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In the town of Havenhill, the ringing of a solitary bell echoed throughout the streets. The ringing came from the west, where the Black Watchtower guarded the eastern pass. The bell was a warning, signifying that a hostile army had been seen. Soon all of Havenhill was alive with the sound of her citizens going to and fro, preparing for an attack.
The sight was not much different than that at the watchtower itself.
Everywhere Andared turned, he saw guards scurrying about, preparing for an attack, as the sound of the bell rang through their ears. He had arrived just hours beforehand, to warn the Garheim of the impending Loreesi assault. Now, with Loreos at their doorstep, they rushed to make last minute preparations.
"Make sure you barricade that stairwell!" Andared shouted, straining to overcome to the noise of the bell.
The watchtower's defenses were hopelessly inadequate. The defenders numbered a mere ten. Ten men against over a hundred Loreesi swords. Most would despair this situation, but the men of Garheim bravely fought back their dread, knowing that their deaths could save hundreds of lives in Havenhill. As long as the bell of the Black Watchtower rang, hope was not lost.
"Ho there!"One of the guards called out. "Riders from Havenhill!"
All the guards cheered at this welcome sight, slapping each other on the back with the joy of relief. But the relief was short-lived. In the distance, only three horseman were coming. The guard's countenance fell as the leader approached, looking at Andared with confusion.
"We have come to give our aid to the defense of this tower. But is that a Lenfel I see?"
"Indeed it is, captain," Andared stepped forward. "I am the one who warned the tower of the coming attack. But there is little time to waste. Is this all the aid you brought?"
The captain of the guard nodded with a sigh. "Aye, that it is. We have very few horseman to spare, as most have been commissioned to High Lord Endrik's army. Havenhill is mustering more troops, but they will have to walk and will not arrive for some time."
"Very well, then,"Andared replied. "We shall have to hold out until they arrive."
With the Loreesi army just minutes away, Andared gathered all the remaining guards but the bell-ringer to the base of the tower.
"Soldiers of Garheim, sons of Garheim, muster your courage," Andared began. "We come from different lands, but we are united in purpose. Loreos has shattered our alliance with their treachery. Now they have grown so bold as to declare open war on us all!
Now, at our gates, lies a mighty host. With strength and numbers far greater than our own.
I will not make empty promises of our survival. But now is not the time for such thoughts. Remember the town of Havenhill. Without this tower it is blind, open to any assault. Do not doubt that these Loreesi will slaughter them all, if they get the chance. Take heart, brothers! Remember your families and remember your country.
By tomorrow, their shall be a red dawn. Woe to our enemies who come thinking us mere sheep for the slaughter. Their scribes and minstrels shall write songs of lament, for the brave ten who stood in their path. Those who did not run from danger, but met it with a resolve of iron. Let them remember this day, as a red day.
Let them remember the courageous ten!"
Emboldened by these words, the men of Garheim all cried out shouts of battle, raising their weapons as if to challenge the heavens themselves. At this very moment, the first Loreesi soldiers came into sights from the pass.
"The hour has come at last, report to your posts!" Andared cried, taking up his spear.
Soon the battle was engaged.
The army of Loreos poured forth from the canyon and immediately charged toward the tower. It would later be recounted that the Loreesi commander, General Arredius, had ordered the to attack the tower immediately, rather than take formations. His strategy, apparently, was to capture the tower and silence the warning bell as soon as possible.
Thus began the assault. But this decision proved to be a poor one for the Loreesi army. With their lines broken, the three Garheim riders were able to dash around the Loreesi infantry, isolating them and cutting them down as they advanced. Soon, however, the archers of Loreos had reached the pitch of the battle. This arrival forced the horseman back towards the watchtower, where they could take cover from the hail of arrows that sought after them.
Much to the regret of General Arredius, his army had none of the cavalry for which Loreos was known. It was later discovered that Prince Jarius had elected to save his prized cavalry for the Lenfald campaign.
Because of this, the riders of Garheim were able to continue making devastating runs through the Loreesi units. Despite these setbacks, the sheer numbers of the Loreesi kept pressing the defenders further and further back, until they had reached the base of the tower.
The Loreesi infantry surged forward, barreling their way up the stairs until they encountered the barricade the guards had erected just hours beforehand. From here, two Garheim bravely waved their spears to keep the attackers at bay, while archers from the second level rained death upon the assailants.
But now the Loreesi had begun to surround the tower, slowly netting in the Garheim horseman. Under the instruction of the Loreesi general, a ladder was raised opposite the stairway, forcing the defenders to fight a war on two fronts. Undeterred, Andared took his place just in front of the ladder, beating back the ever growing tide.
Despite the increased ferocity of the Loreesi assault, the battle was reaching a stalemate, until a sudden cry was heard from the opposite side of the tower.
A company of pikemen, bearing the colors of Toberg (indicating that they were trained there), rushed toward the tower. Falling in behind them, was a catapult.
One of the guards of the tower gave a cry of lament at this sight. The battle seemed all but over. It was at this very moment, that the Loreesi general, confident of his inevitable victory strode forth on his white horse.
