Three Visions

by Tony Johnson

  Coming to the southwest parapet, Steve saw all the ships firing cannonballs into the on-shore army. Even though the monsters’ right flank was desperately trying to push inland towards the main gate, they still weren’t out of the cannons’ range. Three of our ships are on fire, Steve was dismayed, and one has a layer of frost over its surface.

  Overhead, the sky battle was still in progress and had expanded to take place not only over the ships, but over the battlefield and the city. Colorful flashes were being blasted back and forth between aerial monsters.

  Spotting Ty, Steve saw the yellow-armored Elf call down lightning from the storm above and strike an enemy monster about to kill a friendly warrior on his mount. As he flew around on his gryphon, sending his own-created lightning through the sky through his electrically-empowered swords, Steve noticed an enemy dragon trailing his brother.

  It’s too crowded of an aerial battlefield where he is, Steve was alarmed. He doesn’t see it!

  Running to the closest net catapult, Steve aimed it, and, once Ty and his gryphon were close enough, shot a weighted net which hit and dropped the dragon.

  Hearing the impact and the screech of a monster behind him, Ty wheeled around in the air to turn to where the net was fired from. Standing on the battlement, he saw his brother holding up five fingers, and then added another hand to show the number seven.

  It’s now five to seven, Ty laughed at Steve’s cocky way of showing he was catching up in their game.

  Seeing that Ty was safe, Steve found the bright-colored Crimson Singe in the sky as the red dragon continued his dominance of any and every enemy monster that tried to attack him. Near Fisherman’s Pier, Crimson grabbed the necks of two warbirds, one in each hand, and refused to abandon his grip as he flew down and drove them into the waters of Lake Azure. Underwater, he flared up the temperature of his scales, causing the lake all around him to begin boiling. Both warbirds died from the immense heat which did nothing to harm Crimson.

  “Stephen,” Captain Rylan came up behind him, looking almost horrified at the power of the legendary monster.

  “Hey!” Steve was ecstatic over the results of the battle, “We’re succeeding against both flanks.”

  “But not against the center of their army,” the Casanovian warrior killed Steve’s joy. “Our archers are running out of arrows and the monsters are about to break through our main gate.”

  This soon? Steve was perplexed. “I was hoping we’d be able to hold out a little longer, but that’s okay. Sound the horn for those on the wall to retreat. It’s time to carry out the next part of our plans.”

  “Right away,” Rylan began to run off, but Steve stopped him before he could carry out the order.

  “Has there been any sighting of Silas yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  There will be soon enough, Steve thought as he heard the call for retreat shouted throughout the battlement. Walking to the edge of the wall facing the monsters, Steve couldn’t help but notice the size of the monster army barely seemed affected despite all they’d done to combat it.

  I don’t know how this is going to turn out. We may have gotten the upper hand, but this battle has just started and it hinges on what comes next.

  Chapter 104

  Heading to the arena, Steve took his designated position on Copper’s back. Beside him, Shana and Rylan were on horses, as were hundreds of warriors around them. In the stands of the stadium, civilians who had volunteered to fight sat patiently waiting for their opportunity. They’re going to get it, Steve thought, looking around, wishing there were more people. Any second now, Ty’s plan will unfold.

  As we wait, the monsters are breaking into the city, just as we expected they would due to overwhelming numbers. But they won’t get far. They’ll be clustered together, stuck on the main road, unable to go forward because one of the watchtowers their aerial monsters collapsed in their attack a week ago is blocking the roadway. They’ll try to find alternative access routes to the city, but Ty had them all locked, blocked, and boarded up. It’s only a matter of time before one of those monsters steps on the…

  As Steve envisioned Ty’s plan, it was brought to fruition. Although he couldn’t see it because of the high walls of the arena, he and everyone around him could feel the foundations of Casanovia shake beneath them.

  “They’ve set it off!” Shana was enthusiastic, knowing the hundreds of blackpowder kegs Ty had placed in the buildings along the city’s main road entrance had killed hundreds of monsters after a trip-wire was stepped on.

  “To battle!” Steve took Brightflame from its sheath and pointed it towards the arena’s exit. The call was taken up by a multitude of horns which let the archers in the Forest and ships on Lake Azure know to stop firing so they wouldn’t hit all the warriors, civilians, and refugees, as they traversed over the rubble and monster corpses, through the main gates, and into the frontlines of the enemy army.

  At the sound of the horns, Commander Artazair directed all ships to move as close to the shore as possible, so that he, Grizz, and everyone else who had been firing cannons and arrows could charge up the beach and attack the monsters’ right flank.

  For the next hour, the two armies fought back and forth, but Casanovia ended up gaining ground on their enemy. Grizz and Steve, leading their respective sides, cut through enough monsters that they met in the middle of the battlefield. With the two sides now combined into one, they worked together to drive back Silas’s army.

  “We have a problem,” a grim-faced Ty flew down, disembarking his gryphon to find Steve and Shana. “I spotted Silas and his warriors from the air. They were able to fight their way past all the traps and make it up the ridge. Steve,” Ty shook his head solemnly as he looked north, “they killed everyone in the Forest.”

