The dust had cleared and settled revealing the torn earth surrounding them, chunks of rock, wood and ripped greens scattered across the view. Hovering above, King Gergion's dark gray cloak flowed behind him in the air, his head turned slowly like a snake rising from its slumber to Riders' direction. "And so," his voice drawled into the Riders' mind, "This will be your Graveyard." He drew his hands to a close and the air around the Rider's grew hot and thin and the grass wilted beneath them.Several Riders raised their hands in a counterattack and three put up protective wards. The armor they wore became uncomfortable, hot and heavy and they felt as if gravity were pulling them into the ground.
"We Can't go on like this!" Someone's strained voice grunted. "He's floundering us about like a fox in a chicken's coub!" Without warning, a bright searing blue light burst from one of the Riders and shot through King Gergion's wards, hitting him on his armored shoulder. He brushed off the scorching blue flame in one sweeping motion of his hand.Several more blasts were fired. The Riders' followed in, each with their own individual attack. King Gergion stumbled in the air, bombarded by continuous attacks that broke through every ward he tried to place. In a measly attempt he tried to move in another direction and fired another attack but in vain.Spotted red dots encircled the darting black figure, Fiery white and blue blasts attacked it consistently with little retaliation.
Faroh made his way to the disguised Vildsara. "If we must live to see tomorrow we have to leave now." He told her, cutting off his concentration. Vildsara nodded once, "She's in the bag." Faroh turned to face her stunned. "The bag?!" his eyes spotted a neat wicker basket with one leather strap across her back. It was used to carry the bread and had an airtight seal and had a light cotton cloth lining to keep them warm. The lack of air alone could easily kill a newborn before this battle was over. "That Bag?!" He said his tone was panicked and a little shrill. His voice was cut abruptly by a loud, crashing thunder.
KIng Gergion had zoomed upward through the air leaving a fading white trail behind him. The Rider's ceased their attack, half cautious and half confused. There was a silence in the wind that made their heart beat louder than usual. They were tense. They were waiting. They looked for any sign of the King amongst the clouds, a slight disturbance in the clouds, a black dot in the far distance, an odd line through the sky, anything.They looked at each other, each one battered with claw like scratches and burn marks littered across their armor. Faroh stumbled, falling limp on his knees. A horribly thick sensation crawled into his throat and chest and began filling it up, suffocating him. He tried to open his mouth to breathe and inhaled in vain. It felt like the air was being stopped right before it reached the lungs. He gasped fumbly with his fingers digging into his throat. Vildsara rushed over to him and gently lifted his helmet off him. He made a thick, choking sound and dug his fingers deeper inside his swelling neck. "Stop that!" Vildsara hissed, prying his bloodied fingers off him. She pressed her hands on his neck and made a disgusted noise when the warm, oozing, dark blood from his neck squirted out on her. Anuukala made her way to them and made a strained noise when she saw Faroh. She pressed her hand on his neck to help squeeze out the blood. "Quick thinking, you but a very unfavorable method." She murmured." You'll be lucky if it doesn't get infected."
"I don't know how and why his neck suddenly swells up like this." she said to Vildsara. Her hands glowed with white light over his wounds. The magic seeped through his skin and the edges of the wounds and began to work. It took far longer than usual to begin healing.
"Maybe it's a curse," Vildsara replied, lowering her voice like Deviah's. She winced at the rasping, guttural sounds Faroh made.
"That's an awful one." Anuukala said,"Even worse when it's inherited. No corporation from those." She pulled a lavender vial from the inside of her chestplate and hurriedly massaged out the remaining old blood and dropped a few drops on his neck with trembling hands. "This will help keep the wound clean while it heals it." she told Faroh. He nodded stiffly,his breathing slowly returning to normal. She slipped the vial into his hands. He looked at her uncertainly. "You need it." She said standing up and taking his arm. He rose and patted her shoulder gratefully. "Thank you so much, Anuu-"
"READY ARMS!" roared Topiah. He raised his sword in defense. A screeching sound in the far distance grew a black dot like a bullet fell towards them with accelerating speed. The Riders fell into formation. Faroh slipped on his battered helmet and shouted. "WARDS!" Almost instantly 21 wards were combined just as the King smashed into the earth. The earth exploded with a deafening roar and the world grew dark. The Riders planted their feet on the ground and kept keen eyes and sharp ears for movement behind the descending towering wall of dust that covered the sun.
