Summoner of Nightmares

The eastern district of the ruined kingdom had become a sea of smoke.

Collapsed towers leaned against one another like dying giants. Fires burned through shattered homes while chunks of enchanted stone continued to fall from the sky as spells collided high above the battlefield.

Queen Rosanelle stood atop a platform of twisting black crystal.

Her long crimson cloak fluttered violently as magical winds circled her throne.

Thousands of nightmare creatures crowded beneath her.

Some resembled wolves stitched together from shadow.

Others crawled on too many limbs, their bodies dripping black ichor onto broken streets.

Behind them marched armored soldiers whose eyes glowed with the same sickly violet light.

Rosanelle smiled.

“My beautiful kingdom…”

Her smile widened.

“It finally looks perfect.”

One voice inside her whispered softly.

“They’re coming.”

Another laughed.

“Good.”

A third screamed.

“Kill them all!”

Rosanelle pressed both hands against her temples.

“So noisy…”

Then she laughed.

“I love it.”

⸻

Across the valley…

Prince Cassian Aurelius lowered the visor of his helmet.

The royal banner snapped proudly above his command post.

Rows upon rows of summoned soldiers stood ready.

Royal Paladins planted massive tower shields into the ground.

Spell Knights traced glowing runes through the air.

Hospitaliers moved quietly among the ranks, blessing weapons and treating the wounded before the battle had even begun.

Behind them, Griffin Riders circled overhead.

Cassian raised his sword.

“Today…”

His voice echoed across the formation.

“…we reclaim this kingdom.”

Thousands of armored fists struck breastplates.

A thunderous boom rolled across the battlefield.

⸻

Several hundred yards to the south…

Babe Charbacon crouched beside a rough map scratched into the dirt.

Around her stood officers of the Pig Legion.

Wilbur folded his enormous arms.

“The queen’s strongest troops are here…”

He pointed with the handle of his hammer.

“And here.”

Babe nodded.

“They’ll expect us to attack the center.”

She grinned.

“So we won’t.”

One scout smiled.

“The tunnels?”

Babe tapped the map.

“The old drainage system.”

Wilbur laughed.

“I knew there had to be a reason you kept making me memorize sewer maps.”

“They’re useful.”

“They’re disgusting.”

“They’re useful.”

Wilbur sighed.

“…They’re useful.”

⸻

The battle began with a deafening roar.

Rosanelle lifted both arms.

Black lightning erupted from the sky.

Entire buildings exploded into clouds of rubble.

Nightmare beasts surged forward.

Cassian answered immediately.

“Advance!”

The Royal Paladins marched as one.

Tower shields locked together.

The first wave of monsters crashed into the living wall.

The impact shook the earth.

Claws scraped enchanted steel.

Fangs snapped.

Dark blood splashed across polished armor.

The Paladins held.

Spell Knights stepped between the shield lines.

Dozens of glowing circles appeared around them.

“Release!”

Lances of blazing light shot across the battlefield.

Shadow creatures burst apart.

The air filled with ash and shrieks.

⸻

Rosanelle pointed toward the advancing army.

“Erase them.”

The crystal beneath her throne spread outward.

Jagged spikes erupted from the streets.

Entire platoons were forced apart.

The queen laughed as soldiers scrambled for cover.

One of her personalities applauded.

Another hummed a cheerful tune.

Another demanded she burn everything.

She obeyed all of them.

⸻

High overhead…

Griffin Riders dove.

Explosive crystal bombs fell into the rear ranks of the nightmare army.

Columns of fire climbed into the clouds.

The creatures scattered.

That was exactly what Cassian wanted.

He lowered his sword.

“Banner Champions!”

Massive enchanted standards were planted into the ground.

Golden light expanded across the battlefield.

Every allied soldier felt strength return to weary muscles.

Wounds closed.

Fear faded.

Morale surged.

The army charged again.

⸻

Far below the fighting…

Babe led nearly two hundred Pig Legion soldiers through ancient tunnels beneath the city.

The passages smelled of damp stone and forgotten history.

One soldier whispered.

“Are we lost?”

“No.”

“You sure?”

“…Mostly.”

Wilbur laughed quietly.

“I’ll remember you said that.”

The tunnel suddenly opened into a forgotten storage chamber beneath the palace.

Babe smiled.

“We’re here.”

⸻

Back above…

Rosanelle’s laughter echoed endlessly.

She summoned enormous spears of black crystal.

One after another they crashed into Cassian’s formation.

The prince blocked one strike with his enchanted blade.

The impact threw him backward several feet.

He slid across broken stone before regaining his footing.

His soldiers rushed to protect him.

Cassian stood.

“I’m fine.”

He pointed toward the queen.

“Keep moving!”

⸻

Without warning…

The palace floor exploded.

Pig Legion soldiers burst upward from hidden tunnels.

Nightmare creatures spun around in confusion.

Wilbur emerged first.

His war hammer crushed the legs from beneath a towering monster.

Babe rolled across the ground, twin daggers flashing.

Ropes shot through the air.

Weighted hooks wrapped around crystal pillars supporting Rosanelle’s platform.

Pig engineers immediately began attaching heavy chains.

Babe shouted,

“Now!”

Dozens of soldiers pulled together.

The supports snapped.

Rosanelle’s crystal throne tilted violently.

She stumbled for the first time during the battle.

“What?”

Another personality screamed.

“Impossible!”

The platform collapsed.

⸻

Cassian saw his chance.

“Forward!”

Royal Paladins smashed into the queen’s remaining guards.

Spell Knights unleashed coordinated barrages.

Griffin Riders forced flying horrors away from the battlefield.

Rosanelle unleashed wave after wave of destructive magic.

Buildings crumbled.

Streets split apart.

Entire blocks vanished beneath storms of black energy.

Still…

The allied forces continued advancing.

Slowly.

Relentlessly.

⸻

Wilbur reached the queen first.

His hammer swung with incredible force.

Rosanelle blocked with a crystal barrier.

The shield shattered.

She stumbled again.

Before she could recover…

Chains wrapped around both arms.

Pig Legion scouts had circled behind her.

More chains followed.

Each one engraved with Dreamseer sealing runes recovered from the resistance.

Rosanelle screamed.

Dark magic exploded outward.

Half the chains snapped instantly.

But twice as many replaced them.

Babe landed lightly on the queen’s shoulders.

“Got you.”

Rosanelle tried to throw her off.

Babe drove a locking pin into the final restraint.

Every chain ignited with silver light.

The queen froze.

Her magic collapsed.

The battlefield fell strangely quiet.

Rosanelle struggled desperately.

“You cannot cage a queen!”

Babe hopped backward with a grin.

“Maybe.”

She dusted off her gloves.

“But we can sure try.”

Cheers erupted across the battlefield.

The nightmare army began to scatter.

Without Rosanelle directing them, many creatures fled into the surrounding wilderness while others simply dissolved into drifting clouds of black mist.

Cassian approached the bound queen.

He looked around at the battered soldiers, the ruined streets, and the many lives lost reclaiming the city.

“This victory was costly,” he said quietly.

“But it is a victory.”

Rosanelle glared at every face surrounding her.

Her personalities argued among themselves in frantic whispers, but for the first time since the battle began, none of them had an answer.

The resistance had endured.

The prince’s army had stood firm.

And the Pig Legion—through patience, planning, and courage—had accomplished what no army alone could.

They had captured a queen.