Elijin Holtzmann's Story

(For ye old speech.)

Aldric Valens' eyes snapped open, blinded momentarily by the light from the lamp stands in the corners of the room, three of them to be exact. Gilt affairs, the lamps stood as high as a man, the cage containing the candle wick lined with mirrors to reflect the light in multiple directions, increasing the brightness of the room without increasing the size of the flame. A rather old trick that had been used for hundreds of years by his reckoning. Someone would have thought of it at some point; it really was quite useful. Sighing softly as he thought of the day ahead, Aldric stood up slowly so as to not wake the Queen; no sense in disturbing rest that didn't need to end.

Making his way to the dressing room, he scanned the array of clothes available to him. It really was too much for any one person, especially him. He preferred items to be elegant yet simple. Despite resolving to do so multiple times, he had never converted the clothes to more usable materials. Memories of his parents were attached to many of the garments, ones that were not pleasant. Maybe that stayed his hand as much as the lack of time.

Supple leather boots of various colors and thickness lay arranged along the wall closest to the door. The differences were minimal as well would serve well in court yet be serviceable in battle, albeit for a short time. Selecting a pair of knee-height boots of light brown leather, he continued on with a tunic of green silk with scroll-work running along the seams, brown-dyed cotton pants that extended into his boots, and a cloak of ruddy-brown secured by a thing gold chain. Donning the attire, he retrieved the King's Crown from it's position in the dressing room. The frame was a simple gold circlet, made unique by the platinum-secured sapphires and rubies set into the crown. For whatever reason regalia seemed to inspire people.

Stepping through the door leading to the hall outside his chamber, Aldric nodded to Vyri Veyer, captain of the Royal Guard and one of his most trusted companions. Looking through one of the arrow slits to the outside sky, he was pleasantly surprised to find a clear blue with a scattering of clouds. "A fine day for a speech, I would say. Or a battle. Or peace. Peace is what we seek," Aldric muttered to himself, trying to convince himself of that statement.

Striding through the hallways, he greeted the various servants and guardsmen that were awake at the moment. When he had first done so, many had been shocked by his association with those not of rank. By this point all took it as normal from him. Approaching a door that would open out to the main courtyard of Castle Valens, Aldric took a deep breath and steeled himself for the coming moments. The people needed inspiration and it was up to him to give it to them. But could he provide it? The war was tiring him, aging him beyond his years, sapping his will to fight. Every day was a struggle to survive, encroached upon on all sides by the forces of the Demon Lord. Yet he had a duty to the people and he must fulfill it.

As he stepped onto the balcony, he was greeted by the sight of hundreds of people looking up at him, milling about. Upon seeing him both cheers and insults roared from the crowd. Aldric looked on wearily before steeling his mind and voice.

"Citizen's of Enri, dark times are upon us, have been upon us for the past twelve years. In the 840th year of the Rift, armies of Demon's poured forth from the Moors, aided by humans that would destroy the sacred peace that had been built by the blood of our forefathers, blood spilt so that we would not have to spill our own. But such measures were not effective. Somehow, someway, the Wall was breached by the forces of Evil. Meot Acer, blessed be his name, was one of the first to give his life to ensure the safety of the people of Enri. His sacrifice, along with those of his knights, allowed the survival of countless people, providing the time needed for them to escape. But as many as we saved, we lost more. In their desire to wipe from the face of this planet, the Demonic forces pillaged and massacred as they advanced through the continent. Families were butchered in front of each other, whole companies of soldiers tortured for the amusement of demons, prisoners hunted and then cooked alive for sport and hunger. Our soldiers have valiantly given their lives to stem the flow but yet again it was not enough. We are surrounded in Acatia with our forces, those in Inae are similarly trapped." Aldric stood quiet for a few moments, the rage of countless losses spilling over, driving him to more. "You see what they do to us, treat us like animals. Are we animals? No, we are not! We are human, fey, castanic, we are brothers and sisters bonded in the fires of war and suffering. They think that they have made us weak as they push us back, our numbers dwindling. Some say that those with nothing to lose will fight the hardest in war, giving their all in battle. I would like to challenge that claim. It is those that have family at home, friends waiting for your return, patrons and customers that admire you; those are the people that will fight the hardest! Do we not have a home around us? Do we not have friends and family gathered here and Inae? Do not those that we have known look upon us from the heavens, willing us to avenge them? I say we do! The night always seems blackest before the dawn. Well I tell you, people of Enri, our dawn has come! No longer will we hide behind our stone walls, cowering in hopes that they will deter the force of the Demon Lord! No longer shall we bend knee to those that would treat us as slaves, kill us as cattle! No, we are free men, women! No longer! From this day forth we shall drive back the darkness! We shall bring the light forth! We are the dawn that we have been waiting for! Our cause is just, our intentions true, our morals noble. So I call to you, unite! Unite and push back this darkness! Our victory awaits us! Our time has come!"

