Shadow Slave

Indeed, the treasure Knight Shtad had discovered in the desert was a Citadel.

Not the Tomb of Ariel itself, of course - no scout had managed to get anywhere near the black pyramid, yet. It just always loomed far in the distance, never getting closer, like an ominous mirage.

But he did find a Citadel.

At this point, both Valor and Song were scouting the outer reaches of the desert in search of a suitable position to establish a base camp. Once they found one, numerous soldiers would be brought there through the corresponding Nightmare Gates, and the expeditions toward the pyramid would be launched.

However, a Citadel had the potential to drastically change the balance of power between the two great clans in their pursuit of the Demon's tomb.

The clan that possessed one would hold an overwhelming advantage. The clan that did not would fall behind before the race even started.

A Citadel was not only better fortified and safer than a makeshift stronghold. Connected to the waking world by a Gateway, it would make it much easier to ferry Awakened into the Dream Realm, transport supplies, and establish logistical chains.

Some regions of the Dream Realm held only one Citadel, while some held many. At this point, it was unknown if Knight Shtad's discovery was the only Citadel in the white desert, except for the Tomb of Ariel itself, but even if Song were to eventually discover a second one, the delay would put them at a great disadvantage.

So, needless to say, taking the Citadel was of paramount importance.

However... it was guarded by a fearsome Nightmare Creature.

More than that, even though Valor put a lot of effort into keeping Shtad's prize a secret, there was no guarantee that Song would not try to take it by force eventually.

So, Warren and his people were dispatched into the desert as the first wave of reinforcements. Their task was to assist the fearsome Knight in conquering the Citadel and lay the groundwork for the arrival of further forces.

Of course, there was a problem with that plan.

The fact that an insidious creature had long taken the place of Squire Warren, and came to the desert in his place.

"Valor!"

Mordret let out a fierce battle cry as he led his people into the tide of Nightmare Creatures.

The Citadel was right in front of them.

It was not a fortress, nor was it a pyramid built of black stone. In fact, it was not a man-made structure at all.

Instead, it was a gargantuan black skull that towered above the white dunes, staring at the azure sky with the dark pits of its empty eye sockets.

There were three of them - two where a human's eyes would be, and the third one above them, right in the middle of the skull's vast forehead.

and currently, a flood of revolting Nightmare Creatures was flowing out of them onto

"Hold fast!"

rose and fell, cutting them down, and

'How... tedious.'

back. Mordret could not unleash his power as a Master, but even more disheartening than that, he had to imitate the combat

Valor, Warren had been at the pinnacle of what Awakened warriors strived to be. And yet, to Mordret, that level of skill was dull

of mastery was harder than surviving in the

Sadly, Warren had been a heroic type, as well, so to play his role faithfully, Mordret had

protect his soldiers, risking life and limb to make sure that

Varo! Agathe, back! Lean on me,

empowered with

It was strange.

shared sense of duty, belonging, and

if things had been different? Wasn't leading the brave warriors of Valor the fate

'Ah. Such irony.'

eternity of blood and agonizing heat... the battle was

by Knight Shtad himself. The Awakened - both those brought to the desert by Mordret and those that belonged to Shtad's personal elite

They had won.

they had to do was

their blades and dove into the cool darkness of the ancient skull. They carefully made their way

sunlight spilled through a jagged crack in the chamber's roof, and, thrust into the bone floor, a gargantuan

triumphant smile appeared on

around, he placed his heavy hand on

did well, Warren. Glory and

Mordret smiled pleasantly.

plan. Now, his task was simple - remain in the good graces of Sir Shtad, anchor himself to the Gateway, return to the

and concentrated their forces in one place, he would help Seishan and the rest stage an unexpected attack and rip the Citadel from his clan's hands

that was Clan Song's

hand, had

had allowed themselves to commit a grave sin. They

and their outward superiority in terms

misguided? To look down on the

his sister had so masterfully lured them into, but Mordret knew better. It didn't matter who had reaped a few victories at the start... all that mattered was who would be left standing at the

Song seemed to be holding an advantage for now, but the walls of the trap were already closing in around them. Mordret did not know

destroy her plans, he had to throw the cadence of this conflict into utter

at Knight Shtad with a pleasant