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The Great War
Written by Enly
Story by Enly & Roja
Edited by Annatira, Phildaburn, and Roja
Artwork by Roja
Chapter 5
Mazhiez snapped out of his horror at the loss of his perfect world. There was no time to wonder what was going on, or why the gods had brought such destruction upon the draegoni, now was the time for action.
“Kiylee!” Mazhiez grabbed her arm. “Come on! We have to get out of the city!” He needed to get Kiylee and Serrair away to safety immediately, he could only hope her infuriating habit of arguing wouldn't kick in, now was not the time.
“What?” Kiylee stared at him, her eyes wild and terrified. “Leave? Abandon our city?”
“Yes, we have to get out. Believe me, Kiylee, everyone who remains in this city will be dead by nightfall. We must run. We must warn the other draegoni of the tragedy that has happened here.” He was growing impatient, he could hear monsters drawing nearer.
“What about Serrair?” Kiylee demanded, brushing away her brother's armor clad arm and running to Serrair. He lay on the ground trying not to move his leg, which lay at a horribly unnatural angle.
“We can carry him out of the city,” Mazhiez moved to help Serrair to his feet. Kiylee’s eyes flashed terrified around her. Her face was filled with grief and horror. Mazhiez had seen many battles and knew how to deal with the realities of war. Kiylee however, had never seen a battle, much less found herself in the center of one in her own home.
“Kiylee,” Mazhiez gently put his hands on her shoulders. “Sister you must forget what is happening around you, just focus on Serrair, and the two of you getting out, now help me lift him.”
Kiylee looked at him and then she nodded numbly. Together the two of them were able to haul Serrair to his feet. The draegoni was conscious, but not truly aware of his surroundings. He, however, understood when Mazhiez patiently told him he would need to try to walk with his one good leg and rely on them for support. Relieved they were finally moving, Mazhiez fought the urge to hurry Kiylee along rudely; now was not the time to yell at his sister.
Slowly, the trio limped out of the gardens and made their way toward the city gates, which were not far. Taking a shortcut through several towers they emerged above the gates, only a winding staircase away. However, to their dismay, the gates were thrown wide open and hoards of monsters were streaming in. Mazhiez surveyed the scene from above on the tower balcony, as he looked down he saw something that greatly disturbed him.
They were not just monsters, humans and elves were among them as well.
“Mazhiez, we cannot get out,” Kiylee whispered, rubbing her red scale flecked hands together nervously. “Come away from the balcony and let us see if any ships may bear us out by sea, Maz?”
“Wait,” Mazhiez said quietly. They had leaned Serrair against a wall and Mazhiez crept away several feet peering down at the armies below. “I believe their leader is coming.”
“What?” Kiylee tugged at her brother confused, only a moment ago he had been so eager to leave, and now that Kiylee had realized the danger he seemed to have reason to stay. “Come on, Maz, it doesn’t matter."
“Just a moment longer, Kiylee,” Mazhiez snapped.
Kiylee quieted and waited as Mazhiez watched the crowds below. The areas around the gate were void of draegoni, living draegoni that was.
As they watched, those pouring in the gates began to slow and turn. The yells and grunts began to die down and the masses turned to watch the gate. Mazhiez watched the gate as well. After a moment, two figures strode in.
One was a human male; tall, solid build, and a bald head. His face reminded Mazhiez of the ugliest being he had ever beheld, only worse. There was also an elf with dark skin, white hair, and chilling violet eyes. He carried himself like he was a god. Mazhiez couldn’t help but think he was cunning and had a horrible evil intelligence.
Behind them a huge black dragon lumbered into the city. It growled deep in its throat and let out a disapproving snort.
“These brutes are destroying the city,” the dragon stated. Its voice was deeper than any voice Mazhiez had ever heard and it sounded slightly odd and slurred, likely because the dragon had so many teeth to talk around. The human said something to the dragon, but his voice was far quieter and Mazhiez could not hear it.
“Stay here,” he whispered to his sister, they had been kneeling beside Serrair as they watched, and now Mazhiez jumped up, a hand on his sword hilt.
“Maz!” Kiylee called after him as he jogged back into the hallway and down it. But he didn’t listen.
Mazhiez quickly made his way through the halls until he was in the guard’s barracks, just inside the gate. Crouching down next to a window that faced the gates, he listened. He was very close to the dragon, elf, and human now. He noticed a tall feline creature had joined them, a feros.
“Surely you are not suggesting my people are doing such a thing,” the feros accused. Its voice was high and feline, and Mazhiez was fairly certain it was female. “My warriors are scouting the city outskirts, making sure no one escapes. They have already caught a group of draegoni trying to reach Trassian.”
“I hope by caught you mean…” the dragon began.
“Killed, yes,” the feros finished for him. The dragon snorted his brief approval.
Mazhiez wanted desperately to listen longer, to find out where this army had come from. The apparent leaders however were moving farther away, he could no longer eavesdrop.
His senses had also returned to him and he realized he'd left his sister alone in a city overrun with monsters. Cursing his own stupidity he made his way swiftly back to where he had left his sister. They needed to get out.
To Mazhiez horror, Kiylee, however, was gone, and so was Serrair. Mazhiez bit his tongue trying to keep from yelling for her. Where would she have gone? She wouldn’t have left. Mazhiez knew that all too well. Kiylee would have obeyed her brother and waited for him, even if it meant dying where she hid. No! Mazhiez forced the thought from his mind, she wasn’t dead, she wasn’t!
