Chapter 64: Raelia the Griffin Rider-flashback (POV Chapter voted on by Patreon readers)
Chapter 64
Raelia walked the camp, looking for the meal tent for the riders. She had seen it from up in the air before she landed, and it should be near this abandoned farmhouse. There, she spotted it. The tent flaps were green and not black this time. She walked inside to the smell of food being cooked.
The cook plated her some food with a smile, and she took the plate to a table to sit opposite Zyila, her commander. The tall, lean elf woman smiled, “Raelia, the food is good tonight. A sweet pepper sauce over brown rice and shredded venison.”
“You took down the deer, didn’t you,” Raelia smiled back. “You are always telling us never to risk combat from our mounts, yet you do it every flight!”
Zyila smirked, “Well, I answer to your brother. You answer to me.”
“I am sure you answer to him a lot in his tent—privately,” Raelia retorted and quickly received a kick to her shin from her commander.
“Not when we are on a campaign,” she scolded Raelia. However, it was not a well-kept secret. “The other generals on the campaign would frown on me distracting him.”
Raelia tasted the food, “Ugh, too sweet. They must have added honey again.” Her commander tried to hide a smile, “It was you? You asked for it.”
“When you are the one who brings in a three-hundred-pound fresh game animal for the table, the cooks tend to honor your requests,” Zyila said, shoveling the food into her mouth with a smile.
After they both finished the meal, Raelia asked, “What are my orders?”Zyila rolled her eyes, “The postings are twenty feet away on the tent wall. Fine! You lazy elf. You are circling the city from two miles above with Nessa, Elanor, Daena, and Yavanna. We are attacking tonight as planned. I will fly out and ensure the Duke’s army has been delayed.”
“By yourself?” Raelia asked, knowing that doctrine did not allow Riders to operate alone.
“Rina is coming with me. And no, I am not taking you! You would probably try to fly too low and count the Duke’s army or something else foolish,” Zyila said seriously. “We have thirty minutes before we exchange flights.”
They left the tent together and went to where the griffins were stabled. The attendants had fed them raw horse meat while they had been getting their own dinner. Moonclaw saw his rider approaching and nipped two other griffons, Monsoon and Sunflare, out of his way to get to Raelia. The griffin’s head nuzzled her chest, lifting her off the ground with its powerful neck.
“Moonclaw, be nicer to the others,” Raelia scolded weakly. He continued nudging her until she rubbed the feathers around his ear holes. He started clicking his tongue in appreciation. Finished with the affectionate beast, she started to prepare.
Raelia checked the harness twice, inspecting it for wear and fit. When griffins were used in rapid rotation like this siege, they would lose weight rapidly, and you needed to adjust the straps constantly. It was for your own safety and the comfort of the griffin. Nessa, Elanor, Daena, and Yavanna were already in their saddles.
Raelia swung her small frame up into the saddle. She scanned the skies, waiting. A few minutes later, a griffin started to land. Raelia and her patrol took to the air one at a time, blowing dead leaves into small cyclones from the force of taking off. The wind blasted through her face and hair before she activated her air spell form to shield the rush of wind in her face. She circled the camp once to inspect the army. Thousands of men were below her like little ants scurrying about. She was glad she was a Rider.
She soared high into the sky before starting her dull circle patrol. She pulled her spyglass and watched the defenders of Macha prepare for the inevitable. She had nothing against the people of the city. Their Emperor and his hatred of non-humans was the rot of the Telhians.
They had killed many Bartiradians on Bartiradian soil in the last two years. This assault was their own fault. The Telhian plan was also painfully obvious. They would put up a token resistance and let the Bartiradians take the city. Then, they would trap the Bartiradians in the city.
Her brother and the other generals were smarter than that, though. They had killed the Displacement Mage in Macha, and they planned to reinforce the city themselves through the portal after taking control of the city tonight. Then, they would let the Telhians waste their men and legionaries trying to retake the city. Her brother, General Clayln Glavien, would ensure the Telhians were much weaker after this battle. Returning Macha to Bartiradian hands was sure to be a bloody endeavor.
