The Blade Guardian

by Darren Hultberg Jr

  Morose pulled his strike back at the last second, leaving the weapon hovering just inches from my face. “You brought a man with that hellacious curse into our stronghold!” he growled back. “There is no cure for him here. He must be put down!”

  Before I could respond, the transformed Taryn let out an ear-piercing howl, shattering his shadowy restraints.

  Silencing Howl

  The Great Fang unleashes a howl of challenge to his enemies, silencing them, along with any magickkal items, for 10 seconds.

  In an instant, the Great Fang leapt forward, slamming into my back and forcing my body to launch forward into Morose. Our armored forms crashed into the stone floor in unison, my field plate scraping against his spiked cuirass.

  Silenced and unable to use my skills, I braced myself as I waited for sharp talons to rend my exposed back... but the attack never came. Instead, the transformed rogue leapt over Morose and I, his yellow eyes locked on to the only man left standing... Highraven Wesley.

  “Run!” I yelled to the Highraven as I climbed off of Morose and sprung back to my feet. Likewise, the assassin leapt back to his feet in one swift motion, immediately turning towards the attack on his unguarded lord.

  Razyr and Kord made a feeble attempt at blocking the great fang’s charge, though the creature merely swatted them out of the way. The wolf’s silencing howl had left the familiars all but powerless.

  And then the lycan was on Wesley.

  The Highraven raised a gloved hand in defense, though it appeared meek in comparison to the great fang’s massive palm. The wolf merely swatted his hand away, then attacked with an overpowering slash. The bloodlust in that creature’s eyes… it was almost unfathomable!

  Claws raked across Wesley’s face, peeling away flesh and shearing his fine black robes, lycanthropic talons that were sharp enough to drain the health bar of any mid-level warrior on Aetheria. I was certain the man was dead right there and then...

  I could not have been more wrong.

  Pieces of pale flesh began to peel away from Wesley’s face, revealing a deep red layer of skin underneath. His short black hair fell from his head as a long, white mane revealed itself, now resting past his shoulders. The black robes once concealing his body fell to the stone in tatters, revealing a body covered in sinewy muscle, a body built for combat, for war… And finally wrapped around the man’s core, was the long, snake-like body of the ancient familiar Aerodonulaus.

  I watched with awe as Wesley’s identity melted away and strange unfamiliar characters began to form in its place, words written in a language I couldn’t hope to understand. Slowly, the characters began to take shape into something legible as I pulled up data on this new form. No longer was he Wesley, Highraven of Ravenflight. No... standing in front of the Great Fang was someone else… no, something else. Vexes, Death Asura.

  Vexes reached for his chest, peeling Aerodonulaus away as the familiar began to change its form. The ancient familiar twisted and writhed before its slithering body began to straighten, a razor-sharp edge jutting from its long, thin spine. In seconds, the ancient one completed its transformation, taking the shape of a massive Aether-forged sword.

  Vexes, the creature formerly known as Wesley, hoisted the ancient blade into the air, its sharp edge longer the man himself. Then, before the Great Fang could react... he struck.

  ><><

  I froze in my tracks as the scene unfolded in front of my eyes. Vexes slashed his oversized blade through the air, a seven-foot long sword forged from the ancient familiar. The weapon’s edge was a strange, translucent red and the hilt was a deep black, the pommel and guard both adorned with sharp spikes.

  Despite its size, Vexes swung the blade with ease, activating a sword skill much too quickly for the Great Fang to react. The crimson edge sliced through silvery fur with little resistance, bringing the growls of the giant wolf to a sudden halt.

  Asuran vengeance

  The chamber fell silent as Vexes let the massive blade rest at his side and Taryn’s transformed head fell from his shoulders, making a soft thud as it hit the stone floor. The health reticle surrounding Taryn’s still-standing body abruptly depleted to nothing before the body finally collapsed, slowly reverting back to its human form.

  I tried to protest, tried to scream in anger and disbelief and all of the other emotions swirling inside of me, but I just couldn’t find the words... Taryn was dead.

