Omnixius
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DKP 6-27 The price to be paid.
🕑 Added 2021-04-25 06:50:41 +0000 UTCAlarm bells continued to ring as dust of what was once the golden gate billowed intp the streets of Calathen. Lilly burst through the remains of the gates and stalked into a grand plaza littered with rubble and bodies.
The weave turned the gates into a hail of of shards, as the shock wave rolled across the yard, tearing the cobbled from the street. It carved a shallow ditch as wide as Lilly's body across the entire distance to piles of rubble that had once been the buildings on the other side. Bodies were strewn in the rubble with little more than an exposed arm or leg indicating where somebody lay buried. To the sides of this swath of destruction were even more bodies lying broken and bleeding. These were the unfortunate ones who were thrown back by the concussion wave to slam into buildings or other soldiers.
Most of these looked to have been hacked or run through by the rampaging cavalry. In places, the mounds were so thick the horses had to trample them to move on to their next objectives. It was a slaughter of the worst kind, but Gersius no longer felt compassion for them. The time to see reason had come and gone long ago; anyone who stood against him now would be swept aside without mercy.
Lilly froze in the center of the yard as Thayle led the first army through the broken gates and joined them in gawking at the horrible sight.
“I did this?” Lilly said in shock as Gersius leaned over to address Thayle, who was arriving at the head of the first army.
“Move on to the inner gates, and reinforce the cavalry wherever they are meeting resistance.”
“You are taking a dangerous risk charging ahead,” Thayle said. “Why not march with us to the gate?”
“Now that we are inside the city, they may attempt to topple the temple to deny us a portion of our victory,” Gersius asserted. “We must secure Balisha’s temple before moving on to Astikars cathedral. You will only be a few minutes behind us.” He paused to look at the devastation and added a final comment. “I doubt they have many more men to throw at us anyway.”
“Except all the men now retreating from the outer wall. If we fail to hold the causeways, you might be trapped inside,” Thayle countered.
“It is a risk we have to take,” Gersius insisted. “If we have to retreat, we will meet you at the gate.”
“I understand,” Thayle said and gave him a nod. “Good luck.”
He turned his attention to Lilly, who was still taking in the city as her head looked all around. She felt shocked over the bind so he leaned over to rub at her side.
“Lilly, focus,” Gersius urged, drawing her back to the task at hand.
“I have never seen a hive this large before. Even I feel small in this place,” she muttered. “Which way do we go?”
Gersius pointed down a street, and Lilly ran off, quickly catching up to and then overtaking the cavalry. She snaked her way around streets and corners meeting surprisingly little resistance. Gersius was relieved to see the civilian population was in hiding, waiting to see who would come out on top. Many of the streets were narrow, and just as in Whiteford, she damaged everything in her path. Even the road itself tore up under her claws, leaving a clear trail to follow.
“Where are the guards?” she asked as they rounded another corner.
“Dead,” Gersius replied with a tone of satisfaction. “They placed them all in the courtyard, and your weave killed most of them. Whoever was still standing was easy prey for the cavalry. It worked better than I planned.”
“You knew this was going to happen?” Lilly balked.
“I know strategy, and I know that everything counted on preventing us from getting through that gate,” Gersius replied. “You have to remember; they are trying to stop the prophecy. I did all I could to make sure they knew I was determined to complete it. I knew they would put everything they had either on the wall, or in the yard behind it.”
“And you used that knowledge to slaughter them,” Lilly said solemly.
“They trusted in the walls as every king before them has, but they don’t know what dragons can truly do. They had no idea you could use gold to boost a weave like that.”
“But we're already inside,” Lilly said as she slid on the street, using her claws to dig deep ruts and regain he footing. “Does that mean we have already won?”
“Not yet,” Gersius said as his eyes narrowed. “We have to take Balisha’s temple and then find the head of the snake. Dellain and the Father Abbot are here someplace and must be brought down. There can be no false father or dragon knight to compete for our title. It must end here.”
“I am going to rip Dellain’s arms off like he did my wings,” Lilly growled as Gersius sincerely hoped she would do just that. She rounded a final street to see the inner walls and a gate known as the pious gate wide open. Wary of the new set of walls she slowed, searching the area for danger.