Scorched earth rained down on them. The cracking sound of the ground and the violent earthquake that followed it startled them. The ground weakened, breaking into crumbling pieces beneath them and they dashed across from one the torn earth to the other until they reached stable ground. The air around them was still thick with dust and made breathing harder under the already dusted coated helmets.
Favroh could feel the heat of his breath under the helmet. The roaring sounds in his ears and the tingling pain in his neck made him feel lightheaded. He dug his sword into the ground and stood at ease, hoping for the dust in the air to settle. He longed to take off the helmet but the likelihood of getting dust in the eyes upset him more. He knelt down on one knee and felt a light pressure on his shoulder. "I'll watch over you." Anuukala reassured him. He tried to nod but stopped before the stinging pain in his neck worsened and agitated him. He felt the pain in his neck increase when he tried to look at her. He made a strained grunt in reply.
The ripping sound of rock rippled through the air, King Gergion tore off a piece of the rock from the earth and hurled it violently at the Riders. Several defensive blasts were shot and crashed into the descending rock. A large boulder hovered above them and dropped before any of them could block it. It broke into several smaller boulders when it crashed into their wards and rained down mercilessly on the Riders, slicing into the dust covered grass. The air was filled with an awful chorus of stone thumping onto armor and screams being cut short. Faroh could hear some of his comrades straining and choking under heavy weights. He moved towards the closest comrade he heard coughing and made a pained throaty sound. A silver armored figure lying limply on the floor under a singed boulder. "Fee- Faroh?" the voice said under the helmet."TIMMEL!" a hoarse voice shrieked. The Rider clad in black armor slid down next to Timmel. "You idiot, I said stay close to me!" They said in a shaky voice. Timmel weakly turned his head to face them. "I slipped, I'm sorry.." he said quietly.
He took off his helmet shakily." Can you take off yours too? We won't take long, I promise." The black armored rider slid off their helmet. A pair of dark eyes looked down at Timmel and filled with water. Timmel smiled weakly, a trail of blood slipped from his nose carrying down some dirt from his cheek with it." I'm so glad to have you here…" He slowly drew air from his mouth and continued. " Feeny….I'm so sorry! I don't think…i don't i could make it." Tears spilled from Timmel's eyes and his voice rose in a fluty pathos. "I'm so sorry we can't garden together now." Timmel raised his hands limply and brushed Feen's brown cheek. Feen clenched their jaw and closed their eyes, letting the hot tears mingled with Timmel's hands. Faroh stood up with the tight feeling in his chest and the prickly feeling of growing tears in his eyes.Anuukala looked down helplessly at them. Behind them a dozen Riders darted back and forth blasting defensive and attack spells at the looming figure above them.
"Live for me, Feeny." Timmel pleaded. "Please try. Please Do it. Please?" Feen's face hardened and opened their eyes. "I don't make promises I Won't keep." they said evenly. More tears spilled from Timmels's eyes. " There's no one else I want to garden with, Mel." Feen said. They slipped their hands under Timmel's head. "I'm staying here with you. Mel, don't try to be the saviour! This is better than grieving and being bored for the rest of my life and that's not worth staying alive for, you see? If you don't live, a big part of me dies and I won't be living anyways, i'll just exist. And don't you dare imply loving someone else and healing. No one heals from this!" They kissed Timmel's shocked, tear stained lips and then his dirt covered face. " I won't heal from this, I'll just get numb after a while. Please don't ask me to suffer like that, Mel."
