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Drakkan · 2008-08-08 15:18:05

The Birth of Drakkan Part 1

Sitting lazily in a chair, Valance Darksword peered over at his current employer with boredom. He and his group had been recently hired by the mage to serve as his bodyguards. Having amassed several enemies in his long life, Aznon was now weak and very vulnerable. As were all mages. For reasons that were still unclear to the magic using populace, the magic in the world suddenly stopped flowing. As if the weave itself was ripped from the world. As a result all mages, who were once the most powerful force in the world, were feeble, and defenseless. As a result many of them were cut down at this opportune time. Hence Valance's new employer.

Not all magic was gone however. Enchanted magical items still retained their powers, as do the clerics who draw their magic from the Gods. And the rare sorcerer who draw their magic from their own soul instead of the weave like the mages. But the world had undoubtedly changed from this lapse of magical ability from the mages whose power used to be so absolute.

Valance didn't care. He relied on his sword alone to cut his enemies down before him, not spells. With his band of mercenaries he had cut down countless enemies in the name of others. He relished in slaughtering those who stand in his way. And his current contract had been a good one so far. The old mage was rich and payed very well for his services, and with the many enemies the old man had made, he was constantly in work butchering all the assassins they sent to kill him. He snapped out of his private thoughts when he heard his name.

"Valance? Are you listening to me boy?" Aznon's snapped as he paced around the room. Aznon knew Valance hated when he called him a boy, but decided to let it slide this one time seeing the mage's obvious excitement as he moved about.

"Yes, I've been listening to your drivel. Perhaps you can now tell me why you had me come here? I have a lot to do this morning you know," Valance said, his eyes sleepy as he peered at Aznon who grew a shade of red before waving his hand, ignoring the jibe.

" I've been doing some research in the old tomes. I think I've found something to restore my power," The old mage practically shouted it. Valance frowned. If the old mage got his power back, his contract would be unnecisary. Valance liked this job, plenty of death and plenty of coin. Shaking thoughts of that off he listened to the mage tell his plan.

" Let us talk of history Valance, you are intelligent, surly you know about the past," Aznon said, sitting across from him. " What do you know about the origins of dragons?"

" According to legends and what I've heard, the three gods Balin, Malmar, and Actrazer created ten dragons. One of every color. All female, and as such are known as the Great Mothers of dragon kind," Valance replied, recalling his reading.

" Good, now what about male dragons? Even they have to mate to perpetuate their race," Aznon pressed.

" According to the theories, there ware three possibilities: The gods made them already pregnant, there were also ten males, or one male impregnated them all," Valance answered.

" All right, now, let's jump in history a bit to the Dragon Wars," Aznon replied, sipping his wine.

"You seem awful intent on dragons today, I better not have to slay one. All right, there were two Dragon Wars. The first occoured about seven thousand years ago when the three gods came down to the world and granted mortal kind divine magic, the power of clerics. The dragons, first born in the world, became jealous at this and started the war to eradicate all the mortal races. It lasted about twenty five years and the dragons were defeated in the end, driven back. The second war occoured about two thousand years later and was much shorter, when an incredibly powerful dragon called Dracodrakkan appeared and forced the other dragons to go to war, and thus started the second war. Dracodrakkan...what a stupid name."

" The name happens to mean Allmighty Dragon or Dragon Allmighty in their own language," Aznon interrupted.

"His name isn't important. The goody goody metallic dragons didn't want to go to war again, not after their defeat in the first war and due to their weak nature. But they followed Dracodrakkan because his power was supposedly so great they had no choice. Anyway, as the war went on the dragons were not fairing well. Soon even the chromatics were in dissention under Dracodrakkan's rule. If they kept on with the war their race might come close to extinction. So in secret, the most powerful dragon of every color met: Gold, Silver, Bronze, Brass, Copper, Red, Blue, Black, Green, and White. In that meeting, they pooled together their magic and created a powerful magical gem. They called it the Soul Gem. This gem supposedly had the power to effectivly trap anyone's soul inside of it. Then, in order not to arouse Dracodarkkan's suspicion, they handed the gem over to the leader of their enemies so that he may use it on Dracodrakkan to stop the war. However before the gem could be used Dracodrakkan disappeared unexpectedly. The metallics then withdrew followed by the chromatics, the was was over. The Soul Gem was never used," Valance said, finishing the story.

"But you recognize the name of Dracodrakkan from more recent history don't you? Tell me about him," Aznon demanded.

" About two hundred years ago he resurfaced again. He attempted to start another Dragon War. But the leader of his enemies from the second war, the one the dragons gave the Soul Gem to, was still alive. So before Dracodrakkan could start a third war, he went and battled him, and used the gem to defeat him once and for all," replied, wondering where all of this was going.

" And the leader of their enemies? Who was he?" Aznon asked.

"The Destroyer," Valance scowled.

" I take it you've heard of him," Aznon replied.

"Who hasn't?" Valance spat.

Indeed Valance had heard of the infamous Destroyer. The Destroyer was an Elven weapon, a warrior-mage of unrivaled power. For over five thousand years his man was feared more than anyone else in the world due to his awesome power and skill. He was a legend. They claimed that the Destroyer could single handedly slay an entire army with spell and sword. Of course thats not to say the man was invincible. Valance knew that quite well. Because about two hundred years ago, after the battle with Dracodrakkan, his ancestor Furan Darksword had killed him. Of course the Destroyer was raised from death and returned to kill Furan Darksword, but the fact remains Furan killed him first. He returned his attention to Aznon.

" The battle between the Destroyer and Drakkodrakkan was fierce. The magical might of the Destroyer and the prowess of Dracodrakkan made the battle one of legends. In the end however, the Destroyer prevailed, trapping Dracodrakkan's soul within the Soul Gem as you said. At that point, the Destroyer was weakened severely from his battle. Also, almost immediatly there after the War of Darkness was about to begin under your ancestor Furan Darksword. The Destroyer was sent to kill Darksword and prevent the war before it could start. He failed, Furan Darksword killed him. The Destroyer's weakened state is why Furan Darksword was able to defeat him. He was revived, but the War of Darkness had begun. It took him a few years to go back and kill Darksword and end the war." Aznon commented, making the Valance frown as if the mage could read his thoughts.

" Anyway, what is not mentioned in almost any history book or story...is what happened to the Soul Gem. After Dracodrakkan was defeated it became known as the Dragon Soul. But even still, Furan Darksword never recovered it, and no mention of it occours in the stories. So, I spent some fair amount of time and coin trying to find information on it. And I have found the answer," the mage said as he walked over to his desk and lifted, very carefully, a crubling piece of paper.

" This...is a page from the journal of the Destroyer directly after the battle with Dracodrakkan," Aznon smiled as he began to read. " The battle with the dragon has left me weakened. Blood still oozes from my wounds, and my magical power is still low. He whispers to me in my mind as I carry the gem, promising vengeance upon me should he ever be freed. Already a new war threatens to sprout. This Furan Darksword is a menace, one I have been sent to slay. But I cannot carry this gem for long. His voice is maddening, and should something go wrong, there is the risk of the dragon getting freed in the hands of the warlord. That I cannot allow. So I will have to hide it in a protected place. I will return there later to insure it's safety and protect it properly, but I'll have to run the risk for now. Kagorithztral has promised assistance. I will have him guard it until I return," Aznon intones and then sets the paper down.

" I've researched the name Kagorithztral, and it is the name of a young Gold Dragon, who was the Destroyer's friend from the Second Dragon War began and who fed him information during it. After further research I found the location of a set of ruins called the Shrine of Kagorithztral, supposedly the dragon's resting place. The ruins are between the supposed battle site between the Destroyer and Dracodrakkan and the tower fortress of Furan Darksword. It all adds up. The Dragon Soul is there for sure. Whether or not the Destroyer went back there to make it safe is unknown. The power contained in that gem would be more than enough to empower my magic once again," Aznon finished with a flourish, clenching his fist.

" What does that have to do with the origin of dragons?" Valance asked, confused at the original topic's relivance.

" Ah yes, well I have read some very ancient Elven texts. They speak of one dragon, a powerful male referred to as the Great Father, the Allmighty Dragon and his importance to their race. It is my belief that there is one and only one original dragon male that spawned the race," Aznon explained.

" That's impossible, a red dragon is as different from a blue or white or silver dragon as a rock is to a tree," Valance countered.

" I'm aware, but the texts also state this Allmighty Dragon was able to change his color, his size, anything he wanted. A...Chameleon Dragon of sorts. And judging by the title, Allmighty Dragon, and the supposed chameleon-like powers of Dracodrakkan from the stories, it is obvious. Dracodrakkan WAS the all Father of All Dragon Kind. He was the the original male," Aznon said triumphantly.

" So, the Father of All Dragon Kind, a being over fifteen thousand years old, was defeated by the Destroyer and imprisoned in the Soul Gem?" Valance asked laughing.

" Yes The Destroyer was at the height of his power. And the Dragon Soul is an incredibly powerful artifact, greater than you realize. Even Dracodrakkan was no match for it," Aznon snapped.

" So I take it," Valance replied, " You want me and my men to take you there and try to retrieve the gem from these ruins."

" Correct, this could be the answer to everything," Aznon said triumphantly.

" You realize this is not my normal job. And if you do in fact aquire this gem and regain your magic you will have no further use of me."

" The thought had crossed my mind."

" Then it must also have crossed your mind that I will want increased pay for this," Valance smiled.

" How much?"

" Oh, I'm thinking...a hundred thousand gold," Valance responded, watching as Aznon's face grew red.

" That is a ridiculous sum and you well know it! That amount of pay would keep you in my employ for twenty years! You are asking too much!"

" Ha ha ha! If this is as important as you claim it is, you'd be willing to pay any price. Because, if you don't aquire this gem, you will need my employ for the next twenty years...or until you die of old age....so I think the price is fair," Valance responded, watching Aznon pace around in a fluster.

" I expect your upmost attempt to help me aquire this gem for that price, even if it means killing an army to get it. You obey my orders without question. And you see it through to the end."

" Of course."

" All right...deal. Payment up aquiring the gem. Inform your men, we will leave in three days. I will set up the provisions and transport."

" As you wish, Master Aznon."

* * * * *

Valance walked down the stone hallway, brooding as he went. A hundred thousand gold could be enough to buy himself a keep. More money than people dream of having. But still...The supposed power of this gem. Perhaps he could use it. Word still circulates that the Destroyer still walks the land, but bereft of his magic like the rest of the mages. Valance was no match for his spell power, but in swords? To strike a blow at him, to finish what his ancestor couldn't. He would become famous, the slayer of the Destroyer. Who knows, maybe he could release this Dracodrakkan and gain power through him. What is a hundred thousand gold compared to infamy? Compared to power?

Servants scattered out of his way as he stormed down the passage. He understood it, he reveled in it. Fear is a glorious weapon. His black laquered armor, a wicked suit of full plated armor enchanted so heavily it could turn any blade or mace away. The flowing deep purple cape he always wore tattered behind him as if a fierce wind blew on it. Not to mention his sword. The feared blade known only as Soul Reaver. The blade of Furan Darksword, with the power to suck souls from the enemies slain. It could use souls to empower the wielder to fantastic speeds and amounts of strength. The sword was feared by all, vile energies twisted like screaming souls about it's black blade. It's heavy hilt always rested comfortably in his hand. Unknown to most people however, the sword was intelligent, sentient. With an unending hunger for souls the sword spoke only to Valance, deep in his mind.

Ah yes, the Destroyer, I remember piercing his heart quite well. He was the only soul to ever escape me. He had so many magical wards placed around him I couldn't take it before it vanished. I relish the chance to settle that score. The old mage is ambicious. I have heard tales of the Dragon Soul. And of Dracodrakkan, and I have little doubt the gem lays in those ruins. The Allmighty Dragon's soul....so much power. What is coin compared to the power to kill your enemies with a wave of a hand? the sword whispered. You must take the gem for your own. The old mage is feeble, let me devour his soul, you know the location of the gem you no longer need him!

" No, there may be arcane traps and riddles there we will need his expertise with to get to the gem. I have every belief the Destroyer went back and secured the gem with powerful defenses. Some still have to be active despite the magic failure. You can have his soul when I have the gem."

The sword went into a sulk as Valance entered the room where his team had assembled. Each of them had proven themselves time and time again. Ruthless, cunning, malicious, these were Valance's followers. He walked in an sat at the central table of the room. His hands folded under is eyes as he peered at them each in turn.

To his left sat Norith, his loyal companion since they were children. Norith had grown up younger than Valance, so he followed him around everywhere. He now serves as his right hand. Norith was massive, standing over six and a half feet and muscled over every bit of his massive frame. His blond hair cut short, making his blue eyes startlingly obvious. He was dark, immense, and brooding as a mountain. His massive greataxe rested next to him. Covered in notches and scars, the axe had slain well over a hundred men in battle. His loyalty was proven time and time again.

Next to Norith leaning back in his chair was Injus. Injus was a weasel in almost every sense of the word. Quick, backstabbing, lieing, thieving, manipulating, and slippery. Not to mention the strangly weasel like features of his beady eyes and small nose. His hair was even the color of a weasel's fur. Injus could sneak into a castle bedroom and slay the lord with four guards in the room and be gone before they ever found out he was dead. He was, however, a coward, though he called it "practical". His infiltration and stealth abilities were second to none, and his skill with daggers was unparalelled. He could find the chink in any armor and stab a man. Valance had actually met Injus when he had been hired to steal Soul Reaver from him. Had the sword not been intelligent and warned Valance, he probably would have gotten away with it. Valance almost killed the rogue, but instead was impressed by his skills and abilities, so instead declared the rogue's life belinged to him, and had ever since.

Leaning back against the away from the table was Orn. His entire body was covered in black wrapping, only his eyes pierced out of the dark hooded cloak like angry lights. Supposedly he was very badly burned as a child in a dragon attack on his village, but he never spoke about it. He rarely spoke at all. His skill with a bow left the proudest Elven archer in disgrace. In high wind Orn could kill a man at a hundred yards. Fast, silent, and able to track a Goblin that passed through a field a week ago when it snowed the previous night, he was the cautious member of the group. Always watching and waiting. Orn had orignially been contacted by Valance to help him track down a group of Goblins that had stolen something he was hired to retrieve. And Valance kept him in his company after that, recognizing his usefulness.

Last but not least, sitting next to Valance's right was Nanje. Beautiful, seductive, and deadly. With long black hair, trim body, plush breasts, and a cruelty that matched his own. She reveled in pain and torture, both sadistic and masocistic, all pain was her play ground. A priestess of Scharossar, Lady of Pain, she was devout in her followings. Almost as devout as her devotion to Valance who she seemed to perceive as the male counterpart to her goddess. She was his lover as well, satisfying all of his needs. A coiled whip sat on the table before her covered in wicked blades of metal as she stared in adoration at Valance, her tongue running over her lips and her hand stroking the whip.

"We have new job," Valance said as he lowered his hands. He leaned back smiling.

"A new job?" Norith rumbled. " I thought we liked this one."

" As much as I distain the thought of Norith thinking, I agree, this job is good. It pays well and we get to kill all the time," Injus replied. " So why the change?"

" Aznon has located...or thinks he has located, a powerful magical item that will enable him to regain his magical powers. As such he will no longer need us. However, in order to obtain this item for him, he has agreed to pay us one hundred thousand gold to escort him there and obtain said item," Valance explained. This produced a low whistle from Injus.

" A hundred thousand gold? We could retire on that! Must be some item," Injus hissed.

" Indeed. Have any of you heard of the Dragon Soul?" Valance asked them.

" I have. It's a legend from the Second Dragon War. They say the Destroyer used it to defeat the dragon Dracodrakkan and imprison his soul in it," Nanje purred. " But it was never found, and the Destroyer certainly has never talked about it. So many think it's just a myth."

" Exactly. And Aznon is sure he knows where it is. He thinks it has the power to grant him his magic back," Valance replied.

" So we take him there and get him the gem and we cash in hundred grand? Sounds easy enough to me," Injus remarked, nodding his head.

" If the story is true, It's suspected it's sealed in a dangerous dungeon, full of deadly traps, magics, and monsters the Destroyer set there to protect it. It will be no easy task Injus," Nanje said with a roll of her eyes.

" With the removal of magic it's a good bet most of the traps and protections are gone, leaving at defenseless at it's going to get. Monsters and physical traps we can handle," Valance said with closed eyes.

" Yet there is something else. You are distracted by other thoughts." Orn whispered from the wall. Valance smiled again.

