Soul Under the Mountain (Legend of Reason Series) (24 page)

"Do not waste your time praying to the gods for victory. Your enemy is already doing that and there's a lot more of them. This battle cannot be decided by the hands of gods, and instead will be decided solely by the hands of man.

"I do not ask that you fight for me. I do not ask that you fight for Medora. I ask that you fight for freedom, and for the freedom of those who come after us. Fight so that your children are not born into slavery, completely unaware of any other option than that.

"We must not teach our children comparisons in soft, gentle colors. There are bold distinctions in these two systems. These differences, over time, have been blurred into a single image, one that dishonestly portrays the soul of this nation. We have been tricked into thinking that prosperity is the cause of failure, and that we must punish those who
are more prosperous than us
. This dim hope is lit by hatred alone, and that monotone world can only fade to darkness. The enemy offers starlight to live by—I offer the glaring sun
.

If we stand idly by and do nothing, then every Medoran who fell before you died for nothing. If we refuse to bring the fire of freedom to the world, then our children will live for nothing.
This fight is your destiny. This is the last chance to hand over a free world to the next generation. We cannot fail them or everything is lost.

Today these
enemies beset us from both sides. Some
stand on our land and demand that we lay down our weapons. They demand that we abandon our way of life and adopt theirs. I will not abandon my ways or my people. I will not lay down my weapons until there is no longer a threat hovering over us. It pains me to say that this day will never come. For as soon as we lay sword to soil, the enemy will strike us at our necks. Freedom is not the natural state of man, and it must be maintained and fought for. It requires the blood of free men and their oppressors to flower and grow.

And here we stand before those oppressors. Here, we free men of the west see doom lapping at our shores. We see the dark clouds of tyranny rolling in from the horizon to cover us all. That great thunderhead crackles with the voices of
our oppressors
.

Many of you fear that this is the end; and it may very well be. This may be not only
your
final battle, but the final battle of Medora. When the dirt you stand upon drinks of your blood, and all life flees from you, the life of freedom may also die. It is your duty to fight as if the entire war depends upon your individual actions alone. Such a weight is hard to bear, but this is the war we face. This is the war that was brought to this land because others hate us and blame us for their misfortunes and even their own evil deeds.

"
In the end, they may send your
souls to the gods. They may pry the swords from your dying hands. They may eventually pry the golden sword from mine. But I assure you, even if we all fall to their steel, none of them will ever forget this fight. We will scar their memories for generations to come, and they will remember the fury we brought to them. Their children will hear the stories of the greatest battle ever fought, and many will ponder, with
roiling
wonder, why the Medorans were such a formidable foe
instilling such fear
in their enemies
. If freedom dies here behind these shields, then courage will die behind theirs.

But, my countrymen, my friends, hope is not lost. The defeat of the west is not assured. We have turned back terrible forces in the past, and we can do it this day. The gods may have abandoned us, but we do not need their favor to know what is right. The Medorans have always been the strongest army in the world; not because of our weapons and armor, but because of who we are. We are just and fair. We are the keepers of reason and law. We do no harm to those who do not bring destruction to us.

But today these invaders bring destruction, and they will face the full wrath of the entire Medoran army. We will grant no mercy. We will kill them all.
"

There was no roaring cheer.
All he could hear
was the gentle wind swirling in his ears.
There was only an ocean of sta
ring faces looking back at him, and for a long moment he thought the army before him disagreed with his words.

Then one of the soldiers put his sword in the air and cried out. "For freedom!"

The whole army snapped a salute, bringing their fist to their armored chests. The boom of fist on steel seemed to echo through the ranks as far back as Rommus
could see.

Chapter
29

The roar of war echoed across the fields. Screams and ringing steel merged into a single, terrible song. Shrieking arrows found targets of steel or flesh, and the shrieks of men swiftly followed. Lines of men on both sides fell; their world ending at the
front
line of battle where order met chaos.

The Thrahks waited patiently, swaying as if the wind had effect on them. They had not been given orders to attack, but they were positioned in two long rows at the top of a hill so that all the Medorans could clearly see them. They clicked their long claws at their fingertips together in rapid succession, adding their own instrument to the horrible song of war. On occasion a low growl or a
n all-out roar could be heard, but the Thrahks just stood their ground,
watching the battle and
waiting for command.

The entire field surrounding Taburdum was covered in soldiers. From where the Zidaoz
was positioned
, he could not even see any Medorans. For as far a
s he could see in front of him,
only the backs of his own men
could be
seen. Off to the right or left was a similar sight, but he could see the flanks of his army off in the distance.

The Zidaoz had been convinced by the Dirujen to sit on a horse and allow it to carry him around the battlefield. He had found the experience quite unnerving, and he was sure that he did not look very dignified trying to control the animal. His light frame was bounced up and down far too often, and he was becoming somewhat embarrassed. The view, however, was much better, and he was able to weave through the soldiers with ease.

Eventually when his army had cleared a safe path, he would enter the city of Taburdum. Once he was safe behin
d the walls he would call for the attack to halt, and then address the enemy from atop the walls. He would proclaim the city had been taken by the Bhoors, and would be renamed Zuhr'Awhi. All Medoran cities would fall to his army and be repopulated with the only true men of faith in the world—the Bhoors. Once he addressed the enemy, they would almost certainly be filled with great fear and lay down their weapons. Doing so would not spare their lives, but it would grant them a merciful death instead of torture.

