Thanatos and the Elven army followed Urkse's orders without delay. They marched in the dead of night; cold, exhausted and starving. Thanatos's right arm had been ripped off, after Urkse had heard about the death of Rai. He had a lethargic walk, and his bloodied stump was packed tight with gauze and cloth. Urkse sat atop a makeshift palanquin, with the weary warriors, struggling to keep him stable. Urkse sucked on his teeth and snarled. "Tell me again. Why the fuck, did you spare the scouts you found? But decided to kill the Grand Mage I was pinning the blame on." He asked glaring at Thanatos. "I-" "DON'T FUCKING SPEAK!" Urkse snapped, slamming his fist down. Everyone jumped, their nerves shot. "It was a damn rhetorical question. I know the answer. You're all fucking stupid. Now instead of capturing the Citadel, you'll have to conquer it."He slumped back, letting out a long exasperated sigh, rubbing his tired face.
The ink from his flask seeped out, revealing a transcript of Yamada and Gwyneth's conversation. He quickly skimmed through it, wincing in disgust. "Great, now he's stable." He groaned rolling his eyes. "Have your scouts found his body yet?" He asked, with a sigh. "They should be coming back soon." One of the elves said. "Why do you even want his body? He's dead. Not even Encara's magnum opus could bring back the dead." Thanatos sneered. Urkse rolled his eyes. "Because, I needed him to be a fucking scapegoat, and you decided to kill him. Fortunately for me, no one saw him die." Three haggard Elven warriors dropped Rai's lifeless, rotting corpse before him. Urkse smiled, and applauded them.
"Some fucking Elves that can do some good work. Go get something to eat." He said cheerily inspecting Rai's corpse. Broken chest, bloated, lifeless skin. He sucked on his teeth and spat angrily in Thanatos's direction. He stood up and blew out a frustrated breath. "Why does everyone make my life so hard?" He said aloud popping the cork to his flask. "Arise." Urkse chanted. The others watched on horrified and mesmerised as the black ink swirled around the corpse. It flew into the air, as ink surged through every orifice. After a few minutes of the ink swirling around, Rai floated down crackling with golden lightning around him. The elves stumbled back in pure shock. Urkse wheezed taking deep breaths, with sweat beads running down his face. Thanatos watched in horror as Rai approached him. He offered out his hand with a smile.
"What's wrong Thanatos? Say hello to my creation." Urkse said falling back, taking deep breaths. "Ho-how-how is this possible?" Thanatos asked stumbling backwards. Urkse gazed around at the horrified and trembling Elves with glee. "Witness my Magnum Opus. I have reanimated the dead. A feat not even the great Encara could achieve." He said letting out a long wheeze. Urkse stood in front of Rai, eyeing him up and down. A smile stretched from ear to ear as he inspected his greatest work. "You all listen to him. Am I clear!?" The Elves all nodded hesitantly still frozen in awe. To everyone else, they were staring at the reincarnated Rai Denki. To Urkse he was nothing more than a zombie, painted to look alive.
"Make camp here, and when you're closer, unleash whatever the weapon you have is." Thanatos felt a sigh of relief, that Urkse did not know what the weapon was. "Encara will be sending the Forsaken Knight and his son to scout in this direction. Make sure he's son is kept alive, do whatever you want to the Forsaken one." Urkse said, readying himself to leap into the air. "How do you know they will be coming this way?" Thanatos asked. "He'll be sending his son to the Silver City, in hopes of keeping him safe from the war." Urkse said, following it with a scoff. "Only decent thing he's done for that boy, in his entire life." Thanatos could hear the anger in his voice. "He'll most likely send that traitor of yours, with them as gratitude." "Ul'lanna was her name correct?" He confirmed. "Yes, she's been geared by our immortal blacksmith. So if you're going to rape and kill her, remember to make use of her equipment."
