Alik and Killer2011

[Alik]

Mortal kombat!


As he gazed across the vast mountain terrain, Lord Alik felt the first touch of chill in the howling wind that told of the impending onset of the dark winter. It would perhaps be two more full moons before the land descended into perpetual darkness, which brought with it the awakening of the monsters. Creatures who thrived in the absence of light and warmth, whose powers grew as they devoured all about them - the lands of man and demon, and of both the dark and light elves were ravished with equal appetite. Creatures who vanished with the first breath of spring and waited again, deep beneath the ground, for winter to once again return.

It was in the aftermath of such a winter, over a century ago, that the demons had found my Lord Alik. Betrayed and cast out by his treacherous clan, he had been left for dead on the vast salt plains. When the demons came across him, Lord Alik had expected they would delight in his slaughter, after so many had fallen to his blade in the past. But his appearance before them had fulfilled an ancient prophecy that had foretold of a human from the lands of ice to the north that would lead the demons to glory once more.
The demons cared for my Lord Alik and when it appeared he would not survive his wounds, they saved his life through the ritual of immortality that left my Lord with the powers of the demon race, but with humanity in his soul.
For the past century Lord Alik had slowly built and trained the demon armies with such passion, determination and detail that many believed he knew the names of every individual that now served in his vast army.

A ferocious yet honorable warrior, Lord Alik felt frustrated by the many years of cowardly raiding by the clan to the west led by the necromancer who took the form of a little green frog. Alik smiled as he though how appropriate that form was, before a scowl returned to his face as he recalled how they seemed to be permanently entombed within their temples, praying to their Gods for protection from my Lord Alik and his allies, and only venturing out as my Lord slept, when the armies of the little green frog and his beloved concubine, the kissing Doctor, would destroy hapless woodcutter cabins, slaughter the weak and the newborn before stealing the pet rabbits of young children and laughing like hyenas as they rushed back to the sanctuary of their temples.

My Lord was stirred from his distant thoughts by the excited shouts that a Herald from Lord Killer was approaching. The lands of Lord Killer lay to the South, and although human, chance had brought them together during a previous battle against the monsters, and a strong trust and friendship had been formed between the two Empires.
As the rider approached, Lord Alik peered from the battlements at the distant figures. As they moved closer, my Lord Alik suddenly realised excitedly, that Lord Killer himself was among the riders. “This must be news of great importance” Alik thought to himself as he rushed down from the battlements.

“Escort my Lord Killer’s party to their quarters, prepare food and wine and bring any other such comforts as they may desire” Alik shouted, before turning to his most trusted Captain and whispering “Tell our Marauders not to eat the horses like the last time…” A moment later Lord Killer sprang from his horse and rushed to Alik, “brother, it has been too long” as the two heroes embraced. Glancing at the horses, Alik could see they had been pushed hard, and immediately looked at his friend and ally with anticipation and eagerness to know the reason for such an urgent journey.
“Praise to the Gods, our scouts found the monsters lair!” “How can this be?” replied an astonished Lord Alik, “there is a further two moons before the freezing darkness falls?” Killer replied, “Our cavalry had been pursuing the Leprechaun battalions of the little green frog after a night raid against our woodsmen, and as we pursued them through the mountain pass, one of our riders observed a monster scout bearing the royal arms upon his armor. They followed him back to his lair and fell upon him and his troop, slaughtering them to the last. We then discovered a map, which, thank the Gods, reveals where the Monster citadel is cited. Though their necromancers have concealed the city from the eye, our visionaries have broken the spell, and now the Citadel lays bear for all to see!”
Lord Alik roared at his Captains “Prepare the armies, we leave at once!!” Finally, he thought, we get to fight an enemy who does not slam shut their city gates or hide behind their Gods. But then a chill swept over him briefly, for the monsters were the most dangerous foe, and if this were indeed their dark Citadel, then the army would be vast and would fight to the end to protect the corrupted Lord within.

