Kieran and his troops were able to keep up the distractions for three nights. During those three nights, Teal explored the caverns with her Flow, sensing the length and enemies at the end. Of the six possible entrances Fulmar found, two were short enough to swim through. They didn’t need to wait for the water to mysteriously recede according to the Flow of Tidal Valley’s Essence.

They had set up the outpost’s training dummies behind the drummers, after dressing them up in armor, to keep the enemy’s attention and frighten them. After three restless nights, they seemed more relaxed. Less men patrolled the walls and it was quieter overall.

Now, Kieran and the rest of the outpost hid in the woods, behind the drummers and dummies, waiting for Fulmar and his group’s signal. Twenty minutes had passed and there was no disturbance inside of the fortress. Either they succeeded and were stealthily making their way up now or they failed, and were being questioned. He paced back and forth.

“Didn’t she say that was the best entrance?” Kieran muttered, not intending for anyone to hear.

“You’ve little faith in your attendant, Your Highness?” asked Belen. He sat under the next tree wearing a padded jacket and holding a crude iron mace in his hands. “Last night, we were all debating on the matter of which entrance so much but this morning, she chose that one without a shred of hesitation. I think it’s better if we trust her decision.”

Teal’s resolute decision caught them off guard. She was the one who brought up doubts about using the caves before, but after one night she’s all ready for the assault. It didn’t match her usual quiet and unsure personality. He couldn’t challenge her either since she was the sensory specialist.

He didn’t want to keep thinking about it. “...I’m going to look for Me’dun.”

Delving deeper into the woods, he reached a small clearing. A man with deep scars running along his right eye basked in the moon’s gentle light. His lips parted ever so slightly, shaking with uncertainty.

“Though the sun sinks from the sky, we war through the long unending night.”

He sang a quiet song.

“While our flesh is ripped and torn, we harden ourselves.”

That told of struggle.

“Though we fall in droves against the tide of foes, we still hold out, praying for the light.”

Charged with hopelessness.

“While our wings are plucked from our backs, we bare our horns and claws.”

And filled with sincerity.

“Though we know there is no hope, we fight on… wishing for the dawn.”

The scarred man felt ethereal in that moment.

Kieran recognized the lyrics. It was a song composed by The Archon right before his victory at Haald Plains. He always thought the song was a bit sad, a eulogy for all the lives about to be lost, but he never realized how haunting it actually was.

Me’dun noticed him and bowed, “I’m sorry, Your Highness. I did not notice you. They should be opening the gate soon. I shall join you immediately.”

“No, it’s alright. Is it popular among the soldiers? That song, I mean.”

“Fading Light is that name I know it by. Perhaps the older among us enjoy it, yes.” Me’dun looked up at the moon again. “When I was younger, a man I served under used to stow himself away and sing this song before a large battle. I suppose I picked up on his habits.”

“Is he still commanding?”

“He was slain by a knight.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Raise your head, Your Highness.” Me’dun gave a half-smile. “For us who know not but war, there is no greater honor than to fall in battle where we may burn brightest.”

The old warrior’s declaration stirred something in him. The war neared its sixtieth year. Sixty years of bloodshed, for what reason? For stupid claims over land? For their gods who were long gone? Perhaps he didn’t understand. No, he couldn’t understand. He didn’t belong in this world after all.

“Shall we return, Your Highness?”

Back at the edge of the woods, a column of smoke rose from inside the fortress followed by panicked shouts. The drummers looked back. Kieran waved for them to continue. Their enemy was confused right now, no need to change anything.

Teal ran to them from the direction of the cave, stopping next to him as she planted a hand on her knee. “I made it…” she gasped. Her half-glazed eyes fell on him. He turned away as the two doors of the gate opened.

“Don’t go...” she croaked, reaching out. “Please, wait…”

“Charge!”

The sudden rush of sixty or so people rumbled the earth. Someone on the wall shouted and arrows rained down, littering the ground. One person tried to conjure a moving barrier but he failed and was pierced through. Green Cloak was nowhere to be seen and no one in the embrasures shot fast enough to match his speed.

Was he fighting the fire?

The infiltrator who opened the fortress’s doors fell over with wounds in his back. Enemy soldiers leveled their spears by the gate, daring the attackers to come. Kieran’s forces didn’t falter. Invigorated by seeing their plan succeed, they trampled the defenders underfoot. Barrels and crates dropped from above, an unlucky few were crushed. Alexandra smashed one bound for her like it weighed nothing.

A horn rang echoed throughout the fortress, and the valley.

They pushed forward. Kieran followed the wave of soldiers but kept to the back. Me’dun and Belen led some troops and blocked off side roads, effectively cutting off their rally points.

A group of their men went up the stairs to the wall. Their progress was steady and they gained ground until one man sent them all tumbling down. It was a knight. A knight in full shining, plated armor came to greet them. Painted on his helmet was an image of a sword and hammer over a shield. He unsheathed his blade from its scabbard and pointed it at them.

“You,” although his face was youthful, his voice was deep and raspy. “I, Rith Faulke, challenge you.”

Alexandra’s arm shot out, stopping him from responding. Her cold eyes never left the knight standing before her. She hadn’t shown her claws but he felt a chill run down his spine. “Focus on your mission,” she said. “I shall make sure he does not approach.”

The knight scoffed, “You must be the demon Arono spoke of. I will claim your head and then that master of yours.”

Kieran couldn’t believe his eyes. The knight jumped into the air reaching inhuman heights as if he were a massive beast. His sword came down with all his weight behind it, tearing through the ground where Alexandra once stood as if it were nothing.

Any person who got in the way of their fight was cut down like paper. Alexandra avoided his deadly attacks by a hair’s width. Despite his power and skill she flinched nor felt the need to retaliate. She led him away as he pursued her with reckless abandon.

