Re: The Creative Writing Story 3.1 (Edited for Your Enjoyment)
The start of the battle of Antaross. Mora was really digging the story by this point, and it certainly shows. Chapter 10 covers the entire battle, which is actually kind of long, but it breaks up nicely between additions. Editing goes so much faster now that I don't have to concentrate nearly as much on continuity and spelling and punctuation and grammar. That makes me happy, of course. I can't think of anything particularly important that I changed in this addition; probably because I didn't really change anything. Mora's additions are among the few that require almost no editing, aside from formatting.
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*Mora9* - *seventy-six* *chapter11*
Aleksi heard a commotion outside his cell. He moaned. The last thing he wanted was a distraction while he brooded. As the noise came closer, he thought he could make out a set of footsteps making their way towards his direction. The soldier posted outside shouted an exclamation, but was mysteriously silent a moment later. Now this had Aleksi’s attention. He readied himself into a fighting stance. Although he was in a weakened state, he still felt he had to try to defend himself, useless or not. He wasn’t about to surrender his life to anyone. He heard the sound of metal clanking against metal and the cell’s door began to move outwards. He tensed up for a brief second, ready to strike at a moment’s notice, but when the person on the other side was revealed, all tension left his face, leaving his jaw slacked.
“Hey there, kiddo!” Dedalus said cheerfully. “Were you beginning to think I wouldn’t come?”
Alekis blinked his eyes. “How in the HELL did you get here? And WHY the hell are you doing this?!”
Dedalus rolled his eyes. “Sheesh, didn’t your mama ever tell you not to look a gift horse in the mouth? I couldn’t let one of my best customers get executed! I had connections in Anteron, as you may or may not be aware, and I worked a side deal.”
A second person entered the doorway. “Translation: he stole the keys,” Sasha said, in a droll manner. She was clad in similarly disproportionate gray attire, making her slight figure seem even more delicate.
“I don’t suppose I could add this to your tab, eh?” Dedalus added, smiling a smile that tried too hard to be charming.
“Get us and one other out of here alive and you can have whatever you want,” Aleksi said hurriedly, storming out of his cell and into the hall with the rest of them. “And what the HELL is going on in this city, pray tell? I don’t suppose your contacts had any information about that, huh?”
“As a matter of fact,” Dedalus said, “I do happen to have an idea of what’s going on. Some weird foreign guy called Gjigrajheth threatened to attack Antaross tonight. Antaross seems to be taking it pretty seriously, since every single warship and platoon that would make a difference has been recalled back to here.”
Sasha and Aleksi shot each other looks. They hadn’t expected to have to deal with Gjigrajheth, at least not yet. Having Guillermo in the same city that Gjigrajheth was about to burn to the ground with his legions of bastard mutations was a sure-fire recipe for chaos. “Then we haven’t a moment to lose in finding our friend Guillermo, Dedalus,” Aleksi said gravely.
“WHOA,” Dedalus exclaimed, “You mean THE Guillermo? Guillermo Avory? The one that Anteron has been uprooting the countryside trying to find in the last few weeks? You’re with HIM? Oh, man, last time I heard, he was under more guard than the Royal Vault.”
“That changes nothing,” Sasha explained. “We need Guillermo more desperately than Anteron does, and I think it’s time we showed them.”
“But we can’t do anything rash,” Aleksi said, rubbing his chin in thought. “This is gonna take planning. After all, it’s not like Guillermo is gonna land in our laps.”
Just then, Aleksi heard a din coming from down the hall and turned to look. Then his jaw dropped for the second time that day. Guillermo was running towards them at an incredible speed. He could see Guillermo’s expression change from one of determination to one of surprise and saw him try to slow down, only to slip and come crashing down to the stone floor on his back. Sasha shook her head in embarrassment while it was Dedalus’s turn to look astonished at this display. “On the other hand…” Aleksi muttered, trailing off.
Guillermo brought himself back to his feet with a moan. “Remind me to practice coming to a stop next time,” he said, sheepishly. He made it a point to keep his recent dental enhancement a secret from them, too, at least for the moment. “It looks like I got beaten to the punch. Who’s this?”
Dedalus was about to speak up, but Aleksi spoke first. “His name’s Dedalus, but he’s the least of your worries. I assume you know something about this city’s fate.”
Guillermo nodded. “I don’t think I want to be here much longer, anyways. I kinda left my cell without permission and it’s only a matter of time until the Chancellor catches wind of this and figures out where I went.”
Dedalus went ahead of them to lead the way out while Sasha began to take notice of Guillermo’s appearance. He seemed mostly the same, but subtly, Sasha could tell that something was taking place. He and Aleksi used to be roughly the same height. Guillermo stood slightly taller than he had before and his prison garments didn’t seem as ridiculously oversized as their own. She also took note of wisps of gray in his hair. She didn’t say a word, but she knew that this was the beginning of Guillermo’s destiny: evolution.
*****
A tall, regal man stood on a platform, looking over his small army of soldiers. This man in particular seemed more of a soldier than anyone he overlooked at the moment. He was large and looked even larger thanks to his gleaming suit of armor that had the crest of his lineage emblazoned across the wide chest. He wore no crown, but to the people that were ready to die for him he was never without it. He had a handsome face, unobscured by a helmet, so his short head of amber-blonde hair was visible, turning into his full beard. However, at this moment his features were more stern than charming. Few knew that King Ordic regularly practiced his expressions so he could carefully sculpt his public image. He felt that a king had a responsibility to not only act like one, but look like one at all times.
