The Foolhardies - Chapter 163 A Song of Ice and Fire

The battle had gone pretty straightforward so far, and I meant that literally.

Thanks to Ty’s efforts, the Foolhardies led by Luca’s Reavers marched a straight line toward the center of the hedge maze unencumbered by the magical hedge as Ty’s power proved stronger. The Red Bull’s forces followed in after us, cheering us on like we’d already won the battle.

Enemies arrived on both sides of our column but Ashley’s shield squad managed to keep these troublemakers at bay long enough for either Edo’s Bastards or Azuma’s Immortals to lay waste to them. And if that wasn’t enough, Aura’s Mage-Hand squad currently under Varda’s command dealt the finishing blow courtesy of flame arrows from Donar or a fist of stone from one of the dwarven mages in the unit.

At the front, Luca’s squad barely had to work hard on slaying foes as Ty’s spell, the area of effect spell I dubbed Winter’s Breath, was overpowered magic that didn’t choose between fairy or shrubbery. All were turned to ice. All Luca and his Reavers had to do now was play the role of ice breakers.

How long Ty could keep this spell up was debatable as humans, even a chosen one, didn’t have much mana inside us for spell casting. And Ty’s physical talents were average at best even after Azuma’s Spartan training regimen.

Still, he was holding out for now, and that really made all the difference. A battle that was at hard-level difficulty was suddenly changed to easy. At least for now. I expected things to change as soon as the famous enemy commander made a move.

Spirits, I hated it when I guessed right.

I didn’t need Fool’s Insight to feel that change in the air as if something unexpected like an earthquake was about to occur.

Sure enough, the Foolhardies were three or four hedge walls away from the center of the maze when the ice formed from Ty’s spell began to slowly melt.

“Smells like trouble’s brewing,” I guessed.

“You’re stating the obvious now, huh,” Red Bull commented.

The two of us, along with Aura and Red Bull’s lieutenant, April Valentine, watched from our vantage point above the valley as the mist the enemy army hiding at the center of the maze started moving into position opposite our march, readying themselves to repel the invaders who had the gall not to walk into their maze properly.

Despite the mist that covered the very center of the oasis, we could see the soldiers at the edge of it, their armor glinting under the light of Idunn.

At the very front of this enemy force, a fairy knight, resplendent in plate mail armor and an awesome looking helmet with an officer’s crest—that line of red brush sprouting at the top—stood with its glowing greatsword planted on the sands in front of it.

Steam rose up from the point where these two invisible forces collided which was two shrubs away from my unit, and even from this high up, I could tell my guys were starting to feel the heat.

From my vantage point, the collision of opposite magics was a sight to behold, especially with Fool’s Insight giving me a unique point of view. To me, they were like two songs, one high-pitched and the other low-pitched, both competing to grab the attention of a captive audience.

“The Dawn Breaker’s a magician…” I noted.

“An Arcane Knight actually,” Aura corrected.

“Those are real?” I asked with furrowed brow.

“Magicians with the physical talents for close-quarters combat and can manage this dual role well often take up this profession,” Aura explained while her own brow furrowed. “Dean… don’t underestimate this opponent. He’s strong.”

I chuckled as I glanced sideways at her.

“I train nightly with a magician who can hold her own in close combat to, you know,” I said knowingly. “Maybe you should consider becoming an Arcane Knight…”

I saw Aura blush visibly as I walked forward.

“Anything else I should know?” I asked as I mounted Myth Chaser.

“The sword…” Red Bull answered.

He too mounted his swifthart, a blood-red beast that was much bigger than Myth Chaser but not quite big enough to be considered elkin.

I mentally took note of it, and wondered if Edo would like a mount of his own.

“The sword is an arcane artifact… you need to have one to be called an Arcane Knight,” he explained.

Aura and April were mounted now too, and along with them, the Red Bull’s cavalry stood ready and waiting. Xanthor’s Dash Riders were present too.

“The knights take up the weapon’s name as their monikers,” Red Bull raised his battle-ax, the shadowblade sparking to life as it rose in the air. “Thus the Dawn Breaker.”

