Chapter 16: The Gathering Storm and Battle for Red Fountain
The preparations for defense of the Schools were rather interesting: Specialists, Witches and Faeries moved between the three schools to allow a balanced defense. Red Fountain however was the weakest of the three schools and according to Erasiel the one that was going to fall regardless as it would be the center of attention for Lighthaven it being the sight of the incident that had sparked this conflict. Therefore, in light of that fact Erasiel had devised a plan of scorched earth: using Red Fountain as a giant trap to kill a large part of the Lighthaven army by blowing it up. Saladin was reluctant to go along with this plan but Erasiel convinced him that it was the best strategy and that he would completely pay for the rebuilding of the School out of his own pocket and would rebuild it to be thoroughly overhauled and protected from any future attacks.
"Stormy you and the other weather casters begin your casting we will want as nasty a storm as possible for the Lighthaveners" Erasiel ordered.
"Ready: Grand Dragon Hurricane!" Stormy casted, a number of witches and faeries followed suit and lent their own magic to the spell, Erasiel used his own powers to make sure the storm focused on the Lighthaveners pouring all his hatred for them into the spell.
Meanwhile…. On the world of the Lighthaveners their capital world of Holy Sornda, a massive army gathered together ready to fight, at the center of the army was a large pavilion in which the Lord Templars gathered in council for battle. At the center of the group was the Grand Templar himself: Arsonious Zornath. The Grand Templar was a giant of a man standing about 7'3; he was old but physically fit he had a long white beard and had a proud face which was scarred with years of experience and battle; he wore an armored white, blue, and gold tunic which covered his body down to his knees, over this tunic was a breastplate of the highest quality armor forged by the smiths of Elrath and on it was great red gemstone in a golden belt; on his head he wore a helmet made of the same material and was decorated with gold and topped by a carved figure of Elrath the Greater Phoenix of Light, he also wore a white cape which was locked to large golden open disk that was spiked like a sun, at his side were two large Warhammers of the two-handed variety but he was strong enough to wield both in one hand; these too were made by smiths of Elrath and they were different in design with regards to the head of each hammer. At the side of the Grand Templar were a number of men with various garb with regards to colors but all in the religious fashion of Lighthaven: these men were the Lord Templars who were the highest figures in Lighthaven society apart from the Grand Templar himself and from their ranks the Grand Templar would choose his successor.
"This act of heresy will not go unpunished and it is so that I call a crusade: those Brethren who have come here are those who I've called for this mission; the force we have assembled will be enough to crush the heretics and to purge them: the orders that are to be given is that you are to restrain from killing those taken captive without giving the heretics the option to convert and be reformed in the monasteries; if they do so they are to be taken to the nearest monastery to our army" Arsonious ordered. "Brethren I have a more private matter and that concerns a more important matter: Brothers I am old, and I fear not much longer for this world. Soon I will give up the ghost and return to Elrath's halls: with this said I have called you all here because one of your number will succeed me and the one who will do so will know it soon; In battle your actions will determine which of you will be my successor" Arsonious continued at this the Lord Templars reflected shock then sadness and then solemn respect.
"Brother Marcus, Brother Artaius, Brother Dexter, Brother Cornelius, Brother Lucius, Brother Vernon, Brother Raynauld and of course Brother De Lande, I would ask you now to join me in prayer and look to the portents" Arsonious responded, then the men nodded drew their weapons planted them in the ground, knelt, closed their eyes and began to pray. Their prayers were many and all the while a Faceless spy sent by Erasiel observed their war room and took notes of the men involved before scouting the strength of the army. "E Nomine de Marcus evernas in carnus Elrath orames" the Men stated then continued in the language of prayer.
While the Lighthaveners readied themselves for battle Erasiel was doing likewise he had given Stella instructions to refresh the faeries in sword fighting; now he was in the Dark Woods near Red Fountain, thick forests that were populated by Goblins and Beastmen as well as worse things. Erasiel was searching for the Beastmen in particular and had assumed the guise of a herald of their Dark Gods the four gods of Chaos, technically three gods and one goddess, Erasiel was a master of the tongue of the Beastmen and was seeking out the Beast Lords of each herd within the forest with the goal of mustering them into a Bray-herd bent on destroying the Lighthaveners. He approached each Beast lord and gave them the message to meet at the great herdstone in the heart of the forest, at said herdstone the Bray Shamans and Beast Lords gathered in front of large hosts of Beastmen: Ungors, Gors, Beastigors, Gorghuns, Cygors, Minotaurs and other creatures of their race all gathered to hear the words of the Herald of the Gods. "Children of the Gods: a Great enemy comes to your world, the vile templars of Lighthaven come to exterminate all they deem unworthy before their false gods; the War God demands their blood and skulls, slay only those of Lighthaven; the gods have deemed only they are to be slain, those who are not of Lighthaven the faeries, the witches the goblins, and any not of Lighthaven have been set aside for a later day far from now, the time has come ready the herds time for war!" Erasiel ordered in their dark tongue. "Of your rank the mightiest has been chosen of the gods Gordos Strong-Gor has been chosen to lead this herd; ready yourselves for battle" Erasiel ordered, at this the largest of the Beast Lords a towering 8 foot Gor with massive horns and clad in Chaos plate roared in his tongue and then pulled out a horn and blew it, through the woods other horns blew and those not in attendance to the meeting came ready; the orders from the dark herald among their ranks.
