Alis wasn’t in the mood for any of the orders’ oppressiveness.

The people of Marf had just barely escaped gruesome fates and the order was planning on pouring salt onto their still bleeding wounds.

“A velzen?” Quintin gasped before Vinaar charged towards Alis.

Alis then felt something rather peculiar.

Compared to Raymond and Kalos, Vinaar was weak.

Her light was only slightly brighter than Reeca.

Alis dashed towards her and sent a knee towards her face, she quickly ducked and tried cutting his leg off with a diagonal swing of her fosblade.

Alis didn’t bother dodging as he shoved his hand into her face, sending her falling backwards.

Alis landed on Vinaar before raising his hand which had needles instead of nails.

Alis was about to stab Vinaar in the face but Neelae called out to him, stopping him.

“Alis, wait! We may not win in a war against the order and Vinaar, I suggest you leave before any blood is spilt.” Neelae said as Alis got off of Vinaar.

“Never!” Vinaar was about to dash towards Alis when she and everyone else who’s magically inclined noticed a dark presence to the north.

“You two will have you match later, but for now I want everyone who can’t fight to hide inside Kalosýni’s house thingies. Everyone else, follow me!” Neelae said as she walked to the northern part of Marf.

She then got a close look at Kalosýni’s wall.

It was about twenty meters tall and had several stair-like structures all around it.

Neelae, Alis and other knights climbed said stairs and found themselves on top of a wall that was about as thick as a house.

“I really hate Kalos,” Alis said with a grunt.

Neelae ignored him as she looked at the horizon.

There she felt a rather small, but potent dark presence making its way south.

“I thought Kalos the blue said that we had about three days to prepare.” One of the knights said.

“Mmm... maybe that’s only part of the horde. Anyway, let’s get everything else in order. Make sure the weak are safe-" Neelae stopped as she recalled something Kalos had said.

“Uh- make sure the weak are safe and gather those who can fight. Also, count the entrances Kalos made.” Neelae said as the snow fell heavily beyond Kalosýni’s barrier.

.

..

About an hour had passed since Neelae had given her orders. She was determined to protect Marf no matter the toll it took on her.

Speaking of which, she was well aware that staying active and leading Marf, without taking the time to heal was proving problematic, but she hid her condition by sending light into her skin, making her appear more energetic than she actually was.

Neelae sighed painfully before creating a fosblade.

She then descended the stairs and walked out of the barrier where about two hundred soldiers awaited.

Her heart ached knowing that most of them would die in the coming days.

Neelae tried giving an Inspirational speech, but her chest and overall body ached far too intensely.

She then felt Alis’s hand on her shoulder.

She turned to find Alis, Trevenor and Reeca standing behind her.

Neelae gave Alis a weak nod before he walked in front of the modest group of soldiers.

Alis took a deep breath before yelling at the top of his lungs as Vinaar and her subordinates joined the ranks.

“As I’m sure you all know that I’m a velzen, but that is only partly true. My mother was human and I was raised in this very kingdom and there’s no way I’m letting it burn to the ground.” Alis said as the soldiers shot hateful glares at him.

Alis then chuckled loudly.

"You know what I’ve realised during this oh so dark time? That Kalos was right. If we are not capable of protecting what we love, if we are not willing to give everything we have to keep what we have, then we are less than worthless. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m not worthless. I’m going to die before even one of those bastards touch Marf." Alis said proudly, prompting various cheer to rise within the mini army.

“Hehe, those don’t sound like the cries of the willing,” Alis yelled before even more cheer erupted from the group of soldiers as the dark horde- well, the first wave of the dark horde made its way toward Marf.

Alis turned around. He was nervous. Just like everyone else, but he wasn’t going to run. He forged two fosblades as the dark horde got within two hundred meters of Marf.

“Charge!” Alis said as he dashed out into the snow and toward the dark horde.

The ground trembled as large dark being made their way to Marf, but Alis wasn’t going to let them.

He jumped straight into the jaws of the dark being with a large mouth. Alis then slowly cut through the flesh connecting its jaw to its skull.

The beast cried out into the night and Alis dragged his fosblade across its side, tearing the large creature open.

