"Retreat! Retreat! Flee for your lives! Retreat! Head for the forest! Save yourselves!" shouted Nolgrek, blood covering his silver armour. He was leading the west flank of the resistance.
Lifeless bodies lied on the ground, the sodden sand was anointed with guts, the noxious smell of blood filled the salty humid air and the sound of gunfire, clash of swords and magical spells were deafening.
"No quarters!" Shouted back a wizard on top of his horse. "Kill them all!"
"CHARGE!" A dwarf stood beside the wizard, leading the remaining ranks of the front flank.
Morgan was retreating along with the rest of the resistance's army, when he heard the dwarf behind him, he sounded familiar. He turned back to take a look. Morgan stood frozen in the battlefield, now a grave of lost warriors, many of them were his friends.
"AMNAY! STOP THIS MADNESS! YOUR BETRAYAL HAS ALREADY COST US A GREAT DEAL! STOP THIS! WE ARE RETREATING! ENOUGH!" Morgan assailed with his axe the storming warriors.
"This one is mine!" Amnay blocked Morgan's blow with his large sword, the way waves crashed on rocks. Grunting, he pushed him back. "THERE WON'T BE AN END TO THIS UNLESS YOU SURRENDER BROTHER! JOIN FORCES WITH ZION! THERE WILL BE NO VICTORY AGAINST HIM! ONLY DEATH AND RUIN!" The clashing of steel rang in their ears. Amnay was twice stronger than his brother, but Morgan's anger and grief were greater.
"LOOK AROUND YOU! YOU HAVE ALL THIS BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS BROTHER! TRAITOR!" The twins moved in a chaotic harmony, sword against axe, clattering and clanking, none of them showed any sign of surrender.
"YOU HAVE SLAYED YUGAR WITH COLD BLOOD! HE WAS MY FRIEND! AND MORE OF A BROTHER THAN YOU'LL EVER BE!" Morgan charged another blow and pushed his brother who fell under the heavy weight.
Morgan threw his axe and jumped on Amnay, punching him with his gloved hands. Under all the hits Amnay felt his brother's tears falling on his face like warm rain drops on a cold winter night. "YOU BETRAYED US! YOU... Betrayed me brother... why? Why brother? COWARD!" His blows weakened one after the other, his brother -tongue-tied and beaten- yielded to his brother's wrath.
"MORGAN!" A giant came rushing towards the two brothers, and pulled Morgan off of Amnay. "We retreat!" The giant ran towards the forest. He was three time the height of a grown dwarf.
"Put me down Mirael! I will kill him! I will kill him!"
The giant didn't mind Morgan's struggle to get away from his firm grip.
"Not now." He grunted at the dwarf. "Now run." Mirael freed the dwarf of his grip and both of them disappeared in the forest with the rest of their army.
"VICTORY! VICTORY!" Zion's army cried in triumph. Many giants, dwarves and wizards lied dead in Watergul's battlefield. East of the continent Devbodur was burning and bleeding of war. The great Kingdom of Phaa, fell to the dark powers of Zion after two consecutive days of resistance.
"Ah, what a shame. We didn't have to use the army of the dead, they're weaker than I remembered. Your brother's spirit is broken. A pity you didn't kill him, just say it and I'll do it for you Amnay."
"He is mine." Amnay was washing his swollen face with the salted water. He took off his armour, tried to move his stiff shoulder, groaning in pain he sat down.
"He beat you bloody. You can't kill him. He also looks just like you. If it wasn't for the hair, I wouldn't tell you apart." Replied the wizard.
Morgan had a braided mohawk haircut while Amnay had short black hair. He spit, his left eye was puffy and hurting him. "What now? You have Phaa. It's the greatest kingdom in our continent. You don't need to make war to the other kingdoms, we can negotiate terms of peace."
"We have won three battles, not the war. There won't be any peace if your kin and giants refuse to bend the knee." Argued the wizard.
"It's hard to make a giant bend. Dwarves are twice as stubborn." Said the dwarf.
"Not as much as you think. Look at you, not only you bent the knee but you helped us with the siege."
That left a bad taste in Amnay's mouth. In fact, many dwarves and giants have surrendered and joined forces with Zion, betraying with that the rest of their people.
"Lord Balaam, the west flank confirmed the death of King Komargath." Yelled a wizard who came trotting on his horse.
"We needed him alive!" Exclaimed Balaam angrily.
"You wouldn't have caught him alive even if you fought him for a hundred years. He would have ended his own life if he knew he would be of any use to Zion, you shouldn't have killed his family." Amnay stood, sand on his hands and legs.
"Well he was a tough one, he killed both Yitzek and Lu with a single hit." Added the other wizard on his horse. "Also, there was a letter from Tadmil." He handed Balaam a sealed parchment. The wizard investigated the seal before opening the letter. He made an angry noise and bared his teeth like an enraged hound while reading the message before throwing it to the sea.