Erasiel vanished from their sight and then said to Kerborg "That was perfect just as planned, a perfect pain for the Lighthaveners to fight" they both laughed at the thought. Erasiel continued on to the next stage: fortifying the main route by which the Lighthaveners would have to take to get to either Alfea or Cloud Tower and that was a place he was quite familiar with since he had gone into it a lot during the past few months: the Black Mud Swamp. In the swamp he spoke with Queen Ninovee and explained the situation to her; the Undines were all too happy to help fulfilling the role of scouts and irregulars; Lusiz lead their forces alongside her mother. Erasiel then warned the Goblins that they would soon be invaded by "crazed hummies for dem to fight" and they took him at his word; he did this for every tribe in the swamp, everything was falling into place quite nicely.
Erasiel returned to Cloud Tower to find the Trix among a group of senior witches plus several faeries and Specialists. "Well what have we here?" Erasiel greeted.
"These are our troops; or should I say the defensive line; Griffin gave orders for senior Witches to take command of groups; We chose the best and brightest at Cloud Tower" Icy responded, Erasiel could see a number of the best Witches: Vera, Ivey, Shilly, Samantha, Tabitha, Endora, Pusilitia, Nimeria, and the three sisters Euphorbia, Ververine, and Gebera.
"Though we could have done better on the front of our other troops" Darcy commented turning to the faeries and specialists; some of which Erasiel recognized mainly Lolina, Emily and Anastasia and among the specialists Riven was the only recognizable face to him.
"I can see; well here are my instructions: you are to fight the Lighthaveners however if they defeat you let them capture and tell them you'll repent otherwise they'll burn you alive: second point make sure you kill as many of the vile bastards as possible" Erasiel stated. "Third point above all else make sure those of you who are strong enough to hold them back and allow others to retreat; above all else don't let Cloud Tower fall" Erasiel concluded, Stormy returned with the other casters and fell in line with her sisters group. "I've seen to arranging as many obstacles for the Lighthaven army as possible but I'm still not confident in our chances; I've been in worse situations, but this is definitely a very hard battle and one were we are quite out of our league: I need to discuss strategy with you three in private" Erasiel stated and the Trix stepped aside and they walked off to a nearby room and locked the door.
"First things first I need to tell you something important; it is vital that you three survive, don't fight to the death if you are out of your league; let them capture you and I will rescue you three: what is important it you three staying alive; the lives of many people, those here and countless others you've never met, are at stake and you three are among the few who have the ability to make a difference in the wider landscape of the Magic Dimension; you three need to stay alive most importantly I promised your mother I would keep you safe and I would lay down my life to protect you three more than one of them if I have to" Erasiel stated, the Trix looked at him with genuine concern and love.
"You're serious: Well if it comes to that we'll do as you ask" Icy stated.
"Damn I wanted to go out in blaze of glory if I had to, well then I'll do it but only for you Nathan" Stormy stated.
"I agree with my sisters" Darcy stated.
"Good now I'm going to need a few witches I have a plan; when the Lighthaveners attack Red Fountain, I'll need a rearguard force specifically to make sure the explosives are set: I'll hold back the army while my elite team of faeries, specialists and witches prime the explosives" Erasiel explained.
"Well we chose for our team the best of the bunch, so I think we can spare a few for an elite force, but we'll need the rest to hold Cloud Tower so look around and pick your team" Darcy responded and Erasiel left the room and chose a number of witches.
Erasiel's team consisted of Endora, Nimeria, Polly, Tabitha, the Three sisters Euphorbia, Ververine, Gerbera, Hecate and Pusilitia. Pusilitia was beautiful, just like most if not all the Witches of Cloud Tower, had short white hair, a slightly tanned skin tone, dark purple eyes with plum eyeshadow and dark red lips. She wears a dark peach blouse with brown trousers, an orange belt, and orange boots, her figure was that of the Trix and of all the other girls present save Endora who was more endowed then the others, her magic was that of the lore of metal like Vera. Nimeria was also beautiful her skin was an Asian cast, had Indigo pixie cut hair, sea blue eyes and blood-red lips, she wore a crimson dress which left her shoulders bare but had sleeves that covered her arms it also had a black gem in the center of the gown and two large black stones on her belt, with this she wore red pumps and purple lace stalked, she used shadow magic and metamorphosis magic in battle. Hecate was a lovely witch with grey eyes short blonde hair with two strands down the sides, a blue headband, red lips, pink earrings, a short light blue shirt, dark blue jeans, and red boots. Polly was a gorgeous witch who had deep purple hair which she wore in a bun as well as deep purple eyes her skin was white, and she had purple lips, she wore a red outfit of similar design to Nimeria's only hers had sleeves that covered her shoulders, her shy demeanor concealed the fact that she and Erasiel had been banging for months now, her magic controlled slime and other liquid substances. Tabitha had tanned skin, dull purple hair that coil up into two large curls on each side of her head, greyish-purple eyes, lavender lipstick and purple eyeshadow. Her outfit comprised of a rather revealing black bralette, an army green-colored jean skirt bound by a grey belt and dark grey boots. She has noticeably long nails that are painted in the same lavender color to match her lipstick and two diamond-shaped earrings. Her magic revolved around shadow magic and smoke and fragrances she also had some skills in energy magic and could use beams of energy to attack her opponents. She and Erasiel also recently had started a sexual relationship in which he had taken her virginity. Then came the Three sisters Euphorbia, Ververine and Gebera: Euphorbia was a light skinned girl with dark red pinkish hair and lipstick of the same color. She had bangs and two straight strands on each side of her head. Her eyes are blue. Euphorbia wears dark eyeshadow, a light blue cropped shirt with a big collar, two brown bands on each of her arms, khaki baggy pants, and high-heeled light brown boots. Her sisters were different: Ververine and Gerbera both had Blonde hair of differing lengths; Ververine's hair was long and flowed down half her back and had pronounced bangs of shoulder length on either side and brush like in the center, while Gerbera's was shoulder length and smoother. Ververine wore a maroon blouse skirt overlapped with transparent blue fabric and maroon pants while Gebera wore a green sweeter and blue pants. All three sisters used weather magic and had along with Stormy and a number of others created the great tempest that was raging outside the schools, this storm was designed to give the Lighthaveners a very bad time but not hinder the defending forces or their allies, it would not also hinder flyers be they living or vehicles.
