The Fallen Guardian (The Guardian Chronicles 2) (22 page)

“We
have called this meeting to discuss what we know of our enemies and also to
give some special instructions,” began the druid in his deep, booming voice. “I
want to assure you that the high elves, as they call themselves, are preparing
to attack before dawn tomorrow. They are going to attack the southern cliff
while the orc armies push through the South Gate.”  No one made a sound, and it
seemed like the fire had stopped making noise to listen to the general druid.

The
king stood up and walked up to the front to stand beside his fierce-looking
general. He raised his hand in greeting and then said, “Before we continue
giving more information, I want to give each of you my royal blessing. I
encourage you to be faithful in the task before us.”  He bowed slightly to his
people as he smiled warmly, and then he returned to his seat.

“Thank
you, King Ciel. We are grateful for your blessing and encouragement,” General
Verandos said appreciatively. “Now, we have learned that our former brethren
have enlisted the services of the spawn of the last giant spider. Also, griffins
may be in their midst, so beware. The high elves have somehow garnered the
support of the giant wolves of the south as well. They will be riding them as
steeds, but do not be lulled into the idea that they are merely beasts of
burden. They have already proven their blood lust in the attempt they made on
our capital city two days ago.”

“Did
they break through our barrier?” asked someone from the crowd.

“No,
the barrier has kept them at bay. A detachment from the army of Aran engaged
the beasts and suffered heavy losses before making through our magical barrier.
My old friend Commander Brugon knew the pass phrase to enter because I had
given it to him. They have taken the city and are working to repair the damage
that was done to the defenses. They have not touched or entered any of our
homes or buildings out of respect for our privacy.”

“Do
we know how many wolves there are?” asked another elf from the crowd.

“We
do not have exact numbers, but it may be nearly twenty-five thousand of the
massive brutes. However, we do have some good news. The mythical giant bears of
the north have joined our side in this conflict. They have already engaged the
wolves and have inflicted serious damage. They have agreed to fight alongside
the elves in defense of the southern border. No one is to attempt to ride them,
but they will help to protect you from harm.”

Shouts
of relief and cheers of joy filled the air at this news. The elves were elated
to hear that they had the help of the gigantic beasts. They had heard tales of
their involvement in the last war of the races, but none of them had actually seen
the bears after the war or even during it. There were very few soldiers in the
elven army that had lived at that time. General Verandos let them chat for a
little bit, and then he cleared his throat to get their attention once more.

“I
also want to tell you that the eagles have also joined our effort. King Leroy
has selected a group of men to be riders, and the eagles have been gracious
enough to allow some of our ranks to ride along with them as they fight with us.
They recognized the imminent threat to Landen, which has been provided them
with homes among their vast cliffs for centuries. They want to fight this evil
that is gripping the free lands.”

King
Ciel stood up once more and made his way to the front of the stage. He put his
hand on the general’s shoulder, and Verandos took his seat. The king looked out
over the soldiers as their armor glimmered in the firelight. He smiled a weak,
faltering smile as he looked into the eyes of his troops.
I cannot believe
that it has come to this!  Where did we go wrong? Where did I go wrong?  I have
failed my people, and we have failed to care for the land as the guardians
asked us to. This evil is because of me!
  He stretched out his arms once
again to silence the crowd so that his words would be heard clearly.  He
struggled to master himself before continuing.  After a concerted effort, he
scanned the sea of soldiers with appreciation emanating from him.

“I
stand before you as your king and protector. I feel that I have failed in my
duties as your leader; however, I plan to make amends for my failings!  We will
win this war and punish those who perpetrated it without just cause!  We fight
for the freedom of the people of Tuwa and for the right to live as we see fit! 
Victory!” shouted the monarch loudly.  He shook slightly with the effort he was
making to look confident and resolute.

The
elven army began to chant softly in their elven tongue the word
victory
as they dissembled to get what rest they could before dawn. As the soldiers
quieted themselves for the night, a whooshing sound filled the night air.
Several bats came swooping out of the air in an effort to cause a panic. They
did not succeed in those attempts, so they resorted to a more dastardly
approach. They started attacking the elves by landing on their backs and biting
them with their inch-long fangs. General Verandos came bustling down the row of
tents as a werebear so that the bats would focus on him momentarily to give the
elven magicians time to counteract this surprise attack. As the vampire bats swarmed
to the bear, the magicians captured the foul rodents in magical nets and fried
them as they struggled to get free. After the last of the vermin were
eliminated, a cheer of triumph rang through the air. However, this was a
short-lived celebration because of the damage from the attack had become
apparent to the encampment affected by the assault.