Three flight rotations later, Moonclaw was exhausted as he flapped his wings and glided over the night battle below. It was dark, and the fog had allowed the army to reach the walls and gates. It would not be long now before they broke the defenders on the wall. Then, a huge gust of wind ripped from the city. Raelia had to let the wind take Moonclaw and her away. She saw the battlefield revealed below, the fog eliminated. The Bartiradian attackers were suddenly exposed. Arrows pelted them from the walls, and men were falling by the scores.
Raelia felt helpless. She was not supposed to do anything but observe and report. Maybe she could help, though. The defenders were focused on her brother’s army. She could possibly prepare a fireball, swoop down, and release it before they tracked her.
She started to guide Moonclaw with her legs, guiding him with the stirrups and squeezes of her thighs. He was sensitive to her body movements and understood what she wanted. The important thing she needed to do was shield the fireball as she formed it. Otherwise, it would be like a beacon in the sky to the defenders.
She mentally worked the weave of her aether into the spell forms. Layering the aether in a well-practiced action. She would have to dive to get into range to release the ball of fire, though. She needed to remain unseen. The glowing ball of destructive heat twisted between her cupped hands as she squeezed her knees and dug her heels in. Moonclaw dove at the unspoken command.
The range of her magic fire was one hundred and twenty feet. She needed to get about a hundred feet away and release on the dive. Moonclaw knew this as well and would rise after the fireball was released. She was focused on the tower on the left. There was definitely a mage there. She revealed the light of her prepared spell and was about to throw it when the spell forms dissolved in her hand. She grabbed the reigns and pulled hard. The mage in the tower had seen her and disrupted her spell form. She needed to…
Moonclaw shrieked in pain as an arrow protruded from his wing, with wispy black tendrils wrapping his wing. He could not flap to turn away from the city. There was no time as she tried to get him to land on a rooftop in the city. Moonclaw came up short and crashed hard into the building. As they fell between two buildings, the griffin did his best to spare his chosen rider.
The ground came fast, and she never had time to activate her featherfall device. It would have minimized her own body mass and made the crash less impactful. Instead, Moonclaw bounced on the ground, and the impact tossed Raelia out of her saddle and into a building, breaking ribs and wrenching her knee. She must have hit her head because she was dazed as well.
When she got senses, and back to her feet, Moonclaw was protecting the alley from a squad of legionaries. Moonclaw was injured and overmatched. She tried to form a fireball, but her head hurt too much, and she could not focus. Moonclaw shrieked in pain. She couldn’t help him. She cried as she limped away into the alley, looking for a place to hide. Moonclaw, her friend that she had raised from an egg, would buy her time. She wiped the tears and focused on escape.
She took a simple healing potion on her belt. As its effects spread, her mind started to clear as she hobbled away. The potion was not enough to heal her ribs or knee, but it did give her back enough sense of mind to cast magic. A shifting light came up behind her. The legionaries were already on her. Fucking legionaries! Anger welled in her as they killed her mount and friend. It was not the first friend she had lost to the Telhian legionnaires either.
She timed the approaching light, spun with her daggers drawn, parried the sword strike, went into a roll, and came up in a crouch, grimacing from partially healed injuries. The legionnaire looked surprised she had evaded his attack. He was just staring at her like an idiot. “I will kill you, legionnaire.” She rasped in his own tongue. Blood trickled from her lips as she spoke. At least her ribs felt slightly better from the potion, but she probably had a damaged lung, as breathing was difficult.
As she waited for the legionnaire to attack, loud booms came from the outer wall. She smirked, knowing her brother was probably sending all three assault elements at the wall in an attempt to save his stupid sister, who had crashed into the city. She just needed to hide until he got his forces inside the city. She thought Zylia would scream at her for this, and her brother would probably have her exiled from the Riders. First, she needed to survive long enough.
The large booms had the young human legionnaire nervous. His long black hair was matted with sweat under his metal legionarie helm. He held his short sword with skill but seemed reluctant to attack. She needed to stall him while her mind worked the spell forms for a fireball, “Your city will return to us, and the duke’s army will not save you!” She said with as wicked a smile as she could conjure through the pain.
He relaxed in his defensive stance, underestimating her. He started to talk, “Can you just…” She finished her spell form and ignited her fireball…