Sorcerer… Cyborg???

Chapter 57: The End of...

Only a faint light lit the cracked earth that stretched out between the two armies, it was noon, but the sky was covered in a thick blanket of dark clouds, the faint rumble of thunder in the distance.

Leynish had ridden into the center of Janul early that day, yelling about how the Kalun were preparing to ride out. Instantly, a hush had spread through the town turned military camp. Only broken by Tam's voice echoing out from the town hall, commanding the army to prepare to march out.

As he issued commands to the gathered nobles and platoon commanders, Tam realized how dependent he had become on his lieutenants over the years. Now with Serena, Boson and Balmin absent, he struggled to put together a formation he was confident in.

The Ursten rode out slowly, a shadow over their heads, their eyes downcast and their shoulders slumped. While Tam had the confidence of his men and the remnants of Kultas' army, the soldiers commanded by the nobles lacked conviction in their own leaders.

They were the sons of what had been the generation of the greatest warriors that Ursten had ever seen, but few of them had even seen the faces of their fathers, so many had died in the war against the Southern Tribes.

The Kalun now visible in the dim light, clustered far across the plains, Tam called a halt, he needed to rouse the spirits of these soldiers, or the battle was already lost. He signalled to Shale and Slate, who now led the battlemages afters Balmin's death.

"Men and Women of Ursten!" Tam stood on the column of earth that the twins had raised up, his sword unsheathed.

Tam's soldiers roared back, all too familiar with Tam's habits. Kultas's men also joined in, with a few scattered cries coming from the noblemen's forces.

"I'll not sugarcoat things or lie to you. We are in dire straits. Winning this battle could be the difference between an Ursten tomorrow or the end of our kingdom as we know it." Tam spoke solemnly, his voice clearly audible to the thousands of men gathered before him.

The already gloomy faces of many of the men became even darker disheartened by Tam's words.

"That is why, we have no choice but to be victorious. We must crush the Kalun! We must grind them to a dust, for behind us lies our kingdom, and our people and our families, and all that we hold dear!" Tam roared out, his voice shaking the very air as his voice boomed out, audible even to the Kalun who were gathered far to the west.

The answering shouts from the Ursten were far louder than any Tam had experienced, the soldiers had been reminded of what truly was at stake and a new fire kindled in their eyes.

"Even if we are all slain to the last man, we shall take the Kalun with us!" Tam yelled at the top of his lungs, not only to rouse his men, but also to intimidate the Kalun.

The answering shout was so loud that it drowned out the booming thunder in the clouds that rolled over the battlefield. Hearing the resolve of the Ursten, the soldiers of Kalun looked to Bata and Rulaad, who were on horseback at the forefront of the army.

"Didn't the council say they'd fold like butter." Rulaad muttered under his breath to Bata.

"I expected Tam to ride east, since the Phintus would be no real threat if he were present, but we can deal with this. We have the numbers and the mages." Bata gestured back to the far larger army at their backs and at their newly hired battlemages.

Rulaad stared across the battlefield at the now rowdy Ursten forces, thinking of how he would crush them.

The two armies began to march, slowly creeping across the broad plane, chanting to keep pace and their spirits. Tam rode at the head of the army, with Ophil far to the rear, joining the battlemages. The wings were held by Leynish and Simon, SImon taking a small group of archers with him in an effort to fill the gap left by Serena's absence.

The two armies were now so near to each other, that the soldiers could stare right into the wide-eyed staring eyes of their enemies, close enough to make out the faint lines on the face of the person they would soon be locked in mortal combat.

"Charge!" Tam yelled out, his heavy cavalry following behind him, trying to split the Kalun forces in two.

Leynish circled round the left flank, more confident now that he had fought in many small skirmishes in the past few days. His men followed him, proud of the growth their Baron had shown, cutting a smooth arc, aiming for the battlemages in the rear.

