The sun had set, and the moon slowly began to rise. The dense redwood forest and the surrounding areas went silent as only the dim moonlight gleamed from above.
Stefjan Kovachev rested the palm of his left hand on the pommel of his sheathed longsword and decided to make his way back to the city of Bastion, knowing the great danger that involved staying on the forest after the sunlight vanished.
He pushed himself up from the ground and gave a last look at the arctic landscape that was right before his eyes, a frozen fjord that a community of frost trolls had taken as residence, although he did not see any of these brutal creatures. He finally turned about and released a sigh before he started to walk amongst the redwood trees, heading towards the road that led to the capital of the Westerlands. The night began to turn darker as the moon continued to rise, but due to this a beautiful starry night sky was revealed.
After a considerable amount of time walking on the dangerous woods, Stefjan found himself near Leopold’s wall, and was able to spot the light that the torches on the gatehouse emitted from afar.
He began to feel uneasy as he continued to approach the wooden structure and let his left hand slip from the pommel of his sword to warp the fingers of his right hand around the leather strap that enveloped the hilt of the blade. He accelerated his pace greatly, to a speed of almost running. A wicked and devilish laugh resounded throughout the whole area, its source was unknown to him.
The sound of a cavalry charge was heard coming from both flanks in the distance. “Raise the gates!” A westerlandic soldier shouted upon noticing the situation from his post. “Aye, boss!” Said his companion, and went to raise the wooden gates hastily. Stefjan started to run towards the gatehouse with all his energy and began to breathe without ease. The footsteps of the galloping horses echoed throughout the forest, and began to sound closer and closer as every second passed.
A loud war-horn was heard a few times. One of the westerlandic soldiers had used it to signal for reinforcements. “He’s a dead man- Shut the gate!” One of the soldiers shouted, and the other obeyed without a word. Stefjan started to feel how his feet and legs began to numb, but did not falter. He ran as fast as any man could run, and at last, went through the gate as it was about to close. Upon entering the safe-zone he fell to the ground sweating heavily and taking deep breaths, unquestionably exhausted.
He stood up and placed his hands on the joint of his knees, and slowly began to regain his resistance. A large battalion of westerlandic soldiers and knights arrived the scene, formed of pikemen, archers and heavy infantry. The undead army commenced to grow as more, and more creatures lurked from the darkness of the forest and joined their ranks. The undead forces stopped, and simply watched from afar as the human archers got into position on the wooden towers and various formations. “Knock… draw… loose!” A western commander ordered, and soon a rain of arrows fell upon the undead army. Another devilish laughter was heard from the other side of the field, and the undead horsemen charged forward.
The pikemen quickly began to build formations, holding wooden shields and aurum-tipped lances.
Stefjan Kovachev unsheathed his sword in a swift motion and ran towards the heavy infantry division carelessly, for he was wearing no type of protection. Western forces abandoned the safe-zone and entered the open forest, the undead charge did not hesitate to stop or retreat, but quite the opposite. The heavy infantry was split, and placed in each side of the formation. Everyone went silent, and no one said a word. Only the arrows, and the footsteps of the approaching horde could be heard.
At last, the two armies clashed against each other on the field. The desperate cries of help from wounded soldiers, the sound of steel smashing against steel, and the groans of the dying horses did not lack at any moment. The battle lasted hours, and both parties took heavy losses. The Westerlands lost more soldiers than what they could afford, and the undead forces that remained retreated from the field after they had been lowered in numbers greatly. “Hoo-rah, hoo-rah!” They chanted as the battle had come to an end. This was another victory for the Kingdom of the Westerlands, but they knew there were many more fights to come, and that the war was not over.
As soon as the sun rose, the western men had set up pyres to burn the bodies of his fallen comrades, to prevent them from turning into one of those creatures. Stefjan Kovachev approached the scene and placed a hand on his chest as the flames consumed the bodies of the dead soldiers. His eyes closed and he dipped his head before the pyres, offering respect to those who had lost their life the night before.
OOC.
This actually didn’t happen in RP. This is my entry for the Le Trio writing contest. I hope you had a good time reading this. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.
@Anadunae