The Sworn Defender

by The Ranger

  "I had hoped not to strain myself this much," the lumbering mass declared. "But… if circumstances demand it…"

  The augmented spriggan raised his mud arm and absorbed another bout of flames flying towards him, chuckling when he did as much. He stomped his foot, and seven-foot thorns spiked up from the ground ahead of it, nearly impaling Eren.

  "Be careful!" Edmund squealed when his friend tripped away from the monster's attack.

  "Yes, I'm trying," he groaned, retrieving the Viper. "But, this bastard… has got some reach!"

  "Yes, he does," Torfir laughed. "Understand that my power is not born of luck or circumstance or even diligence. It is fated to be, and always was, and always will be. Even after you fiends are wiped from our earth!"

  Another bash followed the monster's rant as Khora rushed towards her spear and then to Richard.

  "The flames don't seem to be affecting him as much as I thought they would," he muttered, sending another spiral of fire in the spriggan's direction.

  Her eyes darted back to the chuckling monster as Richard's attack swept across his body. There was no visible effect, but a quiet crackling murmured through the air.

  "No… but the mud caked within his form is hardening," she realized. "If you can continue to sear it while we distract him, then his body will become brittle. And we can break it apart."

  "That's a good idea," Richard accepted. "Yes, that's what we'll do."

  "Good, then let's begin," she muttered.

  The pair dashed away in opposite directions as another wave of thorns shot past them.

  "Don't humans consider it rude to speak behind one's back?" Torfir questioned. "I know you things have no qualms against stabbing one's back, but the disgrace of gossip… outrageous!"

  Richard cocked his arm back, ready to swing his blade once more when roots sprung from the ground and set upon his feet. He tripped, smashing his face into the dirt and frost. Torfir wasted no time to raise his foot towards him.

  "Eren!" Khora yelled. "Use the flail!"

  He smiled as he whipped the Viper back, only to slam it forward and push the Spriggan Lord's foot slightly further before it fell— forcing him to send his spikes away from their friend.

  Given a moment to recover, Richard leapt back to his feet and sent forth another flurry of flames. They washed over the angered spriggan, and Khora could see his muddy flesh continue to solidify. Torfir seemed to realize it for a moment, too, as he hesitated to attack and instead glanced at his arms curiously. Not wanting to allow the creature to uncover their plot, Khora charged forward.

  Her legs groaned as her feet crashed against the snow, running towards the Spriggan Lord, who was beginning to notice her advance. It was a risky plan that burst into her mind, but one she was willing to attempt.

  The Norvan warrior threw her arm back and sent her spear soaring towards Torfir's chest. It poked through the sludge but fell still as it was stopped by the congealed mass. The spriggan looked at it, puzzled, before spotting an airborne Khora. She gripped the spear's shaft and kicked her feet against the monster's semi-solid torso, climbing upwards against it.

  All of Torfir's attention was on her as she scaled his face and began bashing her boot into his eyes. His disfigured hands began scratching at his head while the rest of his form was battered by fire, but Richard's attacks went unnoticed.

  "You mewling— Ah!" the monster cried, his fingers racing to grab her.

  Khora poured all her effort into ignoring his dawdling reach, as he had mostly failed to touch her. Every time his fingers came too close, she would dart to one side and pound her fist or foot into the creature's other eye. However, just as she expected, the Spriggan Lord managed to finally catch her.

  The air was forced from her lungs when Torfir took her into his clutches and pulled her away from his face. She looked to the ground and realized how far away it seemed, but the thought was chased away by the sight of the spriggan's face closing in on her.

  "I should just bite your head off," the giant growled, his green eyes shining onto her. "It's a shame, really, to see such skill waste away, but I have seen enough tragedy to know when it means nothing. Less than nothing."

  "You… won't have the chance to kill me, creature," Khora hissed, earning a surprised gasp from Torfir.

