The Stonespeaker Saga, Part I
Khez’ran’s small feet hopped from rock to rock as he followed his grandmother up the hillside. While she was content to follow the beaten path, the youngling enjoyed the challenge and novelty that came with the varied types of stones that marked the path to the Earthen Voice. Marl’etak had walked this path many times in her years, to hear the wisdom of the earth, and receive the visions it offered. This was a sacred, and holy place they approached. With a small noise of derision, she reached over and caught Khez’ran by his ear.
“Ow, ow ow! Grandmatron, leggo! What’d I do?” the youngling squealed in annoyance.
“Quiet, boy. Do you understand what this place is? It’s not a place for younglings to jump about. It’s a place of reverence and respect. Now take your place behind me and keep quiet until I tell you. Today is a special day, Khez’ran. Do you know where we are going?”
The boy rubbed his ear, and quickly stepped back behind his grandmother, walking obediently behind her.
“Yes Grandmatron… to the Earthen Voice. Father’s told me about it. How your father taught him, brought him here, let him see the stories.”
Marl’etak nodded solemnly.
“That’s right. These stones are precious to our tribe, Khez’ran. You should know that well. After all, when the time comes, you will succeed your father as the next Stonespeaker of the Nabarrack People. Today is the day you receive your first vision. The most important vision.” Instantly, Khez’ran’s eyes lit up.
“Truly? Today’s finally the day I see the big battle?” The boy could barely contain his excitement. His father had told him before of his own first vision. The great, final battle between the glorious heroes, and the one that would chain the world to her whim. Ever since he could listen, he had heard this story, and awaited this day. Now his time had finally come! Marl’etak, however, viewed the vision differently – as one often did with time and age well behind them.
“The events you will see are not some glorious battle to be heralded, child. They are not a war between tribes. They are a struggle, of a group of people who sought not to be heroes, but became them and gave their very lives to the stones of the world to save it. You will see why our land is barren and dry. Why our animals are vicious. You will see why it is so dangerous to roam beyond our home. You will gain the wisdom of the Stonespeakers before you, when they, too, made this voyage to the Earthen Voice. When they, too, saw the vision of the end times. Calm yourself, child. The experience is not a game. It is harrowing, and will leave you exhausted. Nevertheless, it is of great import that you begin to understand. Your training must begin now, so that, when I depart this world and return to the stones, your father will be able to rely on YOU to guide our people when he marches to protect our home. Now come. The crest is just ahead.”
“Yes matron..” the boy sighed. Why’d she have to take all the fun out of it? He wanted to see the big battle, with all the angels and devils. With the gods and goddesses warring! Where magic went awry, and the great, glorious heroes gave their lives to save the world! Marl’etak made it sound so grim. How bad could it really be? He did his best to contain his excitement, and followed her up over the top of the hill, to where, he supposed, the stones of the Earthen Voice lay.
Cresting the hill, his eyes gazed first to the stones scattered about. Five tall stones with intricate carvings upon them were arranged in a small circle, with a gap open for one to enter it. Beyond those stones was the land beyond their home – a land Khez’ran had only ever heard about in stories and cautionary tales his parents would tell. As his eyes gazed over the blackened, cracked and dead terrain, he began to understand why. Corrupting crystals as tall as this hill grew in pockets around the wastelands. Dark, twisted creatures prowled the grounds. The skeletons of unwary adventurers from times past littered the terrain. Beyond the wastes, far in the distance, he could see the great mountains that encircled the land of Starhaven, the place of legends.
Starhaven, the place where the old world ended. That’s where the great battle took place. That’s where the heroes prevented the evil sorceress from corrupting the world for her own means, but in the process, caused the great magical cataclysm that had devastated and forever changed the world they lived in. Khez’ran stared in awe at all that he could see, and basked in the opportunity to finally lay eyes, no matter how distant, upon this place of legends. Marl’etak brought him back to reality.
“Child. The time has come. The stones are ready to speak. Step into their circle, and close your eyes. You will see all that occurred that day, and gain the wisdom of the great loss. You will see why we must be wary of outsiders, and careful in who we trust. You will see why magic is a powerful and dangerous force, and one best not trifled with. You will see the world as it was, before it fell to ruin. A time while our world thrived, and the event that set its death in motion.” She nodded to the boy, who stared up at her with wide-eyes. “You will learn why we must be our own saviors, and why we cannot rely on those who say they would save us.”
