Disclaimer: I do not claim the Inheritance Cycle. I only claim Divine ending features that hold no resemblance to Inheritance, such as names, locations, etc., you get the point. The ending of Inheritance also inspired me to create this thus inspiring me to write stories.
Prologue
First Light
It was a cold and rainy day. Night roamed through the skies, as the moon shined its pale blue eyes down upon everything watching them wherever they went. Wind roared through the sky and wolves howled, releasing the stalking fear into men. Lightning struck the Earth, as it was trying to pierce it whole. A desolated castle lied within the distance of the region. The structure crumbled of old age, having to be centuries of years old, but it did not collapse entirely. Spiral towers hung at each corner and a large wooden gate that was destroyed by white and orange fire was being burned but was soon put to rest by the rain. Four elves wearing brown masks that ascended through the courtyard killing each guard with inhuman speed and strength.
There were bodies completely covered by brown cloaks and their hair, hidden within their hoods. They worked as an elite team, destroying everything they saw with arrows, swords, and magic, while using stealth as the key, but the plan they foiled together, needed a bit of improvising. They eventually made their way to the bows of the hallow castle, dodging, blocking, and deflecting swords strikes.
Within the castle...a long-lost secret.
A loud snap was echoed throughout the dark creeping hallways, as a body of a guard neck was completely severed from the spinal cord. Its neck twisted and the guard fell to the ground, his pupils becoming lifeless and his face pale. Another man stood behind him, but his face was covered with a white mask, hiding his face from sight. There was no nose shaped structure or holes aside from the eye holes that were oval. The surface of the mask was very smooth like stainless glass but was severely much stronger than steel itself. His eyes were completely seen, as they were a pale white, like a blind man, but the eyes were much narrow than usual, forming a snake-like eye. His clothing was of pure clean white, as it looked like it was washed daily, that never caught the dust. Not much more description was on the mask. It looked as if they were used in everyday rituals, but by close encounter with one, it shown itself to be entirely something else.
A gleaming white cloak hung around him fluttering against the wind held together by a small chain that connected around the portion of the armor close to his neck while a hood hid himself from the eyes of the world. A belt strapped around him held his essential tools needed for survival. A brown pouch hanged from within the protection of the white cloak, while a white glowing sword of unnatural beauty, but holding a deadly death, was pulled from it sheathe out of the open cape. It had a white diamond at the end of it and the hilt was silver, having several golden wires running around the hilt of it and encircled the diamond. It performed a complete pass and then ran down to the bottom of the hilt and divided at the metal.
As the wretched halls became filled with the silence once more; besides the outside screams and fighting, the cloaked man scanned the room. He walked through the empty hallways, spotting several dead bodies. As a ripple and crash of thunder struck from the clouds, illuminating the light through the windows for a couple of seconds, a sense of another's presence was felt. A flash peered through the windows and an elf appeared from behind him, wearing a purple dress that covered her entire body and head like a monk or a priest. She wore a cloak like he did except the cloak itself was brown and the clothing and armor on the inside was a different color. Her eyes were normal, yet so different for they were a rare amethyst color, but they looked like they wanted to kill everything around them, even objects that didn't concern her. She also wielded a steel sword of expert craftsmanship, having perfectly rough sharpened metal and edges.
Turning with swift, the man pointed a finger to her. "Leave no witnesses, explain this to the others. Even if they surrender, we cannot compromise the operation, nor reveal our existence to anyone... if possible…" he ordered in a calm tone.
She nodded and as the lightning struck, she disappeared. It surprised it a bit, but he knew he should be. It was their first fight in ages, and he wasn't used to the death that lingered, nor the smell, but he knew that it was all necessary. Making sure there was nothing else around, he turned himself around and continued his way forth, killing a man on a corner to another hallway, that thought that he held the upper advantage of a sneak attack, but he heard him breathing and his heart rate rising rapidly in fear. He also smelled him, noticing the change in the scent around him. The man should've taken a bath. He tore his sword through the armor of the chest plate and dug his sword into the soldier's chest. Making sure that he was dead, as he came around the corner before the soldier could react, he then pried it out and made his way, checking room to room, before he venturing to a staircase.
Four other elves appeared within the stare case and bowed to him, leaning themselves forward. He stood in front of them and waved his hand signaling them to stand. He gazed to the stairway that led to the second floor.
"Secure the next floor and each and every room, every corner, even if it's a flower pot; be sure to check everything and after that the rooftop!" he commanded. After that form up and regroup with the other on the first, then began to descend to the basement." He ordered them.
They nodded and ran up the stairs with given stealth, leaving not even a creak. Soon another elf approach, bearing a small cut on his arm that was soaked in blood, but it wasn't his. "My lord... we finally located it in the basement." he said trying to catch his breath.
The cloaked man sheathed his sword and crossed his arms, eyes widened from the inside of the mask. "At last" he whispered to himself. "We finally found it."
The cloaked man then glared back at the elf. "Come, our journey in nearly completed." Without hesitation, the elf dove to his side and they proceeded towards there designated objective.
Once they were in the main hall, they made their way to the other side of the complex. He listened carefully and examined his surroundings. Pictures hung from the walls of renowned individuals, family members or just curious arts. All the candles that were once lit were extinguished. Smoke poured from one of them, sending a burning smell of melted wax everywhere. Several more bodies were seen, all with a terrible death, as he spotted one with its neck slit. He was most likely attacked from behind.
Enormous windows with shaped diamonds glass with different colors and features, casted the color against the ground, making it a sight to see, but he remained unfazed by its beauty, for he knew something more beautiful. The thought of it made him smiled. A mouse squeaked nearby, and he killed it with a spear he found from a dead enemy. Even the slightest creatures could reveal what happened and he decided that they would torch the whole castle to the ground, to prevent the knowledge of them… if possible. A broken window lied nearby and droplets from the rain flooded in, making the hallway flow with an endless river of blood. He stared at the blue and red walls. Some of them were covered with bloodstains and ripped wallpaper, leaving the stiff decaying eyes of the hollow bodies in a devastating state.
After fifth-teen minutes of tearing through injured or surviving soldiers, he found himself, turning into the second wing and found a metal door that's been shut recently. Seven guards stood there, holding their steel swords drawn. Fear was seen within their eyes, as they saw his own. Wearing bronze armor, they were very well protected, but several weak points were located, leaving potential options for crippling and severing nerves. They held steel shields of a strange insignia, but once he saw it, he knew what the marking was. Three heads of a red dragon lied across it inside a ring of fire, as it was produced from the dragon's mouth. The men stiffened at his presence and backed away a few inches, but still held their ground. The cloak man pointed his sword it at them, figuring that this was going to be a quick and easy battle.
They took several more feet back but formed a line and bared their shields in front, ready to defend what lied behind the door to the death. The cloaked man turned around, noticing that the elves under his command returned and formed up behind him. Eight of them lied behind him in a V-like formation. All of them drew their swords and within a second the soldiers guarding produced a loud snapping sound and fell to the earth. All of them lied deceased, motionless. The cloaked man then knew that the elves seized their minds and placed them under their control, snapping their necks. He walked towards the steel door and pulled out his shining pale sword. The elves assumed positions on either side of the door and pulled the door open.
