The ground trembled and quake as the beasts of eld coursed through the city’s veins down below. The Rangers in the city streets fought to stay alive while guiding the citizens they could reach to the docks by the dozens. Barely making it to the next street over to reach more people themselves. The duty was theirs as the city itself began to fully awaken, the screams of Rangers falling one by one and the people trapped below as the maws and claws of Darkness ebbed ever closed, claiming more and more victims.
Bella has seen the city a thousand-thousand times before, but never like this. The city’s skyline was nothing but ablaze as the washing darkness came and went through the streets like a wave from the ocean. Taking and never giving as her team above raced along the city’s main wall to reach the gatehouses.
Before long the demons would break through the upper sanctums of the city, reaching the overlook of the walls, their crimson dripping claws and fangs trailing red behind them as they raced for the Rangers on approach. Taking bounding leaps ahead, several of them brought their swords forth, piercing the oncoming dark, clearing the path ahead as much as they could.
The mission in their minds was to reach the gatehouses no matter the cost, no matter the loss and no matter the blood-price. Those that fell behind on the wall turned to face the washing darkness, attempting to at least give the those that remained running a head start to stem the seemingly endless tide.
Metal stomps and skids sounded out against the towering stonewalls as yet another Ranger before Bella squared their shoulder for a charge into the iron door that awaited them. With a clattering crash of metal and bone, the door yielded open, it’s hinges snapping, sending the iron brick sailing across the first gatehouse and into the other door.
A thunderous tumble sent the first Ranger spiraling to the floor with a grunt as the others around reached for the broken door, lifting it quickly to close the way they came from. The gurgles and roar of the bloodthirsty voidsent on the other end were all they heard now. The blockade they created with the broken door and desks in the room would prove to half the demons for just a little bit longer.
Bella had already raced to the gate’s controls, and the open maw of the giant doors below began to grind to a close, the metal chains and gears within the stonewalls clattering against one another before the doors themselves slammed and locked shut. The team, those that remained breathed out a small sigh of relief that was only soon quelled and changed with the screams of fear as the door and desks against their entrance began to give way and break.
Looking through the glass thirty stories high, she could only see the city itself crumbling, burning before her very eyes. The sight itself churning her stomach, twisting and crushing it as her heart was sent spiraling down into the deepest pit. “We need to go. We need to close the rest of the gates.” Bella barked with a broken voice. As she spoke, she caught sight of a group of children being led by one of the Rangers, the glimmer of a smile on her face before it was shot off by the laughter of a beast that stood at their exit.
A Ranger himself yet… she couldn’t recognize the face nor the armor he wore. The door remained open behind him as he took clawed steps into the gatehouse, unyielding red eyes dancing about the room to examine who stood there. The heat of the fires from the city below began to creep through the air behind him as if nothing but a grim reminder of the destruction. The maw of his helmet opened to speak but no words were uttered, the speech no doubt already silenced by the tumble of another Ranger onto the wolf in sheep’s clothing.
“GO!” They’d shout, sending the others in the room outward toward the rest of their goal. One by one they’d file out in quick succession, Belladonna herself stopping to stare, fear evident in her stance. “Dammit girl, GO. GO!” He yelled. She’d feel the tug and yank of her arm and hand as another Ranger pulled her along. “Go, come on! We have to go!”
Bella remained silent as she watched Krita be thrown to the other side of the room, the crash of metal following soon after. The beast stood tall in their armor, moving to follow those that fled through the exit, but with the splinter of wood and metal, the demons, the voidsent that were fighting their way inward soon claimed their prizes, both Rangers seemed to be enveloped by the wave of black.
Both their screams filled the air, adding to the bloodied chorus that already sang through the burning skies. Each new voice that came into the air made Bella’s heart sink lower and lower, if there was an end to the pit she felt, it’d be still ever far from what she was feeling. The hyur herself was rushing to keep up with the Rangers before her, and with every gatehouse they’d reach, more of the same sights. The Rangers below were rescuing all they could, their numbers notably dwindling with each passing moment.
Yet as she brought her sight to the entry way to the harbor and its docks, the Rangers stood-fast and tall, defending all they could, their firearms discharging and their shields standing as they guided those they could to the boats that set sail. The demons that hunted seemed to refuse touching the waters, as if it were blessed by the gods, a token of salvation in the darkest night.