This was it. His chance. Though her words made him a touch concerned for what he would see once the stones granted him the sight. What was the world like back then? What did the heroes look like? Why did she mistrust them so? Were heroes not to be applauded? So many questions flew through his mind, but he knew that the answers would come only from those stones. Slowly, he stepped forward. With a nervous glance to each of those stones, the boy exhaled softly.
“I am ready to receive your vision, oh great Earthen Voice.”
After he spoke the words, the vision hit him harder than a swift kick to the gut. His world began to spin, as he was transported to a time long past.
The Obsidian Order stood in the center of battle, staring up at the great dark stone spire that rose up hundreds of feet above them. It had formed when the fighting began, in the very center of the city of Starhaven, as the elemental cults opened their portals and set to work completing their brazen plans. Even still, the forces of the Evenstars, the town’s guard and militia, and the Astral Guard, a group of planar soldiers set on preserving the stability of the planes, fought hard to keep the elemental forces from overwhelming the Order and preventing them from their final task. They were to ascend the tower, confront the dark sorceress, Queen Sindaria, and put an end to the elemental cult threat once and for all. Above them, the sky loomed dark and foreboding, grim clouds and hellish tones accenting the burning flames of the city under siege.
That was what they were supposed to be doing, but their own motivations were far too distracting for the moment. Willowmere, the group’s Wizard, inspected the base of the structure out of curiosity. Tanriel, Vatyrius, Aust, and Honta stood by, staring up at it appraisingly.
“I think we’ve found our new headquarters for when this is all over, boys…” Tanriel mused, a greedy smirk crawling over her features. Tanriel was the Order’s leader, and a true stunner. Gifted with impeccable beauty and trained in the art of negotiation and seduction from her noble upbringing, the crimson-haired Warlock easily stood out in that crowd of soldiers, and even among the members of the Order themselves. She crossed her arms over her leather corset, pushing up her already overflowing cleavage. Tanriel DID like to show off, no matter the situation.
At her side were the party’s Cleric, Aust, and Tanriel’s personal ward, the corrupted Paladin, Vatyrius. Aust stood tall and proud in a set of armor that seemed far too heavy for his body type. It bore the symbol of a radiant star upon it, decorated with gold and silver. Green eyes glanced down at Tanriel, as he gave her a simple nod as his dark hair blew in the winds of battle.
“Yeah, I can agree with that. After all I think our old one just went up in flames…” The Cleric noted, turning to gaze at the tower himself. Vatyrius, who stood tall beside his ward, remained silent for the time being. He only truly spoke when necessary, or if commanded by Tanriel. His features were hard to make out – he had armor strikingly similar to Aust’s, though in black and red, with the symbol of Asmodeus, God of all Devilkind, and Tanriel’s own noble house upon it. He gave Tanriel a simple nod of agreement, but otherwise, remained silent. He could sense the battle closing in around them – they wouldn’t have much time left to tarry, but if Tanriel wished to stay and discuss, then he would not stop her.
Honta laughed at the prospect. “If this thing still stands after. It’s in the middle of MY city.” he paused, turning to smirk at the party. “But it WOULD make a pretty damn cool guild hall.” Honta was the group’s assassin. As an Air Genasi, he bore blue-toned flesh and light blue eyes that surveyed that towering spire. Brushing his wispy blue hair from his eyes, he palmed one of his blades. “Battle’s closing in though. Willow, you almost done?”
The Gnome Wizard popped from the base of the structure, a tiny little ball of cute, pointed features and long purple hair, done up into pigtails. Her face was one of confusion, and concern. “Yeah! Sorry. Lots of magic in this thing. Do you guys know anything about the planes? Oh nevermind, you probably don’t. Well, maybe Aust and Tanriel… I don’t know. Anyway!” she tapped her chin curiously. “The tower is made of some sort of strange amalgamation of elemental energies. They’re all crystalized together, forming a material harder than any stone or metal I’ve ever encountered. You’d definitely need powerful magic to create it, let alone shape it. The elements don’t tend to like eachother, and yet, the creator forced them together to form this spire, so.. That’s something!” She seemed almost giddy to impart her knowledge. The group nodded in.. What she could assume was understanding. Tanriel and Aust merely smirked, the two agreeing rather quickly.
“Definitely our next base of operations.” the redhead proclaimed.