There
were several hundred elves that had been bitten, and they appeared to be
infected with a fast-acting poison. Five people died before the healers could
find the proper spell to eradicate the poison from their systems. Rage filled
the hearts of elven soldiers that had watched their friends suffer from the
sudden attack. They would seek their revenge on their fallen brethren and those
mindless oafs that they had allied themselves with. General Verandos led the
army in vowing to kill all of Kana’s supporters and then kill the witch
herself. A black storm cloud formed in the sky over Landen while this oath was
made. The ground shook violently as they finished speaking. It felt like the
earth was about to tear itself apart, and then it ceased all at once. The cloud
not only darkened, but it lowered itself until it was only a few hundred feet
above the plains. The cloud of war had finally settled. War had come!

The
exact time of dawn’s arrival could not be discerned because of the black clouds
that hung over the High Plains of Landen and the surrounding areas. The way in
which the high elves knew that is was time to make their attack was when they
heard Kana’s dragon roar. The ground beneath them shook violently again as it
had during the night. This time the shaking did not stop for several minutes.
The high elves were in place right below the southern cliffs, and the orc
armies were right outside the South Gate. The rumbling shook loose several
massive boulders that came crashing down on the high elves before they could
move out of the way. Several hundred were killed instantly, along with their
foul spider steeds.

The
griffins and their riders flew high into the air to help rally the troops and
to encourage them to scale the sides of the cliff. As soon as they reached the
precipice, several ballistae launched magically enhanced arrows at the griffin’s
defenseless bodies. At the same time, the giant beasts had unleashed a powerful
shriek that moved toward defenses of the elves and giants. The sound wave could
not penetrate a magical barrier that had been put in place. One of the
creature’s had not been fast enough to avoid one of the giant arrows and was
hit full on in the head. The eagle-like head was engulfed in a blue flash of
light as the magic was released from the projectile. Its head exploded
violently and sent its rider falling to his death. Lieutenant Linfilian was
dead before he hit the ground with a sickening
thud
!  He had died at the
same moment that his griffin’s head had exploded because of the magic released
from the massive arrow.

General
Dükker rushed to the front of the army of high elves as they paused at the base
of the cliff. The griffin’s carcass fell on top of one of the soldiers, killing
him instantly. His spider steed was crushed to its death as well. Ignoring the
unfortunate turn of events, the enraged warlock charged up the side of the
mountain at an unbelievable rate of speed. Before he reached the top of the
cliff, he uttered a powerful counter spell to remove the magical barrier
between himself and the elves. With the wall down, the griffins and their riders
resumed their attack with much greater success. As Dükker crested the cliff’s
edge, his steed shot out a cloud of green gas from his wicked maw. Several
elves died instantly from the poisonous attack. Dükker looked behind to see the
entire army following him up and over the wall.

The
elves were pushed back initially, but they dug in and would not budge from
their defensive positions. They directed their attacks at the spiders in an
effort to equalize the battlefield. Several of the elven magicians took control
of the beasts’ minds and had them attack one another. Chaos was about to consume
the high elves’ efforts, and then the giant spider brought his spawn back to
their senses. The wicked beasts used their legs to stab elves and their pincers
to cut them to pieces. As they continued forward, they laid piles of webbing
that contained lethal gas for anyone unfortunate enough to inadvertently
release the toxic fumes. This trap was designed to ensnare their victims while
they were slowly poisoned to death. The process was slow and extremely painful.
The giants rushed forward to assist their little pointed-eared friends.

At
the South Gate, the orc armies crashed against the gate with such terrific
force that it toppled over, crushing several elves to death. The wolves went
mad when they engaged the well-prepared elves. They had erected several towers
high over the battlefield so that they could rain down arrows on the exposed
orcs. The wolves were not affected by the piercing arrows, which caused some
concern among the elven soldiers. As the orcs continued to advance through the
newly constructed gauntlet, a thunderous boom echoed through the air and
flashes of lightning lit the darkened sky. Rain started to pour down the next
instant, which caused the orcs substantial difficulties as they tried to
traverse the incline at the South Gate.

