Hello all!
I present to you the next chapter just short of Christmas :D I hope you are all having a wonderful winter break so far. A belated happy happy holidays to anyone who's winter holiday has already passed, and a very merry Christmas to anyone who celebrates3
I hope you all enjoy the chapter!
Fireheart
The capital city of the Demon Realm stood deep within the unforgiving terrain of the fiery planes, leaving their ragtag group no choice then to make the dangerous journey through the turf of monsters.
Each encounter became a game of distraction, putting the monsters off long enough for them to escape out of immediate range so the beings would lose interest and they could continue the trek. With her new staff clutched in a white-knuckled grip, Mel found herself the only one able to hold her ground against the creatures, this strange weapon somehow able to break through defences that repelled the other's Aian weapons.
"Mel, you're going to drain yourself. Come on!" Gyendal did not wait for an answer as she faced yet another demonic hound creature, instead he grabbed her free wrist and gave a sharp yank that had her stumbling into a run behind him.
Down thin gaps between streams of fire they ran, following the worn path that was beginning to take form over the stone under their feet.
"This has to lead somewhere, even the beings that reside in an established town must need somewhere to escape these creatures in the planes." Uma said, casting a worried glance behind them.
Mel didn't trust herself not to be mocking if she dared open her mouth to reply, the pessimism within her half expecting to walk into a town inhabited by the strongest of these beings. It seemed rather fitting to their experience thusfar.
A rocky aisleway rose up around them as they followed the path through the hilly formations around them, and as an inscribed archway rose up ahead of them Mel found relief and dread welling in her in equal measures. There was no pause before they passed under the entrance, alien magic passing through her as they crossed through into a barrier protected city.
It was there that Mel came to an abrupt halt, her companions doing the same around her as they stared around them. The dull red lighting that seemed eve-present in this realm was even more saturated here, everything cast in a scarlet hue. Slowly her head turned as she scanned the houses and beings that moved within eyesight, strange and crooked homes blocking her view from the rest of this demon city.
This place was the breeding ground of the twisted inhuman, as beings beyond even Mel's strangest imaginings roamed the streets. Eyes of the passing creatures turned to Mel and her companions, clearly taken aback by the unexpected appearance of them. Their gazes quickly passed over Uma and Nox, who for all their mortal features gave off a distinct feeling of otherness, but a few too many eyes fixed on Gyendal and Mel for her liking.
When a creature licked it's lips in an expression far too close to hunter for Mel's liking, she found herself gripping her staff a little tighter.
"Come on, the Oracle said that we'd be able to find the supplies we need here to survive this blasted realm. There needs to be some sort of city centre, with some shops we can use." She said, her voice low and curt.
None of her companions disagreed, and carefully the ragtag group set off in a tight bunch through the creature inhabited streets. The further they ventured, the more clear it became that nothing in this place had any sense of order. Streets wound around and pierced through various clumps of houses, the neighbourhoods looking more like haphazardly dropped houses rather than deliberate communities.
There was no signage that gave them a specific sense of direction, and after several turns that only led them in circles, even Nox's obnoxious quips had fallen silent.
"Even a city as chaotic as this must have a leader, a ruler of some sort. We need to find who, or what, controls this city. Weapons and armour isn't enough to survive the demon realm, we need direction to find those flames." Nox finally said, exchanging a look with her sister who nodded.
With a slightly suspicious look shot in the direction of Uma and Nox, Mel found herself in reluctant agreement. They had no real direction right now, and wandering aimlessly around the demon planes would be as detrimental to them as travelling without the proper weaponry.
"But where do we even start?" Mel finally said, disoriented as she looked around at the bizarre buildings around her.
"Up, we go up. All these roads are leading somewhere, and what ruler doesn't enjoy looking down at it's subjects." Gyendal said, the undercurrent of biting sarcasm impossible to miss.
Mel couldn't help but snort, a sound that prompted the faintest hint of a twitch at the corner of her bond's lips.
With that the four of them began to follow the paths up, not even bothering to stick to the road as they stepped over broken fences and made their way around leaning wooden structures that Mel hesitated to call buildings.
As they neared the higher ground of this strange city, Mel began to notice a crack in the ground moving in the same direction as them. Ever so slightly it began to grow as they climbed upwards, until further ahead buildings began to separate from the edges to give them a clear visual up into where the crack split into a large crevice.