With this team Erasiel proceeded thru a portal to Alfea to gather the faeries for his team and this team was a given: The Winx Club. Erasiel instructed the witches to remain outside while he explained the situation to the Winx. Erasiel entered the Winx Dorm where he was greeted by the newest member of the club and newest member of the dorm: Diaspro, who wore an orange blouse and white skirt she still wore the mithril tiara that signified her position as a Princess.
"Hey Nathan, nice to see you here: I've been invited to join the Winx by Bloom and after that incident at Red Fountain the other Winx were keen to agree" Diaspro explained and Stella came up from behind and stood alongside her.
"Also, she's my roommate; we've already made sure to set things up, not much to do with that storm outside" Stella greeted, she wore her Rapier Solaria's Light at her side. "Well apart from teach Bloom in the finer aspects of sword fighting she has proven herself a skilled swordswoman" Stella stated indicating her sword.
"Well good to see everyone's getting along and Bloom is improving we'll need everything we can get to win this War for Magix" Erasiel stated. "Anyway that is beside the point; I have it on good intel the Lighthaveners will soon arrive and thus I am in need of your help Winx: I am putting together an elite team of Witches, Faeries and Specialists for the most important task in battle of Red Fountain: the Rearguard who will allow the evacuation and prime the explosive trap for the Lighthaveners; I've already selected my witch team and now I'm in need of my fairy team I couldn't think of any better Faeries for the job then the Winx" Erasiel explained.
"Great something to actually do" Musa stated coming up from her room, the other Winx fell in beside her.
"Good now get your things; I'll need you at your best for this mission" Erasiel stated.
Meanwhile… Outside Red Fountain about 3 miles away from it a large Gateway appeared this gateway was a circular disk which as golden on the rim; the image of a landscape was projected and out from this gateway marched the forces of Lighthaven: a Golden and white clad host that to appearances looked to be a force of good however appearances can be deceiving, the hearts of madness were at the root of the beliefs of the Lighthaveners: the madness of intolerance and a desire to destroy those who they deemed either unworthy or inferior or an abomination; these crazed religious fanatics had no value for the lives of innocents nor did they agree with the laws of warfare: they believed that those they deemed as heretics or infidels were beneath them and that they could do any vile deed to them and it would not be considered a crime nor a sin. In the hearts of these religious fanatics all who they considered to be impure either had to be cleansed or destroyed: their ideology could be summed up in three simple words: Convert or Die.
This host consisted not just of humans but of other Elves and Gnomes who believed in their twisted views, Ogres who being simple creatures of mind could be melded into believing their beliefs, Giants tamed for war and clad in suited of full plate and carrying massive swords, creatures of light, Wargs of great size, Griffons tamed and ready for battle, and towering great beasts that resembled rhinos. This force was fronted by flagellants: crazed fanatics who had sinned and for their penances whipped themselves and desired to meet their end in battle; they wielded crude to mediocre weapons and little to no armor they were the fodder and meat shields of the army used to protect the more valuable troops. Those mainline warriors were the Sentinels: clad in quality Brightshard Steel full plate armor they wore helmets that concealed their appearances and wielded spears as their main weapons with a longsword as a backup and carried a tower shield, among these officers wore armor which was ornate and decorated with brass. This mainline was augmented with crossbowmen who were clad in similar garb but whose bolts would be near useless against wards. Then came the War monks, monks who wore plate armor that covered their body apart from their shaved heads on which they wore plate headbands which were enchanted to block attacks. Behind these were the Crusaders veteran infantry who wore stronger armor and resembled knights but were not to be confused with the knights which were the cavalry and rode horses, the crusaders wielded swords and morningstars. Then came the War Priests and Inquisitors they wore armored robes and carried swords and book of prayers which allowed them access to the magic of Lighthaveners or blessings and miracles as they called them, the Inquisitors were more elite and wore helmets instead of hoods to signify their rank their robes were also orange and red instead of yellow and blue and over their armored robes they wore pure Brightshard cuirasses and they were the ones who wielded the morningstars. Then came the true Elites of Lighthaveners their Battle Brothers and Templars; Battle brothers were the elite of Priests and Inquisitors who wore full plate made of pure Brightshard and carried Warhammers and shields; they had the strongest of battle prayers bar the Templars and chanted hymns to inspire and heal their warriors, they also had a mounted contingent on horseback, on Wargs, and on Griffins, the armor was silvered and shined like the dawn. The Templars wore better armor this armor was blue and made of plundered Mithril and Brightstone, then carried halberds and great swords and wore crested helms they towered over all others being about 8 feet where the standard soldier was around 6 feet. But above them all were the Exalted: these warriors had the wings of angels and had been blessed by Elrath they had access to the lore of Light and wielded Great swords in either hand or great Warhammers in either hand, they were clad in heavenly plate and flew over the infantry line.
