by Matt Taylor
Sylas shot up in his bed, sweat dripping from his body as he tried to orient himself. Fear still gripped at his confused mind, his heartbeat rapidly, and his ears were ringing loudly. Ringing? No, not ringing, it sounded more like a bell… several large bells chiming all at once… Amidst the confusion, another sound slowly became clear amidst the chaos.
“Sylas! Get up, something’s going on out there!”
Sylas shook his head and rubbed his face with his hands. Forcing his mind to come up to speed, he saw Torren scrambling to put on his trousers in front of him.
“Torren, what’s going…”
Just as he spoke, Uthren crashed through the door to their room. “Get your things now! Gelendor is under attack.”
The ringing of the bells grew louder as his mind continued to wake up, the screams of women and children coupled with the war cries and panicked instructions of their fathers and husbands growing ever louder.
Sylas tore the blankets off of his body and almost fell to his knees as he hit the floor. The adrenaline in his body immediately kicking in to help stabilize him before collapsing. He searched amidst the dim candlelight of his room for Sky before remembering his ring. Using its Magick, he called out to her, “Sky? Where are you?”
She immediately appeared in front of him on the bed as she responded, “I was hiding, what’s going on?”
Sylas frantically searched the ground in front of him until he found his bag lying at the foot of his bed. Hoisting it into the air, he began throwing his essential traveling gear inside.
“It’s alright, Gelendor is under attack. Stay invisible and stay close. If I ever get too far away, call out to me so that you don’t get lost.”
Sylas grabbed whatever possessions were easily accessible and shoved them into his bag, then finding his clothes got himself dressed as fast as he could.
“It has to be Maelos, I think he found us,” Torren said, throwing his bag onto his back. “Hurry, Sylas, we need to get down there and help!”
Sylas breathed heavily as he finished with his boots then nodded to Torren. They sprinted together down the hall towards Samara’s room. Just before reaching the door, she and Uthren swung the door open in front of them.
“Quick, everyone down, and stay together! Head towards the commotion and see if you can help, but don’t put yourself in too much danger. If the fight looks too dangerous, then retreat and pray that the armies of Gelendor can defend against it. Meet back at this tavern when the chaos is over, understood?”
After seeing them all nod, Uthren continued, “I’m going to try and find Geode, he’s probably at the front of the attack already, but I’ll let him know of our meeting place if I see him. Now go! Keep each other safe!”
Uthren made the symbol of Light with his hands and with a battle cry, ran through the hallway, down the stairs, and into the ensuing chaos.
Torren took charge as leader of their small band and hoisting his sword out of his sheath gritted his teeth in anger, “They will pay for any damage they cause to this city. Turn on your Magick and follow me, we’ll go down and assess the situation, then I’ll decide what we do from there.”
Samara and Sylas looked at each other, fear enveloping them as the thought of more combat sank deep within. Samara made the symbol of Light, after which her hands and eyes began to glow. Sylas thought for a moment, then deciding that Light would suit him best in the dark by helping him see, opened his second mind using Light as his chosen element.
“Right, follow me!” Torren exclaimed as he ran towards the stairs.
As they exited the front door of the tavern, the dark reality of the situation began to set in. All of the guard towers that were set atop of the high barrier wall had their emergency beacons lit, the light that they cast down onto the battlefield showed a scene straight from a nightmare. A large section of the wall guarding the city had been demolished. A mage with dark robes sat upon a beast that Sylas had never seen before, but that looked a lot like something his father had told him stories about. Only this one didn’t look like it was alive… Yet Its long bony tail waved back and forth as it reared its head back, opened its bony mouth, and let out a terrifying roar.
“Torren is that-”
“It looks like a dragon…” Torren exclaimed dumbfoundedly, cutting him off. “But it doesn’t have any skin, it’s just bone…”
Samara screamed and pointed at the army in front of the skeletal dragon. “Look!”
