’s blue and red colors reassured him after their first contact with the enemy. These were his charges, they were doing what needed to be done, he would just need to do better.

  “HARASS AT WILL!!!” Elstariath bellowed as he turned his attention back to their front. He manipulated the shield to become a moving wall with a slot for the rest of his troops to send their magic through. He also made sure to reinforce the bottom section into a thicker shield so that the horses would be less likely to suffer any direct attacks.

  The 14th Legion’s cavalry knights began to release a constant barrage of magic upon the Friman shields. Elstariath began to smile in victory as the shield started to break from the constant drain of mana that was being taken with each strike that landed upon it. The Frimans couldn’t release the shield wall they held without suffering mass casualties in the time it would take to counterattack. The Friman captains roared in defiance and ordered their squads to advance upon the Aristocracy’s cavalry on an intercept path.

  Elstariath grinned eagerly at the thought of being able to engage in melee. As he wished to close with the enemy. He wished to exact vengeance for his slain comrades. He would see the Friman Unity’s cowardly raids, quashed immediately.

  “ENGAGE IN MELEE!!!” Elstariath ordered, bloodlust rising within him. He kicked his horse into a charge, thrusting his saber forward in defiance of the enemy. The rest of the knights roared in acknowledgement as they too surged forward.

  Elstariath’s heart thundered so loudly in his ears that he couldn’t hear anything else as they surged up the hill. The Frimans green and gold armor were the only thing he could focus upon in the night. The moon and his light spell acted as spotlights on a stage, a stage of battle. He felt his horses movement beneath him as it surged forward.

  Silence reigned around them.

  Elstariath was jarred from his bloodlust by the sudden absence of sound. He couldn’t hear anything, not the pounding of hooves nor the roaring of his fellow knights. It was as if he had entered a dead space where sound did not exist. He looked to his right and noticed all the other officers wore looks of confusion as well and were looking around.

  Elstariath’s horse buckled from under him, and he was suddenly flying over the hilly field doing his best impersonation of a catapulted rock.

  A hole collapsed in on itself in front of him and he saw the shape of a giant beetle, ornately armored, with a rider of similar splendor atop it. It charged forth from the tunnel. The scorpion insectoid rider upon its back raised its finely made golden spear and thrust it towards Elstariath.