Over three months had passed since the Mending. After a tragic series of events in Bant led to the exile of Josh and Eron, they found themselves messengers to the worlds of Alara that were not so civilized and paid attention to their histories. As they quickly found out, there were people within these less civilized worlds that knew about the reconvergence of Alara.
In a chance encounter on the way to the Sacellum in Naya, Josh and Eron met Shalin, an exiled elven godtoucher. Happy to accept a new ally, the Bantians let her accompany them to the Sacellum. There, they discovered signs of both the Mending and the work of a great, malevolent entity. The corpses of victims of a strange disease puzzled and mildly frightened the three adventurers, all the way to the bottom of the Sacellum. They defeated one of Naya's sacred beasts, the Gargantuans, crippled with the strange disease. A figure wearing unusual, all-natural clothing pointed them eastward.
After being driven eastward, the party survived both a viashino attack and a dragon attack in the same day. After the fallout, the team nursed a dying human back to life. Curious as to the strange customs of the party, he introduced himself as Ace, then started traveling with them. Across the Rip and through Mount Worldheart they journeyed, each leg of the trip more dangerous than the last. In an underground cavern deep within Mount Worldheart, Ace discovered an underground village near the Bloodhall, and met Rakka Mar, the Vision Speaker.
A powerful and respected shaman, Rakka Mar led the party eastward into Grixis, the land of death and decay. The destination was the Necropolis of Unx. From the remnants of Jund's tar pits, they rode north on Shalin's finest tamed beasts, fleeing from the regenerating zombies constantly on the prowl for what little life force remained in the land. After storming the city, they discovered Rakka Mar had tricked them, buying her superiors time to assemble a defense.
When they arrived at the Necropolis of Sedraxis, they encountered the lich lord Sedris, Traitor to Vithia. Boasting a massive undead army and frighteningly powerful magic, the party had no choice but to flee Grixis entirely. That was when they discovered Sedris' true plan: he wanted to use the Mending as an opportunity to create an undead empire spanning all of Alara.
The party retraced their steps across the four worlds, reporting their findings. Out of clues, they had no choice but to re-enter Bant, the world which Josh and Eron were exiled from so long ago. The four of them entered a tournament in order to get back on good terms with the monarchy, and succeeded. They learned more about the legends of the Sundering and Mending of Alara from both the mouth of the king and the royal archives.
Their answers were across the sea, to the last world of Alara they had not visited yet. A strange-looking kraken barred their path, but with a team effort they were able to overcome it. After crossing the Glass Dunes, the party found themselves in Esper, the land where nature was vitrually nonexistent. After roaming the streets for no less than a half hour, they were arrested and put on trial.
At the end of the trial, a Vectis senator by the name of Aravan realized that these four wanted to get to the bottom of the strange events occurring all over Alara, and resigned his position in office to join the group. They were assigned to clean out the Etherium Mines. It was a long and arduous task, and could not have been done without the arcanist's strategic and conservative approach.
Sharuum, Esper's sphinx hegemon, immediately summoned them when word got out that their mission was successful. She explained the implications of the Mending and the reason why all the strange happenings were occurring. She mentioned the names of six Guardians of Alara: Sedris, Malfegor, Kresh, Mayael, Asha, and herself. With an array of hints to guide them, they left for Bant's eastern plains, riding aboard a team of gargoyles. Just as Sharuum had predicted, the inclement weather and local hate for artifice meant the gargoyles had to turn back and let their riders dismount before flying back to Esper.
The experiences Josh, Eron, Shalin, Ace, and Aravan had been through strengthened both their combat abilities and their friendship with one another. But the journey was not getting any easier from this point, nor were the battles with Sedris' troops. With the invasion tying up the defenses of the four other worlds, this band of travelers was the only group of people capable of stopping Sedris without risking the lives of thousands of people in the process.
"No!" Josh and Eron gasped as they crossed into the hills of Akrasa. The skies of their homeland were covered with lightning clouds, effectively cutting the angels off from the ground world. They were powerful, but not powerful enough to fly through dense clouds erupting lightning bolts. The plains started turning brown in patches instead of the vivid green they were normally colored. Buildings, way stations, and other structures appeared to be intact. At least the plains weren't being flooded with heavy amounts of rain that accompanied normal lightning storms.
"Were we too late?" Aravan added, then started casting a spell. Once the mana was right in his hands, he canceled the casting. "Our spells seem to work still."
"Aravan, have you ever ridden anything besides a gargoyle?" Shalin asked.
"No," he replied. "There really isn't a need to unless you travel a very long distance. Drakes are too wild, and sphinxes are too intelligent."
"I was asking for a good reason. Through some means, most of us have some living thing we can ride on. And for the two of us that don't, I can provide you with one. None of them can fly, which is probably for the better, given the current weather conditions. Guys, show them. And Ace, no firecat."
"But it doesn't hurt, honestly!" he pleaded.
"You're lying. I saw your face when you fought me in the arena--you were shrugging off pain."
"But it doesn't hurt, Shalin! That was from your spells--you know I don't know how to defend myself against magic!"
"Ace, you're not going to be able to fool a godtoucher," Aravan interrupted. "Her Wisdom score is far too high for that."
"Ace, I tell you what..." Shalin continued. "If you can find a way to become resistant to fire, magical or otherwise, I'll have no problem with you being on your firecat. I'm just worried about your safety...that's all. Sometimes, you're too reckless for your own good. Anyway, Josh, get ready." The two of them began casting spells to summon their trusty animal steeds from the aether. Summon magic still eluded Aravan. Despite being an arcanist, he had no idea how it worked. Josh called his leotau back into Bant, and Shalin brought forth three creatures: the Nayan cheetah for herself, her lion for either Eron or Aravan, and the Cliffrunner for Ace.
"You ride on these things?!" Aravan gasped. "These are supposedly the very beasts your people worship! Wouldn't your people have excommunicated you from society, Shalin?"
"I'm aware of that," she snapped back. "Rather than be excommunicated from their order, I left of my own volition. The lesser Gargantuans I have enlisted have been invaluable in getting as far as we have in hindering Sedris' grand scheme." The other four mounted their usual creatures. Aravan was still puzzled. With the exception of the leotau, there appeared to be no way for the others to control their beasts. He reluctantly had Josh help him onto the leotau.
The knight had his mount lag behind the others just to let Aravan get used to being on a running creature. This made him unable to charge into hostile creatures like normal, often having to suppress battle instincts for his friend's safety. Instead, Ace took that privilege for himself, letting the Nayan monster overrun just about anything they came across besides wild and undead leotau.
"Finally," Eron sighed. "The Akrasan castle is in sight."
"Rise. There is no need for formalities," the Akrasan king said, taking a seat at the round table on the east end of his throne room. "Have a seat, all of you." An angel floated behind the king, her and the guards on edge.
"So, what's the situation here?" Josh asked as his party took seats on the end of the table opposite from the monarch. "Can't be very good."
"You're right. It's pretty grim. Castle Valeron, the Southwest Castle, and the Seaside Palace have all fallen to fell creatures we've never seen the likes of before. Our balmgivers think they're somewhere between alive and dead, which is a prepostrous claim."
"But it's likely true," Eron replied. "When we traveled to Grixis, or as you know it, Vithia, the place was flooded with these kinds of creatures. No wonder you were overrun so easily--being unable to cast fire magic makes fighting undead hard."
"We quickly figured out that they were vulnerable to holy light as well. But when the storms came, we were cut off from the angels that normally protect us. A few were on the ground, but there couldn't have been any more than ten."
"Do you have enough troops to storm the Seaside Palace?"
"We sent a few scouts out, but not all of them made it back. The stories they told me were horrifying. Apparently, Sedris' tainting of Bant has not only caused the fields to start dying, but it has even changed the décor of the castles. Rather than glorifying Asha, they appear serve an entity of light and darkness. I say 'entity' because I cannot think of anything celestial that wields both light and darkness."
"I can't, either. But I have an idea. It's a bit daring, but we could attempt to infiltrate the castles. We number few, so finding us will be difficult. Moreover, we all placed well at the last Hero Competition. I'm assuming that is the reason why you admitted us an audience with Your Royal Highness to begin with. We've been all over the five worlds of Alara; we are capable of defending ourselves."
(Silence Music Track)
Before the king was able to reply, the sound of shattering glass filled the room. Everything that happened in the next few seconds seemed to occur in slow motion. An angel, wielding what appeared to be a celestially-crafted sword, flew through the stained-glass window on the east side of the room. Without any warning whatsoever, a scream filled the room--she plunged her sword directly into the center of the back of the king's guardian angel.
This angel was different from the slain one in that one of her wings was black, and one was white. Instead of wearing white or golden robes, hers were tainted gray. Even her sword glowed strangely; a brilliant white on one side of the blade, and a consuming black on the other. "Get the king in lockdown, now!" the guards shouted. To the party's surprise, the strange angel made no effort to kill the political leader.
"Consider this a warning strike," the two-toned angel's low, feminine voice echoed in the nearly empty chamber. She pointed her blade at the bleeding corpse of the angel she had just slain. "By ending this game of yours, you five can receive high positions in Sedris' new empire of Alara. Given the amount of power you have, he would make the five of you commanders of legions of undead. All you need do is end this charade."
"Undeath is not life!" Shalin shouted. "How many times do we have to tell your people?!"
"I'd rather die than 'live' as a lich, even!" Ace cried out.
"And you two?" she pointed her sword at Eron and Aravan.
"I've seen aether-liches before. The Ethersworn believe they are perfection. But as I have discovered by traveling with these four, even replacing all bodily functions with filigree parts and enchantments is not life. Etherium enhancements do increase what humans are capable of, but they also take away what makes humans...well, human!"
"Being a ranger from a town well southwest of here, I have a level of respect for life that a lot of people don't. You don't even have that common level of respect for it."
"So you wish to rebel against Sedris' conquest?" the angel asked. "The penalty for such a transgression...is complete annihilation!"
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
The party drew their weapons and readied themselves to charge toward the angel. "Wait!" Aravan shouted. "It's suicide to fight without a battle plan!" The Esper wizard closed his eyes for a split second. "You cannot keep a secret from me! Soulgaze!"
"What...?" Shalin said, looking confused. The spell delved into the angel's mind, returning valuable information that could turn the tide of battle in his party's favor.
As Aravan processed the information, an urgent look covered his face. "Everyone except Ace and Josh needs to stay the hell away from her! That's a Sword of Light and Shadow she's wielding!"
"So?" Ace snapped. "We have to kill her regardless!"
"It gives her Vampiric Touch as a passive ability. Meaning that when she hits with her sword, she drains the life energy for herself. As far as weak points go, all of her stats except Dexterity are solid. Her Intelligence is higher than her Strength, so watch out for her spells!"
"I know how powerful angelic spells are," Josh sighed. "I've seen one before. Aravan, anything else you can tell us?"
"Strength is 33, Constitution is 34, Intelligence is 41, Dexterity is 26, Wisdom is 44, and Luck is 29. She resists light and darkness, and is immune to all status ailments except poison and blinding. Her Constitution is significantly lower than her Wisdom, so conventional attacks should work better than magic. She has a little over 18,000 hit points, so we're in for a long fight. That's all I can tell you."
The angel raised her sword above her head, then spun around with her sword arm outstretched, creating a dual-toned energy wave. Whether the group was hit with light or darkness, most of them couldn't tell. All they knew was it stung. "So, have you changed your minds yet?" she taunted them.
"Bloodthorn overgrowth, weaken my foes with your deadly toxin! Venomous Vines!" Shalin cried. As the incantation would suggest, a large array of vines rose from underneath the angel and entangled her, small hooks on the ends of them piercing her skin. She began casting a spell, but the pain ringing in her head was too great. By the time the mana was at her fingertips, it wasn't concentrated enough to form a counterattack.
Rather than attacking the angel while it was immobilized, Ace was casting. "Become fleet of foot! Accelerate!" he cried. Suddenly, his steps and reaction time became much faster. He and Josh struck with their blades almost simultaneously, just as the vines receded. The poison wracked the angel's body, but she was now able to move and concentrate. Eron landed a pair of arrows right after she broke out.
"If you honestly think you are going to defeat me, you're wrong!" their black and white foe shouted. "Come and get me! Retaliate!" The battle instinct-driven Ace slashed at the angel. She seemed to shrug the blow off, then immediately sliced upward. With the Jundian in the air, she kicked him away, sending him flying almost to the edge of the throne room.
"Ace, what are you doing?" Josh scolded his friend. "You've seen me cast that spell before! When she casts that, use magic!"
"He's right," Aravan agreed. "As long as that spell is active, she gets an attack of opportunity on anyone that strikes her with a weapon!"
"The spell doesn't last very long--we can wait it out!" All of them backed away from the angel, doing their best to maintain distant positions. She attempted another spin attack, but all five were able to duck under the wave. The party and the angel all began casting spells, Ace's finishing first. Two intersecting columns of fire roasted his opponent, but she seemed to shrug the blow off. Josh launched a blade of wind at the corrupted angel, and Shalin followed with a full twister. The angel became dizzy from the swirling winds, but that was just after she got her spell off.
"Become enveloped in a living hell! Dark Banishing!" she cried through the wind. A sphere of black mana collided with Shalin. She shrieked, but more out of fear than pain. She had seen her thoctar nearly die to this spell several weeks ago. It didn't actually hurt her much.
Several volleys later, Shalin called forth a refreshing waterfall to revitalize the party as the angel's Retaliate spell finally wore off. "So it's come to this," the angel sighed. "I didn't want to have to make your deaths this quick, but I'm running out of options." The room darkened when she started screaming, her body surrounded by a black flame for around ten seconds. Even after the flame faded, the room still remained darker than usual. Looking for an unusually powerful spell, Aravan readied countermagic. Before he could finish, though, the spell had already gone off. "Inflict a wound that bleeds the body and spirit! Gloomlance!" A shadow lance impaled Ace from underneath, then three more punctured him from various angles. When the spears receded back into the ground, Ace collapsed. The angel received some feedback from her spell, but she felt it was worth it to defeat her foes more efficiently.
Eron promptly got Ace back on his feet, but this would become an uphill battle. The spells they were facing were stronger than any they had ever seen cast. As during the last phase, Josh and Ace tried to distract the flying warrior with their melee attacks, but it didn't work so well this time. After landing one blow apiece, she blasted them back with the light side of her blade and the energy wave resulting from her spin attack. Both of them dropped.
Shalin generated another twister, which provided the cover for Eron to run to Josh and get him back on his feet. The rest of the party did their best to cover for the ranger until he revived Ace as well. Aravan joined in as well, taking a break from directing strategy to start dropping chunks of ice on the black and white-winged foe.
The angel panting, she raised her blade skyward once more, eyes closed as she drew large amounts of white mana into her hands. "Shine the light of justice upon the unrighteous! Purge!" A sphere of blinding light grew around Aravan. Smaller spheres struck the large one, looking like miniature comets as they passed by. Once it had reached capacity, the sphere exploded in a gleam of wavering brilliance. The Esperite's eyes closed, then he, too, collapsed.
"Get Aravan back up immediately, Eron!" Shalin shouted out of concern for her etherium-laced ally.
"I'm tapped," Eron moaned back. "I can't!"
"Dammit," Ace swore, his hand shaking from having to be resurrected so many times in such a short span. With one last combination of melee attacks and spells, the party finally inflicted a mortal wound on the angel.
"You may have won this battle..." she whispered, "but there are still two more of us. Sedris will not...relinquish Bant...without...a fight!"
(Silence Music Track)
At that, she breathed her last. Josh and Ace used the dead angel's wings as pieces of cloth to wipe their weapons free of blood. At that moment, the Bantian noticed that her sword was still glowing with light and shadow. He laid his sword next to the glowing one, and saw that hers was slightly shorter than the one he had. He touched the sword's handle, and nothing appeared to happen. "Hey guys," he tried to get their attention, "I think I can use this!"
"You won't be able to cast any shadow magic off of it," Shalin replied. "We should try to learn more about it before you actually wield it. Let's let the king know the castle is safe again."
"But where's the lockdown chamber?"
"If it's constructed anything like the castle back in south Eos, it should be in the basement," Eron guessed. "But I suggest we get Aravan back on his feet first."
"There would be a cleric in lockdown with him. I guarantee you that--it's a standard precaution in case of a siege or a similar attack. That person will be able to resurrect Aravan. For now, Ace and I will carry his body to the basement."
--------------
Halfway through a basement hall, Ace heard what he thought was the wall on his right giving way. He looked over to see what it was, and it was a cleric, a guard, and the king inside a sealed chamber. "How did you know we weren't bad guys?" he asked.
"There's a periscope in the lockdown chamber. When we saw you, we opened the door. Now get in before the monsters do!"
"Actually, we've cleaned the place out. The throne room's a bit of a mess from a long battle, but the castle is safe now."
"What a relief," the ruler sighed. "Any word on what's happened to the other castles?"
"The big ones in Valeron and Eos have been captured. There are three castles, but only two other angels."
"We were also able to recover this," Josh added, showing him the strange weapon the angel used. "Do you know anyone who would know anything about this?" The cleric guarding the king knelt down next to Aravan's body, placed just outside the lockdown chamber, and revived him. "You okay, Aravan?"
"Dizzy, but I'll be okay," he replied.
"So, who would know about this sword?" Josh continued.
"I've never seen anything like that," the kind answered.
"Is it cursed or anything like that?"
Without a word, the white-robed mage knelt down again, casting a spell to identify the object's status. "Nope, not cursed or trapped," he reported.
"What a great turn of events."
"Remember, Josh," Aravan said, groaning from dizziness ever so slightly. "Elemental weapons have their advantages and disadvantages. Also, since it has two sides, watch what end you cut with. One side is light elemental, one side is shadow elemental. I don't think it will be too useful against the other angels, but we'll see."
"Let's at least make sure he gets back to the throne room, where he belongs." He turned to the Akrasan monarch. "Also, don't forget to send a message to your personnel that they can come back and work as usual again."
"Of course," the crowned king replied.
--------------
The ride across Valeron the next day was fairly uneventful. The wildlife was more aggressive normal, but the party's stay in Naya made them used to it. Once they heard the storm-churned waves crashing about, they knew they were close to the Seaside Palace. Grimaced looks covered their faces when they saw even the outside of the building was tainted with varying shades of black. With no choice but to press on, the party stormed right through the front doors.
The castle's interior was similarly tainted in color. Eron ran up to the door leading to the antechamber, but found it was locked. "This is the way to the king's hall, not the lockdown. There has to be another way in, like an emergency exit. Let's check the right side first."
Immediately upon opening the door, the party was greeted by guards that had their swords drawn. After catching a glimpse of what appeared to be banewasp-corrupted flesh, Josh turned his sword around so that he was slashing with the light end. He felt a rush of life energy enter him with each successful blow. "Fascinating," Aravan said after Josh dispatched the two soldiers all by himself. "So it was the sword that was giving her those passive abilities, not her own power. Josh, if your hit points ever drop below fifty percent, stop attacking. That thing will take your own life to fuel its attacks if you're in danger."
"Why?" Josh asked. "You said it yourself...Soul Eater and Vampiric Touch cancel each other out."
"Oh, right," Aravan replied, embarrassed. "I'm so dumb. Either way, I'd avoid relying on that power too much. We don't know a lot about it yet."
In the Seaside Palace and Akrasan Palace combined, the only enemy that Josh's new blade wasn't effective against was the angel. With everything else corrupted by banewasp poison, the light side of the sword was a boon, often incapacitating his enemies with a single blow. A staircase greeted them at the end of the east hallway running north. At the top was another hallway that led to a door labeled "Armory". Eron poked his head around the corner, then told his allies that the coast was clear. The moment he stepped around the corner, he heard the tile beneath him click. He triggered the release of a poisonous gas that putrefied the skin of everyone but Shalin, who wasn't exposed to enough of it by the time it started dispersing out the windows and into the atmosphere. The afflicted four found themselves on their knees.
"Dammit!" Aravan coughed. "It's a putrefying gas trap! Do none of us have the ability to detect traps?"
"I do," Ace gasped trying to reply, "but I didn't think there would be any here..."
Shalin began casting Refresh to purify her friends' bodies of the poison after they crawled into the next room. She felt drained after having to repeat the spell four times, once for each of her allies. Ace led the party into the labeled door, and as expected, it was an armory. Twelve suits of armor, arranged neatly in a four-by-three array, dotted the chamber. When instructed by Aravan, Ace looked for traps, and there were a lot of them. Many of them placed on tiles where paths between suits of armor intersected, it effectively formed a maze.
The party mimicked Ace's every step as he guided them around the traps. When he reached the opposite corner of the chamber, he pressed a wall tile that was a slightly different shade of blue. A section of the wall receded, revealing a staircase that spiraled counterclockwise. They could hear just how windy it was higher up.
On the top level, there appeared to be a bedroom. Next to the bed was a treasure chest. Ace checked the room and chest for traps, and found none. He opened the chest, and inside was a key, presumably to the door back on the first level. The party carefully retraced their steps and opened the door. On the other side of the door was what appeared to be an antechamber to the king's throne room. To their dismay, the door leading there was also locked. Having no choice, Josh and Ace led the group back to the main entrance and down the other side.
They found the left side to be a mirror image of the right in terms of structure. Even the traps placed in the storage room were mirroring the ones in the armory. That knowledge at their disposal, they were able to avoid the rest of the castle's traps and find the key to the second door.
When they slammed open the doors to the king's chamber, they encountered a pleasant surprise: there was no angel waiting to kill them. Instead, they found a trio of guards protecting another of Bant's monarchs. The guards approached them, then sheathed their weapons when they discovered their flesh was clean. "We've covered every square inch of this castle and cleaned all the monsters and corrupted soldiers out of here," Eron reported. "Your team will have a hell of a time disarming all the traps they've set in this place, but other than that, the castle is safe."
"Two down, two to go," Shalin announced as her swift feline led the group south.
"Look," Josh pointed up. All five of them turned their heads to the sky, seeing that the sun's rays started to break through the storm clouds over north and east Bant. Eron even caught a glimpse of an angel descending through a gap in them. "Things are looking up for once!" Shalin and Ace laughed at the knight's unintended pun.
"So, what's our next target?" Aravan asked. "There are two castles in enemy hands still."
"The castle on the southern Eos-Valeron border, without question," Eron answered with confidence. "One, it's closer. Two, I know this place like it's a second home. I've been in there so many times, I lost count a couple years ago. Compared to the Seaside Palace, it's not large at all."
"I've been in there a number of times, as well," Josh added. "I may not know every square inch of the castle like Eron, but I also know exactly how to get to the throne room. From the guest room hallway, there is a door leading to a second hallway. On the other side of that hallway is a staircase leading to an antechamber. Past that is the throne room."
"Yes, but I'd like to check on the king first. If it's anything like the Seaside Palace, they're in lockdown somewhere. From the research we did while we were in Esper, these last two castles would have had more time to ready themselves for the invasion, given how far west they are located. The most likely place to be used as a lockdown would be the war room on the lower level. I've been in that room so many times that I know exactly where the secret passage is."
"It appears that we are well armed," Aravan chimed in, "both with arms and knowledge. Shall we?" The riders urged their mounts to higher speeds with the castle in sight.
The moment Ace barged open the front doors of the castle, he was greeted by a myriad of wolves, birds of prey, and other mundane animals. Two of them bit his legs just as he was finishing casting a spell. "Rain a thousand flames upon my opposition! Volcanic Fallout!" The Jundian's friends stood outside as fire and brimstone fell from the ceiling, all of the hostile animals surrounding him falling from the intense flames. Once the rain subsided, Shalin and Eron flooded the room with weapon fire, knocking the three rangers off the balcony and taking chandeliers down with them.
"This way!" Eron shouted over the sound of crackling flames burning away window covers and rugs. He led them straight ahead, then turned right, down a staircase.
"Is this a dead end?" Ace asked. The dim, torch-lit corridor appeared to lead nowhere.
"Four torches right of center on the right side," he recalled aloud, counting in his head as he led the way down the hall. After confirming his distance, he pressed a slightly discolored brick on the wall, and a section of it receded into the ground. The secret passage led down more stairs. At the bottom of this staircase, they were greeted by an angel with her sword drawn, but she sheathed it when a voice instructed her to do so. The voice was from the king. His chief advisor and many of his family members were in the war room with him.
"Your Majesty, I have returned," Josh said as he bowed.
"It is nice to see you, but we should skip the formalities. As you have seen, we have a crisis on our hands. I am just relieved you found the lockdown before any of those brainwashed troops did!"
"Leave it to me to remember the small details," Eron half-joked. "Josh and I owe you an explanation, but first we have a crisis to avert, like you've been saying. These three foreigners are here to drive these invaders out of the castle. We've already averted a crisis in Akrasa, and we've liberated the Seaside Palace. A similar fate has unfortunately befell Valeron, but we are headed there after we make sure this castle is safe. Anything you can tell us?"
"A fallen angel has taken over the throne room on the third floor. The fastest way to get there is the stairs opposite the guest rooms on the second floor. You shouldn't encounter a lot of resistance, but be prepared for anything."
"Nothing more than the usual. We'll let you know when it's safe."
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Two more rangers ambushed the party after they reached the stairs leading to the second floor hallway. Ace defeated all of their summons with a second casting of Volcanic Fallout, Aravan giving him a scowl afterward. "Ace, why are you so reckless with your mana? You know there's an angel to fight in the throne room!"
"Fighting so many things at once would be an annoyance. It's the best way to take out large groups, and you know it. Besides, unused mana just goes to waste--needs to be used sometime."
"I'm aware of that, but it's good practice to keep an emergency reserve of mana on hand, just in case." Nothing else jumped out to attack them on their way to the third floor stairs. Shalin readied a spell as she poked her head around the hall at the top of the stairs. She let loose a fierce windstorm, knocking the far door off its hinges and blowing the ranger guards off their feet. Josh and Ace took no time finishing them off before they could get back up.
"This is the antechamber," Eron said to the party as he opened the last remaining door on their side of the top floor. "We're going to be fighting another angel, but we should be at an advantage because we know how to fight them. Aravan, Shalin, ready spells. On three, I'm going to open the door.
"Right," the four of them replied. Ace and Josh readied their weapons while mana bubbled around Shalin's and Aravan's hands.
"One...two...three!" On "three", the doors flung open, revealing the corpses of dead guards and advisers as well as their opponent. She was a fallen angel like the one they had encountered before. However, there were major differences. Her sword was a regular angelic one instead of a two-toned elemental blade, and Josh had such a sword in his hand. This made her much less threatening than the previous angel. It took some time, but the party defeated her without Eron having to revive anyone at all.
"Josh and Eron, I feel so ashamed of myself," the crowned king of Eos apologized after taking his throne once more. "To think that the very people I exiled from Bant would be the ones to save us in our time of need. I somehow feel that reinstating your citizenship is not great enough of a reward. You risked everything you had to save the nation."
"Don't be silly," Eron humbly replied. "Without Ace's help, we wouldn't have gotten past the front door. All four of my friends each played a vital part in driving Sedris' army out of Bant. Besides, you know I am loyal to Eos' ranger guild. Clearly, it was in my best interest, regardless of who was helping me."
"On another note, Your Majesty," Josh interrupted, "I'm going to have a hell of a report to send to the Knights of the Reliquary after this whole thing's over. I've been taking notes of everything I've seen across Alara. Pre-Sundering Alara must have been a fascinating world, and I've been seeing bits and pieces of it with every new land I enter."
As the clouds cleared, a bright light filled the room. "Never has sunlight been so refreshing," the king breathed a sigh of relief.
"So what exactly happened while we were in Esper?" Eron asked.
"The lightning clouds came in overnight, the night after you left for Jhess. They started covering Valeron and Akrasa first, and expanded inland. With them came subjects of necromancy, bearing a striking resemblance to what the legends told us. Their magic infested and brainwashed our people, and they outnumbered those who resisted the spell. Retreat being the only option, I gathered all the royal family we still had left as well as my best advisers and an angel, and we hid in the war room downstairs. I'm surprised you remembered exactly where the secret entrance was."
"You know that we're trained to pay attention to small details like that."
"Even so."
"Bant is free from Sedris' tyranny," Josh changed the subject, "but Naya and Jund are still most likely under these storm clouds, and are being infested as we speak. We can only hope that Esper's mages can fend off the invasion, but I fear it is only a matter of time before they fall. Have you received any word from Valeron--"
Just then, a pair of messenger angels flew in through the broken stained-glass window on the north side of the room. "We bring great news to all of you," they said. "Because the efforts of Josh, Eron, and these three foreigners, we have been able to break through the storm wracking Bant's skies, and have taken back Castle Valeron without trouble. The unnatural clouds above Valeron are dissipating as we speak, and Bant should return to the way it has been since the Sundering."
"Well, that's one job we don't have to do," Aravan said.
"That's the best news I've heard in months," Shalin added. "I think we're making headway!"
"For your efforts in restoring peace to Bant, Asha herself would like to bestow a great blessing upon Josh and Eron." Using their bright swords, they cleared away the broken glass at the bottom of the window frame. "We are taking them to the Cathedral of Bliss. We shouldn't be very long." Stronger than they looked, they picked up the knight and ranger, then carried them through the window frame. Everyone watching was in disbelief at how much elevation the angels gained with each flap of their white wings.
Josh and Eron couldn't believe it. The Cathedral was beautiful beyond their wildest dreams. Hidden above the highest clouds, it was a floating, golden sanctuary. The magic of hundreds of sigils was the only thing keeping it aloft. The two angels dropped them off at the entrance. Inside were statues of many nobles of the world below, presumably of the few who ascended to become angels themselves. They were led upstairs to a sunlit chamber, reflections off the golden surfaces nearly blinding both of them.
In the center of the chamber was the grand archangel Asha. She stood taller than any human the two of them had ever seen, and more sigils than they had ever seen in their lives graced her gigantic sword sheath and what little armor she wore. Her golden-hued robe dragged on the ground, and her wingspan was nearly the length of the chamber. Everyone in the room, even the other angels, bowed out of respect for her. "Josh, Eron, arise," she began, "for you have become the salvation of Bant. Without your help, we would not have been able to liberate Valeron from Sedris' undead army. As such, you shall be rewarded for your deeds."
"If we may," Josh started to ask, "could we have a word with you about the history of Alara first?"
"Certainly."
"As I'm sure you know by now, we have traveled all of Alara, and we have visited Sharuum. That name should ring a bell to you, since she mentioned you."
"Yes, we go back a long time," the seemingly ageless angel replied. "All the way back to pre-Sundering Alara. A much more peaceful Alara. Of course, that was when Malfegor rose to power. I did everything I could to destroy him. However, I judged that even though I had the power to defeat him, unleashing my full power on him would endanger far too many lives. Instead, I delivered a blow that would equal his. Instead of endangering all of Alara besides Bant, our clashing blows annihilated just Vithia. I feel sorry for those who lost their lives back then, but it was necessary to preserve justice and order in the world."
"Just as the legend says."
"Before Alara's mana bonds were severed and the world was Sundered, I made a pact with four others. Those four were Sedris, Sharuum, and a certain Nayan and Jundian that are now deceased. The pact should rest with their descendants."
"Sharuum has told us that those people are Mayael and Kresh. Is there anything you can tell us about them?"
"They have not left their homelands, but that is all I can tell you. Was there anything else you two wanted to know about?"
"I can't think of anything else. What about you, Eron?"
"Nothing," he replied.
"Now I shall bestow my great blessing upon both of you," Asha continued. "Eron, step forward." In silence, he complied with her request. "I bestow on you one of the most sacred sigils in all of Bant. It is the Sigil of Flight's Wings; cherish it well." As Eron clutched the golden medallion, large wings white as snow grew on the backs of his shoulders. The bow on his back as well as his stock of arrows became similar in color.
Josh's mouth was wide open. "Look at yourself...!" was all he could say to his friend. Neither of them could believe it--she had transformed Eron into an angel!
"Because you are not of the Blessed caste, I cannot transform you into a true angel. However, the Sigil of Flight's Wings will give you the ability to fly with the speed and maneuverability of one. I have also given you the ability to fire blessed arrows from your bow. The light of justice they bear shall smite evil." Eron was speechless. Even among Blessed, this was a rarity. "Now, Josh, come forward to receive the Sigil of Flight's Wings. Eron, return to your position."
"You're making me an angel, too?" he asked, lost in mixed emotions.
"Because of the armor you wear, I cannot make you an angel; flying would be too difficult. However, I can grant you the ability to fly with a different method." Asha folded her hands in prayer, and the ceiling of the cathedral receded. The top level was completely exposed to sunlight. A few seconds later, everyone present heard the shrill cry of what sounded like a falcon. A multicolored blur looped around the sanctuary once, then made a landing next to Josh.
Neither of them could bring themselves to say anything. The strikingly gorgeous bird of prey was bigger than any bird either of them had seen; it was larger than either of them. Its plumage was colored the same as the flag of Bant; white on its underside, green around its head and neck, and blue everywhere else. Josh touched the golden-hued saddle and found it to be made of a material more comfortable than anything ever used for that purpose, yet it was sturdy and secure enough that falling off was near impossible. "Is this...?" the knight trailed off.
