Chapter 44: Mother

The Eye of Yacsuun shined high over Amaya’s head and the terrible red light that covered the sky seemed to radiate stronger. Her hand tightened around her staff and quickly she built a spell construct in her Mindspace. Calling together the right runes for the effect that she wanted to take place. In a few seconds, the spell came to life and surrounded her lifting her into the air as she gazed at the remains of a ruined Nox nest. The creatures only became more feral as they fought deeper into the ruined landscape of the front lines.

“What do you see?”

Her cousin called from below. Amaya glanced down seeing the worried expression on Aegis’s face. The air had a certain charge about it and Amaya was shortly joined by multiple magi-humans. Aisha Loft was the only one to near her.

It had been two weeks since they set out and began to destroy the nest or bases of the Nox. The battles, with the corporation of the Crimson Army and the Unified Forces of the Last Kingdom, were fought valiantly and with small losses because of the higher-tiered strength. The Unified Forces were still learning to use their aspects and perks. Since they had just begun to use Aegis’s strange magic none had been taken by the Nox and converted.

A thing that was highly feared but never came to fruition and the tale of the Crimson Army was beginning to be widely spread amongst the Primans.

The ruinous nest was one of five they already eradicated with just two more remaining before they completely wiped out the remaining Nox underneath the Eye of Yacsuun and the current front lines of their invasion into the Last Kingdom. From here was the territory of the daemons who lived within the mountains and could hole up against the Nox until reinforcements arrived.

Amaya heard a small boom from the ground and watched as Aegis propelled upwards looking towards the direction of the former Artis Empire and its capital. The direction she was previously looking at.

“What is going on?”

He yelled as he passed her before he began to fall towards the earth.

Amaya rolled her eyes and descended before her cousin made any more of a fool of himself. She would not let him especially when all eyes were on him. By now plenty of rumors spread and the Watchers kept the leadership well informed of what the Primans were saying about their strange new allies. Alongside Karla not being able to hide what she did to ensure their help and cooperation for much longer. Everyone wanted to know who they were and why they were helping the Last Kingdom. After the destruction of Fort Carrano with the Crimson Army being their only survivors the pressure on the young lady increased. She wasn’t the queen of the Last Kingdom yet as her father still breathe even if his body remain unresponsive.

“I don’t know. Loani have the mages begin scrying the area 50 miles ahead of us. Let’s push forward the last two nests are not that far apart.”

*

“|Flame of Legion|” Amaya felt the drain on her mana and caught her breath as her grip tightened around Hope of the Dragons. The five spells it held would be kept in reserve in case of an emergency and they needed to bail. The Flame of Legion was one of the most powerful spells her family developed. It was a tier seven spell that had several effects and it was how Amaya cleared two of the Nox nest almost single-handedly.

Flame of Legion worked by consuming the characteristics of a creature before duplicating and spreading to another doubling from host to host while burning them to a charred crisp. These characteristics could range from their blood, body structure, or several other factors. Once finished only ash and charred remains would be left. The downside of the spell is that it could latch onto another creature if it didn’t find a host within the allocated amount of time latching onto a characteristic of the person or creature the spell found similar. Amaya couldn’t help but notice the curious but thoughtful look Aegis was giving her as she held the construct steady. A second downside to such a powerful spell but a positive as well. The spell caster could not leave the general area of the casting, but she would be able to cut the spell off if it happens to run out of control. As she grew in tier her spell arsenal grew but the massively destructive spells all had their downsides. Their high mana cost was one of them. Right now Amaya could only cast four tier seven spells before her mana was spent.

The Eye of Yacsuun shuddered and the sky that was already red grew darker turning crimson then darker still. Settling down once it appeared like dry blood.

The surroundings grew quiet. The frontlines had always been a desolate place when it came to the life of creatures with a rare bug or two only being spotted occasionally. With the pack animals, the Unified Forces brought those sounds that had increased but not to such a degree. Now everything was still, and Amaya felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. Her body barely saw what happened next, its tier three strength was strong enough to barely see the actions of her cousin as he moved. Time seemed to slow as Aegis grabbed her breaking her spell while he lifted his shield with his left arm still moving as something impacted against them. Amaya wasn’t completely helpless and the moment her connection broke to Flame of Legion she began to activate her perks. The voice of her cousin doing the same.

“A True Mage is to remain the quickest.”

“Three chances, three spells.”

“I am the Fortress, and the Fortress shall move, gritting itself through all damage it may take.”

“I can see all weakness before me, and all shall provide to my insight.”

“I call to you fireflies who’ve lost their spark come from [Beyond].”

“When it is dark enough, even you can see the Stars, yet be wary of the illusions they cast.”

