Crimson Twilight: Dusk
Chapter 9: A Maelstrom of Carnage
The harbor had become a terrifying sight before the soldiers of Prontera could arrive. The place was swarming with skeletal pirates; each one of them holding a rusty cutlass or dirk. The sun was rapidly setting. Like a funeral shroud, fresh darkness slowly covered the hideous crew. A few torches around their ship were lit. Their captain had ordered it. "Let them find us if that is what they wish!" He had said. "Drake's crew rules these parts now!" Drake's crew had responded with dry clicking of bones and steel clashing. These skeletons were in various stages of decay. Some were missing limbs, others were covered with seaweed while some still had strips of flesh still hanging on to them like tattered pieces of meat. Floating with the pirates were the bones of strange fish-like undead. These were megalodons; the animated remains of the feral fish that Drake had once kept as pets. They were enormous in life and in death, their remains were roughly the same size as a human's. Their bones were sharp, pointed and blackened by time; well suited for ramming against foes and puncturing their flesh. Among the skeletal pirates and fish that composed Drake's crew floated the wraiths. These massive undead moved about aimlessly, resembling skeletons wrapped in a black shroud. Their legs hung uselessly beneath their enormous bulk, nothing more but atrophied, dead things. Their arms were in the same state. The only thing moving in their bodies were their abdominal mouths opening and closing at random. They awaited only Drake's command before they floated out among the living and sate their hunger for flesh.
It was the captain, Drake, who presented the most imposing sight among them. Unlike the tattered pieces of cloth his crew wore, his clothing was mostly intact. The long, navy blue overcoat had maintained its color and resiliency even after thousands of years. The corsair on top of his skull seemed to stand defiantly against any authority; proclaiming him to be the captain of a dreaded pirate crew. Strapped to the right side of his hip was a cutlass. Unlike those that belonged to his crew, this cutlass did not sport an inch of rust. The handle was cast in silver and decorated with fine, black gems. A rapier hung by the left side of his belt. Like the cutlass, it was also finely-kept and decorated. He bared his filed teeth as he spotted the approaching knights from his ship. He had readied his minions to intercept them in the harbor at a much earlier time. Now it was only a matter of time until they engaged the knights. "Let them all come then!" he shouted his defiance towards the direction of the mortals who had come to enforce their "law" on him. "I can deal death to any knight your precious cities can muster!"
Makaelthos watched as Drake's forces readied themselves for the attack. The moon had risen by the time their forces got there. With only moonlight illuminating the harbor, he looked around; using only a few moments to take in what he could use in terrain and what he saw of his enemies. He estimated at least sixty skeletal pirates; each of them wielding a rusty cutlass in one hand and a dagger in the other. Fighting beside the skeletal crew were numerous wraiths and the huge skeletal fish known as megalodons. He signaled for Trenzein. "You get to open up combat as usual!" he called out.
Trenzein grinned and signaled to the members of the Second Wizard division. The knights and priests ducked to clear the wizards' line of sight as a barrage of flaming bolts crashed down the enemy's first line. Almost immediately, the knights picked up the pace and charged; many of them magically sped up by the Second Priest Division. Silmeia waved her hand and whispered a swift prayer. Immediately, the knights felt her power form an invisible barrier around their armor; providing them with additional protection. Eliarainne took the lead as the first line of mounted knights collided with Drake's forces. She waved her lance about; breaking apart the formation of Drake's forces. Makaelthos raised his sword and signaled for the second line of knights to rally behind him. "Second line, spearhead formation!" he called out; his voice rising above the clash of steel already filling the harbor. The mounted knights moved in a well-practiced formation behind Makaelthos. He took the lead as he felt Silmeia's blessing spells on him.
