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FOUR
    The War Begins
    “Archers!”
    Piper Joach clenched his jaw in anticipation. He wanted to smile. The simple thought of extracting a measure of revenge on the same enemy who had thoroughly embarrassed him made his blood hot. Prince Aurec deserved an arrow through his heart and more for that alone. This was a matter of pride, but deep inside he knew it wasn’t enough. Skirmishers and ambushers were one matter. This was the Wolfsreik’s first real test against Rogscroft infantry battalions. His expression soured. Aurec was not on the field.
    The battle, which shouldn’t have happened, developed over the last week. Wolfsreik scouts hounded the enemy out of their hiding places, forcing them into the open where they’d be vulnerable. General Rolnir used the diversion to push his main body ahead of the retreat, effectively cutting off the disorganized Rogscroft soldiers from reinforcements. Or so they hoped. War was always the fickle bitch.
    Piper failed to understand how Aurec let his heavily outnumbered forces get caught in such a simple trap. Trained to an extent yet hardly seasoned, Aurec’s army was better suited to hit and run guerilla tactics. Meeting the enemy on the open field in rank and file was tantamount to suicide. It left Piper with an uneasy feeling. The trap had been too easy to set, as if Aurec allowed it to happen. He briefly contemplated abandoning the field just to see how Aurec would respond.
    The battlefield was good ground. Neutral, but good. There was a slight slope of almost negligible grade that would serve a heavy cavalry charge but, as Piper had already learned the hard way, the snows were too deep for the effective use of heavy horse. Fortunately the Wolfsreik was primarily heavy infantry. Lightly forested hills formed a natural barrier on the right flank and a small river babbled softly on the left. The only way for Aurec’s army to escape was straight through the Wolfsreik.
    He watched the enemy infantry crouch down behind their heavy wooden shields as the flight of arrows sped down towards them. Piper had been there many times as well over the course of his career. It was an unpleasant feeling. The panic and the fear. The surge of adrenaline as the whistle of incoming arrows built to a screech. It was capped off with a symphony of screams and cries from the dead and dying. An archery assault was, in Piper’s mind, the worst fate on the battlefield.
    He gave his field commander a tight nod.
    “Fire.”
    The first flight perforated the air. Piper almost wished he’d order the shafts to be set on fire. Fire was much more demoralizing than a simple attack.
    “Nock!” the field commander ordered.
    Three ranks of archers obeyed. Three flights of arrows sped away. Piper was disinclined to wait for a response from his foes. He immediately ordered a battalion of pike men forward while the defenders were still in disarray. Ranks of swordsmen followed with cavalry waiting on the flanks should the attack stall. Piper Joach dispassionately watched the battle unfold. He had no love of the enemy, but where there had once been nothing, utter contempt had grown. He wouldn’t stop until Rogscroft burned to the ground.
    The distance between the two armies closed quickly. The defenders were in a simple linear formation. Four ranks sat high on sloping ground. Basic wooden barriers had been hastily erected. They clearly had not been expecting the speed with which the Wolfsreik marched. The underestimation was going to cost them dearly. Piper scanned the tree line on both sides of the enemy position half hoping that Aurec and his murdering army would magically appear at the last moment. Vindication fueled his rage.
    “Commander Prost, advance the archers so they can range that tree line. I do not want any surprises once we are fully committed,” he ordered.
    Prost stopped giving an order to one of the message runners and took a quick glance to where Piper pointed. “Sir, I don’t think that