by Beaux Riley
Stratus did not believe the rumbling beneath him came from the soldiers, but from behind him. His guess was making him fear turning around to another set of monsters, but instead…trees. Stratus closed his eyes, thinking he’d been knocked out and this was a terrible dream, but saw actual trees coming towards the elves.
Illoke noticed only moments after Stratus had called out behind them. His eyesight caught an unexpected surprise coming from Ela’syn Forest. There were great elementals made entirely of wood approaching them.
“The forest had come to the aid of its people.” He thought to himself.
There were at least ten massive wooden beings with roots that encompassed most of their being. It was as of five trees had come together to form a body roughly looking to be humanoid. Their height was massive and even taller than the golems that stood guarding Imrosyn. As the tree elementals began to make their march, the strange molten rock soldiers began to charge at the two armies. The humans and elves brought their respective race’s shields up and the battle had begun.
Caliya stood atop the shoulder of one elemental she had created vaguely in the image of her grandfather, Lyst. Her features changed to resemble her newfound power over the forests. Her eyes were no longer their former color, but now a greenish yellow. Her body was covered in tiny vines, which seemed to entwine all over her and her back was draped with a cloak of moss. She wore a headband made of leaves that had all colors of the seasons neatly braided together. If one could say that she had become one with nature, that wouldn’t be far from the truth.
She controlled the thoughts of her creations. They wouldn’t make their ascent into battle unless the golems did as well. They made their approach to the back of the two armies, and they waited patiently, as any tree would want to. She felt it was odd that such large creations wouldn’t be used to fight the armies, and then realized that perhaps they weren’t made for battle, or at least not as soldiers, but guards. They were protecting the wall of the fortress facing the elves and humans and made no notion of moving from their two rows of fifteen each. It had to mean something, and it rightly bothered her. She touched the bark of the elemental she rode and it silently set her down. Its vines, moss and other features made it look as though it had been sleeping for years, and had only recently risen. While this was partially true, the forest came alive to aid the princess, now Sage. With the knowledge of her ancestors now bright and present in her mind, Caliya could see the world much more vividly, her sight enlightened beyond her own belief.
The battle had already begun by the time Caliya had made it on foot to the armies. Blades clashed with unnatural and uneven weapons only comparable to jagged and rusty hook swords, armaments looking to be carved in the shape of a shark’s teeth line and polearms with spikey balls on either side. Stratus met with his first enemy, a man, if it could be called a ‘man’, which came at him with two hook blades. Stratus dodged the first slash coming at shoulder level. He cut the waist of the monster, seeing fire erupt from its belly. The monster made a guttural sound equivalent to a laugh and struck at him again from above its head. Stratus slashed horizontally and split the fiery being in two. Its top half fell forward and fire erupted from its middle half. What seemed like a volcano from its waist spat molten sludge in Stratus’s direction and burnt the grass upon which they fought.
All around him the soldiers were learning what kind of monsters they were fighting. It became clear that killing one could mean death for a soldier who was not prepared for the aftermath of the creature’s demise.
Stratus called out in the chaos of the battle, to try and find Illoke. Elves and Zirris alike had been surrounded and the warriors from Imrosyn were keeping him from finding the elven King. He was met with two more of the molten soldiers. Having little patience, he dropped his sword and pointed both of his palms at their heads, unleashing two strong bolts of Light. They came down just like the one before him, gushing what he assumed was their unusual insides. Stratus called out to Illoke, but still to no avail.
***
“Even more trouble.” Said Serict. Vinesca palmed a rune and the golem angrily darted towards Angaea. She almost instinctively raised her arm for the shield she’d already conjured. The golem’s fist erupted into a thousand tiny pebbles all around the invaders. She felt a tingle in her arm as the warmth of the shield she had made was now gone.
“WWWWHHAAAT…DDDDIIISSS?” The golem looked at its right arm, now a stub. Cray stood beside her and blew the golem’s body apart with one strong burst of the Light’s power. The blast’s potency not only destroyed the golem, but opened up the roof, shining in natural sunlight to Vinesca’s workshop.
