The Mountains That Walked - Vol.3

o rest at night is to sleep peacefully." -Anonymous

Craben gazed sorrowfully into the distance, as did the rest of the battalions under his command. There was not one sign of courage in his troops at all, and that made him feel much worse; he could say nothing to lift their spirits. Craben glared at himself in the reflection of his blade.

I shall fall to ruins, he thought, as will my army and the rest of Tamriel... If only I were stronger and a better general, we would have a chance.

The clouds shifted quickly in the wake of the Giants in the distance, and the looks of a thunderstorm appeared. Lighting flashed and thunder cried with all its might. The giants were gaining ground and they almost appeared as tall as the mountains in the distance beyond.

The battalions raised their weapons, and the archers marched forward and spread out among the front flanks readying their arrows.

Craben's comrades Oraden and Mordane appeared beside him. The look on their faces was not at all that much different from the rest of the army.

"Ah, don't worry, we might yet have a chance! Alana says the giants are badly organized, and..." Mordane let his sentence go, for as the rest of them knew, there was no hope against these numbers.

"I must say something to them.  Look at their faces - they look as if this is the end. I confess, it might as well be the end, but if this is going to be our last stand - our last stand for all Tamriel - may it be filled with courage and not grief; with strength and resolve, not fear! But there is nothing I can say, there is nothing for me to tell them..."

Craben's eyes wandered into the distance once more and the Giants were almost within the range of the archers. The wind howled, the rain poured continuously, and the ground was now thick with sludge and water.

"You are their last hope, their general. At the very least, say something that can elevate their hearts and minds," Mordane spoke. Craben thought it over. This was something he had never faced before - blindly motivating his troops though there was no hope for them. Still, he couldn't do much else.

With all his might he reluctantly raised his blade before them. He opened his mouth and spoke clearly before his men:

"Look to me now, look at me! I see in you sadness and grief, you look as though there is no hope. There is hope! We have a winning chance against this plague, these beasts of evil. We shall defeat them, we shall rally to the last man, and when there is no remaining hope for victory at least we will die with iron in our hearts! That is the best we can ask for, that is the only death we have. We are Knights of Tamriel! There is no better way to die and there is no other way to die."

He paused once more and stared long and hard into the eyes of his men, which now carried the banner of courage into battle. "May the Gods and giants alike remember this day, the day a thousand men went toe to toe against ten thousand Giants, and may we all be remembered for our sacrifice. Now draw your weapons and cry so loud, and bellow so deafeningly, that the ground will split before out feet!"

Craben was surprised at the result of his speech, he was surprised of the speech itself. Craben smiled, as he had not done for over one hundred years, when he heard the roar.

His friends beside him patted him on the back and smiled with him. The smiles soon faded; the giants, with their massive hammers and axes and swords, were no more than a few minutes away. Craben gave the order to fire arrows. Most of them were deflected off the giants' armor. Still, his men's courage did not wane.

Craben mounted his steed, as did the other officers, and he readied for the battle that would decided the fate of their time: the battle between the Giants and Tamriel.