couldn't hear the conversation, they watched the two men, somehow aware that something momentous was unfolding.
'My Lord,' Vesna yelled, trying to get Isak to pay attention, 'listen to me!'
Finally Isak focused on his friend.
Vesna said out loud the words he had been repeating to himself, over and over again, for so long. 'The night I was attacked in Tirah, Karkarn came to me and offered me the chance to become his Mortal-Aspect.' He succeeded in pulling off his vambrace and tore off the bandage on his wrist. He pulled out a teardrop-shaped ruby and held it up. 'He gave me this. All I need do to seal the bargain is to cut my cheek with it.'
'And what would you do then?' Isak asked quietly. 'Would you take on an entire army by yourself? Would you stand back-to-back with the God of War as the two of you fight his own Chosen and a dragon? You don't know if it'll even pay you any attention.'
'It will give you a chance,' Vesna insisted, emotion making his voice hoarse. 'If we stay here and do nothing, then we are all dead!'
'I know.' Isak let the words hang in the air for a moment.
He beckoned Lahk over and said, 'General Lahk, I believe you to be a man who will follow orders, to your death if necessary, is that so?'
The general said nothing, but he inclined his head. His helm was
still on, so Isak couldn't see any expression on his face, but he doubted the man was anything but his usual impassive self.
'Good. If you do not obey this order, I will kill you where you sit. Do you understand me?'
'Isak!' Vesna yelled desperately, but the white'eye raised a hand to stop him.
'General Lahk, sound the retreat,' Isak continued. 'Lead these men back the way we came. Do not- Do not stop, not for anything nor anyone. This battle is lost; all that remains is to salvage what is left. Do you understand?'
Lahk nodded again and turned to his bugler beside him. 'General retreat to all legions,' he repeated solemnly.
'Vesna, my friend,' Isak continued while the order was being called, 'no matter what you do, what bargain you make, you cannot buy the army the time it needs. I need you to lead this army from the front – or I will kill you too.'
'But-'
'No more.' Isak raised Eolis and took hold of the Skull that was fused around the guard like a coating of ice. 'Take Hunting with you; there's no need for both of them to fall into enemy hands.'
'You can't,' Vesna said weakly.
'I can.' Isak smiled as he felt the weight of the Land lift from his shoulders. In the distance the dragon was closing, but he still had time. 'I never was much of a gambler – never had the patience for it – but it looks like I'm going to learn the hard way. Carel used to say a man was measured by the quality of his friends – I'm not sure what that says for my youth because I didn't have any friends, but now I hope he was right.'
He slipped from his saddle and handed the reins to Vesna. 'I'm about to take the greatest gamble of all, but at last I'm not afraid. I'll trust the quality of my friends to see it through.'
Awkwardly, he held out an arm to Vesna, who stared at it in shock for a moment before taking it.
'Goodbye, my friend,' Isak said simply. 'Thank you.'
And with that he turned around and walked towards the Menin line. The Farlan knights parted before him, some staring in bafflement, others saluting the silver-clad giant. He could hear the repeated orders being relayed throughout the legions, and the clamour as his men hurried to obey his last order.
Vesna too heard the sound of the general retreat, but he couldn't focus on it, not even when a hurscal grabbed his arm and yelled something in his face. He could make no sense of the man's words…
Then General Lahk roared, 'Count Vesna, you have your orders! Lead the way, man!' and Vesna shook himself.
He looked up at the man who'd commanded him all the years he'd served in the Ghosts. His eyes inevitably fell to the ruby sitting in his palm, then he turned back to watch Isak as the white-eye walked calmly towards the enemy army, already wrapped in crackling coils of lightning.
Qods preserve you, my friend, he thought and raised the ruby to scratch the skin below his eye. An unusually sharp sting flared on his face and he instinctively jerked his hand out of the way – before realising that the ruby had stayed there. He tried to pull it away, but realised it was now fixed to his cheek – yet that was the least of his concerns as he felt himself surrounded by shadows. He saw horror on the hurscal's face before the man was hidden from sight by a swirling funnel of darkness. A fire burst into life in his belly.
All at once he felt every injury he'd ever received, every battlefield scar, cut and bruise flared to life, and Vesna howled at the excruciating pain, his head turned up towards the sky. He felt the shadows surge down his throat, driving him backwards, almost off his horse, before he caught his balance. His nerves burst into life, as if they were a map of sensation tracing every inch of his body. The screams and clamour of past battles echoed in his ears.
'My general,' said Karkarn in his ear, so deafeningly loud that Vesna felt the words reverberate through his whole body and remain, shuddering, in his bones. All around him he suddenly felt raw power, both terrible and beautiful in its savagery, and his muscles flooded with sudden inhuman strength. His vision cleared and the whole battlefield stretched out before him so he could see every curve and contour of the ground ahead. He could feel the fear in the eyes of his distant enemy, he tasted the blood on the wind.
'Raise your sword, my general,' Karkarn cried, 'we go to war!'
Isak felt the coursing power increase with every step he took as, unchecked, the magic from the Skull grew into a furious storm.
The air shuddered under the assault and the ground beneath his feet trembled as the grass was slashed and torn by the lashing coils of energy. Up above clouds swirled closer, lowering and rumbling over the plain.
His senses were opened so wide to the Land around him that he could smell the dragon now; its presence was impossible to ignore. Isak was surrounded by a corona of blistering light as he walked towards the Menin troops. Behind him he sensed the sudden divine aura of Karkarn manifesting, but he forced himself to ignore it. He was close enough now that he could see the horror on the faces of his enemy, terrified by the gross display of unrestrained power.
Some nervous eyes began to turn east, to where the dragon was becoming clearer, but most remained on him as the raging corona surrounding him began to form into a cohesive mass. Distantly, Isak felt magic striking his shell of translucent white fire shell, but it spluttered into nothing as it hit the raw power.
As he felt the dragon near him, he raised his shield above his head, sending a wavering column of light up into the massing clouds. The storm responded to him and Isak felt the ear'Splitting crash of lightning assail his protective cocoon. He looked up to see the enormous beast check its momentum, throwing its vast tail forward and its head back as another bolt of lightning split the air, then another.
Isak continued onwards; he knew he couldn't control such a monstrous amount of magic for long without burning his mind out. Fifty paces from the enemy line, a bolt struck the huddled troops, tearing a hole in the ranks. He added his own power to that and heard the screams as magic set a dozen or more alight.
More lightning fell, the frequency and intensity increasing with every strike. Hanging in the air the dragon wheeled and turned, searching for a safe path through the supernatural lightning to Isak. It roared in pain, its voice rivalling the thunder that boomed out over the plain. Its scaled body shone with emerald light as the lightning raced over its body.
Driven backwards, the dragon reeled from the blow, but not even the power of the storm was enough to knock the monster from the sky. It had enough height to recover, and it used its gigantic pale green wings to heave its way up again. Isak sensed the beast's shock, but its rage was undiminished. As best he could, he directed the storm towards it and was rewarded by the sight of the dragon retreating another few hundred yards before it landed heavily.
With his shield and sword raised, Isak marched towards the Menin infantry, and they scattered before him, too scared to face the furious storm of energy surrounding him. A second line of troops lay behind: cavalry and pikemen packed in tightly. Isak didn't falter, but scanned the field urgently: he didn't have much time left. The Crystal Skull defended his mind while it fed it with power only the Gods could comprehend, but that torrent of