It grinded against the hard, cold surface, screeching as the elves pushed with their might. Even for them, the door was a challenge. Darkness was all he could see as it emerged from within the door, he told three of them to come with him, while the rest went to secure the east wing. Cobwebs haunted the world, while spiders fed on the unwary flies. Rocks were kicked as they descended onto a broken black step. All was heard was each other's breathing and clanking of sword against the wall. The staircase soon became a straight tunnel and light was seen at the end of it. They continued to draw close, until they finally emerged into a hemispherical structure. Torches were spread out upon the bricked supports, illuminating the area with its orange and golden light. The supports itself curved, resembling a quarter moon and joined itself onto a balcony overlooking the wide area.
A large round window appeared at the top of the building forming a dome with thin metal hinges and supports. The thunder was seen crackling in the sky. The rain, but with each thunder strike a roar was heard; a distinct shadowy figure was seen in the night, but it disappeared as fast as the lightning itself, leaving them unaware. Different kinds of mechanical equipment that was impossible to create and forever never seen lied around, including several documents that lied scattered around on the floor. From what he saw, he noticed a telescope nearby pointing to the stars, causing suspicion and murmuring among the three elves behind. The telescope much larger and longer than the ones he encountered on his voyages. Gears lied on the side of it and a large platform that could be rotated. It had to be an observatory, but why here? He then turned his gaze to an upper platform that had stairs on both sides and a small fountain that stood in between them as they curved to its sides.
Beyond that, above a steel cold pedestal that gave an eerie feeling that it was untouched for centuries, rested at the top of the stairs. It was displayed within an indented circle that surrounded it with the light from the moon shining onto it. An oval like stone, composed of ebony and snowy sides, rested upon it. It was known as the Divine stone. Two other pedestals laid beside it, both holding two more stones. One was amethyst colored while the other was a clear light sapphire, something that made him tilt his head, reminding him of something he heard from before, but the double colored stone caught his attention the most.
Beyond that was a very large opening that allowed the moon to lay its white glare onto the inner complex. Beyond that was the roaring thunder that occasionally set off, but at most time, was heard further into the distance, giving a sign that storm was soon to past, but it still was persistent in the sky.
He paused, stunned at the sight of such a object itself. "There it is…" he said, breathlessly, sheathing his sword.
The cloaked man rushed towards the staircase, along with the elves that shadowed him. Upon reaching the specified point, a large rain of fire rained across above him and began a dive. Its beautiful red and yellow with the mixture of orange of death with the crackling of fire, the cloaked man immediately dodged towards the left, but he wasn't the target. Instead the fire went for the elves, banking downwards. The elves noticed the hue burning rain coming upon them and stopped dead in their tracks, their boots scrapping along the cold, stone surface. The fire, giving them the thought that they were the target, ceased to move and increased in size, expanding against the walls formed a barrier in front of them.
"My lord!" one of them called out, glancing at the strange occurrence before them, hoping to find a way through.
The cloaked elf stared at the golden-red fire, before turning his gaze from the point of origin of which the fire was casted. This was no normal spell. He sensed a sudden change of magic around him, something that given off a nonexistent source of energy, besides the fire, which was burning with large amounts of it. In the darkness above, an object slowly descended, standing upon a blackened cloud of pure shadowy gas, or steam most likely and settled to the ground.
A black robed being, holding a wooden staff, which seemed to have three large blades that extended outward, while the opposite end had the same sized blades. A blue orb glowed ominously, giving an ominous feeling to the surrounding area. The staff was known as a Staffscythe, a fusion of a scythe and a magical staff. Only did the cloaked man new what the orb was producing. The female elf tapped her sword against the surface of the fire, and as she did, at the point of where she touched, the barrier produced sparks, causing it to rumble and a small shockwave, like a pond as water dripped onto the surface of it. The other elves were surprised by the sudden of events that occurred in front of them. One of them even tried to cast a spell, but the black robed being tapped his staff onto the ground. As it collided with the ground, producing the sound of a knock onto a door, a blue light emitted from the staff and exploded outward, sending a shield of blue against the entire structure. It touched the walls and spread along it. Once the elves were hit by it, they suddenly dropped to their knees, exhausted of energy and gasped for air, trying to replenish their empty lungs.
The cloaked man was unaffected by it. As it hit him, a white shield-like aura closed around him, shielding it. It also triggered a past memory as he exactly knew what he was facing. He exactly knew what the man was wielding: A mini-distributor – a device that negated all energy bound elements around the present areas. Unlike this one, it could only be a personal device, while the larger ones were several miles in radius; this one only affected a limited area. He knew that once he destroyed that staff, the paralyzing power would be extinguished, and the elves will regain their strength. He stared at the one with amethyst, who raised her head, breathing heavily, but managed to stand, showing what bits of strength she had left.
The cloaked one knew that he was in this battle alone. He was lucky that the distributor didn't affect him. He wasn't just wielding energy bound magic, he was energy itself. His powers negated it. Roaring was heard above the sky, which caused him to jerk his head to the domes window, noticing bright flashes of fire and explosions. The elves jerked their heads towards the deadly destruction that appeared before them. After seconds of watching the conflict of two large shadows, he went from worriedness to determination. Something in his mind gave him reassurance.
He pulled his sword from his sheath, pointing the tip at the enemy. It shined a bright white, as pollen dust surrounded it, floating so lightly, yet stayed within the presence of the sword. The robed one merely tilted his head; the cloaked man knew that whatever was under that hood, a smile was in dwelling. The cloaked man noticed that several soldiers ran through the door. They weren't wearing armor but were exactly what the black robed one was wearing. He then knew that this was a trap, they knew that the task force was coming, those soldiers were shades. But seemed impossible by what he knew already. The elves quickly assumed attack positions, but they were still weak from their energy being depleted and outnumbered. Luckily, they had the strength to wield a sword and that shades were also affected by the disruptor, in order to wield magic. The swords that were also enchanted were extinguished as if water poured across it. The cloaked man returned his eyes at the robed enemy making, which was now identified as a shade. He was the leader, possibly the chance to end the war, right here, right now.
Both he and the shade's feet shuffled against the hard surface of the floor, and then they were attempting to circle each other, never letting any of their eyes tore away from their glare. The clash of swords echoed throughout the chamber, thunder, fire, and blinding light emitted from the sky, roaring penetrating their very ears, but was hard to displace between the thunders itself. The battle would only escalate into a fight for only one victor. The shuffling ceased between the cloaked man and the shade. Blue, sapphire eyes dimmed where the shades eyes were, giving the eyes of killing and destroying. Bright as they were within the darkness of the chamber.
"Let's finish this shall we?" he hissed out from his raspy voice. The second he said those words, they both leaped to strike each other.
Contact was made.
The cloaked being and the shade made contact, clashing their weapons against the metal, except one thing the shade wasn't prepared for: he wasn't an elf like the others. Before he could respond, the fury of clashes nearly made the shade lose his balance, giving the cloaked one suspicion if he was even the leader itself. He expected someone much more experienced to manage to fend off his strikes. It was only that the shade corrected his mistakes and began to repel the quick clashes and mimic his movement to be able to block efficiently. The corrected mistake only made the cloaked one much more confused, but he quickly pushed the thoughts from his mind and focus on his target.
