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    Death surrounded him. The dead and the dying littered the field, and the wounded cried out in pain or for their mothers. Goslin didn’t move a muscle. He ached all over. Moving his large shield around took a lot out of him. At least they’d won. The rhinn were in full retreat despite their superior numbers. Shock and awe had been enough. This time.


    Goslin watched as Kax pursued those who didn’t flee fast enough. Goslin worried about his friend''s newfound bloodlust. Kax couldn’t get enough of fighting since his change. Something needed to be done about Kax, but who could help now that Sarien was gone?


    "Who are you?" a voice behind Goslin asked.


    He turned and came face to face with one of the soldiers wearing heavy plate armor. The man was in his forties with a square jaw and intense eyes.


    "I’m Goslin of House Steerian. We saw them outnumbering you and thought it best to come to your assistance," Goslin replied. "What is your name, friend?"


    "Steerian?" the man asked, going down on one knee. "I’m Fredrik. My men and I are what remain of the Eldian Knights."


    Goslin winced. "Please stand, good knight Fredrik. I’m no royalty."


    The man struggled back to his feet. "With the state of Eldsprak being what it is, you might very well be the man closest to the throne," Fredrik said.


    "It’s that bad?" Goslin asked. "I’ve just returned from Tyriu, and information has been sparse." Around them, men gathered up their comrades from the ground, both the dead and the wounded.


    "A small group of us were patrolling the area around Fyrie when the city fell. Most of the army wasn’t stationed inside the walls. We managed to find one another, and together we attempted to reclaim our city. We failed. The enemies used these strange gateways to instantly reposition their troops and call for reinforcements. It was an insurmountable advantage. Not to speak of the pyromancers," Fredrik said with disgust.


    "What of the city’s inhabitants?"


    "Mostly unharmed, from what we can tell."


    "The king?"


    Fredrik shook his head. "We don’t know, but would you keep the enemy''s monarch alive?"


    "We can’t be the only ones left," Goslin said, gritting his teeth. Most of his family would have been in the city when it fell, including his father.


    Kax sauntered up to them. He was drenched in blood. "What are we talking about?"


    "Our crumbling kingdom," Goslin muttered.


    "There are pockets of resistance still," Fredrik said, giving Kax a wary once over. "The sheer number of invaders makes it difficult to rally together. We have been hemorrhaging troops for days and the men are exhausted. Scouts and messengers were sent to Loft, Vatnbloet, and even Jordfaste, but without clear lines of communication, we just do not know if help is coming."


    "Loft is under attack too," Kax said. "Tyriu is where the help should come from. We helped them kick the rhinn out, after all."


    Fredrik brightened at that. "Are they sending help?"


    "Doubtful," Goslin admitted. "The king would not lend us his aid and Sanders in Kleotram refuses to leave his city''s walls."


    "Cowards," Fredrik spat.


    "We’ve come to lend aid ourselves," Goslin said. "From your report, it’s clear what we must do."


    "It is?" Kax asked. From the look on Fredrik’s face, the older soldier didn’t understand either.


    Goslin nodded and looked out over the remaining troops. "It’s simple. We work our way through Eldsprak and find the rest of the resistance. Once we''ve gathered enough fighters, the rhinn and pyromancers in Fyrie will tremble as we retake our capital and our home."


    "Sounds great!" Kax shouted, his eyes hungry for more action.


    Fredrik held up a hand to dampen Kax’s excitement. "Like I told you, what you are proposing is not so simple. The rhinn far outnumber us and they have powerful magic at their side. The pyromancers are destructive enough to rule the battlefield by themselves, but they are not our greatest concern."


    "What is?" Goslin asked.


    “The holes they can make in the air. It allows for near instantaneous travel and unparalleled maneuverability on the field of battle."


    "Nothing we haven’t dealt with before," Kax said.


    Goslin put a hand on Fredrik’s armored shoulder. "I understand your concern, but my friend is correct. We have experience fighting rhinn and drove them from Tyralien. You’re in good hands with us, I promise you."


    "Yeah, we got them good," Kax said, brandishing both of his weapons. "I’ve got these magical swords, and Goslin has that shield of his. You saw what it could do, right?"


    The doubt in the knight’s eyes faded, but it did not vanish. "The command is yours then." He went down on one knee again and Goslin couldn’t help but glance around them in embarrassment. Others were watching.


    "Please rise, dear knight. The stories of the Eldian Knights are legendary. I cannot and will not take them from you. You will retain direct command of your troops in battle while I focus on our best path forward. Do we have any information regarding the positioning of other nearby contingents of Eldsprak soldiers?"


    "We have some idea," Fredrik said. They headed off in the direction of a large tent.


    The makeshift command post was large enough to fit several people, along with a square table covered with maps of Eldsprak. Figures marked the placements of enemy soldiers as well as friendlies. The knight’s words were accurate. Pockets of resistance struggled throughout all of Eldsprak, but they were scattered and not sizeable enough in number to mount a counterattack against the rhinn. Furthermore, Goslin was unsure if the information was accurate. As Fredrik mentioned earlier, communication was fraught and the resistance groups could be long dead by the time they reached them. Of the three nearest to their location, only one group could be reached in a day.


