Miracula Luxia C3, P3- "Blackened Hopes"

"Blackened Hopes"  is the third Part of "Dreams, Hopes, Vices and Virtues"- the third Chapter of "Miracula Luxia". It was released on 09.09.2019
== Plot ==
Jared and his father, Aleks help the soldiers of Fort Duvno attempt to repulse the attack of the mysterious hostiles. However, something completely turns the tides of the battle and leaves the survivors face a certain grim fate.
Will Jared and Aleks survive the battle?
== Story ==
A few hours passed after Jared and his father went to bed.
Jared could not sleep. In his dreams, he was seeing horrible things, nightmares that could scare even the most hardened survivor.
Fire. Flying arrows. Dead people.
And... the corpse of a loved one.
He looked at them and saw... someone he really loved.
He woke up, barely able to breathe from fear and concern.
It was now morning.
His father was already awake.
"Son, the hostiles are attacking!"- He exclaimed.
Jared looked ahead. He gasped.
There were people on the other side of the walls using powerful machinery to attack the Fort while the desperate soldiers were trying to shoot them with simple Bows.
Jared grabbed his weapon- A Bow and tried to help his allies.
He started shooting at the hostiles, but realized that he needed something to take them by surprise.
"They need our Spells."- Jared's father noted.
Suddenly, the young hero got a great idea in his mind, thanks to his father.
"Spells... Spells... That's it!"- He said to himself.
He looked at his bow and charged up some Fire magic.
Then, he turned to his father.
"Some fire could overload their machinery and explode it. Tell the soldiers to dip their arrows in the Fort's flames!"
He nodded and went to tell them while Jared set the tip of his arrow on fire.
Then, he aimed at a nearby rogue with a machine and aimed his bow at it. And, he fired an arrow...
The arrow landed perfectly on the machine.
The man looked at the seemingly futile attempt of Jared to ounterattack them, unaware of what would happen in a while. He and some nearby rogues laughed.
Suddenly, the machine started to emit a hissing sound.
The men paniked. They didn't know what to do.
And...
*KABOOM!*
The machine exploded, killing the rogue that was using it, along with 9 more that were nearby.
Jared was surprised. Somehow, the machine's blast radius after the explosion was very high, something that also came with a big pain for the Fort.
After the explosion, a part of the wall was destroyed as well, giving the rogues a new way in.
"Defend that part!"- He told the soldiers near him, pointing at the destroyed wall while trying to explode more machines.
"I guess we'll patch them up later."- Commander Jones sighed.
"Yeah. Hopefully, if we survive."- Aleks added.
The fight took about half an hour. The defenders of Fort Duvno fought bravely against the rogue invaders that were trying to kill them and destroy the fort, using flaming arrows to take out their complicated machinery.
Suffering many casualties both in soldiers and broken walls, the living soldiers' morale did not fade, even at the sight of their dead comrades. They braved on, knowing that if the hostiles managed to get through the wreckage, it was over for them.
Despite all of their losses, the Fort Duvno defenders emerged victorious with barely a few of them remaining alive, those lucky few being: Jared, his father, the Commander and 8 other defenders.
Jared looked at what the battle had caused.
Fort Duvno was almost completely destroyed, leaving barely a few pieces of walls still standing.
"We fought well, my fellow comrades, but... Fort Duvno was lost. We tried our best, but, in the end, we couldn't defend it from those rogues."- Said the Commander, saddened by the losses.
Jared teared up.
"I-It's my fault. I promised you protection, safety and what I did was only bring you destruction, ruin and... death. Nothing else."
He began crying with his father trying to comfort him.
Suddenly, Commander Jones showed a real sign of emotion. Until now, he was trying to cooperate with the types of emotion in his squad, trying to echo their sentiments as best as he could (Even if he had a very serious and unbreakable personality at all times), but now... it was different.
He approached Jared and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Jared, my boy, look at me."- He said.
The young hero looked up, tears still streaming from his eyes.
"Don't worry about what happened. It was bound to happen. If it wasn't now, it would have happened in another fight. We were expecting complete demise, until you and your father arrived."
"You saved us from that certain demise. Yes, you're correct, you didn't save all of us, but you did save some of us, making the attempt of those hostiles to completely destroy each and every one of us a failure."
"Now rise up. A hero shouldn't cry and wail because of their past mistakes, they should stand up and confidence to inspire the others around them."
Inspired by Commander Jones's words, Jared stood up, knowing that he saved some human lives today- something that is very heroic.
"And, you should also smile, because you are now the Hero of our little fort."
