Hiya, this is Deep Shadow. I'd just like to say a big thank you for choosing to read this story and I hope you are enjoying it. If you are enjoying it (or indeed if you are not), please write me a quick review to share your thoughts. I've only recieved two reviews to far for this whole story... so I'm really looking forward to getting feedback! Thanks everyone!

Chapter Twenty
Shaylin Besieged

A hail of arrows soared over the battlements, narrowly whistling over the top of Rael's head. He ducked down and rolled as another volley rushed past him, an arc of black-feathered arrows sweeping over the walls of Shaylin and down upon the soldiers below. He scrambled off his knees and made quick progress around the ramparts, throwing off his coat and drawing his sword. Archers lined the wall, packed up against the thin slits with bows, firing upon the invading army outside the city. As Rael ran past, one archer raised his head above the parapet for a moment, just for a glimmer of what was below. In that split second the man was struck between the eyes. He staggered back and fell backwards into the long drop to the ground below.

Rael looked over the edge where the man had fallen, and a pair of arms grabbed him around the waist and pulled him aside. He heard the loud 'snick, snicker, snack' of bows firing from where the soldier fell and a volley of twenty arrows launched up towards him, racing almost vertically past head, flying up above the walls and swooping down upon the army on the other side. Rael regained his balance, and turned to see Elane, the one who had saved him from a sharp death. "You're a damn lucky fool," she said, breathlessly, "come on, go!"

Rael had no time to thank her as she ran on ahead, navigating weapons crates and felled bodies. He hurried on after her, his heart racing and praising the gods for saving him from danger. Beneath him the earth seemed to shake as heavy siege weapons pummelled the gates of the city. Ramades' army had begun their assault at sunrise. The enemy's army was large, maybe larger than all of Queen Lana and Lord Jaendral's forces together. Fearing a quick defeat, Rael had vowed to remain by Lana's side and protect her from harm. Hours later it had become apparent that the conflict was to be long drawn out and so he was now making his way through the battle to find Jaendral and help him direct the army.

The death count was rising all the time. So far, Ramades' army had not broken through their defences, but even the mighty gates of Shaylin could not hold forever. A battle of projectiles had been the course of fighting so far, with waves of arrows and catapult bombardments being exchanged. "If the battle continues in the way," said Rael, catching up to Elane and running alongside her, "the Kairin will raze the city to the ground. We have to stop this pointless war!"

"How?" Elane said, turning away as one of Lana's women fell screaming from the walls in front of them, blood spurting from a pierced neck artery. "Oh, blood and storms!" she cursed in horror. The noise of shouting soldiery on either side was so loud that they did not even hear the sound of her body hit the floor.

"Keep low!" Rael instructed loudly to Elane as they hurried past a portion of wall that had been reduced to rubble, smashed by a boulder from one of Ramades' two mighty siege catapults. Around that gap a unit of Jaendral's elite warriors was keeping enemy ladders from providing a way into the city. They wore full plate mail and wielded large shields to protect themselves from arrow-fire.

They were approaching the area of the huge circular fortress wall above the gate. On each side of the gate there was a tall square tower, built with thick walls built of a darker rock than the main sandstone walls. The towers were each capped with open parapets, where brave men and women with crossbows were firing direct bolts down upon the opposing force, leaving themselves exposed for long periods of time.

Rael entered the tower through an open door leading from the ramparts into the building. Elane followed him in, and they both paused to catch their breath. Rael bent over with his hands on his knees, breathing deeply. It was slightly quieter inside the tower and they could hear each other talk. Outside, the noise of battle continued. "Where is he?" Elane said, frustrated that they had not yet been able to find the man they sought.

"I don't know," replied Rael. "Here, we need to climb up the tower to go through onto the gate battlements." He took hold of the fixed ladder which led up the higher level of the tower, and sheathing his sword, pulled himself up the rungs. At the top of the vertical climb, a gauntleted hand reached down to meet him, and helped him to pull himself up through the ceiling and onto the floorboards of the next level.

He climbed to his feet and looked at the man who had assisted him. He was tall, and very muscular. His flame-red hair was tied up in a red headscarf, indicating that he was one of the soldiers who came to the city in Jaendral's army. Rael knew that the chain mail armour the man was wearing would be very heavy for most men, but the strong man wore it effortlessly. "Thank you," Rael said with a quick nod. He looked around the tower for a door that would lead onto the gate wall.