“This should be closed,” Gersius said as concern rose in his mind.
“It isn’t even guarded,” Lilly said as she looked about. “Shouldn’t it be guarded?”
“It must be a trap. They want us to use the gate,” he said. “There must be an ambush waiting for when you enter the enclosed area.”
“Then, let’s go over it,” Lilly replied.
“Careful, we do not want the dragons in the air to notice us,” Gersius urged. “Fly just high enough to clear the wall.”
Lilly nodded and spread her wings sailing over the wall to arrive in the yard behind. It was a wide lane lined with multistory homes and absolutely deserted. She turned in place as they looked about, surprised that nothing was here to stop them.
“Could they have foolishly believed I would never get in?” Gersius considered.
“I don’t understand men as you do, but should we wait for Thayle and our followers to catch up?” Lilly asked as she looked around, still not believing there was nobody to stop them. “Something about this doesn’t feel right.”
“No, the gate is undefended, and they will be here in a minute. The empty temple is just down this lane behind some walls. We will wait for Thayle there.”
“Why is nobody trying to stop us?” Lilly asked as she started to walk cautiously. “Maybe you're right, and they were all on the outer walls?”
Gersius didn't believe that for a moment, but nothingstirred in the streets, so he pressed on. He never noticed the golden forms that crept out of nearby houses or appeared on the wall from the empty towers. As they rounded the street corner, the gates began to close, sealing them inside.
As Lilly made a final turn, they arrived at a wall with a single gate large enough for a dragon of Sarah’s size to pass through. Just inside the opening, they could see a statue of a dragon made of white marble.
“This is it, be careful going in here,” Gersius said as Lilly entered the open gates. Once again they were greeted with an empty yard and a sense of dread.
Lillymade her way directly to the statue and looked uponthe image of a dragon holding a curved sword. The sword was wider in the middle and arrived at two narrow points. The handle carefully constructed at the lower point to give the weapon the image of a crescent moon.
“This is the statue you told me about,” Lilly said almost in a whisper.
“Yes, this is the dragon of the first dragon knight,” Gersius replied.
Lilly looked more closely and let out a gentle snort. “It is a female ice dragon. You can tell by the narrowness of the head, and only the ice dragons have the back facing horns.”
“I suppose history is repeating itself,” Gersius suggested and looked more closely, noting the gently curving horns that faced back. He was struck by how much this dragon looked like Lilly. Nearly everything was the same down to the shape of the head and the size of her horns.
“Didn’t you say there was writing on it?” Lilly asked.
Gersius snapped out of his confusion at her voice. “Yes, it is on the base here,” he said and pointed to a bronze plaque bolted to the base. “That is written in dragon. Can you read it?”
Lilly looked down and began to read, but Gersius felt a terrible confusion followed by absolute shock.
“Lilly, what is it?”
“The dragon,” Lilly gasped. “The plague records her name and title,” Lilly said in a confused tone.
“So what does it say?” Gersius asked.
Lilly shook her head, unable to believe what she was reading. “Hellicana Selvina Orthan, the Arch Dovus of Balisha.”
Her mood over the bind was one of confusion followed by disbelief. Gersius was lost as to why she felt this way, but kept quiet as Lilly looked at the statue in awe.
“Why didn't you tell me?” Lilly cried.
“Who are you talking about?” Gersius asked.
Lilly turned her head to look at him, her face the very picture of shock.
“Gersius, this is my mother.”
The moment staggered him, as he looked back to the image of the dragon holding a sword high.
“You are sure?”
“How many dragons do you know with three names?” Lilly growled. “How many would have the exact same names as my mother?”
He saw her point but couldn’t believe it. If this was Lilly’s mother, then what did that mean about the past?
“I thought you said your mother was very old. Didn’t you say she was larger than Sarah?”
“She is,” Lilly cried. “I can’t believe she was a priestess of Balisha and never said anything. I can’t believe Balisha didn’t tell me. She said there was one priestess left but that she rarely prayed to her.”
“Maybe she was trying to protect you?” he offered.
