The march through the mountains stretched into the following day, the sky above shifting from stormy gray to the faint hues of twilight. The air grew colder with each step, the peaks looming like silent sentinels.
Drakar adjusted the straps of his armor, his gaze steady as they neared the final bend leading out of the pass. Emberfang padded silently beside him, his fur glistening with dew and mist. Behind them, the warriors of Aerthas followed with stoic resolve. Their numbers had thinned after the ambush, but their spirits remained unbroken.
Taronis moved to Drakar's side, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword. "The pass should end just ahead. But after that... we'll be exposed."
Drakar nodded. "The Hollow Bastion isn't a place we can sneak past. We'll have to confront it head-on."
Elara Wynvaris stepped forward, her cloak trailing behind her. Her crystalline armor glimmered faintly as the early dawn light touched it. "Our scouts have reported strange activity along the southern ridges—flares of magic and shadows moving in unnatural patterns."
Seris frowned as she joined them. "Could it be another ambush?"
Vaelen, the elder mage, approached, his staff glowing faintly with warding sigils. "Possibly... but it may be something far worse."
Drakar's eyes narrowed. "Then we'll face it together."
A Whisper of the Past
As they pressed forward, the rocky path opened into a vast expanse—a windswept plateau that overlooked the Hollow Bastion in the distance. The ancient citadel rose from the earth like a jagged scar, its obsidian spires crackling with faint arcs of dark energy.
Seris slowed as her gaze swept over the horizon. Her usually sharp expression softened, and a strange wistfulness crossed her face.
Drakar noticed and paused. "Something on your mind?"
She hesitated before speaking. "I've seen this place before... in a vision."
The others turned toward her, curious and wary.
"I was young," she continued, her voice quieter. "Before I became a scout. A seer from my village spoke of an ancient battle here—a war that tore apart the skies. They said the spirits of the fallen still wander these peaks."
Vaelen nodded, his voice reverent. "The War of the Splintered Heavens. Few remember it now, but this was once a battlefield of gods and titans."
Drakar's gaze lingered on the shattered ridges. The weight of history pressed against him, as if the very stones whispered of past tragedies. He clenched his fists. "Then we won't let this place become another graveyard."
The Descent Toward the Bastion
The army resumed their march, descending the slope that led toward the Hollow Bastion. The wind howled through the narrow ravines, carrying faint whispers—too faint to understand but strong enough to unsettle.
Kaelen, ever perceptive, muttered to Seris, "If the wind starts speaking in full sentences, I'm heading back to Kaelreach."
Seris smirked despite herself. "We'll be fine. Probably."
As they approached the base of the citadel, the path widened into a clearing surrounded by crumbling obelisks etched with runes. Emberfang growled low in his throat, the fur along his spine bristling.
Vaelen raised his staff, and the sigils along its length pulsed with light. "These runes... they're wards. Protective, but old. Worn thin."
Drakar moved closer, his dagger unsheathed. The reforged shard of Eryndral's Heart pulsed faintly. "Can you reactivate them?"
Vaelen's eyes darkened with concentration. "Perhaps, but it will take time."
Elara placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do it. We'll hold the line."
An Unseen Threat
No sooner had Vaelen begun his incantation than a deep, rumbling sound echoed from within the citadel. Shadows pooled near the obelisks, twisting unnaturally before taking form. Humanoid figures emerged—tall, gaunt, and clad in armor made of jagged bone and voidstone.
Taronis unsheathed his sword, the steel gleaming. "Void Sentinels."
The creatures' hollow eyes glowed with sickly light as they raised their weapons.
Drakar's tattoos flared, and he stepped forward. "Hold nothing back!"
The battlefield erupted into chaos as the Sentinels surged forward. Drakar met the first with a fierce strike, his dagger cutting through void-forged armor with a burst of emberlight. The Sentinel let out a shriek before crumbling to ash.
Emberfang pounced onto another, his claws raking deep as violet flames spread across its form.
Seris moved like a wraith, her daggers flashing as she weaved between enemies, landing precise, lethal blows. Kaelen's arrows struck true, each shot piercing the weak points of the Sentinels' armor.
Elara fought with unwavering grace, her frost blade trailing arcs of icy wind. She parried a Sentinel's strike and countered with a spinning slash that encased the creature in ice before shattering it.
Despite their strength, the Sentinels kept coming.
A Desperate Defense
Vaelen's chants grew louder as the runes along the obelisks began to glow, forming a shimmering barrier of light. But the strain showed in his trembling hands and furrowed brow.
"Almost there!" he shouted.
Drakar ducked under a sweeping blade and plunged his dagger into a Sentinel's chest. Emberfang's roar shook the air as he tore through another. But for every Sentinel that fell, another seemed to rise.
Taronis's shield buckled under a powerful strike, and he staggered. Drakar lunged to his side, blocking a second blow with his ember-forged dagger.
"Hold steady!" Drakar called out.
The barrier pulsed brighter, and with a final word from Vaelen, the obelisks flared to life. Light burst outward, enveloping the battlefield in a wave of energy. The Void Sentinels let out unearthly screams as the light tore through them, reducing them to ash.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Vaelen collapsed to one knee, breathing heavily. Seris rushed to his side. "Vaelen!"
He gave a weak smile. "It's... done."
Drakar helped him to his feet, his grip firm. "You did it."
Vaelen nodded but glanced toward the citadel. "This was just the outer defense. The true battle lies within."
Drakar's eyes burned with resolve. "Then we keep moving."
The gates of the Hollow Bastion loomed before them—imposing, ancient, and alive with dark energy.