The Adventures of Brandar Odaron
Book 1: The Hidden Continent
Chapter 20 The Battle Of Geranost
A supremely large armada lay off the coast of Geranost, commanded by First Admiral Lutros from his flagship Mareisnephele, the largest ship there. But the other ships held few crew, as most had gone ashore to camp upon the beach, commanded there by a Second Admiral named Stanon. And his Second was Captain Ergon, the rescuer of the Newcomers, now High Captain over the Mariners ashore.
The Commander of the Garrison at Geranost was a stout Captain Major named Margos of Cwellan, while the Officer in charge of the People’s Brigades was an High Captain named Denus of Torguere. And this Captain had been assigned the task of keeping order over the rather unruly civilian militia, now grown to thrice the size of both the Mariners and the Garrison’s Soldiery together. So, Denus appointed other Officers to oversee the Brigadiers, with each given command of one Brigade containing about one-hundred men, while these Officers also had the Brigadiers choose leaders from among themselves to command Companies involving ten to thirty men.
All Sereghran Mariners rely heavily on magic to protect them from creatures of the Deeps. And there were also many Mages aboard the ships and upon the beach. Yet, the Mariners’ Officers, along with many of even the lowliest of Sailors, wielded magical weapons or possessed some kind of enchanted device. Thus did the Mariners believe that they were well prepared for confrontations by land or by sea.
Now, Brandar had earlier asked Flaven to supply the leaders of his Armies with as many magical items as could be made or found, so Margos and Denus now held magic swords of surpassing power. And a Mage sent to Geranost, whose name was Palphus, the Wizard of Maeland, busied himself with enchanting weapons of other Officers there, though lack of time dictated that the powers with which those weapons were imbued must be simple.
Men in the People’s Brigades had few magic weapons or items, but they had all been supplied with ordinary weapons of good quality, especially swords, for which they were grateful, and many had brought hunting bows and had also their own knives. Thus did the Officers and the Men of Geranost consider themselves ready for any attack by Durwolc, while extra defensive measures and enhancements to fortifications which Brandar had ordered were coming rapidly towards completion, and that was also quite encouraging. Yet, none kenned the power of the spell-magic they were facing, nor the vastness of the enemy army that was about to be sent against them.
Long would this Tell be were all of the heroic deeds and sacrifices at Geranost given their due in this tome. But the story is given here in brief, with few details or lengthy explanations. A full accounting can be found in the Annals of the Kings at Suthakis, and in the Chronicles of Andaria, in those scrolls, called the Lore of the Serghran, which had been brought through the Mists by Brandar, upon his return.
One bright morning, Watchmen aboard the ships beheld a great storm in the north, coming swiftly at an angle to the prevailing winds. And as the storm drew nearer, waterspouts could be seen ahead of it. But as the storm came nearer still, it was discovered that swarms of giant serpents, and many-legged monsters, and other horrid creatures having no ready names, were swimming within its rough and frothy waves.
Alarm-bells were sounded, and horns were blown, at which men scrambled to make themselves ready. But the storm came so soon, and was so devastating, that the Gods only could have prevented the disaster it wrought. Neither did any preparations avail the men there, as the waterspouts tore savagely through the ships, then upon the beach, and thereafter raged violently inland; destroying everything in their paths.
Ships were devoured by the score, while men were lifted up and thrown far and wide; many never to be seen again. Then the Tower of Geranost itself, to the astonishment of all, was thrown down upon its side by the mightiest of the waterspouts, as the storm-surge began swiftly to flood the beach.
Not far inland, the waterspouts changed into whirlwinds, and so continued their paths of destruction across many leagues. And ere the survivors of these events could gather their wits, up from the waters swarmed uncountable numbers of monsters, dank and slimy, and ferocious, who attacked the Mariners on the beach who had not been swept away by the waterspouts, but were soon knee-deep in the surge, even as it was rising while the storm raged on, eventually to become neck-deep, so that most of the surviving men left on the beach were lost to the enemy.
Here were giant crabs, and huge mutant eels, and vast numbers of odd aquatic insect things of various sorts. But the worst were great spider-like abominations, with long and sharp spines so poisonous that a man would die within seconds of merely being scratched by one. And all those creatures assailed the remaining Mariners on the beaches after the passing of the waterspouts, and who were then struggling to remain upright as the surge-waters swept in, rushing far inland, with mighty winds and heavy rain, and thunder and lightning from chaotic clouds overhead.
Horrible indeed was that onslaught, where the only survivors were Mages and a few wielders of the most potent magical weapons. But these were forced to flee from the beach, running to join up with what survivors there were of the Garrison Soldiers and the Brigadiers. Then relieved they were to find that the creatures of the sea did not pursue them far upon land. Yet, they gazed in terror as the giant serpents and many-legged monsters destroyed their great Armada of ships. And there was nothing that could be done to save the vessels, nor any of the men aboard them.