The columns and rows of soldiers lined up before him were shifting about uneasily on their feet, but remained silent, waiting for a word from their beloved monarch. Finally, their patience was rewarded. “Many have asked, ‘Why bother to protect the city of Antaross? Is it not outside of our concern? Let it fall to the creatures, our home will still be safe.’ This is foolishness. The people of Anteron may not be my subjects, but they are my allies and yours, as well. What happens if Antaross falls? The monsters will not be sated, I assure you. They will look for more to destroy, to obliterate. Destruction is the fate for any entity on this earth that does not stand up to these creatures and say, ‘No, this is where it must end. This is where I shall stand up and destroy these abominations.’ This is what we are here to do tonight. We are here to make the world safe for our wives and daughters. We are here to make sure our sons can grow up to be men. Tonight, we send a message to this creature, Gjigrajheth. We will not be threatened, bullied or cowed. We will triumph!”
At this the men raised their fists to the sky and cheered. King Ordic smiled as sweat dripped from his brow. It took a lot to rouse his soldiers the way he wanted them. He knew that there was a good chance that quite a few of them would not return to their families. He silently said a prayer that they might reach the warrior’s afterlife without difficulty.
Thinking about his own soldiers reminded him of his one and only son, Hardin. He had received word from his sister that he had taken it upon himself to find the source of Gjigrajheth along with some captain that was an acquaintance of hers. He frowned slightly. He didn’t like the fact that his son could be facing more danger than himself. He knew that Hardin was much less suited to the path of a warrior than he was. They had never been truly close. Hardin always seemed distant when he was around, and he didn’t seem to enjoy the company of his own father. This had always cut him deeply, but true to personality, he didn’t show it. He merely let him stay with his aunt frequently while he attended to his own business. He had watched him grow up into an uncompanionably ambiguous man, albeit one with a strong sense of justice. He couldn’t help but think that he was responsible for the outcome. If only his mother had survived, he thought, he could have been raised properly.
“Are you still planning on going through with this yourself, Your Highness?” a voice behind asked with a hint of weariness. King Ordic turned around to see Chancellor Copeland. “After all,” Copeland continued, “a man of your age and stature going out into the coming maelstrom will be dangerous; perhaps suicidal.”
“I thank you for your concern,” King Ordic said with a smokescreen of grace, “but I wouldn’t dare ask my men to do something of this caliber if I wasn’t behind them 100% of the way. Perhaps after this is done, I could discuss with you some mutual benefits that could be had by altering our countries’ trade agreement?”
Copeland tried hard to hide the look of outrage that wanted to leap to his face. “With all due respect, Your Highness, I deal with those issues through your country’s government, not you.”
“Ah,” Ordic said with a smile, “but that does not mean we couldn’t discuss it, no? I think that after you hear what I have to say, you will want to pursue it further.”
“No doubt,” Copeland said, with only the slightest trace of a sneer. He bowed. “If you’ll excuse me, I have one more matter to take care of before I join the others in the shelter.”
“It was a pleasure,” King Ordic said cheerfully. As Copeland walked away, he descended to his men, discussing plans with the commanding officers. A tremor shook the ground as he did so. King Ordic tensed. He knew Antaross was not prone to earthquakes. As the tremors became stronger, he knew that the attack was approaching.
*****
A young recruit swallowed the stone in his throat and wiped his brow of its sweat. He nervously scanned the skies from his lofty perch on top of one of Antaross’s large towers. Antaross prided itself on being a city of progress. While other meccas were still primarily constructed of stone and few structures went beyond four stories, Antaross was a glimpse of the progress man could make. Buildings wrought from metal seemed to scrape the sky as bridges to and from provided people access across the buzzing metropolis. The buzz the soldier had witnessed over the past few days was of a different kind, however. Civilians were cloistered into shelters while the bustling was left to the sizeable military of Anteron. Ammo was stockpiled, weapons were rationed out, and ships upon ships of platoons were sent back to the capital to defend it. And here he was, one of the dozens of souls given a breathtaking view of this architectural marvel, and he was hating every second of it. He knew that he would be one of the first ones to see it coming, the hordes of giant beasts flying in, ready to rip the meat from his bones. He shivered just thinking about it. Just then, he thought he could see something out of the corner of his eye. Could it be? There were three distinct black dots on the horizon, coming closer. He swallowed again. He grabbed his telescope and peered at the sight. What he saw nearly made him drop it.
The three dots were dragon-like beings, with wings that looked like they could blot out the sun. Their hides were sable and scaled. Their eyes shone blood red and every so often, a head would thrash to a side and bare its multitude of fangs. He imagined they smelled terrible. On top of the one in the middle stood a vague figure that looked almost completely swathed in black to him, but the distance might have fooled him. The other two in the sides seemed to be carrying something on their backs. It looked like… hordes… of something, vaguely man-shaped. That frightened him more than the dragon-things, themselves. He saw the thing standing in the middle give a signal of some sort. The dragons’ heads all turned forward and opened their mouths. A strange light began to emanate from them and suddenly a vibration sent his sights flying. He stopped looking through the telescope and peered to the ground below to see what appeared to be smaller flying reptiles bursting through the stone pavement on the ground below and flying upwards towards him. He panicked and quickly made for the stairs that led down towards his superiors so he could report what he saw. Halfway down, the wall of the building was destroyed and suddenly he was blinded by an intense, burning blue-white light for a fraction of a second. Then he ceased to exist.
