Sara Douglass – The Axis Trilogy 2 – Enchanter

“It is what every Ravensbund man, woman and child lives for. I will do what I can for you.”

“By turning the tide at Jervois Landing I hope you will be freed the sooner to come to me, Ho’Demi. I need you.”

The eagle abruptly lurched into the air, and Ho’Demi staggered as it beat its wings momentarily in his face. Farewell, Axis SunSoar. Farewell, Chief Ho’Demi.

As the eagle soared into the clouds above the Ravensbund camp, Ho’Demi quickly unsaddled his horse, brushed him down, and gave him some oats. He lifted the tent flap and slipped inside. He was asleep even before he had finished pulling his outer bed furs about him.

Borneheld leaned out the window of the Tired Seagull and peered at a cluster of soldiers talking and gesturing animatedly in the street. He frowned, then ordered Gautier to bring their sergeant up to explain the excitement.

“Creatures!” the sergeant exclaimed. “Flying.” He was so terrified he could say no more.

Their hearts pounding, Borneheld and Gautier called for their horses and rode to where they could get an unobstructed view. Both clearly saw that the black shapes whirling and diving north of the town were attacking, not reinforcing, Gorgrael s Skraelings.

“What?” Gautier asked, confused, trying to shade his eyes against the glare of sunlight on the clouds. “What are they?”

“They are Icarii,” Ho’Demi said behind them, and they whirled around. “The Strike Force of the birdmen of Talon Spike. They accompanied Axis to Gundealga Landing.”

“The Forbidden,” Borneheld said. “Cursed and forsaken by Artor. No better than lizards.”

“It would appear that Axis,” Ho’Demi carefully did not call Axis “Lord” in front of Borneheld, “has sent them to aid us. See — they attack the Skraelings. There must be more than five hundred of them, shooting arrows into the Skraeling masses. The Icarii are fine archers.”

Borneheld glared at Ho’Demi then turned back to the sight before him. As much as he hated to admit it, it did appear that the flying lizards were attacking the Skraelings.

“And when do you think that Axis will send them to attack «i, Ho’Demi?” Gautier said, hiding his fear behind a sneer.

“You have a truce between you, Gautier,” Ho’Demi replied. “I have no doubt that, as a man of honour, Axis will honour the truce.” He paused. “As will yourself and King Borneheld.”

Borneheld wheeled his horse about and kicked it towards the town. “Order the men not to watch the lizards,” he snapped to Gautier, then caught Ho’Demi’s eye as his horse pushed by the Ravensbundman’s. “That order’goes for your men, too, Ho’Demi. No-one watches the Forbidden. No-one discusses them. As far as I am concerned, they are not there.”

But even before the words were out of Borneheld’s mouth it was too late. Along the entire front line, men wearied and despondent turned unbelieving eyes to the sky.

Inari stood in a section of trench with a dozen Coroleans and several Acharites. Inexplicably the tide of Skraelings had lessened slightly an hour ago. Now they could all see why.

The Acharite men murmured fearfully to themselves, but the Coroleans were curious.

“Who are they?” asked their lieutenant.

Inari said nothing, considering.

“Damn, they’re good!” the Corolean muttered as he peered into the sky, and his subcommander punched the trench wall before him in his excitement.

“See how fast they shoot their arrows!”

The lieutenant dropped his eyes to Inari. Of all the men in the trench, his were the only ones which showed nosurprise.

“Tell me\” the Corolean demanded.

Inari finally spoke. “They are the Icarii Strike Force,” he said, “and they are sent by the StarMan of Prophecy to aid us and to save Achar.”

“Do you speak of Axis?” one of the Acharites asked cautiously, his curiosity finally overcoming his fear.

“None other,” Inari replied. “Listen.”

The Skraeling mass panicked under the unexpected attack, and the SkraeBolds found the assault on the trenches faltered.

Above them four Crest of Icarii warriors screamed battle cries not heard in a thousand years, their excitement controlled and directed into the deadly rain of arrows they sent hurtling into Gorgrael’s creatures. Every one found a mark.

Further above them soared several dozen scouts, their eyes and senses attuned exclusively to the possible presence ofGryphon.