"This is the sacred, legendary bird of unparalleled grace and speed across all of Bant. This is the Halcou, and it is the origin of the name of the martial arts passed down for centuries. With the Sigils of Flight's Wings you bear, you two should be able to travel anywhere in the world quickly. Now, both of you, fly down to the world below, and tell your fellow heroes that Alara's salvation is renewed!"
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Private Mod Note
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A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
"Morning," Josh greeted Eron after a good night's sleep in the castle at Eos.
"Ow," the ranger winced as he stretched getting out of bed. "I think I slept on one of my wings last night...my back aches a little. I had no idea having wings was such a pain at times."
Josh couldn't help but chuckle a little. The two of them got dressed and headed to one of the castle's dining rooms, meeting the rest of the party for breakfast. "Even after a day, I still can't believe you can fly, Eron!" Shalin smiled. "I'm jealous!"
"And I had always thought the only creatures capable of flight were the dragons," Ace added. "It makes me wonder if you could take on a dragon now, Eron!"
"Maybe," he humbly answered. "Not alone, but with your help, maybe. I'm just happy Asha blessed us with such great gifts...especially taking into consideration that neither of us are members of the Blessed caste."
"So, what did you two find?" Aravan asked.
"We flew to Valeron and back, and Bant is completely clean," Josh answered. "We saw Grixis' storm clouds above Naya, and the jungle wasn't exactly in the best of shape. We could see through the canopy, and that isn't a good thing."
"What kind of condition were the trees in?" Shalin asked.
"We couldn't tell from up there, but it wasn't as bright of a green as the trees in the forest around here. And the Nayan jungles were far more vivid."
"That means Naya should be the next land we travel to," Eron suggested. "We need to figure out what's wrong, and fix it."
"Our first stop should be the village of Nakai," Josh continued. "That is one of the few places around there that people know us at. It's just a few miles past the border."
"That matca village?" Shalin asked.
"That's the one."
"You know humans and elves are at odds, Josh. They won't allow me to enter. If anything, I'd be happy if they let me out of their sight without torturing me."
"We'll be able to convince them. I'll just say that I'll take full responsibility if you do something bad."
"I hope you're right."
"Anyway, once the food's here, we'll eat, then go back into town to restock on rations and other supplies. How are you and Eron doing on ammunition?"
"Never hurts to buy more anyway," the ranger replied. "Once we leave Bant, I doubt we'll be hitting any place that would be willing to sell us arrows anyway. From the looks of it, Naya's in big trouble. The ecology as they know it could be in danger of falling apart, depending on exactly how bad their situation is."
"Then we leave at the time we agreed upon before."
"My god..." Shalin gasped as she crossed the border into her homeland. The dense canopy of Naya that normally let very little light touch the jungle floor was no longer the vibrant green she had known for over eighty years. It would be considered healthy by any ecological standard except Naya's former self. For the first time ever, she could see the sky above, and it wasn't one she wanted to see. Flashes of lightning erupted periodically, followed almost immediately by rumbles of thunder.
The larger holes in the canopy looked like they were caused by lightning bolts seemingly cleaving trees in half. At times, they couldn't tell the difference between the rumbles of thunder and the rumbles of a Gargantuan's footsteps. The only benefit to the condition of the jungle was improved visibility.
Aravan stayed as close to the center of the group as possible, Naya being the exact opposite of his homeland. The very elements that the high arcanists, scholars, and other mages had tamed to their whims ran completely free here. He flinched when he saw a group of five wasps larger than the size of his fist emerge from a bloodthorn bush that looked just as vibrant as before. Just as one was about to sting him, Eron put a holy arrow straight through its abdomen. The creature literally exploded, Asha's sacred light eating its skin away before a significant amount of poison could be released. Shalin lit the other four stinging insects on fire with the Pyroclasm spell Ace taught her. With their wings burned away, stabbing the foes to death felt like a formality.
The walk south was even more treacherous than their first trip through Naya, seemingly every wild creature attacking them on sight. After hacking and slashing their way through the onslaught, they finally found Nakai again, still protected by healthy bloodthorn bushes. Three drumhunters inspected them, then sent the message that they were clear to enter.
"It's been so long since I've been in a human village in Naya," Shalin said. "I almost forgot what they looked like."
"What happened there?" Eron pointed to the smoldering remains of a building.
"Someone's house got struck by lightning. Ever since those strange clouds came in, weird things have been happening. Plant life isn't as vibrant as it used to be, and the Whitecover doesn't protect our village at night anymore. Aisha will tell you all the details. She's still in the same house. She should be happy to see a couple of familiar faces." After nodding their heads in agreement, the warriors led the party to the village shaman.
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"Josh, it's been months!" Aisha greeted him. "Who are these people?'
"You don't recognize my friend Eron as well?" he replied.
"Wait a second..." She ended up pausing for almost thirty seconds. "It is Eron! But you have wings..."
"It's a long story--"
"I don't mind. Besides, I'm sure you'll introduce your other friends in the process."
"Alright, I'll start from after we left, then. It's been so long. After we left Nakai, we found this elven girl, Shalin, and she explained why the elves didn't get along with humans. Some outside force had spread a strange, parasitic form of life all across southern Naya. Naturally, they blamed humans for it because that was the only other form of intelligent life they knew besides leonin. And leonin didn't have the technology to produce something like that. It had even gotten inside the Sacellum and turned a Gargantuan into a frenzy. We had to fight it and unfortunately kill it, but we stopped the plague from spreading. Then the elves ran us out of Naya, across the mountains into Jund."
"I've heard about that land from scouts--everything there wants to eat you."
"Yeah--we were almost eaten on multiple occasions. There, we met Ace--he's the muscular man behind me. Then we searched for clues about the source of the parasites, and that led us into the corrosive, unhealthy land of Grixis. That is definitely where the parasite came from, as we saw humans and miscellaneous other animals that, due to the disease, were neither among the living nor the dead. I'm not exactly sure how that works, as we've seen two elves die to this disease before."
"So this virus is eventually fatal?"
"We're not sure, but it does kill victims from time to time, at the least. Anyway, we found that Sedris, a former Vithian king, was using the plague to get the other regions off their feet so that his undead army could take over all of Alara. We had no choice but to retreat back to Bant. After regrouping there, we headed across the ocean to Esper, and met Aravan back there. His world is pretty much the opposite of yours...they've tamed pretty much every force of nature there."
"No wonder he looks like he's made out of the steel of a sword."
"We eventually figured out Sedris' intentions, and returned to Bant. The place was covered under the same clouds that are above our heads as we speak. We cleaned out every castle that the enemy was using as a stronghold, and Asha, the ruler of the angels, made me an angel herself. That's why I can fly. So now we're pretty much retracing our steps across Alara, trying to figure out ways to drive the worldwide invasion back. Anything you can do to help us, Aisha? Any information would be welcome."
"If there is some form of 'corruption' of life, as you call it, it's spread all over Naya. Some of us have a resistance to it apparently, but we've lost a few warriors to it, and we've had to fertilize and water the bloodthorn bushes just to keep them alive. Because of the disease, hunting for food has become very hard. We have a large reserve of food, but it will run out eventually. A greater concern is fresh water. The only dewcup that holds fresh water is a long way from here, and travel has become more dangerous by the day. The elves, having revered the Gargantuans before, are now slave-drivers of them. They use them as powerful steeds and run over those who resist. They're mistreated, and any resistance the beasts put up is quickly quenched."
"What?!" Shalin shouted. "They detested and persecuted me for that reason, and I controlled my Gargantuan companion through trust alone! How could they?!"
"Every liana leading anywhere near a human village has been cut off. Even if we were to mount a resistance force, we would have to travel through too much enemy territory just to get into the treetops."
"That's not a problem. Being an elf, I know a back way in, and it leads almost directly to the palace. Unfortunately, it's a real back road that's dangerous even when you don't have Sacellum archers breathing down your throat."
"Then it's hopeless. We have lost the war with the elves."
"Not yet you haven't," Shalin smiled. "These four here have more combat experience than your best warriors do, and they can--" She was interrupted by an agonizing scream from another room. Without saying a word, Aisha ran into the back room of the house, and the others followed.
The source of the scream was a strange-looking girl laying on a bed. Her arms were festering, blood seeping out of multiple cuts. The red ooze tainted the coat of leaves and green flowers she wore, the hood of the coat decorated with white and red flowers. Shalin gasped. "Help me, Shalin!" Eron shouted. "She'll die if we don't do something!" The two of them knelt down and began casting spells of healing. "Answer the prayers of the battle-scarred! Asha's Blessing!" A column of white, healing light enveloped the elf. Five seconds after it faded, her skin began bleeding again, still festering as before. "Dammit! Why didn't it do anything?!"
"Purify this crippled body and mind! Refresh!" Shalin cried. A similar column of light fell upon the girl, this one green. As Shalin put her heart into the spell, the light grew more brightly. Slowly but surely, the festering skin began to look normal, allowing Eron's healing magic to take effect. After seeing the elf's skin return to normal, Shalin collapsed, but she was still conscious.
(Silence Music Track)
Her skin returned to normal, the girl finally opened her eyes. "Thank you, Eron and Shalin, for saving me."
"What...?" Eron gasped. "How do you know my name?"
"I believe we first met at the bottom of the Sacellum, where you stopped the spread of the banewasp virus through Naya. My name is Mayael."
"Wait, what...?" Shalin asked in a weak voice, still on the ground, lying on her back.
"Thank you for saving the forest of Naya from the calamity caused by the Mending," she began.
"The Anima?" Shalin gasped. "Where are you?" The others felt refreshed as well.
"Now is not the time. It isn't just Naya; the entire world is suffering from calamities caused by the Mending. The vile creatures causing the decay of the forest emerged from a land to the east of the last Nacatl fortress, Qasal. In order to stop this event from repeating itself, you must head past there. There used to be nothing past the mountains, but the Mending has caused them to merge with a land where survival of the fittest is the law of the land. Go back up through the Sacellum and head east. I wish you luck."
"Where are you?" Shalin asked again as the spirit faded away. "She's gone..."
"At least we're not completely clueless," Eron pointed out.
"Mayael, the Anima of Naya?" Shalin asked, confused. The fact that her head hurt from the heroic effort she put into her healing spell didn't help her in understanding what was going on.
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A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
"So, Shalin, you are conscious again," Mayael said as the elven girl opened her eyes. "You were out for almost an hour. I owe you my life. Thank you."
"Sharuum told us that you are one of the guardians of Alara," Aravan said. "Is that true?"
"That is true. I am one of six guardians that protect the source of Alara's abundant mana, located deep within the Maelstrom."
"The Maelstrom?" Shalin asked, still dizzy from being out cold for so long.
"When Alara was Sundered, five powerful people were chosen by the gods to guard the secrets of the Maelstrom, should the five worlds Mend. Soon after the worlds came back together, Malfegor, the guardian from Grixis, somehow shared his powers with Sedris; now, both of them keep watch over it."
"What exactly is the Maelstrom, though?" she continued asking.
"When the worlds came together, the borders of the five worlds overlapped, and relatively small areas of each world seemed to disappear. Shalin, this is the reason why there is now very little on the west side of the Valley of the Ancients, and why the kingdom of Qasal is so much smaller than it used to be. Each of those missing segments is now present in the Maelstrom. All five colors of mana are so abundant there that the sky glows in those colors. And in the center of the Maelstrom lies the Progeny--the being that regulates the balance of mana in all of Alara. It's said to be at least as powerful as a god."
"No wonder Sharuum didn't talk about the Maelstrom, even when I asked her," Aravan replied. "If someone were to be able to harness the power behind all that mana..."
"That one could destroy the world many times over. That is exactly why the Maelstrom has been such a closely guarded secret. But even if someone knew, he would need one of the guardians to open the way for him."
"What if Sedris gets his hands on this power?" Josh asked. "He could use it to shape the life of Alara to his own plans!"
"Sedris may be powerful, but he isn't that powerful. Besides, his own body and soul could not handle the white mana he would need to work with in the process, because he is undead. No one is going to abuse the power of the Maelstrom in our lifetimes, I assure you."
"So, what's this back way you've been talking about, Shalin?" Ace abruptly changed the subject?"
"There are two ways into the Valley of the Ancients," Shalin answered. "Both can normally only be accessed by elves, especially given the animosity between themselves and humans. The first way is through the Elven Palace--"
"All of the lianas near the palace and the ones near human settlements have been severed," Mayael interrupted. "Plus, trying to barge right through their front door would be suicide. They'd fill us with arrows and bolts before we could even make it in. I know; the Scattershot Archers all trained under me."
"Which leads into the other way to get in. At the bottom of the Sacellum is a second entrance to the Valley of the Ancients. The palace and valley are connected by a liana totally off the network. That road is the key to this whole thing. We're going to enter the palace from the back door. We go to the bottom of the Sacellum, through the Valley, and up to the back door. No one would ever suspect it."
"It's a daring plan, Shalin, but it's better than anything I can come up with. The corruption has spread outward from the palace, meaning its source has to be somewhere inside."
"Wish us the best of luck tomorrow, Mayael," Josh said, waving for the party to leave to get some rest.
"I'm coming with you."
"You sure? This is going to be a dangerous operation, and you could get killed easily."
"Being the Anima, I visit the palace more often than any place except the Sacellum itself. I know every room in the palace well. Once we know where the source of the corruption is, I can get you there in the shortest amount of time possible. Plus, not all of the Gargantuans are corrupted. I can still show Shalin a thing or two that could help her be a better godtoucher."
"That's a good enough reason to let you come along. Alright, we'll come get you tomorrow morning." Mayael waved to the travelers as they left to find a place to sleep for the night.
The next morning, the six of them met in the most open place they could find near the town--a clearing near the matca stadium. "Shalin," Mayael began, "since you will be traveling all over a dangerous world, I will grant you the ability to summon some of the greater Gargantuans that roam Naya. Though most of them are in the hands of the dark elves, I have managed to keep a few safe from the corruption. There are three I'd like to share with you in particular." At that, she dropped to her knees and closed her eyes.
Everyone gasped in awe at the display of magic Mayael showed; even Shalin had never seen mana that concentrated in her entire life. The glowing streams of red, green, and white branched off in three different directions, each opening a gate to the aether. Out one portal came a brown, dinosaur-like beast that towered almost all the way to the tree branches fifteen feet above them. Though it had the shape of an herbivorous dinosaur, the mouth full of sharp teeth was indicative that it was a carnivore. Out the second came a very muscular, red beast with the biggest, sharpest claws any of them had seen before. Even dragon's claws were smaller than these. Shalin was the only one not taken aback by Mayael's ability to command such colossal beasts.
Out the final portal was a beast a couple feet shorter than the other two, but thirteen feet was nothing to scoff at. The bone-like mask on its forehead looked near impenetrable, and its paws were much larger than those of either of the other two behemoths. "These are greater Gargantuans that specialize in one capability," Mayael explained. She started pointing to the beasts in the order she brought them out. "We call this the Spearbreaker, named because it broke in half the spears of the drumhunters who tried to hunt it. Its hide is virtually indestructible, making it an excellent defender."
"You're letting me command this?" Shalin asked.
"I wouldn't if I didn't trust you. Besides, you've come a long way since I first initiated you." Mayael pointed to the next creature. "This is the Rakeclaw, feared for its powerful slashing attacks. But it should be feared for another reason--this Gargantuan is extremely fleet of foot."
"Even more than the Cliffrunner?"
"Yes; the Rakeclaw is the fastest Gargantuan on Naya. If something aggravates it, there is no getting away from it. Now, for the last one, the Meglonoth. It can make brutal charging attacks when it lowers its head, and it can stomp things virtually out of existence. They are all going to be useful in certain situations, but the Meglonoth is your best means of attack. Shalin, the art of bringing forth these creatures has been bestowed on you; I hope you never abuse it."
"I thought you trusted me?" Shalin asked, confused.
"I do. I just hope something never drives you to abuse this power." Mayael walked next to the Spearbreaker's hind legs, and all of them could feel a slight tremor when it sat down. "While they're here, though," she said as she started climbing up its back, "we can use them to ensure safe passage to the Sacellum."
"We're going to ride those things?!" Aravan gasped. "They don't look at all safe!"
"Then climb up with me, Aravan. This one has the least vigorous motion." As soon as Ace went for the Rakeclaw, Shalin was forced to go with him to ensure the beast wouldn't become reckless. That left Josh and Eron to find a place on the Meglonoth's furry back.
"Come on, Shalin," Ace whined, "I wanna see how fast it is!"
"Ace, I promise you," Shalin sighed, "Once our mission is over, you can race across the vast fields of Bant, as fast as it can carry you."
"Enough bickering," Mayael had to shout for everyone to clearly hear. "We leave for the Sacellum now."
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Private Mod Note
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A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
Aravan and Ace slid off their mounts, dizzy from the vigorous motion the Gargantuans exhibited even when walking. The other four followed, Shalin making sure both of them were alright before recalling her new beasts back into the aether.
"The plan worked exactly as I hoped," Mayael said. "If we had come here on foot, the elves would have shot us down." The dewcup next to the Sacellum had dried up completely, the plant life completely wilted in places. Loud blasts of thunder echoed in the skies above, the two Nayans holding back their fear as best they could. "Let's go."
The inside of the Sacellum hadn't changed much. Josh and Ace rotated the religious statue at the back in the same way as last time, opening the road into the depths of the temple. Immediately after turning the corner at the bottom of the staircase, several scarlet wasps and a pair of Jundian slimes began attacking the party from the left. The toxic stingers perforated both of the angel's arms, and Aravan's flesh became covered in an acidic coat for a few seconds. "Become buried in an arctic prison! Icefall!" the Esperite cried, cringing from the pain of the ambush. A hunk of ice dropped on one of the slimes, and a large piece of shrapnel from the impact froze the other. Josh and Ace cleaned up the mess with their weapons, shattering the amorphous organisms into many pieces.
Shalin cast the Pyroclasm spell Ace had taught her during their past stay, and it seemed to be more potent than the Jundian's equivalent. All four of the wasps had been lit on fire, but their wings refused to burn. Eron shot an arrow through the head of one of them, but could do nothing to stop the other three from making suicide blows on everyone else except Aravan and Mayael. Just a few steps in, the party was already starting to look like swiss cheese. "They're not summoned monsters," Shalin sighed, seeing their corpses were still present. "Why are they so aggressive? I've never seen any wild creature attack anything on sight, even if it knows it'll lose."
"I'm detecting a strange form of magic inside the corpses," Aravan answered, "and a stronger form of that magic farther down this passage. The banewasp poison does induce aggression, yes, but this magic seems to be magnifying that state of aggression."
"We do have one advantage, though. I've been in here before, so I know how this place is structured. Plus I know a shortcut, but it requires Josh's help."
"Why mine?" the knight asked. He pondered for a few seconds. "Oh, that big room with the statues! We could use the halcou to almost completely bypass it!"
"Not all of us put 35 skill points into Ride," Aravan groaned. "What if one of you rolls a one?"
"I still think it'll be worth a shot. Anyway, if memory serves, we don't have to worry about that until two more floors down."
As they rounded the next corner, they ran into another group of scarlet wasps. Aravan's ability to detect magic served them well, Shalin and Ace able to roast them with Pyroclasm and Sizzle spells from around the corner. All that remained were four smoldering corpses.
Down the stairs at the end of the winding hallway they went. "Oh, this room," Shalin said. "We could use Josh's halcou to fly over that huge pile of rubble!"
"The question to Josh is," Aravan added, "is a shortcut like this worth expending the 70 mana points necessary for its summon?"
"I believe so," Josh replied, then dropped to his knees. He projected an image of the Cathedral of Bliss on the east wall, and the fabled, holy bird of prey came through it and into the dungeon. He led the party into the most open place in the room, then jumped onto the bird's back. It effortlessly lifted him into the air, then ferried him across the room. Once he was on the other side of the rubble, he slid off and let the bird land next to Aravan.
Eron simply flew to the top of the rubble, finding the most stable place to stand on it. "About time my ability to fly becomes useful!" he semi-joked. "If anything tries to attack us while we're flying over this, I'll shoot it." The legendary bird flew back and forth over the ruined statues, carrying Ace, Shalin, Mayael, and Aravan over, one at a time.
As soon as they opened the west door, a blob of acidic slime lunged at Ace, who was leading the party. The amorphous life-form hit him so hard that he toppled Josh and Aravan over like dominoes. Eron wasted no time blasting it with the strongest surge of light he could produce, dazing it long enough for Ace to get up and incinerate it with the first spell that came to mind.
The next level down was, as Shalin recalled, the statue room. Josh's halcou began ferrying the party across a large gap in the catwalks. It carried him to safety first, then Shalin, then Mayael, then Ace. Just as the bird jumped off the ledge when it was ferrying Aravan, he slipped and fell all the way to the bottom of the chamber, scraping a narrow ledge and one of the Gargantuan statues on the way down.
"Aravan!!" Eron cried, then dove to the bottom level of the statue room. He was bleeding heavily, but was still conscious. "Answer the prayers of the battle-scarred! Asha's Blessing!" Just as the winged ranger had completed his spell, a zombie elf struck his head from behind, and he collapsed. Once his wounds had finished closing, Aravan mustered the strength to stand back up. "Freeze right where you are! Time Stop!" he cried. The zombie elf's body stopped moving; it was in suspended animation. It wouldn't last long, but it was long enough for Aravan to drag his friend to the staircase near the north wall. By the time his spell wore off, Eron was on his feet, and had already prepared to cast Chastise on the fallen denizen of the forest.
Eron and Aravan made the long walk back to the top of the catwalks, this time the winged Bantian carrying his friend across the gap. "So much for taking shortcuts," he sighed, panting from having to lift another human.
"It's better than going across a monster-infested floor like the one below," Shalin said. She led the group down the long stairway leading all the way to the ground level. The gigantic chamber hadn't changed much--it was still dimly lit, but no Gargantuan remains were there anymore. The hallway leading outside was wide open, just as when they had defeated the fell beast months ago. "I do have one question, though. Was it really you who appeared to us here?"
"Yes," Mayael answered. "It still makes me wonder why elves had to defile a place they used to worship in...even though they are tied to Sedris now. Speaking of which, Eron, why did you kill that elf? You didn't have to."
"If any elves find out we're here, that would jeopardize the entire operation," he replied. "They'd notify their buddies in the palace, and we'd be staring down an army. We may be powerful, but we'd lose to that many of them."
"We really are peace-loving people, but we defend our gods and territory like any other civilization would. It's the same with humans, viashino, and all the races of Alara. If Alara wasn't in such a state of chaos right now, none of this would have happened."
Shalin led the way out of the Sacellum and into the Valley of the Ancients. It was biologically and climatically much the same as the rest of the Nayan wilds, except separated from the rest of the jungle by a steep cliff. "Alright, the easiest way to get to the palace from here would be riding on Gargantuans again. These kinds of beasts pass through the valley regularly, so we wouldn't be noticed."
"On the contrary," Mayael began replying, "the Keepers of Progenitus, a special order of elvish epicists that speak directly to me, watch over the valley constantly. They would notice us riding on our beasts. Shalin, do you have anything smaller to ride on?"
"Not enough to support all six of us."
"Then we'll just have to walk to the palace and hope we don't run into any roaming Gargantuans."
Shalin and Mayael led the group along the base of the cliff, heading north to the palace. A Gargantuan or two stomped past them along the way, but it didn't even notice they were there. The only threat they walked past was a single crimson wasp hive, but they were able to pass by with no trouble.
Three miles later, Shalin caught sight of the liana that led to the treetops. She led the party upward, and the palace quickly came into sight. Made almost entirely out of natural materials, it was built straight into the trees. Taken aback by how beautiful it was, she only wondered what it looked like from the front. "We're here," Mayael said, stopping the group in front of the back door.
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Private Mod Note
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A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
"The greenhouse looks unguarded," Mayael reported after a few quick observations. Shalin quietly opened the back door. The entire palace appeared to be built right into the underlying jungle structure. Various forms of exotic plant life were being grown in the gardens dotting not only the greenhouse, but in what little of the south room they could see upon their entry.
"Even corrupted by Grixis' banewasp curse, they still make sure their own home is vivid with Naya's vibrant life," Shalin noted aloud. "Who's going to scout ahead?"
"More importantly, who has the highest Move Silently modifier?" Aravan asked. "Let me look at your character sheets." He paused to evaluate the abilities as written. "Eron, that would be you."
"My wings would stick out so badly in this place--it's fairly dark and they're white as a midday cloud!"
"That doesn't affect your--oh, right," he grimaced in embarrassment. "The guards would get a +10 to seeing you in lighting like this. Shalin, that would leave you as the next best. You can handle it, right?"
"Mayael knows this palace better than anyone," Shalin suggested. "We should have her scout."
"We need to protect Mayael at all costs. If she is killed, our entire mission becomes moot. Shalin, you're going. Mayael can provide directions."
"Alright, I'll do it."
"Wait, there's one more thing I just thought of. Josh, how will we deal with your armor? Obviously taking it off isn't a viable option. Even with Hindering Light and Angelic Shield both cast on you, your AC would only be 24."
"Can't a simple Accelerate spell fix that?" Ace asked.
Aravan put the palm of his hand over his forehead before replying. "Ace, you've been on enough adventures to know that Accelerate only gives an initiative bonus equal to half the caster's level. That spell has absolutely nothing to do with dexterity or AC."
"I can cast Silence," Eron suggested.
"I can as well, but that has a couple of nasty side effects. The worst one is he will be unable to speak with us at all. If he gets in trouble, he won't be able to get help. Another side effect is he will be unable to cast spells. That means he will have no way to heal himself."
"I think it's worth the risk. Are you okay with this, Josh?"
"I believe this is our best option," the knight agreed.
"Alright. I'm sorry to have to put you through this."
"It's okay."
With a deep sigh, Eron began casting. "In my presence you will know quiet! Silence!" Josh and everything he wore emitted no sound whatsoever. He could still move his lips, but they produced no sound.
"Ready?" Mayael asked. Josh nodded, then everyone else did after that. She poked her head around the corner to find a room densely covered with giant leaves. Just as she turned a corner, Eron heard the sound of a sword being drawn.
An elvish guard wielding a scimitar rushed toward Mayael. Eron dove in front of her, taking the blow in her place. After the sentry removed his sword, the Bantian felt a burning sensation around the wound, quickly noticing the charred skin. Breathing a sigh of relief, the Anima joined Shalin in creating a magically-fueled wind tunnel to blow the elf off her feet.
"Primal flames, leave no trace of this beast behind! Banefire!" Ace said in a much quieter voice than he would normally use when casting. A multitude of fireballs followed by a yellow-and-white stream of flames directly hit the guard, but she was somehow still standing and coherent afterward. Josh charged the assailant, his blade pointed straight away.
Knowing she was a goner, she began casting a powerful spell in a language only Mayael and Shalin could understand. "Rage and blow, storms of fury! Tsunami!" Just as the knight's blade cut a hole through her chest, the fiercest windstorm any of them had ever seen ravaged the room, stripping the leaves off even the sturdiest tops of the trees in the room they were in. By the time the winds stopped, everyone was on their knees, panting from the burned skin due to the intensity of the storm. Ace and Josh had fallen face-first onto the floor, and everyone else was on their knees. Eron worked hard getting everyone back on their feet, Shalin's Vitalizing Cascade doing the rest of the recovery work after the angel's revival.
"What does the DM think he's trying to pull here?" Aravan sighed. "Two of our casters are already halfway depleted on mana on just one encounter? What kind of sick joke is this?" He got one of the guards in the east room in sight. "You cannot keep a secret from me! Soulgaze!" The information that the spell revealed was startling. "No wonder they were so tough..."
"What is it, Aravan?" Eron asked, still a bit winded from the sword blow that barely missed one of his vital areas.
"These sentries are level 43. There is no way we can take more than one of these guys. Two if we get really damn lucky. We're ten levels below them." Josh's lips started moving, but they stopped when he remembered he couldn't speak.
"Well, I did personally train several of the higher-ups here," Mayael replied. "Only the best of Nayan elves are recruited into my army. I never thought it would come back to haunt me so..."
"This just makes stealth all the more imperative. Mayael, you said you know this place well? What's the quickest way to get to the throne room?"
"There are a couple more greenhouse-like chambers to the west. After that, there's a hallway, then a fountain built right into a tall tree. To the west of that is the main entrance, and the throne room is almost directly above that. It shouldn't take long, especially with the resources we have."
"That's five rooms in total by my math." Aravan pondered a possible means of attacking the issue. "Let me try something in the next room over." He poked his head back around the corner. Three guards patrolled the area; one stationed in almost the exact center of the room, and two more walking back and forth on the other side of beautiful gardens. "Be locked in a temporal prison! Time Stop!" As the name of the spell would suggest, the guard stationed in the center of the room entered suspended animation as long as the spell remained in effect. He repeated it with the guard on the south end of the room. Once the north guard turned around, the party ran for the south door.
Shalin poked her head around the doorway to examine the next room, but pulled back quickly as an elf turned a corner. Once he turned back around, the party made a break for it, hiding behind the foliage as best as they could. They made it into the long hallway Mayael described earlier. "Phew," the Anima sighed.
"How many more times can you do that, Aravan?" Shalin asked. "It looks like it takes quite a toll on your body when you cast that spell."
"Not really," the Esperite replied. "I can still cast it five more times before draining my mana completely. I'll only use it if I have to, but I'll be fine."
Shalin poked her head into the south doorway. This was the "fountain room" Mayael had described. A lone guard circled the fountain, and there wasn't much cover in the room. Rather than risk another painful battle, Aravan simply stopped him in his tracks. The party leisurely walked across the hard wood floor, stopping on one side of the west doorway. Shalin peered into the next room. Immediately after two guards standing directly on the other side turned around, she withdrew.
"There's two of them right on the other side of this door," Shalin whispered, "and there's two more on the other side of the garden in the main hall, mainly focused on the front entrance."
"The security's too tight for us to get through," Mayael added. "I should have known better. It looks like we could get through on the west side, but we'd have to pass through nearly every room on the first floor to get there."
"Dammit," Aravan sighed, "I didn't want to have to burn all my mana. Who knows what's actually in the throne room. One of these nights, while the DM is sleeping, I should sneak into his cabinet and look at all the enemy and trap placements for the rest of this campaign. It'll make things a lot less painful for us in the future."
"If we have a future, that is," Eron said in a quiet voice. "It isn't looking good for us."
"I only see one way out of this, but it involves me burning almost all of my mana." Without waiting for a reply, he began casting Time Stop. Once the two guards next to them had been immobilized, the other two detected the Esperite was casting a spell, and came running. He was forced to use his last two spells on them. "Make a break for the north door!"
There was a small hallway to hide in between the entrance room and the one leading to the throne room. Mayael peeked into the next chamber, and saw that security was almost as tight. Four elvish guards circled the tall flower beds placed in auspicious spots. It formed a maze-like structure, but that was easily circumvented by going along the outside of the room. "I'm out of mana," Aravan sighed. "What are we going to do?"
Ace studied the patrol routes of the elves, but didn't come up with a plan. "The route is too tightly guarded. The only thing we can do is make a break for it. How about I cast a spell, such as Sizzle or Volcanic Fallout, to distract the guards while we make a break for the stairs?"
"It's a daring strategy, Ace," Eron replied. "But it's just about our best option. Since we aren't focusing on stealth anymore...Shalin, could you undo my Silence spell for me?"
"Sure thing," the godtoucher answered, then began casting Refresh. The sonic wall blocking Josh dissipated.
"Since we're going to be crashing through," the knight finally broke his forced silence, "how about we cast Hindering Light and Angelic Shield on all of us? That way, it will be easier to plow through." Everyone nodded in agreement. Josh got to work with the Hindering Light spells while Eron set up six Angelic Shields. "These won't last forever, so let's make this quick."
"That took the rest of my mana," the winged ranger added, "so we have to make this count."
The sound of Josh's clanking armor was more than enough for the four guards to begin attacking them. The sound of fire and brimstone, if anything, made it more difficult to hear the armor. After the spell fired, two of the guards drew flame-tipped scimitars. The other two began casting spells. "Mayael! Shalin! Go up the stairs!" Ace cried. "We'll hold them off as long as we can!"
The two elves ran up to the throne room, which was covered in black tendrils, coming from a strange, black orb directly above the throne. "Oh my god," Mayael gasped. "No wonder the forest has been dying. Those Grixis bastards have been diluting the soil and our fresh water sources with banewasp poison!"
"Help me stop this nonsense, then!" Shalin knelt at the center of the chamber and began casting a spell, speaking in only a language other druids like Mayael would understand. The tired Anima joined her. With every passing second, the orb became smaller, and the poison diluted. Not even Eron's scream distracted either of them at this point. They were so close to freeing Naya from Sedris' clutches.