Timmel kissed them back, "Okay…" He pulled out a small drawstring pouch from the inside of his arm armor under his wrist. "We'll bury the seeds here then." Feen nodded and rested their forehead against Timmel's. They took the pouch from his hands and stood. "I'm not leaving you here, though, as poetic as that might be." They looked over at Faroh, " Help me get this off him." Faroh nodded and they both slipped their hands under the boulder and lifted. Timmel made a noise halfway between relief and pain. They tossed the boulder to the side which didn't land very far. "I'm Staying here." Feen said in finality and kneeled down next to Timmel who was trying to tell them something.
The dust in the air had settled and the sky was visible although some dust still lingered. Half a dozen Riders were badly wounded, their dirty red cloaks in tatters and soaking up their blood. Half a dozen other Riders who were healers were trying to restore their health. The remaining got behind General Topiah and got into his suggested formation. They were sparse out too far to avoid being an easier target for King Gergion and help keep his attention away from the wounded Riders.
King Gergion cocked his head to the side mockingly. "This will not end well for you, Riders." His voice drawled in their minds. " You're nearly there. You've almost reached the halftime of the others before you." He chuckled to himself. " Don't get your hopes up,Children. They didn't make it either." he stretched his hands outwards and balled them into fists. A black line formed in front of them. The green grass beneath their feet withered away and the soil turned acid as the blackline grew thicker. The Riders walked backwards cautiously, seemingly always one step ahead of the acidic black line. "There's no way out this one, Riders." king Gergion said. "I hope you got the time to say goodbye to your families. What an absolute waste of time, don't you think? Here you are, in the middle of no one's land, fighting tooth and claw when you should be home being merry with your loved ones. What a waste." He tutted. "Oh well….decisions, consequences."
The growing black line suddenly spiked thin threads ahead and the acid cleared away clean fine lines in their shoes. "A horrible way to go, I always find it so." King Gergion's voice murmured in their minds. The black lines grew thicker rapidly. "Goodbye."
A scraping scream of agony pierced through the air, it rippled through the wind and startled everyone into silence. A red cloaked figure shot through the air towards king Gergion and howled, "NEVRAH!" They went spiraling towards the ground, one clawing at the other. King Gergion took the Rider by the wrist and slammed them into the ground. In unison the Rider's stretched forth their hands towards King Gergion and murmured, "Nevrah."
King Gergion flexed his fingers and roundhouse Feen. They retaliate with an improvised kick to the knee,making King Gergion lose his footing. Feen then launched a punch to his chest, sending him reeling backwards. "STAY IN ALVAERA, YOU MARVARIN SCUM!" Feen shouted. Another Rider raised their hand skywards and the earth before them collapsed into a sinkhole the size of a house. "TODAY, WE BURY YOU!" the Rider shouted. Feen, still using the draining spell with one hand, collapsed onto a nearby flat rock, their face a deep shade of red and tears streaming down their cheeks. Two Riders leap through the air, taking King Gergion by the cloak and hurling him into the sinkhole. Someone smashed a nearby rocky hill causing it to break and crumble over the sinkhole. "EVERYONE OUT!" General Topiah bellowed. They all looked at him in confusion. "Take the wounded and go! I will hold him off for the time being."
"But you said you can't hold him off alone! Toph, it's suicide!" a Hovering Rider replied. Topiah looked at her and said, "I said You can't, not I." He turned to face the other Riders, "Keep the draining spell on till you reach the borderline. Don't stop til you're absolutely sure you are safe." He placed his hand over the sinkhole and a crunching sound of earth and stone moving was heard. "Go now!"
