The Fractured Heartstone

by Ian Thornburrow-Dobson

  As energy continued to surge from the strange phenomena the cultist caught hold of Kael’s wrists and wrenched violently. The two men fought desperately over the blade and soon it became a shoving contest as both of them wrestled with one another for the weapon. Kael balled a fist and smashed it into the cultist’s jaw. Feraal staggered to one side and he rubbed his cheek bemusedly while the vagabond slashed the air theatrically. Raelynne hollered in rage as she approached, her arms crackling with electricity as she murmured the spell under her breath. Feraal smiled as he raised his own hands, signalling for the mage to unleash her fury. Lightning bolts singed through the air between them but the cultist swept his hand in a circle, a ball of light appearing around him as the magical attack bounced off harmlessly.

  The luminous shield around the cultist winked out of existence before flames erupted in his palms. He sneered menacingly as he sprinted at his nemesis and grasped her face tightly. Raelynne struggled in his grip, snarling ferociously as she fought. Her face seared at his touch and she writhed furiously. Raelynne’s brow furrowed as she grabbed her counterpart’s shirt, pain registering on her features as Feraal’s palms blistered and burnt her skin. The mage closed her eyes as her synapses registered every ounce of pain and she jolted violently before she threw her weight bodily toward the path’s edge. In the next second both of them vanished from sight as they plunged headlong down the mountainside.

  Ydari stood frozen in horror as he watched the cultist and mage disappear. Abruptly, the orb exploded outwards and sent the Ythelians reeling back violently into the rock face, slamming into the stone at speed. The Watch Captain was the only one to remain standing as the bodies of his fellows slumped to one side, unconscious. The inky blackness expanded into the silhouette of a figure and suddenly disappeared in a snap. The void was replaced by a man clad in finery that was decorated in the Akanthiri style. In the centre of his torso a red glow shone brightly. The same hue wreathed his form from head to toe and a menacing aura hung around him as he stepped forward and locked eyes on Ydari.

  “You!” Ydari hissed as he beheld Trelech.

  “The Ythelian pretender!” Trelech replied with a sneer. “I see you brought company. Too bad they will join you in death,” he continued, motioning to the fallen watchmen.

  “If you harm them, I will destroy you.”

  “You can try but you might find the task impossible,” glowered Trelech. “You can hear it calling to you, can’t you?

  “Yes, and you will never reach it.”

  “Let’s agree to disagree.”

  The two men stood in silence for a moment as a faint grin spread across his face. Ydari backed away, placing himself squarely between his nemesis and the cave entrance and raised his fists as if inviting the Akanthiri to make the first move. Trelech nodded and shrugged his shoulders as a thought passed through his mind. The God-King yelled as he shot forwards in an impossible burst of speed and slammed headlong into Ydari who dug his heels in a futile attempt to arrest his momentum. Trelech however dropped to his haunches and lifted his opponent into the air. Ydari could only flail ineffectually as he lost his purchase and found himself rocketing backwards as the champion of the red gem carried him into the cavern beyond.

  They came to a sudden halt as Trelech stopped dead in his tracks and hurled Ydari into the cavern wall like a toy. He crashed into the solid rock wall with a sickening thud and fell to the stone floor, the wind completely taken out of him. Trelech dropped to his knees beside the prone Ythelian, raising his fists overhead before bringing them down sharply into Ydari’s gut, delivering double-handed blows again and again. Ydari was pummelled by the man’s relentless assault and it was all he could do to try to block his adversary’s attacks but time and again they found their mark. Each time another shot crashed into the Watchman’s exposed flanks and back he recoiled in agony, his pained screams echoing around the cave. Finally, Trelech relented in his onslaught and he rose back to a vertical base, staring down at the battered form of his rival who lay crumpled at his feet.

  For the first time, Trelech looked around at the dingy cavern around him. A faint yellow glow immediately drew his attention. The space was relatively featureless and reminiscent of caves everywhere except for what was waiting for him at the far wall. The source of the faint light became immediately apparent as he saw a yellow gem completely encased in a wall of ice. The Akanthiri monarch licked his lips with relish as he crossed the cave and stood in front of it. He could feel its raw energy crying out and the red shard in his chest responded in kind, as if the two jewels were somehow communicating with one another. He raised a hand to it slowly and he stared fixedly at it. In the dark recesses of his mind, the visions of his greatness were renewed with increased fervour.

  As Trelech reached a hand out towards the yellow jewel, a rock came hurtling from out of the darkness and smacked into his back. He swore loudly and turned on the spot, only to be met with another rock pounding into his cranium. The power of the blow staggered the Akanthiri King and he stepped backwards falteringly under a hail of stones that whizzed by or careened into him. Ydari was now consumed in a blue radiance as more rocks floated in the air next to him for a moment before they too were thrown with deadly accuracy. Anger roiled deep inside Trelech and he threw his arms in front of him, the rocks responding to the silent command by changing course and clanging against the cavern walls harmlessly. He screamed in defiance when suddenly Ydari raised his arms.