Two more human screams followed at long intervals after the first one. Just as the elvish guards made it to the top of the stairs, the source of the poison had completely vanished. The four undead guards, and presumably every Nayan afflicted by the disease. After their festering flesh became normal again, they collapsed. Mayael began healing them while Shalin ran downstairs to check on the others.
"Noooooooo!!!" Shalin broke out in tears. There were signs of heavy burns from both wind and fire spells, as well as cuts all over the bodies of the angel, knight, barbarian, and arcanist. When she checked their pulses, she found them all to be dead. She wailed even more loudly than before, running back upstairs.
"What happened down there?" Mayael asked.
"They're all dead!" Shalin balled. "My friends are all dead!"
"That saddens me greatly. You were the turning point that will help restore Naya to its former beauty, but you paid a price greater than your own death for it. The least we can do is get them up here and prepare them for a proper burial." At that, Shalin helped Mayael pull the bodies upstairs. For the first time since the party's arrival in Esper, sunlight broke through the canopy covering the throne room, illuminating the room much greater than she was used to. "Shalin."
"What?" she snapped, sobbing.
"There may be one thing we can do for them. It involves Naya's greatest secret...one even more carefully guarded than Progenitus."
"What?" Without saying a word, Mayael surrounded herself with a circle of red mana. A bright fireball rocketed skyward from the Valley of the Ancients, and was on a collision course straight for the exposed throne room. It circled above the throne room, producing a rain of embers. But they didn't seem to burn her. Instead, it was a refreshing flame. As the fireball slowed down, Shalin identified its true shape. It was a bird with tail feathers and wings made entirely out of flame! The rest of its feathers were all fiery colors, vivid reds, oranges, and yellows.
"This is Naya's most treasured secret--the phoenix. Only the druids closest to me know about it, and for a good reason. It is the symbol of renewed life. Look...!" Eron's eyes began opening. "It was able to renew your friend's life, just as our legends told us!" Then, Aravan's opened. Shalin was still crying, but with tears of joy instead of sorrow. Then, Ace's eyes and Josh's eyes opened.
The godtoucher hugged all of her friends, one at a time. "You think I could die that easily?" Ace said.
"You guys are the best!" she continued crying.
After Shalin had calmed down, Mayael began speaking. "I believe I speak for every living thing on Naya when I say that we owe you an unpayable debt. Without you, Naya would have withered and died, and would have become a wasteland like Grixis. At the least, I believe Naya can try to repay you in two ways. First of all, the phoenix before you. Shalin, I entrust you with it. Second, I am going to entrust you with the most titanic and grand of all Gargantuans, the Godsire. This very beast is the one everyone, even the most powerful of druids, lays sacrifice too. I believe these two will be invaluable weapons in your battle against Sedris.
"I...I don't know what to say..." Shalin stuttered. "This is a bit much!"
"Not at all. They would have died had you and your friends not come to our rescue. Now, Shalin. Fly eastward to Jund!" At that, Shalin sat aboard the firebird, her eyes set toward the mountains.
"Wait, Shalin!" Josh said. "How are the others going to get across the mountain?"
"Oh...right," the excited Nayan blushed. Mayael chuckled. Shalin called out to the Nayan wilds for her Cliffrunner and Rakeclaw, the fastest beasts she'd be able to follow from her aerial perch. Eron had to carry Aravan below the liana network to the dinosaur-like Gargantuan, then Ace to the red monstrosity.
"I'll follow them," Eron assured. "I can see over the trees, plus I know the area well from our last visit. I'll get them into Jund safely."
"Alright, you guys go ahead," Shalin smiled. Once the beasts stomped out of sight, she turned toward Josh. Just as he had finished summoning the sacred Bantian bird, her smile turned into a grin. The two legendary birds jumped off the top of the palace, got lift under their wings, and soared above the treetops.
"I just wish I could have seen Naya from here back when the jungle was healthy."
She couldn't keep it in any longer. "Race you!" she said, completely ignoring Josh. Her mount's blazing wings grew even hotter, propelling the bird ahead of the rest of the party--even the group of three they had sent off earlier.
Josh had no choice but to try keeping up with Shalin. The mountains quickly came into sight. Just as he finally caught up with his friend, the godtoucher leaned lower on her bird. A trail of white flames burst out of its tail, and she found herself screaming, holding on for her life.
By the time Josh caught up to her, she was out cold, her phoenix standing next to her. Josh tried casting a healing spell to get her back on her feet, and it worked. "Where...am I?" she asked dizzily.
"You fell off the phoenix, over the mountains and into Jund." In between sentences, booming thunder echoed. "You're not trained to handle that kind of speed. When you're riding, you really should be more careful. I was nervous enough pushing the halcou to its fastest just trying to keep you in sight."
A while later, the stomping of Gargantuans echoed from beyond the mountain. Eron led the party into Jund...or as it was in its current state, Dark Jund. The gray, volcanic clouds had been obscured by Grixis' stormy panorama. However, other than the lightning, it was surprisingly quiet. At Josh's request, everyone dismounted, but Shalin kept her phoenix and beasts at hand, just in case they were needed. There was no sense in wasting mana that way.
"That is because Grixis shared black and red mana bonds with Jund before the Sundering," Aravan replied, "just as we shared black and blue mana bonds in ages past. Now that the Mending has taken place, Alara seeks to reconstruct those bonds. Said reconstruction has not been a peaceful process in Bant or Naya. I do not expect it to be peaceful here, either."
"You're always so worried, Aravan. But this time, I agree with you. This place is way too quiet. Especially if Jund is having as many problems as you have talked about."
"I'm going to scout ahead," Eron offered. Without a reply, he took to the air and started flying eastward. The other four followed him more slowly, keeping their eyes on him.
"This doesn't make any sense," Ace sighed. "Usually you can hear goblins and humans screaming bloody murder, the war cries of viashino thrashes, and the roar of dragons looking for a meal. But it's so quiet."
"Oh, we also need to find Kresh," Josh changed the subject. "Any idea where he'd be?"
"He'd probably be heading for the Bloodhall, for it is time for the Life Hunt. He is the greatest warrior in all of Jund, but he's forty-two years old. He does carry quite a legacy, but I don't see him surviving a fourth Life Hunt. Not to mention that this is going to be my Life Hunt as well."
"Life Hunt? What is that?" Aravan asked. "The term has come up in various history books in Esper, but we know very little about it."
"I've already explained it to the others, but I figured that now is a good time to tell you, Aravan. At least before it's too late. Once every eight or so years, the Vision Shaman Rakka Mar gathers Jund's best warriors to the Bloodhall, which is beneath Mount Worldheart. There, she arranges teams of warriors to climb one of the volcanic mountains home to a dragon, slay the dragon, then bring back proof of their victory. Few hunters return, and even fewer succeed in the mission. Unfortunately for me, it is my turn to participate in my first Life Hunt."
"So your people really just was about survival to the ultimate extreme," Aravan replied. "Every day a struggle to get to the next. And all of this could be circumvented with a little logic."
"After traveling with you, I am aware of this. But it has been tradition since the Sundering, and Rakka Mar is not about to break that tradition."
"Rakka Mar works for Sedris!" Josh interrupted. "She's using the Life Hunt as a medium of getting you killed!"
"What choice do I have? It's tradition. Every warrior on Jund who comes of age must participate. No exceptions."
Just then, Shalin saw Eron turn around. She stopped the group until he came back. "What did you find, Eron?" she asked.
"I found the explanation as to why it's so quiet over here. Follow me to the ridge overlooking the west edge of the Rip." The entire trip from the mountain to the clifftop was completely uneventful; not even so much as a goblin passed by them.
Just as they reached the clifftop overlooking the river of lava, the scream of a viashino pierced the air. Squinting his eyes the best he could, Aravan gasped in disbelief at what he saw. Hordes of creatures from all races of Jund surrounded a red-and-black dragon with four arms, gigantic wings, and a faceplate that boasted demon-like horns. Even two of Jund's dragons stood behind it, as if bowing down in worship. The monstrosity literally swallowed the warrior whole, then picked up another viashino and threw him into the lava. It breathed black flames on a third dragon that tried to attack it, knocking it out of the sky and sending it reeling.
"Why aren't they rising up against him?" Josh asked.
"We revere dragons much like Shalin does the Gargantuans. But there's something different about that dragon. I've never seen a dragon that looks like that before. Not to mention I've never seen a dragon that breathes black flame. Something doesn't add up."
Shalin was glad she didn't dismiss her summons. She jumped back onto her firebird and called her beastly companions next to the rest of the group. Josh and Aravan climbed aboard the Cliffrunner, leaving Ace by himself on the Rakeclaw. With a battle cry from the red beast, the two jumped downward, everyone surrounding the demonic dragon feeling the brief earthquake caused by the impact of the beasts' landing.
"So they have come to us," the dragon spoke, shocking both the party and the humans surrounding him. "Excellent. That saves us the effort of finding them."
"Dragons shouldn't be able to talk!" Ace shouted over the stomping before urging his mount to a faster speed. Once he and the rest of the party had reached the crowd, they discovered how big this dragon was--he was easily the size of the Rakeclaw, possibly a little larger. A wave of black fire the dragon had produced kept the party from advancing any farther.
"So you are the ones that tried to take on Sedris and lost," the dragon introduced himself. "I am his right-hand servant, Malfegor."
"Why did you destroy the Nayan way of life?!" Shalin shouted from aboard her firebird.
"Sedris did not provide me with reasons. He merely gave me directions. A rogue faction within Jhess had already distracted Bant's armies during the civil war, and the Nayans' inability to command their Gargantuan army left them ripe for the picking."
"You're just as heartless as Sedris himself!" Josh exclaimed. "You started civil war in Bant just to get the upper hand on a war of your own?!"
"It was the perfect chance. Our invasion wouldn't have been successful if the Bantian army was united. But divided among her nations, Bant was easy to take over. With the racial debates among humans and elves, Naya was in a similar situation, and thus, was also easy to take over. Sedris' only mistake was to slightly underestimate your power." Malfegor released more flames just above the crowd, causing the people to disperse far away from him. "And that is my purpose in Sedris' grand scheme. I cannot allow you to deter his plans any more!"
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A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
After his brief speech to the party, Malfegor took to the storm-filled skies of Jund. Josh called back his aerial mount, then joined Shalin and Eron in the skies. Helpless while the dragon was in the air, he could do nothing but watch the battle above him. Aravan stood behind the Jundian, aiming ice-based spells at his foe.
Josh drew his blade, leaned low on his bird, and had it charge the dragon at full speed. Before Malfegor could react, the scales on his right side had been pierced by the light half of the Sword of Light and Shadow. The dragon cursed aloud, blasting him out of the sky with a black fireball before he could make a return charge. With a roar, Malfegor launched a counterattack--volcanic embers rained from the sky, singing Eron's wings. Shalin didn't seem to be bothered by the attack in the slightest. Her phoenix rocketed forward, the rider holding on for her life from the intense speeds required to drop superheated flames from its tail.
These flames, too, radiated the very holy energy Sedris' right-hand dragon hated. Filled with rage, the dragon literally picked Shalin off her mount, then began raking with his claws repeatedly. Four claw swipes later, he threw the godtoucher into Eron with great strength, both the angel and Shalin plummeting to the hard ground below. All five of them grounded, the horned dragon descended to ground level while Eron got Shalin back on her feet. Shalin quickly returned the favor to the injured Bantian.
"Still haven't had enough, have you?" the dragon's voice boomed. "Well, how about this?!" Black flames erupted from Malfegor's mouth and formed a ring of hellfire around all five of his opponents. He watched as they screamed helplessly, Eron unable to muster the strength to fly out of the fires. The walls of dark fire collapsed in on the dragon's victims, burning both body and mind. After the attack dissipated, Ace and Josh fell unconscious. The other three shook uncontrollably, as if they were experiencing seizures.
Just before Malfegor was going to release another black eruption of fire, he screamed in agony as a crudely-constructed sword cut him from behind, through one of his weak points. He managed to stab the dragon twice more before a powerful tail slapped him away.
Eron, Aravan, and Shalin were coherent enough to see what was going on, but nothing more. The angel did his best to cast a spell of Resurrection on Ace, but fumbled the words twice before succeeding. The risen barbarian was immediately dumbfounded at what he saw. "Kresh?!" He immediately recognized the muscled warrior, legendary among his people. Having survived three Life Hunts, his hair appeared to be blood-red from the twenty-two braids he wore. Each braid was evidence of having won a great battle, and it showed from how well he was able to read the dragon's moves.
"Not now!" the veteran warrior cried out. "This dragon has subverted and manipulated the rest of his kind, and must be eliminated at all costs!" After bringing Josh back to life, Eron backed as far away from the dragon as he could while still being close enough to aim well with his bow.
Aravan and Eron fired spell after spell, the foe only showing signs of fatigue after they had completely depleted their mana reserves. While Malfegor was reeling, Kresh stabbed his blade into his foe's chest, barely missing vital spots. "It must be your lucky day for Jund's greatest warrior to assist you in your meaningless effort," the demon groaned. "But you are too late. Sedris' plan has already been set into motion. As powerful as you've grown, you still cannot stop him. Nothing can stop him now. Alara will be his!" At that, he fled the battlefield, coughing as he flew east.
"Kresh, you truly are a hero of Jund!" Ace complimented.
"He was threatening my very way of life. You just happened to be in danger, and dealing with him saved you. Don't think I'm going to save you again if I see you in trouble. Now, I must be going."
"Wait!" Shalin shouted. "Mayael said you were one of Alara's guardians--the one from Jund!"
"That may be true, but I'll save Alara in my own way. I don't need your help. Now, I must go see Rakka Mar. It is time for the Life Hunt again." The warrior ran off before Shalin could reply. After much arguing, the party decided to follow Kresh to the Bloodhall.
"Where's Kresh?" Ace asked the Vision Shaman standing next to the Bloodhall Altar.
"He already left for his fourth Life Hunt," Rakka Mar replied. "On that note, Ace, you have now come of age. You are past your sixteenth year, correct?"
"...Yes," he sighed.
"Then it is time for your Life Hunt. You are well aware of the ritual, are you not?"
"Now isn't the best time for this," Aravan interrupted. "Look outside. Alara is in danger, and we've been the ones fighting back Sedris' forces. If it weren't for us, Alara would have been overrun by his undead army. These were the same things that were affecting Jund's climate, and even the very way of life here. Don't you have more important things to do than send people off to near certain death just for tradition's sake?"
"The Life Hunt is more than just tradition; it keeps our people strong. Without the Life Hunt to harden the bodies of our people, we would have died out long ago. For 1,500 years, it's always been held once every eight years. Those who have come of age must join the hunt. Though Kresh was only required to be on one Life Hunt, this is his fourth. But Kresh's Life Hunt does not concern Ace at all. The only thing Ace should be concerned about right now is his own Life Hunt."
"Can't the Life Hunt wait until after we defeat Sedris?" Ace asked. "Once we defeat him, Jund's style of life will be back to the way it has always been, and there will be plenty of time for me to go on the Life Hunt that I need to."
"The dragon roosts at the top of Mount Worldheart as we speak. If you wait that long, it probably won't be there anymore. So yes, your mission will have to wait."
Ace finally conceded his argument. "So, where is the hunt?"
"You are the lucky one. The dragon you are supposed to hunt is at the top of this mountain. I've already assigned you a team of people to make the climb with."
"But I have already chosen my team. The people are right here."
"You will have a worse chance of success with them, as none of them are used to the harsh mountain climate here. Yet you still want to go with them?"
"Yes. I have journeyed all over Alara with these people, and we are loyal to each other, even to the death."
"Very well. From town, go back up to the entrance level. Then go to the west side of the caves. The path up begins there. I wish you and your companions the best of luck." At that, the party left the Bloodhall and found a place to turn in for the day in the underground town. They would need all the rest they could get.
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Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
Ace led the way to the path up the mountain. Two red oozes darted in front of him as the path curved around, but he quickly defeated them with one slice of his weapon. Every creature in that narrow tunnel fell just as easily. Rounding another corner, the mountain cave widened as he could see light. Defeating any creatures that attacked them along that path seemed like a formality. After passing through the tunnel, the group found themselves climbing a mountain trail. Flashes of lightning illuminated the path as thunder echoed loudly around them. The mountain path's curve reversed direction, and the group found themselves at the entrance to another cave within it. When the rest of the party followed Ace inside, they found breathing to be difficult.
Eight feet in front of the party bubbled a lake of magma. The solid ground path narrowed the farther away from the entrance it went, cutting off completely halfway to a wall of solid rock. Josh, his body sweating already from the combination of heat and the armor he was wearing, discovered a gap in the east wall, but could not see what was on the other side of the gap. The only way across was to jump among the many stone islets that had formed in the magma due to Mount Worldheart's inactivity.
It wasn't as simple as jumping from stone to stone, however. A large, serpentine creature known as a hellion swam around the lake of molten rock, the glowing substance dripping off its fireproof scales every time it surfaced. Firebreathing lizards floated on top of the magma, their fireproof bodies letting them swim through the thick goop as though it were water. The party waited for the hellion to move to one of the chamber's far ends before hopping across the stepping stones, but it never did so. "How are we going to cross without getting knocked into the lava?" Shalin asked.
"I have an idea," Aravan replied. "Rain down, shards of ice! Crystal Spray!" A stream of ice crystals spread out from the Esperite's hands, hitting the areas of magma between the stepping stones. All he managed to do was create a large amount of steam.
"Mount Worldheart blazes with the essence of Jund's rage and ferocity," Ace said. "It'll take a more powerful spell than that."
"Become buried in an arctic prison! Icefall!" A huge chunk of ice materialized between two of the islets, then quickly melted away. "Dammit!"
"It'll take a more powerful spell than that, Aravan. Mount Worldheart is representative of the very soul of Jund."
"But I don't get a stronger ice spell until level 43!"
"We're just going to have to cross by jumping. Aravan, get a spell ready to fire at anything that attacks us. Especially the hellions--those things are vicious."
"And coming from Ace's mouth, that's saying something," Shalin added. The Jundian led the way across the lake, each jump requiring a different distance and angle. As expected, when the hellion jumped out of the lava to knock Josh off the path, Aravan froze it in place temporarily with a falling iceberg. By the time the ice melted, though, the creature was already dead.
After making the final jump in a series of eight, the party made it to the gap in the wall. "Solid ground, finally," Josh sighed. That hope was short lived after rounding the S-curve. The magna lake had been split in two. A humanoid fire elemental stood on top of a large, flat rock platform. Very narrow paths dropping dangerously close to molten rock connected ledges near volcano walls. Eron took flight, but quickly found himself panting. Forced to land, he drew his bow and began shooting at the elemental. The moment Josh drew his sword and slashed at it, it conjured a sword of fire and clashed blades with the Bantian. His superior strength won out, cutting a hole in the side of the creature. After a second successful blow, the elemental exploded in a blast of fire, knocking everyone on the ground.
As soon as she mustered the strength, Shalin cast Vitalizing Cascade to heal herself and her friends of the burning injuries they sustained. "No wonder so many people die on these Life Hunts," she said. "Barely any people even make it to the dragon!" Ace led the group across the narrow paths across magma. Three balancing ordeals later, they reached more stable ground leading up the mountain.
The next level up seemed worse than the last. A trio of hellions swam in the magma. The fact that there was magma all the way up here didn't make sense to Aravan--there should only be magma at the bottom of a volcano. The only explanation he could come up with was that this one had multiple chambers scattered about the place. The only path above the molten rock twisted and turned in many directions, the party treading carefully to avoid falling into the bubbling ooze.
Just as they walked to the end of the path leading back outside the mountain, one of the hellions leaped above them, spewing fire their way as well as dripping magma onto them. They broke for the door, then rolled on the solid rock surface outside to put out the flames. Shalin sighed as she was forced to dig deeper into her mana reserves to get the party back in good fighting shape.
As soon as Ace saw the path curve back into the volcano, three dragon hatchlings swooped in from above and began raking Josh and Aravan with their small claws. Shalin fired arrow after arrow into them, being careful to avoid hitting her allies. "Pour down holy rain from the gates of heaven! Tempest of Light!" Eron cried as Aravan winced from one of the juvenile dragons nailing a weak point. Small beams of light rained down, pelting the flying creatures with holy energy. Two of them were blasted off the mountain; the other one was sent flying into the steep slope to the east of where the moaning Esperite.
Back inside the mountain, the journeyers found themselves on a path above the one they were on before, but just as curvy. It was more narrow than the one closer to the lava, but there was little danger of being attacked. They managed to keep their balance all the way across, following the trail back outside the mountain. Their breath of fresh air was short-lived, heading back into the inferno, this time on the opposite side of the wall cutting in two the third and fourth levels of the mountain.
The west side of the fourth level was covered with the bases of a bunch of stalagmites, each platform connected by a narrow walkway that looked like it could collapse at any moment from how close it was to the magma. Lizards, elementals, and other creatures guarded each platform. Aravan scolded Eron for being reckless with his spells as the angel blew another Tempest of Light to knock the lizards unconscious and dissipate most of the elementals. A Riptide spell from Aravan finished the job. "Shouldn't you be a little less flippant with how you use your magic?" the arcanist asked. "You're our cleric, remember? You need to bring back dead people. It would really be sad if someone died and you didn't have the mana to revive him."
"Shalin can do that with her phoenix," Eron replied. "Plus, her magic, aside from her healing, is pretty useless here."
"Point taken," he frowned, following the now-vacant path leading up to the fifth level. "How many floors is this place, anyway?"
"The people that have made it all the way to the top didn't care," Ace answered. "All they wanted to do was come back with evidence of a slain dragon, or large amounts of sangrite." At least there was no wall splitting this chamber in two. Unfortunately, that was the only good thing. Magma bubbled on the bottom of the entire surface--every walkway was either connected to the outer wall or the three pillars in the center of the room, arranged in a triangular pattern. "What are we going to do to get farther up? I don't see how we can cross. I can probably jump it, but I doubt any of you guys can. Either way, it's too risky."
"I tried flying already, and it's too tiring," Eron added. "I can't muster the energy with this heat."
"I doubt the halcou would hold up any better," Josh sighed. "...There's got to be a way we missed."
"Wait," Shalin interrupted. "I think I have an idea. What if my phoenix took us to the top of this chamber, one at a time?"
"My etherium limbs would start melting, and my flesh would cook," Aravan expressed concern. "I've seen your bird--it's literally on fire."
"I have an idea," Eron chimed in. "It won't stop the pain completely, but it will dull it. How about I cast Hindering Light on everyone?"
"You're right, Eron. Since the phoenix's fire deals magic damage, Hindering Light would reduce it significantly." Everyone nodded in agreement, then Shalin brought forth the sacred firebird from the aether. He sighed a faint sphere of gold light enveloped himself and each of his friends. "This is why I've been stressing for you to conserve your mana. What if we have to do this and you didn't have the mana?"
He didn't even reply; he just walked over to Shalin's summoned creature and mounted. Being gentle, the bird circled around the outer edge of the room, slowly ascending to the upward-spiraling path to the north. It dropped the rider off, then dove back to the others in a beautiful display of technique. Shalin asked it to ferry Eron next, then Ace, then Josh. When it was the godtoucher's turn, she whooped loudly as her mount rocketed upward in a burst of white flames. She dismissed the avian before heading upstairs.
The two Bantians breathed sighs of relief when they had noticed the temperature had dropped upon going up to the sixth level. The only lava they saw was trapped in cylinders of pure sangrite stretching from the floor to the ceiling. The rock walls and the pillars of sangrite formed a maze of sorts, but it was relatively straightforward. The dragon fledglings from farther down the mountain started to become more common. Aravan cast Crystal Spray on each one he encountered to freeze it, then Josh and Ace shattered the ice with their powerful swords, blood spattering everywhere around the victim upon impact. After making it all the way to the south exit, Ace noticed a sangrite deposit at a dead-end within sight. He doubled back to cut a pair of crystals from it before catching up with his friends.
The next floor up, Aravan's frown turned into a smile. "About damn time we hit a save point!" The chamber wasn't exactly cool at 84 degrees Fahrenheit, but it was comfortable, reasonably large, and there was nothing to ambush them. The only thing of note was a passageway to the south that was wide enough for the group to enter only in single file.
"We can rest here for a while if we need to," Eron suggested. "Obviously one of us has to keep watch, but it's better than pushing ourselves to exhaustion."
"How's everyone doing for mana?" Aravan asked.
"I'm still at full capacity," Josh replied. Ace said the same.
"I know you're still at full, Ace. Your spells are almost completely useless here. Shalin, what about you?"
"I'm at around half," Shalin answered.
"I'm indifferent about this...It's up to you guys. We can sit down and rest for at least a couple hours, or we can continue."
"I'd say we should keep going," Eron suggested. "The Hindering Light spells I cast are still in effect. Besides, we can always come back here if we need to rest later."
"Good by me. However, I am going to take the time to use this Save Station to record our progress...just in case. Soft reset is the adventurer's best friend, they say."
"Wait, what?" Josh asked, confused.
"Nothing..." Everyone else turned their heads toward the etherium-enhanced spellcaster before heading through the south corridor, single file. As soon as the last of the five left the narrow passage, white flames erupted around both the exit they came from as well as the south exit leading up. Lava bubbled below them, the room temperature on this side noticeably warmer than the rest area. It appeared that the southwest, southeast, northwest, and northeast sections of the floor had collapsed, leaving the rest of the room exposed to Mount Worldheart's blazing inferno.
Suddenly, the party heard a loud shriek from below them. Its source shot upward from out of the lava, and Shalin couldn't believe her eyes. It was another phoenix. That creature was supposed to be unique, according to what Mayael taught her. Upon closer inspection, she found that this bird was completely on fire--not just its tail and wings. "You cannot keep a secret from me! Soulgaze!" Aravan cried. The Esperite stood in place as the spell provided him with details about this new foe that they obviously had to defeat to progress up the mountain.
"What are we looking at here?" Ace asked.
"It's actually not that powerful compared to what the DM would normally throw at a party of this level. 24,000 hit points, absorbs fire, half damage from weapon attacks, weak to water and ice. Normally, this thing would be a huge threat here, because if it consumes sangrite when it's close to death, it immolates, then revives itself. Thankfully there is no source of sangrite in this room, so it's just 24,000 damage and we're home free."
"Anything to watch out for?" Eron asked.
"It's got a breath weapon and a few powerful spells, but that's about it. With Hindering Light still in effect, this should be easy. How much longer does that it before it wears off?"
"About five minutes."
"Should be plenty of time to drop this thing." Josh covered for Aravan while he cast Icefall after Icefall. The icebergs didn't pin the bird down like a normal creature, but it did significantly decrease how hot its fire burned. After taking three spells from the Esperite, the bird dove underneath the platform and began casting a spell. Fire and brimstone rained from the ceiling. Eron's Hindering Light was able to lessen the blow to the point where Shalin didn't have to spend mana getting everyone back on their feet. The bird came up on the other side and rammed Josh and Aravan from behind, nearly knocking them to their doom below. Eron ran toward them, helping them up and healing their wounds after reciting a prayer to Asha.
With cover from both Eron and Josh, Aravan moved to the west wall, where he could be provided with better cover while casting. Ace's sword wasn't exactly the most effective means of attack on something made almost entirely out of flames, but he couldn't really do anything else. It only took a total of six Icefalls to make the bird disappear, along with the white fire blocking the paths leading out.
"That drained the rest of my mana," Aravan panted. "I think we should rest back at the Save Station."
"I agree," Eron replied. "My mana is drained as well."
--------------
Eight hours later, the group woke up, refreshed from their rest. Sleeping conditions weren't exactly ideal, but Aravan didn't complain. At least they found a place where it was cool enough to fall asleep. The sun had gone down, but due to the presence of cumulonimbus clouds covering all of Jund, no one could tell what time of day it was from just looking at the sky. Ace led the party back through the narrow corridor and up to the eighth level of the mountain.
At this point, they were so high up the mountain that they only encountered more dragon hatchlings. Eron resisted the temptation to blow them all away with a big spell; instead, he shot arrows at them from a distance while Josh and Ace attacked from close range with their blades. "Now you're learning," Aravan applauded. "You spend less mana by letting the people who don't need mana to attack do so." The rising ledge to the north led them outside the volcano, then back in at the ninth level.
Two more juvenile dragon attacks later, Aravan spotted another Save Station in a cool room. "Another save point, huh...and so soon after the last. We don't need to rest again, but we're definitely saving again." After recording the party's progress, Aravan elected Ace to lead the way up the spiraling cliff. They circled the mountain twice before reaching the top level. They walked single-file through a long, narrow passage before reaching the crater.
As they passed into the crater, a large, red-scaled dragon reared its head from behind the edge of the crater, then took flight. Four horns protruded from each side of its head, and the three nails on each of its claws looked sharper than even the most well-crafted sword. Even a swing of its long tail looked like it could send someone flying for miles.
"Our quarry is a hellkite overlord?!" Ace gasped. "That's what Rakka Mar sent us to defeat?!"
"Well, let's start by looking into what this thing's capable of," Aravan replied, then cast Soulgaze on the dragon. Even he was taken aback by how strong this creature was. "Level 44, huh? 55,000 hit points means we're going to be in for a long battle, and 2,200 mana points means draining all of its mana isn't a viable option. Its Attack is 165, Defense is 120, Magic is 130, and Magic Defense is 105. This thing absorbs fire, is immune to earth, takes half damage from lightning, shadow, and wind, and is weak to ice and water. Light does normal damage. It has Damage Feedback, Speed Cast II, and Extra Action as passive abilities, meaning it attacks twice per round. Speed Cast II makes my countermagic almost useless. It's immune to blinding, silence, poison, slow, stop, confusion, freezing, disease, petrification, gradual petrification, zombification, instant death, and all forms of ability damage."
While Aravan was listing its qualities, the hellkite swiped at the cliff above the party, causing boulders to block the way back. "Dammit, that thing trapped us!" Ace cursed.
"Wait a second," Shalin said. "Aravan, could you list its immunities again?"
"Sure," he replied, then listed them all again. "Why you ask?"
"You didn't list Evangelize, did you?"
Aravan paused for a few seconds, then announced his discovery to his friends. "Guys! As strong as this thing is, it's susceptible to Shalin's Evangelize spell! Whatever you do, do not kill it! Shalin can make this dragon her friend!"
"What?!" Ace shouted. "There's no way she can befriend a dragon, let alone that one!"
"It may be difficult for it to succeed, but the information my spell gave me says it isn't immune to her Evangelize spell. After I burn all my spells, my job will be to keep track of its hit points, so she knows when to make her attempts at befriending this thing. We can't let this chance go to waste! Now, let's go!"
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Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
Josh and Ace covered for Shalin while she called her phoenix down from the skies. She joined Eron in flight, giving her both a tactical advantage and a handicap. The dragon let loose a stream of fire that turned from white to yellow to orange the farther it got from its mouth. The blast settled on top of the knight and barbarian, knocking them to the ground. Ace was the first to get back up, and he began casting Accelerate on the party, one person at a time.
Though the hellkite was fast enough to corner anything on the ground, Shalin's firebird was far more maneuverable. It flew circles around the red-scaled behemoth, serving as a diversion to keep it away from Aravan. She and Eron let loose with a volley of arrows. Each one seemed to merely bounce off of their foe's thick scales. The arcanist shouted for her to get out of the way. The phoenix dove right in front of the dragon, evading the large chunk of ice he dropped onto it. The Jundian predator was struck square on its back. The ice melted rapidly upon piercing the dragon's scales, but it roared, half in pain, half in anger, from the chilling mass.
Josh dropped to his knees, seemingly in prayer. The dragon catching that out of the corner of his eye, it dove back inside the crater, claws brandished. "Reduce this enchanted body to its natural capability! Disenchant!" Just as he fired his spell off, the dragon made a low fly-by, swiping its claws at all three on the ground. The spell broke all enchantments that their quarry had cast upon itself. It did come at a price, however; Aravan moaned, his chest and left arm throbbing in pain. It felt like the filigree structure grafted onto his left arm would shatter at any moment.
Eron fired arrows toward the back of its head, but even those seemed to just bounce off. The firebird descended closer to its rider's allies, getting in range for her to get them back on her feet. "Dewcups of Naya, rain your refreshing water on us! Vitalizing Cascade!" A torrent of refreshing water cascaded above the bleeding fighters, quickly closing their wounds and energizing them.
Aravan let loose another Icefall, with a similar result. The dragon's internal heat melted the ice very quickly, steam erupting from the wound. Before it could recover, he hastily cast the spell a second time. Angry at the caster, the dragon spit four fireballs at him and Ace before swooping in for an attack. It grabbed Aravan in one of its hands, then flew almost straight up. After reaching sufficient height, it reversed direction, diving to the ground at an incredible pace. Demonstrating a great deal of strength, it hurled the mage to the center of the battleground above the magma.
