In the Quariras Mountains of Verday, Eckxio and Akielas walked up a rocky trail, seeking the fairy king. Akielas had said it was because of the fairy king that he had changed his old ways. Eckxio knew it had to be more than a coincidence that both had met the fairy king. The holy entity did not allow just anyone that wandered the mountains to be in his presence. Eckxio believed that their paths had intertwined for a reason.
He remembered, when he first came to the Quariras Mountains eight years ago, he had journeyed in hopes of finding the fairy king, believing the holy entity would grant him the gift that all Elves had. The gift of magic. Eckxio was born in Evee Iris without the common talent of Elves. Even by the age of ten, when young Elves began to cast their first spell, Eckxio failed. He never understood why he kept failing to be a mage, but when he found the fairy king in the mountains, it all became clear to him. The fairy king did not grant him any powers, but instead, he helped Eckxio to understand the root of his problem and awaken the sixth sense.
Eckxio embraced his imperfection and learned to use the rare mage ability of extromancy, an ability so rare that many mages begged him to teach.
“Remind me again why we are going to see the fairy king?” Eckxio asked as he jumped to a boulder.
“The fairy king helped me see into the past,” Akielas answered, his hair streaming with the wind. “The fairy king said that he has lived for millenniums. He was there when Prodigus Kollos brought magic to Odealeous. He should know something about cosmo magic and how it works. That is the only way Ember has been able to stop us. If we can find out how to fight against her cosmo magic, then we can defeat her. I hope.”
“I see…yes, the fairy king should know. A creature of his caliber must have some knowledge of it,” Eckxio said and dry coughed. He paused to catch his breath and pulled a small glass bottle from within his belt pocket. It was a potion that suppressed his illness. He drank the green fluid, coughed one last time, took a deep breath, and kept walking.
“Please don’t die on me now,” Akielas said, patting the Elf on the shoulder.
“It’s just my illness. Father said that it is a side effect of extromancy. Using other people’s maju has hurt my body.” Eckxio inhaled fresh mountain air. “The potion suppresses my illness. If I don’t drink it, then I start coughing blood. It’s really ugly.”
“No cure has been found?” Akielas asked.
“Not yet, but drinking this green potion keeps me steady for a few days.”
Akielas stopped and placed the teleport crystal on his forehead. Eckxio waited as Akielas had his vision of the Specters.
“Where are they?” he asked.
“In the Spirituah forest. Near the campsite of the Elves,” Akielas replied.
Eckxio balled his hands into a fist and narrowed his eyes. He worried about the Elves and their survival. At this point, what else can the Specter take from us?
“I am going back.” Eckxio turned down the mountain trail and walked to the pentacle portal.
“No, wait!” Akielas clutched his arm. “Listen, the Elves will be fine. Willow is making sure that they travel safely through the forest to their new home. Let’s find the fairy king, first. We might not have another chance to see him again.”
Eckxio thought about it for a moment. He trusted Willow’s ability to guide the Elves, but he worried about his child. If the Specters stumbled upon Willow in the forest, he could not let her fight them alone. Although her belly had not swelled with the child, Eckxio would have nightmares if anything happened to her. Any injuries or falls could prevent her from giving birth or hurt the baby inside her.
“She will be fine. She is strong, just like you. I believe in her.” Akielas looked at him sincerely.
“I believe in her as well,” he said with a hint of doubt lingering. Eckxio had always trusted Akielas and his judgment. The man had not disappointed him yet.
They continued walking up the mountain trail, and ahead, they saw the megaliths where the fairy king resided. Slopes surrounded the plateau where the megaliths stood. It was just as Eckxio remembered it.
“Nothing has changed,” Akielas said. “I must admit, I am excited to see him again.”
While Akielas was in awe, Eckxio paid no attention to the megaliths. He felt Willow calling to him and could feel her life slipping away in his chest, like a wound still healing. She had become part of him, and her maju was always with him. Willow, what is happening?
“I have to go back,” he said, apprehensively.
Akielas turned around and faced him. “You can’t leave now; we need your Tharos sword. Only zeustoss can call the fairy king.”
