The Guardian Chronicles: Book 03 - The Dark Tide (28 page)

Kana summoned demonic dogs to distract Adair and she positioned herself for her next move.  The massive beasts rushed the guardian who simply vanished and reappeared behind them.  He lassoed the five beasts and pulled tight on the blue rope.  Each head popped off unceremoniously and they fell to the ground.  Kana felt she had the advantage now and used her underworld powers to open a portal to the keeper.  A massive black hand reached from the depths toward Lord Adair.

“Zëgé” bellowed the guardian.  The opening snapped shut and the hand disappeared.  He turned to look at Kana once more.  He had used the sacred language of the elements to close off the portal to the underworld.  Kana still underestimated his abilities.

“You think you have won?  You have done nothing…” chided Kana briefly before she was blasted far off into the distance.  Adair had used all the elements to send her back to her new home in Nairi to the west.

As the guardian turned to the battle at hand, it was clear that his distraction had been costly.  The drugars had overrun the village and the dwarves were in full retreat to the capital.  Adair quickly identified the most troublesome demons and decided to deal with them.  He rose into the air in a silvery mist.  The demons below were drawn to his appearance overhead and started for him.  Before they got too far, the guardian lashed out with considerable force.  A wide variety of lightning lashed out at the various demons…some hit so hard that they were incinerated while others were stunned.  Each hit sent out a shock wave that killed hundreds of drugars.

***

The commander of the outer wall watched as a magical battle was fought at the rear of the advancing drugar hordes.  The dwarf was not distracted overly long as he waited for the dwarves in retreat to reach the safety of the walls.  While he watched the battlefield unfold before him he heard the shrieks of the giant eagles.  They cast ominous shadows over drugars who immediately started running every direction at once.  The first series of boulders smashed into the beasts below with great effect.  The second assault was more up close and personal.  Eagles were seen diving in and out of the hordes.  The golden feathers turned a dark red color as they continued to attack.

The eagles made their way to the back and the edges of the aggressors.  There would be no escape.  While the drugars were initially unsettled, the remaining demons were quick to regain control.  The dwarven commander did not want to lose the advantage he had gained, so he ordered the trebuchets to unleash hell on their ancient nemesis.  The massive boulders were smooth and completely round.  When they hit the ground they did so at an angle.  This allowed the bulky projectile to continue its destruction by using its remaining kinetic energy to roll over even more furry beasts.

In retaliation, the larger demons grabbed drugars and hurled them at the wall.  They were still out of range and many beasts were needlessly crushed to death.  The drugars stopped advancing as they were now being assailed by dwarves who were springing up out of the ground.  The dwarves who were in retreat did not actually make it to the wall; they went into tunnels and back tracked to surprise the furry beasts.  The tide of the battle turned toward the dwarves of Ennis and the demons knew it.

As soon as it was clear to the demons that this assault was a lost cause they started to vanish into thin air.  After hours of battle only the drugars and dwarves remained.  General Chad had made it to the battle finally and had taken command of the situation.  He ordered the troops to completely surround the vile perpetrators of unneeded death.  There was only one order he gave after that.  “Kill every last one of them…we end their threat now!”

The battle for Mount Ennis was over in matter of days.  When dwarven soldiers became too weary to lift an axe or heft a hammer, another would take their place.  They rotated thusly until the threat of the drugars was over.  It was sad to end such creatures as they were the last of their kind and were from an age long forgotten.  In wartime such considerations went by the way side.  Survival instincts take over and the only consideration is how to save your own kind.  It was still a loss to Tuwa and there would be time later to mourn their extinction.

General Chad organized the army without further interference.  He organized the relief effort to their brethren in the south.  He knew that it would take some time to get his army ready to move out and did his best to remain patient.  The dwarves of the north needed to make their presence known in order to get the attention off of Adem and Carrick.  He spent the next couple of weeks planning and strategizing on different ways to do just that.  He wanted to make a good first impression since the army of Ennis has never really been in action outside their island in years.

The old man from the east had promised that this war would not find them.  Yet, Belva burned.  Men, women, and children were run down in the street by black nightmares.  These creatures were ghost stories to scare children into better behavior.  The black devils were more myth or legend…they were not supposed to be real.  Tell that to the people being burned alive.  Tell that to the dark elves who appeared out of a dark mist that came from the east and not the west.  They descended upon the people of this port town with vengeance and ruthlessness that defied description.  The horrors were too great for many who opted to take the quick way out.  Dead bodies lay everywhere.

Children roamed the streets crying out for their parents.  This would bring an arrow or more gruesome reply for such innocence.  The stories of the dark elves had always said that they were without morals or fear.  It was completely different to experience firsthand their brutality.  The dark tide moved through the streets with ruthless efficiency.  The Silver Anchor was decimated and its owner rent to pieces in front of his patrons.  Absolute terror gripped the people as they watched their doom come at them like a tidal wave.

Rain began to pour down on the city which turned the dirt streets into mud mixed with blood and gore.  The atrocities committed against the innocent people of Belva were worse than any other such incident in recorded history.  There was nowhere to hide.  The end was drawing close for those few survivors.  In all, only fifty survived the day and a half assault.  The survivors gathered in the local church to make their last stand.  Only a handful of dark elves surrounded the church and they made no move against it.  This gave hope to those inside that they were being protected by a higher power.

“What do you have to live for?” taunted a dark elf who was growing bored standing around in the rain.

“Each moment in life is a gift and should be treasured” retorted one of the survivors boldly.  The voice was firm and full of conviction.

