FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The deep, metalic aroma of blood filled the streets of Meronna. The few who survived now took refuge in the massive forge beneath the castle, cradling their children and wondering when the screams would end. In the courtyard, a handful of guards stood fighting the vast seas of imperial soldiers which spilled through all but the eastern gates of the city.

In the midst of all of it, his simple crown a top his head stood Alexander, his armor and blades drenched in blood. A fire burned in his eyes, every stroke of his swords was driven by something more now. When a group of swordsmen spilled through the gates before him he leaped forward, his blades sinking into the center of the three.The weight of the young king blasted the air from his lungs hard and his dying moment was spent gasping for air.

The other two recoiled a bit from the sight but they believed the attack was one of a desperate man, this belief stuck with them as both struck and as both stopped in their tracks, a blade slamming home through their armor, their blood mixing with that of their fallen companion. One by one the soldiers came and one by one without fail the fox cut them asunder, severing arms and heads without mercy.

As the fighting continued, Alexander found himself slowly tiring. With every killing blow and every enemy felled into the growing pools of blood staining the cobblestones of the streets he could feel his movements slowing, little by little. He could feel the warmth in his fingers slowly fading, draining from the knuckle-whitening grip he kept on his hilts.

Alexander had been fighting for what felt like hours before the waves stopped and the rush of soldiers stopped. He stared around at the soldiers, circling him and the two soldiers who still stood to fight. It wasn't until he saw the swirling shadows beneath him that he realized what was happening. Up from the ground itself rose a familiar figure, clad in armor as dark as the night sky and with eyes glowing with a dull crimson light.

"You!" Alex snapped, his grip on the swords tightening even further. "I'll kill you!" His body jerked into motion, his blades flying in, one low and one high, trying to impale the ferret quickly. However, the sudden snap of his blades when they hit the writhing, seemingly living darkness that hung from his armor caught him off guard and he could only stare at the broken steel as Sigfried whirled around. The ferret quickly caught the poor fox in the back of the head with the blunt of his massive blade, sending him rag-dolling across the cobblestones.

"This is going to be too easy," Sigfried mused, his thin fangs glistening in the light. "just like your father."

*****

With a path carved through the battlefield behind him, Vael approached the battered gates of the city he'd come to see as his home. Blood coated his arms from paw to elbow now and thin tendrils of the crimson fluid lay across his face and neck, already beginning to dry slowly. Few soldiers stood in his path now, many had seen the power he wielded so freely and few had the heart to stand against him; the ones who did did not last long.

The sound of steel against steel and stone greeted him at the gates, louder here than anywhere else it seemed and the view that welcomed him chilled him to the bone. Alex faced off against Sigfried, their blades singing with every strike parried. The darkness around the wicked ferret had seemed to come to life, rising up from his shadow to swat away the incoming arrows of the few archers who still lived.

His fur rose on end when he saw Sigfried drop Alex to the ground with a well-placed kick to the chest. As the slender ferret aimed his blade for the killing blow, Vael's anger and fear came rushing out in a gutteral cry, his hands outstretching towards the figure. The air between Sigfried and Vael took form then, becoming a thousand tiny daggers that flew towards the ferret.

The tendrils tried to cut down the onslaught of flying blades, but they cut through the darkness with a razor edge. Sigfried barely had time to dodge the fatal strike. A few of the daggers caught his arm as he dove to one side, narrowly avoiding the bulk of the attack. When he rose again he looked to Vael, a wicked smile drawn across his lips.

"It seems this is my lucky day," he sneered wickedly, "I'll have taken Ha'Lar and killed a powerful Alchemist in the process. My Lord will be pleased." With a strange chuckle, Sigfried raised his massive sword to rest on his shoulder, beckoning to Vael with a stone finger.

In his anger, Vael rushed in, his fists ready and wreathed in crackling lightning. Alex tried to stop him, tried to shout, "No!" but the sound only came as a cough as he struggled to regain his breath. As the slender fox lept at Sigfried - putting his entire body behind the blow as he had before - a series of arms sprung up from the ground; from the very shadows cast by various objects. The hands gripped tight at Vael's body, their long fingers entangling his arms and legs, their grip tightening ever more when he struggled.

"Did you really think you could hurt me?" Sigfried called through a laugh born of twisted glee. "I am Sigfried Renald! Emperor of Marthala and Ruler of this world!" He whipped his sword around as the dark hands pulled Vael close, holding the massive thing with ready with one hand. "And you, are just another pitiful excuse for a life. Goodbye, little fox."

As Sigfried swung his massive blade, Alex whipped one of his sword out, sending it spinning through the air, cutting through two of the arms holding Vael. The other two tried to hold the slender fox in place but quickly found blades of air slashing through them. Vael's form dropped from the air just in time for Sigfried's blade to swipe just above his head.

