Rumblings

On the magical battlefield, the giants came into view at a frightening speed. The ground rumbled beneath their inhumanly large stride.

The elves were filled with uncertainty. Everything about the giants' faces made them grimace. Their mouths hung open as yellow crooked teeth filled their gaping maws. Their wide flat noses flared with each breath like they might breathe fire at any moment, and a single wide, black eye in each head stared out viciously at the elves and fairies.

But the most terrifying part of their unwelcome appearance was their arms. They carried loads of boulders from the rockier terrain that lay east of the Beachy Plains.

"Steady yourselves! They have—" the elven king did not finish his thought.

Like a flesh-and-bone catapults, the giants each took a boulder in one hand, reared back and launched the stones over the gnomes and into elven ranks. With eyes wide in disbelief, Zoltan saw the boulder heading straight for his son-in-law, Alvar.

The king had promised Lanassa that he would protect their family. He could see that promise was about to be broken. Zoltan tried to use his wind magic, but the rock was moving at too great a speed to be pushed aside. Even if he could, others would be hit instead. So the king did the only thing he could. He leapt at the handsome younger elf and shoved him aside.

Alvar was stunned by the push from his father-in-law, but even more shocked as the boulder that should have hit him landed on top of his king.

"Sire!" Alvar, Ithel, and Gandr pushed the rock aside to assist the king. More boulders came flying, but most of these were portaled toward the incoming wyverns until the giants ran out of projectiles.

Bolemir came to the ground with an apologetic look. "I was not fast enough to stop the rock. I am sorry, Your Majesty."

Zoltan was conscious, but his lower body had been flattened by the force of the stone. He seemed dazed and unaware of the extent of his injuries as he tried unsuccessfully to get up.

"Father!" Ithel took the elven king's hand, fear evident on his face.

Zoltan's eyes focused on the prince as a small smile formed on his face. "My son," he said warmly. He did not seem to be in pain. That in itself was deeply concerning to those around him.

The prince choked on his words.

"Don't lose your head. We have a long battle ahead," the halfing said, pulling the prince from his father. "Get him out of here!" Gandr begged Bolemir. He could see the giants and gnomes reforming for another attack.

Nodding, the fairy scooped up the elf king and disappeared.

By the ballista on the raised mound, Aurora and her group had a near miss with another one of the boulders. The giants had frighteningly good aim--or possibly far too much luck--as one of the stones that the fairies did not stop came flying towards the Empress. Only Utku's shield blocked the rock, causing the boulder to crumble into a thousand harmless pieces.

"That was close!" Aurora exclaimed.

Reyan yelled defiantly as he was dealing with another boulder that was heading for the ballista. He made a portal and dropped it on one of the wyverns. The creature screeched and dropped from the air. "Bullseye." He looked at the mound and seeing the debris, he realized he had missed the second shot. "Everyone alright?"

"We are fine," the Empress assured him. "And it seems like the giants have nearly run out of rocks. Time to return their volleys. Renat?" The woman nodded to the young scientist.

"Yes, Your Majesty." He bowed quickly. "Aim at the giants or the wyverns?"

"Giants first. Wyverns will be much harder to hit." Aurora made her decision.

Renat went to work to obey her orders. He loaded the large deadly bolt into the groove and aimed at the closest giant. The large cyclops was lumbering toward the elven line. Using his spyglass, he adjusted his measurements before he and a servant cocked back the twisted rope into the latch. One final check and the lever was released. The bolt went sailing across the field and directly into the eye of the enemy. Renat winced, a sick feeling forming in the pit of his stomach at the sight.

"Load another bolt," he said to the servant with a strained voice. "We have work to do."

"Empress!" Bolemir called Aurora's attention from the deadly weapon. As she rushed to the fairy, he laid the king on the sandy ground. Zoltan's golden face was dull and pale. "He was hit saving Alvar," Bolemir explained, "and I was not there to save him."

