A Soldier's Life

Chapter 64: Raelia the Griffin Rider-flashback (POV Chapter voted on by Patreon readers)

Chapter 64: Raelia the Griffin Rider-flashback (POV Chapter voted on by Patreon readers)

Chapter 64

Raelia walked the camp, looking for the meal tent for the riders. She had seen it from up in the air before she landed, and it should be near this abandoned farmhouse. There, she spotted it. The tent flaps were green and not black this time. She walked inside to the smell of food being cooked.

The cook plated her some food with a smile, and she took the plate to a table to sit opposite Zyila, her commander. The tall, lean elf woman smiled, “Raelia, the food is good tonight. A sweet pepper sauce over brown rice and shredded venison.”

“You took down the deer, didn’t you,” Raelia smiled back. “You are always telling us never to risk combat from our mounts, yet you do it every flight!”

Zyila smirked, “Well, I answer to your brother. You answer to me.”

“I am sure you answer to him a lot in his tent—privately,” Raelia retorted and quickly received a kick to her shin from her commander.

“Not when we are on a campaign,” she scolded Raelia. However, it was not a well-kept secret. “The other generals on the campaign would frown on me distracting him.”

Raelia tasted the food, “Ugh, too sweet. They must have added honey again.” Her commander tried to hide a smile, “It was you? You asked for it.”

“When you are the one who brings in a three-hundred-pound fresh game animal for the table, the cooks tend to honor your requests,” Zyila said, shoveling the food into her mouth with a smile.

After they both finished the meal, Raelia asked, “What are my orders?”

Zyila rolled her eyes, “The postings are twenty feet away on the tent wall. Fine! You lazy elf. You are circling the city from two miles above with Nessa, Elanor, Daena, and Yavanna. We are attacking tonight as planned. I will fly out and ensure the Duke’s army has been delayed.”

She started to guide Moonclaw with her legs, guiding him with the stirrups and squeezes of her thighs. He was sensitive to her body movements and understood what she wanted. The important thing she needed to do was shield the fireball as she formed it. Otherwise, it would be like a beacon in the sky to the defenders.

She mentally worked the weave of her aether into the spell forms. Layering the aether in a well-practiced action. She would have to dive to get into range to release the ball of fire, though. She needed to remain unseen. The glowing ball of destructive heat twisted between her cupped hands as she squeezed her knees and dug her heels in. Moonclaw dove at the unspoken command.

The range of her magic fire was one hundred and twenty feet. She needed to get about a hundred feet away and release on the dive. Moonclaw knew this as well and would rise after the fireball was released. She was focused on the tower on the left. There was definitely a mage there. She revealed the light of her prepared spell and was about to throw it when the spell forms dissolved in her hand. She grabbed the reigns and pulled hard. The mage in the tower had seen her and disrupted her spell form. She needed to...

Moonclaw shrieked in pain as an arrow protruded from his wing, with wispy black tendrils wrapping his wing. He could not flap to turn away from the city. There was no time as she tried to get him to land on a rooftop in the city. Moonclaw came up short and crashed hard into the building. As they fell between two buildings, the griffin did his best to spare his chosen rider.

The ground came fast, and she never had time to activate her featherfall device. It would have minimized her own body mass and made the crash less impactful. Instead, Moonclaw bounced on the ground, and the impact tossed Raelia out of her saddle and into a building, breaking ribs and wrenching her knee. She must have hit her head because she was dazed as well.

When she got senses, and back to her feet, Moonclaw was protecting the alley from a squad of legionaries. Moonclaw was injured and overmatched. She tried to form a fireball, but her head hurt too much, and she could not focus. Moonclaw shrieked in pain. She couldn’t help him. She cried as she limped away into the alley, looking for a place to hide. Moonclaw, her friend that she had raised from an egg, would buy her time. She wiped the tears and focused on escape.

She took a simple healing potion on her belt. As its effects spread, her mind started to clear as she hobbled away. The potion was not enough to heal her ribs or knee, but it did give her back enough sense of mind to cast magic. A shifting light came up behind her. The legionaries were already on her. Fucking legionaries! Anger welled in her as they killed her mount and friend. It was not the first friend she had lost to the Telhian legionnaires either.

She timed the approaching light, spun with her daggers drawn, parried the sword strike, went into a roll, and came up in a crouch, grimacing from partially healed injuries. The legionnaire looked surprised she had evaded his attack. He was just staring at her like an idiot. “I will kill you, legionnaire.” She rasped in his own tongue. Blood trickled from her lips as she spoke. At least her ribs felt slightly better from the potion, but she probably had a damaged lung, as breathing was difficult.

As she waited for the legionnaire to attack, loud booms came from the outer wall. She smirked, knowing her brother was probably sending all three assault elements at the wall in an attempt to save his stupid sister, who had crashed into the city. She just needed to hide until he got his forces inside the city. She thought Zylia would scream at her for this, and her brother would probably have her exiled from the Riders. First, she needed to survive long enough.

The large booms had the young human legionnaire nervous. His long black hair was matted with sweat under his metal legionarie helm. He held his short sword with skill but seemed reluctant to attack. She needed to stall him while her mind worked the spell forms for a fireball, “Your city will return to us, and the duke’s army will not save you!” She said with as wicked a smile as she could conjure through the pain.

He relaxed in his defensive stance, underestimating her. He started to talk, “Can you just...” She finished her spell form and ignited her fireball...