For a moment, all Kidria could do was stare at Taea's new features. She was so white, so pale, that she looked like a ghost. The hair on her head was no longer red, but a dark brown, almost black, and any evidence of her previous charismatic character seemed forgotten. Kidria was staring at a shell, a reflection, of the Taea she once knew, much like a photo negative with opposite colors. And because this wasn't the same Taea, Kidria knew there wasn't anything left to keep Taea from killing her.
The white Elvaan started strutting towards Kidria, who had no weapon or shield on her bar the mirror Daleth had screamed at her to pick up. She had remembered the story of how the mirror worked, however, and hoped to god it wasn't broken as she held it out towards Taea.
True enough to its job, the mirror began to pulsate and warm, and soon a flash enveloped Taea, who was walking towards it. Kidria put the mirror gently to the side, and stared at the new figure before her.
An Echo. And it was an Elvaan.
The Echo did not immediately say anything to Kidria, whom could not see its face. Instead, the Echo drew its sword and a large shield, and faced the oncoming Taea, who seemed bent on killing them both. Then it spoke.
"It is good to see that I fight alongside my own lineage. You do not know me, Kidria, but I know you. Sister of Celos, friend of Taea, but you are also more than that. However, explanations shall have to wait for another time."
"Who are you?" Kidria thought the Echo's voice sounded slightly familiar, but she dismissed it.
"My name is Taelos. An Elvaan of proud heritage and strength, which was put to Evil's use not so very long ago. I regret what...I did. But I did not know what it was. I was like a child, we all were; playing with a powerful weapon, not knowing it was causing the deaths of countless people. Now I return, damned as I am, to repay my debt of killing by saving an equal amount. I have come to save your sister."
Kidria cocked her head. "This isn't Celos. It's Taea."
"I know that."
"Then what did you mean, 'My sister'?"
The Echo did not respond, but merely watched Taea approach. Kidria suddenly realized that the Echo's voice was most definitely familiar, but she couldn't place it. Where had she heard it?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a clang, and Kidria looked up to see that Taea had swung right toward Kidria while she was distracted, but the Echo had saved her by blocking the blow with his own blade.
"Leave her alone. I refuse to let Kidria die while I still stand. If you want to continue with your plan of reestablishment, you will have to kill me first."
"Yah, and I won't let you get established either!" Kidria tried her best to look tough, but had no clue what the hell she was saying. She tried her best to whisper to the Echo as she talked. "Uh, establish what again?"
"The Carrier, known as Daleth to you, did not actually kill Takmir, whom is still alive. If the Silver can reclaim him, it will, and you will have to fight him anew. That is the establishment I speak of."
"So, wait...Takmir can become evil again?"
"Something like that."
"I'm sure as hell not gonna let that happen! I'll help you fight her off!" Kidria suddenly remembered she was unarmed. "Uhm, Mr. Echo, Taelos, sir? I, uh, left my sword at home."
"Good. That means you won't get in my way."
Kidria stuck her hands on her hips and pouted. "Hey! What the hell? I was trying to help!" She thought she saw the Echo smile, but if it was there, it flickered away in an instant, and quickly turned into a frown.
"Daleth knows about Celos. He knows who she is, and what she can become. However, he does not know about you. Evil knows about Celos as well, but not about you. You are not yet part of the balance, but in a short few years, you will be. Simply put, Kidria, you and Celos are part of a key. Two parts of three. And if that key is restored, the evil truly WILL be invincible. That is why I must take this fight. However, should I lose, you must run. Never let one of them catch you. The same applies for Celos."
Kidria looked helpless and shrugged. "I...I don't understand. A key? To what? How am I a part of a key?"
"You unlock potential. That is all. But that potential is so great, so important to evil and its plans. Haven't you wondered why my voice is so familiar? Or why Katmir sounds like Takmir? Or why I look like Celos?"
Kidria remained silent, but gave the Echo an inquiring look.
"It is unimportant now, but you will know soon enough. In the meantime, we must handle Taea's redemption. Do you see her shield?" He gestured toward the large, black, tower shield on Taea's left arm. "Each one of the five pale warriors has a power, a unique strength belonging to only them. Hers is that shield. As long as that shield remains intact and upon her arm, we cannot kill her. She is invincible."
"Shit, you mean we gotta kill the shield first?"