“Heyo, boss! You ok? Crowlis, you got suckered here too huh?” Cray called out, seeing both Asa and Archen chained in the corner. He saw Vinesca standing in front of the two and his cheery demeanor was gone as quickly as it came. “So this is our big fear? This lady right here?” He pointed at her insultingly.
“I’ve had my fill of this. Sinesca, we are leaving, push the soldiers forward before we are over run!” Vinesca called out to her sister. The swirling vortex disappeared behind Angaea and Cray to show the blind Sinesca in the corner.
“So this is your master workshop eh, bitch?” Milla said as she stepped in front of the two paladins. Vinesca eyed the dwarf curiously.
“So not all of Kaydren’s students decided to come. It doesn’t matter. I’ve made my use of them. Resurrecting our father will come as soon as the soul stone is ready.” Said Vinesca. The essence the stone was syphoning from Asa was a constant pull at his chest. A reddish flame could be seen swirling within the rigid surface, almost as if it wanted to get out. Vinesca quickly turned to Asa and pulled the necklace from him, destroying the chain that wrapped around his neck. Asa grunted and tried to kick at his aunt, only to be kicked back against the wall.
“I WILL KILL YOU!” Asa yelled, enticing Cray to act while the Char was preoccupied. He charged at her and ended up hitting the wall by Asa with his sword, nearly striking the bound paladin. Vinesca disappeared into the same darkness that brought Cray and the others here and reappeared in the middle of the room, right by Aedrius and Milla. Serict stood beside her and eyed Aedrius. Vinesca pocketed the soul stone and with one hand she pulled the dwarf up off the ground and held a flaming hand by the woman’s neck. Milla could feel the heat coming from Vinesca’s hand and everyone stopped. Angaea backed away, and Cray stood still with his sword stuck in the wall.
“As I said, I am done. Milla, hand me the rune you swiped from Kaydren. I know you have it.” Said Vinesca. The dwarf was dumbfounded that Vinesca knew about its existence. Milla pulled it from her pocket slowly, her hand shaking. Vinesca swiped it up and threw the dwarf at the feet of Asa. Milla looked back to see the rune already glowing.
“If she uses that stone, it will open the Great Forge hidden here.” Said Milla. “Kaydren could turn anything into the element or material he desired in his forges. With the destruction of Stoneholt…” Milla paused.
“This is the only one left that can bring back my father.” Said Vinesca grimly. “A pure soul stone of essence from the children of Vallen, and the fragments of his soul given graciously back to him upon his body being reformed. That is how we bring him back to life.”
“Fragments of his soul? What does this have to do with me?!” Yelled Asa.
“We needed your essence as it had been purified over the years. Your Char power was untapped, unlike ours, which would kill us if we had used it for the stone in my hand. Much appreciated, nephew. You would have made a perfect Char, but father requires that power now.” Vinesca palmed the rune stone, activating it, and the middle of the floor began to open. Below them was the sight of lava, filling the room with a great heat. The room broke apart into four quarters, one block for the sisters, one for Asa and Crowlis, Milla, and the final two for the Angaea, Cray and the Darkened.
Serict laughed at Aedrius. “I never thought someone so highly regarded by Zahn would die so quickly. No f
ight, just a weak pathetic death. You aren’t even able to move with our new gift. Truly, truly pathetic.” Aedrius remained silent for a brief moment. The room shifted below them, revealing the lava forge. With a single wrong step, one would fall into this massive pit.
“What do you get from working for them? They are everything we hoped to not become.” Said Aedrius.
“We are both outcasts, brother. Don’t you wonder what lurks below your cell?” Asked Serict. Aedrius looked down at the floor, wondering what he meant.
“Paladin or Darkened, the Char are our enemy. You gave up who you were to work for them!? You killed my brother because he dug too deep?” Aedrius spat at the man.
“You have no idea what Zahn wanted! You were peons in a greater scheme!” Yelled Serict.
Aedrius raised his hands, summoning the same spikes that killed Kimura in Serict’s direction. Darkness enveloped the man before the spikes could land. The cloud swirled around and rushed to Aedrius, striking him in the stomach.
“We…only did what we were ordered to do.” Aedrius coughed.
