Fire had been set to the holes left by the Twins of Deception. In the time that had come to elapse the wall had begun to glow a vibrant red. The inner hollow had now begun to weaken. Within it sat the trees of eternity, which now had now caught fire. Their bitter burning scent filled not only the air with smoke but the nostrils of all in the area as well. The dense clouds of fog clouded the vision of the warriors both within and outside the wall. Zacura had taken to the front lines. Canavis stood eager at her side.
"The wall burns, but it has yet to fall. What are we going to do?" "The fire will not be enough. Remember what the brothers said. We must burn it, and then break it down." Canavis looked to her shocked. "Do we hold that many boulders in our possession, Alpha?" "No, we do not. But we do have enough to weaken a certain area." Her tone carried a hint of madness within it. "By weaken you mean what, Zacura?" Her glowing eyes turned to look him over. Her gifts had come to awaken, and she had only one thing in mind. "Do you know why dragons were made to fear that wall?" "No, Alpha, I do not. Neither do you in all respect." Her fangs came to bare at his disrespect. She did know; in fact, within her mind she stood watching as the wall was forged. The histories had already begun to sync into her mind.
The reason why dragons were made to believe they would die if they ever crossed the wall is because they are the only thing large enough to break through it! The realization hit her like a strike of lightning. Zacura leapt onto a nearby rock and roared, gathering the attention of her men. "To the west lies the weakest crack in the wall! It is there we shall strike first! Edarics move out, pull the trebuchets behind me! Arcaisieans! See your talents to the front lines! Clear a path! Sekians sound the horn!" Manuke at last came to find her, once more his sense of pride overflowing. She looked to him as the horn came to sound. Zacura charged forward, armor rattling upon her changing fur. Canavis and Manuke followed at her sides, their bodies barely able to keep up with her evolving form. The Edaric hounds were not far behind their stride, their strong bodies now stampeding towards the wall..
Cairaway, leader of the Sekian warriors came to blow the horn. Its song sang for miles. The time at last had come. The wall had begun to sink into the ground, the weight and heat of melting metal far too great. Maerick descended from the clouds to fly just above Zacura. "What are you doing?!" He yelled. "Doing what my father never could! At the sound of my call, I need you to crash through that wall! I will do all I can to lighten your fall, but I make no promises you will be able to land without injury!" She spoke nothing more and picked up her pace. There just before them grew a glow of circular fire, its radiance pulling Zacura towards it. The trebuchets came to halt. Men and women both came to load them with a struggle.
"Fire!" Zacura yelled. Boulders laced in tar came to hurl towards the wall. Each slammed leaving a mere dent before cascading back down into the soil. "Fire!" A second set came hurling this time cracking the wall slightly. Zacura eyed it closely waiting for the perfect time. "Zacura! Do not do this! It could kill him!" Manuke warned. "He will not die. Not while I stand breathing!" Her fangs came to nip his snout in dominance. The old wolf yipped at the touch of her fangs, their heat leaving him burned. "Fire!" The third and final round came to fly, yet this time they came to pierce the wall. A small hole had come to form, and at last Zacura set her eyes to the flaming tree of eternity. It sat rooted in flames, yet its turquoise leaves stood unharmed. Above them Maerick had continued to scale the vastness of the sky. His wings flapped sternly against the growing wind, the weight of his armor beginning to weigh him down. He turned to remain hovering above the battle, his eyes watching his commander. Zacura had come to plant her paws so firmly to the ground that her claws dug holes. Her eyes set ablaze, her body glowing in lines of geranium beneath her armor. Her head shot towards the sky, and within an instant, her roar came to boom through the air. It traveled among the wind as if a sonic boom. At its strength, Maerick tucked his wings and flew downward. His body cut through the clouds as if a sword. Zacura watched closely as he came to be seen once more. A battle cry of sheer determination came to spray from his jaws in sound and flame. The Keeper's gift came to form as if a god itself. The ground began to tremble as it rose. Soft wet soil came to rush upwards atop the harsh hardened ground. Time seemed to halt and freeze as he came to collide with the wall of Qwiloe. His body broke through it with ease, but with a price. He came to fall directly into the flames, rubble of the wall coming to fall atop his neck and head. The soil came to wrap around him, somewhat cushioning his fall.
His body was limp and unmoving, his breathing near to none. "Maerick!" Zacura called forth as the legions came to pour out before them. She looked behind her to see the Sekians releasing the Edarics. One by one did they surge forward, many passing Zacura in her charge.
"What are those things, Manuke?" She questioned running forth behind the first line. "Those are Trayeodawn, but the inhabitants know them by another name. Aim for the throat, your bite will be useless elsewhere." The two forces came to clash in fur and flesh. Blood instantly sprang as the Trayeodawn took first blood. A Skyline was the first to fall, his head no match for the weight of a warhammer's blow. Time after time they fell, until Zacura made her way into the mass brawling. Throat after throat did she claim, dodging the swing of swords and flying arrows. The Sekians charged in directly behind her spears pointed high aiming for the throats and eyes of the creatures.
