Chapter Twenty-Five
BROCK
“How many divisions is that?” I asked Trenok as we looked at the vast elven army.
“Too many to count,” my son replied, “at least eighty, maybe more.”
“Eighty-thousand men,” I smiled, “this battle will be one for the ages. How many cavalry?”
“Twenty cavalry divisions; that will be our weak spot.”
“Gorlok’s wargs and the centaurs will out maneuver them and keep them occupied,” I said, “it’s the heavy infantry that worries me the most.”
“We’d crush them in hand to hand.”
“No,” I replied to my over-confident son, “man to man we could beat them, but they’ll be fighting as one unit. They’re expecting us to run out like savages and ram into them. They’ll hold the line and make a tactical retreat until the light infantry on their sides it at our flanks, and then they’ll butcher us.”
“How do you know that?”
“I read it,” I said pulling out a book I’d taken from Adriana’s shelf, “you should read it too. You’ll need to know these things now that your chieftain of the Terdini.”
“Finally.” Trenok grinned.
“I thought you’d be happier than this.” I chuckled at my son.
“I knew the moment you became Froktora,” Trenok said, “you’ve been waiting for me to kick your ass for a year now; I knew you’d look for a way to pussy out.”
“Pussy out?!” I laughed as I got into a fighting stance, “You think you can toss me, boy?!”
“I know I can, old man.”
ZANDER
I smoked my pipe and watched in amusement as the two orcs kicked the shit out of each other.
“That’s a hell of a thing to do the day before a battle.” Titus said next to me.
“I’ve got fifty pieces on Brock.” I said, dropping the gold on the table between us.
“I’ll match that,” Titus said, “Brock’s stronger, but he’s so fucking slow; look at him.”
“There’s no replacement for experience.” I said confidently.
Trenok whipped around his dad and put him in a choke hold. Brock stayed on his hands and knees for a minute, and then collapsed to the ground.
“There’s no replacement for youth and speed.” Titus chuckled as he collected my bet.
“You know,” I said as I took a puff, “if I were to write a book about Queen Yavara’s journey, and we got to this point in the story, everyone reading it would assume Trenok’s going to die tomorrow.”
“That’s an unusually dark thought for you, Zander.” Titus said.
“I’ve been having those lately.”
“I’m not your fucking therapist.”
“I’m a thousand years old, Titus,” I said as I tapped the ash out of my pipe, “I’ve seen and done things most people couldn’t imagine. What the fuck would a therapist say to me, that I haven’t heard already?”
“You know what I think?” Titus said, “I think the reader would be expecting you to die.”
“And why’s that?”
“You just gave me the ‘I’m too old for this shit’ speech.”
“Oh shit,” I laughed, “I did, didn’t I?”
“Are you also a beat-cop three days from retirement?”
“Even worse: I’m the old, wise man guiding the protagonist to her destiny; those guys are always fucked.”
“Well that does it then,” Titus chuckled as he got up from his chair, “it was nice knowing you, Zander.”
YAVARA
The company of rangers were moving silently along the forest floor. They looked up at the canopy and peered cautiously around boulders and into hovels. Fifty of them moved as a single unit, while ten stayed behind for support in case of an ambush. They may not have known it at the time, but they were the last of their kind. The nymphs and I had made short work of their comrades over the past couple of days, and we were left with just one last troop before we left for The Tundra.
The company continued their silent progression right into my ambush. I’d sprung my trap too early before, and had lost some nymphs as a result. I waited until the last of the support squad was in the claws of my trap, and then gave the signal. One ranger was silently stabbed in the back by a translucent specter. None of his comrades noticed. Another one was dragged into the brush and killed before she could scream. One by one, the tailing rangers were picked off without notice until they were gone. I gave the second signal, and the fifty rangers were immediately descended upon by hundreds of nymphs.
They were cut down almost immediately, overwhelmed with surprise and superior numbers. I waited until there were only seven left, and then jumped onto the forest floor with a crash. My nymphs ceased their attack and encircled the survivors.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Gentlemen, ladies,” I said, smiling to the three men and four women, “I have an interesting proposition for you.”
One of the female rangers immediately rushed me with her knife. I let the blade come to within an inch of my chest and then stopped it. I held the poor fool in the air and disarmed and disrobed her. The naked high elf was thrown to the ground next to her terrified comrades. She scrambled to her feet and cowered behind the other rangers.
“…as I was saying,” I continued as though nothing had happened, “I’m willing to make a deal for your lives. Since it’s clear there is some distrust between you and I, I brought someone you all know and trust to vouch for me. Adriana!”
Adriana walked solemnly from the crowd of nymphs and to the encircled rangers. She wore a ranger outfit herself, though it was obviously a woman’s.
“Captain Dafian,” she said to one of the men, “you’ve served your country well and upheld the highest standards of the ranger corps. It’s time to lay down your arms and spare the lives of your remaining soldiers.”
“Who the fuck are you?!” Captain Dafian said to Adriana.
“The last time we spoke,” Adriana said, “you asked me to send a bouquet of tulips to your wife, Rosanne.”
“What the fuck…” Captain Dafian said, “Commander?!”
“I’m not your commander anymore,” Adriana said with a sad smile, “but I am the same person…though obviously not the same man.”
“What did she do to you?!”
“She spared my life,” Adriana said, “at the cost of my gender and race. She is offering you the same terms. It is up to you, captain, if you would rather die a high-elf man, or live as a hybrid woman.”
