The First Seal

by Jared Zakarian

  The Drey’kan were ready for war.

  Each formation consisted of a thousand soldiers wide by a thousand soldiers deep. Baskla could see at least nine of these divisions. Any formations beyond their first few rows were unclear and blended together from his viewpoint.

  Baskla cursed. “There are a million of them . . .”

  Gavina’s jaw dropped unconsciously.

  “I cannot allow all of you within our gates. There is not enough room,” Baskla said in awe and with the sudden realization that the elves would never have been able to defeat the Drey’kan.

  “Those unable to fit within your walls will hide in the forest and rout the enemy from the flanks. They will defend your walls from the outside,” the Drey’kan said.

  Baskla was shocked and did not know what to think. He weighed the situation for a very long time. He wondered if the Drey’kan were secretly trying to bring them down, to destroy them once and for all, or if the Drey’kan truly did come in peace. He wondered if the Drey’kan would truly defend them and stop the advancing darkness scarring the lands.

  The Drey’kan could see Baskla’s hesitation. “Elf. Our people are no longer at war; you would have lost by now if we were. My people’s homeland is in turmoil. The evil pouring through the seal attacks my kind as well. Many of the Drey’kan have fallen while fighting against them. Our purposes align.”

  Baskla was unsure if he could trust the Drey’kan, but he nodded in affirmation to the new, tenuous ally. “If your words are truth, then I will accept you as our ally, but I need your assurance not one Drey’kan shall hurt anyone already within the walls of Lesley.”

  The Drey’kan’s head turned to the side as if distracted.

  “I have commanded them, and they understand their fate should they harm one of your kind,” the Drey’kan said in the two generals’ minds. “The Drey’kan mother has commanded this alliance, and they will not betray her.”

  Baskla nodded. “Only one formation will be able to come inside.”

  The Drey’kan leader nodded. “You may call me Zareth.”

  Baskla bowed respectfully to Zareth. “I am Baskla.”

  Zareth bowed in return. “My other formations shall remain out here, hide in the trees, and protect your walls.”

  Baskla ordered the gates to open as they walked back inside. Zareth led one formation through the tall outer gateway. The other formations faded from sight, dispersing into the forests surrounding Lesley.

  As the Drey’kan formation entered the gates, many citizens and soldiers of Lesley watched the procession. Everyone was in shock at the presence of Drey’kan within Lesley’s walls. Never had the Drey’kan been allies with the races. The procession came to a halt as the last line cleared the tall outer gates, and the gates closed behind them.

  A family with two children watched the Drey’kan. There was a little boy and a little girl. Their eyes were wide as they stared at the Drey’kan in wonder. One of the Drey’kan caught their gazes, and its metallic eyes peered back at them.

  The Drey’kan’s form vanished from the formation. It abruptly reappeared right in front of the children. It was bending down and staring straight into the little boy’s eyes. The boy was scared by the Drey’kan’s sudden trick and leaped into his mother’s arms.

  The Drey’kan laughed to itself, and its eyes smiled at the boy’s fright. The rogue Drey’kan vanished once again and reappeared back in formation.

  Baskla stood before the Drey’kan formation and spoke to anyone in earshot to ease their concerns.

  “Citizens and soldiers, please remain calm. The Drey’kan have come in peace and wish for an alliance against the rising darkness beyond.

  “Please do not fear for your safety. They have not come to harm us. Our new ally will provide a great addition to our defenses and aid in our survival in the days to come.”

  Baskla did his best to rally those around him and to ease their fears. He tried to calm the tension in the air. Even if some citizens remained unhappy with their new alliance, nobody could deny the overwhelming benefit to having more warriors on their side, especially when those fighters were born for war.

  Baskla then went immediately to King Zael and told him the news, but the king was furious, and his shouts could be heard through the keep’s main hall.

  “How dare you endanger our people by allowing them within our walls! They are an adversary we cannot defeat on the battlefield. Their unnatural abilities undermine all forms of strategy,” Zael roared.