"What is it? If I may ask." Inquired Amnay.
"You may not. We make camp here, and wait for an answer from our troops in the capital. You, follow me." Commanded Balaam pointing at the messenger.
The sky was red, the first lights of the day shone upon the corpses and bathed the red sand and sea with a soft warmth.
Many miles away from the beach of Watergul and their lost war, the troops of resistance made camp in the foothills of the Mothgar mountain, where broken and deprived of their homeland, giants and dwarves, lamented and cursed their fate and all those who have betrayed them. Injured and weary, those of them who still has some strength in them, tended to their companions wounds.
"It's no use Morgan, I am afraid we will have to amputate it." A female dwarf whispered to Morgan. A dwarf was laying in the ground, bleeding from his left arm that was severely injured.
"Do it." Cried the wounded dwarf in agony who heard her. Morgan held him still, but his pain must have been unbearable for he struggled and whimpered, sweating in pain he clenched his right fist.
Morgan nodded at the female dwarf. She threw her bloody needle and took a long dagger that was heating up in the fire next to her.
"Be quick, Thalisha." Grunted the wounded dwarf. "As quick as in the battlefield." He smiled painfully.
His screaming was so loud birds flew off their nests.
"He is going to be fine. I gave him some hot wine and covered his wound with bloodwort to relief the pain" She assured Morgan. "But I don't believe he can walk all the way to Zolciak. We have to carry him. We have to carry many... we won't make it in time."
"We will. Trust me." Morgan held her hand and smiled in comfort. "Come, you need to rest as well." The two of them joined the giant Dufrig and three other dwarves who were sitting near the river's bank. He sat beside the giant who was sharpening his large and long sword.
"Doom came too soon." Mumbled Mirael.
"King Komargath is dead. The last giant king has fallen. The last dwarf king is ill. We are acephalous and weakened." Added Nolgrek.
"Do not despair my lord. Hope is a strange thing, we might still have some awaiting for us." Answered Vyrgal.
"Are you blind? Or stupid? Or both? We have lost. We lost the greatest giant kingdom. Where will we gather more power to defeat them? We can't and we won't. What could dwarves like us do against such evil? We're miners and craftsmen, we can do nothing against dark magic. You should be completely dim-witted to think that we have a chance against Zion. Giants fell to his sorcery and you think we stand a chance? You spent so much time in mountains and around gunpowder that your brain is now no better than stones." Snarled Wungrim at his fellow dwarf.
"I was trying to lighten up the mood. I know we have no chance." Vyrgal spat and leaned his head in regret.
"I wanted to see my brother. He promised I could come visit him in Phaa. I've always dreamed of seeing the golden titan-kingdom. I never thought I'd visit it dressed in iron and armed to the teeth. I never thought I'd see it fall... nor have I thought I'd see my brother face a fruitless death." complained Thalisha.
"Yugar was brave. He was like a brother to me. I loved him with all my heart. His death meant more than you think. His blood will be avenged I promise you Thalisha. I will kill Amnay with my bare hands and make him answer for it." Morgan hugged her and kissed her forehead.
"King Komargath, Prince Hanarvir, Yugar, Freg, King Erilhov, Trovy and many more..." Murmured Nolgrek.
"And many more will join them..." added Mirael in despair.
"Listen young folks. My kin might be running to its end with this war, and as you have seen, many of us gave in to fear and joined Zion. What is left of us, who are still loyal to this land and to its people, are decaying one after the other. Many of us has lost so much more than just land or home, I lost my entire family, my brother died today and by right I should be crowned after him king of Phaa and lead what remains of giants on this continent. The next battle might be our last but we will go all the same. Do not give in to fear my friends, death should not scare you, nor sadden you, you should feel sorry for those who will carry on living a dishonourable life. You are not vain. You are honourable warriors. You are the pride or Brymhel." Dufrig's voice was deep and rusty. The giant raised his sword high to investigate it. He then looked at the dwarves and smiled. His hair and short beard were whiten with age. He was seven hundred years old.
"Lord Nolgrek, a rider from Zolciak." A dwarf came rushing towards the group of warriors, followed by a hooded rider on a dapple grey mare. When the stranger jumped of his mare, they all stood at once except for Dufrig.
"Who are you?" Inquired Nolgrek.
"Your last ray of hope." Answered the rider. "I am Maruth, wielder of the ring of oblivion and the stone of fire. Daughter of the northern star. And I have come to you in this hour of danger." She took her hood off.
"A filthy witch. Hang her." Nolgrek commanded Morgan and the other dwarves. Morgan and Wungrim tried to grab the witch by her arms.
"I will not do that if I were you-" The two dwarves didn't seem to mind her threats, she might have been a little bit taller than the dwarves but they managed to grasp her arms nonetheless.
