Wings, Beasts and Claws: Violet Embers

Ch. 15 : First Wave

I had gotten a few hours of sleep when the battle horn rang out across the camp.

I jumped out of my cot and dressed quickly, strapping on my sword and rushing out of my quarters along with the rest of my men. I soon reached the War-Room and stood before the mass of men, with some still getting dressed as they stood before me.

“The first attack has been spotted!” I called out, seeing the determination in their eyes as I looked through the sea of heads. “Those of you within the Alpha Wave make your way to the frontline. Those in the Beta Wave stand ready to replace your comrades at any second!”

I then marched out with Arden and Noctern joining me near the edge of the base. Not long after the battle horn sounded, we were now standing in the battlefield facing a wall of the enemy.

The night sky was slowly beginning to light up with the morning sun as we looked out at the men and women before us. Many of them were dressed plainly, without any armor or even proper shoes for a fight to the death. There were some holding swords at strange angles and others who looked well trained and ready to draw blood. But scattered throughout the line among them were large metal cages with one or two men or women inside it. They had some strange thick chains on their wrists and ankles that were keeping them still as they thrashed. And the people inside were growling and hissing towards us, their mouths and chins dripping with saliva.

“What is this?” Arden whispered to no one, glaring out at the cages. “What are they doing?”

His question was answered a second later, with a faint metal creaking and a click rang out to us. The cages then opened and the chains holding the people inside snapped open, falling at their feet.

Disbelief filled me as I watched those people quickly Shift into their animal forms, tearing their clothes and rushing out of the cages towards us. Their eyes were unforced and foggy looking as they ran. Their growls and overall behavior seemed familiar and deadly as they closed the distance.

“The Curse of the Beast!” I shouted out, warning my men. “Their human halves are dead! Nothing but a blood craze beast remains! Put them out of their misery!”

My Captains then shouted to those that were dressed to Shift, pulling off their tunics and letting their Soul-Animal take over.

The Curse of the Beast was something new that had appeared along with the All Mothers gift of Soulmates. This happened when a man or woman completely turned their backs on the All Mother Goddess that gave us life to begin with. And once all ties to her were cut from their Inner-Light, or Soul, their human half would die out, leaving nothing but an uncontrollable animal that could never Shift back into a person. Many people didn’t believe that it was a true Curse since they didn’t truly believe that the All Mother was the one that made us Shifters in the beginning. But those that doubted were quick to retract their statements once it began to happen more and more. With people turning their backs on the Goddess of creation once they realize that the person they want isn’t their Mate.

My men now on four paws or wings rushed out to meet them first, and when they made contact with the Beasts, Arden and the Commander released their own man in a wave behind them.

The Order's men trickled out soon after and I joined along in the race to meet in the middle, bringing with me the rest of the Alpha Wave that was waiting for me to move. Soon my sword clashed with the unsteady strikes of the Orders members, knocking them onto their backs and asses while growls and shouted mixed into the ping of metal against metal. It frustrated and angered me that the Order had allowed such unskilled people onto their battle first, and a strange mixture of sadness and disgust filled me as I cut down man and man that stepped in front of me.

I soon stood before a cheetah Beast that was trying to pin down a falcon flying overhead. The cheetah was bleeding badly and chunks of fur were missing from its back and shoulders, sticking to the falcon's talons and coated in blood. And as the crazed Beast swiped at the falcon, managing to clip one of its wings, I stepped forward and ducked under its paw, jerking my sword out and burying it in the feline's chest.

It hissed slightly and staggered over the top of me, forcing me to my knees as it tried to remove the sword with its paw. The falcon then dove in and dug into the side of the cheetahs throat, ripping out a mound of flesh and fur as I pulled out my sword, spraying blood over myself.

I moved on through the mass and noticed another line of men from the Orders side rushing in, my eyes narrowing as I started to wonder just how many people were gathered on their side. This group was a bit more versed in the art of the sword but still too green to really do anything against us. Though their massive numbers looked to be their biggest strength. And I was able to confirm this when I ran into Arden in the chaos.

