by Corey Soreff
Eucibous began walking forward. “I won’t say it again. Now fight me.” As he slowly covered the short distance between them, out of the corner of his eye he noticed movement from the knight’s body. He stopped momentarily and muttered an advanced spell of swiftness, only it wasn’t cast at himself, it was cast on Ginin. The moment Ginin grabbed Kuldric and began to make good his escape, the stealth dissipated and all could see him slump the body over his shoulder and begin to run away at a speed normally not possible while carrying such weight.
Seeing Kol’thakal turn his head towards the scene, Eucibous stopped taking this slowly and dashed forward, removing his gigantic broadsword from his back in the process. Using his incredible strength and speed, he swung his sword right at the King’s midsection, intending to cleave the small drow in two…only he connected with thin air.
Ginin was running as fast he could, his efforts helped by the effects of a speed spell that Eucibous had obviously cast upon him. He had to get the knight out of the area while Eucibous kept the King busy.
Then suddenly he stopped running, but not purposely. Fear swept over him, wondering what was going on. He tried with all his might to bring his right foot forward to continue running, yet he could not move. The body of Kuldric fell off his shoulder, landing in a heap on the ground. Afraid to look behind him to see what had stopped him; he slowly turned his eyes back towards the drow army. Nobody was anywhere near him! He squinted, and saw the source.
Lithak stood calmly, not having moved one inch from his original spot, with his hand stretched out into the distance. After the rogue’s stealth was broken by his activity, the archmage had kept an eye on him as he ran into the distance. Deciding that keeping an eye on the rogue wasn’t enough, he froze time itself for Ginin.
Eucibous panicked. He was never afraid for himself, but at times he found himself in a bad position when needing to protect his friends. He saw the danger the moment the King vanished. Scanning the area, he saw the hooded mage standing with his hand pointed in the direction of Ginin, and following the hand’s aim, he noticed Ginin was standing still…and no longer holding Kuldric.
Casting another spell of swiftness, on himself this time, Eucibous shot forward at the mage, intending to take out the first threat to his friend. One at a time.
Lithak expected his King to keep the crimson warrior busy, and to trust his mage to stop the runaway. Not paying attention to Eucibous, Lithak was stunned when a huge broadsword tore through his right arm, the arm maintaining the spell. The sorcerer’s arm fell to the ground, and blood poured out from the wound in mass amounts. The drow fell to the ground in pain, screaming in disbelief. Nothing had ever hurt him before, and somehow his arcane shield couldn’t even stop one blow. The drow army stood in silence, also surprised that the archmage they all feared so much had just been embarrassed and severely wounded.
Lithak came back to his senses and used his remaining hand to form the seals as he spit out the words to another spell, one to ease the pain. He stood up and prepared to cast one of the most powerful spells a mage could learn, a fireball, when he realized he had nobody to cast it at. As quickly as the crimson warrior had lopped off his arm, he had just as quickly departed.
Ginin felt the spell break, and wasted no time grabbing the knight again and resuming his escape. “Thanks, Euc.” He muttered as he continued running as far from the scene as possible. Only paying attention enough to avoid running into any trees, Ginin tried to keep an eye on what lay behind him, wary of any other attempts to stop him. Expecting any such attempts to come from behind, he almost barreled right into the King of drow himself, who had somehow gotten ahead of him and stood before Ginin with an evil smirk on his face. Ginin began to utter a protest to the King, but like Darnillus had told Kuldric…Kol’thakal was not a fan of mercy.
Kol’thakal was not stupid. Many people made the fatal mistake of gloating over their defeated enemies, only to have it blow up in their face a moment later. The drow King got where he was by not wasting time, and dispatching immediately of those that stood in his way. Before Ginin could stutter one sentence, Kol’thakal had already buried his two blades through the rogue’s throat. Disgusting sounds of the man trying to breathe and choking on his own blood could be heard as the lifeforce of the strongest rogue in Adanantus faded away. The King removed his blades, wiped them clean, and returned them to the sheathes on his hip. Ginin’s body collapsed, and was soon surrounded by a pool of his own blood.
