Y'Nfalle: From Beyond Ancient Gates

The war room was silent. Prince Lymlok stood on the balcony, arms resting on the wooden railing, staring out into the distance where an ungodly construct stood in ominous silence.

The long barrel of the colossal weapon was pointed directly towards the heart of the Silver Forest. The Home Tree also doubled as the palace where the royal family of the Vatur kingdom resided.

The weapon was as large as a fortress and was constructed entirely out of metal. Lymlok was not present in the kingdom when the iron fortress of the invaders was used to attack the kingdom, but he heard of the devastation it caused upon his return home. A single shot was fired from the massive cannon, blowing a hole through the Home Tree above the palace with ease. Never before had the elves encountered such a weapon, nor had they suffered such an attack. The countless magic barriers that the royal mages had put up did nothing to stop the shot from hitting its target.

"I still don't understand. What ungodly spell have they used to attack the Home Tree? Have you humans discovered some new arcane arts?" The elven prince turned around, locking eyes with Duke Perriman.

"What? No, your Highness. No human magic can rival that of the elves, surely you know that!" The man defended himself, raising both his hands and shaking his head.

"Then how? How did they pierce the magic barrier and blow a hole through the Home Tree?" The elf hissed, walking back inside and sitting down, eyes still locked on the duke.

A tense silence fell upon the oval war room that was occupied by the elven prince himself, Duke Perriman and Forgelord Tarik.

Perriman, whose duchy was on the border between the elven kingdom of Vatur and the human kingdom of Marbella east of it, had joined the Vatur council without knowledge from the Queen of Marbella. Doing so, the duke hoped to avoid submitting fully to either kingdom; a strategy that was incredibly successful for many years. The arrival of the otherworlders, which the elves referred to as "murder apes", and their conflict with the elves put the relationship between the two kingdoms at a very strenuous state. To maintain his seat at the council, Perriman did whatever he could, even if it was to his detriment.

The unpleasant silence was interrupted by Tarik, the Forgelord of the Southern dwarven guild.

"Because they have not used any magic. It was a physical attack that bore a hole in your tree.

Prince Lymlok looked ready to erupt with anger. The mere notion that they were attacked by something that had no spells or enchantments to empower it, yet did such tremendous damage, felt like a slap to the face.

"A physical-? A physical attack?! You're telling me that they, what, just decided to lob a rock at the Home Tree at great speed?! You honestly expect me to believe that, dwarf? Or has your head finally filled up with enough dirt to stop your brain from working?"

The dwarf was unfazed by the prince's outburst, waiting for him to finish before continuing his explanation. He took a deep breath, waiting to see if the elf had finished throwing a tantrum before continuing.

"It is the only logical explanation. When they first arrived, almost a year ago, the weapons and gear they had seemed to lack any sort of mana. Purely physical weapons. We haven't seen them use any form of magic or enchantments."

"Just because you haven't seen them use any magic, does not mean they are incapable of using it. Ever heard of hiding your hand, dwarf?" The elf slumped into his chair, rubbing his temple in exhaustion.

"The attack came from the field of Vatur. We've sent scouts to try and get a closer look, but… They've either failed to get close enough to report anything or they've failed to return at all." Duke Perriman said, finally finding his voice.

"The dwarf speaks true. They do not use any spells." A female voice, smooth as honey, filled the war room.

An elven woman, adorned in a royal gown and with a wreath around her head, sitting in a large ornate chair, was carried into the war room by a group of servants and sat down at the head of the table.

"Claudia. You should be resting. I'm sorry if my voice woke you up. I got carried away." Lymlok stood up, apologising for his loudness, but his sister waved him to sit back down, before turning her gaze towards the duke.

"You. Out of my sight. I can't stand to have you in my presence." She hissed; every word filled with venomous hate.

Claudia hated the invaders with a passion only grief could bring about. The fact that otherworlders were also human meant that her wrath towards them spilt over to other humans as well, Duke Perriman included. As irrational as she knew it was, Princess Claudia simply couldn't stomach looking at a human.

