by D N Meinster
“When did you get here?” Aros asked Yveen.
“At about the time when you stopped losing,” she replied. “Isn’t that a coincidence?”
Aros snorted and gave a brief, “Thanks.”
Yveen’s companions tugged at the reins of five velizards as they brought them over.
“Just enough,” Yveen said. “Hop on. We’ll get you to Neanthal.”
“Oh, is that where we’re going?” Aros asked, unhappy that he was about to face a demigod when his body was already aching.
“What’s the plan?” Doren asked as he climbed onto his velizard.
Rikki swung her leg over the velizard, realizing she’d rather have been riding a pegasus, but she wasn’t about to put Mirabelle in the middle of all of this.
“I’m the plan,” Rikki asserted.
“I’ll, um, help,” Azzer said. It took two mages to defeat Neanthal the first time. If Amelia and Hatswick could manage, maybe Rikki and Azzer could as well.
“We all will,” M’dalla stated.
Once they were all situated on the velizards’ backs, Yveen led them to the line where the rest of her company waited.
“If he really doesn’t want to fight you, he’ll be behind all of that.” She pointed her mace at the countless throng of Massku. “We’ll get you to the back and hold them off from there. Your forces will keep them busy over here. And you five can get at Neanthal while we’re all doing that. Questions? Protestations?”
They all glanced around at each other but otherwise remained silent.
“Ready?” Yveen raised her mace above her head and let out a whistle. She aimed the mace forward and the pack of velizards took off.
Aros tightly held onto the reins while his swords rested on his back. He was more concerned with falling off the creature than he was getting attacked by the Massku. And his constant bobbing only reinforced his preconception.
Rikki jabbed her staff forward and toppled a column of Massku that were in her way. When the velizard reached the fallen, it climbed atop them as it trotted through.
Doren knocked his shield into demibeasts as they launched themselves at the velizards. Many dropped from the air and went still after his attacks.
Lady Yveen led them all, bashing her mace into helmet, sword, and club as she navigated her velizard through the horde.
Azzer shifted back-and-forth from his velizard, landing yards in front of it to try and clear a way forward before returning to its back. Even a single pound from his staff into the muddy plains could topple a platoon of Massku.
M’dalla took to the back of the path, striking any potential stalkers with her flail. She found she had to protect Aros more than anyone else, as his sole focus appeared to be remaining atop his velizard.
A lineup of plated Massku attempted to interfere with Yveen’s charge, but her company of riders came at them from the side and immediately displaced them.
When the Kytherans seemed to make it more than halfway through Neanthal’s army, they were met with a new obstacle. Demibeasts seemed to have been inflated to the size of velizards, and a single tackle was able to bring down the rider and their creature.
“Aros!” M’dalla screamed as a massive demibeast lunged for him.
Aros slid off the velizard before a demibeast knocked it over and tore at its neck with its teeth.
M’dalla stretched out a hand and Aros caught onto her. She swung him onto the back of the velizard and they kept going.
“When did they get so big?” Aros asked as a pack of engorged demibeasts came running towards them.
As the demibeasts neared, an arrow came from above and stuck itself into the eye of one of the beasts, immediately dropping it.
Aros looked upward and his mouth dropped open.
A post bird was flying into battle, with Loraya Lette hanging from one of its talons.
Loraya loaded up an arrow into her bow and set it loose. This one struck another demibeast that was in Aros’ way.
The post bird let out a shriek, and suddenly the air was filled with arrows. They landed in front of the company of velizards, sticking the occasional Massku and breaking on plated armor.
Loraya’s band of revolutionaries kept up the volley, while Loraya kept her eye on Aros.
Though not completely lethal, the Streamer distraction allowed the velizards to successfully proceed to the back of the Massku army.
Upon surpassing the last row of Massku, Yveen had her velizard company circle around and form a line.
Aros, M’dalla, Doren, Rikki, and Azzer all slid from their velizards and regrouped behind the newly formed defenses. The post bird dove down and allowed Loraya to drop off before taking back to the air.