"Warriors of Lighthaven the time has come: We go to battle and will convert our foes or well will purify them with fire!" Grand Templar Arsenious roared, then he unveiled his true form that of an exalted clad in golden heavenly armor upon which a red gem covered his heart, his face was obscured by a golden helmet bar his mouth and beard and he wore a great mantle with a radiant disk atop it and in either hand he wielded the two Warhammers: Purifier and Havenguard.
The Lighthaveners march was slow and miserable, they approached Red Fountain but as they approached in column of march they heard the sound of War horns and the roars and battle cries of the Beastmen who came charging out of the forests to slam into the Lighthaven army. Battle was joined and the clash of steel on steel was heard along with crashing of rocks and hooves of Beasts. This battle was the first of many to come and one in which the Beastmen would gain early blows before being fought off however no matter how many Beastmen the Lighthaveners slew more came.
At Red Fountain atop a battlement overlooking the courtyard and looking out into the lands beyond Erasiel studied the battle he could see in the distance, alongside him were the Professors of Red Fountain two women and three men: Kordatura "the Cruel" who was teacher of combat training and tactics as well magical beasts and how to fight them, Zatura who was Saladin's ex and the school's instructor on magic for the tutoring of the Wizards who were the minority of the school, Nafni Rockcrusher a Dwarf rune smith who instructed the students in the use of runes and other battlefield augments, Gorzag Steelripper a Orc Battlemage who instructed the battle mages who were more common than the wizards but not a numerous as the specialists, and Illon Martag; a Human battlemage who served as the historian and teacher of tactics. They were all dressed for battle.
Of the five Gorzag towered over the rest at an impressive 8 feet as was typical of an orc of his age, his hair was short and black his tusks were clean along wit he rest of his teeth, his green skin was dark, he wore white and orange armor decorated with the imagery of Da Bloody Sun and Da Bad Moon, at his back was a great sword that he could wield with one hand due to his strength as well as his helmet and a cape, he wore a sash with the symbol of Red Fountain: three figures a Warrior a Battle Mage and a Wizard. He was a skilled caster in the lore of Big Waagh! The Lore of Winds and the lore of Beasts, for an orc he was off the breed that were more like humans and more civilized then their fungoid kin, this breed of orcs and Goblins were created by Asha the Greater Phoenix of Order and Phoenix Queen, Sylvanna the Greater Phoenix of Nature and Ylath Greater Phoenix of Air they had more in common with humans then their fungoid cousins and could reproduce in same way as humans instead of the fungoid reproduction of their more savage and warlike kin, they also had females though the females had strong connections to magic then the males. Nafni was a Dwarf of clan Rockcrusher: he had a great orange beard and wore an anvil shaped helm on his head engraved with runes as well as Rune covered adamantium armor, at his side was a hammer for striking the runes and his axe which like his armor and hammer was rune forged and glowed blue on the blade. He was one of the older of the five and had served under Grandmaster Rune-Lord Motsignir Angrund and had been the personal Rune smith for King Wulfstan during the war of the Ancestresses when the King was still a prince and his Father Tolghar was High King. Zatura was a very shapely woman with a tanned skin tone and long, curly black hair that flows down to her waist. She has dark grey eyes and wears dark blue makeup; most notably, dark blue eyeshadow and lipstick, her clothes can be described as fairly revealing. She wears a small black top that is pretty similar to a bikini top with a blue stripe that runs down the middle of it horizontally. Her top barely connects to her long black skirt that stops just above her knees and flows down to the ground from behind. The inside of the skirt is blue and Zatura wore matching blue laced heels. She also wore black and blue-striped arm and wrist-bands, long blue earrings, and her fingernails were long, sharp and blue. Her relationship with Saladin ended when he announced his marriage Elthatora one of the Daughters of Arcadia and the younger sister of Griffin Eritrude, Zarathusa, and Faragonda, Zatura resented him for years until she fell in love with and married Erasiel; she took the job as the School's magic instructor as she was one of the most powerful witches in the Magic Dimension and had an absolute hatred for Lighthaveners. Kordatura was Kordatura; the daughter of Saladin and Elthatora and the wife to Erasiel; she was clad in her armor as normal and leaned on her giant cleaver. Illon was an experienced mage and one of the former students of Erasiel at Graynor he was a cleanshaven young man (Note that he was over 10,000 years old) with short black hair over which he wore a red and gold wizard's hat, he wore plate made of mithril and over that a red and gold tunic similar to a toga, in his hand he carried a pearl staff with rub atop it and as his side a curved sword of elven make as well as a spell book at his side and a red cloak.
Saladin approached the six of them. "Have they arrived?" Saladin stated, he wore crimson and blue-plate armor instead his typical white robes and a winged helm on his head in his hand he carried his staff but at his side was a sword and on his back a great-axe both were of dwarven make, he also wore a red cloak.
