New World Day 24

The sound of wood cracking and shattering resounded through the air followed by screams and cries for help. The distinctive smell of blood and death swept over the small city whose walls had been breached. A wave of blue vipers the size of large anacondas flooded through the holes in the city wall while a massive viper four times the size of any other held its navy blue body high in the air and watched over their advance. The viper queen towered over even the largest building in the city. It could have destroyed the wall with just its bulk alone if it had wished to. She had two long sharp horns above its jaundiced eyes that glowed with immense power. Blue mana swirled around and through the horns.

It was this viper that destroyed the city walls. Its horns glowed so bright that the entire world was dyed blue followed by the viper queen breathing out a blast of concentrated water like a dragon’s breath. The water tore enormous holes in the city walls before any of the defenders could react.

Over a thousand people survived the initial chaos of the New World and banded together in this city. They thought that the worst was behind them, but they were wrong. The small viper that they hunted the previous day along the edge of the nearby lake turned out to be the progeny of the viper queen. The viper queen took offense and unleashed its entire brood on the city. If the inhabitants had known of the viper queen’s existence they never would have attacked the lone viper they encountered.

Regrets wouldn’t help them now. When the brood first emerged, they thought they had a chance of holding the city right up until the viper queen’s giant body emerged from the lake. The moment they saw that creature the city leaders knew they had no chance. The city was doomed. The only thing they could do was ask for volunteers to hold off the brood while everyone else escaped into the forest to the east.

All of the city’s warriors volunteered to hold off the brood. The survivors were a close knit group, but some of them would be needed to protect those fleeing into the forest. Those tasked with this job were the individuals who showed the most promise and potential. The city leaders believed that they would have the best chance of protecting the people who successfully escaped from the doomed city.

As the last group of people fled the city into the forest, a group of warriors centered around a tall muscular red haired woman stood at the edge of the forest and watched the city fall to the viper queen and her brood. The group was clothed in makeshift leather armor and armed with crude bladed weapons forged from bone and stone. The woman had the only metal weapon. A large great sword was strapped to her back. The woman’s face looked like it was chiseled from stone, and her hands were clenched into tight trembling fists. A few drops of blood leaked out and fell to the ground from between her balled fingers. A raven haired young man placed a hand on her shoulder and motioned towards the depths of the forest. He and the others couldn’t bear to watch the carnage any longer, but the woman was determined to etch this scene into her mind. She never wanted to forget the people who sacrificed themselves for her or the monsters responsible for making that sacrifice necessary. Sighing, she tore her eyes away from the ruined city and looked at those around her.

The raven haired man said, “That thrice damned viper queen is responsible for this. We can’t do shit against her now, but I won’t forget what she and her lot have done. I’ll be back for revenge one day. I swear it!”

The rest of the group all nodded their heads and signaled their agreement except for the woman. She shook her head and said, “Look to the living and not the dead. Williamstown is gone and with it our shelter and almost all of our supplies. Revenge can wait until our people, the people that our friends gave their lives to protect, are safe and sound.”

The warriors all looked down, shame written on their faces. They hadn’t been able to stand witnessing the fate of their friends, and they had let revenge distract them from the duty that they had been charged with. None of them would meet her eyes as she looked at each of them. An uncomfortable silence grew between them until she sighed and said, “Let’s go. There is nothing else to see here, and we have to catch up to the others before they get too far away. It's up to us to protect them now.”

The woman turned and marched into the forest. The rest of the group followed behind her with a grim look in their eyes and a determined set to their jaws. They would never allow this tragedy to repeat itself. They would stake their lives on it.