The mountainside the mining complex was built into afforded a decent view of the Undercity. Flames still threatened to swallow the South Side, and ash continued to drift through the sky. The overwhelming stench of the nearby burning slums grated at both the elves and humans alike. In an effort to counteract the inhospitable conditions they wrapped their faces in cloth torn from their cloaks.
Luna glanced over at Tyriel then towards the uncertain citizens of the Undercity. She needed to take control of the situation before it was too late. Putting her thumb and pointer finger into her mouth, Luna whistled so loudly that the elves and humans all turned to look at her. With all eyes on Luna she launched straight into barking orders, “Listen up now! The Bohlkovian army is on its way to wipe us out as I speak. They view us as nothing more than pitiful vermin on their road to domination. I don’t know about you lot, but I’m keen to show these bullies that they picked a fight with the wrong ones. It might not be much, but this is our home! Who’s with me?”
The humans were energized by her words. They pumped their fists in the air and cheered. The idea that a street rat from the Undercity could rally the mysterious elves of Nisse — in an attempt to save their homeland — had them in a frenzy. The elves looked on coldly with the exception of Tyriel and Ethellia who smiled and lifted their weapons towards Luna.
Luna fed on the energy of the crowd. “Our best chance at fighting the Bohlkovian army is to hunker down in this mining complex and wait for them to come to us. The walls are relatively sturdy and should hold. They’ll break down the gate eventually, and when they do, we’ll be able to control the flow of the battle.”
She ran over to the wall and pointed at the ladder. “I want the walls manned by anyone with a crossbow or bow. If we don’t have enough then I want you to gather large rocks from the quarry. We’ll see how those bastards like bolts, arrows, and stones raining down on them!”
Moving over to the entrance, she pointed to the gate. “I want this gate boarded up with whatever we can scavenge. We need to make it as difficult for them to breach as possible.” Luna gestured towards the big open area inside the gates where they were all gathered. “I want the humans to take the left side, you’ve only got the mountain behind you. Tyriel’s elves will need to hold the right side. The tunnels and mines behind them must not fall, or our forces will be surrounded and wiped out.”
The elves looked to Tyriel, unsure whether they should listen to this human girl they barely knew. Tyriel stood tall, considering her plan. After a moment passed, he nodded, gesturing for his kin to follow the order. “You heard her. The moment of truth is nearly upon us. Will we avenge all of the brothers and sisters we’ve lost at the hands of these devils? Can we end the persecution of our people today?”
Every elf roared in overwhelming support of their king’s words. Humans and elves ran in every direction, working together to prepare for the impending Bohlkovian assault. In the distance Luna heard the oppressive sound of thousands of boots marching in unison. Ancestral war drums crafted from the tanned skin of elves boomed rhythmically in the distance like thunder.
Dashing to her younger brother Lane, Luna knelt down and hugged him before brushing the ash from his hair and face. “You need to take all the kids and anyone incapable of fighting down into the mines. I need you to hide down there until the battle is over.”
“I want to fight with you and the others. I’m not a coward. Let me help. Please don’t make me hide?”
“Luna kissed her brother’s forehead and gripped him by the shoulders. “Of course you’re no coward. Ushering the children and elderly into the mines is a noble job. I’d only assign it to someone courageous and strong. That’s why I know it’s the perfect job for you.”
Lane puffed out his chest and smiled at his sister. “I won’t let you down, sis. I’ll get them all to safety, you have my word!”
“Good lad,” Luna pulled him close and kissed his head one last time. “Now make haste, we don’t have much time left.”
Lane nodded at his sister and took off into the crowd gathering all of the kids and the elderly. With the sounds of the drums getting closer by the minute, Luna pulled a small bag from beneath her tunic. After fishing out a vial full of powder the color of a winter stream, she pulled a few glass vials free from her belt.
Luna pulled the cork from each of the containers. They were full of various colored liquids and she dumped a bit of the powder into each one before popping the cork back and shaking them up. The red sun was mostly obscured by the ashy haze, still she held up two of the vials to the light and observed them. One was full of oily liquid and the other contained a forest green fluid, both bubbled and vibrated.
The sounds of stomping boots shook the ground and the drums signaled that the Bohlkovian force was approaching the gates. Atop the walls elves and humans let arrows and stones fly. Screams came from the other side of the wall as Bohlkovian soldiers fell.
Then came a haunting noise that she would never forget as long as she lived. Smash! The sudden impact of a battering ram crashing against the gates sent shivers down Luna’s spine. Together, the humans and elves tried with all their might to brace against the barricaded wooden gates. For their efforts they were rewarded by being violently thrown back like a child throws a doll.
With young and nimble fingers, Luna stashed the vials securely back on her belt. Tyriel stood near the gates, ordering his soldiers into position. Sprinting over to him, she drew her rapier and inspected its blade. “Well, I must say that this one is shaping up to be a battle for the history books. Ready to get your hands dirty?”
