The Fallen Guardian (The Guardian Chronicles 2) (2 page)

As
the hail of fire continued from Kana’s storm, a deafening roar ripped through
the air that sent chills downs the spines of everyone in the city. The barrage of
arrows halted suddenly as the archers ran for better cover. The furious
guardian created a wall of fire along a portion of the defensive wall instantly
consuming the elves that had been firing on her. She landed her dragon atop the
wall and dismounted elegantly. She immediately sent out a strong gale of wind
that drove any would-be attackers flying through the air. The dragon leaned
over the wall and began snatching up helpless elves. The entire southern part
of the city was ablaze now, and the king’s guard was now making their way
toward the fray. They hesitated once they saw who and what it was that was
attacking them. Verandos Tenowernal appeared out of nowhere to urge the
soldiers on. The druid then changed into an enormous white bear and ran to the
front of the guard. He stood up on his hind legs and roared ferociously into
the air. Heartened by this display of leadership and courage, the guard joined
the attack.

Kana
caught sight of the king’s guard and the venerable druid Verandos and decided
that she had their attention. She returned to her steed and mounted him right
away. As the dragon took off into the air, he ripped chucks on the wall off
with his powerful talons. He dropped them into the approaching troops as they
departed in haste. Several of the king’s guard were unable to avoid the massive
blocks and were smashed into the cobble stone pavement. The dragon roared again
as it gained altitude, sending a renewed shudder down the collective spines of
the elves. The capital was in complete disarray after this vicious attack. Many
could not believe that there was a dragon on the loose after all these years.
They were troubled by the invincible person that appeared to be controlling the
beast. No one knew what or who she was. Terror gripped their hearts as they
stood there surrounded by fire and scattered debris. The messenger owl had
warned them about the orcs and the dragon, but the bird failed to mention
anything about the mysterious rider.

As
Kana made her way swiftly to where the high elves were waiting for the signal
to attack, she wondered what went wrong with their plans. She did not worry
about what had happened for too long because she totally trusted in General
Nero to handle the situation. She knew that he was capable of employing several
different battle tactics and his command over his troops was built on mutual
trust. She turned her wondering thoughts to the high elves that were waiting
just minutes away. She was flying much faster now because of the early warning
that the elves received about her approach. If they knew she was coming, then
they must already know about the orc army.
They probably do not know about
their brethren waiting for them on their northern border.
This thought
brought a satisfied smile to her face. She knew that their approach would go
unnoticed until it was too late. She knew that she could count on their stealth
capabilities, whereas the orcs could be relied upon for the brute strength and
fierce loyalty to their generals.

As
she climbed a bit higher over a series of hills, the high elven army came into
view. They were standing silently just out of the reach of the shadows cast by
the tall trees of the Black Forest. Kana closed her eyes as she reached out
with her mental power to ascertain their true status. The high elves were adept
at hiding their emotions on the surface, but she could delve into their psyche
to find out the truth of the matter. She saw flashes of events that recently
occurred. The high elves had eliminated all outposts and spies already. They
were merely waiting for the signal to move into the interior of the forest. She
sent out her web further to find Lord Dükker. She wanted to know how things
went with the giants. She could not find him anywhere. By this time, she had
arrived at the waiting army, and she descended slowly toward the ground and
landed. She immediately dismounted her fell beast and looked around
expectantly.

“Looking
for me, malady?” said a sly voice from behind her.

“Dükker,
how in the name of Kedem did you hide from me?” she asked fiercely. She did not
like the fact that he could keep her out of his mind and even conceal his
whereabouts from her.

“Years
of practice,” replied the warlock. “I sense that you wish to talk to me about
the giants. Follow me.”  He beckoned her to follow him to tree line where they
would not be overheard by the army.

“The
giants that camped near Mount Quang were merely interested in the noises they
heard. I eliminated the ignorant brutes as a precaution.”  He made it sound as
if it were no more difficult than killing an insect.

