Darkshore

by C S Harrop

  With that thought, Onyxia raised her free hand high in the air letting it linger for a moment, and then she dropped it with determination sending her whole legions charging across the dry terrain of Heres Valley. They reached the point where the land turned from green to brown, then eventually to a dry grey lifeless soil when the alliance forces noticed the tsunami of Dark Bloods rushing towards them.

  Elder Nyran just stared at the enemy coming towards her with disdain. With a feeling of a slight tremble from under her feet deep within the ground originating from the thousands of pounding Dark Bloods feet thumping the ground coming towards the Breacher with speed. She turned to face her army, a sea of blue tinted armoured Frost Elves stood fearless with a mixture of allies to the rear.

  “Let’s end this right here right now,” shouted Elder Nyran, not a person to give long speeches but the passion and absolution behind those few words was enough to rally her troops.

  Stretching her palms outwards with an icy glow she shot out a multiple of sizzling mass of energy into the skies above that exploding like fireworks signalling to all the alliance force to attack. Then with a defiant shout from Elder Nyran, the elves set off at speed towards Onyxia.

  Upon seeing the explosive sign Riven, Elder Warrick and Commander Bolmer headed out down the embankment to the north towards the Breacher with both the dwarven and Angarian soldiers following picking up speed to match that of the Frost Elves advancement to the south of them.

  Watching from afar stood Elder Fallon staff in hand with a proud look on his face surrounded by his fellow guardians. Looking down at the two large forces of Elder Nyran and Elder Warrick heading at speed and converging towards the enormous force of Onyxia’s Dark Bloods. Elder Fallon looked at the task ahead defeating an armed force of this size would normally be unimaginable. However, he knew his allies were the best in the western lands and they could give back anything Onyxia would throw at them especially with his Guardians scattered throughout bolstering their efforts.

  He waited until both ally forces had reached a good distance from the Breacher before joining the fight. Onyxia he noticed was much further ahead, he realised her tactic for attacking first had clearly played out correctly, and unfortunately, her forces were going to reach the Breacher first. Elder Fallon open a small pouch and started emptying a small pile of ash coloured dust into his palms mimicked by the surrounding Guardians all similar dressed in their standard brown hooded robes and capes laying on top leather and metal plated armour with the Guardians emblem of three circles embossed in the upper chest area. Most wielding staffs or some other weapon that enhanced their power.

  Elder Fallon patiently watching the battle to the north unfold, Onyxia’s legions of armoured orc reached the huge Breacher tree first as expected slamming their tall rusty shields into the ground effectively creating a perimeter wall some distance in front. The forces of both Elder Nyran and Elder Warrick converged speeding up to near striking distance. With that, Elder Fallon raised his staff with the encased jewel intensely glowing signalling to both his Guardians and to the allies of their imminent involvement also hoping to grab the attention of the Dark Bloods for a few seconds before the intersection. With his left palm glowing he closed his hand around the dust then with a blink of an eye he vanished leaving behind the scattering flakes of ash, mimicked closely by his fellow Guardians.

  Riven could now see the features of the dark twisted tree looming ahead with a wall of rusty iron shields in a defence formation arching around with weapons resting atop pointing in his direction. Riven had an ability which no other creature or person possessed, he could blend in with surrounding in effect turning his huge bulking body invisible. Using his ability, he picked up speed ahead of the advancing dwarves and Angarian soldiers vanishing in front of their very eyes.

  The distance to the wall of shields was nearly in touching distance when puffs of dust appeared throughout the now converged parties of Elder Nyran and Elder Warrick. Guardians materialised in a scattered formation running alongside their allies firing balls of fizzling energy from their weapons and palms directly at the front line of the orcs barricade creating gaps in the wall of iron. Then just before the dwarves could take their first strike with their large axes and heavy hammers Riven reappeared with marvellous effect taking out a whole section with his large claws and sheer weight, sending shields, spears and orc flying in all direction like a bomb had just exploded. The gaps that had open up in the Dark Bloods front lines were utilised by Elder Warrick and Commander Bolmer with devastating effect. Orc and goblin alike were being smashed and hacked by the might of alliance forces, making the holes in their defence larger and their iron wall slowly dismantling.

  Onyxia had the advantage of being airborne she could see clearly how the battle was going from a distance. Her front line was been demolished faster than she had first though but she knew the ally scum had not scraped the surface of her army, and she had beasts much bigger then that big-toothed fur ball as she liked to call Riven.

  “Send the trolls,” ordered Onyxia to the large orc commanders below standing ahead of two very large trolls carrying huge clubs that looked similar to a tree without the branches. “That should keep them busy while I open the portal,” she thought.

