The demon laughed at their weakness and quickly picked up the golden great sword, then sprinted toward the seal, reveling in its victory over the Ikalreev mages. Its gaze shifted from the hindered magic wielders to those who now stood between it and the seal. The calculating creature saw two groups leave the large rock outcroppings to either side of its path. Two female elves departed from the first outcropping and ran in a wide arc around the beast, avoiding direct interaction with the demon. It also saw two male elves depart from the outcropping farther ahead off to its right, following a similar wide arcing path.
Neither of those groups concerned Maleuuenant, and the beast paid them no mind. Instead, it focused on a lone figure standing before it near the first rock formation. Its new opponent wore a green cloak and held unique twin blades in his hands. When the demon saw the twin swords in its new opponent’s hands, a moment of hesitation struck, and a tinge of fear trickled into its black heart. The evil creature knew those swords and, without a doubt, feared their true master. The beast eyed the individual holding the unique twin blades and gauged the standing warden, but the defender seemed mortal and an angelic aura was not radiating from him. The beast didn't recognize the wielder and wondered where the blades’ angelic owner had gone.
The demon raced toward the guardian with unrelenting determination and roared in rage. “Move aside. You cannot stop me!”
The young guardian threw up his swords in defense as the demon swung the massive golden great sword down on him. Instead of taking the full force of the mighty blow, the wise defender deflected the great sword and slipped from underneath its deadly descending blade. As Faolan slipped away, he countered with both blades and carved into the demon’s molten form.
Maleuuenant howled in pain as the guardian’s blades cleaved into its hot skin. One of the beast’s massive clawed hands reacted in rage and raked its adversary across his chest.
Faolan cried out in pain, and the hilts of his swords slipped from his grip as he fell away from the strike. The injured leader fell on his back and watched as the demon removed both of his unmelted swords from its body. The evil creature’s molten form refilled its open wounds and repaired its injuries in only a few seconds. The beast threw down the twin blades and raced onward toward the seal, leaving the recovering leader behind. The demon was surprised the encounter had been so effortless and was unsure where the blades’ rightful master had gone, though it was relieved the angel was not nearby because it did not wish to be the angel’s victim again.
An arrow pierced the demon’s chest, and it reacted in rage as its attention was drawn to the last two adversaries farther ahead. Maleuuenant looked at Faolan’s parents and raced toward them, knowing its victory was close. Soon it would release darkness on this forsaken world, and its purpose would be completed.
The evil being assessed the last two standing elven soldiers as arrow after arrow pierced its body. Auvelia released her ranged attack at great speed to maximize the piercing damage. Her husband prepared for the demon’s charge and held his great sword before him in defense.
Maleuuenant did not wish to waste its time on the remaining defenders and plowed ahead with full force toward the elves. The evil creature charged through Faolan’s parents with a barreling shoulder. Kellen’s sword cleaved into the demon; the beast willingly rammed into the sharp blade and forced their defense to break instantly.
The demon pushed Kellen aside with a massive arm and shoved the strong elf off his feet without much effort, discarding him and moving forward. A final arrow pierced the demon’s throat at point-blank range and shot clear through to the other side, though the wound immediately sealed up as molten skin filled the residual hole. The beast shoved Auvelia aside, easily dispatching her, and paid her no more attention as it left them behind.
The demon laughed at their weak attempt to stop it. “Thank you for clearing the way!”
Maleuuenant noticed the young guardian had recovered and was chasing after it. The beast was surprised by the young mortal’s resilience, despite its attack. The guardian held the twin swords firmly in his hands as he chased the demon, and the beast was jarred by the sight of them again. The creature then saw the Ikalreev mages not far behind the one with the twin blades and knew it had to hurry. Its gait lengthened and its speed increased as its powerful muscles propelled it forward with fearsome agility.
Faolan chased the demon with all the speed he could muster, wincing in pain from his superficial chest wound. Blood slowly seeped from the shallow claw marks, and they burned with every breath and step taken. He heaved in air as he raced in desperation to stop the evil creature from opening the seal.
The young guardian yelled to his parents as he passed them. “Come, we must hurry! It nears the seal!”
“Wait! Its strength is too great!” Auvelia called out in return.
“I will not falter! I will not fail!” Faolan roared.
He wanted to bring down the demon before it could open the seal. He did not want to see anyone else get hurt and knew if the seal opened, then the worst possibilities might come true. The Shadow Guardian would not accept his failure to protect his family and friends; he would not forsake the world to the darkness waiting to be released.
“Wait! Faolan!” Caedmon shouted from far behind him. The old guardian knew what was coming and what the prophecies foretold.
“Stop!” Kellen demanded but to no avail.
Faolan did not want to believe he had failed, not only himself but also all of Verdunmull. He wanted to be strong even though he was not an Ikalreev mage, and he would not forfeit the fight. He was a Shadow Guardian and truly believed within his heart that he could still stop the Initiate. He believed he could still save this world and the ones he loved.
His reserved nature had receded, and faith fortified his heart. His blind courage was driven by a repetitive voice in his mind reciting, I must save them. I must save her.
He was a Shadow Guardian of the forest elf kingdom, and his inner resolve was absolute.
A giant fireball flew past them all, one by one, and landed right beside the demon, causing an explosion and a subsequent shockwave. The beast stumbled but maintained its forward momentum and recovered after several wobbly steps.
