A Tale of Blades & Blood-Chapter 14: A Scar to Remember

[Magrae's Point of View]

Who knew guarding a prince would be this easy? Lord Forien was exceptionally good at riding a horse, and he was even better when he used his lance and his blade. The siege had already begun as the bastard, Lord Loreys blew his horn upon seeing the flames at Northrest Keep, signaling the time to attack.

My brother, Ser Maerys Abberan, led the first charge as ordered by our lord commander. He was in charge of the cavalry. He rode on his brown stallion, with his steel blade resting on his hand, as he yelled "Charge!" again and again. All of his riders, which were around twelve thousand and five hundred men, rode into battle, a sword on their right hand, and a torch on the other.

They rode down the hill, and set fire to the fields, dry and fully grown. Eventually, they reached the cities. By that time, the soldiers atop their walls were to disorganized to defend the keep. I could see them all, scrambling like children and panicking as their captain was not there. What a waste of men, I thought, these have neither the guts nor the balls to fight.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

"What part do we play in this, ser?" the prince asked, who rode on his new horse beside me. The boy's armor did not fit him, it was too large. He looked bulky, yet he was still able to fight.

"We wait for the lord commander to tell us that..." I told him, "...from what I remember, we only move forward when the siege towers move." I replied. I never listened to the lord's plans, I thought. Funny enough, the others probably didn't either, I reassured myself. That lord was more a spiteful cunt than any of us, even my brother, Ser Mareste could not match that man's state of being a pain in the ass.

Soon, another blow from the horn echoed in the air. I could see around five thousand men move forward, as they began to push the siege towers and a battering ram the size of a large house forward. That was our signal to move. I raised my banner, on it was my house's sigil, a sword, and aimed it forward, telling my men to march. My other brothers, who led infantry, followed along, Ser Mareste and Ser Madester, The Cunt and The Young.

Our men held spears and shields with swords on their hilts. What an army the king has given us, I thought, with all this gold spent, he might be in debt. I move my horse forward, with the same pace as my men, so did the prince as he followed along. The cavalry had already set fire to the houses. Smoke filled the area, and the people of Northrest were scattered, not knowing where to go.

As we approached, I could hear my other brother, Ser Maserr, yell out "Fire!" as the sound of creaking wood and flames enter my ear. The projectiles were no bigger than five feet across, and they were drenched in oil and set ablaze. The rocks flew high in the air, and they came crashing down the city.

The outer skirt was turned to ash and rubble, and all that remained standing were pillars and walls, just as the bastard lord wanted. I could imagine him smiling for once in his life as he killed innocents. We continue to move forward, getting ever so closely to the walls. The men at the wall, who finally managed to organize themselves into a proper formation, armed their weapons- bows, ballistae, catapults -all they could arm, they did. While they had the weapons, we had the experience.

I order my men to march faster, as to not fall behind. At that time, a way had been cleared for us, thanks to the artillery. The five large siege towers on my side moved forward ever so slowly- but surely. I hate the smell already, I wished to say, it stinks of corpses and smoke.

The artillery moved forward a bit more. I could tell since another horn was blown, and the firing had stopped for a moment, then continued once more. The projectiles now aimed at the top of the walls, towards the archers. The rocks killed many, crushing them under their weight and spreading their blood on their walls. Our siege towers arrived first, and my men began to climb. Out of the twenty siege towers, only twelve remained, the others taken down by the ballistae and the catapults of the defenders.

The infantry continued to rise to the walls, and I watch from below. I could see the men, both blue and green, falling from the height of the walls. One splattered his guts, and the other impaled by a fence. Our cavalry had long gone back to regroup with the bastard lord, Loreys. Out of the twelve thousand and five hundred riders commanded by my brother, Ser Madester, only a hundred were found either dead or unable to ride any longer.

"You ready to scale the walls, kid?" I ask the prince.

He pauses for a moment and looks at me. "Let's get this over with, ser." he remarked as he unsheathed his sword. With a proud smile, he got off his stallion, and I got off mine.

"This is how you lead, young lord..." I told him, "...never leave them to fight on their own."

We scaled the stairs of the siege tower and reach the top of the walls, where few men remained. "Let's make the most fun out of this, shall we?" I proudly offered.

"We shall, Ser Magrae" he replied.

With the young prince by my side, we fought the blue men atop the wall. The first man came to me, all strong and brave. I suppose he did not know he fought against an Abberan. If he did, he would have run home with shit in his pants. He made the mistake of striking first.

