The Black Shield
30th of Maious, 1503
Current time: 06:04:31
"Aahhh…"
Neoma sighed as he laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He felt his body sinking deeper into the bedding, the soft bed sheets and the fluffy pillows allowed all of his muscles to relax.
'Thank God I napped before going out… I should get at least a couple of hours more of sleep before Bian wakes me up.'
Just as he closed his eyes and was ready to drift off to sleep, his eyes opened wide again when he remembered an unsolved problem.
'Right, the attack! I should inform Elin and Kyros!'
He quickly sat up and was about to get off the bed and rush out. He knew that the siblings must be awake by now. However, he stopped himself before he made any rash decisions.
'No… If I tell them, they'll just be suspicious of me. And Kyros and Elin are both strong. Plus, their strongest soldiers will be guarding the place. Yes… It'll be okay.
'I also destroyed their teleportation circles. Even if they'll try to set up even more, it's already too late. People are waking up and they can't afford to get caught.'
Neoma felt a shiver run down his spine as he recalled the immense pressure he felt when he met Kyros for the first time. He laid back down on the bed and pulled the bed sheets over himself. The youth curled up to get more comfortable as he closed his eyes.
'He's strong… He'll be able to protect his kingdom.'
...
On a stage set up in the town square of Aekodora, an elf with long blonde hair stood on the stage. Her green eyes scanned the crowd of people in front of her and a gentle smile formed on her lips.
"Citizens of Aekodora! On this last day of spring, we have gathered to greet and welcome summer for the 350th time!"
Her voice resounded throughout the entire town square. The crowd of elves cheered as they heard her words.
"If some of you may not know me, I am the treasurer of the kingdom of Aekodora, Nora Dewwing! This year, I got the honour to organise such an important and joyous celebration! As the person representing the administrators of this kingdom, I wish you all a happy and festive day!"
Nora smiled as her voice reached everyone's ears and the elves cheered again.
Neoma was standing next to the stage with the few other servants of the royal palace, Bian standing right behind him. The youth was listening to Nora's speech as his heart was starting to beat faster and his hands were shaking slightly. The anxiety was slowly beginning to overtake his body and mind.
'There are so many people… And they know nothing! Nothing at all! What if… What if Kyros and Elin won't be able to protect them? Most of them are just ordinary citizens of the capital… They were looking forward to this day… Yet many of them will lose their loved ones if the siblings fail to defend them…'
Neoma glanced towards the huge crowd of people. He saw the smiles on their faces and the families huddled together in the crowd. Parents holding the hands of their children so they wouldn't get lost. Some even had their kids straddling their shoulders as they waved at Nora. The kids had their faces painted and were holding sweets in both of their hands. The elderly were sitting on the benches installed on the sides of the town square, watching the kingdom's treasurer do her speech. Young couples were wearing matching necklaces and bracelets as they held hands together, listening to Nora speak with gentle smiles on their faces.
Guilt began to tug on Neoma's heartstrings as he observed the crowd, not paying any more of his attention to what was happening on stage.
'I don't want them to die…'
"And with that, I invite the king of Aekodora, the protector of the elven lands, the sun in everyone's hearts, King Kyros! Please come on stage, Your Majesty, to wish your citizens a joyous festival."
Nora spoke as she looked to the side. The crowd followed the treasurer's gaze and watched with anticipation, waiting for their king to come on stage. And they did not have to wait long.
With a white suit embroidered with golden accessories and a few red accents, with a maroon robe draped over his shoulders and a gold crown resting on top of his bright ginger locks, Kyros climbed up the steps and stepped on the stage.
Once the crowd saw him, everyone young and healthy got down on their knees, their heads hanging low as they greeted their king. The elderly and sick leaned their heads down, showing respect to Kyros.
Kyros looked down at his people from the stage and took in a deep breath. Nora had moved to the side and bowed her head down.
"Citizens of Aekodora. Lift your heads up and stand."
The king's voice filled the entire town square and people began to stand up, looking back up to their king. Some eyes were full of respect and reverence, while the others still showed disdain. Especially those of the elderly.
A smile formed on Kyros' lips.
