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    The streets were overrun with corrupted rhinn, fire elementals that were once pyromancers, and different monstrous creatures too numerous to count. After the terror they experienced below, emerging into the open air was like being reborn. She gulped down breath after breath after climbing the side of the pyromancers’ chapter house to reach the roof.


    Their wounds were plentiful, but nothing life threatening.


    "Thys, can you make it across the rooftops?" she asked.


    He was staring blankly into the air in front of him, clutching his chest.


    "Thys!" she barked.


    The gateway warrior blinked then furrowed his brow. "Something is wrong."


    "Your wounds?" Kax asked. He was a moving shadow now, all light disappearing as it neared him.


    Every time he moved, Lana couldn’t help but twitch, as if her body wanted to protect itself from him. A wrongness emanated from him. A threat.


    "No. Not my injuries," Thys said, wincing as he shifted his weight.


    Lana looked at him askance. Thys was covered in blood, much of it, she suspected, was his own. His arm hung limp and useless, at his side. He''d fought well despite not being able to utilize his powers, but she knew he was done. He would fight no more today.


    "My power. It’s like it’s resonating, tearing my insides apart. It…it hurts."


    "You stay here and keep a lookout. More priests might come," Lana said.


    Thys sat down with a sigh and gave her a grateful look. "Don’t go dying on me now."


    "Not until I’ve beaten you in a fight," she replied with a grin.


    She and Kax jumped over to the next roof over and began their laborious journey across the city.


    "You don’t have to be afraid of me, you know," Kax said once they’d moved past the square. A few monsters noticed them but could not keep up.


    "I’m not afraid of you," Lana lied.


    The empty darkness that was Kax’s face turned to regard her. "I’m still me."


    "Of course, you are." She believed him, but Kax calling himself the void had not been a joke, even if he tried to play it off as one. His voice no longer sounded like his own.


    A walking bonfire pummeled the building they were traversing with jets of fire, forcing Lana to jump and use a gust of wind to propel her to the next building. They didn’t stop except for one instance where they killed a priest who was in process of turning terrified rhinn soldiers into creatures that looked uncomfortably like luisons.


    Killing that priest reverted all those under his control back to their original forms. Unfortunately, that meant all the other creatures surrounding them turned on the rhinn soldiers and tore them to pieces.


    The world shook.


    “That wasn’t me,” Kax said, and Lana got the impression he was grinning, despite not being able to see any of his features.


    They were nearly at the main gate, the bevy of most of the fighting, when something appeared in the sky. "What is it?" Kax asked, gazing upward.


    "We’re about to find out," she said, urging Kax to follow. Lana leapt, using most of her reservoir of source, and landed on the wall, north of the of the fallen gate. Rhinn soldiers with bows lined the parapet, firing relentlessly on those below. A vast army of monsters was clashing with the allied armies at their rear.


    Lana felt no sympathy as she killed the rhinn archers.


    Kax appeared at the far end of the wall, near the collapsed area, and grabbed a pyromancer by the woman''s robes. With a single arm, he lifted the woman and threw her over the side.


    A gigantic tear opened far above their heads, slowly at first, then faster, allowing a massive hand to emerge, followed by an arm bigger than the wall surrounding Fyrie.


    "Wyndemir," Lana breathed.


    The dark void that was Kax’s arm extended into a sword.


    Lana looked at him in surprise. "You want to try to kill a god?"


    Kax regarded her for a long moment, then asked, "You don’t think a god can bleed?"


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    Goslin


    Goslin’s original orders were to help along the wall and then make sure they could enter Fyrie once the gate had fallen, but he was needed elsewhere. The moment he saw his brother arrive with his forces near the rhinn travelers and Sarien, a knot formed in his chest. Gatling was not a man to heed caution.


    Goslin rode atop a horse he’d commandeered outside the wall, keeping his head down and doing his best to ignore the colossal arm slamming into the field of battle, causing mayhem in its wake. Wyndemir had come at the worst possible moment. He saw that the rhinn travelers had all fled, leaving Sarien alone against a horde of monsters as he battled to close the gateway.


    Every fiber in his body wanted to point the horse in Sarien’s direction and hurry to his aid, but he knew his arrival would only add to the confusion and possibly endanger Sarien. If his friend lost focus for a single moment, it could spell doom for them all.


    The very air around the young man seemed to seethe, reacting to the massive white flame bursting from the palm of his hand. All Goslin could do was ensure the safety and return of the the rhinn travelers. As Wyndemir''s giant hand slammed down onto the ground, Goslin knew that Sarien needed their help, now more than ever.


    When his horse skidded to a stop upon reaching Gatling''s banner, he found the rhinn on their knees in the dirt with spears pointed at them.


    His brother stood before him. Tall, broad shouldered, and with enough mass to make him look like the thick trunk of a tree.


    Gatling didn’t smile at Goslin’s approach. "So, you’re alive then?"