As Andared dealt a killing blow to one of his attackers, he saw the General, within ten yards of him, flanked by his personal guard. Giving a battle shout, Andared restored the morale of the guards around him.
The captain of the guard had seen the general too. He stopped his horse with a mighty rear, then charged directly at one of the guards. With a mighty swing, he cleaved through the personal escort of the general, breaking their lines. But in doing so, he left himself open to attack, and the general's own blade pierced the captain through the side, and sent him to the ground. He would never rise.
Andared yelled once more, his voice mingled with pain and anger. Gripping his spear tightly, he drove it through a soldier climbing the ladder, then leapt down to the ground.
"For Lenfald!" he cried, cutting down another approaching Loreesi.
The general's horse reared in fear at this unexpected opponent. The general was caught off guard by his horse's reaction, and sent sprawling to the ground.
With a ferocious strike, Andared drove his spear at the heart of his fallen opponent. The spear drove through the general's metal armor then shattered from the strain, but not before it dealt the killing blow.
The Loreesi battle cries grew silent as they watched in horror. At that very moment, a horn sounded in the distance.
"Reinforcements from Havenhill!" Tears of joy streamed down Andared's face as he picked up a sword and charged at the fleeing army of Loreos. With their leader fallen and a rival army on it's way, they lost all hope.
That day, was long to be remembered by both Garhim and Loreesi scribes.
"In the face of overwhelming odds, the brave few defeated a host ten times their own, in the defense of all Garheim."
The Acacia Strain
@ Palladium
Hollywood, CA
July 31, 2010
All photos © Kaley Nelson - www.KaleyNelson.com
29/365
I strain my eyes
And try to tell the difference
Between shooting stars and satellites
From the passenger seat as you are driving me home
"Do they collide?"
I ask and you smile
With my feet on the dash
The world doesn't matter
Once again, this is Savannah. Hope you like it! I loved her expression. Happy monday everyone, hope it's been alright
(Nikon D3100)
Edited in: PhotoScape
Drucilla Anna Strain (1913-1994) Actress and Ziegfeld Girl born in New York City to parents Robert Strain (1893-1950) and Anna Fallon (1894-1981). She married Charles Eugene Teagarden (1913-1984) in 1931 and had a daughter Druanne Teagarden (1939-1981). She later married Dick Stone and died in Long Beach, Nassau, New York 1994.
photographer - Alfred Cheney Johnston
Image Enhancement - Vizmage Studio
キルタンサス・マッケニー・ハイブリダ
Cyrtanthus Mackenii Hybrid Strain Cultivar.
(My Original Seedling & Selection)
SONY NEX-5N
Asahi-Pentax Bellows Takumar 100mm F4
Pentax Compact Bellows
Honestly, this is not one of my better shots. The girl in the back is in focus, and the two main subjects are a bit blurry. Yet, I love the spiker's expression in this shot!
Slight cracking at the holes! I think the start of the taper in the mortise is too much above the holes.
Scavenger Challenge - June 2017 Assignment - odd views of familiar objects
7 Days of Shooting – Week #51 (w/b 25th June) Still Life
Find a single object or a group of objects, compose your shot, light it, shoot it.
(using light and flash to high-light the handle)
... this was the day I had scheduled to cut off my ear, but I can't remember where I put my razor. This is the story my photoshow productrion, PHRIGID PHRANTIC, PHRANTIC PHRACTALS, was supposed to tell. Here's the link to the produjction and be advised the music is from the dynamic talent of INNA, you'll find her website listed too ...
www.photoshow.com/watch/jw8Nx7WU
You'll find Inna here ...
"I strain my ears and I hear
the footsteps of the memories.
Of my long lost house
I look only for one stone"
Erto e Casso (PN, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy)
On 9 October 1963 at 10:39 PM, a landslide of about 260 million m³ of forest, earth, and rock fell into the reservoir created by the Vajont Dam (still one of the highest concrete dams in the world, in Belluno province) at up to 110 km per hour (68 mph). The resulting displacement of water caused 50 million m³ of water to over-top the dam in a 250 m high wave. Despite this, the dam's structure was largely undamaged.
The flooding in the Piave valley destroyed the villages of Longarone, Pirago, Rivalta, Villanova and Faè, killing around 2000 people and turning the land below into a flat plain of mud. Many small villages in the territory of Erto e Casso and the village of Codissago were largely wrecked. Estimates of the dead range from 1900 to 2500 people, and about 350 families lost all members. Most of the survivors had lost relatives and friends along with their homes and belongings.
Immediately after the flood, governement and most of the italian newspapers depicted the tragedy as an unexpected and unavoidable natural event and marked as jackals journalists and politicians who dared to say that the landslide was largely predictable. But soon enough it was clear that governement, dam builders and owners (energy producers and providers) and engineers purposely ignored irrefutable proofs of the great instability of Mount Toc (which name means in local dialect “crumbling”).
Most of the survivors were moved into a newly built village, Vajont, 50 km south east on the river Tagliamento plain. Those who insisted on returning to their mountain life in Erto e Casso were strongly discouraged. Longarone and other villages in the Piave valley were rebuilt with modern houses and factories.