Vyri stood solemnly by the king from the moment he left his chambers only returning the greeting he was given by the admirable warrior that had aged so terribly from these trying times. He had walked and served this King since being sent here by his parents whose trust in him had been formidable. Now he was placed in high esteem by a king as the captain of his personal guard, serving well before this in the Imminatis Regiment now taken over by his predecessor Rowan Vescis with the lost of his eye.

He continued with his solemn expression expression never breaking the stoic appearance he held, a lack of discipline it would be to him and on his parents. Now they finally made it to the balcony leading into the courtyard. The same courtyard that hosted more than refugee camps and the forlorn faces of feeble families torn by loss, strife and utter despair. Vyri had encountered his own amount just like these folks but he refused to show it at all with his only visible scar being the silver eye patch he wore covering the empty socket. This was the kings attempt at rallying the people giving them hope for the future a very bleak future that did not contain much by current appearances.

Vyri sat and listened as the speech began listening thoughtfully carefully ensuring he absorbed every word. This wasn't some lesson by his parents on the dangers of the wilderness or a school lesson he did not wish to learn. No this was much more than any of that. This was the leader of the faithful country standing on the doorstep of hell staring down a rancid beast that was knocking viciously at a gate it could not budge. That gate was not only a physical one as much as it was a metaphor for the resilience the people continued to show by living on.

The speech came to an end Vyri taking the moment with the words resounding through the courtyard to walk forward his hand already on his sword hilt his other fist striking into the air in a pose of victory.

"All hail the Aldric Valens, King of Enri, and the one who will lead us to victory against the darkness! Witness now the judgement of the righteous!" The elves words rang loud through the courtyard his own tone harsh and clear no melodic tone just the strong words ringing from his mouth as he led the war cry.

The Ranger rose softly from the hammock that was nestled between the limbs of an ancient willow in the small village that dwelt the Rangers of Enri. Elijin as he had been known since his birth walked slowly along the branch of the tree towards the various walk ways and paths that ran through the branches of the elder trees in these woods. He came upon one of the guards lately placing his hand on the mans shoulder letting him know he was friend and passing. They rarely spoke in these dark times as the servants of the dark lord would occasionally wonder these deep into the woods.

Elijin was on his way this morning to meet his friend the eagle he had become known to name Icarus for his massive wings and tolerance for the high altitudes as if he would reach. He made his way through the quiet village most of the villagers and rangers asleep with the exception of those on guard that stood diligently by hidden in the tree tops waiting for an enemy. Now though he quickly made his way to the clearing where the eagle waited on the limp of a fallen flapping his wings and pecking at the coat he bore. He greeted Elijin with a head bob as if knowing silence was needed.

"Now my friend I have an important errand for you. I need a letter delivered to the King. He should know that we are well for the most part and we stand by for his call. Please make all haste with it." The man said quietly to the eagle tying the scroll onto one of the birds massive scaled talons.

Icarus understood perfectly flapping his massive wings before the ranger and taking off towards the sky and a Southwest direction toward the lonely castle that stood out even here on the skyline. Elijin slipped back into the village for now all he could do was wait.

Aldric smiled as Vyri walked in front of him on the balcony, pumping a fist in the air and pronouncing a call. A deep sense of satisfaction filled him as he scanned the courtyard, taking note of all the faces, exultant and inspired by his speech, seeing renewed hope that the inhabitants of the Moors would finally be pushed back to their original home and vanquished by the people of Enri. Vyri was a faithful guard and a good friend. Various times Aldric's life had been saved by the elf, a traveler from a distant land. Few could match his abilities and almost none could do better. Trust was an important thing to have these days but so was caution. However, there were times when caution would only inhibit and now was one of those times.

As Azuriel joined Vyri on the balcony, Aldric laughed. The man was special in a way many could not match. Leader of the Impetus Battalion, he was renowned for his brutality in combat yet that was exactly what people wanted at this moment. They wanted a man that could garner victories in the face of superior forces or inflict such casualties on an enemy force so as to cause the battle to be a Pyrrhic victory for the Demonic forces. Someone that could most certainly be relied on in the coming times. Not to mention a terrifyingly inspirational figure in battle.

In the crowd stood a girl who he did not recognize, young with flowing hair of a golden color. He knew most of the people in the safe area by sight if not by name. She must have been recently arrived from somewhere. A small pack lay slung over her shoulder and a movement seemed to come from inside. Most likely a small animal of sorts. Whoever could help would be appreciated. He would send someone to find who he was later, once other business had been dealt with.

Hearing the soft sound of clapping from behind, he turned to find his wife, Sashi Valens, Queen of Enri, standing there. His smile only grew wider, splitting his beard as lines creased along his eyes, a sparkle of joy reflecting of them.

"Wonderful Speech, my love. They believe in you, as I do. I would have liked to hear it in it's entirety, though. Why didn't you wake me?" she teased. Returning her tender kiss, he laughed and hugged her resting his head against hers, breathing in and taking in her unique smell, savoring the melody of her voice.