Hovering over the battlefield, FarSight turned his extraordinary vision to the north, and his nostrils flared inexcitement.

“HoverEye! SharpEye!” he screamed. “Turn your Creststo the north. Ice Worms]”

Within minutes, two of the twelve Ice Worms that were hunching their way towards the canals toppled to the ground, their silver eyes dulled with the weight of countless feathered arrows.

Only nine of the remaining IceWorms managed to get close to the canals, and only seven of those completed the swim across the water.

Infuriated by the Icarii attack and the loss of so many IceWorms, the SkraeBolds used threats and violence to reinfuse their Skraelings with determination and the lust for blood. Within an hour the relentless attack on the trenches behind the canals had resumed.

But as the IceWorm attack had been blunted, so too had the Skraelings’.

It was not a rout, nor even a small victory, for Gorgrael had so many Skraelings packed into the territory above Jervois Landing that the mass largely absorbed the arrows without fatal damage. But it was a start, and it lessened the pressure on the trenches at a moment when they were close to collapse.

Over the next few days the Icarii attack strengthened from above as word of who they were and who had sent them spread along the front line. Borneheld’s orders not to watch the Icarii or speak of them were ignored the instant he and Gautier were out of sight and hearing. The Coroleans were the most curious, and they learned quickly that the Ravens-bundmen had the answers they craved. And, gradually, the Coroleans shared their new-found knowledge with their Acharite companions.

Soon whispered word of the Prophecy and the StarMan swept the length of the trenches. Stories of the pride and beauty of Icarii culture, and of the legendary skills of the Strike Force followed; this news, at least, the watchers from below could confirm with their own eyes. Within a week, the men huddled in the mud had heard it all, from the depravity of WoliStar SunSoar to the wonders of the Star Dance and the Icarii Enchanters.

The Ravensbundmen served the Prophecy and the StarMan well.

At any given time Axis had four Crest flying above the Skraeling forces, while four more waited in the south-west Urqhart Hills, some fifteen to twenty leagues from the fighting, and the final four Crest of the Strike Force waited at Sigholt. Every five or six days one of the groups would be relieved by a fresh force of four Crest from Sigholt.

Even as highly trained as they now were, the Icarii found the constant fighting hard. They faced the threat of Gryphon attack, and, mindful of the disaster that befell SpikeFeather’s Wing, they kept together as much as possible. Four Crest contained almost six hundred Icarii, far too many for Gorgrael’s pack of nine Gryphon to attack. But even so, stragglers would sometimes fall to the fearsome creatures.

To the eyes of the scouts, Axis added the eyes of the eagle, and the solitary figure of the eagle floating high above them became almost a talisman for those Crest fighting the Skraelings below. Peculiarly attuned to the presence of Gryphon, both EvenSong and SpikeFeather spent more than their fair share of hours flying sentinel to the Crests fightingthe Skraelings.

One of the main problems facing the Icarii was, again, the replenishing of their arrows. The four Crest soaring above the battlefield on any one day could shoot tens of thousands of arrows – how to ensure enough arrows to fight a full anduseful day?

No Icarii could carry enough arrows for a full day’s fighting, and they faced constant danger trying to retrieve arrows from the field of battle.

The Icarii concentrated their attacks on one section of the Skraeling mass, shooting dead as many — if not all — as they could. Then, as the remaining Skraelings fled the area, the Icarii swept to the ground, retrieving as many of their arrows as they could, then soared skywards before the Skraelings could regroup. But this was dangerous, very dangerous, for both SkraeBolds and Gryphon learned quickly to await that moment when a significant number of the Icarii had landed, their eyes to the ground searching for arrows among the disintegrating Skraeling wraiths, and then launch an attack. The Icarii had to divide their number between those on the ground and those remaining in the air, protecting their comrades below.

Ho’Demi did what he could to supply the Icarii with new arrows. The stores in Jervois Landing had good supplies which weren’t used much because of the lack of archers there. Increasingly, the Ravensbundmen stole from Borne-held to supply the Icarii. Through the eagle, Ho’Demi would let the Icarii know when he could supply them with more arrows and a clandestine meeting would take place perhaps a half a league to the east of Jervois Landing. Again, when and if Borneheld discovered what was going on, Ho’Demi and his men would risk death.