Let the battle begin! New Chapter up. Enjoy

Anduin stood at the front of his small army. Being Remembrance Day, the fighting force at his back was far larger and more diverse than it would normally be, considering so many had descended on the city for the occasion. There were significantly more of the other Alliance races. He watched as three dozen stormcrows landed to his right. He recognized Kia almost immediately, since her stormcrow looked just slightly different than the others. Hers was like a combination of a night elf and a gilnean.

He took a calming breath. He hated that Kia was fighting by his side, since he wanted nothing more than to keep her safe, but he didn't have the heart to force her to stay behind. Not that she would listen if he had commanded her to stay in the castle. She was a fighter, always has been, always will be, queen or no queen. Anduin would never try to change her, no matter how much he might want to.

"On to Goldshire." He yelled, spurring his horse.

Everyone moved with him, those capable of flight, flying ahead.

"Please be safe." He said quietly to himself as he watched Kia fly ahead with the other druids.

XXX

Kia flew with the other druids towards Goldshire. She took a glancing view at Anduin as she flew ahead.

"Please be safe." She said in her head.

It took only a few minutes to arrive at the battle. There were dozens of smaller demons attacking the few soldiers based in Goldshire. They were doing their best, but the soldiers and the townsfolk were hopelessly outnumbered and on the verge of being overwhelmed.

Kia landing in a tree with a good vantage, changing back into herself. She pulled her bow out and began to fire on the demons. Even though she was a fully trained druid and could fight with magic fairly effectively, she was still far better with a bow. She did her best to even the odds for the soldiers who had multiple demons bearing down on them.

After a few minutes, the king and his mounted soldiers arrived and entered the fray. The battle was intense, but the warriors of Stormwind were doing well.

Suddenly, there was a loud roar and lesser demons began to pour out of the portal. The soldiers formed ranks, then charged at the new threat.

Kia continued to shoot demons from the tree, until her efforts were noticed by a handful of the lesser demons. They were smarter than the initial wave and were able to knock down the tree where she was perched.

Kia did a back flip, landing on her feet before the tree fell. She took a half dozen more shots with her bow as the demons charged her, then placed it on her back, opting for her sword. She pulled the blade apart, taking a blade in each hand in a defensive stance.

The demons nearly tackled her, but she was ready, the first demon falling quickly from a sword to the head from her right hand, while the second had a similar fate from the sword in her left. With a flip backwards, she took out two more with precise strikes with both swords. The remaining two were taken out by a familiar figure.

"You alright, Ki?" Asked Rell as he gracefully landed near where she stood. His armor was smoking slightly where demon blood had splashed on him. Fortunately, most armor was woven or forged with magic to protect against the acidic nature of demon blood. It did nothing for the skin, but as long as a warrior kept mostly covered, they could fight with less fear of getting burned.

"I'm very thankful for your training, at the moment. You?" She replied, returning to a defensive stance in preparation of the next wave.

"All in a day's work. Most of SI:7 is picking off the demons who break free of the melee and get too close to Stormwind." Rell looked towards the portal. "I never thought I'd say this, but I really hope the cursed greater demon shows its ugly face soon. I'm not sure how long we can hold off. We can't close that portal until we kill it."

"I've called for Lantash, but he was off towards Ironforge for the day, since he's not fond of large crowds. He's flying here as fast as he can. We could really use his help."

More demons approached them and they took the creatures down swiftly. They both pressed forward, joining the fray a little more completely. Kia had a feeling Rell was being ordered to keep an eye on her. Kia didn't mind. He was fighting demons, regardless of where he was in relation to his former student.

They fought for what felt like hours, as more and more demons arrived through the portal. There was little else to do but keep fighting. If they didn't, Stormwind would be overrun and all the people currently hiding within its gates would be slaughtered.

Suddenly, with an even louder roar and a rumbling of the ground, the greater demon walked through the portal. This one looked like a draenei, only much, much bigger. Its eyes burned with fire, which it spewed out towards the soldiers below. Most got out of the way, but several were incinerated by the fire.

"Hurry. We could really use you right about now." Kia said to Lantash in her head, as she stared up at the greater demon.

"I'm almost there. Stay strong, my friend." He replied back.

The dragon was close, but it would still be several minutes before he got there. If Kia waited, it would be too late. The masses of soldiers and magic users descended on the greater demon, slowing wearing it down, but it was walking closer and closer to Stormwind.

Kia came up with a plan. It was a terrible plan, but it might just buy them enough time for Lantash to arrive. The dragon was reasonably close in size to the demon and his hide was impervious to demon fire. She took a calming breath, sheathing her weapons and changing into a stormcrow. She flew off before Rell could stop her.

The demon was halfway to Stormwind. The troops were hurting the creature, but the thing was determined to reach the city. It was obvious this portal had been meant to destroy the heart of the Alliance and end the line of Wrynn in the process.

Kia flew high above the demon, then shifted into her sabercat form. She fell along the demon's back, catching herself with her claws just below its neck, between its shoulder blades.

The demon roared in pain, though Kia's claws didn't penetrate far enough to draw blood. Her position was just out of its reach, so it soon disregarded her presence and continued its slow march to the city.

Kia shifted back to her bipedal form, catching herself on one of the small wounds her claws had created. Hanging by one arm, she pulled her sword out of its sheath and plunged it into its back, doing her best to get out of the way of the torrent of blood that began to run down the demon. A few drops splashed her just above her neckline and she hurriedly wiped them away with her free arm, cursing as they burned her skin.

Hanging from it's back, Kia momentarily questioned her own sanity, then leapt up, balancing on her sword still firmly stuck in the demon. She pulled out her bow, aiming for the tender spot at the back of the demon's neck. She did everything she could to steady her balance, bracing herself with one leg on her sword and the other on the demon's shoulder blade.

"Light let this work…" She said to herself as she released a bolt straight into the demon at point blank range.

The demon roared, shaking to dislodge the offensive being off it's back, its move towards the city paused. The bolt made a fairly significant wound, but it wasn't a killing blow by any means.

Kia didn't hesitate, taking several more shots into the demon's neck. She got in a good half dozen hits before the demon managed to snag her by the right arm.

Kia felt agonizing pain and a slight pop as the demon crushed her right arm and pulled her shoulder out of joint. It only held her for a moment before tossing her aside, where she hit a tree going bone crushingly fast, then lay motionless.

To Be Continued...