The Adventures of Brandar Odaron
Book 1: The Hidden Continent
Chapter 29 The Arrival Of Aetas
No sooner had the floodwaters receded than the Holgygros preceded with manifold and sundry Korligen up Kelebros and went teeming forth to attack all Sereghran they could find. And by the time the creatures had come to the Third Tower already were there large armies of Durwolc and other monsters coming from out of the Deel and from the Foothills and crossed the river in-force upon rafts. And over the course of a few weeks these assailed Calaren’s forces along the entire length of Kelebros and laid siege to Soldiers trapped alive within those Towers which had not been brought down by the earthquake. But so many of the enemy had come that any Soldiers caught in the open were slaughtered, no matter their strength. And the enemy also mustered upon the Grasslands but from there marched south and east to bring ruin upon the Lands for days on end. And Calaren was powerless to stop them despite his magical prowess -- for the enemy’s ranks were far too vast. Indeed, hopeless seemed Calaren’s plight, as he beheld a mere handful of his largest Company survive only to flee in fear to the east pursued by the Durwolc in such numbers that the end of them could not be seen north or west.
Camped with a full Division upon the Grasslands thirty leagues south of Agereis, he and his men had risen from the earthquake to do sudden battle with an influx of evil winged creatures. But soon was he also fighting Durwolc who had lately crossed the river and assailed his forces with the utmost abandon. And he was at a loss as to how he could preserve his command, as the enemy were so strong and ruthless that the Division he had positioned upon the field had been whittled down to the equivalent of only three Companies in less than a day and a half of fighting. But he alone, by the great magicks that he knew, was able to protect those survivors, for the time being.
Meanwhile, unknown to Calaren, all of the River Forces had now been defeated but for a remnant of the Division protecting the Sixth Tower; for there happened to be there a good number of specially adept Mages, and these brought about a stalemate upon the field about the Tower. Yet, that Tower would not stand much longer if aid came not soon. Then aid did come, as a number of the survivors of Agereis had come together in the Grasslands a few leagues north of where the busy Calaren now stood. And heading south they came upon the battlefield where Calaren was struggling to keep the last of his forces alive. But these Men of Agereis were noticed from afar by the enemy and therefore must make a desperate charge, hoping to cleave a way through to join with Calaren’s men, and with them fight their way east. Yet, at the moment they engaged the enemy here rode up the Cavalry of Vordurus, whose commanding officer had seen smoke rising above the battle in the distance and came as swift as his riders could manage over the damp and boggy Grasslands. And those Horsemen wielded thick lances and long pole-arms and heavy axes, and sharp and magical swords with which they smote upon the enemy so mightily that all of the Durwolc there were dismayed and fell back.
Then was the tide of that battle turned in the Sereghran’s favor.
Calaren’s surviving forces were saved; for, seeing the coming of aid, they made their way northeast and joined with the Men of Agereis and the Cavalry of Vordurus, while the enemy held back, waiting to see what was to happen next.
Calaren now begged of his saviors to go with him west to discover whether any of his River Forces yet lived, rather than making a run eastwards straight away. And while the Men of Agereis were reluctant to do this, the Cavalry leader agreed, and they made their way to the Fifth Tower, with the enemy tracking them not a hundred yards distant to the north and the south, and also from behind. But when they finally came close enough to see the Tower, going a night and half a day without rest, they found that it had been destroyed, with its ruin surrounded by a great crowd of Durwolc who were engaged in mad revelry, but who instantly left off their merrymaking as soon as being aware of the Sereghran coming nigh. Thus, Calaren and his fellows turned south to make for the Sixth Tower, for that was their only course, as the Durwolc now attacked from all sides, and that Tower, ten leagues away, was their only hope. So they fought every step of the way. But these Sereghran were hardy and held magical weapons, and had with them one of the greatest Wizards in all of the Lands. So they made it wearily at last to that Tower with little further loss, and joined the besieged forces there.
Here then was occurring a relentless siege. And after three more days of fighting Calaren had with him less than one eighth of the forces he had commanded along the River Kelebros, while the Cavalry were down to a third and had lost all of their horses. But the Survivors of Agereis fought like madmen and had lost but a tithe of their number since meeting Calaren and the Cavalrymen in the Grasslands. Nevertheless, even these mighty fighters would not remain fit after the food and water in the Tower ran out, which would happen within just a few more days. Thus did it all seem vain until new Sereghran forces afoot arrived, at long last, from both the east and southeast, so that the enemy must forego their siege and fight upon the fields about the Tower in defense of their flanks.
Here were the Armies of both Vordurus and Kombros with a number of Divisions of People’s Brigades from there, and from Torquere and Domosus. But here also came the Army of Baertunas led by Flaven himself, followed by sizable forces of the Brigadiers of Baertunas and Trabus, and also Gemma, and as far away as Bergereh. And these forces, over the next few days, fought the enemy so dynamically that the Duwolc, and all of the other monsters thereabouts, broke apart, with many retreating towards the river, though great loss was inflicted upon both sides, and Flaven, at first, could not make his way to Calaren until after a half day and full night of fighting. But it seemed, in any event, that the Sixth Tower was doomed nonetheless.
