Chapter 461: Chapter 458: The Dusk of War Part 1

Chapter 458: The Dusk of War Part 1

 

  …Four hours before dusk… 

 

  In the Villa District of Hollow Shade, nestled between the vast mansions of wealthy nobles, was a verdant garden decorated with several exquisitely carved statues and delicate rose bushes. Yet none held the attention of the servants more than the centaur prancing atop the fountain’s ledge with only a single hoof at a time. How she managed to perform trick after trick without falling off was like magic and it left the crowd of servants applauding and cheering in delight.

  Rhian basked in the glorious attention and smirked with pride, before showcasing another performance.

  Feli watched from the upstairs window of the Mora manor with a wry smile. “She really has a flair for the dramatic, doesn’t she?”

  Maeve nodded from across the tea table. “She is incredible. I think I’m beginning to understand why Stryg and Rhian are so close.”

  Feli laughed. “Those two are like troublesome siblings, always playing and fighting with each other only to land in trouble with somebody else, usually the guards. You have no idea how many food stands they’ve destroyed while running and bickering through the Trade District.” She smiled warmly in reminiscence, “Still they always had each other’s back without question.”

  “I suppose it helped that Stryg had House Noir’s backing,” Maeve added.

  “And House Mora’s too, hm?” Feli said amusedly.

  “Y-Yes, well, um, yes…” Maeve stuttered.

  Feli didn’t press the matter and her eyes darkened with worry. “I just hope he’s okay, wherever he is.”

  “I’m sure he’ll be fine. Vulture Woods is his home.”

  “Stryg rarely stays in one place for long. I’m not even sure he’s in Vulture Woods anymore.”

  “Where would he be?”

  Feli slumped her shoulders, “That’s what worries me.”

  “I see…” Maeve mumbled. She poured a new cup of tea and offered it to her, “More tea?”

  Feli smiled half-heartedly, “Thank you, for everything. Really. I appreciate you letting Rhian and me stay here for the next few days.”

  “Pssh, it’s fine, don’t mention it. It’s the least I could do, we’re friends after all, at least, I hope we’re friends?” Maeve said nervously.

    “Yeah. Yeah, I guess we are,” she chuckled. 

  Maeve smiled brightly. Worried she might seem weird, Maeve cleared her throat and changed the topic. “Sooo, any news from the temple?”

  Feli sighed, “No good news, really. The head priest Elm doesn’t want to bring the children here, he isn’t worried about any potential invasions into the city. He’s adamant the walls are impenetrable. He’s right, I suppose. Doesn’t change that Melfyn and the older kids want to join the battle. Karen allowed them to go but only if they stayed in the backlines, but knowing Melfyn I wouldn’t be surprised if they went somewhere else.”

  “But that’s dangerous!” Maeve shot to her feet.

  Feli smiled wryly. “It’s fine. The enemy won’t get far. I hear the catapults have already been set up. Those savages will be crushed by giant boulders long before they get close enough for the shades to devour them.”

  “Right…” Maeve said thoughtfully and slowly sat back down. 

  Feli furrowed her brow. “What is it?”

   Maeve forced herself to smile. “Oh, no, nothing at all.”

  “Well, the way I see it, even if the savages get close, the Ruling Houses and their armies will obliterate them all.”

  “What about the losses of House Veres and House Glaz?”

  “Huh?”

  “I heard they lost a significant portion of their army against the enemy out in the valley. And there’s also rumors of a dragon rider.”

  “Even if that is true, we are behind the shade wall.”

  “Dragons can fly.”

  “And we have an army of mages. We’ll shoot down any dragon that gets close. We’ll all be fine and Marek and his people will finally get what they deserve.”

  Maeve bit her lip. “What if the one leading the valley tribal armies isn’t Marek, but someone else…?”

  Feli furrowed her brow. “What are you saying?”

  “What if there was another?”

  “I don’t understand. Are you saying you know something?”

  Maeve nodded reluctantly, “Her name is Ann. What if she isn’t as bad as people think?”

  “Hm… I’ve never heard of her, so I can’t really say anything on that, but if you knew about someone else leading the army, why haven’t you said anything before?”

  Maeve shrugged weakly. “I didn’t know who to tell. Ann showed me a lot of things, truths that had been forgotten… She was going to help me— we were going to help each other, fix everything. But Stryg told me not to trust her and to stay away from her. So I did… but now I’m not so sure.”

  Feli’s expression grew thoughtful at the young vampire’s words. She played with her purple hair as she spoke, “Well, I don’t know anything about this Ann person, but if Stryg told you to stay away from her then I’m sure he had a good reason for it. You did the right thing.”

  Maeve nodded slowly. “I hope you’re right.”

