* * * * *
Garret watched as men dressed in black in several locations throughout the enemy army began to move at incredible speed, each of them running into another, then doubling in size before combining with yet another and then another. Within minutes more than forty of the giant black horsemen had risen from the masses of enemy troops. They varied in size and girth, but Garret knew that those attributes mattered little. These men were willing to sacrifice themselves to destroy the enemy, and Valdadore was the enemy. Garret had seen these men in action before and could think of only one way to effectively take them out.
Looking around the battlefield, his head swiveling this way then that, Garret sought out his brother to find him a few hundred yards away, blasting down hundreds of enemy troops, a wasteland of charred and desiccated flesh in his wake. Shouting above the battle, Garret called out to Seth. Gaining his attention, he gestured to the large warriors clad in black leather armor that approached from seemingly all directions. Seeing his brother nod, Garret turned back just in time to deflect a blow from one such horseman’s large sword.
* * * * *
Borrik watched in fascination as two men became one larger man, and then two of those combined to become yet a larger warrior near equal in size to himself. Finally feeling he had found someone worthy of his attack, Borrik leapt into the air propelling himself forward using his wings to glide in closer to the foe. On landing Borrik summoned a fireball into each of his lower hands and raised his swords with his upper. He did not, however, expect the warrior to move so fast. Like lightning the warrior clad in black leather lunged towards him, lashing out with a thin rapier-type sword. Borrik did not even bother to dodge, knowing his armor would protect him from such a light blade. Enchanted as his armor was, not even Borrik expected what was about to happen to the leather clad warrior. With lightning dancing across his armor, as soon as Sigrant’s knight landed the blow, lightning raced up his blade burning holes through armor and flesh alike, killing the giant of a warrior instantly, smoke curling up from his hair and clothes.
One down, Borrik turned to seek out yet another of the fascinating enemies to try his blades against. Luckily for Borrik there were plenty to be had, near to fifty in his estimation.
* * * * *
Though the warriors of Valdadore were valiantly trying to hold off the enemy so their unblessed comrades could flee in relative safety, they were so few that they were like islands in a river that simply flowed around them. At this rate there would be no turning the tide, and as such, Seth knew that the only option they had was to frighten the enemy into fleeing, or flee to the castle themselves. Knowing it was now or never, Seth shouted to Jonas who remained nearby, and in return the great mottled werewolf barked a quick reply. Yelling for Jonas to relay orders to his men, Seth repeated a task he had been practicing for weeks. Instantly Seth reached out and connected with the auras of his men. Since these auras were sworn to him, they were somehow tied to him and therefore easy to locate. Pouring all the energy he could afford to spare into all of his men, Seth was thrown from his feet by what ensued.
Like some great explosion a thunderous boom shook the ground beneath the battlefield. The frozen lake began to crack and split as great sheets of ice began to shift, spilling Sigrant’s troops beneath them by the hundreds. Though the explosion had been tremendous, the shockwaves that followed it were by far the worse of the two, as hundreds of walls of concussive air lent power to one another and men and women were either thrown to the ground or into the air. Only those who were blessed in size by their respective gods were left standing and more than two hundred of them were great wolfmen sworn to Seth. For weeks Seth had practiced locating his men, and for days he had drawn upon them with symbols formed of magic for this very moment. Though he did not have power enough to sustain them permanently, each had enough power in their blessing now to remain in their blessed form for greater than two hours. What was even better was Seth’s plan.
For the entirety of the battle thus far, Seth’s werewolves had been spreading themselves thin through the enemy lines, fighting in small packs, seeking out the targets that Seth had commanded them. He had told them that they would know when to strike, and they had taken the hint. Like the wind of a tornado, a giant roar tore across the battlefield as Seth’s troops to a man became blessed and sprang atop their chosen targets. They did not strike out at the blessed knights commanded by Sigrant, but at all those mages who had targeted Seth; all those mages who now lay upon their faces or backs, thrown by the massive wolven transformations. They were easy targets, and within seconds more than a hundred mages died, those blessed by gods, those pieces of high value.
Just as soon as the mages were felled, the hundreds of giant werewolves lent themselves to the fight against the giant black knights as everyone of normal size fought to regain their feet. It would not be a fair match by any means; two hundred giant werewolves versus fifty or so human knights dressed in leather armor.
* * * * *
Garret dove aside, kicking out at his attacker’s leg, effectively breaking the horseman’s knee. So long as the man did not go suicidal in his means of attack, Garret could defeat him. But even with a broken knee the man stayed upright, at least until the blast happened. With a force like being smacked with a stone wall, Garret’s attacker, already off balance from his injured leg, was thrown backwards to topple upon his own troops, crushing several beneath him. Garret was unsure just what had exploded, but not daring to take his eyes off his foe, ignored the deafening ringing that was now all he heard and regained his own feet to finish this fight.
Approaching his foe, Garret wasted no time and leaped upon the man from a distance, driving his blade down through the horseman’s throat before he could even do so much as sit up. Pulling his blade from the soil, Garret looked this way and that, seeking his next opponent, but instead he discovered the source of the blast. In all directions, Seth’s wolf troops stomped through Sigrant’s army, all of them now closing in on the giant black knights. Garret could not believe his eyes. Never would he have believed that Seth was capable of such a feat, but just as Garret began to get his hopes up with odds better than favorable, the tide was turned yet again.