Eucibous arrived at the scene a moment later, and could not believe his eyes. Ginin lay dead in the dirt, the drow King standing over him, awaiting his arrival. He had spent a lot of time finding the best fighters on Darnesia, recruiting them to the Crimson Blade, and becoming their close friends. Never had one of his prized warriors been killed, never had he imagined it happening anytime soon. Anger boiled within him like never before. Ginin had warned him of the trap, and Eucibous insisted they go anyway. If they had not come, Ginin would be alive.
No, Ginin would have wanted to go anyway as well. It’s not just my goal, but all of ours, to seek out the strongest. At least he died a warrior, a hero.
Eucibous quickly glanced at Kuldric’s unconscious body, and noted that he was still breathing. A hero indeed. Shaking with fury, Eucibous buckled his broadsword to his back and strode forward, talking to the King as he approached him.
“I warned you, drow. I warned you. If I got angry when you insulted my friends, HOW ANGRY DO YOU THINK I AM NOW???” The ground trembled beneath Eucibous as the sheer force of his willpower shook the very soil under their feet. Winds blew strongly, causing the trees to sway and leaves to blow violently in all directions.
Kol’thakal had never seen such a thing in his long-lived life. Somebody so powerful that the world itself bent to his will. He had heard such a rumor about Sargath when he ascended to Godhood many centuries ago, but assumed that to be a fabricated tale of the God’s making. Yet standing before him was a man controlling nature itself without the assistance of any magic. Standing before him…was the first being the drow had ever feared.
“Herreleck! I need your assistance!” The drow King yelled to the heavens with his eyes facing the clouds. The King’s incredible speed was indeed not natural. It was a gift of the God Herreleck, one of the Gods in the hierarchy of darkness. Sargath had chosen Nil’thanak, so Kol’thakal had to settle for a lower deity.
Consumed by rage, Eucibous had become a berserker. Throwing away all defenses, he was going to attack with his anger and body alone. He wanted to break this drow apart, he would not even touch his sword.
Herreleck had heard his champion’s call and responded. “What are you afraid of? He approaches you with no weapon in hand! Now is our chance! Defeat him and I will take Sargath’s place in the heavens, and you will be my champion! You already have my gift, I can do no more.”
Returning to reason, Kol’thakal watched Eucibous slowly approach and noticed that he indeed did not have his sword in hand. In fact, he wasn’t in any sort of stance at all. But he could still feel the sheer strength of will emanating from the human before him. He struggled to stay on his two feet, so strong were the winds created by the crimson warrior’s fury. But he would not be defeated without a fight.
Kol’thakal drew his blades and ran up a tree adjacent to him. Pushing off of the tree, he dashed through the air straight at Eucibous. When he was within range, he began his flurry of attack combinations, unseen by the naked eye.
When the first attack would have connected, the sword simply stopped within an inch of Eucibous’s face. The winds bursting forth from his body are so powerful they act as a shield! The closer I get to the source, the stronger the wind! Even with the immense strength and speed of the strongest drow King in centuries, he still could not penetrate the energy protecting the human. He knew he had to retreat. The only way he was going to defeat this man was with Lithak’s help. Just as he was about to pull away his blades, Eucibous reached out and grabbed the one closest to him.
Unbelievable…Kol’thakal thought, he crushes steel with his bare hands. He noticed that Eucibous had also grabbed his other sword in the meantime.
