Chapter 80

(Koren POV, Day 1 of the Siege of Tranquillien) 

Tranquillien was a fortress city with a population in the tens of thousands, and was situated atop a cliff face. 

Stationed within the middle of the province, this town served as a refuge for all the villages, hamlets, and other small scale Elven encampments during times of war. 

Back before the Scourge invasion, when the Amani Trolls were in a raiding mood, Tranquillien acted as the bulwark pushing them back. 

To the east was a mountain range, whilst to the west was a once vibrant, open plain. That open plain was once full of wheat, and other grains, now lay barren. The Dead Scar carved a line a mile long in the dirt, yet the Ghostlands, unlike Eversong, were fully tainted. 

It could be said that the entire province was tainted with soil so black, it was indistinguishable from a black crayon. 

All this former beauty was readily seen from the tall towers of Tranquillien. 

Guarding passage on the main road, the city had two main gatehouses, a north, and a south. Each gatehouse was supported by a pair of grand towers, from which archers and mages could attack from. 

As one entered the city, they would notice that it had three tiers separated by three walls, and finally ending in a grand keep. 

Tranquillien had survived the focused fire of the Scourge during Arthas's campaign, and successfully held out while the traitor Prince was busy tainting the Sunwell. 

Yet without that very source of unfathomable power, the defenders had withered, and succumbed to magical addiction. 

Many Wretched Elves had turned upon one another in a desperate bid to feed. This once glorious bastion of defiance had turned into a charnel house dominated by hunger and fear. 

It was not the Scourge that had wasted the defenders, nor was it some foreign plague infecting their grain. It was the arrogance of archmages certain that they were too smart, too powerful, that sealed their downfall. 

Tranquilien, bastion of Quel'Thalas, home to over 60,000 souls, and shield of the heartland had been reduced to half that number. 

It was to such a sobering sight that Koren, and the rest of Liadran's army had come to reinforce. 

Koren:

When Koren left for war, he set out to prove himself, and show Highlord that he was right to trust him. 

He was living his father's long cherished dream of sitting upon the Convocation, yet that hardly mattered to Koren. 

Receiving the title of Sky Marshal from Varrus, and being charged with Quel'Thalas's air force, Koren took his duties very seriously. He truly believed that the Highlord had a plan to restore the Sunwell, and fervently looked forward to the day of its completion. 

However, whilst he was on campaign, all that he wanted was to gain the favor of Lady Liadran, and prove the worth of his House, so that the Convocation might find mercy on his brother, Dakar. 

It was an alien feeling, riding into battle without his brother by his side, or the fact that he was on a new dragonhawk, one once owned by the Amani. 

Yet he had made new friends during his flight to Tranquillien, somewhat making up for this loss he felt in his heart. 

Lady Liadrin was a source of comfort, and pure innocence that sent Koren's heart straight to bliss. 

Liadrin:

Whereas the other friend he had made was permanently encased within dark black plate armor, and difficult to get a read on most of the time. Koren thought the older Elf was always silently seething at something, and bitter over loss, which seemed normal given recent circumstances. But if there was one thing he had learned from him, is that he was a battle maniac, and borderline suicidal. 

"Ten, twenty, two hundred, keep them coming, I've fought worse odds!" Thaladred's gruff voice cheered as he cut apart dozens of insane Wretched. 

The dark knight's axe cleaved into a Wretched, then he deflected a bolt of ice with his shield. 

Koren saw one of the Wretched drain the mana from 20 of his companions, then begin to chant a spell, and point at Thaladred. 

'Not good, he must be a former archmage!!' Koren panicked as his Mana Sight picked up the large amount of energy held in the Wretched's palm. 

Clicking his heels on his mount, he swooped down, and shot bolts of Arcane from his enchanted lance, whilst closing the distance. 

Another hand was held up, conjuring up a shield of ice, blocking Koren's attack. 

Koren was so close, he was about to skewer the archmage, however, he was just a fraction too slow, and a beam of pure Arcane was shot at him nearly point blank. 

"Woah there, Sky Marshal!" Liadrin called out, and yoinked Koren backward with the spell Leap of Faith, a Holy spell meant to rescue beleaguered allies. 

Galloping upon a golden horse conjured from the Light, Liadrin briefly brushed Koren's hair to the side, then nodded with a smile, upon seeing he was unharmed. 

"How embarrassing!" Thaladred cheered as he finished up with another Wretched, then advanced on the archmage. 

To Koren, that smile was everything he was looking for in this dreary apocalyptic world. That's what made everything worth it. 