Jared smiled. He knew that even if he wasn't given this honor, their happiness was still enough.
But, he couldn't refuse. Being the Hero of a place means that the person did something very important for the said place and the people there were all noting that heroism.
Thus, noting the person as their Hero.
"I... thank you, Sir. It is an honor for me to be your Hero. I will try protecting the other Forts and Towns in Avernum as well... as best as I can."
Commander Jones smiled.
"I would never doubt that! And, I'm sure, one day you'll be the Hero of Avernum itself, the whole holy land that we live in."
"Son, I'm so proud of you. Not only did you save a lot of people today, you also became the Hero of another settlement."- Aleks, Jared's father said and hugged him.
"You also did a lot, Dad. We saved all those people, together."
His father nodded, tears of happiness streaming down from his eyes.
"Now... I hate to ask, but what are we going to do?"- The Commander wondered.
Jared looked at him.
Then, he thought about the current situation.
Those desperate soldiers were now homeless. Their Fort was destroyed and they couldn't stay in its ruins without risking constant attacks from bandits and other such threats.
The rogues might also come back in the future and kill them all.
Suddenly, Jared came up with an idea.
"Maybe you can stay with us at Formello? I know, it is a little far away, but there you can have a home and protection from those villains."
Commander Jones nodded.
"Yes. I know it would be rude to just barge in there and ask for shelter, but right now, after our Fort was destroyed, we're forced to do so. Let's go."
They started packing their things from the Barracks and stores.
Soon, they were ready.
"Lead on, Hero of Fort Duvno!"- Commander Johnson said to Jared, smiling.
They started walking. Surprisingly, the adventure took less than an hour and was almost uneventful (Except for a few attacks from some stray Goblins, trying to kill them, but nothing more than that).
After the relatively short and uneventful journey, they approached Formello.
The soldiers looked at them, having recently destroyed a group of Orcs. One of them recognized Jared and called for someone.
Moments later, Akari looked up and saw her dear friend on the other side of the walls with his father, the Commander of Fort Duvno and eight more soldiers.
"Jared, you're back! What happened?"- She asked the tired Jared.
He explained everything to her- how the hostiles attacked with strange machinery and destroyed most of Furt Duvno and how many soldiers died defending it.
He also told her about the people with him- the Commander and his remaining soldiers.
"So, you survived? That's so lucky. Come in! You all definitely need a rest after the literal Hell that you went through!"
She motioned for the soldiers to open the gate and they did so, happy that Jared was back, alive and well.
Once inside, Jared talked to the concerned Mayor Samuel and told him about everything.
"Welcome to our humble city, Commander! We are more than happy to let you and your soldiers stay with us. As for you, Jared, I'm proud of you. You managed to save a few of the soldiers of Fort Duvno and foil the plan of those hostiles. The machines were probably their strongest weapons to destroy settlements and you... made them go boom! That'll leave a scar, for sure."
"But... I'm sure that, after Fort Duvno's defeat, they will try attacking us. We need to defend against them and try to find out about them and where they're located."
"For now, my friend, you can rest. But soon, there may be no time to do so. So stay alert at all times, just in case."
"Yes, Sir! I will do my best! I will not let Formello be destroyed as well!"- Exclaimed Jared, ready to defend his new home."
He joined his new friends and father for a quick meal in the Inn.
"Quite a tough journey, eh? Glad you're okay."- The Innkeeper said to him.
"I'm not going down easily. I'm a hero and heroes don't give up. That... is written in our very being."- He responded excitedly.
The Innkeeper smiled. He has almost never seen Jared so happy, let alone excited.
Annie and her grandpa joined them with her hugging her friend and smiling from ear to ear, glad that he survived this ordeal as well.
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Meanwhile, mysterious figures were looking at a black crystal ball.
"It's time."- One of them said.
"For what?"- The other asked.
"It's time... to destroy Formello as well. Fort Duvno is gone, now it's those fools's turn."
"They will see the full extent of our power soon enough."- The third added.
"They though that a few lost machines could surprise us? We're almighty!"
"We're undefeatable!"
"We're ancient!"
The three people lifted their hoods, revealing the faces of three very old women.
The mysterious women laughed, having found a new challenger in the face of Jared Kaos.
The first old woman said:
"Be careful, Jared. Because we don't want you to die before meeting us. We want to see you in person, so we can show you what "true power" really means!" 
== Trivia ==
* First appearance of The Crones (Voices)
* Last appearance of Fort Duvno.
* This is the first Part that was released on a date which includes three identical numbers- 09.09.2019.