Chapter Forty-One: Protecting the Royals


    Yue’s mom had always told her that crowd mentality was a son of a bastard. All it took was one person to change the entire mob. Yue had seen that in action before. She’d taken a trip to Aluemdaum Seom once, and while she was there, one man revolted against what he thought were unfair prices. That one man changed a cheering audience into a frenzied one. Thankfully, nothing bad had happened that day.


    Contrary to this one.


    When the voice told the crowd that the monsters would attack them but not Magefell, the crowd was paralyzed in fear and shock. The silence of the mob washed over the rest of the mob.


    Mob mentality.


    But all it took was one man.


    That was just the way of the world.


    One man, one grizzled, hairy, skinny old man, saw the monster rushing toward him and instead of unsheathing the dagger he had on his belt, he took the coward’s path.


    He ran.


    To be fair to the man, Yue probably would''ve done the same thing if she was in his position. But she wasn’t, and what he did changed the rest of the day for the worst.


    As soon as the mob saw one man running away, they panicked. The ensuing rush of people yelling and rushing for Magefell triggered a reaction in the monsters, who, with a smile, dashed forwards faster.


    And thus began the massacre.


    — — —


    I’ve never seen anything like this. And it’s not just the monsters. Yes, they’re completely unfamiliar, but the truly shocking, unfamiliar thing is the destruction, the death. I watch—am forced to watch, really—as dozens of innocent people fall to the shrieking monsters. I don’t know what to do about it.


    I’ve drawn my sword, but I don’t want to rush into battle. I have my friends here, and not all of them are in the right condition to fight. That same person doesn’t even know how to fight.


    I look over at my friends. Xavier, Th’ul, Sia, Skai, Yue, Neena, Alyx, Aster, Poli, and Artemis. High Mage Aegon. All look scared, wondering how this could’ve happened.


    I’m wondering the same thing myself.


    Why? Why would the cult do this? I know it’s a stupid question. They need to show their power over anyone else, or they wouldn’t be able to rule their society—the strongest is better mentality. No, the real question is how. How could they do such a thing?


    “What do we do?” I ask. “We can’t just stay here.”


    “We need to split up,” High Mage Aegon says. “The bigger of a group we are, the bigger the target. We should split up into two or three groups. It’s better for all of us.”


    “But Sia..:”


    “I know she is incapacitated,” High Mage Aegon tells me. “That is why she will be going with me. Zade, you take two or three others and stay here fighting the,. When they move to the forest—and I’m sure they will soon—follow them. I will be heading for Zenyth to drop off Sia, then the forest, then I will come back here. Poli, will you join me?”


    “Sure,” She nods. “Can Artemis come with?”


    “Fine,” High Mage Aegon responds, then he leads them down the path.


    Immediately, they are assaulted by a L’lorian, but a bolt of lightning shoots it down, and Poli stabs it in the head, killing it.


    “Xavier, Aster, Skai, you should come with me,” I say. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”


    “What will I do?” Yue asks. “And Th’ul? And Alyx? Neena?”


    “Actually, I was hoping you could come with me,” A voice calls out from behind her. Looking behind Yue, I see Captain Wolf, leading a group of unfamiliar people. My eyes widen then, when I realize why these people are unfamiliar.


    I’m looking at the Royals.


    I bow to the ground, and next to me, I feel my friends doing the same.


    “What do you need?” Yue asks.


    “The Royals must be escorted back to Magefell in safety. Yiro and Kol are here to help you. You may take Th’ul—are you a mage?—and Alyx—good to see you—back with you for added protection.”


    “Yes, sir,” Yue salutes.


    “I must stay here and fight the beasts,” Captain Wolf growls, then roars and flings himself into the battle.


    “Your commander is a little…” I say.


    “Strange is the way to put it, yes,” Yue laughs. “Well, I have to go. Stuff to do. People to protect. Monsters to kill.”


    “I’ll see you after this,” I promise.


    “Same to you,” She says.


    — — —


    The path to Magefell was even more grisly than Yue thought. There were already bodies on the ground, all of them dead. The monsters didn’t leave anyone wounded.


    All our swords were drawn as we walked on, even Th’ul’s.


    Briefly, she wondered where Xander was. Was he okay? Did he make it to Magefell safely? What was the Cult doing to him?


    Yue wished she could worry about her boyfriend more, but there were already L’Lorian and Er’lhitahn running at them.


