The Slayer

by Darren Hultberg Jr

“Max!” I yelled, summoning nevermore to parry another oncoming strike. Max’s blades slammed into my sword, but I held firm, blocking the attack before pressing forward to meet the man eye to eye. His eyes were so empty, so hollow, and yet…I swore I saw a glimmer of my friend in there.

  Maximus shoved me away and took another chop at me with his right blade. This attack came faster than the others, followed by a left-handed strike that nearly took off my head. He grunted as Vazryn’s red insignia began to glow on his chest plate. Damn it, his grip on him was tightening…. I had to do something!

  Relentless, Max lunged in for another blow but a quick activation of my shadowshift placed me behind the guardian. I gripped nevermore in both hands and slammed the flat of the blade into Max’s thick skull. If I couldn’t talk any sense into him, then perhaps I would have to knock it in to him instead!

  Maximus stumbled forward, then quickly righted himself and leapt back in my direction. I ducked under his next series of quick thrusts, then delivered a firm boot to his stomach to create space. As the man steadied himself I delivered another crippling blow to his head with the flat side of my sword.

  The attack staggered him, so I repeated again, and then a third time! A small portion of his health bar faded, but more importantly, the man stood wide eyed and completely dazed from my series of strikes…. Had I broken through?

  “Max?” I said, unable to hide the encouragement in my voice. He stared back at me, unmoving, grafted blades at his sides. It was working!

  Vazryn and his cinderguard watched in disbelief as I took a step towards the guardian, my comrade, my friend. So far, they hadn’t made a motion to attack… gods, please just give me just a few more seconds!

  I took another step towards Max, now just a mere foot from his hulking form. “Maximus.” I said softly, reaching for his hand. “You remember, don’t you. It’s me… Adam.”

  Max began to raise his hand, his eyes met mine…and then he slammed his grafted blade straight through my shoulder.

  I roared in pain as Vazryn and his guards let out an audible gasp. It appears even they were convinced I had brought the guardian peace, if just for a moment.

  “A valiant effort.” Vazryn said, shaking his head as Max hoisted me into the air by his blade. “But enough. There is no need to prolong such… blatant savagery.” He raised his inscribed fist into the air and uttered another command. “Kill him.”

  Maximus lifted his second grafted blade and leveled the weapon at my heart. This was it… the end. My heart ached as the tip of his blade began to press into my flesh. All this, and I had done nothing. I’d saved no one. To have come so far…to be this close, only to be felled by my once greatest friend…

  No. I would not go down this way. Hilda, Max, my father, hell even Vic… what would they think of me if I let myself die like this. I may have let each of them down... I may have failed them all in one way or another, but there was still one person left to prove something to, one person who despite his failures had worked tirelessly for others, who had come this far… one person who needed to overcome this… myself

  I snapped my legs up and booted Max hard in the chest, propelling my body off the tip of his sword. I smacked hard into the stone floor, sending a fresh jolt of pain through my joints. Damnit, no time to dwell on that now. I had to move!

  I leapt to my feet just as Max charged in. He swung his blades in with brutal force, but a quick dash to the right left him chopping at air.

  I clenched my fist and activated lunging strike, blasting the man in the face with everything I had. My other hand followed through with nevermore, planting the butt of my sword directly on his nose. I couldn’t kill the man, but damnit I’d beat him down for as long as I had to.

  Vazryn sighed. “I’ve had enough of this.” He quipped. “It’s quite clear that my control of the maddened will require further testing… but we just don’t have time for that tonight. Guards, would you be so kind as to end this.” The pair of cinderguards nodded, then brandished curved blades dripping with red-hot liquid and approached.

  I fell into battle stance at the center of the room, Maximus approaching from one side, the indomitable cinderguard approaching from the other. Sealing glyphs glowed softly on the windows and door, magically sealing them from getting in out… I was trapped.

  I glanced between my oncoming attackers. There was only one option left. “Damnit, Morose.” I muttered as I scrambled to access the secret pouch in my shirt. “I hope this is that right time you were speaking of.”

