Crimson Twilight: Dusk
Chapter 49: Battles Engaged
"Lances ready!"
Eliarainne Sialsanderin's voice carried plainly to every knight in her division. At once, forty-six lances moved to a horizontal position. No one in the knight division so much as quivered. The Knight Commander was in a foul mood. Two knights were already nursing bruises for accidentally banging their shields against their armor. To make things worse, Sir Makaelthos wasn't around to placate her. The early morning rain was reduced to a light drizzle by now. The dampness and the sense of approaching battle were making the pecopecos nervous. They squawked and shook their heads; ruffling their feathers out of fright and giddiness.
'Fight...I need to fight...I need to fight...'
The words repeated over and over in Eliarainne's mind. She knew that the moment she shifted her thoughts she would end up thinking of what happened earlier. Her chest already ached from that knowledge alone. If she didn't keep her mind somewhere else then the truth would probably hit her full force. She clenched her fists impatiently. 'What is taking them so long?' she thought. 'Signal the charge already!'
From her position, she could already see that the orcs were beginning to mobilize. The reds were moving as fast as they can to reach the kobold tribes in time before the remaining dog-men retreated. A few more minutes to go before the charge.
Makaelthos Solcry stood a good distance from the First Knight Division. He couldn't bring himself to face his partner now, not after what he had said earlier. With all his heart, he wanted to hold the knight tightly to tell her that he was lying to her and to himself. He wanted to tell her that he loved her since they were mere swordsmen and he only said what he did earlier because he didn't want every assassin in NightKnife to go after her because of him. Every time he felt that way though he felt the eyes of Trynis Eviskrae on his back; unable to let him go, threatening to destroy those he loved other than her.
'Master Makaelthos.'
Khaesilya's voice resounded in Makaelthos's mind. He knew that his sohee companion only used her telepathy for matters that she wanted only him to hear.
'Yes, Khaesilya?' he asked.
Khaesilya's voice was quiet, as if afraid of bringing up the topic. 'Do you still love Trynis Eviskrae?' she asked.
Makaelthos was silent for a while. 'Do I?' he thought. 'No, I ended that, years ago. Trynis and I have simply drifted apart. I can't understand why she refuses to accept that.'
Khaesilya's telepathic voice broke slightly. She was clearly nervous about the topic. 'But Lady Eliarainne-?'
'I can't do anything about it.' he replied. 'Not until I can ensure her safety from NightKnife.'
'But can't you protect her from them?' she insisted. 'Can't she stand up to Trynis?'
Makaelthos shook his head. 'Perhaps.' he thought. 'I can't risk such things. A careless move and she'd be dead and I can't bear that.'
Khaesilya pushed on. Her master's reasons made sense but she just felt that there were more important things to consider. 'But what about her?' she asked. 'Can she bear this?'
Makaelthos was completely silent with that one. No answer came to mind that could face Khaesilya's statement. Before she could mentally speak again, the Pronteran trumpets sounded. The attack had finally begun.
Kreizen was among the first to charge into the fray soon as the horns sounded. His two-handed axe tore through one high orc and slammed against the neck of another one behind it. Behind him, the Second Hunter Division fired their first volley against a squad of nearby orc archers. His younger sister was not among the hunters. He had told her to sit out the battle owing to the wounds she received from her fight with Maiha. He allowed himself a fierce grin as he moved among the high orcs. After slaying the ferocious red high orcs, "normal" high orcs seemed much easier. He saw the truth in that statement when he watched the First Knight Commander plunge headlong into a pack of high orcs. 'There goes Eliarainne.' he thought. 'That's strange. She seems a little too aggressive today. Besides, where's Makaelthos?'
Silmeia watched worriedly as Eliarainne crashed into her foes. Soon, one high orc was already flying from her while another one was stuck to the end of her lance. The First Knight Division managed to catch up with their Knight Commander a few minutes later. Soon, the entire field became a swirling maelstrom of metal and flesh.
"Silmeia, please be careful." Agranias said from behind her. "The orcs will try to reach your division to gain an advantage." He rode past her and charged into the fray. One high orc was unlucky enough to be caught in the middle of his charge. A moment later, another blue-skinned head rolled to the ground.
Silmeia managed to direct a few blessings towards him before he rode out of her range. 'Be careful too, Agranias.' she thought.
"Hero! The humans are attacking from the north!"
The Orc Hero pounded his fist against his planning table as the orc warrior-messenger departed to join the growing battle. "What?" he exclaimed in surprise. "We just sent the reds to aid the Lord over at the west gates!"
The Goblin Leader adjusted his face mask. "We have no choice." he said. "We must engage the humans with our current forces!"
Behind the Goblin Leader, the Panzer Goblin started up the strange-looking machine behind him before speaking up. "We can take those humans, anytime!" he said in a high pitched tone as he flew out of the tent.
The Goblin Leader wiped his war scepter with a piece of cloth. "I must agree with the Panzer Goblin, Orc Hero." he said. "It's time we attacked personally. We've already lost Werewolf."
The Orc Hero nodded grimly and sheathed the curved blade he always carried into battle. "Very well then." he replied. "We shall take the front this time."
