The Battle

A low howl warned them of the approaching shades. Kai ran back into the light and skidded to a stop.

Bard hoped their preparations wouldn’t be needed. He dearly hoped Sen wouldn’t sing, but that wasn’t something he could control. At her discretion, she had placed seed and trees under the ground to tackle any incoming shades if they were overwhelmed. Holger stood nearby. Bard was amazed they had been able to convince the man that the shades were a threat and were coming. At this point, he was past caring what his alternative motive was. It was too much effort to keep guessing. The sun stones were placed around near fires to keep them in their dormant state once the fighting began, then they wouldn’t have the luxury to light them again. Fire light wasn’t as powerful as sunstone, so if it became bad, the people knew to gather between the sunstones. Some mothers were already nearby, their children kept close in case they needed to run. It reminded Bard of his own childhood, and he dearly hoped he wasn’t staring down another disaster.

Shades began to line up outside the light, and Bard kept his tokens nearby, but unused. He was sure the people wouldn’t take to hearing music, no matter if it saved them.

“Sen. Please, don’t ye be doin the fightin’. Stay here with us,” Some of the women begged Sen to hide herself. Bard looked back as she took the lady’s hand in appreciation.

“Thank you. But I would rather stay by my husband’s side,” she said, and the women sighed as she let go of Sen’s hand.

“We will be praying the suns come out soon,” the lady said, and the other nodded. Bard came over.

“We all will. Please. Keep you and your children safe.” Bard noticed them thank him as he took Sen’s hand and guided her over. She found a bow and stood near a stockpile of arrows. The arrow heads were coated with flammable materials. A riffle was also nearby with some ammo. Bard was the one who felt the most out of his element here.

“What? Do you not carry a weapon?” Holger snarked as he came over. Sen refrained from looking at him. The man placed his hands on Bard.

“The sunstones are sufficient,” Bard answered.

Holger laughed, mocking them.

“And you call yourself her husband, a man. You should take up arms and defend her like all the other men around here.”

“Why beat her at what she excels in, when I can protect her with my wares?” Bard asked. “I would rather choose the safest way, than something as limited as my physique.”

Holger laughed and then looked at Sen.

“I’ll keep you both safe. Just watch.” Holger said, and his men gathered around as he moved to the edge of the line of light. He looked at Sen, who turned to Bard.

“Awfully full of himself,” Sen said softly. Bard could see what she meant. He moved about as if it was certain that Sen would fall for him, and leave Bard. Holger glared at him, and Bard shrunk away. He needed to remain the meek traveling merchant that could be walked over with a little force. But Bard did admit that he was excited to see how the man failed to comprehend the dangers of the shades. He thought a bit of humility would do him well.

Kai howled once more and the people gathered towards the fires. Holger had insisted the shades would die if they attacked them, so he and those that believed him stand near the front. It was disturbing how many were there. Those that trusted Bard and Ruegar’s judgment stayed close to the fires, making sure their shadows were trapped within light.

Bard froze as he heard a strange howl. It was like the one in his memory. He frantically searched and spotted the six blue eyes, glowing as it moved through the other shades. Then it rose into the air and howled once more. Something dark and strange moved from the ground and rose into the air.

Bard nearly fell as he looked up at a storm shade. What were they doing here? Fires would be blown out. Was this why his village had fallen? Was it not because of a lack of fire and light, but because they lacked something that would glow in spite of a storm. Sen yelled and fired her riffle at the shade, and it screamed an unearthly sound.

“Bard! The light sticks!” she said, and Bard quickly hustled to his gear on Kai and began pulling out every light stick he had. While Sen and Ruegar shot at the growing number of storm shades, firing their bits of light to keep them at bay, Bard quickly handed the light sticks to the people around the fires. He handed them to one individual, who divided them among the rest. He then moved to hand them to Holger, who grabbed it with a frenzied look. His men wore mixed reactions to the storm shades.

Bard showed the people how to break the sticks and cause them to light up. Soon, lights appeared all around the fires.