    The first reptilian creature landed in front of them. The Er’lhitahn crawled at Yue at a fast pace, and she chopped down, severing its arms. It screeched and clawed at her, but she deftly moved away, and stabbed its back, severing its spine. Its whimpers told Yue it was dying so she didn’t bother with the killing blow.


    Let it suffer.


    As she turned away, she found several L’lorian flying down towards them, faster than birds. Their descent was quick and ruthless. Some smashed in people next to them, tearing them to shreds. As they came down, a fireball—probably from Th’ul—took one down, and Alyx cut another down. Yue took a third one in the stomach, but the final one barreled down on Th’ul and knocked him to the ground.


    Yue rushed to help him, and decapitated its head.


    Th’ul rushed to his feet.


    “Thank you,” He said.


    “Any time,” She responded. “Let’s keep moving.”


    Kol and Yiro flanked the Royals, and Yue and Th’ul stayed at the fore, with Alyx and Neena on the sides, watching for any movement. Most of the monsters had already moved on to Magefell, but plenty had stayed. At this point, the remaining fighters were participants in the tournament. Yue could see Gunnar and Jabari both taking on Er’litahn and L’lorian.


    Yue was surprised at how easy they were to fight. Of course, they weren’t normal, average people—they were monsters, after all—but they did go down pretty easily. She guessed that was why there were thousands of them.


    They also were not meant to destroy Magefell, that much was obvious. They were there only to show the glory of Dautha.


    So she guessed it made sense.


    She was brought out of her thoughts by a gang of three Er’litahn rushing towards them, murder in their eyes. She and Th’ul rushed at them, Th’ul throwing his fireballs at them. These were bigger than the ones Yue had just fought, and smarter too. They dodged the fireballs, running at all four-legs, their tongues flicking out. They reached Yue and she swung her sword at one of them. His body split in half, green blood flowing out. Not daring to waste time, she turned to face the other one, but it was already dead.


    “You’re welcome,” Kol smiled at her.


    Yue grimaced. Fighting a couple of these was easy, but she could see hundreds of them just on the path to Magefell.


    Getting there alive would be harder than she thought.


    — — —


    My first kill was surprisingly difficult. The L’lorian are swift in the sky, and my sword does almost no damage while they are flying, easily dodging my attacks.


    I try to bait it down, but it refuses to do that, its fur raised in rage. Eventually, I realize I have another weapon and my fireball fells it.


    “Tricky bastards,” Aster smiles. “That’s the fun of it.”


    “We’re going to take out dozens of these beasts,” I groan, “This isn’t fun.” I can’t deny the thrill of adrenaline I feel, though, as I fight.


    A dozen monsters circle us both on the ground and in the air, snarling at us. We circle up. Aster and Xavier are next to me, while Skai is on the opposite side.


    “Ready?” I ask.


    “Let’s go.”


    We charge at the monsters, and they rush at us. One of the Er’litahn rushes at me, and scrapes my arm with its three-toed reptilian fingers, but I slice it from head to crotch in one deft motion.


    I’m immediately set on by a L’lorian. It takes me down, landing on top of me and straddling me. I fumble with my sword while also trying to hold its head up. Eventually, I rip my sword well and I hit the monster with the butt. It falls, unconscious and another strike is enough to kill it.


    Xavier is throwing his fireballs at a couple of Er’litahn and Skai is fighting a few L’lorian, and she’s the one most in danger. The monsters in the air seem to sense that the more of them they use against her, the better. I need to help her out.


    As I run at her, a wounded Er’litahn lands in front of me and jumps at me. I screech in shock and swing my sword up, closing my eyes. The next I see, it’s on the ground, arm twitching in its death throes.


    I finally reach Skai. I throw a couple fireballs, not intending to score a hit. All it takes is a little distraction. With them busy dodging my blows, Skai takes them out one by one.


    We took them all down. None of us are dead. I’m the only one with even a scratch, but we’re already tired. This battle will last hours, and while I’m sure eventually us and Magefell will win, I wonder how much it’ll take.


    The screams of humans assaulted by the monsters saddens me. I turn my view to a particular couple. They are young, twenty-five at most, and the monsters rushing at them are wielding pikes.


    The first monsters I’ll fight that have weapons. A lot of them have, but not all of them. A good portion prefer to use their teeth and claws, but many use swords and pikes.


    I need to save these people. Aster sees what I’m seeing at the same time and runs with me.


