Chapter 12: The Return To Ash

“Soldiers of Mirrorguard!” Lyanna shouted, her voice carrying over the cacophony. “Stand your ground! Fight for your kingdom! Fight for your lives!”

Her words ignited a spark among the ranks, a fragile flame of courage that flickered in the eyes of every weary soldier. The air crackled with the defiant roar of their voices, an anthem of resilience echoing over the monstrous cacophony. Lyanna’s heart pounded in her chest, a war drum beating in time with the pulse of impending chaos.

The first wave of the main force struck like a storm. Bigger and heavier Ash-hounds bounded over the dunes, skeletal forms animated by searing embers, eyes burning with predatory hunger. Their bone-clad limbs hit the ash-hardened ground with brutal speed, slamming into the barricades and testing the soldiers’ mettle. Teeth clashed against shields, claws raked at armor, each ash-hound a whirlwind of lethal intent.

Lyanna leapt into the fray, Ember and Scarlet flashing in swift arcs; thousands of hours of practice made the motions subconscious. She moved through the chaos, blades cutting through bone and fire, sending up bursts of cinders that seared her skin. An ash-hound lunged, its jaws snapping for her throat, and she twisted aside, Ember slicing through its neck the Mithril blade going its job. The creature crumbled, but another took its place, the heat of its ember-lit body blistering the air around her.

Nearby, a soldier screamed, his shield shattered, but before the hound could finish him, a burst of flame engulfed it. A fire mage, her hands glowing with the heat of her spell, pushed the creature back, eyes wild with both terror and determination.

“Hold the line!” Lyanna shouted again, pushing back the exhaustion that clung to her like chains. She sidestepped another attack, spinning Scarlet in a wide, defensive arc. The blade met bone, and the creature disintegrated, leaving nothing but a scattering of ash.

The shadows twisted, and the air suddenly grew cold. Lyanna’s instincts screamed a warning as a wraith materialized behind her, its ethereal form wisping through the gaps in the barricades. The shadow creature’s eyes burned with a darkness that seemed to drain the light around it. It lashed out, tendrils of shadow reaching for her heart.

Lyanna ducked, narrowly avoiding the spectral touch that would have drained her life force. She swung Ember upward, the blade slicing through the wraith’s incorporeal form. The wraith recoiled with a hiss, melting into the air only to reappear several feet away, eyes fixed on a new target. Another wraith drifted into view, and Lyanna gritted her teeth.The vanguard was pressing hard, but worse things still lingered beyond the ash dunes.

“Light mages!” she called out, hoping her voice carried through the chaos. “Illuminate the shadows! Drive them back!”

Spells flared to life. Light mages raised their hands, and radiant beams sliced through the gloom, forcing the wraiths to retreat with ghostly howls. One wraith caught in the full brunt of a spell dissipated into nothingness, its shriek fading into the storm of noise.

Beyond the barricades, a monstrous rumbling sent tremors through the earth. Dune Krakens emerged, titanic and many-limbed, their hulking forms sending waves through the ashen sea. Their limbs, thick and sinewy, slammed into the ground with a force that made the barricades shudder. They carved furrows in the ash, creating pitfalls that swallowed soldiers whole.

Lyanna's breath caught as one of the Krakens bore down on the left flank, where Alric fought. He was there, a blur of golden hair and steel, barking orders and cutting through smaller monsters with fierce efficiency. Yet, the Kraken loomed over him, ready to crush the young lord and his men.

Lyanna's mind raced. She could let the monster kill Aleric and some of his soldiers and remove one of her main rivals in obtaining a dragon egg. No, that’s the kind of thinking that got me into this mess. Ambition is good. But I need to be the one controlling it, not the other way around.

Her eyes flicked to Eda, who stood with her aides, distributing shards and shouting instructions, sweat and dirt streaking her face.

“Eda!” Lyanna’s voice cut through the storm. Eda turned, her eyes wide. Lyanna pointed to the Kraken. “We need to kill it! Now!”

