“Well, this is certainly interesting,” the Old Man said, his face obscured by a deep cowled hood. He spoke quietly, but his voice seemed to carry across the courtyard – as though he was whispering in each soldier’s ear.
Alexion swallowed hard against the knot in his throat, trying to regain his composure. This was just another enemy – one of many. “Do not speak, abomination,” Alexion spat, brandishing his blade and summoning his light mana. A halo of golden energy immediately surrounded him, motes of mana drifting through the protective sphere.
The Old Man’s head tilted slightly in Alexion’s direction. “I suppose you must be the Lady’s new pet,” he observed calmly, unperturbed by Alexion’s shouted command or his defensive shield. “I can’t say that I’m impressed. This must be why Jason has so easily bested you in the past.”
The insidious voice in Alexion’s mind screeched in outrage, urging him to strike now – to put this feeble old man in his place. He couldn’t help but spare a glance at his soldiers and Confessors. How dare this so-called god question Alexion’s strength or his authority? He tried feebly to tamp down on this impulse, but he felt himself losing ground.
“What did you say to me?” Alexion demanded.
The Old Man coughed politely into the sleeve of his robe. “Did I stutter? My apologies, old age can do that to a person. I was just pointing out that you appear to be an infantile whelp, suckling at the Lady’s teat. I knew my sister was desperate – but this? This is just too much – or maybe too little…”
Rage boiled and frothed in Alexion’s mind. “I will show you what this ‘whelp’ is capable of you old fool. Kill him!” Alexion screamed, gesturing to his soldiers along the walls.
All at once, the ballistae pointed at the Old Man released, massive wooden bolts hurtling toward him even as the nephilim summoned bolts of light. A maelstrom of projectiles rained down on the center of the courtyard. Alexion expected the Old Man to resist, to cast a spell, to do… something. Yet he just stood placidly inside the pentagram, seemingly unconcerned by the missiles streaking toward him.
The steel-tipped bolts struck the god’s body with terrible force, tearing through the fabric of his robes. Plunging into his flesh, the missiles impaled his form. His body jerked with each impact, and the spears lifted him from the ground, suspending him in the air. Where missiles struck, black oozing blood welled and poured to the ground, staining the dirt a dark obsidian. The Old Man coughed harshly, dark blood bubbling at his lips. Yet his face remained concealed.
A rain of light magic struck his form, destroying his robes and revealing pale, wrinkled skin. As the mana touched his flesh, his skin boiled and welts appeared. His skin tore and broke, peeling away under the barrage. And yet the soldiers kept going, pummeling the Old Man with missiles and bolts of energy until his body was a broken wreck hanging from the center of the pentagram – his eerie black blood trickling down his limbs and dripping to the ground.
Alexion raised a hand, and the onslaught ceased. The Old Man hung from the missiles that had penetrated his body. His robes were nothing more than rags, revealing that he was completely unarmed. Strangely, his face was still covered in shadow despite the light from the smoldering pillars nearby.
Alexion stalked forward, the hollow void filling his mind with its tantalizing promise of power. Silence had descended upon the courtyard as his soldiers and nephilim watched the dark god intently. Alexion could see the Old Man’s chest rising and falling feebly. He wanted to kill the god himself; to slay him with his own hand and show his men that he was the Lady’s champion.
He stepped over the exterior lines of power encircling the god until he was standing only a few feet away. He raised his sword and placed the tip against the Old Man’s chest, the blade searing the man’s skin under the effects of Alexion’s light magic enhancements.
“All of those tough words from this? This frail excuse for a god?” Alexion shouted, his eyes wild as he spun and gestured to his soldiers lining the walls. His men looked on mutely, their expressions warring between confusion and devotion.
“Here it will end. Today I will kill a god!” Alexion roared.
Then he plunged his blade into the Old Man’s chest, the metal sinking quickly into his skin and tendrils of smoke curling away from the wound. The god’s body gave a jerk, and then he hung limply from the spears. Blood bubbled at his lips, and he gave a gurgling croak as he feebly tried to suck in air. His chest stopped moving, and a final hiss of breath escaped his lips.
