Chapter 22

Death

Fillan woke up from his meditation. He thought about what he saw. He leaves the shack and hears the others in the fort talking. Soldiers were preparing some weapons and fortifying some buildings. He goes to meet with his group.

Fillan gets to his room and sees them. They were putting on light metal armor. Shia tells him to get ready. Fillan sees his armor on his bed. He asks what is happening. Shia explains what he was told. Fearty was nervous but was acting tough.

General Musashi has ordered the children to be ready. He told them that the enemy would attack but didn't know when. He said that once the attack started, he wanted them to meet, ready to attack. Shia told Fillan where they were joining up.

Fillan missed a lot while focusing on meditating. Shia also told Fillan that General Musashi permitted him to keep meditating until the enemy attacked. Fillan began to get ready but was lost in thought about fighting. He kept thinking about what he was told if he ever fought as he is now.

Fillan went looking for General Musashi. He saw the older soldiers working hard to prepare for battle. The smiths made arrows and other weapons. Fillan left his helmet when he told the others that he wanted to speak with General Musashi.

Fillan was then pointed to where General Musashi was. He was at the back of the fort. Fillan sees him giving orders to some soldiers. Once he was alone, Fillan approached. General Musashi notices him and asks about his progress.

Fillan hesitated and then told him that he hadn't found anything. He didn't want to say to him about what he remembered. General Musashi notices that he is hiding something. Fillan asks him to let him fight even if he has no magic.

General Musashi releases Mana. Fillan could not feel it. General Musashi lets out a murderous intent. It took Fillan some time, and he took a defensive stance. General Musashi tells Fillan to continue until the attack. Fillan said to him that he should be with his group.

"Fillan, this battle could be your last. As much as I hoped that all of you would have had more time to learn, I feel ashamed that some of you will die. I promise to make you strong warriors, but fate has chosen otherwise."

Fillan was not sure of what to say. General Musashi tells Fillan that if they survive, he will make the promise he told them better. He again told Fillan to meditate and gain something to help him survive. With that, General Musashi had other things to take care of.

The following day it was a warm summer morning. King John was awake and staring at the mountain range. Several soldiers were already up. The night shift guards were going to sleep, and the next group took over. King John was brought a cup of coffee.

King John saw his forces enjoying themselves. The cooks began to make breakfast, and some soldiers were cleaning themselves. Some soldiers were coming out of the Amazonian campgrounds. King John had a look of disappointment but laughed.

Cortez had also woken up and was heading toward King John. The soldiers greeted him, and he waved back. He reached King John and told him about his headache. King John laughed and offered some coffee. They both relaxed and enjoyed the morning.

By the afternoon, the soldiers were all up. They were playing games and enjoying the time they had left. King John was in his tent looking at a map. He was going over the plan with some captains. Once he explained, the captains left. King John sat on a chair.

Cortez walks in and tells King John that the soldiers look ready to go. King John was happy to hear that. King John tells Cortez that he felt uneasy about the battle. Cortez again said to him that he would be by his side. A group of scouts reported to King John.

They told him that the fort had been prepared for defending. King John was not surprised that they would. He said to Cortez that the plan would stay the same. Cortez noticed that he was still worried about something.

"Oy, amigo, what is bothering you?"

King John told him he was still waiting to hear from King Sloan of the dwarfs. Cortez reassured him that King Sloan was all right. He said to him that he should visit after the battle. King John relaxed a little.

Fillan had practiced his sword skills with Barret. Barret would take it easy on Fillan when they spar. Fillan was looking for a way to fight opponents at had activated their magic. Once they had finished, he thanked Barret and headed to the shack.

Fillan lit the candles and waited. He thinks of what he wants. He then thinks of Harris. He didn't tell General Musashi that he could remember Harris and Sister Adolpha. Fillan thought about what happened in King's Land.

After a while, he went into the shack and sat. He closed his eyes and relaxed. He couldn't see anything. His mind faded, and he thought of what he wanted. His thought of what was happening. He began to hear people speaking.