  Moment later shadows appeared flickering around her disrupting the light that broke through the darkening grey clouds. The winged beast she sat on stirred to an unsettled state, spinning its scaly body and cranking its neck nearly throwing Onyxia from her saddle sensing something was lurking around. A creature flying at speed shot past seeing only a brown and orange blur then another and another disorientating the winged creature whilst Onyxia held on to the saddle for her life unable to raise her palms. Briel the Scouthawk came from the rear and Sckol from below grabbing and tearing at the beasts wings with their sharp talons and beaks. Whilst the remaining Scouthawks, Tagar and Felwyn gave diving strikes at its head avoiding its needle teethed mouth as it snapped. Its wings quickly became riddled with holes destabilising the creature’s flight sending Onyxia into panic mode. She managed to shoot a few bolts of energy missing the targets greatly. Then from out of nowhere a fifth Scouthawk with ruffled feathers looking worse for wear with the sun behind it dived down with outstretch talons. Elrig clawed at the beast’s eyes with a relentless attack to the point of blindness. With the holes in its wings widening, the beast spiralled downward until it hit the ground hard crushing a group of spear wielding goblins in the process.

  Darwin held on to the connection for as long as he could, switching between hawks so often takes its toll and drains his energy to the point of exhaustion. His eyes flickered back and forth to his natural blue then back to the cloudy grey as he collapsed on to his back with Elder Jorik and Josie rushing to his side. No audible words came out of Darwin’s mouth his energy drained too quickly to even talk but Elder Jorik through lack of hearing noticed Darwin’s mouth was still moving but very slowly. He could make out the words “Elrig’s alive” and “the beast is going down”. His eyes flickered between both blue and grey only barely connected to his beloved Scouthawks.

  “Bring them home Darwin, bring them home,” Elder Jorik said in a respectful and honourable tone towards both man and beast as he watched Darwin eyes slowly flickered one final time. “Rest my friend, you may not be a Guardian but you certainly have the heart of one.”

  “Elves with me,” shouted Elder Nyran taking the lead towards the mountain troll who had already made a devastating attack on a group of local soldiers, but currently being occupied by a lone female Guardian firing exploding bright light into the creature’s face trying to disorientate it. A group of armoured elves quickly came in behind Elder Nyran with shields and spears in hand. They set off on light feet with one objective in mind, take down the troll. Elder Nyran stopped and crouched a good distance away bracing her back for extra weight. An elf came from behind jumped on to her back with light feet and sprang off in fluid motion gaining height and sending the elf’s spear through the air
. The spear found its target in the trolls shoulder the Frost Elf landed with a roll simultaneously unsheathing two engraved daggers and taking out a nearby goblin with precision strikes. A well- practised routine clearly showed its benefits as the remaining Frost Elves executed the same action with perfect precision. As a result, the troll laid dead on its back with multiple spears protruding from its chest and neck.

  Close by Elder Fallon swung his long staff in arching strikes knocking orcs out cold finishing off by slamming the bottom of the staff into the ground causing shock waves that sent the surrounding Dark Bloods flying backwards with force. Allies and Dark Bloods were laying on top one another in a sight Elder Fallon would never forget. Stepping over the bodies, he came to Elder Nyran’s side both watching the onslaught unfold around them.

  “They are holding us, we’re not making much ground towards the Breacher,” stated Elder Nyran her chest heaving trying to catch her breath.

  “I agree, and Onyxia still has a lot in reserve back there. We need more soldiers,” answered Elder Fallon blasting an orc full in the chest.

  “Wishful thinking is not going to help us very far. Our courage and determination is far greater than their mindless fury,” pointing towards Riven and the dwarves punching a hole further through the orc defence, followed by Angarian soldiers widening the area considerably as they poured through the central opening they had just created.

  Elder Warrick and Commander Bolmer fought near back to back if not for the height difference both swinging and striking their weapons against any Dark Blood that dared come near. Riven however vanished and reappeared with pouncing strikes of his huge sabre-tooth claws discouraging the Dark Bloods long enough for the armoured dwarves to surge forward again towards the Breacher with the Angarians once again following and striking from the rear.

  The surge forward lasted moments as a new wave combined of orcs and goblins came rushing over each other like a stampede. A large orc commander located to the rear wearing different parts of rusty plated armour taken from different races bent to fit its large frame. Wielding a large mace shouting orders above the noise of war cries and clanging of metal on metal encouraging them on with threats of failure and dishonour.

  Riven got pushed back to defence position with Elder Warrick and Commander Bolmer after taking a few direct hits, one wound deeper then he would of liked to his back left leg that hindered him with a slight limp. A group of dwarves stretched out in a semi-circle wall of steel in front of Riven taking the full blunt force of the Dark Bloods counter attack. With Angarian soldiers polearms in hand falling in behind accompanied by a dozen or so Guardians unleashing devastating ranged attacks keeping the allies from been overrun.

  “We’re held,” shouted Riven looking around for reinforcements realising all their forces were already in battle.

  “Keep the defence tight, don’t let them get through,” hollered Elder Warrick to his dwarven kin, watching more dwarves running placing themselves on the front line protected by their heavy armour and thick dwarven steel shields.

  “Angarians! Protect the dwarven wall, extend your weapons amongst their shields. Let these creatures fall on your blades, let them do the work for you,” ordered Commander Bolmer wiping blood from his one good eye.

  “I wish they would fall on their own blades it would make this war much easier,” stated Riven getting ready for another pounce beyond the front line hoping to gain more ground towards the Breacher tree. When a sudden shaking of the dry unfertile ground halted his action mid step watching a cave troll come running full speed barging through the orcs ranks of attacking legions. “God help us all.”

