Chapter 16 Salvation
"By the first ones!" Bow exhaled. As he viewed the carnage from above. The horde was regrouping they were blocking in the rebel forces. The trolls and the people were being herded to the rivers edge. Suddenly he was blinded by a searing flash. The instruments at his fingers started blipping and flashing. The flier in his control dipped and swayed as he struggled to right it.
"What on Etheria was that!" Bow gasped.
"Don't know sir. But whatever it was it blew a huge hole in the middle of the troopers." The voice came on over the radio system that united the batniks.
"Did it help?"
"Some, but it won't last long. The rebel force is small and shrinking fast."
"Then lets help them out- start pushing buttons!" Bow said.
"Sir?" The voice questioned. Bow just laughed.
"It's an inside joke, lets go blow people up."
"Sir, the bombs we've loaded are full of sleeping gas." Bow sighed.
"I know soldier, I know, c'mon lets do our job." The batniks flew to the rear of the Horde army and began dropping their missiles.
The firing systems were inoperable which was why the flying machines had been stationed on Scorpion Hill for repair. Bow attempted to fix some of the wiring, unfortunately it was all he could do to figure out how to work the thing. At first he assumed it would be easy, all he would have to do would be to push some buttons and it would kind of fall into place. He inadvertently set off the self destruct to one flier, blowing it up and hit the eject button on another hurling him into the murmuring pools in Mystacor's gardens. Finally, frustrated, he took a team back to Scorpion Hill and captured Scorpia. In exchange for a luxurious maximum security suite and all the food and entertainment she desired Scorpia agreed to show Bow how to work the fliers. He in turn showed his men. She did however refuse to aid in repairing the firing mechanisms. All they could do was release the grappling gear and let the missiles fall, they were designed to explode on impact.
The second the fliers bypassed the frontlines, Black's cheers turned to chokes of stunned disbelief. Then they began dropping missiles on his army and Black could only watch in horror as his people dropped off to sleep. The robots kept fighting as did the people at the front but a third of his army was now out for the count. The Horde fliers turned and departed, flying back the way they had come. Back to Mystacor. The rebellion let out a loud cheer and surged forward with new vigor. Then- unbelievably the doors of Brightmoon opened and an army surged forth, soldiers as well as peasants rushed forward in one last effort to reclaim the freedom they had lost. Black smiled grimly. It was a desperate and foolish act perpetuated by a desperate and foolish queen, one he could use to his advantage. He could still win this thing!
"Gold flank! Yeah you! Take all your men- you won't be missed here. I want the gates of Brightmoon blown apart. I want them annihilated. Angella will have to withdraw her shielding in order to let her people through, I don't want it ever possible for those gates to close again. MOVE!" He screamed when they didn't move quick enough. He then headed for the gate himself to take out the guards.
Grizzlor slashed furiously at the rebels as they charged him. This was battle! This was what he liked. No superpowered females with their namby pamby goodness, no heroes to fight him and humiliate him, just ordinary people with their ordinary puny strength running right to him so he could rip them in half. He had lost count of the people he'd killed. He knew in some more rational corner of his mind he was destroying a lot of his own troopers as well but it had been so long since he was allowed to indulge in such a bloodfest that he was gorging himself. The trolls were the most fun. They ran at him pounding him with their clubs and their maces, calling up the very earth from beneath his feet to bring him down but he was too strong, too powerful for them. His howls and roars struck terror into all as he moved forward through the ranks his goal clear and then he stood before the troll king.
"Ahgo. Dirt lord of Spike heart. Are you ready to die?"
"No more ready to die than I am to kill." Grizzlor grinned evilly at the kings weary answer.
"Just what I would expect from a weak little man fighting for peace."
"Do not mistake my desire for peace as weakness on my part. I have my own share of blood on my hands this day."
"Ahh," Grizzlor growled, "but did you savor the killing? Did you enjoy the blood. Did you indulge in the sweetness of fresh killed flesh?" He laughed evilly at the trolls revulsion.
"I think I am ready to kill now, beast." Ahgo raised his mace, slamming it into Grizzlors side. Grunting Grizzlor caught it with one hand and raising his other, while yanking the troll king toward him he raked his claws down the kings face.