Alis landed behind the creature to find that about a dozen or so other dark beings had him in their sites.

Alis pumped even more light into his fosblades and sent himself flying forward as a plume of darkness rose from his body.

.

..

Alis struggled to catch his breath as he yanked his sword out of the head of one of the many dead creatures before him.

He then dragged his bloody self across the battle and toward a tired Neelae.

“Well, that wasn’t that bad,” Alis said even though his bones ached from all the stress fighting all day had brought upon him. It was nightfall and the cold winter winds had made it especially hard for normal humans to fight.

“Ma’am, I counted heads and we only lost about seven people.” A soldier reported as he stood attentively in front of Neelae.

“And the wounded?”

“Just a few. Alis here and eminence Vinaar really helped trim down the numbers and so we were able to deal with many of those beasts with numbers on our side.

Alis puffed his chest, bringing him great agony.

“Good. Now, let us return inside and prepare for the next fight and the fight after that, haha!” Alis said as he walked toward the gate.

He re-entered Marf to find a relatively clean Trevenor standing next to a rather clean Reeca.

Sure, their hands were covered in a bit of blood, but that only served to annoy Alis.

“Mmm… care to explain why I need to get cleaned and you guys don’t?” Alis asked as they made their way back to their spot on the east side of Marf.

“Umm… you looked like you were really getting into it, so we thought it would be best if we protected the normal soldiers,” Trevenor said.

“Indeed. Ours was a defensive role.” Reeca said before they made it to their spot.

Alis let out a sigh before collapsing.

Trevenor and Reece exchanged amused glances before a certain bell was rung.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Time to eat, I guess,” Trevenor said as he and Reeca walked toward central Marf.

“You coming bro?” Trevenor asked, but the blood-covered Alis had already fallen asleep.

Trevenor and Reeca eventually reached the place where the communal dinner was being served to find that Neelae and the eminence were at each other’s throats again.

“I’ll only say this once again. Move aside.” Vinaar said as several Marfen's separated her from Neelae who Trevenor noticed was trembling slightly.

Trevenor walked up to her and grabbed her by the wrist.

“Ma’am, this way,” Trevenor instructed as he pulled her towards the tents where the healing knights were.

Vinaar begrudgingly abandoned her desire to capture Neelae as many more of Marf's people blocked her way.

Meanwhile, Neelae struggled to protest against Trevenor as he led her into the tent.

“Sir, I really think you should heal her like, right now,” Trevenor said as he gently placed Neelae on one of the nearby beds.

“Oh?” One of the nearby knights said as he walked over to where Neelae sat.

His eyes narrowed for a moment.

“Although she looks a bit sick, I can’t see anything wrong with her light.” The knight said, but Trevenor clenched his fists.

“Ma’am…” Trevenor said as he glared at her.

Reeca wondered where Trevenor leant to be so intimidating.

The tent they were in almost got colder and darker as he looked down at Neelae, who pitifully kept her gaze low.

That’s when everyone saw it.

The life forces of a dark being can be seen as a chaotic flame. Elafriá and other light-based creatures appear as a white stream while humans and other neutral animals appear like a soft grey mist.

Trevenor’s eyes narrowed upon noticing that there was barely even a spec of life beyond the light she hid behind.

Somehow, Neelae had gotten an extra amount of light and she was using it to sustain herself.

“Who- how-?” The doctor muttered upon seeing Neelae’s state.

“It was Raymond. He gave me some of his light when he saved me. It was so gentle. So warm. So eternal. I on the other end…” Neelae said softly.

The knight turned around before yelling at the other healing knights.

“All of you. Get over here. We must save the head knight at all costs.” The knight said as his eyes trembled.

“So what are you saying? You’ve been dead this whole time?” Trevenor asked with a deep frown.

Reeca struggled to hide her surprise.

“Yes,” Neelae said as she was stormed by several healing knights.

Trevenor scoffed as he stormed out of the tent.

Reeca followed him as he got some food for Alis and himself.

Reeca remained silent as a dark silence loomed over Trevenor, but upon getting near Alis, that darkness disappeared.

Trevenor walked up to Alis and kicked him in the foot.