*****
Cale shifted from foot to foot. He was among the ranks now; even though he wasn’t an official part of the Anteronian military, he was a mercenary, so he went where the money was. And the money certainly was to be found here. He felt sorry for all the schmucks here that were doing this for FREE. Just then, his feet were almost taken out from under him when a tremor shook the city. It grew stronger until he heard an explosion behind him. Everyone turned to look and saw a small (compared to other monsters he’d seen, at least) reptilian thing with wings bursting from the pavement. Its head was small compared to the rest of it and it resembled that of a lizard, with its brow forming a v-shape that extended far beyond the head. Its red hide was scaled and its sharp, leathery wings beat furiously the second it reached the surface and shot into the air. More and more of the same kind came through the hole after it. Cale was significantly terrified now. Just then he heard a loud crash and looked up to see some beam or something shoot through one of the Anteronian buildings that seemed to touch the sky, its rubble descending quickly.
It was pandemonium. Soldiers were running everywhere, some trying to get to safety, others trying to get to the problem spots. Everywhere seemed a problem spot to Ulger. Just when it seemed like the worst was over, a huge winged reptile, the size of an airship, flew by a few hundred feet ahead of him at an incredible speed and mammoth creatures leaped off its back and onto the street, making small craters in it as they did so. They looked vaguely human in shape, but that’s where the similarities ended. Their skin was black and their heads sat atop a neck that might as well have been nonexistent thanks to its musculature. Their eyes roamed the crowd dully, fifteen feet above the ground. They began to slowly lumber forward, their muscles quaking with each thundering step they took. Their clothing seemed to consist of a ragged loincloth that covered their private areas. Thank the gods for small favors, Cale thought to himself. One dragged a two-sided battle ax. Another seemed to carry a piece of tree trunk broken off (by hand?) with spikes jutting out from it, still another drug a mace by its chain. They all seemed to be armed and he guessed they numbered a little more than a baker’s dozen. One brave (or foolish) soldier ran up to one of the behemoths and sliced at its hulking thigh. It let out a roar and raised its mighty arm, only to bring it crashing down on top of its assailant. Cale had never known the human body contained quite that much fluid.
That’s it, he thought, no amount of money is worth getting knocked around by THOSE thugs. He slipped away and hoped that this attack would be short-lived, one way or another.
*****
Copeland had just gotten to the underground shelter with the rest of the council, along with some other members of the government, when a soldier he recognized as belonging to security approached him. “Sir, there’s a situation,” the serious-looking man began. “The prisoner Avory somehow escaped our custody and has overpowered several members of my staff.”
Copeland cursed out loud, a rarity for him. “Look, you take whatever men you can spare and FIND that man. The likely place is the cells of the other two we brought in. If they’re gone, too, send a team to the airship bay. All the other exits are locked down and there is NO WAY you are to let him leave. Understood?”
“Of course, sir,” the man said with a salute, and hurried on his way.
Copeland paced back and forth, fuming. This was almost more important than the attack that was taking place as they spoke. He was interrupted from his brooding, this time from a rather beaten-up soldier that had a uniform ripped in several places and cuts bleeding on his face and arms. “Sir, I’ve come to update you on our situation.”
Copeland brusquely nodded for him to go ahead and tell him. “Sir, the attack has begun. Three dreadnaughts appeared and fired some sort of energy at the skyscrapers, destroying the top stories and obliterating one of them completely. The dreadnaughts seem to have been carrying ogre-like creatures about fourteen or fifteen feet in height and deploying them as ground units. The tremors we found were caused by smaller, faster creatures than the dreadnaughts that were apparently tunneling. Also, there seems to be an aquatic front. Some of our ships have reported damage by amphibious reptiles many times larger than the norm. Sir, it’s as if these things are attacking with a plan.”
“I see,” Copeland responded, not letting his awe show. “Keep up the defense and keep me posted.”
The soldier saluted. “Aye.”
Copeland looked over to the other members of the council. Most were busily conversing with each other about the current situation except for one. Copeland saw Carper sitting silently with his face buried in his large, calloused hands. “What’s the matter with you, Carper?” Copeland demanded.
“I… didn’t know that this is what Jaegar went through,” he sputtered out. “The devastation… the bloodshed. My god… why did I let myself do it? What did I do?”
The others quieted down and looked at Carper with a mixture of puzzlement and morbid curiosity. “I always knew Carper’d be the first to crack,” Magpie said. “Too much red meat.” Copeland merely looked at him in stony silence. Indeed, what HAD he done?
*****
“You’d better start praying,” Lukai said in a hushed tone, “because it looks like we’re about to enter Hell.”
The scene that he and the rest of the group on board one of the monster hunter ships saw was one of bedlam. Antaross had swarms of… somethings swirling around its formerly majestic skyscrapers with a few dreadnaughts causing havoc with Anteronian airships struggling to keep pace with all of them. “Have you ever seen so many monsters in one place before?” Adam asked his sister.
“Only in my nightmares,” she said, hardly believing the intensity of the scene before them.
Cay suddenly felt small and helpless. “We’re… we’re really going in there, aren’t we?”
“I could think of scarier ways of dying…” Arc suggested.
“Such AS?” Seek asked.
“Well… um… gimme a minute, I’ll think of one.”
