The demon army roared towards the defenders, its front lines made of trolls, bears and wolves, mindless beasts used as shock troops to weaken the defenders. Behind marched the dark ranks of demons, while above the evil dragons circled, ready to swoop.
The first wave smashed into the formed ranks of the Imperial Legion. The line bent under the raw force of the assault, but held. Soon the line straightened out again, as the legionnaires made their discipline and tactics count. The attacking creatures were goaded into a mindless frenzy by the demons behind them, but the carnage they were herded into sparked in them a terror they could not resist. Many tried to swim up or downriver, but the icy water froze them quickly and claimed their lives. Some sought to escape to the sides of the river's embankment, but that only took them to the flank of the Imperials and into the hands of the Thalmor. The bright elven swords and spears created even more havoc than the blasts of fire and lightning that the Altmer unleashed.
The crimson of blood was etched visibly against the white of the snow as Darys watched grimly how the initial stages of the battle unfolded. The White River's waters were flowing red. The shore was choked with bodies and other debris left over from the first assault.
As the last of the frenzied animals died or slunk away in fear, the main battle line of demons struck at the defenders. This time the Imperial Legion line bent back like a bow and would not straighten. Dragons started swooping down on the Legion, blasting men with ice and fire, scooping up unfortunate soldiers to later drop them to the ground, mangled. Fireballs and lightning bolts rose from the ranks of the Thalmor to meet the dragons, while the Imperial Siege troops quickly loaded their heavy weapons and aimed at their skyborne assailants. Here a dragon would strafe the Imperial lines with its fiery breath, while over there another dragon roared in pain, skewered by a large ballista bolt, falling down to its ruin.
Two detachments of demons tried to outflank the Legion on either side, but the Thalmor held firm. While their armor was much lighter than the Imperial Legion steel, their weapons were much keener and their magic reaped a dreadful toll on the demons.
As the battle progressed, Trigon roared. It was a sign for the evil dragons and winged demons to assault the main target – the young sorceress, meditating and preparing herself inside the protective dome shimmering above her.
Darys turned to the Titans and shouted. "This is it, young heroes! Now is the time for you to show who you are!"
Starfire flashed up in the air, her green bolts raking the leading monster. The dragon roared in pain and spewed out its icy breath, but Starfire had already moved away. Starbeams flashed from her eyes and struck the dragon full in the face. It screamed its pain again, flying blindly forward, until it crashed into the side of the mountain and rolled, lifeless, to its bottom. An avalanche of rocks and debris covered it.
But that was only one out of scores of dragons and hundreds of winged demons. Cyborg picked the fire spawn from the sky with his cannon. As the beam struck a creature, it would disintegrate in a shower of sparks and ash. Robin fought methodically. He would pick a winged demon, bring it down with a well-placed birdarang or grapple shot, and once down, he would dispatch it with staff or sword. Every demon destroyed would turn to sparks and ash, leaving no more than a sooty stain on the snow and the smell of brimstone in the icy air.
Darys followed a dragon with his gaze as it roared overhead, releasing a fiery gout at the dome. He suddenly shouted.
Joor… Zah FRUL!
The dragon dropped down like a stone. Darys ran over to it and jumped up on the scaly head, using one hand to steady himself, while with the other he plunged the dragonbone sword into the creature's neck, just behind the head, severing the spine. The dragon roared and collapsed as Darys jumped off and rolled, back on his feet.
The allied dragons broke their circling overhead and swooped in onto the attackers. Demons disintegrated under their claws, evil dragons were struck with fang and fire.
Beast Boy was watching the aerial battle, his eyes filling with tears at the sight of so many of the wonderful creatures being broken, burned and slain. But suddenly anger filled his heart, and he knew what he had to do.
His legs started growing, his back covered with ridged scales, his arms expanded and a leathery membrane extended between his extending fingers. His head turned reptilian, revealing saberlike teeth. The enormous green dragon roared deafeningly and jumped up into the air to join the fray.