The final member of the party, a blonde Half-Elf with a slim build and clad mostly in green clothes, took a few steps towards the tower. “Stone, huh?” Carric asked, running a hand through his unkempt hair. “I could turn into an Earth Elemental, and burrow through it. I wonder…” Aust shook his head in bewilderment, and instantly chided the Druid.
“Carric, the number of times you’ve turned into an elemental and helped us is fewer than the number of times you’ve turned into an elemental and it HASN’T helped us. I don’t think..” An Evenstar soldier was thrown in front of Aust, cutting him off before he could finish his sentence. The fallen soldier had egregious burns all over his face, and most of his armor had either fused to his form, or had melted away. Honta kicked the body away from them as Aust gave it a look of disgust.
“Alright. I think it’s time we start hatching a plan. First of all, Carric, that stone is magic. You probably can’t go through it.” Carric looked visible disappointed at Honta’s reality check. The Rogue continued. “I could try to walk up to the top with my boots of spider climbing, and see what I can see. ” Tanriel shook her head.
“No, that’s too risky. What if she’s up there waiting? We need to be all together when we attack. I think it’d best if we all entered the tower together, and marched up to the top to confront her there.” Aust and Willow nodded in agreement. Willow added her own thoughts to the discussion. “I agree with Tanriel. Plus! I think we’re running out of time, so maybe we should start moving soon maybe.” The sounds of battle did seem to be closing in all around them. The Evenstars’ line was faltering, as a massive Earth Elemental started crushing and obliterating their ranks. Honta hesitated a touch. Even though he was an assassin, this WAS his city, and if the nobles were all dead, nobody would be around to pay him.
“We could stay here. Just fight off the elementals and cultists ourselves.” he suggested. Carric agreed, rubbing his hands together. “Yeah! I like that idea. We could kill every elemental first, then head up the tower.” Aust merely chuckled, shaking his head. “I think we have better odds of surviving up top than we do down here. I can’t see an end to their numbers. C’mon, all of you. Lets get moving.” He took the first steps towards the spire’s entrance, and the rest of the party quickly followed suit. They all stopped at the base, looking up at the imposing structure beyond them. The great elemental broke through the Evenstar lines behind them, rushing to intercept. However, The Astral Guard and Evenstar forces quickly closed around it, forming a tight circle around the base of the structure. The party had only one way to go now.
“For what it’s worth, guys… it’s been a fun ride.” the Cleric grinned, before disappearing into the spire, and ascending the spiral staircase within. Tanriel smirked as Willow moved to follow him. With a quick glance to Carric, Honta, and Vatyrius, she quipped “And that’s when we all turned around and left…” the group had a good laugh, but soon, they, too followed Aust into the ominous dark within.
Khez’ran gasped for breath as his consciousness was returned to him. Dropping to his knees, he panted heavily, trying desperately to compose himself, and catch his breath. Sweat dripped down his brow as he stared at the Earth below. So those were the great heroes of old. They just… seemed like people. Strange people, with strange clothing and strange customs, but people nonetheless. But he couldn’t get out of his head just how.. Disinterested they seemed in the battle ahead. Were they not warriors? Where were their battlecries? Their great plans? Heroic speeches?
The stones called to him. They had yet more to share. While pondering if the mysterious elves to the south looked like Tanriel and Aust, Khez’ran rose to his feet once more, and spoke the necessary words. The impact was more manageable this time, and soon, his vision was transported to the staircase at the top of the tower.
The vision of the stones pulled back to reveal the party ascending the stairwell that made up the majority of that towering structure. The group was quiet, knowing full well that they might be marching to their deaths. Finally, Willow, characteristically, broke the silence.
“If I die, I want to be reincarnated as a Goliath. These stairs are NOT Gnome friendly.” behind her, Tanriel shrugged. She had been relaxing in Vatyrius’ arms as he carried her up that tower. Underneath his plated helm, he was sweating profusely. The Warlock smirked wickedly.