Hardin came out on deck in front of his Hunters and Analysts in full regalia. If one had seen him side-by-side with his father, the only difference one would find was size. “We are about to enter Antaross,” he announced to a crew that obviously knew exactly that. “When we do, we will find a place to land and unload. We will be the land force of this battle, while Arguile’s ship will stay in the sky, attacking what it can. When we land, each group of Hunters shall go to the Analyst I assigned them earlier and the Analyst shall remain the commander of that group for the duration of the battle.” Hardin went to list off the groups and, of course, Lukai had maneuvered to get Adam, Elise and the rest in his group. “This will be the hardest thing many, if not all, of you have faced. Keep your wits about you and you will have a chance at survival. Lose your heads and invite death. That is all.” With that, Hardin returned to his quarters.
Everyone went to get their weapons, riled up by both the speech and the sight. Lukai handed them all flintlocks. “Choose whatever melee weapons you want,” he told them, “but flintlocks are your friends. They come in handy in more situations than not.”
Cay tensed herself; in short order, they were less than a mile from entering the city now, and they were lined up at the bay doors with the rest of the Hunters on the ship, ready to head out the moment they landed. She looked around at others. They were tough-looking guys, all of them. Solid builds, scars on almost all of them. Some looked like they weren’t familiar with shaving. However, all of them looked at least slightly terrified. Their weapons shook in their hands with varying degrees. Cay tried to steel herself, holding her flintlock close to her. She couldn’t lose her head, or Hardin would be right. The ship seemed to jerk involuntarily and a loud scraping noise surrounded them. When it came to a stop, the doors opened before them and they knew true fear. For a second, no one went out the doors. Carcasses of soldiers littered the cracked pavement. Screeching came from the mini-dreadnaughts that flooded the air. Ogres lumbered around looking lost, although they were far from innocent, with their bloodstained hands and weapons.
Suddenly, someone yelled and the great push forward began. She was almost lost in a sea of people, but she somehow was within sight of her group. “Ogres!” Lukai shouted. “Don’t get near them, you hear? Use your flintlocks until you’re out! Once you’re out, we retreat! Don’t get NEAR them!”
Cay pointed her sights at the nearest ogre and aimed for his skull. Her hands weren’t shaking anymore.
*****
Guillermo’s and the others’ steps echoed through the sewer as they made their way towards the airship bay that Dedalus assured them was connected to this old waste management route that had been forged from stone in the beginnings of Antaross’s boom. The arched ceiling made it look like there was more space than there was, but the highest point couldn’t have been more than twenty feet. They walked along one of the walkways that lined the sides, with thoroughly putrid sewage occupying the middle. “Did you know that this leads all the way to the ocean?” Dedalus commented.
“That’s absolutely fascinating,” Sasha said sarcastically.
“So, how’s it feel to be betrayed by your friends, Guillermo?” Aleksi asked coolly.
“What on earth do you mean by that?!” Guillermo exclaimed, offended.
“Well, Anteron didn’t find us by magic…” Aleksi hinted.
“You think Cay and the others sold us out? No way.”
“It IS the only logical answer,” Sasha pointed out. “Those two, the Hunters, they weren’t too fond of us.”
“But… Cay, Seek and Arc wouldn’t let them send me to the slaughter!” Guillermo claimed. “I grant you there was no love lost between the Hunters and I, but I still don’t think they’re capable of treachery that… well, treacherous.”
Dedalus had kept quiet during all of this, walking in front of all of them. “I hear something,” he suddenly said. They stopped walking and sure enough they heard the patter of someone coming around the bend. In a moment, Ulger came rushing into view, only to skid to a stop at the sight of company.
“Well!” he exclaimed. “If it isn’t my old friend Guillermo Avory! I’d love to catch up, but if you haven’t noticed, last one out’s dead.”
It was then that Aleksi noticed something glittering around his neck in the shimmering light provided by the sewage. “What is that around your neck?” he asked.
Ulger grasped the key firmly in his fist. “I wouldn’t be so nosy if I were you. There ARE bigger fish to fry.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Aleksi said. “If it’s what I think it is… Guillermo, take it from him.”
“Like hell I’m gonna steal just because you tell me to!” Guillermo protested.
“Damnit, Guillermo!” Sasha exclaimed. “If I’m thinking what Aleksi is thinking, this might be the reason all of this is going on!”
Guillermo scratched the back of his head. “Well… I guess if you say so.”
Ulger had been inching away while this little dissention had taken place and was now fully sprinting away. Guillermo of course readily showed off his new talents and Cale’s feet weren’t nimble enough to escape. He forced something on a chain off of Cale’s neck and held it up to the light. “A key?” he queried.
“Maybe not a key,” Sasha explained. “THE key.”
Guillermo suddenly froze. He looked over his shoulder and turned towards Dedalus. He tossed him the key. “You’re the only one with pockets. Keep it safe. Something’s coming.”
“If something’s coming, could you PLEASE let go of me?” Ulger asked in a breathless voice. Guillermo looked over and saw that he was still holding Ulger by the neck with his other arm. Embarrassed, he dropped Cale and the man immediately began taking in life-giving oxygen. Guillermo’s eyes began scanning the water, but it was too late. A large, bumpy reptilian tail thrashed out from the water and nearly crushed everyone against the wall. Fortunately, the tail hadn’t been a very good aim and destroyed the section of the wall before them. A large creature raised itself from the sludge. It was dark green with shining yellow eyes. Its long snout was above a mouth with teeth to spare. The rest of the body excluding the tail was still submerged underwater. Guillermo cursed. This wasn’t some small beastie. This was the real deal.