"That, or get it off her arm. One other thing. We are trapped in this cave, and the way out is on the other side of this wall of rocks. That means that the air in here is running out, and while neither Taea nor I breathe, you will soon run out of air. We are on a time limit, Kidria. And if we do not hurry, you will suffocate and perish."
The Echo drew a very cruel look upon his face, and charged Taea, who had been standing there listening to them the whole time. He lifted his sword into the air in mid charge, and met it with Taea's shield, which was waiting for it. There was a large blast of light, and Kidria found herself staring at a blur of motion. Large, metallic clangs continued to ring through the cave as sword met armor, and Kidria was left helpless all the while without a weapon. She looked helpless about the cave until she noticed a glint in the pile of rocks nearby, then ran over and pulled aside a rock until she found what the gleam was.
A sword.
She picked it up, and immediately noticed it was a regal sword, obviously meant for some high official. It was covered in jewels, glowing green emeralds and red rubies and blue sapphires. It was beautiful as it glinted in the sunlight.
Wait a minute, Kidria thought. Sunlight? That meant...
She turned around to the small ray of sun in the rocks and found a tiny hole in the wall, which appeared to lead outside. It was only a quarter inch wide, but it was enough to let a small ray of sun come inside.
She turned back around to see Taelos and Taea locked in swords, and while the Echo was grunting and fighting back with all his strength, Taea seemed to be forcing him back with her own sword with little effort. She gave a heave, and the Echo flew across the room and into a wall. There was a smash and a few rocks fell from the ceiling, but it held. Taea strutted over to the Echo and picked him up by the neck collar and brandished her sword in front of her face. She drew back for a lunge, but the Echo pushed his feet behind him as a lever and forced himself like a missile into Taea, who was promptly pushed away. While she was still stunned, the Echo charged her and smashed her on the head with the butt of his sword, then kicked her legs out from underneath her, and swung down as she fell.
Taea was far too fast to be caught twice, however, and met Taelos' sword with her shield. In the same motion, she swung the sword in her other hand around towards Taelos' legs and knocked him flat on the ground. Taelos tried to roll away as Taea thrusted her sword down at him, but he was too slow, and the sword pierced his shoulder and went into his flesh. He gave a cry, and Taea twisted the sword around in the wound for a moment before pulling it out. She immediately walked towards the mirror at Kidria's feet, but the young Elvaan stepped out to meet her and gave a shout as she swung her sword directly at Taea's skull, ending in a direct hit.
However, the sword just bounced off, like Taea was made of metal.
"Oh, shit. I forgot.... invincible." Kidria felt Taea's hand close around her neck, and she was lifted off the ground with her legs dangling in mid air. There was a cry from behind, and Taea dropped Kidria in shock to see Taelos standing behind her with his sword randomly swinging at various parts of her body. Taea stood there a moment and playfully watched his blows bounce off, the grabbed the sword with her free hand, turned it around, and rammed it through Taelos' chest.
The Echo gave a piercing cry and collapsed on the floor with a shimmering liquid much like blood dripping from his wound. Taea let him fall, then once more headed for Kidria.
Taea gave a downward strike, and Kidria dodged to the side, letting the blade bounce harmlessly off the wall. She noticed the air was beginning to get stuffy, and it was getting hard to breathe. Taea recoiled the blade and gave two horizontal swipes at Kidria, who bounced back from them, and then gave her own thrust. Taea jumped into the air and front flipped behind Kidria, who had accidentally overthrusted and stuck her sword in the wall. Without thinking, Kidria jumped onto the sword like a stepping block, did her own flip, and dodged Taea's attempt to impale her. She back flipped over Taea and landed squarely behind her, whereupon she charged the pale Elvaan and pushed her forward onto the butt of the sword stuck into the wall. The force of the blow knocked the wind out of Taea, which gave Kidria enough time to run over to the unconscious Taelos and pick up his sword. She looked back to see Taea had totally disappeared, but that the sword was still stuck in the wall. Kidria ran over and yanked it out of the wall with a large cry and turned around to see Taea standing right in front of her with her shield in front of her like a battering ram.