He heard the voice of a girl. She was laughing with someone. Fillan could still not see. Darkness was all he saw. More voices were heard, and he could not remember who they were. He then found himself in a white room. He looks up and sees words he didn't know.

He then woke up hanging from the ceiling. His hands were chained, and he was hurting. The room was dark, and it smelled terrible. He hears people talking. He recognized one of them. It was Harris, and he was talking to someone.

The door opens, and Harris walks in. He tells the other person to look at him. Behind him walked Lord Michael. Fillan saw a tall skinny man. He was dark skin with a small mustache. Lord Michael wore fine silk nobleman clothes. A top hat covers his silky black hair.

Lord Michael walks over to Fillan and, with his cane, lifts his head. He takes a good look at him. Harris tells him that Fillan looks like Wolf. Fillan has heard Harris call someone Wolf. Sister Adolpha reacted to it too. Fillan didn't know who Wolf was.

Lord Michael asks Harris about Adolpha. Harris told him that she had disappeared in a burst of white light. Lord Michael looks at Fillan again and tells Harris that he doesn't look like either of them. Harris insists that Fillan was Adolpha's child.

Lord Michael asks Harris to tell him again how he got him. Harris explains that after the burst of light, things became chaotic. The demon forces attacked, and there was panic. Harris told him that he fought to get away from the castle.

He told Lord Michael that he saw King John fighting with the demon lord. He saw that King John had wounded the demon lord and that there was a destroyed carriage near them. Harris almost left but saw an old man holding Fillan.

After helping the old man escape, Harris killed him and took Fillan. Fillan was covered in blood. Harris tries to convince Lord Michael that Fillan is related to Adolpha. Lord Michael asks Harris if he has seen Fillan use any magic.

Harris tells Lord Michael that Fillan used lighting magic. Lord Michael then asks Harris if Fillan could use light magic. Harris said he didn't know. Lord Michael calls him a failure and leaves. Harris went after him leaving Fillan alone.

Over at the human camp, the troops were still enjoying their relaxation. The mood was high as soldiers practiced and played. It was afternoon, and some older soldiers began to get ready. King John wrote to his wife and daughter.

A soldier walks into the king's tent. He tells King John that dwarfs want to talk to him. King John gets up and has the soldier lead him to them. Soldiers were surrounding a wagon and some dwarf soldiers. King John asks to let him through.

The dwarf soldiers see him and bow to him. The leader of the group speaks out. He told King John that King Sloan was dealing with some important matters and was ashamed that he had not responded to him. He also tells King John that King Sloan trusts him.

King John thinks about how the soldier said that to him. He then asks the soldiers about their purpose for coming. The head soldier tells King John that King Sloan has offered them some aid. The dwarf soldier shows King John what they brought.

They head to the back and uncover the content of the wagon. There were boxes of crystals. King John sees them and smiles. He looks at the dwarf soldiers and thanks them. He tells the head soldier that he will always trust King Sloan.

The dwarf soldiers thank King John. They then have to depart and tell King Sloan that they deliver the supplies to him. The dwarves are offered to rest before they leave. They decline and head off. King John began to think about what was happening in the Dwarven Kingdom.

After some thought, King John had some soldiers gather. He told them to unload the wagon and have the crystals distributed. Soldiers were called to pick up some of the crystals. The crystals were all shining and were different colors.

Cortez and Haddison heard the news and came to speak with King John. They ask about King Sloan. King John told them what the dwarf soldier said and how he said it. Cortez talks about spies and traitors. Haddison agrees with him. King John said to them that they would find out after they won.

As the day continued, soldiers settled and began to think about the war. King John was sitting in his tent. He was feeling anxious again. He thinks about Queen Annabeth and Annalise. Cortez came to see him. He told him that his troops were ready.

Haddison was talking to her troops. She was motivating them. The Amazonas cheered and hailed their Queen. Haddison also offers the battle to their god. The Amazonians were getting ready. Some did some last-minute practice.

