Ahead of him a dozen beastmen were charging towards him and his brave waywatchers; green fletched arrows shot out in a steady stream, but there were too few and the beatsmen too close. Over on the western flank his brother Aias made a defiant last stand against the leader of the beastmen, he swung his bladed spear faster than seemed possible and slammed it into the chest of the beastlord, the monster grunted, grabbed the weapon and threw it aside as he swung his own axe. The foul rusted blade landed with a wet crunch as it hit the side of Aias’s head. The Aelf went limp and collapsed, shield clattering to the ground, Braern’s world went sideways. His closest brother lay there in the scorching clay, his life-blood flowing from the grievous wound in his head. The beastlord placed a hoof upon Aias’s chest and let out a roar of victory.
Braern pulled his hood back, and let loose a single golden arrow into the sky. It exploded in a cloud of green, blue and red. The Wanderers knew what this meant, they would stop at nothing to stop the beasts of Chaos from reaching the portal while it was open. They all prepared to sell their lives to protect Ghyran, bows and blades were readied, prayers and promises were made. The final stand of the Wolves of Ghyran was at hand…
The doors to Arthyr’s hall crashed open, a breeze gushed in bringing with it the smell of burnt wood and flesh. There in the doorway was Braern, his cloak burnt and torn, his bow nowhere to be seen. He carried the prone form of Mandia Nightlock, he took a step forward and stumbled and would have fallen if it had not been for one of the Eternal Guard who dashed forward and helped him forward. Arthyr leapt from his throne and dashed to Braern; “Brother what happened!?”
“We held them back from the portal, but, but Aias…” Braern tripped over his words as he tried to make sense of what he needed to say. “Aias has fallen…”
Arthyr’s head dropped, the weight of loss suddenly crushing him. How many more needed to perish before their King and Queen would accept them back? He focussed, and tried to get his thoughts together. “Kias, take Mandia to old Dayga. He will be able to heal her wounds.” He called to the Eternal Guard who had assisted Braern.
He turned and put Braern’s arms over him and helped him into his chambers. “My brother, I am sorry I was not there… I will avenge Aias, the beasts will pay and we will earn our place back with our King and Queen.” Arthyr said through gritted teeth and wet eyes. “I swear by our ancestors and Kurnous.”
No comments:
Post a Comment