<div>


    <div>


    <div>


    FORTY-TWO


    <h2 style="text-transform: uppercase">GOSLIN</h2>


    <div>


    The state of the battle was dire. A steady supply of geomancers needed to be brought to the wall to keep up with Wyndemir’s increasingly frantic attacks. Monsters lay dead in the hundreds, perhaps even thousands, but there was still no end to them. A section of the wall collapsed under the constant barrage from the repaired siege weapons and enemy pyromancers. Goslin didn’t know how the other walls fared. He didn’t have the time to spare them a thought.


    Goslin was nearly relieved when the wall finally broke. Few monsters made it up the wall which meant that for most of the fighting, Goslin did nothing more than shout encouragement at the mages and archers firing down into the milling horde. With the wall down, he could finally get into the fray. No more waiting. No more dreaded anticipation.


    He bashed his shield into a particularly nasty monster’s chest, obliterating it. Five dead soldiers ringed the beast.


    Eldians died in droves all around him. The citizens of Fyrie ushered a counterattack to push the horde back, enabling Goslin to nearly reach the pyromancers. Then the enemy mages shifted to target Eldian soldiers and their allies, burning away hundreds of lives in the blink of an eye. Once again, Goslin found himself alone with nothing more than his weapon and shield.


    Goslin slowly retreated, holding up his shield and swiping at any enemy foolish enough to step too close to his blade. He hoped to buy time for his men to return behind the protection of the wall. He had no illusions of how the fight would go if he attempted to reach the mages on his own a second time, now that they were far better prepared. People in white and black robes stood guard around them as they fired volley after volley of exploding balls of fire at the wall and the defenders.


    Bodyguards. Goslin did not know what they were capable of but he didn’t like the look of them.


    The monsters pursuing him suddenly stopped, their stances changing from aggressive to wary. Goslin bumped into someone when he backed up another step and glanced back to find a soldier staring at the opening in the wall. To his surprise, all the soldiers stood frozen.


    “What is it?” Goslin asked.


    “Don’t you feel it?”


    “What?”


    “There is a trembling in my chest. My knees are trying to buckle, like my body wants me to kneel.”


    “I don’t feel anything,” Goslin said.


    “There,” the soldier pointed.


    A man appeared, walking over the rubble and out from behind the wall. With long, dark hair and eyes to match, Goslin thought he looked Eldian.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Taller than Tomford and clad in an elegant black and red suit similar to the ones Goslin once wore to balls, the man walked with long confident strides. He ignored the chaos around him.


    When the new arrival crested the rubble and began his descent toward them, Goslin saw something that he’d only read about before in history books and legends. Each step the newcomer took left a fiery boot print in its wake.


    “Eld,” Goslin whispered.


    The soldier next to Goslin swiveled his head in disbelief. His were eyes wide with terror. “No!”


    “You’ve grown up seeing that figure. We all have,” Goslin said. Eld featured greatly in old paintings.


    Eld walked past them without as much as a glance in Goslin''s direction, heading toward the pyromancers who must have sensed something was wrong, for they had ceased their relentless attacks.


    “Hey!” Goslin yelled after Eld.


    Eld stopped, then slowly turned. He stared at Goslin, his expression bored.


    When Eld finally responded, his voice rang with authority despite his mellow tone. His question demanded an answer. “Have my empire fallen so far that lowly soldiers have to fight without garments?”


    Goslin’s face burned but he stubbornly ignored it. “You are no longer needed here.”


    Eld shifted his gaze to the crumbling wall and the city beyond. “You are mistaken.”


    “I don’t know how you escaped, but Eldsprak will not kneel to you!” Goslin shouted, raising his sword. Then a realization came upon him. “Emeryn. She did it! My wife, she retrieved you! Tell me where she is!”


    The placid fa?ade crumbled, and a mad glee erupted in Eld. His mouth broke into a toothy smile. “DEMANDS? YOU MAKE DEMANDS OF ME? DEMANDS UPON YOUR GOD? ASH! ASH! YOU ARE NOTHING BUT ASH!”


    Goslin’s world was reduced to fiery death. It was like his very soul burned, everything he’d been and everything he could ever become transformed to ash.


    Goslin blinked his eyes open. Coughing, he was astounded to discover that the flames could not touch him. Once they died away, Goslin remained uninjured, not a mark on him. His sword and shield survived the fiery assault as well, though he expected as much.


    “I’ve known another like you,” Eld said, wholly in control of his rage again. “My fire could not touch him. Why?”


    “I do not know,” Goslin said. “Now tell me where I can find my wife.”


    Eld looked over Goslin’s shoulder, far up, and spoke with his attention obviously elsewhere. “What knowledge need I of human matrimony?” The former god of Eldsprak’s voice wavered, like fear had found its way into his chest.


    Goslin followed Eld’s gaze to Wyndemir, who regarded them both his one giant eye visible behind his arm.


    Eld was about to say something when he was struck in the back by a combination of light and fire moving in a pattern Goslin had never seen before. The only sign the magic touched him was a soft grunt from Eld, who turned and raised his hand to the gathered traitorous pyromancers and the other invading mages. In a hot blast, fire consumed the entire field where they stood.


    Goslin stared, dumbstruck, at the absolute carnage. None of the mages survived. Nor did any of the monsters who guarded them. “Thank you for killing them,” Goslin said.


    Eld returned his attention to Wyndemir.


    A soldier ran up beside Goslin, visibly shaking with terror for being so close to Eld. “I’m sorry, but we have word from the north wall.”


    “What’s wrong, soldier?” Goslin asked.


    The soldier swallowed hard. “The wall has fallen.”


    Eld spoke without his gaze leaving the giant gateway in the sky. Goslin saw fear in his eyes. “I’ll go.”


    “You will?” Goslin asked, but it was too late. Eld was gone.