He marched over to the bonfire that had been made with magic, and unsheathed a sword from an Elf. They watched him heat the blade in fire, making it glow molten red. He begun to take deep breaths psyching himself up. With a furious roar, Urkse stuck his left arm out, and cut it off with the molten blade. He reeled back screaming in agony, gnashing his teeth together. "FUCK!" He shouted gripping his stump. An overzealous Elven warrior, attempted to sieze the opportunity to strike. She charged in with her swords drawn. "STOP!" Thanatos shouted. It was too late. Rai struck her down with a bolt of black lightning, that left her sizzling in boiling ink. Urkse turned back looking at Rai, filled with annoyance. He growled. He had brought someone back from the dead, but he could not mimic their magic. This magic could not be considered a Magnum Opus yet.
Urkse spat and tied his arm off with his cloak. "Don't do anything stupid." He growled at Thanatos, before leaping into the sky. He created a giant falcon in the air and let it carry him. Everyone let out a small sigh of relief, before remembering that Rai stood motionless in the centre. Unblinking and alive, yet still dead. Urkse clenched his fist and teeth, the throbbing pain of his wound persisted. "Should have fucking done this, closer to the Citadel." He growled. The falcon called out, and he leaned over to see Sarah and the other mages trudging at a snail's pace, below him. He smirked and had the falcon swoop in and pick them. They looked at him in awe and relief. Tears streamed down their tired faces to their cracked lips. "URKSE!" They called out dog piling him. "It's alright girls. I found you. I'll get you back safely." He said tenderly stroking Sarah's hair.
Yamada and Gwyneth laid side by side, a tension in the room with the ray of sunlight. They had spent the night together, only this time it was a physical act. A way for each of them to not sleep alone. He rolled out of bed, Gwyneth could sense his lethargy. Yamada was a lost child, burdening himself with the responsibility to avenge his family. The two of them got dressed in silence, and made their way outside, to find Encara waiting for them. His expression was filled with anger and concern. "Lockhart, we need to talk." Yamada saw the visible concern on Gwyneth's face. "Yamada go meet Jacara at Miranda's shop." He ordered walking away. She embraced Yamada, and followed after him. "Encara, what happened?" She asked, seeing his skin wrinkle and age. They turned a corner and Encara quickly teleported them atop the Keep. "Urkse went out looking for the scouts that snuck off." He said looking out to the forest line.
"He lost an arm, and half of them are dead." "What!? When did this happen?" Gwyneth asked. "Last night, he went out searching for them. Just came back this morning half dead from blood loss." Encara said clenching his fists. "Who did they send that would be strong enough to do that?" She asked standing by his side. "He said it was Thanatos and Rai that attacked him." Gwyneth noticed his tone. Encara didn't believe the words coming from his mouth. "What's wrong? You're hiding something. Why else would you bring me up here, and not tell the everyone at once." Encara paced around glancing down. "I told him that I didn't heal the mages. That I needed to focus on healing him." "But?" "I healed the mages in secret. Their stories don't match up." He said solemnly.
"Are you suggesting that Urkse is the traitor?" She whispered, grabbing his arm. "He has done nothing, but help this kingdom. He raised your son, kept out economy afloat, and trained thousands of mages to help with storage." "I KNOW THAT!" Encara shouted pushing her away. "That doesn't change the fact his story doesn't make sense. They said he picked them up from behind, that Rai fought alongside them, and then there's the cut. It's too clean." He said taking a deep breath, the frustration building in him. "Maybe he was heading back from the fight and happen to find them." She said trying to rationalise Encara's chaotic thoughts. "Still doesn't explain the cut." "A lucky Elven warrior got to him. It happens." He let out a sigh of frustration. "Listen, if you want to suspect him go ahead. But you cannot bring this up without proof. We won't beat Kal'Nar, if we're trying to kill each other." She said grabbing his arm again.
"Say your goodbyes to Yamada. I'm sending the three of them to the Silver City." Gwyneth gave him a confused glance before squeezing his arm. "I gave Ul'lanna my Blessed scroll. If those three can make it to the Silver City, they'll be safe for generations." Gwyneth relaxed her grip. Encara was being sincere and caring for his son, and letting Yamada join him. "I don't want to lose him." She said glumly. "Neither do I, but they're here. And the quicker we send them out, the safer they'll be." He said taking a deep breath. "I had their rations packed, they should have enough resources to march comfortably for a month. After that, they're on their own." He said scanning the forest line.