"Thank you, my love. What you missed was not of import, simply a recounting of how we arrived in our current. I find a repetition seems to remind people that have forgotten something despite having lived through it." Stepping out of the embrace softly, his eyes maintained their glitter. As to why I did not wake you, I wished to spare you from politicking. I promise to wake you tomorrow with me." Hadn't he made that same promise for years now and almost never upheld it? It brought a small chuckle to him. "If I remember that is."

Examining all those assembled with him, he was filled with pride at being able to call these people friends and companions through the dark times of war. Nodding to Ivy, he requested, "Let us move to the War Room for now, there is business to attend to." As he walked, a servant ran up to him with a letter. Opening it and reading as he walked, Aldric saw it was from Elijin, the leader of the Ranger Corps, announcing the readiness of his troops. As they reached the room, he wrote out a quick reply and handed it to one of the guards, commanding him to take it to Icarus and send the bird back. On the letter was written this:

Eljin, my friend. I thank you for your support during these trying times. Assemble the Rangers and make your way to the enemy forces surrounding Castle Valens. Make what trouble you can for their troops. Keep me informed of any major movements. I hope to see you when they are broken.

-Aldric Valens

He wrote a similar letter to the forces in Inae, commanding them to assemble their forces and begin gathering for a push into the Acatia region. Turning back to those with him, he looked at Azuriel. "Azuriel, my friend," he commanded, "When we begin our push, take the men you have here and forge a path to Inae and assist our men there. If possible, it would be blessed if you could make your way there now, inspire the men there and lead them to us. Do as you see fit," he commanded. Upon Azuriel's response, he turned to Vyri.

"Send someone to find Xavier, my friend. Tell him to ready his forces as soon as possible to continue improving the defenses of Castle Valens. We cannot fail now." With that command given, he turned back to Ivy.

"I do not wish to place you in such danger, but if you can, make your way into the Demon camps, hiding yourself with your magic. Find out what you can and return here as soon as possible. Do not endanger yourself, flee if discovered. I wish you luck." With the final command given, he sat down in one of the chairs around the center table, already feeling the stress of the day. He would have thought that with the new inspiration he would have more energy. Apparently not.

Vyri followed the king into the room not taking a seat but a place standing back behind him to the right. The frosty eyed elf held a stoic gaze still his left hand still resting on the hilt of the sword and his shield dangling from a leather strap. He stood waiting for the others to arrive from the various commands minus those that were now far away. The leader of the Assassins had yet to show his face which was typical of a man of the shadows. Rowan Vescis has yet to appear but he was rather ill lately and may be a time before he was up. The Rangers were ready as were the Berserkers and Ivy of course. They would do what they could for now with the other units take their time to make it down here.

"My liege. If I may speak freely." Vyri said his hand balling in a fist over his heart the other leaving his sword temporarily as he gave a slight bow before beginning to talk the man he had sworn allegiance to.

Icarus received the message from the servant having it tied to his claw once more. He let out a thunderous screech before taking off into the sky scaring the servant to looking like a ghost as he shot up in the sky and back to the Elijin with utmost haste. The bird flew high over the scores and legions of demons that dotted the landscape in a very fearful wave. This was of course a force meant for the destruction of humanity. The eagle even took count of the slaves and torture taking place below a hate even this animal was capable of feeling for such evil.

Xavier Lent


"If we take the Ballista Regiment and set them higher on the mountain, then place shield mages....no that wont work. The ballistas wont be able to puncture the enemies siege towers. Maybe if we have the mages add power onto the shots. No, that would push the mages too hard." Xavier Lent was pouring his attention over a map of Castle Valens in his room, trying to find an easy solution to the defenses of said castle. He was always here, or in the War Room, always thinking.

Today, as most days, Xavier was dressed in only the lower half of his armor. Stylized gold and steel greeves with matching boots, chainmail and padding underneath. He usually went shirtless, the warm weather when compared to his home province of Inae making it uncomfortable to wear much on his torso. Because of this his tanned skin and scarred back were almost constantly exposed,showing the marks he had earned through battle. His golden hair fell down to just above his shoulders after Xavier had untied it from its usual position where it fit in his helmet.

His remaining armor as well as his weapons and other things were laying across his bed, as inspiration for future defensive strategies to come. At the moment however, Xavier was coming up short. He hung his head in his hands and tried not to flip over the table and map out the window. Every thing he thought of,every defensive strategy he could think up would not hold the demons back, let alone allow them to push the armies back. Most of the other officers did not understand his morbid thoughts of defeat. King Valen gave the people a feeling of optimism, and Xavier wished he could feel it too, but he had no way to get past the facts, they were most likely doomed.

Just as he was about to go back to the map a runner boy came into his room and bowed low before hastily speaking. "Sir Lent, our engineers are ready for your assessment of the defenses." Sighing, Xavier stood and dressed in the remainder of his styled armor, donned a basic longsword for the time being, and motioned for the runner to lead the way.

