Seth appraised his first opponent, realizing the game that was his test. It would be easy enough to strip the power from the creature before him, but Seth wanted more than to simply accomplish his task. He wanted everyone present to recount tales about this day for the rest of their lives.
* * * * *
The goblin stepped warily from the steel enclosure that had held him like an animal since being removed from his cell many hours ago. He reached down to retrieve the sword that was customary to the men of his kind, and glanced around the high walls towering above him. The archers above did not draw down on him, and other men sat comfortably watching from the relative safety above. Realizing his predicament, the goblin knew he was meant to slay the boy who stood across the courtyard from him. Dozens of yards separated them, but the goblin decided to make quick work of the lad before he could even draw his sword.
* * * * *
Seth watched the goblin step out of its shadowed cage and emerge into the light. Seth recognized the green flesh striped with criss-crossing patterns of muted blacks and dark muddy browns. The creature’s leathery skin rippled over the muscles below it as it craned its neck to see all those watching from above. Then it turned its gaze upon Seth, its lips parting to show rows of razor sharp teeth as it smiled wickedly. Seth decided upon a plan of action that would leave the crowd in awe, the goblin dead, and his body infused with the goblin’s own life force. As it raced across the courtyard, Seth raised his hands to the approaching creature as if signaling for it to stop. Pointing his fingers towards the creature, palms outward, Seth again unleashed the power remaining to him and bent it to his will.
Lightning exploded from Seth’s fingertips lancing across the ever narrowing distance to his intended target. Before striking the creature, Seth reached across the distance with his mind and stripped the goblin of nearly all of its life force, and gathered the power into himself locking it away for later use. The wicked green lightning lanced through the goblin, utterly destroying the creature much like an explosion. Gore and blood rained down in the courtyard in steaming piles and the goblin was no more. Seth stood elated upon the miniature battlefield, the ecstasy of using the magic caused a shiver to run down his spine as those above watched with a mixture of horror and wonder. Seth was surprised to feel how much energy a single goblin contained, and assured himself he was prepared for whatever challenge was up next.
Seth did not wait long for that next challenge to come. Another cage rolled up behind the open gate across from him. As the door was raised from above, four more goblins raced out into the sunlight. Weapons were tossed in behind the goblins, which quickly turned and armed themselves. These goblins too assessed the situation, and speaking in a swift guttural language, they formulated a plan. Two of the goblins rushed ahead of their peers brandishing their small wicked blades. Before acting, Seth paused to watch as the two remaining goblins hurtled out to the sides and along the walls in an effort to flank him. Deciding upon a course of action, Seth chose to first prove that which he had stated the night before.
One of the goblins charging headlong at him had fallen a few paces behind the other, unable to keep up, playing perfectly into Seth’s plan. Seth reached out with his mind and with a small tug instantly ended the nearest goblin who, mid-stride, appeared to crumple in upon itself, turning to nothing more than ash. This slowed the goblin behind who was forced to plow through the ashy remains of its comrade, choking on the ash of the deceased. Seth did not bother to contain the energy he had stripped away from the latest goblin. Instead he immediately bent it to his will and, raising his hand, the same yellow-green fire as earlier erupted from his fingertips forming a ball in his hand. Seth extended his arm, pointing his palm outward, aiming the unnatural fireball towards his next opponent. He released the fireball and watched as it sped to its intended target before the goblin had time to change course or dodge the blow. Reveling in the feeling of the power coursing through him, Seth held onto the fireball with his power even as it reached the goblin. He twisted the flame, willing it to conform to his needs, and as the fiery mass hit the goblin it lanced up the creature’s clothing, climbing into its open mouth and nose, completely suffocating its screams of anguish as the goblin burned from the inside out.
Seth had spent too much time on that opponent, and it nearly cost him. The goblin who was attempting to flank him from the right had moved faster than Seth had anticipated and was nearly upon him. Having no time to formulate a spectacular show of his prowess, Seth threw up his arm as if to block the goblin's blow with his bare hand and sent a torrent of invisible energy rushing out of his palm. There was a loud whooshing sound as the goblin was lifted up off its feet, panicking, and surged backwards, somersaulting through the air and smashing into the giant stone wall with a bone-shattering thud. The greasy creature crumpled to the ground and remained unmoving.