"Ummtivo dol alldain!" Lightning splintered the sky and struck between them, slicing over Grizzlor's skin and Ahgo's, leaving a long bloody gouge down their skin and singeing Grizzlor's fur. The power separated the two and sent them both flying backward. The smell of burnt flesh perfumed the air. Ahgo got heavily to his feet as Grizzlor howled in fury. He raised a hand then lowered it. He was exhausted. The battle was lost he knew. What was the point in trying. He knew Glimmer had fallen and had not got up. He saw little point in battling to free his people today when he knew they would be slaves again tomorrow or corpses by evening.
Thunder rumbled warningly. Ahgo looked to the sky. It had been dawn when the attack began. Daylight was almost exhausted, already the first few stars were poking out their sparkling heads to greet the new evening. But not a cloud obscured the light of Etheria's three moons. What then was the rumbling he heard? He stood slowly to his feet and turned and hope was born anew in his flagging heart. Men. Human men and women on magnificent steeds with golden skin and amber manes and hooves that shot fire from the earth. A new sound filled the air to the accompaniment of the thundering hooves and the scent of earth being turned and blood being spilt. It was the sound of a rescue. The sound of Hope. The cheer of rebels, renewed again, and just in time as well. Ahgo estimated the cavalry charging the horde at being well over ten thousand. For the first time in the battle he felt that victory might just be theirs.
Suddenly he was in the dirt with no idea how he got there. The world was aligned wrong. He was seeing it sideways. His head was throbbing as well.
"Did you think it would be so easy?" A voice snarled above him and he was hoisted to his feet. Suddenly Ahgo screamed in agony as flesh was torn from his back and shoulder and he flew to the ground. He felt his life blood spilling out of a gaping wound in his back and he wept with the fiery agony as he turned to face his enemy. Grizzlor loomed above him his jaw working the chunk of flesh in his mouth. He then spit the wad of masticated meat at the troll at his feet.
"You taste terrible. Guess we'll skip dinner and I'll just get right to killin' ya."
"Not today." Ahgo whispered. Closing his eyes he palmed the earth beneath him and focused all his energy, all his will on the terra below him. Grizzlor reached for the king but found himself stuck he looked down and screamed in horror. The earth was swallowing him, crawling up his body inches at a time and squeezing him. How he bellowed! He roared. He howled, evilly, and Ahgo continued his silent entreaty with the earth that spawned him. The mother that never failed him consumed his enemy, stealing him away into her dark womb. And Grizzlor was gone.
Ahgo remained where he was. Bleeding and resting. He decided to leave the battle to the others and think instead of her. In his minds eye he held her hand, smelled her scent and caressed her silken hair. A smile graced her fair features and it was meant for him alone. Before he drifted into unconsciousness he sent one last entreaty to whatever deity might be watching. He prayed, not for himself but for the princess who had fallen. Let her live. He pleaded. Let her live.
Blackmoor rode at the front of the troops. His steeds were doing their jobs. Trained to be warhorses they did not idly carry their riders, They bit the enemy tearing them apart, swinging them around. They stomped the enemy. They trampled the fallen with ruthless efficiency; it wasn't long before the battle was finished and it was time to tend the wounded and round up the survivors- on both sides, and refortify the battered defenses. Adonai rode to the castle, eager to speak to the Queen of Brightmoon on any word of Onyx. He was in for a surprise when he discovered Queen Angella at the gates. Bodies of troopers littered the ground at the elegant beauty's feet. A man in trooper armor gazed lifelessly at the sky, his skin pasty in death a look of terror on his face forever frozen on his ashen countenance.
"And you haven't seen her since?" He heard her ask, distressed. His gaze flew from the dead on the ground to the winged queens face.
"No milady. We believe." and here the soldier faltered. "we. we think she may have..fallen." Brightmoons Queen looked as if she had been struck by a hammer. She staggered and Adonai was distraught to see the sheen of tears in her eyes. It puzzled him that they did not fall. He rode to her side.
"Queen Angella, I am Adonai Dusk, the Prince of Blackmoor. Might I be of aid to you?" Angella looked up to see a beautiful man of dark coloring astride a steed of glimmering gold.
"My daughter. We cannot find my daughter, Glimmer."
"What does she look like?"
"She looks like- like an angel!" The winged Queen fell to her knees and retched. Adonai looked at the soldier. The soldier pulled him aside and gave him a description of their princess begging him to find her. Adonai nodded promising to try and rode off to search the bodies that littered the ground like dark lumps of refuse. He was searching for pink. Shouldn't be difficult to spot in all the dark black and red and gray surrounding him.
