Robert Keller - The Heart of Shadows

"And so it begins," said Jace, his face grim.

"Prepare yourselves!" Taris commanded.

One of the Thallites-the leader-blew a great golden horn, a noise that thundered through the hills. And then the catapult arms shot forward-filling the sky with boulders and smaller, gleaming objects that looked like spiked balls. The sky above the Knights on the hilltop was suddenly raining death.

The spiked balls dropped from the sky and exploded in golden flashes, killing, injuring, and temporarily blinding some of Dremlock's warriors. Two Knights were crushed by falling boulders. The Brown Knights were able to deflect many of the spiked balls with their shields, though some of them still suffered damage from the resulting explosions. The protective sorcery cast above Prince Vannas held, and three spiked balls exploded harmlessly in the air above him. But the initial assault by The Colossus was devastating-with four Knights slain and eight more injured to the point of being rendered useless in the battle.

Immediately following that first assault, the two smaller siege engines hurled boulders at the Knights in the valley below, and several of the warriors went down, battered by the heavy rocks. Some of them did not rise again. Bellis was content to hold back and pummel Dremlock's forces-as long as the Divine Knights chose to hold position. The fighters below looked to Taris for the signal to charge, but Taris did not give it, even as another wave of boulders crashed down.

Prince Vannas struck back from atop his platform, blasting white fire at The Colossus. But his eyes widened in shock when the fire did little damage to the monstrous catapult. "The range is too great!" the prince cried. "The fire is weak when it arrives, and I must move closer!"

"Increase your focus," Taris replied.

The prince looked doubtful for an instant, but then his eyes smoldered with determination. The white fire seemed to brighten some, but the great wooden beams of the catapult still did not ignite.

As the smaller catapults prepared to launch boulders again, a group of Red Knights suddenly charged from the ranks and through the valley in a surprise attack. They held lances that blazed with a sorcerous fire called Silverbane-a fire seldom used by Dremlock's warriors because it caused severe burns to those who cast it. In spite of wearing thick gloves, the Red Knights groaned and cried out in pain as their hands and faces were scorched. They hurled the lances at the two smaller siege engines, burying them deep into the wooden beams. Bellis' Knights threw water from buckets on the flames, but the silver fire burned too hot to be contained. Soon both siege engines had become blazing fireballs (along with some unfortunate warriors who got too close to the flames).

The Red Knights bellowed in triumph, then retreated. Some of them had been burned so severely by the Silverbane that they were barely able to guide their horses and would be unable to participate further in the battle. Aldreya gazed down upon them, impressed by their courage. They had sacrificed their bodies (and possibly their lives, if the burns were not effectively treated) to destroy those siege engines. She felt fiercely proud to be a servant of Dremlock Kingdom.

In light of the surprise attack by the Silverbane, Bellis changed its strategy and charged at Dremlock's forces. The two armies clashed in the valley below. Bellis' Knights fired exploding arrows from crossbows that did tremendous damage, but Dremlock responded with the flames of sorcery. Soon the valley was filled with flashes of light, smoke, and buzzing sparks. Some of the Thallite giants had entered the fray, and their huge hammers were devastating to the Divine Knights. They towered above everyone else, their mighty hammers rising and falling.

Meanwhile, The Colossus launched more boulders and exploding, spiked balls at Prince Vannas and his hilltop defenders. Vannas seemed almost insane with focus, his body trembling at he launched fire at the catapult. Bellis' Knights threw water on the catapult's beams, however, and managed to smother any flames that arose. There were so many warriors throwing water that it seemed Vannas would never be able to ignite The Colossus, but the prince did not give up.

Then four Thallite giants started down the hillside. Unlike the other giants, these four were armored from head to toe-including crimson, horned helms shaped like the heads of bulls. They seemed impervious to attack-as flaming weapons glanced off their armor without even scratching it. They smashed anyone aside who dared block their path. They had one goal in mind-to crush Prince Vannas.

The four giants fought their way up Dremlock's hill, leaving dead and injured Knights in their wake. Soon only some Blue Knights, sorcerers, and the Divine Shield stood in their way. With Vannas focused entirely on The Colossus, he wasn't even aware that the four Thallites were closing in on him.

Trenton-or the wolf beast he'd become-charged at one of the Thallites and flung himself onto the giant. He seized the giant's helm with his clawed hands and pulled on it furiously, tearing it away. Trenton flung the helm aside and then buried his teeth into the giant's throat. The giant struggled to dislodge the wolf beast, and the two of them went down. The Blue Knights helped Trenton finish off the Thallite.

Jerret charged another giant and struck a vicious blow to the man's armored leg. The giant staggered but did not go down, as the armor held. The giant shoved Jerret away and the Squire tumbled head over heels, losing his grip on his sword. Jerret lay stunned for a moment, but wasn't seriously injured.

Galvia cried out in fury and swung her glowing hammer into the Thallite's ribs. The blow-backed by the power of Olrog Fire-drove the giant backwards. But it didn't stop the Thallite, who shook off the blow and resumed his charge.

Jace leapt through the air and struck a blow with his fist to the giant's helm, causing the Thallite to stumble a bit as if in confusion. With the giant temporarily stunned from his sorcery, Jace clung to the Thallite's shoulders and removed its helm. Jace then leapt away from the giant as Taris charged forward and slew the Thallite with a huge fireball to the face.

The Blue Knights brought down another giant with ropes, pulling him to the ground with a monumental effort and removing his helm. Then, before he could fight his way free, they finished him off.

The remaining Thallite swung at Taris with his hammer and missed, as Taris leapt aside. Then the giant charged toward Prince Vannas' platform. Only two defenders remained between the giant and the prince-Aldreya Silverhawk and Furlus Goblincrusher. Aldreya hurled a fireball into the Thallite's chest, but it did no damage to the crimson armor. Aldreya had done all she could, and now only Furlus remained to stop the charge. As the twelve-foot-tall warrior hurtled toward the Dwarf, it seemed Furlus would be crushed into the ground.

For an instant, Thallite Giant and Grey Dwarf stared each other down-members of races that had been ancient enemies. Then Furlus charged forward, swinging his great, burning battle axe that was made of pure Glaetherin that only the Grey Dwarves could mold. Furlus' eyes blazed with uncontrollable Dwarven fury, and the strongest Knight at Dremlock leapt into the air and drove his axe into the giant's armored chest. The axe split the crimson armor and lodged deep into bone underneath.

The Thallite staggered, as Furlus wrenched his axe free. The giant took a step toward Furlus and then collapsed. "So much for Thallite armor!" Furlus bellowed, standing over the dead giant.

Immediately after the four giants were dispatched, another Thallite-the leader-began firing arrows at Vannas from a huge bow. The arrows were as long as spears and had tips made of a rare substance called Runestone, allowing them to more easily penetrate shields generated by sorcery. The sorcerers had gathered near Vannas again to defend him. Aldreya watched in awe as the oversized arrows shot toward them with immense speed. Two of the arrows broke against their energy barrier, but a third one made it through and struck the prince's shoulder. However, Vannas was protected by some of Dremlock's finest armor beneath his cloak, and it did not give way. Instead, the prince was flung from the platform, though he maintained his grip on the White Flamestone.