The start of the battle of Antaross. Mora was really digging the story by this point, and it certainly shows. Chapter 10 covers the entire battle, which is actually kind of long, but it breaks up nicely between additions. Editing goes so much faster now that I don't have to concentrate nearly as much on continuity and spelling and punctuation and grammar. That makes me happy, of course. I can't think of anything particularly important that I changed in this addition; probably because I didn't really change anything. Mora's additions are among the few that require almost no editing, aside from formatting.
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Chapter 11
76th Post - Mora 09
76th Post - Mora 09
*Mora9* - *seventy-six* *chapter11*
Aleksi heard a commotion outside his cell. He moaned. The last thing he wanted was a distraction while he brooded. As the noise came closer, he thought he could make out a set of footsteps making their way towards his direction. The soldier posted outside shouted an exclamation, but was mysteriously silent a moment later. Now this had Aleksi’s attention. He readied himself into a fighting stance. Although he was in a weakened state, he still felt he had to try to defend himself, useless or not. He wasn’t about to surrender his life to anyone. He heard the sound of metal clanking against metal and the cell’s door began to move outwards. He tensed up for a brief second, ready to strike at a moment’s notice, but when the person on the other side was revealed, all tension left his face, leaving his jaw slacked.
“Hey there, kiddo!” Dedalus said cheerfully. “Were you beginning to think I wouldn’t come?”
Alekis blinked his eyes. “How in the HELL did you get here? And WHY the hell are you doing this?!”
Dedalus rolled his eyes. “Sheesh, didn’t your mama ever tell you not to look a gift horse in the mouth? I couldn’t let one of my best customers get executed! I had connections in Anteron, as you may or may not be aware, and I worked a side deal.”
A second person entered the doorway. “Translation: he stole the keys,” Sasha said, in a droll manner. She was clad in similarly disproportionate gray attire, making her slight figure seem even more delicate.
“I don’t suppose I could add this to your tab, eh?” Dedalus added, smiling a smile that tried too hard to be charming.
“Get us and one other out of here alive and you can have whatever you want,” Aleksi said hurriedly, storming out of his cell and into the hall with the rest of them. “And what the HELL is going on in this city, pray tell? I don’t suppose your contacts had any information about that, huh?”
“As a matter of fact,” Dedalus said, “I do happen to have an idea of what’s going on. Some weird foreign guy called Gjigrajheth threatened to attack Antaross tonight. Antaross seems to be taking it pretty seriously, since every single warship and platoon that would make a difference has been recalled back to here.”
Sasha and Aleksi shot each other looks. They hadn’t expected to have to deal with Gjigrajheth, at least not yet. Having Guillermo in the same city that Gjigrajheth was about to burn to the ground with his legions of bastard mutations was a sure-fire recipe for chaos. “Then we haven’t a moment to lose in finding our friend Guillermo, Dedalus,” Aleksi said gravely.
“WHOA,” Dedalus exclaimed, “You mean THE Guillermo? Guillermo Avory? The one that Anteron has been uprooting the countryside trying to find in the last few weeks? You’re with HIM? Oh, man, last time I heard, he was under more guard than the Royal Vault.”
“That changes nothing,” Sasha explained. “We need Guillermo more desperately than Anteron does, and I think it’s time we showed them.”
“But we can’t do anything rash,” Aleksi said, rubbing his chin in thought. “This is gonna take planning. After all, it’s not like Guillermo is gonna land in our laps.”
Just then, Aleksi heard a din coming from down the hall and turned to look. Then his jaw dropped for the second time that day. Guillermo was running towards them at an incredible speed. He could see Guillermo’s expression change from one of determination to one of surprise and saw him try to slow down, only to slip and come crashing down to the stone floor on his back. Sasha shook her head in embarrassment while it was Dedalus’s turn to look astonished at this display. “On the other hand…” Aleksi muttered, trailing off.
Guillermo brought himself back to his feet with a moan. “Remind me to practice coming to a stop next time,” he said, sheepishly. He made it a point to keep his recent dental enhancement a secret from them, too, at least for the moment. “It looks like I got beaten to the punch. Who’s this?”
Dedalus was about to speak up, but Aleksi spoke first. “His name’s Dedalus, but he’s the least of your worries. I assume you know something about this city’s fate.”
Guillermo nodded. “I don’t think I want to be here much longer, anyways. I kinda left my cell without permission and it’s only a matter of time until the Chancellor catches wind of this and figures out where I went.”
Dedalus went ahead of them to lead the way out while Sasha began to take notice of Guillermo’s appearance. He seemed mostly the same, but subtly, Sasha could tell that something was taking place. He and Aleksi used to be roughly the same height. Guillermo stood slightly taller than he had before and his prison garments didn’t seem as ridiculously oversized as their own. She also took note of wisps of gray in his hair. She didn’t say a word, but she knew that this was the beginning of Guillermo’s destiny: evolution.
*****
A tall, regal man stood on a platform, looking over his small army of soldiers. This man in particular seemed more of a soldier than anyone he overlooked at the moment. He was large and looked even larger thanks to his gleaming suit of armor that had the crest of his lineage emblazoned across the wide chest. He wore no crown, but to the people that were ready to die for him he was never without it. He had a handsome face, unobscured by a helmet, so his short head of amber-blonde hair was visible, turning into his full beard. However, at this moment his features were more stern than charming. Few knew that King Ordic regularly practiced his expressions so he could carefully sculpt his public image. He felt that a king had a responsibility to not only act like one, but look like one at all times.
