by Matt Taylor
Geode then made the symbol of Light, and his eyes and hands changed from red to bright yellow. Sylas could tell by the look on his face as he switched to using Light Magick that Geode could now feel the pain coursing through his arm. A few moments later, Geode healed the wound in his arm, then quickly made the symbol of Nature and began to glow with a dark green color. He looked at Torren and told him to remember his training before bolting off in the direction of the men.
“Everything’s going to be alright, we can do this!” Sylas said, trying to suppress the fear in his voice.
Bringing his hands together, he made the symbol of Light and opened his second mind. The familiar feeling of having two points of view came as his second mind opened, and his eyes and hands began to glow with Light. He focused his desires until they were in unison and created a circular shield that covered the length of his left arm. He moved his arm left and right and was pleased that the shield floated alongside his arm as if it were physically attached. Then drawing his sword from its sheath, he continued.
“Samara, stay hidden over here, use your shields on us if you see either of us get into trouble. You can support us from the back while Torren and I fight.”
He could tell that Samara was on the verge of fainting with fear and decided it would be best if she stayed back as far as possible while still being able to help with her shields. She nodded and took a couple of steps backward into the dark.
“Yell if you need help. We’ll try to not go too far, but if you see anyone circling around us and towards you, let us know before they get to you and we’ll come back. Torren, are you ready?”
Torren already had his sword in hand and spun it through the air several times. “You know it, brother!”
Sylas looked once more at Samara’s cowering face, then back at his Light shield before charging towards the men. Torren was much faster than he was and passed him on his left then turned toward a man that was attempting to flank Uthren. Sylas found that the ethereal body of his second mind floated just above and behind him as if it were attached to him with a rope, never drifting too far away. He used this additional viewpoint to his advantage and took a survey of his surroundings. Because he was currently using Light Magick, he found that his surroundings were much easier to see in the darkness. A nice side effect from using Light Magick, he thought.
His second mind caught a glimpse of the archer that had fired the arrow into Geode’s shoulder. Feeding the Light’s desire to enact holy vengeance on the evildoer, his shield flared with Light, and Sylas ran towards the man. The archer saw the oncoming assault and nocked another arrow. Sylas held his shield in front of his body as the archer loosed the arrow towards him. Wincing as the arrow approached, he prayed that the arrow wouldn’t go right through the shield and into his chest. To his satisfaction, the arrow upon reaching the shield bounced off and flew spinning through the air as a slight ripple of Light waved through the Light energy of the shield.
Ecstatic that his shield was still floating beside his arm and that it had done its job at protecting him, Sylas redoubled his speed towards the archer. With a slightly more worried look on his face, the archer pulled another arrow from his back and nocked it. Sylas was not far from the man now and listening to the promptings from the Light half of his second mind decided, that sounds like a good idea! Raising his shield arm up and flaring his Magick, he emanated a blinding flash of Light towards the archer.
Just as the archer was about to release his arrow, the Light coming from Sylas’s shield hit his eyes. He reared back in pain, and the arrow shot high into the air, missing its intended target. The archer dropped his bow and held his hands to his face in agony. Sylas took advantage of the opportunity that he had created and closed the gap between them. Slashing his sword at the man’s torso, he cut right through the light leather armor that he had been wearing and sliced a huge gash into his stomach. Blood poured from the wound as the man took his hands from his face and pressed them against his now open stomach. When he removed his hands from his face, Sylas was surprised to see that his blinding Light attack had done more damage than he thought. He intended to blind the man, giving himself an advantage for the rest of the fight but saw that along with the blinding, the Light had burned the man’s face to a crisp.
The man fell to his knees and then face down on the ground, took one more gurgling breath, and then perished.
Sylas was stunned for a moment at his quick victory. This was the first time he had ever killed anyone before… It seemed wrong, and against his nature. At entertaining these thoughts, his second mind flared up and reminded him that his intentions were noble, and his cause just. His quest was one of great integrity, and those who stood in his way and tried to stop his quest for peace from progressing needed to be vanquished. Knowing that a good portion of these thoughts came from the element of Light itself but realizing that it did have an excellent point, Sylas swallowed his regret and focused his eyes on his next target.
Torren parried the incoming blade to the side again as his opponent swung it down towards his head. Then, resisting the urge to do a spin move and go for the decapitating blow, he instead kicked at the man’s shin as hard as he could. Torrens’s foot made contact with the unarmored bone of the man’s shin, causing him to hop backward and bend forward slightly. Torren then dropping his left hand from the hilt of his sword, swung it upward, connecting with the man’s jaw with a crunch. Torren shook his hand as the man fell backward onto the ground.
Yeah, that’s going to be swollen for a while, he thought. The man spat blood onto the ground and looked back up to Torren, who meeting his gaze, gave a taunting smile. The man smiled back and wiping the blood from his mouth got back on his feet.
“You honestly think you have a chance, boy? I’m just getting warmed up.”
Torren gave a disrespectful shrug and a fake yawn.
