Hayman Camoran wielded Pondus, a sword that ripped open doors to a pocket-plane of the Void so that it seemed you merely teleported. In my brother's hands, it was a cartable wayshrine.

Chapter 47: A Light That Shines Too Bright

'It's not enough that you've terrorized the people and culture of our land.' Milkar made his way to the bottom of the dais. 'Your pursuit and obsession over my mother's power have left you mad. Look at you! Everything you've built has crumbled around you and yet still beseech pity from your enemies?'

Monsotar gazed down at my brother from his high perch. How long he must've harbored hate for my brother. 'And what is it you think I've built, Firstborn? No matter how far your vision of Valenwood has taken you, in the end, you are cursed by Ara as well.'

My brother, with Pondus in his hand, leaped up on to the top of the dais to stand mere meters from Monsotar. 'I've waited years for this moment.'

Their battle began in a flash of sparks as their swords collide. Milkar moved like a blur to meet Goldfire with an insurmountable force. The clanking of metal resounded throughout the chamber. Monsotar ignited his sword and nearly slashed into Milkar's chest. Elren and I joined. I used Nocturnal's Talon to block the golden flames spewing from Monsotar's sword. Elren came in with his thin, lightweight Akiviri sword, targeting Monsotar's sword arm, but he merely blocked it with his free hand. My brother Spatial Warped himself behind Monsotar using his sword's enchantment, hoping to get the jump on him, but he was too skilled and twirled with the speed of lightning blocking the assault. Milkar flew backward, knocked away by the force. I whipped a knife from my bandolier and jab it towards the back of Monsotar's neck. He swung his sword around, causing me to cease the attack, then with the momentum built from swinging around, he kicked me back before the blow could end his life. I'd lost control of my body and found myself crashing into Elren and rolling down the dais.

Back up the dais, Milkar and Monsotar were engaged in a heated battle of the likes I've never seen. Their moves were clean and inhumanely fast. The arches of their swords sent flashes of white and gold throughout the chamber. Monsotar ducked under Milkar's blow, pushing his shoulder into his chest. My brother stumbled back then lunged in with a counter. Monsotar slipped around to his side, but I jumped in quickly to parry the blow. A spur of fire threatened to engulf my arms, but Ghost Flame wrapped me in a violet flaming barrier. The two flames collided with each other and canceled out.

'You know you cannot defeat me like this,' Monsotar said, gaining distance between us. 'This will only end between you and me, Young Raven. It is…our destiny.'

His words rang true. Only the Ghost Flame can counter Goldfire's enchantment. The others only serve to stand in my way so that I may not be able to unleash my sword's true power.

'What do you say?'

'Shut up!' I barked.

I sent a wall of Ghost Flame strafing through the air towards him. He lifted Goldfire to it and allowed golden flames to eat away at my attack. The air was left thick with dust.

He spread his arms and began to chuckle. 'You see, Raven. This fight will only truly commence between you and I.'

'I said shut up!' I rushed him. My mistake was thinking I could do this alone. I was humbled and dragged through Oblivion. Watching my family die was no longer an option for me. Fighting without their help; not trusting in their strength; I won't do it again.

Our blades were a blur with our bodies becoming conduits for our hatred of each other. Both of our flames devoured the tree around us. It ripped into the metallic bark as if it were mere butter. We arched our blades high, cut through the wall and ground as they collided with each other. Fissures cracked across the ground as large chunks of the wall came loose and plummeted to the levels below. Monsotar's chambers became a battlefield as the two of us became giants.

Milkar, Elren, and Rindiel tried to help as much as they can, but Monsotar was too fast with his counter attacks. He kicked, punched, parried, and advanced against them as if they were children fighting a three-hundred-year veteran of war. The only advantage I had against him was the fractural amount of Mother's power Augoth gave to my sword.

Half of the chamber's floor gave way, broken by golden and violet flames. Elren was the first to be slammed against the far wall. He fell within a gaping break in the ground, disappearing underneath.

'Elren!' I exclaimed with a boisterous voice filled with anger.

Monsotar rushed Rindiel with Goldfire. The flames engulfed him, but the Osseinium armor kept him from melting completely. Pieces of it came undone as he tried desperately to defend himself against the onslaught of Monsotar's attacks. Milkar reached Rindiel, teleporting with Pondus' enchantment. He managed to slip his arms around Monsotar and hug his waist tightly. They both flipped back as Milkar slammed Monsotar down on his back and neck. I leaped through the air with my blade pointing downward towards Monsotar's chest. The Bosmer was too fast. He rolled to the side and flicked Goldfire upward meeting our blade in a brilliant flash of sparks. We battled for what felt like an eternity. Centaurcrass crumbled around us under the duress of our flaming swords.