* * * * *
Seth watched his men closing in on their enemies as he himself turned a few hundred common men and women to ash, replenishing a small amount of the power he had just expelled. As he watched he witnessed as one of the giant knights split back into four normal people who became lost among the thousands of other common troops. A second later a giant fireball in the shape of a skull smashed a giant werewolf in the chest, tearing a hole straight through the giant beast. He collapsed without so much as a muscle spasm upon the ground. Then it happened three more times from that same vicinity, and Seth recalled how the knights under his brother’s command had been felled by such an attack. His realization was too late as all of the giant warriors of Sigrant’s army disseminated from one another into ordinary men once more and skull-shaped fireballs were cast in all directions causing dozens of Seth's giant werewolves to fall in battle. Seth reached out as quickly as he was able and began severing the umbilical that connected the blessed warriors of Sigrant with their chosen god, several per attack. He dropped them where they stood. Within less than a handful of minutes Seth destroyed more than eighty of the common sized knights, but it was too late; by that time the damage had been done as more than forty of the knights had split into fours and half of those had landed a target. Seth had lost half of his men in just a few moments, and though wondrous power flowed into him in droves, he felt no pleasure from it. Though Sigrant had lost over a hundred mages, and all of his knights, his army kept coming. They marched ever forward, bent on the destruction of Valdadore, spilling by the thousands from the shore of the frozen lake, its once broken surface already mended.
Seth was out of tricks. He still had over a hundred men, each of them currently blessed with size and strength, but only for a limited time. In only an hour or
so, they would return to average size and then all would be lost. However, with the deaths of half of his troops he now had the power to sustain their blessings for significantly longer if he wished. Seth dared not try anything big, not like at the battle with the black horde. He could not bear to kill those who stood with him on the field of battle again. He would not risk being teleported halfway across the world. With nothing left up his sleeves, Seth relayed a message to Jonas who made sure it would reach the king’s ear. As Seth expected, a few seconds later, his brother’s booming voice echoed across the battlefield calling for full retreat.
The battle was over. Valdadore had lost.
But at least they stood to fight another day.
-End
THE CHAMPIONS
AGE OF THE GODS, VOLUME VI
THE BLOOD AND BROTHERHOOD SAGA
Prologue
Within the span of a few months the entire future of the world had been rewritten. Out of obscurity two new champions blessed by the gods had arisen upon the face of Thurr. Believed twins, these champions had special abilities that made each of them an asset in battle. Heeding the call of their kingdom, Seth and Garret had marched to war against the black horde, a formidable army comprised of orcs, trolls and goblins.
* * * * *
Using his unparalleled magical abilities, Seth created a new race of men to serve the kingdom of Valdadore, melding wolves with men to form werewolves. At their head, Seth appointed Borrik, a once-human priest to the goddess Ishanya, who now served loyally as the alpha werewolf, a vicious predator designed for killing. Garret, trained by the mighty Knights of Valdadore, became a warrior unlike any other, impenetrable to physical harm by any weapon. Together with their allies, the brothers faced the previously undefeated black horde. Though the battle had eventually been won so, too, had much been lost.
Taking an arrow to the neck, Sara, Seth’s young wife, had fallen in the battle. Losing control of his powers in his anguish and rage, Seth unleashed his magic with devastating effect to both friend and foe. In that final blast, the battle was won as thousands of enemy troops were obliterated. However, the King of Valdadore and several of his blessed warriors were also destroyed by it. Seth and Sara were nowhere to be found. Most assumed them dead, as no trace remained of the young couple.
* * * * *
His brother, king, and mentor Lord Sirus all slain, Garret had no choice but to ignore the emotions threatening to overwhelm him as his new duties begin to stack up in service to the kingdom. Witnessing the suicide of Sirus’s wife Sasha, he was charged with looking after their beautiful daughter, Linaya. Each overcome with their own sorrows, Garret and Linaya sought solace from one another and became closer by the day as a deep-seated love began to grow between them.
* * * * *
Seth and Sara found themselves transported to a foreign land following the magical blast that had ended the battle with the black horde. Though Sara had been mortally wounded, Seth managed to save the woman he loved by using his powers to combine her life force with that of a species of bat with amazing healing abilities. However, he soon began to realize that his magic came with untold and sometimes devastating consequences. As Sara was restored, it quickly became apparent that their lives together would change immensely. Sara had become an agile, powerful, bloodthirsty predator who could no longer tolerate the sun. Together the pair set out to find their way back home, but were captured and delayed by a tribe of miniature warriors. Hearing these people’s sad tale of persecution by the mysterious Zoomba, Seth and Sara allied themselves with the small race in hopes of defeating another immense enemy. Little did they know that the enemies were cat-sized insects that numbered in the millions.
