Blood Isle

Chapter Seventy-Four: The Last Struggle

Brenna appeared beside Celete's  bleeding form, which was slowly regenerating. Soldiers rapidly erected a tent to shelter her, Brenna, and Aberith from the falling rain and approaching nightfall.

Donovan entered the tent and closed the tent fly behind him. "How is Celete doing?" The king asked as he studied her reclining figure upon her raised bed.

"Celete is recovering as well as can be expected. After her battle with Sadeene, she somehow found enough strength to take some amafruit before passing out. That I believe, and the regeneration spell she cast upon herself, is the only reason she is still alive," Aberith informed Donovan. "Her wounds are quite severe; if she manages to survive through the night, she should be out of the woods."

Donovan nodded his head in understanding while studying Brenna's face. There was no question that she felt personally responsible, even though Celete acted independently. Her bravery had aided the Neeri by dividing Sadeene's attention at a critical moment, providing her with an opening.

"Tomorrow morning, we will assault the ziggurat and temple, there we can end Bemenah's hold upon Aederan. Between us and the temple are thousands of passionate followers that are willing to fight to the death. Tomorrow's battle is going to be especially bloody; before we can destroy the Eye of Despair," Donovan explained to them in detail, as he ran a gloved hand over his face.

"We need to get as much rest as is possible; tomorrow is going to be a long day. We attack at dawn and finally end this campaign. It is time that we put this behind us and return home," Donovan started as he left the tent and walked toward his tent to sleep.

In the pre-dawn shadows, the men quickly assembled after a hurried breakfast of sweetened porridge and flatbreads. A silver band along the horizon was already announcing the arrival of dawn. It would be cool and cloudy today, which was a blessing in itself, considering the battle they were facing. A drizzling rain had fallen incessantly through the night, covering everything with glistening dampness.

A light wind blew rain curtains across the plain towards the looming ziggurat and temple in the distance. As the cloud-shrouded sun peeked above the horizon, horns blared, giving the command to begin the assault.

The allied army approached the ziggurat with a steady ground-eating pace toward the black horde that awaited them. With a great cry, Donovan and the allied army met the dark forces of Bemenah with weapons raised.

With the sword of power wreathed in bright blue flames, the assault upon the ziggurat was led by Donovan. Blue flames licked along the glistening steel blade as it sliced through the iron armor and the Kang's chest beneath. The broad-chested brute uttered a coughing grunt and spun to the side as he collapsed.

The black stone ziggurat was composed of many incremental, gradual steps that angled upwards slightly. Each step was extensive and was defended by iron-armored fanatics who screamed in rage and defiance.

A roar of rage erupted at Donovan's side, attracting his attention, as Sir Alfred's ax hammered a Kang's shield to the side. With a deft move on the giant knight's part, his ax buried itself in a large Kang's face. With a scream, the brute died as the next blow struck him in the neck, creating a bloody fountain.

As the battle progressed, blood and gore on the stone steps made them dangerously slick to step on. In a whirlwind of glimmering sharpened steel, Girard deflected a Kang's sword stroke as his other sword darted out. His gleaming blade slashed the inside of the savage's thigh, severing the large blood vessel couched there. His foe collapsed and subsequently died from the following slash of his other blade.

As the allied forces fought their way upward, their attention focused upon a surge of descending heavily armored giants. The enemy force struck the front line of allied troops as an irresistible force, savaging the soldiers before them. As the armored behemoths pressed forward, dead and dying allied soldiers fell in tangled heaps along the stone steps.