So far Xavier had reconstructed the castles manned defenses such as catapults, ballistas, trebuches, and the like. Before the demonic hordes had even arrived at Castle Valens, Xavier had begun to retrofit the walls for magical assaults using priests and paladins to place holy barriers over and around the stone structures. So far, the horde has hesitated to attack the walls or gates which have had double the reinforcements. The only problem with the defenses were, they would not hold forever. Xavier had a lot of work ahead of him still, half of the anti siege weapons were out of action, and most of his men were lacking in combat training. This morning would be, as they say in Inae, Dipped in the Wind.

The Rangers had already begun preparing for departure long before Icarus would return. Elijin had already awoken those that would be going with him on the woodland trek towards the castle. They planned on moving in as straight a line as possible in a south western direction through the woods. Their path would have them crossing a river a few minor streams before getting within sight of the castle at the edge of the forest. The small band of 40 Rangers stood waiting in the clearing where Icarus was before all standing around talking in whispers to each other while fixing gear or catching the last little relaxing nap they could.

Most of the rangers shared a few things in common besides the weaponry of the bow. They each had a pet they had trained from a juvenile age and accompanied them as they went. Some had eagles, ravens or hawks while other had jaguars, leopards, or lynx's. The bigger of the rangers had trained bear cubs that even towered above them now whether it was a grizzly bear, black bear, or polar bear. A few others kept the usual pets of a dog and with the exception of the shortest ranger Ehren Holt who happened to have tamed a pet monkey which sat on his shoulder.

Now with everyone gathered Elijin stood up on the downed tree his own dog Scout, blue heeler in front sitting happily.

"My friends thank you for gathering here today for this will be a day in which us Rangers make history once more. We make war on the darkness that has spread from the Moors. We may be few in number now from the retreat but we have grown stronger because of this. The friendship and camaraderie that has bound us together for these dark times is what will conquer this senseless evil. We have been blessed by our ancestors for this village and the skills we hold. Now is the hour in which we go and the hour in which our names will live on history so long as each one of us live!" Elijin jumped from the downed tree landing as Icarus came floating down from above to land on the tree behind him.

Elijin took the note from the bird tossing the eagle a bit of meat which he happily accepted. He unrolled the parchment smiling after reading through it.

"Perfect Timing I would say. Icarus scout ahead for us we move out now!" With that the small troop began their fast paced trek through the woods. Being of little gear and able to survive they could travel light.

The small contingent of rangers had made there way steadily through the woods crossing a few of the smaller streams that would of taken most of the traders two days march to get to. They stayed off the beaten path using Icarus for guidance as they slipped through the trees and undergrowth as wraiths. When the night was steadily closing in and had become quite obvious of that Elijin called a halt of the small band of forty rangers about fifty yards from the river they had neared. Bed rolls were laid out and fires were made with a few rangers heading off towards the river to catch fish or fetch more water to be boiled for drinking. Elijin posted 5 guards around the camp with rotations every few hours. The was alive for the time being as Elijin conferred with a few of the other Rangers on which way to move on the map and the best place to exit the woods for an attack.

After the meeting and night had set full in the Rangers laid down for the night with the fires out and their bedrolls well hidden in the undergrowth so that no one could see them. The fire pits had been covered back up and even the animals lay sleeping that weren't on watch with their partner. Elijin just hoped it would be a quiet night.

Xavier Lent

"This rope needs repair, it wont take the strain if we have to launch any of the larger stones." Xavier pointed out the damaged coil rope on the catapult to one of the engineers under his command. The soldier marked the item on his to do list and followed Xavier down the wall of the third level as he made his rounds. Dusk was settling by now, and he was getting exhausted from the constant walking back and forth across the walls to inspect the goings on of the defensive set up. He had already received the kings orders half way through his examination and had to go back to re-align the castle's walls to suit the needs.

This was luckily his last check and afterwards he would be awaiting the arrival of both the Rangers and the soldiers from Inae. He hoped all was well outside the walls, but until news came he would have to sit tight. Moving to the very last installment on the list to check Xavier inspected everything on the catapult from the gears for signs of rust to the ropes for signs of damage, he even did a test fire without ammunition to make sure the whole thing did not simply come apart when needed. Finding nothing out of order he sent the engineer away to prepare the repairs needed and took a well needed sigh of relief. He walked his way down to the front gates where he usually stood on post and sat on a wooden bench where a flask of wine was waiting for him and a small ration of bread. He ate and drank in silence as he stared off at the distance of the plains and forests of Acatia, where it was peaceful except for the demon's camp fires in the distance....

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Gorain

"RHUUUAG!" The humans who dared intrude on Gorain's warband were scattering out of his way, fearful of the arc of his bone hammer as it swung and crushed yet another mortals body into the dirt. His sudden reappearance even surprised his own troops, as he had been down by the river in front of his army for quite some time. He only took a small notice of his Lord's spell weaver in the mix of his troops, but he did not care as there were humans in need of bludgeoning. Taking out another with the strike of his Bell Hammer he spooked the rest off with a wave of demon flame from his mouth, setting several trees ablaze and scorching several of the humans, boiling them alive in their metal suits.