He only began to pick up speed and change his attack patterns. Even the shade struggled to match his skill in swordsmanship, but his blades trapped the sword many times flanked by the steel blades, but every time that the shade thought he had him, the cloaked one slipped from it and return to his battering clashes that became more and more forceful, hardly giving the shade a chance to retaliate. The engagement only became worse for the shade. An opening came through, and the cloaked man did something unexpected, he pushed the staff downward, came bac around in a twirl, holding his foot high and struck the shade's face, knocking him off-balance and then he brought his free elbow down onto his back.
The shade staggered in pain and grunted as he repositioned himself for another clash with the cloaked being. The shade wiped his face as if he was bleeding, but it was just annoying him and ushered him to relieve the itch. A few feet apart, the cloaked one showed no sign of exhaustion. Neither did the shade, but even he has his limits. He took his chance for an attack and swiped at the cloaked man with his, but the cloaked man negated his attack by bringing up his sword, entangling it between the three blades and brought it downward again. Making the shade think another leg swipe was coming, he was punch across the face. He staggered back again as the cloaked being showed no signs of backing down or even stopping.
He just merely casted the shade as mere target practice. Hissing in frustration, anger and torment, he brought his staff around, as large fireball forming at the tip of the orb, becoming the size of a boulder and casted it at the cloaked being. As the fireball roared over him, he dropped to one knee and crossed his arms. He was engulfed in the fire, making the shade smirk, hoping he was either burnt alive to the point that he was incapable of fighting, or that he was dead, however something in his mind pestered that this battle was far from over.
To the shade's eyes, the cloaked being was only again covered in the bright white shield that covered him. He brought up his eyes to meet the shades and stood back up. Noticing that his allies were becoming fatigued from battling, and that several of them were wounded, he needed to end this once for all, no matter what.
The shade hissed in agitation, getting to the point that wished he could kill his enemy in an instant, unlike his opponent; he killed many people that were easy prey, but this one, this was a whole new level. Only then the thought crossed the shades mind: they weren't an ordinary force, they were a different faction. By just looking at them, he could tell that they were different from others. They possessed something much more than the others: Confidence. They showed no signs of fear or giving up. But the leader, he was something else. At first, he thought was an experienced elf in the arts of swordsmanship, but after the white shield that appears before him, his superior speed, and the power he held inside him, he knew that he wasn't Elven. His eyes only gave away what he was, those snake-like eyes, something he experienced before. With that discovered, the shade clenched his fists, angered that the mission was already a failure.
He was outmatched.
The cloaked being stood back up, ready for more, but instead the shade had plans. "Fall back!" He barked out, sending another wave of fire at the cloaked man, only for him to block it once more with the shield that surrounded him, except at impact, the fireball set off a chain reaction and detonated. Fire spewed everywhere, catching what flammable objects there were and feeding off its fragile, dry surface.
The other shades acknowledged his command and fled the battle, fending off the clash of swords as they slowly backed up towards the doorway to the stairwell. The barrier that separated the group exploded, creating a shockwave that knocked most of the elves over, while some were stunned by the bright light and echoing sound produced from it, giving the shades enough time to retreat. But one of them was caught in the back directly into the heart by the female. The shade gave his last scream before decimating into nothing more than black-like snow, or ashes more like.
The main shade, meanwhile, leaped onto the upper platform, retrieving the blue stone, and stuffed it into a hidden pouch inside his cloak. He grabbed the Divine stone and before he could lay his hands on the Amethyst stone, he turned his head quickly reacting to movement near him but was too late as the cloaked being ran among the handle of the stairwell with balance and brought his knee to the shades jaw. The shade dropped the Divine stone as he fell back casting the stone across the ground towards the rear of the building where a portico was. Before the cloaked one could do anything else to the shade, a screeching roar pierced the sky, causing everyone to return their eyes to the sky where a flaming object, wings spread more than ten feet apart folded in as it crashed into the ceiling.
To everyone eyes, the creature revealed to be a dragon, but smaller in size. Despite that, its wings were much longer and wider as they formed from its main bone structure that used it as its hands, such as a bat used. Its eyes were red, as was its body, besides the fact that entire creature was covered in burning fire. Spikes, smaller in size, and ran along its back to the tips of its tail. The wings were nearly wider than the average dragons and wider in width. Smaller bones ran under the skin, keeping it stabilized in flight and to help it bend at certain angles. White horns pointed outwards from the back of its head, while the head itself was more triangular than the originals. Three smaller horns sprouted from just above where eyes where the eyebrows would be. A frequent snake tongue would slither out in the air as it tasted the scents that surrounded it. Its white teeth shined with grace as the creature roared. A saddle lied in between the neck and its main body, marking the shade seems to be its rider. The cloaked one knew dragons like these but was often known as Wyverns. Less strong and smaller in size, but their speed and agility were unmatched.
The dragon sucked in air, making its chest bulky and released a torrent of fire across the room, causing the elves to duck for cover nearby while the cloaked one had to shield himself once more from the continues heat that burned hotter than anything he could encounter in a lifetime. Debris crashed onto the floor – glass, stone, and dust. Chunks rained down upon them, and even rain began to flood the building. The dragon finally ceased and jumped towards the end of the complex, dust jumping into the air where the ceiling giving an idea of where the dragon was crawling. It was only again where another roar was heard, but much more different the Wyvern's.
The shade made his move, running towards the opening of where the portico was and grabbed the Divine stone abandoning the amethyst one. Beneath the portico was a large ravine that was several leagues down leading to a dark abyss. The cloak one gave chase, hoping to recover the other stones. He would be worried about his fellow companions, but what the shade was carrying could only lead to a danger to the entire empire and he could not allow him to escape with the important object. He gave chased, hearing roaring and snarls above among the rooftops. The shade glanced one time back, before pointing his back turned towards the horizon and letting himself fall to his doom. The same red scaled Wyvern dove down, blood spewing from its back leg, while a deep laceration on its scales. Blood was flowing, but wasn't life-threating, which the cloaked wished it was.
It was only till he reached the ledge and sees the Wyvern folding its wings around his rider before flaring its wings out. The wind collided with its wings, shoveling back up into the air. He only then gave a signal from his mind, only to see the horror inflicted upon his very own dragon, which majestically shined with white scales. But most of them, however, were stained red with blood. The dragon had several bite marks on its neck, giving away bits and bits of blood. There were also several of its feathers from its left wing that were stained red, revealing the delayed time the dragon took to attack the Wyvern.
It was too injured for flight. Its leg also seemed injured the way it was limping. The white dragon was also one of the original dragons to exist for centuries to come, having a larger body structure. Its spikes were much larger, the wings a bit shorter, while its razor-sharp claws, something the Wyvern didn't possess on its feet, besides its back ones. This dragon was deadlier, but Wyverns relied on their small bodies and speed to strike at their prey. It was at that moment the dragon turned its gaze at the cloaked being that sheathed his sword and didn't hesitate to dive after the shade and its Wyvern.
The dragon tempted to dive after him, but the injuries only caused it to hiss in pain. The cloaked being would of help his dragon, but what the shade was carrying was far more valuable than the both combined. The cloaked being felt the intense wind collide against his face. He straightened his body into a freefall then cuffed his hands together as a light engulfed it as he focused his energy into them. He rapidly gained speed after the Wyvern that caught the shake and he was riding on its main body and part of its neck. Extending his hands and unfolding the light that engulfed it, he then somersaulted and casted out the void of the light at the dragon.
