The Iron Forest: Ancestor's Legacy

They gave her little time to react. Fire burst from the machines’ weapons that sent blurred streaks of light, like a horizontal rain, across the battlefield. All around her, men and women tore apart. Those who survived scurried away in a frantic retreat. The soldiers who stood their ground died.

“Fall back to the trees!” she shouted from behind the remains of her Guardian. Dirt and rock burst into the air. She was trapped behind a wall of metal that protected her from a rain of death.

Sana closed her eyes and wailed, not wanting to see the surrounding field littered with shredded Shankur bodies. Her people were winning the fight against the Chotukhan, but in mere seconds, all was lost. After seeing a Destroyer up close, she knew the Shankur had no chance against Abaddon’s terror. Swords, spears, and arrows meant nothing against the machine’s weapons that killed without a touch.

The ground shuddered nearby with footsteps. She opened her eyes, expecting to see the Destroyers, but only saw the Shainxu. Their wizards regrouped and were attacking Abaddon’s machines. The Mechwalkers crouched low, sending green plasma toward the new enemy, protecting the mages on foot. They ran forward, carrying shields of light. Shields that flashed a bright pink against the Destroyer’s weapons.

“I got you covered, your highness,” a wizard in charred red robes cried out.

It was Lady Tani who was with Lord Baram, leading a mixed group of Shainxu and Shankur warriors. He took a defensive position next to Sana and sent a volley of plasma bolts from his wrist mounted gun. She peaked over the Guardian to see the Destroyers scattered to avoid the first rank that fell over in burning piles of rubble.

“We can’t hold them for very long. What are your orders?”

Sana scanned the valley to see the battle ended but not because of attrition or tactics. Instead, the new arrivals brought about a mutual threat of annihilation. The remaining Chotukhan forces hurried back to Gathal while her soldiers took a defensive position behind ancient ruins of stone buildings along the valley’s edge.

“Retreat to the north. We’ll have to hold behind the ruins and fight our way to Gathal.”

Iron footsteps pounded the earth hard—they were being rushed in a spearheaded attack.

The Shainxu Mechwalker turned to run with Shainxu following close in its wake. A shockwave blasted outward from the Shainxu machine that tossed Sana off her feet. To her horror, the Mechwalker burned from the waist up and toppled to the ground like a decapitated creature. She gasped with the realization that her army was losing their only weapons that possessed the ability to fight back against Abaddon.

Sana waited for her chance to bolt to the forest’s safety, but the constant thumping of plasma all around forced her to keep low and out of sight. She flipped a switch to initialize the magic in her spear. Blue light shot up through the shaft, sending the edge to glow white.

Enough. No more hiding.

The Destroyer stood twice as tall as a man. Sana guessed its low profile would cause the machine to overlook her, keeping her safe. It worked. The metal beast approached and towered above, not noticing her. She breathed slowly to take control of her nerves. Would my spear penetrate its thick armor? There’s only one way to find out.

Sana leaped, sending her spear into a wide arc. The blade cut deep with showers and sparks. The machine groaned with what she thought was a mix of pain and annoyance. It lurched back to train its guns on her, but she was too close and fast. These machines have a minimum range. Maybe that’s the secret to destroying them.

She slashed again with a spin to a stab. Whatever she hit seemed important as bolts of energy crackled across its frame. The beast shifted from its injury but still had plenty of fight left. So did Sana.

More Destroyers approached.

She didn’t bother to look, but the whining sound of their guns spooling up told her their intent. Sana waited until green fire burst from the spinning barrels then ran and jumped across the injured Destroyer. Their plasma consumed the beast, leaving nothing but jagged metal on four legs. They are dangerous, but not smart.

For a second, confusion paused the Destroyers as they watched their fellow machine topple over. This gave Sana time to move.

From a distance, the valley appeared flat, but the edge of the mountain range had old buildings, hills, and riverbeds to provide cover from the constant barrage of deadly plasma. Trees, too, had a level of protection, but the soft wood trunks only allowed two good hits before toppling over. Either way, she saw Shankur warriors running in fear.

“Stop!” She shouted.

Sana didn’t blame them for running. Who wouldn’t flee from steel creatures that spit fire and death? But despite all odds, their only chance of survival was to fight, not to run.

