"Orders, my queen?"

Adreanna stood in a field of alfalfa. Her stormy purple eyes fixated on the city hundreds of feet in front of her. The new day had just begun and already she could tell the soldiers that lined its walls were weary, frightened, and restless. It had been five days since the beasts had started their siege, and thus far, the elves had managed to hold them back with impressive fortifications. At least, that is what she wanted them to think. All it took was a single thought, a single spell, a single action from her and their impressive fortifications would have been reduced to rubble and ash faster than anyone could have yelled 'retreat.' And yet it would have been a mistake to think Adreanna's restraint was an act of kindness or hesitancy on her part.

"Have you caved in the Goldale secret passage like I asked?"

"Yes, my queen," answered the not-so-dim goblin Dim. "Just before the siege."

The Goddess had instilled in her a plan to lure the other armies out of their cities while Typhon led a smaller contingent on the human and Galak haven. Adreanna considered the would-be beast king useless, but the Goddess had insisted and she was obedient to her love. She would follow the plan. She would wait her turn.

But now...

The thought was titillating. Adreanna smiled salaciously and cracked her knuckles with outstretched hands. A plethora of spells ran through her mind as she carefully considered each one with the maximized purpose of shock and awe. She was just about ready to give the order to charge, but as she lifted her hand into the air to cast her first spell, she paused. Something troubling stirred deep within her. Its uneasiness grew quickly spreading to her extremities and settled on her heart. In a flash she was on the ground in pain. Every nerve ending screamed as each end was being torn apart and dragged across hundreds of miles and all she could do was sit there and take it.

"My queen? My queen! What's wrong? Dum, get a healing potion quickly."

The goblins around her scattered as Dim pushed and shoved them about. A feeble attempt was made to pour a healing potion down her throat, but it did nothing to abate the silent screams that refused to vocalize themselves. In the back of her mind, she could feel an anger stir, and while she was pissed by the unknown attack that dared to violate her sacred body, it wasn't her anger that she felt. It was a righteous anger. The Goddess was unpleased. Still, it seemed for the moment, there wasn't anything either one of them could do about it. Five minutes later, the pain subsided. It left in the manner it came as it slowly faded into a deep stirring. Quickly, she made her way to her feet, brushing off the alfalfa that had managed to stick to her immaculate purple dress.

"My queen?" said Dim.

Once more she fixed her purple eyes back on the city that's very existence taunted her. She hadn't known where or how the attack against her had originated, but now it was personal. She had planned to kill everyone within its walls anyway, but now they were going to suffer under the full weight of her wrath. With a small twist of her fingers, she built up the magic in her hands and brought her slender leg up to touch the tip of her heel, magically lifting her body off the ground. As she took off towards the massive city gate, she gave a single command to the beast general below.

"Charge."

The beast horde yelled and descended on the front gate as thousands of stubby legs and swords made their way across the battlefield. Lines of trebuchets hurled boulders doused in oil and fire across the midnight sky. Siege engines were pushed against walls, but Adreanna had no patience for it. After what had just happened to her, she was ready to hunt; ready to kill.

She stopped thirty feet short of the gate. A line of guards attempted to pelt her with arrows, but their feeble attempts failed to penetrate the magical shield she had erected an hour ago. She took a moment to enjoy their plight, but as the goblins approached, she waved her arm in the air, twisted her wrist, and yanked it down hard.

From nowhere, a bolt of energy descended on the gate. Its powerful form exploded the portcullis as bits of twisted metal and wood flew in different directions. For added measure, she threw a few more bolts in its direction, taking out the archers who had found shelter in its tops. By then, the goblins had started to move through its broken barrier and were now flooding the city. For a brief second, she considered joining them, but as she felt the Goddess urging, she allowed herself to ascend to the third level.

Once she arrived, Adreanna found activity at the western gate. Large groups of people were fleeing the city as citizens packed through its interlocking system and soldiers called for order. Panic and cries rose through the crowd as a citizen noted her floating in mid-air sending chaos into their mist. She watched as the young and strong trampled the weak and frail.

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"They don't even have respect for each other," she said to herself.

Again, Adreanna brought her hand high and twirled twirled as a small ball of fire appeared. Faster and faster, she spun until it was roughly the size of her own head. From there, she threw the ball into the gate that quickly grew to fifty feet in diameter until it found its target. Its large structure was now engulfed in flames, as people still caught in side fled back into the city and those on the outside ran to the fields for cover.

For a second time, she considered pursuit, but she could feel her love's will pressuring her. Instead she made her way up towards the fourth level to the scent of burnt flesh and wood. When she approached the fourth level, she landed. The long path to the palace gate would have been difficult in flight, and she thought making herself look more vulnerable would invite more Saintians to kill. On the way she passed a number of shrubs and flowers that drooped in her presence. As she made it to a tall metal door that broke into an antechamber, the clanging of metal filled in behind her bringing another wide smile to her face.