“Your zeal is commendable, but I’ve been killing Bohlkovians long before you were even conceived. Are you ready?”
“There’s too much at stake to fail,” Luna said, looking out at the elves and humans positioned according to her battleplan. “I’m prepared to fight to the last breath for my friends, family, and home.”
“You’ve surprised me, young one. I thought after centuries of observing the shortcomings of humanity that my opinions were set in stone. But for a human, you’re not so bad. If today’s the day I go to meet my ancestors in the stars, I’ll gladly face my destiny on my own terms.”
“Thank you, Tyriel.”
Smash! The deafening boom of the battering ram reverberated throughout the mining facility. Luna flinched ever so slightly. Tyriel noticing out the corner of his eyes laughed. “Not a fan of battering rams, eh?”
That’s beyond an understatement. Luna narrowed her eyes and shook her head at him. “First one for me, thank you very much. And yes — I think it’s safe to say I don’t care much for them.”
Pulling a pouch from his belt, Tyriel poured a handful of shimmering amethite crystals into each of his palms. With a gentle smirk at Luna, he held his arms out, closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply. The perfectly cut violet shards glowed brightly and lifted up out of his hands. When he opened his eyes they glowed like two purple stars. He pulled his massive curved blade from its sheath with an acrobatic spin. Laughing softly, he turned to Luna and whispered to her. “Persevere.”
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Her jaw dropped. “You’re a shardblood?”
Smash! The battering ram crashed into the gates but they had already taken too much of a beating. The impact sent a barrage of jagged wooden pieces flying into the front lines. Humans and elves fell, screaming and clutching at their terrible wounds. Time seemed to speed up all around Luna.
The sea of red poured through the shattered gates. Flames in the distance shimmered off the Bohlkovian’s red armor as they charged. Elves and humans pulled their wounded allies back, nervously awaiting the impending melee. Red banners fluttered in the wind as ash rained all around them.
A bell went off in Luna’s mind and she exhaled. Time slowed back down and she pulled a vial of inky black fluid from her belt. Drawing her arm back, her tattered cloak blowing in the wind, she hurled it towards the charging Bohlkovians. It exploded into a plume of green flames. Enemy soldiers fled in every direction uselessly as they were cooked alive inside of their plate armor.
Tyriel and a unit of elves with eyes radiating violet energy surged forward into the red sea of steel. Luna gasped as the elven king became a paragon of death—he spun and whirled his long blade with unreal speed and power. The curved blade bit through flesh and armor indiscriminately, severing countless body parts in its elegant arc.
Seconds later the Bohlkovian forces collided with the front lines of the humans and elves. A thousand weapons crashed against armor, steel, and flesh. Luna had never been involved in a battle on this scale. The deafening clamor of battle cries, screams, and steel clanging together infected her equilibrium with a sense of vertigo. Her knees felt weak.
The battle raged all around Luna. Just to her left, an enemy soldier’s sword buried itself into a gray bearded man’s shoulder. His anguished howling and his warm blood sprayed over Luna. Crimson blood running down her face served as a wake up call and Luna ducked under a broadsword just in the nick of time. With the Bohlkovian soldier overextended from the heavy two handed strike, Luna stepped in close and thrust her rapier up through the man's throat. He didn’t have time to cry out, a wet gurgle was all he could manage as he slumped to the floor.
A quick scan of the battlefield revealed that the elves were holding their own against the heavily armored enemies. On the opposite side the gangs were not faring nearly so well—the citizens of the Undercity lacked the martial training and proper battle experience of the elves. It didn’t help that most of the humans were unarmoured and fought with makeshift weapons. Luna spotted Mariska’s pink hair blowing in the wind. Her friend was surrounded by red armor.
Rolling past a sweeping blade, Luna yanked a vial free and chucked it towards the soldiers surrounding Mariska. The shattering glass was impossible to see in the chaos of the battle, but the thick tangle of roots that erupted from the ground to ensnare the soldiers was clear.
A smirk cracked Mariska’s face as Luna slid through an opening between two armored Bohlkovians. Luna was quick to parry a short sword strike then poke the soldiers full of holes. Luna and Mariska shared the briefest of appreciative nods. Turning back to back they did their best to fight off the soldiers flooding through the gates.
The storm of violence continued and bodies piled up until they were fighting atop the mortally wounded and fallen. The stench of death lingered in the air. Luna’s hand had long since gone numb and cramped up from the perpetual cycle of parrying and riposting. Just when her morale was ready to leave her she noticed the flow of Bohlkovian soldiers through the gates stopped.
It was just the spark Luna needed to stoke the fire within her. “We’ve almost got them! Victory is nearly ours, fight for our fallen!” Casualties had added up and the toll was staggering, but with the number of Bohlkovian soldiers dwindling, victory appeared to be a real possibility.
