Dawn broke over the ley-line convergence point in shades of sickly green and bruised purple—colors that had no business belonging in a sunrise. Captain Alastair Reid crouched behind a twisted formation of crystalline rock, studying Seraphine's forces through his binoculars. The corrupted ley-lines beneath the earth pulsed visibly, creating patterns that resembled diseased veins spreading across the landscape.
"Well," he muttered to Williams, who was checking his weapon beside him, "I've seen worse odds."
Williams snorted. "Name one time."
"Kabul, 2019."
"We had air support in Kabul."
"Details," Reid replied with a grim smile. He turned to address the assembled forces of Task Force Valkyrie—a motley collection of human soldiers, elven archers, and druidic allies. Their faces were set with determination despite the overwhelming force arrayed against them. "Today we prevent Seraphine from awakening The Weaver and potentially ending two worlds. No pressure."
A few nervous chuckles rippled through the ranks. Reid's eyes lingered on each face, committing them to memory. How many would survive the coming battle? He thought of Gareth, who had sacrificed himself to buy them time during their escape from Seraphine's stronghold. Another name on the growing list of those lost to this interdimensional war.
"Not this time," he vowed silently. "No more needless sacrifices."
Dr. Eleanor Whitaker approached, the two fragments of Excalibur carefully wrapped in protective cloth but still pulsing with enough energy to make the air around her shimmer like a heat haze.
"The fragments are responding to the convergence point," she reported, her academic excitement barely contained despite the gravity of their situation. "They want to be used, Captain. I can feel them pulling toward the corrupted ley-lines, as if they're designed specifically to counter Seraphine's magic."
"Just make sure they counter her magic rather than amplifying it," Reid cautioned. "The last thing we need is to help her wake up The Weaver faster."
Maeve joined them, her face pale but composed. The ley-line markings on her skin pulsed in rhythm with the convergence point, creating an unsettling visual echo.
"Seraphine has nearly completed her preparations," she said quietly. "The ritual to awaken The Weaver requires precise alignment of corrupted energy. If we disrupt that alignment, even temporarily, it will set her back significantly."
"Then that's our primary objective," Reid decided. "Whitaker, you'll use Excalibur's fragments to target the main convergence point. Maeve, focus on countering the corrupted nature spirits—they're likely to be her first line of defense. Singh will coordinate medical support and evacuation of wounded."
Lance Corporal Singh nodded, her medical kit already prepared. "I've established three fallback positions with field medical stations. Each is marked with blue flares for easy identification during combat."
Lord Caedmon materialized beside them with that unnerving silence characteristic of Eternal Court sorcerers. His violet eyes surveyed the battlefield with the calculating precision of someone who had fought in countless wars across centuries.
"Seraphine has positioned her elite guard at these three points," he said, indicating locations on their crude map. "They will be her most formidable defense. I can neutralize the eastern contingent if your forces focus on the western and central positions."
Reid studied Caedmon carefully. The sorcerer had proven invaluable during their journey to the convergence point, his magic turning the tide in several skirmishes with Seraphine's scouts. Yet something in his manner—a certain calculated intensity when he looked at Excalibur's fragments—kept Reid's suspicions alive.
"Very well," Reid agreed cautiously. "But stay within visual contact of our forces. I don't want any... misunderstandings during the chaos of battle."
Caedmon's lips curved in what might have been amusement. "Your distrust is prudent, Captain. In your position, I would feel the same."
As final preparations were made, Reid found himself standing at the edge of their makeshift camp, gazing at the corrupted landscape that had once been a verdant valley. Williams joined him, offering a ration bar with a grimace.
"Last meal before battle," Williams said. "Traditionally supposed to be something special, but all we've got is processed cardboard with a hint of chocolate."
Reid accepted it with a nod of thanks. "Better than nothing."
"That should be Task Force Valkyrie's motto," Williams remarked. "'Better Than Nothing: Fighting Interdimensional Horrors Since 2025.'"
Despite everything, Reid found himself smiling. Williams had a gift for finding humor in the darkest situations—a quality that had kept them both sane through Afghanistan, Syria, and now this impossible war across dimensions.
"If we survive this," Reid said, "I'm recommending you for a promotion."
"God, please don't. More rank just means more paperwork, and I doubt the forms have a checkbox for 'fought corrupted nature spirits at a ley-line convergence.'"
The attack began at midday, when Seraphine's forces would be least expecting it. Task Force Valkyrie surged forward from three directions, using the crystalline formations as cover. Reid led the central thrust, his dwarven-forged rifle spitting enchanted rounds that disrupted the necromantic energy animating Seraphine's undead guards.