"By the first ones!" Bow exhaled. As he viewed the carnage from above. The horde was regrouping they were blocking in the rebel forces. The trolls and the people were being herded to the rivers edge. Suddenly he was blinded by a searing flash. The instruments at his fingers started blipping and flashing. The flier in his control dipped and swayed as he struggled to right it.
"What on Etheria was that!" Bow gasped.
"Don't know sir. But whatever it was it blew a huge hole in the middle of the troopers." The voice came on over the radio system that united the batniks.
"Did it help?"
"Some, but it won't last long. The rebel force is small and shrinking fast."
"Then lets help them out- start pushing buttons!" Bow said.
"Sir?" The voice questioned. Bow just laughed.
"It's an inside joke, lets go blow people up."
"Sir, the bombs we've loaded are full of sleeping gas." Bow sighed.
"I know soldier, I know, c'mon lets do our job." The batniks flew to the rear of the Horde army and began dropping their missiles.
The firing systems were inoperable which was why the flying machines had been stationed on Scorpion Hill for repair. Bow attempted to fix some of the wiring, unfortunately it was all he could do to figure out how to work the thing. At first he assumed it would be easy, all he would have to do would be to push some buttons and it would kind of fall into place. He inadvertently set off the self destruct to one flier, blowing it up and hit the eject button on another hurling him into the murmuring pools in Mystacor's gardens. Finally, frustrated, he took a team back to Scorpion Hill and captured Scorpia. In exchange for a luxurious maximum security suite and all the food and entertainment she desired Scorpia agreed to show Bow how to work the fliers. He in turn showed his men. She did however refuse to aid in repairing the firing mechanisms. All they could do was release the grappling gear and let the missiles fall, they were designed to explode on impact.
The second the fliers bypassed the frontlines, Black's cheers turned to chokes of stunned disbelief. Then they began dropping missiles on his army and Black could only watch in horror as his people dropped off to sleep. The robots kept fighting as did the people at the front but a third of his army was now out for the count. The Horde fliers turned and departed, flying back the way they had come. Back to Mystacor. The rebellion let out a loud cheer and surged forward with new vigor. Then- unbelievably the doors of Brightmoon opened and an army surged forth, soldiers as well as peasants rushed forward in one last effort to reclaim the freedom they had lost. Black smiled grimly. It was a desperate and foolish act perpetuated by a desperate and foolish queen, one he could use to his advantage. He could still win this thing!
"Gold flank! Yeah you! Take all your men- you won't be missed here. I want the gates of Brightmoon blown apart. I want them annihilated. Angella will have to withdraw her shielding in order to let her people through, I don't want it ever possible for those gates to close again. MOVE!" He screamed when they didn't move quick enough. He then headed for the gate himself to take out the guards.
Grizzlor slashed furiously at the rebels as they charged him. This was battle! This was what he liked. No superpowered females with their namby pamby goodness, no heroes to fight him and humiliate him, just ordinary people with their ordinary puny strength running right to him so he could rip them in half. He had lost count of the people he'd killed. He knew in some more rational corner of his mind he was destroying a lot of his own troopers as well but it had been so long since he was allowed to indulge in such a bloodfest that he was gorging himself. The trolls were the most fun. They ran at him pounding him with their clubs and their maces, calling up the very earth from beneath his feet to bring him down but he was too strong, too powerful for them. His howls and roars struck terror into all as he moved forward through the ranks his goal clear and then he stood before the troll king.
"Ahgo. Dirt lord of Spike heart. Are you ready to die?"
"No more ready to die than I am to kill." Grizzlor grinned evilly at the kings weary answer.
"Just what I would expect from a weak little man fighting for peace."
"Do not mistake my desire for peace as weakness on my part. I have my own share of blood on my hands this day."
"Ahh," Grizzlor growled, "but did you savor the killing? Did you enjoy the blood. Did you indulge in the sweetness of fresh killed flesh?" He laughed evilly at the trolls revulsion.
"I think I am ready to kill now, beast." Ahgo raised his mace, slamming it into Grizzlors side. Grunting Grizzlor caught it with one hand and raising his other, while yanking the troll king toward him he raked his claws down the kings face.
