Sorcerer from Another World

The warriors cheered and on horseback trotted out the open gates. 

“Fuck.” I muttered. 

I sighed. A resurrecting tree? I really should leave this doomed town.

Morgana’s words played in my mind, “Sorcery rises.”

“I suppose if I don’t have their backs, who will? It is the right thing to do.”

I had to fly higher on the metal plate, but I managed to follow behind with only minimal wild strafing. The cool breeze danced past me ruffling through my hair. My new sense of persistent fearlessness allowed me to enjoy the freedom. Back on earth, a plane journey would have been horrifying. 

Now, floating low in the sky, I felt a secure sense of control.

The pace was hard and fast for those below as they chewed up the rolling hills and then burst into the outer woods. Thankfully, for my dignity the horses had to slow down in the woods and follow trails wide enough for me and my improvised flight vehicle.   

It was not long before we heard the thump of falling trees and the rustling of crushed leaves. 

Up in the air, I saw it before the riders, “Ahead!” I shouted. 

I flew down and repeated my shout. 

The riders slowed to a halt, I looked back to the Yewam. It stood high over the treeline, its upper trunk towering above, with many long branches stuck out from every direction. A roving tree the size of a small skyscraper. 

“Look at the size of that thing.” Geoff said in disbelief. I echoed his opinion in my mind. 

“Focus! Speed up. Get ready to charge!” Galen ordered. 

I caught a flash of brown before my world burst in pain. The air fled my lungs and pain wracked my body. I flew off the metal plate and followed an arc to the earth as a thick log pummelling me into the dirt. 

Dozens more of these improvised weapons flew through the air. Two of the riders with their horses died on impact, and the rest scattered in panic. 

“Scatter!” Galen's desperate cry drove his warriors to action. 

Another tree flew in my direction. I raised the metal plate and hardened it. The log smashed on impact. The splitters and stray pieces of bark sliding off to ground inert.  

“Circle the monster, use fire and steel, and bring it down!” Galen cried out, rattling his sabre.

He charged, his sword drawn. A log came flying in his direction and with a single swipe of steel he shattered it around him.  

More logs thundered down, “Heavy fire!” Skor screamed. 

“Move Benrar!” Geoff cried.

“I’m fine.” Benrar replied with confidence as he examined the undead hordes ahead that no one else had yet seen. 

A lance of soaring bark crushed Benrar a second later. His blood splashed across Geoff staining the young man in red. A stain that would likely never fully be washed away. The bard stared dumbly at where the warrior Benrar had once lived. 

Skor slapped the back of Geoff’s horse, which sent the bard bolting forwards, “Don’t freeze on me, boy.” Skor said.

Geoff hadn’t the time to say, “Thanks, Skor.” before he was racing ahead. 

“Charge! Charge! Ride into glory!” Galen rallied the warriors. 

Jumping onto a groove on the metal plate I blasted forwards at the back of the charging rider. 

Despite Galen’s orders to circle the Undead Yewam we could not get close. At the Yewam’s roots were hordes of undead packed so tightly together there were like a tidal wave of rotting bodies. Be it tree, animal or human they prowled at the Yewam’s wake numbering in the hundreds and growing with every step the tree monster took. 

In a few miles it would raise to thousands more of the walking dead. 

I called down a spell of lightning at the front line of the dead, weakening them at the point of our intersection. Charred corpses blew apart. 

Even against hopeless odds, the warriors of Ferisdarm did not flee while their chieftain leaped into the fray.

“For glory, for home and tomorrow!” Nat the Skewer cried before she had the honour of diving first into the mass of roving rot. 

Shortly behind her, the rest followed.

“Break their brittle bones!” Skor encouraged. 

Cleaving, smashing and piercing their way forwards. The warrior’s steel clashed furiously with the rotting flesh and decaying bones.

The densely packed dead - by being glued so close together - were vulnerable to the unstoppable onslaught of celtic calvary. They were more likely to tear each other apart than reach the ceaselessly charging calvary.    

I sought to cut the snake’s head off, if the Undead Yewam was slain then dealing with the dead would be far easier.

I threw the metal plate, after sharpening its edge till it could slice through diamond, and sending it soaring straight to the gargantuan evergreen. 

The metal plate, turned into a giant knife, arced through the air above the masses of the ignorant dead. It flew and was caught in the Yewam’s cold embrace. Chopping off branches it seemed to coast through the Yewam’s defences. But, the metal plate’s momentum gradually stilled, until it had been killed, before it could cleave through its target. 

Pulling the metal plate back, the Undead Yewam resisted, me pushing my improvised blade forward.

“What the…” I cursed. 

