It had been a few long weeks in the bountiful kingdom of Espia, a large kingdom that had held peace for thousands of years. Little conflict arose with only minor conflicts with other kingdoms. In which it the nobles grew cocky and lazy, confident in their ability to defend themselves from any harm. This included the newest threat, from a single Necromancer. A couple of weeks ago, a Necromancer shrouded in shadow, warned King Rurik to step down from his throne and forfeit it to him. Otherwise, disaster would fall upon the plentiful kingdom. Of course, the king refused to comply, taking the threat with little worry.
After a week, rumors spread of a rising army from the east border of the kingdom, near he little town of Sharlton. The king and the royal council held little worry that a single Necromancer would be able to out number even the troops at Sharlton. Still, due to the high demand from the General in Sharlton, the king set out a hefty army, believing that would be more than enough to wipe the Necromancer out.
He could never have been more wrong.
Sharlton was peaceful little beautiful town, full of luscious green and farmland. It was right near the eastern border, close to the more darker kingdom of Nightera, A kingdom that was home to the more darker things in life. Necromancers, evil spirits, and dark monsters. However, most do not cross the border and if anything did, the guards in Sharlton handle it with ease.
Now though, on horseback, a woman clad in armor trotted through the streets of Sharlton. Her name was General Arisa, one of the only women to make it so far in the ranks of Knights. Many still looked down on her for being a woman, but her talents could not go unnoticed and she had earned her rightful title. She wore the heavy knightly armor, a red cape drifting from her shoulders with the Kingdom's symbol upon it. A golden chimera.
A neigh from her white horse pulled her from her thoughts as it reared as children ran before her path, laughing happily. A smile crossed her lips, as she looked at the children before giving a sigh. All the more reason why she had to win this battle. Glancing behind her at the far back of the village stood the large Church of the Sisterhood and to the left of it stood a small building for the Orphanage. A couple house to the right was the Soldiers Quarters and the jail that lay in the basement. Beside it was the Wizard ward and library, where the mages study. The rest consisted of ships and houses for the people.
General Arisa had said her prayers at the Church, praying to the Mother for everyone's safety, and for their victory. Soon she reached the large front gates, opened and revealing the large foot army ready for battle. Taking a deep breath, the general trotted through the crowd, waving her hand to signal the gates to be closed and shut tight. Glancing up the tall stone walls, she saw soldiers lining on top of it, archers reading their arrows as the sun slowly sunk. Sunset was upon them, the dying light coloring the sky sight beautiful colors of red, orange, pink and blue. As she reached the front of the sea of soldiers, she saw what lie just on the horizon. A thick black line that was far as the eye could see, absent glowing blue lights straight toward them. Pressing her mouth thinly together, her emerald eyes watched through her heavy helm as the enemy simply seemed to slowly shamble closer to the town of Sharlton.
At first, everyone was confident, believing this was to be a easy fight like the king predicted, but things changed as their opponents army became more clear. Shambling closer to them was thousands upon thousands of corpses of what was once humans. Some were smaller, the size of children with multiple legs, and others were titans standing of 20 feet that looked like they were made up of a bunch of body parts. Their hollow eyes glowing a blue. What lay behind them appeared to be mountains, ever so slowly moving closer, the tops spewing out more corpses of all shapes and sizes.
When the frontline of corpses were clearly visible, the enemy stopped and simply stared for what felt like hours. General Arisa could hear the choked up breathes of her men, fear emitting from them, some whispering what the hell this exactly was. Some even noticing how these creatures killed all the life where they walked. Wherever the corpses walked, the earth seemed to die with them, the grass and plants turned to ash where their enemy stepped.
Whatever these were, they were dangerous. And they greatly outnumbered them.