Seth turned to the last goblin approaching from his opposite side. Grasping at the power sustaining the goblin, Seth siphoned nearly its entire life force away, causing it to stagger against the stone wall. Using the goblin’s own life, Seth reached out with his hands and summoned another column of fire. The blaze roared across the open expanse driving the goblin into the wall behind it, superheating the very stone itself. Molten bits began cascading down towards the ground, encompassing the remains of the goblin. When Seth relented, bones of the goblin protruded from the wall. Gone was the smooth surface of the stone. Where it once was flawless, now in a perfect circle it oozed down to the ground like a candle’s wax leaving lines of hardening stone mixed with bones and teeth. Seth drew into himself once more. Feeling the pleasure course through him, he gathered the excess of power remaining to him and stowed it away, waiting for whatever challenge would come next.
Again the wait was not long. A larger cage soon replaced the last, and three large, hulking, black forms emerged, ducking their heads to issue forth into the courtyard. This race of being was unknown to Seth and he scrutinized their every detail. Their flesh was black and leathery and glistened as if wet with perspiration. Their large heads held wide jaws filled with pointed teeth and their lower canines were overly large, protruding up from their mouths even when closed. These creatures nearly completely lacked any sign of a nose and instead had two teardrop shaped holes above their mouths. Their eyes were large and milky yellow in color with metallic hues to their pupils. Their body was much like a human's despite their overly long limbs and fingers ending in claws. Muscles bulged beneath the seemingly stretched glossy black flesh, revealing every detail of the muscle and sinew beneath.
As the three creatures took stock of their surroundings, large heavy blades were tossed at the their feet, and each in turn picked up two. Even the weapons were foreign to Seth. Shaped like crescent moons, the blades ended at a point at each end and the handle was in the middle, allowing the bearer to slide his fingers through the blade itself to grasp the weapon on the backside. Everything about these creatures seemed dangerous. They appeared to be evil incarnate, but Seth knew that they stood little chance against him. And as he reached out with his senses he was again astonished to find that the power within this race of man was unlike any other he had touched. These creatures must be long-lived indeed for theirs was a powerful aura of dark metallic greens and silvers, and as if to astonish Seth further each of the creatures paused before attacking to close their eyes and whisper a prayer.
Realization dawned on Seth instantaneously. These weren't mere foes he faced, they were likely trained warriors, possibly blessed by whatever dark god they worshipped. Unaware of their abilities Seth didn't dare give them time to close in on him. He watched with his godlike vision as the aura inside each of the creatures swelled with the power of the god they worshipped. Then the beasts attacked. They lunged across the ground, falling to all fours, their gangly limbs propelling them at unnatural speeds. Seth had little time to react. The creatures already nearly upon him, he unleashed his power, throwing up a wall of yellow-green flame between himself and t
he creatures beyond hoping to keep them at bay. The onlookers above gasped as the wall of flame licked the top of the walls where they were seated. Seth dared not drop the wall immediately for fear that, when he did, the creatures would be upon him.
Unleashing more power Seth threw an invisible torrent of energy at his foes. The creatures dug their clawed fingers and toes into the soil, unable to attack, but remaining fixed despite the surge whipping around them. Seth reached out mentally and tugged at the power sustaining one of the beasts, but the power did not relent to him. Realizing he had never tried to strip away a god's blessing before Seth redoubled his focus and tore at the energy sustaining the closest nightmarish creature, ripping it away piece by piece, shred by shred. Suddenly the power within the creature diminished, his blessing from the god he served torn from him. Seemingly weakened, the creature lost its hold on the earth. Caught in the torrent around, it went rolling back across the courtyard away from Seth. Seth dared not let the beast pray again, and again he reached out with a tendril of his consciousness. This time grasping the power sustaining the creature’s life, he plucked it away and felt the power rush into him with exhilaration. As the goblin had done earlier, the beast dissipated into a cloud of ash, whirling through the air as Seth’s magical torrent continued.
