Collapse
If there was something the people in all the Mortal Realms could agree on, it would be that the course of Chaos had plagued their entire lives, and that everywhere were civilization appeared, their servants would always be close behind.
Humans swearing their allegiance to each of the Four, daemons and hideous monsters were some of them. Their hunger for the infliction of suffering knew no bounds.
Thanks to the efforts of the various Gods' servants, few people would have to encounter such a
Hammerhal that morning would be, in a few hours, come to understand that their fragile day to day lives had been an illusion and remind them that being complacent only led to eventually drop your guard and fail when it mattered the most.
None wielded such savagery as the servants of Khorne. Searching for battlefields where to test their mettle, slaughtering innocents without care and carving a bloody path in their wake.
Kour'gath, Selene, Traj'koss and the other leaders of the army surveyed the arid volcanic region of Aqshy with the intention of determine the best moment to begin the attack. They rode atop armoured horses with pelts back as coal and daemonic beasts looking like a crossbreed between a hound and a crocodile with crimson scales tough as iron.
The wasteland before them extended towards the horizon, an arid expanse of land where only the Great City of Hammerhal stood against the few other signs of civilization and the wilderness. Cracks in the ground allowed them to see the lava flowing from the depths of the bedrock that came from giant pockets of magma scattered through the Realm. The atmosphere was covered in soot and floating embers. The few trees and greenery that they could see was so dry it broke and snapped with the gentlest of breeze.
Behind them marched the various warbands they had under their command. Terrible engines of war were slowly moving forward in reinforced wooden carts, warriors wielding sharp blades in hand and walking under the weight of armour painted red with the blood of their enemies, fanatics carrying banners with the rune of their God chanted hymns of battle and praised the God of Slaughter with fervour.
They were the Blades of Khorne, and their divine mission was the death of all life in the name of their God. Offer the skulls of your enemies to Khorne! Spill blood for the Blood God! Death to Your God's enemies! Their minds couldn't think of nothing else. Gathered in countless numbers, the warriors of the Chaos God of Blood went to war. Hordes of Deathbringers gripped their weapons tightly, ready for battle, riding monstruous beast and wild horses that no one but them could tame.
But fanatism only could carry an army so far. The chiefs knew there were some problems they needed to solve before being able to abandon themselves to their thirst for blood and basic instincts more appropriate of an animal.
An attack to a Free City was suicidal, more so one that had been erected around such an important Realmgate, and would produce no results. The chieftains knew they would be unable to invade the city directly, for its defences were numerous and varied, and the militia and different garrisons inside it would mobilize once they spotted their army. First, they needed to create a diversion…
XXX
The visitor from another dimension found herself that day tired from a busy week working to earn money for her expenses and plans for the future, and wished to stay in bed a few more minutes.
Harry stretched her limbs and blinked a couple of times. The light coming from her window awoke her that morning of the weekend with reluctance. She waited for the noise made by the other patrons to subside unsuccessfully and rose from her bed.
She got up and walked towards the bathroom. Once inside, Harry washed her face in the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. Pulling her hair in a ponytail, she combed it and satisfied went to change her clothes.
Harry put on a white shirt and brown pants giving her a boyish look. After that, the young witch sat down to better put on her shoes and the bracelet that allowed her to speak the language of the Mortal Realms.
Once satisfied, the girl exited the room and smiled when she crossed paths with the boy from her home world.
"Good morning, Neville!".
"Mornin' Harry" He greeted her back.
The two descended the stairs and went to have breakfast on the restaurant. There, humans, duardin and aelves had lively conversations and laughing at jokes. A pair of men played a strange game with expressions of concentration, a duardin and woman argued about some kind of transaction, a couple with their third-year old son feed the small child pieces of toast, cleaned his face with a napkin and helped him drink a glass of milk. An aelven woman dressed in skimpy clothes paid her breakfast on the counter to a terrified waiter, taking form a pouch in her waist a bunch of coins covered in dried blood.
The girl from Earth found interesting all the kinds of people she and her friend had encountered in their time on the Realms. Even though the place she came from had all sorts of fantastical races, there was not many that were as distinct as those in Aqshy and Azyr
Sitting at the table, it wasn't long until someone came to take their order. Once done that, Harry and Neville didn't have to wait long until Glenn came with their food.