“I am sick of all the mystery and confusion,” Lilly cried. “My own mother was in my place a thousand years ago, and she never once mentioned it? No wonder she knew so much about humans and made me learn it too. She is like you. She knew this was going to happen!”
“Lilly, please calm down,” he urged, but Lilly shook her head and turned to the statue.
“Why did you keep so many secrets from me? You made me learn all those things so you could prepare me for this, but you never said anything!”
“Lilly, we will sort this out when we have time,” Gersius urged. “We need to check the temple and make sure it is secure.”
Lilly took one last look at the statue and snorted before turning to the yard. It was a broad space lined with marble pillars along the walls. The yard itself was green with grass, but areas of it looked recently burned. At the far end stood a temple with a peaked roof, but nothing adorned or identified to which divine it belonged. It rested on a foundation of polished white stone with a dozen steps leading to the lawn. To either side of the steps were square columns made of stone. The left was adorned with the head of a red dragon, impeccably carved from marble. Above its visage was a bronze bowl, burning from inside with flame. To the right was a similar pillar but adorned with the head of a blue dragon. The bowl above was a frosted white but nothing burned inside. As her gaze went to the massive doors of the temple, she noted they were thrown wide, allowing them to see the man waiting for their attention.
Lilly let out a growl that reeked of primal savagery as her blood began to boil. Gersius, too, felt his rage stir as the man stood motionless, holding his helmet so they could see his face.
“Welcome, Gersius,” Dellain said as he smiled broadly. “It’s time we put an end to this game.”
Sarah twisted and turned, trying to keep up with the younger dragons as they darted about her. They used the gray storm clouds that loomed over the city for cover, hiding in their churning mass that flashed with lightning as if in response to the chaos below.
While she was older and faster, but the younger dragons were more maneuverable and carried those terrible spears. They dived in groups out of the clouds making it difficult to avoid them all. Already she had a gouge in one side dripping blood that fell to the city below.
Numidel stayed close at hand, the two trying to protect one another from at least six rivals. Four of them were reds, and two blue, with the largest of their number being red with black edges to her scales. She had nearly straight horns that pointed forward adorned with golden bands. Sarah could tell she was directing the others, doing all she could to keep her and Numidel from aiding the ground battle.
“We have to take the largest red out,” Sarah called as she and Numidel passed. “She is directing the battle.”
Numidel nodded as he banked around, numerous holes in his wings. It was common for a dragon to disable their opponent’s wings, dropping them from the sky. Numidel had a short tear in his left wing, but hadn't found a moment to heal. The enemy was attacking relentlessly, diving all around and keeping them both on constant maneuvers. She turned rapidly and swiped as one of the blues darted past the wicked spear, nearly tearing open a rear leg. They were smart, always approaching from a dive to maximize their speed and limit the wingspan. These dragons were trained for aerial combat and armed so that one good strike was all they would need.
Oddly it was Numidel's breath that had the advantage in the air. The reds could dart through her fire, making it useless for anything but a way to momentarily blind an opponent. However, if Numidel could land a good firm breath, he could coat an opponent's wings in ice. Even if the cold didn't kill them, the subsequent fall might.
They did have an advantage that their opponents hadn’t yet displayed. They could use blessings to combat the enemy, even hurling hammers large enough to kill in one blow. The enemy was reliant on those spears to get the job done, and that required they get close.
Numidel lashed around as a red dived his way, aiming for his back to avoid detection. Despite his best efforts, he was too large to maneuver in time to catch the smaller dragon. He did manage to get out of the way, but a blue dived from the other side, the spear rushing for his shoulder.
Sarah called out a warning, but Numidel was never going to turn in time. Instead, he threw out an arm in the path of the dragon chanting in a low tone as an orange glow formed a shield directly over his arm. The blue collided with the shield and rebounded to the side, tumbling as its spear fell away.
She smiled to see one of the foes finally fall but then cried out as a spear bit deep into her flank. With a snarl, she turned her long neck, racing out to snap the red that was twisting a spear just over her left hind leg.