    With a yell, I throw a fireball, catching a L’lorian in the chest, sending it reeling to the ground. Two of the four monsters turn to us, the other two fixed on killing the couple.


    Aster takes on the L’lorian while I fixate on the Er’litahn. It is wielding two pikes, and it throws the first at me. I duck and keep running, throwing my own sword at it. While it dodges it, my fireball catches it off guard. By the time I grab my sword and reach the couple, Aster is with me again.


    The final two monsters—both Er’litahn—slither towards us, and we kill them easily, their pikes already gone. They are already stuck inside one of the people.


    “Are you okay?” I ask.


    “She isn’t.”


    I look at the wounded woman. She looks pretty bad—two pikes jutting out of her stomach—but it does look like she’ll live. The pikes didn’t hit anything critical. I don’t know anything about healing, so I can’t help her, though.


    “There’s nothing I can do, but I think she’ll live,” I say.


    “Thank you,” The other breathes. “I don’t know how I can thank you.”


    “Stay alive,” I tell her. “That’s all we need to do now. Stay alive.”


    — — —


    Two dozen L’lorien and Er’litahn, the biggest group Yue had faced until now. Most of her friends were sporting scratches by now, but no one was hurt, and the royals were safe. That was what mattered.


    King Aeson and King Umi fought with them, much to their chagrin, but Queen Ingrid just watched, counting on them to protect her, watching them all with her icy eyes. Yue didn’t know if it was a good thing she was passive or not.


    She didn’t seem to like them much.


    “On your left!” Aeson screamed at her, giving her the time to swing around and strike a L’lorien in the face. It went down, scratching at its wound.


    Kol and Yiro fought side-by-side, each taking each others’ flanks. The Er’litahn taking on them were wielding fearsome swords that Yue envied, but she still preferred her own.


    The farther they’d gotten down the road to Magefell, the more monsters they’d had to take on at a time. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like the monsters had reached Magefell, but they would soon. Yue needed to reach the city before they did, or else things would go south very quickly. She knew that many of the Magefell Guards were there, so as long as they were warned on time, the city would be safe.


    Mostly.


    But first, she needed to get there. And the monsters were overwhelming them. There must’ve been almost thirty fighting them now. There were just too many. If they didn’t find a way out soon, they would all be killed, including the Royals.


    They needed a mage, not just Th’ul. He was doing good, but he was still just a mage-in-training. Thankfully, there were plenty of people around. Surely, one of them would be a mage.


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    “Somebody, please!” She screamed, desperately beating down a L’lorian. “We need a mage!”


    “I’m a mage,” One woman said. Yue looked at her and sighed in relief, although she looked strange.


    “Please, can you help us?” She asked. The woman cocked her head and smirked, and then Yue realized what was strange about her.


    She wasn’t being attacked.


    “You!” Yue yelled. “You’re a Cultist!” The woman smiled and disappeared, but not before yelling for the Er’litahn.


    Yue groaned.


    This was not going well.


    — — —


    This is actually going pretty well. Most of the monsters are gone from the field by now, and the ones that are left are restless and generally weaponless. The people here are either on the ground or fighting desperately. The couple I’d saved are still alive, thankfully.


    Aster has suffered a slight injury on her leg, and she’s limping slightly, but otherwise, we’re all still alive.


    I spot a mage performing some sort of magic, and I grin.


    “What’s your name?”


    “Gárcia,” He tells me. “I saw you fighting the beasts.”


    “Had to help my friends,” I tell him. “Can’t just let everyone die. They’re innocent.”


    “Innocent?” Gárcia asked. “You think they’re innocent. What is so innocent of a man who refuses to obey the Hierarchy?”


    “The Hierarchy?”


    Gárcia narrowed his eyes. “So you aren’t…” My eyes widen.


    “No, no, I’m not. I don’t serve Dautha.” I scream as lightning soars through me, and I watch as it begins to fry me.


    Xavier tackles Gárcia, breaking his concentration, setting me free. I tumble to the ground, breathing heavily, trying not to puke.


    I can’t feel much. I know I’m burned. With trembling fingers, wincing, I remove my shirt.


    It isn’t as bad as I thought it was. I am burned in several places, but I think I’ll recover.


    My face, though, is a slightly different matter. My left cheek is burned almost to a crisp and I can barely breathe.


    “May I help?” Someone asks behind me. I turn to find Master Frin standing behind me.


    “You can do healing?” I ask.


    “I try not to make it public,” He responds. “But yes, I can. Need help?”


