Tales of Zeroth

Fire clashed with lightning as Rapl and Dyrin were entering the last of their mana reserves. It had been almost half an hour since Rapl and his soldiers had performed the surprise attack on Dyrin and his soldiers. Covered in scars and burns, Rapl was barely holding on as the equally injured Dyrin had to slightly burn himself to stay awake.

On the same ship, Ja'Klei was pressuring both Bok and the Swordsaint, and now helping him were the normal infantry soldiers. Due to his battle with the champions, the Swordsaint was beyond tired, often getting hit by strays as he tried to dodge, each swing he did still killed a footsoldier, but each swing felt heavier and heavier as exhaustion was creeping up. Bok was still trying to ward off the orc but he was taking a lot of damage doing so. Ja'Klei, even with his current advantage, was running out of mana quickly, so as he cast another spell, he felt the blood start to come out of his eyes and ears.

On the twin's side, Sevi and Alex were holding on by a thread; primarily on defense as their opponent, Verti, was too powerful for them. But Verti stood alone, for most of her ally champions were lying dead on the floor; the only one alive was Helga, but she had been disabled as her arm and leg were blown off, only being alive because she cast heal on time for her not to die of bleeding.

Victory was looking bleak for the Zanian champions, even with the support from the trees, the Swordsaint and Bok were still getting overrun. Still trading shots, Dyrin grabbed Rapl's armor and brought him close, slamming his head towards the Lich, "S-surrender now… for the sake of your people," Dyrin suggested, his voice strained by exhaustion. But as blood trickled down from Rapl's forehead, he pulled his body back, and tightened his fist, driving it into Dyrin's chin.

"Shut… shut, up," he replied, sharing the same exhausted tone as the Pirate Leader. Dyrin reeled from the hit, but he wasn't done, charging up all his mana, his knife was lit on fire as he prepared for another Flame Shot.

But before he could throw it, a surge of blood came from his mouth and eyes, and the flames on his knife fizzled out, "Da-dammit," he expressed as he was kneed in the stomach by Rapl. In their battle of endurance, Dyrin was finished first, but Rapl wasn't too far behind. But as another kick hit Dyrin, he felt no additional mana in it, and staring at Rapl, he wasn't leaking blood meaning he still had mana left.

Yet another punch hit Dyrin's face, but this time the Huldian pirate wouldn't take it without any counter. With a burst of energy, Dyrin lifted his knife, intending to stab at Rapl's collarbone.

The Lich wasn't using any mana or gifts as Dyrin attacked him, so he reacted slower than usual. He reached out a hand to stop the strike, but due to his exhaustion, Rapl's body coordination wasn't the best, leading to his palm getting stabbed. The Lich apprentice yelled in pain, as Dyrin's strength caused him to fall to the floor; Dyrin quickly got on top of him and the two wrestled for control. But in the end, it was Dyrin who got control of his knife, stabbing it on the ship's floor, and pinning Rapl there.

"GIVE UP!!" Dyrin yelled, clenching his fist as he drove it into Rapl's face, "MANY HAVE DIED BECAUSE OF YOU!!" But as Dyrin threw another punch, Rapl predicted it, turning his head to dodge, but also biting down on the arm. Dyrin grunted as Rapl began to move his head, and with pure rage and fury, he bit off a chunk of Dyrin's arm.

The Pirate Leader yelled in pain as adrenaline filled Rapl's body. Quickly he moved his free arm to get rid of the knife from his other hand. And as he got it out, he pulled his body all the way up, slamming his head towards Dyrin's face; and now with a knife, he tried to stab Dyrin with it. But the pirate stopped Rapl's stab, and the two entered into a struggle yet again.

The typically light-hearted Dyrin stared at the Lesser Lich with anger, "IS IT BECAUSE OF YOUR STUBBORNESS THAT YOU WON'T SURRENDER!?!" He yelled, "MY FRIENDS!! MY SOLDIERS!! THEY DIED FIGHTING FOR THE FREEDOM OF YOUR PEOPLE!!"

"SHUT UP!!" Rapl replied, the venom in his voice sounding more vicious than even his glare towards Dyrin.

"CAN YOU NOT ACCEPT THE TRUTH!? THAT YOU ARE A WICKED CREATION OF ELIOS!!" At Dyrin's statement, Rapl clenched his fists and drove it into Dyrin's stomach.

Many thoughts were inside Rapl's mind, but most of all, the question of whether he was fighting for the right side began to creep up again, a thought he had been trying to suppress as he saw Dyrin's soldiers die.

