Glacier & Lights

Chapter 1

When the moonlight fell on Maloro's helmet, most of the way was behind them. They were already in the forest. It was a dark place even in day, but in the night, it could be hiding completely anything.There were tens of men marching around him as quietly as possible in their armors. Most of them were shieldmen, some were swordsmen, and the rest were riders. Maloro was constantly looking around. This was the first battle he was leading on his own, as an Imperius general. It was only two years since he got his helmet and he was leading a solid army now.

Their mission was to destroy Bardur army, camping at the opposite edge of the forest. The army was threatening a nearby Imperius village of Dopire, that hasn't it's wall built yet. Maloro was getting restless. He had a strange feeling that one does not simply walk into Bardur army camp and slaughter their men, but he believed in his plan. His group was supposed to create a wall from one side of the camp while the second group, mostly made of knights and riders, was waiting near the city, at the other side of the forest, ready to attack as soon as they hear a horn trumpet. The plan was good and there was no way to change it, but he still kept to turn his head around on the littlest unexpected sound or movement.

The army stopped as the man in the front caught a sight of camp torches. Silence surrounded them, as if the soldiers stopped breathing. Maloro looked around onto his men. They were waiting for his orders. He took a deep breath. "Blow the horn," he said silently to the man to his right. When he raised the horn to his lips, Maloro spoke again: "Wall formation! Create a wall! Shield wall!" His voice, as vociferous as it was in the calm, peaceful night, was still noting compared to the sound of the horn. An extremely loud tone cut through the silence. There was no going back. While Maloro's men were gathering into the formation, the Bardur camp started waking up. When his army was all lined up, general Maloro ordered his soldiers to move until they could reach the nearest tent. They walked about fifty metres before stopping. They could see what was happening in front of them. Men were clothing up and grabbing their weapons.

Another sound entered the grounds. It was the sound of a galloping group of black Mado horses, not just going for a walk, their riders wearing various kinds of armour, mostly chainmail, but plate armor could be seen here and there. Most riders carried long pikes with a sharp spike at the end. Others were using heavy wooden clubs. They easily passed through the camp. "Move to the camp," ordered Maloro, "don't let anyone escape!" In a blink of an eye, his men merged with the riders to clean the camp off. In just a few minutes, the job was done. No complications, the plan just worked.

Or at least that's what Maloro thought before an arrow found its target in the neck of the man in front of him. He fell off his horse and disturbed the dry leaves on the ground beneath him. More arrows started flying through the air to get stuck in trees or soldiers' bodies. The horses neighed in horror. "Take cover!" yelled Maloro, desperately scanning the sky with his eyes. He was trying to make out the direction the arrows were coming from, but it was too dark and his vision was obscured by trees, camp elements and the overall chaos. He saw an arrow fly from the right straight in front of his face. The enemy wasn't only on the right side. This was a crossfire.

Two groups, right and left!" ordered Maloro. His men slowly started forming. "Right group to the right, left group, go for the left!" His voice was loud enough to overcome the arrows, despite him not yelling. "Attack! Kill them! Kill them all! We are Imperius!" He delivered his simple, yet encouraging speech now with his full vocal power. "Imperius!" the army answered. Horses with men on their back ran to face the enemy. Maloro joined on the right. About a hundred archers lined up in four rows. No frontline, no cover. Maloro didn't understand it. His men slaughtered them at once. Silence surrounded the battlefield. No one made a single sound. Everyone listened with their ears for the slightest sounds, but nothing seemed to be there. No more enemies hiding behind rhe trees and tall green bushes. Maloro waited for a while and then called his men back to the now empty camp.

While retuening to Dopire, where the army was supposed to split up into smaller groups eaxh minding their own business, Maloro was thinking about rhe battle. It was his first battle, he won and yet, it wasn't how he imagined it. He went straight into an ambush, but it was so badly prepared that it was the same problem as falling asleep after a delicious feast. Why didn't they cover the archers? They could've made a shield wall or build a palisade, but instead they just let them stand there, unprotected like a Mado horse newborn. If this was the Bardur battlestyle, how come Imperius haven't conquered them yet?

However, his thoughts quickly turned to ones about his victory and how they will celebrate. Other generals may have more respect for him now and maybe the Tribe leader will remember his name this time. The moon is shining so pretty!

I made a low-cost map of the square so you better orient in geography, lol.

Ok, any feedback should be posted in comments, I'll read them eventually. The cover is peace of cheap Photoshop thing, feel free to suggest me something better.