Araman

~ 28 ~

   Raliena was the first to run forward, followed shortly by Kassen and the rest of the army, including the Lagania. All let out a loud war cry as they launched themselves into battle.

Lishini's men were brutal and threw themselves into the fray as readily as those fighting for Verxia. Raliena and Kassen tried to hack a way through to find Dergen, but for every man they managed to kill, another would replace him.

Still they pushed forward and with the help of the Lagania, eventually Lishini's men began to fall back to the castle. They were clearly not prepared for the army from the Lagania to join them as they quickly became unorganised and the gates were open for them. But that was only a handful of men and once inside they saw many more were stood ready in the courtyard of the castle where they had more room to manoeuvre and use the funnel of the gate to their advantage.

Kassen rubbed blood from his eye and kept close to Raliena as they pushed through the gate and slipped to the side with a handful of allies who had the same idea. Kassen was supporting Raliena's blind spot as she was supporting his. She only needed to use her powers if someone managed to grab her. Her sword was her best weapon and her only thought was of reaching Dergen.

Eventually, there was a surge forward as the sheer number of people broke Lishini's lines and began to fight within the castle walls. Keen to purge themselves of the men that had taken their homes.

There was a loud screech and Raliena briefly turned back to see that someone had tried to lower the gates again but several swords and other debris had been forced into the gears which had caused the screeching sound and the gate to stop halfway.

Kassen joined in the renewed battle cry and followed Raliena's lead as she continued to push towards the castle.

The once white stone of the courtyard was slowly becoming a dark, burnt red behind them, as if their footsteps created a liquid fire that the army from Namare retreated from. It made the stone slippery and the battle quickly became a contest of balance rather than brawn. It was one that the Lagania would evidently win, which made it easier to persuade the battle into the castle itself.

Raliena went forward with the fighting as it broke through the double doors of the entrance hall, losing Kassen behind her in the narrower quarters. Everyone within the halls felt it was too close and soon mutually spread to wider spaces, in the smaller banquet hall and all through the corridors.

Death was creeping slowly through the castle, making claim to its once joyful walls and painting them with darker shades.

Raliena found a moment's pause to look around her and decide where Dergen would have gone. She stood on the stairs a few steps up and saw the door of the ballroom. It would be just like Dergen to want to be where the throne was.

"The ballroom!" She yelled to Kassen who had just made it through the hall and hit the man he was fighting on the head with the hilt of his sword, splitting his skull. He nodded to her and started pushing forward, assisted by a second surge behind him as more fighters from the courtyard entered the castle.

A man ran at Raliena as she stepped down the stairs. She deflected his charge by stepping to the side and launching him into the banister so hard, he flipped over it, and landed on one of the men a Lagania warrior was fighting below.

The fighter saluted her thanks to Raliena before finding another enemy to kill and she recognised her as a much bloodied Yaline.

Raliena nodded and kicked a man in the chest as she jumped from the third step towards the ballroom, already beginning to fill with people. Seeing Kassen fighting two men at once, she made a beeline towards him and helped him hack down one of the men.