After another minute of battle Gorain, the spell weaver, and the rest of his troops had scared off the band of humans while a patch of forest burned down to their East. Gorain was in a rage, and needed another outlet. Luckily there was the spell weaver there who he could target. "YOU! What is your business with my hogs!" He charged up to the female with a deadly gate, looking to be in the mood that he would smash her where she stood if he did not like her answer. His loud voice boomed across the plains even ending up at the castle where it seemed to stir the humans into an unrest.

Just as Gorain was about to knock the female mage out of his sight, the rest of his army arrived at their position in the woods and brought plenty of siege weapons with them, from iron ballistas to hooked siege ladders, and even a Dragon Tongue Mortar which could combine a Pyromancer's magic and mechanical might into a powerful catapult like weapon. Gorain forgot about the mage and turned to his troops, one of whom brought a message to Gorain's ears. "Sir, a battalion of humans have left the castle and have traveled north, we think to bring the rest of their forces from Inae. Some of the demons have also found a small band of archers several miles off the road moving towards Valens."

At this news Gorain was enraged, roaring a battle cry into the night that once again reached the citadel of Castle Valens. He spoke now to all of his troops at once. "We shall stop the humans from regrouping! Assault their front gate! Block the road with barricades and prepare to feast on man-flesh!" His battalions roared as he did and began to chop down trees to bring with them to construct the barricades. After several dozen trees were being carried by his hogs, Gorain led them to the main road infront of Castle Valens.

His orcs set up the logs several hundred meters infront of the main gate and silently constructed walls of logs approximately 3 meters wide and tall, linked together with rope and supported from behind with more logs. Three of these spanned the road, and the hogs hid behind them. All this was done in the dark and as silent as could be so not to alert the humans until well after their completion. As soon as the barricades were complete, Gorain stepped out from behind one with the siege weapons either on the ends and in between, with the dragon mortar hidden far in back. Gorain ignited the mortar with his fire and launched it up at the castle just as the giant iron spears of the ballistas were fired at the castle's second and third layers. The mortar sailed right over a humans head to crash inside the courtyard on the other side of the humans front gate. The war had begun anew.

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Xavier Lent


Xavier had been just about to snooze on the bench as he was beyond tired from his examinations. The darkness all looked the same to him, or maybe it was just the back of his eyelids. His sleep would have to wait however, as a bright light suddenly sparked infront of his eyes. A giant fireball was coming right at him from the road infront of the castle. Rolling off the bench the giant sphere of flame nearly missed him as it crashed with a resounding boom in the courtyard, cracking the stone and sending balls of burning slag rolling across the courtyard.

Xavier looked back out at the road half blinded by the fire so he could not see what was attacking them. It did not matter what however, it just mattered that something was. A soldier on a higher level must have seen the attack, as he rang a bell to alert the rest of the castle that it was being sieged. Xavier looked up at the bell just in time to see it's ringer be impaled by an iron barbed ballista javelin. Another javelin hit the third level getting it's tip stuck in the stone wall and knocking some of it loose. Xavier yelled for his troops on the walls to evacuate the lower levels and get the civilians to the upper floors. He sent a runner to the war room where King Valens was surely to be and drew his sword, ready to fight.

"To the walls! Arm the defenses! Fight back!" Charging magic into his hands, Xavier sent a beam of white holy magic out into the blackness, illuminating the barricades and the thousands of orcs behind them. Xavier was taken aback at how many orcs could have snuck up on them so quickly, but already he was formulating a plan.

The small troop of Rangers had left well before dawn taking only an hour to prepare their encampment for movement. They policed their area quickly eating a small ration of dried bread and water, after the meal was over with Elijin called a few of the elder rangers over and they discussed plans for entering the castle.

"We should make the castle today rather early without much trouble. I fear more though what we may face that is surrounding the castle and whether the assault has begun or not." Elijins voice low towards the group around him.

"Aye the demons could of began their attack and we may be entering behind the enemy. It would give us the perfect chance to assault from the woods." A well weathered ranger by the name of Cale Tristan said in between smokes of his pipe.

The other rangers murmured in agreement at this if an attack had already started. The could launch volleys of arrows at the enemy from behind with deadly precision, even funneling an enemy into a huddled group.

"Let us go quickly then and hope the kingdom is well and the castle safe for this time." Elijin's voice rather cheerful in the face of such things. The group stood moving back to the main force that was prepared to move out their own conversations being had.

They quickly left without a scant of a marking left behind making the river in minutes and crossing it just as fast with only minor slips and falls on the rocks. The bears mostly swam across along with some of the other animals minus Scout the dog who jumped on the back of a rather unpleasant grizzly bear who grudgingly swam him to the other side. Now crossed the group continued plodding forward in what would look to be a rather haphazard formation but made them less susceptible to attacks or being taken out all at once.

