Battle of the Ages
By: Aldrai Kastien, the guy formerly known as Aldrai Tassada
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing. DO YOU HEAR ME?! Rating: PG-13 for battle scenes. IOW, violence. A/N: WHY has no one done this? (actually, I just found out that someone else already has, so never mind.) WHY?! Kudos to you if you R/R!!!
Prologue
~I'll sing you a song of the long ago-~ ~Seven shine the Shiners, oh!~
I was wandering through Death, an amateur Necromancer, the Abhorsen-in- waiting. I was doing it because my father, Adrian, the Abhorsen eight generations after Lirael, had decided it was time for me to learn my way to the Ninth Gate and back. As you can probably guess, I was thrilled. I was working my way towards the curtain of mist known as the end of the First Precinct when I heard a sloshing sound in the distance. I drew my sword with my left hand, and readied my right for grasping a bell. Oddly enough, I didn't feel anything Dead about the creature rapidly drawing near to me. If anything, it was the most alive being I had ever encountered. Its very being washed the black water around it with glowing Charter Marks, yet in its heart I sensed a very, very powerful core of Free Magic. I prepared myself with Saraneth, and readied Master Marks of binding and destroying on my lips. Whatever this creature was, it wouldn't take me down without a fight.
* * * * * * * *
I, the Disreputable Dog, Kibeth, the Walker herself, was, for once, bored of walking. How ironic. After breaking one of our sacred laws by sending the child Nicholas back into Life, the Six had voted unanimously to sentence me to walk, to walk to Border of Life until I met one who would hear my story, and release me. Unfortunately, that person had to be an Abhorsen. And when you constantly hear the melody in your ear, forcing you to never stop moving, constantly walking, then the chances of meeting an Abhorsen on the Border is quite slim. Then I heard him. It sounded like a novice Necromancer, out for an excursion to try out his new Bells. A growl began deep in my throat. The power of Kibeth, of myself, flowed into the water around me, turning it gold with force. This Necromancer would never live to harm another Life. As I approached him, for I was sure now that he was a boy, I noticed with minor worry the blazing sword he held high with his left hand, and the silvery, glimmering bells on his bandolier. As he turned and faced me, the Charter Mark on his forehead flared as he unleashed...wait. Charter Mark on his forehead? Why, this was none other than the Abhorsen! I quickly erased every Mark I had created from my mind, yet was not lucky enough for him to do the same. Although I could not actually die, the body I had constructed for myself could be ripped to shreds, and I was not keen on feeling a lifetime's worth of pain at the moment, so I dodged nimbly aside as he spat the spell at me, and watched with a sardonic gaze as the supposedly freezing water was boiled and swept away in an instant.
"I hope you don't treat all of the ancient powers of the Old World with this much disrespect, Aldrai?" I asked him.
He glared at me in an annoyed way. If I weren't afraid for the life of my body, I would have laughed. "What are you, to mock the Abhorsen? And how is it that you know my name?" he demanded.
My happy mood slowly simmered away. "Don't play me for a fool. You are no Abhorsen. If you had even half of the power of your father I would be scared. However, you have next to no power, and unless my power of observation has dwindled down to a mere nothing during the time I have spent here, this is only your second time in Death. Trust me, I am not one that you should anger."
He still looked a little suspicious, but after I lulled him a little bit with my words, he decided to listen.
* * * * * * * *
The strange creature approaching me in the water had turned out to be a large black dog. A story passed down by my family told of how my great- great-great-great-great-great grandmother, Lirael, had bound Orannis, the Destroyer, with the help of Kibeth, in dog form. This looked like Kibeth, but in Death, who could be sure? I unleashed my spell and watched the creature jump aside, narrowly missing incineration. It then taunted me, and revealed itself as Kibeth.
"Aldrai. Would you like to hear a story?" she said, after a short pause.
"What story?" I muttered, my curiosity aroused, although I was still a little bit annoyed by being bested by a dog.
"Oh," she began mysteriously, "a story of the Beginning, when Orannis was first bound. Surely you are interested??" she continued, her voice rising shrilly at the end. For some reason, she really wanted me to listen.
I agreed, albeit sullenly. "Alright, Kibeth, if that's who you truly are, I will listen to your story."
She laughed heartily, relief evident on her face. "Alright then! Let us go to a better place." She barked an extremely high note, impossible for anything in existence to make, and I felt myself walking, walking to Charter knows where...