"Yes, they have" Erasiel stated turning to face his friend, Erasiel had donned the armor he wore in the War of Ancestress while he was in the Company of Light, it was a Relix Lorica Segmentata armor over a suit of plate armor at his side were his two Falchions Persuasion and Reason on his back was Judgement his Great-Falchion and a red cloak, on his head was his helmet armet with eyeguards and a metal plume across, these bore the symbol of Asha, the symbol of Balance, the Symbol of the Company of Light, the Symbol of the Dragon Knights, the Symbol of Wizard's Council, the Symbol of the Order of the Red Cloak and most importantly of them all the Crest of House Darkar. In his hands he held his staff.
"Then we must prepare the evacuation, myself the Professors you Erasiel and your hand-picked team will act as the rearguard alongside the bulk of campus security to allow the evacuation" Saladin stated, Kerborg returned and landed on Erasiel's shoulder.
"I've seen the Army arrive its massive three legions of the Lighthaven Fanatics and fortunately for us they are under attack by the Beastmen" Kerborg explained to everyone in attendance.
"Excellent we have more time enough to allow for a full evacuation" Saladin stated.
"I told you the Beastmen would be an useful 'ally' I say in air quotes, they may not stop the Lighthaven army, but they'll slow them down, all we need is slow their advance for three days and then the armies of our allies will arrive" Erasiel stated.
"The plan seems to be working so far; I'm not certain it will hold up" Zatura stated.
"Well let's hope it continues to work; are the campus security ready; if anything, we want them to be on the front lines and not the students; their veterans of wars the students aren't" Erasiel commented.
"Indeed, they are ready" Saladin stated.
"Summon everyone to the courtyard who will be defending: I'd like to give them an inspirational speech" Erasiel ordered. Everyone nodded at that. Erasiel then casted a spell it caused the storm clouds to appear blood red. "Just for atmospheric effect; if its war we have let them see it" Erasiel stated.
Later… the rearguard force had gathered in the courtyard save Erasiel's Elite Team of 20, the Professors and Saladin who stood at his side. "Men and Women of Red Fountain: We stand here on the edge of battle; the deep breath before the plunge, this night the battlefield will be stained in the blood of Lighthaven and hopefully few of you; I know you would all defend Red Fountain to the last but that is not our goal; we are here to kill as many of the Lighthaven bastards as possible then get out of here before the place blows up, I know you all lament that we must destroy Red Fountain to have victory but that is the only option; it can't stem the tide this close of the Gateway and other the three schools it is the weakest in terms of defenses due to its lack of magic defenses, therefore we all have a goal, hold back the enemy while the others evacuate, as soon as they have left we will prime explosive charges set thru out the school to explode then we will retreat and escape via the remain ships, leaving the Lighthaveners to be decimated by the explosion, We must make our stand we will destroy as many of our vile foes as possible; I must remind you what is at stake; should all three schools fall nothing will be able to hold back the tide from Magix City; all those innocent people and all the places you know and love in that city will be burned with fire if we don't stop them; we have three days that we must hold before our allies will arrive: we will slow down the Lighthaven army as much as possible; I will be the first one in the fight and last to retreat; also a warning: DO NOT under any circumstances confront the Grand Templar himself if you do that is suicide off the people here only I stand the best chance and those up here stand the next best chance. Now sharpen your minds ready your arms and get ready for battle! TO WAR! FOR MAGIX!" Erasiel spoke and the roaring cry of For Magix went up from the crowd.
"Alright we're ready!" Nafni shouted.
An hour later… most of the Students and faculty and irreplaceable stuff had been evacuated on the transports before the Lighthaven army came into full view; their cries of battle roared, and their armor was fresh stained in the blood of Beastmen. Erasiel stood atop the wall. "Let the show begin: Akhum's Mindrazor!" Erasiel casted and a surge purple energy bathed his palms. "Purple Sun of Xereus!" Erasiel casted and great purple sun appeared and spun into the Lighthaveners pulling hundreds up into the purple vortex to be disintegrated. "Had enough just warming up: here have storm of fireballs; Flame Storm!" Erasiel taunted and casted and great cloud let loose a barrage of fireballs down on the Lighthaveners melting armor like wax and men like marshmallows.
Then Gorzag stepped up and raised his right palm like he was taking an oath. "Curse of the Da Bad Moon!" Gorzag casted and great green miniature moon appeared with a jaw of teeth and menacing teeth and began swallowing the Lighthaven warriors whole. "Ere we go!" Gorzag casted and all the defenders felt a surge of energy run thru their body. "Transformation of Khadan!" Gorzag casted turning a nearby hill into a Manticore which terrified the Lighthaveners as well as Erasiel though he didn't panic like they did and breathed a sigh of relief when it was killed by a Siege Giant. The other teachers thru in a variety of spells causing the ranks of the Lighthaveners to thin, though despite their magic the Lighthaven forces showed no signs of either stopping or running out of numbers.
"Endora take the other Witches and ready to cover the causeway, Artesia you and your team see to it that the others make out to their Transports then ready the explosives; Winx you're with me, they've brought up their artillery and we need to snipe that before it can open up on our transports" Erasiel ordered.
"Magic Winx Charmix!" The Winx shouted and they began to transform.
(It's the Power of Charmix your magical light the power of Charmix and you will shine Bright Spread you're wings and fly Light it up the Sky its easy if you try It's the power of Charmix. It's the Power of Charmix your magical light the Power of Charmix and you'll shine bright! Spread your wings and fly! Light it up the sky!) "Bloom fairy of the Dragon Flame" Bloom shouted as she transformed.
(If you want to go far, never give up on your dreams! Because you know you're wonderful just the way you are! Deep inside your heart there is the power of a Winx just close your eyes and let it shine!) "Flora Fairy of Nature" Flora shouted as she transformed.