Aurora called Utku to her. "Can you heal him?" she pleaded. The unicorn said something to Bolemir, whose face turned even more somber.

"Utku will do what he can, but he fears the king may be too broken," the fairy reported.

Aurora nodded. Some things were even beyond the capabilities of magic. "Do what you can," she confirmed.

Utku's horn began to glow. The King, who had been wide eyed but silent, slowly lowered his lids as Utku's magic did its work.

Sighing, the Empress forced herself to look away. "Take them both to the healer's tent, please. And while you are there, tell Bukuri and the other unicorns to get ready. By the looks of things, we will be having more wounded very soon."

Bolemir nodded and disappeared with Uktu and Zoltan, leaving Aurora to focus back on the battle at hand. Her heart clenched as she saw the Wyverns close in.

"Get me my bow!" she ordered.

The elves and fairies closed in combat with the giants and gnomes. Although they were not large in number compared to any of the other groups of creatures, the giants made up for it in sheer size. Elves were tall, but the cycloptic behemoths that were the giants were at least three or four times taller. And their strength matched their impossible size. In the land of magic, only the dragons could rival them. It was too bad the scaly cousins of the wyverns had not decided to join the fight.

Rather than swords, the big one-eyed creatures had clubs with nails and other spiked objects embedded in them which hung down from their waists. As the elves neared, the giants loosed their weapons from their belts and swung them at their golden faces. Trying to distract the giants, the fairies flew around the tall creature's heads, giving the elves a chance to strike without fear of the oversized clubs.

It worked for a moment, and with the fairies help and the brilliant shots by the ballista, many of the giants were slowed or stopped altogether. However, many more persisted. As the wyverns descended, the battle became even more fierce.

Forced to use their magic or get out of the air, the fairies shot their seasonal magic at the flying creatures. Winter ice, spring rain showers, blistering summer heat and the thirsty decay of fall all were aimed simultaneously at the scaly enemy. In one brilliant move, an elf and a spring fairy teamed up to create a watery hurricane that took down wyverns, gnomes and even a giant. However, the magical toll was very high, and both creatures were forced to retreat and recover once the damage was done.

"Freeze the wyverns' wings!" Bolemir bellowed once he returned to the field. He could see that this was the best method from bringing down the beasts. But the scavengers who had worked in packs, had now been trained by Cafer to be predators.

In a practiced maneuver, one wyvern would use himself as bait while the another would catch the target in his claws. The winter fairies had no response to being hunted. Pretty soon, the fairies had to take to the ground or risk being crushed in their powerful jaws.

In the chaos, Alvar, Gandr and Ithel fought side by side against Cafer's forces. They were all bruised and scratched, but otherwise unharmed. After seeing the ballista take out another giant, Alvar got and idea. He took a broken blade from the ground and threw it in the air. Using his wind magic, he guided it just slightly so that it hit a giant in the eye.

The large creature dressed in animal hides fell to the ground as he writhed in pain.

Alvar felt a moment of triumph. "Aim for their eyes!" He encouraged the others.

Then the giant flailed around and banged at the ground, causing small earthquakes. It began throwing anyone and anything that he could get his hands on.

Seeing how much more dangerous the giant had become with his unpredictable movement, Ithel shook his head. "We need another plan."

Gandr ducked out of the way of one of the massive clubs. "And fast!"

Back on the raised mound, Aurora's arrow was trained on an incoming wyvern. She shot into its open mouth as it plunged at her. The creature veered off and crashed into the dirt.

Having left the healing tent, Utku ran to her side and put up a field of protection around her. Aurora leaned against his soft white fur and caught her breath. "Thank you. How is the king?"

Utku snorted.

"He says the unicorns did their best," Reyan translated from above their heads. He was one of the few fairies that had not given up being in the skies. "and Utku says he is sorry."

The Empress's felt a knot in her stomach. "You mean…"

Just then, the sandy earth shifted below them. The ground began to part just beside the Empress as she backed away.

"Incoming!"