"I will not tolerate insolence in my council! And neither will I allow your insubordination any longer! You will leave for the plains this instant before I banish you to the very hell Baal suffered for centuries!"
"But my coldness! I was borne to the fiery depths of hell, how will I survive the frigid cold plains?"
"Fool! Did you not think that i would bestow a cold immunity on your weak body? GO!"
A hand flicked out of the darkness shrouding the throne, its pale complexion contrasting against the black of the throne room. A deep blue ring hanging off the joint of a finger flared red, summoning a portal behind the large ogerish fallen angel. With another flick of the hand a ripple shot through the air, shoving Hephasto into the portal...
...smack straight into Dac Farren. Unable to dodge in time, the demon gremlin teleported a few feet away, leaving Hephasto to crash into a wagon of worn out weapons.
"To work already Hephasto?" grinned Colenzo.
"Nassssty armourer! Triesss to squashes Dac dac! Nasssty armourer will be burned by Dac Dac'ses fires!"
"Shut up you lil imp" growled the armourer, flinging a broken shard from the pile of now thoroughly broken weapons towards the demon. Dac Farren merely flickered out, allowing the blade to pass through the air where it had been an instant earlier. It shimmered back to the material plane to land gently on Colenzo's shoulder
"He's late!"
"And indeed you are Hephasto,I do not think there is time to inspect the troops. We'd best leave soon or we'll miss the window the Mother has set for us."
Now!
"Agreed. After all, I'm an armourer, not a general. Inspecting troops is..." Hephasto broke off as a bush in the camp outskirts burst in a bright blue flare.
The arrow sped from Delaine's fingertips, pulsating fiercely white in the darkened plains. With a pulse, it split into 3 separate arrows angled off in different directions. The first 2 hit simultaneously, a burst of flame and the immolation arrow disintegrated Bishibosh, the other arrow seeming to hit the demon gremlin. With a flicker of mana, the gremlin teleported before the glowing white arrow could pierce more than its skin. The third arrow, a freezing one, struck Colenzo, freezing him. In an explosion of ice and mist the warped shaman was annihilated as a guided arrow swung in an arc to shatter the hell spawn. This arrow, the same one that failed to kill Dac Farren, continued in its arc before suddenly angling off to strike a surprised gremlin in the forehead just as it shimmered into existance. The air around the bodies of the 3, now tainted with green fumes, swirled gently then with a sudden force that quickly changed into 3 twisters adding confusion in the ranks of the demons
Roaring in shock and fury, Hephasto summoned his hammer. It shimmered with a flicker of mana into his hand. With another roar, the fallen angel charged towards the dead bush, its leaves still falling to the ground. His roar invigorating the shocked fallen hordes as they picked up their notched arms to charge alongside the armourer. As the ran abreast him their strength seemed to build up, their feet a blur.
The famed hammer Call to Arms
Sweeping up the rack of glaives next to her, the Delaine leaped out of the dark woods, launching two while still in the air. Hitting the ground her hands were still pumping in a blur, flinging javelin after javelin green poison here, a white lightning there. Every 4th projectile that hit exploded in a white-blue ring, freezing everything in its radius. Those fallen lucky enough to dodge the javelins, shun the jumping lighting bolts and smart enough to hold their breath fell before the holy freeze aura as they leapt towards the still running amazon. Any not shattered enemy corpse then came to life with a flicker of golden light from the bow strapped to her back. With 5 specially chosen warped ones also surrounded with the fierce blue aura fighting alongside her, the warrior quickly closed the gap between her and Hephasto.
His charge slowed by shock and a misplaced awe, the armourer was thinking through his chances of living after an encounter with the force of nature whirling in death and destruction before him. Coming to a decision, Hephasto spun around.
"Attack her! Now! Pick up your damned weapons and fight to the death!" he shouted, raising his hammer to ensure the obedience of the hordes. The magicks of the hammer working in overtime engulfed the fallen camp, bringing all demons towards the amazon and her troop of revived demons in a charge of wraith.
