Jupiter Rising

Chapter Thirty Eight - War

The eternal night, as feared, was starting its claim of the dawn, darkness suffocating every inch of the world it touched. The animals of the night continued to roam, those on my side fought side by side with the Fae, and those on theirs attacked with great unrelenting force.

The sights below, seen with the magic that Olamoore had produced for the soldiers, was dire. Gloam attacked from beneath, swallowing whole swarms of soldiers. Magic lit the dark skies, explosions of pink, green, purple and blue. Fire and Water came to blows, as elementals went head to head.

The goblins and the trolls of Murgloom were marching on the banners of Windlere and Thistle, Olamoore already met with heavy fire.

Thistles army strode forward first, their courage never in doubt as they struck goblins and trolls, sending limbs flying and heads rolling to the ground. Sorcha's son Prince Alastair lead them, followed by Mirren, as she dove down on her Raven, plucking the enemy from the ground, with the fallen joining her to commit acts of intense magical warfare. The fallen were collectively and impressively powerful. Sorcha had selected them all for that reason. To observe them was to observe poetic chaos. They were perfectionists, and it showed. Perfecting the art of slaying, no fear, no surrender, power and discipline oozing out of them. Assassination was their goal, and death their reward.

Leda observed them beside me, her eyes lit in the night, her hunger to join them was evident "beautiful" she admired, before diving down beneath the cloud cover and out of sight.

The reflection of fire coming through the darkness below was followed by screams, and the stench of burnt goblin flesh.

Jupiter nodded toward me, and soared out of sight too. She cast orbs of protection over the soldiers, casting her magic down like rain falling over the miles upon miles of allies. It allowed the soldiers longer to attack before the enemy could penetrate their shield. Emerald at her back, used her magic to manipulate the vines from the ground, wrapping them around enemy foot and pulling them to the floor. She used the trees branches to swipe enemy bird from the sky. Magic of the natural Earth was a beautiful thing. To observe it bend to her will, and get to work, it made me proud to be a Fairy. Mother Nature had always been our greatest ally.

Andy and I swooped down, assisting and leading our army to the northern borders. My brothers joining the fight in every which direction, Andromedas too. Family were everywhere. We didn't expect our people to fight for us, we fought beside them. My Mothers legacy. She had written into Olamoore's book of law, with resounding support from her council and her people, that the Oak would never be above the people when it came to protecting and fighting for it. The people were the Oak, and we were the people. A regent should lead, not hide. All children born to the Oak were expected to join the army in some way to serve over their lifetime. Linden had loved it, Elm didn't mind it, but Ash and Aspen had been happy enough to do other things. My Mother though would have fought night and day to protect her people. She would have died for us all....

Perhaps, that's exactly what she did.

With my Mother in my thoughts, I broke away from Andromeda, taking an immediate departure from our agreement to fight side by side.

The Gloam would expect us to hit him direct, head on. That's what the council had suggested we do in the war room last night. Hit him with force directly. I wasn't very good at taking orders though, and my choice had always been my own.

As I headed West and swooped around I came close to hitting Demelza. The orange glow of her Sparrowhawks eyes were what made her visible.

"Whoah there" she called, her entire outfit a dark forest green, blending her in nicely with the dark skies. "Rowan" she acknowledged "I almost didn't recognise you"