“I see…you believe the creator will save you…that you are sacrificing yourselves for the greater good.  Do you think it makes any difference to the creator what you do?  Where was he when we descended upon you?  Why did he not save you?” jeered another elf from the circle surrounding the church.  Dark laughter filled the smoke filled air.

“Your words are meaningless and hollow.  I know my maker and I am prepared to meet him.  You deny your maker and are enslaved to the keeper.  You will see what the keeper does for those that serve him in the end.  There is no curse we can levy against you that would be worse than what your master has in store for you” replied a female voice this time.  There was no hint of fear in that voice.

The dark elves shot flames at the church as one.  They had tired of taunting their prey and wanted to move on to other things.  There were shouts of terror and pain as the remaining few were burned alive.  In a matter of two days the entire town of Belva had been demolished.  The people were all dead and the buildings had all been razed to the ground.  The only sign that anything had existed here before were the piles of smoldering ashes.

“What is our next move?” asked one of the dark elven captains.  He was addressing Lord Tyrienwalker who stood on the hills just outside the former town of Belva surveying something that was not visible to the captain.

“Patience my friend…time is on our side.  We have the keeper’s backing and for now we have our allegiance to Kana.  We need only to build our first above ground stronghold and I will look to you to help out with that noble cause.  I have other matters to attend to presently.”  Tyrienwalker did not look at the elf who knew that he had been dismissed.  He did not feel slighted in the least…building the fortification that had been presented earlier would require a great deal of energy and resources.  The captain had a solid reputation of motivating others and this could be used well in this endeavor.

The dark figure of Tyrienwalker could be seen descending the eastern side of the hill.  He was heading directly for his tent to meet with his high ranking military leaders.  He wanted to meet with them to discuss their latest direction from Kana.  He had met with the axis leader while his troops decimated Belva.  She had instructed him to build the stronghold and told him that this particular location was crucial to the war effort.  She did not tell him why, however it did not really matter to him.  His people were making their presence known and their reputation was spreading like an airborne virus.  This would prove helpful in coming conflicts.

In the end, Tyrienwalker still planned to overthrow Kana and take control of the lands of middle Tuwa.  Once they had conquered these lands they would head south.  They would not rest until all of the people and creatures of Tuwa were under their heel.  They were the strongest in the land and had every right to rule.  They were showing that they were powerful enough to do what they had set out to do.  They showed no mercy and that they would do anything to win.  The giants and the people of Belva were mere examples…they planned to enslave as many as they could.

***

Xuzien had setup different traps along the keala path that Kana’s forces were on.  He had also setup magical waypoints where he could glimpse what was going on in the various locations he had set this up.  He had also put in place several of these viewers throughout the west, especially on Laikra Island.  He knew that this was where his adversary would come from in the end and he wanted as much advance notice as possible.

As he went through his routine of checking the different way points, he noticed that one of the Laikra viewers was showing something that he could not quite believe.  It looked like the town of Belva was no more.  There were smoldering piles everywhere; however, the distance was too great for him to get a better look.  Still, this was an alarming development that he knew Adair would need to know about right away.  He quickly activated an unusual looking device that had a blue flashing light on it.  After a few moments, the guardian appeared before Xuzien.  It was only a spectral version of the head guardian which meant that he was off dealing with pressing matters again.

“Adair, I thought you would like to know that the city of Belva is no more” stated the outcast magician.

“What?  How do you know this?” asked a now not so distracted guardian.

“One of my spying devices allowed me to catch a peek at the town and it was gone.  Nothing was left standing and there are piles burning everywhere.  I could not tell if there were people there or not.”  Xuzien’s heart clenched as he said this.  As much as he tried to live separate and to not get attached to anyone, the people of Belva had always welcomed him.  They were some of his only friends and allies in life.  Now, he did not know what had become of them.

“I think this is the work of the banished dark elves. They have been busy with their slaughter of the giants and now the people of Belva.  I really liked those people as I know you did as well.  I am so sorry” the guardian said kindly.

“The cost of this war keeps increasing…what are the dark elves after?” asked a clearly perturbed Xuzien.

“At this point my theory is that they are looking to side with Kana just long enough for their forces to be positioned properly to take out the allies along with the axis powers.  They want to rule everyone and everything in Tuwa.  It is a horrible cliché; however, it is likely at the heart of what they are striving for.”

“Does this change anything for me?” asked Xuzien darkly.  His mood was getting worse and the reality of what had happened to both the giants and the town of Belva cut deep.

“Stay the course…not much longer now and Master Aiden will arrive at your first rally point.  I need you to pay closer attention to Laikra Island from here on out.  I have a bad feeling that the dark elves may get wind of the orb and decide to retrieve it for their ends and not Kana’s.  This would be beyond disastrous…it is one thing to have Kana gain the orb; however, it is even more troubling if those dark fiends get their cursed hands on it.”  The guardian’s mood was also growing dimmer as the conversation continued.

“I will do what I can.  I will check on Master Aiden to see where he is at and then I will continue to prepare.”  It was clear that his mind was moving into action mode and that he was done with the conversation.  The guardian disappeared without further comment.  He had known Xuzien his whole life and did not take offense by the way he communicated.

***

Lord Tyrienwalker waited patiently for Kana to arrive.  They had much to discuss.  He was very curious about this orb he had heard so much about.  He thought that this may be something that he could obtain and use against the fallen guardian sooner rather than later.  It would make the over throw so much simpler.  It was actually poetic since this was obviously an object of great power or at least importance to the elementals.  It was clear that possessing this magical sphere was crucial to both sides of the conflict; this was something he needed to know more about.