Page 112 of A Blightress of Wrath
TheBaronhad been true to her word, portaling us only a dozen yards from where theBlightLinecoursed over the tall green grasses of what once wasHyrithia.
Butthe city it had been was no more.Wehad fought over its ruin for years, pushing theBlightLineback and forth over the hills and city gates.Justweeks ago, it had been taken again, theBlightresssending an endless army of herBlightedcreatures, capturing no less than eight of ourWieldwrynsto turn to syphoner trees.
Igripped my sword with both hands, slicing up and through theBlightbeast jumping toward me with a maw of grotesque canines dripping in black ooze.
“Runners, forward push!”Lannacalled.
Wejoined the line of them already assembled, ready to descend upon the ruins as soon as we arrived.Saelynwould be here by now, butIcouldn’t turn back to look.Icould only move forward, swiping long thick cuts across the beasts and vines that would consume the isle without those left to defend it.
Cut, turn, jab.Slash, duck, run.
Itwas always the same.Anever-ending torrent of black flesh falling to pieces before more would rise again from the desiccated earth.Wherewe mourned our losses and searched far and wide for more to commit to our cause, theBlightressneed only extend her hand and pull forth more of her dark monsters from theBlightedland.
Ouronly successes were born from clever tricks and distractions, wearing her power down and pushing forward as we did now.
Thecity walls half crumbled to the ground, and what was left of theCastleofHyrithiaremained tall in the distance, now covered inBlightsince lastI’dseen it.
Ithad been difficult to leave the last time the ruins had been captured.Myparents andIhad been a part of the last attempt to hold the city.Atthe dismal end of that last battle,Ifelt as ifIfell with it, watching my friends patch up their wounds, several of them missing on the battlefield.
Myfather had patted my back, reminding me that we would not give up, that hope did not elude us.Ihad thought ofSaethen, sunning somewhere inFelgren, safe and happy, waiting for her best friend to come back home.
Ithad been so hard not to tell her everything.EverythingIknew, everything she was missing.Ihadn’t been able to hold back that night when we danced, no more thanI’dbeen able to step away from her lips pressed to mine last night.
“Thevin!Onyour left!”
Iheard the warning before the prowling beast struck, this one not a creature formed of theBlight, but one long-dead muri, pinning me down to the blackened soil.Itsmangled jaw exposed white bone with strips of flesh flapping in decay, slick with black blood.
Igrabbed its throat, holding back its sharp teeth with one hand, reaching across my baldric for one of the daggers with the other.Thepalm of my hand sunk through dead flesh and skin, cutting on a broken bone at its neck.Ignoringthe pain,Isliced into its chest, then up, stalling its force of claws like knives at my shoulders.Lannawas there beforeIcould finish the job, one swift movement of her sword across its head and it fell from its body—right onto my face.
“Fuck,”Icoughed, pushing the corpse from my chest and wiping the black blood from my eyes.
“Keepyour head on what’s in front of you, not behind you.”Shebreathed deep with a grin on her face and a hand out to pull me up.
Itook it, rising to see the field covered in an emerald light domed above us, pushing toward the castle.
Lannahuffed a laugh, grinning wide as she looked over my shoulder. “BaronKarusjust lit the sun.”
Iturned, shielding my eyes in the golden, blinding light, barely able to make out theBaroncrossing the field with it held high in front of her.
TheSimulairSolumspell was the first to be taught to the channelers that would one day enter the force ofWieldwryns, thoughIhad never seen it so large and emitting such a heat as this.
Thehiss of recedingBlightwas a soundI’dnever get used to.Icringed hearing the death of what had brought destruction over these lands.Ilooked around forSae, unable to see her as theBaronmoved swiftly across the field with her army ofWieldwryns.AsRunners, our job was almost done, making a cleared path to the castle gates.Wewould continue forward to cut down any more opposition, but we’d meet little push back, theBlightand beasts of its nature unable to withstand the light of the glowing sun for long.Alick of fire began to burn along the castle towers, no doubt produced somewhere by theHandlessKinghimself.
“Runners!”Lannacalled with her sword held high, beaming in the light of theBaron’sspell. “Tightenthe line!Pushto the castle doors!”
Ispit black blood to the ground and wiped my mouth, gagging at the distinct taste of rotted flesh and bitter remnant of theBlightwhich had consumed the animal.Iwrapped my bleeding palm in a strip of clothLannahanded to me, tying it at the back of my hand.Thankfully, it wasn’t my sword hand that stung like fire.
Glancingdown the line ofRunners,Icounted around forty of us, recognizing plenty of faces who had seen the same amount of war asIhad.Afew of them more, a few less.
Lannamarched forward, the sun from theBaron’sspell directly overhead, shining a light into the black abyss and destroying all in its path.Ofall the battlesI’dfought, this was turning into the easiest to win.Afterseventeen years, we really might just have the power we needed to complete theDimmingand bring peace back to the isle.
Wepushed on, meeting little resistance.Witheach swipe of our blades across the vines and creatures that dwelled under the city gates, ash soon followed, destroying theBlightress’sdark forces to nothing but a coat of dust on the land.
Thewestward city gate, only twenty feet away from our line, remained broken and open sinceHyrithiahad first fell to theBlightten years ago.Ihad only been a boy, hearing my parents’ hushed whispers about the fall while we searched forRunnersandWieldwrynsin theAttatokMountains.
TheBlightvines on the walls fell in tremendous crashes, torn from their purchase by the heat of the sun that hovered into the city.Lannaentered first, cutting through the vines and thorns like warm butter, their resistance muted in the power we now held on our side.
“Runners,” she called, “pair off and surround the castle!”