Aedrius was still far too weak from starvation to truly fight back, and felt what little he had in his body was thrown up onto the warm floor. Serict’s body reformed, standing above Aedrius, looking at how sick he was.
“Serict! Get over here!” Vinesca barked her order at the Darkened. He looked up from Aedrius and quickly flew across the room within his dark smoke.
Serict caught her hand in the darkness and pulled the soul stone from her grasp. The floor had opened up entirely, with gaps between where everyone stood. A middle pedestal arose, covered in thick magma began to seep off of it as it rose to Vinesca’s right.
"We both know how this will turn out, Char." Said Serict ominously. "You had drained part of that paladin's essence that contained remnants of Vallen, passed on from the boy's mother." He looked at the stone in his hand, it glowed the same fiery essence the Char had been known to produce. The heat from it was incredible, and he felt the glove he wore burning slightly as he palmed it. Serict placed it in his vest and patted the object, ensuring it was snugly in place.
"It isn't as though you didn't do the same thing, Serict. Don't be coy. You killed Kimura and Aedrius both. Even if that man stands there, weak and pathetic, he is still only a shell of his former self. How lucky you paladins must be to get a second chance at life. Aren't I right?" Said Vinesca. The words hit Serict only briefly. "It's only a matter of time before the world sees the Darkened for the monsters they will become."
"Your father was killed for the choices he made, Vinesca." Said Serict. "You –WILL- SEE- that now." Serict blackened the entire room with newfound power. The Darkened, as the paladins, the Char and even the lone rune lord had seen, were unpredictable.
Vinesca inflamed her hand, trying to see through the darkness that Serict produced. The blackness around her ate up her flame almost as quickly as she produced it. "There are times when I believe this power was greater than the Light ever could be." He whispered all around her. "Then I remember that Zahn trusted me with his legacy. He found me on the night you slaughtered everyone I love. I owe him everything, even if it costs me my life." She could not single out where he voice came from and began to throw balls of fire violently around the room, striking no one.
"You wanted to know who the catalyst was, Serict?" Said Vinesca, as she closed her eyes.
"It was me. I love my family too much to see them die. Even if it meant saving that boy to save my sister from crying." She cried out.
The darkness faded and behind her, Serict restrained her. She did everything she could to become ethereal but felt the blackness sucking her life away. Serict was trying to kill her, and he was succeeding. It was in that brief moment she stopped and felt his right hand on her chest, right where she'd absorbed the Beacon of Light. Her eyes widened. She tried to cry out to Sinesca. He drove a blackened hand deep into her chest, pulling a bloodied blue orb that began to glow and illuminate the room. Vinesca looked down at the orb, seeing the gaping hole in her chest, and fell from the platform, into the lava below. Serict looked up at the paladins, smiling wickedly.
Serict traversed across the room and struck Sinesca down, laughing. The blind woman of course didn’t see her attacker and was at the edge of the floor, with little room to move. She tried to turn into her flaming form only to have her stomach stomped on. Serict lifted Sinesca by her neck and stood over the pits below. Her blind eyes looked desperately at him, seeing nothing. She was afraid. Serict struck her with one black spike through her chest and let her fall. Her body hit the lava and erupted in flame, leaving no trace of her to remain.
Angaea and Cray quickly rushed over to Asa and Crowlis, hopping the small chasm between the corners of the room and saw that Milla had broken the chains that bound the men.
***
The battle with the molten soldiers was nearing a close. The soldiers had adapted to their new enemies destructive capabilities and even Illoke managed to bring down several of the less than intelligent behemoths. His motions through the battlefield were quick, aiding soldiers who could not shake off multiple enemies, and witnessed several times as the molten warriors died on top of their prey, burning holes through Zirris and Ela’syn alike. The hundreds of soldiers that had ceased pouring from Imrosyn, now began to dwindle in numbers. Their army was sloppy, as Illoke saw. Each warrior fought like an individual, not as a unit. There was no army in truth, only a load of monsters that needed to be put down.
