CHAPTER 99: A HUNGER OF THEIR OWN

Just moments before the battle started, as Milky idly strummed a tune on his lute nearby, Rust was dutifully following his prince’s order. The fox had the important task of watching over Lady Alice herself, and so the fox had received a bit of help to move her outside near the wagons waiting at the ready to make a swift retreat if necessary.

Rust knew it wasn’t the most important job, but he accepted the responsibility regardless. The young fox stayed close to the resting cat, standing guard like a true, noble knight, just like his auntie was.

Rust heard a familiar cough and turned to see his mentor, Tan, approaching. The orc looked a bit different in his light armor and certainly a bit too old for such attire, but Rust knew the smith had a few tricks left to use if needed.

The orc reminded him of his grandfather in that way, older but reliable, and never to be underestimated. Rust smiled up at his mentor and gave a light nod. Tan suddenly held something out to the fox dangling by a short strap and started speaking in a tone filled with earned respect.

"Every defending warrior deserves a worthy weapon... And this one was crafted by the best blacksmith I’ve ever seen for his age. I just touched it up a little... Don’t use it unless you have to, young Rosten."

Rust recognized the dagger immediately. It was the very first thing he had forged with the orc’s guidance, but it appeared his mentor had been busy.

There was a burnt orange scabbard that fit smoothly over the blade now. The orc had adorned ivory colored stones along the sides of the sheath with touches of black metal, making the clash of orange and white from the scabbard meet the red steel, and black handle of the dagger itself.

There were decorative holes punched through the sides of the sheath, allowing a glimpse of the crimson blade to peek through threateningly. In one single weapon, every color of the fox’s fur was represented. It was custom made to be his.

The young fox accepted the gift in awe and slowly pulled the blade from the hilt. It slid effortlessly once a small bit of force was used to bump it free from the hilt. As the crimson steel slid from its holster, the entire blade shimmered reflectively beneath the last golden rays of the setting sun, casting a warm glow back upon his bewildered expression.

Rust saw three large black markings on the sides of the blade and ran his fingers over the symbols. Tan smiled as he spoke three words.

"Bravery. Determination. Heart." Rust looked to the orc then back at the blade. He couldn’t believe the orc had given him something that undeniably took up so much time and so many resources. Tan gave the fox his own mission then.

"Should you ever find yourself lacking any of those, draw your blade, and look upon the markings there to remind yourself that you’ve already shown me you possess all three. May your blade guide you true, through all of your battles, young Rosten."

The orc gave the fox a small bow, and Rust scrambled to return it, still speechless as the dagger trembled in his hands. The fox began to squeak out a response of overwhelming thanks a short second later, but the orc simply ruffled the fur on the cub’s head, and walked off without a word to stand on the edges of the village, keeping an eye out for stragglers.

The cub could barely hold in his pride, or his tears in that moment, and dutifully returned to Alice’s side, sheathing his new weapon as he attached it securely around his hip.

Rust listened to Milky’s song for a few chords longer, still stricken and humbled by his new blade before a loud explosion interrupted the strumming beast without warning. The battle had begun. The first trap had been triggered.

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Mollis stood her place on the battlefield in deep thought. The rabbit was perched on a raised pillar of stone near the rear of their defenses, about thirty feet into the air with Aster and Prince Tyfin.

She took a deep breath and made a final pass-through to ensure everything was ready. Her timing and her ability were the determining factors for how this all started.

The rabbit had been laying rune magic in the ground before them throughout the morning, and quickly went about using her anima magic to manipulate the rocky soil to create two thick walls of stone, nearly six feet deep and twenty feet high, to run along the battlefield, coming to form a bit of a funnel between the approaching army, and their defenses.

Nearly all of the combined forces were within the three formations at the ready within the raised walls leading up to the river, stationed a good measure behind those runes.

The fiends would overwhelm them if they were allowed to encompass them from three sides, so this was their best way of avoiding that. The Aschefell wolf, the musician Dally, and the orc chief were stationed among that front line.

A number of archers were laying upon the twenty foot walls on both sides, ready to provide what support they could, but staying low and out of sight for the time being. Mollis gave this central part of their defense a final once over to ensure everyone was in position and turned to her left.

Behind that wall, also remaining out of sight, was Captain Rix and his select force of warriors. The bull had expressed his worry about the two larger fiends he had seen breaking through their ranks too easily and overwhelming them, so the captain offered a solution.

The goal was to split them away from the larger force and have a small force committed to keeping them from re-entering the fray as they dispatched the pair on the other side of the wall.

Fiends were mostly instinctual. They seemed to have only one purpose that drove them, to kill, and to eat. Nobody knew the reasoning, but only greater demons ever acted on anything beyond that. As such, a distraction was often enough to bait them away. The orcs and beasts could only hope it would work, and adjust if it didn’t.

Mollis gave a glance over her shoulder and looked over the river and back to the village behind her. The rabbit wanted a final reminder as to what was at stake here if she messed up. The mage took a deep breath and took three paces forward, standing near the front of her platform.

Many of the smaller fiends were already sprinting forward quickly, enticed by the scent of their prey, and the rabbit knew the time had come.

She knelt down and placed her hand on the first of two smaller runes. These were the triggers for her larger spells weaved into the field, and the first one needed to be timed as perfectly as possible.

Mollis stood firm as the first of the smaller fiends raced across the larger runes, their exact placement marked by a smaller cherry tree on either side.

The faster of the creatures propelled forward at astounding speed, and was only a few short leaps from the line of orcs when the first of the smaller hidden runes activated under its step, sending a small explosion echoing between the stony walls to signal the time had come.

The allied forces stood their ground as one by one, more of the smaller traps took care of the fiends before they could ever reach them.

When Mollis saw the two larger ones nearing the first rune with a swarm of the smaller around them, she steadied her focus. Just a split second before the first of the two large bodied fiends crossed between the tree markers, Mollis shouted the key and channeled a hefty sum of magic into her trigger, setting off the rune.

A row of several stony spikes jolted from the earth twelve feet into the air as a glowing circle appeared where the mage had planted the rune. The spikes pierced multiple fiends at once, and even caught one of the larger ones through the spine, stifling the brunt of the charge and only leaving smaller spaces between the spears for the fiends to filter through to reach the army between the walls.

The goal was to help prevent the bigger ones from charging and to slow the speed at which the steady flow of enemies could descend upon the army. The plan had worked, and Mollis had even pierced into one of the larger ones, rendering it immobile. The larger fiend’s heart had been missed, though, as it still only struggled around the spire as it roared in pain.

Two archers began firing from the left wall immediately, attempting to draw the attention of the larger fiend that was still free. Their arrows did almost nothing to hurt the creature, but their plan had worked, and the fiend turned its head just in time to see Captain Rix coming from behind the wall.

The bull held up his axe, and gave the creature a large, mock wave, making sure he was seen before ducking back behind his cover as the larger fiend charged over his direction, splitting off from the horde of smaller ones. It seemed most was going according to plan so far.

At that point, nearly all of the smaller explosive runes had already been triggered, so the rabbit gave a wave of her hand, and dismissed the last few remaining so the army could safely advance and engage.

Mollis reached her hand forward once more and spoke in the language of the gods, reciting her incantation swiftly. The sound of thunder roared over the battlefield, and Aster recognized it as the same signal used back in The Selection, only this time, it was to signal the charge was safe.

The army of orcs surged forward to meet their ravenous opponents at last with a bit of hunger of their own.

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