    "Who are these men?" Goslin asked, pointing to the nearest grouping of Eldsprak soldiers. They were marked with a figurine of a carved wooden man holding a spear.


    "Infantry," one of Fredrik’s aides said. "They are led by a sergeant by the name of Gunnar."


    "A commoner?" Goslin asked. "He must be masterful indeed."


    Fredrik grabbed the figurine in his gauntleted hand. "We have been able to establish a semblance of communication with them, with messengers moving through enemy territory at night. They were four hundred men strong as of the day before yesterday, but they are dangerously low on supplies. As are we."


    "They are in the right direction," Kax said, poring over the map.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    "The right direction for what?" Goslin asked. These men would double their fighting capabilities. Goslin knew that getting to the infantry was their main priority.


    Kax put his finger on the map. "Hiemlix estate."


    "Worrying over your sister is a noble trait," Goslin said, placing a hand on Kax’s arm, "but we need to focus on gathering more soldiers."


    "Hiemlix?" Fredrik asked.


    "My friend here is Kax of House Hiemlix," Goslin said.


    "The woman in control of your estate evacuated as soon as the invaders proved to be more than mere elusive bandits. Quite a few families around Eldsprak sent word to Fyrie, announcing their departure."


    "Where did she go?" Kax asked. Goslin noticed how a fair bit of tension left his friend''s shoulders, and that he breathed a little easier.


    Fredrik looked to one of his aides, who rifled through a large stack of papers before providing the answer. "Havet."


    "Makes sense they’d go there. Our estate is up north," Kax said, nodding. "Well, I’m all good then. Just point me in whatever direction you want me to go, and I’ll start cutting a path for us."


    "The reason we have not made an attempt at reaching Gunnar and his infantry is evident on the map here," Fredrik said, gesturing to four figurines carved to look like rhinn soldiers. "At least two thousand soldiers to our two hundred."


    Goslin pursed his lips. "What if we surprise them?"


    "What do you have planned?"


    "We move here," Goslin said, showing a position behind the tree line, near the rhinn army. "Gunnar and his troops will attack from the north, and we’ll join in the assault from the south when their backs are turned."


    "They’d still outnumber us four to one," Fredrik noted.


    "Numbers aren’t everything!" Kax said.


    Goslin straightened. "It’s decided. Send a messenger and notify Gunnar that his troops will attack tomorrow at nightfall."


    An alarm sounded. "Hole!" someone shouted.


    "Rhinn!" Fredrik barked, hurrying out of the tent, the metal plates in his armor clanking loudly.


    Asken stood waiting near the tent. He looked exhausted, but alert.


    "What’s happening?" Goslin asked him. Asken pointed to their right, near the road. A silvery line grew from nothing, hanging in the air. It shimmered and widened, opening a gateway the size of a small house.


    "Are they usually that big around here?" Kax asked, looking at Fredrik, who hurried past.


    "No," he barked. "Get ready. Rhinn will start spilling out any second now!"


    It wasn’t rhinn soldiers. A huge leg came through the gate. It alone was taller than a full-grown man. Goslin’s breath caught, thinking it was another kozimuz, but when the thing bent over to fit through the opening, he knew that wasn’t the case. People screamed in terror when the colossus straightened to a height of four men. Some fled, but to most of the soldiers’ credit, the majority stood fast in their positions, spears pointed at this new monstrosity.


    "How do you fight a giant?" Asken asked, breathless.


    Kax drew his swords and smiled. "I’ve seen bigger."


    It would be a fierce fight, Goslin knew. The towering giant’s elongated arms reached the ground, and it dragged a club the size of a tree behind it. Scraps of armor and cloth looked to be cobbled together over its entire body in a bizarre mismatch of metal, leather cords, and rope. It wore no helmet to obscure its frightful face. Two tiny eyes scanned the crowd and its huge mouth twisted into a gaping grin, as if amused by the tiny soldiers in its path.


    "Together now!" Fredrik barked, hurrying to join his men.


    Asken cleared his throat. "Do you want us to fight too?"


    "No," Goslin said, hoisting his shield. "Stay back and keep an eye out for more gateways. If the rhinn attack now, we’ll need to know about it right away."


    Asken waved for the men from Kleotram to follow him.


    "The legs?" Kax suggested.


    Goslin nodded. "Definitely the legs."


    The giant lifted his enormous club like it was nothing more than a twig, swiping at his attackers, obliterating entire rows of spearmen.


    "Stand back!" he shouted. "Move away!"


    The men stared at the giant, frozen in horror. He found Fredrik near the front and shouted, “Order your men to move back!"


    "Back? No, we must press the attack!" Fredrik shouted back, trying to be heard over all the noise and wailing.


    Goslin shook his head. "Let me and Kax handle it!"


