The Trappings of War: Volume XXIV

UnOrthOdOx · August 4, 2003, 16:14

An UnOrthOdOx View of the Glory of War

“****!” I shouted “They promised me this wouldn’t happen! Alright, Aro, Eira, I need both of you to come along with me, let’s round up a mess of these new riders and go see what these Luxians want.”

“Sorry, UnO. Not today. I am staying here to finish this new boat of mine. We gotta go catch us a new Dragon before too long, and the only way to do that is finish my boat. Besides, I gave up that military life, remember?”

I stared at him for some time. It would not be the same without my long-time companion there by my side criticizing every order I gave. “Very well, I understand. Eira, I am appointing you as my Captain. Assuming of course that you can handle it.”

“Sir, yes sir.” He stated, snapping to attention. Aro let out a great laugh to his side.

“On one condition. Never call me sir again. You are my advisor, my equal, and I expect you to tell me when I’m being an idiot, understand?”

“Yes Sir.” Eira stated out of habit.

“Well, we’ll work on that, then.” I smiled.

It did not take long to prepare a boat for our departure. I made my way home and suited up in the fine new armor that had been made from the Dragons hide. It was light and easy to move in, yet as hard as iron. It was strangely reminiscent, as if I had seen myself in it before, but could not place where. We also rounded up what Raven’s had been trained to take with us. I wanted to at least test them out on the battlefield and see if they would be worth the time. The children of the town didn’t even seem to mind, anxious to go out and capture new ones to train again. And in a rush, we were off to the mainland once more. I had never planned on actually serving militarily again, but at the same time was excited to return to the field once again.

It was a brief trip across the channel. With a quick stop in Imperial City, we rallied enough troops to fill out one contingent of riders to follow me and see what these new Luxians were up to. With any luck, we would catch them before they disappeared again, leaving no trace of their own existence.

The speed of our horses along the road was staggering and we arrived in Shantung in no time. The reports were clear that there was a large party of Luxian barbarians to the south in the wilderness. I looked over my contingent, allot of them were still green. Sure they may have mastered the basics of these new stirrups and horses, but none of them had ever so much as seen battle before. Still, with our rigid training, I was confident they would fair well in the upcoming battle.

Heading south, our scouts first spotted a Luxian patrol heading north, obviously intending a raid on Shantung. I let loose a singe Raven, in hopes of discovering the exact location of the actual encampment.

“Why are we waiting, we should attack them now before they hit Shantung!” Eira spoke up.

I only smiled. “Glad to see you can speak your mind after all. No, this lot can do little damage on foot. If the encampment is close enough, we should be able to attack it directly, hopefully by surprise before they disband it and disappear again. Then have plenty of time to sweep north and head off this rabble before they reach Shantung.”

The raven came flying straight back. Judging by the time the Raven was gone, the encampment could not be too far, and by the direction of it’s flight, it looked as if it was right behind this little patrol to the south. Hills to the east offered only a chance to slow our progress.

“Alright men, we are going around this rabble and attacking the encampment directly. They will see us, they may even give chase. Be prepared for a counter attack from our rear once we enter the camp.” I stated.

The faces were all eager to put their new training to the test. As we rode hard to the south, within sight of this patrol, they attempted to cut us off, but were simply no match for our new found speed. There in the distance I spotted the encampment. As we rode now full gallop, I pulled out the horn Master Zen had given me and let out a large blast. The Riders behind me all fell into line, forming a large wedge, myself at the point.

As we thundered into the camp, our initial charge caught the camp’s guards asleep, obviously convinced the Patrol would have alerted them of any danger. As they struggled to wake, few even were able to mount any defense before being slaughtered at the end of one of our swords and before long, the camp was completely decimated. No sooner, though, did I order it burned to the ground than the patrol came charging in from our rear.

With the burning camp at our backs, we braced against the desperate charge of the patrol. They were being inspired by the sight of their burning camp, and the dead that lay scattered throughout, but ultimately proved no match for the new weapons which we were now dealing with. I thought to myself how much we would have feared such a patrol in days long gone by. It seemed, now, as though they were as nothing more than a passing breeze.

When all was said and done, I looked over the battlefield only to find that not one single rider had fallen to either the camp guard or the patrol. As the men slowly gathered, they let out a cheer. They had experienced battle, and had proven their training. Such experience would allow them to react far better the next time they were called upon, of that I was sure.

Yes, Im still behind by about 3 editions...sorry

GhengisFarb™ · August 4, 2003, 16:19

What?! Their are still Luxians roaming around? I thought they had been hunted to extinction ages ago. Let's restart the annual Lux Hunting Season again.

UnOrthOdOx · August 4, 2003, 16:23

And here I was sure the first response would be pointing out a spelling error....

GhengisFarb™ · August 4, 2003, 16:30

Quote:

Originally posted by UnOrthOdOx
And here I was sure the first response would be pointing out a spelling error....

My bad, I think you spelled "Lux" wrong........

Shiber · August 4, 2003, 16:52

UnOrthO

'Poly censorship

UnOrthOdOx · August 4, 2003, 17:12

That's why the sensor free version is here:http://central.masterzen.net/index.php?showtopic=124

I expect that to become FAR worse in upcomming issues BTW....

So...if you don't mind language, head over to MZO. Otherwise, fill in the (many) blanks to be comming.