Chapter 24: The Gods Come To Play

"Sir, the enemy is just over the rise. They have left the towns and are positioning themselves to meet us head on in the open field of battle."

"Thank you, Captain Jonah, take up your position."

"Do you think it's strange they have come out to meet us in the open field? We outnumber them, and more importantly, we have more cavalry than they do. The little lizards are acting like they have something up their robes." Allan asks Stephen.

"Something is amiss, sure enough. We must keep our eyes open. I can't recognize it, but I feel a great sense of power about. I feel it will not be long until we see their true intent."

Allan has no real powers to speak of, except Emma, but he also feels an odd energy like static electricity on a cellular level. It is most disconcerting.

Even the dragons can feel it, for they have started flying in the strangest patterns, slowly working themselves into a wild frenzy.

As the Allies are riding up the last set of hills, they are lining up into four rows of fighters. First the archers will launch several volleys and then fall back, and as always the cavalry will lead the charge, and then next two rows of infantry, and finally the archers will follow and hit targets of opportunity.

To Allan it seems that the enemy is acting way too smug, as they line up opposite them on the other side of a huge open field that will most likely be the place of the last major battle of this conflict, at least on this continent.

Allan looks up and down the line and everybody is in position. He nods his head to Stephen and the dragons of light stop their circular patterns and dive straight for the hated demon dragons.

Allan raises his hand, and when he brings it down the first volley from their longbows are arching across the sky.

Allan takes in the deepest breath of his life. "Charge!"

At first the cavalry walks calmly so as not to distance themselves from their infantry too much, but about halfway to the enemy, which is also advancing on them, they pick up speed. When they are three-fourths of the way to the enemy they break into a full trot. The cadence of the footfalls is beautiful and rhythmic.

Allan expects to be under fire from a hail of arrows, but it appears the tables are now turned, and the enemy is running low on needed war supplies. That really makes the feeling that they are up to something intensify tenfold.

Just before the two cavalries collide with each other, the enemy comes into range of all the bows. With a precision that would impress a surgeon, the Welsh bowmen send a final volley right over the cavalry's heads and into the ranks of the enemy cavalry. Allan has seen Welsh bowmen in battle before, but no matter how much he sees the quality, he never seems to lose his amazement and admiration for them. Over one third of the enemy cavalry goes down in a jumble creating a dust cloud. The other two thirds follow shortly after.

Now that the enemy cavalry is out of the way, the Allies allow their wizards and witches to catch up so they can block any spells and power bolts the dark magi send at them. All they have to do is hold on long enough for the two armies to meet, and hopefully the dark magi won't fire into their own ranks. Of course the enemy dragons showed no such compunction, as they killed nearly as many of their own people as they did the Allied Forces when they attacked the two armies that were locked in mortal combat. All throughout the battle flashes of power can be seen.

Once the major battle starts and the allied forces start to dominate, the allied wizards and witches will pull off to the right, and hopefully the Zall, dark elves, and human wizards will go with them, fighting their own separate battle, like the dragons.

Of course the Allies have no intention of playing fair, because even as Allan is explaining this and they are carrying out the maneuver, a contingent of Welsh bowmen are sneaking around several big hills to hit the Zall wizards with enchanted and regular arrows from the side.

The plan is working. The humans are fighting the humans, with the exception of a few hundred Zalls that are leading them. The dragons are fighting the dragons, and the magic users are fighting their like.

The fight continues on in one long engagement. Even though the enemy is taking appalling casualties, they are not pulling back. By midmorning the allied forces have cut the ranks of the enemy by so much that Allan dispatches several patrols of infantry and a cavalry contingent to go left and attack the enemy magi from the east, since it is only the dark mages that are holding their own.

Another hour and Allan has no doubt the entire enemy force will be annihilated. Apparently the enemy reinforcements that have joined up with them are professional soldiers from Breen and the Shadow Continent, along with several hundred Ghost Elves, because they are fighting well, and are keeping their heads under pressure.

Still the Allied Forces of Light numbers dwarf theirs, and before that hour is up their entire defenses fold. What is left of the conscripts break and run, but to Allan's amazement the professional reinforcements salute the Allies, their enemy, and charge. It reminds Allan of all the good people they have lost, and for what? Who knows?

At first Allan pays it no mind, because it is the heart of winter and storms often pour in quickly, but once it keeps getting closer and closer and Allan realizes it is moving against the wind, he stops and stares.

At this point even the professional mercenaries and the dark mages are falling back, in what to Allan looks like a tactical withdrawal, rather than the all out retreat they should been doing. Can it really be arrogance? Allan isn't sure.

As the massive dark clouds get closer and closer, Allan calls a halt to the pursuit and whistles loudly to get Stephen's attention. He looks at him and Allan points at the oncoming storm. He looks at it for quite some time, coming to the same odd conclusions that Allan did, and then Allan sees him take an involuntary step backwards. If that didn't send a chill down Allan's spine, the fact that the demon dragons have broken off their battle and are flying right towards the storm does. Not only are they flying towards the storm clouds, but then they fly right into them and disappear.

By now all the allied forces are standing transfixed, watching this new situation as it unfolds. As the storm gets closer, they can hear thunder and see lightning striking the ground. As one cohesive unit Allan's entire army takes one involuntary step backwards. As Stephen comes up to his side, Allan points at their dragons and he understands right away. Stephen sends a telepathic command to Thunderheart for their dragons to fall back a little and land.

The storm is now less than a league from them when the ground begins to shake. The horses spook and want to run, but they are well-trained warhorses and grudgingly hold their ground. Just before the storm reaches the Allies, it opens up and through it you can see stars of the universe, and they start feeling a pull towards it as the vacuum seeks to destroy them.

Lightning strikes start hitting into the ranks of their soldiers. The thunder is deafening. As the forces dive for what cover they can find in the open rolling plains, the dark storm reverberates in the sky, and then with a screech and roar a fireball the size of a cottage comes flying out, and behind it comes a six-headed black dragon of gargantuan size. The dark creature, Masil, has broken through into this plane of existence. Stephen sends the giant fireball flying off towards the ocean with a wave of his hand.