Screams of terror erupted from around the training fields as the hurrocks dove from the sky. Older squires who had been practicing with spears threw their weapons into the oncoming flock of winged horses. A few lucky boys managed to hit a couple of hurrocks, stunning the animals but not seriously wounding them. Some other boys were in the possession of bows and let loose a volley of arrows. Most of them hit their marks, successfully killing two of the hurrocks. The death of their companions enraged the winged horses further and with giving off their eerie metallic shrieks, they renewed their attack on the humans below. A trio of them lifted a screaming page into the air and tore him apart. Blood and human intestines rained down onto the ground, landing on a few unfortunate boys, who cried out in disgust and sorrow.

Selene gasped at the horror of it all, shuddering as a few warm specks of blood splattered on her face. Mass confusion had taken over the training field and it seemed the number of hurrocks was growing by the moment. A lurid screech drew Selene's attention behind her. A hideous black hurrock was chasing Leo, intent on the red-haired boy. As it was about to swoop down on her friend Selene's instincts took over. She called the element of fire and conjured a shot of flames, throwing it towards the hurrock. It landed square in its chest with a flash of sparks. The hurrock tumbled to the ground and shriveled up with a disgusting shriek of pain. A large wisp of black smoke escaped its body as it let out its last dying cry. It shuddered once then was still.

Leo had tears in his eyes, not knowing how to defend himself and obviously unused to such violence.

Selene grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes. "You need to calm down, Leo" she said in a steady and firm voice. "We're supposed to be able to face danger without panicking," Another cry of pain erupted from a few yards away, the hurrocks having claimed another victim. "Go get Robyn and anyone else who can't fight and get them inside. Alert the infirmary and the palace officials." Leo sniffled and looked towards a dying man, crawling to them, crying out for help.

"Hey listen to me," Selene drew Leo's attention away from the horrific sight. "You can do this, it's important that you do." Leo nodded. "No go!" Leo scampered off, finding Robyn and running towards the palace.

Selene looked around and tried to gather her bearings. There were too many hurrocks now to try for individual shots. She wasn't powerful enough to send off a huge wave of fire, nor manage a heat wave large enough to be of any use. In the end, she ran towards the dying man, a palace guard, and took his bow and case of arrows, lying discarded next to him. She notched an arrow to the string, muttered a prayer for good luck, and whispered a few words. Immediately the arrow tip burst into flame and Selene let loose the arrow. It hit a hurrock and exploded into flames. The flaming hurrock flayed wildly in the air before spiraling down towards the earth, black smoke evaporating from its corpse as it died. A few people were stunned by her actions but Selene ignored them. Knowing her method would work, she didn't have to hit the hurrock anywhere lethal. Any contact with the arrow would cause the arrowhead to explode and kill whatever it hit. Her next target was a hurrock that was about to swoop down on an unsuspecting Raoul, who was fending off a hurrock with a missing eye. Raoul stood proud, legs in a bracing stand and sword flashing in the sunlight. Selene managed to hit the hurrock a few yards away from Raoul, and it spun off and hit another hurrock, killing them both.

A shout of warning alerted Selene and she turned quickly to see a hurrock bearing down on her. The winged horse was intelligent enough to understand it was her who had launched the fire arrows that had killed its brethren. Already it was too close for Selene to take any action so she simply fell and rolled to the side. A burst of bright purple light shot out from nowhere, sending the unfortunate hurrock flying through the air and tumbling violently into a fence, impaling itself on the splintered wood. Selene lifted her head to see her rescuer. It was Alanna the Lioness!

The lady knight was astride a magnificent golden mare, her legendary copper red hair flowing to her shoulders, and her sword, Lightning, gleamed in the afternoon sun. She was dressed in her golden chain mail and her shield with the rearing lioness was firmly held on her left arm. She nodded to Selene and spun to the right to attack another hurrock coming down on her. Fueled by the sight of the legendary Lioness, Selene renewed her attack with her fire arrows, her spirits lifted to imaginary heights. Selene quickly took out four more hurrocks, with a few stray arrows exploding in midair, or hit random places over the training field. With dismay, Selene reached her last arrow, which hit a hurrock straight in the eye. Selene abandoned her bow and zig-zagged over to the older squires, who had marginal success at fending off the hurrocks with spears.

