The Seige of Stonedragon the Wicked

The war had been wearing on now for quite some time. The earthen Lord Stonedragon the Wicked had been quarrelling with Andemon, Headmaster of the human Magi Academy, for almost fourteen years, if you count the pre-skirmishes that went on. Well, old Stonedragon believed, enough to go to war over, that Earth was obviously the most powerful element. That’s what we thought anyway, just between you and me: I think he used to wet the bed, and he found sleeping on an earthware slab was a suitable solution for him. Andemon, of course, was of the old teachings, that all the elements are in harmony and balance, fire and water, earth and air. As it should be. But this story isn’t about either of them. Not really anyway. It is about a young girl who had the courage to do the unimaginable, to survive. Her name was Anabeth and she was to slay Stonedragon.1

She started the war, after two years of skirmishes, as a magi subscript but her power developed and so did her battle sense. Within the year she had attained command of her own unit of soldiers, to command, to support, to defend, to lead. Battle Generals are a special breed of magi, their demeanor lends itself to close bonds with a group of people, their abilities in the magical arts lends itself to enhancing allies, at the same time causing hardships for foes. Yes, they are a different caste all together. And her troop of soldiers was as different to other troops as she was to other magi. They were zealous over there captain, through no weavery of her crafting, just such a Battle General was she that every man and woman in her troop looked to her as a scant step or two below Hiros. They would die for her, and she would die protecting them, such was the bond they all shared.2

Her band of troops became known as the ‘Ghosts’ because they had been brought back from near-death so many times. You have to wonder what that kind of magical intervention does to a person’s psyche wouldn’t you? I’ll tell you what it does it makes em think that person is near divine. That’s why her crew was so zealous over her. Normal Battle Generals don’t like the act of giving their life to their crew, so they carefully plot out missions, layers of subterfuge, the whole bit. Anabeth generally ran in as hard and fast as she could, her and her crew got the mission done every time. She gave them so much of her life, that returning from most missions the entire squad came back with nothing but scars remaining, and they would be carrying her along with them. Six would be carrying her, and the rest, a good dozen more, would be cheering on their victory. But when it came time to recover her all of them were in the tent with her, they slept there with her, they ate there with her. The aura of healing love that surrounded Anabeth always helped her recovery, the more joyous her crew, the quicker her recovery.3

Well those four years the enemy hadn’t been quiet either. Stonedragon had taken posession of the north, from the lava lakes where there were rumors of a dragon taking hold, along the wastelands borders, to the rainforests of the spider people. People were talking about bows that were strong enough to sling stone arrows crafted by the dark lord himself. And said arrows were tipped with poisonous rocks which made blisters and bleeding preceed death. Flights had been seen at night, where two patches of stars would be dark. Rumors flew about mating dragons, and Stonedragon raising a dragon army. We all hoped those last were just rumors.4

Well much further into the war, six more years to be exact, one of Andemons Battle Brigadeers got taken hostage by Stonedragon, oh don’t go thinking that’s some new strategy. It’s been done before and it will be done again. Battle Brigadeer Casparn was taken from a tent near the front lines. It was unknown how this occurred, but now we know how it happened. He invented Gnomes, that’s right! He made them in a lab in a dungeon. Well that’s what we guess, he may have just been the first to make contact with them but we are pretty sure he made them out of clay. Anyway, Andemon had heard rumors of a particularly effective squadron of ghosts. He though it fitting that something no longer of this world be responsible for this act against the Earth King.5

And so Stead-Brigadeer Anabeth, and her troop of Ghosts, seethed over land and river, for two more years in pursuit of the Earth King’s gnomes. Not a trace could be found of the gnomes. That’s cuz the fool Ghosts were checking on land, thinking even if they lived in the earth they must come up for food and such. Now it is well known that gnomes live off roots and grubs, and of course flesh of slave species when they are at home in their lairs. But they knew where the Rock King’s home was kept in a small valley hold. Travelling swiftly through the boost of magics from their Anabeth, the team arrived scarcely after the gnomes got back with Casparn.6

Reaching the end of their travels, after having tackled a stone dragon left behind by the man using their monicker. It was really something how they beat him, he had been left in a tunnel running underneath a lake that had entrances on either side that were filled in with water, and –long-story-short- they brought the lake down on top of him, shattering him completely. Though it is said that the area still suffers violent earthquakes every so often, the restless spirit of Kelerete, angry in his death. Really it is just dissipating earth energy, as a medicho would even know. But you can’t tell the commoner that, they know it is a restless spirit. But I digress.7

Well they did find Stonedragon himself in the mountains, but he was in the process of building a new keep. Luckily though for them, the army he commanded was primarily not present, he had his close guardians with him but not much more than two or three units of troops. Easily a match for the ghosts, but not enough to make an open attack with. His keep, by the standards we had then would have made for a longggg siege. A courtyard with various orchards, within that courtyard. An entire lake is withheld by the walls themselves, you can still go see it of course now-a-days. It survives still in the exact condition as it was then, though some four hundred years has passed, they haven’t even weathered it a day. 8

Well they had already built the outer wall, always the first part of a siege-keep to be built, in a time of war. None of the ghosts could get over the wall, the outer edge had been smoothed to mirror finish, indeed in the first mornings of the seige the ghosts used to shave using the wall itself.  The top of the wall rolled over itself, so grappling hooks were useless, you could get on top of the roof, and then what? Fall four storeys down the other side of the wall? Running the entire length of the roof, was a small arrow slit so defenders could shoot up through at the rapelling attackers.9