"Hi, Harry!" He greeted her first," Hey, Neville".
"'Sup!".
Harry had introduced them to each other and the boys had quickly become friends. To make their story more believable, she had explained to the boy that had invited her on a date that the two knew each other due to living in villages close to each other, and that due to her's 'destruction' Longbottom had gone in search for her with some friends but had been separated when crossing a Realmgate that was very unstable.
"Here's your breakfast. Enjoy" Saying that, the young waiter set up their food and drinks on the table.
There were wooden glasses with fruit juice, and a couple of plates for the travellers from another dimension. Harry had ordered a cupcake and toast accompanied by a glass of tea. Neville, on the other hand, had asked for fried eggs and bacon.
They ate and talked about their plans. Harry wanted to plan a way for them to reunite with the rest of the rescue party. From what she had learned, there were dangers that could pose a problem for the unprepared, and the inability to cast spells proved to be a serious problem. Without a destination, the two were completely lost.
Noticing they were going nowhere and having finished their meals, the two got up from their seats and exited the building where they were staying at the time. Harry looked around her and watched as the residents of the city went through their day, walking the streets of Hammerhal and opening their business for the day. Smoke billowed from tall chimneys, covering the orange-coloured sky with their fumes. Beautiful metallic airships gracefully soared through the heavens above their heads filled with ethereal fuel, reflecting the reddish glow permeating the Realm on their polished surfaces. The girl watched giant carts carrying supplies and raw materials from one part of the city to another, making the passer-by's get out of their way every once in a while.
Harry sighed in frustration. The topic of their conversation was going nowhere. Trying to come up with some idea was proving to be more difficult that the two of them realized. If only there was a way to locate her friends and family easily...
"Dammit..." Harriet said in a low tone.
The two began walking towards their destination, looking for some carriage that could drive to the Houses of Glass. Harry had brought the boy from her world to the place she had begun working the next day after he arrived to Hammerhal. Like her, Neville had been tasked with the cleaning of the greenhouses and carrying the materials they asked of them. He had marvelled at the plant life found in the Houses of Glass and asked if it would be possible for him to take care of them in the future. His enthusiasm had made the men in the building smile. Neville had told her that he would bring some type of notebook to write his studies and maybe even bring some of the flowers and plants back home on Earth.
The problem lied in their predicament. Harriet had been so deep in thought, that the girl almost missed one of them when they walked through the streets accompanied by a pair of guards from the city.
Her eyes widened when she saw it was one of the armoured warriors that had rescued from the ghost of Shyish, and brought her here some days ago. The girl almost slapped herself for not thinking of it sooner.
"Of course! Neville, I think I know a way out of this! If we ask them to tell Sigmar-".
But the girl was unable to finish her sentence.
BWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUM!
The two of them were surprised when a blaring sound echoed through the air, catching them off guard. They looked around them in confusion and watched as the city's mood sifted in an instant.
Neville and the girl noticed people running towards their homes, panicking. Men and women fled screaming in all directions. Garrisons of soldiers wearing armour similar to those employed by the conquistadors and carrying spears rushed to their posts with serious expressions, their eyes hardened, brows furrowed and clenched jaws. The girl recognized the attitude they were employing as those of a soldier going to war.
She watched as duardin and aelves drew hammers and swords from their backs or waist. Civilians closed the doors of their shops and put their wears to safety.
"Harry! Neville! Come, quickly!" The young waiter's voice reached their ears and made them turn around.
They looked and saw Glenn running towards them, and stopped once he reached the two visitors from outside that Universe. The young waiter put his hands on his knees to catch his breath.
Around the group, soldiers carried their weapons, walking in strict formation and making way through the fleeing citizens of Hammerhal. A pair of guards wielding spears made waving motions with their hands, indicating the civilians to move out of the way and directing them to safety. A woman with scars on her arms and face, dressed in armour pointed to the soldiers the place she wanted them to go.
The young waiter huffed and straightened. Harry asked him the question the two children of Hogwarts had on their minds.
"Glenn? What's happening?".
"It's the alarm!" The boy explained with an expression of urgency" The city is being attacked!".
XXX
At the other side of the walls maintaining the citizens safe, the Blades of Khorne ordered their forces to move towards the glided gates of Hammerhal Aqsha.
