The Flesh Behemoth

As the sun began to descend from its peak, he emerged from his tent before the rest of the legionnaires and observed the preparations of the battlefield beginning. At dusk the beasts would attack and at dawn they would retreat back into the darkness to gather force and attack once more, "You are up early, legionnaire," Reynold turned to a cloak wearing man who approached him. He was one of the King's clerics, "What is keeping you awake?"

"I slept, sir."

"Brother is usually what people use to address clerics and monks in our lands, young man," Reynold nodded, "Is the coming battle what is keeping you awake?"

"I slept, I said."

"You slept from dawn till just past noon, I am reasonable to claim you are being kept awake, young man," He replied with a soft and friendly voice, "What is your name?"

"Reynold Iver."

"I am brother Yonathan."

"Nice to meet you, brother Yonathan," He nodded, "What are those lamps?"

"They are sunlights, they are lamps that are made with 3 opaque panels and an opening to allow light to cleanse the beasts and the ground we stand on."

"Why is it so bright?"

"The ore that is used burns with a bright, white, holy light and allows for the men to be illuminated in their battle against the darkness."

"So we can see what we are attacking."

"Yes, Reynold, exactly that, what unit are you in?"

"1st Shock, brother Yonathan."

"Ah yes, the tip of the Dawn Legion's spear, I wish you luck in your battles tonight, young man."

"Thank you, brother Yonathan."

"May the light grant you strength."

Reynold took point with the rest of his unit in the second row of the Advancing Volley for that evening. They were returning to the well with a frontal and central spear point and having the defense units holding the two sides. It worked the night before so why would it not work tonight? He thought as he held his crossbow and his spear leaned against his shoulder. The rapid beating of his heart came back as the shriek of one of the beasts announced that the horde was back for another night. The beasts hit the spears and the first volley of crossbow bolts were launched before the crossbow was left to fall on its strap and the line charged forwards with their spears. It was both impressive and terrifying as he charged towards a wall of some lumbering, some running beasts that were out to murder him and everyone around him and then everyone in the kingdom. Each pull of the trigger on his crossbow led to a satisfying twang of a crossbow before the charge forwards made squishing noises on contact and grunts or moans came from the corpses being put to rest by their attacks. Reynold was getting into the groove of the units before something made them all wonder what was going on. The ground began to shake as something was approaching, something big. The smaller beasts quickly grabbed the dead bodies of their fallen brethren and hurried away into the dark.

Bones crushing and tearing flesh was heard as all the men quickly reloaded their crossbows and awaited a command or an attack, "Light up the sky!" Ilbert commanded before his subordinates echoed his command and the horns blew another command. The clerics hurled bags of sunlight powder into the darkness and every man followed them until they landed. They rolled to the feet of a colossal beast and revealed something that made even the most seasoned veteran gulp, "What is that?" A man spoke as the thing that was revealed was hit with more lights and the monstrosity was exposed.

Writhing corpses, too many eyes, too many hands, too many mouths. Groaning, grunting and screaming bodies all fused together into a massive beast of the night, "Commander, what do we do?"

"Prepare a volley!" He lifted his hand as the 1st Shock took point, the first row on one knee, the second and third standing behind them. It was a command that didn't seem to have much behind it other than the fact that 200 crossbow bolts should cause some damage to any creature, "Command the defense to prepare for the assault on the large beast, get sunlight and oil ready," A runner hurried off through the dark from Ilbert as the beast made its way towards the human battle line.

"Have you ever seen something like this, Ilbert?" A legionnaire asked.

"No, but it isn't something I want to see again," He lowered his hand, "Loose!" Two hundred bolts were fired at the same time and the beast stopped for a moment before continuing once more, "Load! Prepare your bolts!" Ilbert's voice ordered as the men hurried to do as they were told, their lives hinged on the commands and decisions of the experiences Shock legionnaire behind them, "Aim!" The 200 men raised their crossbows once more, "Loose!" The bolts flew once more towards the beast and it reacted more visibly to the arrows as it turned away from the arrows to use a large limp to block it.

It was a colossus of flesh and bones from the decaying and the decayed. 7 limbs were visible to the men with 4 for movement like most animals and 3 that seemed to be its arms, one being a thick, large shield arm and the two others with unknown uses. The 1st Shock loosed another volley and the same shield arm moved to protect the slow moving, inevitable creature, "Prepare the oil shot!" Kovik shouted as a ballista was prepared with a large arrow with a long tube of oil attached to it, "On Commander Ilbert's command!" The 1st Shock commander looked at the beast and tried to understand what could harm it.

"Aim for the large head in the middle, Ilbert!" Reynold blurted out as he reloaded, "It is protecting that with the arm, if we stop the arm, we can get to its face."

"Four volleys told you that?"

"Yes," He replied with as much determination as he could muster.

"Very well, take aim! For its face!" The ballista crew adjusted the weapon and nodded, "1st Shock, load!" The men were ready as the beast got closer and closer with the ground still shaking, "Oil shot, loose!" The large bolt soared through the air and the shield arm, as Reynold said, moved to stop it and it lodged deep into the fleshy arm's rotting exterior, "Loose!" 200 bolts soared through the air and peppered the fleshy arm and cracked the oil shot.

"Siles!" Kovik shouted, "Send the sunlight!" The king's man nodded and his clerics began preparing arrows with the sunlight in powder form. Reynold's heart was beating loudly in his chest as he loaded another bolt, as the other men did. It was terrifying. White, glowing bolts flew through the sky and contacted the beast's arm and fire soon began spreading across the rotting flesh that had been covered by the oil.

"Another round of bolts! 1st Shock, loose!" Ilbert commanded as the beast tried to extinguish its flames, "Kovik, prepare another oil shot."

Reynold watched as the behemoth's body caught fire from the second oil shot that had bypassed the deformed shield arm and stuck the head. It roared in pain before white hot bolts pierced the dark night and ignited the oil and the roar became a whimper as it began to lose its form and the writhing bodies became separated once more, "At will!" The crossbows began to twang as bolts flew down the valley opening and the easy, visible, burning targets collapsed, dead to the ground as they broke off from the larger, also ignited, colossal beast. The defense units held the flanks as the flaming beasts charged them in their final moments before the flames of their tormented unlives were extinguished. Charred bodies fell to the ground as the wall shields stopped them from harming anyone after they flailed around at them for a few moments.

"You need to learn your place!" Reynold was pushed from behind, taken from his feet by an unseen assailant as the sun peeked over the horizon, "You are a rookie! You are no better than us!" He turned and was met with the enraged face of another 1st Shock legionnaire, the old veteran who had wanted to sleep instead of hearing them talk. A fist hit Reynold's face as he was quickly pinned down by the larger man and tried to get him off while more punches flew, "You little brat!" Another punch tagged him and closed his right eye, completely as pain coursed through his mind, "Learn your place!"

"Legionnaire!" Ilbert shouted, "Stop this at once!" Reynold's didn't hear the message as his mind was too busy trying to survive the attacks coming from the enraged man. He used his hips to lift him off, then was able to use his smaller size to get out from under the large man and found his way to his back. It overwhelmed the angry legionnaire as he ended up on his back with his neck caught and body trapped, "Let go!" The second shout registered and Reynold let go before standing at attention as the other man did too. The punch must've had more impact than the young man had initially thought as his vision began to betray him and he collapsed to the ground.

"Call for the doctors!" A man shouted as Ilbert rushed to Reynold's side to try and see what was going on. Reynold lost consciousness, shouts and commotion all around him as his mind gave up on trying to understand it.