by Joseph Lallo
“Go! Return to your darkness. Before I change my mind . . . “ she warned.
“Your world is lost. I am quite through with it. I was wrong about you, experiment. You are nothing but a failure,” Demont replied.
With that he seemed to vanish, his form replaced with a dense black smoke that coiled its way through the portal. Ivy turned back to the fray. Just ahead of her was Ether. She was struggling to pull her windy form together into solidity. With a final burst of effort, she managed to assume human form. The beasts she'd thrown aside were quickly closing in around her, even without their master to command them. Ivy rushed to her side, madly swinging her blades until any too foolish to back away were in pieces on the ground.
“You . . . you saved me, didn't you,” Ivy said, almost in disbelief, while staring down a threatening monster.
“I did . . . what was required of me . . . as a Chosen,” Ether replied.
“Uh huh,” Ivy said knowingly.
The ring of beasts witnessing the clash between Lain and Bagu were wisely keeping their distance. To outside viewers, the pair was little more than a blur of motion and energy. One began to slow, crackling waves of energy rippling over him. Finally Lain's energy was spent and he fell to one knee, pure agony twisting his features. His foe slowed and stood over the stricken hero.
“This moment has been coming since the day you were born,” Bagu taunted, the crackling energy intensifying with each word. “The prophesy spoke of a malthrope who would be Chosen. On that day your kind were marked for death. I am glad I was able to finish the task personally. Ivy will suffer. I will see to it myself.”
Lain's sword fell from his fingers and clutched at his arm. Bagu raised his weapon. There was a blur of black. There was a flash of silver. The crackling slowly died away. Lain was on his feet again, a dagger in his fist, hilt deep in the General. The assassin heaved the stricken general to the ground and wrenched the black blade from his stunned grasp. With a mighty thrust he drove the weapon through Bagu's chest and into the frozen earth beneath him.
“Fool! Weakling!” Bagu wheezed. “Have you learned nothing!?”
Already the spell was falling back into place.
“I cannot be defeated!” proclaimed Bagu as he wrapped his fingers around the blade and heaved it from the earth and out of his chest.
There was another flash of silver. The assassin knelt and clutched the General's head, dragging it up. The body remained where it was. Without a word he hurled the head to the portal. There was a rush of blackness as a horrid black mist rushed from both body and head, each coiling up through the portal as Demont had. Lain turned. There was more work to do. The massive white furred creature, until now merely lumbering slowly southward, had turned and was now pounding toward Myranda. Myn had rushed to her aid, scorching black lines across the beast, but it refused to turn from its task. Creatures continued to flow out of the portal, now marching in a continuous stampede over the hills to the south. Already a black tide could be seen creeping up the slopes of the mountains in the distance. They were heading toward the capital… toward the rest of the world.
The earth rumbled with the constant flow of abominations of all shapes and sizes, and thumped with the thundering blows of the white creature's single minded attacks upon Myranda. The monolith sized limbs drove themselves into the earth, spade-like teeth sinking in and tearing up vast stretches of earth. It crushed and trampled dozens of its fellow beasts with each attack. Myranda ran, lacking the mind to spare to offer up a spell. The quaking earth split before her and each crushing stomp threatened to hit its mark. Myn burned at its eyes, slashed at its skin, and tore at its fur, but nothing seemed to do enough damage to distract it, let alone defeat it. Finally the dragon swept down and plucked up her friend, wheeling high into the air.
The young wizard fought to catch her breath. Below, the beast ceased its rampage, the few eyes that had remained unburnt watching her intently. Myranda felt the telltale sensation of a spell slipping together around her and managed to dispel it. Surely no beast could have even begun to cast a spell. She turned her eyes to the long shadow cast by the beast as it thumped along to stay below her. It was even more hideous and twisted than the beast itself. Epidime had taken its body as his own. Sensing that he had her attention, the possessed creature took a single, purposeful step toward the arching stone ring that had been their last battleground. With that single motion, even without words, Epidime had issued a threat Myranda could not ignore. The monster was heading for her father.
“Stop him!” Myranda cried, guiding Myn into a dive.
