by D N Meinster
Doren snatched his shield back up and prepared to land another blow. But before he could, Sarin shifted away.
And then, within seconds, he was back, reappearing in midair. With a roundhouse kick, Sarin sent Doren stumbling backwards.
Sarin landed softly on the ground, then sent all his spears soaring back into the air. Then he created more and more. A whirlwind formed of wooden spears swirled around him, taking out the passersby as he focused them on his adversaries. With a twirl of his wrist, dozens of spears abandoned the group and flew at Doren.
Aros ran over to his friend and jumped on top of the spears before they could hit him. He squeezed the shafts in his arms and wrangled with them like they were wild animals.
Yveen stuck two of her fingers in her mouth and let loose a high-pitched whistle. Her velizard leapt over Luewen's men and toward her. It smacked against many of the spears, ignoring the occasional cut so it could get to its master. She swung onto it and rode over to Aros and Doren. With her mace, she smashed as many of the incoming spears as she could, all while her velizard did its best to head-butt them.
Sarin broke through his cyclone of spears and went after Yveen with a weapon in each hand.
Yveen spun just as Sarin was launching himself at her. She could barely raise her mace before she took a spear in each arm and was propelled off her velizard.
Sarin lay on top of her, holding on to the spears while they dug into her arms. She could see the madness and glee in his eyes while he watched blood stream out of her.
He was distracted for enough time so he didn't see the silver blade coming. It pierced his side and left him surprised, but not fatally injured. He shifted a few feet away to get a better look at his attacker.
Yuurei had chosen to engage him, while Slythe helped Aros and Doren recover.
"I can take you all out," Sarin bellowed. "It's no problem." More spears went forth to disable his attackers.
Yuurei chose to run from both Slythe and Sarin as both the spears focused on him. As he led the weapons away, Aros and Doren got back to their feet amongst the shattered remnants of several spears.
"What are you doing here?" Doren asked with a heavy dose of spite. "Come to kidnap me again?"
"Not this time," Slythe said. "I think we can take him together."
"How?" Aros asked, staring up at the swirling spears. There were more there than he would be able to count.
Slythe's blades descended from beneath his sleeves. "Four-on-one."
They all looked to Sarin, who was still preoccupied with Yuurei.
Doren gazed skeptically at Slythe. "Just keep those spears off me and I'll do it."
Angry roars filled the air as Kuwain's men rushed out of the forest, ready to clash with Luewen's army out in the open. Both forces collided on the battlefield, as clangs of metal and chilling screams echoed through the plains. Warriors of both sides met to spill blood, and they got perilously close to Sarin and his spears.
"Keep them off me too," Doren said, and he dashed toward Sarin.
Aros trailed behind, swatting away the occasional spear, and blocking stray arrows. He kept up with Doren as best he could, making sure the greater war left his friend untouched. When clashing soldiers got too close, Aros intervened, pushing them away from Doren.
Meanwhile, Slythe focused on the mass of spears above him. He sliced them up with every gesticulation. Pieces of wood piled high as he eliminated Sarin's abundant cache.
Yuurei was tripped by a cascade of spears, but even on the ground, he refused to let Sarin get the best of him. He blocked every attempted blow with a spin of his sword. Even Sarin seemed impressed with his skill. Two spears were blocked. Then three. Then four.
Before Sarin could add a fifth, Doren came up to his side with his shield ready. "Are you going to run away again?"
"There's no need," Sarin answered. "This time, you die." He lunged at the Prince, smacking the shield out of the way and slapping the side of his face. Amused by the red mark on Doren's cheek, he tried again.
Doren did not let him land another whack with his hand, blocking each maneuver with his shield. While Aros came up to his side, Sarin surrounded them with his spears.
Aros was able to keep spears off his friend while Doren tried to bash Sarin with his shield. He went for his chest, and then his legs, but Sarin was nimble and avoided contact with the bronze weapon.
However, there was only so far Sarin could back up. His back was against the warring soldiers, and while Doren got closer, he noticed Yuurei rise up from where he'd left him.