Lost in the redhead paladin's beauty, Koren was broken out of his fugue when Thaladred punched him on the shoulder, hard. 

"What'd you do that for?" Koren scowled, his expression quickly morphing into a grimace as he massaged his shoulder. 

"There's killing to be done, and you allow weakness on the battlefield! How will the maiden fall for you if she is forced to save your sorry excuse for a Hero? Sky Marshal, hah!" Thaladred mocked, then ran to join the fight. 

"Thanks! I needed that pep talk!" Koren cupped his hands, and shouted after the dark knight. 

"Stupid kid." 

"What was that?" Koren asked as he flew beside the running figure in black. 

"You heard nothing. The hit on your head was too much." Thaladred huffed between gasps as he duck rolled an ice shard the size of a sedan. 

"Yep! Except it was the shoulder! You're not very smart, are you?" Koren laughed, and pulled his mount up and away, barely dodging a swipe of Thaladred's axe. 

"Mind yourself." Thaladred grumbled like a cantankerous old man.

"Koren, swoop from behind, Thaladred quit playing around, and toss a zone of darkness on top of this Wretched." Liadrin commanded sternly from atop her warhorse. 

"Yes ma'am!" 

"Whipped already." Thaladred shook his head, but also cast his magic at the same time. 

Koren ignored the distraction in favor of moving as commanded. 

When he came down out of his dive, he saw the mage blasting pure Arcane into Liadrin's Holy Shield, and pinning her down. Cracks were forming in the barrier surrounding her, and Koren could see the mana leaving her body…he was actively siphoning her mana, and empowering the beam with it! 

"Huaaaargh!" Eyes going red with rage, Koren yelled out wordlessly as he came down fast and hard upon the Wretched. 

His spear pierced the crown of the archmage's skull, then exploded from within with a shower of Arcane energy. 

Flying straight for Liadrin, Koren dismounted, and ran up to her. 

"Lady Liadrin, are you okay?!" Koren shouted in concern. 

"Your concern for the safety of others is commendable." Liadrin's soft voice spoke with a conviction that set Koren off. 

"Yet we are on a battlefield, and you are one of the principle commanders in this theater of war. This act of yours is highly irresponsible, and juvenile, putting the lives of your subordinates, and the civilians at risk. I am disappointed in you, Sky Marshal." Liadrin chidingly said, shaking her head, and pressing her lips together in dismay. 

She then rode off, and began to issue orders to the troops, and started handing out Mana Stones to the civilians who were in desperate need. 

"Good kill, lad. Even if what miss prissy said is true, doesn't take away from your accomplishment." Thaladred begrudgingly said as he passed him by. 

"Wait, Darkener, do you have any advice on, well, you know?" Koren eagerly directed his mount to catch up to the older man. 

Thaladred sat himself on the battlements of the keep that they had just taken, and ignored Koren's constant pestering until half an hour had passed. 

"Fine kid, fine. You want to be attractive to a woman like that? You have to have confidence. Show that you know how to take charge!" Thaladred eventually bit out, before jumping down from the three-story drop down to the city below. 

"Where are you going?" 

Thaladred ignored him in favor of marching towards the gatehouse. 

Following his line of sight, Koren noticed a horde of zombies clamoring at the gates. 

"Knights of the Hawk, we ride!" Koren ordered, then joined the battle. 

'Thaladred was right, I just have to prove myself!' Koren optimistically thought to himself as he took flight. 

(Day 9) 

Within Tranquillien's keep, Koren, Thaladred, Liadrin, and a handful of Elites were discussing the matter of supplies, enemy movements, and troops morale. 

Koren wanted to bang his head against the wall, it was so boring. 

"Koren, you seem disinterested, is there something you wanted to say?" Liadrin innocently asked. 

He was about to open his mouth, and say yes, because he saw genuine concern in her eyes, yet the stern disapproval of his fellows quickly had him shake his head. 

"No ma'am, the safety and concern of this base is my top priority!" Koren reflexively saluted. 

"Relax, Sky Marshal, this isn't an interrogation. I understand the Knights of the Hawk are responsible for over 8,000 confirmed kills?" Liadrin queried. 

"9,000!" Koren preened. 

"9,000…very good. Then, if you find your time here wasted, perhaps you could take to the field once more. Every soul lain to rest, is one less that may assault this city." Liadrin's clear voice soothed. 

"Yes, Lady Liadrin!" Koren stood up, and saluted again, before leaving in a hurry to carry out his task. 

