To Battle Part II: Part 3 [Legendseekers]

Samson, Pantalaimon, Troia, Bravura, Chiptune  and every other xyn in the bubble of rushing air tore through the fields of burning fire, running for their lives. The fire had spread far enough that there was little grass, which the Corrupted xyns pursuing them bounded and leapt through; Water element xyns began to use their breaths to continuously hose down the earth beneath them in lukewarm water as they passed over it for all the xyns that were forced to run on land.

Troia, who could not fly, felt immense relief as the water soaked the ground they passed over. The scorching hot earth had begun to wear down at the skin of her feet and her metallic talons were becoming hot to the touch. But relief only lasted as quickly as it came; the water element xyns could only spray enough water just to quell the flames to prolong their journey as far as they could. Pantalaimon continued to pant, barely feeling relief from the intense heat by the evaporating water.

Samson shouted to the scouts above- none of them could be seen. “How much longer do we have until we’re clear? We can’t last much longer down here!”

But there was no response. Not even the Accipidrakes that obeyed the Scouts could be heard.

Samson gritted his fangs, and snarled. “Queens damn it- the worst could have happened to them, but we have no choice but to move forward. Do any of you have Astral magic? We need to see if there’s any way out of this!” 

One lullay moxyn in the crowd shut their eyes, their horns sparking with Astral magic; and they opened their eyes instantly in realization. “Several minutes into the future showed me that there’s an unburned settlement a few minutes away to our left where we can take shelter, but it’s surrounded by fire- I’m guessing all of the Corrupted will surely catch up to us, we won’t have much respite! I can’t see further into the future than that- it’s all covered in smoke!”

“Then we don’t have any other choice. COME ON!” Samson veered sharply towards the left, and every other xyn within the air bubble stampeded after them. It was difficult for the flying xyns to maintain a tight flight formation; close enough to minimize the size of the bubble required, but just distant enough that they could crash into each other. It wasn’t any easier for Troia and the xyns on the ground

The sailfin of a Corruption beast cut down from the smoky air into the earth, cleaving the burning earth beside them in an attempt to intercept their turn. Samson snarled and veered sharply around it, and so did every other xyn in the bubble. The fin of the Corruption Beast lifted from the earth and retreating above into the smoke overhead that they couldn’t see through.

Pantalaimon could hear the collective echoing of their peer’s panting and heavy breathing- some xyns had already begun to falter from exhaustion seeping in, losing momentum from keeping their speed to stay with the group.

“Just a few more minutes!” Pantalaimon shouted, encouraging those behind them.

The wildfires raged on around them, but so too did the corrupted xyns seem to disappear, unable to keep up with the xyns through the flaming grasses.

More and more Corruption Beasts tried to split the group by using their sailfins to cleave into the ground, and every time the xyns zigzagged to dodge their attacks, they lost momentum. 

“Please hold on! I know it’s scary, but you have to try- don’t despair now!” Chiptune also urged them. She wheezed from inhaling the acrid air as she spoke.  It was becoming too painful to breathe now.

Troia spotted something approaching in the horizon; it wasn’t the silhouette of a Corruption beast or a corrupted xyn. It was a horizon of numerous several buildings, intact, not burning down; quite possibly one of the largest settlements in the thick of the Perilunar Plains.

“WE’RE ALMOST THERE!” Troia managed to shout. Pantalaimon

Samson and his troop, hopeful at the news, made one last last ditch sprint. and they reached the interior of the settlement that Troia saw, just as the Astral moxyn predicted. But the wooden fences that protected the settlement had already begun the process of burning down, and soon, the fire would encroach inside to reach the buildings.

“Release the bubble!” Samson ordered the wind element xyns. To the ice and water element xyns, he barked: “Stop spraying water on the ground, and stop chilling the air once the bubble is released. I need everyone to recuperate their breaths with the precious few minutes we have- we have to plan how to find the Valorise Vexyns without our scouts and accipidrakes!”

“You called for us?”

A surly vexyn approached Samson and his group, and a large group of several other vexyns followed behind. An overwhelming majority of them were clearly fire element vexyns; as they exhaled and released their breath, flames, ash and smoke spewed from their nostrils and mouths- clearly from the stress of the situation. Some of the vexyns were carrying all of the missing scouts and accipidrakes on their backs; they had fallen unconscious from either the heat, or inhaling too much smoke.

“I should apologize for this mess,” said the first vexyn. They seemed deeply regretful as their chest heaved, too tired to be afraid of what was happening. “We were originally headed to Moonreach to support the barrier as ordered. But the Corruption Beasts and hordes of these Corrupted xyns were hot on our heels- it was clear that this villain in the Corrupted Lands must have summoned them to stop us dead in our tracks.” 

Another vexyn chimed in: “Most of us are Fire element: we had no choice but to use our fire to scorch these plains to try keep all of the Corrupted all at bay… or burn them down alive to save ourselves as we tried to flee- we wanted to make it to Moonreach at any cost. But these corrupted xyns and beasts are were far more vicious than any we’ve ever seen!”

“We’re unfamiliar with the scope of the Perilunal plains-” added another Vexyn, hastily, “-we didn’t know the extent of the damage that burning down the plains would cause, and with the loss of the moonlight causing it’s grasses to shrivel into perfectly dry fields of hay, the entirety of the plains were a matchbox waiting to be struck!

One last Vexyn shouted above the roar of the fire: “Now we’ve literally burned ourselves into a corner! We can’t escape- if we fly through the smoke, the Corruption Beasts will pick us off when we can’t see! We’ll be cooked by fire or corrupted by the xyns if we try to run by foot!”

Samson was about to speak, but Pantalaimon’s winged ears pricked up as they heard a sound right behind them, and Troia’s ears did too. 

It was the gurgling sound of a growl- and more echoed behind it.

Dark silhouettes emerged from the smoke, and one by one, Corrupted Xyns slowly prowled towards the center of the settlement. Their crackling eyes seemed to sizzled in pain, and some even gagged. They had somehow survived treading through the intense wildfire blazes, and the corruption ooze, normally viscuous and easy to slough off, had seared itself onto their bodies like tar. Some shuffled forward limply, moaning; they were crying in pain from being scorched, yet unable to stop their relentless pursuit of the living xyns.

The Royal knights and Valorise vexyns fanned out to form a protective circle around the xyns that prepared to sing. The Corrupted xyns crept ever closer, slowly encircling them- but none made a move to lash out yet. They were clearly sizing up the strength of the opposition, and their eyes flickered as they (or, whoever controlled them) appeared to think. Massive, dark shapes dove in and out of the smoky air, fading as quickly as they came- the Corruption Beasts had arrived to join them.

Pantalaimon, Bravura, Chiptune and Troia exchanged glances with each other, and Samson nodded at all of them in acknowledgement. Pantalaimon turned to face the rest of the xyns, and despite everything, they flashed a clever grin.

“THIS IS IT!” Pantalaimon shouted. “Those of you that traveled with us to Wingfell, we need to play our song- NOW! Don’t falter one bit! If you believe we can save them, I know we can!”