"Surrender demon. We have you surrounded."

Slowly Adreanna turned to find herself face-to-face with nine elves, spears at the ready. Her body started to shake with excitement and with two back and forth cracks of her neck she taunted them.

"My, my, my, how the Goddess sends the best gifts. As such big strapping elves that you are, you think you can handle me?"

The elves moved and shifted with uneasiness. The one in the middle, distinguished by the green beret he wore, timidly spoke.

"Last warning or we will be forced to kill you."

"We?" Adreanna said.

Before he could respond, she snapped her fingers and magical daggers appeared in both her hands. With a flick she chucked them in the direction of the closest two. Three more clicks produced the same result. In the span of three seconds, she had the green-capped elf stunned and all alone.

"What a pity. Not so strong after all."

Wide eyed, the elf bolted down the path. His fear only increased her smile as she once more snapped a dagger into existence. The thought of it sent jubilation down her spine.

Lilith, I love it when they run.

She turned back towards the door and threw the dagger behind her. As she pushed through its iron frame, she heard a clash of metal bang to the ground that brought music to her ears. Quickly she made her way through the antechamber and pushed open a second set of doors to find the male she was looking for sitting on the throne.

"You're in my seat," Adreanna said to the archduke.

"Madam Aurora? Is that you? What's this about?"

Adreanna bared her teeth and kicked off the ground. With clenched teeth and seething rage, she flew at the Archduke kneeing him on top of his chest.

"Don't. Call. Me. That. Name."

The Archduke tried to push her off, but she swirled her wrist and released it into her fingers. With a forceful push to the face, she felt it burn through his beard and skin. The elf screamed in agony. She was about to do it again with her second hand, but a voice called out behind her grabbing her attention.

"Let him go."

Hiss!

There before her stood a female half-elf wearing light armor and a purple beret. Her hazel eyes stared Adreanna down and though she could tell the female was cautious, unlike the male she had shot in the back, this one wasn't afraid.

"You've got spirit. Perhaps you'll give me a challenge?"

The half-elf charged. Adreanna jumped off the Archduke and summoned two magical swords, while shifting her foot into a defensive position. As the half-elf closed the distance, she sprung forward. Adreanna rolled to the right, then reached behind her back to counterattack, but the half-elf expected it. She parried and then swiped at Adreanna's leg, who managed to shift it, but not soon enough. A shallow cut formed bleeding through her purple dress. While she assessed the damage, the half-elf tumbled towards the Archduke who continued to wither on the ground.

"Aldermoon?" he mumbled. "I heard..."

"Never mind that. We need to get you out of here."

Adreanna bulged her eyes and sprang into action.

"I'll be the judge of that."

She flew to the half-elf just as she had the Archduke moments ago. The action caught the half-elf off guard, but she managed a late parry, leaving her flank exposed Adreanna stabbed, just making it past the leather armor, before Aldermoon blocked it. Slowly the dagger pushes forward, Adreanna in bliss watching the elf writhe in pain. Fire pulsed through Adreanna's eyes and sparks threw around the room as she attacked; blocked; attacked; blocked, wearing the female soldier down. Adreanna gave a weak attack, intentionally leaving her flank exposed, but when the half-elf went to exploit it, Adreanna dropped down to her rear and stabbed straight up into the female's chest.

This time, Adreanna didn't smile. The female gave a small cough splattering traces of blood onto her purple robe. With the drop of her sword, and a twist of her body, Adreanna let the woman fall to the floor to watch her die. The half-elf breathed heavily and shallow. She could tell the creature was in incredible pain making pointless attempts to get up. She struggled and growled, but never cried, never stopped fighting, and never gave up until the light finally faded from her eyes. If Adreanna had even an ounce of decency, she might have felt sorry for her. The best she could muster was mild curiosity at the strange woman who died for her home.

The moment it was over, the Archduke called out to her. "Let my people go. The city is yours. We surrender."

Adreanna turned back to him and snapped her fingers with the sudden appearance of Lilith's mask.

"The Goddess doesn't want that," she said, placing the mask on her face, blew a hole into the ceiling and floating into the air."

"What does the Goddess want?" The king shouted through the hole.

"Revenge."

With a sudden burst of purple magic, the base of the spire, and most of the first level of Goldale exploded. The ground shook, knocking terrified survivors to the ground as undulating shock waves rolled through the city from its epicenter. A low groaning began deep in the earth branching out from the spire. Its intensity grew until it reached a deafening crescendo. With a final twist, the spire collapsed sending all four levels of the city of Goldale crumbling into the sea below.