Chapter 128: Invasion
Ciaran was in a deep dark abyss. There was nothing around him, no light, and no sound. He gradually regained consciousness, but when the darkness faded a little, he saw the familiar figure of the rotting woman.
She was crying tears of blood as she was staring at the boy in hatred. She was just an arm's reach from him, but he could feel that they were separated by four layers of protection. The one closest to him was full of holes and was crumbling though.
He had a feeling that eventually the monster behind that wall of screens would be able to get to him, but for now she was perfectly docile.
He called on his Storm, and the next moment, he was able to open his eyes in the waking world. He stood up and the first ting that made an impression on him was the black water that was in the pond.
He had seen it red before, but never black. And sure some of it was from blood clogs, but most of it was unfiltered blood.
" Don't worry about it kid, its just that we have gotten to the more serious part of the treatment. From the time you discovered your true element, this was inevitable. Now we can just push forward." Verdania said.
She was sitting at one on the edges of the pond, and was trying to purefy it. It was working albet slowly. He could feel the wraiths hate in every single drop of blood that was floating in the water.
The dryad wasn't appeasing it so much as killing it. The will imbuned in the blood was dieing, one drop at a time.
"Go to Eleftherios, I will be busy with this for at least a few days." She said as she shooed him off.
He could see that even whit her mastery of magic it was taking a tow on her to deal with all the cursed blood. Without complaining he went to see his Big brother.
The dryad was in another section of the pond, working on a new spear. When he saw the boy, he gestured for him to wait, and after two hours he trew him the new weapon.
"Here, now you don't have to fight barehanded anymore. Use this when you fight maskless." He said as he grinned. He couldn't say he wasn't happy his student was finnaly going to begin his spearmanship training.
The spear was a long, sleek weapon that combined the features of a spear and a sword. The weapon's haft was made of polished metal that had been adorned with intricate designs and etchings. The haft was quite long, giving the weapon an impressive reach. At the end of the haft was a sharp, pointed spearhead that was made of gleaming silver.
Its craftsmenship was of a much higher quality than his katars. Ciaran could feel that the materials used to make it were of substancially higher quality as well.
"You can tank old man Silver for supplying me with the materials. This is a weapon that I myself could use with no problems Ciaran, it will be one of your most reliable assets. Take it as a graduation gift, as you are technicly no longer a student of the Academy." He said.
As a Mage, Ciaran was more than qualified to graduate from the institution early, it was just that he couldn't as he was currently on a mission.
He picked up his new toy, and was surprised at how heavy it was, but how light it felt. It was also made specifically to chanel his Storm, and was more than capable in handeling its furiosity. If the boy learned how to use it, it would enchance his power by manifold.
Not only would it help him in close combat, but it would also serve as casting catalyst, strengthening his spells. Not to mention, the way it was build, it would also help him get in touch with the Lightning element.
He took a stance and was ready to start practicing, but Eleftherios could only helplessly shake his head.
"We are already pushing it kid. You have to go back, and there are some nasty things waiting for you back there, be ready." He said as he suddenly appeared next to Ciaran, grabbed him and dashed.
The man couldn't teleport, but he could run really fast. As they got to the Tundra, he let the boy go, and Ciaran emptied what was left in his stomach on the snow.
'Ok no more making fun of Diana for the first time we met. Karma is a bitch and a half.' He thought, before another round of vomit came out.
"Get ahold of yourself, and hurry to the stronghold, the beasts are on their way." Eleftherios said, and then ran off.
Ciaran was confused, but did as he was told. The stronghold in question was not his grandfathers so he would not be meeting Diana or the Brigadier any time soon.
When he came close to the base reaking of vomit, no one questioned him, and the guards just let him through.
"Get it together lad, or the soldiers will look down on you. The hordes will be upon us soon." One of the Hunters said.
At the mention of hordes, Ciaran sobered up and looked at the distance. It was a wall of beasts. The whole horizon was filled with a neverending amount of beasts. From rankles all the way to Rank Eight, it was a genuine beast tide and it was coming for them.
Needless to say the war was put on hold, as both sides had to suffer the natural calamity that was coming their way.
Soldiers from all over the two nations were gathering in the north, waiting for the battle to begin.
Ciaran looked around and saw that not a single Hunter was allowed to leave. All capable personal was going to defend the first line of defense, whether they liked it or not.
Ciaran saw that the Hunters were also pleased at the vanguard, ready to be sacrificed for the greater good of the soldiers and their respective nation. The only exception was for Mages, who were allowed to stay back and bombard the enemy with spells.
"Excuse me sir, I am a Mage too, please let me stay back there." He went to the nearest soldier and asked. There was no way he was going anywhere near that mess.
Sure he would have liked to keep his magic hidden, but there was no way in hell he could do that in this chaos, not if he wanted to remain alive.
He also couldn't use his new weapon effectively yet, not to mention it would raise far too many question, he would rather not answer.
"Prove you are a Mage of buzz of." The soldier said impatiently. The Empire had an unwritten rule that even tho mages were unique and in most cases stronger than Warriors, the citizens shouldn't give them any special treatment.
The Empire believed that magic was a relic of the past, and the army inforced that rule. The mear fact the Mages would sit back and avoid the danger was enough to piss off any soldier.
Ciaran called his Storm, and the hauty attitude of the soldier was gone. While most Mages kept their elements in check, the Storm was brutality incarnate. Even just its presence was enough for people to know that it wanted blood.
"Ba- Back of the line Mage. We need all capable personel to bombard the beasts." The soldier said, his pants dry but only barely.
The other Mages were curious about the newcomer, but when they saw it was White, they were extatic. He was one of their mascots, like Silver, the Priest, and the Pugilist.
They were even happier to know he was a Mage. Some even hoped he was actually a Grand Mage, so they could have one more person to brag about.
Before they could get chemy tho, the beasts advanced.
The soldiers in the castle watched in horror as a massive horde of beasts advanced towards them. There were millions of them, all snarling and clawing at the air, their eyes glowing with a malevolent hunger. The soldiers could feel the ground shaking beneath their feet as the beasts drew closer, and they knew that they were facing an impossible foe.
The Hunters were in an even worse state, as they knew most of them would die. They cast a prayer to any God they could think of, and prepared themselves for the worst.
Soon even the sky was infested with all kinds of birds and insects. There was no sun, no light, and no hope for these men and women on duty. There was only an endless fight awaiting them in the cold realm of the Tundra.
With one last breath of despair, the beasts roared and advanced, and the humans cryed out, and began singing their war songs.
We stand on the walls, with swords in our hands,
Our kingdom's at stake, we'll make our last stand.
The beasts draw closer, their hunger to sate,
But we'll fight to the end, we'll seal their fate.
With swords held high, we'll march into war,
We'll fight with courage, we'll fight with all we've got.
We'll never falter, we'll never give in,
We'll stand together, and we'll fight to win.
We've trained for this day, we've prepared for this fight,
Our courage and strength, will lead us to the light.
The beasts may be many, but we are but few,
But we'll fight with honor, we'll see this through.
With swords held high, we'll march into war,
We'll fight with courage, we'll fight with all we've got.
We'll never falter, we'll never give in,
We'll stand together, and we'll fight to win.
We'll never back down, we'll never retreat,
We'll give our all, until our foes are beat.
Our kingdom will stand, against any foe,
With our courage and strength, we'll never let go.
With swords held high, we'll march into war,
We'll fight with courage, we'll fight with all we've got.
We'll never falter, we'll never give in,
We'll stand together, and we'll fight to win.