"Graves"

Eli stood up straight, planted his shovel into the dirt and wiped sweat from his brow. The midday sun beat down brutally upon him, and he desperately wished he could remove his tunic as most of the others had. Officers, of course, were not supposed to debase themselves in such a way in front of their soldiers.

He caught sight of Jax carrying another corpse out of the woods. The company had been at it since before sunrise. It had proven extremely difficult to extract the bodies from among the tree roots, particularly when the bodies hadn’t been in one piece. By order of the Queen, both allied and enemy soldiers were to be retrieved and burned when possible, which greatly increased the time required.

Eli turned back to his labor. The ditch was nearing completion, as far as he could tell. Fewer and fewer bodies were being brought out of the forest, and the mass grave seemed large enough. Last night the officers had met and counted their slain, and the final tally had been six-hundred and twenty-three. Losses the enemy had suffered were only slightly greater, and while Eli was glad that they’d come out ahead, he wasn’t sure he’d label the fight a victory. The war as a whole was not looking bright.

The digging continued for another hour or so, at which point the work shifted. They began to fill the mass grave with the bodies of the dead. Eli counted himself lucky that most of them didn’t smell yet.

Almost all of the troops, enemy or otherwise, were thrown together. The only exceptions were the allied officers, each of which had individual graves dug for them off to the side of the hole. It was another rule rigorously enforced by the Queen.

“When I die, bury me with the rest of the troops,” Eli told Jax, who had made sure to work with him side by side as soon as they were permitted to. “Say you couldn’t recover my body and just throw me in the ditch.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Jax said. “And anyways, you’re in so good with the gods you’re going to outlive us all.”

Eli snorted. “Now there’s a joke if I’ve ever heard one.”

As the hole was filled, they packed layers of tinder, dry brush from the forest, and scavenged fabrics in between the bodies. They were well practiced and efficient, and soon Eli took his place close to the grave’s edge. Twenty-three other mages selected for pyre duty stood with him in a ring that spanned the entire ditch, just far back enough they wouldn’t be burned by the flames. The other soldiers surrounded them from a distance, observing respectfully.

Lieutenant Jayn was already standing by the graves of the slain officers, which was a stone’s throw from the pile of bodies. “Loyal men and women of Kellik,” she said, her voice carrying far into the ranks of soldiers, “today we honor our dead.”

Behind the lieutenant, three of her captains raised high simple black masks. They were featureless, without contour, and only had holes for the eyes. As Jayn continued, the captains laid the deathmasks on the faces of the three fallen squad leaders.

“We have not fought in vain. We have not suffered loss in vain. Our friends have not died in vain. Their sacrifice will give us strength. Our pain will temper our blades, and in glorious vengeance, we shall strike down those who have bereaved us.” Jayn raised her sword into the air, her voice reaching a fevered pitch. “Onward! For our homes! For our fallen! For the Queen!”

“For the Queen!” the masses echoed back. Eli mouthed the words.

“Victory!”

“Victory!” they cried.

The squad leaders were then lowered into their graves, giving Eli and the mages their cue. They held out their hands towards the corpses in the ditch. Van, he thought, and his Ink blazed to life. He felt the familiar tingle at the base of his neck, felt the symbol tattooed on his lower back flare to life. Its warmth spread instantly along the pathways of his Ink up his sides, down his arms and into his hands. Flames burst from his fingertips and he sculpted them into the shape of an orb.

The lieutenant swung her sword through the air and in unison, two dozen fireballs arced into the ditch. The grave caught fire with ease, and the company watched the flames rise in silence. Three full minutes passed without words.

“Break camp!” The lieutenant’s voice sounded. “Prepare to move out.”

As the soldiers turned towards the camp the mages cast again, this time quieting the flames. As the others left, Eli kept his place. Jax soon joined him, and when they were sure nobody else was watching, they knelt down and grabbed a fistful of dirt each. They stood, walked to the grave’s edge together, and let the dirt fall through their fingers onto the ashes below. “May you find Elysium,” they said in unison.

Eli thought of Daen.

Jax put a hand on Eli’s shoulder and turned him back towards the camp.

The soldiers had all packed what little they carried the night before, so it took little time to break down their tents and strap on their weapons. They moved out within the hour, traveling northeast. They kept to the Steel Road, a well-paved but abandoned trading route. 

As the war intensified, an increasing number of raids on the merchant caravans made it impossible to continue using for commerce. That fact made it perfect for the military, who adopted as a main mode of travel across the realm. The Road quickly left the woods behind them in exchange for rolling hills and sparse foliage. On their right, the massive Venicon River roared, consistent and soothing. White froth billowed from its surface, and its current created a strong breeze that kept the company cool beneath the burning sun.

The vanguard proceeded on foot, with one contingent of cavalry flanking the soldiers and another protecting the rear far behind them. High-ranking officers and scouts were also mounted and would regularly pass them on either side to deliver messages.

It was still mid-afternoon when Eli first felt something was wrong. He couldn’t initially identify the cause, but as an officer he knew passed by, he noticed that his shoulders were drawn tight and he sat oddly upright in the saddle. Intrigued, he kept his eyes open for the next officer to ride by and observed that they, too, were unusually tense.

Eli lightly hit Jax on the shoulder. “Something’s off. I can’t place it. The officers are all worried and they’re trying to hide it,” he said quietly. “What do you see?”

Jax, who stood a full head above the average man, turned in a full circle. “Nothing yet. Give me some more time.”

