All of the armies were in place and they waited silently for their foe to come. The nations of Tellios had heard of these valiant armies and had called them the League of Hope, for whenever they prayed for them; they felt the power of believing pass through their souls. They knew that the League of Hope would ensure victory. Elena, Sarika, Nesilian, Tivarion and Wynne stayed hidden above the clouds with their army. Firoh and Malikinth waited on the ground to the west. No one spoke a word, even the dragons that some of Malikinth’s men rode on were silent. The huge laguz army was growing impatient, and to entertain themselves they play fought and pounced on each other, testing their claws and teeth. They all stopped when Cailehis gave a command-like roar. The man with the eye patch was above the armies, scouting for Xryx’s army. Once he spotted them he would fly down to his king and alert them so he may start the ancient Hymn of Hope that Lucerio had created long ago.
“Ah, when will they come?! I don’t want your wings to get worn out when we fight.” The man said to his dark blue dragon. The dragon gave a tired hurr.
“I know you want to go down, but we can’t! We need to scout for the armies and alert King Ashnero when Xryx’s army comes. I swear that Xryx guy, a Doppelganger or not, is a no good, twisted little –” But before he can swear about Xryx, he saw something coming from the south. Something huge. He suddenly heard the noise of distant jet engines. Xryx is coming. He’s advancing real close now. The man pulled the reins on his dragon and descended to the Faein army.
“My Lord! Xryx is coming! He has something more than men on his side.” The man breathed quickly. Ashnero looked up into the sky. He could clearly hear the roar of jet engines and the rumble of what sounded like tanks. Ashnero closed his eyes and sighed.
“Then it is time to fight,” He said. “And fight we shall.” Amidia turned around to face the army.
“My friends! Our enemy will be upon us soon. Let us sing our galdr: The Hymn of Hope!” She announced. Everyone stayed silent, waiting for it to begin. Every newborn child in Faein were to learn the Hymn that Lucerio had created. At age five, they would begin to take a class for singing and learn how to sing the Hymn of Hope. It was said that the Hymn of Hope was to give the singer a shield to protect themselves from an enemy. But will it stand strong against bullets of steel? The soldiers hoped so.
“Harmon do you want to start off?” Amidia asked the man with the eye patch. He gulped but nodded. When he was younger he wasn’t a good singer, but as he progressed he became better. But to sing in front of an army? Talk about total stage fright! And he knew his girlfriend was watching also. She rode on a green dragon that stood out well among the dark ones. She was the only female dragon knight in all of Faein.
“Okay, I will.” Harmon said. He cleared his throat and stared at the massive army.
“Proud and so glorious. Standing before of us, our swords will shine bright in the sky!” Harmon sang. Then the whole army joined in.

When united and we come to the land of the sun,
with the heart of a dragon we ride!
We are flying on wings in winter sky with fire burning deep inside.
We are warriors of endless time and forever and on . . .


“They’re singing it! Uncle Cailehis, don’t you hear it?” Sarim cried.
“Yes, I do hear it. My army, let’s go!” Cailehis commanded. Everyone turned into their animal forms and they bounded towards Xryx’s army. The Faein army began to march as they sang, and each soldier had a faint white glow surround their bodies.


On wings of steel an ancient flight. We see the powers that unite.
The gods will now send us a sign of battles once more!
Through the valley we ride. Full of glory we soar. Where the fights will be raging for now and for more. When united we come and divided they fall!
Tonight you will witness it all!


“Empress Sarika! That is the sign! Let us be off!” Zethius said. Sarika nodded and signaled Elena, Tivarion, Nesilian, and Wynne to strike. They dove beneath the clouds to engage in the battle. The Faein army repeated the first verse of the song.

A land unknown we come so far. We ride the night till morning star. When colors fade to black and white, your eyes come to sight!
With the vision of a great divide, you turn towards the other side.
You think you can run but you can’t hide.
The Dead cannot ride!


