The Witch of the Castle of Glass

Milly dodged as Red Fang came in with a wild strike, his extended claws narrowly missing her gown. She could feel the wind across her face from the power of his blow, and she smiled.

She closed the distance with a single step, and her earth-encased fist connected with his jaw. The force of her punch propelled him into the air, and Milly blasted him with air magic when he reached the apex. He flew backwards and landed in an uncontrolled, end-over-end tumble.

“You’re stronger now,” snarled Red Fang, spitting out a mouthful of blood. “But you aren’t strong enough.”

He jumped at her, his powerful legs closing half the thirty-foot gap in a second. Milly extended her scarred arm, and his momentum was suddenly halted. He dangled in mid-air under the power of her telekinesis. Milly felt her magic reserves steadily tick away as he struggled to break her hold.

“I’m strong enough. Call off your wolves and surrender. Leave this valley, and stay away from the fairies,” Milly demanded, her violet eyes flashing. If she could force his surrender, she could stop this war before it began. She wanted to end him here and now, and she found herself fighting against the desire with every heartbeat.

“My wolves?” Red Fang said with a spiteful laugh. He stopped struggling. “If you think these are my wolves – my clan – then you are a naïve fool.”

Red Fang dug beneath his fur and pulled out a small knife hidden within. He flung it quickly towards Milly’s head.

Milly instinctively raised her hands to cover her face, and the knife struck Calista’s protective shield with an audible crack. The knife fell to the ground, and Milly breathed a sigh of relief, until she realized she had disrupted her telekinesis.

Red Fang, freed from her magic, darted at Milly. He stretched out his claws and went for her throat. His face flashed in vicious triumph. “Die, fool! Die for the glory of the Silver Lakes.”

Milly fired a blast of air at her feet and jumped. Her enhanced strength and magic sailed her ten feet into the air. She leapt over Red Fang’s immense form and slammed her foot hard into his back, sending him sprawling to the ground. With a flick of her wrists, cuffs of stone formed over each of his limbs, holding him tightly face-first in the dirt.

Milly wanted to humiliate the wolf. She wanted to punish him for brutally attacking the Lost Foals. He had wanted to turn them into slaves. Slaves like Nobori and Indigo and so many others. She wanted him to know what fear felt like.

Unfortunately, she did not have that kind of time.

“Call. Them. Off. Now,” Milly repeated her demand, every word laced with a threat.

Red Fang snarled, desperately struggling to free himself. His eye patch had fallen off. Inside, the hole that had once been his eye was filled with puss and maggots. It had been left to fester, uncleaned and filled with disease.

The wolves had fairy slaves with healing magic. Why didn’t he get healed?

Red Fang stopped struggling, unable to break his bonds. He started to cackle with manic laughter.

“I can’t call them off, worthless prey. They do not answer to me.”

With a snap of her fingers, the stone around Red Fang’s left ankle tightened. He screamed in pain as his ankle shattered.

“I don’t have time for this,” Milly said coldly, fueling Salem’s Fury with her mercy. She knew he was telling the truth – her new Ceaseless Skepticism talent told her as much – but he was hiding something. “Who can call them off?”

“Heh. You are not the same creature I fought before,” Red Fang spoke, grinding his teeth to shut out the pain. “You were weak then, but you have wolf in you now. You’ve killed, and you enjoyed the kill. I can see it in your eyes. Was it one of my people? Or perhaps you realized how well the fairies are as prey.”

Milly tightened the stone around his right ankle.

“Ahhh… very well, wolf,” Red Fang acquiesced. “It does not matter. I have accomplished what was asked of me. You cannot change it. You own actions have sealed your demise.”

“The last of your wolves are being slaughtered, and you are lying face down in the dirt,” Milly said flatly, pointing towards the remaining wolves being taken down by Calista, Rain, and Sapphire. The fairies had a few casualties, and the wounded were being carried by the monkeys to Whitewing and her healers.

“Yes, they are. Just as our Chief commanded,” Red Fang said with triumph.

