Tales of Aranth: The Girl and The General

Chapter 3

There is nothing epic in a battle. Maybe when you are reading about the knight in shining armor defeating one enemy after another, you may think the opposite.

But when you are infantry, there is only chaos around you. You feel your muscles fainting and hurting and hear the noises of the fight, that you can't see because the sweat blinds you and screams of your fellow soldiers falling down and dying. If they are lucky, they die at the spot.

Karina wasn’t that lucky. The grumpy woman I knew for a few hours, who helped me and marched with me, sometimes whispering to my ear and helping me go on when I thought I couldn't, is suddenly shoved with a massive blast of heat. It would hit me, but somehow I’m able to sense it in advance and jump to the side, dragging Alarana with me. 

But I can’t do anything for Karina. Alarana and I are carried away by the soldiers crowding behind us and I catch a glimpse of Karina on the ground, her skin severely burned and bleeding from a massive wound in her belly. I hope someone stops and shortens her suffering with a coup de grace. 

I’ve been there only for a few hours, but I’ve experienced more suffering and cruelty than in my whole life. If I make it, I won't be the same.

I can’t tell if we are winning or losing. It doesn’t matter, the only thing that matters is to stay alive. I’m marching in the direction they show me. I’m rising my shield when they order me. I’m stabbing with my lance whey they order me. I’m trying not to think that I may be killing or wounding other people. I’m trying to focus on fact that they are trying to kill me. But I fail. All I want is to end this nightmare right now. I can see in Alarana’s scared look that she wants exactly the same. So we march together, in a silent understanding. She backs me and I back her. We focus on remaining together in this world of chaos.

Suddenly everything stops. We’ve forced ourselves to the peek of our troops. On my right, just a few steps from me I can see the horsemen fighting. I can distinguish aranthian knights, their shields they have a coat of arms, hawk fighting with a snake on a light blue background painted on them. They are overpowering the enemy. The knight in shining armor with a hawk on it beheads his adversary, a gigantic knight in dark gray armor splattered with blood. The trumpets begin to play a chaotic melody, nothing like the one I heard in the morning. The enemy starts running away in panic. 

Is it over. Did we win? 

I’m trying to remember whom they are fighting with. Maloreans? Potrosians? I should know, who of them had dark armors, but the name slips my memory.

Whoever it is, they have mages. Mages are not common in this world, but they exist, as witches and wizards. Aranth even has its own troops of mages, but they rarely participate in battles. They are too valuable to risk their lives. The blast that killed Karina was magic and now I can feel it forming again. There is a mage here, preparing to blow a blast. I'm looking around, but no one else seems to be aware of it. They are starting to believe we won and their watchfulness begins to drop as they relax.

I don’t understand how, but I can feel the source of magic. I can locate the wizard. He stands on a hill, I see it clearly. He raises his hands and aims. At the tall knight in shining armor, who takes off his helmet and I recognize him.

No no no no. It doesn’t end like that. Not now.

I don’t have time to plan it, the sight of Karina’s burnt face flashes in my mind. I break the ranks and run as fast as I can. I don’t know how is that possible, but I reach the horse and the knight and manage to knock the animal down. It shouldn't be possible for a girl like me to knock down such a big animal. I try to roll away when the blast hits the horse. It neighs with pain and kicks me in the head in his final act. The last things I remember are the smell of burned flesh and a face with bright green eyes hovering over me.

“Help. I need help!” He shouts with a commanding voice.