  “NO!” a familiar voice screamed from the other side of the chamber. I turned to see Brenton fall to his knees at the base of the stairs, tears streaming from beneath his squared spectacles. His white and red robes appeared to be torn and tattered... he must’ve been there when Taryn made his transformation...

  “Why would you do that!” Hilda shrieked, her face twisted in rage. “He was our friend!”

  “He was a threat,” Vexes replied, his voice far more guttural than when he adorned his human form. “The affliction had sent the man into a bestial rage! He could’ve very well killed any one of you!”

  Brenton continued to sob as Hilda rushed to his side in comfort, though not before cutting Vexes a piercing glare.

  I tried to wrap my mind around the situation, but it felt like my thoughts were racing in a thousand different directions. We thought we had done everything necessary to get out of Aetheria, we’d risked our lives… and now our friend was dead… and all for the sake of this damned Asura creature Vexes!

  I gave the man a careful inspection as the tremors in my hands began to subside. He wore pale, red skin, nails blacker than the edge of my blade, a wild white mane, and tiny horns hitting out of the top of his forehead... the man looked like a damn demon!

  “What... are you?” I muttered, as I read the data laid out in front of me. Name... Vexes. Race... Asura. Level... unknown. Then my eyes rested on the massive sword in his hand and I let out an audible gasp.

  Equipped weapon: World Breaker.

  9

  Betrayal

  “World breaker?” I stammered, eyes locked on the Asuran’s massive blade. Razyr let out a feral growl as he backpedaled towards my location, visibly shaken by the sight of the sword.

  “Calm yourself, Darkblade,” Vexes instructed, eyeing the white-knuckled grip I had on each of my blades. “And listen... there is much that is needed to be said.”

  “No, Zander!” Razyr hissed as he made his way back to my shoulder. “This is one of the creatures that nearly destroyed our realm. This is the true evil!”

  “Listen, Darkblade,” Vexes reiterated. “And gain a better understanding of the forces at play.”

  I heard the man’s words, but I couldn’t get the image of that massive blade cutting down Taryn out of my head. One of the world breakers, the fabled weapons of destruction... it was mere feet in front of me, and in the hands of a goddamned demon!

  “You were never going to send us home,” I growled, taking a step in the Asuran’s direction. “You used us to retrieve your damned weapon!” I couldn’t contain my outburst as the rage of my familiars coursed through my body. The sight of the world breaker had awakened something in them, and due to our strong connection, I was feeling it as well.

  Vexes raised his free hand into the air, signaling for me to halt my approach. “Don’t do something you’ll regret, Zander,” he said, his eyes locking onto my own. “Try to strike me down and you’ll be squandering your limitless potential... think about how strong you’ve already become! At my side, you could elevate yourself and become one of the new gods of this world... you could create a realm devoid of the pain that your earth realm brought you!”

  Vexes rotated his slender hand, as if to offer it to me. This creature, this demon once thought to be my ally, was offering me his hand! My heart raced as all eyes rested on me... My gaze shifted to the weeping form of Brenton, to the cold-hearted stare of Morose, to the angered expressions of my familiars, until finally my sight rested on the headless form of Taryn. His lifeless eyes seemed to stare back at me, eyes that would never again
draw in the terrible, beautiful sights of this realm or any other...

  “Zander...” Vexes said, again reaching an open hand out to me. “You know so little about the greater machinations of the realms of Ashadar. Aetheria is just but one realm of many. Come, sit with me and take council. I will show you what it means to hold true power.” He paused, meeting my gaze with an unnerving stare. “Take hold of your own destiny for once and obtain the power that you deserve.”

  I turned and gave Hilda one final look, then nodded and reached a hand toward Vexes. A smile began to form at the edge of his mouth as slender fingers began to wrap around my own. Clearly, retaining my allegiance held some sort of significance to this red-skinned creature, this Asuran.

  Too bad I had to disappoint.

  I wrapped my hand around Vexes’s and gave it a sudden yank, pulling the Asuran forward and off-balance. Then, in nearly the same breath, I shadowshifted.

