The War of Four

Chapter 1

"HOLD STRONG!" Zora shouted. "We can't let them enter!" Zora planted her feet firmly in the ground. She grunted and gripped her rope tighter. She stood amongst the Garrin army, her Garrin army. Groups of soldiers had wrapped their hands around thick ropes that were attached to the West Gate. A hoard of Welniks stood on the other side, and Zora with her small mass of soldiers were the only thing stopping them from unleashing havoc upon Garrin common folk. The Welniks had sent grappling hooks up, the bent and rusted metal had embedded itself into the wooden gate. They clung to chains attached to the hooks and pulled with incredible strength. Their hoard was small but they made up for their lack of numbers with a formidable hight and inhuman body strength. Their banshee like shreaks pierced the ears of the Garrin soldiers, striking overwhelming fear into their hearts. Without Zora's commanding presence, many would have undoubtedly fled. A soldier rode over on a large black messenger horse.
"You two! Hold your ground here!" Zora yelled at two soldiers with bows. They fired poison tipped arrows over the wall, occasionally a cry of agony from the other side indicated a direct hit. The bowsmen slung their weapons over their shoulders and rushed over. They grabbed onto the part of the rope where she was standing and Zora let go. The two only struggled for a moment before gaining a foothold. She clapped one of them on the shoulder.
"Stand tall and strong, this is not over." Zora said. They nodded, determination flaring in their eyes. Zora quickly ran to the messenger.
"Chief!" He yelled, struggling to be heard over the sound of screeches and grunts. "Do you request reinforcements?!"
"No." Zora said firmly.
"But Chief..."
"My soldiers have this."
The messenger soldier nodded and headed back to the palace. She looked back to the men and women fighting to secure the wall. They couldn't keep like this for long... The gate was starting to lean toward the Welnik side.
"We got this! They will not breach this gate! This is our gate!" Zora yelled. The soldiers let out yells of agreement. They pulled stronger. Zora looked up toward the top of the wall. With a shimmer of sparks she teleported toward a large metal sheet attached to the side of the wall. It was turned nearly sideways so it's surface could be seen from the ground. Her feet slammed against the metal and she jumped up. She could see the top of the wall now. Another round of sparks surrounded her as she teleported to the top of the wall. She stood at the edge and looked down at the hoard struggling to get in. Her heart beat drummed in her ears. She needed to calm down so her soldiers could too. So she started to count, it had always helped her in the past. The relaxation method had even saved her from loss of sanity on multiple occasions. As soon as she whispered the number five under her breath, Zora watched them give a seemingly random pull with all their strength. Immediately after the pull she began counting again.
"One... two... three..." They maintained a medium strength and effort. "Four... Five." On the fifth count they gave a mighty heave. It was a myth that Welniks had no battle strategy. She had always theorized it... But now it was almost undoubtable. Zora looked at the ground and teleported back down.
"On my command, release the ropes!" Zora ordered. Every soldier turned to look at her in shock but nodded. Zora waited for the big pull. She saw her soldiers struggle more than usual and she began counting.
"One... Two..." She stared at the gate with burning determination. This had to work. "Three... Four..." Zora switched her gaze to her soldiers. She had maintained her abnormal height for she towered over many of the men and women in her army at an astounding six foot, three. This added tremendously to her mien of a strong leader. A few of them shot uneasy glances up at her and she grinned back, trying to assure them she was not giving up.
"Five. RELEASE!" She screamed. Every soldier let go of the ropes unanimously. The Welniks pulled as hard as they could. The force of the pull flung the gate towards them. They had no time to flee or scatter before the full weight of the the West Gate fell on top of them, crushing their bodies into lifeless corpses.
"Bring it back up! Bring it back up!" Zora ordered. The soldiers immediately picked the ropes back up and began to pull the gate upright. Zora rushed over to help. They re-secured the gate. Zora teleported back up to the ledge of the wall and stared down. The remaining Welniks roared. Welniks were not ones to retreat when losing a battle. They stayed to fight until they could fight no more. She watched as the largest among them pulled two axes from his chain belt. He dug his axes into the wood of the gate and slowly began pulling himself up.
"Stupid Girl! Pathetic excuse for a Chief! You will fall, just like the Chief before you, and the Chief before him!" He growled. His voice was gruff. Whenever Welniks spoke it sounded as though they were trying to swallow nails simultaneously. Zora gritted her teeth.
