Two Warriors.

Chapter 13: To War.

And so began The Battle of Azgeda.
After we rode away from Nia and her Generals that night, Lexa met with The Chief of Ingranronakru to give him the bad news of Costias death. He called for vengeance and Heda happily obliged. The box and Costias remains were burned on a funeral pyre, in a ceremony to honour the fallen warrior. Lexa stood by the fire until the flames burned down to embers, her mind flooded by memories of her lost love.
She never slept that night, even as dawn broke and the sun began to lift over the horizon, she sat sharpening her sword ready for war. I approached her as our armies gathered into their formations, "Heda. It's time."
She nodded back at me and stood to her feet. Lexa looked at me, her eyes so serious, "Promise me, if die in the days to come you will make sure my body makes it back to Polis. The Spirit of The Commander must be protected by The Order of The Flame."
I hated to think of the death of my Trikru Commander but war didn't care if you were a leader or a solider. It called for death no matter who you were.
"You have my word, Heda!" I answered as I held my arm out to my Commander. Lexa grasped it and nodded in gratitude.
We walked to meet our warriors. Heads held high, our swords sharp, the blood in our veins burning like fire. We met with Gustus and Indra and climbed upon our horses. Turning to face our armies, Lexa called out, "FIGHT WITH STRENGTH, DIE WITH HONOUR! TO WAR!"
She raised her sword as our armies growled to the heavens for Azgeda blood. These brave souls willing to die for their Heda, for the honour of Polis.

The armies of the twelve clans faced each other as silence washed over the land. An icy wind snapped at our flesh. It seemed these lands would fight us just as brutally as the Ice Queen herself.
Our muscles were tense with the anticipation of combat. I looked over at Indra and Gustus as they were poised for battle. Our eyes met before turning to our Commander. Lexa breathed deeply. I watched as she exhaled, her breath meeting the cold air. She nodded at all of us as we drew our swords. In a heartbeat she yelled at the top of her lungs, "ATTACK!"
Our armies surged forward to meet our enemies. Our minds and hearts were fuelled by mixed emotions, honour, pride, duty, vengeance and anger. With brutal strength and without mercy, Lexa rained the full force of her fury upon Nia's warriors. Metal clashed on metal, blood was spilt, lives were lost. Not a single warrior held back. Prince Roan charged into the fray like a true Azgeda warrior, yet
The Queen seemed to be constantly flanked by her Generals and guards. Lexa once called her a coward and it seemed she was right.

I watched as Heda tore down each warrior that tried to stop her approach to confront Nia. No enemy sword or injury endured could hold her back. She had a broken heart filled with rage and grief, a dangerous combination for any warrior. It was clear the Queen had given orders to be protected at all times. Try as we might no one could get close, her warriors constantly repositioned around her blocking our access.
The battle raged on from morning into night and would have continued if not for the retreat horn sounding out from Azgeda's allies. Our weapons were soaked with blood, we had gained the upper hand, but this was still a fight that could have changed in an instant. No clan leader would take their warriors away from combat at this stage. Reluctantly, Nia followed suit and withdrew her forces. Our warriors cheered out in victory, but something was wrong. I felt it and so did Lexa. This was no simple retreat, this was something else.