From behind the second line, Trenzein signaled for another barrage of spells; this time a more massive assault behind the enemy's main line of skeletons. Above the mob of undead, a wave of heat washed down on the city followed by the appearance of an enormous flaming boulder. It crashed down behind the enemy mob; exploding into large, flaming fragments. The blast incinerated everything within a few feet while sending bones flying everywhere. Some of the remains landed on the water; tainting the sea with ash. Two more boulders followed the first one; causing less damage against the enemy this time as they had already dispersed. With the knights now mixing among the skeletons, Trenzein didn't dare try the spell again. He aimed a quagmire spell towards the skeletons the meteor storm scattered, temporarily transforming the solid, stone pavement into a morass. The skeletons struggled as they sank waist deep in the churning substance. Behind him, the other wizards concentrated on targeted spells; picking off the more dangerous enemies instead of indiscriminately flinging fire everywhere.
Makaelthos led the second line of knights towards the gap in Drakes forces driving a wedge between the skeletal crew and the megalodons. He watched as Drake himself strode forward to meet his charge. The skeletal pirate captain drew a cutlass from its sheath and pointed it towards his direction. He answered in the same manner and moved to engage Drake. 'A duel?' He thought. 'That's not really something I was expecting from you, Drake.' he thought. He deflected Drake's first attack with his shield and closed in on the pirate captain. He made an overhead slash, which the Drake immediately parried. Then, he pushed his saber forward in an attempt to break Drake's guard. In response the pirate captain held the cutlass with one hand and struck him with a fist. The fist struck his face with the force of a mace blow. Dazed, he stepped back to recover while Drake pushed forward with his attack; the cutlass waved menacingly near his neck.
The tiny bits of light within Drake's eye sockets flashed slightly. "You've got a lot of nerve, crusader." he sneered. "Do you think you can just storm my ship so easily? You're wrong! Drake's pirates may have fallen once in the past but I'll be damned before I let another pack of Pronteran knight scum sink my ship again!"
Makaelthos wiped the blood from the cut on his lip and pointed a hand at the pirate captain. A wave of positive energy sprang from his hand and struck Drake in the form of a healing spell. The skeletal captain staggered back for a few steps as Healing power washed over him; scalding his undead form as if it was a pot of boiling oil that had been poured on him. Makaelthos took advantage of the momentary gap in Drake's defense and lunged at his enemy. His saber suddenly flashed with holy energy as it struck Drake on the chest. The energy exploded in the form of a cross; driving the undead pirate captain further back. "Damned? I think you're already beyond that stage!" he answered.
Makaelthos stepped aside as one of Eliarainne's troops lunged at a nearby wraith dead. The battle was raging fiercely now; Trenzein's wizards filled the air with flames while Eliarainne brandished her lance about; sending bones scattering in all directions.
Silmeia directed the efforts of the Second Priest Division; periodically healing the injured nights that staggered back to her line and directing a barrage of healing spells against the more dangerous wraiths. One megalodon broke through the protective circle and lunged directly at her. She stood her ground as the huge, skeletal fish floated forward to bite her. Its jagged teeth failed to penetrate the powerful barrier she had set up however. She raised a hand; concentrating on a different sort of prayer. The light that emanated from her hand was not the soft glow of a healing spell but the sharp glare concentrated holy energy. She released the spell; causing an explosion within the head of the megalodon and sending fragments of it flying about. The splinters bounced off her priests defensive barriers without any harm.
Khaesilya was holding her own against the onrushing skeletal pirates. She jammed her stiletto into one skeleton pirate's skull, breaking its head in half, and pulled the weapon out in time to deflect the rusty cutlass of another. She tried desperately to reach Makaelthos as he dueled with Drake. The tide of battle kept them apart as another group of skeleton pirates charged at her.
"Drake!"
The battle cry penetrated the sounds of battle, causing many of its participants to look at the one who shouted.
Moonlight watched the fight from atop one of Alberta's buildings. Behind him was a group of nine-tails, Eddga and a group of Leib Olmai.
In the middle of the battlefield, Makaelthos forced his attention back to Drake. He had decided to focus at the problem at hand; which took the form of a cutlass-wielding captain that attempted to slice his head off again. He stepped back and prepared to cast a healing spell again when a sudden wave of heat crashing against his face made him look to see what Drake was up to. The skeletal captain was nowhere in sight. Instead, there was a wall of blue flames before him. A sudden curse from Drake told him that his opponent was over the other side and this wasn't part of a plan.
