Crimson Twilight: Dusk
Chapter 33: Alone
"Damn this accursed body! Damn it to hell!" Moonlight snarled; more to himself and the other persona he had to share a body with than to anyone in Prontera. It would have been a strange scene if someone was watching. A golden-haired girl who looked no older than sixteen was railing curses that could silence a Morrocan thief. Moonlight Flower smashed some of the tools inside Kreizen's shop; vexed by his strange inability to finish off the impudent huntress he met earlier. 'Why can't I change my form back?' he thought. 'And why did I lose control when I tried to kill that blue-haired wench of a huntress?' Moonlight looked around the Xalascents' house until he caught sight of a mirror inside the huntress's bedroom. He stared furiously at the reflected image he saw before him and struck the mirror; leaving a circular web of cracks. Still furious he stared at "his" fist and watched as it began to bleed. "Fox maiden, how dare you thwart my will." he growled. Moonlight walked out of the blacksmith's shop. He continued brooding as he started wandering the streets of Prontera aimlessly. All around him all sorts of people were rushing towards the same direction. He followed their path with his eyes and caught sight of the burning cathedral.
"Wow! What's a pretty girl like you doing here alone?" someone spoke from behind him.
Moonlight turned to glare at the one who spoke. Being referred to as a girl was infuriating enough but to be called "pretty" deserved some punishment. He found himself glaring at a young blond swordsman. The boy was barely a foot taller than the body he was using and had an annoying, easy-going smile as if the burning cathedral nearby was nothing more than a festival bonfire.
"My name's Joe Buck, miss." the swordsman spoke. "Mind if I escorted you to where you're going?"
Moonlight recognized the voice already. The swordsman's appearance confirmed his suspicions. "Doppelganger." he hissed.
The swordsman's eyes widened. "Wow! How'd you know that, lady?" he asked in surprise. "Can you read minds? Can you teach me?"
Moonlight scowled at the swordsman. It was so easy. The doppelganger projected an aura of unnaturalness that any immortal could pick up. To mortals, he would simply be a swordsman, indistinguishable from other swordsmen except for his great skill. To immortals, he stood out of mortal society like a shadow caught in the light. "You don't recognize me then, doppelganger." he said contemptuously. "You, on the other hand, are as obvious as ever!"
The doppelganger squinted at Moonlight. "Wait a minute…I recognize that voice!" he exclaimed. "Is that you Moony?""
Arcs of magical energy coursed through Moonlight's arms. "Moony!" he snarled. "You'll regret that insolent remark, swordsman!"
The doppelganger grinned and drew his broadsword. "You know, Moony, I'd really rather be fighting your pal, Eddga." he said. "A thinker like you is more suitable to fight my buddy over there." he pointed towards Moonlight's back.
Moonlight's eyes widened in realization. He ducked just in time as a bandaged fist swung from behind him. He jumped to the side and faced the two immortals.
Osiris's eyes gleamed from his hood once again. "You're outnumbered this time, Moonlight." he spoke. "A shame we can't fight in the middle of the city without anyone noticing. Lucky you." With that, Osiris turned to leave.
The doppelganger scratched his head in confusion. "You mean we're not finishing him off?" he asked. "Well, I suppose it would make Joe Buck look bad if he was caught beating on a girl!"
Moonlight seethed as the doppelganger laughed and walked away with Osiris. The two immortals reminded him that, despite being able to blend in, he was at an obvious disadvantage when faced with the two of them. An idea came to him. There was a way to turn Prontera against "Joe Buck" and "Seiros". 'This accursed body may be of some use yet.' he thought.
Moonlight knew that the mortals were prone to trust those who looked innocent. Osiris's disguise was that of a hooded stranger; untrustworthy and mysterious. The doppelganger's natural form was a swordsman. While more easily trusted, he was still prone to suspicion. Moonlight's form, on the other hand, was that of an infuriatingly beautiful young girl; easily trusted as compared to the other two. He had also gained the trust of that fool blacksmith. The huntress was a different matter, though. "While she knows who I am, she will still need proof…I can deal with that easily enough." he said to himself.
Moonlight allowed himself to smile as he wandered the streets. The burning cathedral was not his concern. As he walked, he suddenly caught sight of a passing sohee. She was running somewhere; likely on an errand. 'A slave.' He thought. 'These humans must be punished for treating my minions like this.' Moonlight concentrated on the sohee. Realization dawned on him. This sohee was no slave! He suddenly remembered the sohee that attacked him while he fought against a crusader. 'It's that treacherous sohee!' he realized furiously.
Khaesilya had spotted the burning cathedral while she returned from her talk with Sir Agranias. She then remembered that her master was supposed to make a report there. 'Master Makaelthos!' She thought in alarm. She hurried towards the cathedral. Her master could be in danger!
