Sylphid's Siege
A shiver ran down Riesz's spine as she stepped down from the sturdy little ship that had carried her and her three companions from Maia. The air around her was dead as the amazon had never felt it in the little fishing village of Palo.
"Riesz, come on!" Angela called back from the dock. Seeing Riesz's pained expression, the magician frowned. "What's wrong?"
"The wind…I can't hear it. It's not even crying…"
Though it had been weeks since the Navarran raiders had taken the castle, Riesz still remembered the day as if it had just happened. The desperate look on her brother's face, the amazons lying stunned all around the castle, her father dying in her arms…all these images were seared into her mind, she burned with the need to avenge. The silence of the air was just a reminder of the pain she had endured for the past weeks.
"We're here, Riesz." Duran put a big hand on Riesz's shoulder. That hand was warm, and Riesz could see understanding in his brown eyes. They were eyes still haunted by the deaths of his comrades on the walls of Forcena Castle, men he had led and depended on. The young warrior knew what it was to lead, and to lose. "We'll get them for they did to you, don't worry about it." Riesz let him bundle her into a warm hug before they set out into the small town.
"The Navarre Kingdom has occupied this village. King Flamekhan is in control here, do not interfere."
Hawkeye stared at the ninja who had spoken to them as they passed from the docks into the city. The man's voice was husky and dull, as though there were no emotions behind his words, and Hawkeye could not see his eyes past the mask. And yet, he was someone Hawkeye knew. A name came to the thief's mind: Alan. The thief's name was Alan. But this was not the Alan he knew, not the one who had out-drunk every man and woman in the Guild, with his boisterous personality and deadly skill with bombs.
The group of four walked into the center of the town unmolested, and Hawkeye was greeted by yet another familiar face.
"Nikita!" The cat-man was in an alleyway, hidden from sight, but Hawkeye saw him anyway. But when his fellow in crime turned at the sound, Hawkeye could see that his friend's eyes were dead, just as the guard Alan's voice had been. "Nikita!" He said, more desperately. "Nikita! It's me, Hawk!"
The cat-man continued to stare off into space. Hawkeye tried vainly to wake his friend up, but nothing he could do would rouse Nikita. Angela gently pushed Hawkeye, whose limbs hung about him, out of the way, and stared into Nikita's eyes.
"What's the verdict, princess?" asked Hawkeye in a strained voice.
"It's a charm, something like what I used on Duran back in Forcena. Only the caster used some kind of magic I've never seen before."
:That's because it's Shade's magic. Shade is the spirit of darkness. This charm is more like a curse, and you won't be able to break it on one person without breaking it for all of them.: The faerie sounded very sad, she was picking up Hawkeye's sorrow. :Angela, you shouldn't try it. It would alert whoever cast it that we're here, and you probably wouldn't be able to break it anyway.:
"So what do we do, leave him like this?" Riesz went to Hawkeye, and helped him up. Then she held him in a comforting embrace while he gathered his wits.
"No." Duran's face was grave for the first time they had seen it. "We kill the bastard that did it."
"But we can't just attack head-on!" Angela said, but she knew it was futile. The anger was too deep in her friends to be satisfied by anything but a frontal assault. Riesz was still thinking about her amazons, and Hawkeye was thinking about the ninjas, enslaved by some mysterious power and stripped of their wills. Duran was angry for both of them, and this only echoed his own experience in Forcena.
:Riesz, do you think that any of the amazons survived the attack?: The faerie did not appear, but she was with them all the same.
"I don't know. The castle has never fallen before. There were no escape routes. But…" Riesz broke off, still trying to bring Hawkeye back to them.
"But what?" Asked Angela.
"But I think some of them might have survived."
:Then we should find them first. And Jinn, he lives on this mountain as well.:In the end, they were forced to use evil-smelling salts to snap Hawkeye out of his trance. He was very embarrassed when they revived him, and he retreated, once again, inside himself. On went the happy mask, and the others were content to let him wear it as they made the arduous journey up the mountainside.
"You know, I used to like birds." Hawkeye said as he casually ripped open one of the pink birds whose beaks were long and thin, like needles.
"Nah, only on a stick. And roasted. That's the only way." Replied Duran, slicing another length-wise.
"You're supposed to put rabites on a stick, not needlebirds…whoa!"
Hawkeye jumped back as a whining, purple blur whizzed past him to impale one of the monster birds on the rock face. Gnome was bouncing energetically around Angela, and she flashed a white smile at the thief.
"Learned a new trick, eh princess?"
"Yep!"
Then it was the princess' turn to jump as Riesz materialized behind her, spearing a needlebird with some apprehension.
"Hey you two! Pay attention to what you're doing!"
Hawkeye grinned, but he noticed that the light was fading quickly.
"Thank you, Mother. Is it past my bedtime?" He pointed up at the darkening sky, and leaned easily on a rock. Angela joined him, and they stared petulantly at the amazon. Disgusted, she threw up her hands and stalked away.
"Hey you clowns!" called Duran. "While you were fooling around, I was getting dinner." He brandished a long stick with several cleaned bird carcasses impaled on it. Though a few months ago, Angela would have blanched at the sight, her mouth watered after weeks on the road.
"Then let's hurry up and set up camp!" said Hawkeye. "There's a cave nearby we can use. Call Riesz, and we can get started on cooking those things."
When they arrived at the cave, Angela tossed one of her balls of light into the cave. It exploded, and they heard several birds squeal. A small flock of the pink birds soared out, their tails singed, squawking indignantly. A tiny demon dashed out after them, his tail dripping white flames as he flew. Another ball of light formed in Angela's hand, and she hurled it at the fleeing devil. An intense beam of light rained down on the devil, and he evaporated.
She grinned savagely, and the others drew back a little. The snooty little princess had come a long way from her original self, the fragile ice girl from Altena. The road had hardened her, though she was still prone to random bouts of passion.
"Well, let's go inside." She said, casually. So they did, all of them much subdued.
:What do you need for the night?: asked the faerie, once they had settled in. She bobbed around, checking for any devils that might still be hiding in cracks."Everything, faerie," answered Duran. "we'll need to be in good shape if we're going to attack the Castle that Never Fell."
:Good, I'll access the Inventory. I wish you would let me do it more often, you all deserve it.:"No," said Angela, firmly, "you need to rest your magic, not use it up just for silly things. Though I could use some chocolate…"
:Done!: The minute scion of Mana settled down on a rock and accessed the portal into the negative-space dimension pocket known as the Inventory. Early on, she had taught the group that she could keep an almost infinite amount of their possessions in it, making the trip much easier to bear. Her justification for the use of magic was that they had enough to do with fighting monsters, it was the least she could do. So she pulled out sleeping bags for all of them, and a bit of chocolate for the girls.