“… What?” Milly asked, feeling a sudden chill. “What do you mean?”

“Those wolves do not belong to the Silver Lakes. You just slaughtered children of the Callous Claws, Single Pine, Winter Winds, and Erosion of Hope clans. Children of nobles and chiefs. First year pups who had yet to wet their claws on the blood of their enemies, traded as hostages to secure a fleeting peace that no longer benefited us.”

That was why the wolves were so easy to fight. They were lower level than Red Fang’s pack that attacked the Lost Foals. Way lower level.

“Those collars they wear convey were to assure their safety. They tell their clan who killed them. It is why we could not kill them ourselves. So we used them as bait, and you did our job for us. You not only revealed your defenses, but you have weakened our rivals and painted a target on the back of every…”

“… human,” Milly said, distracted by the beat of a drum in the distance. It echoed across the valley, but she could not pinpoint its source.

“… human in this world. You will face the collective rage of the wolf clans, and they will wipe your species from existence. Not that you will be around to see it. The Third Warband of the Silver Lakes will see to that, now that I have peeled back the faint hope of your ambush.”

Red Fang snarled at Milly’s surprise. “What? Did you believe us naïve? We are the Wolves of the Silver Lakes! We have survived a millennium of clan warfare. We are the strongest of the five. Did you think we would simply march into this valley without a plan, even against a foe as pitiful as the fairies? You humans are arrogant, and it is your undoing.”

The horn sounded across the valley once more, and a monstrous roar answered from atop the path. The hook-handed wolf raised his whip and snapped it in the air. Its crack was audible even in the valley below.

Calista and Rain rushed over to Milly as the final wolf was impaled on Sapphire’s spear.

“Are you hurt?” Calista asked with concern. She had sweat beading on her forehead and her white amazon dress was spattered with blood.

She’s so beautiful.

“I’m… I’m fine, Cally. Your shield saved me,” Milly answered. “Are you?”

“Rain and I are fine,” Calista answered with relief. “But this isn’t over. Not by a long shot. What was that roar?”

“It is the last sound you shall hear before you die,” Red Fang growled.

The roar cascaded across the valley once more, and this time they saw its source. The creature strode into view beside the hook-handed wolf, and Milly felt a note of fear break through the fires of Salem’s Fury.

It was a massive two-headed wolf, twenty feet tall and fifty feet long. Its white fur was covered in glyphs painted in blood, matching those of the hook-handed wolf. Saliva dripped from its colossal fangs, which gave an acidic sizzle when it struck the stones below. Its angry red eyes fixated on the fairies, now revealed in the valley below, and it shook with excitement. The beast reminded Milly of a hound waiting for its master’s command to attack.

“Calista…,” Rain started, but Calista had Luna’s Pendant of the Journey already clutched in her hands. She materialized the descriptive window where Rain and Milly could see.

Unique Beast, The Fairy Killer of the Silver Lakes

The Fairy Killer of the Silver Lakes is one of the four cornerstones of the Silver Lakes’ power in the Clan War. Born of twisted transfiguration magic, Fairy Killer has been fed exclusively on the meat of fairies who had outlived their usefulness. This has not only given it immense size and power, but bestowed upon it a reserve of magical energy that it can draw upon to fuel elemental strikes. Its all-consuming urge to track down and devour fairies can only be controlled by its Master and his magical whip.

Recommended Player Level: 30

“Oh… shit,” Calista whispered as she finished reading the description. “And guess who that is.”

She turned her attention to the hook-handed wolf, and a new information window appeared.

Unique Beast, Gorath the Alpha

Gorth the Alpha is a Silver Lakes elite. Raised alongside Fairy Killer since birth, he has dedicated his life to controlling the uncontrollable. Despite his close connection with the beast, it is only through the magical crack of Gorath’s whip that he can control the fearsome beast.

A skilled fighter in his own right, Gorath has been at the forefront of every major Silver Lake’s battle in recent memory.

