Fire and Frost (Seven Realms Book 1) Read online

Those slim chances were reduced to none when an Igni guard also saw the rising dust for what it was. The snapping growl of the sentry barking out the “to arms” woke the Igni camp instantly. Before he could get to Kahji to tell him to stand his men down, the Igni soldiers were already awake and ready for battle.

  Hoping to avert the coming tragedy, Alaric turned to run. “Wake the camp, but no one is to raise a weapon except on my direct order!” he shouted at the guards nearest him as he began to sprint.

  Before he was half way there, he knew he would be too late. Already he could see the battle standard of the coming army. Before the stand down order could be given, the battle would already be joined.

  CHAPTER 6

  Around Alaric the noise of battle already rang out: the horns of his men singing their stalwart song to stand ready, the horns of the oncoming human army sounding formations and orders, the Ignis’ battle roars. He watched with horror as a group of heavy horse, charging in the van of the oncoming army, lowered their lances and swept in at the Igni. The Igni, already dressed and armed for combat, roared their challenges. The two lines collided like the surf pounding stones. Lances found Igni chests. Long Igni arms swatted away others, and the horses and riders besides. Fire erupted as one of the Igni allowed himself to vent his rage. A horse, already charred to the bone, dropped upon its hapless rider.

  Alaric shook himself and resumed his headlong run through the battle. He had to believe that Kahji could and would bring his force under control. If Alaric was to have any chance of reaching the commander of the human army and stop the bloodshed, the Igni had to act solely defensively. The problem with that was the nature of the Igni themselves. Born to battle, little could stop them once their blood began to boil for battle.

  Within two minutes, he had found where Kahji and his elites stood, regarding the battle. His heart despaired as he saw the fires burning, literally, in Kahji’s eyes. He had never been faced with his friend in battle, and knew that he would not like to.

  “Kahji! Kahji, we have to stop this!”

  “We did not start it, brave one,” the response came as equal parts animal growl and bitingly precise speech.

  “Kahji, listen to me! You know how this looks. You know what that commander has to be thinking. We can stop further bloodshed, but only if you’ll calm down!”

  For a moment, Alaric feared that his friend would attack him. The giant Igni’s lips pulled back over his fangs. This was no friendly smile. Then, Kahji closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.

  “You are right, brave one,” he responded, though his calm voice sounded both forced and brittle. Raising his voice, he shouted in his own language over the growing din. Alaric could only hope the order was to fight defensively only. He had no time to wait and see, however.

  Turning on his heel, he dashed forward through the battle lines. He had to reach the commander of the army before the main force reached the fight, or there would be no stopping it. The adrenaline and desperation spurred him as he sprinted through the battle.

  Reaching the back of the battle line, he spied one chance. There, alone and apparently recuperating from a ringing blow to his helmet, a knight sat astride his charger. If Alaric hoped to reach the commander in time, he would need that horse.

  “My apologies, Sir Knight!” Alaric shouted the most deferential battle cry in history as he leapt to the horse’s back and used his knee and elbow to stun and then unhorse the knight. The man hit the ground, and lay there dazed. Alaric grabbed the reigns, and pulled the steed into a tight circle. Getting low on the back of the mount, he urged it into a run and headed toward the approaching army.

  If he’d thought merely approaching on a knight’s horse would get him close to the commander without incident, Alaric was quickly disabused of the notion. Before he was half way to the leading line of musket, he saw the front rank kneel to allow themselves and the second rank a clear shot.

  “I’m going to die,” he thought as he dropped to the side of the horse. He clung there with only his knees to hold him. When the expected gunfire did not erupt, he knew he’d chosen correctly. Even footmen would not shoot a horse unless there was clear reason to do so. A single rider, apparently unarmed, was not such a reason.

  “Hold or we’ll fire!” he heard the sergeant of the rank call.

