The Iron Forest: Ancestor's Legacy

Victor and Jinlin were prone behind a pile of stone and brush, waiting with shortened breath. They followed the soldiers to the Chotukhan stronghold, then took advantage of their pause to travel ahead. They reached the narrow pass near vertical cliffs on each side. Victor recognized the split in the ridge as a man-made cut that was once used for a long-buried highway.

His heart pounded as the convoy of soldiers and a wagon holding Sana approached. Jinlin didn’t appear to share in Victor’s anxiety. At least he didn’t show it. The wizard sat a little further back in what appeared to be meditation.

“Jinlin,” Victor called, but the old man remained still. “Jinlin, it’s almost time.”

The wizard sighed and crawled forward. “Yes. Yes. Yes. I’m coming. They are marching, not running at top speed.”

“No, but I need you to light the fires.”

Jinlin nodded and pulled out a silver tube. He flicked one end, letting out a thin blue flame.

Victor already piled several stacks of wood and the wizard set each one to flame. A stack of dynamite sat next to Victor while Jinlin kept a few positioned at key points along the cliff’s edge. It was all about timing and catching the Chotukhan off-guard.

“Remember how we planned,” Victor said, his voice trembling. “The idea is to create a kill zone to maximize the dynamite’s effectiveness.”

Jinlin nodded. “I still don’t know how much good we’ll be with no weapons.”

“Relax, my friend. If this works, there will be plenty of weapons lying around for us to use.”

“How much damage can these things do?”

“Lots. Just try not to kill Sana, if you don’t mind.” Victor didn’t know the specifics of a dynamite’s explosive power. He had a very good idea, but the age and size of the dynamites created a large amount of uncertainty.

Footsteps, hooves, and wagon wheels echoed through the stone cutaway. The column drew closer with each second.

“Get ready,” he whispered.

Jinlin scurried behind a pile of boulders and Victor did the same. He checked to see if the wizard still maintained eye contact, then waited. Come on… Come on… Just a little further…

The last soldier crossed into the pass just below Victor and he pressed the hot end of a burning branch to the fuse of several sticks that were lodged beneath a pile of rocks. A quick glance had Jinlin doing the same.

Victor retreated to the center of the pass and took cover between a couple of trees. He gasped at seeing the wizard still sat next to the dynamite he just lit. “Dammit, you fool. Get over here.” He darted over to the old man and drug him as far from the sparkling fuses as fast as he could.

A thunderous crash and a shower of rocks rained down on them from a blast that left Victor disorientated and ears ringing. Man-sized boulders launched forward at the front and back of the column. Jinlin gaped in shock.

After the rumbling stopped, they peered down to see piles of rocks and dozens of soldiers running about in a chaotic confusion.

Ears still ringing, Victor grabbed a bundle of dynamite sticks and pointed them at Jinlin, who lit the fuses immediately. Victor tossed them into the gorge and readied a few more.

Again and again, they launched the deadly explosives among the crowd below, taking care not to get too close to the wagon. Rocks and dirt blasted in all directions with ear-splitting screams.

Jinlin grinned after the final stick was tossed. “Charred Circuits! Where can I get more of that stuff?”

“Come on!” Victor jumped to his feet and slide down the mountainside.

Never had he seen such carnage. Men, some crawling, others limping, looked like the walking dead. The first one Victor approached lacked an arm but posed enough threat for him to kick with all his weight.

Jinlin shouted, “Victor! Behind you!”

He turned to see an elk sped past, tossing him off his feet. Strange, the rider looked a little like Sana.

After a few moments, the Chotukhan soldiers who survived the blast attacked. Victor snatched the closest weapon and prepared to fight.

“Get Sana. I’ll hold them off,” he shouted to Jinlin. With his sword held high, he blocked and parried with all the skills learned from Rajin. His experience was no match for the seasoned warriors, but their disorientated shock and what skills he lacked, he gained in determination. One fighter after another, he sliced and stabbed. Blood and sweat sprayed.

Nothing was going to get in between him and Sana… except for a seven-foot-tall man with a five-foot sword that was heading his way.

Giants exist then.

*****

Sana came to, covered in rock and dust. Muffled sounds reverberated in her ears. The world spun as she sat up, adding to her confusion. Men shifted from side to side: missing arms or legs.

Someone was yanking at her chains. She jerked away—Jinlin. He shouted, but she heard no sound—just a constant ringing.

The bolt popped from the wagon, but her shackles restricted any movement. Jinlin grabbed her wrists and pounded on the retaining pin with a fist-sized stone. The wrapping of the rock grew louder as the ringing in her ears subsided. Blood flowed to her fingers as the shackles released its grips. Jinlin went to work on her ankles, but a Chotukhan soldier appeared, sword held high.

“Go. I’ll get the rest!” she shouted above the chaos. The ankle pins gave way quicker than the wrists.

Free from her chains, Sana stood as Jinlin swung a spear against a pair of soldiers coming his way. She saw then that Victor fought across the gorge. What grabbed her attention was a massive man heading straight for him.

“Victor!”

He appeared to have held his own against the soldiers, but General Balon came from a class of his own. The massive fighter unsheathed his sword that shimmered the afternoon sun. She darted toward the general, picking up a fallen spear.

