#arc: NUIL

[writegeist-muse]

#31 SLICE

welp, we made it, guys, this is the last post for Jotober 2018. I'm glad I decided to take my friend's suggestion, even though neither of us knew (at the time) that there was an October challenge for writers. this was really great for me as a way to get back into the habit of writing and working on my passion projects. it did tell me that I'm definitely more conditioned to working in other, more particular formats and it's been a long while since I wrote this much prose, but because of this I've written snippets for pieces of story that have never existed beyond a concept or mental movie, so this was quite an adventure. I hope anyone who read any of my Jotober pieces enjoyed the read, all these snippets hold very special places in my heart and I'm glad to now have shared them with the world. until next time, happy writing and Happy Halloween!!!

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The fiercer the combat became, the more the world slowed down around Rune as she pelted down the slope littered with chunks of debris and fallen bodies. Rian, Taran, Raiden, and Tryllyx fanned out on her right, while Petras, Clarion, and Gabriel brought up the left.

An eruption of gold light to her right was followed by an unearthly roar - Tryllyx had shed her glamour and shifted mid-stride into her largest battle form. On Rune’s left, a sickly cracking and growling forced her to shift her gaze for a second - Petras was shifting as he ran, breaking bones making him stumble and emit half-choking howls. Rune tore her eyes away from the horrible sight and waited to hear the longer strides of his Lycan form keeping pace with her sprint. Rian’s shift was much more subdued and Rune grinned as the redhead was replaced by a beautiful loping white wolf lolling its tongue at her.

A small wall of debris rose up to meet them. Rune slowed for a half a step and Petras sped up, planting his feet to skid to a stop just in front of the wall. As Rune approached, he laced his fingers and she gauged her jump off. For a split second as he matched her downward fall into his hands, the pair’s eyes met. Matched pairs of fangs glinted in broad grins before Petras was launching Rune up and over, her body stretching to her full height to let her flip and aim feet first towards the fray. A pair of small hands wrapped around her upper arms and Rune shot a grin up to Clarion, the half-Aernjül girl’s wings casting an ethereal glow.

“Where to?”

“We gotta find Gwyllion! She said she���d be with Titania!”

“Next stop, Queen of the Fairies!”

###

Clarion and Rune reached part of the royal battle squad before the rest of their group. A finger tapping her biceps warned Rune just before Clarion dropped her. The cat girl impacted in a cloud of dust and immediately used it as cover to work her way across the battle field towards Gwyllion. The Fae was smattered with dust and blood and her twin swords flung ichor across the ground as she swiped them through the gut of another Nuil soldier.

As she straightened up, chest heaving with effort, Rune sped up and leapt by in front of Gwyllion to dig lengthy claws into the chest of an other oncoming dark fairy. Rune sunk her fangs into the woman’s throat and ripped, tasting the warm metallic tang of blood across her tongue as the body fell with her on top of it. She spat the hunk of flesh out and quickly hunkered down into fighting stance.

“Glad you made it!” Gwyllion moved to stand back to back with Rune. “I was starting to wonder.”

Rune grinned, showing off her blood-stained mouth. “Sorry we couldn’t make it earlier, had some loose ends to tie up.”

“The rest of the gang?”

A chorus of snarling growls, echoing howls, and screamed battle cries was the answer as a collection of various figures poured into the area, some swarmed with enemies, some pelting towards the two girls. Rune’s teeth sharpened, the tips of her ears quivering with anticipation as she watched the rest of her group finish dealing with their targets and gather around.

“At your service, Princess!” The mouth of Tryllyx’s great War Wolf form was full of bits of flesh and bone as she spoke. Gwyllion nodded and swung her swords, ridding them of a coat of muck before she charged towards an oncoming battalion.

###

The group of warriors systematically worked their way through squares and streets, taking out whatever opposed them and now they had finally found the rest of the royal Faes. Gwyllion cut down another body and squealed as she looked around. “There’s my mom!”

They made for the loose ring of Nuil, between which they could see both Titania and Oberon in full combat. Their shining armor was dull in places, and they could see the queen and king had not escaped injury.

A ear-shattering wail went up around them and the animalistic fighters cringed at the pitch. Gabriel looked over his shoulder and paled. “Get to the Queen! Protect the royal family!” The others looked back and their pace increased exponentially. A wave of glittering black was flooding down the street behind them, waves upon waves of Nuil hellbent on killing those who had fended off their conquest. The group crashed through the ring around the royals and whirled around, taking up defensive positions.

“Oh no they don’t, I am not letting them come at me while I wait for the slaughter!”

Everyone was shocked at Titania’s outraged screech as she practically flew through their defense and directly into the oncoming horde. They moved to follow but the flurry of motion from within the horde stopped them dead. Nuil bodies were flung into an actual whirlwind, slashed and broken and snapped as Titania began moving in circles faster and faster, her wild red hair whipping about as fiercely as her swords. Gone were the elegant and great butterfly wings, replaced with a full pair of long, crisp dragonfly wing that glittered like polished steel.

Tryllyx made to follow the queen but Oberon ran up and grabbed at the scruff of her neck. “Go in there and she’ll cut right through you!”

As if drawn to the striking fairy, every Nuil that entered the square made directly for the massacre happening before them. The wind glittered with pure power and Titania’s armor flashed in the light as she single-handedly took on the darkest of her kind.

The group stared, horridly transfixed as she directed her swords every which way, as she lopped off arms and legs and heads. But the greatest shock came when the Nuil waves seemed to finally grow too great and collapse in on her. Beams of light shot between the bodies, forcing the other fighters to shield their eyes. Through the light, they could see Titania revolving faster than sight, a blur of white and red and silver and rainbows. Her arms were outstretched, swords extended to pair with the dragonfly wings flared out stiffly from her back as they sliced through everything in their path, Nuil and object alike.