But thankfully for Rapl, that thought of his was interrupted as Leena came flying from the canopy toward the ship. Her left arm was broken as she tumbled on the wooden ground. Following her was Tuck, who descended sluggishly, "Come… back here," he called, lifting his left arm for his right arm was filled with arrows.

As Leena got up, she looked around, seeing all the champions of Zan barely living, but all of them were in one area, perfect. So with one deep breath, she yelled, "RAPL!! LET'S DO IT!!" The Zanian champions' ears perked up as the Huldians wondered what this meant.

Rapl, who was locked in a struggle, quickly replied, "ALRIGHT!! EVERYONE GET READY!!!" The mages up the top of the canopy used a magic art to increase the volume of their voices, relaying what Rapl said to the Zanians but also to the Huldians.

"What are they planning to do?" Verti asked herself, but as she did Sevi and Alex darted towards Bok and the Swordsaint.

"ENVELOPING GALE!!" Bok cast, sending a big wave of wind, pushing back all the infantry as the Swordsaint pressured Ja'Klei to make distance. Leena quickly ran to meet up with them all as Rapl disengaged with Dyrin.

"READY!!!" The covered Zanian warriors yelled on the canopy as the Huldians began to ready themselves. The Zanian champions had all huddled up near each other, while the exhausted Huldians covered themselves, cautious of what they would pull.

Rapl, who was in the forefront of the huddle, stared Dyrin straight in the eye as he readied everyone, "W-what do you think… they are doing?" The exhausted Ja'Klei asked Verti as the halfling prepared her blade.

"I don't know, but I don't like it." Tuck, who liked anything with danger, stood in caution along with Dyrin. Something didn't feel right.

"They must all be low in mana right?" Tuck asked his leader, who nodded in reply, "Should we attack?"

"No," Dyrin commanded his voice unusually stern, "We have the advantage, let them have the first move." But Dyrin knew they had to pressure them, a bait for them to counter; so he commanded, "EVERYONE!! SLOWLY APPROACH THEM!!"

The remaining champions and footsoldiers began to slowly approach Rapl and his group, "When do we do it?" Sevi whispered to Rapl, clutching his arm.

"Just wait," Rapl replied as he closed his eyes. He alienated all the noise around him, focusing on the water below, and when he heard a ripple, he knew it was time, "EVERYONE!! GO FOR IT!!" He yelled.

The Zanian mages echoed Rapl's command as the Zanian archers yelled, firing a rain of arrows towards the guarding Huldians. Meanwhile, the champions of Zan all charged at Rapl's call, preparing their weapons as Dyrin's soldiers got ready, "HOLD!!" Dyrin commanded, readying his knife as Rapl approached him.

But as the champions of Zan came with their blades, spells, arrows, and fists, and the Zanian soldiers fired their volley of arrows, suddenly, it all fizzled out.

"What the?" Dyrin expressed, looking around finding his own warriors also confused. The once tense and loud battlefield had now become as silent as that of the beginning of it.

The shield walls were brought down as the soldiers wondered what was going on, "Send a torch up there, see if there's anyone else." One mage from the infantry used wind to lift a torch to illuminate the perching place of the Zanian archers. But they were in further confusion as they saw, no one.

Ja'Klei, who was now laid down to rest, began to hypothesize what had just happened. Meanwhile, a hundred feet away, over two hundred Zanian soldiers were rushing away from the battlefield, "I can't believe we just pulled that off," a mage remarked in disbelief. The infantry managed to walk smoothly through the trees due to the effects of the mages, the Magic Art, Enhance.

"Yeah, it was a risky plan, but a rewarding one, I swear, the Lesser Lich and that red-haired kid are geniuses." Before the battle, Rapl and Sevi had devised a plan, not to defeat the Huldian force coming at them, but to give time for the Kromian citizens to cross the Dark Swamp.

So when they finally did, the many mages Rapl and Sevi brought, used all their mana to falsely create noise to each Huldian warrior, noise that made it seem like they were still up on the trees even though they had already left. But as the soldiers continued to retreat, one of the mages looked down in worry, as the beast that helped them, carried the champions through the waters, "Lord Ashkin, Lord Sevi, and Lady Leena used so much mana in that battle."

Dashing through the waters, Rico and the other champions were worried as Rapl, Sevi, and Leena were all convulsing and bleeding out. In their plan, Rapl and Sevi knew the power Dyrin's champions posed, so fighting to get their attention was a priority. Initially, Leena would conserve her mana so that she could do the heavy lifting in the retreat, but due to the unexpected arrival of Tuck and Frieda, Sevi had to help out.

To make their false attack more convincing, Rapl and Sevi used illusions to create arrows coming from the trees and the attack they were going to do on Dyrin's champions, whilst Leena would mask both the champions' and infantry's footsteps, along with the champions' figures in a split second so that they could jump off the ship, straight to Rico who was waiting for them below.