“Not to be too disrespectful, Mr., but you see I have a sister at home that sometimes I fight with, and to be honest… she has usually done more damage than you have by now.”
The man chuckled. “Is that so? Well then, I don’t think you will mind if I turn up the heat a little bit.”
“Not at all; in fact, I would encourage it if you want to last much longer against me.” And with that, Torren pulled his sword back into the ready position. “Let’s see what you’ve got!”
The man chuckled again and spat another drop of blood from his mouth. “Alright, well, you asked for it.”
The man sheathed his sword, and then closing his eyes and putting his hands together made a strange symbol. His hands started to glow a deep red, and when he opened his eyes, they emanated a matching hue.
Torren gulped slightly and lowered his stance. “What is this? You aren’t going to fight me like a man?”
“If it’s an honorable death that you seek, then I’m obliged to give that to you. There’s more to Fire Magick than simply shooting flames around.”
The man then flexed, and his entire body seemed to bulk up. His muscles grew in size, and a slight red aura surrounded his entire body.
“I’ll be thoroughly impressed to see you best me in this state, boy. But If you do, I’ll show you something even more spectacular.”
Further cementing the fact that he no longer needed to use his sword, the man took his sheathed sword off of his belt and dropped it to the ground. He then pointed a finger at Torren. “Come at me, if you dare!”
Taking in a deep breath, Torren focused on his opponent. Not knowing exactly what the man was doing, he took several steps forward then swung his sword at the man. To his utter disbelief, the man reached his hand into the air and caught the blade. Torrens sword embedded itself deeply into his hand, yet he showed no sign of pain. Torren looked from the mans now wounded hand and into his eyes. The red in his eyes burned like a forest fire, rage and power consuming what used to be his pupils. He then grinned an evil and satisfied grin.
“What’s the matter, boy? Is that all you’ve got?”
; Torren yanked his sword from the man’s grasp, cutting his hand more with the action, yet he did not seem to mind that his hand had just been mangled.
This has to be the exact same spell that Geode did when pulling the arrow from his shoulder, he thought, trying to assess the situation.
The man laughed again, mocking Torrens surprise. “Come on, boy! Attack me, show me what you’ve got!”
Torren took in several rapid breaths, then ran at the man and swung his sword down with all of his might, aiming for the top of his head. Again, the man caught his blade as if it were nothing, this time with his other hand. The sword again penetrated his hand deeply, giving him a wound that should bring any sane person to their knees in pain. The man’s biceps bulged, the veins in his arms visibly pumping his enraged blood throughout his body.
“I’m disappointed, you seemed so sure of yourself just a moment ago.”
Gripping Torrens sword with his bloody hand, he yanked it from Torrens grasp then brought his left hand up and into Torrens stomach with so much power that it threw Torren into the night air and onto his back several feet behind where he stood just moments before.
Torren tried gasping for breath, but his lungs refused to fill with air. The blow had not only knocked all of the air out of his body, but he also felt as if every single one of his ribs had just collapsed.
His vision spun as pain coursed throughout his body. The man slowly walked up to where Torren was lying, laughing maniacally. He bent down over Torren, his flaming red eyes burning with torturous desires. He reached out and grabbed Torren by the neck, lifting him up off the ground and above his head with one arm as he continued to laugh. His face then hardened, hatred and disgust forming on his expression.
“Too bad, I was hoping to show you more.” He pulled his fist back, and with a yell, threw his fist towards Torrens face. Torren closed his eyes, awaiting what would surely be this life taking blow to strike him. Just as his eyes closed, the blacks of his eyelids turned red, as if he had just turned his head towards the light of the sun.
Torren opened his eyes to see Samara standing behind the man, her eyes and hands glowing with the color of Light Magick, a shield of Light surrounding his entire body. The man angrily threw Torren aside, where he landed on the ground, his vision fading into darkness.
Samara stood in front of the hulking man, trying to assess the situation. She glanced to her right and saw Uthren and Geode again, both fighting against other mages. It looked like Maelos had sent several Fire mages after them this time, as bright pillars of flame continued to shoot from the attackers. Geode had been doing a fair job at attacking, while at the same time keeping the flames from setting the surrounding trees ablaze, but things were starting to get more intense, and it seemed that he had to stop trying to save the nature around him in light of focusing on taking out the main threat.
Uthren, too, was struggling to get the upper hand on the Fire mage that he was fighting against. Beams of Light and Fire were crashing into each other in beautiful but deadly displays. As the Fire and Light Magick connected, sparks of lightning crackled across the sky, leaving behind them booms of thunder. Samara decided she needed to ask Uthren about this interaction as soon as this nightmare of a night was over. She had no idea where Sylas was, last she saw him he was chasing after another one of the archers that were firing arrows at both Uthren and Geode.
“You will pay dearly for that missy. I was going to enjoy smashing that ignorant pups face in! You took that moment away from me, and for that, you will pay.”
The man looked into the sky and buffed his body up again, the red aura surrounding his skin glowing slightly brighter now. Samara could have sworn she saw a slight jet of flame escape his mouth and nostrils as he enflamed the spell.