"Aravan!!" Eron shouted, then seemed to enter a free fall. After a harsh landing, he knelt next to his fallen comrade and folded his hands in prayer. "The fires of hell cannot claim the truly just! Revitalize!" A beam of light from heaven broke through the clouds and shone down on Aravan. The holy energy entered him and not only restored his consciousness, but made him feel completely refreshed.
Without even thanking his friend, he went back to letting loose ice spell after ice spell. He went through all of his available mana, and this thing still didn't look terribly tired. "Try it, Shalin!" he shouted.
The airborne Nayan druid nodded, then closed her eyes, putting complete trust in her bird. "Calm your anger and fight for the good of Alara! Evangelize!" She pointed her glowing hands toward the dragon, and a bright flash lit up the area around the crater. It continued to chase Eron through the skies as if nothing happened. "It didn't work!"
"Try again after we hit it a few more times!"
Now angrier than ever, the dragon let loose a massive amount of fire into the air. It mixed with the volcanic ash in the sky and fell to the battlefield as a corrosive rain of fire. Again, it just bounced off the dragon's scales, but all five fighting against it felt like their skin was being eaten alive. Shalin quickly cast Refresh on herself to neutralize the toxin, but she was concerned for her friends. "Aravan, should I heal everyone?" she asked.
"Hold back around 200 points of mana to tame this beast. Otherwise, do as you see fit with your mana." She proceeded to restore everyone back to normal, but she was approaching her reserve quickly.
"Pour down holy rain from the gates of heaven! Tempest of Light!" the angel cried. It began raining holy light from above again, but this time, the beams were designed to injure, not heal. The dragon was pelted all over its body, roaring in pain from some of them entering the wounds where Aravan's Icefall attacks hit it earlier.
"Try it again, Shalin!" Aravan cried. She did as instructed, and there was still no change in the dragon's behavior. "Damn it! This thing really doesn't want to come peacefully, does it?"
With an eardrum-shattering roar, all five members of the party could feel the temperature around them rising to unbearable levels. A dome of fire formed, all of them enclosed inside. The ground near the edges of the dome wavered back and forth, and it looked like it was melting. A sheet of flames fell on top of the dome, causing it and the sheet to collapse on top of everyone. Only Shalin and Eron withstood the massive attack.
The angel let loose one more rain of holy light while Shalin prepared a spell of her own. After he finished casting, Eron fell to the ground, exhausted. "Calm your anger and fight for the good of Alara! Evangelize!" Shalin cried out in desperation. Slowly but surely, she noticed the hellkite's eyes change from blood-red back to a much darker shade of the color. After letting one more blast of flames loose above her head, it stopped attacking them.
(Silence Music Track)
Once he was certain the dragon was calm, Eron mustered the energy to stand back up, then spent the remainder of his mana reviving and healing the others. None of them could believe what they were seeing. Shalin was petting the dragon's head while Ace stood on the other side of it, excited to be able to take to the skies on Jund's ultimate predator. That would make him the ultimate predator, he concluded.
--------------
About two weeks later, the party, with the exception of Ace, met Rakka Mar at the Bloodhall. "Where's Ace?" the Vision Shaman asked. "And where is proof of your success? You should have proof of your victory, such as a fang or nail of the dragon. He wouldn't desert his quarry--he knows the consequences of abandoning the Life Hunt."
"Regarding Ace, there's something we need to show you," Shalin replied. "Follow us outside."
"This isn't something you could just tell me?"
"If we told you, you wouldn't believe us," Eron answered.
"This had better be good." Shalin led her friends and the Jundian shaman upstairs and out the west entrance to the caves of Mount Worldheart. A loud roar indicated the presence of a dragon nearby.
"Look to the south, Rakka Mar," the angel said, pointing. A huge, red-scaled dragon was seemingly resting on the ground, just standing there. It wasn't causing any ruckus among wildlife at all. As she got closer, it roared again, this time spewing flames almost straight upward. She saw a muscular, human frame between its shoulders. Upon getting even closer to the dragon, she could not believe her eyes.
"It was a complete success, Rakka Mar!" Ace shouted, waving from his perch aboard the hellkite.
"Impossible!" the shaman shouted. "Why isn't it devouring you like it has everyone else?"
"Deep inside," Shalin began, "even the most ferocious predator has a heart. It was all about appealing to the beast's inner emotions, just as Mayael taught me when I was raised as a godtoucher. "Once it became calm, the remainder of the process was elementary. It was just like Mayael taught me from childhood."
"Impossible!" she cried the louder. "Sedris! That was my last effort to stop these people from taking what rightfully belongs to you, and I have failed! Forgive meeeeeeeeeee!" After those last words, Rakka Mar's body began shaking uncontrollably in unusually potent epilepsy. She collapsed to the ground during the seizures, and rolled down the rocky hills to a lava lake over a hundred feet below.
"So she was Sedris' underling after all," Josh sighed, shaken up from seeing such a gruesome death...even if it was the death of their enemy.
"So what's our next move?" Aravan asked.
"We now have the greatest predator in all of Jund at our side," Ace pointed out. "We can use it to fly straight through Sedris' front door, and end this once and for all!"
"It's worth a shot," he replied. "We should be able to do it this time. We are level 40's, after all."
"Then it's settled. Everyone, climb on the dragon! We're storming Sedris' castle!"
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Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
The land of death and decay didn't change much after Alara's transformation. A permanent lightning storm still covered the sky, and the landscape was still as desolate as before. The only change any of the riders noticed was at the center of the Necropolis of Sedraxis. Somehow, Sedris' castle floated hundreds of feet above the city. As the Jundian predator flew closer, Aravan identified the source as an Esperite anti-gravity spell. "This makes no sense whatsoever," he started. "And even if they had the technology, it would take an incredible amount of mana to be able to make something that big float."
"I don't get it, either," Eron concurred. "I can detect extraordinary amounts of mana being channeled to hold the floating castle in place, but none of it stems from a black source. No one from Grixis could have produced this field."
"Could our return have been too late? Ace, turn north."
"The sooner we defeat Sedris, the sooner we can return home," Ace replied. "We're going in as planned."
"I may not have a home to return to. And the rest of the world would treat me as an outcast because of my filigree enhancements. You know that. You know all those people we've saved in Bant and Naya? They pretty much ignored me, and that's only because we saved them. Can we at least have a look?"
"Alright," Ace sighed, rolling his eyes. The dragon slowly turned to the northeast, gaining sufficient altitude to clear the mountains. The hellfires of the Burning Fields below nearly made Shalin and Eron nauseated from the abhorrent stench. Demons patrolled the outskirts of the Necropolis of Unx to the west. They turned around to see the dragon, but paid no attention after a few seconds.
Once they had passed over the mountains, Aravan could not believe his eyes. "Oh my god..." he gasped. They were clearly south of Palandius, but it was not the beautiful city he recognized. Small, blue spheres that looked like will-of-the-wisps hovered around almost every etherium structure, the precious, magical metal the buildings were composed of dripping away like candle wax. Some of the more delicate buildings had already collapsed.
After landing a couple of miles outside the city, Aravan cringed. The great vedalken city was crawling with creatures from the Tidehollow. The aether-liches that had been banished to the depths of Esper had surfaced once more, and with them came striges, scullers, and other nasties. Despite the filigree buildings breaking down in front of them, the radiation didn't seemed to bother their entirely metallic bodies at all. It did, however, bother the human and vedalken denizens of the city. There were several dead bodies within sight, their etherium limbs broken off from the remainder of their respective corpses.
As Aravan led the group to within a mile of the city, he groaned in agony. "It...burns!" he winced. "It feels like my arms are immersed in acid!"
"Aravan!!" Shalin cried. "Don't take another step into that mess!"
"Though at a much slower rate, it's still harmful to flesh! Save yourself!" Not listening to her friend, Shalin grabbed one of the Esperite's hands and helped him walk back a few hundred feet, where the radiation was less intense.
"What happened to this place?" Ace asked. "It looked like your people had everything well under control!"
"Sedris' zombie invasion, no doubt. He knew that we weren't trained well in combat, so he was just waiting for us to leave before sending his troops in. What an underhanded tactic."
"Aravan, you said etherium is a magical metal?" Eron asked."
"Yes, it is aether-infused. Why you ask?"
"Well, I can't stop the decay completely, but I can slow it down a lot if I just cast Hindering Light on you. It creates a barrier that reduces the impact of attack magic, so it should work on this."
"I'm not sure, but it's the best shot we have now. Also, you may want to cast it on everyone. It still breaks flesh down, just at a much slower rate. What is your caster level, Eron?"
"I have taken 29 levels in ranger and 11 levels in amesha, so 40."
"And with your current mana capacity, you can cast this spell how many times per day?"
"353 goes into 18...argh, someone else do the math! Math was never my strong point!"
"19 times. Caster level 40th means the spell lasts for 200 rounds. At six seconds per round, that's 20 minutes. And spreading it over the party, that means we have 80 minutes of protection. Should be plenty of time to figure out what's going on."
"Alright then, let me get all of you ready." Eron cast Hindering Light on himself and each of his friends, one at a time. Once he was finished, he stepped back into the radiation zone. Most of the blue, floating spheres bounced off the faint shield of golden light. Aravan followed him, and the burning sensation was nowhere near as painful as before.
"I suggest we seek out Sharuum. She'll fill us in." As the arcanist led his friends through the decaying town, he found both the invaders from the Tidehollow, as well as its remaining citizens, to be very hostile. Almost all of those still living in the city had become aether-liches, having their etherium frames treated in underground shelters just to be able to survive the radioactive fallout. The entire city looked like the aftermath of a nuclear explosion, minus the explosion.
Many of the undead Esperites pulled out handheld beam weapons and began firing. Most of the shots bounced off the barriers. The group didn't even fight back--they just fled across the bridges and roads of Palandius. Red lasers reflected off the magical spheres and into the delicate buildings, speeding up their decay. Ace suggested summoning his dragon so that they could all flee faster, but Aravan reminded him that there would be no place for it to land. After leaving the east city limits of Palandius, they finally reached Sharuum's Tower. Strangely, it didn't seem to have undergone any change.
"What the hell happened?" Aravan asked the great sphinx hegemon upon entering her quarters on the top floor of her tower.
"We were played for fools," she replied. "As soon as you five freed Bant, Sedris sent an enormous army straight over the mountains to the south and into the Esper mainland. The remainder of Esper's twenty-three sphinxes came out of hiding to hold the line and drive his army out, but their numbers were far too great. Furthermore, the necromantic pulses the zombies emitted have had a very strange effect on etherium."
"This is why I was arguing to the Senate about taking precautionary actions against such an invasion. It was bound to happen, with the five worlds as one again...it was only a matter of time. We could have been better prepared."
"Aravan, that's all in the past. We need to focus on the crisis at hand."
"Can you tell us anything else about what's going on, and your plan to stop it?"
"The necromancers' auras are breaking the delicate bonds of our filigree parts and structures. Four of the sphinxes even sacrificed themselves to protect me, as well as this tower. They embedded special runes onto me, as well as the tower we stand in."
"Can you embed this rune onto my arms?"
"Unfortunately, no. I do not have the power to do this myself; we need other sphinxes. By my count, only eight of Esper's twenty-three sphinxes are still alive. Because the vast majority of our flesh had been replaced with etherium, we were particularly vulnerable to this kind of radiation."
"Do you have any idea where they are?"
"You'll need to go back into the Etherium Mines. As dangerous as that place is now, that is probably where the remaining sphinxes are being held hostage. The mindlock orbs we installed down there to protect us are now endangering us. I am beginning to wonder how many of them are suffering from radiation poisoning as we speak."
"Say, Sharuum," Ace said, "you're protected from this radiation, right? How about giving us a ride to the mines? The cities of Esper are all overrun with undead."
"You must show greater respect to Sharuum!" Aravan scolded his ally. "Sharuum is the wisest being in all of Esper. To ask that she be used a beast of burden is an unforgivable sin!"
"Furthermore," the hegemon continued, "I must stay here, where it is safe. I am the only one with the intellect to restore Esper to its full glory after these attacks. If they capture me, Esper may as well disappear off the face of Alara. Aravan, that means you would not have a home to return to."
"If this won't work, then can we at least use the top level of your tower as a takeoff point?" Ace asked Sharuum. "I have a dragon that we can use to get there."
"So, the godtouchers of Naya have even tamed the most ferocious predator in Jund...amazing. I have no problem with that. If you have the power to tame a dragon, then you should be able to free the remaining sphinxes."
"What about Sedris himself?" Shalin asked. "His castle now floats in the sky, and it is only a matter of time before he takes back Alara again, undoing all our work!"
"As soon as you free the remainder of the sphinxes, come back here. I'll tell you all I know about him. I wish you the greatest of luck in the mines."
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Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
The interior of the mines hadn't changed much since Aravan's last visit. Frankly, it was one of the safest places in Esper, given the condition that the cities and even the cesspools were in. Large amounts of mining equipment still stood in the center of the main quarry, but upon closer examination, it was nonfunctional due to small, but vital, etherium components decaying. On the upside, the mine's automated defense system was also offline.
Aravan led the party to the northeast exit and into the room with the Save Station. Surprisingly, it was still functional. "So, while data is saving, do we have a plan of action to discuss?" the wizard asked.
"No, but I do remember a shortcut we can take," Eron replied. "Last time we were here, there was, as far as I could tell, a one-way elevator on the west side of the main quarry. If we make use of Shalin's phoenix or something else that can fly, we can save ourselves a lot of time."
"There's not enough room for Ace's hellkite to take off. Whose mana is the most expendable?"
"I would have to say Josh's. I rarely see him cast spells."
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen his spell list in a long time. Shalin and Josh, can I see your character sheets, please?" Without a verbal reply, the two did as he requested. "Let's see here..." He paused to contemplate. "You can cast Hindering Light as well, Josh? Why didn't you tell me? That's another 20 minutes of protection per 90 mana capacity!"
"Minus 70 points of mana so we can take this shortcut," Josh corrected him.
"Right...but given what is on your sheets, I still think it's more efficient to go about it this way." After Aravan returned the two character sheets, Josh dropped to his knees and began casting the summoning spell to bring the sacred bird into the mines. No matter how many times they saw the bird, it was just as awe-inspiring as each time before. The green, white, and blue bird began ferrying everyone to the top of the west side of the quarry, one by one. Aravan opened the door into the winding passage leading all the way back to the Map Station. Flying in this small of an area was impossible, leaving Josh with no choice but to recall his avian ally.
The remainder of the trip to the first elevator was fairly uneventful, a single aether-lich the only resistance the party encountered. "Wow, this has been easy so far," Aravan said as the elevator descended, intersecting the Tidehollow halfway down. "Too easy. You'd think that with the invasion, this place would be full of scullers and such. Sure, we've run into a radiation pocket or two, but not enough to warrant widespread death of mine workers. This isn't adding up." Noticing his Hindering Light spell was about to wear off, Eron cast it again to renew the barrier.
The explosive crates in the eastern hallway had been replaced. "What a pleasant surprise," the angel said, then fired two arrows at one of the boxes. The room lit up brightly from the resulting explosion, knocking a trio of striges from their hidden perches in the ceiling. There was no sign of life in any of them after the blast.
Most of the research labs were completely empty, even this far down. No turrets, no workers, no scullers. Nothing. The party quickly moved onto the next room. The W-shaped chamber rang another bell in Eron's mind. "Hey guys, there's a shortcut here too." He guided Josh to the end of the middle section of the W. "Look for a small gap in the floor here and see if you can fit your blade in it." The knight began tapping the end of his weapon against the floor. After two minutes of searching, he finally found the small gap. "There's a hidden door here," the ranger continued, "and it's supposed to be one-way. But if you pry your blade upward, we should be able to get enough of a hold on it to open it from this side." Josh was able to pull the door up just enough for the others to catch it.
On the other side of the crawlspace was the dynamo room. "Well, that was fast," Shalin said. "We're back where we were last time."
"The way to the third level is through the radiation zone past the southeast hallway," Aravan informed everyone. "Is the barrier in danger of running out soon?"
"No," the ranger replied.
"Then let's go."
After another long hallway, Aravan led the way into a large chamber, the only thing artificial about it being the decaying walkways and the tunnel high above them--the one that they saw this chamber out of during their last visit to the mines. Beneath the walkways, the entire floor glowed blue, the only thing protecting the party from the intense radiation being Eron's Hindering Light spell. Even with the spell in effect, Aravan was still in a constant state of pain--it just made the pain bearable. In its present state, the etherium ore was unminable--the workers would die of radiation poisoning long before they got the ore to a storage room.
After a nerve-wracking walk across the suspended paths that looked like they could collapse at any moment, Aravan led the way to the elevator on the south end of the second level. As soon as everyone was on the lift, he flipped the switch to start it moving down. "From here, I have no idea what's to come. I still have the map of this place from our first trip here, but I've never actually been down to the third level of the mines. It supposedly crosses the depths of the Tidehollow and into the true bowels of Esper; it's the deepest place not covered in water."
"You've said repeatedly that the supply of etherium has been dwindling," Eron changed the subject. "Why didn't you guys mine out the area we were just in? It looked plentiful."
"Back then, there was no need to go that deep into the mines. You see, deposits from the cesspools filtered its way into the Tidehollow, and the Tidehollow intersects this portion of the mine numerous times. It was far more trouble than it was worth coming down here. I would assume that the etherium deposits down here have also been corrupted because of the invasion." The lift stopped upon reaching the bottom of the shaft. "Josh and I will lead the way." Before leaving the shaft, Josh renewed the magical barriers protecting the party from becoming dreadfully sick.
The third level of the mines looked less like mines and more like a natural cave complex. With many of the bridges collapsed due to chemical breakdown, the party was forced to jump from stable ledge to stable ledge. Shalin slipped just before one leap about halfway down, causing her to fall all the way to the semisolid, radioactive etherium compound at the bottom of the chamber. She screamed in agony as the blue goop ate away her flesh like a mosstodon's highly acidic saliva. Eron dove off the platform, exposing himself to the poison in order to lift her back up to the tunnel leading forward. Even after being pulled out, she still winced in pain, the highly toxic compound dripping from her clothes and long hair.
Josh did his best to ease his friend's pain with the healing magic he knew, but it didn't heal the Nayan girl's flesh nearly as fast as it had been worn away. Eron's exposure, thanks to the barrier Josh erected, only caused his flight to become slightly off balance, and even that effect wore off after he stood on solid ground for a while. Aravan looked down and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw there was no etherium corruption anywhere in the room. The place was enough of a deathtrap already--scullers roamed the edges of the Tidehollow, and their pet striges flew overhead, ready to prey on any unsuspecting thing that passed by. The waters of the Tidehollow looked more like oil by how dark they were.
Besides the electronic doors, the chamber they were in looked completely natural. Ace spotted a narrow ledge on the west side that would take them above the dark river. Just as he led the way in sidling across, three of the striges caught sight of them and started trying to rake them with their sharp talons. "Send these infidels through the eye of the storm! Hurricane!" Shalin cried, barely keeping her balance. The mana slipped between her fingers and was drawn around a corner.
"Damn, another mindlock orb," Aravan sighed as his comrades picked up the pace ever so slightly. Before all of them could cross, though, the striges began pecking at the party's exposed hands, causing them to lose their balance and tumble to the ground just north of the polluted river. They had to run uphill to get to the next door, sidestepping out of the way of the relentless birds.
"Finally, an empty room," Ace panted, looking at how badly his right hand had been torn up. Out of range of the mindlock orb, Shalin cast Vitalizing Cascade to ease everyone's pain, but it didn't seem to be as effective as it was when she first learned the spell. Perhaps the wounds were worse than they looked. Either way, everyone finally had a chance to catch their breath without being attacked. "How are you feeling, Shalin? Your hair isn't dripping blue anymore."
"Still dizzy and a bit tired," she answered, "but I can keep going. How are you two doing on mana?"
"Not too good," Josh replied. Eron nodded in agreement.
"Aravan, how much more is there to this place?"
"Not a lot, actually," the Esperite answered. There's only one more area like this we need to go through, then we're hitting a pair of research labs."
"Why would anyone build a lab in such a dangerous, remote place?" Josh asked.
"This was where most etherium compounds were developed. It's just easier to do research down here, particularly when the supplies of etherium were abundant. Ever since the Mending, though, no one's been able to get to the labs due to the radiation problem. Plus, that very radiation would make it difficult, if not impossible, to perform research here." Without another word, Aravan opened the door to the next room.
This chamber was filled with the decaying, magical metal also. "I hear something murmuring on the left side, far in the distance," Shalin told her friends. "It's faint, but I can hear it."
"Reduce this enchanted body to its natural capability! Disenchant!" By the time the party found the source of the voice, it was too late. A hammer, made out of pure white mana, destroyed the barrier protecting Aravan from the highly toxic metal. Just as the wizard ran for the west entrance to the research lab, a pulse of dark energy from the aether-lich that dispelled the Hindering Light knocked him into the semisolid, blue compound. By the time Eron was able to lift him out of the muck and next to the lab entrance, he was already unconscious, his metallic arms looking like they could snap apart at any moment.
"Fireheart of the world, rain burning destruction! Meteor Storm!" Ace cried. Fiery boulders appeared at the top of the chamber and rained down, crushing the aether-lich that nearly did Aravan in. He also assumed the rain crushed every other foe in sight. Once the coast was clear, Shalin opened the door leading to the lab. Ace was forced to carry Aravan's body.
The research facility was almost completely empty. Stasis tanks, functional but inactive, scattered the room. When Eron turned around, he immediately noticed a red sign above the door. The sign read "quarantine" in all capital letters. Having never heard the term before, he got to work reviving Aravan. "The fires of hell cannot claim the truly just! Revitalize!" A column of holy light shined directly over Aravan. When he got up, he felt fully refreshed. "What's quarantine mean?" the Bantian asked.
"No wonder that room was so dangerous," Aravan began. "A quarantine area is kind of like a lockdown chamber, except it is mainly used to confine toxic substances or virulent diseases to a single area, letting the disease die out. We would have quarantined those affected by radiation poisoning, but the problem was far too widespread for that method to work." Looking around the lab, he noticed a blue sign in the distance, which read "save" in white, capital letters.
He led Eron and the rest of the group toward the door before opening it. Inside was a computer terminal and a magical dome, both similar to the one on the first floor. The Esperite breathed a sigh of relief. He opened the way to the safe zone, then closed the hatch as soon as everyone was inside. "Phew," Shalin panted.
"About time we find a Save Station," Aravan added. "I swear, the DM just wants to be unfair to his players toward the end game. I strongly recommend we rest here while I record our progress. Especially you, Shalin. You took quite a spill back there."
"And what was that just a few minutes ago, then?" Josh scowled.
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Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
"And...done," Aravan said upon finishing logging the party's progress in both the system as well as his journal. "I did some scouting during the night, while you guys were asleep."
"What did you learn?" Josh asked.
"On the side of the laboratory, opposite to where we are now, there's a tunnel that leads into what appears to be the main R&D chamber of the complex. Several of the missing sphinxes are being held in jail cells there."
"Can't they just bust out? You said their magical abilities are almost unparalleled!"
"There's a slight problem with that--their mana would just get absorbed through the mindlock orb. It's embedded into the catwalks that meander above the room. Furthermore, I doubt they have much strength left--there are three pools of wastes in the room. Without protection, even the sphinxes can't hold up forever against it. I wonder what their corruption level is at already?"
The size of the C-shaped tunnel made the party question how Sedris' soldiers managed to get the sphinxes into their current positions. At the end of the tunnel, Aravan opened the electronic door, then let the others peer around the corner. The jail cells were similar to the ones that they were imprisoned in during their previous visit to Esper. The three glowing pools were arranged in the shape of a regular triangle, its corners positioned at about half the radius of the room. After taking his turn to look around, Eron cast Hindering Light on the party while he still could. As soon as all five of them entered the room, the door closed and locked behind them.
A large plate in the center of the room slowly slid open, revealing a shaft. The lift underneath slowly rose, revealing a horrific, human-shaped construct. The twelve-foot-tall creature was comprised entirely of etherium stained with copious amounts of blood. The metal itself had small holes poked through many locations. Some appeared to be caused by energy weapons; others seemed to be caused by acid rain or etherium radiation doing its course. The parts it was comprised of looked like they came from a myriad of sources: buildings, gears, etherium-enhanced bladed weapons, and even the bodies of slain Esperites. Aravan gasped in horror.
The creature fired beams from its glowing right hand, as though it was holding a beam weapon similar to the ones that aether-liches and other formerly human inhabitants of the mine carried. Josh and Ace drew their swords and started hacking away, but even the Sword of Light and Shadow merely bounced off its metal body. It effortlessly kicked Josh aside, sending him flying over one of the pools of blue liquid. Ace struck the creature again, this time higher up its leg. It still shrugged off the blow, the Jundian barely dodging a counterattack.
Breathing heavily from the maneuver required to evade the foe's attack, Ace had to put more energy forth to deliver the same strength with his next attack, this one higher than before. The creature roared in pain when the sphere surrounding its left knee joint shattered. "That's it!" Aravan shouted. Eron took flight and opened fire on the other knee. It took eight arrows to break the other sphere.
Once both had shattered, its hands started glowing. It slowly backed toward the blue pool on the north end of the chamber, then unleashed white and black spheres of almost pure mana. The two converged at Ace's location, then collapsed upon each other, forming an explosion that sent the warrior hurtling into the air, then crashing back down. The angel flew toward him to get him back on his feet. "Magic?!" Shalin exclaimed. "How is that possible? The mindlock orb prevents magic from being cast in here!"
Aravan peered toward the ceiling, and found the blue orb's light had faded. "It seems that when its shielding is down, it turns the orb off to start regenerating that shielding. Hit it with your spells as hard as you can while it's recovering!" As the red creature began absorbing energy from the pool, Aravan, Shalin, and Josh fired their strongest offensive spells at it: Naturalize from the knight, Gale Force from the godtoucher, and Icefall from the wizard. The rending vines ripped pieces of its metallic body apart, while the combination of wind and ice exposed the remainder of its frame to extreme cold. Once Ace was back on his feet, he jumped in on the assault with a powerful blaze of fire. The sudden change in temperature caused the magical metal to fracture in a few places.
During the third volley of spells, the shields surrounding the metal abomination's kneecaps had completely regenerated, and the mana slipped away from its adversaries. "So we're back to where we started," Aravan said.
"Thank you for stating the obvious," Ace replied, narrowly dodging an intense, red beam aimed at his face.
"That's it. I know how this fight works now, guys--it's simple. Wail on its legs, then blast it as hard as you can while it's down. These kind of battles are annoying to the players, and I really hope we don't end up fighting another battle like this."
After a second round of spells, the creature had been stripped of a significant portion of its metallic armor. After it had grown its shields back again, it cast a spell that formed a large, pitch-black cloud above the room instead of reactivating the mindlock orb. A black, corrosive rain fell over all six combatants. The poisonous liquid harmlessly slid off both Aravan's and the monster's etherium, but his four friends were brought to their knees. It felt like their skin was on fire during the few seconds the rain fell.
No matter how hard Josh and Ace beat on the creature with their swords, it didn't seem to disrupt its concentration at all. A second cloud appeared at the room's ceiling, spitting out the same substance. Ace and Josh dropped where they stood, their will unable to overcome the sensation of being on fire all over their bodies. That was when it clicked.
Shalin and Aravan resumed casting the strongest offensive spells they knew, a strong burst of wind knocking their adversary back before it tried to tear a hole through Eron with its sharp claws. This time, though, it fought back with magic of its own. Aravan couldn't believe Shalin was standing after she had been tossed skyward from the same type of magical explosion that caused Ace to collapse before.
During the next volley of spells, Eron approached his fallen comrades in an effort to bring them back to life. Unfortunately, the abomination slashed at him with both claws, knocking the wind out of him as he sailed into the east wall. The next Gale Force snapped its weak leg in half. It collapsed with a loud crash, Eron rolling out of the way to avoid being crushed under its weight.
Silence Music Track
Once the foe was nothing more than scrap metal, the magical bars penning the sphinxes inside their cells disappeared, and the wise creatures limped into the room. Shalin ran toward Eron, his wings and white robe dirty from rolling around. She healed his injuries the best she could, then she joined him in getting Josh and Ace back on their feet and in at least traveling condition.
None of the sphinxes said a word to the party besides simple thank-yous. With Aravan's mana totally spent, the party had no choice but to go back out of the mine the long way.
"The five of you have done Esper a great service," Sharuum congratulated them within the chmber at the top of her tower. "Arise."
"Will the sphinxes be alright?" Aravan asked as he, then his friends, stood up.
"The metallurgeons are not certain. One of them will be alright, but they're not sure about the other four. We sphinxes are particularly susceptible to radiation poisoning."
"Then why don't the scullers and aether-liches just die on the spot?" Shalin asked. "They're made totally out of etherium, so wouldn't they be more exposed?"
"It doesn't work like that, Shalin of Naya. Sure, etherium is the medium by which living things are poisoned, but the poison has no effect on the body unless the etherium in question is connected to the flesh. The poison breaks the flesh down, then the etherium near it."
"Wait, Sharuum," Aravan interrupted. "You're not making a bit of sense. If the radiation requires etherium and flesh to poison, why is it causing our buildings to collapse?"
"This is the very reason why I was against spreading etherium thinner in building construction. The etherium that our bodies is composed of has to be fairly concentrated, as you know, Aravan. Because there is a relatively constant amount of force on building structures, we could afford to spread etherium according to the structure's weight. When such thinly-spread etherium is exposed to radiation, it melts down, and the integrity of the structure is compromised. Thankfully, my tower was far enough from the fallout zone that I wasn't affected."
"So what's the game plan from here?" Josh asked. "We've saved every region from the invasion. I think it's time to take this to Sedris' front door."
"I feel that would be better discussed when we know the status of the sphinxes. I'm sure they would like to give their input on the issue."
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
"It only took six days for the sphinxes to recover from injuries that bad? Incredible..." Even if the best clerics and balmgivers in all of Bant were treating someone with a similar condition, it would take weeks, Josh thought. They looked good as new, as if nothing had ever happened.
"That's one of the many advantages to becoming filigreed," Aravan replied. "The metallurgeons are so well-trained that people rarely spend more than a few days in the hospital." He paused. "However, there are more disadvantages to becoming filigreed than we initially thought. I discovered a good number of them just traveling with you. Another issue is, like I've been saying, the supply of etherium has been slowly decreasing. We probably lost most of the remaining ore in the mines to corruption, meaning we must find new sources of carmot outside Esper."
"What?"
"Carmot is the scientific name for etherium ore," Sharuum answered, then stood up. All four of the other sphinxes in the room bowed to her, and the humans and elf followed their example. "You may rise."
"I was hoping to use this as a diversion to return home while you guys go to the castle on your own," Aravan sighed. "I guess this is what you Bantians call 'fate'."
"Now, let us begin discussing that issue," Sharuum started, then flipped a switch behind her. The tower's roof began retracting, and the floor of her chamber rose to the top. "It is time for you five to make the journey into the belly of the enemy. You must infiltrate Sedris' castle, defeat the traitor to Vithia, and make sure he never rises from the dead again. However, it won't be so simple."
"I wasn't expecting it to be," Josh agreed. "Vithian castles were designed similarly to Bant's--very tough to penetrate, even for the best of Jhessian scum."
"Sedris knows, and fears, how powerful you have become. During the invasion of Esper, Sedris stole large amounts of resources and technology from us. His undead army has repaired his castle, and with our technology, has turned it into a floating fortress, making it impossible to get to by land. He has also prepared a large anti-air force consisting of kathari, specters, and even the occasional demon. Sedris has ordered them to fight to the death with any intruders."
"So, what is your strategy for getting in, then? The castle is landlocked, and the airspace surrounding it is, like you said, heavily guarded."
"I'd like to see all of your character sheets," Aravan finally spoke up again. After collecting them, he spread them out in front of himself, careful not to let the wind blow them too far. "The only way I can see us getting through is if we try to crash through this air force. However, it'll require the cooperation of all four of you. Plus, I don't know what I'm going to do if we go through with this plan. I may end up going with Ace, but I'm not sure how that will work out."
"It's the best plan we have. What do you guys think?" Ace merely nodded. Shalin made an even more subtle reply in the form of a red summoning circle. Her phoenix burst out of the circle in a flash of orange and yellow, looping once above the tower before landing next to the Nayan. She lightly patted the bird's head before mounting, the blazing creature still perched atop the etherium structure. "I think she agrees with you, Aravan!"
"So, this is your strategy for getting into the castle?" Sharuum asked. "It's daring...but it's good. What about the rest of you?"
"Ace has befriended a Jundian dragon, which will be our main force of offense during the operation," Aravan answered. "Eron can fly by himself, and his holy-based spells will be a godsend. Josh has a bird of prey called the halcou, which, according to Bantian lore, boasts unparalleled grace and speed among all living things there."
"And what about you?" Aravan returned the other four sheets to his friends.
"I'll just go with Ace. That's the safest bet, given our resources."
