Chapter 478: The Dragonbane, Oshnyr
Hollow Shade… Western Wall… The Molten Gate…
Elzri watched as the army of shades swarmed the dragonbanes, swallowing them up in a mass of black souls. It should have been over, no one, not even a god should have survived such an endless onslaught. And yet, as the shades slowly ate away at dragonbanes’ bodies, the dragonbanes fed on the souls of the shades, growing in power until not even the thousands of shades could harm them.
It shouldn’t have been possible. Elzri had stood in disbelief as the dragonbanes attacked in a blinding blast of white and black light.
The dome had shattered underneath the otherworldly flames. The last thing Elzri had heard was Holo screaming to take cover. She pulled them both to the ground. Even though the void flames hadn’t been directly aimed in their direction, the resulting blast swept away the surrounding area, sending hundreds of soldiers careening to their deaths.
The roar of the flames drowned out the dying screams of Elzri’s soldiers. The wall underneath him shook and it took all his strength to stop himself from being thrown back.
As the smoke began to clear, a high-pitched noise rattled in Elzri’s ears. He blinked several times and looked around. Holo was nowhere to be seen. Ash covered his skin. Blood dripped from his fingertips where he had held on to the ground too tightly.
He felt weak, chills running through his body as if he was running a fever. Whatever attack the dragonbanes had done, it had been more than flames. He had felt his mana drain from his body as the dragonbanes’s chests swelled with power, right before the attack.
Grey magic excelled in drain spells, but the caster had to always be within touching distance. This had come from the dragonbanes, a hundred paces above them.
Elzri had experienced Grey drain spells before, but this was far worse, far more potent as if his organs were being ripped out of him.
Even now he could only sense half of his usual mana reserves. The usual stable mana flow within him was in disarray and no matter how he tried to focus and command the flow, he couldn’t stabilize it.
Elzri reached out to the battlement’s merlons to steady himself and slowly stood to his feet. He frowned, the magestone… it was pale, translucent. The wall’s iconic black swirling sheen was gone.
Elzri channeled what little yellow mana listened to him and threw a gust of wind outwards, blowing away the smoke and dust in the air. The battlement was in turmoil. The trebuchets had been destroyed. Not all the soldiers had been blasted off the wall; a few had been sent crashing into the merlons, their fragile bodies breaking on impact.
The survivors had all suffered injuries, ranging from bruises to broken bones. Elzri spotted a few mages that served under his House; all of them were unconscious or on their knees vomiting bile and blood.
Elzri guessed that whatever had drained the mana from his body had affected them too, far worse it seemed.
He breathed out a small sigh of relief when he spotted his old friend, Krall Katag, a few dozen meters away. The giant of an orc seemed relatively fine, save for a few scrapes. He had gathered whatever soldiers could stand and was shouting what Elzri could only guess were rallying calls.
Slowly, the ringing in Elzri’s ears faded, and his hearing began to return. Krall’s voice sounded like a faint whisper. Elzri tried to make out what the War Master was saying, but only one word sounded clear— breach.
A cold chill ran down Elzri’s spine. He turned around. Pillars of black smoke rose from where the dragonbanes had attacked. The magestone had melted apart into molten rock and fallen apart, leaving a wide open ‘gate’ for the enemy to invade.
Even in the dark hours of the night the thousands of torches outside the city illuminated the grasslands.
“ELZRIIII!!” Krall screamed.
A deep roar pierced the sky. Elzri looked up as a dragonbane burst out from a pillar of black smoke, its claws outstretched towards him. He instinctively called forth orange mana, but his erratic mana flow hindered the spell. He wouldn’t be fast enough.
Like a hero from legends, Krall vaulted over the battlements with a warcry, his axe held above his head poised to strike. The dragonbane’s black eyes glanced up. Its tail lashed out faster than an arrow and swatted Krall.
The orc flew down, past the wall’s battlements.
“No!” Elzri shouted.
Brown mana surged through Krall’s veins. His scarlet skin burned a bright metallic bronze sheen. His eyes snapped open and he slammed his axe into the wall. The steel sharp edge sliced through the magestone and buried itself deep. Krall held onto the axe and kicked off the wall, flying 10 meters up and landing back on the battlements.
The dragonbane, Oshnyr, landed in front of him and regarded the orc with a tilt of his head. The small red creature should have already been dead and yet there it stood, defiantly. Oshnyr glared at the orc and roared, a deep deafening noise that shook the wall underneath them.
