by Keegan Long
“It would be my honor, Father,” she knelt on one knee. “I will be honor to our family.”
“I know you will,” the Olympian grinned. “I have foreseen it.”
Jadyn disappeared back into the crowd as she went to fetch her horse and weapons. Raj followed her wherever she went and would even follow her throughout the entire battle.
“Front lines, huh?” Grace said as she approached behind Jadyn with Admir and Abby by her side.
Abby had always been quiet throughout the years but Jadyn had considered her one of closest friends next to Grace. The two had always gotten along and were even assigned a few missions together. They particularly bonded on their hatred towards June but many of the Daughters felt the same way.
“I guess so,” Jadyn rolled her eyes. “My luck.”
“Well, if you’ll have me, I would like to be there by your side,” Grace offered.
“As will I,” Admir joined.
“And me,” Abby smiled.
Raj groaned saying he was going to be there as well.
“I know buddy,” she laughed. “It’s going to be dangerous.”
“Never has stopped us before,” Grace joked.
“And if we die, at least we don’t have to see June’s ridiculous face ever agin,” Abby added.
“Agreed,” Jadyn giggled.
She reached out her hand as everyone joined in with their own. She slowly looked around at all of her friends wondering if this would be the last time she would ever see them.
“Don't worry, child,” a mysterious voice echoed as she looked around and saw no one else had heard the voice like her. “Your story will not end here.”
Whoever, or wherever, the voice came from it did not bother her but instead made her smile with a new sense of confidence rushing throughout her entire body. She would survive this and so would her friends. And maybe she would come to love Anuba one day enough where she could call it home.
The desert was calm and quiet as it awaited for the battle to begin. A slight calm wind had picked up as it carried the sand particles throughout the desert. If one focused enough you could even hear the whistling wind echo.
Jadyn studied the landscape carefully with Raj and her friends by her side. Behind her, the entire army awaiting for her signal.
“This is it,” she gulped.
“That front gate is reinforced with some heavy steel,” Admir cautioned. “I’m guessing you have a plan?”
“I do,” she grinned. “But make sure our forces target their archers. The sooner we take them out the better.”
“Will do.”
Jadyn gripped her spear harder than she ever has before as her palms had already begun to sweat. She gave a simple nod towards one of the soldiers to her side. He pulled out an eastern horn and blowed into it. The other horns scattered throughout the army would soon join in unison.
“CHARGE!” Jadyn yelled out as her horse began to run on her command with the rest of the forces howling right behind her.
Jadyn’s heart quickly accelerated as she charged towards the city as the desert field began to rumble with all the other horses and soldiers trailing behind her. She quickly looked behind her and the saw the dust trailing behind their horses as if they had created their own minor sandstorm.
She looked to her side as saw Raj running alongside her horse while her friends looked forward with determination and strength in their eyes.
They had now come in range to the archers positioned on the walls and they opened fire. A volley of arrows headed straight for Jadyn and all she could do we keep her head down and hope for the best.
“BRACE YOURSELVES!” She yelled back to the army behind her.
She had miraculously escaped the volley of arrows but heard several violent thuds as horses and men trampled to the desert floor. Raj roared as he continued to jog besides Jadyn and her horse unhurt.
“You’re doing great, buddy!” She encouraged the tiger. “Keep it up!”
They were not closer to the city than ever before, but were met with another volley of arrows heading their way.
“GRACE!” Jadyn screamed as she saw an arrow heading straight towards Grace’s horse.
Grace saw it too as she stood up on her horse and jumped over and landed behind Jadyn just in time. She looked back as saw her horse disappear into the crowd behind as it fell to the ground when the arrow hit its side.
“Thanks for the ride,” she said as she pulled out her bow and loaded an arrow as she waited to get in range of the archers above.
“Just keep those archers off me and Raj,” Jadyn replied.
“You got it,” she acknowledged.
They were now close enough to the city’s walls when Grace released her arrow and hit one of the archers square in the chest as he fell forwards off the wall with a violent scream.
Raj roared again.
“It was a good shot,” Jadyn agreed.
Every arrow Grace released would find its target as the forces on top of the wall quickly began to dwindle.
“We still got that front gate to worry about!” Admir pointed out as he threw a dagger and hit one of the archers above. “Last time I checked we didn’t bring a battering ram of any kind!”
“He’s coming,” Jadyn smiled. “Don’t you worry.”
On her words, Anubis appeared at Jadyn’s side on his horse and lifted his golden staff. A small dark orb began to form above his head and once it reached the peak of its power the Olympian unleashed the spell as it hurled towards the front gate. Once the orb had hit its mark, the gate exploded and sent out a large gust of wind. When the dust finally cleared there was no more gate and only a large hole where it had stood seconds ago.
“You could of told us that was the plan!” Grace yelled.
“But I wanted to see the look on everyone’s faces,” she laughed back. “Come on. We got a city to take.”