" You see much Orn. I have been thinking about the Dragon Soul. If this gem has the power to grant Aznon his magical abilities...what else can it do? What can it do for me?" Valance proposed.

" You want to keep the gem for yourself don't you?" Injus questioned as he leaned forward.

" Yes, I do."

" What about the gold?"

" What about it? Who needs gold when you have power? You can alway take gold. Power, strength, fame...these are much harder to obtain. This gem could be the key we need to greater glory, greater infamy. The key we need to rule," Valance sneered. " Besides, we can always take the gold from the mage when he's dead."

* * * * *

We can always take the gold from the mage when he is dead. The image in the crystal ball said as it began to wavier. Aznon leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled in thought.

" So Valance, you plan to betray me? Well I still have some tricks up my sleeve. We'll see who kills who first."

* * * * *
Valance paced in his bedroom. The room was lit by the roaring fire in the fireplace before him, making the room bathes in orange light. His armor was off and he wore a loose robe, muttering to himself as he drank wine from a silver goblet. Nanje peered at him. She lay on the large four post bed, her head on the pillows, wearing nothing but a small thong.

" What bothers you my love?" he voice floated from the bed. Valance looked at her, his eyes widened slightly before going back to his pacing.

" Something about this gem bothers me," Valance replied gulping more wine.

" What bothers you my lord? We all are behind you, we will help you obtain the gem," she said reassuringly.

" It's not getting the gem I'm worried about," He snapped, stopping only to pour himself more wine.

" Then what is it?"

" I've been having a dream ever since Aznon told me about the gem two days ago. I find myself standing in a dark stone room. The only light I see comes from the gem resting on a small pedestal. It's green, deeper in color than an emerald. It pulses with light. I feel the power of it, the power of the soul inside, and I reach for it. I grab it and I scream in pain. The green light envelops me, and then I know no more." Valance spat, anger welling in him. " Does it mean I will not be worthy of the gem? Will I not be able to control it's power? Will it control me? I am filled with doubt for the first time ever because of this dream."

Nanje slid off the bed and stood, walking over to him. She came up from behind and put her arms over his shoulders, pressing herself into him while she whispered in his ear.

" I have had a dream as well, no not a dream a vision I believe send by my goddess. I have had this dream since before I ever met you. It is how I came to search for you, how I've always known your greatness. I see you standing on a mountain, your sword in hand. You raise it to the sun high overhead, and the sun goes black. You then stab the sword in the earth and it trembles, the very ground quaking in fear. You bring darkness all across the land. I have seen your destiny before I ever saw you for the first time. You will rule this world," she said, licking his ear. Valance closed his eyes, feeling her body around him. He then turned and pushed her onto the bed. He pounced on her, pinning her arms with his own.

" Sometimes Nanje, you say just what I need to hear," he growled, and then slapped her hard with the back of his hand. He grabbed her neck roughly, making her look right at him. She looked back at him, her face stinging, her lip split and bleeding from the blow. She smiled, relishing the pain.

" Just what I need," he muttered as he roughly kissed her, letting passion drive away the dreams.

* * * * *

" How much further is it?" Injus whined while staggering up the rocks.

" Your complaining doesn't help us to go any faster," Nanje commented as she stepped past him.

" True Nanje, but we dont all have those silky long legs of yours," Injus said with a sly sneer.

" Legs that won't ever be wrapped around anyone but Valance. Plant your boy-lust elsewhere. You couldn't handle me," Nanje laughed as she moved ahead.

For the past two weeks they had been traveling through the rocky terrain. The forest surrounding the foothills of the Dragonshield Mountains had been a troublesome journey. Having to leave the caravan of wagons, horses, and extra supplies Aznon had supplied behind, to climb through the rough terrain. They pressed through the forest.

In addition to Valance's group, Aznon had hired an additonal troupe of mercenary guards to accompany them. Valance didn't care, seeing their gear and experience in combat, they wouldn't be a threat. Not worrying about the mercenaries, he marched forward in his heavy armor, leading the way to the Shrine of Kagorithztral. According to the information Aznon gathered, they were closing in on the site. Valance took a glance over at the mage as he struggled over a rock.

He's a feeble old man. And he will be the gateway to power. Once he leads you to the gem.

" Quiet. Keep yourself sheathed," Valance replied, his eyes narrowing. Looking up ahead he spotted Orn flit by a tree, waving his hand in a few directions before disappearing in the brush. " Or not."

Valance turned to Norith, while drawing his sword slowly. "Rear Guard. Take Injus." Norith nodded and headed off to the back of the group. Injus followed him, drawing daggers and stalking off into the brush.

" Nanje," Valance whispered as she stepped forward. " Keep Aznon covered. Now is not the time for him to die." Nodding her understanding, Nanje walked over to the mage and whispered in his ear. Frowning, Aznon looked to Valance and nodded.

The attack came swiftly after that as the bellowing of Ogres echoed through the trees. They began barreling through the forest, screaming in rage while hefting their massive clubs. Ogres were a disgusting race. The smallest one stood well over seven feet tall, and all were very well built. They were shaggy, stinky, and wore little clothing over their orangish skin and sparse dirty hair. Despite being massive they were dumb as rocks and relyed only on their size and strength, which made them terrible fighters.

Valance charged up the rocks at the advancing Ogres. Four of them swarmed at him intent on bashing his skull in, but Valance had other ideas. Whipping his sword up, Valance deflected a massive blow and in the same motion stabbed the beast in the face. Not stopping, he charged forward and rolled past as the Ogre slid down the hill.

Slashing the leg clean off another Ogre as he rolled by, he quickly stood up, his left hand behind the blade, and stopped the third Ogre's swing. With a quick jerk he smashed the Ogre in the face with the sword's hilt, knocking the creature back enough for Valance to swing his sword down and run the beast through the heart.

The remaining Ogre smashed his club across the back of Valance's shoulders, making him stagger forward. Not injured by the blow, but the force of it knocking the wind out of him, he turned and slashed across the Ogre's eyes. The Ogre screamed and grabbed it's eyes with one hand while wildly swinging with his other hand intent on a fatal blow.

Valance, gasping for air, reeled backwards out of the way of the wild swings, falling backwards and landing with a thud on his ass. Gripping his sword he stood up as arrows flew quickly over his head into the Ogre's chest and throat. Gurgling, the Ogre collapsed. Looking over, Valance raised is hand to Orn, invisible in the trees.

Now free of immediate danger Valance turned to see how the others were faring. Down the hill at the back of the battle Norith was locked in combat with a fully ten foot tall Ogre, their muscles straining at each other. With a roar of anger Norith spun away, letting the Ogre stumble forward. With a whirl brought his axe on the back of the creature, severing it's spine and half it's body. Another Ogre charged up behind Norith only to have Injus appear on it's back, and with a swift crossing cut of daggers, slit the creature's throat.

The crackle of spell fire could be heard through the trees. Valance turned and bolted to where he last saw Nanje and Aznon. Running through the trees another Ogre jumped out at him. Valance didn't even stop running and lifted his sword in a slashing arc. The Ogre collapsed behind him, it's guts spilling out on the forest floor.

Valance ran up and saw Nanje in combat with two large stinking Ogres. Nanje whirled like a dancer with her whip scything through the air, keeping the Ogres at bay. Then, with a spinning step she lashed out and the whip wrapped around one of their necks. Jerking on the rope she danced away from the other Ogre's attack, and blood sprayed from the jaggedly slit neck of it's fellow. Still spinning, Nanje lashed out and made a slash across the other Ogre's chest making it stagger back. Words of power and prayer hissed out of Nanje's mouth as black energy crackled at her fingertips. With a gesture the black energy shot at the Ogre, hitting in it's chest. A flash of black light later Nanje stood holding the still beating heart of the Ogre in her hands. The creature looked stupidly at it before falling over dead.

The sounds of battle continued, making Valance head to the sounds. His sword hungered for more souls. He came upon several of the hired guards fighting a handful of Ogres. Running up behind one he slashed across the back of it's legs, hamstringing it. The Ogre fell twords him, landing with a thud and Valance stepped forward and stabbed the creature in the head. The guard who had been fighting the Ogre nodded at him and the two ran to the next.

A guard fell, his skull smashed, and the Ogre looked around for it's next target, only to have it's hand suddenly hacked off by a black sword. Roaring in agony the Ogre swung his remaining fist at the offending attacker only to find he had moved to his side as he slid his sword through the Ogre's ribs.

Valance kept moving, only two Ogres left before him. Charging one, he ducked as it spun, swinging it's club across at his head. Rolling forward, Valance sprang from the ground, smashing his shoulder into him. With a clap of flesh and steel the Ogre flew backwards, only to be followed by death as Valance jumped on him and imbedded his sword in the Ogre's guts, twisting the blade wickedly.

Looking over at the remaining Ogre he found it already dead with arrows sticking out from it like some giant porcupine. The sounds of battle silenced, and the forest was quiet once again. Breathing hard Valance stood up and cleaned his sword off on the dead Ogre.

Many souls. This was a good battle. The sword chimed in his head.

" Indeed," Valance said while looking around the carnage," Let's go find the others."

* * * * *
A day later they found the ruins. A tally of the battle revealed about twenty Ogres slain, with five of the hired guards down leaving twelve remaining, two of which were injured. Valance's group was unscathed, and with the efficiency of which Valance slew seven Ogres the guards saw him as some kind of hero.

Valance didn't care. Killing seven Ogres was child's play. Allthough something nagged at him in the back of his mind. Some odd feeling ever since he entered the forest. Something pulling him...closer to these ruins. He felt it now, stronger than before. Shaking his head he rose from his crouch. His band, with the exception of Orn, stood on a hill overlooking what was obviously once the Shrine of Kagorithztral. The building must have been large given the sprawling mass of ruins. Half walls and broken pillars littered the ground, the only remains of the shrine. Still the ruis were big, and the broken walls could hide many a foe. As such Valance took caution and sent Orn in to scout the ruins.

" We should not waste more time. More Ogres may come. We have to comb those ruins," Aznon said impatiently. Valance looked over his shoulder back at the mage.

" Not until I receive Orn's report. We could also be walking into an ambush down there," Valance said dryly.

" Look at those ruins! There is nothing there but broken walls! No enemies! The more time we stand here the less time we have to search for the gem!" Aznon replied heatedly. Valance turned back to the ruins ignoring the mage. Looking ahead, a flaming arrow shot out of the ruins.

" Thats the signal. It's clear, move in."

* * * * *

Away from the ruins near the tips of the forest as it reached up the mountainside, Gronn sat impatiently. Ruler of the Shattered Bones clan of Ogres, he had recently dispatched a raiding party on a group of travelers who were inside his domain. His clan was vast, numbering over three hundred in fighting numbers. His clan was a force to be feared. Yet he sat waiting for the raiding party's return. Having send out another group to find out what happened, he was getting more and more angry.

Gronn was not like his followers. He was Ogremagi, strongest of his kind with incredible powers. He was built like the others, standing over nine feet tall, and built stronger than any human could naturally be. But there the similarities ended. His skin was blue and mostly hairless except for the groomed black mane atop his skull. His eyes showed powerful intelligence on a face much like a human's with a jutting lower jaw and large nose. Two large teeth protruded from his jaw curving up like daggers. He was dressed in plated armor, protecting his body from the heaviest blows. He also wielded a massive greatsword over ten foot long. His power, intelligence, and ruthlessness kept him in charge, and no one...no one dared defy him.

" Chieftan!" an Ogre shouted, breaking him from his brooding. Looking up he saw his second war party returning to the camp. Rising, he walked over to them.

" Well?! Where are the others?!" Gronn demanded.

" Killed chieftan! We found the whole par-party dead! Also found bodies of Humans too! But not as many," one of the them replied.

" WHAT?! Humans are not strong enough to kill so many! My Ogres are too powerful!" Gronn roared, smashing his fist into a tree.

" It true! Party dead! Humans go to dragon place! We follow trail and find them there. They make camp!" said the Ogre again. Gronn frowned deeper. If that few humans could slay twenty of his Ogres, they must be strong indeed. No point in sacrificing more of his followers to them, no, he will need them. Gronn smiled a beastly grin. The answer was clear, let the Yrthack deal with them.

" The Yrthack slay these Humans," he announced. This was met with cheers from the amassed Ogre mob. Who nodded and agreed with the wisdom of Gronn.

Gronn turned and lead them out of the camp to the mountain base, where a large cave was. The cave was covered in a large wooden gate the Ogres had placed there. Waiting, Gronn stood with his arms crossed as his followers lumbered over and began slowly heaving it open.

A stale air came out as the gate creaked away from the entrance. The Ogres, job done, scurried back behind Gronn as he stood motionless. A slight shuffling sound could be heard from the cave. Slowly the shuffling got louder and louder until heavy footsteps were heard. As the beast emerged from the cave, Gronn smiled.

" Yrthack my pet, I have killing for you to do," Gronn said, as he began to laugh.

* * * * *

Valance kicked a stone, sending it flying across the ruins. They had searched every inch of these ruins and found nothing. Something still bugged him however. That nagging pulling feeling he's been having had been overpowering, giving him a massive headache as he wandered the ruins. He kept finding himself standing by the olny recognizable feature in the ruins. An old statue of a dragon. Of course it was at the center of the ruins and supposedly the shrine, but still.

The statue was of a dragon about to take flight. Age, weather and vandalism had made it impossible to tell what color it was, but Valance guessed it was probably gold. Crafted of marble, the statue had obviously seen better days, but it was still an exquisite work. Valance turned around and leaned up against it, folding his arms.

The sun was high, about mid day. Valance looked up at the sun till his eyes couldn't stand it and he looked down seeing spots. Something he did as a child, as if by simply looking at it he could have it for his own. His brow furrowed, did he see...a dark spot in the sunlight?

His question was answered soon enough as a loud shriek came at the ruins from the sky. Jumping away from the statue he looked up, his vision still blurry. Something was diving out of the sky, and whatever it was, it was big. At least a twenty foot wingspan, probably longer. As it came closer and as his vision cleared Valance began to see the thing.

At first he thought it was a dragon, but upon further view it wasn't. It did look much like some kind of flying lizard given it's greenish yellow skin and leathery wings. The head looked much like a dragon's, with an elongated snout and fanged mouth. But he saw no eyes on the beast, and a spiraling horn much like a unicorn's stuck out from it's crown. The thing only had two rear legs, it's wings serving as it's front two. As he watched it dive down, he saw some type of energy start to swirl around it's horn, until it ammassed at the tip.

The beast swooped down over the ruins and with another shriek, the energy blasted down from the horn, striking the ground near several men. The ground seemed to explode, as men and sharp rock shrapnel went flying everywhere. Valance dove behind a wall as rocks showered him. He looked up to see the beast turning in the air. It was going to come back. Whatever this thing was, it was out for them. Valance drew his sword.

It's a Yrthack. It is blind. Sound is it's weapon. It can hear anything, and uses sonic attacks of energy from it's horn. Sound is also it's weakness. Deafen it, and it can't attack. Soul Reaper told him. The sword had seen a thousand battles, and fought a thousand foes.

Peeking up, he saw the beast was close again, and arrows began pelting it as Orn and some of the guards began to fire at it. Though they landed, they seemed to have little effect. Shouting as loud as he could he climbed atop the wall he was hiding by. The beast swiveled his head, directly at him. Seeing the sonic energy coiling around the tip of the horn made Valance realize it was probly a bad idea to do that. Valance tried to jump down only to have a blast of sonic energy hit him squarely in the chest. The energy exploded around him, instantly deafening him. The blast sent him flying across the ruins, colliding with the dragon statue and shattering it. His sword went flying from his grasp as stone showered him. His head ringing, and covered in rubble, Valance blacked out.

Norith ran over to him, as did Nanje, as the beast glided high into the air out of arrow range. Clearing the rubble as fast as he could, Norith eventually dug Valance out. Nanje peered over him, checking it injuries.

" He's not dead, his armor protected him mostly. He took a crack to his head though, he may have a concussion. I can heal him, but it will take me a bit. I need you to keep that thing off of me!" Nanje told the large man.

Nodding, Norith ran across the ruins away from them. The beast screamed again as it dove from up high. Norith began shouting trying to grab it's attention. It swerved at him in the air, ready to unleash death upon him. An arrow from Orn smacked it in the neck, making it jerk off target as it blasted it's sonic attack again. The blast missed directly hitting Norith and hit the ground near him. The explosion of dirt and stone sent him flying back at the ruins. He crashed through a low wall and into another one that collapsed on him.

