Back at the Ironfell Castle

_ _ _

An old, white-haired man could be seen seated at the far end of a rectangular table in a big room, his hands were crossed as he studied a blue transparent hologram displaying a horde of monsters running at full speed.

They numbered thousands, dragon-snake hybrids known as flood dragons, their scales were bright red and they had green horns, they were all led by a single Beast King. A monster possessing the head of a snake, red scaled and sharp claws, it was known as a Millenial beast, a beast that had lived for a thousand years.

There were other types such as the centennial beasts, which had lived for hundred/hundreds of years. There were Myriads, these are beasts that have been alive for over ten thousand years. Beasts that lived above a hundred thousand years were highly rare, most of them had evolved into sentient beings, possessing extremely high spirit energy.

"A beast tide?" Alaric asked in a calm tone, turning his gaze to Rhoarin, who sat on the right side of him. Over the years he had seen a lot of carnage and destruction, he had learned how to control his emotions.

Rhoarin, however, although not panicking; had a look of serious concern. "Yes, father. There are thousands of them."

"And you sure they are headed here?" The old man asked again.

Rhoarin gave a small nod.

Alaric turned his gaze back to the hologram, taking a deeper look at these monsters, their expressionless faces, their unbridled bloodlust.

"Patriarch! Remember what happened during the last beast tide, we lost thousands, our front was depleted, lives lost—" a member of the court had began to rant.

"Silence, Jon! Let me think." Alaric cut him off, getting up slowly and walking to the window. He looked outside for a moment and then sighed.

"Where are they currently, and has their presence affected any of the neighboring towns." Alaric asked, his gaze unshifting.

"The town of Marlboro has already felt the full brunt of their attack, the survivors have taken shelter in Zethurne, but there is fear that they might be cut down as well." Another member of the court, Ethan, said.

"I—It seems though that these towns are only collateral damage—from the way they move. It is certain that their final destination is this castle, they only cut down whoever’s in their way." Jon spoke again, steadying himself a little.

"Let’s not forget the monsoon that accompanies them." Rhoarin added.

The court went silent again, Alaric sat down at the table now, his fingers intertwined as his thumbs rested on the bottom of his jaw.

"We need to intercept them somehow, we cannot allow them to go any further." He finally spoke up.

"What do you suggest we do father?" Rhoarin asked, his gaze expectant.

"We will send troops to neighboring towns on the west and request alliance, in the next three days—Then we send out reinforcements to intercept the beasts on the war front. We cannot allow this Beast ride to consume the continent."

"Very well. I will lead the reinforcements, accompanied by Karron."

"Good!" Alaric finalized, "If there are any new developments, let me know."

The council was immediately dismissed and everybody proceeded to carry out their individual tasks, there wasn’t need to inform them personally as they already knew their respective jobs, based on the titles they had been given.

After a while, Alaric could be seen standing in the same spot, looking out on the land.

’A war is coming, and somehow—I always felt it.’ He mused inwardly, he was a veteran of countless battles, but this one, this one rattled him to the core for some reason.

’If the heavens are with us, then we will surely overcome this.’ He thought again, steeling his resolve.

Elena had overheard the council meeting and was now aware of the incoming beast tide.

She ran to her chambers before anyone could spot her, her mind racing. She wondered about Jacob, how he was faring — she also wondered about Rhoarin, who knows what awaited him on the battlefront.

"Um... Shadow thing... soldier, Jir—" she began to mutter.

"At your service!" The shadow of Jaran appeared before her, startling her for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Okay. Jacob told me you were a demonic mage, is that right?" She asked, looking at the wavy, shadowy figure, its golden hair seemed to be blowing in the wind, because of how it moved slowly, side to side.

"Yes, my Lady." The shadow responded.

"And you can cast a protective barrier on this castle?"

"Yes I can."

"Good," she said, "You and I will combine our powers and cast a barrier on the castle—those beasts, if they ever make it here, at least they would be easier to handle."

So the both of them started, they chanted for about five minutes and suddenly a yellow light appeared above the castle. It started to spread slowly, then quickly. Before long there was a thick yellow dome that surrounded the entire castle grounds.

Elena let out a breath of relief, looking up at the ceiling.

She turned to Jaran, who stood listlessly. "Very good, you are dismissed," she said, watching as the shadow instantly evaporated into nothingness.

_ _ _

Later that evening, Rhoarin returned to their marital chambers, he was weary from his daily activities.

He took off his gloves and sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his eyes. Elena was already seated at the head of the bed, a pillow in her lap, the left strap of her silk dress hanging off her shoulders. She was knitting a sweater, a hobby she had taken on shortly before giving birth to Jacob.

She found peace and joy in such activities, so she never stopped. Not even now.

"Welcome home dear." She said, looking up from her knitting momentarily.

"Thank you, my love." Rhoarin said, grabbing one of her pristinely pedicured foot and kissing it.

She smiled. The room went silent for a moment.

"I’ll be leaving in two days." Rhoarin said, his back still turned to her.

"Why?" She asked.

"As you may already know, there is a beast tide incoming, I have already been instructed by father to take Karron out to the battle front and intercept them."

"You have been instructed?—or you chose to go?" She raised an eyebrow.

Rhoarin furrowed his brows and sighed, "What would you have me do? I can’t sit idly by and do nothing."

Elena dropped her half knitted sweater and moved closer to him, wrapping her tiny hands around his neck.

He, in turn, caressed the length of her arm.

"I know you, Rhoarin, I know you can’t sit by and watch those monsters terrorize innocent people—which is why—I’m coming with you." She said confidently.

Rhoarin was about to protest but she placed a finger on his lip.

"I am stronger than any soldier you place on that battle front, I’m not taking no for an answer. Now, we can either argue about it, or we can do something else."

The castle was quiet that night, but every one was now aware of the looming danger and they were going to do all in their power to protect what they could, and defeat their enemy.