The fortress trembled as the first wave of the Abyss's forces crashed against its defenses. The once tranquil morning was now a chaotic cacophony of clashing steel, shouting soldiers, and the eerie whispers of dark magic. Elara stood at the battlements, her gaze fixed on the horizon where the enemy poured forth like a living tide.
The initial assault was fierce. Dark shapes moved with unnatural speed and precision, battering against the fortress walls. The defenders, their faces smeared with soot and sweat, fought valiantly. Arrows arched through the sky, finding their marks with deadly accuracy, while ballistae and catapults launched a barrage of fire and metal at the advancing foe.
Elara, positioned alongside Kael, Arian, and Morgana, observed the battlefield with a mix of grim determination and strategic acumen. The crystal, a dark beacon of hope and dread, pulsed rhythmically in the center of the keep, its energy casting flickering shadows across the defenders' faces.
