Beginning: Victoria
Chapter 12
Before anyone has time to stop her, Valencia runs towards the burning wooded area. Sira tries to hold her back but is too late.
"Val, wait..." yells Sira trying to keep up.
The battle is in the other direction, but the town is a dangerous place to be. Flame eaten branches fall and fires still burn as ice mages try and put the blaze to rest. The spear girl, bowman and assassin finally catch up to Valencia when she comes to a halt on a wooden landing at the top of a few flights of stairs leading into the upper part of the trees. Valencia looks up with tears in her eyes. Sira comes up behind her and lays her hand on the clerics shoulder as she too looks up at the once beautiful magician temple, the home of master Hines, devoured by flames.
Those beasts... the flames... what has happened? A bright light shines before them and they step back expecting the worst, but are relieved to see a beautiful fairy float before them.
"Arwen," cries Valencia. "What is going on?"
"The beasts, they rose from the earth and set our trees aflame," says the fairy in a soft voice.
"But ...what are they?" asks Valencia holding back her tears as she looks around at her village burning. "Why have they come?"
"We do not know," says Arwen. "We have gotten news that they have spread across the land. Hundreds of these giant armored beasts have declared this war upon us; their skin is thick and hard to pierce."
"What are the orders from master Hines?" says Valencia closing her eyes... shutting out her sight.
"To protect our homes of course," says the fairy.
"I ... I must find some people," says Valencia opening her eyes.
"I can not stay here," says Jaimus. "I must go to Henesys."
"We can't split up," says Sira.
"Team members have dispersed regardless of orders to fight as a team," says Arwen calmly.
"I have business to tend to as well," says Zenith.
"BUSINESS?" shouts Sira.
"I will return to Ellinia," says Zenith before bouncing off.
"Take care ladies," says Jaimus tipping his hat. "If fate be on our side, we will see each other again soon."
"We have to fight... as a team," says Sira not knowing what else to say.
Zenith stops a little ways away.
"Silly spear girl," he says turning back towards Sira and Valencia. "It's not like we had time to become a team anyways."
As the chaos of clerics and ice mages continue to run frantically around them and the strongest fighters work to slay the beasts, Sira comforts Valencia as she runs recklessly around the village searching for her friends and family. Valencia runs up some wooden steps then down some more until she reaches the ground again. She opens doors to shops only to find people cowering in the corner in fear, but not those she seeks. She stops near an enormous blue flower at the end of town and cradles her face in her hands.
"Who are you looking for?" asks Sira.
"Tanner," says Valencia trying to catch her breath. "I have to find him."
She found out her other friends and family had fled the village when the attacks came, but she had not heard of Tanner. She knows he might not even be in Ellinia, but she also knows how much he loves his home and that he would return if it were in danger. She gets on her knees, closes her eyes and says a silent prayer that he is safe.
Sira looks through the mess of trees and the people running in every direction on the ground floor of the tree village. She widens her eyes as they land on something; something more terrifying then she could ever have imagined. She begins to tremble and sweat runs down her forehead. She wants to tell Valencia but she can't find the words to warn her. The words to tell her he is here⦠the man from the woods. On the back of an enormous brown beast 5 times the size of any man, the mysterious man approaches the base of the village.
"Valencia," she manages to say.
The folk, with the exception of a few fighters, run from the beast as it stretches its arms wide and arches its back. Sira can clearly see the smiling expression on the man's face as the beasts red eyes shine with fury. A large ball of fire forms and the beast howls. Valencia opens her eyes in horror, but is distracted from the beast to one of the fighters. A tall light haired wizard is running towards the beast casting fire arrows at it: Tanner. She lets out a cry of his name, but Arwen has her arm around the frantic cleric and pulls her underneath the flower. The fireball in the beast's hands becomes enormous and Valencia fights to run towards Tanner. With a loud ear shattering howl the beast unleashed the ball, as a warm white light engulfs Sira, Arwen and Valencia. Sira can feel the earth shaking and can hear the screams of many people, and as everything turns white the shrieks of Valencia to let her go echo in the spear girl's ears.
