The Heart of Illumia

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Leo swiped at the monster closest to him and he managed to cleave two monsters in half with his massive sword.  The knights gave him a wide berth as he continued to swing his sword left and right, hacking at the monsters like they were thin reeds in a meadow.

            Aidan used his twin swords to hack limbs while Valen used his large mace to squash the heads of fallen monsters.  They moved with deadly precision on either side of their general.  They formed a three layered tier, the warriors at the back serving as archers.  They aimed their arrows with deadly precision onto the creatures’ eyes, blinding them.  Those who were blinded were felled down as their limbs were severed brutally by swords and maimed by maces.  Soon, they were able to whittle down the number of monsters.  The monsters snarled in anger as they retaliated.  Their hands pointed at the knights as they summoned a barrage of elements.  Some called forth water, some with fire and others with wind but they all passed through as if they were unaffected.  Of course, the creatures would not have the brains to realize that each knight was wearing an anti-magic amulet made by Auria. 

            Auria remained in the background, her lips swiftly muttering the spell to keep the barrier on her comrades.  The acid being released by the creatures cackled and hissed around the barrier but was unable to touch the warriors’ skin or armor.  Perspiration started to fall from her damp forehead but she carried on.  There were only a few more left.  Soon it would be over.

            Valen yelped in pain as the acid managed to penetrate the barrier and dripped onto his arm.  Auria refocused her attention on Valen as his barrier weakened.  Immediately, she sent her healing magic towards Valen and managed to reconstruct the skin. 

            “Why is it that they seemed to be coming more in droves?”  Aidan panted as he hacked another creature.  Valen rested his arms beside Auria and Aiden, his body covered in green slime that slowly slid down to the ground.  He leaned on his mace and breathed rapidly to gain more air.

            “They seemed to be waiting for us.  Those things came right from there.”  Valen replied, he made a gesture towards the entrance of the forest.  It seems that the creatures were almost annihilated as slowly their dismembered bodies piled up.  some of the knights slumped on the ground, taking care to stay away from the green slime coming from the creatures’ bodies.  Only General Leo stood as his sword was still intent on hacking its enemies to bits.

            It was finally over.  Leo breathed deeply as he surveyed the c*****e.  He huffed when he could see that they had managed to wipe out the creatures.  When he turned back to the company, they straightened and waited for his orders.

            Auria fell down on her knees as her energy was snapped out of her.  Aidan and Valen immediately came to her aid and assisted her down on the ground.  She wiped her forehead with her forearm and huffed a breath.

            “Check the others for injuries.  Valen, make sure that the creatures are all dead.  Those who are able, pitch up the tents and start up camp.”  Leo ordered his commandants.  They scrambled to do their tasks.  The rest of the company busied themselves with setting up camps.

            Leo knelt beside Auria and looker her in the eye.

            “Can you still do it?”

            Auria knew what he is asking of her.  She had to see if there is a nesting ground inside the forest.  With the way those creatures came out, they might have their breeding ground within the forest, a perfect hideaway for anyone who have plans to take over a kingdom.

            Wearily she nodded.

            “I can do it.”  She replied.

            “You’re tired.  We can do this tomorrow.”  Leo quipped upon seeing the princess looking very drained.  She shook her head.

            “We might be attacked.  It is best to make sure those creatures are no longer there before we can actually sleep tonight.”  She replied before kneeling on the ground and pressing her hands onto the dirt.  She concentrated her energy as she sent the magic to sweep through the forest.  At first, she wanted to decline doing this so soon after the first attack.  But then she remembered her promise to herself that she would do this for those who can no longer fight.  She would do this for the women who were killed because of these creatures’ greed and she would do this for Illumia’s future.

            She closed her eyes and beads of perspiration began to pop out again from her forehead.  The strain was starting to build again as she felt the forest trying to block her powers from probing further.  She soothed the elements by harnessing what she needed.  She murmured an incantation and her energy formed into a mist that blended with the dense fog inside the forest, allowing her to do her probe properly.  Tears formed in her eyes at what she had seen. 

            Still she tried to find any sign of life, any indication that what those monsters had done did not result in complete death.

            Unfortunately, any sign of life was only done by the same creepy creatures.

            Sighing, Auria breathed an apology before she enveloped the area with her energy.  She imagined the fire burning everything: the creatures, the dead bodies and the portals.  There were at least two.  She traced their sources and found the first one to be connected to Cambria while the other connected to Virui.  She burned everything and the forest seemed to be thanking her for liberating them

            She stopped when she was sure that there was nothing left of the abominations inside the forest.  Her tears continued to fall down her cheeks as she slumped down and fixed her gaze in the distance. 

Leo saw what happened.  He knew that it was worse from the first nesting ground in the ruins.  He sighed and looked at Aidan pointedly.  The young man nodded before he ordered the bodies of the creatures to be piled up.  Each knight made a pile and when they were done, they sent their blue fire to burn them.  Leo nodded at his subordinates and turned his attention at the princess.

“Are you okay?”  He asked softly.  He took a seat beside her and laid his sword beside him.

“I don’t know if I can be okay, uncle.  There were more women in there.  Their wombs ripped out by the creatures’ offspring.  They have left the portals open from there to Cambria and Virui so those might be likely nesting grounds too.  They might have been at this for a long time now, uncle.”  Auria grabbed her chest and made a pained sound.

“How can I move on from this?  They were women.  Who would do such a thing?”

“Well, they are called monsters for a reason, little one.  They have no brains to decide what is right or wrong but their actions do not excuse them for what they did.  They are mindless creatures made to create and to destroy.  Our only mission is to end these things before they could do more than just overrun our kingdom.  Our priority is to save what needs to be saved and to protect what needs to protect.  If you let them run around, they would have killed that woman too, the one whom you saved the other day.  You cannot save them all but at least you tried.  I am proud of you and I’m sure your mother would be too.”

Auria stayed silent as she looked towards the darkened sky.

“Yes, I’m sure you’re right, uncle.”

*****

            Auria watched as the embers died down from the fire her friends made.  She volunteered to do the first watch since she could not sleep especially after what had happened.  She thought she could use the time to think of a way to find these creatures quickly before more harm can be done.  She closed her eyes and focused on harnessing the energies of the land.  This was a new spell she had created in order to lessen the burden of using magic on her body.  She would borrow what she needed from the land and use it as part of her essence.  Her grandfather had warned her that if she used her powers too much, the consequences may be dire.  The only thing she could do is to allocate the energy properly and use it at the appropriate time.

            As she focused on her meditation, she could feel the energy of the land returning to its former strength.

            Welcome home, our queen.  The sprites whispered in her ear.

            Auria smiled and lifted her hands and opened them palms up.  Small winking lights landed on her opened palm, their pointed wings fluttering in the wind.  The sprites calmed her as she took more energy to heal her friends and what was taken from her.

            “Good evening, my queen.”  A beautiful voice spoke in the stillness. 

            Auria looked up and her smile widened.

            “Lady Giselle.  It is an honor to be in your presence.”

            The fairy queen chuckled before calling her minions back.

            “We are sorry to disturb your musings.  These little ones were very excited to see the new queen of Illumia and wanted to greet you.”

            Auria gently bowed and waved her hand.

            “There is no need to fret, Elle.  I am more bewildered why you decided to come out.”

            The fairy queen’s smile waned and she sighed.

            “War is almost upon us, little queen.  I bring you news.”