by Jon Bender
As the two forces clashed, spilling blood on the floor, Da’san began to chant. He knew the dark priest would be doing the same. A dark area on the wall became deeper, and a man-shaped figure carrying a sword stepped from the space. Da’san manifested a doorway of light and a soldier of his own. The being he created glowed softly as it walked forward to take a place among the Guard. Swinging a glowing blade in an angled downward strike, it dropped two of the attackers to the ground just as its dark counterpart lunged with its sword. The two blades crashed against each other, light and dark struggling for dominance. The combatants went back and forth, striking and countering, with neither gaining the upper hand.
As the guards made fast work of the untrained rabble, Da’san said the final word of a prayer, conjuring the glowing hands. The hands flew toward the dark priest who immediately summoned black tentacles. They snatched one of the hands from the air, but the other maneuvered past, seizing the dark priest and lifting him into the air. Or’Keer’s servant began to chant, but Da’san ordered the floating hand to squeeze, crushing the air and life from the dark priest’s body. Seeing their priest vanquished, the rest of the attackers turned and fled with the Guard on their heels, pursuing them down the hall.
Da’san moved through the halls in search of Cribble or Jerup, occasionally stopping to help the Guard and once even a mage being pressed by two shades. The mage told him that most of the fighting had concentrated in the throne room. Together, they approached the large double doors of the main entrance to Ale’adaria’s seat of power.
From the hall, Da’san could glimpse the chaos of the fighting within as men, mages, priests, and shades fought and died at each other’s hands. Looking closely at the earth mage for the first time, Da’san realized he could be no more than seventeen. With a nod, the young man moved to the doorway, his hands outstretched. He assembled four fist-sized chunks of stone that had been broken in the fight, all floating in the air before him. With a flick of his fingers, they shot off with the speed of an arrow leaving a bow. Two found their intended targets, smashing into attackers and throwing them to the ground. The other two missiles had been aimed at a shade who had sensed them and dodged with ease. Abandoning the wounded Guardsman it had been about to finish, the shade ran at the earth mage with its curved sword held wide ready to strike. The mage shot several more pieces of stone at him, only to have the shade shift to the side.
Da’san had not been idle while the young mage was casting. Finishing his prayer, he released a shout that threw the shade onto its back. Not wasting any time, the mage unleashed a flurry of stones chunks, pummeling the shade as it tried to rise. Finally, it moved no more.
Da’san looked about the throne room. Cribble held the throne platform, surrounded by men and mages. He yelled orders, trying to gain some control of the situation. Jerup stood next to him, swinging his sword at anything that came too close. Da’san took a breath and walked into the fighting. He worked his way towards the Captain, stopping only when he had no choice but moving quickly on. Pushing past the outer circle of the Guard and a much smaller, inner circle of mages and priests, Da’san finally made it to Cribble.
“I thought you were dead,” Cribble said, with a look of confusion. “Kavin, those damn priests have created another shadow creature,” he said, pointing to a man-shaped beast with two tentacles where the arms should have been. The mage he spoke to sent a stream of fireballs at it, each connecting solidly and allowing the surrounding men to overwhelm and hack it apart.
“I nearly was,” Da’san said. “How are we faring?”
“Look for yourself,” Cribble said, never taking his eyes from the fighting. Da’san did. They were severely outnumbered, a situation that only seemed to be getting worse. “The scum called in reinforcements once we lost the outer courtyard, and we have no more men to call on. Even if I could round up the Guard scattered through the palace, it wouldn’t be enough.” He looked at Da’san with regret in his eyes. “I’m sorry for getting you and your brothers involved in this.”
Da’san could hear the note of resignation in the other man’s voice. Da’san did the only thing he could. Falling into a deep meditative state, he called out to Sarinsha. “My lady, can you hear me? We are in desperate need,” Da’san said within his own mind. At first, he heard only silence and feared that his goddess would not answer.
Again you call me, Da’san. You must think much of yourself to be worthy of a second conversation.