The Mages on the ships were occasionally able to slay one or another of their attackers ere they were eaten by a serpent, or dragged screaming to the depths by a many-legged monster, or torn limb from limb by other creatures. But most ruinous of all was a tremendous serpentine beast known as the Leviathan of the North, which was a powerful Devil Lord in the form of a tremendous slithering sea-snake so huge that it could bite a large ship in two. And this monstrosity snatched away Mareisnephele, throwing the proud ship out onto the stormy sea, whereupon the monster slinked out to it as it righted itself. Then raising up, the Leviathan crashed down upon the ship, with Lutros clinging to a mast, praying for salvation from the Gods. But the Gods, for their own unfathomable reasons, answered not his prayer.
Suddenly, enemy horns sounded anew; for across the Grasslands and along the shore ran Durwolc in great numbers, who soon crashed into the broken lines of the Soldiers and Brigadiers. Then a battle was fought about the fallen Tower while the vile Leviathan and its followers continued assailing the Seregrhan’s hapless ships. But the Mariners who lived would later mourn their ships as much as their fallen comrades.
The Pavanar went down. And Ergon, seeing its demise as he fought, wept sorrowfully for his ship, as he made his embattled way to the devastated tower. Thereafter, at length, less than two-hundred Sereghran stood upon the ground around the ruins of the Tower. And these remained only because each wielded some strong magic. Then they clamored atop the crumbled stones of the Tower, to obtain what advantage it may offer, for they were surrounded by a seeming limitless number of Durwolc. Yet, they were comforted a bit when seeing from afar a mere few swiftly-sailing ships escaping into the east without being pursued by the monsters of the sea.
Now, however, as there was no escape for the men on the broken Tower, those men fought with no hope. Yet, fight they did. And that stand is now counted among the most valiant in all of the Frontiers Wars.
Here was Admiral Stanon, with Ergon beside him, and some ways across the heaps of stones stood Denus, with a small number of the Officers of the Garrison and a handful of the most hardy of Brigadiers. Yet, most of the others there were magic-wielding Mariners and Mages; Palphus among them.
Palphus called together the other Mages, biding them assist him in the making of a barrier to thwart the enemy. Then they cast spells which caused walls of flame to encircle the ruin, as the rest of the survivors huddled in the midst of the rubble. And that saved them from the enemy afoot, but did little to stop the rain of spears and arrows flying over the flames. So, the Mages next created yet another barrier, a shimmering dome of energy over their heads, which curved down into the flames like a giant-sized upturned bowl. And this reflected the missiles. Thus did Palphus and his Mages save themselves and their friends. But those high magicks would not last forever. And the Mages had expended all of their inner strength in erecting the barriers. Eventually, the barriers would weaken, or magic-users of the enemy would arrive to dispel them. But lo, unexpectedly from the east, there rode a highly magical company of Cavalrymen and Mages from Baerakis, who assailed the enemy upon their eastern flank, then began mightily to cleave a gory way to the Survivors of Geranost. And behind that company came running an army of the People’s Brigades, screaming cries of battle, and who so smote upon the enemy that the enemy was thereuon all turned aside.
Thus was the enemy upon land defeated at Geranost, though many Durwolc fled westwards. Meanwhile, King Aetas himself had led another Armada of ships which quickly sailed in from the east. And so powerful were his magicks, and those of his Captains, that many of the giants of the Deeps that had earlier sunk many vessels were now mercilessly slain ere the rest dove fearfully beneath the waves. Then Aetas strove with the Leviathan, driving it out to sea with so many burning wounds that it dared not turn to fight, nor would it return to the Coast of Arzultaur for many years thereafter.
Thus did the Mariners of Baerakis come at last to the rescue of the weary Survivors of Geranost, as the storm surge lessened swiftly, and then began flowing back towards the sea. And when it was done, King Aetas went ashore to engage in three days of hunting down the Durwolc who had retreated. But gone now was Lutros and his Navy, and the vast majority of his Mariners. And gone were most of the men of the Garrison, and Margos of Cwellon, and nigh all the Brigadiers who had come to Geranost. And those were held as terribly sad losses by the People.
As the enemy was being driven off by the Cavalrymen and the Brigadiers who had come from Baerakis, which required a day and a night of fighting, and though fighting had not ended to the west, the Mages upon the stones of the Tower dismissed their magical barriers, and with the other Survivors came weakly down from the rubble to thank their saviors, and to rest. But all these Survivors later formed a company of their own which became renowned, naming themselves simply the Men of Geranost. And they were provided many a chance to avenge themselves upon the enemy.
Now, while that battle was later called The Fall of Geranost, Lord Aetas won there a great victory, where the fighting upon land was at last brought to an end by nightfall of the third day of his setting foot upon the shore. But instead of staying even one day to rest, he arose the next morning and set out with most of his forces afoot, but for Cavalrymen who rode ahead, and journeyed south over the Grasslands; leaving a small force led by Stanon at the ruins, where rested the Survivors; all but Ergon, who would not remain behind, so wrathful had he become at the sinking of the Pavanar.