David Cook - Horselords

Their mistress's fate kept from them, Bayalun's wizards had done their job well. While the army moved into position, the spellcasters had used their powers to disintegrate boulders and move mounds of earth out of the way. By daybreak, they had cleared several wide, level breaks through the rubble. Surveying the openings from the hill, Yamun decided these were more than adequate for the attack.

In the distance, the Dragonwall, too, underwent a change. In the shadowy, predawn light, the wall was a brooding monolith. As the sun rose, the gloomy walls became red-gold. The towers and cornices were etched in sharp relief against the green and brown land beyond. Along the battlements, a glinting line of light from the defenders' spear-points shone like small fangs. From where the khahan stood, the Dragonwall's majesty was inspiring.

"Come, anda, it's time for battle," Yamun grunted. He looked out over his army. "Today is a great day. I will either conquer Shou Lung or I will lose every man I have."

Koja looked toward the khahan. "I thought you were certain of victory."

"I am—but it may not be today. If I am beaten here, I'll go back and build a new army. I've been beaten before." Yamun shaded his eyes to look toward the Dragonwall. "But, I wouldn't like to lose," Yamun concluded with a wry smile. "Now, anda, it's time."

The khahan was dressed as he had been the day before; indeed, the man hadn't changed out of his war clothes at all. Koja himself wore the same suit of armor he had worn at the Battle of Manass, as he had come to call it, although Hodj had at least found the time to size it better. The armor was still heavy and hot, but at least it didn't chafe as badly.

"I am coming, Yamun," Koja answered. He didn't want to be in the middle of the battle, but he had no choice. It was his duty to supervise the sacrifice, which had to take place closer to the wall. Trotting to catch up with Yamun, he reined in his mount alongside the warlord.

"As is the custom of our people," Yamun said, "I have ordered one hundred of my finest white mares to be given to this spirit. Is this enough?"

"I do not know. Would it be sufficient to please your god, Teylas?"

"More than enough I should think." Yamun leaned over in his saddle to issue the final orders to a waiting messenger. Satisfied that the man understood the commands, the khahan sent the messenger on his way. Another messenger came forward to take the man's place.

As he neared the main body of the army, Yamun halted, motioning for the guards to bring Chanar forward. The general sat rigidly on his horse, refusing to look at the khahan. Chanar's pride seemed to be all that was sustaining him.

"Chanar Ong Kho," Yamun said solemnly. "In a few moments we will ride among the army. I will give you the place of honor for our coming battle—leading the first charge against the Shou. I give you this because you are my anda, and only because of that. Do not dishonor yourself before the entire army." Chanar made no attempt to answer. "Give him his weapons," Yamun said, then spurred his horse forward.

The khahan's route took him and his entourage through the heart of the two hundred thousand. Koja marveled at the men's discipline. It reminded him just how well trained Yamun's soldiers were. Their insouciance on the march belied their rigid discipline on the field of battle. Two hundred thousand men waited on their horses in strict lines: ten men to an arban; one hundred to a jagun, which in turn formed minghans of one thousand; and the minghans were grouped into massive tumens. Each tumen formed a block of riders ten riders deep and one thousand men across. At their center was the tumen's standard, while the banners of the minghans formed a line of signal flags each man could see.

Two hundred thousand men and animals made enough noise for their presence to be known. As the khahan passed, the men hailed him with a mighty cheer. Even the ranks far from the khahan were not silent. There was a constant rumble as nervous men and horses waited for the signal to attack.

At last, Yamun, Koja, and Chanar reached the head of the army. Yamun's Kashik were set in the center of the line, at the forefront of the army. The khahan rode out to address them. "Men of the Kashik, finest of my warriors! Today, we will crush the armies of the Jade Throne. Ride under the banner of Chanar Ong Kho, the finest of my valiant men. Go forward and fight bravely, for here we will succeed or die!"

The Kashik raised a mighty shout, beating their lances against their swords. Hearing the clamor, the rest of the army took up the cry. The roar echoed in the valleys and across the plain. Koja could not imagine what it must have sounded like to the Shou defenders on the walls.

At a signal from Yamun, Chanar rode to the head of the Kashik. Two standard-bearers galloped behind, one carrying Chanar's banner and the other the standard of the Kashik. The riders took their positions behind the general. The command assigned, Yamun galloped back to where Koja waited.

Taking a position next to his white-tailed battle standard, Yamun surveyed the length of the line. On one side were Chanar and the main body of the Kashik, eight thousand strong. To the other side of the khahan was a line of one hundred white horses, each led by a Shou prisoner, some of the few taken in yesterday's debacle. Next to each horse was a quiverbearer. The Tuigan's black robes stood out starkly against the white mares.

"Everything is ready, Lord Yamun," a khan said.

"Good. Koja, begin."

The priest swallowed nervously and nodded. Giving his horse a gentle whip forward, he rode out ahead of the army. The prisoners, followed by the guards, led the hundred horses after him. Slowly, the lama rode across the plain, closer to the towering front of the Dragonwall. He continued to ride forward, entering the area that was shattered yesterday in Goyuk's attack. Bayalun's wizards had done a superb job of removing the rubble, their magic cutting avenues through the broken ground. There were still, however, grisly reminders of the men and horses that fell there only a day before.