The ferret's eyes went wide when he felt the shock and the pain of a fist slamming into his jaw, whipping his head back as he staggered several feet. Vael didn't wait for him to recover from the blow, darting after him and driving another blow into his gut, the force knocking the wind from him as arcs of electricity trailed up his armor. Vael's assault on the ferret was unrelenting, blow after blow landing on the now very stunned ferret.

Alex managed to get himself up, his breath returning to him as he retrieved his sword and jumped in on the assault, lunging with both of his blades for the killing blow but at the last second, Sigfried cried out, "Enough!!" and the ground beneath him trembled, the earth cracking away as fire belched up from beneath.Alex and Vael had no choice but to pull back, cut off from their target by a wall of flames.

The crackling of the flames drown out all sound for a moment as Vael and Alex stood ready, waiting for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, a voice rose over the flames, "Now it's my turn!" and Sigfried lept through the fire, slamming his stone fist into Vael's chest and sending Alex skidding back with one swing of his massive sword.

*****

Looking over the courtyard from the window of one of the four spires of the castle, his amber eyes focused on the forms below, was Lyran. His paws gripped tight to his twin axes as he watched, shaking his head slowly. he sat on his haunches in the open window, waiting for the perfect time, after all; he'd only have one shot at Sigfried from here.

With a soft sigh and a shake of his head, he stood, stretching his legs as he rose to his full height, then positioned a footpaw against the outer wall and sprang away from the window. The wind whipped past his ears, whispering countless promises of swift death as he fell, as his body descended quickly towards it's target. At this moment however, he didn't care.

Lyran's body pulled, his weight shifting to bring him into a strait dive towards the ground, towards the image of Sigfried he'd seen from above. What would be only moments, to his mind was an eternity. He took his time, lining up his path with subtle movements of his well-toned body and at the last moment, he whipped himself into a vertical flip, holding his axes ready and tightly for their first mark.

Sigfried could hardly believe his eyes as he looked up just in the knick of time and with barely enough time to react. Dark hands flew from the ground around him, trying to grab the wolfen form aimed at him like a bolt. Two of he shadowy appendages were the first to fall, cut in half by waiting axes, the texture of the semi-corporeal things only barely enough to slow Lyran's descent.

When his paws touched the ground, Lyran lunged forward, his axes biting into the remaining two dark, spectral hands and following through. Sigfried could barely react in time to bring his arm into their path, his flesh and fur solidifying into stone just in time for the blades to slam into them. The strike showered the ferret in sparks and tiny chunks of stone debris; chunks that had once been strands of fur.

Lyran came in, blow after blow swung wildly at the ferret, the rage in the anarian warriors eyes burning like amber flames. It was all Sigfried could do to block and parry, finding no room in the assault to regain equal ground. Lyran might have ended the fight, then and there if he'd only known his advantage, that the stone was being worn away with each strike of his mighty axes but victory was not his goal.

It was only a second, only the briefest of moments when Lyran's eyes flicked away from Sigfried as he called out, "Run!" to his friends. It was only the blink of an eye but it's all Sigfried needed. Noticing the advantage, he slung his stone hand out in front of him, releasing the energies building up in his arm in one quick burst. Suddenly, the air around his hand burst into flames which snaked and whipped as if alive, biting into Lyran's right arm, tearing through the fur and marring the flesh with ease.

It was only a moment, only the briefest of moments but it was all Sigfried needed to regain control...

*****

With the sudden appearance of Lyran, Sigfried wasn't the only one thrown off balance. Alex and Vael too had not expected their savior, had fully expected for their fight with Sigfried to be theirs alone. Both were tired from their prior battles and seeing Lyran's advantage in the fight, the two did not hesitate when their friend barked the order to run.

The ring of metal on stone chased them as they took for the eastern gate, Alex's blades cutting through one soldier who stood in their way as they went, never stopping to see the figure fall in two where he stood. They believed their friend to be behind them, staving off the advances of Sigfried as he fled. They realized how wrong they were when the sound of battle began to fade.

Both Alex and Vael stopped and turned, looking through the gate at the distant fight. Both gasped in horror as they saw the spectacle. A battered and badly burned Lyran stood, axes still in his grasp, still ready to fight even as he knelt, Sigfried's blade rammed through his chest and out his back. Alex lurched as if to run back into the fray, but Vael stopped him.

"Let go of me!" Alex demanded, trying to break free of Vael's hold, "We need to help him!" Every part of him was screaming for vengeance, masking the obvious with delusions of saving his dying friend. When Vael's arms wrapped around him it stopped, the rage and hate replaced by sudden waves of sorrow as he stared at the distant spectacle.

"He's gone.." Vael said softly, tugging Alex back to start him moving again as he slowly let go. "He gave his life for us, Alexander. If you go back now his death will have meant nothing."

Hesitantly, Alex turned again, looking over his shoulder one final time with a sigh. "Goodbye, my friend.." he said softly, turn took off after Vael, the two of them heading for the edge of the Forest of Souls.