The Element Table

Chapter 25: Let The Battle Begin

Caine stood in the plain between the forest and the first building of the North. He was staring at the trees, waiting for an attack.

Earlier that day, shadow warriors that had escaped from the south, came to him with the news that the new guardians were safe and alive and that they would attack soon. He had smiled at the information, did they really think they could defeat him? He was upset at first when he was informed that they got away, but he was now happy for the opportunity to destroy them himself.

He gathered Abdul and some of his warriors to formulate a plan. He wasn't about to be beaten by "children" as he called them. The plan was put into play, and now Caine and his warriors stood not far from the edge of the forest, while a few others roamed it.

They had been waiting a while, and Caine was fantasizing about killing the guardians, even though he didn't know what they looked like. He was pulled from his fantasy by the sound from one of his creatures. He turned to them, and it pointed to the sky.

From where they stood, they were able to see the top of the barrier. They watched waves appear on it.

"What's happening, master?" Abdul asked

"They're removing the barrier," Caine said, trying to hide the worry in his voice

He stared at the fading barrier. He knew that there were only two ways to remove that barrier. One, the Sun Queen had all power to reverse his spells. But he had killed her, so that couldn't be it. So there was only one other explanation. The book of Dark Magic. He had been looking for it this whole time, not knowing that the new Guardians had somehow gotten possession of it. He knew right then that he had to get it back, that his rise to full power depended on it.

He turned to Abdul and his warriors.

"Be ready!" he said

They nodded and readied themselves, getting in line. Caine was ready to fight, no one was going to get in his way.

°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°

The warriors in the forest roamed around, looking for any signs of the guardians. Things were quiet and uneventful, and they were beginning to wonder if there was even an attack coming.

But soon, everything changed.

Not too far from where two warriors stood, the sound of leaves being stepped on could be heard. Small skeletal heads turned towards the sound, but they saw nothing. They ventured towards the sound, hoping to find something once they got closer. They finally got there, and still, they found nothing. Their tensed thin shoulders relaxed at the absence of a threat and they were about to lift their legs to walk away. But then they realized, they couldn't move. They looked down with their red eyes and saw tree roots had somehow grown over their feet. They were confused, though their boney faces couldn't show it.

They were about to unhook their feet when the root tightened and the tip started to move up their legs. They tried to pull away, but nothing could remove them from the roots tightening grip. The more they moved, the faster it grew. Soon, their weapons had fallen to the ground and the roots were around their necks.

The tightening stopped, and so did the growing. The warriors thought that this might be their chance to get out of their confinement. But they were wrong.

They heard a weird sound coming from the ground, and they quickly looked down. The surface of the forest floor seemed to be getting closer and closer to their faces. They quickly realized that they were being pulled underground and that was when their gut-wrenching screams began.

The shadow warriors hated being underground in the shadow world, and we're very excited when they learned Caine was bringing them above ground. The thought of going back was terrifying to them.

The deeper they got into the ground, the softer their cries got. Not because they tired from their screaming, but because the roots were beginning to tighten around their bodies again, and making a sound became more difficult by the second. Their voices became strangled, then completely silent just before their heads disappeared into the dirt.

There was silence for a while but then there was the sound of a heavy boot hitting the ground.

Ryia straightened her body before looking up at the branch she was just standing on. Hiding that high up would have been a problem for others, but for the woman who frequently climbed trees as a child, it was now issue.

She pulled down the green chemise that she wore under her armour, then straighten the armour itself. It was brown and made of metal and leather. She loved that it hugged her curves and only had one short sleeve that covered one shoulder. Her pants were brown, along with her heavy boots.

She looked over at the heap of dirt with a smile on her face. She actually did it. It took a lot of concentrating and some quick practising late at night, but she finally did it. Her grandfather would be so proud of her.

She walked up to the tree and was about to lay her hands on it, wanting to give it well-done pat, when sudden movement caught her attention. She quickly turned and found three shadow warriors approaching her with their swords raised high.

She quickly placed her hands on the tree and began to concentrate. Soon, roots emerged from the ground and grabbed on to the warriors.

She could have done it without touching the tree, but she found that physical contact made it much easier for a newbie like her.

Like the two before, these three ended up wrapped in roots and buried in the ground. Ryia surveyed her surroundings before dropping her hands off the tree. She didn't need another surprise attack.

She turned in the direction of the wall and began to make a clicking sound. It was something her father and brother taught her so that they could find her if she ever got lost.

At the end of the forest, close to the wall, a group of heavily armed people waited in the clearing that was there. They stood alert at the sound of the clicks. They began to move forward, leaving the other groups behind waiting for their signals.

This was part of their plan. Ryia, Henry and Morgaine chose a path through the forest and checked for warriors. Once it was mostly cleared, they would send a signal out to their group so they could move forward.

Ryia was the first to send out her signal, then Henry, then Morgaine. Alianor, Philip, Alistair and Zoricus were on a different route, a different task at hand for them.

The three large groups made their way through the forest, defeating the few shadow warriors they met. They got closer and closer to Caine's army, who was impatiently awaiting word from his warriors.

"Where are they?" he inquired about his creatures whereabouts "Have the Guardians not moved yet?"

"Would you like me to send more warriors Master?" Abdul asked

He was about to answer with a 'Yes' when something caught his attention. It wasn't a sight, nor a sound, but a smell.

"What is that smell?" Caine asked, his nose turned up "It smells like something is burning"

"Like flesh" Abdul answered "Burning dead flesh" he specified

Suddenly the sound of a muffled cry and rustling bushes came from the forest. Soon, from behind a tree, stumbled a shadow warrior. Though, he didn't quite look like one anymore.

Its dark skin was now darker than ever, burnt to a crisp. There were patches of skin that were still on fire. Muffled sounds came from its mouth that was now burnt shut.

The creature stared at its master, the red glow in its eye sockets slowly fading. Caine and his other warriors stared, knowing that there was nothing more that could be done. Eventually, the glow was gone and its body fell to the ground, turning into ash as it hit it and blowing away in the wind.

Hands tightened around weapons, fighting stances were taken up once again. Caine's eyes stared in between the trees, eyes squinting in excitement and anticipation.

"They're here"