Not able to worry about his predicament, Nanje whispered words of power and prayer as she held Valance's head. White light covered her hands as she slowly healed the wounds he has sustained. Her work done, she hissed another spell and a barely seen shimmer of force surrounded Valance. Kissing him, she ran off to help Norith.

Valance regained conciousness slowly as the beast swung over him. Rolling over, he found he didn't feel any pain. But he couldn't hear, the beast had still deafened him. Looking around he saw the glint of his sword and stumbled over to get it.

If it is allowed to continue it's arial assault you will all be killed by this beast. You need to ground it. Hissed the blade as he picked it up. Looking around he saw Nanje pulling Norith from rubble and begin to heal him. A plan hatched in his mind. Staying low as another blast hit the ruins, he ran over to them. Nanje turned and said something to him. He couldn't hear her at all, and his eyes narrowed.

You are not deaf. She put a silence sphere around you. Ideally it should stop the sonic attacks from damaging you, but no sound can go in or out of the aura around you. The sword explained.

Writing something quick in the dirt, he grabbed the whip from her waist and pulled Norith to his feet. Coming too close to Nanje while she healed Norith had silenced her and cancelled her spell, so Norith was still injured. Bleeding from mulitple wounds and staggering slightly, Norith looked bad, but Valance needed his strength. Motioning for him to follow the two ran to the other side of the ruins. The beast circled down, ready to blast again. Then Nanje came from hiding and screamed a spell. A small white glowing ball appeared in he palm as she extended her arm at the Yrthack. At the same time it unleashed it's sonic blast at her. She jerked sideways as she fired her spell when Injus tackled her in time to avoid getting hit by it's beam. Rocks showered them as her spell went off. Another deafening blast of sound trumpeted through the forest, except this time in the air. The glowing ball hit the beast and exploded it a blast of sound, making the creature shriek in pain. It flew erratically as it was effectively blinded by the spell. When, as it flew by the far side of the ruins, a whip cracked and lashed around it's rear leg. Norith and Valance heaved on the whip, trying to pull the creature down.

Obviously catching the idea, Orn ran by and fired an arrow with a rope tied to it over the beast. It landed in the trees and Injus went to tie it down while the few remaining guards grabbed the other end and heaved. Slowly, very slowly, the beast began to loose ground. It fired it's sonic energy wildly, still unable to see them, but missed them by a wide margin. At last the beast touched ground. Norith grabbed his axe and bellowing as he charged, leapt into the air ready to slay the thing in a single blow.

It's wild thrashing was far too unpredictable as it slapped a wing out and smashed Norith out of mid-flight. He flew over by the ruins of the statue, struggled to rise, and then collapsed. Tyeing off the whip, Valance watched the creature as it obviously regained it's hearing. No longer deafened, it shrieked in an attempt to locate what tied it down. Valance charged the beast, as silent as a shadow in his spell aura. Having located the rope, the beast aimed it's horn at it and unleashed it's sonic blast. Only to have the blast dissipate as Valance charged up, absorbing it in his silence sphere.

Not stopping, he charged up to the beast, which seemed confused at the lack of a blast. Silent and deadly, Valance ran up and jumped off a rock, and with a mighty cleaving blow...cut the horn off the beast with a spray of sparks. Landing, he rolled out of the way of the panicked thrashing of the beast. It's primary weapon removed the Yrthack shrieked and tried to fly away and retreat. Injus appeared by it's side and dragged his daggers into the wing, shredding one of them into tatters before he flipped away from danger.

Grounded, wounded, and without it's best weapon, the Yrthack obviously felt fear given it's panicked shrieks. It thrashed wildly, snapping it's impressive teeth at anyone who came close to it. Valance charged in. Still silenced, he ducked a wild swing of a wing and ran up under the crouching beast. Roaring in anger, though no sound came out, he slashed his sword in a powerful overhanded blow, slicing the throat of the beast wide open.

Gurgling the beast thrashed harder, snapping the rope as it's lifeblood flowed out of it's wound. Shrieking one last time the beast collapsed with a thud. Dust settled, and Valance drug himself out from the corpse.

Norith struggled over as Nanje helped him. Orn and Injus came out of the shadows as well. Aznon appeared by the corpse holding what appeared to be a rune inscribed strip of leather. Valance intended to ask him what that was, but remembered he was still silenced, so he looked over at Nanje impatiently. Smiling, she waved her hand and canceled the spell.

" So what's that?" Valance asked, glad to hear his own voice again.

" A Collar of Control. A magical item placed on beasts and animals to gain control over them. I saw this fly free as you slashed the neck of the beast," Aznon replied.

" Meaning someone sent this thing after us," Valance stated. Aznon nodded.

" Who could have done that?" Norith asked while grunting in pain.

" Who knows. Aznon has amassed many enemies, maybe this one was waiting till he was in the open to unleash this beast on us. Either way it's dead," Valance said, sheathing his sword.

" At least it proved useful," Orn said quietly, pointing over at the destroyed dragon statue.Valance turned and looked at it. Not understanding at first, but as he saw, he began to smile. Under the spot of where the statue had been resting, was a dark set of stairs leading underground.

" Looks like we found the entrance," Valance said laughing.

* * * * *

Last edited by Drakkan (2008-08-09 00:00:02)

Drakkan · 2008-08-08 15:20:36

The Birth of Drakkan Part 2

* * * * *

Valance double checked all his belongings to make sure he had everything he needed. An old habit that always insured he went prepared. No telling what awaited them down those stairs. Strapping his sword across his belt for a fast draw he looked at the others.

Norith was healed by Nanje's magic, and serious as ever. He was shouldering on a heavy suit of chain mail, his axe freshly sharpened, and a sturdy helmet set on his head. Norith would make short work of any enemy they found down there. Injus sat hunched on the ground, dozens of pliars, pokers, daggers, tiny vials of acid and poison, wires, and other tools of his trade sat before him arranged on the ground. He systematically placed each into pockets and straps over his dark leather armor. Nanje sat cross legged, her holy symbol in her hand. Her eyes were closed as she whispered prayers to her Goddess, gathering her powers. Valance was sure they would be needed. If not for her the Yrthack would have killed the lot of them.

Valance then looked over at Aznon, giving orders out to the remaining guards. Half of them had died from explosions and rock sprays from the Yrthack's attack, leaving six behind. Four of them were going in with Valance, while the other two covered their camp. Also after much arguing with Aznon it was decided Orn would stay outside to guard the perimeter as well.

Standing, Valance walked over to the stairway. The dark cold of the underground loomed back at him. The Destroyer certainly left many traps and dangers here. Hopefully the failure in magic would help make this an easier job. Norith and Injus walked up beside him.

" Another dungeon crawl," Norith muttered.

" We've done dozens. We know what we are doing," Injus replied.

" Yeah, and each one is different," retorted Norith.

" You are only complaining cause the demon almost killed you in the keep."

" Yeah? Well I seem to remember you running out of there with your tail between you legs!"

" Enough," Valance demanded. He turned to the rest of the group. " I lead, Injus is by me, you two guards next, Nanje and Aznon in the middle, follow by you two and Norith in rear guard. You four carry torches. Do nothing, touch nothing unless told to. All right, let's go find this gem."

Valance started down the stairs, that pulling feeling urging him forward. Injus followed as did the rest as they descended into darkness.

* * * * *

" So, what do you think these guys are after here?" one of the camp guards asked.

" I heard them talking about some kind of gem, something the mage wants. Doesn't matter to me as long as I get good coin for the job. I'll be drunk with beer, food, and women for a month the way this mage tosses money around!" the second answered.

" I hear that!" the first responded as they both burst into laughter. The fire crackled as they cooked a meager meal over it. The sound of footsteps could then be heard. Both jumped up with their hands on their swords.

" Orn? Is that you?" the first guard asked into the dark. His answer came a second later as an Ogre charged out of the shadows. The guards drew their swords and stood in a defensive posture. The Ogre charged, smashing one of them with his club. The man fell with a crunch. The second guard yelled and slashed the Ogre across the back. The Ogre roared and spun, back handing him across the face, knocking him down. Moaning, he looked up in time to see a second Ogre bring his club down at his head.

Orn watched as the Ogres began to swarm the camp. Dozens of them, possibly hundreds. They were everywhere. He sat shadowed in a tree nearby watching as they prowled the ruins. A couple walked under him and he loosed a few arrows into their throats. They gurgled and slumped over. Sliding down from the tree like a snake, Orn hung upside down, firing a few more arrows at close Ogres. They fell without a sound. He landed, flipping down in a crouch.

He needed to get away from here to get in a more secure position, but Ogres were everywhere, obviously they had riled up the nest a bit. He started to slink a way when an Ogre walked from behind a tree and saw the few dead. The Ogre yelled, and received an arrow in the eye, as Orn dashed away. Ogres heard the yell and came running. Orn dodged and weaved through the trees away from the Ogres as they bellowed through the forest. He stopped, crouching in the brush, invisible as he watched them lumber past. A low laying mist coiled around the area. Good, all he had to do was wait for the mists to rise and he'll escape, no problem.

Thinking, he looked to the sky, the weather wasn't right for mist, it was too warm, no rain or water nearby, then what...his eyes widened, realizing his mistake too late. The mist had come together behind him, forming a shape. Turning, Orn lifted his bow only to have it slashed in half by a massive sword. Standing over him was a large blue Ogre, a greatsword in it's hands.

Orn didn't wait. Drawing his thin sword, he lashed out, stabbing the Ogre between plates on his leg armor. Blood spurted and Orn whipped away. Orn was death with a bow, but his skill with a sword was lacking. Better to retreat. Hobbled, the Ogre couldn't possibly catch him. Orn sprinted through the brush, weaving through the trees. Suddenly an arm shot out from behind a tree, clotheslining him. Orn went down, moaning. Rising to his knees, he lifted up to see the blue Ogre standing there. Orn stared at the wound he had inflicted and saw it was gone, healed already. The Ogre smiled and nodded.

" You are skilled human. Brave and clever. You are a worthy foe. You and your friends slew my Yrthack. Impressive. It took me quite a lot ot obtain it. You slew my Ogres, invaded my lands, and now...you will pay for your actions!" the Ogres said swinging his sword back in a fighting stance.

His shoulder broken, Orn swayed on his knees in pain looking at the Ogre. It was obvious he was not normal. He spoke clearly, knew how to fight, and has magical power. His bow was cut in half, and his sword would be ineffective against something that healed that fast. Orn closed his eyes. The Ogre's sword flashed in the moonlight and with a spray of blood Orn collapsed. His head rolled from his body.

Wiping his sword clean Gronn looked over his kill. Even outnumbered and unprepared this man had killed five Ogres, and probably would have killed a dozen more had Gronn not been there. The other Humans were as dangerous if not more. They would take special work to kill. His clan was assembled. All three hundred strong, he could charge the tunnels and slaughter them. No, they would have the advantage there. Open ground and superior numbers was his advantage, these Humans were dangerous, he couldn't rely on strength alone. He would go in with his strongest warriors and dispatch them himself. And the rest of the clan could wait outside should they slip by. Either way, the Humans were doomed. Gronn smiled.

* * * * *

The stairs seemed to go on forever. They had been marching down into the depths of the earth for what seemed like hours. After his patience was starting to wear thin, Valance saw a landing. Gratefully he stepped into a small square room. In the center was another statue of a dragon in flight. Probably the twin to the one that covered the entrance, it was made of marble, and it was unmarred and brightly polished. It was of a gold dragon, it's mouth open in a roar, it's wings high above. Frowning Valance moved forward to the the rest of the group in the room. A darkness at the back of the room could be seen. Valance headed over, walking past the statue. As he did the statue began to talk.

" This sacred place is where great evil is sealed. Nothing but death awaits you past the archway. Turn back now and you will-" The statue was cut off short as Valance spun, and with a heavy swing of the sword, removed the head from the statue.

" Enough of that. Like we didn't expect problems here. We know exactly what we are here for. Come on," Valance demanded as he sheathed his blade. He marched forward to a dark archway behind the statue. Snorting, he moved past the archway. As he did he felt a wave of energy wash over him, but beyond a tingle he felt nothing bad. Injus walked up behind him.

" You may want to be more careful," Injus said, pointing up above the archway. Valance looked up to see a symbol engraved in the stone.

" What is it?" Valance asked.

" Symbol of Death, it should have killed anything walking under the archway," Nanje said looking at him with wide eyes.

" Obviously it didn't function properly given the magic failure, you were quite lucky," Aznon said absently. Valance frowned. That was careless, he really was lucky just then. Valance didn't count on luck, counting on luck will eventually get a man killed. He would have to take this more seriously. This was no minor dungeon they were going into. This was a place of death created by the most powerful mage to have ever lived. Designed to keep people out away from the Dragon Soul. Lesson learned, he turned to Injus.

" You are right, I was lucky, and that was foolish. We move with extreme caution from here on. You," Valance said pointing to a guard. " You stick with Injus to give him the light he needs, if he tells you to stay put so he can scout, you listen. Injus you lead us on, let nothing by your eyes. All of you watch everything."

Nodding, Injus took a few tools from his armor and began advancing down the hall cautiously, the guard at his heels.

* * * * *

Don't get so angry, once you have the gem you can go and make the Destroyer pay for all of this headache, Soul Reaver whispered in Valance's mind.

This dungeon was infuriating. Dozens upon dozens of traps, both physical and magical, Covered this place. Some inactive, and others deadly in their ingenious design. Arcane riddles, dead ends, shifting walls, this place was a nightmare. One of the guards had already perished to a trap where a spear made of magical energy shot out from the wall and stabbed him through the head. The fool had stepped in the wrong spot, right after Injus told him to move back.

Injus was becoming fast exhausted by his laborous work of removing traps. It was no easy task. Luckily he was a master of his craft. Even Aznon proved to be invaluable here with his knowledge and magical experience. Several riddles and traps were solved by him, enough to realize keeping him alive was a good choice. Even still, the time they had taken seemed like years. Nanje informed him only a few days had passed. Today's trek was particularly bad. Even as skilled as he was, Injus missed traps, and while not all of them were fatal, they inflicted significant damage. Valance himself had been stabbed, shot, burned, shocked, frosted, smashed, crushed, and bled. And those were the traps Injus missed.. Valance imagined that if magic was still active the trek down this hall would have been nearly impossible. Even still, as a result, much of Nanje's healing magics were already used for the day, and her Goddess granted her precious little. Normally her healing spells were reserved for healing torture victims to the pain could be prolonged.

Not only were the traps infuriating, they were also apparently reseting themselves. Somehow they were repairing and reactivating behind them. The wires and stones melding back together, the ruins reforming. Injus guessed it was a defensive mechanism built into them to magically repair, making it harder to leave with the gem. Valance supposed that was correct, but he could have sworn he heard a scream from down the hall. He passed it off as the wind. Injus got his attention by standing up.

" I believe we are clear," he said, dusting off his hands.

" You believe we are clear?" Valance asked, his ire rising.

" Yes I see no more traps or triggers, at least up to that doorway," Injus replied as he pointed to the door at the end of the hall.

" No offense Injus, but that doesn't mean there aren't any, besides you remember the last door. Valance opened it and a pillar of stone fell from the ceiling almost crushing him to death," Nanje told the rogue.

" Like it was my fault, why don't you bring your pretty eyes up here and find the thousand traps that litter this damn place. Gods forbid I can't catch every one of them," Injus spat back at her.

" Enough, we have checked all the other passages, and searched everywhere for hidden doors, this is the only way to go. If Injus can't see any more then we will have to trust that there aren't any. I tire of this hallway, let's get moving," Valance demanded, glaring at them.

Injus and Nanje nodded and they advanced to the door. So far they had been down a dozen different passages with a dozen different doors at the end. Every one of them had been trapped or contained some magic that no longer functioned properly. Each door was different so it was impossible to choose the proper one. This door was made of stone and carved into it's surface was a clenched fist. Injus began prodding and poking all around the door, it's frame, and the ceiling and floor. After announcing it clear, he backed off. Valance stepped forward and turned the stone handle, pushing it with his shoulder. The door slid slowly open, stone grating on stone. Grunting Valance pushed the door all the way open.

" It's...got a force pushing back on the door...everyone in quickly!" Valance grunted with the effort of holding the door open. The rest of the party quickly entered the room beyond the door, and with a heavy heave Valance threw himself into the room as the door slammed shut.

