The Elementalist Tales: Last Stand
Hey guys! Sorry for the delay again, but I wanted to make sure this one was as good as it can get. It is the unofficial finale, after all (Epilogue is technically the finale, but it could be argued that this is the finale and Epilogue is just my outtake). Hope you like it!
Leaving the link to the home page here if you need to catch up. DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ ALL OF THE TALES ALREADY! (Yes, all caps and bolded text was necessary.)
One warning: if you cry when reading tragedies, get some tissues. You might need them.
“So, is everyone here?”
Garen glanced around the room at the motley group of survivors. These elementalists and warriors had fought their way to the castle, in search of other living – and their queen. Now, they were the last chance of defeating the beasts.
First was the young villager who had once lost control of his power when he and Lux had paraded through his village. Brand had a far stronger grasp of his fire now, partly due to Lux’s guidance.
Then came the air-wielding duo, Riven and Yasuo. Both had made it far in the Trials with Lux – in fact, they had been among the final few standing before Fiora and Lux took down their last challengers – and despite their need to compete with each other, both were masters of their weapons.
The next person Garen’s gaze passed over was Fiora herself, standing across the room from a fuming Voli, the storm wielder whose incredible power easily could have earned him the throne if not for Fiora’s dishonorable tactics that day. Those two were so not getting along, and if any members of this ragtag band of survivors were going to start a fight, Garen would have bet his money on them.
After giving both Fiora and Voli a warning glare to remind them that now was the time to work together, Garen moved on to the next group. Ashe – with Anivia perched on her shoulder – and Tryndamere stood off to the side, solemn looks still on their faces. Ashe’s sister Sejuani had died when their village was overrun, and they were still grieving.
Garen silently wished that they would be able to find happiness again, and then took a moment to check on the last duo. Xayah and Rakan were in the corner, both so that they weren’t distracting anyone with their flirting, and so that no one started making objections over Xayah’s presence. Despite the fact that both had sworn up and down that Xayah could control her power and always was careful when using it, there was still a natural prejudice against elementalists with an affinity for darkness.
As Garen watched, Xayah covered her eyes at some terrible comment Rakan made, and Rakan used her momentary distraction to look over at Garen. The two men shared a conspiratory grin before Rakan turned back to Xayah.
Finally, Garen looked over his shoulder at Lux, who was sitting calmly on her throne. She probably wanted to pace or scream, he knew, but if she appeared defeated, the others would too, so she tried her best to stay strong.
After a moment, most of the group was paying attention to Garen, the exception being the lovers in the corner.
“That means you too, lovebirds!” Garen called, and the two jumped as if they’d been caught doing something bad. After a moment, they composed themselves and moved away from the wall so they were a bit closer to the rest of the group.
Satisfied that everyone was paying attention, Garen launched into his strategy.
“As far as we know, the beasts can use one element each, but only the four basic and physical elements – air, fire, water, and earth. Also, while they can use elemental power, they don’t appear to be very smart. My best guess is that they act on instinct, which is mostly ‘attack hostiles’ and ‘defend others’ – and the latter basically is a variation of the former. So, basically, when you see a beast, you’re going to have two choices – run or fight.”
Garen paused for a moment and then continued, “Since the beasts haven’t quite reached the castle yet, I was hoping we could use the elements to alter parts of the castle and surrounding areas to create traps for the beasts – pits, walls, nets, tripwires, and so on. That will slow them down, or, if we make the traps deadly enough, possibly even pick a few off so that we have less of them to fight.”
“And remember, you cannot fight against beasts that share your element. It’s pointless, and you’ll just wind up dead, which only helps the beasts. So, if you see a group that’s mostly composed of your element, go find a person with a different element to help you.”
Garen paused again before finishing, “And most importantly, do not under any circumstances try to fight off more beasts than you can handle alone. I’m going to try and put all of you into pairs so that scenario can be avoided, but there’s still a chance you will get separated at some point. In that case, stay calm and try and find anyone to stick with. It doesn’t matter if you don’t find your original group, all that matters is that no one is fighting alone. Do you all understand?”
Everyone voiced affirmatives or bobbed their heads, and Garen looked over at Lux again, silently asking if she wanted to say anything.
Lux stood, carefully brushed off her clothes, and then addressed the group.
