âBe ready,â the king of Thameland whispered.
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He stood on the walls of the capitol city, looking out.
His muscles ached.
His breathing was heavy, but the power of both the Generalâs magic and the Travellerâs blessing flowed through him. On the wall around him, his knights remained watchful, scanning the fields ahead. The Generalâs powerful mercenaries flanked them, and without them, many more lives would have been lost. The city was quiet now, delivered from Ravener-spawn.
Yet the same could not be said for the fields surrounding it.
Another horde of Spawn was rushing for the city gates, gnashing their teeth and flexing their claws, snarling, howling, and crying out for Thameish blood.
The king gripped his sword. âSteady. Steady! We only need to hold out as long asâŠasâŠâ
His words trailed off.
âSire!â a court wizard cried. âLook! Somethingâs happening to the spawn!â
Tobias Jay pushed through the crowd of knights to stand behind his king, and watch the horde approaching the city.
Or rather, that had been approaching the city.
Across the fields and forests, thousands of Ravener-spawn suddenly âŠstopped.
One moment, they were rampaging toward Ussexâs high walls, and the next, they were as still as statues, staring ahead, looking through what seemed to be unseeing eyes.
As one, they suddenly dropped.
Ravener-spawn collapsed on themselves like puppets with their strings cut. They sprawled on the ground, unmoving, as silent as the grave. Flyers plummeted from the sky, landing in heaps. On fields that a moment earlier werechurning with life, dead bodies now lay, silent in death.
In less than a breath, thousands of Ravener-spawn were corpses.
The king, the high priest and the other defenders of Ussex, stared down at the sight in bewilderment.
They were falling.
Dozens of Ravener-spawn fell in the tunnel ahead of them, right in front of Rippâs shocked eyes. One moment, they were fighting for their lives, and the next, every Ravener-spawn had simply toppled over, dead.
âWhatâŠwhat happened?â Kybas asked as Harmless cracked the bone of a dead behemoth, eager to feast on the contents. âI wonder whatâs wrong with them?â fÉŸeeweÉnŃłveÉ.com
âI donât know,â Ripp said. âBut, whatever it is, I think it means we won. If theyâre dropping dead, I think thatâs good news.â
âSvenia, are you seeing this?â Hogarth asked.
âI was about to ask you the same thing,â Svenia murmured, pulling her halberd out of a gibbering legionâs corpse.
The two guards and other defenders peered down the tunnel at Ravener-spawn corpses lying on the ground ahead of them. All was quiet.
âWhatâs happened?â A Watcher asked.
âIâll tell you whatâs happened.â Birger smiled, tears in his eyes. âMy boy did good, is what happened. All of those young folks did good.â
He looked up at the ceiling.
âWe got âem, Kelda.â
Vernia Jules fell silent, watching Ravener-spawn falling across the moors.
They collapsed like stalks of wheat cut down by a farmerâs scythe.
âWell,â Gemini said. âThis bodes well.â
âIt does, indeed,â added Councillor Kartika.
âMy word,â Professor Jules muttered. âI think this might meanââ
As she spoke there came a shimmering in the sky.
The image of the Traveller formed above them, her white robe contrasting with the blue of the sky behind her. She beamed, waves of joy radiating from her smile.
âThameland,â she said. âItâs done. The great battle of our time is finished. The Ravener is gone, and not just for this cycle, but forever. The kingdom and its people are at last free, thanks to the Heroes of Thameland, their companions and your endless efforts and sacrifices! We! Have! Won!â
There was a moment of silence.
Then the wizards of Greymoor shouted in victory. Fists pumped. Watchers hugged mercenaries, some even bowed their heads in reverenceto the image of the newborn goddess.
âWell, that looks to be check,â Hobb said calmly. âAnd mate, if I am not mistaken.â
Professor Jules didnât cheer quite yet.
She wouldnât.
Not until her students came home.
âLook! Look above!â a soldier cried, pointing to the sky above Coille Forest.
There in the sky was the image of the goddess, the Saint of Alric, transformed and transcended.
âItâs the Traveller!â a priest shouted.
âShe heralds victory!â cried another voice.
âWe have won!â
âThe Traveller bless us!â
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âWe are delivered from the darkness!â
âBlessings upon the Heroes! Upon Thameland!â
In front of the Cave of the Traveller, the Thameish army chanted, cheered, and threw themselves on the ground in supplication. The news of victory spread to those within the cave itself, they joined in celebrating and praising the newborn goddess.