He ran down the hallway heading back to the docks. She said they should try to leave by boat, maybe she had gone that direction. The docks however were in shambles. Several boats were trying to sail away but it looked as if they would never make it past the solid wall of black ships.
He scanned the mass of bodies for his sister, but couldn’t see far. Panic rose inside him, he'd lost her, he'd left her and failed her! Trying to calm himself he blinked several times and continued to search, his vision seemed to be fogging. Hope rose in him every time he saw a flash of violet hair or red scales, or the edge of a soft blue tunic, but none of them were Kiylee. Why had she left? Didn't she know better? Mazhiez tried not to think about that and focus only on finding Kiylee, yet it was too hard to see anything amidst the chaos near the docks.
It looked as if the majority of the warriors that had been mustered had come here. They were putting up a decent fight, but it wasn’t enough. The creatures still bounded out of their ships; there were far, far too many.
Hearing a screech and splash he turned to watch as a group of warriors defeated a dragon and forced the dying beast into the water. It was a huge terrifying creature, not one that many could succesfully fight. Those were experienced warriors, veterans. The only veterans were those of the Ice Wars, and if those draegoni had fought in the Ice Wars, there was a good chance he knew them.
Mazhiez shoved his way through the various fights around him and made his way to the dock where the draegoni who had just killed the dragon still stood. Perhaps one of these men had seen his sister. Guilt was tying a painfull knot in his chest. He had left her, and now she could be dead.
“Mazhiez!” one of them called relieved. “We feared you were dead, for we did not see you in the battle."
Mazhiez’s heart leapt, these were his men, the group directly under his command.
“Have you seen Kiylee?” he asked worried.
“We have not,” Velor said sadly. The thin draegoni brushed a gloved hand across his face, trying to get his green hair out of his eyes It was too short to tie behind his head, but long enough to be annoying.
“What of Erresh?” Mazhiez questioned, trying to remind himself that there were many others besides his sister in danger.
“He was guiding children to the gates last I saw sir,” Meer informed.
“To the gates?” Mazhiez asked shocked. “The gates are overrun with monsters.”
“Then let us go help them,” Meer said. The others nodded and Mazhiez began to follow as they headed back the way he had come. He hung back however still scanning the docks for his sister.
“Come on Maz!” Velor cried, gesturing with his sword. “Your sister can watch after herself, she likely made it out on a boat already,”
Mazhiez hesitated again, looking wistfully at the docks, then turned to join his comrades as they headed for the gate. He had abandoned his sister already, he could not do the same to his men as well.
He tried not to look at the city around him as he hurried through it after his companions. Besides a tower or two near the docks, nearly the whole city was intact, but in only a short while it had gone from being filled with screams, running civilians, and fighting, to being deathly quiet.
The city was dead, Mazhiez tried not to look as he passed a room, its door was forced open, he didn’t want to know what lay silently inside. He looked away from the warriors sprawled mutely across the ground, never to move again. They had died defending their city. Mazhiez just hoped someone would live to tell of their bravery. The attackers had vanished from the hallways of the city. They were all either at the docks cutting off escape by sea, or at the gates slaying all who dared try to flee.
“Mazhiez! I think I see them!” Velor called. The group stopped and looked to where he was pointing, several floors up, on a bridge that linked several towers to the wall.
“Yes, that’s them,” Mazhiez confirmed. He could see Erresh leading a group of frightened children. The ever compasionate draegoni was trying to save those he could.
“This way,” Meer gestured and led them back inside. They followed without question, Meer knew the city better than anyone, his ancestors had helped build it. It was tradition for his family to always be responsible for the city plans and oversee any new building that ever happened.
More quickly than Mazhiez thought possible, they were on the same bridge they had just seen Erresh on. He had vanished now, but they hurried across it, looking for him and his small group of refugees on the wall.
“Erresh!” Mazhiez called out as he saw his old friend running across a bridge a level below. The draegoni stopped and looked up, he was very near no more than twenty feet away. “What happened to the children?”
“They are safe,” Erresh didn’t explain further.
“Come on, Erresh, we have to get out of the city,” Mazhiez pressed.
“Leave, in the middle of battle?” Erresh asked insulted.
“This is not a battle Erresh, this is a slaughter,” Mazhiez cried, sheathing his sword in frusteration.
“It will only be a slaughter if we abandon our people,” Erresh said defiantly glaring up at Mazhiez.
Mazhiez was about to argue more when he saw a dark figure flicker behind Erresh in a doorway.
“Erresh!” Mazhiez called a brief warning and his friend turned. That is, he turned onto the waiting blade of a silver haired elf. Horrified Mazhiez watched as one of his closest friends slumped lifeless to the ground.
Mazhiez choked back tears as the sight made his nervous and building emotions break lose. The dark skinned elf looked up at him with a wicked smile.
“It is indeed a slaughter,” the elf grinned. It was the same elf that had been at the gate. With an aura of terrible power about him, and look of unending cruelty in his face.
“Mazhiez!” Velor called to him, then turned his red horns flashing in the morning light. The small group of warriors was already heading off across another bridge, moving to somewhere else in the city. Mazhiez looked down at Erresh then tore away his gaze and pursued his other friends. What was done was done, lingering in sadness would not bring Erresh back.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“The docks,” said one. “It’s the only way out,”
“We won’t make it out that way,” Mazhiez shook his head. “But there is another way.”
Meer stopped dead and stared at Mazhiez.
“There is no other way out of the city besides the gates and the docks,” Meer said confused.
“No, there is,” Mazhiez asserted. The others looked briefly at each other, then followed as Mazhiez led them left and down. Deeper into the heart of the city.
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