"At once, My Lady." Perriman bowed and left the war room with urgency in his step.

"You know what it is?" Asked Tarik, watching Perriman disappear into the hallway. The heavy wooden doors closed behind the man, leaving the three of them alone.

"Yes. I was there with Eothen last autumn when the invaders attempted to bring in that monstrosity through the portal. It was their first and so far, only successful time they brought anything larger than infantry and their small, armoured vehicles." The elven princess replied.

The King and Queen of Vatur had three children. Eother, Claudia and Lymlock. Eothen was the firstborn son and next in line for the crown, once the illness that befell their father finally claimed him.

Lymlok flinched at the mention of his late brother's name but did not dare interrupt his older sister, as she began to tell them what happened that night.

 ***

Rain poured down relentlessly for the last several days. The ground was so loose that the soldiers felt like they might sink into the mud with each step. The entire outpost was on high alert, as this was the longest a portal gate had ever been kept open, the power surging from it being felt for miles. The way the portal was glowing did not help either, attracting the attention of every single scout that the Vatur elves and Albrecht Perriman sent to try and watch over the outpost that the invading humans had built around the portal gate.

The gate itself was massive, the largest one in the entire Vatur kingdom, situated in an open field far south of the Silver Forest. Keeping such a massive gate open for an extended period required a constant flow of power from the generators on both sides of the portal. Stabilising it without the use of magic was an entirely different beast.

It roared, pulsing energy spewing forth from the swirling portal as military engineers and scientists worked quickly to keep the portal from collapsing in on itself and frying their equipment. Many of the portal gates across the world have long since gone silent, their original purpose forgotten; they now serve as little more than wild architecture, standing in silent solitude as reminders of the past.

The roars of the awakened gate sent a chill down Eothen's spine. The invaders were on the move, and they worked quickly to finish activating the portal so they could pull through whatever mechanical horror awaited on the other side. If the elves were to stop them, they had to act immediately.

"Assemble the cavalry." The firstborn prince ordered his servant while he was putting on his armour. "Saddle my elk."

"Brother, allow me to accompany you." Claudia approached her brother with her bow in hand, the lower part of her armour already on, while several maids rushed after her down the hallway with the rest of her armour in their hands.

"No. I forbid it." Eothen replied sternly, lifting his chin so that the servant to fasten his helmet properly.

"Eothen, please!" She insisted.

"Claudia, you know as well as I how dangerous these humans are." He gave her a disapproving look.

"With Lymlok away, the only one left to keep the royal bloodline is you. Should I fall tonight… the kingdom mustn't be left without a ruler."

Claudia bit her lip, wanting to argue further, but knew her older brother would not budge on his decision.

"Please, be careful. Return safely." She grabbed his hand, looking him in the eyes.

Eothen gave her a soft smile before putting on his helmet.

"I will, sister. Do not doubt it."

Watching him disappear down the stairs and enter the courtyard soon after, where his troops already waited, Claudia was filled with worry. Eothen was right; the invaders were dangerous. She was torn between obeying his order and doing what every younger sister does and disregarding it. Her maids stood a few steps away, silently letting the Princess make a decision.

"Help me get this armour on," Claudia said after a brief moment of hesitation.

She stood by the window as the maid finished preparing her for battle, watching Eothen ride away into the night with the soldiers. Once he was far enough away, she rushed downstairs to the courtyard and ordered the servant to fetch her mount.

The gate was subdued, the pulses of energy turning into soft droning as the swirling mana disappeared, replaced by a surface that resembled the undisturbed surface of clear water. The preparations were far from complete, as the soldiers moved quickly on both sides and began laying down rails upon which the weapon that waited on the other side of the gate would cross from one world into the other.