“Willow is in danger. I can feel her life slipping away. She needs my help. I am sorry, but this is going to have to wait, Akielas.” Eckxio ran back to the pentacle portal down the mountain trail. Sweat drenched his forehead from nervousness and fear of losing the only woman he ever loved and the child that he had been waiting for. He followed the trail until he reached a dead end with three craggy walls. He stood on the pentacle and activated it with his teleport crystal.
“Wait!” Akielas shouted, running towards the pentacle. “You are foolish to fight them alone. All four of them have gathered in the Spirituah forest. They will kill you.”
“We can see the fairy king any time, but I won’t forgive myself if Willow gets hurt,” Eckxio said and clutched the teleport crystals. Its power triggered the magic of the pentacle and trapped them in a cylinder of blue lights. Everything around them vanished, and they traveled through a blue abyss. Their bodies fell through the blue portal, then in a flash… they were in the Spirituah Forest of Verday. The sight of the open sky of the mountains was replaced with sunlight hiding behind tree branches. No rocks or boulders, only trees, tall grass, and plants of all shapes and sizes and animals running away.
Apes jumped from tree to tree, moving west from the sun. Birds flew in the same direction, and many animals seemed to be fleeing from something. A family of elephants ran by, and leaves fell from trees.
“What happened here?” Eckxio asked.
His paploo fairy flew out from his silver armor and swirled around his face. She squeaked, and her fur changed from brown to black, her leaf-like wings shifted into leathery batwings. Eckxio remembered the last time she changed to black. It meant that the Specters or fiends were nearby. He ran into the forest, and Akielas followed behind. His paploo fairy flew by his side. As they ran through the forest, they saw the marks of battle on the ground and on trees.
“They fought through here,” Akielas said as he ran. “The maju simmering from the spells is definitely Ember’s.”
Elevated earth, burned tree, ashes, spikes rising from the ground, carcasses charred, and sliced into pieces. Dozens of trees were cut down, creating a glade. When Eckxio saw large roots and thorns rising from the ground in the damaged areas, he knew Willow was involved, and he could feel her maju as he ran deeper into the forest.
“She is here. I can feel her. Akielas, her maju is very dim,” Eckxio worried. He jumped over fallen trees and cut through grass and bushes.
“Yes, I know. The Specters must have teamed up on her,” Akielas replied.
“Why her?”
“I am not sure, but we will soon find out,” Akielas answered.
Akielas grabbed Eckxio by the collar of his armor, and with a mighty pulse of wind using aeromancy, they ascended over the canopy and glided over the apex of trees. In the glade beyond, a crater scarred the earth, and a pillar of smoke billowed. As they began to descend, they reached the glade, and the wind current helped them land gently on the ground.
Eckxio readied his sword and shield. The Tharos sword shined. The Elf and Akielas surveyed the area. The glade was scarred from spells. Large thorns coiled around a boulder, and a field of flowers was covered in ice.
“This was an intense battle. I had no idea Willow was such a powerful mage,” Akielas commented.
“Of course, she is,” Eckxio snarled. “One of the most power mages I have ever known.
No one has ever defeated her.”
They heard a scream. Eckxio knew it was her. The two men ran around the crater, and from afar, they saw Willow being held by two Specters. An object was shining a bizarre grey light, and Willow was resisting it.
“No! Let her go!” Eckxio screamed from deep in his gut. His Tharos sword shined and shot beams of white energy; it missed, and the Specters immediately scattered. One of them took Willow. That broken horn on the mask…it was Naunet. Akielas propelled himself skywards towards Naunet using aeromancy. While Akielas tried to save Willow, Ember jetted towards Eckxio with her twin swords ignited.
The Elf clashed swords with Ember. With fury, he lashed his Tharos sword, aiming to kill. As kaminyte and zuestoss collided, the grass beneath their feet changed from green to grey. Ember wounded his arm, and he groaned, withstanding the pain. He parried her blows, and as he fought, his sword shined white, creating a flash every time he swung it and blinded Ember. With a powerful thrust, he disarmed one of her swords, sending it flying across the glade, yet she still fought wildly. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Akielas with Willow in his arms, Naunet throwing ice spears at him. He was relieved to know that she was safe and kept fighting.
