Chrysalis

Up amongst the roots of the Tree the fighting grew ever more intense. This close to the trunk, the mighty monster could exert more of its strength. Twisted roots as thick as buildings rumbled as they rose from the ground to reveal gnashing teeth, barbed vines and poison-spitting flowers that regrew almost as quickly as they were destroyed. Mana thundered through the tree so thickly that every Legionary could practically taste it.

The damned monster must be sucking in energy from a wide area to be able to handle this level of output, but drawing that kind of power had drawbacks. Every Legionary knew the price of taking in more than one could handle.

Even monsters, born of mana, could be susceptible to it if they pushed beyond their capacity. Only time would tell if the tree was overdrawing itself.

Rianus had been fighting for an hour and even his superhuman endurance was being pushed. His shoulders burned, his wrists ached and his legs felt weak. This was when the real fight began. Any soldier could perform when they were fresh, and rested, but the Legion didn't care for warriors such as those. When exhaustion came, when arms trembled and knees shook, that was when the fight would hang in the balance.

The massive wooden creature in front of him glared, its eyes afire with righteous indignation as it brought one massive fist crashing down from overhead. The Legionary grit his teeth and braced his shield overhead, almost buckling under the tremendous impact. Driven down to one knee, he snaked his blade around the edge of his shield and cut deep into the wooden hand, forcing the monster to retrieve its limb.

He forced himself to stand once more, his body on fire as he readied himself again. His fellow soldiers pushed forward to take advantage of the slight opening he'd created, their weapons igniting with light as they prepared to deploy their skills.

An explosion of soil erupted in front of them, showering the soldiers with clods of earth before a wall of slithering roots exploded outwards. Several Legionaries were taken, dragged beneath the surface the moment they lost their footing, with thin tendrils sliding into the gaps in their armour.

"Get back!" Rianus growled as he slashed continuously, burning stamina to thin the attack and free his comrades.

A shadow flitted overhead before a figure arrived with a mighty crash. Towering over the soldiers, even larger than the bigger wooden creatures, the Praetorian swept an arm out, a broad halberd glowing impossibly bright. The vines evaporated when struck by that luminescence, slashed to nothing by the power of that single strike. Without saying a word, the mighty Legionary dashed away, ready to engage on another front.

"Reform the line!" Rianus bellowed.

He didn't have time to be awed. The Praetorians had been racing all over the battlefield, putting themselves in harm's way as much as possible to protect the Legionaries' lives and end the battle as quickly as they could. It hadn't been the first time he'd seen them and it sure wouldn't be the last.

As the legion gathered themselves back into formation, he sized up their surroundings. Overhead, the explosions continued to ring out, a rain of fire falling around them constantly. Smoke billowed from the trunk of the tree as the flames spread, the sound of crackling wood almost overwhelming to the senses.

ground here, they could focus their bombardment from close range and bring the thing down. If events proceeded as expected it wouldn't be

"Shields up!" Rianus ordered.

the disciplined legionaries brought their arms high, shields interlocking as a wave of energy passed

fed on each other, magnified the flow of mana. The more soldiers in the wall, the stronger it became. Rianus felt better now that the formation had re-established itself. No

the hell is the centurion?" he asked the soldier to

answered back. "When the lines crashed things got a

he determined, "get our command structure back in place

have them on the run," she

strategy, legionary," he snapped back. "We have no relay back to command. We

"Yes, sir," she demurred.

With the shield wall in place, it was almost impossible for the tree people to break them, though they tried several times. The pace was slow, but they were gradually regaining their footing and meeting up with more

But still no centurions…

the hell have the officers gone?"

know

He jerked his head to the side to see an ethereal figure step out of the smoke, as if appearing from thin air. Dressed in a soft, muted robe, the newcomer was humanoid in appearance, though its features were twisted with those of a beast. Two

then his

your confidence, might I say arrogance, has given us

"Why are you here?"

She smiled toothily.

conclave has spoken. As such, we will defend these

"just like