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Anno Domini 829, April-21
"Good, everything is ready, we march at once, the battle has already begun and though it lies too far away for us to see clearly what unfolds we cannot remain idle, we will open the gates, advance in order, and do everything in our power to set the Roman camp ablaze, if we force them to withdraw we will harry them during their retreat" I said while watching my men take position beside the main gate
The guards pushed against the heavy wooden leaves and the cold air from outside slowly seeped into the besieged city
The Romans had struck us like lightning, the khan had been certain that the Roman general would not dare penetrate so deeply into our lands, he believed the emperor would remain south of the river and merely reclaim the territories where their people were the majority, lands that in time might change hands simply through the presence of a great imperial host, how wrong he was
The Roman emperor ignored entirely the treaty of non aggression we maintained and launched his campaign when most of our forces were preparing for the harvest, he found our frontier garrisons thin and advanced with devastating speed, they crossed the river, swept aside the outposts, and before we could properly react they stood before our walls
For weeks they built a siege camp impossible to ignore, deep trenches, palisades, walls and counter walls secured their lines, while towers, scorpions, catapults, and other siege engines labored day and night, without outside relief breaking that encirclement was nearly impossible
At first we believed it was merely a display of strength meant to force a swift engagement, soon we understood it was a full siege, they meant to bring down our walls stone by stone
The city was better provisioned than many others, yet not enough for the fifty thousand souls crammed behind the walls, so I imposed severe rationing of grain and water, even in the khan's court the possibility was discussed of expelling part of the population and abandoning them beyond the gates
That would have meant delivering them to the butcher, when Romans have the chance they kill or sell in slave markets, and if we did not break the siege necessity alone would eventually force such a decision upon us
Weeks passed and we watched helplessly as their engines ground entire sections of wall into ruin, until at last we sighted the banners of Izbul Kavhan, he had been sent to gather the Slavic tribes and incorporate them into our army and received no word of the siege, the Romans had crossed the river too swiftly and sealed the encirclement before our messengers could escape
His return was timely, we learned he had clashed with Roman forces while attempting to approach the city, yet the enemy arrived first and barred his path
At last the gates began to open and the moment they did we saw the Roman forces inside the camp reinforcing the narrow passages they had left between their trenches, corridors that once allowed the movement of their own troops would now be the only road by which we could advance if we wished to penetrate their camp
Even with fourteen thousand men gathered from the local nobles, the khan's personal forces, and the city guard, I understood that numbers did not favor us on such ground, in a passage so narrow a handful of Romans could hold us for hours, if we were to break the siege it had to be now
"Advance in formation, archers forward" I ordered as we marched out of the gate in the best order we could maintain
From within the Roman camp reinforcements began arriving from all directions while a bell rang loudly, clear and repeated
"They know we are coming out, push with everything you have" I shouted
"For the khan, death to the Romans" roared the men of Omurtag's guard as they surged forward with swords in hand and shields raised while Roman arrows began to fall upon us
"Careful" someone cried
Suddenly a rain of stones descended upon our foremost ranks, several struck the archers, I heard sickening cracks and saw men fall with shattered legs and broken arms beneath the weight of the projectiles
A bolt fired from a Roman scorpion mounted atop a tower and operated by two soldiers already loading another shaft pierced one of the khan's guards and pinned him to the ground
"Do not stop, keep advancing" I shouted raising my sword high so my men could see me as we pressed forward
Beside me a bolt punched through the armor of one of my soldiers, he took barely two steps before collapsing motionless upon the earth
I ignored the sight and advanced with shield raised until we approached the narrow corridor where we saw the Romans form a line to contain us
We were about to charge when something began to emerge from their ranks
From between the Roman lines a massive figure stepped forward pushing his own comrades aside, they made way for him without hesitation, he did not wear the usual armor of Roman troops, he was covered almost entirely in layered cloth armor reinforced with iron beneath it of extraordinary quality, the kind rumored to come only from the finest forges of the empire, the giant bore it as if it weighed nothing, in both hands he gripped a great axe and thick bear pelts hung over his shoulders
"GRRAAAAAAAAH" he roared shouting words I did not understand
For a heartbeat we froze staring at that Roman champion, then the khan's guard charged into the narrow passage
A storm of arrows fell upon the Roman formation, those that struck the giant bounced away or lodged without piercing him, he merely raised his arm before his body and I watched as the arrows shattered against him, breaking as though they had struck stone