The
wolves were not deterred one bit by the muddied ground as they continued to
press forward deeper into the plains. They grabbed any soldier near enough to
them and rent them in twain. The elves had been unable to stop or even kill one
of the wolves before the bears came to the rescue. As the bears rumbled down
the gauntlet toward the wolves, the elven foot soldiers retreated to higher
ground outside the path of the rampaging bears. The gigantic beasts roared as
they neared the wolves that, for the first time, looked frightened. As they neared
each other, it was hard for the elves in the towers to not take notice of how
the bears looked like a massive tidal wave that was threatening a much smaller
wall. The clash between the two titans erupted like a volcano. The ground shook
tremendously as they collided. The giants also went unnoticed as they sent
deadly projectiles flying through the air.

The
bears swiftly killed several wolves and their riders as though they were
nothing more than an annoying sapling. Blood soaked the ground as the violence
escalated to the point of absolute pandemonium. While the battle for South Gate
raged on, the northern cliffs and North Gate were under siege as well. The
defenses held while both sides fought with such power and strength the likes of
which had not been seen in the land of Tuwa for many millennia. Lake Lachlan
became engulfed in an unnatural mist as the soldiers of Aran waited for
something to happen. In the west, Mistress Kana unleashed her substantial
powers on the defenses along the western cliffs. Her dragon sent fire lancing
out in all directions as they tried to disrupt and weaken the defenses. The
rain put out the fires started by the dragon and Kana’s magic. After an hour of
unleashing hell on the army of Aran, she left the fray heading in a northerly
direction. The war of the races had begun, and no one would be safe from its
wrath for very long.

General
Yukio and his army had gone undetected by the enemy’s spies as they prepared
for battle. They had been given horses by King Leroy so that his soldiers could
ride as cavalry in the north. The horsemen of Landen would take on the much
larger orc armies in the south, so Yukio was left to help the giants defend
against the wicked high elves. The general’s army had been reduced to just
twenty-five thousand strong, but this did not faze him or his men. They were
determined to repay the vile and wretched witch and her accursed high elves.
They were encamped by the northeastern shore of Lake Lachlan as they awaited
the signal from General Lang and Lord Marcello to ride out. The giants had
consolidated their forces in the north so that their army was unified along the
northern cliffs and the North Gate.

The
giant army had about seventy thousand soldiers in the north, so they were much
stronger in numbers and strength than the high elven army. The other half of
their army was spread out along the other borders of Landen. The disadvantage
was that they only had one real magic wielder among them, and the men of Nairi
had General Yukio and his abilities. The high elves knew this and thought that
this gave them an advantage. They should have realized that almost all magic
would be useless against the massive brutes, but they were learning that lesson
the hard way as they giants and high elves exchanged blows. General Yukio was
dressed up in his kingly attire that he had been given by the high elves when
he married Queen Kira. The memory of his murdered wife made his blood boil. His
ability to restrain himself from joining the hot battle was waning as he sat
there brooding on his valiant steed.

“Lord
Marcello, is it time yet?” yelled the general impatiently.

The
massive wizard nodded slowly to the general’s question and set his heart racing
at the thrill of joining the battle. Yukio made sure he had his sword ready
along with a javelin. He then checked his armor for any looseness, as well as his
horse’s armor. Once he was reassured that he was completely ready to go, he
looked back at his men who had been following his example. A loud booming sound
shook the heavens above as lightning lit up the dark sky. Then as the general
motioned his troops forward, the rains came down in blinding sheets. The armor
made tinkling noises as the heavy downpour pounded them as they began to trot
toward the North Gate.

As
they reached the gate, General Yukio bellowed, “Charge!”

The
horses plowed into the high elven foot soldiers and knocked them over like they
were nothing more than blades of grass. The high elves retaliated quickly with
their archers who were stationed on a little knoll two hundred feet away from
North Gate. Their first barrage of arrows killed several dozen riders and horses
alike. This enraged the general so much that he began to glow an eerie red
color as though he were about to explode. Then, without warning or any
foreknowledge on any of his soldiers’ part, their general sent a massive red
shock wave toward the archers on the knoll. The wave knocked over everyone and
everything in its path. As the magical blast reached the high elven archers,
there was little they could do to avoid it. They were thrown bodily from their
perch.

