Dromos 28 – Dromos 30, Imperial Year 1645
The Port City of Velathri – The Eastern Gate and Harbor
The harbor was chaos. Ships loaded refugees by the hundred – families, wounded soldiers, orphans clutching scraps of their former lives. The docks groaned under the weight of the desperate. And at the city's eastern gate, the Black Knights made their stand.
Vlad stood at the center of the line. His zweihander was in his hand, its golden line dulled by ash and blood. His cape was torn, his mask cracked, but his voice was steady.
"We hold the gate until the last ship sails. No demon passes."
The knights answered with silence – not fear, but focus.
Corvin – Hound – stood at Vlad's left, his sword chipped, his shield dented. Sera – Sparrow – was on the wall above, her left hand steady on her bow, her right hand bandaged and useless. Gunnar – Hammer – stood behind the front line, his hook gleaming, a one‑handed axe in his fist. Garrick – Titan – loomed at the center, his hammer resting on his shoulder. Hilda – Wall – held the right flank, her shield arm splinted but her resolve iron. Viktor – Striker – crouched on a rooftop, his longbow strung, his quiver full. Kellan – Rook – was not in the line; he stood at the harbor, documenting the evacuation, his notebook open. Eli – Phantom – was nowhere to be seen.
And the others – Anvil, Brick, Whip, Javelin, Fang, Bolt, Quiver, Rain, Patch, Echo, and thirty new recruits – waited in the shadows.
The sky was dark. The demons were coming.
Dromos 28 – Dusk
The Eastern Gate – The First Wave
The spawn came first – a tide of claws and green eyes. They flowed over the ruined outskirts of Velathri, scrambling over rubble, climbing walls.
"Loose!" Vlad shouted.
Sera's arrow took the first spawn through the eye. Viktor's longbow sang, each shot finding a throat. Quiver and Rain loosed volleys from the wall, their arrows hissing. The front rank of spawn crumpled, but more came.
The first wave hit the shield wall. Corvin and Hilda took the impact, their feet sliding back on the cobblestones. Garrick stepped forward, his hammer swinging, crushing skulls and spines. Anvil and Brick fought beside him, their axes flashing. The new recruits held the flanks.
For an hour, they held.
Then the flyers came.
Dromos 28 – Night
The Eastern Gate – The Flyers
Leather‑winged shadows dropped from the clouds. They snatched archers from the walls, tearing them apart mid‑air. Viktor loosed arrow after arrow, bringing down three before a flyer took his arm. He fell from the rooftop, his longbow clattering beside him.
Sera saw him fall. "Viktor!"
Vlad's head snapped toward the rooftop. "No!"
He saw Viktor land on the cobblestones, his arm gone below the elbow. A spawn lunged at him. Viktor drew a dagger with his left hand and stabbed it in the throat. Another came. He stabbed again. A third. Then a flyer dropped on him from above.
Viktor's screams cut off.
Vlad's hands tightened on his zweihander. "Viktor…" His voice was raw. "You stubborn bastard."
He had no time to mourn. The flyers turned toward the gate.
Quiver and Rain were pulled screaming into the dark. Their bows clattered to the ground.
"Shields up!" Corvin roared.
The front line raised their shields. The flyers crashed into them, claws scraping steel. Hilda was thrown back, her shield arm screaming. She rose, spat blood, and drove her sword into a flyer's chest. It fell, but another took its place.
Vlad watched his knights fall. He could not reach them. He could not save them.
"Hold!" he shouted, his voice cracking. "Hold for the ships!"
Dromos 29 – Dawn
The Eastern Gate – The Brutes
The second wave came at dawn – hulking brutes with hides like stone, their fists the size of wagon wheels. They walked through the shield wall as if it were paper. New recruits were crushed, thrown, torn apart.
Fang, the wolf beastfolk, lunged at a brute's leg. His teeth sank into its ankle. The brute kicked him away; he flew into a wall and did not rise.
"Fang!" Corvin shouted.
Javelin's throwing spears bounced off their hides. A brute caught him by the leg and swung him into a group of knights. He landed in a heap, his spine broken.
Vlad saw Javelin's eyes go blank. "Damn it!" He swung his zweihander, decapitating a spawn. "Damn it all!"
Bolt, the gnome, fired his heavy crossbow at a brute's face. The bolt sank into its eye. The beast roared and swiped; Bolt was crushed under its fist.
Whip tried to entangle a brute's leg with her chain whip. The beast pulled her into the horde. Her screams lasted only a second.
"Whip!" Sera cried from the wall.
Vlad's face was a mask of fury and grief. He could not save them. He could only kill.
Garrick met the first brute head‑on. His hammer slammed into its knee. The brute stumbled, and Garrick struck again – its chest, its throat, its skull. The beast fell. But three more took its place.
"Fall back to the inner gate!" Vlad shouted.
The line collapsed. Knights retreated, but the brutes pursued. Anvil and Brick covered the retreat, their axes swinging. Anvil took a blow to the chest; his armor caved in. He fell, still trying to raise his axe.
"Anvil!" Vlad roared.
Brick was thrown against a pillar; his neck snapped.
Vlad watched his family die. He could not stop it. He could not even reach them.
They reached the inner gate. Corvin slammed the portcullis down. The brutes battered it, but it held. For now.
Vlad leaned against the wall, breathing hard. His eyes were wet.