It wasn't long before they could see where the city met an abrupt end, it's edge hanging over the abyss that the crevice gave everyone a sneak glimpse into. Lava bubbled and spit, far far below the city, making Mel flinch at the idea of living in a city that left such a fall unguarded.
"Wait, this city is co-ruled?" Uma suddenly questioned, drawing everyone's attention back to the top of the city.
She was right, as at the peak of the city hill there did indeed sit two queens. Identical open-air pavilions had been erected on obsidian platforms on either side of the crevice, where colour coded thrones of red and blue sat on the centre. Queens in dresses that matched their respective thrones were seated atop, each holding sceptres with half discs on top.
Slowly they began the last leg of their ascent, but the closer they got, the more Mel began to notice that something wasn't quite right.
There was a bridge that spanned the gap between the city halves, but it largely sat empty outside of the rare individual who ventured across its expanse. For the most part, the citizens would steer clear of the bridge, and the few that went near took the opportunity to stare daggers across at the queen on the opposite side.
"They're rivals, that crevice is a border." Mel suddenly realized.
Her companions all had similar looks of understanding on their features as they studied the scene in front of them.
"Up there, a platform in the center that connects to the bridge. We would stand between the queens there, to address them both." Gyendal noted, pointing to the platform built upon a lone standing pillar of stone in the direct centre of the crevice.
"You want me to go stand on that?! That can't be safe, what if it breaks with us on it?" Nox demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.
"If you have a better idea to prevent us from insulting one of the queens, by all means share it." Gyendal bit out, shooting the girl a dark look.
Much to Mel's surprise the girl actually did back down, a sullen expression overtaking her features. But she raised no other complaints, and the group carefully made their way to the platform.
For a moment they stood unnoticed in the centre, before one of the queens sniffed the air and looked over in surprise.
"Sister, does my nose deceive me, or do you smell mortals?" She asked, her voice unnaturally smooth.
The other queen turned slowly to look at where their group stood, eyes narrowed as she sniffed the air.
"I do believe you are correct, and what's more, none of them smell realm-touched."
The demon beings that milled about on either side of the bridge had slowed to a stop, attention caught by what the queens had said. Gazes were fixing on where they all stood, and Mel felt adrenaline coursing through her as she exchanged a look with Gyendal. They didn't need a bond to know what the other person was thinking, and she felt him tensing in preparation next to her in case they had to fight their way out of this to flee.
"How intriguing, it has been several hundred mortal years since we have had a mortal cross over into our realm, and I cannot remember the last time I saw several come at once. What is it you seek?" The blue queen asked.
"We are searching for something known as the Wyvvern flames, eternal burning fire braziers." Mel said.
She watched on bated breath as the queens turned to stare at each other, before the two of them suddenly burst into loud laughter.
"You seek the flames of legend? We have not had a human this foolish since that last mortal man who tried to seek out the great demon king." The red queen chortled, "You all truly must seek your death."
For a moment Mel thought they were going to be dismissed, but after a moment the blue queen spoke up.
"Only those who wish to meet a gruesome end dare to challenge the great Wyvvern's who guard each flame. But if you truly so desire this, who are we to stop you? You can join the multitude of the dead and wounded that dared approach the flame southwest of the city." The blue queen said.
That was all the answer Mel needed, and with hurried bows and thanks, their group quickly made their exit from the dais. Splitting off into groups, they made quick work of upgrading their equipment to something that would withstand the realm.
"We have weapons, but there's still one more problem. What do we do about our magic?" Nox questioned, gaze darting around their group.
"She's right. These weapons are not enough to face these wyvverns. My magic has become nothing down here." Gyendal said in agreement as he held out a hand, they all watched the sparks that sputtered within his palm.
"We need to seek out an apothecary, perhaps there is something we can take to restore our abilities." Uma suggested.
The chance of something coming that easily felt near impossible, but they were out of ideas and out of options. So once more they set off through the tangled demon city, until on the edge of town they found the very building they needed. The outside had scorch marks, but the now familiar sight of broken windows and boards had been replaced by maintained albeit smoke clouded glass and repairs.
They entered the building, and promptly coughed at the thick and cloying scent of a multitude of brews. At the counter a man stood cloaked in voluminous black robes and upon their entry, dark grey eyes looked up to fix on their group.