The voice in his mind roared in triumph as Alexion witnessed the god’s death, a feeling of exquisite bliss overwhelming his senses. He had done it. He had finally done it. He had killed a god! He would rule this world and burn down the Twilight Throne with his own hands. No one could stop him now. No one!
***
The crash of steel and the rumble of thunder were almost deafening as the battle raged along the cliffs and in the bay below. Jason ordered his Death Knights to press forward, preparing to reinforce the spearman. Hundreds of lizardmen dug their sharp claws into the rocky surface of the cliff, their arms and legs bulged as they lifted themselves up to the ridge.
The spearman along the cliff’s edge stabbed forward with their spears frantically, the metal tips impaling scaly flesh as soon as the creatures came within range. However, as Jason looked on, he saw one of the soldiers pulled over the edge, a lizardman grabbing his spear and pulling hard. The man screamed in fear as he plummeted to the rocks at the bottom of the cliff – his voice abruptly cutting off with a sickening crunch. More and more of the soldiers were being ripped from their positions along the ridge, the lizardmen letting them strike and then using the opportunity to pull the soldiers over the edge.
“Archers, keep firing. Keep firing until we have no arrows left!” Riley shouted above the din of the battle.
Her archers nocked arrow after arrow, the dark bolts racing through the heavy rainfall that still cascaded down upon the cliffs. The missiles streaked through the air and embedded themselves in creatures still lining the rafts floating in the bay below. Even with the number of lizardmen scurrying up the cliffs, hundreds more still waited on the platforms.
At a command from Jason, his Vilewings struck. They descended from the clouds, falling into a steep dive toward the lizardmen scaling the cliffs. Their lightning-infused claws sliced through scaly flesh, stunning the creatures and knocking them from their rocky perch – their bodies crashing brutally against the stones at the base of the cliff only moments later. Even their natural regeneration wasn’t enough to compensate for the fall. Their bloodied, broken bodies drifted underwater and floated on the waves that crashed against the cliff face.
Despite their losses, the lizardmen continued to fight back. The creatures on the rafts began launching crude wooden spears at Jason’s new flying minions. The skeletal harpies dodged many of the missiles, yet some found purchase, slicing through bone wings and embedding themselves in their torsos. One of his Vilewings gave a final cry before crashing into the rafts. The winged creature tore into the lizardmen around it, fighting viciously even as they hacked at it with their roughshod weapons and claws.
“Jason, look!” Eliza urged, pointing at the priestess’ raft near the back of the invading force.
The priestess and a group of other lizardmen adorned in tribal headdresses and equipment had lined up on a raft in the center of the invading force. Globes of water were forming in the air in front of them, growing swiftly in size. Uncertainty warred in Jason’s mind as he tried to anticipate what they were casting.
“Can you inspect their spell?” he asked hurriedly, spinning to look at Eliza.
“I… I don’t know,” the water mage murmured.
“Try. Just focus on the globes in front of them and use the skill,” Jason insisted.
Eliza squinted as she concentrated on the spells being cast by the group of lizardmen mages. A moment later, her mouth fell open. “Oh, my… They are targeting the archers!” she said, turnin
g to Jason with wide eyes.
Jason didn’t wait for more information. “Riley!” he screamed. The archer’s head whipped in his direction, her eyes a dark obsidian. “Have your archers take cover!”
Riley gave a nod and began screaming commands at her archers. The men and women around her broke formation and dove further back along the ridge. Yet it was already too late. The lizardmen completed their spells – orbs of water breaking apart and tendrils of vapor racing toward the group of archers along the cliffs. Instead of directly harming the soldiers, the water streamed among their ranks, forming thick balls of liquid. The archers eyed the substance skeptically, slowing their attempt to retreat.
That was a mistake.