    “Yes please.”


    He gets to work on me and I feel cold for a second. Ice cold, like I’m swimming in the ocean nude. Soon, though, the wave has passed and I feel better.


    “Did you get it?” I ask.


    “Mostly,” He responds. “Though there is one small thing…”


    I raise my hand to my face and feel it immediately. There is a scar on my left cheek.


    “It’s permanent,” Master Frin says regretfully. “I don’t think anyone can take it off.”


    The scar runs from my mouth almost to my ear, like an unfinished grin.


    “How obvious is it?”


    “People will notice, but it doesn’t distract from your looks,” Master Frin smiles. “You’ll be fine.”


    “I wasn’t worried about that,” I grimace.


    I stand up slowly, Master Frin holding me up. As I look for my friends, I see Gárcia locked in a fight with Aster, both Xavier and Skai in the air, choking on the air. I rush towards Gárcia, but suddenly the grass is like ice and I slip.


    “I’ve got this,” Master Frin tells me and runs to Gárcia, who sends spells at him. Deftly, Master Frin gets past all of them. As soon as he reached Gárcia, he pushes him.


    It’s only a slight touch, but it sends Gárcia flying. He lands on the grass maybe ten twenty yards away and he stays still, unmoving, a small pool of blood already forming.


    “I need to learn to do that!” Xavier exclaims.


    “It’ll take you a while,” Master Frin says. “Boys, I need to leave. Magefell needs me. Shall you come with me?”


    “Can’t,” I tell Master Frin. “We’re doing a job for High Mage Aegon.”


    “Of course,” Master Frin nods, then he disappears.


    “Who was that guy?” Skai asked.


    “Swordmaster.”


    “And he was doing magic instead of using his sword?”


    “He’s a confused man, I guess,” Xavier shrugs. “We don’t know him that well.”


    “Seems like you should get to know him better,” Skai points out, “Seeing as he saved you life.”


    “I’ll be sure to thank him later.”


    We turn as more monsters rush at us.


    There’s no rest for us.


    Not yet.


    — — —


    They were almost there. Yue could see the gates of Magefell. The guards of Magefell could probably see them, but, of course they wouldn’t understand what was happening.


    There were now maybe fifty beasts surrounding them, L’lorian and Er’litahn both. They attacked the humans carefully now, almost strategically, using intelligence close to humans.


    Yue decapitated another Er’litahn and sighed in exhaustion. Yiro fell to the ground as a L’lorian fell on her and they struggled for a few seconds before Kol fished her out. She was hurt, though, badly.


    They had someone else to protect now.


    For every beast they killed, another seemed to take its place. Bodies lined the road to Magefell, and at this point, there were more monster bodies than human ones.


    Yue had seen many people fighting the beasts around the road. Some had been winning. Evern common villagers sometimes took on  L’lorian or two. But there were many dead, too. It saddened Yue to see the gore. It wasn’t fair.


    As logical as the Cultist’s arguments seemed to be sometimes, this just solidified how wrong they were. There was no way it was right to kill this many people for such a simple point as power. The ends couldn’t justify the means, right?


    A spear from  a L’lorian almost took her in the shoulder. She growled in determination and attacked it, her sword swinging forwards, causing the Er’litahn to defend itself, letting a L’lorian help it out. Yue groaned.


    When would this end?


    She kept pushing forwards with her small group, towards the gates of Magefell where hopefully they would be safe, if just for a few minutes. They could do it, she was sure they could.


    Yue finally took down the Er’litahn with a stab to its crotch, but immediately, two more appeared in its place. They finally began to overpower her, sending a flurry of attacks that she could barely parry. Knowing they had the advantage, they pushed even farther, their mouths wide in what she assumed was laughter.


    One of the pikes sent her to the ground.


    She hit the ground hard, and the Er’litahn advanced, their pikes raised to strike. The L’lorian watched in silence.


    Yue felt for her sword, but she’d dropped it.


    She closed her eyes and welcomed death.


    A swish of a sword broke her out of her stupor. Opening her eyes, she found King Aeson standing over her, both Er’litahn and the L’lorian dead.


    “Aren’t you supposed to protect me?” He says, a teasing glint in his eyes.


    “Much thanks,” Yue responded, letting him help her hand.


    “Much obliged.” He responded. “You’ve done great so far, and we’re almost there. Just a little while longer. Look.”


    Yue obeyed and noticed he was right. The gates were just one hundred yards away.