"Sohee!" someone hissed from nearby.
Khaesilya froze as she heard the voice from the shadows. The voice was easily recognizable; all sohees knew that voice from instinct alone. "Moonlight Flower." she answered.
The cat-being remained in the shadows. "What are you doing here, sohee?" he asked. "Why is it that you do not serve me?"
Khaesilya drew her stiletto. Moonlight Flower had fought against her master before. That alone was an unforgivable crime in her eyes. "I will not serve anyone who dares harm my master." she answered.
Moonlight's voice grew indignant. "Master!" he cried out. "I am your master! All sohee are my servants!"
Khaesilya shook her head defiantly. "I serve no one but my master. Not even you, Moonlight Flower."
Moonlight's hand flared with magical energy. The streets were deserted again anyway; all the knights had gone to the cathedral. "Insolent wench!" he snarled. "If you will not serve then perish!"
A stroke of lightning erupted from Moonlight's fingers. Khaesilya tried to dodge the spell but the electricity managed to graze her side; jolting her back and leaving a burn on her left hand. She recovered and lunged at the cat-being, who stepped further into the shadows. "Why do you hide, Moonlight Flower?" she called out.
Moonlight cursed loudly in response. Suddenly the darkness echoed with the wails of several sohees.
"I have no more time for you…human slave. I will let your "sisters" deal with you."
Several sohees emerged from the shadows."Ascaer'nae Khaesilya!" they wailed in unison. Khaesilya heard Moonlight chant a teleportation spell from the darkness.
The lead sohee stood a foot taller than Khaesilya while the three more who floated from the shadows were about her height. All of them brandished stilettos while glaring hatefully at her. Khaesilya kept her guard up as they surrounded her. The red and gold ribbons they used to tie their hair marked them as members of the StillBreath tribe; the most traditional of the sohees and therefore the ones who hate her the most.
"Chieftain Aiselha." Khaesilya remarked. "You call me slave while you appear at the beck and call of someone else."
Aiselha sneered at Khaesilya. Her voice dripped with contempt and the arrogance that came naturally with free people who talked to slaves. To a simple observer, it was difficult to tell the sohees apart. Besides being taller, Aiselha' red eyes were more slanted than Khaesilya's. She sported a long, vertical scar on her cheek; a mark that proved that she had fought and slain mortals before. Her chin was more pronounced and pointed. This, combined with a sharp-looking nose gave her the look of a haughty, aristocratic, Payonese noblewoman. "How dare you speak so directly to your better, Khaesilya!" she hissed. "Wretched ascaer'nae! Your existence has become an embarrassment to our race, traitor! How many sohees have you betrayed to that foul master of yours?"
At the word "foul", Khaesilya's patience snapped. Her hair began to whip about as if stirred by an unnatural wind. Her feet rose from the ground as she faced the other sohees. "No one insults my master!" she hissed. "Not even other sohees!"
The street suddenly resounded with wails and the sound of stilettos striking each other. In less than a minute, two of the sohees dropped dead; their chests bleeding freely from stab wounds to the heart. The third sohee sported a vicious gash across her face while Aiselha was bleeding from her shoulder. Khaesilya, on the other hand, suffered from several cuts on her arms. The remaining two sohees began to circle her.
"You fight viciously, Khaesilya…like the cornered dog that you are!" Aiselha hissed.
Khaesilya held her stiletto with her right hand and pointed it horizontally at her foes, keeping the weapon in the same level as her shoulder. Her left hand closed into a fist and positioned so that her forearm extended across her chest, as if she was holding an imaginary shield.
Aiselha wailed furiously, the battle cry of all sohee, as she saw her opponent's stance. "You fight like a foul crusader, traitor!" she cried out. "I will slay you in the name of our true master!"
The other sohee wailed as well and attacked from behind. Khaesilya met Aiselha's attack head on. Her stiletto deflected her opponent's attack and forced Aiselha's arm down. Before the other sohee could strike, Khaesilya brought her left hand up and backhanded Aiselha on the face. Aiselha fell back; stunned. Khaesilya whirled in time to sidestep the other sohee's stab. Before the other sohee could strike again, Khaesilya waved her stiletto about; slicing the other sohee's neck open. Bright red blood spattered onto Khaesilya's clothes.
Aiselha wailed louder as she circled Khaesilya. "Three more sohees you have murdered in the name of your "master"! Your death will be a boon to all sohees!"
Aiselha rushed toward Khaesilya. Her stiletto waved about; trying to slice at her opponent's neck. Khaesilya deflected the strike once again and struck Aiselha on the face with her fist. Aiselha floated back while Khaesilya pushed her attack forward. Her stiletto cut through the air; dealing a tremendously large, vertical cut on Aiselha's chest. Aiselha wailed in agony but Khaesilya did not relent. Her stiletto sliced another wound on Aiselha; this time, a horizontal cut across her chest. The two wounds formed a cross on Aiselha's chest. While it did not explode with holy power to blow apart a demonic sohee, Khaesilya had all but perfectly mimicked her master's signature attack. "No one insults Master Makaelthos, whether a human or a sohee."She whispered.
