Ch 21: The Fog of War

Aeolis was very glad he’d let Olwa talk him into coming with him. Had it not been for the younger Ranger’s precision cover fire, Aeolis wasn’t sure he’d be able to fire at the trebuchet the way he did. Now that the first trebuchet had been taken out, it seemed as if the dark forces were scrambling to try and determine where the shot came from and eliminate the threat.

”Move! Flank right! We need to keep them guessing on our position!”

As Olwa scrambled to his feet and kept firing, Aeolis joined in to help with the suppressing fire as they moved to the right. Once they found another strategic place to stop they once more worked in tandem. As Olwa took up the position of fringing bolts to protect their position, Aeolis once more stepped up from behind, drew a bead on the next trebuchet while pulling back the string and let the arrow fly.

Like before, the arrow burst into flame, grew in size and when it hit the trebuchet, it exploded into a fireball that destroyed the contraption and the crew with it. He quickly ducked down behind the wall and looked over at Olwa with a grin on his face.

”I believe that is evening up the odds right now.”

He peered over the wall and saw the advancing enemy forces once more trying to swarm the threat to the boulder launching machinery and he yelled once more.

”Back to the left, Olwa! The Knights will be able to hold the forces back here.”

They moved like lightning once more as they made their way back tot eh left, going a little further than their original starting place. As they stopped to prepare to fire their next set of damaging bolts, Aeolis took one of Ceri’s enchanted arrows out of his quiver and knocked it. He nodded to Olwa who was waiting for the signal and as soon as Olwa turned and readied to fire, he quickly ducked back behind the cover as several arrows came whizzing by his head.

Aeolis frowned knowing the forces were just waiting for them to stand back up and fire. He looked over at Olwa and spoke over the sounds of the battle.

”Draw their fire once more. I will rise at the same time and clear the immediate area.”

Olwa frowned and glanced at the arrow Aeolis has knocked. Before the younger Ranger could say anything, Aeolis shook his head.

”We will just have to make the remainder count even more.”

As Olwa made like he was going to fire again, Aeolis appeared from the opposite side. As he saw where the arrows were being released from, he pulled his string back and fired the enchanted bolt. The arrow grew in size as it sang towards the dark archers. Before they could scramble out of the destructive path, the arrow landed and exploded taking a good number of the archers with it.

He looked over at Olwa and saw a thin red line on the younger ranger’s cheek knowing one of the dark bolts came very close to striking him with a deadly blow

”That was a bit too close for comfort.”

He gave Olwa the remaining three bolts and nodded when Olwas gave him a puzzling look.

”I said we would have to make the remainder count, did I not?”

Olwa and Aeolis were moving as one on the battlefield, their precision and training was obvious and as they took out the second trebuchet and moved to their new location he had some doubts but did as Aeolis instructed. He stood and fired, renocked and fired again. He heard the whistle of the incoming arrow and instinctively moved to his left, the arrowhead just grazed his cheek and deflected off his pauldrons before sinking into the ground behind him. He lifted himself back up and fired, catching the Archer who had shot at him in the right eye, felling him immediately.

As the arrow Aeolis fired exploded and the Archer line scattered he was wide eyed as Aeolis handed him the arrows. He looked at him and spoke, "Even better if we fire them together."

Aeolis smiled and nodded his head as Olwa handed him back one of the arrows, "Go to our second position, I will go there," He pointed to a spot just off the point of the trees, it was close to one of the trebuchet positions and gave them a good cross fire opportunity, "You hit the one closest to me, I will hit that one there."

He pointed to a trebuchet that was a good 200 meters from the place he was going to stand, Aeolis looked at him curiously and he spoke, "Trust me."

Aeolis nodded and they split, crossing the battle field in seconds. Aeolis was back to his position before Olwa got to his. As Olwa was dashing across the field two draconian soldiers advanced on him, he withdrew one of his blades and hacked the first creatures head off, it was stone before it hit the ground. As he landed he spun but the second Draconian matched the angle and shouldered Olwa to the ground. He spun and popped back to his feet, bringing his blade up and stabbed deeply into the chest of the draconian just as an arrowhead came through from the other side. He looked up and saw Aeolis from the second position lowering his bow. The creature turned to stone and try as he might Olwa couldn't retrieve his blade. He kicked off and pushed the stone draconian over and continued his run to the trees.

He skid to a halt and felt magic tingling the hairs on the back of his neck. Instantly dropping low he began to look around, attempting to locate the source. He sent Aeolis a missive, ~ "Change of plans Heruamin... something is happening in the trees."~

It was like watching things in slow motion with Olwa. Aeolis saw the draconian advancing and he felt his heart catch in his throat. The first one would be an easy target for the younger Ranger but the second would have time to compensate. Unless he didn’t know he was being targeted.

Aeolis stood and drew a bead on the draconian and fired the bolt just as Olwa’s blade connected. Aeolis felt bad about Olwa losing one of his blades, but it could be replaced. Olwa could not. Lowering his bow then nodding to Olwa, he settled back into position at almost the exact time he felt the prickle of magic.

Something told him this wasn’t Rayann’s doing and with one glance back at the battlements he saw she was engaged in the other direction. Like Olwa, he felt as though it was being centered in the trees, but the only thing in the trees were the Elves. And they weren’t casting to cause this sensation.

A sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach gripped him almost instantly and he felt his mouth suddenly grow dry. Slowly getting to his feet and looking towards the trees, the living defense of his kin, he felt the air being sucked out of his lungs. His voice was barely audible as he whispered to himself, almost oblivious to anything around him. The pull of magic was growing stronger and he knew whatever was happening wasn’t good.

”By the Gods…..no…”

He tried to send a missive to his kin warning them to get out of the trees before whatever was going to happen, happened. But the spell was already being cast and his missive wasn’t fully received, unbeknownst to him.

~GET OUT! FALL BACK TO THE KEEP! HURRY!~

When he didn’t see a massive evacuation from the trees and instead saw volley after volley of arrows coming from them, he realized his message wasn’t being received. Panic overtook him and he started running towards Olwa gesturing wildly for him to run towards Aeolis and not advance towards the trees any further as he yelled over and over to get back.

Despite the ongoing battle the western forests were silent except for the whistling of arrows as the elves struck from their hiding place amongst the trees. Piramay suppressed a chuckle as she looked at the forest around her shaking her head. She knelt down and ran her hand through a pile of ash at her feet. So far it had been the only scout to have had the misfortune of seeing her. With a content sigh she lifted a handful of the ash and cast it into the air as she began whispering the ancient words of magic drawing heavily on the magical flow around her.

A spark of fire ignited in front of her before spreading into a sphere that surrounded her entire body. Her hands weaved an intricate pattern into the air before her as her chanting grew louder with the roar of the flames that surrounded her. The forest around her seemed to groan in protest as if it knew what was coming. A devilish grin began to spread across her face as she chanted her spell. It was exhilarating to wield this much power even with her seals in place still.

A feint whistling noise reached her ears before sparks erupted from the sphere that protected her. The elves knew that she was there and that meant that a number of them would be converging upon her position. More sparks flew as arrows struck the barrier and the mage of flame only shook her head as she drew her hands together and as she did the barrier shrank in around her body before a wave of flame shot out 300 feet in every direction with explosive force. Trees were uprooted and the elves that had come near were now set on fire. However that was only the star of the show as she quickly spread her will over the fire.

Within moments there was a greater pull of power as Piramay held up her hands before her. All the fire around her was pulled towards the palms of her outstretched hands and gathered into a small spark of fire. The spark flickered and the forest fell silent moments before a massive cone of flame erupted from Piramay's hand witht he same explosive force as the sphere before. However the the come was aimed in the direction of the forest line facing Heartlund. There was enough force that the flames would be seems rolling out of the forest for several feet and her laughter would float on the winds.

Fifth grinned with delight and spoke to Kali's mind, "Feel it Kali, the time of the Three Towers!"

She knew exactly what he was saying, the air began to buzz with power as Piramay drew the magic of the towers to her and then set her first spell. The fireball that erupted from the forest sent dirt, trees and rock in every direction. Bodies flew through the air and caught fire from the massive heat and then hit the ground hundreds of feet away on the open battle field, burned to a crisp and smoldering. The whole battlefield took pause as they looked to the west. The second cone of fire erupted from the trees and Fifth raised his hand and spread it across the landscape in a wide arch. All along the ground small purple orbs appeared and popped open, glowing wildly and causing fear to anyone that was within ten feet of them. As the bodies began to fall from the flame and the heat the orbs flickered and the screams of the dying were echoed in that of their vaporized souls. Fifth spoke to Kali and Piramay through their unique mind speak, "It begins!"

Kali and Fifth appeared in their places on the field and the sky above the towers began to darken deeply as purple and green light erupted from Fifth's tower. Flames exploded from the top of the tower of flame and fire mixed with the purple and green mist spiraled and exploded from Kali's tower. Kali grit her teeth as the magic flowed through her and she spun to her right, six draconians immediately moved on her and all six felt nothing as their bodies were split in half by her spell. They crumpled to the ground in heaps of stone and she turned again, looking towards the city wall.

Fifth moved like a smoke and every direction his hands went something died. The soul wells buzzed and sucked the souls from the dying as he made his way up the middle of the field and towards the main line of battle emplacements. Three of the Mountain Trolls saw him and sensing the danger turned and ran towards him at the same time. He stopped and hissed words of venomous magic that came off his tongue like poison before he threw his staff in their direction. It split into three pieces and tore through the bodies of the Trolls as if they weren't even there. Grey and green matter burst from behind them and melted the bodies of anyone it splashed on, the corpses of the Trolls spreading out like liquid and killed all the vegetation beneath it instantly. His staff came back to his hand and he moved again. One flick of his hand and three trebuchet instantly were surrounded by shadow orbs that collapsed in on themselves and left nothing left to even identify, it was as if the siege machines simply vanished from existence.

He moved to the main road and a small group from the army of Heartlandic soldiers came at him, with one wave of his hand their bodies exploded and hit the ground in gruesome pieces, he reached over and removed some powdery reagents from within his robes and threw them into the air, the bodies of the mangled soldiers, plus some of those from Piramay's blast suddenly moved and twitched as they found whatever flesh they could and reanimated themselves into grotesque creatures. Their eyes glowed purple and they attacked anything that they saw. With their bites venom was unleashed and the began to reproduce quickly, reanimating the bodies of the fallen.

Kali moved towards the eastern wall with speed that was unmatched by the elves as she used the current of magic to carry her swiftly across the grass. She moved behind one of the emplacements and two Knights who were also behind it turned and drew swords. Knowing that Fifth and Piramay couldn't see her from this vantage point she threw sand and hissed words of magic, both men fell over in a magical sleep. She motioned towards the closest soul well and it pulsed and screamed as if souls had been harvested and she turned to move again. Three Elven Archers on the wall loosed arrows and she evaporated to smoke, spinning like a small, horizontal tornado and her hand rematerialized as she caught the arrows. With a word of magic they turned to fire and she slung them back at the Archers. With the spell she hissed a second spell that went a split second before the first. Her abilities as a red robe gave her special insight into illusion spells and she wove the magic with that of the towers magic into a perfect harmony. The arrows that flew appeared to hit the Elves and cause them to explode, but in reality the three were transported to the town center. Their eyes went wide when they found themselves standing several hundred feet from where they had been without any kind of injury. Again Kali flicked a finger and the soul well at the base of the wall screamed in Elven and shot purple light into the air, acting as if the souls of the three elves had been harvested.

