Late the next day, the troops are assembled for a desperate, hasty
assault on the new Virgan forces massing in the valley between them and
Amber. Despite having an army already at their back, the Amberites have
no choice but to attack the second army, before the Virgans' numbers are
large enough to march on Amber.

The Amberite forces are depleted and exhausted. Barely able to hold out
against one army, they have no chance against a second one as well,
especially one that is fresh, with reinforcements poring in all the
time. This attack will also be a retreat back to Amber, which is
preparing to be seiged.

Antonio moves to the top of the mound to address the assembled troops.

Slowly, the soldiers quiet, faces turned towards the mound.

Antonio's voice carries to one and all in the gathering, "We stand at
the brink, my friends." He points toward Arden, "That way we face fire."
He points toward Kolvir, "And that way, steel."

Martin stands near the foot of the mound, helmet tucked under his arm,
watching the soldiers as Antonio speaks.

"We stand at the brink and yet we do not turn from our duty," Antonio
says. "For if we are marked to die we will do so honorably as men of
Amber, defending our lands.

"Our lovers," his voice quietens to a whisper, "Our children."

The soldiers murmur in response. Agitation, agreement, support.

Antonio's voice loudens again, "For it is this day that we make our
stand.

"We tell one and all that no more will we tolerate the murders most foul
that have been committed upon our countrymen."

He points toward Arden, "No more will we let our lands be plundered by
foreigners.

"No, today we make a stand. A final stand, if we must for we are not now
that strength which in old days that moved heaven and earth." His voice
is building to a crescendo. "Yet we are what we are - one equal temper
of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate, but strong in will. To
strive, to seek, and not to yield!"

A resounding cheer goes up from the assembled troops at that. A
deafening Hurrah!

"Move out."

The soldiers cheer again, and begin forming into their respective units.

Martin looks over the departing soldiers, moves up to speak quietly with
Antonio.

Antonio watches the soldiers readying from his place upon the mound. He
turns towards Martin as he approaches.

"Good speech," Martin grins to his cousin. "Seems I've heard it
somewhere before, though."

Antonio shrugs. "You ready?"

Martin returns the shrug, casting an eye round the readying troops.
"Sure. See you in Amber, eh?"

Mordacious lifts its head, from under the shade of a stand of trees, and
watches the troops mill about.

Antonio nods, "You too cousin", he claps Martin on the back.

Martin clasps Antonio on the shoulder, gives him a grin, turns away to
where his horse is waiting.

Antonio watches Martin leave, then turns to give Mordacious his orders.

Elsewhere, Martin, astride his warhorse Farrand, gives the order for the
Horse Guards to depart.

The Horse Guards move off, heading down towards the road. They head into
the valley to take up their positions.

Twelve thousand Virgan Legionnaires, bronzed breastplates and plumed
helms shimmering, now occupy the valley floor.


<3/24/98>

Martin and the Horse Guards have gone along the road, and are waiting in
the trees. Antonio and the Calvary have gone down the side of the
mountain to outflank the Virgans. Mordacious is blocking the pass to
block the other army from approaching their rear. Daneel is leading the
Rangers. The plan is for the Rangers attack first and when the Virgans
respond, then Martin will fall back towards the road, and Antonio's
calvary will hopefully catch them on the road.

The dragon's appearance over the battlefield is the signal for the
attack to begin.

Up in the pass, Mordacious hauls the last of the boulders to his chosen
spot, atop one of two high stone walls that mark a particularly narrow
section of the pass. Using one of the trees as a shovel, the dragon then
pushes the boulders down in a dissonant, drawn-out crashing of rock upon
rock; the falling rocks dislodge more as they go, and a small avalanche
of stone descends upon the pass, blocking it. In the valley, distant
thunder echoes.

Antonio joins the rest of the cavalry and they begin to edge towards
their position.

Hidden in the trees by the road, the Horse Guards hear the distant
rumble from the mountain. Silently, Martin and his men prepare to move
into the open.

The Virgans glance warily towards the mountain pass.

The Rangers ready themselves for the soon starting battle. Arrows are
readied and aim taken.

Several shouts are made and the Virgans leap into action, moving away
from the partially concealed encampment and into lines facing the
mountain.

Daneel glances at the mountains waiting for the dragon to show up.

Mordacious flies down from the pass, towards the valley of Garnath; the
glare of the setting sun is cut off by the mountains behind the dragon
as it swoops along the valley floor, veering slightly to aim just south
of the enemy's lines, and the dragon's hide turns dull and grey in the
fading light.

Near the road, boys watching from the trees for the first signs of the
dragon's approach whistle quietly, and Martin's troops ready to charge.