Sylas pulled his eyes from the dragon and saw thousands of skeletons armed with swords and shields breaking through the crushed city wall, making their way into the city. Several with bows and arrows also crawled through the rubble and began to draw arrows from their quivers and loose them into the city.
“The skeletons from my vision…” Sylas whispered as a chill ran up his spine. He looked to Torren for instruction, but Torren just stood frozen in terror as he gazed upon the army of undead in front of him.
Just then, a flash of light and a crackle of thunder came from the darkness of the city as a lightning bolt shot towards the skeletons, striking several of them and bouncing from one to another. More than a dozen dropped to the ground, whatever had given them life leaving as their bones turned to ash. The quick flash of light revealed Uthren, his eyes and hands glowing the same blue color with an inner orange tint from combining Light and Fire Magick to make lightning. A host of other mages and warriors of Gelendor stood by his side, ready to face the undead invaders.
The mage riding the skeletal dragon lifted his hand and pointed towards the group of defenders. His hand flared the same purple and black color which swirled in the eye sockets of the dragon and undead army that he commanded, and the skeletons began to charge.
Torren took in several sharp breaths before dropping his pack then hoisting his sword into position, “Come on!” He screamed and ran towards the nearest skeletons.
“Samara!” Sylas yelled, “You stick with Torren and make sure he stays safe, give him shielding and take out as many of the skeletons that you can, I’ll loop around on the right side of them and see if I can get into a good flanking position.”
Samara nodded, then dropped her pack and took off after Torren, small orbs of Light forming around her hands as she prepared for battle.
Sylas turned his attention back to where Uthren and the others were and saw that they too were charging towards the skeletons.
Uthren pulled his hands back over his head and with a mighty throw of his arms, cast another lightning bolt at the skeletons. It struck a skeleton with a spear right in the chest then proceeded to bounce to four other nearby skeletons. The bolt of lightning rippled through their animated bodies for a short moment before they too crumpled to the ground.
There were several other mages behind Uthren who all had dark green glowing auras around them. Almost in perfect unison, several of them pointed their hands in the same direction, sending beams of Nature Magick through the air towards a grove of large trees. The beams of light struck the trees, sending a ripple of green light pulsating up their trunks and down each branch and leaf. A couple of seconds later, the trees began to shake and glow brightly. Roots began bursting forth from the ground underneath the glowing trees, upheaving rocks and dirt violently as they pulled themselves out of the earth. The trunks of the trees split near their base, forming two separate columns of wood that acted as legs as they continued to pull themselves out of the ground and move towards the advancing skeletons.
Sylas quickly pulled his attention back to the mages that had conjured the Magick and noticed that they were moving in the exact same pattern as the trees were. Looking back at the trees, he realized that the trees were duplicating the actions of the mage that was controlling them. The movement of the trees got smoother and quicker as they uprooted from the ground and eventually started walking towards the skeletons. They swung their large branches like natural clubs, crushing and throwing the animated bodies through the air as they joined the fight.
An arrow f
lew through the air and stuck into the ground just inches from Sylas’s foot as he watched the trees. Turning towards the direction that the arrow came, he saw two skeletons with bucklers and short swords rapidly approaching him, as well as a skeleton archer nocking another arrow to fire at him. Sylas took his pack off and tossed it to the side, he then focused his energy towards his ring and called out to Sky.
“Stay here, you will be safe. I’ll come back for you. Just don’t leave unless you absolutely have to!”
“Stay safe.” She replied. “I’ll be waiting.”
Sylas nodded, then focused his mind on creating a shield of Light around himself. An orb of Light formed around him as he channeled his Magick into the spell, which lit up his location in the darkness as it grew.
The skeletal archer pulled back the string of his bow and loosed another arrow. It flew through the air before bouncing off the shield of Light that surrounded Sylas. He slowly pulled the shield inward until it changed from its spherical form to a large square shield shape that hovered in front of his left arm. Making sure it followed his arms movements, he pulled his sword from its sheath and charged towards the oncoming assault.