Sharuum paused, then faced the four sphinxes. She turned to look each of them in the eye, one by one. They nodded after being stared at for a few seconds. "It's about time that we Esperites take action against this lich that threatens to transform Alara into a land of undeath. Aravan, climb on my back."
"What?!" he shouted. "You're Esper's hegemon! You're bringing yourself to such a disgrace?"
"Grace and status have no bearing in a world of undeath. Now, Aravan, climb on."
"Esper needs you as their leader! Your wisdom is what has kept us prospering through the problems of the world! Without you, our society would have collapsed long ago!"
"Alara needs me more than Esper right now. I will return to Esper as soon as our mission is complete. Now, hop on my back."
"Esper cannot afford to lose you--you are our last link to Crucius, the creator of etherium!"
"What danger will Esper be in once Sedris is gone? Now, Aravan, stop this nonsense. Climb on."
"I refuse. I may be a radical thinker among my people, but I am not stupid."
"If my words of wisdom will not convince you, then this will." Sharuum turned to one of the four sphinxes. "Step forward." This particular sphinx, though she had been outfitted with less etherium than Sharuum, was the bearer of a special kind of etherium that emitted a faint, deep blue glow to match the color of her wings. Even her tail, claws, and flesh were shades of blue. "May the Steel Wind be your guide for the remainder of your mission," Sharuum continued.
As the blue, majestic creature sat down, Aravan reluctantly hoisted himself onto her back. Though he had seen Shalin and her friends ride semi-sentient creatures before, it felt strange doing it himself. "It still doesn't feel right..." Aravan sighed. "A gargoyle is one thing, but a sphinx?"
"It is necessary for our plan to succeed. As I am sure you know, the Steel Wind is the wind of strength. The sphinx of the Steel Wind is the embodiment of that strength. Her etherium resists green and red magic. She is also enchanted with special magic that augments her physical skills, making her very fast. Her strength and speed come at the price of her spellcasting ability--in that regard, she is probably the least adept among all twenty-three sphinxes of Esper. That is the reason why I wanted to be the one to carry you instead--my magic is the most potent in all of Esper."
"I could never force myself to deface someone in your position in such a way," Aravan repeated.
Seeing Aravan on one of the sphinxes of Esper, Josh and Ace began summoning their flying creatures as well. The halcou was able to land on top of the tower, but the hellkite was forced to fly slow circles around the top of the tower. "I wish the five of you good luck. Now, go!" Sharuum waved them off after all of them were airborne.
The etherium additions to the castle became visible as the mounted heroes flew past the Necropolis of Unx, but so did their foes. There were dozens upon dozens of kathari with the occasional specter in the lines. "I'm going to create a diversion," Shalin shouted to her friends. The phoenix accelerated, its blazing tail glowing hotter by the second. Shalin leaned low on her bird to avoid being blown off. Just as she crossed into the enemy lines, her scream filled the air. The firebird rocketed forward from the force behind the tremendous explosion of a fireball, incinerating the skeletal birds directly within the blast, and crippling many more just outside.
Shalin's heart raced--her phoenix was flying so fast that she couldn't even begin to control it. Even the most gentle turns put a large amount of strain on her body. To her, it looked like she was flying through a blazing windstorm, the legions of roasting kathari on the edges of the storm. Her mount pulled up, well above Sedris' front lines before slowing down to the point where the rider could see again. The first thing she noticed through her dizziness was the gigantic gap in the enemy lines. Was her explosion really that big? Too dizzy to maintain spellcasting concentration, she had her mount fly to her allies' position.
Ace's dragon spewed a near-constant stream of fire into the gap Shalin created, the angle of the flames constantly moving counterclockwise to maintain the size of the gap the entire way through. Josh and Eron flew near the back, neither being much help in battles against hundreds of foes at once.
As the castle's bridge came into sight, Ace noticed his dragon's flames were deflecting off of something. Before he figured out what it was, it was too late. A demon flew right in front of him and cast a paralyzing stare at the dragon and Ace, then began feeding off the abundant sources of vis they would provide. Suddenly, Aravan's shout filled the air around the demon. "You will die, and no one will remember you. Unmake!" The black creature began disappearing from the inside out. There was a roar, then silence. No trace of it remained.
No longer paralyzed by the demon's stare, Ace's dragon landed on the bridge. Aravan and the sphinx followed closely. Shalin and her phoenix provided cover for the Bantians while they joined up with the rest of the group. All three landed safely, fleeing the many fireballs, lightning bolts, and crystals of ice that were cast their way. Ace opened the door and waved everyone in. A spear of ice barely missed the Jundian's neck just as he closed the door. "Alright, we're in!"
--------------
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
The interior of Sedris' castle was unlike anything in all of Alara. Every single weak point in the structure had been replaced with the magical metal used in the construction of Esper's buildings. All of the defensive technology in Aravan's home world was in the hands of the hell-bent lich. With all the monitors and other light-emitting Esperite devices added to the castle, it seemed like the brightest place in Grixis.
Josh and Ace led the way through the hallway into the castle's west wing. The Bantian poked his head around the corner, finding the next hallway to be completely empty. "It's too quiet in here," he said. The moment Ace stepped into the next hallway, a low-pitch alarm sounded. Two large, electronic doors slammed shut, one on the north and south sides of the new hallway. Blue light from rotating lamps filled every nook and cranny of the castle as far as the eye could see.
The party turned around just in time to see Shalin fried by a large bolt of lightning straight from the hands of an undead mage outfitted with what appeared to be an etherium chestplate. More mages lined up behind the first one. "Corrupt the flesh of those who trespass!" Aravan cried. "Infest!" A cloud of banewasps formed above the casters and repeatedly stung the arcanist's foes. "Grab Shalin and run!" Ace did just as his friend asked, dragging the Nayan along the castle floor as fast as he could, back into the hallway with the two red doors. Aravan pointed to an electronic door about halfway down, on the east side. He opened it, then waved the party through. "In here!" he cried urgently. Once all five were in, he closed the door.
As the Esperite heard the mages' footsteps become more and more distant, he breathed a sigh of relief, as did everyone else. "Answer the prayers of the battle-scarred! Asha's Blessing!" Josh chanted, restoring Shalin's strength. Ace, Eron, and Aravan were forced to stand in the corners of the small room while Josh helped Shalin up.
"Thank you, Josh," she panted. "That was a close one!"
"Sharuum said it herself...we're not going to be able to defeat Sedris unless all five of us work together."
"Speaking of teamwork," Aravan interrupted, "how many of us, other than Eron, can cast revival spells?" Silence followed. "That isn't good. I suggest we change our default battle formation until another one of us can cast Resurrection, at least. I am aware Revitalize is nicer, but that is also a seventh-level white spell. Josh, you specialize in white magic, don't you?"
"Yes, but I am a knight, making my spell list limited and very specific. Eron can only cast high level white spells because he is an angel now."
"Josh, do you have the template you used in making your build?"
"Yes, I do."
Without so much as a reply, Aravan snatched both Josh's character sheet and template. "We're in luck. Knights of the Reliquary can cast Resurrection starting at level 49. That's all I need to see." He returned the sheets. "Until then, I suggest we keep Eron in the center of the party." Everyone else nodded in agreement.
"Then why don't we just whack more of those zombies until we reach level 49?" Eron asked.
"DM won't allow it. He said that at the start of the campaign. If we were underleveled, he'd fix that by throwing more monsters at us over the course of normal play. We don't gain experience points unless he says so. If my premonition is correct, we will reach that level by the time we get to the final battle." He paused to turn around. "Now, the other order of business. This machine appears to be a server. Let me try accessing it."
---
"Anything?" Ace tapped his feet impatiently.
"Sadly, no," Aravan answered. "No information on the layout of the castle--they're locking me out. The only thing I was able to access appears to be a security mechanism. By pulling the lever to the right of the monitor, we can adjust certain security doors. Ace, pull forward on it." After the Jundian did as instructed, all five of them could hear the sound of moving metal. "Let's see what that did."
The blue light filling the hallways before had become red, and the red electronic doors withdrew into the castle walls. "We can explore new areas of the castle now. I can see two ways open. Which way?" Aravan asked.
"Let's try north first," Eron suggested. After turning the corner, he couldn't believe his eyes. Esperite bodies were scattered throughout this hallway and the next.
"Inhuman," Aravan sighed. "These poor people had the etherium ripped right out of their bodies. No wonder there's so much blood here."
"What?" Josh asked.
"Etherium may offer magic resistance and may be hard to pierce, but if you know how to do it, it can be ripped off. Not used to the magic of death and disease, Sedris' underlings probably paralyzed them, then ripped their metallic parts out. What a cruel and painful way to go."
"So etherium is a double-edged sword, just as I thought. So, are we going to look inside any of the side rooms, or are we just going straight to the top?"
"We should get to the top of the castle as quickly as possible. The more exploration we do, the more resources we will have to exhaust defeating the enemy. Now, let's go." More bodies scattered the entire northwest corner of the first floor, very few of them in one piece. There was a piece of an arm here, a piece of a leg there, and many other parts that looked like they were thrown about. What was even more odd was that other than those mages, there seemed to be no guards.
The party circled the northwest hall once before heading east into a chamber with a small input terminal on the north side. Aravan pushed the "up" arrow on the terminal, and an electronic door opened to the north. "Clearly, this is an elevator," Aravan said. Once all five had stepped into the car, he pushed the button to take them up to the third floor.
The third floor elevator chamber was shaped exactly like the first, but both the blue and red security doors were closed, one on each side. "That's odd," Shalin said.
"It is," Aravan agreed. "Well, let's head back down." This time, he had the elevator drop them off at the second floor, which they found was wide open. He led the way east, then north into a room labeled 'CCS'. Through that door was a large mainframe with several monitors connected to it. "CCS must stand for Central Computer System or something. Let's have a look..."
---
"Excellent!" Aravan instinctively shouted. "I found the map of this place, including the security door positions!"
"You don't have to yell," Josh said. "It's a small room."
"Either way, our target is the fourth floor throne room. The thing is, the security doors and switches were positioned in such a way that someone without intimate knowledge of the building would have trouble getting in and out. Furthermore, we need to get to the south elevator. The way there is rather complicated, but--" The Esperite was interrupted by an alarm.
"I hear footsteps," Shalin said. "And they're getting louder."
Suddenly, a voice began echoing through the castle walls. "So you are the heroes..."
"Where are you?" Josh yelled.
"So they even installed a PA system in the castle, using our technology," Aravan said. "Unbelievable that this could be done so fast..."
"So you are the heroes that have been thwarting my plans at every turn," the voice continued. "You are speaking with Sedris, the new ruler of Alara."
"Over my dead body!" Ace shouted. "I refuse to let Alara be changed into a complete hellscape!"
"Well, I can assure you that you will all be dead bodies by the time I find you, and you will all be working for me! Now come and find me at the top of this castle...if you can make it there alive!" After Sedris' voice faded out, something was loudly knocking on the door to the computer room.
"We're trapped!" Shalin cried. "What are we gonna do?"
--------------
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
"It'll be a bit of a tight squeeze," Josh replied, "but I think there's a way out. Someone will have to create a diversion."
"I'll do it," Ace volunteered.
"Here's my idea. Ace can fire off a spell to distract them, then after it's run its course, we can hopefully slip past. It's the only way I see." Without further reply, Ace's hands glowed red with mana as he began the incantation for the start of Josh's plan. When he nodded, Josh opened the door.
"Rain a thousand flames upon my opposition! Volcanic Fallout!" the Jundian cried. A hail of fireballs fell from the ceiling in the hallway adjacent to the small room. Screams of various kinds filled the east wing of the castle, the burning rain melting away the festering skin of the undead.
"Now!" Josh and Ace led the way out of the room, weaving around the burning bodies. Two lesser demons that had regained their senses followed them back around the corner into the elevator chamber. Josh waved the group into the open elevator as Eron fired holy arrows to keep the evil abominations at bay.
"Wring the life out of the helpless! Soul Feast!" one of the demons cried as Shalin ran into the back of the car. Aravan was levitated off the ground, then a cone of translucent shadows surrounded him. A wail of agony accompanied the dripping blood, forming a pool of red below him. As soon as he fell back to the ground as a result of the spell's expiration, Eron dragged him by his arms into the elevator car, and the rest of the group fell back as well.
"Thanks, Eron," Aravan sighed, his breath laborious. "That kind of black magic is cruel--it felt like that demon was twisting my soul in unspeakable ways!"
"Just like white magic is caring," the angel replied as the car rose to the third floor, "black magic is about hurting your foes in the cruelest way possible. Ace would know this--he can cast some weaker black magic."
"I'm familiar with black spells myself," the Esperite continued huffing and puffing. "I've used them myself to gather information by force. In Esper, black magic is primarily used to penetrate the minds of uncooperative people. Contrary to popular belief, it does have constructive uses. Unfortunately, most of our adversaries at this point have the mentality of 'Shoot first, ask questions later'."
With the castle's security system active, the blue door that was closed during their last trip to the third floor was now open. "Still have that map fresh in your head, Aravan?" Josh asked, leading the way.
"Not after having a portion of my soul taken from me," the etherium-laced spellcaster sighed. "However, I did sketch a copy of the map on the back of my character sheet, just like any smart adventurer would. Have a look." The mage's friends crowded around him to get a better look at the map. "There are three security rooms we'll need to flip the doors in, but other than that, the way to the south elevator is pretty straightforward."
"Certainly winds around quite a bit," Eron complained. "Getting around this castle must have been a pain during the Vithian era."
"That's the point. Anyone without intimate knowledge of the building's layout would be surrounded by soldiers long before he figured out how to escape. Luckily, we know exactly where we're going. Josh, lead the way and just follow my instructions. Head through where the blue door was, then take a left. The security station is in a small room on the left side of that."
Josh led the brave fighters forward, to the intersection Aravan described. He poked his head around the corner. "Clear," he reported. The security station was literally just around the corner. After opening the door, Aravan went in alone and flipped the switch. The red light filling the hallways changed back to blue, and the doors with them. "So, how do we get to the next one?"
"Back from the hallway, it's three immediate lefts. Told you it was simple." Josh poked his head around the corner of a long hallway, relaying that the coast was clear. Halfway across, a swarm of bats dropped directly onto the knight, effectively rendering him unable to move. A vampiress rose out of the floor, bearing her bloodstained fangs at the party.
"Tie the land to everlasting darkness! Nightcreep!" she cried. A cloud of black mana surrounded the hovering creature, then expanded to cover the hallway the combatants were in and beyond. Even the blue lights on the castle walls had been blotted out by the darkness. The only things visible were the vampiress and the party. She floated above Shalin, then dropped down, sinking both her nails and teeth into the trainer of Gargantuans.
"Pour down holy rain from the gates of heaven! Tempest of Light!" Eron shouted. Even the beams of light that rained down all over the hallway did nothing to pierce the darkness. The vampiress continued to harvest Shalin's vis even through the dancing beams of light that surrounded her, even cutting through her from time to time. She let out a deafening scream of agony when four of the beams converged directly on top of her heart. Both Shalin and the foe collapsed, the vampiress, her bats, and the darkness disintegrating shortly afterward. Not responding to any of his physical motion, Eron chanted the Revitalize spell to get Shalin back on her feet.
"Eron, thank you again," Shalin sighed, still dizzy. Her neck was still stiff from the attack. She took the angel's hand for support while his magic took effect.
---
"How's she feeling?" Ace asked Eron after Aravan had flipped the blue and red doors again.
"She says she's still dizzy, but good enough to walk on her own. Letting her rest was a good idea."
"So, Aravan, what's the way to the next switch?"
"Actually, looking at the map again, we can get to the elevator from here," Aravan smiled. "Just follow Josh and I."
"You sure?" Josh asked. "I thought you had a route planned from the start, and it was the only one!"
"I was wrong earlier--what, did you expect me to exhaust all the possibilities that quickly? I may be smart, but I'm no supercomputer!"
"Either way, let's at least see if you're right." They passed by four locked doors on the way, but Aravan was indeed correct--the south elevator was accessible regardless of whether the blue or red doors were open.
"Come to think of it," the Esperite said as the party boarded the car up to the top floor, "it would make sense that you could get here regardless of how the doors are arranged--if not, people could get completely trapped in here."
"So, what's our strategy for Sedris?" Shalin asked Aravan.
"Being undead, he'll obviously take extra damage from fire and light-based attacks. I'd say our best tactic would be to fight defensively and wear him down. It all depends on what conditions we'll be under. If it's an open area, an aerial assault may be a good tactic. But we don't know."
"Just remember why you are on this journey," Eron said. "Everyone in Alara is counting on our victory over this madman." The elevator led them to a balcony that spiraled around the central tower of the castle. Flashes of lightning filled the sky above, and the wind was blowing fairly hard.
"This is the last battle," Josh added. "The battle for Alara's freedom."
"And, being that it is the last battle," Aravan said, "the DM in the Sky is going to pull out all the stops. We cannot afford any misplays."
"Josh, Ace, Aravan, Eron, Shalin!" the lich lord Sedris greeted the party as they reached the castle rooftop. "I cannot believe you made it here! Your strength has surpassed my wildest expectations. I must say, I am impressed with how much power you have acquired in such a short amount of time."
"Enough with the small talk, Sedris!" Eron shouted, his glorious wings spread.
"So, the archangel Asha has sent an angel abroad to represent her people, has she? She has seen what we are capable of, and she knows she is powerless to defend her people, as long as darkness covers the land!"
"We have fought against the darkness, Sedris," Shalin replied, "and we have won. Naya, Jund, Esper, and Bant have all been freed from your cruel game, and have been freed by the hands of their people. We are here to prevent such a disaster from happening again."
"We want to avoid violence," Josh continued, "but I personally doubt that will happen. However, we are willing to give you one chance. We will leave your castle and spare your people on one condition: nothing on or from Grixis will harvest vis from anywhere outside Grixis. Simply put, what goes on here must stay here."
"You don't understand!" Sedris exclaimed. "Grixis is a barren land--our people struggle just to get to the next day! When we discovered new sources of vis outside our own borders, we had no choice! We only took what we needed to survive!"
"That's a damned lie if I've ever heard one," Aravan snapped. "Invading Esper through the Tidehollow was an unspeakably despicable act. Your troops have brought Esper to a virtual standstill, even the majority of the sphinxes powerless as they have the life sucked right out of them. Even the very etherium that bonds us Esperites together is breaking down. I experienced what that was like myself. You have not only destroyed large amounts of existing etherium, but by coming in through our mines, you have made mining and processing new ore virtually impossible. You have not taken just what you needed to live--you have brought the largest civilizations in all of Esper--no, all of Alara--to their knees!"
"The tar pits of Jund used to be confined to the east of Mount Worldheart," Ace started where his friend left off, "but now they have expanded almost all the way to the Rip! Even the dragons are upset--they often cannot find enough food to feed their hatchlings! What does that say about humans and viashino all over Jund? If not even dragons can find enough food to sustain themselves, what does that say about the rest? We have a hard enough life as it is--if this madness does not stop, everything on Jund will die out!"
"We have had to save the Nayan jungle from a slow, painful death twice because of you, Sedris!" Shalin cried, even shedding tears. "Not only have you damaged the ecosystem beyond repair, but you have also caused strife between humans, elves, and leonin all over Naya! Even the normally calm Gargantuans have become aggressive, expressing their rage against the poisoned jungle by crushing cities both human and elven! For everyone's sake...please listen to my friends!"
"You were once a Vithian king, weren't you, Sedris?" Josh asked. "Where is your honor as a ruler, a Blessed of the land? Rather than protecting your people like an honorable ruler would, you've sold your people into a spiral of death! No honorable king would even think of committing such a heinous act!"
"You have no idea what my people have been through," the undead ruler sympathized. "We recycle the same life energy with each passing generation, the energy becoming more and more stagnant every cycle. That's all we have. Just when our people were on the brink of death, we discovered new lands where the vis we need to stay alive was abundant. We looked forward to living normal lives again for the first time in over a thousand years!"
"And you could live with such a burden on your conscience?" Eron counter-argued. "The burden of being a mass murderer? Could you live with that for the rest of your life?"
"Fine, I'll cut all of you a deal. Become my second-in-command officers, and I shall let all of you see that we do not take any more vis from Alara than is necessary for the survival of our way of life."
"We do not bargain with people who have sold their souls to demons," the angel crossed his arms, standing defiantly. "Also, you do not understand that life is precious, whether it is one or many."
"Now I understand how adamant you are. If that is the case," Sedris shouted as he drew his blood-red scythe, "then I will have to convince you by force!"
END OF CHAPTER
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Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
"Suppress the forces of gravity! Levitation!" As soon as the undead king Sedris said those words, he started walking on air, capable of adjusting his altitude at will. Lightning flashed around the castle frequently, but the rain accompanying the storm evaporated long before it reached the ground. He raised his hands high into the air, and with a loud shout in some archaic language none of them were familiar with, a giant lightning bolt struck the center of the castle's top tower, barely missing Aravan.
Shalin and Eron took aim at Sedris, firing arrow after arrow into the storm. One volley sailed over his head, and a second was partially deflected off the blade of his cruel weapon. "Become a fetid, rotting slave to undeath! Putrefy!" Sedris shouted. Ace's frame tranformed from big and muscular to thin and weak. His blood began turning black, and his skin became soft.
Shalin dropped to her knees. "Purify this crippled body and mind! Refresh!" The spell embodying nature's regeneration restored Ace to his original bodily state, cleansed from all traces of undeath.
"Thanks, Shalin!" Ace smiled.
"Don't mention it. But I can't hit him easily from here. I think this battle is better fought from the air." Her friends nodded. Four summoning circles dotted the roof of the castle as Eron leaped skyward with assistance from his powerful wings. The four flying creatures emerged almost simultaneously, the Bantian sacred bird standing out most against the black sky.
"You're finished, Sedris!" Josh shouted, his blade drawn.
"Well, this certainly makes the fight more interesting," the lich lord laughed. "At least this will be entertaining."
"What part of 'You're finished' did you not understand?" At that, the armored Bantian let out a battle cry, his bird mount charging straight at Sedris. The evil king sidestepped and instinctively swung his scythe in the direction of the green, white, and blue avian, but it had already swooped above him. By the time he thought to look above himself, it was too late--the halcou had already ripped long cuts through his back.
Ace's hellkite wasn't fortunate enough to be so agile. When the Jundian predator swooped in, Sedris nearly chopped off one of its claws after falling back to avoid the rider's flyby attack. "Unleash your inner fury! Berserk!" Shalin cried. Letting out a tremendous roar out of its newly-found rage, the dragon made a sharp turn back toward the foe, nearly unseating Ace in the process. The anger fueled the heat of its breath weapon, the stream of yellow passing directly through Sedris' left side.
"Unload on him, Eron!" Aravan cried. "Be no longer a slave to time! Time Warp!" As soon as the Esperite cast his spell, Eron seemed to disappear. From the angel's perspective, instead everything around him had stopped. His friends, his foes, and even the sky itself looked locked in place.
"I do not know what you did, but thank you, Aravan," Eron thought. He then closed his eyes and folded his hands in prayer, floating just above the top of the castle. "There will be no rest and no mercy for the damned! Asha's Vengeance!" Beams of holy light rained from the sky as an expanding dome that shined as brightly as the sun formed around Sedris. After reaching nearly the size of the battleground, it collapsed in upon itself, even Eron shielding his eyes against the brilliance of it all. He was able to finish casting the spell a second time just as Aravan's Time Warp wore off.
The party's first reaction was to shield their eyes against Eron's spell, just as he did. They even had to turn away, despite covering their eyes, to avoid being blinded. "I had no idea Asha's angels were this powerful," Josh said to himself. "Could this have been the magic of vengeance that was supposedly lost to time?"
"I grow tired of this," Sedris panted, his undead body smoldering, burned by the angel's sacred light. "Bestow the curse of mental necrosis! Mind Twist!"
"Mind Twist?!" Aravan gasped.
"What?" Ace asked.
"It's an extremely powerful spell known only to the greatest of shadow users. The mind of the victim is pulled from the body and twisted in cruel, unspeakable ways. The end result is the reduction of the victim's Mana Points to zero. Given the power of spellcasting classes toward the end of a campaign, it's a common DM tactic, and a dirty one at that." The spell was exactly as Aravan described, minus intense screaming from Eron. When the ghostly hands manipulating his mind disappeared, he landed back on the tower, only barely able to fly. It wasn't worth risking. "This is why I wish Eron could learn at least level four shadow spells, so he could get access to Syphon Mind. Of course, that would make him a fallen angel, of which the risks and liabilities outweigh the benefits."
A determined look on her face, Shalin prodded her phoenix's right shoulder. Its head and tail burning white, the bird charged at Sedris, spinning around so fast that it looked like a burning tornado not unlike the one produced by the rider's own Savage Twister spell. She maintained the twister as long as her body would let her, just as dizzy as her foe was burning when the phoenix pulled out of the spin. She slouched over on her bird, not sure which way was up.
"I won't let this happen a third time!" Sedris shouted, lightning striking near his castle. "Begone, creatures of the wild! Evacuation!" All four flying beasts disappeared right before their riders' eyes, the creatures being forced back into the aether. The fighters fell back to the top of the tower, groaning from their crash landing. Ace got up first, then helped everyone else back to their feet before taking the business end of Sedris' scythe to the back. Despite heavy bleeding, he was able to get back up, seemingly shrugging the blow off.
"Answer the prayers of the battle-scarred! Asha's Blessing!" Josh cried out in prayer. The Jundian's wound began visibly closing, relieving the pain of being struck so squarely from behind. Like that bothered him in the first place. He guessed that his lifestyle back in the volcanic lands was what made him so physically tough.
"This is the end for you!" the Grixis king shouted, then began casting a spell.
"You cannot keep a secret from me! Soulgaze!" Aravan cried. He paused to think about the situation before relaying the information the spell provided him. "Hey guys, we have him backed into a corner, but he's got something bad planned. Can you guys deal 12,000 points of damage in two rounds?"
"Not sure," Shalin replied. "We'll just hit him as hard as we can." Shalin, Ace, and Aravan began casting the strongest offensive spells they knew, and Josh got ready to plunge his blade straight into the lich's chest. Unfortunately, their adversary finished his spell first.
"May you know one thing before you die. There is always a greater power! Cruel Ultimatum!" A cloud of darkness fell over the tower. It was so intense that the only thing any of them could see was Shalin. Four demonic hands appeared from out of nowhere and pulled her mind and soul apart. The two were pulled back like elastic bands and flung at each other, then ripped apart again. Pulses of shadow energy battered her body as her mind and soul were flung at each other a second and a third time. When the dark clouds faded away, Shalin was on the ground, unconscious. Her body was covered with stripes of charred skin, and what was in between festered with disease, as though she was a zombie.
"Freeze underneath a mountain of ice! Glacier Force!"
"Blanket the land with a sheet of flames! Inferno!"
The interaction of the two spells slung by Ace and Aravan proved that strong enough magic can defy even physics. A rain of flames fell alongside shards of ice, and the sheets of fire and ice mixed violently. The party ducked for cover as the force of the explosion took out a piece of Sedris' tower. The undead master himself collapsed on the east edge, just in front of the section the blast had taken out.
[i](Silence Music Track)[/i]
"I hope...you all...die," Sedris gasped, knowing he was a goner. He wouldn't just return to the pool of vis in Grixis--he knew he would cease to exist. "Without me...to control...Alara's black mana..." he breathed his last before he could finish his sentence."
"Without him to control Alara's black mana, what?" Aravan asked.
Just as the Esperite asked that question, the castle began shaking. A vortex pulsating with vibrant white, blue, black, red, and green colors began forming directly above the rooftop, and it grew by the second. "The amount of mana radiating from that vortex is unlike anything I've ever heard of before!" Eron shouted. "We need to flee, now!"
"But how?" Aravan asked. "Our mana's spent, so Ace can't summon his dragon to get us out of here, and you can't fly!"
Without hesitation, Josh called the halcou back to the top of the castle. "I'm not spent yet, and I know you aren't, Aravan!"
"I like to hold a reserve back in case of emergency..."
"And this isn't an emergency?!"
"Alright," Aravan sighed as he called the Sphinx of the Steel Wind back to his side, the Esper mage exhausted afterward. The filigreed sphinx was slightly overburdened carrying Ace, Aravan, and Eron, but it leaped from the tower and successfully entered flight nonetheless. Josh propped Shalin's body in front of the bird's saddle before jumping into it himself, following the sphinx's northwest path. He looked back just as Mount Worldheart came into sight, and the tower top had been completely sucked into the vortex.
[i]Nearly two weeks passed since the defeat of Sedris. Though the mastermind behind the zombie invasion had been eliminated, it came with unintended consequence--five strange vortices had appeared, one in each former shard of Alara. The locations of the other four were at the Cathedral of Bliss, which had been almost completely swallowed; Sharuum's Tower, which the sphinxes' force field protected; one high above the Mountain of Mortal Dragon, in western Jund; and the last was in the middle of the Valley of the Ancients, just outside Mayael's palace. The vortices swallowed structures and distorted reality around them, pulsating with amounts of raw mana no one on Alara had ever thought possible to exist in a single place.
By this point in time, the five worlds had become interweaved to the point where Gargantuans were used in Bantian agriculture, dragon sightings weren't terribly uncommon in Naya, and so forth. Even a certain order of Bantian knights had received etherium infusions with the new sources of carmot that Josh's group had made possible to mine during their trips to Esper. The identity of Alara was getting closer to one world instead of five.
Rather than sparking war, as the archangels predicted, the calamities caused by the strange vortices united the peoples of Alara; the leonin of Naya and the viashino of Jund worked together to survive the frequent fallouts from the Mountain of Mortal Dragon, for instance. Most of the humans remaining in Grixis took cover in the outlying Esperite cities that were almost completely unaffected by the corruption. Though radiation levels were dropping fast, they were still far too high to begin cleanup efforts and reconstruct the largest cities. To these people, though, Esper was heaven. Food was not hard to come by, and they could live their lives without constant fear of demon-led armies invading the hermitages.
The remaining guardians of Alara met in Castle Valeron's throne room, discussing a course of action. When Eron got word of the event, he led his friends there. And what a sight it was--Asha, Mayael, Kresh, and Sharuum--four of the wisest, most powerful people in their shards, were assembled in one place. Though Sharuum had to rest on a specially constructed balcony just outside the window, her presence was essential.[/i]
"It is just as it was in pre-Sundering times," the golden archangel recalled aloud. "In that fateful battle with Malfegor eons ago, I discovered that Malfegor was more than the angels could handle. In straight combat, we would have been defeated for certain."
"Whatever happened to him, anyway?" Ace asked. "We ran into him back home, brainwashing dragons into doing Sedris' bidding."
"As far as I can tell, he is no more."
"Any idea what happened to him?"
"The only guess I have is Sedris took his share of guardianship back by force. I could be wrong--he may still be alive."
"If he is still alive, he isn't following Sedris' plans...that much is certain," Sharuum added before turning toward the party. "Though you had the purest intentions in doing away with that insane lich, a prophetic piece of writing deep within the Crypt of Knowledge speaks of a calamity that takes place if the bloodline of any of the Guardians of Alara is interrupted. The imbalance of mana will awaken the Progeny at the very center of Alara, deep within the Maelstrom. With a gaping hole now in Alara's black mana bonds, green and white magic will flourish. A shortage of any color of mana is going to have negative effects on the world."
"Without black mana, the magic of death and necromancy is impossible to perform," Asha stated. "Even the restoration of Vithia will be possible over time. The shortage of black mana seems like a win-win situation for all of Alara."
"You'd be surprised," Kresh finally spoke up. "Though our shamans cast mainly red magic, they draw black mana from the tar pits to make the process easier."
"Furthermore," Sharuum continued, "the shortage of black mana has led to strange climatic phenomena."
"I was about to get to that," the Jund warrior continued. "Jund's volcanoes have been cooling, and the land has been receiving more direct sunlight. Before all this happened, the smoke from the volcanoes, as well as heat from the lava, has kept Jund warm. After the sun goes down, it becomes very cold, making it impossible for anything but dragons to hunt."
"We are experiencing the opposite problem in Esper, with regards to climate. However, Esper has a bigger problem on its hands. As I have said, green and white magic has flourished since Sedris' defeat. Wildlife from Bant has begun migrating to Esper, and appears to be adapting to the climate very quickly. Etherium may boast amazing magical properties, but it is a delicate alloy. Esper's society has always thrived on the concept that magic can control all aspects of nature. The influx of green mana into Esper is making this much more difficult than it was before."
"I had no idea that the removal of black mana would threaten both of your homelands like that," Asha frowned. "If I knew this was going to happen--"
"It had to be done, or Sedris would have regrouped and built another undead army faster than any of our nations could recover. For every soldier you nurse back to health, he could create a dozen new undead slaves." She paused for a few seconds. "In fact, I knew from the very beginning that this was going to happen if Sedris, or any of the Guardians, were killed." Mayael and Kresh broke out in a panic, screaming at each other and at Sharuum. "Calm down, everyone!"
