Marc, Emrys, and the other guards formed a circle around Trystan.
Trystan looked around. Time had run out. Bow in hand, he prepared for what very well could be the fight of his life.
The battle for Camelot had begun.
***
As the undead continued their assault at the base of the plateau, the elves stepped in and out of the shadows, precisely targeting the undead creatures in the head. Their arrowheads, made from magic-imbued silver, shattered their heads, slaying the creatures.
The shadow wolves fought alongside their masters. With their powerful jaws, they ripped the limbs and heads from the bodies of the undead.
The elves loyal to the Queen found themselves fighting against their own people, the ones that had betrayed them. Vanishing into shadow form, they could see the others hiding in the same way, but some were positioned so near the battlefront that it was difficult to tell which elves were the enemy.
Nuadra hid among the humans, using their tents and foliage for additional cover. As the undead attacked, arrows flew from the outskirts, striking down some of the King’s warriors. She scanned for traitors and spotted a few hiding among the trees in the distance. Careful to conceal her location, she took aim and shot an arrow into the sky. It came down, striking her target. She moved to another position, took aim, and shot another betrayer.
“Forgive me, brothers,” she whispered.
***
Morgaine crested the plateau with hundreds of undead behind her. Other living corpses climbed the hillside, scrambling like hungry spiders over the crumbling ruins that perched near the edge. Archers swiped at them with their bows and launched arrows into their skulls and chests. Those not fast enough were yanked by their ankles and devoured alive. Their screams of agony echoed through the chaos.
Morgaine locked eyes with Trystan. “Destroy them!” she yelled. “And bring me the heir, alive!”
The undead beings charged in.
The Queen of the Woodland Elves materialized between Morgaine and Trystan. “Protect our king!” The Queen raised her bow and released arrow after arrow into the mass of cursed beings.
All around Mysel, loyal elves appeared and began destroying the undead one by one. The Queen’s elves focused their attack on the undead as arrows reigned down upon them from their flanks. Some of General Îarik’s followers had scaled the hillside. They hid among the crumbling walls of stone, targeting their alienated brethren.
A few undead escaped the deadly strikes of the elves’ arrows. They snaked their way toward Marc and the other guards, all of whom still surrounded Trystan. The enemy attacked fiercely, their swords and axes meeting those of Trystan’s noble protectors.
With Excalibur, Marc attacked the vile creatures, killing them one at a time by swiftly removing their heads with a single slice of his blade. Between the elves and the humans, the undead surrounding them on the hilltop were slowly and arduously destroyed until none were left. When Morgaine finally stood alone, the elves disappeared again, moving on to fight where they were most needed.
Morgaine, using her magic, struck some of the remaining soldiers that were protecting the heir. She fired a red lightning bolt at one, burning her and forcing her back into a wall. At another, she sent forth a fireball, lighting the man on fire. Screaming in pain, he ran and fell off a sharp drop-off.
Emrys yelled to the other soldiers. “Go help your fellow soldiers! We will take care of the witch!”
The soldiers scattered, heading in various directions toward the fighting, leaving Emrys, Trystan, and Marc to face Morgaine alone.
“Is that what I am to you now? A witch?” Morgaine snarled.
“We are who we are,” Emrys replied.
Emrys cast a beam of glowing blue energy at Morgaine while at the same time, she returned with a stream of red fire. Slowly, her magic repelled against his.
“I’ve grown stronger than you, Myrddin!” Morgaine yelled. “You should have embraced dark magic when you had the chance!”
Morgaine’s stream of fire grew stronger, pushing back against Emrys’ magic.
Trystan pulled back on his bow, summoned an arrow, and shot at Morgaine. A glowing red aura surrounded the sorceress, as if shielding her. Trystan shot another, and another. Morgaine flinched with each one, but maintained her focused attack against Emrys.
Marc circled around to her side and lunged in to attack, striking at Morgaine with his sword.
Morgaine laughed as the sword failed to penetrate the aura. Using the force of her magic, she struck him in the chest and sent him flying backward a short distance. Marc’s momentary distraction allowed Emrys to gain the upper hand, but Morgaine directed her attack back at him with a surge of magic.
“You have such powerful weapons and yet you do not know how to use them!” she shouted at Marc and Trystan, and then redirected her hostile gaze. “You should have trained them better, Myrddin!”
Trystan ran over to Marc, keeping his bow aimed and his eyes on Morgaine as he crossed the rocky grass over to him.