“Use what you can for cover,” she said, waving the weary soldiers to advance.

At seeing the defeated Destroyer, they rallied. Their newfound courage became contagious as more warriors halted their retreat to take refuge behind shoulder-high features among a sparse forest of cedar. None of the Shankur used weapons powerful enough to take down a Destroyer, but they had the Shainxu. Wizards behind crumbled walls and fallen trees unleashed a barrage of plasma, sending a message that humans bite, and it stings.

Sana waited for the right moment to attack. Jumping toward the machines meant instant death, but allowing them to approach closer would put them in an awkward position.

What she didn’t have was time. The distant Chotukhan threat was all but annihilated. Most returned to safety behind the wall, freeing the other Destroyers to join the fight against the tribes. Twice as many machines meant twice the threat.

Sana looked around in a frantic.

“Queen Sana, my mages cannot hold the Destroyers back for much longer. We need to find a way out of here,” Lady Tani shouted between launching balls of plasma from her wrist-mounted weapon.

“The wizard-woman is right,” Lord Baram added. “We can’t sustain a fight against Abaddon’s army.”

Sana ducked from a blast that kicked up rock and dirt. She peeked over the knee-wall to see the line of machines moving closer, with no sign of slowing down. With nowhere to run and the fate of death becoming their only option, rage sent her heart pounding. “Gather your mages and warriors to attack.”

“My queen?”

“Do you see any other option?” she asked. “If we stay here, we die. If we run, we die. If death is our only option, I would rather die standing with my spear in hand.”

They glanced at each other, then nodded.

“Then we will see you in the ancestral world,” Lord Baram said with a salute.

Lady Tani didn’t appear as ready to die as her Shankur counterpart, but her sigh admitted agreement. “May Gaia be merciful.”

The warriors in blue and red lined up along the row of ruins to await Sana’s call.

The ground rumbled. Sana knew many were about to die but hoped her warriors’ numbers exceeded the amount of firepower the Destroyers could unleash.

Wait just a little longer, she thought to herself, hearing machines drawing closer. Just a few more seconds.

The pounding stopped.

Sana turned to Lady Tani, who looked back in confusion. Whispers from surrounding warriors spread throughout the crowds. The machines and their relentless barrage of plasma bolts stopped.

She and Lady Tani lifted their heads. The metal beasts stood still like statues.

“Anyone like to tell me what in Ancestors’ name is going on?” Sana asked to no one in particular.

“No idea,” Lady Tani answered.

Sana’s attention jerked to a new sound that rolled across the Great Valley. The mountains to the north growled and rumbled like a monster waking from a deep sleep. Whatever made such commotion put fear into Abaddon’s army as they took a step back.

“It’s Gaia!” the Shainxu shouted with excitement.

At first, Sana didn’t understand what the wizards meant until she saw what emerged from the mountain ridges. Dozens, then hundreds of Guardians, spilled into the valley like a metallic avalanche. Their white armor flashed in the afternoon sun.

“Ancestors be damned,” she whispered in disbelief. “The battle between the gods has begun again.”

The roar of Guardians heightened to an ear-piercing crunch of metal as the machines clashed into one another, taking some Destroyers off their feet. Not all of Gaia’s creatures survived the first contact. A blaze of green streaks of fire diverted to the oncoming wave, leaving some of the white machines burning into piles of gnarled metal. Their number amounted to less than half of Abaddon’s force. But with all the weaponry they possessed, it meant nothing at close range.

Chunks of metal showered the valley.

“Queen Sana, we need to get away from here, less we get caught in the middle,” Lady Tani suggested after a few minutes.

“Agreed,” Sana said, scanning the valley. The battle changed, but their vulnerability and position did not. She needed strong walls to protect her people, not crumbled ruins. “To Gathal!”

“But the Chotukhan,” Lord Baram said. “They still pose a threat.”

“Their army has been ravaged, and we outnumber the city guards. I see no threat.”

Within the chaos of machine against machine, Shankur and Shainxu warriors sprinted to the city that stood as their only means of survival. Sana led them, slicing any Destroyer that got in her way.

Once past the threat, Sana exhaled with relief. But she still had a long road ahead. Beyond the flat plains of the Great Valley, stood Gathal and the backs of thousands of Chotukhan soldiers, running away.