“Stupid Elf, I will send you to Necrovania with the rest of them.” Ember lashed her black swords, and they collided against Eckxio’s Tharos shield. As they fought, moving through the glade, they left behind a trail of colorless grass.
“I won’t let you disappear this time.” Eckxio grunted with every stroke of his sword. He then stepped back, raised his sword, and chanted the words “Tharos spirit, shine my blade.” Like a second sun, in an instant, the sword unleashed a light that seemed to bleach the glade. He blinded Ember, and the other Specters were affected as well.
Ember tossed her cloak over herself, trying to disappear with a cloud of black smoke, but it was futile. When she realized that her dark magic was not working, she stepped away and cast a great ball of fire. “Pikan granda!” she yelled.
Eckxio deflected it with his shield and dashed towards her.
“What did you do?” she asked, parrying his sword.
“My Tharos sword has the ability to weaken dark magic. I caught on to your little trick and made sure you would not be able to flee so easily.” Eckxio hurled his sword as if it were a boomerang. It spun horizontally slicing the wind, aiming to cleave Ember. She jumped and dodged it with ease. The sword flashed, and in the blink of an eye, it reappeared in Eckxio’s hand.
“You are more of a threat than I thought,” Ember said. “I can’t use dark magic to teleport.”
“I will gladly become your worst nightmare,” Eckxio replied.
Ember raised her fist and aimed at the ground then shouted, “Pirara bombeig!” Her fist drove into the earth.
Eckxio felt the ground shaking beneath his boots and heat rising. He somersaulted backwards, and the spot in which he stood erupted with lava. Just where he landed, once more, the ground shook and temperature rose. He somersaulted again and lava erupted. When he landed again, he immediately dashed towards Ember.
“Pirara pariagta!” Ember yelled. Flames burst from the ground and surrounded Eckxio, trapping him in a circle.
For a moment, he thought that he had nowhere to go, but then his gorgon eye blinked, and its iris glowed red.
“How unfortunate for you, Ember,” he said arrogantly. “My gorgon eye loves fire maju.” He balled his left hand into a fist and raised it high. Fire was drawn to the gorgon eye. The flames streamed into the eye, and it shined an angry red. The gauntlet bathed in fire. Eckxio roared and launched an inferno at Ember like the breath of the fire dragon god. The element did not harm her, but she was pushed away by the impact and was thrown across the glade and into the forest again.
Eckxio saw that Akielas was being attacked by three Specters. A transparent barrier protected him from their spells as he held Willow in his arms. Jairo, Naunet, and Hertha struck with air, ice spears, and diamond spikes. Eckxio ran to help him, but his main concern was Willow.
“Come and face me, you masked bastards,” he yelled and hurled his sword. It flew as a shining disk. The Specters scattered, evading the weapon. The sword flashed and reappeared in the hands of its master.
Eckxio reached Akielas. Willow saw him, and her eyes widened with joy. Akielas placed her down, and she tried to walk.
“Eckxio,” she whispered weakly. She could barely stand, and her legs wobbled. Her blue eyes were dim, losing the saturation of its hue. Her maju was the lowest it had ever been. Eckxio had never seen her so weak. Willow was known to be full of life and vibrant, like the forest itself.
“What did they do to you?” he whispered, gazing into her eyes that he missed so much.
“Eckxio, don’t let them take me. They want to take my soul,” she said, eyes full of tears.
“No. They will do no such thing,” Eckxio swore.
“You are no one to try to change fate,” Ember’s voice returned. Eckxio spun and saw her hovering in the air. All four Specters stared down at him. They were black shades of ghost that belonged in the night. Even their white masks were disturbing enough to be confused for a ghost.
“What do you want with her soul?” Akielas rasped. He drew a one-handed sword that hung from his waist. He removed his cloak and tossed it on the grass.
“That is for you to find out, old man.” Ember laughed, and the Specters joined her. Her cloak had burned off from the previous damage that Eckxio had inflicted, but she was vigorous and as irritating as ever.
“This time, I truly intend to kill you, old master,” Ember said.
