The Storm (Leo)

Leo

The town's gates swung open as dozens of men pushed them open. Out rushed the offensive army of Castle Hill. Bruno sat atop his horse Kuro. He wore thick leather under his heavy brown cloak, but appeared to wear no metal whatsoever.

Bruno commanded more than two hundred guards and knights, mostly armed with pikes and shields. Captain Whitley commanded the infantry, and Sensei supposedly led the short-lived cavalry. There was just enough light left in the sky for one cavalry charge.

Leo and Sato rode out on the back of Leo's horse, Shiro. Leo was armoured head to toe in a silver suit of plate armour. Like Wyrm, the armour was brilliantly silver and ornate, but understated and simple as well. His armet was shaped like a lion's head with his face in its mouth. The lion's mane was most absent, save for Leo's wig peaking out from under the helm. A tall white feather ploomed out of the top of the armour. 

Sato was dressed in mail, thick leathers, and a brestplate. His kettle helm loosely shook atop his head. He had a giant curved shield with a spear tucked into it, in addition to Kintsugi. He looked a lot like one of the guards. That was part of the plan. 

Sato was to hang back and tend to the wounded. He had a unit of heavy shields to protect him from arrows, bolts, and blasts.

They were surrounded by the Leo's Pryde, Sato's Shields led by Sire Armold, the knights' guard under Sire Macs, and some guards, New Knights, and draggoon defenders. All told, the two shared around 50 defenders. 

Leo prepared to charge with Sensei. Sensei had the Vanguard and Leo the rear. The archers and draggoons on the town walls, and catapults in the town square, provided ranged support. Had they not been caught off guard, they would have had airships and two more divisions of men who were trapped less than eight miles away. They had sent messengers, but it would be too late to save them now. This was it. No help was coming.

The Chaff Sea shuddered like waves as hundreds, as thousands of figures began to emerge from every direction. They were completely surrounded. It was nearly dusk. The rain was still soft before the first clash of blades. The Undien were farmers, poorly armoured, if at all, wielding mostly farm tools and an occasional looted sword or pikes. But they had the numbers. There must have been thousands and thousands of them, most hidden in the cover of the Chaff Sea. They would not survive a siege. The invaders had enough men to take the castle by force. It was better to fight on their terms. 

So the smokescreen deception began. 

"Light the arrows. We must set the sea ablaze." Bruno shouted. All the archers lit their arrows aflame and loosed them deep into the Chaff Sea. They had to catch it quickly before the rain picked up and wet the dry grain. A storm of red arrows came down with the rain. The Chaff took immediately, and the fire spread rapidly. The screams were horrible. People were burning.

The draggoons on the walls followed suit, taking this order as their own, and began firing randomly and wildly into the Chaff Sea, desperate to increase their visibility and decrease their enemies' numbers. More grain lit aflame even against the downpour. The sea was on fire. It was quite the spectacle. Out of the fire and smoke and rain emerged four horsemen.

"Charge!" shouted one of the horsemen. Hundreds of komodon riders advanced with makeshift lances, formed of farming equipment. matched the

"Charge," shouted Sensei. His van charged behind him. Sensei had his blade, aye, but it was his bow that was drawn. He had told Leo once that where he came from, the finest warriors were the mounted archers. Sensei landed an arrow directly between the eyes of one of the four horsemen. He fell limp and lifeless and was swallowed by the flaming Sea. 

The other horsemen scattered. One directly into the blazing grain. Sensei's van crashed against like waves into the Flaming Chaff Sea. The Undien within were trampled. Both sides took heavy losses as the Undien behind their fallen comrades began to tear the knights from their saddles and stab the komodons and riders with their tools. Because of the masses of bodies, fire, and flax, Sensei's charge was repelled. Sensei called the survivors to retreat and regroup as he laid arrow after arrow into the oncoming tide of Undien. There was no end in sight. The Undien pressed viciously back, cutting off down the slow and wounded. The fighters followed allowed the cavalry but quickly retreated back into the shelter of the Sea as fire arrows and blasts came raining down on them. It was like the Undien in the Sea were one giant living organism, moving in harmony. Some of the fires started to go out.

"Fire," another volley of fire arrows came raining down, but by now the true rain was strong enough that most were extinguished or quickly put out. 

Leo's rearguard charged at his command to defend Sensei's retreat. A rearguard consisting entirely of horses. Leo's Pryde of horse knights, Sato's Shields, and the other assorted defenders on horseback, or on foot. 

With Sato clinging to his back, Leo brought Shiro to a charge and dashed off after the flaming horsemen. That had to be their target. That had to be Grimm. The man who felt no pain.