Chapter 38.2

That night, Eirwen had a nightmare, but she could tell it wasn't her own. She saw young Aodhán in that cursèd enclosed courtyard, not even seven years of age, drawing the flames of his siblings into himself. His arm burned and the flames pulsed underneath his skin, but he drew it all in, releasing it back outside behind him, where it battered the walls and clashed with the mana trying to pull closer into the fire.

His mother, his sister, his brother, all laying there, covered in burns, barely breathing. But they were still breathing. He turned around and held his good hand in front of him, his finger making a hushing gesture. His eyes looked at both her and someone back then, as his young voice addressed the other, and at the same time she could hear Red.

""They all died, and there was nothing I could do.""

She woke in surprise, turning towards him as she saw his eyes open in her direction. With a faint, painful, smile, he put a finger on her lips to shush her. A kiss on her forehead, then he slipped back into sleep. She studied his face, barely illuminated by the moonlight coming through a small window. Content. Even though tomorrow would be another battle, he was happy to be here with her. And she was glad she had him by her side at last.

Breakfast was silent, Eirwen refusing to take reports as to not interrupt the quiet. Only when everyone was done eating, did she allow messengers to enter. Using the map of the territory, it was easy to visualise what had happened where. Some of the fires had likely been from villages, while others actually appeared to be just in random locations. A foolish act, because the fires were already growing out of control in places. The wind was facing west, so it wasn't a threat for Bealach na Caisteal, but the giants would have a hard time before snow or rain would finally stop the burn.

A few messengers arrived, completely exhausted from pushing themselves and their horses to the limits. As expected, the giants were herding a group of refugees their way, who fortunately had a large group of mercenaries with them to keep the wolves at bay. They wouldn't be able to defeat the giants, but so far the giants were fine with watching. Eirwen had a bitter taste in her mouth, seeing her predictions come true. They intended to taunt the defenders.

"So we're talking dozens of wolves, as well as dozens of giants. And likely another group of giants further behind. We have less than two hours before they arrive, at which point we'll need to ride out to prevent the refugees from being slaughtered on our doorstep. Fortunately for us, we have the best cavalry of the West at hand. All combined, we have roughly a hundred experienced horse riders. We need to get in, grab those that can't make it themselves, and fight our way back. We don't have to enter the town, just get close enough so we have the walls at our back."

Dubheasa, who only had arrived the day before, had obviously not fully caught up on their plan yet. "So I get that some are manning the barricades and will engage the giants to hold them back. But what will stop them after?"

Eirwen nodded in Red's direction. He was dressed in horribly baggy mountain silk, cheap boots on that could shred apart at a moment's notice. "That's his job. As for me, I'm the backup." She was dressed in mountain silk as well, though hers wasn't as baggy as his. On her shoulders rested a cloak with her coat of arms, while she held all three swords by her side. If things turned for the worse today, she would die with her family's sword at hand.

They discussed tactics for another half hour, before everyone split up for final preparations. All around town, a mixture of militia and other people manned the walls, just in case. But most people stood at the western gate, hundreds of refugees looking on in tension as they saw Eirwen's group rkde out to wait outside the walls, the gates being barricaded once they had all passed through.

From on top of the wall, all the people could see of Eirwen was her back, her coat of arms as visible as the banners flying all across town. Today, she would not hide her identity. Their healers had stayed behind, waiting on the wall with ropes at hand to climb down and provide healing afterwards.

She focused her senses, withdrawing all and sending them all in a single direction. A needle's point aiming west, stretching far beyond any form of effective range, letting her find the refugees coming their way and reporting on their status. 

"Over thirty wolves on their flanks, and more in the woods. The giants are keeping a distance, though they're speeding up. Some people are clearly struggling to keep up the pace, about half the horses is already carrying a second person. And as we feared, further behind I can see larger giants."

She withdrew her senses, her breath already heavy as she began recovering from her exertion. "One last thing. I could tell the ambient mana was flowing past me. Whatever is following, they're noticeable and powerful."

As she recovered, she instinctively spread her senses to her surroundings again. To her surprise, she noticed Red hadn't. As she looked his way and studied him, she could confirm that he had indeed withdrawn all his senses. His focus was fully on regulating the mana within him, his spirals flowing slowly. But even then, she could tell the ambient mana around them had begun moving. Not towards him, but around him. And it wasn't just the air. Even the ground underneath him pulsed with the flow.

Everyone was taking deep breaths, calming themselves down. The people on the walls felt far more tense. No surprise, as everyone present had fought in the war. Most on the Flameheart side, of course. But these were amongst the best, so they knew how to stay calm. The refugees and escort came into sight, as did the giants chasing them, but still they held the line. They could tell those fleeing had begun to run, while the wolves surrounding them hunted for gaps to exploit. But they needed to time this right. Not too late, but not giving the giants enough time to properly respond.

Eirwen's senses showed her all that was happening. Wolves being held back. People stumbling and being picked up by others. Riders dragging people up when they no longer could run. They reached the right point. "Now!" All drove their horses forward, enhancing their rides to move faster, solid, a mass of a hundred horses spreading and covering both sides of the road. Ground they had made sure to avoid the past few days, to prevent it from getting a muddy hazard.

The giants grinned with malice, but as they came closer, she saw hesitation set in. It took them too long to realise. The fleeing group made it past the multiple sets of barricades, the wolves forced to go around. Dubheasa shouted "Loose!" and her knights unleashed a rain of rough Verglassed arrows. Too great a range to be expected, and arrows too sharp to defend against. Eight wolves fell from the first salvo. Enough to cause the others to flee when a second salvo flew their way.

The wolves hesitated, though the giants ran into action. As the first of them made their way past the first set of barricades, Verglas knights struck from shelter, ones that had hid in waiting for hours. Their blades cut through legs and giants toppled. At once, the knights engaged the next group of giants. Arrows flew towards the fallen giants, while the cavalry placed itself between the refugees and the wolves.

Doirinne soldiers held the flanks, shields and spears holding off wolves while arrows flew past. Blacktree's group stayed back, while Eirwen's ran through on the inside, before spreading out. Now the refugees were protected on all sides. The giants had aimed to have the wolves tear through the refugees before reinforcements could arrive. They had failed to anticipate all the preparations made to stop that.

Behind Eirwen, she could sense Red getting off his horse. While the rest all engaged the wolves, allowing for a running retreat, he lifted a few people on top of his horse, before sending it off. Mana circled him closer and closer, wind swirling around him, as everyone withdrew past him. Eirwen was last, stopping her horse, making others do the same. "Red." Her tone softened. "Mo Cuishle." He turned, a smile barely touching his face and eyes. Crimson's scabbard flew towards him. "Go earn yourself a name."

The only ones left were the knights engaging the giants, and him. But with mana finally entering his body, from the air and from the earth, not a single wolf dared face him. With steady breaths, he walked towards the barricades. She knew at this point, he would not run. He would not rush. He would not falter. He simply walked, slowly and steadily. Because he wanted the world to know, to understand, that he was inevitable. And as Eirwen could not just sense, but feel on her skin, he was bringing a storm in his wake.