The Riders stayed still contemplating. Faroh made his way over to the last place he saw Feen collapsed. Anuukala hurriedly trailed behind him. Faroh found them amidst the scattered rocks they smashed into from their collapse. Feen was holding their hands over their lower abdomen and trying to stand. The scene distinctly reminded Faroh of a child trying to stand up for the first time and kept falling over. He felt a sick feeling that weighed him like a cold stone in the pit of his stomach. Feen slipped in their own blood and fell on their knees. "Oh…" he mumbled thickly when he realized the bloodstream pouring from Feen. "Oh No. Feen! What did you do?!" Anuukala said in shock and horror, appearing behind him. She made her way to their side and pressed into their abdomen. Healing incantations glowed and died off . She tried every spell, chant, song and hand motion she knew. It was all repelled and snuffed out like a candle. She looked at them in frustration. "I didn't know it happened till I felt it." Feen said apologetically. They swallowed hard. " I don't even know how he did it. I don't even think it's a normal blade. It can't be." They winced and tried to sit up, their legs gave away completely. "This just….this isn't how a stab feels." They looked out in the distance and tried to calm their breathing. "I want to be next to Timmel, put me down next to him." Anuukala slid her hands underneath Feen's head and legs. She strained at first after all she was the smallest of the group. Faroh made a gesture to help her but she shook her head. " This might strain your neck more." Faroh smiled amused. "You're half straining yourself with all that pride, Nunie!" Feen said half laughing. " Doesn't matter now, you could hold me by the head and Faroh by the legs" they suggested. Anuukala made no gesture and continued making her way down the broken rocks and towards the direction where Timmel is. Faroh walked alongside her, his hand on his sword and kept looking straight ahead. He was silent and his thoughts were trailing from one to the other. Anuukalawas silent for a bit, her mind racing with frustrating thoughts. "Everyone's being so reckless today!" she said thickly. Feen smiled crookedly, "It's not reckless, Nunie. If things were to turn out differently if something had gone the other way maybe we'd have the luxury to be reckless."
"I want to say everything now, everything I might not get to do when I want to." she breathed shakily to her mouth. " I- I don't know what to do…I know there's not much I can do but I want to do something!" She looked at him.
"Don't forget us, Nunie." Feen said softly. He closed his eyes smiling, " HahA! I'm sounding like Timmel! I hope he isn't lost on the other side or anything. Lil bean." He smiled vibrantly underneath the chipped, battered helmet. They looked over at Anuukala,"I'll look out for you Nunie, even if you make it to tomorrow." They looked at her looking at her red, teary eyes behind the helmet and placed their hand on her head. "If you're going out, go out with a bang." they told her solemnly. Anuukala lowered them down near their favourite person. Half crushed, covered in dirt and dried blood on their nose, despite the appearance Timmel looked peaceful. The corner of his mouth turned upwards as if he was slightly amused by his own joke. Feen lightly brushed their fingers on his cheek, "I'm right behind you." They closed their eyes.
Anuukala stood there, her mind far away. Faroh looked at her and hugged her with one hand."We," he swallowed and tried again in a strained,breathy voice. "We should bury them," he said with difficulty.
"Not dead yet, Dumbass!" Feen said with their eyes closed. "Can't feel my asscheeks though and I don't think I could move either." They were silent for a bit then they sighed "Nope, gosh dammit. Can't move."
"This is the longest time it took for poison to kill someone!" Feen sad irritably. "Worse. Poison Ever."
"I think it's all that healing magic." Faroh said thickly.
"Ooh." They said in unison.
"That is unfortunate." Anuukala said.
Feen squeezed their eyes tighter. "Nunie," He asked, "Can you do something for me?"
"Yes, anything." She replied stooping down next to them. Feen opened their hands to reveal a small brown pouch. Anuukala reached over and took it. "These are the seeds me and Timmel wanted to garden with.We used to collect some wherever we go so we could plant them at our own place but we didn't get to finish."
"You want me to collect some more?" Anuukala asked uncertainly.
"No, plant them." Feen replied." We kinda waited too long to start." he added sadly.
"Don't have a green thumb, Feen." Anuukala said. "Ask Faroh to help you,"Feen retorted.
"That was said in confidence, Feen." Faroh said, half irritated.
Feen smiled then it faded off their face and their body went limp.
Anuukala handed the pouch to Faroh. "One day?"
"Mhmmm." he replied, slipping the pouch into the inside of his cloak.
