Phantom Campaign

by Eden Redd

  A squad of lancers soared through the air. Vance watched four of them fall with gravity’s pull, spears pointed down. The squad landed on the serpent’s snout before spear points stabbed into its eyes and face. The creature tried to whip them off, but the lancers were already airborne. Vance focused his torrent of flames at the large beast, cooking it as it writhed before it fell, crushing smaller monsters.

  A lancer landed by his side and lifted her visor. “Thanks,” the lancer said.

  Vance was stunned to see Miranda. When he caught himself, he gave her a quick nod.

  Miranda turned and was ready to launch into the air again when the smoky sky was filled with spear-like spines. They came down in volleys. Miranda dove for Vance and the two slammed against the inner wall, spines bouncing off stone or stabbing into wood.

  “Thanks,” the mage managed as the lancer was on him.

  Miranda looked into his eyes before she was back up and helping the mage to his feet.

  “I’m Vance,” Vance said during the chaos, unsure what else to say.

  “I know. We can talk after we win this battle,” Miranda said with a smile before turning and launching herself back into battle.

  “We will,” Vance smirked before pointing his cards over the wall and unleashing spell fire.

  ***

  “Defend the wall!” Symon shouted as a scattering of monsters rushed to the inner wall and began to climb.

  The spellsword pointed his hand over the edge and unleashed another surge of lightning. A monster roared before its face caved in. It clutched at what was left before falling onto its back, other monsters stepping on it and climbing the wall.

  Symon glanced over to see a fighter leaning over the wall edge and letting a flaming arrow loose. An instant later, spines stabbed into his neck and face. Blood spurted before a large hand reached up and pulled the fighter off the wall.

  Symon rushed to the spot where the fellow student was taken and was greeted by goblin-like fish men. One hopped down and Symon’s sword cleaved its head from its neck. The spellsword moved with measured skill, slicing upwards and taking another creature’s leg. It fell from the wall but more began to climb up. Two fighters rushed to Symon’s side, the three of them stabbing and cutting, but the horde seemed to grow bigger.

  “Don’t let these bastards win!” Symon shouted as he cut at monster flesh with controlled fury.

  ***

  Skullcut thundered along in a wide arc. The spellsword cut his way through strange bodies, but they continued to move with monstrous indifference. Mana pumped through the spellsword’s body like a tune, every note cutting through flesh with efficient power. Claws and legs came down, only to be bashed, sliced, or cut away. Grim determination filled the counselor’s eyes as vile blood splashed against his robe.

  An immense fireball streaked across the sky and exploded over a mile away. Edrin grinned before light filled the area. Eyes closed, his senses sharpened, slicing and cutting at blinded monsters. Odd heartbeats touched his ears and the spellsword sliced and kept moving, the monster’s heartbeats fading to nothing.

  The spellsword pressed on, surrounded by monsters and cutting his way through them. When his eyes opened, a clawed webbed hand slashed across his face. The spellsword felt the thin tendrils of pain before he swung his axe, lopping off a head.

  “More scars for the collection!” the counselor laughed as he continued his charge through the chaos.

  ***

  Fern floated above the courtyard. Fairy wings moved in a blur as she absorbed what she was seeing. Monsters tried to climb the outside of the inner wall and students fought back. A giant fireball streaked across the sky and disappeared from view before light touched the black sky and a thunderous explosion vibrated through the air.

  The fairy looked to the top of the walls, her fellow berserkers not engaging. They stood like sentinels, ready for the right moment. Fern followed their example, watching with almost indifference. The fear of death didn’t reside in her heart. A berserker’s life was meant to burn bright and fast. She had chosen her class but the survival rate for a berserker wasn’t very long.

