Written By: Epicstu Wyyvernwriter

“Alright Knights,” Heaven took her Angelic form as Hell took his Shieldwall form for her to wield. “Akiri Gen, you have the Bridge. Just hold it,” she heaved as she lifted Hell off the ground with her left arm using her lightning for straps. Then from him she pulled, with her right hand, a mace with six-inch outward curved spikes at its hefty end. “Keep our Towers up. The rest of us will push from the sides. Leonidas and Snow, you have the Eastern Lane.”

“I can hold East Lane on my own,” Leonidas attested. “Snow should aid Akiri on the Bridge.”

“Warpriests to the Eastern Lane!” Heaven’s words echoed in their minds like cracking thunder, “and look after one another. Need I remind you that as Warpriests your hoods are sacred. If removed by any means you will be removed from the round and subjected to a fate worse than Death. So please, watch each others backs.”

“Of  course, my Lady,” replied Leonidas. “Come on, Succubus, try not to fall behind.” Snow kept her head down and begrudgingly followed him using her wings to keep herself just above the ground as Leonidas marched forward on foot.

“You allow him to treat her with such disrespect?” Hell asked Heaven.

“They’ve been at it since they met. He judges her and refuses to get to know her and she lets him walk all over her never saying a word,” Heaven replied. “They both have issues to work out and only they can work them out.”

“You believe the fires of combat will bond them as siblings in arms,” deduced Hell.

“You disagree?” Heaven questioned.

“No, I just didn’t expect that to be your approach is all,” Hell replied. “You start, save me for when the Wall is needed.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Heaven replied. “Trace, you’re with… us? Where did that floating hooded cape with a gun wander off to?” She checked the Map on her HUD and sighed, “great, he’s gone into the Biomes somewhere between the Western Lane and the Bridge.”

“I’m sure he will pop up when needed,” Hell reassured. “We can push the Western Lane until then.”

“If he does not get lost,” Heaven rebutted as she flew to the West Lane Clashpoint.

*          *

By the thousands, the Armies representing each team flooded the three Lanes as the New Valhallian Event began. Fennec Foxes of the Northlands, under the flag of the Iron Ram, marched down from the mountain tops to fight for the Knights as Undead Jackals, under the Will of Anubis, rose up from the sands to fight for the Gods. “The Lanes are full, the Armies have clashed,” Woodsmann announced, “and the players are making their way to each Lane’s Clashpoint now.”

“A Clashpoint for those of you who do not know,” Mercedes explained, “is the dividing line for each Lane dictated by where each Team’s respective Armies are, well, clashing.”

“In order to push the Lanes,” Woodsmann added. “Each Team must fight with their Army to push back the opposing Team’s Army.”

“Each Army will only ever attack each other or opposing Players,” Mercedes went on. “This means that Players will have to destroy the opposing Towers that prevent their Army from advancing in order to conquer each Lane.”

“While marching with your army you gain epic movement speed,” Woodsmann announced, “which helps with the seven miles between each Tower. Effectively turning hours of travel into mere seconds.”

“However,” Mercedes interrupted, “trying to march through the opposing Team’s Army will heavily slow you.”

“Don’t worry though,” Woodsmann reassured, “the opposing army will gladly send you back to your Base where you can rethink your strategy.”

“Let’s move now to the Eastern Lane,” Mercedes suggested, “where the Warpriests of Heaven are about to clash with both Wyyvern Gods of War.”

“Both Wars?” Woodsmann questioned with concern. “Leonidas and Snow better fight hard. If the Wars push past the first Tower, they are almost guaranteed the next with their ultimates alone.”

“An aggressive strategy by the Gods,” Mercedes commented. “One that may leave the Western Lane weakened without anyone else who can tank damage for Anubis.”

“Although, with the Mad Wyyvern wandering aimlessly through the snow capped mountains,” Woodsmann rebutted, “Heaven and Hell only have each other for backup against Anubis and Set.”

*        *

“Ah!” Leonidas watched his healthbar, ever so slightly, decrease as Heaven’s lightning bound him for a moment and then dissipated. “Damn it, Succ, watch where you aim that lightning!”

“Sorry,” Snow replied trying to hold back the anger she felt toward being called Succ.

“Just keep to your side,” demanded Leonidas.

“Maybe if you let me clear a path before you just rush in head on,” Snow muttered under her breath.

“What?!” Leonidas questioned.

“I have the superior wave clear!” Snow made her argument, “and it slows.”

“So you could hold this Lane without me then?” Leonidas replied.

“No,” Snow admitted, “You are far better equipped than I to fight what ever Gods try to push the Lane.”

Suddenly the ground burst knocking them on their asses and pushing the Clashpoint back. Leonidas could hear the revving blades of War echo from the clearing debris as he looked to see, “Ares.”

“And Bellona?” Snow questioned the very lack of luck as the Righteous and Wicked Wyyvern Gods of War charged in at them.

Rooting Bellona with his Heavenforged spear, “Keep the Jackals back!” Leonidas shouted to Snow as he kicked Ares, stunning him for a free slash with his sword. Ares swung Sun downward upon Leonidas who blocked with a painful cry as Sun’s spinning blades shredded through his shield. Returning damage with a slash of his blade, Leonidas jumped back as his Heavenforged shield regenerated. Rolling his shoulders with an exhale, he dodged the next basic attack from Ares following through with another slash to Ares’s side. “Now what good is there in having such a massive sword, if you can’t hit anything with it?” he dodged the momentum carried blade again and again as it was swung at him by Ares in is rage.