BOOOOM! BAAAAUUUUUM! BOOOOOOM!
Atop towers lined through the expanse, giant cannons manned by ten men fired upon their forces. Death met many of the bloodthirsty members of the tribes that belonged to the first line of attack. The loses were acceptable, for Khorne didn't care from where the blood flowed, only that it flows.
Ordering the troops to attack the gates, the chieftains prepared the next. Garrisons of Hammerhal soldiers came from small posts situated around the country-sized city's exterior. Their end came swiftly, but gave the army inside time to prepare countermeasures.
Kour'gath watched as some Bloodstokers, warriors dedicated to directing the troops, flailed their whips against the legions of warriors to order them around and maintain the battle formations. The soldiers from the city repelled them with their spears to maintain the distance between their foes and the gates to the city while the cannons fired from a distance towards the warbands backlines. Some of the warriors of Khorne died impaled due to their eagerness to fight and their corpses began to accumulate. Arrows rained from atop the walls, reaping the lives of the attackers. From the look of things, the window of opportunity wasn't going to last very long. He calculated now was the best moment for them to make their move now that they were distracted.
The frontal assault was proving to be a good diversion and he wouldn't allow it to be in vain. Turning around, the warrior gave the signal.
"Prepare the Bloodsecrators when we enter. Don't want some foul mage to make our efforts be wasted" The man said to one of the deathbringers he was in charge of.
Grunting an affirmation, the man turned around to follow Kour'gath orders.
BOOOOUM! BOOOOM! BAAAAAM! BAAAAUUUM!
The continuous bombardment without pause, the screams of pain coming from the soldiers of Hammerhal, the rivers of blood soaking the land. Kour'gath smiled ferally. His bloodlust was increasing, but didn't let go of the reins holding him back. Now was not the time yet. He needed to have a clear head if they hoped to succeed. Later the man would let himself go.
It had been a very difficult task. They needed to be discreet and avoid the lookouts on the various watchtowers. A misstep and their operation would be undone in an instant. Such delicate work required of them to be alert at all times.
Cannon-fire continued raining upon the armies of the Blades of Khorne, scorching the earth and leaving depressions in the ground and claiming the lives of some of the guards caught in the crossfire. The loses the city endured were acceptable, all so they could repel the invasion. Crevices from where lava flowed filled them quickly, creating small lakes of dangerous terrain.
His mood took a sour turn when a presence walked towards him.
"The skavens of clan Skryre have come to aid-help man-things to kill-kill their enemies, yes-yes" A guttural and insidious voice coming from his back called for his attention.
He sighed and watched as the faces of some of his fellow warriors of Khorne sneered with disgust at the newcomer.
It was a creature that could most aptly be described as the drunken mistake of a man that had decided to pleasure himself with a deformed rat and a daemon of Nurgle. The monster possessed the structural shape of a hunched man covered in matted grey hair plagued with parasites, with a long sinuous thin tail and its limbs ended on four digits with sharp claws. The disgusting rat-man also had a mouth full of rows of jagged teeth sharp enough to carve stone. Wearing clothes made of skinned beast hide, it tried to mimic a semblance of civility unsuccessfully, consisting of a shirt and a loincloth all cacked in mud and blood. Various rusted and jagged knives hung from a belt around its hips, with small fragments of rocks glowing an ominous pale green hue decorating it as a form of jewellery.
Its name was Rattigus the Flea-Ridden.
The powerful warband had required his services in exchange for some of the loot the city had and the possibility to access the Realmgate for trading purposes. It was a very unorthodox alliance, being more unusual than normal due to the relationships the rat-men had with other species, let alone followers of a different God. His sword remained sheathed, but it would only take a second for him to draw it and behead the creature should the skaven do anything suspicious.
The proposal had come from Morg'ana herself. Kour'gath would have a few words with her after the battle, but knew the crone was wise. Her assistance had helped Selene many times and in spite of the disdain sorcerers created in the chieftains, the wytch was an asset they could use until the woman was no longer should he say, disposable. After all, magicians' deaths were seen very favourable by Khorne himself.
Accompanying him were other creatures of similar appearance carrying a strange contraption that was completely different from all the siege engines the man had seen before.