“King Firoh! The song has played! Let us ride into battle soar towards our enemies!” Malikinth shouted. Firoh nodded. Their army did a great battle cry and rode into battle.
“Oh, Marikai, you would have loved this day.” Malikinth whispered. The song continued. The army repeated the second verse but started at “Through the valley we ride.”


Over high seas and mountains, we fly to the heavens. On wings of a dragon tonight!


The army repeated the first verse again and the song ended. Now Xryx’s army was at striking distance. Knights riding on black dragons raised their axes, swords, and lances. The roar of jet engines was loud enough to make you deaf. And then, the armies clashed. Shouts and screams pierced the air, making it seem colder. Dark clouds formed above the fighting armies and it began to rain. Laguz soldiers bit and clawed and tackled U.S soldiers as laguz dragons engulfed the battlefield in flames. Amidia rode through the rain with her Valkyrie, slashing at the invading army with her sword. Ashnero dodged bullets and aimed for the incoming tanks. He slashed at the tank, but nothing happened.
Drat. He thought. Suddenly, a black dragon larger than the other black dragons swooped in and grabbed the tank with its feet. Its talons ripped through the sides, probably killing anyone that was inside. Ashnero identified the black dragon to be Dhagonsin. Dhagonsin took the tank from his feet and threw it towards the south. It landed and exploded with a loud boom! Kurneo grabbed a second tank and crushed it, using his large clawed feet as compressors. Tivarion swooped down and caught a soldier. The soldier screamed and tried to shoot Tivarion, but he dropped him when he got high enough for the fall to kill the soldier. Zethius rode on his red dragon and slashed his foes with his long silver sword. SU-37 Terminator planes roared overhead, shooting and firing missiles at the laguz and other armies. Red and white dragons fought the fighter planes. Missiles merged with fire, planes crashed down to the earth as the dragons clawed, bit, and ignited the planes. PAK-FA fighter planes came into the fight as the last of the SU-37 Terminator planes perished. Eva, Noen, and Gareveth were among the airborne dragons and they groaned. On the ground, Faein soldiers desperately tried to deplete the U.S army troop’s numbers, but their enemy seemed too great. Bombs exploded and sent dirt and gravel flying in a directions. The earth beneath the army’s feet seemed to turn scarlet as the soldiers bled and died. The once green grass was stained with blood, and dead bodies littered the earth. Malikinth rode into battle on his dragon, swooping down and slicing his foes and targets with his sword. Sethos was riding a dark red dragon. He stabbed his foes with his regular lance and swooped down multiple times. He was basically on a killing streak, laughing to himself as if he was having the time of his life. A soldier aimed his machine gun at Sethos’ dragon and fired. About twenty bullets pierced the dragon’s skin and Sethos’ dragon shrieked in pain and spiraled down to earth. It landed on a destroyed ballistician with a loud snap! and Sethos stumbled off his fallen mount. U.S soldiers pointed their guns at Sethos and Sethos was ready to fight. He charged towards one soldier, and the soldier pulled his trigger. The bullet wounded Sethos’ lower chest, but he still charged the soldier. Once he was close enough, he unsheathed his sword and beheaded the soldier that shot him. The other soldiers started to open fire, and Sethos yelled in agony as the bullets pierced through his armor. Malikinth looked down just in time to see Sethos collapse.
“Sethos!” Malikinth yelled. He rode down to Sethos and killed the soldiers that shot him. Sethos was breathing heavily, and scarlet blood leaked through his black armor. He gasped for air and Malikinth picked him up and placed him on the back of his saddle.
“Its okay, Sethos. You will be healed soon.” Malikinth promised. Sethos closed his eyes and began to breathe softly. Malikinth transported Sethos away from the firing soldiers and out of danger. Ashnero looked up and gasped. All of the other soldiers looked up and gasped also. The conflict stopped suddenly, and everyone was pointing at something in the sky.
It was the silver rift. The sign that Ashaedia would release her fury upon the damned.