Black Sun

"Better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven."

Day 2, 9:45 PM

The zombie horde had spread from Gunnarsgrunn eastward and northward. Edgeville was destroyed, and the Monastery went dark. Varrock had mobilised its forces and assembled defenses to combat the undead threat. If Varrock's population was infected, the horde would be nearly unstoppable. Of course, King Roald expected a quick and easy victory, unlike in the 4th Age attack of Avarrocka, the zombies had no powerful leader. They were unorganized. And of course, he was wrong.

Wooden spears stretched from the stone walls to the Grand Exchange entrance on the west side. Behind them, wooden crates, boxes, barrels, and whatever the guards could assemble. And behind that, the very guards themselves. It was foolish to put so many defenses in one entrance. The guards had held off the swarms from the east, but zombies had found their way in from the north gate and through the sewer systems. Varrock was in chaos.

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"Your Majesties, we must flee." Aeonisig Raisipher said to King Roald. Next to him sat the Queen Ellamaria. "Good men are dying to keep the undead from infiltrating the palace as we speak."

"Fine. We will go." said King Roald.

Suddenly, a zombie's torso broke through the window. Ellamaria shrieked as Roald pulled her back and the advisor stepped in between the window and the royalty. The zombie screeched and clawed through the air, trying to get it's whole body inside. Before it could, Captain Rovin burst through the door and flying tackled the zombie. It's spine snapped as it's torso broke from the waist. The corpse half and the captain hit the wall, where Rovin proceeded to beat the zombie before slashing it's head off.

"We have to move." said Rovin, getting to his feet. Two more guards came into the room to help. After calming down the queen, they ran into the courtyard, where guards courageously fought off oncoming zombies. The Guardsmen managed to keep the zombies away from the king and queen enough for them to make it into the town square. A large carriage was waiting for them. The royalty and the advisor got into the carriage.

"But what of you?" asked Ellamaria. "I must stay here," answered Rovin, "these men will need some sort of leader. Sir, it's been an honor serving you."

"Likewise. Good luck to you." Roald said.

Raisipher nodded as the carriage rode off, towards the safety of Lumbridge.

When they rode out of sight, Rovin turned to the two guards.

"Mobilise a squad, cover the King's retreat." He told them. The guards nodded and jogged away.

Rovin ran back into the Palace courtyard to rally the survivors.

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A small child tripped on a fallen branch. He hit the ground an saw the zombies chasing him. The zombies that killed his family. His sister, clutching a teddy bear, tried to help him up, and the zombie came closer. The children started crying, unsure of what was going to happen.

The door to the rune shop burst open, and the zombies were sent back by a powerful gust of air. Aubury came out of his shop, calmed down the children, and teleported them to safety. The zombies got up as Aubury prepared to cast another spell. He launched a blast of fire, quickly incinerating the undead mob. After looking around to make sure there were no other threats, he teleported in a flash of purple light.

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Day 2, 11:23 PM

Captain Rovin successfully rallied the surviving Varrock Guards and Varrock Knights. A defensive perimeter was held around the Palace, which was being used to hold all the surviving civilians that required medical attention or were waiting evacuation. The evacuations were going slow, with only 3 wagons delivering civilians every 4 hours. Only 1 was expected to make it to Lumbridge.

Captain Rovin madly hacked and slashed, intent on driving the masses of zombies away. He was too focused on killing that he did not notice the zombie that came from behind, knocking him to the ground. Rovin lay on his back, looking up at the zombie. It's ugly, mutilated face was repulsive, chunks of skin and flesh were missing, the forehead was covered with blood, the skin was pale, and the right eye socket only had a bloody mess. Rovin knew the end was near, when a sword, dimly shining, though it was near midnight, drove through the zombie's sternum. It looked to the sky and screeched as Sir Prysin pulled Silverlight out of the corpse's chest and sliced the head clean off. The limp, lifeless body fell to the right. Sir Prysin extended his hand to Rovin, which the captain reluctantly took. The knight helped him to his feet. They raised their blades and stood back-to-back, fighting off oncoming undead.

A loud battle cry was heard. A zombie flew through the air and hit the outer walls of the Palace, causing small cracks and a loud snapping sound. The corpse slid to the ground with a thud. Vannaka leaped through a crumbling gap in the wall, smashing two zombies with his mere weight. He raised his Dragon Square Shield in one hand and lifted his Steel Two-Hander in the other. He slammed the shield into a zombie, pushing it to a wall, causing a significant crack. He fought independently, and the shield was as much of a weapon as the sword. Soon bodies of zombies littered the ground, smashed, limbs and heads cut off, or cut in halves or even thirds or quarters. When the last zombie in the courtyard fell, Vannaka walked to Rovin and Prysin, beads of sweat rolling across his face and chest.

"Good job," said Rovin, "but of course, I could've done better." The three men shared a laugh as there was a flash of purple light, and Aubury appeared, stepping towards them.

"Good evening gentlemen. How's things?" He inquired.

"Could be better, Layte." responded Prysin, "We should get prepared for midnight. That's when they'll be at their most powerful."

"Agreed." Vanakka said.

And so they went, preparing for the midnight to come. _________________________________________________________________________________________

1 hour earlier

The Royal Carriage rode through the streets of Varrock. Surprisingly, Aeonisig was a good rider. He steered the horses and dodged bodies, rubble, zombies, and survivors. They were also being escorted by a dozen Guardsmen. The escort was doing well, until a swarm of 30 or so undead ran through an alley and mobbed the escort. Many guards were killed immediately, and only 5 remained. They hopelessly yet bravely fought on, but it was certain they would meet a demise. Raisipher looked back as they slowly went out of sight.

"Take the reins." He handed the reins of the carriage to Roald, who looked surprised.

"What are you doing!?" Before he could get an answer, the advisor jumped out of the carriage and drew Runes out of his robes, launching a Water Bolt at the mob of zombies. He then ran closer and cast more spells.

The king looked back as Raisipher disappeared from sight, with only faint glows and flashes of spells remaining, which in turn also disappeared.

Chapter 3