I am not Misty. I don't own anything that has to do with Valdemar. Mercedes Lackey does.
This has some elements that are sort of borrowed from Garth Nix's The Old Kingdom trilogy, but I didn't think it was enough that I needed to put as a crossover, although I wanted to give him a little credit. If you like fantasy, definitely check it out, it's awesome!
I'm roughly basing this story directly after Owl Knight. I'm also assuming that Elspeth and Darkwind are back from Hardarn by now (I mean it's been quite a few years since The Mage Storms'n stuff so…). Don't hate me, please.
Sorry for the delay and the mispelled and grammer stuff thats wrong. I got a new Compy and it doesn't have Microsoft Word so I can't even run a spell-check. PLEASE FORGIVE ME! Please review too, I always enjoy input from readers.
Ruin ● Resurrection
By LGR
Chapter Two: To Make and Unmake
-☼-
Ripping his mage-crafted sword acorss the flesh of the Eikei demon brought sparks the two opposite magics clashed. A smell of burnt meat filled the air as the spells seared through the membrane of protection the Eikei demon's inherent Nether properties gave it. The wound was a deap one, but the Eikei poured its strength into the gash that spewed, not blood, but a thick purple-black smoke that was almost an ash cloud. The cloud redrew itslef into the wound as quickly as it had left, and a shining of energy was released as the wound resealed itself only for the process to be repeated as he got another slash in with the sword.
It was his purpose to destroy such creatures as these, and had been since that day so many years ago,that he had to think for a few minutes to bring up a number. It was his purpose, and he was damned good at it.
The Eikei screeched a peircing scream that no bird, insect or animal could conjure and whipped itself away form the burning blade, to swivel it's staind razor-limbs in an attempt to smash him into the ground. But he knew this trick, he easily dodged the attack, coming up under said limbs to stab the creature in its stomach. Symbols flared on the etched metal as their magic contested one another. He could see the Eikei drawing all the power its wound as more smoke blasted itself out of the torn, black scaled skin of the creature. Its razor teeth lashed out only managing to impale itself even more onto the sword. Its silver pitted eyes began to fade and it became limp and turned to black ash.
Nekimiyah, heaved a sigh as he sheathed his sword. Yes, this was nothing new. Now that the immediate danger was over, it was business as usual, which would have been more of the same, except that his services were barely needed anymore.
For over three centuries, he'd battled the necromancers, the dead and the demons, the blood-path mages, and even the regular-old war for power-hungry tyrants or despots. But now they were gone, and had been for some time. They had been sent to Judgment at last, but that left those like him with no purpose, and those around him in a state nervousness.
But truth to tell, there weren't any like him left. Those whos very life and soul was for the protection of the living against the dead and, if nead-be the plots of the living as well. And those that still new the ancient ways of keeping such harmony had found new occupations. But he couldn't do that, he was too well known, had had to high a position. The kings of the nations he patrolled had actually sent assassins after him. They'd failed miserably of course, how could he battle the dead and living evils for so long without having had assassins sent after him at least once? He couldn't obviously, and he knew what to look for and how to dispose of them, but it was the principal of the act as well.
The people he had come to love and protect now rejected him. He wasn't needed anymore, and his existance only brought others the pain of the memory of why he had been there. It didn't help that his powers were the same as those that had threatened them, the necromancers themselves. They couldn't comprehend the difference between what he was doing and what they had done.
They also didn't trust him, no one did. And for any human being, a world without trust was a world without hope.
Nekimiyah was in the Nether-realm right now. It was an area of spirits and demons as well as dead souls. Not everything here was bad. But everything that wasn't had its own agenda as well, and it was not a good idea to trust anything one saw no matter how innocent seeming it was. Though there were things that were "good", they all had tasks to do of their own and he had seen them only rarely, and never spoken with them; if they could speak at all.