“You
were able to kill a small group of giants?”  She did not bother to hide her
disbelief as she said this.

“Yes…but
that is not important right now. I believe that they will not interfere, but we
should be vigilant. They are a most curious breed and could cause us some
serious trouble if we are caught off guard.”

“Excellent
thinking, Lord Dükker. Let me update you on what has happened thus far in the
south.”  She then explained the events that led up to her arrival. Lord
Dükker’s face became darker as she told the tales of her recruiting efforts and
especially of her confrontation with the elves at Tarisdell.

“I
believe that the other guardians may be involved somehow. That would account
for the foreknowledge of our plans. The only group that appears to have been
caught off guard completely was the people of Nairi. At least that is what the
message was from Queen Kishi.”

“I
agree. I have been thinking for some time now that the guardians have been
keeping a close eye on things. I know that Lord Keb has not reported anything,
but I do not know about the others. I will look into this matter after we begin
the attack on the elven capital.”

They
both stood there for a few moments without saying anything to one another and
not moving from the spot. They were both thinking things through and trying to
come up with the best plan of attack now that the elves were alerted to the
southern army of orcs. Dükker had an uneasy feeling about the Seda even though
he agreed with how Kana handled them. He believed that the fire would keep them
at bay, but if they decided to help the elves, who had coexisted with them for
a thousand years, they would be in serious trouble. He did not know how even he
could contend with one of them let alone their entire population. The guardian
was more concerned with the apparent interference of the other guardians. They
had not gotten involved in the affairs of the peoples of Tuwa for centuries.
She did not like the idea one bit because she was not yet powerful enough to
resist the entire council, and she could not destroy them. No one could as far
as she knew.

“We
must move swiftly against the capital. Leave a rear guard to protect against
the possible threat of attack from behind. Make sure the soldiers you place
there can wield magic and are skilled in taking down our curious neighbors. I
must go now and take care of some other pressing matters that could decide the
outcome of our efforts.”  She had a faraway look in her eyes as she continued
to think about what she must do next.

“I
will take care of the elves; you go and see what you can find out about the
guardians and their meddling,” replied Dükker. He did not bow at all as he
turned walked away. He felt emboldened by the fact that Kana could not protect
her mind from him and that he could protect his from her. He was also feeling
very powerful after his meeting with the giants. No one had ever taken down
five giants by themselves.

As
Kana flew off to the north, Dükker returned to talk with his captains. No one
noticed the brown bear that had been sitting in some bushes near where Dükker
and Kana had been speaking. The bear moved slowly toward the forest as if it
were foraging for some berries. After the furry animal had journeyed deep into
the forest, the bear looked back at the army. No one had noticed her departure,
and no could see her now through the dense undergrowth. She turned around and
took off at an amazing pace in the direction of Tarisdell. The druid Nita had
not been seen since the merger of the high elves, and now she was returning to
the elves with news of the impending attack from the north. She had not agreed with
the politics of the high elves and had decided some time ago to return to
Renshaw Forest. Now seemed like the perfect time for her to reunite with her
true brethren. She did not want the elves to fall prey to the wicked and
corrupt high elves or the twisted Elemental, Kana.

***

As
the army of the high elves moved into the central part of Renshaw, they began
to notice the absence of forest life. There were no birds chirping or chipmunks
darting back and forth through the canopy overhead. There was not even an
insect buzzing around them as they continued to move toward the capital. They
had encountered several small ambushes along the way that had delayed the
resolute army, but they had been eliminated almost as quickly as they had
attacked. Lord Dükker called a halt to their advance and sent forward several
of his spider’s kin to find any other possible traps. As he sat atop the
massive spider, he could sense that something was terribly wrong. He sent out
his own magic web to try to find any signs of life. As he did so, there was a strange
popping and crackling noise that seemed to be increasing in volume. He looked
up at the tops of the trees and saw a series of fireballs falling from the sky.
The balls smashed into several troops and burned them to a crisp as they
shrieked in pain and surprise. Dükker knew that they had come across the
biggest ambush yet.
How do they know that we were coming?

