"Levian... I'm cold."
Diana leaned into Levian's back and whispered into his ear. She was now shivering at this point, though he believed that also had something to do with her nerves.
Levian slowed his horse down to a trot, as did Cassius. Both of their eyes glanced out ahead of them.
"Don't worry Diana, we'll be somewhere safe soon."
At last, the trio had reached No Man's Land.
Where the grass was once green and vibrant, it now stretched brown and burnt for as far as the eye could see.
The further one travelled up and down the border, the more battlefields they would find.
But right now, they were there, stationed by the base of the Ashen Crossing.
The brown grass eventually gave way to a giant crack in the land, and from its depths spewed toxic water that glowed a faint green.
Stretched across the crack was a giant bridge, made from wood that seemed to be worn down.
And on either side of the bridge were two giant trenches dug into the stone of the earth. One was home to the humans, and on the other side was home to the elves.
Even at night, forces from either side filtered out of their respective bases and positioned themselves on either side of the bridge.
No battle was taking place at the moment, but they could sense one brewing.
The humans were lined up in rows, clad in blue plate armour and all kinds of weapons in their hands as they stared off against the opposite side, where the elves stood dressed in green armour, and equipped with weapons of their own.
Cassius turned back to Levian.
"Once the battle starts, we'll have to charge through. We can only hope that either side will be too distracted."
Levian was paying attention, but he was more focused on The Ashen Crossing. His eyes scanned across the human units.
Most of them are knights. At the back there are some rangers and mages... but none of them look like him.
Cassius must have guessed what the young lord was thinking, as he slowly began to nod his head.
"No sign of Onitsuka. It might be safe to say that he's sitting this night's battle out."
Diana was filled with hope at the words. It only increased their chances of making it across the bridge safely.
However, Levian struggled to feel the same.
Something about the night felt weird, but he couldn't put his finger on why.
There was a strange amount of tension brewing on the human side of the forces. It was as though they jittered about nervously.
In the end, Levian had no choice. He let out a sigh and nodded his head resolutely.
"Alright... I guess now all we can do is wait."
---
Thirty minutes later...
All of the units on both sides of the field had been rallied together. On the humans' side, there were potentially fifty armed men, and on the elves' side, around double the amount.
A smile spread across Cassius' face as the young elf cheered silently to himself.
"This will make things much easier for us. The humans are clearly at a disadvantage, and will be too busy on the defensive to notice three people from their side pushing their way past."
Levian nodded his head.
It definitely does make things easier.
Then, Diana stirred from her spot behind Levian.
"Do we have a plan to get through?" She asked hopefully, but Cassius shook his head.
"War is...unpredictable. If we come up with a plan it might just end up hindering us in the end. Our aim should be to slide through as fast as possible. I will have my magic ready at all times, and Levian will have his black sword in hand in case we are attacked."
As if on cue, Levian summoned Nyx into his right hand. His grip was still weak from when the spear pierced him.
Then, moments later...
"CHARGE!!!"
"CHARGE!!!"
Two screams came from either side of the bridge as both forces charged towards each other and started their clash.
The trio watched the scene in awe.
At the front of both armies was a shield wall, which kept deaths to a minimum. Not to mention, the darkness of the night obscured their vision, making arrows go wide and miss their targets.
Yet still, some strikes went through. Spells of all elements crashed into both sides of the shields, creating openings in the defence.
Knights marched through and cut down their opponents with swords, axes and spears.
Blood spilt onto the bridge, staining it a darker red. Every time one man was injured or killed, their bodies were carried out by healers, and replaced by more soldiers.
The sight was gruesome, yet Levian found himself drawn to it.
So much blood... all for what?
He turned to Diana, expecting the woman to be shielding her eyes from the sight. Instead, she wore a serious expression, as though burning the sight into memory.
She didn't want to forget.
They had to remember what they were fighting for.
"There!" Cassius suddenly shouted, pointing a finger at a figure on the bridge. "That is the commander, Sylvombre, he will help us through."
Sylvombre was a giant of an elf with long white white hair and a greatsword that crashed through shields with ease.
The elves rallied behind the man, targeting the humans who cowardly fled in fear from the large elf.
Cassius kicked his horse into action, and Levian followed close behind with Nyx drawn and ready. Diana tightened her grip around his stomach, afraid that she might fall.
In an instant, they rode past the base of the humans. Stationed knights turn their heads towards them, eyes wide in confusion.
"H-hey, Fool! What the fuck do you guys think you're doing?" A series of voices called out to them.
"You're going to ruin everything."
"Stop. Have you forgotten the plan?"
"Fucking idiots!"
Levian wanted to stop his horse and hear what the men had to say.
They kept begging for them to stop.
But if they did, their identities would be known, and they'd be imprisoned, or worse, cut down.
They had to keep pushing their horses, and Cassius showed no signs of stopping.
"But why?" Levian muttered to himself, wind blowing against him as their horses trod onto The Ashen Crossing. "What plan are they—"
His words were cut off.
Suddenly, the humans on the bridge went tense. They were being pushed back, and the elves were well onto the bridge now, psyched by their successful attack.
Then, they heard it.
"RAGHHH-THURRRR."
A blood-churning growl came from beneath the bridge, followed by a powerful gust of wind that sent men scattering over the edge and into the water below.
All the humans seemed to know what it was, but it was the elves who stood there in fear, eyes turning towards the source of the growl.
A white figure, large as ten horses itself, emerged from the depths of the toxic water, soaring up into the sky like a giant bird.
One glance was all it took for the elves to realise what it was. One glance was enough to send them into a frenzy.
"A dragon! IT'S A DRAGONNN!"
---
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