Running the fastest she could, Lyralei rode the forest like the wind she was blessed by. Her beautiful red hair seemed to fade into a brush stroke into an artistic impression and her green and yellow uniform blended extraordinarily well with the trees and bushes. She had run for maybe a couple of hours or so, effortlessly but relentlessly and it was all to deliver a message. Her bare feet barely made a noise and her speed and ability to stay undetected was priceless as a messenger despite her proficiency with the bow being unmatched except maybe by Traxxex, the reclusive Drow Ranger who hadn't really made contact in the last few months following a rather bitter encounter with a Dire strikeforce she refused to talk about, just leaving the cryptic message to "be careful when lightning hits you in the back instead of your head". Humble and faithful to the idea that the Radiant forces could stop the Dire from decimating life, she accepted her role as a support envoy, though always ready to engage the enemy.
She knew of the disturbances in the Silverglade forest, but what worried her was the lack of notices once the group of lieutenants was sent into the advance posts. There were reports about the dreaded pair of undead abominations laying siege to the guards, and Ezalor was extremely agitated about the fate of her allies. She was sent to deliver a message, to make contact and to help if things were out of control
Io is around. Try to contact him. Remember the void. The void might just be the key.
She was oblivious to the real meaning and she didn't dare question the Keeper of the Light. She just ran like the wind, eager to find out what had happened. And she wasn't alone. Up in the sky, flying with powerful winds, an aberration sped across the landslide but one she counted on without even thinking about it: Jakiro, the legendary two headed dragon, who was, curiously, supporting her, closely watching her back, unable to match her speed but the ability to fly had its perks. Jakiro was a majestic being, despite the impact it caused on people, and was a fierce warrior of the Radiant. He was eager to enter combat, but protecting Lyralei was more important now, and he understood that. And both heads agreed to keep watch, as the gigantic dragon soared the skies looking over the ranger.
Jakiro though, was more aware of the situation. He knew of the existence of the legendary forest wisp, one of the Fundamentals, who roamed the forest, seemingly guarding it since creation. Nobody had seen him, but the fables of the wisp were popular with children and storytellers. Jakiro didn't know what made him so powerful, but given that Ezalor needed him, he would comply. Ezalor wouldn't ask so desperately for someone less powerful than he was. Still, he resisted the urge to explain the Windrunner what was on stake here. She would deliver the message, and then, they would see what was to be done.
Suddenly, Lyralei screamed for him. A numerous contingent of footsoldiers were on their path. The Windrunner tracked back and jumped skillfully to the trees, and Jakiro flew lower to stay near the ranger and listen to her clearly.
"I don't know how many are there, but there are at least 50."
Jakiro laughed and said "you say that like it's a problem", while the second head laughed "we will freeze and burn!"
Jakiro could burn them all to the ground. Or freeze them and burn them. Or simply carry her to safety. However, Lyralei added "Crixalis is with them". This changed Jakiro's face instantly, and he reached his head to look ahead, and indeed, the Sand King was with the soldiers. They hadn't noticed them, but they were on a really tight spot, and, most importantly, the Sand King hadn't retreated yet.
Crixalis was the embodiment of the Scintillant Waste, a vast sentient desert, a genus loci that, teeming with life, a closed ecosystem, housed some of the most dangerous creatures. It changed shape, reached new locations, and acted as a giant entity, though sometimes it took form, a giant, vaguely humanoid scorpion. The Soul of the Sand was a dangerous opponent, as it was but a creature made of sand: it was just the physical form of the waste. They had faced him before many times, though they had driven him away via overwhelming numbers, but the Sand King simply refused to go back, for some Machiavellian reason, it still sided with the Dire, and kept coming again to the battle. It ran over the group of foot soldiers, headed towards the two Radiant lieutenants. Jakiro and Lyralei looked at each other: this was a golden opportunity. If they could deal with the Sand King, an important enemy would be out at least for a while. Lyralei smiled slightly, and jumped up to the top of the tree, while Jakiro bid his time.
The forest was calm, though the heat of the battle miles ahead could be heard if one tried very focused. Crixalis advanced proud, for some reason, even though they were getting away from the battle. It wasn't a retreat at all. Perhaps it was going to a rendezvous, and they were marching at full speed. The scorpion ran slightly faster than the contingent of soldiers, but it stopped every few meters to scout the area.
