{All non-player characters and the Guild Wars universe belong to NC Soft and Arena Net. I am simply presenting my own character through the story. Thank you.}
Chapter 11
It was eerily silent. Dust rose and fell around the adventurers and mages as they walked and hobbled by. Four obsidian statues rose in reverence to the sky with their sharp edges reaching for the clouds. They stood guard before two gigantic doors standing stolidly closed.
"Here we are. Everyone take your positions" Rurik whispered as he approached the gate.
The mages split in twos and gathered at the four obelisks. The same look of determination was worn on each face.
Signa was stationed at one of the farthest obelisks across from Q since they were the fastest. A silence as complete as the full moon fell over them all. Then Rurik began to chant.
"Come to the fore, O sons of Ascalon" he shouted starting the spell. A great roar arose that nearly drowned out his voice.
"Stand ready!" Q ordered, with an arrow already knocked. Signa raised her staff in front of her and took one deep breath. Then they came.
The courtyard had three large openings and charr raced in. Six from each side attacked brandishing swords of scrap metal and hammers of crystal.
"Now join the men who live to guard us all! Go and defend atop the Northern Wall!"
The flaming scepter mages got to work. Bolt after bolt, meteor after meteor the charr fell. Signa shot her own magic left and right to protect the young girl behind her but the charr kept coming.
"Fear not the cost, whether in blood or gold. Mourn not the lost, though they will not grow old!"
By the gate Kalen and one of the older mages protected Rurik as Charr swarmed them. Signa saw Zleeda have to come over and kick a monster off of Kalen's back.
"If here they fall we know they shall live on! When e'er you call or cry, For Ascalon! For Ascalon!"
Finally there was a rumbling creak; a roaring thunder that caused all the charr to lay still. They were taken down in that moment of hesitation by lightning and fire yet still more roars could be heard not too far away.
"Everyone get inside!" Rurik hoarsely shouted. Kalen carried the three crippled mages and the rest dashed for cover. Q surged past Signa into the gate followed by the man he was protecting and Zleeda. Signa ushered the young girl in front of her and ran as fast as possible. Now just a few yards away from the gate Signa heard a cry. The girl lay sprawled on the ground and her foot was mangled by a lone root. Signa turned and on one side saw the charr had arrived and were charging while on the other side she saw Q waiting on the other side of the gate.
"Toss her!" she heard him cry. A swift tug later and girl was in her arms. She could almost feel the beast's breathe on her neck. The girl flew through the air and was caught safely by Q. Signa could feel their claws scraping at her back. She sucked in breath and leapt. In that timeless moment she thought she heard an eagle's cry and a flutter of wings; then the gates slammed close and she landed rolling on the ground past Q.
"Oh thank the Gods it's still here!" she heard Rurik cry. A wrinkled hand lowered into her view. It was Erol; he offered her his hand and she took it to get back to her feet. The rest of the mages stood around Rurik as he lifted Stormcaller's mouthpiece from its resting place. A large boom resounded from the doorway.
"Sir they're trying to break in. With the barrier lifted we don't have much time left here."
"Right," Rurik said striding to a marble tile upon the ground. He brushed off the dirt with his bare hands and then raised his sword. A golden staircase appeared upon his command. One by one each man and woman moved up the stairs and to safety. Rurik walked in last and with him, the staircase disappeared along with it's magic.
Signa rubbed her eyes twice at what she saw on the other side. The academy of old was nothing more than a few blasted rocks and a ruined, but defendable, stone wall. Between the rocks was a lone camp with a handful of soldiers inhabiting it. Rurik immediately went to speak with the commanding officer who seemed startled by the unexpected visitors. A few moments later healers came forward to assist the weary crowd. Signa hugged the young girl at her leg and then followed Q and Rurik up to the wall. It seemed much like the Great Northern Wall to Signa except great chunks of it had fallen to ruin.
"There she is," she heard Rurik whisper. At the edge of the wall Rurik pointed to the distance, "Stormcaller, bringer of plenty."
The great white horn of Ascalon gleamed among blackened clouds; a beacon in the darkness calling out for a rescuer.
"And we will go to her," Q finally said before turning around, "Soon."
"Fires..."
"What's that soldier?" asked the wall chief.
"Fires, sir I see fires!"
"This late at night?" both men stepped closer to the edge of the wall. In the distance torches began to light up, one by one. First only a few shone defiantly, but soon many more joined the throng until a sea of moving firelight could be seen.
"We need to report this immediately," the chief barked before blowing his horn, "The charr are attacking!"
"Guardmaster Jayne!" the young soldier shouted, darting between morning scouts and visiting merchants.
"What is with your shouting lad don't you know we have a whole trough of injured mages in the tents!" Jayn reprimanded.
"The charr! They're attacking the academy ma'am!"
"What?! How many."
"It looks like 10 battalions!"
"Don't be ridiculous."
"There's a whole lot!"
"Fine go alert the captains and the troops I want the gates closed and the archers ready."
"Yes ma'am!"
"Just go!" Jayn ordered before dashing for the tent that had been set up the previous evening.
Signa rubbed the sleep from her eyes and grunted as she was shoved aside by yet another soldier from some branch of expertise. The command tent was teeming with men and women, merchants and scribes, and generals and captains. The whole tent looked as if it would burst. In the center of the chaos sat Rurik pouring over maps and troop lists.
Signa easily pushed through the crowd and stood in front of Rurik. Her height allowed her to garner some attention. "What is going on here?" she asked with a raised voice.
"Signa!" Rurik quickly stood and turned to the many people, "Ladies and gentlemen please if you could be so kind as to leave the tent and I will address your concerns at a later period."
Signa frowned standing solidly against the rush of aggravated people. Again she repeated, "What is going on here?"
"The charr. A whole army coming towards this academy. What we have now is not enough to take them down. Every option I've come across either takes too long, or is too risky. We can only hope we have the time to ga-"
"My prince!" interrupted a young soldier standing at the tent entrance.
Rurik let out a deep sigh, "Yes?" he answered.
"y lord the torches were just a distraction; a stealth force has arrived just now. We've lost our ballistas."
"What?!" Rurik shouted slamming his hands on the table, "The archers-"
"Have already been deployed."
"Very well..." was all Rurik could say as his face became a shade darker and a wrinkle older, "Now we're trapped and out of reasonable options."
"Zleeda would be jumping with glee," Signa commented.
"Signa I need you all to do me a great service" Rurik started.
"Is that not what we were gathered for?"
"Hear me out," he whispered, slicking back his sweat-covered hair, "I have but one option left. There is an elevated area to the north-west of the academy. It leads northward all the way to Dead Man's Pass. Q knows of it. You four have to walk along it and collapse the pass to trap them by the Nolani graveyard; the ghosts will handle them there."
"That doesn't sound so bad-" Signa began.
"I'm not finished," Rurik interrupted gravely, "The way there is already guarded by many grisly beasts and it is not an easy walk. Also the only way to aggravate the ghosts is to steal their book."
"Their book sir?"
"It keeps them calm. Steal their book, collapse the pass, and throw the book at the charr forces. Then we can be saved, and then we can save Rin."
"We will not fail you," Signa announced with confidence.
Rurik smiled his sad smile, "May Balthazar be with you."
(Thank you for reading this series and please review/comment/message me with your feedback or just to say hi! Have a magical day!)