“Malek!" Jess shouted as she locked blades with the roaring foe who charged into her, expertly shifting her balance and sliding out of his line of attack even as she pivoted and slammed her sword pommel into the shadowy form of her enemy's chin. Jess hissed in surprise, for a blow she thought would rock him back had no effect at all. She even caught his mocking, shadowy smile as he nearly disemboweled her, or would have if he could have pierced her mithril mail, and then it was he who gasped in horror as Jess, now crushed against him, pressed her blade against his armored neck and whipped her sword back, such that near the entire length tore against his throat, sawing into him much like a chef would a side of beef.
A classic close-quarters draw cut, it had no percussive force, relying solely on the sharpness of the blade, and was all but worthless against someone armored in steel. Jess was sickened but not surprised to see how well her blade had sliced through her suddenly screaming foe’s neck, which immediately spurted a fountain of blood, as if the man’s shadowy mail coif wasn't even there.
Eyes haunted by the unspeakable terror of his own imminent death, her dying foe stumbled away in panic and faded from view.
“Smashing with your hilt will do no good! It's not etched with your blood," Twilight chastised.
But this was a truth Jess had already figured out
“Jess! My blows do nothing against these creatures! It is all I can do to parry their attacks!” Her shieldbrother’s voice was close to panic. That alone scared Jess more than all the foes they faced. The thought of her truest friend dying was a contemplation more terrible than she could bear. Fiercely, she turned her terror into a dark boiling rage.
“Don’t fail me, Malek! Fight on! There is no despair! There is no defeat! We make our enemies pay for daring to cross us with terror and blood! Say it with me, brother!”
“We fight on, and these bastards will fall!” Malek roared in rejoinder, and Jess grinned savagely even as she lashed out with her now smoking blade into yet another of the suddenly hesitating armsmen, for now she realized what they were.
“These are no Shadows, no specters, but simple armsmen protected by magics!” She roared as loudly as she could, for both Malek and Eloquin’s benefit, and in that moment she was at last able to open her eyes in ways that transcended common sight, now able to see the shimmering webs of crimson energies that bound those cloaks of shadow to the armsmen they faced.
Jess snarled as the opponent before her regathered his courage, raising his blade for a vicious overhand chop, yet Jess had already lashed out with a tight snapping Schielhau strike, perfectly countering her foe’s Oberhau even as her own blade tore into shadowy armor, her foe's hands now clawing desperately at his own throat as he stumbled back in a spray of crimson mist, fading away as if he had never been.
“Jess!” Malek roared. “Eloquin and the upperclassmen are in turtle formation! If you can actually kill these bastards, we need to break through!”
“Blood orbs!” Jess shouted, even as she pressed forward toward Eloquin’s location, having understood the series of short, sharp whistles that was the tactical code of Erovering’s elite forces just as well as Malek.
Her longsword lashed out in a terrible dance of death and dismemberment as she and her shieldbrother flowed together in perfect unison, weaving and dodging about their foe’s desperate strikes even as Jess’s blade continued to strike true, crimson blossoms spouting from her blade’s terrible kiss, her foe’s desperate parries availing them little against Highrock’s best. Jess reveled in the fierce crucible of life and death, feeling a terrible rush of vigor with every fallen foe, her blade cleaving through necks and limbs with hideous ease.
Her foe’s armaments of ebony and shadow which had granted them near immunity against Eloquin’s veteran students protected them no better than shadows in truth against the fierce savagery behind her own steel. Steel that hissed and smoked with the sting of her own blood, sizzling with potency even here, in the heart of what Jess now realized was a terrible dream, just as her blade had in the nightmare of Shadow, but a handful of nights ago.