"Mmm…this is really good, lunkhead." Hawkeye was busy devouring a roasted needlebird. "I think you've changed my mind."
Duran turned around from the fire and brandished a long knife. The other three burst into frantic laughter as he did. He was wearing a ridiculous cook's smock several sizes too small that said Kiss the Cook. They laughed helplessly until he came over, and the laughter turned into a good-natured brawl involving males and females. The faerie laughed along with them, though she looked toward the next day, when they would be in a battle like none they had experienced before.
At the dawn of the next day, the group of four travelers resumed their mountain trek. Riesz carefully directed her friends away from the castle, knowing that guards would be posted in large numbers all about it. The area was easily defended, and difficult to attack.
They don't call it the Castle That Never Fell for no reason. She thought to herself.
There were small groups of ninja guards, but they were not, according to Hawkeye, up to their usual standard of covert swashbuckling.
"The mind-control, probably." He remarked, cleaning his blades of blood on his most recent kill's tunic. It made Riesz a little sick to think that he could kill his own people so callously.
But then, the living death of mind-control was most likely worse than real death. Not having experience with either version, she could hardly make a judgment of him.
"Riesz, where do we go now?" Angela looked at her, eyes twinkling with good humor, left over from the previous night.
There was one last place that Riesz knew, one last place her people might be. "The top of the mountain." She said simply. It wasn't the top of the mountain, but it was the highest point anyone who was not an amazon had ever seen.
Once there, Riesz nearly dissolved into tears again. No one was there. Not one of her sisters had survived. They had looked everywhere. She saw the world begin to go dark, and the last thing she saw was the blossom of a beautiful flower…
"Uhn…" she struggled to wake up. Unconsciousness weighed down on her like a lead anvil. When she finally managed to wrench open her eyes, she looked around. Somehow, she was seated in a somewhat less than comfortable bed next to accompanying beds that bore her friends. Well, Duran was on the floor, but he seemed to be in good condition.
"Oh!" Riesz looked up when she heard the sound of a familiar voice, one of those she had thought she would never hear again. "Miss Riesz, you're awake! When your friends wake up, will you join us in the conference room?"
In the brisk manner that was so familiar, Alya, one of Riesz's fastest amazon friends, left the room without waiting for an answer. She blinked once, then again, and was hard-pressed to keep the tears back again. Her people were alive! She reached over to touch Angela, and the older girl groaned.
"Jose…I don't want to have lessons today."
"Angela! Wake up!" Riesz slapped the magician lightly on her pale cheek, startling her awake and wide-eyed.
"What? Riesz? Where are we?"
"They're alive!" gushed Riesz as she clasped her friend in a vice-like grip.
"Alive…the amazons!"
Riesz just sobbed, and Angela held her for a while, the boys blithely oblivious in sleep.
The conference room was awash in anxious energy when the four of them walked in. Riesz rushed to embrace the Elder, but he put up a hand to stay her.
"We must retake the castle." Said the old man. He coughed, a deep, body-shaking cough that made Riesz want to steady him. But he recovered, and spoke again. "It cannot be said that the great nation of Laurant did not fight for her own!"
A cheer went up around the room. When it subsided, the Elder spoke into the silence. "Princess Riesz has returned to us, now is the time for the charge."
Another cheer. Angela was dumbfounded. She had seen the women out in the caves that made up the base. They would never be able to take the castle, not with half of there number wounded and the other half suicidal. She decided that someone would have to speak up for sanity, since Riesz obviously not going to.
"Do you have some way of incapacitating the Navarran guards?" she asked soberly. The cheer ended abruptly. None of the fierce, formidable women had given a thought to the actual fight, blinded as they were by their love for their home. "I didn't think so. May I make a suggestion?"
The Elder looked to Riesz, who nodded. He gestured for Angela to continue.
"The wind spirit, Jinn, lives on this mountain." She said. "He should be able to help us. How did the ninjas bring down your defenses in the first place?"
"The sleeping flower." Said an old woman.
Alma. Angela knew the woman from Riesz's description. She was the nanny of Riesz's younger brother, Elliot.
"They used the sleeping flower to put everyone in the castle to sleep." Alma's voice shook as she relived the experience, but Angela knew somehow that the information she was about to reveal would be vital to any sane attack on the nearly impregnable castle, so she did not tell the woman to stop.
"But the flower is only useful for one application." She continued. "After that, it loses its efficacy, and the victim can smell it freely."
"Then we can use it to put the raiders to sleep." Angela's sharp mind easily picked up the implications. Using wind magic, they could easily induce sleep on the entire castle of invaders, then retake the castle the same way it had been taken in the first place.
"We can handle that." Said Duran, and Angela smiled at him.
"But this is not your fight…" started the Elder. Duran shook his head.
"It is our fight. Riesz is our friend, we'll fight with her. Let us find Jinn, and we'll work from there."
"How many of these fricking caves are there?" Duran was engaged in a duel with one of the dwarf swordsman that inhabited the caves of the mountain. He feinted, ducked back, then slapped the dwarf's sword easily onto the ground. Duran let him escape, there was no point in killing him anyway. The entire mountain seemed to be alerted to the presence of the four teenage warriors, so Duran didn't bother to expend the energy necessary to chase him down, all of the other creatures knew that they were there.
"A lot. But we should get there soon."
Riesz was the first in line, so she was also the first to see the sunlight at the end of the tunnel. When they stepped out, she grinned at Duran, who just sulked childishly. They soon found the last cave, and walked inside.
The place literally hummed with energy. Even though there was no wind, Riesz got the impression that there was, a great gale caused by massive wings. A silent raptor's cry echoed in her head, as she gazed at the massive stone that nearly swallowed up the cave with its vastness.
:That's the Mana Stone of Wind.: said the faerie. She manifested above Angela's head, and bobbed through the air over to the Stone. :One of the eight Mana Beasts is sealed inside.:
"Mana Beast?" asked Duran.
:Yes. One of the eight demonic beings that the Goddess sealed away at the beginning of time.:"Oh." He shut up quickly.
:A Mana Stone is a source of energy, too. That's why the spell to break the seal was cursed. Once, nations could use a Stone's power to benefit their inhabitants, and everyone lived peacefully. You all know how that turned out.:"That's the seal Mother was talking about!" Angela's face suddenly went even paler than usual, and she took a step back from the Stone.