Her breathe hitched ever so slightly as three shambling corpses eyes suddenly turned into a yellow light, slowly wandering closer to the defenders of Sharlton. Only the three moved closer, moving closer and closer. The General wondered what exactly this meant, but before she could finish a thought, a arrow flew from above and hit one of the corpses in the forehead. She snapped her head around to look up he wall to see a shaking archer, apparently firing out of fear. Looking back to the corpses, the other two looked at their companion, whom seemed to touch the arrow with a decaying hand, before looking straight at the living people. Their eyes turning red, and their bony jaws opening before letting out a high pitched screetching. At that moment, the army of corpses gave a loud solemn moan before it charged at a incredible pace. Some moving faster than others.
General Arisa tsked before raising her sword foreword toward the enemy. "For Espia! Attack!" she yelled loudly before kicking her house into a full gallop in a charge against the enemy. Her army letting out battle cries as they charged with her. Weapons raised, and breathes sucking in what may be their last remaining breathe. Swords pierced rotting flesh, but many did little damage. Arrows flew from the wall into the giant horde, but few actually fell enemies.
Screams of men erupted and the corpses ripped into the bodies of there living with their teeth, devouring the delicate and delicious skin they once had. What made things worse was to witness as the soldiers died, before coming back to life but as mere corpses. Newly made enemy soldiers, and morale was quickly dropping as the battle raged on.
General Arisa stood on the ground, sword and shield in hand as she skillfully slashed at the corpses and bashed them away with her shield. Her numbers were dwindling, and even now when she glanced toward the walls, corpses were attempting to scale it. The child like corpses succeeding and striking at the archers and the soldiers above.
They were losing...
Up above the walls, hordes of corpses grew to be many as the childlike fast moving corpses devoured the soldiers. One man fought long and hard, doing his best to push against the horde and protect the Sharlton citizens. But, to his dismay, the Guard Captain Vicar was the last one standing in his legion. Already, the corpses were spilling into the city, slaughtering fighting soldiers and civilians alike. The Guard Captain quickly moved down the steps until reaching the bottom of the wall. Bolting through the town, he slashed his way through corpses until reaching his home. Breathing hitching as he saw the wooden door busted into, he quickly went through the wreckage, searching the rooms until he went into his and his wife's bedroom. Freezing at the sight he saw, his beloved wife, his child... Their bodies broken and ripped apart in a bloody gory mess upon the ground, a couple of corpses feeding off the fresh meat. He couldn't breathe, his throat was dry and his mind fogged, his eyes turning black. Feeling entirely numb as his strong body fell to the ground, consciousness slipping from his mind. Barely hearing the rumbling cracking of his home as pillars fell around him, exposing him in darkness from the utter chaos.
Civilians could only flee to the Church for sanctuary, children and women cowering within the strong stone walls of the Mother. Sisters doing their best to calm the poor terrified people, as well as the injured. Thousand of Templars stood just outside the church, fighting off hordes of corpses attempting to get at the fresh meat inside. Some stood their ground inside the Church in case any undead broke inside. Many of the civilians were terrified, some even injured.
The Sister Arria was trying her best to heal the injured, but it eventually drained her gifted healing magic. Still she tried, tried to heal a little boy held in his crying mothers arms. A bite wound right on his wrist, and his small body was already pale, looking much like a mere corpse. The Templar beside the Sister was named Havarr, and he watched the scene before placing a hand on the Sister's shoulder and shook his head.
"It's too late..." Havarr said softly.
"No! No! Please! Lady Arria you have to help my baby boy! You're the only one who can! Please! He can still be saved I know it!" the mother pleaded and begged through her tears, her arms cradling her baby boy close to her in desperation.
Arria could only bite her lip at the sight, her stomach curling tightly in a mixture of emotions. It was then Havarr noticed the boy's eyes open, but they were of the glowing blue hue of the corpses. Quickly, he grabbed the Sister and held her to him, backing away quickly as in a instant, the boy lunged foreword, teeth sinking into his own mother's neck and ripping it out. The woman gave a chortled gurgle, shooing on her blood before she fell limp to the ground, her own son devouring her flesh. Screams erupted from the entire Church and Templars quickly went to vanquish the monster. The child corpse grew extra limps, quickly zipping away from the blades and climbed up the walls. Lunging off of it to latch on to one of the Templar's faces, the sounds of crunching bone and the splashing of blood could be heard alongside the terrified and agonized screams of terror.