The columns and rows of soldiers lined up before him were shifting about uneasily on their feet, but remained silent, waiting for a word from their beloved monarch. Finally, their patience was rewarded. “Many have asked, ‘Why bother to protect the city of Antaross? Is it not outside of our concern? Let it fall to the creatures, our home will still be safe.’ This is foolishness. The people of Anteron may not be my subjects, but they are my allies and yours, as well. What happens if Antaross falls? The monsters will not be sated, I assure you. They will look for more to destroy, to obliterate. Destruction is the fate for any entity on this earth that does not stand up to these creatures and say, ‘No, this is where it must end. This is where I shall stand up and destroy these abominations.’ This is what we are here to do tonight. We are here to make the world safe for our wives and daughters. We are here to make sure our sons can grow up to be men. Tonight, we send a message to this creature, Gjigrajheth. We will not be threatened, bullied or cowed. We will triumph!”
At this the men raised their fists to the sky and cheered. King Ordic smiled as sweat dripped from his brow. It took a lot to rouse his soldiers the way he wanted them. He knew that there was a good chance that quite a few of them would not return to their families. He silently said a prayer that they might reach the warrior’s afterlife without difficulty.
Thinking about his own soldiers reminded him of his one and only son, Hardin. He had received word from his sister that he had taken it upon himself to find the source of Gjigrajheth along with some captain that was an acquaintance of hers. He frowned slightly. He didn’t like the fact that his son could be facing more danger than himself. He knew that Hardin was much less suited to the path of a warrior than he was. They had never been truly close. Hardin always seemed distant when he was around, and he didn’t seem to enjoy the company of his own father. This had always cut him deeply, but true to personality, he didn’t show it. He merely let him stay with his aunt frequently while he attended to his own business. He had watched him grow up into an uncompanionably ambiguous man, albeit one with a strong sense of justice. He couldn’t help but think that he was responsible for the outcome. If only his mother had survived, he thought, he could have been raised properly.
“Are you still planning on going through with this yourself, Your Highness?” a voice behind asked with a hint of weariness. King Ordic turned around to see Chancellor Copeland. “After all,” Copeland continued, “a man of your age and stature going out into the coming maelstrom will be dangerous; perhaps suicidal.”
“I thank you for your concern,” King Ordic said with a smokescreen of grace, “but I wouldn’t dare ask my men to do something of this caliber if I wasn’t behind them 100% of the way. Perhaps after this is done, I could discuss with you some mutual benefits that could be had by altering our countries’ trade agreement?”
Copeland tried hard to hide the look of outrage that wanted to leap to his face. “With all due respect, Your Highness, I deal with those issues through your country’s government, not you.”
“Ah,” Ordic said with a smile, “but that does not mean we couldn’t discuss it, no? I think that after you hear what I have to say, you will want to pursue it further.”
“No doubt,” Copeland said, with only the slightest trace of a sneer. He bowed. “If you’ll excuse me, I have one more matter to take care of before I join the others in the shelter.”
“It was a pleasure,” King Ordic said cheerfully. As Copeland walked away, he descended to his men, discussing plans with the commanding officers. A tremor shook the ground as he did so. King Ordic tensed. He knew Antaross was not prone to earthquakes. As the tremors became stronger, he knew that the attack was approaching.
*****
A young recruit swallowed the stone in his throat and wiped his brow of its sweat. He nervously scanned the skies from his lofty perch on top of one of Antaross’s large towers. Antaross prided itself on being a city of progress. While other meccas were still primarily constructed of stone and few structures went beyond four stories, Antaross was a glimpse of the progress man could make. Buildings wrought from metal seemed to scrape the sky as bridges to and from provided people access across the buzzing metropolis. The buzz the soldier had witnessed over the past few days was of a different kind, however. Civilians were cloistered into shelters while the bustling was left to the sizeable military of Anteron. Ammo was stockpiled, weapons were rationed out, and ships upon ships of platoons were sent back to the capital to defend it. And here he was, one of the dozens of souls given a breathtaking view of this architectural marvel, and he was hating every second of it. He knew that he would be one of the first ones to see it coming, the hordes of giant beasts flying in, ready to rip the meat from his bones. He shivered just thinking about it. Just then, he thought he could see something out of the corner of his eye. Could it be? There were three distinct black dots on the horizon, coming closer. He swallowed again. He grabbed his telescope and peered at the sight. What he saw nearly made him drop it.
The three dots were dragon-like beings, with wings that looked like they could blot out the sun. Their hides were sable and scaled. Their eyes shone blood red and every so often, a head would thrash to a side and bare its multitude of fangs. He imagined they smelled terrible. On top of the one in the middle stood a vague figure that looked almost completely swathed in black to him, but the distance might have fooled him. The other two in the sides seemed to be carrying something on their backs. It looked like… hordes… of something, vaguely man-shaped. That frightened him more than the dragon-things, themselves. He saw the thing standing in the middle give a signal of some sort. The dragons’ heads all turned forward and opened their mouths. A strange light began to emanate from them and suddenly a vibration sent his sights flying. He stopped looking through the telescope and peered to the ground below to see what appeared to be smaller flying reptiles bursting through the stone pavement on the ground below and flying upwards towards him. He panicked and quickly made for the stairs that led down towards his superiors so he could report what he saw. Halfway down, the wall of the building was destroyed and suddenly he was blinded by an intense, burning blue-white light for a fraction of a second. Then he ceased to exist.
