"No battle can be won

without cavalry"



A frightening noise rose above that of the centaurs in the midst of the charge and the dry mountain air filled with the nauseating stench of gunpowder, while the barricades disappeared behind a thick white smoke.

Athreia and her companions initially didn't even understand what had hit them, but nevertheless all of a sudden dozens of them fell disastrously onto the snow, dyeing it red.

Those who followed immediately behind instinctively tried to stop so as not to overwhelm their companions, but despite their powerful hooves it was not easy to stop a charge on frozen ground, and so many of them also fell, causing even more chaos.

Soon the smoke screen cleared, just in time for Athreia and the few who had not yet stopped the charge to see the enemy shooters rise and retreat, being replaced by their similarly armed comrades.

"Fire!"

The second volley was even more lethal, because by now many Furies had almost stopped, becoming easy targets, and in fact in this case there were many more deaths.

In the end, the charge inevitably stopped and no centaur reached the palisades, from which, despite everything, volleys of bullets endlessly continued to arrive. The worst thing was that the enemies mainly aimed at the equine half of the centaurs' bodies, often left exposed or poorly protected, thus managing to make them lose their balance and causing a lethal domino effect. And once a centaur fell it was not easy for him to get back on his feet, leaving him vulnerable.

Medea, who was not wearing any type of protection, tried to shoot some arrows and even managed to kill a couple of shooters, but this only had the effect of pushing the enemies to concentrate their fire on her.

"Medea, watch out!" her sister screamed, but was unable to prevent a bullet from hitting her in the arm.

"Commander, if we stay here they will massacre us!" said Stavros, protecting himself with his shield and at the same time trying to help some wounded comrades

There was no other choice.

They had to retreat.

"Move back! Retreat!"

The unit's iron discipline prevented the retreat from turning into a hasty escape, but it also gave the rebels the excuse not to stop shooting for a moment until the Furies went beyond the range of their infernal weapons.

Obviously the sight of the infamous Vanlian Furies retreating without even having actually fought pushed the mercenaries not to even try to advance themselves, despite Ignes' incitements, and what was thought to be a rapid ride towards victory became a colossal failure.

When the guns finally fell silent there were ten victims and twice as many wounded on the ground, who were taken away after agreeing to a two-hour truce.

The first battle, as far as Eirinn's forces were concerned, ended in the worst possible way.



Even if from my point of view the armies of Erthea were nothing more than cavemen still fighting with swords, spears and shields, facing a horde of charging centaurs with one hundred and twenty poor-quality muskets and an equal number of mediocre musketeers was madness.

Once while I was reading a book that my brother Giuseppe had sent me as a gift from the private collection of the Spanish Royal Family, I had read about a battle that had taken place in the Far East more than two hundred years earlier, at the dawn of the art of firearms.

A man – a genius or a fool, in my opinion – had succeeded in stopping a charge by simply placing his men behind wooden barriers and ordering them to fire in succession in three rows.

For someone who has never seen a musket in his life, the psychological effect of seeing an incessant volley of bullets coming at him must certainly have been something frightening, perhaps even more so than being hit by cannon fire.

Now I knew that was the case.

But not all that glitters is gold, and as usual it fell to me, the only realist in the group, to play the part of the bird of ill omen.

"Is this all the legendary strength of the centaurs?" Scalia said immediately after the fight ended. "Great warriors, give me a break. Great good-for-nothings."

I loved her, but sometimes I found her boldness and excessive confidence decidedly unbearable.

"Maybe, but let's not delude ourselves that it will end like this. This was just the beginning."

"Do you think they'll try again?" Septimus asked

"Absolutely. Have you seen their flags? The rampant centaur on a green background? They were the Vanlian Furies. It takes much more to worry such valiant warriors."

"Let them come, brother. We will welcome them in the same way."

"It's not so easy. First of all, this simple skirmish cost us nearly half the ammunition we had brought with us."

Not to mention that, contrary to what Zypax had said, many weapons had jammed or had actually exploded in the soldiers' hands, proving to be far from perfect.

"Besides, even the stupidest commander doesn't make the same mistake twice. The first time they underestimated us, the second time they will be better prepared."

"When do you think they will attack again?"

"I think I already have an idea. As you already know my friend, the one who attacks is the one who dictates the times in war. Tonight the moons will be waning, but the stars reflecting on the snow and ice will provide all the necessary light. And they will probably take advantage of it, hoping to catch us tired or asleep."

"Do you have any ideas on how to repel them?"