Before Arria could even utter a word at the scene, Havarr quickly picked her up bridal style and rushed to the closest door. The door that led to the inner Temple of the Sisters of Peace, where only the Temple Mother of the Church was allowed to enter. But this was a emergency, and right now Havarr didn't care as long as it protected Sister Arria. Shutting the door and locking it with the wooden plank before quickly continuing down the long steps of the temple. Reaching another door, he opened it before entering and shutting it behind him. The temple seemed to glow a holy glow, a large statue of the Goddess stood in the middle of the stone room, water streaming in small little moats around he statue and flowers placed upon the alter as holy words were carved into the pedestal. It was there they would spend the night.
In the underground jail, shouts could be heard outside, and only two occupants resided in there. In one jail cell, was the notorious thief Reza, whom had recently been jailed by the Guard Captain. A act he should be quite thankful for as he stood on his bed and looked at the small barred hole that viewed the foot of the surface. All he saw was the feet of people, skeletons, and the bloody bodies of people that lie upon the ground. Screams of horror echoing from the outside and seeming to fill the quiet cell with dread. Turning away in disgust, he sat on his bed, looking down at his feet.
Just next to his cell, the last cell, resided nothing human nor close to looking like one. A large tiger sized beast stood their, its four paws chained to the wall and it's throat chained to the ground. Even a chain muzzle was placed around its snout. The black mass of fur was prickling at the sounds of terror coming outside, tribal earrings jingling ever so slightly. Blue eyes gazing at the small shred of light that led outside. He could feel it, nature dying... As well as people being slaughtered.
~One Night Later: Near Dawn~
The beast tried as it might, clawed at the chains binding him to this place. All had gone quiet outside, there was no more screaming, no more crying, just the silent moaning of those creatures that had done this. The beloved town of Sharlton, was now in ruins. Buildings had crumbled, bodies were ripped apart and discarded... It was a mass slaughter. The only thing remaining were the quiet moans of the remaining corpses that had stayed behind from the large horde of corpses, and the sole survivors. The Guard Captain, The Sister, The Templar, The Thief, and The Beast.
After a week, rumors spread of a rising army from the east border of the kingdom, near he little town of Sharlton. The king and the royal council held little worry that a single Necromancer would be able to out number even the troops at Sharlton. Still, due to the high demand from the General in Sharlton, the king set out a hefty army, believing that would be more than enough to wipe the Necromancer out.
He could never have been more wrong.
Sharlton was peaceful little beautiful town, full of luscious green and farmland. It was right near the eastern border, close to the more darker kingdom of Nightera, A kingdom that was home to the more darker things in life. Necromancers, evil spirits, and dark monsters. However, most do not cross the border and if anything did, the guards in Sharlton handle it with ease.
Now though, on horseback, a woman clad in armor trotted through the streets of Sharlton. Her name was General Arisa, one of the only women to make it so far in the ranks of Knights. Many still looked down on her for being a woman, but her talents could not go unnoticed and she had earned her rightful title. She wore the heavy knightly armor, a red cape drifting from her shoulders with the Kingdom's symbol upon it. A golden chimera.
A neigh from her white horse pulled her from her thoughts as it reared as children ran before her path, laughing happily. A smile crossed her lips, as she looked at the children before giving a sigh. All the more reason why she had to win this battle. Glancing behind her at the far back of the village stood the large Church of the Sisterhood and to the left of it stood a small building for the Orphanage. A couple house to the right was the Soldiers Quarters and the jail that lay in the basement. Beside it was the Wizard ward and library, where the mages study. The rest consisted of ships and houses for the people.