* * * * *

Gronn growled, pushing aside the corpse of an Ogre as he marched down the hall. Two of the ten Ogres he brought had been killed already from the traps of this place, following the humans as they advanced down the hall. Once of them had screamed so loud Gronn was sure the Humans could hear it. Luckily his healing powers enabled them to slowly advance as he took the brunt of the damage. These Humans would pay dearly for all of this, very dearly.

* * * * *

The group spread out a little after entering the room. After being in cramped hallways for the past few days, it was a relief to be in an open room. The room was quite large, about fifty foot square, with a very high ceiling. Taking a quick glance, Valance saw no other exits to the room, but as he well knew, that meant nothing, expecially here. About to order the party to begin searching for another way out, Valance looked over at the far side of the room. There! There was movement in the shadows. Something was in here. Nanje must have seen it as well, Valance surmised, as she began whispering a spell under her breath.

Holding a crystal out in her hand the crystal began to glow, and then flooded the room with light. Valance groaned and shielded his eyes, as did most all of the group. The bright light was blinding, expecially after being in dim torchlight for a long time. After blinking a few times, and with the room illuminated, Valance got a better look at what was moving. For the briefest of seconds, a shiver of cold ran up his spine. Standing by the far wall was a Golem. Golems are among the most powerful magical constructs ever devised. Made of many different materials like stone, iron, copper, clay, even flesh, golems were emotionless killing machines. They were immune to almost all spells and magic, massive, and deadly.

This golem was the biggest one Valance had ever seen. Standing over sixteen feet high, it was crafted of stone. No, not just stone, the thing was entirely crafted of dark granite, the hardest stone available. It wasn't shaped like anything in particular like most of it's kind usually are. It was massive, almost just like blocks of granite, roughly cut, shaped, and pushed together. It's eyes were shining gemstones of red hue. It had hands, Valance could see quite clearly, as it flexed it's fingers. Also the semblance of a face, with a mouth and small nose below the glinting eyes. The monster moved. It stepped slowly towards them, it's massive footfalls shaking the very ground.

" Nanje?" Valance asked as he drew his sword.

" I only have one spell capable of damaging it, and it's not much, I'll have to focus on empowering you," Nanje replied, hissing another prayer and touching Valance's arm. Valance felt strength and stamina flow through him beyond his own.

" Norith, you go right, I'll take left, don't get hit," Valance told the big man. Norith nodded, gripping his axe in both hands.

The golem then did something odd. It stopped walking halfway through the room. With a voice like the sound of grating stone it boomed loudly across the room.

" This place harbors great evil. None shall pass by me, not even the Maker. You have ten seconds to leave before I destroy you," it said, glaring at them. Valance looked to Norith and nodded. They charged.

The golem lumbered forward as if realizing their intent to battle it. Valance streaked to the left while Norith broke to the right of it. They struck at the same time. Norith's mighty axe rebounded hard from the dense stone, while Valance's sword bit, sending a spray of stone chips off the beast. Soul Reaver was crafted entirely from adamant, the hardest and rarest element in the world. Forged by the very hands of Malmar, God of Destruction and Death, it was harder than diamond and sharp as a razor. Even the granite of the golem was damaged by the blade.

Roaring, the stone golem swung it's arm at Valance, who ducked the blow and slashed it's leg, loosing more chips, gouging the stone. The golem turned, swinging it's other fist down to smash him to pulp. Valance rolled out of the way as Norith chopped across the beast's back, inflicting a scar across it's surface as the mighty blow landed with a spray of sparks. Valance rolled to the left and sprang up, slashing it again across the side while Norith swung his axe down across the back of the thing's knees. Mighty as he was, Norith inflicted very little damage to the beast. Only Valance seemed capable of harming the thing as the blade sparked across it's body. The golem seemed to realize this as it began focusing all it's attacks on Valance. Valance dodged and weaved around the golem's flailing fists, feeling the air whistle at the force behind them. Stones flew as Valance went into a series of cuts. Stabbing, slashing, and cutting across the stony hide. Sparks and rock chips flew everywhere as Valance shipped away at the monster. Injus pelted it with daggers that seems to fall off of it like rain drops, Norith chopped again and again at the golem's back, slowly chipping at it like a lumberjack trying to fell a tree. Aznon and the three remaining mercenary guards stayed near the doors way, their swords drawn and staring at the thing in fright. Nanje stood ready, magic energy trailed about her fingers in preparation. The battle seemed to be going well. Valance was skilled enough to evade the blows and the power Nanje had granted him, enabled the mighty blows.

Then everything went wrong. The golem's eyes flashed with light and suddenly Valance felt something wrong. Everything suddenly felt like he was fighting underwater, heavy and slow. Valance's eyes widened as he realized the golem put a spell on him. He heard Nanje scream an incantation as the golem spun around at him, it's massive fist coming straight at him. Valance tried to dodge, but he couldn't move fast enough. Nanje's spell went off a second before the blow landed, dispelling the Slow spell. Valance tried to reel back away from it, but it was too late, the golem's fist crashed into Valance's chest.

Valance flew across the room into he wall. The impact was massive, shattering the very stone wall as he hit it. His whole body went numb from the colliding forces and he slid down the wall, his sword falling from his nerveless fingers. Ending up sitting spraddle legged with his head hanging, Valance looked around dazed. His armor had saved him yet again, had he not been wearing it his ribcage would have been crushed by the blow. Even still the armor was actually damaged, a large dent square in the chest plate, making it hard for Valance to breathe. He looked over to the golem, now trying to smash Norith to pieces. One of the guards lay on the ground, his head a bloody mess of fractured skull and splattered brains from a swing of the mighty golem. Norith dodged and hacked at the golem, Injus helping to distract with another dagger barrage. Valance tried to get up but couldn't, his body wouldn't respond.

Nanje ran over to him an began muttering a spell. Valance's ears were still ringing from the blow as she placed her hands on the sides of his head. Magic flashed and Valance's body suddenly arched in pain as feeling rushed back into him. His entire body felt bruised, and he knew several ribs really were broken. He reached over and gripped Soul Reaver, the hilt of the sword jumping into his hand. Nanje put another healing spell into him and Valance felt his ribs mend as he pushed himself off the floor just in time to hear a scream of pain. Valance looked over to see Norith in the hand on the golem. The golem had grabbed him and lifted him high in the air, and was crushing him in it's massive fist. Blood spurted out of his mouth as Norith roared in pain.

" Nanje! NOW!" Valance yelled at her. Nodding, Nanje gripped her holy symbol and closer her eyes, chanting feverishly. The air felt slightly electric as power coursed into her. Opening her eyes she extended her hand at the golem, screaming the last words of power. The golem's left arm suddenly melted, turned to mud by Nanje's spell. Norith dropped to the ground, splattering the mud everywhere. The golem looked about, confused, before it turned and looked at Nanje and Valance. Roaring like the sound of an avalance the golem charged at them. A vial of acid exploded on the side of it's head as Injus whipped it at the beast. Not even stopping, the golem came up to them, raising it's remaining fist up to crush them. Valance pushed Nanje away and dove to the side as the golem smashed the wall, sending stone and dust spraying across the room. It whirled around just in time to see Valance kick off of the wall, jumping high into the air. Roaring he slashed out, slicing right through one of the golem's eyes. The golem bellowed and grabbed it's head as if in pain. Valance landed, already moving again, and with another slash gouged deep into the monster's chest. The golem lashed out with the back of it's hand, smashing Valance across his sword arm, spinning him and sending him sliding across the room.

Valance grunted in pain and he hopped to his feet. His arm was broken, even in his armor. Transfering Soul Reaver to his other hand, he shifted to a different fighting stance. The golem seemed to be having problems adjusting to having it's eye removed as it grabbed at it's face, stumbling around. Valance took stock of the rest of the party. Norith was down, possibly dead. Nanje kneeled over him pumping the last of her healing powers into him. She was cut and bleeding from the stones that the golem blasted from the wall. A wicked wound on her head was bleeding over her eye. Injus's attacks were seeming to have no effect on the golem at all, yet he stood close to it, weaving as he stood, looking for a weakened spot. The two guards and Aznon stood still over by the doorway. Aznon looked concerned while the guards looked like they might wet themselves.

His attention went back to the golem as it charged at him, apparently overcoming the half blindness. Injus then pounced, running up quickly behind the golem and jumping on it's back, using the scar Norith had inflicted as a footstep up, he straddled the head of the beast. Flipping a dagger reverse gripped, he stabbed at the remaining eye of the golem, prying at it with his dagger like a crowbar. The golem stopped running, and was flailing with it's remaining arm, trying to dislodge him. Valance sprinted towards the Golem, yelling in anger. The golem had gotten it's hand on Injus and torn him down from atop it's head. Raising him high overhead, the golem was about to smash Injus into the ground. Nanje's whip cracked and snapped around the golem's wrist. Nanje, Aznon, and the two guards were hauling on the whip trying to stop it from making Injus into a puddle. They slowly were losing ground as the golem lurched forward, dragging them along the stone. A flash of sparks sprayed over Injus as Valance arrived, hacking into the elbow, chopping the arm clean off.

Injus and the arm fell away, pulled back by the others on the whip. They all fell backwards with the loss of the golem's counter force. The golem screeched as it kicked out with it's leg at Valance. He ducked, rolling away as it tried to stomp on him. The golem lurched back away from a swing of the sword, bent over and roared at Valance. Valance shifted his stance, roaring back at it as he gripped the sword with both hands, his broken bones grating on each other. The golem charged, intent on smashing Valance with it's bulk. Valance rolled forward again, swinging Soul Reaver high. Stones and sparks sprayed as Valance chopped into the neck of the beast, half severing it's head from it's body. The golem kept going, smashing into the wall as Valance came to his feet. The impact sent more stones crashing across the room as the golem's head hit the wall, breaking off from it's body. It lurched around, nothing but a torso and legs, the thing still wasn't dead. Valance let it stumble around for a bit before he ran up and chopped at it's leg from both sides at the knee, removing yet another limb. The golem collapsed it's body trashing around as Valance jumped atop it and began stabbing down with both hands. Slowly, eventually, the golem's life faded as it's thrashing ceased and Valance stabbed at it again and again. Soon only the sound of heavy breathing could be heard across the room. Valance's arm and shoulder crawled with pain making his head swim. Spitting blood, he jumped down and staggered towards the rest of the group. He smiled, then collapsed. The last thing he heard was Nanje screaming his name.

* * * * *

The green mists were everywhere, emerald and choking. Valance could barely see his hands in front of his face. Soul Reaver was missing, though his armor was there. Confused, he turned about trying to figure out where he was. Unease washed over him. There was something in this mist, he could feel it. A low hissing sound echoed around him. He spun, anger growing.

"Show yourself!" he shouted into the mist. He turned and was startled to see a dragon standing before him. He could't make out the color, and wasn't sure of the size, the damn mists concealed everything. Bereft of his blade Valance backed up in a step of fear. The dragon's voice rumbled through the mist.

"Fear...no, you are not worthy..." the dragon said, fading away. The mists became thicker, choking and enveloping.

He woke with a start. Valance lay on the stone floor next to a crude fire. He looked around. He was still in the golem's chamber. Norith lay over by the wall, wrapped in bandages. He coughed, so he was still alive. Injus sat by the fire, bandages also wrapped about his chest where the golem had grabbed him. Aznon and the two guards were there as well, both guards talking silently to each other while Aznon read a book, deep in thought. Nanje had her back turned to him, but he could see several bandages on her as well. So...he was alive after all.

Grunting, he tried to rise, only to have searing pain wash over him from his arm and shoulder. They were still broken. He gasped and fell back down. Nanje turned to him and he could see a bandage wrapped around her head.

" My love! Don't move!" she said, walking over to him and kneeling down. " You over-exerted yourself. I'm out of healing spells, you have to wait till morning before I can pray for more. So the bandages will have to do. You're in for a rough night I'm afraid."

" How long have I been out," he asked groggily.

" About three hours," she answered, checking a wound on his head. You took a good blow to the head when the golem first hit you. I wasn't able to heal it all properly so after you killed the golem the adrenaline left you and you passed out. Luckily I was able to remove your concussion or you would be dead by now."

" What of the others?"

" Injus has some bruised ribs but he'll live, I have a few cuts and scrapes, but they are uglier than they look, besides, I enjoy the pain. Norith...Norith isn't doing well. The others are fine," she said looking over to Norith's still form.

" What's wrong with Norith? he questioned.

" Several of his ribs were broken. One punctured his lung. He's also bleeding internally. I used what little healing power I had left but...I can't do anything else for him. I...I dont think he will make it through the night Valance. I don't think he will last long enough for me to heal him," she said, concern in her voice.

" Ressurection?"

" I don't know, I'll ask but...Scharossar grants those even less than healing spells. And I don't have the diamonds required for the focus," she answered sadly. She then went up to go over and tend to Norith while he started having a coughing fit.

Valance stared. Norith had been with him since they were children. Norith had always been there for him. Anger, rage, grief, and pain welled up in him. Was this gem worth all of this? Was it worth having his frineds, his followers sacrifice their lives for him?

Of course it is. The sword at his hip chimed into his mind. People are nothing but tools, like their souls. Use them till they are of none. He was a good warrior, a weapon for you to use. What need will you have for such weak feelings of emotion when you have all the power in the world?

Valance thought for a moment about snapping at the sword. Norith wasn't just a weapon, he was...no, he was just a weapon. People were just tools. The loss of a good warrior is all it was. Valance had no friends.

Valance lay there for a few hours as the others gradualy fell asleep. Valance rose, uncurling Nanje from his body. She moaned slightly as he pushed her off him. Grunting quietly he rose to his feet. Nanje had taken most of his armor off to bandage and heal him, so he moved quietly over to Norith's side. He kneeled down looking at the large man's labored breathing. Weakly, Norith opened his eyes and looked around, then focusing on Valance.

" Valance?" Norith whispered just loud enough for him to hear.

" Yes it's me," Valance answered, smiling slightly.

" How...how bad is it?" Norith coughed out.

" Nanje says you won'take it through the night. Punctured lung, internal bleeding..." Valance's voice trailed off.

" I thought so...it was a good fight. No one but you could have taken...taken that monster down," Norith whispered.

" Norith."

" I....I would have followed you...into the Abyss itself to challenge the very demon lords, I..." Norith said, coughing roughly, blood flecking his lips.

" You will," Valance said shifting slightly.

" I don't..." Norith gasped as Soul Reaver slid between his ribs.

" Your strength will grant me strength, you will fight on with me Norith. Better to die in peace, not pain," Valance grunted as he pushed the blade further in.

" I...Val...ance"

" Sshhhh. Rest now Norith," Valance said while pulling the blade out. Norith wheezed out a breath then went still.

His soul is strong. He give me enough power to grant you the Death Frenzy. Soul Reaver hissed in his mind. Valance stood, cleaning the sword off.

" Shut up," Valance said, going back over to lay down next to Nanje. He closed his eyes. People were only tools.

* * * * *
Valance marched down the mucky hallway. After Nanje spent most of her healing magics covering up the wounds the golem had inflicted, they searched the room for another way out. Injus had found a hidden passageway under a stone slab in the floor where the golem had fallen. After a lot of straining and grunting they managed to move the remains away to the passage below which seemed to be nothing more than a slide to deeper depths.

None of them had mentioned anything about Norith beyond Nanje telling them he had passed, and that she wasn't granted any resurection spells. He saw it in her eyes though. She saw the wound and knew what it meant. She said nothing about it, but the pain and question was there. His own eyes held a measure of determination and fury. That probably deterred her from asking.

The passageway down was in fact a steep stone slide that threw them into a mucky tunnel. Grime and water filled the bottom of it, while it incidiously seeped through their boots. It stank like a foul bog that had nowhere to go and as such most of the group plodded on with hands over their mouth and nose. Valance did no such thing, simply plodding along in his dark, brooding mood. Eventually the tunnel turned to the left and slowly rose out of the filth to a dry passage where the group took a few moments to rest and clean themselves. Valance simply stood at the front of the group and stared at the passage ahead.

" Something troubles you my love," Nanje whispered into his ear. " It was not your fault that Norith died, he..."

" Of course it wasn't. He let himself be caught by the golem. I am not accountable for his actions," Valance hissed back at her. Her brow furrowed in confusion.

" Then what troubles you?" she asked, placing her hand on his shoulder. Valance looked back at her and she could see the darkness in his eyes.

" Nothing that concerns you," Valance spat. Turning back to the tunnel he announced it was time to move. Nanje stood there staring at his back for a moment as he walked down the tunnel following Injus's careful pace. She frowned unhappily, but after a few moments followed him.