Lyralei had noticed it, and, timing to his head movie, she readied her bow and arrow, and tensed the string aiming at the desert monstrosity: just in the general direction, to distract him long enough for Jakiro to burn the place to Hell.
Finally, the time was right. She let go of the powerful string, and, faster than sound, the arrow flew straight at the head of the Sand King. It wasn't her idea, but if it fell down in one shot, it would be really, really good.
As the arrow broke the sound barrier, Jakiro rose from the trees, and breathed a column of freezing air, trapping almost all the warriors on its wake, and freezing the water particles in the air, effectively creating (and trapping inside it) a wall of ice, while it prepared to breathe out what was really frightening: the legendary liquid fire. However, as the forces struggle to move from their icy prisons, Lyralei realized the Sand King was not with them, and, suddenly, a violent sand storm broke out of the center of the enemy ranks and hit her in the face, dropping visibility down to zero. While she struggle to get out of it, she felt the tree she was standing on tremble, and it fell down without giving her time to react, sending him crashing through branches and hitting the floor with a painful thud. Fortunately, she managed to break away in time to avoid Crixalis massive pincers from smashing her in half, though she couldn't catch him, just watched him dig instantly into the floor and emerging next to the dragon in a flurry of bone spikes, taking the two headed lizard down to the floor.
"BY THE DJINN OF QALDIN"
The monster had taken a different position, and was hitting the ground with his tail, as if he was gathering power... which, Lyralei realized, probably was.
"BY THE SCINTILLANT WASTE"
The ground began to shake slowly in cressendo, and both Radiant warriors tried to get up, but both were stunned and slow to react.
"GATHER SANDS!" finally screamed the Sand King, and the ground began to violently quake on his wake, breaking in tectonic pulses centered on Crixalis, destroying everything on sight. Lyralei tried jumping towards the trees, but they were all breaking apart and falling to pieces, however the tireless Jakiro managed to grab her hand and pull her out of the earthquake, though the trembling still threw them down, though far enough to somehow stay on their feet. The Sand King had turned and was running towards them, but the Radiant pair managed to react on time, and the Windrunner focused and sent a powerful shot towards the monster, once again breaking the sound barrier through the earthquake, while Jakiro rose and began spitting his most fearsome weapon, the fabled Macropyre, as he laid down a lava-like liquid made carpet of boiling lava, covering the Sand King in fire while it screamed in pain, though relentless on its pursue as the arrow hit him straight on the arm, sending places of its armor-like chitinous plate that covered him.
Then, once again, Lyralei lost track of her target. The Windrunner took this as a sign to move out, and jumped out of the way instinctively just in time to avoid the bone shards that signaled the rise of the Sand King, who dug out of the ground still over the Macropyre, and pulled the Twin Headed dragon down to the ground, smashing him with great force, preparing to hit him with his powerful pincers once again.
Lyralei had but a split second to act, and she did: she took out a thick rope out of her quill, a specially built rope with an arrowhead, and with the speed of wind, shoot it at Crixalis, shackling him and pushing him back tying him to one of the very few trees that were still standing, an old enormous oak that croaked loudly as the monstruous scorping crashed against it, but it stood strong. She ran towards the dragon, who was slowly rising to his feet, catching his breath.
"Are you okay, Jakiro?" she asked, out of customs.
"I'm fine, Windrunner. You should go and complete the mission. I can hold him."
Lyralei gasped audibly. The Twin Headed Dragon was a powerful creature, vastly powerful and cunning, but the Sand King was a sentient desert. Were they evenly matched? She did not know the answer, but she knew he was right: the mission was more important. The Sand King was struggling to break the ropes and he would, pretty quickly.
Still, she was a warm person, and her heart felt every death on this war. And Jakiro was more than an ally to her, he could even be her friend. But yes. He was right. Cradling both of the Dragon's heads, she held them for a second, before running like the wind at the outpost.
Both heads followed her away, and then turned towards the struggling monster.
Crixalis finally broke from his ropes, and hit the tree out of frustration, knowing the ranged had got away. He then turned towards the dragon, breathing deliberately and slowly, keeping his four eyes on the flying lizard. The two forces of nature ran at each other and clashed in a mortal embrance, struggling to get the better of the other, as Jakiro tried to bite Crixalis and the Sand King tried to bury his sting on the Twin Headed Dragon.
Lyralei turned her head to watch the two titans fighting for dominance, and deep inside she felt a weird feeling on her chest. Jakiro was strong. And she hoped he would be strong enough.