(It's the power of Charmix your magical light the power of Charmix and you'll shine bright, spread your wings and fly! Light it up the sky! It's easy if you try!) "Stella fairy of the Shining sun!" Stella shouted.
(Every day on the edge you know what you've got to do, just give your best and you will see! You'll never be unknown! We are all for one! Burning Brighter than the Sun! Just Close your Eyes and we will shine!) "Musa Fairy of Music!" Musa shouted as she transformed.
(It's the Power of Charmix your magical light the Power of Charmix and you'll shine bright! Spread your wings and fly! Light it up the sky! It's easy if you try! It's the Power of Charmix your magical light the Power of Charmix and you'll shine bright! Spread your wings and fly! Light it up the sky! Charmix!) "Tecna Fairy of Technology!" Tecna shouted as she transformed.
(This is what you are and now you're a powerful Fairy! Irresistible! You will be the Star! Come Fly with the Winx! It's the Power of Charmix your magical light the Power of Charmix and you'll shine bright! Spread your wings and fly! Light it up the sky! It's the power of Charmix!) "Diaspro Princess! Fairy of Gemstones!" Diaspro yelled as she transformed. The Winx assumed a pattern around Erasiel.
"Let's go!" Erasiel shouted and they flew in a loose formation. "Gale Wind of Urshu" Erasiel casted and blue barrier of wind deflected massive volleys of crossbow bolts which had been fired up at them, they flew over a sea of Lighthaven warriors tell they came to a large hill which overlooked the army on which trebuchets and ballistae were being set up. "Bloom now: Flamestorm!" Erasiel casted and let out a barrage of fire down on the artillery.
"Flamestorm!" Bloom casted unleashing the same spell she felt a drain on magical power though and started to loose altitude.
"I meant use your own fire spells Bloom, don't use advanced magical spells that are way above your current skill and magic level if you do that you will overload yourself rather quickly" Erasiel stated, as he came to her aid and grabbed to keep her steady.
"Thanks Nathan, I'll remember that" Bloom stated flying back to the same altitude as the rest of the Winx.
"You're welcome, now to make sure those guys don't get back up: Penumbral Pendulum!" Erasiel casted, a great pendulum of shadow energy cut thru rank after rank of Lighthaven soldiers in a straight line before dissipating. They continued the onslaught destroying any and every siege engine they could see, however their attack hadn't gone unnoticed and a figure flew up towards them at first the Winx thought it was one of the griffins they had been so far running circles around but Erasiel yelled "Winx get out of here! That's Grand Templar Arsonious himself!" Erasiel had seen him with his farsighted vision, the Winx withdrew save Bloom who was still drained from her earlier attack, the Grand Templar flew towards them ignoring the running Winx.
"I'm not surprised to see you here Erasiel Darkar it has been a long time my old enemy" Arsonious stated a tone of arrogance underlying his stoic voice.
"I'm not surprised to see you here murderer: you butchered my students you destroyed my classrooms and killed my friends; but that wasn't the worse you raped three of my students and then forced them to watch you burn others alive! Of all the people in the Magic Dimension that are my enemies you are the worst of them; only you have caused such pain!" Erasiel stated.
"I see you haven't changed at all you are still the heretic I remember, and I purified those heathens on Graynor" Arsonious responded.
"Purified!? You call what you did purification: what you did was defile! Defile and Destroy; Millenia of knowledge lost to history, the destruction of the one of the greatest centers of learning; but worse of all young lives; people who had bright futures ahead of them and those who were friends of mine and among that my students; I didn't just teach them I Loved them! I loved them like they were my own children! My own family! And what did you do you vile monster: you tortured them! raped them! And murdered them! You killed my children!" Erasiel railed then lunged at the Grand Templar his staff becoming a glaive and stabbing it into the chest of Arsonious only to have the injury heal moments later and require him to dodge a blow from both of the Grand Templar's Warhammers. Erasiel then casually danced hitting Arsonious with multiple blows from his glaive but each strike which went deeply due to the fact his staff was forged from Relix and could penetrate most armor with ease was healed as if he hadn't struck and the armor repaired itself.
"Dragon Energy!" Bloom casted sending forth a raging dragon spirit of fire at the Grand Templar but this attack though it put Arsonious off balance was again shrugged off.
"So, what have we here: I thought the line of Domino was extinct but apparently I was wrong: Little girl you should fear me; I've seen much of your house and killed many of them: your name by the way" Arsonious responded shrugging off Erasiel's attacks and forcing him to dodge blows from the two Warhammers Arsonious wielded.
"I am Bloom the Princess of Domino: Fireball!" Bloom responded sending a fireball in the direction of the Grand Templar who projected a barrier of light which absorbed the fireball.
"Bloom? The Daughter of Oritel and Marion no doubt: I remember your father the way he wept when I crushed your Grandfather's skull with Purifier and cries of his grief; I let him live only to wallow is his loss, I've battled your line I killed your Great Grandfather and six of his sons and purified three others with fire: and look at you the last of your house: the Ancestresses did a job that I gave them the opportunity to do: your world is now a frozen wasteland your parents dead at the hand of the Ancestresses and your house broken: once I'm done with Darkar I will end that house once and for all" Arsonious responded, Bloom was angry at this news.