*****
Cale shifted from foot to foot. He was among the ranks now; even though he wasn’t an official part of the Anteronian military, he was a mercenary, so he went where the money was. And the money certainly was to be found here. He felt sorry for all the schmucks here that were doing this for FREE. Just then, his feet were almost taken out from under him when a tremor shook the city. It grew stronger until he heard an explosion behind him. Everyone turned to look and saw a small (compared to other monsters he’d seen, at least) reptilian thing with wings bursting from the pavement. Its head was small compared to the rest of it and it resembled that of a lizard, with its brow forming a v-shape that extended far beyond the head. Its red hide was scaled and its sharp, leathery wings beat furiously the second it reached the surface and shot into the air. More and more of the same kind came through the hole after it. Cale was significantly terrified now. Just then he heard a loud crash and looked up to see some beam or something shoot through one of the Anteronian buildings that seemed to touch the sky, its rubble descending quickly.
It was pandemonium. Soldiers were running everywhere, some trying to get to safety, others trying to get to the problem spots. Everywhere seemed a problem spot to Ulger. Just when it seemed like the worst was over, a huge winged reptile, the size of an airship, flew by a few hundred feet ahead of him at an incredible speed and mammoth creatures leaped off its back and onto the street, making small craters in it as they did so. They looked vaguely human in shape, but that’s where the similarities ended. Their skin was black and their heads sat atop a neck that might as well have been nonexistent thanks to its musculature. Their eyes roamed the crowd dully, fifteen feet above the ground. They began to slowly lumber forward, their muscles quaking with each thundering step they took. Their clothing seemed to consist of a ragged loincloth that covered their private areas. Thank the gods for small favors, Cale thought to himself. One dragged a two-sided battle ax. Another seemed to carry a piece of tree trunk broken off (by hand?) with spikes jutting out from it, still another drug a mace by its chain. They all seemed to be armed and he guessed they numbered a little more than a baker’s dozen. One brave (or foolish) soldier ran up to one of the behemoths and sliced at its hulking thigh. It let out a roar and raised its mighty arm, only to bring it crashing down on top of its assailant. Cale had never known the human body contained quite that much fluid.
That’s it, he thought, no amount of money is worth getting knocked around by THOSE thugs. He slipped away and hoped that this attack would be short-lived, one way or another.
*****
Copeland had just gotten to the underground shelter with the rest of the council, along with some other members of the government, when a soldier he recognized as belonging to security approached him. “Sir, there’s a situation,” the serious-looking man began. “The prisoner Avory somehow escaped our custody and has overpowered several members of my staff.”
Copeland cursed out loud, a rarity for him. “Look, you take whatever men you can spare and FIND that man. The likely place is the cells of the other two we brought in. If they’re gone, too, send a team to the airship bay. All the other exits are locked down and there is NO WAY you are to let him leave. Understood?”
“Of course, sir,” the man said with a salute, and hurried on his way.
Copeland paced back and forth, fuming. This was almost more important than the attack that was taking place as they spoke. He was interrupted from his brooding, this time from a rather beaten-up soldier that had a uniform ripped in several places and cuts bleeding on his face and arms. “Sir, I’ve come to update you on our situation.”
Copeland brusquely nodded for him to go ahead and tell him. “Sir, the attack has begun. Three dreadnaughts appeared and fired some sort of energy at the skyscrapers, destroying the top stories and obliterating one of them completely. The dreadnaughts seem to have been carrying ogre-like creatures about fourteen or fifteen feet in height and deploying them as ground units. The tremors we found were caused by smaller, faster creatures than the dreadnaughts that were apparently tunneling. Also, there seems to be an aquatic front. Some of our ships have reported damage by amphibious reptiles many times larger than the norm. Sir, it’s as if these things are attacking with a plan.”
“I see,” Copeland responded, not letting his awe show. “Keep up the defense and keep me posted.”
The soldier saluted. “Aye.”
Copeland looked over to the other members of the council. Most were busily conversing with each other about the current situation except for one. Copeland saw Carper sitting silently with his face buried in his large, calloused hands. “What’s the matter with you, Carper?” Copeland demanded.
“I… didn’t know that this is what Jaegar went through,” he sputtered out. “The devastation… the bloodshed. My god… why did I let myself do it? What did I do?”
The others quieted down and looked at Carper with a mixture of puzzlement and morbid curiosity. “I always knew Carper’d be the first to crack,” Magpie said. “Too much red meat.” Copeland merely looked at him in stony silence. Indeed, what HAD he done?
*****
“You’d better start praying,” Lukai said in a hushed tone, “because it looks like we’re about to enter Hell.”
The scene that he and the rest of the group on board one of the monster hunter ships saw was one of bedlam. Antaross had swarms of… somethings swirling around its formerly majestic skyscrapers with a few dreadnaughts causing havoc with Anteronian airships struggling to keep pace with all of them. “Have you ever seen so many monsters in one place before?” Adam asked his sister.
“Only in my nightmares,” she said, hardly believing the intensity of the scene before them.
Cay suddenly felt small and helpless. “We’re… we’re really going in there, aren’t we?”
“I could think of scarier ways of dying…” Arc suggested.
“Such AS?” Seek asked.
“Well… um… gimme a minute, I’ll think of one.”