  Deciding not to get shot, Alaric pulled himself back into the saddle, and then pulled on the reigns. The front line wasn’t going anywhere until he’d been dealt with, so even just getting here was at least buying himself some time.

  He looked down to address the sergeant, “Sergeant, take me to the commander of this army. I bear urgent news; this battle would be better avoided than joined.”

  His weeks as commander of a force must have given his voice an edge of command. Perhaps the sergeant recognized him, or at least recognized that he was someone of high station. Whatever the reason, the grizzled veteran nodded curtly and ordered his men to open a way through.

  “You know I cannot leave my men here. The Baron is with the second line of cavalry. Private, escort this man to the Baron.”

  With that, one of the soldiers shouldered his musket and began to lead the way as quickly as possible through the army. They quickly made their way through the lines of musketeers and pikemen. Alaric judged this force to be at least three times as large as the one he now commanded would have been when they set out. There, with the second line of cavalry also sat a small group of enchanters. Though not as fast with their magic, nor able to do it naturally, human enchanters could match any Igni in magical combat, given proper preparation. Alaric guessed there would be bombardiers as well. Their magically enhanced guns would add a significant punch against the Igni. It was vital that he stop this fight before it could truly start.

  Then he caught sight of his father. Boores Dell sat tall and proud on his charger in heavy plate. Alaric could not see his features, but he knew them anyway. His blue eyes would be surveying the battle field, allowing those around him to coordinate the specific movements of the army to suit the strategy he laid out. Ready for battle, his beard and mustache would be trimmed, though he grew it out over the winter. His wavy blonde hair would be tied back tightly, both to allow it to fit under his helmet and to prevent it from getting caught on anything should he be forced into the melee.

  “Captain, why has the front line stopped?” his father’s voice was cold and hard.

  “I do not know, my lord. I have already sent a runner to find out.”

  “I want them moving again as soon as possible.”

  “Yes, sire.”

  Before they could turn to the next issue, Alaric nudged his appropriated horse forward. Before he could get to his father, the Baron’s elite guards had formed up and drawn their weapons. Alaric almost could not prevent himself from laughing when he saw their stunned looks. Boores turned to ask what the problem was, but stopped himself when he saw his son.

  “Alaric? Is it truly you, my son?”

  “Father!”

  As though lifted by the wind, both men jumped from their horses and met in a great hug. With tears of joy, they slapped each other on the back.

  “My son! My son is home!”

  “Father! Father!”

  Their reunion was short-lived but intense. It was obvious from his father’s reaction that it was believed that Alaric was either a prisoner or dead. For his part, Alaric had never been so happy to see his father’s stern visage. They held each other for a long moment.

  Releasing his father, he spoke quickly, “Father, you need to call the men to stand down. That force over there is no threat to us or our people. The Igni there were escorting me home when we encountered Sir la Gauche’s company battling for their lives. The humans over there are all that remain of his force.”

  “That I cannot do, Alaric. The Igni have been burning settlements up and down the Border. Even if we have received no formal declaration, we are at war with them.”

  “Father, listen to me! I don’t know who bu
rned those villages, or how, but I know it wasn’t the Igni. We have to stop this battle before it is too late!”

  “My son…” the elder Dell was beginning to become angry, Alaric could see.

  “Then at least call for a parley. You can see from here that is not a large force. Talk to them. Give them a chance to explain. If their explanation does not satisfy you, give them a chance to retreat. Father, I’m begging you. Some of those Igni have become my friends, and I would neither see them, nor any more of our men die here today,” Alaric poured passion into his voice. After a brief pause, he added, “Father, they saved my life.”

  For a moment, Alaric feared he had failed. His father’s faced darkened like a thunderhead. Then, he took a deep breath and seemed to compose himself.

  “It shall be as you say,” the Baron said, “Horns, sound ‘fall back’ for the heavy horse, and ‘stand ready’ for the rest of the group. My son and I will go talk with these Igni.”