The shade heard a large humming sound and turned his eyes to only have them widen as a net made of some sort of energy caught him and his Wyvern. They were both caught into it and were unable to control their descent; they crashed into the ravines wall and onto a large rock-like platform that was stranded in the middle of the river that crashed against it. Landing hard, but the Wyvern didn't sustain any major injuries, just scrapes and cuts.
The cloaked being rolled against the air crashing onto the surface of the platform, uplifting dirt into the air in every direction and causing smoke to surround them in a ghostly fog, even the water from the river splashed upward from the sudden impact that could of instantly crush a normal being. The stone was once again casted from his hands and nearly fell off the platform into the abyss below. The Shade escaped the net and hissed in anger, gazing at his opponent with an increased amount of wariness. He was trapped against this… this… abomination! He quickly planned to find a way to escape, but he was unlike to abandon his Wyvern, who was still entrapped in the net nor the stone that laid nearby glimmering in the moonlight. It unleashed a torrent of red fire at the cloaked being through one of the holes, determined to torch the being alive, but unfortunately, the being was protected by the shield that never let a scratch upon him.
The shade swallowed his knowledge about the being. Close combat and physical contacts were ineffective against the cloaked being; even non-physical attacks were a pointless feud against him. The Demon as the shade began renouncing it as began to slowly stand up and unsheathed his sword giving out his fearful appearance that began to maw onto the shades mind. He showed no signs of weariness, and his eyes?! As the shade stared into at a horrendous stance of nothing but fear, the Demon showed nothing but an intent to kill. The shade froze at the eyes caused his entire body to shake and his breathing becoming labored and deep. His mind then began to feel itself apart. Memories flooded into his mind in the worst ways possible – people he killed murdered, tortured, he saw them surround him, their hands raised, wanting to place him into their grasp.
"Stay away!" He cried, turning in each direction swatting at them with his staff, but the effort proved futile as they kept advancing. They didn't resemble their original nature but were a dead blue skin color. He then understood at that moment, that this had to be all a false image, a trick on the psychological mind! This Demon was created to inflict the terror and fear into the individual, or group if he could to crush their mind, their last hopes at survival as he caused insanity and chaos. The shade could only imagine the effects on an entire city. That's when the shade began to calm himself, undertaking everything in his mind and crumbling it up into one thought. It's nothing more than a nightmare… he thought to himself. He then opened his eyes showing no fear, but determination, the fuel of wars within his eyes. The Demon tilted his head, and huffed, seeing how he failed to torture the shade to break down into nothing. He was surprised too, as that he was the first to be able to resist the composing force that could have overwhelmed anyone.
At that moment, the shade pulled the Staffscythe from his back, adjusting himself as the second round began. His Wyvern roared in a rage, struggling to free itself of the energy-produced net. Meanwhile on the opposite end, the Demon slid one of his feet behind him to position himself in his battle stance. Rain, the rivers crashes, and lighting roared against the two titans as they prepared to engage each other once more. Time began to slow as the shade stared at the white figure in front of him, who showed no emotions taking place. His eyes were impossible to decipher. His sword barely moved an inch from its original position, and his posture was demeaning, as if he waited for the moment that the shade would lash out against him.
Minutes passed, and the shades feet slide inches forward, while the Demon remained motionless. After another minute, the shade then turned around to propel his Staffscythe into an uppercut, its blades barely touching the Demon as he took a step back avoiding the blades as they passed him unharmed. The shade brought his Staffscythe around for another pass coming to his side. As the blades neared, the Demon leaped over the blades and the shade. He reacted quickly, which was what the Demon was waiting for. Once the shade turned around to send another strike against him, the Demon turned around and brought his foot to the left side of his, sending him spiraling into the cliff on the opposite side of the platform.
Recovering from the sudden attack, he straightened himself and landed onto the side, crouching himself and then propelled himself like a slingshot back towards the Demon determined to kill him. Doing something unexpected, the shade did a mid-air roll, using the force of the gravity against him and brought his Staffscythe around with immense strength and sent it flying at the Demon. It rotated at a high velocity as it traversed across the air. The Demon barreled-roll underneath the threat, seeing how it acted like boomerang and curved back into the air, he was distracted by the weapon and turned his sights back to the shade who slid against the ground and turned his body to bring his own foot collide against the face of the Demon.
With lightning fast reflexes, the Demon caught his leg with his hand, watching as to his left the shade brought his fist around. He dropped his sword and blocks the attack, noticing that the shade brought his other fist to his right. The shade only grazed his mask as the Demon pushed their bodies back and slid against the wet surface of the rocks. He stared at the shade, where he discovered that his sword was in between them, stabbed within the Earth. He also heard a loud crack into the side opposite of him, where he noticed that the shades Staffscythe finally landed into the platform; fortunately, it was a long distance away from the shade and edging the border of the platforms edge that would lead its demise into the river beneath them.
The Demon saw the odds in his favor. But this shade proved more difficult than he imagined. His speed nearly matched his, but the Demons reflexes outweighed everything. No matter what the shade could do, he could not lay a scratch upon him. Course those thoughts were short lived when he jerks his sight towards a red tail that collided against his face. It should have immediately killed an ordinary soldier, but instead of he was sent flying and crashing into the nearby wall. The impact was enough to form the shape of his body and for a moment the Demon was momentarily stunned. Regaining his senses, the Demon pushed himself from the wall and dropped to one of his knees. As the Wyvern prepared to strike again, the Demon's hand twitched and the Wyvern roared in pain as the net tightened against it. After that the Demon turned his gaze towards the shade who hissed in anger, frustration, hatred, and most of all… concern for his Wyvern. Though within that slight delay, the shade had what he needed.
The Demon then turned to face the shade and began to walk up too him to finish the him once for all and recover the stone within his pouch and the one that sat nearby, but little as he knew that shade planned an escape. As the Demon grabbed his sword midway, he was once again caught into the torrent of fire the Wyverns produced from its mouth. Engulfed into the fiery heat, unexpected of what the shade pulled from his waist from a small hidden pouch that was placed on the backside of his belt, the shade pulled a scroll and unrolled the entire being. He had hoped to use it at later dates, but to escape; this would be his last resort.
The shade screamed out as he slammed his hands onto a certain part of the scroll speaking ancient language that only the Demon would know. "Six Divines: Planetary Ground Shifter!" The Demon eyes widened in shock and quickly located the Divine stone. Running towards it the Wyvern brushed its tail quickly against the ground crashing into his legs causing him to fall against the ground. He attempted to reach the stone but found himself unable to grasp it fully and felt it slip in between his fingers. The stone was pushed off the platform and into the river beneath them.
Before he could go after the stone that ground rumbled chaotically and the Demon looked down as the platform beneath him collapsed as the ground began to shift toward each other. The Wyvern let out a roar as the net released it but as the platform collapsed, they all fell into the river.
In an instant the ravine begun to collapse against itself, causing a loud bang to echo throughout the entire scarred Earth. The ravine that was seen miles in every direction slam into its opposite end, causing water to erupt into the air, sprouting under immense pressure and so was air sockets, it sent dirt and smoke spawning in every direction. The ground imploded in a five-mile radius sending huge chunks of stone, dirt, a possible ore deposit, lava and a sprouting black liquid that caught fire the second it neared the intense heat of the red liquid was tossed into the air. It was only until a large explosion engulfed the imploding crater sending debris in every direction.