The battlefield erupted into chaos almost immediately. Corrupted nature spirits—once beautiful guardians of Aeltheria's wild places, now twisted into monstrous parodies of their former selves—rose from the earth to meet them. Their wooden bodies oozed with sickly green sap, and their once-gentle eyes burned with malevolent fire.
Maeve moved like a dancer through the combat, her hands weaving complex patterns that summoned uncorrupted ley-line energy to counter Seraphine's influence. Where she passed, nature spirits hesitated, momentarily freed from corruption before being dragged back under Seraphine's control.
"They're fighting her influence!" Maeve called to Reid as he provided covering fire. "If we can disrupt the convergence point, they might break free entirely!"
On the eastern flank, Caedmon was a blur of destructive energy, his magic tearing through Seraphine's elite guard with frightening efficiency. Reid watched him dispatch three undead knights with a single gesture, their armor collapsing empty to the ground as the necromantic energy animating them dissipated.
"He's certainly effective," Williams commented, reloading beside Reid.
"Almost too effective," Reid replied, his suspicions deepening. "Keep an eye on him. If he makes any move toward Whitaker or the fragments..."
"Say no more," Williams nodded, adjusting his position to maintain a clear line of sight to the sorcerer.
At the heart of the battlefield, Whitaker had reached a position overlooking the main convergence point—a swirling vortex of corrupted ley-line energy that pulsed with sickly green light. She unwrapped Excalibur's fragments, which immediately began to glow more intensely, responding to the proximity of corrupted energy.
"Ready when you are, Captain!" she called over the radio.
"Do it!" Reid ordered, providing covering fire as undead warriors surged toward her position.
Whitaker raised the fragments high, one in each hand, and began reciting an incantation in the ancient druidic language Maeve had taught her. The fragments pulsed with increasing intensity, their blue-white light creating a stark contrast to the sickly green corruption surrounding them.
A beam of pure energy erupted from the fragments, striking the heart of the convergence point. The effect was immediate and dramatic—the swirling vortex of corruption faltered, its rhythm disrupted as blue-white energy spread through it like antibodies attacking an infection.
Seraphine's scream of rage echoed across the battlefield, a sound of such primal fury that several soldiers instinctively ducked for cover. She appeared at the edge of the convergence point—a figure of terrible beauty in black armor adorned with thorns, her face partially concealed by a helm that resembled a crown of twisted branches.
"Insects!" she snarled, her voice carrying unnaturally across the chaos. "You understand nothing of what you interfere with!"
She raised her hands, and the corrupted ley-lines responded, surging upward to form tentacle-like appendages that lashed out at Valkyrie's forces. Reid barely dodged one that would have impaled him, rolling behind a crystalline formation as it shattered where he had stood moments before.
"Maintain positions!" he shouted into his radio. "Whitaker, keep disrupting the convergence! Everyone else, provide covering fire!"
Singh was moving efficiently through the battlefield, her medical training seamlessly transitioning to triage as she treated wounded soldiers and druids. Despite the chaos around her, her hands remained steady, applying field dressings and administering emergency treatment before directing the walking wounded toward the evacuation points she had established.
"Captain," she called over the radio, "we've got multiple casualties on the western flank. Seraphine's elite guard broke through our initial line."
"Williams, take a squad and reinforce the western position," Reid ordered. "I'll cover Whitaker."
As the battle raged on, Reid noticed something troubling. Caedmon had abandoned his assigned position and was working his way toward the center of the battlefield—toward Whitaker and the fragments of Excalibur. His expression was one of intense concentration, his eyes fixed on the artifacts with an unsettling hunger.
"Caedmon!" Reid called, fighting his way toward the sorcerer. "Return to your position! We're losing ground on the eastern flank!"
Caedmon either didn't hear or chose to ignore him, continuing his advance through the chaos with single-minded determination. Reid cursed under his breath, his suspicions crystallizing into certainty. The sorcerer had his own agenda—one that likely involved seizing Excalibur for The Eternal Court.
Before Reid could reach him, a massive corrupted nature spirit blocked his path—a towering entity that resembled a stag but with too many limbs and antlers that dripped with poisonous sap. It charged, forcing Reid to dive aside and losing precious seconds as Caedmon drew closer to Whitaker.
"Whitaker!" Reid shouted into his radio. "Caedmon is coming for the fragments! Get out of there!"
But Whitaker was too focused on maintaining the disruption of the convergence point to hear his warning. The fragments of Excalibur pulsed with increasing intensity in her hands, their energy creating a dome of blue-white light that pushed back against Seraphine's corruption.
