An Ancient Truth
Copyright© 2026 by Asa Strong
Chapter 7
I was woken by a drizzling rain falling on my face. It was still dark, and the faint glow of the embers from the fireplace made me realize that someone else was awake. I shook myself out of my blankets and made my way to the fire. Dan’ar was busy making tea and didn’t notice my arrival.
“Morning,” I managed to mumble as I sat on a nearby rock.
Dan’ar turned and looked at me, “It’s a bit wet. Maybe that will slow the orcs down.”
I shrugged my shoulders, more interested in the pot of tea he had brewing on the fire. Dan’ar must have read my mind. He reached for the pot and then poured me a cup.
I managed to be somewhat civil as he handed the cup to me. “Thanks.”
Dan’ar smiled, then nodded his head before returning to tend to the fire.
The camp started to come awake as I sipped on the tea. There was no hint of light to the east, but then the canyon walls blocked any early light from reaching where I sat.
I was just finishing my tea when I saw Tag’ar approaching. He spied me sitting on the rock and changed direction towards me.
“It looks to be a nasty morning,” he said, sitting down on the rock across from me.
My mind was less befuddled after the tea, and I managed a coherent answer. “Yes, if this keeps up, it will make things difficult. The question is, for us or the orcs?”
Tag’ar looked lost in thought for a moment, and then answered, “I would think it will make things more difficult for the orcs. We have the high ground here; they will have to climb to reach us.”
I nodded my head. “Yes, that may be; I only hope we can contain them for a while.”
“Here, no,” Tag’ar proclaimed. “The canyon is too wide. By sheer numbers, they will be able to eventually flank us. If we can hold them here until this afternoon, I’ll be surprised.”
Torg had arrived as Tag’ar finished speaking. He took a cup of tea from Dan’ar and then asked, “Tag’ar, do you have a plan?”
Tag’ar nodded his head. “Yes, sort of. I plan on meeting the orcs first with our bowmen. They will not be able to hold them for long, but they will take a terrible toll. After the orcs have pressed close enough to engage, I’ll have them retreat to the next defensive position. Then it will be up to the infantry to hold them until the archers make their retreat.”
Tag’ar paused for a moment to take the cup of tea that Dan’ar had brought over. He took a sip, and then continued, “The ground here is too broken up to use the mounted troops. They will be placed in the rear. There is an open break before the next defensive position. As we retreat, they and the archers will have to cover the infantry as we withdraw. If we are lucky, the orcs will not be organized and the cavalry can sweep through them and give those on foot time to reach the new position.”
I nodded my head, all the while thinking all of us could very well end up dead by the end of the day.
We sat in silence, drinking our tea as the sun poked over the east rim of the canyon. Each of us, I think, was contemplating the battle to come.
In a short amount of time, the light reached the far wall of the canyon and we could see for a considerable distance, toward where the orcs were camped. Far in the distance, the sound of drums could be heard, but not an orc was present in our view.
Tag’ar finished his tea, stood up and handed the cup to Dan’ar. “I must leave you now. It’s time to get our troops in position.” With that statement, he turned and strode towards the far side of the camp.
By the time the rest of our troop had arrived, Dan’ar had a meager breakfast waiting. We quickly took care of putting the food to good use and then departed for our assignments: Gait and I moved to find the mounted elves, while the rest went to find Tag’ar to see where he wanted them positioned.
Tag’ar’s prediction proved accurate. The archers’ accurate rate of fire reaped havoc among the advancing orcs. But no matter how many they felled, many more moved to take their place. By noon, the ground in front of our position was piled high with dead and dying orcs. Still, they pressed on, and eventually our archers had to retreat; the mass of orcs in front of them too large to contain any longer.
The bowmen retreated through the ranks of infantry and made for the next defensive position, about a mile further down the canyon.
Tag’ar had placed the infantry behind a string of large rocks that had been made into a makeshift wall that provided a defilade against the spears that the orcs were now using with abandon. While the archers had held the orcs at bay, they couldn’t get close enough to use their spears. This was not the case now. From our position behind and above the battleground in front of us, Gait and I had a wide view of the battle as it was waged in front of us.
“Donta, can Tag’ar hold them back?” Gait asked, as we sat on our horses watching the battle.
I surveyed the battlefield before answering. “No,” I stated, “look to the right. Already the orcs are pressing the flank. We had best get our troops ready; Tag’ar will soon have to call a retreat. We will have to buy them time to reach the next defensive position.”
Gait shook his head, and then made his way through our eleven cavalry, forming them into formation for a charge to cover Tag’ar’s retreat.
I glanced across the canyon, to where Sin’dal had positioned his mounted dwarfs. He also was readying his troops for a covering charge. As I surveyed the ongoing battle, I could sense that it would not be long before the infantry would have to break off contact with the orcs. I kicked my horse and made my way over towards Gait.