The army under the command of Captain Galen stood like statues along the border between the Black Forest and the Burien Lands. There were banners waving in the gentle breeze some thirty feet in the air. The average height of a soldier in Chief Angus’s army was thirteen feet. The wall of fully armored soldiers was an impressive sight to behold. The sun glinted and shimmered off of their helms, chest plates, and weapons. There was nothing more frightening than a giant with a sword the size of a man. As the minutes passed, the ground beneath the stoic soldiers began to shake slightly. Galen pushed through the lines to get a look at what was making the noise behind him. There appeared to be a dust storm kicking up behind them. He strained his eyes to get a better look and noticed that what he mistook for a storm were the combined armies of the other four tribes. They were not marching in their direction; they were running.
Within minutes the sea of giants, were right in front of him, standing still like the soldiers under his command. Not one of them looked at the captain, and no one said anything at all. Silence had come over this awe-inspiring gathering of these towering creatures. The captain was so consumed in his shock and disbelief that he had not noticed that the five chiefs were standing at the front of the combined armies. It looked as though they were about to make a speech.
“You are gathered here on this historic day to witness the birth of a unified giant nation. After serious discussion, I have been appointed to be the first king of the giants,” boomed King Angus. Cheers and shouts of approval rang through the clear sky.
“We have retained the division of the tribes for the purposes of organizing the army. I have been appointed to be the general of the army of Angus,” explained General Lang. More shouts of approval echoed through the air as he made this declaration.
“I am the commander of the warriors and will lead them into battle,” explained Commander Gerodi.
“And I am the commander of the artillery division,” piped up Commander Boaz.
“I have appointed Lord Marcello to be the head of my guard and to lead the siege warriors,” said the king with a booming voice. A collective chill went down the spines of everyone gathered around. Lord Marcello was the only giant who had the command of magic. He stepped into view at this introduction, gripping a staff that was the size of a small sapling.
“Look!” shouted Captain Galen as he pointed to the southern part of the Black Forest. Smoke began to fill the air, and flames shot so high into the air that they could see clearly that the forest had caught fire.
King Angus took this opportunity to explain in detail what had happened thus far, and he also explained what they had found out about what was going on in the forest. They knew that there was a large army of wicked elves preparing to attack in the north and an enormous army of orcs were attacking in the south. They did not know the reason for this evil alliance, but they knew that these two armies were heading for the capital city at the heart of the forest. As the king explained the battle plan, he was interrupted again by shouts from the ranks and everyone pointing in the direction of Tarisdell. Explosions could be heard and seen from their vantage point while dark clouds had gathered unexpectedly over the fair city. Fire was raining down from above as though it were rain. A deafening roar could be heard over the vast number of miles between the giant army and the city at the center of the woods.
“A dragon…here?” thought the king out loud incredulously.
As the collective eyes of the army looked at the fray taking place, a small black dot could be seen leaving the capital and making its way north. After a few more minutes, the dot disappeared. The soldiers began to mutter and talk to one another about the strange events they had just witnessed. General Lang called for quiet as he walked up to the king to discuss in whispered tones about the strange events. They were trying to figure out what course of action they could take when they were interrupted again by shouts from the troops. The black dot had reappeared in the sky and was heading north between Mount Quang and Konane.
“Let’s keep it together,” began General Lang before he was interrupted with sounds of a heated battle breaking out from the spot the dragon had disappeared from a short time ago.
“That’s it! We move out in five minutes!” boomed King Angus decisively. He had had enough of this mystery and did not wait another moment to act. “We must go to the aid of the elves so that we do not lose them like the Eldar of old.” Shouts of agreement filled the air as well as threats of terrible fates for those perpetrating this siege.
The army began their march into the forest after they had begun their war chants. The army of seventy-five thousand strong giants made their way into the dense woodlands, still chanting and spouting horrible threats and oaths. Meeting a giant was never a safe thing for anyone in the land of Tuwa, with the exception of a rock troll, but it was fatal to meet one enraged. The high elves did not know what they were in for when the two armies met, but they would learn firsthand what it is like to meet an army of angry giants.
King Angus stood at the very front of the rumbling army along with his general, his two commanders, and the deadly magician, Marcello. The king had dispatched a handful of soldiers to act as scouts, and when they returned after a few minutes to report that the wicked elves had engaged the good elves just outside the northern outer wall, he knew he had to act immediately.
“Commander Boaz!” barked General Lang. “Take your artillery unit to the south and attack from the west. Commander Gerodi! Take your warriors to the north, and get behind the vile attackers. We do not want anyone to escape.”
“Yes, sir!” snapped Commander Boaz and Gerodi in unison.
“Lord Marcello, we need you to enhance our armor and weapons with your magic. We would also like a protective shield if possible,” said the general reverently.
“I will make it so,” replied the wizard in a low, soothing voice.
“After you are done with those tasks, return here to direct the king’s guard. We do not want anyone to get near our position. Once you have returned, would you be so kind as to announce our arrival?” asked the general with a wry smile.
“It would be my pleasure,” replied Lord Marcello with a twinkle in his eye.
After a couple hours of positioning, the wizard had returned to his king’s guard for the final preparations. After everyone was in position, Lord Marcello raised his staff in the air and muttered some unintelligible words. A blue shield appeared slowly in front of the artillery units and the warriors. The siege warriors and king’s guard remained behind with Lord Marcello, King Angus, and General Lang. After a few minutes, the staff of Marcello lowered to the ground again as if the effort of creating the shields cost him dearly. He stood in the same spot for minutes while he appeared to be recovering from the extreme use of magic. His head snapped up abruptly and stared into the darkened skies overhead and raised his staff once more.
“And so it begins,” said King Angus in hushed tones.
Again the wizard muttered something under his breath, and an eerie blue light went up into the clouds. The hail of fire turned to a deluge of rain. Lightning ripped through the sky as if the storm was only beginning, and booms of thunder tore through the air so loudly that no one could hear anything at all. The rain put out the fires at the southern part of the city and the several fires in the forest north of Tarisdell. The high elves were bewildered by the change in the weather and the ear-splitting thunder. As they looked around to see what was causing these strange events, massive blue objects began hitting the ground. The chunks of ice were fifty feet in diameter and were hitting the ground with such velocity that the ground shook uncontrollably. After a few minutes of this, the ice stopped and the rain came down fiercer than before.