  Vazryn’s eyes went wide as I hoisted a small gem-covered globe in my hand.

  “Guards!” Vazryn cried. “Seize that thing, now!” His ancient familiar responded as well, spinning through the air in my direction.

  Too late.

  I slammed the Aether bomb into the floor with as much force as I could muster, then squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the blast…. But nothing.

  Vazryn let out a chuckle as the globe rolled harmlessly across the floor, coming to a stop near the feet of his guards. He shifted his gaze from the item then back to me.

  “I’m not certain how you got that thing in here, but it was a valiant effort all the-“. He cut off mid-sentence as the bomb began to rattle on the stone floor. The tiny gems infused in the globe began to grow a bright blue, brightening so quickly that I had to shield my eyes. One of the cinderguard dropped his weapon and began running for the door. The other stood by helplessly, muttering a single pair of words.

  “Oh no.”

  The bomb erupted, releasing wave after wave of immensely powerful, all-encompassing Aether. The translucent blue energy crashed into my defenseless form, slamming me into the wall with enough force to make my vision go fuzzy. The waves passed through the windows and doors, destroying them as it ripped apart the magical seals that held them closed.

  I could hear wave after wave cascading through the crimson keep, destroying barriers, ripping apart doors, windows, gates, and any other items that happened to be enchanted with a bit of magic. Servants and guards alike let out cries of fear as the Aether washed over them like an unstoppable force.

  The bomb had not destroyed the keep, not hardly. But perhaps, more importantly, it had left the stronghold defenseless.

  “You stupid fool!” Vazryn growled as he struggled back to his feet. His guards were still quite dazed, and Max lay on the floor motionless… The Aether must’ve done something to him. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!” The Highlord went on. “The real enemy is coming for me, and you’ve gone and done everything you can to let him in through my front door!”

  Vazryn reached out his hand and called to Aerodonulaus, grasping the ancient sprite in his fist. The creature writhed and wiggled, before eventually taking the shape of a massive sinewy blade. Even worse, pieces of the huge sprite broke off, forming sleek darksilver armor over the Highlord. Definitely not good.

  “Don’t be fooled by my level, boy.” Vazryn said as he approached my crumpled body with conviction. “I have more than enough power to get rid of you.” He hoisted the blade into the air. “I suppose I should’ve learned by now… sometimes you just have to do things yourself.”

  I rose to my feet and hoisted nevermore into the air as Vazryn’s ancient familiar blade came crashing down. The sword crashed into my own, slamming me back down to my knees with such force that I was certain my legs were broken. By the gods, that ancient sprite was more powerful than I could imagine!

  “S-sir.” One of the cinderguards muttered as he used the window ledge to pull himself back to his feet. “In… in the sky.” His voice almost sounded frightened. “They’re coming.”

  “Who?” Vazryn growled, spinning to face the guard.

  “The ravens.”

  My eyes went wide as the words left the guard’s mouth. I forced myself to my feet and put some space between myself and the distracted highlord. Then, with budding hope, I peered out one of the shattered windows.

  There, in the sky and approaching fa
st, was a group figures gliding in towards the crimson keep. At their head was a woman riding the wind on a pair of sapphire wings.

  The keeps defenses had been destroyed. The signal had been made… and now the ravens had arrived.

  .

  44

  For the first time since entering Aetheria, I was able to look into Lord Vazryn’s eyes and see something other than his demeaning arrogance.

  I saw fear.

  The Highlord abruptly halted his attack and turned to head towards the broken door, motioning for his guards to follow.

  I had to pursue him, had some find some way to take him down and follow through to the mission’s conclusion…. And I would. But right that second, I just couldn’t tear my eyes away from that busted window. I didn’t want to believe it at first… didn’t want to set myself up for the devastation that would follow. I was convinced my eyes were playing tricks on me… but they weren’t. Hilda was alive.

