It was a fortress on a wall, a wall that divided the realm of monsters and the civilization. It was a bastion that brought tranquility to the hearts of the citizens but also brought dread to those manning it. Among the many poor souls unfortunate enough to be there was a man named Gamelin Foure. Of noble origin, he had many titles that filled his name, protector of the realm, watcher over the sea of miasma, captain of the order of Wallsokia, beloved son, and most appreciated bachelor of Drusk, his hometown.
Let's say it again from another perspective.
Gamelin Foure is the captain of the second squadron at Wallsokia, forced to serve in this land forgotten by the goddess, to keep being alive he is constantly forced to watch over the ruined southern lands infested by miasma, demi-humans, and monsters, beloved by a father who chose him between his six brothers as a sacrifice to bring honor to his house and brought here in chains, and of course, at his hometown all the girls want to marry him, if he were to die they would be showered with gifts. Oh, and his noble house is bankrupt, after all his father is a poor knight in a small town.
"Man life is shit" He said as he stood at the border of the wall and peed at the other side.
It was his second year in this place, and since his arrival, he had seen many companions coming back from the other wall torn to pieces by the Mistborn, or shot by the demi-humans, he himself had been fighting for his life since then, hell, the fact that he was still alive was impressive, none had faith that he will last, even his teacher thought he was mediocre and had no talent, unlike his other brothers he wasn't born with a blessing.
"It's damn hot" He said complaining about the scorching sun, even this early in the morning.
It was true that he had come here against his will, but after he come to terms with his situation, he understood how critical guarding this place was, damn, if only people had seen half of what he had seen, creatures on the other side could easily trample a city within a day, they could devour the innocent without any restrain, and all in the name of evil, since those damned creatures didn't even need to eat.
"I still can't understand how someone would want to come to this place on their own term" He said as he pondered on the recent events.
He hadn't seen them himself, after all, he was in the less important fortification of this place, but he heard about some envoys from the Rainium Kingdom had arrived yesterday, something about them needing to survey the Southlands, they even say an archmage from the Silver Fang Tower had arrived with them, that only spoke of how deep in shit the trouble was. None here wanted to be here, everyone later or sooner came to terms with it. Nobles were sent here to give glory to their houses and plebeians were sent here as cannon fooders, like criminals, homeless, people in debt, or just people unfortunate enough to get drafted.
'Don't mix us in your mumbo-jumbo' He thought annoyed, but then he sought something strange... 'What the hell is that?'
As more and more people arrived at the edge of the wall to look at the Southlands, they noticed a strange mist explosion near the west, very quickly the place was filled with a very dense cloak of miasma, chilling the bones of everyone who was watching it. For a moment everyone was at a loss of words, such an amount of that foul mist only could indicate an invasion of Mistborns, or something really strong that could manifest that amount.
"Captain!" Said a guard running to him "We got a message from Seith Mair fortress! The Archmage went flying alone to the south!"
*BOOOOOM*
A loud explosion followed by a blast wave that pushed almost everyone to the ground was heard, the guard that just had arrived looked around confused, only the Captain and other few were standing their ground.
"Oh, you don't have to look so much for him, he is right there" Said the dumbfounded Gamelin.
Inside the mist, an enormous column of fire had exploded. The miasma acted like a curtain, but it projected the shapes of those inside of it, the silhouette of a girl with horns holding a scythe could be seen and a man flying near her, she jumped to intercept it...
*BOOOOM*
Another thunderous explosion. The explosions echoed ominously across the wall, shaking the very stones beneath Gamelin's boots. He steadied himself, leaning on the parapet as dust and pebbles rained down around him. His heart pounded in his chest, but he forced himself to keep his gaze locked on the bizarre scene unfolding within the miasma.
"What... in the goddess's name..." He muttered, his voice lost amidst the panicked murmurs and shouts of the soldiers gathering nearby.
The figure of the horned girl moved with unnatural speed and precision, each leap and swing of her weapon resonating with an almost otherworldly grace. She intercepted the archmage's attacks, her scythe a blur of motion, carving through the air with terrifying efficiency. The man, no doubt one of the most powerful mages Gamelin could imagine, looked like a candle sputtering against a hurricane. A crackle of electricity could be heard even from this distance and inside the mist green lightning was seen, it was a display of power never seen by any of the present, but even so, it didn't quite look like it was enough.
"Is that... a Mistborn?" a soldier whispered nearby, his voice trembling.
"No way" another muttered. "Nothing that small could unleash that much power. That's..."