Made of various parts cobbled together, the device stood at least ten meters tall. Enormous beast of burden pulled it on six wheels made from wood and metal. The structure of the instrument was similar to a fusion between a battering ram and those tanks he had seen duardin carry their precious ores. The inside of the tank made of glass contained a fragment of the strange rock the skaven carried on their bodies but the size of a horse. If memory served him correct, the rock was warpstone, magic condensed into a physical form that sometimes appeared in the Realms and rained from the skies every so often. Due to the nature of it, the glowing meteor irradiated pure untameable magic that could obliterate anyone unlucky enough to approach it.
The warrior of Khorne found himself at cautiously unease. He had heard and watched warpstone kill indiscriminately when used in battle, even reaping the lives of their user. Rattigus idea of breaching the wall using an engine using that put him on edge.
Kour'gath watched the group of skavens following Rattigus bringing it closer and start tinkering with the various levers and valves the device had. The hair on their fur began to stand due to the static electricity the magic carried. Venomous oils leaked from the machine to the ground, poisoning the earth and preventing any life from growing forever. Gaseous fumes spewed forth, black like coal. A rancid smell of burning corpses filled the group's nostrils, making them take a couple of steps back to escape the putrid odour.
"And the other groups?" He asked with a authoritative tone.
The humanoid rat smiled with glinting eyes and made a gesture with his clawed hands.
"All according to your design yes-yes. Eight points to murder-kill. My skaven are going-moving to the places you asked yes-yes".
"Good" He abstained from saying more.
The plan was simple. After obtaining the aid of the skaven of clan Skryre, the chieftains had changed their attack accordingly. While the main forces were in charge of assaulting the gates (and maybe even bypassing them), small bands of warriors would go to eight different points in the walls to breach the defences. The skavens' machines would trigger explosions, letting the warbands enter the city and from the inside attack the city's unprotected garrisons. The pincer manoeuvre would shatter the formations protecting Hammerhal and letting the main assault get the last push they needed.
Kour'gath and the warbands of Chaos dedicated to the God of Blood were not fond of such underhanded tactics, but weren't stupid enough to not understand that for a city so heavily fortified were needed those kinds of plans.
"All ready, yes-yes. My lord-boss Rattigus" A skaven informed to his leader.
Hering that, the warrior dressed in bloodstained armour steeled himself. Grunting an affirmation to indicate he had heard it, the chieftain turned to order his men to get some distance from there.
"Let the bloodshed begin" Kour'gath announced.
XXX
It was happening again. Her daily life was being thrown into disarray once more. The curse that plagued her came once more to plunge Harry into conflict when all she ever wanted was to have a normal life.
The famous witch felt the world begin to spin, making her dizzy. The ground beneath their feet became unstable, making her sway and stumble. Harry began to panic. Her heartbeat became faster by the second, the oxygen in the air not entering Harriet's lungs, her mouth becoming dry and the witch's throat was parched.
No! No! No! This couldn't be happening! Her experience in similar situations
Neville put his hands on the young witch's shoulders in a gesture of reassurance. Harriet smiled at him in gratitude and took a deep breath. Mentally preparing herself, the girl decided to do like all the other times she had been in dangerous situations. Echoing in the distance, the blaring sound of the alarm continued.
"Bloody hell!" Neville cursed in a low tone.
"All civilians, return to your homes! I repeat, all civilians! Go back to your homes! Close doors and windows! Anyone with a weapon must join the fight!" A man porting a banner hanging from his back announced using a horn that made his voice echo through the air. Magic carried his words due to the runes engraved on the metallic surface of the trumpet.
"We have to go!" Glenn said to them.
Nodding, Harry and Neville followed him through the paved streets towards the inn. Rivers of people moved in all directions, pushing and shoving others out of their way. The ensuing chaos stretched from one corner of the city to the other. It was absurd. Due to Hammerhal's size, everyone living in the city formed mobs that covered the horizon and made difficult their path towards their destination.
"Move! Get out of my way! C'mon, Harry!" Neville said while being squeezed between a pair of merchants trying to carry their goods with them.
'Aaargh! This is not good! There's no way for us to reach the inn with all these people blocking the streets!' She mentally lamented.
Glenn grabbed her hand and helped her move forward. She smiled in gratitude. The two moved together, followed by Neville close behind.