“I choose death!” Captain Dafian roared.
“You’re breaking my heart,” I chuckled, “but I’m not actually offering you that option today. Your real choice is: come to me willingly, or be forced into submission.”
The seven rangers stood in silence, stoically refusing my offer.
“You get to have sex with me…” I teased as I unlaced my corset and let it fall to the forest floor.
“Haven’t you been curious,” I said as I sultrily walked topless to the seven rangers, “about what it would be like to lay with the Dark Queen?”
I wrapped my arms around the defiant captain and kissed his neck. My ample, bronze breasts squished against his chest, and my pelvis pressed firmly against his groin.
“Surely, you’ve heard tales of my escapades;” I whispered lustfully into his ear, “there’s nothing I won’t do to please a man.”
My hands slid down his torso and into his pants.
“What are your desires, captain?” I hissed as my fingers snuck beneath his waistband, “What have you always wanted to do to woman, but never could?”
My hands wrapped around his half-hard member and played with him until he was engorged.
“You could beat me,” I whispered with need, “abuse me, humiliate me. I want to see your darker side, Captain; I want you to control me.”
“I have a wife…” the captain pleaded, “children…”
“And when I’m done with you,” I smiled as I stroked his hardness, “you’ll have a new wife, one of these women if you like. You’ll get to feel the joy of being a woman, of having someone invade you, feeling their warmth inside of you. Nothing can compare to the pleasure a woman feels from having a cock inside of her. Will you put your cock inside of me, Captain? Or do I have to make you do it?”
Captain Dafian stared down at me with fear, hatred, and desire in his eyes.
“What’s your decision, Captain?” I whispered, my lips hovering just in front of his, my eyes staring lustfully into his own. I saw his mind working behind the lens of his irises. The hatred and desire won out against the fear, and his face grew hard and cold.
“Get on your knees.” He commanded. I obeyed.
Captain Dafian pulled out his cock and rammed it into my throat. I took him easily, wrapping my lips around him and running my tongue along the underside of his shaft. He pulled out and jammed it in again, his length running rapidly through me, forcing my esophagus to stretch wide. He wanted to abuse me, to make me hurt, and I wanted it too. I gave him pleading, innocent eyes and whimpers of pain from my mouth. I reveled in his sadism, and played the part of his little masochist slut.
The other two males undressed and came up behind me. One of them roughly pulled down my thong and pressed his cock against my puckered sphincter.
Oh, fuck my ass!
He drove in hard, pushing my body forward, forcing my face to press against Dafian’s pelvis. I screamed a muffled cry of pleasure around Dafian’s cock, staring up into the captain with eyes full of arousal. I shifted my hips backwards against the man, clenching my sphincter around him to make it nice and tight. I reached back and spread my leaking cunt with my index and middle finger, moaning for the other man to fill me. The man in my ass pulled out and waited for a second. I almost turned around and yelled at him to put it back in, but I soon found out the cause of the delay. The other man pushed his cock on top of his comrade’s and they both rammed into my ass at once. I screamed in actual pain this time, giving Dafian the satisfaction of my genuine suffering.
“Oh, did that hurt?” Dafian laughed cruelly as I covetously sucked his cock, “You said we could do anything.”
This wasn’t my first double anal, and my lewd body soon adjusted to the penetration. My muffled screams of pain turned to lecherous gags of pleasure. The two cocks writhed inside of me, penetrating me as one, stretching me wide open. My body relaxed and welcomed the invasion, my rim clinging tightly around the men, embracing them and beckoning them for more.
I’ll warm up the women for you. Arbor’s telepathic voice said as she descended into the circle.
One of my hands supported me in my bent position while the other sunk four fingers into my frothing slit. I felt my pelvic floor expand from my body with each pull from the men, sending hot blasts of painful ecstasy up my spine. I hummed a moan and partially closed my eyes in bliss. I responded to Dafian’s violent thrusts with sensual, impassioned sucks. I couldn’t pretend to be the scared little bitch anymore, and I made it incredibly clear to the captain that I was enjoying everything they were doing to me. He grabbed my hair and held my face in place while he forcefully rammed his cock into my tight, wet throat. I gurgled around his penetration, closing my throat for him, and keeping my mouth wide open. His face twisted in frustration. He increased his pace and force, pulling my hair roughly, trying to get me to react painfully to him. I closed my lips around him and sucked harder, reveling in his attempts to abuse me.
“Oh, you little bitch!” he yelled in anger before pulling out. He struck me across the face with a slap. My head whipped to the side, my cheek stinging delightfully from the blow. I growled and smashed my hips back against the two men brutalizing my anus. I stared up at Dafian with arousal in my eyes, my mouth smiling and teasing him for more.
“Is that all, Dafian?” I giggled between gasps. He sent a backhand across my other cheek. My body shuddered in pleasure, my pussy gushing in response to the abuse.
“Why don’t you come over here and hurt me on the inside?” I asked, curling my fingers into my soaking cunt.
One of the men behind me grabbed my breasts and pulled my body back. I was forced upright, my back arching uncomfortably as my pelvis was held firmly in place. Dafian grabbed my throat and squeezed tightly as he lowered himself beneath me. I choked out my cries of pleasure, the pressure in my eyes building as my face grew red with constriction. I felt Dafian run is cock along my slit. I pulled my hand out and spread it for him, before dropping my pelvis down.