With every gate that closed, Bella’s team so too dwindle. As they passed their fourth, the gates below gained no more power to close. The decision was made during the sprints between each house and skirmish that they would destroy whichever gate that couldn’t be closed. Leaving the remaining power in the grid to close what remained.
The wall trembled with each passing explosion as two gatehouses crumbled to the earth below, their gates now nothing but impassable rubble. Only three gates remained, now. Bell took the charge into the central gate, her heart thumping harder and harder as she felt the dread of death creeping up her spine.
The door had already been opened, an observation quickly made as she rushed in, two other Rangers right behind her. The entire room was empty, not a single soul about, the console itself was offline, no levers turn or switch to flick would close the gate below, the biggest of all the others about. Belladonna looked across the window to spy the other two gatehouses before clutching the explosives in her hand. Before she could say a single word, behind one of the other Rangers appeared Red, a color that resonated with the dripping of blood on the ground.
The kiss of steel and flesh echoed in over and over within the building as a bloodied blade ripped through one of the Rangers, crimson splattering across the window and walls beside. Unlike the others, this face was not covered, no. She knew who stood, having cut down one of the last on the wall.
León.
Quicker than the lightning that flashed in the darkened skies against the auburn earth the Rangers shifted, Bella bringing up a blade against the descending arc of her lover’s sword. The hiss of ringing steel sang throughout the facility as the last Ranger ran for the door ahead, nabbing what explosives they could before tossing them deep into the facility to shatter the foundation when the time came.
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The crunching of old and fallen leaves beneath leather-bound boots brought Bella back to her senses once more as she looked about, amidst her traveling memories so too did she walk. Her surroundings were foliage, greens and browns against the dense cold evening air.
Where did she go, lost in her own mind? As her only eye gazed about the area, she could only figure somewhere between Thanalan and the Black Shroud, an.. off-the-reserve path as it were between both regions. The towering trees before her and the plateaus of the desert behind her. A look to the sky told her it wasn’t past midnight yet, perhaps a little less than a bell till. The coat she wore earlier in the day was wrapped around her waist, the bruises and scars along her arms were showing fairly clear in the silver moonlight. The wind, it’s caressing breeze seemed to dance with her hair, carrying it strand by strand in a gentle waltz.
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What was she remembering…? A thought coming across her mind before she thought back to what happened. The taste of crimson filling her senses as the burning wood of buildings below filled her nostrils, the air thick with smoke and cinders, mixing with the wafting scent of blood in the summer city’s breeze. The roaring of creatures filling the burning silence between her and her lover as their swords locked at their hilts. Serrated edges seeming to interlock with one another as her eyes revealed themselves in the ‘ghosting’ helmet.
The metal Ranger helm she wore changed visually, its wolf faceplate dissipating to reveal the hurting girl beneath. León stood across from her, his eye staring down what he saw with the burning rage of a thousand suns. His visage was darkened the sclera of his eyes burned in patters of red and black.
“
León.. Why?! WHY THIS?!” Bella screamed, tears pouring down her face as she pressed her blade further, the scraping of metal crying out as their blades clashed another time… and another… and another, a third, a fourth… Each swing was met with the counter, her voice crying and pleading, begging for an answer.
With a twist of their wrists at the next clash, their blades flung back, sending both wielders to opposite walls with a crashing of metal. A wave of untold force resonating throughout the room. Both Rangers fell to the floor with a grunt and tumble.
Seconds seem to pass as they both began to struggle to their feet, shuddering footsteps as they raced for their swords. Bella, with a leap and scream bounded off the pillar nearest her descending upon
León, her sword reflecting as much outside light as she could to try and blind the boy. The dance of ringing steel sang throughout the gatehouse once more till their blades interlocked once more. Belladonna’s voice pleading out to her love, beckoning him back to her.. whichever way she could.
“León please!”
“I will not fight you.” [”You have no choice”]
“I’ll stand beside you!” [”I stand alone.”]
“You were their hero.” [”They were fools.”]
“This cannot be the only way!” [”You will see.”]