Close by, the Companions and Darys' daughters formed in a chevron shape in front of the pedestal, with Vilkas at the apex. Their arrows struck both demon and dragon, and any creature that landed and tried to take them on the ground was quickly eliminated.
But for all the bravery and skill, the line of the Legion was ever bent backwards, while the Thalmor were pushed slowly from their flanks. Darys stole a quick look at Raven. Her clothes were now completely white and the jewel on her forehead blazed with a blinding light, but Darys knew she was not ready yet. They needed to buy more time, but there was nothing that they could do. At that moment, the Legion ranks broke and the demon horde surged forward with a terrifying howl.
As Darys watched in despair, suddenly there was a flash of blue light and hundreds of spectral warriors arose from the ground to face the demons, stopping their charge and reestablishing the line.
"Ho, Dovakhiin! Did you think that we would not be here on such a glorious day?"
Darys spun around to see the spectral forms of Gormlaith, Felldir and Hakon, weapons ready, battle lust in their ghostly eyes. He turned around to the troops and shouted, exulting.
"Warriors of Skyrim! Sovngarde is with us! To victory!"
His shout was taken over by hundreds of throats, becoming a battle cry that drowned the howling of the accursed horde. The Legion line, already reestablished, surged forward. The Thalmor rushed ahead.
Sovngarde is with us!
The entire bank of the White River was soon clear of demons. The legionnaires clashed their swords and spears on their shields in the ages old gesture of defiance towards the enemy. But as Darys gazed over the battlefield, he knew that they were not victorious. They have just awakened their opponent's wrath.
The hulking figure of Trigon bellowed. Fire demons emerged behind him in countless numbers, like a swarm of sparks when one pokes a fire. They fell upon men and mer, upon beast and dragon. They perished in their thousands, but their numbers appeared inexhaustible.
Trigon bellowed again, and fresh ranks of demons charged to assault the defensive lines. He lifted his arm and a dark disk started creeping over the surface of the sun, plunging everything into darkness and turning day into night.
A score of winged demons and fire spawn landed close to the pedestal, their aim obviously to engage the helpless mages and weaken, or even eliminate the protective dome shielding Raven. Cyborg noticed it and jumped in front of them, shouting "I could use a hand over here!"
He blasted two of the hellspawn with the cannon and smashed a big demon in the face with his fist. It turned into ashes, the stench of brimstone making Cyborg choke and cough. As he recovered, he noticed he was surrounded. He was preparing to sell his life dearly when he heard a shout from behind him.
"Knight! Take on the ones in front of you, I will guard your back!"
Cyborg turned to see who it was. A figure in black armor, face hidden by a full helm, sprang towards the demons, bashing one to the ground with the shield, while a black sword swept through another, continuing its arc to finish the move by pinning the fallen demon to the ground, its body disintegrating into soot and ash.
Cyborg finally recognized the red hair streaming under the helmet. "Sophie? Thank you! I owe you one!"
"Not to worry, Knight Cyborg! I will have you repay it later!" she shouted, laughing, as she backed closer to him. They needed to exchange no more words; they stood back to back and faced the demons surrounding them.
Not far away, the chevron formed by the companions was almost being overwhelmed. They held their ground, furiously counterattacking the seemingly inexhaustible numbers of hellish creatures coming at them from all sides, swooping at them from above. "It is at times like this –" shouted Vilkas to no-one in particular, while cleaving a demon with a powerful overhead slash, "– that I regret giving up the beast blood!"
"Thankfully not all of us were that stupid!" answered Aela, dropping her bow and allowing the transformation to begin. The demons facing her suddenly backed down, awed by the sight. The huge werewolf that now stood before them did not give them time to ponder. With a snarl, Aela struck at the mass of demon spawn with her razorlike claws, ripping several of them to shreds, and falling on the biggest demon-chieftain she could see, tearing its throat out with a savage bite.
But there were still too many demons and too few defenders. The Companions gave ground grudgingly. Vilkas looked back at the helpless Telvanni wizards behind him in desperation, and then looked up as he heard a deafening roar coming from above.