Aros couldn’t resist the urge to run up and hug her, so he let it happen. She embraced him and it took over a minute before the two broke apart.
“I was…being stubborn,” Loraya admitted.
“If only I could get Simma to change her mind as you did,” Yveen sighed as she circled them.
“The Five Kingdoms stand together,” Rikki said. Representatives from every kingdom had joined them. “All of Ghumai stands against Neanthal.”
A single clap sent shivers down all of their spines. It was followed by another clap. Then another.
Neanthal appeared from out of nowhere, grinning as he sized up those that came to challenge him.
“Kytheras. Faunli. Terrastream. Belliore. The Twilight Islands. All of Ghumai really has come to stand against me. I am impressed by your union. I truly am. Your alliance has held back my armies. It’s gotten you here. I would’ve bet gems that I’d have beaten you already. But through determination, intelligence, will, and brotherhood, you have made it to me.”
They all stared, fiddling with their weapons but not yet readying an attack.
“Alas, I have not come to trifle with puppets and dupes. Where you stand now is where you will die. You all believe you are acting of your own accord, but it is the Goddess that drives you into my presence. I preferred not to deal with you personally, but it seems She intends for such an outcome. So I will kill each of you, subjugate your kingdoms, conscript your citizens, and take them all with me as I move onto the true prize: Magenine’s Bastion. Once her sphere belongs to me, She will recognize me as an equal and this petty game will be over.”
Rikki glared at Neanthal. “How could you ever be Her equal, when you aren’t even ours?”
“Bold words,” he replied, the last hint of a grin disappearing from his face. Neanthal stretched his arms out to his sides and the dirt and pebbles in the area began to quake. They shot up from the ground, coating his legs and climbing up the rest of his body. And when he was covered in earth, it began to transform into black steel. An armor not dissimilar from the plated settled onto his exterior. It was sharper, with more curved spikes growing out from his shoulder blades and waist. His helmet only exposed his eyes, where they stared out from beneath metal planks that formed an uneven V atop his head. And at the center of his chest was a glowing red symbol: Neanthal’s brand. From that heart, red veins appeared to grow out and cut through parts of the black armor.
Neanthal reached towards them, and a black sword with two blades, one broad and one needle-like, appeared in his hand. At the hilt of the sword was a red gem that matched the brand displayed on his chest.
Rikki inched her staff toward Neanthal, while Doren readied his shield and Aros withdrew both clawblades. Loraya nocked an arrow while M’dalla prepared a swing of her flail. Azzer aimed his staff, while Yveen tightened a hand on the reins and another on her mace.
Yveen tried to see how they could possibly win against this demigod. But in that instant, she saw them all dying within moments. Even if they all rushed together, only the mages stood a chance of surviving.
To prevent them all from being killed, she had to serve as the first distraction.
With a slight wag, Yveen’s velizard rushed forth, jumping over the six others and heading straight for Neanthal.
&nbs
p; The charge took Neanthal by surprise, as he resorted to using his sword to gut her velizard as it came at him.
Yveen rolled off as her precious friend lost intestines and blood from the new incision. She raised her mace but Neanthal’s attention was already elsewhere. They had moved in, as Yveen had intended.
Aros swatted at Neanthal’s sword while Loraya’ took aim at his eyes.
Azzer let loose a stream of frost from his staff that coated Neanthal’s left shoulder.
Doren aimed his bronze beams at the red heart, while Rikki rushed forward and slammed her staff into the exact spot Doren was hitting. An actual crack formed in Neanthal’s brand.
M’dalla took Rikki’s action as an example and swung her flail into the spot in his armor that Azzer was weakening.
Instead of continuing his duel with Aros, Neanthal tossed his sword into the mud and slammed his gauntlets together. A massive boom resulted, lifting all his opponents off their feet and sending them flying backwards.
