Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the reviews!

The Legacy of a Hero

Part Two: A Path is Chosen

Chapter Four

The heroes were momentarily pushed back by the sheer force of the undead army fighting against them but soon recovered. Normally Raven had difficulty casting light spells but the Mooncalling Staff made it much easier. Even still, her attacks were tainted. Rather than a bright balls of pure light, Raven's spells were a dark golden color and it looked as though darkness danced along the edges of each spell, though the battle was far to fierce for her to be sure.

She ducked as an axe tried to sever her head from her shoulders and swung her staff at the attacker's own head. Its skull was wrenched form its bony spine and stuck in the point of the crescent moon on her staff. Lacking the time to remove it, Raven left it there. She jumped to the left to avoid a spear and it stuck in the ground where she had stood. Raven pulled it out of the earth and launched it back at it's owner with such force it impaled both him and the undead behind him, both falling to the ground to be trampled by their fellow soldiers. A red blur flashed past her vision and landed on an undead. After stabbing the soldier through the eye and killing it, Twilly flashed Raven a grin. "Twilly! Where have you been!" She cried out, relieved that the little moglin was alive. "Fighting of course!" He said with excitement. Twilly stood next to Raven and she made sure to keep one eye on the war and the other on the moglin, fearful that he would be lost in the fray once more.

Wolfencreek slashed at his foes with the same fish he used earlier. Amazingly, the fish was not sliced in half when he blocked the axe aiming for his chest. The fish acted like a regular sword because of the breed of fish or something the Doom Knight had done to it Raven did not know. Seeing Dantea was busy blocking six undead simultaneously, he pulled out three hira-shuriken from his backpack and sent them flying toward the foes. Three direct hits and three soldiers fell to the ground.

With their numbers cut in half Dantea was easily able to push back the remaining undead. Bolts of crackling blue energy flew from her palm and consumed the undead soldiers. She sent Wolfencreek a grateful nod before returning to the matter at hand. More undead pressed in, each eager for the kill. Narrowing her eyes she raised her staff and long black spikes rose from the ground to impale the undead. An entire wave fell to the ground but more still came. She sent a might wind that blew through the waves causing many undead to fall backwards on their comrades and greatly slowing down their advance, if for a moment.

Wolfencreek and Vorthos joined powers and a massive tidal wave far more powerful than either could summon on their own tore through the soldiers and shredding them like bits of straw in a mighty windstorm.

Next to her Liam threw his staff and it clotheslined four undead soldiers before black tendrils raced from his open hand and grabbed the staff, calling it back to him. With his other hand he formed a claw and scratched an undead trying to sneak up behind Raven. Red welts formed where the undead had been touched and burned through its bones like acid.

The heroes were slowly making progress; bones littered the streets to the point where the ground was completely covered in some places. Liam used this to his advantage. Many of the bones shuddered and came together, rising from the earth were at least fifty undead. Grabbing their weapons from where they had fallen, they charged past the heroes and attacked the oncoming army, closing the short distance that had been created by the combined powers of Wolfencreek and Vorthos.

Imaru climbed atop one of the houses to get a better view of the battle. Laughing like the crazed pyro obsessed man that he was, he called the flames wielded by some of the bonefires to rise into fire elementals and turn on the undead. Satisfied with his work he jumped down back into the raging battle and fought alongside Razor, his blade burning with a fire so intense it sliced through the undead like melted butter and stained their bones black with ash. He laughed as his foes were cut down before him; if the undead could have they would have cowered in fear at the sight.

"What is wrong with that man?" Raven shouted, fearing him even though they fought on the same side. "He is what is called a Berserker. A rare breed of fighters that literally go insane with battle fever in a fight." Zairos explained. "Will he be okay?' Raven asked as she blocked an attack. "Do not worry, a berserker's rage only lasts as long as he keeps fighting. When he stops it will pass." "How long has he been a berserker?" Raven asked. "For as long as I have known him." Zairos answered. "You will get used to it eventually."

Zairos threw his yari at the nearest undead and pierced it chest. He rushed up and pulled the spear from its bony chest before it even had the chance to fall and sent a small blizzard to consume the undead surrounding him. With their bones weakened and brittle from the cold he slashed at each with the yari and one hit was all it took to shatter them.

Razor hovered a full head above the others and was a target for many a spear to be thrown in his direction as a result. This did not bother him however as he simply stopped time around the spear, pulled it from the air and turned it around before sending the spear backward in time to the one who launched it, this time point facing the undead. He carefully monitored each of his comrades and when one of them received an injury now matter how small he reversed time around the wound until they were healed.

Blue tentacles shot out from his chest and lashed at the waves of undead like whips and fed off of their energy so that Razor would not run out of mana. His blue and bronze blade sang through the air as soldier after soldier fell to the ground at his feet.

Raven looked to the sky to see the sun was starting to set. All day they had been fighting nonstop and she was terribly tired. Her muscles ached from the strain and she could see she was not the only one who was exhausted from the day's constant struggle. In their eyes she could see her comrade's fatigue. "There is too many of them! We cannot hold them back much longer!" Raven cried out.

"We have to end this now before they end us!" Liam shouted.

Suddenly, Vorthos had a plan.

"Imaru! Circle around the undead to the east, and Zairos! You do the same from the west! Do not let a single soldier get past your position!" Nodding in understanding the two broke off from the fight and disappeared between the houses. Raven! Liam! Razor! Dantea! You stay here and hold them off, me and Wolfencreek will attack from the rear!"

