118 Day of Reckoning: Dawn I

Chapter 118: Day of Reckoning: Dawn I

/What the Thing did to that village is something beyond words on a page. It is something one would need to have seen in order to imagine it, and even then, it would be a nightmarish description. The Thing back then was hungry and brutal, a display of wild ferocity only possible to beasts or monsters.

There was no flash, no explosion or anything like that, in fact, most of the buildings remained intact, yet the carnage was incomparable. By the end of it all, the Thing's grey skin was dyed red, alongside the streets and building walls. Blood had splashed from every single person in the village, and when the boy returned, only an elder was still alive, currently being chewed to death by the beast.

Of course, the boy ran. It is a story that has already been told. The boy ran and ran, was caught and killed, then ran some more. A corpse to escape and tell tales of the Thing.

But the monster itself, still ravenous, still hungry, for the first time thought of something else than its need for food. The Thing thought how it could run that fast itself, perhaps being envious of the boy. Its feelings mattered little.

After all, throughout the carnage and the chase, the Thing had been stalked. A challenge to the title of hunter would always be resolved by a hunt, after all, and if the challenger could not overturn being prey, then they were simply not worthy.

Thus, after the boy had vanished, the moment the Thing thought about how it could grow rather than what it could eat, the hunter's six eyes gleamed, noticing its hesitation. In a moment of weakness, they pounced, and a bloody hunt ensued./

(Legends: The Thing - 4; Carnage)

- - - - - -

At the dawn of Weddan, things in Stormbraver were moving slowly. People rose from their beds to tend to their business, be that farms or bakeries, blacksmithing or stabletending, whatever was needed would be done. Plenty of construction projects were ongoing, and those had to be overseen and funded, so the merchants of Stormbraver were perhaps the most busy.

Avery wrung himself out of bed, and checked his bandages. Most of his wounds had healed by now, so he was able to take some off, but a cut along his waist, and some bruising around his shoulder still made moving ache. At the very least his legs were intact, so he wouldn't be missing out on much kicking force.

Nevertheless, as he did most mornings, he decided to exercise. No point in letting his joints grow stale simply because there was currently no fighting going on. He was glad they'd managed to repel the last attack from up north, and he hoped it would keep things quiet for a while.

For a few more moments he indulged his worries before shaking his head to clear his mind. It was too early to worry about all that. Rather than spend his time with the problems of the future, Avery put on some light clothing, and went about his routine. He stretched properly, to make sure he was in optimal condition, feeling his skin heat up a little as it melted away the fatigue.

He could feel his heart thump a little louder at the prospect of exercise, similar to the sounds fire cores in magical carriages would make as they revved up. It was as though he had stuck an engine directly into his chest, supplying blood wherever it was needed, his lungs drawing in plenty of oxygen to use as fuel, and his vessel supplying stamina wherever even more was needed.

A small smile found itself on Avery's face as he began hopping around. He shifted his weight and muscle density around, doing a few kicks to test them, before activating the runes in his exercising clothes. They were made specifically to rely on stamina, needing to be infused with a touch of it, before the enchantments locked into place and drew in ambient mana as they grew heavier and heavier yet.

Done with his warm ups, Avery quickly descended to the ground floor, stairs slightly creaking under the increasing weight. He had not yet added his own mana to the enchantments, and for that, the building would thank him if it could. When his feet touched the stone floor of the streets, he finally did so, and immediately, he could feel his body almost being pressed to the ground.

The smile on his face widened at that. He considered himself quite lucky to still be able to achieve some growth with this. A few people stronger than him truly needed to get creative on how to improve, so he intended to indulge the luxury of simple overexertion for as long as he could. With his mind made up, he began to run, his legs lifting off the ground, then crashing down with enough force to almost spit the stone.

Luckily, the street held today. He didn't know for how much longer it would, perhaps eventually he'd need enchantments that would allow him to influence the environment less, or Skills for that same purpose. It was a problem for the future him, and not one his mind was required to face now.

During the run, he could slowly watch the sun sink its teeth into the sky, grabbing hold of it and rising further as it banished away the dark of last night. Feeling its rays warm him further, some of the pain from his wounds faded. Warmth had always been a friend of his, and he was glad to see it help out again today.

Not too long after, when he was quite drenched in sweat, he decided to call it a day. He still needed to be ready in case anything went down. Usually, he would be doing more, but the damn war made sure to keep him on his toes.

So, stopping a bit early to let himself recover fully, Avery released the enchantments and ran back to the gloryhall, feeling light as a feather. There, he took off his clothes, and began to shower with mildly warm water, which still cooled down his skin quite a bit. Yet, in the middle of it, he could hear the faint ringing of a bell, so loud it even shook the stone underground.

Immediately, his eyes narrowed. "You've got to be shitting me," he groaned.