"Angie? What's wrong?" Hawkeye put a hand on the magician's shoulder, but she jerked away violently.
"She tried to kill me…She would have killed me."
"What?" Hawkeye's voice was sharp, and the others winced.
"I have no idea." Replied Riesz. Duran shook his head.
:Her mother wanted to use her body as a focus to break the seal on Altena's Stone.: The faerie floated quickly over to the young woman. :Angela, please. You must try to focus on what is happening now. We are all your friends, we would never hurt you. We want to protect the seals, not break them.:"But…all right." Angela visibly reined in her wits, though she did look down to recover herself. As she did, however, she gasped. "Look! Footprints!"
The footprints led to a hidden exit none of them had seen before. Angela started to go out, but Duran lightly grabbed her hand, pulling her back inside gently.
"The fortune teller told me about the Stones. They're supposed to do something called class changing. If you're experienced enough. Stupid freak wouldn't even tell me how to do it, though."
:Well, Duran is right. I believe you all would benefit from the class change.:Duran, eager as ever, walked quickly up to the Stone, and twisted his body around to ask the faerie,
"What do I do?"
:Just concentrate.:He reached out to touch the Stone, and let himself sink into its consciousness.
"Where am I?"He tried to move, but found that he could not. He tried to look around, but all he could see was a bright, white light.
"Duran…you have grown so much."
"Mama?"
The voice he heard was sweet and lovely, the voice of Loki's wife, Symone.
"You're so handsome, just like your father."
"Mama, where are you?" he asked, desperately attempting to free himself from the bonds he could not feel.
"Take up your father's shield, Duran. You already have his sword. Use both of them to help your friends.""Mama…" he sobbed. A cool hand reached out to touch his cheek, tears streamed down over it from his eyes.
"I love you, Duran. Keep yourself and your friends safe." The voice of his mother began to fade away, and he still could not move.
"Mama!"
"Don't cry, Duran…I love you very much…"He woke up, a cold metal object under the hand of the arm he did not use to wield his sword. His ruddy cheeks were dry, untouched by his dream tears. He opened his eyes, the others were staring at him. The metal object on the ground beneath his hand was a large, green and gold shield…
"How was it?" asked Hawkeye as Duran sat up wearily.
"I'm…not sure." Replied the new Knight. Duran strapped the shield on easily. Somehow, it felt familiar there, like an old friend who had returned to the place of his origins.
"You aren't sure?" The thief deadpanned for a moment, then backed away slowly to give Duran some room to get up. The bulky Knight got up, and said,
"I think I need to go out for a while."
This left the other three to stare as he left, until the faerie said into their minds,
:Why don't you see for yourself?: Laying aside her spear for the moment, Riesz touched the stone that somehow glowed from within. Then, it sang. There was no other possible explanation for the hum that spread through her hand and all about her body. In it, she heard the cries of birds, the howls of a wolf pack, and the soft lapping of waves rolling lazily over the shore. And yet, all these sounds were one, all of Mana, of the Goddess "Wilt thou walk the path of Light, or that of Darkness? Neither path is wrong, neither path is right, for the Goddess is both Dark and Light. But beware, for once thou has set foot upon the one path, the other is barred to thee forevermore. Choose wisely, for thou shalt not be able to change back." Riesz made her choice easily, and embraced the light with utter rapture.Hawkeye caught the amazon before she fell. For a moment he was worried, she was no lighter than a feather in his arms. Then she took a deep breath, and coughed loudly. The thief let out a sigh of relief. Then he noticed the changes that the stone had wrought in the girl. Her armor, once the normal brown of boiled leather, was now a vivid shade of green, and her hair seemed to have acquired touches of the same unearthly viridian. She opened her eyes, and even they had subtly changed. Once the color of green grass, they were now more the green-blue tint of the raging sea.
"Go ahead, Hawk. It's wonderful!"
Neither he nor Angela were able to get anymore out of the other two, so Hawkeye shrugged an put a hand up to the stone's surface.
The earth dropped away from him in an instant, enveloping him in darkness. Sounds and smells assaulted his senses, but he remained curiously blind. Out of the insane cacophony, a low, lilting voice somehow reached his ears. It felt like blossoming roses, but he still could not see."Now, you know what it is to be in the total darkness you seek. Weep boy, for you have achieved your deepest desire, and it is not what you thought it to be."
He did cry, two endless streams of brine that poured forth from his sightless eyes. Someone held him as he wept, curling her fingers in his long hair, and smelling of fresh roses. When he was finally done, with no more tears to shed, she held him a while longer, whispering in his ear.
"Now that you know the darkness, you can bear it. Live in the shadows you adore so much, but remember also that there is light. Without light, there can be no shadows."
Then, after what seemed like an eternity, she let him go, and he was back in the cave, with the luminous eyes of a Valkyrie shining down on him.
"I guess I'm the last, then." Angela said.
:Just concentrate.: the faerie told her.
The magician's brow furrowed with concentration, and she felt herself pulled into the stone.
"You believe that magic may solve all of your problems, for you have never been touched by it before." A man with shining silver hair appeared, dressed in silver armor touched with a hint of gold."You are so certain that she did not and does not love you." Another, much shorter man with a green cap and brown forest appeared next to the man with the silver hair.
"You allow that it is duty that keeps her from you.: This time, the man who appeared stood across from the dwarf, and he was wearing flowing yellow robes that undulated with a nonexistent wind."You fail to see the true reason that she does not hold you."
"Why are you doing this to me?" she shouted, and the three men winced.
"Because you must know." She turned, and saw a man with black skin, dressed all in black, but with golden cat's eyes. "Let us take you where you need to go.""Do you think we should try to get her up?" Hawkeye looked over at the princess, still transfixed at the glowing stone. "It's almost dusk, and she's been there a lot longer than you were."
Riesz shook her head, and the faerie concurred.
:We can't interrupt the transformation, or she will be caught between the two aspects of herself, between light and darkness.:Hawkeye would have continued, but Angela's hair abruptly flared with color, switching from a fiery orange to a luminous white, and back again.
"What the hell?"
:Hush.: The faerie floated over to Angela and hovered worriedly. Gradually, the girl's hair began to flicker less and less, until it finally settled on the white. Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked around warily. When she saw Duran's face, she burst into tears and ran to him. She raised a fist and brought it down on his armored chest, pounding and sobbing relentlessly. He, being about two feet taller than her, blinked as her ineffectual blows rained on his breastplate. The exchange continued in that vein for some time, until she finally ran out of energy. When she stopped, exhausted, he gathered her into his arms, dropping his shield, and held her like a sister.
