The castle great hall rang with the whispers of the officials who had assembled there, their wrinkled high-pitched voices a tangled, knotted rope of fear and uncertainty. King Vesh, his plated, towering shape throwing a long, jagged shadow upon the cracked stone pavement, his green eyes snapping to the twisted, knotted forms of his council, his breathing coming in stiff, controlled gasps, his mind a distorting, confounding web of plan and fear, lifted a gauntleted hand to stop them.
"We're on the brink of war," he panted, his own voice a mere, shaking whisper, a hoarse rasp of air, his breathing rapid, shallow gasps, his thoughts a muddled, knotted mess of terror and determination. "The goblins are mobilizing. Sally plots her vengeance. We have to prepare."
Carl, his bony, shuddering limbs wrapped in bulky, cracked armor, his hard, green stare darting to the gnarled, knotted forms by his side, his gasps coming in sharp, harsh spasms, his mind a convoluted, knotted cluster of hope and fear, advanced a step. "The Holy Land's Son stands here. He is the key to the destruction of those beasts."
The room grew quiet, the distorted, contorted bodies surrounding them turning their hard, empty eyes to the slight, quivering figure of the king, their breathing rattling in cruel, shallow gasps, their minds a distorted, knotted web of wonder and horror.
Outside, Anna and Ava leaned against the broken stone walls of the castle, their reed-thin, trembling forms silhouetted against the reed-thin, white sun, their green, needle-pointed eyes darting to the reed-thin, shining waterfall pouring down the broken cliffs, its reed-thin, shining spray slicing the reed-thin, pale sun's rays, casting a rainbow of hue over the broken, rocky boulders below.
"It's beautiful," Anna wheezed, her bony, shaking voice low and gasping, her bony, shaking hands stroking the shattered stone wall, her respiration staccato, shallow breaths, her mind a befuddled, knotted web of awe and terror. She pulled out a small, shattered camera from her waist, its thin, broken lens reflecting the thin, pale light, and snapped a photo of the glinting, tumbling water, its thin, glinting spray reflecting the thin, pale beams of the sun, casting a rainbow of color across the rocky, craggy rocks below.
Ava crouched upon the balcony railing, her bony, trembling legs shaking, her green, hard eyes flashing to the thin, glittering waters of Maranaqua far away, her breathing tense, shallow gasps, her mind a mangled, tangled skein of horror and fear. She screwed up her eyes, her hard, green eyes flashing towards the far, saw-toothed horizon of the shore, her face stuffed with her breath, her mind a knotted, tangled mass of horror and incredulity.
"Anna." she breathed, her thin, shaking voice a low, raw rasp, her hard, green eyes staring and streaming with terror. "See."
Anna released the camera, her thin, shaking legs buckling, her green, pointed eyes darting to the far, serrated line of shore, her breathing in rapid, shallow gasps, her mind a muddled, twisted web of fear and incredulity.
Hulking, enormous shapes coalesced from the depths of the pool, their gnarled, knotted arms stretching and moaning, their colossal, boulder-like heads breaching the surface of the water, their blazing, icy-sharp eyes flaring to the trembling, spindly forms on the balcony, their gasping, racking breath, their minds a knotted, muddled combination of hunger and fury.
"Golems," Ava panted, her rasping gasp of air her light, shuddering voice, her keen, green eyes darting to the hideous, distorted forms below, their gigantic, stony legs creaking and groaning with each movement, their distorted, knotted bodies casting long, angular shadows across the thin, shining waters of the bay.
Anna retreated stumbling, her thin, trembling limbs trembling, her sharp, green eyes flashing to the twisted, gnarled forms beneath, her breath coming in harsh, shallow gasps, her mind a distorted, knotted web of fear and incredulity. She wheeled and fled back into the castle, her thin, trembling limbs trembling, her breathing coming in harsh, shallow gasps, her mind a distorted, knotted web of panic and desperation.
"Golems!" she cried out, her frail, quaking voice ringing through the fissured stone corridors, her frail, shaking body shaking, her mind short, shallow gasps of air, her mind a tangled, bewildered web of fear and desperation. "The Giant golems are marching on the kingdoms!"
