Taneric had his men ride hard after leaving The Badger, and by noon on the second day they arrived at the plain that surrounded the City of The Goddess. There was a pleasant spot where the river emerged from the trees before winding its way across grasslands toward the City walls and, tired from the long ride, the warriors stopped there to water their horses in the shade, as many had done before them. Indeed, in this very same place the Old Queen's defeated army had rested after the Battle of The Tajorg Valley, only to be quickly disturbed by the Sons of The North, hard on their heels. Some of those very men, and perhaps also their offspring, now lined the battlements of the city, side by side with former enemies, helmets and shields flashing in the summer sun.
"Well, High Priest," said Taneric to his prisoner jovially, slapping him on the back. "I'll warrant you never expected to see such a fine sight on this day, did you?"
And the scene before them was indeed striking. Beyond the tall outer walls of the City, the five towers of the Temple rose, symbols of the Goddess flashing gold at the pinnacle of each, hundreds of feet above the streets below. The High Priest grunted and spat in its direction, causing Taneric to laugh all the more heartily.
"That's the spirit, High Priest! Enjoy the view from outside for as long as you can, for soon you____"
"Prince Taneric! Prince Taneric!" came a cry from one of the men at the riverside. "Look to the south! By Wodh!! Look to the south!!!"
At first Tak squinted into the sun, able to see immediately that something was very wrong with the scene before him, but not discerning any detail until his eyes could adjust. It seemed that a great body of water had washed over the southern plain, for everywhere there was movement, and the sunlight seemed to reflect from its surface towards Tak and his warriors, watching from the northern treeline. And then, with horror, they realised that it was not water, but a multitude of men that they beheld, and that the reflection was from their armour. There were thousands of them. No, not thousands; tens of thousands! And yet more were coming. From the southern road they emerged in units of hundreds at a time, some marching, some on horseback, spreading across the plain to face the City, already exceeding its width, units forming companies, companies forming legions, legions forming an army the like of which had never been seen before in the lands of the North, or those of Casbur, or of Cargia, or of the City.
A legion of horse cavalry was closest to Taneric and his companions; perhaps less than one thousand paces away, forming the easternmost wing of the huge army. And for a moment, he considered giving the command for his men to sink back into the trees, out of sight. But then it dawned on him that soon the path to the City would be completely blocked, for there could be no doubt that a full encirclement was under way. And within moments the decision was made for him, as there was commotion within the enemy cavalry, a bugle sounded, and the entire legion began to move; initially at a trot and then breaking into a gallop. Taneric and his companions had been seen!
"Mount up!" screamed Tak. "To the North Gate! Ride for your lives!"
He leapt onto his horse and grabbed the High Priest's reins, urging his mount forwards. They broke from the trees at a gallop; thirty five of them all told, between the King's Guardsmen and the High Priest's erstwhile followers. Soon they formed a ragged line, with Tak and the High Priest at the centre and others scattered left and right, but all with their heads down, focussed only on the gates in the distance, riding as fast as their steeds could take them. Tak risked a look to his left and saw that the chasers did not ride directly towards the Sons of The North, but instead chose an angle across the plain, attempting to intercept them before they could reach the gate. With each second, the gap between the two groups got less, but Tak knew he must resist any temptation to bear right, increasing the distance between them.
"Ride straight!" he called out to his men. "Look only at the gate before you!"
He glanced again at the enemy horsemen, not two hundred paces away now, seemingly on a parallel course, a blur of silver and blue, armour and feathers, banners and lances. In front of him the North Gate began to open, and he fancied he saw Ashala there, on the ramparts above it, her red robes in sharp relief against the blue of the sky.