“Attack!”
yelled Dükker in a villainous commanding voice. He spurred his steed forward,
and the high elves rushed their hidden attackers. Fire and smoke blurred
everyone’s vision as the battle commenced. They were within fifty yards of the
northwestern outer wall of Tarisdell, but the chaos that had erupted blinded
them to this fact.

The
giants sat around the campfire watching the flames with rapt attention. They
had come to the plains west of Mount Quang to find out why the weather around
the mountain was behaving in such a peculiar manner. They had felt quakes that
were so strong that they could not be caused naturally. Chief Angus Vokias had
sent this detachment to ascertain the cause and determine if there was any
threat to his tribe. He was the leader of the most prominent tribes of the
giants. They were not under one banner as a people because of their inability
to cohabitate peacefully. As a result, they were divided into five major
tribes. Vokias was chief of the Tribe of the Wolf, which had the largest number
of giants and was the most well known for their participation in the liberation
of Tuwa a thousand years ago.

Gerodi
was the leader of the Tribe of the Eagle.  Lang was the head of the Tribe of
the Bear.  Boaz was the chief of the Tribe of the Elk.  Marcello was the chieftain
of the Tribe of Mystics.  The five groups had never been united under a common
cause, but that time appeared to be drawing to a close. Four of the clans lived
in the far western parts of the Land of Burien in the west lands. Angus, who
lived on the extreme eastern border, was much more concerned about the new
neighbors. The others were not concerned one bit about the unusual happenings
at Mount Quang because of the considerable distance they had between them and
the tall mountains. They believed in not getting involved with the other
tribes, let alone the other races, so they stayed away from the strange
activities in the north. The only giants that had any dealings with any of the
other peoples in Tuwa were Angus’s tribe. He had made a pack with the elven
King Ciel Tiranidrol many years ago to come to the aid of the other if ever
they were in need.

The
giants who were circled around the bonfire were silent as they ate their
evening meal. The fire rose some twenty feet into the air and burned a
brilliant crimson color. The shadows cast by the flickering flames made the
ominous giants look even fiercer as they sat there. Anyone walking by this site
would have turned tail and fled, but Lord Aellenas was not just anyone. He
crept up silently on the mute brutes as his spider set traps with his kin along
the border between the Burien Lands and the Black Forest. Dükker wanted to find
out for himself exactly what was going on with the curious bunch. He did not
trust anyone else to get the information he was looking for and knew that he
was the only one who could defend against an attack from multiple giants.

“Who
do you think is living up in the mountains?” asked one giant in the circle.

“You
remember what Angus said, don’t you?” asked another. “He said it was some type
of elf.”

“Then
why are we bothering with them?  Aren’t they on our side?” asked a third giant.

“No.
The chief thinks that they broke off from the woodland elves. They are not to
be trusted,” said the second giant in reply.

“You
said you would tell us the plan once we got here, so what is it?” asked yet
another giant from the circle.

“We
are going to visit these deserters and determine whether or not they are a
danger to us. If they pose a threat, we wipe them all out. We cannot risk them
living so close to us when they may have evil intentions. We do not want
another war like the one that destroyed our homes when the Eldar were wiped
out. We must circumvent another such possibility. Besides, our pack is with the
elven king and not these traitors,” explained the second giant.

Dükker
had heard quite enough of this talk and decided to act. Had he put more thought
into his actions, he probably would have done things differently, but his close
proximity to five giants blinded his mind to any other option. He conjured up a
staff out of thin air and pointed it dramatically at the bonfire, and the flames
turned a purple color right before it exploded into the unsuspecting brutes.
The giants were unaffected by this attack and were on their feet in a blink of
an eye.
They are much more agile than I would have thought possible.
This
split-second of thought by Lord Aellenas cost him dearly. As he stood there in
temporary shock, he was hit with a rock the size of his head. He tried to dodge
the projectile, but it caught him in the right shoulder. He went flying
backwards some twenty feet before landing on the rocky field and skidding to a
halt. Dükker realized that he was not going to be able to regain his feet
before they were on him, so he summoned his staff to his left hand and put up
an energy field that deflected several rocks that had been thrown at him.