“I don’t know. They don’t seem so terrible to me..” she mused. Carric looked up at the behemoth of a Paladin, clicking his tongue in thought. “Huh. Think you could carry me, too, big guy?” Vatyrius responded only with a dismissive grunt. Carric shrugged. “Well, worth a shot.” Before long, the party spotted glowing lights ahead. They were approaching the tower summit, where the final battle would take place. Their progress slowed to a crawl, then soon after, a stop, as they planned and prepared. As a group, they could feel the raw, oppressive magical force emanating from the room ahead. They knew that, whatever lie beyond, was a far greater foe than any they’d ever fought. For Tanriel, Aust, and Willow, they knew only the desire for vengeance against Sindaria, the Sorceress who had pried them from their homes and their lives, and set them on this path. It had all come to this point, after many long months of travel and hardship.
The party gathered their wits. Willow performed an inventory of all the group’s potions, noting the number of magical Dawnbreak potions they’d been gifted by the city. These potions were incredibly powerful and mystic in origin, and could bring the dead to life, refresh the weary, close all wounds, mend muscles, and restore magical potency. Honta ducked to the back, and pulled out a small bag of some unknown, dusty substance. He tipped a pinch over his head, and instantly vanished from sight. Carric began the preparations to summon an elemental ally to use against Sindaria. Aust complained about his lack of magical components. Willow spotted Carric summoning an elemental, and met it with her own spell. Tanriel adjusted her makeup, and summoned the will of her patron to grant her resistance to the heat of elemental fire.
After arguing for a short time about who should summon what elemental, Carric conjured up an Earth elemental, and Willow summoned a fiery servant of her own. The party regarded the pair of summoned creatures warily. Carric noticed the tension, and stepped into the group, waving his hands dismissively.
“Now now, it’s alright. As long as the two of us retain our concentration, the elementals will remain purely under our command and won’t harm any allies.” Aust and Tanriel deadpanned at Carric in response. Neither he, nor Willow had the best track record with attention spans. Aust groaned, and wiped his face with a palm. “Ugh. Great, More enemies.” Honta smirked from his hiding place near the group. “Great… more enemies!” he said to himself, excitedly. As Willow realized her elemental could turn on her, she quickly cast a Fire Shield spell on herself, covering herself in a flame resistant shield that would make her immune should the worst come to pass.
The time for battle had come. Aust and Carric strode to the front of the group, ready to charge in and protect their advance at a moment’s notice. Honta, still invisible, remained close behind them, ready to slip into the room as soon as they had entered. Behind them, the two elementals took up a fair share of the stairwell, blocking Vatyrius, Tanriel, and Willow from seeing much else. As imagined, Aust and Carric were the first ones to set eyes upon the room, and the foe, before them.
Sindaria was an elven woman, beautiful enough to match even Tanriel in desirability. Though Tanriel bore pale flesh, Sindaria’s was far more tanned, and her hair was as dark as night itself. She had clad herself in ornate, royal robes, as she hailed from a nation she had ruled as Queen for many years. Her garb was befitting that of a Sorceress Queen. Her eyes glowed purple with pure arcane power, as she reached her hands out towards one of four magical crystals in the room.
The crystals were the next point of interest. The circular room itself was roughly carved from that black stone, with a mostly-flat floor and domed roof. In each quarter of the room, an elemental crystal floated a few feet above the ground, absolutely pulsing and brimming with raw, unfiltered elemental power. To the northeast was a crystal of earthen power, brown in colour with small, ashen grey stones orbiting it slowly. The southeast was occupied by the crystal of elemental air, a sky blue crystal with shimmering clouds within, and sparks of lightning arcing from its surface. The southwestern corner housed the crystal of water, a sparkling dark blue in colour, with jets of water surging out from the surface and spiraling about. Finally, the northwestern quadrant housed the burning crystal of elemental fire, a dark red crystal marked by spouts of angry red flames.
Carric turned to Aust, ready to ask about a plan, only to see a look of pure determination and anger upon the Cleric’s features. Without warning, Aust stepped into the room without a moments’ hesitation, yelling at the top of his lungs. Carric and Honta soon followed after him.
“Sindaria! We will be your undoing!”
Instantly, the evil Sorceress turned and regarded him with a look of annoyance. “Heh. You again. Well then..” she turned to face the air crystal, raising her hands to siphon power from it. “You are welcome to try…” she dared dismissively, as a beam of yellow lightning surged into her body. She lurched, as her eyes turned bright yellow, and a shimmering shield of sky blue surrounded her form. The shield obscured her from view, causing Aust to curse in annoyance.
