Steven Burke - The Dark Tide

“Right…get on with it then!” shot the troubled general. He eyed the soldier with a dark, lethal glare. He was in no mood to waste time. His massive shoulders heaved as he looked at his minion.

“The Seda have formed a line directly west of us as though they are there to prevent us from going into the forest” the soldier replied quickly.

“Like I said…gather everyone together and we will discuss what needs to be done next!” ordered the general with deafening finality. He had not really heard what the messenger had said…he was still thinking of what action to take. He had been shaken by the horrific death of his faithful commander. He had to get his troops far from this cursed place before fear spread through his ranks like wildfire.

After nearly an hour of Tomo’s troops gathering together, he addressed them. “I wanted to bring you together to discuss some rules that will need to be followed for your own safety. Commander Nolan demonstrated for me what happens when you venture into the cursed village to the west…you bloody well die! No one is to go near that area.” His voice echoed ominously as he spoke. His temper had gotten worse with the hour that had passed, which was hard to believe. He knew that they needed to be moving out, however, the size of his army was simply too great to move any time soon.

“Commander Nolan is dead?” shouted one of the commander’s soldiers in utter disbelief. A murmur rippled through ranks at this news and the blunt manner in which they were told. Fear started to spread through the ranks like a wave heading to shore.

“Yes, he got too nosy for his own good and paid for it with his life. A good lesson for the rest of you lot…when I tell you to do something, you do it!” The considerable muscles around his neck bulged as he strained to control himself. Veins were pulsating on his forehead as he stood there. The fear was eating away at every orc.

“What about those wretched spirits from southern Renshaw?” another soldier asked as he looked over his shoulder at the moving spectral creatures. It was clear that the orcs were more afraid of the wicked spirit fiends than what had happen to Commander Nolan.

“They are of no concern…they are merely blocking our way so that we do not go farther west into the forest.” Somehow this did nothing to quell the fear that was ravishing all the orcs. Now the murmuring could not be heard over the uneasy shifting going on. Massive orcs swaying in heavy armor was not the most pleasant sound to be heard. The metals groaned and shrieked as the mass moved.

“What about the ones on the river?” another soldier asked pointing toward the Blaine River. Silence met this question. The air became suddenly thick and oppressive. Dreadful fear gripped the hearts of these stout soldiers.

“What are you…” began the massive general as he turned his head toward the rushing waters. He stopped speaking as soon as he caught sight of the Seda hovering along the river for as far as he could see. He then quickly looked around and finally noticed that they were completely surrounded by the treacherous creatures.

“Archers! Take aim at those foul spirits and fire!” ordered General Tomo sharply. He had a wild look in his eyes that did not hide the despair he was feeling. How can we kill those devils? How the hell did I get us into this mess?!

The archers got into formation in a circle around the entire orc army and took aim at the Seda. They pulled backed their bows and targeted what they thought to be the heads of the spirit creatures. The air was instantly full of the sound of arrows whirring through the air followed by dull thuds and clanks as the projectiles missed flew through their insubstantial targets. The powerful spirits were unaffected by the superfluous attack. The Seda turned a solid black color which blocked their view of the world outside the spectral prison that the orcs found themselves in.

“Why has that fallen guardian allowed this to happen?” shouted one of the archers as he looked back at his general. Every orc knew that they were about to meet their keeper. They could not believe that Kana had left them to this fate.

“It appears that our weapons can do nothing to these spirits…I actually wish we had that mad high elf with us for once. At least they are not attacking us. What concerns me is why? ” thought the general darkly. He did not like the fact that he was completely surrounded by an enemy that he could not kill or even hurt as far as he knew. That is precisely why they should have avoided the forest. It was clear that the fate of Commander Nolan had nothing to do with the very real threat before them.

“You there…see if you can make through those specters” barked the general aloud as he pointed distractedly at a soldier near the Seda. He was clearly getting desperate to find a way out of the situation he had unknowingly led his troops into.

“What? Are you asking me to breach that bloody spirit barrier?” the disbelieving soldier asked incredulously. His mortal fear loosed his tongue to speak what he and everyone else were feeling. It was clear that he was being used like a big stick to spring the trap.

“I’m sorry…you misunderstood me. Let me put it to you another way” said the general with a nod to someone behind the reluctant warrior.

The soldier was shoved violently by a gigantic berserker into the spectral barrier. The Seda responded with great ferocity. They grabbed the unwilling volunteer and ripped him apart…limb by limb. Within a few seconds the unfortunate warrior was in pieces on the forest floor and his blood was smeared all over the foliage. As the orcs drew closer together in horror, a shriek tore through the skies above Tomo’s army. Everyone looked up to see huge eagles flying high through the air over their location. They seemed to be carrying something in their gigantic talons, but no one could make out what they were holding. Shadows began to descend upon their location.

The clear sky soon became less sunny as strange objects began to obscure the sun. Several boulders the size of a horse smashed into the unsuspecting orcs with tremendous force. Many orcs were pulverized by the aerial attack and panic spread quickly among the ranks. Many of the archers on the fringes of the army turned their arrows on the eagles, but they were too high for even the most skilled among them. Many of the missiles came whirring back to the ground to hit several of their comrades. Some of the foot soldiers broke through the line of archers and made a break for freedom through the Seda barrier. Each fleeing soldier met a gruesome end. Black orc blood began to cover every inch of the forest floor.

“Order!” barked General Tomo as he tried to regain some semblance of control. He watched several of his soldiers get torn to pieces by the Seda and knew that the situation was out of his control. He roared his frustration toward the eagles in the sky above. They could handle an aerial attack, but the Seda were something else altogether. They could only hope to outrun them.

As the general cast his eyes around at the mayhem that had overtaken his troops, he heard a loud thud behind him that made the ground shake more than the boulders smashing into his ranks. He wheeled around to see the biggest white bear he had ever seen in his life staring down at him. Mahon, lord of the white bears, was up on his hind legs which made him stand as tall as a giant. As the bear’s emerald green eyes looked into General Tomo’s, a chill went down the spine of the massive orc leader. He was so entranced that he failed to notice the bear’s huge paws coming together toward his head. With a sickening crunch, the general was suddenly a foot shorter. General Tomo’s limp body swayed on the spot and fell to one side. Mahon raised his bloodied paws into the air and let out the most deafening roar any of the orcs had ever heard. The general’s head landed over thirty feet away.