As
Dükker stood up straight, he felt sharp pains throughout his entire body. The
rock had shattered several bones and would require extensive healing for a
normal person. This warlock was no ordinary creature, so he pointed the staff’s
tip, which had a purple crystal placed at the top of the staff, and his shoulder
glowed purple like the fire.  Several trees in the distance wilted as though
their life force had been drained.  His wound seemed to mend itself, and he
moved his whole arm to make sure that he had all of his functionality back.
After making sure he was completely healed, he turned his fiery gaze on his
attackers. He removed the protective shield quickly and sent black smoke from
the end of his staff at the five giants. The vapor obscured their faces for a
few moments, and then it was gone. The massive brutes stood there coughing and
gagging as if they had been poisoned or were being choked. After a few more
minutes, they had stopped their struggle with the invisible attacker and turned
their attention toward the elven warlock.

“You
are one of those evil elves!” bellowed one of the giants.

“You
will die little one!” yelled another.

“I
am afraid that I cannot allow that to happen,” Dükker said with an evil grin.

“What
do you––” began one of the giants. They all went silent, and they began to look
at one another.

They
did not notice Dükker muttering something under his breath while they stood
looking at one another. His speech was so low that it was rather difficult to
tell what he was saying. It had a rhythm like a chant or incantation. As he
continued to mumble to himself, the giants’ countenance fell, and they began
ripping each other to shreds. The giant who had done most of the talking
survived the sudden attack from his companions by knocking off their heads with
his massive club. He turned his attention to Lord Dükker and started making
threatening movements toward him.

“I
do not know how you did that, but you will pay for it with your own blood!” the
giant raged. He swung down his club just as Dükker threw up his protective
shield. The giant’s blow was deflected, but the warlock was sent reeling from
the effort of keeping the magic shield up.

“You
are a powerful brute for sure, but I am much stronger than you,” replied the
warlock savagely.

Fire
burst from the end of his staff and sent the giant flying through the air. He
landed some fifty feet away and was on his feet within seconds of landing. He
came bounding back at the wizard with a look of pure loathing in his eyes. As
his attacker approached, Dükker had decided to try a different tactic. He
summoned a bow and arrow into his hands out of thin air. The arrow was dripping
with some kind of poison as he let it fly. The arrow flew with great speed and
struck the brute right between the eyes and imbedded itself in his skull. The
only part of the arrow that did not penetrate the giant’s head was the
feathers. The poison immediately dropped the massive soldier to the ground.
Within a few moments, he lay completely still bereft of life.

Lord
Dükker smiled savagely at his handiwork and looked about him to make sure that
he was alone in the desolate plain. He could see no one around him, so he
decided to leave so that he could return in time for the assault on the elves.
He looked forward to this momentous occasion. He had longed to teach his lesser
brethren the true meaning of power. He would make them suffer horrific deaths
and take their place as the dominant race of Tuwa. The high elves would replace
the elves just like the elves replaced the Eldar in days of old. He knew that
the circumstances were drastically different but the principle was the same.
When the dominant nation fell, then a more powerful one took its place. The
only difference, in his mind, was that they were forcing the elven race down from
their throne.

As
Dükker began to make his way back to the border where his faithful spiders were
busy setting traps, an unseen giant moved for the first time since the
appearance of the wicked high elf. He had sat in stony silence watching the
horrific events unfold before his eyes. He had been sent by the chief to make
sure that if something should happen to the others that he would at least be
able to report back what happened. He wondered if the little warlock guessed
right or if he knew that the giants were susceptible to mind control. Only the
great guardian knew of this weakness, and he would never share that information
with anyone else. The enormous creature sat stalk still until the little
villain was well out of sight and ear shot. After he could no longer see
Aellenas, he stood up and stared at the remains of his poor fellow tribesmen.
They had all been good friends and had been relatively young. He turned about
slowly and headed toward his home to report what happened to Chief Angus.

