up next to Jonas, and behind them was a line of Finarthian cavalry, followed up by a line of infantry, all of whom stood tall, proud, and confident as they looked toward the huge giants.
“Knights! All with lances ride behind me! Target the giants!” yelled the prince. Ten knights holding long razor sharp lances spurred their horses forward to take up positions behind the prince. Prince Baylin glanced at Jonas and smiled. “Very impressive, Jonas, I feel like I have the strength of ten men. I pray it is not an illusion.”
“My Lord!” yelled a young warrior to their left. They all turned to see a young soldier carrying two lances struggling toward them. He was covered in dirt and blood and limped badly on his right leg. The boy’s face had the smoothness of youth, but his eyes revealed a maturity that was likely gained by the blood shed of battle.
“Good work,” the prince replied as the young man handed him and Dagrinal each a lance.
They were interrupted by the sudden shaking of the ground. They looked toward the advancing line and saw that the giants had started to run, their long strides keeping pace with the cavalry that rode on their flanks. The ground rumbled as each pounding step brought them closer.
Jonas glanced quickly toward the top of the hill. Sure enough the three minions of Gould were still there.
“Warriors of Finarth! Victory is won through courage!” The prince yelled. He lowered the tip of his long lance and spurred his horse forward.
The warriors behind them screamed ‘For Finarth!’ and followed their lord.
Twelve glittering lances led the three hundred defenders toward the enemy who was storming toward them with great speed.
Taleen brought forth her light to join Jonas’s, and their combined energy made the bright sun look small in comparison. Jonas urged his horse forward and Tulari’s great speed pushed him to the front of the line and beyond the bouncing tips of the lances. Jonas heard Taleen yell at him from behind, but the pounding of the horse’s hooves and the giant’s feet drowned her words.
He had a plan.
“Tulari, run like the wind!” he yelled, sheathing his sword and leaning forward in his saddle. Tulari surged forward, in a blur of speed and power, shooting toward the enemy. As Jonas flared his light brighter he could see the giants hesitate slightly as they squinted their eyes against the glare.
Then he called on more of Shyann’s power.
“Shyann!” he screamed, channeling an immense amount of her energy into his right hand. His fist burst with an intense blue flame, the power of the flames building within him until he felt they would consume his very being. Though he was relatively inexperienced in the use of this magic, he could feel that if he didn’t release the power soon that it would burn him to a crisp.
When he was close enough that he could almost smell the giants, he released his God Fire in a powerful burst of blue flame. The running giants saw the shooting flames and tried to veer away, but their formation was too tight, and all they succeeded in doing was tripping each other up and distracting them from the Finarthian lances that were quickly approaching.
Jonas’s flames hit two giants directly, blasting them from their feet and taking a score of their own infantry out behind them. The intense blue flames burned hotter than any known fire, creating a searing hole in the enemy ranks through which Jonas rode unharmed. Anything caught in the path of his God Fire was blown aside in a pile of ash.
Jonas erupted out the other side of the enemy ranks and continued up the hill toward his real targets, the trio of dark riders.
Taleen saw Jonas’s plan evolve before her eyes, but she could not keep pace with Tulari. No steed could. She screamed his name, hoping to deter him from his present course of taking on the vile minions of Gould on his own, and urged her horse to run faster. Jonas had blasted a hole through the enemy ranks but the hole was beginning to close quickly as the astonished giants stumbled to resume their attack. Her path to Jonas was closed, so she held her sword before her like a spear and targeted the nearest giant who stood in her path.
Taleen’s steed brought her toward the giant with lightning speed. At the last moment, she veered to the behemoth’s left. She had prepared herself for the sharp