Krall roared a guttural response and charged.
Elzri realized in dismay that Krall had fallen into his berserker magic. Reasoning had already left his mind. The only one who could bring him back was his wife, Evelyn.
Oshnyr lashed out with his tail once more. Krall ducked underneath with uncanny agility. As the tail swept by, he jumped up high and landed atop the massive dragonbane’s back. With an angry shout, he swung his axe across the translucent skin, aiming for the softer grey muscle underneath. Swing after swing the enchanted axe slashed at the thick hide, with no effect. Krall glanced at his axe and frowned. The axe’s edge had been chipped apart. Krall looked up and noticed the dragonbane had been staring at him curiously.
Oshnyr’s hand shot out in a flash and pinched Krall’s leg between two clawed fingers. He picked up the screaming little red creature from his back and held it in front of his black eyes. The small creature was no dragon, yet it held the same chromatic magic. A deep hunger rumbled within the dragonbane’s stomachs and he started salivating. Oshnyr slammed the orc down on the wall a few times until he stopped moving.
Dozens of arrows struck harmlessly off Oshnyr’s hide, but he paid the other prey no mind. The mana wafting off this red one was far more delicious. The void beast opened its maw wide, revealing several rows of sharp black teeth the size of swords, and held Krall over his mouth.
Orange flames suddenly slammed into the side of Oshnyr’s face. His black eyes glanced at the source, a pale grey figure, smaller than the orc, and yet the scent of chromatic mana oozed out of this one, like none he had ever seen before. His grey-blue tongue licked his lips hungrily.
With a simple flick, Oshnyr tossed Krall aside, and stalked towards Elzri.
“Not one more step,” Elzri growled. Black mana flowed into his veins. His shadow darkened and dozens of jet-black tendrils shot out and grabbed the dragonbane. Like old threads, the tendrils snapped apart with ease as Oshnyr drew closer.
Elzri’s fingers flicked through the air as he wrote arcane words. Grey curse sigils came to life like chains and wrapped around the dragonbane, only to melt away a mere second later.
Five white orbs of light, each a meter in diameter, spun into existence above Elzri, and with a snap of his fingers beams of light shot forth. Yet the dragonbane did not slow down even as the beams struck his face.
The archmage furiously wrote red sigils across the air in a complex series of wards. Layers of red magic formed over the dragonbane, locking him into a domed cage. Oshnyr stepped through the wards without breaking his stride.
Elzri furrowed his brow. The creature hadn’t destroyed the wards so much as the ward had disintegrated as it drew close. He realized grimly that the creature wasn’t immune to his magic or even destroying it, the beast was absorbing it.
Elzri glanced at the retreating soldiers and mages. Two of them carried Krall’s body away. The orc’s body was covered in blood and several bones jutted out of his skin. Elzri couldn’t tell from this distance if the man was still breathing, though, with the extent of his wounds, it was a slim hope at best.
The white orbs finally sputtered out of light, the spell’s mana diminished. Oshnyr drew closer and eyed Elzri with an endless hunger.
I can’t let the others be caught in the blast… Elzri thought. He channeled Yellow into the air around him and shot up into the sky.
The dragonbane’s wings unfurled and it followed after him with a mighty beat of his wings.
Orange mana rushed into Elzri’s hands until his fingers burned with power. Azure flames ignited across his fingertips and coiled below his feet. The dragonbane roared hungrily and flew up towards him.
Elzri stared at the monster with cold anger. “...Die.”
Azure flames bloomed in a fiery inferno, exploding outwards in blue ripples. The flames consumed the dragonbane and continued to grow, forming a fiery blossom in the sky. Oshnyr howled in pain, a deep wretched sound. His thick impenetrable hide began to melt and char, unable to quickly enough absorb the sheer destructive magic.
The dragonbane’s eyes widened as its wings were burned away. He shot up with one last wingbeat, through the flames, and his hand pierced the blue inferno. Elzri stiffened in disbelief as the clawed fingers reached out for him. He tried to fly away, but the Oshnyr’s claw caught his leg and flung him downwards with terrifying strength.
Pain shot up Elzri’s leg and the world spun as he felt himself tunneling down through the air. He focused his mana flow as much as he could and formed yellow scales across his body. Black and red pain burned across his vision as he slammed into an old house in the Commoner District.
