Chapter
6
In
The Sands OF Wrath
Vincient and the paladin drove their
horses fast most of the day. Their
destinations were the furthest of all.
It would take about a day’s travel to the inn they started from. Vincient estimated another week’s travel to
the destinations themselves. This would
allow them to arrive at the rendezvous point more than two weeks after leaving
Trendon. If they returned at all.
When they arrived at the old inn,
the keeper and his wife welcomed them with open arms. They refused any payment for the rooms two wanted. After preparing a meal for them, the
innkeeper and his wife retired for the night.
The inn was vacant, for the most part, leaving the paladin and Vincient
free to talk openly.
“Are you ready for this?” Vincient
asked.
“As much as I can be.” It responded.
“How are you going to keep from
being overcome by the heat in that desert?”
“My armor keeps me at a temperature
that’s comfortable.”
“The magic that powers it may be
affected by the desert. Remember that
intense forces created this desert.”
“I have some other abilities to help
me get through that aren’t magic.”
“Enhanced speed?” Vincient said with
a side-glance. The paladin’s head
cocked to one side, indicating some surprise at the question.
“What are you getting at Vincient?”
“I guess there is no point in
dancing around the issue. Are you aware
of the extra powers you can gain by using the Zenkhan art?”
“You are referring to the ability to
move matter or to create focused amounts of force, because that is Zenkhan.”
“You are aware of the fact that
there is a side effect from using Ki techniques, right? As you use Ki your aura grows in strength,
which in turn causes your natural attributes to increase beyond normal
measure.”
“Interesting. I haven’t really heard such a thing
before. In fact I know little of the
art other than how to use it, and most of that was learned on my own. “
“Most mages are unaware of it
too. I, on the other hand, have spent
many long hours in a library and learned much.
Have you noticed that you can move faster than an average person
can? That your strength is beyond that
of normal people?”
“Yes, but its part of the armor’s
power, not my own.”
“As great as that armor’s design is,
it has its limits.” Vincient
laughed. “We have a bit of time before
retiring, how about I show you what I mean.”
“That would be interesting.” It
replied with a note of amusement.
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Outside the paladin watched Vincient
gather together several items, one of which was a cart full of hay led by two
horses. All the while grinning
madly. After inspecting the area he
came over to the paladin. Vincient
motioned it over to a table upon which lay two metal bars. "First, we'll look at strength. Examine
them and see that they’re both the same."
The paladin took one bar and then the other. Seeing them apparently equal and quite solid, it set them back
down on the table. "Okay, now
choose one and bend it."
The paladin picked up the one on the
left, grasping an end in each gauntlet-covered hand, it brought its hands
together relatively easily. Dropping
the now U-shaped bar sharply, it turned its head, “And?” Vincient responded by taking the other one
in his bare hands. Bringing them together with some struggle to form his own
“U”, he set it down on the table. A
barely heard metallic "Hmmm" escaped from the silver and gold armored
titan, "Maybe it’s just an illusion." It muttered under its breath.
Vincient started quickly over to the
horses, "Come on, come on. I'll
show you again." He unhooked the
horses from their harnesses and let them walk over to the stables. The exuberant young mage gestured to the
cart. The paladin gave him an
incredulous look, or at least as much as one could wearing a helmet. "Okay, how about I go first this
time," with that he grabbed the harness rods, one in each hand. After a few moments of red-faced grunting,
he slowly began pulling the hay filled cart behind him. Vincient eventually towed it one full
circuit around the courtyard of the inn.
Kneeling to set the harness rods down, he looked up at the paladin
panting but thoroughly satisfied, "Now...you try."
Stepping past him, it took one of
the harness rods its hand. Trying to
show that the cart wasn't really that heavy, the armored warrior began to lift
it with one arm. However, much to its
chagrin, it took both arms to lift the cart to a level that he could pull
it. After completing the circuit with
apparent ease to the untrained eye, the paladin dropped the cart roughly
and had to quickly sidestep to avoid the rocks that began tumbling out of it,
"What in the name of the Dimulata?"
To which Vincient responded with a
triumphant grin, "Nice footwork, maybe I should show you my quickness
next."
“H…how did you do that?!” It
stammered.
“Same as you, by developing my
aura.”
“But you don’t use Ki!”