A/N: Do you like it? Do you? Please say you do! Review and I'll be your best friend!
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing. DO YOU HEAR ME?! Rating: PG-13 for battle scenes. IOW, violence. A/N: WHY has no one done this? (actually, I just found out that someone else already has, so never mind.) WHY?! Kudos to you if you R/R!!!
Prologue
~I'll sing you a song of the long ago-~ ~Seven shine the Shiners, oh!~
I was wandering through Death, an amateur Necromancer, the Abhorsen-in- waiting. I was doing it because my father, Adrian, the Abhorsen eight generations after Lirael, had decided it was time for me to learn my way to the Ninth Gate and back. As you can probably guess, I was thrilled. I was working my way towards the curtain of mist known as the end of the First Precinct when I heard a sloshing sound in the distance. I drew my sword with my left hand, and readied my right for grasping a bell. Oddly enough, I didn't feel anything Dead about the creature rapidly drawing near to me. If anything, it was the most alive being I had ever encountered. Its very being washed the black water around it with glowing Charter Marks, yet in its heart I sensed a very, very powerful core of Free Magic. I prepared myself with Saraneth, and readied Master Marks of binding and destroying on my lips. Whatever this creature was, it wouldn't take me down without a fight.
* * * * * * * *
I, the Disreputable Dog, Kibeth, the Walker herself, was, for once, bored of walking. How ironic. After breaking one of our sacred laws by sending the child Nicholas back into Life, the Six had voted unanimously to sentence me to walk, to walk to Border of Life until I met one who would hear my story, and release me. Unfortunately, that person had to be an Abhorsen. And when you constantly hear the melody in your ear, forcing you to never stop moving, constantly walking, then the chances of meeting an Abhorsen on the Border is quite slim. Then I heard him. It sounded like a novice Necromancer, out for an excursion to try out his new Bells. A growl began deep in my throat. The power of Kibeth, of myself, flowed into the water around me, turning it gold with force. This Necromancer would never live to harm another Life. As I approached him, for I was sure now that he was a boy, I noticed with minor worry the blazing sword he held high with his left hand, and the silvery, glimmering bells on his bandolier. As he turned and faced me, the Charter Mark on his forehead flared as he unleashed...wait. Charter Mark on his forehead? Why, this was none other than the Abhorsen! I quickly erased every Mark I had created from my mind, yet was not lucky enough for him to do the same. Although I could not actually die, the body I had constructed for myself could be ripped to shreds, and I was not keen on feeling a lifetime's worth of pain at the moment, so I dodged nimbly aside as he spat the spell at me, and watched with a sardonic gaze as the supposedly freezing water was boiled and swept away in an instant.
"I hope you don't treat all of the ancient powers of the Old World with this much disrespect, Aldrai?" I asked him.
He glared at me in an annoyed way. If I weren't afraid for the life of my body, I would have laughed. "What are you, to mock the Abhorsen? And how is it that you know my name?" he demanded.
My happy mood slowly simmered away. "Don't play me for a fool. You are no Abhorsen. If you had even half of the power of your father I would be scared. However, you have next to no power, and unless my power of observation has dwindled down to a mere nothing during the time I have spent here, this is only your second time in Death. Trust me, I am not one that you should anger."
He still looked a little suspicious, but after I lulled him a little bit with my words, he decided to listen.
* * * * * * * *
The strange creature approaching me in the water had turned out to be a large black dog. A story passed down by my family told of how my great- great-great-great-great-great grandmother, Lirael, had bound Orannis, the Destroyer, with the help of Kibeth, in dog form. This looked like Kibeth, but in Death, who could be sure? I unleashed my spell and watched the creature jump aside, narrowly missing incineration. It then taunted me, and revealed itself as Kibeth.
"Aldrai. Would you like to hear a story?" she said, after a short pause.
"What story?" I muttered, my curiosity aroused, although I was still a little bit annoyed by being bested by a dog.
"Oh," she began mysteriously, "a story of the Beginning, when Orannis was first bound. Surely you are interested??" she continued, her voice rising shrilly at the end. For some reason, she really wanted me to listen.
I agreed, albeit sullenly. "Alright, Kibeth, if that's who you truly are, I will listen to your story."
She laughed heartily, relief evident on her face. "Alright then! Let us go to a better place." She barked an extremely high note, impossible for anything in existence to make, and I felt myself walking, walking to Charter knows where...
A/N: Do you like it? Do you? Please say you do! Review and I'll be your best friend!