“For once, we agree,” Akielas replied. “I will kill all four of you, and I won’t have to do it alone. You are too dangerous to be kept alive.” Lightning began to chirp and dance around Akielas’s body. Eckxio and Willow startled and stepped away. Akielas looked over his shoulder at Willow; he stretched out an arm, palm wide open and whispered, “Illumnos tega.” He cast a transparent barrier over Willow in the shape of a hemisphere. The barrier pushed Eckxio away. When Eckxio tapped the barrier, it felt like glass. Every time he touched it, a hexagon appeared like a puzzle piece that formed it.
“She will remain in there until this battle is over. She is too weak to fight,” Akielas said.
Eckxio nodded and turned to his enemy. Now that he was sure Willow was protected, nothing would hold him back from using his full power.
“Be careful, Eckxio. They will use their cosmo magic as their last resort,” Akielas said.
“I know,” the Elf replied and took a stance with his shield in front and his sword stretching back, ready to slash.
The Specters began to fly, orbiting them in the form of black smoke. They shot spells from the clouds. Fire, ice, sharp winds, and Hertha threw spikes of steel. It was a rain of spells of every element. Eckxio blocked fire with his shield and parried ice with his sword. Spikes would deflect against his silver armor, and he redirected the current of sharp winds. Akielas followed the same pattern, and he clashed blades with Hertha whenever she swooped by. It was tiresome and overworked the senses. Eckxio became dizzy as he blocked and redirected spells. He had no time for his own attacks. The Specters had trapped them, giving them no time to think, only defend in a spiral of spells.
“Akielas!” Eckxio yelled. He slapped a ball of fire with his shield and ducked, dodging an ice spear. “How long can they keep this up?”
“I don’t know. There are four of them and two of us. If you can blind them, I will cover you,” Akielas answered.
Akielas used his lightning to protect Eckxio, and the Elf raised his sword. The white blade unleashed a light that blinded worse than the sun. The Specters immediately ended their rain of spells and shifted from black smoke to human again. They floated in the air, stunned from the light. Without hesitation, Eckxio shot a beam of white energy and hit Ember. She grunted from the blow and tumbled. As she fell, Akielas shot a ray of lightning, but as his spell raced through the air to take Ember’s life,
Naunet swooped, caught her, and dodged the lightning ray.
Jairo dashed towards Eckxio. Their swords clashed, sparks flew, and wind gusted. They fought zeustoss against kaminyte, and once again, as dark and light collided, the grass beneath them changed from green to grey. Jairo was faster but could not get through Eckxio’s shield. The Tharos sword shined, creating a flash every time Eckxio lashed it. While blinded, Jairo used aeromancy but missed. The Elf swung his sword and marred Jairo with a diagonal wound on the chest.
Jairo screamed and flew away, dripping blood like a wounded bird. Eckxio hurled his sword at his foe. It flew like a white disk to dissect the opponent, but then, Jairo called upon whistling winds, and with great speed, he disappeared in thin air.
“Damn it,” Eckxio cursed. “They always find a way to disappear.”
The Tharos sword flashed as it spun and reappeared in the hands of its master. He looked back at Akielas and saw him shooting rays of lightning at three Specters. Eckxio realized that his enemy had become smarter at fighting Akielas. The Specters overwhelmed their old master with a rain of spells.
“Umbra tega stroh!” three Specters shouted. A pyramid, black and transparent, imprisoned Akielas. Ember, Naunet, and Hertha trapped him. Akielas’s lightning bounced off the walls and shocked him.
Eckxio ran to help him. The Elf shot beams from his sword, but when the white energy collided against the dark pyramid prism, it was futile. It was a dark version of the illumnos tega spell. Eckxio stopped and became frightened. Akielas could not escape. Eckxio watched him punch the walls of the pyramid. The Specters laughed at Akielas and mocked him.
“You are all alone now, little Elf,” Ember said, hovering towards him.
“I will admit,” Jairo’s voice crept behind him. Eckxio spun and pointed his sword at the masked foe. “You are the strongest Elf I have ever seen, and you don’t use any spells,” Jairo said, holding the wound on his chest. Blood trailed down his leather garments. The wound stretched from the left rib to the right shoulder. Gradually, the wound closed, strings of flesh attached as Jairo used his maju to heal himself.
Sin of Mages: An Epic Fantasy Series (Rift of Chaos Book 1) Page 26