Neanthal regained possession of his sword and floated over to this nearest opponent. Having yet to recover, he shoved his blade into the golden armor and smirked as M’dalla choked on her own blood.
“No!” Azzer screamed, and he dove at Neanthal.
With a rapid swing of his blade, the blue mage was decapitated before reaching him.
“Ahhhh!” Aros screamed, and golden beams shot forth from both blades and consumed and blinded Neanthal.
Doren stretched out his shield and sent his own bronze light to join Aros’ golden rays.
Noting how he could not see past their attacks, Yveen hurried forth and rammed her mace into the spot on his armor that Azzer had weakened.
The black steel on Neanthal’s arm shattered like it’d become glass, and his entire limb was left exposed.
Loraya took aim and sent an arrow straight into his shoulder.
Rikki readied a beam of her own to join her friends, but Neanthal shifted away to escape their attack.
Their heads turned in every direction, but there was no sign of him for over a minute.
He eventually reappeared behind Rikki, but Doren spotted him and sent his shield flying.
Rikki saw Doren act and took action before she knew he was actually behind her. With her staff glowing green, she swung it around her back and shattered another portion of Neanthal’s armor.
She ducked and took control of Doren’s shield, sending it into Neanthal’s armor over and over again.
Loraya continued her barrage, sticking arrows in Neanthal every time an inch of him was exposed by the failing armor.
Aros let loose his golden rays, and Neanthal shifted again.
When he reappeared, he was pulling arrows from his arms and chest. He held up the wounds to show them what they’d done, but as they stared, the punctures faded like they’d never been there at all.
Loraya didn’t let that dissuade her and she resumed the assault.
Neanthal, finally bothered by the nuisance, locked his eyes onto her. In a blink, he was at her side with sword in hand.
Loraya held up her bow to block, and Neanthal easily cut it in half while its bearer rolled away.
He meant to chase her, but a flying mace distracted him while Aros dashed over and stuck both clawblades into an exposed arm.
As he raised his sword to retaliate, a bronze shield smacked into his helmet.
Rikki was right behind it, and she jabbed her staff into the helmet, breaking it apart and sending Neanthal stumbling back.
Instead of reforming the armor, he began ripping off what was left of it, piece by piece. “Do you think you can harm me? Every wound is temporary. I cannot die. I cannot be killed. And you haven’t even come up with some new way to imprison me. Magenine has sent you all to your deaths.”
Rikki, Doren, and Aros regrouped while Neanthal returned to his usual attire.
“I’ve held back, but it’s time for this war to end.” Neanthal held his sword in front of his face before targeting the trio with it.
In response, two clawblades, a shield, and a staff pointed back at him.
A pillar of mud rose from the ground adjacent to Neanthal. It towered over him before it shot forward, slamming into Aros and taking him with it as it continued onward into the battling armies.
Rikki responded by liquifying the spot beneath Neanthal.
He sunk into the sludge before shifting out and reappearing at Rikki’s side.
Doren held up his shield as Neanthal swung it down at her. So mighty was his blow that the black blade cut into the top of the bronze disk.
Rikki raised her staff into Neanthal’s face, but a third arm materialized and emerged from his back and slapped her and her staff to the side.
Doren struggled as he attempted to pull his shield away from Neanthal’s blade. When he eventually managed it, he stumbled back, leaving himself briefly exposed.
Neanthal’s sword swung down on his shoulder. First, the needle cut through his cloak and arm, and then the broad blade finished the amputation.
Doren’s arm and shield dropped to the ground.
Rikki was shocked to see that Amelia’s cloak provided as little protection against him as the Bellish armor. But the sight of blood spurting from Doren’s wound snapped her into action.
Doren’s arm leapt up from the ground and reattached itself to his exposed shoulder.
The pain instantly ceased, and back in possession of his shield, Doren slammed it into the side of Neanthal’s head.
Aros grabbed at the arm that was reaching towards him, and Loraya promptly pulled him back on his feet. He impaled an incoming demibeast, while she slid an arrow into her hand and launched herself at a nearby traitor.