  Kneeling to the ground in a rush of dizziness, Steve put his muddied hands on his head.

  Shana rubbed the back of his armor plate, trying to comfort her half-brother. “We knew this was a risk. There were going to be casualties somewhere.”

  “Everyone on the hill though? There were nearly a thousand people stationed there.”

  “I’m sorry,” Ty apologized. “We saw it happening from the air, but there was nothing we could do. The back half of their army is retreating and regrouping on the ridge.

  “How did your men fare?” Steve changed the subject after looking up in relief to see most of the enemy aerial monsters had been shot down.

  “They’re finishing off the final ones now. Our monsters are exhausted, but we had great success.”

  “Us as well,” Steve determined, looking over the ground littered with the bodies of monsters.

  “Captain,” Steve grabbed the arm of Rylan as the captain moved past him. “Pull everyone back. Let the monsters regroup in the Forest. We’re going to regroup in Port Misthaven.”

  Immediately, and without questioning the order, the warrior captian began spreading the message and it wasn’t long before horns were blown to signal the plan.

  “Once all our monsters get some rest, regain their stamina, and can use their elements at full power again, we’ll attack. Three hours,” Steve estimated. “Now that their aerial monsters are defeated, there’s nothing to stop us from flying up to the ridge and attacking from the sky. They’ll be forced to come down to the beach and meet us.”

  “It’ll be their only option,” Ty understood what Steve was thinking. “The only way for them to get our aerial monsters to stop attacking is for them to charge forward and engage us in battle. They’ll know Crimson Singe and the others will stop attacking so we aren’t killed in the crossfire.”

  “This is where it’ll end,” Steve hypothesized, gesturing to the sand around him. “We’ll have Crimson and a few others hover high in the air and set a watch. If there's any movement by their army before we send our aerial monsters after them, we need to be ready to engage them in battle.”

  During the next three hours, the army retreated and re
covered in Port Misthaven. During that time, the rain stopped, the storm moved east, and the skies cleared. The sun was finally allowed to shine, although the temperature continued to be in the low sixties, as it had been all week.

  Many people spent the reprieve from fighting washing themselves off in Lake Azure. Others huddled together and prayed for injured loved ones or success in the upcoming finale to the battle. Steve did both those things as well as headed to the building housing all the injured to thank and encourage them as they waited to be evaluated and sent on wagons into Casanovia’s infirmary. It was by way of one of these wagons, with the warriors coming back from having dropped off people for medical treatment that Kari came to Steve.

  “They told me how it went and what the plans are,” she said, still wearing her armor and carrying her bow. “I want to fight for the rest of this battle. I can do it,” she added, noticing Steve’s concerned look.

  “Even if I said no, I don’t think it’d stop you.” Sighing, hoping he wasn’t making the wrong decision, Steve relented and cautioned, “You can fight with us, just don’t overdo yourself.”

  Slowly, the bravest of the Casanovians and Almirians began lining up so they could be at the front of the line and the first to attack the enemies they despised. At the three hour mark, with everyone who wanted to continue fighting grouped behind them, Steve stood with Kari, Ty, Grizz, and Shana facing Highland Forest. In the distance, they watched as Crimson Singe led the aerial monsters in the attack. All the colors of the elements could be seen lighting up the Forest.

  “Here they come,” Steve softly said, more so to the four standing with him than to the few thousand at his back. Conserving energy, allowing the monsters to run most of the way to them rather than having them run to the enemy, Steve patiently waited. In the nervous quietness, with only the wind and waves making noise, Steve began reciting the oath that always helped to refocus his mind and remind him of who he was and who he served.

  “A warrior I am,

  an honor I have earned,

  I've passed the tests I've been given,

  and won't forget what I’ve learned.

  Each day I swear this solemn oath

  we call the Warrior's Creed,

  to protect the weak and helpless

  and serve anyone in need.”

  The words of the oath were slowly taken up by a few warriors in the crowd behind him, and soon, everyone who had memorized it had joined in the recitation.

  “I'll denounce the morally wrong

  and stand for what is right.

  Let my character be an example

  in men, women, and children's sight.

  These are the people who I defend

  no matter what the cost.

  I refuse to see this kingdom crumble

  or to see its citizens lost.”

  Malorek uttered these words, Steve thought as he continued reciting the Warriors Oath. But, unlike to him, to us warriors, it means something. Kingdom-wide this is the oath we’ve committed to live by. My brothers and I are bonded by these words, these words which give us strength and courage, which guide our path no matter how dark it may seem. Together we go to battle with them imprinted on our hearts and minds, and, by association, everyone who hears them and joins us on this battlefield today is a warrior.

  “I’ll vanquish the forces of darkness

  in air, on sea, or land

  with the armor on my body

  and the weapon in my hand.

  As warriors we stand together

  united we are strong

  our bond shall never be broken

  a brotherhood for all lifelong.

  These words, I speak them true,

  I'll honor them till death.

