Part 1

“Ma’am, calm down. Calm down. Tell us what you saw.” the captain of the Kligirian scout said. “We're here to find out what's going on but we can’t do that unless you calmly explain what you saw.” Salim tried to reason with the hysterical woman.

The middle-aged woman took a deep breath, calming herself. “Th-there was sounds coming from the ground. My husband went to go see. That’s when we found hundreds of giant holes in the ground. Big enough for a full-grown man to fit into. They went so deep we couldn’t see the bottom, though we know they curved at some point cause we threw a torch down one and it stopped about thirty feet down and slid around a corner.”

“Where is your husband now?” Salim asked.

“Over in the field.” she pointed, looking terrified.

“We’ll find out what's going on, don’t you worry ma’am,” he assured her.

Leaping back onto his horse, the captain urged his steed forward and twenty men followed behind him. They had ridden an hour from Riqun on Hazam’s orders to scout the place. There were concerns of a disturbance coming from the ground but he brushed it off as villagers overreacting again. Nothing ever happened out here, apart from small skirmishes on the border, it was a bleak and boring job.

After riding for several minutes, they saw the woman’s husband waving his hands and shouting for them to stop but they heard him too late. An instant after realizing what the man was saying, two horsemen on his left collapsed into the ground, falling into a deep pit.

Unable to stop in time another horseman behind them slid straight into the pit as well but the rider managed to leap off his horse, grabbing the side of the enormous hole that sucked two of his men into oblivion.

Immediately, other men dropped from their horses to grab the dangling man and pulled him up. His horse had survived the fall but had broken all its legs and it screeched in pain, writhing around on the loose ground far below them. The two soldiers that collapsed the ground were nowhere to be seen, buried beneath the soil.

Salim snapped his finger and an archer nocked an arrow and shot the horse, putting it out of its misery.

Several soldiers started cursing, unsure what had just happened. Two of their comrades were dead in a blink of an eye. Salim looked down into the pit below, knowing if he had been just a few feet to the left he would have met the same fate as those two men.

“Is it the Thrak?” one of the soldiers asked Salim.

“I don’t know,” Salim replied, his voice distant.

“Oh dear god!” the husband yelled, running up to them. “I tried to warn you. This place is unstable, we need to get out of here.”

“Indeed,” Salim said quietly. “What can you tell us? We met with your wife moments ago.”

“I-I don’t know, sir. We woke up in the middle of the night and heard rumbling and the earth was shifting under our feet. In the morning we found all these holes dug up all over our field.” he said quickly. “There’s something awful down there, sir.”

Salim sniffed, turning his head behind them then he looked to the base of the mountain, “You need to leave. Our job is to find out what this is.” he gestured to the land around them. “Take your wife and head for Riqun. You’ll be safe there until we know what's going on.”

“Sir. I heard them moving below. The ground is getting weaker and weaker. I implore you to leave with us.” he said, concern written in his body language. “At least come to the edge of it all, find out from there?” he suggested.

Salim looked at the scared man, who had every right to be and he decided to take the older man’s advice. Considering he had just lost two men to a pit, it would be wise to retreat, for now, then come back on foot.

“Very well, old man.” Salim nodded. “I’ll listen to what you have to say but you must leave with your wife… for now at least.”

“Okay. Okay.” he shook from fright.

The older man walked up to a horseman who held out a hand to swing him up onto the horse when a deep rumbling shook the ground around them. It grew louder and the earth seemed to loosen underfoot. Parts around the pit crumbled inward, filling it in more.

“They're moving!” the villager yelled.

“Retreat!” Salim shouted. “Fall back to solid ground!”

As he called for a retreat the loose earth in the pit shifted and a black creature shoved its way onto the surface. Freezing in shock, everyone stared in amazement at the sight, it was alien, something they had never seen before. It screeched a high pitched cry and with one jump, the creature flung itself completely free from the pit, landing next to the old man. He screamed and tried to get away but it was on top of him before anyone could react.

“Move!” Salim yelled as it landed next to them, drawing his sword. Seeing the movement and agility of the creature, Salim knew from its features, this beast was a Thrak.

He was too slow, the monster opened its mouth and lunged onto the man. Its jaws opening wide, revealing a mouth filled with teeth. Rows and rows of sharp razor-like teeth ripped into the man’s neck, shredding him to pieces, it’s long boney arms holding him down.

