[b]Along the Northern Border of Svargiya[/b]

The sun was a deep red and hung low in the sky when they finally came. It was on a rocky outcrop overlooking the twisted mountain path below. In truth, over time the path had become more of a road, at least over this stretch; four men on horseback abreast of it, though this was not recommended. Though the road was wide, on one side it still lead to a steep drop; if the tumble down didn't kill you, it was still almost certain one would end up with at least several broken bones.

But on this outcrop, hidden from any traveling the road below, were a group of Svargiyani, watching the road and waiting for their quarry. They numbered fifteen in all, mostly bandara but with several humans as well. Truthfully, most of them were simply hunters who had volunteered to travel on this mission; only a handful of them were truly warriors or soldiers. But that wouldn't matter when they ambushed their quarry along the road. They had the element of surprise, as they had greater knowledge of the lay of the land than those they were hunting and knew of shortcuts and tiny paths to quicken their journey and allow them to arrive in front of their prey despite it's head start. And they had the greater position; while possible to climb up to their position from the road, it would be an uphill battle to do so, and the rocks and boulders provided some measure of cover from any of their prey who might be carrying bows.

And because of all this their leader, Baladira, smiled. He was a bandara and one of the actual warriors among them, and a well off one at that. He was dressed in a coat of chainmail over top of layer of leather, though all this was hidden by a covering of thick silk with steel plates sewn over the shoulders, knees, and stomach. Added to this was a rounded steel helmet, with a long plume of horsehair dyed bright red and a veil of chainmail covering his face. And in all honesty, the armour was hot and Baladira's hair was matted to his skin with sweat. After all, the men had been sitting there for hours and his only solace from the heat was the occasional cool breeze, though the falling of the sun made it easier on him. His only comfort was the hunters he'd sent out to scout had confirmed that their prey was still traveling along this road, though they were traveling more slowly than he'd like. He didn't want them to end up deciding to camp for the night and ruin the ambush he and his men had planned.

Though those fears were allayed when the men heard noises from up the road. And not the typical calling of birds or rustling of leaves; it was the noise of conversation in a foreign tongue, the trotting of hooves, and the clanking of chains. The last noise in particular left a sour taste in his mouth. For as much as he'd been looking forward to the coming battle, if it could b called that, he'd been trying not to think about why it was even happening in the first place. A Svargiyani village had been raided by those savages from Poertia, and everyone in it had been either enslaved or killed while putting up a fight. Men and women and children and elders all taken to be brought to their city of hell to be sacrificed to the monsters they worshiped. And the village had been a new one, recently established, which was obvious from the fact that it had lacked a wall. Most settlements along the northern border had a wall of some kind, because those that didn't didn't last very long. But Baladira and his warriors and the hunters who volunteered were here to kill the savages and bring the captives back to safety. As the men drew closer Baladira drew his longbow, an exquisite weapon made of the finest wood, and nocked an arrow. After all, he didn't want the sound of his armour, muffled as it may be, to alert to men along the road. And as he did so, he could hear the rest of the men following suit. There was no need for him to shout orders, as they all knew the plan already. Follow Baladira's lead, and don't fire until he lets loose his first arrow.

And so they waited, not for very long however, as it was only a few minutes until their quarry came into view. And only a few minutes more until they were down below the Svargiyani ambush. The light was only just beginning to fade, so there was enough light for Baladira to get a good look at the men below. There were quite a few, definitely more men than Baladira had, but he had expected that. Most of them were armed with swords and axes and clubs, and carried shields painted in different designs that related to blood more often than not. But their leader wasn't difficult to pick out, since he was dressed head to toe in steel scale or chainmail and wore a helm not unlike Baladira's own; even the man's horse was dressed in a coat of steel links. While he was certain that eventually an arrow from one of the Svargiyani longbows would put a hole through him, he'd very much prefer to simply take him out first.

And so Baladira silently took aim before taking a deep breath, drawing the bow, and letting the arrow loose. And fortunately for Baladira, the arrow flew straight and true, embedding itself deep into the eye of the cataphract's horse. Even as the beast reared in pain and slipped on the rocky edge to send both horse and rider tumbling down below, the rest of the Svargiyani drew and let loose their own arrows. Most of them found their mark, the archers' aim honed by a lifetime of hunting and training, and the sheer suddenness of the attack combined with the immediate loss of their leader sent the savages into disarray. A great many were cut down before they even realized what was happening, and even once they realized it there was little they could. Those who had bows drew them and fired at Baladira's archers above, but only a handful found their mark. The rest began to try and charge up the hill, but it was rough going and they were quickly brought down by Baladira's men.