"Bless my stars," the man said with a voice which was surprisingly formal for his appearance, "I'll be blighted if you aren't the Hylian Prince I have heard of." Rael could not reason out why, but his accent sounded somehow familiar.

"Yes," said Rael, looking around the room "I am." Above them, at the top of another ladder which led up onto the tower roof, Rael could see the unit of crossbowmen.

"It is an honour to meet you, Your Highness," said the man, with a quick bow, "even though it is in the field of battle."

Elane's head emerged through the floor and Rael helped her up to her feet. She dusted her short-cut brown coat and leggings and tightened the fastenings in her hair. When she set eyes upon the man in front she looked at him with the same curious recognition Rael had also discovered in him. "I am Captain Kars, of the loyal First Legion," the soldier said proudly. "I am at your service, my lord."

"Very good," said Rael, remembering his face now, still unable to place him. It was like trying to remember a dream. "Captain, where is your commander, Jaendral?"

Kars needed only think for a second. "The last time I saw him was when he rallied the soldiers this morning. I cannot be more help than that."

"Captain," said Elane, and the soldier turned to look at her, "forgive me, but have we met before?"

Rael felt his heart pound in his chest as he suddenly remembered who this man Kars was. Rael's left hand moved to his sword hilt by instinct, and he gripped it tightly. Kars noticed him do this and stood back. "My Lord-" he said, then froze. Clearly, he too had remembered. "You!" he said, pointing at Rael. "And you as well!" he said of Elane. Rael took hold of Elane's arm and pulled her to his side, putting his arm across her to protect her. "You were in the Grey Forest with those Hylian dogs who butchered the men under my command."

"Watch yourself," Rael said to him, putting space between them and Kars "those Hylian soldiers were upholding the law. And do not speak ill of the dead, for one of those men later died by my side, fighting the Kairin."

"To death with watching myself," said the large Gerudo, drawing his sword, "I vowed you would pay for murdering my brothers."

Rael pulled out his sword and pointed it towards the other man. "You dare draw your sword against the Prince of Hyrule?" he demanded. "I command you to lay down your weapon!"

A desperate cry from above them stole Rael's concentration for a moment. "Get down! Catapult rocks!" came the call. In the next moment a Gerudo was desperately trying to scramble down the ladder, whilst Rael glimpsed the remaining soldiers flinging themselves over the top wall of the tower, desperate to escape.

Seconds later there was an almighty thunder and the outer facing wall of the tower instantly caved in; bricks smashed apart from each other and fell tumbling down as a huge boulder pounded through the tower and tore through the wooden structures. There was a deep scream as Kars was knocked down by the collapsing wall and sent falling down through the shattering floor boards.

"Run!" Rael shouted, hurrying for the door. Seconds seemed like minutes as he leaped across the crumbling tower, avoiding dropping masonry.

"Rael!" shouted Elane from behind him. As he turned his stomach turned; her foot was caught under some rubble, and she was desperately trying to pull herself free. Without hesitation he ran back and fell at his knees beside her. With all his strength he heaved aside the fallen debris. "Look out!" she shouted, pointing upwards.

Through the now exposed roof Rael could see the bright blue sky. A black dot was quickly coming closer, growing, growing. Another even larger boulder falling directly towards them. The second rock burst through what remained of the walls, and came tumbling down towards them with tremendous force. "Get down!" Rael cried, throwing out his arms to protect them and clenching his eyes.

He expected everything to end. It did not, he could still hear the sounds of battle. He opened his eyes and saw a dome of broken stone above them, suspended in the air like a rocky cave. When Rael felt his strength rapidly draining he realised that he was holding the rock there by his power, drawing deeply upon the same source that allowed him to make fire. He took a control over this new power and threw aside the rocks to provide a way to the doorway. "Go!" he said to Elane. She was already stumbling towards the door, limping on her hurt foot.

The effort of maintaining his grip on the collapsing tower was tiring to the point of delirium. Staggering, his heart rate slowing, and barely able to keep his eyes open, he made his way though the room to the doorway. He took the last few paces at a run and released everything as he threw himself through the open door onto the ramparts of the city walls. Then, everything became darker. He was vaguely aware of sliding stone as the tower folded in on itself, and his body went numb

……

"Lord Rael," said a deep voice, cutting through the darkness.

