Unitas' last defense (standard:fantasy, 0 words)
Author: Zephyr	Added: Jul 10 2001	Views/Reads: 3115/2267	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Ok. It's about a contry's last stand against their invading sister country. Same story as before, just this one's not so rough.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

of them. The cavalry had lightning quick Shelnirian horses. "Men" the 
captain began with his voice carried to the ends of his sixty thousand 
man force by magic. "You have joined this army to retake our country 
from Kheld. We do not fight to subdue or conquer. We do not fight 
because we love bloodshed.  We fight in the defense of our lands, our 
wives and children. We fight in defense of the right to choose our own 
destiny. We fight for freedom! You know that we are outnumbered nearly 
two to one. You know that we do not have much experience with organized 
warfare. This may be our last battle as Unitas' National Defense Army. 
But our battles will go on against the Khelds and their oppresion and 
tyrrany in the form of guerilla war. Our fight is just beginning! And 
it won't end until the Kheldans have found that this country costs too 
much of their blood to keep captive. We will be victorious!" The young 
captain imagined the shouts and war cries as lamentations from dead 
men. Not dead yet, he thought. 

An hour after his speech, Captain Dinsefar was in a large tent speaking
with his leaders.  His gray armor was freshly shined to shimmering, and 
it glinted in the light of the several torches as he accompanied his 
words with gestures.  "The Kheldan force has divided, as we'd hoped. 
The question remains, who do we fight first?" He looked around him at 
the four battle hardened soldiers. Aging Karis spoke first. "If we 
fight the infantry, it will be an even battle in the forest. We may not 
damage the Kheldans themselves significantly, but we will not receive 
many casualties. I say we do what we can to them, and then split up to 
begin guerilla combat." Silence reigned again. Immense Dagoth spoke up 
in a low rumble "If we fight the cavalry as they finish coming down the 
hill, we can severely damage their cavalry. The storm will make the 
ground muddy, and our archers could do much..."  Karis interrupted him. 
 "But when they reach the troops, they will hit with speed, gravity, 
and power. We would damage their cavalry, but we would lose a huge 
amount of men!" Karis looked for sympathetic nods. "Well, if we could 
hold the nightmares in the forest for a bit and let the infantry know 
of the trap, they would have to come through the plain to help. When 
they reach the plain, we could use our cavalry against them and the 
mages could be more effective." He decided. "No!" Retorted Karis "When 
the infantry does get through, our men will be crushed between the 
nightmares and the goblins!" 

Disenfar knew what to do about that. "Our infantry is lighter and faster
than theirs. We'll set up a signal, and divide the forces in the 
middle. The Kheldan cavalry will rush through to meet up with the 
Kheldan infantry, and our guerilla war will begin in several weeks when 
we arrive at our operation areas.  It will be costly, but our purpose 
is to do what we can while we can." Black haired Bagian agreed "We'll 
have to divide the rations down to the man and leave most of the tents 
and supplies for the Kheldans." 

The planning session continued for another hour. Posts were set, meeting
places were agreed on, and the army began to prepare for the dawning of 
their last day as the hope of Unitas. 

Through the night the storm did not cease. Before the first rays of
sunlight hit the heavy green clouds the Unitahite armies were in 
position and awaiting the Kheldans. Captain Dinsefar led the cavalry, 
which were set on the plain with the mages in a small circle among 
them. He checked again to see that his long spear was in place, and his 
chipped short sword and shield were ready. He thought about the events 
that had led him to this final day as Captain of his wonderful army. 

General Kurn and others had arrived in peace to the capital as
emissaries of Kheld. With a few weeks time and treachery among the 
Unitahites, Ashinon's gates were thrown open to allow the larger 
portion of the Kheldan army to enter the city. The palace where he and 
his wife were visiting fell from within well before the Capital city 
was aware of the eminent danger. General Kurn himself had violated and 
tortured his wife, afterwards presenting her torn and mutilated body to 
the held captain. 

