James' Final Fanfiction.

Tarnish the ground with blood and steel.


Thunder roars and shakes the ground. It sunders the fortifications of Stonemist Castle, the behemoth of a building that stands solid in the centre of the Eternal Battlegrounds. In my weary state, I pass it off as nothing more than a common storm, frequent to these dangerous parts of Tyria. Thunder bellows again, almost beckoning a response from the residents of Stonemist. I try to ignore it, shaking off the impending thought of a coming storm and desperately trying to return to my precious slumber; a luxury not common in this war zone. Once more does thunder barrage the walls, columns fell and rubble shattered down within the barracks. That was no thunder.
"We're under attack!" Chaos unfolds. Men and woman, Sylvari and Charr scramble for their weapons and armour, equipping what they can before running to the battlements.
"Who?" I pose a question to the Asura necromancer, donning her robe in haste.
"The Jade. Siege from the north. Trebuchets and catapults are keeping us down." The Jade again? We fought them back last week and now they're back for more. We have less numbers now though, Mirroz is leading his mean through the south east, dealing with the Dragon clan. I slide my daggers into their sheaths and tighten it around me.
"You're the elementalist, aren't you?" The small death-conjurer asks. I nod, letting the fires of Balthazar flow over me, readying myself for orders.
"I'm Ela. Captain from the Stormbluff coast. We need to take down the siege from Anzalis. Our chance to survive is -"
"Don't tell me the odds. I'm ready. When do we move?"
"Now."

We move quickly, pushing through the bottom of Stonemist Castle. Ela and I were quickly joined by a Sylvari flamethrower and a human rifleman. The Sylvari fumbles for a fuel cannister, before smashing it into the flamers loading rail.
"I'm Quentin," the rifleman shouts over the chaos of battle as we neared the battlements. "That's Galk, don't mind her. A bit...lightheaded."
"Probably the fumes." Ela jests. "Kazan, can you vault the battlements, we'll need a distraction to get out there."
"Aye Captain."

Commanding the essence of the old goddess Dwayna, her lightning aura floods over my body granting me with inhuman speed. I burst over the battlements, followed closely by an eager bunch of Charr warriors. The Jade do not relent.
"Cover me!" I bellow to the warriors near me. Drawing in the powers of Balthazar, conjuring a tsunami of fire to wash over those who wish to usurp our keep. My fists tense as my elemental attunement wanders from fire to earth, shattering the ground below. I rip shards of stone from the ground, impaling any Jade attacker that pulls near, painting the ground with ash and blood. But it fells like it is not enough. My vision fades and my energies leave me. I need...time. Our ballistae had been destroyed. Walls are falling and our men and women are falling off the fortifications. I fall to one knee, gasping for air. I spy ten men, draped in Jade sigils charging me down, singling me out from the onslaught.
"Grenth, give me something. Give me your ice, your cold fortitude. Protect me." I whisper to the old god of death, the frozen being that watched over me as a child. "Help me..." I fall backwards, fire dances above my head. A hard, leafy hand grips the back of my head.
"Drink this." The leafen says, placing a glowing vial near my lips.
"Get him up!" Someone screams, muffled by gunfire. I gulp down the electric elixir, feeling it pulse through my veins. My vision returns to see a bloodied behemoth of dead flesh and raw bone charge through my attackers, Ela's concoction.
"We've only got a brief window." Quentin snaps, gazing down the sight of his rifle. I turn to look at Stonemist Castle. The walls are in ruin, good men are strewn about the battlements. Another catapult projectile smashes into the Keep. We need to end this siege.

There is no stealth involved in an assault when you have a rifleman and a flamethrower in tow. Galk and Quentin's rocket-boots power them over the walls, inciting a glorious display of fire. I take Ela on my back and begin the sprint to the black walls of Anzalis. I take Ela and vanish into a flash of smoke, materializing within the forts walls. Jade soldiers fall from the walls as Galk air-blasts them, riddled with bullet holes from Quentins rifle, leaving the men in smoking ruin.
"Get to the Lord's holding, Ela." I command, letting her off my back as I notice two Quartermasters draw their weapons and ready their attack. I unsheathe my daggers, lightning surges through the two mystic blades.
My elemental energy is drained for the time being, daggers will have to do. The first quartermaster attacks, brandishing a great sword of enormous size, striking downward with almost excessive force. I side-step, moving forward quickly on his inside, ramming a blade into his leg and dragging my other dagger across his neck. Taken aback, the second quartermaster holds his sword defensively. The size of his weapon deceives him, I lash forward and impale his chest before he can move it to strike. He falls, blood soaking the ground.
Dashing up the walls, scaling the stairs, I am doing everything in my power to reach Ela. One of the Lord's retainers turns to me, brandishing a morning star of ice. He swings wildly, brazenly leaving his defenses open.  I burst forward with burning speed, wielding daggers in scorpionic flourish, embedding my twin blades into his and stabbing repetitively until he hits the ground. Pouncing forward, I notice the ribcage of the other retainer torn to shreds, scattered across the holding. Ela's flesh-fiends sundered across the ground, large incisions separating flesh from bone. The keep's lord stands dominantly over Ela, preparing his great-sword to cleave the small Asura. I dash forward, daggers in hand, rushing at the oblivious lord. But the glint in his eyes say otherwise. I throw up an arcane shield, tapping into my deep magical reserves and bringing them out through my skin. I fly across the lord's holding, daggers falling from my hands and the shield shatters as the great-sword sings through it. In fury I dematerialize into lightning, surging back towards the lord. My fists re-materialize in his chest armor, tearing it apart and leaving vicious burns in his body. He stumbles back, his eyes widen and pupils dilate and he tries to gain a steady grip on his weapon. I call a hammer of thunder to my hands, a deadly tool in an Elementalist's arsenal. I ram it into his chest. Once, searing flesh, breaking bones. Twice, melting through his being. Thrice. Red mist dilutes the air as fragments of his body go shooting off with tremendous force.
"We've won." Ela exhales, slowly getting up from the ground as she lets death energy refill her with unholy life. Galk and Quentin stand on the battlements of the keep, rifles and flamethrowers keeping a watchful eye on anything that may approach.
"For now, at least."


-Based on the actions of the Tarnished Coast WvW team (KiN)
ArenaNet. 2012. Guild Wars 2 [MMORPG]. NCsoft.