She made her way to the wall and a variety of troops rushed at her, she created a large circle in the air and released reagents into a wide arc, the magical powder instantly flashed into black smoke that engulfed the area. The soul wells screamed from within the smoke and bright purple lights exploded from within. All the soldiers slumped over as if dead, victims of her sleep spell.

She emerged from the black, sooty smoke and she could see Fifth grinning at her, he spoke to her mind, "Good Kali, the soul wells are getting filled faster than we expected, this is good. Move around towards the warding and cover the topmost roadside hill, find the commander and kill him, he's a Draconian named Nidhug, you won't be able to miss him when you see him."

She nodded and vanished just as several arrows passed through the air where her chest would have been.



Olwa was distracted, but thought he could faintly hear Aeolis, he turned and began to make his way closer to the treeline when he heard and felt the explosion in the forest behind him. He hit the ground hard, his face smashing into the soft mud. Coughing he looked up to see trees, burning Elven bodies, rocks and earth all flying through the air. He got to his feet and dashed for a small ridge of rock and just as he hit the ground behind and under it the fireball exploded over his head. Even from under and behind the heat was so intense his skin turned red as if sunburned and he screamed in pain.

The fire subsided and bodies fell from the sky like rain. He scrambled on his hands and knees out from under the rock and got to his feet, looking around. The appearance of the two wizards gave him pause and he looked for Aeolis. He saw him off from the second position they had established and fighting several of the Dark Queen's troops at once. He was moving with furious speed and holding his own. Olwa let loose an one arrow that met the side of the head of a human in black leather. He slumped sideways and hit a fellow soldier that was beside him and knocked him off balance enough that Aeolis removed the mans head from his body in one clean swipe. Olwa loosed a second arrow that hit an advancing Draconian square in the chest and he slumped over, exploding as he hit the ground.

He began to move towards Aeolis when the bald, silver eyed mage appeared about one hundred yards from him and started reanimating the dead soldiers around him. Olwa could feel the darkness of this magic and grit his teeth in anger, "Very well wizard, two can play this way!"

He nocked one of the arrows that Ceridwyn had enchanted and drew back, sighting down the shaft he loosed the arrow towards Fifth. It flew straight and true, heading right for the wizard's head. Fifth didn't even turn around as he flicked his arm to deflect the arrow. What Fifth didn't know was that the arrow was enchanted and when his magic hit it the arrow exploded and threw him down into the ground with so much force he bashed his face and broke his nose. He spit into the dirt and stood, turning to look at Olwa. The young Ranger was drawing and loosed a second arrow by the time Fifth was on his feet and Fifth was more prepared this time. He pointed to the arrow and whirled his finger as if stirring a drink, the arrow flicked around and shot right back at Olwa. His reflexes caused him to jump but the arrow caught him right in the middle of the thigh and he screamed in pain as his landing on the wounded limb caused him to collapse upon himself. He grasped for his bow and began to remove an arrow from his quiver when Fifth smirked and appeared about ten feet away from him.

Fifth began walking towards Olwa when Kali appeared where he had told her, which was only a few feet from where Olwa laid. She looked at the young Elf and recognized him immediately, as he did her and she turned to look at Fifth, "I will handle this one."

Fifth grinned a sinister smile and looked at the Ranger, "Know that today you died by one of your own kin boy." He looked at Kali and disappeared, reappearing where he had originally been so to keep the plan moving forward. Olwa reached for his dagger and Kali stepped on his hand. He looked up at her, his eyes pleading and she spoke, "The battle is over for you."

With a wave of her hand an illusionary spell was cast that made it looked like Olwa had been ignited into flame, the body writhed and screamed as if it was Olwa himself and the closest soul well echoed the sounds as if his soul was harvested.

Kali looked up as she heard Aeolis scream at her. She narrowed her eyes and looked across the field as she saw Aeolis advancing on her, his face filled with rage.

Rose's attention shifted to the west when the first explosion went off and moments later she watched the cone of flame roll out of the forests. Moments later she watched in horror as Kali and Fifth appeared on the field and began laying waste to anyone and anything in sight. The mages had planned their entrance into the battle carefully to maximize the carnage that much was obvious. She growled under her breath and signaled over a couple of her runners."Spread the order to fall back to the keep. All forces are to disengage immediately.... do not try to fight the mages only defend as necessary."

"By the gods there is nothing we can do against such whole sale slaughter..." She spun on her heel and descended from the battlements.




Myth and his sister had been moving like wraiths amongst the enemy troops. The helmet Myth was wearing hid his face completely and was constructed in a manner that made his red mane look like a decorative plum that was part of the helms design. They spent their morning scouting out enemy positions listening in on various conversations and helping out with the odd task. They were mobilizing for the big push. Myth had already signaled to Cela they needed to make a hasty retreat when all eyes shifted to the west. The masters had decided to leave their towers and were descending upon the battlefield. With a sense of urgency he met up with Cela "Get to the keep... tell Rayann I am fine. Everything we have learned this morning is being rendered useless."

Cela shot Myth an indignant look "I am not leaving my brother here on the field of battle alone Myth'alas. Besides if you even think of taking on any one of those mages alone Rayann will skin your hide brother. Need I also remind you that you are the elven crown prince and as such the face of our people here in this battle. You can not afford to go off on a fools mission."

Myth let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head. He did not agree with her in the slightest but at the same time she was right. Fifth and Piramay had taken to the field and he had no back up to even think of defending himself other than his blade. "Let us return with haste then Cela.... we'll have to make a wide arc to avoid Fifth..."

Myth looked around seeing no one he removed his helmet and handed it to Cela. "Hols onto that... If I carry you we can get back to the keep much faster." He held up his hand shaking his finger "Don't even try to argue... you couldn't beat me in a foot race even on your best day with enchanted boots." The even girl wrinkled her nose at him before she nodded touching her necklace activating her human guise once more. Myth shook his head and held out his arm. Moments later they weer racing across the field of battle.

Aeolis was hacking, chopping, slicing, and pushing his way towards Olwa. He had to reach the boy before it was too late. His heart was already shattered as he saw the death his fellow kin suffered at the hands of the fire bitch. His eyes and throat burned from the heat and ash that filled the air. He was certain he would have vomited from the stench of the burbig flesh that filled the air if he wasn’t trying like hell to reach Olwa.

As the young one started aiding in his fight, Aeolis was certain he would reach Olwa in time but then he saw Olwa turn his attention on Fifth. Aeolis yelled at Olwa to stop and not engage the mage but there was too much chaos happening and Olwa couldn’t hear him.

He watched as the arrow headed for the mage almost certain it would impact Fifth’s skull when he saw the mage flick his arm and th4e arrow exploded. When the arrow exploded, Aeolis quickly started heading for Olwa again but more of the dark forces engaged him.

Fighting off the forces like a crazed, possessed mad man, especially when he began fighting the reanimated dead. Madness. It was all sheer madness. There was no way they were going to win this war fighting against undead soldiers. And with the way the Elves and Knights were being plucked off, there was going to be quite an abundance of dead to use.

When he saw Kali appear before Olwa and Fifth leave, his heart dropped again. He could see Olwa struggling to get to his dagger only to have Kali prevent him from doing so. He watched everything unfold before his eyes as though he were watching it from outside his body. As Olwa’s ‘body’ denigrated into flame and he heard the young Ranger’s screams, Aeolis screamed as well.

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

He started charging and cutting down anything that was in his way as he made his way towards Kali. He was a few feet from her when he raised his blade to give her a killing blow and she was just standing there like she was waiting for him when he suddenly disappeared.





A flutter of red from the battlements drew Kali’s attention and she would see her mother looking at her from across the distance. For the longest time Rayann seemed to just stare at her before Rayann chanted a spell and withdrew a bag of regents from her robes. Emptying part of the contents into her hand, she finished chanting the spell then threw the fine powder into the air.

A wind current picked up and seemed to suck the powder into the sky. Storm clouds began to form over the burning trees and a drenching rain began to fall from the sky. Rayann may not be able to fight Kali and the other mages one on one right now due to her own exhaustion, but she cold at least try to extinguish the devastating fire that was decimating the trees and everything in it.



Back in the Keep near the portal used to transport the Elves, Aeolis suddenly appeared nd finished his death blow hitting nothing but air and stumbling forward and falling. He quickly got to his feet as he realized what happened and he looked around dazed and confused fr a few seconds before he dropped to his knees and raised his face to the heavens and screamed in anguish.

He had failed. Olwa was dead. His fellow Rangers were dead and dying. He had failed to bring justice to the Silvanesti.

When her laughter subsided Piramay let forth a content sigh as she began to walk towards the devastated tree line. The air around her shimmered from the heat the radiated from the destruction. The sounds of the dying was music to her ears and she lost herself for a moment until sparks flared to life around her as arrows erupted from the trees. Her amusement faded as the projectiles turned to ash inches from their intended target.

She took note of the directions that the arrows were coming from as her hands withdrew into her robes. Emerging once more with reagents rolled into balls between the fingers of each of her hands. The words of magic flowed from her lips as she flung each hand towards either side of her cone of devastation. The reagents glowed bright red before they were caught up by an invisible hand and hurdled into the already burning forest detonating in a series of explosions to either side of Piramay as she stepped onto the actual battlefield. Her eyes were focused in the direction of Fifth and Kali but for the moment they were obscured by several minotaur and trolls who had turned in her direction.

With a smirk she reached into her robes once more as the clouds darkened and rain poured from the sky onto her beautiful fire. With a growl Piramay reached out with her will across the flames and pulled the flames to her. Her eyes fell upon the western battlements as the fire gathered into a great ball in her hands. As the flames gathered the beasts that lumbered towards grew hesitant and questioned the intelligence of continuing forward. The rain continued to fall and between that and Piramay's own efforts the fires on the western front had died out with the exception of the white ball in Piramay's hand.

Rose had come to the western battlements to see what was going on and she could trace Piramay's gaze to the western walls as the flames began to gather. She looked up knowing that Rayann had called the rain and began bellowing orders to withdraw from the wall immediately as she made her way up to Rayann's position to move her. While she was certain Rayann knew what Piramay intended she worried the about the woman's ability to move given the rigorous battle. As Rayann came into sight Rose called for her "Rayann we have to move and move now..."

