Part I

Part II. 

Part III. 

Part IV. 
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1693, A.D.  Castle in the city of Rostov. 

The light armored scout knelt before the general.  "The enemies gather around the castle like the clouds around the moon, my lord." 

"Well, we'll have to be like the wind and scatter them like clouds, don't we?" said the pale knight with long, shiny black hair glistening in the candlelight.  "What's the situation?"

"We have the Army of the Khanate, from the west.  15'000 strong, a mixed group.  Mostly cavalry archers and some heavy cavalry.  2'000 from the Commonwealth, heavy infantry.  500 knights, 1300 pikemen and billmen and 200 powder, coming down the north pass.  10'000 from the Ottomans, mixed group.  Archers, powder, light infantry, 300 heavy cavalry coming in from the east.  The Tsardom sends 300 Cossacks, all light cavalry, from the northeast.  We still have the southern road to the harbor secure, but the Ottomans have deployed their ships to Kerch and have blockaded the sea of Azov." 

"And what about our numbers?", asked the knight, picking up his black and red breastplate.  Strapping it on, he admired the raven on his chest on the mirror in front of him.  His attendant held the backplate in his hands. 

"The Council has decided to send the jaws of the legion to you.  The four fangs are waiting to report to you with a full detachment 28 from Wallachia and Transylvania.  There's 17 of us left in the castle that is capable to fight.  Only 5 of them real fighters.  The other 12 are green.  Recruited less than 3 days ago.  They have no training, have no idea how to harness their powers yet.  A single arrow will end them.  We have moved the First among us into the stronghold, and the three remaining of the Twelve guard him there.  You also have my blade, my lord." 

The knight, fully armored, put on his black and red helmet.  When he lowered the visor, the helmet came to a point, resembling the beak of the raven.  His attendant held the red shield with the black raven on it.  The knight checked the handle of his sword, reached his left arm out for the shield.  The attendant fitted the shield over his arm. 

"Send the green ones to the stronghold with the Twelve.  Have the remaining three of the Twelve teach the green ones as much as they can, as soon as they can.  Have the five able ones in the castle man each of the towers.  Tell them to let no one breach the walls.  Have the four fangs meet me on the battlements.  Bring me my standard", he said.  "And you", he said to the scout.  "You come with me."

The attendant grabbed the eight foot tall spear with a vertical banner, bearing the standard of the First among us.  It was a great honor to wield the banner of the First, but the situation was grim.  There were more than 27'000 troops headed towards the city, and will be at the gates of the castle in less than two hours.  The attendant struggled with the weight of the standard.  He snatched the standard from the attendant with just one hand and went up to the battlements.  The scout stood to the right of the knight.  He said, "The five on the tower won't last long, my lord", his voice full of concern.

"I don't intend any to reach the towers.  If they reach the walls, that means I have already failed.", said the knight with a grim voice. 

Outside, the armies of the four nations were seen greeting each other.  Thousands of torches created a shimmering sea of fire washing down towards the city below.  No one is left in the city now.  They were all dead.  Everyone in Zachatievsky Cathedral, Savior Church-na-Senyakh, the sombre Church of St. Gregory, and the barbican churches of St. John the Apostle and of the Resurrection of Christ...  All dead.  The archbishop himself burned alive with a handful followers when they burned down the sombre Church of St. Gregory.  It was said that amidst the screams and the fire, you could still hear the voice of the archbishop reciting prayers over the people.  The other churches all looted and destroyed, many of the areas lay in smoldering ruins. 

The four fangs, dressed in identical white plate armour walked up behind the red knight.  They bowed deeply and moved to each side of him, two to a side. 

"The situation is worse than you think, my lord.", they hissed in unison.  "The knights from the Commonwealth are a combination of Teutonic knights and Templars.  Six of the retainers of the Templar knights are Hunters ordained by Clemens Decimus himself." 

"Hm", the red knight huffed.  "This keeps getting more and more interesting by the minute.  So where are the rest of you teeth?" 

The disapproval in being called "teeth" could be heard through their angry hisses.  "The jaws of the legion are ready for you to deploy as you see fit.  They will strike their targets true, they will strike their targets hard.  The jaws of the legion will not let go until the kill is made."  The four fangs hissed together. 

"Fine.  Half of you are to take your men and go by stealth, to the Ottoman Fleet blockading the sea of Azov at Kerch.  Let no ship above water.  Do this with haste, then come back around by land and hit the Ottoman army from the rear.  The other half will sneak out the southeast gate, meet the Cossacks from the Tsardom, flank the Khanate's cavalry.  Eventually, the jaws will clamp down on the Commonwealth." 

