The Bright Wood

Chapter 20

After a while of speaking to each other and sharing happy moments as a family might, Rubell mentioned that there was still a war being fought that we must take part in along with every other able-bodied citizen in Galoddem, so I departed from the Sky Kingdom and rode with Nox to Bright Wood where I would help lead the Bright Wood soldiers through the battle. Rubell stayed in the Sky Kingdom to guide her army, and Lance stayed with Rubell as one of the Sky Kingdom knights.

Almost no words were exchanged as Nox and I flew out of the Sky Kingdom and into the skies of Bright Wood. It was as if we were taking advantage of our last moments of rest before fighting in a war that would ultimately decide the fate of Galoddem. Soon, we descended low enough to see the ground. We were almost on the border between Bright Wood and Lucriatus, but what I saw was not a beautiful forest but a raging battleground. Most of the foliage was either burnt or still burning, and small battles between Bright Wood soldiers and Krolyn's forces waged between individuals. Meanwhile, flying mounts, well, the ones that still had riders atop them, maneuvered through the sky, either helping the troops on the ground, fighting another flier, or rushing injured soldiers to make-shift hospitals set up in tents around the battleground. On the ground and in the air alike, the scene was constantly twinkling with the shimmering dust of a body leaving this world, and worse, most of the casualties were on our side.

Having to steer past many different obstacles in the sky, Nox flew me straight to the commander's tent that was set up just in front of the hospital. She landed near the entrance, and I slid off of her back. "Thank you, Nox."

"You're welcome, Prince Connor, well, Eden. Now I must go to the Western sea line again to fight where I was stationed. I wish you well, Prince Eden, but if not in the next few moments in this life, then in the glorious homeland where we will all see eachother again." She spread her wings and prepared to take off. "I hope that this is not the last time we say goodbye." With that, Nox took off towards the west and disappeared into the clouds.

I turned and hurried into the commander's tent. I pushed open the fabric draped that covered the entrance and entered to find Hamian talking with a few of Bright Wood's generals who were all hunched over a map of the terrain. When I entered, Hamian stood straight, turned around, and when he saw me, a look both surprize and relief covered his face.

"Prince Connor... We haven't received word of your safety. We feared the worst." The generals bowed their heads in respect.

"Rest assured, I am okay, but let's not spend our precious time on any reintroductions."

"Of course, you are right. Come, hear what we were discussing beforehand." I headed to the table in the center of the room which held the map. I noticed that both Hamian and the generals seemed very solemn. "First, you must know that the enemy is besting us in both land and air power. We've lost much of our ground." He pointed to several areas on the map. "As General Taias was saying, and we've all agreed, we do not even have a chance to win this battle unless we receive more skyborne mounts."

One of the generals, which I presumed to be General Taias, said, "It does not help that Krolyn's army is feeding off of his dark magic. In fact, we do not think that they are in control of themselves at all, but that Krolyn's magic is taking over their actions. It has maken them unrelenting. The dark magic drives them to fight until there is nothing left. They do not fear death, so they do not stop."

"Okay, so if getting more flying mounts is the only way to get the upper hand, how can we do that?"

"We fall back. We bring the battleground closer to Arpton so that perhaps we might send someone to bring help. That is our only chance." Suddenly, above the clamor of swords and the screeching of mounts and people alike from the battle below us, shouts broke loose behind us. Women's' screams would erupt, then suddenly be silenced. "They're attacking the hospital!"