Knowing that no warrior would give up his last weapon in such a predicament, Eucibous hurled the blade he held to the ground, bringing the drow that still held onto it to the ground as well. Before the drow hit the ground however, his face hit Eucibous’s knee. Bones cracked in the King’s cheek as his jaw erupted in pain. He began slumping to the dirt but Eucibous caught him by his face. His massive palm held the King’s face in the air, and he carried the small drow a few feet to the tree he had jumped off of. Still holding him by his face, he slammed the drow backward into the tree, smashing his skull off of the hard bark. Holding him there against the tree, blood dripped down the trunk from a wound in the back of the King’s head. The tree had cracked down the middle from the impact, and the massive crack held the drow in place even as Eucibous let go of him. Hanging there in the tree, the drow couldn’t have continued fighting even if he wanted to, which he did not. His only hope was the knowledge that humans were far too kind for their own good…
“I’m….sorry.” Kol’thakal barely managed to utter. “Herreleck….made me.”
Eucibous stared into the eyes of the King, and it seemed as if his eyes glowed from his anger. “Nobody can make you do anything, you pathetic fool. I warned you. I told you not to mess with my friends.” Eucibous then began chanting the words to a spell he had never planned to use due to its gruesomeness. Glaring at the man who had murdered his friend in cold blood, he completed the spell and watched.
Kol’thakal’s eyes shot wide open in pain. At first it was not apparent what the pain was from, but then you could see his veins bulging from his skin, larger than any vein should normally be. They were pulsating, the blood within him boiling his insides. As his inner organs were seared by the heat, the pressure building up in the veins became too much for them to handle. All the veins in his body burst open, blood spurting from them. Every inch of skin was covered in blood, and his eyeballs exploded. The drow’s body convulsed in pain and shock, then fell to the ground in a bloody mess.
Eucibous grabbed the body of his dear friend, and the body of the knight he had saved, and slowly sulked back to the drow army, memories of his companion flooding his mind the entire way.
Nobody was more scared than Lithak when Eucibous was the only one emerging out of those trees, with the two fallen humans in tow. His King was nowhere to be seen, and he had a bad feeling. He had also felt and seen the activity from Eucibous’s rage, but did not know its source. He had never felt magic like that, he was confused. Confused…and petrified.
Eucibous laid his friends gently on the ground, and cast the most powerful protective spell known to man around them. He then stood and his gaze swept over the drow army that stood there wondering what would happen next.
Lithak panicked as Eucibous’s eyes bore into his. He looked back at the army and took command. “Attack him! The King is dead, I lead you now!”
Whispers arose from every section of the drow army, contemplating their situation. Then a seasoned General stepped forward to speak for the army. “We will not die for you. If the King is dead, we will return home.”
Lithak’s mouth gaped open in shock. Drow never turned down a fight!
Eucibous spoke up. “Those of you who do not wish to die, leave Adanantus and return to your island. I will not blame you for the actions of your King.” He then concentrated on the spellcaster. “You however, will remain. You cast the spell that allowed your King to catch my friend, who he then killed in cold blood.”
The seasoned archmage wasted no time, and knew when he was outmatched. He immediately began casting a teleportation spell that would get him out of the area, trying to cast it as quickly as possible. He concluded the spell, and laughed at Eucibous. “Farewell!” He yelled, and then prepared to vanish.
He did not vanish, however. Sweat trickled down his forehead in realization. Impossible! A warrior of such strength and skill…also powerful enough in magic to silence me? To prevent me from casting it would take an archmage of incredible skill…
For the first time he could remember, tears flowed down his dark cheeks as he foresaw his doom, and removed the hood from his head. He fell to his knees in acceptance and embracing his fate, asked Sargath for forgiveness. It was then that he suddenly exploded in a vicious display of blood and entrails. A humanoid detonation spell that not even he had mastered…
Eucibous watched impassively, displaying no emotion. He then looked to the skies. “Sargath…you are responsible for this. One day I will rip your soul from the abyss and destroy you, as you destroyed my friend.”