“Forgive me, my lady. The palace is about to be lost to Or’Keer. Once it falls, the city will soon follow. If you do not aid us, those who worship you will be forced to either serve him or die,” Da’san replied.
What you request can only be done in service to a mage. Do you make this request on behalf of an oath breaker, that he would wish it so? The goddess whispered.
“Yes, I make this request on behalf of the death mage Jaxom,” Da’san said. A small piece of him worried about what he had just agreed to on his friend’s behalf.
A death mage, she said laughing. Very well. Do you wish to know the consequences before you agree?
Da’san looked about the throne room. The battle was on the point of turning against the defenders. He had no time to weigh the consequences, whatever they were. “I agree. Please help us,” he said in desperation.
You must open yourself to me. Give your very being over to me without hesitation.
Da’san did as she instructed, offering all that he was to her. Baring his sole to his goddess, he felt himself being filled with an immense amount of power. He felt as if he stood under a waterfall, the weight of the water almost crushing him beneath it. This was like nothing he had ever felt before. It was like a blazing fire compared to the candle of what was granted in prayer. He felt himself lifting into the air to float several feet above the ground, losing control of his body as Sarinsha consumed him. A bright light erupted around him, spreading to form the shape of a woman nearly fifteen feet tall. Her long, flowing dress and cascading hair fell to the floor in streams of light that swayed as she surveyed the room.
“Or’Keer!” she shouted in a commanding but still beautiful voice that echoed through the room. All of the fighting stopped as even the shades seemed to gape at the goddess before them. “This city belongs to me. You shall not encroach on what is mine.”
With that, something coursed through the enemy combatants, causing all to go rigid before turning and charging towards Sarinsha as one. Raising her hand, the goddess struck them down, half a dozen at a time. Beams of light erupted from the enemies’ eyes and mouths as they screamed. Shadow creatures lasted only seconds longer, disintegrating as beams shot forth from their bodies. When the last priest had fallen, the goddess lowered her hand. Many of the Guard fell to their knees in reverence. Most had worshipped Sarinsha since childhood. Without another word, the light that had constructed her body began to dim, and Da’san felt his body lower to the raised platform. As he came to rest gently on his side, exhaustion overwhelmed him. His last sight before unconsciousness took him for the second time that night was Cribble rushing to his side, speaking words he could not hear.
Chapter 28
Celia spurred her horse as she and the five hundred cavalry rushed toward the right flank. The enemy had deployed much of their force to the area, sending thousands of men and hundreds of horses crashing into the line. To make matters worse, magical attacks rained down on the defenders with no response from Serin and the mages with him. She could not imagine what had happened, but she knew that if they did not arrive in time, the entire flank would collapse. If that happened, the enemy would pour through before turning to roll the Ale’adarian line up like a carpet.
As she closed the distance, streaks of fire flew through night air from her left and collided with a line of enemy cavalry that had already broken through. At first she thought Serin had finally joined the fight, but looking for the source of the magic, she saw three horses charging to the break. The leading horse carried two riders, and
she recognized Jaxom as one of them. She did not know the other mages. She enjoyed a brief moment of relief. Even with the addition of her own men, the defenders would not be able to hold against the attackers without magic of their own.
A cheer erupted from the Ale’adarian men at seeing the enemy cavalry stopped dead in their tracks by flames. The arrival of the mages reinforced their resolve, and the soldiers surged forward, regaining ground they had lost only moments before. The enemy magic intensified, landing among the defenders to wound or kill them by the dozen. An earth mage manifested two stone golems that lurched toward the embattled armies.
Leading the charge, Celia angled her men for the weakest point of the line. Finding a gap, all thought of strategy flew from her mind as she rushed through with her five hundred men following. Slashing with her sword, Celia dispatched every enemy soldier that came within range. The weakened area of the line quickly tightened as the men on the ground rallied to the reinforcements, pushing back the attackers. Just as it seemed they had gained the upper hand, the golems arrived preceded by a flurry of magical attacks. The animated stone giants moved swiftly to the center of the Ale’adarian forces, carving a path that the enemy was quick to occupy. Once again, the defenders were pushed back.