More colored flashes of light across the yard signaled that mages had arrived: the deep black of the powerful Numair and the sapphire blue of King Jonathan. Numair was as always, dressed in his black robes of a mage and Jon was wielding the Dominion Jewel in one hand, his sword strapped to his hip. Shouts of excitement flooded over the field, the men exultant by the sight of their king.

"Selene!" Raoul yelled to her, a few feet away and was now bleeding from a wound to his left arm, which hung limply from his shoulder. "Get out of here, this is no place for you!"

"I'm not going anywhere!" Selene shouted back. "I'm going to fight was well as anyone!" Selene once again ignored Raoul's protests and ran off, trying to find more arrows.

I have to fight, she thought. I have to prove myself, otherwise I'll just be another weakling girl to them. I have to stay until the end of this fight or else face the brand of a coward.

Selene failed to find the arrows she so desperately wanted, so instead, she was decided to rely exclusively on her magic. She conjured another ball of orange fire, and launched it at a group of hurrocks hovering over the field. A few fell and died, with more strange black smoke emitting from their bodies. Selene didn't stop to judge the death toll, but moved on to a hurrock that had landed in front of her. She sent forth a wave of fire, instead of a small objectile. This proved to be more effective and Selene grinned with success. This took more power than Selene had judged and she suddenly felt dizzy.

Her silver wristbands shimmered beautifully in the sunlight, but were hideously holding back her true limit of power. Selene hesitated, not knowing if it would be wise to take them off. She remembered Numair's words:

"This is for your safety and for other's safety as well," Numair had said to her when he fashioned them especially from the purest silver. "You must wear them at all times. Until we know how your Gift really works, this is the best way to ensure you do not over use your powers and they don't consume you"

Selene threw all caution to the winds and took off her silver bracelets. At first nothing happened. Then suddenly, a huge wave power swept through her body, filling her with seemingly unlimited energy. Her orange eyes gleamed brightly and her mouth formed a mad smile.

Raoul was fighting back-to-back with HaMinch, the latter proving to be a formidable swordsman.

"Watch yourself!" HaMinch shouted. Raoul looked up from the hurrock he had brought down to the ground to see yet another hurrock diving towards him.

"Where the hell are these beats coming from?" Raoul yelled. HaMinch's answer was drowned out by a roar of orange fire sweeping through the air over their heads, consuming the hurrock. It collided with it head on and caused it to flip over and tumble into another hurrock. Both of them exploded by the power of the flames, black hurrock blood bespattering the fighting men. Both men were momentarily stunned as to who was capable of such power. Raoul turned to see Selene surrounded by a protective ring of fire, hurling wave after wave of fire into the oncoming slough of hurrocks.

Fire was not the only element at work. Evan came striding unarmed onto the training field, arms outspread and lips moving to conjure up some long forgotten spell. Spirals of water were twisting themselves around Evan, giving him protection against the winged horses. He then threw his arms towards the two hurrocks coming towards him and the snakes of water shot forward, entwining the hurrocks and squeezing them to death. The hurrocks shrieked in pain, their harsh sound piercing the ears of the field's occupants. Black smoke drifted up from them as they died and while the water spirals exploded into a shower of rain.

A spear was thrown from a figure mounted on a galloping horse, quickly approaching the main action of the fight. It was none other than Lady Kelandry, her dreamy hazel eyes set in concentration. Kel saw a small, black-haired girl in a ring of fire and was confused but then saw that Selene was capable of defending herself and Kel waved in her direction when Selene turned to see which direction spear had come from.

With most of the greatest powerful figures in Tortall on the field attacking the hurrocks with all their might, the hurrocks were completely destroyed. A few stragglers flew off when they saw the majority of their companions had been killed or lay wounded on the field.

King Jonathan stood in the midst of chaos and death that had once been a peaceful training field for future knights. Alanna came galloping up on her horse, mail soaked in black hurrock blood. She swiftly descended from her horse and came to stand next to her friend.

"What the hell?" She said, observing the field. "Where did those things come from and were they sent by anyone?"

"I don't know," answered Jon. "That black smoke rising from their bodies after they died was completely unnatural. Usually it signals some sort of possession or outside force controlling them."

Alanna frowned. "What was the purpose of attacking the boys though?" she asked gloomily. Her son was nowhere to be seen and she feared for the worst.

"It was a message," said Jon. "A message to tell us they can hit us at will, and they don't care who they have to kill to achieve their objective."