  The sound of shifting dirt reverberated around them and seven vines ripped into him. They pulled away the layers of stone, mud, and wood as the spriggan screeched wildly. After the vines were done, all that was left to be found was the monster's huddling body— revealed to have been embedded deep within the monstrous mass.

  Khora fell near his wounded form and stared at the spriggan while Richard used his vines to sweep away the mess they had created.

  "Clever girl, quite clever," the creature murmured, glancing at Khora with a somber smile. "You impress me, and have… just now… received the only commendation I have ever given a human…"

  She backed away as dozens of thin vines ripped up through the snow and wrapped around the Spriggan Lord— tying him in place.

  "Perhaps I should've just let you all go on your way," he groaned, looking over his shackles. "As much fun as this was, I'm beginning to think this won't end well for me."

  Richard crept closer to Torfir, his back to the others as he inspected his prisoner.

  "You're too weak to abandon this form."

  "Hah, what gave it away?" the spriggan murmured. "Apparently, it doesn't matter if you're a superior being when you've used up all your tricks."

  Khora shared a glance with Edmund and saw bewilderment within his eyes.

  "What is he going to do?" he whispered.

  "Well… what else?" Eren coughed, recalling his Viper. "That twig's been… chasing us… and trying to kill us. There's… only one thing… he can do now."

  They turned back to watch as Richard pulled his sword from its sheath, and a quiet flame grew along its edge. The Spriggan Lord stared at the weapon, fire reflecting across his emerald eyes, when he tilted his head to look at his executioner.

  "Alas, I will never grovel to a human," Torfir whispered. "My people died with more dignity than any mortal man will ever know. I find comfort in knowing my spirit will join them in the echoes of eternity."

  Wood cracked as the Spriggan Lord turned away from them and stared at the surrounding forest. He shivered before growing still. Richard quietly watched him before swinging his blade through the spriggan's injured form. A gust of howling wind was released from the gash he had left in the monster's body. Torfir's eyes shined blindingly bright for a moment before they faded, and he crumbled away. A second later, all signs of his existence dissolved, and it almost seemed as if he had never been.

  Richard turned back to look at his friends, and the sight of his eyes surprised Khora. With the power and precision he had demonstrated, part of her expected to see a yellow glow. Yet, they had not changed a shade.

  "This isn't like before, right?" Edmund questioned, approaching Richard. "He's really-"

  "Yes. Torfir's gone. Off to wherever spriggans go in death… if they even go anywhere."

  "And how do you feel?" Khora inquired, stepping closer to him.

  "I… I don't know, but I know we've wasted too much time here already," he replied, peering to the west. "We need to keep moving— Azra should be in view just past this hill. We're almost home."

  "Y-yes, you're right, of course," she nodded. "Let's go."

  The horses cantered back towards them, with Ranger shyly doing the same, and Khora rushed over to retrieve her spear. She watched Eren dash to the edge of the clearing with a similar determination in his eyes and saw him pick up the same limb that had almost killed him.

  "Are you serious?"

  "What?" he shrugged. "You heard Rich… he's really dead this time. I… already carried this around so… long, may as well keep it."

  "Hurry, argue on the way," Richard encouraged, riding up beside them. "We're already so close."

  Neither of them disagreed with hi
m as they mounted their horses and followed him out of the clearing. Even with the cold gripping them tightly, Khora could not help but sweat as she thought of what they would find when they reached the kingdom that laid just beyond the hill. What horrors their enemy had sown in their absence. It was a question that would soon be answered.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Richard

  Ash and smoke kicked up into the air as their horses cantered through Azra's broken and burnt gates. The smell of crackling wood and running stone accompanied each of Richard's breaths and served little else but to dwindle his already diminished hope. Never in his life did he expect to see his home fall to ruin.

  Except… he soon realized it had not.

  "Have we arrived late?" Khora questioned, striding up to his side. "Has the battle already ended?"

  "It might seem that way," he answered, scanning their surroundings. "But, take a closer look."

