Stepping onto the orange-hued battlements felt like stepping into a new world. Not since she’d faced Pip had Anilith felt such intense heat, and she wasn’t sure the others had felt such sweltering air since they claimed their belts of comfort. They were easily forgotten things, aside from Razhik’s collar, but their innocuous nature belied their value.

  The barrier lit the space within in uneven, burnished light. Where the green barricade had been a solid opaque surface, this one was veined and nearly transparent in places, formed of shifting, flickering energy that emulated fire.

  The lava didn’t lighten the mood much.

  Molten rock ran around the edge of the battlement, hissing where it sloughed over and touched the cooler stone, the uneven banks a clear demarcation of the battlefield before them. Three Ogrekin waited at the center of the wall, and they were anything but unarmed. Six eyes locked on them, and the creatures banged great weapons on their chests in challenge, yet held their ground.

  First move went to the invaders, it seemed.

  “Well,” Orion said, “Not gonna get any points for originality here, but I guess that ain’t the point. Seems like a pretty straightforward test.”

  “Yeah,” Anilith replied, “But after what we just saw, do you really think any of this matters? Far as I can tell, we’ve just been sampling the army one at a time, seeing what they’re all capable of. I’m not saying we should be careless, just trying to wrap my head around what's still ahead of us.”

  “One step at a time, kid,” Orion said, “See what you can see, but be careful.”

  Anilith peered into the secrets of the Wind, which, in a rare moment, revealed precious little. The air was still, too warm and stifling inside this place; The currents hardly stirred. She confirmed that a second later with her Heat-Vision, seeing a sea of orange, yellow, and red. The giants were barely visible in this spectrum, disguised by the ambient heat, and the lava burned with such a deep, vibrant red as to appear almost black.

  In the name of diligence, she cautiously touched upon her Earth-sight, prepared to pull back at the first sign of that encompassing void and felt…an unusual response. The emptiness still surrounded them, isolating the stone beneath her feet, the lava pools, and deep veins that reached downwards, stretching like roots to where the earth grew dense, enveloping hidden seas. The veins thrummed with power where they met the void, and beyond them she saw darkness. It reminded her of nothing so much as the tunnels running beneath the keep they had entered with the Grokar, only the inverse; a twisted reflection of what she had seen back then, where earth was sea and sea was earth.

  “Wind would be a risk,” she reported, “Not so much as a breeze in here and, while I could probably see them moving, dodging would come down to instinct. You’d be hard-pressed to call out movements for Razhik. Fire, as I’m sure you could guess, doesn’t show much more.” She paused to take a slow breath before continuing. “Earth still feels cut off, but it’s not as bad here. Almost feels intentional. I can see well enough around here, but I can’t see anything else.”

  Orion grunted, clearly processing the information.

  “What should I do, guys?” Razhik asked. “These guys seem a bit more organized than the last and, as much fun as it was watching you blow off some steam there, we all need to see how we measure up if we’re about to square off against an army,” he said with an air of confidence. A moment later, he added, “Right?”

  “Sure enough, bud,” Orion suppressed a chuckle. “Ain’t nothin’ funny ‘bout any of this, but, gods, if you don’t make it sound like just another day. I reckon you’ll know where you’re needed; hard to say where that is ‘til we see what these brutes can do. Don’t make me regret sayin’ so, but I trust your instincts.”

  Anilith glanced over at their Grokar allies. “You gonna hang back with them again, Ori? Gonna be tough, fighting these three together without your bow, but me and Razh have been through worse. Pretty even odds, for us.”

  “Don’t sell me short, kid,” he said with a grin. “I’ll hang back with ‘em, sure, but that don’t mean I won’t be in the fight. How well you think they can throw, Razh?” He asked, hooking a thumb at the Grokar as he began dropping spear after spear in a pile. “Man, I been missin’ out, not havin’ storage all these years. Girl shows up and gets one from the jump, not realizin’ most of us get by like ordinary folk, even here.”

  After a short word with his guards, the grin that lit Razhik’s face spoke volumes. “I’m sure they can help you out a bit there, old man.”

