Two Graves - The Song of Nephiah and Brelyna

Chapter 24: The Field in Which They Died

"And who would you be." Wuuhferth's hands began to emit sparks of lightning as he turned to face the intruders. Neloth crossed his arms, he didn't look impressed. "My name is Neloth of House Telvanni, and these fine young men..." He waved a hand dismissively pointing at the soldiers behind him. "...well I'm sure they all have names as well." "House Telvanni? I heard it was all but destroyed." Wuunferth was stalling to charge his spells, he did not care. He just wanted them gone. "Reports of the demise of house Telvanni are highly exaggerated. And it just so turns out that you have a member of this house captive and are proposing to kill her. I object to this proposal." Wuunferth looked to the cross in surprise. "No not that one. The one on the other side." "Oh the mage, I see. Well how about you take her with you and let me go about my business?" He had no intentions of letting Brelyna go. He had kept the nature of his existence secret for a long time and wasn't about to let anyone run off with the knowledge. "Yes..." Neloth said in his usual way that let his opposite know how much beneath him they were. "...Taking her is certainly part of it. Draw weapons." Metallic swishes sounded as the thirty men behind him unsheathed their swords almost simultaneously.

"Do you know your history?", Wuunferth said as the purple glow from his hands began to expand up his arms. Neloth began to watch him closely and arrived at a slightly more aggressive stance. "Many centuries ago, on this very field, two great armies of the ancient Nords met each other. They wiped each other out quite effectively, so the tale isn't well recorded. But surely a seasoned master of the arcane like you can feel it. The essence of the two thousand souls that perished here." His feet lifted off the ground, he began to hover. "They still linger." Neloth looked over his right shoulder. "Kill him."

Half of his men began to approach the floating necromancer that had begun to emit flashes of lightning from all over his body. The flashes hit the ground all around him in ever increasing frequency. Before the soldiers could reach him, the earth began to shake and rumble, more violently than before. It took but a few seconds before the ground broke open in dozens of places both around Wuunferth and further out, up the mountain, beside and behind Neloth and his men. Skeletons and Draugr, the reanimated dead of the ancient Nords that died in the battle Wuunferth spoke of, armed with ancient swords and axes, rose from the fields in great numbers. What seemed like a few dozen at first, quickly turned into hundreds, growling, menacingly banging their weapons against their shields. The ground they stood upon began to sink deeper and deeper as the corpses that were buried beneath it crawled to the surface. The soldiers didn't hesitate so bring their swords down on the undead that were rising in their immediate vicinity. A moment of silence. Wuunferth hovered a good deal over the battlefield, glowing in bright purple light. He had his arms at his side, his palms pointing forward. He slowly raised a hand and pointed at Neloth.

Without hesitation the swarm of undead began to stream towards the Dunmer, the earth trembling beneath their feet. Brelyna looked at the scene in terror. Fortunately the cross they were tied to was high enough for the undead masses storming by to not be able reach her. They didn't even seem to notice them up there. "Nephiah! Are you there?!" Still no response. She sure could have used her strength in that moment.

Neloth began to look worried as well, a look for which he wasn't known. His men formed two circles to defend against the hordes that closed in from all around them. The circle of soldiers that had stayed with Neloth had encased him in an effort to shield their commander. He walked up to the man in front, put his elbow on his shoulder and pointed at the cross. "We are moving over there!", he yelled to make sure he was understood over the loud rumbling of undead footsteps.

While the Draugr closest to the groups were quick to attack and put down just as quickly, the mass of undead now hit the Dunmer like waves would hit a rock that sticks out of a furious sea. Their shields and armor were made of sturdy material so they could survive the initial force. They were pushed backwards however, decreasing the diameter of their formation somewhat. As they came to a stop, each soldier drove their sword into the undead that was pushing against their shield. They then collectively pushed back, toppling Draugr over, the next wave climbed over the fallen. The clashing of steel against steel became louder and they were now fending off incoming battle axes and ancient swords. Neloth rose over his group and began to release exploding balls of fire into the masses. He did not have to aim, anything with an area of effect worked quite nicely. Bits and pieces of dried bone and rotting flesh were hurled through the air upon impact. The fighting skill of the Dunmer became evident as they cut down wave after wave. The movement of the undead was slow, their dexterity inferior.