It was dusk when an eerie calm seemed to envelope the vast region upon which unknowable horrors and the mystic fae did battle.

Jortus and the majority of the expedition had secured themselves upon a hill overlooking the field. Overseeing their fortifications, Loen turned to Jortus and gave him a look of approval.

“We’re all set up as good as we can. I can only hope our friends can make it through whatever it is they’re doing,” said Loen as he eyed Ogmai sitting on the ground a fair distance away along with Amver floating in the sky in a similar sitting position.

Jortus grinned as he looked towards the fae, “Oh, you don’t have to worry about them. With the return of the mana, they can help replenish the physical vessels of their spirit-kin. Spiritual and elemental fae cannot die while in their vessels unless directly attacked through ensorcelled means.”

Jortus then frowned as he continued, “Though in this case, it’s the Nul energies of the Niskari that they have more to fear of. The corrosion of mana is a bane to them in the same manner that their natural mana can cleanse Nul corruption. That is why they need to form physical vessels infused with the purest energies of nature as they possibly could.”

The old mage then pointed towards the rock fae, “The Landvaettir are earthen spirits that possess the hardiest of physical vessels, so they have the best defense against Nul corrosion.”

He then looked towards the flame fae in the sky, “On the other hand, while Amver is an Efreet, it seems he’s been given command of the Spriggans. Fire spirits are the best when it comes to dealing with Nul energies, but here they are unfortunately out of their element, so as an alternative, their Lord; the only one who can maintain mana control despite the absence of major fire elements – has been infusing the Spriggans with the energies of fire by setting their vessels aflame.”

A twinkle seemed to gleam in Jortus’ eye as he continued, “The fact that he can infuse fire to the vessels of wood elementals is an exercise of incredible fire mana control, I must say.”

Loen nodded in affirmation as his gaze wandered towards the fae, “So the earth fae act as their defenders while the wood fae given the powers of fire are their offensive unit.”

“Simply put, yes,” nodded Jortus with a grin. “If the Efreet could freely exercise their powers, the fae would’ve had the upper hand. Unfortunately, fire isn’t the best course of action when fighting within bounds of a forest.”

As Jortus went on with his lecture about the fae, Loen couldn’t help but question a certain point.

“I understand about the fire fae, but what of the other fae? Surely water and wind could offer some assistance and whatnot?”

Jortus rubbed his beard as he mused Loen’s question, “Indeed, they can. But from what I understood after speaking with Amver and Ogmai earlier, it seems the other Lords are preoccupied with securing a vessel needed to contain the Niskari Lord. The vessel they possess apparently needs to be infused with the power of the Vein in order for it to hold the demon securely should we fail to slay it again.”

The old mage’s expression then turned dark as he brought out his pipe and lit it, “The problem with creating an opening to the Vein is with the energy released in the process. It is mana in its rawest and most concentrated form, so any spillage would mean the death of anything within the vicinity from mana oversaturation. They’ve chosen a bold means to create the vessel, but one that’s highly dangerous.”

The warden crossed his arms in thought, “If it’s so dangerous, why would they risk doing this while in the middle of being invaded? Couldn’t they help take down the Niskari first then secure a permanent vessel after? I get that it’s to contain Bolragmal, but wouldn’t a temporary one work if it’s only for a short time?”

“I’m afraid it’s not so simple,” replied Jortus as he shook his head, “A Niskari Lord, albeit a weakened one, is at least on the level of a Fallen Disaster. To put this into perspective… to contain Bolragmal the first time, the fae had to sacrifice one of their World Trees to be used as the vessel.”

This news shocked Loen to the point that he flinched and suddenly lowered his arms. He might not know too much about the fae, but he at least knew the importance of their World Trees. They weren’t simply the fae’s home, but the heart of a fae species. That means they had to sacrifice an entire group of their kin simply to contain the Niskari.

“Then, are you saying…”

Jortus waved away Loen’s sentiments as he clarified, “Oh, make no mistake, they aren’t willing to go through such heartache again. The loss of the Summer Lord was a tragedy so great, none of the fae are willing to repeat it even if it means condemning the entirety of their kind. If the fae were to fall, then the fae would choose to fall altogether – that is their current consensus.”

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While letting out a large puff of smoke, Jortus added, “I’m only taking a guess, but I believe that the vessel they are preparing is a seed of Syldrasil, the Tree of Spring. While not as powerful as a full-grown World Tree, a seed from one should be enough to contain a weakened Niskari Lord.”

Jortus then closed his eyes and continued, “It may not be as bad, but sadly, it’s still a great loss. If it’s truly a seed, then sacrificing it would mean they are giving up the inheritance of the Lord of Spring. What this means is that should the current Lord of Spring enter the Eternal Dream – what basically constitutes as death for the fae – there won’t be a Fae Lord to inherit the title of Spring.”