A stream of fire reduced most of the surrounding demons to ash. A huge green dragon landed forcefully, the shock of his landing bowling the rest off their feet. The Companions cheered and surged forward to dispatch the fallen demons, all except Lucia, who ran to the dragon and shouted something in his ear. The dragon lowered his head and Lucia vaulted onto his shoulders, hooking her axe back in her belt and stringing her bow. The dragon sprang up and lifted off with a thunder of wings, his rider already nocking an arrow.
And yet it seemed that there was no end to the invading horde. Maybe for the first time in his life, Robin felt despair. He leaned on his staff to catch his breath, taking a look at Raven, who was sitting in lotus position under the dome, glowing with white light. He then saw Darys, slashing one demon with his sword. He was surprised to see a big grin on Darys' face.
Darys saw him staring and shouted. "Do not lose heart! Watch my back for a moment!"
Robin jumped up, staff ready, guarding Darys while he crouched and placed both hands on the rocky ground. A look of intense concentration passed over his face and the ground shook for a few seconds. He then rose to his feet, the grin on his face malevolent. "Let us see how our friends like this surprise!"
It was difficult to see in the gloom, but the impression Robin had was as if the rocks themselves gave birth to an incredible number of creatures that fell upon the demon horde, overwhelming them by numbers and ferocity. The creatures were man-sized but hunched, their skin a sickly grey. Robin realized in horror that they had no eyes, just large ears, nostrils and a mouth full of sharp teeth.
As soon as this sudden counterattack broke the horde's advance, the creatures retreated where they came from, taking away their dead and wounded.
One of the creatures cantered towards Darys. If Robin hadn't seen what just happened, he would have attacked it, convinced it is some kind of demon. It was twisted and bent and its movements were jerky and unnatural, but for all that it was quick and obviously dangerous. It approached Darys and spoke in a language that resembled someone choking or drowning more than speaking.
Darys nodded and placed his fist over his heart. The creature, satisfied, sauntered off and quickly disappeared into the gloom.
"Ugh. Who was that? What was that?" Robin asked.
Darys was frowning. "A Falmer. Evil, twisted, filthy, tragic creatures. I must have killed hundreds of them during my travels. And he knows it." He looked at Robin. "But this is their land, just as it is ours. They are as much in danger as we are. I sent them the signal, and they struck. Now they are going back to their caves, carrying their wounded to treat them and their dead to eat them."
He turned towards the angry red glow that marked the place where Trigon was. "This has bought us a few more minutes, but that was the last surprise I had. I hope it will be enough."
He turned towards Raven, whose entire body was glowing strongly now, the jewel on her forehead almost blindingly bright.
She will be ready soon. I hope it will be soon enough.
"I think Trigon will throw everything he has on us now. Be ready!"
Darys was right. Trigon roared again, and the masses of demons, fire spirits, evil dragons and vampires surged again to claw, burn and smash the defenders. The Legion line, much depleted, bent inward perilously. The Thalmor started giving ground. The Sovngarde heroes disappeared one by one, overwhelmed by numbers.
The line broke. The demons surged forward. The defenders retreated in some semblance of order, creating a circle around the fort. The innumerable horde pressed them slowly back, by sheer weight of numbers.
Darys looked around him in desperation. There was only one more thing he could do. He raised his left hand and released a green lightning bolt into the sky, for a brief time illuminating the entire battlefield.
It was the signal that the Army of the Holds was waiting for. Abandoning their defense of Windhelm, they charged over the White River bridge, Balgruuf at the forefront, Irileth at his side. They smashed into the flank of the horde. The unnatural horrors went down before them like wheat before the scythe and they carved a deep wedge in the demonic formations.
But it was still not enough. The distraction relieved some pressure on the defenders of Morvunskar, but Darys knew it would not last. It was too late.
Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!
From the jewel on Raven's forehead, an enormous, ethereal white bird emerged, pausing to form fully above the dome where the sorceress was still sitting in lotus position. It cried its defiance at Trigon and launched itself at him.
