American Gate

Chapter 14: The Serpentfolk

Battle mages form the core of the Serpentfolk military. They are equipped with adamantium-tipped mithril spears, which are sometimes coated with venom. The speed of their lunge attacks allows their spears to easily penetrate most armor and shields. A shield is not very useful for serpentfolk soldiers. Their long bodies cannot be adequately protected by regular-sized shields, so instead they carry more versatile magic staffs.

They use magic to create defensive barriers in place of shields, which offer better protection. These barriers only appear at the front of the serpentfolk, almost like a physical shield, but are larger and have no weight. They can be automatically maneuvered to protect any part of the battle mage's body as needed. Battle mages can also cast other defensive and offensive magic, making them unpredictable in battle.

Serpentolk also make excellent archers. Their greater muscle endurance and excellent eyesight let them take time to aim at precise targets. Aside from being a weapon of war, archery is also a cultural tradition.

Chapter 14: The Serpentfolk

July 5th, 2053

Rontak Valley, Capital City of Ronta, Imperial Palace

Emperor Rontus sat in the palace's war room with his top generals and strategists. They sat around a large circular table in the middle of the room. The entire center of the table was a large map of Kaffnia. The room was lined with various charts and maps. This was the heart of the Rontak Empire's vast military.

Wooden figurines representing major armies were scattered around the map. One of the generals used a wooden pole to slide the small figurine representing the Rontak's Reach garrison off the map. There were no more major armies in Duremar. The Americans would have free reign over the entire province if they chose to continue their invasion.

Emperor Rontus was shaken to his core by Gwuardon's vision. It would undoubtedly haunt his dreams for years to come. As he sat in the war room, he once again relived the terrible sights Gwuardon showed him.

He saw huge waves of soldiers fall to weapons he somehow knew to be called 'machine guns'. He saw clouds of gas mutilate the faces of soldiers hiding in fortified trenches. He saw flying machines called 'airplanes' above great cities that put Ronta to shame. They dropped untold numbers of 'bombs' on the cities below, reducing them to burning cinders.

He saw millions of men, women, children and elderly forced into concentration camps and systematically exterminated in gas chambers. The Rontak Empire never treated the people it conquered so inhumanely.

He saw an airplane drop an object that he knew was called an 'atomic bomb' over a city. He was blinded by a brilliant white light and then saw the entire city destroyed. A huge cloud of smoke and fire in a shape that resembled a mushroom rose high into the sky.

He saw great ships made of iron launch dozens of airplanes, one after another. He saw arrows of fire and smoke, called 'missiles', streak over the horizon. He saw them slam into more ships fully clad in iron armor and sink them with blazing fireballs.

He saw soldiers wearing devices over their eyes that let them see in the dark without magic. They moved through the alleyways of a burned out city. He watched as they fell to enemy golems, known as 'droids', waiting to ambush them with their deadly guns.

He saw huge metal carriages called 'tanks', each one equipped with weapons that far out classed any magi cannon. His vision shook apart as the war machines rumbled by.

He saw the world the Americans come from. He saw how wars were fought in that horrible world. He would not allow the Americans to bring that suffering to his people. He would stop at nothing to make sure their terrible method of warfare went back to the charred and ruined world it came from.