The man then picked his sword up off of the ground and unsheathing it, raised it high into the air. The blade of the sword ignited with a bright red flame, sending a heat wave towards her. Terror gripped at her heart as she lifted the shield from Torrens body and placed it around herself.
Somehow I’ve got to get over there and heal Torren before it’s too late…
“Your pathetic shields won’t be able to withstand my onslaught for very long. You will soon face the same fate as your friend, and once we’ve killed you all, we shall bring the stone back to the Dark Mage, and he will bathe the world in darkness.”
With a yell, the man began running towards her, flaming sword held high above his head. Samara went into defensive mode and mentally gave her second mind the “I trust your judgment and agree with what you decide, just get me out of this mess!” approval, to which Samara felt her second mind figuratively crack its neck with a smile. Acting solely on instinct and immediately accepting whatever her second mind told her to do, Samara raised her hands above her head and with a yell, exploded the shield that surrounded her outward in a dome shape. The Light struck the man, and although it didn’t knock him completely over, sent him off his original course as he stumbled to maintain balance.
Samara held both hands outstretched to her sides and filled them with balls of Light, then cupping the balls together at her side, continued to pour Light energy into the now combined ball of Light. Gaining his footing, the man turned and bolted towards Samara, flames streaming from his glowing eyes as if they were dripping molten lava.
Without giving herself the chance of having second thoughts and relying purely on the Light taking control in a move of complete desperation, she poured the last bit of energy needed into the ball at her side. Extending her arms in front of her, she released a powerful beam of Light towards the man.
The Light ray rippled through the air and struck the man in the left shoulder, her aim just slightly off. It sent him spinning through the air, launching him backward to the ground. Stunned for just a moment, he pushed himself to his knees and picked his sword up off the ground. He stood up and turned towards her, a furious rage swelling within.
Samara couldn’t believe that he showed no signs of pain at all, despite now having his entire left arm blown off of his body. The wound had been cauterized by the intense heat of her blast, leaving dark black burn marks where blood would have been pouring. His neck and torso were also singed by the blast, but looked different than an ordinary burn mark from a fire would have looked.
The man yelled defiantly, cursing her for what she had done. He then took his sword with his right hand and pumping up the flames that it was enchanted with swung it in an arch towards her. The flames jetted forward out of the tip of a sword like a geyser spews water from the earth. Reacting quickly, Samara again covered herself with a shield barrier.
The flames struck the shield and with a crackle, sent lightning spewing off the shield on either side of her. Electric shocks jumped from the inside of her shield to her body, zapping her with painful Magick shocks. She released the shield, not able to stand the pain of the electricity any longer and dove out of the way of the remaining fire blast. Rolling from her back and on to her feet, she looked back at the man who was again charging towards her, his sword held high in the air.
Samara had a quick thought and raised both hands high above her head. Channeling all of the energy that she could muster, she called forth a beam of Light from the heavens to come down and strike the tip of the sword. Just as the man was about to swing his sword down to deliver the killing blow, the beam of Light struck the top of the flaming sword, which began to crackle with energy. Samara jumped backward and away from the man as his sword lit up with electricity. A high pitched crackle sounded through the air, and the hairs on her head and neck stood upright as the electricity coursing through his sword and into his body began electrifying him. A loud boom followed, and a surge of energy knocked Samara to the ground.
Scrambling to her knees, she turned to see a shattered sword lying next to a crippled black body. Her mind moving faster than what she had energy for, she immediately closed her second mind and gasped for air. Her entire body was tingling from allowing the element of Ligh
t to drive her actions so commandingly. She felt exhilarated and fatigued, both scared and proud of what she had just accomplished. Then remembering Torren, she ran to his side, praying that he was still alive. Approaching him, Samara could tell that Torren was in bad shape. He wasn’t breathing and had no pulse. As she hurriedly looked around for help, she saw Uthren running her way.
“Uthren! Torrens not breathing, and he has no pulse!”
“What happened?”
“He was hit really hard in the chest, I think his ribs are broken, and his lungs may have collapsed. Please help him, you have to save him!”
Uthren placed his hand on Torrens chest and assessed the situation.
“Samara, get ready to heal him. Focus on mending his broken bones, as well as fixing his lungs, I’m going to have to get his heart started.”
Uthren Then made the symbol of Light with his hands, followed by a second symbol immediately afterward. His hands and eyes started glowing a beautiful blue color with an inner orange tint that resembled greatly the color of the lightning bolts that he had seen just moments earlier. Uthren began rubbing his hands and continued his instruction.
“Hurry, Samara, we don’t have time, get ready to heal him!”
Shaking her head, Samara made the symbol of Light and reopened her second mind. Uthren then touched his hands lightly on Torrens chest, and a pulse of electricity shot through his body, forcing it to jolt slightly. Samara then placed her hands on Torren and began to pour healing Light into his body. Tears flowed from her eyes as she focused her desires on mending his rib bones, and filling his lungs with air.