Aurion Ch. 03

"The men are stunned by your generosity, My Lord," said Jelme, "as am I. I have issued your orders that the men find a good spot to bury their new riches so the extra weight won't slow us down. I think I now see why you chose Lord Candor as our first target. He was rich and powerful but complacent in his physical security. A sure win and lots of plunder: a huge morale boost."

Jelme was the young man whom Michael had made Captain of his Xia Princely Guard. Jelme was young, barely twenty years old, but he had an intelligent, analytical mind and understanding of strategy and tactics that was far beyond most Generals. His youth hadn't been the only obstacle to his acceptance as the leader of the most elite cavalry force in Aurion.

Jelme was from the small, isolated and northernmost Ulan Clan of the Xia Confederation. Their territory extends beyond the Northern Wall, though they rarely go to the Wild Side, and only then when absolutely necessary to retrieve resources or welcome the White Elk, Feathered Moose, the occasional Kingsbuck and Great Reindeer's southern migration. The only other wildlife migration considerations to be performed, outside of birds and airborne animals, were allowing the Arctic Auroch's, the Red Fox, Plains Lynx and a few others through with gates without allowing any Winter Bears, Sabertooth Snow Cats or Ice Wolves.

Ice Wolves especially were highly fearsome, having mostly Direwolf DNA, though it mixed with the extremely tall, swift and athletic Arctic Grey Wolves, creating a Wolf whose head sometimes stood almost five feet from the ground while retaining a thicker, bulkier build than an Arctic Wolf would otherwise have and with longer legs, higher shoulders with teeth size and jaw strength that was nearly a Direwolf's equal.

The Ice Wolves had further evolved to become even more fearsome. Their eyes, forced to function in either the dark of pitch black night or snow-blinding light, adapted over countless generations until their eyes were capable of increased light magnification and UV filtering.

Their hearing also increased to overcome the howling winds, storms and frozen forests that drowned out or enveloped the sounds of prey. The same went for their sense of smell. Their skulls were slightly elongated with a longer nose when compared to a normal Grey Wolf which made them better trackers than Grey wolves. With the sense of smell of a Bloodhound, enhanced ability to separate mixed or covered scents and improved vision along with the improved oxygenation, elevated red blood cell count, increased efficiency and absorption of protein served to increase their strength, speed and healing.

Only the strongest of each generation are able to mate as this peculiar race of Wolves also had a gender ratio of 1:4 female to male births and because of that, they evolved some physical defenses for challenges over mates; much like Wild Boars, they evolved thick cartilage shields over ribcage while thinner, more organic cartilage reinforcements grew along the contours of the neck, spine and head.

The bone structure was composed of elevated elemental Iron, which the highest concentrations of Iron in the retracting, Tiger-like claws and overdeveloped musculature of the jaws, mixing with the native carbon to become steel. Their skin thickened and increased in elasticity while their fur became much stronger with the iron/carbon replacing the carbon based Keratin much like the claws.

It was these attributes that made the Ulan and other far northern people some of the best hunters in existence and led to the Legionaries posted on the Great Northern Wall to fear the crossing of Ice Wolves almost as much as the Jotun, Dark Orcs, Giants, Trolls or other unknown northern monsters.

The Ulan had a close working relationship with the Legionnaires stationed on the wall in their territoriy. In fact, many legionnaires took Ulan brides and they always provided the guard, overwatch and defenses every year when the vast herds arrive at the wall and Ulan herdsmen were sent out to funnel them through the few open gates.

The Ulan Clan had also helped the Legionnaires in the past when enemies threatened to break through weakened portions of the wall or when Imperial resupply would've been impossible during winter months.

As a people, they were strange. Instead of the tall, brave and fast 'Golden Horses', the Ulan used a particularly large breed of selectively bred Caribou for their heavy cavalry and even their war-sleds. They still made use of the short, squat, shaggy and hardy Steppe pony for their light cavalry but most of the similarities end there. They had always lived in self-imposed isolation. It was simply their way and few other men could survive as they did.

His heritage meant that many weren't too happy about Jelme being given a position of power and prestige. But Michael saw his potential.

