Prelude Chapter Five: Flamma Indomita
Shabiri I
Warning: Violence
As Shabiri strode to the forefront of the assembled forces of men and trolls, his golden armor—a gift from his subordinates upon his elevation to the head of the Order catches the morning light. Radagon keeps pace to his right, a faithful companion since their early days within the esteemed Order, Radagon had never once faltered in his support or questioned Shabiri's word.
The ranks swell with the might of the holy capital's warriors and a notable gathering of Roundtable Scholars, among them is Alberich, a scholar of considerable years and intellect, known for his progressive views on integrating glintstone sorcery into our doctrines. His presence here was unexpected, a sign of unity perhaps, or of changing tides. Radagon, ever Shabiri's steadfast ally, remains by his side as the troops move onward as they had for the past day. Eventually the Order's forces came to a cliffside that overlooked the swamp that surrounded the heretical academy that was in the distance, as the sun set Shabiri saw the spires of the academy reaching upward invading the sky that belonged to the queen and in turn the Golden Order, the more he looked at his target the flames of passion within him threatened to overflow his slim frame.
"Shabiri," Radagon's voice echoes calmly behind him "Do you truly think the academy will will yield without resistance?"
Shabiri gave Radagon a slight glance, "They must, Radagon. 'Tis not merely a matter of belief but of necessity. The academy hoards knowledge that could threaten the very fabric of our order. We cannot allow such power to remain unchecked." Shabiri's words fell like the scribblings of the tomes that read of the orders values, "these heretics must be stopped by word or by blade, lest they risk extinction"
The march continues, each step squelching into the bog. views of indigenous life rustle around them—giant crustaceans and other swamp denizens—scatter into the underbrush, startled by the relentless drum of our approach. In the distance, Raya Lucaria looms larger. As the sun dips below the horizon, a pale moon rises behind the academy, casting a sickeningly enchanting glow over the scene.
"My liege," an unsolicited voice speaks from an even softer tongue behind Shabiri, Alberich in his golden and red trimmed armor speaks without permission, his weak features only extenuating his even weaker will. "The troops grow weary, perhaps we should rest as the sun sets and set our siege at dawn."
Shabiri turned on his heel and stepped toward the weaker scholar "Rest! We anticipate no more than an hour to breach their walls. We need no rest to undertake a task so brief. Should such folly escape your tongue again, Alberich, I shall have you trailing the trolls, tasked with cleansing their leavings from this swamp!" The words bite the air around the scholar, Shabiri witnesses Alberich's auburn eyebrows drop as he agrees with his superior's logic and turns back to his position behind Radagon. The red-haired hound raised his eyebrow questioningly but quickly lowers it after Shabiri glances back at him.
This situation is a dire one for the Golden Order. We must bring these rebellious factions to heel, not just for our new queen eternal but for the sake of peace and serenity in these lands, the academy will falter and fall into my grasp tonight, I know it in my bones.
As the march continued the spew from the swamp began to sully the golden armor and white capes of the force, although it was no matter as it would be worth the price when Rennala and her two sisters bowed before Shabiri, especially Renna, the gall and blasphemous behavior of that crone drove Shabiri to anger whenever he thought of her. Shabiri kicked an upturned rock as he walked through the swamp which quelled his frenzied thoughts.
Eventually the gathered army reached an outpost before the academy, a town that guarded the gate, and a town that seemed quite empty, almost ghostly. Shabiri, much like many of the other troops, looked up at the night sky upon reaching their checkpoint. At that moment Shabiri and the soldiers saw an inconceivable sight, a second moon falling from the sky above the town. The moon they knew was full and lit the area around them, but this second moon was in a crescent form as it magically descended from above.
Shabiri was dumbfounded by this new moon's beauty and could not restrain his eyes as he looked upon it as it began to crack slightly and from these cracks a small blue orb peered from within the moon, and from another a branch of white and blue veins appeared and took aim at the distracted scholar.
Radagon was the first to realize the situation, snapping out of the trance and tackling shabiri out of the way of an icy projectile cast by the crescent moon. "Down! Shabiri!" he called as they both fell into the murky terrain beneath them. "An ambush, they've caught us in an ambush." Radagon says as he uses his sword to deflect another projectile. Upon turning their gaze at the crescent moon, they witnessed it fade and dissipate into shards of light as the caster revealed herself with a sly grin upon her face, her furred cloak swayed gently in the wind accenting the white clothing of the youngest Carian princess.
