The Accursed Chronicles: Episode 1

A Power World fanfiction by Ceres 82.1

Author's Note

Greetings, all! I'm back after two months (or so) of inactivity, and I'm back with a fresh mind and a lot of plans! I hope I can carry these plans out by the end of May. Also, I would ask you to leave a review, a constructive one. I can't improve my writing if people don'tgive me advice, so please give me advice, okay? I will thank you in advance.

Be warned: This is a battle chapter. This is my first yet, so please give me advice on how to do another one (there will be many, I assure you) if you think I can do better. Also, if you can't stomach the war chapters, you might want to stop reading altogether; this fanfic series will mainly compose of war. But don't worry, I'll be sure to put in other themes.


Chapter 4: The Battle of Dagger Pass (Part 1)

"Quick, the torches! The torches!"

"Bring the men together! Ready the ranks!"

"To the barricades! Defend the barricades with your lives!"

Shouts filled the air as captains ordered their troops to defend the front lines, supply depots, and the commanders, who were stationed at their places as planned. Grouped together at the front lines were Tethas, Cloud, and Dresdian, the three most skiled fighters among the Advance Guard. At their rear were Drabiticium and Seira, looking upon the battle, ready to charge their forces to the front lines' aid. Sentinels ran, torches in hand, to light the camps' torches.

"The troops are afraid," Drabiticium spoke, her eyes scanning the activity from a vantage point near the camp. "The murky darkness hides the enemy, and our enemy charges fearlessly."

"That is so.." Seira nodded in assent beside her. "We need illumination, but..perhaps you have some scrolls of Illumine?" Drabiticium shook her head as she leapt from the vantage point and walked to the main camp, beckoning Seira to follow her.

"Please, have a seat. We should rest; we will need it when we rush to their aid." Drabiticium said as the two sat near a desk, still cluttered with maps, books, and parchment. "I have realized that we should call upon more allies. Even our veritable forces here will be naught but a small delay for the Undead."

"But, with the coming of more forces, will come more dead, and even more enemies to deal with," Seira objected. "We should call the least amount of forces, and prevail."

"Yes, I see. But that seems to be impossible."

"Impossible, huh? If such a situation were impossible, we would have been decimated by that beastly army a long time ago! We would have been doomed to fail! The Multiple would have been easily crushed by the Human forces! Such a feat would be possible, Drabiticium," and here Seira dropped her voice into a whisper, "if we were strong enough. And we are, hmm?"

As Drabiticium started to reply, a voice shouted, "They come!" The two quickly ran out of the tent and looked at horror..as a certain book, lying precariously on a pile of books, fell and opened, inscribed with these words:

They charge with superhuman strength, running like the wind.

Their bodies in a state of decay, greying flesh,

Their hands morphed into jagged claws,

Their faces disfigured in pain and death,

Their voice like the rattle of Death.

Beware, beware, O living soul

Of the Undead, the Bane of Life!

In the front lines, a more apprehensive mood can be seen. Tethas squinted at the inky darkness, trying to make out any outline of the approaching army. He grumbled.

"Grr! I can't see a damn thing in this blackness!" The burly general gritted his teeth and gripped his axe tighter. "Put up some torches around the barricades! One can see nothing in this dark," he shouted. Some guards immediately carried out the order, and soon, light uncovered the darkness before them.

"Ahh, at last! We can now decently see-" his words were cut off in a surprised silence as he witnessed a thick stream of monstrous bodies appearing from the narrow entrance to the clearing in which they are camped, charging at a frightening speed. At the same time, a sentinel shouted, "They come!" and all stood, paralyzed with fear, for a moment in seeing the horrible creatures. Tethas, however, was quick to react.

"All ranks in formation! Prepare to charge! For the glory of the Eastern Territories!" He shouted, brandishing his gigantic axe in the air. All cheered, and the foremost ranks surged forward bravely, to stall the Undead horde's assault. The middle ranks fell quickly filled the space left by the forward ranks, and the rear ranks stayed, ready to go forward at any time.

At the forefront, Tethas, Cloud, and Dresdian, with their troops, charged. With one great, sickening crunch of steel, flesh, and bone, the two armies converged. The soldiers forcefully jabbed their lances right through the bodies of their adversaries, but were shocked to see only a slight twitching of the Undead, and looked, horrified, as it pulled out the spear from its body. Tethas was a bit more successful, crushing the decaying bones of the Undead and chopping at their bodies with immense force. Cloud used his knowledge of the Powers of Water and Wind to freeze the Reveants, and a very sharp blow from the flat edge of his sword to shatter the Revenants to pieces. Dresdian used his many skills he had been taught as a Myrmidon and Sword Singer to bring down all those who came within reach of his blade. The soldiers were being decimated by the Undead, although some were skillful enough to bring down their enemies.

Soon, the crushed, mangled, and chopped bodies of tens of defeated Reveants piled under the heroes' feet, but the three are growing weary of the endless combat. Tethas's once strong and vicious swings now lessened in vigor, and his axe is slowly growing weaker and duller; Cloud is running out of energy to cast his spells, and he has taken a severe hit when a berserk Revenant viciously delivered a punch to his stomach; Dresdian has retreated to the rear lines due to him suffering some slash wounds and exhaustion, soldiers covering his retreat. In the rear, Drabiticium and Seira look with apprehension.

"The front lines are struggling," Seira started. "Their forces are weary, and they are being pushed back."

"I have noticed," Drabiticium indicated her assent. "We must plan a systematic retreat. The front lines will be crushed if they will retreat now."

"What of Ezinale? She must have mustered some men to arms."

"She should have; we must have a plan. We don't have Tethas to guide us, so we should work out our retreat." The two then brought out some parchment and sketched a map of their camp in it, talking and discussing while their quills scratched in hasty drawing. In the meanwhile, a large band of cavalry, led by two riders, is riding to Dagger Pass from the Middle Guard, a distance of twelve leagues, to reinforce the struggling Advance Guard.

"It will take about half an hour to reach the clearing," One of the riders shouted over the sound of hooves. "We must help the Guard; they will retreat sooner or later. We must cover their retreat."

"That will be done, I assure you," The other rider replied. "Our cavalry is strong, and it will take them a lot before they can bring us down."

The company of riders pressed on, under cover of night, to reach the Advance Guard's camp before the Undead completely overtakes them. The front lines are struggling, and the rear line is barely enough to reinforce the front line. The situation of the Advance Guard seems to be hopeless..

Okay, and there's the fourth chapter of TAC, and my first ever battle chapter! Please tell me how it went. The next chapter will be coming in soon, so expect an update to come!

As usual, reviews are appreciated. Flames will be accepted if they are justifiable.

EDIT: Sorry for the confusion! This is NOT the Battle of the Middle Guard; it's the Battle of Dagger Pass. Again, sorry for the confusion I've caused.