The Battles of the Souls

By Breaeden Swordwind

Authors note: First I'd like to say how sorry I am for the delays with this chapter and would also like to apologize because they may continue as I have a lot of work crunching down on me as I prepare for several in-school and out-of-school test and projects. Hopefully it will clear up in the next few weeks and I can devote more time to writing…just don't count on it.

Second, I'd like to once again thank you all for the hits and reviews, with more then 700 hits and 15 reviews this is going very well. To those who consistently review (Blue Trillium and Silver Thorns) keep it up and thanks a ton. To those who don't, please do I appreciate you comments and concerns.


Nel looked from atop the gate of Arias upon the field that would soon be no more then a hurricane of chaos and violence. Now it was peaceful. A few clouds of dust floated on the wind away from her and to the lines of the Airyglyph army where the soldiers were rising from their slumbers to prepare for battle. The rising sun echoed in its crimson hue the color of the blood which it would look upon when the day was done. The place was carpeted in brown dust and a few sporadic rocks and was flanked my stone formations and one or two cliffs as the mountainous regions around Kirlsa slowly turned into the fertile plains of Aquaria.

She had heard the rumors. Albel Nox would not be taking part in the coming battle. It left her confused. The creature had gone out of its way to stop them in the canyon, but now it could not be bothered to join in the battle it should be ordered to attend? It had even disobeyed its… that was why. It must have been arrested for disobeying orders and disappearing from duty, it needed to be made an example of by the Glyphian government. Nel couldn't completely doubt that Vox was not somehow involved in that. She was someone disappointed not to see that creature. It was out of a twisted desire to see something so pathetic and hideous die upon the fields… a perverted joy that should could not completely explain. Knowing that Albel's unholy skill with its katana and claw didn't make much of a difference.

The two engineers from Greeton had agreed to take part in the battle but she had a feeling that it wasn't going to matter a lot. It would all come down to the Thunder arrows to determine the result.

It still seemed odd that the fate of Airyglyph and Aquaria was about to be decided upon the fields of battle and Albel Nox would not be there. There would be something so symbolic of her and it meeting in the middle of the battle field and engaging in a one-on-one fight to the death that she was surprised that fate would not allow it to come to past… fate a thing for irony and symbolism. She wondered ideally if they were torturing the poor creature… but then she realized even if they were they could never inflict the pain he inflicted on himself.

Casting one last glance upon the arid foothills she noticed someone standing on a cliff above the battlefield. She looked closer and gradually she could discern the feature of a cloaked boy in its left hand was a massive greatsword that she had seen used by the members of the Black Brigade and in his right hand she saw a scythe. The cloak and scythe made recognition easy… Black Bird.

She didn't know what effect he would have on the battle but she needed to be on her guard…knowing him he could make all the difference. She ran towards her own lines to warn Fayt and Cliff.


Black Bird grinned down upon the pathetic legions lining up below him and his skin tingled with anticipation. He had been waiting days for this battle to come so that he could clash with hordes of pathetic mortals and maybe, he prayed, fight someone who would make things interesting.

But something was off in the air… It was subtle, as the less acute minds would be distracted by the birds flying peacefully over head and the sun beaming down in golden waves upon the brilliantly polished armor of both armies. It was a foreboding that went beyond the mere stigma of peonic battles…something that went beyond the scope of a single planet and for some reason it filled him with hope. Power was on its way to this backwater place and maybe he would find death in its grip…dubious.

Both armies began to charge toward each other and the boy known as Black Bird grinned… his brother would not be taking part in this battle which was unfortunate but he wouldn't let that spoil his good time. He leapt down from the cliff and took up a space in the center of the battle field between the two armies. When both sides began to close on him like a vice he swung his sword and scythe around him cleaving through both sides…officially making him the enemy of both. This would be a fun day indeed.


The whip struck him again. He long ago lost count of the times the bastard had brought the whip down on him something in the area of fifty seemed right… well today at least. His wrist were rough from scrapping against the metal shackles of the cell and he was exhausted. Sleep did not come easily when one was kept standing at all times. But worse then all this were the wounds to his pride, which struck him as odd since he hated himself. At one time they clasped a metal collar around his neck and walked him around like a dog until he managed to break the chain… the collar was still around his neck.