The world fell into disarray from the aftermath of such destruction. Dust covered the Earth while fire raged across the land, smoke rose into the blackened sky and the world became silent as they listened to the Earths pain. Yet through the destructive nature, the Demon rose from the ashes remaining unscathed. He looked around at the damage caused by the ground zero event leaving him a view of the devastation before him.
Fire rained from the sky, sending from what was a rainy season to a hellish apocalypse. Anything within a spread of two to three leagues was caught within the fiery fire that erupted from the blast; the world was caught in eternal fire from his point of view. From what he knew of the destruction, the shade couldn't have survived, nor could the precious stones that the shade had within his very pouch, they could only take so much… and now they are gone. The Divine stone itself… was gone too. He failed his mission.
The thought… of the shade possessing such a weapon… the scroll he used. How was it possible? He could understand if one of his kind would have possessed this certain type of power… but to see it able to be used by a shade… and the words imprinted onto a scroll. He only knew one person who could do such a thing and the thought of it, a thorn struck his heart, and the Demon lowered his head as several memories of his past came to light. Units passed, and he was brought back to reality as he was comforted by a single thought, yet troubled. Only one thought protruded his mind: his dragon.
Without hesitation he began his ascent towards the base of the tower, leaping most of the time, and feeling the hot dry wind and ash hit his body, while dodging the nearby chunks of debris that fell from the sky. Rocks of fire hit near him, causing parts of the rock formations to fall to the impending crater that formed as the dust dissipated, and a lava pit formed into the crater. It took several minutes to reach the top and climb onto the platform, where he was greeted by the fellow elves that helped him to his feet. He dusted off his body and glanced towards the large white colossus before him.
The Demon one rushed towards the dragon, giving sounds of concerned growing, which was common among the elves to listen too as they rushed up the staircase. He was thankful that they were here, for they already attended to the dragon's wounds. The dragon lowered its head and he gave a ray of comfort as he stroked the side of the dragon's jaw, it gave a snort as its response. The elves nearby didn't give chase after the other shades, for it would be a waste of their time. They regrouped and stared at the devastation before them, whispers and commotions arising from them.
Even with the disruptor out of range, the concealed blanket that felt as if they were choking from suffocation left the area due to its limited range and he knew that they were grateful that it was gone, and possibly destroyed. But without a doubt, exhaustion fueled within their weakened bodies.
The Demon stared out into the distance and gave a low growl, sensing that the shade had survived the destruction. Turning from the horizon, with the moon begging to fall to it, he turned towards his dragon, who stared at him with its curious, intelligence eyes; he brushed the palm of his scaled braces across its neck, earning a slight growl and low humming sound, which he knew as a purr of comfort.
After that he returned his eyes to the pedestals, which a group of three stared at the amethyst colored stone that reminded him of a certain type of foreign mystery, but he casted it off for later. One stone was recovered, but wasn't the one they wanted, however, they manage to keep it out of the Shade's posession Luckily, he managed to keep it out of the shades grasp; it was too vital and was equivalent to their lives, except this stone was worth more than the lives of hundreds, or the world itself.
"Out of three, only one was saved," the female said, concerned of the other stones.
"But was the Divine stone saved, my lord?" another asked.
"Though; I hate to say, especially in front of-," he glanced at his white dragon that stared at him, but gave a slight nod, allowing him to say the words that everyone never even wanted to mention, someone had to, to remind them of how important the stone was too them. "The others were expendable, no matter how we put it, but I still would've tried to save the others if I had the chance and we did indeed saved one but as for the Divine Stone… in the end, I failed to achieve that," he said, feeling guilt arouse in his mind. A slight rumble of reassurance came from the white dragon as it slowly flapped its left wing.
The group was disheartened by his words not knowing that the stone was destroyed in the explosion. The Demon could no longer sense the power emitting from the stone and was angered by himself to let the stone slip from his grasp when he nearly had it.
"But I wouldn't be so sure about this, my lord. There seems to be a bigger secret here than we could ever expect in a lifetime," she replied, her voice stiff in discomfort. The Demon stared at one of the pedestals, where the light-blue one once laid. Fear began to settle in as icicles hung beneath it, water dripping from the tips of them and landing onto the cold floor, gushing into the small indented stone cracks, and flooding along the lines like a dam collapsing and flooding the entire valley. He touched the top of the pedestal, where frosted-like snow laid, and smeared his gantlets tips with its beauty. A cold touch ran through his entire body giving him a shiver that wanted to be relieved with a scratch, but cared no less for what his body wanted, but slow thoughts came to mind, as he search his ancestral memories of something he could of know this from before, but alas, he could not seek the knowledge he wished to know. He was interrupted from his thoughts as one of the elves cried out too him.
"And look at this one, my lord!" one of the other elves spoke. He was already frightened with the frosted pedestal, what else could be worse. Only did he know. He glanced at the other pedestal, finding something more interesting. The middle structure that kept the top in place was bent in twisted like a spoon. The feet of it were warped differently than the others. This was coming from the Amethyst stone which was very bizarre to them.
"This is quite disturbing," he said to them, giving the signal to retreat, just as the elves were finished tending to each other wounds and the dragons. He would give chase after the Wyvern and the shade, knowing, somewhere, somehow, they survived, but must he know that he is behind enemy lines, knowing that another trapped laid wait for him, he would rather retreat and live to fight another day, than to die today, and witness his dragon suffer an even more deadlier consequence: death. The others acknowledge him and proceeded to the exit as they listened to his command, thankful that they must suffer another hour of hell inside the building that reminded them of what it felt like during the brutal training to make them who they are now, but these are the first battles to come.
The Demon pulled out his own leather pouch and secured the Amethyst stones within it, which he found himself both disappointed and tense as only one was recovered. Despite heavy opposition, falsified intelligence, they managed to complete they're mission, but failed at the most important objective. Though they secured one egg, the Divine stone was lost, and the enemy still possessed one stone which was more than capable of dealing massive amount of destruction. He got a feeling that a war, not between mortals, but immortals themselves, were about to awaken from a deep slumber, and cause the devastation it once caused thirty-thousand years ago. Though it was only a myth, he believed that it was factual, not fiction. And they themselves will not be prepared for what's coming.
The dragon nearby gave a slight growl of concern, questioning what possible outcomes there would be, but the rider didn't answer its question. Instead, he patted its back as he mounted onto the white colored saddle. "I'll explain later," he replied to the curious dragon. The dragon only gave a shiver from the cold, and a rumble of sarcasm, acting if it could repeat his words in its own language. The dragon, nonetheless, leaped into the sky, its mighty wings beating the air and turned right above the castle towards, heading towards the gate entrance, where the white flames began to spread, catching the courtyard within walls of burning beauty, while the roof itself of the castle was burning in small parts from the clash with the Wyvern. The smell of death lurked around, even the Demon could smell the burning and smothering bodies lying around, being devoured by the hungry fires, desperate to keep themselves ablaze. A large window exploded, fire pouring out into the night, devouring the need for oxygen to keep them alive to continue.
The Demon knew that the other made it out alive by catching wind of several others scents and proceeded south towards the rendezvous point. Within a minute, he was over the designated coordinates, he thoughts focused on one thing: The stones. The light-blue one posed a threat to the entire empire, as his thoughts were hindered by it, whiles the amethyst one, and was the most bizarre thing he ever encountered. As for the Divine stone, it no longer existed, destroyed at the hands of his enemy. Each pedestal gave an idea of what powers they could hold, but the amethyst stone was a complete surprise. Now he and his team will have to focus their efforts on recovering the two stones. They'll be lucky enough that the stones themselves would stay what they are now, then to head into a war conventionally.