Climbing over the mounds of corpses, a group of red armored knights draped in white tabards surged forth. Their two handed blades and tabards painted with gore. An exhausted Tahno and what remained of his Silent Sharks stepped forward to meet the charge. Her stomach lurched when she noticed it. The knights in the white tabards eyes shimmered like lilacs in bloom. They’re shardbloods…
Eyes wide, Luna sprinted towards Tahno. “Tahno! Run! They’re Shardbloo—”
The leader of the Silent Sharks never had the chance to heed her warning. One of the Bohlkovian shardbloods cut him vertically in two. The two halves of his body fell away, joining the mounds of corpses that covered the ground. Enhanced strength from the amethite made it look as easy as slicing through butter. The Bohlkovian shardbloods ripped through the tired and horrified gangs and elves with reckless abandon.
Luna gestured for Mariska to stay back before dashing towards the shardbloods. Deep down she knew it was suicide, but with her friends and family at stake, what choice did she have? Roaring like a lion, Luna threw a vial at the purple eyed devils. The glass shattered, raining green flames over the shardbloods. Two crumpled to the ground, writhing in agony. The remaining amethite augmented Bohlkovians scowled at Luna.
Enraged, they turned and barreled towards her, they were inhumanly fast. Each wielded their two-handed sword in a single hand thanks to the enhanced strength of the amethite.
Gripping her rapier tightly, Luna closed her eyes. I did my best, dad. I’ll be seeing you soon. I hope you’re proud of me.
When she opened her eyes she expected to see the fiery purple eyes before having her head separated from her body. Instead, she saw starry-eyed Tyriel charge out from the crowd, curved blade in hand and crash into the Bohlkovian shardbloods. The clash of amethite augmented blades colliding sent out a shockwave that knocked Luna off her feet.
For a moment she was face down in the mound of bodies. Trying to pull herself back up, she found herself face to face with a lifeless elf—her heart sank—it was Ethellia. Luna scrambled back to her feet misty eyed, just in time to see Tyriel whirl acrobatically, dodging between two blindingly fast blades. One of the blades grazed the elven king’s arm and he winced, blood flowing from the deep cut. Not stopping to check on the wound, he capitalized on the two shardbloods suddenly being off balance. Tyriel sidestepped and lopped the heads from their shoulders.
Luna watched in horror as the remaining Bohlkovian wound up and planted a heavy plate mail boot into the elven king's back. The unexpected blow threw him face first to the ground. Hateful purple eyes narrowed as the Bohlkovian lifted his blade high in the air for a coup de grace.
Right as the enemy shardblood started to bring his blade down with a sneer, he was lifted towards the sky in a tangle of vines. The mess of roots wrapped around him as he flailed, desperately trying to free himself. Even augmented by amethite he couldn’t free himself from the thick vines. He cursed and cried out.
Tyriel glanced over at Luna, offering a grateful nod before cutting the shardblood in half. Luna looked around to see that the Bohlkovian force had been defeated. The few remaining Bohlkovians fled out the gates. She leaned tiredly against her rapier and scanned the battlefield. It was a horrifically bloody battle.
The elves were reduced to roughly a third of their original numbers and only a quarter or so of the gang members still stood. Of those still standing, many appeared to be maimed or severely wounded.
Luna offered a hand to Tyriel. His breathing was labored and the purple fire in his eyes faded away until they returned to their natural blue. Sighing through his nose and taking her hand, he climbed back to his feet.
“I guess I owe you a thank you.” He said, wiping the sweat, ash, and blood from his face.
“Don’t be daft, I’d have been skewered by those shardbloods if you hadn’t intervened. Let’s call it even.”
Tyriel laughed. “Deal. It looked bleak for a minute, but I think we really stopped them.”
The surviving Blind Alchemist’s ran up to Luna and hugged her tightly. Mariska led the pack, wrapping her fingers around Luna’s head and pressing her forehead against her friends. “You’ve done it, girl.” Mariska whispered.
Luna shook her head and grinned. “No. We did it. We persevered.”
Before the weary humans and elves could properly catch their breath, the clamor of stomping feet reverberated from outside the gates. Everyone all at once turned to face the shattered gates. A moment of anticipation filled every weary soul with dread.
The thunderous noise rose to a crescendo. Before they could see a thing, the overwhelming stench of embalming fluid stung their nostrils. Through the gates a frenzied mob of mutated humans surged into the mining facility. Their eyes glowed purple and a nightmarish sound resembling cracking bones resonated from the horde. A haunting noise came from the grotesque monstrosities—it was like a weeping woman and a roaring auroch tangled into one disturbing sound.
Humans and elves alike reluctantly drew their weapons and prepared to fight for their lives. Luna checked her belt and discovered she only had a single emerald flame vial, and a single vial of tangling roots left. She spit blood and muttered a curse.