If I had had some cannons available it would not have been a problem, but the short time and the altitude prevented me from taking them with me.

Furthermore, it wouldn't have taken the enemy long to understand that for the moment our firearms were just a flash in the pan, that apart from frightening and making a scene they were not of much use, given that their practical results in battle were so poor.

"Maybe there is a solution. Sapi?"

"Yes, big brother?"

"I'll need your help."

"Anything you want."



"Is this all the legendary strength of the centaurs?"

Athreia knew she deserved the ridicule, and she remained motionless with her gaze lowered to endure Philippe's sarcastic comments.

"I would have expected much more from warriors of your fame, but a little noise and some strange weapons were enough to make you run away.»

"We have never seen weapons like these before. They caught us off guard."

"Victory in this battle is vital to ensuring the success of our operation. Everything had been carefully prepared. Now, however, I will have to send a messenger to my nephew to inform him that our plan will not be completed according to schedule."

"Perhaps it wasn't all in vain, General. Now we know what we're up against."

Athreia whistled, and Stavros entered the tent holding an armor in his hand, with a noticeable dent on the chest.

"Many of our soldiers who have been hit by those strange weapons have marks like this on their armors. At first I thought they were aiming for our equine parts to make us fall more easily, but now I suspect that they knew they couldn't pierce our protections. Now that we know this, just better protecting ourselves should be enough to make their weapons completely useless."

"In this case we will immediately return to the attack. Tonight."

"Perhaps it would be better to wait until tomorrow morning. It is likely that the enemy expects an attack during the night, and they may try to set some more traps for us by taking advantage of the darkness."

"You should be grateful to me instead of replying, Captain. If the pass is in our hands by dawn, the plan will not be delayed, and no one will ever know of your failure. What would His Majesty say about you if he knew that his trusted centaurs were repelled by a handful of rebels without even having fought?"

Athreia gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, but she knew she couldn't do anything; the Emperor's mandate placed her completely under Victor and his generals, so she was required to obey their orders.

"The battle plan remains the same. You will lead the way, and the mercenaries will follow you. You can go."

As soon as she left the tent Athreia went to visit her wounded.

"A few scratches and little else.» declared Kassia, the unit's doctor. "Some of them will be able to return to fighting very soon."

"I'm sorry to ask you to pick up your swords again immediately, my friends, but I fear I still need you. The General has decided to launch a new attack this night."

"Don't worry commander. Something like this won't stop us."

"Well said! You give us the order, and we'll be ready to charge again!"

"And this time we will wipe them out."

At least their enthusiasm hadn't suffered, despite the fact that they had lost more comrades in the last two hours than in the last two years.

But even though she was quite sure that the second attack would be very different, Athreia wanted to take an extra precaution.

"Medea, I want you to stay here tonight with Kassia and the other more seriously wounded."

"What!? Why!? Kassia says I can fight."

"Your injury is no small thing, and even if you fought you couldn't do it to the best of your ability."

Medea couldn't stand it when Athreia played the part of the overprotective sister, but when she was unable to answer her request to fully draw her bow due to the pain, she understood that perhaps for once it was wiser to listen to her.

"Don't worry, there will be other opportunities. This war has just begun. All you need is a little rest and you will be able to gallop at my side again."

"Okay. But you promise to be careful."

"As always."

"That's why I'm worried."



As darkness fell, the pass and the surrounding mountains were tinged with the magical color of the stars, shining with a soft blue light.

Athreia and her companions advanced slowly, to delay as much as possible the moment in which the enemy would notice them, giving them very little time to react.

When they came in sight of the same barricades where their first offensive had fallen, they found them deserted, with only a couple of sentries standing guard without magical lights or torches.

Perhaps they too believed the myth that centaurs were almost blind in the dark - in reality they simply saw a little less than humans - or perhaps they simply did not expect a new attack so soon.

"Now! Charge!"

Preceded by a first row of comrades covered in the heaviest armor and large reinforced shields, the Furies set off on the assault, raising a thick dust of snow.

The sentries fled just in time to avoid being overwhelmed, and with the fall of the first row of barricades the attackers already arrived in sight of the enemy camp.

"Let's not give them a break! They must not have time to organize themselves!"

Between them and the camp there was soon only a vast flat area, dotted with more barricades that went down like sticks under the force of their unstoppable charge.

Caught off guard, the rebels hastened to erect a wall of shields and spears, but it was clear that it would never be enough to stop such a hurricane.

The ice trembled as if it would break at any moment... and so it happened.