Sustaining his defense was draining Seth’s power, and he was forced to pour the power he had just gained into keeping his guard up. The two remaining creatures clung to the ground clawing and scraping, trying to edge nearer to their foe, and slowly they were making progress. Seth raised his fingers and again lanced wicked lightning at one of the monsters. It erupted into a hail of gore caught up in the torrent of Seth’s defense. The entire courtyard was now covered in a pink haze from the blood carried aloft by the rushing power Seth issued from himself.
The remaining creature still clung just yards from Seth, head back, maw snapping into the magical wind and Seth felt his power reserve failing. Reaching out to sever the blessing pouring into the creature, Seth suddenly changed his mind to quickly experiment with his foe. Instead of tearing away the blessing, Seth siphoned off a small portion of the beast's life force and waited a moment to see it replenished. Seth siphoned more and, as before, the god blessing the creature replaced the energy that Seth had drained away. Seth continued to siphon gradually, stealing away more and more power till he could feel it roiling for escape inside him. Knowing he couldn’t break the blessing in a single blow, Seth then, as before, began to tear at bits and pieces of the creature’s swollen life force until eventually the blessing vanished, but the creature remained. Refocusing the torrent and reining in its power, Seth pinned the creature to the ground. In each of the beast’s clawed hands it still held its weapons. Keeping the hideous creature immobilized, Seth focused his energy upon the weapons. Like the coin he had once altered, Seth forced his will upon the metal of the blades causing them to twist and reform, and as each blade elongated it snaked around the wrists and arms of its bearer, binding itself to his body. Seth then drew the metal of the two blades together, melding them. Seth released the creature from the ground, sealing off the power within himself once again. The monstrous black creature rolled on the ground attempting to break the bonds rendering his arms and hands useless, but was unable. It struggled to its feet and ran back to the cage from whence it had come. Watching the creature go, Seth drew off more than half of its life to replenish his reserves. As the beast retreated, cheering erupted from the wall above as many shouted encouragement to Seth and mocked the creature’s retreat.
Seth reveled in his own glory, but the celebration was short lived. As his previous opponent was wheeled away, another cage appeared. Seth couldn’t imagine what new horror awaited within the cage, wondering how long they would continue this test, and what further they hoped to learn of his abilities.
The latest cage opened and Seth was momentarily relieved to see a small, humanlike creature issue forth from the cage. The small man was quite old, Seth imagined, as he hobbled more than walked and lean heavily upon a staff. He wore a russet brown robe with a deep cowl hiding his face, but issuing out from the cowl was a long white beard that tumbled nearly to the ground. All the form’s features remained hidden apart from his small gnarled hands with swollen, arthritic knuckles and age spots. Even the flesh upon the hands had an aged, sickly yellow hue to them. Seth was wondering what threat this old man could possibly be when, straightening his back as best he could, the figure lifted his staff to the sky. Shouting something, he brought the staff back down, slamming the butt of it into the ground. Seth felt a slight tremble, and then the earth beneath him began to buck and fold, splitting in two under his feet. Seth dove to the side just in time to recover and watch a huge chasm open up that was large enough to have swallowed him whole. As quickly as the chasm had opened, the soil seemed to roil forth from the edges and spread to again fill it in, and more impressive still, the grass itself mended back together revealing no trace that such a hole had ever existed. Seth knew now that he faced a mage of some sort.
Peering into his opponent’s life force, Seth witnessed another aura of a like he had never seen before. It was not a single color nor a single shade, yet it was not multicolored either. It appeared to change color from one to another with steady rhythm to the man's beating heart. Seth found it intriguing and wondered what god it was that the man-like creature worshipped. Knowing he wasn't likely to find out, however, Seth watched as the small withered man again raised his staff, and this time pointed the tip of it at the stone wall. Wiggling the fingers on his remaining hand, the small wizard gave some command and Seth stared as creatures, like some type of giant insect, took form upon the wall's surface. Growing in definition they eventually separated themselves from the confines of the stone. Each of the huge stone insects scurried down the wall carried by thousands of little legs, great pincers snapping at their heads. The insects pooled around the old, age-worn mage who pointed to Seth. Immediately the small beasts surged towards him in a mass of undulating stone bodies. Seth could end life, but it appeared this mage could create it. Seth thought that indeed this could be a prolonged battle if he wished it so.