“You whelps will all fall!” she cried right before snapping those powerful jaws. The dragon abandoned the spear now stuck in her hide, diving over the side to avoid being bitten in two. She thrashed to grab hold of the weapon, knowing full well it was barbed. With a terrible yank, it tore free, causing a gushing wound that could not be ignored. She cast it aside and fell into a chant, desperate to heal the wound at least to where it stopped bleeding.
A second red swooped low, coming for her shoulder while she tried to recover. A blast of ice engulfed the smaller dragon that wailed in alarm before falling out of the cloud, desperately trying to beat its frozen wings.
“That’s two of them,” Numidel said as he flew close to Sarah to offer her protection while she healed.
“I am a fool for losing my focus,” Sarah bellowed as she finished her healing. “I keep worrying about the others.”
“Sutherisa, perhaps this was a bad time for them to invite you in. You need more time to adapt to the change in your life, and now is not the time to be distracted by it,” he replied and looked skyward as the lead red broke cloud cover.
“I can manage this,” Sarah argued as they looked around to find the attackers.
“You nearly lost control in the dream, and now you are feeling worried over your family,” Numidel pointed out. “If you wish to help them, you must focus.”
Sarah knew he was right but still couldn’t accept that she was feeling such profound emotions. Never had shed worried about another, especially humans. Now she had three beings ever-present in her mind, and could feel their turmoil. Something inside implored her to rush to their side and protect them, and every moment she failed to do so made it worse. Still, logic told her that this was her place, protecting the skies and preventing these dragons from wreaking havoc on the ground. Gersius asked her to be here as their shield, and she would not let him down.
“Their leader is the key,” Sarah exclaimed. “But she is trying to bait us into the clouds where the younger ones can skewer us.”
“We have only to keep them at bay Until Gersius and Thayle complete their mission,” Numidel replied. “Let her hide in the clouds where she can do nothing to hinderthem.”
Sarah nodded and looked up as one of the little blues darted out of the clouds and then rose back in. They were dancing above their heads, probing their defenses. She considered flying lower, forcing them to take longer in their dives and give her more time to react.
“What if we rush the clouds, fly through them as fast as we can, and get above them?” Sarah asked.
Numidel shook his head and gave her a concerned look. “Then they will move below the clouds and attack the city. We will lose our ability to shield our allies.” Even as he finished his words, two of the reds and a blue dived coming at Sarah in mass. They were spread out and converging on their position when Sarah had another idea.
“Back off!” she yelled and folded her wings, twisting into a dive of her own. She looked back to see the three smaller dragons racing after her and smiled as Numidel caught on. He turned and dived, racing to intercept the dragons as Sarah hurtled toward the ground.
Sarah had to time her next move carefully as the city's rooftops grew closer by the second. The plan was to force them to chase her, luring them farther from the clouds. To do so she would have to come dangerously close to the city before spreading her wings.If she was too late, she would fail to gain enough lift and collide with the buildings. She had no delusions of how quickly the smaller dragons would be on her to finish her off, but she had to give Numidel more time. Just as the little ones gained momentum in a dive, so did she, staying well ahead of them as they took the bait.
She flared her wings wide at the last possible moment, catching the wind and trying to stop her terrible momentum. With her tail thrown wide to act as drag, she began to level out as the three smaller dragons closed the gap. She was at her most vulnerable now and fully committed to leveling out. If she was forced to maneuver, it would spell disaster. Seconds began to stretch out as spears closed in, the dragons grouping together as they converged on her.
The air filled with ice as Numidel let loose. One of the reds plummeted into the buildings, the blue tryiedto veer off and maneuver, but her deadly speed carried her into the rooftops as well. The last red roared in anger and hurled his spear. Sarah watched in anger, unable to turn as it unerringly hit her in the back.
The little dragon flared his wings as well, trying to abate the dive, but Numidel was on his tail. Just as he was about to swipe, the red with black-trimmed scales landed on his head. She turned his momentum and carried them both into the city as buildings shattered from the terrible impact.
“Numidel!” Sarah cried as she winced in pain. The spear had come down just behind her wings where her arms couldn’t reach. Nor could she use her jaws to grasp it while flying, her neck would interfere with her wings. She would have to leave it, impaled in her back as every flap of her great wings began to aggravate the wound.