The wolf guardian looked over his shoulder and spotted Ehreion preparing for more. The dwarf released a torrent of fireballs with high-arching trajectories like a catapult’s. The blazing orbs raced through the air and created a sense of awe in the others as they watched them descend around the demon far ahead. The explosive projectiles pounded the ground surrounding the demon, bursting into waves of flame and jarring shockwaves from all angles.
Maleuuenant wove through the volatile collisions and endured the successive shockwaves emitted by their detonations. It stumbled and was thrown off its feet in one direction and, before landing, thrown in another by a separate shockwave. Its molten skin protected it from the fiery blasts, but the forceful waves were unbearable as it was tossed around in the aerial distortions.
Caedmon attempted to stop Maleuuenant’s movement with vines while fireballs besieged a wide area around the Initiate. Waves of aggressive vines burst out of the ground and reached in desperation to grab the demon, though some were caught in Ehreion’s fire blasts and disintegrated. A few caught hold of the beast and held it firmly against the ash-covered landscape.
Ireli then knew how to assist as she reached into the air and willed the wind to act. She influenced the air currents to create a controlled vortex and caused it to swirl downward, directly above the demon’s immovable form. Ehreion’s fireballs succumbed to the violent vortex and swirled in its rotational sway. The blazing orbs lined up within the long wind tunnel and were directed straight down onto the beast in succession. The fireballs descended on Maleuuenant with pinpoint accuracy thanks to Ireli’s magic and blasted the demon over and over with potent explosions.
The wolf guardian’s vines disintegrated on initial impact, but that was all that was needed. The shockwaves fro
m each blast pressed the demon hard into the ground; the beast was unable to move and helpless against the onslaught.
After numerous explosive impacts, Ehreion moved in for a final blow and stopped firing his magic. The dwarf took a deep breath and sharpened his mind as he concentrated on the space before him. He did not pause to see if the demon was dead; he intended to stop it here and now.
The others raced toward the evil creature in an attempt to close the gap between them and gain better positioning on its obscured form.
Ehreion sparked the space before him, and an orb of fire sprang from the point of ignition. The fiery orb grew to a massive size, one that eclipsed the cliff face before him. The sky brightened from its intense glow, and the heat radiating off its surface could be felt on his allies’ backs as they ran forward.
The dwarf then released the massive, blazing orb, and it shot up into the sky high above. A piercing howl could be heard from its great speed as it raced up into the air and arced very high above. The orb halted in the sky as if it was a small sun, and Ireli used the wind currents to force the enormous fireball downward toward the demon.
Ireli roared as she used all her mental and magical might to thrust the blazing fireball down on the beast. The fireball howled through the air and hit Maleuuenant directly. The subsequent blast was so great that it knocked everyone off their feet and halted their advance. They rolled back, disoriented and stunned from the overwhelming shockwave.
Ash flew from the burned landscape and floated in the air as everyone tried to focus through the disorienting lack of sound and recovering eyesight. They slowly recollected themselves. Some rose to their feet while others only had the strength to find their knees. They peered forth through the ash particles floating in wonder and fear.
Maleuuenant dragged itself across the ground arduously, digging one clawed hand into the ground and pulling forward while the other hand held tightly to the angelic golden sword. The attacks had ripped its body apart, and significant pieces of its molten form were missing, but it was not dead. The beast crawled the few last feet to the seal as they all watched in terror.
Caedmon shouted in desperation, “No!”
Maleuuenant thrust the heavenly sword into the giant seal, and the green-glowing glyphs on the seal’s surface began emitting a dark mist. The door trembled, and the ground quaked. Small rock fragments rained down from the high cliffs. A vertical crack burst and ran down the sealed doorway as it split into two perfect halves. The fierce golden sword remained bound in half the seal as the ancient stone door parted. The First Seal was open, and a darkness was unveiled behind its ominous surface.
The trembling ceased, and stones stopped falling.
Maleuuenant laughed as its body began to reform, and its molten veins rebuilt its figure. It had won, and it reveled in its victory over the stunned, defeated mortals.
The First Seal was open, and revealed behind its doorway was a darkness so thick that no mortal could have seen through its surface. The dark realm’s entrance was opaque and ominous. Dark days were coming, and the Third Corrupted Temperean Event had begun.
To be continued . . .
“Cometh chaos. Peace be forgotten.”
The Ikalreev Prophecies 17:1–2
Appendix
Elven Soldier’s Emblem:
There are three parts to the elven emblem: a large stylized X, the forest elf king’s personal emblem, and a wolf’s head. Between the two top arms of the X sits the forest elf king’s emblem, which has the initials of the forest elves of Lesley arranged in a way so that all the letters are joined and create a unique symbol within a triangle. Between the two lower arms of the X sits the wolf’s head, which is a symbol for the wolf guardian.
Nathra Description:
Nathra are small and hunched forward at the hips. Their shoulders are the tallest point on their bodies, resting at about three feet high. A Nathra’s fur is orange with vertical black stripes. The creatures stand on two powerful hind legs, which produce ricochetal locomotion. They have long ratlike tails for counterbalancing, and their forelimbs hang freely before their chests. A Nathra’s head looks similar to a canine’s and has pointed ears and a muzzle full of sharp teeth. The little jumpers have two types of weaponry: a pair of upper canine teeth extending below the bottom of their lower jaws and claws extending from each of the three fingers on their hands. Nathra sharpen their claws on their long canines, which grow perpetually. They are rarely sighted and hunt in packs, using stealth to their advantage. The little beasts have proven to be a threat to the elven kingdom in the past and should not be taken lightly.
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