Her cry made its way to the ears of Ivy. The malthrope had been keeping a watchful eye on the still recovering Ether, warding off any would be attackers, but with the disappearance of Demont the beasts had steadily lost interest. Now they marched mindlessly south, dividing around the heroes as they might a tree or other meaningless obstacle. Myranda's voice drew her attention. She looked back and forth between Myranda and Ether, desperate indecision on her face.
“Are you . . . going to be all right if I help Myranda? You still look weak,” Ivy asked Ether.
“Go, I don't need your help. I could never need your help,” Ether replied, mustering up enough strength to show the proper degree of indignation.
Everything beyond the word “Go” went unheard, Ivy sprinting madly toward the rest of her friends. The flow of beasts was dense now, far too dense to try to slip between or hack through. With no other option, Ivy climbed atop it, leaping from shell to back to carapace as nimbly as one might across stepping stones in a pond. A final leap brought her into the wide clearing around the beast, a churned up, craggy battleground littered with the broken remains of the demons who hadn't been wise enough or fast enough to escape. Lain, still limping from Bagu's attacks, slashed his way into the clearing a moment later.
“Ivy! In the ring of stone! Help my father!” Myranda cried as Myn swept low and threw all of her momentum against the ponderous beast.
The blow was enough to stagger the monster, tipping it up on a single limb. Ivy scrambled up the side of the tooth-like protrusions and tumbled inside. For a moment she stared at the statue she'd been sent to help, curiously. The ground shook as the monster came crashing down. Instantly she crouched and hoisted the form to her shoulders, and eyed the wall of stone around her. This was strangely familiar. She lowered her shoulder, the heavy form heaving forward. Behind her, the massive beast smashed at the earth. Ivy looked back to see one hideous leg flail up and strike the earth. The ground trembled from the force. The stone spires, already weakened from previous tremors, cracked and split. Ivy knew that she wouldn't have a better chance than now. With all of the strength she could muster, she charged at the point in the stone most riddled and worn.
There was an explosion of dust and gravel as the spire gave way, and not a second too soon. The monster was on its feet. Ivy ran, smoldering fear and heartfelt duty forming a potent mix that urged her forward. She could hear the slash of a sword behind her and the thunder of the feet all around her. The fear that had festered in the back of her mind began to drift to the surface again. Until now she'd been rushing past, over, or through the flood of beasts. Now they were beside her, in front of her, behind her. They were matching her speed, giving the frightened creature her first prolonged looks at the misshapen beasts. Something deep inside of her reminded her that the same mind that produced this horde had produced her as she was now. She shook the thoughts away.
Lain slashed at the towering beast anywhere that his sword would meet flesh, but he could make no progress. It was immune to pain, and any wounds that posed the massive creature any threat at all were closed immediately by Epidime's magic. Worse, the creatures flowing from the portal were steadily larger than those that came before them. A second and third beast, identical to the one occupied by the dark General, had dropped out of it and now stood ominously ready to replace his current host. Seeing no end in sight, Lain retreated, disappearing among the lumbering beast
s.
Myn circled over the valley, Myranda staring down from her back. The wizard watched helplessly as the monsters rushed like ants across the landscape, spreading until they were nothing more than a vague movement on the dimly lit landscape. Something had to be done. The portal had to be closed. With barely a word, Myn spotted Ether, and dropped quickly to the ground beside her. Lain emerged a moment later. All eyes were trained carefully on Epidime, the beast under his control wading through the rush of like sized demons.
“Fire, quickly,” Ether demanded, sparking quickly and weakly to the suitable form.
Myn complied, more out of the desire to roast the infuriating creature than to help her.
“That is sufficient,” the elemental instructed after few moments of flame, though the dragon belched a few more blasts at her for good measure.
“How do we close the gateway?” Lain asked.
“I . . . I don't know. The D'karon . . . or whatever they are . . . their spells are all very similar. I wish Deacon was here. He knows them better than I,” Myranda struggled, watching the massive beast draw nearer.
“We don't have time for him. Every second releases more of those wretched things into this world. They do not belong here. Look at them. They don't care about us. Their task is to devour this world. To claim it for their masters,” Ether hissed.
