A Joust of Knights

Erec shook his head.

“They were following us the whole time,” he said, realizing. “They were just waiting to show themselves.”

“Waiting for what?” Strom asked.

Erec turned and looked back over his shoulder, upriver.

“That,” he said.

Strom turned and studied the narrowing river.

“They waited until the river’s most narrow point,” Erec said. “Waited until we had to sail single file and were too deep to turn back. They’ve got us exactly where they want us.”

Erec looked back at the fleet, and as he stood there, he felt an incredible sense of focus, as he often did when leading his men and finding himself in times of crisis. He felt another sense kick in, and as often happened in times like these, an idea occurred to him.

Erec turned to his brother.

“Man that ship beside us,” he commanded. “Take up the rear of our fleet. Get every man off of it – have them board the ship beside it. Do you hear me? Empty that ship. When the ship is empty, you’ll be the last to leave it.”

Strom looked back, confused.

“When the ship is empty?” he echoed. “I don’t understand.”

“I plan to wreck it.”

“To wreck it?” Strom asked, dumbfounded.

Erec nodded.

“At the most narrow point, where the river banks meet, you will turn that ship sideways and abandon it. It will create a wedge – the dam that we need. No one will be able to follow us. Now go!” Erec yelled.

Strom jumped into action, following his brother’s orders, to his credit, whether he agreed with them or not. Erec sailed his ship alongside his others and Strom leapt from one rail to the other. As he landed on the other ship, he began barking orders, and the men broke into action, all of them jumping, one at a time, off their ship and onto Erec’s.

Erec was concerned as he watched their ships begin to drift apart.

“Man the ropes!” Erec called out to his men. “Use the hooks – hold the ships together!”

His men followed his command, running to the side of the ship, hoisting the grappling hooks and throwing them through the air, hooking them onto the ship beside them and yanking with all their might so that the ships stopped drifting apart. It sped up the process, and dozens of men leapt from one rail to the other, all grabbing their weapons hastily as they abandoned the ship.

Strom supervised, yelling orders, making sure each man left the ship, corralling them all until there was no left on board.

Strom caught Erec’s eye, as Erec watched with approval.

“And what of the ship’s provisions?” Strom yelled out above the din. “And its surplus weaponry?”

Erec shook his head.

“Let it go,” he called back. “Just take up our rear and destroy the ship.”

Erec turned and ran to the bow, leading his fleet as they all followed him and sailed into the bottleneck.

“SINGLE FILE!”

All his ships fell in behind him as the river tapered to its narrowest point. Erec sailed through with his fleet, and as he did, he glanced back and saw the Empire fleet closing in fast, now hardly a hundred yards away. He watched hundreds of Empire troops man their bows and prepare their arrows, setting them on fire. He knew they were nearly in range; there was little time to waste.

“NOW!” Erec yelled to Strom, just as Strom’s ship, the last of the fleet, entered the narrowest point.

Strom, watching and waiting, raised his sword and slashed half the ropes attaching his ship to Erec’s, at the same time jumping ship over to Erec’s side. He cut them just as the abandoned ship sailed into the bottleneck, and it immediately floundered, rudderless.

“TURN IT SIDEWAYS!” Erec commanded his men.

His men all reached out and grabbed the ropes that remained on one side of the ship and yanked as hard as they could, until the ship, groaning in protest, slowly turned its way sideways against the current. Finally, the current carrying it, it lodged itself firmly in the rocks, crammed between the two river banks, its wood groaning and beginning to crack.

“PULL HARDER!” Erec yelled.

They pulled and pulled and Erec hurried over and joined them, all of them groaning as they yanked with all their might. Slowly, they managed to turn the ship, holding it tight as it lodged more and more deeply into the rocks.

As the ship stopped moving, firmly lodged, finally Erec was satisfied.

“CUT THE ROPES!” he yelled, knowing it was now or never, feeling his own ship begin to falter.

Erec’s men slashed the remaining ropes, disentangling his ship – and not a moment too soon.

The abandoned ship began cracking collapsing, its wreckage firmly blocking the river – and a moment later, the sky turned black as a host of flaming Empire arrows descended for Erec’s fleet.

Erec had maneuvered his men out of harm’s way just in time: the arrows all landed on the abandoned ship, falling twenty feet short of Erec’s fleet, and they served only to set the ship aflame, creating yet another obstacle between them and the Empire. Now, the river would be impassable.

“Full sail ahead!” Erec yelled.

His fleet sailed with all they had, catching the wind, distancing themselves from their blockade, and sailing farther and farther north, harmlessly out of the way of the Empire’s arrows. Another volley of arrows came, and these landed in the water, splashing and hissing all around the ship as they hit the water.

As they continued sailing, Erec stood at the bow and watched, and he looked out with satisfaction as he watched the Empire fleet come to a halt before the flaming ship. One of the Empire ships fearlessly tried to ram it – but all it got for its efforts was to catch fire; hundreds of Empire soldiers cried out, engulfed in flames, and jumped overboard – and their flaming ship created an even deeper sea of wreckage. Looking at it, Erec figured the Empire would not be able to get through for several days.

Erec felt a strong hand clasp his shoulder, and he looked over to see Strom standing beside him, smiling.

“One of your more inspired strategies,” he said.

Erec smiled back.

“Well done,” he replied.

Erec turned and looked back upriver, the waters snaking every which way, and he did not take comfort yet. They had won this battle – but who knew what obstacles lay ahead?

Chapter Five

Volusia, wearing her golden robes, stood high up on the dais, looking down at the hundred golden steps she had erected as an ode to herself, stretched out her arms, and reveled in the moment. As far as she could see, the capital’s streets were lined with people, Empire citizens, her soldiers, all of her new worshipers, all bowing down to her, touching their heads to the ground in the breaking dawn light. They all chanted as one, a soft, persistent sound, participating in the morning service which she had created, as her ministers and commanders had instructed them to do: worship her, or face death. She knew that now they worshipped her because they had to – but soon enough, they would do so because it was all they knew.

“Volusia, Volusia, Volusia,” they chanted. “Goddess of the sun and goddess of the stars. Mother of oceans and harbinger of the sun.”