Salim forced his horse forward and swung his sword at the creature's thin neck. Cutting clear through, its head fell to the ground, parts of human flesh in its mouth. The villager lay dead on the ground, blood spraying the earth around him.

“Retreat!” he screamed as two more creatures dug their way to the surface.

Immediately they turned their horses and pushed their horses to top speed, fleeing the scene, unsure what they had just witnessed.

All around them, dozens of creatures popped up from the ground around them, the ground grumbling a loud roar as more moved to the surface. Salim’s heart sank as hundreds more shot from the ground surrounding them.

“Get the wife!” he shouted.

They slightly adjusted their path, toward the woman’s house but had little hope they would reach it with hundreds of slick black creatures continuing to swarm around them, their red eyes pulsing.

Without pause, the Thrak attacked the Kligiran scouts without mercy. Salim began to panic as the rest of his men were. Fear of death kicked in for they knew it was fight or die. Swords and spears plowed through the small creatures as they made a mad rush to the house.

A Thrak on his left lept straight for him, flying through the air from ten feet away on a collision course with Salim. He swung his sword down hard, slashing it nearly in two and almost knocking him off his horse from the momentum. Everyone around him fought for their lives but more and more of them swarmed them.

Salim watched as three more horsemen were swarmed and ripped from their saddles to be torn limb from limb. The scouts quickly outran them so instead the creatures didn’t bother attacking the men as they passed but rather struck at the horses instead.

This told Salim that they had a more intelligent nature than he’d like. They were trying to cut them off from escaping but they weren’t enough to overwhelm them yet. Having just gone partially into the maze of holes, their hope to escape increased.

Two more men flew from their saddles as their horse’s legs were slashed by long claws nearly cutting through the horse's legs and Salim’s heart sank further. Instantly, the men on the ground were swarmed and met with a gruesome fate.

Everyone’s adrenaline was spiking, intense fear threatened to set in yet the panic was kept at bay with the small hope of outrunning them. Unfortunately, another dozen monsters emerged from the ground in front of them. Their monkey-like forms hopping along the ground rushing straight for them, a few jumped in the air to slash at them with their razor claws whereas the rest bent down below the reach of swords and attacked the horse's legs, flipping several more men off, causing them to fly forward through the air. Those with spears protected themselves and their horses but a few unlucky men missed their targets and were sent flying forward off their horses, one after another.

Eight men left, Salim glanced up at the house where the woman was. She had run out of the building and was smart enough to head for a point in the path where they would pass her. Running with all her might, Salim and his few remaining men quickly closed the gap, not daring to slow down, however.

Salim stuck his arm out to swing her onto the back of his horse in one fluid movement but she missed his arm entirely. He sped by her, hoping that someone else didn’t miss her.

In a panic, the woman lunged forward and collided with the horse behind him. The impact sent her flying and the horse stumbled and the rider lost control and fell from his horse.

Salim made a split-second decision at that moment, knowing that the creatures were on their tail, he turned his head and shouted orders. “Leave them!” without a shadow of doubt in his mind, he knew they would all die if they turned back for them now.

The woman looked to be dead but the soldier on the ground quickly jumped to his feet, instantly sprinting after them.

One rider disobeyed him and turned back for the fleeing man, the creatures closing in on him fast. Expertly, the man ran beside his savior and kicked off the horse's leg giving him momentum to land behind the soldier that had come back for him but two black monsters had outrun the chasing party and caught up with them right as the man remounted.

Lunging forward, its teeth bared, attached its mouth to his arm, nearly ripping him off the horse but the two men held on tight for dear life as the horse kicked and bucked. Latched on like a leach, it was kicked full-on by the horse's hooves and flew backward but the arm remained in his mouth.

The soldier stared down at his stump of an arm and started screaming but the creatures gave no pause. Another flung itself at them and a second before it reached them, Salim rushed past them, sword spilling its guts open, knocking it away from the two men.

His better judgment failed him, Salim couldn’t leave them behind to die. Still galloping he swung around, and bolted after the rest of the men, with the two close behind him.

He heard a yelp of surprise, followed by screaming and Salim turned his head just as the rider that had gone back was pulled from his horse and whipped like a ragdoll to the ground. The man with the missing arm held on to dear life with his remaining arm as the horse didn’t miss a stride catching up to its brethren.

Salim stared backward to see the creatures had given up the chase. Giving a sigh of relief, Salim pulled up next to the man with the missing arm, making sure he didn’t fall.

