Chapter 26 – The Battle of Ravengarde

The stench of burning wood and flesh filled the air.

The village of Ravengarde, once a quiet mining settlement nestled against the hills, was now a wasteland of fire and screams. The fields were trampled, homes torn apart, and at the centre of it all—

A Vehrak Gate.

It loomed above the ruins, jagged and pulsing, its tendrils of shadow twisting through the air like living things. From its depths, the Ruinborn crawled.

Their bodies were half-rotted, half-smoke, their bones blackened, their eyes hollow voids that pulsed with an unnatural red glow. Their movements were wrong—jagged and too fast, then too slow.

And they were everywhere.

Delwyn's breath was hot, sharp, furious. She had seen this before.

She wouldn't let it happen again.

"MOVE!" she roared, charging down the hill.

The battle for Ravengarde had begun.

****

Vaelor was at her side instantly, his short sword flashing as he cut through the first creature.

The thing twitched, shrieked, but it didn't fall—not until he drove his blade straight into its core.

"Core, Delwyn!" he shouted. "Aim for the centre!"

Delwyn rolled beneath a clawed swing, bringing her sword up through a Ruinborn's chest. It jerked violently, screaming as dark ichor sprayed from the wound—

Then it collapsed into dust.

Behind them, Mira and Elias cut toward the left flank, moving to protect the remaining villagers.

Joren and Talia took the right, hacking through the creatures swarming the outer buildings.

"Joren, watch your side!" Mira barked.

"You watch yours!" he snapped back, barely dodging a set of claws aimed for his throat.

Talia moved like a ghost, weaving between strikes, her knives flashing in the dark.

Elias, laughing far too much for a man surrounded by monsters, kicked one of the Ruinborn back into a pile of debris, setting it ablaze with an oil flask.

"I think they burn!" he called.

"THEN BURN THEM!" Delwyn snarled.

She drove her sword into another, but it didn't fall fast enough. The second one lunged for her—

Vaelor's short sword slashed through its spine before it could reach her.

Their eyes met—a quick, sharp exchange.

Delwyn nodded. He had her back.

She had his.

The gate pulsed, a terrible wailing sound vibrating through the air.

More were coming.

"We have to shut it!" Delwyn shouted.

Vaelor cursed. "The anchors—they're in the buildings!"

Mira wiped blood from her face. "Then we burn the godsdamned buildings!"

Elias, already grinning, pulled a second flask of oil. "Now we're talking!"

Joren threw his axe straight into a Ruinborn's skull, shoving the corpse away as he turned toward the structures.

"Mira! Talia! Get to the houses!" Delwyn ordered.

Mira nodded, dragging a torch from the wreckage. "With pleasure."

The two darted through the fight, dodging clawed hands and snapping jaws as they set fire to the cursed runes on the beams.

Flames spread quickly.

The Ruinborn twitched violently, their movements glitching, slowing.

"It's working!" Vaelor shouted.

But the ground shook.

The gate howled.

And something else stepped through.

It was taller.

Broader.

A Vehrak Knight.

Unlike the smaller Ruinborn, this one still had armour clinging to its ruined flesh. Rusted metal plates, half-melted and fused into bone. Its jaw was missing, its face a mess of ruined, searing light.

It lifted its sword—twice the size of a man—and pointed it toward them.

The Ruinborn stilled.

Then charged.

"Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me," Elias muttered.

"Vaelor! Any ideas?" Delwyn barked.

Vaelor's jaw clenched. "We need to end this. Now."

Mira and Talia had burned most of the anchor points, but the gate still pulsed.

They had one shot.

Delwyn threw herself forward, clashing directly with the Vehrak Knight.

The impact rattled her bones.

It swung its massive blade down—she barely dodged in time, rolling beneath the swing.

Vaelor moved fast, faster than should have been possible. He appeared at the knight's side, his short sword cutting clean through its armour.

But it wasn't enough.

The knight backhanded him—hard.

Vaelor slammed into a merchant cart, coughing blood.

"Vaelor!" Delwyn snarled.

She darted behind it, slashing across its legs, trying to bring it down.

Mira and Joren flanked it, hacking through the smaller creatures trying to defend it.

The Knight staggered—

And that was when Elias threw a flask of oil straight at its chest.

It shattered, soaking the knight's armour in a sheen of black liquid.

Vaelor, still gasping for air, reached for his belt. His fingers closed around the flint striker.

Not enough.

His free hand gripped the hilt of one of his daggers.

The ground beneath him was slick with spilled oil, pooling from a few broken flasks nearby.

With a sharp grunt of effort, he dragged the dagger through the oil, coating its wicked edge in the black shiny black sheen.

Then, he snapped the flint against the blade.

A spark.

A flame.

The dagger lit, flickering wild and hot.

Vaelor, gritted his blood-stained teeth against the pain in his ribs, twisted his body and hurled the flaming dagger straight at the Vehrak Knight.

It struck deep, sinking into the soaked armour.

The fire rushed through the oil, igniting the knight in an instant.

It went up in a blaze, its twisted, hollow screech shaking the air.

And as it burned, the Vehrak Gate screamed.

The last anchor points shattered.

The Rift collapsed inward, folding in on itself—

And then, it was gone.

****

Smoke curled through the ruined village.

The last of the Ruinborn had fallen.

Mira turned to Vaelor, impressed despite herself. "Alright. That was actually pretty damn cool."

Joren snorted. "You alive over there, Vaelor?"

Vaelor groaned, sitting up slowly. "I'll let you know in a minute."

Delwyn knelt beside him, scanning his injuries. "You need to stop getting thrown around like a sack of grain."

Vaelor exhaled. "I'll keep that in mind."

Elias, watching the flames consume the last of the creatures, smirked. "Well. That was fun."

Mira scowled. "Fun? We nearly died."

Elias shrugged. "We nearly die every day."

Delwyn sighed, looking toward the road ahead. "Let's move before more of them come."

Vaelor, still catching his breath, muttered, "No doubt they will.