The first man of the guard who reached him was hurled to the ground by a brutal blow, I heard a sharp scream, the one who had tried to block the strike with his shield began twisting in agony, clutching an arm shattered by the force of the impact
The giant gave no one time to react, he swung his axe from left to right, smashing shields, splitting helms, crushing skulls with savage violence, each blow carving a bloody space before him
The khan's guard tried to push forward but the giant was too strong and the narrow passage favored him
"Archers, all of you, focus on him" I shouted
Dozens of bows bent and released their arrows, the Romans raised their shields yet the giant kept fighting three or four men at once while the arrows fell against his armor
Some slipped into gaps, others lodged shallowly, he did not seem to feel them
Then we heard his laughter, deep and feral, as he tore the arrows from his own flesh and threw them aside, still fighting as if nothing had touched him
More men of the khan's guard pressed forward trying to overwhelm him but those who reached the front rank fell quickly, their cries drowned beneath the Roman's roars that echoed across the field, I even saw unease flicker across the faces of some of his own comrades as they watched him carve a path through us in uncontrollable fury
More and more men died against him and we could not drive him back, then when it seemed impossible to stop him something happened that for a heartbeat made us believe fortune favored us, after cutting down perhaps twenty warriors who hurled themselves at him one after another his massive two handed axe shattered against a shield, the head spun through the air and buried itself in the wood of one of our own
"Now, now" I roared
Everyone surged against the Roman
Axes and swords hammered him from every side, metal rang violently yet none of us understood what devil's craft that cursed armor was forged from, the Roman laughed as he absorbed the blows and without hesitation cast aside the broken haft of his axe and drew a heavy mace from his belt
With the first sideways strike he crushed the head of one of my men, the helmet caved in as if it were clay and the body dropped with a muffled sound
In an instant he grew even more brutal, the mace killed with a single impact, bursting skulls even through iron, with his free hand he tore shields from the khan's guard and smashed their faces, several tumbled into the trench as he advanced step by step toward us laughing between snarls
"What is happening, how can one man hold us like this, we must try another way" shouted one of the nobles beside me
"It is too late for that, at least we have forced the Romans to send reinforcements and weaken their line" I answered as I began moving toward the blood covered beast
Several guards tried to throw themselves upon him to drag him down but not even three together could shift him, he hurled them into the trench like sacks of grain
"Give me that" I ordered tearing a spear from one of my soldiers
While the monster continued his slaughter I took aim, he had just crushed another man and for a brief instant stood without anyone directly before him, I hurled the spear with all my strength
It flew as more arrows fell upon the Roman ranks and I saw it strike his chest driving between the plates of his armor
"Good, now, now" I shouted
His hoarse laughter froze my blood, he ripped the spear from his body as though it were a splinter and began shouting in a strange tongue that did not even sound like the Roman speech we knew
Then I saw his eyes, red with fury, lock onto mine
From that moment his attention was mine alone
Though several men struck him without achieving more than dents in his armor he seized the same spear he had torn free and hurled it back at me, I ducked in time and the soldier behind me was impaled, his mail shirt pierced clean through
When I lifted my head I heard his beastly cries as he shoved more men into the trenches and advanced straight toward me
He absorbed blows, men tried to seize him by the neck to drag him down, spears drove into his side, I even saw one pass clean through him
Two of my guards leapt to shield me, he crushed one's skull with the mace and hurled the other so hard he rolled down the slope of the trench, before I could react he stood before me
I raised my shield
It burst into splinters as the colossus smashed it apart with all his strength sending me onto my back while others surrounded him stabbing at every opening, more spears pierced him and axes struck his back and shoulders
The giant fell upon me and his enormous hands closed around my throat
"Get him off me" I managed to choke as he squeezed with a force that darkened my sight, I felt the blows of my men striking his head, his back, his face, his blood began to spill across me yet he kept tightening his grip
Then suddenly the pressure vanished
I saw him topple to the side
I dragged myself away gasping, he was covered in arrows and run through by multiple spears, his armor at last broken and shattered
And I saw the path of death he had carved to reach me
I did not need to speak, the others continued fighting the Romans while our losses kept mounting
When I regained my breath I saw that at last we were pushing back the first Roman lines and breaking into their first trench, unlike the colossus whose armor had seemed invulnerable many of the other Romans were far less protected against the fury of the khan's guard
But as we began fighting for the second trench we saw fresh Roman reinforcements flooding the camp
That damned giant had delayed us too long
And when I raised my gaze I saw Roman cavalry beginning to deploy behind their lines
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
-------------------------------