"How many?" Corvin asked.
"Too many," Vlad said. "Too damn many."
Dromos 29 – Midday
The Inner Gate – The Great Demon
The great demon came at noon. It was the same one that had destroyed the Colossus – a mass of shadow and bone, fifty feet tall, its four arms ending in obsidian blades. It walked through the outer gate as if it were kindling.
Vlad looked at the harbor. The last ship was still loading.
"We cannot kill it," he said. "But we can slow it."
Garrick stepped forward. "I'll slow it."
"Garrick –"
"I've always wanted to see if a hammer could break a demon's knee."
He charged.
"Garrick, no!" Vlad shouted.
The great demon swept its arm. Garrick dodged – barely – and drove his hammer into the demon's ankle. Bone cracked. The demon staggered.
"Now!" Vlad shouted, his voice hoarse.
The remaining knights poured through the inner gate, attacking the demon's legs, its back, its shadowy flesh. Corvin climbed onto its tail, driving his sword deep. Hilda struck its heel with her shield.
Vlad ran forward, swinging his zweihander at the demon's other leg. The blade bit into shadowy flesh. The demon howled.
It raised its arms. Green fire gathered between its claws.
"Pyros Megas," it intoned.
"Scatter!" Vlad roared.
Garrick did not scatter. He drove his hammer into the demon's knee one last time. The demon's leg buckled. The fireball flew wild, striking the outer wall, collapsing it.
Garrick was thrown into the rubble. He lay there, his chest crushed, his eyes open.
Vlad ran to him. "Garrick! Garrick, get up!"
Garrick's eyes were fixed on the sky. He did not answer.
Vlad knelt beside him, his hand on Garrick's shoulder. "You idiot," he whispered. "You beautiful idiot."
He had no time to weep. The demon was still standing.
Dromos 29 – Afternoon
The Inner Gate – The Fall
Hilda stood alone at the gate. Her shield was gone, her arm broken. She held a short sword in her good hand.
"You will not pass," she said.
The great demon stepped on her. She did not scream.
Vlad saw her fall. "Hilda!" He tried to run to her, but Corvin grabbed his arm.
"She's gone. We need to go."
"I can't leave her!"
"You have to. The ship."
Vlad's face twisted. He wanted to charge the demon. He wanted to die beside his knights. But Corvin was right. The ship.
He turned and ran.
Dromos 29 – Evening
The Harbor – Eli's Last Stand
Eli – Phantom – had been watching from a rooftop near the dock. He saw a family – a mother, a father, and two children – running for the last ship. The spawn were closing in.
He dropped from the rooftop, landing between the family and the horde. His daggers were broken; he drew a short sword from a dead knight.
"Go," he said.
The father hesitated. "Who are you?"
"Someone who talks too little and does too much. Now go."
The family ran. The spawn lunged.
Eli fought. He killed three, then five, then ten. His sword broke. He drew a dagger. His dagger broke. He used his fists, his boots, his broken armor.
The spawn kept coming.
He was driven back to the edge of the dock. He could see the ship pulling away. The family was on board.
"Ah," he said, "what a stupid thing I am about to do."
He turned and walked into the horde.
They swallowed him.
Vlad, reaching the dock, saw Eli disappear. He stopped.
"Eli…" His voice broke. "No."
Corvin pulled him. "He knew what he was doing."
"He shouldn't have had to."
Dromos 29 – Night
The Harbor – The Last Ship
The survivors – Vlad, Corvin, Sera, Gunnar, Kithri, Echo, Patch, Rook (who had been at the harbor), and two wounded knights – reached the dock. The last ship was casting off.
"We hold for ten more minutes," Vlad said.
The spawn came. They fought. Gunnar took a claw to the side; he fell, then rose, his axe swinging. Sera stabbed with her dagger, left‑handed, clumsy but desperate. Kithri climbed a crane and dropped a net on a cluster of spawn, tangling them. Echo threw a smoke pellet. Patch dragged a wounded knight onto the gangplank.
Corvin stood beside Vlad, back to back.
Vlad fought with fury, his zweihander carving through spawn. He did not shout. He did not curse. He just killed, each stroke a promise of vengeance.
The last ship's horn blew. The gangplank lifted.
"Go!" Vlad shouted.
They ran.
Dromos 30 – Dawn
The Eastern Sea – The Ship
The ship sailed east. Vlad stood at the railing, watching the smoke. Behind him, the survivors sat on the deck – Corvin, Sera, Gunnar, Kithri, Echo, Patch, Rook, and two other wounded knights.
Vlad did not speak for a long time. His hands were still clenched on the railing.
"We lost," Corvin said.
"We lost," Vlad agreed. His voice was hollow. "Garrick. Hilda. Viktor. Eli. Anvil. Brick. Whip. Javelin. Fang. Bolt. Quiver. Rain. And so many others."
He turned to face the survivors. His eyes were red, his face streaked with ash and tears.
"They died so we could live. I will not let that be for nothing."
"What do we do now?" Kithri asked.
Vlad looked east. "We find the others. We rebuild. And we return." His voice hardened. "We will make the demons pay. Every last one of them. I swear it."
Gunnar raised his hook. "For the fallen."
"For the fallen," the others echoed.
Vlad turned back to the smoke.
Behind them, Mesos burned.
The ship sailed on.
End of Chapter Seventy-Nine