My body lurched violently back and forth. I squeaked out strained notes of delight, my eyes watering from the choking. Dafian pounded into my pussy relentlessly, brutally spreading my soft pedals and stretching my taint. I whimpered a pathetic tone of elation as I felt the three cocks grinding together inside of me. It felt like they were trying to rip the membrane between my channels, their girths pressing against one another on my soft inner skin, sending lightning bolts of sharp pleasure ripping through my pelvis. Dafian released my throat and grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to bend further down, allowing the men to penetrate me even deeper. I cried out a sustained note of pleasure, my eyes widening and my mouth falling agape. My body twisted and writhed against the men, shifting back to try to get them as deep as possible. My mind was thrown into fugue state of ecstasy, and I brainlessly stared with drool hanging from my mouth at Arbor.
Arbor was expertly seducing the women across from me. She had two of them bent over and moaning with her fingers in both holes, while one of them was gripping her horns and writhing on the ground from her tongue, and the last was pleasantly moaning from Arbor’s tail in her cunt. The nymph males soon joined in, sensually guiding the scared elves into their seduction. I watched in fascination as each elf girl accepted the men, allowing them to fill the vacant holes Arbor left for them. Soon the four elf girls were stuffed to capacity, their gangbangs not violent like mine, but slow, and gentle. The men thrust into their ass, mouth and pussy with gradual, soothing motions, not wanting to bring my prisoners any pain. Arbor let the men take over for her and walked gracefully into the loving arms of her daughters. Soon, she too was filled to capacity, with tender sucks and gentle fists that stretched her open. I gazed my own pleasure at her. She looked back at me with half-mast eyes, her full lips parted in a blissful smile, and her hands gently stroking the hair of the daughters sucking her tits. Her pale, purple skin glistened with a sheen of sweat, her chest rising and falling with deep, sensual breaths, her pussy and ass gaping delectably from the hands inside of her. I made a mental note to have sex with Arbor soon.
Dafian snapped me out of my train of thought with a rough slap across the face. I was immediately brought back to my defilement, and grinned down at the hateful elf. One of the men pulled out of my ass, my rim gratefully relaxing and constricting around the other cock. He came around me and pushed the tip of his member against my lips. I obediently tasted my ass on him, moaning around him, looking up at him thankfully to make him know how I much I liked the filthiness of it. I savored the dirty taste of my shit-hole as I sucked, my tongue greedily cleaning every inch of him. He grabbed my hair and forcefully rammed his cock down my throat. I felt myself rising in orgasm from the defilement, my body twitching as pings of hot pleasure scorched from my desecrated holes. The familiar quaking in my nethers rumbled through me. My pussy clenched around Dafian and my asshole constricted around the other man. My movements became violent and desperate, my eyes opening wide and my mouth screaming around the man buried in my throat. I shifted chaotically, writhing and convulsing, my hips dropping and pushing back against the men in my holes, my back arching and rising to the man in my mouth. With a final tremble, my body climaxed. All three of the men cried out in ecstasy and terror as they blasted their hot cum into me. I greedily swallowed the spunk in my mouth and relished the warm seed flowing from my stretched holes. I recovered from my orgasm and watched in fascination as the three men turned into beautiful, hybrid women.
“Captain Dafian…” I said as I stroked the terrified woman’s face, “what is your first name?”
“Faltius.” Her scared, feminine voice replied.
“Faltia is your name now,” I giggled, “tell me, Faltia, of those women over there,” I said gesturing the high-elf girls moaning in pleasure, “which one of them have you wanted to fuck the most?”
“Alexa,” Faltia said, gesturing to the woman who tried to stab me earlier, “but rangers aren’t allowed to-”
“You’re not a ranger anymore,” I smiled, “you’re a citizen of Alkandra. You’ll have a plot of land and a new wife. Why not take Alexa as your woman?”
“She’d never have me.”
“Oh,” I said, “I don’t know about that.”
I pushed the other two women off me, asking their names and giving them female alternatives. They were all beautiful, bronze and shapely. Every masculine feature had been removed, and replaced with a soft, female complexion. They were all nervous and scared, but also curious about their new bodies. I laughed as they bashfully touched themselves, experimenting with their new parts and exploring their new femininity. They no longer moved with the forceful stiffness of a man, but instead motioned with the grace and fluidity of a woman.
I walked over to the female high elves entangled in lust. I moved to one who was obviously reaching her peak. I lowered my mouth to her dripping cunt and sucked her clit while a man penetrated her. She came like a fountain, and in the middle of her climax, she changed beautifully. I sucked her cock for a while, gazing at her confused face and watching as it turned to one of blissful acceptance.
“Are you Alexa?” I asked as I pulled her from my mouth.
“Yes…my queen.” Alexa said through moans as her ass and pussy were filled.
“The captain fancies you, Alexa.” I said. We both turned to see Faltia shifting nervously, her hands held behind her back as she watched us.
“Do you like her?” I asked.
“She’s beautiful,” Alexa said, “and I’ve always liked the captain, but rangers aren’t-”
“Holy shit,” I laughed, “you’re not a ranger anymore! Captain Dafian isn’t a captain anymore, she’s now a woman, a virgin in fact, who needs a partner to guide and love her. Maybe even give her children. Do you think you could be that person?”
“I…I guess so,” Alexa smiled at me, “I’m sorry I tried to kill you earlier.”