“The . . . the spells. They don't have counter spells. They are cast to be permanent. The only way to stop them is to cut off their power,” Myranda said distantly.
She was distracted. Somewhere deep in her mind she could hear a voice from her memories. His words were echoing through her thoughts, dredging up images she'd just seen and attaching to them. The meeting of the three shafts of light, the dark triangle that served as the doorway, they were cryptic warnings she had received, long ago. It was all falling into place, but what came next? Suddenly, she knew.
“Get to the edge of the valley. Get far away. Find Ivy and stay with her. I have an idea, but I don't know what is going to happen. Let's go, Myn,” Myranda barked with authority. Her tone was clear, confident, and decisive.
The dragon leapt into the air, the other heroes launching themselves southward. Myn spiraled upward and out of reach of Epidime not a moment too soon, the massive beast finally reaching the Chosen as they parted. Myranda held tight, purpose in her eyes, and coaxed Myn high into the air. When at last they were higher even than the titanic obelisks, the pair headed toward them. The mystic, unnatural sound of the energy hissing through the air filled their ears. They drew nearer. Now the energy itself was reaching them. It had a heat to it that went beyond fire. It was a heat that burned the body, mind, and soul all at once. Myranda urged the dragon forward. Below them was the white hot, blinding bright point where the three shafts of light met. Myranda leaned forward and placed a hand on Myn's neck.
“I'm sorry,” she whispered.
She jumped.
The wind whipped by her and mixed with the screech of the life force of the world being leeched away. The heat grew, consuming her entirely. Myn dove after her, but the rush of raw power that wrapped around Myranda pushed the dragon back. She fell further, tears streaming from her eyes and memories sizzling in her mind. At the southern edge of the valley, the eyes of the others watched the tiny form fall, almost invisible against the brilliance. The searing pain seized Myranda then dropped away and for a brief instant, she had clarity. Her thoughts turned to her father, to Deacon, to all of the people she cared about, and who cared about her. Her body passed into the point of energy and for her, the world vanished.
Pain is a thing of the body. It could not be applied to the sensation that permeated Myranda now. The agony felt was greater than any single body or spirit could contain. What she felt stretched further than the boundaries of her body. She felt the torment of all beings at once. She felt the torture of the world itself. Her individuality wavered, the whole of her self was blending and mixing with existence itself. For a moment and an eternity she was not Myranda, she was all. The eye of creation looked upon her expectantly. The gods themselves watched her and waited. There was more to be done.
Her will fluttered and fought, clinging to the spark of divinity within her that was holding firm against the onslaught. Gradually her mind and body drew back into being. The all encompassing agony focused into a pinpoint of physicality once more. Her eyes drifted down. The portal remained beneath her. She had hoped that, just for an instant, she would have been able to choke off the flow of energy, but she simply could not contain that much power. All that she was could not interrupt the flow of power for even an instant. Very well, if she could not contain it, she would use it. She gathered together the energy that filled her to bursting and, without the focus necessary to give it form, cast it out all at once. From the edge of the valley, where Ivy had finally been joined by her friends, the rest of the Chosen watched a shining ring of brilliance erupt out from the meeting of the lights.
The halo of light was filament thin, but trailed light behind it as it spread. The sheer power of it threw its heat to the far ends of the mountainside. Where it met the obelisks, striking each at once, there was a flash that robbed all who watched of their vision. The segments of the ring that did not splash against the towers continued, passing through open air, then unimpeded through the mountains themselves. With a sound like the end of the world, the band of light sliced a surgical line along the slopes, sweeping the peaks away like dust. It then continued off into the night sky, illuminating the landscape beneath it as it moved. The dust of the devastation rolled into the valley like a fog, briefly concealing the traveling horde of creatures. The dense cloud of debris settled quickly. When the air was clear, the mighty Ancients, the massive mountains that formed the rim of the valley, stood flat topped and equal. The towers still stood.