It would took Piramay a good sixty seconds to complete her drawing of the flames but her eyes were clearly set upon the western battlements of Heartlund Keep. The flame in her hand glowed brilliantly as she stood there rain falling all around her. She remained dry as the water turned to steam as it fell upon her being. She stood there contemplating the best possible course of action as the seam rose from her body. Her hand lifted as she pointed to the walls. Her voice was like thunder across the field as she spoke. "I shall do in one moment what the dark army could not do in a day..."

She brought the ball of fie up and clasped it on either side with both hands. Her arms extended and her fingers spread wide as she brought her hands back till her thumbs and index fingers met. A great smile spread across her face as her voice rang out once more this time in clear draconic "bekilip ini ixen" (roughly destruction by flame). The flame swirled drawing in on itself before an fire erupted around her ten feet in every direction as part of a magical backlash when a cone of flame erupted from her spread hands. Unlike the blast used in the forest that had a wide mouth this blast was more narrowly focused.

Saul had been in the thick of the battle, firing his bow at the enemy. When the two Mages appeared his heart faltered a moment., then his anger grew. He turned and hurried across the field in search of Commander Rose. It was then he heard her command to fall back. He quickly was at the Commander's side as the moved back towards the keep. "Commander, I have an idea." Saul said as they fought their way back. "I will need a small amount of Knights and Archers, the best you can spare. I think I have found a way to get behind the enemy and attack them from their unprotected rear. ....... If nothing else it will provide a needed diversion." Saul continued his fighting retreat and awaited the Commander's response.

Kali simply watched Aeolis as he charged, knowing where the magical portals by having observed them put in place she simply allowed him to pass through it and disappear. To fool Piramay and Fifth however she brought her hands up and cast a spell just as he disappeared, making it look like she vaporized him from existence, the soul well beside her buzzed with a scream and she turned to look. Fifth was engaged in battle, commanding the roughly 70 undead creatures his spell had created.

She caught a movement of bright red on the battlements and saw her mother cast the spell that unlocked the rain above. She looked up as the rain started falling and felt her mother's eyes on her. She spun and evaporated in a smokey cloud, reappearing near Fifth. He turned and looked at her, his silver eyes reflecting her back on herself, "Go kill Nidhug, we need to disrupt the leadership of the Dark Ladies army."

Kali looked at him and shook her head, "We have a bigger problem to deal with."

Kali pointed and Fifth followed her gaze, Piramay had emerged from the treeline and was gathering the fire to herself, the air was static with magic and Kali spoke, "I told you she was a risk, if she unleashes whatever she is gathering the whole of both armies might see an opportunity and rush us at once. She is going to spend herself too quickly."

Fifth turned and looked at Kali, "Then we all go full and retreat to the towers."

As Fifth turned back to the wall he hissed at Kali, "Go kill Nidhug!"

Kali furrowed her brows and spoke, "Know that she will kill you in the end, you are nothing but a stepping stool!"

He glanced sideways at her as she evaporated in a flame filled cloud and reappeared well behind the enemy lines. Fifth began to weave his own magic, waiting and watching Piramay. At the instant she cast her spell he cast one of his own, the magic of shadow wrapped itself around her cone of fire and the two spells hit the outer wall of the city. A hole 40 feet in diameter exploded the stone and mortar hitting with so much impact that chunks of the shattered wall landed outside the eastern wall in the field between the wall and the towers warding. Fifth turned and looked at Piramay with smirk, the soul wells within range of the explosion hummed and buzzed with the screams of the dying, dozens of souls being harvested simultaneously.

His spell was special however and the shadow that had been woven around the fire now began to creep slowly like a goo. Everything the shadow touched and crept over withered and died, leaving a sticky purple residue behind. Fifth pointed and the 70 undead soldiers advanced towards the hole in the wall. He turned and looked at Piramay with an evil grin, "Keep it up little Phoenix, fill the soul wells and let's retreat to the towers. We are here to accomplish our goals, not wipe them completely from the landscape."

She would know that he had no problem with exterminating as many as possible, but there were literally tens of thousands of soldiers in the area due to the sizes of both armies. It was literally impossible to kill them all without seriously damaging themselves. The plan had been to kill as many as possible and fill the soul
wells.

Kali appeared and whirled as two Draconian guards in fancier armor than she had seen on the battlefield looked up with surprise at her appearance. They drew weapons and charged only to find their own armor beginning to collapse in on itself, squeezing the air from them in the process. They collapsed on the ground, clutching at the snapping bones in their chests. Kali stepped over their writhing bodies and moved towards where they knew Nidhug had set up his command post. She could feel magic in the air and she hastened her pace. Knowing that Nidhug was a powerful wizard of the Dark Lady Kali was suspicious that he had something up his sleeve if things started to go wrong, but as of yet there was nothing but the feeling of magic in the air.



She sprinted up to the top of a small rise and looked across the draw. Nidhug had a rocky high point that was easily defensible from all sides. Several dozen guards stood watch and the tingle of magic was thick in the air. She could see him performing an incantation and working the magic around him. Knowing all she had to do was interrupt him to stop it she hissed words of magic and thrust her hand forward, a bolt of lightening shot out from her fingers, crackling through the air with a thunderous explosion as it collided with the protective that had been placed around the top of the rocks. The lightening deflected and seared through the chest of a Draconian guard, his body exploded and sprayed blood and bile in all directions. Immediately the other guards gathered into formation and rushed her. Based on the distance she knew she had roughly 25 seconds before they were on top of her.

Reaching into her robes she withdrew a copper coin and flicked it into the air, hissing words of magic the coin illuminated and fired towards Nidhug, hitting the warding and illuminating it with a glow, the area where the coin hit began to eat away as the magic of the rift literally began to eat away at the arcane magic Nidhug was using. She looked down, the Draconians were nearly on top of her and she grit her teeth as she disappeared, reappearing on the slopped portion of the rise. She was now at a 90 degree from where the hole in the warding was and she would need to wait to fire her spell, or shift back when the Draconians turned to advance on her again. They did, almost in perfect unison, clearly these were crack troops and bent on protecting their leader. She turned as she heard something to her left, a second squad of Draconians, four in all were moving at her. She swiped her staff in an arc and pulled the magic from the towers through her body, the path of the arc drew a line of white hot fire that exploded and engulfed all four Draconians, they screamed and hissed as they died. Turning back to the advancing guard she hissed words of magic and thrust her hand forward, a blast of energy like a woven purple mist shot from her hand, spreading across the dirt and flipped the whole lot of them into the air. They crashed down on top of themselves only to feel the blast flip direction and land on top of them with the force of a massive tidal wave. The whole contingency was crushed instantly under the nearly invisible force.

She could feel the magic in the air intensifying and she turned just in time to see Nidhug thrust his hands upwards, the sky opened as if unbuttoned and two dozen dragons of the Dark Lady poured through and scattered out in all directions, their dragon fear scattering anything that was beneath them and their breath weapons exploding almost the instant they came out of the portal in the sky.

"By the gods...," Kali whispered as she looked up and then back to Nidhug. His eyes now met hers and he smiled a sinister grin as the hole in the warding slowly grew and exposed him to her. "It's over mage of the towers, now the might of the Dark Lady will be seen by all."

Kali grit her teeth in anger and pushed her hands forward, a blast of fire and shadow smashed into Nidhug and he was blown off the rocks, tumbling through the air as he came off the cliff that faced the towers. His wings burst open and he righted himself and glided gently to the ground. Clearly he had another enchantment that surrounded him, he was hardly injured as he limped into a draw and disappeared from sight in a dense thicket of trees. Kali looked up, the sensation of her spell had caught the attention of a red dragon who had tipped her wing and was diving on Kali. Kali immediately used the power of the towers and cast a fear ward around herself powerful enough to resist the dragon fear. This was a tremendous advantage to her and would not have been possible if not for the magic of the towers. The red dragon roared and unleashed a massive streak of fire from her mouth, the ground beneath her erupted in molten rock and dirt as the line of devastation quickly closed in on Kali. Kali lept into the air and instantly her body turned to shadow and exploded outwards dissipating into a thin veil that suddenly reconvened and she reappeared on the rocks. The dragon tipped her wing again and lifted upwards to come around for another pass, her sinister yellow eye on Kali the whole time.

As the dragon whipped herself around her mouth opened and the spark behind the bottom teeth illuminated as the throat glands opened and Kali saw the beast about to fire. She hissed words of magic and pressed the powerful magic of the towers through her body, a much smaller, much more intense push of inertia thrust forth from her hand just as the red exhaled the molten liquid and pushed it back into her mouth, the momentum of the muscles contracted and her eyes went wide with rage as her throat was exposed to the napalm and the unprotected skin of her esophagus melted almost instantly, penetrating the exterior of the sack that contained the unignited liquid and instantly ruptured the skin. Her neck exploded just above the front legs and her head flailed and wobbled as it sailed over Kali's head, the body crashing to the ground just in front of her. She inhaled deeply, defiance and anger in her eyes.

The other dragons, aware of the loss of their kin went into a rage, and several peeled off to track down the killer.

Rayann watched Piramay as the fire mage walked around her destructive trophy. As the rain began to extinguish the flames Piramay had created, she saw the mage turn and look up at her. As she watched what Piramay was doing, she knew she had just become the target for the fire mage’s next spell. And with that, she had jeopardized Heartlund Keep in the process.

As Piramay began to create her next spell, Rayann heard Commander Fairwind behind her and she turned to glance at the woman. Rayann could see the Commander had fought just as hard as her Knights and she could see the desperation in her eyes. They had fought so hard and so long just to see their efforts snuffed out within a few moments.

Rayann was beyond exhausted now. Her body was screaming for rest but she had to try to protect Heartlund from complete destruction. But there was no way she could face Piramay alone. She was too weak and Piramay had the power of the towers to aid her.

She looked out at Piramay then back to Rose. The dark circles that surrounded her eyes made it look like twin lavender orbs were some strange light at the end of a dark tunnel. She had turned and made her way off the battlements with Rose and was just running across the grounds within the walls when a massive explosion occurred behind her sending Rayann, Rose and everyone else sprawling forward to the ground.

Getting to her feet, she looked around a bit dazed for a moment before she turned as she heard the sounds of screams fill her ears. Her eyes grew wide and she sucked in her breath as she saw the shadow and what it was doing followed by the undead soldiers now advancing into the opened hole. Rose was urging her to keep moving and Rayann shook her head.

”Not yet, Commander. Go….get you and your troops as far away from this area as you can. I will try one last thing.”

She saw Rose about to protest but Rayann snapped at her harshly.

”Dammit! Do as I say! Now!”

Rose blinked and slowly backed away from the mage then ordered all the troops to retreat even further back into the keep from the immediate area. As Rose and company departed, Rayann looked at the destructive shadow and started chanting. A sphere of light formed before her and grew the more she chanted. Finally she threw the sphere upwards and forwards at the same time. The sphere launched through the air like a ball of light tossed for play but when it hit in the center of the creeping shadow, the light sphere exploded into a brilliant light that engulfed the shadow in an attempt to stop the shadow from doing any more damage. The blast was also powerful enough to blast the first of the advancing undead and scatter them in all directions.

