Crimson Twilight: Dusk
Chapter 22: Duels
The first high orc hit Eliarainne's lance so hard that the oridecon point burst from between its shoulder blades; spraying blood all over the orcs behind it. She urged Bristle forward; kicking the body from her lance at the same time. More high orcs lunged at her; their sharpened axes swung menacingly from different sides. She swung her lance in a wide arc; catching one high orc in the eye. The lance's point also grazed the face of another blue-skinned monster.
"Death to all humans!" one high orc roared. He jumped at Eliarainne; slashing at her with a large two-handed axe. She raised her shield to absorb the attack and smashed it against the high orc's face. The blue-skinned orc crashed to the ground. She sank her lance deep into his chest before causing Bristle to trample him with razor-sharp, oridecon-tipped claws.
Another high orc managed to grab at her shield arm and struggled to drag her from her mount. The high orc failed, though. His right arm was suddenly sliced off from behind by a saber. There was no blood though; the saber glowed white with holy energy and the wound was seared shut. The high orc howled in pain and staggered off.
"Don't let these monsters drag you own, Eliarainne!" Makaelthos shouted. "They'll grab Bristle and stuff him down their cook pots!" He expertly deflected the clumsy swing of one high orc with his shield and pushed the blue-skinned warrior towards a group of them; causing all of them to crash in a tangle of brawny arms and legs. Behind him, Khaesilya dragged her stiletto from the eye of one orc warrior and whipped it about; slicing open the stomach of an over-eager female orc.
Eliarainne grinned fiercely as she plunged her lance into the neck of a high orc that was about to attack from Makaelthos's right. The rest of the First Knight Division fought hard as the second wave of orcs crashed against them.
From the corner of his eye, Makaelthos spotted a squad of orc archers pointing their gakkungs towards Eliarainne's direction. "Get back, Eliarainne!" he warned his partner. He stepped forward and raised his shield. Several arrows bounced uselessly against it while others fell short. Before the archers could take a second shot, a blast of icy winds suddenly descended on the squad. The blast quickly erupted into a full-blown storm of whirling ice and snow; freezing many of the orc archers in place.
Immediately, Eliarainne waded among the frozen orcs; thrusting her lance into their frozen forms to finish them. Some of them were so firmly encased in ice that, when she shattered the blocks with the butt of her lance, the bodies also broke to pieces. She caught a glimpse of the caster as she knocked down another high orc. "That was superb timing as usual, Zein!" she called out before she continued wading among her enemies. Makaelthos, Khaesilya and the rest of her division were right behind her.
Trenzein Zaisen bowed like a performer receiving his applause as soon as he heard Eliarainne's compliment. When one high orc took advantage of his distraction by charging at him, he sidestepped the wide swing of the axe and gestured; causing a blast of ice to encase his attacker. He smiled as a sphere of lightning flew from the wizards behind him; flinging the frozen orc back for several feet. The ice shattered and the blue-skinned corpse convulsed and smoked as it fell to the ground. 'A frontal assault on Prontera?' he thought. 'The orcs might as well have asked us to slaughter them. There's no way they can break down the gates at this rate!' Trenzein suddenly noticed a jet of ice streaking towards him. On impulse, he waved an arm; chanting a string of incantations in the space of a few seconds. In front of him, an enormous wall of roaring flames burst from the ground. The ice struck the wall and exploded with the loud hissing sound of escaping steam. He looked about to see who had cast a spell. 'A spellcasting orc? That's new.' Trenzein found himself facing wizened old orc.
The orc's green skin was wrinkled, especially along his face. Stringy white hair covered his balding head in tufts. Magical energies crackled on the orc's hands and the arcane symbols on its robes marked him as a spell caster.
To confirm Trenzein's suspicions, the orc raised a hand. Immediately, several shards of light flew from him and straight towards Trenzein. Still smiling confidently, Trenzein countered with the same spell; the shards of light struck each other and disappeared harmlessly.
Trenzein stuffed one hand into his robe's pockets and faced the orc sideways. He then raised his other hand in a "come ahead" gesture. Snarling oaths in its native tongue, the orc prepared to cast another spell.