"Not if I have anything to say about!" Erasiel responded. "Asha Invictus: Storm of Balance!" Erasiel casted and surge of multi-colored energy sent the Grand Templar flying back downward into a forest of trees. "Come on Bloom" Erasiel stated grabbing her hand, then used the ring on his left hand which turned into a scepter with the figure of phoenix coiled around a gemstone. "Red Fountain" Erasiel shouted and they teleported, landing in the courtyard of the school.
"What did you do: more importantly is the Grand Templar well- "Bloom asked.
"No he isn't dead: I merely overpowered him so we can escape; that trick won't work twice, also before you ask I know it looks like I have Stella's ring I don't this is my own ring though the principle and purpose is the same; Phoenix craftsmanship my own in fact" Erasiel stated then crashing was heard at the walls, the culprit was obvious a Giant clad in full plate and using giant blades to attempt to break down the walls.
"Nathan! Everyone is out: we've set the charges!" Diaspro shouted, Erasiel turned to notice her. "Everyone else is on the ship we need to get out of here" she continued, Erasiel and Bloom didn't hesitate and they followed Diaspro; dashing thru the halls outside they heard the breaking of the walls and gates and the battle cries of the Lighthaven warriors as they stormed the School; they dashed to a transport the last one in the hanger: in which the team Erasiel had put together and the Professors were waiting, Tecna was at the pilot's seat.
"Alright Tecna take off: let's get out of the danger zone!" Erasiel shouted, the Pinkett obliged and the ship took off; flying out of the hanger at a high speed and dodging the efforts of griffons and siege engines to knock it out of the sky.
Meanwhile… "Lord Templar Marcus we've secured the courtyard" a Lighthaven warrior reported.
"Excellent enter the school" Marcus stated, the large vanguard; tens of thousands of Lighthaven warriors stormed the school and surged inside. Marcus took a victory lap. "Good to see the Heretics in retreat hopefully the other schools will be this easy" Lord Marcus stated to his subordinates when a terrified soldier ran in their direction.
"Lord Marcus! Sir!" the Soldier urgently shouted.
"What is it sergeant" Marcus asked.
"Sir the school it- "the Soldier stated.
"It is in our hands now and will make an excellent forward base" Marcus stated.
"That's not it we need to leave now!" the Soldier stated.
"In our moment of triumph? I think your too stressed go get some rest" Marcus stated; those were his final words when a massive explosion rocked the school followed by more explosions a large chunk of the roof fell downwards and Marcus's last thoughts were something along the lines of "Oh Shit!" before he was crushed like a pulp. The Explosion left a mushroom cloud of the kind you would expect from a nuclear blast however this was non-nuclear and was the result of conventional explosives: a lot of conventional explosives. The School was reduced to rubble before the force of the charges and tens of thousands of Lighthaven's finest were now dead; to add insult to injury Erasiel's elite team of Faceless had done another thing that was completely unnoticed by the Lighthaveners and the defenders of Red Fountain alike; they destroyed the great discus portal that allowed the Lighthaveners to get to Magix in the first place and the communications of the Lighthaven army were jammed by orbital satellites thus leaving them without reinforcements or means to retreat; their army however was still a formidable force and numbered over 800,000 warriors in spite of their losses, but these were significant and they would soon receive more attacks on their forces by the Beastmen who's numbers were on a high level despite their earlier defeat, however they had taken significant losses; their artillery had been mostly destroyed and the remaining engines didn't allow for breaches; in addition their siege giants had been reduced from the thousands to only 1200, in addition they had lost a significant portion of their infantry and cavalry both due to magical attacks from Erasiel and the other master casters and due to the explosion overall the Lighthaven army had come out bloodied. As for the defenders they had escaped with minor losses and those had been all in the campus security force which had numbered in around 30,000 but had lost about 700 of their men and had about a 1,000 wounded.
Later… the transport had landed outside Alfea alongside a number of others; half of the Transports went to Cloud Tower to reinforce the defenses there: the groups had dispersed and had proceeded to go their separate ways; each to rest. Erasiel found himself with Bloom as well as Nimeria all of them were now in their day clothes. "Well now what; I knew the Grand Templar would be powerful but how was he able to take those attacks and shrug them off" Bloom asked.
"I think I know why; did you see that red gem on his chest; that was a Star of Elrath; an artifact made from the blood of the Greater Phoenix of Light; it's a powerful artifact and it makes the Grand Templar far more powerful than when I last fought him: he's now a far more dangerous threat; I'll need to think about what to do next; but for the moment I need to rest Bloom: you'd do best to do the same also what the Grand Templar said to you, most of it was true; however your parents are alive but they are frozen in time much like the rest of your people also Bloom you are the best hope for your people; Domino may have fallen but the Kingdom still lives albeit without a King or a Queen" Erasiel stated.
"Anything else you'd like to tell me about my people" Bloom asked.
"Not now; I need to think about that and I need to do some research: that Star can be broken but I'll need a powerful weapon to do so and on top of it someone who can use it, but that will take time; in the meantime get as much rest as you can Bloom: also if you have any dreams tell Faragonda I'm in need of much rest myself" Erasiel responded.
"You poor thing Nathan: I'll help you with your rest; you need some cheering up" Nimeria stated.