Rayann felt her knees buckle then and she would have fallen if it hadn’t been for a pair of strong hands quickly grasping her and lifting her up to help her stand. Blinking, she looked and saw Aeolis’ dirt streaked face. He had come to collect Ceridwyn and found a Knight already carrying her sleeping form away from the battlement wall and instructed him where to place her when he started looking for Rayann.





”Come, Princess. We need to vacate now!”

They had just started running when Rayann felt a powerful fear wash over her. All around Knights, Elves and humans began to scream and run around as they too were stricken by the absolute fear that now filled the air. Aeolis stumbled but caught himself as he continued to move towards the Keep. Instinct took over for him as he ran as fast as Rayann’s condition would allow him to. He dared to glance up and saw the unmistakable outline of dragons wings and he shuddered in fear.

”By the Gods…..”

The flight of Silvers and Kellan had risen early, before the first streaks of light turned the sky from inky black to gray. Raju took it upon herself to help Kellan into her battle armor and Kellan was grateful for her assistance. As Raju helped Kellan into her armor, Nol spoke to his flight. Kellan couldn’t hear what was being spoken but she could see by the look on his face and the others it was something to do with the upcoming battle they knew they would have to eventually have.

When her armor was completely done, she looked down at the shiny metal. Adair had given it to her just before they left the Myst Isle. It was far lighter than any armor she’d ever worn and she was certain it was to give her better dexterity as well as not be so tiring for Nol to carry her weight. It practically shimmered in the dull light of approaching dawn but she noticed it was almost the same way Nol’s scales shimmered in the sun.

The full set of armor covered every vulnerable spot on her body and each shoulder/underarm area was set with an slight indentation for the butt of the lance to rest perfectly. She picked up the helmet and studied it. It had the flip down face protector like all Knights wore but there were also a set of small wings just above where her ears rested. A red drape that flowed down her back completed the ensemble but she opted not to wear it this morning and instead, tucked it away.

When she turned, she saw Nol looking at her with a look she hadn’t seen on his face before. It was a combination of peace, sadness and the slightest hint of fear. She stepped up to him, her armor clinking softly as she moved, and placed her hand on his cheek. Her light brown eyes held his silvery gaze for a long moment before she spoke softly to him.

”If not for you, I wouldn’t be alive right now to join this fight. If not for you, I wouldn’t have been able to know dragons still existed. And I wouldn’t have been able to spend time with such magnificent creatures and learn so much about them. If not for you, I would only be a shell of the woman I am today. If not for you, I wouldn’t know what true love was really all about. And I do love you Nol. With every fiber of my being I love you.”

She saw his eyes shimmer and he drew her in close, holding her for a moment before whispering into her ear, those words in his native language she heard him say so many times before but felt the full meaning of them reverberate through her whole being. Her fingers stroked his hair as she held him tighter than she ever had before.

He reluctantly released her and nodded then turned and nodded to the others. It was time. With shimmering lights of sliver the Elven and human forms that stood on the landing took their true, dragon forms and Kellan climbed onto Nol’s back and settled into the saddle. Placing the helmet on her head, she nodded that she was ready and he crouched then leapt into the air followed by the 12 other silver dragons.




The dragons flew in formation for the flight to Heartlund. As they grew closer, Kellan could feel the tension among them growing. As they grew closer to Heartlund, Kellan saw black smoke billowing into the air, even from a far distance away. She felt her heart sink and realized the battle was well underway.

She heard a collective growl from the Silvers and just as she was getting ready to ask what was going on, she saw for herself. Dragons. They dotted the sky as they flew over Heartlund and dove down invoking their destruction on the poor Keep and its occupants. Kellan felt her breath catch in her throat.

”By Paladine….no….”

She heard Nol’s voice in her head telling her to be prepared for battle as soon as they were spotted and Kellan reached down unclasping the Dragonlance from its traveling harness. Settling the butt end of the lance in the crook of her right shoulder area, she leaned forward in the saddle and made herself a part of Nol’s sleek form. She felt the speed of his flight increase almost tenfold As the air whipped past her, she assess the situation quickly and saw there were roughly double the amount of other dragons as there were Silvers. As far as creature to creature ratio, it was a very uneven fight. And Kellan knew as well as anyone the Dark Lady’s subjects never fought a fair fight. So it was a good thing she and the Silver’s had practiced fighting dirty as well. She just hoped they weren't overpowered right from the start by the enemy's dragons.





From the Nortth East, the sky became dotted with another sight. As the mid-morning sun hit the silvery scales of the Silvers, people in the Keep saw the reflection and started pointing skyward. Many of them started screaming and panicking anew as they were certain more dragons were coming to lend a hand to the ones already circling Heartlund.

As the Silvers and Kellan grew closer, they began their attacking descent. As Nol dropped his right wing and began to dive almost vertically, Kellan prepared for the fight of her life. Literally.

The closer they got to Heartlund the longer the gaps of silence became. As the flight came over the horizon line and the smoke could be see Nol sent the word out to the entire flight and Kellan, ~ "Be ready, the war is already raging, and we will be fighting or own." ~

The darting forms of the dragons could be seen as they swooped from the sky and laid waste with their breath weapons, the smoldering burnt ground rose in thick columns of black smoke and the dragons used it as their beacon. Nol brought them high into the air, the other dragons were so focused on laying down their damaging strikes that they weren't paying attention and as Nol's flight dipped they had the advantage of the sun behind them as well as surprise.

Nol felt Kellan lean into him, the coolness of the steel pressed against him let him know she was there and the Dragonlance extended several meters past his his head as he swept his wings back and all twelve dragons dove in perfect unison. The wind whistled so loudly over his body that the noise blotted out the screaming of the soldiers and citizens below. Nol was targeting a very large black dragon who had just made a pass with his acidic breath weapon and was circling to come back into a climb. The distance between them closed with so much speed that Kellan's eyes began to water and blur, but she could see enough that Nol's front and rear legs began to twitch, the roar of his breath weapon exploded like a massive canon and the cone of cold swept over the black and froze the scales solid as Nol's front and back claws tore through the scales. With ferocity like Kellan had never seen Nol kicked with his back leg and one of the mighty black dragon's wings was torn from it's body and sailed to the ground. Kellan thrust and the Dragonlance penetrated so easily it was like puncturing straw. The Dragon lulled it's head back in a death throw and Nol shoved the body downwards. It's one wing like a kite extended open and the beast flipped in a wide spiral before crashing onto the top of the battlement wall that rang along the eastern part of the city.

Kellan thumped him hard on the neck and screamed, "WATCH THE WALL!"

Nol nodded but stayed silent as he whipped his body over and crashed his wings through the air, he felt Kellan's strong legs tighten to compensate for his sharp turn and he pushed them both upwards to gain some altitude. A blue dragon who was circling above had turned his attention to Nol and Kellan and was tipping his wing to come in for a strike. He had seen the death blow from Kellan and was more than aware now that she had a Dragonlance and was tipping his flight path accordingly.



As the dragons dove in Trystan fought the dragon fear as much as he could, but he too was caught between cowering and making dashes as best he could to try and get an angle. Several of the Elven Archers that were stationed along the walls were firing arrows at the dragons which bounced off like balls of parchment hitting stone. He grit his teeth when he was cognitive enough to do so and was doing his best to move people out of the open areas where the dragons were concentrating their attacks.

Suddenly he heard one of the Elves on the wall scream that more dragons were approaching and he spoke aloud as he moved up the stairs to look North, "By the gods... we are finished."

He watched as the V formation of dragons began to dive and screamed, "TAKE COVER!!!" He was moving off to the side and attempting to get into one of the tower emplacements when he heard the roar of cone of cold and saw through one of the arrow slits as a silver dragon tore into one of the large blacks, shreded the beast in an instant and a .... RIDER pierced the dragons heart. The beast was thrown from the air like a rag doll and the whole wall shuddered as the massive body collided with the eastern wall. Trystan ran outside as the dragon fear subsided substantially. The dragons had shifted their focus and were now moving to engage one another, he screamed at the top of his lungs, "HUMA HAS RETURNED TO FIGHT THE DRAGONS!!!"

The Knights and soldiers cheered and a sudden revival of morale filled the area, word spread quickly as the soldiers scattered and reformed their lines and face what was left of the Dark Ladies Army.



With a massive impact Raju hit the ground in the tow square an instantly switched to her Elven form, several soldiers charged her and she spoke a word of magic as she extended her hand, they stopped dead in their tracks and she spoke, "My name is Raju'min Silent'claw, I am a Priestess of Mishikal! If you want my aid, desist. We are here to aid you, not fight you!"

The soldiers were instantly released from their spell and stepped back slightly as she looked them over, her voice was full of authority as she spoke again, "I know there is another Priestess of Mishikal here, take me to here immediately!"

One of the Sargents nodded quickly and yelled, "Follow me!"

They ran along the scorched ground and he brought her into a large area beside the Keep, Raju immediately noticed the medallion of Mishikal in Tanjee's hand and she looked at the soldier as he pointed to the Elfess. Raju walked up to him and touched his arm, "Mishikal be with you." Instantly he was full of a strange encouragement and felt rested simply by her touch, he turned and faced the soldiers that were with him, "LET'S GO MEN!!!" The troops dashed back into the fray and Raju ran over to Tanjee, she could see the exhaustion on the lady elf's face and Raju knelt down beside her, looking at the injured soldier on the ground.

Tanjee's face was streaked with lines where the sweat and tears had ran, all around were the moans of the injured and dying, some already had passed into death. Tanjee looked at Raju and whispered, "I can't save them all..."

Raju smiled softly and touched her hand to Tanjee, instantly she felt strength and the weariness seemed to dissolve. Raju spoke and her words were warm like the sun on your face, "Together we will try!" She stood and helped Tanjee to her feet, the soldier on the ground suddenly opened his eyes and coughed, clutching at the place the wound in his side had been, he crawled backwards slightly and looked up at the two beautiful women..., "What, What happened?" Raju looked at him and spoke, "Later, for now your brethren need you." The man nodded and grabbed whatever weapon he could find and dashed back into the fight.

Raju moved through the group, she laid her medallion and hands on the soldiers all around her, one by one she healed as did Tanjee. Soldiers and Knights began pouring out of the triage area ready to fight on. Raju stood and looked to her left as she brought the medallion of Mishikal up into her hand once more. Seeing the robes of a white wizard she felt a smile creep across her face, "Well, well, what have we here."

She walked over and pushed gently on the shoulder, rolling Ceridwyn onto her back, she giggled as she immediately recognized the Elfess and whispered a prayer. A blue light surrounded Ceridwyn and she suddenyl moved, shielding her eyes and sitting up with a start, she looked over at Raju and whispered, "By the gods..." She reached and drew Raju in, hugging her but breaking off quickly as she saw the dragons doing battle in the air above. "My thanks to you Raju, but I am needed." Raju nodded and without another word Ceridwyn stood and dashed back to the city looking for Aeolis.