Taea thrusted the shield forward, but Kidria ducked underneath the blow and kicked out Taea's legs from underneath her. The kick was weak, however, and not quite enough to trip Taea, only to unsteady her. The young Elvaan ran under Taea's legs and suddenly was thrust forward into the wall by a large object behind her. Her forehead slammed into rock, and a warm liquid trickled down into Kidria's eye, and she was momentarily senseless, until she was picked up by the collar and tossed across the room. Kidria landed on her back and slid across the dirt, half unconscious, and stopped only when she tumbled into Taelos' body. She hopped back up to see Taea charging her with her sword out, and Kidria rolled her body around, while still standing up, knocking the sword at an odd angle and leaving Taea vulnerable. Kidria turned back around to Taea and kicked her squarely in the back, knocking her into a nearby wall and throwing her off balance. Taea got up, breathing heavily but unhurt, and looked very angrily towards Kidria. The frown turned into a grin, as Taea noticed Kidria starting to have trouble breathing. The pale Elvaan watched the girl for a moment, then sturdied her shield on her arm, and bashed the nearest wall, shaking the cave.
The ground began to tremble, and Kidria fell over, unable to keep herself balanced. Large stalactites fell from the ceiling, and Kidria was forced to roll all over just to keep from getting impaled. Several small rocks bounced off of Kidria, leaving bruises and scratches, but one knocked her in the head, leaving her senseless long enough for Taea to walk over and stab Kidria in the arm.
The young Elvaan screamed a high shriek and squirmed as blood rushed out of the wound, and tried to focus through the pain and lack of oxygen and she watched Taea get ready for another strike. She barely managed to muster enough energy to roll out of the way and get up across the room, but Kidria found it was getting hard to stay awake.
With her arm bleeding, Taelos unconscious, and the lack of air, Kidria was beginning to feel although she would die. Taea, still utterly unharmed with the shield still on her arm, walked slowly over to the helpless Kidria and watched her for a moment. She lifted up her arm for a strike, but was met with a blinding ray of light to the eye.
Kidria, in a final effort to save herself, had reflected the tiny ray of sunlight out the rocks and through the jewels in her sword directly at Taea's eyes. The pale Elvaan was stunned long enough for Kidria to summon all her strength into her remaining good arm, which she used to direct a slice right towards Taea's heart.
The strike bounced harmlessly off, still protected by the shield's invincibility.
With no energy left, no more Taelos to help her, and no friends able to reach her, Kidria was left to die in a hopeless cave, killed by her former good friend. She collapsed onto her knees and closed her eyes waiting as Taea regained herself and armed herself for the final swing. With a final sigh, Kidria looked up into the lifeless eyes of Taea, and for a moment, just before Taea used her blade, Kidria thought that a hint of recognition glinted in the pale Elvaan's eye.
Then the final blow was struck.
The white Elvaan started strutting towards Kidria, who had no weapon or shield on her bar the mirror Daleth had screamed at her to pick up. She had remembered the story of how the mirror worked, however, and hoped to god it wasn't broken as she held it out towards Taea.
True enough to its job, the mirror began to pulsate and warm, and soon a flash enveloped Taea, who was walking towards it. Kidria put the mirror gently to the side, and stared at the new figure before her.
An Echo. And it was an Elvaan.
The Echo did not immediately say anything to Kidria, whom could not see its face. Instead, the Echo drew its sword and a large shield, and faced the oncoming Taea, who seemed bent on killing them both. Then it spoke.
"It is good to see that I fight alongside my own lineage. You do not know me, Kidria, but I know you. Sister of Celos, friend of Taea, but you are also more than that. However, explanations shall have to wait for another time."
"Who are you?" Kidria thought the Echo's voice sounded slightly familiar, but she dismissed it.
"My name is Taelos. An Elvaan of proud heritage and strength, which was put to Evil's use not so very long ago. I regret what...I did. But I did not know what it was. I was like a child, we all were; playing with a powerful weapon, not knowing it was causing the deaths of countless people. Now I return, damned as I am, to repay my debt of killing by saving an equal amount. I have come to save your sister."
Kidria cocked her head. "This isn't Celos. It's Taea."
"I know that."
"Then what did you mean, 'My sister'?"
The Echo did not respond, but merely watched Taea approach. Kidria suddenly realized that the Echo's voice was most definitely familiar, but she couldn't place it. Where had she heard it?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a clang, and Kidria looked up to see that Taea had swung right toward Kidria while she was distracted, but the Echo had saved her by blocking the blow with his own blade.
"Leave her alone. I refuse to let Kidria die while I still stand. If you want to continue with your plan of reestablishment, you will have to kill me first."
"Yah, and I won't let you get established either!" Kidria tried her best to look tough, but had no clue what the hell she was saying. She tried her best to whisper to the Echo as she talked. "Uh, establish what again?"