A fellow Rider raced past them, "We have to try to make for the borderline now! Topiah and a few others are struggling to keep the King down under!"
"But Fee-" Anuukala started.
"We have to go now!" The Rider shouted back. They ran after them. "Where's my brother?" Anuukala asked, her breath quickening. "He stayed behind." They said, Anuukala stopped mid run and made a U turn to the other direction. "ANUUKALA!" The Rider shouted behind her, slowing down. "ANU-" Faroh started.
A hot orange explosion was heard in the distance like a volcano erupting. Faroh turned to run after her when another snatched him by the cloak, "No. No!" Vildsara said " He's gonna wipe us all down here."
"The draining spell-"
"That could only buy you time!" Vildsara said, her voice rising," Time We Are WASTING RIGHT NOW!"
"Why don't you do anything?!" Faroh cried out thickly. "You're more than capable in this state!"
"Believe me when I said I want to but when Deviah took my role things were already set in motion that we can't compromise that now. There will be a day when you understand but you have to live to see it."
Faroh looked at her doubtfully. "No amount of years will ever make me understand this. Your Wars, your lies your-"
"You want to be wasted here or you want to make a comeback?!" Vildsara snapped. "You die with your allies or you can avenge them. Choose."
Faroh looked over helplessly across the field. He looked back at his Queen and shook his head. She released him, "Your choice, Wrong choice." She gave him a mocking finger wiggle wave and watched him run off to the chaos.
The air around the sinkhole was blistering hot and the heat waves rose off the rocks. The air had a hissing,sizzling sound and the ground burned him as he walked. The large rocks covering the sinkhole twisted and turned with every opening that occurred and the Riders closed it just as fast. Faroh grimaced as he got closer and closer. General Topiah had two hands outwards. He had taken off most of his armor save for the legs and arms and was drenched in sweat, hyper focused on the task before him. Faroh's eyes glazed over the few Riders that remained blinking out the dripping sweat from his eyes. They were all chanting with their hands out and their knees bent slightly from under the pressure the heat caused. He made his way next to Anuukala and began to put up defensive wards around and under them.
Time stretched on slowly and they felt more blisters forming on their limbs. They were being scorched by the heat and made uncomfortable by dampness and dehydration. The fight between two wills was exhausting. Both sides were suffering from the extremities. Parched, blistered and being burnt slowly.
Eventually the sinkhole fire eased and rocks were melted and sealed together.. They were wary of the thought of King Gergion being dead and highly doubted it. They hurriedly trailed off one by one. As they speed walked they the Riders focused eased and relaxed little by little as time went by and nothing happened. They were a safe distance away and felt safe until they heard a shrill shriek and turned.
A Rider was being pulled down into the earth by black vines. She pulled and tugged at them to avoid any more damage. The vines sizzled hungrily as it ate through the top layer of her skin leaving the red exposed. She stretched her hand out and summoned a winding blue light that sliced through them clean. "Go, Go, Go!" She screamed at them running. Hundreds more burst through the ground as sharp as needles and lunged aimlessly. Anuk took his sister's hand and pushed her forward. She made a pain noise and stumbled just as a vine burst through the ground at her head. Anuk blocked it with a swift motion of his sword in his free hand and kept running. Faroh trailed behind them slicing and smashing his way through and leaping over the hissing, dry earth.
One Rider crumbled before them, his chest impaled by a sharpened vine. "No!" Anuk and Anuukala cried in unison. "Keep going!" Faroh urged. He squeezed through some vines that were too time consuming to cut and hurtled through the others. They were speeding through when suddenly Anuk's ankle was sliced from a budding vine. He dipped and regained his footing. Faroh quickly slipped under his arm for support and held on to his waist pulling him along. Anuukala ran limply while reciting healing chants for them
and their speed was quicken even though they were healing slowly.
Together they sliced, broke and leaped through the rapidly growing vines with aching, parched arms and becoming more dehydrated. In the distance Red cloaks railed over green fields following the path to the borderline.