Fighting Darkness

Dark Army

Adila   

I stood on my toes and tensed my muscles and then relaxed them again, sinking back to my heels as I watched the army- if it could be called that considering it contained no humans- approach the abandoned village I was waiting at. The darkness that formed and controlled those creatures was responsible for the death of my entire family.

After the death of my family I had worked for years to become an expert with my magic and with all types of fighting, practicing on smaller groups of dark creatures. For the past three months I had been making my way toward this army.

I checked my map, making sure the army was still heading toward me before checking the magic signature device I had obtained a few years ago. The creatures seemed to be attracted to magical signatures. The device I carried allowed me to control how far my magical signature was flung. It was useful to attract monsters my way so I could practice.

The army had grown slightly since I had first located it, seeming to pick up any smaller groups of monsters it ran across. I had activated my device about a week ago, once I was certain I was far enough into the borderlands to avoid attracting a surplus of creatures to a populated town.

    I put the map away and twisted my wrist, forming a dagger in my palm. I didn't hold the weapon long, letting it dissolve back into the grains of sand I had formed it from. I didn't want to work my magic yet, just keep it active and ready to use.

I waited another hour before striding forward to meet the oncoming flood. The pressure that always came when a dark creature was near pressed down. The pressure wasn't physical, but mental. It was the feeling you get when you're all alone in a dark and unfamiliar location. The only thing that got rid of the feeling, when it came to the creatures, was killing them. As I strode forward, I formed the almost suffocating, though very flexible, armor that I had designed. None of the poisons or venoms that some of the creatures possessed could reach me through it.

When the first of the army was nearly on me, I formed my first weapon and began to fight.

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Isaura

    I held my bow with an arrow already knocked as I scanned the battlefield below, searching for reapers. Reapers were creatures that were essentially invisible from the ground until they were within a foot of their target, at which point it was typically too late. From the air, however, they were easy to spot and take out. There! I let my arrow loose, killing it before it could reach my companions.

    We were attacking the army's flank, trying to take out as many of them as we could until we discovered what their target was. They weren't heading toward any major town or known fortification, so Aanick had predicted they were tracking something smaller. I continued searching for and killing reapers until I heard someone call my name.

    "Your turn!" Aleron said, slowing to a stop next to me, already holding a dart, his ranged weapon of choice. I slung my bow over my shoulder and grabbed my twin daggers before flying off to search for any people caught in the army's path, as well as to take out any nephele- the flying dark creatures- in my way.

I flew half an hour before I spotted something strange. The army was bunching up in one spot. I flew to the bunch up and saw a single man fighting. Somehow, despite the multitudes surrounding him, he was keeping a near perfect circle clear around him. I did a quick scan, searching for reapers, which is how I noticed something strange. The front line of the army was distinctly curved on both sides. Looking back where the man was fighting, I could see that the creatures that ran past him would turn and run toward him. That's not normal. This has to be what the army has been hunting. Though... An entire army seems a little excessive to kill a single person. Not even Callan attracted that many. I shook my head and swapped out my daggers for my bow and grabbed a signal arrow. I had found the target. Now I needed to call in the rest of my band to rescue him.

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Aleron

    I drew my arm back, then let it fly forward, releasing the dart from the small contraption I used to increase my range. The reaper I had thrown it at died and I went back to scanning the battle below me, as well as the skies. I downed another reaper before a bright green light flared in the distance. Isa found something. I did another scan to check for reapers, then dropped near to the ground.

    "Circle up!" I called as I fell. Immediately those who had been fighting on the ground- Callan, Aanick, Ethan, Bryson, and Brayden- fell back into a circle that would protect their backs. "Isaura found something." Bryson and Brayden, the twins, fell back farther, entering the circle, which closed behind them.

    "Shall we go find what she's discovered then?" Bryson asked, a smile twitching across his face as he flipped one of his collapsible swords shut and attached it to his belt.

    "I do believe we shall." Brayden replied, also putting away one of his swords. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I began moving upward again. Moving in sync, the twins each grabbed one of my feet with one hand, holding their other swords in the other.

    The twins killed several nephele on the way, moving in tandem to keep me balanced. About forty minutes later, I spotted Isa flying above a bunched up section of the army. As we neared, I flew lower so the twins would be able to let go without getting hurt. Long before it was safe to let go, however, the twins dropped to the ground, landing in a roll and popping up with both swords out. Idiots. They quickly made their way over to the man who was fighting at the center of the bunch up, relieving some of the pressure from him. I flew up next to Isa and nodded at her. She nodded back, then flew off to pick up another of our small band, likely Aanick. I took her place in defending those below from the reapers. How much power does that man have for this many creatures to decide to kill him? I've seen large armies before, but they've all been headed to a large town, not a magical signature.

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Brayden

    I couldn't help laughing as I fought to ease the flow of monsters on the mystery man. The laugh was partly from exhilaration and partly from amusement. I had let go of Aleron much sooner than he believed was safe. The mystery man made no response to our arrival. I moved to the edge of the circle the man had made around himself and put my back to the stranger so I could face the flood of monsters.

    "Hey! Watch it!" I shouted. The man still hadn't made any response to my arrival, not even to adjust his fighting style. He had sent a dart of some sort flying freakily close to my head. I did not spend all that time and effort building up my persona to die by the hands of the person I am trying to save. Thankfully, the man finally seemed to notice my presence because no more sharp objects flew close enough to put me in danger. Whoever this guy is, he's a really good fighter. I wonder if he purposefully decided to take on this army. If so, he's more of a daredevil than I am. Aleron will hate that. I grinned as I twisted around, taking down another monster.