Kreizen swung his two-handed axe in a wide arc; severing the head of one high orc. Behind him was a trail of dismembered orcs; most of them headless. He slowly made his way towards his target, the powerful figure of the Orc Hero. The immortal stood at least two feet taller than largest of the high orcs although the aura of power and authority he possessed made him seem twice that. Even his square jaw, sloping forehead and his small eyes seemed to reflect that authority. Like most orcs, his eyes were red; Kreizen knew that orcish eyes glowed in the dark as they possessed a limited ability to see at such times. On his head was helm covered with golden feathers that made him stand out even further. He carried an enormous square shield that was marked with a snarling face of a beast; the symbol of the orc tribes. In his other hand was a curved sword that was the size of a two-handed weapon. Orcish writing was engraved on its blade and its pommel was decorated with precious stones. "We're not finished since the last time, Orc Hero!" he shouted after the immortal.
The Orc Hero decapitated a knight with his huge, curved sword as he waded among them; spraying blood all over his shield. Another swing broke past another knight's defense and cut deeply into his chest. Grinning fiercely, he backhanded the knight with his sword arm, sending the man sprawling to the ground.
"Orc Hero!" One of the humans called out.
The Orc Hero turned to the one who shouted his title. The voice was human alright and strangely familiar. His gaze fell on a dark-haired blacksmith with bright blue eyes and powerfully muscled arms. At once he shouted a challenge and closed in on the blacksmith. In less than a second, the two of them were locked in furious combat. His sword clashed against the blacksmith's axe. "I know you." he told the man in Pronteran. His command of the language was crude and simplistic but his merely using it should make his foe feel honored. "You're that blacksmith from the colony." The blacksmith responded by taking a swing towards his neck. The Orc Hero blocked the attack with his shield and thrust at him with his sword. "Tell me your name, blacksmith. I will speak of it proudly when I tell my tribesmen of how I slew you."
The blacksmith's eyes narrowed as he pulled out a bag of zenny. "My name is Kreizen Xalascent, Orc Hero." he answered. "Don't be mistaken; I'm telling you this so that you may speak of the one who slew you in the afterlife!"
The Orc Hero grinned and lunged at Kreizen. At the same time, the bag the blacksmith was holding transformed into a golden light that bathed his weapon with a powerful glow. "Give me your strongest blow then, Kreizen Xalascent!" the Orc Hero challenged. "I will give you mine in return and we will see who is left standing after that!"
The two-handed axe broke past the Orc Hero's guardl biting into his right side with such force that it knocked him back. At the same time, his sword tore through Kreizen's chain armor; gashing him horizontally on the chest. In less than a heartbeat, the two combatants recovered from each other's attacks and clashed.
Seihanine Xalascent ducked as another arrow whizzed past her. She had seen her brother clash with the Orc Hero and at the same time she also knew of Trenzein's wizardly duel against the orcish spell caster. She shot an arrow towards one high orc that was about to blindside her brother then nodded in satisfaction as her arrow buried itself into the blue-skinned monster's neck. Another arrow struck the rampart that served as her cover. The orc archer who fired it did not get a second shot. Kalyx flew past it; his steel-tipped claws tearing a vicious gash on the archer's face. The orc screamed and pitched forward. Its eyes had been torn from their sockets by the falcon. Kalyx swooped past the battlefield and landed on his mistress's shoulder. "Keep watch over Zein, Kalyx." she instructed the bird and then pointed at Trenzein's figure. The falcon screeched once and dove towards Trenzein. Seihanine shot down a pair of orc archers that were about to snipe her brother. That was when she noticed a cloaked figure making its way towards the Orc Hero. She guessed who it was. 'Osiris!' The name resounded in her mind.
Silmeia Cafilence concentrated on healing the knights who stumbled back to her unit. Sir Agranias kept ahead of her; striking down any orc that got too close.
One high orc managed to get past Agranias and charged directly at her. Immediately, she whispered a swift prayer and pointed at him. A soft, white light surrounded high orc until she invoked another prayer. A burst of white light struck the high orc on the chest; coalescing with the light that bathed him until it burst in a brilliant flash. The high orc fell to his knees; his chest smoking from an enormous burn,until Agranias rode up and thrust a two-handed sword into his back.
