Atop the forest covered mountain in the distance, loomed Aenflynnâs castle. It towered above all else, a symbol of the Fae lordâs power, protected by his magics and rising high above the devastated terrain.
It stood proudly, a symbol of the sovereignty and grace of Och Fir Nog.
A symbol that, in short order, would be no more.
From the peak of one of the castleâs many towers, a radiance brighter than a second sun and more terrible than a thousand chaos bombs, shone. This was no ordinary light; it was the dying blaze of a godâs final symbol.
And when Uldarâs throne finally followed him into oblivionâŠ
..it did not go quietly.
The radiance grew, and the tower shuddered, crumbling, stone cracking, mortar turning to dust. The light faded for a heartbeat and the shaking quieted.
And for that instant, all returned to peace.
Until the explosion.
A blast of divine light ripped from the high tower, consuming everything around it like a tidal wave. Air burned away. Stone vapourized. The riverâflowing up the side of the mountain to feed the cloudsâboiled away.
Once standing so tall and proud, the mountain on which the castle was built deformed, turning to a smouldering stump of boiling rock and drifting ash.
Even the clouds were not spared; dispersed by a wind powerful enough to strip bark from trees and flesh from bone. Baelinâs summoned creatures were all blasted back to their home planes.
But Aenflynnâs forces were not so lucky.
Every living thing within the blast radius was reduced to a memory. Lush gardens and mead fountains, sturdy soldiers and cultivated trees were gone, leaving nothing but dark outlines staining the stones they once stood upon.
But even those stones were soon obliterated.
Tremendous heat and light had come first, instantly followed by the sound; a noise so loud, that any fae, Ravener-spawn or beast far enough away to not be incinerated, fell screaming, clutching their ears, deafened.
Blood ran from their ears and trickled from their eyes; the throneâs destruction was the last light they ever saw, and the last sound they ever heard.
The explosion sent ash, dust and boiling rock spewing into the air, trading the vapourised clouds for a dark canopy of soot and a deluge of rock. From many miles away, Alex, Baelin, Carey and Merzhin watched the devastation unfolding in Aenflynnâs realm.
Squinting against the lightâand thankful to be far enough away to not be blinded by itâthey watched the light and shockwave spread, consuming miles of terrain, forging it into glass. They watched the land buck and protest against the weight of the destruction, a terrible quake consuming it. The earth split apart, yawning open in hungry chasms.
Sinkholes swallowed forests.
Lakes spilled over the land, and rivers changed course forever.
When the full breadth of the detonation was over, a vast and ugly scar had mangled the face of Och Fir Nog, serving as a reminder of what had happened there.
Alex wordlessly took in the destruction, his spirit was quiet.
There was a sense of finality to this.
âWhat have we done?â Merzhin whispered. âSo many deadâŠso manyâŠâ
âDo not fret,â Baelinâs deep voice came from beneath his mask. âIt was Aenflynn who made his decisions; it was his hubris that brought war unto his realm, and many of his soldiers gladly joined him. In war, you can weep for the deadâbe they friend or foeâbut understand one thing, if that explosion had occurred in Ussex instead, and it was Aenflynn and his court watching the destruction while you, I, Alex and Carey burnedâŠthey likely would not weep a single tear for any of us.â
âWhich makes them lesser beings than you are, Merzhin,â Carey said, patting Merzhinâs back. âI am ever so bothered if any innocent were caught in this conflict, but we did what had to be done.â
âYeah,â Alex said. âAnd if Aenflynn hadnât done any of what he did, a lot more people would be alive right now; both mortal and fae.â
âYouâre right, I suppose,â Merzhin whispered. âI know that you are. And if Uldar had not done what he did, how many would have lived throughout our history? Well, now his symbol is broken. The priestsâ faith will still call down miracles for a timeââ
âAnd perhaps forever,â Baelin interrupted. âA deity is not necessary for faith. The priests still believe in Uldar and in the throne of the god of Thameland; even though both physical symbols are gone, the faith remains and is focused. Not to mention that Uldarâs body still exists. Your priesthood will likely still enjoy their powersâŠas long as their faith is not broken.â
âThe question is what comes next? We know of Uldarâs treacheryâŠso what do we do with that knowledge now that the throne is unmade?â Carey shook her head. âBut I suppose thatâs a question for later.â
She looked at the others. âThere is still the Ravener to deal with. We should go to its lair immediately and help our friends, shouldnât we? âŠAlex?â
But the young General of Thameland was frowning, deep in thought, his mind elsewhere.