  It was a long, tense few minutes as the sounds of battle died away. Alaric realized that the only reason the fight had lasted so long was that the Igni must have been fighting defensively as he had requested. Had they been fighting to kill, the fight would already be over, one way or the other. For the first time that morning, he allowed himself to hope.

  CHAPTER 7

  Minutes later, Alaric, his father, and Kahji sat in a hastily erected pavilion between the two forces. The much depleted force being guarded by the Igni had been returned to the care of the Baron’s men. It seemed that this day’s violence was probably at an end.

  Probably.

  Yet the Baron was still arguing. “Even if I accept that you, personally, know nothing about Igni raids on my people and lands,” he was saying to Kahji, “it does not follow that such raids are not happening. It could simply be that you have been kept unaware. I know that the only secrets that one can keep safe are those that he doesn’t know. Your force is quite potent, and more than enough of a threat to my farming villages. I cannot simply allow it to go unescorted. And, if you are correct about the enemy we face, I cannot spare the men to escort you.”

  “Your force is not sufficient to keep us here if we decide to leave, Baron,” Kahji’s bass rumble vibrated plates and goblets on the table where refreshments had been served. “We came to deliver your child to you. We came across your men engaged in combat with a common foe and helped rescue them. They have attested to this themselves. Having completed our mission, we wish only safe passage back home. You’re right that you have enough problems without sending men to escort us back to the Border. That means you also cannot afford to fight with my troops if we decide to leave.”

  It was quite clear that Kahji and Baron Dell did not get along. Each was wielding civility like a knife. Alaric could understand both of their positions.

  The Baron was still faced with evidence which suggested Igni attacks. That these attacks didn’t fit perfectly within the pattern of previous attacks in previous conflicts did not mean the Igni were innocent. At best, it meant the Igni who carried out the raids were renegades. At worst, it meant the Igni had changed their tactics specifically to throw suspicion from themselves. The further fact that his father had never seen nor heard of the Frost Fiends until today meant he was less than convinced. In light of that, it would be dangerous and irresponsible to allow Kahji and his men to roam free.

  For his part, Kahji and his troops were uncomfortable on Mediatus for any prolonged amount of time. The Firesmiths were having to create pools of fire every night simply to allow the Igni some comfort while they slept. In addition, Kahji now had wounded, and they needed to be returned home for full treatment as quickly as possible. Knowing the truth of the enemy, even if the Baron did not fully believe him, he felt quite justified in asking for unfettered freedom.

  Unfortunately, this left them at odds, and neither leader looked ready to back down. Alaric decided he had to intervene, again, to try to get them both to see the other’s side.

  “Father, the Igni had no specific reason to save my life. They could have left me there to die. None would have been the wiser, and it would have cost them less. Instead they saved me and nursed me back to health. You and I both know their efficiency. Had they been behind these attacks, none of the guards would have been allowed to escape, and women and children would not have been slaughtered for no purpose. It does not serve us well to expend effort to keep them under guard when they have done nothing to show that we need to be on our guard against them. All the more so since Kahji and his men have proven themselves to be no enemy thrice now.

  “Kahji, you have to understand my father’s position. Until myself, no human had heard of Frost Fiends. To be truthful, I’m having a hard time understanding how creatures of Ice could burn down a building with fire so hot it would melt stone. Surely if the positions were reversed you would not let an army of arguably ambivalent intentions move unescorted through your territory.”

  The Baron and the War Leader regarded each other solemnly. Neither wanted to admit that what Alaric had said was true. Neither of them could refute it. He could see the stubborn pride warring with practicality and reason on their faces. When his father looked down, he knew he’d succeeded.

  “Very well, my son. What do you suggest?”

  Alaric hadn’t expected that. His status as third son had not prepared him for command, and it certainly hadn’t prepared him for diplomacy. Now lives hinged on his next words. If they were the wrong ones, bloodshed might still occur, and some of his friends would likely die. He took a breath, cast a quick prayer toward Heaven, and collected his thoughts.