"Let her explain herself," Asha said calmly. "I'm sure she had a good reason for allowing this to happen."
"Thank you, Asha. Now, at the time of the Mending, I thought of a few scenarios that could result from Sedris' invasion. The first scenario is letting him do what he wanted. The end result would have been Alara becoming a wasteland, just like Grixis. Obviously, that is unacceptable. The second scenario is defeating Sedris, then letting the Maelstrom run its course. At best, Alara would experience drastic climate changes, and ways of life would change--but life would go on. At worst, the Maelstrom would swallow large sections of Alara--obviously not acceptable. That leaves us with the final scenario."
"And what would that be?" Mayael asked.
"Entering the Maelstrom and freeing ourselves from the Progeny's grasp."
"What?!" Everyone else couldn't believe what the Esper hegemon was suggesting.
"Hear me out. The Maelstrom was formed by the Mending of the five worlds. This means that it is composed of the land that disappeared when the worlds came together. Of course, I have no clue how much the land itself has changed, but the Maelstrom should definitely be traversable. In theory, we could go to the center of Alara and free ourselves from the Progeny."
"Are you saying we have to fight a god?" Mayael asked. "You're going to send us on a suicide mission? I refuse to take part in such a foolish plan!"
"Josh, I believe you and your friends are best suited for something like this. You've been to more places than any of us have, and together, you have mastered almost every form of magic known to anyone on Alara. Can we count on you to undergo this mission?"
"You're sending us into the Maelstrom by ourselves?" Eron asked. "If you come with us, we'll have a better chance of victory."
"Our bloodline must remain uninterrupted," Sharuum answered. "The Progeny is already upset from one of the lines being severed. Plus, if two colors of mana are out of balance, our problems would be four times worse than they are now. Plus, we have confidence. You five are probably the most powerful force in Alara right now. If anyone can do it, you can."
"She is right," Aravan said. "After our victory over Sedris, we reached epic level. If I had to decide, I'd say we should go for it. We have so much to gain."
"But we have so much to lose, too," Shalin replied. "Eron, I'm fine with whatever you decide, so I leave my decision with you." Ace nodded, then flashed a smile toward his angel friend."
"You guys are right," Eron smiled back. "With all of us working together, we can't lose!"
Sharuum bowed to the group, then the others followed. "We deeply respect your courage. Tomorrow, all of us will see you off as you take flight for the Cathedral of Bliss, and the Maelstrom. Good luck!"
END OF CHAPTER
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Private Mod Note
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A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
Only when the group landed on the deck of the floating cathedral of the angels did they realize how gigantic the rifts in Alara's sky were. The one floating above Bant encompassed the entire floating structure except the roof and the landing deck. The four riders dismounted, then joined the angel in waving one last time to the people of Bant before heading into the portal that swirled white, blue, black, red, and green.
Much to their surprise, the remainder of the cathedral was intact and almost entirely undisturbed. The only noticeable change was the panorama--it glowed in the same colors as the vortex from which they entered. The moment that Ace stepped out of the exit opposite the one he came into the sacred place, he beheld a foreign and unsettling landscape.
A maze of winding paths wrapped above and below each other, so narrow in places that it looked like the ground would collapse underneath the feet of anyone who tried to walk across it. Small pieces of earth floated around the vicinity with complete disregard to gravity. Other than that, their entire surroundings were nothing but a rainbow panorama pulsating with the five colors of mana.
Shalin summoned and mounted her firebird with the intent of crossing to the other side of the mess of paths by air. With a shriek from the fire elemental and a cry from the rider, they raced forward. The moment they passed over where the path below branched into four, two hemispheres of electricity appeared, one above and one beneath the ground. The Nayan girl and her mount collapsed to the point where the paths branched off, stiff from the current having run through them.
"Are you okay?" Eron exclaimed, running toward Shalin as she silently dismissed her creature.
"I could use some help getting up," she replied, reaching for her friend's hand. The Bant ranger helped her get to her feet. She walked around for a few seconds. "I'm still stiff, but I should be able to at least walk."
"I suggest we keep Shalin out of combat until she fully recovers her dexterity," Aravan interrupted.
"Aravan, I'll be fine!" she snapped back, recalling her bird back to the aether again.
"Sorry, Shalin, just trying to be strategic. This is the real final area of the campaign, you know? The DM is pulling out all the stops, as this is his last chance to challenge us. I would like to err on the side of caution, so that we aren't killed by a silly trap such as the one you just walked into. Remember what I told you before we left? Use logic. Suppress your instincts. Think strategically. Your first instinct is not always the best solve to the problem, and in fact, I expect that our first instincts will not often solve the problems in this final area."
Shalin's reply was a sigh.
"I understand that you've lived your entire life relying on your instincts, and Ace too. But this final dungeon is going to take more than just quick thinking to get through."
"Alright, I'll try my best to not jump into things right away."
"This goes for you as well, Ace. By now, the DM knows how we play our roles, and he has probably constructed this final dungeon in a way that it will challenge the way we act. When you make a move, first ask yourself this: If I was DM'ing this campaign, what would I expect my players to do? Look for alternatives that aren't obvious, because the obvious 'solutions' are often traps. If you don't know what to do, just ask me, and I'll make suggestions. But please, try not to do anything rash. This DM full-well knows how to kill epic characters, and won't stop with us."
Everyone else in the group nodded, then Ace and Josh led the way along the far-right path of the four-way branch-off, with Aravan not far behind. It wound over some roads and under others. Keeping track of which road was which was dizzying. After wrapping around itself twice, the road they walked branched left and right. Aravan opted to lead the group left. After it passed under two more walkways, the one they were on became so narrow that they had to walk single-file to avoid falling into the abyss below. Shalin nearly lost her balance at one of the worst parts.
At the end of the narrow path, the party found another vortex similar to the one they entered the Maelstrom from. Aravan led the way in, followed by Josh, then Shalin, then Ace, then Eron. The group emerged in a place that the knight behind Aravan immediately recognized. "Valeron's Seaswept Cliff! But why is it here? It disappeared when the worlds came together!"
"This place is getting weirder and weirder by the second," Eron said, also recognizing the cliffside beach. A winding path up made it possible to scale the multi-tiered cliff easily and reach the grasslands above. Everything about this area, with the exception of the five-colored sky, was unchanged from pre-Mending times. "At least getting up will still be easy."
Though the aven watching over the area had unusual skin colors from being pushed into the Maelstrom, they were just as vigilant and peaceful as the ones Josh and Eron knew their entire lives. As the group continued their trek up, the Knight of the Reliquary caught a glimpse of a vortex in his left eye. He turned that way to verify its presence. "I wonder where this one leads," he mumbled as he led the party that way.
"What did you say?" Ace asked. Before he could reply, a white force field surrounding the vortex impeded his progress, stopping him cold. Aravan, Eron, and Shalin also found themselves unable to pass, but Josh walked through just fine.
"Something here wants me to go through alone," Josh deduced aloud. "Wait here--I won't go far. If it's too far, I'll come back and we'll find another way."
As the bright light from being magically transported faded away, Josh felt intense heat. When he saw the source of the heat, he couldn't believe his eyes. An adolescent, male elf dressed in red and green slowly circled the Sun-Dappled Court in Valeron, conjuring up fireballs to set the entire place ablaze. "What's going on?! Where am I?!" Josh screamed.
"The hydra-god Progenitus has exacted vengeance upon the humans here," the elf said, approaching the knight. "You hide inside coats of steel and behind beasts of burden that you rip out of their intended ways of life, all for the sake of benefiting your own. You outfit them in ways that are unspeakably demoralizing."
"Who are you?"
"I am a messenger of Progenitus. Rather than live in symbiosis with the great beasts, you use them to fight petty wars. You deface the forest for the purpose of growing excessive amounts of food. Progenitus has always spoken this to the Anima: 'Take only what you need from Nature, and she will see that you are protected.' You humans, however, indulge in numerous luxuries at Nature's expense. Progenitus sees that as unacceptable."
"This happened months ago! What is going on?!"
"If my words won't reach you, then perhaps the gods' divine flames can!"
"Safeguard us from the malicious and spiteful! Hindering Light!"
"Blood-boiling flames, turn this living thing to ash! Incinerate!"
A faint sphere of light surrounded Josh just before two columns of flame crossed right where the knight stood. The barrier deflected some of the heat and flames away, but he still grunted, the air impossible to breathe during the duration of the spell. After a few deep breaths, Josh drew his light-and-dark blade and charged the pyromancer. Moments before he was going to stab the elf in the chest, a column of fire erupted from underneath the Bantian, sending him flying skyward, then back to the ground. The loud sound of his armor hitting the ground was a good indicator of how hard the fall was, his equipment not breaking his fall in the slightest.
"Answer the prayers of the battle-scarred!" Josh cried in pain. "Asha's Blessing!" His prayers reached even through the Maelstrom, the angelic light soothing his wounds. Though the burned skin was turning back to normal much slower than usual, he could still tell a difference after a short time after he gathered the strength to stand.
"Human!" the pyromancer cried through the sound of the burning trees. "You obviously have a tremendous amount of courage to defy the will of Progenitus. Who do you fight for?"
"I fight for the people of Valeron, and as a Knight of the Reliquary, the entire world of Bant! By setting fire to the most sacred garden in the kingdom, your people have committed a terrible sin against our nation!"
"And you haven't sinned against our people? By deforesting Naya, you have upset the entire ecosystem, changing the way we live!"
"Naya...you're that elf I saw with my friend Eron during the war! But you're supposed to be dead!"
"Tell me, human...if you could go back to that very moment...the moment you and I saw each other...could you have stopped me?"
Josh dropped his sword and hung his head low. After fifteen seconds of silence, he slowly replied, "I...could not have stopped you. My arrival was too late to save the Court."
"Accepting your past transgressions is the first step. Now, abandon these tamed beasts, and join in symbiosis with them, as the will of Progenitus states." With that, the elf disappeared in a blinding flash of white.
(Silence Music Track)
The scenery had changed from a burning landscape to the twelve trees of the Court, fully restored, and the panorama had become the same five-colored swirl as the previous areas he had been. Suddenly, Asha's voice filled the air around him.
"The Progeny deters you not only with sword and sorcery, but with deceit and illusion as well. By overcoming your past mistakes, you are showing just how strong your spirit is. Now, head back through the vortex and rejoin your friends. You are one step closer to freeing the reunited Alara from its terrible fate." Just as the voice faded, Josh felt a tremendous amount of mana entering him. The ground around him--no, his body itself--glowed with sparks of green, white, and blue. He did not know the source of his newfound power, but he certainly welcomed it. When the light faded away, the trees had disappeared. He entered the portal that he came to the strange area through, and found himself back at the Seaswept Cliff.
"Josh! You're alright!" Shalin cried, then ran toward her friend and hugged him.
"What was back there?" Aravan asked.
"It was a dead end," he replied. "Let's move on to that portal further down the cliff. Eron, would you mind?"
"Not at all," the angel replied, carrying his friends to the level Josh pointed out, one at a time. The winged ranger and the knight approached within a couple feet of the vortex. "We can all go through this one," he smiled. The other three followed them.
"Guys, I recognize this place," Shalin said in excitement as the five of them emerged in the new area. To their left was a steep cliff, and to their right was a dense jungle with a similar texture to the one in Naya. "I used to train myself here."
"In what?" Aravan asked.
"Riding whatever I could get to cooperate with me--all kinds of predators. Eron and Josh, you might remember my cheetah and lion friends. Do you?"
"Vaguely, but yes."
"I trained myself to be able to handle their speed here. Not many others went out here because of the danger of getting stomped by Gargantuans."
"You mean like those ones in the distance?" Josh pointed.
"Yes. That's why this place was called the Stomping Fields. Gargantuans naturally keep this area deforested. Before the Mending, this place was a popular hunting ground for predatory cats as well. Now they're rather rare in Naya. In fact, the elves that were closer to the Anima at the time wanted them taken away from me, saying I was mistreating them. By all technicalities, they're hypocrites--many elves use plowbeasts for transportation. I even used to jump on Gargantuans from low ledges on the cliffs, and the beasts didn't seem to mind. Ace, I think you'd have liked the cerodon that roamed around here. It was bigger than the Rakeclaw I command, and almost as fast."
"After our journey is over, we should go find one together--that sounds like so much fun," Ace grinned.
"They're feisty creatures," Shalin replied. "Even yearlings are strong. I tried riding one of the little guys, and the first few moments were a struggle just to stay on its back. Of course, you're much stronger than I am, so you could probably handle the big guy."
"That's plenty of reminiscing," Aravan interrupted. "Now, how are we going to get to the next portal? There's one halfway down the field, next to the cliff wall, from what I can see. Crossing normally is obviously too dangerous."
"Mayael once told me that the Godsire was a beast respected even by other Gargantuans. How about we use that? I knew we would need its help eventually."
"It's better than anything I've got," Eron replied. "It's too dangerous to try flying here anyway--we have no idea what these beasts are capable of."
"I agree with Eron," Aravan added. "Remember, Sharuum said that 'anything could happen' in the Maelstrom. This is the safest way to cross, given our current abilities. And I seriously doubt we're getting any more abilities during the course of this campaign. A few levels, maybe, but that's it."
Without saying another word, Shalin summoned the massive, green beast from the aether. The thirty-foot-tall Gargantuan towered over the ruined temples dotting the field. Even after it sat down, climbing up the back of the enormous, four-tusked creature was no easy task. Everyone, Shalin included, was careful as to not pull too hard on the beast's fur covering the middle of its back when climbing up. Once everyone was comfortable, the Nayan instructed her Gargantuan to head for the cliffside portal.
The other behemoths migrated away from the greatest of Gargantuans, even though it wasn't headed directly for them. The riders could feel the power behind each of its heavy footfalls, though it was only walking across the field. As soon as they arrived at the vortex, the beast let the five slide down its back and safely onto the grass below. As Josh approached the vortex, a strange magical force bounced him away. "Let me try," Shalin said. She was able to walk through the portal just fine.
"I guess we're playing the waiting game again," Aravan sighed, staying behind the nearby ruins to avoid attention.
"The Relic of Progenitus..." Shalin said to herself as she found herself in another valley. Once she had walked about a third of the way to the slab depicting the five-headed hydra, an elf girl wearing the outfit of the Anima appeared before her. "Mayael? What are you doing here?"
"That's Anima Cylia to you, traitor," she snapped back.
"What?! What are you talking about?"
"You have abandoned your people for the very humans that threaten our way of life. Rather than using your gift to keep humans in check, you have adapted their ways, using Gargantuans for personal gain. You bring shame to the line of godtouchers I raised precisely according to the words of Progenitus."
"Threatening us? Surely you know about the group of humans that saved the jungle from rotting away!"
"No, it was the Gargantuans you held in captivity that saved Naya. Without them, those humans were powerless. You took the credit for saving Naya, when it was the beasts that did all the work for you."
"Lies!" Shalin cried.
"Additionally, harnessing Gargantuans in the way you did is sacrilege. It is the most grave sin a godtoucher can commit. Why do you think we shun humans for using plowbeasts, the lesser Gargantuans, in the way they do?"
"You don't understand! I'm not doing this for myself, and more than just Naya is at stake here! Alara itself is in danger of being destroyed! When calamities befall the land," she began shedding tears, "tradition must be set aside in favor of preserving the world through whatever means necessary! If I must harness a sacred beast to do it, so be it!"
"The only thing an infidel like you deserves is death in the name of Progenitus!"
"Come to me, purifying fire of Naya!" Shalin cried, her tears of sorrow now tears of rage. The Nayan firebird shot to the ground in a blaze of red and white. The moment it landed, Shalin mounted, pushing harder than normal with her legs. She channeled her rage through the phoenix, and it took off with tremendous speed, its tail dropping a stream of fire onto the ground beneath.
"You would betray every person you've ever known for over a hundred years just to keep a promise you made to a human? Humans betray us, and the very beasts Progenitus commands we protect, at every turn!"
"How would you know? You've never been around humans long enough to truly get to know them! Just like there are bad elves, there are also good humans!"
"So they've brainwashed you to the point that they would have you betray your own people? You're so hopeless, Shalin. And you showed so much promise." Cylia took a deep breath, then a fierce windstorm surrounded Shalin and her bird. The phoenix screeched, struggling to maintain flight in the hurricane-force winds. As soon as it lost its balance, the rider was sent flying straight into the slab. The firebird crash-landed close to Cylia, then exploded in a blinding burst of white flames. The godtoucher had to start climbing the nearby rock wall just to avoid being burned in the blast.
"Get out of my sight!!" Shalin screamed at the top of her lungs once she was standing on top of the relic. "I love humans!!" Once the magical flames finally burned out, Shalin jumped down from the relic and began shedding tears of sorrow again. A few minutes later, Mayael's voice filled the air.
(Silence Music Track)
"Shalin, to be able to stand in the face of people in power when you're doing something for a greater good...that takes great wisdom."
"Mayael, where are you?!" Shalin balled.
"That does not matter. The fact that you were not afraid to show your feelings toward humans, defying the religious precepts you've been taught for years...that takes great courage. Though she was the first Anima of Naya, this Cylia was an illusion created by the Progeny in an effort to destroy you before you could make it to the center of the Maelstrom. Now, as a reward for your courage, make my power your own."
The voice faded, and Shalin became surrounded by what looked like waterfalls consisting of green, white, and red mana. Just like Josh's, her very body glowed in the colors as she absorbed the magical energy into her system. As the falls dried up, she knew she had possessed great power--the power to command nearly every beast she came across in the entire world. It was the greatest gift a godtoucher could ask for. Even after she left the Valley and joined her friends back in the Stomping Fields, she was still shedding tears.
"What's wrong, Shalin?" Eron asked.
END OF CHAPTER
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Private Mod Note
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A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
"What happened back there?" Ace asked Shalin as her titanic beast came to a stop on the south end of the field, next to two standing walls of a ruined shrine. The riders slid off, landing next to another rainbow-colored vortex.
"Something I thought was impossible. Cylia, the first Anima of Naya, lectured me on what I can and cannot do. But she's supposed to be dead!"
"When I was raised in the Shamanic Circle, I started seeing strange visions as well. You sure you didn't fall asleep or something?"
"I was wide awake! We even had a summoner's duel, and I was so scared!"
"Ace, Sharuum did say that anything could happen in the Maelstrom," Aravan added. "And I think she meant literally anything. The Progeny appears to be constructing illusions, much like the ones used in courier's capsules in Esper--"
"That was no illusion, Aravan! She was as real as you are!" Shalin sobbed.
"Well, then it seems to have reconstructed a traumatic moment from your past. It's trying to get inside your mind. Don't let it." Aravan paused. "Josh, what did you see back at the cliffs?"
"I already told you--it was a dead end," the armored swordsman snapped back immediately. "You didn't listen, Aravan."
"I don't believe you. I rolled a natural 20 on my Sense Motive roll. There's no way you're telling the truth."
Josh sighed. "I wanted to hide it from you, so you wouldn't be focused on me. I knew that reaching the center of the Maelstrom would be our most difficult task yet, and I didn't want any of you to be distracted at all."
"This information may help us figure out what the Progeny plans to do next. Please."
"After I stepped into the portal, I, too, saw a traumatic scene from my past. Eron, do you remember the burning of the Court?"
"Vividly," he replied. "It's something I would love to forget about.
"Well, I ended up seeing the elf in the act of setting it on fire. You weren't there; it was just me. We fought for a while, then he just vanished. I was exposed to a light so bright that I couldn't see a thing through it, then I saw the Court as it looks today."
"The Progeny appears to be recreating tragic events of our past, and using them to try to destroy us from within. Remember that you cannot change your past, but we can change the future."
"Well said, Aravan," Eron applauded. "We will show the Progeny that we are the arbiters of our destinies. Onward!" Shalin recalled her Gargantuan, then Ace led the group through the semi-hidden vortex.
---
"It's boiling in here," Aravan gasped as the light from the portal faded away. Shalin started coughing from the smoke-filled air.
"Looks as if we're somewhere in Jund," Eron deduced. "Wait, where's Ace?" He turned around. "Ace?"
"Down there," Aravan pointed from the group's position in an alcove just below the extreme peak of the volcanic mountain. "We need to fly down there!"
Josh began summoning the regal bird Asha entrusted to him, but the mana slipped away before it even got to his fingertips. "My magic is being blocked, and there's no sense in splitting up. All we can do is watch him and pray."
---
"This is the Mountain of Mortal Dragon," Ace said to himself. "This is the location where I undertook the Dark Climb when I was a child. This should be a breeze now...but why here?" The easiest path to climb wound around the outside of the mountain, full of small rivers of lava, but nothing truly threatening. Just as the crater came into sight, he caught a glimpse of a young dragon diving on top of him. "Primal flames, leave no trace of this beast behind! Banefire!" A stream of orange and yellow flames spouted from his cupped hands, aimed directly at the young one. Deciding that this particular human was too dangerous to feast on, it turned around in favor of easier prey.
Ace rounded the corner leading to the mountain's crater, lava bubbling above the large, circular platform that rose from the center of the volcano. Near the center was a deposit of black glass--the very same deposit he retrieved as a child. The moment he touched it, a large, green-scaled dragon flew above the crater and spewed a stream of flames from its mouth, the hardy warrior barely rolling out of the way.
"Karrthus made his home at the Mountain of Mortal Dragon," Ace said to himself. "No wonder no one's seen him since the Mending--the mountain got absorbed into the Maelstrom. I barely escaped alive in my last encounter with him. This time, two can play at his game!" At that, he raised his hands skyward, and his body glowed a deep red while the dragon Shalin helped him tame came to his aid. The crimson-scaled creature actually had to lift the warrior out of the crater to allow him to mount.
Aravan gasped as the two predators circled high above the volcano. Then, without warning, Karrthus darted forward, slamming into Ace's dragon. The two crashed down onto the side of the volcano, tearing each other apart with their sharp nails. "Primal flames, leave no trace of this beast behind! Banefire!" Ace cried, feeling the same pain his dragon did. Karrthus hearing nothing but his adversary's wailing, he was oblivious to the rider's spell, the dragon releasing its grip after being blasted by some of the strongest magical fire Ace could produce.
Even bleeding heavily from claw wounds and second-degree burns did not hinder Karrthus. The green creature spiraled into a draconic rage unlike anything Ace had ever seen before, tearing into the warrior's hellkite with tremendous power. He breathed a deep sigh, then blocked out even his companion's roars of pain as he concentrated. He drew tremendous amounts of mana from the crater before releasing it all in the biggest spell he ever cast in his life. "Essence of rage, manifest yourself in the form of unfathomable destruction! Violent Ultimatum!"
The Jundian's arms outstretched, a yellow dome of almost pure mana formed around him, superheating the air around it. A minefield of explosions erupted in the area outside the dome itself, which was growing in size by the second. Then, the release. The dome of mana collapsed in on itself, unleashing a shockwave of colossal proportions and a light so intense that his friends watching had to turn completely away just to avoid being permanently blinded. When the light faded, there was no sign of the dragon; it had completely disintegrated. The only thing the group saw in the smoldering terrain was Ace, laying on the ground.
(Silence Music Track)
"Ace!!" Eron shouted, taking flight out of the alcove his friends watched the short, but intense, battle from. The angel descended almost directly on top of him. "Are you okay?" No response. He began shaking his friend's body--still no response. He laboriously carried his friend up to where the rest of the group was, and carried him back through the vortex. The others followed, Shalin in tears.
"This doesn't make any sense," Aravan sighed as he found himself back in what appeared to be the Etherium Mines--specifically the room where he fought the ghastly abomination constructed from the remains of his own people. "The same one sends you to a different place than the one you came from? This is not good dungeon design!"
No one else seemed to pay attention to him--everyone else was looking at the battered dragon rider, Ace. He was conscious after Eron's divine prayers of healing, but still badly injured. "Where am I?" he moaned.
"It looks like the mines back in Esper," Shalin answered, "but no one really knows."
"What happened? The last thing I remember seeing was Karrthus..."
"You collapsed after casting a very powerful spell that killed a dragon. I've never seen magic that powerful. Where did you learn that?"
"I don't know, but after that I blanked out..."
"My best guess is that the Maelstrom amplified his magic somehow," Aravan interrupted. "I've never seen magic that powerful, either." He and Shalin helped Ace get to his feet. The Jundian limped somewhat, but was able to walk. "Anyway, if this is the same place, we should head directly across from where we are." Surely enough, the electronic door he pointed to led them back to the same abandoned laboratory at the bottom of the mines back in Esper, but with one minor change--the door leading into the quarantine zone had been replaced with another rainbow-colored vortex. The Esperite walked into it and vanished. The rest of the party followed, but just passed right through. There was no barrier preventing them from walking; they just didn't move through it like he did.
---
Aravan found himself in what looked like a Vectis courthouse, except all the buildings around it were in the decayed state that Esper was in back outside the Maelstrom. Vedalken and humans lined the seats, but all of them were motionless, as if they were frozen in time. "Aravan, you are a traitor to your people," sounded a voice from behind him. He turned around to see a human judge who appeared to be presiding over a case.
"Judge Cinna? How did you get into the Maelstrom?"
"You have spoken nonsense in front of the Senate for the last time, Aravan. We have plenty of evidence to indicate your roles in the decay of Esper. All we need to wrap this case up is your confession."
"What are you talking about?!" Aravan shouted. "If I recall, I was the one suggesting measures to prevent such an event from occurring! Why would I do something like this?"
"Motives are irrelevant, for your actions have already spoken for you."
"Actions I am in no way responsible for!"
"As I recall, you said you would be responsible for anything that happened while those first four foreigners were here. By opening the quarantine bays at the bottom of the Etherium Mines, you have spread a destructive plague all over Esper. The sphinxes have managed to save a few important structures, but aside from those, every remaining etherium structure in all of Esper is in danger of collapsing and taking lives with it!"
"If you would just do your research, you would see that these people were able to delay the invading forces coming from the Tidehollow to the mainland! If it weren't for them, it would have been a lot worse! Have you not listened to a word the sphinxes have said? Sharuum herself said that after the Mending, we would need the help of those we had never seen the likes of before to handle problems we had never encountered in our entire history!"
"You should also understand that the sphinxes speak in a very cryptic language that is very subject to interpretation, and therefore provides no concerte evidence whatsoever. Do you have anything else to say, heathen?"
"I have said everything that needs to be said."
"Then I hereby declare you guilty as charged!" At that, all of the frozen observers faded away, along with the chairs they sat in. Except for the judge's pedestal, the room was completely empty. She drew a magical rod resting on her back.
"Radicals like you do not deserve the opportunity to meddle in Esper's affairs. I cannot possibly see you getting anything less than the death penalty. Die, treasonous scum!" Both of them began casting spells, their hands glowing a deep blue.
"Become buried in an arctic prison! Icefall!" both of them cried simultaneously. Large chunks of ice formed on the ceiling above the wizards, aimed at each other. Letting them loose simultaneously, they shattered upon impact, shattering into hundreds of ice crystals.
"Your hasty resignation from the Senate was the first step toward your path to betrayal of your homeworld!" Cinna shouted. "Had you just kept your patience, like any good senator would, none of this would have happened!"
"I have told this to you as well as to my colleagues repeatedly: when the worlds merged together, there would be problems we could not solve without the help of outsiders. So what if they do not agree with the Noble Work? They still possess kinds of magic we have never even heard of. We may be the some of the wisest people in all of Alara, but we are not infallible!" The judge's body started glowing brightly enough to illuminate the entire room, then she vanished without a trace.
(Silence Music Track)
Suddenly, the voice of Sharuum, the Esper Hegemon, filled the air. "Aravan, you have proven yourself to be one of the wisest mages in Esper. Sometimes, you must reject the voices of those in power for those who are wise enough to make the proper decision." The Courthouse faded away, revealing a barren cityscape of collapsed buildings. "Cinna and the Courthouse of Vectis here were nothing more than an illusion created by the Progeny in an attempt to discourage you. Now, it is clearer than ever that you must free Alara from her fate of destruction at the hands of the Progeny. Take my power with you, and use it wisely in the upcoming battles."
The air around Aravan started swirling with a twister of white, blue, and black mana. "Esper's twenty-three winds are all converging around me," he said to himself. Before long, his body began glowing in the three colors of the twister, absorbing the mana into his etherium enhancements, and from there, the rest of himself. During that time, he experienced a vast rush of knowledge, learning to perfect spells he could only dream of casting before. "And I spontaneously get two hundred thousand experience points, as well? I guess the DM really doesn't want me to have to wait for the next level in order to be able to cast my new spells." About a minute later, Sharuum finished her transfer of power, and Aravan turned around to head through the vortex back into the mines, where his friends awaited his return.
END OF CHAPTER
--------------
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
"Finally, I found you!" Aravan shouted down the straight, but long, tunnel the group passed up on their way to the research lab. He was panting after his all-out run to catch up to his friends.
"I found a way out of here," Eron said. "I poked my head through the portal, and some place from Grixis appears to be on the other side. Couldn't tell just at that one glance, but I'd say we have to go there anyway. It's the only former section of Alara we haven't been to through the Maelstrom."
"My thoughts exactly. But you're from Bant, correct?"
"Yeah."
"So why would the Maelstrom send us to Grixis?"
"We'll find out when we step through that gate." Eron promptly led the party through the gate, and they found themselves in the Necropolis of Unx, on the clifftop overlooking Sedris' castle...except the top of the castle was in ruins. Everything else was just as it was before--the decrepit nature of the buildings, the local castle to the north, and even the arena.
"This place still exists outside the Maelstrom," Josh said. "Then why is it showing up here? According to Sharuum and the others, the Maelstrom was supposed to be the lost sections on the edges of the former shards!"
"She did say anything could happen," Aravan reasoned. Incapable of understanding such a mystery, Josh left it at that and led the way through the zombie-filled eastern street leading into the arena. Just as worn down as the rest of the city, it looked like no battles had been fought there for a while.
In the center of the metal mesh floor offering the only protection from the blistering hot magma below was another portal. As Eron approached, he found that instead of rejecting others, it forcefully drew only him in.
---
Though Rose's team was trailing by nearly two hundred points, there was still a little over five minutes in the round. Arrows continued to fly, most of them either bouncing harmlessly off the arena walls or off chest pieces. Eron was a quick shot, able to keep both of the other archers on their toes. No matter how rapidly he could fire, though, two opposing foes still had more brain power than he did. Josh heard the sound of Eron's groan above the clinging of blades. It was just as he feared; one of Shane's arrows nicked Eron in his left leg, bringing him to his knees. "Josh! Cover for me!" Eron continued groaning.
Despite wearing armor, Josh could still feel the power behind every arrow he blocked as Eron groaned pulling the shot out of his leg. "O Healing Power," his wounded friend began reciting, "soothe this wounded creature! Life Burst!" Eron's leg glowed with a white, refreshing light, and the wound began closing at a visible rate.
"Young ranger, your priorities are misplaced," Bant's Grand Champion of Sigils said, his blade drawn as the remainder of the soldiers mysteriously vanished. The angel immediately bowed to Rafiq out of instinct and respect. "Now, stand."
"What are you doing here, Rafiq?" Eron asked, then stood up.
"We lost the ports of Valeron to Jhess because of a decision you made on the field of battle, Eron. You chose to save yourself at the expense of your comrades," he lectured, pointing his blade at the angel. "You were the one to ask for Josh's help, when he was already occupied with me. You were the one that dropped the defenses of your entire team."
"I was watching out for my friend in battle! From childhood, we are taught that in martial arts competitions, preserving the lives of everyone involved is the number one priority! Surely you were taught that as well!"
"In even the most heated conflicts, such as the one you were in, there are always balmgivers on standby to make sure that no lives are taken!"
"It didn't matter! He took a heavy hit and was groaning in pain! He couldn't get up, and we needed him to have any chance against you! If we waited until the end of the round, he could have died!"
"That's right, Eron. Life is precious whether it is one or many. Though your timing was improper, your intentions were pure, and I must respect that."
"Wait, what?"
"Everyone in Bant thought I would ascend to angelhood. But the fact that Asha chose you to ascend before I did shows your superior purity, compassion, chivalry, and bravery. Now, angel Eron, in Asha's name, I bless you with the power of every Sigiled praying for your group's safe return." The knight-captain became enveloped in a ball of golden light, then disappeared. Just as with Josh, Eron's body started glowing green, white, and blue, as he tapped into the power of the sigils of every Bantian he had ever known. Even his white robes had changed color to a sparkling gold--the same hue of gold that the archangels wore. Though he was not a true archangel, his newfound power rivaled that of one. Once the streams of mana entering him faded away, the landscape started swirling around him, and he passed out.
---
"Uhhhnnnn...where am I?" Eron groaned, opening his eyes.
"You were unconscious for a long time," Shalin replied as she helped him stand back up.
"Never mind that," Ace pointed north toward the castle to the north of the arena, "that portal wasn't there before!"
"Ace, you really are insensitive sometimes. Shouldn't we make sure he's alright first?"