"Let go of me! Get off of me!" A jewel fell of her sleeve as she tussled to get free, a yellow light came off the carvings on the blue gemstone. The dwarves loosened their grips and stepped back from the witch. She held the stone with her two hands. "I came to help. I am not your enemy."
"That's exactly what Zion's puppets said the first time they landed here." Said Dufrig shoving his gigantic sword into the ground with a heavy thrust. Soon she was surrounded by dwarves all armed and angry.
"I am not Zion, and certainly not his puppet." She argued.
"Prove it!" Shouted Morgan.
"I can't! You already accuse me of being his servant! Nothing of what I have to say in my defence will persuade you!" Maruth replied hopelessly.
"Alright. Kill her." Commanded Nolgrek. The dwarves surrounding the witch all walked two steps towards her.
"No no no no listen, my companions are on the other side of this river. There are dwarves and men among them, we're a very diverse crew if one may say. Where is Nolgrek? Who of you is Nolgrek?" Demanded the witch panicking.
Nolgrek stepped forward, sword in his hand, his long brown soggy hair hiding half of his face. "That would be me."
The witch was nervous, the stone in her hands was still lit. "If you wouldn't mind getting a little closer, I have a letter for you in my bag. From your niece, Sargon. I would have hand it to you if you weren't threatening my life." She laughed nervously.
"What have you done to her?" Inquired Nolgrek angrily.
"Nothing, except that we saved her life and the lives of your people, we also helped protect Zolciak in your absence."
"What do you mean?" Asked Wungrim.
"Isn't it obvious? Really?" Maruth stared at them cringing. "Impressive." She muttered to herself sarcastically. "When you were desperately getting killed by hundreds, meaning no offense, Balaam, the leading wizard, one of the three most loyal servants of Zion, planned another siege on Zolciak, so that when you're defeated in the beach of Watergul, and head back to Zolciak you wouldn't have had any chance of getting away. And you were heading directly and blindly to his trap if it weren't for us. My crew and I landed on your shores two days ago, hours before the siege of Phaa. I came here on behalf of my brother, he wanted me to help you and also deliver his message. On our way to the dwarven capital Zolciak, we came across an army of two hundred heads, wizards mostly, but there was also few dwarves and if I can recall, five or six giants. We killed the wizards, arrested your kin, although one of the giants died, killed by a wizard from their own troops in a quarrel. Zolciak wasn't safe anymore, I urged your niece to order an evacuation and head north as far as they could. They will reach Eefran by night. The letter in my bag proves everything I have just said, written by Sargon herself, and sealed twice. Giant and dwarf seals." Dumbstruck and surprised, none of them dared any reaction. Maruth was growing tired, she whistled to wake them up from their shock. "If you wouldn't mind, someone come and get the letter, we are not going to spend what is left of the little time you have agape."
Wungrim, who was the closest to the witch stepped forward.
"Hold it. What if all of this was nothing but another trap?" Asked Vyrgal.
"Heavens help me." She whispered rolling her eyes. "How and why would it be a trap? You know what, here, I'll give it to you myself." She held her stone with one hand and with the other one she opened her bag to get the letter. She gave it to Wungrim who handed it to Nolgrek. "Read it, out loud." The witch insisted.
"Dear uncle, I hope you are safe and sound. I write to you as we recover from an unexpected attack from Zion's forces. Luckily, a ship crew that have landed in Qrinmonk shore came to our help. It was like a battle in the underworld outside the castle, magical lights danced above gunfire and the clashing of swords, it is sad that such a beautiful sight has to be so tragic. We were victorious but I am afraid it is only a matter of time for the raiders you fought in Watergul to reach us here. You have to trust Maruth, we need her as much as she needs us. I pray you make it safely to Eefran. Sincerely yours, Sargon..." Nolgrek fell silent, inspecting the letter. "It's in fact her handwriting..." he finally said.
"I told you it was from her!" Maruth was staring at them nervously with a stupid smile on her face.
"You could have easily forced her to write it, threatening her life." Argued Vyrgal.
"Honestly, at this point I don't care if you just kill me. I am tired of your stubbornness. I have nothing to lose, unlike you." Maruth gave up, put her stone back in her sleeve and stretched her arms ahead waiting for shackles.
"It seems like we cannot escape this. If it's a trap, it is inevitable that we have to follow through, we cannot risk the princess and the queen's safety. If it isn't... we need to act, and quickly...What should we do?" Morgan held Nolgrek by his arm and turned around to talk in private.
"I am short of ideas my friend." He whispered back.
Both of them turned back and stared at the witch. She was staring at them.
"I say we split in three parties, one will go to Zolciak, the other will follow the witch to Eefran, the third will go and seize the ship in Qrinmonk shore. What do you think?" Proposed Morgan.
"Sounds good to me." Nolgrek walked towards Maruth. "Alright, we will go with you."
"Finally!" She sighed in exhaustion.