In the Ravenerâs lair, he fought alongside his companions.
Within the Ravenerâs structure, he was busy poisoning node after node.
And in both of those battlefields, a similar pattern was emerging.
âI donât think we should all go to the Ravenerâs lair,â Alex finally said. âCarey, I think you, Baelin, and the me thatâs hereâby the Traveller, thatâs hard to get my mind aroundâshould go to Thameland and help protect it.â
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The young archwizard spoke to Baelin, âYou can cast Army of Heroes, right?â
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âI am a Proper Wizard, Alex.â
âThere was never a doubt,â Alex smiled. âMeanwhile Merzhin, I'll take you to the Ravenerâs lair. You think your soulâs well enough to do the interdiction with Hannahâs help, thatâll stop it from channelling divinity? Iâll tell her about our plan in Thameland.â
âI believe so,â Merzhin said. âBut why would Carey and BaelinâŠand the âyou thatâs here?ââ There was a question in Merzhinâs voice. âWhy would the three of you go to Thameland? It would make sense to put every resource we have into making sure we annihilate the Ravener for good.â
Alex shook his head. âItâs weakening. The planâs working; it got a boost of power from Aenflynn, butâŠthings are going wrong for it. Honestly, I don't think it's going to take much more to bring it down. Thatâs why I think Thameland needs the help more than we do in its lair. We want to keep as many people alive as we can, while Claygon, me and the others are finishing things in the cavern.â
âA sound suggestion.â Baelin nodded.
âYes, I would ever so much prefer to go and protect Thameland if the Ravener is truly beginning to fail,â Carey agreed.
âAlright,â Merzhin said. âLetâs do it that way then.â
âGood,â Alex said. âOkay hereâs what weâll do: Iâll teleport you to the Ravenerâs cavern, then once youâre there, Carey, Baelin and I will teleport to Thameland. So when you get to its lair, just focus on the interdiction, the others will protect you; Cedric and Iâve been healing everyone.â
âAlright then,â Merzhin said. âAnd you are sure we are doing well?â
âYeah,â Alex said. âI donât think thisâll last much longer. The only thing we have to worry about is if the Ravener does something desperate.â
âIndeed,â Baelin said. âThe wounded stagâcornered by its predatorsâis not when it is at its strongest. âŠbut it is when itâs most dangerous.â
Theresa Lu thanked her great-grandfatherâs swords for the thousandth time that battle.
In the chaos of the Ravenerâs lair raging around her; death-beams flew, poison air drifted, and waves of destructive energy swept through the cavern. Ravener-spawn churned around the mortals like a stormy sea.
All through that storm of violence, what had kept her aliveâand still fightingâwere her companions, Brutus, her own life-enforced body and the Twinblade.
The six swordsâtwo in her hands, and four blades of energy floating around herâwere cutting down monsters bent on ending their lives. The blades in her hands struck out, raining razor-edged steel on any monster they found. The ethereal blades surrounding her protected her and Brutusâ flanks, carving up creatures like a bird at a Sigmus feast. Her massive, bone-armoured blood-familiar spread his jaws, releasing cones of sonic destruction, pulping flesh, cracking stone and grinding bone to dust. His spiked armour was another weapon, ramming anything that came too close. With jaws spread, he clamped down on any monsters that had escaped his mace-like form.
Earlier, Theresaâs, Brutusâ and the othersâ power had been straining against the Ravenerâs assault.
âŠbut now, things were turning around.
It was plain that Uldarâs construct was weakening.
Its death-beams fired less, and missed their targets more often than they hit. Its spawn were being birthed less, slowing in number, and its powerful magics were weaker.
The companions were handily pushing its waning forces back, turning things in their favour. "We almosâ got it beat!â Cedric shouted, sweat pouring down the Chosen of Thamelandâs tiring form. He had been healing the group continuously, drawing divinity through his soul, taxing himself.
But now, his companions were being hurt less often.
He had room to breathe.
And he used that breath to encourage the others.
