~Gael's pov~
After the horror in Phey, we took some horses from the stables and left in the dead of night. Once we were outside the city limits, Corithas slaughtered the horses, and gave them his gift of undeath. He said they were ours to keep.
We rode north, to the Weygate mountains. Corithas refused to tell us where exactly we were going, what we were doing. We simply rode in silence, only stopping occasionally to stretch our legs. The dead did not need sleep, and Corithas often slept in the saddle. Wherever we were going, we must have been in a hurry to get there.
We made it to one of the arches. As we neared it, a mist settled in over the area at an alarming pace. I would have been terrified if I was still alive, still afraid of dying.
"Form up around me. The Guardians are coming. Kill as many as you can, but let me be sure that I finish the ritual circle. This is important." Accompanying Corithas's demands was a particularly strong compulsion, stronger than they usually would be. We dismounted, and formed a defensive circle around Corithas as we walked towards the arch. We stopped right in the middle.
Corithas set right to work, beginning to draw a circle, large enough for him and three others to stand in, and then began to draw complex runes in the dirt. I turned my attention outward, to the way we came. Next to me, stood the horse I had been riding. He seemed keen to defend Corithas just as we were.
I unsheathed my sword, looking out into the mist, from where we had came from. These guardians, whoever or whatever they were, I hoped they would succeed in protecting whatever it is they're protecting. The Weygate, maybe?
Some tense moments passed, the eerie silence filled with the scratching of Corithas's staff against the dirt. Then the first silhouette appeared in the mist. He was tall and slender. As he got closer, two more appeared. Then three more, and so forth.
"Here they come."
The guardians broke into a sprint, their arms held out, long claws ready to slice us to bits. My grip tightened on my sword, preparing myself for impact.
My sword sliced deep into the knees of the first as I ducked his claws, sending him careening. My horse stomped his head in. The second got a slash in on my face. I didn't feel it. I impaled him from the groin, upward. My horse pummeled into the next one that was coming for me while I was pulling my sword free. Once it was, I planted my sword into the next guardian's chest before it could get back up.
They kept coming in droves. I sustained many injuries, but I did not feel a single one. I simply felt the compulsion to continue fighting until they stopped coming.
After what felt like an eternity of battle with the creatures, a mash up of violet and pale green energies illuminated the area with a flash. Everyone stopped, even the Guardians, as we all turned our gaze skyward, to the arch. Two beams of energy shot up from the spell circle Corithas had been working on, coiling around each other as they stretched skyward. They impacted with the peak of the arch with a deafening BOOM! We could see the shockwave from the impact. The weygate shattered. A transparent violent dome surrounded myself and the rest of us, a shield courtesy of Corithas. Rubble smashed down all around us, bouncing off the shield.
I looked around. The Guardians were frozen in place, unmoving. Their glowing eyes were dimming. Some were smeared into grey spatters of metallic blood and guts by the rubble.
When the dust settled, Corithas lowered the shield. He dusted himself off, and took a moment to look around.
"Now, I do hope my acolytes are successful with the other gates." He then turned his attention to us. I felt the Compulsion against my mind. "Gather all the bodies that seem suitable for being risen. Line them up."
We had no choice but to do as we were asked.
A/N: Wowee it's been awhile since I've updated, for which I apologize. Nanowrimo burnt me out, so what little I've done since then has been mostly notes for when I start editing and patching up those blaring plot holes and other mistakes at the beginning of the story. (And throughout all of it really, to be honest)
But! Great news! We're not all that far off from the end of the first book. I'd give it at least ten good chapters, give or take.
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