Chapter 8: Untold War
Two
months passed as the Ottoman Empire marched across Europe. Cities and
villages were sacked, legions of European warriors slaughtered by the
blades and guns of the Ottoman Empire. Hundreds of thousands of
soldiers poured across the landscape, breaking down walls and
destroying everything in their path. These Ottomans were unlike any
force seen in history, their blades blazed with magic, their eyes
were unyielding.
Rome
was ablaze, every precious remnant of antiquity fell to the flames of
war. Citizens dashed through the streets, screaming in fear as the
Ottoman warriors flooded every corner of the once proud city. A woman
led a large gathering of women, children, and elderly men toward the
docks.
“COME!
THEY ARE GETTING CLOSE!” She screamed.
Two
older men ran past her with small children in their arms. One
stopped, “They cut off Delilah and her husband as they tried to get
to the underground escape.”
“Oh
God, are they...”
“No,
Marcus has barricaded the people in his home and they are hiding.”
“They
won’t last long, I have to go back.” The woman ran but another
person stopped her.
“It’s
too late. You won’t make it back to them. We have to get to the
docks and hope we can get away from their forces.”
“What
of...” Her question was cut short when the screams of terror rang
out from their group.
Bursting
around a corner came a hoard of enemy warriors, blood stained blades
swinging wildly.
“RUN!
RUN!” The woman pushed the men ahead of her and then grabbed a
small girl in her arms and ran.
“THEY
ARE ON US!”
Just
then someone jumped down from a building and used shoulders and heads
to run across the fleeing crowds. He flew through the air and landed
between the refugees and the approaching enemy.
Nova
used a long blade with extreme skill, cutting down soldiers two and
three at a time. He dodged blades with incredible precision and
killed five men before they had a chance to respond to his attack.
Finally, he had the space to pause long enough to yell, “STOP!” a
wave of energy burst out of him and the Ottoman soldiers all stood
still, their eyes glazing over.
Nova
turned back to the fleeing refugees only to find them transfixed by
this strange act. He commanded them, “KEEP GOING!”
Without
a question, the people took the order and continued their flight
toward the waiting ships.
Nova
had only just turned back when the warriors were already going after
him again. He dodged two blades, deflected another, and then spun
into a wall, jumped off of it and flew right over the enemy. Landing
in the middle of the fray, he executed a large sweep of his blade and
seven men fell. He was now in the middle of this legion. They were no
longer chasing the defenseless citizens, but he was overwhelmed.
At
the moment he was going to lose this fight, an egg came out of
nowhere and hit an enemy in the face. It exploded with a large flash
and the people all stumbled back. Seven more eggs were sent into the
group and these created colorful explosions of smoke.
A
small creature landed on Nova’s shoulder and threw two more eggs
that burst with a splattering of extremely smelly goo.
Nova
struck down three men and then said, “I was wondering when you guys
were going to show up.”
The
Easter Bunny laughed and produced an egg the size of a watermelon, he
lobbed it at the enemy and it created a magical explosion of purple
fire. “Sorry, we had to discuss how to deal with this. COME ON!”
EB jumped off Nova and launched himself into the air, right over a
building.
Nova
dashed for a pair of confused soldiers and sprung off of them, onto
an overhang, ultimately landing on the same building. He looked back
at the fleeing citizens, “Good, they’re far enough away they will
make it.”
EB
looked back as well, “They will be some of the lucky few.”
“How
bad is it?” Nova asked.
“As
far as we can tell, over ninety percent of this country is either
dead or in chains.”
Nova
looked across the burning city, plumes of smoke everywhere. The
Colosseum collapsed in on itself, becoming nothing but a smoking pile
of rubble. “What of the other countries?”
“Everything
east of Italy is under their control. The Ottoman warriors are also
coming up from Africa. They’ve completely destroyed Spain and are
heading into France.”
Nova
looked down at the shimmering blades of the enemy, “Is this as we
feared? I tried using my power on them, it barely worked. They
are...enchanted.”
“Yes.
We weren’t certain at first. But, the magic couldn’t be hidden
forever. Jinn has used his power to enhance everything about the
Ottoman Empire and turn it into a war machine. The cost of lives
is...unimaginable.”
“What
of the others? Did they just send you?”
EB
smiled, “Not in the least. Look for yourself.”
Nova
looked up and saw a large Asian dragon swooping over the city. Next
to it was a sleigh being pulled by eight reindeer. Santa came down
and hovered next to Nova, “Good, you’re already here.”
“I’ve
been here all along. I’m the only one who could contend with them.”
“Not
anymore.” Santa said and then pointed, “EB and I will ensure that
the enemy armies are occupied. Lord Dragon has requested that you go
with him to confront Jinn.”
Nova
shook his head, “I don’t know. Jinn is powerful, one of the
strongest I’ve ever seen. Even up against Lord Dragon and myself he
will be difficult to defeat. We need help. We need Lady Phoenix.”
Santa
shook his head, “She is needed elsewhere.”
“Where
else could be more important than stopping Jinn?”
EB
said, “Trust me, she is important. But, I can’t tell you. We have
to keep our plan as secret as possible.”
Just
then they all jumped when a loud boom resounded across the city.
Looking back they could see Lord Dragon slamming into an invisible
barrier. He reared back and unleashed a fury of flames at it.
“Looks
like Jinn has set up some precautions. Go!” Santa commanded and
then turned his sleigh back toward the advancing armies.
“Good
luck!” EB dashed away in the same direction as Santa.
Nova
bolstered himself and ran toward the place where the Dragon currently
attacked this magical barrier. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, he
deftly avoided the throngs of warriors spilling over the streets.
Just before he reached his target, he jumped down to the street and
cut down three warriors looting a tax collector's body. Grabbing
their glowing swords he burst into a great speed, jumped off of a
fallen wall, and then up to the highest point he could muster. Just
as he got to the barrier he thrust both enchanted swords into the air
and stabbed the invisible force. The energy around the blades
crackled and sparked. He tumbled down and landed on ruins of a
building.
The
Dragon flew directly at the swords and unleashed a blast of flames.
Nova had to cover his face due to the intense heat. The Dragon
continued to approach as it belched out this torrent, then it slammed
fully into the barrier. It’s body contorted on impact and destroyed
the building Nova stood on. He jumped in time to land on the Dragon.
The barrier exploded and the Dragon continued forward toward Jinn,
with Nova riding on its back.