#actual blacksmith nerd ray smith

[valiantly-onward]

The Serpentine War Ch. 7

Chapter 7: The Alliance

It was going so well until the giant snake showed up.

The Anacondrai were on them in an instant. Maya’s raised shield met an Anacondrai sword with a clash! Ray tried to summon his fire again, but it didn’t respond. Only his instincts saved him from getting skewered. The loss of his katana crept back in, cold and fearful.

Then a battle cry erupted from behind. Ray chanced a look over his shoulder. There they were at last, the village defenders. Red masks were pulled over their noses, reminiscent of the ninja of days long past. Despite their disorganization and haphazard collection of old swords and spears, they never slowed.

The villagers crashed into a wave of violet. Metal clanged. Anacondrai roared. Ray found himself trapped in the middle. He tried to find an opening in the chaos, but he couldn’t shoot fire without hurting one of his own.

In his desperation, he thought he might have cried, “Maya!” Whether in his mind or out loud, the crashing of the battle drowned it out.

Then world slowed. A single Anacondrai sword cleaved the air over Ray’s head. He raised a hand, uncertain if fire would follow.

But the sword never dropped. Instead, as if yanked by an invisible rope, it flew straight up and soared away. The snake it belonged to was pulled along behind it. A cluster of Serpentine rose into the air and dropped again in a jumble.

Ray stared. “What the…”

Something swooped overhead; Ray ducked instinctively. He snapped back up, ready to fight, but it was no snake, no trick of the Serpentine. It was a man in a golden helmet, hovering in the air.

Lei’s wild laugh escaped the ruckus. She stepped out of the shadows to shake her fist at the flying man. “Dojin, you cut it close!”

“And you - behind you!” the man called back.

Lei spun to face a blue Serpentine and disappeared into the battle.

The Anacondrai ranks were reforming from Dojin’s attack. Before the nearest could rise, Ray shoved forward and slammed his boot into the warrior’s snout. He swiped up the Anacondrai’s fallen sword.

Woah. Ray allowed himself a millisecond to admire the craftsmanship of the weapon, even if he had no idea what it was made of. Each serrated edge had been formed with individual precision, needle-sharp and not at all brittle.

Maya appeared at Ray’s side again - she’d lost the shield, but she seemed alright. Many of the villagers lined up behind the two of them. Ray swung the sword in a wide berth to fend off the approaching Anacondrai. They were not frightened. Before he had the chance to defend again, they rushed forward.

Above, Master Dojin dove in again. He skimmed the top of the Ancondrai, swerving between their swords. He clawed at their snaky heads, pulled some off the ground with his strange power, and basically wreaked havoc. Ray’s hope spiked. They might actually have a chance. Together, they could win this!

Stupid giant snake.

The ground began to tremble. At first, Ray thought it was Serpentine reinforcements. And in a way it was. But it was worse than Anacondrai.

It curled around from the side of the mountain, crushing a section of village wall. A giant snake. A real snake, not a Serpentine. Its mighty maw opened larger than Ray’s whole body. Purple scales, darker than the Anacondrai’s, swept through the snow and rubble.

It reared its head in an “S” behind the floating Dojin, who was busy surveying the battle.

“Dojin!” Lei’s voice cried from somewhere unseen.

The man spun just in time for the serpent’s giant fang to pierce his shoulder.

Dojin did not scream. When the snake released him, he simply dropped from the sky and landed in a heap at the base of the fountain. His helmet clanged against the stone.

Ray wanted to push through the Serpentine, but they were too thick, too strong. Like fighting a stone wall.

Thankfully, he caught sight of Lei appearing in the shadow of the mountain face. She locked eyes with him across the square and shouted, “To the outer wall!” Then she and Dojin vanished.

Ray glanced to the side, where Maya was. She shot him a quick look, a determined look, and pushed forward.

The battle raged. Ray’s fear was long since evaporated. It was all instinct now, promising him life but not particularly caring if it was wrong. And he was getting tired. His Elemental energy seemed nearly spent.

Amazingly, the giant serpent seemed to retreat, as if its work with the old Elemental Master was its only purpose. An effective purpose - Ray and Maya were the only Masters left fighting. As the snake slid back around the mountain, the Serpentine renewed their attack with force. Villagers fell under the crushing might of the huge Anacondrai.

Maya kept fighting. Her expression was a fierce, fierce thing when she was angry. But Ray was used to the feeling of losing. He knew this battle couldn’t be won.

It wasn’t really his decision to make, but he made it anyway. “Retreat!” he called to the villagers.

It seemed they’d been waiting for the word. The line broke, and the villagers scattered. The snakes raised a cacophony hiss of triumph.

Only Maya remained. Her sight of the fountain was cut off and that seemed to be interfering with her powers. Smaller and smaller balls of water emerged from her fingers.

“Maya!” Ray shouted. “Let’s go!”

She threw more water. It sputtered.

“Maya!”

She dropped her hands with a frustrated yell, then turned on her heel and sprinted after him.

The Serpentine gave chase. Ray kept Maya and the villagers moving, but he had to turn and fend off the black snakes. A blade sliced his upper arm and he barely felt it.

