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    "We’re going north to get my brother," Goslin said, not for the first time since entering the command tent.


    "That does not make tactical sense," Fredrik argued.


    Gunnar nodded. "Fredrik is right. There are too many rhinn between us. And what if we’re attacked by more wolves?"


    "What do you suggest?" Goslin asked, his tone heated despite his best effort to remain collected. “That we just sit on our hands and wait here for the rhinn to come and destroy us? We need more soldiers!"


    The two other men fell silent.


    "Tyralien," Gunnar said.


    "The king made it perfectly clear. They’re not going to provide aid."


    Fredrik lifted a finger, trying to get a word in, "Kleo?—"


    Goslin interrupted him. “Kleotram won’t send aid either. They cower behind their walls, just like Tyralien. We are on our own. If we find a way to pass word to my brother and his men, they can meet us halfway."


    "Are you certain?" Fredrik asked, frustration and doubt thick in his voice.


    "I told you. I’ll deal with him. Give the order. We’re leaving immediately."


    Both men looked like thunderclouds, but neither argued further. Goslin was glad to leave the confines of the tent but did not relish the scent of burned human flesh. He hoped that leaving the area would lift the soldiers'' spirits.


    Asken kept close to his side at all times, especially now that Kax had gone missing.


    "Your brother, then?" Asken asked.


    Goslin massaged his temples. "Don’t you start now."


    "Wouldn’t dream of it."


    "That’s well, then," Goslin said. "You should get ready to move as well."


    "Always ready," Asken said, hefting his heavy mace. "Just point to where you want me to bash."


    "Good man."


    Gateways continued to open randomly around them. However, the rhinn just stood and watched Goslin and the rest of the Eldian army in mocking silence. Each time one opened, Goslin hoped to see either Sarien or Kax stepping through. Instead, he was met with silent stares. He hadn''t seen another rhinn with purple eyes. He didn’t know what to make of it, but he didn''t like it. It did not bode well for the fight to come.


    Two days later, when a gateway opened near the camp, rhinn finally poured out, taking the Eldian soldiers by surprise.


    A contingent of about fifty rhinn soldiers jumped through, attacking mercilessly before retreating back into the gateway. When it closed back up, another opened at the other end of the marching troops. Just as everyone turned to face the second gateway, a third opened. Then a fourth and a fifth. The rhinn attacked efficiently and retreated just as quickly, making it impossible to strategize against their foes over the noise and confusion.


    Goslin shouted to be heard over the din of panicked soldiers, weapons clanging, and the wails of the wounded. "Stay vigilant!"


    A gateway finally opened in reach of Goslin, and he took out his frustration on the rhinn who jumped through the opening. Eldians rallied behind him and together they fought back, crushing their enemies and forcing their hasty retreat back into the open gateway. Goslin shoved his obsidian shield against the invaders, breaking limbs and, at times, shattering entire bodies with a single swing. The Eldian soldiers that rallied around him looked at him in horror.


    The gateway winked shut without waiting for the retreating rhinn. Trapped in Maydian, their numbers scattered and were easily dealt with. Goslin surveyed the field of battle. The Eldian losses were minimal once they’d understood the rhinn''s strategy, but very little rhinn blood stained the ground beneath their feet.


    Frustration gnawed at Goslin’s insides. They were sitting ducks wherever they went and could be attacked at any moment through those blasted gateways. No matter what decisions he made, something always went wrong.


    "We keep going!" he shouted at Gunnar when he found the man atop his horse, on the road leading north, looking out across a field of untended, wilting crops.


    "Fredrik is dead."


    Goslin stopped dead in his tracks. "Dead? How?"


    "The usual way."


    Goslin didn’t know what to say.


    Gunnar turned to face him. "Keep going north?"


    Goslin nodded.


    Gunnar rode off in silence, his face stony. Their slow march north continued in silence. Sullen faces glowered at Goslin from the crowd and everyone was on edge, expecting an attack at any moment. They didn''t need to wait long. A few hours later, the rhinn attacked again.


    "Gateway!" someone from the back of the line shouted.


    Goslin urged his horse to turn and spun in a half circle to spot a gateway opening to the south. Another opened beside it, followed by another. In a mere moment, gateways spanned the horizon. Rhinn troops spilled out by the hundreds.


    Gunnar rode up beside Goslin. "What do you want to do?"


    "Do we stand a chance?" Goslin said, looking from the enemy to their own troops and back.


    "Do you have any more tricks up your sleeve?" Gunnar asked, glancing at the shield strapped to Goslin’s back.


    "Afraid not."


    Gunnar slowly shook his head. "We can’t outrun them."


    "That leaves us with only one option," Goslin said. "We attack."


    "Let’s be done with this," Gunnar said, sighing. He barked orders at a cluster of nervous lieutenants. Like a great lumbering beast, the Eldian army turned to face their foe.


    The rhinn did not use horses, but Goslin’s cavalry was severely lacking. Their only trump card was Tvalfager and his fire, but there could be pyromancers hidden in the rhinn ranks as well.