The total genocide of the Medorans was the only option, as their will to stand against oppressors was far too strong. They would sooner die than accept Rohni as their god and the Zidaoz as their master, so the Zidaoz would grant them the death they would come to desire. They were such fools. If only they could have seen that Rohni was the one true god, he might have spared them, but their irrational defiance had brought war to their nation and the wrath of a god down upon them. Rohni demanded the blood of every living Medoran, and he would soon have it.

For hours he watched the blurry battle in the distance. Every now and then a soldier or one of the Dirujen would bring him reports and he would send orders back through them. Many men had died on both sides, and most of the effort was organizing attacks so that fresh, rested soldiers could replace those who were weary. Once a system for that had been implemented, the battle
seemed to go very well.

But the Medorans
suffered far fewer losses than the Bhoors. They
generally fought in tight, strict formations, and their spears were long. It was difficult to get close enough to attack, and when soldiers finally did break passed the spear points, they encountered a solid row of
overlapping
shields. Other spears from the rows of men behind would shoot over or under the shields, killing or crippling the Bhoors instantly.

The Zidaoz took note of this and gave orders for the Vindyri to attack at the front line
.
Unlike most of the Bhoors, the Vindyri
wore armor and were better suited to deal with the seemingly impenetrable lines of the Medoran ranks. Several times he had given that order, and several times messengers were sent back to him asking him
for clarification
. It took a long time to send orders down to the front line, and after three or four attempts, the Zidaoz was beginning to wonder if the Vindyri were simply avoiding the order altogether. The thought of them defying orders infuriated him, but he did his best to maintain his composure. He looked to the Dirujen as an example. Men and beast alike did their bidding, and they never lost their temper or their nerve. They just stood regal and stoic,
seemingly unaffected by the battle and nonchalant about their surroundings in general.

But on occasion they would walk out in front of the lines of Thrahks and stare at them. The beasts would stare back in rapt attention, communicating silently with their masters. When the Dirujen conveyed their commands to the Thrahks, their immense bodies relaxed and their muscles slackened. They were instantly spellbound, unable to do anything more than focus on their masters.

But while the Dirujen were not staring into their empty eyes, the beasts sometimes became irritated. They stood still for hours on end, and with all the weight of their great bones and muscle they surely would become sore and tired. It was easy to look at the Thrahks as mythical, magical monsters from another realm, but in reality they suffered many of the same ailments any human would. After seeing many of the Thrahks thrash around in aggravation, he began to worry about their wellbeing. He didn't care about the animals themselves, he was simply worried that they might not be able to adequately perform the tasks that would be given to them when the order finally came for them to attack.

"Those things are dangerous," came a deep voice from behind him.

"T
he Thrahks are no threat to us," the Zidaoz said. "
They are under control."

"I wasn't talking about the Thrahks. I was talking about the immortals. Look at the power they hold over these creatures. What makes you think they will not turn their pets loose on you?"

The Zidaoz turned to face
the hooded
Gorin. "I have been given orders by the one true god, Rohni. He has commanded me to use the Dirujen to help destroy Medora. I have faith that Rohni guides me towards the destiny he has in store for me."

Gewin laughed. "Rohni, huh?"

"You insult me, and yet I was informed by Rohni that you would arrive long before you got here. I knew your names
and the weapons you would be carrying
. Doesn't that prove to you that he is the one true god?
"

"We knew your name too, Zidaoz. That does not prove anything. But faith in gods is not the issue
here. The issue is killing."

"Well, you can join my front lines whenever you like. Surely your size alone would prove invaluable down at the line of shields."

"Line of shields? Gewin asked. "It's called a phalanx. And you are wasting your time sending men with short swords up against the phalanx. You need to find a way around it or a way over it. You
have barely
even sent archers in to rain down arrows upon the Medorans. This manner of fighting is getting boring. Have you no military knowledge at all?"

"I have read plenty on military strategy, and I will not have you insulting me. You have been welcomed here because my god foretold your coming. Do not wear out your welcome."

Gewin laughed hard. "Oh, excuse me, little human.
The depth of your obvious knowledge is matched only by your ego."

The mocking infuriated the Zidaoz but he tried hard to remain calm. "I intend to weaken the front line and just when hope returns to them, I will send in the Thrahks to destroy them."

"Not today you won't."

"Yes, today."

"No, not today. Do you have any idea how long it will take to march those things down there with all these people in the way? It will be getting dark soon, and Thrahks cannot see well in low light. I am surprised the Dirujen have not warned you of this."

"They did mention it. I have dismissed their worries. The mission is too important. I will march the Thrahks down there before the sun falls below the horizon, and they will wreak havoc on the Medorans."

Gorin folded his
massive
arms. "Listen, Zidaoz, you may have had everything handed to you your whole life as if you were a god yourself, but this is reality. You can
not
simply demand that something works and then assume it will. The Thrahks cannot see at night. Make your plan around that fact if you want a chance at victory."

The Zidaoz paused for a long moment as he thought of what to say. "I have also considered leaving them here on the hill until morning."