After several minutes of a full-on sprint, Salim slowed the remaining men to a stop to tend to the bleeding man. There were six of them left, including himself, their faces haggard and pale.

“Bandage his arm. We leave in one minute.” Salim yelled as he threw a pack of gauze to one of the soldiers, dismounting to do as he said.

“This is it.” one said. “Those things are what Regent Trygve has been talking about for all these years.”

“The Thrak were underground this whole time,” Salim whispered. “We have to get back to Riqun and warn everyone.”

Part 2

“To arms!” men shouted through the walls of the castle. A bell ringing the alarm, loud enough for all to hear. Several guards dashed past the door where Kyburn was resting. His hand was wrapped in bandages while his two broken fingers were splinted with thin pieces of metal.

Standing to his feet, Kyburn awkwardly dressed and strapped his sword to his hip. He left his armor on the armor stand and headed for the door. More shouting and commotion could be heard from the courtyard outside. Reaching the cool night air, Kyburn saw the sun had gone down but a sliver of light could be seen coming over the mountains to the west. He saw six horsemen in the yard yelling their Kligirian language, arguing about something. Noticing one man with an arm missing being carried away beneath him.

That brought his attention to the seriousness of the situation, “What could have torn his arm off?” he wondered. “There were several large beasts roaming these lands, perhaps they were attacked by animals but why would the alarm be going off if that were the case?” he thought.

Hazam was in the middle yelling and shouting as most if not all of the men in the castle were preparing for an attack. He caught sight of Trygve barking orders from below him. “Regent!” Kyburn shouted at him.

Trygve looked up from his spot, seeing him bent over the side looking down at him. He gestured to him to wait a moment then continued with his shouting.

Kyburn waited patiently on the Regent while he organized his men for whatever was coming. Finally, Trygve broke off and made his way up the steps toward him. “Lord Kyburn. I was just about to send someone to fetch you.”

“What is going on, Regent?” Kyburn asked curiously. “This looks… serious.”

“I’m afraid it is.” Trygve’s face looked pale with worry but he kept his cool. “The Thrak… their here.”

“What?” Kyburn stiffened.

“I sent out a scouting party to investigate strange reports of thousands of holes in the ground at the base of the mountain just outside a village near there.” he started to explain. “They were attacked by what they described as Thrak. Only seven in total returned. One in critical condition.”

“You said thousands?” Kyburn’s tone turned to a grim sounding commander. “Are you equipped for something like this?”

“Honestly?” Trygve said, glancing at his feet. “We don’t know what the Thrak are capable of and haven’t the slightest idea if we are ready for such an attack.”

Kyburn paused thinking, hesitated then reconsidered, “You need to let my men out of your dungeons. Every one of them are highly trained and would be invaluable in a fight. I give you my word that once this fight is over with you may put them back wherever you like.”

Trygve looked at him, measuring him up, unsure if he would actually be stupid enough to try something. “Very well. I will have them released and armed immediately but they must follow my commanding officers.”

“Do it,” Kyburn said. “Now. Where are Erik and Henry? I haven’t seen them all day.”

Trygve froze in place, “You weren’t told?”

“Told of what?” Kyburn squinted his eyes at him.

“They went into the Ancients ruin and haven’t come out. The entrance has been closed half the day. We haven’t been able to communicate with them or open the door.” Trygve told him. “Honestly I had forgotten after the news of the imminent Thrak attack.

“Uh.” Kyburn groaned in frustration. “We can’t deal with that right now. You are right to put the safety of Riqun first.”

Kyburn and Trygve looked down over the valley as a long horn blast warned them of incoming enemies. For several moments they saw nothing but then both their mouths dropped open as they realized how many moving bodies poured over the ground below.

The ground was black and shimmering which at first glance would only seem odd but after staring for several seconds, Kyburn saw the black shimmering movement were creatures completely covering the ground, not a trick of the eye.

“How many men do you have?” Kyburn whispered.

Trygve gazed out into the valley, flabbergasted at the number of Thrak. “Three hundred. Give or take,” he mumbled back.

Every soldier on the wall went silent as they saw their foe sprinting closer. Even the horn stopped mid-blow as he realized their imminent doom. Thousands of Thrak covered the entire valley, pouring over the land coming straight for the castle.

“Let’s hope Erik and Henry can wake the Ancients up,” Trygve said quietly, still in shock.

