A whistle sounded from the east only seconds before the tell-tale hum of approaching demonic creatures hit my ears. We had less than a minute before they hit the main unit, much less if our attackers were one of the faster types.

How had the scouts missed their approach until now?

“To arms, look east!” I shouted, urging Somnium forward. Around me my knights drew their weapons and fell into defensive formations around the unarmed priests. On the other side of the unit, I saw Augusta draw her dhálann as other knights gathered to guard her and Ianthe. I shifted my focus away. Augusta would protect her better than anyone else could.

Two long whistles, then one short one, followed by a single long trilling sound. That meant the scout had counted twenty one beasts, and they were corrupted animals, not demons. Another trill, a lower sound. Wolves.

I gripped my sword grimly. Corrupted wolves were far more dangerous than a natural wolf, but easy enough for our company to deal with in small numbers. Anything over ten was a large group, and we were vulnerable clustered like this in an open, wooded area. With our forty-seven warriors, we should be able to finish this fight without major casualties, but we also had two non-combatants and we were caught unawares. This would be a a difficult battle.

Less than thirty seconds after the first whistle had sounded, three beasts leaped out of the undergrowth at the outskirts of the unit where I stood. I could hear more on their heels, their approach marked by the eerie buzz of corruption rather than by any physical sounds of their movement. These attackers were lean and bony but huge even for corrupted wolf-beasts; their heads were level with Somnium’s shoulder, and their teeth and claws were the length of a man’s hand. Unlike some corrupted animals, their coats looked relatively natural albeit longer and shaggier than a proper wold, the pelts ranging in color from almost white to deep black.

I charged forward on Somnium and struck out at the nearest beast with my sword. A natural beast would panic and run; this wolf, twisted by demonic energy and mad with corruption, just staggered forward haphazardly into my attack, its fangs flashing. I urged Somnium forward and she slammed sideways into the monster, shoulder to shoulder, knocking it prone. My warhorse required no further instruction or impetus and seized her advantage, finishing the fallen beast.

The perpetually present hum rose slightly in pitch, and I turned to see another beast hurtling towards us at our left. Behind it, two more faced a group five knights. I had no time to watch them and no way to offer them help as the next wolf bore down on me and Somnium.

“Hya! Left!” I tapped Somnium’s sides with my heels and we swung to meet the approaching monster. 

This creature was faster than the first one, perhaps because it was less starved, but it was just as reckless. It dodged my first attack and tried to dart underneath Somnium and lunge at the mare’s neck. I pulled on the reins and twisted my weight with her as she pulled back and to the side, then I swung myself half-off the saddle to aim my sword at the monster’s side. It pulled back and I missed. I used the momentum of my sword strike and Somnium’s turn to pull myself back up in a single motion. Before we could turn back around to face it, the beast rushed forward and snapped at Somnium’s right rear leg. Before it could bite down, an unmounted knight, Loman, landed a sideways blow on its flank with his spear, and the monster’s maw narrowly missed Somnium’s leg, its teeth clacking loudly on empty air.

Loman stumbled back, off balance after his rush forward to prevent the beast from attacking Somnium. The corrupted wolf, now wounded and its movements slowed, changed targets and lunged after Loman. I seized the opening, leaping forward with Somnium and reaching out from the saddle to strike at the beast’s back from above. Recovered from his stumble, Loman jumped forward and finished it off.

I surveyed the fighting around me in a glance. Somnium gave me an advantage; most of the other beasts were still alive and fighting. Many warhorses could not help but panic when surrounded by so many of these corrupted wolves, although none of those who traveled with us would ever flee outright. The fear made them less responsive to commands, though, and maneuvering here in this wooded terrain was already difficult on horseback. Most of the knights had chosen to dismount by now and were fighting on foot but battling a crazed wolf that stood taller than you on four legs was treacherous. Even the most skilled warriors could not expect to win one-on-one in such a fight.

Accordingly, most of the fights I saw had two or three knights facing a single wolf. I could see about have the battlefield from where I was. At least here, the battle was in our favor; I saw no serious injuries among the warriors. The priest was hidden among a group seven knights fending of a trio of attacking beasts. I could not see Ianthe or Augusta anymore, but there had been no signal from the Vice Captain, so I had to assume all was well. 