Raj roared in agreement.
Jadyn rushed into the city and saw at least a hundred armed men with swords waiting for them. She charged right at them with her forces behind them as they trampled anyone who got in the way.
Grace jumped off the horse and began firing arrows in every direction throughout the large courtyard.
Jadyn was too busy to take in the horrified scene as screams from their victims filled the city with their blood spreading across the walls. All of the opposing forces were easily diminished and within minutes they were in full retreat as they tried to escape the city.
Several loud cheers roared throughout the entrance as the forces continued to chase the soldiers out of the city. Anubis would not allow it though. He and a large group of forces blocked the entrance and slaughtered anyone who tried to escape.
Grace and Jadyn looked at each other horrified. They had taken the city and won the battle. Was it really necessary to kill those who were just trying to escape?
For Anubis it was.
The fighting had stopped and the courtyard was now littered with dead bodies from both sides. The structure of Anuba, however, had mainly remained intact like planned. The only major damage was the hole that existed from where the front gate used to be. The statues and architecture remained like they were found.
“Well, we survived,” Jadyn looked around astonished as she dropped her spear to the ground from exhaustion. “I can’t believe we actually survived.”
Jadyn took her hand and wiped of the dirt and dust from her face but realized it was more than just that. It was a mixture of dirt and blood. And it was not her blood.
“And that’s disgusting,” she commented at her realization.
Her tiger moaned in agreement.
“Home sweet home they say,” Grace came up to her. “The city is pretty nice if I do say so myself.”
It was hard to argue with Grace. Seeing the beauty of the city from the outside was one thing, but once you enter the city is a completely different story.
The city was aligned with beautiful buildings and temples throughout with symb
ols and images inscribed on their doors and walls. Obelisks and statues lined perfectly across the street as they lead a clear path straight up the royal palace.
The palace was even more beautiful and majestic Jadyn noticed as she walked in through the golden gates behind Anubis. The hallways were long and tall with more than a hundred rooms spread across.
More statues and artwork filled the palace along the glossy black marble floor. Pillars were painted with illustrations from top to bottom. Even the the ceiling above had paintings of different Olympians by the look of it. Jadyn squinted her eyes and could see a drawing of Anubis himself high above her.
The group that continued to follow Anubis and came across another set of golden doors but this time they were twice as large and had illustrations of people and battles carved into the gold itself.
Anubis took a moment as he stood at the doors and stared at them in silence. He then proceeded to wave his hand and the two doors slowly began to slide open revealing the magnificent throne room.
Jadyn’s mouth dropped at the site that was now before her. The floor was glossy like before but there was more gold and silver placed across the room than she had ever seen in her life. And at the very end of the room on a raised platform was the Golden Throne itself. A throne made entirely of gold with a red jewel atop the very center of it.
Anubis slowly began to climb the steps to the throne as everyone eagerly watched him from behind. He took his large hand and ran his palm across the throne’s arm. He let out a sigh of relief . He turned around and took his seat on the throne.
The audience before him quickly knelt down to one knee and bowed their heads towards their king. Jadyn followed just like everyone else.
“All hail Anubis!” A voice called out from the crowd. “King of Anuba. King of the East!”
Jadyn caught glimpse of a sinister grin come across Anubis’ face at that moment.
The crowd echoed in unison. “LONG MAY HE REIGN!”
Emma
Andros
The last week had been restless for Emma. Attacks raged on throughout the fields and kingdom that Emma had to attend to on a daily basis. Some of these attacks were minor while others not so much.
The forces on both sides of this war had begun to slowly dwindle. Emma had lost great warriors against the army of Troja. Some she knew well and others not. But there was one thing she did know. They deserved at better ending. All of them.
Emma had received word that Carter and the others were in Olympia and they were receiving help from someone on the inside, but that was the last she had heard from them. And that was a week ago. She needed their help more than ever.
“Troja has decimated the majority of our fields,” Loris explained in one of their meetings.
“It won’t be long until they turn their eyes to the city next,” Bri added.
“They have no siege weapons or methods to attack us on the mountain,” Emma joined. “But they can starve us. That is how Luther plans to win.”
“Then we keep fighting!” Bri slammed her fist on the table making several of the objects jump. “We cannot stop fighting now!”
Loris stroked his chin, “we do have enough in reserves to last us quite a while, but not enough to survive us through the coming winter.”
“We could look for help,” one of her other advisors suggested. “Send out a call for aid.”
“That could work,” Loris agreed. “Many kingdoms in the past have been friendly to Andros. What about Elvenvale?”
“The Twins will not get involved nor do I want them to,” Emma denied the proposition. “They have enough on their plate as it is and it would take weeks for their forces to arrive. I’m afraid time is now on our side my friends.”
The room went silent as they thought of possible ideas to on how to win this war but the truth was there wasn’t any. She could launch a full assault against Luther’s forces and would more than likely end in a stalemate. It would only be a matter of time until they returned with a bigger army. One that would be backed and supported by Olympia itself.