"Thanks Nim, Bloom go now: like I said I'll need some rest and time to think" Erasiel stated; he and Nimeria left; and they made their way to one of the school's many guest rooms, along their way they had noticed that the nurses from both Red Fountain and Alfea were overwhelmed with number of wounded security and students fortunately faeries who were skilled in healing magic were helping them as was Griselda with her Phoenix tears. "I'll try do what I can Nim to try and prevent more deaths; I don't want these people to die needlessly nor at all but such is the nature of war; better that they died in battle then on a bonfire at the hands of madmen from Lighthaven" Erasiel commented, they soon arrived at a room that was out of the way; Erasiel put a sign on it that said do not disturb and Nimeria locked the door when they had entered they both kicked off their shoes.
"Now let's see to cheering you up; you've had a busy day my boyfriend and let me try my best to cheer you up" Nimeria stated with a lustful grin on her face, she pressed him against the bed and they locked lips; Erasiel felt the taste of Blue raspberry from her lips with a hint of chocolate; Nimeria slipped her tongue into his mouth and explored it: Erasiel motioned to remove his closed but Nimeria stopped him and broke the kiss. "No honey, you are supposed to be relaxing and enjoying this, I'll see to everything else" Nimeria stated, then she removed his shirt then licking his right nipple with her tongue illisitating a moan from Erasiel all the while she removed his pants and then his boxers before clutching his cock and giving him and hand job; she used her free hand to open her dress and expose her breasts after lowering it to remove her bra; she moved her lips to kiss Erasiel who moaned into it, she then broke her kiss then stripped to the nude minus her lavender stockings; she placed Erasiel's hands to the side and she continued her hand job and to lick his pecks then trailed kisses downward.
"Oh Nim" Erasiel moaned, then he noticed her cute face as she had his dick in her mouth she then proceed to slowly move up and down: Nimeria's skill with a blowjob had been improving significantly over the months though she wasn't bad at first; the licking of her tongue in combination with her sucking was amazing. Erasiel at this point was following her instructions; at the moment he was worn out from his fight with the Grand Templar and Nimeria was genuinely refreshed from the fighting as she hadn't been extremely overwhelmed like he was also she had been resting on the shuttle ride on the way to Alfea so she was energetic and ready to please him all night; outside the sunset looked as beautiful as Nimeria even more so as it was fading to twilight, the loving movements of Nimeria's mouth and tongue kept Erasiel happy; he was experiencing pleasure where he had been for most of the day experiencing battle it was a welcome change of pace especially when it was with someone he loved like Nimeria; he was even more delighted when she wrapped her d-cup breasts around his length and slowing moved them in a paizuri kiss he loved her deep blue hair which was as lovely as twilight.
All this joy however was concluded when he let loose his loud creaming Nimeria's mouth, face, and breasts with a nice bukkake; which she licked off eagerly as it tasted like sherbert Ice cream to her. "Mm delicious, now let's see what you can do to me" Nimeria stated she then climbed up onto him turned and took his length into her anus. She moaned in pleasure as she moved up and down Erasiel put his hand on her shoulder and she kissed him their tongues danced as Erasiel placed his hands on her breasts and moved them in circles she giggled into the kiss and he thrust back in forth. While in the Winx Dorm room another conversation was going on between the Winx.
"So, what is romance like on your planet Flora" Bloom asked.
"Well it is simple when you meet a guy or girl you like you carry out your relationship and when you two decide you really love each other and you want to marry you then have sex with him or her for the first time giving that person your virginity; it is the greatest gift and sign of love you can give to a person" Flora stated.
"Well on my planet most people wait till their married to well do it with each other but of course there are people who do it for enjoyment; there weren't many people like that at my school not even Mitzi is like that" Bloom stated.
"Good to hear that Bloom: on Eraklyion it's the same way though that rule doesn't apply to concubines" Diaspro commented.
"What's it like on Solaria?" Flora asked Stella.
"Very much the same as on Earth though you do tend to flirt with other people during a relationship just to see if they are a better partner though that applies to people who aren't of the nobility in the nobility we are very picky and relationships are usually encouraged between people to see if they're compatible before you even get into dating let alone marriage proposals, though it is a thing that marriages aren't arranged usually if your dead set on a marriage you ask the person you want to marry; even if you're rushing into it" Stella commented.
"What's it like on Zenith" Diaspro asked Tecna.
"On Zenith you marry for love regardless of class, though we have something in common with people from Lynphea in that we fuck our partner once you've really decided you love them; in fact you can go on fucking until you decide you want to get married heck some people go into their marriage after having their third kid; though it wasn't like that with my parents; they married a week after their first time; then they had my older sister then me and then my brother and they are still young I haven't been to my home in while nor had news from it since I left so for all I know my parents have given me another sister or brother, when it comes to having kids there really isn't a limit apart from your income" Tecna commented.
"I've never heard you swear like that before; so, let me get this straight if your princess wants to well have sex with a poor guy off the street that she fell in love with and marry him that's alright?" Bloom responded.
"Yes and forgive me for my swearing; that was me being blunt it felt logical but forgive me if I offended you Bloom; you are my friend" Tecna stated.
"So, what about Melody Musa?" Bloom asked.
"On Melody you pursue love with whomever you want to, but you wait till marriage for sex: its regarded as the ultimate harmony reserved for the highest form of love marriage" Musa stated. "Though if a Royal wants to marry someone who is not off noble birth they will have to give up their inheritance; that was what my dad did when he married my mother" Musa elaborated.
While this discussion was going on Erasiel and Nimeria continued to make passionate love and soon they both fell exhausted and passed out under the covers of the guest bed.
All the while Faragonda was deliberating with Saladin and the others on what to do next.