General Arisa had said her prayers at the Church, praying to the Mother for everyone's safety, and for their victory. Soon she reached the large front gates, opened and revealing the large foot army ready for battle. Taking a deep breath, the general trotted through the crowd, waving her hand to signal the gates to be closed and shut tight. Glancing up the tall stone walls, she saw soldiers lining on top of it, archers reading their arrows as the sun slowly sunk. Sunset was upon them, the dying light coloring the sky sight beautiful colors of red, orange, pink and blue. As she reached the front of the sea of soldiers, she saw what lie just on the horizon. A thick black line that was far as the eye could see, absent glowing blue lights straight toward them. Pressing her mouth thinly together, her emerald eyes watched through her heavy helm as the enemy simply seemed to slowly shamble closer to the town of Sharlton.
At first, everyone was confident, believing this was to be a easy fight like the king predicted, but things changed as their opponents army became more clear. Shambling closer to them was thousands upon thousands of corpses of what was once humans. Some were smaller, the size of children with multiple legs, and others were titans standing of 20 feet that looked like they were made up of a bunch of body parts. Their hollow eyes glowing a blue. What lay behind them appeared to be mountains, ever so slowly moving closer, the tops spewing out more corpses of all shapes and sizes.
When the frontline of corpses were clearly visible, the enemy stopped and simply stared for what felt like hours. General Arisa could hear the choked up breathes of her men, fear emitting from them, some whispering what the hell this exactly was. Some even noticing how these creatures killed all the life where they walked. Wherever the corpses walked, the earth seemed to die with them, the grass and plants turned to ash where their enemy stepped.
Whatever these were, they were dangerous. And they greatly outnumbered them.
Her breathe hitched ever so slightly as three shambling corpses eyes suddenly turned into a yellow light, slowly wandering closer to the defenders of Sharlton. Only the three moved closer, moving closer and closer. The General wondered what exactly this meant, but before she could finish a thought, a arrow flew from above and hit one of the corpses in the forehead. She snapped her head around to look up he wall to see a shaking archer, apparently firing out of fear. Looking back to the corpses, the other two looked at their companion, whom seemed to touch the arrow with a decaying hand, before looking straight at the living people. Their eyes turning red, and their bony jaws opening before letting out a high pitched screetching. At that moment, the army of corpses gave a loud solemn moan before it charged at a incredible pace. Some moving faster than others.
General Arisa tsked before raising her sword foreword toward the enemy. "For Espia! Attack!" she yelled loudly before kicking her house into a full gallop in a charge against the enemy. Her army letting out battle cries as they charged with her. Weapons raised, and breathes sucking in what may be their last remaining breathe. Swords pierced rotting flesh, but many did little damage. Arrows flew from the wall into the giant horde, but few actually fell enemies.
Screams of men erupted and the corpses ripped into the bodies of there living with their teeth, devouring the delicate and delicious skin they once had. What made things worse was to witness as the soldiers died, before coming back to life but as mere corpses. Newly made enemy soldiers, and morale was quickly dropping as the battle raged on.
General Arisa stood on the ground, sword and shield in hand as she skillfully slashed at the corpses and bashed them away with her shield. Her numbers were dwindling, and even now when she glanced toward the walls, corpses were attempting to scale it. The child like corpses succeeding and striking at the archers and the soldiers above.
They were losing...
Up above the walls, hordes of corpses grew to be many as the childlike fast moving corpses devoured the soldiers. One man fought long and hard, doing his best to push against the horde and protect the Sharlton citizens. But, to his dismay, the Guard Captain Vicar was the last one standing in his legion. Already, the corpses were spilling into the city, slaughtering fighting soldiers and civilians alike. The Guard Captain quickly moved down the steps until reaching the bottom of the wall. Bolting through the town, he slashed his way through corpses until reaching his home. Breathing hitching as he saw the wooden door busted into, he quickly went through the wreckage, searching the rooms until he went into his and his wife's bedroom. Freezing at the sight he saw, his beloved wife, his child... Their bodies broken and ripped apart in a bloody gory mess upon the ground, a couple of corpses feeding off the fresh meat. He couldn't breathe, his throat was dry and his mind fogged, his eyes turning black. Feeling entirely numb as his strong body fell to the ground, consciousness slipping from his mind. Barely hearing the rumbling cracking of his home as pillars fell around him, exposing him in darkness from the utter chaos.