Malek’s cry of triumph and the oddly metallic hum of crimson orbs spinning about at terrific speed let Jess know her curt reminder had jolted her friend’s memory. Not even the size of her thumb, they whipped about her shieldbrother's head faster than the eye could see, just a streak of crimson, well able to strike unwitting foes with terrible skull-cracking force. It gave Jess a fierce jolt of pride to know that even here his shimmering orbs flew true and deadly, no doubt already coated with his own crimson life force. Artifacts Malek had discovered deep within the realms of Shadow, Jess hoped that they, along with her blood covered blade, could pierce the dark web of magics that protected their foes and trapped the denizens of Highrock in nightmare, even now.
“Run, bloody bastards!” Malek roared, even as Jess heard the clang of steel orbs smacking flesh and the screams of pain that ensued.
After timeless moments of frenzied battle, there was at last a pause in the terrible melee, their remaining enemies breaking away in concert, giving Jess a moment to assess the situation and take note of the painful but shallow cut to her shin. For her last foe had managed to mark her, even as he had collapsed in death. A painful lesson, but one she was wise enough to heed; for though the mithril hauberk falling to her knees had proven utterly invulnerable to shadowy blades, her boots did nothing to stop their deadly cuts. Relieved she was that her foes had failed to strike her head or hands.
But most importantly, she was now at the side of her closest comrades; General Eloquin’s chosen students, herself among them, all of them being carefully honed into the elite force of highly trained commanders that the nation of Erovering would use to flank and devastate any enemies that dared invade their soil. Their training in mixed unit fighting, unorthodox tactics, how best to overwhelm and counter any foe and penetrate any fortification served to make them an invaluable asset to Erovering’s standardized infantry and cavalry forces.
And here they were, Jess bitterly thought; Highrock's elite fighting force, prize students mentored to serve as secret assets for their nation's defense, and half their number fallen and very likely dying from the terrible wounds they had received, combating a seemingly unbeatable foe. To say nothing of the dozens of students splayed in states of hideous distress in the center of the great chamber, legs shattered, bleeding freely upon the ugly crimson sigil inscribed in the heart of Highrock's main hall.
“Calenbry, report!" barked Eloquin, his hawk-like gaze measuring Jess's every word as she immediately snapped to attention, even as the shadowy warriors that faced them parted for one of their number to come forth.
“Enemy armsmen have infiltrated the keep, sir! They are protected by armor made of shadow-magics, I can sense the weave! Their blades cut through our armor like mist, sir; it is as if we fought them naked, lest one wears mithril! However, the counter to their protections is blood, sir. If our blades are blooded, it pierces the dream they hide behind, and we can strike them true!”
“Wrong, I'm afraid," Eloquin said, oddly solemn. "I saw your smoking blade, recalled the telling of your adventure, and surmised it would be a useful trick. No less than a handful of us have done just that, and it has done nothing to pierce their armor." He shook his head even as the shadowy warriors continued to gaze at them from but a handful of paces away, both sides paused in a moment of unspoken truce. "Your blood may be stopping them, Jess," Eloquin softly continued. "Your blood, and the arcane orbs Malek pulled free of living dream, but that's it."
It was during those eerily quiet moments as Jess and Eloquin waited, blades at the ready, carefully eyeing the warriors coated in armor of dark and twisted shadows, that a robed figure emerged. Clearly, they wished to parlay. The figure Jess took to be their leader addressed Eloquin directly. Even as they spoke, Jess did her best to avoid looking too closely at the scene of devastation and horror the grand hall had become, a place of celebration and joy but a few short hours ago, now draped wi
th the fallen bodies of dozens of Highrock's prize students. Young men and women who had been singing and laughing with such mirth were now pleading and sobbing, rocking in agony upon crippled limbs, eyes uniformly locked in speechless horror, most especially upon the faces of those children that had been butchered in cold blood.
Desperately Jess blinked away her tears and her mounting fury, knowing she must concentrate all her outrage, must focus it into a fierce awareness that would take in every nuance of their foe's defenses and power. She probed them for weaknesses, knowing with a single glance that Eloquin was merely buying them time.
