The blood witch might not have been a legitimate queen, but she looked the part.
Hair as dark as crimson tumbled down her shoulders. Her skin was as pale as snow, and lips as red as wine. A crown adorned with a ruby sat on her head, but it was mostly shrouded by the gilded cloak she wore. The cloak might have been the only thing she wore. It was parted just enough to expose her cleavage, but a silver chainat her neck kept it from opening further. Farther down her stomach the cloak was held closed with a series of brooches, and her arms and legs were totally obscured. Her body was wreathed in flames, and she was mounted on top of an infernal creature that was larger than most castles. The blood beast was what her mount was called. It had the body of an ape, but in place of hands and feet it had massive hooves that could crush a battle tank, and in place of fur and flesh was bone and blood. The queen’s saddle was a silver throne, which was held securely between two massive antlers and propped up on a massive deer skull. The ground trembled with every step, and her army walked behind her. They were merely for show. Every battle they entered was swiftly ended with a snap of the queen’s fingers. Entire armies would have their blood ripped right out of them and added to the abomination she rode around on. Their bones would join the creature not much later.
No one stood a chance against her. There was no defence against her magic, nor could a group of any size get close to her. Any archer or magus would be reduced to a pile of skin before they could do anything. There is no beating her in direct combat.
There is, however, a way to weaken her.
On the other side of the world it is nightfall, and the largest siege in Gillia’s history has commenced. The target of this siege is the modest sized Silver Myth Keep. The battlements are filled with troops, and they are firing on the sieging party. The ring of machine gun fire cuts through the night. Flashes from the mussels light up the battlements, and archers rush in to make up for the lack of machine gun nests. The rebels couldn’t get close though. There was a twenty foot wide moat that dropped straight into shark infested waters. The drawbridge was up and there was no way anyone was getting through.
“Wie!” A short man with a funny hat called from the battlements. “Your mothers are pigs, and your fathers are farmers!”
Chase was responsible for night watch. It wasn’t often that the rebels would attack Silver Myth Keep, but he relished it every time it happened. Because he always won. No one had ever gotten inside, and at this hour it was impossible to hit anything on the battlements. Even if someone had night vision goggles, the muzzle flashes from the machine gun nests would keep anyone from singling him out. He felt very powerful at times like this. He liked to point at the invaders and pretend the machine gun fire and arrows that killed them were his own divine will. His laughter, while quite loud to him, was drowned out by all the screaming and gunfire.
The guards had never seen so many people. It’s already been a minute and they already had to have killed a hundred of them. But they kept coming. It wasn’t anything to worry about, they told themselves. Morale was high, as they were doing the queen’s bidding. Even if they were expending a lot of resources in their defence, Silver Myth Keep was restocked twice daily by sea, and they knew the rebels had no power out on open waters. This siege would be over in a few minutes, and any expended supplies would be replenished before the sun greeted them tomorrow.
Only they were wrong.
If they could see beyond the treeline some hundred feet away, they would know that this wasn’t even the tip of the assaulting force. The siege would not end until every last civilian had met their end. The attacking forces went as far back as two towns from their current position, each one more eager to fight than the last.
But while near limitless, the rebellion was not limitless. They couldn’t just keep feeding themselves into this meat grinder. Something had to be done to allow them to enter the keep.
Hair as dark as crimson tumbled down her shoulders. Her skin was as pale as snow, and lips as red as wine. A crown adorned with a ruby sat on her head, but it was mostly shrouded by the gilded cloak she wore. The cloak might have been the only thing she wore. It was parted just enough to expose her cleavage, but a silver chainat her neck kept it from opening further. Farther down her stomach the cloak was held closed with a series of brooches, and her arms and legs were totally obscured. Her body was wreathed in flames, and she was mounted on top of an infernal creature that was larger than most castles. The blood beast was what her mount was called. It had the body of an ape, but in place of hands and feet it had massive hooves that could crush a battle tank, and in place of fur and flesh was bone and blood. The queen’s saddle was a silver throne, which was held securely between two massive antlers and propped up on a massive deer skull. The ground trembled with every step, and her army walked behind her. They were merely for show. Every battle they entered was swiftly ended with a snap of the queen’s fingers. Entire armies would have their blood ripped right out of them and added to the abomination she rode around on. Their bones would join the creature not much later.
No one stood a chance against her. There was no defence against her magic, nor could a group of any size get close to her. Any archer or magus would be reduced to a pile of skin before they could do anything. There is no beating her in direct combat.
There is, however, a way to weaken her.
On the other side of the world it is nightfall, and the largest siege in Gillia’s history has commenced. The target of this siege is the modest sized Silver Myth Keep. The battlements are filled with troops, and they are firing on the sieging party. The ring of machine gun fire cuts through the night. Flashes from the mussels light up the battlements, and archers rush in to make up for the lack of machine gun nests. The rebels couldn’t get close though. There was a twenty foot wide moat that dropped straight into shark infested waters. The drawbridge was up and there was no way anyone was getting through.
“Wie!” A short man with a funny hat called from the battlements. “Your mothers are pigs, and your fathers are farmers!”
Chase was responsible for night watch. It wasn’t often that the rebels would attack Silver Myth Keep, but he relished it every time it happened. Because he always won. No one had ever gotten inside, and at this hour it was impossible to hit anything on the battlements. Even if someone had night vision goggles, the muzzle flashes from the machine gun nests would keep anyone from singling him out. He felt very powerful at times like this. He liked to point at the invaders and pretend the machine gun fire and arrows that killed them were his own divine will. His laughter, while quite loud to him, was drowned out by all the screaming and gunfire.
The guards had never seen so many people. It’s already been a minute and they already had to have killed a hundred of them. But they kept coming. It wasn’t anything to worry about, they told themselves. Morale was high, as they were doing the queen’s bidding. Even if they were expending a lot of resources in their defence, Silver Myth Keep was restocked twice daily by sea, and they knew the rebels had no power out on open waters. This siege would be over in a few minutes, and any expended supplies would be replenished before the sun greeted them tomorrow.
Only they were wrong.
If they could see beyond the treeline some hundred feet away, they would know that this wasn’t even the tip of the assaulting force. The siege would not end until every last civilian had met their end. The attacking forces went as far back as two towns from their current position, each one more eager to fight than the last.
But while near limitless, the rebellion was not limitless. They couldn’t just keep feeding themselves into this meat grinder. Something had to be done to allow them to enter the keep.