Eda hesitated only a moment, then nodded, her jaw setting with determination. “Understood!” she yelled, grabbing two nearby mages, the strongest she could find. Together, they extended their palms, thin strands of essence flowing from them. Eda shaped hers into a lance, the air solidifying into a vessel for the fire the other mages conjured. Their essence coiled within the lance, the flames intensifying, shifting from pale yellow to searing blue, then streaked with white.

But before they could finish, Gloomwings descended from the sky, wings outstretched, and the battlefield darkened under their shadowy canopy. The creatures shrieked, a sound like a thousand nails scraping on steel, and dove into the mages' ranks.

Lyanna cursed under her breath. The Gloomwings were clever, targeting the spellcasters to disrupt their preparations. She couldn’t let them win. “Archers! Take them down!” she commanded, her voice hard.

Arrows flew, glinting as they pierced the air. Some found their mark, striking the Gloomwings and sending them crashing to the ground, but others were deflected by the creatures' leathery, shadow-steeped wings. The air buzzed with magic, arrows, and the screams of the wounded, a symphony of survival and despair.

Elara appeared at Lyanna’s side, her face pale but determined. “My lady,” she said, voice shaking, “I can hold the line here. You’re needed with Eda!”

Lyanna hesitated, her battle instincts warring with logic. But Elara's grip on her spear was firm, and her gaze unwavering. Lyanna nodded. “Do not falter.”

Lyanna sprinted through the chaos, weaving between clashing bodies and bursts of magic. She poured essence into her ash rune, feeling a tingling warmth spread through her limbs as the ash propelled her forward, leaving a faint grey trail in her wake. Ember and Scarlet flashed, carving a path through any creature that dared to cross her. Even as Ember’s essence emptied at a staggering rate.

She reached Eda just as a Gloomwing screeched above, its talons outstretched. Lyanna's blades flashed, severing the creature’s wings and sending it crashing down in a tangle of sinew and ash.

Eda spared her a grateful glance, her focus unbroken. “We’re almost there!” she said, voice straining under the weight of magic. The fire in the lance glowed blindingly white. “When we release this, the Kraken won’t stand a chance.”

Lyanna took up a defensive position beside them, blades ready. The light pulsed, and the air felt charged with the sheer magnitude of what they were about to unleash.

The Dune Kraken closed in, its massive limbs tearing through barricades. As it reared back to strike, Eda and the mages unleashed the spell. A lance of pure fire shot forth, splitting the air with a crack like thunder. The blast struck the Kraken square in its hide. The monster’s form twisted, its massive eye bulging as if about to burst. A silent shockwave rippled outward, throwing Lyanna off balance. Then, the Kraken erupted into flames, its roar lost in the conflagration.

The soldiers let out a cheer, but it was short-lived. More creatures poured over the dunes, an endless tide. The true battle had only begun, and Lyanna knew that every moment from here would be a test of sheer will.

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Her body screamed with exhaustion, but her spirit held firm, even though Ember's essence pool was empty, leaving only hers and Scarlet's full. Raising her swords once more, Lyanna prepared to face the next onslaught, her heart alight with defiance.

The clash of battle surged on, each heartbeat carrying the relentless weight of a struggle that seemed unending. Lyanna’s twin swords, Ember and Scarlet, carved through Ash-hounds and wraiths alike, her breath coming in gasps as she fought side by side with her fellow soldiers. The battlefield was a maelstrom of fire, shadow, and the screams of the wounded, where the will to survive was the only thing keeping them from being swept away.

Lyanna spotted Alric fighting through a knot of monstrous Ash-hounds. His golden hair, streaked with soot and blood, glinted under the fractured light of the ash-shrouded sky. His armor bore the marks of claw strikes, but his eyes remained fierce, determined. He made his way to her side, felling an Ash-hound that had leapt for her side with a well-placed strike before looking over at her.

"Didn’t think I’d see you here," Alric said, his voice rough with exertion. "Especially not saving my life."