Emma stood up and firmly began to address the room. “We have two options before us.” Neither of them she liked. “We can fight with was forces we have left and hope its enough to draw them back to Troja and give us enough time to recruit potential allies, or we can surrender and put an ending to this suffering.”
The room went silent once more as everyone examined and thought about the two difficult choices their queen had put in front of them. Neither of them resulted in the outcome they had hoped for. If they fought, the majority of their forces would be depleted. Troja would return with Olympia’s forces and no kingdom would dare to declare war on them like she currently had. They were all deciding what side to join in this ongoing war and they all wanted to choose whichever side would win. She didn’t blame them. Right now she was on the loosing side by the looks of it.
“I say we fight!” Bri abruptly stood from her chair.
There were several murmurs amongst the crowd in agreement. Emma smiled at her friend’s integrity and enthusiasm.
“We can win!” The Valkyrie continued. “Carter will return. And he will come back with a force strong enough to help us, but we have to buy him time. I have faith in the Phoenix King. All we need to do is make sure we’re still alive when he arrives.”
The members around the table pounded their fists on the table in unison to show their agreement.
“We’re fighters,” Emma encouraged and agreed with Bri’s choice. “Our ancestors were fighters and so are we. If this is the end of us then let history see us of what we are! Fighters!”
The room roared this time in agreement. Emma even saw a bright smile from Loris as he nodded towards her. In the little time she had been queen, she sure had turned into one of the best.
“If people see Troja defeated they will rally to our side,” Loris spoke. “They will join the Phoenix King. We were just the first.”
“Let us lead the way!” Bri added. “The Terran Civil War has officially begun!”
“It’s time we look the evil that has plagued Terran the last several decades!” Emma shouted. “And say NO MORE!”
“Hear, hear!” The room chanted and pounded their fists.
“What say you!” Emma unsheathed her sword. “Soldiers of The Mountain!”
The room roared louder than ever as everyone stood and joined as they pulled out their swords.
It was settled. Andros was going to fight. Even if it meant the end of them all.
Emma had spent the entirety of the night making preparations for the final battle ahead. This would be larger than anything she had ever fought in. Luther had been launching small bands of attacks across the kingdom, but now they would be marching each other’s full armies against each other.
Bri helped her put on her armor that morning. It was blue with hints of silver. The official colors that represented Andros since its beginning. It was much heavier than she thought it would be, but would do the job and maybe even save her life.
“The Valkyrie will be by your side the entire time,” Bri spoke into her ear.
“I appreciate that,” Emma acknowledged. “But I’ll be fine.”
“You know, it’s okay to be scared,” Bri attempted to comfort. “It’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“I’m not scared. I’m terrified. Not for me but for my people. This could be the end of Andros as we know it.”
“Our kingdom has survived for hundreds of years,” Bri encouraged. “And has had to endure much worse than this. We will survive and grow even stronger because of it. Trust me.”
Emma turned around to face her friend and laid both her hands across her shoulders. “Then I’m glad you’re here with me.”
“Nowhere else I would rather be,” the Valkyrie smiled back. “Come on. We got a battle to win.”
The Queen of Andros looked down the mountainside from the city’s walls. The soldiers bellow had been put in place. The citizens of surrounding vil
lages had been ordered to evacuate to the mountain. The beginning of the end was about to begin.
It did not take long for Luther and his forces to arrive at the base of the mountain. Several hundreds lined straight as they were face to face with the forces bellow.
Emma quickly flew Layla down to join the forces bellow with the Valkyrie and other pegasus riders close behind. She looked upon Luther and saw his evil smile had not been cleansed from his face yet. Hopefully she would be able to change that here soon.
“My Queen,” he gave an teasing and exaggerated bow. “How nice of you to join us here on this beautiful day.”
Emma glared at him and choose to remain silent to his comments.
“Have you come to surrender to me then?” Luther continued.
“I have not,” Emma firmly stood her ground. “This is your last chance. Leave now or suffer the wrath of the Phoenix King.”
His army laughed alongside their ruler. Emma clenched her fist even tighter. They would pay for that. If not today then someday.
“Very well then,” Luther spoke. “Then you have chosen death. Not to worry, I will take great care of your kingdom after you’re gone.”
“You wish,” she spat as she turned away to join the Andros forces behind her.
The Andros forces unsheathed their swords and readied their arrows to fire at her command. The pegasus groaned in anticipation of the battle ahead.
Moments later Luther gave the order and his forces began charging towards her own with his horses leading. She thought this was strange for him to sacrifice his calvary forces so soon, but Luther was not the brightest and had grown impatient on wanting to destroy the young queen as quickly as possible. His mistake.
“FIRE!” Emma gave the command as the archers released their arrows towards the charging horses.
Many of the arrows hit their targets, making the horses and their riders violently crash to the ground.