With the command seared into the minds of the mob, Hephasto left the hammer. He strode away from the battle, lips reading off a scroll, its blue ribbon floating away behind him.
Her own charge now slowed by the massive quantity of demon bodies throwing themselves against her, Delaine cursed under her breath. With inner sight, she saw through the hell formed bodies before her to focus on the armourer.
Coward
Her red hair tumbled forward to cover her face as she crouched to touch the ground. Instantly the 5 revived surrounded her, forming a protective body barrier against the oncoming tide of reeking flesh.
Incantations complete, a cloud of crows burst out of the mound of flesh that now surrounds the warrior. Vines and roots broke the ground as they wrapped themselves around the hordes, flashing lights of spirits flitted through the air. Wolves then appeared, shimmering into the material plane in the gaps of the battle, their grey and silver bodies now joined the fray biting and clawing their way towards the fleeing armourer. A hulk of brown then exploded out of the thick of it all, throwing demon bodies around the camp, but also gently flinging the amazon in the direction of the pursuing wolves. The grizzly then turned its attention to its enemies before it, a smile seemed to form on its maw before it turned into an unstoppable force of nature.
Landing gently on the balls of her feet, Delaine twisted slightly to dodge the club of a nearby dark one. Avoiding a tossed axe, she spun on her heels. Flinching in anticipation of a blow, the dark one shrieked out, covering its face with its arms. Ignoring the small fry around her the raw leather clad warrior sprinted off and quickly caught up with her wolves. Her canine minions slid to a stop one by one to pick off any demons wanting to hinder the progress of the chase.
Dodging and evading the projectiles in the air, incantations once again flowed from her full lips. Within moments, a glowing figure ripped the fabric of space beside her and jumped through before the rip in space closed.
"It's about time you summoned me mortal. I've longed for battle"
"Didn't want to waste time earlier on. Hephasto."
"Very well blessed of Athulua."
The last word read off the scroll, a red portal appeared before Hephasto. Positively trembling with relief, the armourer from hell started to stride towards it when the earth started to tremble, then buck and shake beneath his feet. Losing his balance, the fallen angel fell. Picking himself up, he stumbled towards the rip in space, now desperate as he sensed the warrior quickly catching up to him.
Giving up all dignity, the panicked demon started crawling towards the portal when the ground between him and his salvation slipt in two. Magma spurted out of the fissure, barely scorching his fire-seasoned face. Surrendering to his fate, Hephasto turned to face his aggressor, a new hammer appearing in his hand.
With a final stride, Delaine came within striking distance of her foe. Each swinging their weapons, the 2 warriors screamed at each other. Delaine's ghost glaive, Ice, clashed directly on Hephasto's ogre maul, Phoenix with an unearthly clang.
"Very fitting, that you would use a weapon that bears my name!" snarled the amazon. Hephsato's eyes widened in shock.
"Y-you're phoenix? Delaine Phoenix?" stammered the shell-shocked armourer. Her name was the last coherent thing he spoke as a massive frost nova engulfed him, completely countering the firestorm from his hammer.
Thrown back by the blast with icicles and frost coating his body, Hephasto tumbled away only to find himself facing the golden feet of a valkyrie. Agonisingly slowly, Hephasto swung at the valkyrie with the now cracked maul. Sweeping her ghost spear across the face of the maul, the valkyrie flicked the runes out of their sockets. With a flash of light the Phoenix hammer was no longer. But paying the price of the explosive flash, the valkyrie was banished back to the halls of Athulua, a half uttered curse hung in the air where the valkyrie last stood.
Clawing his way back on his feet, Hephasto stumbled towards the still glowing red portal where the earth had stilled and sealed. He caught a flash of movement from the corner of his eye and he spun around, summoning his strongest shield and armour.
Ignoring the searing heat as she leapt towards hephasto, Delaine raised her last glaive. She had been saving her critical strike till now. The amazon drove her weapon through the fallen angel beneath her; the Dragon Ward and Fortitude Sacred Armour were no match for her finely honed tip of the ghost glaive and her immense strength. Upon piercing the heart of the beast, the glaive shattered.