With the council, he hopes that they could finally authorize total war against their enemies. The light-blue stone could finally gather their attention, not to mention the destruction of the Divine stone would surely rally the council to begin war plans. What he learned about the sapphire stone it or what he could learn about it, which it was something that they would hold serious about. He also hoped they could plan a retrieval mission soon as well once they catch wind of its location. He needed some more training as well, as would the other crew. Their magic would be useless against the shade rider, while the disruptor weapon was in the shade's hands.
He soon found his dragon going into a slow spiral, circling the outer edges of a forest he barely noticed. Several elves waited down below, packing up their basic campsite and packaging back into the satchels they held. They were preparing to return to base, where their home laid. It was a long night. Some were tired; some were still trying to get over their first battle. He stared at them, knowing that they would soon be able to withstand the blood and gore contents that arouse in battles with the killing of many. The only one that didn't seem tormented by the battle was the female. She looked as if she reached the gates of hell and challenged the devil itself. She only investigated the sky and stared at the stars that surrounded the sky with its beauty and the moons pale blue face that touched the horizon. Soon, morning will come.
"We best get moving, he told his dragon, who returned a snort of understanding. It was almost morning, may the darkness of the night guide us astray and lead us to safety. "Get ready to move out!" The Demon shouted out trying to keep his voice down to keep any unwanted attention away, if there was any.
Three hours later…
It was near dawn; the eye of the sun began to rise, and the moon began to fall. The warmth gave comfort to those who were recovering after the onslaught that occurred hours ago. The Demon was positioned outside a large pyramid complex that was larger than the castle they encountered themselves. Even though it did look like a pyramid, it was more of a Mt. Olympus, from what he heard in human myths, but large one-hundred-foot-tall trees covered the sky above with its branches and leaves, hiding the building from view. He could only see the tip of the building and its large pillars that held the behemoth-like rooftop. The size of the building could be seen miles and miles away.
He was located towards the west end of the valley, where he usually conducted his parries and assault with other elves, but today he wanted to relax until he got answers from the council. The political battle as usual could've ended in defeat despite the retrieval of the stone of one stone; it also brought bad news with it. Only the superior ranks ordered the command to prepare for war within months of assembling the elven army, he of course would be leading this grand army. ready to reveal themselves to the world, ready to relieve another fighting force that has been battling off the shades for decades to come.
He glanced out towards a cliff that revealed an endless ocean casted across the earth, water colliding against the surface of the jagged rocks that wedged between the dirt walls, still wearing the white mask and still wearing the cloaked hood - which was cleaned from the dirt and smudges obtained. He had no desire to remove this whatsoever, unless it came the time to feed or bathe himself with water. His dragon of course was napping nearby, its occasional snorts telling him not to disturb its sleep, for it needed to rest for the battle to come. Not to mention that he was riding upon it for several leagues for an hour. It really wore his dragon out. He just relaxed against its flank, rubbing its head occasionally as it laid it upon his lap. Of course, a dragon of this size, its head would be a heavy burden upon humans and possibly even elves, but he was different from the others in many ways. Ways that could never be achieved alone.
But what his mind was entirely focused on the shade he encountered, the spell he casted from a simple scroll engraved with the very words of a lost language that only the Demons type of race could learn. But beyond that, it is impossible to shift a language that can only be based off a species that could it with a flick of their hand. It wasn't confined within their race's energy structure no more, and has been weaponized onto a scroll, able for any type of magician to use it, anywhere, anytime. The only time he ever saw such a thing was during his training when he was a younger soldier and his brother-
The Demon caught himself at thought… It been decades since his brother has died… would it be possible that he survived all those years ago. He didn't like thinking about his brother death. But if he did survive, for the Demon knew that his brother was the only one able to do such a thing, but why work for the enemy? Is he being held captive? Or did he pass his training, his methods onto an apprentice? It would impossible, to share the secrets of his race, it's against protocol. Unless there was yet another of his species, or possibly the scroll was recovered by the enemy. He did sense an odd amount of hesitation from the shade, but he used it… then he must have survived after all.
The Demon clenched his fist, burning on the inside as he was confronted by only theories and not answers, and he was determined to find out everything. His dragon gave whimper of concern, and the Demon turned his gaze down to the white eyes that matched his own and showing interest in his thoughts. He scratched the underside of its jaw, and started to hum slightly and voicing a low-rumble, which he knew was a purr of comfort, but his thoughts still hindered his ability to focus, and no matter how hard he try to set them back into his mind or cast them aside, using all of what his training, it still came back to haunt him. He gave a sigh of discomfort and closed his eyes.
He sat there thinking for what felt like an hour, stroking the dragons head occasionally, but it was till the dragon's eyelid shot up and so did its head as it stared at a nearby presence that appeared within the tree lines of the forest. The Demons eyes also, but lazily, opened. His dragon gave a yawn, hoping to get a nap again. Meanwhile, the Demon stood up to meet the same female elf from the battle that occurred earlier, hoping that she tagged along anything new from within the council herself.
"Any news?" he asked as he stood up, listening to an almost disappointed rumble from his dragon as it repositioned its head. It enjoyed being close to his presence, since he was the only thing close to it; nonetheless, it laid its head back down and rubbed it close to its wing before returning to its nap.
The female elf lay against the tree, using it as support and crossed her arms. Only then that her entire face was revealed, as golden hair curls spiraled down her neck and stopped slightly above her shoulders. Her eyebrows were golden as well, while her face showed unmatched beauty. Her green colored eyes gave him a sharp glare of preoccupied thoughts that ran through her head of any information that she gathered. The Demon laid his body against a tree near hers, staring at her determined for answers. It already was a bother before, but now he is on the brink of insanity just to her answer to his question: Are we going to attempt to rescue the last egg later?
"Well, besides the thankful and joy that we received, and the village celebrating of the return of a celestial object – despite it not being the Divine stone, the council is still waiting for answer from the Sage," she spitted out, scornfully, "I don't see why we can just end this war now and be done with it."
He shook his head in disbelief. "You don't understand-," he was cut off before he could even finish his sentence.
"Because I am not like you, only those that are chosen can only understand the ancestral memories of what occurred so many centuries ago," she retorted, "I know, but still, we have enough men and woman, not to mention the council itself to put an end to war, 'WHY' don't we just get this over with?"
"Because if go on this path, there will be no turning back. You have a point, but there are devastating powers out there that could erase you from history, kill you within an instant of its touch, and drive you to the brink of unimaginable pain," he responded. The female gave a huff, ignoring his words of knowledge. "And don't let me remind you of the Sage's ill condition. He only could've ended it, but he sacrificed what abilities he could to end a war that would've prevented us to exist. Don't forget that there are others that sacrificed everything to keep the threat in check, to ensure that we live peacefully."
"And will this hatchling have any decisions in this? Will he or she suffer the same fate? Or have you become lost in this ordeal so much that you have forgotten what life was like to live again," she replied angrily, shooting a retort back towards him, her eyes becoming a glare in disgust.