"No, Shalin, I'm fine," Eron replied, still moaning somewhat. "Ace has the right idea--I think that new gate is the way forward. Don't worry about me, really. I'll be fine!"
After emerging from the gate Ace pointed to, the scenery changed to become like the wavering paths from where his friends entered the Maelstrom, only even more bizarre. Six vortices twisted over a large, floating piece of earth in the shape of an outstretched tortoise, pulsating more vibrantly than any of the previous ones they had encountered. Smaller floating islands passed over the one the party stood on from time to time, but very few of them were large enough to even hold one person.
The five vortices on the south end each had one dominant color in their swirl, the one they came out of being black. "So it didn't matter what order we did them in," Aravan deduced. "We had to go through all of them anyway. I know this is the last dungeon, but damn you, DM in the Sky!"
"This place is unlike anything I've seen anywhere on Alara," Josh added. "It's...unsettling, to say the least.
"Then we must be close to the Progeny." Aravan started walking north, toward the "head" of the turtle-shaped hunk of earth. "This particular gate is emitting a very large amount of mana, and glows more brightly than the others. I'm led to believe that this takes us closer to the center." Without saying a word, he stepped in, giving his allies no choice but to follow.
The portal dropped them off on an even more strangely-shaped piece of floating land--its twists and turns formed a labyrinth. Its surface was transparent like glass, but was hard as diamond. Shalin knelt down to call her phoenix to make surveying the maze easier, but the mana slipped away from her fingertips and into a pale blue orb embedded deep within the indestructible surface. "Damn it, not this again!" Aravan cursed. Having no choice, the Nayan brought up the rear of the group led by Josh and Ace.
Though they could clearly see the path they had to follow, it was still a long walk around the many twists and turns of the bizarre maze. Upon reaching the center, the platform shook as a truly bizarre creature rose from beneath. Magma dripped from the creature's face, which bore the texture of volcanic rock. Its right hand, arm, and shoulder were covered in waves of water, and its left was covered with vines and other growth seen throughout Naya. An etherium-laced torso connected its upper body to a festering lower body, skulls and other bones embedded in seemingly random places. "What in the world...?" Josh gasped.
The fourteen-foot-tall monstrosity swiped at Ace with its water-covered hand, knocking him to the ground with a single blow. Eron instinctively flew over to him and started casting a recovery spell, but the mana slipped off his fingertips. Ace was able to stand on his own after the failed spell.
Eron and Shalin opened fire at the creature's face, but most of their shots simply bounced off the rock-hard surface. Ace's blade cut right through the soft flesh on its legs, but didn't do a dent to the skeleton inside. The mutated elemental kicked him out of the way, sending him flying into the air and all the way to the edge of the center crossroads, nearly falling into the dangerous abyss.
Josh struck its other leg with the light half of his sword, and the beast wailed an agonizing cry. Eron flew up to its wide-open mouth and shot an arrow down its throat. The elemental began coughing up what appeared to be blood, but it was rainbow-colored--just like the pulsating panorama surrounding them. Josh carefully stepped between its legs, then ran behind it as it fell to the ground, face first.
"What was that thing?" Shalin asked. "I've never seen anything like that before in my life!"
"From its physical makeup, I'd have to guess it's a creature of the Maelstrom," Aravan answered. "As Sharuum said, when we defeated Sedris, a very strange and powerful mana reaction began at the very center of Alara. All five worlds had to intersect at one point, and the amount of mana required to cause this event--the Mending--would be enough to distort reality and create very strange creatures. This creature we defeated just now carried a bit of every world with it. Its arms were representative of Naya's jungles and Bant's oceans, its head of Jund's volcanoes, its torso of Esper's technology, and its legs of Grixis' undeath.
"It was hideous, that's for sure," Eron added before turning to his fallen comrade. "The fires of hell cannot claim the truly just! Revitalize!" Again, the mana slipped away from his fingertips. "Oh, right."
"Nice job wasting 65 mana points, Eron," Aravan scowled. "We'll have to drag him to the next area before we can get him back on his feet."
---
"The fires of hell cannot claim the truly just. Revitalize!" Eron cried. A holy spotlight broke through the multicolored clouds above, coaxing life back into the warrior.
"I know I'm sounding repetitive, but thank you, Eron," Ace said in gratitude.
"It's okay, really. That's what I'm here for."
"What?!" Aravan scowled again as he turned the corner. On the other side of the thick, translucent wall on the inside of the U-shaped walkway were four computer monitors. "Everybody, you might want to have a look at this!"
"What...is this?" Josh struggled to say. The four monitors depicted mutated versions of creatures he and his friends had previously encountered on their long journey. The first depicted an archangel of Bant, except her right wing was tinted blue and black, and her left was tinted red and green. The second depicted an archdemon of Grixis, wings similarly colored to the angel except his right wing was tinted white instead of black. The third depicted five human-shaped silhouettes against the rainbow-colored background of the Maelstrom, and the fourth was nothing but snow, as though the device was malfunctioning.
"What does this mean...?!" Aravan gasped, closing his eyes in fear after looking at the screens for around fifteen seconds.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Eron sighed. "But everyone in Alara is counting on us. We have to go forward no matter what." Passing up the monitors, they found another portal on the other side of the walkway.
The vortex deposited them on a large floating island of solid rock instead of the glass-like paths from before. The background pulsed so vibrantly that it was often hard to look at. The only notable features of the place were a few computer terminals and another portal. Aravan inspected the computers and breathed a sigh of relief, then his mood swung quickly when he saw the others about to go through the portal. "Wait!!" he screamed.
"What, Aravan?" Ace asked. "We need to keep going!"
"Guys, this is the last Save Station in the entire campaign. I also found the closest thing there is to a map of this place, and the area we're in is labeled 'Final Rest'. We need to rest and make sure we're as prepared as possible for the final battle. You know, things like discussing strategy, how we're going to use our limited amount of magic, and so on. Being the final fight, this will be far and away the strongest foe we have faced yet. But this one battle is the only thing that stands in our way of victory."
"And the safety of everyone in Alara," Shalin added. "That's the most important part. I've never seen anywhere close to this level of concentration of mana before. The magic possible here, if unleashed on the outside world, could at the very least, reshape Alara as we know it. With the current imbalance of mana, the entire world is threatened."
"Everyone, you need to be as prepared as you possibly can for this next battle; the fate of the entire world depends on it."
After taking deep breaths and drawing their weapons, the five freedom fighters bravely stepped through the vortex. The first thing they noticed was the storm of mana at the very center of a large, floating landmass, the swirling streams of mana twisting the ground beneath in ways no one thought possible. "Well, this is it!" Aravan shouted over the magical windstorm. Josh and Ace began walking toward the multicolored nexus of the mana storm, their hearts racing just as fast as their friends'.
When they had reached the edge of the safe ground, about sixty feet from the bright center, a creature looking like an angel leaped out from inside the storm. Her wings were tinted with the other four colors of mana as depicted on the monitor they had seen earlier. Even her sword hilt glowed vibrantly in all five colors of mana. "So, Asha still has not atoned for her errors, Eron?" she said, pointing her blade at the other angel.
"You're an archangel of Bant!" Eron shouted back. "Why aren't you helping the others protect her people?"
"Unlike you want to believe, lowly Amesha, Asha is fallible and corrupt. Without the necromancy and death energy of Grixis to keep her powers of light in check, she could do entirely as she pleases, without a feeling for her subjects. Furthermore, she did not realize the consequences of her actions, and she is going to pay dearly for it. With the defeat of Sedris, the balance of Alara's mana is upset, and the Progeny wakes again."
"By defeating Sedris, we have made Alara a better, safer place to live! That is the ideal Asha strives for, and the ideal everyone in Bant is taught from childhood! Surely she taught you that during your ascension!"
"I will no longer serve a ruler who purges those who do not conform exactly to her ways. I now serve the Progeny, who casts fair and perfect judgment to all five former shards of Alara. The Progeny is incorruptible, ineffable, and infallible. The Progeny has given strict orders to eliminate, through whatever means necessary, anyone who does not agree with the perfect judgment laid before everyone here. Asha must suffer for her transgressions. Join the Progeny in purging the corrupt, and live the ideal life in the new Alara!"
"Upon my ascension as an angel," Eron breathed heavily, "I forever swore to Asha that I would defend her and uphold her ideals. She needs me just as much as I--no, all of us--need her. And I have no intention of breaking my vow to her!"
"If this is the way it must end, then feel free to throw your lives away--they will only fuel the Progeny's purging flames!"
"Chaaaaaaaaaaaaarge!!!" Eron and his four friends shouted.
Of course, only Josh, Eron, and Ace charged the angel. Just as the two swordsmen were about to jump-slash her, she leaped up--straight into a shot fired from Eron's bow, from point-blank range.
"You cannot keep a secret from me! Soulgaze!" Aravan cried, then gasped in horror at how powerful their foe was. "Guys!!" he shouted. "Stay away from her!"
But it was too late. The angel raised her sword skyward, a holy bolt promptly striking it. "Pour down holy rain from the gates of heaven! Tempest of Light!" She threw her sword into the air above her, and spheres of holy energy fell around her like hail. One nailed Eron straight in the chest, and he struggled to stay aloft after the blow. The other two dropped to the ground almost immediately, moaning painfully on the way back up. Just as she caught her blade, Ace's sword arm started shaking from being nailed several times with the balls of light.
"As I was saying," Aravan resumed, "she has all kinds of area-of-effect spells that devastate groups of melee attackers. Keep spread out!" The group dispersed at his command. "Freeze underneath a mountain of ice! Glacier Force!" He led the angel straight into a rapidly-forming prison of ice, burying her in layer after layer of cold. After eight layers formed, a beam of the coldest temperature he could conjure shattered the sheets of ice. "So the DM is respecting the 9999 damage cap after all...I really wish DMs would stop doing that, especially if they expect their players to reach epic level."
"Pesky Esper wizards," she gritted her teeth. "This should teach you..." She raised her arms into the air. "In my presence you will know quiet! Silence!" From his neck up to his eyes, Aravan's skin began turning white, sealing his mouth shut as soon as the color change passed it.
"Purify this crippled body and mind!" Shalin cried. "Refresh!" Aravan's skin turned back to normal, the spell completely reversing the effects of the angel's silencing act. Just as the angel was re-casting it, Josh and Ace leaped toward her, slashing from both sides. The crippling mixture of light and darkness erupted from her wounds. After a loud shriek, she collapsed, and the storm sucked her body in.
Pulses of concentrated mana shot out in a myriad of directions as another creature flew out from inside the storm--this one appeared to be a Grixis demon transformed by the Maelstrom. The vile creature raised its arms skyward, absorbing electricity from the storm into its hands before releasing it on top of Josh. The knight dropped to his knees, electricity crackling all over his armor.
"The Maelstrom ran its course through demonic hordes as well," Eron sighed in observation. "There will be no rest and no mercy for the damned! Asha's Vengeance!" Thick beams of intense, holy light rained above the demon, cutting through its body like the sharpest sword in existence. The assault literally ripped open a hole in its chest. Seeing no way to defeat someone with holy power on his side, the gasping creature dove straight toward the angel, its body encased in electricity. Unable to fly out of the way in time, Eron found himself trapped beneath the abomination, electrocuted in its suicide move.
"Dammit, Eron, you're supposed to stay in the back row!" Aravan shouted. "You're a healer!" The demon, too, was sucked back into the center of the Maelstrom. "Without a healer, we're not going to make it!"
"You still have me!" Shalin reassured her comrade.
"But you can't rez at all. Eron was the only one of our party that could rez last time I looked at everyone's character sheets. And since this is the final battle, I am sure the DM isn't beyond using cheap, instant-death tactics to see that he is the winner of his own campaign."
Before Shalin could reply, cones of electricity surrounded the four fighters still standing. A second cone fell to the side of each of the first, then the sets began disintegrating from the ground up. Suddenly, Josh found himself attacked by a silhouette of an armored man exactly the same height and build as himself. He barely parried the blow. The others found themselves in similar situations, facing shadow beings that appeared to be clones of themselves. Eron, exhausted from battle, could no longer keep his eyes open.
"I swear the DM is metagaming," Aravan snarled. "You cannot keep a secret from me! Soulgaze!" He found all four of their foes to be surprisingly weak, especially for what he thought of as an 'endgame boss'. "Level 99 hit points with level 50 stats, huh? Typical." He turned to Ace and Shalin. "See if you can catch them all in an area spell--they don't even have enough hit points to survive the damage cap!"
The barbaric shadow warrior leaped above the summoning circle created by Shalin's copy, trying to come down on top of Josh. His sword felt just as heavy as Ace's, knocking the knight to the ground. Josh prayed to Asha for help, chanting a healing spell he needed to stand again. Unfortunately for him, his foe continued to wail on him while he was down, as the instinct of anyone from Jund would command. He, too, had no strength to keep his eyes open, and both Bantians were fading fast.
"Fireheart of the world, rain burning destruction! Meteor Storm!"
"Rage and blow, storms of fury! Tsunami!"
The massive updrafts created by the windstorm Shalin procured lifted their foes right into Ace's rain of boulders. The shadow clones of Ace and Josh vanished after their first contact with the burning rocks, and Aravan's followed on the third. The final one remaining was barely able to stand after putting out the flames with a quick casting of Refresh, but now she was accompanied by a dark version of one of the Nayan's great titans. The black mockery of a Spearbreaker stood in front of her as she cast a weaker version of Shalin's Nourish spell. That gave her the strength to climb up the Gargantuan's body and spray fireballs while riding the great beast.
"Make a mockery of Naya's greatest creatures, will you?!" Shalin shouted. "Tear my foe to pieces with a cone of wind! Gale Force!" Three hurricane-force wind gusts converged directly on top of the behemoth, blowing the rider from her perch and into the storm of mana. Once she had disintegrated, so did the beast. Shalin, Aravan, and Ace ran toward the two fallen. "Josh, are you okay?" Shalin knelt down to get a closer look at the injured fighter.
Before she got a chance to listen for a response, the ground beneath them began shaking, and the central nexus swirled more violently. From the hole that had been created due to the storm's distortion came the most bizarre creature they had seen yet. Its entire body glowed like the multicolored panorama of the Maelstrom, only brighter. A cord stretched from its chest to the center of the storm. It looked somewhat like a human, but far different than anything they had encountered during their trip across Alara. The closest expression to describe what it resembled was a glowing human fetus.
"This is the Progeny itself," Aravan gasped.
"For the sake of everyone all over Alara!" Shalin rallied her comrades.
The only noise the Progeny made was a shrill cry akin to that of a young child, and with it came terrible magic. A transparent spirit of a snake appeared, coiling around Aravan's head then taking a bite into it before vanishing. He dropped to his knees, hands on the sides of his head, trying to curb the splitting headache from literally having a portion of his mind eaten. Shalin gasped and ran toward her friend out of concern. Ace, paying no attention to them, charged the entity. His blade merely bounced off the side of the strange being. "What?!" he shouted.
"Let me try!" Shalin replied. "Tear my foe to pieces with a cone of wind! Gale Force!" A large tunnel of wind slammed directly into the divine child, but it, too, had no effect at all. "Nothing's working!"
"Reduce this body to its natural capability!" Aravan cried. "Disenchant!" A sphere of faint white light surrounded the foe, then shattered without effect. "Whatever is causing our attacks to bounce off cannot be removed by normal means! Dammit!"
With a second shrill cry, fireballs rained from the sky, and a yellow dome of highly unstable mana fueled by pure rage surrounded the party. Any fireballs that contacted the dome exploded on contact, until the dome fell in on itself. All three remaining fighters found themselves on the ground, Shalin the only one able to even get up to her knees afterward.
---
(Silence Music Track)
"Aravan!" Sharuum cried. "I feel something terrible just happened to Aravan!"
"You're not the only one," Kresh added. "It's like I can't feel Ace anymore. I didn't care for the guy much to begin with, but I have to respect his bravery."
"So, now it's them, too..." Asha sobbed. "First Eron, then Josh, then those two...was there no hope for a unified Alara to begin with? As far as we have come, we were sure that we could change our own fate. We thought that fate was something to be decided by ourselves, but perhaps it truly is the gods that determine our fate. We just should have gone in there with them. They would have had a better chance with us."
"Asha, it is not your fault," Sharuum assured her. "If anyone had the capability to free the unified Alara from the fate of the Progeny, it was them. We would not have done them any good."
"This means that their deaths will burden our souls for the rest of our lives, Sharuum. We are the ones who sent them into such a dangerous place."
"No, Asha. They went there on their own prerogative. It was ultimately their decision, and they accepted it. It is no one's fault."
"I still feel terrible for Eron. He ascended to become an angel, then sacrificed himself for a cause that was ultimately futile."
"It's Shalin! She's still alive! I can feel her--barely, but she's still alive!" She folded her hands in prayer. "O great hydra-god Progenitus, grant Shalin strength in her time of need, for the fate of every living thing on Alara depends on it!" She turned back to the other guardians. "Everyone, we must pray for Shalin and the others!"
"I don't believe in that stuff," Kresh replied.
"Then try to reach out to Ace in your own way!" Asha folded her hands in prayer, then she, Mayael, and Sharuum closed their eyes.
---
Another wail from the Progeny, and lightning began striking around Shalin and her fallen friends. Just as she was about to be struck by one, a faint, rainbow-colored aura surrounded her and her friends, and the bolt slid around it. The four fallen opened their eyes and slowly got back on their feet. Once all five were standing again, the auras surrounded the divine creature instead. With a sound akin to a large piece of glass shattering, the mana holding the aura together broke into many pieces and disappeared. The vibrant colors of the Progeny faded slightly as it cried in pain. "Mayael...thank you," Shalin sighed.
"Save the thanks for later," Aravan added urgently, "we still have a job to do!" He turned to face his foe. "You cannot keep a secret from me! Soulgaze!" After casting the spell, he paused in thought."
"So, what are we looking at here?" Eron asked.
"Wow, I was honestly expecting worse. 99,999 hit points is a lot, but at level sixty shouldn't take terribly long. It's so powerful, it appears to be able to cast every single spell known to anyone on Alara, but cannot control its casting at all. From this, I can say that it will cast a completely random spell every round. That appears to be its entire battle script, regardless of its current hit point count."
"Any weak points?"
"Not really; it takes half damage from all elements. Stick to weapon attacks and non-elemental spells. You cannot drain all of its mana points either, as it will just draw more from the Maelstrom as a free action every round. Because of the large number of area-of-effect spells it can cast, we need to stay spread out." At Aravan's suggestion, the party fanned out, Josh and Ace on opposite sides of the Progeny, and Shalin and Aravan in the far corners. Eron flew high above his friends, keeping one eye on them and the other on his foe.
After another cry, a faint barrier of light formed around the mighty guardian of the Maelstrom, similar to Eron's Hindering Light spell. Josh and Ace wailed on it with their swords, the Bantian's light-and-dark blade a liability instead of an asset in this fight. The others followed up with the strongest single-targeting spells they had in their arsenal, being Gale Force, Purge, and Glacier Force. Despite the massive blows, the Progeny showed no sign of weakness.
A huge twister lifted Josh high into the air, sending him crashing to the ground after a long trip back down. He dizzily looked for where he dropped his sword, crawling back toward Aravan to find it. The Esper wizard helped him stand back up while Ace continued to slash away and the others repeatedly fired the same spells as before.
Two exchanges later, the Progeny unleashed a devastating spell none of them had ever seen cast anywhere on Alara. An enormous, fiery explosion engulfed the entire field of battle, the ancient being directly in the center of the white flames. The holy flames sent all five of them flying, their power collecting in the center of the blast, the caster absorbing it. The only thing that saved Ace was his high heat tolerance.
"It's now or never," Shalin said, being the first to stand up. The others rose much more slowly. "Empower us with the divine strength of the Nayan Gargantuans! Titanic Ultimatum!" Her hands swirled with amounts of mana she had never manipulated before, branching off into five streams each capable of producing an intense spell. When it had encased her and her allies, all of them grew to an enormous size--easily triple their normal height.
Eron and Aravan quickly found out that the power of their spells had also been magnified; the angel in particular saw how much more brightly his rays of judgment glowed. Aravan's blast of cold further agitated the Progeny. Before it got the chance to cast another spell, Ace leap-slashed it, the weight of his blade also magnified. With a loud wail, the divine spellcaster disappeared, as well as the nexus distorting the ground at the center of the Maelstrom. Once it had fallen, all five of the victors returned to their normal size.
Seconds later, the entire area began shaking, and the multicolored panorama of the Maelstrom began cycling through its five colors like a strobe light. Suddenly, Asha's voice echoed above the earthquake-like noise. "Listen, everyone! In its defeat, the Progeny seeks to crush everything inside the Maelstrom with one final magical assault--the destruction of the Maelstrom itself! You need to hurry and escape--it could collapse any second!"
"But we're so far from where we came in here that it'll be impossible to get out in time!" Shalin panicked.
"You're a guardian of Alara--isn't there anything you can do to hold it off?" Eron said in a slightly calmer, yet still urgent, tone.
"With all four of us working together, we should be able to hold it back long enough for you to escape."
"How long?"
"My guess would be twenty minutes."
"Then we have twenty minutes to get out of here!"
"I figured the DM would throw a load-bearing boss at us soon enough," Aravan moaned. "It does make for exciting escape scenes, but it defies all forms of logic."
END OF CHAPTER
--------------
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
Knowing that getting out of the Maelstrom on foot would be nowhere near fast enough, everyone gifted with a flying mount called them forth from the aether. The sphinx sat down low enough for Aravan to climb aboard without event, but Ace had to hoist himself onto his hellkite. Shalin's phoenix glowed in bright, vibrant yellow, oranges, and reds, and the halcou looked majestic, as always.
"I see two vortices instead of one," Ace observed.
"Dammit, I knew this was going to happen," Aravan snapped. "He changed the entire dungeon on us for the escape!"
"Well, which way?"
"How should I know?"
"Just pick one! We don't have forever!"
"Right. Go right!" All of them flew through where the nexus used to be and into the portal to the right. Ace's dragon soared ahead in a burst of speed, flying into the white light at the center of the vortex. After emerging in the new area, Ace and Aravan found themselves on the ground, the two birds flying in the cramped quarters of the Etherium Mines.
"It's what happens when you teleport a summoned creature into a space too small to fit in--it is recalled back into the aether," Shalin explained.
"What are we supposed to do now? Even if we get into a more open area, I'm tapped out," Aravan moaned.
"Well, it's going to be a bit of a long shot, but I think my leotau will be fast enough for you two," Josh suggested. "Eron, you may have to ride with me at some point, which is going to slow the halcou down. If you ever fall behind, this is what it will probably come to." He folded his hands in prayer, projecting the summoning circle in the testing chamber the former jail cell faced. Immediately after the leotau appeared, Ace and Aravan pulled themselves on to its back. The five made for the east exit to the research lab, and found a vortex that wasn't previously there before, inside one of the inactive stasis tanks. The one next to the quarantine chamber had disappeared. All the active computer monitors showed "EVACUATE" with a timer beneath that ticking away the time remaining, down to hundredths of a second.
Ace clasped his hands together and began casting a spell to break the tank open. "Wait!" Aravan shouted.
"What is it? I'm gonna bust this thing open!"
"Josh, do you think your leotau can break the tank with a charge?"
"Absolutely." Without a reply, Aravan slid off, Ace following after the Esperite prodded him so. After a deep breath, the majestic, armored feline charged into the tank, shattering it to pieces and activating the portal. This time, Eron helped Ace and Aravan get back aboard Josh's beast before all five of them went through. Aravan got one last glimpse at the timer before it disappeared into the multicolored light; it read 17 minutes 22 seconds and change.
The warp dropped them in the middle of the Desert of Repentance, no idea where they were. "Dammit, now we have to search the desert for a way out?!"
"I'll scout out for an exit," Shalin offered, and her phoenix took to the northern sky in a blazing fireball.
"I'll go too," Josh said, then his halcou took off in the opposite direction. The group staying behind became more nervous with each passing second, large tremors creating quicksand in low spots of the arid land.
Over three minutes later, Shalin stopped her firebird above the remnants of an Esperite tower and waved. Seeing her stop, he turned the halcou around and flew full speed toward her. Eron kept pace with the running leotau as best he could, warning the riders of quicksand he could see better from the air. The vortex was partially concealed by the tower, which is what made it so difficult to spot. Once everyone had caught up, everyone dove through it, Aravan the only one aware of exactly how much time had passed.
The shaking became much more profound upon being thrust into the Valley of Progenitus--by this time, each tremor made the ground beneath visibly move, making it hard for the leotau to keep its balance. Shalin pointed out that the west gate from which she entered the valley was still there. She flew through it first, and the others followed in single file.
The party emerged in the Stomping Fields, just as Shalin expected. All the Gargantuans that wandered here previously had mysteriously vanished. Shalin's phoenix swooped high into the air, the two looking for portals hidden among the ruins. After circling the field once, she found two. The group opted for the closer one, hidden behind a pile of square columns that somehow the tremors had not knocked over yet. The shaking getting more intense by the minute, all of them rushed through the gate. "Damn you, DM!" Aravan shouted as he discovered they emerged back in the Etherium Mines, one cell over from where they had started. They backtracked to the Stomping Fields, riding and flying to the warp on the other side of the plains. This other gate led back to the Seaswept Cliff, the water by the beach churning violently from the near-constant tremors.
"Finally, back in familiar territory," Josh sighed.
"And with not much time to spare, either--only seven minutes left!" Aravan added. Rather than risk the Esperite, Ace had the leotau run down the winding mountain path while those capable of flight flew down to the portal on the south side of the beach. Everyone hustled through, and they breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the east end of the Cathedral of Bliss in sight. Just as they stepped onto the narrow path that led to the three-dimensional maze, all the routes collapsed to be level with each other, and another of those strange, five-toned elementals rose out of the ground. Aravan clasped his hands together, and one began glowing white; the other, black.
"I thought you were tapped out," Shalin said.
"Not quite; I have just enough mana left to cast this." He turned back toward the monstrosity. "You will die, and no one will remember you. Unmake!" An enchanted mirror rose from the ground up to the elemental's face. When the creature saw its own reflection, its body shattered into jagged pieces, as though it was made of glass. The phoenix and halcou carried their riders to the balcony of the Cathedral. Eron landed a couple hundred feet from it, exhausted from flying for so long. After walking to just in front of it, he sighed not once, but twice. With a heroic effort, he heaved himself back into the air, barely high enough to grab onto the edge of the floating sanctuary. Josh and Shalin dismounted to pull him up to safety. Eron collapsed on the balcony after being pulled up.
The leotau carrying Ace and Aravan carefully ran across the merged paths, focusing on keeping its balance while the ground shook harder yet. Once they were just beneath the sanctuary, Josh recalled his leotau back into the aether, then instructed the halcou and phoenix to pick them up and get them to safety. Shalin hugged Ace when her firebird dropped him off. "I'm so glad you're safe!"
"We're not safe yet," Aravan pointed out. "Though the exit portal is right there, we're still way above the ground. This place is going to blow in less than three minutes, and I'm completely tapped out."
"So am I," Ace sighed. "So what can we do?"
"There's only one option," Shalin started to suggest. "The halcou and phoenix will have to carry us to the ground, one at a time each."
"We don't have enough time for that!" Aravan exclaimed urgently.
"It's our only out. We don't have a choice. Aravan, Ace! Go!" Aravan gripped the halcou the hardest he could as it disappeared through the portal and to the western deck of the side of the cathedral back in Alara. Ace and the phoenix followed Aravan. When both of them stood on the edge of the deck, they simultaneously dove down, both screaming from the G-forces behind their birds' acceleration. The riders literally rolled off their birds and onto the grassy plains below, unable to stand from being so dizzy and tired. Seconds later, the riderless birds took back to the air.
Back at the top, Eron, Josh, and Shalin stepped through the vortex and onto the landing deck. The angel couldn't believe that the most sacred structure in all of Bant would be destroyed in less than two minutes. Josh and Shalin watched anxiously, waiting for their birds to come through the clouds and carry them away from the doomed Cathedral. "What's taking so long?!" Shalin half-snapped, half-moaned. The seconds seemed like minutes, Josh keeping track of each passing one. Twenty seconds passed, and still no sign of them. Thirty seconds. Forty seconds. Fifty seconds, and still no sign of them.
After a minute passed, a computerized voice saying "WARNING" repeatedly echoed beyond the unstable portal. Still no sign of them. Josh counted down the seconds in his head. Forty-two, forty-one, forty, thirty-nine, thirty-eight. At long last, the halcou and phoenix rocketed through the clouds and onto the deck. Twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven, twenty-six.
Josh loosened the halcou's saddle, scooted it up slightly, then tightened it again. Twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen. "Hurry, Josh!" Shalin shouted from her perch as the knight helped Eron get onto the avian. Josh was forced to sit behind Eron, directly on the bird's feathers. Twelve, eleven, ten, nine. "We have to go, now!" Eron looked back at the cathedral one last time as the phoenix and halcou took off with the remaining three in tow. Five, four, three, two, one, zero.
Pulses of mana unlike anything Alara had ever experienced before shot out from the vortex, cutting through the floating structure and sending debris flying everywhere. Large chunks of metal and stone became weapons deadlier than any sword man, aven, or angel ever crafted. The halcou and phoenix continuously weaved to lessen the chance of being hit by objects flying at hundreds of miles per hour. They touched down next to Ace and Aravan and gasped at the horror they witnessed.
"Will he be okay?" Shalin asked the balmgiver tending to Ace at the Seaside Palace. "He was bleeding pretty badly when that statue piece fell on top of his leg."
"He's going to have to have his leg amputated and replaced with an etherium one," the female cleric replied. "It's the only way he'll ever walk again. We have several enchantments dulling the pain as best we can, but he was still groaning. We'll probably get him into surgery later this afternoon, and you have the metallurgeons who evacuated here from Esper to thank for that. Otherwise, such an operation wouldn't be possible."
"As much as I disagree with the use of etherium, I'm happy it's saving my friend's life. Esper was obsessed with the stuff, and it caused their entire civilization to fall apart."
"Well, that makes sense. You're a Nayan druid, and are trained from childhood to only take from nature what you need. Druidic magic is very good at destroying artifice."
"I learned to suppress that after traveling with Aravan. He taught me that there are both constructive and destructive uses of it. So long as it's being used to save lives rather than take them, I'm fine with it."
"You should stay in Valeron--you could teach our druids a few things that could help better protect her ports from Jhessian invasion."
"That war is still going on?"
"I'm sure that when things return to normal--rather, as close to normal as they'll ever get--we'll be at war with Jhess again over naval rights. It's been that way for years, and I don't see it stopping anytime soon."
"Well, I would stay, but I'm pretty sure after everything settles down here, Mayael and I are going to return to Naya to deliver the news. I'm off to tell the others about Ace."
"Have a good day."
---
"Is Ace going to make it?" Eron asked, still in bed as Shalin entered, Josh and Aravan turning their heads toward her.
"He's going to have his leg replaced with an etherium one, but it looks like he'll make it," Shalin answered. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "He's going into surgery tonight, and thanks to the magical properties of etherium, recovery shouldn't be more than a week."
"All the metallurgeons who survived the fallout must have been novices," Aravan added. "It never took anyone I've known that long to recover from very similar operations. Of course, most of those people are probably dead by now."
"What are you going to do now, Aravan?" Josh asked. "We're all going home once Ace's leg is repaired and healed, but you don't exactly have a home to return to."
"I'll probably stay somewhere in Bant for a while, heading to the outer limits of Esper regularly to collect data on the fallout. When it's safe, I plan to go back to assist in the cleanup plan. Of course, this is years down the road; I doubt Esper will ever reach her former glory again. How close we get largely depends on how much etherium in the wreckage is salvageable. I think the Ethersworn have learned why Crucius fled Esper after hearing just how far the Noble Work was taken, and we will make better use of what little we have."
"Speaking of plans, what are you going to do, Eron? There isn't a home for you to return to either, now that you're an angel."
"I'm going to see what Asha says," Eron replied. "Without the Cathedral, none of us know where to go, really."
"I think we should see her the day after Ace's surgery, when he feels well enough to at least be moved."
"Thank you, all of you," Asha congratulated the five fighters, Ace's new artificial leg still wrapped underneath a number of sheets. "You have given the reunified Alara the chance to live on its own, apart from the Progeny that seeked for the world to be split. We owe our lives to you." Silence followed. "You don't have to say anything."
"Enough of the formalities," Aravan interrupted. "We know, we're heroes. I would prefer if we got down to business." He turned to Sharuum. "Great Hegemon, what are your plans for returning to Esper?"
"Sedris' wake of destruction has made Esper uninhabitable for the time being," Sharuum answered. "With all traces of his undead gone, the radiation should clear naturally, but it will take several years at least. Then, we have to address the issue of cleaning up Vectis and Palandius, as well as the outer cities also affected by the fallout. We must salvage as much etherium as possible out of the ruined structures, as we cannot mine new etherium from the bottom levels. Because the quarantined area is far underground, it will never be safe to traverse again. From there, we make careful, sparse use of the etherium we have to rebuild Esper. Again, this will take years. In the meantime, we sphinxes will stay in Bant, outside the castles. The rest of the evacuees will have to find shelter here in Bant, or elsewhere in Alara. It should not be difficult, as the societies from the other worlds are mingling with Bant and each other as we speak."