Recommended Player Level: 30

“That’s not good,” Calista said, her mind whirling. “But there are two of them and there are a hundred of us. We can stick to hit and run tactics from the safety of the shelters. Sapphire, take your warriors and…”

Red Fang’s laughter cut through Calista’s orders as a second horn sounded from the southern slopes.

“You have no idea just how fucked you are. Welcome to the real battle.”

A hundred armored wolves – the Third Warband of the Silver Lakes – streamed over the top of the southern ridge, quickly descending the slopes. It was the same path Milly had taken when she had returned earlier that night, and they would arrive at the gathering’s bazaar in under two minutes.

“The warband repositioned the moment the first pup fell into your trap.”

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit,” Calista whispered frantically as she paced back and forth, torn between the two threats. “Sapphire!”

The Elder of the Kinship of the Eastern Waves hurried over to Calista’s side, her silver trident dripping wolf blood.

“I’ll move our strike teams into the gathering,” Sapphire announced with certainty. “We must bring the fight to them and defend our people to the last.”

“Yes, that’s…,” Calista started to agree, but her eyes fell on the stone shelters. “No, we’ll give up our only defense. That’s what the wolves want us to do. If we give up our position, our strike teams will be slaughtered.”

Calista’s heart broke as she realized what had to be done.

“We defend here, where our defenses are strongest,” Calista ordered, each word soaked in the lives of fairies that would be left behind. “We control this battlefield, and there are still traps. We stand the best chance of surviving right here.”

Milly gave Calista a supportive nod. It gave Calista the strength to continue.

“Sapphire, send the foxes and monkeys into the gathering to spread the word. They are to get as many of the children and elderly under the Seonangdangs as possible. Everyone else should make their way to us. We make our stand here.”

“They will enslave many, and slaughter those they cannot,” Sapphire said, her eyes as hard as steel. “Most will not make it.”

“I… I know, but what choice do we have?” Calista responded, choking back her emotions. “At least this way, we can focus on saving those we can.”

“I agree,” Sapphire said coldly. “But I wanted to hear you say it. A general should know what they sacrifice for victory.” With that, she marched into the congregating fairy defenders and started barking out orders.

Calista coughed to stifle her tears, and Rain placed a hand gently on her shoulder. “It’s the right decision, Calista. It’s the Arena of Protection, not the Arena of War. We need to protect as many fairies as we can.”

“Yah, I know,” Calista said. She turned her gaze towards Fairy Killer and Gorath. She saw Xavier hidden halfway down the path, waiting to ambush them. “Well, he’s an idiot, but he’s got the right idea this time. Come on, girls. Let’s go kill us some unique beasts.”

Calista and Rain started marching up the path, weapons at the ready.

Milly began to follow but was stopped by Red Fang’s desperate shout.

“Wait! You can’t leave me here,” he cried out, resuming his struggles. “End it.”

Milly looked at him dispassionately. She touched the scars on her arm, then gazed into his diseased eye.

“You’re not worth the magic,” Milly said, turning away from the trapped beast.

“You fucking coward!” screamed Red Fang. “You killed me the moment you took my eye. The Silver Lakes do not abide failure. This was my chance for a useful death. So give it to me!”

Milly did not answer him.

“Coward! I’ll break free. I’ll find your family and friends and drown you in their blood. I’ll make you watch me rip that spear-wielding’s bitch’s head off. I’ll…,” screamed Red Fang, until a barrier of earth formed across his skull. It inched across his face until the only part left uncovered was his destroyed eye. Red Fang’s body began to spasm, unable to breathe, as earth worked its way down his throat.

Milly snapped her fingers, and the stone tightened, crushing the wolf’s skull. Blood dripped through the opening where his eye had once been, and his body went still.

“No sense wasting the experience,” Milly said coldly, as she saw her level increase to twenty-one. “Xavier would be proud.”

She turned away from the corpse and sprinted to catch up with Calista and Rain.

She had bigger things to worry about.