“You’re a sweet little thing,” I smiled and kissed her cock, “Adriana could learn a thing from you.”
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I changed the rest of high elf girls one by one. I was amazed at how easily they accepted their new bodies. Elena had cried and screamed when I changed her, but each of these girls only reacted with surprise, before deciding they liked it better this way. The male nymphs pulled out of the hermaphrodites, leaving their white seed leaking from the hybrids’ gaping holes. The hybrid hermaphrodites and the hybrid women sheepishly greeted one another. Two of the newly changed women tried and failed to retain their masculine demeanor. After taunts and teases from the hermaphrodites, the women flexing their former manliness giggled along with the group, and accepted their new femininity.
“Why are you still clinging to your stoic formal self?” I asked Adriana as we watched the hermaphrodites and the women laughing and joking, “They’ve accepted their new selves.”
“They still hate you,” Adriana said, “they’re just happy to be alive. You killed their brothers and sisters in arms, my queen; don’t expect them to retain their jubilance.”
“I think you’re projecting your own hatred,” I replied, “I think they understand the impersonal violence of war. Did you hate Elena for killing your rangers at The Gorge? She told me you spared her, that you wrote her a message on an arrow. That doesn’t sound like hatred to me.”
“Elena was a good soldier in her time,” Adriana replied, “she deserved more than a sniper’s shot.”
“Apparently, she deserved rape and torture,” I smiled, “and I guess you did too.”
“I guess so.”
“I made sure to spare one more woman than man,” I said, looking Adriana up and down, “for you.”
“I’m to be Elena’s prize, my queen.” Adriana said stoically.
“No,” I said, “I’ve thought about it, and I realized I don’t know when Elena’s coming back, or if she’s ever coming back. She’s over in Bentius fucking my sister, and it doesn’t seem fair to keep you here all alone. You can have one of them, if you like.”
“I only had one love,” Adriana growled, “and you took her from me.”
“I had a love,” I responded coldly, “and you took her from me, Adriana. Now both our women are fucking our enemies. Are we going to wallow in self-pity? Or are we going to move on?”
“You haven’t moved on from Elena,” Adriana said with the hint of a smile, “I saw the way you looked at her three days ago in the mirror.”
“I’m still fucking other people, Adriana,” I retorted, “and you’re still a virgin girl.”
“And so, I shall remain.”
“Oh, come now,” I giggled, “I’ve seen the way you look at the male nymphs… you want them, Adriana; you want their muscular bodies pressing against you, and you want their cocks inside of you. There’s no shame in being heterosexual woman.”
Adriana remained silent.
“…and if you’re too conflicted about your desires for a man,” I smiled, “I’ve made the perfect solution for you. Look at that one there: she’s alone. What was her name, again?”
“Furia, sharp-shooter, private first-class.” Adriana responded, “She always was a loner.”
“Furia,” I smiled, “what a pretty name. You’re right, she is a loner. All the others have paired up, but she’s is too shy. And she’s a beauty, Adriana. Look at her big, blue eyes and full lips, look at the way her body curves and fills out perfectly. Look at her cock, Adriana, look how smooth and large it is; it’s the biggest of the bunch, and it could be all yours.”
Adriana pretended not to be looking at the beautiful lonely hermaphrodite. Furia stared at the ground and laughed awkwardly with the rest of the group when they laughed. She crossed her arms over her ample, bronze breasts and looked around uncomfortably. And then she looked up at Adriana and gave her a shy smile. Adriana smiled back.
“You like her!” I teased, “Why don’t you go over and talk to her?”
“She’s my subordinate, it would be unprofes-”
“Holy fuck! You. Are. Not. Rangers. Anymore!” I yelled, “If you don’t talk to Furia, I’m taking her. I’ll fuck her every day and make you watch.”
“Fine,” Adriana said as she walked away from me, “I’ll do it for her sake.”
“Sure.” I smirked.
I watched with giddy excitement as Adriana approached the hermaphrodite. Furia looked up at her and smiled. The two women talked, laughing and smiling, shifting their weight from hip to hip, gradually moving closer to each other as the conversation went on. It was so fucking adorable.
“What are you going to do with her?” Arbor asked as she stepped to my side.
“Adriana’s officially Leveria’s ambassador to my court, but that’s only in name. Leveria’s done with her, and doesn’t really give a shit what I do with her.”
“Do you feel guilty about what you did to her?” Arbor asked. There wasn’t a hint of judgement in her voice, she was genuinely curious.
“Not as much as I probably should.” I replied, “Does that mean I’m a bad person?”
“I couldn’t tell you what a ‘bad person’ is.” Arbor said, “I’ve lived for ten thousand years, and all I’ve ever seen in humanoids is an insatiable want for satisfaction. Not happiness, mind you, but satisfaction. A journey to be fulfilled, to feel like they’ve gotten what they deserve, or to fill a purpose. In that quest, people do good and bad things, and every one of those things is done with the selfish intent to derive satisfaction, even if the action itself is unselfish. You did what you did to feel satisfied, to feel like justice had been done. Adriana did what she did because it served the purpose she had created for herself, a purpose which satisfied her need to feel like she was a part of something greater.”
“That’s an interesting point of view.” I said.
“Are you satisfied with Adriana?” Arbor asked, “Will you let her be?”
“I think I am,” I said as I watched Adriana and Furia flirt, “I’ll leave her be.”
