"Mother we need to get to the ships!" The dragon-kin spoke, running at full sprint through the winding corridors of the canyon's walls. Behind, 5 other sons of the queen. A small gathering of the strongest hybrids.
4 daughters followed as well, including Narale were with the queen. Each of them holding on to various treasures and goods.
An intent to leave this canyon to the white fire.
"Mother, what about our people? We can't leave them!" One of the daughters, a half human asked, fear in her voice.
"I... am sorry." The Queen looked back towards the inferno of white flames. Its intense fury had made it to the city. Smoke rose high above the canyon walls. Screams and wails of the dying filled their ears. The smell of burning rotted flesh permeating through the air. It was a massacre of unimaginable proportions.
"Save yourselves. My children..." Lofia spoke softly, tears streaming down her face as she watched her empire crumble before her eyes. Her remaining duty was to her children, to save them like any mother would.
Brut, her strongest son, was killed. She could still see those eyes lose life. The anger and pain in her heart would never subside.
Gone. Because of some masked man. Some... thing that came from the shadows.
"The only thing that matters... is my family." She said, wiping her tears away.
"Come children... we need to get away from this place."
*Fwoosh*
The fire quickly grew; the flames spreading across the rooftops of the buildings, consuming everything in its path. Gaining speed and height with each passing moment.
It gave Lofai pause. She was the queen, she was their protecter. She needed to stand tall for them all.
"Save them... As many as you can." Lofai commanded her children, who nodded in unison, turning to run back to the city. They were the best the kingdom had to offer; they would do their mother proud. No matter the odds.
---
*Fwip* *Fwip* *Slash* *Slash*
The black knights moved in tandem. A deadly formation that swept across the stone corridors with ruthless efficiency. Archers aimed for wooden structures; accelerating the blaze.
Whilst swordsmen and brutes killed any that fought back.
Crude weapons of iron, wood and stone broke on black steel.
Either swift strikes of steel or tossed into the inferno, nothing survived.
"Save us! Help us!"
A group huddled in a corner. Worn down, tired, beaten, and bruised. They were not goblins. Not of a monster race, nor an elven race. Just ordinary folk that were captured and brought here for breeding and hard labour.
The knights paused, looking to them, helping them out of the inferno. One of the knights stayed behind, aiding in the evacuation of these poor souls.
*Fwoosh*
Still though, the flames of white spread faster and faster.
An unrelenting force of hatred and rage. The black knights moved on. Swords raised, ready to bring retribution to the goblins. For crimes of being. Their mere existence was enough to warrant death in the eyes of the ring, the Reaper.
*Crash*
A building came down near the Reaper.
One of the sons of the queen; a large orc, emerged from the rubble, throwing large pieces at the knights to little effect.
"You have killed many of my kin today, monster. But no longer! I am here to end you!" The orc roared. A large spiked mace in one hand and a shield in the other.
Knights surrounded him as the flames rose higher. But quickly, they dispersed. For the Reaper stepped forward, mask aglow by the inferno around them.
"You will... pay. I-In the name of my people!" His words faulted. The Reaper appeared bigger under the bask of white embers and black ash. Dark shadowed armour with a flaming skull mask. The very visage of the devil himself appeared behind the Reaper. A hallucination, an aura that made the orc cower in fear.
Still though, he swung in defiance; a mighty blow aimed at the Reaper's skull. Only to be stopped mid-way by a sword parry.
*Sching*
A sword through flesh. A quick stab to the gut, the orc bled out quickly, falling back into the flames of white.
---
"Mr. Nagai... I can't breathe." Yua said, her eyes watering from the smoke that filled the tunnels leading out of the underground prison. Haruto and the other members of the guild followed their saviour through the winding stone passages.
Guren, the blood juggernaut, was the one who was sent to free them. A simple task of following a singular path through red rocks, killing all those in the way. Avoiding the white fire.
"Hold on!" Haruto said, coughing violently as the smoke continued to pour into the narrow tunnel.
"We're almost out of here!"
Light up ahead, salty air. They were close.
The sunset of a dusk evening, a beautiful hue of oranges and pinks. Although rising smoke began to cover the horizon. A large crowd of the goblin city's non-combatants were fleeing. Desperate to get away from the white flame of the Reaper's malice.
Boats along a dock quickly becoming overcrowded with bodies. One boat was already capsized due to the weight.