"Ummtivo dol alldain!" Lightning splintered the sky and struck between them, slicing over Grizzlor's skin and Ahgo's, leaving a long bloody gouge down their skin and singeing Grizzlor's fur. The power separated the two and sent them both flying backward. The smell of burnt flesh perfumed the air. Ahgo got heavily to his feet as Grizzlor howled in fury. He raised a hand then lowered it. He was exhausted. The battle was lost he knew. What was the point in trying. He knew Glimmer had fallen and had not got up. He saw little point in battling to free his people today when he knew they would be slaves again tomorrow or corpses by evening.
Thunder rumbled warningly. Ahgo looked to the sky. It had been dawn when the attack began. Daylight was almost exhausted, already the first few stars were poking out their sparkling heads to greet the new evening. But not a cloud obscured the light of Etheria's three moons. What then was the rumbling he heard? He stood slowly to his feet and turned and hope was born anew in his flagging heart. Men. Human men and women on magnificent steeds with golden skin and amber manes and hooves that shot fire from the earth. A new sound filled the air to the accompaniment of the thundering hooves and the scent of earth being turned and blood being spilt. It was the sound of a rescue. The sound of Hope. The cheer of rebels, renewed again, and just in time as well. Ahgo estimated the cavalry charging the horde at being well over ten thousand. For the first time in the battle he felt that victory might just be theirs.
Suddenly he was in the dirt with no idea how he got there. The world was aligned wrong. He was seeing it sideways. His head was throbbing as well.
"Did you think it would be so easy?" A voice snarled above him and he was hoisted to his feet. Suddenly Ahgo screamed in agony as flesh was torn from his back and shoulder and he flew to the ground. He felt his life blood spilling out of a gaping wound in his back and he wept with the fiery agony as he turned to face his enemy. Grizzlor loomed above him his jaw working the chunk of flesh in his mouth. He then spit the wad of masticated meat at the troll at his feet.
"You taste terrible. Guess we'll skip dinner and I'll just get right to killin' ya."
"Not today." Ahgo whispered. Closing his eyes he palmed the earth beneath him and focused all his energy, all his will on the terra below him. Grizzlor reached for the king but found himself stuck he looked down and screamed in horror. The earth was swallowing him, crawling up his body inches at a time and squeezing him. How he bellowed! He roared. He howled, evilly, and Ahgo continued his silent entreaty with the earth that spawned him. The mother that never failed him consumed his enemy, stealing him away into her dark womb. And Grizzlor was gone.
Ahgo remained where he was. Bleeding and resting. He decided to leave the battle to the others and think instead of her. In his minds eye he held her hand, smelled her scent and caressed her silken hair. A smile graced her fair features and it was meant for him alone. Before he drifted into unconsciousness he sent one last entreaty to whatever deity might be watching. He prayed, not for himself but for the princess who had fallen. Let her live. He pleaded. Let her live.
Blackmoor rode at the front of the troops. His steeds were doing their jobs. Trained to be warhorses they did not idly carry their riders, They bit the enemy tearing them apart, swinging them around. They stomped the enemy. They trampled the fallen with ruthless efficiency; it wasn't long before the battle was finished and it was time to tend the wounded and round up the survivors- on both sides, and refortify the battered defenses. Adonai rode to the castle, eager to speak to the Queen of Brightmoon on any word of Onyx. He was in for a surprise when he discovered Queen Angella at the gates. Bodies of troopers littered the ground at the elegant beauty's feet. A man in trooper armor gazed lifelessly at the sky, his skin pasty in death a look of terror on his face forever frozen on his ashen countenance.
"And you haven't seen her since?" He heard her ask, distressed. His gaze flew from the dead on the ground to the winged queens face.
"No milady. We believe." and here the soldier faltered. "we. we think she may have..fallen." Brightmoons Queen looked as if she had been struck by a hammer. She staggered and Adonai was distraught to see the sheen of tears in her eyes. It puzzled him that they did not fall. He rode to her side.
"Queen Angella, I am Adonai Dusk, the Prince of Blackmoor. Might I be of aid to you?" Angella looked up to see a beautiful man of dark coloring astride a steed of glimmering gold.
"My daughter. We cannot find my daughter, Glimmer."
"What does she look like?"
"She looks like- like an angel!" The winged Queen fell to her knees and retched. Adonai looked at the soldier. The soldier pulled him aside and gave him a description of their princess begging him to find her. Adonai nodded promising to try and rode off to search the bodies that littered the ground like dark lumps of refuse. He was searching for pink. Shouldn't be difficult to spot in all the dark black and red and gray surrounding him.