TITUS
The sun was sinking into the horizon, its beams reflecting off the thousands of golden helmets of the elven army. I watched through the silk fabric of my mask, sniffing the air. I would taste elven blood tonight; my favorite meal. Two hundred of my descendants waited patiently behind me. The sun crested over the hills of the Highlands, and then vanished. It was time.
We took off our clothes and waded through the bog that separated the two armies. We ducked beneath the muck and silently swam through the viscous waters. The task would tire most beings, but our stamina was limitless, and our hunger great. We emerged from the other side, peeking over the banks at our quarry. We were looking for officers tonight, but we’d need cover to get close enough. The elves knew we were in Yavara’s army, and had cut down every Nadi tree in the Bentius arboretum to stock their munitions. They would suspect an attack tonight.
A patrol of heavy infantry walked by, about thirty strong. They wore plate-armor with helmets that concealed their faces. That would work.
Ivanka, Tiffany I telepathically called to my two favorite daughters, Do you see that scaffolding on the trebuchet?
Yes, father. They responded in unison.
Burn it down.
Ivanka and Tiffany silently moved through the darkness. They slipped from tent to tent, always staying in the shadows the firelight created. The massive trebuchet stood in the center of the tents, the workers assembling it finishing off their work. Tiffany raced around the tents and ripped an unsuspecting worker out of sight. Ivanka silently scaled the scaffolding, keeping to the shadows and avoiding the vision of the other three workers. She got to the top, and then dropped a beam twenty feet down. It crashed onto the unsuspecting head of a worker, caving his skull in instantly. The other two held their hands over their head and rushed for cover, afraid that the whole complex would collapse. Tiffany took a burning branch from the fire and tossed it onto the dry wood of the scaffolding. Ivanka jumped off gracefully, landing twenty feet down on her toes before both sisters rushed back into the bog.
The trebuchet was engulfed in mere minutes. Every able body ran to the site, forming a frantic bucket brigade and rushing to fill their vessels from the bog. The heavy infantry troop sat and watched, unable to assist in their clunky, slow armor. We swam beneath the murky water until we were right beneath them. I mentally signaled out twenty-nine of my children and got us into position. We stayed in static, watching from beneath the depths for the right moment when every man was watching the distraction. It came, and we struck.
Thirty vampires leapt from the water and onto the men. Only three managed to scream out, but the chaos of the fire yielded no witnesses. We quickly dragged the bodies over a nearby bank and put their armor on. I allowed myself and my children to drink our fill before dumping the bodies into the bog. Pale hands and bodies moved like lightening beneath the water to finish off the meal. Those that rested beneath the murk would play a role later, but now was not the time to reveal our hand.
Every vampire knew their targets, and locked in on their scent. We moved into the camp, the flaming chaos in the center still grabbing the attention of almost everyone. We split up and zeroed in on our targets. Eighty-five divisions of one thousand men a piece were in this camp. Each division had one general, with the field marshal commanding the entire army. That gave us almost three targets per vampire, but there was a hierarchy we’d follow. Brock believed that the heavy infantry would cause the most damage to his army. There were thirty-four heavy infantry generals, and they were priority number one. After that, the priority was missile generals. Elven bowmen were the best in the world, and they could force Brock’s army into a doomed charge if they worked efficiently enough. There were ten divisions of bowman. After that, were twenty division of cavalry, and then sixteen divisions of light infantry. There were four divisions of engineers and siege weapons, which weren’t an immediate priority, and one division of mages. We’d stay well clear of the mages, as they could cut us down with ease. My target, of course, was Field Marshal Drougtius.
Droughtius was a smart choice for field marshal. He was a tough, no-bullshit character who’s code was discipline. He was also a merciless old bastard who’d run routed enemies into the ground and not bother with prisoners until the battle was long done. His tent stood at the center of the camp, and was unexpectedly small. I tailed a group of heavy infantry, making idle conversation with the men and blending in. I stopped about five tents away from Droughtius’ and took a piss.
Remember, I called out to my children, heavy infantry, missiles, cavalry, light infantry. First attack on my mark, second attack at will. If it gets too hairy, book it; we can’t kill all of them.
I received twenty-nine confirmations. Our first attack would be simultaneous on my mark. The second attack would take advantage of the chaos caused by the first attack. If we got to it, the third attack would be to kill any priority target as we raced back to the bog. The vampires that waited there would spring an assault on the shore line to cover our retreat. I shook the piss from my cock and took a deep breath. Show time.
Droughtius had personal guards with special armor, so I wasn’t going to be able to just sneak in. I noticed the smell of Nadi wood on the shafts of their crossbows. There were ten guards, five outside and five inside. There were also (conveniently) three other generals with Droughtius, which would make my job easier. I reached into my satchel and found a piece of parchment. I rolled it up into a scroll and tied it together. I took five paces to the guards and stopped when they held a hand up.
“I have a message for Field Marshal Droughtius.” I said, holding up the parchment.
“From whom?” one of them asked.
“General Crassius.”
“One hand in the air, the other on the scroll, take four paces forward.” The guard said.
I stepped forward four paces and held the scroll out. The guard kept his hand on the hilt of his sword and stepped forward. He reached out with his other hand and grasped the scroll.
Now!
I shot my arm forward and gripped the hand of the guard before lurching back and ripping his arm off. He fell screaming as blood spurted from the hole where is shoulder once was. I drew my sword and cut another guard down the middle before flinging it into the chest of a third. I ducked as two Nadi bolts shot over me and rolled into the tent. Five guards were running out with their swords half-drawn and Nadi crossbows in hand.