    They were close.


    With that look, Yue finally got the determination she needed. She attacked with a new ferocity, and seeing her anticipation, so did Th’ul and Alyx. Yiro groaned in pain but Kol protected her and Queen Ingrid. King Aeson and King Umi stayed in the background but still fought, making sure they weren’t too flanked.


    Fifty beasts turned to forty.


    Forty turned to thirty.


    And then thirty turned to twenty.


    The ones who were left began to grow desperate. They were savage yet unused to having their mob lose in a competition. Their instinct kept them going, but Yue could see fear in their eyes.


    Even those with the biggest armies can be the weakest. That’s probably something the Cult says.


    Another L’Lorian down, and one less beast to kill.


    There were just ten left.


    A thump sounded from her right, and she turned, her heart dropping.


    It was an Er’litahn, but not like any she’d seen. This was muscly, and huge, its head bigger than her torso. It ripped a nearby human’s head off, and roared. It was at least three times as big as a normal Er’litahn. It had to be enhanced with magic. The other monsters scattered as soon as they saw it, and Yue sighed.


    This would not be fun.


    It charged at them, and Yue, Th’ul, and Alyx held together, bracing for impact. Still, its body threw them back, and Yue hit a nearby tree, collapsing in pain. The magically enhanced Er’litahn rode towards the Royals, and Yue groaned, trying to stand up.


    The good news was that Kol got to the Er’litahn first.


    The bad news was the Er’litahn knocked him down like a toy.


    A fireball struck the Er’litahn and evaporated. It hissed in mild irritation but advanced to Queen Ingrid.


    “YAAAAHHHH!” Yue screamed as she stood up. The Er’litahn ignored it and clawed at Queen Ingrid, who backed out of the way, ice fear in her eyes. Yue ran towards the Er’litahn and stabbed it in the back.


    The Er’litahn screamed in pain and reached for her. She backed out of the way and assessed her situation.


    The Er’litahn was pissed, that much was obvious. It was not expecting as much resistance as it got, and therefore, it was confused as well. Obviously, it thought it would kill easily, but that hadn’t been the case.


    Now, it wanted to take care of the person who had wounded it. It rushed towards her, and only another sword sticking out of its gut stopped it. It screeched and slapped Alyx across the face. Alyx crumpled to the ground again.


    Yue couldn’t let Alyx die, not now. With another battle roar, she rushed at the Er’litahn. At the same time, Th’ul and Kol ran at it too. The Er’litahn, confused, looked around, judging who would be the greatest threat,


    They attacked at the same time. Yue stabbed at its head, taking it in the eyes. Th’ul cut off its tail, disrupting its balance. Kol chopped at its legs, and it crumpled over, blind.


    Alyx stood up and smiled.


    “May I?” Without waiting for a response, she stabbed down. A squelching noise and then a screech erupted from the beast.


    Then silence.


    Yue looked around. They were all alive. Just barely, but still alive.


    “Um…people,” King Aeson called. “We must fly!”


    He was right. The rest of the Er’litahn and L’lorian were staring at them, realizing what they had done.


    Yue took off toward the gates, her friends and the royals not far behind, the beasts chasing them.


    “OPEN THE GATES!” Yue shouted. “I’VE GOT THE ROYALS WITH ME! I''M FROM THE VANGUARD!”


    The guard on the wall nodded and the gate began to open. Slowly.


    The monsters were catching up.


    Yue sprinted, keeping an eye on the royals, making sure they didn’t get too far behind. Thankfully, they ran quickly.


    The gates were fully open now. She was so close she could almost touch it…


    She was through. A second later, Kol and Alyx passed through. Next was King Aeson and Queen Ingrid, followed by Neena.


    Then the gate began to close.


    “YOU CAN’T!” Yue screamed.


    “I have to,” The guard responded. “Can’t let the monsters pass.”


    “The bastards fly,” Yue responded. The guard shook his head, insistent.


    “Come on, Th’ul,” She whispered. “Come on!”


    The gates were seconds away from closing completely. King Umi finally passed. Th’ul glanced at her briefly, terror in his eyes, the first time Yue had seen the emotion in his face. He sprinted, and suddenly, he was running faster than Yue had ever seen him.


    Then he was past, and a second later, the gates shut, sealing the monsters.


    Th’ul lay on the ground.


    “I had help,” He whispered. “Someone helped me, with magic.”


