A paddock wall emerged precisely where Errollyn had measured it when placing their formation. He took the jump, then fired twice more. All across the Kazeri front, racing horsemen were falling. Another arrow, and most of the front rank were dead, fallen, or reining up in consternation, trying to dodge and colliding with their comrades.
Now he saw the line of human cavalry before him, divided with gaps in their ranks. These were Valhanan men of Lenayin, and as the retreating serrin poured through the gaps in their line, the Valhanans roared and charged. Errollyn wheeled his horse about, and placed another two arrows over the galloping Valhanan's heads, into the faltering front rank of Kazeri. Then he stood in the saddle and held out his arm to indicate the line the other talmaad should assume. As they dressed their line, he watched.
All along the advancing front, Lenay, Rhodaani and Enoran cavalry ploughed into the Kazeri front. Their charge faltered; all momentum lay with the countercharge. Before him, the Valhanans spurred their horses amidst the confusion of Kazeri, some Lenay townsmen on taller horses, others on wiry dussieh. They hit Kazeri riders from high and low, and seemed to have the better of most exchanges. But more Kazeri were pouring in from the rear ranks, the huge column spreading wide as it found this route blocked. Very soon, Errollyn knew he'd be outflanked.
He gave his signal, and a serrin trumpeter blew the retreat. With astonishing discipline for hot-blooded Lenays-who hated to retreat-the Val-hanans disengaged and came racing back toward the serrin. Those Kazeri who chased without support simply melted in a storm of serrin arrows. Errollyn saw a group of nearly thirty riders felled in several heartbeats, like a dandelion collapsing in a hailstorm. The main force regrouped, then yells and horn blasts cut the air once more, and they resumed their charge. Again the first rank met a swarm of arrows, and again the serrin turned tail and galloped in the other direction. It was not a retreat, and now the Kazeri were beginning to realise it. It was a moving wall of accurate archery, holding itself at precisely the correct killing range from its opponent. This stretch of fields was well chosen. If the Kazeri kept chasing until the next line of forest, half of them would be dead on the grass before they reached it.
As Kazeri further back in the formation swung towards the hills on Errollyn's southernside, he realised he was being outflanked to the north; they were trying to pin his force against those hills. Errollyn did not think that particularly smart either-if they forced him to take the high ground, he would not mind at all. Besides which, the high ground held other surprises.
Again the Kazeri paused in their pursuit. Again trumpets sounded, and the rear rank of human cavalry wheeled and galloped back through the serrin line. They hammered into the Kazeri line a second time, and held them. It was within two hundred paces of the spot Kessligh had told him to expect this second engagement. Well within the parameters of their plan, and he did not even need to give the second signal.
From the trees on the leftward slope erupted a line of human cavalry-some Rhodaani and Enoran heavy horse with a forest of steel-tipped lances, and upon the far flank, to block Kazeri retreat, the one group of Lenay riders missing from the action so far: Isfayen men, plunging downhill with black hair flying, screaming like madmen as they came.
The Kazeri flank disappeared, riders impaled by lances or knocked flying by heavier Rhodaani or Enoran horses. Once into the main body and surrounded by enemy, Rhodaanis and Enorans dropped lances, pulled swords, and began swinging. Errollyn could not see the Isfayen now, they were too far back. But already he could see the Kazeri folding, as horsemen turned and galloped in panic.
He indicated to head north, away from the hills, and some serrin followed, others riding up close behind the heavily engaged human cavalry to shoot available targets from their horses, or merely to loose arrows into the middle of Kazeri ranks. Errollyn broke into a gallop, amidst many hundreds of other serrin also racing this way. Ahead was trouble: Kazeri had indeed come around the far flank, and Enoran men here were fighting a desperate defence to hold them away from their comrades’ rear.
Again the talmaad raced in, holding ground and shooting one Kazeri after another where that suited, or darting in close where the fighting was more desperate, abandoning bows for swords at close quarters. Errollyn put an arrow through one Kazeri who was locked in battle with an Enoran, then made a fast right turn to evade two more who came at him in pursuit. One of those fell to an anonymous arrow, and he pulled the blade from over his shoulder, and yanked on the rein to dart behind the second Kazeri rider, who reined up so fast his horse slipped and fell.
Errollyn abandoned him for someone else to deal with, sheathing his sword for the bow once more as immediate targets rapidly became fewer. He realised that the heaviest engagement was moving further away, and spurred after it. One Kazeri target presented himself, but fell to an arrow before he could fire. More made a spirited attack upon a group of Enoran cavalry, but the Enorans were superior, and simply cut them from their mounts with heavy blows and clever horsemanship. The rest, Errollyn realised, were running away. Men were cheering, waving swords in the air in victory. Another man, an officer, interrupted some of those celebrations by standing in his stirrups and yelling.
“Don't cheer! Chase them and kill them! Kill all of them!”
That would be unlikely, Errollyn knew. But men stopped cheering and galloped in pursuit, to try their best to do just that. No one knew why the Kazeri had attacked Enora, save for the predictable guesses of alliances with the new Bacosh Regent. They only knew, by long experience, that the best deterrent from such aggression was to make each episode as painful as possible for the attackers. Few captured Kazeri would see mercy here today.
If he chased hard, possibly he could spend his few remaining arrows on retreating Kazeri backs and bring down several more. Instead, he stopped, and allowed his horse to walk at leisure back across the pasture toward what had been the middle of the fight. He rode past bodies of the dead and dying, looking for surviving wounded from his side to help, and wondering on Sasha's Goeren-yai beliefs. Did she think that the souls of the men he'd killed would return to haunt him? Would they stand in judgement of his own soul when he died? Errollyn looked now across the carpet of dead and shrieking wounded, and missed her more than ever.
Most of the fallen were Kazeri. He dismounted to help stanch the bleeding of a wounded Enoran, then handed him to others as help arrived. Other friendly wounded were being collected, and the dead marked with a sword or lance point down in the turf, for rapid burial. They could not hold here long; the foot soldiers were now more than a day's march away, and the combined armies were split. The Kazeri had been taught their lesson, but could not be pursued. The Regent's army had massive cavalry too, and could race ahead of their own foot soldiers if they chose.
Errollyn found Andreyis ahorse amidst the confusion, and saluted him. Andreyis saluted back with a grin, and galloped to his side. His arm had healed enough for a fight, and now he looked the proper Valhanan cavalryman with mail and a shield-he'd fought on foot to this point for lack of a horse, but Errollyn had thought it daft for a cavalryman of his standard, and found him a spare.
“So much for the rampaging Kazeri hordes,” Andreyis remarked, looking over the carnage and saluting several other Valhanans.
“Fucking fools,” said Errollyn. “I hope their commander survives. If we've killed him, they might put someone in charge who knows what he's doing.”
“How do Kazeri find new leaders anyhow?”
“No idea. It's tragic. I'd always thought the Kazeri an interesting people, but I'd never actually met any before today. To think that some fucking tribe leader should lead them to this in the name of alliance with the Regent…”