Read The Wind and the Void for Free Online Page A
Authors: Ryan Kirk
is going to work, our people need to be united as one. I will station several of my closest advisers with you, and if there are any challenges, we can deal with them when I return.”
“As you will, my lord.”
Tanak laughed. “Have no fear, Akira. This partnership will work.”
Chapter 3
Nameless stood on the walls of his newly-won fort and looked south into Azaria. He wondered what those who had stood here before him had thought. Had they believed they were looking on a savage and barren land? Nameless had never known any land but Azaria. Even as they made plans to depart, he would always consider it home. There was a part of him that felt regret. Not for the blood he had spilled or the battle that would come, but regret that the only way he had found to save his people was to leave their homeland. He wished there was another way, but nothing occurred to him.
The sun was high in the sky, but still the freezing winds blew down from the pass. The blizzard had been raging for days, and the scouts who braved the pass reported inhospitable conditions. Deep snow and avalanches had already cost Nameless some of his best scouts. In the plains below the fort his people were camped, but daily it seemed they retreated against the onslaught of the cold. Nameless feared the coming winter. The demon-kind were already ranging far and wide to bring in enough food for the camp, and he worried they wouldn’t bring enough to maintain solidarity through the season. The People were not meant to stay in one place.
But those were decisions for another day. Nameless had to give credit to the man who had commanded this fort. His men stood firm against the demon-kind, refusing to break ranks though many were killed night after night. Even more impressive, the commander had held the fort for over a full day with only a few hundred men. He had given his retreating army time to make it through the pass before it closed for the winter.
Nameless could have killed them all that first day, but he had made the decision to leave the final assault of the fort to the clans, not the demon-kind. His first strategy had been to send in the demon-kind only. From what he knew of the people of the Three Kingdoms, he had expected the army to shatter after a few days of the attacks. He had hoped to take the fort without casualties to the clans. It had all gone to plan, except the army holding the fort had not broken as he had expected. There was a steel within the men he hadn’t predicted.
Then the news came that most of the army was retreating and the pass was closing. Nameless decided to let the clans have their chance at taking the fort. It meant a greater loss of life, but Nameless assumed with only a few hundred men guarding the walls, the clans would be able to take it easily. The People needed to remember this wasn’t just about the demon-kind. This was a victory for all of them. He had held his demon-kind back, but again he had underestimated his opponents. They had held for a full day. It hadn’t been much, but it had been enough. Now he was stuck on the wrong side of the Three Sisters as winter settled in.
Nameless rolled his shoulders back and sighed. There was little to do about it now. Their only choice was to wait. With any luck, spring would come early. He had made a mistake, but the past couldn’t be changed. Only this moment mattered.
He had sent twenty pairs of demon-kind through the Southern Kingdom over the game trails that were just barely open. Their orders were specific. They were to spread fear and terror throughout the Southern Kingdom. Nameless might not be able to lead the People across the pass this winter, but when they marched in the spring, he expected to find a land torn apart by fear. The army had held, but the people of the Three Kingdoms never would. They were too weak. Nameless smiled. He was delayed, but he wouldn’t fail his people.
Nameless was out in the fields watching some of
“As you will, my lord.”
Tanak laughed. “Have no fear, Akira. This partnership will work.”
Chapter 3
Nameless stood on the walls of his newly-won fort and looked south into Azaria. He wondered what those who had stood here before him had thought. Had they believed they were looking on a savage and barren land? Nameless had never known any land but Azaria. Even as they made plans to depart, he would always consider it home. There was a part of him that felt regret. Not for the blood he had spilled or the battle that would come, but regret that the only way he had found to save his people was to leave their homeland. He wished there was another way, but nothing occurred to him.
The sun was high in the sky, but still the freezing winds blew down from the pass. The blizzard had been raging for days, and the scouts who braved the pass reported inhospitable conditions. Deep snow and avalanches had already cost Nameless some of his best scouts. In the plains below the fort his people were camped, but daily it seemed they retreated against the onslaught of the cold. Nameless feared the coming winter. The demon-kind were already ranging far and wide to bring in enough food for the camp, and he worried they wouldn’t bring enough to maintain solidarity through the season. The People were not meant to stay in one place.
But those were decisions for another day. Nameless had to give credit to the man who had commanded this fort. His men stood firm against the demon-kind, refusing to break ranks though many were killed night after night. Even more impressive, the commander had held the fort for over a full day with only a few hundred men. He had given his retreating army time to make it through the pass before it closed for the winter.
Nameless could have killed them all that first day, but he had made the decision to leave the final assault of the fort to the clans, not the demon-kind. His first strategy had been to send in the demon-kind only. From what he knew of the people of the Three Kingdoms, he had expected the army to shatter after a few days of the attacks. He had hoped to take the fort without casualties to the clans. It had all gone to plan, except the army holding the fort had not broken as he had expected. There was a steel within the men he hadn’t predicted.
Then the news came that most of the army was retreating and the pass was closing. Nameless decided to let the clans have their chance at taking the fort. It meant a greater loss of life, but Nameless assumed with only a few hundred men guarding the walls, the clans would be able to take it easily. The People needed to remember this wasn’t just about the demon-kind. This was a victory for all of them. He had held his demon-kind back, but again he had underestimated his opponents. They had held for a full day. It hadn’t been much, but it had been enough. Now he was stuck on the wrong side of the Three Sisters as winter settled in.
Nameless rolled his shoulders back and sighed. There was little to do about it now. Their only choice was to wait. With any luck, spring would come early. He had made a mistake, but the past couldn’t be changed. Only this moment mattered.
He had sent twenty pairs of demon-kind through the Southern Kingdom over the game trails that were just barely open. Their orders were specific. They were to spread fear and terror throughout the Southern Kingdom. Nameless might not be able to lead the People across the pass this winter, but when they marched in the spring, he expected to find a land torn apart by fear. The army had held, but the people of the Three Kingdoms never would. They were too weak. Nameless smiled. He was delayed, but he wouldn’t fail his people.
Nameless was out in the fields watching some of