“Make sure to stay together, find shelter and protect yourselves from the dark!” Bard shouted between howls. More storm shades gathered and Bard ushered people inside. He handed a few of them fire sticks and gathered the people as quickly as he could before having some bring in the piles. The insides of the homes could protect them and any fires, but it could also be their undoing. The places were made of stone. A few were made from large boulders and would be the safest, while the others were sketchy. This wasn’t the craftsmanship of the Catfolk after all. Just stones placed on top of each other. Placed marvelously, but still.

He gathered some sunstones that were vacated and moved them to inside the newly crowded buildings, just as the winds began to pick up. This was a far worse outcome than they had anticipated. As the wind began to howl, Bard searched for Sen. She was being held up by Holger. Bard came over to guide her away, but Holger laughed.

“Let me go!” Sen’s voice rang above the noise. “Bard!”

“Sen!” he shouted, letting her know he was there. She looked back over her shoulder, unable to see him right there. He doubted he was strong enough to get her out, but if he used some of his forest craft gear, then maybe.

He reached for a firestick, broke it, and placed it against Holger’s hand. Sen screamed with Holger as he let go. Bard scrambled to move her away and got hit square across the head.

“Bard!” Sen shouted.

“Holger!” Ruegar shouted.

Bard struggled to keep his wits about as the world blackened around him. He barely heard Sen’s voice again, and that helped him to focus. He felt something around him and then heard screams as the Shades began their attack.

As he gathered his focus and looked about, he realized he was on the ground. What he felt around him was Kai. He heard shots from atop Kai, and the wind began to pick up. Kai turned about and grabbed him by his clothes and pulled him towards a light. Bard barely made out the sight of the blue glowing eyes as it came within the light. Was this shade unable to be harmed from light? Was that how they could get through? Was this shade the one who could destroy light and let the others in?

Against the pain of his throbbing head, Bard reached for his token and then heard singing. Incoherently, he tried to twirl the tokens as the glowing eyes came at them. He felt the sound barrier form and the shade howled. As Kai laid him down, he was unable to move the tokens. It was too much effort, but the singing continued. He noticed Sen was coming towards him, off Kai’s back, her voice ringing out. Trees sprang up and fought the shades. Seeds grew and ensnared them. She had called on their trump card if all else failed. Had it really fallen so far in such a short time?

She knelt next to him, tears streaked across her face, her hair having broken free of their bindings and discarding the color they had put on it. She reached for his hand and then took his tokens, swinging them around. He was sure she had something she wanted to say, but was unable to with this song. The barrier grew once more, and the blue-eyed shade retreated. It somehow managed to stay within the barrier, but not past the light. Did it take both? Bard’s head hurt even more, and he closed his eyes, trying to recover. Kai fought near him and Bard could hear the screams of people shouting. One voice got extremely close.

“Die!” it sounded like Holger. He then heard a loud grunt as the noises of fighting continued.

“Die you Dryad!” another voice shouted and Bard forced his eyes open. They must have meant Sen. He couldn’t let her die.

“Elvira! Out of the way!” another voice said.

“She is defending the village. Until this fight is over, don’t make more enemies. We’re being beaten as is!” Elvira shouted back. There was some quiet from the humans, but then noises resumed. Bard was unable to pinpoint where these sounds came from.

The few things he could tell was that Elvira came and gave him something that tasted awful, but his head hurt less. Sen was still fighting. Kai stayed nearby.

And most of the noises stopped when he felt the warmth of the suns.

Hello again! Once again we have come to the end of an Arc/Book. I promise I don't always leave them on cliffhangers or endings like this. Bard certainly isn't a warrior, and that strike really rattled his brain. Hopefully Elvira has some remedy. 

Anyway, What do you guys think? This world is vast and Bard is well traveled but is heading into foreign territory. I'd say he's doing fairly well for handling the unknown, but we shall see. 

Who's looking forward to seeing what Anjur is up to? I sure am. 

I'll keep updating with new art as I can.

-Laurel R Call