With a great shout rising among the Rangers, they release their arrows
in a great volley towards the Virgans. The volley is closely followed by
several smaller ones as most of the Rangers leave their bows behind and
charge towards Virgan lines .

The Virgans fail to see the dragon at first, too intent upon gathering
their forces.

Then the first volley of arrows fall among the Virgans and the screams
of the dying are mingled with shouts of confusion.

Among the dead and dying cooler heads prevail. Spying the approaching
form in the sky they quickly head for the trees and their encampment.

Mordacious lifts, banks sharply and swoops down upon the the legion's
southern flank; before the Virgans have fully recovered from the storm
of arrows, the dragon sweeps lengthwise across the enemy lines, leaving
behind a swathe of fire in its wake.

A cloud of smoke rises from the flames revealing the blackened bodies of
what used to be men.

The legionaries closest to the attacking Rangers recover from the hail
of arrows, and regroup quickly, using their shileds to form defensive
barriers. They've got immediate problems apart from the dragon.

From the trees near the road, Martin draws his sabre, and with a yell,
leads the charge of the Horse Guards into the fray.

A small section of the Legionnaires maintain their lines and wheel to
face the oncoming horse guards, their pilum extended like a spiny hedge.

The Rangers, led by Daneel, crash to the Virgan line. Arrows from the
Rangers arc to the rear lines of the Virgans. As steel clashes with
steel, wails of wounded and dying fill the air.

The Horse Guards lower their spears as they thunder towards the Virgan
lines, bearing down on them with grim determination.

The Rangers initially manage to sweep through the Virgan lines like a
hot knife through butter. Soon however, the Virgans regain their senses
and begin a counter attack.

Something long, and pointy streaks upward from amongst the trees towards
the dragon, narrowly missing it.

Horses and men die as the Guard crash into the legionnaires.

The Rangers are being pushed back by the counter attack of the Virgans.

The rest of the Horse Guard fall onto the broken lines, engaging in
brief exchanges with the Virgans, but the Virgans are too well
organised, and Martin signals for his troops to fall back.

The legionnaires slowly begin to drive the Rangers back towards the
road.

Riderless horses bolt from the field, bloodied and frothing at the
mouths, and above the ringing of steel on steel are the screams of dying
horses and the curses of men.

More and more lightly armoured rangers fall before advancing Virgan
legionnaires.

Mordacious, having veered away from the source of the projectile,
returns at tree-top height to deliver a blast of flame to the attacker
before jinking back and forth over the Virgan lines, dropping fireballs
with mostly random enthusiasm; any ballistae or archers tend to receive
extra attention, however.

Smoke sweeps across the battlefield obscuring vision out to one hundred
feet. To the south a faint rumble can be heard over the sounds of
battle.

Pursued by the Virgans towards the road, the Horse Guards do not lightly
give up the fight.

The Virgans press onward towards the road, driving both the Rangers and
the Guard towards it.

Daneel, up until now seen in the fore of the Rangers, disappears from
sight. Soon afterwards two rangers carry a form of a man back to the
woods and safety.

The rumbling grows louder.

Mordacious makes use of the smoke, flying in fast and low towards the
apparent heart of the Virgan forces, a group of men who seem to be
commanding the legions from a nearby mound.

A wave of arrows streaks up at the dragon as he nears the mound.

At the foremost edge of the Horse Guards, Martin's warhorse is glimpsed
rearing above some luckless legionaire who charged out too far forward
of his compatriots, its ironshod hooves glinting redly in the afternoon
light.

The Rangers continue falling back under the constant pressure from the
Virgans.

As the last traces of sunlight begin to dim, from the trees rides the
cavalry, Antonio at their head. They emerge, racing at a gallop, up the
slope that borders the southern side of the road and then as one wheel
about to charge along the road, their lances lowering as they near the
Virgan lines.

The Virgans at the rear attempt to wheel about to confront the cavalry.
Arrows bounce heedlessly off scales and hide, while more are swept back
down by the draft of the dragon's passing, but some strike true.
Nonetheless, the dragon ignores the volley, and a gout of flame blasts
the mound as Mordacious banks sharply away.

As the smoke rises the mound can be seen, now blackened and charred,
several twitching bodies lying upon it, pools of bronze and gold
gathering near its base.

Too late were the Virgans to react to the charge. With a crash that
echoes across the battlefield the cavalry slam into the flank of the
legionnaires.

As Antonio appears with the cavalry, the Rangers rally. More Rangers
emerge from the woods to reinforce the line.

Arrows fly from the trees behind the Amber lines leaving a wave of death
amongst the Virgans as the Rangers begin to push the Virgans back.

The appearance of Antonio's Calvary seems to hearten the Horse Guards,
and they redouble their efforts.

