The Fireseed Wars

Vinaldos' last report had arrived two days before. At that time, the Grefftscharr Army, which had been transported by Grefftscharri Naval troop ships from Greffa, had off-loaded at Kyios Port, a small Ragyathi fishing village and port. From there, they made their way south to Ragyath Town. It hadn't taken long for them to sack it, either. No surprise there, as the Ragyathi Army was about two thousand men strong and Ragyath Town's walls little more than wooden palisades.

Rylla nodded, trying to tamp down her growing anger. She'd tried several times to work out a treaty with their ambassador and had been rebuffed every time. Ragyath had long fought Thagnor's local dominance and, even in the midst of the current political upheaval, had refused to change their course. With Ragyath as an ally, Kalvan would have established a series of forts and watchtowers all along the Ragyath Straits, which could have destroyed the Grefftscharr Navy long before they reached Thagnor Harbor. The Ragyathi had rebuffed the very idea and now they were paying for their reluctance "big time."

When Theovacar and the Styphoni had been driven off, they would reconquer Ragyath and restore the Ragyathi crown with a prince they could trust, maybe Sarrask in repayment for his loyalty. She hoped so.

Aspasthar continued, "After sacking Ragyath Town, their Army is preparing to march on Thagnor. Count Vinaldos says he expects them to arrive at the West Gate sometime tomorrow."

"How many soldiers did Theovacar bring?"

"The Count estimates their number at twelve to fourteen thousand men, six thousand cavalry and seven or eight thousand infantry. He says that it appears from the banners that Theovacar brought most of his Royal Army with him and there are Princely banners of three other Princes and a score of underlords."

"Thank you for your report, Aspasthar," Rylla said. The numbers were about what Kalvan had estimated, although a little higher. "Did you see the banners of his Companions?"

"Yes, Queen Rylla. They displayed the red Greffan dragon on a white field."

She turned to Sarrask. "Prince, I want you to lead the attack against Theovacar and his army."

Sarrask perked up. If he'd have been a dog, his ears would have pointed towards the sky. "Yes, Your Majesty. I thank you for such an honor."

"Aspasthar, has there been any movement by the Grand Host that would indicate they are sending troops to support the Grefftscharri attack?"

"No, Your Majesty. Count Vinaldos has scouts watching both armies. If there had been any recent movement, he would have told me before dispatching me to Your Majesty."

"Good. Sarrask, I want you to take the King's Heavy Horse, the Thagnor Housecarls and most of the heavy cavalry Kalvan left behind. Around eight thousand horse. Plus, take the Royal Infantry, another six thousand men, and the Thagnori foot. That should give you some sixteen to seventeen thousand men. We outgun the Grefftscharri, we out-horse them and we outnumber them! Kill as many as you can before reinforcements arrive from the Grand Host."

Aspasthar hung back as though he wanted to help. The boy was already as tall as Rylla and when fully grown he probably would have Harmakros' large stature and height. Maybe it was time to give him a chance to earn his spurs. "Commandant Aspasthar, I give you leave to recruit some four to five hundred of your oldest and fiercest cadets. I want you to hold back from the main charge and wait until the Grefftscharrer lines break; then you and your command will hunt down all of the deserters and stragglers."

Aspasthar gave a bloodthirsty grin. "Thank you, Your Majesty! We will send them all to Wind!" He spun around and dropped down the stairway.

She thought it was interesting how he was beginning to pick up some of the Urgothi speech patterns and words. With the capture of Thagnor and all the new orphans from the war in Hostigos, there were now twenty-four military academies and new recruits pouring in every day. Someday, if her husband was right, they would be the core of the army.

Down in the harbor the Hostigi boats had begun to pull back and about a dozen ragged schooners were heading into the fray. The fire ships! Suddenly one of them burst into flames, then another and another. Even from the tower top she could see the Grefftscharrer ships flounder and spin around in terror. The Hostigi ships-of-the-line pulled back, half continuing their firing, the other half going to encircle the now terrorized Grefftscharr Navy. Kalvan had said repeatedly that fire was the greatest fear of men stationed on a wooden ship. Within moments, a score of enemy ships were on fire, with flames running up the masts into the sails.

She could see the pandemonium the fire ships caused from the Tower.

A cold chill ran up and down her spine. The tower guns were now firing as soon as they were reloaded. Now they were shooting any enemy ships trying to get away from the main battle.