Vorthos and Wolfencreek abandoned the battle to get in position while the remaining four heroes struggled to fend of the attacking army. Dantea cast a shield around them and Raven reinforced it to double its strength. From within the protective bubble Liam reanimated fallen undead soldiers and sent them to attack while Razor caused a time rift to form, obliterating waves in an instant. Raven and Dantea fought to keep the shield up, each focusing all their efforts in this single task, as the undead army banged on the blue bubble with their swords, axes, spears and spells. The two mages could feel their mana drain so fast it seemed that it was being pulled from their very being.

"Come on Vorthos, HURRY UP!" Dantea screamed.

Twilly stood behind the protective shield and looked worriedly at the attacking army. He did not know and ranged attacks and knew that going outside the shield would do more harm than good. With nothing else to do he offered what comfort he could to the heroes within the shield.

Imaru stood atop one of the houses and looked worriedly at his fellow heroes. Across the street Zairos did the same. They cannot hold much longer, there are just too many! He thought.

Vorthos and Wolfencreek stood at the banks of the Falconreach bay and looked at the calm water. "Are you sure this will work Vorthos?" Wolfencreek asked. "No, but it's the best idea I can come up with." The Kathool Adept replied.

The two joined powers once again and called out to the waters. The water bubbled and boiled as if alive and water elementals rushed from the banks to charge the undead. Almost three hundred of them were summoned and they attacked the undead from behind, surprising them and causing chaos and confusion to erupt in their ranks.

Having reached the very limits of their power, Vorthos and Wolfencreek collapsed to their knees and prayed it would be enough.

From their perches on the roof tops Imaru and Zairos watched the battle unfold. The undead were now being attacked on two sides and tried to slip between the houses and surround their foes. Zairos gulped down two mana potions so that he would have enough and created a wall of ice between each house on his side of the street, effectively cornering the undead. On the other side of the street Imaru did the same, though he was forced to watch where his raging fire went lest he burn down the town he was trying so hard to save. Though he was out of mana points and thus unable to cast anymore spells, Zairos fought his fatigue and jumped back into the field of battle. Landing beside Liam he attacked the undead army with a vengeance.

The last water elemental fell to the ground with a loud splash and what was left of the undead army turned toward the five heroes.

By the light of the setting sun, they gave the battle their all.

The shield was failing; the two mages struggled to keep it up. Dantea and Raven shared a worried look and Dantea nodded. Raven removed her support from the shield and lifted her staff while Dantea alone held back the attacking soldiers. Just as the shield failed Raven's slammed her staff into the ground at an angle so that a black shockwave was directed forward at the undead. Entire waves collapsed from the force but the rest came forward and took their place. We cannot make it! Raven thought.

All around her the heroes fought like the gates of hell were opening behind them. From the rooftop where he still stood Imaru sent raging infernos at the undead, beside her Admakir stood in the midst of a swirling blizzard, and further down the street Liam reanimated undead as fast as he could but was it fast enough? Razor charged through the waves sword singing and leaving fallen undead in his wake.

Raven sent a bolt of black lighting at an undead soldier who was about to throw a spear in her direction. It collapsed to the ground, energy racing along its bones and Raven whiled around and raised her staff to block an attack that never came. Shocked she looked around.

Dantea clotheslined an undead, wrenching its skull from its spine. She lowered her staff and tried to catch her breath while nothing was attacking.

Liam and Zairos looked at each other each too shocked to speak.

"We…we did it." Raven panted. "I didn't think we were going to make it, but we won."

They stood in silence for a brief moment before Razor punched the air and shouted. "WOOHOO!" Taking his lead the others began cheering as well. Imaru jumped off the roof and shared a high-five with Razor, and Vorthos and Wolfencreek slowly joined them.

Wolfencreek groaned. "I could sleep for a week after that!" "Is it really over? All the undead have been killed?" Raven asked. She half expected more undead soldiers to come rushing down the streets at any moment now.

"Yes, they are all gone." Vorthos confirmed. "We saw a necromancer running away from the town; I'm guessing he was the one behind the attack." Wolfencreek said. "I would have gone after him, but I can barely walk I'm so tired." "Why would a necromancer attack us?" Zairos asked. No one responded as none knew the answer.

Doors opened all down the streets and the townsfolk peered out from their homes and shops where they had been hiding. The heroes were soon surrounded by the townsfolk thanking them and congratulating them on their victory but Raven did not notice. She was looking to the cliff where she last saw Sepulchure standing, and where he still stood now.

Only he was not alone this time. A robed figure stood next to him. Raven could not make out any detail, they were too far away and it was too dark to see. With a wave of his hand Sepulchure dismissed the robed figure and their eyes met. Even from this distance Raven could feel his cold gaze burning into hers.

"Hey Raven come on! Sabrina said our room and board is on the house." Dantea called. Never taking her eyes off Sepulchure Raven said back. "I will be there in a minute." The door to the inn closed with a click as Dantea ventured inside.

With one final glare, Sepulchure turned and disappeared into the night without a backward glance but Raven could feel no relief at his absence. We may have won the battle… She thought has she turned to join her new friends in the inn.

But the war has just begun.

Author's Note: Next chapter will hopefully by up soon. Please R&R! :)