As Nol and Kellan climbed, she saw the blue dragon dipping and coming for them. She yelled at Nol at the top of her lungs.

”Company coming in from on high!”

She felt Nol’s muscles ripple as she knew what his next move was going to be. As the blue came in from overhead Nol dipped his left wing at the very last instant allowing the blue to fly by on his right, putting them both belly to belly. The near air collision was so close Kellan could practically feel the blue’s talons rub against her armor. It was a bit closer than they had practiced but she was able to lean so close to Nol’s neck that she was practically nothng more than a scale herself on his body.

Clamping her legs tight again, she felt Nol quickly bank to his right and ascend on the blue who was just starting to recover from the near miss. As the blue raised up to get more altitude, Nol was there and like the black dragon before, Nol’s cone of cold breath weapon froze the blue. As Nol kept flying at the blue on a collision course, Kellan raised up and held the Dragonlance ready. She felt the lance pierce the dragon’s scales as though it were being pressed through soft lard. Using his momentum, Nol flew over the blue and used his own taloned feet to rip into the dead dragon and send it crashing tot eh ground like the other.

Kellan had an idea the rest wouldn’t be that easy now that two of them had been taken down by the lance and she couldn’t have been more correct. From the corner of her eyes she saw movement just in time to see a red dragon coming up on Nol’s right side. The fiery breath weapon was already heading for her and she gasped fully expecting to be roasted alive in her armor but instead Noll made a sudden dip to his right and tucked his wings into his body.

The cone of fire passed over her but she still felt the heat from it and quickly tucked herself into Nol allowing him to dive at breakneck speed. She saw the ground coming quickly and she knew he would have to pull up soon or risk crashing. She dared to look behind her and saw the red dragon directly behind Nol and opening its mouth to let its breath weapon loose once more.

Just as the cone of fire was nipping at Nol’s tale he pulled up so violently Kellan was certain she would have fallen off the back of him had she not know what was coming. The fire struck the ground and fanned out in all directions but the red wasn’t undaunted in its pursuit. At the very last moment it saw what Nol was doing and it had to pull itself up and make a wide sweep in order to regain its bearings and try to gain altitude.

Kellan looked over her shoulder and saw the big male sweeping wide and drawing a bead on her and Nol again. Just then she looked forward and saw a black female headed right for her and Nol. Her eyes grew wide and she tucked the lance into the crook of her shoulder and braced herself.







Tanjee looked at Raju when she arrived and was ready to dissolve into tears when she felt the resurgence of strength. Her weariness disappeared and she felt like she could go on forever now. There was more to this Priestess than what met the eye, but Tanjee didn’t have time to think about it for now.

She had forsaken the traditional helaing and went straight for her Goddess ability when the mages decided to join the fight. When she heard Dragons had arrived as well, she knew she was most likely healing them to send them out to slaughter but she had to do SOMETHING. But now, with another Priestess of Mishakal working with her, perhaps they could heal enough of the wounded to turn the tide.

She glanced at Raju again and knew there was something….ancient…about the woman but she didn’t know exactly what. And right now, Tanjee didn’t really care. All that mattered was getting the soldiers and Elves healed and back out in the fray.





Ceridwyn met Aeolis and Rayann just as they made it into the Keep. He wanted to release Rayann and embrace Ceri and never let her go, but he couldn’t. Rayann needed help right now.

”Mel’amine! It seems as though Nol has joined in the fight. And he has brought some of his friends along as well. I am not sure if it will be enough, but I can tell you this….there is a rider upon his back and he has a Dragonlance. I heard shouts of Huma’s name but I do not know. What I DO know is whoever it is has a rather deadly accuracy with the thing. I pray it is enough to turn this black tide.”

His face turned to almost stone then as he lowered his voice.

”I fear though…..we have lost young Olwa.”

His voice caught in his throat as he tried to compose himself but moisture gathered in his eyes all the same. Swallowing hard a few times, he spoke again in an anguished voice.

”I watched as Kali burned him alive then harvested his soul….”





Rayann gasped then and lifted her head to look at Ceri. Her cheeks were sunken in, her eyes looked almost hollow and she breathed in quick, raspy breaths. Her lavender eyes were dulling as she looked to Ceri.

”Kali…..killed….Olwa…..By Lunitari……no….please…”

Nol an Kellan were moving as one, there was no distinction between them and as he pulled up and felt her tighten he pushed himself faster. As the red dragon behind him started to put the pressure on again Nol could feel him and the female in front communicating, he didn't know what they were saying but he knew without a doubt what the topic was. The red behind them was much larger than he was, he knew that he would be able to out maneuver him but the black female was another story, she was not much bigger than he was and based on the course correction he had just seen he knew she would be able to match him move for move if he tried to turn this into a chase.

He looked around and Kellan would feel his neck muscles ripple as he twisted himself and did a full spin in the air to confuse the two dragons, he immediately went into a dive and they both began to break into his trajectory when he sudden extended both wings and almost stopped completely in mid air. Kellans stomach lurched into her feet and then he beat his wings propelling them back up into the air. The two dragons slipped and criss-crossed, roaring in frustration as they both had fallen for the trick. Nol pushed his wings as hard as he could and in defiance of gravity brought them way up into the thin cloud cover. He circled and spoke to Kellan as he caught his breath, "Are you alright??"

She patted his neck twice letting him know she was fine. He heard the leather of her glove tighten and creak around the Dragonlance and he spoke, "Good, because we have company again."

He tipped his wing and twisted his body to the left, emerging from the clouds and heading straight for the two dragons that were ascending to find them, they were closer than Nol had expected they would be and two breath weapons exploded towards them as Nol twisted and was knocked off his course. Kellan thrust the Dragonlance despite his having to swing outwards and avoid the acid of the black female and caught the female black under her front leg, tearing a large gash in her chest. She howled in agony and reared around, spinning quickly as blood quickly shined off her black scales. The red wasn't able to compensate so easily and had to make a much larger arc to correct his course which gave Nol and Kellan a small window of opportunity. Nol twisted his body in the air, bringing his tail around and then swinging his rump while tucking in his left wing causing him to spin 180 degrees to face the black female. She hissed and immediately fired her breath weapon and Nol attempted to move but caught some of the sickly smelling acid across his lower left side. He growled and Kellan would be able to smell the melting scales as he tucked his head and smashed into the black dragon. They clawed and snapped, the black female attempted to shove his head aside with her front leg and spit acid at Kellan but Nol's free leg came up and caught her under the jaw, shoving some of her lower teeth up through her snout. She bit at him and he caught her by the neck and spun in the air just as the fiery breath of the red dragon met the scene and collided with her back. She howled and Nol used the momentum to slingshot her down towards the ground and released her, lifting himself and Kellan back into flight. The black female did what she could to compensate but collided with the ground and the sickly sound of her wing snapping could be heard for a hundred yards. She got to her feet and hissed, turning and looking towards the Keep. She wouldn't be able to fly, but she could certainly still create havoc on the ground.

Nol could hear the large red back in pursuit and he could feel Kellan leaning over to look at his wound, he spoke to her mind, ~ "Keep you head in the fight Kellan, don't worry about me, we still have something behind us to take care of." ~



Ceridwyn shook her head as Aeolis spoke and looked immediately at Rayann who spoke weakly. She grabbed her friend and looked up at Nol, "We need to get her to Tanjee and Raju, they can heal her."

Aeolis had no idea who Raju was, but if Ceridwyn was saying they needed to go he picked up Rayann without hesitation and they sprinted back to the Keep and into the triage area.


Raju looked up from tending to a Knight who was missing an arm just as her spell from Mishikal released, the man's arm began to grow back and she patted him on the leg, "Now get your ass back out there soldier."

The man reeled back slightly at her salty language but she had already gotten to her feet and moved to meet Aeolis and Ceridwyn. She looked down at Rayann and spoke, "Daughter of the Padraigs?" Ceridwyn nodded and she looked back down, placing the medallion on Rayann's chest, "Grant her favor Mishikal, give her the strength she needs to rise up and fight."

The medallion glowed instantly blue and bathed Rayann in healing light, her strength returned as if she had been resting for days and Raju reached, touching her on the face, "Trust."

She grabbed the medallion and looked to Ceridwyn with a nod and Ceridwyn looked at her and then to Rayann with a cocked brow, "Trust?"

She looked back at Raju as she moved to other wounded and then back to Rayann as she helped her stand back to her feet.



Kali disappeared and reappeared on the eastern side of the battlefield. She had lost Nidhug but he was moving along the draw, that much she had figured. The field was more scattered now with the arrival of the dragons, many of the Knights were on the wall now, doing what they could to fire anything they could load into the catapults and trebuchets to knock them from the sky. She looked up and saw the rider on Nol, instantly recognizing him in his native form. She could not help but smile inwardly as she whispered, "It's about bloody time."

The smell of melting scales wasn’t something Kellan was prepared for so when Nol was finally able to get rid of the black, she tried to see just how extensive the damage was to her beloved. When she heard his voice in her head she sat upright and furrowed her brow. She wanted to argue with him but she knew he was right. There were risks involved and they all knew what they were. She just hoped the acid wouldn’t damage him too severely.

She looked back and saw the red still following. She looked a little further and saw one of Nol’s flight members coming up behind the red as well. She leaned down and spoke to Nol so he could hear what she was saying without broadcasting the plan.

”On three, I want you to turn and make a straight vertical descent with your back to the red. I know how to get this damn thing off our heels. Communicate to Lindir to be ready. I don’t want him to get caught in the way.”

She felt him hesitate and she reached down with her gloved hand and rested it on his neck reassuring him it was OK. What she didn’t tell him and what she kept clamped down tight was the fact she wasn’t really sure this could happen, but she knew she had practiced it plenty with Arvandor. The only thing was she had never been able to execute the move successfully.

Finally she felt his muscles ripple letting her know he was going to trust her. She counted to three and Nol tucked his wings close to his body then suddenly rolled and turned and started to make another rapid descent towards the red. Remembering her training, she waited tucked herself against his neck. She felt the air rush from her lungs and looked up to see the red almost directly on top of her

The red was too close and Nol had moved too fast for it to draw in the breath it needed to release the cone of fire at them again. The red tried to use his body and slam into Nol and it worked partially, only he left his underbelly exposed in the process and that gave Kellan her chance.

Her arm jerked painfully as she felt the lance sink into his belly and start ripping him open, almost jerking her off her saddle. Finally she twisted her arm and the lance twisted free from the red’s body leaving a gash big enough that his entrails began to fall out. Kellan and Nol both became spattered in the blood and gore as she ripped the dragon open and she couldn’t see very clearly. She prayed Lindir had cleared the way for Nol.

She felt herself suddenly ascending into the air once more as Nol climbed to gain altitude and catch his breath. She could feel his breathing was a little more labored than last time and she wasn’t sure if it was from exertion or the damage the black’s acid did or both

She leaned back down and touched his neck tenderly. Hopefully they would be through with this soon. As she took the time to look around, she saw the nasty fighting taking place between Nol’s flight and the other dragons. The Silvers had lost a couple of their flight and she could see the other dragons were starting to tag team the remaining members of Nol’s flight.

