Lastland's Last Stand: The Prince's Ascension

The Fall of Northplain

"Help! Someone! PLEASE! HELP!" The peaceful silence of the night was shattered as a hoard of soldiers from the northern war camp flooded the south. Metal clattered and clanked against metal as droves of soldiers still in full arms and armor stumbled into Southwood, frantic.

"Hmm?" Princeton rolled over sleepily. At first, he wasn't even aware that he was awake, but when the screaming and crying got louder, he was finally ripped from his slumber. The purple-eyed apprentice shot up in bed. All around him, other apprentices were waking up and peering through the cabin windows. The sight that met their eyes was pure chaos, bleeding and ragged soldiers howling, some of them with weapons still raised.

"Avalon? Avalon!" As Princeton and the other apprentices raced outside, he struggled to make himself known over the crowd. The other Southwood Gifted was perched atop the soldier cabin, dark red hair gleaming in the moonlight, turquoise eyes piercing the darkness. Princeton could see traces of stair-shaped ice blocks snaking their way up and around the side of the cabin.

"Ay! Yo! Prince! You seeing this?!" Avalon's excited voice filled Princeton's head.

"No!" Princeton thought back, annoyed. "That's why I'm trying to ask YOU! What the heck is going on out there?!"

Unlike Avalon, Princeton didn't have the luxury of a Gift that could help him find a better vantage point.

"Well, from the looks of it, we've got visitors!"

"You don't say?" Princeton thought with a scoff. A second later, he winced. "Oops, forgot to turn that off... Oh, jeez, I just did it again!"

Princeton heard Avalon laugh. It felt like static buzzing gently against his brain. He growled and looked away, humiliated.

"Don't worry, happens a lot to rookies," Avalon managed to silence their laughter. "I'll see if I can get us a better look..." A pillar of ice started to rise up from beneath Avalon's feet, creating a catwalk that they carefully tread across, trying to better understand the situation.

ooo

Ambush. Plain and simple. That was all it was. But considering that they were supposed to be in a time of peace, and the invaders were enemies they thought they conquered at the end of the previous war, it came as a cold splash of reality to every soldier, Northplain or Southwood. How the Corruptors managed to escape and survive—and well enough to launch an attack only a few years after being so thoroughly vanquished—was yet unknown, but what was known was the destruction they wrought upon Northplain.

Appearing seemingly out of thin air, they struck just as the camp was winding down for dinner, intentionally waiting for Northplain to be at its weakest. Northplain fought back as hard as it could, but it quickly became apparent that it was a losing battle. To save as many lives as possible, Tatiana ordered a retreat, although it greatly wounded her pride to do so. In order to compensate, at least to the best of her ability, while the evacuation went underway, she stayed behind to hold the line with some of her other strongest and most experienced soldiers.

Princeton at last managed to shove his way into Southwood's Medical Center. All around him, medics still in their pajamas ran to and fro, turning on equipment and fetching medical supplies. Weaving through the crowd, Princeton didn't stop until he reached the very back. Some of the Northplain Gifted were already there, and Princeton was summoned by them through their telepathic connection. One Gifted lay in critical condition upon one of the Med Center beds.

Isabella Reeve! Princeton's stomach jolted violently. Her face was nearly unrecognizable because of all the injuries she suffered, but even though her eyes were shut tight, Princeton could already envision their bright pink hue. Her dark hair was coarse and matted, and her olive skin was covered in cuts and bruises and burns. Standing protectively over her was one of the other Northplain Gifted, Quincy Husk. Like Isabella, his dark skin was littered with scars and injuries, but unlike Isabella, he was not so wounded that he was bed-bound.