Meanwhile, the guards and armed soldiers of Hammerhal marched towards the gates of the city with the intention of joining the battle. Archers entered doors on the towers of the walls and climbed the carved stairs in the stone, and once there fired arrows down onto the invaders. Sounds of clashing weapons filled the air as the guards on the post outside Hammerhal fought the attackers.
Finally, the girl and young waiter stopped once they reached the inn's entrance. Harry stopped in her tracks and noticed that something was wrong. She turned around and opened her mouth to speak to her companion.
"Glenn!" She called. The boy looked at her" Where's Neville?".
XXX
Rattigus followed the warriors and took refuge behind a rock. He heard his men working on the explosive, tinkering with the rusted valves and various bent levers it had. The rat-man knew that once this warpstone engine fulfilled its purpose, the others would soon follow spurred from it. It was a chain reaction that would catch Hammerhal of-guard and set his plans in motion.
The nature of the skaven was something Rattigus couldn't avoid. They would betray, backstab and deceive everyone, even themselves just for the most menial of benefits. Once the city was theirs, the skaven mercenaries would turn on their allies and obtain the precious Realmgate for the clan Skryre.
His tail flayed like a whip in excitement, the rodent clearly anxious to begin working. The skaven's nose twitched, smelling the air and his ears perked trying to listen for potential predators. The creature's eyes sparkled with an evil glint and his sharp and crooked teeth were displayed for all to see when he smiled in anticipation.
His hunger for conflict and pillaging made the creature pray to the Great Horned Rat for the imminent future.
BWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMM!
A burst of blinding light was the only warning they had. Not waiting for its owner's need to prepare, the warpstone siege engine reached critical mass. The skaven operating it died in an instant, turned to ash. A flaming burst of magic decimated the stone, scorched the earth and sent sharp pieces of jagged shrapnel in all directions.
Cursing to the heavens, Rattigus felt small pieces of his fur light on fire and the warpstone fragments in his body illuminate him in a sick green light. He patted the flames and his skin was left with hairless burns. His body shivered due to the tingling sensation the magic in the stones gave the leader of the skaven when caressing his spine.
Poking his head out of his hiding place, Rattigus looked to see the results of the machine. That part of the wall of Hammerhal had been obliterated. Where previously the stone bricks that formed it were of a pure white with golden engraves, now what was left was a hole with the surrounding slabs of polished rock blackened from the unstable burning magic.
Nodding in satisfaction, he turned to the chieftain and waited to see what he thought of their work. The devious skaven knew the other explosions would soon follow without needing to give orders to the other seven teams.
Kour'gath snarled and pointed with his weapon to the breach in Hammerhal's defence. They needed to act quickly, before the Order soldiers could make countermeasures.
"Attack!" The man commanded without raising his voice.
XXX
Harry had been running with Glenn in search of Neville when the explosion caught them by surprise.
BWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMM!
Her eyes widened at the destruction and watched as fragments of stone were launched in all directions, with some of the people in the streets crushed under the rubble that fell from the fortified city's wall. Where before stood a marvel of civilization, now was an enormous hole that looked like the maws of a beast that threatened to swallow whole whoever was stupid enough to approach it.
From the breach in Hammerhal's defences spilled forth the invading hordes. Harriet watched as armoured men and women wielding barbaric weapons that were more at home in a butcher's shop emerged. The dust cloud that had formed from the destructive shockwave parted when they walked forwards. She noticed that the majority of them had a strange mark on their bodies that was formed from an upside-down D and K combined that ended up resembling a stylized horned skull.
The boy that had gone on a date with her grabbed Harriet's hand and dragged her with him far away from that place, hoping to get to safety.
Guards wielding swords ran to fight the Blades of Khorne and the clash of metal resounded in the air. Forming three lines, the soldiers stabbed and cut the flesh of some of the members of the warbands that had been able to enter Hammerhal, but not before they counterattacked and killed a bunch of them in retaliation.
The chaos and confusion that followed disoriented the girl, separating Harry from her companion. A tide of civilians rushed towards the two and dragged the young waiter away from Harry. Cursing her luck, the girl looked around her to see if she found Glenn.
