//------------------------------// // Chapter Six: Battle for Griffish Isle, Part Three // Story: The Warriors of Chaos II: The End Times // by The Warmaster //------------------------------// Archaon staggered slightly as he exited the cavern, the Armor of Morkar surrounding his body. Outside, the battle against the Griffons continued, though now the battle seemed less ferocious, as the Griffons had begun to retreat once again. Archaon snorted angrily, gripping a fleeing griffon that passed him, squeezing the life out of it through it’s neck. There was the sound of his neck breaking under the pressure from Archaon’s grip, and the Everchosen tossed the corpse to the ground, the head falling off as the ruined and bleeding throat of the griffon could no longer support it, the head breaking off with a sickening tearing sound.   “Warriors who serve me!” Archaon roared, his body already healing from the battles fought with Wingstrong and Morkar’s Spirit. ”The Armor of Morkar is mine! And the foolish Sorcerer who dared to defy me has fallen under my heel. Such is the fate of so cowardly a traitorous worm!” He pointed the Slayer of Kings towards the town of Everstone, the castle only just visible above the tree line. ”In celebration, we shall ransack what remains of the Griffon cowards on this pathetic rock! Once we have taken their gold, we will raze this pathetic island!”   The cheers of his Warriors greeted this proclamation, and Archaon took the lead, his army marching behind him, reforming under the trees. The ranks ready, the Legion marched for the city, lowly sorcerers staying behind to summon forth Daemonic weapons for the coming battle.   The Daemon summoned by the griffons sensed the march of the tides of Chaos, and surrounded Everstone in a mass of wooden vines and branches, in an attempt to increase the fortifications of the city. That done, she used her powers of the Warp, which had been soaking into the trees and plants of the entire island, to harass and weaken Archaon’s army as much as possible.  Archaon was soon very irritated as yet another of his Warriors was taken by the trees, which had come to life through unknown means. Archaon could most definitely sense the powers of the Dark Gods at work here, and he growled angrily.   “The Dark Gods seek to put us to the test, even though I have proven time and time again that we are worthy to bring the End Times! We claimed the Slayer of Kings, we brought ruin to the land we marched across! We claimed the Armor of Morkar, and yet still the Gods seek to test us!” Archaon stomped the ground, and flames burst from his iron boot, scorching the grass and blackening the dirt beneath. ”They believe we are not yet ready to bring about the End Times! What say you to this?!” He roared to his army, and his roar was met with the cry of blood from every warrior, calling for the wholesale slaughter to come.    ”We will show the Dark Gods that we are more than capable of clearing their tests with ease! We shall make these griffons, who use the very plant life around their city, while they stay in their town, an example of our wrath! With our blades and axes, we shall make this town bathe in the blood of it’s people! It will make a fine example, and a tribute to the Blood God!” Archaon yelled, and the trees in front of him burst into flame, the daemonic flames spreading across the trees between Archaon’s horde and the city of Everstone. Soon, a blackened path of ash and burned ground beckoned the Legion of the Dark Gods forth, and to the walls surrounding Everstone, while frightened guards got their first sight of their enemy.    Archaon raised his blade high, uttering a cry so horrible the closest of the remaining trees wilted at such a shrill and daemonic roar. His Legion was invigorated by the declaration, rushing forth as Archaon marched slowly towards the Griffon city. The Griffons, after recoiling from the sound Archaon had wrought upon their ears, let fly a tide of arrows to strike at the horde of abominations rushing towards them, cries baying for fresh blood spewing even as arrows found their mark, striking dead some of the more eager and bloodthirsty berserkers, while the rest, having some medium of self-control, raised their shields up to block the oncoming cloud, their mutated limbs allowing them to stand on two legs, while grotesque claws without fur held shield and axe.    Archaon himself cared little for the arrows blunting against his unholy armor, finding no purchase to his flesh. He began chanting a dark, and unholy phrase, drawing upon the Magic Tides that were so strong in this world. Yelling with rage, his voice brought forth the powers of Chaos into reality, materializing as a massive ball of flames, which sailed over the heads of his army, and crashing straight into the wooden barricades, vaporizing them even as the daemonic flames leaped across the Griffon lines, roasting a good amount of the bird-like soldiers, the flames reaching into the unarmored parts of their body to latch onto the feathers beneath. The unfortunate griffons soon found themselves screaming in agony as flames licked up their limbs, searing their flesh and cooking them inside their armor.    As the first of Archaon’s Horde reached the city walls, they began using what little was left of the wooden vines to climb to the top, even as the rest of the horde brought ladders to climb the walls. The first of the mutated equines leapt up onto the walls, and landed on a very unlucky griffon, the monster’s toothy and unnatural jaw extending, before closing violently around the guard’s neck, biting through the leather meant to defend the poor soldier, and sinking into his feathered flesh, blood pooling around the fangs, even as the monster pulled back, a horrendous tearing sound rushing alongside the monster’s fangs as it ripped open the griffon’s neck, blood rushing out of the open wound like a small, red waterfall as the unfortunate griffon attempted to bring air to his lungs, even as he watched the pony daemon roar in triumph, only to find a spear ripping through the beast’s mouth, before violently rushing back out. The monster fell to the cobblestone floor dead, even as more of the monsters rushed onto the wall. The dying Griffon was lucky enough to be the first death.    “Let not even a single one of the abominations pass beyond this wall!” A captain cried, using his wings to wield two swords even as they separated the heads of two more creatures. “For only in death does our duty end!” The other guards yelled in reply, brandishing their swords and spears even as more of their brethren died to the claws of the grotesque nightmares. The steel of their blades met mutated and festering flesh, ripping apart flesh and bone even as Archaon arrived at the wall.    The Everchosen of Chaos scaled the ladders among his Legion, jumping into the fray as Chaos Spawn, the most horrifically mutated of the ponies he had brought under his banner, lumbered towards the main gate, their claws and other limbs bashing against the large, wooden doors. Archaon waded through the forces on the walls, the Slayer of Kings blazing even as it ripped through the Griffon that had attempted to bring his sword to bear against the Bringer of The End Times. A spear broke against the Armor of Morkar, the wooden shaft splintering against the impenetrable wall of unholy metal.    The Captain of the Guard leapt towards Archaon, his twin swords rushing for Archaon’s head as the Griffon roared fiercely. Archaon smashed his shield against the Captain’s beak, caving the poor fool’s face in as the beak sank back into his skull, pushing straight through his spinal cord with a sharp crack. The lifeless captain fell, toppling off the wall and slamming into the cobblestone street below headfirst, splattering blood, shards of bone, and brain matter across the stone. Archaon felt the newly released souls being pulled from the Tides of Magic and towards the palace in the center of the town.    As what little remained of the Griffon Guard fled from their walls and into the city, the Chaos Spawn brought their claws into the gate for the final time, splintering the wooden gate into pieces as the Spawn roared in triumph, and the flood of chaos ponies rushed into the new opening, charging into the streets. Archaon watched them rush in, pleased with the fervor they showed as they cried for more sacrifices to the Dark Gods.   ”My Minions!” Archaon roared from the walls, causing all the mutated ponies to stop and stare at him in fear. ”Round up what little resistance remains here, and bring the prisoners to me! And once all resistance has died out, deprive of this city all its riches!” The monsters that had once been ponies cheered, spreading out into the city to hunt down whatever remained.    Meanwhile, in the Palace   As the last of the surviving griffons trickled in, Officer Quick Slash growled in contempt. Barely even fifty of the guards tasked with holding the Walls had returned, the cowards having abandoned their posts while the enemy roamed throughout their great city, contaminating what was once a shining beacon of a city with their unholy existence.   ”You are right, the pathetic cowards were better off dying on the walls.” a feminine voice slithered into his ears, and he turned to find the Holy Protector, Mazarish, hovering next to him. He immediately bowed, but with a wave of her hand, green vines sprouted to raise the Officer back to his feet. ”No need to bow, Warrior of the Griffish Isles,” She said,  a light smile on her beak, which had twigs growing out of it. ”True Warriors such as yourself shouldn't kneel before me.”   “I-I thank you for your praise, your Holy Majesty.” Quick Slash stuttered. “To what do I owe your attention?” Mazarish smiled softly, like that of a mother greeting her child.    ”I wish for you to lead the defense of this palace.” She said softly, her purple eyes staring down at him with hidden amusement. ”I entrust you, one who has fought Archaon and survived, to defend our last bastion of hope. I am not quite ready to fight, so you must hold the enemy back, even if it means sacrificing the lives of your comrades. Doing this will earn you my favor, and my gifts.” The Nature-infused Protector lifted his gaze to meet hers. ”Will you accept this holiest of tasks?”   “Of course, Your Holiness!” Quick Slash replied, his eyes wide with pride. Mazarish grinned as her powers brought forth a black blade, which hissed with untapped power as it entered the material realm. Quick Slash, receiving a nod from the Protector, gripped the blade in his claws, feeling power begin to course through him. “This...feels….incredible!” The Griffon yelped as mutations wracked across his body. Roots sprouted from his forelegs, covered in blood as they wrapped around the Griffon, jabbing back into his claws, which soon glowed a dark emerald, black claws ripping out of his wrists to form spikes.    His face suffered from the mutations as well. His jaw broke, extending downward as fangs grew out from his beak, dripping with his own blood as they extended. His eyes blackened, losing their sight even as his ears grew, giving him the hearing of a bat. His chest erupted in thorns and vines, black blood pooling around the Griffon as the vines crushed his ribs, soon replacing them with tree-like wooden replacements, his body expanding with muscles. His wings creaked and cracked, soon becoming bone-like blades, which glistened with blood as his feathers fell away all at once. His hind legs snapped as they reorganized themselves, allowing Quick Slash to stand on two legs even as more claw-like protrusions ripped their way through his legs, gripping onto the floor to the point the marble cracked where the claws met it.   Soon, the transformation was complete, and Quick Slash, now a horrific monster, roared, boasting a challenge to all who heard it. The griffons roared along with him, his cry filling them with unnatural energy, while all but the strong-willed of Archaon’s horde backed away from the palace, which echoed with the power of his roar. Archaon, marching through the town to the palace, paused for but a moment, listening to the animalistic and brutal roar. His guards all flinched, but immediately continued their march, and Archaon chuckled as the cry subsided.   ”Come then, Mutant scum!” Archaon roared to the empty streets, The Slayer of Kings flaring momentarily in response to the unknown creature’s cry. ”If you wish to fight me for your pathetic Protector, then I shall bring your death with my blade!”