They followed the footprints out of the cave, and the faerie cried out in their minds at what they saw.
:Jinn!:Angela and the others darted out through the cave and onto a wide platform with a breathtaking view. However, there was no time to enjoy it, because the wind Elemental lay on the ground, obviously in some sort of pain. An absolutely huge man carrying an equally large sword stood over the prone spirit. His armor was of some strange metal that none of the travelers had ever seen before; so black that it seemed to take in and swallow the light around it. The fittings were an eerie lavender that seemed out of place on the abyssal black. A dark helm hid all of his face but his eyes, soul-less silver eyes that glowed from inside the visor. Purple feathers formed a garish plume that also seemed strange against the man's armor.
"Who are you?" asked Duran, stepping in front of the Sorceress and raising his shield protectively.
"Get away from Jinn!"
Riesz staked up and brandished her spear menacingly. A tuft of wind stirred angrily around her, reacting to her rage and the pain of its creator. But the man ignored them. Hawkeye's sharp hearing picked up the sound of soft chanting. The Ninja hurled a shuriken at the man, hoping to disrupt his concentration.
"No!"
Dark energy flared as the tiny, lethal throwing star connected with an evil barrier. Hawkeye cursed, and as the man finished chanting, a carefully controlled cylinder of evil magic manifested around Jinn. Crackling red lightning squirmed inside of the magical cage, and the wind spirit cried out in pain.
"Stop it!"
Angela tossed a ball of white energy at the man, but before it could explode, both he and his strange magic disappeared. She hastily drew the errant Mana back to herself, where it dissipated back into her personal stores. The man reappeared a bit away from where he had been, and caught Duran's eye for a moment. In that moment, the Knight thought that he saw the man's eyes change to a familiar warm brown. Then the dark knight vanished again.
Riesz tried to go to the injured spirit, but Hawkeye caught her arm. When she glared at him and struggled, he motioned for Angela to explain.
"We have to let the spell take its course, Riesz."
"Why? You're a Sorceress now, can't you help him?
Jinn groaned, his pain filling their minds and ears. Angela spread her hands in a gesture of helplessness.
"If it were a normal spell, I could. But it isn't. That man was good, he set a trap in the spell's fibers."
"A trap? You can put a trap on a spell?"
Hawkeye nodded, and Angela continued.
"Yes. I almost got caught in it just from probing the spell. Whoever he was, that guy was good. I only found out what kind of spell it is."
She paused, gazing mournfully at the spirit, who was still contorted with pain.
"Well, what kind of spell is it?" Riesz demanded.
"Some sort of possession mixed with a polymorph."
"Polymorph?" Now even Hawkeye was confused.
"Transformation, metamorphosis, transmutation…"
"All right!" Hawkeye put up his hands to stay the flow of words. Riesz looked over at the spirit.
"Then what will happen to Jinn?"
"He'll be taken over, slowly, by an evil presence, until he ultimately transforms into that presence's image, and it paralyzes his mind."
"Look! He vanished!" Riesz pointed at the spot where Jinn had been. It was empty, and as they stared, an inhuman screech echoed through the hills…
A huge shadow passed directly over them.
"Get out of the way!" Hawkeye shouted, diving away from his position on a high rock. The other three followed suit, just before the shrieking creature dove into their midst.
"What is that thing?" asked Duran, raising sword and shield against attack.
Long, pink ringlets whipped violently in the backdraft of the creature's gigantic wings. Angela ventured a guess as to the thing's race.
"A harpy?"
:The harpy, you mean. That's Tzenker, and she's taken possession of Jinn!: The faerie's voice sounded frantic in Angela's mind, and it instilled the girl with a sense of urgency.
Tzenker's upper body was that of a human woman; a very healthy, very naked woman. But her lower half was that of a foul bird, covered in her own excrement. She was coated with grime that seemed as though it had been there for years.
"Whoa! That reeks!" exclaimed Duran, when the harpy's stench began to spread through the air. He gagged, and Tzenker used his occupation to engage him, raking at him with soiled claws, and shrieking with unholy fervor.
"Any ideas?" Riesz jumped down to aid the knight, leaving Hawkeye and Angela to think of a plan.
:Angela, Tzenker is a wind creature,: said the faerie, :Gnome might weaken her if you use his magic!:
"But then she'll just fight the two of us, won't she?"
She eyed her staff dubiously. It was great for knocking sense into unwanted suitors and smashing small demons, but she did not think it would help much here.
"I'll distract it." Said Hawkeye, apparently unaffected by the harpy's invasive scent. "If you cast your magic from this side, and I hit her with stars from the other side, maybe we can confuse her."
Without waiting for an answer, or debating with her as he usually did, he simply did it, leaving her behind.
"Wait!" she called out, feeling like things were going far too quickly for her liking.
:Just do it, Angela, he's right. I'll tell Riesz and Duran.:"If you say."
Trusting the faerie to relay the plan, she got to work. Hawkeye circled around to the other side, and immediately started his assault. Tzenker howled whenever one of them sank into her flesh, but no blood spurted from the wounds. It seemed she was simply an image, a nightmare conjured out of some crazed dreamer's mind to harry them. She hesitated when the metal grazed her skin, so Duran and Riesz took the offensive. Riesz stabbed quickly up at the harpy with her, only to leap back so that Duran could use his shield to block the furious claw strikes. Meanwhile, Angela was communing with the earth, calling out to the stones that had grown there. With Gnome aiding her, she reached out and touched several violet gems, each the size of a small cat, and summoned them to the surface. They gleamed menacingly, circling around the airborne target. It was a version of the spell she had used earlier, but more deadly, and more potent. In tandem, they rose over the harpy's head, and dove down to slice at her viciously. Tzenker squealed, and turned to the source of the attack. She landed on the ground, and raised a clawed hand into the air, seemingly casting a spell.
All around them, the air seemed to shiver and grow cold. Then, the harpy shrieked again, and the air suddenly whipped up into a myriad of whirling columns that whipped the fighters' clothing about violently. Angela was picked up bodily by a finger of wind, and tossed into the air, screaming for help.
The other three managed to keep their feet planted on the ground, but found themselves unable to move. This gave Tzenker plenty of time to rise into the air and taunt the terrified Angela with foul shrieks and bad language. Then, the winds gave out, their magical fuel exhausted, and Angela plummeted to the ground.