  “No need to waste any more time idlin’ around, then,” Orion concluded, “Let’s get to it!”

  Anilith turned, watching a moment as Orion and the Grokar made their preparations. It might be nice to slow down a little when this is all through. It’s exhausting, all this excitement and death. She smiled. Never thought I’d tire of this life so quickly. I put everything and then some into training, but that’s not the same as wading through battle after battle, no end in sight. Why does reality have to be so harsh? We’ve been lucky, all things considered. Is it too much to hope for just a breath, after this?

  Even as the thought was born, she knew it for what it was: A dream. She’d hardly started walking this path, and she wanted a break? To take it easy? She hadn’t fought so hard to get here only to settle for an easier life. The Grokar, despite all the help they’d been, served as a reminder of their Chieftain, Kewrok, and the cruelty he represented.

  That was why she fought to get here.

  She might pale at the bloodshed her path required, but others wouldn’t. Worse, they’d revel in it. Her master had once warned her that monsters come in all shapes, and the worst ones walk among us. The goblins she’d slaughtered had, after all, been just another people, not so different from her own. Forced to adapt by whatever threat they’d faced, they fled and came here to survive. Now, many were near mindless monsters, faced with a purpose she could hardly fathom. Now, they faced death at her blades, and she found no taste for the smell of blood.

  But the alternative? She couldn’t even consider it.

  She needed to keep going, taking breaks as opportunity allowed, but she couldn’t afford to hope for rest. This, good or ill, was the path she chose, a path she walked so that others wouldn’t, so others might know peace. She would stand against the monsters who relished others’ pain, who thrived in bloodshed, a force of balance in the world.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  She had to be sure in her course. So much lay shrouded in uncertainty, she couldn’t afford to face the future with anything but confidence and the faith that the Tower would send her home in time to save her people. For that, she would fight armies if she must.

  Already, that was unavoidable.

  To move was labor, feeling the weight she carried acting as a physical force, but she endured. As she firmed her resolve, that weight shifted, coating her like armor, helping her weather the trials to come: an armor fashioned from faith in her path and unshakable confidence in her purpose. Her master would not have allowed her to veer so far off course; even when she’d floundered, he’d seen a way forward, no doubt a gift of the Wind. She doubted she saw half as much as her master, still. His insight penetrated more than the physical.

  The Ogrekin bellowed, releasing a shockwave visible in the shimmering heat. The sound hardly registered with her ears, but it flowed through her, and she felt it in the Earth. It felt impossibly deep, and where it coursed, the Earth below them responded. As they began to move forward, the earth quaked beneath them, and it wasn’t the force of their footfalls.

  With a quickness, she felt a river of rock carving in the ground, a small offshoot of a vein, and scarcely got a warning to her friends when she realized what was coming. Move, Ori! They’re—

  Those words and a crude image were all she managed to force through their connection before the threat of the towering brutes consumed her attention. They might not measure up to the beast she’d slain on the plains, but these had an edge of intelligence in their gaze that first giant had lacked. It wasn’t much, the difference between a feral beast and a predator, but they moved well as a unit as they wove a spell in the depths.

  Suddenly, she felt so slow, drawing strength from the Earth. She’d been a fool to think any one power would serve her here. One thing was certain; she was about to have her hands full.

  This was a trial not for her, but her armor.

  Razhik barely registered Anilith’s call, pulling the Grokar into his realm, along with Orion’s stockpile, as Orion launched himself from their staging ground. From the shadows, he watched the ground they’d stood on melt into a puddle of burning death.

  No wonder there aren’t many of these louts, he thought, pretty dangerous ability to throw around with friends.

  He spared a glance towards Anilith, seeing a wide ring of bubbling fire form where she faced the Ogrekin.

  Time to start the assault, bud. I need your eyes on my men.

  Razhik dropped his guards off one by one, spreading them out on the battlefield, each with a pile of ammunition. As the first spears took flight, many missing their mark, he kept his ears open and his head on a swivel, ready to intervene where he was needed.