'When are you going to get serious about killing me, Young Raven?' Monsotar asked under our clashes. 'You know you can't unleash that legendary power of yours with them in your way.' He nodded towards Rindiel and Milkar.

'Do you want to die that badly?' I inquired.

Monsotar shrugged and a wicked smile stretched his lips. 'You are the only one that can do it.'

I retreated away quickly, and he watched me. I turned to my brother and Elren's uncle. 'You must leave,' I said, regretfully.

Milkar shook his head. 'No, Leila. I will not let you face down that elf on your own. He's my enemy too.'

I shook my head solemnly. 'He isn't brother.' Milkar looked at me with bewilderment, cocking his head to his side. 'Your destiny is to succeed where he didn't, where mother and so many others have failed. My destiny is to ensure that those who come to your position do what's right by Valenwood. And eliminate threats to that vision.'

'Leila…'

'Go. Rescue Elren and find the others. You're the only that can lead them. For me…' I chuckled. 'For me, I will only know this war.'

My brother's eyes sparkled in the fire's light that burned all around us. A certain realization resonated there, but he knew what must be done. That night I stood in front of my brother; I didn't know what I was supposed to be. Now, everything has changed. I knew now the path I must take. Ironically, it was Monsotar that made me realize this. He was no different from Milkar or Mother and certainly not me. My Mother's light bared too much pressure; it warped us into something different, something severely traumatized.

Milkar looked around at the fires that blazed. The violet flames of the Ghost Flame battled the gold flames of Monsotar's Goldfire. He knew that only I, who can draw forth this power, would be able to end Monsotar and his reign over Valenwood. I needed to be the one that will change how the underground world operates. My revolution has spoken so. He realized this. Milkar grabbed Rindiel by the gorget and stood him to his feet. The two Bosmer stumbled as the made their way over the collapsing ground towards the shattered leaf-veil.

The walls of the chamber were missing now, burned down in our fight. The morning's sunlight filtered in beams that illuminated our faces. I could see Monsotar clearly; the lines that pressed a handsome face, the scars that mapped his torso, and the muscle rippling underneath. What did my mother do to this soul when she was alive? How could he have become so tortured?

Mother died when she gave birth to me. My father hated me for it, and my Tutor's training was harsh because he thought the same. In a way, they believed that I killed her. Sometimes I thought it to be the case as well. That is her curse. It is cast upon all that has touched her light. Aridiil knew that her power could be the defining factor against the tyranny of the Empire. Without Mother, the Original Four were forced to live with the abilities they cultivated under her training without direction; it split them apart, and they found corruption on their paths without a doyen to keep their minds from it. Were my poor brothers supposed to clean her mess? Was it their destiny to cast aside their glory in the Ranger Guard to skulk in the dirt as thieves and terrorists to clean the mess she created and left them? I couldn't let it happen. So, I've burdened myself with their hardships. I will shoulder Ara High-Arrow's chaotic, unfiltered world so that, maybe, they may create something new. Something that would be different. That is my destiny from now and until I die. That is what my revolution is all about; for the Raven must usher in the twilight of an era and put an end to a light that shines too bright.

I watched Milkar and Rindiel make it to the leaf-veil. He stopped to look back at me. He might be my brother, he might be the leader of the Silver Crescents, and the king of the new underworld once Monsotar is gone, but he too has spent time in Mother's overbearing pressure. Has he stayed pure, or was he already corrupted? I hoped the day never came that I must bear Nocturnal's Talon against him.

I watched his back as he disappeared down the corridor.

'And thus, there were two left.' I felt the heat radiate from Goldfire.

Monsotar stood in a beam of sunlight and looked as if he were on fire himself.

'Why don't you drop the act, Monsotar? I know that you have no real drive to fight.' I lifted Nocturnal's Talon. 'You have nothing left. Your army of nightblades has been decimated. Your closest friends have died or turned on you. You're done for.'

Monsotar challenged me with a gaze as a small smirk formed on his lips. 'I still have you,' he said with a modest tone. 'I still have this moment.'

I shook my head. 'Why is it me?' I asked. 'Why must this fight happen? What is the purpose if you've already lost?'

