This warrior had additional protective elements, distinguishing him from the rest of the riders. Unique among the group, he possessed a pair of splinted iron greaves that protected his lower legs, echoing similar vambraces encasing his lower arms.
The horses were being spurred forward with a desperate urgency, driven at a full gallop as they pounded swiftly across the open ground.
Lee ripped his gaze away from the remarkable sight, and glanced quickly over to the others with him. Wide looks of amazement were exchanged among his companions, before they turned their full attention back towards the oncoming cluster of riders.
Loud cries, and a flurry of sounds resembling growls and barks, then filled the air, as the throng of horses was swiftly brought to a halt. The riders bore looks of utter surprise, as they looked up into the sky, right in the area over where Lee and the others were hiding.
Lee’s heart thundered more furiously at the new chorus of sounds, which were directly over his position.
The riders scattered in all directions, as a number of dark shadows sped across the ground towards them. Lee saw the deep, racing shadows from the first moment that they broke out along the surface of the grasses. He looked up into the sky, just as a horde of stunning forms burst into full view.
Lee had never seen anything like the flying entities now soaring low over the grassy plains, conveyed forth by sweeping sets of dark, membranous wings. They were entirely unique to his experience, giant, four-legged creatures. Even more incredible, they were bearing armed riders.
The winged creatures themselves had a slightly sloped frame, rising from their lower hips to the frontal portion of their bodies. They had large heads, with short muzzles that harbored broad, powerful jaws. Large, triangular ears rose up on each side of their heads, positioned near to the crown.
Covering the backs and sides of the flying creatures was a shaggy mass of long, coarse, dark brown fur. Around their wide necks and chests, from the backs of their upright ears to the tops of their shoulders, they displayed a distinctive, light yellow mane.
Four legs, lean and sinewy, were tucked underneath their bodies, the limbs ending in broad paws that were each equipped with a set of sharp claws. The short fur covering their legs held a distinct coloration pattern, with alternating light and dark rings running from their wide paws on up to their undersides.
As Lee caught his first clear glimpses of the profiles of the riders upon on the winged steeds, time screeched to a standstill. They were undeniably inhuman.
Lee’s mind scrambled to recover from his initial shock, as the fliers guided their winged steeds directly towards the scattering horsemen with exceptional skill, and a deadly grace. Nearly fifty of them had now swept into Lee’s view, racing towards the dispersing horsemen far beneath them. At first, they drove the horsemen farther away from the forest’s edge, forcing a few that had been charging directly towards the trees to veer away just a short distance from reaching the woods.
Several of the fliers curved about, as if seeking to corral the dispersing horse riders closer together. In the process, they presented Lee with a full, frontal view of their forms.
Lee’s mouth dropped agape.
The considerable size of the winged steeds was wholly necessary to bear the imposing riders aloft, while still retaining agility, maneuverability, and speed. The warriors had thick, powerful chests and torsos, complimented by broad backs and shoulders, and long, brawny limbs.
Their strong upper bodies were clothed in knee-length, earthen colored tunics, which were worn underneath protective hide jerkins. Leggings, or perhaps woolen trousers, completed their primary attire. Their hide shoes or boots were set firmly into bronze stirrups of a simple, stout design.
The fronts of many of the outer jerkins were richly decorated, exhibiting a variety of designs that contrasted with the darker color of the hide. Many of the fliers were also wearing amulets around their broad, muscular necks.
Thick, very long locks of dark hair flowed out copiously from underneath boiled leather caps, or simple iron half-helms, buffeted about vigorously within the winds.
Their faces were fully exposed to Lee in the broad daylight, displaying the most striking features of all. Their non-human visages contained a protruding muzzle, one that had a thick-set appearance short in length, and broad in width. Opening their jaws wide to emit their deep, sonorous war cries, they showed off the extensive canines contained within their considerable maws.
Many of the beast-men were carrying extensive lances, fitted with broad, elongated spear blades unmistakably suited for slashing as much as thrusting. Others bore a formidable-looking, sword-like weapon, which had a quite lengthy, heavy blade. It had no cross guard above the short hilt, or pommel beneath. The weapon’s broad, protracted blade had a gently curving, saber-like profile to it, singled-edged, and ending in a wickedly sharp point.
A few of the fliers bore a particularly fearsome-looking, long-hafted weapon. A two-handed weapon, its single-edged blade was both longer and heavier than that of the sword-like weapon, while being of a generally similar profile. It was not a spear, but rather a cutting weapon, able to be utilized like a great axe.
Several fliers pursuing the horsemen held short javelins in overhand grips, while a handful of others were clustering in a hovering pattern, bearing great longbows fashioned of a single stave of wood. Arrows fletched with large, black feathers were being set to the bowstrings as the archers searched out targets below.
Many of the airborne warriors bore rectangular shields, crafted of wooden planking faced with plain hide coverings. The shields were suspended by thick leather straps across their shoulders and backs, keeping their hands freed up. The warriors’ left hands held onto the reins of their sky steeds tightly, while they brandished their weapons in their right.
As Lee looked out upon the developing melee, the first of the sky riders swooped downward at a high speed that was a challenge to follow with the eye.
The iron-helmed flier at the lead of the attackers roared a furious battle cry, bringing its steed swiftly lower with a few others diving in its wake. Wielding one of the sword-like weapons, the lead warrior kept its arm forward of its steed’s wings, holding the blade angled back. The sky rider adroitly guided its steed to come up on the shield side of a horse rider that was racing just ahead.
The winged steed stretched its wings out and glided through the short remaining distance, closing quickly as it allowed its rider to bring the blade back farther for a powerful attack. The sky warrior did not strike at the horse rider, but rather slashed viciously at his mount, blood spraying in the aftermath.
Crumbling to the ground with a hideous scream and a mortal wound to its neck, the horse threw its rider off. The man flew forward, and cried out in pain as he slammed hard into the unyielding ground just a few strides ahead of his horse.
The rider had not even regained his feet when a second flier swooped in, bearing one of the long-hafted weapons with the extensive, heavy blades. With a frenzied battle cry, the sky rider whipped the great weapon through the air with both of its heavily muscled arms. The blade cleaved right through the man’s head, the headless body wavering for a moment before slumping to the ground. The flier shook the bloodied weapon vigorously, uttering another loud war cry as the winged steed carried them onward.
The horse riders were continuing to spray outward, into all directions, perhaps hoping to confuse the attackers that so greatly outnumbered them up above. If so, it soon became apparent that their efforts were in vain, as the fliers swarming the area were gradually singling out horse riders, honing in on them with lethal intent.