Chapter 22: The Dragons Save The Day

The war is far from over, but at least this day's battle has gone into the history books. As it turns out it isn't just the dragons that arrive. A second fleet of elves, minotaurs, wizards, witches, and more humans from Allan's land of Scotland and the lands of England, Ireland and Wales as well, are with them. Also humans and dwarves from the settlements from the Realm of Animals are present.

At last the world has seen that if they do not deal with the threat now, where it is, that they will eventually be dealing with the growing darkness when it comes to take over rule of their lands.

England dedicates seventy-five percent of their massive fleet to bring in a third and fourth fleet of reinforcements and supplies, and then they will run continuously to bring in more people and supplies.

Allan is swirling in the abyss, but he does not care, for Emma is firmly in his arms. He smiles, and then he feels a hand touch his chest and warmth and love envelope him. Is it the next existence of light that is trying to pull him free? Is it finally his turn to join his ancestors and friends?

"Allan. Allan!" He feels water hit his face.

"What?" Allan says, groggily opening his eyes. "Stephen."

"Yes."

"Where the abyss have you been?" He smiles sadly as Allan falls into a normal sleep.

"It is a long story, brother. One that I'm sure will be told way too much as the years go by. Not to worry, little brother, you rest now, and let us continue the fight."

During the night the enemy starts building barricades, in essence cutting the city in half. Not knowing how many reinforcements have arrived, the enemy is preparing for the worst.

The initial ferocity of the attack from the dragons of light is overwhelming and sends the enemy reeling, but as the dragon battles rage throughout the first night, both sides come to realize that the two opposing dragon forces are about equal and the hatred they have for each other also seem equal.

By the time morning arrives, there are dozens of dead dragons laying about the city and surrounding countryside. As the sun comes up all the dragons are to be found just behind their main forces, resting from the exhaustion of the exertion of the fight that previous night. For the allied dragons, the Dragons of Light, that means they are on the beaches.

The Allied Forces were on the verge of complete collapse when their reinforcements arrived. The elves and minotaurs' initial forces are cut in half, now numbering around fifteen hundred. The humans also have their numbers nearly cut in half, down to just under two thousand. The minotaurs have taken the greatest losses while causing the greatest damage. Even with the reinforcements of minotaurs, which number around five hundred, the minotaurs can only field eleven hundred, maybe twelve hundred, men. Still, eleven hundred minotaurs are a very devastating force as the enemy found out the previous day. However, there are around one hundred enemy mercenary minotaurs who surrender to their kin and eventually will fight for the Allies.

The elves are also cut down to five hundred strong, and in balance reinforced by another five hundred of their kin. By the time the Alliance Forces of Light reinforcements are strong enough to take over guard, the dwarves are down to barely a dozen soldiers. No trolls or ogres survive. Humans, as far as numbers, have taken the greatest casualties. Out of the tens upon tens of thousands they put into the field, there is now just over four hundred still in fighting condition. But the reinforcements bring a new life to their kin.

You can look out to the ocean, and all you see are ships. In total another two hundred witches and wizards come with the fleet, which means that the mass majority of forces that arrived just in the nick of time were human. Between Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales, better known as the Realm of Tera, they bring forth ten thousand human forces at first.

In the end the force they bring over to Tallyhinder Steen is massive. Not just human forces, but professional soldiers that have always been known as the best throughout the world. Plus, there is supposed to be another army of ten thousand gathering back in England, preparing to join them. Of course the forces from the west, the dragons, elves and minotaurs, are glorious to see.

The city has become so crowded that they have to start positioning some of their forces just outside the city to the east and west. As it is, around the same knoll that Emma and Allan had spent some of their last moments together before Allan left to begin this last leg of the journey. Since that leaves them open to dragon attacks, the Allies move most of the dragons into position around them.

The whole next day not a single battle takes place. The enemy is licking their wounds and reestablishing their might. While the loll in action allows the Allies to continue to unload men and supplies unimpeded.

The dragons are conserving their energy, because the epic battle that is about to rage between the demon dragons and the dragons of light is going to be an endgame. Once again the Nightstalker Dragons and the Rainbow Dragons are going to do battle. No dragon has ever told Allan this before, but it turns out the Dragons of Light and the Demon Dragons have been at war for millennia.

As Allan lay unconscious, Stephen sets out to discover just exactly what the score is. Stephen is a great friend to the mountain tribes, so he takes a dragon and flies over to see how they are doing. It has taken him almost two hours to find the remains of the mountain tribes in their hiding place.

It turns out the reason the demon dragons weren't in on the main battle the other day was because the mountain tribes had started causing so much trouble for the enemy force that was meant to deal with them, that they sent all the demon dragons to wipe them out. They didn't wipe them out, but they did do great damage and sent them further into hiding.

Seeing that the mountain tribes are near defeat, Stephen orders a hundred dragons of light and the complete forces of the elves and minotaurs to join them and to push the enemy out of those mountains. With the allocation of a hundred dragons to the forces in the mountains, that now makes the dragons of light and the demon dragons here at the main forces equal in numbers. Numbering around four hundred each, the skies are going to be filled with angry dragons. As Allan will happily find out later, after he manages to get his lazy butt out of his cot, that Thunderheart is among them. He no doubt wants revenge for Kaleidoscope, and as he found out when Stephen did, about Rax.

Once the elves and minotaurs link up with the remainder of the mountain tribes, that whole theater of battle takes a drastic turn for the allies side. There in the mountains the enemy has only a dozen dragons to assist their forces. Needless to say the dragons of light annihilate them the third day out, and then the combined forces lay waste to the enemy. At the rate they are going they will be able to join up with the main force in under a week.

It is rumored that there is still a fighting force of dwarves, humans, trolls and ogres in the Dwarven Mountains in the northeast. Stephen again goes with a flight of dragons to check on them, and they are also barley hanging on. The dragons of light and Stephen chase the enemy out of the small mountain range, and bring food and other supplies to the beleaguered troops and civilians.

Stephen tells them, "Hang on, the push to drive the enemy back is about ready to get underway."

To test the defenses, Stephen is leading a moderate force of soldiers and magi to the front line on this, the third day. As the Allies had done in the last stages of battle, the enemy is also trying to do the same with barricades. They have barricaded the end of the narrow alleys and streets, and think to wait for the Allied Forces of Light to come up them.

Stephen, not caring for the looks of it, pulls out his amethyst wand and speaks these powerful words taught to him by a fellow Wayfarer. "Bolo." A powerful bolt of amethyst color energy flies from Stephen's wand and strikes the barricades at the end of the street.

It explodes with a thunderous boom, followed shortly by lethal flying wood and stone shrapnel. The forces wait a moment for the sound to die down enough to hear the hoped results. There it is, the moaning of wounded and dying enemy soldiers.

"Forward."

An initial line of infantry from Stephen's own Rock Clan are leading the way, followed quickly by a group of wizards, and after that a line of famed bowman from Wales. Once the forces reach the end of the street the remaining English and Irish infantry will follow.

At the end of the street it opens up into the main city gathering place, which is why Stephen chose this particular place. It will allow for a great many soldiers on both sides to gather and fight, so Stephen can better judge the enemy.