  “It’s not going to be that easy,” Ydari shouted defiantly.

  Ice blasted from the Watch Captain’s outstretched limbs, encasing Trelech’s right arm in a block of ice. Fire built up deep within the champion of the red gem and the ice rolled off almost instantly. Just as quickly as he could melt the cumbersome ice it reformed around until he was buried in it from the waist down. Ydari roared as more jets of freezing cold water sprayed at his foe and formed a solid wall, thickening Trelech’s prison with each passing second. Steam rose around Trelech as he closed his eyes and concentrated. He began to light up with a deep crimson until a tremendous crack assaulted Ydari’s senses as ice blocks burst apart at the seams and were thrown violently aside.

  “If you really want to fight then let’s go to war,” Trelech replied to Ydari’s earlier taunt.

  Both men blasted a beam of magical energy at one another at the same time. Both lancing bolts of raw power met and a blinding light filled the cave, throwing both of them backwards viciously as they slammed into the unforgiving rock with terrifying momentum. Both Trelech and Ydari leapt back to their feet and stared daggers at their counterpart. The Akanthiri Sovereign was suddenly wreathed in flame and a huge plume of fire seared its way forwards at the Watch Captain. The shimmering light of a shield formed around him, the flames licking the edges of the magical ward hungrily. The inferno burned uncontrollably for a few moments until Ydari grunted in effort and extended the shield, instantly snuffing the flames.

  Just as Ydari extinguished the last of Trelech’s fiery assault, the man himself appeared directly in front of him with fire dancing in his palms. Trelech seized the Watch Captain around the throat and bore him to the ground in a burst of speed. Ydari scrabbled and kicked wildly, trying to free himself from his opponent’s grasp but to no avail. The Akanthiri’s grip tightened and the flames intensified. In spite of this however, the fire had no visible effect and Trelech howled in frustration upon seeing this. He balled up a fiery fist and brought it down sharply into the centre of the Ythelian’s forehead. The blow caused his head to snap back violently, smacking into the rock painfully for added damage. Trelech followed this up with another and another until he lost all control and continued to rain down an endless stream of lefts and rights that Ydari was powerless to stop.

  The sickening display continued for several painful minutes as Ydari became lost to the agony of the brutal assault that was being unleashed upon him. After yet another well-aimed punch, he slumped lifelessly to the floor, his eyes rolling back in his skull as he be
gan to slip into unconsciousness. A smug looking Trelech stood over his downed rival and spat on his prone body in contempt. He gasped from the effort and retreated to the rear of the cave. He levelled his gaze at his prize, reaching out for it hungrily as he did so.

  The wall of ice disappeared in a flash as Trelech’s hand approached, his fingers enclosing the yellow shard. Immediately, new power surged through Trelech and he raised his arms in triumph over his head as millennia of hidden knowledge and wisdom played out almost instantaneously. He screamed to the heavens at his victory, the light in his torso now flitting between red and yellow until it coalesced and became a striking orange. The God-King returned to Ydari’s broken body and looked down at his nemesis once more, a fresh hunger to utterly destroy his existence flashing through his mind.

  “I knew you were weak. Now there is only one use for you.”

  Trelech dropped to his knees beside the Watch Captain and placed both of his hands on Ydari’s chest. The God-King closed his eyes and drew the power of the two shards, draining the very life-force from the Ythelian. The blue glow that surrounded him gradually retreated until the shard was all that remained lit until even that too began to blink intermittently before winking out altogether. Ydari regained consciousness as Trelech leeched the power from him and he could almost feel his life slipping away. Ydari sagged back down lifelessly, his chest remaining inert as the light faded entirely from his torso. With one final smile, the air fizzled around them and Trelech vanished.

  The cave became deathly still for a time until Ydari’s name echoed around the now darkened chamber. Kael blindly stumbled into the cavern with a hand rubbing his sore head with a visibly wounded Idrahil walking behind them. They groped their way through the darkness until Kael’s foot collided with something soft. Realisation dawned on him quickly as he reached down, his probing fingers finding Ydari’s inert body. Idrahil cried out in horror at his unmoving form. They sat down next to the Captain as despair took hold, neither one of them having any idea of what they should do.

  As Kael and Idrahil sat in the gloom a faint rumble issued forth from the back of the cave. They ignored the sound until it came again, stronger this time as a yellow strip of light now bathed them in a faint light. Curiosity overcame her as she rose to her feet and watched with awe as another rumble shook the ground beneath them. Suddenly, two large reptilian eyes appeared before them and stared at them through the gloom.