  “It is obvious we need some sort of compromise. Kahji’s men need to return to their own Realm where they can better recuperate. After saving my life, and those of our men, they deserve no less than to be able to treat their own wounds in an environment more conducive to their own healing. On the other hand, we cannot simply let them go on their own. It may be a disservice to them, and I believe it is, but the world we inhabit is not a perfect one.

  “I recommend you send a unit of light cavalry with them. If we have one available, you can even provide them with a Coin of Communication so they can keep you updated on their progress. When the Igni cross through the Gate, the riders can return. The riders would be more than an honor guard, since they provide the best chance of any of our men at avoiding capture if Kahji’s men turn belligerent, but they are also a sign that we do not believe they are a threat to us, or else we would send more men.”

  The Baron sat in contemplation. Alaric could see by the movement of his eyes that he was considering all the possibilities he could. Eventually he nodded. “Given the circumstances, and the fact that these Igni are obviously not responsible for the raids, I have no serious objections to such a compromise.”

  Kahji also nodded, “Though it pains me to admit it, I cannot deny the truth of your words, or the equitability of the offered compromise. It will be as you say.”

  “Very well, then I will send my son with you to convey the message to your people. Within a day, I will have a light cavalry unit provisioned and ready to ride with you.” It was obvious that the Baron believed the meeting at an end.

  Kahji disagreed, “There is one more point, Baron. For centuries before humans were known in the Five Realms, my people were fighting the Fiends. Never have they been able to enter into a Border, but we believed such a move might be possible though costly. We would never have believed they possessed the power to enter straight into Mediatus, but it seems that is what they are doing. Your people must be rallied to meet this threat. I fear these raids are only the beginning.”

  “My men are already rallied. I rode out with nearly a third of my men when I came this direction. I believe we are ready.”

  “If this is a third of your men, you are woefully unprepared. Understand, Baron, that the Frost Fiends are much as we were before you arrived. They are savage warriors who show no discipline. They are chaotic in attitude and action. But if they come
at you in numbers, your castle will suffer the same fate as this village.”

  “Then how do we address this threat? I need more than the word, however reputable, of the third son of a Baron and an Igni War Leader to convince the Duke to take action. For that matter, he would need to know what to take action against. If, as you say, they can simply pop up anywhere in the duchy, we would have to be spread far too thin to fight them. The Duke will not assemble his army or call forth the service of his vassals for an unknown threat, no matter how much he believes it exists. He simply cannot.”

  “Then we must discover what they are after. These raids are typical in that the Frost Fiends derive pleasure from chaos. They kill simply to kill. But they would not be expending the effort to come across into Mediatus if they did not have some purpose or goal. Something has drawn them here. Perhaps they are only attacking your barony because this is as far as they can open their gates. That would fit with what we know about how they travel from their realm into ours. But that does mean that this area may not be directly tied to what they seek. That is what we must discover.”

  “What would they be seeking?” Alaric asked.

  “Something that would provide them power. They are trapped, more or less, in their own realm. We call it the Frost Fire. They did not melt your buildings with fire as you understand it, but with their frost that burns. As I said, chaos. In fact, they are said to worship chaos as though it were a living thing. What they do, they do in the name of Chaos. You might understand the word better as ‘discord,’ the exact opposite of order and creation. My people have long dismissed the notion, just as you have long dismissed our stories of the Fiends as ‘monsters.’

  “So let us assume that we were as wrong to dismiss our ‘fairy tales’ as you were to believe our accounts were untrue. If that is the case, then Chaos, or Discord, is not simply a term for discord and disorder; it is a name of a thing, of an entity. According to our oldest stories, ones we long ago dismissed as tales for children, our people once fought along the side of the Ancients against some great power. In the end, the last of the Ancients sacrificed themselves to imprison it, to cut it off from the Five Realms. What if the Frost Fiends believe they have found a way to end that imprisonment? What if they are seeking to end their own?”