The Exiled King

Chapter 26 - The Fall of the Catapult Legions

"Alana and Lorien, select a few of your best men and follow me. Orien, you'll be joining me too." Nicon ordered, addressing his retainers and the elven weaponmaster.

Alana and Lorien, his retainers, both wore wolfish grins as they quickly and quietly flitted away to pick their men. Nicon's retainers returned quickly, with a dozen warriors in tow, among them being Orien's apprentice, Farik. His apprentice was a sprightly young elf with bright ginger hair and a matching bright smile.

Nicon quickly explained the situation to them all, "This is an emergency and the enemies have far more troops than we do. Therefore, our job is to disable their two catapult legions, and if we are able, eliminate the beast legion. Doing that will put us at a great advantage."

"As this is a life or death situation, I give you the option now to back out of this operation. I need warriors unafraid of making an early trip to the Ether. I need warriors ready to give their lives for Silvardor!"

Alana merely grinned and flashed her blades.

"No way in the Abyss am I missing the best fight of the century! It's Orien you should worry about—he's getting on in his years, after all," She snickered.

Orien glared at her and said, "I will gladly give my life for this kingdom. But, as I may not walk back from this alive, I ask that you allow Farik to stay out of this and protect my legacy. Lorien, I trust you can spare him, surely? He is still young. He can protect the helpless children in this city should we fall in battle."

Lorien gave a wordless nod and Orien looked at his apprentice as he continued, "Please do not needlessly give your youthful life to this war. I am old—expendable... you? You have a whole life ahead of you. Enjoy it."

He clapped Farik on his back and gave him a shove away from the impending war. The boy halted his steps, peering back, but at his mentor's encouraging nod, he turned and ran.

His gaze hardening, he turned to face his king and he said solemnly, "Now, I am ready, my king."

Nicon nodded, then shouted, "Let's set off! May Mother protect us and our home!"

Nicon led them into the shadow of one of the watchtowers, then he raised his arm and shadows billowed out of the ground, engulfing him and the warriors. Nicon had been named the 'shadow' king both for his covert, yet watchful eye that surveyed and kept the peace, but also for his extraordinary skill in manipulating shadows. Where there was a shadow, he was able to appear, granting him mobility on par with Dethemina's teleportation.

He warped his group deep into the shadows of the forest, where they could survey the majority of the demon army camped there.

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Jason had been outside in the training grounds, practicing his swordsmanship when the horns blared throughout the kingdom. Immediately he was flooded with an uneasy sense of foreboding as he looked to the skies and saw the portals and demons emerging from them.

He frowned and leapt to his feet, running towards the watchtowers. There he met Nicon, who briefed him on the situation and sent him off to gather his fellow guardians.

Before long, they stood together near the crowd of armed elves led by Jaron and Dethemina, who were both decked out in battle armor. They stood near the armory, handing out armor. Jaron quickly noticed them and waved them over, shoving a massive chest plate into Jason's arms and grabbing a pair of boots. He lifted a large chainmail from where it was draped across a mannequin and, noticing Jason struggling to hold everything, handed the chainmail to Altein.