“By what rights do you dare to invade Highrock grounds? All grounds of all recognized academies are to be held sacred and spared bloodshed and retribution, regardless of intrigue or war; a covenant signed by all Erovering nobles under penalty of execution, and a treaty signed by all the nations of this continent so that our children, at least, are spared the brutal horrors of butchery in times of conflict!”
Jess felt an icy shiver crawl down her spine as the being cloaked in darkest shadow began to speak. His phlegmy chuckle reverberated through the massive chamber oddly; sibilant words all but crawling under her skin. "General Eloquin himself. Once one of the most revered men of our kingdom, with ten thousand soldiers under his command. Feared and loathed by every nation that shares borders with our own, now huddled with a group of shaking students, afraid of the very shadows that spell your doom!"
The speaker laughed with darkest contempt. "As you should be, you worthless pawn of a mad king whose hunger for conquest did nothing but cost Erovering endless silver and blood, even as our forces crashed futilely against Velheim's borders, unable to break through the mountain passes and claim their land for ourselves! So weak did we become that Velheim, with her pathetic excuse for a counteroffensive, backed only by mercenaries hired from the continent's heart, was able to push back and reclaim scores of miles we had seized! Miles past the mountain range that cuts Erovering off from true glory!"
The figure's voice was scathing with contempt, though his features were still invisible beyond his coal black hood, and Jess hissed, struck by a sudden realization. There was no smell! All the blood and violence suffered, even as she gazed upon the expressions of helpless horror pasted on the death rictuses of fellow students she knew so well, abdomens cleaved open, steaming entrails allowed to spill and pool upon the cold tiles of the dining hall, and there was no smell at all.
Eloquin, gazing coldly at the man like a hawk awaiting the opportune time to strike, still chose not to interrupt the furious rant. Jess was suddenly certain that the shadowy being before them was trying to delay Eloquin, just as much as Eloquin was striving to delay him. Why?
“So you see, fallen general of a weak and broken Crown, you are but a puppet! A tool used and cast off and relegated here to a backwater post as an instructor, even as the world in all its machinations and glory moves forever beyond your clouded gaze! For there are other paths to power, other paths to dominion and conquest, other paths to greatness! Tools that lie among us, tools allowed to lay quiescent, when all that is needed is for the conviction of men great enough, bold enough, to seize the bounties fortune grants us! Dark blessings which men who lack true conviction and the fiercest passion can never hope to earn; too debased by cowardice and fear, shuddering before the price of glory like a raw recruit, never blooded, shaking upon the battlefield as his betters cut him to ribbons!”
Jess's smile turned fierce and cold. She understood at last, her gaze finally piecing together the complex crimson weave of shadowmagics she faced. Magics she suspected were of very dark origin indeed, spinning off from each and every one of those invaders armored in living darkness. She noted how all the crimson threads connected the soldiers to the robed speaker before spinning off in strange directions no map could follow.
Jess then sensed what the shadowy mage was attempting to do, even underneath his words, weaving a subtle spell and lashing out with it, striking at her. Her smile widened ever so slightly, giving no sign that she could sense his magical weave, let alone reveal how easy it would be for her to slice it in twain.
With an abrupt twist and snap of his wrist, the magics roared forth from the wizard to swim about Jess in a maelstrom of darkest sorcery. It crackled about her form momentarily before winking out entire, the dark mage expertly hiding his grunt of surprise. Jess's nod was almost a taunt, having tasted the intent of the magics even as his abjuration spell washed harmlessly over her.
And, now that she truly understood their danger, she caught sight of other figures quietly padding through the great chamber, through the main door that appeared sealed shut, yet from which she could feel spring air presently wafting from as if it were wide open. Jess grimaced. They did not have much time. Only moments, really.
She had seen enough. She knew what she must do.
Jess turned to Eloquin, locking eyes with him for a silent moment even as their enemy ranted on, a single nod and several quickly exchanged hand gestures all that was needed to convey her battle plan. Malek hissed, understanding the exchange, as did all the students catching sight of the tactical hand signs Eloquin and his protégé exchanged.