* * * * *

Gronn looked about the room. Massive chunks of rock and rubble covered the room. He bent over and picked up a piece. Granite was not native to this area, odd to see it here. Dropping the rock he looked over to a few corpses. One had been brained by a heavy blow. The other, a very large human, looked to have several broken bones and a smashed ribcage. Looking, he saw the bloody wound in his side. A sword wound? Was he killed by the others? Growling, Gronn stood up, walking over to a large hole in the ground as one of his Ogres called him over.

A steep passage way under the room was in the hole, next to a massive piece of granite. He ran his hands over a scar in the rock thoughtfully. There was more to this granite. Which would explain the corpses if he was right. They had fought a golem here. No, not just a golem, a monster of magic and stone. A golem of this size would be a foe Gronn wouldn't dare to fight, yet with only two losses these humans had slain it. A feeling of uncertainty went through Gronn for the first time. If they could fight this golem, his Yrthack, and all the Ogres they had already slain, just how powerful were these humans? He looked at his minions staring at him, waiting for his orders.

Anger and stubborn determination crossed his features. He had slain one of their men, probably one of their best. They were weakened from fighting these traps and guardians here, that much was for sure. He would kill them, no matter what it took. No one challenges Gronn the Mighty. He rose, pointing to the sloped passage.

" We go on."

* * * * *

They stared at the room in a sort of wonder. They had entered into an octigonal room. Eight even sides, all eight feet wide including the passageway into the room. Each of the seven other walls were covered from floor to ceiling in large mirrors. They reflected the torches, making the room bright as daylight. Each of them were identical, no differences between them. After checking the room for any traps Injus waved them in.

" Check for exits other than the mirrors. Touch nothing," Valance commanded as he strode into the room. The party spread out, all of them giving Valance a wide berth. Valance noticed their hesitance, and he didn't care. All that matters was the gem. After a few moments they had found no exits from the room which left only the mirrors.

" Well it's obvious they are the way out, or something to do with them, but what?" Injus commented, staring at one.

" Nanje, see if you can sense any magical auras on them," Valance told the cleric. Nodding, Nanje whispered a quick prayer and looked around the room. She staggered back slightly, covering her eyes and gasped.

" They are very enchanted. Powerful magic. It's...so bright." Nanje informed them.

" What kind of magic?" Valance asked in a demanding tone.

" Give me a moment," she replied. Nanje narrowed her eyes and began focusing her will on her magical detection spell. After a moment she gasped again and turned her head away. " Transmutation. Alteration magic. If I'd have to guess, I'd say dimension altering magic."

" Dimension altering?" Valance asked, slightly confused.

" Transmutation is the school of alteration, such as polymorphing. Spells that alter things already there. It also can alter time and space allowing for teleportation spells and passages through dimensions and the planes," Aznon said in a scholarly voice.

" So these mirrors are teleporters?" Valance wondered aloud.

" I believe so, perhaps even gates to other planes, I can't tell that much by the spell. I have no way of knowing where they go," Nanje confirmed.

" So one of them is probably the right selection while the others teleport us to a death trap," Valance muttered in ill humor. " Well do any of their auras seem different than the others?"

" No, they are all the same, right down to their magical signature, I have no way of telling which way is the correct way. I could attempt to commune with the goddess to see if she can offer insight," Nanje offered.

" Do it, I don't want to pick the wrong one and end up dead. Better safe than sorry," Valance ordered. Nanje nodded and walked to the center of the room and kneeled down. She placed the balls of her feet under her knees, so she was hunched down. Whispering under her breath she took out a wicked dagger, barbed and serrated. She used the dagger in her tortures and sacrifices, and also to pay a blood price. She drew the dagger over her right forearm, moaning slightly at the pain it caused. She wiped her finger over the wound and drew on the stone before her in a sigil of blood. She then placed both her hands on the sigil and began to chant louder. A glow came from the blood sigil and Nanje's body tensed as she gasped for air. She cried out and then collapsed, the sigil's light fading away. Valance came over to her, lifting her off her knees and laying her on her back. Blood trickled from her mouth.

" The lady says all of the mirrors lead the same way, all of them lead to the gem. She...she said nothing about what way is a better choice," Nanje said, weakly opening her eyes.

" Are you hurt?" Valance asked without any concern.

" Speaking to the goddess gives incredible pain to all of her followers. But it is a pain I will gladly bear. I will be fine in a moment," Nanje answered. One of the guards walked over to a mirror adjacent to the entryway.

" So we just pick one? How do they work?" the man asked, touching the glass with his finger.

" No!!" Valance shouted, running over to the man. The guard's eyes widened as his hand was slowly being drawn into the mirror. It's surface rippled like water as the guard thrashed to try to pull himself back. His whole arm was in the mirror when Valance reached him. Valance grabbed the man and tried to haul him out of the wall, but was losing his ground. Enraged, Valance lashed out with his boot to kick the mirror, trying to break it. Unforunatly the mirror grabbed his foot much like it had the guard's hand. Slowly, the two of them were being drawn into the shimmering surface. The guard disappeared into the mirror and Valance lost his balance and fell on his back, now both leg's being pulled in up to his knees.

Nanje struggled to rise up to help. The remaining guard and Injus ran over and grabbed Valance's arms and tried to pull him back. They couldn't find any footing and were slowly being dragged to the wall. Valance was up to his waist now. The guard lost his grip and slipped. Valance made to grap his sword before it went in the wall, but before he could grab it his hand got caught. Snarling, he tossed Injus away, not wanting him to succumb to the same fate. Slowly, Valance disappeared into the wall. The mirror stopped rippling and was solid once again. Then a crack suddenly appeared in it's corner and spread splitting the mirror in several places. Injus touched the broken mirror but nothing happened. After a bit of examination he shook his head and looked at the others helplessly. The portal had closed behind them.

" Now what?" Injus asked raising his hands.

" We knew they were portals, we made the mistake of assuming we could all go through one of them. Obviously they are limited to two," Aznon deduced in a monotone voice.

" They split the party, make us weaker, harder to continue," Injus replied. Aznon nodded.

" Then who goes with who?" the remaining guard asked. They all looked at each other with question looks on their faces. Nanje rose from the ground.

" The longer we wait, the longer this will take, and the longer Valance is without our help," She said, running over to the mirror next to the one Valance had gone into. She placed both hands on the mirror and before anyone could react she was swallowed by the wall.

" Well I don't know about the both of you, but I follow the healer," Injus said, running over to the mirror she had chosen. Touching it, he was quickly absorbed. Again the wall cracked, sealing that portal. Aznon frowned and looked at the guard. They walked over to the next mirror and entered their own mirror. The room was then empty, with three cracked walls and a bloody sigil in the center.

* * * * *

Last edited by Drakkan (2008-08-08 23:53:04)

Drakkan · 2008-08-08 15:22:41

The Birth of Drakkan Part 3

" I can't see a thing," Nanje whispered, her voice still echoing slightly in the enclosed space.

" Well most monsters can see in the dark, we can't. Perhaps we should risk a light source," Injus replied in a hushed tone. Nanje nodded, and took out a crystal, saying silent words of prayer. Slowly the crystal began to grow, not quite as bright as the fight with the golem, but it soon lit up their surroundings well enough.

They stood in a tunnel. It was about ten feet in diameter, the floor was a small path about two feet wide and flat. Behind them was a solid rock wall, before them the tunnel streached on into darkness beyond Nanje's light. Injus ran his hands over the wall and floor.

" This isn't natural cave or worked stone. It's too smooth, almost like glass," he muttered.

" Worked by magic?" Nanje questioned him, her voice carrying in the tunnel.

" I'd say so, not sure what could make stone this smooth, much less in such a formation though," he said, rising from his crouch.

" Magic can do many things Injus. But if I had to guess, it was from a Disintigration spell," she replied while running her hand over the stone.

" Disintigration?"

" Yes. Not something I could do, but a powerful enough mage could cast such a spell. Basicly eradicates all forms of matter it touches and makes it like it never existed. No ash, no dust, no remnants. Simply gone. Much like a Destruction spell. "

" I've seen you cast that before," Injus said, confused.

" A Destruction spell takes a specific target within a close range and has the same basic effect yes," she answered him, while cheking over her belongings.

" What's the difference?"

" A Disintigration spell fires a sort of beam from the caster's finger, and whatever it hits, depending on the power of the mage, is removed. Stone, flesh, water, anything. Destruction is directly targeted to a specific person or thing."

" I see," Injus nodded.

" We're wasting time standing here debating spells. The Destroyer made this place, and he's far powerful enough to do this. Let's move on and hope this tunnel brings us back to Valance," Nanje finished, walking down the tunnel. Injus looked back for a moment before following her.

" He's been acting strangely, don't you think? Injus said as he caught up to her.

" Who?"

"Valance," he said in a flat tone. Nanje frowned. She couldn't deny what Injus said was true. Ever since Aznon sent them on this mission Valance had been acting differently. More closed off, angrier. Then with Norith's death something else changed in him. Norith was a friend, a companion who had saved each of their lives a dozen times over, yet Valance seemed unaffected by his death. She felt the grief but was able to put it away for now, and she knew it was bothering Injus, she could see it in his face. She also knew Valance had killed Norith, or rather released him from his pain. What she didn't know if it was an act of mercy or if he just did it to gain more souls for his sword. And when she asked what was bothing him and his answer was 'Nothing that concerns you', that was the worst of it all. He had never before refused to answer her, or looked at her with such empty eyes before, and it scared her. Yet she went on anyway. Valance was her master, her love, she would follow him no matter what.

" He's just focused on getting this gem, and Norith's death affects him as well. He will lead us to greater glory and power than ever before. Are you saying you don't wish to follow?" she asked him over her shoulder.

" I'm not saying that at all," he responded quickly.

" Then don't question his actions. Everything he does is for a purpose," she spat.

" I know that, it's just..." his voice trailed off as they walked into an open area. The walls spread out from each other making it into a circular room about thirty feet across. The floor spread around the room as well, with a large ten foot hole in the middle of it. No other apparent exits from the room were visible. Nanje stepped forward into the room. Injus saw the rune on the floor a split second too late as he tried to grab her and stop her from crossing it. A blaring sound much like a massive trumpet sound a call went through the room as the rune flared with light briefly before going dark again. The sound echoed down the hall and after a moment all was silent again, only Injus and Nanje's breathing could be heard. Injus turned Nanje around to face him.

"What were you thinking? You should let me go first to watch for traps. We're lucky all that did was make a loud noise and..." Injus stopped talking as he stared over Nanje's shoulder. She whipped around to see what he was staring at.

Rising out of the hole in the room was a spherical shape. It was about eight foot in diameter. Several stalks protruded from its top, about two foot long and topped with blinking eyes. The eyes closed and in the center of it's mass a large eye opened and glared at the intruders. A gaping maw appeared below the large eye full of dagger-sharp teeth. The beast roared in fury as magical energies from it's central eye washed over them. Nanje's crystal suddenly went dark.

" Lovely...a Beholder."

* * * * *

Wake up.

Valance's eyes fluttered open. He was laying on hard stone. He was hot, no more than that. It was sweltering and the very air felt thick with heat. Groaning, he sat up. He then knew why it was so damn hot here. He sat on a small island of rock, surrounded by a river of lava. Several small islands like the one he was on were around him. As a matter of fact, he could see nothing but endless lava and small rocks afloat in the red. Smoke and ash covered the sky, and sulfur fumes were everywhere and choking. Nothing but a desolate ground of lava and burnt rock.

"Where?..." Valance sputtered, his mouth felt as dry as a desert.

The portal placed you here. If my guess is correct, this is some small part of the Plane of Fire. Most likely a small pocket of it that the Destroyer bound to the Prime Material Plane, Soul Reaver responded.

Valance knew a little bit about the Planes. There are several realities of existence floating in the Multiverse, the basic one is the Prime Material Plane. Countless worlds covered it's expanse. Along with the Prime Material Plane existed several other Planes almost like one atop another. There were elemental planes such as Fire, Earth, Water, and Air. The Abyss, the Nine Hells, Celestia were also Planes of existence where Demons and Devils, and Angels resided respectively. Each god had their own Plane too, their home realm of power. When a being died they were in effect, reborn in one of these Planes, either their God's Plane or another, depending on their actions in life. There are countless Planes and realities, quite mind blowing to realize the expanse of the Multiverse. The only way to travel in between the Planes is by powerful magical gates or summoning spells. For the Destroyer to have taken part of the Plane of Fire and bind an entrance to his dungeon would require massive amounts of magic that valance couldn't begin to comprehend.

"Well if what Nanje said is true there must be an exit here somewhere back to the dungeon," Valance reasoned.

I agree, the sword replied. A groan sounded from nearby and Valance turned his head. Laying near him was the guard who had caused Valance to enter this realm. Slowly he stood, looking around. Were the others here? Or were they still there or in some other Plane? Growling, he stalked over to the guard.

Kill him for his stupidity! Drain his soul! He will only be a hinderance to you! the sword hissed in hunger. Valance almost did it, he found his hand around the hilt of the sword, but he stopped. The man was a decent fighter, and if it was just the two of them here it was possible he would need his help to get out. The sword went into a huff as he took his hand away. He kicked the man's shoulder.

" Wake up," Valance ordered. The man moaned and rolled over, opening his eyes. Confused, the man looked around.

" What's...what's going on? Where are we?" the man asked, shaking his head.

" The mirror teleported us to this place, we need to find a way out before we die of thirst and inhaling too much smoke," Valance explained. The guard rose to his feet and looked around. He coughed as he took a breath.

" Ev-everywhere looks the same. It's so damn hot," he sputtered.

" Yesss, which is why we need to find a way out. What is your name?" Valance asked, annoyed.

" Melrun."

" Well Melrun, if you want to make it out of here alive then stick with me," Valance told him. Melrun nodded and gripped his sword.

" The mage is definitely not paying me enough for this," Melrun muttered. Valance allowed himself a small smile.

" Come on," he said, hopping over a lava flow to another rock island. Melrun followed, coughing as the steam and smoke waved by him.

* * * * *

Nanje and Injus stared at the monstrosity. Beholders were beyond dangerous. They shot spell power from their eyes that rivals the mightiest mage, and their teeth can rend steel like paper. The only thing that keeps them from destroying all other life on the planet is their xenophopic hatred of anything and everything, including other Beholders. Living deep under the earth in an area known as the Underdark, they are very solitary and very territorial...and the Destroyer's portal deposited them right in the middle of one's lair.

Injus dashed to the side as the Beholder closed it's central eye and opened it's eye stalks, it couldn't use both at the same time because it's central eye suppressed all magic including it's own while open, where as the eyestalks beamed death at everything. The anti-magic stopped as it closed the eye, and Nanje's crystal flared into light again, blinding her for a moment. A moment too long apparently, as spell rays shot out of it's eyes at her. She reacted quickly enough to dodge three of them, but a fourth hit her square in the chest. She recoiled in pain as negative energy washed over her.

Positive energy is life force, what makes a life possible for most every living being. All healing and ressurection spells and powers are based on manipulating positive energy. Negative energy is it's opposite. It destroys and unmakes life, like black to white. All death magic is also based on negative energy. Negative energy is also what all Undead draw their life force from, and as such positive energy is as lethal to them as negative energy is to living beings. Nanje, as a cleric of a divine being, was skilled in the use of used both types of magic.

At least knowing how to use it, she knew how to defend against it. Hissing in pain she raised a protective ward to defend against negative energy and lurched forward at the beast. Injus sprang forward as well, slashing it's side with a dagger. The dagger bounced off the rock hard hide harmlessly as more of it's stalks swiveled at him. He retreated like a wound up cat, flipping backwards away from most of them, but one ray struck his foot in mid-flip and suddenly he found himself suspended in midair by the Beholder's magic. His eyes widening, he dug in his armor with both hands, and drew and tossed two more daggers in quick motion. One bounced uselessly, but the other struck an eye, and the Beholder roared in pain.

Nanje took the opportunity to lash out with her whip. It wrapped around an eyestalk, and with a quick jerk, the blades severed it from the body. Rage and pain filled the beholder as it fired more rays at both of them. Nanje dove to the side, the rays missing her by fractions of an inch. Injus, who was still suspended in midair, was not so lucky and couldn't dodge at all. He jerked in pain as foul magic pelted him. His flesh crackled with dark power, and then was whipped across the room by the Telekenisis spell. He hit a wall with bone shattering force, grunted in pain, and fell to the ground moaning.