The former Captain, Jurgen, had wanted to challenge Jelme but Michael convinced him of a better idea and soothed his ego. By the time he left, Jurgen was sure that he had been promoted. He was to be sent out into the countryside to spread the word of the Savior Michael, direct any veteran or mercenaries towards Doria while he recruited all the men he could find that were already proficient on horseback to recruit and train into a force of Cataphracts.

Oddly, he had two further instructions that defied logic; to search for, capture, hold, care for and deliver all possible venomous reptiles, amphibians, animals and plants and to send all of the sick, diseased, poisoned or plagued to a prepared medical camp in the shelter of a small nearby forest. This very message was further spread to Xia, Dorian, Mountain Orc and defectors by Jelme's Golden Eagle and his Wild Hawk along with Nyssa's genetically, surgically, alchemically and magically altered Vampire Bat.

Both airborne messengers also informed King Domitus back in Dorian of their plans to make a well hidden fort deep in the pine forest that sits with the open plains on one side and sheer ridges along the other that lead up to the extremely high elevation of the vast Northern Plateau (home to the Zaka tribe, a sea of grass located more than 20,000 feet above sea level that maintained unusually high temperatures. In the summer and fall months the heat often became near unbearable. But the winter months still brought a stiff chill and only occasional snow as they were located at the very bottom of 'The North'-just above both the Dorian Desert and the Black Mountains)

Their camp, less than a week's march from Kamdoris, was between a raised series of pine covered foothills in the middle of a thick forest. It was surrounded by trees naturally but they improved upon that a great deal to create a solid ring of large trees to act as a defensive wall. Michael set up the tents and fires down in a small valley. There was also a large, dry creek bed that ran along the valley. It was there that the cooking fires were placed to provide further visual cover for the large fires. The heating fires at each man's tent was kept small and though thoroughly dry brush and wood were used to start good fires, it was mostly the soft glowing Coal fires that provided warmth without giving off the bright glow of flames that could give away their location.

Michael again paired the Assassins with the Rangers to prepare a nearby decoy camp, laden with traps, underground tunnels for the assigned defenders that maintained the camp could safely flee through. The false camp was set up to make it appear that there were a lot more than the now total force of around 3,000 men, those currently traveling with him. He detailed a mixed group of two hundred men, including the full 100-man Century of veteran Legionnaires, (30) Dorian Hoplites and the remainder a mix of (20) Rangers, (12) Assassins, (8) Combat Engineers and several members (30) from each of the five Dorian Unconventional Special Warfare Groups (there were 500 men total in each of the five separate Special Warfare Groups). Each Group had contributed to the detachment on loan to the Warden of the North from the Doria King Domitus and having arrived shortly after Michael and Co. left to sack Kandoris, along with another two mora of Dorian Hoplites (each mora had 800 Hoplites and 200 Helots), the Special Warfare Groups' contribution consisted of a thousand men: (200) 'Sea Snakes' Combat Swimmers, (200) 'Hellhounds' PyroFighters, (200) 'Mountain Rams' Combat Climbers, (200) 'Sidewinders' tunnel rats and (200) 'Holy Hand' Alchemic Warrior Monks.

All of the members of these Special Warfare Groups were perfectly capable of fighting as full Dorian Hoplites or riding as Dorian Heavy Cavalry if the situational need arose, in addition to their specialized duties. However, they were rarely used for anything other than their intended purpose to preserve their numbers as well as keep the existence and details of these special units secret. Still, the legends of the men, their capabilities and, most of all, their weapons persisted. In truth, their unique weapons were nearly as noteworthy as their skills.

The Holy Hand carried glass spheres filled with various Alchemic compounds as well as several smaller vials strapped diagonally across the solid Ice steel breastplates and gauntlets with the heavy white silk covered, steel scaled chain mail skirt, shoulder guards and gorget that was worn over the pristine white robes of the Warrior Monks along with well formed, solid steel greaves.

They carried longswords made from repeatedly folded Ice steel. The swords were heated, hammered and folded many, many times while being alternately quenched in subzero sea water and a barrel of Kraken blood.

