Twisted Destiny

Part 22 - The First Battle

The time was here. Staring up at the sky, at the storm clouds starting to roll in, they all felt it. War. It was on the horizon, but they were ready. It had been months, and the thirst to fight back for their country was peaking. The soldiers in Virago's army knew what to expect, but there was no doubt at the shock that also came along with the arrival of the gods.

Rhytdros, always one for dramatic entrances, materialized down to the Earth along with a bolt of lightning that struck the ground. Appearing in an instant, and as quick as the beam had been, it was gone. There he was, towering twenty feet into the air, and looking down on them as if they were ants. Suddenly, the very ground beneath their feet started to shake, and the forest and all plant-like matter around them seemed to follow. Then, next to Rhytdros, a lady, cloaked in green appeared.

She, like Rhytdros towered over them, and Lantana had no doubt she was a goddess. Her skin was almost pale green, like the fairaes they had encountered oh-so long ago. She was wearing a hooded cloak that seemed to be made of vegetation, and breathing along with their host. The body of the cloak was composed of green moss, and it was coated with leaves, and bloomed with flowers. The cloak fell down to her waist, and she wore a skirt, and matching top that seemed to be woven of grasses and  flowers, as if part of the Earth itself. She was barefoot, and long, dark brown hair, the color of dirt freely flowed down to her waist, coming to a stop just after her elegant flora cloak. There was no doubt about it. She was Iola, goddess of the forest.

The two of them formed a deadly fighting duo. Their powers went hand in hand, and fighting against the both of them, at once, would be a deadly dance that no one would know the outcome of. Gabriel only needed to utter one word before everyone sprung into action.

"Break."

The cavalry quickly rode off into the forest, which would hide them from the overview of the surrounding gods. The melee broke out of their tight formation,quad starting to scatter in every direction in order to cause chaos, and have the probability of them being hit less. Archers and mages went to carefully picked out locations to be able to hide from the onslaught while aiming arrows, and beams of magic up at the gods at the same time. Of course, now that they were here, they weren't about to wait for them to file into their formation. The two deities looked at each other, and seemed to silently communicate with the other.

In a moment, heavy, gray fog started to roll over their land, and the skies opened. Pellets of rain, each of them as large as walnuts started to pour over their army, instantly drenching them all. The soldiers' movements became sluggish, weighted down by the rain that seeped into the crevices of their armor, penetrating the flesh of their bodies underneath. Lantana felt it as well. Heavy, ice-cold rain. Rain that would have brought along misery if it was any other day, but knowing what was bringing it along, knowing why they were here was only another reason to motivate her. She wasn't going to let the weight of her own armor pull her down, and she wasn't going to give up at the first sign of conflict. She saw a few of the soldiers start to slow, and started to state exactly what was on her mind.

"Do not let a little bit of rain slow you! Remember what we are here for, and know what is causing the rain! This is the very reason we are here to fight, so do not give up now, now that you are seeing the face of the enemy, and what they are capable of!" She tried to put as much pride into her words as possible, stating it with the level of command Gabriel usually held.

She wasn't sure how many of the soldiers had heard her, but the few that were in her line of sight rapidly picked up their pace before disappearing into the fog like their peers. She could only hope that they made it to the forest. Even then though, there was no guarantee in safety. Even though she had no idea how they were to see, she heard Gabriel shout out his next few orders.