Focusing his attention at the mass of small bodies teeming towards him, Seth noted something peculiar. Each of the stone minions had an aura as all living things did, but it was not an aura of their own. Seth traced each of the auras and found a small tendril leading from each of the small stone beasts, like the root of some plant, back to the withered mage. They were in fact not true living beings, but an extension of the mage himself, like some sort of puppet controlled by his mind.
Easy enough, Seth thought, and, dozens at a time, he cut the link to their master. The small beasts vanished, not even bothering to leave stone carcasses behind. The lack of evidence remaining of the creatures confused Seth. Something here was not right. Deciding to mimic the mage, Seth tried to put the old being on the defensive. Releasing his power, Seth pointed his fingers to the ground and small pillars of his wicked yellow-green flame darted from each finger to pool upon the ground. As the fire danced around Seth he separated it from his body, and from each flame created a serpent of living fire. Each small serpent Seth sent slithering across the courtyard, leaving trails of burned grass in their wake. But before they could get very far, the old mage again lifted his staff. Twirling it above his head there was a loud popping sound like a cork from a bottle of wine, but much louder. Unable to control his natural instincts, Seth blinked when the sound erupted, and in that time something amazing had happened. Where the old mage had stood solitarily across the courtyard and where now Seth’s snakes of flame slithered, were now dozens of small withered mages, each identical, each moving in unison as if marionettes all controlled by the same strings.
Then Seth had it; the answer he was looking for, the source of the man's power. Illusion. The gaping chasm in the ground, the stone insects, and now the dozens of replicas of himself were all merely illusions. Seth actually laughed despite himself, catching the crowd above
him off guard. Leaving each of them wondering if he had gone mad, Seth bowed to the elderly mage. He now realized the man was no real threat to him. Waving his hand Seth sliced through the tendrils controlling all of the illusional apparitions of the mage, extinguishing them at once. He too reined in his power to the flaming snakes and each one snuffed out in a puff of smoke. The grizzled mage bowed low to Seth, knowing himself bested. His opponent sparing his life, the old wizard walked cautiously halfway across the courtyard, and again bowing to his superior, he bent and placed his staff upon the ground. Standing and turning, the old mage of unknown race returned to his cage and sat down to rest his weary bones. Seth crossed half the expanse of the courtyard to the staff upon the ground and retrieved it. He was amazed to find the staff itself had an aura, removed from some tree of unknown origin. Covered entirely in carvings of runes and glyphs of some foreign language, the branch still lived, somehow clinging to life with no means of sustenance. Seth scrutinized his prize, momentarily pondering the possibilities, then raised it above his head to show all those who watched the prize of his victory.
Cheers arose from the wall and all but Vladmere stood clapping and shouting their congratulations, giving Seth a standing ovation. He had proven himself in more ways that he had originally planned. He had shown them he could kill, but he had also shown he had compassion and would not kill those who were no longer a threat. He had spared the life of the black grotesque beast who likely would have not shown him the same mercy, and he had spared the life of the old mage through his own cunning, forcing the outmatched man to submit. Though Seth felt overwhelmed by the attention and applause, he also felt exhausted and found himself in a bit of a predicament. Inside him he contained an immense pool of energy struggling to free itself from containment. As the pleasure of using its power receded, and as the adrenaline in his veins diminished, he found himself, straining to contain the power. Realizing the test had come to an abrupt halt, he had no way of using the power without appearing a show off. If he released it into himself it would alter him in untold ways. Seth began searching for a solution as the crowd above him began to make their way down to the courtyard to join him in celebration.
Age of the Gods: The Complete, twelve novel, fantasy series (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) Page 46