“Damn shield!” Aust spat angrily, as Carric quickly looked about the room, surveying for any boulder-related threats. He’d already nearly met his end earlier that day at the hands of the demigod of Elemental Earth, Ogremoch. He wasn’t about to take ANOTHER boulder to the face. Instantly, he spotted that earth crystal, and began to sweat with nervousness.
Honta sighed and glanced back at the elementals, as they lumbered up the stairs, trapping the rest of the party behind them.
“Guess it’s just the three of us, then.” he quipped, and took to the outskirts of the room. Tanriel and Willow, trapped behind the two elementals, glanced at eachother with amusement in their eyes. Tanriel laughed softly.
“And this is how they all died…” Willow giggled, hopping up another step as they edged closer to the top.
The air crystal pulsed with strain as Sindaria drained energy from it. A particularly large spark arced into the corner of the room, and in its wake, it left a small, living, swirling tornado. It raised two windy palms, and lightning shot between them. It set its sights on Aust, as Sindaria cursed them from behind the shield.
“I don’t really have time for this little interruption, you know. I have more power to consume, and a world to dominate, Begone, insects…” she attempted to dismiss them, and instead focused on drawing power from that air crystal. Her shield shimmered and absorbed that power, causing small arcs of lightning to shock the air nearby.
Aust glanced to Carric, who had remained at his side. “I think we should scatter.” He suggested. Carric nodded.
Firing back a simple “Good idea.”, Carric instantly bolted off near the Earth Crystal. He raised his hands and began channeling a spell. “I’m going to try to dispel the crystal!” He proclaimed to the group. Aust, who was running for the air crystal, rolled his eyes. Carric had played out this song and dance before. Carric let the spell loose, but the crystal seemed unaffected.
“Enough with the dispel magic thing! Do something valuable for once!” Aust fired at him as his face contorted in annoyance.
“I thought it would help! I don’t want to get hit by another magical boulder!” The Druid replied, eying that earth crystal warily. Aust sighed exasperatedly.
“It wasn’t a magical boulder! It was a real-life, normal boulder, Carric! Get your shit together!” Carric quickly sighed and nodded. He knew Aust was right. He glanced back to the room’s entrance.
“Maybe it if I cast it at a higher potency… no, no, no, he’s right. Maybe later.” The Druid cleared his throat. “Hey! Elemental servant! Get in here and smash the lady in the middle with your big fists!” he smiled proudly and glanced back to Aust for approval. Aust simply shook his head in dismay. Willow quickly coaxed her own elemental into the same course of action. Both elementals then stormed up the stairs, through the entrance, and rushed towards Sindaria in her shield.
The fire elemental was the first to each her, and as it brought its fiery fists to bear against the shield. However, instead of causing any damage to the orb of energy surrounding the sorceress, the fire elemental’s fists merely bounced off, completely ineffective. Those inside the room watched as the earth elemental quickly did the same, the shield completely absorbing and dismissing the impact of its great stony fists.
Finally, Willow, Vatyrius, and Tanriel reached the entrance to the room, surveying all that happened within. Willow shouted to Aust.
“Hey Aust! I know you’re busy rushing off into battle or something, but do you have a plan or something? What did you want me to do?” the tiny Gnome shouted across the hum of the magical crystals. Aust ran past the Earth crystal, turned on the spot, and rushed towards the air crystal. As he did, the small stones from the earth crystal seemed to gravitate towards him, and he felt the power contained within reach out, seeking a new vessel. He glanced back at Willow momentarily, before turning his attention to those boulders.
“Uhh.. figure it out, Willow!” he said dismissively, before glancing at Carric with a confused look in his eyes. Carric returned the look, and nodded towards the Earth Crystal. They were both thinking the same thing; something weird was going on with those crystals, and they’d have to examine them further. Aust continued his forward rush, darting towards the air crystal.
As Aust began to make his way towards the crystal Sindaria had siphoned rom, she recoiled, and broke her link to the elemental container. She then turned her attention to the earth crystal, and began to siphon from that instead. As the beam of energy reached her hands, her airy shield dissipated, and was instead replaced with one of an earthy brown colour. Small boulders rotated around the shield as it floated there just above the floor.
Reeling from the strain of being siphoned from, a boulder from the earth crystal broke off, and formed a tiny earth elemental near Carric’s feet. He cringed as the rock flew in his direction, only to compose himself as it formed into a small creature.