Eucibous walked through the forests brooding over the loss of his good friend Ginin, mindlessly traveling down the path with no other thoughts on his mind. He carried the body of his friend over one shoulder, and Kolthak over the other. He had no specific destination. He knew he could not carry them all the way to Tibinar, but he wanted to be alone for the moment. Eucibous had not known loss for a long time, since his childhood and the murder of his adopted parents. He had been a loner most of his life, caring only about furthering his own strength. That all ended when he fought and defeated Lok, befriending him immediately after, recognizing the potential in the young man. This began his habit of recruiting the best of those he met in battle, but only those that could be considered respectable warriors. Eucibous met many in battle, however, and few passed his test. One of those few had been Ginin, showing expert ability in stealth, assassination, and combat techniques. Since then, they had seen many battlefields together, sharing a bond few had with their subordinates. Eucibous did not expect Ginin to be defeated so easily.
“I should have seen it coming. I should have been able to stop the drow.” Branches of the trees around him swayed in the wind caused by his mere frustration, his anger often causing his energy to be released uncontrollably. “Perhaps…” Eucibous considered something he had never considered before, spells that are looked down upon and forbidden by the schools of magic. Spells of necromancy. “No…I know of no spell that keeps the spirit intact without creating a mindless zombie. Only the Gods could…” The thought struck Eucibous like a hammer to the head. Eucibous prepared to call upon Gurnac, when he realized he had been so out of it that he had not even noticed three men come to block his way in the middle of the dirt road. He was not in the mood for games.
The man in the middle grinned at Eucibous, as one hand grasped a sword at his belt. He must not have recognized who he was accosting, for Eucibous was wearing a cloak, hiding his armor and his notable hair. He did not like to attract too much attention wherever he went. On the other hand, however, it gave brigands who would normally be scared off the courage to approach him. The man’s two comrades giggled like immature children, as if they foresaw an easy robbery.
Eucibous kept the cloak on, but slowly raised his head to look the man in the eyes. “I give you only one warning. Walk away now, or die. You picked a bad day to trifle with me.”
The three men laughed as one. The apparent leader in the middle spoke first. “Die? Even if you could somehow defeat us, I don’t think you realize what you’re up against!” The man kept grinning as he put his fingers to his mouth and whistled. The trees and bushes on the hills around them rustled, and a long row of archers revealed themselves on each side of the road, all with bows drawn and ready to fire at Eucibous.
“You use this much manpower for every fool you rob?” Eucibous asked with a voice resembling that of pity. “It only flaunts your weakness.”
“We prefer to gain our loot without any bloodshed, but if we need to kill, we will. The manpower is simply to avoid such things.” The leader replied. “Now, as you have so cleverly deduced, we’d appreciate it if you turned over anything of value.”
“You
should have taken my warning,” Eucibous answered. “Now you will die even if you choose to flee.” Eucibous dropped to one knee and gently placed the bodies of his friend and rival on the ground. He then stood, and muttered a spell of protection to defend them.The three men in front of him were the only ones close enough to hear his words, and they were indeed flustered, but only for a brief moment. Realization quickly sunk in that they far outnumbered this lone traveler. The leader took a few steps forward. “Now, even if you happen to be a mage, surely you must see your folly. I will offer once more…”
The man was in the middle of his sentence when Eucibous suddenly vanished and appeared directly in front of him, grabbing him by the throat before he could finish speaking. The archers were unsure of what to do, for if they fired they would hit their leader. Any confusion was quickly swept away however when Eucibous squeezed, ripping into their leader’s throat and tearing out flesh. Their boss collapsed to the ground a bloody mess, stunned, and the archers let loose their arrows.
Eucibous calmly but quickly whispered a few words. Almost two dozen arrows struck his skin and the corpse of their former boss, and all hitting him either bounced off or broke into pieces. He had cast a spell of stone skin. Several archers then chose to target the bodies on the ground, only to find their arrows shattering before reaching their targets. The two remaining thieves in front of Eucibous were in shock, and within range. Eucibous quickly threw off his cloak and drew his massive blade, swinging it straight across at the two men with incredible speed and fury. The sword cleaved through both of the men’s midsections, splitting their bodies in two. Their torsos fell to the soil, spilling out pools of blood. Eucibous stood over the corpses, his famous crimson hair blowing in the winds of his rage.