The first of the spells began to sail across the battlefield, the dark gloom of the overcast sky was banished by the bright light of entire carpets of flame, that began as compact fireballs, unwrapping in midair to fall amongst the charging soldiers.

Screams filled the air as some soldier succumbed to the magic, others escaping and tearing into the opposing forces.

A tornado ripped through the Kalun, sending rows upon rows of soldiers flying. Massive spells flew back and forth, and the air was filled with noise, fireballs exploding, ice spears shattering, the keening sound of wind blades and the clatter of clashing steel.

It was not long before the careful formations of the front lines fell apart, devolving into a melee. The enraged Ursten warriors had the upper hand, Tam's charge lending them momentum, as they pierced deep into the Kalun, driving their army in two, more and more men rushing in to split their forces further, creating a massive wedge in between them.

Gerard, freed alongside the rest of Kultas' men, was engaged in a fierce battle with a young woman, who wielded a long-bladed spear, the pair of them darting to and from across the battlefield, faster and faster, each trying to outstrip the other.

Gerard shot blades of wind at his opponent, who returned them with force emission slashes, matching his every move. An errant slice from the spear cut off a long section of Gerard's long hair, he responded by sending a blade cutting towards the woman's ponytail.

She simply flicked her hair out the way, and shot him a raised eyebrow, before sending a flurry of stabs in his directions.

Meanwhile, Simon had led his small contingent of archers away from the battlefield, stationing them a fair distance from the melee, then sending flurries of arrows amongst the Kalun forces before fleeing from the ensuing counterattack.

Tam had ripped a massive gash in the Kalun forces in the short while the battle had been raging, and had gained Ursten the upperhand. Now, Rulaad and Bata leapt across the battlefield to intercept him, otherwise the battle would be lost.

The two of them grunted as they entered Tam's pressure, slowing down visibly and exerting themselves to continue towards him. They attacked from either side, Bata sweeping his halberd towards Tam's feet and Rulaad swinging his heavy flaming sword directly at Tam's head.

Tam ignored the pair of them, leaping forward to decimate the Kalun army further, knowing the longer he kept at it, the better chance his men would have to secure victory.

"You! Stand your ground and fight!" Bata sputtered in disbelief at the man who ignored the warriors after him and only continued to slice through the cannon fodder of their army.

"I've got this Bata." Rulaad called out, sending a massive flaming slash flying at Tam's men who followed behind him.

Instantly, Tam dashed to block the blow, dissipating the slash and staring furious at Rulaad, cutting quite the sight in his dark blue armor.

"Come on then." Tam called out to the two of them, who instantly leapt at him, attacking with all their might.

As the battle raged on, the battlemages continued to send spells flying across the battlefield. Slate and Shale had created ramparts of earth to defend the mages. While Ophil sent glowing seeds arcing through the air, landing amongst the rear of the Kalun army, erupting into bursts of thorny vines and suffocating twists of solid wood.

Her face fell, as she saw Tam locked in combat with Rulaad and Bata.

"Those dogs. They're aiming for the soldiers!" Ophil yelled furiously, realizing that the pair had realized that they were no match for Tam's speed, and had to force him to take their attacks.

She took off at a run, heading deep into the struggling mass of humanity at the center of the battlefield. Vines whipped around her as she struck down any Kalun soldier who was naive enough to attack her.

Nearing Bata and Rulaad, she prepared her Vine Prison spell, to lock the pair down. A mass of tangled vines formed between her hands and she sent it flying towards Rulaad, who was in midair, leaping to avoid a slash from Tam.

Instantly, she prepared another, to cast at Bata, looking around for him, he was nowhere to be seen.

As Rulaad was entangled by a massive nest of vines, Tam realized that Ophil must be near, and looked around, his eyes wide in horror as he saw Bata with his halberd raised above her, a malevolent grin on his face.

"No!" Tam let out a tortured scream, filled with anguish. The halberd swung down, as if in slow motion, and Tam rushed to save his wife.