Bellona lifted herself off Leonidas’s spear with a moaning grunt. Heaven’s lightning bound her, slowing her movement as it steadily decreased her healthbar. Pushing through, Bellona let loose her warcry temporarily limiting Snow and Leonidas to basic attacks as she revved Tzu. Tzu grew to three times his normal length as, Ripping through Snow for moderate damage, Bellona healed off every successful hit until she was at full health again and Snow had not more than a sliver left. Then she stopped and picked Snow up by her throat, “as much as I enjoy beating you to a bloodied pulp. My orders are to win by any means necessary and you Warpriests have a very convenient self destruct that I would love to take advantage of.”

Snow could hear Tzu’s voice echo behind Bellona’s, “Wicked War,” she struggled to say as Bellona tried to pull her hood off, but could not because her twisted horns prevented it. “Sorry,” Snow coughed up blood, “my horniness always seems to get in the way of my relationships. Maybe we should take things slowerrrrah!”

“That is Anubis’s fourth kill on Heaven and Hell in a row,” Woodsmann announced, “Thanks to Set’s aggressive support and DOT the Knights are slowly but surly loosing the first of their Western Towers.”

“in the mean time, Akiri and Oya have had no issues trading blows,” stated Mercedes, “having sent each other back to base several times each now. Neither of them are giving up any ground as the Clashpoint remains unmoved dead center.”

Leonidas dodged another attack from Ares, shield bashed in the face of a flanking Jackal, and slashed his blade across Ares’s back. Then he turned to Snow’s cries of pain to watch Bellona break both Snow’s horns off one at a time as her Warcry wore off. Calling his spear back to his hand, he threw it at Snow sending her back to the Hearth with friendly fire before Bellona could finish removing her hood. Calling his spear back a second time, he readied to throw it at Ares for the root.

Slowly and painfully Snow regenerated under the warming glow of the Hearth until with a gasping heavy breath she was fully healed and energized. “He saved me, but…” she thought he did not care or even think her worthy of the hood she wore. She checked her mini map to find Leonidas had been pinned and was losing health.

“Oya, having dealt the most damage among the Gods over all,” Woodsmann announced, “has just been taken out by Hell and Heaven wastes no time jolting back to her Tower in the West Lane for the stun on Anubis and Set.”

“Meanwhile, Ares has countered Leonidas with his shield of light, rooting the Spartan by his own spear,” Mercedes announced. “Snow is making her way back to the Clashpoint, but it looks like Leonidas might lose his hood before she can reach him.”

Gripping to the edge of his seat, “you can do it! Go! Snow! Go!” Woodsmann shouted.

Pinned in place with not but a sliver of health remaining, Leonidas could do nothing but watch the light pierce through the vale of his hood as Bellona slowly began pulling it off. Then a brilliant flash of purple sent Ares to the Falls and stunned Bellona. Recovering slowly with half her health remaining Bellona went for Leonidas’s hood again determined to eliminate him from the round. Then Snow came up to her just in time to pull Leonidas’s hood back down over his face, and with a passionate kiss turn Bellona. “What is your bidding, Mistress?” her eyes surging with Heaven’s lightning, Bellona was now under Snow’s complete control.

Snow cleared her throat and fixed her hooded dress, which fully covered her body save for her wings, tail, horns, and face. Then she said to Bellona, “your Tower. It is in my way.” Without hesitation Bellona attacked her own Tower.

“West Tower is about to fall,” Snow could hear Zesrial in her ear piece. “Set is in respawn, but Anubis is charging up his ultimate. No! We need a counter! Damn it, Trace, where are you?”  

“Zesrial says no!” Snow shouted with authority and was immediately struck by a massive pillar of Heaven’s lightning.

“Yes!” Woodsmann put his hands in the air. “The flawless effing timing!”

“What a turn of events, folks,” Mercedes agreed. “Anubis resurrects Ares, Oya, and Set to his location and his ultimate chooses, at random, Trace, Akiri, and Snow to be eliminated. However, Snow pops her ultimate just in the nick of time to resurrect herself, Akiri, and Trace back to where they had just fallen. All her allies and Bellona, having been turned, were fully healed by Snow’s quick thinking play.”

“That adorable scaly Warpriest has just carried her entire team from what could have been a tragic loss of ground from all three fronts,” Woodsmann announced, “and has turned this event into a 6v5, not including Biomers of course. By the way, do we know when the Biomers will be let loose?”

“Sooner than later,” Mercedes replied. “If Trace happens to find one of them while wandering the Biomes.”

The audience cheering her name, Snow helped Leonidas to his feet, “first off, my name is not Succ or Succubus. It is Snow, can you not hear them chant it? Second, I understand the Multiverse holds you to your past, but you do not know mine, so do not judge me by it. Lastly don’t lose your hood, I’d hate to lose you.”

“The Tower is destroyed,” Bellona reported.

“My Lady,” Snow called Heaven over the comm as their army pushed past the destroyed Eastern Tower and began the seven mile push to the next, “are you still in need of assistance? Heaven? Zesrial, come in? No response.”

“I’ll go to West Lane,” Leonidas volunteered. “Keep Bellona alive and on our side. You can do this.”

Snow nodded, “be careful, brother.” she smiled at him as the two parted ways. “Bellona, I think we may be close enough to your next Tower for your ultimate to be effective.” With a mighty heave, Bellona swung Tzu up as he grew seven miles in length and then brought him down.