"I'll say my goodbyes and then ready the troops." She said. He stopped her before she walked off. "Gwyneth, I apologise for everything I ever did." He said with a deep bow. "Don't go apologising, when you're aren't dying." She said jumping off the Keep. He let out a snigger, and clapped his hands disappearing in a flash of light. He appeared in Urkse's room. Urkse greedily devoured a chicken with one hand, while a busty hand maiden stood by his side with a jug of mead. "I don't want to push you Encara, but eating just isn't the same, when I can't use to hands." He said tearing off some meat. Encara took a seat by Urkse, branding him with a golden cross, beginning to regenerate his stump. "Leave us." Encara said. The handmaiden obliged and quickly scurried out. "Something wrong?" Urkse asked. "I almost lost my brother. Everything is wrong." Encara choked on his words, his hands trembling.
The despair of nearly losing another person he loved, shook him to his core. Urkse rustled Encara's hair with his greased hand, receiving an annoyed glare. "Come on, you think they can kill me?" He asked with a smirk. "I got the King of Blessings and Curses, keeping me safe." Encara shook his head with a smile. "I can't save you from death, but I can save you from eating with one hand." He said letting out a deep breath. His skin wrinkled and his hair became black. "Oi, don't go passing out on me. They're almost here." Urkse said grabbing Encara. His arm felt weak, it had not been fully healed. "I'm fine, I just need to rest. The both of us do." "Encara, we should be keeping Jacara here. He's safest with us." Urkse pleaded. "Obviously. I paid several whores to keep him company." He said with a smile. Encara stumbled out of the room, closing the door behind him. Urkse watched as a flash of light appeared through the cracks of his door. He created a small ink fly. "Go keep watch on Jacara." He whispered.
Yamada, Jacara and Ul'lanna sat awkward and nervously in Miranda's shop. Miranda avoided eye contact with Yamada. Hoping that he wouldn't see her blushing. "Miranda." Yamada called out. She winced, before turning back to him with a forced smile. "Thank you, for helping me." He said bowing to her. She looked at him shocked and surprised. "You realise, I was trying to make you transform fully. That you may not have ever returned to a human and died. You understand that right?" She asked. Yamada nodded. "You were trying to make me confront, the draken. If you didn't, I may have turned today or tomorrow, but now I don't hear its voice anymore. So thank you." Miranda cocked her head to side. "You're welcome...I just want to make sure you understand, what I was doing wasn't personal or anything." Yamada smiled at her. "You were only looking out for Gwyneth's best interest. Something I know that you will do, even I'm gone."
Damn this boy was smooth and kind. Miranda was annoyed that there was only one of him that came over from Yamata. "Why did your father ask us to come here?" Ul'lanna asked. "No idea, I just woke up here." Jacara shrugged. On cue, Encara appeared with a flash of light, stumbling to his knees exhausted. "Father." Jacara called out, rushing to his aide. "Has Gwyneth said goodbye yet?" He asked, struggling to stand. "Her goodbyes?" Yamada asked filled with concern and dread. "You three are leaving for the Silver City immediately. If you have a message for Gwyneth, tell me now. I'll pass it on to her." He said slumping into a seat.
Yamada froze, he had been ignoring the idea of having to leave Gwyneth. Gwyneth barged in, with her helmet under her pit. She was huffing and puffing, but reached in to kiss Yamada. "Troops are mobilised. Vexgar and Axilas are taking the vanguard position, Lyn and Yssac are getting ready to replace them, and Fervias is ready to engage." She reported like a soldier to a superior. The three of them were flustered, trying to comprehend what was happening. Miranda quickly left the room and begun rifling through her trunk to gear up. "What's going on?" Yamada asked. "Yeah, why are heading to Silver City?" Jacara asked. Encara grabbed his son's face and pulled him in close. "I know, I have been a terrible father. But I want you to be safe, so I'm sending you to the Silver City to be safe. Don't worry about scouting. They will be coming to us."
