Morcatia Shattered Realms-Sands of War

Two

Inside Darabia

The sounds of battle rang in the distance as Draven worked his way through the shadows of Darabia. He moved silently over rooftops and through back alleyways, mapping out a route for the First Company of the Onyx Ambush to sneak behind the forces of darkness outside the walls. He telepathically sends information to his company every hour, detailing every road and alley he travels through.
The unfortunate souls that remained after the Phantom Age now live poor and broken. Their children are chosen at random to fill the ranks of the Wraiths.

Draven slipped through what looked like the remains of a market district. There were broken-down carts and booths lining the streets, some containing skeletons of people who once worked there.

He wore the black armor of the Ambush that erased every ray of light that touched it. It was made from onyx krystal, which made it durable but light. Under his armor, he had dark brown skin and dark hair that was shaved down to stubble. His face had the traditional tiger stripe tattoos of his Commander Erzat, with black fangs inked under his chin signifying his rank. The Ambush were skilled in stealth. The specially trained warriors could move almost silently even in full sets of their onyx armor. Draven was the best in his craft, earning him the rank of First Captain.

As he passed a broken down wagon he heard a faint shuffling coming from behind him. He quickly slid under the cart and waited. A wolf-like wraith was slowly walking down the path. Its body was the size of a regular wolf, but its dark black fur was in patches, its rotting skin showing through. It had two snouts protruding from its face and one red eye sat in the middle of its forehead.

"Contact with the enemy, single, lesser wraith." He sent telepathically to his company. He slowly reached to his belt for his dagger. The creature was close now, sniffing the ground and carts as it approached. He knew it would smell him if it got close enough. When it was five feet from his hiding spot he bolted out of the shadows. With feline-like agility he leaped over the wraith, twisting his body to land facing its back. Before it had a chance to turn and see its attacker his dagger was buried deep between its shoulder blades. It let out a small whimper, gurgling with blood filling its lungs. It was dead in seconds. Draven took his dagger from its back and wiped it clean. "Threat eliminated" he sent to his company.

He dragged the body of the wraith and hid it beneath the broken-down cart he ambushed it from. He looked around at the broken-down market district and saw the path going towards the wall turned from sand to cobblestone. He was close now. The cobblestone road leads to the capital district, where the wealthy used to reside.

Tall buildings made of limestone and granite lined the streets on either side, which would provide a valuable vantage point for Draven. He made his way to the first building on his left. He jammed the claws of his gauntlets into the stone and began to climb. It took only nine seconds for Draven to scale the sixty-foot building. It stood taller than the ones around it, with four gargoyles perched on all four corners at its top. He crawled to the edge and peered towards the wall where the sounds of battle came from. In the distance, he saw what looked like scaffolding made from burnt wood and black vines, long sharp spikes protruding from them, tangled into some strange structure against the wall leading to the top. Beneath the structure he saw a large gathering of wraiths, all gathered around a large, arachnid-like creature with the torso and head of a human, welding a great bow. All of the lesser wraiths carried crossbows.

Dread overcame him as he sent back to his company, "Enemy spotted, too many to count."

"Do we need to engage?" Replied Draca, his second Captain.

"All units to me quickly, through the market district to the capital district." he replied, "they are gathering archers on top of the wall to volley on the Silver Moons, Queen help us, Radna is here."