Invasion

Dawn was filled with screams. The sky forged with the heat of battle as unspeakable creatures terrorized Biester. The lush green was set ablaze. Tempered steel and spirit blasts set the kingdom's stage. Crimson pools dirtied the earth, and corpses, both man, beast and monstrosities lay on the ground. Not every civilian was lucky to flee; some retreated to the castle, some safely fled, and some became casualties.

As the people ran about, flying, horned abominations terrorized the losing humans, clawing and kicking as the humans failed to defend themselves. Brute force did little, and magic left the monsters unfazed. There was no chance of riposte. It was only minutes until the castle itself becomes under siege.

"Fall back!" the retreat sounded with a horn.

"To the castle!"

"Hurry! The barrier....!"

The soldiers had their backs against the wall. Every artificer in the castle set up a barrier,and even the king himself helped in it's fortification, but with enemy numbers, it would crumble at any moment; and with only a handful of troops left, the kingdom was doomed to fall.

*bang* *bang* *bang*

Large, knocking sounds pressed the barrier. Every pulse shook the walls and the hearts inside with fear. The castle was surrounded.

Balbaroy, the current king of Biester, could not believe his eyes. He replaced his father after the war with Eingefroren, and crawled to restore the kingdom, raising it to its prime. He perished the thought of survival.

"Brave soldiers of Biester!!" Balbaroy roared. "I beseech your aid in our greatest time of need! I know I am asking much, however!" he paused, gasping for air due to exhaustion.

There was silence. All eyes were at him. Only the sound of dying hope at their doorstep echoed as the barrier slips away. Balbaroy removed himself from enforcing the barrier, leaving the work to the artificers. He took out his artifact: a large, old shovel with unknown glyphs engraved across its body.

"This is Cahelum's Fugue!" Balbaroy exclaimed.

Green spheres appeared before every able personnel, excluding the artificers. A cluster of spirit energy, it glowed warm as if embracing life itself.

"Do not touch that if you wish to flee... However!" Balbaroy paused, taking a deep breath.

"Those of you who wish to protect. Those who wish to die for this kingdom. Those with the will to fight...!" Balbaroy said, like a roaring lion to his pride.

His troops wet their eyes. They have accepted their fate. Each one agreed to lend their power to their sovereign. They touched the spheres. Their bodies were surged with the power of nature spirits. The room became verdant green, pulsating as if alive, living with every soft glow. Each sphere then beamed a link to Cahelum's Fugue. Each one that touched the spheres then lay on the floor, cold as if petrified.

"I would also like to ask another favor." Balbaroy looked pained as he looked at the artificers.

Green spheres floated over the heads of the deceased throughout the kingdom. They touched their foreheads and surrounded them with energy. Vines then sprouted from the ground, covering them as if squeezing the victims of war.

"I have never thought of the dead being burdened. However..."

Balbaroy closed his eyes. He plants the shovel artifact to the ground begins to concentrate. He knelt and reached out both his hands to the ground. The earth rumbled for a moment, and two large vines, almost tentacles, pierced his own two hands. He does not flinch, but his blood does for him as it spread like poison to the floor.

"I will carry this sin alone."

The artificers watched in horror as their king was punished. Weakened of both mind and heart, they let out a large burst of their power. The surge fortified the barrier to full in seconds. They only had bought a minute to rest.

"Get every civilian out of here." the king ordered.

"My last request as the king... Tell the other kings of what happened. Escape." Balbaroy huffed. His breathing almost muzzled.

The artificers chanted undecipherable phrases as they used their artifacts powered by their own spirits, and some succumbing to death by exhaustion. Bright glyphs and magical runes appeared under everyone that wishes to flee. Verily fatigued, the artificers warped the civilians, and eventually themselves. Fragments of residual spirit energy were the only remains of their jump. As they left, the kingdom's sovereign took his time to clear his mind, and prepared himself for his last moment as a king, as the defender, and as a proud lion.

A cracking sound started. Large gashes eventually formed. The cracking became boulders crumbling, and then a large explosion of energy. The entire kingdom was covered in smoke.

The crumbling castle's roof gave no vanguard for the dying ruler as it was immediately torn-off by the creatures. The only sight was Balbaroy, covered in vines, lying on the floor and his shovel artifact stabbed to his back

"*cough* if man can see the future..."

"I bet he'd act the same as he did now."

Balbaroy breathed his last. The ground shook as did his passing. Immense plant tendrils immediately escaped from his body, and from the ground, and from every human corpse. The tendrils took no second to settle, and bent facing the sky. It spun like an arm, and fired every spike to the sky, raining arrows that blocked the doomed city's sky.

Sensing the immediate danger, the demons tried to flee, like rats with a harrowing experience. Their efforts were wasted; the innumerable thorns outmatched their powerful wings, giving no egress.The spears rained down and struck every abomination within the kingdom's limits, turning them to skewered gargoyles, crumbling as they plummeted to the ground. All life were petrified with a single prick; the lifeless bodies, the even the tendrils and gnarled vines were not spared. There was no longer any trace of human activity. Balbaroy's efforts gave fruit.

A large dust cloud yet again covered the Biester kingdom. As the dust settled, only the untouched fauna was left. The kingdom of Nature's bounty was no more.