Kyburn was in utter shock as well but he snapped out of it an instant later and started barking orders to the Kligirian guards. “Every man with a shield to the walls! Fifty men to the gates with spears and shields. Archers up here on the second level! Move!”

For a moment everyone hesitated but jumped into action. Trygve didn’t seem bothered by Kyburn giving orders to his men. In fact, he looked grateful, for he was no commander but rather a politician. Hazam was the man for that.

Hazam didn’t seem to mind either as he yelled and screamed at the men to hurry as the Thrak drew closer.

“You!” Kyburn screamed. “Release my men from the dungeons immediately!”

“Uh. Uh. Yes, lord.” he looked to Trygve for confirmation and he nodded his approval.

“You don’t need to be here Regent. Go inside where it’s safe.” Kyburn more told than asked. “Find out a way to open the door to the Ancients. I fear they are our only hope now.”

“I won’t abandon my men,” Trygve said stubbornly. “I appreciate your concern for my safety but I’m staying here.”

“No,” Hazam said, walking up behind Trygve. “Lord Kyburn right. Please go inside, sir. Help Henry and King Erik.”

Trygve stared at Hazam for a moment, hesitating from his general asking him to remain inside where it was safe. “Very well. I will find a way to wake the Ancient if it kills me.”

“Thank you, Regent.” Hazam bowed to his leader. “We hold castle till then.”

“Kyburn.” Trygve turned to him. “We cannot hope to beat that many Thrak. Hold as long as you can. Pull back into the castle itself if you have to.”

“We will do everything we can,” Kyburn said. “But, sir. If you see that there is no hope, take everyone you can and escape through the caves. Promise me this.”

Trygve hesitated again, looking into Kyburn’s stern face, unbending and determined. “I promise.”

“Go.” Hazam looked worried and wanted his leader to be indoors as a massive army of Thrak approached, getting closer by the minute. “Not much time. We hold them off.”

“Stay alive!” Trygve yelled to no one in particular. “It has been an honor serving you all! May God have mercy on our souls!” with that the Regent disappeared inside making his way to the ruins below.

“We all dead,” Hazam whispered to Kyburn, gazing out at the seemingly endless horde of Thrak.

“Some can escape through the mountain,” Kyburn mumbled back. “Not all hope is lost.”

Part 3

Minutes passed after Trygve left and everyone was frantic to get into position. Fifty men with spears and shields bottlenecked the gate whereas two hundred men lined the walls in three rows also with shields. Little more than fifty archers stood on the upper levels at the ready with thousands of arrows stocked in large baskets.

The Thrak were nearly upon them, swarming up the narrow mountain path like a stampede.

“Archers at the ready!” Kyburn and Hazam yelled at the same time.

Every man visibly tensed as the ground shook beneath them. The rumble of the stone not only drew fear into their hearts but also threatened to shatter their wills. The mere sight of the Thrak army would make any man shiver in fear, yet, every Kligirian swallowed that fear and stood their ground bravely, facing off their imminent doom.

Kyburn couldn’t help but be impressed with the Kligirian's iron will, unbending even at the sight of what charged them. Kyburn held his breath as the Thrak reached the wall. The sound of the army was thunderous and the inhuman screeches that followed even more so. Howls of rage and bloodlust pierced the night air as their red eyes shown through the darkness.

“Fire!” Kyburn bellowed, as hundreds of arrows loosed over the wall and hitting their marks. It was nearly impossible to miss with the amount of Thrak that charged them.

To his surprise and dread, the Thrak ignored the gate altogether and climbed straight over the walls. Each man bellowed a war cry and thrust their weapons overhead, slashing and cutting into alien flesh.

Not one part of the wall was untouched by combat, threatening the entire perimeter. A roaring buzz of intense fighting ensued. The Thrak swarmed up and over the walls, clawing their way through in a feeble attempt to slash any exposed flesh, the well-armored humans kept the onslaught at bay. Each row held their shields over their heads, protecting themselves from above. Swords poked through the cracks and killed scores of Thrak then shoving them over the inside of the wall to keep them from pilling on.

Kyburn saw a score of Thrak leap entirely over the wall of men and land directly in the courtyard behind the fifty spearmen at the gate. Unable to react in time, the Thrak slashed their way through ten men before being defeated.

Unable to stand and do nothing, Kyburn wrapped the bit of bandage on his fingers and quickly tied his hand to his sword as two fingers were weak and hardly gave him a grip. Tying his hand to his sword remedied that problem. Jumping down a flight of stairs, Kyburn joined the battle from the back, protecting the shield men's rears.