“Yes, but I use mana.”
“I don’t follow.”
“Everyone has an aura, that aura is
made up of energy called Ki. When you use Ki techniques you pull Ki from your
aura to power it. This why you become exhausted after using a lot of them in a
row, or a few real strong ones. That’s basically how your powers work.
“Mine on the other hand have a
slight variation to it. I draw upon energy called mana. This infinite energy
source surrounds all things in existence. From rocks, to trees, to even people.
A mage starts with an aura of Ki, but it starts to change as we use magic. My
life force is mana energy.”
“It’s hard to grasp all this.”
“I know, even I have trouble
understanding it entirely.”
“So, you’re saying that an aura is
the outward manifestation of a person’s life force? The stronger it gets, the
stronger the being?”
“Exactly.”
“Amazing!”
“Let's try this: go ahead and hit me?” His mischievous smile
threatened to split his head in two.
“What?!”
“Hit me,...or at least try to. Try at this distance.”
“Well okay, just don’t complain to
me when you wake up.” The paladin
pulled back its fist and let it come forward.
Just as it would have struck Vincient, he suddenly vanished. It froze with its arm extended like that for
a moment. Then it sensed the young man
behind it.
“That’s the blur technique, even I
know that one.”
“Mages call it ‘blinking’, but it’s
the same thing.”
“Any fighter could be taught
that. I am a bit surprised to see a
mage use it though.”
“It’s a classic escape move. All mid-level students are taught it. Now for the real speed test.” It looked on with apparent interest. Vincient gave it a large smile as he plucked
a large stone from the ground. He
tossed it hard to his left, the stone flew straight and fast. The paladin watched as Vincient’s image
moved forward slightly then blurred. Vincient faded from view, but his passage
was noticeable. A strip of grass parted
in the direction of the rock’s flight.
The parting grass soon passed the rock and Vincient reappeared a short
distance ahead and caught the rock with ease.
“Pretty neat, huh?”
“Very.” The paladin remained silent for a moment then asked, “Vincient,
why are you showing me this?” The large smile faltered slightly.
“What do you mean?”
“To be honest most wizards are
secretive about their skill, I’ll even include my own order in this grouping,
yet you are revealing a great deal.
Before you never said much about yourself, Lorna and Darius always spoke
for you. I was wondering why the sudden
change?”
“Because I thought you would
understand me.” Vincient sighed. He
wandered over to a large bale of hay and sat on it. The paladin moved closer to him.
“Understand you?”
“As much as Lorna and Darius have
come to love me like a brother, they don’t really understand. They don’t understand my powers and like
most they even fear them a little. I
have no one to share my skills with.
Someone who knows what its like to have an ability that separates you
from most people. For me its even
worse, because of my level of power.”
“So, you are aware of how abnormal
your strength is.”
“Acutely, it’s why I am that that gets to me.
It’s all that is ever noticed of me by another mage. ‘How’d you do it?’
‘What’s your secret?’ That’s all anyone wants to hear from me, so I never got
close to any other mages. The only
people close to me are Darius and Lorna and they can’t understand this.”
“And you thought I would, because of
my own powers?”
“Yea.” The young mage looked out to
the plains around the inn. His previous
humor had fled, leaving a sad and lonely cast to his eyes. The metallic hand placed itself on his
shoulder. Vincient gazed up at the
helmed head.
“I thank you for thinking so highly
of me, Vincient. I do in some way
understand your plight. Especially
about having no true confidant. There
is a lot I wish to tell you, but it will take too much time to explain right
now. So, when we are finished with this
task, I will tell you…everything.”
“You don’t have to do that.” He said
dejectedly.
“Yes, but I want to. You aren’t the only one who desires a
friendly ear.”
“I would enjoy listening.”
“I know, but for now we should
sleep. We have only begun on our long
journeys.”
“Yes, let’s go.”
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A stealthy figure moved along the
side of the inn. Its eyes darted around for any signs of people. When it came
across a window it stopped and raised a small lantern. The light glow
illuminated Vincient’s slumbering form. It looked at him for a few moments,
then moved on. The bare feet of the figure padded across the cold dew covered
grass to the large hay cart.
It carefully put the lantern down
and grasped the underside of the cart.
With one smooth effortless motion it lifted the cart right up. It stared and in an amazed voice said, “I’ll
be damned!”