  The woman soared in through the broken portal on a pair of magnificent avian wings… wings that had an uncanny resemblance to Ivan’s. Behind her, a small troupe of players made a not so graceful landing behind her, each of them enchanted with aspect of the raven, a guild-exclusive skill that offered the user a pair of Aether-forged wings for gliding. However, the wings on their back appeared wispy and translucent, while Hilda’s appeared to be quite real.

  “H-how?” I muttered, leaning in to place a hand on her cheek. It was soft and warm… damnit, this was her. She was alive… she was alive!

  “Oh these?” She said, flexing her wings. “A familiar skill, courtesy of my new bond to Ivan.”

  “No, not that!” I yelled, though her full bond with Ivan was quite impressive. “How are you alive?”

  “Later.” She replied, giving me a knowing smile. “Morose has assembled the other ravens for an assault on the keep. Vazryn and his men are trapped inside… this is your chance, Zan.” She pointed to the broken doorway as the Highlord and his pair of crimson armored guards fled towards one of the lower levels. I nodded, then summoned my blade and turned to pursue.

  “Zander.” She said, bringing me to a sudden halt. “You might want these.” Hilda used her feathered wing to flip her long cloak into the air, revealing a leather satchel strapped near her back. She quickly flipped open the leather flap, releasing two spinning balls of light, one green and one blue.

  The light spun through the air in my direction, coming to a stop as each of the apparitions began to take form on either shoulder. I did what I could to hold back the emotion that began to pour through me as Razyr and Kord took form.

  “You don’t know how much I missed you guys.” I said, giving each of the familiars alternating glances. Now that we were bonded, being apart from either of them felt as though a very piece of me was missing… thankfully that didn’t matter now.

  We were whole again.

  I directed one of the ravenflight members, an auramancer, to look after Max who lay dazed and incoherent on the floor. Then, with a newfound strength, I hoisted nevermore into the air and led Hilda and the other ravens through the broken doorway.

  ><><

  I soared through the keep, barreling through groups of disorganized scribes and housekeepers, leaping down sets of stairs. The lift that had brought me to Vazryn’s chambers was out of commission thanks to the Aether bomb, but I wouldn’t let that stop me. I’d fight through every chamber in the keep to get to that damned Highlord.

  Following closely behind was Hilda alongside several other ravenflight initiates, players with missions of their own. Had Morose been organizing this attack the entire time… been meeting with other guild members in secret, preparing for this blind assault? Damnit, ravenflight was beginning to look like some sort of shadow organization more and more.

  Finally, we reached the ground level of the keep where mayhem had broken loose. Another group of ravens led by Morose himself had begun an assault on the keep’s main gate. Several guild members lay dead already, their chests melted and hollow from glowing magma blades. Surprisingly, a few cinderguard corpses accompanied the ravens, blood pooling on the floor around them.

  My eyes quickly scanned the area, searching for my target… there! On the far end of the room, I caught sight of the Highlord himself. He approached the large ornamental fireplace at the front of the chamber, flames still burning bright, licking at his face and drawing large beads of sweat. He placed an outstretched palm on one of the gold decorations that sat atop the mantle and gave it a quick jerk.

  The brilliant flames extinguished, revealing a hidden passage leading below. Of course… every king, even the self-proclaimed ones, had their secret passages.

  Vazryn gave me a quick glance, hatred flickering in his eyes, then dove into the hearth. The two guards escorting the Highlord stayed back, standing guard over the hearth with their dripping blades in their hands.

  Cinderguard Elite

  Lvl 30 Swordsman

  Cinderguard Enforcer

  Lvl 30 Swordsman

  Damnit all, these guys were strong…. Outnumbered, but still strong. Regardless, muscling through them looked like the only way to reach Lord Vazryn. I lifted my blade and prepared to lead the charge, but Hilda grabbed a hold of my wrist.

  “If we make a path, you think you can take him?”

  I nodded without hesitation. With so much at stake, there was just no room for doubt.

  “Good.” She said, before pressing her lips to my cheek. She quickly broke it off, then turned and charged.