Lyanna deflected a clawed limb aimed for her neck and drove Scarlet into the ashen creature’s ribcage. It dissolved into embers, and she turned, breathing heavily, to face Alric. “Why wouldn’t I save you?” she shot back, her eyes narrowing. “My family has never been like the rest of the court. We have always stood for something more.”

Alric snorted, slashing a monster clean through. “Right. You mean the same family whose matriarch had my mother poisoned, just days before your sister dueled my father for the title of Human Champion?”

Lyanna's guard faltered, and a bony talon scraped across her pauldron, drawing a line of red. She cursed, but before she could retaliate, Alric had dispatched the attacker, his sword cleaving it in two.

“Careful,” he said with a grim smirk. “Even a Mirrorguard can’t afford to get distracted.”

Lyanna's hands trembled with rage. “My family would never do such a thing!” she spat. “If anyone from the Mirrorguard House had committed murder by poison, it would have been known, investigated. It must have been another house. You think my mother—”

But even as she spoke, realization dawned, a grim understanding settling into her bones. Alric’s House didn’t hate hers solely because of her sister displacing his father as champion. The root of their animosity was deeper, bound to his mother’s death. Yet how could her family have been in the dark? They were told she had died shortly after the duel, that her husband’s loss had been too much for her aging heart. Her mind raced, grappling with the deception. Which house could have hidden the truth from hers so well?

Before she could think more on this, the ground heaved beneath their feet, and a monstrous roar split the air. The earth itself seemed to crack open as the Ruin Beast emerged. Its body was a grotesque amalgamation of jagged wood and writhing vines, each vine pulsing with veins of molten red energy. Instead of limbs like a typical creature, the Ruin Beast had immense, segmented appendages that ended in sharp, crystalline blades, capable of tearing through barricades with ease. Spikes of obsidian jutted from its back, and clusters of eyes, each glowing a different color, rolled in search of prey. Dark spores drifted from the beast, carried by an unnatural wind that made any soldier caught in its radius double over, coughing up blood.

Lyanna’s mouth went dry. “Alric!” she yelled, her voice cracking under the strain. “Join the mages! You need to help them take that thing down—your affinities are better suited for an assault.”

Alric hesitated for a heartbeat, his jaw clenching, but then nodded. “Try not to die, Mirrorguard,” he said, offering a brief, almost hesitant smile before sprinting toward the mage lines.

The Ruin Beast roared again, and its segmented, bladed limbs crashed into the ground, splitting it apart. Smaller, parasitic creatures spilled from the beast’s jagged wounds, insect-like monstrosities made of wood and razor-sharp pincers. They scuttled toward the soldiers, forcing them to divide their attention between the greater threat and the swarming horde. Lyanna gripped Scarlet and Ember tighter, channeling every last drop of her flagging essence into Scarlet's Healing Rune.

"I will be the shield," she breathed, steeling herself.

The Ruin Beast’s crystalline gaze fixed on her. A bladed limb lashed out. Lyanna met the attack head-on, Scarlet and Ember a blur of steel. Sparks flew as metal met crystal. The impact shuddered through her, but Scarlet’s magic flowed, knitting her wounds closed even as they formed.

Lyanna pressed the attack. She darted forward, Ember leaving a scorching furrow in the beast’s leg. The Ruin Beast roared, a second limb whipping towards her. Lyanna parried with Scarlet, the healing energy strengthening her arm. She spun, Ember singing as it chipped another crystalline limb.

But the Ruin Beast was relentless. A third limb slammed into her shoulder, throwing her off balance. Pain flared. Lyanna gritted her teeth, Scarlet’s magic mending the broken bone even as she stumbled back. Her own essence reserves were already running dry.

The smaller monsters swarmed, hindering her movements. Lyanna kicked and slashed, carving a bloody path, but they were relentless. The Ruin Beast pressed its advantage. Another blow, this time to her ribs, sent her reeling. Lyanna gasped, Scarlet pulsing with a brighter light as it drew upon its own reserves to heal her rapidly depleting body.