She patted his neck twice letting him know that whenever he was ready to reengage, she was ready as well but she let him chose the time.





Rayann thought for certain she was on death’s doorstep but when she felt herself revived, she looked up at Raju then over at Ceri then back to Raju. As Raju touched her cheek and said the word trust, she wasn’t sure what the woman was referring to. As Ceri helped her to her feet, she looked around and noticed Myth was nowhere in sight. Her normally porcelain face turned paler and she gripped Ceri’s hands.

”Myth…”

Ceri nodded and Rayann, Ceri and Aeolis dashed back out to rejoin the fray that was taking place within the keep.




Pela awoke feeling very groggy. She sat up and looked around and saw Tanjee and another woman healing others. She reached up to feel her shoulder but there was no pain. She glanced down then under her leather armor and saw her wound had been healed.

She sat up and swung her legs over the side of her co and went to stand up but she was still too weak from the spell casting. She cursed loudly using the Netherman language and she saw the dark haired woman snap her head up and look at her.

Pela blinked and realized maybe she should have held her tongue but her frustration was too high for that. The woman walked over to her and Tanjee soon followed. Tanjee knelt down to Pela and touched her cheek. Pela turned her head slightly away from Tanjee and furrowed her brows.

”I want to help but I am too weak to do so.”

Tanjee looked at Raju and explained.

”Pela is an ice sorceress. She is Rayann’s protégé’. She was raised by a Netherman thus the language you heard from her a moment ago.”

Tanjee looked back at Pela.

”I believe we can assist you, Pela dear.”

Pela looked at Tanjee then to raju, her blue eyes pleading.

”What has become of Olwa?”

Tanjee glanced at Raju then back to Pela.

I fear I do not know, Pela. I have not seen him since he brought you to me.”

Pela felt tears spring to her eyes that fell like tiny ice crystals from her eyes.

”I have to find him. Please help me. Please.”

Olwa awoke and felt the cold of stone on his cheek. He recognized the smell and it quickly came back to him as he opened his eyes and saw nothing but blackness. This was the same place he had been transported when he and Pela hit the wardings a week ago. He stood to his feet and squinted his eyes as he tried to adjust. He whispered to the air, “What I would give for some light…”

Instantly the outer perimeter illuminated. A ring of torches set in the wall flared to life and burned softly in the distance. He was shocked how wide the place was, and though he wasn’t one hundred percent the first time he was here he was certain now that this was the base of her tower. He walked towards the wall and his steps were as quiet as a mouse. When he reached the wall he walked until he was sure he had made it all the way around. He touched the seamless stone and was amazed. He couldn’t see a single place where the stones were fit together, it was as if this entire foundational circle was hewn from one single piece of rock.

He turned and looked back towards the center of the circle and sighed as he thought about his thirst, suddenly a water skin appeared and he quirked a brow. Looking around he whispered, “And I would like some bread…” A loaf appeared and he shook his head, the wonder of what was happening simply dazzled his mind.

Kali felt when Olwa had awoken, the magic in her tower spoke to her and she continued to formulate the new plan in her head. Since Piramay had found a way to alter Fifth’s plan and keep her off balance, her natural instinct, inherited from her father had kicked in. Her Father was known for his ability to make changes to a plan on the fly and change tactics mid-stream when necessary, and Kali was no different. Knowing the pieces were falling into place she moved along the eastern wall, looking for Nidhug. She could feel his magic, he was still down there but he was masking and he was doing it well, even with the enhanced magic of the tower she was having a hard time tracking him.

Finally he faltered, she felt his heartbeat and she lashed out casting a flaming orb that hissed through the air, spreading a trail of black ash behind it. Just the sight of the spell was horrifying but when it landed in the trees below and exploded the effects by any looking on were even more so. A ball of flame erupted into the sky, trees were completely uprooted and massive rocks were unearthed and thrown into the air. Nidhug’s scream of pain elevated over the sound of the explosion and he flew through the air landing hard on the ground near the warding. Kali saw him through the soot and dirt, transporting herself in a wisp of smoke, appearing near him as the results of her spell continued to rain down around them. He backed up as he attempted to crawl away from her and she narrowed her eyes, bringing her hand up, palm facing him. He furrowed his brow and spoke, “You who once served the Dark Lady, how could you dare to leave her service?”

She stopped and looked at him, “Have you not yet seen the towers behind you? Have you not watched the absolute devastation that three wizards were able to create with little effort and still full of energy? This power is greater than anything Tahkisis could ever provide.”

She swallowed the words hard, she did not know what this creatures purpose was and why Fifth wanted him dead so much, but she knew Fifth well enough to know that this thing could simply be an illusion sending back information to the man. His tongue flicked, sniffing the air and he spoke, “What kind of power?”

She cocked her eyebrows and spoke, “Ultimate power, it is the power of the ancients, the powers even the gods attempt to tap, and Fifth found the way through the use of the soul wells, not that you are going to live long enough to learn how…”

She pulled her hand back and thrust it forward, he too thrust his hand forward and her spell smashed into the ground, blowing dirt and sod in all directions. She looked around, furrowing her brow. There was blood on the ground where he had been, she knew he was injured and escaped. It didn’t matter for the purposes of following Fifth’s plan what was done was done and he would be told the creature was dead.

She evaporated and reappeared near Fifth. He was battling most of the northern wall on his own, sending new undead into the battle as well as firing spells into the wall battlements and doing incredible damage in the process. He ducked behind an emplacement, a smile on his face, clearly this was his element. Kali heard wings overhead and heard the impact of a silver dragon hitting the battlefield a hundred yards away, his head lulled back and his face was melted off. A massive gash in his throat gave the cause of death and the massive black dragon that did the dead landed and stared Fifth and Kali down. Kali glanced back at Fifth, confidence on her face and he stood. The spread themselves slightly apart and the Dragon reared its head back and loosed the acidic breath weapon. Kali brought her hands up and the acid parted like a log that had been split by an axe, splashing all over the ground. The dragon furrowed his brow and stopped advancing, his dragon fear was not working and clearly his breath weapon was now being nullified as well. The massive creature turned his gaze to Fifth and the former wizard of the Dark Ladies service spoke, “I didn’t expect to see you here Enox, typically you stand behind her Ladyship and weave words to gain her favor rather than engage in battle yourself.”

The black looked at him and hissed, “Tough words from the one who always skulked in the shadows and did her bidding like a lap dog looking for table scraps. You were expendable, I was not, she only sends me on the missions where failure isn’t an option.”

Fifth huffed and reached, touching Kali’s arm telling her non-verbally to stay back as he stepped forward, “Those days are over Enox, she, like everything, was a means to an end. There is nothing the Dark Queen can offer that I can’t create myself in abundance. The towers are now the true power in the universe, even Tahkisis was bow a knee and recognize this.”

Enox growled ferociously and stomped the ground, “We will see.”

The dragon pushed off the ground and launched himself into the air, spinning and turning as he passed over the battlefield. He disappeared through the portal that had been opened by Nidhug and the portal closed behind him.

Raju looked at Pela’s eyes and could not help but feel sympathy for her. She looked at Tanjee and spoke, “I will take her to the lady magi, they can help her, I will be back in two shakes.”

Tanjee looked at her curiously and she laughed as she responded, “I will explain later.”

She walked with Pela and escorted her to the northern battlements, they moved as quickly as they could until they found Ceridwyn, Rayann and Aeolis. The look on their faces told her immediately where this one named Olwa was, but she said nothing, simply nodding her head as she spoke, “Pela here is patched up and ready to rejoin, I leave her in your hands.”

She vanished instantly and reappeared at Tanjee’s side, her eyes were sad now, Tanjee knew something had happened, “I fear the one called Olwa is dead, it was all over their face.”

Ceridwyn said nothing, she simply reached forward to Pela and spoke, “Come Pela, we need to get back into this battle or the momentum will be lost.”

As the dark flight descended from on high Myth was grateful that Fifth and Kalie had moved off. It gave him a clear path straight twards the keep that he had been searching for. Cela in her disguise still clung to his back as he charged across the field. The dragons swarmed and clashed as the flight of silvers appeared and joined the fray. Myth and Cela looked to the sky in wonderment until the corpse of a blue dragon dropped onto the earth only ten feet away. Myth looked back at his sister who nodded as he began to run again "Right time to get off this field."

They would arrive at the walls of Heartlund not but a minute later with their helms off so that they would be recognized as they ascended the wall.




As the dragons emerged from the portal Piramay smiled knowing the time to unleash her creations was close at hand. In a flash of flame she vanished from the field appearing once more at the edge of the molten lake outside her tower. Her eyes remained focused on the dragons in the sky and then minutes later the silver flight appeared. Her hands rubbed together gently as she turned to the molten lake and knelt her hand hovered an inch over the surface as she began to chant her spell. Her words were like whispers upon the wind as the lake began to boil. She stood and turned to face the dragon littered skies as he hand lifted pointing to the heavens. "Come forth my creations and drive the servants of our enemy beneath the earth were they belong."

Several unearthly roars could be heard as the lake exploded with motion as a dozen dragons erupted from beneath the surface of the lake. They were easily the same size as mid adulthood dragons with fire trailing in their wake as they flew. Their scales had a golden red hue to them and the seems glowed the same color as the molten water they erupted from. The flames that erupted from their mouths were white hot in color and the first dragon to cross their path was rendered into ash in moments when two of the abominations focused on it. The creature were not without intelligence as they broke off in pairs to circle the mass of battling dragons over the fields of heartlund. To the magi and dragons the source of these existence would be clear as day. The dragons could smell the mixed blood in their veins and the magi could feel the warped magics around their bodies.

Pela looked from Ceri to Aeolis to Rayann and saw the way their eye averted her gaze. She also saw the look on Aeolis' face and she knew what ever it was they weren't telling her was dire. And considering Olwa was no where in sight, she was able to put two and two together. But like them, she didn't say anythig about it. Not like they could discuss it in detail right now anyway. There was a wounded black dragon stalking the Keep and undead soldiers to deal with.

Pela didn't say a word and got to work trying to do all she could to protect what was left of the Keep and it's occupants. She cast her gaze skyward and saw the dragons battling in mid air and the looked at the devestation all around her. She'd missed quite a bit being out of it after her spell catng earlier. She'd learned a valuable lesson and rightnow, she refused to think about the fact her immaturity caused Olwa his life.

As a group of undead began to advance, she took a deep breath and cast a spell. She didn't feel the strain she thought she would feel and when she looked over at Ceri and Rayann, she nodded her head. Pela wsa ready to get back in the middle of all of this.





Tanjee looked over at Raju when she gave Tanjee the news about Olwa. For a moment she didn't move, not even to breathe. Finally she took a deep breath and blinked back tears.

"He was such a sweet, gentle soul. He would paint the most wonderful pictures with just his words. I loved to listen to him talk for hours on end. He will be sadly missed."