  I bind myself unto this pledge

  until my final breath.”

  Once the oath was completed, standing with the other four elect, surrounded by men and women, young and old who desired to see evil defeated, Steve once again pointed Brightflame at the enemy, and yelled with the voice of a king, “To battle!”

  “To battle!” the words were taken up by the crowd and together they all ran forward.

  Chapter 105

  “We're losing ground!” a panicked farmer with a bronze sword cried out as he fought.

  All around the five heroes, anyone who wasn’t a trained warrior was having difficulty against the monsters, especially the monsters who were elementally empowered.

  “Keep fighting!” Steve yelled out through breathless lungs. “Keep pushing forward! Don’t give up!”

  We are struggling, he refused to admit out loud, feeling the surging monster army push back against their own. The back of our army is ankle deep in water on the edge of Lake Azure. Any further and they could be in danger of drowning.

  As Kari, Ty, Grizz, and Shana fought and overcame almost all the monsters in their vicinity through using their elements, Steve could tell they were expending a lot of energy and were getting weaker by the second. There are too many monsters and they’re too strong! On his left and right, allies succumbed to the enemy. Feeling the pressure of all sides closing in around them, Steve lost hope.

  Then, he heard exuberant shouting coming from somewhere behind him. The cheers were taken up by more and more of Casanovia’s forces. Like a crowd creating a celebration wave at an arena event, the noise worked its way from those backed up in Lake Azure all the way to where he and the heroes fought towards the frontlines.

  Parrying a blow from a minotaur, while Grizz came in to finish the monster off, Steve found a moment to turn and look behind him. At first, all he saw was the jubilation on the faces of those fighting for Casanovia, but looking beyond them he saw Andonia, Sharksbane, and dozens of other familiar-looking ships in the harbor that hadn’t been there before.

  As the tired army parted before him, creating a lane for the reinforcements to run up and immediately engage the enemy, Steve was perplexed as Haruto, Kyoko, and Myoki ran past him. Following them was Captain Jarek and his pirates. Emerging after the people from Port Meris, Jun-Lei came running up the beach with the same bronze sword and armor she used to fight Jarek’s men on Lake Azure.

  Seeing Steve and stopping to rest her hands on her knees she uttered, “I’m getting too old! My crew is getting too fast for me.”

  “I can’t believe it!” Steve smiled and engulfed her in a hug, despite the fact he was sweaty and covered in mud and blood. “You brought all the pirates to help in the battle?”

  Jun-Lei nodded. “Casanovia needed all the help they could get.”

  That’s why she left the gold here, Steve realized. She offered them all her money but made them earn it by sailing across Lake Azure to aid us.

  After a moment's pause in which Steve stared in admiration of Jun-Lei’s actions, the shipmaster of Andonia said something that Steve would never forget.

  “At the end of my life, I don't want to have any regrets. I don’t care about riches or fame or getting even. I care about honoring Alazar with selfless actions. My goal is to bring as much peace to this world as possible.”

  “You've done that here,” Steve confessed. “You may end up being the reason we win this battle.”

  “Not if I’m just standing around,” Jun-Lei jokingly argued, readying her sword and running into battle, disappearing into the fray.

  Seeing Commander Krause run by him, Grizz grabbed Serendale’s warrior leader by the arm in confusion. “How are you alive?” he asked, readying Skullcleaver, considering killing the man he hated.

  “I was picked up by a fisherman’s ship as it headed back to Port Meris,” Krause explained.

  Squeezing him tighter, not letting him leave his grasp, Grizz seethed, “You're a poor wretch of a man who abandoned his city when they needed him most. Every part of me still wants to see you die.”

  “I can never redeem myself for the mistakes I made in Serendale, but at least I can try to help out this city. Let me go so I can
fight.”

  “You’re running into battle?” Grizz was confused, knowing the commander had always shyed away from fighting.

  “Just because I’ve lived my life as a coward doesn’t mean I have to forever be one. I can’t let my legacy be what I’ve allowed it to become. It’s time I face my fears by confronting them.”

  “Well, you won’t have to do it alone,” Grizz let go of his grip of the man, and in doing so, forgave Krause. “In memory of Serendale, let’s make sure Casanovia doesn’t share the same fate!”

  “If this is a Serendale reunion then wait for me,” a voice belonging to Willis Whyte called out.

  “Willis!” Grizz exclaimed, seeing the red-haired, silver-armored warrior.

  “I came to Port Meris just as Jun-Lei was getting back and heard rumors she’d helped you and the others and was going back with the pirates, so I sailed over with them. I want in on this fight as much as anyone else.”

  “Then we go together,” Grizz said, turning his armor into stone and running at the army with the last two Serendale warriors on either side of him.

  Ty and Kari came over to Steve as the last of the pirates were charging forward.

  “Where's Shana?” Steve asked, coming over to Ty and Kari.

  “She ran forward with the pirates. I think she loves this fighting a little too much,” Ty smiled.

  “Don't worry, Copper is with her,” Kari said. “He'll protect her if she can’t protect herself.”