With a violent push away from the other, both Rangers collided back into the walls, falling to the floor once more. Colors of blue and red flashed in the room as fist for first clashed against the other, Belladonna sliding to the floor in an attempt to sweep her sword against his legs to cripple León, all the while his sword swung to where her head would’ve been in the work to cleave her.
“They don’t deserve this.” [”When this is through,”]
“Now more than ever,” [”This city will fall.”]
“We are their hope!” [”They would not stand.”]
Even as they dove to avoid the others words and swords, it was evident they they were struggling whether it were to speak or to hurt the other. Both hearts wished it didn’t come to the terms that this was but the darkness crept into his heart, deeper and deeper till it blackened out all light. Bella’s words fell onto the deafest of ears as he returned every swing, every punch and kick, no matter the strength.
“They know no better.” [”They would not fight.”]
“They were not ready.” [”They never were.”]
“Even now there is hope for them!” [”My father’s words!”]
The foundation beneath them trembled and shuttered as larger demons began to force their way into the city gates. The viewing glass below showed nigh near eldritch creatures attempted to pry the iron gates open, their large presence blocking the rest of the voidsent from seeping through the remaining gates. Across the wall, in the final gate house, Bella could see between the clashing of her blades that the final Ranger had made it.
Their prediction of power left in the walls was correct, the gates were closing. All that was left was for the central gate to close, but the power was already being used. During the break for the central gatehouse, both Her and the Rangers remaining decided that those who would leave for the remaining gates would destroy the central, forcing it to close with what explosives that remained.
“Your father loved you.” [“She still believes?”]
“Our hearts were broken.” [”Your only weakness.”]
“Our greatest strength!” [”How we shall see.”]
“León,
You are not evil,” [”If they will stand.”]
“You are not broken.” [”beside their heroes.”]
“We both know they’ll never fight!”
A blinding and burning flame enveloped the gatehouse, sending both Rangers to the ground once more. The building itself began to crumble as the charges placed around erupted in explosions that thundered throughout the burning city.
[”You finally get it.”]
”You forgot us.”
[”There were no heroes”]
”What about us?”
[”This city is doomed”]
“We are too..”
The spectacle of the explosion was a sight even from the harbor as the remaining Rangers witnessed the final gate fall into the fires below, crumbling into nothing, blocking the threat of the demons that laid waste to their beloved home. From the harbor itself most of the city sat in whatever boats they could, galleons, transports, sailboats and even dinghys were filled beyond capacity.
Not a soul uttered a word as they watched the main gate collapse to the burning earth below. Cinders, ash, and dust filled the air around as the warm sea breeze began to choke the most stalwart of faces.
Crumbling ruins lay around them as the cries of demons began to fade. The glimmer of auburn shades in the evening sky began to turn the black night into vibrant hues. The cloudy skies broke to reveal the gentle morning stars that twinkled above the smoke. Belladonna’s mind was in a haze as she released her blade, tumbling down the rubble till she lay still. Every part of her ached as cuts that slew through the Ranger’s metal burned with the cinders and singes that came with them.
No one saw the final strike. The light from the explosions was blinding. The crash of their blades was deafening. As the smoke cleared and billowed away to show the scene in gentle warm morning light against the darkest night, only Belladonna remained standing. The two lovers remained, hand in hand before she tumbled off the mount. Her body thudding against some of the larger rocks before she was held still, hand still clinging to León’s fingers.
Belladonna’s head rest against the warm stone as the morning sun greeted her tired gaze. The muted ringing of her ears blocked out all sound as the warm caress of the summer city’s sun was she could have this morning. Slowly but surely she began to fade, her eyes becoming heavy, feather turned lead weight as she greeted whatever awaited her beyond this.
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Ever gentle the Shroud’s breeze, despite the cold winter would greet her numbed skin. The spikes along her spine rattling as if calling her to attention. Her armor was on, the same design she wore that night, that… darkest of nights. She sat poised against a tree, the gentle city of Gridania in sight from the cliff she sat near. Far, far beyond the horizon, the shimmering warm colors of morning would soon come. A gentle reminder that the memory of the Darkest Night.. was just that, now.. Surely.
A memory.
Fin
[Part 2 – E N D]