As
he set his sights on home, he began to run at such a vigorous pace that he
crossed the many miles from their campsite to his destination within minutes. He
struggled to push out the dark images of death and destruction brought on by
that little elf. The very thought made him so angry that he began smashing
objects that he passed by. The giant continued his fervent pace until one of
the sentries of the Wolf tribe caught sight of him.

“Galen!”
shouted the sentry. “Galen!”  The guard was trying to get the attention of the
fast-approaching giant.

“Get
Chief Angus; must speak to him right away,” said Galen as he panted for breath.
His prolonged sprint had winded him terribly, and his lungs were burning from
the effort.

“I
will get him at once. Take a seat and catch your breath, Galen,” said the
sentry soothingly. As soon as his massive friend had taken his seat, the guard
had turned about and began to make his way into the camp.

As
the guard ran toward the central tent in the camp, two unbelievably huge giants
stepped into his path, blocking the entrance to the chief’s tent. They pushed
him backwards gruffly and stared down at him imperiously. The sentry had
forgotten that he was supposed to give a secret password to gain entry to the
chief’s residence. His brain was racing so fast that he was having difficulty
remembering what the word was. The entry guards began to laugh and point at his
apparent dilemma. They were going to be no help to him, so he had to think of
the secret word, and he must do it quickly.
These idiots have no idea the
urgency of my visit!

“You
still can’t think of the password?” asked one of the chief’s guards, laughing
raucously.

“Look
at him; his little brain is trying so hard to remember what it is,” said the
other guard while pointing at sentry. He was laughing so hard that the ground
shook slightly around them.

“What
is the meaning of this?” boomed a voice from behind the two pillar-like guards.
The smiles disappeared, and the laughter died at once. The chief was right
behind them.

“This
sentry came running up here without bothering to stop and give us the password,
Chief,” explained the guard who had been laughing hardest.

“Did
you even bother to ask him what business he had with me?” asked Angus
pointedly. His eyes were boring holes into his jovial guard.

“No,
sir. I…I… He said nothing about why he was here and…” stammered the guard.

“Galen
is back, isn’t he?” the chief spoke to the sentry solemnly.

“Yes,
Chief, he came running faster than I have seen anyone run before, and he was
tearing up the path as he ran. Something must have gone horribly wrong,”
explained the sentry with great concern in his voice.

“You
imbeciles go and retrieve Galen. Bring him here at once. If I hear so much as a
giggle from either of you again, your heads will be placed on my wall!” Angus
was so infuriated by the childish behavior of his guards. They were supposed to
be the most fierce and powerful of his guard.
These two morons had to be the
dumbest among the ranks. Stay calm; if there is a war brewing, I will need
these idiots to fill my ranks. If there is no war, rip their heads off then.

“What
do you think happened to the scouts?” asked the sentry.

“Whatever
it is, it can’t be good. Go back and inform all the sentries to be vigilant. We
need to be prepared for anything,” ordered the chief. The soldier nodded
affirmatively and took off at once.

The
chief turned around and entered his tent. He would wait for Galen to arrive and
report what happened. As he walked toward his massive throne, he could not
shake the sense of foreboding that had come over him. He knew that something
was wrong and that he would have to be decisive.
This must have something to
do with those wicked elves that left the Black Forest. If a war breaks out, we
are going to need more troops. That means combining the strength of the five
tribes. Has it really come to that?
  He shook his head to clear his
thoughts so that he could be alert for his visitor. He could hear his two
guards approaching his tent with the silent messenger in tow. The tent door
parted, and Galen entered with a bow.