- - - - - -

Before the sun had risen into the sky, Lucia awoke in her chambers. Breathing heavily, she shot upwards, sitting in her bed and looking around frantically for the threat she had felt so vividly just moments before, until she felt a hand lightly touch her back.

"It's alright," Iris said quietly, her voice gentle as a feather. "You're safe. I'm with you."

Silence rang out heavily in the room for a little while, as Lucia's ragged breathing returned to normal. The fear slowly drained from her eyes, and colour returned to her cheeks. She could feel the block of ice in her stomach melt away, little by little, as she took the time to compose herself.

Still sitting straight up in bed, she turned to face Iris laying next to her. "I'm sorry for waking you," the priestess said slowly, after calming her heart, but as she looked down on the woman next to her, she noticed her eyes closed and breathing slow. She was already back asleep.

A hint of a smile found itself on Lucia's face, before she gazed out of the window. The sky was still dark, only a gleam of sunlight showing itself on the horizon.

Seeing that, Lucia let out a sigh as quietly as she could. These last few days, her worries never subsided. She had fought for this city, for Stormbraver, and for its inhabitants. Many of them believed in the doctrine of the Church of Order. It was a godless religion, so it didn't conflict with prayers to the gods. Lucia liked that.

But she was also burdened by that thought. When she had fought, Esmeya had put up a barrier to shield the mages, guards, and seekers from her magic. What would she do if there was no such option, if she was forced to fight for the people in the city, but she would need to incinerate the ones outside the walls for that?

The thought haunted her. That her flames would spill over to burn those she cared for. Once again, her gaze landed on Iris, on a burn scar she carried on her abdomen. It was small and faded, treated with healing magic many times over, and didn't restrict her, but Lucia remembered.

Her mind was beginning to race again, her heart rate speeding up, but she had been through this multiple times before. Right now, she was in a space that was hers. This room had become safe for her, and the nightmares had lessened, luckily. The recent battle had stirred them, but it wasn't as though that had come out of nowhere.

Lucia knew herself well, and she knew how to get herself back under control, usually. Taking deep breaths, she forced the "what ifs" back down, took away fuel from the fire, and slowly calmed her racing heart.

As every morning, she worked on keeping a calm head. She hadn't noticed much before, but since her travels with the beasty, no, with Mercury, she realized it again. Sometimes, she was too hot headed, the fire in her too large. She worried so much about burning people, yet when provoked, she didn't hesitate to let that fire grow.

Already, most would consider her control over it quite good, but most would also be aiming to charm her with smooth words, to get on her good side. Rather than having that happen, Lucia began to meditate as the sun slowly rose into the sky. Her fire slowed down and became smaller, settling into small licks of flame above glimmering coals.

For a while, she gazed at it with some satisfaction, watching the radiant flames flicker up and down slowly. Perhaps she was imagining it, but sometimes, she felt as though they were hotter.

After a while though, when this state had become somewhat natural, Lucia got out of bed. She prepared tea for herself and Iris, boiling water with a simple touch. Then, as the sun slowly grasped the sky and its rays began to illuminate the city, she gently woke her attendant up, tapping her cheek.

The fragrance of tea tickled Iris' nose, too, and after a little while, she rose with a soft smile. "Good morning," she said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and taking a sip of the drink.

"I hope you slept well," Lucia simply replied, equally happy.

Of course, the moment wasn't meant to last. Because only slightly after that, a bell rang out just a smidge above them, and Lucia's smile was replaced by a frown. The flames in her chest flared a little higher, and the drowsiness was wiped from Iris' face in a single moment.

"It would seem we get very little rest here, m'lady," Iris said, annoyance in her tone.

"You take the words from my mouth," Lucia snarled. "I suppose we have to get ready."

- - - - - -

The toll of the bell shook anyone awake who had been asleep before. It was loud, irregular, and terribly disruptive, so much so that it made everyday activities harder. Once again, it tolled to alarm them of approaching enemies.

As soon as it rang out, the city became much more bustling, people retreating into their homes, guards stomping down the street to their posts. Doors opened and seekers in strange garments exited, while mages stepped through the streets in their robes.

From the gates, those meant for individual people rather than the main one, farmers rushed into the city. Some carried tools, others chose to abandon them. Animals were taken to places that would hopefully be more unaffected by the fighting.

By the time all that was done, the enemies were already quite a bit closer. The walls were staffed by every guard the city could muster, new and old.

Up there, captain Rondo was cursing under his breath, looking at the horde. He saw quite a few rather famous fighters, even the king's first son down there, and just looking on, their odds looked... poor. And that was without even considering the fact that Scarlet was floating above the other troops. Because of fucking course she was.

Sighing, he spat off the walls. It really was as though these people came here just to spite him, personally. Then, a hand laid itself down on his shoulder and the old bear flinched for a moment, before realising who it was.

"You had me there, master Beckham," he growled.