  I watched in admiration as the guardian took up her shield and mace and led the other ravens in an all-out barrage. The cinderguard were much too strong to be taunted by one of her shieldmaster’s challenges, but that didn’t matter. She and the other ravens were a force of nature, something that would swallow you whole if left unchecked.

  A melee of sparks and spells ensued as Hilda and her seven ravens went to war with the guards. My instincts told me to jump in a help, especially when I heard Hilda grunt in pain. I couldn’t though… they were doing what they had to do, and it was my turn to do the same.

  Leaving the others to contend with the mighty cinderguard, I ducked into the hearth and headed below.

  ><><

  I rushed down the dark stone staircase once hidden behind the flames of the hearth. Surprisingly, the descent was quite steep, taking me much farther beneath the ground than I anticipated. No time to think about that though… the others had put their life on the line for me. There was no turning back now.

  The staircase ended at the base of a long corridor with a short celling. On the walls hung a row of sconces holding lit torches that provided a soft, amber glow to the surrounding stone. It gave an ominous feeling to the tunnel.

  Nevertheless, I clenched nevermore in my grasp and started out. “Keep your eyes peeled, boys.” I said to my familiars as each of them followed along at my side. Razyr responded with a firm nod of his scaly head, though Kord just let out a resounding “croak.”

  After a moment of swift yet cautious progression, the corridor emptied out into a larger rectangular chamber lined with barred doors on either side. No, not just doors… cells.

  Vazryn stood at the other end of the room, glaring at me with a look that felt like it might burn a hole through my skull at any second.

  “You know, you really are quite persistent.” He said, stroking Aerodonulaus now that the creature had returned to its base form. “It’s a shame you chose not to join me…. You could’ve been mighty.”

  I shook my head and took a step towards the Highlord. “I think it’s about damn time you shut your mouth.” I said. I had grown quite tired of the man’s arrogant voice. “Besides, I’m going home.”

  Vazryn let out a mocking laugh. “You still think you can leave this place? Perhaps you have the madness as well. This is your home now, boy.”

  “Liar!” I yelled, my voice raw with emotion. “Ive already been back once! I’ve seen my father, and I’ll do it again! You won’t take
my life from me, no matter how shitty it was!”

  Now it was Vazryn’s turn to shake his head. “Yes… quite mad indeed. No matter, I have plenty of friends waiting for you to join them.” Vazryn lifted a clenched fist into air, the back of his hand glowing red with a new, unfamiliar insignia. “Open.” He muttered. Suddenly, the cells doors lining either side of the room began to swing on their hinges, releasing at least a dozen captives loose into the chamber. Each of them had that same maddened look in their eyes that I had seen in Arden and in Max. Some even had insignia’s scribed into their skin… damnit, was he experimenting on these poor fools?

  “Farewell, Darkblade.” Vazryn muttered as the maddened began to converge me. Then, with a quick turn on his heel, the Highlord disappeared down the next corridor, his form leaving my sight as it was swallowed by the darkness ahead.

  ><><

  I immediately fell into fighting stance as some of the maddened caught sight of me and charged in. These men and women were unarmed and fully consumed by madness… it felt wrong to just slaughter them like cattle. Still, I had to defend myself. I had to survive!

  “Please.” I begged, knocking away one of the mad men with a kick to the chest as another approached from the side and planted a fist on my cheek. I grunted in retaliation, then swung nevermore, nailing the man in the face with the flat of the blade. He dropped from the blow, his health bar slightly diminished, but was right back up in seconds, resuming his foolish assault.

  “Stop this!” I pleaded as they surrounded me. Errant punches and kicks and scratches came at me from all directions, chipping away at my HP point by point. Growing desperate. I shadowshifted to the back of the pack and retreated to the wall. Damnit, they would be on me again in seconds.

  “He… he left me.” A voice muttered from inside the open cell at my side. “He… he left me!”

  I peeked into the cell and to my surprise spotted Arden huddled in the corner, his clothes torn and typically well-groomed hair a gnarled mess. The man was still babbling… damnit, he might be the maddest of them all.