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At mid-morning Vincient and the
paladin set out for their target. They pushed their horses and ran all out for
the rest of the morning. Shortly after
“Vincient, what are you reading?”
“A book of runes and ancient
symbols.”
“What are you looking for?”
“Ever noticed the tattoo on Darius’s
shoulder?”
“Yes.”
“Well I think I saw it before, in
this book.” Holding it up, “I told him I’d figure out what it is for him.”
“He doesn’t know what it means?”
“No, and what’s even weirder is that
he doesn’t remember when he got it.”
“That is strange. Though I have
heard that some cultures make a mark at birth.”
“The fact that I recognized it bothers
me the most.”
“Why?”
“Because it will most likely relate
to magic and I don’t like what that could possible mean.”
“What could it be?”
“Numerous things, I want to find out
more before I venture a theory.”
“I understand.” Vincient nodded. The
two lapsed into a momentary silence. The paladin broke it, “Can I ask one more
thing?”
“Sure.” He replied without looking
up from his book.
“Why did you wait ‘til last night to
tell me all that?”
“Because it was the first time you
and I were completely alone. I didn’t want the others to see that, it would
just be one more thing separating us.” Vincient answered without even so much
as glance away from his book. The paladin just leaned back and watched him
again.
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They resumed their journey shortly
after. The rest of the day and the next few days passed in an uneventful
fashion. As the sun sank into the horizon on the fourth day, the pair drew
closer to their target. When night fell they came within one mile of the Heart
and Wrath. Even this far out they could feel the cool and warm air coming from
the lands. The sky was a turmoil of clouds with lightning and thunder, but
surprisingly, very little rain.
Vincient and the paladin camped at the foot of the eastern mountains
known as the Doigans. When they finished tending to the horses, the paladin
began to prepare a meal for them. Once the meal was ready, it called Vincient,
but no reply came. It looked around, but didn’t see him anywhere nearby. A small explosion sounded from the craggy
area at the foot of a mountain not far from their camp. It ran quickly, unsure of what it might
find.
The paladin found him behind several
large boulders. Remnants of a boulder still smoked from the explosion. Vincient
stood with his back to the paladin, however he wasn’t alone. Ringing Vincient
were five dark robed figures. The paladin reached behind its back and grasped
its weapon. It paused before drawing it out. It couldn’t understand what his
mind was telling him: Vincient’s aura was the only one it sensed. Deciding to
wait and see the paladin sat in a crouched position.
One of the figures rushed at
Vincient from the left and jumped at him. Vincient spun around to face his
adversary and raised his hands. The mage’s eyes flared red and the creature
exploded. Smoking rocks fell to the ground. Without hesitation he spun around
on another figure right behind him. His right arm whipped towards it, finger
spread to their fullest, palm facing it. “Royeto!”
A bolt of lightning surged from his hand into it. The paladin watched the dark
robes disappear and it turned into a pile of smoldering pebbles. There would be no respite for Vincient, a
third one rushed him once the bolt hit the second. The attacker caught Vincient
and put him into a headlock. Vincient didn’t try to over power it. His hand
that released the bolt still crackled with electrical energy. He brought the
palm flat against its chest; another bolt was released. It was reduced to a similar
state as the others. The last two attacked at once, as they reached Vincient he
winked out of sight.
The mage changed his tactics at this
point, changing from distant magic attacks to close hand to hand combat. The
paladin watched with the eye of an expert and a teacher. It used all its senses
to examine and dissect his performance. Vincient made a clumsy punch at one of
the hooded figures, it easily dodged the attack. Scoring a hit before Vincient
could blink out. As Vincient made various attacks against the figures, the
paladin was able to see his weaknesses and his strengths. The mage finally
scored a finishing hit on each. He stood looking at the pile of stones. The
paladin walked over to Vincient. Without turning to look at it he asked, “Well
what’s your opinion?”
“You were doing well until you went
to hand to hand.”
“Yea, I know. I should have taken
some Zencuken classes.”
“Why bother? Your magic makes up for
it.”
“There may be times when my magic is
useless, so I try to develop some skill without it.”
“Well you definitely need some
refinement. Considering our speeds and strengths are comparable, you will do
fine against common threats.”
“It’s the uncommon ones that bother
me.”
