The Empress Descends
Bratinus—forests within forests four times over—was no longer arranged in vast concentric circles of trees. There was an odd buzzing surrounding the area, and ancient trees toppled over with holes of rot that oozed green and yellow. The smell of nature and decay mingled in the air as the buzzing threatened to overwhelm the senses.
One of the great sentient trees rose up, her boughs in defense, as a large black-and-yellow insect crashed through her canopy. She howled in pain as she threw the insect back; one of its four wings was bent in two, fluttering slowly compared to the other three. The yellow spots on its back vibrated as a sludge shot out, hitting nearby trees. Great holes burned into them, and they fell like victims of a woodcutter's ax.
The yellow sludge spread through the forest like a rogue disease. Suddenly, a portal opened above and black magic flowed out, severing the sludge's path. Seraphis stepped out of the rift, his cream-and-honey scales shining lilac as natural magic flowed from him to halt the spread. Varric appeared a moment later, bringing down two of the insects with a vicious, crushing swipe of his tail.
He and Seraphis looked to the sky at the same time. A crack formed in the vast blue over the western part of Bratinus. It spread open, and they both felt Ardyn's presence before she even stepped out. But when Ardyn finally emerged into the vast blue sky, both men were shocked. In an instant, they registered her power—how her battle robes and hair moved on their own—and they realized they could not fully grasp the depth of her magic.
Varric shifted as a green-and-black insect lunged toward him. Seraphis moved quickly to his opposite side, but the huge bug fell to the ground in two halves before they could strike.
The crack in the sky closed behind Ardyn and Atina. They moved from the heavens to the top of the tree canopy in half a breath. With a flick of Ardyn's wrist, two insects shattered before her. Her battle robes rose, the barbs at the hems striking out like venomous cobras to kill two more. Finally, her purple hair moved in a slicing, whip-like motion, killing an insect that thought it was sneaking up on her.
'Come, big sister.'
Ardyn appeared next to Varric, and Atina landed beside Seraphis. Without a word, they began to slaughter the horde. Varric shifted to his human form, and he and Ardyn fought side-by-side. Their magics complemented each other perfectly: Varric sent out waves of black magic with silver streaking through it like lightning through dense clouds, and Ardyn's magic rode atop it all like sentinels protecting a host.
As Varric destroyed the insects, Ardyn offered backup and began to heal the sentient trees. It was a wave of destruction embraced by renewal. Her battle robes suddenly flared, protecting their backs as a different type of insect shot spiny growths at them. The spines fell harmlessly to the forest floor, and the robes lashed out at the attacker.
Ardyn's vine battle staff formed in her hand. Vines shot out in all directions, bringing down flying insects and those hiding in the brush alike. Darkness formed in Varric's hand, rose above them, and then shot down as hundreds of lethal arrows.
There was a stutter in the battle as the insects began to realize they were outmatched. They began to retreat.
"None of them are to live!"
Varric's voice rolled over the battlefield like a divine command, and the Serpent Clan rose to answer with a thunderous charge. He and Ardyn rose into the air as one to meet the three commanding insects. One was yellow and black, another a neon green—both mountainous beetles—and the final was a horrific cross between a porcupine and a wasp.
The green beetle tried to burrow into the forest floor to escape. Ardyn's vine battle staff fell upon it, wrapping it in layers of crushing vines, then flipping it out of the forest entirely. It crashed hard upon the ground, its chitinous shell cracking on impact with a high-pitched, shrill call.
The call caused the retreating insects to turn back to their leader's aid. As they changed direction, Atina, Seraphis, and the Brati slaughtered them where they stood. Varric moved to the yellow beetle, his form changing to that of a giant serpent. He coiled around the mountainous insect, and his magic pulsed through the chitin. A horrific crack echoed through the trees as the exoskeleton shattered.
Varric's silvery-black scales sizzled as acidic blood flowed over them. Water rose and moved across the area, sweeping the toxic mess away. The third commander rushed through the air, making its escape, but Varric's massive body shot forward. Ardyn's eyes glowed an intense amethyst, and Varric's body was coated in a purple haze of vast power. He struck the wasp-creature—purple lightning shearing off its quills—and brought the beast down.
All grew quiet, except for the final skirmishes between smaller insects and the Serpent Clan. Ardyn and Varric stood side-by-side, power rippling off them in vast, angry waves. Ardyn looked to their right and frowned. Varric tracked her line of sight.
"What is it, my love?"
"Teacher is hurt."
Without another word, they moved as one and appeared next to Elsa in her beastkin form. Her body looked like a pincushion, filled with an insane amount of insect quills. Her breathing was labored, but her spirit was strong.
Ardyn moved forward to save the one who had given her so much