Albel couldn't take this, every time he was struck he saw Nel swinging that whip. Every time he heard a laugh it was innocently wicked and feminine. He was completely absorb by the maggot. She had done so much damage and now that he was ready to get back his humanity these fools were keeping him from it. They were like an extension of Nel. She wanted him to stay sub-human so that she could mock him. Of course, that's why she had saved him! It was all one big conspiracy… He was really getting delusional he sighed. The whip struck him again… "Maggot, don't get distracted!" the bastard seemed to be wearing a smirk under the black mask that covered his face.

Albel could almost see Nel holding that whip and he was infuriated, he wouldn't be demonized anymore, he was weak now but he would become stronger. Nel seemed to smirk at him from behind her scarf, and he lunged at her the chains pulling tight around his wrists and ankles, cutting into the skin and causing blood to flow from the wounds. "You can't hold me down forever, wench! I will surpass you! I will regain my humanity and there will be nothing you can do about it!"

The whip crashed against the side of his face and he was once more looking at a bulky male in black leather clothes. "This one's getting all optimistic on us… You know what that means?" the masked man spoke wickedly as grabbed a strange yet threatening device… I will regain my humanity by losing all of it.


The battle had been joined and Nel was moving through the tumult with some aid from Cliff and Fayt. Men were falling and dying beside her, and not all by her hand. Some were allies, others foes, but all left their blood upon the orange clay and made it maroon and soft. Screams emanated from all sides, some carrying the will to one, some carrying the pain of death. All, added and resounded upon one another creating one endless scream which tore at Nel's ears as she moved through the ruby chaos.

None of the enemy could stand against the cadre of her and the two engineers. They pushed forward against the tide of men and began to make their way towards the Airyglyph command forces which was their objective. Her blades were red now, completely covered with blood that coagulated into droplets that hung, clingingly, to the steel to afraid to let go. She didn't noticed though, her head wasn't really into this battle, she was still pondering what had happened with the creature known as Albel, she could only be disgusted by the beast and in some small way felt unsure, when she did not know where it was, like one is afraid of a monster when one cannot see it but feels absolutely sure that it must be there. The most absurd part was that she knew for a fact that it was not their but she felt that it should be their, after all what is a battle without your disgusting subhuman rival to defeat in an affirmation of your cause? What is the purpose of fighting if you defeat the physical army of your enemy but not their ideology? Albel represented that ideology of half hidden weakness covered by a front of physical strength. He seemed to have power but he had not the will to develop it to its full potential or was crippled by emotional weakness. There was something so much more satisfying about scoring not only a technical but also a moral victory. It made the fruits of victory all the more ripe and ready for picking. Without Albel she didn't have that moral high ground. Now she was just a servant, acting by order of her mistress, and casting aside all sense of self in order to see the goals of the mistress done.

Maybe it was all that thinking that made her miss the whirlwind going on in the center of the battle field until Fayt mentioned it.

"Look at that!" Fayt said, and looking to where he was point she saw it. Between the two armies a single cloaked figure was attacking both sides. Despite the press of solider trying to crush him in a pincer he held both sides at reach of his scythe and great sword. A single slash would cut through men and send the skidding across the ground like tossed stones and he seemed able to parry all of the feeble attacks mustered against him. Sometimes he would slip amidst the soldiers on one side, laughing mockingly as they struggled to pin him down as he floated on the tumult. After a bit of that he would spin holding out his weapons to clear a new opening for himself. The fighting style tickled something in her memory. She had never seen it but she had heard rumors from Airyglyph when she was a child of a rising star in the Black Brigade who wielded such weapons. But, no most of that was forgotten and she could not recall the name or even the certainty of the memory. But the boy continued to cut through the soldiers that encircled him. So Black Bird was being as destructive as she had originally supposed…

"We need to stop him! Look at all the people he is killing for no reason!" yelled Fayt, showing off his impossibly naïve nature.

"No…" Nel shot off quickly even though the decision was painful, she knew that it would be best if they let those people die. "We have to focus on are objective. He is a clear and present threat to both sides, which means he is a threat to neither. He does not seemed to be making any moves toward either camp which means he will not have a positive or negative effect on the battle." At least she hoped he would stay put… she didn't like the idea of a loose cannon flailing around but it was her best bet.

"But what about all the people that are dying!" Fayt yelled but Cliff stepped in…

"They are gonna die anyway fighting each other… who kills them is not the point. If that beast wasn't there they'd only be killing each other directly."

Fayt subsided a little at this but not much.