“Hmm.” It grunted. “By the way, I
finished dinner if you’re interested.”
“You bet. I’m starvin’”
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When dawn came they made their way
to Kagero’s old fortress and her current crypt. Each of their instructions used
it as the starting point. They would have to travel deep into their respective
territories. The paladin gazed at the heat distorted desert while Vincient
stared into the bright white of the frozen land. A mist danced around their
feet, where the tundra’s frozen wind met the desert’s heated air. Vincient
swallowed hard. All his life, like all that lived on this land, he was taught
to fear the Heart and Wrath. Yet he was willingly walking into it.
“Looks like its finally time. You
ready?” He asked.
“As I can be.” It replied. He
nodded. “We had better get moving.”
“Yes, good luck!” Vincient said
leaning forward.
“You too my friend.” It returned as
it did the same. They stood like for a second, “Here goes!” Vincient shouted.
The two images blurred then disappeared. A calm silence once again fell over
the ruins.
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A fan of sand raced across the
desert. Ahead of it was a silver blur. The paladin ran as fast as it could. The
speed was something it was used to, but after learning what Vincient knew, it
was even more amazing. The desert was a blur of white and tan all around it. It
could feel the heat thickened air, even at this high speed. As it ran towards
its goal the paladin’s eyes began to sting. It skidded to a stop. For an amazed
moment it stood there. It felt sweat running down its face. I’m sweating already?! A two-minute run
wouldn’t do this! It gazed around itself. Sand stretched as far as the eye
could see. Within those two minutes the paladin had run several miles into the
scorching desert. The more it stood there the more it felt the temperature rise
steadily.
“It’s already overpowering my
armor’s magic. I have to move faster.” The silver titan once again resumed its
race across the sand.
A few minutes more of travel and the
paladin saw something coming towards it. A stone spike rose from the sand on
the horizon. As it drew closer it found it to be an obelisk built in the
desert. The paladin stopped a few yards away from it gazing over the obelisk,
taking in its every detail. The construction stood over twenty feet in height
and each side was about four feet wide. Made of sandstone it was a darker shade
of tan than the sand around it. The sides were utterly smooth. A long blade
like shadow trailed behind it as it blocked the sun which blazed behind the
armored being. The paladin slowly approached. The temperature inside its armor
had finally reached an uncomfortable level. Sweat was flowing freely behind the
helmed face. It wanted to remove the helm to wipe it from its eyes, but it
would be too dangerous to do. As bad as the heat inside of the armor was, it
could be much worse without it. Then it would risk being blinded by air born
sand or the intense sunlight reflecting off its own armor. After considering
these factors the paladin decided to bear it.
As it approached the stone construct
sand poured over its metal boots as they sank slightly with each step. Without
seems to catch them, the grains merely fell back to the ground. Every so often
a strong gust of wind would throw sand up into its face, it didn’t even flinch.
Just continuing forward. Its foot bashed against something. Kneeling down it
brushed sand off the object. The paladin
saw a large black, round object buried by the deadly desert. Whatever it was,
it was large. It extended deep into the sands. The surface was as hard as
granite. Not finding anything important it stepped over it and moved on. Its
feet finally came to rest on the firm stone base of the obelisk.
At the base of the stone monlith was
inscribed a strange series of characters. It recognized it as a language,
though one it did not know. Moving its metal fingers over them, the paladin
examined the runes. Vincient could
probably read this. It thought. It
most likely has something to do with magic. I should be careful then. It
moved around to the other sides of the obelisk. The same exact rune pattern
resided on each side. When it got around the final side he found his objective.
At chest level the disc was set into the stone wall.
The disc was made of bright red
stone. Along its outer edge were carvings of the same rune types as on the
obelisk. It was the crystal center that drew the paladin’s eye. Inside of it a
red and orange light boiled. It lapped at the crystal’s sides and top. A world
of flame seemed to burn within it. The paladin reached out beyond the normal
senses, touching the crystal great magic power.
The stone disc’s power radiated out
from the center like a heat wave. The paladin could not fully dissect the magic
energy, like Vincient could. However, it could feel the strength of the power
inside. Other than its own armor, the paladin hadn’t felt such power in an
object. The energy it sensed had an intensity that made it an almost physical
force. As its metal fingers brushed against the red stone it felt warmth. Is everyone of these this powerful? Its
power overrides my armor! It thought in amazement. I have no more doubts that these will help me. Vincient can use these
to help me. Yes, he will do it. A
smile formed behind the helm.
