Spellbreakers at Realm's Edge, Part 6

Whence the Blood Flows

Again, Laelanyel stared deep into the Umbral Spellportal. It showed her a Burning Head raging not far away from where the Abhorrant King held his court. She knew the orruks' simplistic greed would drew them to it. And she would have been there...

The Kinless sat the spellforge ready to cage the Burning Head. Of course, not until she had helped the Cleavermaws in getting closer to it, taught Laelanyel. Suddenly, Drevakh Xosh stepped out of a pool of shadows. He nodded at his mistress, then cocked his head towards a point in the distance.

Laelanyel's gaze followed the direction. As she expected, the Cleavermaws were closing in. By the low rumble of what they considered wispers, she knew they were arguing on matters they could not even understand.

Then unexpected movement caught her attention. To any aelf, there was no doubt that the shapes silently approaching from the east were a hunting party from Gloomfen. As for the group coming from the west, even the dullest of the lesser races would have recognised the colours of a Murderfist warband.

Although the Bloodwarriors seemed bent on storming the Gloomfen hunters, two of them prodded their Flesh Hound and advanced towards the Shadowflames.

"Kinless! By your oath to me, hold the orruks! Drevakh, with me!". The Caengan took their position waiting for the orruks' assault. In a blur, the two aelfs were amongst the Murderfists.

Laelanyel and Drevakh danced around the heavily armoured warriors, inflicting many painful wounds but not killing them. Why not taking some pleasure, thought Laelanyel as she vaulted above the raging Hound. And then the Burning Head was amongst them, consuming the Khornates in an heartbeat.

The Cleavermaws smashed their way through the Kinless and moved to cut Laelanyel's retreat.

Drevakh Xosh leapt into a pool of shadows and came out of it amongst the Murderfists.

Laelanyel smiled under her miststeel mask. The Khornates were no longer a problem and the Cleavermaws were right were she wanted them, on the Burning Head's path to the spellforge. She leapt onto the staircase of a Dreadfire Portal and with its energies bound the endless spell.

As their Tidecaster rose a rusty key high, the Gloomfen hunters loosed a hail of arrows against the melee in front of them. The ground itself swelled in a mudslide, dragging Drevakh Xosh away moments before the arrows hit home.

Freed from the Tenebrael Shard's menace, the Murderfists raged forward. The din of Khornate axes on aelfish steel echoed through the oppressive woods. The tang of freshly spilt blood filled the air. On both sides, warriors fell.

Laelanyel felt a growing pressure in the air. Something that had rarely come to the Harrowmark. The rabid gaze of Khorne was drawn to it. The Mistweaver let go on the Burning Head and retreated into the woods.