I sit here recovering in my bunk, the physician left only moments ago, but I wanted to get the events of the last 4 days down on paper before sleep over takes me and blurs the details of what has come to pass. These may be the last days of the world for all of mankind. I now know more people by name who have died then I do who are still living. It’s been nearly a week since we received the order, retrieve the Twilight Key at all cost. The Key, an artifact of great magic, was to be used as the energy source for a device that would be able to open a path through the Stormwall allowing us to flee the onslaught of Lord Sunforge. My people, the White Elves of Freespar, accepted the order proudly. Two full main Warships the Morning’s Light, and the Thunder’s Touch, set off for the Workshop that was said to be the holding place of the Twighlight Key.
Roughly five days ago we encountered minimal resistance around what remained of the floating island that was home to the workshop and a small keep. Several of us made our way down and into the keep and the workshop. Everyone else remained aboard the ships doing what he or she could to defend the structure. The walls and floors shook around us as we made our way to the Great Lab. The attack was increasing, Sunforge himself would soon be there. We found the key, its keeper already killed by falling debris. By the time we made our way back outside the invading army had doubled and 4 of my men lost. I gathered my fellow elves and we made our way back to our wyvern mounts. Just as we climbed back into our saddles, a great thunderous crack split the air, all of us were momentarily deafened by the explosion. Ozone and smoke filled my nostrils the screams of the dying guardsman echoed in my head. I turned in time to see Sunforge arrive and crush what remained of the workshop and it’s Keep. Instinctively my wyvern leapt into the air and we began our run back to the Warships. Two more of my men fell in that last moment before the floating island supporting the workshop began to fall into nothingness.
For the next two days we ran and they pursued, constant lightning barrages rocked both warships, we returned fire at every opportunity but those that we killed seemed to not matter. For everyone we knocked from the sky two more took its place. Thunder’s Touch was doing all they could to shield us on the Morning’s Light from the heavy fire until they could take no more. In a desperate maneuver the Captain spun the ship in an attempt to collide with Sunforge. The explosion was grand and for a moment we actually cheered, then as the smoke cleared, he could still be seen, the leviathan lived on. For another day the Morning’s Light dodged and fled the elemental hoard, but in the end we knew the ship wouldn’t make it another two days to the gathering point. The Captain came to me and had me gather my outriders and pushed the key into my hands. We would have to finish this trip on wings the ship was beginning to slow and had taken quite a beating. The good captain began overcharging the magstones, "I’ll try and buy you some time", and we saluted him as he returned to his post, and then we climbed atop our wyverns and leapt from the ship. I took point and the race was born anew, for three more days straight we flew, battered, beaten and exhausted. I lost most of my best friends in those three days.
The air rushed by me as we gained altitude and speed. It was as if Velsari, my wyvern, could sense the urgency in my soul. We had to get the key to the fleet, not just for us, but for all of mankind. On wing, we were able to keep better distance between each other and made harder targets. The other outriders dipped and weaved protecting me, protecting the key from harm. Finally the old dwarven watchtower came into view. We pressed for higher altitude to set up for a speed run by the watchtower. It was there that we were told the Namir would have a surprise waiting for our pursuit. Once we were high enough we pushed the wyverns into power dives toward the tower, hoping the speed we would gain would leave our pursuers far behind and draw them close enough to the tower so that whatever had be planned would be more effective. I was able to dodge one large lightning strike hurled from behind me. The second bolt struck a portion of the wall of the watchtower in front of me sending debris flying into the air. A huge fragment struck me in the chest knocking me from my mount. I felt the air leave my body as I spun head over heals and gazed into the beyond below, waiting to engulf me. I glanced back up and could see Velsari not far from me yet and I screamed out for help while clutching the Twilight Key. To my own amazement she must’ve understood, because she turned and collapsed her own wings to fall and catch me. We struck each other in mid fall, I wrapped an arm around her neck and she slipped under me and caught my weight. Once back in the saddle she corrected our path and I turned and watched my two cousins’ saluted me before they turned back to help slow horde chasing us.
I refocused on the mission, I had to complete the task. I could see the fleet before me, the various racial ships arrayed around the flagship Daughter of Woe. This close to the Stormwall the wind and rain hit me in waves it was starting to get hard to see with the water running in my eyes, but I could make out a small figure making its way toward me from the fleet. My near fall had taken me to low and the pack of elementals chasing me allowed Sunforge and his horde to see the fleet as well, they descended upon the Blooded Moon, home to the last of the Lunar Elves. They ripped into it like savage beast, tore its side open wide and the elves spilled from the broken hull like blood from a wounded sky whale. It was over in seconds. The horde had massed and moved to press when suddenly the dwarven watchtower exploded with brilliant light and a force like I had never seen. The Namir had triggered it, they had waited for the horde to mass and move close enough before detonating their lethal trap. Hundreds of the elementals fell, like dried and dead leaves falling from the trees, most still smoldering as they fell from sight. Still hundreds more advanced into our ship’s ranks. The small figure that was moving toward me was now close enough to see detail. It was Dweena Squint, a goblin sent forward to receive the Key. I pressed it into her hands, she received it well and with no words and with only a slight tilt of her head made her way to the Daughter of Woe. It was here that I reigned in Velsari and took a moment to take in the battle. The Billowing Storm, one of only a few human vessels had moved to block the assault and was destroyed for her efforts. Fates Nemesis, was moving to provide aid to one of a pair of rescue arks that was now on fire and defenseless. My own people’s ship, Goddess’s Tear, was not far from my position, I motioned for Velsari to land there. Once on deck she collapsed in pain, I could see where her left wing and been severely damaged, and she hadn’t complained once. I could see it in the faces around me that my wounds looked far worse then they felt. I pulled my riding helm off and then realized it was not the rain in my eyes, but my own blood. My shirt and leather-riding vest, were both soaked through. I heard her voice before I could see her, issuing orders and trying to keep others moving. I turned to offer my salute as she entered the port flight deck.
No comments:
Post a Comment