    Three men rushed the giant from behind, but it reacted with surprising agility, turning to stomp all three into the ground with a massive foot. All that was left of the men when it lifted his foot was a crushed mess of red gore. The giant laughed, a booming sound like a donkey’s braying.


    Kax jumped and landed in front of the soldiers closest to the giant, and Goslin pushed his way through to join him. Fredrik relented and commanded his men fall back to give them some room to maneuver.


    The field emptied until it was only Goslin and Kax that faced the giant. After facing both the kozimuz and Xzxyth, his shield on his arm and Kax racing by his side, Goslin barely felt a tinge of fear as he ran toward this new monstrosity.


    Kax nimbly jumped over the giant''s club as it came at them in a wide sweeping motion. Goslin raised his shield to block the attack. He didn’t know the limits of his magically imbued shield, but a giant’s club wasn’t it. The club exploded in a rain of splinters. Kax laughed as he sliced into the stunned giant’s arm before continuing to its legs. Goslin hurried and thrusted his sword between plates of metal and pieces of leather until he pierced flesh. The giant roared in anger.


    Nothing could withstand Kax’s blades. He cut through fat, thick muscle, sinew, and bone like it was butter, amputating the left leg below the knee in one swift strike. The giant reached for Goslin as it fell backwards, and he struck at large hand with his shield, obliterating it. The monster held up the bloody stump where his hand used to be with a look of utter confusion. It remained frozen in surprise as Kax leapt onto its chest and drove both blades into its heart.


    Goslin fell down on one knee, panting, when he heard a cheering roar swell up from behind him. Kax nodded, and Goslin forced himself to his feet to find a whole mass of soldiers waving their weapons around in the air. Kax raised both his swords and gave a returning yell. The sleeves of his tunic slid down, revealing his blackened skin. Goslin sheathed his blade and straightened, nodding to the crowd.


    "You want to go through?" Kax asked, pointing at the still open gate.


    Goslin furrowed his brows. "Why?"


    "Take the fight to them, of course."


    "We don’t even know if this gateway will take us to Rhinerien."


    "Haven’t they all connected us and Rhinerien?" Kax asked.


    Goslin shrugged. "I think so, but who knows?"


    "Sarien, probably," Kax said. He looked longingly at the swirling gateway. "Would be great, though, don’t you think? Taking the fight to them."


    "Perhaps if Fyrie hadn’t fallen. Too many of our countrymen need our help for us to mount a counterattack right now."


    "I could go," Kax suggested.


    "I would much rather keep you by my side, Kax."


    "Fine," Kax muttered, tearing his gaze away from the gateway.


    They walked up to the crowd of soldiers and Goslin exchanged a praising word with the men. The success of the fight against the giant seemed to have renewed the spirits of the soldiers.


    "Quite the display," Fredrik said once they were back in the tent.


    Kax took a pewter cup and filled it to the brim with wine. "Told you we’re great."


    "We''ve fought other monsters like this one before," Goslin said, accepting a mug of water from an attendant. He drank greedily. "So, you’ll send the messenger?"


    "Two runners are on their way now," Fredrik said. "We’ll need to leave right away if we’re going to be in position in time for the assault."


    Kax gulped down his wine and placed it on one of the maps. "Let’s go get that Gunnar fellow, then." He exited the tent and Goslin watched as one of the attendants removed the cup. It left a red, round stain on the parchment, circling the Burning Tower of Firemagi. Goslin frowned. He would deal with the traitorous pyromancers when the fighting was over. Once and for all.


    It was not a simple feat relocating the remaining two hundred soldiers. Rhinn scouts and soldiers roamed the countryside. They came close to being spotted a few times, but luckily avoided detection.


    Around noon, Fredrik received word from Gunnar shortly before entering the forest. The other Eldsprak army’s commander wasn’t happy about the plan but acknowledged Goslin’s authority. They would do their part, he promised.


    Two hundred soldiers crawled through the underbrush of the dense forest without alarming the nearby rhinn army. The enemy kept lookouts, but none close enough to spot Goslin and his forces as they lay on their bellies in anticipation of the waning sun.


    Dusk was well underway when the first sounds of battle reached their ears.


    "It’s time," Goslin said. He stood and drew his sword, pointing it forward. "Charge!"


    They ran as fast as could be expected in the dense forest and emerged to the grassy plain with a roar. Fredrik shouted something from behind him, but Goslin couldn’t make out the words. It was too late to change the plan anyway.


    A rhinn lookout widened his eyes and screamed as Kax fell upon him.


    They crested a hill and looked down a long slope to see the fighting below. The scale of what Goslin saw made it difficult to comprehend. Thousands of rhinn soldiers separated them from Gunnar and his men. Just half of them could overwhelm Goslin’s soldiers without letting up the pressure on Gunnar’s.


    As Goslin charged and bellowed, a ball of fire launched from the rhinn army and hurtled through the air in the direction of Gunnar’s army. To his amazement, Goslin saw flames intercept the enemy pyromancer’s attack. The two met in the air and exploded with a roar, showering the combatants in sparks and flames. Men screamed in fear and pain.


    The fight was just beginning.