"It has been 350 years since we began to hold this festival. Some elves may even remember the first few festivals which were held by my father. Ehem… We have come a long way. In those 350 years, we didn't only just greet summer 350 times, but we also defeated the orcs invading our lands, got rid of the vampire faction in Aekodora, and maintained peace for 200 years."
Kyros created a small pause before he continued on with his speech.
"Today we aren't just celebrating the arrival of summer. Today we are also celebrating us and the prosperity of Aekodora. So children, mothers, fathers, grandparents, friends… Let us all have fun today and mark the start of the new era!"
The crowd cheered as they listened to their king's speech. However, the cheering quickly died down.
The skies turned dark as grey clouds began to cover the sun. This was clearly not a natural phenomenon since the sky was clear and bright just a few seconds ago. The elves could feel the magic fluctuating. Especially the water and wind magic beginning to turn chaotic.
The sky rumbled as black robed individuals stood on the roofs of the houses surrounding the town square. They were all wearing white masks covering their faces; however, one individual wore a mask with a smiley face seemingly drawn on sloppily with black paint and a paintbrush.
"Prepare to launch the attack."
He instructed the individual standing next to him.
Elin could sense that something huge was going to happen.
"The water and wind magic… It's so chaotic. Mages!!! Set up a shield around the entire town square! No, the entire capital! Take as many magic restoring potions as you need! Soldiers, support the mages by giving them a part of your magic too! Prioritise defence!!!"
The commander ordered as she took out an arrow from her quiver, getting ready to shoot the robed mages on the roof.
'Huh? How can this be? Why are there so many of them? Were they slowly gathering in the capital? Oh God… How many of them would've come if I hadn't destroyed the teleportation circles?'
Neoma's eyes widened as he saw the mages of the Church of Inferno.
The crowd was now in a panic, unsure of what to do. Should they run? But they're surrounded by enemies. They then glanced over at their king and commander with eyes full of hope and desperation. Their eyes seemed to be screaming – 'Save us!'
The royal mages and soldiers followed Elin's command and soon a gold shield appeared above everyone. It surrounded the entire capital. The crowd watched everything with eyes full of worry.
The sky kept loudly rumbling, a few clouds lighting up every few seconds and then returning back to normal. The water and wind magic was becoming more and more chaotic.
"It is ready, sir."
The mage next to their leader spoke. The man with the white mask which had a smiley face painted on it nodded his head.
"Cast the spell."
Once he gave the order, the sky rumbled even louder and all of the lighting gathered in one spot, right above the town square. The sky darkened even more before a beam of light shot towards the shield, blinding everyone for a few seconds. The strong lighting hit the shield.
"Cough, cough…"
The royal mages coughed out blood as the shield was cracking. The soldiers guarding them began to support them, letting the mages lean against them. The lighting kept striking the shield.
'It's gonna break!'
Neoma thought as he looked at the shield and then at the royal mages who were barely holding it together. It was evident that the shield wasn't as strong as the lightning.
╭────── • ◆ • ──────╮
Do you wish to save them?
╰────── • ◆ • ──────╯
"... Yes."
Neoma answered the question he saw on the blue screen which suddenly appeared right before his eyes.
╭────── • ◆ • ──────╮
… Very well. Alvis will assist you.
Let's create a shield together.
╰────── • ◆ • ──────╯
Neoma raised his hand up and black smoke rose from his fingers. He tried his best to direct his anti-magic up; however, he wasn't strong enough yet. Just as he was beginning to think it was useless, a large beam of black smoke shot up towards the golden shield.
"Gaaahhh!"
The youth stumbled to the ground as he felt immeasurable pain overtake his entire body. However; the black smoke kept rising up from his hands.
Just as the golden shield shattered, a black translucent shield appeared instead. It covered the entire capital, being the same size as the once standing golden shield.
When the lighting hit the black shield, the shield didn't begin to crack. The lightning looked like… it was being absorbed by the shield.
"Gasp… Huff, huff…"
Neoma struggled as he felt beads of sweat rolling down his face and back.
Right as the shield finished absorbing the lighting spell, it disappeared, revealing the clear blue skies once again.
On the cold hard ground laid a white haired youth with blood dripping down from his nose.