He opened his eyes blearily and slowly glanced around the wreckage. His defensive scales were all cracked and breaking apart into dust. His right leg was barely hanging by a bit of flesh and skin. The dragonbane’s claw had torn through the bone and sinew with ease.
Elzri groaned in pain and sat up. He gritted his teeth and tried his best to stop his hands from shaking. White mana flowed into his leg and began to stitch the flesh together. It would take hours of intense healing to properly recover fully, but for now he could at least stop him from losing more blood.
A dark blur abruptly crashed into a nearby house, sending the ground shaking. Oshnyr ripped through the wreckage and trudged out with a growl. His skin and muscles were already regenerating at a rapid pace.
Elzri tried to stand, but his leg failed him and he collapsed. Oshnyr snarled at him and stalked towards him. As the dragonbane drew close Elzri could feel his mana slowly being drained from him. Just being in the mere proximity of the void creature weakened him. He could only imagine how it would feel for an ordinary mage.
How could the mages of Hollow Shade ever hope to stop these monsters?
Oshnyr snarled at him and stood with his head and shoulders low, tail raised high like a scorpion ready to strike.
A brief glimpse of Loh and Aizel as children flashed through Elzri’s mind. He shook his head.
Why was he having these thoughts now? It was too late to change things, far too late.
Elzri stopped the healing spell and focused on summoning what remained of his orange mana. A wisp of blue flames sparked to life on his hands.
Oshnyr’s spiked tail shot out without hesitation. Holo Flickered above them in a blast of orange sparks and sliced through the tail with her scythe. Oshnyr roared and stumbled backwards in shock and pain.
Holo landed in front of Elzri and flourished her scythe at the dragonbane. “We haven’t lost yet, Noir, so get up. Your family needs you at the wall.”
Elzri glanced uncertainly at Oshnyr and then at his severed tail oozing black blood on the ground.
“Don’t worry about this one.” Holo patted her scythe, “Lyrae and I will take care of him.”
Frostbird https://discord.gg/uYqw7R6SKz
If you liked the chapter please leave a like, if there is something else you are interested in knowing about the lore, or if you have any questions, remarks, or just want to say hi drop a comment below!
Check out the glossary for more info on characters, lore, magic, and more!
Chapter 478: The Dragonbane, Oshnyr
Hollow Shade… Western Wall… The Molten Gate…
Elzri watched as the army of shades swarmed the dragonbanes, swallowing them up in a mass of black souls. It should have been over, no one, not even a god should have survived such an endless onslaught. And yet, as the shades slowly ate away at dragonbanes’ bodies, the dragonbanes fed on the souls of the shades, growing in power until not even the thousands of shades could harm them.
It shouldn’t have been possible. Elzri had stood in disbelief as the dragonbanes attacked in a blinding blast of white and black light.
The dome had shattered underneath the otherworldly flames. The last thing Elzri had heard was Holo screaming to take cover. She pulled them both to the ground. Even though the void flames hadn’t been directly aimed in their direction, the resulting blast swept away the surrounding area, sending hundreds of soldiers careening to their deaths.
The roar of the flames drowned out the dying screams of Elzri’s soldiers. The wall underneath him shook and it took all his strength to stop himself from being thrown back.
As the smoke began to clear, a high-pitched noise rattled in Elzri’s ears. He blinked several times and looked around. Holo was nowhere to be seen. Ash covered his skin. Blood dripped from his fingertips where he had held on to the ground too tightly.
He felt weak, chills running through his body as if he was running a fever. Whatever attack the dragonbanes had done, it had been more than flames. He had felt his mana drain from his body as the dragonbanes’s chests swelled with power, right before the attack.
Grey magic excelled in drain spells, but the caster had to always be within touching distance. This had come from the dragonbanes, a hundred paces above them.
Elzri had experienced Grey drain spells before, but this was far worse, far more potent as if his organs were being ripped out of him.
Even now he could only sense half of his usual mana reserves. The usual stable mana flow within him was in disarray and no matter how he tried to focus and command the flow, he couldn’t stabilize it.
Elzri reached out to the battlement’s merlons to steady himself and slowly stood to his feet. He frowned, the magestone… it was pale, translucent. The wall’s iconic black swirling sheen was gone.
Elzri channeled what little yellow mana listened to him and threw a gust of wind outwards, blowing away the smoke and dust in the air. The battlement was in turmoil. The trebuchets had been destroyed. Not all the soldiers had been blasted off the wall; a few had been sent crashing into the merlons, their fragile bodies breaking on impact.