Rael opened his eyes and looked up to see Jaendral crouching over him. The sound of fighting soldiers slowly grew louder as he regained his senses, his blurry eyes focussing again. Jaendral offered him a hand, and he took it gratefully as the man helped him to his feet. "You are a very fortunate man," said the tall Gerudo lord, who was wearing his usual black plate-mail, along with a black helmet on his head. "I thought every man and woman in that tower was doomed for certain." Jaendral offered Rael's sword to him. "Your sword, Your Highness." He must have dropped it. Rael took it from the man and sheathed it quickly.

"Where is Elane?" Rael said quickly as his thoughts came rushing back to him.

"I'm here," said Elane, who was but two paces from him next to the rampart wall, "thanks to you."

"Speak nothing of it," said Rael, looking back towards the ruined tower. The top half was entirely reduced to the stone from which it was built. Some had spilled over each side of the wall. "I fear one of your captains, Kars, has died," Rael said to Jaendral.

"Him and too many others!" exclaimed Jaendral. "My lord, we are overwhelmed! I fear my men and Lana's brave women cannot hold back Ramades' force any longer."

"Ramades could not have been too confident of victory either if he has begun targeting the towered defences of the very city he hopes to use for himself," said Elane.

Rael was surprised at her insightfulness. "I was thinking the same thing," he said thoughtfully.

"That matters not, my Lord," said Jaendral. "We must take decisive action if we are to win this battle today."

"Jaendral," said Rael, turning to face him seriously, "by the strength of your own conviction that you are the rightful king of this city, by the same token you must appreciate the strength of Ramades' conviction. He will not surrender!"

"Are you telling me that I must surrender, Your Highness?" Jaendral asked. "I would sooner die! And so would my men!"

Rael looked down below now for the first time, where hundreds of men were packed together, pushing together against the great gates of the city, resisting the enemy battering rams with all their might. "If that is your attitude, then you almost certainly will die today!" Rael shouted at Jaendral, his anger at the man's stubbornness coming out.

Beneath them there was a loud crack, and cheering from the far side of the wall. "Oh blood and storms, they've breached the gate!" said Jaendral. He turned to call out to his men down far below. "Hold firm!!" he shouted. "Do not let them through!!"

"It won't be enough!" said Elane, who was looking down over the attacking side of the wall through a narrow concealed window.

Surely enough, the soldiers in the courtyard below them were slowly moving backwards, retreating away. The first of Ramades soldiers were then visible, advancing against them. The front line was heavily armed, tall men wielding huge maces who were battering their way through Jaendral's warriors, making light work of shields and swords.

"Carry the command!" Jaendral shouted to runners along the wall, "All arrow fire to be directed at the incoming men on this side of the wall." Archers who had been shooting through the slits in the gate ramparts heard the command and came to the inner edge. Kneeling down they let loose with their bows.

"It isn't enough!" declared Rael. He rounded on Jaendral and thrust an accusing finger at him. "Why can't you bloody fools deal in peace? Is blood the only language you understand? You are one and the same! You! Lana! Ramades! You are one people! And all as bloodthirsty as each other!" Jaendral stared back at him venomously. Rael shook his head, feeling nothing but pure contempt for the older man. Tears of utter despair were running down his face. "You care only for power, and would butcher flesh of your own flesh to achieve it. Damn you Jaendral! Damn you for making me have to do this!"

In the raging battle, a stillness fell in that small space between them. "Do what?" said Elane slowly.

Rael looked at her with hard eyes. "This," he said. He shut his eyes and connected himself to the infinite river of power inside himself, and began diverting it into his nerves and flesh. His skin felt electric as magic filled every fibre of his body, drawing upon far more power than he had ever attempted before. The intensity of the power grew, as though he were being struck repeatedly by lightning from deep within. Blood pumped through his muscles faster than he could have thought possible, so that he felt more than mortal in strength.

He stepped backwards towards the city-side edge of the wall, took a last look at Elane, and launched himself off it, throwing himself into the air. Elane shrieked and there were many shouts of horror from the soldiers watching. Unafraid, Rael hurtled to the ground head-first, drawing his sword as he fell. In the same way he formed fire, he wove webs of air which caught him as he fell towards the ground, spinning him around and bringing him down to land feet first on the ground, kicking aside all soldiers as he did so. With the impact of the fall he drove his sword through the hard earth and was planted halfway into the ground. He channelled his power into it and the earth split beneath his feet, driving a thick crack in the earth between the two armies. "This ends today!!" he shouted, his voice booming through horns of air through the entire city. "This ends now!!"