Reaching
down, the general grabbed one of the high elves by the scruff of his neck and
pulled him upright while he remained on top of his horse. His right hand that
had a hold of the soldier’s neck burned bright red as he gripped the poor
fellow. With strength surpassing anything that his men had seen him display, he
ripped the high elf’s head from his body. Blood gushed from the instant corpse
as the general raised the head into the air. Even his troops were shocked
momentarily by the carnage of their leader. They knew that he would do anything
to lead them to victory, but they had not seen this side of him before. They
also had no idea that he could do magic.

General
Yukio let some of the blood pool in his left hand and then smeared it across
his forehead and then on his cheeks. In a loud voice he said, “Let the blood of
my foes run like the rivers until at last we are avenged!  Remember Queen
Daria!  Repay those fiends who wronged us!”  His right hand ignited the dead
soldier’s head into a magical red ball of fire. He then thrust it at the high
elves that were just getting back to their feet after being knocked over by the
shock wave. The burning head burst into flames as it hit one of the high elves
in the chest. The flames spread from one person to another like it was poisonous
cloud. Above the sounds of battle, and the pounding rain, the mad cackling
emanating from General Yukio could be heard. He had a maddened look in his red
eyes as he urged his steed forward. His soldiers followed his lead in every
way. They did not hold back as they battled on and many tried to match the
intensity their general was displaying.

General
Lang watched the crazed General Yukio as he ruthlessly slaughtered the high
elves without trepidation. He had not known that the general had magical
abilities let alone such powerful ones. He was a little concerned by the
display of blood lust, but he merely attributed that to the battles he had
fought for his wife and queen who were both dead.
I certainly am glad that
he is on our side. Who knows what he will do next. As long as it is against our
common enemy, I do not care.
Lord Marcello walked up to the general with a
purposeful look in his eyes. He leaned close to Lang’s ear so that no one else
would be able to overhear them.

“I
worry that this heightened display of merciless aggression by our friend Yukio
will inspire some of our warriors to follow suit,” whispered the massive
wizard.

“I
share your concern, but we may need that kind of aggressive behavior before
this war is over. For now, however, I do concur that we should discourage our
soldiers from following in our friend’s footsteps,” replied the general wisely.

The
giant wizard nodded his approval and went back to the front of the battle. As
he reached the edge of the cliff, he noticed that the high elves were
completely distracted by the new magical attacker. Yukio was shooting red fire
every which direction and continuing to rip peoples’ heads off and then using
them as fire balls.
This is not how a war should be fought. However, I must
do what I can to make the most of the attention that the mad general is drawing
to himself.

Lord
Marcello raised his staff high into the air and muttered a spell under his
breath as he pointed his war staff at the bulk of the high elven magicians.
Purple lightning struck repeatedly into the mass of magic wielders. Several
were burnt alive before they could summon counter measures. They did not
possess the strength of the giant and could not attack in such a grand fashion,
but that did not stop them from trying. They immediately made a mad dash toward
the fray where General Yukio was engaging the high elves who were trying to
break through the North Gate. Marcello did not continue his attack for fear of
killing his allies. He returned his attention to the high elves that were
scaling the cliff walls using magic ropes.

General
Yukio saw the horde of magicians heading his way and immediately turned his
attention to them. Before they were able to throw up sufficient defenses, Yukio
sent another shock wave that knocked everyone flat within a two hundred foot
radius. This gave him the leverage he needed to unleash his fury on the vile
betrayers. He raised his sword high above his head where it was clear that the
blade burned a sickening green color. He chanted some complex spell under his
breath and aimed the blade at the fallen wizards. He then reared back and threw
the blade into their midst. It sunk into one of the high elves backs as he lay
on the ground. Immediately a green flash of light went out from the blade, and
everyone within the blast area of twenty square feet died instantly. Then a
thick green cloud formed over them about ten feet in the air and began to move
about the battlefield. Those who were exposed to the wicked cloud became
violently ill. They did not die, but they were too busy vomiting uncontrollably
to defend themselves.

Yukio’s
men stayed back until the cloud had dissipated, and then they rushed forward to
take down the sick remnants. In a span of thirty minutes, General Yukio and his
men had killed five thousand of Queen Kishi’s soldiers. The high elves only had
thirty-five thousand soldiers left, but the tide of this battle was about to
take a turn in their favor. A massive white wolf came bounding through the
ranks toward Yukio and his men. Atop the gigantic beast sat Queen Kishi with
her staff in her right hand. She had come to join her soldiers on the front
line and to confront her former brother-in-law. Their eyes met briefly, and she
raised her staff into the air. When she lowered it, a blast of cold air shot
out with great force. Several combatants were frozen immediately and then
shattered from the force of the spell. She continued this attack until nearly
two hundred men had fallen. Yukio spurred his steed on to engage the little
witch.