Amaya began constructing three different spells straining her mind and ability to multitask to the very limit. Aegis jumped and Amaya watched another three versions of themselves all head in different directions while the real pair went towards their slightly distant army. Amaya hadn’t wanted them to be so close once she cast |Flame of Legion| not wanting the spell to hit any of her troops or the Last Kingdoms. So, she and Aegis were the only two to venture close to the countless holes that littered a portion of the ground.

A pressure overtook them. Tyrannical, furious, and out for blood was everything Amaya sensed from the aura as her own and Aegis billowed out to help mask their presence and which of the illusions wasn’t the duo.

Aegis was moving slowly and for a moment Amaya’s thoughts deviated from the spells she was building wondering why until she remembered. When casting Starlit Eyes Aegis movement and concentration was restricted. A second later he dropped the ability and three force bolts fired off into the direction he pointed as the illusions he summoned were destroyed. The cousins working in tandem like a well-oiled machine words barely exchanged between them. Their actions spoke for them.

“I can sense them.”

A voice rang out. Coming in the direction Amaya fired her spells off at. All their actions had taken mere seconds since the initial attack yet there were hundreds of yards away from the original impact area that Aegis blocked but the blow destroyed the land around them.

The Crimson Army was a mile away and all thoughts on preserving a battle formation were out of the window as the dominating aura of a ranked being radiated over the area.

The cousins remained silent, Aegis’s eyes glowed for a brief moment and his speed slowed as several more illusions ran off.

Amaya gripped her staff tighter now on her feet but still in Aegis’s arm. She would not have the opportunity to dodge if an opponent of a completed path attacked her at such close range. Aegis barely managed to react in time and Amaya didn’t at all only her mind keeping up with the events. Her body was not strong enough to counter anything a Land God threw at them. Another explosion rang out in the distance and Aegis sped up once again. Not even pointing this time as Amaya fired off a few more force bolts. The element-less bolts of raw energy flew off into the distance and a huff was heard. It was only now that Amaya realized what happened. They fell into a trap.

“I can sense the deaths of my children upon your hands.”

Aegis slowed once again as they neared the edge of the dust cloud which had expanded due to the second powerful blow upon the land. The air crackled with energy and a piercing guttural cry rang out that almost forced the cousins to their knees. Aegis reactivated Starlit Eyes and several illusions of themselves ran out of the dust.

Several things happened at that moment. The first was a wave of red energy slicing through a few of the illusions and a highspeed figure crashing into the others. The ground began vibrating and within moments hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of Nox were within range of her aura. The moment the last of the illusions broke Aegis ran towards the already charging forces of the Crimson Army.

“I CAN SENSE THEM.”

Yet in those few moments their attacker’s attention was directed elsewhere Aegis was already gone and Amaya let loose one of the spells she kept in reserve.

“|Storm of Fire|.”

Seven large spells construct all red in color appeared hovering over the sky in the position their attacker landed at. Taking but a second for the construct to activate. The constructs became one as the spell activated. Three twisters began spewing flames as they formed and descended. The black charred ground incinerated and melted.

As the spells raged and consumed the area Aegis deposited Amaya in the front of their army who had come to protectively surround them.

“What trouble have you brought our way, Aegis Kan?”

Amaya denoted her spell as the words of the princess washed over them. The words came out before all sound was drowned out by the roar of an explosion. The Crimson Army was close to the blast radius and Amaya released the second spell she built within her Mindspace while keeping the final in reserve. A shield appeared in front of the army taking the brunt of the damage before breaking. Her mana pool was close to spent having used three-tier seven spells all close to one another, but Amaya didn’t care. She needed to do as much damage to the Land God before it could recover and join the tens of thousands of rushing Nox. All beginning to emerge from the countless holes that dotted this portion of the front lines.

“We need to breakthrough. This land is mostly open until we reach the mountains.”

A powerful female voice projected by magic was heard and Amaya recognized the voice of Princess Karla as the Unified Forces caught up with them.

“We can’t, we won’t make it in time a Land God is here-”

Amaya began alerting the Princess and the rest of their forces her words only stopping as the tyrannical aura overtook them once again.

The Eye of Yacsuun crackled with energy and Amaya knew that her actions had triggered a magical storm today. One that could lead to the destruction of both sides if they fought against one another in it.

Out of the raging inferno as a result of Amaya’s spell Storm of Fire rose a figure piercing red eyes stared in the direction of the armies and a gasp spread over the forces as the figure approached but stopped just shortly after sending a glance up at the sky before turning and looking at the countless red and golden vein figures behind her. Amaya’s heart raced and she felt her pulse quicken. Every single Nox broke through another tier. Her grip tightened on Hope of the Dragons, but a sudden feeling overtook her. She wanted to fight to challenge the being before them.

“Who are you?”

“What are you?”

Amaya and Aegis asked simultaneously both sharing a glance at one another before their attention returned to the humanoid figure covered in an armor-like carapace. A voice from their side spoke up.

“Mother.”