The Holy Hand also carried highly powerful 7 ft. Ironwood Longbows with Napatha coated arrows or shafts capped with round spheres fitted with simple spikes and containing all sorts of poisons or Alchemic potions.

The Sidewinders specialized in tunnel warfare which meant that most of their weapons were either area oriented or close combat, with a few exceptions of close quarters ranged weapons.

Their main weapons were the pair of wickedly serrated knives with a slight backward curve and a fine tip along with the repeating crossbow (it carried 40-80 small bolts in a double drum magazine with a spring loaded drum cylinder located on either side of the weapon's body and was operated by cranking a handle that controlled all of the mechanics necessary to continually load, draw and fire bolts from alternating drums as long as the handle is operated. This semi automatic action allowed the weapon to fire a bolt approximately once per second, though the design couldn't offer much in the way of draw weight, or else it would be too difficult to smoothly operate the handle and it was quite heavy for it's size.

The Dorians had abandoned the layered wood pieces used by the original inventors of the repeating crossbow in favor of a composite bow prod and higher draw weight, offering increased short range penetration and (though seldom needed) an effective range of over 100 meters instead of the original 20 meters.

The small bolts were often poisoned (usually Wolfsbane root juice mixed with a little powdered silver and potent serpent venom) to increase lethality and thru had to be made heavy to maximize penetration since their overall size was quite short and thin compared to an arrow or even the average crossbow bolt, often times being made of solid steel and usually having diamond heads, Bodkin points or long and thin barbed heads.

In addition to the repeating crossbow on a sling, each Sidewinder also had long, double edged daggers strapped to the outside of each of their thighs, hollow telescoping steel poles with a barbed tip that served as a steel javelin/blowgun with a thin chain coiled around the wrist connected the spear's butt for quick retrieval with a flick of the wrist and a pull. They also carried smaller blowguns and an abundance of poisoned darts, throwing stars and caltrops. They also carried flash, smoke and incendiary 'marbles'.

They also carried a pistol crossbow with a small recurved steel prod and a stirrup for drawing. Their armor consisted of lacquered, rawhide backed boiled leather lames set onto a thick, quilted silk backing and spiked metal gauntlets and boots with spikes and folding blades for close quarters combat.

The Mountain Rams were combat climbers with full climbing equipment, steel spiked boots, anchors, ropes, pulleys and carabiners. The Rams carried powerful composite recurve bows while approximately one in three also carried a mechanical crossbow on a sling. They had thick recurved steel prods and mounted telescopes, using solid iron bolts to anchor crossings and zip lines securely with steel cables as well as to take advantage of their inherent height to pick off targets with a long distance weapon. They also established Scorpion bolt-thrower nests up high, watching from the highly ground in hidden blinds.

Their one handed war hammers had a curved spike on the back of their head that was used to aid in climbing but favored their notorious solid steel flanged mace for most combat situation though they often wielded both weapons akimbo, with one in each hand, though the steel mace was a heavy weapon. They also used ropes and lassos as both a tool and weapon as well as their iron weighted Bolas while their large Seax daggers often came in handy. They carried light pelte shields strapped on their backs and were protected by thick, boiled leather breastplate as well as greaves and gauntlets that fit with chain mail backed rawhide knee and elbow pads.

The Hellhounds famously carried longswords made from Dragon steel (the high concentrations of iron in Dragon bones providing the raw material). They were also well known for the glass orbs and grenades that they carried as well as the pressurized flame-throwers that were worn by one man in every tent (8 fighters, 2 support). They also favored flaming arrows and had developed their own type with a hollow baked clay tip filled with Napatha that exploded and showered flame on impact.

They even had rockets made from arrows with small explosive packets secured to their shafts. These could be launched from large platforms or fired from rectangular boxes that could be carried strapped on a man's back that looked a lot like an arrow quiver and contained a similar amount of arrow-rockets.

The sword of the Sea Snakes was a thick, wide bladed short sword with a diamond shaped cross-section and sharp point. They also had a dagger with a leaf-shaped blade that was nearly as long, though much thinner. However, what was remarkable was the fact that the swirling white and blue blades were laboriously carved from Kraken bone using diamond tools and high heat.

