POV Priest:
A people stood in a small circle, all of their weapons pointed outwards. The red eyes circled around them in darkness with the sounds of claws scratching against the stone, slowly eating upon the defenders’ will.
They were tired, and their clothes were damp with the blood of them and their enemies.
A massive pitch-black wolf with glowing red eyes and spikes littering its body jumped towards the ring of defenders. Its mouth filled with red teeth opening, ready to tear through flesh and bones.
“Now, priest! Push them back again!”
A bright white light flashed through the darkness, the white rays penetrating through the black veil and falling upon the bodies of the wolves that vanished in black motes upon the touch of the holy light.
“Go back, you vile beats! In the name of the light god, I banish you!”
The priest, who no longer looked young; instead, his long beard and scars gave him the look of an old grizzled warrior, stood in the middle of the circle. The wooden staff in his arms shone like a sun, pushing back all the shadows and the monsters hiding within them.
And then the first rays of the sun finally came from behind the horizon, with all howling and scratching in the distance vanishing. The silence eventually returned, with everyone falling to the ground from exhaustion.
“We have done it! We have survived the night!”
“The monsters have a weakness. They are scared of the holy light. We can sell this information and cut it rich!”
One month later:
POV General:
The general sat opposite a fat man in a white robe who was constantly sweating. They were in a middle of a large white tent. The heat of summer turning into an oven
“Haha, your excellency, as you may know, I have a monopoly on priests in this area…”
“Skip this bullshit and cut to the case, your holiness! What is your price?”
The fat bishop grinned, his fat body jiggling with each of his words, “I know that you must have backers behind you. All I want is to use them and solve my little issue. In exchange, you will gain my priests.”
The general remained quiet for a few moments, looking deep in thought, “I will speak to them and see what can be done.”
One year later, eight years since the start of hibernation:
POV Tanya:
Tanya walked through the long dark tunnel, her steps quiet, not making any sound. The tunnel was dark, with only occasionally torches on the walls illuminating it. Her long black robe rustled as she walked with her shiny metallic mask reflecting the light of torches.
She turned to the left and entered a big round room with five decorated chairs spread in the circle. Figures in black robes and shiny dragon-shaped masks occupied all except one.
Tanya confidently walked towards the empty chair and sprawled herself in it.
“We have a problem. The expeditionary army has finally found a path past the curse. I used all my connections to slow them down, but I am running out of means.”
Muffled whispers and murmurs filled the room, all participants wiggling in their chairs, nervosity in the air turning almost palpable.
She raised her hand, signalling everyone to quiet down, “Don’t worry, my comrades, I have a plan that can delay them.”
She secretly clenched her second hand in a fist, ‘It must be done. He has much more connections and influence. He can help…’
POV Alesia and her merry crafters:
Horned figures leaned over an ingot form, all expectantly watching as the horned metallurgist poured the red glowing liquid into the molten metal. The blood, drop by drop, landed in the form of blazing white liquid, loudly hissing as the blood mixed with the metal.
A golden light suddenly flashed in the form, the molten metal gaining a golden lustre. The heat quickly rose, the form turning so hot that the molten metal started to drip from it, raining upon the stone and hissing.
“Quickly cool it down!” Alesia shrieked in panic, waving her hands at her colleague.
The young-looking arcanist stepped forwards, a chilly air rising out of her hands, blowing against the form, the metal within it quickly cooling down.
The white frost dissipated, leaving behind only a small ingot of golden metal with a faint red glow. It was so shiny and beautiful that no one could turn their eyes away from it.
They just stood there, gazing upon the ingot in silent reverence.
Finally, the muscular dwarf spoke, his voice trembling in excitement, “We have done it! With this alloy, we can finally continue. My hammer is already itching!”𝚘𝓥𝐥xt.𝐜𝔬𝑚
One year later:
POV Tanya:
The young woman sat in her long white dress before a large mirror. Maids swarmed around her, chitchatting while putting her long hair into an impressive hairdo when the doors into the chamber suddenly swung open, and a blonde-haired man walked in doublet sewn with silver and gold thread. His shiny black shoes tapped on the floor of polished marble.
“Ohhh, my love! All my patience for all these years wasn’t in vain now that I finally see you like this. I knew from the moment you threw that stone at me when we were kids that we were made for each other.”
All the maids around her blushed, almost fainting and falling to the ground. Then a loud cracking resounded through the room, a massive crack splitting the mirror in half.
‘All of his schemes and attempt to marry me for all these years that I resisted. Yet now he won.’
The woman sitting in the chair threw him a deadly stare, something glowing in her eyes.
“Ohh, don’t worry, I will uphold my end. The general will be buried in investigations and paperwork for years.”
‘Well, he wouldn’t be a bad choice if he wasn’t ignorant of magic.’ Tanya just turned her gaze out of a window, ignoring the possibility of her tricking him into drinking the blood of her master.