Thaladred followed after him, much to Koren's confusion. 

"Too much politics in that room." Thaladred growled in obvious disdain. 

"Thaladred?" 

"Look kid, if you know, you know. Now let's go krump some Undead, my axe is growing hungry." 

(Day 18) 

"Come on, up, get up, damn you!" A distant voice growled in Koren's ear. 

.

Dizziness and fatigue assaulted Koren's mind, and he felt a dull pain in his midsection. 

A moment later, he felt something pressed to his lips, and when a liquid dribbled down his throat, white hot pain scorched his arm. 

"Augh!!!" Koren screamed in pain as his consciousness fully returned to him. 

"Get up, get up boy!" A gruff voice grunted. 

Opening his eyes, Koren saw that his left arm was floppy, but slowly beginning to straighten out. Shards from his broken shield had pierced his forearm, yet were being pushed out, and healed over at a rapid rate. 

His mount lay dead on top of him, and the constant flap of wings, and growl of beasts resounded in his ears. 

Pushing the deceased dragonhawk off of him, Koren felt a slight mourning for his companion, yet was forced to push that feeling aside as large talons swooped down at his head. 

A giant gray gargoyle, the size of a house, was screeching madly as it repeatedly pummeled at Koren. 

Rolling to the side, Koren unsheathed his sword, and cut off one of its toes, yet was constantly forced to dance around like a worm, to evade the chicken's beak. 

"The spear kid, I'll distract it, go for the spear!" Thaladred roared as darkness bubbled up around him.

The Arcane Warrior ran at the massive gargoyle, and tried to blind it with his magic, however, thr gargoyle froze its own body, taking on a stone form for but an instant. 

Mages and rangers were constantly attacking the gargoyle, but their spells and arrows harmlessly splashed against its skin again like ocean water on a beach wall. 

During this brief pause, Koren remembered that he had lodged his spear in the creature's chest, creating an opening, yet it hadn't gone deep enough. 

"Go, while it's paralyzed!" Thaladred commanded. 

Koren ran, but then the creature suddenly unfroze itself, and smashed down atop Thaladred's head. 

The dark knight raised his shield instead of dodging, and a dark mass of energy spread out of his shield, and clamped down upon its talons. 

Koren gulped at Thaladred's tenacity, yet didn't slow up, as he knew this was his chance. 

Taking a running leap, Koren pumped all the mana he could into his legs, and thanks to the pair of enchanted rings and amulet Varrus had gifted him, Koren leapt further than he ever had before. 

Colliding with the spear lodged in the gargoyle's chest, he channeled all the excess mana he had left into it, and pierced it deep into the creature's heart. 

The gargoyle, realizing too late the threat Koren posed to it, had tried to claw him off its chest, yet the vast energy from Koren's spear penetrated its body, and turned it into chunks of crumbling stones, before falling apart into nothing more than sand. 

Koren was breathing heavily, and a cry of triumph was sung from the beaks of the remaining dragonhawks. 

They had gone out to ambush a strike force of ghouls and necromancers, yet had been ambushed in turn. However, they had emerged triumphant! The remains of 2,000 gargoyles were scattered across the battlefield, whereas they had lost 25 knights. 

"Great shot kid, one in a million!" Thaladred raised Koren up to his feet, and raised his fists high. 

"Ah ah ah." Koren hissed as his arm was still reforming. 

"Cheer up kid, Little Red is watching." Thaladred whispered. 

Glancing back up at the wall of the town, Koren saw Liadrin looking down at him with a smile. When they made eye contact, she nodded at him. 

Koren forgot the pain for a moment, and waved at her, only to have a flare up a second later, and lower it as he winced. 

"Stop faking it, boy, the Lady has no time to heal you!" Thaladred pushed Koren away, then pointed towards the seemingly endless horde of zombies on the horizon. 

Koren felt his spirit leave his body as 5 more mega gargoyles were seen flapping their wings amongst the crowd. 

To top things off, he saw the shadow of a leviathan up in the clouds, followed by the bellow of a dragon's roar. 

"To the town, back to the town!" Koren urged in a hurry, and ran to mount up on one of the drowned knight's mounts. 

"I hate to say it lad, but you had better ask Vandercross for help. We're going to need it." Thaladred grimly intoned. 

For once, Koren had no response to the old man. He couldn't agree more, pulling out his scrying orb, he sent a message to Varrus, along with a quick video of their enemies. If they were to hold Tranquillien, they would need all the help they could get! 

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