Rising to her feet, Nanje prepared to end this fight before it got more out of hand. She began gathering dark energies to unleash a Destruction spell on the fiend. Raising her hand and pointing, she screamed the last syllable of prayer...only to have the Beholder open it's central eye. Anti-magic beamed out of it, instantly cancelling her spell and darkening her light crystal again. The beast then surged forwards, it's maw gaping with dagger sharp teeth. Blinded again by abrupt darkness, she tried to twist out of the way, but the Beholder has perfect dark vision and clamped it's teeth into her shoulder. Nanje screamed in pain as it lifted itself higher into the air, taking her with it.

Pain washed through her as her bones threatened to snap. But being a servant of Scarossar, Lady of Pain, she felt pain every day and could endure it like no one else could. Embracing the sickening feeling, she punched the Beholder in it's central eye, forcing a snarl, but more importantly forcing the eye closed for a second. Hissing in pain and extacy, she slapped her other hand on the hide of the monster and channeled her own negative energy power into the beast as her light crystal flared again. Immense pain went through the monster, and it opened it's mouth, dropping Nanje to the ground. Grunting with the impact, Nanje rolled away, flashing a healing spell into her shoulder. She may be able to endure pain, but that doesn't mean it's not a distraction in combat. The Beholder turned several of it's eyestalks at Nanje, firing in rage. Two rays hit her, and she felt enchantment ripping across her mind. She felt an alien presence enter her thoughts and attempt to grab hold of her mind. The thing was trying to control her!

Years of mental conditioning took over as she shook off the effect with a shake of her head. Nanje tried to rise, but she felt incredibly tired. Realizing the second ray that hit her was a Sleep spell, she knew she didn't have much time before she was at the monster's mercy. She prayed quickly, and dispelling magic rippled over her, removing the sleep spell, but also removing her Negative Energy Ward and Light spells. With a quick gesture she re-cast her light spell before she became disoriented, and lurched to her feet.

The Beholder had it's "back" turned to her as it unleashed rays at Injus, who had risen from the ground and was once again fighting. He whipped a pair of daggers, this time taking out two more eyes. Bellowing in pain, it launched another assault at him, as well as a few rays at Nanje, throwing her off stride, making her dive for the ground again. Injus managed to avoid getting hit while hand springing and throwing more daggers while in the air. His strikes missed anything vulnerable this time, but he managed to cartwheel over near Nanje, landing in a crouch.

Rising up again, Nanje launched her strongest spell at the beast, a dark magic so powerful that caused it's target to implode in on itself. However, mere seconds before she launched the attack the Beholder opened it's central eye and glared at her, stopping the spell before it hit. Nanje screamed in rage as yet again he light flickered out.

Injus, however, appeared to be ready for the tactic, and launched a dagger right into the monster's central eye as it opened. The Beholder reeled upwards in pain, crashing into the ceiling, loosing debres. It's central eye was now ruined and useless. Snarling, it's few remaining eyestalks looked down and shot at Nanje as she launched her own spell. A large black claw made of shadows, about the size of her torso, appeared in front of her, and she slashed her own hand forward. With the black claw imitating her hand, it gouged deep into the Beholder's underside as it's spell rays struck down. They didn't hit Nanje however as Injus, with a shout, had thrown himself in the path of the beams. He crashed to the ground a few feet away, struggling to rise. He got to his knees before he realized the Beholder's rays had turned everything below them to stone. The magic was spreading quickly and he grabbed a dagger, attempting to throw it at the beast. He froze in mid-throw as the petrification took hold and his entire body turned to stone.

Nanje stared in disbelief at him before pure rage took over and she screamed another spell. A powerful column of air pounded down from the ceiling, smashing the Beholder to the floor. Wild with hate, she gathered dark energy to her right hand as she charged the fallen monster, still trying to rise from it's plummet. She punched her fist forward, slapping the Beholder across it's face. It reacted by whipping an eye stalk down and blasting magic at Nanje. She felt the magic take hold, and found she was under the same Telekenisis spell Injus was hit with before. She jerked, and went flying into the wall behind her. Her head smashed the wall, leaving stars in her vision as she threatened to pass out. Her whole body was wracked with pain she tried desperatly just to remain concious. Shaking her head and blinking, her vision cleared just enough to see the Beholder coming at her, full of fury. When it suddenly stopped with a confused look on it's face. It's whole body shuddered and blood then flew from it's mouth. Nanje's last spell took effect on the abomination as it's heart was infected by the dark magic she had summoned. It's heart had exploded inside the monster. The Beholder gurgled a death cry as it crashed into the ground a few feet away from her. It's tongue rolled from it's bout as it's eyes lost focus. The Beholder was dead. Nanje felt a fierce satisfaction before a wave of pain washed over her and she gave in, and everything went black.

* * * * *

While Nanje and Injus battled the Beholder, Valance trudged over steaming rock, a scowl on his face. This section of the Plane of Fire was nothing but lava flows and islands of jagged, soot-covered rock. The very air was thick with ash and volcanic vapor, making it incredibly hard to breathe. The heat was beyond oppressive, hotter than the most arid desert.

Despite that, Valance still wore his full plate armor. He was sweating profusely, and the heat and lack of breathable air would have already dropped a lesser man, and even he was contemplating dropping the armor. The only reason he still wore it was because he knew full well the most dangerous things there was not the enviroment, but rather it's inhabitants.

Melrun the guard staggered in his wake, having long since dropped his armor and most of his equipment except his sword. Coughing as he walked, he didn't look like he could take much more of this place. Valance knew if they didn't find an exit soon neither of them would live much longer.

There are hundreds, thousands of gates in the Planes. The problem is, this is probably a sealed part of the Plane of Fire, like a pocket in a large coat. The Destroyer probably picked this spot on purpose because there is most likely only one way out. Soul Reaver intoned in Valance's mind. If my guess is correct there will be only one exit, and it should be obvious, just keep going Valance.

He intended to. He didn't come this far to die on a patch of hot rock. He would obtain the gem, and when he did, he would make sure the Destroyer paid for his suffering here. Valance was pulled out of his brooding when Melrun all but collapsed to his knees in a fit of coughing.

" Get up," Valance commanded as he glared at the guard.

" I-I cant go any further. This place...this place is hell," Melrun sputtered.

" This is not the Nine Hells, nor the Abyss, it's a small demi-plane of the Plane of Fire, and we will find the exit soon," Valance growled at the weak man.

" How do you know?! You don't! We're going to die here!" the guard cried. Valance surged at him like an angry bear and hauled the man to his feet.

" I will not be ended by this place, or by anything. I am Valance Darksword, and my destiny is far greater than this retched place has in store for us. Now if you want to live, you will pick your sorry ass up and follow me, or you can lay here and die. It means nothing to me," Valance hissed at the man, his anger barely contained.

Shoving Melrun away from him, he restarted his trek across the the lava flows. He didn't know where he was going, but he also knew he was going the right direction. Something had been pulling at him since they found the entrance to the dungeon. Not quite a tugging, but more than a feeling. It was if some instinct was planted into him, leading him to his goal. It had been growing stronger the further they went, and he could tell it was leading him to the gem. What it was he didn't know, but he was relying on it to get them out of there.

His faith was rewarded about a mile later when up ahead through the ash and fog, he saw a rise of earth. A large mound of rocks, much too small to be called a mountain rose up ahead of them. The pulling feeling was leading him right to it. As they closed in he saw it more clearly. It was definitely a large outcropping of rock, free of any lava, rising several hundred feet up. At the top of it he could barely make out what appeared to be some ruins. Broken stone columns and worked walls. As they reached the base of the rock formation Valance could see a carved set of stairs winding up the side of the stones.

Valance turned around to see Melrun still behind him, though obviously on his last leg, as he coughed and staggered like a drunk acriss the ground. It was because of this Valance saw the attack before it hit.

Behind Melrun, about a hundred feet away, Valance saw a large man shaped form appear out of the haze. Judging by the distance the form was easily ten to fifteen feet tall, and covered in heavy armor, blackened by soot. The creature's skin was black as coal, with flame red hair and a bushy beard. In one hand it held a massive sword easily twenty feet long, and in the other it held a rock just large enough to call it a boulder. It cocked it's arm back and threw.

" Down!" Valnce yelled, drawing his sword. Melrun dropped, weather from exhaustion or because he heard the shout, Valance didn't know or care.

The rock sailed right over Melrun and smashed across the stone, spraying chips everywhere. Shielding his eyes, Valance side stepped the missile, and grabbed Melrun by the back, hauling him to his feet.

" Make for the stairs!" he shouted, shoving the guard towards them. He then turned to peer at the figure again. It was still there, grabbing another boulder as it closed in.

A Fire Giant. A formidable foe. With no magic to combat it, it will have to be toe to toe combat, that is if it doesn't crush you with rocks first. But I believe you can take it- the sword said as it cut itself off because several more forms appeared behind the first giant.

" You were saying?" Valance said to the sword sarcasticly.

Perhaps a retreat would be wise, you stand no chance here in the open against them, climb the stairs! Valance hastened to agree and turned, running as fast as he could up the stairs into the rock formation.

* * * * *

Last edited by Drakkan (2008-08-09 00:03:05)

Drakkan · 2008-08-08 15:53:28

The Birth of Drakkan Part 4

A pounding pain in her head woke Nanje up from her sleep. Groaning, she opened one eye and tried to lift her head. Swimming vision took over as she laid her head back down with a grunt. Gathering her will, she grasped her holy symbol and whispered a prayer. Her goddess answered as healing magic washed over her. She gasped at the sudden absence of pain, and sat up.

She was still in the Beholder's lair. The monster's corpse was no more than six feet from her. Rising, she staggered over to Injus, still frozen in stone. Gathering her power yet again, she focused her will into her symbol of faith and felt her mind enter into the enchantment that held Injus in stasis. In order to break such a powerful spell she had to be focused and most of all lucky. Her holy symbol flashed a brilliant light, and then she felt the spell shatter.

As fast as he transformed the spell reversed, bringing Injus back to life. The dagger he was in min-throw with clattered to the ground uselessly as he moaned and collapsed on the floor. Channeling positive energy again, Nanje healed his many wounds. His eyes opened and he stared up at her.

" Did we win?" he asked.

" Yes we won, the beast is dead," she replied with a slight smile.

" How'd you do it?"

" Exploding heart spell, we had weakened it enough for it to work," she explained. " Unfortunetly I'm almost out of spells. I only have a handful left and I'm not sure how long we've been out, so I may have missed dawn and can't pray to get more power."

" Well I'm glad one of us was useful," Injus muttered as he tried to rise. Nanje put her hand on his chest and shook her head.

" Just rest for a moment, I need some time," she told him, sinking down next to him.

" My light spell is still active, so at least twenty four hours haven't passed."

" I see no change here, no exits to the room other than the hole and the passage we came from," Injus commented as he looked around the battlefield.

" We'll look in a moment, chances are the others are in a similar predicament. If we're lucky Aznon will have gotten himself killed," she said with a sigh. Injus looked at her, knowing full well Aznon wasn't who was on her mind.

" Valance will be fine. He did survive before he met us you know," Injus said, trying to reassure her.

" I know that, but this place is beyond anything any of us have been through before, and we have no idea what's left. We could have only just scratched the surface of this dungeon, and without my healing powers even Valance may die," she replied sadly. Injus made a funny sound somewhere between a gasp and a laugh.

" You don't really believe he's going to die here do you? You are always the one saying he's destined for great things," Injus chided.

" Honestly, it's not him I'm worried about. It's us," she replied. " Norith is already dead, and we barely beat that thing. If I hadn't prepared a Break Enchantment spell you'd be a statue still."

Injus shuddered. " True, but luck has always been on our side."

" I had a dream the last night, when Norith died. I was hanging from my whip, wrapped around Valance's leg. I couldn't hear anything, but I saw him look off into the distance and then back at me. The look in his eyes scared me so bad that I woke up. I'm afraid he's going to leave me behind like Norith."

" You?! He'd sooner leave his blasted sword behind," he exclaimed. She nodded, unsure. " Really Nanje, there's no point in worrying about it anymore, all we can do is press on and hope to make it through."

" Ha! You're the last person I'd expect to be optimistic Injus," she laughed at him.

" True," he smiled, " But I also don't intend on dying here either." Grunting, he rose to his feet. " Let's take a look around and find a way out." Giving her a hand up, they began searching the room. After about twenty minutes of checking no hidden or obvious exits were found with the exception of the hole the Beholder had risen from. Even their entry passageway was still a dead end.

So with lack of choice they went to the hole, looking down into blackness. Nanje's light wouldn't reach far enough down to see a bottom. Injus grabbed a rock from the fallen debris and chucked it into the hole. They both stood holding their breath, hoping to hear it hit bottom. They waited for minutes, but no sound came forth.

" Well it can't be bottomless," Injus whined. " I have some rope, but only about fifty or so feet."

Nanje considered their options for a moment before responding. " Let's try lowering you down as far as you can go, maybe their is a side passage down there."

Nodding, Injus uncoiled a thin rope from his belt and tied one end around the Beholder's corpse as the only thing that could anchor his weight. Walking over to the hole, he peered down, and, taking Nanje's light crystal, began climbing down the hole. Waiting, Nanje listened in the darkness as her light slowly faded away.

A short while later, the rope stopped moving and Injus's voice called out. " I think I know why the rock made no sound. There's a wall of light down here, my guess is it's a portal, probably similar to what brought us here."

" All right, looks like thats the way then, climb back up so I can secure myself and we'll go through," she shouted back.

" Okay," was the response as the rope began pulling under his weight. Nanje heard a slight shuffling sound and whipped around behind her.

The Beholder corpse was slowly sliding across the ground to the hole, the ground here was so unnaturally smooth that Injus's weight combined with angles and twists of the rope, it was enough to move the beast.

" Injus! The Beholder is sliding to the hole!" she shouted at him.

The answer came back, " Well then what in the hell are we going to do?"

" Just go through the portal, I'll think of something on my own."

" I'm not going to just leave you behind!"

" Like you have a choice," she muttered. Grabbing a sharp rock, she began sawing the rope. Injus must have felt the vibrations.

" Nanje! What are you doing? You can't-" his cry was cut off abruptly as the rope severed and he plunged down into the portal below.

Sighing, she looked around for another option. And after a few minuted she found one. Being a gruesome servant of pain and torture, she looked at things different than most people would. Like for instance, a human set of intestines was around twenty to thirty feet long, and a lot stronger than most rope when it came to a straight pull. Beholder guts had to be longer. Smiling, she picked up one of Injus's discarded daggers and began sawing at the hide.

About an hour later she had made a large enough wound and gathered a very long rope of guts. Tieing herself off, she lowered herself into the hole. Climbing about fourty feet down at an angle, she came across the portal Injus had went through. It covered the tunnel and was a dully glowing white color. Smiling, she swiped the dagger across the intestine rope and fell into shimmering portal.

* * * * *

Valance ran up the stairs as fast as possible. The Giants bellowed in anger behind him. At least twenty of the monsters chased him and without the others there was no way he could handle them.

Gasping for air he rounded the last bend of rock and came to the top, where the opening widened. There was obviously some type of temple here at some point. Worked stone walls, crumbled with age, stood here, only three still standing in any semblance of a wall. Back at the far wall were two large pillars with an archway over them. In the center of the ruin was a large stone altar, it's top like a bowl holding a brazier of fire that still burned several feet into the air with a crackling sound. Melrun lay at it's base, gasping for air through burning lungs. Unfortunetly, Valance saw no exit.

Frantically, he looked the ruins over. Nothing! Why did the feeling pull him here? Turning around, he saw the Giants climb the last few stairs...and stop. They didn't step foot onto the temple's level. They roared in rage, stomped, and waved their weapons menacingly, but didn't come any closer. Valance was shocked, but took the opportunity to catch his breath. Why didn't they attack? Why stop there and not finish them off? The Giants fell silent.

Cocking an eyebrow, he looked at them. They all stared at him, no not at him...behind him! He whirled and saw what they were looking at. The fire on the altar had grown ten times it's size and was now over thirty feet high. It seemed to take shape into something vaugely human, with arms and a body. Near it's 'head' were two points of bright white fire that formed it's eyes. It was an ancient, Elder Fire elemental. One of the oldest of it's kind. Elementals were beings formed of the basic building blocks of the world. They all lived in their respective Planes: Air, Earth, Fire, Water, with a mixture in between. And this Elemental was one of the strongest, oldest kind. And Valance knew the giants were the less dangerous foe now.