At night soldiers ate, and some drank. The veteran soldiers talked about their first battles and reminisced on the old days. The newer soldiers were feeling scared. They wrote letters to their families. Some soldiers continue to play.

Cortez, Haddison, and the captains were in the tent with King John. They were drinking and talking about the peace they used to live in. They could hear the soldiers still cheerful outside—King John apologized for dragging them to war.

The captains thanked King John for fighting for them. They wanted no sad talk and asked him about his daughter. King John began to speak of her and cheered him up. Everyone then speaks about their families. Haddison told them that she felt alone.

She made everyone laugh when she said she would kidnap a man and have a child. King John shakes his head. Cortez makes fun of her. Haddison defended herself by telling stories of fights she won against Cortez. They laugh again.

Fillan was all alone in the dark room. He didn't know what time it was. He was still hurting. The door opens again, and Harris walks in. He has soldiers with him. The soldiers bring in a table and some knives. They also place crystals on the table.

"Ok, kid, let's see if we can make Lord Michael believe you are Wolf and Adolpha's kid. He has given me some time to prove something. Show me what you got."

Haddison takes a yellow crystal and draws Mana. He emits electricity. He touches Fillan and gets electrocuted. Fillan yells, and he blacks out. He opens his eyes, and he is in the white room again. This time there is a bed. He hears a female voice.

"You are going to survive. Once we are free, let's meet your family together."

Fillan wakes up from his dream. He was back in the shake. He thought about his dream. He gets up and gets out of the shack. He sees that it is night. He goes to his room. In the room, the rest of his group was relaxing.

Barret goes over to him and gives him some food. He thanks him for saving him some. He apologizes for missing dinner. Shia talks to him about his progress. Fillan told him about Harris. He also said to him that he had lighting magic. Shia was happy that he did make some progress.

They talked for some time before going to sleep. Fearty was afraid and could not sleep. It was late before he did. They were sleeping when the horn sounded. They woke up and got up. They grabbed their weapons and ran out. Fearty was still sleepy.

When they were outside, they saw the older soldiers already ready. The children met where they were supposed to. General Musashi was waiting for them. He sees some still putting on their armor. He could see they were scared. He told them where they needed to go.

General Musashi ordered the captains to prepare their soldiers. The archers line the walls. General Musashi makes it to the top of the fort walls. He looks across the field and sees the human armies lined up. King John sees the fort for the first time.

The sun began to peak and brightened the battlefield. King John, in his gold armor, was on a horse. He showed no fear. Cortez was next to him, also on a horse. Shield and spear soldiers were at the front. King John sees demon archers at the top of the wall.

The human soldiers were scared. The demon soldiers were also frightened. The children waited below with another squad. Fillan, Barret, and Shia were not that much worried. Fillan thought about surviving. Fearty was scared but was lined up.

King John waits to attack. Once the sun was out, he drew his sword. He draws Mana. The soldiers feel him drawing Mana. King John turns to his soldiers. They saw his menacing expression. King John shouts to them.

"Today, we drive the enemy forces back to where they came. Let them hear the roar of our cries and show them how terrifying we can be. For the people, for our loved ones, and our Kingdom."

The human troops began to shout. They all drew Mana and activated spells. King John creates a fireball. He tells his mages to attack. The mages had a red crystal and drew Mana. They create fireballs. They release their attacks.

General Musashi sees an incoming attack of fireballs. He drew Mana and activated his magic. The fort wall glows, and the fireballs hit it. Some attacks didn't make it. Behind the walls, the soldiers hear explosions. King John sees no damage.

He tells his mages to continue attacking. He orders his shield soldiers to advance. The captains move their troops. General Musashi has the fort doors open, and troll creatures walk out. They walk toward the shield troops.

Fireballs keep hitting the fort walls. General Musashi orders the arches to get ready. The archers draw their bows. They aimed up, and they drew Mana. General Musashi signals. The archers release a volley of arrows.