  Fern looked over, watching Dax and Noss unleash spells at the wall edge, their backs to her. The fairy’s heart beat faster, seeing Dax fight as the horde of sea monsters grew thicker. She could sense it; the end of their lives and she licked her lips. She wanted there to be more time. A last cuddle with Dax, his scent filling her nose and their bodies pressed close. Thoughts shifted to Zarra, their hearts beating with the same love for Dax as they did for each other. It had all become a tangled mess, but it glowed with purpose. The fairy didn’t know where she ended and they began. They were a clan, a family. It burned at her, knowing that this may be the last night on Ikkudran, but it didn’t burn as bright as her need to protect all of them.

  The small fairy held her mace in her hand, preparing to light her power when a figure jumped up on the edge of the wall.

  Jonas stood on the wall, his back to the monsters and yelling. Fern listened, as did all berserkers as the man gave them a manic grin and wide eyes.

  “Berserkers! We have arrived! We will not hide behind any walls! We will not cower and fight from a distance! We are here to defend our classmates, our professors, our loves! Do not stop until dawn or when we sit with death!”

  Jonas’s manic grin grew wider. “And when we sit with death, laugh at him for not taking us sooner!”

  Berserkers lifted clubs, maces, and thick swords with one hand and pounding their chests with the other. Fern did the same, lifting her mace and pounding her chest.

  “Light your power!” Jonas shouted.

  Fern felt the inner flame of her berserker ability.

  “Light the furnace,” Fern’s words dripped with power.

  A solid violet aura surrounded her small frame. Eyes widened as her mouth formed an insane grin. Wings beat faster, turning invisible to the naked eye. The fairy’s heart thundered in her chest as she seemed to grow bigger and become almost demonic.

  “I am death, feel my touch,” Fern whispered before she bolted forward like a purple comet.

  Berserkers frothed at the mouth, their bodies appearing to grow larger. Tongues slathered as foam dripped. Eyes were wide as saucers while bodies curled into demonic forms. Berserkers rushed to the top of the wall as students shouted and fought.

  Jonas turned to the incoming monsters and he laughed.

  “We control fate now,” Jonas grinned before he leapt into battle.

  Fern soared overhead and came down along Jonas’s side. The berserker landed with his metal club as monsters charged. Fern was at his side, her body vibrating with power.

  “SLAUGHTER ALL!” Jonas, Fern, and other berserkers shouted as they launched into the carnage.

  Monsters rushed in as the berserkers charged. When they met, chaos and anarchy bloomed into a deadly cloud of blood and broken meat. Fern screeched like banshee, her small body a cannonball. Rune mace in hand, she penetrated bodies and exited out backs. Monsters clutched at their wounds before they fell, streams of blood painting their bodies. Mad laughter and growls lashed out with weapons in hand. Fern spun like a drill, her mace slamming down on faces and shoulders, bones breaking instantly before she struck jaws so hard, they separated from bodies.

  Berserkers clashed, striking and hammering with blind rage and fury. Monsters crumbled and the berserkers moved to the next one and the next one, their attacks killing everything within reach.

  The sea monsters were too stupid to understand what was happening, their bodies breaking before their souls departed.

  Fern’s wings beat so fast, any blood on them was quickly thrown off as they buzzed. Madness gripped her, but her heart sang for Dax and her power grew.

  “I WILL BUILD A THRONE OF BODIES FOR MY BELOVED DAX SAGE!” Fern shouted like a cannon as she darted into the mass of monsters, their souls leaving their horrid bodies by the dozens.

  ***

  Isani and Ressa stood side by side as
screams, shouts, and roars filled the air. The shadow elf and dranar kept their cool gaze on the top of the walls, seeing students fight for their lives as large clawed hands grabbed at the top of the wall. A mage student screamed before a tentacle lashed around his waist and yanked him off the wall walkway.

  Around the pair of rogues, paladins shouted with divine might, protecting the wounded being taken to the tents. White light glowed from inside the tents as bodies were healed. Shocked faces filled everyone who walked back out of the tents, healed and knowing they had to return to the nightmare battle.

  A large snake-like monster slithered over the edge of the wall, clawing and bashing at fighters and lancers.

  “If we don’t make it, please end it,” Ressa said with a low hiss.

  Isani looked over to her friend with sad eyes. “No, because we will make it.”

