Where Ashes and Oaths Collide

Chapter 61: Splinters

At the same time, Amelia slipped through the shadows, the dagger Luz gave her in her hand. Ahead, two guards watched as Luz and Cassandra fought, their attention focused on the fight. One guard hear the faint scraped of her boot and turned. Before he could call out, the girl darted forward with surprising speed. She ducked beneath his reaching arm and struck the hilt of her dagger against his wrist. His weapon clattered to the floor. Using her momentum, she spun past him and shover him off balance. He stumbled into the wall and collapsed to one knee. The second guard reacted immediately, drawing his word and advancing. Amelia backed away as he swung, narrowly avoiding the blow.

She stayed light on her feet, forcing the guard to chase her. When he overextended on another attack, she stepped inside his reach and struck the flat of her dagger against his forearm. The sword slipped from his grasp. The guard then tried to grab her, but she twisted free and swept his legs from beneath him. He landed hard on the tone floor, the impact knocking the breath from his lungs. The first guard had recovered and charged again. She met him head-on, raising her dagger to deflect his attack, the driving it into his chest. Already off balance from the earlier exchange, he stumbled backward and fell.

Supervivente took advantage of the distraction caused by Luz’s team and moved to stand before the massive wooden gate, its weathered planks bound by thick iron bands blackened with age. The door towered above him, easily three times his height, a barrier built to withstand siege engines and battering rams. For a moment, the battlefield around him seemed distant. The sounds of clashing steel and shouted orders faded as he stepped forward. His worn clothes stirred in the wind as he pressed his palms against the gate. Nothing happened at first. Then a faint flow appeared beneath his fingers. Lines of pale blue light spread across the surface of the gate like cracks forming in ice.

The flow crawled outward, weaving through the grain of the wood and around the iron bands. The air hummed with growing power. The old man’s face tightened with concentration. The light intensified. Dust drifted from the gate as the wood began to tremble. Tiny splinters jumped from the surface. The iron bindings groaned under a pressure they had never been meant to endure. The humming deepened into a low, resonant vibration. Cracks raced across the entire structure. The wood shuddered violently. A heartbeat later, Supervivente clenched his hands into fists and the gate exploded. A thunderous crack echoed through the fortress as countless fragments of timber burst outward.

Planks snapped apart, iron bands twisted and tore free, and a cloud of splinters erupted into the air. Chunks of shattered wood flew across the courtyard, bounding and skidding across the stone. A rush of dust billowed through the opening where the gate had stood only moments before. When I finally began to settle, a wide passage lay exposed beyond the ruined entrance. Supervivente lowered his hands, the glow faded from his fingertips, leaving only faint wisps of magical energy drifting away on the wind. On the other side, the corrompido soldiers stared at the destroyed gateway in stunned silence. The fortress’s mighty door– build over decades and trusted for generations– had ceased to exist in the span of a few seconds.

Luz’s amber eyes widened slightly as the gate exploded behind him, the force of Supervivente magic sending debris scattering across the courtyard. His armoured form instinctively pivoted to assess the damage, his tactical mind processing the sudden breach in Cidade dos escravos defences. The corrompido army surged through the opening like a dark tide. Shadowy figures in obsidian armour swarmed the courtyard, their boots pounding against the cobblestone as they poured into the city. The sounds of battle intensified as reinforcements arrived and the soldiers clashed with the guards, who were caught off guard by the sudden breach. “Cassandra, secure Supervivente– we can’t lose him after that display,” Luz called out over the dun, his voice cutting through the chaos with practiced command.

Luz’s amber eyes scanned the battlefield with military precision, already calculating routes and weaknesses. The broad cobblestone street leading to the now destroyed gate has become a battlefield. The once orderly street is now littered with debris from damaged buildings, broken carts, shattered timber, scattered equipment and fallen combatants. The rubble and wreckage create obstacles throughout the fighting area. Flames from the battlements where Darm used his lighting magic had spread to several buildings which are no engulfed in flames. Bright orange fire pours from windows and doorways, consuming wooden beans and sending sparks into the air. Portions of roofs have collapse, exposing charred interiors.

Torn blue banners hand from damaged facades, fluttering amidst smoke and embers. Several large wooden siege towers had followed the corrompido army through the shattered western gate and now their towering structures rise above the crown. The street is packed with armoured soldiers engaged in close-quarters fighting, groups of soldier’s clashes with swords, shields spears, and other melee weapons. As Luz looked around, he struggled to spot Amelia, worry set in, until her saw he being pinned to the wall of a building by a guard. His amber eyes locked onto her pinned against the building wall, the guard’s sword pressed against her throat. A surge of raw fury pulsed through him; the controlled commander façade shattered in an instant.

“Get your hands off her,” Luz snarled, his voice dropping to a dangerous growl that carried across the chaotic courtyard. His armoured boots pounded toward them with predatory speed. The guard turned at the sound of Luz’s approach, his eyes widening in recognition of the corrompido commanders’ presence. “Commander–” “You have one second to release her before I remove your head from your shoulders,” Luz interrupted sharply. His black sword standing ready at his side. Taking advantage of the guard’s distraction, Amelia stabbed the guard from behind. The guard’s eyes widen in shock as her dagger plunged between his shoulder blades.

The guard let out a gurgled cry and stumbled forward, dropping his sword as blood blossomed across the back of his tunic. Luz reached them in two more strides, his armoured hand gripping the guard’s head and wrenching it sideways with brutal efficiency. “Good move,” he said sharply to Amelia, his amber gaze approving as she kicked the dying soldier away. His black sword swept across the courtyard, cutting down another soldier who dared approach their position. “Stay behind me,” he commanded gruffly. “The army will secure this sector soon enough.”