Chapter Six: Battle of Onlundd
Smoke rose into the sky like a pillar of death. Fires burned, and the stench of smoke mixed with the horrid odor of blood and burning flesh. Tents and market stalls were being reduced to ash. The sounds of battle echoed through the night.
Blasts of magic and rune fire sent light and destruction. Screams, shouts, and merciless laughter polluted the night air.
Gekku, Kyu, Cate, Suta, Gwain, and Kenna looked on from the grasslands a league away. All five had tears dripping from their eyes. Kyu shouted for them to hurry, and he bolted off towards Onlundd. Cate and Suta were right behind him. Gekku, Gwain, and Kenna were taken by surprise, but followed.
The fatigue of their hurried journey home seemed to wash away. Energy blossomed inside of them as they doubled their speed. Nothing seemed to matter except for returning home.
Kara ran out of her hut to see two tall and bulky warriors covered in grey and bronze armor cutting down Suta's father, Saxon. Kara screamed and a fire arrow embedded itself in the side of her hut. The two Imperial Knights turned and began advancing towards the Sindar woman.
Kara's eyes widened and she backed into her tent. Fire began catching on the cloth. One of the knights entered and laughed a cold, metallic laugh.
Kara's back brushed the wall of the tent. She was cornered as the knight began advancing.
The fire spread over the cloth; Kara's forehead was drenched in sweat. Orange and red flames danced over and around the two. The knight raised his long black blade. Kara screamed again as the sword began its downward descent.
The blade caught on a pole, and the tent began to collapse. The knight was knocked to the ground as a pole got him in the back of the head. His sword still came down, slashing open Kara's left leg and stomach.
Kara screamed and collapsed in agony.
Then as Kara's vision began to blur, she saw a shadow with silver armor enter the tent, and Kara blacked out.
Leon and Pelize led seven knights against five of Chagrin's Imperial Knights. Leon's massive broadsword slashed downwards, cutting one enemy in half diagonally. Pelize's rapier caught another Imperial in the eye and a third he stabbed deep into the wrist.
Two of the Knights of Change fell to a flail of an Imperial. A gargantuan battle ax cleaved two more of the Silver armored knights. A black spear gutted a fifth knight. An obsidian longsword took the lives of two more.
Pelize finished off his two Imperials and dodged the flail of a third. Leon took out the flail swinger. The seventh of Leon's company fell to the spear wielder. Leon took off the Imperial's head.
Suddenly ten Mutated Ghost Knights had surrounded the two Knights of Change.
Three dragons commanded by Aria lifted twelve citizens each out of the city. Two more were loading passengers on their backs, and another three were returning. Viki was transporting groups of ten out of the burning city.
Solet laid Kara's body on the back of a dragon and strapped her on. Then she rounded up ten Knights of Change and headed back into battle. Belle, Rorin, Mira, Lash, and Lana had the refuge zone surrounded by a circle formation. They struck down any monsters or Imperials hat tried to get past.
Senna, Renvar, Eresh, Jeanne, and twenty armed Sindar people were defending the gate of Onlundd temple. A score of Imperials and twice that many mutated monsters were charging, killing, and dying against the defenders.
Eresh used her Pale Gate Rune to summon two Salamanders and four Blue Mantiks. Jeanne unleashed a bolt of lightning. Senna shot a bolt of intense heat with the Sun Rune. Renvar used the Circle Rune to make perfect teamwork for the defenders.
The defenders had the position of a half circle with the gate behind them and the rune bearers in the center. There were two lines of ten knights each that made the half circle. The first line used spears and swords, while the second used bows and arrows.
Few monsters made it close enough to the defenders to attack, but the Imperials were better armored. At least twelve Imperials made it to the defense semi-circle. Four Ghost Knights attacked the formation as well, with the remaining attackers blocking arrows and fighting the monsters summoned by Eresh.
Suddenly black flames shot down from the sky, destroying enemies and allies alike. When it cleared, only three knights and the Rune Bearers still stood. The twelve attacking Imperials and four attacking monsters had also been killed in the blast.