  “I never thought I would live this long. Death always seemed to be hovering nearby. It laughs at me,” Ressa said as she looked down.

  Isani reached over, took Ressa’s hand into hers and squeezed. “Tonight, we laugh at death.”

  Ressa looked down at her friends’ hand and then back up, a new fire in her eyes.

  “Let’s make a difference,” Isani said as she let go of her friends’ hand and drew her short sword.

  Ressa nodded and drew her own blade. The pair of rogues darted forward. They moved silently through the chaos, climbing the stairs and reaching the top. The snake monster slashed at students, claws sparking off armor. The two rogues darted along the thin walkway, bent their legs and jumped.

  The snake monster looked up, the reflection of two dark shadows with blades in their hands. In a blink, blades sank into its eyes and the monster screeched.

  ***

  Professor Frost threw another immense fireball through the sky. It streaked across the night sky and struck the seething horde a mile and a half away. The explosion lit up the night before the thundering explosion reached her ears.

  The professor watched as large burning circles peppered the area beyond the walls and yet, the monster horde didn’t seem to slow down. The sea creatures pushed on like they were possessed.

  The mage looked down as Counselor Skullcut was making his second lap of carnage as he cut through the monsters. Shells, scales, claws, and tails were severed or blown off from the spellsword’s power.

  Changing her gaze, she saw that students were hard pressed at the wall. Monsters crawled up and despite having the protective high ground, the students could barely keep back the monsters.

  Professor Frost whispered an incantation as screams rose up. Concentration filled her brow as she spread her mind outwards. It touched on animalistic minds and a mystic vibration among them. Her power pressed on the strange vibration until it relented. Simple thoughts whispered to her mind and the professor opened her eyes.

  “A summoner is doing this. They have slaved the simple minds of these creatures,” Professor Frost whispered to herself.

  Hands out to her sides, the professor decided to change tactics. A fireball appeared in one hand, the size of a crystal ball. With the other hand, her fingers made arcane symbols. When the spells were complete, Frost’s left-hand fingers snapped.

  Fifty sparks appeared around her before they blazed into fire elementals. The army of elementals grew bigger until their light touched all.

  “Defend and destroy,” Professor Frost said simply.

  The flying army of fire elementals dove down. Fiery hands turned into flaming claws before they reached the wall and began swiping at any monster too close. Screeches and the hisses of burning flesh bloomed. Elementals pushed on, burning at everything.

  Professor Frost now held a fireball in each hand as she looked at swaths of monsters.

  “A heavy-handed approach is needed,” the professor smiled before her arms moved like blurring windmills.

  A stream of fireballs struck at large groups of monsters just beyond the wall. The explosions hurtled bodies in every direction as the professor became a turret of magical power. She unleashed fireballs as she slowly turned, the flames of her aspect dancing in her eyes.

  ***

  Dax blasted a crab monster as it began to climb. Lightning bore into an eye stalk and blasted part of its shell away. The creature struggled as Dax aimed again, charged his card and unleashed its power. The lightning bolt hit the monster dead on as it fell to the ground. Several more monsters stepped onto the dying creature, getting claw holds on the wall and began their ascent.

  The mage watched in disbelief as, despite the power of Frost, Skullcut, and his fellow students, they barely held back the storm of monsters and continued to lose ground. Lancers jumped and stabbed at the larger monsters with their spears, but the smaller monsters snuck through, making it to the wall and beginning to climb. Students used their strongest attacks and it barely made a dent in the enemy. Had they all been graduated champions, they would be faring much better against such an impossible foe.

  The thought struck Dax like a hammer. He raised his gaze to the distance, seeing the lone blue flame rising up from a crack in the ground. The sea monster horde avoided it, creating a circular space around the mana flame, an instinct keeping them from getting too close.

  The legend of Sebastian Kinarth fell onto Dax like freezing cold water. His skin prickled as he knew what he would do, what he had to do.

  “Dax!” Noss shouted as he fired off an abyssal lightning bolt.

