Steven Burke - The Fallen Guardian

As they reached the gate, General Yukio bellowed, “Charge!”

The horses plowed into the high elven foot soldiers and knocked them over like they were nothing more than blades of grass. The high elves retaliated quickly with their archers who were stationed on a little knoll two hundred feet away from North Gate. Their first barrage of arrows killed several dozen riders and horses alike. This enraged the general so much that he began to glow an eerie red color as though he were about to explode. Then, without warning or any foreknowledge on any of his soldiers’ part, their general sent a massive red shock wave toward the archers on the knoll. The wave knocked over everyone and everything in its path. As the magical blast reached the high elven archers, there was little they could do to avoid it. They were thrown bodily from their perch.

Reaching down, the general grabbed one of the high elves by the scruff of his neck and pulled him upright while he remained on top of his horse. His right hand that had a hold of the soldier’s neck burned bright red as he gripped the poor fellow. With strength surpassing anything that his men had seen him display, he ripped the high elf’s head from his body. Blood gushed from the instant corpse as the general raised the head into the air. Even his troops were shocked momentarily by the carnage of their leader. They knew that he would do anything to lead them to victory, but they had not seen this side of him before. They also had no idea that he could do magic.

General Yukio let some of the blood pool in his left hand and then smeared it across his forehead and then on his cheeks. In a loud voice he said, “Let the blood of my foes run like the rivers until at last we are avenged! Remember Queen Daria! Repay those fiends who wronged us!” His right hand ignited the dead soldier’s head into a magical red ball of fire. He then thrust it at the high elves that were just getting back to their feet after being knocked over by the shock wave. The burning head burst into flames as it hit one of the high elves in the chest. The flames spread from one person to another like it was poisonous cloud. Above the sounds of battle, and the pounding rain, the mad cackling emanating from General Yukio could be heard. He had a maddened look in his red eyes as he urged his steed forward. His soldiers followed his lead in every way. They did not hold back as they battled on and many tried to match the intensity their general was displaying.

General Lang watched the crazed General Yukio as he ruthlessly slaughtered the high elves without trepidation. He had not known that the general had magical abilities let alone such powerful ones. He was a little concerned by the display of blood lust, but he merely attributed that to the battles he had fought for his wife and queen who were both dead. I certainly am glad that he is on our side. Who knows what he will do next. As long as it is against our common enemy, I do not care. Lord Marcello walked up to the general with a purposeful look in his eyes. He leaned close to Lang’s ear so that no one else would be able to overhear them.

“I worry that this heightened display of merciless aggression by our friend Yukio will inspire some of our warriors to follow suit,” whispered the massive wizard.

“I share your concern, but we may need that kind of aggressive behavior before this war is over. For now, however, I do concur that we should discourage our soldiers from following in our friend’s footsteps,” replied the general wisely.

The giant wizard nodded his approval and went back to the front of the battle. As he reached the edge of the cliff, he noticed that the high elves were completely distracted by the new magical attacker. Yukio was shooting red fire every which direction and continuing to rip peoples’ heads off and then using them as fire balls. This is not how a war should be fought. However, I must do what I can to make the most of the attention that the mad general is drawing to himself.

Lord Marcello raised his staff high into the air and muttered a spell under his breath as he pointed his war staff at the bulk of the high elven magicians. Purple lightning struck repeatedly into the mass of magic wielders. Several were burnt alive before they could summon counter measures. They did not possess the strength of the giant and could not attack in such a grand fashion, but that did not stop them from trying. They immediately made a mad dash toward the fray where General Yukio was engaging the high elves who were trying to break through the North Gate. Marcello did not continue his attack for fear of killing his allies. He returned his attention to the high elves that were scaling the cliff walls using magic ropes.

General Yukio saw the horde of magicians heading his way and immediately turned his attention to them. Before they were able to throw up sufficient defenses, Yukio sent another shock wave that knocked everyone flat within a two hundred foot radius. This gave him the leverage he needed to unleash his fury on the vile betrayers. He raised his sword high above his head where it was clear that the blade burned a sickening green color. He chanted some complex spell under his breath and aimed the blade at the fallen wizards. He then reared back and threw the blade into their midst. It sunk into one of the high elves backs as he lay on the ground. Immediately a green flash of light went out from the blade, and everyone within the blast area of twenty square feet died instantly. Then a thick green cloud formed over them about ten feet in the air and began to move about the battlefield. Those who were exposed to the wicked cloud became violently ill. They did not die, but they were too busy vomiting uncontrollably to defend themselves.

Yukio’s men stayed back until the cloud had dissipated, and then they rushed forward to take down the sick remnants. In a span of thirty minutes, General Yukio and his men had killed five thousand of Queen Kishi’s soldiers. The high elves only had thirty-five thousand soldiers left, but the tide of this battle was about to take a turn in their favor. A massive white wolf came bounding through the ranks toward Yukio and his men. Atop the gigantic beast sat Queen Kishi with her staff in her right hand. She had come to join her soldiers on the front line and to confront her former brother-in-law. Their eyes met briefly, and she raised her staff into the air. When she lowered it, a blast of cold air shot out with great force. Several combatants were frozen immediately and then shattered from the force of the spell. She continued this attack until nearly two hundred men had fallen. Yukio spurred his steed on to engage the little witch.

“I swear by the great creator that you will die by my hand, you vicious wench!” blasted Yukio when he was within earshot of Queen Kishi.

She raised her staff again to cast a particularly nasty spell at Yukio, but he beat her to the punch. He placed his left palm facing up while his right palm was vertical and met his other hand in a right angle. He made a pushing motion with his arms, and the queen was sent flying through the air. She landed several paces away with a sickening thud ! The only problem with the spell was that it did not take her giant wolf as well.

Growling, the white wolf known as Rolon charged the general so quickly that his horse could not move out of the way. The giant beast wrapped its mouth around the front legs of Yukio’s steed and ripped them from its body. The poor beast neighed so loudly that many of those fighting around them stopped to watch the confrontation. The general was thrown bodily from his horse and landed on top of several dead high elven magicians. He got up as quickly as he could to only see the limp form of his brave stallion in the massive maw of the now-bloodied white wolf.