“They sought to destroy what they couldn’t understand. The Others traveled through the heavens, destroying countless worlds, ending mortal life wherever they found it.”

Chapter 65

The rank-less soldiers set the large, stone altar on the empty rectangular space in the center of the Wards. The priestesses gathered around the stone slab, chanting prayers and making adjustments to the wards below them.

In the blue light of Secundus, Wil saw the symbol on the front of the stone altar flare to life. It connected its divine energies to the wards etched into the stone throughout the wall. Lines of divine mana flowed from the altar, through the Wards below their feet.

Even in the bright blue daylight, a visible glow came from the wall, driving back the miasma that hung over the city. It was if some small amount of life returned to Aachen.

Several of the clerics stayed around the altar, fueling its enchantments, while the rest moved throughout the wall and the lodgings below. They were settling in for a long Night, preparing to keep the wards strong in the face of the upcoming undead onslaught.

Now that the clerics had arrived, Garman had the Auxiliaries gather again. He directed them on their individual responsibilities and deployment around this section of wall.

Waiting his turn, Wil idly stood near the wall’s edge, watching the group of auxiliaries below as they struggled to drag a large crate down the street. Whatever it was they were trying to remove from the city, it was obviously extremely heavy.

They struggled to move it, inching it forward down the paved road, but they were careful to stay in the sunlight.

It must have been valuable, they seemed unwilling to come back for it after the Night, despite the looming threat around them. They only had a few hours left before the sun went down, and they were scrambling to push the goods down the road.

“You, pretty boy! What’s your specialization?” Garman yelled as he approached Wil.

“Mage, and I’m alright with a sword.” Wil replied, turning away from Aachen and towards their commander.

“Bah! Swords are useless in this fight, moron. Unless the blade is enchanted or silver, you might as well throw your own piss at them. What spells do you know?” Garman asked, walking close and leering down at him.

“I know a couple of tier 2 spells, along with a handful of 1sts.” Wil gave a quick overview of his spells to Garman.

“God’s bones, you’re nearly useless. Only higher tier fire spells are effective on the undead. How’s your shield? Make it as strong as you can.” Garman ordered, eyeing Wil as he channeled his Mana into the magical barrier.

The shield glowed in the sunlight, a shimmer that wrapped around him, hovering a few inches from his body.

“Good, let’s test it!” Garman said, pulling back his arm and making a fist.

He slammed his knuckles against Wil’s shield. The Mana flared to life with a bright white light, as the shield absorbed the blow. The force of the attack pushed Wil backwards.

He stumbled, struggling to stay upright as he slid backwards across the stone wall. His barrier held, and he felt his mana reserves plummet as the shield repaired itself.

“Not bad, but you need to work on your footing. I’m surprised you even felt that little tap. If I was serious, you’d be flying over that parapet by now.” Garman critiqued.

“Make it as big as you bloody can. It’s fine if it’s not as strong, it just needs to cover a large bleedin’ area.” Garman ordered next.

Concentrating, Wil stretched the barrier out from him, forming a bubble that extended a few feet out from him. Pushing with everything he had, he felt a small ‘pop’ come from the barrier, before it stopped about 6 feet out from his body.

Garman walked towards it and tapped it with his finger. Little shimmering waves moved through the shield, like a stone dropped in water, where his finger touched. With almost no effort, Garman poked his finger through the barrier, and it shattered.

“Ok, that’s pathetic. Couldn’t even stop a fart with that shield, but it’ll have to do. Your job is the shield the clerics, and anyone else I order you to. Got that?” Wil nodded at the orders.

“Good, it doesn’t have to be strong, just enough to stop any blood from touching them.” Garman explained, gesturing with his arms wide.

“You’ll cover a wide area, as big as you bloody can and still deflect it away from them. Can you do that, pretty boy?”

“Blood? Why would we have to stop blood from touching anyone?” Wil asked, confused.

“God’s Bloody Bones, what are you, dumb or just ignorant? They never teach you anything in the Academy?” Garman asked, shaking his head.

“The worst thing that can happen to you here in Aachen comes from coming into contact with undead blood. Not their claws, or teeth or even those wispy spirits that come wailing out in the night.” Garman spat, before wiping his mouth and continuing.

“A single drop of blood can infect a person, drive them insane. You’ll pray to be put out of your misery if that happens.”

“The undead have blood? How is that even possible?” Wil asked quietly, trying to understand.

“That blasted Mage was right, something is fueling them, keeping them alive. The corrupted mana is inside them, in their blood, keeping them going.”

“Their blood’s black, easy to spot. God’s bones, don’t let it touch anyone. That’s your job, you see a spray of blood coming from those gods damned things, block it or whoever it touches is dead.” Garman ordered, before turning away and leaving a still confused Wil.

Wil turned back to look at Aachen, thinking about what to expect tonight.

The fact that the tall walls and powerful wards were still not enough to keep them safe was a worry. Not to mention the fact that the undead could somehow still reach them up here. Now he found out that the very blood inside them, despite their being dead, could infect him caused him to rethink his presence here.

Wil stared downwards at the town below. The powerful wards on the walls were gradually pushing the dark miasma that surrounded Aachen backwards.

He could see that the wards were being fueled by dozens of places around the miles-long wall. Each would have an altar and a small group of clerics tending to it.

It was obvious that aside from the gate below, the altars would be the primary target tonight. He could feel the divine mana pouring out of the altars into the wards below. The undead would feel the same thing and come to stop it.

The sun slowly crept across the sky, sinking lower into the west as Wil looked over the wall. They would all be on duty for the first few hours. Garman had explained that the first attack wave would be the strongest, the most brutal as the undead seemed almost eager to escape the confines of the city.

As the sun sank low on the horizon, the activity atop the wall slowed as people took position, waiting for Night to fall. To the east, rather than the familiar yellow sun of Primaris peaking up over the horizon, a large black moon rose.

In the city below, the shadows cast by the buildings lengthened. The miasma, pushed slightly back by the divine wards, thickened and condensed. It was as if a black cloud were forming over Aachen.

Wil could see thick lines of energy, like a black web, gradually forming over every structure in sight. The black lines of mana glowed and pulsed, becoming stronger as the sun fell.

Night was falling on Aachen.