The golems began to cry out in anger, something upsetting them as Illoke and Stratus both turned from their enemies for a brief moment. The tide of battle was only getting worse. The rock giants trampled onto the battle field, crushing several soldiers in their wake. It was then that the tree giants came and met with them. Illoke saw one stone giant in particular that rushed at him just as Illoke that put down another soldier. He placed his hand on the ground, summoning roots from beneath him. The elemental magic sprouted from the ground, enveloping the giant, and as it struggled to move, the roots dug deep into its skin and broke it apart from the inside out. Illoke noticed right then that an explosion from a part of its body happened for no reason that the elf could have been responsible. It struck him them.
“Archers, find the runes on these golems and destroy them! They are what’s keeping them alive!” Illoke called out to the soldiers among him. The loudness in the battlefield prevented from his voice getting passed only a few soldiers who weren’t still occupied by molten enemies. He worried that his words were caught on deaf ears until he saw arrows launching into the sky. He smiled, noticing another soldier approaching him and quickly dispatched it with a clean cut to the neck.
Golems were met with Caliya’s tree elementals. The old looking giants struck their rocky enemies, knocking pieces of stone body parts to the ground with each blow. Caliya watched from the very edge of the battlefield. She saw one of her creations taken apart by three of the golems, only to have one of them fall to the ground, inert.
“We’re finally winning. The Char must be desperate to send their guardians out now.” She muttered to herself as she surveyed the destruction. Bodies of soldiers she knew, were within several yards of her. Elves only specialized in the mending of wounds were dead in a pool of their own blood, while others had been burned so badly that their flesh had been seared from the bone. She noticed several elves had come to meet with her as the number of molten soldiers and golems had grown into the single digits.
Stratus struck down one soldier, then another and finally one more until he, like many others were, seeing none left. He fell to his knees and began to feel thanks that the battle outside Imrosyn was nearly over. The golems he saw fighting with the tree elementals were now being pelted with arrows from the surviving archers. One by one, the runes empowering them were destroyed, and they returned to lifeless rocks.
***
Asa ran passed his allies, with his attention fully engrossed at Serict. He caught the man who was looking at th
e Beacon of Light in his hands so intently. Asa tackled him and began to strike the young Serict in the face repeatedly. Serict kept his grasp on the Beacon despite his skull hitting the stone floor several times.
“It was you! You killed him!” Asa punched him again, his knuckles bleeding over from hitting Serict’s teeth once or twice. Serict hit Asa with his free hand, and turned to darkness and reappeared on top of the paladin, his hand now firmly around Asa’s neck.
“They failed their mission. I won’t.” Serict said as he spit blood. “No one will stop me from saving the Paladine!”
“WE ARE the Paladine! You fool!” Asa cried out through choking.
“No, you…you are just pawns in a bigger game. I had to ensure they didn’t succeed today…” Said Serict. Asa felt his vision fading. He was suffocating. Asa placed both of his hands on Serict’s hand holding the Beacon and unleashed the Light. A bright flash erupted from the orb, cracking it into two pieces. One half fell into the pit below and the other near Asa’s left ear.
“No. Not this way. I’m sorry Zahn…” Serict’s voice trailed off for the last time.
Serict hand faded from Asa’s neck. His eyes were pale, as was his entire body. Serict silently faded into nothing in front of everyone. Asa grabbed for the fragment of the orb and placed it in his pocket.
The molten pool below him erupted violently. Asa felt the platform he stood on shake and he quickly jumped to the safety of the edge where the others now stood. Asa looked to see Aedrius still unconscious. He darted back over to the middle platform and back to Aedrius.
“Aedrius, AEDRIUS, WAKE UP! We have to get out of here, please, please wake up.” Asa shook the thin man repeatedly. The platform in the middle fell into the lava. Asa looked over at the others, whose faces were pale white in fear.
Milla looked on her person, throwing stones away and searching, hoping she could find the same stone that Vinesca took. “Oi Paladin, do you see a rune around you?!” She called out to him. Asa drew his attention from Aedrius to Milla and then around the platform that he currently was. Rocks had been falling from the ceiling and while he had an idea of what rune stones were, he had not a clue as to which stone he was looking for. Asa reached and picked up rocks, seeing nothing but falling debris. The platform he stood on was now shaking. He began to panic until he saw the stone under Aedrius’s hand. He quickly threw it to Milla. The platform began to crack under him.