Monster Legends: Inevitable Betrayals

Absolute Invasion

When night arose over the Nature kingdom, Kimber and Taiga took shelter in a vacant hut, while Uriel stayed in Silverleaf's chambers.

Kimber begged for Taiga to get some sleep, but he never really needed it. He pretended to drift off while Kimber finally shut her eyes, provoking him to jerk up from his dirtied mattress and toward the window. He didn't see anything out there.

Tens of nature troops patrolled the entrances for rioters, while Rubellus stayed awake and sat in his throne, pondering what to do next. Year after year his sleep lessened, as the fungi slowly took more control over his body after centuries of waiting.

Taiga began to blink rapidly, feeling a sudden wave of exhaustion wash over him. His energy had been mostly drained from running and fighting the day before, rendering him full of fatigue.

A single arrow shot overhead, as every elf and monster jolted from their slumber. Taiga heard the noise before anyone else, struggling to even place a hand on Kimber's shoulder to wake her. Before he woke her, he took a moment just to lovingly stare at her sleeping form. Her blue hair draped down her face and horns, and large eyelashes lightly overlapped her delicate hazel eyes.

He was glad to refer to Kimber as his daughter.

"Kimber, they're here. We have to go," whispered Taiga. Kimber twisted her head to face Taiga, and leapt from her sleeping position to the door in less than three seconds. She had slept in complete armor. She expected Taiga to rush after her, but instead he sat on his bed, utterly empty of any energy.

"Sleep Taiga, we'll take care of this," she said. Taiga reached out to grab her, but sunk into his covers, and drifted off.

Taiga's eyes sparked with newfound strength, rising from his slumber and ready to go. He peered out the window to see a smidgeon of sunlight rising over the massive hill that guarded the Nature kingdom. He could tell that he had been asleep for about three hours. He hadn't slept that long in months.

He ran out the door and stepped outside stealthily. An arrow immediately shot past him and into a passing elf, making him stumble and collapse in front of Taiga. He snatched a dagger from his belt and hurled it forward, striking the assailant directly in the temple.

The protective blockade of Nature soldiers was decimated, dead elves scattered around the huts and smoking fires. Enemy troops ran amuck, which Taiga recognized as Kimber's personal guard. She must've been devastated, he thought.

Uriel was still located in Silverleaf's quarters, which was far from the battle. She had protested for the elf to let her go, but he claimed that Taiga ordered him to keep her safe. He was right. Rubellus retreated with his bodyguards through another forest and towards the nature shrine. He couldn't let the army and protestors reach it. He had heard that the Thunder kingdom declared war on Taiga's resistance. Several important Nature figures had joined him, consisting of the village witch Wickah and the expert fighter Wildbird.

Taiga found some elves hiding while others fought to defend their kingdom. The protestors and troops had completely decimated everything. He saw Rubellus' group's tracks, along with a separate group of tracks that led to a completely different path. He searched for Kimber or Xiron, but did not find either one. Sherezar went after Rubellus' group, along with the army flag bearer Rekka and Wyrmlad as a personal guard. About a hundred troops also accompanied him.

Taiga came across a group of twenty nature soldiers huddled under a pile of broken tree branches. Gurlik the orc leader and Zunobia, a bird archer were the only non elves present.

"What are you all doing here? Go help us fight!" yelled Taiga.

"Didn't ya hear?" asked Gurlik. "The thunder kingdom declared war on us. It's all over."