She sniffed back her grief and took a deep breath then let it out slowly, nodding.

"Come. I believe we have many more to heal."

Tynen was taking advantage of the chaos around him, walking by knights and administering debilitating if not mortal wounds. It wasn't how he would have preferred doing things, but it worked. And, he wasn't getting as many as he'd like to, but at least he was getting some of them. He just wished he'd not lost his serrated dagger. It did damage as no other and was his favorite, but no matter. He had other daggers.

He was at the eastern battlements now and had just barely gotten by delivering another mortal wound to a knight without getting caught. It was time to lay low again. He didn't want to overdo it nor draw attention to himself.



Keatara stayed close Gideon, both up on the western battlements. She was firing her bow, hitting their mark every time when she saw the fire. "By the Gods!!!! The Elves!!!!" She tried to hit Pyramay but she was too far and Keatara stopped firing at her, concentrating on the forces of the Dark Lady's army when the rain started. She murmured thanks to Rayanne, not stopping when the blast hit. Her and Gideon were knocked off the wall, both hitting the ground hard. When she looked around her as she slowly got to her feet, what she saw sickened her and she barely had time to realize what she was seeing when Gideon grabbed her arm and was all but dragging her away from the dark ooze that was engulfing men and elves alike around them. How could they fight something like this? She ran with Gideon as they headed to the eastern battlements, Gideon making it clear that he wasn't losing her in the foray with the grip he had on her arm.

Kali watched as the dragons from Piramay’s tower erupted into the sky, she watched in horror as one of the silver dragons was instantly vaporized and she ground her teeth under her breath. Clearly she and Fifth had been working together and she had been garnishing what she could from his Necromatic skills. Even more obvious was that she had used those abilities to create something so amazingly devastating that this battle very well could be over, and not in a way that she was intending to see things end.

The dragons from Tahkisis army went into a rage as they smelled the distorted blood of their kin, the silvers managed to stay a little more sensible, but several died in their attempts to attack them. Nol was down to five dragons and he rallied them, shifting his flight to the east and they circled over the towers. Every one of them was injured in some fashion, one in particular was barely able to stay aloft. Nol looked at him and spoke, “A’jain, you are finished, land in the trees and rest.” The silver turned his head and spoke, “I am no good to you in the trees.”

“You are no good to me dead A’jain! GO!” Kellan would hear the authority suddenly rise in his voice, he was in charge of this flight wing and he made it clear that though he was willing to listen and be fair he was also used to getting his way when a command was issued. A’jair nodded and tipped his wing, disappearing into the trees below. Nol looked at the other four as they circled high and turned to look at the battle occurring between the dragons of Tahkisis and those of Piramay. They were knocking each other out of the sky and Nol looked to his brethren, “Drift and rest, let the dark ones take the hits, we will strike again in ten minutes.”

Kali turned back to Fifth, his eyes were awash in excitement as the dragons appeared. He looked at her and spoke, “Now we finish it, today Heartlund is razed to the ground.”

She spoke, “I thought the plan was to fill the soul wells?”

Fifth’s grin went wide and he hissed through his smile, “Plans change when the opportunity to do something greater arises. If we make our statement here the world will not defy us.”

Kali looked at him, “If you kill the world, there will be no one left to listen to your orders.”

He laughed and shook his head, “Is your heart softening little Kali? Do you find yourself feeling mercy?”

She shook her head and whispered almost enthusiastically as she stared straight into his sliver eyes, “No Fifth, not at all.”

Fifth spoke, “Good, I would hate to think you aren’t with us.”

He patted her gently on the shoulder and she felt the shiver in her spine again. Her stomach lurched and she watched as Fifth turned to look at the battlements. He spoke through an almost joyful hatred, “Well look what we have here, the crown prince of the Silvanesti, and his Princess. Not to mention their wise council the elfess mage Ceridwyn. Very brave of them to stay until the end, especially when the affair don’t really concern them, yet.”

He lifted his hands and spoke to Kali, use your weaving abilities, enhance my spell, we can do this with your talents and finish this in one spell.

Kali felt her mind tingle, she turned and looked at her parents and Ceridwyn on the wall. Aeolis stepped up as did Pela and they were obviously switching between watching them and the fiery dragons that were now circling overhead. Kali felt into her heart, the empty cage where the dragon once had resided was filled again, but this was a different dragon, a dragon of her own making, a dragon that was misunderstood and unknown, even to those closest to her. Was it wrong? She didn’t know, but it felt like it took days to cross the ten feet needed to do what Fifth was asking. She inhaled deeply and the whole of Krynn seemed to slow in its rotation, She focused on the wall and could see that her mother and fathers eyes were now on her, tracing her every step.

She turned and faced the wall and as Fifth began to gather magic to him she could see Ceridwyn screaming at the group, she was shouting warnings, to get out of the way. The group was beginning to scatter, dozens of soldiers were moving behind and to the sides as Fifth narrowed his vision on the main gate of the wall. His hands came up and Kali’s followed in synch, magic began to swirl all around them, even non-magic users would feel the hair on their bodies stand on end as the air was electrified with power, the towers pulsed and spit flame, shadow and magic in all directions like lightning rods that were working in reverse. The power was bending over the city and Rayann and Ceridwyn would recognize the feeling, they had felt it before. Kali was stacking power over the city, like a powder keg that would be ignited by the fuse of Fifth’s spell. The saw Kali, her eyes focused on the gate, the swirl of energy causing the grass itself to bend in towards the city.

Fifth screamed and hissed his final words of magic, his hands thrust forward and time stopped for all watching. His spell left his hand as if in slow motion and burned across the ground, a shadow trench etched into the ground, the spell by Fifth alone was enough to shatter the gate. Kali’s eyes shifted from the gate and locked with her mothers. Rayann’s cheek began to burn again where it had that morning, suddenly the sensation was recognized and clear, Kali’s mind had never been severed from hers, she had never left, she had never walked away from them, she had become that which they needed to defeat this perverse magic and cloaked herself in the shadow of deceit and betrayal to get onto the inside and work her way out. The word ‘trust’ came into Rayann’s mind again and she never left her spot on the wall, she stood firm even as the guards tugged at her, the orb of hissing shadow flew across the ground and seconds from impact Kali’s face twisted and she screamed words of magic that seemed to swirl the entire planet. The orb of shadow twisted and spun as the magic gathered in a condensed spot and exploded back at Fifth moving so fast he had no time to react except for his eyes to raise. He lifted his hands and the spell exploded around him, sending him flying like a rag doll hundreds of yards into the burnt forest. Kali looked up at her parents as the smoke swirled around her, and she faded from sight.

Kellan saw the flight of silvers had been reduced to less than a handful when A'jair went to rest in the trees. She looked around to see those still gliding on the air and she saw the injuries they sported. Even she sported a few bruises from some of the maneuvers she made with Nol and her right shoulder ached pretty bad from the move she made with the lance on the red.
She had to shift to the left arm during the fighting to give her right one a rest. So as she sat astride Nol in the saddle, she stretched her legs and flexed her shoulders as best she could. Flipping up the face guard and allowing the cool air to cool her head as best it could, she wiped her brow with her gloved hand and took a deep breath.
She looked down to watch the fighting when she saw the powerful spell Fifth had sent towards the Keep's gate. She sucked in her breath knowing the gate to the Keep was going to splinter when she saw the spell suddenly bounce back towards the bald mage.
"By Paladine.....what just happened down there?"


Rayann stood and watched everything that happened in slow motion. As the truth of Kali finally was revealed to her, she felt her heart leap and drop all at the same time. Myth was right. They should have faith in their daughter. And now she knew why. As she felt the pain in her cheek again, she raised her hand and touched it tenderly knowing Kali would be able to feel the touch, even if ever so lightly as she watched her daughter fade away.

As Fifth was blown back a few hundred feet, Rayann knew the only threat they had now was Piramay. The dragons the fire mage let loose were battling with the Dark Lady's dragon so they didn't have to worry about the evil dragons for now. She looked at Ceridwyn and Pela and nodded.

"Ladies. The time for us to act together has come. If I know my daughter, she's just given us an opening we can't afford to pass up."

She looked at Myth and nodded as she spoke to his mind.

~I should have known to listen to you, You've never been wrong before. Forgive me mel'amine"



Pela turned and ran away with Aeolis as Ceri had instructed her. When she heard the explosion she knew the spell hadn't hit the intended target.She stopped and turned to look back and saw the bald headed mage was no where in sight. Rayann still stood where she was and reached up with her hand to touch her own cheek jest before Pela saw Kali disappear.

She slowly started walking back towards Rayann just as Ceri and Aeolis were when she heard Rayann speak to all of them. Pela nodded in agreement with the red robed mage. All she had to do now, was wait for the word as she was already gathering magic into her.

Myth wasted not time reuniting with his wife upon the battlements as Piramay's abominous creations took flight engaging the dragons in the air with devastating results. His stood side by side with his wife as Fifth eyed the keep and soon Kali joined his side. Myth knew this would be the moment his faith was tested and all he could do was focus on his daughter and wait. He could feel the air buzzing over their heads and he held his breath as Fifth finally released the deadly bolt of power. A smile spread across Myth's face as Kali stepped into action and he watched with great satisfaction as the spell was shot back at the mage and it sent the man flying.

Myth looked to his wife when her mind spoke to his and he responded in kind. "You have no need to ask forgiveness mel'amin. Even I had my doubts until the day she returned young Pela and Olwa to us unharmed." As of that moment Myth had not asked about Olwa yet.





Piramay had remained standing next to the lake surrounding her tower watching the aerial dance of the dragons and her creations. She felt a great deal of satisfaction as she watched them move in pairs tipping, diving, converging, and eviscerating their foes in the sky. A puff of smoke and her ashwood staff appeared in her hand as she felt power being gathered. She could feel Fifth had decided to bring the keep to the ground. A small frown spread when she realized that Kali was assisting Fifth with the spell. Her eyes shifted in the direction of the gathering energy and she waited patiently to see the outcome. "Now we shall see if your faith in this girl was well placed or not."

Her eyes drifted to the sky as the power built to a peak. Slowly her lids closed she could feel the power being molded and felt a small amount of exhilaration as the spell erupted from Fifth. Her eyes snapped open suddenly as she felt Kali suddenly turn the spell. A low growl escaped her lips as her eyes looked in the direction of the forest in time to see Fifth's body sail into the forest from the strength of the strike. Her hand tightened around her staff as fire erupted from her feet engulfing her being as she vanished from the edge of the lake appearing once more at the edge of the forest. Staff in hand she walked into the devastation her eyes scanned the area around her looking for Fifth. A task that proved easier than she expected as she found him at the end of a long gash in the earth. A look of concern spread across her face as she approached as she entered the forest.

As she passed into the what was once the tree line she slammed her staff upon the earth and the a wall of fire erupted from the earth behind her. Two of her flaming beasts peeled away from the fight overhead tipping themselves towards Piramay landing just on the opposite side of the wall as herself and Fifth. Her compatriot was injured and Kali had betrayed them. She would not allow something to come lumbering up behind her as she saw to Fifth's condition.