"NO!"
Duran shouted his rage when he saw the girl fall from the sky, but he knew that he would not be able to make it there in time. He tried, anyway, and swore as he ran. Time slowed itself, his gaze narrowed to the plummeting figure streaking down at him…
She crashed into the hard ground with a sickening crunch, and Duran gasped with sympathetic pain. All three of them heard the faerie moan as she felt Angela's life slipping away. Tzenker cackled horridly, and the knight raised his figure ramrod straight.
"You evil…you disgusting…" His voice worked, but his mind was just incoherent babbling. This girl had been his companion for only a few weeks, but already they had gotten through some pretty tough scrapes together. He remembered the fight with the Jewel Eater, where she had used her power with Wisp to create light for the others to fight by. He remembered all the times she had clocked him on the head for being stupid. He remembered the time that she had saved his life by invading his mind. Everything was touched with the terrible image of her broken body lying still on the ground.
Minds reeling with dismay, the other two were still as Duran leapt into the air, executing an impressive three-step cut on the flying creature. The first sliced off a wing, and she fell out of the sky. The next slashed across her midsection as they fell to the ground. The last…the last lopped off her head.
Duran cradled his friend's ailing body in his arms, praying silently to the Goddess for her to live. Riesz was off to the side, doing the same, and Hawkeye was seated against the wall, humming a mournful tune. The faerie hovered around behind Duran, just as worried about her host as the three humans.
:Whoa! Why the long faces?: asked an energetic voice. A familiar white flame manifested over Angela's body, and Duran raised his tear-stained face to look."Wha…?"
:I see…Well, this is a problem.:Wisp sighed mentally, and tiny lights shimmered in a small storm around him. :Her neck is broken, she is dying.:
Duran moaned, and Riesz turned her face away. Hawkeye simply went on humming, an eerie backdrop to the exchange.
:But! It's not unsolvable, I believe. Duran, listen to me.:The mountainside went silent.
:Thank you. Now, I will teach you how to heal her. No half-enchanted morsel is going to heal this wound, I'm afraid. We'll just have to do it the hard way.:
"Me? Heal her? But that's a priest's job! I don't know how…"
:That's why I'm going to teach you. It's one of a protector's most important skills. When you took on the title of Knight, you took on the responsibility of healing. Now, look inside yourself, I will show you the way…:It seemed to take hours to Duran, but it couldn't have, for Angela was still warm in his arms when he came back. If the situation were less desperate, he might have realized that Wisp had just shown him the light within himself, his own personal store of perfectly clean light, but his mind was focused on Angela.
He touched Angela at the neck, and felt a fluttering pulse beneath his fingers. His hand seemed horribly large next to her slender figure, as though he was some grotesque giant trying to perform difficult surgery on a sprite. Tiny sparks of light spread out from his fingers, soaring along the sorceress' body and repairing damage wherever they went. Duran leaned down, and pressed his lips against hers. He felt his magic pouring out through his mouth, and his lips grew warm against hers. He felt the warmth seeping from her body, and fought to replace it with his own. Death was the toughest opponent he had ever encountered, for death crept up and invaded so quickly that it was impossible for him to fight it at every possible angle.
Then, he felt a hand on his shoulder, a warm one. Without looking, he could tell it was Riesz. The hard spear calluses on her hands made her presence a solid one, and he felt her energy flow through him, and into the mangled body of their friend. Riesz could not heal, the paths of her magic flowed a different way, but through Duran, she could work to aid the faerie's chosen bearer. She gave him the energy he needed to maintain Angela's life, but he still could not be everywhere at once.
Hawkeye began to whistle, and Duran felt the ninja's touch on his mind.
Hawk? :Yes, it's me. I'll help you, but you've got to keep hold of me. I can't actually heal her, but I can help with the internal bleeding.: Thank you…:Don't. We have to hurry.:
Duran did not reply, for Hawkeye's mind was already concentrated on fighting their dark opponent. He continued to fight; it was a battle like none he had ever fought before, involving countless fronts and mixed emotions. Unconscious, Angela fought them, not knowing the difference between ally and enemy. When the knight felt her slipping away, he began to lose heart. But every time he faltered, Riesz was there, a bastion of pure strength and confidence. For the valkyrie, there was no question, he would do this, somehow. There was no room for failure in her mind.
:Come now, Duran. You have chosen the light. Have some faith in yourself! My magic will not fail you. I care a great deal for this princess of yours.: Somehow, Wisp was there with them, and the spirit's presence bolstered Duran's depleted reserves of Mana and nerves. :Never will I let it be known that Wisp failed to heal such an important person as the faerie's bearer, one of the Seeds of Mana!:
With those words, Duran felt new strength flow into him. He held Angela's limp head up in the unending kiss until, at last, he elicited a strangled breath from her.
She floated, couched in a never-ending darkness that seemed to swallow her up in its vastness. For the first time since she had met the Elementals, she was cut off from the ebb and flow of Mana, the very essence of life. She had grown accustomed to feeling its gentle warmth, so much like the warmth she had felt when her mother held her, so long ago… She fell, fell into the very pits of darkness, unaware of her plummet's significance. She gazed at the broken faces of the dead, felt the cold fingers of the river of Death… She walked where so many walked, amidst the freezing cold of un-life, of a horrible, yet somehow peaceful, but definitely final place. She felt the cold wrap itself around her heart, then spread through her body. And yet, she had no body. Did she exist? Was she really Angela? Who was Angela, anyway? Did she love Duran, did she hate him? Was she a servant of the faerie, or a comrade? Could she use magic, or was she still without it?She landed somewhere in the river. She felt the cold current flow all around her, pulling at her ankles like it had life of its own, or like it was seeking hers. There was still no light, and it was so cold… She longed to see the faces of her friends again, but she could not penetrate the darkness.
Then, she looked up, and saw light pour down from above. With it, came warmth, and release from the river's grip. The dark waters recoiled from her form, ending their deadly caress. She heard a voice calling her, but it was the mingled voices of all whom she had known. She reached for the light…
Then, she woke up. She coughed, then felt the pressure of lips against hers. The lips pulled away, and she heard the sounds of a man gasping and coughing. She sat up, and her limbs rebelled.
:Don't push yourself too hard, Angela, you've just come back from Death.:She recognized the sound of the faerie's voice in her mind, and everything came rushing back.
