Act 3: Empire's Stand - Chapter 576: The Siege of Dragonheart

Act 3: Empire's Stand - Chapter 576: The Siege of Dragonheart

After the high-pitched bell ended its slow, drawn-out tolls, a ceaseless and constant ringing of a second one, rapid and loud like the clattering of a wheel on a stony road, signaled all forces to report to their stations. Oscar took deep breaths to calm himself and pounded his chest to slow his quickening heartbeat. Erden jumped from his corner, transformed into his true form mid-air, and landed before him, lowering the antler wings to give space for him to mount. He joined the last hurrah with his friends, bidding each other farewell and good fortunes for the battle.

"Remember what I said. If the battle seems lost, run with as many others as possible." Celestina whispered, turning away to depart. He felt certain she had no intentions of running away, her fate forever tied to the empire. Oscar shook his head away from her sight, worried she might come back and command him to run. They had to win. He promised to himself. He wouldn't let her die in vain but wanted her to live with great purpose as the next empress, to live past the war.

Fred and Emily departed for their home to prepare their equipment for the final battle. The sounds of crying reached him from the other end of the hallway, Renn's and Gloria's. Oscar entered the playroom, toys scattered around and broken, presumably from the tantrums thrown by the others. The other children were already taken away by their parents, and in the middle of the room remained Renn and Gloria, hugging each other in tears. Even they knew what these bells meant.

Scooping them up in his arms, Oscar tenderly swayed them about, slowly calming them down to faint sniffles and muffled sobs. Facing Declerd and the two maids, he passed the children to their arms, one for each maid. Unsurprisingly, the two children gripped tightly onto his clothes, and after great effort, their fingers loosened enough for him to escape. Oscar patted Declerd's shoulder, trusting the old butler after two years of good servitude, and whispered into his ears, "I leave these two to you. Go down to the cellar and into the tunnels built underground. Wait for the bells of victory or defeat. If I don't return, find a safe place for yourselves and them.

"I will not fail you. Young master and miss will be well cared for. Please, my Lord, come back safely." Declerd bowed, the wrinkles deepening on his face, the old one showing deep emotion for the first time in his years of service.

"Good luck to you, my Lord!" Arlen, the lively maid, shouted.

"We will await your return." Eris bowed, sweat beading down her usually calm face, which began to crack and tremble.

Oscar nodded and thanked the two maids. He rested his hands on the heads of the two children and said, "I will be leaving now. Don't cause any trouble for old Declerd. Behave yourselves and wait quietly."

"Mister!" Renn yelled out, his voice in suffering. His lips trembled as his cheeks and brow twisted. "You're coming back, right?!"

Silently, Oscar poked his forehead, a short exclaim of pain responding to his touch, and he wiped away Renn's tears. He smiled widely and hit his fist against his chest, reassuring the lad and, more importantly, himself, "Of course I will. I am the hero, aren't I? Like the ones in the books, I'll defeat the big bad evil and return home. So, wait. You too, Gloria. I promise I will be back."

"Dad. Good luck." Gloria said through watery eyes, snot running down her nose. These words surely required her to muster all of her strength and will. Oscar leaned down and kissed her on her forehead. If he stayed any longer, it would be hard to leave. Forcing his legs to move, he quickly turned around, the children's wailing picking back up as they faded into the distance, carried away, yet he could not return to comfort them.

'War is often a terrible affair, one that Esteres loathed greatly. But I find it to be the best. In war, the flaming resolve of humanity and beast shines the brightest. The Threads formed between all coagulate into the greatest blaze.' Ignyres's small figure, about as tall as Oscar, appeared beside him, visible only to him.

'I can't deny that is in your nature. But I am more inclined to Esteres's view.' Oscar brushed past the Ancient of Fire.

'You are very much like her. But in the end, you, like her, had no choice and fought fiercely like berserkers. How very similar indeed.' Ignyres cackled, matching Oscar's pace.

A deep groan rumbled from above, two others joining in the bellow of creaking metal. Three Garantulems floated above, Excrusiers in their centers and surrounded by vast fleets, pointed outward like three arrows loosened in three directions. Once they all found their positions, silence befell the entire city, the roads empty of all life, a scene never seen in the empire's history. Oscar floated up, peering over the horizon. Up above, the Dragnar Ancestor, Caires Vanholt Dragnar, stood firm, his proud and powerful figure becoming a beacon for all to look at.

Sparks ignited in the faraway sky, the earth quaked, and pillars of inferno flames rose. Storms blotted out the sun and covered the blue sky as lightning rained down in thunderous booms, all aimed at an unknown target, but Oscar and everyone else knew who was coming. A few hours later, many shapes dotted the stormy sky. Narrowing his eyes, he saw a great fleet approaching from all directions. Smoke and flames covered some of the ships as they fell apart and crashed to the ground. At least the preparations they toiled endlessly to set up had done some damage.

"Not bad, Caires. You pulled out all of your forces to the Pavilion and Dragonheart." Someone spoke, her voice enthralling many like a siren, soft, direct, and pleasing to the ears. Above the barrier, a woman dressed in imperial red robes floated down from the storms. Her face held deep wrinkles, but anyone could tell she was a devastating beauty in the past, shadows of her former beauty still gracing her countenance as a pair of orange eyes matched the aged white hair. Two eagle-like wings, sculpted from white jade, extended from her shoulders.

"Visellan. It has been many years since that time in Ashen Grove." Caires grumbled. The old woman's identity became clear: the old ancestor of the Scarlet Griffon Empire, Visellan Edon Griffreen.

"It can't be a gathering of rulers of Farsky without the rest of us." Another voice called out from the storm. His booming voice trembled the earth.

"It's a pity we can't fight. I would have relished in tearing you apart, Caires." A second added on. Winds swirled around his figure.

One wore loose black robes. The shirt was cut down from the collar to reveal a set of bulging muscles on the chest and stomach. He had white hair and brown eyes. His tall height matched Caires, and he gave a hearty smile—the old ancestor of the Black Tortoise Empire, Radon Sigfried Torton.

The last one wore teal robes and a hood and mask to cover all but his teal eyes. Winds scattered away from his presence as gusts flew away every second. His thin, stick-like frame only further the insidious danger Oscar felt within the old ancestor of the Emerald Hydra Empire, Orokon Galeius Hydrakes.

"Radon, Orokon, and Visellan...you three must have paid quite a price to invoke your ancestral powers to destroy Wyrmir." Like Wyrmir, the other three empires also had their special means drawn from the beasts from which their empires took their namesake. The only force that could have taken down Wrymir would have been those three.

"What's the point if we lose? Though, it is strange. The Primanomachy should be over by now. I wonder where your precious Grade Nine boy is. I haven't heard any news." Orokon said.

"Enough prattling, Orokon. We have to end this before a glimmer of hope is rekindled." Visellan chided.

"Indeed!" Radon bellowed. "Let's have the biggest battle this war has ever seen. Are you prepared, Caires?"

"Come. We will show you that our empire still stands to the last!" Caires raised his arm, and all of Dragonheart City erupted into chanting, their warcries reaching the farthest ships in the enemy fleet. "All forces! Fight to the death!"

Oscar shouted, "Black Aegis Order! The last battle has begun!"Fôll0w current novÊls o/n n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(c/o/m)