Nol turned his head as he heard Kellan, and was about to shout orders when he suddenly noticed it was Kali standing beside Fifth. It was the first time he had spotted the wizards together and he was confused and puzzled, "That's Kali! What is she doing fighting with Wizard's of the towers...."

It hit him that she had switched sides, he glanced back at Kellan and then watched with her as the events unfolded, she had turned the spell and the explosion sent the black necromancer flying. He reeled his head back and saw the flash as Piramay disappeared from her molten lake. Glancing back at Kellan again he didn't have to say more, she reached up and snapped the face mask into place and Nol roared as the five dragons began to spread their formation into a battle line and swirl upwards. The molten dragons had been reduced to four and two of those suddenly peeled off as a large wall of flame illuminated in the forest, Nol's dragons were itching to go but he held them off a moment, "Wait brethren, one more moment." The remained aloft, soaring high in a wide circle about a kilometer above the towers, watching the events below and bidding their time.


Fifth had managed to cast a protective shield around himself more out of instinct than real attention to what just happened. The shield evaporated quickly as it absorbed the impact and several tree limbs, his body taking the last damage as he settled into the end of a long black trench the spell burned into the ground. His shoulder was out of joint, his leg was busted and there was a branch sticking through his back and out his abdomen which was keeping him pinned and unable to get up. His staff was no where to be seen, he had lost it long before he hit the ground and he was coughing up blood. Piramay appeared and Fifth looked with relief, knowing that his little Phoenix would get him out of here so they could rebuild, but first, Kali needed to die. He was in no condition, obviously, and he whispered softly as Piramay practically sauntered up to him, "Little.... Little Phoenix... She betrayed .... be... betrayed us. We... I m.. .mean you, need to ki.... kill her."

One look, even through the robes told Piramay he would probably survive if given enough time and care, he was certainly busted up beyond simple medicine, but with protection, patience and care he would pull through.



Kali appeared in the stone circle where Olwa was, he snapped his head as she appeared and his first instinct was to run and engage her in combat, but he ceased and half stepped towards her, his fists clenched and a scowl on his face. She turned and looked at him, her eyes scanning his body quickly and she spoke, "Stop it, if you were to die you would be dead already, I would have let Fifth turn you into a walking corpse."

He stared at her but didn't budge as she waved her hand over the center of the room. A massive line appeared in the stone and etched out a square that lifted from place and settled to the side, she reached into the space and removed a large, black velvet bag. Instantly the room was filled with a delightful smell as the magic reagents came into the space. She turned and looked at Olwa, "Come here."

He didn't budge and he spoke defiantly, "Why?"

Kali turned and furrowed her brow, "Listen, we have two minutes maximum before Piramay shows up and crisps you to a twig and I have to fight her with every once of my being. I already told you if you were to be dead you would already be dead, I could have killed you the first time I brought you here and either Fifth or myself could have killed you on the battlefield, now COME HERE!"

Olwa furrowed his brows but walked over towards her. Reaching into the hole she removed a sword of elven make and handed it to him. It was as finely crafted a blade as he had ever seen and it hummed with strange, magical energy. He held it, mesmerized and only snapped back to reality when Kali smacked him on the leg, "We don't have all day Junior, now pay attention! I want you to stand right here, RIGHT here, do you got it?"

Olwa nodded and she continued, "I am going to spread these reagents and then return, we are going to need to stand with our backs touching and I am going to cast, do not disturb or interrupt me or we are both dead and there won't be any way for me to save either of us, this spell is much too powerful."

He nodded and she disappeared, reappearing along the wall in several places, putting handfuls of the magical powder in incremental spaces along the outer wall. Finally she reappeared and pressed her back against his, the sweet smell of her robes that seemed to breath fire was almost erotic when coupled with the heat of her body and she spoke, "OK, nothing out of you, and if Piramay shows up, give her all you have because you are my only line of defense."

Olwa nodded and she began to chant. The magic instantly began to fill the room and swirl around their feet. The torches on the wall flickered as a wind rushed around the perimeter of the tower and picked up the magical powder, sending it flying in a vortex that swirled faster and faster as Kali continued to chant her spell. suddenly the powder sparked and hissed, igniting in a varying range of colors, red, blue, green and purple. The smell in the room instantly changed and the sweetness was replaced with burnt ozone like right after a lightning strike. Kali's voice rose as she lifted her hands and swirled them in the air, bringing them back down and moving them in a seemingly rhythmic pattern. The vortex spread across the entire wall and was now a dizzying array of colors that became so bright Olwa had to shield his eyes. Kali's voice grew louder and finally she hissed the last of her spell, the light sucked into the wall and the entire area went pitch black.

Outside from the battlements where Aeolis, Rayann, Pela, Ceridwyn and Myth were standing the air suddenly turned uncomfortably hot three seconds later it began to snow, and lightning started crashing down against the scorched trees. The rift flared and sputtered, almost as if in protest but magic was sucked from it, looking like a ribbon of emerald and purple. It illuminated the landscape in a grotesque bath of sickly color and the winds in the area picked up with such intensity that people had to find things to hold on to in order to stay on the ground. The center of the vortex was Kali's tower and just at the instant when it seemed the entire world would be shaken apart violently it went as still as death, everything stopped, even the sound waves were sucked from the air like a vacuum and a split second later an ear splitting explosion shot upwards like a cone from the base of Kali's tower. Molten rock, massive chunks of sod and dirt, stones the size of cottages and anything else that was trapped beneath the ground exploded upwards in a gigantic gusher of mixed matter. The Warding illuminated with golden intensity as the particles and pieces were blown into it and the whole ground shook violently for miles. The tower groaned and creaked as it began to list and the warding dissipated. Suddenly, the strange feeling the aura of this raw magic was giving off disappeared and the rift wiggled and writhed like a dying serpent.

Kali's tower teetered slightly to the south and then buckled as the ground beneath it bounced again. Listing to the north it spit and groaned as rock exploded out from underneath it and the weight caused it to buckle and collapse. The dust particles shot out and engulfed the area, obscuring the view of people watching but what they would see was the top of her tower disappear and then seconds later a second massive thump from an impact. Piramay's tower rocked as the top of Kali's collided with it and the tower of flame buckled and fell downward into itself, pancaking into a heap on the ground as massive columns of fire exploded into the air and sent molten material in all directions.

Myth searched with his Elven eyes, the dust cloud was now rising and billowing outwards and was a good 80 feet high now as the rock was pulverized, in the middle he could faintly make out the outline of two figures standing in the midst of the destruction.


Fifth turned as the magic was felt by himself and Piramay, the wind died and the explosion engulfed the area of Kali's tower, he howled in protest but to no end. He spit blood and his wound oozed a sickly thick blood mixed with soot and ash. He coughed and leaned his head back as he coughed again. The rift was writhing and he spoke, "We... we need to... get thr... through the rift... it... t... it will... take us to.... to the ..." He wheezed and spit another glob of blood onto his robes, "It... it will take... us... us, to... the sanctuary... I built it... hidden, in the far North... no... no one, will find.. us, not until we .... heal, and... reappear..., we only have a c.... c...couple, minutes..., before... rift, closes."



Ceridwyn was holding onto the battlements as the weather was doing an unnatural dance and she watched as the rift moved, she screamed over the sound of the winds, "THE RIFT!!! SHE'S CLOSING IT!!"

She grit her teeth and held on for dear life, Aeolis clinging to her, and then suddenly the air went still, she whispered, "Never in my days...," she knew what was coming, Kali had just combined, arcane, natural, ambient and raw magic into a mixture so powerful it would literally destroy a mountain, which one second later proved to be true. The entire hilltop that her tower was on vaporized and left the bottom of the tower cracked and exposed, she had literally torn the guts from the place and it teetered over, crashing to the ground. She suddenly realized the brilliance in the plan, Kali used the protective warding to shield Heartlund, and it collapsed only after the explosion had sent it's chaos against it. She reached for Aeolis and they ran with Myth along the battlements, Myth's eyes scanned the landscape, as did Aeolis and Ceridwyn and finally Myth pointed and yelled, "THERE!"

Aeolis and Ceridwyn turned to look, there were two faint pink outlines, barely visible through the dust. One was obviously Kali... the other looked like the Elf they all saw die.

It was far too dangerous for any of them to move down to the field, the air was so thick with dust, dirt, smoke and anything else that it would easily poison the lungs. Ceridwyn whispered, "She even had the forethought to protect herself from the very air."

As Kellan and the dragons circled overhead, they began to witness what was happening. She heard all of them state they had never before seen anything like this in their lives. While she was not magically enabled in any way, even she could feel the change in the air as the massive spell was being executed. When the area around the towers exploded, she startled slightly and clamped her legs down on Nol a little more fully expecting the percussion of the explosion to be felt at this altitude. But when she noticed the entire thing was contained within the wardings of the towers themselves, even Kellan realized what Kali had done.

”By the Gods….”

She noticed the rift closing at the same time and she pointed, yelling at the dragons.

”Look! The rift! It’s closing! She’s NOT our enemy, Nol. She’s destroying the towers and the rift they created!”

She could see Nol watching everything as well as the other dragons and she felt and saw a definite change in them. Hope had been restored. And that tiny spark of hope could ignite a firestorm. She knew now what Paladine was telling her. She leaned down and stroked Nol’s neck as a small smile eased over her features beneath the face guard of her helmet.





Rayann watched with stunned amazement at what was happening. She knew Kali was powerful but she never realized how much so until now. She could feel the growth of the magic as the spell was being conjured and when the spell was released, Rayann could do nothing but watch.

”By the Gods…..thank you Lunitari…..”

As Myth stood beside her, Ceri, Aeolis and Pela walked up beside them to watch what was happening as well. As Kali’s tower groaned then teetered over, crashing into Piramay’s, Rayann saw the brilliance of her daughter’s plan. The only thing that concerned her was…where was Kali.

As Myth pointed out in the center of the debris, she squinted her eyes and focused in on the silhouettes standing in the center of the rubble, dust and smoke. Without realizing it, her hand slipped into Myth's and she curled her fingers tightly around his hand. She recognized Kali right away but she had no idea who the other was.





A small gasp followed by the excited voice of Pela told Rayann exactly who that was with Kali.

”OLWA!”

Her eyes strained as she looked at the figures Myth pointed out but she had spent enough time around the Elf to know his outline. She felt as though she were dancing on clouds as she zeroed in on his form but then the sound of more crashing brought her back to the immediate area. She looked around at the Knights and citizens that were also watching the destruction and noticed the enemy that had breached the wall was also standing in stunned silence. She tapped Ceri on the shoulder and pointed to the dark forces

”What should we do about them?”

She looked back at Ceri with the slightest of grins on her face and Ceri could feel the atmosphere directly around Pela grow cooler.

"Bad Rock always said to take advantage of any situation and surprise your enemy when they least expect you."