“Thank you all for coming here. I know that you all came for different reasons, but you are all the reason why we have one last chance to turn this losing battle around. I will try to help wherever I can, but the most important thing is that you survive.”
Garen added, “If a beast gets past you, yell to warn the next line of defense. Don’t chase after any, just hold your position. We are the last stand of order against chaos, and we cannot let our defenses crumble.”
Everyone nodded, and with that, Garen started to pair up the fighters. Brand was immediately ordered to stay with Lux, despite his complaints, and Riven and Yasuo volunteered to be the final line before Garen and the queen.
Ashe and Tryndamere were sent together to scout out the incoming army of creatures – Anivia immediately took off once she was outside – and Xayah and Rakan volunteered to cover one of the two hallway branches that led to the throne room. The throne room was, after all, the best position to defend from, so the group was using it as their base.
Before Xayah and Rakan left the throne room, however, Fiora and Voli immediately started a commotion, since they were obviously going to be paired.
“Why are you forcing me to work with this backstabber?” Voli grumbled to Garen.
Fiora immediately countered with, “You’re calling me a backstabber when we have a darkness wielder in our midst?”
That comment caused Rakan to spin around and snap, “You crossed a line there. Xayah would never harm any of you, even though you deserve it!”
The room quickly descended into chaos, with heated threats being tossed haphazardly – Brand covered his ears at some of them – and a fight would have broken out if Lux hadn’t shouted, “Enough!”
Everyone immediately quieted. Lux gazed around the room, and no one could meet her stare.
“We have a task to do,” she said. “Now is not the time to let grudges and prejudges divide us. We hold the fate of our world in our hands. And now we must prove that we are worthy of saving it.”
With that, the pairs all slunk out of the room, and not even Fiora and Voli made a single complaint as everyone progressed to their battle stations.
The quiet before battle had fallen, and soon it would be replaced by the sounds of rage, grief, pain, and death.
Ashe gazed out over the walls surrounding the castle at the army amassing in the valley below. She knew that there was a good chance no one would make it out alive, but as long none of the beasts survived, their job would be done.
Anivia was still out scouting, so she leaned against the wall and looked over at Tryndamere, who had already summoned his spirit weapon. The massive broadsword seemed to almost float in the air – Tryndamere hadn’t touched it yet – and its owner stared off into the distance, flames flickering in his palm.
“Try to be careful,” she whispered.
“You know as well as I do that there’s no such thing as ‘careful’ in this battle,” he replied.
“But still …” she started, and then trailed off as he turned to face her.
“I know why you’re asking,” he said, locking eyes with her. “And I swear to you that I will try my best to survive. But I can’t guarantee it, and neither can you.”
Tryndamere strode over and pulled Ashe into an embrace. Both stood there, wrapped in each other’s arms, not wanting to move.
But then Anivia returned and told Ashe, they are coming.
The two slowly broke apart and settled into their battle stances, gazing over the walls to watch the beast army slowly approach.
As Ashe and Tryndamere prepared to fight, Fiora and Voli stood silently, waiting for the sounds of battle to reach them.
After contemplating it for several moments, Fiora turned to face Voli and said, “I apologize for my actions on the battlefield that day. I made poor choices in my crave for power, and backstabbing you was one of them.”
For a moment, she thought her companion would just ignore her, when he abruptly said, “You’re forgiven.”
Voli didn’t even turn his head to look at her, and his words were barely audible. But Fiora heard him anyway.
“Thank you,” she replied, before turning back to face the direction the battle would approach them from.
Xayah reached for her power, knowing that if she wanted to survive this, she was going to need to use it freely. She’d never really cared for her affinity, but at least she finally could put it to use.
Rakan stood by her side, trying to think of encouragement. But she guessed what his intentions were and said, “There’s no need. Either we live through this or we die. It’s that simple.”
“I hope we get the first option,” Rakan told her.
“Me too.”
As Xayah turned her attention back to her power, Rakan reached into his pocket, checking for possibly the hundredth time today that the small object he’d asked Garen and Lux for was still there.
Riven and Yasuo stood calmly in front of the doors to the throne room. They knew there was a good chance the battle would reach them, and they were ready for it.
“Ready for one last competition, sis?” Yasuo asked.
