Thea walked up the wooden stairs taking to the city wall’s battlements, lands of green and plenty laying before her, vast fields and farms gone abandoned to the coming tide.

Behind her the fields sown and grown by her people lay threatened, and whilst her mind was yearning to find her daughter, she trusted Erik, she trusted everyone to do their part.

And her part was to be done here, as to either side of her the city guard stood at the ready. Whilst the elites had left to join Erik and Makaela, it was up to them to defend the city from what got by them.

She watched the beautiful forest yonder shake and smoke, as an eerie aura of violet began engulfing it as it did a generation ago.

Thea saw the fear and concern in her soldier’s eyes, in her lieutenants’ voices, and while she acknowledged that fear had its use today was not it.

Laying her massive gunblade aside, she climbed up the battlements, her attendants panicking as they watched her climb up to the very top of the wall’s edge where she turned to face them. Facing the soldiers upon and behind the walls.

Thea momentarily closed her eyes, an aura of bright blue oozing out of her body before suddenly rushing out and encompassing the entire city.

Everyone paused in their footsteps, turning to look at their queen.

“The enemy comes,” She said, her soothing voice filling the city. “As they came for my daughter, as they came and took away your heir! They took her…And now they come for us as well.” She paused, glancing over her people as they looked at one another. “You feel it, as I do as well. The anger, and you should be outraged. Long ago they did the same. They came and took it all as if it was already theirs, they came and destroyed our houses. Corrupted our lands. Murdered our families. They come to takes our homes, but will we let them!?”

The soldiers bellowed out a unanimous no.

“They march over our forest, they march into our fields and stomp over our crops. They intend to burn our walls, our ceilings and beds. They intend to take our children, our wives and husbands. Our brothers and sisters! They come for us too. They will take it all, because these monsters care not for anything but themselves, living upon a hierarchy of omni-destruction and desolation…”

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Thea took in a deep breath, her hair then flowing up into the air as it shined just as bright a blue as her eyes filled with a ferocious gold.

Behind her, the sun was setting.

And before her, torches began lighting up for the night.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeObjlI44Ek

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“Do you hear that?” She then asked as the sound of heavy drums and screeching horns bellowed out from the burning forest. “Do you hear hell’s song? For it is hell we face, and are you ready? Are you all prepared to defend your families!? Do protect your lands and homes!?”

The soldiers roared, raising their weapons up into the air as the air shook with their voices.

“Shout it with me, let us deafen their song with our own!” Thea exclaimed, gesturing to her attendants to begin who immediately rushed away. “Let us awaken it together, this jewel our king left us to protect.” She told the soldiers, glancing back to see hordes of demons and hellbeasts alike storming out of the woods.

Like a red sea crashing through the farmland following tendrils of violet energy which burned and corrupted all life in its wake.

“Wake up this city with me! Lend me your voices! Vow your lives to my hand!” Thea called out and the soldiers responded in kind. “For tonight we die! For our family! For our land! For our home! Tonight we lay it all down!” Grasping her gunblade then onehanded, Thea turned and aimed the barrel at the horde, as all around her machinery came alive with rushing ropes and spinning gears.

“Tonight we fight! For who!? For what!?” Thea asked, as mounds of earth along the walls opened up, revealing large rune-imbued cannons charging up with mana as mages stood in a circle all around them.

Her own cannon surging with energy, as another blast of blue aura burst out of her, it engulfed her soldiers infusing them with her power.

At the same time the cannons fired blasts of blue lightning, soaring up into the clear sky, when she herself fired, twelve tendrils of energy shooting out of her barrel just as there were twelve spheres of energy hovering above the charging horde.

Each tendril flew up into the sky, piercing a sphere.

“We fight!”

From behind her came a unified bellow, a war cry which deafened out the song of hell.

“For Draconia!” The soldiers roared, and the spheres exploded, sending a shockwave across the sky, lighting it up with blue sparks which formed up before suddenly striking down in a rain of lightning.

Thea stood over the walls, as all watched her from behind, lightning showering her enemies as all who followed her felt her power fill them too.

All bellowed, all raised their arms and shouted to the top of their lungs. All where ready to lay down their lives.

As all saw more than a ruler standing tall before them.

They saw a Chosen, a Warrior, and their General.

And as the forces of hell burned in the thousands, they too knew.

They knew these lands were protected, by the one and only Dragon Queen.