"Gwyneth..." "Yamada, the Elven army is here. I'm going to go and make a distraction, for you three to slip past their army-" "No! I'm strong enough to help you." He said defiantly. "Yamada you fight now, you could die here, and never get a chance to kill Begron." He clenched his fists. "You two, go to the west exit, Yamada will be behind you." She said dragging him into next room. "Gwyneth, I can help-" She pressed her lips against his. She broke away pulling him in tight. "Never lose your kind heart. Protect and cherish those you love the most. Never forget you are loved, and above all else Yamada. Until this war is over, swear to me that you will not die." "I swear that I will see you again." He said with tears running down his face. "Good, I'll be waiting for you. No matter how long it takes." She said with a warm smile.
Miranda knocked on the wall and tossed Yamada a large leather rucksack, and beige cloak. "Times up. We need to make a path." She said dolefully. Yamada wiped his tears and headed out. "Goodbye Gwyneth." The two of them followed him out, both feeling a sense of dread and excitement. They made their way to the top of the Third ring, with the sun starting to hit its peak on the clear sky. From the tree line emerged Rai and Thanatos, with hundred of elves. "How many soldiers can you take?" Gwyneth asked. "In bed or down there?"Miranda asked with a sly smile. Gwyneth giggled and shook her head. The two of them, locked their helmets down, and drew their swords. "Grand Knight Gwyneth. There's too many of them. We should wait and let the mages attack first." A knight on the wall pleaded.
The two women locked eyes before glancing back at the knight. "Just, let the mage know to open the gate when we ask for it." Miranda said, gently slapping the knight's helmet. The two of them floated down in perfect sync, appearing as graceful angels of death. "The Butcher, and the Sword dancer." Thanatos said with joy, excited for the fight. "You can take Thanatos. I want the young one." Miranda said. Gwyneth looked at her askance. "What? Fucking one young man isn't enough?" Gwyneth chuckled, she had forgotten how fun it used to be fighting side by side with Miranda. Gwyneth took the wrath stance, resting her long sword behind her head. Miranda took to the Ox stance, raising the sword to her face. They stood shoulder to shoulder, as the Elven army came out of the tree line.
Thanatos and several other war parties, with their commanders came out. The knights and mages above the wall watched on terrified, as Gwyneth and Miranda stood stoically against the entire army. "Ready to dance?" Gwyneth asked with a smile, hidden by helmet. Miranda slapped her visor down. "Just remember to keep up with my rhythm." She said. "ATTACK!" Thanatos bellowed. "We need to help them!" one of the knights shouted. Soel emerged from beneath the wall, and held her hand up. Aerith floated down with a gust of wind. "Stand your ground, and get ready to deal with any of them that try to climb up." Soel said. "You'll do nothing but get in their way." Aerith said with a proud smile. The Elven warriors charged in, their swords drawn, bellowing out their war cry.
The two of them took a deep breath, and lowered their stances. An Elven warrior leapt high into air, ready bring both swords down. Miranda dashed in, piercing the warrior with a quick thrust. Warriors attempted to capitalize on her exposed and rigid stance. Gwyneth stepped in, cutting several warriors in half with a wide arching slash. The two of them begun a waltz of death. The knights and mages watched in silent awe. Gwyneth and Miranda, parrying and attacking in perfect unison. Each exposed strike, led the other to cover them with an attack. Warrior after warrior were cut down in a beautiful and elegant dance routine. The two of them made short work of each warrior, taking each one down with a single slash or thrust. They pushed deeper and deeper into army. Miranda split one warrior in half from the shoulder. Gwyneth stuck her sword into the corpse, and swung it around her head like a rag, filling it with arcane energy. The warriors all stepped back shielding their eyes from the spray of blood.