Doren could see Sarin's discontent with the situation. "Go ahead. Shift away. But this proves it. I'm better than you."
"I can't have you thinking that," Sarin said. With two spears in his hands, he pounced at Doren.
With a powerful jab at the right moment, both spears were crushed by Doren's shield. While their fragments fluttered in the air, Doren twirled in place and smashed Sarin on the side of the knee.
Sarin went down, tumbling backwards. He didn't even have time to summon spears into his hands when Doren went in for another hit.
With a mighty lunge, Doren rammed his shield into the slightly cracked mask that Sarin had worn in both life and death. The bronze metal sprayed white splinters into the air as the force of his attack broke it apart until it made contact with the face underneath.
Sarin's head spun three hundred and sixty degrees. His neck was cracked and twisted by the time he landed on the ground. His dead carcass lay there, the newly uncovered side of his face exposed. Behind that mask had not been flesh, but bone. The side of his skull was bare, with only a lifeless eye staring out from it.
Doren was mesmerized by the unsettling appearance of his enemy.
"Wow," Aros whispered as he came to his friend's side. "All of that power, and he really was dead the whole time."
All the remaining airborne spears descended, drifting gradually to the ground or getting caught in a particularly harsh breeze. Slythe and Yuurei dodged and destroyed any spears that got in their way as they came up to Doren and Aros.
"So it's over then," Slythe said as he examined Sarin's body. "We'll be taking what we came for, now." He held out his hand.
Doren and Aros both raised their weapons. "I don't think so."
"If you really want to keep fighting." Slythe and Yuurei held up their swords as well.
They stood on opposite sides of Sarin's body, awaiting the other to make the first move.
"Boys," Yveen said from atop her velizard as it crept over. Her hands were empty and her arms were stained red, but either the position or the hat made her appear formidable. "Can't we all amicably part ways?"
"No ma'am," Slythe replied. His eyes stayed on his potential foes. "The Keys are ours to protect."
"But who's going to protect you?" What remained of Lady' Yveen's gang came up from behind her. There were at least a dozen of them atop the velizards, and they circled the men who had ignited Yveen's ire. The creatures croaked and growled while their riders readied an attack.
Slythe leered at Yveen, but he was not about to engage them. "We'll be back for them." He and Yuurei spun in place and disappeared.
"Thanks," Doren said, returning the shield to his back. "Think you can help us find our friend?"
Yveen ogled Sarin's skull before answering. "Get on."
"Simma!" Rikki shouted as hundreds of men in golden pads ran past her. "Simma!"
She tried to spot her, but there was too much commotion between the zipping arrows and stampede of soldiers. Simma would want to find Rikki to execute her plan, unless she was backtracking. Was she really going to let this war play out?
No. She wouldn't want that. She would try the diplomatic approach again, like she had with Luewen, which meant she was on her way to Kuwain.
Rikki eyed the piles of bodies that lay right on Fair Forest's edge. She had never entered such a place. The patches of trees she'd come across in Faunli were nothing compared to the dense growth and wide trunk
s standing a few feet away. She grabbed onto her staff with both hands and prepared to slip in. She'd already been to worse places since she had left Kytheras.
An arrow passed through her body right as she began to fade. Rikki tried not to consider the ill effects as wild branches and uneven roots encompassed her. As she completely shifted into the forest, she did a cursory examination of her torso. Her body was whole. The area the arrow had touched was unaffected.
Rikki sighed with relief and resumed her calls. "Simma!"
One of Kuwain's soldiers, clad in red pads and a visor across the top half of his face, stepped out from behind one of the trees. Without hesitation, he raised his crossbow and let loose an arrow.
The arrow shattered before it even touched her staff. Rikki didn't have time for this. With a light flick, the soldier was lifted off the ground and slammed against the nearest tree. He slid down the trunk, until his unconscious body was unpleasantly mangled at its base.
"Simma!" Rikki looked to the source of ruffling nearby, but it was only Luewen's men running through. "Dammit. Where are you?"