'Because I must know…' He said in almost a whisper. Monsotar placed a fist over his heart. 'I hate you, Raven. Not because of what you've done to the Thieves of the Wood; not because of anything you were burdened to do by your brothers or the pressure of Valenwood's innocence, but because you are Ara's reincarnation.'

'Her reincarnation?'

Monsotar nodded. 'She died, and you were born. She died without finishing her fate to cleanse Valenwood. She believed that I was supposed to do it. That I needed to lead the Thieves of the Wood to glory. For a while after her death, I grew mad because of such weight. I lost everything even as I built this world. In doing so, I lost myself in a void. I lost my heart, and my blood became cold. I waited for so long for her to come and take these burdens back, but she never did.' His eyes narrowed. 'But she has returned. In you, Raven! Her own daughter.' Monsotar smiled as powerful flames cloaked Goldfire's blade. 'Now she can finish the job that she was supposed to finish.'

I sighed. Ghost Flame flickered over my sword and became a vortex of power. 'I'll tell you something that I've told many people before. It's as if you all never learn.' I looked up and into his eyes. 'I am not Ara High-Arrow. I am not a hero, nor am I a villain. I am an entirely different entity. I fall under no category of such. I am a rogue of rogues. I would defy the divines if I get the chance. I am me. I am… the Black Raven!'

I darted towards Monsotar and our blades clashed in an epic array of flames.

That unfettered madness from that dark night entered Monsotar's soul. 'And so… the Divines will peer down on this moment, and our souls will scream up at their light.'

He was faster than before, moving in with blinding speed. I manage to parry most of his attacks but at the sacrifice of my form. The impact vibrations numbed my sword arm, and I nearly faltered. In a battle of strength, Monsotar will win with no contest. Our speed and mobility were equal. The Ghost Flame rivaled as a defense just as much as an attack. When Monsotar gained the upper hand, the flames would spill on its own and form a barrier around my body. It was amazing to see first hand. As an enchantment latched on to my sword, it was the most powerful thing Tamriel has seen since the Oblivion Crisis. I could only imagine the full force my mother wielded during that time.

Monsotar and I pulled apart and clashed again and again. Our sword's power bolstered our blade to carve through anything like it wasn't even there, leaving scorch marks burned by golden and violet fire. The Graht-Oak around us burned with two-toned flames devouring the heartwood. At this rate, the entire tree would be consumed ad turned to ash.

A powerful blast sent me slamming into a far wall. I peeled myself off as Monsotar stabbed the surface where I fell. I spun around with Nocturnal's Talon at the ready, but he ducked under as I sliced the air above him. He shouldered me in the gut, blood gushing from my mouth. I skidded away, stopping just before a wall of flame could eat me whole. He charged again. I managed to slam my blade down on his, putting both swords through the ground. I looked into those distant, psychotic eyes. Whatever boy my mother trained had been consumed by the fires of madness. I cocked my head back and in a roar at the top of my lungs, I slammed my forehead on the bridge of his nose. As he reeled back screaming in agony, I lunged my sword forward. I only manage to stab air. Monsotar smiled with a face flooded with blood spilling from his nose. Red painted his teeth.

'You've come so far,' Monsotar said, taking his nose in one hand. He jerked it to both sides, resetting it without flinching. 'I've always known you would be my equal.'

'It's a shame only one of us can walk away from this,' I told him.

'How many lives have you taken?' Monsotar asked. 'A girl who has known battle since she was a mere six years old? You must've killed many people.'

I thought back to everyone who has died fighting against me. I was trained to fight; to end the lives of my enemies. Sometimes, I did so without remorse and without thinking of the consequences on my soul. 'Why does that matter? I did so to get to this point. I want to see your blood spill across this very room.'

'Is that so?' Monsotar sent a wall of Flame hurdling towards me. I lifted my sword and plunged it into the ground. The violet flame created fissures through the ground and a wall blocked his own. 'You think your brother isn't like me? You believe that he won't try to locate your mother's power for his own? Milkar is death in the flesh. Even before you were born, he was destined for power. Once he receives a taste of it, he will want more. What will you do then?'

'It doesn't matter. Whether it be my friends, whether it be Aranwen or even Milkar. I will protect Valenwood from the shadows. I will protect my revolution no matter the cost.'

Monsotar boomed a boisterous laugh. 'Such conviction. But what about you? Who will police the mighty Black Raven of Shimmer Root?'