He sniffed the air, before blinking in apparent surprise.
"Humans, I'd recognize that smell through anything." The man said, voice gutterel. "How very unusual. What is it that you seek from me today, mortals?"
Mel exchanged a look with Gyendal, hesitant to put their magic and lives in the hands of something within this realm. She could see a similar feeling of conflict in his gaze, before he gave her a short nod and turned to face the apothecarist.
"We come from another realm, and entering here has suppressed the magic we once wielded. We wish for something that counteracts this so we may move through this plane and protect ourselves." He said formally.
The apothecarist nodded slowly, fingers coming up to tap his chin in thought.
"You wish for a stabilization tonic, to counteract the warping effects your journey to our realm had on your magic." The man mused. "I have not made such a thing in several centuries."
"Is it still possible for you to make one?" Mel questioned.
The apothecarist glared at her a moment, offended by her question.
"Of course I can, it's an easy and quick mix. But the ingredients are incredibly rare, I was only able to make it the first time due to finding the remains left behind by a powerful demon passing through, the recipient of the tonic more than payed me in compensation to use that rare of an ingredient on him. This time however, you will need to retrieve it yourself." He said irritably.
"What is the ingredient? We will retrieve it." Nox demanded, already frustrated by the time it was taking to get a clear answer.
The hotheaded declaration made the apothecarist laugh as he stared at their group incredulously.
"You? Some humans and strangely smelling spirit beings? Impossible. The ingredient is the blood and ground horns of a wyvvern, even lesser demons cannot face it down." He shook his head in amusement. "But I shall humour this, if you somehow by miracle are able to bring me back these things, I will make you these tonics without question."
Mel could already feel a sinking in her gut, the impossibility of the task ahead of them fully settling in. They needed to destroy a wyvern to get to the flame, but to properly face the first wyvern as a team, they all needed to be at full strength. It was a loop with no clear way out.
"We understand, thank you." Uma finally said softly.
With that the four of them turned and left, the party quiet and preoccupied with their thoughts as they followed the winding streets back to the exit of Sheian Lyr.
"If we fail in getting this wand we're as good as dead anyway. We have no choice but to face that Wyvvern near the first flame, so let us test our weapons and find the first flame." Gyendal finally said, the first to break the defeated silence that had already fallen over them.
So soon out of the gate and they faced impossible odds.
"It's not like we have a better option." Mel muttered under her breath.
Testing the weapons was easier than Mel anticipated, as they quickly felled hellhounds in their way. The path before them however kept splitting off into new directions, leaving them turned around as they tried to plot their way to the flame without a map.
As they attempted new paths only to double back, Mel began to feel a persistent tug on the staff at her back. Frustrated, she yanked it off it's holder to pull it to her front, glaring down at the humming piece of her past.
She grasped the cool metal base in her hand, only to still in shock as she stared into the orb. The churning power within was pressing against the far side of the glass, matching the tugs and vibrations that all moved in the same direction. Experimentally she turned, watching as the magic within the glass rotated back to the direction it had been tugging in before.
"The staff." Mel breathed in realization before looking up at the others. "The staff is our compass! I can feel it pulling, reacting to something it recognizes. It will take us to the flame."
A new energy was filling them, and together they followed the pull of the staff in Mel's hand down winding paths and through tunnels between cliff faces. The further they followed the staff, the stronger the pull became until it felt almost alive within Mel's grasp.
Then they rounded the corner, and promptly found themselves face to face with what they sought. An island, connected to the ground they stood on by a twisted metal bridge. On the island stood a brazier, a red flame leaping and moving unnaturally within. Coiled around the base of the brazzier lay a wyvern, one that looked up at them with wrathful eyes before letting out a mighty bellow as it leapt to its paws and raced across the bridge to meet them.
The clash was violent, as it swiped one massive claw across the dirt in front of it and hissed out a mighty breath across that line. From the dust rose a flickering wall of dark fire that seemed to roar with the might of a thousand dragons.
No one tried to withstand it, they all just dived out of the way and tried to cover themselves with what little magic still remained useable to them.
"Oh so it can breathe fire, are you kidding me!?" Mel yelled, gripping her staff tighter.