    Goslin dismounted. "I am. Good to see you’re well, brother. Where are the rhinn?"


    "You’re looking at them," he said, pointing with his whole hand.


    "Not the travelers. I mean, those who came to you as allies."


    Gatling grimaced. "These invaders are no allies of mine. They put up quite the fight, but we put them into the ground."


    "You attacked them? They were our allies! What were you thinking?"


    His brother''s troops looked worn and hungry with several nursing injuries. A far cry from the prodigious numbers reported by scouts, Gatling’s army now only consisted of about a hundred or so men.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    "Have you seen father?" Gatling asked, done with the pleasantries.


    "Father is dead."


    Gatling nodded to himself, as if the answer wasn’t unexpected. "And Druk?"


    "Dead," Goslin said, glancing to the nervous looking rhinn, then to the massive hole up in the sky. An enormous head appeared. "You have done enough harm to these people. Release them to me."


    "Dead," Gatling mused, ignoring Goslin. "That means I’m first in line."


    Goslin’s mouth fell open. "That’s what you’re worrying about? Not a god here to annihilate us all?"


    "Just another monster," Gatling said, waving his hand in Wyndemir’s direction, as if shooing it away. "We’ve killed monsters," he turned to his men, "haven’t we, boys?"


    A general, but sullen, murmur of agreement rose from the ranks.


    "You can’t simply take the throne even if we do win."


    Gatling shot him a glare. "Do you wish to contend with me, little brother?"


    "The Eldian army and its rhinn allies, along with men and women from Loft, Vatnbloet, and Jordfaste, are led by Landé. He is leading this army. Not you. There will be no king."


    They needed to act in haste and his brother was just wasting time, so Goslin added, "Release the rhinn now or all will be lost!"


    "These bug-eyed freaks invaded Eldsprak. We won’t show them mercy just because you’ve made pets of them," Gatling sneered.


    Goslin saw the infamous temper rising in his brother’s face, but this was not the time for soft words and a gentle hand. "You will release them to me now, brother. This is a time for us to come together, not to sow further discord!"


    The blow was not a fast one, but it came so unexpectedly, Goslin didn’t have time to react. Stars shot across his eyes and blood poured out of his nose as he fell back into the mud.


    Gatling sniffed the air. "It smells like shit here. Doesn’t it?"


    "You would strike your own brother?" Goslin asked, incredulous. He was exhausted, his body a dead weight as he struggled to his feet. A strike to the head did not ease that burden. In the distance, he saw Wyndemir’s enormous hand reach for Sarien.


    "No brother of mine would side with that dirty commoner who cheated me from victory!" Gatling bellowed.


    "He holds the same hatred for you, brother." Goslin said, wiping the blood from his face with his already sodden sleeve. "And do you know why?"


    "Why would I care about what a commoner thinks?"


    "From what I have heard, you do not care much about commoners at all," Goslin retorted, seeing how the soldiers threw glares at their own commander.


    "They are called commoners for a reason. No one minds if you break a few."


    Goslin turned to the soldiers, speaking loudly. "Is this the sort of man you want as your commander, as your future king? Join me in defending Eldsprak and the whole of Maydian." He pointed to the giant arm in the sky. "We must band together to survive. All of us!"


    A man stepped up. He was about Goslin’s age but already balding, and his eyes had a haunted look about them. The soldier raised his arm and was about to speak when Gatling’s huge, two-handed sword lodged itself into his head. He didn’t even have time to scream before he died.


    "Enough of this!" Goslin shouted, pulling a sword and shield free from a surprised soldier. He regretted leaving his own by his horse in an attempt at goodwill.


    Gatling''s face twisted with disdain. "Are you going to kill your own brother?"


    Goslin hesitated. "I don’t wan?—"


    Gatling''s sword crashed down on him, and Goslin threw up his shield at the last second. Metal rang against metal and Goslin’s arm numbed as he was thrown back. He spun wildly, clinging to his sword and shield as his body screamed out in pain.


    "Show respect to your elder, your new king!" Gatling bellowed, running after.


    The two-handed sword came down in an overhead arc and Goslin rolled to the side to avoid it. He spun back as Gatling''s sword struck the ground, swinging his own sword.


    The attack sliced his brother in the arm. Gatling roared and kicked Goslin in the ribs.


    Air rushed out of Goslin’s lungs, and he coughed as he scrambled away. Another overhead swing came for his skull and Goslin raised his shield, bracing himself for the attack. The attack still drove him to the ground, the sword leaving a huge dent in the shield.


    Goslin forced himself to his feet and threw the shield at Gatling. As Goslin figured, Gatling swung for the shield, allowing Goslin to duck under and thrust forward, burying a significant length of his sword into his brother’s thigh. Gatling fell down screaming.