They chose that particular gate because of its size. No other portal was large enough for the massive rail cannon to pass through. Reminiscent of the behemoth weapon from the old war that shook Earth over a century ago in its appearance, the weapon would strike fear into anyone unfortunate to find themselves on the opposing side of its barrel. No distance, no matter how great, no wall, no matter how thick, could offer protection from this colossus of iron. The only thing that weapon kept that tied it to its predecessor was its size, name and the fact that it moved along rails, which the soldiers were assembling quickly and effectively.

Eothen rode like a man possessed, feeling the shift in mana that the portal gate emitted.

"Damn. They've already managed to open the gate. We need to hurry; we don't have much time."

The elven troops broke through the treeline of the Silver Forest and rode towards the invaders' outpost. Each mount was strengthened by a Haste spell, making the animals run faster than they ever could, ignoring the pain of exhaustion. They flew across the fields in mere moments, the wall around the portal gate coming into view, the area bathed in a bright blue light. What welcomed them as they got within several hundred meters of the outpost weren't the invaders themselves, but their automated turrets.

Rapid gunfire echoed across the field, overpowering the sound in the heavy downpour. Arrows flew, unleashing powerful luminous spells that made the night sky as bright as day, in an effort to stun and blind the opponent. To the turrets, however, it made no difference.

Claudia wasn't far behind them, pushing her elk to its limit and beyond. She caught up, just in time to witness the first two lines of the cavalry formation that her brother led get mowed down by gunfire. Neither blinding arrows nor the quick movements of the Vatur cavalry could fool the motion tracking software that the turrets were equipped with.

Eothen's elk screamed, its body riddled with holes, before it toppled over, flinging the prince into the mud. He stayed down, covering his head with his arms while the turrets roared into the night, drowning out the cries of his men.

The prince looked up, barely raising his head and channelled his mana into the soft ground, sending forth a ripple that quickly turned into a tidal wave of mud and earth. It crashed into the outpost wall with such force that the defences could not withstand it. Several turrets fell together with a part of the wall, the rest still raining lead across the field. Still, the opening was created for the remaining elves to charge towards, Eothen himself at the lead, moving as if teleporting from place to place, only appearing in view to take another step before disappearing again.

The human invaders were quick to respond, opening fire on the elves who were pouring in. That's where he waited. A monster of flesh and metal that led the murder apes. With brutality so fierce, so natural for such a creature, the metal-armed human took down elf after elf, until none but the prince and himself remained inside the outpost.

Eothen took one look at the portal gate, his eyes widening in horror at the monstrous contraption that was already a quarter through the portal. Retreat was no longer an option for the elves, he knew that the second he saw the Iron Fortress. They had to stop it, even if none of them survived.

"Seurang! Hudép geutanjoë hana meumakna meunjo awaknjan djitarék seudjat njan rot!" Screamed the prince, clutching the sword in his hand and going straight for one of the generators. The elf did not know what the devices were, but the way they sounded and the countless wires that connected them to the portal gate, he knew they had to be of some importance.

The metal-armed Warhound's response, a fierce attack that struck the prince and sent him flying onto his back in the mud, proved to Eothen that his assumption was correct. The human tossed his gun aside, not wanting to risk shooting the equipment.

"Hand to hand?" Eothen smirked.

"Bold."

Claudia arrived at the outpost, jumping off her elk while firing arrows at the human soldiers. Barely any of Eothen's men remained, but the few that did fought fiercely. Still, the number of bodies on both sides was far from equal. Arrows, despite their enchantments, did little to the otherworlders, their armour making it impossible to take them down.

Cludia loosed arrow after arrow, aiming with eagle-eyed precision at the gaps in the armour of the soldiers, desperate to reach and help her older brother.

"Eothen!"

Hearing his sister cry out his name caught the prince by surprise, his focus faltering for just a moment, but a moment was all the warhound needed. The man's metal arm grasped the blade of Eothen's sword as his swing faltered. The prince smiled, trying to wrench the blade from the human's hand and cut off his fingers, but as the sword refused to budge, his smile quickly faded.