“I fear that they’re trying to tire us out with the more inexperienced members before their skilled swordsmen step in.” He said, dropping the man he held by the neck after retrieving his sword from within him. “One of the scouts found me and said that there are another three waves lined up on their end.”

“You’re right.” I told him, taking a moment to strike down another unskilled man and kicking his limp corpse away from me. “Find the Commander and tell him to get the Beta Wave ready to step in when their next group does. The Alpha Wave will start getting tired soon and lose their stamina will weaken… I don’t want any man lost to these weaker members if it can be avoided.”

He nodded and shoved his way through the mass to get to the Commander as another three men rushed out to me.

The sun soon glared down at us as the blood caked our boots and stained our clothes. And those that were growing tired among my men were able to step back once the Beta Wave joined in, having been trained to know when they had reached their limit so they wouldn’t risk injury or death. But the mass of members on the Orders side was immense and the pile of bodies stacking up around us was still growing. More men and women bearing the Curse of the Beast were let loose on us and I was beginning to see my men gaining lethal wounds or being surrounded by the Order's numbers. And when I managed to run into the Commander who was masked in a sheen of blood, he let me know that our Delta and Gamma Waves were ready and waiting behind our line of defense.

“I don’t think they plan to retreat at all if too many of their men die here.” He said, lopping off a man's head before turning to deflect another strike. “They all seem ready to dive into our swords just to waste our energy.”

“I know.” I grunted out, kicking a dagger into one man that had failed to sneak up on me while another stumbled back when I struck back against his sword. “I will not let our men drag this on until they are too weak to walk.” I finished them off and turned to him, grateful for the small seconds of peace amongst death before they rushed at us. “We will pull back after this and give ourselves time to recuperate… if they follow us back we can have Delta and Gamma push them and cover for us.”

He nodded and turned his attention to the new attackers that found us.

The sun was soon fading behind the mountains and our people were slowly retreating to our defensive line, taking out those that followed before our backup needed to step in. But once we passed the center space and came closer to our side, realizing that we had been so close to their defensive front, the members of the Order started to retreat. Many of my men were confused as they watched the enemy rush back to their side, leaving behind those that were Cursed and no longer held a sliver of humanity to follow the others.

I stood there, watching them as the defensive line moved up to cover us so the Alpha and Beta waves could make their way back to base and rest. I was confused and on high alert, wanting to know what it was that they had planned within their tents and while they were using such shameless tactics to fight us. It was too easy. Too wasteful. And a pathetic show of weakness and dishonorable leadership to fight this way. Yet something in my gut was telling me that they were doing this for a reason. That they were willing to toss aside the lives of many of their members to accomplish something that I couldn’t figure out.

“I don’t like this.”

I turned and found Arden glaring at the bloody and corpse filled battlefield, his hand resting firmly on his hilt as a low growl started in his chest.

“It doesn’t feel right.”

“I know.” I told him, locking eyes with him for a moment before looking back at the crimson soaked earth. “They’re planning something, and I don’t like that I’m not prepared for it, or know what it even is.”

He nodded and huffed, scratching the back of his neck as he turned to face our base, clapping my shoulder with his bloody hand.

“We’ll figure it out… but until we know for sure what they’re hiding, we should at least list this as a win for those back home.” I stared into the field for a second more before turning to follow him as he continued. “A few were injured but we suffered no deaths, so this news will surely make our people feel more confident in our ability to win this.”

We made our way to the War-Room and discussed things with the other Captains, jotting down what we had seen and taking in the opinions of Knights that had fought. We also received news about the other three battle fronts along the border of our Kingdom and learned that the same things had been done there. The Commander and Noctern then left with a few of their men and supplies to take charge of the other battle points and take note of anything that they could need that we could send their way.

Once I was cleaned up and back in my private quarters, I polished my sword and ate, taking a moment to relax and calm my body and inner dragon Erebos that was still reeling from the fight and the blood we had spilled. I then wrote to Amara and my father about this won battle as well as the win of the other three stationed battle fronts that were many miles away. And after handing them to the mail lady and climbing into my cot, I drifted off to an uneasy sleep that had me wondering what it was that the leaders of the Order were planning, and why they were using their weakest members to fight us.