Antonio's cutlass slices, it dices, it juliennes, falling over and over
as Cavalry push through the Virgan lines toward Kolvir.

It doesn't help Virgan morale any when Mordacious returns yet again to
deliver more fire and death to their ranks. Especially as between each
breath of flame the dragon can be heard singing a very simple song
louder and louder with each hit: "Food, food, food!, FOOD!"

The Horse Guards discard their horses, wheeling round to cover the rear
of the Calvary.

Vision is now down to a score of feet as smoke covers the battlefield
and the sun has sunk below the mountains. The only light comes from the
fires that race along the Virgan lines.

The Virgans begin to fall back, some fleeing in panic before the
onslaught of fire and steel.

In this confusion, the Rangers' mobility begins to prevail against the
Virgans.

The cavalry carves a wedge through the Virgan lines breaking through to
the other side.

Young lads of Amber, armed with knives and not much else, dart from the
cover of the trees to recover what horses and arms they can, helping to
drag wounded men back behind the lines, and occasionally pausing to cut
the throats of the enemy wounded.

Mordacious' hide has turned as black as the night it flies in; the only
signs of its presence now are the flashes of gold from its eyes and the
chain about its neck, the fire it rains down upon the legions, and
perhaps almost as bad, the songs that can occasionally be heard over
parts of the battlefield. "I ate their archers, I ate their commanders,
and soon I'll eat them ALL!"

The Foot Guards, still led by a mounted Martin, dig into the Virgan
troops with zeal, many cheering the flight of the dragon as it passes
overhead.

Antonio wheels his mount to survey the battlefield. He raises his sword
high and cries, "To me! To me!"

Astride his great gray warhorse, Martin raises his bloodied sabre and
shouts orders to his men to fall back towards the Lord Marshal.

Atop the mountain pass flames can be seen licking at the night sky.

The Rangers reform ranks and start to hack their way through the Virgans
towards Antonio.

Antonio edges Tharnus back into the melee, several of the cavalry
flanking him as they attempt to clear the way for the remaining Amber
soldiers.

The Virgans are in disarray and falter.

Some of the Foot Guard are reluctant to give up the fight, with the
Virgans in such bad state, but they soon withdraw as a whole, heading
back towards the trees and their horses.

Mordacious breaks off from the fight to gain altitude, and surveys the
scene below as he plucks some of the more annoying shafts loose.

Antonio calls out to a nearby ranger, "Where's Daneel?"

Martin rides up towards Antonio's group as his men retreat quickly into
the trees and onto the road.

The ranger answers, "Daneel was wounded and carried back to the woods. I
don't know more, Lord Marshal."

Antonio parries the gladius of a legionnaire before sliding his blade
along the length of his opponent's weapon and into his exposed armpit.
The legionnaire stiffens and drops as Antonio wrenches his blade free.

Antonio nods and shouts to the Ranger, "Keep falling back. I want as
many out of here as can walk, ride or be carried."

Antonio digs his heels into Tharnus' flanks and shoots forward towards
the trees.

Martin heads into the trees, after taking a last look round for any
stragglers.

The Virgan centurions attempt to rally their troops into a counter
attack.

Antonio races past Martin towards where the Rangers were hiding before
the attack. Martin loses sight of his cousin as he disappears among the
trees. No matter.

The Rangers fall back with a screen of more rested troops covering the
wounded.

Martin runs down another legionnaire, keeping the rear clear of lost and
over-enthusiastic Virgans.

Mordacious drops back down to the battlefield, a dark shape seeking out
targets under a dark sky; Virgans shouting orders near the front lines
tend to attract painfully warm replies.

In the falling darkness, the shouts of the Virgan centurions can be
heard somewhere out in the middle of the battlefield calling the
remainer of their troops to them.

The Amber sergeants likewise can be heard, but they are calling for a
steady withdrawal from the battle.

Out on the battlefield, the fires left by the dragon blaze and flicker
and burn with a sickening stench. The glint of armored bodies running to
and fro is just made out, but it's hard to see if there's any purpose to
them.

Martin, accompanied by a handful of remounted officers, is busy taking
out any stray legionnaires that've gotten too close to the trees, giving
the rest of the foot soldiers as much leeway as possible.

Mordacious leaves the field, looking for some place away from the
fighting to land and rest.

Satisfied that they've got out all the men they're ever going to get
out, not like it's possible to continue this fight in the dark anyway,
Martin gives the order for his officers to leave, bringing up the rear
of the retreating forces.

The bulk of Amber's forces escape the valley. The Virgans were caught
and hurt badly, but they still give chase. The Amberites have a long way
to go before they reach the safety of the city yet.

-------
3/26/98