  “I apologize, my king. But with their numbers, it would make no difference if they were already within our walls or not. They number a million at least. A tenuous alliance is our only option if we wish to have a chance at surviving what comes,” Baskla said, kneeling before the king with a bowed head.

  “Do they have a way to breach our walls if we were to refuse their offer?”

  “Not that I saw, but it would not take long for them to starve us out.”

  King Zael was angry that Baskla did not seek council with his king before making the decision but accepted it was probably their only decision to make. They needed the Drey’kan as allies, as much as he hated the thought.

  “If they kill even one of our people, their division must be removed from our city. I will not have needless bloodshed from a known threat within our walls. Do you hear me?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Before you make any more decisions of an equal weight, you are to seek council with me,” Zael commanded.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Begone.”

  Baskla left the king’s throne room with a lashing to his pride but understood the king’s anger and knew it was justified. He had made a decision that threatened Lesley without the king’s ruling.

  The rest of the day passed, and the night followed, uneventful and quiet. The powerful smell of brimstone thickened in the air, unmistakable and ever present. The battle was coming, and everyone could feel it.

  ◆◆◆

  The next day’s sun rose over the eastern tree line, and ash began to fall from the sky. It rained down like a gray snow and lightly coated the ground. Mothers covered their children’s faces and ushered them inside, latching the doors behind them. Soldiers protected their faces as best they could from the falling ash.

  A scout raced down the road toward the gates of Lesley on horseback. The horse’s nostrils were flaring as its lungs heaved for air. Its hooves kicked up dirt from its swift pace.

  “Open the gate!” Gavina shouted from atop the battlement.

  The gates creaked open just enough for the horse to race inside, then shut behind the scout after entering.

  “General!” the scout shouted into the air. “General!”

  Gavina and Nilver both came running at the scout’s call.

  “Report,” Nilver said.

  “They are on the move. And their numbers, sir! I cannot even tell you. I saw no end, and I rode their lines for a day. I cannot say how, but they have grown to a number I have never seen before.” The scout’s distant gaze showed it all to the generals as the scout’s vision dove into his memories.

  “How much time do we have?” Nilver asked.

  “Not long, an hour maybe. They were not far behind me.”

  “Thank you. You are dismissed,” Nilver said.

  The scout bowed and rode off toward the barracks.

  Nilver turned to Gavina. “Stay on the wall. I must speak to Baskla.”

  “Yes, sir.” Gavina sprinted back up to the battlements atop the outer gate. She walked down the lines of archers and made sure they were prepared. Any who were tired, she relieved and ordered replacements. Stacks of quivers filled to their brims with arrows lay at the archers’ feet. Fire stands were positioned at strategic points for flame archers to light barrels of oil that were strategically placed around the farmlands below.

  She walked up to the nearest archer tower and inspected the archer ranks and the ballistae crew. Ballistae bolts were stacked at multiple points and
ready for rapid reload for the four ballistae.

  She was on her way back down to the main gate when she heard a call echoing along the battlements.

  “General Gavina! General Gavina! They are here!” A soldier sprinted down the archer line toward her.

  Gavina looked over the battlement wall and across the farmlands toward the northern tree line. Thousands of the foot soldiers of evil, with their characteristic wooly legs, emerged through the trees. The demons filtered into the farmlands surrounding Lesley, and flyers shot out of the forest’s canopy.

  She turned to the nearby soldier. “Go inform Baskla and Nilver!”

  The soldier ran off.

  Gavina shouted, “Archers ready yourselves! Aim for the flyers!” The command rippled down the battlements via lieutenants’ voices.

  The hundreds of archers atop the battlements nocked their bows and paused, ready to pull back on their strings. They awaited the general’s orders as she marched back to her station above the outer gate.

  After a couple of minutes, the runner returned with news. “General Baskla readies the melees below. Nilver is stationed on the western front. He asks you remain here and command the archers.”