  Probably should have told them the Grokar didn’t like these spears for throwing, Razhik cringed, but that shouldn’t be an issue for Ori, at least.

  True to form, the old man launched a spear clear through an Ogrekin’s shoulder with uncanny accuracy. Razhik knew Orion hadn’t practiced that much, probably hurled the spears with full force, but as the man summoned another spear to hand, he also knew little things like facts wouldn’t keep his friend from turning his target into a pincushion.

  What a cheat, he thought, glad he’s on our side.

  Can’t keep this up forever, Orion thought as he launched another guided spear. He felt the drain on his reserves as it left his hand and suppressed a shudder. It took more energy than an arrow, that was for sure, but he couldn’t rely on his skill for this. Damned things aren’t balanced for throwin’. Fight like this, it might be enough, but if there were more’n a few enemies. Still, I ain’t crazy enough to get up close with those bastards. Most I could be's a distraction for her; more likely, I’d get in her way.

  Early in the fight, Anilith had summoned Razhik’s mantle, and Orion had taken the time to emulate that wisdom. He could tell from the way that she moved, one moment all speed and grace, the next an unyielding pillar in the storm, that she was shifting between her abilities as she fought. Only a trickle of anything other than Earth came through their connection, but even still, the torrent of information threatened to make his head spin.

  More folks saw you fight, kid, you’d have a Company in the makin'. Seen men twice your age as couldn’t last a minute in the ring, but then again, they wouldn’t risk any of what we been through. Id’a called you crazy, those months ago you walked into the Marmot, if you said we’d wind up here.

  A steady deluge of sharpened spears rained on the arena the beasts had created, a killing floor of their own design, and Anilith danced through them without a thought. He knew instinct, honed and hammered in battle, was the only thing standing between her and the wrong end of a bad day, and yet it was enough. The kid walked a sharp, dangerous path, but he knew it was one born of necessity.

  He launched another spear, and as it hit, the first Ogrekin finally collapsed. Eight spears were lodged in its back, the last taking it near the spine.

  Tough bastards, but that’s one down. It’s only a matter of ti—

  Something changed in that instant, and an urgent panic surged from Anilith’s bond. The creatures raged and stomped; They'd had enough of the pests outside the ring, it seemed.

  Razh, get your men! Orion insisted.

  Don’t worry, I felt it too! I’ve got an idea I’ve been dying to try!

  The ring of fire roiled like a cauldron set on an inferno, threatening to boil over, then six columns of liquid death shot out, each hurtling toward a spearman.

  Orion started to move on instinct, not sure if he’d even be fast enough, when Razhik called out, Don’t move, anyone. Trust me!

  Orion held his breath. Left with a choice, he proved his trust in his friend. The only upside was he probably wouldn’t even know if his trust had been misplaced. The moments that followed were seared into his memory, none seeming longer than the instant before impact.

  Then the column vanished.

  DOWN! Razhik screamed in his mind, a wave of exhaustion like nothing he’d ever felt spilling over their bond, and Orion hit the deck, Razhik's armor fading.

  As Anilith spun between her foes, six blazing columns erupted from her waist. She turned, and they matched her every move. In a flash, the Ogrekin fell victim to their own spell. It hadn’t just cut them down at the knee; it carved through their bodies even as they collapsed. Where the columns met the orange barrier, they were consumed by whatever force powered that strange shield, vanishing without so much as a hiss.

  Orion, exhausted from using so much magic, caught her eye, feeling relief briefly flood across their bond, before it was touched with concern. Turning, he saw Razhik collapse, eyes closed, his chest barely moving.

  Might have…overdone it. Just need…a small…nap.

  Always gotta show off, eh, Razh, Orion thought as he walked toward his friend.

  Ori, look, Anilith sent.

  He'll be fine after some rest, he replied.

  Not that, the girl said, there.

  At first, he saw nothing; then he realized what that meant. Razhik hadn't been able to protect them all.

  Orion's eyes grew wide. Could that have been me?