For no apparent reason the ground collapsed under the centaurs' hooves, revealing deep crevasses under the blanket of snow that swallowed many of them, especially those who, due to their armor, didn't have the necessary agility to save themselves.

Even Athreia almost fell into a chasm, managing to save herself only because Stavros who was galloping behind her grabbed her on time.

Because without knowing it, the Furies had ended up in a depression in the glacier dotted with large cracks, which over time had been covered by several meters of snow, so thick and compact that it could sustain heavy weights without difficulty.

But then, Athreia said to herself, how was it possible that the cover had shattered at that very moment?

The answer appeared to her loud and clear when she remembered seeing several wooden stakes sticking out of the snow in various places just before the ground collapsed.

"They split and damaged the snow cover so that it shattered as soon as we walked over it." Stavros said

"But how could they know where the crevasses were?"

They couldn't have known it, but it was all thanks to Sapi; nothing easier for a member of a species that by its very nature had always lived in symbiosis with snow and ice.

At that point the charge had stopped, and the rebels, far from unprepared, jumped out from behind some depressions attacking the Furies from both sides armed with long spears.

"Attack!" Verus shouted leading the way "And watch where you step!"

Confused but not tamed, Athreia and her men squared off, incredibly managing to withstand the blow and engaging the rebels in a furious melee.

And it was precisely because of the enemy's unexpected resistance that Daemon, witnessing the battle from the top of a hill, was unable to explain the failure of a second wave to arrive.

"I don't understand. Even though we stopped the charge, they still managed to start a clash, but if they wait any longer they will miss the opportunity to push. Why don't they send someone to help them?"

"Maybe they think they won't be able to hold on long enough." Septimus supposed, "On the other hand everyone know that there is not much respect for the Empire in Eirinn, and the Vanlian Furies are entirely part of the imperial army."

"That's the point. Their reputation is well known, and they might have expected that they would somehow distinguish themselves in combat. Why send them forward at the risk that they might take all the glory?"

An atrocious suspicion suddenly lit up in the head of the young general, who once he jumped up began to look around until he saw strange flashes on the mountain out of the corner of his eye.

"Damn it, I should have known better! Call the retreat, immediately!"

"What!?"

Unfortunately it was already too late.

As a firework rose into the night sky from the heart of the enemy camp, Eirinn's scouts on the hill lit the fuses of the explosive barrels they had packed into the mountainside.

First everyone heard a series of explosions, only partially masked by the roar of the battle, then, preceded by a dark sound heralding death, an enormous mass of snow broke away from the slopes of Mount Gael, descending downwards in the form of one of the most frightening avalanches ever seen.

"Quickly, let's take cover! Let's reach that hill up there"

"But Daemon, what about our companions down there?"

"We can't do anything for them, Scalia! If we stay here we will all die!"

The battle was such violent that no one on the plateau noticed anything until the first, very violent blast of air arrived.

Nobody had time to save themselves; the avalanche overwhelmed everything, hopelessly swallowing up everyone it encountered on its path and uniting those who until a moment before had fought each other in the same terrifying death.

It all ended within a few minutes, then a disconcerting silence fell upon the pass once again.



As the sun rose, the extent of the disaster that had struck both armies was revealed in all its horror.

The ground had risen at least three meters, to the point that the hill on which Daemon and the few who had managed to follow him had taken cover was now at the same level as the surrounding area.

The survivors set to work trying to find anyone alive, but corpses were all that emerged from the snow.

Verus was also found, dead, and it was very painful for Septimus to close his eyes. They had met briefly just before the Revolution broke out, and in the short time they spent side by side they almost managed to become friends.

"All these dead." Scalia said on the verge of tears "Our friends. Our companions. Why did it have to happen now?"

"I'm afraid it wasn't an accident."

"What!?"

"Right, Daemon?"

"I'm afraid that's the case. It was a voluntary choice. They let the avalanche come down in hopes of burying us all."

"But... but their companions were also there! I can't believe anyone would go this far to win a battle."

"For some, soldiers are nothing more than pieces on a chessboard, to be sacrificed without problems if necessary. And if they aren't even part of your army, sacrificing them causes you even fewer problems."

Sapi was just as shocked as Scalia, and walked around the area testing the snow under her paws; it was thanks to her that that plan had been able to be put into action, and now the hope of being able to find someone still alive was still up to her and her symbiotic relationship with the ice.

"There's someone still breathing down here!" she suddenly exclaimed, immediately starting to dig.