The survivors had all suffered injuries, ranging from bruises to broken bones. Elzri spotted a few mages that served under his House; all of them were unconscious or on their knees vomiting bile and blood.
Elzri guessed that whatever had drained the mana from his body had affected them too, far worse it seemed.
He breathed out a small sigh of relief when he spotted his old friend, Krall Katag, a few dozen meters away. The giant of an orc seemed relatively fine, save for a few scrapes. He had gathered whatever soldiers could stand and was shouting what Elzri could only guess were rallying calls.
Slowly, the ringing in Elzri’s ears faded, and his hearing began to return. Krall’s voice sounded like a faint whisper. Elzri tried to make out what the War Master was saying, but only one word sounded clear— breach.
A cold chill ran down Elzri’s spine. He turned around. Pillars of black smoke rose from where the dragonbanes had attacked. The magestone had melted apart into molten rock and fallen apart, leaving a wide open ‘gate’ for the enemy to invade.
Even in the dark hours of the night the thousands of torches outside the city illuminated the grasslands.
“ELZRIIII!!” Krall screamed.
A deep roar pierced the sky. Elzri looked up as a dragonbane burst out from a pillar of black smoke, its claws outstretched towards him. He instinctively called forth orange mana, but his erratic mana flow hindered the spell. He wouldn’t be fast enough.
Like a hero from legends, Krall vaulted over the battlements with a warcry, his axe held above his head poised to strike. The dragonbane’s black eyes glanced up. Its tail lashed out faster than an arrow and swatted Krall.
The orc flew down, past the wall’s battlements.
“No!” Elzri shouted.
Brown mana surged through Krall’s veins. His scarlet skin burned a bright metallic bronze sheen. His eyes snapped open and he slammed his axe into the wall. The steel sharp edge sliced through the magestone and buried itself deep. Krall held onto the axe and kicked off the wall, flying 10 meters up and landing back on the battlements.
The dragonbane, Oshnyr, landed in front of him and regarded the orc with a tilt of his head. The small red creature should have already been dead and yet there it stood, defiantly. Oshnyr glared at the orc and roared, a deep deafening noise that shook the wall underneath them.
Krall roared a guttural response and charged.
Elzri realized in dismay that Krall had fallen into his berserker magic. Reasoning had already left his mind. The only one who could bring him back was his wife, Evelyn.
Oshnyr lashed out with his tail once more. Krall ducked underneath with uncanny agility. As the tail swept by, he jumped up high and landed atop the massive dragonbane’s back. With an angry shout, he swung his axe across the translucent skin, aiming for the softer grey muscle underneath. Swing after swing the enchanted axe slashed at the thick hide, with no effect. Krall glanced at his axe and frowned. The axe’s edge had been chipped apart. Krall looked up and noticed the dragonbane had been staring at him curiously.
Oshnyr’s hand shot out in a flash and pinched Krall’s leg between two clawed fingers. He picked up the screaming little red creature from his back and held it in front of his black eyes. The small creature was no dragon, yet it held the same chromatic magic. A deep hunger rumbled within the dragonbane’s stomachs and he started salivating. Oshnyr slammed the orc down on the wall a few times until he stopped moving.
Dozens of arrows struck harmlessly off Oshnyr’s hide, but he paid the other prey no mind. The mana wafting off this red one was far more delicious. The void beast opened its maw wide, revealing several rows of sharp black teeth the size of swords, and held Krall over his mouth.
Orange flames suddenly slammed into the side of Oshnyr’s face. His black eyes glanced at the source, a pale grey figure, smaller than the orc, and yet the scent of chromatic mana oozed out of this one, like none he had ever seen before. His grey-blue tongue licked his lips hungrily.
With a simple flick, Oshnyr tossed Krall aside, and stalked towards Elzri.
“Not one more step,” Elzri growled. Black mana flowed into his veins. His shadow darkened and dozens of jet-black tendrils shot out and grabbed the dragonbane. Like old threads, the tendrils snapped apart with ease as Oshnyr drew closer.
Elzri’s fingers flicked through the air as he wrote arcane words. Grey curse sigils came to life like chains and wrapped around the dragonbane, only to melt away a mere second later.
Five white orbs of light, each a meter in diameter, spun into existence above Elzri, and with a snap of his fingers beams of light shot forth. Yet the dragonbane did not slow down even as the beams struck his face.