"The Carrier, known as Daleth to you, did not actually kill Takmir, whom is still alive. If the Silver can reclaim him, it will, and you will have to fight him anew. That is the establishment I speak of."
"So, wait...Takmir can become evil again?"
"Something like that."
"I'm sure as hell not gonna let that happen! I'll help you fight her off!" Kidria suddenly remembered she was unarmed. "Uhm, Mr. Echo, Taelos, sir? I, uh, left my sword at home."
"Good. That means you won't get in my way."
Kidria stuck her hands on her hips and pouted. "Hey! What the hell? I was trying to help!" She thought she saw the Echo smile, but if it was there, it flickered away in an instant, and quickly turned into a frown.
"Daleth knows about Celos. He knows who she is, and what she can become. However, he does not know about you. Evil knows about Celos as well, but not about you. You are not yet part of the balance, but in a short few years, you will be. Simply put, Kidria, you and Celos are part of a key. Two parts of three. And if that key is restored, the evil truly WILL be invincible. That is why I must take this fight. However, should I lose, you must run. Never let one of them catch you. The same applies for Celos."
Kidria looked helpless and shrugged. "I...I don't understand. A key? To what? How am I a part of a key?"
"You unlock potential. That is all. But that potential is so great, so important to evil and its plans. Haven't you wondered why my voice is so familiar? Or why Katmir sounds like Takmir? Or why I look like Celos?"
Kidria remained silent, but gave the Echo an inquiring look.
"It is unimportant now, but you will know soon enough. In the meantime, we must handle Taea's redemption. Do you see her shield?" He gestured toward the large, black, tower shield on Taea's left arm. "Each one of the five pale warriors has a power, a unique strength belonging to only them. Hers is that shield. As long as that shield remains intact and upon her arm, we cannot kill her. She is invincible."
"Shit, you mean we gotta kill the shield first?"
"That, or get it off her arm. One other thing. We are trapped in this cave, and the way out is on the other side of this wall of rocks. That means that the air in here is running out, and while neither Taea nor I breathe, you will soon run out of air. We are on a time limit, Kidria. And if we do not hurry, you will suffocate and perish."
The Echo drew a very cruel look upon his face, and charged Taea, who had been standing there listening to them the whole time. He lifted his sword into the air in mid charge, and met it with Taea's shield, which was waiting for it. There was a large blast of light, and Kidria found herself staring at a blur of motion. Large, metallic clangs continued to ring through the cave as sword met armor, and Kidria was left helpless all the while without a weapon. She looked helpless about the cave until she noticed a glint in the pile of rocks nearby, then ran over and pulled aside a rock until she found what the gleam was.
A sword.
She picked it up, and immediately noticed it was a regal sword, obviously meant for some high official. It was covered in jewels, glowing green emeralds and red rubies and blue sapphires. It was beautiful as it glinted in the sunlight.
Wait a minute, Kidria thought. Sunlight? That meant...
She turned around to the small ray of sun in the rocks and found a tiny hole in the wall, which appeared to lead outside. It was only a quarter inch wide, but it was enough to let a small ray of sun come inside.
She turned back around to see Taelos and Taea locked in swords, and while the Echo was grunting and fighting back with all his strength, Taea seemed to be forcing him back with her own sword with little effort. She gave a heave, and the Echo flew across the room and into a wall. There was a smash and a few rocks fell from the ceiling, but it held. Taea strutted over to the Echo and picked him up by the neck collar and brandished her sword in front of her face. She drew back for a lunge, but the Echo pushed his feet behind him as a lever and forced himself like a missile into Taea, who was promptly pushed away. While she was still stunned, the Echo charged her and smashed her on the head with the butt of his sword, then kicked her legs out from underneath her, and swung down as she fell.
Taea was far too fast to be caught twice, however, and met Taelos' sword with her shield. In the same motion, she swung the sword in her other hand around towards Taelos' legs and knocked him flat on the ground. Taelos tried to roll away as Taea thrusted her sword down at him, but he was too slow, and the sword pierced his shoulder and went into his flesh. He gave a cry, and Taea twisted the sword around in the wound for a moment before pulling it out. She immediately walked towards the mirror at Kidria's feet, but the young Elvaan stepped out to meet her and gave a shout as she swung her sword directly at Taea's skull, ending in a direct hit.
However, the sword just bounced off, like Taea was made of metal.
