Hivebuzz Halloween prompt! The undead army of the Lich King

"Don't they know that danger is lurking all around?" Chirp asks, her body sprawled out on the puffy orange petals of a mum. She gazes up at the clouds, as afternoon carries the sun lower into the sky... there wasn't much time left, she thought bleakly.

"I'm telling you, that freckled girl in the blue house can see us, we have to-" Sparkle is cut off with a sharp interjection from Moonlight, "Yeah Sparkle, grand idea, let us draw the Liches attention straight to us!" she was far too practical for a fairy. Yet, she spoke true.

If the Lich became aware that they were onto his plan, they would lose valuable initiative. A face-to-face battle spelled demise for the tiny warriors, who's magic came from an entirely different place.

When great evil takes hold of a source of power, nature evens things out. Or at least, it used to...

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Bartleby had a vague inkling that he disliked his assigned name, that his decaying body hurt as he moved. He was aware that he was very tired, and would like to go back to being dead.

These annoying thoughts were swatted away like the literal flies that circled him, an urge deep within his being called him to serve his master. He sat in the shadows of the necropolis, one of many his master controlled. An intricate web of influence that festered the minds of men.

The neon sign high above him read "Wells Fargo National Bank" but the average person didn't know how to read when he was alive. He only noticed it while tracing the arc of day, in wait for his time. The nearby sunlight would burn his flesh, if he stepped into it.

As the shadows elongated amongst the stone giants that towered all around, an excitement built in Bartleby, but it didn't belong to his still heart. Miles away, the Lich was feeling good.



Isabelle tugged on the sleeve of her mother's sweater, "Mommy?" she tries to penetrate the hold the phone screen has on her favorite person. "Can we go to the park soon?" her voice wavers.

Regina sucks air into her lungs like she's just come up from under water, "I said later, honey" the softness of the way she says honey doesn't make the tone of the first words any kinder.

She had said later this morning, again after lunch, and now... the sun was getting lower in the sky. Isabelle's face brightened up, at least she knew she would go trick-or-treating tonight!

Her vibrant green eyes sparkled in anticipation of putting on her cookie monster onesie- she never got to wear it outside any other day.

A wrinkle crossed the bridge of her freckled nose, as she squinted towards the window. There it was again; she could've sworn there was some strange bird outside the window! Was it in a dress?

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Reginald remembered the last dragon he had ever set eyes on, at the end of his days as a king. It was easy to convince villages of undereducated peasants that creatures of magic were only there to harm them. To convince them to give up their intrinsic connection to magic for a handful of gold.

There is a common misconception about necromancy, death and life are intertwined. Not all summonings are corpses, some are ideas that create a vast rift in the human ability to be truly alive. It was this power that drove him to become a Lich.

Thousands of years after the strength of humans was lost to greed, he had slowly created an insatiable need in them. Nearly all of them were trapped in the prison he had built with centuries of hard work. Forty hours or more a week of labor, lawns that demanded to be mowed, social media to eat up any enjoyment of actual life. Reginald had been tipping the scales in his favor for an eon.

Children were the exception. Everyone is born into this world with a spark of magic that belongs only to them, it was up to the system to kill it before they reached adulthood. He didn't think much about it beyond that... Afterall, the magic of kids was a great aspect of humanity to manipulate into profit!



Flapping her wings with every ounce of gusto she could manage, Dew raced away from the wight. Close on her tail, it emanated a chill which crept up the walls of the office building, ice forming intricate designs on the beige wallpaper. She had barely escaped the basement, when it spotted her.

How long had she been trapped here with Rustle? Months, years? She no longer had any concept of the time spent in that oppressive dungeon, the dank air sapping her health along with her spirits.

With the appearance of the ghastly Spector, the pair had split. Dew egged the apparition on, shooting a measly spark in its direction, the attack fell limp between them. Thankfully, it was enough to draw it away from Rustle, who had taken their imprisonment here much worse than she.

^{Photo by Willgard on Pixabay}
Breaking out into the cool evening air, Dew flew up into the last lingering rays of sunlight. Searching around for Rustle, her heart sank. If he had escaped, he would've waited for her, unless he could not... a nagging feeling in her gut said that maybe he had not escaped. She glanced back at the necropolis with tears briming in her lavender eyes.

In the shadows behind the office windows, the glassy eyes of the dead peered out at her. She had to find help fast, in just a few hours there would be a massacre of apocalyptic proportions.

The motion that carried her away broke her heart, but she had no other choice. She was no help if she went back in, she knew that. Maybe just maybe though, she could do something if she found the right allies. Determination turned her pain to fuel, as she sped forward.



Bloom scrunched his nose up at Moonlight, "The elves, really?" he says, spitting onto the ground as if to cleanse his palette. "What do you suppose they will lend us?" he mocks her.

"We need the help of the trees Bloom" she replies, "I don't think you understand, it is all or nothing. Reginald has opened a gate." her bubblegum pink hair was tied into two buns above her ears, which added a much-needed relief to the stern expression on her face.

The words seem to knock the wind out of her cocky friend, whose posture wilts in the understanding of their predicament. After all this time, the Lich was really making his move...