He opened his eyes then turned towards Loen with sadness lacing his words, “It may not mean much to the mortal races, but to the fae… it would mean an entire generation of fae would face stagnation and slumber. In the time that another seed could be grown, centuries would pass and by then it is unknown whether the spirits of Spring could survive without a Lord to guide them and maintain the balance. Having already lost one Lord of the Cycles, I’m afraid…”

Jortus trailed off and couldn’t finish what he wanted to say. Understanding his old friend’s silence, Loen could only nod in response as he took in what the old mage spoke of. The fae had already paid a tremendous price sealing the Niskari Lord before, and now should they fail, another sacrifice from the fae will be made again, and this time it might truly mean their end.

Knowing how close the old mage is to the fae and how integral they are to protecting this world, Loen wished there was a way they could somehow end the Niskari for good without such sacrifice, but unfortunately mystical matters of the Outrealm weren’t his specialty.

As the silence lingered for a moment, a sudden pulsing of red lights from trinkets hanging both off of Loen’s and Jortus’ sleeves have alerted them. Their enemies have arrived.

They weren’t the only ones to notice as the two Fae Lords suddenly stirred. From a lowly glow of embers, Amver suddenly flared into a great blaze that lit up the sky of dusk. It was almost as if it was the break of dawn instead of the setting sun.

Ogmai was more subtle, but the trembling of the earth could be felt throughout the land as stone after stone erupted from the ground forming into bipedal humanoids; the blue glow of mana flowing along their vein-like cracks.

The sparks from Amver flew to the ground as though they were guided, and from where they landed, beings of wood started forming over the sparks; assembling themselves over the flame and turning it into their core.

The fae armies have assembled once more.

Seeing their numbers far greater than when the expedition arrived, Loen now clearly understood why Jortus said not to worry about them. The field was simply filled from one end to the other with wood and stone fae.

“They don’t seem to have any particular ranged options,” Loen commented.

“That’s what they have us for,” grinned Jortus, but then he further explained, “Any part of nature that isn’t embodied by fae energies will get easily corroded. Unlike our meticulously crafted shells that are specialized by design, I doubt firing off shards of wood or stone that’ll quickly turn to dust would be very effective.”

“So, it’s no different from why we aren’t using regular arrows and the like…”

“I’m afraid so,” answered Jortus with a nod then pointing towards the flame fae, “The only one who’d be able to fight from afar is Amver, but as you know…,” he trailed off while gesturing towards the trees.

Loen nodded in response, but his gaze remained on the edge of the clearing. His eyes narrowed upon seeing the first silhouettes stepping out of the forest.

The usual Hounds of Rot and the shambling Ravagers are easily distinguishable, but creatures of greater concern have started appearing.

Massive bipedal variants with reptilian heads and chitin-like armor revealed themselves from the shadows of the woods. They possessed long clawed arms that were shaped similarly to a mantis. Having large bodies and a charge akin to a battering ram, these monsters were known as Rot Hulks, and were considered the Niskari’s version of heavy infantry.

Worse still were the unmistakable forms of the Blood Hunters. If the Rot Hulks were their heavy units, then the Blood Hunters were their assassins. Incredibly agile with a pair of two-meter blades protruding from their clawed hands, they were the executors of the Niskari’s desire to draw blood.

More continued to pour from the wood, but it seemed that this was the entire composition of their army.

Loen released a sigh. It was bad, but it wasn’t the worst. Aside from two of their great horrors, it seemed that the Niskari lacked the time to produce their most horrifying creations. As long as they can endure, then they should be able to hold back the enemy forces for a good amount of time.

As soon as he thought this, a resounding guttural roar erupted from the back of the Niskari forces.

Sweat soon poured over his face alongside Jortus as they recognized the horrifying scream of the creature they heard.

Soon, a malformed giant broke through the wood and into the clearing. The creature stood over fifteen meters high with a form similar to a bipedal lizard and had visible pulsing red veins lining across its entire body. One arm was emaciated and appeared as though it were bone, while its other was swollen with muscles that seemed to have been forcefully assimilated.

It stood on large scaled legs with one looking like it belonged to a raptorial beast, while the other appeared swollen to the shape of a great log in asymmetry similar to its arms.

Long finger-like spikes lined the sides of its spine, looking like the remains of what should be wings or fins. A large reptilian tail with a serrated end swung side to side, smashing the trees apart.

And finally, its head appeared skinless and had a long skull-like form in the shape of a diamond with the top part being pointed. Its lower jaw tore in the middle to reveal a gaping circular maw filled with rows of varying sizes of razor-sharp teeth.

Its six eyes stared onto the forces of the fae and the expedition then turned to the sky as it let out a terrifying shriek.

The main forces of the Niskari have finally arrived and the heart of the corroding horde had signaled for them to finally begin their onslaught.

***