The priest stopped when he got as close as he dared to the wall. He could see Shou archers training their arrows on the Tuigan procession. Only the presence of the Shou prisoners prevented them from firing. Koja lowered his head, took a deep breath, and then looked up. He felt calm, too preoccupied to be afraid. "Spirit of the Dragonwall," he called out, "hear me! Yamun Khahan, Illustrious Emperor of All People, gives to you a sacrifice of blood. Accept it and go in freedom and peace." Koja whispered a prayer beseeching Furo's forgiveness for what he was about to do. The priest gave the signal as soon as the prayer was done.

Knives in hand, one hundred guards reached out and slashed the throats of one hundred horses. The death screams of the beasts rang in Koja's ears. His own horse pranced and reared, forcing the priest to open his eyes. He could barely keep the mount under control. All around him the mares stumbled forward or lashed at their grooms, blood streaming down their white breasts, soaking the ground. Quickly they fell, one by one, into the dirt.

Koja was dazed. He heard a roar. At first the lama thought it was the war cry of the two hundred thousand men lined up behind him. Then, suddenly, the ground trembled. The shock waves built in strength, and Koja's horse reared and bolted, throwing the priest to the ground. All around Koja the guards struggled to keep their mounts under control.

Scrambling to his feet, the priest looked toward the Dragonwall and stopped in amazement. It was buckling, heaving upward, the foundations tearing from the earth. The brick masonry fell away in sheets, sweeping guardsmen off the battlements. The nearest watchtower heaved outward, rising up before settling into a crumbled heap. Koja looked to the gates. The huge wooden doors groaned against each other. The tall gatehouses swayed. There was a piercing crack as the span between the two towers shattered, raining stone onto the Shou garrison below.

Koja, surprised and terrified, sprinted for the safety of the khahan's banner. The guardsmen around him were also galloping for the safety of the Tuigan line. The ground heaved again, hurling the panting lama into the dirt. Sweat and dust running into his eyes, Koja stumbled to his feet and reeled forward. Unexpectedly, a hand thrust under his arm, squeezing his chest. With a jerk the priest was pulled from his feet and hauled on the back of a galloping mare.

"Hold tight, little lama," Koja's rescuer announced. The Kashik looked back at the priest with a snaggle-toothed grin.

Gasping, Koja clung to the man's waist. Behind him he could still hear the rumbling crash of masonry. "What's happening, priest? What did you do?" shouted the rider over his shoulder.

"More than I thought," Koja shouted back. The guard reined the hurtling steed to a stop just in front of the khahan's banner. Koja tumbled to the ground, and the horseman easily swung his mount around and galloped to his position in the battle line.

"We cannot fight in this madness!" Yamun shouted over the building noise. "Hold the signal for the attack until the wall stops moving!" The khahan sprang from his horse and stormed over to where the lama was sprawled.

"Look!" Koja cried as he glanced back toward the Dragonwall. He pointed to the great fortification.

A great, taloned claw burst through the soil, then another, gouging into the dirt along the structure's foundations. The wall split and cracked, revealing a spiny, scaled back arching and pushing upward. The scales glistened blue and brown along the length of the reptilian hide. Far to the right, away from the gate, the fortification exploded, scattering shards of brick and granite across the plain. Broken men hurtled off the battlements and fell, crushed, to the ground. A coiling tail, forked and pointed, thrashed free of the shattered battlements. Clouds of dust began to roil away from the stone wall, driven forward by the collapsing stone.

The grinding roar of cracking stone and the faint screams of men and horses were overwhelmed by a new sound, a howling cry of tremendous volume. It was part animalistic roar, part shouted cry. Koja wondered if this was the true voice of the dragon spirit.

Suddenly, the great gate shivered. Wood shrieked as the massive doors warped and bent. There was a popping crack as the hardwood valves split, the force of the sudden release blowing the wooden gates outward. The stone gatehouses to either side twisted and heaved. The immense gate of the Dragonwall was shattered.

"Standard-bearer! Get ready," Yamun shouted, barely heard over the destruction. "We ride forward now!" The khahan ran back and mounted his unruly horse.

Koja also ran to a horse. Over his shoulder, he looked back at the wall. There, in the yawning gate, the lama saw a pair of eyes, glistening with a lambent blue fire, fringed by the ornate carapace of a great dragon. It was the same set of eyes he had seen last night.

The vision lasted only a second. Driven by the sudden rush of wind, a column of dust spiralled into the air, explosively pushing the gatetowers to the side. The blockhouses splintered and fell, crashing onto the remains of the wall to either side of the gate. The banners of Shou that once adorned the tower peaks were snatched away by the wind and carried into the sky. Koja watched, too numb to be amazed, as the writhing column solidified to become the twisting serpentine shape of a majestic dragon. Before the priest could see any more, a choking cloud of dust and sand swept over the Tuigan line.