“Oh! Hello tiny ele—OW!” the elemental instantly punched him in the foot. While the rest of the party began to scatter through the room, he cursed loudly, and began to transform. His flesh turned to stone, then began to expand multiple times over. His voice lowered and slowed, before becoming a clatter or rocks and stone. “Tiny little shit… I’ll smash you!” he roared, before completely transforming into a much larger earth elemental.
As Aust bolted towards the air crystal, the tiny living tornado attempted to cut him off. It raised a windy palm, and fired a bolt of hot lightning in Aust’s direction.
“Oh shit!” the Cleric exclaimed, though the bolt hit his holy symbol, and bounced off in another direction. He breathed a sigh of relief, then readied his weapon. “Thanks, Pelor. I owe you one. Now to cut you down…” he stared with determination at that tiny elemental.
Meanwhile, back at the entrance, Tanriel, Vatyrius, and Willow were all quickly springing into action. Tanriel lifted her hands in a square shape, then spread them wide, opening a rift in the very fabric of reality – a Dimension Door. She stepped through, and arrived beside the water crystal. Curiously, she felt the draw of power from the strange object. Tanriel could never resist an opportunity for more power. With little hesitation, she reached out and touched that crystal.
Almost immediately, she felt the elemental energy within surging at her, seeking to use her as its conduit. With a little mental focus, Tanriel regulated the draw of that power, siphoning out a moderate sum of magic from its core. The act of drawing power chilled her to the bone, as if she’d been dropped in a lake of freezing water. Once she’d had enough, Tanriel ripped her hand from the crystal with a forceful jolt. It had begun to glow blue with water elemental energy. A devious smirk grew over her features, her eyes now regarding the crystal with hunger.
Vatyrius took his position near the fire crystal, ready to strike or draw from it upon Tanriel’s orders. Willow, however, had stopped to appraise the situation in that room. She watched Tanriel draw from the crystals with great interest, before her attention was drawn to many of the others, including the one Sindaria was siphoning from. The gears began to turn, as her eyes fell upon Carric, freshly transformed into an earth elemental.
“Carric! We don’t need three elementals!” she called out in an annoyed tone, just as he smashed the tiny earth elemental with his fists. Her attention then turned towards a shimmering figure near the fire crystal. Honta had snuck over to it, though his form was still quite invisible. He, too, had watched Tanriel siphon power from the water crystal, and sought to do the same from the fire crystal. While he draws power from the crystal of fire, the small orbiting flame spouts encircled and burnt at his blue flesh. After drawing a moderate sum of power, he pulled back as Tanriel did, revealing his glowing red hands. The lightbulb quickly turned on in Willow’s mind. She knew what they had to do. Putting her hands on her hips, she addressed the party.
“SO! Why aren’t all of you standing at crystals yet?!” She yelled to the group, giving them all a solid staredown. Aust glanced back at her, bringing his shield up to protect himself from the small air elemental’s attacks.
“Why would we?” he yelled back in a confused tone. He blocked another attack from the elemental, straining a touch under his defense. Willow didn’t like his tone. Did she really have to explain everything?
“I though it was obvious, but for the intellectually challenged in the group, you can gain power from the crystals! Just touch them to siphon it out, and tada!” She beamed at Aust, as the Carric elemental tilted its stony head in curiosity. Honta shouted at her from the Fire Crystal.
“Well, Tanriel and I figured that out. Not ALL of us are as dense as Aust!” he quipped, and Tanriel punctuated it with a playful laugh.
“Ha-ha. Okay, fine. We can siphon energy. But to what end, Willow?” Aust retorted, now getting truly annoyed at this tiny nuisance before him. He tried to stomp it out with a boot, but it dodged to the side and kept trying to zap him. Willow rolled her eyes.
“Uh… probably to kill her, genius! That’s why we’re HERE, right? Either that, or to destroy them so she can’t use them!” as she spoke, she quickly began a tiny Gnome-sprint over towards the earth crystal. As soon as she placed her hands upon it, the small stones began to encircle her palm. She drew a small sum of energy from it, suffering minor damage as the rocks crashed and vibrated through her. She pulled back, and her hands began to glow brown. She smiled up at Aust.
“See?!” Aust sighed and dodged another small lightning blast. She was right, it seemed. Quickly, he ducked his opponent and rushed to the air crystal, placing his hand upon it. Lightning surged into him, coursing through his form. He pried his hand free, having taken moderate damage from the crystal. A quick examination revealed his hand was glowing a bright yellow, and he felt that energy inside of him. The question was… what to do with it?