Makaelthos looked at Moonlight again. Sure enough the cat-being smirked and jumped into the fray behind the walls of fire he created. Drake did not answer the charge with his own. Instead he stepped back and began a swift chant. Several spheres of water to seemed to appear out of nowhere; condensing from the air around the pirate captain. With a gesture, Drake pointed them towards the cat; sending them flying with the speed of hurled boulders. The spheres flew true; slamming at Moonlight's raised arms and sending him flying back. Makaelthos was about to go around the wall of flames when a small creature, with what appeared to be nine gouts of flame extending from behind it, rushed him while snarling and snapping at his head. He bashed the creature on the head with his shield; stunning it long enough for him to push it into the fiery wall. The creature howled piteously as the fire consumed it. 'For it to consume even something with an affinity for fire...these flames are more magic than elemental.' Makaelthos thought. He paid it little attention though, as more of the fox creatures swarmed into the battle field. The walls of fire lengthened and increased; creating a box that separated Drake from his forces. Inside the box, Moonlight and Eddga attacked the pirate captain from both sides. He tried to approach the walls of fire but the heat caused him to fall back. Blocked, he then turned to see how the battle progressed; checking if someone could assist.
It was utter chaos.
Along with the nine-tails fought the purple-furred Leib Olmai, their brown-haired bigfoot cousins, savage yet beautiful sohees and the strange fire spirits called horongs. These creatures attacked both Drake's minions and the Pronteran soldiers. Makaelthos doubted if a shouted order could get to anyone who wasn't standing next to him. A sohee, its features twisted into a feral snarl, broke free of the melee and flew towards him; wailing and hacking at him with a stilleto. He parried the blade with his own; twisting his saber and slicing off the demon spirit's fingers. It wailed in pain and lashed at him with the pointed fingernails of its other hand. He stepped back and brought his saber up; opening a gaping wound on the sohee's neck. The demon crumpled to the ground, bleeding. Before he could even watch the demon dissipate into crimson vapor as its kind died; Makaelthos raised his shield as a hulking, furred creature growled and lumbered towards him. A leib olmai towered over him; its claws swinging for his neck. His shield caught both swipes; the creature's nails glancing off the white elunium plate. He focused his thoughts on a mental image of his sohee companion, Khaesilya. She had told him before that she could pick up strong surface thoughts from him, even if she wasn't actively listening, if he concentrated enough. If shouted orders weren't enough, he had to rely on her unique mental abilities. 'Khaesilya!' He thought; trying to imagine himself shouting the name, hoping the sohee would hear him. The leib olmai in front of him roared and lunged at him; trying to take him down and maul him. He jumped back; narrowly avoiding crashing into a knight who was locked in combat with another sohee.
'Master Makaelthos!'
Khaesilya's mental call alerted him. He swung his shield; bashing the leib olmai's face and sending it stumbling backward. He concentrated on his message while his enemy was briefly stunned. 'Khaesilya, I need you to tell Trenzein that we have to extinguish these fire walls before Moonlight Flower and Eddga kill Drake!' he thought.
The sohee immediately complied, telepathically sending Makaelthos's message towards the wizard.
Trenzein ducked as a horong flew past him like a purple fireball. The spirit paused in midair and then floated towards him instead. Annoyed, he pointed at the flame and concentrated on a spell. The air condensed around his hand; creating small icicles as its temperature lowered to freezing depths. He set the blast of frost towards the flame spirit; bits of ice trailing behind the spell like a tail. He received the sohee's telepathic message and scratched his tousled hair. 'Extinguish?' he thought. 'Is he crazy? I can't even approach the damn things without half a dozen monsters going after me!' He dodged frantically as an enemy sohee lunged at him with a stiletto. The line of knights were starting to show holes in their defense and monsters were now making their way towards the wizards and priests. His mind was working on various levels now. One part to keep casting spells, another to dodge the monsters that kept coming after him and a third to mentally reply to Khaesilya's telepathy. 'Tell Makaelthos that I'm going to need some back up if I'm moving in!' he answered.