It was madness, the very picture of Hell on Earth. The forces of the invasion attacked civilians without a resemblance of mercy, screaming a cacophony of battle-cries that horrified her when the witch stopped to listen and understand what they were saying.
"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!" Some declared in joyful tones.
"SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!" Others chanted with fervour.
Harry watched them swing their weapons with murderous intent. A man lost his head when a great sword decapitated him when passing by one of the raiders, a girl of no more than five years old was impaled in the stomach by a spear from another one, an old man with grey hair fell from a volley of arrows with barbed heads. The massacre drenched the paved stone in rivers of blood and the corpses began to fill the streets. She stopped to take in the display of terrible calamity and her eyes filled with tears.
"Praised be Khorne!" A warrior wielding a hammer of massive size screamed while swinging the weapon left and right. The weapon found its mark and inflicted a terrible wound on a man that had tried to run away. The civilian's head was crushed in an instant, showering blood, bone and grey matter unto the pavement.
Her impotency made Harry sick. Without the power to use magic, the girl couldn't do nothing but watch the massacre. Battling the invaders, the soldiers of Hammerhal could do little but delay the inevitable.
The girl noticed she had ended closer to the hole in the wall that had appeared due to the explosion and
But the succession of catastrophic events didn't stop there. Harry gasped when a swarm of monsters emerged from the gaping wound on the walls. They resembled a fusion of rats with humans, with claws and crooked fangs, wearing rags and carrying rusted weapons that were jagged and sharp. A green substance dripped from some of them, indicating the swords, daggers and axes were soaked in poison.
Harry hid behind a house and peaked her head to see if she had been spotted. The girl felt her heart almost exit through her throat in surprise when she heard somebody call her name.
"Harry!" The voice of Glenn made Harriet sigh in relief when she heard him, and turned to look at him running towards her.
"Thank Mer- I mean, thank Sigmar you found me!" The girl caught herself almost slip and mention the name of a person that didn't exist in the Mortal Realms" We have to find Neville!".
But before the two could do what she suggested, they were discovered.
"Man-things! Time to die-die!" It screeched in a high pitch.
One of the half-rat humanoids ran towards them once he spotted the pair. The beast wielded a long, rusted sword that was incredibly sharp. Its eyes glinted with malicious intent and the cruelty of one that loved to torture those weaker than them.
"Oh, crap! It's a skaven!" The boy cursed.
Harry didn't have time to ask what a skaven was before the creature lunged at them with its weapon raised in the air. They jumped out of the way and watched it crash against a pile of crates filled with fruit.
Shaking its head, the monster snarled and untangled itself from the pieces of wood and cloth the skaven had crashed into. The boy grabbed the thing closest to him and used it against their attacker as an improvised weapon.
"Back off!" Glenn charged at the creature wielding a broken branch.
The three stopped and the air filled with a tense atmosphere, not knowing what was going to happen next. Harry, Glenn and the skaven found themselves on a dangerous standstill. Glenn became impatient and tried to hit their aggressor.
The strange rat-man squealed in surprise and dodged the boy's swing. Missing his opportunity, the human backed away and put himself between the invader and his companion.
Before the skaven could respond, Harry and Glenn watched as an arrow hit the beast square in its head. They turned to look and found that an aelf had come to their rescue. Nodding in thanks, the aelven warrior turned around and went to join the main battle.
BWWOOOUUUUUMMM! BWOOUUUUMMM! BWOOOOUUUUUM!
The sound of various explosions in the distance indicated that the invaders' plan to make various points of entrance on the walls had continued successfully. Confronted with enemies inside, the garrisons in the city had to divide their attention in that crucial moment.
Their situation had gone from bad to worse in an instant. That was the moment the battle changed course.
XXX
Selene watched as the plan continued smoothly. Her warriors still clashed against the defenders, trying to reach the gilded gates of Hammerhal. It was proving to be a very difficult task to accomplish, but she had no doubt they would succeed.
The sound of the explosions reached her ears and grinned ferally. The woman strengthened the grip on her axe and swung it once one of the soldiers of the city tried to attack her. His death was instantaneous, and the body fell at her feet without its head.
She was excited for the prospect of ending the cursed prophecy the wytch of Tzeentch said to her. The girl that was to be her end would die today, that Selene promised.
