Now King Blaine looked behind and saw all was as planned, then he turned and nodded to Silverleaf and said, "Let us see if they are open to surrender."
"Beware treachery, my lord," gritted a voice from behind.
"I shall, Lord Bekki," replied the King without looking back.
Together, Blaine, Silverleaf, Larana, and Linde rode forward, the grey flag on the right, the scarlet and gold on the left. Directly behind rode the emissaries amid the many banners: Lian, Dylvana, Dwarves, Humans, Baeron. a Mage, and a single Warrow. Toward the foe they rode, coming at last to a point halfway between. There they stopped and waited.
The foe did not respond.
Long moments passed, a candlemark or so, yet neither ally nor foe stirred, and Rynna could hear the DelfLords growling among themselves, Bekki in particular.
And then Bekki cursed, "Kruk, Loden, look. There's Coward Tain."
Rynna stared at the enemy but a quarter mile away, where, centermost among them a man sat ahorse and seemed to be speaking to a bundle in his arms. Rynna shuddered, for although she had never seen Lord Tain before, she knew this bundle to be the corpse of his daughter Jolet.
Tipperton looked long at the enemy ranks, and he could make out Lord Tain astride a mount and whispering to the remains of his daughter, while gesticulating toward the host. Tip glanced at the cluster of emissaries: the King and Silverleaf and the others, notably Rynna, waiting at the midpoint.
Of a sudden, Lord Tain straightened and glared about -a shudder ran through Tipperton -the surrogate peered at the waiting King and his escort and laughed, then turned and spoke to someone at hand -and from the hills above there came a horn cry -Tipperton snapped his head around, and there on a crest stood Flandrena, sounding a signal of alarm and pointing northwesterly away from the foe, while thundering downslope toward the King's small assembly came Vail riding at speed -Yaaaah…! Shouted the enemy in a collective wordless howl, and forward charged the throng, mounted Hyrini-ans and Rovers hurtling toward the host, spears lowered, swords raised -"Fly, Rynna, fly!" cried Tipperton, stringing an arrow -Chabbains and the black-cloaked Fists of Rakka running forward afoot -Linde sounding her black-oxen horn, Larana her horn of silver…
Even as the heavy horses of the Baeron thundered forth and the ponies of Dwarves and the horses of men and Elves hammered after, the King shouted a command to his escort, and as one they readied weapons and shields and waited for the wave of allies to come.
All but Rynna, and she galloped her pony toward the right flank.
"Faster, Rynna!" cried Tipperton, afraid she would be run over by the oncoming Baeron, Linnet and Beau and Nix and Farly and Dinly shouting as well.
And even as she rode toward Tipperton and the other Warrows, Vail flashed past, galloping the opposite way, yelling in Sylva, but what she called out, none of the War-rows knew.
Yet Silverleaf shouted to Larana, and she blew a command on her silver horn, and within the charging ranks, Elves reined and turned opposite.
Tipperton's eyes flew wide. "What th-?" And he looked behind and saw riders coming, thousands upon thousands of riders, yellow flags flying, armored in dark scale and wide-flaring helms, long, curved swords in hand, great longbows drawn taut -and sleets of arrows both fore and aft flew from the oncoming foe's ranks, to strike down among the Allies, men and Elves and Dwarves to fall screaming even as a hail of arrows flew in return…
… and with a great clash of arms and armor and shrieks and shouts and battle cries, the armies collided, the Allies hammered fore and aft by foe even as Rynna flew free of the clash and galloped in among the Warrows.
"It was a trap!" shouted Tipperton, loosing arrow after arrow to fell the enemy.
"Dismount!" cried Rynna. "Take shelter among the crags. Make every shaft and sling bullet count."
"Who flies the yellow flag?" cried Dinly, as he drew his pony after and came in among the boulders.
Yet not a buccan nor damman knew the answer as they loosed arrows at the foe and Beau hurled sling bullets.
"Target the enemy archers," said Rynna, "for they are deadly."
Out on the flats amid the clash and clang and screams and cries of battle, taking terrible casualties the host drew together to face the two-pronged attack, all but the Baeron on their heavy horses, who had smashed entirely through the ranks of the seaward foe, but now were fighting their way back.
In the center 'round the King, rallied warriors dire: Dwarves with axes hewing; Elves with swords riving and spears piercing; men with maces and axes and swords bashing and hacking and hewing as well. Among those rallied was Aravan, his truenamed Krystallopyr burning through flesh and bone. Riatha fought at his side, her glitter-dark blade keen beyond reckoning. Nigh her, Silverleaf's white bone bow was scabbarded in favor of his deadly long-knife. Magekind was there, too, but they withheld their for the King had bade them to not spend it unless all was lost. Yet wholly outnumbered and assailed from both sides, the Allies were driven back and back as the foe swept in a semicircle to close ranks.
"They are too many," gritted Tipperton, even as he loosed an arrow to bring another enemy archer down.
"Oh lor'," cried Beau, "look, Tip! They are now driving the host toward H?l's Crucible!"
With their backs to the great rift, King Blaine and the Allies were being hammered toward the brim, toward the long slope down and within.
Rynna wept as she loosed another shaft. "Oh, Tipperton, unless a miracle occurs, we are defeated." But still she fought on, as did the Warrows all, though bitter tears ran down.
Back and back were pressed the Allies, some now on the long slope, others to fall screaming to their doom over the brim and down.
Yet even facing annihilation, the host fought valiantly on, laying death about even as on them death fell.
Yet above the screams and shouts of Adon and Elwydd and Rakka and Gyphon, there came "Listen!" cried Tipperton, turning his head this way and that.
– a sound "Do you hear?"
– a deep horn cry "Do you hear, Rynna?"
– and another and another Tipperton raised his black-oxen horn to his lips and blew a ringing call A call which was answered by uncounted black-oxen horns blowing wildly, as the earth reverberated under the pounding of ten thousands of hooves.
"Oh, Rynna, my love, here comes your miracle!"
And thundering 'round the flanks of the hills and down the flats, flags flying white horses on green, came riders and chariots with wheelblades spinning. And with lances lowered and sabers raised and bows drawn taut and spears in hand and horns calling out the charge-Raw! Raw! Raw!- and voices shouting V'takku! V'takku! in the war-tongue Valur, twenty thousand Harlingar charged…
Jord had come at last.
And running full tilt they crashed into the yellow-flagged warriors and drove them aside, many to be hurled over the lip of the rift to fall shrieking to their deaths far below.
And even as DelfLord Valk and his pony-mounted army of Kachar arrived on the heels of the Jordians and fell upon the foe, there came a roaring blast of Mage-fire cleaving through the enemy. Following the path of the flame, High King Blaine and Silverleaf and the Allies drove up from the ramp and out to the hills, to split the foe in two. Hammering out wide, King Blaine turned his forces easterly, and along with King Ranor's Vanadurin on the west as well as the Dwarves of Kachar, they trapped the enemy against the rim. And even though yet outnumbered, they battered the foe back and back.
And fighting in rage and fury and aided at times by the Mages, together the men and Dwarves and Lian and Dyl-vana and Baeron-along with seven Warrows-drove the reeling enemy hindward and down the long ramp and down.
Seething and cursing and roaring battle cries, the Allies drove downward as well, hacking and slashing and piercing and bashing and driving the foe ever deeper. But at last the enemy turned and fled away, for they could not bring their greater numbers to bear. And with the foe in full flight-Hahn, taa-roo! Hahn, taa-roo!-rang the Jordian horns.