Through the dense miasma curtain, they could see only small flashes of the intense battle that was being fought inside. Two of the squires brought a device that could amplify the sight, used to scout ahead, and as they began to prepare it everyone kept staring and trembling in their place.
Gamelin's stomach churned as he strained to see through the oppressive fog. His hands gripped the stone wall, knuckles white. What could only be described as monstrous... something beyond human comprehension... was fighting the Archmage. But this wasn't like the Mistborn invasions he had studied or the legends he'd heard whispered in taverns, not even like the monstrosities that he had fought himself. This felt... calculated. It wasn't a mindless beast lashing out. It was literally watching a display of power by two individuals.
"Sir" one of his lieutenants approached him, her voice clipped with fear "Orders? Should we prepare the cannons?"
Gamelin hesitated. Every instinct screamed to rain fire on the monstrosity, to do something... anything... but he knew better. Whatever was inside that mist was not something that could be stopped with steel or fire. Not by them.
"No" he said, his voice more steady than he felt "Don't waste the powder. Nothing short of divine intervention will make a dent in that"
The lieutenant stared at him, her lips tightening in a thin line before she nodded and backed away. Gamelin didn't blame her for the doubt in her eyes. He didn't fully believe his own words, but sending his men to die uselessly felt even worse.
The flashes inside the mist intensified. The horned girl danced through the air, her scythe carving arcs of destruction, while the Archmage's incantations boomed like thunderclaps. The energy rippling through the air was so thick it made his teeth ache.
"Sir the divice is ready!" Said one of the squires mounting it and securing it against the wall.
Some of the people got closer by curiosity, most of them were the oldest here and were able to maintain control over their fear. She was no normal Mistborn. Not exactly. Her form shimmered with a strange beauty, a deadly grace. Horns curled like a crown on her head, and her eyes... briefly visible thanks to the device... burned with an unholy golden light. Her scythe was grotesque, its blade pulsating as if alive, trailing a black mist that seemed to devour the light around it.
"Did you notice it, Gamelin?" Said a figure nearby, it was the commander of the fortress, Kieth Wallas "Those two monsters, are enjoying it, it's like a mock battle for them"
Gamelin looked through the device and he could see the smile on the archmage's face, as the creature cut through his spells or parried them with her scythe, she too looked happy, it was as if two long-lost friends had reunited, even as if they tried to kill each other. The scene unfolding before Gamelin was surreal. He lowered his gaze from the device, rubbing his temples in disbelief. The commander's words echoed in his mind.
"A mock battle...?"
Gamelin felt a chill run down his spine that had nothing to do with the oppressive miasma. What kind of beings treated destruction on this scale as a game? His entire life... his sacrifices, his struggles, his survival... felt insignificant compared to the titanic forces clashing in the distance.
"You're telling me" Gamelin began, his voice hollow "That this... isn't even serious for them?"
Keith Wallas, an older, grizzled knight with scars marking his face like battle-worn armor, gave him a grim smile "That's exactly what I'm saying. You've seen Mistborn before, haven't you, boy? They don't play with their food. They rush, they consume, they destroy. But this..." He gestured toward the chaos "This is different. This... thing is calculating. And the Archmage? He's laughing in the face of it"
*BOOOOM*
As if on cue, another explosion erupted within the miasma. This one sent a shockwave so powerful it cracked some of the stones on the wall. Soldiers stumbled and scrambled for balance. Gamelin instinctively braced himself, shielding his face as a fine mist of debris washed over them.
"Goddess preserve us..." one of the younger guards muttered, clutching a medallion tightly.
"No use praying," Keith muttered darkly "The gods abandoned this land long ago. All we have is this wall, and whatever scraps of courage are left in our bones"
And then a shape came out of the miasma and disappeared in thin air, seconds later a figure appeared out of thin air in the middle of them. A young man with red hair, he coughed a little, as tendrils of miasma tendrils still covered him.
"Damn, she is vicious" He said coughing and moving his hand in front of his face to move some dense mist that he had carried with him, all the people around were so tense that they had unsheathed their weapons, everyone pointing at him.
"Stand down you fools!" Said Gamelin "He is the archmage!"
"Did he win!?" Asked someone nearby.
The archmage just looked at the person who asked the question.
"Damn, of course not, but I had to say hello to such a fine creature" Then he laughed "Maybe... eight? eight in a hundred scenarios I see myself winning against that thing, with the help of all of you in the wall maybe we can raise that to fifteen" He looked back to where the creature was, and the mist bank had reduced, almost disappearing completely "She is the closer thing to a goddess I have witnessed in my entire life" He finally said those words of heresy, but none was brave enough to say anything.