Agranias quickly rode towards the Silmeia. "Are you hurt, priestess?" he asked.
Silmeia stared at the knight. Agranias had slain at least a dozen high orcs as far as she could tell. After all that, he was barely even sweating with exhaustion. His armor wasn't even dented after deflecting so many attacks. "I'm fine, Sir Agranias." she answered. "Please protect the other priests as well."
Agranias nodded his consent and rode ahead. Silmeia focused on him and whispered several prayers of blessing. He suddenly rode faster; clashing against a group of high orcs with such force that several of the blue-skinned monsters were bowled over. He waved his two-handed sword about with one hand while he urged his mount to trample the prone high orcs. Despite the seeming lightness of its claws, the pecopeco crushed limbs with ease.
"Have at you, knight!" a guttural voice came from one side.
Agranias whirled to the sound of the voice. A huge fist was about to smash into his face if he hadn't caught it with his palm. His arm shook with the effort to keep it back, though. The fist was incredibly strong. "Orc Lord!" he grunted. Agranias pushed the fist away and hacked at the Orc Lord with his weapon. The burly orc jumped back, raised his fists in a martial stance and then glanced at Silmeia.
"That's their lead priestess right?" he growled. "Slaying her will plunge your healers into chaos!"
Agranias pointed his sword at his opponent. The Orc Lord did not present the same daunting sight as the Orc Hero but he was still formidable in his own way. He was short but incredibly well-built; with powerful muscles that rippled over his barrel chest. His arms were large and covered with bulging muscles that were nearly the size of marine spheres. His dark green skin was covered with scars and lurid orcish tattoos. "I won't let you harm her in any way." he answered.
The Orc Lord cracked his knuckles in anticipation. A toothy grin spread on his face. "Really?" he said. "Then I shall kill you first!"
The Orc Lord dashed forward and leaped at Agranias. He evaded the flying kick and thrust his sword at the orc, who twisted in midair to avoid the attack. Upon landing, the Orc Lord suddenly pointed an open palm towards Agranias. A sphere of flames burst from his palm and straight towards Agranias; who raised his arm to protect himself from the blast. The ball exploded on impact, engulfing Agranias in searing fire. He winced in pain and was about to charge again when he felt a familiar hand touch his arm. 'This is-' he thought.
Agranias felt healing energy flow into his body. The feeling was somewhat painful at first; like looking at the noon sky after spending a lot of time in darkness. Gradually, he felt the pain of his burns recede. "Thank you, priestess." he said softly.
Silmeia allowed herself a brief smile. "Take care of yourself, Sir Agranias." she answered.
Agranias smiled in return and was about to rejoin the fray when a swordsman suddenly dashed ahead of him.
"For the glory of Prontera!" the doppelganger shouted enthusiastically. Nearby knights actually echoed his cry with their own.
Silmeia stared incredulously at the swordsman before realizing the truth. 'The doppelganger!'
The Orc Lord snarled a curse as the doppelganger slashed at him with his broadsword. "Doppelganger!" he snarled. "You side with mere humans?"
The blond swordsman grinned and ignored the Orc Lord's words. "I, Joe Buck, will earn my knighthood by slaying you, Orc Lord!" he said the words so grandiosely that Silmeia felt a little embarrassed.
Cursing, the Orc Lord stepped back. "You have the advantage now, "Joe Buck"." his voice dripped sarcasm as he spoke. "There will be other opportunities!" With that he suddenly made a powerful jump back and retreated.
Sighing, Joe Buck patted Agranias and walked towards the city. "You take care of your priestess now, knight." he said loudly. Then he leaned forward and whispered. "Osiris and I will find it interesting to work with you, Ex-Abysmal Knight Captain Agranias, maybe you can help us against the Lord of Death."
Agranias's eyes hardened. To reveal his dread secret now would cause his attempts at change to collapse. The doppelganger grinned once again and walked away.
