Derinkork.
A massive and ancient beast, responsible for destroying kingdoms and empires across this continent. This colossal purple worm has been used by the trows to decimate the nations of Dro-Ur for millennia. Walls are useless, and no city is safe while that creature is alive.
"Keep them busy; I'm going to dive in." I tell Kheldash as I prepare to transform and leave the walls when I see the giant worm.
The city's defense strategy is divided into two fronts: a portion of our army defends the walls against the siege of the trow forces from the outside. The other, more versatile part, will defend the city from the hordes that emerged from the hole in the ground using urban guerrilla tactics.
For us to succeed, I need to take down that worm before it damages the walls or opens another hole in the ground for more trow hordes emerge.
I fly towards the hideous hordes crawling out of the hole like ants leaving an anthill. Slaves, beasts or undead, they are promptly bombarded by area spells and barraged by arrows from our spellcasters and archers positioned on the rooftops of various buildings. The trow strategy is to exhaust our mages and archers, but soon this hole will be blocked by corpses, and the purple worm will need to surface again.
I glide over the battle, providing aerial support for the militias protecting the city's interior. On the walls, unicorns strike the trow hordes with their long-range spells, while the archer target the flying troops and catapults hurl barrels of acids and chemical weapons.
In the midst of the battle, a large beast charges toward a building where a group of soldiers are stationed. It looks like a giant bull with grey, hairless skin and downward-curving horns. It demolishes the structure, trapping the group under the rubble.
"What a foul beast." I thought to myself as I approached.
Half of the group survives, including a goblin spellcaster and an orc archer. The fighters draw the beast's attention while the two attempt to blind it. A lionkin warrior lets out a roar that momentarily startles the beast, but it knocks him out.
"They are doomed." I think as I get closer to the group.
But before I could intervene, the giant worm surfaces again, opening a new hole in the ground. At that moment, all the spellcasters and archers within range start targeting it.
Every kind of stunning magic and poisoned ammunition is launched. The creature stops for a moment, opening its serrated mouth as if screaming in pain. The interval is short but enough for me. I swiftly dive towards its mouth and transform into an armored beast to shield myself from the numerous rows of teeth.
Then it closes its mouth and dives back into the ground.
After a few moments, it resurfaces again, thrashing about completely frenzied. It begins destroying everything in its path, including the trow hordes. Our troops seize the opportunity to attack it. They are led by the Goblin Hero himself.
After some time and considerable destruction, the worm falls to the ground. The trow hordes freeze, echoing the perplexity of their lords.
A fire bolt pierces the worm's carcass from the inside out.
[Scorching Ray]
The beam tears open the creature's belly, and I emerge covered in bluish blood and stomach fluids.
Swiftly shifting from the armored drake form to that of a wyvern, I take flight, unleashing a torrent of flames upon the still-shocked trow forces.
Then I leave the Goblin Hero in charge of finishing the battle inside the city while I fly towards the walls.
§ § § § § §
On the walls, Salutar had just struck one of the swarm shepherds with a precise ice spear. The main objective of the forces here was to prevent the aerial troops from entering the city and reducing my mobility until I could defeat the purple worm.
Salutar was the only humanoid spellcaster on the walls. All others had been placed in the militias to protect the city's interior.
In just a year by my side, the mage had grown stronger than in the decades serving the Trow Lords of Ul-Gak.
Seeing their heavyweight champion fall dead to the ground and their cannon fodder troops rapidly decimated, the trow cavalry advances against the walls. The termite sleipnirs manage to climb the vertical structure without issue. The same goes for the soldiers mounted on other arthropod-like mounts.
A general, witnessing one of the swarm shepherds being taken down by a traitorous trow, quickly moves towards Salutar. The trow general is mounted on a hungry-myriad that swiftly crawls along the city walls until it reaches the spellcaster.
The creature strikes at Salutar with its forcipules, but the mage blocks it with an ice wall.
"Filthy traitor!" The general exclaims as he dismounts from the giant centipede. He wields a barbed whip, a typical trow weapon.
Both engage in combat atop the city walls. Luckily for Salutar, the general's fighting style isn't purely close combat, but that whip was indeed a thorn in his side.
Salutar tries to immobilize the opponent's weapon with ice, but it glows with arcane runes, causing the ice to explode into vapor. The general counterattacks, deeply injuring the mage's face.
"The Lash of Athman is a magical weapon. Even with our regeneration, this will leave a mark on your face." He says as he readies his weapon for another strike. "Or rather, it would leave a mark. But you won't live to see the scars on your traitorous face."
The trow mage pauses for a moment to analyze his opponent's magical weapon—a fiery whip made of interwoven metallic strands that resembles a lightweight yet spiky chain.
When the general strikes again, Salutar raises one of his arms, protected by a layer of ice, which is hit. The whip breaks the ice once more and begins to tear into the mage's flesh and burn it.
The general laughs. It's the end for the traitor.
However, from Salutar's mouth, there are no pleas for mercy or curses of a dying man. Instead, another incantation escapes.
[Lightning Bolt]
A crackling energy emanates from his hand, coursing through the adversary's metallic whip. The general convulses as the electric charge runs through his body.
Quickly, Salutar takes advantage of the opening and casts another spell.
[Gale]
A strong gust of wind propels the general off the wall. His centipede mount tries to rescue him, but a dagger hits one of the creature's six eyes, causing the beast to thrash and plummet as well.
"Kheldash!" The trow mage looks at the cambion responsible for the critical hit.
"Derinkork is dead. Your Majesty managed to bring him down." Kheldash speaks, revealing that she also knows the name of the purple worm. "This war is already over."
As she utters these words, the silhouette of a wyvern flies over both.
Akalani hovers over the walls, unleashing its crimson flames upon the invading troops. Even those protected by fire resistance charms are not spared and burn.
He incinerates the hordes scaling the walls as if they were cockroaches and the flying troops as if they were mosquitoes.
The burning carcasses fall, spreading the fire further, which seems to have taken on a life of its own.
A trow strategist, farther from the conflict, observes the scene in disbelief through a spyglass. He staggers toward an entrance to an underground hideout where those responsible for this military incursion are hiding.
"Your Hig..." He shouts upon entering a chamber but quickly corrects his manners and bows. "Your Highness, it's a disaster. Derinkork has been slain by the copper dragon, and our troops are being decimated.
He lifts his head slightly to gauge the reaction of the noble in command. A young trow from Eskira's royal lineage. Prince Aridan.
"How? How did that wyvern do this?" The prince asks, visibly irritated. "How could a young wyvern have done this!?" He shouts.
"This wyvern... It's different. The magic it's using now. It's ancient. It's forbidden. It's the Wildfire." The strategist says, trembling and with wide eyes. "The queen must be informed."
"No!" The prince shouts again.
"But Your Highness..."
"Prepare my armor and my mount. I will face this wyvern personally." The prince says as he removes his cloak.
"I will not return to Eskira-Hafud with this defeat. I'd rather face death by a dragon than face my mother."