All four party members felt it. The addiction to power, calling for them to draw more. The strength it granted them, the surge in confidence. This was what Sindaria was feeling, but on a far greater scale. And yet, all four sensed the ability to release the energy, as well. With a bit of focus, they could unleash the power they’d accumulated into a powerful blast, aimed wherever they wanted. Aust smirked widely, spun around, and swung his Flametongue, a burning longsword, down at the tiny elemental that had been annoying him. The blade reduced the elemental to a cloudy wisp, as lightning arced off of Aust’s form. In glee, he screamed out.
“YEEEEEEEAH! I FEEL GREAT!” the rest of the group shook their heads at their Cleric companion, but their attention was quickly diverted elsewhere. The Earth Elemental had punched the shield, only this time, it seemed to slip through and impact Sindaria herself. She growled in pain and anger, doing her best to ignore that elemental and focus on siphoning more power.
“Insects! Get your hands off of MY crystals!” She screeched, as the party smirked and looked back at those crystals greedily. They knew exactly what they had to do now. Sindaria broke her connection to the earth crystal, and instead turned to draw from the air crystal once more. As the beam poured from the crystal into her hands, her shield changed back to the bluish sky-hue from before. Aust backed off from the crystal only long enough to grasp what he had to do. A confident grin rolled over his features as another tiny air elemental was birthed from the crystal beside him. Aust looked to the rest of the party to see if they had come to the same conclusion as he.
While Vatyrius positioned himself near Sindaria’s shield to strike out at it as needed, Tanriel siphoned a large sum of power from the water crystal before her. Her maniacal laughter was second to none as she felt her body overwhelmed with pure elemental power. Then, she turned to face Sindaria, raised her hand, and fired a beam of bright blue elemental energy at the shield. Unfortunately for Tanriel, the beam bounced off the shield, completely ineffective. Her demeanor changed from crazed power-trip to utter annoyance and disappointment.
Carric decided that he didn’t like that earth crystal much, and brought his big stony fists down upon it, attempting to shatter it. Much to his chagrin, not only did the crystal refuse to budge even the slightest, the impact reverberated through his form, causing several of the stones that made up his body to crack violently. Instantly, Aust and Honta began to argue about what Carric should be doing with his time.
“Carric! Get over here and kill this damn elemental behind me! I’m busy!” he said, as he turned to focus on that crystal before him. Honta then shouted from the fire crystal, though he was still very much invisible.
“No! He needs to attack Sindaria when she draws from the earth crystal!” he called back, as Carric looked between them, confused. He offered an earthly shrug. Between them, the fire elemental continued to batter at Sindaria’s shield uselessly. Vatyrius tried to strike it with his heavy obsidian maul, also having no effect whatsoever. The sounds of an oncoming storm outside echoed through that hollow hall in which they did battle, punctuating their strikes with crashes of thunder.
As the party discovered more about those crystals and her shield, several members still wished to test the boundaries of their powers, and experiment further. Quickly, this sowed division upon the battlefield. Honta siphoned more power from the fire crystal, the flames searing his flesh. He then rushed to the earth crystal, beside Willow, who squeaked in surprise at his sudden appearance, then quickly followed it with anger.
“Honta! What are you doing?! We should have someone at every crystal!” Honta quickly disagreed, moving towards the earth crystal to grasp it.
“I wanted to try something, just trust me!” the rogue shot back to her. Willow huffed, then turned her attention to Sindaria once more. Quickly, she began to conjure up a spell, as arcane lightning crackled at her fingertips. Aust looked over, breaking his concentration momentarily.
Tanriel didn’t seem to get it and wasted her newfound power. Honta was fucking around, and now Willow was wasting a spell when she should be siphoning from a crystal? Aust thought to himself, as his annoyance grew. Quickly, he shouted at Willow in exasperation.
“Stop it! Can’t you tell? Just wait for her shield to change colour! That’s the magic that affects her! All other damage does nothing! How come I’m the only one who figured this out? Get your shit together!” he growled in frustration at his companions. While the rest of the group focused on the battle, Willow turned and stuck her tongue out at the Cleric in annoyance, then charged up her attack anyway. Firing a Witch Bolt, sickly green arcane lightning surged outwards, through the shield, and into Sindaria’s form. While the Sorceress shrugged off the minor annoyance that spell was, Willow looked back at Aust triumphantly.