But Captain Dinsefar had escaped and united the men of Kheld that were
willing to defend their country with the local militias and national 
arms society.  On the inside, Dinsefar felt dead. His body just didn't 
know it yet. He awaited some twist of fate that would put him face to 
face with the general again. This time without being tied down. The 
captain smiled hatefully as he gripped his long spear. 

Near the bottom of the steep hill made slick by heavy rains the front
lines of native archers peered apprehensively through the foggy gloom. 
Seeing the foremost Kheldans pacing carefully downwards beside their 
ferocious nightmares, the Unitahites waited the half minute or so that 
it would take for enough Kheldans to be in sight to provide marks for 
all of the archers. 

With a whistle and a thud the first kheldan warrior fell to the ground.
The Unitahites shot animal and man alike. Soon the voices and sights 
before the uninjured Kheldans brought their heads up, and the confusion 
of war began. Some of them started as if to turn around, but for their 
fellows behind them and for the steep muddy slope it was impossible. 
Others began mounting their beasts for a suicidal downhill charge. More 
fell wounded and dead as they mounted, but too soon they were yelling 
battle cries and charging the short distance towards their foes. 
Unitahites scrambled to move out of the way, and the trip wires set at 
heights to catch stead or rider began to take effect. Other nightmares 
simply slipped on wet earth, and others fell in small trenches dug by 
nearby troops. But for every fallen cavalryman, another took his place, 
and it seemed that the infantry's backpedal was constant. 

One mighty black mailed Kheld charged through the Unitahite infantry,
seemingly untouched by arrows and hacking at soldiers as he went. 
Jumping over the last line of infantry and the last bit of brush 
simultaneously, the charging form cut a low branch with his gore 
covered sword as he broke onto the plain. 

A few rays of dawn’s light brightened the gloom on the plain as the
mighty general slowed to a stop on seeing the thousands of Unitahite 
cavalry between him and his infantry. Turning his mount slightly, he 
turned his head as much as possible in his full helmet to see several 
dozen Unitahite archers staring in amazement at their arrows as they 
bounced off of him. Not one of the general's cavalryman had passed the 
Unitahite lines. Turning back towards the Unitahite cavalry he yelled 
with all his power at his infantry, invisible in the gloom and woods 
hundreds of yards away. Then he began to gallop in circumference to the 
smaller but faster enemy cavalry. 

Yelling at his men to take care of the infantry, Captain Dinsefar
charged towards the general alone. Several dozen cavalrymen began to 
follow but were forbidden by enormous Bagian. Several of the cavalry 
watched the appearing infantry, but most watched with eyes riveted on 
their high captain. 

Long spear lowered towards the general, Dinsefar charged. As he neared,
he slipped his feet out of the stirrups. He wasn't sure his spear would 
penetrate the general's armor, and he was fairly sure the general would 
be able to deflect it anyway. Without a trustworthy horse, Dinsefar 
planned to be rid of it quickly. As the mounts closed Dinsefar leapt 
from his at the general, who deflected his long spear with his shield 
arm. Dropping his ill positioned sword, the muscular general prepared 
to receive Dinsefar's neck with his gauntleted sword hand. The 
captain’s weight slammed into the general though the impact was 
lessened by the captain's knee smashing into the nightmares head.  The 
nightmare reared and the general fell back towards the ground, his grip 
on young Dinsefar's neck never faltering. The captain had drawn his 
short sword as he jumped, and as they crashed to the ground, it's blade 
went through the general's throat and into the muddy earth beneath. 

The captain rolled off of the general's body and onto his back beside
him. Kurn’s surprised, unmoving eyes stared down at his throat in 
shocked terror. Dinsefar could not move his body more. His neck was 
broken and some internal bleeding caused his vision to blur. Within a 
few seconds he lost consciousness. 

He did not see the explosions and destruction of the mages, or the
mighty charge of his cavalry. The wily captain didn't see his infantry 
divide and disappear into the forest, or the Unitahite cavalry's 
retreat into the area that the Kheldan infantry no longer blocked. He 
never knew how much damage they'd done in that last battle. But when 
the acting Kheldan general looked at his lifeless body, he saw bitter 
joy in his face as he gazed blankly into the morning sun. 


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