Guardian of Elements

Chapter 46 - Battle of the pass

"Eriana, watch out!"

The spear flying towards Eriana stopped in midair as the Guardian of Might fixed his gaze on it, and then fell on the ground harmlessly.

"Stop holding yourself back!" shouted Morcion, as he jumped on the man who threw it.

They were on the other side of the mountain pass, trying to hold back a horde of dozens of humans, who were trying to get past them, into Eriana's lands.

"I can't use my powers like you!" replied the Guardian of Minds, jumping at a man, knocking him down and biting his neck.

This wasn't what she wanted. Those humans were innocent, it was Raya's fault that they had turned evil. But that wasn't changing the fact that they were dangerous now, wanting nothing but destruction.

Morcion, on the other hand, wasn't holding back the slightest. Seeing him in battle was terrifying. Leaping unnatural distances, making humans fly away with a single hit of his gigantic paws. Projectiles flying at him were changing direction in the last moment, as if he had some invisible shield around him. His purple gem wasn't shining, but flashing like a lighthouse with every hit, every deflected arrow.

But he was fainting too. He had been fighting like this for the past three years. Using his power constantly, stretching his body to its limits, it was beginning to leave its mark on him. And now, sheer numbers of humans were proving to be more than a difficult challenge. More than a hundred of them were battling the two Guardians at the entrance to the pass and Morcion knew that there were many more to come soon, flowing in from the north. And slowly but surely, they were gaining the upper hand.

"This is no use!" shouted Eriana. "We have to outsmart them!"

"I'll gladly leave that part to you!" replied Morcion as he knocked back four men. "What we need to, is to get rid of those pests!" But he was forced to back off too.

A wave of superheated wind emerged from the pass behind them, knocking most of the humans to the ground. Snow on trees and ground instantly melted in a big radius, centered around the Guardian of Elements, who was walking out of the pass, ablaze with white power.

Water drops that used to be snow for many years rose from the ground. One by one, they were connecting, ascending like reversed rain, until they formed a great orb of water, hovering above the wet grass. Kate then changed the orb into a current, flowing through the air like a river, and unleashed it on humans, who were still retaliating. Where the gigantic water snake touched humans, it left some water circling around them, which froze once it was covering their entire bodies, making them into ice statues.

Morcion and Eriana gathered themselves again, watching the unbelievable show in front of them. They looked back at the approaching Guardian, who walked all the way to them, and then let go of the flow of power, extinguishing the white flames in her eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Morcion," she said firmly, but immediately almost fell to the ground because of the sudden lack of strength. Even though the surrounding temperature was far below zero, her body felt like on fire.

Eriana quickly jumped to her to support her. Morcion looked at the gallery of more than a hundred frozen statues. The rest of the water splashed on the ground and was slowly freezing too, making the ground look like glass. It seemed as if time had stopped. Humans were cowering or reaching out with their hands, frozen in motion, and ice would not melt, as the temperature was below zero. They could spend eternity like this, encased in icy shells.

He turned back to Kate, who could barely stand and was shaking much as she couldn't gather even a bit of her strength to recreate her heat bubble. Eriana was trying to warm her up by leaning against her. Morcion went to them, looking at the blue Guardian. That was the kitten that he saw three years ago? Strange.

"Unexpected, but not unwelcomed." He helped her on her feet by his paw with ease. "Nice to meet you too... again."

It took Kate several attempts to finally get her shimmering shield up again. She had gone too far this time. She used all the power that got restored during her time in Eriana's forests and even more. She could feel that her domain was almost completely empty.

"How... How many more humans are out there?" she asked, still breathing heavily.

"Those were all of them currently here, but many more will come soon," replied Morcion. "My domain is basically a big cross of paths, connecting together Eriana's forest here, Lerinth's woods in the south and Raya's lands to the north. And in the west is my home, which I've been able to defend so far," he said proudly.

"But that may not last," Eriana reminded him. "Raya had probably sent all her humans here. And now, we are all pretty much powerless. I don't know what we should do. We've won only one battle in these mountains, and just thanks to Kate."

Kate was silent, trying to think. If this was a smaller portion of Raya's humans, they had to find some way to fight them more effectively. One battle in these mountains...

A distant memory suddenly struck her mind. A memory of a great battle in the mountains, one that hadn't happened yet. The vision that the Shard of Time gave her when she touched it. She was trying to remember every detail she could, but the misty vision wouldn't become clear. Yet there was one thing she knew for sure. There were more than just three Guardians fighting there.

"We have to go." Kate got to her feet, still feeling a bit clumsy.

"And where exactly do you want to go?" asked Morcion.

"You said that your domain is a big cross of paths with steep mountains surrounding them, right? Then we need to get to the center. That's where we'll make a stand."

"Are you crazy? That's the least tactical place for a battle! We'll be easily surrounded."

"No. Not from this direction and not from your den, if it's still safe as you said."

"It is, but you're forgetting about the southern pass!"

"No, I'm not. I'm counting on it." She had her strange smile on again.

"All right, you're toying with me now, and I don't like that." Morcion's voice was reflecting it, being dark and deep like before. He was easy to get angry indeed.

"I can't explain it all, but I have a plan. You just need to trust me."

"Really? We're discussing the fate of my domain here, not yours! I just met you and I have no idea who you really are. Why should I trust you?"

"Because she just saved us," Eriana came to her defense. "I had a chance to get to know her. Thanks to her, I could've come here to help you. I trust her."

"Fine! I'll lead you there, but you will tell me what you are planning!" He didn't wait for them and began running away.

"Morcion, slow down a bit!" shouted Eriana as she moved to follow him through the statues gallery.

Kate waited a moment until they were out of earshot, and then whispered:

"Mother, if you're here, we need Lerinth's help."