âDonâ none oâ ya even think about holdinâ back!â Cedric lifted his morphic weapon, shaped like a bow, and launched divine arrows into the Ravenerâs form, watching them explode as they struck home. âWeâre gonna make it!â
âNo!You will not!â the Ravener rebutted him.
Its form shuddered, struck by Cedricâs arrows, and a bombardment of blows from Hart, Asmaldestre and Alex.
But it wasnât giving up.
A point of blinding light grew on its surface, firing another death beam, aiming straight for Cedric. Theresa snarled, flying toward the Chosen.
âIâve got you!â she shouted, throwing her blade.
With full force, it spun through the air, flying in front of Cedric.
Theresa made a grasping motion, vanishing and materialising, holding the sword sheâd just thrown.
The huntress spotted the oncoming beam and raised the Twinblade in her hands, the four ethereal swords floated in front of her, crisscrossing in mid-air. Theresa followed the beam closely.
Watching as it struck her swords.
She was driven back by inches, teeth clenching, the deadly energy pushing and burning against her great-grandfatherâs blades. The energy roared, her muscles flexedâŠbut the Twinblade held firm against the Ravenerâs beam, as she knew it would.
She switched the angle of her blades, and the energy was deflected by the magical steel, rebounding toward the Ravener, crackling through the air and striking the construct dead on.
The explosion blew part of its surface away.
It shrieked in frustration.
Cedric laughed, looking at Theresa.
âI wanted to do that at least once,â she said.
The Chosen blew out a breath. âYâshoulda been Marked. If yâhad the Champion or Chosen Mark, weâda busted that thing up at least aâyear ago!â
âMaybe,â she said. âBut it doesnât matter. This is where we finish it off. Look.â
She pointed her sword at the section damaged by the Ravenerâs own beam. It was repairing itself, but the crater of an injury was regenerating far slower than before.
âItâs bleeding out, so to speak,â she said. âThe huntâs almost over.â
She looked at Alex, teleporting around, slinging spells at Thamelandâs ancient enemy.
He truly looked like a hero.
They all did.
And she knew that he and Claygon were alsoâsomehowâinside the Ravener, executing their plan.
âFinish it,â she whispered, then raised her sword, going back to the battle.
As she did, a new figure materialised in the cavern.
The Saint of Thameland floated in mid-air.
Without a word, he clasped his hands together before him.
And began calling upon his divinity.
The Ravener was struggling, and there was no place where that was more obvious than inside its massive structure.
Alexander Roth, General of Thameland stabbed another syphoning device into a crystal in another of the Ravenerâs mana nodes.
Fluid, designed to poison its essence, flowed through the bane-needle, withering the constructâs being as it ran through the crystals, stealing their inner light, dulling their lustre.
With a wave of his hand, Alex sealed the device in Walls of Roiling Magic, then teleported out of the node before it collapsed on him. Very few Ravener-spawn were near him, fighting to stop him from poisoning the node, and the small number that were there were lethargic, moving slowly and clumsily.
The spawnsâ condition looked no better outside the node.
When Alex reappeared in the dark realm outside another black tower, signs that the plan was working were plain.
In the distance, Claygon and his army of monstersâAlex still could not believe the power of his buddyâs new evolutionâwere ripping through the Ravenerâs hordes while Uldarâs construct desperately fought back, using its insidious magics.
But, these were feeble now, compared to what they had been.
It was no longer able to channel its own mana with the precision and force it could before. It was failing in every way and its mana production was falling.
Alex took in the towers.
âJust one thing left to do,â he whispered, picturing the Ravenerâs schematics.
There was a specific place he needed to go to; a central point for channelling the constructâs energies, much like inside a golem core. If he rewired it to cause what would effectively be a mana reversal, the Ravener would lose even more control.
Its inner energies would unravel, andâwhen Merzhin placed his interdiction on it with Hannahâs helpâthere would be no chance of it reforming.
He took a deep breath.
âFinally,â he whispered.
The General of Thameland teleported to the last, intact tower and placed his hand against its surface. It was different from the others, with no tunnels on the sides, but that wouldnât stop him.
He followed the mana flow through the last node and teleported to its centre.
He materialised, ready to call another device to his hand and apply it to the central crystalâŠbut instead he stopped dead.
There was no crystalline cavern in this node.
What stretched out before him, in this central control centre for the RavenerâŠ
âŠwas an exact replica of Uldarâs throne room.