The two Lords sat in war council with their trusted advisors, and once the plan was forged, Lord Killer rode back to his armies at first light, whilst Lord Alik began the march East. During the march Alik gauged the hunger of his troops, and felt pride at both their condition and eagerness to wage battle against the foe that had all but destroyed them a century before.

After a forced march of 2 days, with only brief stops for the Black Dragons to scout ahead and devour Monster spies, Lord Alik’s army stood before the dark Citadel. No sooner had they formed ranks than they began to hear the haunting screams of some wretched souls who must be enduring pain beyond compare. For many minutes these sounds pierced the night, before a sudden silence fell. Moments later the reason for the screams became brutally apparent. The Demonesse force that had been sent ahead in unison with Lord Killer’s mercenary armies to weaken the defenses had achieved their objective, for breaches in the Citadels walls were plentiful, but they had paid a terrible price for doing so. The Monsters had severed their limbs and now their catapults rained down a barrage of body parts from their fallen comrades.
This was followed by the piercing sound of the monsters battle cry as they charged forward from the Citadel, filled with bloodlust and the belief that they were truly invincible.
The Captains in my Lord’s army bellowed ferociously at the ranks, “stand firm”, “hold the line”, and even through the noise and chaos of war their voices could be clearly heard. But their was no need for such instruction, for these were courageous battle hardened veterans of a hundred wars who fought like the demons they were to protect their comrades and serve their great Lord, and cared only that they should die with honour when their time came.
Endless hordes of monsters emerged from the ground before them, like an army of ants, countless in number and thinking as one, seeking to devour all in their path.
They crashed into the shield wall of Alik’s army, and shear weight of numbers forced Alik’s troops back, though none turned and ran. The fighting was ferocious, with no mercy asked for, or given. Thousands on both sides fell and the field was awash with blood.
The fighting raged for hours, and as dawn broke, both sides remained locked together in a fight to the bitter end. Suddenly Lord Alik’s heart sank as he saw a dark cloud emerge from the Citadel, which as it slowly grew closer, revealed itself as tens of thousands of the dreaded gargoyles which the great Monster Lord had held back until this final moment when their attack would surely clinch the day.

Just as they were about to descend from the sky and fall upon the rear of my Lord’s army the morning air was filled with the sound of trumpets and the cheers of men. Alik looked again to the sky and his heart soared, for there, above the gargoyles, were the mighty legions of Lord Killers Pegasus. As he watched, the brave riders fell upon the gargoyles, cutting through their ranks and quickly scattering them in all directions. At the same time the massed ranks of human archers, protected by the shields of Lord Alik’s army, rained devastating volleys into the Monster army. Such was the force from the crossbows that the bolts went clean through the Monsters shields and armor with none able to escape their path. The archers fired until the flesh peeled from their fingers and the muscles in their arms burned, while the Knights circled round to cut off the Monsters retreat and Lord Alik’s wall of shields began to move forward and close the trap. It was now just a matter of time, and soon the noise of battle faded and was replaced with the sound of the dying crying out for aid, and the laughing of the assassins from the western frog clan as they hovered on the outskirts of the battlefield looking to kill the wounded and take relics from their bodies in the hope that someone would see these treasures and believe they too were mighty warriors.


Bloodied and battered, both men sat upon the dismembered corpse of an Iron Golem. They sat in silence, surveying the healers of both their armies hard at work tending to the wounded. It was a solemn sight, such a mighty battle that these lands had never before witnessed, leaving no need for words between the two comrades. After both men had paid respects to the fallen by way of prayer, suddenly Lord Killer began to laugh, and as he gripped the shoulder of Lord Alik, he said, “This was a battle that will have made the God’s themselves look upon us with envy”, then he paused before laughing again and finally saying “And now, we look to the west and go back to scaring little green frogs”.

[sliph]

Cool story, has repeat paragraphs though

[Arbash]

Hi! the story is really great! and even though it was written long after it should have been, we are going to issue the reward to you. Please, notice that all stories shall be written not later than 3 months after the actual annihilation.