Conclusion of the Halcyon Siege

***** Trigger Warning: Violence, blood/gore *****

"… And that's all that I saw. Jane and I left soon after."

Aayla had snuck away from the large gathering of hostages when the True Order finished threatening the inner-city for the day. More and more hostages gathered around the gate to the inner city. Jane guided Aayla to another gate, and the situation was basically the same there.

She quickly returned to the substation to report. Concern, hatred and frustration appeared on the faces of the Halcyon Guards as she spoke. How dare those low lives use civilians as hostages?! Pure rage flowed through their veins.

"How many hostages do they have now?"

"A few hundred by each of the inner gates that I saw. I'm not sure how many gates they're pulling similar stunts at. They've just been grabbing people from certain streets."

The guards cursed at their enemies. The situation was getting out of hand way too quickly. They would have to do something fast. The inner door to the control room opened. Daren, Chris and Jacki stepped outside.

"What's going on?"

"Young master, we have a problem."

The guards recounted Aayla's report for Daren and Chris. Daren appeared relieved that his uncle was alright, but his face paled when the hostages were mentioned. Chris and Jacki were strangely calm, but a dangerous gleam flashed through their eyes.

"Uncle appeared to talk with those people? Nothing happened during that time, right?"

"Not that I'm aware of. They just talked for a while before both sides retreated."

Daren sighed in relief as his shoulders relaxed. As long as his uncle is around, then Halcyon will be safe. On the other hand, Chris became even more worried.

"You're sure that Jaime Golding was the one to threaten the City Lord?"

"Yes. I only saw them once a few months ago, but their voices and gaudy appearances are hard to forget."

"Have they started harming the hostages?"

"Not at all. They've just been forcing them closer to the inner gates."

Chris sunk deep into thought. That's strange. Why hasn't the True Order started killing them all yet? More importantly, the Goldings are extreme conservatives. Both parties were simply incompatible. Why were they working together now?

"But why would the True Order and those people work together? Both sides are like fire and water."

"Those people must have tipped off the True Order about the inner workings of the city. That man didn't really get involved with security and the inner workings of the city, but he should have enough information to greatly aid the True Order's plot."

"Despite their skills, those people are extreme conservatives, aren't that smart and all of their security clearances were revoked. They always hated the True Order before. What changed since they left?"

"Maybe Jerome Foryl intervened? He was deeply embedded in the conservative faction, and with his intelligence he could easily manipulate those people with grand promises or something. Their lack of control over Daren was made public over the past year. The conservatives probably threw them away."

Chris nodded his head at Jacki's suggestion. Both of them and the team leader of the guards continued to murmur about the situation. They had to plan the best steps forward. Fighting could break out at any time. The team had to go on the offense if they wanted to make a difference in time.

Bringing the substations back online was no longer a viable option. The True Order had caught on to their plans, and their security forces were more alert. With outside forces taking the outer wall, the True Order would soon move to take the inner-city. The insurgents had no choice.

"Our biggest problem is those magical beasts. Without them, the True Order's fighting power would take an enormous hit. Halcyon could handle them with ease after that."

"The inner-city defenses are too tight for the True Order to break though quickly. What makes them so confident that they can succeed before the Fort Kast army takes over the walls?"

"Maybe we could set up a couple of magic formations? We don't need to act right this instant. There's some time for us to plan and execute a more complex strategy."

"That could work! The True Order would notice something with strong offensive power, but we could use illusion or mental disruption type formations. We could confuse the magical beasts about who their controllers were. The beasts would take out the enemy for us."

"No! That's too risky. You heard Miss Glowery. The magical beasts are all herding the civilians right now. If we do anything and the magical beasts go crazy, then hundreds could die. Even then, the True Order will definitely attack the civilians if they sense any formations."

The arguments continued. They ultimately decided on a risky yet possible plan. It was the best that they had, and the young master wouldn't be put in too much danger. Messengers were sent through the secret passage to bring word to the Fort Kast army.

**********

As time passed, the team became even more worried. They continued to regain control over the substations as planned. Insurgents intercepted them several times, but they were dealt with quickly. The situation deteriorated as more civilians were grabbed and forced to go to the inner-city walls.

Both sides were ready just as the sunlight began to fade. The Fort Kast army was slightly faster. Soldiers poured out of the secret passages in the city. They attacked the outer wall from behind while their allies attacked from the outside.

The outer wall had barely fallen before the True Order launched their final attack on the inner-city. Perhaps taken by surprise, they abandoned the civilians currently enroute to the inner walls. Magical beasts attacked the civilians underneath the inner gates.

The magical beasts moved slowly, giving the civilians in front of them plenty of time to shout for help. Once they caught someone, the magical beasts would slowly torment them. As if giving their pets a new toy, the insurgents would occasionally toss some poor victim directly to the beasts.

Bloody remains remained spread out on the street after the magical beasts were done. Some remained barely breathing as the life left their bodies. From above, the streets slowly became painted in red as the magical beasts advanced.

Innello stood on the walls while glaring at the atrocities occurring below. The True Order had their own barriers in place. However, his men couldn't use their full power or they might accidentally hit the civilians. The enemy couldn't be touched as long as the defenders held back.

Screams echoed up from below as the defenders looked below with steely gazes. If they didn't open the gates, then the civilians would die. If they did, then the magical beasts would instantly flood the inner-city. There was no way to win. The defenders could only grip their weapons harder to bear the pain.

Some defenders couldn't take it anymore. They raged and demanded to open the gates. If they were to die, then they would die defending their people instead of cowering inside the walls like a turtle. Others barely held them back in time.

Without a choice, Innello gritted his teeth and gave the order to use everything they had. Reinforcements were coming from the outside. They should arrive within an hour. The inner-city had to hold on until then to win.

If the defenders held back, all of the civilians would die. If they didn't, then civilians would die. If the gates opened, then the inner city would suffer serious damage. There was no guarantee that those outside the inner gates would live.

The best strategical option was to keep the gates closed. No matter his choice, Innello would most likely be hated by some. He would just save who he could for now. All he had to do was hold on until reinforcements arrived.

**********

Aayla watched from behind the battle front as soldiers stormed the city. Like a storm, the reinforcements swept through the outer city. The insurgents offered little resistance. All of their wizards had withdrawn to focus on the inner city.

Chaos still permanently marred the lives of the city's citizens. Homes were crushed and set ablaze amidst the various attacks. Civilians screamed as they ran from the chaos. Families were separated, often forever. The army moved quickly to reach the masterminds causing all of this destruction.

A little surprise disrupted the magical beasts as soon as the army got close to the inner city. Several wizards activated the collar disruption artifacts, temporarily freeing the magical beasts from their masters' control. The army would have attacked earlier if they didn't have to prepare for this 'surprise'.

The True Order's forces started to dissolve. Then the army discovered the civilians trapped next to the gates. Infuriated, their attacks became more vicious. Trapped between two incredibly angry forces, the final death knell wrang for the True Order forces.

At last, the stalemate that flowed in the True Order's direction broke. Halcyon was secured. The only major cities that remained under the True Order was the capital city, Sarrasak, and the treasonous Landrienne.