To Battle Part II: Part 4 [Legendseekers]

Pantalaimon and their circle of xyns faced off against the Corrupted Xyns and Corruption Beasts in the center of the settlement. The corrupted xyns circled against; much like hyenas encircling a herd of elephants. The vexyns and royal knights stood, chests heaving as they sucked in as much smoky, bitter air as they could to breathe.

The raging wildfires slowly encroached towards the inner settlement itself; they had entirely burned down the fences at the perimeter, but were slower to eat their way towards the buildings; there was less fuel for them to surge closer on the roughshod ground.

Once the last Corrupted xyn filed into the settlement, they all collectively began to howl; and one corrupted vexyn lunged towards the circle of xyns with a pained snarl.

Pantalaimon nearly startled; this corrupted vexyn looked familiar, for some reason... But it couldn’t be…

“Sing with me!” Pantalaimon cried out, “NOW!”

And so, they, Troia, Bravura, Chiptune, and all of the xyns from their Wingfell journey, began to sing their song together… it was a hushed murmur at first, slow to start; but gradually, as they became confident, so too did the lyrics that they sang, until they were audible enough to be heard over the raging fire.

Despite the pain it took to breathe in the wildfire ash and corruption stench, despite how some xyns felt faint from the heat, not a single xyn faltered- so much did they cling to the hope that this would work. Every xyn sang the song Styr’Fa taught them, mixed with their own soul songs” a tender song of peace, tranquility, promising a gentle end to the suffering of the corrupted around them…

The Corrupted vexyn screeched to a halt, stopping dead in it’s tracks. The crackling of it’s eyes flared for a second before the light in it’s eyes died down; they shook their head, rapidly, and every so slowly, recognition dawned upon them.

“Wh… why…?” They asked. 

Their voice, scarred by corruption and the toxic air from the wildfire, was plaintive- and. They looked down at their corrupted body. The thick corruption ooze that caked it’s legs like tar buckled beneath their joints as they stepped back. Something sparkling brimmed at their eyes. It streamed down their cheeks, drop by drop; they fell to the dry ground, and vanished as quickly as they came.

The tears did not stop. They brought themself down to their knees, head cast down to the ground in astonishment. “I…”

Samson stared, speechless at what he was witnessing. Xyns were known to snap out of their corrupted states when they saw something they cared for; but to think that the power of a song could do this to xyns with this degree of corruption…? 

And the corrupted xyns that encircled them had also stopped in their tracks. They all stood in place, transfixed by the sound of their song of peace.

The xyns did not stop singing, even as the wildfire encroached ever closer around the settlement. One house, far away from the center where all the xyns stood, slowly crumbled down as it was consumed by flames.

The lullay knights that did not sing silently exchanged glances, and nodded. It was time: they all chanted, as loud as they could in unison with the group of xyns, and cast their anti-corruption spell over the vexyn; a glimmering white light, as gentle as a moonbeams itself, washed over their body. The entire vexyn shimmered with light , and the hardened corruption ooze crackled; shattering off the vexyn like shards of china breaking. The purified vexyn slumped over, completely unconscious.

The xyns did not stop their song there; they continued to sing in unison, raising their voices as the roaring of the wildfire inched ever closer to their vicinity.

One by one, the corrupted xyns stepped forwards, tentatively, bowing their heads and closing their eyes. Troia readied herself to spring out at any moment, and so did the other royal knights and vexyns protecting the inner circle; but none of them needed to move an inch.

The Lullay Knights purified every last corrupted xyn- each purification occurred faster, and faster, and faster as the xyns continued to raise their voices, making their song heard above the fire. 

Every one of the purified xyns slumped over just like the first, settling to the ground to rest, as if in a dreamlike sleep. Their once-colorful pelts were stained in shades of black and grey, but it didn’t matter now.

Every single one of the corrupted was saved. 

It was nothing short of a miracle.

The corruption beasts seemed to react  otherwise; one by one, they slowly departed, flying away from the direction of and vanishing through the smoke. It was almost as if they were repelled by the song…

When the last Corruption Beast departed, the xyn’s song died down. All of the xyns stared at the newly purified xyns in complete wonde, and the vexyns and royal knights broke their protective formation to allow the xyns sindie room to move.

Pantalaimon was the first to speak. 

For one of the few times in their life, the confidence in their voice faltered.

 “I… I can’t believe what I’ve just witnessed. We do have a hope of saving Lunerest…!”

Samson shook his head. More buildings around them began to crumble down from the wildfire that had rapidly approached them, as they sang. The scarlet flames and heat licked at the walls of the buildings as it endlessly marched forward.

“We’re not saving Lunerest if we can’t make it out of here alive,” Samson choked. His vision blurred, just for a second- as powerful as his physical constitution was, he was beginning to feel lightheaded. “ The magical energy of our knights is completely spent; we don’t have the strength to carry every purified xyn here back home by ourselves.. We need to think of a way to escape this hellhole- NOW!”

From the depths of the wildfire, the xyns heard something echo back to them. It approached ever closer, louder and louder, until they realized what they were hearing.

It was their own song that they had just sung.

Troia’s ears flicked back, and she whipped around- shocked into utter silence at what she was seeing.

Glittering white silhouettes approached them from all directions, from within the fire itself. The spirits floated effortlessly above the xyns , their forms mingling through the smoke that threatened to smother their surroundings. Despite the carnage of the burning scenery around them, all of the spirits smiled sadly, serene yet hopeful- and they themselves continued to sing the same song that the xyns heard.

And, one by one, every spirit began to sing in order:

“Woke up… from the song…”
“We have heard…”
“From far away…”
“Your lullaby…”
“Of hope…”
“You purged…”
“The evil… we revile…”
“We will…"
“Help… you…”
“Find a way…”
“Escape…”
“Save your life…”
“For saving… the living…”
“Saving… precious memories… like us…”
“Follow us…!”
“Hurry…!”
“Before…!”
“It’s too late…!”