“I know what I’m doing, Aust! I’m not stupid! Just focus on hitting things with your big flamey sword, okay?” she quipped back. As tensions rose, Aust’s temper flared, and he sheathed his weapon out of spite. Stepping towards that air crystal, he drew a massive sum of power from it, the electricity scorching and marring his body, then turned to face Sindaria. His body crackled with electricity and raw air elemental power. He raised his hands, and summoned every last drop of that newfound energy into his palms.
The whole party turned to watch as Aust screamed out in a mix of determination, frustration, and agony. A beam of blue-white energy, surrounded with sparks of lightning, surged violently through Sindaria’s shield and crashed into her. The party was rewarded with a pained scream from the Sorceress’ lips, as her concentration broke on that air crystal. She turned to glare at Aust.
“You will NOT take my power from me! No matter WHAT the prophecy says, you will NOT stop me!” Sindaria seethed with rage. Were they really trying to steal her elemental power? This was her gift, her right! It was what she deserved! She was incredulous at the whole concept. Much to her chagrin, however, the party realized it, and just as much as they had been momentarily at odds with eachother, they came together to make further quips, and get under her skin.
“He didn’t take it from you, he gave it to you!” Honta cried out from beside the earth crystal. Aust laughed as Sindaria spun around to glare at the invisible man with the glowing hands, and quickly jumped in on the game.
“Just tryin’ to help you out, Sindaria! After all, you wanted all this energy, right?” The Sorceress returned her furious gaze to Aust’s own once more. She screeched in consuming rage.
“I do NOT need your help! Begone, and sully my crystals no more!”Unfortunately for Sindaria, the Obsidian Order were never great listeners. They converged on those crystals, as the elementals and Vatyrius focused their strikes upon that shield. Blast after elemental blast rang out as Sindaria siphoned from each different magical crystal, and each blow to her body weakened her shield further and further. In less than thirty seconds, the party quickly reduced her shield to a mere memory, and Sindaria was exposed to them once more. Rage seethed in her eyes. She was done playing games.
“You pathetic, insignificant, short-sighted fools! You don’t understand the power you’re toying with! These crystals… they are mine. These elementals are mine! The power is all mine, and I will not let you stop me now!” she roared in annoyance and anger, as she reached out to each crystal, one by one. The elemental energy trapped within each party member surged out of them, quickly impacting Sindaria’s form. So too, did the elemental crystals break down into a beam of raw energy, and surged towards her. As the myriad powers coalesced into her, they began to spin into a seeming cocoon of raw magical energy. Swirling wisps of flame, surges of water, puffs of clouds and rocky outcroppings encased the Sorceress as her form slowly rose towards the ceiling. The sheer sense of power was oppressive, as the party stared in awe. They had been emboldened by their momentary success, but to see Sindaria drain those crystals like nothing had shook them all.
Had she merely been playing with them? Or was she becoming desperate, reckless? Those thoughts weighed heavily upon their minds as they readied their weapons and prepared for the worst.
Khez’ran swallowed hard as he was forced back to reality by those stones once more. The force of the experience had knocked him backwards, onto his hindquarters. He stared up at those tall, carved stones with awe and great expectation, but as soon as he tried to stand, he found his legs nearly unable to move. A hand on his shoulder reminded him he was not alone.
“Take a moment, recover yourself, child. What you have seen so far… that is merely the beginning of the end. Much more battle takes place. The next vision will be more harrowing, more powerful. If you are not ready—”
“I am, Grandmatron.” The boy said, slowly pushing himself to stand upon those shaky legs. He couldn’t back down now. There was more story to be heard. He had to know how the battle ended, how the heroes stopped the Sorceress. Had she truly been toying with them? What was the true extent of her power? Who would rise up among them to put an end to her once and for all?
With determination, he looked upon those stones, and swallowed hard. Marl’etak nodded to herself, and took several steps backwards. Khez’ran beseeched the stones once more.
“Please, Oh great Earthen Voice. I am ready to receive your vision. Show me how this battle ended. Show me how the Sorceress Sindaria met her end. Show me…” his breath caught momentarily in his throat, as he gazed to the wastelands beyond his home.
“Show me how our world died.”
Leave a comment