Taking a quick look across the battle field she could see a large dragon hovering in the back of the enemy army with a man perched atop it that was directing the soldiers. It was Duke Vox. There was a large space around him, empty of soldiers, which he had sent into the other empty area around Black Bird. Seemed like Vox wasn't going to ignore the challenge of a single boy against two armies and was quite taken with eliminating him... but he was being stupid… Nel had begun to notice that the very act of sending men to kill Black Bird only led to his continued survival. The soldiers sent against him cumbersomely attempted to get past him to their real enemy or got in each others way trying to attack him. It was the chaos that Black Bird was using to survive just as much as his sword and Vox was only increasing it.

At any rate, Vox was alone and exposed. This was the opportunity they need to attack him. Nel gave the order to Fayt and Cliff and the three of them charged against him.

As they neared him she noticed that Black Bird was moving through the Airyglyph army towards Vox as well, leaving corpses in his wake. Was he intercepting them for fear they would end the battle too soon? Or did he simply want to fight a more worthy opponent, be that Vox or them? Either way, she didn't trust his reasons for being here. He may have been an ally for a time but he had made it perfectly clear their goals were not necessarily parallel.

Vox made a show of mocking them and for the most part Nel ignored it, Black Bird had caught up and was standing beside her between her and Fayt. His face didn't seem at all amused but their was a certain lightheartedness with which he carried himself that communicated the joy he had taken from killing all those soldiers. While, Vox was posturing he said to the group, "Sirs and Ma'am I doubt you have the strength to even begin to compete with this fool. I will lend you my scythe and sword." There it was again, that arrogant voice saying words of humility. It was obnoxious as hell. Speaking of obnoxious creature, she wondered if it was just I coincidence that one could not spell obnoxious with out "Nox".

It was probably not by chance that Black Bird did not offer his services, he told them he would be fighting for them, though she admitted they could use the help. Vox had just finished his speech on…whatever, now it was time to cut to the chase.

The fight seemed to go on and on. By now Cliff was unconscious, Fayt was thrashed, and she had more then a couple wounds herself. Black Bird seemed to be untouched. She could have sword that his arm had gotten stabbed by Vox's lance but their was no wound to show for it. Black Bird was fighting well and had not only grounded Vox's dragon by hacking into the muscle attached to its wing, but he had also kept at bay soldiers trying to enter the melee. Suddenly, attention was diverted.

A beam of light descended from the sky upon Vox and when her eyes could once more see Nel saw no remaining trace of the dragon or its rider. Looking to where the blast had come from she saw floating in the sky a…thing. It was glimmering in the sun, red and brilliant, like a blood ruby, and its shape was an impossible series of curves and cuts that seemed to flow with the air. It seemed suspended by no force that she recognized and it oozed a foreboding malice that was often brought by the harbingers of change.

Certain parts of the device started to glow and more light beams rained down upon the armies, sending both sides into full rout. A man slaughtering both sides was one thing but a metal god with arrows of light was another entirely.

Fayt was shouting at it and running toward it, seeming to recognize the Leviathan though she knew not how. Something from Greeton, perhaps? It was strange but a runology symbol began to appear above his for head and from nowhere a blast of energy came from him. It was pure and holy, white as marble and when it had faded a mist of feathers floated down gently to the unmoving ground. When it had faded the ruby dragon was gone from the sky and not a trace remained.

And Nel collapsed to her knees in shock.


Well that was interesting. It was strong but… not strong enough. Oh well, if a mere mortal boy like that could create such power then imagine what else must be out there! The boy known as Black Bird smiled at the prospect and watched as one of the feather floated down to land on his shoulder. Apparently, there were more amusing fights out there in the spectrum of existence and if he played his cards right he might be able to find more of them.

When that boy had released his power it had tweaked something inside Black Bird… it was an amusing feeling but one that seemed to have no point. He closed his eyes and opened them… this time looking at the world with eyes of blue and lapping tongues of fire. And he was even more hopeful. The data was chaotic where the beam of energy had passed and laws of physics were still mending. There were even holes in the data that were being refilled. It would be a humbling experience for anyone but Black Bird. It did not strike him as more the odd. Not a miracle, but something that did not normally happen but was not unprecedented.

Blinking and returning his sight to normal he became pensive. As he walked to Urlssa a plan began to form in his mind. One which anticipated the logical course of action that the mortals would take.