Wall of text again. Why do I keep doing this shit? It's basically just descriptions of the army though, so you can freely skim through to the end.
---
You find a quiet spot near the Gates and close your eyes, focusing on your form. It's become more draining for you to shift form now after the attack, even when only healing minor wounds. Still, it's not bad enough to weaken you in any way.
You steel yourself and begin. Instantly, veins of gold open up in your legs, making their way up like miniature snakes. You feel your legs beginning to shift and transform, flexible armour plating covering the withered flesh. The veins spread outwards, filling your entire body with familiar warmth. The armour soon follows, falling to cover your body with perfect precision. You consider a helmet, but decide against it. It would only serve to block your vision. The suit of armour is light and flexible, as well. You mostly rely on your speed anyhow.
Once ready, you walk back over to the Egyptian gods and wait. The assembled gods and goddesses seem tense, which is quite understandable. Osiris gives you a quick nod.
'We are ready.' Horus appears from behind you, and you turn to see his forces. The moment you see it, all your problems disappear.
Many thousands of Egyptian warriors and guardians stand covering even the vastness of the Fields, a great sea of blades, shields, scythes, claws, bows and almost every other Egyptian weapon you can think of. From the mass arise company standards, banners and flags and great pikes carried by armoured guardians. Highly-decorated, golden chariots and war-trained animals carry dead pharaohs, guarded by elite companies of bodyguards.
They begin chanting - for Horus, for their pharaohs and their own personal warcries - creating an incredible tempest of noise. You can only stare in surprise. You had no idea the Egyptians could summon such a force even when defeated. There are atleast nine thousand men assembled, if not more. Of course, if they went through the trouble of forming it, the Council attackers must have brought thousands of their own as well. You hope most have been pulled back to defend the Silver City.
Horus gives his signal, and the army surges up, heading towards the underworld exit like the waters of a broken dam. The gods quickly follow, and you keep close to Osiris to make sure you don't lose him in the crowd. It soon closes you inside it, warriors violently pushing their way forward. Anyone foolish enough to stop would be quickly trampled underneath, so you make sure to keep running.
You reach the exit, appearing in the palace once again. Ammut joins the army, racing along like some hunting dog. The army begins to break, Horus barking commands over the heads of the warriors. Company commanders rally their troops under the standards and flags, some blowing into ancient bone horns to get the attention of their men. Osiris continues with the main group straight forward, and you see no reason to leave his company. Sounds of battle begin to sound, though if the main group comes under attack, they are quickly silenced. It's advance is not stopped once.
You then hear even over the roar of battle a strangely familiar sound. You've heard it very recently...
Realization hits you a little too late, unfortunately. The palace roof collapses on all levels as the Soul Engines crash into it, the sheer kinetic force vaporizing thick layers of stone and brass. The rubble comes crashing down on the army's heads, crushing hundreds in just a few seconds. There is a distant, dull rumble, like thunder, just before the walls of the corridor explode inwards, sending giant blocks of stone rolling free through the army's ranks.
The dust cloud blocks your vision, and you're thankful your lungs don't actually function as many warriors go down coughing intensively. Then, before anyone can react, the lead Soul Engine lands and opens fire with the whirring cannon. Razor-sharp shards cut through the warriors like paper, and the chants of battle quickly turn into screaming.
Not everyone is so stunned as you, though. Horus roars in anger and charges towards with his elite warriors, descending upon the warmachine like a swarm of locusts. It bats a few aside and slams Horus straight on the side of his head with the blades, but the war-god simply ignores the blow.
The main group has stopped, which is not good. You were relying on the momentum of the Egyptian troops to push the Council's forces out of the palace before they could rally a defense. Still, with the men the Egyptians have at their disposal these Soul Engines should go down quickly enough. You just hope they don't have that many of them.
Author
Topic: Psychopompos (Read 22140 times)