I thought that was kind of cool, and I said as much.

Red Bull chuckled. “If you think that’s cool, then you should meet the Seven Swords of the Justiciars.”

My eyebrows were suddenly in danger of disappearing above my hair line. That was a cool name. Sort of like the Seven Samurai of Mudgardian cinema legend.

“Focus, Dean,” Aura said with a shake of her head. “You can fanboy over fairy culture later.”

“You know, I really think you’ve been hanging out with Arah too much recently,” I scowled. Then I turned to Red Bull and gestured for him to go ahead. “Please begin the charge, general.”

He grinned. Then he dropped his battle-ax forward.

The forces behind him, nearly a thousand strong, let out a mighty roar, one strong enough to alarm all those below the valley.

Now that was the power of a general’s charisma, I thought, and I wondered just when I would bring that level of confidence and strength out of my Foolhardies.

“Ride! Ride now! Ride to death and a red dawn!” Red Bull screamed.

We charged down the valley with the general in the lead and me and Aura flanking him on either side. Our trajectory led us down the sands following the same line that the Foolhardies created.

However, any commander worth his salt would know that charging straight in there would be impossible as hundreds of soldiers were already marching into the hole Ty had made.

So it was no surprise to me that the Red Bull veered to the left at the last second right before we collided with the flanks of our own forces. This kind of sudden turn would have been disastrous if we were riding on anything other than a swifthart.

My heart pounded inside my chest as I pulled on Myth Chaser’s reins and steered him left.

“Cutting it a little close there, general,” I said from his left side.

He guffawed. “You asked me to make it look like we were going in there. I did exactly that.”

I sighed, realizing suddenly that I was paired with another reckless higher-up. And here I thought I wouldn’t have to deal with someone like Darah for a while.

“Well, get to it, Commander,” he ordered. “Do that thing you promised you could do.”

I sighed again. Then I glanced over at Aura on his other side and yelled, “Are you ready?”

Aura, after a moment of doubt flashed across her face, nodded determinedly at me. Then she raised her staff high and began her chant to summon the most awesome spirit of fire.

“Oh mighty servant of the Pillar of Flames, I beseech you, come forth and rampage across this fairy plane!” she entreated.

A giant fireball came to life in the air above her, following her around like a giant floating pointer. It expanded and then exploded outward, spraying those of us around her in a scorching heat reminiscent of a sun glaring down on the beach at high noon.

Moments later, like a beast hatched from a golden egg, the creature of shadow and flame awoke from its slumber in the spirit plane. It let loose a roar that made the hairs on the back of my arms stand on end.

I patted Myth Chaser reassuringly on the neck as even he was vibrating with fear underneath me.

Beside me, I heard Red Bull swear, “Muddamn…”

It was the appropriate response whenever one first encountered Aura’s mighty efreet who I recently dubbed with the nickname, Flamethrower. A little on the nose, I know, but it was a very apt name considering Flamethrower’s predilection to launch fireballs from his clawed hands the moment after it was summoned.

The spirit darted forward, and moments later, an explosion rocked the hedge wall a short distance ahead of us as flamethrower did his thing. With the help of Fool’s Insight I could see the ambient magic of the hedge burn away at his power proving once again that Aura didn’t exactly lose out to Ty in raw power.

“That’s our way in!” I yelled.

Red Bull grinned.

“I’m really liking your style, human,” he guffawed. “Maybe you should consider transferring to my army.”

“No thanks, general,” I replied quickly.

He guffawed again and then led our cavalry into the hole in the hedge that Flamethrower made for us.

Ahead of us, the efreet continued to burn away the hedge wall, ensuring that there were now two paths where our forces could break through the magical maze.  Although the wispy fumes floating out of the scorched plants made me cough as I passed through it.

Red Bull heard me and laughed out even louder. Then he switched gears and turned all business-like when he commanded that we pick up the pace.

“To victory and a red dawn!” he yelled.

I believe I wasn’t the only one screaming my lungs out as I joined the throng of war cries raised into the heavens.