"Obviously, what fun would it be if it had reasonable abilities." Was Gyendal's quick reply.
With that, they dived back in, banding together as a unit as they fought against a beast that only seemed to gain strength with each attack. Soon Mel and Gyendal found themselves facing it head on, distracting it as Nox attempted various attacks from the side. But they were wearing themselves out, and slowly their movements began to come with hints of delay. The wyvern didn't need to wipe them out at once, it just needed to tire them out enough to make one fatal mistake.
"Attacks and Mel's magic aren't enough, we need something new." Nox called over the din of battle, words tinged with desperation. "We can't hold this much longer!"
Mel's teeth gritted in frustration and desperation, they didn't have a choice to back down!
Then, there was a flash of bright light, and Mel faltered for a second as Uma took the opening that the Wyverns distraction between two attacks afforded. Three dark mages watched on in shock as the healer dived towards the wyvern, holy magic pouring from her hands as she grabbed hold of the wyverns neck and held on for dear life.
Light flooded the wyverns system, and the being let out a roar of pain as it thrashed its neck in a desperate attempt to dislodge Uma. Mel felt her heart leap into her throat as Uma flapped around with the force of the shakes, yet still holding strong as she forced her weakened holy magic directly into the wyvern.
Finally it let out a final, terrible screech that echoed all across the planes before collapsing, dead, to the ground.
All that was left was the fading echoes of battle, as the three dark mages stared in shock at Uma who had released the wyvern and was shakily patting herself down for injuries.
"If a light mage ever went rogue, they could do an immense amount of damage." Mel observed at long last, attempting to mask how unnerved she was with a dry tone.
"That's two for two when it comes to terrifyingly powerful healers in our company it seems." Gyendal agreed lowly after a moment.
"Well, are you going to get the flame or are you going to stand there!" Nox finally demanded, her words jolting the other two into action.
Mel was almost mesmerized by the dark red flame as she started across the iron bridge, enamoured by the way it moved and whispered to her within the crackling. She slowed as she neared the flame, hardly even aware of her companions.
The staff in her hand shook slightly as she extended it out, almost hesitant as she dipped it into the ruby flames.
For a moment, there was nothing. Then, at the back of her mind she began to feel a heated pressure, one she instinctively guarded against before remembering the words of the oracle.
She had to let the fire teach her.
Against every instinct, Mel opened her guards to the pressure and allowed it in. It took the form of a dragon, made entirely of flame, that whispered the secrets of dark fire into her very soul. A shuddering gasp escaped Mel as realisation settled within her.
This was one of the origins of dark magic, a pillar upon which all dark spells using fire pulled from. The first, the original, and the exact thing her soul was made of.
Fire, that consumed everything in it's path, promising power and heat that would fill her mind and body until she needed nothing else. The dark flames danced in her blue eyes, and her companions fell back as translucent fire followed the line of her staff to wreath her body in vibrant flame.
As if in a trance Mel pulled her staff from the brazer, and thrust it towards the sky as a pillar of roaring flame burst from her and blasted up as far as the eye could perceive. It roared around her, as though the very heart of a dark dragon had been reborn inside her.
Oh so slowly the fire began to petre out, before dying entirely to reveal that the flame that had once filled the brazer had gone out at long last.
When Mel reopened her eyes they were blue once more, and she lowered the staff to her side as she looked around her. They all noticed at the same time when one of the three stones that marked the top of the staff around the orb began to glow, flickering as though it contained the fire that had burned moments earlier.
The first wyvern flame had accepted the orb.
Sheian Lyr was a busy city, full of raucous noise and fights between citizens. Yet, for the first time in either queen's ancient memories, a hush had fallen over the demon stronghold in its entirety.
All eyes were fixed upon the sky, where a pillar of fire was burning a path through the ashy clouds.
No one needed to ask, they all knew what they were seeing.
"It has finally come to pass, the wyvern flame of legend has awoken." The blue queen said, shock tinging her regal tone.
"The demon king's days are numbered, that is the first of three flames created to bring his doom." The red queen said, eyes glittering with excitement.
Demons of all shapes and sizes stared towards the burning piller as whispers passed between them, no one quite believing what they were seeing.
All except the black cloaked figure. They stood on the edge of the crowds, watching the fire. No shock could be seen in their expression, only a smile of anticipation.
"It has begun."