"Oh, shit. I forgot.... invincible." Kidria felt Taea's hand close around her neck, and she was lifted off the ground with her legs dangling in mid air. There was a cry from behind, and Taea dropped Kidria in shock to see Taelos standing behind her with his sword randomly swinging at various parts of her body. Taea stood there a moment and playfully watched his blows bounce off, the grabbed the sword with her free hand, turned it around, and rammed it through Taelos' chest.
The Echo gave a piercing cry and collapsed on the floor with a shimmering liquid much like blood dripping from his wound. Taea let him fall, then once more headed for Kidria.
Taea gave a downward strike, and Kidria dodged to the side, letting the blade bounce harmlessly off the wall. She noticed the air was beginning to get stuffy, and it was getting hard to breathe. Taea recoiled the blade and gave two horizontal swipes at Kidria, who bounced back from them, and then gave her own thrust. Taea jumped into the air and front flipped behind Kidria, who had accidentally overthrusted and stuck her sword in the wall. Without thinking, Kidria jumped onto the sword like a stepping block, did her own flip, and dodged Taea's attempt to impale her. She back flipped over Taea and landed squarely behind her, whereupon she charged the pale Elvaan and pushed her forward onto the butt of the sword stuck into the wall. The force of the blow knocked the wind out of Taea, which gave Kidria enough time to run over to the unconscious Taelos and pick up his sword. She looked back to see Taea had totally disappeared, but that the sword was still stuck in the wall. Kidria ran over and yanked it out of the wall with a large cry and turned around to see Taea standing right in front of her with her shield in front of her like a battering ram.
Taea thrusted the shield forward, but Kidria ducked underneath the blow and kicked out Taea's legs from underneath her. The kick was weak, however, and not quite enough to trip Taea, only to unsteady her. The young Elvaan ran under Taea's legs and suddenly was thrust forward into the wall by a large object behind her. Her forehead slammed into rock, and a warm liquid trickled down into Kidria's eye, and she was momentarily senseless, until she was picked up by the collar and tossed across the room. Kidria landed on her back and slid across the dirt, half unconscious, and stopped only when she tumbled into Taelos' body. She hopped back up to see Taea charging her with her sword out, and Kidria rolled her body around, while still standing up, knocking the sword at an odd angle and leaving Taea vulnerable. Kidria turned back around to Taea and kicked her squarely in the back, knocking her into a nearby wall and throwing her off balance. Taea got up, breathing heavily but unhurt, and looked very angrily towards Kidria. The frown turned into a grin, as Taea noticed Kidria starting to have trouble breathing. The pale Elvaan watched the girl for a moment, then sturdied her shield on her arm, and bashed the nearest wall, shaking the cave.
The ground began to tremble, and Kidria fell over, unable to keep herself balanced. Large stalactites fell from the ceiling, and Kidria was forced to roll all over just to keep from getting impaled. Several small rocks bounced off of Kidria, leaving bruises and scratches, but one knocked her in the head, leaving her senseless long enough for Taea to walk over and stab Kidria in the arm.
The young Elvaan screamed a high shriek and squirmed as blood rushed out of the wound, and tried to focus through the pain and lack of oxygen and she watched Taea get ready for another strike. She barely managed to muster enough energy to roll out of the way and get up across the room, but Kidria found it was getting hard to stay awake.
With her arm bleeding, Taelos unconscious, and the lack of air, Kidria was beginning to feel although she would die. Taea, still utterly unharmed with the shield still on her arm, walked slowly over to the helpless Kidria and watched her for a moment. She lifted up her arm for a strike, but was met with a blinding ray of light to the eye.
Kidria, in a final effort to save herself, had reflected the tiny ray of sunlight out the rocks and through the jewels in her sword directly at Taea's eyes. The pale Elvaan was stunned long enough for Kidria to summon all her strength into her remaining good arm, which she used to direct a slice right towards Taea's heart.
The strike bounced harmlessly off, still protected by the shield's invincibility.
With no energy left, no more Taelos to help her, and no friends able to reach her, Kidria was left to die in a hopeless cave, killed by her former good friend. She collapsed onto her knees and closed her eyes waiting as Taea regained herself and armed herself for the final swing. With a final sigh, Kidria looked up into the lifeless eyes of Taea, and for a moment, just before Taea used her blade, Kidria thought that a hint of recognition glinted in the pale Elvaan's eye.
Then the final blow was struck.