Siege of Arcadia
697 Words
Arcadia.
The sky above the academy had turned a deep burnt orange.
Smoke spiraled through the air like living veins.
Orange shadow creatures crawled across towers, scaling walls, smashing windows. Students screamed as parts of the outer structures cracked and split.
Untrained first-years ran through corridors in panic.
“Move! This way!” an instructor shouted, pushing students toward the underground chambers.
A massive shadow slammed into the training arena, shattering pillars.
BOOM.
The west wing trembled.
—
A portal burst open at the main courtyard.
Mr and Mrs Richardson stepped out first, followed by Headmistress Seraphine, Principal Elowen, and Instructor Kai.
They froze at the sight.
Arcadia was under siege.
Elowen whispered, “She’s serious…”
Kai clenched his fists. “All instructors, defensive formation!”
Seraphine raised both hands, summoning a glowing barrier over the central courtyard.
A shadow creature lunged—
Mr Richardson blasted it back with a burst of energy.
Mrs Richardson summoned a defensive shield with her weopons around a group of trapped students.
“Get behind me!” she shouted.
A tower cracked loudly overhead.
Kai dashed forward, sword igniting with energy, slicing through two creatures at once.
“They’re multiplying!” he yelled.
Elowen lifted her staff, sending out shockwaves that knocked back an entire wave of orange shadows.
But more poured in from every direction.
—
Inside the east corridor, students without full training were cornered.
A massive shadow loomed over them.
“Help!” someone screamed.
Suddenly—
A beam of frost shot across the hall.
The shadow froze solid—
Then shattered.
A group of senior students arrived, panting.
“We’ve secured the lower floors!” one of them said.
“Not enough,” Seraphine replied sharply. “She’s testing us.”
—
High above the courtyard, orange smoke twisted in the sky.
A voice echoed faintly across the academy.
“You train them… but do you prepare them?”
Students froze at the sound.
Kai looked upward. “She’s watching.”
Elowen nodded. “She wants us divided.”
Another explosion rocked the north tower.
Cracks spread along the foundation.
Mr Richardson shouted, “Evacuate the dormitories!”
Mrs Richardson grabbed his arm. “The younger ones are still inside!”
“I’ll go!” Kai said, sprinting toward the building.
—
A shadow creature grabbed a student by the ankle—
Before it could pull him away, Mrs Richardson blasted it apart.
She turned to Elowen urgently. “We won’t last forty-five minutes.”
Elowen’s face hardened. “Then we don’t let it reach that.”
Seraphine began weaving a larger barrier spell.
Golden light expanded outward, pushing shadows back inch by inch.
But orange energy resisted.
Cracks formed in her spell.
Kai returned carrying two unconscious students over his shoulders.
“The west dorm is collapsing!”
A massive section of the roof caved in behind him.
Dust filled the courtyard.
—
Mr Richardson looked at the burning sky.
“She’s forcing us to choose.”
Elowen’s voice was calm but fierce. “We don’t choose.”
She lifted her staff high.
“All remaining instructors — combine your magic!”
Multiple beams of power converged in the center of the courtyard.
The ground glowed.
A shockwave blasted outward.
Half the shadow creatures disintegrated instantly.
Students cheered weakly—
—but new shadows immediately began forming.
Seraphine gasped. “They’re regenerating.”
Kai gritted his teeth. “She’s feeding them power remotely.”
Elowen whispered, “She’s buying time.”
A shadow creature lunged straight at Mr Richardson—
He blocked it—but another struck from behind.
Mrs Richardson screamed his name—
He hit the ground hard.
“Daniel!” she shouted.
He pushed himself up. “I’m fine!”
Another tower groaned.
Stone cracked.
A deep rumble shook the entire academy.
Elowen’s voice cut through the chaos.
“We have less than thirty minutes!”
Seraphine looked at the spreading damage.
“If the central pillar falls—”
“The entire academy collapses,” Kai finished grimly.
Above them, orange smoke swirled thicker.
And faintly—
Very faintly—
A laugh echoed in the wind.
Arcadia was holding.
But barely.
- Writer