The whole operation was insanely mana-consuming, and its effects on the three were horrific. Alex, who was on the verge of also running out, used heal along with the Swordsaint, "C'mon," Alex desperately expressed, her eyes frantic like never before.

"They're going to be alright," Bok encouraged, but deep inside he felt guilty as he didn't know Heal to help the three or Illusion to assist with the getaway. So the swordsman did the most he could do, offer support, even if he knew it didn't do much.

Back at the ships, the Huldians were trying to recover from the attack, their faces somber as they found more and more dead bodies. As an informant came to Dyrin's room, he saw his leader along with Ja'Klei, the orc looked as down as the soldiers outside, but somehow, the informant saw the same bright smile on Dyrin's face, as if they had just won a battle. This expression, the same expression that made him follow Dyrin in the first place, gave him a little more hope about their situation.

"Hey Floki," Dyrin greeted, lifting his injured arm, earning a surprised look from the informant, for he didn't know Dyrin knew his name, "What's the news?"

"Uh, well Dyrin, I have the casualty report from the battle, do you want me to read it out for you?" Floki asked, leading Dyrin to sit up straight on his chair. He nodded, and Floki began, "From the battle, we lost about three hundred and twenty-one soldiers, with six hundred and thirty-five injured… we also lost most of the champions we brought, including Ivor, Helga is currently being treated right now but it looks like she will be out of commission."

Yet even with the news, Dyrin still had his bright smile. But Ja'Klei saw it, even though Dyrin didn't know the magic art, he was a master of illusions; for while the soldier saw his steady smile and bright eyes, Ja'Klei saw his shaking hands he desperately tried to hide behind his robes.

"I see," Dyrin remarked as the informant bowed and left the room. Ja'Klei and Dyrin sat for a quiet moment, "I-is Tuck and Verti out there?"

It took a few moments before Ja'Klei responded, "Yeah, they're getting treated right now."

"I think you should join them," Dyrin suggested, staring at the bandaged-up Ja'Klei, "Take a rest y'know?"

"And what?" Ja'Klei instantly responded, his voice rising in emotion as he stared deep into Dyrin's eyes, "I leave you here to cry by yourself." Dyrin's eyes widened at Ja'Klei's response, his mouth trembled a bit, but he quickly composed himself.

He chuckled, "I'm open as a book am I?" He stated, putting a hand over his eyes as Ja'Klei got up from his seat and approached Dyrin.

"It's not your fault Dyrin, we didn't know," the orc remarked, putting a hand on Dyrin's shoulder. But unexpectedly, Dyrin swiped it off with the hand covering his eyes, revealing them. Sun-like, but was raining with water flowing down his cheek.

"NOT MY FAULT!!?" Dyrin yelled, slamming his fist down on his chair, "I HAD HUNDREDS OF OPPORTUNITIES TO BACK OUT OF THAT!! BUT… but, I didn't." Dyrin's mouth trembled as his head lowered, "Three hundred of MY soldiers, died… three hundred people that will never be seen by their families… Ivor told me he wanted to start a family soon, and Helga told me that she wanted to be the greatest blade master Hulda had ever seen… but now they can't, because of my pride, MY PRIDE KILLED THEM A-!!"

But before Dyrin could finish, Ja'Klei grabbed his hair, lifting his head up. Dyrin could see the pure rage in his eyes, but he also saw tears, "Don't say that to yourself you scum, it was your pride that gave Ivor a reason to live, it was your pride that made Helga's dream to be the best, IT WAS YOUR PRIDE THAT WE MANAGED TO GO FOR THIS LONG!! WE STARTED AS FIVE KIDS WHO BARELY ATE REMEMBER THAT!!... You are still our leader Dyrin, no matter what happens, so please, never beat yourself up, please, never lower your head."

A river of tears was going down the orc's eyes as he stared at Dyrin, completely taking him by surprise. In an act that mirrored something they did many years ago, Ja'Klei bent a knee and lifted his head in front of Dyrin's chair.

"Through deserts or tundras, prosperity or poverty, victory or defeat, day or night, and life or death, I, Ja'Klei, second son of the Ja clan, will follow and serve you, Dyrin the Unbreakable Spirit." An orc's greatest form of respect, giving up one's pride, and following a person not of their clan.

Dyrin's mouth began to tremble as more tears came out of his eyes. He lifted his head to the skies and covered his eyes with his hands. "T-thank you… Ja'Klei."

The battle of the Dark Swamp resulted in Rapl's force of under two hundred soldiers, battling Dyrin's force of two thousand, and killing ten times the amount they lost.