The flames only a few blocks behind them. Burning wood and red rock in its path. No way to stop it. Nothing could stop the flames of white hate.
"Should we... do something?" Yua asked. Despite the horrid things that the goblins had threatened to do to her, she still felt sorry for them. She had always had a kind heart, compassion.
A kind heart that could save any life, or in the case of the former elves of Alaisa; condemn them.
"I don't...know..." Haruto answered, looking at Guren, who was unfazed by the screams of the dying. "What can we do?"
Guren didn't answer. Instead, the Juggernaut looked down at goblin children who were crying, huddling together in fear.
Narale was among the children. Trying to corral them to safety. A futile effort, the only safety being the ships, but the flames quickly separated them before any boat would launch. An unfortunate fate that awaited her.
Haruto met the eyes of his former captor, Narale, pleading with the healer to help.
"Please..." Through white fire and thick smoke, the final plea of the young princess reached Haruto. Inferno covering their screams and cries for help.
The healer was frozen, conflicted emotions roiled and churned within.
'Should I... Should they?' A grim reality before the healer. The screams of those who died by flame, and the ones that were desperate to live.
'Is this... right? Is this what should be done?' The question of morality weighed heavily on Haruto.
Although, morality would not matter anymore. The Reaper appeared through the fires. Along with his knights.
---
"Mother. We need to go." The dragonkin spoke, standing behind her. "He has arrived. Our people are lost to us..." His voice was low, almost a whisper.
"...Yes, my dear." The Queen replied, her eyes never leaving the inferno.
Their ship departed. The biggest of the galleons. Holding as many survivors that could get on.
The fires of white continued to burn, taking every building and structure in its path. Eventually, the ones left behind were either consumed by the fire, took their chances in the surf or were slain by the black knights. All to the command of the shadowed figure standing on a cliff above.
"We need to get to the Dominus. He can save us." The dragon-kin spoke, the wind carrying away the smell of charred flesh and ash.
"The dominus?" One of the goblin's daughters asked.
"The one who leads all goblins, and those of mixed races. He is the one that gave us this kingdom. He will slay that monster."
"..." The queen said nothing. She knew better than to believe in false hope. The dominus was a different kind of monster, and whose help would not come easily. Especially, considering her kingdoms status as a lowly frontier colony. On hands and knees; she would be forced to beg. A thought that brought a bitter taste to the proud queen's mouth.
"Look! On the cliffs." A daughter pointed upwards at the Reaper. His archers aimed at the fleeing vessels.
Arrows flew. White fire trailing across the sky.
*Fwip* *Thwip* *Swish*
They soared past the ships. Some missing entirely, others hitting their marks with a loud *THWUNK* Wood began to smoke and soon, became alight in white flames.
Overcrowded ships began to burn and sink. Doomed to the depths of the ocean below. Those aboard jumped into the sea, only to find there was no escape from the white fire. As it still burned them, even when they were submerged.
More volleys followed. More ships caught on fire, and more screams of pain echoed across the waters.
The Queen watched in silence. She was powerless to stop the massacre unfolding before her eyes.
"Mother watch out!"
*Ziiip* *Ziip* *Ziiiiip*
A directed volley meant for the monarch; intercepted by the body of the dragon kin.
"No!" Lofia screamed, her eyes widening in horror, the arrow pierced her son's heart.
Although his dragon scales protected from the fire. A fatal wound it was.
The galleon eventually moved out of range from the archers. Those still on board looked on in silence at the massive inferno on the horizon.
Their home asunder. With her son in her arms the only thing the queen felt was the bitter hatred of revenge. A feeling so strong; that when she looked up to the night sky, the gods themselves would feel her vengeance.
***
The fires of white finally died out. Those fires were an overflow of power from that last fragment of elven magic that still clung to these lands. Its overflow had exhausted the ring. Becoming dormant, no longer pulsing with the energy it once had. With that much hate expelled, it would need time to recuperate.
Eren was aware of the ships that had escaped the carnage. But they would be dealt with later. Right now, Eren had another mission to fulfill. Ensure his guildmates got home.
"You're a monster!" The scathing hiss of Yua greeted him.
Her eyes filled with tears. In front of her, the remains of the goblin city that was once thriving with vile life, but life none the less. All reduced to ash and soot. Red rock had been bleached by the fire into white, the ground covered in chalk and dust.
"Will you live?" The reaper responded. Approaching the group of people that stood idly in the dock.