Warriors of the warbands mounted atop armoured beasts trampled the lines of soldiers that stood in their way and gave their chieftains and other warriors a path to the golden gates.
"Charge!" Traj'koss ordered while mounted atop his horse. She watched as a horde of Skullbringers swung maces light on fire, crushing the poor bastards that stood on their way. The path they opened allowed the Bloodreaver men and women that formed the backbone of the various warbands that had formed such an alliance to finally reach their objective.
A pair battering rams hit the doors of Hammerhal but they didn't budge. Selene ordered them to do it again and saw the gates give in just a little. Spurred by it, the warriors carrying the heavy siege weapons redoubled their efforts. The cannons atop the walls continued opening fire, hoping to delay the inevitable.
"They're inside!" A voice announced. The screams of surprise of the soldiers of Hammerhal reached the members of the Blades of Khorne that were the main force of the assault.
At the other side of the walls, the Bloodreavers that had sneaked inside the city helped their fellow warriors by surprising the garrisons of Hammerhal with a pincer manoeuvre. Assaulted in two fronts, the soldiers had to divide their forces in the hopes of stopping them.
Finally, thanks to the efforts of Kour'gath and the skavens, the gates of the Free City opened. Selene ran as fast as she could while her warriors tried to give the warbands enter by putting their hands on the gates and pushing them open.
"Out of my way!" The woman ordered to a bunch of soldiers that tried to impale her with their spears. She swung her weapon and rendered the armour with ease. Her musculature made her an unstoppable engine of death, cleaving her enemies in twain. Their corpses fell, but she didn't bother to claim their skulls.
The chieftain stepped at the other side of the walls and looked around her. Skaven, warriors of Khorne and soldiers of Hammerhal killed each other in a cacophony of screams and confusion. It was a depiction of war in its crudest form. Rivers of blood soaked the paved ground, making some civilians trip in their mad rush towards safety.
A sorcerer waved his hands in the air and she knew he was casting a spell. The woman would not let him. Tensing, Selene moved her arm wielding the axe back in a throwing motion. She instinctively calculated the strength needed to hit her target and swung.
Selene smiled the moment she saw the girl standing there. She remembered the characteristics Morg'ana had described the girl with. Raven hair the colour of night, eyes like gems and a scar on the forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt.
It's Her.
XXX
Hammerhal's gates were breached. The warriors of the warbands forced them open using battering rams depicting snarling horned faces. Glenn cried in horror at the situation.
"The gates have fallen!" A soldier wielding a musket said while firing at the horde of skaven entering the breached walls.
"We have to get out of here!" Harry hurried the young waiter that was with her.
"Right!" Glenn agreed"We need to go to the Realmgate".
The boy pointed at the enormous portal to the Realm of Ghyran and the witch bit her lips.
"But we haven't found Neville yet!" The girl protested.
"There's no time!".
Harry didn't have time to argue. They watched as a man dressed in white robes and with a talisman hanging from their neck stood in front of the opened gates. His eyes sparkled with ethereal light and Harry felt the pressure in the air change.
"Back off, foul followers of Chaos!" The sorcerer screamed "Comet of Casandora!".
What happened next was horrific and marvellous at the same time. Beautiful heavenly magic and horrific bone-chilling death.
From the heavens above, a fallen star rained upon the warbands. It was an intense blue glow signalling its arcane power. A flaming ball of superheated rock launched at supersonic speed.
The apocalyptic destruction that followed reminded all who witnessed it the power magic had that defied common sense. The metal the gates were made of melted instantly, and cooked alive everyone that wore armour. Flesh and bone were reduced to ash immediately. The shockwave obliterated some of the buildings caught in it and made the two teenagers fall to the ground. Cracks in the paved floor formed, spilling lava and starting fires when droplets hit wood and other flammable materials.
Harry got up from her position and her breath hitched. A crater the size of five houses had appeared where once stood the gates of Hammerhal and part of its walls. The hole made in the defences now allowed the barbarians that had survived enter more easily in the city.
The person that had manifested such destruction stood with an enormous battle-axe embedded on his chest. His eyes widened and coughed blood when the man tried to speak. Their killer was marching forward with eyes blazing. It was a muscular woman that scowled the moment she retrieved her weapon from the agonizing man she had fatally injured.