The Demon was taken back, he felt her negative words bite at him, but instead of answering the question, he showed concern for her. It was often that she showed hostility to everyone but had very good reason too. He only wondered what caused him to earn this from her. To settle the confusion aside, he wanted answers to laid to rest. "What's wrong, young one?" he asked, sensing tension between them.
Before she could answer, the earth began to rumble, the sky quaked as dark clouds casted across the sky. The oceans crashed against each other violently. A screeching roar to the skies, causing the white dragon to jump onto its feet and snarled as it nearly lost its footing. The rider and the elf stared at each other. They instantly knew what happened as a certain feeling of magic flown, except this wasn't just magic; it was energy itself transforming midway, giving off a different aura. The Demon noticed a small colored flower in shape of a rose slowly sprout from the ground, giving off a beautiful sight, and what seemed like spores, danced in the wind as it touched other flowers and caused them to sprout. Even a dying flower, was thus restored to its original state. This caused the Demon to shift uncomfortably, he was summoned, and from all his experience in the world, it was always this that gave him to wonder of the world they lived in.
"We'll continue this later," she hissed out, turning around and rushing at full speed through the forest. The Demon himself mounted his dragon and they took flight, running towards the origin of the roaring and trembling. What lay inside the pyramid was the origin of these events occurring.
Meanwhile…
The shade that was encountered at the castle, which was his main structure for researching magic-based weaponry or devices, such as the miniature disruptor he created, stomped through the inner hallways of another castle. Red carpet covered the ground, while the walls were covered with their empire's insignia. Armored human soldiers patrolled the halls, becoming stiff at the sight of the shade as he passed them. The shade was both angered and frustrated by the battle that occurred hours ago. He and the remaining shades, disturbed by the loss of one of their kind, managed to link up with a battalion heading to the front lines and there where the shade sent messages to every other outpost in every direction, hoping to catch wind of every bit of information about the dragon rider. He knew that there was something coming his way, but he never expected heavy opposition such as that, especially in force. That battle will haunt his memories for years to come, and he himself, who was barely unable to escape the use of a destructive spell.
The distraction was more than enough to force away the Demon and free his Wyvern, then at that moment, he used the remaining energy and teleported him and his dragon miles away from the impending doom but was extremely tired afterwards to even move an inch. It took hours what could've been days if not for his dragon and the recent arrivals of his shade brethren. His squad walked behind him, wanting retribution for the death of their fellow brothers and sisters. There were only so few of them left...
By the time he reached the main center of the castle - the throne room where the leader of the entire empire hid - known as Ill've, the capital building for the empire, the elite guard, which wielded large battle axes and silver armor, stepped to their right flank and opened the golden lined door that was engraved with a foreign language for him as soon as they saw him. As he stepped into the grand chamber, which chandeliers hung from the ceiling right in the middle of yet another dome like window, he was reminded of the battle that happened earlier, tormented by how easily he was beaten in hand-to-hand combat, how he nearly fell to the horrors of the basic mind, and how he nearly was killed too easily, as if his opponent was toying with him.
The room was very large, doubled the size of the laboratory where the shade conducted his research. U-shaped windows gave birth to the sunlight, yet little dimmed through. Red and black curtains connected to each other as they were tied above the windows, waiting for someone to allow them to lay their soft blanket across the glass windows. Golden strands of lined cotton decorated the curtain, while the golden rope that allowed itself to uncoil, and slowly drifted by a small strand of wind that gave an eerie sound of discomfort.
The red carpet that laid its restless body across the flood, soon hit a small flight of stairs composed of eight steps touched the upper chamber, where someone sat in a large golden-red chair. The entire throne chair, nearly resembling Dwarven furniture, was entirely gold, while red lines casted across the arms of it. Cotton-pillowing gave comfort for those who sat on it, which of course, there was always a person sitting on such a chair. The darkness covered him whole, even though the chandeliers offered light; it was still dark inside, nearly making anyone unable to see a foot in front of them, a fog also obscured the vision of those who entered, but despite all of the obscuring musk that floated in the air, there was still enough light to see the surroundings.
A certain man sat in his chair, holding a wine glass in his hand, swishing it around, just to see the red liquid slowly rise to the top, only to wave back down to try to escape from the other side. He wore a red robe, foreign and alien symbols made of golden silk casted across the main body. He was waiting for something; something that began to ignore him hours ago, for his own conscience was telling him that something was wrong. It was only a minute before the shade barged into his domain – the castle itself - that his eyes darted towards the door, becoming narrow, and low snarling coming from him. He got a feeling of whatever is coming is about to come through those doors.
Once the doors opened, red snake-like eyes darted towards the noise, his mind being relieved from the unlimited amount of knowledge it possessed. He sat up, hoping that this better be good, or he would rip the head off whoever disturbed his silence. It crossed his mind, till he saw the face himself, then his sly thought sunk back into the back of his mind, agitated that it wasn't someone else. He wanted to kill something, but his presence was needed here, unfortunately
"Ah, General Lutheran, what a surprise, I thought you were enjoying your humble test subjects? What possibly do you desire now?" The man asked, glancing at the general, who scrapped his precious red carpet with his Staffscythe and tore a straight line through the cotton silk. In his mind, he knew something was occurring. If he knew the general too well, it would have taken something of his dignity to make him do this. Either that or one of the damned humans screwed something up at his castle.
"Master," he hissed out, pulling his hood down from his head, revealing the facial features of the shade himself. Even though all the shades were in a human state of form, he was Elven, something considered impossible by Elven standards, but there were unknown powers that could practically shape the earth itself. His grey hair flopped against his head, appearing that all his hair was curled over and positioned on one side of his head. The shade was grateful as it was finally pulled from the confined space; he straightens it out, avoiding any misjudges in his appearance. He took a knee to show his deepest respect and servitude. "You never told me there was another one of you."
The man stopped swishing his wine around, eyes deepening into curiosity and misunderstanding. "What do you mean Lutheran?" he asked, his eyes growing narrow.
"There was some type of elf there… possibly not even an elf at all, wearing a white cloak, wielding a dragon riders' blade, glaring at me with those white eyes," he said in disbelief. His eyes dazed off towards the ground, his mouth biting down, and fists clenched in hatred that he lost a battle. "Damn those eyes," he whispered to himself.
His master's eyes then casted off the side disbelief… "So… the Dividers live after all," he said in a state of thought, which of course, the thought became words in his mouth, causing Lutheran and the shades behind to stiffen. Lutheran felt his entire mind take hold of the events that happened earlier. It explained everything.
The Dividers, he didn't much about the Dividers, nor did he know how many there were. It was only a few minutes ago that it caught his attention. He was also lucky to survive, and he wondered to himself…. Why did he hold back? There was a reason that the Demon which anomalously a Divider held back his true powers, but unfortunately, he had neither theories nor answers, but he did know one thing… he leader was just like one of them. It took him an hour to realize that thought when he made his approach to Ill've, but he had to hear the answers from his leader himself in order to confirm it.