Their common range weapon was a crossbow made entirely from oiled metals, even the braided steel cable. It came on both a full sized version as well as a smaller version with a pistol grip, though the metal's strength ensured both were extremely powerful. When fired underwater, especially using they special Harpoon dart, they were still extremely lethal.

They also had a penchant for nets. Especially those made from the treated and woven fibers of the Swamp Tree. Swamp Tree wood was laden with naturally occurring waxes throughout it's structure, preventing any significant water absorption. The wood also sank in water and had a very high strength.

It was also used to make both the Sea Snakes' bows and arrows. Their arrow's had various types of heads but most of their fletching came from the barbed fines of various Stonefish, the webbing in between barbs being stiff but flexible. Each barb was sheathed but covered in a highly lethal paralytic neurotoxin and any significant disturbance or direct pressure near the heads meant death for the agitator.

The two hundred men that Michael picked to prepare and inhabit the decoy camp got to work quickly making the camp appear less than formidable from the outside but tactically prepared. Although it's defenses were identical in organization and location to the main camp, much of it was made from local materials (giant crossbows with prods made from huge, rough and simple pieces of timber instead of the precision bolt-throwers and catapults that defended to main camp).

The camp consisted of two columns of ten 10-man tents housed the fighters, with a few larger tents surrounding, just slightly off the center of the camp, while there are many simple tents hastily thrown up in all directions, to give the impression of larger numbers. Each man set three tents and lit five visible fires at night times. The hill with the decoy camp and all the empty tents, extra fires and Scarecrow-sentries had been placed on the visible side of a rather large hill top that was about a half day's hard foot march past the entrance to the valley where the hidden and camouflaged real camp was located, where they could sleep, eat, live and plan in privacy.

The forest and ground around the decoy camp was also surrounded with traps, ambushes and surprises. There was a 16 foot heavy wooden wall made from thick beaches sharpened to stakes, with a heavy wall of thick 12 foot wooden planks sandwiching a three meter thickness of heavy stoned, wet clay and powdered soil in between the taller palisade of sharpened stakes and the shorter heavy, thick wooden planks. The clay and soil in between the palisade and the wall of thick wooden planks acts as a highly useful padding as well as a superior base for the wall's heavy fighting platform of cast iron faced 4' Cornel boards over 2.5' Yew planks and 4' solid Poplar pieces.

The platform had simply made, crude but dependable heavy bolt throwers and catapults using the natural tension strength of tree limbs and gravity. A large number of 'un-Manned Bows were set up with tripwires and positioned in both in the surrounding area and also placed on the walls in plain sight as well as some hidden in various places-including small gaps or openings in the palisade (these huge bows were loosed by having their tripwires pulled instead of set across a trail or likely route for an enemy to unknowingly trigger).

There was also a number of Scorpio Bolt-Throwers as well as bigger Ballistas (capable of using it's powerful energy to project spherical projectiles or, with minor modifications, fire large, spear-sized projectiles ranging from the equivalent of a fairly normal javelin thrown with damn near the speed of a Titan or a solid iron pole lwith variants between four and six feet in length which were capped by a large, barbed hardened steel head reminiscent of a heavy duty harpoon with smaller barbs and spiked strategically placed along the shaft), on a slightly raised platform in the center of the camp located just above the secret underground escape tunnel with explosive and incendiary charges set underground at strategic spots to trigger the full destruction of the camp, should they need to evacuate.

There was a tall heavy wooden wall around the real camp down in the valley, near the dry creek bed, made from tree trunks that had been anchored underneath the topsoil, deep in the ground, with cement, sand, clay and stone.

The fort simply looks like a ring of tightly growing trees as there was no space for a person to find a gap between tree trunks. Many of the tree trunks still had their roots attached, or were capable of sprouting new ones, and they quickly gave the fort a stronger subterranean base and strengthened the walls. Stairs and walkways were built inside the wall for defense and patrol of the smallish base. There were many blinds, hides and perches in the thick branches of the trees that serve as the wall. This allowed archers great fields of fire with little risk of their position being discovered.