Hardin came out on deck in front of his Hunters and Analysts in full regalia. If one had seen him side-by-side with his father, the only difference one would find was size. “We are about to enter Antaross,” he announced to a crew that obviously knew exactly that. “When we do, we will find a place to land and unload. We will be the land force of this battle, while Arguile’s ship will stay in the sky, attacking what it can. When we land, each group of Hunters shall go to the Analyst I assigned them earlier and the Analyst shall remain the commander of that group for the duration of the battle.” Hardin went to list off the groups and, of course, Lukai had maneuvered to get Adam, Elise and the rest in his group. “This will be the hardest thing many, if not all, of you have faced. Keep your wits about you and you will have a chance at survival. Lose your heads and invite death. That is all.” With that, Hardin returned to his quarters.
Everyone went to get their weapons, riled up by both the speech and the sight. Lukai handed them all flintlocks. “Choose whatever melee weapons you want,” he told them, “but flintlocks are your friends. They come in handy in more situations than not.”
Cay tensed herself; in short order, they were less than a mile from entering the city now, and they were lined up at the bay doors with the rest of the Hunters on the ship, ready to head out the moment they landed. She looked around at others. They were tough-looking guys, all of them. Solid builds, scars on almost all of them. Some looked like they weren’t familiar with shaving. However, all of them looked at least slightly terrified. Their weapons shook in their hands with varying degrees. Cay tried to steel herself, holding her flintlock close to her. She couldn’t lose her head, or Hardin would be right. The ship seemed to jerk involuntarily and a loud scraping noise surrounded them. When it came to a stop, the doors opened before them and they knew true fear. For a second, no one went out the doors. Carcasses of soldiers littered the cracked pavement. Screeching came from the mini-dreadnaughts that flooded the air. Ogres lumbered around looking lost, although they were far from innocent, with their bloodstained hands and weapons.
Suddenly, someone yelled and the great push forward began. She was almost lost in a sea of people, but she somehow was within sight of her group. “Ogres!” Lukai shouted. “Don’t get near them, you hear? Use your flintlocks until you’re out! Once you’re out, we retreat! Don’t get NEAR them!”
Cay pointed her sights at the nearest ogre and aimed for his skull. Her hands weren’t shaking anymore.
*****
Guillermo’s and the others’ steps echoed through the sewer as they made their way towards the airship bay that Dedalus assured them was connected to this old waste management route that had been forged from stone in the beginnings of Antaross’s boom. The arched ceiling made it look like there was more space than there was, but the highest point couldn’t have been more than twenty feet. They walked along one of the walkways that lined the sides, with thoroughly putrid sewage occupying the middle. “Did you know that this leads all the way to the ocean?” Dedalus commented.
“That’s absolutely fascinating,” Sasha said sarcastically.
“So, how’s it feel to be betrayed by your friends, Guillermo?” Aleksi asked coolly.
“What on earth do you mean by that?!” Guillermo exclaimed, offended.
“Well, Anteron didn’t find us by magic…” Aleksi hinted.
“You think Cay and the others sold us out? No way.”
“It IS the only logical answer,” Sasha pointed out. “Those two, the Hunters, they weren’t too fond of us.”
“But… Cay, Seek and Arc wouldn’t let them send me to the slaughter!” Guillermo claimed. “I grant you there was no love lost between the Hunters and I, but I still don’t think they’re capable of treachery that… well, treacherous.”
Dedalus had kept quiet during all of this, walking in front of all of them. “I hear something,” he suddenly said. They stopped walking and sure enough they heard the patter of someone coming around the bend. In a moment, Ulger came rushing into view, only to skid to a stop at the sight of company.
“Well!” he exclaimed. “If it isn’t my old friend Guillermo Avory! I’d love to catch up, but if you haven’t noticed, last one out’s dead.”
It was then that Aleksi noticed something glittering around his neck in the shimmering light provided by the sewage. “What is that around your neck?” he asked.
Ulger grasped the key firmly in his fist. “I wouldn’t be so nosy if I were you. There ARE bigger fish to fry.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Aleksi said. “If it’s what I think it is… Guillermo, take it from him.”
“Like hell I’m gonna steal just because you tell me to!” Guillermo protested.
“Damnit, Guillermo!” Sasha exclaimed. “If I’m thinking what Aleksi is thinking, this might be the reason all of this is going on!”
Guillermo scratched the back of his head. “Well… I guess if you say so.”
Ulger had been inching away while this little dissention had taken place and was now fully sprinting away. Guillermo of course readily showed off his new talents and Cale’s feet weren’t nimble enough to escape. He forced something on a chain off of Cale’s neck and held it up to the light. “A key?” he queried.
“Maybe not a key,” Sasha explained. “THE key.”
Guillermo suddenly froze. He looked over his shoulder and turned towards Dedalus. He tossed him the key. “You’re the only one with pockets. Keep it safe. Something’s coming.”
“If something’s coming, could you PLEASE let go of me?” Ulger asked in a breathless voice. Guillermo looked over and saw that he was still holding Ulger by the neck with his other arm. Embarrassed, he dropped Cale and the man immediately began taking in life-giving oxygen. Guillermo’s eyes began scanning the water, but it was too late. A large, bumpy reptilian tail thrashed out from the water and nearly crushed everyone against the wall. Fortunately, the tail hadn’t been a very good aim and destroyed the section of the wall before them. A large creature raised itself from the sludge. It was dark green with shining yellow eyes. Its long snout was above a mouth with teeth to spare. The rest of the body excluding the tail was still submerged underwater. Guillermo cursed. This wasn’t some small beastie. This was the real deal.
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