She took a glance to see the disarmed red running for the storm above, then circled to gaze into a cloud of dust where Numidel settled. Just as she approached, the leader burst out of the hazeand raced directly into her path.
“Poor fool,” she said in a mocking tone. “Did he think he had outsmarted me?”
“Wretch!” Sarah yelled as her claws flared wide, eager to rip the wings off the vile beast.
The smaller dragon laughed and darted to the side, but Sarah twisted to chase then howled as the other red returned to land on her back and twist the spear, shoving it in deeper. The pain flared up her side as she tried to roll over and shake the attacker off, but the dragon was determined to push the spear through her. She resorted to folding her wings so she could bite, risking the fall to the ground only to have the larger red wrap around her neck and yank back, denying her the reach. Now losing altitude quickly, Sarah struggled to throw them both off when something collided with her back.
Numidel squeezed with terrible might, breaking the smaller dragon as he tore it free from Sarah. He fought to slow her descent, flapping as hard as his tattered wings would carry him as the red leaped off, laughing at their demise.
“You two are finished,” she cackled as they crashed to the ground in a great crash. They landed in a street, but slid into a brick home, buckling the front of the building as they finally came to a stop.
“Sutherisa, are you all right?” Numidel asked as he tried to untangle himself from under her.
Sarah could only make a groaning sound as she reached to her chest where the spear now protruded, driven clean through by the impact. Her hands shook, desperately grasping as the blood drained away.
Numidel's hand closed around the terrible weapon and bid her close her eyes before yanking it free. She roared in pain as he cast it aside, dark blood washing down her scales as he set his hands and began to pray. As the golden light began to spread, he knew they were out of the fight for at least a few minutes. Only two of the rival dragons remained, but what damage could they cause now that they were free to roam? With no option but to focus on the healing, he poured his prayers into Sarah, hopeful they would soon be back in the air.
Thayle led the ground forces as the army spilled through the open gates. It broke into three formations to march down parallel streets and converge at the pious gate. They would be the first to reinforce Gersius at the temple of Balisha and push on to the temples that made up the other faiths. They would also bear the brunt of any further fighting, and she dreaded what might lie ahead.
Thankfully the enemy on the walls above were in full retreat, and nothing rained down on them. They were too busy trying to retreat to a more defensible position that they didn’t realize was already cut off. By now, the upper ramparts were blockaded, and the cavalry was heading for the inner city. The soldiers Sarah left on the walls would try to open those gates but failing that, the second and third armies would assault them directly.
There were other minor gates, of course, but only one of them was close to the objective. As she led the way, the soldiers found the obvious passage of a dragon. Stones were clawed from the road, and buildings damaged as Lilly turned corners on narrow lanes. Her pace seemed to accelerate as the inner wall drew near, vanishing a good hundred paces before the gate.
Thayle surmised that Lilly must have flown over it as it was closed. She immediately noticed the soldiers in golden armor lining the wall to repel them. Her heart nearly froze as she recognized these soldiers from Gersius's descriptions. These were the honor guard elite. The best soldiers set aside to protect the Father Abbot. Of all the forces Gersius had warned about facing, these were the most deadly. Before she could even react, the hammers were on the way; green wards went up all around and shattered when impacted.
“Cover formations!” Thayle yelled as more hammers raced in, taking a few of her women down. The army formed into perfect ranks, with the rear rows singing to shield those in front. In her ranks, the priests of Astikar returned hammers of their own, but the elite guard held arms up, singing a chant of their own. Thayle knew the power of Asitkar’s shield. A useful blessing that created a small orange disc over the arm of the man, or a much wider covering for a full shield. As she watched their shields glowed with an orange light, forming a near impenetrable barrier. They couldn’t project it like the women of Ulustrah could, but while formed in tight ranks, they didn’t need to. The hammers shattered harmlessly on the barrier making the effort futile.
The exchange lasted only a few moments before the elite soldiers adapted, throwing hammers in twos or threes at the same target, the first shattering the shield while the next passed through the opening. Men and women began to fall as Thayle urged them to advance, leading the charge herself as a hammer shattered the shield before her and a second slammed into her stomach.
