Just as soon as the mages were felled, the hundreds of giant werewolves lent themselves to the fight against the giant black knights as everyone of normal size fought to regain their feet. It would not be a fair match by any means; two hundred giant werewolves versus fifty or so human knights dressed in leather armor.
*****
Garret dove aside, kicking out at his attacker’s leg, effectively breaking the horseman’s knee. So long as the man did not go suicidal in his means of attack, Garret could defeat him. But even with a broken knee the man stayed upright, at least until the blast happened. With a force like being smacked with a stone wall, Garret’s attacker, already off balance from his injured leg, was thrown backwards to topple upon his own troops, crushing several beneath him. Garret was unsure just what had exploded, but not daring to take his eyes off his foe, ignored the deafening ringing that was now all he heard and regained his own feet to finish this fight.
Approaching his foe, Garret wasted no time and leaped upon the man from a distance, driving his blade down through the horseman’s throat before he could even do so much as sit up. Pulling his blade from the soil, Garret looked this way and that, seeking his next opponent, but instead he discovered the source of the blast. In all directions, Seth’s wolf troops stomped through Sigrant’s army, all of them now closing in on the giant black knights. Garret could not believe his eyes. Never would he have believed that Seth was capable of such a feat, but just as Garret began to get his hopes up with odds better than favorable, the tide was turned yet again.
*****
Seth watched his men closing in on their enemies as he himself turned a few hundred common men and women to ash, replenishing a small amount of the power he had just expelled. As he watched he witnessed as one of the giant knights split back into four normal people who became lost among the thousands of other common troops. A second later a giant fireball in the shape of a skull smashed a giant werewolf in the chest, tearing a hole straight through the giant beast. He collapsed without so much as a muscle spasm upon the ground. Then it happened three more times from that same vicinity, and Seth recalled how the knights under his brother’s command had been felled by such an attack. His realization was too late as all of the giant warriors of Sigrant’s army disseminated from one another into ordinary men once more and skull-shaped fireballs were cast in all directions causing dozens of Seth's giant werewolves to fall in battle. Seth reached out as quickly as he was able and began severing the umbilical that connected the blessed warriors of Sigrant with their chosen god, several per attack. He dropped them where they stood. Within less than a handful of minutes Seth destroyed more than eighty of the common sized knights, but it was too late; by that time the damage had been done as more than forty of the knights had split into fours and half of those had landed a target. Seth had lost half of his men in just a few moments, and though wondrous power flowed into him in droves, he felt no pleasure from it. Though Sigrant had lost over a hundred mages, and all of his knights, his army kept coming. They marched ever forward, bent on the destruction of Valdadore, spilling by the thousands from the shore of the frozen lake, its once broken surface already mended.
Seth was out of tricks. He still had over a hundred men, each of them currently blessed with size and strength, but only for a limited time. In only an hour or so, they would return to average size and then all would be lost. However, with the deaths of half of his troops he now had the power to sustain their blessings for significantly longer if he wished. Seth dared not try anything big, not like at the battle with the black horde. He could not bear to kill those who stood with him on the field of battle again. He would not risk being teleported halfway across the world. With nothing left up his sleeves, Seth relayed a message to Jonas who made sure it would reach the king’s ear. As Seth expected, a few seconds later, his brother’s booming voice echoed across the battlefield calling for full retreat.
The battle was over. Valdadore had lost.
But at least they stood to fight another day.
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The Champions
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About the Author
First and foremost I am a father and a husband. Beyond that I belong to the fraternal Brotherhood of the United States Marine Corps. I have earned a living as an industrial electrician, welder, mechanic, carpenter, CNC machinist, and dozens of other jobs that gave me a wide scope of blue collar life. I have lived in more places than most people, though I grew up primarily in Michigan. I graduated high school in Mason Michigan, and went to college in Lansing Michigan. After joining the USMC I spent time living in Pensacola and Jacksonville Florida, and then moved on to spend four more years in North Carolina. After serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring freedom, and the military’s humanitarian effort in Liberia I received an honorable discharge and returned to live in Jackson Michigan near my family who still reside there. I now live in southern Louisiana with my wife and children, though I try and visit family in Michigan yearly.
I have been writing stories since I began writing and still have examples of short stories I wrote beginning in first grade. In my mid teens however I began to write in earnest, dreaming of one day seeing my work on a bookstore shelf. It is and remains an unfulfilled dream, as I never attempted in my earlier years to publish any of my work besides a few stray poems or short stories. However at present I felt that I had to make some effort to publish my books. As a father I tell my children that any one of them can live their dreams if they put in the time and effort required. To which they of course reply by asking if I have lived all my dreams. So it is through their urging that I prove to them that they, like I, can do anything we set our minds to.
I hope that you have enjoyed this book and your visit to Thurr. It has been a long time coming, and I am happy to have finally released it publicly for you to enjoy. The next book in the Saga is already released as well and is titled “The Chosen”. I must warn you however that the next book is fast paced and action packed, so if you chose to read it, stock up on your favorite snack, call in sick, kick back, relax, and enjoy!
I appreciate any and all feedback from my readers. Please drop in to say hello, or leave a message on any of my social media sites, my website, or my blog. You can find easy access to them all at:
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Table of Contents
Copyright
Prologue
Chapter 1 Burdens placed and Blood spilled
Chapter 2 Reunited Family and Restored Glory
Chapter 3 Sacrificing love and Saving Home
Chapter 4 New Skill, New Understanding
Chapter 5 Valiant Hole Diggers and A Target of Opportunity
Chapter 6 Meet the Neighbors
Chapter 7 Assassins Flight and a Saving Sacrifice
Chapter 8 A Gruesome Gift and a Harbinger of Death
Chapter 9 A Hot Meal
Chapter 10 Grim Discoveries
Chapter 11 Worried Kings and Puppet Strings
Chapter 12 Passed Tests and Unexpected Guests
Chapter 13 Found Entries and Lost Armies
Chapter 14 A Day of Sorrow and A Promised Tomorrow
About the Author
The Contention Page 21