They could clearly finish with the supplies behind the wall, that Anabeth could detect. All contained in untamperable earthen boxes, dragged magically through the ground to wherever they were needed by Stonedragon or one of his overcaste. Overcaste were just the magi he surrounded himself with, who followed his magical leading. He also had scores of commoners he had convinced his cause was just, for who could eat if there was no earth, to grow grains, and vegetables in. Of course the real logic is that fire is needed for growth, air is needed for growth, water is needed for growth, and earth is needed as storage for the base nutrients used to grow by the aforementioned means. But that’s a little deep into the application of magic for this story. Short of it is, life can’t exist without each of the four elements, each is equally important.10

Faced with insurmountable odds, Anabeth gathered her ghosts around her, about two leagues away from the base of the walls, well out of arrow shot. She told them her plan, they thought it was crazy, but that’s what the ghosts dealt with best, so of course they would do it and support her in her efforts. This would be one time where the ghosts would not be getting damaged first, it would be Anabeth on the line this time.11

They all gathered in two rings about her, crossing over each other just two feet, so the epicentres of their focus were balanced above Anabeths hands, for she was sitting in trance, legs crossed holding her hands out palms up, syphoning from the pool of power before her. She glanced at each member of the circle and paid her last respects, not knowing if she would be coming back from her recovery for this mission. She feared what she was doing, feared her mind might snap. Her body would survive but she would be no better than cattle, going where they are pulled, and voiding themselves at will.12

Anabeth closed her eyes, her arms fell to rest on her knees, palms still open facing up, the rings of people sat in unison around her, maintaining their focus upon her hands, sending their entire will in tribute to her own. Her sense left her body, she flowed through each person sending them soothing thoughts of her transition, so they would have further faith in her and boost her own power further, such is the interaction of the Battle General. 13

She flowed through the one segment of the wall, leaving it intact in her passing, no need to alert anyone yet. She was always a smart one that Anabeth, I  was glad that that Battle Brigadeer Casparn had been taken hostage, it gave me the perfect chance to test her true skill. She went to where Stonedragon was currently casting. She could feel the arts being woven around her, primarily earth yes, but even Stonedragon needed some knowledge of fire, water, and air to properly control the errupting power of the earth. He was bringing whatever he needed from within the earth around him, be it food, materials, even tools could be found. A pick leaning against a wall of a mineral dig site, can easily be swallowed into the wall with no one noticing where it went. 14

She put herself over his form, laying over his own power, she could feel his affinity for the earth, it almost turned her to it’s power, so great was it’s pull to the earth. She wove more subtle arts around him, enhancing his spells as he cast them generally, eventually he grew to believe his power was growing. Her plan was working exactly as she had wanted, she was going to help him finish his castle. Oh yes, he would be –done-, alright. 15

She did this over the course of a week before he finally took the last step. She had helped him nearly finish all the out buildings, stables, storehouses, barracks, and the like. But by this time so impressed was he with his own power, that he felt he could make the final monument to his being, the seige-tower itself, in one extreme act of magic. He gathered about him his entire populace, placing himself at the epicenter of their focus, he told his overcaste to draw on the frightened people around them, for the extremes of any emotion can be powerful indeed, and instructed them to filter, and feed that energy to him.16

Anabeth sent herself back to the camp and warned all the ghosts what was about to happen, and that they wouldn’t be hurt in the ordeal. Laying back over his trappings of power, she drew all the force she could contain into being from the ghosts, slowly each of them passed out as there whole force was taken from them, they were left breathing, and comatose. She flung the energy into his casting, adding spells of her own, to insinuate the originating caster of the magics into the binding process of the throne, which was to be a stone dragon skeleton, which when required would be able to animate in defense of the master of the Castle. 17

So potent was the magic that Stonedragon himself was absorbed straight down into the earth, being pulled into the walls of the entire seige-tower which was connected via tunnels to the outter wall. Now we know he was literally taken into the casting, and remains trapped in the heart of the castle, a room that can’t be reached by any stair, kept alive by the very earth he had mastered, capable of affecting whatever he wills within the castle, and outter wall. He has gone quite insane of course, for the castle has remained uninhabitted since then. To point of fact, the castle itself was erected in less than twenty minutes, the small cleft it had been being built in, merely a pass through two mountains but wide enough for the purpose it had been picked, was rent wide open leagues across, yes it was, mountains themselves had been pushed aside. Very powerful magics indeed. 18

Further fact of Death Valley, home of Stonedragon Castle, because all nutrients and minerals have been stripped from it nothing can grow there to this day, but for a small oasis of green, visible from the doorsteps of the outter wall, about two leagues away actually, where the ghosts had succeeded in their final mission.19

The ghosts were either honorably disbanded or given promotions within Andemon’s army, her two best medics, stayed on to become her personal aides, from socio-political aides, to medical advisors, to friends, and companions.20

That was the longest recovery Anabeth had had yet, almost two months in a coma, but the ghosts, every last one, stayed with her throughout, not once leaving, bathing within her room, and always keeping their energy balanced, the entire room she was in was mirrored four ways, so four people always bathed at once. Her recovery was quicker than it should have even been, for they knew exactly how to be near for her, a remnant of their exposure to her Wild Magic, they were more in tune with her now.21

And so it was that Anabeth Stead-Brigadeer, became Brigadeer General-in-Command of my army, and Stonedragon the Wicked found defeat, and the Valley of the Dead was borne unto this land. Now why don’t you come back later and maybe I will tell you the secret to living for over four hundred years, hurry back you whipper snappers.22