Steven Burke - The Dark Tide

The moisture in the air evaporated around Necia as she continued to build up energy to maximize the initial attack. Lord Neb timed his release of his watery hold on the demons so that the fire would be most efficacious. There was the briefest moment that the intruding forces thought that they had been successful in throwing off the hold the water lord had over them. Just as they gathered themselves for a much more focused attack, the fire elemental let them have it.

Necia shot straight at the horde with lethal purpose. As the fiery orb, whose core was the fire elemental, struck the collective demon force the air exploded with the shrieks of absolute terror. Hilzarie appeared in the air and immediately recaptured the demons in a vortex of wind. Lord Keb appeared at the shore’s edge which was directly below the assault taking place in the air above. His face darkened as a grim smile crept slowly across his face. Anyone who knew the kind and gentle earth lord would have known that his demeanor spelled doom for someone. The shallows of Lachlan began to shake violently as a massive earthen hand reach up into the sky. The massive hand shot up quickly and closed tightly around the swirling wind cage.

“You are no longer welcome in the world of the living you filthy demonic slime! Give my regards to the keeper!” Lord Keb’s hand clenched into a fist and the earthen hand followed suit. The demons were smashed out of existence by the force of all the combined elements.

A gentle hand rested reassuringly on Keb’s shoulder as the earthen hand slammed back into the shallows. Neb gave his dear friend a squeeze with his hand to let him know that all was well. The fog that had covered the lake dissipated before them. The storm clouds above appeared to be yearning to unleash its pay load. Before the rain fell, the remaining hordes of Kana’s army making its way around the edge of the lake stopped in their tracks at the sudden change of events. As they stood there, the promised deluge erupted. The ground had standing water within seconds of the storm breaking.

“Are you alright my friend?” queried Lord Neb. He was looking directly at his fellow guardian with great concern.

“I would have to say that I do feel better. I now feel like a contributor in the fight against Kana and her minions. I just hope what we have done makes a difference.” As Keb looked at Neb he seemed to relax a bit. The energy surrounded the earthen lord seemed to lessen. His dark visage lightened and he almost smiled.

“I know we have made a difference. For now, there are no more underworld foes that we have to deal with. Aside from Kana, everyone that is left for us to fight is fleshy” said the water lord reassuringly. This time he slapped Keb hardily on the back.

“We really need to thank the guardian and his handling of that fiend Nicor. That really opened the door for us. I think his open involvement has made the biggest difference” injected Hilzarie as she appeared on the other side of Keb. Wind seemed to continue to swirl around her as she stood there.

“We always knew that it would be up to him to change the tide of this war. He has certainly helped me overcome my misplaced loyalty to the fallen guardian” intoned Necia bashfully. She had appeared next to Neb and had placed her slender arms on the broad shoulders of her wise friend.

“Welcome to reality…glad you could join us.” Keb smiled openly at Necia and they all laughed appreciatively. Necia rushed to Keb and threw her arms around him. The four lesser elementals felt a unity that they had not had in several centuries. It was sad that such trying times would be the reason for unification. They had a feeling again of family.

The four guardians vanished as a strong wind pushed from west to east into the face of the remaining forces of Kana’s northern warriors. The elven mages took advantage of this cover to place some more magical traps for the oncoming intruders. They had had little time to lay deadly artifices, so the weather had afforded them an unexpected advantage. Now they felt that they were more prepared for the coming assault and the other defending forces adjusted their positions to accommodate the new defensives. One thing that the troops had forgotten about was the ships that were still on the waters filled with pirates from the Kai Ocean. An oversight that would prove costly once the battle commenced in earnest.

***

As the northern troops watched the strange battles over the lake they came to a collective halt. They were struck with fear as they realized the water demons were dispatched after Nicor had been destroyed. They were caught off guard by the downpour that erupted once the impromptu battle over the lake stalled. They were heartened by what they saw, albeit briefly, in the middle of the lake. The pirate ships were alive with activity in preparing for the storm. It appeared that the forces of Landen had completely forgotten about the water forces. Now that the rain was coming down in earnest the soldiers who were on the edge of lake had to make for the shelter of the cliffs.

The liche decided to take command of the army since no one appeared to be in charge anymore. Since the rain was not a deterrent for the spectral beings, a small detachment floated out to the ships being tossed on the now turbulent waters of Lachlan. They met briefly with the captains of the pirate ships before returning to the shore. The forces under the cliffs noticed that not all the liche returned from the brief journey on the inland sea.

“What were you up to out there?” asked one of the minotaurs asked roughly. He did not think much of the liche taking charge of the army. He did not trust them…anything that was not altogether solid was something that he could not depend on let alone brutalize.

“We are taking charge because of the circumstances. If this was merely a land battle and there were no magic involved, then we would happily have you and your kind in the lead. Since that is not the case, we are compelled to take over.” The specter’s voice was harsh and cruel. It was clear that they were being honest and did not want to be in charge and that it was necessity that drove them.

“Fine…I really do not care that you are in charge…what I want to know is what you talked to those fiendish northlanders about” queried the same minotaur hotly. Steam flared from his nostrils as he glared that the small group of liche. He could not tell which one spoke as they had no visible mouths.

“As soon as this storm passes the northlanders will anchor just off shore and we will board their ships. The guardians and elven mages will not expect an assault from the sea. This will give us an opportunity to gain an advantage over our enemies. They have planned several nasty magical traps along the shorelines; however, they are not planning on us coming at them from the water. So, water it is.” The specter who spoke this time hissed these last few words. The minotaurs still could not tell who was talking but they at least knew that it was someone different this time who spoke.

“So what do we do until this accursed weather breaks?” asked a different soldier this time.

“You all can just wait it out here. We will do some recon to determine the best tactical plan. We will be back before the storm ends.” All the liche departed over the water and were lost in the deluge of rain.

“I do not know about you, but those spooks give me the creeps!” said one of the shape shifters. Those nearest him turned to look at him. They all laughed collectively as the shifter who spoke was in the form of a specter.

“You shifters really do have a strange sense of humor” said a larger than usual minotaur. He snorted derisively at the superfluous shape shifters. While he did not care for the tricksters, he could not help but appreciate the joke.