* * * * *
Borrik, the alpha werewolf, sent his hybrid troops in all directions to seek out Seth following the battle with the black horde, confidently believing his master still alive. Leading a small contingent of wolf troops himself, he was approached by more of Seth’s creations in the night. A pair of feline girls Seth had shaped prior to the battle swore that they knew the location of their creator. Changing course, Borrik followed the trail laid before him by the sisters, racing east towards the mountainous border of Valdadore. As he and his men raced day in and out to reach their master, the lunar cycle progressed. Under the influence of the twin full moons in the sky, the contingent of hybrid wolfmen were filled by lust-induced rage, and brutally raped the inhabitants of a small community before fleeing the scene to again seek out their master.
Cresting the mountains, the pack of werewolves were accosted by a giant and took several casualties before finally bringing the immense beast down. Rejoined by another pack of his troops, Borrik led his men onwards and soon witnessed Seth’s magical fire in the distance. Leaving his injured men behind, Borrik and his troops raced with no regard for their own safety to his side.
* * * * *
Reunited with his troops, Seth formulated a plan to defeat the insect army. Together with the help of the werewolves and the miniature warriors, Seth and Sara managed to destroy the queen of the insects. Their leader lost, the remainder of the Zoomba dispersed as Seth, his wife and his hybrid soldiers headed back to the capital city of Valdadore. Along the way they were rejoined by the remainder of Seth’s small personal army of mutated men before reaching their destination.
* * * * *
Garret sought to help repair the kingdom, and now, as a member of the royal council in his role as a Knight of Valdadore, he had the means to do so. He used his meager influence to help vote good people into positions of worth within the kingdom with the help of allies in the council. When it came to selecting a new king, however, two unexpected events occurred. First, Garret made an enemy of the powerful battle mage Vladmere who fled the city after setting the mages’ tower ablaze once he realized he would not be elected as king. Second, Garret was tricked into the most powerful position within the kingdom, and within weeks a crowning ceremony was held in his honor.
If being crowned king of a mighty kingdom was not enough to make a memorable day for Garret, Linaya had also professed her love for him the night before. To top that off, little over an hour after being crowned, Garret was surprised yet again as his brother apparently returned from the dead with his resurrected lover in tow. But that was still not the end of the most memorable day of his life. No sooner was the new royal family reunited than a messenger from the western border of Valdadore arrived to announce that the kingdom was being invaded by their neighbors led by King Sigrant. Bloodshed, it seemed, would not remain a thing of their past.
* * * * *
Having learned to enchant inanimate objects, Seth helped to equip warriors with weapons and armor with magical attributes. Beyond that he began to create his own champions out of those loyal to his cause, blessing them with size, strength and more. The kingdom of Valdadore marched out to meet the approaching foe but was caught off guard by magic unlike anything ever seen before. The enemy, it seemed, had abilities at their command that could destroy Valdadore.
* * * * *
The brothers, and those who serve and love them, are in for the fight of their lives as minds and relationships are strained, and Valdadore’s weaknesses are exploited.
Chapter One
Ash and soot coated everything as the scent of charred flesh permeated the air, clinging to the nostrils of all those that survived here. Screams of agony and shouted orders blended into incoherent ghoulish howls, and beneath those that issued the sounds the ground shook. The newly made shore of the magically frozen lake served as a battleground for giants and men, and other unholy creations never seen before upon Thurr. Here fire and lightning flashed as magic was thrown between foes and blood was brought to the ears by the ringing clangs of steel upon steel. Yet here, for the first time in months, Seth had only minutes ago found a moment of clarity.
The death mage, called a walking god by some, had a realization so profound that for a moment he stood lost to the battle that raged around him. Here was
the gods’ playground. Here among the souls of mortals a battle was being waged in the heavens. Here a game was being played out where mortals were the pieces, and the players were the gods. Here, upon the world of Thurr, Seth realized that the very gods who created all life had no respect for it. It was a sad realization, but Seth knew in that moment that the gods were flawed. The highest beings in all of existence had become corrupted by their greed and fear of one another. Seth vowed silently, and only to himself, that he would find a way to correct the wrongs done by the gods.
Seth shook his head to clear it. His chestnut hair settled to either side of his face. He needed to deal with current circumstances first. Blazing a trail of destruction before him through King Sigrant’s foot troops, Seth again took stock of his surroundings. For a second time in the short battle his brother, King Garret, called a retreat. His voice boomed across the battlefield. Though all of Valdadore’s common troops had retreated earlier, it was now that the champions of Valdadore worked to extract themselves from the enemy lines. Common men of the invading force fled beneath them for fear of being trampled by the giants.
Seth stood in a sea of ash, a lone island cut off from both sides of the battle. None dared to venture too near to him. He smirked at the thought. Looking beyond his ashy perimeter he watched as Sara leapt high above her foes, twisting and twirling through the air, a deadly whirlwind of fangs and blades. Her armor was coated in blood, as were her face and hair, yet she sprang time and again from amongst the enemy troops, cleaving men to pieces each time she landed. It would be sickening, the mindless destruction she dealt, if Seth did not love her so completely. As it was, Seth simply watched the woman he loved a moment as she worked to return to his side.
Age of the Gods: The Complete, twelve novel, fantasy series (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) Page 105