  Maybe I was a damned fool… to turn down an offer of power such as his. Still, there was no way I could side with a creature that could murder one of my companions so easily. If I were to side with him, then there would no telling where it would end!

  I rematerialized directly behind Hilda, shifting to the slayer’s mark I had secretly put on her seconds before. Razyr and Kord followed, zipping across the chamber and entering my body as tiny balls of light. Aether immediately began coursing through my veins, giving my attributes a sudden boost. I would need it if I was going to escape this place.

  “Run!” I urged Hilda and Brenton, yanking them forward as we bolted towards the stairs. If we could somehow make our way out of Ravenhold, then perhaps we could find a quiet corner of the realm to hide, to regroup and lick our wounds.

  Before we could reach the exit, a blur of red dashed in front of my vision as a long bastard sword came to a rest just inches from my face. Morose had cut us off, and by the looks of it he had no intention of letting us go. The man’s skin had taken the same red hue as Vexes and his straight black hair had grown wild and unkempt. Twisting horns that were once accessories to his helm now jutted out his forehead like a demonic vestige.... another Asuran.

  Morose

  Race: Death Asura

  Lvl 48 Assassin

  “You will not—” Morose began to protest our retreat, but was abruptly cut off by a runic blast of fire launched from Brenton’s palms. The flames rocketed towards the Asuran’s upper body, but Morose was far too seasoned to be caught off guard from an attack like that. With a slash of his mighty sword, he cut through the flame, dissipating the bulk of the attack while deflecting the remaining runic fire to either side. Then, with anger in his eyes, he lashed out.

  The assassin bolted forward, delivering a powerful kick to Brenton’s mid-section and depleting a chunk of his HP. The runecaster immediately dropped to his knees, grasping at his abdomen as he desperately tried to suck in air.

  Stunned

  Morose made a quick shift and lunged at Hilda, but she prepared for his attack. Her aegis shield came up as the assassin struck out with his blade, sending a shower of sparks into the air as iron and steel clashed.

  Suddenly, Ivan entered her as a ball of light, causing a pair of Aether-wings to sprout from her back. Using the wings, she pressed forward, delivering a mighty shield bash to Morose that forced him away. Instinctively, I pivoted and pressed my own back to hers before raising my blade.

  There we stood, backs to one another near the far end of the chamber, a demonic Asuran on either side of us, and two fallen friends at our feet.

  “This is not what I intended,” Vexes growled in his guttural tone, his world breaker blade barely resting on his shoulder. “But you’ve left me no choice... Really, it will be no matter. There will be others who are not as foolish as you, Darkblade, others that will gladly offer their service to a greater power.”

  “Service?” I spat, face hot with anger. “You’re here to end the damned world! I’ve seen the destruction you brought about... hell, I’ve communed with the relics of the gods that you killed!” My muscles tensed as Vexes took a step in my direction, a contemplative expression on his demonic face.

  “You’re not wrong, Darkblade... we nearly destroyed this realm during our first conquest, a mistake we won’t be making again. I and the other Asurans, we drained this realm dry after we slayed its so-called gods... but the power of the Aether did not last.”

  “You’re monsters,” I growled, crossing my blades in front of my chest, anticipating an attack at any moment.

  “Hardly,” Vexes replied. “The Asurans… my people were a peaceful race until the greater forces of Ashadar showed up to destroy our realm. They had seen something, a glimpse into the future… those fools feared what we Asurans could become, not what we were. They acted without reason, they lit a flame that was to encompass my entire realm… those bastards were going to watch our realm burn!” Vexes appeared to grow visibly angry as the words left his mouth.

  “Was I to idly stand by and watch that happen? No! I would not! The strongest of us, those born of the death element responded with violent force. We fought off the supposed protectors of Ashadar, we saved our people…. But that was not all. The Asurans would not fall victim again. We began a conquest across the realms of Ashadar, a campaign that would not end until the realm’s greatest forces fell at our feet….” Time seemed to slow in the chamber as Vexes became fully engrossed in his tale.