He charged, and I blocked, our blades biting into one another. "Steel as well, eh?" I taunted him as we tried to break free of the hold. With all my strength, I kicked the young man in the stomach, sending him backwards into a white wall. "Let's get this over with." I whispered to myself. I went in for the stab while he struggled to get up, and now a blade rested in his skull.

I free my blade, and I turn around to see the prince fending off two men, each holding an axe. I rush to his aid, saving his very life as I hindered the strike from one tall knight. "Not today, you bastard!" I exclaimed. I pressed forward, and I swing my sword upward to cut his crotch, yet he clings to my blade with his axe, but steel is stronger than wood. My blade cut through the wooden handle of the axe where it made contact and sent the head of it going elsewhere. The knight, with no weapon to use, begged for mercy.

"I surrender!" were his last words as I cut his head off.

I hear another scream. Tell me that isn't the prince, I hoped. I turn around, only to have my golden mask splattered in the blood of Lord Forien's fallen foe. That is something I have not seen in a long while, I said to myself, a fighting prince. "Impressive." I tell him. He smiles back, and wipes the blood from his lips.

"Come on, ser..." he began, "...let's face the others below the walls."

And so, we did. From the top of the wall, we scaled down the steep stairs down to where the rest of the blue army stood unprepared and seemingly ready to die like a flock of hen that stood on a ground turned to mud by the blood of men. "Come down, men!" I yelled, "We've got cunts to kill!"

With my steel blade in hand, I leap from the fifth step, and dig my blade deep into the skull of an unfortunate knight. Shit, I realized, it's stuck! I struggle to pull it out, as a large knight, about the size of my brother, "The Hound," raised his sword and swung it down. Quickly, I went out of the way, no sword at hand.

Without a thought, I take a sword from a fallen foe, and prepare to face the giant knight. "Come here, big man!" I tormented him, "Let's see what I can do with you!"

I charged first. Again, he swung his sword at me from the left, so I kept my head down or else it would have been cut off. I may be in plate armor but I am faster than him. I was always a fast duelist, dodging and leaping from here to there. I just need to make you tired, I thought.

Unfortunately for me, a loud yell of "Help!" came from the distance. The fucking prince, you idiot!!! I realized. Without hesitation, I came to rush for his aid as three men gathered to face him. "Get back, you bastards!" I exclaimed as I charged in, my sword aimed for the middle man's heart. Soon enough, it did not beat... ever again, as I pierced it with my new blade.

As I took it out from his wound, the prince took care of the other knight, while I took care of the other one. I free my blade just in time to intercept the man's blow to my neck. I pressed it down, and stepped on its flat side with my foot. I raised my sword, and down it came crashing on his head, going through what little armor his helmet had. "Die, cunt!" I exclaimed while laughing.

"Ser Magrae!" the prince exclaimed.

Soon, I hear a low rumble, and I turned to see the large knight. Well, it seems you've returned, I thought. His blade came crashing down on me, and without a single thought, I scramble to the side. "It'd be great if you helped me, boy lord!" I yelled out. The large knight cackled a deep laugh as he swung his sword at me once more. If it weren't for me laying my back flat on the soil so quickly, I really could've lost my head.

The young lord moved quickly, but he was only too slow for the giant knight. With a quick move, the prince launched a blow against the knight, only for him to take hold of the prince's blade with his very hand, and seizing it as he threw it to the ground. "Strike me, little wolf..." he taunted, "...I dare you." The savage then held the prince by his throat with an iron grip, the metal crushing the young lord's neck.

"I'd prefer my young lord with a head, thank you!" I exclaimed as I held my sword tightly. With a quick motion of a hand and a loud cry, I plunge the blade deep into his stomach, with blood oozing from the wound. The large knight released his grip, groaning with pain, and kneeling down, grasping his wound as if to try and block the blood from coming out. Eventually, kneeling would turn to lying dead.

"What a fight." I whispered with a laugh. It turns out, my golden mask had fallen off of my face. I have to thank the prince, who was sitting down after the rough fight, for noticing that one as he pointed at the side of his head, as if gesturing to me "Hide your burnt and scarred face, ser. Nobody wants to see your missing eye."

"Oh..." I began, taking my mask of gold from the soil and resting it back on my face, "...you saw nothing." I tell him.

"How can I not see that, ser?" he jokingly responded.

The sound of a structure being demolished takes both our attention. The gates had finally been taken down by the battering rams. After a final blow, the gates are punctured by a blunt log, and the top hinges are broken, detaching from the iron gate. Soon enough, the gate topples over, crashing down to the ground with a loud thud. I could only watch as an army of green soldiers rushed the city in a wave of metal armor and human flesh.