I couldn’t help it as I began to laugh in frustration. I had put everything into attempting to escape this fate, and now there was nothing more I could do than continue running in abject terror. I couldn’t protect my swarm, my friends, my children, all I could do was continue to flee. The laughter bubbled maniacally through my throat and began to echo hauntingly around me as I pushed forward in the hopes that something would change.

In my rush, I began to pass members of the swarm in small groups, then in droves, and I found myself leading the swarm ever onward. Around me fell in the khatif of the swarm, all running hard and beginning to pant. Sybil and the rest of the Sou’tal were struggling the most, but, if given the opportunity, would be able to make it across the river at this same pace. The keelish of the swarm were flagging, depending upon the individual, and those who had been willing to throw themselves to an immediate death were growing ever more scarce.

“Nievtala, I have no idea what I’m supposed to do at this point. Any way to help? The [System], even?”

For once, there was absolutely no response from the [System]. What little apparent divinity I seemed to be in contact with had abandoned me as well.

My legs were beginning to burn, my lungs heave, and my heart… was giving up. The only option was, perhaps, to throw all of the surviving keelish at the High Speakers in the hope that it could cause some casualties while the khatif fled to usurp control over another swarm and rebuild a swarm anew. The only problem with that approach was…

Who was I willing to sacrifice to allow for the rest to escape?

My heartless khatif side began weighing pros and cons, and quickly decided that I needed to leave one of my most trusted behind to lead the charge, to show that there was a real possibility of survival so that the rest would fully commit themselves.

Took? Too valuable.

Octavi? Sybil relied on her too heavily to easily sacrifice.

Ilne? Seemed to be the best option…

I was about to issue a command when a voice came from just behind me.

“Look. We need a badass to hold these bastards back while you fangless fools make your grand escape. I figure I’m the guy for the job, and I have just the crew for it.”

Rulac’s words nearly caused me to stumble. “No, the swarm needs you. How about instead–”

“Ashlani.” Rulac never called me by my name. “It’s my place as the First of the Alqat. You are He who Shall Become Zaaktif. It will be my honor to shed the blood of your would-be assassins and leave my own corpse in your service. Do you have any advice for me before I lead the charge?”

I looked over at him and saw the almost ceremonial severity with which Rulac occasionally carried himself. I knew he wouldn’t be dissuaded, and, after a moment in which I felt the pull of water around my knees strengthen, I began my advice.

“The two in front will be nearly impossible to kill. Their aim is to occupy you. Don’t let them. There will be one who controls the waters, they’ll want to fill your lungs with water, so if the water begins to cover your head, take a deep breath. The fire will burn hotter than anything you’ve ever experienced.”

Rulac nodded severely.

“... Good hunting, my friend.”

A fierce grin covered his face. “The hunt begins. WISTERL! WITH ME! ALQAT 7TH THRU 12TH, WITH ME! ELDER MEMBERS OF THE SWARM, WITH ME! WE’LL GUT THESE HUMANS LIKE THE SCALELESS WEAKLINGS THEY ARE!”

There was no hesitation from the eight Alqat as they gathered together and pulled a bulk of the remaining swarm with them. Wister screamed in response, “FORGED IN WAR AND TEMPERED IN BLOOD, I FOLLOW!! WITH CHIPPED FANG AND BLOODIED SCALE, I KILL! ONLY DEATH! ONLY DEATH! ONLY DEATH FOR THE FOES OF THE SWARM!”

The entirety of the swarm, even those continuing in flight, screamed in response as three hundred keelish went to meet eight humans.

[Rulac POV]

It had been too long since Rulac had conquered something. The Wolfstag Alpha had been a challenge, but not a conquest. If only the feral Huntmaster had been receptive to his advances, then perhaps… but there was no time to think of rutting, only the splitting of skulls and the spilling of blood.

At his left rushed forward Wisterl, and the right was Histy.

“Third, you know what to do. Seventh, focus on weakening any fire that comes our way.”

It wasn’t a question, and the Alqat wouldn’t have questioned his command anyway. It was good to be working with the professionals once again. The grin spread even wider across his face as the sound of hundreds of tromping feet filled in behind him.

This… is forging in blood.