“He’s dressed as a general’s guard!” I yelled, clutching my bloodied chest like I was wounded. I heard the clanging of swords and the screams of men.
“Get this man some help!” yelled a general as he gestured to me, “Son, was it vampires? Have you been bit?!”
“A long time ago.”
I shot forward and tore the general’s heart out. Droughtius dove behind a table and fired a Nadi bolt. It stuck into my breast plate right where my heart was, and for the first time in hundreds of years, I felt the thrill of death. I rushed over the table and grabbed Droughtius’ head, ripping it from his shoulders in a single swipe. The other two generals booked it for the entrance of the tent as the five guards outside came rushing in. I lifted the heavy oak table and sent it spinning into the guards, knocking them over. I raced over them and launched myself from the tent. I scorched through the air like a fucking rocket and landed squarely on the two fleeing generals, my heavy boots crushing their skulls. The alarm bells rang out, and the camp swarmed with soldiers.
I fell flat on my chest as a wave of Nadi bolts shot from either side of me. I heard screams as the men blasted bolts into their own comrades. I dug my toes into the ground and launched myself into another tent. A very perplexed minstrel sat tuning his guitar.
“Dude, play Raining Blood by Slayer.” I said.
“I don’t…what is…”
I shot out of the back of the tent and into the back of another one. One man stood gawking at me, while the other man leaned backward from his partner’s crotch and opened his mouth to yell.
“Shhhhh,” I said, holding a finger to the part of my mask where my mouth was, “don’t ask, don’t tell. Stay strong, brothers; society is moving forward.”
“He just…he had a mole he wanted me to check out.”
“Sure,” I laughed, “can I borrow a towel?”
“Why are you covered in blood?”
“I just killed Field Marshal Droughtius,” I said, “can I have that towel now?”
“Ray, give him the fucking towel!” Ray’s partner hissed in fear. Ray handed me the towel and I wiped the blood from my armor.
“Thanks,” I said, holding my fist in the air, “keep fighting the good fight, gentlemen.”
I left the two terrified and confused men in their tent and nonchalantly walked into the camp. None of the twenty-nine connections with my children had been broken yet, but I didn’t expect it to stay that way. Sure enough, I heard the scream of one of my sons, and watched in sadness as his connection disappeared. I walked to my next target before another scream, and another lost connection. And then another, and then another. Something was wrong; my children were dropping like flies.
What the fuck is going on?!
Mages! Ivanka’s panicked voice screamed, hundreds of them, they came out of nowhere!
Time to bale! Fall back to the bog!
I raced to the bog as fast as I could. Mages could see us underneath our armor, so there was no point in keeping up appearances. A Nadi bolt shot into my elbow, breaking skin and bone. I kept my pace, racing through the soldiers with unnatural speed as I pulled the bolt out of my arm. Another bolt blasted my in the back, sending me tumbling to the ground. I could see the edge of the bog a hundred yards away.
Attack! I yelled to the ten children I’d left in the bog.
The signal was sent down from generation to generation of vampire, until all one-hundred and seventy of them got the message. They launched out of the murky water and viciously cut down the unsuspecting men on the shore line. I managed to limp my way to my feet and raced for the safety of the murky waters. Three more bolts blasted into my back, one sticking in my armor, but two making their mark dangerously close to my heart. I collapsed to the ground, too weak to get up. A pair of strong arms grabbed me, and I prepared for death.
Don’t be so fucking dramatic. Tiffany said as she pulled me to the bog.
I smiled up at her from behind my mask. Three more bolts shot into me, one of them hitting it where it hurt the most.
“FUUUUUUUUUCK!” I yelled as I felt one of my testicles burst.
Oh shit! Tiffany screamed in my mind, Hold on, Father, Zander will fix you up when we get back!
Another wave of Nadi bolts struck me, blasting into my stomach legs, and remaining testicle.
“FUUUUUUUUUUCK!”
Tiffany dragged my limp body into the bog. I gave the order to fall back as the dirty water and muck washed over me. A wave of bolts crashed down into the bog, cutting down those that were still at the surface. I heard the screams of my children as they rushed for the safety of the water, their bodies riddled with bolts. When the last survivor dove into the water, I’d lost twenty-three children and fourteen descendants. We’d managed to kill all of the heavy infantry and missile generals, the field marshal, and seven cavalry generals in our raid. It was successful, but at a great cost.
Ivanka? I called out, knowing she was already dead.
Is she gone? Tiffany asked, her telepathic voice full of fear.
She is, Tiffany, I said sorrowfully, I’m so sorry.
Tiffany and Ivanka weren’t just blood-sisters, they were identical twins. Tiffany sobbed as she dragged me through the muck. She’d never be whole again.
ADRIANA
Furia had her arms wrapped around my waist and her pelvis pressed against my backside as we rode on my horse. I enjoyed the feeling of her bulge nestled between my ass cheeks, her member growing a little hard with every shift of my weight. I liked her. She was a shy girl, but once she got out of her shell, she revealed a twisted sense of humor and a friendly disposition. Our situation didn’t allow for much commonality with other people, so the remaining ex-rangers and I soon became fast friends. We rode together in Yavara’s column, sharing old stories and remembering lost friends. We even talked about the future. I thought our future in Alkandra was going to bleak and uncertain, but the others didn’t share my sentiment. The life of a ranger is hard and lonely, with no family leave and a late retirement. Most of the transformed-men who had families, hadn’t seen them in years, and simply sent their pay to them with flowers and notes. Now that they were presumed dead, their wives and children would receive a generous severance package from the Highland government. They seemed excited for a chance to renew their lives and recapture their youth. I wondered if Yavara was right about them.