The arrows reach as high as they can before starting to fall. They glow and gain speed. Some soldiers panic while others raise their shields. The shield captains see and halt their forces. He orders them to block the incoming attack.

The first arrows hit, and it felt like boulders hitting them. Some arrows pierce the shields and hit the soldier. Human soldiers begin to fall. Captain's soldiers activate earth spells and create walls. They yell for medics.

General Musashi calls for another volley. The archers get ready and attack. King John counters by having the mages use wind spells. The fort troops keep pushing. Some ground was covered, and King John looked at Cortez. Cortez nods and moves forward.

"Adelante todos."

Cortez's horse picks up speed. The luchadores run behind him. Behind them, sword and shield soldiers follow. King John has his archers cover them. The troll creatures were attacking the shield troops. General Musashi gives the signal.

Catapults throw dark boulders over the wall. King John sees them and has his mages attack them. Their attacks did not affect them. The boulder hit the ground and rolled. Some soldiers were killed. The boulders glowed and began to melt. Goblin creatures were created and began to attack.

The goblins surrounded the shield troops. Cortez and his troops arrive and fight the goblins. They quickly kill the goblins. More boulders hit the ground. Arrows also rained down on them. King John pushes his archers forward. General Musashi waits before making his next move.

The older soldiers wait for their orders. The children could hear all the screaming outside. They thought about dying. Fillan concentrates on trying to use magic. He felt something, but it was hard to tell if it was Mana.

The luchadores are moving fast and dealing with the goblins on the battlefield. The shield troops are managing to keep the trolls occupied. General Musashi sees that the archers are now helping. He tells a soldier to deliver a message.

The soldier runs down some stairs and goes to a tower. There were four large towers on each corner of the fort. He sees some soldiers guarding it. He tells them he has a message from General Musashi. The door to the tower opens, and a demon mage comes out.

He gets the message and heads back in. The mage goes upstairs and gets to a room. There were several other mages in there. The mage tells the rest that General Musashi wants complete control of the goblins. The mages were sitting in a circle.

Once they got their orders, they drew Mana. A demon mage sits in the middle and activates a spell. The other tower also starts the same spell. King John sees eyeballs form at the top of the towers. The goblins begin to gather information.

General Musashi orders the knights to head out. The fort doors open, and the soldiers march out. More boulders are launched, and these have trolls forming. The children are asked to wait for the second wave.

King John sees many human casualties. The demons were only losing those creatures. Once the demon knights were out, they attacked. King John sees that the enemy is trying to keep them away from the fort. The fort hasn't received that much damage.

King John thinks about what to do next. He sees that the goblins are attacking as a group and are overrunning their forces. The demon knights begin to take care of the shield troops. King John thinks about sending in Haddison's forces, but it feels too soon.

There was so much chaos on the battlefield. General Musashi was not fazed by it. He turns on and looks at the children and the second wave of older soldiers. He speaks to the children. He tells them to remember their training.

"You today are part of the demon army. You today are part of something. You belong here, and no one will take that from you. I wish I had more time to prepare you all. Now face the enemy in front of you and show them you belong in this world."

General Musashi orders the doors to open. The older soldiers march out, followed by the children. The sounds of fighting become louder. They could hear the yelling of humans. The children are all shocked and feel confused. The children see explosions and different elemental spells.

The captain orders them to advance. Barret steps in front of him and lifts a shield. The older soldiers activate defensive spells, and their bodies glow. The children see and start their own as soon as they move, a volley of arrows rains down. Fillan stood there and panicked.

Fillan hears the impact of the arrows hitting the shield. Barret held on while other children dodged or got hit. Some soldiers came out and took the injured. The rest were ordered to attack. Fillan thanks Barret, and he then notices the others crying.

Fillan followed and thought of what to do. They reached some human soldiers and attacked. The human soldiers were tired, so the children could easily kill them. They form back into formation.

General Musashi was watching. A captain speaks about the children. He asked if they could kill someone. Without taking his eyes off the battlefield, General Musashi tells the captain they have already killed. The captain didn't know what he meant by that.