"The Snow Witch." Shabiri growled from his knees as he picked himself up and drew his sword, the blade was unsullied by the ire of the swamp, but it was pointed at the hovering maiden above him as she laughed from her place above them.
Renna's voice carried a soft and playful tone as she addressed the intruding commanders. "Verily so, little scholar," she declared, her left arm sweeping in an arc to signal her hidden allies. From the shadows emerged five figures clad in gleaming silver and blue armor, poised and ready for battle.
To her left, a troll lumbered into view, massive and imposing behind the clocktower, a greatsword matching his size clutched in his grip. Beside him, a knightess with a similar weapon stood ready, her stance aggressive yet controlled.
Directly below the hovering Renna, another knight emerged, the cold moonlight glinting off his polished armor. He drew his straight sword with a deliberate slowness and pointed the tip directly at Radagon who stood next to Shabiri, issuing his challenge.
Near the academy's gate, the thud of hooves announced the arrival of a heavily armored knightess astride a robust steed, her legs were shackled oddly to the horse as if they were unusable, and a long glaive in her hand that caught the light with every movement.
Completing the assembly was a tall woman, her silver armor pristine under the moonlight. She held two swords, one slightly longer than the other, her stance as formidable as her reputation. A blue sash across her breastplate bore the sigil of the House of Caria, marking her as Twin Moon Knight Rellana, the middlemark of the Carian sisters and revered champion of the coliseums.
At the sight, Shabiri's confidence wavered, a shiver of apprehension running through him as he met Rellana's unwavering gaze. And for perhaps the second time in Shabiri's life he felt the urge to run, to run and never look back as he did with his family, but the golden scholar pulled himself from the grime of the swamp and drew his own sword and unclipped his talisman from his belt holding it tightly as he uttered a silent prayer.
The sound of all the soldiers behind him unsheathing their steel was like a thundercrack that lit a fire under Shabiri, and beside him Radagon squared his own blade as he gave Shabiri a nod. Despite the threat in front of him Shabiri turned to address his army, facing the sea of golden armor and white cloaks tinged by the vile swamp that surrounded their heretical target and he spoke.
"Soldiers! Today we fight the heresy of the snowy crone and her apostles, so their heresy may not reach our homes! On the morrow we will stand victorious in the golden light of Marika!"
A cry of reverence rang from the assembled force, even from Alberich himself as they all moved forward running towards the six figures in front of them, and leading the charge was Shabiri and Radagon, their feet pounded through the mirk as they ran towards Renna who simply smiled lightly as her plan began to unravel itself in brutal fashion. The two scholars saw Renna's lips move but not the words that came as a force of white and blue robed sorcerers in stone crowns of battle materialized, roughly fifty individuals appeared casting glintstone blades around themselves while others drew swords.
Shabiri and his ocean of gold, still charged forth with the meeting of spell and sword in a clash, they outnumbered the sorcerers at least five to one although this information did not silence the doubts in Shabiri's head.
Suddenly the troll Carian knight jumped atop a building and then slammed down in front and on top of many of the soldiers crushing them in finality as he swung his sword down creating a grim scene as pieces of men flew in every direction. Atop the troll's back was the knightess with the greatsword and she joined the fray as well, dispatching any men attempting to attack the troll's legs. Upon seeing the sight Shabiri's pace slowed as he watched in despair as the Carian troll swung his sword again, cleaving one of the trolls that the order had taken with them in two.
Radagon and Alberich quickly passed Shabiri as they rushed into the fray of battle, Radagon cut a swathe through the enemy forces before being met by a Carian Knight who with a well-placed parry stopped Radagon's strike and sent the red-haired man onto the stone bottoming of the battleground with a kick.
Shabiri motivated himself with a prayer but to no avail as it was interrupted by a cold wind accompanied by a icy blast to his side toppling him over and falling again to his knee. He looked around attempting to locate his opponent, but he saw none in sight.
He saw the Rellana engaged in battle with a lightly armored woman who wore the sigil of Marika on her armor and wielded twin daggers, the woman weaved between Rellana's strikes with little effort, yet Shabiri could not place her in his mind, she most likely was a disciple of the queen. Also, nearby he saw Alberich, and phalanx of soldiers attempt to engage the mounted Carian knight, their efforts seemed fruitess as with every swipe of the knight's glaive shields broke and spells pierced through any openings given by error or by force of the adversary.