Reinforcements trickled in from every direction, spurred on by the sight of the knight’s display of power. However, Kieran’s soldiers fought even harder after seeing Alexandra effortlessly avoid his attacks. The defenders flinched at the sight of all the Blessed and those who ran away were cut down leaving their allies vulnerable. The fortress’s soldiers fell by the dozen. Within an hour, they would have complete control.

His first mission would be a success.

Arrows punched through the chests of four men who dropped like flies. At the end of the path, Green Cloak struggled to hold up his black bow. Blood seeped from his shoulder, soaking his tunic’s sleeve and running down his side. He looked like a pale shade on the verge of collapse, yet he nocked more arrows.

Four more Blessed fell in the face of his attack. Their padded and leather armor did little to stop the arrowheads from ripping through their chests.

Kieran fired off a spell, and Green Cloak dodged his shadow bolt. A slight opening had opened and all his men took it. They surged toward the bowman. The scattered enemy regrouped and met the Blessed head on, allowing time for Green Cloak to unleash a volley of fire.

Fierce fighting broke out. The clash claimed more lives than the storming of the gate. Screams from both sides filled the fortress echoing through the valley, and drowning out the sound of the fire still eating at the buildings. Green Cloak, after running out of arrows, conjured them from the air. They were bolts of Essence sharpened to a point and fired with a vaear bow.

Its force was tremendous. It sent the person it hit flying back into other soldiers. The bowman alone was enough to make up for the deficit in numbers.

“Focus on him!” Kieran commanded.

A warrior broke through, his extended claws going for Green Cloak’s throat. Green Cloak spun his bow and deflected the attack, chaining it into a sweep and finishing off the warrior with an Essence arrow.

The longer the fight continued, the more people would lose their lives. Kieran slipped away to get a better vantage point. He cast bolt spells from just outside the mass of fighting bodies. Green Cloak didn’t expect it and took a direct attack. Although the spell had enough power to shake a tree, the bowman staggered to his feet still conscious.

Even if he didn’t fall from the attack, precious time was bought. The defenders were getting overwhelmed by sheer numbers. In a matter of minutes, the battle would be over and the fortress would be theirs for the taking. The tides were in their favor, so to speak.

As the fortress’s defenders faltered, realizing that their struggle was fruitless, Green Cloak yelled in defiance. “Do not give up! If you run now you’ll only be struck down. Cut off their head and we may still win!”

His words resounded in the faces of his allies. The defenders on the verge of collapse fought with little fear of death. Although they still fell as claws and spears tore apart their bodies, they inflicted back grevious wounds. Some broke off from the fray and turned their sights onto Kieran. He avoided their spear thrusts and sword cuts for the most part and protected himself with Essence bolts.

A stray blade broke past his defenses. It cut his shoulder. More slipped through, denting his chestplate and drawing blood from other parts of his body. He unsheathed the sword resting in its scabbard and countered with his own steel. It was different from the tournament. Here, every cut he delivered seemed accompanied by terrified shouts and the realization he might kill someone.

This wasn’t a game. He had always known. He always dreaded it.

As he distanced himself from his attackers, a light caught his attention. The air itself shivered and he could feel the tides crashing inside their caves. When he activated Raah, he saw just how much Essence was packed into the arrow. Green Cloak’s eyes shined and he let go.

Kieran’s senses went into overdrive. He conjured a barrier and manipulated his Flow to reinforce the barrier. He had practiced it with Alexandra and it was powerful, but the cost was also great. Using it drained nearly all of his strength. There was no other option.

The arrow collided with the reinforced barrier and energy crackled in the air as their Essence clashed. For a moment, he thought it would hold. Then, it shattered. Shadows dispersed into the air as the barrier faded away. Intense pain wracked his shoulder as the arrow pierced his muscles. It crippled his ability to move. He couldn’t breathe. All of his breath had been used to scream.

Soldiers from his side tackled the enemies who rushed to finish him off.

Green Cloak created one more arrow. It was less powerful than the last one but it wouldn’t miss. As the arrow flew through the air, the world slowed. Memories flooded his mind as his brain searched for something, anything, that would keep him alive.

Crimson red flashed across his vision. It was Alexandra. Her fingers closed around the shaft of the arrow, and the Essence distorted at her grasp. Half was crushed in her hands, half continued forward.

It was the slightest, most miniscule hint, but in his last moments, he saw the briefest of emotions in her face. Surprise, panic, and something else. Something hidden deeper in the layers. Something he would truly never see.

Then, sky-blue hair filled his view. She pulled him into a half embrace and he watched as the arrow pierced her back.

Time returned to normal. Kieran stumbled forward as he held onto the weight of another person. What happened? Everything blurred when he looked down. It was Teal. Why was Teal in his arms?

He laid her down as she gasped for breath. “I made it in time…” she said as her eyes closed.

He shook her. She didn’t respond.

He placed a hand over her mouth. His hands were numb. He pressed his head against her chest. He listened… his own heartbeat rung in his ears. Here? Here? Here!? He searched for a sign of life but his body couldn’t process anything.

Alexandra met his gaze. He could no longer read her expression. Claws grew out of her right hand. The knight she had been fighting pushed through the soldiers and swung at her. It happened in slow motion. With Essence still coating his eyes, he saw her hand move across the knight’s neck.

She walked past the defenders and struck them down as she went until she stopped in front of Green Cloak. Her hand reached into his chest.

Then, time returned to normal. The knight’s head rolled across the ground where a dozen other bodies fell at the same time. Green Cloak had a hole through the left side of his chest.

In Alexandra’s hands was his heart.

The battle was over.

“I need a healer!” he screamed. “Belen! Belen get over here now!”