Kneeling at her feet, Bloom looks up at Moonlight, somber for the first time in her recollection. "I understand why you've asked me of all people to do this... I will do my best for you. As I know you will do your best for us all." he looks down. "Please be careful out there." he whispers, before flying off to fulfill his duty. Chrip lands on a branch nearby, supportive in silence.

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Isabelle skipped along, her cookie monster onesie rustling in the motion. Her mom was staring at her phone as they walked, as usual. She didn't mind tonight, the house they just visited had given out full size candy bars! It was a great start to the best night of the year.

They reached the last house on the block, this street ended in a wide swath of grass. A few hundred yards out sat the high school, and beyond it the woods loomed ominously. Isabelle always got a creepy feeling from them.

"Trick or Treat!" Isabelle smiles widely at Mrs. Hess, who she knows from church. "Well, aren't you just sweet as pie dear!" Mrs. Hess coos as her heavily veined hands offer the bowl of candy, "Go on and take a nice big handful Izzy, I know cookie monsters need fuel" she winks.

"Thank you!" Isabelle says, but the elderly woman's face is scrunched up in focus. "Is that the big entertainment the city put together?" she asks, gesturing towards the distant tree line. Regina finally looks up at this, her eyes widening in horror.

Isabelle spots it right away too, those are NOT costumes. "Mom?" her voice shakes, "What do we do?" she asks, gripping her mother's hand tightly as the forms amble slowly from the shadows.



"Sparkle is right, do you know where she went?" Moonlight looks to Chirp, who shakes her head looking downcast, as she swings her legs from the edge of a branch..

"She left to try to protect the children, many of the others went with her." Chirp tilts her head as a question forms behind her orange eyes. "Are you ready to approach Isabelle?" she asks.

With a nod Moonlight confirms, pausing to stare out at the gathering mass of the undead. The corpses ranged in extent of deterioration, some barely had flesh left on their bones. They emerged from the trees, headed straight for the center of town. "I need you to do it, Chirp."

"It is time I joined Bloom in the woods, we will not win this fight unless the trees agree to help close the gate..." her expression is grim, "It is up to you to handle the ones that have already passed through. Power be with you." she grips Chirp in a brief hug, squeezing her tightly.

Then she is off, flying straight towards the army Reginald has amassed. That is when Chirp notices the dread knights, their red eyes glowing from atop ebony warhorses.

^{Photo by Willgard on Pixabay}
Isabelle cups the bird who is not a bird in her hands, both her mother and Mrs. Hess seem oblivious to the conversation they share in hurried breaths. Nodding, Isabelle runs off, it is several minutes before Regina notices, and several more before she begins to look for her.

On the next block over, Isabelle starts to recruit kids as she passes them on the street. Chirp flies in and out of the crowd, encouraging the children. "Keep going, find as many friends as you can!"

As they turn to the next avenue, a massive crowd greets them- it's Sparkle, and she has made some allies as well! By her side stands Dew, whom Chirp hasn't set eyes on in years. They hug each other tightly for the briefest instant, knowing they cannot spare time to catch up now.

With a lump in her throat, Isabelle speaks up, capturing the attention of the children that stand by her side. Goblins, witches, pirates, and superheroes united in their common gift- magic. "Everyone, what we have to do next is going to be hard... but if we do not, something way more terrible will happen." she looks to chirp, "Our fairy friends say we have a chance!"



Bravely, the children marched towards the horrific beings that flooded out from the woods, when something amazing happened. From within the trees came a massive burst of light, frying up dozens of them with a loud pop! The dread knights seethed with anger, screetching as they rode off towards the direction the burst had come from. Still, zombies approached.

Isabelle looked to her right, an older boy who was maybe nine held his foam sword high above his head. "I AM a warrior!" he roars, and suddenly his sword gleams in the moon light. Armor materializes along his torso. Isabelle watches a fairy explode as this happens in shock!

"Chirp! Why did that happen, is it the undead casting spells?" she asks with agony in her voice. Chirp smiles sadly and looks off towards a girl who is dressed as wonder woman.

"Our lives won't matter if you don't win this fight Isabelle. Our deaths will be worth it, if only you remember the magic you hold." she grins widely, before flying off to explode over the head of the young girl, who glows with newfound strength.

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As the rotten flesh of the undead army meets the newfound weapons of the children, more and more fairies arrive to bless another with their magic.

Beyond, bursts of light flickered in the woods, the roar of their battle combining with the one at the forest's edge. A wight is sucked into the lamp of a freed genie girl. A skeleton smashed to bits in the invisible rope of young wonder woman, who's crown gleams in the din of battle.

Across the globe, this battle was mirrored in cities and small hamlets. Ancient creatures who were forgotten by time due to the insignificant weight of their magic, suddenly unified to make every bit count. Magic was gifted to humans once more.

As the undead shrunk in defeat, Reginald screamed in fury. His lack of faith in the power of silly creatures like fairies, elves, and children now became his demise. He watches from his stone fortress, jazz ringing out in the swanky penthouse. Next time, he would not make the same mistakes. Time is endless, and his place in it would come again.

Happy Halloween!
This is my response to this prompt from hivebuzz, which earns you a nifty Halloween badge!