I shook my head. 'I've crawled from that dark hole with my own resolve, Monsotar. That is why it can only be me that defeats you.'

Monsotar closed his eyes with an air of satisfaction. 'Let us end this once and for all.'

'Finally, something we both can agree on.'

We ran at each other with hatred and anger in our roar. Our blades clashed. The fierceness of his attacks grew since the beginning of the fight. He was giving it his all as was I. I didn't see Monsotar as the grievous monster I did before, now he's just a Bosmer tortured by this world with evilness earned by the choices he's made. For him, there were never any right choices he could make.

Monsotar came at me as a mass blur of searing flames. When our blades met, I could feel the anger and sadness behind it. I watched his footing and waited for a moment to strike. When it came, I managed to stride onto his flank, line my blade with the Ghost Flame, and run my blade across his ribs. But he expected me to do just that. Monsotar leaped away from my strike and somersault down the dais. He landed on top of his table's edge which was half-swallowed by the burning ground. He unleashed a spurt of wavering fire from his sword, forcing me to counter with a wall of flame of my own. The two powers collided in the air and ate each other up. Monsotar took the opportunity and flew through the battling flame and landed a punch to my right cheek. I landed hard on the ground, a gash in my mouth left the taste of copper on my tongue. I rolled away as he dragged Goldfire across the ground towards my neck and kicked at his shin. His leg buckled. As he fell to his knee, I kicked straight up into his jaw, sending him sprawling onto the other side.

We both stumbled to our feet slowly, swords in hand. When we came at each other again, it was with the fury of the gods. The pupil and daughter of Ara High-Arrow locked in a momentous battle that could change the very scenery around us. They say only a few people in this world could have such a battle. No else could understand our hearts but us.

I didn't feel strong. My arms burned with fatigue, and my legs were growing increasingly numb. My vision blurred, and I felt if I could crawl on the ground and pass out. I believed Monsotar could see it too, and he took advantage. In a blink of an eye, he charged me with a lunge. It took everything I could to move out the way. It didn't matter. He swung back with Goldfire, roaring with flame along its blade and cut a sizzling wound across my shoulder. I cried out and fell to one knee. He rose above me, his sword held high. I managed, at that moment, to call upon the Ghost Flame, and blast me safely across the room.

My blood boiled around my wound, and my arm dangled at my side, nerveless. I gritted my teeth. The tree shook and another section of the ground broke away, falling down to the lower floors in a heap of smoldering wood.

'Will this be but another win for me?' He asked, a snarl lingering on a busted lip. Blood streamed down the side of his face from a wound on the fringe of his hairline. His hair was slick with sweat. 'How disappointing.'

'You…won't win,' I said, barely able to keep my eyes open.

A scythe of concentrated fire magic sawed through the air. I balled up as it cut the wall behind me in half. I gripped my sword close to my body and swallowed hard. Monsotar advanced slowly. He was like a demon from Oblivion stalking its wounded prey. I tried to crawl away, but my arm was completely dead at this point. Another scythe of fire blocked my path. I gave up and sat back, watching as he approached.

'It's over, Young Raven.'

'No…'

My heart pounded against my chest, my head whirled, and my body trembled. As he stalked closer, I found what little inkling of energy I had left and stood on trembling legs. Another wave of fire feathered out from his sword colliding with Ghost Flame. The force of his blast pushed me into the wall forcing all the air from lungs in a loud gasp. He stopped a mere five arms away from where I lay gathering myself. I sliced at the air to keep him back.

'I will illuminate your darkness,' he said at the edge of hearing. He raised Goldfire. The long golden sword was ablaze with golden flames.

Something behind him skittered past him and bounced over a wall of fire. I thought my eyes were deceiving me, but in some dark corner of my mind, I knew what it was.

I smiled, nearly laughing.

I forgot all about her. But it was that same action of forgetting that made it my trump card. Monsotar eyed me closely.

'You call yourself the opposite of your mother, but in truth, you falter just as she did.' He waved his hand to the world on fire around us. 'This is how she left Valenwood, and now, you leave it the same.'

I shook my head in disappointment. 'It's truly saddening to see an elf of your caliber miss the whole point. I'm not trying to extinguish the fire. I'm the one setting it ablaze.' I gave him a stark glare.

'What do you mean?'

'I will bathe the corruption of Valenwood in flames so that something new would be born. And there's no one that's going to stop me.'