    "Charge!" Goslin bellowed. Finally, a situation where he didn’t have to shoulder the burden of command. In battle, he knew what to do and could lead those around him with ease. Men followed and together they raced for the waiting rhinn, who neither advanced nor retreated as Goslin and his men bore down on them.


    Before clashing into the rhinn''s front lines, he saw several more gateways open from the corner of his eye. He watched in horror as rhinn attacked their eastern flank.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    He gritted his teeth and pushed on. Goslin crashed into the waiting rhinn, cutting through them with his sword, while guiding his horse with his knees. Two rhinn died by his hand before someone stuck his horse with a spear. The animal went down screaming. Goslin tumbled into the hard ground, his breath knocked out of his lungs. He stood just as a spear shot toward him, but Goslin easily batted it aside and thrust his sword into the rhinn''s head. He tried to pull his sword free, but it stuck into the rhinn''s skull as his foe collapsed.


    Chaos erupted all around him as the Eldian foot soldiers reached him and the rest of the cavalry. To his right, fire blasted from both of Tvalfager''s hands, burning wide swathes of the enemy’s ranks. Multiple rhinn charged Goslin. He raised his shield, and the simple block blasted his first attacker’s sword back into the rhinn’s own chest. Goslin smashed the shield into a second rhinn, breaking his body and throwing him into a third opponent.


    Asken arrived at his side, swinging his mace in wild arcs. Goslin grabbed a rhinn sword before they pressed forward, heading for the gateways.


    The Eldian ranks collapsed all around them. Goslin wasn''t surprised as they were clearly outnumbered. As long as he didn’t stop advancing, he knew they would survive the battle. This belief drove each step he took, each enemy he felled. Just a little further and everything would be well. Just get to the gateway and force them shut. That would do it. Goslin was sure of it.


    He took a grazing cut on his shoulder and a slash just above his left knee, but Goslin didn’t stop. Asken disappeared somewhere in the chaos, but new Eldians took his place. Fire erupted from nearby, indicating that Tvalfager was still in the fight. Goslin had lost count of how many he’d slain when the gateway before him blinked out of existence.


    He stopped, stunned. A rhinn spear nearly gutted him before he regained control.


    "Did you see that?" he asked, not speaking to anyone in particular.


    No one heard him over the deafening roar of battle. Still, he laughed as another two gateways disappeared. He knew they weren''t being closed willingly, there were too many rhinn soldiers still on their side in Maydian. Someone was ending the lives of rhinn travelers on the other side.


    With renewed vigor, he fought his way to the nearest gateway. On the other side stood a lone rhinn man wearing the robes Goslin had come to associate with their travelers. Something dark rushed past. As Goslin watched, the traveler’s head dropped from his neck and landed on the ground, face down. The gateway dissipated.


    "Kax!" Goslin shouted, but it was no use. The gateway closed.


    The Eldians put on a heroic effort against overwhelming odds, but the enemy were too numerous. Even with Kax''s return, it was just a matter of time now before they were driven into the ground. Still, Goslin couldn’t just lay down his arms and accept his fate.


    Tvalfager was in trouble, so Goslin steered in his direction, bashing his way through enemy lines. His body ached and his arms felt leaden by his sides, but he pressed on, ignoring the multitude of cuts and scrapes across his body. A wound below his right armpit was more serious. Blood stained Goslin’s tunic and he felt the slickness every time he moved his arm. Still, he pressed on. Eldsprak was his home. He’d stop at nothing to defend it.


    Tvalfager was flattened on the ground, but short blasts of fire still kept the rhinn at bay. Scores of burned bodies surrounded the young man and his haggard expression made him look old beyond his years. Goslin grabbed the pyromancer by his chainmail armor and pulled him away from the surrounding rhinn soldiers. Fire scorched those who followed, but it was clear that the mage was exhausted, his power depleting.


    "Eldians, to me!" Goslin shouted again and again until his throat was hoarse, but those who remained standing were few and far between. Thankfully, the rhinn were wary of striking out against the pyromancer, which bought them some time. Goslin spun and bashed the nearest rhinn soldier’s face with his shield with a roar, sending a rain of gore over the man’s fellow soldiers. They backed away, eyes wide, and their shields raised tentatively.


    "Tvalfager! We must go!”


    The pyromancer got to his feet. He swayed a little but managed to stumble away. Goslin swung his shield back and forth to keep the rhinn back. Still, their enemy pressed in with their spears poking and prodding, grinding Goslin''s progress to a halt. He fought desperately to keep moving.


    An arrow arced down into the narrow gap between Goslin and the rhinn. He stared at it, barely registering this new development. A second one struck a rhinn soldier, and a third exploded in a shower of splinters against Goslin’s shield. He looked up and saw a storm of arrows falling from the sky. He leapt onto Tvalfager and pushed him to the ground as he raised his shield over them.