The hall exploded into chaos, the deformed, tortured bodies around them stirring to their shaking, skeletal shapes, their pointed, greenish eyes locked on the skeletal, shaking figure of Anna, their breath cold, rapid gasps, their thoughts a tangled, deformed knot of horror and fear.
King Vesh drew his enormous, golden sword, its keen, shining blade shooting the thin, pale light, sending long, serrated shadows creeping over the broken stone floor, his breathing short, shallow gasps, his mind a twisting, tangled web of fear and determination. "Expel the villagers," he commanded, his thin, quivering voice a harsh rasp, his bright, hard eyes darting to the warped, gnarled figures around him, his breathing erratic, gasping gasps, his mind a snarled, warped net of fear and determination.
Outside, the grotesque, distorted golem bodies burst through to the surface, their massive, rocky limbs crunching and writhing, their rough, blinding eyes flashing to the slender, shaking bodies below, their breath in brief, shallow gasps, their intelligence a twisted, tangled mesh of fury and hunger.
A monstrous, grotesque hand reached up, its hard, rocky fingers curling and snapping, its enormous, twisted body looming over a long, jagged shadow on the thin, glowing waters of the bay. It stretched towards the castle, its hard, rocky fingers grasping a tall, cracked windmill, its hard, broken blades creaking and protesting, its thin, splintered wood cracking and splintering. The golem pushed the windmill into the castle, its splintered, jagged blades whistling through the pale, cold air, its thin, splintered wood crashing into the wracked, knotted stone walls, a splinter from the splintered, sharp wood and crack from the cracked, jagged stone raining down over the thin, trembling bodies below.
Carl, his thin, shaking arms quivering, his sharp, green eyes darting to the twisted, gnarled forms below, his breathing in sharp, shallow gasps, his mind a twisted, tangled web of fear and determination, pressed his palm against the cracked, rough leather of his armor, his thin, shaking arms quivering, his breathing in sharp, shallow gasps, his mind a twisted, tangled web of fear and determination.
Anna ground her teeth, trembling fingers as she loaded three arrows onto the bowstring. She made a silent appeal to the roots of the earth and released them. The arrows buzzed through the air, tips glinting with poisoned green, but shattered on the golems' iron-like bodies, rebounding helplessly on the ground.
The knights, armor clashing and wheezing breath, cast spears and swords, their howls merging with the crash of stone and the splintering of wood. The spears only rebounded off the giants' broad backs, whose eyes burned cold and merciless fires of centuries-long vengeance.
Anna controlled her heartbeat, her breathing snagging in her throat as she leaned her head back. A titanic hand, a boulder of a hand, hung over her, its surrounding air heavy with unseen power. She shut her eyes, the thudding of her heart a savage, mad drumbeating in her chest. She listened to the charge of air, felt the ground shudder, and then—crash. The castle stones beneath her creaked, the universe spinning as dust wafted through the air and the smell of broken rock stung.
Carl's battle cry rang through the mayhem. He slapped his hand over his chest, the sigil branded into his skin searing a blazing, molten blue. His sword flared alight, the flames consuming the blade as if it were alive, and with a roar, wings of raw might burst from his back in blue. He kicked from the splintered rocks, flying upward, his body a blazing line of light. His blade drove into the iron body of the closest golem, sparks pouring forth as he sliced deep, searing furrows into its stony hide.
King Vesh, his armor shining in the half-dark, held his gold sword, his knuckles white, his lips in silent prayer. He plunged the blade into the earth, and a dazzling shield encased his knights, their bodies radiating a soft, shielding aura. Golden needles burst forth from the ground, their points shining like the teeth of some long-dead beast. They thrust on, piercing the golems, their stone bodies cracking and shattering, one toppling in a pile of broken stone.
Ava and the villagers fought their way through the heavy undergrowth, their gasping harsh, their eyes fixed on horror. The trees leaned down around them in a murmur of whispering leaves, their branches snatching out like grasping bones, but they did not have to face them. Figures began to take form through the mist, their eyes ablaze with hellfire light. The Holy Land warriors barred their way, swords raised, their faces blank, their purpose definite.