The outline of Castle Alkandra was revealed as we crested a hill. Castle Alkandra was a gothic structure, with massive, dramatic spires and walls standing a hundred feet high. Yavara marveled at her new home as we approached it, but her joy soon turned to concern the closer we got.
“Oh shit,” Yavara said as she stared at the sprawling settlement that had sprung up around Castle Alkandra, “who the fuck are these people?”
“Former citizens of Ardeni Dreus,” Arbor replied, “they’ve been coming here for days.”
“How the fuck am I supposed to feed them?!” Yavara said exasperatedly.
“The soil is fertile and moist,” Arbor said, sinking her bare foot into the ground, “I can help you grow the crops, Yavara, but I cannot help you harvest them.”
“You,” Yavara said to a passing goblin, “who’s in charge here?”
“You are, my queen.” the goblin said.
“Who was in charge here before I came?” Yavara asked.
“Certiok Terdini.”
We rode through thousands of tents and hundreds of huts. The Ardeni beasts numbered in the thousands, and were milling about setting up residency and hashing out territory with no administrators or regulations. The Protaki and Terdini civilians and set up huts that formed no obvious roads or paths to get through. I could already see the makings of a class system where the tribespeople would be upper class citizens living close the castle, and the Ardeni immigrants would be poor citizenry living in tight bunches. The civilian tribespeople from The Tundra would soon arrive here soon, making the population close to forty thousand. There was no infrastructure, no crop land, and no organization. This was a recipe for disaster.
Certiok Terdini was in a large hut closest to castle, and frantically giving out orders and losing her temper with the citizens. I saw her visibly relax at the sight of Yavara.
“Thank god you’re here!” Certiok said, running up to us.
“Certiok,” Yavara said, “what the hell is going on?”
“People keep coming from Ardeni,” Certiok said, “at first it was a couple hundred, but more are coming every day! We have enough food in storage to last a few months for our two tribes, but with these people coming in, we’ll be out in weeks. I didn’t know where to put the immigrants, so I just let them set up camp outside our huts.”
Yavara stared out at the thousands of unexpected citizens she was now responsible for.
“Being queen is more than just assembling armies and going to war,” Arbor said, “it’s mostly administrating power and defining regulations. You need to rule, Yavara, you can’t just conquer.”
“I know,” Yavara sighed, “I had this ideal scenario where I’d establish my kingdom, and then build it. I guess that’s not going to happen.”
“You need people with experience to help you,” Arbor said, “the nymphs and I can grow crops in weeks that would otherwise take months, but I have no experience administrating housing or organizing citizenry.”
“I have to go to The Tundra and fight the war,” Yavara said, “I can’t stay here and govern when so much is at risk.”
“You need a governor,” Arbor said, “someone with experience in power-brokering and managing large numbers of people.”
“I can’t keep doing this, my queen.” Certiok said, “I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing.”
“Adriana,” Yavara said, turning to me, “you’re now acting governor of Alkandra.”
“With all due respect, my queen,” I said, completely thrown off by my new promotion, “I’m probably not the best choice.”
“Nonsense!” Yavara said, “You’re an experienced leader whose life’s work has involved making due with limited resources. Before you, the rangers were a dysfunctional mess of drunkards and men looking for an easy pay check. You turned the entire corps around in months.”
“I have no experience governing civilians, and once the orcs know who I really am, they’ll kill me.”
“Certiok,” Yavara said, “This is Adriana, formerly known as head-ranger Adarian. She’s a valued asset and ally of mine, and I will be very angry if her, or the other hybrids are harmed in any way.”
“What did you do to him…her?” Certiok said, looking me over.
“I turned her into a woman and brainwashed her spouse into Brock’s servitude,” Yavara said, “she’s paid for her crimes against us. Now she serves me, and you are to follow her orders and help her organize this cluster fuck into something that resembles a city.”
“My queen, I still don’t think-” I said before I was cut off.
“Before Leveria turned your rangers into killing machines,” Yavara said, “you had them running peace-making missions and humanitarian efforts to keep The Great Forest in check. Utilize those skills to govern this city. Have the trolls build roads and public housing, begin construction on aqueducts, put these people to work in the silver mines to get money flowing. I don’t know when I’ll be back, but when I do return, I expect to see progress. I’ll leave Arbor and the nymphs here with you to help with crops. Good bye…Governess Adriana.”
And with that, Yavara launched herself from her horse and into the sky. I stared up, dumbfounded at what had just transpired. Furia embraced me from behind and kissed my cheek.
“You’re going to do great.” She encouraged. I felt her cock growing hard between my ass cheeks. At least I had something to look forward to before this mob of beasts strung me up by my guts.
BROCK
“They really did a number on you, Titus.” Zander said as he pulled the Nadi wood shards from Titus’ body and watched it heal.
“We got most of our targets,” Titus groaned, “but I lost a lot of children. Brock, I’ll need to replace the children I lost; I want first selection of the prisoners after tomorrow’s battle.”