“I
swear by the great creator that you will die by my hand, you vicious wench!”
blasted Yukio when he was within earshot of Queen Kishi.

She
raised her staff again to cast a particularly nasty spell at Yukio, but he beat
her to the punch. He placed his left palm facing up while his right palm was
vertical and met his other hand in a right angle. He made a pushing motion with
his arms, and the queen was sent flying through the air. She landed several
paces away with a sickening
thud
!  The only problem with the spell was
that it did not take her giant wolf as well.

Growling,
the white wolf known as Rolon charged the general so quickly that his horse could
not move out of the way. The giant beast wrapped its mouth around the front
legs of Yukio’s steed and ripped them from its body. The poor beast neighed so
loudly that many of those fighting around them stopped to watch the
confrontation. The general was thrown bodily from his horse and landed on top
of several dead high elven magicians. He got up as quickly as he could to only
see the limp form of his brave stallion in the massive maw of the now-bloodied
white wolf.

He
charged the beast as the horse was bitten in two and thrown clear so that Rolon
could defend himself against an even more enraged Yukio. As he ran toward the
bloodied beast, he wrenched his sword from the back of the dead soldier and
charged down the giant wolf. As nimbly as an agile cat, the wolf jumped over
the charging general and kicked him in the back as he landed. Yukio was smashed
into the ground, and his sword fell by his side as pain seared through his
body. Rolon bounded off in the direction of where Kishi had landed. Yukio lay
there in the mud mixed with blood, racked with unbelievable pain.

“General
Yukio, can you hear me?” There was a familiar voice in his ear.

“Who
are you?” asked the general into the muddied ground.

“You
are not safe here; you have been injured. Let me take you back to North Gate so
that you can have your wound looked at,” pleaded the all-too-familiar voice.

“Aiden,
is that you?” asked Yukio dumbly.

“Yes,
old friend, it is. You are safe now,” replied Master Aiden calmly.

“Where
is my sword?  How am I hurt?” asked the general stubbornly.

“You
sword is on your right; your right shoulder and arm appear to be broken in
several places.”

General
Yukio mustered up as much strength as humanly possible and pushed himself
upright with his left arm. He then stood up and bent down to pick up his sword
with his left hand. He looked down at his damaged arm and muttered a healing
spell that seemed to fix the broken bones, but there was muscle damage that did
not heal. He winced from the torn muscle in his shoulder and motioned for Aiden
to help him. The master swordsman came to his aid by fashioning a sling out of
some cloth torn from a dead soldier’s raiment. Yukio nodded his thanks to his
friend and then hefted the sword in his left hand.

“It
has been years since I fought left handed. I hope I still remember how.”

He
then yelled a Nairian battle cry and went charging back into the battle. Aiden
was right behind him as they engaged the unsuspecting high elves, who had
thought the general was dead or severely injured. They immediately ran into
General Jaali, who was killing riders and horses without hesitation. The high
elven general had never liked Yukio and could somehow sense his presence. He
whirled about and engaged Yukio and Aiden with his sword. Sparks flew as blades
clashed in spectacular displays of swordsmanship. Master Aiden was clearly far
superior to the other two, but General Jaali was quickly joined by a handful of
other swordsmen. Aiden took on the new comers and left the two generals to duke
it out.

General
Yukio was much better than he had remembered with his left hand and was able to
hold his own. This gave him the opportunity to penetrate Jaali’s mind while he
was focused on their duel. His mental defenses were weak, and Yukio was able to
gain access to his mind with very little effort. Once inside his head, he took
control of it. He commanded Jaali to chop his own head off. There was
considerable resistance to this order, but with a fancy twirl of his sword,
General Jaali sliced his own head clean off. The body of Jaali fell to the
ground like a sack of potatoes. General Yukio snatched the head before it hit
the ground and howled in triumph. He let the blood drain onto his armor and
then ignited the fallen general’s head into a blue ball of fire and threw it
into the twelve soldiers that were fighting with Master Aiden. The master
swordsman recognized what was going to happen and leapt to safety behind a pile
of dead soldiers.