“Yo, here,” Trevenor said as he plopped onto the ground.

Alis sleepily accepted his food before eating in almost instantly.

Silence followed as Trevenor looked around.

His gaze then locked on something, prompting Reeca to look.

“What?” Reeca asked.

“Aren’t you tired of sleeping outside?” Trevenor asked.

“Nope.” Alis said as Trevenor got up. He then grabbed Alis by his arms before dragging him into one of the dark homes Kalos had created.

“Oh, no way! I’m not sleeping in there!” Alis said even though he didn’t struggle.

“Come on! Aren’t you sick of waking with the sun in your eyes?” Trevenor asked as he pulled Alis into one of the more isolated dark homes.

It was a perfect cube that was subdivided into rooms.

Trevenor then dragged a pouty Alis into the first room to the left, where he dropped him.

Reeca walked into the room to the right. They were big enough to fit two people at most and that was pretty much it.

Reeca wished Neelae included furniture in her request to Kalos.

She turned around to find that the Aventor brothers had already fallen asleep.

Reeca joined them in the land of dreams as she closed her eyes to the sound of complete silence.

.

..

Alis awoke to find his brother sleeping cosily by his side.

Alis let out a weak chuckle before taking a step out of the dark home he had spent the night in.

In Alis’s opinion, he found them creepy. How were children supposed to grow in a house that looked suspiciously like something you’d find in Nar' Agrun?

Alis let out a grunt before heading to the eastern part of Marf.

He let out a weak sigh upon noticing that Neelae was front and centre amidst a crowd of workers.

“Good morning.” Alis greeted.

“Good morning,” Neelae said as she kept her gaze low.

Alis walked directly in front of her to meet her gaze, but she looked away.

“What did Trevenor do?” Alis asked as he placed his hands on his hips.

“Nothing. It’s just that… he was so forceful…” Neelae muttered.

Alis’s eyes widen before a wide of darkness accidentally flew out of his ears.

“He did what?” Alis yelled, attracting the gaze of nearby workers who were preparing their equipment.

“Ahem! What did Trevenor do exactly?” Alis asked. He noticed that Neelae was looking a lot better, but nothing about her real situation had changed.

“He took me to the healing knights,” Neelae said.

Alis tilted his head in confusion for a moment before his shoulders drooped.

“Anyway, are you ready for today’s wave?” Alis asked as he watched the workers ride off into the distance.

“Yep. But it’s not me I’m worried about. Vinaar and her subordinates left last night. They’ll undoubtedly return at some point and I don’t think they’ll be so… nice.” Neelae said as she led Alis towards the Northern part of Marf.

“I’ve already talked to the captains and other residents about turning Marf into an independent state, but the fear of complete destruction hangs high," Neelae said as she made her way up Kalosýni’s wall.

“Mmm… the order probably suffered major casualties during the elafriá attack and their probably bleeding manpower as we speak. They must have seen us as potential recruits and whatnot.” Alis said as a dark presence approached from the north.

“Yeah and the more battles we win, the stronger we become. If the order is unable to subjugate us, they’ll eventually see us as a threat.” Neelae said as the sun rose gently, shedding its soft light on Marf.

“Marf will not lose to the order.” Alis declared as he looked out into the horizon.

“Oh? What makes you say that?” Neelae asked.

“Because Kalos was right," Alis said as the drums of war beat away at the heart of every Marfen.

.

..

Alis grunted as he struggled to get his foot out of the body of one of the dark beings he’d kill.

The sunset painted Marf red as Alis stumbled toward Neelae and the other soldiers.

“What are we gonna do about all these corpses?” One of the soldiers asked.

“We’ll dispose of them after our battle with the main horde concludes,” Neelae said as an extremely dark presence approached Marf.

This one was far more potent and far more wrathful than any they’d encountered before.

Alis’s eyes narrowed as he found the presence rather familiar.

“Take the wounded inside. Oh and sleep like it’s your last night alive. Who knows, it just may be.” Neelae said as her troops dispersed.

A Marfen then hurriedly ran to Neelae’s side before coming to a complete stop.

“Ma’am, a group has arrived from Llendor! They’re currently waiting just outside the southern gate. Thankfully Kalos the blue erected the wall Because some of them are trying to forcibly enter.” The Marfen said rather loudly.