  “First, we began to ravage the lesser realms, harvesting their pitiful resources, taking what we could for the coming days...Then, in our travels we discovered Aetheria, and on that realm found a power source greater than any we’ve ever seen… the Aether.

  “We tried desperately to wield the power for ourselves, using the most ancient of the aetherial creatures to channel this world’s energy into powerful weapons… weapons that you now refer to as world breakers.” The Asuran glanced over at his massive sword before resting his gaze back on me. “With the power of the Aether in our grasp, there would be nobody that could challenge our reign of Ashadar…” Vexes paused, taking in an angry breath. “Unfortunately, the Aether is unique in that it draws its own power from the hearts of men, from the very souls of the Aetherians themselves… a sort of symbiosis between the world’s lifeblood and its inhabitants.”

  I let out a feigned chuckle, a realization quickly dawning on me. “You can’t wield the Aether yourself, can you?” Vexes cut his eyes at me as I spoke. “Or at least not for long… Just as you said, the Aether draws its power from the hearts of men. You weren’t just using me… you need me. You can’t sustain this world’s power on your own... not with the corrupted soul of an intergalactic demon!”

  “That’s exactly why I need you, boy,” Vexes spat, choosing to ignore my demon comment. “With a group of worthy souls attuned to the Aether’s power, we could wield it indefinitely! Together, we could take the realms for ourselves…” Suddenly a grin spread across his pale, red face. “Unfortunately, you don’t seem willing to fulfill such a role. Ah well, you’re not the only candidate able to wield such power. Certainly, your natural attunement to the Aether may be superior, but there will be others who are… more willing.” The Asuran’s grin faded as the man took another step in my direction.

  “Perhaps,” I conceded. “But you’ll have to get rid of me first… Now!” I yelled, spurring Brenton to action as his stun wore off. The runecaster activated the rune that he had secretly scribed onto the floor, bringing forth a dazzling display of magickkal energy.

  Ensnaring rune

  Blue light traveled across the stone floor with blinding speed, encircling Morose and momentarily trapping him where he stood. Brenton remained kneeling on the floor, channeling his mana into the rune to keep the Asuran assassin at bay. I followed up with a shadow snare, sending tendrils of dark energy forth that wrapped around that horned bastard... he wouldn’t be going anywhere, at least for the moment.

  With one enemy temporarily taken out of the equation, Hilda turned and together we charg
ed at Vexes. He was easily much stronger than both of us, but perhaps together we could…

  CRASH!

  The stone floor splintered and cracked as Vexes slammed his world breaker blade down between us, forcing us to dive in either direction. Hilda used her Aether wings to remain on her feet, manipulating the air to keep her upright.

  Intending to keep some distance between the Asuran and myself, I rolled to the left, dismissing nevermore and calling forth my Eagleshot bow in one swift motion. As I came out of my roll, I launched three arrows in quick succession directly at Vexes. The Asuran ripped his weapon out of the stone, using the flat of the blade to block each of the arrows, seemingly unfazed by the speed of my attack. Regardless, Hilda used that distraction to charge forward, switching to imperious stance as she let loose a mighty slash of her blade!

  Unfortunately, the strike never landed.

  A wave of spiky dark energy cascaded from Vexes’s form as he unleashed the skill Asuran thorns. Black energy burned at Hilda’s face and arms, halting her charge as she fluttered her wings, halting her momentum and sending her back in the opposite direction. A quick glance at her health reticle revealed a sizable portion missing... dammit all, was he strong!

  With his back turned to me and his skill likely recharging, I dashed at the Asuran, calling nevermore back into my grasp. “Blade flurry!” I yelled as translucent swords of varying sizes formed at my side before launching themselves at my opponent. Vexes turned on his heel and batted a trio of blades away, shattering them into tiny translucent shards. Somehow a fourth blade found its mark, slicing across the side of the Asuran’s exposed midsection and drawing a thin line of blood. My eyes settled on his health reticle for the briefest of seconds, waiting for it to deplete, but its drop was nearly unnoticeable... my attack had done hardly any damage. Dammit all, we were in way over our heads.