Balls of fire and bolts of ice slammed into one of the stone creations, staggering it and sending spidering fractures throughout its body. The weakened golem was quickly smashed apart by the defenders, leaving only one left to deal with. Fire, ice, and stone continued to rain down on them, some blocked by Jaxom and those with him but not enough to make the difference. Realizing that soon all would be lost, Celia made a decision. Pulling away from the fight, she retreated to the rear of the line. Once clear, she grabbed a horn from her waist, sounding the cavalry signal to regroup for another charge. Men on horse rode from the fray to form up behind her. She tried not to count how many men had been lost from the original five hundred. After several blows of the horn, fewer than eighty had assembled. The others dead or too far into the fight to extract themselves.
Lifting her sword, Celia signaled the men behind her to follow to the right. They raced behind the defenders until they came to edge of the battle where it almost connected with the river bank. Thankfully, there was just enough room for her and the men to slip through without becoming entangled with the enemy. They continued past the main fight, riding along the river. Once they were far enough away from the rear of the enemy, she turned left, headed straight for the enemy mages who were easily located in the night from the blooms of fire streaking from the ground. She waved her sword in a side to side motion, and the men spread out in a line. When she knew their formation would soon be spotted, she thrust her sword forward and kicked her horse to its fastest speed. The enemy mages were guarded by armed soldiers, and Celia gave a small prayer of thanks. Had they been on horse, her strategy would have had no chance of succeeding. The men on the ground quickly formed into a defensive position as a bolt of ice shattered over her head. Smaller shards of ice rained down on them, taking down several men and horses but not slowing the charge. Flame and stone cut down more before they crashed into the infantry, shattering the hastily prepared defense as men were trampled under hoof. Gouts of flame and frost erupted towards them, but with her men spread out. The magic did not even slow them down. Celia pushed past the enemy soldiers, not wanting to get bogged down in a fight. Those around her did the same as they drove in force toward the enemy mages. One soldier got close enough to attack a blue-robed mage only to be stopped by a spear of ice through the chest. The rest of her men swarmed around the four mages. Many fell, but the remainder overwhelmed the mages with their numbers. As a stone mage struck down two men with flying pieces of rock, she ran her sword through his back. The blade erupted from the man’s chest in a spray of blood. The other three mages were brought down in a similar fashion at a high cost to the Alea’darians. When the last mage fell from his saddle, the enemy soldiers caught up to them. With only forty of their own men left, they were severely outnumbered, forcing her to blow the signal for retreat.
They quickly outdistanced the enemy soldiers as they rode back to the main body of the fight. As she approached the rear of the enemy, she saw that the two forces had broken into disarray. Men from both sides fought in small groups or alone. In the largest area controlled by the defenders stood Jaxom in his bone armor and the other mage she did not know. She saw no sign of the two risen mages until a flash of fire from the rear landed amongst the enemy soldiers.
Seeing a smaller group of the defenders about to fall under the blades of a larger group of enemy soldiers, Celia understood that she had not reached the enemy mages in time. They had done too much damage, and the Southerners could now win by the sheer weight of their numbers. With no other choice before her, she rushed to the aid of the small group of defenders.
Chapter 29
Jaxom saw Celia and her men approaching and knew it was no coincidence that she rode from that direction after the enemy mages had stopped casting. The Southerners now had a far superior advantage in numbers. He continued to hurl magic into the invaders’ ranks, casting the blight, and raising fallen soldiers to fight again. Darian fought valiantly by his side, slaying the enemy one after another only to have each one he killed replaced by two more. The enemy seemed an endless tide that would soon wash them into oblivion.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jaxom saw a dark shape streak from the air, and readied himself for whatever the enemy had now conjured. Then the blur of darkness ripped one of the attackers from the ground, and he understood. Adriana and Brenin were directing the durgen to tear into the Southerners’ ranks. They must have run out of arrows and were now resorting to direct attacks. The blurs of darkness struck quickly, one after the other. It seemed impossible that his two friends could be doing so much damage alone. His suspicions were confirmed when he got a good look at one of durgen. There was no rider, and only one explanation. Alimar, for whatever reason, had decided to aid them. For once, the defenders held the upper hand as twenty durgen ripped through the enemy. The Southerners began looking up, searching the sky for the unseen creatures, which drew their attention away from the fight on the ground. Just as he felt his hopes begin to rise, three fireballs soared through the air, hitting two of the durgen and narrowly missing a third. The cast had not come from the enemy side, but from behind the Ale’adarian line. Suddenly, Jaxom knew what had happened to Serin and his mages.