Khaesilya quickly informed her master of the situation.
Makaelthos beat back the leib olmai as he searched for a less preoccupied knight. He sidestepped a clumsy swipe from the dazed creature and trust his saber between its ribs and into its heart. The beast whimpered and fell over to its side. 'Tell Eliarainne that I need Trenzein here!' he answered mentally. 'Get someone to escort him!'
Khaesilya complied once again and sent the message telepathically to the First Knight Commander.
Eliarainne waved her lance about; knocking several bigfoots to the ground while they tried to surround her. She then kicked one leib olmai directly in the face when it tried to pull her off her mount. The creature fell back; allowing her to pierce its head with her lance. 'Escort?' she replied. 'Alright, tell Trenzein I'm on my way!' She plowed her way past the mob of skeleton pirates and bigfoots and made her way towards Trenzein's line of wizards. Several members of the third line of knights were badly wounded; keeping many of Silmeia's priests busy. Trenzein spotted her and waved a hand; signaling that he was ready to go. She nodded at him and turned to see how Makaelthos was doing. She found him pulling his sword out of a dead sohee. She then sent her thoughts to his sohee companion. Khaesilya had taken to fighting on the ground to differentiate herself from her floating kin. 'Khaesilya, tell Makaelthos that we need an opening in the battlefield!' she thought.
Khaesilya complied once again even as she stabbed her stiletto into the heart of a bigfoot. She pushed with all her strength against the hilt; burying the blade deep into the beast's chest until her arm had also gone through. When she deemed she reached the heart, she pulled her arm out. Her entire forearm was covered in blood. The bear-like creature roared before collapsing. Bright red blood stained her sleeves as the blood on her arm dripped on it. She sent her thoughts to her master and stepped back from the bigfoot's corpse to catch her breath.
Makaelthos kicked another nine-tails into the walls of fire and assessed the situation as soon as he received Khaesilya's answer. 'Tell Silmeia that we need a Magnus Exorcismus spell for Eliarainne and Trenzein.' he answered.
Khaesilya immediately sent her thoughts to Silmeia. The criss-crossing of messages did not leave her confused even in battle. She had gotten used to it and took pride in her unique ability to serve her master. No other sohee she had encountered could speak mentally like she could. She did not know how she came to possess such an ability, it was yet another memory before the silver knife, but she readily put it to use.
Silmeia received Khaesilya's thoughts and signaled for two knights from the third line to cover her. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Magnus Exorcismus required extreme focus on her part. She could keep up the casting despite the explosions, cries and clashes all around her but a violent motion or a physical blow would cause her to lose the spell. Holy energy; manifesting into bright, crackling arcs of power around her began to swirl under her feet. The hair on the back of her neck seemed to stand as more power pooled towards her spot. She began to chant the long, slippery prayer that would form the gigantic cross on the ground using the condensing holy energy around her. She had practiced this so many times and her tongue did not so much as slow even during the difficult words. The cross began to slowly form underneath the fighting monsters between her and Makaelthos.
Trenzein saw the Silmeia's hands come together in prayer and her lips moving incredibly fast. That was his signal to move. He knew that once Silmeia's Magnus hits, the path between him and the walls of fire would be clear of sohees and skeletons. Eliarainne could handle the remaining bigfoots, Leib Olmai and nine-tails.
Makaelthos looked beyond the walls of fire to check on the situation inside. Drake was still holding his own against Moonlight and Eddga though his disadvantage was now exceedingly obvious. Eddga was keeping between him and Moonlight Flower, matching his cutlass strikes with his enormous claws. From a distance, Moonlight Flower brought forth spell after spell in rapid succession; pounding Drake's undead frame with blasts of flame and bolts of lightning.
Trenzein struck down another horong with a frost driver spell. He looked at the radiant again. The light emanating from her was intensifying, making it difficult to look at her directly. He bit down on his lower lip in impatience. 'Hurry up, Sil, we're under time pressure here.' he thought.