It remembered Vincient’s pleasure at
showing it his powers. It remembered the smile and thought of how it would see
it again when it told him of what challenge he needed Vincient’s help for. The
paladin could already sense the eager thoughts the challenge would provoke from
him. A laugh escaped it, “Yes, he will be thrilled. As will I.” It lightly
grasped the edges of the disc, then gently pulled it towards itself. It slid
out easily. The paladin backed away from the obelisk and placed the disc behind
its back, under its cloak. There is the sound of metal snapping and it felt a
surge of hot dry air. Metal snapped once more and its hands returned minus the
disc. Alright, time to get out of this
hell. Its thoughts were interrupted by quaking sand.
The sand suddenly flew up in large
fans to the right and left sides of the paladin. It brought its arms up in a
defensive gesture. Through the curtain of sand it saw a large serpentine form
rise up. The long dark form rose to extreme heights, dwarfing the obelisk. Sand
roared like the ocean as it rushed to fill the trench made by the vacating
form. As the final bits of sand rained down the desert sun illuminated the
creature and the paladin wished for the darkness to return.
What stood before it was a large
black segmented body. A pair of large insect-like legs was attached to each
segment. They swiped and grasped at the air. All this led to the wedge shaped
head. There were no eyes, just the hard black cover that was over every other
part of its body. Under the shelf of the nose was a large mouth full of sharp
teeth. Two long grabbing mandibles protruded from either side of the mouth.
Both moved in greedy anticipation. The design was for fast and viscious life in
the desert.
“A sand crawler!” It said. This
wasn’t the first time the paladin had dealt with this type of creature, though
not nearly one this large. Its hard exoskeleton was meant to withstand both the
crushing weights of the sand and the desert’s intense heat. Not even a mage’s
fireball spell would crack that shell.
There was a trick to killing this beast. Its body
was broken into segments, to allow it to bend and twist through the sand. Thus
the bends needed to be soft and would be easy to pierce. Just like any other
creature, if you destroy the brain, you kill the animal. The paladin quickly
took in the overall design of the creature and planned a route to the thing’s
head.
The creature gazed down at the
shinning figure below it. It seemed to be evaluating him, but with no eyes it
was hard to tell. The paladin took a couple of steps forward. The reaction from
the sand crawler was instantaneous. It dived downward, darting at the paladin.
Its speed was akin to a coiled serpent. The wedge-shaped head sliced through
the air. As fast as it was the paladin was slightly faster. It leapt just
before the cralwer’s head cut into the sand where it had previously stood. The
paladin glided a good twenty feet up into the air easily clearing the crawler.
Landing softly on the sandy ground, it turned in time to see the tail-end of
the crawler disappear into the sand. Within seconds all traces of the crawler
were gone. It stared at the quiet desert, finally feeling the heat at an
unbearable level.
I…don’t…have…much
time…left before this heat kills…me. It thought desperately. That’s if the damn crawler doesn’t get me
first. Another minute of silence ensued, motionless it waited for the
crawler. The paladin shifted its position and a line of sand surged upwards as
if something was swimming towards the paladin through the dry ocean. It leapt
once more, nimbly dodging the beast again as it shot forth from the ground. The
silver man went into a somersault and landed facing the moving sand ridge which
circled around back to its target.
Wait
a minute! It raised its hand to a part of the desert to its far left. Air
distorted around its hand. That distortion shot forth where it impacted the
sand several yards away raising a dust cloud. The crawler surged again. This time its dive was targeted at the spot
of impact. Smoothly merging with the dunes. So, it can sense vibration through the sand.
It thought as it pulled its arms across its forehead. It laughed realizing
the futility of the motion. I’m only
gonna have an enough time to do this once. The paladin stood legs slightly
apart, bracing itself. It concentrated its will inward, feeling the power deep
within. The air took on that distorted look all around the titan. The
distortions grew heavier as the paladin call on its power. Eyes narrowed in
concentration behind the mask. The paladin focused this energy with one
thought, Down! Distortions moved in a wave-like pattern
down into the sand. Layers of sand parted away from the force and the paladin
began to sink. A second later a ridge of sand moved towards it. The energy wave
reversed itself. It pulled itself around the paladin’s upper body and arms.