The day finally came forth and then going with the night appearing as the group came upon the edge of the forest and noise of a battle ahead. The lead scout Ehren called the halt as he delivered the message back to Elijin who was near the head of the formation.

"There seems to be a full scale assault on the castle up ahead." Ehren seemed a bit flabbergasted and even his monkey seemed to take on the mood running about his shoulders or on the ground.

"I want groups of 10 placed at 30 yard intervals throughout the tree line. We'll fire volleys at them from the rear. It'll make it harder for us to be targeted and easier to take them down. Have the partners on the defensive and watching for any other possible attack routes. Each elder take a group and dig in!" The commands rolling off Elijins tongue with ease showing just how he became the leader of the Rangers.

Soon volleys of arrows began to rain down upon the orcs from various sides. The volleys keeping tempo as the Rangers had prepared for such a war exhausting their arrow supply from the village. The arrows left no trail to give away the concealed positions they held. They simply loosed arrows with deadly precision from their longbows.

Gorain

"Move up the field! Shield the Ladders!" Gorain was behind several lines of his troops shouting orders to his hogs. At his commands the front lines of orcs put their shields over top and around a column of hogs carrying ladders. Three of these columns made their way around the barricades towards the walls, and once having reached the outside of the gates the ladders were hoisted up to the top of the walls, iron hooks digging into the stone and puncturing it with the sharp tips to make dislodging them difficult.

At the same time, Gorain heard several of his hogs fall in pain. Turning around he spots another pesky servant of his Lord, Zeska. She was hard to make out because of her magic but Gorain had gotten used to her magic. Growling in frustration at the multitude of distractions Gorain struts his way towards her. He was about to speak when a volley of arrows puncture Gorain's rear lines. Staring off into the dark distance where he thought the arrows had come from Gorain stepped out infront of his hogs just as another volley came right at his chest, forgetting Zeska for the moment.

His troops shrank away from him as he opened his maw and expelled Demon Fire, incinerating the volley in a roar of rage as the fire spewed forth another 20 yards to set the fields ablaze in between him and the treeline, blinding anyone hidden there in the darkness. Turning to look back at his troops he points towards the hogs on the Dragon Mortar. "Shield the Mortar! Turn it around!" Several hogs took their iron tower shields and sat next to the mortar to shield its operators as it turned all the way around to aim at the forest. A pyromancer hog lit the mortar as it fired randomly into the tree line to hopefully hit whoever was firing at them.


Xavier Lent

Xavier ducked down as one of the orc ballista javelins flew right over his head once again. Several of his troops were trying to hide under the lip of the wall when reloading their crossbows. So far most of the bolts had hit the barricades the hogs had set up. On the upper stories the defenses were being used just as planned. The catapults were sending out large boulders towards the attacking army, but they were not yet tuned to be very accurate. Only one in fifteen shots or so hit even close to the hogs, and so far the stones were providing more cover for the hogs than damage.

Xavier charged another bolt of holy magic into his palm and sent it out to punch a small hole in the corner of the left most barricade just as King Valen and his followers were starting to come down the castle walls. He was then surprised of course by Ivy who had seemed to appear right infront of him. She handed him a necklace and vanished once more. Raising an eyebrow at the necklace he put it around his neck and ducks behind the wall again.

King Valen arrived at this moment in the heat of battle, shocking Xavier that he was not with the rest of the royal guard "My liege, I must advise against your presence here." In truth he was glad to have his lord there to fight with him. It was just as lucky that Xavier noticed a distraction at the back of the demonic forces, and could see arrows sticking out of several hogs at the rear. "It seems Holtzmann is getting into the action. I think it is a good time to push back with their leader distracted." Standing up over the wall Xavier lets out a warcry to get his troops attention. "Gather in the courtyard! Tower Shields up front, Paladins in the middle!"

The Garrison Corps was not as well trained as some of the other detachments of soldiers, but they were still a fighting force and could take the frontal assaults of the demons while other troops did the damage. Sending a hand signal to the soldiers on the upper levels he told the few mages in his forces to gather their magic and attack with long range attack. Several dozen different kinds of magical attacks ranging from fireballs to missles made of pure force were launched from the castle walls to destroy the barricades and leave the demon siege weapons mostly defenseless. Xavier gazed over at his King and raised an eyebrow. "My forces in the courtyard will take the first blows, my liege. Command them with the rest of your attack." Staring off across the field at the Greater Demon leading this attack, Xavier could see he was distracted with the rangers..... for now.

The Rangers shrank away into the again moving around the flames with two groups of 20 now on either side of the attacking force. With these two forces they began rotating volleys of 10 once more into the attacking siege beasts from behind with a few of the birds diving in acting as a nuisance with hit and run attacks. Icarus even managed to grab an orc lifting him into the air and tossing him against a shield before gaining altitude away from the attacks of the demonic forces.

