Rise of the Horde - Chapter 553 - 553
The order came at dawn.
The horn echoed across the forested slopes of the Lag’ranna Mountains…deep, war-throated, rippling through twisted oak groves and lichen-quilted stone. Flocks of mountain birds burst skyward as the call scattered across the treeline.
The Verakhs and the Black Tree Tribe were already awake when the horn sounded. They had been awake for hours…ghosts beneath branches and bracken, war paint drying on scarred skin, blades oiled and bound, breaths quiet as wind through leaves.
The Warg Riders waited.
They always waited.
Mounted thunder was not meant to open a battle…it was meant to finish the first movements of war, strike where uncertainty had already been sewn.
Beyond the skirmish lines, beneath towering firs at the edge of the forest’s eastern spur, the only two clans around who still rode true wargs prepared for the hunt:
The Warghen Clan
The Skallser Clan
No others bore the right or the beasts.
The Arkhan Clan’s riders…powerful in their own right…remained with their chief, holding the rear positions near the occupied passes. They would not ride out with the other riders of Yohan this day.
This march belonged to others.
Haguk of the Warghen Clan stood with one boot braced against a fallen log, massive arms crossed beneath his scarred breastplate. His stoic face bore the wear of decades of mounted war…sunburned ridges, ice-blasted split lips, the pale remains of claw wounds.
Behind him rested nearly forty of his clan’s wargs…broad-chested beasts as large as ponies, fur mottled ash and iron-gray, yellow eyes glowing beneath the shadows. Their riders adjusted bridles, checked stirrup chains, whispered growls to their mounts.
Opposite Haguk waited the Skallser riders.
Yakuh stood at their head…leaner, younger, his shoulders wrapped in storm-worn wolf pelts. His scarred helm was propped against his warg’s neck. With him stood his trusted blades:
Ikrah, grim-faced warrior though also young as the chief, his twin axes had claimed multiple lives already in the few battles that he participated in.
Pelko, a powerful warrior who favors the spear among other weapons, known for driving his weapon through shieldwalls at full gallop.
Their mounts paced restlessly, claws tearing at earth.
Yakuh broke the silence.
“The skirmishers will bleed the humans first,” he said. “Then we ride.”
Haguk spat into the dirt.
“They’ll hunt us instead if we linger.”
From behind them emerged Khao’khen…overshadowed by boughs, his eyes unwavering.
“The Black Tree Tribe and Verakhs will make contact within the hour,” he said. “You strike only once their scouts are pinned. Not before.”
Yakuh inclined his head.
“My riders will follow your signal.”
Haguk snarled faintly.
“They won’t hear signals. Only fear.”
Khao’khen let the tension stand.
“When the humans realize they cannot outrun the storm…then unleash it.”
The two chieftains nodded.
The beasts snarled.
The cavalry waited.
*****
The light fog lifted beyond the forest’s western edge as Aliyah Winters addressed her commanders.
“Plains ahead,” she stated, the wind tugging at her blue cape. “We reach the open ground or the orcs control our flanks.”
Sir Helwain gestured to the map.
“Cavalry mobility is crippled until clear ground. We advance in compact formations.”
“Scouts ahead,” said Rhaegar Vance. “But we’re losing contact with some patrols already.”
Aliyah’s eyes hardened.
“They’re watching us. We maintain pace. Orcs will continue to bleed us unless they reveal themselves.”
Her finger traced the treeline.
“They delay here…or they give us the plains unchallenged.”
*****
Verakh shadows moved first.
Three human outriders crept cautiously between the oaks…spears angled downward, boots padded.
They never saw the iron bolt coming.
The lead scout’s skull cracked open against bark. His corpse slid down the trunk without sound.
Two blades flashed as a Verakh dropped from above.
Wet impact. Short gurgles.
It took less than ten seconds.
The Verakhs vanished…no trophies taken, only the silence left behind.
*****
The next patrol was larger.
Seven men pushed along a narrow forest path…too many for only daggers.
Horn clicks chimed from the treeline.
The signal was Haguk’s.
The Warghen wedge exploded from concealment.
Wargs smashed through roots and brush, riders swinging chained axes mid-charge. One human went airborne under the impact of claws. Two more went down as Haguk split a shield line with raw momentum.
No pursuit.
The riders wheeled away, disappearing back into the woods before even arrows could find them.
*****
“Wargs.”
Aliyah’s jaw tightened.
Sir Loric nodded.
“There are tribes among them who rides the beasts. Their charges will be measured.”
Aliyah nodded sharply.
“All the more reason we push fast.”
*****
Virkan crouched above the ravine.
Human patrols converged from east and south…too perfect.
Verakh warriors had already done their work: pit traps disguised by brush lattice and leaf wash.
The first human stepped through.
The earth collapsed.
Screams followed.
Skewers impaled bodies at the chasm floor.
Iron bolts streaked downward….Verakh precision.
Mage frost retaliated uselessly through ignited smoke gourds.
Silence swallowed the ravine.
“Advance slows,” Virkan muttered.
“Still too quick,” replied the Verakh commander.
“Then the riders must strike heavier.”
*****
At sundown, Aliyah’s forward formation pierced the last thickened patch of forest.
That was when the ground began to rumble.
Sir Helwain’s face blanched.
“That’s not horses…”
Branches exploded outward.
Two wedges of thunder burst from the trees at full gallop.
Haguk’s Warghens from the right.
Yakuh’s Skallsers from the left.
Their formations closed like jaws.
“ARCHERS….FIRE!”
Arrows streaked.
Three riders fell. Two wargs tumbled.
The rest smashed into the line.
Ikrah cleaved shields like bark, roaring.
Pelko drove his spear through a soldier;s breastplate and ripped it free in the same motion.
Yakuh vaulted his saddle to drag an archer down and finished him before landing.
Magic erupted.
Aliyah stepped forward.
Frost Nova!
Ice shattered beneath multiple claws. One Skallser beast went down screaming as its legs froze and splintered.
Haguk roared the withdrawal.
Both wedges disengaged simultaneously…disciplined retreat executed through smoke gourds tossed by Black Tree escorts.
Within seconds, only blood, ice shards, and shattered shields remained.
****
Nightfall saw the human banners fluttering across grass instead of branches.
But the forest horn boomed.
Not a raid call.
A declaration.
Khao’khen stood at the treeline with Haguk and Yakuh flanking him.
Dhug’mur rumbled beside them.
“Both sides find their proving ground now.”
Virkan added, “They reach the plains…but they are not unbloodied.”
Khao’khen watched the distant campfires rise.
“They don’t need to be bleeding to be doomed.”
Haguk cracked his knuckles.
“The riders hunger.”
Yakuh rested his hand upon Ikrah’s shoulder.
“Tomorrow, the grass runs red.”
Khao’khen’s voice was low.
“We pursue.”
The horn echoed one final note.
And from the darkness came the answering snarl of two clans’ worth of wargs:
The hunt had only begun.