"I see you're in high spirits, captain Rondo," Avery retorted with a smile. "I couldn't resist the temptation of giving you a little shock."

"Sure, sure. Take pity on an old man's heart, why don't you?"

"Kah! You'll outlast all of us, just you wait," Avery said, lightly jabbing the guard captain's side. "Now then, any good intel on who we'll be facing?"

"Well, yes. The north's most fierce, aggressive, and hot blooded warriors. None of them will back down or flee, I can promise you that much. I'd recommend you don't pull your kicks today, Beckham. If you don't kill them, they'll kill you," the bear of a man said, running a hand through his beard.

Avery's expression turned a little more grim. "Shit, and I thought you would be a little more optimistic than me."

"It's justified," Esmeya interjected, having ascended the walls as well. "I'm sure Scarlet is quite eager to burn this city to ash and riled up anyone she could for the occasion."

Guard captain Rondo only nodded along with her.

"Today will be a long day," Avery grimaced. "Do we have a strategy?"

Esmeya gazed at the guard captain for a little while, then spoke again. "Both Akuhl and I will most likely spend our time on shielding duties. Otherwise, I fear our troops are doomed before the true battle even starts." As she spoke, her gaze was fixed on Scarlet in the sky, her flame-shrouded form drawing ever closer.

"Any chance we could use it to our advantage?" Rondo asked "If we get them to fight before our troops step foot on the battleground, we might get them to burn only northerners."

"Don't think so," Avery interjected. "If we wait, and have Lucia attack just Scarlet, then her counters would be focused on the walls more so than the ground, especially if both of them are high up. That spells bad news for us."

The other two nodded along to that.

"I am thankful for your consideration," Lucia said, arriving on top the wall as well. "Your concerns are justified, too. That woman gives little consideration with her attacks, and forces me to retaliate likewise."

"Then as last time, my mages will make sure you can fight unobstructed," Esmeya said, nodding towards Lucia.

"Master Beckham, can we trust you to fight the first Prince?" Rondo asked. "He might cause trouble otherwise."

"Only if you have my back, old man," Avery replied snarkily, eyeing the battleax on Rondo's back.

"As always," the bear of a man replied.

Then, their time to speak was up. Not all plans were made, but further commands would be given as the battle went on. Avery hoped that Kaga and her mercenaries would arrive soon, since their strength would help many times over. With a final nod to Rondo, Avery descended the wall, normally for once, followed by the guard captain, as well as Iris, whom he shot a thankful gaze as well.

Up above, Lucia eyed the sky, while Esmeya walked over to the mages and gave her orders. In the few precious minutes they had left, fortification circles were laid out, and the mana gathering arrays on the walls were activated, monster cores making sure that the mages could recharge much faster than usual.

In the hands of the 'Voice of Order', a bow appeared. It was made of radiant light, yellow and white, glowing with the brilliance of flame. She activated a Skill to let her observe things in more detail, locking onto Scarlet in the sky.

Her enemy stood on a platform of fire. She levitated herself with it, somehow, or perhaps she flew regardless of it and only had it for decoration, like that flaming arm she conjured. Lucia scoffed at the sight. She was used to such theatrics, since many bishops and priests used them to impress common people, but she found them tasteless and misplaced in a battle.

No matter. It gave her an advantage after all, knowing that Scarlet was already expending her mana, wasting it on silly gags. She would take any advantage she could get, this fight would not be easy after all.

Finally, as the troops of Stormbraver stood bravely on the fields below and the walls above, Scarlet's voice echoed across the battlefield.

"We have come!" she roared, her voice still clearly audible in the city. "The north has come to raze your city to the ground! We will avenge everyone who has been felled by you, and we will not rest until all your or our blood has drained into this soil!" As she spoke, the northerners below her rumbled, their yells almost loud enough to match their current leader.

"Come and witness the Storm that shall make your city fall!" she ended, and stopped the spell.

Then, at the very end of it, as her mana stopped being used, Lucia fired. She had let the speech go on since it was a waste of resources, but now she could see the shields conjured by Esmeya fall into place. It meant the time to wait was over.

During the last moments of the speech, Lucia had stretched out her bow and nocked an arrow of brilliant light, shimmering into existence from nothingness. She felt the fire in her chest roar, and claw at her insides as it wanted to get out, and she let it. She funneled all the heat, all the resentment she had after the last battle into her arrow, all the fury she held for the fire and destruction she channelled and let loose.

The shot howled into existence, hissing as it lit the air around it aflame with heat. It screeched as it soared across the sky for a split second, then it smashed into walls of spells conjured by Scarlet. It smashed through the first and the second, then melted the third one apart, and then eventually lost its momentum and flickered out of existence.

"Fine, priestess," the woman in the sky hissed with murderous glee. "Let our battle begin."

With that, the troops began to rush at each other.