Melrun never saw it coming as the monster lowered itself off the altar, enveloping him in flames. He didn't even scream, he just burned to ash in a matter of seconds. The Elemental spitted and crackled, hissing and popping like a fire in a fire pit. Valance knew it was speaking to him in it's own language, but he didn't know any of the Ignan tongue. It hissed at him more, and Valance felt like it was asking him a question, but had no idea what, so he remained silent. The monster roared, it sounded like an explosion as it surged forwards at him like a wave of flame.

Valance drew his sword back and set himself in a striker's crouch. As it neared him he screamed in rage, attacking with a slashing arc, abandoning accuracy for power. The thing was as large as a building, couldn't very well miss it. The sword scythed into the flame and the beast stopped it's charge, surprised at the pair he had caused it. It then smashed a fist down, splattering flame across the stone. Valance had already moved, rolling to the side, he sprang to his feet as the Elemental's attack missed him my inches, slicing upwards into the beast. It screamed in pain and anger, slapping it's arm over and back-handed him. He went flying into a stone wall, crumbling it around him. That thing could hit hard! Not to mention the burning from contact with it's body.

Pain crawled through him as he rose from the rubble. Gripping his sword he marched back at the monster. Valance Darksword is no one to be battered around like a doll. And this thing would pay for it. Tensing his legs he sprang forward like an arrow, cutting deep into the thing's side. It tried to squash him, but he never stopped moving, running past the Elemental, he kick jumped off a stone, sailing through the air, and slashed a powerful strike down it's back. It spun, punching down at the ground. Valance parried the attack, slapping the thing's arm away with his blade as he rose. Twisting his grip he stabbed deep into the bulk of the beast, ripping his blade out with a jerking motion. The elemental hissed and spitted in pain, and clapped it's arms together, trying to catch Valance like a bug. He dropped to a knee, avoiding the attack barely, and rolled forwards, stabbing the beast again.

The Elemental slapped down like lightning, grabbing Valance like a toy and hauling him into the air. The sheer heat from the Elemental's grasp burned Valance horribly about his mid-section, causing him to howl in pain. The monster then shook him like a dog, sending Soul Edge flying from his grasp with a clang. It moved quickly to the opposite side of the ruins and hurled Valance into another wall. Stone chips sprayed like darts as he went clean through the ruin, almost rolling off the rock formation itself. Gathering his wits, he stood up, peering back through the hole he had made. The Elemental was still there, obviously unsure of itself. That throw should have killed a normal man. But Valance's armor protected him well, not to say it didn't hurt like the Abyss.

Picking up a rock, Valance hurled it at the beast to no effect as the scorched rock passed through the flame, and took off in a run to where he last saw his sword go. Digging through a pile of rubble, he felt the Elemental closing in on him.

HERE! the sword yelled in his mind as his hand brushed the hilt. Grasping it, he stood, spinning at the same time, and cut right into the Fire Elemental's fist as it was about to smash into him. It reeled back, and Valance pressed the attack, slashing, cutting, and bashing the Fire Elemental back like an unstoppable wave of force. Unable to counter attack, the Elemental reeled back, away from Valance. It spitted, hissed, and cracked, obviously yelling. It was looking at the Giants, whom looked shocked and surprised. Valance took this moment to gather his strength and take a few breaths of ashy air. Valance didn't understand the words, but he understood what was being said. The Fire Elemental was losing, and was telling the Giants to attack and kill him, and the Giants, who probably saw this thing as some type of god, were confused as to why their god couldn't do it itself. One Giant then stepped forward, a good head taller than the rest, with more ornately designed armor, and a thick braided beard or flame red hair. He spoke back to the Elemental in it's tongue, obviously angry and outraged. Whatever it said angered the beast off as it roared in it's explosion voice, and sped across the ground at him.

Valance was ready. Putting a hand up, he hauled himself atop the altar that once housed the monster, waiting for it to close in on him. As soon as it got close enough he jumped, leaping high into the air, both hands on his sword in an overhead position, blade pointing out. The two crashed together, and Soul Reaver sunk to the cross guard into the thing's chest. Raising his leg, he kicked off the beast, pulling the sword with him. Fire spewed from the wound like blood, and the Elemental lurched backwards. The magic that bound life to the flame had been severed by that strike, the Elemental was dying, and it knew it. It's anger and fear were apparent as it came forward too quick for the exhausted Valance to react, and with a vicious underhand strike, sent Valance flying towards the giants. He landed mere feet from them, his sword sliding from a whole body that suddenly went numb for a second before pain crawled through him. He reached for his sword only to have the Giant leader step on the blade.

Valance looked up in hate, and the giant looked back down at him and then pointed back at the Elemental. Glancing over, Valance saw the elemental seemingly unraveling itself, the very flame it was made of was getting pulled off of it by some magic and was beginning to fill the archway with the two pillars on the other side of the ruins. Soon there was nothing left of the Elemental, and instead a flame colored portal was now in there, swirling slightly. Valance looked back at the Giant, who stared down at him. A tense few seconds passed before the Giant stepped back, releasing the sword. Cautiously, he gripped it and rose with a grunt. Giant and man stared at each other for a moment. Then the giant pointed to the portal.

"Go," it said in a deep voice no human could match. " Go and never return Human." Valance didn't care to return to this hellish place, and had no energy left to fight twenty Giants. So he did the sensible thing, and he left. Walking to the portal, he spared one glance at the Giants, who were filtering down the stairs, their leader staring at him. Sheathing his sword, he then entered the portal.

* * * * *

" It was a crazy idea, and you know it," Injus scowled at Nanje.

" It worked," she replied, " Didn't it?"

" Using Beholder guts as rope is beyond foolish, you were lucky it held," he said for the tenth time in two minutes. Sighing, Nanje turned away from him and surveyed the room. It was the twin to the original mirror room they entered before. Except this time she and Injus had come out of a mirror instead of going in. The mirror had cracked as they exited. Of the seven mirrors, all but one of them were glowing with a yellowish light. There weren't that many of their party to have gone in all those mirror portals, so who was in them? One of the other mirrors stopped glowing, and shortly there-after cracked. Did whoever went into that mirror die? Teleported elsewhere? Nanje didn't know, and she only worried about Valance. If she judged correctly, base on the position of her mirror that she came out of the one Valance went into was still glowing, which hopefully meant he was still alive.

Her worries were banished a moment later as that mirror flared brightly and Valance then appear from it. The mirror cracked behind him. He glared about the room and then collapsed to his knees. Nanje gasped and ran to him, placing her hands on his body before jerking then back in pain. His armor was scalding! Valance breathed heavily as if he had never breathed clean air before, coughing a fit, and then his body slumped.

Careful not to touch his armor she caressed his head and face, casting every last one of her remaining healing spells into him. His eyes focused as his pain went away, looking into her eyes. Nanje burst into tears and hugged him, keeping her body from his armor. Valance stared angerily across the room seemingly at nothing. Injus saw the look in his eyes and frowned, looking away in slight fear.

" Get a hold of yourself, I'm fine," Valance grunted, pushing Nanje off him. He rose to his feet and looked the room over as Nanje had done. A moment later she rose too.

" We came through our mirror together, they only let two people through. Aznon and the remaining guard haven't appeared yet, and there are more mirrors glowing than should be. That mirror over there cracked a minute ago before you came through, but no one came out," Nanje relayed to him. Nodding, Valance simply stared at the mirrors.

" Perhaps Orn and the other guards were forced inside?" Valance wondered.

" Unlikely, but even if they came inside the traps probably would have killed them. Orn is good, but I doubt even he'd make it through without help," replied Injus.

" Where were you sent?" he asked flatly.

" A Beholder's lair, Nanje practically beat it single handedly," Injus responded quietly. Valance raised an eyebrow and looked at Nanje, who simply smiled.

" What about you my love?" she questioned.

" Plane of Fire. The guard that went with me was killed by a massive Fire Elemental. We'd been chased by Fire Giants. I killed the Elemental and a portal opened," he responded with a wry smile. " Where does the tunnel lead?"

" I don't know, Nanje refused to leave this room until you came through," Injus answered.

" Then let's go," Valance said, making to leave.

" Are you sure that's wise? Aznon may yet come through, and Nanje only has a handful of spells left, and we're out of healing," Injus asked with concern in his voice.

" If we're lucky Aznon will have perished in there, saves us the trouble. As for the other mirrors, we have no idea who or what they are. For all we know the mirrors always glow on this side. We need to press on, I want that gem, now move," Valance commanded, with anger rising in his voice. Injus nodded sullenly and walked down the tunnel, beginning his trap searching. Scowling Valance followed him leaving Nanje alone for a moment. She looked at Valance's retreating form sadly, and with a backwards glance at the mirrors, she saw another one fade and then crack before she followed.

* * * * *

Gronn stepped out of the mirror, the Ogre with him stepped through a moment later. The trap had surprised him, and he was angered. He was counting on strength of numbers to take these Humans out. Looking around the room, he saw all but two cracked mirrors. One glowed with a yellowish light, while the other looked normal.

After studying their positions for a moment he guessed the rest of his Ogres had either perished or moved on ahead. The glowing mirror was cracked on the other side meaning a Human group was there. The other two Human parties were already either dead or moved on. He could wait and ambush the next human group or continue his hunt after the others since Gronn didn't believe they had fallen.

After a few moments Gronn made up his mind. The Humans were split, and wouldn't expect an attack. The time to strike was now. With any luck he could slaughter the Humans who had already made it through. Likely they were weak and their spell power was low, he would never get another opportunity as good as this. While the plant monster he had fought had hurt him, his body repaired the damage. Only flame or acids could wound and kill him, and over time he could heal those like a regular Ogre would.

" We move on," Gronn commanded with authority. The Ogre with him, his best fighter, a barbarian named Shruggek, looked at him quizzicly.

" We not wait for others chieftan?" he asked.

" No, we strike now, you and me. We ambush them while they are distracted. Come," Gronn replied, moving down the tunnel. The Humans were doomed.

* * * * *

Last edited by Drakkan (2009-06-05 06:07:10)

Drakkan · 2008-08-13 12:23:45

The Birth of Drakkan Part 5

They had reached a large chamber. Identical to the one they had fought the Golem in with the exception of a higher ceiling, reaching far into darkness beyond Nanje's crystal, and a massive stone doorway ont the other side of the room. On the way here Injus had found at least a dozen more traps, and Valance was glad he had rejoined with them. Yet he felt different, as if this whole experience had changed him. He was focused only on his goal and cared for nothing else. Nanje obviously saw the change in him, but didn't want to say anything. Injus was better at masking it, but Valance knew he could tell too. It didn't matter. Once he got the gem, he would be fine, back to normal. Unless there was no going back. Injus's voice called out to him, snapping him from his thoughts.

" Clear Valance! No traps in the room. Haven't che4cked the door yet," Injus shouted. Nodding, Valance walked forward with Nanje close by. They reached Injus about halfway across the room when something odd happened. Runes suddenly flared to life all around the room, glowing with white intensity. They covered everything, and a massive ruin covered the stone door, blocking the exit.

" I thought you said there were no traps!" Valance shouted in anger.

" This is no trap, there was no trigger, even magical!" Injus yelled back, drawing his daggers out.

" This is high magic, on a level beyond my own. It's conjuration, something is being summoned into this room! these ruins are opening the gateway. Injus is right this is no trap, but a defense, set up should anyone come this far," Nanje said, uncoiling her rope.

" So what's being summoned?" Valance asked, drawing his own weapon.

" I have no idea!" Nanje cried.

A moment later a circle of light appeared in the exact center of the room, no more than the size of a fist. It started to grow larger, creeping along the ground. They stepped back from it, watching the circle widen until it was about ten feet in diameter. It flared brightly, forcing them to shield their eyes and look away.

I sense Celestia! It's summoning from the heavens! Soul Reaver said to him in a almost panicked voice.

Narrowing his gaze he looked back at the circle, or at least where it was. In it's place was an Angel. He stood almost nine feet tall, dressed in a simple tunic of white, with scatterings of silvered armor about hiss body. His skin was a light metallic green color, while hiss large feathered wings were pure white. He had no hair, but the bald head only accented it's striking facial features. He was more beautiful than any mortal could be, with a face chiseled by the hands of the gods themselves. His eyes were a sapphire blue color, and they gazed with a determination and judgment that matched Valance's own. In his hands was a large sword, over seven feet long, and was glowing a soft white light from within the blade. The Angel stood there with no malice, simply gazing at them with hiss sword lowered. When he spoke, his voice was as beautiful as music, singing to a person's very soul.

" I am Selhanien, Planetar, servant of Actrazer, God of Justice. In payment for service to me and my kind, I am summoned here to defend what lies beyond those doors by the magic laid forth by Archonipharius the Destroyer. I am oath sworn to stop any who wish to proceed, not even he who made this place. Leave now, and your lives will be spared. I will teleport you to the surface if that is your wish," the Angel said plainly.

Valance's hand shook. Not from fear, but from the sword. Crafted by the hand of Malamar, God of Destruction, it was as opposite of this Angel as black was to white. Valance heard it screaming in his mind.

I will slay you and all your kind Angel! Your blood with run free! Your bones will splinter! Your flesh will rend! I will destroy your very being! You are nothing! You are doomed! It shrieked. The angel frowned and looked directly at the blade.

" So, you wield Soul Reaver, decendant of Furnan Darksword. Undoubtedly it has already poisoned your mind. I had hoped the blade had been unmade, but it appears I will have to do the service, for the sake of all, including yourself," Selhanien intoned, raising his sword. Valance sneered.

" The sword is not master here Angel. I am ruler of the sword. It is by my will I stand here, and it is by my will that I will proceed past you, and end your existence here. Nothing will stop me, not even Actrazer himself. Now Angel, let's see if your guts look as pretty as the rest of you," Valance hissed at the celestial warrior. Surprise crossed his face, then determination and the Angels face became hard.

" So be it. You will fall here and now dark one. As is will of the gods," the Planetar said, shifting into a fighting stance.

Valance quickly went through what he knew about Planetars. They were warrior Angels, whose skill was probably close to his own. In addition to that they wielded magic as powerful as the mightiest cleric. They were protected by a powerful aura that made lesser magic spells fail, and even powerful spells had problem penetrating their resistance. Meaning Nanje would be next to useless against it. They healed rapidly, regenerating any wound not blessed with unholy magic, meaning Injus wouldn't even be able to hurt it. Which left him, toe to toe fighting with one of the most powerful types of beings in the known universe whose sole purpose here was to stop him. Valance smiled, just the way he wants it.

They charged at the same time. Valance whipped his sword down to his waist, screaming in hate as he bolted across the room. The angel struck a similar pose, using his wings to propel him forward at incredible speed. They came together, slapping their swords against one another with the sound of a ringing anvil. They stood poised, muscles straining. The Angel was strong, but Valance was almost as built. He spun away, swinging his sword hard enough to sting the very air. The Planetar simply flew backwards, his wings a flurry of motion. Valance charged after him, and Nanje and Injus raised their weapons to follow, until they heard a bellow from behind them.

An Ogre was there, charging down the passage, roaring as it hefted a massive axe. How had that gotten here?! Nanje turned to face it, knowing full well her limitations against the Angel, and was therefore going to stay out of Valance's way. This Ogre provided the perfect target. Stepping forward to meet it she was pushed aside by Injus who had seen the hidden enemy before he struck. Another Ogre, blue skinned, and wielding a massive great sword appeared as it swung the sword horizontily, intending to behead Nanje. Injus had heard the shuffle of his foot on the stone as it was invisible by some kind of magic.

Nanje stumbled away from the push and whipped the Ogre across the face. Blood flew, and the Ogre turned his head to face her, the wound already closing. He smiled.

" There is no safety woman. I am Gronn, I am your death."

* * * * *

Valance moved forward, making his blade a net of steel. He knew the only way he could win this fight was to press the offensive and not let the Angel get off a spell. He feigned an upward slash, forcing the Angel to raise his sword to block. Seeing him take the bait, Valance reversed his sword, slashing down at his foe's legs. Apparently Selhanien wasn't fooled by it as his wings sprung him into the air at the last second, and he kicked Valance in the face, sending him sprawling back, stars bursting in his vision.

He shook his head to clear his sight, only to see Selhanien blast magic at him. Frantically he jerked to the side as the magic splattered the ground where he was standing a second ago. Valance charged, only to have the ground explode into shards of razor sharp rock in front of him as the Angel blasted another spell down. Valance shielded his eyes, and staggered away.