  The area that might have been manned by guards, and would have been Lucan's first obstacle, was blasted away. Not a sliver of the gate that had stood for all of their lives remained, and the tower that joined it was reduced to cinders as well. The inn, which was conveniently a visitor's first sight upon entry, was also a victim of the attack and offered only a few embers of its former glory. Any structure that stood adjacent to the gate met the same fate, whether seared to oblivion in part or in full. Beyond that, however, Azra seemed largely untouched by Lucan's flames. Fiery destruction only seemed to follow the trail of dissolved snow, a trail that led to the heart of the kingdom, to a place Richard knew all too well.

  "This path leads straight to the castle," he revealed. "I can feel him circling the place, with his monsters in tow."

  "And the people?" Edmund questioned. "Where is everyone? Have the Seekers… have they already…?"

  "No, Azra's actually… it's nearly empty. I can't tell where they've gone or what's happened, but very few of our people remain here. Those who did stay, though, aren't being sought out by the Soul Seekers. They're… uninterested in the living, at least for now— the monsters are scattered across the city, blocking roads to the castle, and wandering the streets. They're only attacking those who cross their paths."

  Eren rode up ahead of the rest of them, and he turned back to look them over.

  "It doesn't matter that… they aren't attacking," he mumbled. "We can't… wait for that to change. What's… the plan?"

  "The plan is… I'm going to face Lucan. Alone," Richard answered. "Whatever he intends to do at the castle— I won't let him leave."

  "You'd face him without us?" Khora whispered, her voice almost warped by insult. "Have you not learned yet? Have you not realized that there is a weakness in standing alone?"

  He looked into her eyes carefully, taking the effort to watch her expression drift from injured to angered, but he knew his decision had been made.

  "I had a long talk with Andros while we swept through the woods around Solton. About faith, about our place in this world… about the nature of power, and the struggle of those who wield it," he explained. "I've… I've accepted that I can't save everyone; I can try, but at the end of it all, I'm only a man."

  "So what? You'll spare us the trouble of going up against him by doing it yourself?" she mocked, sarcasm thick in her tone. "How noble of you."

  "I'll beat him—" he continued. "—and his monsters will fall, and Azra will thrive again."

  She curled her lips as if to add another retort, but Eren spoke up before she could.

  "And what would… you have us do instead?" he inquired, drawing a frustrated look from Khora. "What? I don't like it… either, but I won't argue… with him."

  Richard nodded in his friend's direction, surprised yet thankful.

  "You'll join the rest of the defenders," he announced. "They could use whatever help's available, and once I challenge Lucan… I'm not sure I'll be of any use until our fight's over."

  "So, you think we'll just randomly run into a group of guards that stayed behind?" Edmund poked.

  "Randomly," he pointed.

  A sound that could only be attributed to a storm of swords rang out across from them, past a handful of shops and craftsmens' stalls. Richard 'saw' it much more clearly than they did, but, even without his senses, there was no denying the nature of what was unfolding beyond their sight.

  "We should help them," Khora muttered. "But this— this is not over."

  "What do we do about the horses?" Edmund questioned.

  Richard turned his attention to the noble beasts that had brought them here and to the one, in particular, that had carried him. He had almost thought of calling him Midnight, after a dog that had belonged to his battlemaster many years earlier, but he knew there was no point in growing attached to the animal. The name would not have exactly fit the horse anyway, he knew, because its coat was not as dark as night. It was a hue Richard might have characterized as just a shade paler than black.

  "We let them go," he murmured. "Their place isn't on a battlefield, and I won't risk their lives trying to ride through one. When things are done, we can come back for them."

  "A kind decision," Eren coughed. "But… we're wasting time talking… about it."

  "You're right, let's go join the others," he agreed, dismounting from his steed.

  Eren and Khora began dashing ahead, with Edmund lagging behind as he attempted to spur Ranger onward. Richard turned to look at the horses, allowing a brief nod before spinning on his heel and meeting his friends to race towards the clash.

