No,I said,we need to lend assistance to the Eagle Riders under attack here so that we can free up one of the lower-ranking riders to go instead.
Understood,Neo said, already scanning the battlefield.
We flew over the fissure toward the nearest Eagle Rider team, which was currently battling several squads of cavalry.
With talons extended and my bow drawn, we joined Arasand his eagle, Baran, as they guarded the right wing of Baz and his eagle, Storm. The sounds of war, of shouting warriors and screaming horses, enveloped us. I fired arrow after arrow as Neo swooped over an entire squad, knocking horses to the ground or into the fissure their own earth magic wielder had created. The cavalry retaliated with spears and arrows, but Neo was the best flier on the continent.
He evaded and rolled, his strong feathers repelling the arrowheads easily. When we flew close enough, I struck with my own spear, killing riders within reach. Neo, Baran, and Storm formed a loose triangle with the remaining squads in the middle. The six of us coordinated our attacks so that the eagles dove with talons outstretched from three different sides, preventing the remaining squads of horses and riders from being able to successfully fire their bows. The horses reared, their eyes rolling in their heads as our eagles descended, tearing through flesh and throwing them to the ground. Simultaneously, Aras, Baz, and I attacked the riders with our bows, firing an onslaught of arrows. Combined with the aerial attack of our eagles, it only took two sweeps before the squads were destroyed.
More squads would replace them, though. They had the advantage of numbers, and I needed to change that. Rapidly.
Before the dust settled, I turned to Aras. “I need you to send for reinforcements from Chimney Rock Outpost. We’ll win this battle in the next two hours with their help.”
“Yes, Commander!” he shouted, and Baran took off like lightning across the sky.
The earth magic wielder will have recharged her power by now,Neo said, hovering far enough above the battlefield that no arrows could reach us.
If we kill her, this battle will be over,I said.
We both scanned the copse of trees, looking for an opening, but the magic wielder was well guarded.
Infantry to the west needs assistance,Neo reported.
I shifted my weight in the saddle.Let’s go.
With a few powerful pumps of his wings, Neo shot across the battlefield toward the western side of the fissure. He used his momentum to swoop down on a squad, slamming his talons into the nearest horse’s chest as wind from his wings buffeted them so powerfully that they stumbled to the ground. Shouts rang out as soldiers pushed forward, cutting down enemy riders from their fallen horses. Two other Eagle Riders lent their strength, and the infantry made it around the western edge of the fissure, forcing the enemy back.
The mounted riders turned and galloped south, and our soldiers pursued. But just as we made strides in flanking them, the earth beneath the soldiers’ feet rumbled ominously.
Men shouted and scrambled over one another, desperately trying to get away from the earthquake. They were only seconds from it splitting open and swallowing them. Lieutenant Callum called orders from his position on the other side of the fissure, for the soldiers to move toward the enemy cavalry who would be in the safe zone.
The rumbling sound gave way to an explosive crack, and the ground split, yawning like an open grave. Neo and the other eagles dove, grabbing as many soldiers as they could and throwing them away from the new fissure, but there were too many to save. Another two hundred soldiers plummeted to their deaths before they could be snatched away from the edge.
Without even having to ask Neo, he changed direction and flew toward the copse of trees that shielded the earth magic wielder. He circled the trees, his sharp eyes seeking an opening.A barrage of arrows forced Neo to fly higher, and he screeched down at them in defiance.
We can’t get to them from above, so let’s push from below,I said.Call another eagle. We need to break through those guards.
I’ll summon Storm. He is the most capable flier.
Storm and Baz were veterans of the sky alongside Neo and me, and we’d fought side by side enough to move as one. No orders were needed.
The moment Storm appeared alongside Neo, I nodded at Baz. In the next instant, our eagles dove in unison. I stayed flush against the saddle to reduce wind disturbance, and so the sheer force of speed wouldn’t rip me off his back. Just before they hit the ground, the eagles pulled up and surged toward the enemy guards.
I drew my bow but held my position.
They waited for us behind a wall of spearheads pointed right at us, but they were no match for the eagles’ talons and powerful momentum. We slammed into the horses like a battering ram, causing cataclysmic injury. Storm created an insurmountable wave behind us that barreled through the other cavalry warriors who had managed to stay standing through Neo’s onslaught. In this way, we punched a hole through their defensive line.
With my bow drawn, I waited for the moment when the warriors around the earth magic wielder fell. Two still stood in front of her, their spears drawn. Neo’s wings buffeted them as he hovered in place, and the horses reared in the face of the powerful gusts.
I still don’t have an opening,I said to Neo, tamping down my frustration.
Then I’ll make one,he said and lashed out with his deadly talons.
He connected with the horse on the left side of the earth magic wielder, tearing into its neck and spraying blood in a torrent. Both horse and rider screamed as the force of the blow knocked the horse to its knees. In that moment, the earth magic wielder was exposed.
Her dark eyes widened in shock, and too late, her horse tried to turn away and flee.
I loosed my arrow, and it flew straight and true, piercing the wielder’s leather breastplate and tearing through her heart. She slumped forward on her horse. Relief joined the blood pumping hot through my veins at the thought that we had saved our soldiers from another attack.