Its branches entrapped the device, all the sharpness was for naught when I could neither move the blade or reach its branches with the edge. 

“Change the shape.” I muttered to myself as I morphed the metal plate free. 

Around me, the warriors were quickly becoming overwhelmed by their sheer numbers. 

Galen tried and failed to breach through the Yewam’s extensive branches. His warriors battered any dead that dared to draw near to him or I. 

I tried to fling the plate again, but to even worse results. 

Metal had failed. How about lightning?

I looked up to the sky and reached out. Dark clouds formed and I pulled a storm out of nothing, “Feel the wrath of the storm.”

The blue arcs of spreading out like tree’s roots blasted them to ash and dust. The Yewam’s army was thinned and a fire spread.

“Thanks, Sorcerer.” said a thinned-haired warrior. 

But coughs interrupted the praise, “Damn, do not thank him too soon Kimili. The growing fire hurts us as much as them.” Nat spoke out. 

She was right. While our warriors choked on the fumes, the charred dead shuffled onwards. The fires which spread past the branches could not harm the Yewam thick natural hide. 

I sensed that it secreted some kind of liquid that prevented it from becoming flammable. 

I conjured a metal plate wide as a yacht and thin as paper. I slammed the plate down flattening the dead and the flames with each flip of the plate. Killing the smoke at its source, I eased the pressure of the warriors.  

“Brilliant, Sorcerer.” Geoff praised from his spot behind Skor and Nat.

Nat laughed and winked at a now blushing boy, “Focus boy, remember I’m the one protecting you. Don’t forget the name Nat the skewer.” She said as she pierced the brains of three dead with a single spear thrust. 

“Crush them! Crush them all!” Skor cried at the scene of carnage.  

My metal was powerful, but so too was the wood and dead at the Yewam’s command. The fires from electricity had bought us time, but not enough. I had the strength to fight. But, none of these powers could save the warriors. I had one more that I hadn’t had the chance to use yet. 

“Cultivation.” I whispered. The power of growth. 

Lightning struck down all around and after encasing myself in a shell of steel, I raised my arms out towards the forest and demanded its service. 

The forest rose at my command. 

My muscles bulged and veins popped as I strained with the effort. 

The entire forest groaned as it came alive. A still tree a moment ago now swung its branches like maces to crack the skulls of the dead. Then ten more did the same. An oak tree fell to protect a brave warrior of Ferisdarm from a mortal blow. At the same time hundreds more lashed out to fight the undead. 

The very forest itself turned on the Yewam. It let loose a wailing scream in response and its minions fought back. The dead tried to consume, but against the bark of the forest and steel of Ferisdarm they were outnumbered and outmatched. 

It wasn’t enough. Two more of the warriors fell to the Yewam’s deadly embrace. 

“Sorcerer we can’t face the dead and the Yewam. We need a new plan!” Tara shouted from my back. She fought fiercely and covered my blindspot. 

“Retreat!” I shouted. “We will have our day, but for now we must regroup. ”

“Flee to the Sorcerer's side,” said Galen.

He fought back the Yewam’s reach to allow six of his followers to back off safely. He cut down branches strong and sharp enough to tear through stone walls with a stroke of his blade. When the dead surrounded him he dodged and made his enemy cut its own troops down. When his allies were out of reach, he too turned to flee. 

His back turned, the Yewam struck, and sparks flew in the wake of Galen’s flight. But its blows could not penetrate the chainmail Galen wore. 

Galen and warriors galloped out of the forest as my lightning and tree pawns held back the enemy. 

The dead followed relentlessly.

One of my blasts of lightning hit too near, Skor’s horse reared back and he fell. Goeff bravely dived off his horse and picked the dazed warrior back up.

It was Nat the Skewer who fell after crippling dozens of the dead.

“Glory!” her dying scream rang. She bought a flagging Geoff and Skor the time they needed to flee.  

“Nat!” Geoff screamed in horror. He moved to turn his horse back.

I brought down a bolt of lightning onto Nat ending her misery and turning her and her killers to ash. 

Tara stopped in front of his horse, “She is dead, Geoff. Ride or die.” She said bluntly. 

Skor seemed too confused to question what was happening, but rode as ordered. Geoff with a tear stained face did the same. 

I zoomed forward within my encasing of steel, slowing down only to try and keep the warriors alive. I danced and slaughtered with storm and steel holding back the horde. 

Flying arrow-like logs flew after us, but never hit their targets. 

About a mile out from the Yewam, on the summit of a small hill overlooking the forest, we converged to discuss our next steps. Dripping red poured from our bloodied bodies and splashed the green grass crimson. The winds and rain battered against our exhausted flesh and washed the blood away.