[Decimation]
His body locked into place, rings of magic circles forming and locking in on him as he was torn apart from the atomic level. His being came undone as his presence was denied in this world, crumbling to dust.
Silence! All events came to a halt. Friend and foe looking to each other for answers until granddad made the first move.
"Bend to my will oh flames of darkness. I am Grandine" the weight of his voice carried the scene, the black flames tornado gathered as a ball in his hand as he overpowered it with his magic.
"Die orcs" then he shot out the flames which split off in all directions, targeting the orcs engaged with the villagers and soldiers.
Boom, boom, boom….
The explosion went off with a satisfying boom, whipping up wind as orcs blew apart one by one except for the reanimated ones.
"Groooooooowl" they roared enraged, black flames wafting off of their bodies as their cold eyes locked in on Mom, sir Dordis and granddad.
In that moment, all three of them gave each other an understanding nod and jumped into action. A clash of blades, a dance of steel and flames. Skill and technique versus brutality and rage.
The snow whipped up, the battlefield hot as each defended, thrust, slashed and unleashed magic one after the other but the reanimated orcs were not going down easily. The flames had made them undying.
"Grooooaaar"
I could do something. I could help them take down the orcs but mom had a look of determination on her face. A fearless smile.
She readied a stance, moving in sync with sir Dordis as granddad bombarded the orcs with his magic.
[Implode]
The air around her got sucked in and with a thrust she hit the orc dead centre creating a vacuum in it's solar plexus that sucked all its flames inward, destabilizing the orc and causing it to detonate.
Whop boom!
The shockwave singularly swept through the battlefield unveiling sir Dordis cut through another orc, cleaving it in two halves with a mighty swing of his blade, and granddad lifted the last orc into the air with wind magic and bombarded it with blasts and explosions until it's flames burnt out and gravity brought the orc down.
Thud! Ending the fighting with the orcs.
Mom looked around, taking in the extent of the battle and then with a roar she declared
"THE ORCS ARE DEFEATED!"
And the villagers and soldiers roared triumphantly in turn making the village abuzz with jubilation.
I couldn't help but smile in the face of the resilient human spirit. Despite the odds, each and every last one of them, the villagers and soldiers who came to our aid didn't run away nor give up. They fought bravely, overcoming their fears and the threat of death to achieve victory. It relayed to me the strength that lies in each of us, the magic that burns bright from the human spirit, the undying flames of perseverance that is the human potential.
I snuck back to the basement just in time as a soldier came through the door informing us that the battle was over.
There was a momentarily look of doubt and confusion on their faces until Dad acknowledged the words of the soldier, bringing the room to a cheering jubilation.
We left the church, happy and high in spirit than we were when we went in. And despite the damage to the infrastructure no one was sad or gloomy. After all we survived the threat of the wild orcs. A race of berserk exiled monsters.
Mom met up with us while granddad and some soldiers gathered the remains of the orcs and set it ablaze.
That night we did not sleep and in fact chose to celebrate to remember the sequence of events and our triumph.
The women sang songs, the men prepared meat and drank wine and the children played in the snow.
At some point granddad put up the barrier again to ensure our security and safety.
It was a night that could have gone differently but I was glad that it didn't. My old life was one of misery and it's ending a mystery but here I am. Reborn to a loving family in a world of magic and fantasy. There is no greater joy than in knowing that I am blessed with fortune this time and I aim to make the best of it.
The celebration went on till daybreak when the sun rose up on a glorious world.
The priest, Father Obed, tended to Killian throughout the night with granddad, Mom and Dad by his side. Auntie Ryss though was worried for her husband but was none the less happy that he was alive.
The only thing left was to clean up the village and prepare for winter solstice which was in a few days.
That afternoon while clean up operations was going on, we were finally visited by two people in fashionable clothes of red and green and they identified as wizards from the association.
Finally, the wizard association.