  “Understood,” Gavina said. “Archers, wait my signal!”

  The command echoed down the battlements.

  Out toward the edge of the fields, near the tree line, demons fell, and chaos erupted. The hidden Drey’kan formations had begun their first assault, ripping apart the initial rush of demons.

  Down in front of the gate, several Drey’kan formations appeared and readied themselves. The ends of their forelimbs shifted into weapons; not all were the same. Many were swordlike, and others appeared as axes or spears. The Drey’kans’ stances were firm and unwavering.

  Inside Lesley’s gates, Baskla ordered the melees into ranks, eclipse and pangolin formations.

  Zareth’s unit backed up the elven formations and would fight freely against any who broke through the eclipse formation while the pangolin formations stood their ground.

  A narrow gap was left open through the middle of the formations as a corridor for the cavalry to ride down.

  Behind Zareth’s wide, crescent-moon formation, Lyvnevar’s horseman ranks were filed five across and a thousand long. Their ranks filed into the inner gate and down the main road into Lesley, prepared for their charge.

  Elven swordsmen formations gathered to the west and east behind Zareth’s crest, not blocking the cavalry. Behind the swordsmen blocks were elven spearmen formations, and beyond those, other, supplementary formations grew. Farther behind those formations were dwarven soldiers with battle-axes and great hammers, with berserker-maidens behind them, followed by human soldiers.

  On the western front, Nilver commanded elven archers and ballistas on top of the walls while orc warriors gathered below. If the western wall was breached, then the orcs would defend the west. In the east, Chondrose commanded the ogres, trolls, and giants. They would defend there if the eastern wall fell.

  Elven archers lined the battlements five deep. There were also archers scattered throughout the tree canopy covering the outer ring. They were stationed high up in the redwood trees, above the barracks. They were ready to ambush enemies breaching the outer wall.

  The inner gate was ordered shut, and the crossbeam was lowered across it, though a squad of soldiers remained ready to remove the crossbeam for the cavalry to ride out.

  In the surrounding forests, the Drey’kan continued to rip apart the demons. The cries of pain rose in the air as most of the carnage was hidden by the foliage.

  Yet the demon forces swelled and began emerging from the tree line anew, breaking through the Drey’kan’s assault. Evil creatures raced across the farmlands.

  The trebuchets atop the inner gate towers were the first to fire. The ground shook with the release of their flaming projectiles. Next were the catapults and then the ballistae.

  Every siege weapon in Lesley fired on the swarming enemy. The heavy projectiles crashed into the growing sea of demons. Dozens of evil beings were smashed as the projectiles crushed demons under their weight and rolled on with diminished momentum. Long bolts from the ballistae pierced rows of demons and removed a handful at a time from the battlefield.

  Screeching flyers closed in on the battlements as they maneuvered wildly through the air.

  “Archers, fire!” Gavina shouted from atop the wall.

  The command echoed down the battlements. Hundreds of bows twanged, and arrows flew. Most of the arrows missed their intended targets as the flyers were fast and traveled in unpredictable flight patterns, though arrows did hit a small number, and those few dropped from the sky. The arrows that did not hit a flyer descended from the sky onto the foot soldiers below.

  Scores of demons fell from the rain of arrows, though not all that were hit died. Some simply absorbed the attack and regained their footing, pushing forward in a renewed charge. The siege weapons and arrows rained down on the fast-approaching enemy.

  “Gavina!” a voice sounded.

  Gavina looked toward the voice and saw Ireli running up the stairs. Ehreion was not far behind her.

  “We are here to help!” Ireli shouted over the battle sounds.

  Ireli reached the battlements and ran straight for the wall, next to Gavina. When she looked out across the farmlands, a curse rang from her lips.

  “There are so many,” Ehreion laughed. “This will be fun!”

  Ireli threw her hands up before her. “Can you funnel them?”