Energy ran down around its hands. The silver fingers twisted into several ways,
it seemed like its hands had become two worlds of chaos. As the last of the
energy reached its hands, the paladin crouched into a running stance. It made
sure not to move its feet and alert the crawler to its intentions. A second
later it emerged from the sands.
With lightning speed the paladin ran
to it. The crawler was entering the arch of its jump, bringing its head to bear
on the paladin’s previous spot. The paladin suddenly leaned back, its silver
body slid through the sand under the crawler. It stopped and shoved its hands
forward. The twin orbs of chaos emerge into a single ball of powerful force. It
crashed into the crawler’s underside. Incredible waves of force erupted in all
directions. The paladin folded its arms across its chest, braced against the
force. Slowly it felt itself sink into the warm sands under it. As it sank, it
heard and saw a pair of the insect-like legs crack under the pressure. Its long
body was forced back, arching in the opposite direction, exposing its
underbelly, Sand exploded everywhere. All of this happened within a matter of seconds.
Other than the wind, all was still and silent in the Wrath of Kagero.
A small figure arose from the waste.
Grains of sand flowed like water off the seamless armor. It shook lose clumps
of sand from its cloak. Turning to the right the paladin looked at the crawler.
Sand piled over most of it, but it still could be seen. Half of the body lay on
the sand, while the other half was still in
the sand. The crawler was completely still, legs poking out of the sand
layer covering it. Wearily the metal warrior then shifted forward, the crawler
reared up with sudden life.
“I didn’t think I’d get you that
easy.” It muttered, but even as it spoke it moved.
The creature had apparently learned
from the last attack that blind diving was dangerous against this prey. It
reared backed as the paladin ran forward. Each step letting it know its
location. A high pitched sound escaped the crawler as it awaited the metallic
warrior. The lower legs made scythe-like passes, trying to cut it down. With a
leap the paladin soared over those lethal appendages. It used the top of
another leg to launch itself up further and over to the right. Reaching the
height of its jump it ricocheted off the next limb, catapulting up to the left.
The paladin continued to use this zigzag pattern to ascend the towering insect.
It gained four pairs of legs with
each rebound. The crawler began moving all of its legs around. Each moved in a
sporadic pattern of its own. The underside of each leg was serrated; the effect
was like a grinder. The edge would easily sheer both metal and flesh--and the
paladin was both. However, it didn’t
hesitate to enter the whirling field of death. The paladin seemed to almost fly
through it. It made tight corkscrew turns, it looped a blade that came from the
side, and it even back flipped over one that came from behind. It was a silver
gnat amongst those arms. It finally came to one arm for another rebound only to
be greeted by a hard cracking sound. It turned in time to see the mid-section
of the arm it stood upon crack open. A thick white fluid ran out. The leg was
broken by the blast, adding the paladin’s weight; it began to crack apart. The
paladin slid from the arm and plummeted to the next pair. It quickly reached
out for the approaching arm. Its hands locked onto the carapace, the body
continued to move down.
With agility that any gymnasts would
envy, the paladin made several fast rotations of the crawler’s arm. Building
momentum as it moved, the paladin finally let go. It went into a somersault,
however the force of the rotation pulled it back. It suddenly straightened,
planting its feet against the arm, then immediately leapt forward. Like a bolt
of lightning it streaked to the next bounce point. The blade-like legs of the
crawler still churned around it, but it sped past everyone. It banked off one
more arm, entering its final flight. It leaped past the pincers that extended
from the sides of its horrid mouth, they reached out to grab it. However, it
only grasped air. The paladin began to lean forward, causing its path to curve.
It finally sent the paladin behind the crawler. As its worn brown cloak snapped
in the wind, it pulled an object from behind its back. A shining blade of
blazing silver fire flared to life. It grasped the handle of the fire in both
hands, above its head. Soon it passed
the base of the head and with a fierce shove it buried the flame into the soft
flesh. The crawler roared as white hot pain surge through it. It reared and
thrashed, trying to throw the paladin off, the warrior held fast to the handle
of its weapon.