Victor’s fight ended with his sword cleaved in two and him lying on his back. The general reared for a killing blow, sending his blade down.

Sana thrust herself and her spear between Victor and the sword’s edge. The blade dug deep into the spear’s shaft.

“Sana!”

“Get out of the way!” She flung General Balon’s sword aside.

He backed a step to adjust, and Sana did the same with a flurry of her spear. They circled each other to assess both skill and stature. She wasn’t stronger than him; no one was. Therefore, she needed speed and agility to win this fight. She needed to be better.

“I will enjoy this, little one.” He grinned.

She smiled at that. “So will I.”

General Balon lunged, but Sana darted away, forcing him to keep moving. With each swing, she ducked. The blade whistling as it cut through the air, again and again. He growled in annoyance, and she found an opening, but his plate armor proved impenetrable. He blocked and pulled a reverse swing that snapped her spear in two.

Doubt ran through her mind, but she had to win. What she needed was some kind of window in his thick armor. He took another wide swing. Between his breast and backplate, Sana found a patch of bare cloth. She lunged, slid, and thrust her half spear deep into General Balon’s side. He howled and pulled at the weapon—it didn’t budge.

But the man still fought. His swings were wild and burdened.

After another swing, General Balon fell to his knees—blood spilling from his mouth. His grip on his sword’s hilt loosened, dropping it at her feet. The man stared back with respect.

“You truly are the queen.” More blood poured down his chin. “Please, honor me.” He slumped forward, heaving a mixture of air and blood.

Sana gripped his heavy sword and put all her strength into a swing that cleaved his head from his shoulder. The sound of steel against bone rang throughout the gorge. A fitting end to the man who killed my people, but more blood will spill till I have my vengeance. She fetched her spear still strapped to his back, and grabbed his head as well. The few remaining Chotukhan soldiers dropped their weapons in surrender at seeing her holding it high.

Sana approached one man, who knelt at her presence. “Do you know who I am?”

“Yes, my queen,” he said with reverence. She was surprised at how young he looked, more of a boy than a man.

“Good, take this to King Shunlin.” Sana tossed the head to him. “Tell him the Shankur will not be defeated.”

The man glanced up, hesitating.

“Go! Now!” She pointed toward Gathal. “Before I take your head, too.”

The Chotukhan soldier scrambled over the pile of boulders blocking the gorge.

Sana’s rage still boiled. She said nothing, but walked among the dead in a hastened search. Only five soldiers survived. Sana approached another with her spear in hand. He looked back at her with defiance. Who did you kill? My Father? The baker? Were you the one who butchered the children? To her, it didn’t matter. He was Chotukhan and deserved justice for Maholin.

She reared back to send her spear through him, but Jinlin snatched her by the arm. “We should leave before they send the entire army, my dear.”

Sana glanced ahead at some of the remaining Chotukhan soldiers running away. No. We need to hunt them down like the animals they are. “Where’s my brother?” she snapped, pulling away from the wizard. “He has to be around here somewhere.”

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have time—”

“He has the key!”

Jinlin’s eyes grew wide. “Charred circuits!”

“If you’re talking about a man riding an elk, then I’m afraid he escaped before the fighting started,” Victor said. “Damn, near ran me over.”

Sana’s shoulder slumped, and she dropped to her knees. Killing General Balon was a partial victory. But soon, King Shunlin would have the key and the means to destroy everything. “We have to go after him.”

Jinlin shook his head. “No chance. We’ll never catch up to him. He should be halfway to Gathal by now.”

She didn’t want to admit how right he was. A man on the back of an elk can travel three times as fast. All she can do is hope for enough time to march on Gathal with an army to stop King Shunlin before he awakened Abaddon.

Victor and Jinlin bound the surviving soldiers with rope and left the dead for the crows. Their only option was to head north along the Eagle Mountain range and then west to the Iron Forest. It was a slight setback, but the route ensured they would avoid any Chotukhan engagements. Sana contained little doubt the nearby encampment and stronghold heard the explosions.

With all the options before her, she knew what she needed to do.

“I have to return to my people.”

“Now?” Victor asked.

She nodded. “I’m afraid so. The Chotukhan are planning to attack my village and I have to warn them. Many will die if I don’t.”

“But what about the Shainxu—the Iron Forest?”

Sana held up a hand when Victor took a step towards her. “I’m sorry, Victor. But I have to do this.” She pointed to Jinlin with her thumb. “I think you are in good company already. Master Jinlin will see to it you will make it there safely.”

Jinlin puffed out his chest. “I will protect him with my life.”

That made her smile. “Thank you, my friend.”

“Sana.”

She avoided eye contact with Victor. She disliked goodbyes, and already missed him.

It’s for the best. Sana turned and began the long walk back to her village. She refused to look back, even though she could feel his eyes on her. She questioned whether they would see each other again. Just the thought of —

She turned and dropped her spear. “Victor!”

He opened his arms wide.

With a clash, they embraced—lips locked together in a kiss that washed away her pain and doubt.

“Promise me I will see you again,” Victor whispered, running his hands through her hair.

She pressed her face against his chest and nodded. “I promise. If not in this life, then the next.” With a gentle touch, she pulled away, but kept his hands in hers. “Now go. Speak to the Shainxu and help me save my people.”

“I will.”