"Fuckin' sorcerer..." Her voice was full of spite. With a sickening wet sound, the woman extracted her axe, watched as the wizard gave his last breath and pushed the corpse to the ground with her armoured boot.
The killer turned to look at them and began advancing towards the two.
"Stop! Sigmar protect us! Get away!" The boy was undeterred by the armoured woman's presence and the weapon she clearly wielded in hand from which he could not defend himself. Harry watched as Glenn took something from his pocket and put it in front of the warrior of Khorne.
It was a small necklace she had seen some of the people in the city wear around their necks. The piece of gold looked like a twin-tailed comet joined with a thunderbolt and a hammer. She had not asked them what it stood for, but thanks to her experiences Harry could have an educated guess. Sigmar was one of the few Gods she had met in her life here, but recognized his heraldry thanks to his display when the girl had stayed in Azyr.
"Finally…" The woman said in a tone of voice reminiscent of a rabid beast. Her eyes were bloodshot, and gazed at the young witch with an anger and desire to kill Harry had never seen before" You don't know how much trouble I went through to get here…!".
She took a couple of steps back and the adult moved forward in tandem.
"I don't know who you are, but leave alone!" Harriet rebuked.
Glenn put his arm in front of her as a gesture of protection.
"Hahahaha! Get out of my way, welp! Or your skull will join your lover's" The woman warned.
The boy shook his head in denial and the woman frowned. Shrugging, their attacker decided to honour the boy's wishes and prepared to kill him too.
"Wait!" Harriet pleaded. The woman stopped and the girl used the opportunity to continue talking "Who are you? What do you want from me?".
Scratching her chin, the woman seemed to decide to answer Harriet's questions.
"I am Selene Kar'tan. And I have come because it has been foretold. You will be my death" Selene pointed her hand covered in a spiked gauntlet and continued talking" I will prevent Morg'ana's words from coming true!".
The bombshell of the warrior's declaration hit the girl like a truck.
"What...?" Her incredulity made itself clear due to Harry's tone of voice.
It seemed even in another world she was plagued by terrible prophecies she wanted no relation to. The reason she and her friends had gone to the Department of Mysteries had been due to the news of a prophecy made when the famous girl was a baby. Due to that revelation, Harriet had ended up in the Mortal Realms and Dumbledore had died.
"What skull is worthier than that of the one destined to kill me!" The woman declared.
Before Harriet could react using a speed that was unusual for somebody wearing armour plate, she swung her weapon, trying to split the girl in half.
Mentally cursing, the raven-haired girl rolled out of the way thanks to her instincts and her athletic body. The many years Harry had spent practicing sports helping her react in time.
Harriet got up and backed away from the woman. The soldiers of Hammerhal didn't notice her predicament due to the chaotic battle raging on. It was going to take a miracle for the two to get out of this.
Thankfully, reinforcements arrived no five seconds later.
Claank~!
The sound of stone hitting metal reached the two defenceless teenagers and looked to see what had made it.
A couple of metres away from the chieftain stood Neville Longbottom. It seemed he had thrown a piece of stone from one of the destroyed buildings and hit the woman's armour.
"Get away from my friend!" The boy from her world that loved plant life declared and grabbed another brick from the ground.
"Neville!" Harry called the boy's name with a tone of relief. She thanked God for reuniting them again.
"*Tsk* Great, another brat...!" Selene said spitefully" No matter how many you are, the girl's skull is mine!".
The roaring sound of the invading warriors echoed in the air and five of them surrounded the group. Neville walked closer to his two friends and they put themselves back-to-back. Harry replicated her friend's idea and caught a piece of rock from the ground, the heat irradiating from the magma pockets underground making it difficult for her to grab. Glenn still had the piece of wood on his hands and made arching swings in the air every time one of their enemies came closer.
Selene saw the three children's defiance and grinned. She was glad they were not cowards like others their age. Her desire to claim their skulls became stronger.
"Aaaaaaaaaargh!" She roared and Harry threw the rock in her hands. The improvised weapon hit the woman square in the face, making Selene bleed.
But that didn't stop her. The wound didn't face her attacker and Selene made a swinging motion. The attack would split the girl in two and kill Harriet instantly. The young witch thought 'This is it' and closed her eyes.
But before Harry reunited with her parents in the afterlife, a miracle happened.