She was vaguely aware of being dragged away as her Priests of Astikar tried to shield her. The pain of broken ribs flooded her mind as she regained her senses, but there were women already working to heal her.
“Governess Commander, can you hear me?” a woman cried as Thayle finally opened her eyes.
“We have to open that gate,” Thayle groaned as the healing went on. “Gersius and Lilly are already inside.”
“Those soldiers are very well trained, and the wall is too high to climb,” the woman said. “How to do we get over it?”
Thayle's vision began to clear, and she looked up into a gentle face framed by long brown hair. Thayle didn't know her name offhand, but she looked like a girl more suited to kisses than battle. How she wished women like this didn’t need to be fighting in this terrible war. Two other women continued to sing as the pain finally began to subside, and she sat up.
Thayle was helped to her feet, where she quickly took stock of the situation. There were a good five hundred men on the wall, all the best of the best Astikar had to offer. These were men who believed it was their holy duty to protect the Father Abbot with their lives. Gersius said their numbers were roughly a thousand and would likely be defending the cathedral. She had to wonder why so many of them were here, but that thought only lasted a moment as the truth dawned on her.
“It’s a trap,” she said under her breath.
“What is?” the nearby woman asked.
“This is! They let Gersius and Lilly inside and then shut the doors so nobody else could follow them,” Thayle said. “They knew where he was going first.” She turned in a panic and ran for the corner to see hundreds of women packed into doorways and side streets, trying desperately to cover the men of Astikar being barraged by hammers from the wall. They were formed into five tight ranks, trying to maintain a shield wall that was being pummeled. A dozen of them were lying in the street, and twice as many were limping for cover to heal.
The wall was only ten meters high, but without equipment, it would be impossible to break. She realized there was only one option, but the cost would be horrendous, and she would have to order the soldiers to pay it.
From beyond the wall came a sudden spike of anger as something riled Lilly and Gersius. They were cut off unless Lilly risked flying, but Thayle looked up to see a battle of dragons in the sky. Sarah and Numidel were high above the city while half a dozen smaller dragons darted around them with long spears. Thayle could feel the pain in Sarah’s side where she had already been wounded and realized time was rapidly running out.
“Reform!” Thayle shouted and ran into the streets, immediately having to dodge a hammer. Standing in the open was suicide, but she need to lead a charge. Reaching across the bind she drew on Sarah for a bit of dragon strength and presented her shield boldly.
Hammers began to slam into the surface, rattling her arm as she crawledforward. The priests of Astikar absorbed her into their ranks and tried to advance with her as the rain of death continued. Seeing their commander move forward, hundreds of women broke cover and began to follow. The soldiers of Balisha arrived first, forming into lines behind the priests of Astikar, but they had no blessing to strengthen their shields. Thayle ordered the unarmed women to shield them, and as much of the column as they could. The elite changed tactics again, throwing hammers in clumps at the women and causing serious injury.
Thayle ran back and organized a full squad, bringing them forward as the line slowly advanced. “When I call for it, I need you to create a shield ramp to the top of that wall,” she said.
“We can’t,” one of the women said as she tried to replace a shield. “There won’t be enough of us left to fight if we try to hold a ramp and the shields.”
“We’re not going to fight for this wall,” Thayle said as she turned back, a terrible pain crawling through her heart. “Forgive me, Lilly,” Thayle whispered and pointed her sword to the wall. “Followers of Balisha, Lilly, and Gersius are trapped on the other side of that wall. For their lives and your goddess's return, you must break through! When I give the command you must charge with all your might!”
The soldiers in silver and blue formed a tight column as the men of Astikar parted to allow them to stand in the center. Thayle took a sudden battery of hammers, nearly toppling her to her knees, but she held on with gritted teeth.
“On my command, we charge the wall and use a ramp to get to the top.” She dared a look over her shield to see they still had to get closer, so she struggled to her feet and gave the command. The whole mass surged forward, hammers taking a terrible toll but not enough to slow the sudden surge. When they got in range, the followers of Balisha reached out and silver dragon claws formed in the air, swiping men from the wall or outright pulling them over. The attack caused sudden alarm in the elite guard, but they quickly called on divine strength to stand firm under the blows. A dozen steps more, and Thayle commanded the ramp be formed. Women went to work laying shields flat, creating a crude ramp that went right to the top of the wall.