The nearest skeleton raised its sword over its head and brought it down towards Sylas. He put his shielded arm in front of the blade and parried it aside, then swung in an arching motion with his sword at the skeletons head.
The skeleton brought its buckler up, blocking the blow. The second skeleton warrior arrived moments later and took a jab at Sylas’s chest with the tip of his blade, which he was barely able to knock aside with his own sword before being skewered. Taking advantage of his double vision perspective that his second mind gave him, he was able to see the first skeleton raise his sword high above his head and swing it down towards him again. He raised his Light shield up and again forced the blade to bounce off of it, this time adding in a burst of energy to the shield to push the sword away with additional force.
The sword flew from the skeletons hand and stuck into the ground several feet away, just as another arrow was loosed from the archer. Sylas jumped backward as the arrow flew past his face, the wind that it carried, creating an audible whistle through the air.
Realizing that he was quickly becoming overwhelmed, Sylas turned more towards the offensive and brought his shield arm in towards his body, then throwing it outward in an arch, sent his shield forward as a projectile of Light slicing through the air at the two skeleton warriors in front of him.
The slashing beam of Light caught the skeleton on his right just below the chin and sent it flying backward through the air. The one on the left got hit directly in the chest, the Light singeing his bones as it struck and then rippling through its body.
The skeleton took a step towards him and then crumpled to the ground, the purple light that filled its sunken eye sockets flaring for just a moment before disappearing completely. The skeleton that had been hit under the chin began to slowly raise up off the ground, it’s head sitting slightly crooked on its neck.
Sylas focused a ball of energy into his left hand, then pointed it towards the skeleton and released it, sending a beam of Light straight into its torso. The bones of the skeleton separated and fell to the ground as the light in its eye sockets faded into oblivion.
Two down.
Taking a quick glance at the battle around him, Sylas saw the actual severity of the situation. Although the warriors and mages of Gelendor were much more powerful and skilled than the skeletal army that was upon them, the sheer number of enemies that were flooding through the walls of the city were starting to overwhelm them. Animated Tree Giants fell to the ground, swords and arrows tearing their bark and limbs to pieces. Other Tree Giants swung their branches at the horde, smashing their foes under their incredible strength, desperately trying to keep their ground amongst the seemingly endless waves of enemies. Flashes of green light, mixed with the occasional crackle of lightning from Uthren sparked through the air as the mages of Gelendor defended their home with powerful Magick, and the sound of metal on metal rang through the air as swords clashed against each other. Sylas caught a glimpse of Torren, surrounded by sword-wielding skeletons. His body glowed with Light Magick as Samara stood behind him, protecting him with her shields while casting the occasional beam of Light at approaching enemies.
Sylas turned his attention back at the skeleton archer in front of him. It had already nocked another arrow and was aiming its bow straight at him.
Allowing the element of Light that filled his second mind with suggestions to take precedence, and remembering the feeling of moving through space at blinding speed when being teleported by Uthren, Sylas cocked his sword into a jabbing position just as the arrow was loosed in his direction.
Moments before the arrow reached his location, he allowed the Light Magick flowing within him to flood over his body as a pillar of Light descended from the sky and engulfed him. Less than a second later, the Light dissipated, and he found himself standing behind the archer. Thrusting his sword forward, he pierced the skeleton through the back of its rib cage and pulled his sword through its spine, separating the skeleton into two halves. The bones fell to the ground in a heap, the wispy purple light that gave it life fading into the darkness.
