Steven Burke - The Dark Tide

“Tirornil…you need to return to the capital to request siege warriors. Our magical barriers did not protect us in the slightest, so we will need numbers on our side as well if we are to protect against the demon army” Hilzarie ordered the elven mage calmly. She was oblivious to Necia’s internal struggle because of the recent conflict. She knew that dark magic from the underworld was being used and they could do much less than they had hoped to protect eastern Landen.

“Yes mistress…” replied the wizened elven mage as he spread magically generated wings. He summoned a strong wind that picked him up and ushered him briskly toward the capital. Hilzarie sent a gust of wind to aid the mages flight. The elf was not expecting the help and was surprised by the additional thrust. His wings struggled to hold against the violent push.

“I will deliver the message to our mistress while you work with the remaining elven mages to create barriers that will stop their attacks” Hilzarie said decisively. She did not look at Necia as she spoke…she was already focused on the next task. They would have to use non-magical means to properly defend themselves.

“Good idea…I have some different methods of defense that I think will be more efficient than what we had in place. Hurry back” Necia said with a warm smile. Her frustration had slipped away and was replaced by a sense of purpose. Hilzarie always had this effect on her.

“I will.” She shot up into the air with unfurled wings and was gone from sight within moments as strong winds push her toward her destination.

***

Lord Keb walked slowly along the western cliffs looking down at the Blaine River. Lord Neb had just left to tend to the defenses of Renshaw and the river. Keb stood still as stone contemplating the various ways of defending this part of Landen. There were several cities and towns along these cliffs which worried the elemental considerably. The capital was also close to the western edge, so he was trying his best to think of ways to defend such vital areas of Landen. The eagles were going to help defend the high plains, so that did ease his mind slightly, but he was still overcome by the feeling that he was not thinking of something very important.

Keb had many of the Landen soldiers stationed at the defensive positions along the cliff. He was now focusing on what strategies he could use to defend the walls without harming any friendly forces below the cliffs. It was a tricky proposition at best. As he continued to ponder the choices before him the sun began to set on yet another day. The earthen lord didn’t know that Necia and Hilzarie had had their first encounter with the new leader of the demon hordes earlier that day. His task of preparing the defenses had gone smoothly enough that he spent most of the day planning out different stratagems he could employ based on ever changing circumstances.

Lord Neb crossed the river cautiously as he saw the mass destruction that had taken place under the eaves of the forest. The smell of nearly one hundred thousand dead orcs was repugnant. His eyes were quickly drawn to the spirit creatures flitting about the shadows. Seda…why on earth are we working with them? This does not make any sense at all. These vile creatures are very dangerous and should not be trusted. Their treachery cost us dearly in the past…what have they done to gain our trust? I know that the guardian trusts them; however that does not mean they have earned mine. His thoughts continued to whirl about in his head as he moved away from the western bank of the Blaine River. Suddenly a wall of Seda appeared before him and looked determined to halt his progress toward the forest.

“Stop where you are! Declare yourself!” a raspy voice spoke unbidden in Neb’s mind. He flinched at the unwanted intrusion. The voice had a harsh quality to it that grated at his senses.

“You know who I am…the question is why you are blocking me” retorted the water lord sharply. He was not going to tolerate such nuisances.

“We serve the master of Tuwa and answer only to him…we do not recognize you, so we ask you once more…who are you?” the voice asked again in the guardian’s mind. The vile apparitions were being obstinate and he had little time for such diversions.

“Tell me what master you serve and I will tell you my name” replied Neb calmly. He wanted desperately to vanquish as many of these traitors as he could; however, his loyalty to Lord Adair was absolute.

“We are the humble servants of the high guardian. We desire only to serve him and he has ordered us to protect the forest and river from unwanted parties. Who are you?” the voice came again a little more impatiently this time. They knew who he was and they would test his loyalty as part of protecting their charges. Kana was a guardian at one time, so who is to say that another elemental would fall from grace.

“I am Lord Neb…servant of the guardian and member of the guardian council. I have come on my master’s orders to lead your efforts in defending this part of Tuwa.” He was slightly perturbed by this encounter and did not pretend otherwise. He also realized that they were doing Adair’s bidding. He did not believe it until now.

“Master Neb…” replied the voice as the Seda in front of him bowed and parted for him to continue into the woods.

As Neb moved past the Seda, he decided that a display of his power would probably ensure that these spirits understood who was in charge. He looked at the mounds of bodies strewn about the road and under the trees. He moved his arms and hands in a series of complex movements while he uttered aloud “Watnese”. A geyser of water shot up from the river behind the specters which caused them to move away from the river and from the water elemental. He motioned with his arms forward and the water raised high into the air and formed itself into a gigantic ball. The watery sphere hung suspended over the dead bodies for a few moments.

Neb dropped his arms dramatically which caused the watery orb to hit the areas that had the piles of dead orcs. The instant the water made contact; the bodies were liquefied and were absorbed into the ground. There was no trace of blood, guts, or even bones. The ground still had the scars from the battle that had taken place on it, but there was no evidence that dead bodies had been strewn about on it. There was a buzzing noise coming from the Seda and they came closer to Lord Neb.

“Master is truly powerful. We are honored to serve the guardians. We have destroyed this orc army as a token of our devotion to your cause. Does our master trust us now?” asked the voice of the Seda. There was an eerie quality to the voice that echoed in his mind. It almost had a hiss like quality to it. It made Neb think of snakes, which is what he compared these spectral creatures to. To him they were still slippery devils; however, killing the entire orc army proved they were truly on the guardian’s side.

“I do trust you…General Tomo’s army was a large and formidable foe. Did you lose any in the battle?” asked Neb questioningly. He did not know if the specters were susceptible to melee attacks. He knew full well that they could be killed by magical means, but they were able to defend themselves against most of these attacks.

“They had no magic wielders among them, so we are still fully accounted for. Our numbers appear small because we were ordered to protect the entire forest, so we had to spread out. We will not be able to defeat an army of that size again because the fallen guardian Kana would have realized by now that we have joined your side. She will make sure there are magic users in her ranks from here on out.”

“Very well then…let’s discuss some strategies then.” The light filtering through the black oaks of Renshaw cast odd shadows on the spectral creatures. The sight of Neb meeting with Seda in the forest had to be one of the most peculiar sights in Tuwa’s history.