The Dividers are among the most ferocious and deadliest creatures alive. They are only confined to the basics of any creature capable of holding advance intelligence, able to wield weapons. Anyone can be a Divider. The only way to become though, it too be chosen by a great ancestor. To the Dividers, they must first be chosen by a dragon that holds the power of their ancestral bloodline or was blessed with their powers. The shade didn't know much, but he knew that they held powers that neither 'rider' nor a simple magician could wield. Even If they forced themselves to learn the powers of their great ancestors, they will be consumed if they are not recognized. Though, if they are recognized, they are gifted with powers unlike anything ever foreseen, explaining how the shade's mind fell to fear. It seemed that the Demon didn't need to seize his mind and engulf them with the memories that would be turned against him. Then the shield, what could only be the ancestral power using his energy as a basic field of protection. And not to mention, they possessed a large amount of energy, which could be described as stamina or the fuel within their bodies that could supply the spells magicians casted. Everything within their bodies was enhanced beyond anything, anyone, would describe standard among their race. They were indefinitely, a force to be reckoned with, though, their numbers are only limited.
"What about Contingency?" he asked, voice turning cold.
"It is right here, my master," Lutheran replied, pulling the light-blue stone from his pouch. His master turned his head to stare at it, and then slowly approached it. Once he was within reach, he took the stone and held it in his hands, studying every feature. A sizzling sound was heard once it contacted the man's hands, steam slowly forming and increasing every minute he held it. He then took a deep inhalation of the eggs scent, a grin appearing on his face. It was more than pure, it was something that exceeded expectations…. something that was needed for their plans if there were to succeed.
"Female from the smell of it, healthy, and the power it holds." He then held it into the air, hoping to see the shape of the creature lying inside. Lutheran who was surprised that his master was able to do such a thing, soon wondered how his master was able to see through the thick layer shell of the stone, along with the fact that it was nearly dark in the chamber, but knowing his masters abilities, which never ceased to amaze him, his master could probably be able to pull off a simple task of seeing through the outer shell. He needs to remember, that his master was something more than just ordinary.
After examining it, and with the steam slowly hindering away, he held out and said, "Secure it," he ordered. One of the shades walked up and retrieves the stone from the man's hand before departing to where they stored the most valuable treasures. "What of the other stones…" he asked?
"The Divine stone was destroyed, and the obelisk was captured," the shade responded with the deepest of sincerity hoping his master would understand. "I was not powerful enough to stop them, Master… forgive me."
"Impossible…" he said. "The Divine stone cannot be simply destroyed, none of them can be destroyed as they are blessed by the power of Divinity." The man closed his eyes and remained motionless for several moments before smiling. "Its still out there, somewhere…"
"Your will is my command, Master, what do you need of me?" The shade replied ready to serve his master wishes.
The man just chuckled. "It's very interesting how people holding great power can detect the slightest things, but also the most terrible things. I hope you remember Galbatorix," He replied.
"Yes, master, your young apprentice who was charged of keeping Alagaesia in check. What about him?" Lutheran asked curiously, knowing that his master had not often mention much, but learned that he was one of the few that were corrupted to turn against the riders and pave a hole to begin his plans.
"He's recently deceased, killed by a rider known as Eragon, learning the very words that Galbatorix was trying to discover." The shock struck Lutheran, wondering how Galbatorix himself could die from a mere rider. Even a century of training and being funded unlimited resources, until recently, supply routes were cut off, but there should've been an enough to ensure Alagaesia would stay in the empire's hands. "But stubborn as he was, he decided to wait for death to find him. He should've listened to me when he had a chance, but it seems that he and his entire empire are dead, that leaves you in charge of what spies I have left and leaving you in charge of the southern seas." The shade listened to his words carefully, finding everything in disbelief. "You are now the commanding officer of the forces in and around both Alagaesia and Luzonia." General Lutheran just nodded, seeing how he was the only right-hand apprentice left in the Empires forces.
The man cuffed his hands together and crossed his fingers, a smile appearing on his face. "Your next mission will be flying to Alagaesia and awaiting further orders," he said calmly. Lutheran studied his words with discomfort, but knowing that the new empire that controls Alagaesia, it would easily to infiltrate the newly built empire.
"Master, what about my research? And what if I encounter that Divider along with this Eragon?" he replied back.
The man chuckled once more. "Your research is being taken to the next step in technological advances. Eragon, on the other hand, has left Alagaesia, giving us a strong chance to retaliate back, but not now no, no, no." He inhaled through his nostrils as his stared towards the ceiling, and then returned his cold dead eyes back to stare at the shade. "He will also be occupied by an opposing force, distracted, while the four prototypes and the main will be deployed to cut off all communications through magic and leave Alagaesia defenseless.
Those fools rely too much on it… meanwhile." A grin that appeared like a half smile appeared on his face, then he continued, "if you want to kill the Divider," he gave a snicker of mockery, "You would have to become something else, something much stronger, something… above all else… you will to become a true mortal." Lutheran was immobilized at the word 'mortal'. In his life he never heard of such a thing. A shade, turning into flesh and blood, it seemed impossible, but he had seen things that his master did that made him think wrong, things that deemed impossible beyond standards, but if it weren't for him, the entire empire wouldn't exist.
"What about men and funds, do we even have the necessary resources to even retake back Alagaesia?" he asked. Among all the shades in the world, he was the one asking too many questions, something that was rarely seen, but every question he asked seemed to end with an answer. Even becoming a mortal rang through his minds, but he was an immortal, made of nothing more than a lost soul taking the form of an Elf. But if it means becoming much stronger, flesh and bone, fragile to cuts and wounds, he'll take it.
"I already have plans for that," he answered, flicking a piece of glass of the arm of his chair, onto the dark foggy floor. Who knows where it landed, then the man said, "Our spies or what's left of them has tracked an interesting chain of events occurring in the Dwarven Empire in Alagaesia. You will know where to find our spies among the Dwarven cities. They will guide you to a corruptible source that is wealthy, has the manpower and resources, and is an ideal symbol to the people, reclaimed as war hero, but nearly the entire city remains loyal to the king. But, perhaps persuading him, it will increase our chances, not for an invasion, but a distraction. What one desires most in an empire, you already know the answer to that," he said, giving off a small sense of humor. Things were too predictable for him.
"What do you suggest I do first master?" he inquired.
"First, we'll discuss your true awakening, and then you will head to Alagaesia, meet with our agent, set up our devices, and then find the stone… or what it has become. We will then strike after that, even if the target still possesses a threat. The Dwarven kingdom has lost large numbers of men after the war and is vulnerable. The last thing they would need is a shade knocking on their doorstep… or something entirely new. With that under our hands, I'll contact you afterwards." His master then stood up and walked towards him, studying him with his red glowing eyes. "Come my apprentice, there is much to do," he said with his dark chuckles. "We shall appeal to the Disturbed One," he said, whispering a prayer in a certain language.
Lutheran watched as his master walked past him, and without hesitation, he followed. The hunger for power surged through him, grappling at his dark soul. He will not be defeated twice; he will need to learn things that no others could ever learn. Of course, he was curious. Why bring this up now? What was his master planning? There were too many secrets in this small, confined world, and he was being left in the dark.
But if he wanted to become entirely something else, he will go beyond lengths to battle to battle with that one rider again. A smile left the shades face. Despite the loses – his research, the Divine stone, the death of his fellow men, and Galbatorix himself, he hasn't had a good battle since, until now, but every time he thought of the battle, he was more and more desperate to see who would be outmatched. He shall wait until then for the battle to take its place.
Author Note: This is was originally the first story that I developed and as you can tell its complicated. This was a bonus for everyone to see what stories are too be expected in the near future and I hope you enjoyed the story so far.