eteria ruined city of Ashur-Khal

 

The ruined city of Ashur-Khal burned beneath a black eclipse. Broken domes and towering sandstone pillars cast jagged shadows across streets flooded with drifting ash and glowing embers. From every rooftop and shattered archway came the enemy  masked desert assassins in dark robes, war priests carrying black flame lanterns, and armored warriors with curved blades raised toward the invaders who dared challenge the Scorched Dominion.

At the center of the chaos stood the five heroes.

Tsukishiro moved like moonlight through smoke.

The beautiful androgynous East Asian sorcerer wore flowing white robes untouched by the dust and blood around him. Long black hair streamed behind him as black crows spiraled overhead in impossible numbers, their wings blotting out the dim crimson light of the eclipse. Beside him glided a massive snowy owl glowing with pale silver radiance, its wings scattering cold sparks through the burning air.

A cult magus raised a ritual staff from atop a ruined balcony, crimson fire gathering around him.

Tsukishiro lifted one elegant hand.

The shadows beneath the balcony exploded upward.

A cyclone of black feathers swallowed the enemy spellcaster whole as dozens of crows shrieked through the darkness. The snowy owl dove through the storm a heartbeat later, releasing a burst of silver light that shattered the cultist’s fire magic into glittering fragments.

Below, the streets trembled.

The sand mage stepped forward through swirling dust, black and gold robes flowing like liquid shadow. Golden runes ignited across his sleeves as he drove his staff into the cracked stone road.

“Fall beneath the desert,” he whispered.

The ground erupted.

Massive waves of golden sand burst upward between the enemy ranks, swallowing assassins whole while razor-sharp sand blades spun through the battlefield like a storm of scimitars. Enemy warlocks screamed as their dark sigils collapsed beneath the force of the sand mage’s magic.

But the enemy kept coming.

Dozens of masked warriors charged through the dust toward the center line.

That was where Celestine waited.

The blonde knight stood tall in gleaming silver armor streaked with ash and sparks. His blue cloak whipped violently behind him as he raised his radiant shield against a rain of arrows. In his right hand burned a glowing longsword of pale holy light.

“Hold the line!” Celestine shouted.

The first assassin lunged.

Celestine met him head-on, shield crashing into the attacker hard enough to send him flying into the ruins. The knight pivoted instantly, glowing blade carving through another warrior’s curved sword in a burst of sparks.

Beside him, Roan fought like wildfire unleashed.

The redheaded squire ducked beneath a spear thrust before driving both short swords into an enemy assassin with brutal precision. He spun through the dust with agile speed, boots sliding across broken stone as he slashed another attacker across the chest.

“You’re slow!” Roan shouted with a grin, blood and ash streaked across his face.

Then came the roar.

Gothrak burst through the enemy line like a living siege weapon.

The gigantic green orc berserker towered over everyone around him, muscles covered in scars beneath heavy fur and leather armor. With a thunderous roar he swung his colossal double-bladed axe in a devastating arc.

Three desert warriors were thrown aside instantly.

An assassin leapt from above toward Roan 

but Gothrak caught the attacker midair with one massive hand before hurling him through a collapsing sandstone wall.

“Tiny killers everywhere,” the orc snarled.

Across the battlefield, enemy cultists gathered around a towering obsidian shrine glowing with crimson fire. Dark energy spiraled upward into the eclipse sky.

Tsukishiro’s expression finally hardened.

The crows around him exploded outward into the heavens while the snowy owl hovered above his shoulder like a frozen moon.

The sand mage raised both hands beside him, golden storms swirling together with Tsukishiro’s living shadows.

Darkness and sand merged.

Black feathers and glowing golden dust spiraled into a colossal magical vortex above the battlefield.

The enemy looked upward in terror.

Celestine pointed his glowing sword toward the shrine.

“Now!”

The heroes charged together.

Celestine smashed through the front ranks with shield and sword blazing. Roan darted between enemies like a crimson shadow. Gothrak roared as his axe shattered armored warriors apart.

Behind them, Tsukishiro unleashed the storm.

A tidal wave of shadow crows descended from the sky while the sand mage’s golden cyclone ripped through the enemy formation. Black flames vanished beneath silver owl light. Ritual staffs shattered. Assassins disappeared into raging walls of sand and darkness.

The obsidian shrine cracked.

Then exploded in a storm of feathers, fire, and golden light.

Silence swept over Ashur-Khal.

Ash drifted slowly through the air.

The eclipse faded.

And amidst the ruined battlefield, the five heroes still stood together.