“I didn’t live over three thousand
years to be beaten by an overgrown insect!” It yelled. The paladin swung its
legs in a pendulum motion that matched the creature’s thrashing. The weapon
didn’t come out of it, but it pulled back and forth with the weight of the
paladin. A burning trench was ripped in the segment, white fluid boiled out.
Steam rose in coils from the sickening substance. The crawler made a fast and
powerful pull to the left. The paladin and weapon slid to the far left, bring
it around so far that they ended under the creature. It hung a good fifty feet
above the ground. The crawler still thrashed, however the paladin didn’t move
as before. Gravity fought to reclaim its hold on the warrior, the paladin
looked like a strange type of earring on the crawler. It had been so focused on
holding onto its weapon that it forgot to watch for the legs. The jagged
underside glanced off its metallic chest. Blue sparks flew and the hit caused
it to lose its grip. The paladin fell away.
Twisting around it quickly grasped
the outer reaches of its cloak. It ballooned out with a hard sound, air rushed
into the makeshift parachute. It slowed the descent, but the desert floor still
rushed to greet it. Again the paladin summoned forth that strange power,
focusing it on the ground. Light waves of that distortion appeared to flow up
from the ground. Each ripple of the wave lowered its rate of fall. It glided
down the last several feet in relative safety. Landing with enough balance to
keep its feet, it whirled on the crawler. It still thrashed in pain, kicking up
sand clouds. Sunlight glared off the surface of the handle in the crawler’s
neck. It focused all of its will on that handle, forming a bridge between them.
Energy was sent along this bridge into the weapon. The silver handle began to
shake, causing the crawler to scream louder. Soon the shaking became much
heavier; it was then that the paladin raised its right arm. It made a hard,
fast, circular motion. Above the handle followed the motion with the same speed
and strength. Splatters of that white fluid fell to the ground, clumping the
sand. The squeal of the crawler became wet and choked as the handle stopped at
its original spot. It made another motion, this one a half circle. It left the
weapon in the back of its neck. The crawler fell into a stupor; it stopped
thrashing and began sagging back and forth. As if someone were playing music
only it could hear. The paladin closed its motioning hand and pulled its arm
back. A ball of sliver flame burst out of the underside of the creature’s neck.
Silver death raced its way to the metal titian. It was just inches from the
paladin when it stopped and hovered before the paladin.
The handle was that of a typical
sword, with a curved crosspiece, the rest of it weapon wasn’t so typical. A
flawless blade of silver extended four feet long and six inches wide at the
base tapering slightly to a semi-rounded tip. Sharp and keen the edges shined.
Around the blade burned a corona of silver flame. It emitted no heat, but it
would melt rock, steel, and bone with equal ease.
“I believe this is mine!” It said
grasping the hilt. Over the burning blade it watched the crawler’s head hit the
sand, followed shortly by its body. Sand fell in a light rain all around it.
The strange blade of the paladin’s sword disappeared, and the hilt went back to
the hiding spot behind its back. “Now
to get the hell out of…he…here…” It staggered forward. The world swam out of
focus; its breath came in ragged gasps. Its stomach tightened and flipped
sickly. Reality and direction lost all meaning in this sudden vertigo that
seized it. It felt weak and extremely tired. Fighting all urges it had to vomit
and sleep, it began moving forward. The paladin got about ten feet before its
knees buckled, dropping in the sands.
I…I
must...ha…have used up all…of…my…Ki. It thought against its whirling mind
and body. Nausea and dizziness racked its body relentlessly. It couldn’t even
fall back on its clerical magic to heal it; its thoughts couldn’t organize
themselves enough. Its fingers grasp the desert floor as it struggles to live.
However, like a wind up toy that’s reached the end of its spring, the paladin
slowly stopped moving. Then it lay completely still; sand began to cover the
metal figure. Another relic lost to the desert of wrath.
I…hate…it…when…this…happens.
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A metallic gasp and hiss interrupted
the still quiet of the desert. The paladin’s large form rose from the sand. It
staggered back a bit as it stood up. The previous vertigo had reduced to a mere
doubling of vision. Shortly everything pulled together into one view.
Everything settled within the paladin as well, the nausea, weakness, and ragged
breathing were all gone. The intense heat of the desert had fled almost
entirely from the armor. Not a single drop of sweat formed on its brow. The
paladin took in a large breath of air, its body felt renewed. It stretched its
limbs to work out some stiffness. Then it glanced towards the sky. The sun had
moved a bit past its noontime position.