" It appears I underestimated you dark one. I shall have to use all my might to stop thee," Selhanien said, while gathering more magic at his fingertips. A golden light shimmered about the angel, granting him a golden aura. More and more spells poured into the Angel's aura as Valance ground his teeth and waited, unable to strike at an areal foe.

" Come down here and meet your end you coward! Your magic will not save you from me!" Valance screamed.

Selhanien nodded, and dove down within striking distance of Valance. Impossibly fast, he struck out, forcing Valance on the instant defensive. their blades met and Soul Reaver was almost torn from his hands. The Angel was incredibly stronger too! Snarling, Valance was forced to lose step after step to the magically enhanced Angel. Every attack he made seemed to make his stronger, faster, and if Valance wasn't mistaken, larger, as if the magic was increasing his very body mass and size. The Angel was soon over twelve feet tall, and his sword was long enough to keep Valance out of counter-attacking range. Selhanien had taken control of this battle.

* * * * *

The Ogre called Gronn pressed his attack with a vicious roar, swinging his sword down like a hammer. With a dancer's twist, Nanje stepped away, her whip whirling around her like a ribbon of blades. She stepped in a pose, lashing the whip out, slashing across Gronn's chest. He shrugged it off as if it was little more than a bee sting, barreling forward like a gorilla.

A dagger lodged into his side as Injus re-entered the fray, all while twisting and dodging the attacks of the other Ogre. It's axe rang, sending a shower of sparks across the ground while Injus rolled between it's legs, stabbing a dagger deep into the monster's crotch. It howled in pain, dropping the axe, and doubled over to it's knees. One opponent out of the way for a moment.

Gronn however, was obviously the danger here as he ripped the dagger from his side and hurled it at Nanje. It hit her shoulder, sinking the entire blade into it. She staggered as agony poured from her shoulder, causing her arm to go numb and drop her whip. Crying in pain, she pulled the dagger out of her shoulder with her other hand, ready to use it as her own weapon. Gronn lifted his hand and pointed at her, and her light spell winked out. She had just enough time to feel surprised before Gronn was on her, slapping her with his backhand. Her whole body jerked with the force of the blow and she crumpled. Gronn roared in triumph and raised his sword.

* * * * *

Valance was losing, and fast. The Angel's magic was bolstering him well beyond Valance's capabilities. He knew he was no match for the strength and speed of his opponent's blows. He had already sustained several shallow wounds. Nothing serious, until he bled out anyway. So Valance resorted to his training. He had spent some time among Dwarves in his younger days learning to fight. Dwarves, shorter than humans, were constantly under attack by Hill and Stone Giants that dwelled in the same areas and had developed several tactics that were extremely useful against larger foes. The now over sixteen foot angel well ranked into that category. So Valance started pressing forward, using his sword like a shield, deflecting the attacks as he positioned himself for a strike. He found his opportunity when Selhanien went for a powerful over handed strike while Valance feigned an overhead block. As the giant sword swung down Valance dropped to a knee and rolled forward, under the blade. Still on his knee, he raised his own blade up in a reverse grip and stabbed into Selhanien's foot, making the angel scream in pain,, and begin to fall forward. Valance then unleashed the second part of the attack and rolled backwards, pushing off his sword, and ripping it free, slamming down on his back, waiting for the Angel to fall on his sword.

It almost worked. Selhanien pulled himself out of the fall mere inches from the blade, using his wings to lift himself back up. Valance reacted by lunging up and stabbing the sword into Selhanien's chest, sinking the tip in a few inches before the Angel pulled away. Warily, Valance rose, watching the Angel fly backwards and land well away from him. More magic came to the Angel's hands and white light flashed and the foot and chest wounds disappeared. The Angel gazed at Valance for a moment before obviously deciding size wasn't enough of an advantage and canceling that spell, shrinking back to his already impressive nine foot height. Whipping his sword back in a stance, the Angel was ready for more.

Valance wasn't. He was already feeling slow and weakened from blood loss, and Selhanien had also managed to cast quick spells to weaken him as well, sapping him of his energy. Valance felt more tired now than when he fled the Plane of Fire. He knew this Angel would best him if the tables didn't turn, and turn now. He didn't want to be forced to use it, but it was now time for him to use his ace in the hole. He said two words, and the Angel's eyes widened, knowing their meaning.

" Death Frenzy."

* * * * *

Nanje was down, possibly dead, and Valance was fighting off an Angel, leaving Injus to combat the Ogremage. He held two daggers, one in each hand, as he circled the monster. Gronn was smart, never over extending his reach, and giving Injus the opportunity to move in. Gronn could see perfectly in the dark, but the human seemed to possess some odd ability to see in it as well, as he avoided all of Gronn's assault.

Injus dashed to the side, tossing his daggers in a spinning arc. Gronn batted one away with his sword, but the other sank into his thigh, temporarily laming him. Injus took the opportunity to run inside Gronn's defense, drawing more daggers as he moved. Gronn however, reacted to Injus rather than pulling the dagger out of his leg. He raised his hand, and magic swirled about his palm for a moment before it unleashed in a blast of icy cold death. The Cone of Cold spell blasted out like a blizzard from Gronn's hand, widening to a fifteen foot wide conical shape. Injus, with less than a second to react somehow managed to back flip, hand spring, and roll away, completely avoiding the blast.

Gronn snarled and tore the dagger out of his leg, and throwing it at Injus as he had done to Nanje. Injus stood up, catching the dagger, in his left hand while throwing from his right. The dagger struck right into Gronn's eye, who howled in pain. He stumbled back, only to have Injus run up his chest, lock his legs around his neck, and stab two more daggers deep into Gronn's skull. Flipping off, Injus kicked the dagger in Gronn's eye even deeper before landing, two more daggers already drawn.

Gronn collapsed to his knees, digging at the daggers in his skull. He pulled the top two out, and then the one in his eye, sending them clattering to the ground. He stared in rage at Injus, who stared with a shocked look on his face as even the deep head wounds were quickly regenerating. Gronn roared and picked his sword back up, rising from the floor. He didn't stop rising either. Gronn was flying into the air, twenty feet high. Bellowing, he came crashing down to the floor, bringing his sword down like a hammer. Injus barely moved out of the way as the sword missed him by mere inches. The very ground cracked with the force of his impact, and Injus was thrown off balance on suddenly unstable ground. Gronn lashed out, catching Injus in his fist and lifting him off the ground. He headbutted the Human in the face. Injus's head rolled as it swam with stars. Lifting Injus high, Gronn intended to smash him to the ground, when Injus, still disoriented, pulled something out of a pouch and hurled it right at Gronn's face.

The vial shattered, spraying clear liquid across his face. And it burned! It was acid! Gronn screamed in sudden pain, throwing Injus away like a piece of trash. He rolled with the throw, rising up, two more vials of acid now in his hands. Gronn's eyes widened in something close to terror, and then suddenly disappeared.

Injus's eyes narrowed, the potion he had taken allowing him to see in the dark was wearing off, and the monster had turned invisible again. He knew now acid hurt him, but only had the two vials left. He listened desperately for a sound, a give away to the Ogre's movement. He heard a scrape, and whipped around, seeing the other Ogre, the one he had injured before, rising, dragging his axe up and glaring at Injus in inhuman rage. He had a split second decision, and made it, going for the foe he could see. He whipped one vial of acid at the Ogre, splattering it across it's chest. It roared, seemingly oblivious to the pain. It's eyes blank with fury. The Ogre had gone berzerk.

Injus drew a dagger and threw it in one quick motion, lodging it deep in the monster's throat. It didn't even slow as it charged him, it's yell filling the chamber. Injus twisted away at the last second, the Ogre's axe crashing to the ground where he had been standing. He stabbed the Ogre in the back with another dagger, and dropped the acid vial to the ground with a slight clink. Using the Ogre's own momentum, Injus swung up, spinning on the Ogre's back, kicking it's throat with a twisting kick, sending the dagger all the way into the monster's throat. The blade pierced the Ogre's spinal cord, severing it. Confusion entered the Ogre's eyes as it's body would no longer respond. It crashed to the ground, dead before it landed. Injus rolled to his feet.

Looking around, he had no time to react as Gronn struck from behind, using the other Ogre as a distraction, and ramming the full length of the sword through Injus's back. He gasped as blood flew from his mouth. Gronn snarled in rage as he kicked Injus off the sword, and with a swift motion, beheaded him as he did to Orn. Injus's body slumped to the floor as his head rolled away.

Gronn then looked to Valance and the Planetar.

* * * * *

The power of hundreds of stolen souls poured into Valance. Evil energy flowed through him, making his blood surge. His muscles bulged with extra strength, the world seemed to slow down as his senses heightened. His wounds closed with crackling energy. The Death Frenzy was the most powerful ability of his sword, making the wielder of Soul Reaver and unstoppable killing machine. And the Angel knew it.

Rage flooded through Valance as the power of the Frenzy overtook him. He charged forward, skittering forward through time in insane speed, faster even that Selhanien's own enhanced abilities. This time it was Selhanien who was pushed on the defensive. Valance was now beyond him. With no match for the physical powers of the Frenzy, Selhanien, flew backwards and into the air. Slashing his hand forward a wall of slashing swords appeared in front of him, forming a Blade Barrier spell, a powerful defensive tactic. He then prepared to cast another spell, but was stopped as Valance, with his Frenzy enhanced powers, jumped ten feet in the air, clear over the wall of swords, and stabbed his blade into Selhanien's shoulder, stopping his flight, and the two came crashing down to the ground.

Gasping, Selhanien pushed his fist out, gathering magic, and a wave of force blasted Valance off of him, sending him flying off the Angel and almost into the Blade Barrier. but his greater agility allowed him to catch himself and get back to his feet before he was sliced to ribbons. Taking the spit second reprieve Selhanien used a powerful healing spell to remove his shoulder wound. Seeing Valance so close to the wall of swords, Selhanien launched another quick spell. Power coursed through the very stones as an earthquake began to shake the room. Valance however remained sure-footed, not falling back into the Blade Barrier as Selhanien had hoped. Rocks fell from the ceiling high overhead, forcing Valance and Selhanien to dodge the larger ones. Valance was like a cat hyped up on fear and catnip, his reflexes were beyond good. He dodged and wove around the falling rocks with impossible skill, even as he jumped into the air and bounded off a large falling stone while it was still in flight. Valance soared across the room, his sword raised high. Selhanien rose up to meet him, his wings flapping in a flurry of motion, sending him rocketing into the air, his sword held low. They met high in the air, both striking their swords out. Blood flew. Valance landed. Selhanien turned in midair, hovering with powerful wing flaps.

Valance lowered his sword, dark energy crackling over him as the wound he had taken from the last blow healed. Staring up at the Angel, he simply waited. Selhanien's wings slowed, eventually stopping as he crashed to the ground, landing on one knee, his sword clattering away. Blood poured from his chest where a massive wound had cut across him. He began to gather his magical energies again to heal the wound, but Valance would have none of it. He spun, his sword flying from his hand in a spinning arc. It lodged deep into Selhanien's chest, piercing his heart.

* * * * *

Gronn leveled his sword, preparing to strike at Valance when it would be most opportune. He smiled at his own might and success. These Humans were very skilled, but Gronn was better. He had killed three of them now, with only their leader remaining. He would exit this place as a god to his followers. His face still burned from the acid, his powers unable to heal it. Only time would, and he thought it was a bubbling hiss coming from his ear he heard, but he was dead wrong as a ray of fire smashed into his back. He roared in pain, staggering forward as his back charred. He whipped around to see the female he thought he had killed standing with her hand pointed at him.

Nanje was furious. She had taken worse hits than that before and remained conscious, and now because of her own weakness Injus was dead. She felt greater pain at his loss. She always knew Injus loved her, though she was wholly devoted to Valance, but she always felt a little closer to him than the others. and now to lose him to this monster. She had had enough.

Hissing another prayer another ray of fire poured from her hand, striking Gronn in the shoulder as he tried to twist away. Injus had shown her his weakness. To be burned. Now she was usuing her every last spell to insure this beast died.

Fighting through the pain, Gronn staggered at her, fury on his face. But Nanje saw the agony he was in as well. Nanje raised her hand, calling for her last offensive spell, hissing under her breath.

" FOR INJUS!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as fire poured from the ceiling in a column. It roared and cracked all over Gronn in a blaze. He shrieked in utter terror as it washed over him. For a mere second the flame blasted down before it snuffed out. What was left of Gronn collapsed to the ground. His whole body was burned and charred. His nerves were fused shut in pain, and he was unable to move, but still alive. Pitiful sounds came from him as he moaned and cried.

Nanje stood over him, holding a vial and a dagger in her hand. She knelt down, setting the vial to the side while taking the dagger and plunging it in Gronn's chest. He moaned and gasped as she dug a hole in his chest with it, cutting away strips of black flesh, until she revealed his chest bone. she reached in and with a sickening crack snapped it out, leaving a gaping hole to his heart. She then unstoppered the vial, the vial of acid Injus had dropped. And poured it over Gronn's heart. Gronn only felt the pain for a second before his heart dissolved and his lifeblood stopped flowing. Gronn the Mighty was dead.

* * * * *

The Angel gasped for his last breaths as Valance strode up to him. The Death Frenzy had ended, the souls spent. Valance was worn and exhausted from the energy leaving him. He wouldn't be on his feet much longer. Selhanien looked up at him, still grasping the sword in his chest.

" You know not what you do here... this evil cannot be released. You cannot aquire the Dragon Soul. It will...end...everything..." Selhanein gasped, coughing up blood. Valance grasped the hilt of his sword, causing the Angel to intake his breath sharply.

" I can. And I will. Nothing will stop me Planetar. Nothing," Valance said back to him as he ripped the sword out. Blood sprayed across Valance as he did. The last bit of Selhanien's life.

Well done Valance! A Planetar slain by your own hands! An excellent kill! Soul Reaver shouted in his mind.

Valance said nothing in reply. Instead he turned, remembering his followers. He was shocked to see the aftermath of their battle. Injus was dead, decapitated. An Ogre and what appeared to be a charred Ogre lay there, and Nanje lay next to the charred one, a rock apparently having fallen from the ceiling during the magic earthquake and hit her on the head. Walking over to her, he shook her. Slowly her eyes fluttered open. Pain was evident in them.

" Nanje, are you able to move?" Valance asked with only minor concern.

" I-I think so my love," she replied, struggling to rise. He pushed her down gently.

" No, as long as you can move it's fine, rest now, I need a break as well," he told her. " What happened here?"

" Ogremage...probably the leader of their tribe, somehow got...in here and ambushed us...while you fought the Angel. Knocked me out right away. Injus fought them both...killed the one... but the other got the best of him. I finished him off, but now I'm completely out of spells," Nanje answered in pain.

" Out of spells? That's a shame."

Valance turned at the sound of the voice to see Aznon with a wand pointed directly at him. Aznon smiled as lightening blasted out from the tip, in a wide bolt that struck Valance square in the chest. His body jerked spasmaticaly as the electrical energy coursed through him. Nanje, who still had Valance's hand on her, jerked as well as the energy flowed into her from Valance. She gasped and slumped. Valance fell over on his back still twitching.
He was able to look up to see Aznon walk up to him.

" It's a shame boy. You could have gotten so much wealth and power if you hadn't planned on betraying me. Now that you've removed the Planetar and the Ogres from my path, I'm afraid you are no longer necisary. You've done well Valance," Aznon cackled over him.

" This isn't over Aznon," Valance spat through his clenched teeth.

Oh, but it is! See there?" Aznon pointed to the doorway with the rune that covered it. The rune was fading and soon was gone completely. " The way is open! You've defeated the final guardian! The Dragon Soul is as good as mine!"

" I will have my vengeance Aznon. Not even death can save you from me!" Valance roared, trying to rise. Aznon simply stared at him. He shook his head, lifted his wand, and blasted Valance again. Valance's body arched in pain then went slack. All went black.

* * * * *

Last edited by Drakkan (2009-06-05 06:05:17)

~(°ẅ°)~

Announcement

#1 2008-08-08 15:18:05

The Birth of Drakkan

#2 2008-08-08 15:20:36

Re: The Birth of Drakkan

#3 2008-08-08 15:22:41

Re: The Birth of Drakkan

#4 2008-08-08 15:53:28

Re: The Birth of Drakkan

#5 2008-08-13 12:23:45

Re: The Birth of Drakkan

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