Neelae nodded before following the woman into Marf.

They then made their way to the southern gate.

“Make sure you remember what Kalos is trying to teach us. It's survival of the fittest, but if you see any talented magic users let them in.” Alis whispered.

“Oh? I thought you hated Kalosýni’s guts? And when did you become my advisor?” Neelae asked with a chuckle.

“Mmm… I still hate his guts, but you know as well as I do that people from Llendor carry trouble with them in droves.” Alis said before they eventually reached the southern gate.

They then made their way up the wall.

Neelae looked down and saw about two hundred people. Ranging from children to the elderly.

Alis narrowed his eyes as he looked for people with a bright or potent life force.

There were a few, but a powerful person from Llendor was more often than not, a bad person.

“I think we should let in the sick, the wounded and the children,” Neelae said.

“Why are you telling me that? I thought you said you didn’t need an advisor." Alis said as he crossed his fingers.

“I don’t, but you are the only velzen here. You have your uses.” Neelae said with a cheeky smile

“Let us in!” A voice from below yelled.

“We’ll break this wall if we have to!” Another yelled.

“I hear this place was safe.” Another said as Alis made his way to the gate. He then assumed his velzen form and charged himself with as much darkness as possible.

The soldiers guarding the dark gate slowly opened the gate, but in that instant, dozens of people tried rushing in.

Alis kicked them all back violently before smiling.

Exposing his black needle-like teeth.

“Friendly warning: If you try to force your way into Marf, I’ll kill you,” Alis said, stopping the crowd.

Alis inspected the ground and handpicked those who got to enter.

About an hour and a half passed before only healthy adults were left.

They had grown restless and some were even whispering dark things as Alis inspected them.

The snow fell hard and the winds blew even harder, but none of that affected anyone in Marf.

Alis then let out a sigh before raising his right hand.

“Close the gate,” Alis said before the crowd of about a hundred or so broke into a furious charge towards the closing gate.

Alis charged up his legs before dashing towards the gate. He then sliced off the fingers of anyone who tried to lay a hand on Marf.

“That’s enough!” Neelae yelled as the gate closed.

“Hey, don’t be upset with me. You’ve given yourself about a hundred more mouths to feed.” Alis said as he returned to his human form.

Neelae sighed before the two of them made their way to the northern gate where an experienced fighting force awaited.

They then completed their routine checkups before making their way out of the wall.

There, they saw a rather peculiar sight.

A small tent was pitched right beside the dark wall.

Alis turned to Neelae.

“Investigate only.” She said firmly before Alis dashed toward the little tent, within it, he found a man sitting next to the corpse of a boy.

Alis was about to create a fosblade when he noticed that the boy's corpse was covered with large cuts and gashes.

The man then looked into Alis’s eyes as flesh tears fell from his face.

Alis frowned as he slowly turned around. He then made his way back to Neelae before sighing.

“Something tells me that we’re going to have a refugee problem soon,” Alis said as the dark presence got ever closer to Marf.

Alis was ready- no, he was beyond ready. His muscles twitched as the night perfectly accepted his dark form.

“REEEE!” Alis let out an inhuman war cry as the soldiers readied themselves for battle.

Something then came into Alis’s vision.

He had been vanguard for two consecutive days, so he looked at Alis, with what she hoped were puppy dog eyes.

“Fine, go,” Neelae said as Trevenor shook his head in amusement.

Alis charged up his legs before dashing toward the dark presence. He cut through the snow and air frantically as a smile crept up his face.

But then an incredible amount of pain assaulted the left side of his chest.

Alis's eyes shook as a beautiful face appeared right in front of him as a warm liquid ran down his body.

“Blegh!” Alis coughed up what looked like black blood. He looked down and saw that the beautiful creature had its hand sticking into his chest.

“Ah!” Alis screamed as another beautiful creature stabbed him in the leg.

Another one then stabbed him from behind.

Alis tried sending out pulses of his darkness, but it was futile.

His heart had long since stopped beating.

He heard a cry coming from behind him.

He smiled as the voice he heard was so beautiful.

So…