"And you sir?", asked the scout. 

"Why, I have to meet our guests by the front gate, of course".  He replied. 

"Then we shall see you in the middle, biting down on the Commonwealth.", hissed the fangs together, excused themselves to get the jaws of the legion ready.  The red knight stood on top of the battlements with his arms crossed.  The army of four nations were three furlongs away from the edge of the city. 

"What am I to do sir?", asked the scout. 

"You may come with me, if you wish.  Keep me company while I'm in battle.", said the knight. 

"As you wish, my lord."

"And me sir?", asked the attendant. 

"You, my boy", said the red knight facing the attendant.  "You have the most important role to play in this.  You are to stay right here.  By my side.  You have been like a son to me.  You have served me faithfully since you were a little boy.  I want to thank you."  He lifted up his visor.  The red knight's grey eyes had a hint of sadness to them.  He hugged the attendant fiercely.  "Thank you."  He hugged a little tighter.  "Now for your final act of service."

The knight bit down on the attendant's neck.  The attendant's eyes opened wide.  He started to struggle violently, but the knight had his arms wrapped tightly around the attendant.  The attendant's eyes bulged with every pulse as his fingers clawed desperately at the forged steel shell.  The red knight drank and drank.  He didn't spill a drop.  The attendant's eyes were beginning to shut and his struggles became weaker with each pulse.  Soon, he closed his eyes, his legs went limp and he collapsed into the red knight's arms.  The red knight pulled his head back from the attendant's neck and he turned around, still holding the attendant up by his armpits. 

"Take him", he said to the scout.  The scout extended his arms and the knight rolled the attendant's limp body on to the scout's arms.  "Finish him.  He still has quite a bit of blood left in him.  Be sure to thank him."  The scout gave a short word of sincere thanks and drank the rest of his blood.  The attendan't cold, grey corpse was then tossed over the battlements. 

"We'll just take a moment to let that settle in, then we'll go down there to meet them", said the red knight.  He could already feel the attendant's blood coursing through him.  He remembered flashes of the attendant's life, the shock of seeing his lord drink someone's blood the first time, the gradual acceptance of his fate, to adding blood into every drink he could give to the knight.  His memory was now preserved in the mind of both the red knight and the scout. 

The scout flashed the first horse ride the attendant ever took, the girl he noticed at the market, that one late night summer when she and he met behind the mill and the problems it ultimately caused.  Soon, the red knight and the scout felt the rush of blood coursing through their veins and feeling charged, with their senses heightened, the scout looked over at the knight. 

The knight pulled down his visor and said, "Well, I think it's time to take after the fine example our attendant had bravely set and go down to meet the enemy." 

"Yes, my lord."

The knight put one foot on the lower part of the battlements and stood up on it.  He set his other foot on the top part of the battlement, rested his shield arm on his knee.  He held up the standard of the First high up in the air.  Then he jumped down.  The scout hurdled over the battlements and followed the red knight down.  The area surrounding the street leading out of the main gate had been destroyed by the fire already.  The Ottomans to the left, the Khanate and the Tsardom to the right, the Commonwealth dead ahead, less than a furlong. 

The soldiers from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth saw the red knight and the scout and started chanting, "Quis est iste Rex Gloriae?!" ("Who was that King of Glory?!")

The red knight stuck the standard of the First deep into the ground and unsheathed his sword.  It was a zweihander named woe.  He screamed, "Ego sum Rex Gloriae!" ("I am King of Glory!")  His voice boomed over the shouts of the Commonwealth and the Ottoman solders screaming, "Allahu akbar!" 

The red knight rushed towards the soldiers of the Commonwealth.  The scout was right behind him with his falchion drawn.  "This looked to be a night of exertion of forces, my lord."

"That all depends on how hungry you are, my friend", sand the knight after a chuckle. 

The powder soldiers of the Commonwealth were in the fire position and the pikemen and the billmen had their weapons dug into the ground, their points facing the two charging into a sea of enemies. 

With a loud crack, the powder soldiers launched their first volley.  The white smoke lingered in the air, covering everything. 

The knights from the commonwealth observed calmly from their horses, waiting for the smoke to clear. 

-To be Continued-

Thanks in advance for reading it.  I'm off to bed now.  It's late.  The other story tomorrow, ok?  I'll get to it. 

G'night! 

:D