As the warriors dropped away from Ray’s dying fire, he saw someone approaching through their lines. A regal green Serpentine with curling black markings, bearing a golden staff. Its slitted eyes landed on Ray.

Was this the leader, then? The commander of this forsaken battle? Ray wanted so badly to dive through the warriors and set fire to the creature. But he could see his death too clearly in that scenario. It took all his willpower, but he convinced himself to wait.

And run.

They reached the outer wall. Ray took one last look at the smoking buildings, and that green snake with the staff. Even from far away, it leered at him. Smiled to show its fangs.

Ray smiled back, baring his own teeth in challenge. This wasn’t over.

He would not rest until they were free from these monsters.

~~~

“Hold still.” Maya jerked Ray’s shoulder back. “Pouting won’t make it better.”

“I’m not pouting.”

“‘He said, while pouting’.”

This caused Ray to scowl. But he was quiet as Maya finished bandaging his arm.

Flying on dragonback was actually smoother than expected, but if three was a crowd, four was certainly pushing it. Maya had to lean over Ray’s shoulder to get a good angle, which did terrible things to his pulse.

He called to Lei against the wind. “Where did that big snake come from?”

“I don’t know,” she replied. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” She shifted the injured Master of Gravity - for that’s what he was - against her dragon’s neck. He wasn’t dead, but he might still be, if they didn’t hurry.

Ray leaned to the side to avoid Lei’s flapping braids. Below, Ninjago was just sand and rocks. Ahead, the ridge of the Echo Canyons rose above the dunes. Lei’s dragon dipped, ever so slightly, until Ray could see their destination: a small valley between two stone walls, not quite a canyon but a tier above one.

People below scattered for Lei to land. Maya slid off, then Ray and Lei with the Master of Gravity.

Ray surveyed the “valley.” A few worn tents stood between them and the rock walls. Ray noted half a dozen people, if that, looking back at him. Many sets of eyes were drawn to the Anacondrai sword in his hand. He hadn’t realized he was still holding it.

A man hurried toward them, wearing an armored wrap and a full beard Ray would’ve killed for. The wind tousled the man’s black hair.

Lei saw him immediately. “Lorin!”

“Lei.” The man reached them. “I thought you were defending Jamanakai Village.”

“Were,” Lei corrected. “Not anymore. Lorin - Dojin is hurt.”

“I’ll take him.” The man scooped up the Master of Gravity like he weighed nothing - which he probably didn’t. His brow deepened as he turned to Ray and Maya. “Fire and Water, I take it?”

“Yes,” Ray said for both of them.

“I am Lorin, the Master of Earth.” He offered them his free hand. Pleased, Ray shook it, and Maya did the same.

“Lorin,” Lei interjected. “Where’s Wu?”

“Command tent.” He jerked his head toward one of the tents, slightly bigger than the others. “Go. I’ll come when I’ve taken care of our friend here.”

He jogged off with Dojin. Lei guided them toward the command tent. The other Masters followed - Ray assumed that’s who they were. A blonde woman in a long blue coat and boots. A short, mustached man with a fez and green vest. A pair of identical men wearing red full-body armor. What a varied, jumbled lot.

They ducked under the tent flap. Sure enough, there was Master Wu. Amazingly, his staff was away from his hands, leaning against the tent wall. He and an old man in blue robes leaned over a table of maps.

Wu looked up as they entered. “Master of Shadow. Ray, Maya - what are you doing here?”

“Jamanakai Village is lost,” Lei announced. She bowed her head. “I - I’m sorry.”

Wu’s gaze fell low, his eyes shadowed by the dim candlelight. “Dojin. I sent him-”

Lei nodded in confirmation. “He was injured, but he’ll be okay, with luck.”

“And the villagers?”

“Most of them escaped. Not all.”

No one spoke for a long moment.

Ray couldn’t stand the silence. He slammed the table with his palms. “So what? Jamanakai’s gone, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still stop the Serpentine. So what’s next? What do we do now?”

“Well said, Master of Fire,” replied the old man. He looked at Wu. “This does change things. We believed the Serpentine would abandon the effort to move through the Canyons if they could not obtain Jamanakai Village. Now that they have possession, we will likely be facing a war on two fronts. One will be here. The other will be their contingency route, which we have yet to find.”

“I see only one path.” Wu laid a finger on a map. “The direct way from the sands, south of the western Sea of Sand and the mountains. There is a pass here that will give them direct access to the majority of our lands. Ray, did you see Anacondrai?”

Ray started, surprised to be called on. “Yeah, we did.”

“Not many,” Lei added. “Only half a battalion. But that was enough.”

Wu nodded his agreement. He pointed at the brown smudge on the map that indicated the Echo Canyons. “Then of the half moving this way, few are Anacondrai. So the rest of the Anacondrai must be somewhere else. If we can stop them before they reach the pass, we may be able to push back.”

“Master Wu,” a voice rumbled from behind Ray. This was Lorin, who must’ve arrived while they’d been talking. His face was a mask of concern. “There is town in those hills, not far from the pass. My hometown. The Serpentine will have to move through it. We must defend it.”

“So we shall,” Wu promised. He straightened before the gathered Alliance. “It is decided. Five of us will remain here in the Canyons. The rest will go with Lorin and head off the Serpentine. Make haste, my friends.”

@greenygreenland