The Winter kingdom

Version 2.0

The warriors closed in on Aloe, tightening their circle around him and the towering Heart Tree. Brandon, bloodied and breathing heavily, pushed to the forefront, flanked by the other kings and their guards. Aloe stood eerily calm amidst the carnage, his wiry sickly form out of place against the towering backdrop of the ancient tree. His eyes, wild with unnatural glee, flicked over the rushing soldiers.

"Oh, the brave and bold have finally come," he smiled. "You humans, thinking you are so smart and powerful, yet you're still so stupid even after all your attempts, you just can't comprehend when you are out of your depths." He chuckled, a grating, hollow sound that scratched in the depths of their ear. "So desperate, so eager to play the heroes. It's sickening. You're nothing but insects crawling toward your graves."

Brandon's hand tightened on his sword hilt, as he pushed forward, watching Aloe with a hardened stare.

"Quite something to call us an insect when you crawl around in the dark, constantly hiding from us," Brandon retorted, his voice cutting across the battle. "Looks like you are more afraid of us than you think."

Aloe laughed again, louder this time. "Why would the master fear his pathetic slave." He began to pace around the circle, his thin fingers running over the blood-red bark of the Heart Tree. "That's a practice you animals have taken up now, isn't it? How very human to hunt your kind. Unlike you lot, I hunt what deserves it."

The kings exchanged wary glances, watching as Aloe's hands stroked the bark of the tree then watched as he lingered on it. But before any could act, Aloe's expression shifted. He stopped his pacing, one hand pressed firmly to the bark, his gaze settling on them.

"And now," he whispered, "you'll experience what it is like to be hunted down like an animal." His voice rose into a piercing screech, an unnatural sound that cut through the ravine like a blade. Then, with a swift movement, he dragged his hand down the face of the Heart Tree, smearing a trail of blood across its carved features.

The ravine trembled, and the men felt a shiver run through the ground beneath their feet. All around them, monstrous growls, hisses, and howls reverberated off the stone. Brandon and the other kings turned.

From the shadowed crevices, behind boulders, and up high on ledges, more creatures emerged wolves with dripping teeth, ghouls with claws grinding, as ice spiders creeping over the cliff's edges. They filled the ravine, their numbers overwhelming, more monstrous than anything the men had seen. The air was filled with their guttural cries.

Aloe's laughter rang out, triumphant. "You came for my head to display your worth," he sneered. "Instead, I will desecrate yours."

The cliffs came alive with motion, black shapes spilling over the edges in a monstrous tide. Wolves ghouls, serpentine, and spiders all flung themselves off the cliffs in a maddened frenzy. The first wave smashed into the stone ground with sickening crunches, bones breaking as they fell, yet more followed, piling onto the lifeless bodies below, building a ramp of corpses. Soon, enough corpses lay sprawled below that the remaining creatures hit the mound and rolled, tumbling onto their feet, and joined the growing surge charging toward the humans.

Brandon's forces braced themselves, forming a defensive circle as the monsters closed in. Swords swung in every direction, axes hacked, spears thrust through writhing flesh. A dire wolf lunged at a soldier only to be met with a spear through the chest, yet another wolf immediately took its place, snapping and clawing as it fell upon the man. Men were pulled to the ground by ghouls, claws raking their armour, while others cried out as icy spiders sunk venomous fangs into exposed skin. Despite their fury, the soldiers fought on, gritting their teeth as they struck at the onslaught, but they were quickly surrounded, pressed tighter by the relentless wave of beasts.

Above it all, Aloe's laughter, sharp and manic, echoed. Perched atop the Heart Tree's exposed roots, his body twitched as his legs swayed, his smile twisted, as his hand scratched his skin. His words came out in shrieking unhinged bursts.

"Look at you! Mighty warriors of men, scrambling like chickens!" He cackled. "All your valour, all your strength wasted on the likes of you!" His eyes darted wildly trying to capture every death as it happened, his grin stretched too wide, showing too many teeth. "Do you see, Brandon? Your worthlessness! You can't even get to me let alone pocket yourself and your men!"

Brandon, heaved as he held off a bear with the help of Edric.

"You won't survive this!" Aloe sang. "Not a chance! Each one of you is just another piece for the pile!" He pointed down at a ghoul tearing into a fallen man's chest, he captured every moment as it rips and devour. "You're just meat! All of you, meat for my monsters!"

He flung his head back as the man took his last breath, laughing hysterically as it happened.

Brandon and his men struggled, the cacophony of growls and roars drowning out their shouts. They fought fiercely but were being overwhelmed, every forward step met by the bodies of more beasts and the taunting, shrieking voice of Aloe that rang through the ravine like a death knell.

Surrounded by gnashing jaws, ripping claws, and the endless stench of blood, the human forces held on by sheer grit. Their ranks thinned with every passing moment, backs pressed against one another as they fought, shields barely holding against the relentless weight of the horde. Wounded men staggered yet still swung their swords, mercenaries bore down on packs of ghouls and wolves, and dire wolves fought alongside their warg handlers, snarling and clawing through waves of creatures. Brandon's slingers, though exhausted, sent stone after stone.

"Oh, this is too good." Aloe smiled. "I hope your ancestors are watching this happen. Oh, how your mothers must be weeping, and your fathers are disappointed in what they are seeing. I have been waiting for this moment."

Even man there clenched their weapons until their knuckles went white before they burst with energy. Among them, the kings surged a cheer following after them. Brandon, Frost, Harmond, and Edwyn charged in a wedge cutting straight toward Aloe. They carved through monsters with every step, anger in their stride. Brandon's sword cleaved through a ghoul's neck before Harmond buried his ax into the flank of a bear, his fury the loudest of all the kings. Frost fought beside him, his spear taking down an ice spider that lunged for his throat, then ripping it from the ground to stab at the next beast. Edwyn dissected an Isdråk cutting perfectly in two. The kings moved with constant momentum, bodies of slain beasts falling at their feet with each strike.

Aloe watched, his mocking laughter continuing as he clapped his claw and hand together. "What a waste in effort, yes, yes a waste in effort that will lead to nothing." he shrieked.

Ignoring his words, the kings drove onward, rallying their men and mercenaries, some of whom joined the push, their fears falling away as they beheld the leaders' bravery.

At that moment, the kings were a storm sweeping down, made of unbreakable will and hardened strength.