In Sir Aurex's base, a messenger arrived.
"What's the situation in the west?" Sir Aurex asked without looking up from the map spread across his table.
"They were able to defeat the dark mages and managed to defend the border walls, but a lot of soldiers and mages were injured," the messenger said.
"Good," Sir Aurex said, nodding. "That should buy us some time to send reinforcements."
The messenger hesitated. "There's one more issue, Lord Commander."
Sir Aurex's gaze sharpened. "Speak."
"The leader of the dark mages has yet to appear. Dark mages typically operate alone, but for them to coordinate like this... there must be someone commanding them." the messenger said worried.
Sir Aurex's expression darkened. "Those empire bastards... he thought bitterly. To stoop so low as to employ dark mages in war."
"We need to finish things here quickly and move to the western front before the enemy can reinforce. We cannot have another group of mages attack the west."
He stepped back and reached for his armor, his voice resolute. "This time, I'll have Duke Avaris's head."
In Duke Avaris's' camp, the Duke and knight captains are gathered in the tent talking about their strategy.
"I can't believe we're being pushed back like this by only one man despite our numbers," a knight captain from House of Osric said, frustrated.
Duke Avaris's eyes locked on the map. "He likely has one of the shards."
"The Queen was wise to give one to her Lord Commander, the Duke thought. I can sense he hasn't even tapped into its full power yet. We must obtain those shards at all costs."
"I'm afraid we can't handle this on our own any longer," Avaris continued. "We've already lost 10,000 men in a month, while they've only suffered injuries. As long as Sir Aurex remains on the front lines, we'll keep bleeding soldiers."
"Has there been any word from the capital?" one of the knigt captain asked.
"They say reinforcements are on the way," the captain from House Viremont replied.
Just then, a soldier burst into the tent. "My lord! Someone from the capital has arrived!"
The Duke and his captains stepped outside, eyes scanning the perimeter.
"Where are they?" the Duke demanded.
"I am here, my lord," said a small voice.
He looked down to see a child, no older than twelve. Her curly red hair glinted in the firelight, and her oversized mage robe dragged against the dirt. She clutched a crystal ball in both hands, her expression unreadable.
"What is the meaning of this?" the Duke snapped. "Why is there a child here?"
"I was sent from the capital," the girl replied, her lifeless eyes fixed on him. "My master instructed me to assist you if needed."
"Who is your master?" the Duke demanded, his tone sharp.
"Duke Vane, my lord."
"What is he thinking?" the Duke growled to himself. "Sending a child to the battlefield? Has he gone mad?"
The sound of the bell caught everyone's attention.
"Enemy ahead! Enemy ahead!" a soldier shouted from the watchtower.
The camp erupted into motion. Soldiers scrambled for their weapons, mages gathered into formation, and knight captains shouted orders.
"What's your name?" Duke Avaris asked, glancing at the small girl.
"Ashen, my lord," she replied calmly.
"Alright, Ashen. Go inside the tent and wait there. This is no place for a child. There must have been some mistake. I'll send you back once this is over," the Duke said firmly, fastening his armor.
"But I-" she began, only to be gently but firmly pushed into the tent by the Duke.
"Stay here," he ordered, mounting his horse.
The battle began in full force. Mages from the Empire launched fireballs and massive boulders from the sky toward the soldiers of the Dostani Kingdom, but a colossal wall of earth rose just in time, shielding them.
"My lord! As long as Sir Aurex is on the front lines, the mages can't break through!" shouted one of the knight captains.
"I'll handle him. All of you, full assault!" Duke Avaris commanded.
He galloped into the chaos, his sword drawn, straight toward the heart of the enemy line. Sir Aurex and Duke Avaris battled head on.
"I must commend you," said Duke Avaris, straining as their swords pressed against one another. "You've accomplished so much at such a young age. You live up to your name, Sir Aurex."
"It's an honor to be recognized by the Duke of House Avaris," Sir Aurex replied coolly.
"You're wasting your talent in such a small kingdom. Serve the Empire, and I will grant you a title worthy of your power," the Duke offered as sparks flew between their blades.
Sir Aurex blocked the strike. "A generous offer," he said coolly, as stone crept up his arms like gauntlets. "But I serve only one queen."
Sir Aurex drove a powerful, rock-armored punch toward the Duke's stomach. Though the Duke managed to morph his sword into a metal shield using magic, the force sent him crashing backward into the trunk of a tree.
"Not even our kingdom has battle mages who can manipulate metal," Sir Aurex said, stepping forward. "Perhaps we should offer you a position in our kingdom."
The Duke coughed up blood, but laughed through the pain.
"I must be getting old," Duke Avaris muttered, staggering to his feet. "I can't let myself be bested by a boy half my age."
With a growl, he struck his sword into the ground. A blinding blue aura erupted from his body. All the steel and metal in the vicinity trembled, levitated, and melted mid-air then surged toward him, coating his entire frame in liquid metal that solidified into a full suit of armor, leaving only his piercing eyes exposed. His sword grew longer and wider, monstrous in size and weight.
"A full body armor... So this is the rumored Iron Wrath. His strongest magic," Sir Aurex said. "Then I shall also give it my all."
A green aura surged from Sir Aurex's body. Stones and soil encased his limbs as he began to armor himself. But before the transformation could finish, Duke Avaris lunged with blinding speed.
Sir Aurex barely raised a wall of earth to intercept the strike, but the Duke crashed through it effortlessly. The clash of blades rang out as Sir Aurex blocked just in time. His sword shuddered and cracked under the sheer force of the Duke's enhanced strike.
"He's overpowering me..." Sir Aurex realized. "At this rate, my sword will break," he thought, gritting his teeth.