"Behind you." a wisp of cold air along with a teasing voice touched Shabiri's ear as he spun around picking himself up and he found his face inches away from Renna's, as the Snow Witch eyes looked downward, he followed her gaze and saw her staff directly pointed at his lower half and he found himself blasted backward by a upfront burst of powerful frost magic. He landed on his back, the wind knocked from his chest as he coughed and looked upon his wound, a icicle had penetrated his lower chestplate and embedded itself within his body, he gripped it and ripped it free, dropping the icy dagger as he held his Talisman over the grievous wound using an invitation to heal his innards and stop the flowing of his lifeblood which pooled underneath him.
"You dare attack me in a state of unguard? filthy crone." Shabiri cursed his enemy as she frowned at him as she tapped her staff upon the ground, summoning a storm of ice and cold.
"T'was not thou enveloped in the midst of a battle, when thou should be focused instead of gazing on others, foolish scholar." Renna said as the spell she casted blasted towards Shabiri, he avoided and dodged the particles of ice, using his sword to cut through few of the projectiles, and as Shabiri reached Renna he brought his blade down upon her head splitting her in two, the grin across her face still present as her body fell in halves.
"Silence heretic, feel the light of the Golden Order." Shabiri proclaimed as he held his sword upward in victory.
He then looked down at the once body of his adversary to find it gone, replaced by a pile of snow, and shock overtook him as he spun around yet again to find Renna standing unharmed holding a hand over her mouth concealing a mocking smile. "Perhaps humility is the lesson you must learn today."
Shabiri responded by using his talisman to fire a ray of golden light that Renna deflected back at him, which he rolled out of the way, and casted a defensive incantation from his kneeled position, he felt the light wash over him and extended it to a few of the soldiers who fought nearby, before he charged at Renna again this time with a different strategy in mind.
Renna's gaze narrowed as she bent down and readied herself, Shabiri saw this as he raised his talisman to the sky as he charged, a bolt of holy lightning struck him increasing his acceleration as he sped towards Renna, her eyes widened as she readied a defensive spell, but alas it was too late and Shabiri was upon her.
Shabiri first knocked her staff out of line of himself using his blade, saving himself momentarily from any spell the witch would cast in her state of panic. Shabiri then used his talisman to cast an incantation that he himself considered on the outskirts of being acceptable, within him he channeled his mana through his body and into his talisman where he cupped it near his mouth and he gave a mighty huff, releasing the power in the form of flame directly into Renna's face causing her to stumble backward and let out a wounded shriek. Yet Shabiri did not let the heretic take more than two steps back before he thrusted his sword towards her heart, using his mana to coat his blade in holy power aiming to finish this battle.
With a flip of her staff Renna gave a parry of Shabiri's blade, shocking him momentarily, and in his moment of hesitance Renna charged a spell, turning her staff into a constructed blade of pure mana and she stabbed it into Shabiri's midsection, her burned face meeting his as he whimpered at the strike.
Shabiri fell to the ground clutching his wound, gasping as he felt his life slip slowly as he looked up at Renna whose face was now healing itself from its burn as ice formed like a scab over the right side of her face. "Arrogance is your weakness. Yet you've entertained me enough, may you rest with your heart free of malice." the witch said softly, almost as if she was mocking the very prayers uttered by Shabiri himself that granted him his power, and he growled at her unable to make any other sound from his mouth due to the pain.
Renna turned, looking back at the grounded Shabiri with a sad look on her face, and in a slight gust of snow she disappeared.
Looking around Shabiri saw his troops running past him in retreat, and he was picked up roughly by the lightly armored woman who he had seen engaging Rellana. Shabiri let out a howl of pain and resistance at being carried by a woman, but she silenced him quickly as they retreated, "Silence Shabiri, your arrogance has caused an embarrassing defeat that we shalt have avoided, the queen will not be amused at your immaturity." the woman said,
As she carried Shabiri towards Radagon who was riddled with wounds himself, his armor was damaged beyond repair as he stood in the center of the remaining force upholding his talisman as they reached him, he readied an incantation and in a flash of light they were gone.
