Steven Burke - The Dark Tide

The liche made their way across the lake toward the central eastern shore. As they had suspected, there were no troops there. The guardians were not there either which was heartening. They could sense the magic wielders towards the northeastern shore. It was time that they set some of their own traps. The specters were magical, though other worldly and they would set some rather nasty artifices of their own. They were extremely adept at providing the keeper of the underworld with souls and he gave powers to those that fed him.

***

The four lesser guardians appeared in a small forest toward the center of Landen. They wanted to regroup and to plan the next phase of the battle. They were full of confidence now that they had successfully dealt with the water demons. All they had to contend with now were the minotaurs, shape shifters, and the pestilential liche. The sky overhead was clear and sunny. The trees swayed slowly in a gentle breeze as the sounds of forest life filled the silence.

“Since the most difficult assailants are gone, maybe we should split up again. I think it is high time that one or two of us go to our dwarven friends and lend some much needed assistance” offered Necia calmly. She smiled genuinely at her fellow guardians. She felt closer to them than she could ever remember. This brought her comfort and a small amount of joy. It was rather difficult to be truly happy with all the death and destruction; especially when it is being caused by your former elder and supposed close friend.

“I am inclined to agree with you. Let’s have Hilzarie and I deal with the northerners. Necia, you go with Keb to visit our ailing dwarven friends. What say you?” Lord Neb was feeling more confident as he spoke. He was feeling more comfortable with Necia and knew that she could really help the dwarves out. The dwarves had an affinity for fire and were very receptive to Necia as a result. As the water lord he did not have much to offer the mountain dwellers. He did sense something nagging at the back of his mind; however, he ignored the troubling thought, whatever it was.

“I will go to our friends Mount Adem and see what I can do to maximize the lava moat they have there” replied Necia smoothly. She relished the idea of visiting the dwarves because they revered her to be a goddess. She also respected the mountain dwellers for their hard work and unmatched craftsmanship.

“I will head to Dagnolir’s fortress and provide what help I can” supplied Keb calmly. He looked more confident than he had been in years.

“Excellent, let us not waste any more time than we already have. Good luck to us all” Neb said with a loud popping sound as he disappeared. A bluish mist hung in the air momentarily and then slowly dissipated.

Necia, Hilzarie, and Keb all laughed amongst themselves at their impatient friend. Then they too vanished with faint popping sounds. The swirling mist hung in the air for only moments. The forest had gone quiet while they had met briefly, but they were all too preoccupied to have noticed anything amiss. Lord Neb sensed it but did not understand the warning. There was a presence there, a rather dark one at that, well within the shadows of the trees. Whoever or whatever it was, it was clear that they had been keen on listening in. They had not followed the guardians to the location, they simply happened to be there. They took advantage of the opportunity that presented itself.

“Do you think we should tell her about this?” queried one of the dark spies quietly.

“We are not here to spy for her; we have other business to attend to. I am sure she will figure it out” replied a low, hoarse voice. They both chuckled appreciatively and then went back to where the others were hiding deep in the darkest recesses of the woods.

“Have they reached Landen yet?” asked Lord Tyrienwalker, leader of the Meleirelnar subterranean nation. His voice was calm with a chilling coolness to it. His black skin seemed to not reflect light at all but absorbed it.

“Yes my lord. They are in the small forest of Peppin. We now have a sizeable force in the heart of the high plains” replied master Shadowin. His dark features masked any signs of emotion. His skin too seemed to absorb any form of light.

“Excellent…now we can gather our main force here in Tansanee…above ground” replied Tyrienwalker. He was still amazed that the fallen guardian had kept her promise and removed their light curse. Now they could travel above and below the earth. This change made his kind capable of anything. He planned on making the most of this great opportunity. Their skin was even blacker than before and somehow any form of light was absorbed and not reflected.

“So, once we have the soldiers assembled, what is our plan of action?” asked Shadowin simply. He was curious what his leader had in mind. He too knew that their potential was unlimited now, so he was anxious to see what their first battle move would be. Getting a small force into Landen was rather simple with their centuries of practicing the complex art of magical stealth. It also helped that everyone was focused on the war so that they did not sense the intruders as they passed. The dark forces gathered some vital intelligence along the way, which they had passed along to the fallen guardian.

“It is time we made ourselves known to the giants who infest the west. We will take all of these western lands back as our own. So, in short, our first move is to decimate the land of Burien” Lord Tyrienwalker replied darkly. He knew that his forces were far superior in numbers and in ability. He looked forward to using his power above ground…something they had not been able to do since the guardians had cursed them after the last war of the races. They had been punished for their role in the genocide of the most ancient race in Tuwa. They had destroyed the Eldar which happened to be their forefathers. The elves had also sprung from the Eldar, so the fair folk were their cousins though it is difficult to see the resemblance.

The two dark figures were silent for a moment as they both consider the possibilities. Their race was the only one that meddled with the dark magic of the underworld. They had made pacts with its keeper and had been granted special abilities that no other living creature possessed. Even the dark lord Drogan did not possess the same magnitude of powers as the dark elves. Drogan was the representative of the keeper in the world of the living and was an actual creature from the realm of the dead. These two immortal beings possessed more magical power than any wielder in Tuwa. They also commanded considerable dark powers which they were given by the keeper himself. They were a force to be reckoned with and even their kin feared them.

Over the next few days the main force of the Meleirelnar gathered in the southwestern part of Tansanee. This woodland was not too far from their peninsula homeland, the Wesh Forest, which was to the west of their current location. No one in the western lands ever went to Wesh out of fear. There were rumors that at night evil creatures came from under the ground to feed on the living. There was some measure of truth in these reports; however, reality was much more frightening than the stories told around camp fires.

After nearly three weeks of marshaling the ranks above ground, the dark armies of Meleirelnar were ready for action. The leaders of the one million strong force met together to discuss their plans for dealing with the people residing in the Burian lands. Never before had anyone dared to assault the giants to this extent on their doorstep. The land itself should have been a deterrent due to its inhospitable nature. There were no underground paths to Burian, so the only options were to come at them above the ground or in the air.