Battle at the Blood Oak

I submitted this story to a competition to be included in a book by a gaming company.  It didn't win, so you get to read it here instead.  I hope you like it.

“For Brave Kyron!”

Nakhok the Greatmane of the Stonetooths lifted his greataxe over his horned head and roared to signal the charge. A regiment of muscled longhorn satyrs surged towards the massive, black tree, their cloven hooves pounded the earth and metal armor clanged loudly. They raised their greataxes with furious anticipation of meting out death to the enemies of the Mother, which amassed at the base of the great tree.

Tribal warriors, armed with stone axes and wooden shields, ran behind the charging longhorns. The mass of warriors were flanked by feline archers. The shamans, their eyes alight with the mystical fires of the Mother, followed behind bolstering the tribe with their primal chanting.

The path to the monsters at the base of the tree was clear for nothing would grow near those roots. Blood dripped down like sap from the twisted, barren boughs onto Nakhok and his warriors. The great tree was known to be a site of ancient evil, but was long thought to be dormant and was forgotten. Leave it to the Nightstalkers, spawn of elvish hubris, to find the tree and awaken it.

Nakhok and the longhorns were met first by huge, twin-headed canines that easily leaped over the twisted roots and into the fray. Nakhok flipped his axe under and up to catch one of them as it jumped up to attack him, chopping into its chest and tossing it over his head to be finished off by the warriors. The longhorns made quick work of the slimy shadowhounds as new enemies flooded towards them.

A line of tall, emaciated creatures skittered on long. clawed legs towards the longhorns, flipping up and over into battle. Claws, teeth, and spines all struck at the longhorns at the same time, overwhelming their defenses. Nakhok saw many of men go down under the rapid onslaught. Behind the creatures, Nakhok saw the rest of the Nightstalkers bearing down him.

Emerald green fire shot up from the earth and engulfed the warriors, knitting together their wounds and renewing their resolve. He looked over his shoulder and nodded appreciation to the shaman calling to the Mother for aid. He shouted commands to the archers on his left and right to fire upon the line of hulking horrors pushing their way towards the longhorns. A burst of arrows flew into the massive chests of the brutes, slowing their advance.

Nakhok felt the momentum of battle turning in his favor. The longhorns and warriors pushed the line of atrocities back as the shamans healed their wounds and the archers harried their advance. Then he saw the queen of this vile hive. Her skin was a sickly gray and her legs were nothing more than undulating webs that floated her over the battle like a poisonous flower suspended in honey. Her face split open from under her black eyes down her throat and to the center of her chest.

She screamed at Nakhok and his warriors, piercing their ears souls. The mighty warriors of the Herd dropped their weapons to clutch their ears as the shrill wail of the banshee went on and on. The Nightstalker brutes took advantage to push their attack. Their massive fists and huge cleavers assaulted the warriors. The shamans tried to heal them but their magic could not keep pace with such brutality.

The archers fired up at the banshee but they were soon overwhelmed by putrid worms that wriggled up from the soil. Coated in blood soaked into the earth, the worms burrowed into the feet and legs of the cat-like archers who jumped away as the vermin drained their blood.

Nakhok stumbled back away from the massive of nightmares attacking his warriors. Without quick action, the battle would be lost. He grabbed the warhorn at his waist and blew loudly, hoping that the roar of the horn could be heard over the piercing scream of the banshee.

He could not hear their approach, but dark shadows soaring overhead told him that his call was answered. Harpies dove out of the sky and slammed into the banshee, cutting off her scream.

“For the Mother!,” bellowed Nakhok as he swung his greataxe into the skull of a hulking beast. The other warriors gathered their strength and chopped their way through the Nightstalkers all the way to the vile tree.

That night, the Herd danced and drummed around the Blood Oak as it burned, the light of the bonfire served as a beacon of their sacrifice to the Mother.