I had no time to think about it further. A pair of knights about fifty paces away from me was struggling against a particularly large black and grey beast. I recognized them as two of the more junior knights within the order, Clara and Pierce. One, Clara, was on foot and dragging her right leg slightly as she moved, while Pierce was still mounted, his horse clearly on the verge of breaking away in abject terror as he tried to maneuver it around the corrupted wolf.

I nodded at Loman, who rushed to the left to join in a different fight, then I kicked lightly at Somnium’s sides to urge her over toward the beleaguered knights.

I shouted once, warning them of my approach, and Pierce pulled back to give Somnium space as she charged. Clara could not move quickly enough and was on the defensive as it was, blocking the beasts claws with her shield right as I reached the wolf. Somnium crashed into it at full force, knocking the monster backward and away from Clara. Pierce, good with a sword but a master with ranged weapons, had taken my assault as an opportunity to raise and aim his crossbow and a single bolt struck the beast down.

“Clara, your condition?”

“Good, Captain! Movement hindered but no blood.”

I nodded once. She did not mean that she had not lost blood, but rather that she had not been touched by the beast’s blood. When the purple blood of corrupted animals and demonic creatures touched bare skin, it burned, whitening the skin and causing severe pain. Enough burns could destroy all feeling in that part of the body. If the blood was somehow ingested or touched open wounds, it was toxic as well as caustic. Both cases could be treated with mage-crafted tonics, but excessive exposure could impact a person’s judgment and lucidity.

“Pierce, pick off any beasts you can and don’t engage in close-range combat unless forced to. Clara, stay with him; I don’t want to risk either of you being caught in a solo fight.”

I left without waiting to see them nod. Later, after this fight, I would speak with both of them separately. The two young knights had not even seen ten battles between them yet, and they still needed guidance.

Things had begun to wind down, the remaining beasts on this side of the clearing each facing larger groups of knights. Pierce shot down another beast as it ran. It stumbled, its momentum bringing it to collapse only paces away from the group. Ianthe’s former caretaker –  Emilia – screamed loudly, understandably unhappy at having four hundred kilograms of demonic wolf crashing to the ground right in front of her.

The rest of the fight continued in a blur. By the time the last beast fell, over a dozen knights had moderate injuries, and more horses were wounded. Every member of the Second Order was competent in field medicine, but there were three knights who had been apprenticed to doctors as part of their training and were classified as medics officially. With Elias’s help, I started coordinating their respective responsibilities and evaluating the situation overall.

“Where is Miro?” Miro was the head scout, responsible for coordinating regular reconnaissance as we traveled. For this attack to have caught us unawares, something must have gone wrong.

“For now, Captain, he’s helping check the wounded. He already told me that no one is missing. He was the one who signaled the approach.”

I nodded once, relieved that everyone was accounted for but also discomfited. If there had been no accident to explain how these beasts caught us by surprise, then how had it happened? When we traveled as a full unit, three knights were always assigned as scouts. Scouts would usually conduct reconnaissance in an oval shape around the main body, traveling further out ahead, monitoring a shorter range behind, and searching laterally as much as the terrain and speed of the main unit would allow. Theoretically, in combination with whatever local intelligence we collected, this meant we should have advance warning for any attack. Moreover, unless it was a brand-new incursion, we knew in advance if we should expect to encounter demonic creatures or animals corrupted by the energy from a rift.  Both usually had to travel from a known incursion site and invariably targeted and attacked any natural living beings their vicinity.

This was not the time to consider this, however. There were too many knights - and also two vulnerable noncombatants - whose status I still did not know. Even as I thought that, Augusta jogged up, her blazing hair a tangled mess above her undercut and her dhálann coated in purple where it was slung on her back. Her chainmail and tunic were gone and her face was grim. My stomach lurched.

“Is Ianthe –”

“It’s Lionne,” said Augusta, still panting slightly with exertion from the battle.

“Captain, Vice Captain, we need you both to –” 

I nodded at Elias curtly and turned to one of the lead medics. 

“Iria, get the details from Augusta and then go,” I ordered, before turning to respond to the other reports.

 The fight was over, but the next hours were critical. We needed to make sure even the most minor injuries were not contaminated with beast blood, otherwise we could very well lose lives even after the calm had settled. I forced down the fear bubbling in my gut and remained clinical. There was no time for me to learn more about Lionne’s status without ignoring other potential casualties, and Iria could cure almost anything if she arrived soon enough. Gritting my teeth against a now-familiar sense of powerlessness, I turned my back on the departing medic and faced the others instead.