Did Duran…? :Heal you? Yes. Wisp has taught him how. And you shouldn't be wasting all of his effort trying to move around like that!:Angela ignored the faerie, she felt fine. If she had been healed, brought back from "the brink of death", she certainly did not feel like it. She felt very much energized and alive. Though she would never forget the dark river…and the intense cold. She turned her attention to Duran, and her eyes widened.
"You! You kissed me, didn't you?" She groped for her staff, and, not finding it at hand, chose to spit acid instead. "You slime! How dare you try to kiss a girl in her sleep? Pervert!"
He chuckled weakly, and Riesz, who stood behind him, smiled.
"I think she's back." Said the valkyrie.
"You think?" asked Duran, his tone ironic.
Minutes later, Angela was again in possession of her staff, and the other three felt relieved, if a little abashed. They turned their attention to the wind spirit, who had collapsed on the ground when Tzenker's form faded from him.
"What do we do? I think he's hurt, but…"
Angela looked to Duran, and he shook his head.
"I'm burnt out. Nothing left."
:Maybe I can help.: said the faerie. She manifested outside of Angela's head, and floated over to the fallen Elemental. She raised a tiny fist into the air, and gave a half turn of her body to the left, then to the right. Sparks of light fell like rain around her, and drifted down to touch the wind spirit. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then, Jinn abruptly sprang into the air, and stayed there, hovering.
:What? Oh, a faerie. It's that time, is it?: He looked at the faerie, who appeared exhausted but happy that he was all right. :Yes, I'm afraid it is.: :Are these children the seeds?::Yes. They have already proven themselves.:
Within the space of a few seconds, the faerie explained to Jinn what had occurred in the past weeks. When the mental conversation was over, he turned to the four fighters with admiring eyes.
:You saved my life! Thank you!:He bobbed over to Riesz and gave her a peck on the cheek. She blushed furiously, as amazed by his frankness as the close contact with an Elemental. When he had calmed down a bit, Angela motioned for his attention.
"Jinn, we have a plan to take back Laurant's castle from the ninja who invaded it. We need your help to spread the sleeping flower through the castle. Our numbers are limited, so the only way we could do it is if you used wind magic to propel the pollen into the castle. The defenders have never smelled it before, so they should be susceptible."
:Hmm…a good plan. Of course I'll do it! You guys saved my life! I'll do anything for you!:With that, he disappeared, he would wait for them to call him in the garden of the sleeping flowers.
"Well. That was easy." Said Duran. Riesz blushed again, and they headed back to the flower garden.
"Careless." Hawkeye said. He bent down to check the pulse of a Navarran soldier, and found it strong. He straightened himself and peered up at the castle. It was an imposing sight to be sure, but less so because he knew that all of the ninja would be in this condition.
"What do you mean, Hawk?"
Riesz came up behind him and looked up at the castle as well.
"Isabelle forgot to expose them to the flower, so her plans are foiled." The ninja began walking up the stairs. Duran and Angela were already inside the building, Riesz and Hawkeye had stayed behind to clean up after them, just in case there were some ninja left awake. There were none.
They walked together, listening to the triumphant cries of the warrior women, until they met up with Angela and Duran the throne room. Angela was inspecting the throne, and Duran was talking to Alma. They both seemed very pleased with the outcome of the flower strategy. Angela grinned when she saw them come in.
"Well, it looks like our plan was a success!"
Riesz laughed, and Hawkeye nodded. The general atmosphere of contentment was infectious, and they soon found themselves laughing with the amazons. They celebrated a moment more, until one of the female warriors came dashing into the room.
"There's monsters in the castle!"
Angela dropped the conversation she had engaged in immediately, and turned quickly to face the worried woman in the doorway.
"Where?"
"In the upper levels! It's horrible, they've got Mila and Sandra!"
"Take us there." Replied Angela.
"Navarre uses monsters to defend itself?"
Riesz spat her disgust as she speared one of the strange dwarf swordsmen. They were fairly easy to defeat, as long as they did not execute their strange whirling cut.
"No, not Navarre." Said Hawkeye. He was blade dancing with the shadow image of a ninja. It was not the real thing, but it felt real enough whenever the shadow's daggers bit into his flesh. It had just enough substance to carry the metal. "Isabella. Navarre has never needed to defend itself because of its location in the desert."
"Holy Ball!"
Hawkeye sighed as the ninja disappeared in holy fire. Angela grinned at him and turned her attention to the last opponent in the room, a large, floating sword that appeared to fight of its own volition. At first, they had thought its wielder was invisible, but Duran had already swiped at the area where such a person might be, and met with no success.
"Duran, keep it busy!" shouted Angela, already gathering magical energy between her hands.
"I've been keeping the stupid thing busy! Do something!"
He danced back a few steps, just barely parrying the phantom sword's blows.
"Angela!"
"Done!"
She clapped her hands and spread them. A long column of wind, whirling with the golden sparks of Jinn's magic inside, erupted from her hands in a deadly tunnel. She caught it with her mind and shaped it into a blade. Then she used it to smash the sword into bits with pure magical force. When she was done, she banished the air blade and dusted her hands off, her expression victorious. Evidently, she had no fear of using wind magic, though it had nearly been the instrument of her death.
"Finally." Muttered Duran.
"I heard that!"
Hawkeye danced aside when he entered the room. A pool of evil-looking black goo lay on the floor, and he wanted nothing of it. Angela, however, was unperturbed by it, and bent down to look.
"I've seen this before, I know it."
Riesz inspected the walls while Duran stayed at the door to make sure that no monsters were following them. Angela continued to poke and prod the goo.
"There's nothing in here." Was Riesz's assessment of the room. "It's completely empty. No hidden doors, and no secret passages. There should be a door there," she pointed at the wall opposite Duran, "but there isn't. Something's wrong."
"What is this stuff?"
Angela looked away from the dark gelatin for a moment to think, and it abruptly sprang to life. With a sickening, gurgling noise, it latched onto her hand, enveloping it quickly and silently. She did not notice until it began to eat away at her flesh. Then, she shrieked and waved her hand around to dislodge it.
"Shape-shifters! There's a demon portal in here!"
She pointed a finger at the cringing pile of sludge and a ray of light leapt from the end of it. The thing was vaporized in seconds.
"Uh…Riesz? There's a door there now."
Hawkeye was eyeing the wall strangely.
"What? That's not possible, I just looked….what the?"
Indeed a door had formed, and it was a hideous monster with eyes and a gaping maw. Two lamps on either side of it lit with richly red flames, and the room was filled with the sound of evil chanting.