“Serin has betrayed us,” he shouted to Darian, grabbing the other mage by the shoulder. “We must get to him quickly if we have any hope of ever seeing daylight.”
The other mage stared at him for a moment as if Jaxom had gone mad. “I know the man is not trustworthy, but even he is not capable of such a thing.” No sooner had the words left his mouth then another of the durgen was struck down by fire at their rear. Understanding and disbelief warred on the ice mage’s face. “What could he possibly stand to gain? If we lose, the Southerners will kill him along with the rest of us.”
“I don’t know, but if we don’t stop him, it won’t matter,” Jaxom replied.
“What can we do? We do not have horses to reach him in time.”
“Let me worry about that. We just need to get out of here quickly,” Jaxom said, a plan already forming in his head.
“Stay right behind me,” Darian said, turning to run through the Ale’adarian soldiers circling them.
Jaxom reached out to his two of his risen mages, commanding them to ride hard for where he and Darian would come out of the thick fighting… if they came out. Once they were clear of the circle, walls of ice began erupting every ten feet to either side in front of them, carving a trail through the battle that allowed them room to run. Any Southern soldier unfortunate enough to be caught between a set of walls was cut down by a bolt of ice through his chest. Sheathing his sword, Jaxom ran after his friend.
After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only minutes, they burst forth from the entangled armies to fi
nd his risen mages casting at any target nearby. Darian collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily. Grabbing him under the shoulder, Jaxom boosted him up behind the risen ice mage before climbing up behind the other. With a command from Jaxom, the risen kicked their horses to a gallop. Darian was nearly thrown, forcing him to grab on tightly to the waist of the risen mage. As they neared the location, Jaxom saw more flames and chunks of stone flying forth to strike down durgen or Ale’adarian soldiers. Serin was not alone. Looking over the shoulder of the risen fire mage, Jaxom could make out four figures sitting atop horses in the gloom.
The risen mages raised their hands, sending forth magical death at the traitors. The mage he rode behind threw spheres of flame that were met by a wall of fire absorbing the attack easily. An earth mage tried to raise a wall of stone before him but was not quick enough. The wall only climbed to the height of his horse before several icicles struck him in the neck and chest. Jaxom cast a black veil between the groups before jumping to land at a run, drawing his sword along the way. Darian dismounted in a similar fashion, flinging ice and frost as soon as he was on the ground. Balls of flame shot through the veil at random, striking the ground around Jaxom and showering him in a spray of dirt and stone. Passing through the veil, he came out next to the fire mage who had survived the first attack. He swung his sword, cleaving halfway through the mage’s leg. The traitor clutched at the gruesome wound, screaming. Reversing his blade, Jaxom drew it across the man’s throat, silencing him forever.
Looking to his left, Jaxom saw Darian holding both hands forward, a steady stream of frost fighting against the remainder of Serin’s allies. The traitorous mage countered by casting a solid column of flame. The two men seemed in a deadlock until his friend redoubled his efforts, overpowering the fire mage, first pushing back the flame, then overwhelming it completely. The traitorous mage was helpless as the stream of frost enveloped him. He brought his arms up in a futile attempt to defend himself as his body froze solid. Jaxom found Serin sitting calmly on his horse observing the fight. Outnumbered four to one, Jaxom thought he would have no choice but to surrender. A wall of flame fifteen feet in height erupted around the former leader of the mages, protecting him from the small group who continued to fling magic at him.