"Keep up the attack! We will wedge them between us and the Kings Forces! They will have no where to turn to, let this be their grave!" Elijin roared from the forests as they continued their assault.

The rangers put up a staunch attack with their small numbers relying heavily on guerrilla warfare and the use of cover to appear as a larger force with their marksmanship. As long as they were not attacked they could continue to focus heavily on the assault why the remainder of the pets guarded the groups from any surprise attacks.

Aldric looked out over the walls at the rolling tide of orcs, seething forward even as they were cut down by the defenders. Thousands upon thousands of them, heedless of their comrades' deaths. Their sole goal: destroy the castle and slaughter those inside. Outnumbered even here by one force of the Demon Lord's army. Would they be able to hold? Gripping the stone on the battlement tightly, he jerked his hand back as a stone cut his palm. Looking at that small point of blood welling he thought back to the speech he had made this morning. Everything appeared so hopeful at dawn. He had spoken to those he led of victory, of an end to the madness consuming the land of Enri. Could he really lead them to that? Would there be any left if they won? He did not know.

Touching the small pool droplets of blood welling from his hand, he pressed two fingers to his lips and sighed. He had hoped to have more time to prepare. Turning to those around him, he examined each individual. All were ready to die for him, for Enri. Faith. They had faith in him. The power of faith would see them through. Hefting his warhammer, he stated, "It is time for them to die."

Rushing downstairs with the rest of his retinue, he approached the stables, mounting his personal warhorse. A large beast with a white coat, the horse had served him while many times, saving his life more than once. Not only would it mark him out for his forces, inspiring those flagging upon seeing their king, it would give him an advantage over the orcs in combat. As the rest assembled he rode out in front of the troops in the castle, looking across the sea of faces. Taking the warhammer close to his lips and muttering a command spell, light began to emanate from the weapon, bathing the area in a glow of white.

"I spoke to you this morning of a dawn," he bellowed, voice carrying over the sounds of battle outside. "This morning I had hope that we could one day reclaim all we have lost. That hope still burns within me just as I believe it burns within you. Outside those walls lies thousands of orcs and other perils, lead by a Greater Demon itself. Some would view this situation as hopeless but it is not. Right here, right now, we can strike a blow at the forces of the Moors as has never been done before. It is here that we can change our destiny. Days have passed where our courage has failed us, when we forsook the bonds we had established so that we may live another day. But today is not one of those days. There have been days when it seemed that the age of freedom would come to an end, when the forces of Evil would shatter us upon the rocks. I tell you, it is not that day! This day we fight! It may be night but the dawn is but a short time away. That dawn shall see our victory. I bid you stand with me, brothers and sisters. By all that you hold dear, stand men of the Light!" Raising his hammer high, a burst of light was unleashed and for one brief moment the night was day. Turning as the gates opened, he led the charge of bolstered men into the horde awaiting them outside. The orcs hesitated momentarily before counter-charging and as the two armies clashed Aldric stood high, leading his men to their future.

Ivy dashed out with the others a grin on her face though she stayed more towards the rear as she had no armor. She was finally taking action instead of just waiting around. Being mindful of the soldiers around her she began throwing fireballs from her left hand at the orcs who had yet to me engaged in melee combat with other soldier. More and more fireballs left her hand heading towards the orcs. Her right hand was moving though and with it the wind. It seemed as the wind itself was attacking the flames behind the orcs trying to urge them towards the orc or if not that put them out. Again she sent Zakia out with the King to help protect him. *We may yet win!* she thought to herself as she watched the battle unfold.

By nightfall Yrael's troops had made it near to the Castle Valens, having broken away from the horde that still held Inea. They had traveled through the day with few rests to ensure their arrival at dawn, however, even from this distance the sounds of a battle could be heard. Yrael frowned. He had not received any order to attack the castle as of yet. Perhaps Gorain had gotten a message to do so. It mattered very little, if there was a battle to be fought, so be it. He urged his Nightmare forward, and ordered his men move faster toward the castle, ignoring the exhaustion from the march thus far.

Within moments he could see the might of Gorain's armies, but the tyrant was facing toward the trees, not the castle. Yrael looked around, unaware of the Rangers hiding in the forest.

Elijin noticed the oncoming horde of troops from the flank of the enemy along with the kings mighty booming voice. He let out a shrill whistle the birds ending their assault on Gorain's troops and flying off to begin their guerrilla warfare on Yraels troops. It wasn't much more than an annoyance but it gave 10 of the rangers enough time to break off into the woods and come around in a haphazard pattern through the depths of the tree line. They noticed the dark assassin assaulting the evil troops as well ignored it for the time being as they continued their assault.

"Load the explosive tips!" Elijins voice did not ring as it kept a normal tone now the message spreading through the men as they changed from the normal arrows to ones infused with a highly combustible head of iron. The arrows were each lit at small fires at the back of the groups as the rangers took turns unleashing the volleys. The explosions rocked both Yraels forces and the rear of Gorains forces.