“Pull back and make a circle around the courtyard!” he yelled to the men at the gate.

With this strategy, any Thrak that made it over the wall would land on the ground below surrounded by spears. This proved to be extremely effective as they formed ranks and followed his command.

A lone Thrak jumped toward Kyburn, seeing that he was relatively exposed but he saw the attack coming before it happened. The creatures lunged straight at him, arms swiping wide. Kyburn dodged to his left and sliced off the arm and in one fluid movement brought his sword back down into the head of the monstrous animal.

It was the first time Kyburn got a close look at the monkey-like creature. Standing on four legs, the Thrak stood to the height of his chest, it’s long boney arms made it look lanky. Its thin body twitched as its leathery skin showed off its back to reveal razor-sharp spines the size of a finger lining its back. However, those spikes twitched again and folded back down to the point where you couldn’t tell if they were deadly razors or not.

Kyburn focused on its face, it was round and elongated, its open mouth egg-shaped, and filled with hundreds of teeth. The closest comparison, Kyburn could think of when looking at the head was of a leech. The rest of its body looked like a black, hairless monkey if not for the spikes jutting out from its back and long arms. Though it had no fur or scales, Kyburn couldn’t help but compare it with a lizard as well. It’s short but thick hind legs were the reason for their insane jumping ability. The sight of it up close sent a shiver down his spine.

The dead Thrak before him, drew his attention for an instant, taking in the sight for memory. Kyburn whipped his head around at the sound of blood-curdling screams.

Thrak continued to pour over the walls, the weight from holding the large beast on their head took its toll. Morale and strength were failing fast. A break in the line was the first part to make the rest crumble.

Turning their focus to the Thrak beside them now, took away from the slowed flow of Thrak coming into the courtyard where the spearmen were already becoming overwhelmed.

The archers had a continued rhythm of arrows showering the Thrak but it wasn’t enough. Lines were breaking, soldiers being flung aside and shields being ineffective due to their sides being exposed. Once the Thrak got a foothold on the wall itself, Kyburn knew it was the first step to their demise. A portion of the archers averted their attention to the Thrak slaughtering the men on the wall, giving the men a chance to retake the opening. However, it was short-lived as more Thrak collapsed the lines of more sections, opening for more breaks in their defense.

Kyburn saw Hazam was on the front lines, unable to command as his full attention was on what lay before him at that moment. He debated whether or not to call a retreat to the next level but it was risky as they could leave large groups of men to their deaths as the Thrak already were separating them.

A war cry from the courtyard, boosted Kyburn’s own morale as he saw his men pour out to re-enforce the Kligirians. Captain Arne led the charge in full armor pushing past the line of spearmen and cutting their way up the stairs to the men on the walls.

They were a welcome sight as they fought back dozens of Thrak swarming the soldiers on the wall. Kligirians and Xerians fighting side by side was a sight to behold. For a moment, Kyburn saw hope of holding out from the endless onslaught but that hope was quickly squashed as more and more Thrak poured over the walls, relentlessly.

“Retreat!” Kyburn screamed at the top of his lungs. “Retreat to the second level! Retreat!”

At this point, there were so many that they were getting dangerously close to reaching the archers above which seemed to be their immediate goal. Kyburn noticed the flow change dramatically, leaving the left side almost entirely unchallenged as the bulk of the forces rushed the right side, causing a panic.

Kyburn watched in horror as his own men were swarmed and overwhelmed. Arne and a few men lept from the walls in a last attempt to escape death and landed on the stone below. Hazam and a dozen more men were cut off from the main force, stuck in the middle with no way out. Jumping from the walls as Arne had done was their only option now but they didn’t, they kept fighting, slashing, and stabbing like madmen.

“Protect the archers!” Kyburn pointed with his sword but was interrupted by another Thrak rushing him.

Kyburn rolled to the side, barely dodging the claws that swiped an inch from his head, cutting off bits of his hair. He whipped around and cut the creature in two, spraying black blood everywhere. It struggled, still alive with half its body missing. Kyburn stomped his boot on its back and shoved his sword down into its head.

Looking up to see Thrak nearly reaching the archers, Kyburn rushed up the stairs to help the remaining Kligirian shield men from the wall. Almost all two hundred men were dead, leaving the archers and spearmen below to defend. Kyburn rushed up behind the dozen or so shield men fighting for dear life to protect the archers but were quickly being overwhelmed.