The only members of the teams of defenders who did not join in were Toraka Shaleâs golems, they had fallen silent and were completely still. There was no more fighting for them to do.
Ravener-spawn corpses filled the forest of Coille.
Never to stir again.
A cheer erupted from thousands of voices, rising over Ussex as the Traveller made her announcement. Her image had appeared across the sky, visible from every part of Thameland.
As one, the entire kingdom cried out in victory, in relief, and astonishment.
The Thameish king was no exception.
âVictory!â King Athelstan declared. âWe have victory! We have truly won! Rejoice, Thameland! Rejoice!â
âI told you we would live.â Kyembe of Sengezi sheathed his sword at his waist. âAnd live well. We drink from the cup of victory along with these brave folk. Ah, but we should go and findâHm? Wurhi?â
The tiny Zabyallan had collapsed across the parapet, panting heavily, her sword limp in her fingers. âFeels like my arms are about to fall off. Damn these monsters ten times! Twenty times! I hope they eat hot coals in the hells. Hot coals dipped in dung and soaked in a fishermanâs waste basket!â
Kyembe responded with a deep, rich laugh.
A little distance away, Ezerak Kai smiled wistfully. âI did not have to witness another kingdom fall. This is a good day. This is a very good day.â
The golems stood silent near Alricâs walls as the townâs defenders cheered, clapped each other on the shoulders, and caught each other up in the deepest hugs.
Standing in front of the medical tent, Peter and Paul gazed up at the sky, their jaws agape.
âDidâŠdid we just live through this, Peter?â Paul asked.
âAye, Paul,â Peter replied. âI think we did. I think we did, at that. Traveller be praised, and Iâm going to buy the Roth boy an entire keg of ale when I see him next time.â
âThe biggest keg in the townâs history.â
Baelin and Carey floated in the sky, watching the Thameish countryside.
Carey looked up at the Travellerâs image, her face beaming. âItâs done. Weâve won at long last. Thameland is safe!â
âIndeed.â Baelin looked at the fallen Ravener-spawn on the plains below. Already, he was eyeing the bodies, looking for any choice samples that met his eye. âIt would seem that our friends and allies have brought down the cornered beast. Very good. Well done, my young friends. Well done.â
âIâŠI think it's dead! I think itâs dead!â Cedricâs joyful cry filled the cavern.
The Ravener, pressed to the wall by Alexâs companions, was completely silent. No mana stirred from it. No angry cries demanding the return of Uldarâs body. No spark of divinity. No attempt to attack or defend itself.
Nothing.
What once was a terrible construct of horrifying power, now seemed to be dead. A damaged orb of dead, black material.
âIt is done,â the Traveller said. âI feel no signs of life from it, no connection between it and Thameland, or any other energies. It is dead, and I have told Thameland.â
âYou mean we won?â Thundar blinked, catching Khalikâs eye.
âI think we did!â the prince grinned.
âWait,â Theresa said, cutting in before they could start celebrating. She was carrying Uldarâs body over her shoulder like a sack of trash. âWhereâs Alex?â
The others fell silent, looking at each other.
Then all eyes fell on the black orb.
Alexander Roth, archwizard, General of Thameland and former Fool of Uldar, stood within the corpse of the Ravener.
All was quiet in the wake of its death.
The node was calm, yet Alexâs mind reeled.
The Ravener was dead.
The monstrous creation of a monstrous god. Something that had plagued his people for millennia.
Was actually dead.
It had changed the very direction of his life.
And now it was dead.
With the aeld staff giving off waves of relief in his hand, he stepped forwardâusing the light of the aeldâs crystalline blooms to light his wayâand placed a hand against the throne.
It was ash grey, flaking like cold embers.
He closed his eyes and poured his mana into the Ravenerâs pathways.
Nothing.
No spark of energy or life; the mana pathways were completely burnt out.