And before long, it was done. Most of Poertia's savages lie dead or dying, though a few had thrown down their weapons and surrendered. And Baladira was more than happy to take them prisoner; after all, once Baladira returned to the nearest settlement they'd all be executed anyway. Unfortunately they had no rope to bind the prisoners with, but Baladira simply had them bound with the chains they had used on their captives once they were free. And once they were free, the captives thanked him profusely. There were even a few thanking him in a tongue he didn't recognize, which Baladira quickly realized meant that that Svargiya hadn't been the raiders' first stop. But the captives were in a sorry state; it didn't appear as though they had been beaten, but those who weren't Svargiyani had no shoes and their feet were worn bloody and raw. But even the Svargiyani captives, who had been taken rather recently, reeked of urine and excrement.

Eventually Baladira excused himself from the grateful crowd, though the other men set about giving them food and drink, and a few did their best to bind the feet of those with torn and bloody soles. It wasn't long before Baladira heard a voice behind him, "Well, I have to say that went well. I bet you enjoyed yourself."

Baladira turned to find one of his own warriors standing there; though he was still wearing his helmet, he could tell from the voice that it was a human youth by the name of Jita. "It went well enough, but I didn't really enjoy myself," Baladira said with a shrug.

"Really? I thought you loved fighting," Jita replied, moving to stand beside Baladira, "Has something changed?"

Baladira laughed at that, putting his arm around Jita's shoulder, "Oh no, nothing's changed. I still love a good fight almost as much as I love a good fuck."

"But this," Baladira continued, his voice changing to a more somber tone as he gestured around him where the corpses of the savages lay and his men went about picking up any reusable arrows, "This was just a hunt and a slaughter."

Jita thought for a moment before replying. "Fair enough. You didn't even get to use your axe."

"True, true," Baladira said with a smile, "There's quite a difference between shooting a man with a bow and being there while you split his skull open. I find the axe far more satisfying, I must admit."

"Really? Even with the way you shoot?"

"Just because I shoot well doesn't mean I can't prefer to do my killing another way, you know."

"Baladira, there's shooting well and then there's shooting out a horse's eye like that."

Baladira chuckled at that, then bent over to whisper in Jita's ear, "Just between you and me, I didn't think that'd actually work."

"Then why even try it in the first place?"

"Well I figured that if it did work, it would be mighty impressive, no?"

Jita thought for a moment yet again, before shrugging. "I suppo-" he began, before he was interrupted by a shout and a cry for help from down below.

The two warriors looked at each other for a short moment, before making their way to the edge of the road. "Well what do you know," Jita said as the they looked down to see the cataphract, who was pinned to a tree by his horse, "I wonder why we didn't yell sooner."

"Maybe he was unconscious," Baladira said, as his men and the previous captives made their way over to the edge as well. Then Baladira watched as a rock sailed through the air, only to hit the tree a mere foot from the cataphract's head. Then another rock flew, this time hitting the man in the head, "And perhaps he will be again soon."

"Maybe," Jita replied as yet more rocks flew at the man, thrown by his previous captives, "So, should we stop them? You know, take him prisoner?"

"Nah, his legs are probably mangled underneath that horse. Back's probably broken too," Baladira replied, "Unless you want to carry him all the way back."

"Yeah, no thanks. I'm good."

"That's what I thought," Baladira chuckled, "Anyway, get back to work, you lazy ass."

"Hey, you're the one who indulged me," Jita replied, then gave Baladira a mock bow, "But as you wish, you Highness."

"Oh, don't call me that," Baladira said, waving it off.

"But why, oh mighty Prince Baladira putra Girisa," Jita said, the tone in his voice joking.

"You know why, Jita," Baladira said, rolling his eyes, "And wipe that grin off your face. I can't see it, but I know it's there."

"Nothing gets by you, wise Prince," Jita replied, to which Baladira shot him an annoyed look, "But, fair enough. I'll go help with, I don't know, something."