Without slowing, the soldiers of Balisha stormed up that ramp as the guards ontop formed a solid line and dropped spears. They surged forward with divine strength, and Thayle flinched to see several women immediately impaled. Still, they pressed on as divine strength met dragon strength in a contest of superiority. Bodies fell from the wall as Thayle led the priests of Astikar to join the fighting. She glanced back to see her forces bottled in a narrow area leaving hundreds behind in pools of blood. The elite guard was expertly holding them at the ramp, keeping their numbers constrained where they could deal with them easily.
Balisha's soldiers began to use the frost breath, surprising some of the guards, but they quickly adapted and pressed them back once again. By the time Thayle reached the top, fully a third of them were wounded or dead. In some cases, the bodies were sliding back down the ramp to trip up those following behind.
Thayle wasted no time putting her binding to use, drawing on Sarah's power instead of Lilly's. She rushed at the line, using her shield as a ram to stagger men back, but only gained a few steps, their combined divine might holding her back. Vines and green chains were employed to tangle men up, but their divine strength kept breaking the holds. Nothing they threw at these men seemed to slow them as they fought with fanatic zeal.
She needed to find a way to break this stalemate before her army was bled dry. She looked to the sword in her hand and realized there was one risky option. She jumped back and began to sing to Ulustrah while planting the point into the stone.
“Stop her!” a man shouted, and she was suddenly thrown back by another hammer impact to her shield. She tried to resume her stance as others went to protect her, but the elite guard focused on her. Three more hammers toppled her as she groaned in pain. Her arm was numb, but she had to press on; it was the only way. The elites surged forward, suddenly breaking her line as a man bore down on her with a spear.
A silver claw formed in his path, swiping him so forcefully he fell to the side. Thayle looked up in alarm as a hand was offered and helped get her back to her feet. The man had deep blue hair, and blazing eyes to match Lilly. He was bleeding from the shoulder, and his helm was long gone. He shielded Thayle with his own body as she tried to get her shield up and start again.
“Hurry,” the man begged. “Lilly is in danger.”
Thayle recognized Culver’s voice as he looked around for more soldiers to help.
“Surround her so they can't reach her!” he shouted and then turned to the women of Ulustrah below. “Put your shields over the dragon knight. Ignore everyone else!”
Thayle was stunned as green shields suddenly layered over four thick. The forces of Balisha swarmed around her, taking hammers and spears as they blunted the attack. She took one last look at Culver as his sad eyes turned away and prepared to meet his doom.
Realizing it was now or never, she planted the sword and began to sing a blessing of growth, channeling the power into the blade. In every crack and crevice, vines began to grow, rapidly becoming thicker as the binder holding the stones together crumbled away. Her sword began to glow and hum as the sound of splitting rocks joined in the chorus signaling the end. A massive section of the wall suddenly lurched, as soldiers stumbled to regain their balance. A moment later there was a thunderous crack and it all came apart.
Hundreds of the elite guard went down with a wall section, bringing with it the gate and tearing wide a hole. Sadly, many of her own forces went with them, buried in the collapsing wall as it rumbled to the ground. Only the wall section around Thayle remained, held together by a tight tangle of vines. A few of the elite guards were also in the tight space, but now they were vastly outnumbered. They fought on tenaciously, and Thayle had to fell one herself after he dropped three more followers of Balisha. She called in vain for Culver but he never responded and she didn’t have the time to do a thorough search.
The gate was taken, and the way clear to get inside, but her army had been butchered. She ordered a third of the remaining women to fan out, looking for survivors as the rest spilled into the inner yard lead by what remained of Balisha's forces. She felt a sense of dread pouring out of Lilly and a wave of all-consuming anger blazing in Gersius. She prayed the army would arrive in time as they staggered into the street and began to form up. She knew the time was growing short, and seconds counted. She prayed they had seconds enough.
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Lilly's mother has a lot of secrets. I have been waiting a long time for this reveal.
WhiteRabbit
Did not see the mom thing coming...
Sorry this is late. I hope it reads well. I am not at my best right now.