  “Yes,” Ehreion said.

  The dwarf lifted his hands and made a motion as if he was tearing the air apart. A section of the battlefield mimicked his motion. The ground began to rip open, and lava rose as the crack in the ground grew. Many demons succumbed to the sudden flood of molten lava. The evil forces parted around the new obstacle. Ehreion repeated the same motion on the field’s other side and opened a second lava rift. The funnel was made. The demons either had to approach between the two rifts or make a wide arcing path around them.

  “Good!” Ireli said.

  Ireli’s assault now began. A gale-force wind started to blow over the battlefield. In its midst the air spun, and a tornado was born between the two lava rifts. The tornado’s base expanded, grabbed scores of demons at a time, and threw them high into the air. A second tornado developed to the right of the lava rifts and a third to the left.

  Ehreion laughed. “Yes! They are going to have a hard time getting in here.”

  Fireballs erupted from Ehreion’s hands and shot out across the battlefield, joining the siege weapons’ onslaught.

  Flyers maneuvered the lethal maze of arrows and violent winds with stunning agility. When the archers’ first quivers ran out, brief gaps were created in the rain of arrows. The archers quickly threw down their empty quivers and picked up full ones.

  Sporadically, evil foot soldiers began to trickle through the barrage of flying debris and magical defenses. The first defensive line of Drey’kan formations in front of the gate slipped into the air and vanished from sight. They charged unseen.

  The demon foot soldiers breaking through the magical defenses and advancing through the siege projectiles met their fates at the Drey’kan’s blades.

  The walls were holding. Not one demon had yet made it through the formidable defense.

  Chapter 18

  Solid Ground

  They will descend from the sky. They will rise from the dirt. Stand firm and hold your ground.

  The Ikalreev Prophecies 23:9–11

  Aili’s eyes opened. She lay in the bed next to Faolan, who was still asleep. The room was still and quiet. She licked her lips and felt parched. She slipped out of Faolan’s arms and walked over to the door. She looked back at Faolan and slowly cracked open the door, trying not to wake him.

  When she peeked through the crack in the door, she was surprised not to see the guards standing outside. An unusual sight. The guards were always there to make sure they remained in the
ir room.

  She opened the door farther and glanced both in directions down the hallway. The air was silent and still, eerily so. She sniffed the air, and a sulfuric stench burned her nostrils.

  “What is that awful smell?” she whispered.

  Aili was thirsty, but she was hesitant to leave Faolan alone. She waited a moment to see if anyone would walk down the hall, but no one was coming. She slowly slipped out of the room, shut the door behind her, and lightly stepped down the hall. She peered down its curving length and hoped someone would appear. She just needed to find a guard to fetch her some water so she could get back to Faolan.

  Aili walked all the way to the main hall, but there was still not a soul in sight. She could feel her nerves itch. There were never fewer than twenty guards in the main hall. Worry beset her as she knew something was wrong.

  “Hello?” Aili said.

  She walked up the three tiers of stairs to the king’s throne room, opening one door and peeking inside. There was no one in the throne room, either.

  Aili grew scared. The absence of life in the castle was unnatural and made her heart skip a beat. She turned around and quickly walked back down the steps, making her way over to the big castle doors, which had been left ajar. As she neared, her steps slowed as she saw a peculiar substance floating down through the open doors.

  She stopped and watched the gray material. Her eyes focused on the small fluff as it fell to the ground.

  “Ash?” She questioned her sight.

  She walked closer to the doorway and stretched out one hand to catch some of the floating material. She let a small piece land in her hand and inspected it more closely.

  “Why is there ash in the air?”

  Aili knew that Molagav had never belted ash toward the north and found the falling debris disconcerting. She covered her nose with her sleeve and exited the castle. Her eyes squinted as she adjusted to the blurred daylight as it reflected inconsistently off the falling ash. A cloud layer covered the sky and shaded the world beyond.