Chapter 25 Calculated Disaster
In the distance, I could see the silhouette of the border wall. As we neared, the watch tower appeared. I was excited to finally be able to rest briefly in the safety of Lossariel's watch. She was my cousin, who could have many fancy things in life but chose the warrior's life instead. She has been stationed here at the Southwestern border in the desert for the last year and a half. A post most would complain about, but she thrives in the solitude away from the court lifestyle. She was good at what she did, keeping us safe by keeping those who wish to harm our Empire out.
Coming too, from my excitement to see Lossariel, I realized something. The lanterns were all blown out making me feel that something was amiss. I put my hand up to signal to the others to proceed with caution. We stealthily landed at the wall dismounting and drawing our swords. Not a soul other than the ones that arrived with me could be seen. Normally the border was lit and patrolled by several units of troops.
I signaled to spread out to search for clues. Fraren and Sabasmus flanked by either side. Sabasmus held no sword or weapon, but I didn't have the time to ask why.
I made my way up the watch tower to look for Lossariel. Climbing the spiraling stairs one at a time. Time ticked on slowly and I felt as if I were holding my breathe. A thousand scenarios were playing out in my mind.
As I rounded the corner at the top of the watch tower, I saw the door to her office ajar. I tip toed over pushing the door open slightly. What I saw before me was horrific. My brothers and sisters at arms were all gruesomely murdered. Their ears were sliced off nailed to the walls. Their hair cut off strewn about like confetti. My stomach felt sick at the sight of it.
I tried to scan the corpses for my cousin. I had yet to see her assuming that must be good news. I decided to head back down to see what the others had found.
"Fanariel!" I heard my name being called out as I exited the watch tower. I quickly looked over to see a bloodied Lossariel running at me. She leaped into a hug enveloping me.
"Lossariel, what happened here?" I asked with extreme worry. "Are you okay?" I asked pulling back to look her up and down.
"I'm fine, I was lucky enough to be a survivor. Something I can't say for the others. They protected me making me run to safety while they fought. I tried to kill as many of those bastards as I could but there were just too many of them. They wiped us out in mere minutes." She said out of breath.
"Who? Who did this to you?" I asked again. There were over a thousand Elf's under Lossariel's command at this post. They were highly trained and some of the best troops. Her parents made sure they were overqualified for the position beside their daughter. Although if you asked me, she didn't need much protecting.
"I don't know," she said thinking it over, "all I know is that they were wearing all black armor that was unmarked. I've never seen anything like it before." She finished.
"On our way here, we were attacked by men looking similar to that description. But they were already a half days flight past our border. How long ago did this happen?" I asked slowly putting the pieces together.
"Fanariel, we must act quick, they had a whole army! They made it past the border and my troops over a day ago. They were headed straight for our home. You must have encountered the tail end of their ranks." She finished,
"How can that be? We would have seen them if that were the case..." I said thinking out loud, "unless... They were under the sand the whole time! We must turn back at once to catch up. Are you well enough to ride?" I asked.
She nodded yes and joined me on Xander.
"We must take flight immediately; the enemy has deceived us. They are headed to our home! We must stop them at all costs!" I shouted to the troops.
They all shouted their agreement before mounting and taking off with me. This time we didn't care about stealth but mere speed. We soared fast through the sky to catch up to the enemy.
We were still in the dark as to who they were, but they have proven so far to be ruthless and calculated. Their methods of killing showed a true hatred for my kind. I tried to think hard upon who the Elvin kind might have angered in the past, but none have come to mind.
Surly father would have a clue to who the mysterious black armored men were.
We rode on in hast even until the sun rose and set again. The eagles bore with the heat and kept fast. Xander shook his head to rid of his exhaustion and kept flying.
"Sabasmus," I called out, "as we approach the enemy you must use your powers to identify where they might be. It's possible they are still hiding beneath the sand." I spoke.
"Of course, as of right now I've yet to find anything but I will be sure to let you know when I do." He said confidently.
I nodded my thanks and trusted in him. Before the attack on our campground, he couldn't have known to search beneath the sand. Now that he was aware there would be no missing them.
Not fifteen minutes later he said, "Fanariel, I've detected something beneath the sand. Approximately a hundred miles away from our current location."
Perfect, lead the way!" I said ready to avenge my brothers and sisters.
"Wait!" He yelled, "there's something more." He said nervously.
"What? What is it then?"
"I'm sensing a very large moving mass. There must be nearly 10,000 troops under the sand. I don't think this is a good idea. I urge you to please rethink it over." He pleaded with me.
"Ten thousand troops? Who other than us has that many! This is ridiculous, who are these people?" I spat. I quickly tried to regain my composure and rethink our tactics in dealing with this.
"We have no choice then; we must fly past them and race back to our home. Our only chance is to regroup with more troops. I pray to Mother Earth that we can make it in time," I said feeling concerned for Xander and the other eagles.
"I have an idea, but you must trust me," Sabasmus said.
"What is it? I am willing to try anything at this point." I said earnestly.
"You and the others must fly ahead; I will cause a few obstacles for our sand travelers. In short, the dessert will be like a roaring ocean in a hard storm. I will only start when you and the others are a safe enough distance away." He finished with a smirk. His confidence allowed me to instantly agree.
"Alright, promise you will be safe and after buying us some time you will quickly return as well. We will be awaiting you back home." I shouted back to him.
He gave me a nod in agreement. We continued to fly on together for some time. About an hour later he gave the signal that we had safely surpassed the sand warriors. I gave Sabasmus a warm smile before he turned his eagle around to face the enemy head on. My gaze followed him shortly before returning to the open sky before me. At this speed we were nearly a half days travel away. We would make it in time now to inform father and the others.
I hunkered down and focused on the mission at hand putting all worry out of my mind. Little did I know that there was nothing to worry about when it came to Sabasmus. He was already fast at work wreaking havoc on the unsuspecting army. He lifted his hands, palms facing the sky, making the dessert grow in height. With the sand he held the enemy. Sabasmus smiled at the sight of their shocked faces. Before they could come to terms with the situation, he dropped his hands placing his palms downwards. Just as gravity didn't seem to exist seconds ago, it now came back full force crushing down on the enemy. Bodies started to surface to the top of the dessert floor. They crawled out looking about for the culprit. Before they could spot him Sabasmus then drew his hands behind him with his arms spread wide. He unleashed the winds full strength blowing both sand and man backwards towards the direction they had come. He then alternated between wind and sand causing wave after wave to crash down upon his opponents. Like ants they disappeared into the far distance.
Sabasmus played with them for a while longer making sure every last one was delayed in their movement. Although he had only killed a few the others were injured or extremely confused. After a while he turned his eagle to rejoin with me once again as he promised. I would soon find out how powerful Sabasmus and my other husbands truly were.