Once the two of them cleared the vicinity of enemies, Aros located Neanthal and his friends in the distance.
Doren let loose a bronze beam, but Neanthal shifted from its path and reappeared at Doren’s side. This time, his blade cut both of his hands off at the wrist. But they only fell halfway to the ground before they zoomed back into place at the end of his arm.
Doren made to retaliate, but his whole body went numb.
“Can you do the same if I decapitate him?” Neanthal taunted. As he reared his sword, Rikki tried to shift into the way.
But she was only partly faded into being and the sword passed through her.
A flying clawblade knocked Neanthal’s blade off course, giving Rikki time to fully materialize.
With her staff against his chest, Rikki unleashed a stream of green fire intended to push him away.
But though the fire enmeshed his torso, he was otherwise unfazed by the attack.
Rikki let up as Aros rejoined his friends’ side.
“Your great-grandmother was actually a challenge,” Neanthal said. With a swift upward jolt of his sword, a layer of mud rose up and coated the trio. In an instant, the mud turned to stone, leaving the three of them encased and stuck in their positions.
Yveen’s piercing whistle called three nearby velizard riders to her position. She directed them to go after Neanthal and they took off.
As Neanthal admired his work and prepared to finish the trio off, he saw the velizards coming at him in his mind’s eye.
He spun and a demibeast shot out from within his chest and tackled one of the incoming creatures.
As Neanthal reached out for the other two, his arms became black smoke and increased in size, until his hands were large enough to grab hold of the velizards like they were play toys. He squeezed the life out of them and their riders until they were merely red smears on the battlefield.
The stone burst off Rikki, sending chunks in every direction. She was glowing green as much as the channeling crystals were on her staff and neck. With a touch, the rock melted from her friends and returned them to their previous state.
Aros and Doren let loose gold and bronze beams at Neanthal.
A cloud of black smoke got between them and absorbed the attack.
Neanthal’s arms returned to
form before he sent his sword into the air, targeting his assailants.
Rikki conjured up a barrier and the sword collided into it. Her glow intensified as the sword tried to wiggle free.
Neanthal only managed to free it by pulling it out personally, an act that eliminated her invisible wall.
Aros ran at the Beast, both clawblades swinging.
Neanthal blocked one blade, and though it seemed that Aros might get a hit with the other, his sword appeared instantly in place to block it.
The speed at which the duel commenced was unrivaled, and but no matter where he aimed or how fast he swung, Aros couldn’t land a single strike.
Doren tossed his shield at Neanthal while he was distracted, but the third arm materialized from his back and caught the bronze disk. Then another arm materialized. And then a whole second Neanthal spawned out from behind the original.
The second Neanthal, in true display of his strength, locked his hands at opposite ends of the shield and started to pull. A crack sprouted from the slit Neanthal’s earlier attack had left.
Doren tensed up as he watched the shield that had been enchanted never to break slowly being torn apart.
Rikki targeted the second Neanthal, but a third Neanthal appeared and threw himself at her. They were both on the ground when he climbed on top of her and wrapped his hands around her throat.
Getting bored of his duel with Aros, the gem on Neanthal’s blade began to glow, coating the sword in red light. With his next strike, he cut through one of Aros’ clawblades, sending the sharpened Ligold teetering to the earth.
Aros jumped back and gazed at the broken hilt with amazement.
While he was flabbergasted by his lost sword, Neanthal sent the remains of the blade slithering to Aros’ feet. It tied his ankles together, and grew as it wrapped itself around his legs, then his waist, and then his arms and chest. Once it reached his neck, it began to squeeze.
Aros shook and tried to spin but couldn’t free himself from the ensnarement. Each breath became more difficult. All of his surroundings were going fuzzy.
Doren watched helplessly as the second Neanthal successfully ripped his shield in two and dropped both halves at his side. It felt like he’d just seen a friend die.