    The volley of arrows struck the rhinn soldiers. They pattered like falling rain against Goslin’s shield and Tvalfager cried out in pain as one stuck in his calf. When it was over, Goslin blinked in surprise at the field of dead rhinn.


    In the distance, men on horseback galloped into the rhinn army in waves.


    "Who?" Goslin muttered.


    He spotted an open gateway. It was a little wider than the ones before and the edges trembled as if it took tremendous power to keep it open.


    Arrows flew from two different clumps of archers that numbered in the hundreds. Rhinn fell all around him.


    "Hey."


    "Kax! You’re back!" Goslin threw his arms around his friend and squeezed as hard as his wounds would allow.


    "I’m back," Kax agreed. "Just in time too, from the look of things."


    "Who are these soldiers?" Goslin asked, gesturing across the field of battle.


    Kax grinned and adjusted a scarf he wore around his neck. "The troops to the northeast, you know? Toward Vatnbloet? Found those and brought them here with my pet traveler."


    Tvalfager stared at the arrow in his leg. “A little help?”


    Goslin examined the wound. The tip of the arrow poked through the other side of the pyromancer''s calf. “I could pull it out, I think, but you’d probably be better off waiting for someone who knows what they’re doing.”


    The pyromancer’s face grew even paler, and he nodded.


    The fighting wasn’t quite over yet, but the Eldians were at a clear advantage now, and it was only growing as they utilized their horses with impressive precision. The archers and cavalry fought well together. Arrows fell with brutal efficiency into the rhinn ranks, followed by horsemen charging to mop up the rest. Infantry protected the archers and even a few pyromancers showed up to rain devastating fire at the few still open gateways, burning a few travelers before they were forced to protect themselves by closing the gates, leaving the remainder of the rhinn army stranded.


    "Let’s go see to our wounds," Goslin said, helping Tvalfager to his feet. He hefted the younger man’s arm over his shoulder and shook off a wave of dizziness. "This fight is over and I’m willing to bet you have quite the story to tell."


    Kax grinned. "Oh, I’ll spin the tale until your ears bleed. Don’t you worry about that. These men are even led by an old friend of ours, so it’ll be quite the reunion."


    "Who?" Goslin asked, shuffling along, trying to ignore his own wounds.


    Kax laughed. "You’ll see."


    Goslin gazed across the battlefield. Against all odds, they’d survived again. He released a tight breath that he wasn''t aware he was holding, and his knees buckled. Tvalfager yelped out as both of them tumbled into the dirt. Embarrassed, Goslin got his hand under him and then a knee. His grip on the shield’s leather strap wouldn’t stay firm, and it threatened to slide off his arm.


    "Can’t seem to—" he said.


    "Goslin?" Kax asked.


    Goslin woke in a cot alone in a tent. The tent billowed and strained against heavy winds. He tried to sit up, but the pain in his side burned and he fell back with a groan. His whole body ached. With considerably more care, he slowly propped himself up. Someone had cleaned him and stitched up the wound in his side, along with a few other mild ones he hadn’t even noticed while in the midst of combat.


    Kax strode in with Goslin’s shield strapped to his back. "This thing has some real heft to it, don’t you think?"


    "What happened? Did a stray arrow strike me or something?"


    "Nothing so grand," Kax said, leaning the shield against a tent pole. "You fainted from exhaustion."


    Goslin chuckled. "That’s a relief. Is Tvalfager unharmed?"


    "He is. Went to stay with the other pyromancers. We’ve got five now on our side!"


    Kax handed over a skin of water and Goslin drank greedily.


    "They say you’ll be fine. It was mostly blood loss and exhaustion that made you pass out. Nothing to be ashamed of."


    "Kax," Goslin said.


    "Yeah?"


    "Why won’t you look at me?" He’d noted it out on the battlefield, but it was more obvious now that they were alone.


    Kax took a deep breath raising his eyes until they met Goslin’s. "It has spread. Every time I kill someone, it grows a little. It’s inside me now."


    Goslin stared into the void that was Kax’s mouth. Behind his teeth, it was just black emptiness, as if nothing existed. Goslin swallowed. "How do you feel?"


    "I feel great," Kax said. "It just isn’t very nice to look at, you know?" He pulled his scarf down, revealing the skin of his neck. Obsidian black. "My face will probably turn soon."


    His friend’s condition worried Goslin. "Stop killing. You’ve done enough."


    "No," Kax said. He said nothing more.


    Goslin looked at his friend warily. It wasn''t the time to argue, but something needed to be done and soon. He feared what would happen when Kax became engulfed entirely in the black void. "Well, you saved me. Thank you, old friend."


    Kax waved away his compliment. "Oh, I just thought you’d want some reinforcements, you know? Once I got my pet traveler, it wasn’t all that difficult locating them. Like I said, their leader is an old friend of ours, so talking him into aiding us wasn’t that hard just?—"


    "Just what?" Goslin asked. "Who is it?" He frowned. "What is this about a pet traveler?"