Fortress Siege

Admiral Takeda's sharp eyes saw a sparkle on his brother's hand as Shen put his sword in its sheath. He looked at the ring, which was so strange in the middle of a fight that it caught his eye. Takeda's eyebrows came together a little. He asked, "What's that on your finger?" with a hint of gentle criticism and curiosity.

Shen's hand reflexively squeezed as the ring's weight suddenly grew. It was a cherished memory, a piece of a holy time spent with Lina. But that memory seemed far away and sadly fragile in the heavy shadow of the Whisper's coming danger. As Shen tried to speak, he turned away from his brother's sharp eyes. "Hey, this is me—"

Before he could explain, the Whisper creatures' ghostly screams broke the sky. Their creepy screams echoed across the battlefield as their huge, dark shapes fell on the stronghold like harbingers of doom. Takeda's instincts were very sharp as his head shot up toward the sky. Shen stopped trying to answer because the immediate danger made it less important. Takeda looked at him with a look that was half dismissive and half urgent.
He said, "We'll talk about it later," and then he turned his full attention to the threat that was coming.

They were the Whispers. These ugly creatures swooped down from the sky with deadly claws and jagged wings, hunting with deadly accuracy. A Whisper's claws tore through a soldier before he could even scream, and his broken body hit the walls of the fortress. Shen quickly drew his sword and swung it at a Whisper that was coming toward him. The steel shone. Shen's sword cut through the creature's wing, making it fall to the ground and stop screeching.

Takeda moved with a lot of thought and anger. He jumped toward a Whisper with his blade flashing in a perfect arc and dove for the walls of the stronghold. The creature's fall ended in a chaotic tumble when the blade cut off one of its wings in midair. But for every Whisper they killed, two more seemed to take its place, their dark shapes blocking out the sky. Even though the soldiers yelled orders and rallied, the creatures' attack was too strong and there were too many of them for the fortress's defenses to handle.

From high up on the stronghold's ramparts, a soldier in charge of the ballista screamed in fear. He had been caught in the claws of a Whisper that had flown in. The monster threw the man into the air and then let him fall to the stone courtyard below. His body hit the ground with a painful thud, and there was a heavy silence that was only broken by the chaos that was still going on. It was a big problem in the fight for the stronghold that the ballista was not manned.

Takeda's face darkened with grim determination. He turned to Shen and gave orders with firm authority. The ballista has been compromised. We have to take it back. He looked over at Shen and Zara, who were waiting nearby. "Push these things back and lock up that ballista, you two." Then he told a nearby sergeant, "Rally the troops." Don't let them get too close to the walls, and break up their formation. I'll bring it to their attention.

Takeda jumped up onto the battlements without waiting for an answer. He pushed himself for a whisper buzzing overhead, and his movements were a blur of power and precision. When Takeda's sword hit the mark and cut off one of the creature's wings, it let out a horrible scream. Takeda grabbed the hurt Whisper and used its writhing body as a shield to slash at anyone who tried to get close. The admiral was a tornado of deadly intent that drew the attention of both friends and enemies.

Zara and Shen, on the other hand, ran toward the ballista. Zara kept her bow ready while she watched the skies for danger with her sharp eyes. As they climbed the stone steps, they heard the sounds of battle all around them: the crash of steel, the cries of soldiers, and the Whispers' bone-chilling moans. Shen turned to look at Zara over his shoulder. "Are you ready?"

She said, "As ready as I'll ever be." A Whisper lunged at them with its claws out and no heartbeat. Zara shot an arrow that hit the creature's wing in a flash. Shen used the fact that the arrow knocked the Whisper off balance, even though it didn't go very deep, to his advantage. He moved forward and cut through the creature's body with his sword in a deadly way.

They kept going, and their climb was marked by frequent fights. Another Whisper swooped down on Zara. She ducked under its attack with trained speed and shot another arrow, this time hitting its side. Shen finished the job with a precise slash that went straight through the Whisper's throat. The creature fell in a heap, covering the stone steps with blood.

Finally, they made it to the top of the battlements. The ballista stood in front of them, surrounded by the bodies of dead soldiers. There was a strong smell of Whisper ichor and blood in the air. Shen looked around the area, his chest rising and falling. The people who used it were either dead or too hurt to fight, but the weapon was fine.

Zara knelt next to one of the dead and watched the slaughter happen. Her face hardened.
"They didn't stand a chance," she said softly as she knocked another arrow and looked up at the sky.

A second Whisper came down and cast a shadow over the ballista with its wings. Zara shot a quick volley of arrows, each one meant to confuse and throw off. Shen set up the ballista using the space that the creature's angry growl made. He gritted his teeth and aimed the huge weapon at the Whisper that was coming toward him. The weapon's parts groaned under his weight.

"Stay steady!" Zara yelled when another arrow hit the creature's wing. Shen changed his aim, and even though the pressure was rising, he stayed focused. As the Whisper got closer, he pulled the trigger. The ballista's spear flew forward with a loud snap, stabbing the beast in the air. The Whisper let out one last, deafening wail before falling to the ground in a dead heap.

"I got it," Shen whispered, but there was no time to be happy. There were more Whispers in the air, and their blood-red eyes shone with evil. Zara moved to his side and shot a lot of arrows quickly to cover their position.

"We have to keep this position," she said firmly. Shen nodded as he started to refill the ballista with his hands.