The defenders looked up at the sky with faces filled with horror. Above them flew a massive black dragon with glowing crimson eyes filled with bloodlust. Another rain of murderous black flames came.
Leon and Pelize had destroyed four of the Ghost Knights, but they were fatigued and they were still surrounded. The Ghost Knights attacked and the two Knights were too slow to defend.
Suddenly Gekku was there. He seemed to have come out of oblivion. His sword disintegrated two of the monsters. Kyu took out a third, while Cate and Suta defeated two more. Gwain and Kenna took out the sixth.
The group ran to Leon and Pelize, as the two fell to their knees. "Captain." Leon said.
"Give us an update on the situation." Gekku commanded.
"We prepared for the attack after Pelize, Gwain, and Kenna had arrived with the news. Then they were just there. They just appeared within our defense perimeter. A quarter of our forces were killed as we set up a refuge zone. They went everywhere. They began killing and burning and laughing. It was just the Imperial Knights then. Then the monsters appeared. We were evenly matched until then." Leon said and passed out.
Gekku noticed that Pelize had fallen unconscious as well, and a pool of blood was growing around him. Gwain and Kenna hurriedly pulled their captain up, and Gekku pulled Leon over his left shoulder. "Kyu. This is your first official mission as Knights of Change. Escort us to the refuge zone."
Kyu nodded and Suta and Cate agreed. They took up a triangle formation around Gekku, Gwain, and Kenna. Kyu gave the signal and the group began to move out.
Solet's group fought just outside of the refuge zone. They were backed by Lana and her True Water Rune. Thirty Imperials were battling with cold blooded fury.
Solet fought like a flash, fierce and swift. Her blade seemed to always find chinks in the enemy armor. That was the power of the Strike Rune. Armor was useless against its might. With every slash and stab of her blade, an Imperial fell.
She had been the student of the famous Mirth the Striker. He had been an excellent swordsman and strategist. No one had ever defeated him, except for the prodigy Gekku.
However, the Imperials kept coming. Their numbers had tripled in the last ten minutes. They poured into the street from all over the city.
Solet looked around at the battle field. There were at least nine Imperials for each Knight. The Imperials were ganging up on the Knights and three fell here and another two fell at a different area. Solet ran to defend the two Knights closest to her, but she was too late as the Imperials cut them down.
The remaining three knights regrouped at Solet's position. Lana used her rune to heal the wounds of the survivors.
Solet looked up as light filled the air.
When it cleared, well over half of the Imperials were on the ground, smoke coming from the chinks in their armor. In their place stood Kyu, Cate, Suta, Gekku, Gwain, and Kenna. Gekku had Leon on his shoulder; Gwain and Kenna were supporting a severely wounded Pelize. Kyu was holding out his right hand. He suddenly collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.
Solet was confused at first, but held up her sword and used her true rune. A storm of needles of purple energy rained upon the shocked Imperials.
The wounded Imperials shouted and retreated.
Solet ran over to Gekku's group. She wanted to ask what was wrong with Kyu, but decided to help them to the refuge zone first.
Kyu, Pelize, and Leon were put on stretchers and moved to a medic.
Solet was about to ask Gekku when Eresh, Senna, Jeanne, Renvar, and the Sindar King ran towards them. The King and Renvar were supporting an injured Senna. Eresh and Jeanne were supporting an unconscious knight. "There was a dragon." Jeanne gasped. "Chagrin."
The arriving group was then attended by a group of medics. Solet noticed that not one of their group was without a major injury. All had charred robes and armor. They had bloody slash marks, and Senna bore a gruesome head wound. The knight was the worst. He was almost completely covered by third degree burns, his left leg was twisted the wrong way, and his right hand was gone along with his eyes.
Onlundd lay in charred ruins. Over half of the temple was nothing but ash. Almost all of the huts and market stalls were no more. Bodies laid everywhere. The fires had died down, but the desolation of Onlundd would remain forever.