"What's wrong?" the Duke taunted. "I thought you had more in you. Or are you looking down on this old man?"
He swung again, and again. Sir Aurex deflected each blow, but the momentum kept building. Then swiftly, the Duke's sword morphed into a hooked blade. With a flick, he disarmed Sir Aurex, sending his sword high into the air. In one fluid movement, the hook shifted into a chain, which wrapped around Sir Aurex's body.
Before he could react, the Duke swung him into the ground. But just before impact, Sir Aurex softened the earth, absorbing the blow. As the Duke pulled the chain back, it wouldn't budge. The earth had swallowed it as if the ground itself had seized it.
"You really don't give me a moment to breathe," Sir Aurex muttered, forcing himself upright. "I didn't want to rely on this... but I can't afford to lose."
The air trembled. Sir Aurex's aura intensified, the earth rumbling beneath him. Stone surged from the ground, crawling up his body, layering over itself again and again until a towering golem emerged, its glowing green eyes burning like twin flames.
Duke Avaris stood in awe. "So this is the power of the shard..."
The golem let out a thunderous roar that sent soldiers from the Empire's side flying like rag dolls.
Sir Aurex, now fully transformed, brought his massive foot down toward the Duke.
With a roar of his own, Duke Avaris raised his blade-turned-shield and caught the crushing foot. The ground beneath him cracked and cratered from the immense pressure .
Gritting his teeth, the Duke held firm, but the pressure grew heavier. He sank deeper.
With one last push, Sir Aurex drove his foot down, pinning the Duke to the ground in a thunderous quake.
Duke Avaris lay beneath the crushing weight, blood in his mouth, cracks spreading through his armor. The steel helm shattered, revealing his battered face.
"I thought the Iron Wrath was impenetrable," Sir Aurex muttered, watching the cracks in the Duke's armor. "But it seems that isn't true."
Far from the front lines, Ashen walked toward the battlefield, her oversized robe dragging across the grass. She stared into the swirling light of her crystal ball and whispered,
"It's time for you to come out."
Suddenly, thousands of flies came out of her crystal ball. They scattered in every direction, crawling into the mouths, wounds, and armor of fallen soldiers, knights, and mages. Some burrowed underground. Moments later, the corpses began to stir. Even those long buried clawed their way up to the surface.
"Sir! Behind you!" a soldier shouted.
The knight captain turned and, with a swift strike, decapitated the corpse lunging at him.
"What the hell? Wasn't he already dead?" he gasped.
Screams erupted from the rear lines.
"Aaah!" a wounded soldier cried, only to be dragged down by what should have been his comrade's corpse.
The undead surged like a wave, swarming the injured and the mages assigned to guard the defenses.
Sir Aurex turned, watching his own men battle soldiers dressed in familiar armor, knights from their own kingdom, now undead. From the front, the enemy forces pressed harder.
"What's going on down there?" he muttered.
He picked up a massive boulder and hurled it at the enemy front, hoping to stall the charge.
A sudden chill crept down his spine. He turned around in horror to see thousands of rotting corpses converged. They merged into a massive humanoid form of rotting flesh, growing taller and wider until it matched his own golem size.
"They have a necromancer!" he thought in horror.
Without hesitation, he lunged at the towering undead and slammed it with a brutal strike to the side. One of its arms was torn clean off but to his shock, the limb twitched, crawled back, and fused into its body. The arm regrew almost instantly.
Sir Aurex pummeled it again and again, shattering its grotesque form, but it simply reformed each time.
"This will never end unless I find the necromancer," he thought.
As he prepared to land another blow, the undead lunged. Sir Aurex went to punch it, but the creature grabbed his arm and bit deep.
Gritting his teeth, Sir Aurex seized its neck with his free hand and smashed it into the ground. Then he looked at his bitten arm, it was chewed and blackened. Channeling his magic, he tried to heal it. A green aura flared but the wound didn't close.
"What the-?" he thought, stunned.
"The more you crush it, the stronger it becomes," Ashen whispered.
As the sky cleared from the clouds and moonlight poured across the battlefield. The light struck Ashen's crystal ball reflecting faintly through the forest. He spotted the glow.
"So that's where you are necromancer," he thought triumphantly.
He tore the trees from their roots and raised a stone fist to strike.
But stopped.
"A child?!" he thought in disbelief.
Ashen didn't flinch. Her voice was a cold, certain whisper.
"Got you."
The giant undead leapt onto his back. Sir Aurex roared and tried to shake it off, but it clung tightly. Then thousands of flies poured from its mouth, swarming to his wounded arm. The creature melted into sludge, seeping into every crack of his golem body.
"Ugh!" he groaned, his voice cracking in agony. Agonizing heat spread across his body, as if molten fire coursed through his veins. He dropped to one knee. His armor of earth crumbled into dust, shrinking until he returned to his human form. Red patches bloomed across his skin, spreading like rot.
"What... did you do to me?" he asked, coughing black blood.
"A deadly illness," she answered, calmly watching the flies return to her crystal orb. "But you can't die yet. I still have to take your soul... for my master."
"W-What?" Sir Aurex wheezed, trying to rise.
"Exanimare"
A white mist, his soul, began to seep from his mouth, eyes, and chest. It drifted into Ashen's hand, coalescing into a glowing orb.
Sir Aurex gasped as the life left his body. His skin withered. His hair turned to white strands. His eyes rolled back, and within moments, all that remained was a mummified husk.
Ashen placed the soul orb into a cylindrical vessel marked with a sigil.
With Sir Aurex dead, the tide turned. The Empire's army surged forward, and the forces of the Dostani Kingdom began to fall.