Eli nodded. “If the officers aren’t saying anything, I’m sure they have a reason. Warn the rest of our squad, but keep it quiet.”

Jax complied, melting back into the crush of soldiers. He returned shortly. “Rett has news. One of the scouts passing by regularly was his friend, but he’s been missing for an hour. Rett says another scout went missing after that.”

“Great. Group up and keep your eyes open,” Eli responded. He and Jax slowed their pace, letting other soldiers pass them as they sought the rest of their squad. It took a while to find the last member, Ein, who had lagged quite a bit behind.

Half an hour later, they heard a call from behind them, rapidly approaching. The line behind them rustled—weapons were being drawn. “Attack!” a scout cried, barreling past them as fast as his horse could carry him. “We’re under attack! Ambush!”

Eli cringed as he saw an arrow bury itself in the scout’s neck, throwing him from the saddle. The army turned almost as one to place the river at their backs, throwing up shields as more arrows rained down on them. Eli called on the rune for force, felt it rush up through the pathways inked on his skin, and with a wave of his hands brushed away any arrows that came close to reaching his squad. The cavalry guarding their flank was scattered instantly as they sought to outrun the arrows.

The volley ended as enemy soldiers on horseback, some carrying blue banners marked with a broken crown, poured over the hills down towards them. Their pikes and lances glinted in the sunlight as they drew near.

“They’re going to drive us into the river!” A panicked voice said.

Time slowed down and everything became clear. “Shields and arrows!” Eli yelled at the top of his lungs. He drew on force again and, with a thought, built a wall of energy in front of him, channeling the magic through both hands. His squad took cover behind him just in time. As the enemy charge reached them, they weapons were initially slowed, as if sinking into a thick material, then halted entirely. Eli was pushed backwards by the impact on the barrier, but he stopped before reaching the river’s edge. To his relief, he saw that some of the other mages had the same idea—mostly the ones down the line, where the scout had begun his warning call. Other parts of the company were in chaos as the cavalry charged through unimpeded, wading back and forth through the ranks as they scattered and killed with abandon.

A horse directly in front of Eli reared angrily, upset and confused by the shield, and pressed against it even harder, staring straight at him. It matched the temperament of its master, who continued to beat his weapon against the barrier, shouting “Death to Red-Hands!” over and over. Eli strained, all of his being focused on maintaining the magic that prevented their deaths. Nearby, a mage gave way under the assault and was immediately overrun.

Behind Eli, his squad had immediately set to work. “How tall?” Jax shouted above the roar of battle. Ein, Rett, and one of the new squad members had drawn bows and arrows, while the other three—Jax among them—had set their legs, cupping their hands in preparation to lift their comrades.

“Two meters!” Eli cried, pained by the effort.

Without another moment’s hesitation the archers stepped up into waiting hands and were thrown straight up into the air—above the height of the barrier. They loosed their arrows, two of which dropped riders and another of which stumbled a horse. They repeated the process a second time, at which point the soldiers at their barrier began to retreat. A third volley was fired for good measure, but it was pointless. They had survived so far, but company was collapsing around them. Squad after squad was being overrun and soon they would be surrounded. Another mage’s barrier ten meters away shattered. The enemy cavalry set upon the soldiers. It was too close, the line wouldn’t—

A massive wreath of flame burned brightly, engulfing both attackers and horses before they overwhelmed the beleaguered squad. “Rally to me!” Lieutenant Jayn cried, rushing past on horseback, flanked on either side by mounted mages and archers. Flames leapt from both her hands, over and over and over, as she raced to rescue her troops. “To me! Hold the line! Our cavalry is coming!”

Her tactics proved effective. The attackers paused, worried either about her flames or her promise of reinforcement, long enough for a counterattack. All down the line the attackers were dragged out of their saddles, horses were hamstrung, and it seemed that fire licked at the heels of every enemy as Jayn swept by in a fury.

Eli’s squad joined the fray, moving up the line and aiding their comrades wherever possible. He threw barriers left and right, preventing killing blows and moving on. Twice he knelt beside a fallen ally to staunch their bleeding and set their bones. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rett leap up and tackle an enemy straight out of his saddle. He kept his eyes on the hills when possible, preparing for a second wave to come racing in at any second.

Another attack never came. The enemy cavalry sounded a full retreat, but it was too late for anyone who was still tangled among the footsoldiers. With the momentum massively swung in Jayn’s favor, their foes were methodically wiped out within minutes. Finally, the rear cavalry passed by, giving chase to the retreating army.

The survivors collapsed on the ground, trying to catch their breath. Eli bent double, sweat dripping from his brow, and finally felt a thrill of panic course through his system. We came so close to dying, he thought. If we hadn’t been warned… He felt a hand clap his shoulder, almost bowling him to the ground.

“Nice shield,” Jax said. “How about you do that every fight?”

Eli grinned stupidly and straightened up. “Well, you know. I kind of do. Don’t you ever wonder how you’ve lasted this long?”

Jax blinked a few times. Finally, he laughed. “Right. Keep your head on your shoulders, college boy.”

“It was an academy,” Eli corrected. Jax just laughed again, and Eli grinned. He stretched his tired limbs, turned towards the river, and his smile vanished. Corpses carried from upstream were floating by, and there were far too many friends and not nearly enough foes.

When Jayn gave the call to move out again, he sighed, grabbed a fistful of dirt and let it fall into the river. Today, it seemed, there was no time for more graves.