Gwyneth and Miranda stood shoulder to shoulder once more. This time their stances reversed. They were saturated in blood and guts, out of breath, but both smiling. "Incredible." The knight on the wall said. "How many did you get?" Miranda asked taking a deep breath. "Lost count at 300." Gwyneth said letting out slow breath. Rai stood amongst the warriors, his expression lifeless. "I knew I hated him." Miranda spat through the visor of her helmet. "We all do." Gwyneth said. She felt something was off about him though. Like he was lifeless, but he stood before them breathing, yet uncharacteristically quiet. Thanatos emerged behind Rai, his maul slung over his shoulder. Gwyneth and Miranda glanced at his missing arm. "The Blade dancers reunited. I must say it was an absolute delight to watch." "Why don't you give us an applause?" Miranda remarked. Gwyneth smiled under her helmet. Thanatos's smile faded to anger.
"Do you really think this little plan is going to work?" He asked. Miranda stood up straight looking around at the trail of bodies they left behind. "Killing you all, seems to be working. I don't have enough fingers to count them all though. Can you help me?" Thanatos snarled. "My men will enjoy, breaking you in, and make good use of that tongue of yours." He snapped. "Rai, why did you do it?" Gwyneth asked, breaking their argument. He was silent and gazed at her with a lifeless expression. "He's a cunt, what other answer do you need?" Miranda snapped. "Something's wrong with him." She said feeling uneasy. "You should know, Butcher. That the Forsaken knight will make a great addition to our army." Rai stated with a voice reminiscent of a reader.
"Join us, and the ones you love will be spared." Rai said offering out his hand in a stiff motion. "Rai, what's going on with you?" Gwyneth asked. Urkse watched through Rai's eyes, from the comfort of his bed. He sucked on his teeth, and nursed a jug of mead. "Magic still needs refinement. Oh well, best to kill those two." He said with a shrug. Rai turned to Thanatos. "Release the weapon." He ordered. "We're not in a safe dis-" Rai cut him off grabbing Thanatos by the collar. "I SAID, RELEASE FUCKING THE WEAPON." Rai shouted with Urkse's voice. "FUCK!" Urkse shouted in his room. Gwyneth sheathed her long sword, and quickly tore off her cape. She tossed it to Miranda and fell to her knees. "Gwyneth, what are you-" She let out a roar, her body growing in size, and her eyes became elliptical. Some of the warriors were victims of her armour exploding, and cut to pieces by flying shrapnel.
With a final roar, and an explosion of arcane energy, the area was engulfed in a bloody dust cloud. Gwyneth's draken state was a silver scaled dragon with lilac eyes, and golden mane. Her form more slender and sleek, her scales shone like diamonds and her claws gleamed a pure silver. Gwyneth ducked down, but it was still a five meter leap into the air to reach her back. She let out a roar and beat her wings, and swatting away a pack of warriors with her tail. Gwyneth took off into the air, as Rai created a black inky gate of lightning magic. A black bolt of lightning shot out. Miranda slid down Gwyneth's back drawing her long sword. She made a cross with the blades and filled it with all her arcane energy. She deflected intial strike, but was covered in boiling ink over her face. Gwyneth heard her friend scream out in anguish, and flew quickly back to the Keep.
Thanatos and the other Elven commanders took the horns out. "What the hell are they doing? Singing us a song?" Soel asked. "FOR THE GLORY OF KAL'NAR!" They bellowed out. They blew the horns in unison, the shrill sound made Aerith and Soel wince. The sound stopped, the knights and mages watching from the wall, begun to laugh. They watched as the Commanders fled back into the tree line, and the warriors stood like statues out in the open. "THEY'RE RUNNING!" They cheered. Aerith and Soel opened their gates, and braced themselves. They felt the same sense of dread, that any helpless animal would feel.
The corpses and the warriors begun to convulse and writhe in agony. The cheering stopped and the horror begun to set in. Soel and Aerith lurched forward, watching as they all begun to transform. Screams of anguish turned to roars of beasts. A storm of dust flew into the air, with a torrent of arcane energy being released. They watched from above the wall, holding their breaths, waiting for the dust cloud to settle down. Aerith created a large gust of wind, and blew the dust cloud away, revealing a horror that had not been seen in 8,000 years. Below them stood an army of drakens. Wyrms, Lindworms, and Amphitheres that ranged from 10 to 30 meters, snarling and growling beneath them. The Amphitheres flew towards them with their feathery wings, juxtaposing against their snake like bodies. The Lindworms begun to scale the wall with their two long arms, digging their claws into the side. The Wyrms begun to barge against the wall.