    “That would be me,” An unfamiliar mage told him. “Welcome back, Th’ul. You must tell me what is happening.”


    Th’ul stood up and smiled. “It is good to see you. These are the royals. Everybody, meet my friend. High Mage Roshan, the former prince of Valacia.”


    — — —


    I scream as I take down a L’lorian. I can barely move now. The exhaustion is getting to me, and my muscles are cramped. I don’t know how much longer I can take it.


    Plus, I need to piss. No one in the stories ever needs to, but I’ve realized that even emergencies can’t be distracted by a battle. I feel agitated, and I want to let it all out, but I have modesty to think about.


    There must be only a couple dozen animals left on the field now. It should be time to head to the woods soon. But first, we need to take care of the final ones.


    This should be quick. Then I can finally pee.


    I rush at a L’lorian and shoot a fireball. It sails right past it, and when the animal looks at me, I take it between the eyes. Unfamiliar mages and soldiers are already taking care of the rest.


    There must be three hundred dead humans just on this part of the field, but there are also at least a thousand dead L’lorian and Er’litahn. It would be more of a success, if not for all the casualties.


    Of course, we haven’t even killed ten percent of the monsters.


    There is still a lot of the battle left. Thankfully, I’m not alone in this endeavor, and it’s not just my friends. With all the others fighting against the monsters, hopefully, this threat can be neutralized as quickly as possible.


    No one else needs to die.


    Another L’lorian dies. The rest are gone, either to Magefell or the forest.


    We’ve done it. The plains are clean.


    I walk over to the pit where the arena once lay and remove my pants. No one is looking so far, and I let it shoot out. I sigh in relief as I piss, my anxiety washing out of me.


    “What the hell?” Aster asks from behind me, and I turn red. “I’m not looking, I swear.”


    “I hope not,” I respond, finishing my business, putting my pants back on and turning towards her. “Why were you looking for me anyways?”


    “This part of the battle is done,” She says. “Of course I was looking for you.”


    “We all were,” Xavier grins evilly. “Some of us just chose to look.”


    “Xavier!” Skai screams indignantly.


    I roll my eyes. “You’ll get used to it.”


    “Um…” Xavier smiles uncomfortably. “I’ve known Skai for a long time.”


    “What?” I question. “Oh, that’s why you kissed her as soon as you saw her.”


    “Yup, we used to live in the same place. The day I left, I admitted my feelings for her. I was surprised she was here for the tournament, but I’m glad she is. She’s also moving here, so…”


    “It’ll last,” Skai finishes, kissing him. “That was a terrible prank you pulled on them.”


    Xavier shrugged. “It was fun.”


    “Alright, that’s enough,” Aster scoffs. “We need to find the High Mage.”


    The forest looks inviting the closer we get to it, the trees winding forwards, looking at us, begging us to unravel its mysteries. I don’t want to unravel its mysteries right now, though, especially the scaly and furry ones.


    A crash sounds through the forest and the trees shake. I suck in a breath, and Alyx gasps in front of me. There’s something in the forest and it''s coming.


    I draw my sword again and I feel my friends do the same next to me.


    “You still want to go in the forest?” Xavier asks Alyx.


    “Shut up!”


    The forest shakes again. I back up slowly, keeping my eyes on the trees, scanning them, trying to find any sign of what was in there.


    So far, nothing.


    Another crash. Then nearby trees begin to shake and the rumbling noises get closer.


    “What is it?” I hear one woman yell.


    “ARM YOURSELVES!” Another screams.


    People begin to dash out of the field in all directions. I ignore them all, instead staying next to Xavier, hoping against hope that whatever comes out of that forest is an ally.


    Another crash and a tree falls. I see a flying figure expelled from the forest. It could be a L’lorian but I can’t be sure.


    “We need to back off,” Alyx says. “Whatever is coming is on a rampage. They’ll be charging and we’re in their way.”


    “Good idea.”


    As we run, I get my first glimpse of the creatures, and I can confirm it’s more than one. Then they all erupt from the forest.


    Maybe a couple of thousand beasts, both L’lorian and Er’litahn, who apparently decided they didn’t like the forest. They have anger in their eyes, and some sort of fear, and they’re charging at us, wielding blades. From the only about two hundred soldiers left on the field, this is an army bigger than we can fight.


    They look savage, and I can’t help but feel fear in my bones.


    We can’t take on all these. They’re swarming around us, and won’t stop until we’re dead. But we can try. We have to try.


    It’s time to stand my ground.