The orbs suddenly blossomed in size, forming thick arms and legs. The water condensed until it was nearly opaque. A moment later, a dozen massive water golems stood in the middle of the ranks of archers. They swung their arms heavily, their blows throwing several of the soldiers over the edge of the cliff. One of the magical creatures stepped forward, grabbing a soldier and forcing her into its body. The woman screamed, but her shouts were muffled by the water as it entered her lungs and she slowly drowned. Meanwhile, the creature had kept moving, swinging its arms rapidly as it decimated the group of archers around it.
The soldiers scattered in every direction, their lines breaking under the assault. “Fire mages, target the golems!” Jason shouted, gesturing at the NPCs standing nearby.
A torrent of fire erupted around the water golems, steam hissing and spitting where the heavy rainfall beat against the magical flames. The fire mages kept channeling their mana into the Fire Walls, intensifying the heat. Several of the water golems slowly began to break apart, their bodies burning away. The rest were quickly dealt with as the spearman turned to help the archers. The players engaged the creatures and buried them under a hail of magical projectiles.
Despite their efforts, Jason could see that the attack had already served its purpose. The lizardmen scaling the cliffs had used the distraction to gain a small foothold at the top of the cliff – wiping out a group of spear-wielding soldiers. Jason ordered his Death Knights forward to engage the lizardmen. Seeing the new threat, Frank joined them, his legs sprouting thick black hair as the barbarian led the charge.
Along with Frank, nearly a dozen of Jason’s hulking skeletons thundered across the small clearing, gaining momentum as they leveled their spiked shields at the growing group of lizardmen. They continued to pick up speed until they were running at nearly a full sprint, their skeletal tails lashing at the air behind them. The lizardmen hissed at them in challenge as they saw the incoming threat, beating their chests as though to taunt the undead.
The Death Knights collided with the scaly creatures, and their spiked shields impaled reptilian flesh. Their momentum shoved dozens of the lizardmen over the edge of the cliff, and rage-filled roars erupted from their throats as they plummeted to the rocks below. Some of his skeletons weren’t able to stop their headlong charge, several of them following the lizardmen over the edge and plummeting to the bay.
Frank struck around himself in a rage, his battleaxes darting through the air – severing arms and ripping open arteries. Fresh, bright-red blood jetted from the wounds, coating his body even as he howled his rage into the sky.
“Soldiers!” Jason roared. “Help Frank! Reinforce the line along the cliff!”
The NPCs and players struggled to follow his orders, pushing forward to fill the gap in the line. Eliza’s Obscuring Mist wound around Frank and the defending soldiers, pulsing with a malignant red light as she tried to heal their injuries. Jason also aided his friend, using Specialized Zombie to raise the NPCs and players that had fallen under the lizardmen’s attack. The newly-minted undead pulled themselves from the ground and shambled back into place, the other soldiers sparing them a horrified glance before turning their attention back to the battle at hand.
Meanwhile, Jason’s Vilewings had been making a sizable dent in the lizardmen scaling the cliffs. He watched as as they grabbed one of the reptiles, lightning crackled along their claws, stunning the creature as its muscles jerked and twitched. Dozens of the lizardmen had been dropped to their deaths among the rocks at the base of the cliff.
“How are we doing Eliza?” Jason asked, turning back to the water mage.
Her gaze was fixed on the lizardmen at the base of the bay. “Their numbers are starting to dwindle,” she said. Between lighting the docks ablaze and the defensive line at the cliffs, they had killed hundreds if not thousands of the beasts already.
However, a frown lingered on Jason’s face. “What is it?” What’s wrong?” Eliza asked.
“This feels too easy…” Jason murmured.
A roar from the rafts floating in the bay drew his attention. The priestess and her team of mages were working on something new. The other mages had formed a circle around the priestess, and smaller, unarmed lizardmen stood in front of each mage.
“What are they doing?” Jason murmured. He spared a glance at Riley and saw that she was occupied with regrouping her archers. He would have to handle this himself.
He couldn’t afford to wait for the mages to complete their spell. With a quick mental command, his Vilewings gave an ear-piercing cry and dove toward the rafts. The lizardmen soldiers surrounding the mages acted quickly, a hail of wooden spears intercepting his skeletal bird-creatures. The projectiles shattered wings and buried themselves into several of Jason’s minions, their lifeless corpses falling into the waves of the bay.