The stallions of Sek leapt over and around the fallen bodies of the enemy. Their riders claiming more souls than even the hounds could. From the west came the storming masses of Draconvieh. Their flags and banners flapped about viciously as they cascaded down the hills. The shining face masks of their horses nearly a beaming wave of light bright enough to blind those before them.
"Take no prisoners, kill all you see!" Calira bellowed as they came to at last charge directly into the center of the crowd. The warriors of Dread who had taken to their true forms, came to ignite the ground in fire. Time and time again did they circle their unique flames and poisons coming to demolish all in its path. Blood puddles splashed upwards as the demon horses came to fight those before them. Their newly-shaped teeth ripped into whatever they came to grab a hold of. No matter hound nor human, the horses never failed to claim a victim. The might of both forces came to tear and rip at each other fiercely. Zacura stood alone fighting a path to her fallen guardian. From every direction, the weight of her enemy came. They seemed to target her before any other. The Arcaisieans came to sing their song of death. Their voices drew their path into battle. Their arrows flew into the wind every one let loose striking their target. But for every enemy they killed, more rapidly took their place.
Tonisa remained at Calira's side, fighting nearly back-to-back upon their horses. Before long both had been covered in a bath of blood. "See yourself to the temple, Calira! I will hold them off !" She screamed shifting in her saddle nearly missing the lunge of an Edaric. "We go together! I will not lose you in this madness!" The pair rode onward for the temple, only Tonisa stopped to look over the fallen Maerick. Unknowing of her disobeying him, Calira rode on into the smoke and out of sight. She came to stand before the dragon's chest, her sword pressed upon it.
"I always knew it would end this way, my dear sweet Maerick." "Get away from him!" Zacura spoke sternly. At last she had made her way to the fallen drake her armor and fur painted in the life force of her enemies. Tonisa turned to face her, her horse rearing in fear. Zacura was four times the size of her mount, and even the carnivorous horse knew better than to challenge her. She fell from the saddle and onto the ground below. Her sword remained in her clutch as she rapidly came to rise. "Well, if it isn't the little Keeper. Last I saw you, you were infested with fleas and begging for food."
Memories stormed her mind again, paining her head. She shook them off and came to link the scent she had come to smell before her departure. Fangs of red came to bare, the fur upon the back of her neck rising to stand sharply. "I said, get...away...from him!" Her words were but a series of snarls and saliva. "And if I do not what shall you do to me, dog?" Tonisa began to laugh, her guard fell and so did she. Zacura's full weight came to fall atop her throwing her sword from her hand. Her thumbs pressed into the hinges of the hound's mouth in attempt to save her face from an inevitable mauling. Lunge after lunge Tonisa managed to keep Zacura at arm's length. She felt so small and so vulnerable beneath the large canine. Her knee came to find the hound's chest, its blow knocking the wind from her lungs. She backed off and growled, her chest heaving to a freeze. The skin of the Tydran's back came to rip, allowing a steady flow of blood to pour from the wounds. Her wings came to spread, and her eyes came to show their true identity.
Just behind them Maerick began to stir. His wings lifting from the ground as his eyes came to slice open. Tonisa rose to her feet and looked over her left pauldron that had come to break at the snout. Gathering her sword, she charged Zacura at full speed, her war cry long and determined. The sword swung once around her head before being caught within Zacura's jaws. She ripped it free leaving the hound to growl in pain. The blade had cut her deep. Flames began to birth from her maw leaving her snarl and bite toxic. The two surged again, this time fist to claw. Maerick began to rise his throat glowing with the threat of fire. Tonisa had managed to dig her nails into his beloved's throat. The yips and whimpers Zacura gave were enough to fully raise him up. His tail swung, its end point hooking around Tonisa violently. He ripped her from his commander and tossed her as if a ragdoll. Her body collided into the rubble left from the wall, only then did she call for Corongo.
A whistle travelled the passing wind and like smoke, the red horn hoisted her from the debris and stormed towards the temples. Her wings began to recede back beneath her flesh, her body now resting atop her new mount. Zacura stood, coughed the blood from her lungs, her limbs shaking."No!" Maerick screamed as he rushed to her side. Her voice was battered and husky, her body now trembling.. "Maerick...take the others, take Manuke and find what we came here for." "I will not leave your side! You will not die here, no not like this." "Do as I tell you, or my death will be in vain. Take the others, secure the safety of my clan and return victorious as promised. Go!" He stepped back from her unsure of what to do. He had sworn to protect her and failed miserably. "If it is your wish, I shall not fail in that." His wings opened, and he took the sky in search of the old wolf.
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