The Battle for Middale - Part 2

The Battle for Middale - Part 2 - more future character fic originaly inspired in yesterdays post by Space Wolf. It's her fault this exists, which might be why she is getting the biggest cameo. =P

Uh.. Yea. [shrug] More fighting. "Ideal" futures - or "where I'd like my character to kind of be - power wise" are fun to think about. (Those rings he has are all kinds of badass.)

Probably the final part tomorrow.

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Somehow Lahsaa had found himself in the thick of the fighting, ducking and weaving through the flurry of blades that surrounded him, lashing out with his staff and unleashing a spell when things got too close. The foulspawn had hit their lines hard, hard enough to knock back even the usual steadfast Einherjar wall and the fighting had become desperate from then on. Several years of fighting alongside the Einherjar had given the mage more fighting spirit and abilitiy than the guild would ever be happy with, but right now, he didn't care - better to break guild rules and stay alive rather than be trampled under the ironshod boots of orcs. Spotting a gap, he swatted an orc to one side with a heavy blow to the back of its head with his staff, sent another collapsing to the floor as the back of its head exploded in a spray of blood and lept through to it, rolling clear and out of harms way, at least for now.
Taking stock from his vantage point, he realised just how badly things had gone. The two flanks held but that was only due to the fighting prowess of the knightly orders of Ithron - even over the orcish war criess he could hear Sir Marcus' shouts of "For Sidhe" as clear as anything. The very middle the Einherjar were holding - eight Llaminusians roaring in defiance as they continually added to the pile of foulspawn bodies behind them. Lahsaa wondered how he had managed to become so seperate from them - they were merely twenty meters away, but it might as well have been a different country.
To each side of them though - with some small pockets of resistance - the gaps in between were slowly being crushed over the sheer weight of numbers. He saw flashes of soulfire explode amongst the ranks as powerful artifacts and magic items were unleashed and Lahsaa idly thumbed at the rings on each hand.
His respite was quickly at an end as the goblin scouts that had been cutting through the woods saw and made for him, streaking towards him brandishing daggers dripping with vile substances.
"Tralda." he murmered, holding the staff ready before meeting the greenskins, knocking aside their weapons and delivering heavy clubbing blows to the greenskins. He held the upper hand for all of ten seconds before an orc lumbered into him, knocking him to the ground. With no time to be dazed, Lahsaa through himself to the side, rolling away as a massive axehead suddenly occupied the space Lahsaa's chest had half a second before. Crawling away, the orc advanced with a sneer, bloodrage mixing with its base nature of cruelty.
His body was frozen with fear, his mind screaming at him to cast a spell, to stop this creature from killing him but the words died somewhere on the path from his brain to his lips.
The orc raised the axe.
A blur streaked out from behind the tree behind him and a spray of black blood hit the mage in the face as suddenly the orcs throat opened up. Blinking and finally being able to move out of the way as the orc fell forwards, Lahsaa looked around to see Rowan stood behind the Orc. Her hood had fallen away from her face and blood was trickling down the left side of her face. Her chain was shredded in places and her weapons and arms were coated in black blood. Regardless, she had a smile for him as she pulled him to his feet. "What's that now?" she asked.
"I think it's twenty six, twenty five to me." Lahsaa said, a smile spreading across his lips after a beat.
"Well don't go dying before I've managed to save your life at least once more." she laughed, spinning hard to the left and catching an orc across the jaw with her mace, eliciting a load crack and another spray of black blood.
"I'll bare that in mind." the mage shot back, gesturing hard at two passing orcs and killing them both as magic tore them apart. Lahsaa grunted and fell to one knee, clenching his teeth and holding his chest with his right hand.
"Lahsaa?!" the Huntsmasters voice had an urgent note to it, but she was too busy fending off more orcs to be able to see to him properly.
"I'm fine! I'm fine... It's just that even with these rings I'm... I'm almost out." he said, his breath ragged. "And they show no signs of stopping." He pushed himself to his feet, taking down another orc with his staff, ripping the beasts dagger off its belt and ramming it through its neck before it had chance to stand.
Rowan shot him a glance. "We hold. We must. We're literally the last line of defense."
"I know..." Lahsaa grunted, falling backwards as an orc barreled into him, he barely managed to parry the hammer away before unleashing a spell binding it in place. The crack of his staff against the greenskins skull was sickening. He stood properly, looking over the battlefield, thumbing the magical rings around his fingers again. "I know."