“Of course.” I said, looking up at the battered vampire. Titus had done a great amount of damage to the elven command, but their army would still assemble tomorrow. I was laying out the plan of attack with Trenok and The Ten.
“Gorlok’s wargs and the centaurs will stay at our flanks,” I said, pointing my fingers to where they would be on the map, “they’ll take up positions on these two hills and wait for the elven cavalry to attack.”
“I want the centaurs to split their forces and act as missile support,” Gorlok said, “I’ll split my wargs into two divisions and have them engage once the elves ascend the hill. Once we’re in melee, the centaurs can roll around the sides and hit the cavalry at the flanks.”
“That will work,” I said to Gorlok, “but engage quickly; if you stand back and try to pick the cavalry off from afar, elven missile troops will rain down on you, which brings us to our next problem. The elven army acts as a defensive-offense. The heavy infantry advances and takes the brunt of missile punishment, while their archers use superior bow-range to cut down the enemy from afar. If we attack them head-on to avoid missile damage, we walk into a trap. The elven heavy infantry will retreat while the light infantry at the sides remains static. They’ll want to bottle us up and fire wave after wave of arrows while they flank us; we need to avoid this somehow.”
“Amassing our heavy units at the flanks and keeping our light units in the center,” Draifak said, “turns their trap against them by crushing their light infantry and surrounding their heavy.”
“That was my first thought as well,” I said, “but their light infantry will be supported by mages. We’ll lose thousands before we break through, and then we might not have enough to overwhelm the heavies.”
“We have superior numbers,” Vultar said, “we can afford to lose men if it means crushing their army.”
“We have five-thousand more men,” I said, “and they are a professional army. We cannot afford great losses to achieve uncertain objectives. We know this: they will follow Droughtius’ battle plan to the letter, without change. The old man could adapt to any situation, but whoever’s next in line will be green and scared, and will stick with the plan his predecessor laid out, even if it fails. We have a chance to outsmart and outmaneuver them.”
“What do you propose?” Jertalk asked.
“These two hills that Gorlok and Braun will be on,” I said, “will mask infantry units. I want twenty-thousand light infantry behind each hill. The main army will stay right where the elves want us: in the middle, engaging their heavy infantry with our heavy infantry. When the elven cavalry are pushed back, the two masked armies will roar over the hill and crash into the elven flanks. These armies must be light infantry, in order move fast enough to keep the element of surprise. The elven light infantry will be immediately overwhelmed, and begin to fall back faster than the heavy infantry’s tactical retreat. The suddenness of the attack should keep the mages off balance, and mitigate their support fire. With the heavy infantry’s veteran generals gone, and new, inexperienced generals to replace them, the heavy infantry will be slow to realize what’s happening, and soon they’ll be surrounded.”
“This plan hinges on Gorlok’s wargs and my men driving the elven cavalry from the field,” Braun said, “and they outnumber us four to one.”
“I don’t need you to drive them off the field,” I said, “I need you to stay inside and push them out to create a path for the light infantry. The cavalry commanders will think their surrounding and flanking you, and they will give you the inside. You must hold them on the outside to keep them from careening into our flanks or our rear.”
“We will lose thousands of riders,” Gorlok said, shaking his head, “my clan will be weak after this.”
“Your clan will be stronger than ever,” I said, “sacrifice is met with reward, Gorlok.”
The problem with being Froktora, was that I was the commander of eleven different armies, and not one unified force. Every chieftain was warry of sacrificing too much; they still held old hatred and suspicion for one another. This petty tribalism needed to end soon, or it would be the death of us.
YAVARA
I flew over my vast army, marveling at the thousands of camp fires that dotted the ground. The elven army was almost equally as large, their fires burning five miles away on the other side of the bog. I descended to the center of the camp, where Brock’s tent stood.
Come to my tent, Yavara, Zander’s telepathic voice called, you need to learn how to cast an arcane shield before tomorrow.
Do we have time?
You mastered telepathy and telekinesis in a matter of days, arcane shield is much easier.
I walked into Zander’s tent to find the man smoking and going over Brock’s battle plans.
“I’m not as a gifted a teacher as Prestira was,” Zander said as he stood up, “she learned all of her abilities by herself, and knew every different way of teaching them. Bear with me if what I’m saying is confusing.”
I sat down and nodded. Zander blundered and flustered his way through his teaching, but I waited patiently and hung on every word. Eventually I got the hang of it, soon after, I mastered it. I was going to demonstrate my power in a dramatic fashion tomorrow. Leveria’s warning about Brock still rang in my mind, and I needed to remind my soldiers who their ruler actually was.
PLOT POINTS
Brock gives control of the Terdini tribe to his son, Trenok.
Yavara captures the last of the rangers and turns them into hybrids. Adriana pairs up with a hermaphrodite named Furia.
Titus and the vampires kill several elf generals, including the field marshal, but Titus loses a lot of vampires. His blood-daughter Ivanka is killed, leaving Tiffany, Ivanka's twin and blood-sister alone.
Brock prepares a battle plan for tomorrow's battle.
Yavara is concerned about the number of immigrants and civilians at Castle Alkandra. She puts Adriana in charge as acting governor, much to Adriana's surprise. Arbor and the nymphs stay at Castle Alkandra to help grow crops.
Yavara learns how to cast an arcane shield. She intends to be a very prominent piece of tomorrow's battle to ensure the loyalty of her soldiers.