Rikki followed them as she headed deeper into the forest. So many of the trees had been embedded with arrows, it was like they had been transformed into overlarge pin cushions. The unnatural barbs made travel difficult as the space to move grew tighter. It was a wonder that Kuwain had been able to move his men so far into the wood.
Luewen's golden-clad troopers could go no farther. They were cornered at a particularly narrow bundle of trees which had been stuck with so many arrows that it had to be intentional. The men swayed cluelessly, as if they couldn't guess this would be a trap.
"Come on, guys!" Rikki screamed at them a bit urgently.
They all looked up at her, but they didn't listen. They might not have spoken her language. Only the Lords and Ladies tended to know old Kytheran here.
Rikki turned her back on them, but a short glance upward as she readied to shift revealed the red pads concealed behind the leaves.
Kuwain's men must have noticed that she saw them, because they sprang from their hiding place almost immediately. Men in red pads dove from the branches, scimitars stretched out as they made to impale their befuddled prey.
Rikki sidestepped one of the warriors as he landed. His companions were targeting Luewen's men, but he saw no other but Rikki. All he brought to fight her was his scimitar, a curved sword that could not protect him.
Rikki pointed her staff at him. "Stay where you are and I will show you mercy."
The warrior responded by slicing her staff with his scimitar.
Rikki recoiled, bringing her staff closer for an inspection. She didn't want to permanently mar Amelia's staff. "Mistake."
Before she could shoot a fireball at her attacker, Lady Simma jostled through the trees and tackled the soldier. She wore the familiar orb-like gloves on her hands, and she slammed the metal into the warrior's face until he was unconscious.
Simma gave Rikki a wink before running towards the rest of Kuwain's men. Her agility was unmatched, and her opponents had no time to block before she had left a round imprint in each of their faces. Each of the warriors went down, joining the soldiers they had already killed.
"Hey!" Simma called out once the scuffle ended.
A resounding boom sounded in the distance, and Rikki nearly dropped her staff as she twitched in surprise.
"Kuwain was ready for my brother," Simma said as she approached. "So many traps." She took a moment to come to grips with what she'd seen. "We have to find him."
"That was an explosion," Rikki stated, unable to move past the shock. "We should leave. Do what we came here to do."
"No," Simma replied instinctively. "I have to try one last time. I have to know there wasn't another way."
Rikki would've continued to protest, but she knew that words would never be as persuasive as the bonds Simma had with her brothers. Neither were her blood, yet she continued to treat them as if they were. It was such an honorable course that she couldn't help but respect Simma, no matter her dearth of affection towards her. However, bodies would only keep piling up the longer they waited. They would need to move with haste.
Rikki extended her staff toward her. "If you have an idea where he is, I can shift us there."
"I don't," Simma said. "So let's move." She took off, heading in the direction of the blast.
Rikki followed as Lady Simma raced through the constricted openings between the trees. She kept her staff as tight to her side as she could, to prevent any additional dings in the silver. With every off-putting sound, she wanted to stop and check into it, but Simma refused to be stalled. She ignored anything that might stray from her goal. She had a singular focus, and she was prepared to ignore every potential threat or danger until she had found who she was looking for.
This became more difficult as they neared the core of the battle. The forest opened up, but warring men occupied much of the free space. Arrows were flying everywhere and men were dueling atop corpses. And Simma was running into the middle of it all.
The projectiles bounced off her gloves as she swatted them away. No archer could match her speed. But the situation grew precarious as they tried to make their way through lines of combatants.
Simma pushed through, engaging warriors on both sides as she tried to make it by. As she managed to block one sword, another would be swung down upon her. She was able to keep up at first, blocking each blow and retaliating into the men's cheeks or guts.
Rikki was able to stand by and watch as Simma took down man-after-man. But she was soon squeezed in and overwhelmed. Her shoulders were locked down and her mobility was limited. The men around her slashed and slashed, drawing blood from one another as she became a bystander.