Khaesilya looked on impassively as Aiselha collapsed to the ground. "You are a fool, Khaesilya. You have cut yourself off from all sohees. You are alone in your struggle to fit in…" Aiselha gasped before she died.
Khaesilya walked on. The street was a mess of bloody puddles and empty clothes. As all sohees did when they died, Aiselha and her tribesohees slowly evaporated into a fine red mist that faded away into the night.
Khaesilya suddenly remembered the black-armored knight she was talking to earlier. "Alone?" she spoke at the dissolving red mist. "I am not, Aiselha. Even if I was, it would be a fate I gladly accept." With that, Khaesilya continued to run towards the cathedral. 'I cannot waste anymore time here…I must go to where Master Makaelthos is!" She noticed that the cathedral had stopped burning. Perhaps her master was safe but she had to see for herself.
A vicious roar resounded on the rooftops of Prontera. No one seemed to hear it though. With the orcs fighting outside their gates, the citizens had other places to look to other than their roofs. Baphomet roared again as he brought down his massive scythe against his elusive foe.
The doppelganger grinned and charged; slicing a gash across Baphomet's massive chest. The goat-demon responded by kicking him on the chest with a hoof. The force of the kick sent him flying backward for several feet. He steadied himself in time to stop himself from falling off the roof. "You're big, you old goat, but you kick like a little girl!" he taunted. Even as he continued taunting the demon, his chest throbbed painfully. He guessed that he was going to have a nasty-looking hoof print on his chest if he survived this battle. His partner, Osiris, was having problems against his opponent as well. The Dark Lord was casting spells faster than a troop of wizards. Osiris was hard pressed just trying to dodge the constant barrage of fire, ice and lightning that sprayed from the Dark Lord's fingertips.
Baphomet strode forward to attack him once again. "You grin and taunt as if you're winning, doppelganger." he snarled. "But I can sense you weakening! Soon, you will be the next to feed me with your essence!"
The doppelganger's eyes narrowed. "Next?" he asked. "And who exactly have you grazed on, goat?"
The goat-demon licked his fangs triumphantly. "While you and Osiris were busy playing with mortals, the Dark Lord and I have been hunting!" He bragged.
The crescent scythe cut through the air in a wide arc. The doppelganger jumped back in time to avoid the blow. 'Great!' he thought. 'The old goat's in the lead; maybe we should have finished Moonlight off while we had the chance.' he charged once again. This time, he had to try something different.
Baphomet raised his scythe for another two-handed blow but the doppelganger suddenly appeared behind him.
"Too slow! I've got you this time, Baphomet!" the doppelganger shouted triumphantly.
The broadsword thrust towards the goat-demon's back. The point would have buried itself into Baphomet's flesh if he had not managed to twist in time. Instead, the thrust delivered another gash on his side. He backhanded the doppelganger; sending the blond swordsman flying backward once again.
"Your partner is losing, Osiris!" the Dark Lord taunted. "But, then again, so are you!" He pointed a skeletal finger at the mummy; causing another blast of lightning to erupt forth. Osiris dashed forward and sidestepped the bolt. A bandaged fist swung towards the Dark Lord; smashing into his skeletal chest. The force of the blow was lessened, though, as it was dispersed by the barrier of blue energy that the Dark Lord had set up around him. Before the Dark Lord could retaliate, the horns from the orc tribes sounded once more. Even Baphomet hesitated at the sound.
"The mortals will be coming back from their battle soon." the Dark Lord said. "You've lost your chance, Osiris!"
Osiris's red eyes gleamed from his hood. "Run away then, Dark Lord. As I remember, their clergy is still after you." he growled.
The Dark Lord's sinister laugh slowly faded away as both the skeleton and the demon vanished. The doppelganger sat down and stared at the city. "So what do we do now, Osiris?" he asked.
Osiris watched the returning soldiers. "I did not expect the Dark lord and Baphomet to move so fast." he answered. "We have to adjust. It's time we finished Moonlight off while he is alone in the city."
The doppelganger grinned in anticipation.
"I'm with that!"
Sohee Tribal Affiliation - free sohees organize themselves into tribes led by a chieftain. Every sohee's tribe can be ascertained by the colors of the ribbons she wears; white and blue stand for MistStream, red and gold stand for StillBreath, black and red stand for Redlily while white and green stand for MoonWander. Sohee slaves generally discard their old ribbons and wear gray ones or whatever their masters provide.