Civilians could only flee to the Church for sanctuary, children and women cowering within the strong stone walls of the Mother. Sisters doing their best to calm the poor terrified people, as well as the injured. Thousand of Templars stood just outside the church, fighting off hordes of corpses attempting to get at the fresh meat inside. Some stood their ground inside the Church in case any undead broke inside. Many of the civilians were terrified, some even injured.
The Sister Arria was trying her best to heal the injured, but it eventually drained her gifted healing magic. Still she tried, tried to heal a little boy held in his crying mothers arms. A bite wound right on his wrist, and his small body was already pale, looking much like a mere corpse. The Templar beside the Sister was named Havarr, and he watched the scene before placing a hand on the Sister's shoulder and shook his head.
"It's too late..." Havarr said softly.
"No! No! Please! Lady Arria you have to help my baby boy! You're the only one who can! Please! He can still be saved I know it!" the mother pleaded and begged through her tears, her arms cradling her baby boy close to her in desperation.
Arria could only bite her lip at the sight, her stomach curling tightly in a mixture of emotions. It was then Havarr noticed the boy's eyes open, but they were of the glowing blue hue of the corpses. Quickly, he grabbed the Sister and held her to him, backing away quickly as in a instant, the boy lunged foreword, teeth sinking into his own mother's neck and ripping it out. The woman gave a chortled gurgle, shooing on her blood before she fell limp to the ground, her own son devouring her flesh. Screams erupted from the entire Church and Templars quickly went to vanquish the monster. The child corpse grew extra limps, quickly zipping away from the blades and climbed up the walls. Lunging off of it to latch on to one of the Templar's faces, the sounds of crunching bone and the splashing of blood could be heard alongside the terrified and agonized screams of terror.
Before Arria could even utter a word at the scene, Havarr quickly picked her up bridal style and rushed to the closest door. The door that led to the inner Temple of the Sisters of Peace, where only the Temple Mother of the Church was allowed to enter. But this was a emergency, and right now Havarr didn't care as long as it protected Sister Arria. Shutting the door and locking it with the wooden plank before quickly continuing down the long steps of the temple. Reaching another door, he opened it before entering and shutting it behind him. The temple seemed to glow a holy glow, a large statue of the Goddess stood in the middle of the stone room, water streaming in small little moats around he statue and flowers placed upon the alter as holy words were carved into the pedestal. It was there they would spend the night.
In the underground jail, shouts could be heard outside, and only two occupants resided in there. In one jail cell, was the notorious thief Reza, whom had recently been jailed by the Guard Captain. A act he should be quite thankful for as he stood on his bed and looked at the small barred hole that viewed the foot of the surface. All he saw was the feet of people, skeletons, and the bloody bodies of people that lie upon the ground. Screams of horror echoing from the outside and seeming to fill the quiet cell with dread. Turning away in disgust, he sat on his bed, looking down at his feet.
Just next to his cell, the last cell, resided nothing human nor close to looking like one. A large tiger sized beast stood their, its four paws chained to the wall and it's throat chained to the ground. Even a chain muzzle was placed around its snout. The black mass of fur was prickling at the sounds of terror coming outside, tribal earrings jingling ever so slightly. Blue eyes gazing at the small shred of light that led outside. He could feel it, nature dying... As well as people being slaughtered.
~One Night Later: Near Dawn~
The beast tried as it might, clawed at the chains binding him to this place. All had gone quiet outside, there was no more screaming, no more crying, just the silent moaning of those creatures that had done this. The beloved town of Sharlton, was now in ruins. Buildings had crumbled, bodies were ripped apart and discarded... It was a mass slaughter. The only thing remaining were the quiet moans of the remaining corpses that had stayed behind from the large horde of corpses, and the sole survivors. The Guard Captain, The Sister, The Templar, The Thief, and The Beast.