  The mage looked to the scared kobold with understanding eyes.

  “I know what I have to do,” Dax whispered.

  “What?” Noss shouted as a clawed hand reached over from the edge.

  Dax watched as the kobold aimed his card at the claw and blasted it, fingers spiraling up and over the side. The mage hopped up onto the edge of the wall and looked down at the seething monsters.

  “I know what I have to do!” Dax said louder as all fear left his heart.

  Twenty

  Lyla blasted a creature, a stream of fire striking it and sending the burnt remains over the wall. The mage moved with controlled finesse, her spells accurate and deadly at the same time. Her mind was a blank slate, not thinking about her predicament or her future. She focused on survival and it made her extra deadly in a sea of monsters.

  The battle was turning and not in their favor. The mage with the void spawn soul resigned herself to her fate, knowing full well this was the end of the line. No mental chains weighed her down, the young woman free to live her final moments, slowing her run from death and simply waiting for its cold embrace.

  Heat touched her heart as she glanced to the side. The mage watched in disbelief as Dax stood on the edge of the wall, looking down like he was ready to jump. Fear spiked and her mind opened. A mental tendril snaked out and touched the mage’s mind.

  “What are you doing?” Lyla demanded.

  Dax smiled.

  I’m going to save us all.

  Surface thoughts touched Lyla’s connection and she blinked.

  “You can’t! The mana flame killed Nuria! It will kill you too!” Lyla said with a mental shout.

  It killed Nuria because she was greedy. She didn’t know or care about the legend. Sebastian Kinarth was focused, knowing if he didn’t take the chance, everyone on Ikkudran would be dead or enslaved. I just have to remain focused and limit my time in the flame.

  “The flame will tempt you and before you know it, it will consume you! Tell Skullcut or Frost, they are strong enough to control the power of mana!”

  Dax shook his head as he looked down at the monsters and heard the screams of his fellow students.

  No. If I don’t survive, everyone will need them. I have to do this alone.

  “Dax!”

  The mage ignored Lyla, pulling out a card.

  “To any gods or goddess’s listening, take care of my mother and my friends,” Dax said with resignation.

  The mage turned over the card.

  Name: Whirlwind

  Element: Air
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  Degree: 3

  Ability: Damage

  Special Ability: Knockdown

  Dax whispered the trigger command and jumped.

  “Dax!” Noss shouted as he looked over the side.

  The very air began to swirl and turned into a tornado. Dax fell into the eye as it grew larger and larger. Creatures nearby lifted up strange arms to protect themselves before their bodies were lifted and thrown. The whirlwind grew into a destructive force as Dax was suspended in the middle.

  Monsters watched as the spinning whirlwind began to move. The air whipped at creatures as they dug claws and legs into the rocky ground, trying to withstand the force of nature. Bodies were ripped from their holds, flying through the air and crashing down on other monsters.

  Dax watched as he controlled the whirlwind. His hold over it would be short-lived and he had some distance before he reached the mana flame. Hands diving into his robe, he pulled out two identical cards.

  Name: Lightning Bolt

  Element: Air

  Degree: 3

  Ability: Damage

  Special Ability: None

  Arms out, he whispered the trigger words and lightning blasted out. Unbeknownst to the mage, the elements combined, lightning arcing into the whirlwind. On the outside, lightning bolts shot out in random directions. Monsters tried to crawl closer, only for bolts of energy to slam into their bodies. Once they let go of the ground, they were thrown tens of feet away.

  Noss watched as the whirlwind moved slowly, lightning blasting out in all directions. The kobold’s wide eyes narrowed as courage filled his small form. Taking out two cards, the necromancer pointed them over the wall edge. Dark energy blasted down and struck the ground. Larger, thicker skeletons rose up. Four of them stood to their full height, ghostly weapons in hand.

  Noss took a quick inhale before leaping over the edge. The kobold fell, skeletal hands rising up and catching him. The skeletons quickly put him down and the necromancer looked to the spinning whirlwind.

  “Defend my friend!” Noss shouted his orders.