Chapter 8
Morgorath
“Do you yield?” Kraydar asked, hovering above the defeated Brazurkin.
The tired and beaten Brazurkin looked up at Kraydar with a grimace; pain radiated throughout his entire body. Kraydar's war hammer had connected with devastating force to the Brazurkin's midsection, finishing the fight as quickly as it had begun.
“I yield,” the Brazurkin said as he collapsed onto his back underneath a cloudless, blue sky.
The crowd of onlookers erupted with cheers. Kraydar was their champion, and he had just bested yet another cocky, up and coming warrior in the practice arena. It was a good thing for the fallen warrior that this was not an actual test of combat prowess; otherwise, he would be preparing to have his horns removed.
Kraydar was the highest ranking official in the army of Morgorath, for he had led the army into numerous battles, emerging victorious every single time. Having fought side by side with King Urganox on many occasions, Kraydar had gained King Urganox's utmost respect.
He was a behemoth of his race, with only King Urganox being larger. His horns measured three feet in length. They rose up a foot from the base of his skull, made an abrupt hundred degree angle off the back of his head and tightly intertwined. With age finally catching up to him, Kraydar's new role was to ready the young warriors for service to Morgorath. He trained the new warriors just as he had been trained so many years ago. He tested the young Brazurkins with a brutal, but proven, regimen which served to break the will of the new recruits and reprogram them into machines of war.
As Kraydar helped the bested Brazurkin to his feet, a cry rang out from one of the watch towers, “Savages at the gates!”
Without hesitation the Brazurkins in the practice arena readied their weapons and turned to Kraydar for instruction.
“It is about time,” Kraydar said. “It has been too long since we have had the opportunity to defend our city. Everyone! To the gates at once!”
Aside from it being one of the central trading hubs of Calencia, Morgorath was known for its reputation to defend off any attack, from any foe. The city was located in a valley between two mountain ranges, the Arplasia Mountains and Pizenchaffe Mountains. The only way into the city was through the heavily fortified front gate. Over the years, Morgorath had been under siege numerous times and at no point was the city ever close to being captured.
Kraydar and his troops made their way to the large gate at the entrance to the city and stood ready.
“Who has become brave enough to attack the city this time?” Kraydar asked.
The Brazurkin on the watch tower answered, “The Bear Men from the east.”
“It does not matter,” Kraydar replied. “They will meet death just as quickly as all of the others who have been brazen enough to attack Morgorath!”
The watch guard said, “It appears that there are at least two hundred of them.”
A slight hint of panic grew on Kraydar's face. He had heard of the Bear Men but had never faced them in battle. They were dark skinned Humans who chose not to live within the confines of Galdarath. The infamous cannibalistic savages worshiped a mythical bear named Totat and wore the heads of slain bears upon their own. They secured bear claws, laced with poison, to the ends of their fingers. Their personalities were just as menacing as their appearance.
Once, Galdarath sent two hundred soldiers, fifty of which were cavalry, to drive the Bear Men away from the outskirts of the kingdom. The soldiers were horrifically slaughtered. The Bear Men constructed a shrine made from the bones of the fallen soldiers outside of the city, which signified their intentions of taking up permanent residency. King Ronan Graystone, Thaddeus’s father, assembled the entire kingdom of Galdarath to stand against the Bear Men. Outnumbered, twenty thousand to five hundred, the Bear Men reluctantly turned away from Galdarath and laid claim to a small peninsula in the northern Free Lands.
The only Brazurkin to ever face a Bear Man was King Urganox. Once, during his travels, he came across five of the savages looting a small carriage that they had just ambushed. The bodies of three Humans, and two Raptilians, lay lifeless on the ground. One look at the King and they attacked. Although, King Urganox was accustomed to five to one odds in battle, this skirmish proved to be quite difficult. The Bear Men, who were only armed with clubs, gave the King the fight of his life. His superior size and strength, not to mention his kite shield and three- balled flail, helped him to overcome them. Afterwards, the King had told Kraydar that it was one of the most brutal battles he had ever been in and that the Bear Men fought unlike any other foe he had ever faced.
I wish that King Urganox was here, Kraydar thought.
King Urganox Skullsplitter had traveled south over a month ago to meet with a representative of the Dead Marsh to find out why they had not been shipping medicine to Morgorath. It had been over three months since Morgorath had received its last shipment from the Raptilians, and this was very unusual. The King, deciding that he was long overdue a break from the city, set out to resolve the situation, leaving Kraydar, his most trusted and loyal servant, in charge.
Kraydar glanced back at the warrior Brazurkins behind him, and his confidence swelled. He looked to the watch guard and said, “Open the gates.”
As soon as the gates opened, the Bear Men charged. The Brazurkins, who were trained to defend their city at all costs, met the invaders without fear. The first wave of Bear Men was destroyed effortlessly when they ran into the immovable wall of Brazurkins.
Kraydar called out to the watch guard, “Keep me informed on their movements!”
“Right now they seem to be-,” but the watch guard was silenced as a spear met his heart. He fell head first over the wall.
“They are climbing over the gate!” a Brazurkin yelled.
Fifty or more of the Bear Men were now coming over the large wooden gate. This disrupted Kraydar's plan of funneling them all through the small opening where they would be slaughtered like lambs.
“Break formation!” Kraydar cried out as the Bear Men began to pour over the protective barrier.
The battle that ensued was deadly; many Brazurkins, and Bear Men alike, met their fates. The bear-faced men were ruthless. They fought with a passion, or insanity, that Kraydar had never before witnessed. They showed neither fear, nor regard for their own lives, and they were on the verge of seizing the city.
The Brazurkins had been trained to defend attackers from entering through the gates. Once the invaders flooded into the city, their training was forgotten. This marked the first time that anyone, or anything, had ever breached the city wall, and they were unprepared for this type of combat. It was total chaos.
Kraydar saw the tide of battle slowly beginning to favor the Bear Men. He knew that he must act or Morgorath would certainly fall. He began to scan the fray for their leader. After several minutes, he finally spotted the man for whom he was searching. Standing at the gates was a large man covered in the fur of a white bear, which contrasted heavily against his dark skin; an oversized battle axe was clenched tight in his large hands. Kraydar began to sprint toward the white, bear-like man, with his war hammer in hand. He came upon the leader and swung his hammer, putting all of his might behind it. The Bear Man calmly stepped aside as Kraydar's hammer smashed into the ground. The large man swung his axe, but Kraydar was able to lean out of the way. The two warriors engaged in a fierce battle in which neither one could seem to gain the upper hand.