Vyri Veyer


Vyri was on his sleipnir mount Egregie the horse has it's own radiance about it besides being a tower war horse clad in a shining gilded armor. His shield clipped to his arm and a very menacing lance was in the other hand. He had strapped the to the saddle of his mount along with a bag of spears. The horse carried all of the weight with ease. He even snorted neighed as he waited to wade into the gore of battle that both he and his rider knew. Vyri sat patiently waiting for the king to begin the charge the visor on his helmet up for the moment before they began riding out.

When the charged was called, Vyri snapped shut the visor of his helm the kings warhammer glowing the brilliant holy light as they road out towards the enemy. The royal guards dispatched any foe that came too close while Vyri lashed out with the lance knocking enemies back and destroying their armor.

Above the sounds of battle Yrael heard a high-pitched whistle. Moments later his troops were being accosted by large birds from the sky. He snarled and drew his sword, ducking to avoid a particularly large bird of prey. "Hold together!" He called to his troops, who were fumbling to ward off the assault. Suddenly several of them fell, arrows sticking out of them. Yrael snarled again and turned toward his best guess of where the arrows had come from. "Draw your bows!" He commanded. "Fire back!" Though it was near impossible to see in the darkness. Yrael cursed, urging his horse closer to the forest for a better view while at the same time trying to avoid arrows and birds. He held his sword in his right hand and let go of the reigns, freeing his left hand. In it formed a small ball of fire which he threw at the forest, trying to light the way and see the archers. The fireball hurtled into the forest, illuminating some of the shadows before fizzling harmlessly out. He tossed a few more fireballs at the forest before retreating. The light had shown a couple of Rangers hiding and Yrael's remaining troops took aim to fire off arrows.

Yrael galloped back to his squad and returned his sword to his left hand. He divided a small group of soldiers away from the rest and ordered them to draw their swords and enter the forest to engage the Rangers in close-quarters. Those he had selected took formation, holding shields in front, above, and to the sides to ward off arrows and birds. Yrael remained with the rest of his force as they shot arrows into the trees.

Gorain

Assaulted from both sides, driven back by arrows and magic, Gorain felt the pressure coming on him and his troops. It almost seemed like he would have to retreat in order to save his forces from being over run, even though not many had fallen in battle just yet. He was relieved to hear the advance of Yrael and his troops coming into the battle. Now Gorain could push forwards without needing to worry about the archers. Opening his maw, Gorain let out an echoing warcry that shook the ground around him and many of the troops in combat. He was ready to start fighting.

Turning away from the arrows raining down and deflecting off his demon hide he rushs towards the swarm of human apes coming from the front gate tearing into his front lines. The giant Greater Demon formed a magic sigil (ancient Mark) in his left hand opposite his bell hammer and launched it at the dead corpses of a human in the fray of swords and bodies. The bones of said corpse erupted from the humans corpse in a large wall of bone spears that aimed themselves towards the main human forces, growing well over 12 feet in length and spearing several of the knights in the first couple rows of men. Gorain repeated this process three times, each time taking only a few seconds. Now an entire U shaped wall of bone spears surrounded the front gate of citadel, trapping most of the humans inside the bone spears where impaled horses, men and orcs lay dead.

On the other side of the wall of bone Gorain rallied his troops together and took lead at the head of his army, smashing a hole in the wall of bone and sending a jet of flame 20 feet long straight through it into the opposing army, lighting an entire column of troops on fire only a few rows away from the king himself. "Go my hogs! Send bolts and javelins over the wall at them! Crush their king with magic!" Several of the hogs drew crossbows and started sending bolts and arrows over the bone wall while a couple of the mages who were once defending the Dragon Mortar sent fireballs over the bone spears at the King. Any soldier stupid or brave enough to venture into the opening Gorain had made was crushed or incinerated by the Tyrant himself.



Xavier Lent


Xavier watched the horror of the bone spears sprouting up out of his troops corpses. The sight was, without question, going to punch a hole in the moral of the men. Even Xavier who was normally too logical of mind to be frightened by anything was a little put off by this power Gorain had. Luckily Xavier also had magic of his own. Standing up from his position on the front wall Xavier summoned as much energy as he could to his hands and cast his strongest spell. "Curacio!"

A white glowing mist settled over the human troops behind the wall of spears, healing light wounds and returning their will to fight. Of course the spell was limited, any major wounds would only partially heal, and the exertion tired Xavier immensely. Now barely able to stand with the weight of his armor Xavier sat on the front wall with his back to the outer raised portion as he rested there staring back into the inner courtyard.

He would have to take a rest before he could resume his part in the battle. Perhaps after he had recovered from his fatigue he could give his blade a taste of orc, and get a shot at that Greater Demon himself. For now all he could do was listen to the battle and watch the upper tiers of the city get bombarded by magic and javelin.