  The rain steadily became heavier, dripping from the dwarven steel helmets. Visibility reduced and movement impaired by the wall of shields they have created gave the dwarves little chance of survival when the troll struck. The front portion of their steel wall was destroyed in a single swipe of the troll’s huge hammer, sending armoured dwarves and Angarian soldiers along with pieces of steel and shields through the air like an explosion.

  Through the newly formed breach in the alliances front line, the Dark Bloods poured in from behind the troll breaking the wall of steel from the inside out. Elder Nyran and Elder Fallon saw the destructing from their position further south. Watching the dwarven line melt away was heart wrenching for them both realising their only chance to win this battle might of quickly been taken away before their eyes. Then as if the gods themselves had sent help, an object appeared mid-air above the cave troll. The Elders attention was drawn on the two glimmering objects that shown from the rays of sunshine breaking through the darkening clouds. The glimmer suddenly vanished as a person wearing a dark engraved metallic mask beneath a hooded cape landed on the trolls upper torso plunging his daggers into its large leather skinned neck sending its lifeless body backwards crushing a couple of orc as it hit the ground.

  “Looks like help has arrived,” Elder Nyran said with pleasing smile watching Lore take down multiple orc with pinpoint accuracy and skill, halting the Dark Bloods counter-offensive.

  “And he won’t be alone, that much I am sure of,” replied Elder Fallon returning a smile with a sudden newfound hope in his face.

  Riven did not hesitate, he was at Lore’s side in a blink of an eye tearing into the oncoming wave. Riven knew Lore was very handy with his daggers he had fought alongside him many times over the years. Including The Great Forest were he had helped rescue Asha and again against the Goblin King at the Noose so Asha could get across to the safety of Everlong. Looking at him now weaving and dodging attacks Riven thought Lore could see the attacks happen beforehand in a kind of precognition. He had seen nothing like this in his entire life, Lore was masterfully taking down orc after orc, goblin after goblin turning the tide of the attack back towards the Breacher tree.

  After picking their jaws up from total disbelief how a savour had just appeared from out of nowhere, to now change the course of the battle. Elder Warrick and Commander Bolmer looked at one another and raised their weapons with loud battle cries they turned and charged towards their new arrival rallying their soldiers on for one final push.

  Chapter 24

  The Breacher

  From a distance, Onyxia stood atop her dead winged beast. She could see that her forces barely holding the front line just beyond the Breacher and were slowly starting to lose ground. Holding her bruised ribs the thought of still being alive from a fall of that height must have been a saviour from the gods themselves. In Onyxia’s mind, her survival had only bolstered her reasoning for unleashing the dead upon the world and taking her seat as overall ruler and queen.

  The pain to her side was uncomfortable but she has had worse. The thought of her Dark Priests performing their power of rejuvenation would be perfect just about now a craving she always longed for. However, she knew her priests belonged in Draknar, their sole purpose is protecting and to serve the temple and its master. A stray arrow to one of the priests would be unspeakable to say the least and demoralising to her legions.

  Forcing her cravings to one side her focus shifted towards the Breacher. Stepping from her dead beast onto the damp grey dirt staff in hand, she set off at a steady pace. Dark Bloods parted way in both respect and fear watching through the light rain as Onyxia passed noticing the determination in her posture and stride. Most Dark Bloods knew this was the final act in a never-ending battle against the west that started at the dawn of time. A battle scarred orc commander falling in behind with a legion at his heels knew this better than most with past skirmishes with humans.

  “Out of the way - maggots,” roared the bulking orc commander over Onyxia’s shoulder making sure no one got in the way and to personally highlight to Onyxia he was there hoping to get in her favour.

  Dark Bloods felt an overwhelming feeling anticipation bubbling inside readying to explode as it spread throughout their ranks. Onyxia thought some especially the goblins might actually pass out with excitement jumping up and down and waving their weapons in
the air. It was not long until she was under the shadow of the giant monstrous twisted tree. The noise of the intense fighting was immensely loud as the front line was now only a stone throw away. She could see over the fighting her old tutor - Elder Fallon, his staff glowing a vibrant blue blasting her minions back through the air like an exploding bombs. The site of him brought a nasty taste in her mouth with displeasure.

  Her attention shifted towards a large knot in the tree that spanned the size of a large door with the illusion it was coiling like a snake. Onyxia took out the small scroll from within her wrapping and unravelled it to reveal ancient symbols amongst the scripture representing the Breacher. A slight smile appeared from the corner of her mouth, a confirmation the portal actually existed, which she did not need but a welcomed one all the same.

  The alliance forces were pushing forward at an astounding rate. A sense of optimism spread through the ranks giving them a much-needed moral boost. Even the remaining cave trolls began to hesitate and were quickly struck down by the allies. The Guardians however were in league of their own creating mayhem within the orc legions ranks as they randomly appeared amongst them in a cloud of dust inflicting damage no average soldier could cause.

  “They’re stirring by the Breacher,” Elder Fallon stated allowed on reaching Riven’s position. “Onyxia must be trying to open the portal.”