Back on the battlefield, Fillan was behind the others waiting for an opportunity to attack. The children followed what they were taught and were making good progress. They defended quickly and had each other's backs.

Fillan felt helpless. He wanted to prove he could fight. He sees a group struggling to take out the enemy. Fillan runs towards them. The enemy sees him and of them goes to intercept. He gets in front of Fillan.

The human soldier attacks with various sword swings. Fillan senses the danger and dodges. He also blocks the attacks. He sees an opening and strikes. The soldier was slow and thought he would get killed. Fillan's sword could not penetrate the soldier's defensive spell.

The enemy soldier kicks Fillan sending him flying. Fillan hits the ground and rolls. The soldier turns back to the other. He gets killed by another. Fillan gets up but feels pain in his chest. He looks for the enemy soldier and sees him dead.

"Dam it, come on, Fillan, you need to do better. Get through this."

Fillan moves to another target. Barret was overwhelming the enemy soldiers. The human soldiers were retreating from him. Shia was also quickly taking out human soldiers. Fearty was nowhere to be seen. The demon children began to gain confidence.

King John was getting reports from the front lines. Several squads have been wiped out. Others have lost numerous people. King John also saw the injured making it back to get healed. King John gave the signal. Cortez sees and orders his forces for backup.

The demon soldiers see this as a retreat and follow. Some of the children follow them. Fillan wanting another chance to prove himself, was going to follow them. General Musashi needs to do something. Fillan hears and senses danger.

The sound of horses comes from a forest next to the fort. The demon captains shout orders to stop the pursuit. The demon soldiers prepare to defend. They have spread too far apart. Haddison and the Amazonians ran over the first wave of soldiers.

Haddison orders them to circle and charge again. From the forest, a group of archers releases a volley of arrows. King John orders the royal and adventures to attack. General Musashi orders them to regroup. Fillan saw more of the children dead from the cavalry attack.

Cortez ordered to attack again. General Musashi sends word to have the goblin creatures defend while the soldiers regroup. Fillan regroups with Barret and Shia. The royal knights move fast and reach the front lines. They attack and kill those weaker than them.

A knight sees Barret. He runs to attack him. Barret senses him and attacks first. The knight blocks his attack but gets pushed back. The knight prepares to attack him. He draws Mana, and his sword glows. Barret also draws Mana and pours it into his shield.

The knight attacks with furious strikes. Barret needs help defending. The knight sees an opening and strikes. Barret moves out of the way, but he gets cut. Barret lets out a yell. The knight readies his sword for another strike. He takes a step before sensing danger.

Fillan had swung his sword, but the knight dodged. Fillan stands in front of the knight. The knight focused but could not sense magic from him. He thinks Fillan is hiding his Mana. The knight readies his sword. Barret steps in front of Fillan.

Fillan tells Barret to move. Barret pulls his shield up and readies his sword. The knight doesn't know what to say about it. He moves fast and attacks. The knight overpowers Barret and manages to push him out of the way.

Fillan uses that time to attack. He aims for gaps in the armor. The knight dodges his every attack. He was cautious of Fillan. Fillan uses everything he learned. The knight parries and strikes. Barret blocks the attack.

The knight was starting to understand. He saw Fillan as weak, and Barret was trying to protect him. The knight went after Fillan first. Barret stood in his way in every attack. He was getting tired. Fillan told him to back off.

The knight thought of what to do. He draws more Mana and takes out a crystal. His sword bursts into flames. He gets ready to attack. Barret draws Mana and slams the ground. The ground shakes, and it opens up.

A crescent shape fire attack was unleashed. The knight jumps and swings his sword. Barret lifts his shield. When he does, the knight is already attacking. Fillan ran to and tried to block him. The knight cuts through Fillan's blade.

The knight aims at Barret. He has a clear chance of killing him. The knight swings his sword. A sword hits him right before he gets close and makes him miss. The knight dodges another sword attack towards him.

"Wow there, those are my friends."

Shia stands in front of the knight. He draws Mana.