Jess caught several hopeful looks from the desperate gazes of her peers even as Eloquin clenched his fist and raised it, so that even those who hadn’t caught sight of the interplay instantly knew to ready themselves for attack.
“And now you see why Highrock must fall! Will fall! For the glory of our nation, for those of us who have the courage and conviction to do what must be done to seize power and rule this realm, and crush all those who would oppose us!” the cloaked figure declared, shaking his fist, seeming to have worked himself up into a frenzy of self-aggrandizement. And in that instant of distraction, as the apparent leader shook his fists, flinging insults and contempt at a coldly staring Eloquin, Jess seized the Vor and attacked.
With his heavily robed arms waving before his face Jess instantly surmised there would be a brief moment where she was effectively blocked from his line of sight. Having timed that moment, she immediately launched herself forward, mouth roaring in her own silent scream as she pelted across the blood-splattered floor, closing the distance between herself and her enemy as fast as she could, sensing her shieldbrother just behind, his blood orbs giving forth an eerie whine as they cut through the air.
Many things happened in that tiny sliver of time; enemy armsmen suddenly aware of the danger even as they were caught momentarily flat-footed, many frozen in place, several instinctively moving to protect their leader, yet Jess was already upon them, choosing that moment to roar her fury, shocking several of her enemies with startlement and surprise, earning her a split second to wreak devastation with her crimson blade.
Near effortlessly, she knocked aside her first opponent’s barely raised weapon even as her longsword arced down from overhead, biting deep into her foe's shoulder, cleaving straight through his ribs with horrific effect before she yanked it out with a savage lurch, her foe spasming and collapsing, fading to nothingness as he crumpled in death.
With a blademaster's terrible grace she spun about even as her first opponent dropped, whipping her blade as she step-slid back, knocking aside one desperate thrust from yet another foe, even as he gasped in sudden pain, stunned by the onslaught of silvery orbs crashing into him as Malek charged. For her shieldbrother understood that his role was to ward her, knowing his blade was worthless at piercing their shadowy armor, allowing his normally defensive blood-balls to serve as the source of his attack.
In the instant her foe was distracted, Jess plunged her blade deep into his neck, hunching down and pulling it out with hilt raised high as the man gurgled and collapsed in death, her defensive extraction allowing her guard to catch yet another armsman's desperate cut before whipping her blade about in a fierce double Zwerchhau, severing her enemy's spine with but the slightest shiver of resistance, an instant before the soldier's still blinking head was sent tumbling through the air in
a gentle crimson arc before fading completely away.
The foe who had struck at her but an instant before was already laying upon the ground, skull shattered by her shieldbrother's spinning orbs of death, as she knew it would be, and Jess exhilarated in her enemy's sudden fear as yet another of their number faded from sight. She could sense it. Almost taste it. They did not expect to fall to her sword until the instant her weapon cleaved into their flesh. For as potent as their shadow armor was, warding all other swords with utter ease, to her blooded blade it was as if they wore protection no better than the thinnest of gossamer strands. And effectively unarmored and caught off guard, surprised by the sheer frenzy of her attack, Jess wove a terrible dance of blood and destruction with her flank guarded by her shieldbrother and his terrible orbs.
A timeless span of blood and killing later, though perhaps it had been but a handful of panicked seconds for some, Jess at last approached her true nemesis, never staying still long enough for the enemy to regroup, even as Eloquin and his students crashed into their enemy’s flanks, doing their best to keep their enemy distracted and off-balance while Jess and Malek did so well what they had been handpicked and trained with such fierce diligence to do.
And almost before she knew it, with the stop-start shudder of a waking dream, Jess at last faced the rapidly backpedaling figure who but moments before had been ranting about his inevitable victory as he gloated over the corpses of fallen children, now cowering before Jess's upraised blade.
“No! There is no way you can pierce mail of Shadow and dream! What are you, foul apparition? I sensed the taint that flows through you, whatever guise you wear! You should have been dispelled!”
Shadow Knight Page 2