Gess said as he and Malik navigated around the left flank. His flesh crawled because of the frosty energies which radiated from the ice cannon in the valley below. He felt he now understood just what the Jlantrian and Den’nari armies had gone through in the Rift War, when they found themselves faced with weapons beyond their understanding that could wipe them out in an instant. Fear hung over the battlefield like a shroud. Gess watched the sky and the valley below as their horses thundered along next to the armored wing, anticipating another blast of deadly energies which would most likely destroy them. His heart pounded hard in his chest, and he had to lean in close and hang onto the horse for dear life. Malik was a much more accomplished rider, while all Gess could do was hold on and pray that he wasn’t thrown. He felt the Veil’s cold energies grip his body as he and Malik raced past armored men. The forces clashed up ahead, a deafening roar of steel and shouts. Blood and cries flew through the air, massive collisions of bone and blade. What in the One Goddess’ name am I doing here? Before being assigned to assist Blackhall, Gess had largely acted in advisory or research roles. He remembered the Rift War (he’d been a student at the Veilwarden’s Academy at the time), and he’d helped research the merits of using Veilcrafted weapons in the campaigns against the Tuscars in the years that followed, when the foul humanoids seemed intent on breaking the southern watchtowers and invading Ral Tanneth. Though he’d used magic to defend himself against the occasional brigand or wastelands beast, before he’d gone to Ebonmark Gess had never been in real combat. I preferred things that way, I think.