Angela was reminded of the dark knight they had met on the precipice of the mountain. She rolled her eyes. She grabbed Duran's arm.
"I'm so tired of that stupid chanting. It grates on my ears. I'm guessing that the door brings in the shape-shifters."
"So all we have to do is destroy the door, and these things will stop popping out at us?" asked Riesz.
"That's right." Replied the sorceress.
Hawkeye was struggling with another of the goo piles, and not having much success. It grabbed his leg, and he gave a shout of disgust, which turned into a howl of disbelief. Since Hawkeye was not normally prone to voicing his emotions verbally, the other three assumed something was terribly wrong.
"Hawk!"
Riesz dashed over to him, spearing one of the things on her way. Angela kept her head, and stopped Duran.
"What are you doing?" he demanded. "He needs help!"
"You fight the door. I'll take care of the little transformers."
Angela was not amused. It turned out that the little buggers got their ideas for shapes from the minds of those they attacked. Hawkeye had cried out because the shape-shifter had latched onto his mind with its unique magic. From him, it had plucked his memories of shadow ninja, and then it had taken that form.
Duran was busily healing Hawkeye, and Riesz was just breathing in and out meditatively. Threads of wind coiled about her form, twisting her hair into odd positions. That was one of the things that Angela had seen change in Riesz. Before that time in the chamber of the Mana Stone, Riesz had never let her hair free its bindings. But now, she let it fly as it would, tossed in the breeze. Angela was happy to observe the change in her friend.
Friend? She thought, startled. I haven't had a friend since…since Iris…
She thought about that girl now; with her large glasses and mouse-brown hair. Iris had been her friend. But Angela had pushed her away when she found out about boys. The princess sighed, regretting that childish decision.
Now, though, was not the time to dwell on the past. Duran finished healing Hawkeye quickly, and they gathered together to plan the next move.
"We don't know what will be in the throne room, do we?" asked Duran.
"No." said Angela.
Riesz spat her disgust. "That woman who took my home from me, most likely. It seems just like her to live it up in my father's rooms like she's some kind of conqueror."
Hawkeye nodded silently.
"Well, whoever she is, I doubt she's a match for the four of us, not when we've got the Elementals behind us." Angela grinned and rubbed her staff menacingly.
"So what do we do? Just run in there and start having at her? That seems a little rash to me." Said the knight.
Angela snorted derisively. "And since when has that ever stopped you?"
:I don't think you should take this woman lightly, Angela.: said the faerie. She spoke only to the Princess, she was still weary from healing Jinn.
What? :I said…:I heard what you said! What do you mean? Do you know something?
:No, I just feel like you're not giving this enough thought. Didn't Nieva teach you better than that?:
Nieva…
:Yes. You must think properly now, Angela, of all times. The Seeds of the Goddess have much to do, and you are their leader.:
The Seeds…What is this stuff about Seeds, anyway? Jinn was talking about them before, and now you're babbling on about them. What exactly are we doing here?
:I cannot tell you of it now, not all of the Seeds have blossomed. But I will tell you soon. For now, you must not underestimate this Isabella woman.:Angela nodded slowly, perplexed. But she knew that it was impossible to get the faerie to talk when she had her crop around a secret, so she did not pursue the matter further. Instead, she motioned to the others to move on. At length, they came to a large, elaborate door that Riesz recognized as entrance to her father's personal quarters. Riesz began to open the door, but Hawkeye placed a hand over hers before it touched the knob. With a quick movement, he tossed a shuriken upward, where it lodged itself into a wooden object with a soft thunk. Without warning, an arrow slammed through the air to where Riesz had been standing, landing in the ground and quivering there, stuck in the stone. Riesz jumped, and held in a shriek. Hawkeye nodded grimly.
"Isabella can't be alone in there."
He pushed the doors open, and ducked, pulling Riesz down with him. A small, metal object whistled over their heads, a high-pitched whine echoing from it. It was a shuriken. They entered cautiously.
"Bill! Ben!"
A smile played across Hawkeye's lips, and Riesz thought she saw light dance in his shadowed eyes. Apparently, he was throwing all caution to the wind for no reason at all. Riesz frowned, this definitely wasn't like Hawk.
"You guys! I thought I'd never see you again! I mean, with that Isabella casting her spells and all…"
The ninja started to move forward to embrace his friends, but stopped when he found four feet of wood in his path. Surprised, he spared Angela a startle glance, and the beautiful girl shook her head.
"Those aren't your friends, Hawk. Remember?"
He growled and slapped away her staff. His face showed a savage expression in that moment, annoyed that Angela had gotten in his way.
"What do you know?" He tried to continue, but fell as he was pushed roughly aside. Duran stood over the ninja's prone form, bouncing in a defensive stance.
"What are you…"
"Would a friend throw this at you?"
Riesz brandished a tiny piece of metal fiercely. It was another Navarran throwing star. The ninja looked back to his former comrades in crime, who stood on the steps impassively. Another star was already in Bill's hand.
"Dammit. I was reckless." He rose liquidly to his feet. "Just like Nik, right?"
Angela nodded sagely. "I'm sorry."
He didn't reply. Instead, a new voice echoed into the large room.
"My dear Hawky-boy, I never would have pegged you one for resisting me."
A woman appeared abruptly, sitting placidly on the chair Joster had once used to entertain petty legal pleas. Her hair and face were obscured by veil and turban, though Hawkeye knew her to be surpassingly beautiful; beautiful as an unsheathed blade. Her voice was soft, sibilant, deadly pleasant to the ear. Like oil it slid over his ears and tainted his mind.
Eagle…
"It was always that damn Eagle character and his tree-hugging friends that got in my way. Well, they're all gone now. Every fool who resisted is dead. Even your precious Wanderer couldn't stand against Isabella. Though I dare say he gave it a good fight."
"Damn you, Isabella."
She laughed, a horribly pleasing sound. Duran gulped audibly, but held his ground. The two ninja made no more offensive movements, though the shuriken was still grasped in Bill's gloved hand.
"Isabella? Yes, that name is rather quaint. Excellent for the persona I chose."
The evil woman stood easily and slowly, and gracefully descended the steps. When she came to the tow ninja, she stopped, and flashed a white smile at Hawkeye. She let one perfect hand trail up Ben's shirt and stroked his chest sensuously. He did not react.
"Isabella the beautiful, the radiant, the luminous. Yes, a very suitable name for a queen. Flamekhan was an amusing toy. An excellent puppet, so eager to be a king."