    For another man, an injury of that severity would have ended the fight. But his brother would not relent. As he fell, he struck out, backhanding Goslin in the face. Both brothers of House Steerian fell to the ground, dropping their weapons.


    They were near enough to Goslin’s horse that he thought about grabbing his own sword and shield. But no. That was not how he would defeat his brother.


    "Yield!" Goslin shouted, blood spraying from his mouth.


    "You’ve never been anything more than a clerk. Father was a fool to allow you to even start carrying a sword!"


    Goslin ran, plucking a sword from the ground as he closed the distance to his brother, who already held his own weapon.


    The hulking man’s shoulders heaved. Arcing from left to right, the blow went low for Goslin’s legs. Thinking of Kax, Goslin threw himself forward, drawing his legs up and over the brutal weapon, thrusting his sword at Gatling.


    With the leverage all wrong, Goslin’s attack didn’t have much weight behind it, but it was enough. His sword sunk into Gatling’s shoulder, making him cry out in pain and, more importantly, drop his weapon.


    Gatling fell to his knees, clutching his shoulder.


    "Do you yield?" Goslin asked, holding his sword to his brother’s neck.


    Gatling looked up, his eyes dark and furious. "I’ll never yield to you, little brother. No matter how much you bathe, you’ll still always carry a lingering stench of worthless shit."


    Goslin sighed and gave the borrowed sword back to the soldier, giving a nod of thanks before returning to his horse.


    "Release the rhinn to me!" he shouted. "Report by the main gate and help in any way you can!"


    He put a foot in the stirrup, readying himself to mount, when Gatling rose and bellowed in anger. Amazed that his brother could still stand, Goslin froze. The only thing he could think to do was use the obsidian shield that hung readily available on the horse, but that would kill his brother instantly. He hesitated.


    Before he had a chance to make a decision, the rhinn travelers began to scream, all of them crying out in a chorus of pain and terror.


    Gatling stopped in his surprise and that was enough to make his legs buckle beneath him, sending his massive bulk to the ground.


    Goslin watched as thin wisps of pale blue fire burst from the chest of the rhinn travelers. Was this an attack by Wyndemir or his priests?


    He turned and saw Sarien far off in the distance, standing on a pillar of stone with a sea of monsters all around him. If Goslin wasn’t hallucinating, he thought whatever emanated from the travelers was being pulled to the young man. Not gently. No, not judging by their screams. Goslin saw something else, too.


    He saw gray.


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    Sarien


    Sarien froze when the giant hand reached for him with a slow inevitability. No matter how much he pushed back, it did not stop. He could not close the gateway.


    A blur of shadow shot across the ground from atop the city wall and leapt for Wyndemir’s arm. Kax’s blade appeared, slicing into the pale god''s skin.


    It didn''t leave a mark, but it bought Sarien a few precious moments.


    Lightning struck Wyndemir’s head, right between its purple eyes.


    The god blinked, but nothing more.


    The white flame throbbed.


    The god''s arm shot out, suddenly quick, and swatted in the air, narrowly missing the flying aeromancer. A gust as the hand missed sent Wade tumbling downward, flying erratically as he desperately tried to maintain altitude.


    Kax returned for another strike, but this time, Wyndemir was ready for him. With a fist the size of a barn, the god punched Kax out of the air, sending him flying back over Fyrie.


    Sarien called upon his white flame, pulling every bit of force he could muster, straining every fiber of his being and the boundaries of his will. He focused all of his power on the gateway.


    It shuddered but remained open.


    Monsters were throwing themselves onto the pillar, clawing at each other, trying to reach Sarien before his black flame robbed them of their essence and imprisoned them in the void.


    Wyndemir reached for him again, now that the gnats were no longer buzzing around.


    Sarien felt a rumble to his left. He forced his head to turn despite the immense pressure he was under from Wyndemir’s attention.


    Emeryn and Daisy stood on a pillar much like his own. She was screaming something. To him? Sarien couldn’t tell. A massive hand made out of stone and dirt rose from out of the ground, almost matching Wyndemir’s in sheer size. It intercepted the god, wrapping around his wrist. For a moment, it held.


    The white flame throbbed.


    The gateway shuddered.


    Emeryn cried out and fell to her knees, her earthen hand crumbling into dust.


    Wyndemir’s hand continued reaching for Sarien.


    Daisy barked. Wyndemir hesitated.


    The giant head shifted its gaze to the dog, and Sarien felt the god’s attention ease off of him. Wyndemir''s hand shifted, moving for the dog with terrible speed. Sarien could do nothing to stop it.


    Emeryn held up her one arm against her face and cried out.


    "No!" Sarien screamed.


    He shifted his black flame away from the monsters to intercept the god''s hand heading for Emeryn and Daisy.


    The white flame throbbed.


    The black flame blazed.


    The two touched.


    Sarien felt the barrier inside him shatter as his white and black flame became one.


    Sarien’s world turned gray.