“You bet, loser,” Riven replied.
“Hey! I don’t lose! You do!”
“Yeah, right.”
“I know you want to fight, but you’re young, and you are helping by defending your queen,” Garen told Brand, who was unhappy with his job.
“I know that, and I’m honored, but why can’t I be out there? I’d be doing the exact same thing! And stop telling me I’m too young! I’ve learned from my mistakes, and I’m ready to help!”
Lux smiled at her brother and the young boy, but internally she was panicking. She wasn’t very confident in their survival, and, to be honest, she would rather have been outside fighting with the others. But her overprotective brother was insisting she stay safe, constantly reminding her that if she died, the royal powers would be lost. So she grudgingly agreed to sit out unless the elemental beasts reached them.
If that happened, she wanted to go down fighting.
The battle began quickly, but did not end anywhere near as fast. The beasts easily charged through the gates, but then lost a good number to the well-placed traps the groups had set up as they waited.
Ashe and Tryndamere were the first to fall, but they did not lose until they were truly surrounded. Even then, Tryndamere managed to tear through several more before losing his battle.
Ashe would have sobbed if she wasn’t in the middle of a battle when she saw Tryndamere fall. Instead, she allowed herself a few tears before climbing up onto the wall to give herself the height advantage over the beasts. She rained down arrows until a beast rammed the wall, shattering it and throwing her to the ground.
Despite her broken bones, Ashe managed to crawl over to Tryndamere’s body and whisper, “I love you,” before she finally collapsed.
As the beasts moved on, Anivia, who had flown off as the beasts approached to try and distract them – and to no avail – returned. The snow-white hawk stayed by Ashe’s body for a time, and then flew off in silence.
While Garen and Lux were distracted by the distant sounds of fighting, Brand snuck out of the throne room to find one of the other groups. But he took several wrong turns and found himself in the middle of a group of beasts.
Brand used his flames to the utmost efficiency, and if Lux had seen him, she would have been proud. He burned away several before he was finally trapped, and then used his last burst of power to create a massive explosion, killing off many more.
When the debris cleared, there was nothing left but the charred imprint of a body.
Fiora and Voli were next, and they managed to stave off the creatures for an incredibly long time. Voli conjured a massive lightning storm above their heads and tore through the ranks, and Fiora’s fire finished off those who survived her partner’s attack.
But after a time, the pair started to tire. And their exhaustion cost them – they started missing targets.
In the end, they fell side by side, trampled by the stampeding elemental beasts as they put up one last fight.
Xayah and Rakan held off their waves for almost as long. Xayah’s daggers of darkness, despite their small size, seriously wounded the beasts whenever they struck a vital spot. Rakan dashed through the beasts, blasting them with bursts of his own power while maintaining shields around both himself and his love.
But their undoing came when Rakan moved just out of range to shield Xayah. He realized his mistake and turned back to help her, but it was already too late.
Xayah, realizing Rakan’s shield was down, dodged the next incoming fireball, but didn’t see the attack directly behind it – a shard of rock that had been torn from the walls by an earth beast. It hit her squarely in the chest, barely missing her heart and lungs, but still dealing devastating damage.
“NO!” Rakan cried, and dashed towards her. But in his grief, he dropped his shield, and a gust of air threw him across the hallway. He landed hard, yet struggled to his feet, ignoring the pain raging through him, and made his way over to Xayah.
The beasts were advancing slowly, so Xayah, despite being impaled by a massive piece of stone, whispered, “Combine your element with mine. That should seal off the hallway and maybe even take out a few.”
“But what about you?” Rakan asked, tears streaking down his face as he realized she was dying.
“I’ll be fine. What’s more important is that we keep these beasts from getting past us,” she replied. “Now help me!”
The two threw all of their remaining power into one last attack that shredded through the oncoming beasts. The hallway started to collapse, sealing it off completely. Any other beasts that came through this hallway would be forced to turn around and go another way.
Rakan knelt beside Xayah, knowing that it was too late to save her. But she wasn’t gone yet. He still had a bit of time.
So, Rakan pulled out the beautiful silver ring Lux had given him as soon as he’d told her and her brother why he needed one, shifted so that he was on one knee, and asked, “Xayah? Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” she managed to choke out.