He glanced down to see Arne and a few Xerian soldiers join the spearmen and get to relative safety as the Thrak continued the persistent attack. The men below had backed up to the entrance on the first level and formed a defensive line there.

He shouted a war cry that filled him with adrenalin. Leaping forward, Kyburn went into a frenzy, slashing his way through dozens of bodies. Losing all train of thought, he cut down Thrak left and right and he soon lost all sense of time.

Suddenly four Thrak from the front and two from both sides, surrounding Kyburn. He lept backward swinging his sword at the four in front of him, catching one across the head, killing it. The other three pursued him without a pause, whereas the Thrak from the sides hesitated. From the corner of his eye, Kyburn caught a glimpse of a dead body behind him but he realized it too late and tripped over it during his backstep.

Taking the golden opportunity to kill him, the Thrak pounced on him, one reached him first. Kyburn managed to bring his sword point up in time to skewer it but the rest reached him and he knew he was going to die.

A dozen shouts burst overhead and Kligirian soldiers smashed into them with their shields, protecting him. Defending him from all sides, they stood over him, giving him a chance to regain his scramble to his feet. To his dread, one soldier was attacked by two at once and knocked over but Kyburn couldn’t reach him in time. The Thrak encased his face with their jaws and his skull buckled under the pressure, crushing his head and spraying blood everywhere.

“Pull back!” he yelled to whoever could hear him. “Pull back!”

Defeat was upon them, and Kyburn knew it. They had lasted longer than he had originally expected but the Kligirian’s fought like berserkers, unyielding to the bitter end. However, they too could see there was no hope in fighting on. Obeying his order, the Kligiran’s began to retreat into the castle itself. The archers quickly, single file, disappeared into the doors behind them.

Below, Kyburn could hear more shouting and followed by a door slam, telling him the entrance to the main castle was closed. Hopefully, no one was left behind during the retreat.

Slowly backing away while cutting and slashing their way toward the small entrance behind them, the last archer retreated, giving them the chance to escape. Kyburn hid behind the first row of shield men, jabbing his long sword through the cracks whenever the creatures lunged upon them. It was a simple but effective method, especially on this portion of the wall where it was narrow and not easily accessible to the Thrak.

However, Kyburn guessed there were only ten men still left on the wall with him, scooting backward, unable to break ranks and make a break for the door. Some of the soldiers trickled away from the wall as they drew close enough.

The Thrak’s eyes raged brighter, their screams and howls pierced the air and a moment later, dozens of Thrak poured over the wall in front of them. Kyburn had three men in front of him, whereas the rest had made their way inside, waiting for them. They were only feet from the door when they made a mad rush to the door, trying to escape the berserk creatures. Once inside they could seal off every entrance with steel doors and if that didn’t stop them, they had dozens of chokepoints where they could hold off in small hallways for days.

Kyburn rushed inside but whipped his head around to see the three men behind him get knocked over all at once to the side before making it in.

“No!” he yelled racing after them.

Kyburn wouldn’t leave them after they had saved his life. Rushing outside again, Kyburn saw them fending off their attackers, their shields protecting them while pinned to the ground.

Three Thrak had plowed into them and now stood over them trying to claw their way through the shields. Kyburn lunged forward, his sword raised above his head, and swung down with all his might. He sliced through all three Thrak with one blow cutting them in half. A few more Kligiran soldiers came back out, guarding the door but unsure to rush to their aid or secure the door before it was too late.

All three men jumped to their feet with the speed of a cat, seeing as they had moments before they were overwhelmed once again.

“Go!” Kyburn bellowed and he yanked one of them to their feet.

He was right on his heels when he heard a loud gasp from the Kligiran men inside, glancing to the side Kyburn saw a dozen Thrak leap for them, knocking them all to the ground again inches away from the door.

Kyburn managed to get his sword in front of him and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth nearly ripped his head off. A moment later he saw the Thrak hesitate then the weight of the one trying to kill him lifted and was flung clear over the courtyard and over the wall.

With awe and wonder, joy and relief, Kyburn gazed up at the magnificent sight. Two Ancients stood over him, their blue hue glowing faintly. Their shimmering armor glittered with a diamond pattern, seeming to make themselves glow. Towering over them, the two Ancients each pulled out swords from thin air, materializing into their hands.

One male, standing eight feet tall and one female standing seven feet tall, looked poised and ready for the fight to come.