Lana witnesses as Jim's skeleton minion, no, Jim's skeleton boss, reaches his breaking point. One moment he is commanding nearly a thousand dead demons to fight off the demons, trying to kill them. Next, he is flying in the air with a set of dragon wings toward the opposing army.
The skeleton crashes down and explodes into action. Bones' axes cut into the wildings creating a crater of death around him. Bone spears form from the fallen and shoot out, claiming many more lives. The newly dead feed into the blizzard of bone spears which continue to rip into life. As the toll of death accumulates, the skeleton grows larger. Another pair of hands that Lana overlooked before swings into action.
Demons are dying by the hundreds from the massive skeleton. Bone spears fly through several beasts simultaneously while axes split the monsters in the demons' ranks. All the while, a haunting humming can be heard.
Dead soldiers in the skeleton's army are renewed with vigor and double in size and strength. Their power overwhelms the demons pushing into Lana's barrier. Her domain is clear of enemies for the first time since the second battle.
The bone spears flying about morph into scythes the size of trees. The scythes begin spinning in the air before crashing into the enemies. The final turn of the tide is when the darkness barrier drops. The skeleton is no longer restricted, they are no longer restricted, and a whole new slaughter begins.
Permission to kill the skeleton? Lana laughs at the last words of the mysterious man before he disappeared. As if any of them have the strength to do such a thing. The skeleton is at least a sage, and who knows about the wolf lady. She couldn't get much of a reading on her or the islander.
The war ends as fast as it started. Bones practically wiped out the army on his own. Why was he holding back until now? Maybe she will get the chance to ask the skeleton or his summoner. Where did he end up?
With the fighting finally over, Lana has time to breathe and think. This was all a strange series of events, from the sudden appearance of the man and then the vast army of wildlings. Lycans and the horde were all possibilities, so seeing the one lycan so far was no shock. Humans and demons — as some would call them — all her reports said they didn't exist here. The most likely scenario was that this land had been abandoned for a century. How wrong the scrolls and scholars turned out to be.
The gruff islander is another mystery to her. Her mind whirls with confusion and doubt. It couldn’t be him, could it? The man she loved, lost for five years, standing only a few paces away from her. The differences are evident, yet the likeness is uncanny. She's caught between hope and reality, between a past full of love and a present full of dreams.
Her heart hammers in her chest, urging her to believe. She replays the encounter over searching for the truth. As the drifter turns slightly, she glimpses a foreignness in him. His power is all off, and his demeanor is drastically different. His eyes, once a vivid green, now hold a cool silver glint. He seems happier, like an enormous weight was removed from his shoulders. And yet, that smile. That was his smile, warm and loving, a memory that still haunts her dreams.
Lana digs through distant memories, frantically trying to connect some dots, hoping to gain more insight. Before she can get too deep, the lycan and the townspeople under her protection appear.
"Greetings, everyone. I am Genevieve. Welcome to my island." Lana's mouth nearly drops, and she has to stop her eyes from growing big. This is the Shadow Queen herself…? It can’t be. Yet she kept everyone safe in her own shadow realm. Out of respect, she dips her head.
"Hello, Genevieve. It's an honor to meet the Shadow Queen!" The gasps and shock from her peers that follow are no surprise. Almost everyone interested in the Lost Coast knew about the shadow shaman and the tragedy of her people. Many people even blamed the Aldari Empire for the loss of a civilization. Most scholars agreed, though, that the horde brought the end to the lycans and cursed the land. The fact that the queen is alive and greeting them is a monumental event. Most heads around Lana bow at the realization.
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"Oh, she's hardly a queen anymore. I'm the real boss but don't worry about bowing to me. Welcome to my island," Bones says after landing next to the queen. The bulky skeleton stands as tall as Gavin. His thick-scale armor looks like it is made from dragons. His voice is low and rich. Lana tries to find the skeleton's second set of arms she saw him use while fighting but cannot spot them.