The swarm fell in behind the rushing members of the Alqat, and the screaming cacophony of raging keelish caused Rulac’s blood to swell excitedly within. He continued rushing forward… and was met by a massive wave of flame washing onwards.

No command was necessary as Histy blasted an opening in the center of the flaming wall and Rulac rushed through. Most of the swarm behind him followed suit, but a couple of pained screams sounded out behind him. There was nothing to do for them, and Rulac shut out the extraneous information. There was only the 30m separating him from his prey, eight humans and one little deer.

Onward Rulac sprinted, and a second wave of flame came to greet him. Again, Histy reached out her will to divide the flames, but this time the enemy was prepared, and the fires merely dimmed in the center. Rulac pressed through… Only to be smashed by a large wave of water.

It nearly lifted him from his feet, but Rulac dug his claws in as the wave passed and began continuing forward before the river was reduced back to its previous height. At the rear of the wave was a wide blade of wind that cut shallowly into his thighs, but Rulac recognized this as the greatest threat of the massive attacks so far as his blood trickled into the water inhabited by the ferocious fish.

“Can’t eat me if they can’t catch me.” Rulac couldn’t help but laugh as he spoke, almost believing he would escape this confrontation alive. Onward he sprinted, ever faster, finally within reach of the hulking brutes covered with what looked to be living stone.

“EVADE! FOCUS ON THE OTHERS!” Rulac called out as he feinted in and circled around the two massive figures. There were six other humans behind them, strategically spread out just enough to support each other, but also not to be felled by a lucky blow. Behind him, Rulac could hear the clattering of scales, fang, and claw against stone, but trusted in the swarm behind him to follow his commands.

“WISTERL, ON ME!” Rulac rushed towards the nearest human and finally realized that the water from the river had begun to coalesce over his nostrils. He took as deep a breath he could and finally entered combat with the humans.

His target began to calmly step backwards as Rulac attempted to press the attack. Water began to gather around his body in earnest, blunting his claws to clubs and jaws to a mere trunk. The water pressed in, crushing his bones, and Rulac suppressed a grunt of pain, trying to conserve air. Through the water, Rulac could dimly see the murky form of the human before him. He could dimly hear the human speaking, repeating something, but only thoughts of slaughter and survival mattered.

He rushed forward, against the water pulling his face back, against the pressing current, against everything, and was able to approach the human. Rulac feinted right, left, bite, then, his opponent confident, he suddenly whirled in a circle and smashed his heavy tail against the human’s knees. There was a pained scream as the knee bent backwards, unnaturally, but an answering sharp pain shot up Rulac’s spine as he made contact. The water surrounding his hands almost unwillingly fell off, and Rulac rushed forward, looking to grab the human and maybe deal with them permanently before his vision tunneled completely to black. In the back of his mind he noted the pain of sharp jaws beginning to chew into his flank.

He caught hold of fabric and the wearer began to thrash in a panic. The grin fixed in a rictus as Rulac began to haul the human back towards him. He saw the flashing of fire rushing towards him, but he couldn’t be bothered to worry about it–he would die to the water just as quickly.

Before Rulac could do anything, the struggling in his hands ceased and the water quickly fell from his face. Looking forward, he could see Wisterl whip her head back with the majority of the human’s neck in her claws. She screamed her challenge, her joy at her success, and Rulac himself grinned as he looked on to continue the melee.

He was sorely disappointed.

Wisterl had lost most of one leg and the toothy fish were working at her other. Behind him Rulac could see the bodies of Histy and Berk, both being gnawed on by the fish while the vast majority of the keelish that had followed were waterlogged, scorched, or some mixture of the two. The two behemoths stood surrounded by the pulped flesh of several dozen keelish corpses, the blood and viscera splattered all around and on their armored bodies. The keelish still standing numbered in just a couple of dozen, and none were unharmed.

The humans had only lost two of their squad–the water one Wisterl had slain, and one of the two fire ones. The other fire human was hunched over the immobile body of their companion, repeating “Viirla, no, Viirla.” The two rock human were closing in on the keelish survivors, and their commander stood gathering some wind magic.

Rulac looked to Wisterl.

“I’ll be taken by Dulvroc if I die before taking one more of them down.”

She grinned in response. “The fire is mourning.”

The humans continued gathering their attack as the surviving tenth of the attacking swarm rushed onwards to their inevitable demise.