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veiled Ulgos fell upon them, and the shrieks of the maimed and the
dying filled the air and the Murgos were overcome by confusion.
Now it came to pass that Zedar the Sorcerer beheld the faltering
of the Murgos and went he even unto the iron pavilion of Kal-Torak
and spake unto the Accursed One urging that he come forth and by
his very presence overcome his enemies, but Kal-Torak would in no
wise do it and remained within the black iron pavilion.
And behold, the earth shook in the west with the heavy feet of the
legions of imperial Tolnedra. And came the legions upon the plain
and assumed their battle-order and closed with the Nadraks and
the Thulls upon the right flank of the Horde. And Yar Lek Thun,
King of the Nadraks, and Gethel Mardu, King of the Thulls, spake
with one another and withdrew their forces from that battle which
swirled around the Mimbrate Knights that they might better face the
Tolnedran Legions.
And there were with the legions Cherek Berserks from the fleet
that had borne the might of Tolnedra from Tol Honeth even unto the
rapids of the River Arend ten leagues below Vo Mimbre, and the
axes and huge broadswords of the Chereks were terrible to behold,
and the Nadraks were afraid, and the Thulls quailed.
And the clash of arms resounded to the west also as the legions
and the Chereks closed with the Nadraks and the Thulls.
And once again Zedar the Sorcerer went unto the black iron
pavilion of the Dread Kal-Torak, and once again besought he the
Accursed One to come forth lest the host be overthrown by reason of
their enemies upon the left and upon the right and of the Mimbrates
who even then made great slaughter in the midst of the Malloreans.
And Kal-Torak spake unto him despitefully, saying, 'Art thou so
afraid, Zedar, of a handful of Mimbrates? Does thy heart fail thee in
the face of the ragged remnants of Drasnia and the tatters of Algaria
and the blind creeping things that burrowed forth from the ground
in Ulgo? Quailest thou before the fat, over-pampered legions of
Tolnedra and a few drunken barbarians from Cherek? My people are
Angarak, despoilers of the world. The horde is ' beyond counting,
and I am with them. No might in the world may stand against us
save only Cthrag-Yaska, and he who could raise Cthrag-Yaska
against me is no more. Return to the battle, Zedar, or flee and save
thy life. I will not come forth.'
And behold, it came to pass that from the forest to the north of the
city there emerged a silent host that cheered not, nor thundered, nor
trumpeted. Grey cloaks wore some or dun or smudged forest-green,
and came they from out of the forest in endless waves, grim-faced
and silent.
And the heart of Zedar fell as he beheld the coming of the Rivans.
And the rear ranks of the Malloreans turned and ran toward the
oncoming foe, but the forest-green warriors were Asturian bowmen,
and the Malloreans fell like mown wheat beneath the storm of their
arrows. And still the silent Rivans came, and with them the solid
men of Sendaria. And they closed with the host and slew the
Malloreans with abandon.
And once again Zedar went unto the black iron pavilion of
Kal Torak and spake unto the Accursed One, saying, 'Great Lord, I fear
not the remnants of Drasnia nor the tatters of Algaria nor the blind
things that creep beneath the earth in Ulgo; nor am I unquiet about
the handful of Mimbrate Knights, nor the pampered legions of
Tolnedra nor the Berserks of Cherek. Know, however, that thine