âItâs over,â he whispered, hardly believing it. âItâs actually over.â
âFather?â Claygonâs voice reached through the link with his father. âFather are you alright?â
âIâm fine, buddy,â Alexâs thoughts reached back through their link. âIâmâŠIâm more than alright.â
âFatherâŠthe RavenerâŠhas gone silent. Itâs not moving at all,â Claygon thought. âIt seems to beâŠdead.â
âYeah,â Alex thought. âIt really does.â
The young wizard teleported out of the node and into the dark world within the Ravener. There was no movement around him, the air was cool and free of energy, a deep silence filling it, only broken by Alexâs steady breathing.
Suddenly, the world began to shake.
Dark skies began falling.
The ground cracked further.
In the distance, node towers crumbled.
âFatherâŠ!â Claygon called through their link âThe RavenerâŠitâs breaking apart!â
Alex took a quick look around, then teleported out.
There were no barriers, no traps, no death beams, nor magics to stop him from leaving the Ravenerâs internal spaces unopposed. He could leave with no problem, and he did, reappearing in the Ravenerâs lair.
Everywhere he looked in the dark cavern, he found blood and bodies.
Thousands of Ravener-spawn were heaped atop each other in great piles. Ahead of him, his companions had pushed the Ravener against a stone wall.
Or rather, what was left of the Ravener.
Cracks were spreading through the constructâs lifeless form as it crumbled. The sphere dissolved, its form running like black rain, and spilling onto the stone floor.
It ran until it poured.
Increasing in volume.
âItâs bigger on the inside, thatâs why there's so much of that stuff,â Alex whispered.
âAlex!â an excited voice cried.
The young archwizard turned in time to see Theresa flying toward him at speed. She tossed the burden on her shoulder asideâUldarâs body, Alex realisedâdiscarding it to land on a pile of Ravener-spawn bodies like so much trash.
âMaybe we should be more carefuâOof!â he groaned as Theresa barreled into his chest at full force, nearly knocking the wind out of him, and wrapping him in a crushing hug.
âAlex!â she cried, pulling back and cupping his chin in her hand. She turned his head this way and that, examining it closely. âAre you hurt anywhere? Are you alright?â
âYeah, Iâm alright,â he smiled.
Her eyes met his. âAnd is it done?â
He nodded. âItâs done.â
The huntressâ eyes sparked, and she froze for a moment, then began trembling and laughing. She let out a whoop of joy that echoed through the Ravenerâs lair. âBy the Travellerââ
âYes?â Hannah said.
ââwe won!â Theresa finished. âWe actually won! Itâs true, we did it!â
âFaaaatheeeeer!â
Alex looked up just in time to be hugged by an evolved golem of steel and dungeon core substance. Claygon wrapped his family in his four arms in a tight embrace. âFaaaather you areâŠalright! WeâŠdid it! We areâŠalright! WeâŠwon!â
âWe sure did, buddy,â Alex squeezed out his words as his body was being crushed. âWe actually did it! Is everybody alright?â
âOf course not!â Prince Khalik shouted, flying up to Alex, Claygon and Theresa. âHow can we be just âalrightâ? We are better than that, so much better, my friend! We have gained a great victory today!â
âHells yeah!â Thundar flew over as well. âI canât believe it! I canât believe it!â
âTruly well done!â Isolde joined them.
âA glorious expression of violence,â Asmaldestreâs voice stung the ear.
âWe did it,â Drestraâs voice crackled as she stared at the remains of the Ravener, still pouring onto the cavern floor. âWe actually won.â
âAnd without any of us dying,â Hart said. âIt was some battle but we lasted. Glad we did all that training. It was worth it.â
âTraveller be praised,â Merzhin added.
âWhy, thank you.â Hannah smiled.
The Saint looked at her sharply, a startled expression crossing his face.
Grimloch looked at the Ravenerâs remains, letting out a long sigh. âLooks inedible.â
Bjorgrund patted him on the back. âIâm sorry, friend.â
âIâll get over it. Lots of meat around.â Grimloch eyed the Ravener-spawn bodies, licking his chops.
âOoooiiiii! Good job, everyone!â Cedric shouted.
Brutus barked, flying up, three tongues licking Alex and Theresaâs faces.
The young archwizard of Alric smiled. âNone of us would be here if it werenât for our dedication, our wits, our strength and our teamwork.â
He looked down at Uldarâs body.
âBut now, we have a lot of decisions to make. A lot of people to talk to and a lot of rebuilding to do,â he said quietly. âA new age in Thamelandâs history starts today. One where weâre finally free from terror and death. Finally permanently free.â