Sylas smiled at his success, taking in a deep breath of the cold night air. His moment of victory was cut short, however, as the most terrifying sound he had ever heard rippled through the air. The skeletal dragon had left the ground and was now flying through the air towards the army of Gelendor, its bony jaws open wide as it produced a black jet of flame from its maw. The flames set a group of Gelendor defendants ablaze, burning their bodies to a crisp. After their bodies fell to the ground, Sylas saw the dark mage who was riding it hold out a lantern in front of him. The lantern glowed the same purple color as the eyes of the dragon and the skeletons that they were fighting against, the light fleeing from glass panes connected by a metal outer rim. A short metal chain linked the tip of the lantern to the dragon’s saddle that the mage was sitting in. He held his hand in the air, palm facing towards the sky as a dark purple and black orb appeared in his hand. Then, to Sylas’s horror, each of the warriors and mages who had been struck by the black flame of the dragon had a wispy white light exit their crumpled bodies and fly slowly through the air. Upon reaching the lantern, the lights were violently sucked into the lantern one by one, each making the lantern glow slightly brighter as they entered.
Frozen in terror, Sylas continued to watch as the dragon carrying the dark mage flew up into the sky and circled towards another group of warriors and again spewed a dark flame upon them. Skeletons continued to pour through the gaping hole in the outer walls of the city as he watched the city he had grown to love being destroyed. A chill ran up his spine as he all of a sudden, recognized the scene from the vision he had in the crypt.
“It wasn’t Shilvrst I saw… It was Gelendor!” He said out loud. Several of the ground floor buildings began to crumble as the heat of the dark flames consumed their foundations, the crumbling sound being muffled by the war cries of the ensuing battle.
Suddenly, a sharp pain flared in Sylas’s leg as he watched a building fall. He looked down at his leg and to his horror, saw an arrow protruding from his calf.
Spinning around, he watched as two more skeletons with bows walked slowly towards him, each nocking another arrow. Sylas winced as he shifted his weight off of his injured leg and quickly conjured a shield of Light around his left arm and held it out in front of him. The skeletons loosed the arrows, which struck the shield of Light and bounced off, landing several feet to the side.
Gathering his courage, Sylas reached down and grabbed the arrow by the shaft. Taking in several deep breaths, he pulled on the arrow as hard as he could. The arrow came out partially, but its head was still embedded in his leg, the wound now much larger than it had been before. Screaming, he dropped down to one knee in pain as his concentration on the shield of Light broke, the glow it produced faded away into the night. He
looked back up towards the archers to see that they were again nocking arrows to fire at him, while two more skeletons with swords and shields that had heard his cry began running towards him.
Sylas tried to pull the arrow from his leg again, but once again only succeeded in causing himself more pain and making the wound worse. He stared at the arrow sitting deep within his leg, refusing to exit, and cursed. His vision started to get starry as pain coursed up his leg and throughout his body. This is how it ends… he thought to himself, as he gave one final effort to pull the arrow free. He wrapped his hands around the shaft as close to his leg as possible, and with all of his strength, pulled outward. The arrow slid out of his leg with a sickening Thwuck, as blood and muscle spurt out of his leg and onto the grass.
About to faint from pain and exhaustion, Sylas ignored the fact that he was about to be struck by oncoming skeletons and poured his energy into his hand, touching the wound. An instant relief replaced the pain that he had in his leg as the Magick mended and stitched his muscle and skin back together.
Exhausted from all that had happened, his eyes and hands stopped glowing as his second mind closed, and he sat helplessly on the ground.
“Sylas! Watch out!”
Sylas turned his head to see Samara running towards him, her hands outstretched. The two skeleton warriors fell upon him with their swords raised high in the air as they slashed them down at his head. He raised his sword to attempt to block the blows, but to his relief, an orb of Light appeared around him, bouncing the swords aside. Sylas watched as the shield then changed shapes around him and shot outward as four separate beams, each one striking a different attacking skeleton in the chest. The Light made a loud bang and flashed brightly as it hit, sending piles of bones flying through the air.
Samara kneeled on the ground next to Sylas. “Are you alright? I heard you scream and got here as fast as I could, what happened?”
Pushing himself to his feet, Sylas shook his head in an attempt to clear the stars from his vision.