Dawn of Arcane Destiny

Chapter Five

In Drayce's dream he was on a battlefield.

The Istheo were a barbaric people, but a strong people. In that Kamasia had underestimated them. He regularly dreamed of one battle in particular. It was the scariest moment in his life, it could've been the last moment in his life.

It was about a year after Drayce and Caelum had been drafted. He had been training regularly. Despite this, he was still awkward and unskilled with a spear. He was no greenie, it wasn't even his first battle, but he was off. It was the anniversary of when his parents had died.

He ran frantically trying to get away from the front lines. They were in the middle of the Battle of Ten Rocks. Named so because the Istheos defined their border with ten sleek, marbled rocks about twenty feet high. His brain had dangerously gone into panic mode. He had three Istheos on his tail. They wore animal hide clothes and painted themselves in Kamasian blood. Two of them held spears, while the one in the middle held a long sword. A Kamasian long sword, judging by the craftmanship of the hilt. Drayce hoped he didn't know how to use it well.

Drayce held a spear in his own hands. They trained all the new recruits on the spear first. He still had six months before he started training on the sword. They were on rocky terrain. The land shockingly bare, save for underbrush here and there. All around him Kamasians clashed with Istheos. It was a blood bath. It seemed the Istheos had changed battle tactics, taking them by surprise. The Istheos had prepared for an all-out assault. Drayce stopped in shock at the sight of some boys from his squad cut down, blood pooling around them, staining the tan rocks a deep red. Drayce choked with emotion, but his panic prevented him from stalling.

The back of his neck tingled. He whirled around just as a blood painted Istheo brought down his sword to split Drayce's skull. He should have brought up his shield, but he wasn't thinking straight. Drayce foolishly brought his spear up to block the blow. The shaft of his spear shattered with the force of the long sword. Splinters flew in all directions. Drayce discarded the bottom half of his now useless spear. Drayce's block gave him time to duck, causing the Istheo to be off target. Drayce came up to be stabbed by an Istheo spearman. He had forgotten about them for the moment.

Drayce grunted staggering backwards. Istheo spears were barbed. It had shredded his flesh, and likely his insides, apart. His hand instinctively went down to stanch the flow of blood. He felt the ragged flesh and a horrifying amount of blood staining his uniform. This was supposed to be an inconsequential skirmish, so they hadn't dressed in armor. That was the only reason that Drayce was out there. Otherwise they never would have let the new recruits go into battle.

The Istheo soldiers circled. They laughed. They found pleasure in attacking the less experienced soldiers.

Drayce felt like puking. His head spun from blood loss. He had to defend himself or he would die where he stood. He yelled going in for a blow that the other spearman easily deflected. Drayce got another cut across his back. He had foolishly let himself get surrounded. Drayce staggered forward, trying with all his might to stay standing. His back was on fire. He cursed himself. He was not made for the army. He was going to die where he stood, just like those other boys from his squad.

An unexpected steely resolve materialized inside Drayce. He wouldn't give up.

He took a deep breath. Clutching the broken tip of his spear. Suddenly, his vision narrowed. His senses heighted, suddenly the clash of metal on metal and the screams of dying men doubled. He smelled the sweat of soldiers and the metallic scent of blood, burning in his nostrils. He saw phantom images of the Istheo with the sword and the one behind him with a spear stabbing him through in two different directions.

His breath caught. He ducked to the side, a new strength surging through him. His wounds forgotten, his panic subsiding, he knew what to do. He dove out of the circle of Istheos before they could stop him. He saw more possibilities of what would happen. He lunged, his mind widening, calculating.