The mages unleashed a torrent of spells. Fire, lightning, and raw essence lashed the Ruin Beast. It roared, absorbing the energy, growing more volatile. “More!” Lyanna choked out, her voice raw. “Break its core!”

Seizing a brief opening, she lunged, driving Scarlet deep into a joint in the beast's armor. The Ruin Beast shrieked. Lyanna followed up with Ember, cleaving the weakened joint. Crystalline fragments rained down.

Exhaustion gnawed at her. Her own essence was gone, Scarlet now her only lifeline. Another blow slammed into her back, the force stealing her breath. Scarlet flared, mending broken bones and torn muscles, the drain on its essence palpable. Lyanna staggered, vision blurring.

She parried another attack, but the force sent her sprawling. A smaller creature lunged, its pincers tearing at her leg. Lyanna cried out, Scarlet’s light flashing as it healed the wound. She scrambled back, kicking the creature away. The Ruin Beast towered over her. One final, devastating blow struck her chest, sending her flying. She slammed into the jagged rocks, the air knocked from her lungs. Her swords clattered away. Agony consumed her.

One of the parasitic creatures sensed her vulnerability and pounced. Lyanna instinctively raised her hand to shield her face. The creature's jaws clamped down, biting deep into her flesh. She screamed, her vision going white with pain, but her other hand found Scarlet’s hilt. Summoning the last of her strength, she drove the blade upward into the monster’s belly. It writhed, then crumbled into ash, leaving her shaking and bloodied.

Lyanna’s breath came in ragged gasps. Pain shooting up her arm as she cradled her mangled hand. Blood dripped into the ash, and with every pulse of her heart, the agony throbbed anew. Her breath came in shallow gasps, and she forced herself to focus. Scarlet was still in her grip, its magic barely humming, a faint and dwindling glow.

With trembling resolve, she closed her eyes and focused on what little essence Scarlet had left, pulling it from the depths of Scarlet’s pool. She channeled every last drop into Scarlet's rune, the sword flaring weakly in response. The warmth spread through her shattered hand, knitting bone and mending skin, the broken fragments of her fingers realigning with excruciating slowness. But as the last vestiges of healing magic washed over her, she knew it wasn’t enough. The glow of Scarlet flickered and died.

Lyanna looked down at her hand. Her heart twisted. Three fingers had only partially healed, the tips gone, replaced with jagged stumps. Her grip was weak, and holding Ember felt clumsy, the weight unbalanced in her palm. A weapon she had wielded with skill honed over years now felt foreign, unreliable.

Damn it, she thought, bile rising in her throat. She tried to adjust her grip, but the pain and awkwardness made it difficult. Desperation clawed at her chest. The Ruin Beast was still there, its monstrous form bearing down on the spellcasters. Only Eda stood in its way, her face pale and streaked with blood, but her magic burned bright, holding the creature at bay. Yet she was too slow, too tired. A vine-like limb, crackling with essence, lashed out and struck her across the chest, sending her crumpling into the ash.

“No!” Lyanna screamed, her body moving on instinct. Pain and terror fueled her, overriding the agony. She stumbled toward Eda, her vision narrowing to that single, desperate purpose: to save her sister’s lover, someone she had just started count as her friend. She wouldn’t let this end here—not like this.

But Lyanna had nothing left. No essence, no strength. But she couldn’t give up, not when she was the reason for all this death. She had to reach Eda, had to get between her and the Ruin Beast, even if it meant her own death.

The Ruin Beast's roared, its grotesque, many-limbed form shuddering as it prepared another strike. Lyanna gritted her teeth, trying to wield Ember with her damaged hand, but the blade wavered, unsteady. She glanced down at the sword, her vision blurring with tears of frustration.

“Eda!” she called out, voice cracking. “Hold on! Just... hold on a little longer!”

Eda stirred, her eyes fluttering open, but her movements were sluggish. Blood poured from the wound across her chest, and the light of her magic had dimmed. Yet, even so, she tried to rise, refusing to give in.

Lyanna grit her teeth, desperation fueling her movements. If this was the end, then she’d make it count.