"Are you alright?" a soft, comforting voice cut through his reverie.
Agranias turned and found himself staring at Silmeia's concerned face. He swallowed hard and forced his voice to remain level. "I will be fine, priestess." he answered.
Silmeia let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, an explosion rocked the battlefield before the two.
"Interesting…you are familiar with plenty of spells, orc." Trenzein commented. His hands crackled with intense magical energy. He had unleashed several powerful spells and countered the attacks his opponent made. The old orc was panting but his hands still pulsed with energy. "Let's put an end to this, shall we?" he taunted.
The orc hurled a ball of fire towards Trenzein. He countered by causing a jet of ice to collide with the sphere. The orc squinted as the resulting steam dissipated; the next spell was bound to come soon. Sure enough, the orc heard the wizard begin to chant.
A rock suddenly flew from the cloud of steam. Surprised by the simplicity of the spell, the orc failed to evade it. The rock struck the orc on the arm without causing injury. Immediately, he realized that the green-haired wizard had finally tired out. Grinning, the orc prepared to cast a spell as the steam vanished.
The human wizard had disappeared.
The orc immediately turned around in a panic. The wizard could have teleported behind him but-
A falcon suddenly flew past the orc, raking at him with steel-tipped claws. Surprised, the orc raised an arm to protect his face. A sudden tap on its shoulder brought another reality on the spell caster.
"You're forgetting me, orc." A blast of ice erupted from Trenzein's hands, encasing the orc. The wizard grinned as the falcon flew overhead.
"I guess I owe your mistress one, Kalyx!" he called out to the bird. "Don't tell her though, okay?" Trenzein shifted his attention back to the spell caster. "As for you, it's strange how a simple teleportation spell can panic someone so much." Lightning coursed through the his arm as it formed a sphere of crackling electricity in his hand.
Kreizen Xalascent panted as he circled the Orc Hero. He suffered a gash on the chest as well as a cut on his right shoulder and leg.
The Orc Hero was wounded on one side as well as on the leg. "You fight well, Kreizen Xalascent." he spoke. "But it is clear that I will win this battle." He wasn't taunting the man. It was a clean fight. Something he didn't expect from the dirty humans. It would be a shame to end the life of this one but this was war and there were much more lives to take.
Another voice suddenly spoke behind the Orc Hero. "You've already lost when you massed your armies in front of Prontera, Orc Hero!"
A bandaged fist smashed into the Orc Hero's face. The crushing impact knocked sent him staggering back. After taking a moment to recover, the Orc Hero shook his head and faced his attacker. "Osiris!" he growled.
The mummy's eyes glowed from his hood. "Turn back, Orc Hero. You can gain no more in this battle." he answered.
The Orc Hero looked around him. Sure enough, the knights were beating the orcs back. Cursing in orcish; he ordered a withdrawal and fell back.
Kreizen turned to face Osiris. "Thanks." he said. "Why did you ask him to retreat if you wanted him dead?"
Osiris started to walk away. "The Orc Hero is the primary force that binds the tribes together." he answered. "If he died too soon, the tribes will scatter. It is better to slay Werewolf, the Panzer Goblin and the Orc Lord first."
Eliarainne whirled her lance about even as the orcs withdrew. With the attack defeated, she let out a powerful battle shout to celebrate. The First Knight Division answered by raising their weapons and roaring their own.
Makaelthos stepped over the ring of dead orcs around Eliarainne and gripped her by the forearm. "Don't pursue them." he spoke calmly. "Get the knights and prepare for the next attack."
Eliarainne nodded in agreement. The battle had gone well enough. Makaelthos looked worried though. "What's wrong?" she asked. "We won the day didn't we?"
Makaelthos stared at their retreating foes. "The kobolds and goblins didn't join the fight." he answered. "The tribes are planning something."
The sun began to set as the knights rode back to the city. Despite their success though, all of them knew it was far from over.
World notes
Orcish spellcasting – with the orc lands directly southwest of Geffen territory, the occasional spell book finds its way into orcish hands. This combined with the orc's small tradition for spellcasting can produce orcs of mage or even wizard skill orcs.