Rakan leaned down to kiss her, and the slid the ring carefully on her finger. It fit perfectly. Satisfied, he looked back at her face – and saw that her eyes had glazed over. She was gone.
“You weren’t supposed to die first,” he whispered, too spent to even reach up and wipe away the tears clouding his vision.
With his last shred of energy, Rakan took Xayah’s hand in his, and then collapsed beside her.
A few moments later, he was gone, too.
Garen had noticed that Brand was gone a while ago, but didn’t say anything until Lux realized it with a gasp of horror.
“There’s no saving him,” Garen said sadly before Lux could tell him to go find the boy. “He’s been gone too long.”
“Then go help the twins. I’ll be fine.”
Garen started to protest, but Lux silenced him with, “Either way, this is going to be close. The smallest difference could mean the difference between victory and loss at this point. So go, and give them all the help you can.”
Garen nodded silently, and then strode over to the doors and flung them open.
The warriors outside the door didn’t seem surprised that he was joining them. He settled into position beside them as they heard the beasts draw closer.
“No matter what happens, remember that we can survive this, and that we will survive this,” Yasuo said.
Garen nodded, but Riven didn’t answer. She was too distracted by trying to figure out the best way to say goodbye without ruining the two young men’s optimistic outlook.
Finally, she settled for, “No matter what happens, I love you, brother. And Garen – make sure that you make it through this so that you can take care of your sister.”
Both men nodded, and Yasuo replied, “Love you too, sis.”
And then, as the beasts drew closer, the three prepared to make their last stand, in the final battle for the survival of humanity.
The final battle lasted the longest. The three warriors held out for an incredibly long time, despite that fact that they only had one element between the three of them. But they had the advantage of normal combat training, which gave them an alternate way to take down the beasts.
Yasuo fell first, despite inflicting massive damage. He had kept the beasts from forming solid lines, sending gusts of air throughout their ranks. He even brought some down with his katana. But then an air beast charged for him.
Yasuo had no way to dodge the beast. He couldn’t harm it with his element, and he could only do so much with just the help of his blade. And as Yasuo resigned himself to the fact that this was the end for him, he summoned his element one last time, and then sent a powerful blast towards the elemental beasts, shattering their ranks once more before he was trampled by the beast.
“No! Yasuo!”
Riven merely stared at her brother’s broken body for a moment, and then collected herself and focused on the battle again.
“There is no other way,” she muttered as she merged her energy with her relic weapon once more.
And then she charged into the heart of the army, taking down several with each powerful swing of her sword.
When Riven finally was cornered by a group of air beasts, she slashed out at them with the same move she’d made the day she and Yasuo had first found the creatures. But this time, instead of just meaning it as a warning, she forced all of her power into it, and watched as the energy burst forth, slicing towards the beasts.
The attack didn’t kill them, but it left them weakened enough that Riven was able to survive a bit longer, distracting the beasts and giving Garen a chance to finish them off.
When she finally fell, only a fraction of the original army of elemental beasts remained. Garen almost felt hopeful, despite the fact that everyone but Lux and himself had fallen.
And one lone young man managed to hold off the beasts with just a broadsword and his training.
But just as Garen could see the end of the battle, he was thrown into the throne room by a particularly strong blow from an earth beast. He heard his sister scream his name, but ignored it.
Garen tried to stand, but before he could full regain his footing, a fireball slammed into his chest, severely scorching him. He barely managed to raise his sword to defend himself before a water beast dealt him a fatal blow.
And so the last of the warriors fell.
“GAREN!” Lux screamed. But it was no use.
Her brother was dead or dying, everyone else was unaccounted for – and likely in the same condition as Garen – and elemental beasts were swarming the throne room.
Lux knew she had once chance to defeat the beasts before she fell, too. So she gripped her staff tightly and summoned every last shred of her power.
Energy rippled through the throne room as Lux focused all of her power into her staff, and then forced it outwards all in one blast.
Everything went white for a moment, and then black.
And the rest is history.
If you haven't read Final Form yet (the story that the Tales are based off of, and which directly follows this tale chronologically), here's the link. Also, leaving the link to the main page here again.
If you ran out of tissues because of me, I'm sorry. I really am.
Stay tuned for Epilogue, and see you on the Rift!