The clash of weapons stopped. Every being was conscious that the real battle had just begun and that their contribution had ended. Darys watched as the ghostly white raven dove at Trigon, pummeling him with its wings, raking him with its talons. Trigon screamed.
The demon army shuddered as one, their master's will no longer guiding them. The defenders sensed the weakness and it gave them new strength. Their battle cries sounded again. Sovngarde is with us!
But Trigon was not yet defeated. He lashed back, his claws raking the spectral raven's wing. Robin heard a moan behind him and whirled, to realize that Raven's cloak and sleeve were ripped open. Red blood welled from three gashes on her upper arm, sharply defined against her white clothes.
"Darys! She is bleeding! We have to help her!"
"I know" Darys said through clenched teeth. "We cannot do anything. We must wait."
A beam shot from Trigon's eyes and managed to sear one of the bird's legs. Raven moaned again, as charred blisters appeared on her leg above the knee.
"He's killing her!" Robin shouted. Darys said nothing, his eyes blazing red with impotent fury.
Trigon's hands shot forward and he grabbed the ghostly white raven by the wings. Robin spun to look at Raven. He could hear the bones in her arms snap, her moans louder now.
"Darys!" he screamed in anguish. "Do something!"
Darys did not reply. He just watched the battle between the ghostly white raven and Trigon, his red eyes smoldering.
The spectral raven raked its undamaged claw over Trigon's face. The demon screeched, the horrible sound making everybody try to shut their ears. He released his grip and the white bird lifted its head and plunged, beak first, between Trigon's eyes.
Trigon's scream left everyone deaf for a few seconds. Beneath his feet a tornado started to whirl. The white wings and beak of the spectral raven exploded from Trigon's head, and with a triumphant screech, the raven spread its white wings over its defeated foe.
Trigon's form elongated as it was sucked into the vortex, the demons, fire spirits and other creatures not native to the plane sucked in together with him. A despairing shriek could be heard from the vortex as the final remains of Trigon and the last creatures disappeared. The whirling tornado collapsed on itself and also vanished. The shadow over the sun slowly disappeared, ending the eclipse, the sun warming the frozen land again. The great white bird returned, flapping heavily, and entered Raven's body. She slumped, unconscious, on the pedestal.
"Colette! Bring me Colette Marence, now!" Darys shouted.
The three Telvanni mages dropped the protective dome, exhausted, while Colette ran to the pedestal to take care of Raven. Robin ran after her.
A huge green dragon landed, its passenger jumping off. It collapsed into the form of Beast Boy, his hair singed, his clothes torn, his arms and legs covered with slashes and burns and caked with blood.
"We won! WE WON! Woo-hoo!" He hugged Lucia and turned to the pedestal. "Rae, we won! You won!" he shouted, running towards Raven. As he reached it, he realized the state she was in. He stopped, shock and fear in his face. "Rae? Rae, are you all right? Raven!"
Robin put his hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. "She's gravely wounded, BB, but she'll pull through. I promise."
Colette Marence, a look of intense concentration on her face, was already working on healing the terrible wounds that Trigon caused on Raven. Broken bones shifted to their correct position and melded together; wounds stopped bleeding and slowly closed, burns retreated to reveal healthy skin below.
Colette stood up groggily. Her hands were shaking, but there was a smile on her face. "She will be fine."
A shout of victory from countless throats shook the skies. The allied dragons added their roars to the clamor. Darys sheathed his ash-stained sword and started walking downhill, towards the carnage that the Legion and the Thalmor had suffered. His face was grim.
We won, but the price was high.
He came to the front lines, where the dead and the wounded were piled as they fell. He barked several commands to his followers and quickly Restoration mages started their healing work on those that could be helped.
Darys finally came to the place where the bodies were most dense. There were no remains of the demonic horde but for some lingering stench of brimstone and the ash covering the snow, but two of the bodies attracted his attention. One was armored in richly embossed Imperial armor and the other in finely woven Altmer robes. A deep sigh escaped from Darys' chest. Two sworn enemies, Emissary Elenwen and General Tullius, died side by side, fighting together.