However, with the coming of dawn, King Aetas strode down from the north afoot, covered in the mud of the Grasslands and leading an incredibly magical army of Mariners, with Mages and Soldiers of the Army of Baerakis. And later that day, there marched from the east a mighty force of the Elves both of Windmere and Linguonon, followed by yet more People’s Brigades from Dolon and River Town, and other towns and villages of the Coastlands. Thus, with these forces behind him Flaven was able to route the enemy and drive them before him, and made his way to the Tower as Aetas was hacking his way through from the north. Then did these Lords come to the rescue of Calaren and his survivors at the Sixth Tower of Kelebros. And they met upon the battlefield north of the Tower, just as the enemy was being routed.
Next, Aetas and Flaven and Calaren, together with many followers, pursued the surviving enemy across the river. And thereafter they spent many days clearing the enemy from both banks of Kelebros, including Korligen and the dire Holgygros. Then northwards they moved, and came at length to the coast; slaying all the other creatures that had emerged from the sea at Agereis, and all monsters and Durwolc that had come to Agereis from the Foothills and from the Deel. But when that was done, the Lords rested not, but went about cleansing the Grasslands on both sides of the river, nigh even to the Deel itself; deeming that no enemy should remain to attack their rear whence they turned south to go to the aid of the Warlord at Deunomis.
Now, Aetas ordered that their forces must not remain in the Grasslands beyond Kelebros, but must hold its eastern banks from the Bay to the Sixth Tower, and then march along the river south, freeing the rest of the river on their way to Baeren’s Lake. And upon that march, so deadly and magical were they that Durwolc fell before them in heaps, and no other monsters could stand against them, be they Dragon or Drake, or Devil or Demon, or any other creatures besides. Thus did they arrive at the Lake within eight days from the Sixth Tower, and were instrumental in bringing the war to an end.
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Upon seeing Stanon killed by the giant wave, and having Scouts speak of enemy hordes to the west, Brandar knew that Deunomis was to come under attack. So he called to Aetas and Strabos by means of his Aefarin and asked them to send more forces as swiftly as possible. And his expressed hope was that Aetas would go to Ergon while Strabos marched to reinforce the Army at Deunomis ere it was too late. Yet, his hope was not to be realized in the manner he desired. Far from it.
Due to the distance to be marched, Strabos would be slow to arrive. And Aetas, having laden his ships with Mages and Mariners and Soldiers, and launching his entire Fleet from Baerakis, came in time only to find the enemy feasting upon Ergon’s carcass, and upon those who had died with him. There also, the Leviathan was reveling in victory in the midst of the bloody waters of the Bay. But Aetas, who wept at the sight of Geranost as he passed, for there were many bodies and broken ships and dreadful carnage everywhere upon both land and sea, and wept yet again upon seeing the destruction at Agereis, nevertheless, even with tears in his eyes, did battle with the Leviathan, as once had he done before, and inflicted such harm upon that Devil that the creature was forced to flee merely to save its fleshly form. And the few Sea-Serpents that lived after the Mariners and Mages aboard the King’s Fleet slew two thirds of them, slithered rapidly away closely following after their master. Then Aetas and his Mages and Mariners and brave Soldiers aboard-ship went about slaying all that they could catch of the many-legged monsters, and the other creatures which had come from the deeps, whereupon what few remained sank beneath the waves and did not return for fear of the divine wrath of the god-like King Aetas and his men.
Thereafter, finding nowhere to make land at the ruins of Agereis, for the piers had been destroyed and the beaches were swarming with mutant insectile things and ravenous beasts feeding upon the dead, Aetas sailed east by the way he had come and disembarked at a place mid-way between Agereis and Geranost. And he marched across the Grasslands knee-deep in mud, using pikes to feel for quicksand, at which he reached the Sixth Tower of Kelebros upon the fifth morning of his coming ashore; having struggled night and day without rest for the last three days of that journey.
Naturally, Flaven had also received a summons from Brandar upon his Aefarin. And mustering as soon as could be, he came to the field of battle at the Sixth Tower just as Aetas was coming down from the north. Thus were Calaren’s survivors preserved, and Kelebros thereafter made clean, and the Grasslands freed of evil-ones. Yet, today that victory is spoken of as a time of dire sorrows and deep mourning.
Then Aetas and Flaven and Calaren marched south with what forces they deemed could be spared from guarding the river, knowing that Brandar was in need of aid, while Strabos was yet riding through the Jungle Lands. And that is how these Lords came at last with the intention of saving their Warlord and the beleaguered forces at Deunomis. But while they won there a great victory over the armies of Modeus, it would be a sad day for Brandar and his fellow Northrons, as shall now be told.