Peace!
.
.
.
—
/CLANG!/
/SWISH!/
/CRACK!/
/CRUMBLE.../
War raged before the Fortress, and the soldiers did everything they could to protect its gates, now battered and broken but still strong enough to prevent an invasion.
The ground was scorched, burning with incandescent oils, flames rising to the skies, bloating the sun and darkening the clouds…
The smell of burnt flesh rose to the blue sea... It was sickening even to stand next to the walls.
Piles of corpses everywhere, tall enough to cover a mountain…
By this point, the Barbarians began using the bodies of their fallen brethren to climb higher, and the soldiers could do little to prevent them from doing so, as their means to defend themselves were already nearing their end.
And the Barbarians knew that, so they pressed on, their charge fueled by the rage of their fallen compatriots.