The dragon’s iridescent white scales gleamed in dawn’s light as it soared above the shimmering snow-covered plains of the Kingdom of Luminor. Below, the valiant ranks of the Royal Army stood in awe of its majestic form. Such power, Knight Commander Cayden mused from atop his trusty mare as the mighty flap of the dragon’s massive wings stirred the flow of mana in his body. The deep ebony skin on his chiseled face radiated a soft glow in the light’s warm embrace, and the frost on the gray fur of his loyal bond—an earth elemental wolf—sparkled with a magical sheen.
Beside him, Vice Commander Yorn sat tall on his battle-tested steed, his unruly blond hair dancing in the cold wind alongside the banners bearing the kingdom's emblem, a resplendent golden tree cradled by sun rays. Just then, the heavy mantle of silence blanketing the soon-to-be battlefield was torn asunder by a harrowing war cry that sounded from the distance. Both Commanders put on their open-face helmets and set their fierce gazes on the army of shadow mages, mercenaries, and beasts ominously filling the horizon.
“Things are looking grim,” Yorn said with his husky voice, eyes troubled by the difference in their numbers as he turned to survey their own weary battalion of knights, mages, and elementals, including his own bond, a ferocious-looking fire elemental salamander. "The black dragon may also join the fray at any moment, drawn to chaos like a moth to a flame."
Cayden, ever stoic, said, “It will.”
Yorn sighed. “Then it is fortunate the white dragon is with us, just as it is unfortunate that Elric could muster so many more into his madness.”
“Those who do not walk in the light of their spirit, are destined to follow in the shadow of tyrants,” Cayden remarked, glancing at a regal hawk gracefully soaring above the old fort that had been captured by the one known as the Shadow King. His army’s black flag twirled in the wind, bearing the chilling emblem of a dagger cleaved into a skull that was held by a monstrous hand, and entwined with the sinuous coils of a feathered, winged serpent. Why did it have to come to this, Elric? Cayden wrestled with painful memories and a slew of guilt-ridden thoughts.
“Whether for vengeance, profit, or power, they have made their choice, just as we have made ours,” Cayden finally said, casting his eyes toward the radiant pillar of light piercing the sky above the Kingdom’s Capital nestled in the Northern Mountains. “Though the darkness in men cannot be vanquished through war, we must protect the kingdom, no matter the cost.”
“For all the things we believe define us, we are nothing but the lump sum of our choices,” Yorn said, tightening his grip on his formidable enchanted steel spear. “We swore an oath as Royal Knights to safeguard the kingdom that took us in. That vow has been the whetstone of purpose that has sharpened the once dull blade of my will. Even if we fall, it will stand.”
Cayden acknowledged his words, saying, “No one escapes death, old friend, but death is not the end. Even if we are to fall, I will see you in the next life, Fire Blood Yorn.”
“And I will see you, Light Blade Cayden.” Yorn offered him a half-smile and a nod, also alluding to his friend’s fabled name that had spread across the land through tales and songs honoring their heroic deeds.
Cayden then turned his attention to the loyal men and women that had followed them through thick and thin for the past fours years of the war, keenly aware of their watchful gazes. He knew they looked to him not for signs of fear, but for glimmers of unwavering resolve to bolster their own. He squared his shoulders and pulled on the reins of his horse, guiding it to face them. I can’t let them fight with the battle already lost in their minds.
“Soon, our magic and steel will meet theirs,” Cayden said, projecting his voice to reach not only their ears, but also their hearts. “Stay strong. Be brave. A day may come when our resolve may falter, but let it not be today. Today we fight to protect our homes and the ones we love. We fight for the men and women next to us. We fight so that our young may know peace. We fight to lift the darkness that has descended upon our land once and for all.”
Cayden raised his sword high, its blade glowing with increasing radiance as he imbued it with light magic. Yorn lifted his spear, setting it fiercely ablaze with fire magic. All of their mana fields swelled with power, and their voices erupted into a united thunderous roar, “for the kingdom!”
The hundreds of knights, mages and elementals surged forward, charging headlong toward an army that numbered in the thousands. Despite the overwhelming odds, their resolve to protect the kingdom was now as unshakable as the Northern Mountains at their backs. This was to be the final battle in what would later be known as The Shadow War.
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