Side Story 142.2 - Arrival

Side Story 142.2 - Arrival

Belissar was just walking towards the karnuq for lessons when he felt a frantic pull on his mana. His Tower sight shifted to find the Fourth of the Seventh dancing frantically at the Tower entrance.

“King! See something flying over Hunger! Getting attacked by shades!”

Belissar’s eyes narrowed, and he spoke through the Tower mana.

“Niobee, get the army ready! Chief Rohsuak, there’s an emergency! We could use you and the hunters!”

Both of them replied and set about to fulfill his commands. Belissar then paused. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to still his beating heart.

He was reacting before thinking. Chief Rohsuak had pointed out that, while responding decisively to an emergency was important, as a leader he should stop and think about the situation as a whole as soon as circumstances allowed. The Tower itself was not under attack, nor was anyone he knew. He looked through the eyes of the Fourth of the Seventh’s scouts and found the battle still far away, over the Hunger, so not anywhere they could intervene just yet.

He took another deep breath and opened his eyes. He had time to think. So, some sort of flying creatures were headed this way and currently under attack by the Hunger. Since shades had formed, the army needed to get ready to respond, that much was clear. But...what should he do about the flying creatures? They could be wild animals that would turn hostile if they saw him, they could be injured and in need of assistance, or maybe they were even intelligent? They were bear people and skunk people so why not bird people? Point was, he didn’t know who they were or how they would react if the bee army joined the battle.

So, he reached out.

“Chief Rohsuak.”

“I’m at your command, Sacred Den Master. May I ask what’s going on?”

He nodded even though she couldn’t see him.

“Something is flying over the Hunger. They’re currently under attack by shades and headed this way. I’d like to talk about how to address the situation before they arrive.”

Her voice came through, with no hint of amusement or mirth this time.

“I understand. Let’s quickly consider some possible scenarios then.”

Belissar and Chief Rohsuak then started discussing what to do depending on who exactly the newcomers were and how they might act, and how they might best deal with the shades in those scenarios. Belissar could only hope they’d figure it out before the battle arrived...

Niobee landed in the Orchard, right before the shortcut to the Tower’s entrance. The Second First of the First had already arrived and was discussing the situation with the Fourth of the Seventh and the First of the Fifth’s First Daughter. All around them, soldier bees were flying in from the shortcuts and assembling into their formations. The three queens all stopped and saluted to Niobee as she arrived.

“Conduit, army gathering. Will be ready to move soon, whenever King commands.”

“My lord! Get down!”

Ruckanos threw himself flat against his saddle, clinging on for dear life. Another wyvern flew just above him, its scales catching and tearing the edges of his cloak. Its rider, the captain of his guard, drove a lance right into a shade flying in towards Ruckanos’s flank, dispersing the monster. Neither Ruckanos nor his captain had anytime to comment on the exchange, however, as their wyverns peeled away and spun about to gain distance from one another, just as another pair of bird shades began to dive towards them. The captain hefted his lance once more while Ruckanos tried to chant a spell through chattering teeth.

Of course, now, of all times, the Hunger had decided to strike, right when the group was at their most exhausted. The trip from the latest purified zone had been the longest yet, a flight over the largest unbroken sea of the Hunger they had encountered. The captain had wanted to turn back, even, for they were forced to pass the point where they could no longer return. But Ruckanos had pressed on. The gods had laid out this specific path for them so Ruckanos believed they would find something before their strength was spent.

And now, just when they had spotted a purified zone and his faith had been vindicated, the Hunger struck. It was inevitable, really. People claimed that wyverns flying so high in the sky that the air froze would keep them safe from the Hunger, but there was no such thing as safe when it came to the Hunger. Wyverns flying so high they were barely visible from the ground had been attacked when sparrows flying barely above the Hunger’s surface had not. There was no discernable rhyme or reason to when or how the Hunger would attack. So, the longer one spent near the Hunger, the more certain they would eventually be attacked, no matter the precautions. It had been a miracle they had not been attacked yet on their long journey. Ruckanos had hoped their guiding god would keep it that way.

But now, just before the finish, they would face their greatest challenge yet, when all of them were exhausted and spent. It showed nearly immediately. The lancers had been slow to form up and had thus allowed some of the shades to infiltrate their formation and attack the mages. One of the mages fired off a quick lightning bolt at an approaching shade, but it absorbed the attack with no apparent effect and tore the mage to shreds. It then unleashed a wave of black lightning that sent the mage’s mount hurtling to the ground...along with one of the lancers who had belatedly moved in to assist. Within moments, they had lost two of their number, and now Ruckanos himself was under assault.

The captain glanced around and grabbed a horn tied to his belt, blowing it to grab everyone’s attention. He then pointed his lance towards the one clear spot in the distance.

“Breakthrough and make for the Tower! And no lightning, they’re immune!”

His guards may have been exhausted, but they were well-trained and quickly reacted to the command. The captain took the lead, his lance glowing with mana, and the others formed up around him. They aimed their lances forward and then drove all of their wyverns ahead at full speed. The mages followed along, flinging fireballs and gusts of wind to cover the flanks, while those specialized in lightning began casting support spells instead, boosting the speed of the group. Ruckanos and the augur tried to keep their wyverns in the center.

A group of shades rushed in front of the group and together released a huge surge of black lightning, but Ruckanos’s mages countered with lighting of their own. The captain then smashed right through the surge, his lance wrapping up the lightning around it as he thrust it forward. The mana coating his lance pushed forward, piercing through a shade before the tip of his lance even made contact with it. The other lancers followed suit, though did not fare so well. One was wrapped in lightning by a shade still pierced on his lance. His wyvern stayed aloft, but his speed slowed to a crawl and he was quickly left behind. Ruckanos resisted the urge to look behind as he heard the man scream.

But his sacrifice would not be in vain. The formation had pushed through the flock of shades, and the powerful wings of the wyverns propelled them forward. The shades fell behind, while ahead of them lay the bright green of a purified forest.

His hair tingled as a bolt of black lightning shot passed him, but Ruckanos spurred his wyvern onward. The green grew in his vision even as he saw flickers of black in the corners of his eyes. Below them, the Hunger writhed and more shades joined the fray. A massive tendril of pure Hunger suddenly lashed up from below and the formation scattered. One of the mages made a wrong turn, screaming as the tendril of black mist engulfed him and his mount.

At this point, Ruckanos no longer paid any attention to anything happening around him. His sweat froze as he dug into the sides of his wyvern, channeling as much mana as he could stuff into the reigns. Anything he could to force the beast to move even a little bit faster. His eyes were locked upon the green ahead, the zone of safety just barely out of reach.

And then, finally, his vision turned green and blue. He was surrounded by trees below and clear skies above. He panted heavily and gulped. He turned around, shivering as he imagined what he might see. His eyes widened.

All around him, men fell into the saddles of wyverns as exhausted as they, landing right on the trees. The Hunger remained in the back, held back by the power of the gods. The bird shades gave up their pursuit, diving down and melting back into the Hunger.

Ruckanos took a deep breath.

They had made it.