Maeve, however, had noticed Caedmon's approach. She abandoned her position, racing toward Whitaker with desperate speed. "Betrayer!" she cried, her voice carrying across the battlefield. "Just like before!"
Caedmon turned toward her, his expression momentarily surprised before settling into cold calculation. "The Eternal Court requires Excalibur," he said simply. "Seraphine's defeat is merely a convenient step toward that goal."
He raised his hand, and a blast of energy erupted from his palm, striking Maeve squarely in the chest. She flew backward, landing in a crumpled heap near one of Singh's medical stations.
"Maeve!" Whitaker cried, her concentration breaking momentarily. The disruption field around the convergence point faltered, allowing Seraphine's corruption to surge back with renewed intensity.
Reid finally broke through the chaos, placing himself between Caedmon and Whitaker, his rifle raised. "That's far enough," he said, his voice deadly calm despite the rage building inside him. "I knew we couldn't trust you."
Caedmon's lips curved in a cold smile. "Trust is a luxury in war, Captain. Surely your experiences in Afghanistan taught you that much."
"How do you know about—" Reid began, but was cut off as the ground beneath them shuddered violently.
The convergence point was destabilizing, its energy fluctuating wildly as Seraphine fought to regain control against Whitaker's disruption. Fissures opened in the earth, venting strange, multicolored gases that smelled of ozone and decay.
"We need to retreat!" Singh called over the radio. "The entire area is becoming unstable!"
Reid made a split-second decision. "Fall back to position Delta! Whitaker, maintain disruption as long as possible while we withdraw!"
Whitaker nodded grimly, her face pale with exhaustion but her hands steady as she continued channeling Excalibur's energy into the convergence point. "I'll hold as long as I can. Get everyone else out!"
As Valkyrie forces began an orderly withdrawal, Reid noticed movement at the edge of the battlefield. Reinforcements were arriving—but not for them. Armored figures on horseback thundered across the plain, their armor gleaming with an unnatural luster despite the dim light. The Eternal Court had sent its own forces, and they were heading straight for Caedmon.
"Your backup has arrived," Reid said bitterly.
Caedmon inclined his head slightly. "Indeed. And now, Captain, you face a choice. Continue this futile battle against both Seraphine and The Eternal Court, or withdraw while you still can."
Reid's jaw tightened as he assessed their situation. Valkyrie had succeeded in disrupting Seraphine's ritual temporarily, but at a heavy cost. They were outnumbered, outflanked, and now faced a second enemy force. Continuing the fight would be suicide.
"Whitaker, time to go," he ordered, not taking his eyes off Caedmon. "We've done what we came to do."
Whitaker reluctantly lowered the fragments, carefully rewrapping them in protective cloth before joining Reid in retreat. The disruption field around the convergence point began to dissipate, but the damage had been done—Seraphine's ritual would need to be restarted from the beginning.
As Task Force Valkyrie withdrew from the battlefield, Reid cast one last look over his shoulder. Caedmon stood with the newly arrived Eternal Court forces, his expression triumphant as he watched them retreat. Beyond him, Seraphine worked frantically to stabilize the convergence point, her rage palpable even at a distance.
"This isn't over," Reid muttered, helping a wounded soldier toward Singh's medical station. "Not by a long shot."
The retreat was orderly but tense, with Valkyrie forces maintaining defensive positions to cover their withdrawal. Singh worked tirelessly, treating the wounded as they fell back, her hands moving with practiced efficiency despite her own exhaustion.
Maeve had recovered enough to walk, though she leaned heavily on an elven warrior for support. Her eyes burned with a mixture of pain and betrayal as she watched the Eternal Court forces gathering at the convergence point.
"I should have known," she said bitterly. "Caedmon betrayed the rebellion centuries ago. Why would he be any different now?"
"Because people can change," Reid replied, though the words sounded hollow even to his own ears. "Or at least, that's what I wanted to believe."
As they reached the relative safety of their fallback position, Reid took stock of their situation. They had succeeded in disrupting Seraphine's ritual, buying precious time before she could attempt to awaken The Weaver again. But they had also made a powerful new enemy in Caedmon and The Eternal Court, who clearly had their own designs on Excalibur.
The battle for balance had been fought to a temporary stalemate, but the war was far from over. And now, caught between Seraphine's corrupted forces and Caedmon's Eternal Court, Task Force Valkyrie would need to find new allies—and fast—if they hoped to prevent The Weaver's awakening.