"Liar! You poisoned his mind! Boss never thought about that until you came along!"
"Didn't he?" Her veil shifted as she cocked a pretty brow at the ninja. "Did you really think he intended to live in that disgusting hole you call a Thieves' Guild until he dried up? How well you knew you king, dear Hawky-boy!" She tossed her hair languidly.
"Shut your damn mouth." He replied between clenched teeth. Angela toyed with her hair worriedly. Isabella laughed again, and the noise made Hawkeye want to vomit.
"Oh, but I have such a comely mouth, no?"
She turned Ben to herself, still keeping her hand beneath his shirt, and kissed him on the lips with seeming passion. When she released the unfeeling man, she turned back to Hawkeye.
"Tell him you liked it, Benny darling."
The ninja grunted mindlessly, and the woman laughed a third time.
"You see? Your friend likes Isabella's kisses! As did your "Boss". But I am not Isabella."
She withdrew her hand from Ben and paced back up the stairs.
"I am Bigieu, your cunning and breathtaking executioner."
She sat down again on Joster's chair lazily.
"Enough, I tire of this game. Slaves, dispatch this scum at once."
"Yes, Mistress Isabella."
The two men began chanting in the desert tongue, their fingers moving in unison, voices weaving dark words together in perfect tandem. Two voices began to flow over each other, to flow into each other until, in one final moment, they became one.
"Fusion." whispered an impossibly deep, basso-profundo voice. The voice was faint, but not for lack of volume, but because it was so deep as to be hardly audible. A black light surrounded them, shrouding them in a globe of darkness ten feet high. For a few long moments, it seemed that they had been swallowed up. Then, the dark bubble burst, and one man stood where there had been two.
"Fusion?!!" Angela shrieked, "That technique hasn't been use for centuries!"
"Damn!" That was from Duran. The melded twins made an imposing figure, standing taller than even the huge Knight. The giant remained still for a few moments, then sprang into action.
"Look out!"
They all dove out of the way as a storm of throwing stars flew their way. For his size, the giant was astonishingly swift, and they were pressed simply to dodge. As Angela had a particularly close call, she hissed and turned to confront the giant, then raised her staff into a spell-casting position.
"No, don't! You're crazy!" Duran tried to intervene, but a star sank into the Sorceress' shoulder before he could get to her. To his surprise, she merely winced and completed her spell. Visible tunnels of air appeared all about the room, fouling the giant's aim, and the four travelers were able to take the offensive. Riesz leaped at the huge aberration with a loud cry and slashed across its chest with her spear's blade. The giant ignored the gaping wound and kicked her away powerfully. She cried out, but struggled back to her feet for another sally.
:Don't overdo it, amazon girl.:She recognized Wisp's touch as healing magic took away the pain and gave her back her wind. She silently blessed Duran and his healing magic as she dove into the fray again.
Meanwhile, Hawkeye gazed sorrowfully at his former companions, knowing that they would prefer death to this mindless existence. His heart was caught in the throes of indecision when they kicked Riesz. Anger crackled inside him when he saw her fly across the room. Anger crackled inside him, and he drew his knives to save her. Before the combined ninja could turn their attention back to the Valkyrie, he ran up behind their combined form and stabbed viciously into their broad back, meeting little resistance.
"Holy Ball!"
A shaft of divine light enveloped the giant, and it let out a grunt of pain., but held its ground. It turned and backhanded Hawkeye….or would have, had he still been there. But he was not, instead at the charging Valkyrie's side. Fast as the giant was, Hawkeye was faster. It dodged Riesz's attack easily, but met the steel of the ninja's blades. The exchange continued for some time, Riesz and Hawkeye avoiding injury for the most part. After weeks of fighting monsters in tandem, they worked seamlessly, each covering the other's weakness. Hawkeye's blade dancing complemented Riesz's mid-ranged spear thrusts perfectly, and the result was a combination no one fighter, however fast, could overcome.
Hawkeye rolled off to the side and tossed a dagger straight at the monster's side. It curled it's body lithely to avoid it, but met Riesz's spear in the gut. With another groan, the giant collapsed into a heap, and split back into two unceremoniously.
"That was too easy…" Riesz said warily.
"You're right." Said Angela. "Don't go near them! Part of the Fusion technique is…"
Both prone ninja abruptly leaped to their feet and started hurling shuriken at all four travelers.
"…regeneration."
With two attackers instead of one, Hawkeye and Riesz were forced to adjust their strategy. Angela's spell had expended its energy during the previous exchange, and the shuriken flew with deadly accuracy again.
"Can you do anything about those?" Duran asked Angela as he defended both of them from the sharp metal stars.
"Too many of them. I'll just make it worse."
"We've got to help them." He told her, pointing emphatically at the other two members of their group, whirling around in an eerie mockery of a dance in their haste to avoid the missiles of the enemy.
"I know that, Duran! Shut up and let me work!"
The sorceress bit her lip as she watched her friends, trying desperately to think of something to do.
:Why don't you try those diamonds you used earlier?: asked the faerie.
I can't, I might hit Riesz or Hawkeye, they're in my line of fire. :All right. I have an idea. You should use Holy Ball.:What? I tried that, Faerie!
:Not in the way I'm suggesting. You have to focus more energy into the blast, so that you get a long string of the missiles. That way, you can catch both of those men in the explosion.:
I'll try it then. :The Goddess is with you.:Angela nodded and again took up her spellcasting stance once again. Her thoughts swept back to the encounter she'd had with Altenan soldiers on the bridge to Forcena, and she remembered the golden power that had filtered through her. She reached out to that power now, and found bliss.
Duran could feel the power building behind himself, and he called out to Riesz and Hawkeye in a strained voice, telling them to get out of the way. The mind-controlled ninja were unable to comprehend, and so they were caught in what came next.
"HOLY BALL!" screamed the Sorceress. Waves of energy whirled around her form, radiating out in an angry field that did not waver and did not break. Her hair broke free of its bindings, falling free around her and flaring out in the backlash of the power she was releasing.
A light like a miniature sun exploded in the center of the room. Riesz and Hawkeye dove out of the way just in time. Pulse after pulse of light magic flared in the room, and a long string of white spheres danced among the explosions. When it was all over, nothing was to be seen but the smoke of defeat, and a small woman with unbound hair and eyes that burned the gold of Mana…
Whew! That took forever, believe me. I hope it was worth the wait. A Carlie/Kevin interlude coming up. Hopefully after a shorter interval than this took.
~Truewind