Taking advantage of the environment, Rikki targeted the trees with her staff. Though they creaked and resisted, she ordered them to obey her will. Her eyes grew bright and the channeling crystal even brighter, but few Fauns noticed and less tried to thwart her.
The branches of the trees sprang to life, and they bent downward as Rikki silently commanded them. While Simma struggled and ducked hits amongst the soldiers, the branches reached out to grab the men who had inadvertently ensnared her. The lanky wooden limbs spun around their chests like snakes, though they failed to perceive their situation until the arms sprang back and they were lifted straight off the ground.
Rikki rushed forward as more men became entwined in the forest's clutches. Even though they were being plucked from battle, they wouldn't let up their fight.
Free to once again engage, Simma pounced on several of the men. She knocked their blades from their hands and left their faces bloody and noses broken.
Although less arrows crossed the air, Rikki still had to knock several off course to protect herself and Lady Simma. In one instance, she had a tree branch bend down and take the hit to save Simma from a potentially fatal wound.
Coming up to her companion's side, Rikki said, "Shouldn't we keep going?"
"He's not far," Simma guaranteed.
Rikki held up her staff as a wild swing came in. As the sword touched her staff, it disappeared.
The soldier gazed dumbfounded at his empty hands, and was then propelled backwards by a swift prod of Rikki's staff.
When Simma was satisfied with the amount of men she had dropped, she ran forth again, leaving Rikki to chase after her.
There was less fighting as they went on, but more bodies. Most tended to be dressed in gold. Their pads had protected them from arrows, but they were no match for blades. Blood leaked from each cut, tingeing each with Kuwain's color.
Simma and Rikki finally came to the perimeter of the battle. Here, multiple battalions were still standing around, not bothering to engage the enemy. Somehow, they had even squeezed in a couple velizards, and were waiting to start a second assault.
Amongst them was Kuwain, adorned in the same red pads as his men. If not for his crown, they would not have been able to spot him.
"Brot
her," Simma said as she went up to him. She took off her gloves so he knew she was not there to fight.
Kuwain left the Massku blade hanging at his side, though his men raised their swords and scimitars as she advanced. "Simma," he said with a heavy dose of exasperation. "Have you come to do Luewen's bidding? Or perhaps offer your services?"
"I come to beg you to see reason," she replied. "Luewen has twice the men that you do. If you do not surrender, you will all die."
"We've already cleared most of the forest of his men," Kuwain responded. "Next we clear the plains. And then Radite. The forty families were trained for this. They are not paupers given blades for coins." He spat on the forest floor.
"If you do not stop, I will stop you."
Kuwain's fingers slid against the hilt of his sword. "If you want to fight..."
"No," Simma said. "But I will end this war. I will tell them all your secret."
Kuwain's heavy laugh was phony and disconcerting. He raised a finger in her face. "No one will believe you. No one."
"Luewen said the same thing," Simma said. "Are you so willing to gamble on what Faunli will believe?"
"I already wear the crown," Kuwain responded. "When Luewen is dead, there will be no one else to lead. Go ahead and spread your rumors, but they will amount to nothing, dear sister."
Simma slipped her gloves back on, but instead of attacking, she walked back toward Rikki.
"Move out!" Kuwain shouted seconds later. "Let's end this!" He took out his jagged black sword and held it high so all his men could see. Then they all paraded onward, to meet Luewen's men and finish the battle.
"What now?" Rikki asked as she and Simma watched the army pass by. Was she finally ready to reveal her family's secret?
Simma bit her lip as her eyes filled with sorrow. "There is only one way to end this now."
Rikki moved her staff towards her.
"No," Simma stated. She got in line at the tail end of the battalion and started striding with the soldiers.
Rikki stayed at her side as they made their way out of Fair Forest. She seemed to be the only one unable to ignore the areas they passed through. Bodies were scattered throughout, as were men who had yet to move on to the Great Bastion. Her eyes filled with tears as their cries went unnoticed. She would've run to help them, if she didn't fear losing Simma again.