A Brief Short Story: Fort Mana

She looked upon the man, horrified. Under more congenial circumstances she might be admiring his rugged looks or imposing demeanor. As it was however, her normally graceful and ageless face was left perturbed, unable to shake the worry that now infected her own visage. "I'm sure everything is fine, Fort Mana's walls have never been breached before." she intoned, though her hollow tone showed how little confidence she had in the stock answer.

Another boom settled across the landscape. The screams of the dead or wounded followed closely, a haunting chorus that concluded the showstopping explosion. Elia jumped physically, now clearly rattled. "We h-have to get my father" she said hesitantly. Of all the traits she had inherited from her father,

Elia exited the door, her new bodyguard now presumably behind her, any protest of his easily set aside by the stubborn elvish princess. The pair made their way through the winding halls of the castle. Any intruder could have easily gotten lost in the confines, an advantage that may come in handy after they had fetched her father. Knowing the way, however, Elia was easily able to navigate them to the outside of the keep, the burst of the sunshine blinding them both temporarily as they stepped out.

The pair were greeted with a horror neither could have expected. A hundred feet or more away, a raging battlefield was under way, and the elves were losing handily. The Northern marauders were vicious, their adrenaline-fueled attacks too much for the graceful defenders. Elia watched in horror as her kinsmen were knocked to the ground, reaching upwards for mercy, only for their entire body to spasm as a long axe descended on their torso. Women of the town were dragged screaming from the burning elvish hostels, their masterfully woven garments torn away, before being taken to a rolling pen where they were thrown in like cattle. She dreaded to think of their