Several of the Vilewings made it through the flurry of missiles. Yet, as Jason watched, he saw a group of lizardmen warriors crouch and then launch themselves airborne. They snatched at the birds mid-air, grappling them and wrapping their strong arms around each creature. The group slammed against one of the rafts near the mages, and a horde of scaly creatures quickly descended upon the skeletal harpies, ripping their bodies apart.
“Damn it,” Jason whispered. He only had a few of the Vilewings left, and he couldn’t afford to make another attempt.
Not that it mattered.
A massive ball of sapphire energy had formed in front of the priestess. As he and Eliza watched with wide eyes, the lizardmen mages ringing the priests suddenly pulled crude daggers from the belts at their waists. In unison, they placed the blades to the necks of the unarmed lizardmen in front of them and then ripped through their throats in a quick gesture. Crimson blood jetted from the wounds and sprayed against the ball of energy floating above the raft.
The blood began mixing with the massive sphere of mana, turning it a dull purple that glowed and pulsed ominously. The other lizardmen mages backed away quickly, but the priestess still stood next to the orb. She spared one last glance at the cliffs before stepping forward – her arms wide as she entered the ball of energy.
Jason was stunned as he watched the scene unfolding before him. The mana ripped and tore at the priestess’ body, melting away her skin and bone and absorbing her very essence into the spell. As the last trace of the priestess disappeared, the sphere exploded in a cascading ring of energy that was so bright that Jason was forced to look away. Waves rippled out from the raft, and the other platforms were pushed away from the force of the blast.
The other players and NPCs along the cliff turned to stare and even the lizardmen scaling the walls had frozen as they watched the scene playing out in the bay. As the mana began to dissipate, Jason’s mouth dropped open in surprise. A massive creature now rested on the platform. There was only one-word Jason could think of to describe this beast.
Dragon. It’s a gods damned dragon!
The priestess had transformed. Her body had elongated and thickened until it was nearly forty feet long. Plate-like, sapphire scales now dotted her form, and she stood on four brawny legs, three-foot-long claws curving away from each foot. Glowing blue wings had sprouted from the beast’s back, flapping experimentally and creating small waves of water to ripple across the bay.
As th
e players and NPCs along the cliff looked on, the dragon shifted back onto its hind legs, craning its serpentine neck toward the sky. Its mouth gaped open, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth. Then it let out a roar, the sound echoing through the bay and causing the very air to tremble with the force of its cry.
“Oh, fuck this!” a player shouted nearby, backpedaling away from the cliff and heading for the interior barricade. Several other NPCs and players had the same idea, scrambling back as they caught sight of the new threat.
“It’s a dragon!” someone screamed.
The beast crouched for a moment before leaping into the air, its wings flapping powerfully as it rose through the torrential rainfall. The force of its takeoff ripped the raft apart, lizardmen scrambling in every direction to escape the wreckage.
As it raced toward the cliffs, the soldiers in its line of fire backed away quickly. A few brave souls tried to keep the line, leveling their spears at the creature. Neither group was saved. Opening its maw once more, the dragon breathed a torrent of frost at the soldiers. Where the cloud touched the raindrops, it turned them into jagged shards of ice. The effect was a maelstrom of frozen shrapnel. It ripped and tore its way through the line of soldiers, freezing their limbs and tearing through their armor and skin like paper.
A moment later, the dragon landed on the cliff. It began making short work of the defenders. Its claws impaled one player and its frigid breath froze another solid. It immediately followed up with its tail, smashing through the frozen player causing his body to explode in a collection of icy fragments. The remaining lizardmen used the distraction to continue scaling the cliffs, piling over the edge and taking up a loose formation as they mowed down the fleeing players and NPCs.
“Retreat to the interior barricades!” Jason screamed. His shouts were picked up by others as the soldiers and players scrambled toward the motley wreckage of broken carts and stalls that lined the streets leading into the interior of Falcon’s Hook.
Evolution Page 50