"Well, it's time to head back." he said to himself, and focussed on the veil that seperated the Nether-realm from the world of mortal life. As he was about to step across the barrier (an action that was less a movement than an unfocussing of the mind,) a pressence made itself known behind him. He snapped his attencion back and whirled around to block the attack of a second Eikei demon. It's half-foot long needle-like teeth just inches from his face, he jerked his sword in a way that made the eikei stumble back-ward, he smashed the sword against the boney area that served as the demon's neck. He cursed; the creatures neck spouted black-purple smoke, blinding him. In his confused state, the eikei got a hit in, knocking him to the ground. The creature hadn't been able to get the razor edge into a possision to slice him, but using the blunted side had clubbed the wits out of his head.
He knew the blow was coming, he could sense energy of all kinds, and he could sense that the arm of the eikei was coming straight for him; an even darker blob of infinite emptiness within the already dark sight his eyes had begun presenting him as soon as the Eikei had knocked him across the head.
:Not MY Chosen:
Even with his muddied mind, he saw when a white figure barrelled into the Eikei, giving him enough time to shaking himself out of near-unconciousness. Only extreme instinct had kept him from dropping his sword, and he took it now and shoved it into the Eikei's Chest and activating the spells in the blade. The smoke obscured the creature once again but he slammed his boot on the demon so that it could not escape. The spells ate away at its flesh and he felt the creature leave his senses as its life faded.
Nekimiyah turned to inspect the white being that had saved him and found it to be white horse. A white horse with blue-eyes. He blinked, no creature that meant harm to him would have such a holy aura that radiated goodness. He was about to say something, he wasn't really sure what, nothing like this had ever happened here before, at least not in his memory, but the horse-being cut him off.
:At last! I have found my chosen:
"Your...chosen?" he asked stupidly. Those blue eyes engulfed him and he could scarcely think of anything else. They promised love and hope, an end to lonelyness. Forever, would this bond they had just made last.
:Yes, my beloved and I shall never leave you, for as long as you live. I am Aerore. But I am sorry that the circumstances were not better for our meeting: the being told him in a mind-voice that was unmistakably feminine. :Chosen, you feel as if you have no purpose any longer here? I am correct? Then come with me! For where we go, you are most desperately needed:
Aerore stood still as he mounted her back and, as quickly as the swiftest wind, she took him away.
-☼-
:We may have some good news.: Gwena mind-spoke Elspeth and Darkwind. :But then a again, it might mean nothing to our current situation at all.:
:What is it: Elpeth asked her, :The gods know, we could use some right now.:
With no other options open to them, Darkwind had used the last reserves of their energy to create a great flash of light to blind the woman as they galloped to the town and hid inside one of the houses. So far, the woman's dead puppets hadn't found them yet, but they new they were looking for them; what was more, the town wasn't that big, it was just a matter of time before they were found. Gwena had continued galloping of into the forest once she'd deposited them next to the clump of houses on the outskirts of the village. Vkandis, Kal'enal and every other god knew that it would be difficult to hide her in a house. Elspeth hadn't wanted them to split up, but it had been the only way they could see at such short notice. having them split up might also confuse them into thinking they had left with Gwena.
:Aerore left a few minutes ago and used the arch to power some-sort of jump, they can't figure what or how, but shes definitely on a chosen search; she could maybe come back with help...maybe.:
:Aerore? I tought she'd remain chosenless, some companions do, and she's gone without for such a long time...Either way, we can't count on her. besides, I don't see how having on extra Herald in-training is going to do us much good, we'd need an army, or a couple extra nodes; that would work too.:
:Well, if wishes were fishes, there'd be no room in the ocean for fish.: Darkwind added.
:I could do without the Shin'a'in proverbs right now.: Elspeths mind-voice was as dry as a desert.
:That wasn't shin'a'in.:
:Whatever.:
They sat quietly in the cellar of one of the larger houses. It had two doors, one which led into the house, and one that led outside. It was good in case they were found, they could make a brake through one of the doors if the other held dead. Through a miniscule window, they could look into the village for danger, but it was mostly filled with fog.
:Dear-one! They've caught up to me! I'm going to run back towards the village:
:Be careful Gwena: Elspeth mind-sent only to jump as there was a banging on the door to the outside. No, both doors. The enemy was surrounding them.
Before anyone could act, the door that led to the ourtside swung open and rain and wind filled the cellar. In the doorway stood the woman in black with the ghostly white mask with a legion of dead behind her.