Saying it aloud scared Jon; Tortall could not stand to face another war so soon after emerging from one. They had been victorious but now they had neither the manpower nor supplies to face a fresh enemy, especially one with such power.

A small red-haired boy ran out onto the field and started taking tally of the wounded and marking those who could be saved. It was painful to leave behind those that had no chance. Alanna immediately recognized him and let go of the sigh that she was unaware she had been holding.

"Leo!" she shouted. Leo looked up to see his smiling mother hurrying towards him.

"Mother!" he shouted back and ran into her arms.

Selene observed the joyful reunion as she extinguished the ring of fire that had been protecting her. She was overwhelmingly saddened by the fact that she had no one on the field that cared so much about her. Leo noticed her and called out.

"Selene, you're alive!" Alanna looked over confused as to whom Leo was talking to. Selene wearily waved and took a step forwards when sudden dizziness overtook her and she fell forward. It felt so good to lie down, she thought, even though the ground was soaked with blood. Strong hands gripped her and lifted her up. Someone was carrying her and talking to her, although Selene was at a loss as to the meaning of the words.

Evan had lifted her up, not at all they surprised by how little she weighed. Alanna came forward and observed Selene who was still conscious, but barely.

"Why was a little girl out on the field?" Alanna demanded of a speechless Evan. "How could you let this happen?"

"Mother she saved me," Leo interrupted. "It's not his fault."

Raoul came over to the small congregation and happily noted the arrival of his red-headed female friend.

"She's stubborn she is." Raoul presented some explanation. "I attempted to tell her to get out of the fight but she ran off. She killed more hurrocks with her Gift then HaMinch and I managed together." He added.

Selene groggily opened her eyes and was met with a pair of brilliant purple eyes staring into her own.

"Leo?" she muttered. "I'm glad you're safe." Selene then fell into a sweet blissful sleep, exhaustion settling in.


Rows of pallets lined a hallway of the palace. The infirmary was overflown by the seriously wounded, many of whom would not survive the night and more wounded were approaching. Robyn and Leo were able to inform the healers of the crisis ensuing outside and the healers immediately sprang into action. Yards upon yards of bandages were prepared, herbal ointments and healing creams were set out to be close at hand. Knives and saws were sharpened and heated, arranged for amputation. The screaming of those wretched few who required amputation soon overpowered the moans and cries of pain from the additional wounded.

Alanna was busy healing those with broken bones and smaller wounds while Numair was outside observing the bodies of the dead hurrocks, trying to determine who had been controlling the hurrocks after Jon had explained his hunch. Robyn and Leo found the other two first year pages, mostly unscathed with minor cuts and bruises, more shocked then anything. They learned that the blond page was named Liam and the brunette was named Dorian.

Liam had insisted on staying to fight, but had gotten cut by a hurrock's talon in his heroic attempt. His left arm was now bandaged up. Robyn and Leo then said good-bye and searched for Selene. With alarm, they realized she was not to be seen. A passing healer told them Selene was lying asleep on a bed in a side room away from the main action of the infirmary. It was quiet when Robyn and Leo entered, Alanna, Kel and Evan were in the room, softly talking among themselves. They fell into silence when the two boys entered, and Alanna smiled at her son.

"I'm so proud of you," she smothered him with a hug. Leo affectionately hugged his mother back, seeing as he had missed her the six long months she had been absent. Robyn hung back, unsure of what to do. Selene was pale, making her look more elf-like than usual. Her wrists were bare of the silver wristbands, Robyn had noticed. Perhaps she as the one who had conjured the huge fire that Robyn had seen from the infirmary windows. Evan held a finger to his lips and nodded towards the door. The room's occupants understood and they left Selene sleeping in her bed.

Kel stretched her arms behind her head and said good-bye to Alanna and Leo, who went to help the healers. She then turned to Evan.

"I don't believe I've met you before. Please to meet you, I am Kelandry of Mildenhall." She shook hands with Evan.

"Your reputation exceeds you madam," Evan teased slightly. "It is such a shame to meet under these horrific circumstances otherwise I would ask you to join me for a drink." He held up a hand when Kel made some sort of protest. "If I have heard correctly, the King's Riders are outside assisting with the aftermath clean-up. I think we may be more useful there, if you care to come with me?" Kel sighed and went along with this strange man, glad to be of some help.