"Y-you killed them all! You burned everyone." Yua reiterated.
"You're no better than the goblins-"
"We will live..." Haruto put a hand on her shoulder. Giving her a look of understanding. The goblins may have done unspeakable things, but it doesn't justify the slaughter of innocents, of children.
"Let's get everyone home... please..." He was tired, worn down, and beaten. No time for ethical issues.
"We can't let him get away with this-" Yua began, but was cut off by Haruto, who pulled her into a tight hug.
"It's over. We can't change what happened." The healer said sadly, stroking the woman's hair gently. He could feel the sobs wrack her body, her small frame trembling against his. She was scared, hurt, and confused. For the things they would have done to her and her allies; she was still hurt to watch them perish in the fire.
'I'm sorry, but the only way we'll get home safely, is with the Reaper.'
"Haruto! Where are you?!" The loud familiar voice of Akira. The sun nearing its rest as the suits of the Silvermane approached.
The Reaper; who only moments ago stood before them as a monster, was now gone. His army merged back with shadows. Only his destruction and ash remained.
"Akira? How did you get here? There is no gate home here." Haruto asked.
"Our Guildmaster is full of surprises; I think we should leave quickly. You've seen enough death." Akira looked around at the smouldering city.
"Yeah..." Haruto said quietly, still holding onto Yua.
---
Eren watched his guild flood in. The destruction of a race did nothing to phase them. They were here only to bring the guildmates of Silvermane home.
Although a figure clad in fine robes of blue and gold caught Eren's eye. Baelor ventured through the ruins. Eyes filled with desolation.
"Do you know this place?" Baelor spoke to The Reaper observing him.
"Yes... They showed me."
"I only ever heard stories of Alaisa... I never knew it fell like this." The elf shook its head.
"Once viewed as a symbol of rebellion. These people left our elven kingdoms; to escape the rigid traditions and rules of our society. They found a place here in the frontier of our lands. A place where they could live freely and grow strong in their own ways."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. The sins of this world are not yours to bear." Baelor looked up at the sky.
Tears began to fall from the elves' eyes. There was none left to mourn a forgotten kingdom, and the death of an empire. None, except Baelor.
"Once more. Lost to the annuls of time... May their souls rest in peace..."
Eren had many questions; How did the Silvermane show up? Where did the queen flee to? The source of his white fire?
Many questions for another time. For now, was a time of mourning for a lost elven civilization.
End chapter 69
***
Epilogue:
In the darkness of a grand hall. Red banners of a dragon with a crown adorned the walls. Queen Lofia kneeled, her head bowed low, her remaining children; Two boys, one girl behind her.
Illuminated in blood red light. Sitting on a throne of black iron, withing the maw of a dragon's mouth. Eyes glowing a sinister gold.
"You... want my help." It spoke, a voice of arrogance and superiority. The Dominus of the Goblin race. He whom the goblins view as God.
"Y-Yes. We have been driven out of our homes. We seek sanctuary in your realm. Please, we will serve you loyally if you so wish-"
"Enough!" The Dominus boomed, rising from its throne; The remnants of the green skins under the red canyon wouldn't dare meet its eyes.
"I gave you your land so you may watch the waters for our enemies across the sea. A mission you have failed, and now return with your tails between your legs."
"M-My lord, please! I will do anything. Please have mercy-"
"Your last daughter... Will join my harem. Your sons will become my guards. You... I have no room in my court for failed monarchs. You will have your life but no place by my side. You have disappointed me. You are all dismissed!" The Dominus waved them away, turning its back on the remnants of the Green Skin clan.
"Thank you Lord dominus." Lofai spoke softly, her voice quivering and her head still bowed. It was the best she could hope for. The last thing a parent could do for their children was ensure their survival. She had failed in her duty to protect her kingdom and her people. All she could do was to ensure that her children would live on and thrive.
They left the Dominus' chambers, escorted away by goblins in black and red robes.
"Was this an attack by those across the sea?" The dominus asked the shadows behind him.
"No, sire. An unknown entity. One of a dark aura, and malice." A shadowy figure emerged from behind the Dominus, kneeling before its master.
"Find out who it is... if they pose a threat to my empire. I want to know." The dominus commanded.
"At once my lord." The shadow answered, disappearing as quickly as it had come.
The Dominus looked at the red banners that hung around the throne room. They were symbols of power and authority. His empire built upon centuries of blood and conquest.