I
must have been out a couple of hours. Damn, I hate it when I first wake up, but
I better get moving. Otherwise I’ll just keep dying. With that the paladin
started to run.
It was slow at first, each step
being dragged down by sand. With each step it began to move faster and faster,
soon the metal legs were pumping like pistons. The soles of its feet barely
touched the desert. Once again it moved so fast that only sprays of sand told
of its passage. To the paladin all seem to stand motionless as it pasted. Every
grain of sand swept up by the breeze hung suspended in the air. Within a few
minutes the ruins that were Kagero’s tomb, appeared on the horizon.
As it ran the crumbling fort grew
more defined. The shattered guard towers, the rubble strewn ground the cracked
and moss covered walls, everything stood in stark detail. The holy warrior’s
pace slowed, its feet came to rest on the small patch of land that was around
Kagero’s fort, it was neither desert, nor tundra. It looked about for Vincient,
however it saw no sign of the mage. Thinking of the time frame of its own task
the paladin assumed that Vincient would have been here before it. It reached
out with another sense, this seeing only Vincient’s life force. It first felt
the area around, but found nothing. The net of the sensing was widened and
shifted to the icy plains of Kagero’s Heart. With each moment the paladin grew
more worried and focused its mind out to seek out further into the Heart. The
longer it took to find Vincient the more frantic the paladin became. Its
anxious thoughts were breaking up its focus, causing its sensing technique to
fail.
Concentrate!
You have to concentrate! It yelled at
itself. Despite its advice the frantic feeling became one of fear. The blood in
its veins dropped several degrees. Its breath was catching in is throat. Why am I panicking like this? He’s stronger
than any other I have met before. He can handle himself. Even with these
assuring thoughts the dread still remained. It closed its eyes behind the helm
and clenched its fist tightly. It forced the panic to the back of its mind,
muffling it to a nagging voice in the darkness. A cold black void filled its
vision. As it pushed back into the frozen wastes, light colored shapes
appeared. These low-grade auras were
the minor life of the Heart. It came to a halt when it sensed something
familiar. Its heart lurched as it realized this weak life was Vincient. Vincient’s
aura had once felt like the sun, strong and steady, now it was like a candle
flame flickering in the wind.
Forgetting everything else the
paladin raced onto the icy grounds. Shortly inside the bounds of the tundra it
ran into a mild snowstorm. The white flakes hissed and evaporated upon contact
with its armor. Visibility was slightly enhanced by its helm, but it was still
difficult to see through the curtain of snow. Even so the paladin ran as fast
as it could towards that weakened aura. What’s
happened to him?! What could have done this? Its worry turned to sudden
rage. Whatever did this is dead! The
paladin spied a dark figure shambling through the snow. It limped heavily and
with as much speed as the storm and terrain would allow. The paladin slid to a
halt as the figure entered its sights. The ragged visage froze both its mind
and its heart.
“Vincient!” It whispered.
The pathetic sight was indeed the
mage. His cloak was a shredded wreck draped over the shoulders. The once bright
azure shirt was now stained black with blood. As he staggered his hand was
grasping a wound on his left side. Blood was flowing through his fingers. There
was blood frozen to parts of Vincient’s face. A fresh warm streak would break
out of the gash above his right eye. It flowed over the eye and the cheek below
it, making it appear that he was shedding tears of blood. Snow and ice clung to
his long black hair in clumps. Vincient’s breath left a cloud of icy crystals
in the air. The normally pale flesh of his face was a bluish white with red
patches, formed by the cold lashes of the wind. The lips were cracked and
stained by frozen blood. The fear and dread it felt before were returned a
hundred fold. Seeing Vincient like this was like a dagger in the chest. The
metal titan soon began to shake, but not from fear. Its hands turned to fist,
behind the helm teeth clenched.
“What did this!?” It growled. It
stopped everything when Vincient fell to the ground. The paladin started to run
to him, it closed half the distance when a voice stopped him.
“You’re mine now!” The voice was
heavy and booming. The paladin looked up into the falling snow, a pair of large
blue luminescent eyes floated in the distance.
“Lords help us! It’s….”