Adjucanis: March
The Guarphaord Wardens marched out of Filistion, and Adjucanis led them across the desert.
It was late, and the Orb sank low into the sky, hovering just over the phalanx’s collective shoulders, lengthening the shadows until they stretched on to the dusky horizon. Mustered with an hour’s notice, the Wardens advanced toward Ephraa, the latest Agoan city to come under Maroe attack. Twenty strong Guarphaordz strode in step behind Adjucanis, and as he stared out into the night his clawed hands twitched as he imagined tearing those flying scavengers apart.
It was early morning when they reached Ephraa. Adjucanis, still at the head, strode into the ruined city, and his Wardens followed. Broken towers, their sides torn open to the fresh orblight, loomed over the Guarphaordz. Collapsed homes and stores cast jagged, dark shadows across the streets and squares.
When the Guarphaordz entered the city’s central plaza, Maroe exploded into the pale red sky, wings beating, tails writhing as they swarmed into a formation. They poured out of ruined temples, shattered windows, and caves of rubble. At least 100 pairs of wings clawed the air and maws screamed obscenities at the fatigued Wardens. Yet, to a one, the Guarphaordz charged forward, their armor glinting in the orblight. Adjucanis was well ahead, screaming his battle cry, as the horde of Maroe plummeted out of the sky with swords, axes, and halberds drawn and thirsting for more blood.
As the Orb tracked across the sky, Maroe dead began to far outnumber Guarphaord casualties. Stray hex slashes tore at the ground. Blood sank deep into the sand. The weak cries of the injured were lost among the clash of blades and crack of whips. Slowly, it morphed into a running battle. Adjucanis led his Wardens in a calculated withdrawal, slowly giving ground to draw the Maroe out of Ephraa and into the open. A forest of Augmented hex strikes trailed behind the Wardens as they pulled back, and a constellation of point explosions filled the sky.
Still, the Maroe pursued—borne aloft as much by bloodlust as the morning air.
It was when the Orb reached its height, and only the strongest were left standing on both sides, that Adjucanis found himself facing Izugross, the raid’s leader. With his chestplate trimmed with Agoan bones and wings that were more scar tissue and slashes than any sort of flesh, Adjucanis recognized him immediately. As the stench of blood and offal surrounded Adjucanis, and smoke still rolled from the remains of Ephraa, he swore this would be the last time Izugross led a raid.
Unfortunately, it was a familiar oath.
In the blink of an eye, Izugross closed the distance and aimed his massive sword at the Guarphaord’s neck. The move initiated a familiar, and lethal, dance between the two as they spun, blocked, struck, and parried while they sought an edge over the other.
It was when Izugross performed his most powerful Smite attack he had available, and missed, that the familiar dance took a horrific turn.
Adjucanis had easily dodged the blow, as he Bent time and Dared against the technique. The attack flowed around him, crushing the surrounding earth. The Guarphaord gazed at Izugross, silently daring the Maroe to do his worst. Izugross complied, and unleashed his most powerful Smite yet. When the heavy sword and its powerful Hex strike sank deep into the ground, blasting the crater still deeper, Adjucanis gave it little thought other than how he had some advantage being on high ground.
Izugross beat the air with his wings, spiraling upward. The Maroe somersaulted, tucked his wings in, and dove toward Adjucanis.
The crater erupted. The shockwave threw Adjucanis to the ground, and a pillar of dust and debris exploded into the air. A roar so loud, so deep, it rattled Adjucanis’ teeth to their roots, issued from the thinning cloud.
Wings, massive wings, ripped the air and scattered the dust to the furthest corners of Sareste.
Looking up, Adjucanis saw his longtime foe clenched in a jaw that had more teeth than any natural creature. The Maroe weakly beat his sword against the beast’s russet scales, but it did no damage against the craggy hide. The jaws twitched and Izugross disappeared down the monster’s gullet. His sword pinwheeled through the air before driving deep into the earth blade first.
The beast roared again, and the ground shattered as it rose up on at least four legs. It shook off sloughs of soil and rock and roared again. Buildings in Ephraa already damaged in the raid gave in at this latest aural assault. Adjucanis barely heard the collapsing stone his ears were ringing so loudly.
He looked around him. Wounded Maroe were trying to slither or fly away one by one, while his fellow Wardens evacuated the wounded as they were trained.
Adjucanis could only sit there in wonder while the beast ponderously turned, gnarled claws sinking into the ground and rattling the land, before it moved toward what was left of Ephraa. It passed over Adjucanis, ignoring such a small threat, and its massive bulk blotted out the Orb and the sky, leaving him in dark shadow while the beast passed overhead. He could see the rock-like scales shifting and twitching with each titanic step, and he wondered how any weapon could hope to pierce them.
More stones collapsed, crashing into ever larger deltas of rubble, as the beast lumbered through Ephraa. Adjucanis watched its progress, and saw how the thick tail whipped to and fro, dashing the city into memory. Seeing the crescent of destruction in its wake brought the Guarphaord Warden out of his shock.
“Such threats should not be alight in this world,” Adjucanis murmured to himself. “I shall destroy it, those of its ilk, and all those foolish enough to ally with such an evil. I shall tear them from this system with these claws unto my extinguishment or their total annihilation. So I swear."