Eliarainne plunged her lance into the chest of yet another orc. In her red-stained vision, their colors were barely visible. Red, blue, green...it didn't matter anymore. Anything that was colored, brawny and wielded an axe or a cleaver met its death on her lance. She raised her lance; raising the impaled orc with it and, with one quick motion, flung the beast behind her. "This feeling...it's...so much better!" she whispered to herself. She grinned fiercely as she split another orcish head open with a thrust of her lance. Bristle squawked as he forced himself to trample more and more of those his mistress knocked to the ground. His oridecon-tipped claws dripped with blood while his normally yellow feathers were bloodstained and soaked.
"Don't be..."
The memory caught Eliarainne off-guard; causing her next lance strike to miss. Furious, she pushed the unpleasant memory away and struck again. "What was I thinking?" she growled. "I didn't need that! All I need now is-" A feeling of elation came with each dying scream from her foes. This was it. This was what she really lived for. This was something her father...no, everyone couldn't understand. The battle. It was always about the next battle in the end.
"Eliarainne!" someone shouted.
Eliarainne paid the voice no attention. She knew that it came from Kreizen but even the blacksmith was of no importance now. Let him roll over and die if that was his fate in this battle. More foes awaited her from afar.
"You must be the one my goblins refer to as "steel-clad maiden"." the Panzer Goblin spoke. "You're quite impressive but your reputation will not save you now."
Eliarainne looked ahead to find a goblin hovering before her. The goblin was wearing a mask that looked like it was made of rubber. He was hovering a few feet above the ground thanks to the strange contraption attached to his back. The machine whirred noisily and blew out clouds of smoke from the pipes that stuck out of it. This was the Panzer Goblin. "I don't need my reputation, goblin." she said. "All I need is my lance and this feeling." She grinned, revealing wickedly sharp and pointed teeth beneath her mouth protector.
The Panzer Goblin was taken aback for a moment. All of a sudden he wasn't sure if he was faced with a human here.
"Don't just stand there, goblin!" Eliarainne roared. "Fight!"
The Goblin Leader smashed his scepter into the kneecap of one knight; sending the man tumbling to the ground. At once, he moved to stand above the knight and split his helmet open with a two-handed swing of his war scepter. "You humans will pay for the misery of the goblin tribes!" he shouted. "After this siege, it will be your kind who will hide under masks for shame!" He swung the war scepter into the stomach of another knight. Before the knight could even draw his weapon, though; a jolt of electricity suddenly flung him several feet away.
"You will not be the one who will make the humans suffer, you masked worm." someone said. "That honor belongs only to me!"
The Goblin Leader looked ahead of him to see who spoke. All he saw was what appeared to be a cloaked figure carrying a stick with a large bell attached to one end. There was only one being in Rune-Midgard that the Goblin Leader knew would carry such a stick. "Moonlight Flower." he growled.
The Orc Hero watched as his remaining forces engaged the main bulk of the human army. It was a losing battle. Even with the reds, his army could barely hold against the fearsome soldiers of Prontera. 'It's up to me then.' he thought. 'It's time the hero played his part.'
The Orc Hero walked slowly among the hundreds of duels that occurred and ended around him. "A thousand years of subservience." he said to himself. A mounted knight charged towards him. Before the lance could connect, his sword flicked forward; decapitating the pecopeco. As the knight crashed to the ground, he walked up the fallen rider and slashed; killing the man almost instantly. "A thousand years of humiliation." He continued to walk slowly across the battlefield. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the presence of a Pronteran war assassin. The man flitted among the piling corpses and waited for him to show his back. As soon as he did so, the assassin sprung into action.
Only to be sliced in half by the Orc Hero's wide swing.
"One thousand." The Orc Hero charged and jumped. His sword struck another mounted knight; neatly splitting both the rider and his mount. Lighting exploded from his strike; shocking those close to him. "All that time the tribes suffered." he growled to himself. He let loose a powerful war cry and advanced on his foes. The high orcs around him roared in return and renewed their efforts.
"The Hero fights with us! We will never lose against the humans again!"
"My life to your cause, Hero!"
"Leader command, your people follow!"
The Orc Hero slammed against a group of knights as he swung his sword about. His keen-edged blade sliced through the armor of several knights at once; causing blood to spray everywhere. He watched in fury as another dead high orc fell to the ground. The killer, another Pronteran war assassin, did not get the chance to rejoice over the victory. The assassin's body struck the ground a few seconds after his victim's. The Orc Hero roared out his fury. "Where is justice now?" he shouted. "Must I tear through your armies before I find it? Why can you trample over my people and get away with it while I am denied my vengeance? You will pay! You will all pay!" He watched as the knights parted before him. His sword dripped with the blood of so many enemies. "I will not bow down to you humans." he growled. "I am the Orc Hero; I carry the pride of my people with me each battle." He smiled briefly as he recognized the blacksmith before him. "Kreizen Xalascent." he said. "Let us finish this fight between us then."
Kreizen raised his two-handed axe and advanced. "You're on, Orc Hero." he answered. "I will settle this battle with your death!"
All around the two, the battle continued to swirl endlessly.