Chapter 8: It Begins In Earnest

"Milords! Milords!"

It isn't the words that wake Stephen and Allan, but the urgency in how they are spoken.

Allan throws open the tent flaps, only half dressed and even less awake. "What is it, soldier?"

"Your presence and that of the wizard is requested immediately in the command tent." a very young and excited blonde-haired and blue-eyed man says.

He tries to turn and join in on the chaos of the camp making a fast break, but Allan grabs his arm and asks, "What's going on, soldier?"

"The enemy is on the move! They are advancing!" he nearly yells, and then wrenches himself free of Allan's grasp and starts moving with purpose.

"Come, brother," says Stephen, "We have even less time than we had hoped."

They walk through the open flap of the command tent, and are only greeted with simple nods of the heads and a few strained smiles. There is no need for pleasantries. Stephen is already well acquainted with the Shadow Riders. As Allan found out last night, he has been among them for months. All this time, his brother was but a small journey away from Emma's farming village. And Allan, like Stephen, is of the Rock Clan.

They gather around the table holding dozens of maps of this island continent. The commander of the Shadow Riders is pointing to the map and explaining, "There are four other mountain tribes that will most likely send troops." He goes on, "I have already dispatched riders to each of the four other tribes, and it will probably take them near two weeks to get the summons, gather their forces and join with us here.

"The latest report is the enemy is on the move. It appears that the army closest to us, which numbers around forty thousand from what Allan says, has split into two groups. Twenty thousand of them are heading north, deeper into the continent, while the remaining force is headed here into the mountains. It appears the left flank of this main group closest to us that are heading north, have discovered the shallows of the river and are preparing to cross it within a few days. If it were winter, they would never be able to cross that river, and they would have to go back around, giving us several more days to prepare, but we do not deal in what's, ifs and maybes.

"I feel confident that with the reinforcements from the other mountain tribes, we'll be able to gather close to five to six thousand soldiers. Now, with hit and run tactics in our mountains, we can tie this larger force up almost indefinitely, but I will leave the final decision of how we will fight to Stephen. Stephen"

"Thank you, General. As Allan has said, there are two other armies numbering about the same. I figure the central enemy force will also go north to conquer the heart of the continent. The eastern enemy force will have to deal with the dwarves and eastern human settlements. I think it best that the mountain tribes stay in the mountains and fight their kind of fight. The effects of their tactics will have the best chance at tying up the most enemy resources."

"If I may, brother, I agree, but I think we should take at least a hundred of these troops with us, because they are the most seasoned and will make excellent field commanders for our growing civilian forces."

"Agreed." nods Stephen.

"Agreed." adds the general. "I will send my son, captain Stren, with you. He and his personal troop, which just happens to number a hundred, are amongst our best."

"It will be my honor to fight along side those of the Rock Clan." Stren bows genuinely to Stephen and Allan.

"Excellent. Allan and I, with Stren and his forces, will leave immediately for this prince's realm in the center of the continent. We will expect to make our first effective defense there. Good luck, and may the graces of the world shine down upon us all."

There is no more need for words. When Stephen speaks, the world listens. They pull out within the hour.

"I figure it will take us about a week to ten days to get out of these mountains and reach the central continent. The enemy may have small quick reactionary forces that can reach our destination before us, but I think they'll stick close to the main body of their forces. If they know anything about tactics and war, they will move slowly enough so as not to outrun their supply lines and reinforcements. From my calculations, I figure they won't reach the central zone before two weeks, maybe ten days at the least."

"I agree. You know it bothers me, Stephen. How could an enemy force of over a hundred thousand strong land on this continent without us finding out about it until it is almost too late? It makes no sense, and if we survive this, we are going to have to implement an early warning intelligence system throughout the realms. We have got caught with our pants down, and we got one hell of a fight coming our way."

"Yes. As near as I can figure, they used magic and the Bracken Forest to cover their initial landings, and then did it in such increments that it didn't seem that threatening at first. Either that, or they got divine help, and we better hope this isn't going to turn into one of those wars. The last one was almost exactly a thousand years ago, and it devastated all the continents. The only good thing that came from it was it made the people and creatures of this world stand together and made bonds that still exist today, luckily."

"Speaking of which, I have no doubt Rax is doing well with what he has, but the question is how many people are taking this serious enough to join our ranks. I guess even more importantly, is whether or not the dragons, elves and minotaurs come in big enough numbers. Maybe you should leave now to rally them. Once I reach our central forces, I'll organize a forty man impact team and have them head east to rally and fight with the dwarves and eastern settlements, if Rax hasn't already."

"No way in hell, little brother. There is no way I'm going to pass up the opportunity to meet the girl that has tamed your warrior heart."

Things started happening so fast that morning, that Allan hasn't had time to think about Emma or go over the mysterious and majestic dream he had last night. Now he has the time. If Allan would have been paying attention, he might have seen the smile coming from Stephen as he fades from reality and goes deep into his thoughts.

Allan has spent much of his life lost in his mind. Maybe one reason he became a warrior, other than the fact that is who he is supposed to be, is it gave him clarity of thought and action.

"My god, brother, she takes my breath away. As you know, throughout all my life when people or things got up close to my face, it makes me instantly aggressive, but Emma, with her sharp beautiful facial features, is different. We can lie there side by side, just marks apart, staring and studying every wonderful mark of each other.

"She has the slight wolf feature that I find so irresistible."

For those of you who do not know of that term, please let me explain. If you are to look at her face from the side, her jaw and nose, which will almost be even with one another, will jut out well past her forehead, looking much like a wolf's snout.

"Emma's features are so delicate, so strong and so exquisitely pretty. Put it all together, watched over by those mesmerizing brown eyes, and it spells out intelligence, grace and divinity." Without realizing it Allan is urging his steed on faster and faster.

"Allan. Allan!"

"What!"

"What does that look like to you?" Stephen asks him, pointing southeast.

Allan squints looking hard and doesn't see anything at first. Allan puts his left hand up to his forehead to shade his eyes from the rising sun and looks again. He strains and sits up in his saddle.

"It looks like a dragon. Oh, great, maybe you won't have to leave to rally them after all."

"I don't know, little brother, I'm getting a bad feeling." It is funny how Stephen's Scottish brogue gives his statement an even more ominous impact.

"Well, we'll know soon enough, because it is getting closer and closer." Stephen and Allan swear at the same time.

But it is Stephen who put it to words, "It is a demon dragon."

It is easy to tell that is true, because they are the only dragons that are blacker than night itself. Stephen starts to reach for his staff, which is tied across the back of his saddle, but then thinks better of it and pulls out his wand made entirely of amethyst. The demon dragon is now diving at them from three hundred paces in the air, taking a forty-five degree angle of attack. The horses start to get skittish, and the closer Stephen lets the dragon get to them, Allan becomes a little skittish himself.

Allan is just about to ask when is he going to do something, not to put any pressure on him, of course, but he is just curious, when Stephen speaks the word, "Bolo." and thrusts his wand toward the dragon.

A powerful purple lighting bolt shoots out of the wand and hits the dragon square in the chest. The boom of thunder is followed by a terrifying screech from the dragon that momentarily hangs motionless in the air then shakes his head and falls dead.

"Great, the enemy has dragons."

"I'm getting a bad feeling about this, little brother."

"Would you quit saying that!"

They ride at a constant brisk pace, continuing their journey in the northeasterly direction they are already heading. There is never anything simple about war. This is no time to panic or worry. They will deal with whatever the enemy throws at them.