Thunder rained down from the heavens.
The dampened earth shifted as footsteps trod upon it. Soldiers from either side cried out as their armoured feet gave out on contact with the slippery surface. Their bodies were dirtied by more than the mud as they were quietly silenced.
Though, there was little to be heard from one amongst the chaos that ensued.
A resounding crack tore through the battlefield, though it meant nothing to the men who were engrossed in their own fights. There was little consideration for anything but their own lives as the rain made orders useless. A massive tree, struck by a bolt of lightning, smeared mud and soldiers into the earth as it fell. Its hefty trunk gave way to gravity as it rolled, claiming more lives in the loss of its own.
A single man on a horse took advantage of the fallen tree, urging the men to either side of him to follow its path. “Onward men!” Whoever had been fortunate enough to draw breath after the tree’s charge, was trampled in the second wave of men. They parted around the tree, as some archers began to scale it to gain the advantage of height. Their arrows rained down on the enemies as the infantry clashed at the edges of the tree.
“Over! Climb over and clear a path for the tree to get momentum!” The man on the horse cried out. His words were drowned out by the battle. Thunder roared overhead, its deafening clash came with a brief lapse in the torrent rain. His words, repeated in desperation, rang out in the silence. A rush of men scaled the tree, diving into the fray on the other side. Their sudden presence slammed into the enemy line that pushed against the tree. The tree, free from the hands of the men at its base began to slide along the slick earth as the man atop the horse continued to yell orders at his men.
“To the walls! We get to the walls and we can claim victory men!”
Their cries seemed to clash with the thunder above, drawing the nerves within the enemies. They could feel the tide of war shifted heavily against them. The sight of the tree, slowly picking up speed from the slant incline caused them to look up. Above it, the sky glared down at them with its thunder and lightning. The clouds, in their infinite darkness, spewed the cold water that sapped the strength from their bodies. They shivered, first in the frigidity of the weather and then as the fright crept up their spines.
There was a sense that they were faced against more than just the army of the man atop the horse.
“Commander, look out!”
In an obscene display, a branch from the tree snapped off as it rotated. In some odd, logic-defying manner, it flew directly towards the cavalryman’s face. Quicker than he could react, it was upon him. Quicker than he could blink, it caught the head of an arrow and brushed past his face. He sat on his horse blinking as the men around him stared at him in disbelief. His eyes slowly moved to the sky which thundered menacingly. Yet, he felt a strange sense of comfort from the inviting darkness. It seemed to compel him to push forward. The cool touch of the rain sent a rush of vigour through his body. As he cast his eyes down past the top of the rolling tree, he could see the enemy cowering before him. He could see the castle walls, begging him to reclaim them. He knew that he would soon return to the bed that had been stolen from him all of these years.
“The will of the Gods has been declared. Victory is all that stands before us! There is no need to concern yourself with tired legs, the enemy’s buckle in fear! There is no need to think about the shivers from the cold, the enemy shivers in fear! March on not into battle, my brothers! March on into the welcoming embrace of victory that the Gods have chosen for us!”
The sky roared along with the men, spewing a massive bolt of lightning that shattered one of the towers. Bodies and bows were flung into the air, earning more cheers from the men around the commander. The tree picked up momentum, forcing a path to be cleared as it moved. The men followed its path, finishing the work the tree failed to accomplish as they split the enemy in two.
“Sir, won’t they close in on our men?”
The commander looked down at the soldier beside him. He notched an arrow and freed it. The projectile lodged into an exposed hand, carrying the motion of the sword in it past its target’s back.
“They’ve all witnessed what we have. There is nothing to be gained for them in this battle but death. Aside from that, there is no one to raise their morale.” The commander commented easily as he pointed to the front gates. The enemy commander was strung from a massive pole, next to a white flag that waved over the castle walls.
The commander’s lips parted into a grin as he sheathed his blade. “It’s one thing to face off against man. It’s something else entirely to face off against God.” His words were left for the man as he urged his horse onward to reap the rewards of the battle.
“Why couldn’t I have chosen someone who knew how to hide their identity in battle?” The sight of the battlefield w