  Fifty-thousand souls; it wasn't the hundred-thousands that might be found in Syvon, nor the several million that could be seen in the Imperial lands Andros had mentioned— but each one of them was someone who called Azra their home. Each one of them, whether or not they had fled before the attack, depended on Lucan's defeat.

  Richard took a moment to curse the late King Laycen, for he had given the order to disband Azra's standing army sometime before his death, only to leave a volunteer force in its place. He made the count in his head: without the hundred or so men Lacerne took into the mountains, he knew that there could be no more than fifty well-seasoned guards and roughly two-hundred or so trainees remaining within the city's walls. Most of which were his age, or younger, and far less experienced— not at all the glorious defenders that could have retaken their home by themselves. However, they would not be forced to fight alone any longer.

  Flames arced forward, colliding against a crowd of Soul Seekers that had been encroaching on Azra's gathered forces. The fire was quickly followed by a crack through the air as the Viper slammed into the rest of them— breaking apart some and pushing away the rest.

  Khora and Edmund raced towards the guards, and joined them in battling the stray Seekers, while Richard and Eren focused on the larger, albeit quickly shrinking, group.

  A few more lashes from the flaming sword and the creatures were reduced to ash, leaving only a handful for the guards to dismantle. The young men and boys tore at the monsters with a renewed ferocity, giving Richard and the others a chance to calmly approach the assembled warriors as they finished their work. He scanned them carefully before sheathing his blade.

  "My name is Richard. I… I don't recognize any of you, but we are allies. I'm here to defeat the sorcerer that's besieged our home."

  "Are they the ones who went on the Prince's mission?" someone questioned.

  "The Prince?" another mumbled. "But… where is he?"

  Richard felt the gem in his pocket grow warmer as he turned to look at the young man that spoke out.

  "The Prince… sacrificed himself to give us a chance," he murmured. "One that I won't let go to waste."

  He turned to face his friends, letting his eyes fall over them intently.

  It took only a moment for him to realize how disheveled they looked. Khora had dozens of strands of hair poking out from her braid, cuts strewn across her arms, and what appeared to be a healed gash along her left leg. A quick glance revealed nearly a dozen sma
ll tears in Eren's clothes and a few dents in his once, nearly, spotless armor. His hair was the only thing that seemed properly cared for and that he had seen him comb with his fingers as they approached Azra.

  Richard noted that even he looked worse-for-wear as he took a brief moment to gaze over his clothes and armor. He was devoid of any physical injuries and the marks they otherwise would have left behind, but his garments were in an atrocious condition. His shirt was riddled with holes, the largest of which was where he had been stabbed before by the Seeker, and the smallest tears were caused by the sharp brush Torfir had flung him into. His pants were muddied, specked with frost, and granted jagged edges by his constant slips. His armor looked to be in no better state, as the straps that held it all together looked like they would soon fall apart. Only Edmund seemed unaffected by the same weathering that had befallen the rest of them.

  For the entirety of this journey, Richard had watched him trip and tumble and smash into things— yet he seemed as fine as he had when they left Azra. There were barely any creases on his clothes, and those could be blamed on his bizarre sleeping positions. Only his shoes seemed touched by their trek, and they were barely scuffed with a bit of mud. He wondered if there was any truth to Edmund's previous claim— if there really was magic in that golden flower that he seemed to have plucked from nothing. Even now, after being given time to grow accustomed to his abilities, Richard had yet to sense any power from the strange thing.

  He sent the notion to the back of his mind— it was something he could look into after the crisis was dealt with. After he threw himself in front of Lucan's fire.

  "This is where our paths divide," he declared. "Go with them, and keep them from doing something reckless."

  "Like what you're about to do?" Edmund accused. "You shouldn't confront him by yourself. No one should."

  "You want to battle the wizard alone?" one of the younger boys whispered. "That's… that's madness."

  "Even a stranger has more sense than you," Khora recognized. "Listen to him; we can raise what forces we can and attack once our numbers have grown— but you must take a moment to see reason!"