The Chronicles of Illyria
Punch…kick…block…jab…snap…running…never in my life have I had to run from battle before…panting like some common dog, pulsating with pain. Still so alien to me. Curse this human form and the fragility that comes with it. This pathetic excuse for a world has made them even weaker than they were in my time. This shell hurts me.
I barely made it through the ordeal with the demon hordes. Lesser beings all…who, while in my true form would have been nothing more than a nuisance…a source of amusement. Reduced to ash with but the wave of my hand…but here, in this time…this place…they damage me! They bring me pain…and to add insult to injury I am conflicted by the remnants of this creature Freds' human emotions. Is this to be the rest of my existence…human…and alone…feeling things? I find myself reacting to the passing of Wesley…the others are gone, we scattered during the battle with the demons…I can only assume they are dead and that I am alone.
Even though solitude itself is nothing new to me. As ruler of legions it has always been my lot to be alone…without peer, it is the caring that I find foreign and unwanted. Loneliness. Is this what it means to be human…to be a slave to all these rampant emotions?
It's only a small part of being human Illyria. There is some good yet to come from your being human."
Who dares to speak to a god with such familiarity? Step out of the shadows…so that I may look you in the eyes before I rip them out of your foolish head!"
"Always the sovereign warrior, aren't you? Fearsome words aside, we both know that you're just a little bit less than a god now aren't you? I can see from here that you are teetering on the brink. Even standing is exhausting your energy. The battle took much from you…but still you continue to be the warrior queen."
"You…you're not real. I held the "real" you in my arms as he breathed his last breath. You're just another manifestation of the weakness of this form…a shadow. Darkness! Am I to loose my senses as well?"
"Illyria…your senses are fine. I am here…at least as much as I need to be, to help you accomplish what needs to be done. "
"You speak in riddles Wesley thing! Tell me your purpose or vanish back into the ether!"
"Your role is not done Illyria. The powers have a plan for you and I am to play a part in it. You have been chosen to carry on. To fight the good fight so to speak. That's why they brought you through that skirmish."
I will take no part in this game of mortals and frivolous spirits! I fought on the side of Angel because of "circumstances"…and a burgeoning respect for his plight. My role as a willing pawn died when he did."
"Illyria…like it or not you are mortal now, and Angel or no the battle will continue as it always has."
"See…your very words are further proof that you are not who you claim to be. The human that I knew as Wesley would never speak of his fallen comrade in such a tone...with so little care…so little respect for what he stood for"
"Illyria I'm dead! I should think that my dedication to Angel and the cause has been proven…I sacrificed my life for the damn cause and even after death they still expect more! I think I've earned the right to be a little bitter! I spent a lifetime playing the game on the side of good…and now they send me back as a damn coach! Besides what makes you so sure that Angel and all the others are "fallen"?"
"You make a mockery of Wesleys' sacrifice and the death of his friends, Wesley thing! I would have you leave my sight now."
"Apparently I won't be going anywhere for quite a while…not all is death, Illyria...and not all the players have had their turn in the proverbial spotlight just yet."
"Leave me be! I told you I want nothing to do with your games!"
The powers had a feeling you might feel this way. So they have given me the authority to make a deal with you."
"What need have I of a deal? What could they possibly have that would be of any consequence to me?"
"Power. That's right…they have agreed to restore you to a variant of your former self on the condition that you serve as their champion in the ongoing battle with the forces of darkness…and that you agree to be relocated permanently to another dimension at the end of your service."
"You would dangle what was taken from me, in my face like I am some silly animal to be lead around by the nose? If you were substantial I would rip you apart for such disrespect!"
"Yes…well that's just one more perk of being dead and intangible…right? The whole not being able to be ripped apart thing. So what do you think? Do we have a deal or not? Do you become the almost all-powerful warrior or remain the diminished shell on the run for the rest of your days? You need your powers Illyria…you can't constantly battle these creatures in your state. Yes you have some power in your current incarnation…you are no mere human…true enough, but even you must see that the only way to bring all of this chaos to an end and restore some semblance of calm is to agree. "
"If I agree…this will all end? The demons will what…vanish into thin air? Will slain heroes rise again? What makes you think that I care one way or the other about this world and whether or not hell on earth ensues? I think maybe your "Powers" have over played their hand."
"Illyria, you can't posture with The Powers. Theirs is power beyond your imagining. And you are ultimately insignificant. As I said before all the players have yet to have their turn upon the stage…what makes you think that there aren't other champions being rallied even as we speak. Don't over estimate your importance. Besides you fool no one with your little act."
"Act, Wesley thing? What "act" do you speak of?"
"Oh you know the one…where you walk around claiming to hate this existence and everything in it…the one where you constantly wish you no longer had to suffer the mortal quandary…you're not done Illyria, even in your diminished capacity…you know that something is better than nothing…and If you agree, you will be even closer. Don't dawdle Illyria, we need your answer and you need your powers. Can't you hear them in the background? Practically snapping at your heels they are.
"To some extent you speak true Wesley thing."
"Will you stop calling me that? I've already told you that it's me!"
"Whatever. Tell your masters that I accept their bargain. I will be their champion for the time being…that is of course until I can find a way to crush them, like they deserve."