At last, the Magnus struck. Silmeia's eyes opened and her arms fell to her sides. An enormous equilateral cross, over thirty feet from side to side, had fully materialized on the ground. It was as if someone had etched something on the earth using pure light. It glowed briefly and then dimmed. Another second later, it exploded without any noise; silently rocking the battle field with multiple blasts. Immediately it was echoed by the dying wails of sohee and the dry sound of inanimate bones crashing to the ground. The demons and undead caught within the cross itself simply vaporized without a sound. It was those nearby; the ones struck by crackling bolts of holy power that leaped out of the initial explosions that burned more slowly; leaving behind charred remains. Even the bigfoots and leib olmai, creatures neither demon nor undead, were suffering from severe burns from the spell. All of the knights knew better than to stay near the cross and had scrambled to safety. Some of them were actually slightly singed. Silmeia opened her eyes and proceeded to heal her two knight escorts. Khaesilya had managed to jump aside before the Magnus affected her as well.
Makaelthos signaled for Trenzein and Eliarainne. "Hurry! Drake's badly wounded already!" he shouted.
The silence after the Magnus swiftly dissipated as the battle raged on. Those left alive fought even harder to shake off the spell's effects. Drake's forces were severely reduced; allowing Moonlight and Eddga's forces to concentrate on the knights. Several of the Pronteran soldiers had fallen already. The priests were obviously starting to run out of energy to fuel their healing spells. Bolts of ice flew about as Trenzein had ordered the wizards to concentrate on the horongs. The fire spirits were hard to destroy; physical weapons found little to attack within their semi-gaseous forms. Only ice spells seemed to do more than scratch them. He finally managed to get close enough to get the walls of fire in his range. Eliarainne beat back the approaching leib olmai and bigfoots.
"Hurry up already, Trenzein!" she called at him over her shoulder; a fierce grin on her face told him that she was enjoying the fight. "We can't afford to let Moonlight absorb Drake. He's dangerous enough as it is!"
Trenzein had to agree. The walls of fire alone proved Moonlight's spell casting power. The spell's duration wasn't supposed to last for this long. He raised his arms concentrated on the walls of fire. The air above the flames began to spin about as he stirred it with his magic. He concentrated; fighting against the heat that the fire walls generated so he could cool the air above them to icy temperatures. His magic won out, spinning the winds into a howling frenzy. The air grew heavier as it cooled down, descending on the flames like a smothering blanket. He concentrated further, enough to form bits of ice within the whirling blast of cold. When the storm gust fully manifested he let go of the spell; letting it run its course as it extinguished the flames. He was panting when the spell was over but he grinned and took a slight bow to an invisible audience. "The wall's gone!" he shouted. "Get your knights in already!"
Makaelthos prepared to enter when he was suddenly blocked by a bandaged figure. 'Osiris!' The name crossed his mind. He raised his sword. Still, he found it odd that the mummy would rather fight him when Drake was just right behind. He looked closely and understood. The figure was not Osiris. It was a different mummy, wrapped in ceremonial bandages that marked it as part of the elite ones that prowled the tomb of Osiris. Along with several others of its kind, it bounded into battle; moving far too fast for a corpse preserved for a thousand years. Makaelthos heard a neighing sound and glanced behind him. Huge, flying horses, seemingly made of purple flames, galloped through the air and around the battlefield. Several knights groaned and raised their swords and lances as more mummies waded into the battle field. He could not see the actual Osiris or the doppelganger. He raised his sword again and charged towards the nearest ancient mummy. Behind him the sounds of battle grew louder.
The carnage was far from over.
World notes
Magnus Exorcismus -this spell is the strongest spell known to the Church. It concentrates holy energy on the ground and then blows it up like a massive bomb, destroying the priest's enemies. While holy energy burns undead and demonic flesh with ease, the intensity and concentration of the kind found in this spell can harm even normal, living flesh, though not with the same efficiency it does demons or the undead. A priest's allies would do well to also stand aside when this spell is cast.