 

~~~

 

  …Three hours before dusk… 

 

  A few streets down the Villa District, sat a smaller more modest manor, the home of House Azol. Though the town of Mellow Bloom was their seat of power, after the recent skirmishes in Dusk Valley, the family had all moved to their Hollow Shade manor to wait out the storm of war.

  Nora Azol stood at the entrance of the manor, dressed in leather armor, the traditional attire of a battle mage. In her hands, she held not a sword nor staff, but a young child, not even a year old.

  Kamilo breathed silently as he slept comfortably in his mother’s arms. Nora couldn’t help but tear up as she watched her son.

  “You don’t have to go…” Lady Isabel Azol said worriedly.

  “I have to do this, mom.” Nora sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes. 

You are reading story Realm of Monsters at novel35.com

  Isabel nodded hesitantly. She handed her daughter a leather satchel, “I made them like you requested.”

  “Thank you, it means a lot, really.”

  “Don’t thank me,” Isabel mumbled in a raw voice.

  Nora kissed Kamilo on the forehead and handed him to his grandmother.

  Isabel held him carefully and turned to her daughter, “I’ll keep him safe.”

  “Thank you, for everything.” Nora hugged them both and stayed with them for a tense brief moment. “Goodbye,” she whispered, then stepped back and headed for the door.

  As she opened the door she was met with two familiar faces. “Kegrog? Freya? What are you two doing here?” Nora said in surprise.

  The burly orc shrugged, “We wanted to give our goodbyes before heading out to our stations.”

  The blonde dwarf looked over Nora’s attire, “Why are you dressed up for battle? Wait, don’t tell me you’re actually planning on fighting? Nora, you can’t. You have Kamilo and—”

  “Don’t worry, I’m not fighting anyone,” Nora laughed reassuringly. She held up her satchel and showed them its contents, a dozen bottles with different swirling liquids. “I’m just delivering the potions my mother made to the medical tent. I plan to stay at the tent to help out with any injured.”

  “Still, the medical tents aren’t far from the wall, it’s dangerous,” Freya said with a frown.

  “I have to do my part,” Nora said firmly.

  Freya sighed with a grin. She hefted her hammer over her shoulder. “If things get too dangerous head straight back home and if home is too dangerous, come find me at the Northern Gate. My House and our soldiers will keep you safe. That goes for your whole family.”

  Nora sighed in relief, “Thanks, that’s good to hear.”

  “I’ll be stationed with one of the academy’s mage battalions,” Kegrog said. “If you need me, I’ll be at the Eastern Gate.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Nora said with a smile.

  “I should get going, my father and siblings are counting on me,” Freya said. She grabbed Kegrog’s forearm and pulled him down for a kiss, before jogging away.

  Nora smirked, “When did this happen?”

  Kegrog blushed and shrugged, “For a while now, but it only became official a few weeks ago.”

  “Good for you,” Nora grinned.

  “Thanks,” he smiled abashedly.

  “Well, I should get going too. These potions won’t deliver themselves. Take care of yourself, big guy.”

  “You’re not going to the medical tents,” Kegrog said quietly.

  Nora’s face twitched for a moment. “What was that?”

  “You’re not going to the medical tents and those aren’t medicinal potions either.”

  “W-What are you saying?” Nora laughed anxiously. “Where else would I go?”

  “I know you’re not going to any medical tents for the same reason why I’m not going to the Eastern Gate.” Kegrog unhooked the quiver tied to his back and showed her the azure-tipped arrows inside, “It took me months to perfect the enchantments.”

  “What do they do?” she asked cautiously.

  “With a skilled archer, strengthened by brown magic? One of these arrows could pierce even the Yellow scales of a high-master mage.”

  Nora looked up at him, eyes wide in understanding. “Kegrog…”

  “Cly loved you, but he was my friend too. Did you think I’d let you do this alone?”

  She smiled tearfully, “Thank you.”

  He threw the quiver on his back and turned to leave. “You coming or what?”

 

~~~

 

  …Two hours before dusk… 

 

  At the Central District, at the heart of Hollow Shade, stood the Ebon Tower, proud in the evening sky. And at the top of the marble steps, at the base of the tower, sat Holo and Unalla.

  Lyrae, the orichalcum scythe, rested on Holo’s shoulder. Its glass-like curved blade burned with a ghostly light, the beacon for the tower’s ebon gate. She felt her strength drain from her body as the ghostly light burned through her mana.

  Holo stared at the waning sun as the hours of twilight began. Tonight would be a new moon and the enemy would begin their siege.

  She sighed in resignation and extinguished the ghostly flame. “Nel isn’t coming.”

  “Lady Holo?” Unalla whispered worriedly. “Shouldn’t we hold out just a little longer?”

  “We have run out of time. I must prepare the envoys before the battle begins.”

  “Envoys?”

  “A parley, before the siege.”

  “You’d meet with those monsters!? After everything?!” Unalla shouted incredulously.

  Holo stood to her feet and dusted off her pants. “You don’t know Caligo. He has a penchant for making deals when people’s lives are most dire. If there is even a small chance of saving this city I must hear it out.”

  “Lady Holo…”

  “Go find your parents. Stay with your family. I’ll come find all of you when this is over.” Holo smiled and then she disappeared in a flash of orange light, leaving behind small traces of ash.

 

 

You can find story with these keywords: Realm of Monsters, Read Realm of Monsters, Realm of Monsters novel, Realm of Monsters book, Realm of Monsters story, Realm of Monsters full, Realm of Monsters Latest Chapter