"And now you shall perish."
The woman held up her palm to give a final strike but instead of doing so she turned her head to the right-
-just as Gwena slammed her massive white body into her with an equine scream and began frantically stomping her. The dead stumbled awkwardly but they managed enough sense to see that the pale horse was a danger, and they leapt without emotion onto Gwena and ripped at her.
"No!" Elspeth slammed the last of her magic into a blast that incinerated the dead that had been clawing bloody gashes that stained Gwena's snow white coat. Gwena was breathing heavily and blood dripped from her nose as she limped off the still body and came to stand by Elspeth who was crying frantically. She'd felt Gwena's fear and pain and ran to hug her around the neck.
"Don't ever. EVER! Scare me like that again!" Elspeth shouted through tears.
:WE HAVE TO RUN! NOW! Remember the rock? She's already heal: Gwena was cut off as a blast of black energy came from the body of the woman and flung them all backwards. Gwena snorted blood as the breath was nocked out of her. And Elspeth and Darkwind were on the edge of conciousness since they'd been thrown into the cellar and hit there heads on the hard-packed ground.
-☼-
Aerore had told him what to expect as they dashed through the neather realm to a place that corresponded to the area where they wished to be when they came out. Place, time, even reality was distorted in this place. It could be an hour in the world of the living and be days within here, or the opposite. Someplace that was miles away could be reached within a step or vice-virsa. But one learned to be able to judge.
And so when they reached an area and were about to leap across the barrier, he could tell that this was very far from his home indeed.
:Be ready to act, I don't know what we'll find.: she told him, and he sent an afirmative back. He braced himself for whatever they would find on the other side, and as the clouds stretched away and Aerore touched her silver hooves into grass instead of slate grey earth, he could immediatly feel the distortions.
As one, as if he had worked with her at his side all his life, they galloped toward the greatest darkness, but before they took more that a step, a blast of Neather-energy was released.
:Chosen: Aerore warned but he had already erected a sheild for them. it wasn't substantial enough to stop the energy, but it would stop the force of the blasts the release. He saw it through the fog and in his senses as well. A black emptiness, much stronger then the mear Eikei he had battled earlier, he recognized it as an Arkhaios. This was a greater demon or archdaemon, serving a dark-sorcerer or necromancer.
It had noticed him. Well, that was fine. If it hadn't sensed the sheild, what Nekimiyah was about to do next would have ripped his attencion towrards them anyways.
His sword could not destroy it in this case and besides, fighting hand to hand would get him killed. Magic was out of the question, no matter how much magic a mage had, he could never over-power an archdaemon; they always had more. And wearing him down would be out of the question, any human would tire long before it ever did. That left tearing the spell that held it togather to shreds, and unfortunatly for the Arkhaios, he was very good at this. He sent his plan to Aerore, and they were off.
The arcdaemon shot the black nothing-energy at him but aerore dodged to the side. Holding his sword like a spear he hurled it at the mask of the demon. It went in but it barely phased the demon: he hadn't expected it to. But it would distract it long enough for him to mount an offense. The wards and spells on the sword flashed neon blue in the dark and sparks scattered from where it wasstuck in the mask. The demon was trying to pull the sword out but was having trouble due to the wards on the handle that keep burning its hands. Its power was too great to be stopped that easily, however, it would soon tear out the sword, or decide to ignore it.
As black flames spouted from the demon's hands being bruned by the sword, Nekimiyah boosted his mind powers and began to rip at the exposed spell that served as the demons anchor to this world. It hadn't been expecting this at all. It tried to get the upper hand on him by baratting his mind, but he was much to strong willed for that.
On the visible plain, it seemed as if the demon suddenly turned into many peices of black cloth and goop, that then turned into smoke and ash, but the demon was unmade, and would not return. His sword chinked to the ground, the white mask still on the blade.
:Well done, chosen: Aerore told him as the fog, rain and wind he hadn't noticed until now disapaited leaving a clear night sky. He recognized some of the stars, but they weren't where they were supposed to be, and shouldn't have been out at this time of year. He truely was in a very different place now.