With a twist, the warhound tore the sword from the elf's hand, breaking his right wrist in the process. Eothen didn't even get a chance to acknowledge the pain before a hailstorm of blows rained down upon him. In a second, he was on his knees, his vision blurry and each breath a struggle. The metal left hand of the human found his throat, artificial fingers squeezing like a vice.

Eothen gripped the arm, trying with all his might to break free from the grasp. Claudia, finally managing to fight her way to the broken wall, screamed her brother's name upon seeing him. She wanted to shoot, but didn't dare, knowing that she could hit her brother instead.

By now, none of the elves remained but the two royal siblings.

"Claudia." Croaked Eothen.

"Plueng. Peuseulamat droe!"

The human soldiers waited, guns aimed at the princess, as the warhound held his right fist raised. He waited for the elves to exchange their final words before killing them.

"Go! One of us must survive. The kingdom cannot be without a ruler!" The prince yelled, his voice cutting off before another word could come out, the metal hand's grip tightening.

Claudia shut her eyes, pushing past the tears that welled in her eyes. There was nothing she could do to save her brother. Behind the warhound, the Iron Fortress was almost through the gate. It was up to her to return home and prepare the defences.

Before the leader of the humans could drop his fist, she vanished, appearing several times across the field, further away with each step until finally she was back in the saddle of her mount, which waited loyally despite the noise and carnage around it.

"Sir, she's getting away." One of the soldiers spoke.

"No, she ain't." Replied the warhound.

His fist opened slowly, and his hand reached for his handgun, while he walked towards the hole in the wall, dragging the almost lifeless elven prince with him. Eothen couldn't even hear what the man was saying.

"Tell you what, pointy ears. If I miss this shot, I'll let you go."

The man raised a large pistol, closing his glowing left eye and took aim, his other hand turning Eothen around so he could watch. The elf could barely see his sister riding away through all the blood that covered his face, one of his eyes swollen shut.

"Sir." The soldier spoke out again, seeing Claudia riding across the field towards the Silver Forest at incredible speed.

"Yeah, yeah." Replied the warhound.

Before the human could squeeze the trigger, Eothen mustered what little fight he had left in him and struck the man in the stomach with his elbow. The gun went off, the bullet whistling through the air. The metal hand twisted, breaking the prince's neck before he could hear the cry of his sister in the distance as the bullet found its target.

The elk continued bolting towards the forest, carrying the wounded princess as she slumped on its back, clinging to consciousness.

 ***

Lymlok sat in silence, tears welling in his eyes as his older sister finished her story. His rage grew by the minute.

"I see. My condolences to both of you," said the dwarven Forgelord.

"By the time I awoke, they had already fired the weapon," Claudia said, gripping the armrest of her chair until her knuckles turned white.

"And your... legs?" Tarik asked cautiously.

"The shot was aimed at my lower back. The scouts that remained on the forest's border managed to keep me from bleeding out, but by the time I was brought before the royal healers, they could do little to fix the damage." The princess sighed, looking down at her limp legs.

"Everything below the hips, useless. Paralyzed. I begged the healer to end me on the spot, but he refused. I thank him for it. Even like this, I can live long enough to see the head of the bastard that took my brother and my legs hanging from my window." She hissed, wiping her eyes before the tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"At the very least, the kingdom is now aware of what we are up against. Every possible portal gate is now heavily guarded. We have, with the help of Duke Perriman and the duchy's mages, managed to raise an even stronger barrier in case the invaders fire their weapon again." Claudia's younger brother spoke, finally composing himself.

"So now we ask you, Sir Dwarf, how can we defend ourselves against such a weapon? We know the dwarves are master craftsmen. We know you have weapons not too dissimilar to theirs, the ones you use to purge goblins, orcs and trolls from your domains."

"I see." Sighed Tarik.

"That is why you invited me. I cannot promise much, but the Southern Dwarf Guild will aid you with everything we have."