A mild breeze blew stray papers about the deserted city. The slight ruffle was accompanied only by the cushioned footfalls of cloth shoes and a quiet clunk from the end of a staff in rhythmic motion down the street. Icy blue eyes darted about, taking in every motion. Seeing how abandoned the path was, the traveler sighed and shifted most of the weight to the staff.
"How did I end up here?" the figure asked aloud to the empty streets. The voice was soft and feminine. She wore flowing black robes embroidered with blue runes across the cuffs of her sleeves and hem of her skirt. She wore a dark hood, concealing her face to only show her eyes. There was a belt at her waist, attached to it was a case of scrolls and some bags of reagents. Slung across one shoulder, she wore a black knapsack, inside containing a few precious spell books.
Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the peace of the vacant place before continuing down the paved road lit by an obscure full moon, being the only light in the sky. She traveled straight down the street, as it seemed to be the only option – the buildings leaving no alleyways as they loomed above her, some being several stories tall. She came upon what seemed to be a plaza, with a large, well-lit building in the center with stairs leading up to it. As she walked towards the light, it seemed to grow dimmer . . . to barely anything as she reached the steps.
The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes.
The words echoed in her mind, unsettling her as she tightened the grip on her staff and whirled around. Her eyes widened as she saw her shadow raise itself from the ground and twist as is grew. Soon, it did not resemble her at all; it had disproportioned long, stretching arms and shorter legs. There was a foreign symbol on its chest that appeared to have been carved into it. It began to walk toward her, its darkness engulfing everything in its path, the fading light around her gave her the faintest feeling of despair as the dark tentacles started to wrap around her legs, her arms. She struggled feebly, and screamed in fright. The blackness enveloped her entire being, and she calmed. For a moment, she found herself soothed in the deceiving comfort. She had been about to close her eyes and welcome the sensation of the warm void when she came to realization.
Her eyes snapped open and she fought the grip on her left arm – her staff arm.
"Lucis … rep," she mumbled, hardly able to speak as the ever tightening hold began to suffocate. She fumbled for the proper wording, fear causing a haze. She pulled away from the darkness with her staff and pounded it against the ground.
"Glacies repello obscunum!" she shouted with the last of her breath causing the magic to flow through her arm and to her hand. Her staff instantly burst into blue light as it chilled the surrounding air. The black abyss before her retreated and released her. Leaning on her staff heavily, she gasped for air. The creature had stepped back from the light momentarily, but now it reached out to her. She held the staff out in front of her defensively as her other hand dove into a pouch on her belt, retrieving a small blue pebble. The mysterious shadowed hands outstretched its claws inches from her, but the light kept it away like it was fire.
Taking the monster's hesitation as an opportunity, she ran to the right and pointed her hand at its head and gleaming yellow eyes.
"Frieza," she muttered, and with that word, the pebble flew from her palm and, as it progressed, it became a small bolt of ice that continued to grow larger as its speed increased. It struck the creature dead center between the eyes and it let out a deafening screech. Fueled by rage, the monster threw its fist towards the mage.
"Caecus!" she said in alarm, closing her eyes as she faded from the dimension, magic burning in her blood as she reappeared twenty feet away with no harm done as the fist destroyed the sidewalk and filled it with a spiraling pool.
"What is this thing doing?" she whispered to herself. Never before had she came across such a fiend and she had traveled much of the lands.
The pool began to shift as several miniature dark figures rose out of it and started to creep toward her, skittering across the ground quickly. They formed a ring around her. She lashed out at one with her staff, but it to melt into the ground as her attack missed, the lack of impact throwing her off balance. Another of the lesser creatures jumped onto her back, slashing through her thin robes and shirt and cutting her skin. She winced, reaching for a different pouch; she extracted a ring of maple stems. Another shadowy being lunged at her arm and latched onto her as it bit into her shoulder. Crying out in pain, she turned and pulled at it in vain, as the teeth seemed to sick deeper as she tugged.
"Incendia!" she yelled desperately, feeling her robes become damp with her own blood as the monster's relentless onslaught ravaged her back. The ring of maple exploded into flame, sending a wave of intense heat throughout a ten foot radius. The ones on her were set ablaze and fell to the ground. All the fiends encircling her disintegrated into a dark mist. The mage felt drained, the magical lust had left as she dropped to her knees. Laying her staff on the ground, she held her hand to the still bleeding wound on her shoulder and felt her robes sticking to the cut, slowing the flow of blood. It was not the same for her back, where the clothing was in shreds, but she hoped they weren't as deep or potentially lethal.
She looked up to see her doom; the tall, formidable opponent watched her for a moment and reached for her yet again. Knowing she barely had the strength to move, she still felt she must fight. Opening her scroll case she pulled out the first and quickly unrolled it, unleashing the spell.
The letters began to quiver on the page and glow faintly. She prayed silently for it to go faster, shutting her eyes tightly. A cold hand lifted her up to being her face with the monster before it started to crush her. She dropped the parchment and suddenly, an enormous ball of fire erupted from it, striking the creature in the throat. It dropped her in surprise as its neck began to catch fire, which in a matter of seconds had spread throughout its body. The mage landed with a thud and remained inert as the great shadow, screaming in agony, slowly began to melt as it ran, flailing away from her, towards the stairs where it finally collapsed. Particles of darkness rose with the smoke and dissipated leaving no trace it was ever there.
The night returned to silence after the slight crackling of scorched parchment drifted, carried by a soft wind to land gently beside the motionless woman.