The screams of the wounded had died down by now, but healers were still rushing up and down the length of the infirmary. Thayet had joined the fray, coming back from a patrol with the Queen's Riders. She walked in, tall and held her head high, confident and fierce, as befitted the queen of Tortall. Black hair framed her high cheekbones and beautiful face, her illustrious hazel eyes usually sparkled in a playful, mischievous way, but now her eyes betrayed the fear and over whelming concern in her heart. Thayet kissed her husband, who had rushed in after learning of his wife's arrival.

"What happened here?" She asked, noting the wounded men and bloody bandages.

"We believe someone purposely controlled the hurrocks to attack us," said Jon. "More importantly, mostly unarmed pages."

Thayet gasped. "Tell me they're still alive, tell me my son is alive."

"Everything is fine," Jon comforted his wife. "Robyn and Leo rushed in to inform the infirmary and the palace guards of what was happening and we were able to quickly to attend to the crisis. I'm still waiting for the complete causality list but so far twelve men have died, and fifty plus some are wounded. Numbers are still rising."

Robyn saw his mother and ran forward, wrapping his arms around her. Thayet joyfully spun her son around, some happiness that lifted her spirits in the dark atmosphere of the infirmary.

Evan had joined Numair and Daine, who come down to help solve the mystery of the hurrocks. Evan was still impeccably dressed in his fine clothes, while Numair was splattered with blood, head to toe. There was no distinction between hurrock and human blood, and Numair shuddered at the thought of the lifeblood staining his clothes, like Death itself seeping into his skin. Daine looked down sadly to the hurrock lying next to her.

"They're not evil animals," she muttered quietly. "They only attack when they're hungry or provoked." She looked up at Numair. "I think Jonathan was right. Someone was possessing these horses. Someone very powerful who wanted to weaken us."

Numair nodded; had Daine confirmed his fears. "What do you think Evan?"

Evan was slowly stroking the head of a hurrock, looking distantly at the blood pooling around its body. "I think this was specialty magic, a necromancer or dark mage. The black smoke was more evidence to my assertion." Numair groaned. They had just gotten rid of one and now another mage was trying to take over Tortall.

A large bonfire had been built a ways off to burn the numerous bodies of the dead hurrocks. Evan could see Dom and Kel talking, outlined by flames of the fire, and he smiled to himself.

"Alright let's head in. I'm sure Jon would like to call an emergency council."


Night had spread its dark wings over the kingdom of Tortall. A moonless sky illuminated the sparkling and twinkling stars that blotted the deep black heavens, hiding secrets of mortals below that only the gods could decipher. A soft hush had fallen over the castle, plunging it in shadows while bright candlelight kept the darkness at bay. Inhabitants were weary of the creeping gloom that had swept through the castle like a tidal wave. They had fallen somnolently asleep, sleep itself a swathing blanket for those exhausted by the day's ordeal.

Evan sat by Selene's bed in the hospital wing; his marble-like skin and silvery blonde hair were highlighted by the single flickering candle on the nightstand. Selene was in a deep sleep, thoroughly exhausted by her Gift. Evan had retrieved her silver bracelets which sat on the nightstand as well. It was foolish of her to remove them, as Selene did not know the limit of her power and with such a violent display as earlier, she might very well sink into a coma of death. The girl was still a mystery, her father as well, which nagged at Evan more than it should. No trace of a powerful Gift ran in the Renvyle line, so her powers came from her father's side, a man unknown to anyone except Selene's mother.

Evan sighed deeply and took a long draught from the already half empty wine bottle he had brought with him. Fatigue was setting in, like water seeping into the ground. The wine sang him a sweet lullaby as he closed his eyes, so desperate for rest from this horrible nightmare of a day.


Originally planned as two separate chapters, they were too short to stand alone and ruined the mood so here is my masterpiece of a chapter, all six pages :D

Honorable reviewer mention: Aria657, I love you for sticking with my story through long months of not updating; Yreva13, your smiley faces make me happy; QuitlookingatmelikeI'mcrazy, here she meets Kel and Alanna, if only briefly; Oracle, yea it's supposed to be Daine, my bad; FlamingPancake, thank you, your name made me laugh and to all who read, thank you, if it wasn't for you I'd probably never have gotten this far. Review like always and what other SL characters should appear?