"Bones is right. I was a queen long ago, but I am no longer." Despite her words, Genevieve looks as regal as any ruler. Her immaculate black gown looks softer than the finest silk and more comfortable. The dress flows unnaturally, like it is made entirely of mana. The level of control to manipulate shadow into a casual dress leaves Lana speechless. This really is the queen.
"Thank you for aiding us against the demons. We are in your debt. And thank you for welcoming us to your Island. I'm sorry we did not introduce ourselves earlier." Lana knows it's not really her place to talk. Gavin or Scotty has more authority here. The two are still gob-struck, and someone needs to speak up before Becky says something that can't be unheard. "I'm Lana, the organizer of this adventure. Gavin is our leader, Scotty is the adventurer's guild representative, and Becky is our guard's captain." She points to each of the prominent figures of the party. She'd like to give everyone a proper introduction but feels there is a better time. There will likely be more introductions later.
"Solid names." The skeleton softly says to himself. Genevieve lets out a small laugh and nods her head in agreement. "Come meet with us at our home, and we will consider everything even."
"You want us to cross the demon-infested forest and leave our people behind? You can't actually believe we will accept that offer?" Becky's question lacks every bit of tack and vomits her disgust." Lana suspects it is an act. That doesn't make it any better.
"We want you all to come with us. We were hoping to have the island well-established before we got visitors. Between the lack of able bodies and the surge of demon attacks, we have yet to be able to meet our goal. Granted, we just started on plans yesterday. Still, there is much to discuss about our relations, and it won't be long before the demons attack again."
"We accept," Gavin says, finally speaking up and becoming the leader. "We are indeed grateful for your help and would like to establish a strong friendship with you and your residents. How far away is your home?"
It takes them roughly an hour to travel the thirty miles to a broken fortification that is the queen's home. Traveling with many people and supplies and covering the distance they did is only possible because Bones uses his death power to create a caravan of fast-moving bone horses and wagons. Among the wagon load is all of the loot scavenged from the battlefield. The number of cores gathered is more than Lana has ever seen.
Sure, there have been wildling surges in the past. Those are usually only in the hundreds. Today's battle had several thousand demons… and her side still won. The power of sages is really unfair.
The lycan's home has only one large structure in tack and a withering golden tree. Both of which are impressive. The tree looks like one of the legendary life trees. So full of life and power, they glow with a golden tint. It's said that their fruit alone can raise a cultivator multiple stages or even awaken spirit beasts. If one is lucky enough to eat the fruit, that is. Usually, only one fruit will bloom once a decade. Mainly golden trees serve as an anchor of power. They've been used to create pocket realms, dungeons, enhance food production, or transform the quality of life. The ebony trees back home only exist because of a golden life tree.
Nations rise to power because of these trees, and Genevieve and her people have one here. Except this one is dying. It takes all her willpower not to rush to the tree and help to revive it. There is already a goblin druid pouring life mana into it, a human-like spider that is earth-attuned, and Jim, who is giving it water. It was such an odd gathering of people.
Lana holds onto her questions as she inspects the large glass dome covering the only standing building. The quality of the glass is immaculate. It can probably withstand the might of any attack. With the faintest stretch of her perception, she picks up life, light, darkness, and... what is that — pure energy? — molded into the glass barrier.
As her large group of people are led inside the building, she feels like she is walking into a wall of mana. Unbelievable that such a magnificent facility is here. Spending time inside this place will do leaps and bounds for one's cultivation. She would run off into a corner and start meditating if she could. It has been a long time since she progressed in levels. This building could be the key to her reaching the next stage.
More shock meets her when she steps into the rough building that is nothing like the dome covering it. So many lycan children, but where are the adults? No matter how much she looks, she can't find anyone older than a teen except for a small group of spider people and a couple fey. This is going to be an interesting visit.
"Welcome to our home," Genevieve says. The queen seems relieved at the sight of all the children, which is the opposite expression of Becky and Scotty. The two look terrified. The rest of her group is as surprised as she is, except for the parents, who seem anxious. "Let's eat and share stories. We have much to discuss."