The archmage furiously wrote red sigils across the air in a complex series of wards. Layers of red magic formed over the dragonbane, locking him into a domed cage. Oshnyr stepped through the wards without breaking his stride.
Elzri furrowed his brow. The creature hadn’t destroyed the wards so much as the ward had disintegrated as it drew close. He realized grimly that the creature wasn’t immune to his magic or even destroying it, the beast was absorbing it.
Elzri glanced at the retreating soldiers and mages. Two of them carried Krall’s body away. The orc’s body was covered in blood and several bones jutted out of his skin. Elzri couldn’t tell from this distance if the man was still breathing, though, with the extent of his wounds, it was a slim hope at best.
The white orbs finally sputtered out of light, the spell’s mana diminished. Oshnyr drew closer and eyed Elzri with an endless hunger.
I can’t let the others be caught in the blast… Elzri thought. He channeled Yellow into the air around him and shot up into the sky.
The dragonbane’s wings unfurled and it followed after him with a mighty beat of his wings.
Orange mana rushed into Elzri’s hands until his fingers burned with power. Azure flames ignited across his fingertips and coiled below his feet. The dragonbane roared hungrily and flew up towards him.
Elzri stared at the monster with cold anger. “...Die.”
Azure flames bloomed in a fiery inferno, exploding outwards in blue ripples. The flames consumed the dragonbane and continued to grow, forming a fiery blossom in the sky. Oshnyr howled in pain, a deep wretched sound. His thick impenetrable hide began to melt and char, unable to quickly enough absorb the sheer destructive magic.
The dragonbane’s eyes widened as its wings were burned away. He shot up with one last wingbeat, through the flames, and his hand pierced the blue inferno. Elzri stiffened in disbelief as the clawed fingers reached out for him. He tried to fly away, but the Oshnyr’s claw caught his leg and flung him downwards with terrifying strength.
Pain shot up Elzri’s leg and the world spun as he felt himself tunneling down through the air. He focused his mana flow as much as he could and formed yellow scales across his body. Black and red pain burned across his vision as he slammed into an old house in the Commoner District.
He opened his eyes blearily and slowly glanced around the wreckage. His defensive scales were all cracked and breaking apart into dust. His right leg was barely hanging by a bit of flesh and skin. The dragonbane’s claw had torn through the bone and sinew with ease.
Elzri groaned in pain and sat up. He gritted his teeth and tried his best to stop his hands from shaking. White mana flowed into his leg and began to stitch the flesh together. It would take hours of intense healing to properly recover fully, but for now he could at least stop him from losing more blood.
A dark blur abruptly crashed into a nearby house, sending the ground shaking. Oshnyr ripped through the wreckage and trudged out with a growl. His skin and muscles were already regenerating at a rapid pace.
Elzri tried to stand, but his leg failed him and he collapsed. Oshnyr snarled at him and stalked towards him. As the dragonbane drew close Elzri could feel his mana slowly being drained from him. Just being in the mere proximity of the void creature weakened him. He could only imagine how it would feel for an ordinary mage.
How could the mages of Hollow Shade ever hope to stop these monsters?
Oshnyr snarled at him and stood with his head and shoulders low, tail raised high like a scorpion ready to strike.
A brief glimpse of Loh and Aizel as children flashed through Elzri’s mind. He shook his head.
Why was he having these thoughts now? It was too late to change things, far too late.
Elzri stopped the healing spell and focused on summoning what remained of his orange mana. A wisp of blue flames sparked to life on his hands.
Oshnyr’s spiked tail shot out without hesitation. Holo Flickered above them in a blast of orange sparks and sliced through the tail with her scythe. Oshnyr roared and stumbled backwards in shock and pain.
Holo landed in front of Elzri and flourished her scythe at the dragonbane. “We haven’t lost yet, Noir, so get up. Your family needs you at the wall.”
Elzri glanced uncertainly at Oshnyr and then at his severed tail oozing black blood on the ground.
“Don’t worry about this one.” Holo patted her scythe, “Lyrae and I will take care of him.”
Frostbird https://discord.gg/uYqw7R6SKz
If you liked the chapter please leave a like, if there is something else you are interested in knowing about the lore, or if you have any questions, remarks, or just want to say hi drop a comment below!
Check out the glossary for more info on characters, lore, magic, and more!
