The Beasts hit the wall and began to scramble up the side.
Soldiers rushed along, giving orders to those under their command. The young General stood near the edge of the wall, watching every move and every reaction. General Hamel had never seen the Beasts move with such anger or purpose before.
He had always hated the battles with the creatures. It was nothing more than a slaughter. His soldiers fired their rifles from the top of the wall, and Beast after Beast fell as they ran through the open area that his people called the Valley Floor.
The Beasts were tall, nearly one and a half times the height of an average human. They walked and ran upright on their two legs and used their arms and hands to throw spears, hold shields and climb. The fur-covered creatures were stronger than any animal Hamel had ever seen and far more vicious.
"What if they make it past your defenses, Hamel?" Pulanomos asked. He had come as the new Ambassador from Olmos less than a year before, but it was his first visit to the wall during a battle.
"I don't know, Pulanomos," Hamel replied and offered his friend a broad grin.
"You don't know?" Pulanomos began to back away along with his young assistant. The boy, Churoi, was not much more than eleven years old. He faithfully stood by his master, but the terror on his face was far greater than that of the Ambassador.
"Nope. No idea!" Hamel replied. He turned to a Lieutenant standing by. She was perhaps nineteen but was proving herself to be a capable officer. He sent her along the wall with orders to the Captain for a new deployment.
Hamel watched Pulanomos out of the corner of his eye and fought down another grin that threatened to creep up his face. "What's on your mind, my friend?"
Pulanomos stepped up beside Hamel. The two men were both twenty-three years old. Each man was new to his respective position, but it was far from Hamel's first battle. The Ambassador held Hamel's arm as if his presence could keep him safe.
"Hamel, please," Pulanomos began. "I know this is common for you, but I have never been on the wall during an attack by these creatures. Please, tell me what happens if they enter the city."
Hamel laughed and passed out some more orders to two young Lieutenants waiting nearby. "Pulanomos, we have never had such a thing happen before. We have always held them back. If they were to make it through, our soldiers would fight them on the walls. If we fall to the Beasts, we have six battalions stationed at the second wall. Do not worry about the people in the city."
Pulanomos nodded his head. The fear in his eyes had not lessened.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Ambassador," Hamel replied, doing his best to provoke his friend. "You aren't concerned about the people in the city, are you? It is your life you are worried about. My dear wife and child back in the city are not a concern to you? I thought you had grown fond of them over this last year."
Pulanomos's face turned red, and he stepped away. "I'm not a soldier, Hamel! You know that. This is not something I am used to. Our nation is a peaceful nation. It has been many centuries since we have experienced war."
Hamel smiled. "I'm just teasing you, Pulanomos. I know you..."
Hamel stopped mid-sentence and leaned over the wall to get a better view of the Battle. He watched the Beasts closely and grabbed the arm of a young Lieutenant standing by. "Quick, send two full battalions to the southern end of the wall. Do not hesitate. RUN!"
The Lieutenant rushed to the Captain and passed on the orders. Within less than a minute, the signals were sent, and soldiers on horseback rode along the inside of the wall to the southern section. Hamel gripped the stones which formed the top of the wall as he watched the battle.
"What's happening, Hamel?" Pulanomos asked. His voice betrayed panic.
Hamel took a glance at his friend and the young Churoi. He grieved for the boy. They stood on the Valley Wall, one of the two barriers between the people and the Beasts. It was no place for a child during a battle—especially an Olmosite, unaccustomed to the Beast threat.
"The Beasts are acting strange," Hamel replied. "I think they are about to attack the southern edge of the Valley Wall in just a minute or two."
"How do you know?" Pulanomos asked.
"I don't. But look how the attack is focused here in the center of the valley. Notice as well that all the Beasts traveling along the southern end of this attack are veering slightly to the south as if their eyes are drifting more in that direction. I think they expect something to happen in that direction. I suspect this attack is a diversion."
"Do you really think the Beasts are that intelligent?" Pulanomos asked in shock.
As if in answer to his question, hundreds of Beasts rushed out of the forest to the south on the Valley Floor. Hamel stepped up onto his platform to give himself the height he needed to see the southern end of the wall. He felt relief flood over him as the soldiers were reinforced. He had caught their diversion just in time."
An hour later, the battle was over. The Beasts remained on the Valley Floor but not to attack. They always carried off their dead. The Soldiers of the Ridge gave them the time they needed.
When the last of the Beasts had disappeared into the trees, Hamel went to go speak with his officers and hear their reports. Movement at the edge of the forest caught his eye, and five Beasts stepped into view. A young Corporal blew the trumpet, and the soldiers prepared for another assault.
"Hold your fire!" Hamel called. Word of his orders spread down the wall, and the men and women held steady.
"What's happening?" Pulanomos asked.
"I'm not sure, Pulanomos. I've never seen the Beasts act this way. This is new. I'm going to have to ask you to be quiet, my friend. I will need to be alert for this new threat."
The five Beasts loped forward. Each one carried something small. While Hamel did not think there was cause for concern, he could not imagine what might be contained in the bundles.
The Beasts stopped ten paces from the wall. They were large creatures, solidly built and not something Hamel wished to face without a rifle.
All five Beasts threw the items in their arms against the wall and let out a loud, mournful cry. Hamel heard a similar cry emerge from the forest. He suspected thousands of Beasts had joined the cry. The Beasts turned and raced back to the forest, wailing the entire way. Hamel could hear the sound of the Beasts among the trees grow quieter as they disappeared deep into the forest.
The battle was over, but Hamel needed to find out what lay below. Whatever the Beasts had thrown against the wall caused them a great deal of grief. In addition to their grief, the Beasts had fought that day with an intensity unlike anything he had seen since he had joined the army.
While he did not know what had happened, he was confident this new development was not a good thing. He feared their defense against the Beasts had taken a turn for the worse.
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