The Gryphons and other fliers kept the snipers sufficiently distracted. With them having to focus on the fliers, they couldn\u2019t attack those who were banging at the gate. The whole gate was cracking under the pressure of battering rams, a Minotaur, and a Troll. The gate then broke and the army of Orbak\u2019s team and Gryphons then came flooding in! Courtyard after courtyard, they swarmed the fort. \u201cDEFENDERS!\u201d someone called. The Defender Towers opened to reveal large, hulking Trolls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAIM FOR THE EYES!\u201d shouted Malak to his team. One of the Defenders then swung his club at Malak. Malak blocked with his own club and the two weapons locked with each other\u2026somehow. Malak then got a good look at his opponent and goggled. The opposing Troll did the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Malak?!\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMogan?!\u201d replied Malak. \u201cMy brother?! What are YOU doing here?! I thought you were imprisoned after the Vorkath Monastic Hospital shut down!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGot out for good behavior!\u201d Mogan shoved Malak back. \u201cThanks to you and your Realmfleet friends, Dad publicly declared me the Talc of the family! My wife divorced me and took my boy! My life was RUINED thanks to you lot!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHey, YOU chose a boss that allowed for inhumane experiments on Chimeras!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey weren\u2019t REALLY alive!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey were life-forms like you and I! Thanks to the notes on your research, though, Vorkath\u2019s new Crossgene Hospital found quicker, more humane ways to eliminate diseases! You know, ways you were obligated to find!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou and I aren\u2019t even human, so we ain\u2019t bound to look for \u2018humane\u2019 methods!\u201d Malak growled at that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, we\u2019re not human, but they and us are practically the same when it comes to kindness, so we each need to follow one another\u2019s exam\u2026!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, shut UP!\u201d Mogan swung his club, but Malak rolled out of the way. \u201cAlways with the moralizing! Always with the \u2018love thy neighbor\u2019! I\u2019ve had enough of your mouth, Malak! So, now I\u2019m gonna split your skull open for everyone here to see!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou never even had any fighting training! I always said you were an optimist! Know what that is, Brother? It\u2019s about sizing up a situation that\u2019s bloody impossible and saying \u2018Yeah, all right! I\u2019ll have a go!\u2019 I\u2019m exactly the same way!\u201d The two brothers then dueled, their clubs trying to score a hit on the other\u2019s body, but each blow was blocked by the other club. At that point, Malak just grabbed Mogan\u2019s club arm, whirled him around so that his back was facing Malak, then bashed him on the head, not hard enough to kill him, just knock him out. Marshii dashed over to see if Malak was alright. \u201cI\u2019m fine, Doctor. It\u2019s my opponent that needs your skills the most.\u201d He then gestured to the unconscious Troll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Is that Mogan?!\u201d asked Marshii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYep, my idiot, amoral brother. Bashed him on the head. Hopefully, I knocked some sense into him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat or gave him a concussion!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCome on, it was a light tap on the head!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow is an unconscious\u2026?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFOCUS ON THE FIGHT, YOU GIBBERING OAFS!\u201d shouted Hanjar as he brought down another Defender, a Troll\/Incubus Blender<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t let up!\u201d called Orbak. \u201cWe still have a fight to win!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDaddy,\u201d called Malnar, \u201cwe got half the Defenders down, but the other two are giving us all kinds of grief! They\u2019re Centaur\/Troll Blenders!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, Ones!\u201d The two Defenders then charged at them and fired their crossbows. Because their wands were set into them, the weapons fired magic blasts, LARGE magic blasts. They were both women and very angry-looking. \u201c\u2026Razel and Dazel?!\u201d asked Orbak. \u201cYou two of all people dare to betray me?!\u201d The two women simply roared and fired. Orbak rolled out of the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy are their eyes white?\u201d asked Gorfanth. Orbak and Malnar then saw their eyes and their own went wide in realization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDomination!\u201d gasped Malnar. \u201cThey\u2019re not themselves!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCounter-domination should fix it. How good are your domination skills?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNever really hoped to use them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMe neither. Here we go!\u201d The two Emboramiis then leapt onto the two women and put their left hands to their targets\u2019 heads. Their eyes then glowed white, and they spoke with commanding voices laced with echoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYour service to the Overlord ends now!\u201d they commanded. Both their eyes and the eyes of the women then flashed before Orbak and Malnar jumped off Razel and Dazel. The two women shook their heads, then turned towards the central tower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBloody Overlord, dominating us like that!\u201d snarled Razel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, I\u2019ll have words with him!\u201d growled Dazel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGet in line, you two. I already called dibs on him,\u201d interjected Orbak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo it WAS a counter-domination that freed us,\u201d mused Razel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGotta say, risky business there, choosing the recruit option while someone did to us already,\u201d remarked Dazel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBelieve it or not, it was the safer option,\u201d replied Malnar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOkay, I\u2019m not up on all the tricks of the Emboramiis,\u201d interjected Malak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes, please enlighten us,\u201d said Hanjar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou two, go see if you can break down the Central Tower\u2019s door,\u201d Orbak ordered Razel and Dazel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWill do!\u201d obliged Razel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLeave it to us,\u201d assured Dazel. \u201cWe\u2019ll have that door down quick as!\u201d The two women then high-fived each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Razzle-dazzle Twins\u2019 Way!\u201d They then charged at the door while Malnar and Orbak explained the nuances of domination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe idea behind it,\u201d started Malnar, \u201cis to bend a person\u2019s mind to your will. The really good dominators can make it look like that their target\u2019s always wanted to serve the other. \u2026No one\u2019s been that good for years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUsually, those who at least know how to use the technique,\u201d continued Orbak, \u201cleave a victim with white eyes. No pupils or nothing. When dominating you have three choices. The first is submission, where you get the victim to obey you. The most effective way to end that is to dominate the person again and make them submissive to themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe second option is to continue fighting the victim, which results in someone\u2019s death,\u201d Malnar supplied, \u201cand the last\u2026is to shame them. This one comes at personal cost. You\u2019re paralyzed from the knees down forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Let us hope we don\u2019t need to shame the Overlord via domination,\u201d mused Hanjar. Just then, there was a splintering sound of wood breaking. Everyone turned to see the Central Tower\u2019s door broken and at Razel and Dazel\u2019s hooves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re ready!\u201d came Razel\u2019s report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd so are we!\u201d declared Orbak. \u201cInside!\u201d Everyone charged into the Central Tower.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Gryphons and other fliers kept the snipers sufficiently distracted. With them having to focus on the fliers, they couldn\u2019t attack those who were banging at the gate. The whole gate was cracking under the pressure of battering rams, a Minotaur, and a Troll. The gate then broke and the army of Orbak\u2019s team and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,237],"tags":[482],"class_list":["post-4114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-three-realms","category-the-three-realms-book-4-trials-of-light-and-dark","tag-fantasy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4114"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4115,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4114\/revisions\/4115"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}