Here are Pages 15 and 16 of the first chapter of Book 1: The Now Time. If you want more information click HERE.

Garrulous’ army had turned back the first war in 930 AST easily. Fugal V had misjudged the size of the attack force needed to break through determined defenders. The second war of 933 AST was better planned. Marshal Allium led four legions, over forty thousand men, and focused only on the eastern fields of Centralia. The defenders were forced to retreat westward, leaving the beautiful forests, fields, and farms. At the signing of the peace treaty, Fugal took full control of East Centralia. He released all prisoners as did Garrulous.

The third attack in 937 AST was even better planned. Garrulous massed his troops along the southern border of what was left of Centralia in small groups that could be deployed rapidly. There were to be no captives. Young Centralian men not already in the service volunteered in the thousands to withstand the enemy. Garrulous had purchased weapons superior to those in his arsenal from Nordlandt. It was strictly cash and tin, and no alliance had been struck.

Allium employed five legions—one legion each for the left and right flanks, and three in the center. King Fugal and his marshal led the charge into a field shorn of weeds, grass, and stones by legionnaires the night before the battle. The dawn was bright, the air supremely clear, and the raging sounds of the invaders broke the silence into crystalline shards.

The first surprise was not pleasant. In the night, the legionnaires had not discovered a deep trench covered over with light sticks and hay some distance
beyond the Sudlandt border. In an enormous charge, King Fugal, Marshal Allium, and about three hundred mounted cavalrymen went into the pit. At the bottom of the trench were hundreds of sharpened stakes to end their fall. That Fugal and Allium survived was unfortunate for the defenders watching from the top of the earthen berm they had built for their defense.

Somehow, Fugal and Allium scrambled over the backs and bodies beneath them. They commandeered new mounts, brandished their shining swords to rally their forces, and crossed the now filled trench over the broken bodies lost in the dark red pit.Instead of stopping the charge, it invigorated the legionnaires to avenge this Centralian trick.

The base of the earthen dam held the second surprise. It consisted of fine sand. The charging cavalry stumbled into the mire of silicon, spraying dust in every direction, blinding those immediately behind the first rank of cavalry. The second rank of attackers had no chance of avoiding the traffic jam in front, nor the third wave. Again, Fugal and Allium survived and attempted to restore order from the mounting chaos of the attack.

Bowmen defenders on the top of the berm showered the Sudlandters with a dense cloud of barbed arrows. Fugal and Allium, unhampered by the arrows by holding up their leather shields against them, shouted orders to retreat to their camp.At the same time, the right and left flanks of legionnaires had bypassed the wall to the east and west. The defenders were prepared with machines that released hundreds of arrows at once. The centurions, each in charge of a platoon of a hundred soldiers, turned their men around and left with minimum losses but had nothing to show for their efforts.

King Garrulous strode along the top of the wall, shouting encouragement to his men. His clear voice was powerful and gave confidence. When the enemy was in confused retreat, he turned to his cavalry below the north side of the earth wall and commanded them to ride. Half went around the west end of the berm, the rest around the east. Converging, they drove their chargers at top speed and felled the slowest of the fleeing foe.

The heat of the day was fierce, and the air was dry as alum. The combatants’ sweat evaporated instantly, providing some relief; but without water, they began to dehydrate. It became an agony just to raise a sword or shield. Then came the haunting sound of Garrulous’s trumpets and the defenders so quick to appear were almost as fast in their disappearance.

That night, the invaders counted their losses—more than three thousand soldiers and their animals. They posted their guards, made their plans, ate some rations, and slept in sullen silence.

Dawn too chose to be sullen. Guilty clouds slid endlessly across a pained sky. Gusts of hungry wind twirled cones of sand and grit into the faces of the awakened forces. Allium suggested a phalanx of bowmen at the front of the attack followed by foot soldiers. The cavalry and the reserve troops would be held back to be used when warranted. Fugal as gloomy as the dawn, agreed.

As the legionnaires lined up for the attack, they looked across the trampled and bloodied field. There were neither enemy soldiers nor corpses to be seen. The front lines of bowmen strode in unison, marking every noise, every tiny movement of flotsam on the ground they walked on. They noticed that the Centralians had filled the ditch with all the Myrmidon corpses and with compact soil. Carefully, they crossed it and began up the earthen wall of the berm, without a sign of danger. Had King Garrulous’s men deserted him?

Up the hill they strode, shoulder to shoulder. At the crest of the wall, they could see only a broad grove of trees nodding in the heightened wind but no defenders. Somewhat perplexed, they started down the north slope, others marching behind in broad ranks and long files. When the slope was full of targets, snipers hidden in the tall swaying trees opened fire. There was not much need to aim; all arrows flew into the crop of the potentially dead. Fugal had ridden with his troops but stayed on the crest of the berm. As soon as he saw the danger, he raised a brass trumpet to his lips and sounded an alarm.

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