storie by Eothin

[Eothin]

Eothin yelled orders throughout his rank of pole arms. Its was getting late and the sun was beginning to set. Soon it would be dark and then they would attack once more and if it was anything like the last three attacks they wouldn’t make it through the night.

Three out of the four bridge gates had been taken and if Eothin could not hold his ground here they would collapse the bridge. Eothin still considered it a little drastic but if they got into the city they wouldn’t ever be able to stop them.

The last glint of sunshine shone brightly over the peak of Mount Gilham, and then the light was gone. Silence echoed unbearably through the dark causing Eothins heart to race. All was still and quiet except for the occasional cough from one of his men behind him.

Eothin saw a dark shadow cross the bridge several hundred paces ahead of him. It could have been his mind playing tricks on him, but he didn’t want to take the chance. He raised his hand and signaled to the men behind him. They dropped to one knee and ground their long spears into the hard packed dirt. Eothin heard the clicks of crossbows being loaded, and he already knew that the long bows had been notched and were ready to fire on his command.

He tightened his hand around the shaft of his short spear. So many shadows danced along the bridge from the clouded sky above. He couldn’t tell what was real and what was fake. If he made the wrong decision and had them fire while no one was there he would loose the advantage of his ranged weapons. Though it wouldn’t take that long to reload it would still make him lose invaluable time.

The wind picked up and blew dust along the path ahead of him. Something wasn’t right and he knew it. They would have attacked by now or at least would have made their presence known. The wind changed direction and blew the clouds away from the moon.

Hundreds of dark figures appeared just several paces ahead of him. Eothin knelt down to one knee and yelled the firing order. Just inches over Eothins head passed the whistles of hundreds of arrows flying through the air. Cries of pain broke out from the dark shadows ahead of him.

Torches were lit and thrown ahead of Eothins battalion. Several dark figures lay dead on the ground ahead of them. In the distance Eothin heard the thunder of drums being sounded. He could hear cries in the distance but over time even they could not be heard over the drums. This is how the last three nights had started and hopefully this would be the last time he every had to hear those light forsaken drums again.

[Eothin]

Chapter Two :king:
Liye laid his head in his hands and gently massaged his temples. He did not think that these men were going to see reason any time soon. They had been pressing him for the last couple of days to collapse the bridge and several very harsh words were said back on his behalf.

“Your Majesty, we have no choice at this point but to collapse the bridge. Our enemy has take the first three gates and they are on the verge of taking the fourth. We have no other choice than to do it.” The young man said while bowing his head slightly to Liye.

Liye raised his head and squared his shoulders. His eyes turned cold as he stared at each of the six lords daring any of them to say something in support. “I’ve said it once and I will not say again. The bridge will not be collapsed. I have men there and they will not die at my own hands.”

Liye waved his hand gesturing for them to leave. Each rose bowing stiffly to the king till only one was left. Lord Arith walked over and sat across from Liye. “Would you like a drink old friend?”

Liye looked up and shook his head slowly before slumping back into his chair. “Arith, I just don’t think I can keep this up. I know Eothin and his troops will not be able to hold the gate, but I still could not deal with the idea of me killing my men with my hand.

Arith took a sip of his wine and eyed Liye carefully. “Liye, to put it bluntly you already have sent them to their deaths. By not collapsing the bridge you are only prolonging the inevitable. They will die, and no matter how you look at it this will be done by your hand.”

Liye looked up into his friend’s eyes and nodded slightly. “Give the order for the bridge to be collapsed. But make sure that the order reaches the ears of the men on the bridge before hand. They still might have a chance to get away before it is done.

Arith stood and bowed slightly to Liye. “I will personally deliver the message my King.” He turned and closed the door behind him.

Liye took the cold glass of wine that had been poured for him earlier that evening and took a sip. It was cold, but that didn’t matter. He had sentenced his son to death. Your couldn’t get any colder than that.

[Eothin]

So how does this one sound so far? I'm going to get more indepth with the characters and in the history of this story. I just wanted to know what you all thought. I'll take the good and bad. Even some of The Games special popcorn. :)

[Eothin]

Eothin dropped to the ground as another hail of arrows was fired into the Azubal. Eothin jumped back to his feet and fell back to the rest of his polearms. Hours? Minutes? He couldn’t really say how long they had been fighting. He was tired and he knew that the rest of his men could not keep up against an onslaught like this forever.

He looked over the remnant of his battalion. Over half of them were dead and he didn’t even want to think about how many were injured. They might be able to take one more wave, but after that? There wasn’t any hope in site at this point but he would not let his city fall into the hands of the Azubah.

The drums began to beat once more. They were closer than they ever had been before. Maybe several hundred paces? Perhaps this would be the last wave, or maybe this was just the first legion that was sent to attack. It didn’t matter, this was to be their last stand.

“All arms to the ready.” Eothin called out to his men. Polearms were mounted,
arrows knocked and swords readied.

Eothin took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. It was time. He could feel it in his bones. He looked back over his shoulder at his men and bowed his head in recognition. “It was an honor to serve with you men of Iam and men of Eluzai. May you find rest in the Halls of Eliud.”

He turned his head as hundreds of the Azubah charged towards their ranks. Eothin went to one knee as the first hail of arrows was launched. “Farewell Eluzai. Farewell my King. My father.”