"Stay there!" She yelled to her soldiers. Anger swelled inside her. How dare he come with a hoard and attempt to attack Garrin. How dare he insult her after he has lost, after she had outsmarted him. Zora leapt down toward the Welnik. She bent her knees and her feet smashed into his face. She was about to teleport to the ground and leave him to fall when his massive hand reached out and gripped her ankle. His claws dug into her flesh and he teleported along with her. They landed on the ground with a heavy thud. Before he could slice her leg with his axe she unsheathed a sword from a pocket attached to the back of her armor and chopped off his hand. Thick black blood gushed from the disfigured stub of an arm his hand used to occupy . He yelled out in piercing agony. The yell was cut off and replaced by a gurgle and silence as she chopped off his head with a second swing. The last of the Welniks charged her, there was at least seven of them and each of them either matched her height or far surpassed it. She crouched low and swept two on her left off thier feet. One struck his head against a rock and lay limp while the other rose back to his feet. She stuck her blade in a third ones throat and pulled it out just in time to parry an attack from behind. With a twirl of her massive, thick blade she disarmed her honorless attacker and jabbed him through the stomach. She pushed against his chest with both feet and freed her sword from his flesh. The one she had knocked down before now stood over her. He screamed as he swung a club toward her. She glimpsed his razor-like yellow teeth and long blood red tongue before she ducked, narrowly avoiding the bludgeon. She slid on the thick black blood of Welniks that stained the earth and hacked off one of his legs. He collapsed to the ground, screeching. There were still three more. Two large axes swung at once on each side of her. She teleported onto the shoulders of the one on her right with a shimmer of gold. She slammed her blade into his skull and jumped from his shoulders. He crumpled to the ground, blood begining to pool around his face. She left her weapon in his head, she didn't have time to rip it from the thick bone. She flipped over the head of the Welnik who had attacked her on her left only to fall in front the second to last survivor. She jabbed him in the thoat with such force he stumbled back. She jumped and kicked him hard in the gut. Before she could snatch the axe from his hand he grabbed her arm, and slammed her onto the bloody earth. She wheezed, the breath had been knocked from her lungs. He swung his axe down toward her chest. She rolled away but not quick enough. The jagged metal blade sliced a large gash in her arm. She grunted with pain and forced herself to stand. Another Welnik attacked, swinging another club. She tried to teleport but before she could fully shimmer away the club collided with the bones in her legs and she collapsed back to the ground. The one with the axe pulled back his foot and kicked her hard in the side, she flew back. He kicked her again, this time in her face. She crouched on her hands and knees and coughed up blood. She once again pushed herself to her feet. She could stand, barely. Thankfully her legs weren't broken, most likely just severly bruised. She couldn't say the same for her ribs however... She planted her foot on one of the fallen Welniks and after a bit of struggle, managed to rip her sword free. She swiftly impaled one of the last two standing and swung at the legs of the other. He fell on his back. Zora stood over him, sword raised high. He looked up at her, terror in his eyes. He tried to crawl away but couldn't. The Welnik looked younger than the others. He was maybe an inch or two shorter than Zora. This was quite small among Welniks. He stared into her eyes pleadingly but they soon clouded over for without another moments hesitation she thrusted her blade into him. She pulled it free and found a dry spot on the earth to wipe the blood from it. Zora re-sheathed her weapon and stared at the slaughter before her. She panted heavily. The whole fight had been a blur. Instincts and fighting skills that had been pounded into her mind over many years had taken over. Her hands started to shake, it was like she hadn't even been in control of her actions. She had simply acted in order to win. She took deep breaths slowly in and out and tried to count but she couldn't focus. Her mind was still spinning from the battle. Zora grabbed onto one of the chains and slowly pulled herself up, barely keeping in yelps of pain from her crushed ribs. Once on the ledge Zora teleported back to the ground. Her soldiers straightened their postures and stared at her in alarm. Before she could speak one of them called for a medic.
"I'm fine... I need to see the king." Zora grumbled.
"You should have let us help you..." One of her soldiers said, concern in her voice.
"I didn't require it. I'm still standing on my own two feet aren't I? I'm fine." Zora insisted.
"How many were there?" Another soldier asked.
"Eight." Zora replied. Their eyes widened in alarm.
"How did you-"
"I don't have time for more questions. You all were extremely valiant. Celebrate this victory. I must see the king." Zora wheezed. Her broken ribs were incredibly painful.
"Not like this... You need medical attention. A chariot should be arriving soon-"
"I don't need some chariot! I'll walk if I must go." Zora said stubbornly. The soldiers nodded and watched her turn away.
"Return to your bases." She said, waving a dismissive hand. She needn't turn her head to know they obediently marched in ordered rows back to the military base. She held her stiff posture all the way to the small medical ward closest to the West Gate. She had almost turned toward the palace but she could feel her cut arm begin to go numb. She would see the king and queen shortly after she was treated. She had to speak with them.