Horror petrified the knights and mages. "GET THE FUCK DOWN!" Aerith yelled. She created several blades of wind, cutting the Amphitheres to pieces. "GET THE FUCK OFF MY WALL!" Soel bellowed. Spikes shot out from the Third ring, piercing through the Lindworms. Draken corpses plummeted to the ground bellow. "VANGUARD!" Soel shouted down bellow. Axilas and Vexgar stood below in their armour, wearing their matching lion head helmets. Behind them stood roughly 1,500, terrified and recently knighted boys and girls. Vexgar turned around raising his poleaxe high into the air. "ANY ONE WHO DIES WITH A CLEAN WEAPON! I'LL RAPE YOUR FUCKING CORPSE!" He bellowed out. Soel opened a path for them. Vexgar and Axilas smirked, and gripped their weapons tightly.
Several Wyrms poured in and the knights froze in fear. Axilas and Vexgar let out a roar, that made the Wyrms seem small in comparison. Axilas drove his warhammer through the skull of one Wyrm, with a sickening wet crunch. Vexgar stunned the knights and Wyrm, with a solid right hook. The Wyrm crashed down, and before it could react to the pain, Vexgar split its skull in half with his poleaxe. "I FUCKING LOVE THIS!" He bellowed. The two of them took charge rushing out, killing each Wyrm with a single blow. "MOVE!" Soel shouted, from above. The knights paused before charging out after them.
Gwyneth landed in the second ring, quickly transforming back into a human form. She frantically scanned Miranda convulsing in pain, as the ink spread into her body. Encara emerged from the steps. "ENCARA HELP HER!" She pleaded with tears running down her naked body. Encara was silent and marched slowly towards her. "WHAT ARE YOU-" She felt a dagger run through her stomach. She gasped watching the silhouette of Encara dissolve into Urkse, wearing a sinister grin. Gwyneth tried to grab his wrist. Urkse twisted the dagger, and ripped it out, stabbing her again in the gut. She fell onto him, gasping for air. "Sorry I didn't make this quick. But I always did want to feel you on my skin." He said stroking her face.
Encara dropped from above branding the two of them with a golden cross. Urkse ripped the dagger out of her body, narrowly avoiding a blessing brand himself. The two of them glared at each. "Out of respect for our old friendship." Encara growled with tears in his eyes. "I'll let you leave, without fighting you." Urkse paused, before laughing maniacally. "You meet one whore, and you're reduced to this. ONE FUCKING WHORE!" He bellowed out. "Watch your tongue." Encara snapped. "Or what? You gonna tell me she wasn't a common whore? That she didn't take several men an hour? I have betrayed your trust and you're letting me leave? The old you, would have tortured me, till I begged you for death. Bah, I'm not even going to try anymore."
"I said leave." Encara snarled. "You and I both aren't in a fighting condition. It's why you used that dagger. So leave now, and I'll fight you later." Encara said clenching his fists. Urkse rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine, I'll go. I'm sure this kingdom will continue to prosper without me, especially with the draken army, at your doorstep." He said with a sly grin. Urkse created an ink falcon, and leapt onto its back. "I'll let Jacara know, that his father was the one, who got his mother killed. And while I'm at it. I'll let Yamada know who started the war that got his family killed." He said with a cocky smile. Encara knelt down beside the two women, with tears running down his face. "Goodbye Urkse. I hope, for our both our sake's, I never see you again." He said clapping his hands.
Urkse took off into the air. He gazed down at the place he once called home. Watching the citizens from the third ring migrate like ants to the second. He watched as the wind mages, and what remained of the lightning mages, fought off the swooping Amphitheres. The earth mages opening and closing doors for the knights to fend off the Wyrms. Urkse watched with a melancholic smile, and flew over them, with sense of hope they could defend against this wave. However that small glimmer of hope died instantly, as he saw a glint of metal in the distance. The Tuskdran army had made their way through Pest Peak, with an army 100,000 strong.