Myranda's mind was boiling. In the crucible that surrounded her, memories surged to the surface and burned away again and again. She felt the sum total of her experience cycle through her mind over and over, in ever smaller circles. Not just her experiences, but others. Thoughts she'd never had rushed through her mind, feelings she never would have imagined flitted in and out of her soul. Every one of them dealt with the towers. The power flowing through her, consuming her, had carried something with it. It carried the residue of its purpose. The knowledge of how to produce the towers drilled itself into her mind. Along side it came the firm, irrevocable realization that there had never been any intention to cast them away. All that could ever be done was to summon more.
Her thoughts wrapped around this. That was the answer. Her eyes turned to the final mark on each tower. It was the activation rune Deacon had spoken of. Without it, there would be no spell. She drew together the power that was destroying her, forced it into the shape that resounded ever louder in her mind, and directed it at the runes, projecting it toward all three towers. The magic struck, weaving itself into a shape, then suddenly attaining substance. When the spell had run its course the embossed form of the rune was filled, erased. The spell was incomplete.
There was a flicker and a shudder. The streaming light pinched off and trailed away. Darkness replaced the pale blue glow that had lit the valley. Now the only light came from the edge of the black gateway and a point of failing glow that dropped toward it. A pair of wings approached the dying light as Myn, no longer facing a torrent of energy to hold her back, darted toward the glowing form. Snatching it out of the air, she carried the blue ember of energy toward the others. When the noble beast reached them, it lowered the form reverently to the ground before them. It was Myranda.
There was an intense aura about her that grew weaker with each moment. She was not moving. She was not breathing. Her eyes were unblinking featureless pools of light. In her hand was the weapon crafted by Desmeres. Each of the three D'karon crystals along its length had shattered and her fingers had sunk deep into its surface, as though the staff had been soft as clay for a time. Her body was whole, but broken. Bones were fractured. Blood trickl
ed from her mouth. The Chosen looked upon her solemnly. Lain crouched beside her, putting his ear to her chest. He felt her head, her abdomen. His eyes conveyed a grim message. Every part of her was in ruins. For a moment, no hero spoke, their heads hung low. When the distant crackle of the portal and the thinning rumble of the flow of monsters was joined by a voice, it was Ivy.
“No,” she stated. “No . . . they . . . they can't do this . . . They can't kill her . . . “
“I knew it would be one of us . . . I never thought it would be her. Fate made . . . “ Ether began, for the first time a gentleness to her tone.
“SHUT UP!” Ivy hissed, a flare of red accompanying the cry. “If they are going to kill Myranda . . . then . . . there is only one thing to do, isn't there? If death is all that they understand then DEATH is what they shall get!”
Each word surged the red aura brighter. Anger was succeeding where hate and fear had fallen short. The gems set in each blade adopted her hue of fury, thin red lines tracing their way along the wide blades in cruel crooked patterns.
“Ivy this can do no good. We have no way to heal her. Whatever can be done has been done,” Lain said.
“No! You are WRONG!” she said with a smile of madness. The blades split into three jagged blades. “I can make sure they never do anything like this again. I can make sure that NO ONE SURVIVES!”
With her final words, the anger finally took hold. The blaze of red consumed her and she charged into the black mass. Beasts large and small were reduced to ribbons by the vicious serrated shape her blades had taken. As the rampaging form carved a path through the thinning herd, Lain stood and placed a hand on Myn's neck. The beast lowered her head, tears rolling from its great eyes as the still form of Myranda cooled.
In the darkness someplace between this world and the next, the defeated wizard's vision fell upon a new view. They were familiar, almost comforting surroundings for Myranda. Shifting, distorted shapes replacing land and sky. Bright, pure lights marking the souls of the living. The astral plain faded weakly in and out around her as the last lingering grip on her shattered body gradually slipped away. She watched with relief as the portal, in this place a colossal, churning mass of pure energy and light, began to slowly draw together and close. The power that had surged through her was wicking away. Oblivion awaited her, and though she was sorry to leave the others behind, she was ready for it. The ordeal had left her ruined. Spent. She was tired, and a final sleep lay invitingly ahead of her. As she waited for whatever was to come next, she became aware of a presence. It was a blackness, without features, but in a shape the stung her mind. A shape she'd seen twist the shadows of far too many.