"Sadly, that has made Alara more dangerous," Mayael added. "Gargantuans and dragons now roam everywhere, doing as they please as though it was their home world. Of course, we are now better equipped to handle them, as you demonstrated yourself, Shalin. You trained a dragon to follow Ace's orders--something unheard of among godtouchers. After all this is over, Shalin, I would like to meet with you again, in my palace. We have important matters to discuss, privately."
"Now that Alara is permanently merged back together thanks to the Progeny's defeat," Asha continued, "she faces a new problem: her five cultures merging together with the worlds themselves.
Word of Josh's heroic deeds quickly spread throughout Bant, and he was later invited to Castle Valeron, where Rafiq greeted him with great news. The two of them toured Bant's many castles, Josh collecting a number of sigils at each stop. After returning to Valeron, Rafiq, the king, and the angels blessed him with a new rank: Co-Knight-Captain of the Reliquary. This, in name, made him an equal to the Grand Champion of Sigils.
Eron returned to Asha, who further blessed him by declaring him the next Asura of Honor when it was her time to go. He, too, collected numerous sigils for his heroic work.
Shalin and Mayael returned to her palace back in south-central Naya, where she announced that Shalin would be Mayael's successor as Anima. She couldn't believe she was charged with such a powerful and daunting duty. The two went all over Naya to spread the news to humans, nacatl, and elves all over Naya. Tensions between humans and elves relaxed, and elves began to interact with Shalin's Gargantuans more.
Ace spent a great deal of time in the castles of Bant, getting used to his artificial leg before returning to the skies above Jund. The hellkite he commanded made him a fierce predator, never a shortage of food on their dinner table. Not even the greatest of clans dared to hunt him or his dragon down.
Aravan and Sharuum stayed at the Seaside Palace, they and the others from Esper looking into the condition of their former homeland. In the meantime, he was raised in the way of chivalry, reintroducing offensive and support blue magic to wizards in Akrasa, and from there, all of Bant. The new skills introduced would certainly make following Hero Competitions more interesting than even the one where Ace and Shalin fought each other.
After a long period of time, Esper began to look like a former shadow of her previous self, and traces of life blossomed into grassy plains in Vithia, the world formerly known as Grixis. The more time that passed, the less apparent it became that the plane of Alara even fractured into five shards to begin with.
Though their homes were hundreds of miles apart from each other, the five heroes still stayed in contact with one another, gathering from time to time in places spread all across Alara. The names Josh, Eron, Shalin, Ace, and Aravan, the names of those who freed the reunited Alara from her terrible fate, would never be forgotten by her people.
THE END
--------------
Anyone following this story, if you've also read Alara Unbroken, I would like to know what you think of this compared to that.
Music Track: Ancient Story //Dennis Martin
Album: Legend of Dragoon OST
Over three months had passed since the Mending. After a tragic series of events in Bant led to the exile of Josh and Eron, they found themselves messengers to the worlds of Alara that were not so civilized and paid attention to their histories. As they quickly found out, there were people within these less civilized worlds that knew about the reconvergence of Alara.
In a chance encounter on the way to the Sacellum in Naya, Josh and Eron met Shalin, an exiled elven godtoucher. Happy to accept a new ally, the Bantians let her accompany them to the Sacellum. There, they discovered signs of both the Mending and the work of a great, malevolent entity. The corpses of victims of a strange disease puzzled and mildly frightened the three adventurers, all the way to the bottom of the Sacellum. They defeated one of Naya's sacred beasts, the Gargantuans, crippled with the strange disease. A figure wearing unusual, all-natural clothing pointed them eastward.
After being driven eastward, the party survived both a viashino attack and a dragon attack in the same day. After the fallout, the team nursed a dying human back to life. Curious as to the strange customs of the party, he introduced himself as Ace, then started traveling with them. Across the Rip and through Mount Worldheart they journeyed, each leg of the trip more dangerous than the last. In an underground cavern deep within Mount Worldheart, Ace discovered an underground village near the Bloodhall, and met Rakka Mar, the Vision Speaker.
A powerful and respected shaman, Rakka Mar led the party eastward into Grixis, the land of death and decay. The destination was the Necropolis of Unx. From the remnants of Jund's tar pits, they rode north on Shalin's finest tamed beasts, fleeing from the regenerating zombies constantly on the prowl for what little life force remained in the land. After storming the city, they discovered Rakka Mar had tricked them, buying her superiors time to assemble a defense.
When they arrived at the Necropolis of Sedraxis, they encountered the lich lord Sedris, Traitor to Vithia. Boasting a massive undead army and frighteningly powerful magic, the party had no choice but to flee Grixis entirely. That was when they discovered Sedris' true plan: he wanted to use the Mending as an opportunity to create an undead empire spanning all of Alara.
The party retraced their steps across the four worlds, reporting their findings. Out of clues, they had no choice but to re-enter Bant, the world which Josh and Eron were exiled from so long ago. The four of them entered a tournament in order to get back on good terms with the monarchy, and succeeded. They learned more about the legends of the Sundering and Mending of Alara from both the mouth of the king and the royal archives.
Their answers were across the sea, to the last world of Alara they had not visited yet. A strange-looking kraken barred their path, but with a team effort they were able to overcome it. After crossing the Glass Dunes, the party found themselves in Esper, the land where nature was vitrually nonexistent. After roaming the streets for no less than a half hour, they were arrested and put on trial.
At the end of the trial, a Vectis senator by the name of Aravan realized that these four wanted to get to the bottom of the strange events occurring all over Alara, and resigned his position in office to join the group. They were assigned to clean out the Etherium Mines. It was a long and arduous task, and could not have been done without the arcanist's strategic and conservative approach.
Sharuum, Esper's sphinx hegemon, immediately summoned them when word got out that their mission was successful. She explained the implications of the Mending and the reason why all the strange happenings were occurring. She mentioned the names of six Guardians of Alara: Sedris, Malfegor, Kresh, Mayael, Asha, and herself. With an array of hints to guide them, they left for Bant's eastern plains, riding aboard a team of gargoyles. Just as Sharuum had predicted, the inclement weather and local hate for artifice meant the gargoyles had to turn back and let their riders dismount before flying back to Esper.
The experiences Josh, Eron, Shalin, Ace, and Aravan had been through strengthened both their combat abilities and their friendship with one another. But the journey was not getting any easier from this point, nor were the battles with Sedris' troops. With the invasion tying up the defenses of the four other worlds, this band of travelers was the only group of people capable of stopping Sedris without risking the lives of thousands of people in the process.
Music Track: Dark World //Koji Kondo
Album: Zelda: A Link to the Past
"No!" Josh and Eron gasped as they crossed into the hills of Akrasa. The skies of their homeland were covered with lightning clouds, effectively cutting the angels off from the ground world. They were powerful, but not powerful enough to fly through dense clouds erupting lightning bolts. The plains started turning brown in patches instead of the vivid green they were normally colored. Buildings, way stations, and other structures appeared to be intact. At least the plains weren't being flooded with heavy amounts of rain that accompanied normal lightning storms.
"Were we too late?" Aravan added, then started casting a spell. Once the mana was right in his hands, he canceled the casting. "Our spells seem to work still."
"Aravan, have you ever ridden anything besides a gargoyle?" Shalin asked.
"No," he replied. "There really isn't a need to unless you travel a very long distance. Drakes are too wild, and sphinxes are too intelligent."
"I was asking for a good reason. Through some means, most of us have some living thing we can ride on. And for the two of us that don't, I can provide you with one. None of them can fly, which is probably for the better, given the current weather conditions. Guys, show them. And Ace, no firecat."
"But it doesn't hurt, honestly!" he pleaded.
"You're lying. I saw your face when you fought me in the arena--you were shrugging off pain."
"But it doesn't hurt, Shalin! That was from your spells--you know I don't know how to defend myself against magic!"
"Ace, you're not going to be able to fool a godtoucher," Aravan interrupted. "Her Wisdom score is far too high for that."
"Ace, I tell you what..." Shalin continued. "If you can find a way to become resistant to fire, magical or otherwise, I'll have no problem with you being on your firecat. I'm just worried about your safety...that's all. Sometimes, you're too reckless for your own good. Anyway, Josh, get ready." The two of them began casting spells to summon their trusty animal steeds from the aether. Summon magic still eluded Aravan. Despite being an arcanist, he had no idea how it worked. Josh called his leotau back into Bant, and Shalin brought forth three creatures: the Nayan cheetah for herself, her lion for either Eron or Aravan, and the Cliffrunner for Ace.
"You ride on these things?!" Aravan gasped. "These are supposedly the very beasts your people worship! Wouldn't your people have excommunicated you from society, Shalin?"
"I'm aware of that," she snapped back. "Rather than be excommunicated from their order, I left of my own volition. The lesser Gargantuans I have enlisted have been invaluable in getting as far as we have in hindering Sedris' grand scheme." The other four mounted their usual creatures. Aravan was still puzzled. With the exception of the leotau, there appeared to be no way for the others to control their beasts. He reluctantly had Josh help him onto the leotau.
The knight had his mount lag behind the others just to let Aravan get used to being on a running creature. This made him unable to charge into hostile creatures like normal, often having to suppress battle instincts for his friend's safety. Instead, Ace took that privilege for himself, letting the Nayan monster overrun just about anything they came across besides wild and undead leotau.
"Finally," Eron sighed. "The Akrasan castle is in sight."
--------------
Music Track: Majestic Kingdom //Dennis Martin
Album: The Legend of Dragoon OST
"Rise. There is no need for formalities," the Akrasan king said, taking a seat at the round table on the east end of his throne room. "Have a seat, all of you." An angel floated behind the king, her and the guards on edge.
"So, what's the situation here?" Josh asked as his party took seats on the end of the table opposite from the monarch. "Can't be very good."
"You're right. It's pretty grim. Castle Valeron, the Southwest Castle, and the Seaside Palace have all fallen to fell creatures we've never seen the likes of before. Our balmgivers think they're somewhere between alive and dead, which is a prepostrous claim."
"But it's likely true," Eron replied. "When we traveled to Grixis, or as you know it, Vithia, the place was flooded with these kinds of creatures. No wonder you were overrun so easily--being unable to cast fire magic makes fighting undead hard."
"We quickly figured out that they were vulnerable to holy light as well. But when the storms came, we were cut off from the angels that normally protect us. A few were on the ground, but there couldn't have been any more than ten."
"Do you have enough troops to storm the Seaside Palace?"
"We sent a few scouts out, but not all of them made it back. The stories they told me were horrifying. Apparently, Sedris' tainting of Bant has not only caused the fields to start dying, but it has even changed the décor of the castles. Rather than glorifying Asha, they appear serve an entity of light and darkness. I say 'entity' because I cannot think of anything celestial that wields both light and darkness."
"I can't, either. But I have an idea. It's a bit daring, but we could attempt to infiltrate the castles. We number few, so finding us will be difficult. Moreover, we all placed well at the last Hero Competition. I'm assuming that is the reason why you admitted us an audience with Your Royal Highness to begin with. We've been all over the five worlds of Alara; we are capable of defending ourselves."
(Silence Music Track)
Before the king was able to reply, the sound of shattering glass filled the room. Everything that happened in the next few seconds seemed to occur in slow motion. An angel, wielding what appeared to be a celestially-crafted sword, flew through the stained-glass window on the east side of the room. Without any warning whatsoever, a scream filled the room--she plunged her sword directly into the center of the back of the king's guardian angel.
This angel was different from the slain one in that one of her wings was black, and one was white. Instead of wearing white or golden robes, hers were tainted gray. Even her sword glowed strangely; a brilliant white on one side of the blade, and a consuming black on the other. "Get the king in lockdown, now!" the guards shouted. To the party's surprise, the strange angel made no effort to kill the political leader.
Music Track: Prepare for Battle //Dennis Martin
Album: Legend of Dragoon OST
"Consider this a warning strike," the two-toned angel's low, feminine voice echoed in the nearly empty chamber. She pointed her blade at the bleeding corpse of the angel she had just slain. "By ending this game of yours, you five can receive high positions in Sedris' new empire of Alara. Given the amount of power you have, he would make the five of you commanders of legions of undead. All you need do is end this charade."
"Undeath is not life!" Shalin shouted. "How many times do we have to tell your people?!"
"I'd rather die than 'live' as a lich, even!" Ace cried out.
"And you two?" she pointed her sword at Eron and Aravan.
"I've seen aether-liches before. The Ethersworn believe they are perfection. But as I have discovered by traveling with these four, even replacing all bodily functions with filigree parts and enchantments is not life. Etherium enhancements do increase what humans are capable of, but they also take away what makes humans...well, human!"
"Being a ranger from a town well southwest of here, I have a level of respect for life that a lot of people don't. You don't even have that common level of respect for it."
"So you wish to rebel against Sedris' conquest?" the angel asked. "The penalty for such a transgression...is complete annihilation!"
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Music Track: A Speechless Battle //Hitoshi Sakimoto
Album: Final Fantasy XII OST
The party drew their weapons and readied themselves to charge toward the angel. "Wait!" Aravan shouted. "It's suicide to fight without a battle plan!" The Esper wizard closed his eyes for a split second. "You cannot keep a secret from me! Soulgaze!"
"What...?" Shalin said, looking confused. The spell delved into the angel's mind, returning valuable information that could turn the tide of battle in his party's favor.
As Aravan processed the information, an urgent look covered his face. "Everyone except Ace and Josh needs to stay the hell away from her! That's a Sword of Light and Shadow she's wielding!"
"So?" Ace snapped. "We have to kill her regardless!"
"It gives her Vampiric Touch as a passive ability. Meaning that when she hits with her sword, she drains the life energy for herself. As far as weak points go, all of her stats except Dexterity are solid. Her Intelligence is higher than her Strength, so watch out for her spells!"
"I know how powerful angelic spells are," Josh sighed. "I've seen one before. Aravan, anything else you can tell us?"
"Strength is 33, Constitution is 34, Intelligence is 41, Dexterity is 26, Wisdom is 44, and Luck is 29. She resists light and darkness, and is immune to all status ailments except poison and blinding. Her Constitution is significantly lower than her Wisdom, so conventional attacks should work better than magic. She has a little over 18,000 hit points, so we're in for a long fight. That's all I can tell you."
The angel raised her sword above her head, then spun around with her sword arm outstretched, creating a dual-toned energy wave. Whether the group was hit with light or darkness, most of them couldn't tell. All they knew was it stung. "So, have you changed your minds yet?" she taunted them.
"Bloodthorn overgrowth, weaken my foes with your deadly toxin! Venomous Vines!" Shalin cried. As the incantation would suggest, a large array of vines rose from underneath the angel and entangled her, small hooks on the ends of them piercing her skin. She began casting a spell, but the pain ringing in her head was too great. By the time the mana was at her fingertips, it wasn't concentrated enough to form a counterattack.
Rather than attacking the angel while it was immobilized, Ace was casting. "Become fleet of foot! Accelerate!" he cried. Suddenly, his steps and reaction time became much faster. He and Josh struck with their blades almost simultaneously, just as the vines receded. The poison wracked the angel's body, but she was now able to move and concentrate. Eron landed a pair of arrows right after she broke out.
"If you honestly think you are going to defeat me, you're wrong!" their black and white foe shouted. "Come and get me! Retaliate!" The battle instinct-driven Ace slashed at the angel. She seemed to shrug the blow off, then immediately sliced upward. With the Jundian in the air, she kicked him away, sending him flying almost to the edge of the throne room.
"Ace, what are you doing?" Josh scolded his friend. "You've seen me cast that spell before! When she casts that, use magic!"
"He's right," Aravan agreed. "As long as that spell is active, she gets an attack of opportunity on anyone that strikes her with a weapon!"
"The spell doesn't last very long--we can wait it out!" All of them backed away from the angel, doing their best to maintain distant positions. She attempted another spin attack, but all five were able to duck under the wave. The party and the angel all began casting spells, Ace's finishing first. Two intersecting columns of fire roasted his opponent, but she seemed to shrug the blow off. Josh launched a blade of wind at the corrupted angel, and Shalin followed with a full twister. The angel became dizzy from the swirling winds, but that was just after she got her spell off.
"Become enveloped in a living hell! Dark Banishing!" she cried through the wind. A sphere of black mana collided with Shalin. She shrieked, but more out of fear than pain. She had seen her thoctar nearly die to this spell several weeks ago. It didn't actually hurt her much.
Several volleys later, Shalin called forth a refreshing waterfall to revitalize the party as the angel's Retaliate spell finally wore off. "So it's come to this," the angel sighed. "I didn't want to have to make your deaths this quick, but I'm running out of options." The room darkened when she started screaming, her body surrounded by a black flame for around ten seconds. Even after the flame faded, the room still remained darker than usual. Looking for an unusually powerful spell, Aravan readied countermagic. Before he could finish, though, the spell had already gone off. "Inflict a wound that bleeds the body and spirit! Gloomlance!" A shadow lance impaled Ace from underneath, then three more punctured him from various angles. When the spears receded back into the ground, Ace collapsed. The angel received some feedback from her spell, but she felt it was worth it to defeat her foes more efficiently.
Eron promptly got Ace back on his feet, but this would become an uphill battle. The spells they were facing were stronger than any they had ever seen cast. As during the last phase, Josh and Ace tried to distract the flying warrior with their melee attacks, but it didn't work so well this time. After landing one blow apiece, she blasted them back with the light side of her blade and the energy wave resulting from her spin attack. Both of them dropped.
Shalin generated another twister, which provided the cover for Eron to run to Josh and get him back on his feet. The rest of the party did their best to cover for the ranger until he revived Ace as well. Aravan joined in as well, taking a break from directing strategy to start dropping chunks of ice on the black and white-winged foe.
The angel panting, she raised her blade skyward once more, eyes closed as she drew large amounts of white mana into her hands. "Shine the light of justice upon the unrighteous! Purge!" A sphere of blinding light grew around Aravan. Smaller spheres struck the large one, looking like miniature comets as they passed by. Once it had reached capacity, the sphere exploded in a gleam of wavering brilliance. The Esperite's eyes closed, then he, too, collapsed.
"Get Aravan back up immediately, Eron!" Shalin shouted out of concern for her etherium-laced ally.
"I'm tapped," Eron moaned back. "I can't!"
"Dammit," Ace swore, his hand shaking from having to be resurrected so many times in such a short span. With one last combination of melee attacks and spells, the party finally inflicted a mortal wound on the angel.
"You may have won this battle..." she whispered, "but there are still two more of us. Sedris will not...relinquish Bant...without...a fight!"
(Silence Music Track)
At that, she breathed her last. Josh and Ace used the dead angel's wings as pieces of cloth to wipe their weapons free of blood. At that moment, the Bantian noticed that her sword was still glowing with light and shadow. He laid his sword next to the glowing one, and saw that hers was slightly shorter than the one he had. He touched the sword's handle, and nothing appeared to happen. "Hey guys," he tried to get their attention, "I think I can use this!"
"You won't be able to cast any shadow magic off of it," Shalin replied. "We should try to learn more about it before you actually wield it. Let's let the king know the castle is safe again."
"But where's the lockdown chamber?"
"If it's constructed anything like the castle back in south Eos, it should be in the basement," Eron guessed. "But I suggest we get Aravan back on his feet first."
"There would be a cleric in lockdown with him. I guarantee you that--it's a standard precaution in case of a siege or a similar attack. That person will be able to resurrect Aravan. For now, Ace and I will carry his body to the basement."
--------------
Halfway through a basement hall, Ace heard what he thought was the wall on his right giving way. He looked over to see what it was, and it was a cleric, a guard, and the king inside a sealed chamber. "How did you know we weren't bad guys?" he asked.
"There's a periscope in the lockdown chamber. When we saw you, we opened the door. Now get in before the monsters do!"
"Actually, we've cleaned the place out. The throne room's a bit of a mess from a long battle, but the castle is safe now."
"What a relief," the ruler sighed. "Any word on what's happened to the other castles?"
"The big ones in Valeron and Eos have been captured. There are three castles, but only two other angels."
"We were also able to recover this," Josh added, showing him the strange weapon the angel used. "Do you know anyone who would know anything about this?" The cleric guarding the king knelt down next to Aravan's body, placed just outside the lockdown chamber, and revived him. "You okay, Aravan?"
"Dizzy, but I'll be okay," he replied.
"So, who would know about this sword?" Josh continued.
"I've never seen anything like that," the kind answered.
"Is it cursed or anything like that?"
Without a word, the white-robed mage knelt down again, casting a spell to identify the object's status. "Nope, not cursed or trapped," he reported.
"What a great turn of events."
"Remember, Josh," Aravan said, groaning from dizziness ever so slightly. "Elemental weapons have their advantages and disadvantages. Also, since it has two sides, watch what end you cut with. One side is light elemental, one side is shadow elemental. I don't think it will be too useful against the other angels, but we'll see."
"Let's at least make sure he gets back to the throne room, where he belongs." He turned to the Akrasan monarch. "Also, don't forget to send a message to your personnel that they can come back and work as usual again."
"Of course," the crowned king replied.
--------------
The ride across Valeron the next day was fairly uneventful. The wildlife was more aggressive normal, but the party's stay in Naya made them used to it. Once they heard the storm-churned waves crashing about, they knew they were close to the Seaside Palace. Grimaced looks covered their faces when they saw even the outside of the building was tainted with varying shades of black. With no choice but to press on, the party stormed right through the front doors.
Music Track: Hyrule Castle //Koji Kondo
Album: Zelda: A Link to the Past
The castle's interior was similarly tainted in color. Eron ran up to the door leading to the antechamber, but found it was locked. "This is the way to the king's hall, not the lockdown. There has to be another way in, like an emergency exit. Let's check the right side first."
Immediately upon opening the door, the party was greeted by guards that had their swords drawn. After catching a glimpse of what appeared to be banewasp-corrupted flesh, Josh turned his sword around so that he was slashing with the light end. He felt a rush of life energy enter him with each successful blow. "Fascinating," Aravan said after Josh dispatched the two soldiers all by himself. "So it was the sword that was giving her those passive abilities, not her own power. Josh, if your hit points ever drop below fifty percent, stop attacking. That thing will take your own life to fuel its attacks if you're in danger."
"Why?" Josh asked. "You said it yourself...Soul Eater and Vampiric Touch cancel each other out."
"Oh, right," Aravan replied, embarrassed. "I'm so dumb. Either way, I'd avoid relying on that power too much. We don't know a lot about it yet."
In the Seaside Palace and Akrasan Palace combined, the only enemy that Josh's new blade wasn't effective against was the angel. With everything else corrupted by banewasp poison, the light side of the sword was a boon, often incapacitating his enemies with a single blow. A staircase greeted them at the end of the east hallway running north. At the top was another hallway that led to a door labeled "Armory". Eron poked his head around the corner, then told his allies that the coast was clear. The moment he stepped around the corner, he heard the tile beneath him click. He triggered the release of a poisonous gas that putrefied the skin of everyone but Shalin, who wasn't exposed to enough of it by the time it started dispersing out the windows and into the atmosphere. The afflicted four found themselves on their knees.
"Dammit!" Aravan coughed. "It's a putrefying gas trap! Do none of us have the ability to detect traps?"
"I do," Ace gasped trying to reply, "but I didn't think there would be any here..."
Shalin began casting Refresh to purify her friends' bodies of the poison after they crawled into the next room. She felt drained after having to repeat the spell four times, once for each of her allies. Ace led the party into the labeled door, and as expected, it was an armory. Twelve suits of armor, arranged neatly in a four-by-three array, dotted the chamber. When instructed by Aravan, Ace looked for traps, and there were a lot of them. Many of them placed on tiles where paths between suits of armor intersected, it effectively formed a maze.
The party mimicked Ace's every step as he guided them around the traps. When he reached the opposite corner of the chamber, he pressed a wall tile that was a slightly different shade of blue. A section of the wall receded, revealing a staircase that spiraled counterclockwise. They could hear just how windy it was higher up.
On the top level, there appeared to be a bedroom. Next to the bed was a treasure chest. Ace checked the room and chest for traps, and found none. He opened the chest, and inside was a key, presumably to the door back on the first level. The party carefully retraced their steps and opened the door. On the other side of the door was what appeared to be an antechamber to the king's throne room. To their dismay, the door leading there was also locked. Having no choice, Josh and Ace led the group back to the main entrance and down the other side.
They found the left side to be a mirror image of the right in terms of structure. Even the traps placed in the storage room were mirroring the ones in the armory. That knowledge at their disposal, they were able to avoid the rest of the castle's traps and find the key to the second door.
When they slammed open the doors to the king's chamber, they encountered a pleasant surprise: there was no angel waiting to kill them. Instead, they found a trio of guards protecting another of Bant's monarchs. The guards approached them, then sheathed their weapons when they discovered their flesh was clean. "We've covered every square inch of this castle and cleaned all the monsters and corrupted soldiers out of here," Eron reported. "Your team will have a hell of a time disarming all the traps they've set in this place, but other than that, the castle is safe."
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
CHAPTER 7-3: Divine Blessings
Music Track: Dark World //Koji Kondo
Album: Zelda: A Link to the Past
"Two down, two to go," Shalin announced as her swift feline led the group south.
"Look," Josh pointed up. All five of them turned their heads to the sky, seeing that the sun's rays started to break through the storm clouds over north and east Bant. Eron even caught a glimpse of an angel descending through a gap in them. "Things are looking up for once!" Shalin and Ace laughed at the knight's unintended pun.
"So, what's our next target?" Aravan asked. "There are two castles in enemy hands still."
"The castle on the southern Eos-Valeron border, without question," Eron answered with confidence. "One, it's closer. Two, I know this place like it's a second home. I've been in there so many times, I lost count a couple years ago. Compared to the Seaside Palace, it's not large at all."
"I've been in there a number of times, as well," Josh added. "I may not know every square inch of the castle like Eron, but I also know exactly how to get to the throne room. From the guest room hallway, there is a door leading to a second hallway. On the other side of that hallway is a staircase leading to an antechamber. Past that is the throne room."
"Yes, but I'd like to check on the king first. If it's anything like the Seaside Palace, they're in lockdown somewhere. From the research we did while we were in Esper, these last two castles would have had more time to ready themselves for the invasion, given how far west they are located. The most likely place to be used as a lockdown would be the war room on the lower level. I've been in that room so many times that I know exactly where the secret passage is."
"It appears that we are well armed," Aravan chimed in, "both with arms and knowledge. Shall we?" The riders urged their mounts to higher speeds with the castle in sight.
--------------
Music Track: Hyrule Castle //Koji Kondo
Album: Zelda: A Link to the Past
The moment Ace barged open the front doors of the castle, he was greeted by a myriad of wolves, birds of prey, and other mundane animals. Two of them bit his legs just as he was finishing casting a spell. "Rain a thousand flames upon my opposition! Volcanic Fallout!" The Jundian's friends stood outside as fire and brimstone fell from the ceiling, all of the hostile animals surrounding him falling from the intense flames. Once the rain subsided, Shalin and Eron flooded the room with weapon fire, knocking the three rangers off the balcony and taking chandeliers down with them.
"This way!" Eron shouted over the sound of crackling flames burning away window covers and rugs. He led them straight ahead, then turned right, down a staircase.
"Is this a dead end?" Ace asked. The dim, torch-lit corridor appeared to lead nowhere.
"Four torches right of center on the right side," he recalled aloud, counting in his head as he led the way down the hall. After confirming his distance, he pressed a slightly discolored brick on the wall, and a section of it receded into the ground. The secret passage led down more stairs. At the bottom of this staircase, they were greeted by an angel with her sword drawn, but she sheathed it when a voice instructed her to do so. The voice was from the king. His chief advisor and many of his family members were in the war room with him.
"Your Majesty, I have returned," Josh said as he bowed.
"It is nice to see you, but we should skip the formalities. As you have seen, we have a crisis on our hands. I am just relieved you found the lockdown before any of those brainwashed troops did!"
"Leave it to me to remember the small details," Eron half-joked. "Josh and I owe you an explanation, but first we have a crisis to avert, like you've been saying. These three foreigners are here to drive these invaders out of the castle. We've already averted a crisis in Akrasa, and we've liberated the Seaside Palace. A similar fate has unfortunately befell Valeron, but we are headed there after we make sure this castle is safe. Anything you can tell us?"
"A fallen angel has taken over the throne room on the third floor. The fastest way to get there is the stairs opposite the guest rooms on the second floor. You shouldn't encounter a lot of resistance, but be prepared for anything."
"Nothing more than the usual. We'll let you know when it's safe."
--------------
Two more rangers ambushed the party after they reached the stairs leading to the second floor hallway. Ace defeated all of their summons with a second casting of Volcanic Fallout, Aravan giving him a scowl afterward. "Ace, why are you so reckless with your mana? You know there's an angel to fight in the throne room!"
"Fighting so many things at once would be an annoyance. It's the best way to take out large groups, and you know it. Besides, unused mana just goes to waste--needs to be used sometime."
"I'm aware of that, but it's good practice to keep an emergency reserve of mana on hand, just in case." Nothing else jumped out to attack them on their way to the third floor stairs. Shalin readied a spell as she poked her head around the hall at the top of the stairs. She let loose a fierce windstorm, knocking the far door off its hinges and blowing the ranger guards off their feet. Josh and Ace took no time finishing them off before they could get back up.
"This is the antechamber," Eron said to the party as he opened the last remaining door on their side of the top floor. "We're going to be fighting another angel, but we should be at an advantage because we know how to fight them. Aravan, Shalin, ready spells. On three, I'm going to open the door.
"Right," the four of them replied. Ace and Josh readied their weapons while mana bubbled around Shalin's and Aravan's hands.
"One...two...three!" On "three", the doors flung open, revealing the corpses of dead guards and advisers as well as their opponent. She was a fallen angel like the one they had encountered before. However, there were major differences. Her sword was a regular angelic one instead of a two-toned elemental blade, and Josh had such a sword in his hand. This made her much less threatening than the previous angel. It took some time, but the party defeated her without Eron having to revive anyone at all.
--------------
Music Track: Majestic Kingdom //Dennis Martin
Album: The Legend of Dragoon OST
"Josh and Eron, I feel so ashamed of myself," the crowned king of Eos apologized after taking his throne once more. "To think that the very people I exiled from Bant would be the ones to save us in our time of need. I somehow feel that reinstating your citizenship is not great enough of a reward. You risked everything you had to save the nation."
"Don't be silly," Eron humbly replied. "Without Ace's help, we wouldn't have gotten past the front door. All four of my friends each played a vital part in driving Sedris' army out of Bant. Besides, you know I am loyal to Eos' ranger guild. Clearly, it was in my best interest, regardless of who was helping me."
"On another note, Your Majesty," Josh interrupted, "I'm going to have a hell of a report to send to the Knights of the Reliquary after this whole thing's over. I've been taking notes of everything I've seen across Alara. Pre-Sundering Alara must have been a fascinating world, and I've been seeing bits and pieces of it with every new land I enter."
As the clouds cleared, a bright light filled the room. "Never has sunlight been so refreshing," the king breathed a sigh of relief.
"So what exactly happened while we were in Esper?" Eron asked.
"The lightning clouds came in overnight, the night after you left for Jhess. They started covering Valeron and Akrasa first, and expanded inland. With them came subjects of necromancy, bearing a striking resemblance to what the legends told us. Their magic infested and brainwashed our people, and they outnumbered those who resisted the spell. Retreat being the only option, I gathered all the royal family we still had left as well as my best advisers and an angel, and we hid in the war room downstairs. I'm surprised you remembered exactly where the secret entrance was."
"You know that we're trained to pay attention to small details like that."
"Even so."
"Bant is free from Sedris' tyranny," Josh changed the subject, "but Naya and Jund are still most likely under these storm clouds, and are being infested as we speak. We can only hope that Esper's mages can fend off the invasion, but I fear it is only a matter of time before they fall. Have you received any word from Valeron--"
Just then, a pair of messenger angels flew in through the broken stained-glass window on the north side of the room. "We bring great news to all of you," they said. "Because the efforts of Josh, Eron, and these three foreigners, we have been able to break through the storm wracking Bant's skies, and have taken back Castle Valeron without trouble. The unnatural clouds above Valeron are dissipating as we speak, and Bant should return to the way it has been since the Sundering."
"Well, that's one job we don't have to do," Aravan said.
"That's the best news I've heard in months," Shalin added. "I think we're making headway!"
"For your efforts in restoring peace to Bant, Asha herself would like to bestow a great blessing upon Josh and Eron." Using their bright swords, they cleared away the broken glass at the bottom of the window frame. "We are taking them to the Cathedral of Bliss. We shouldn't be very long." Stronger than they looked, they picked up the knight and ranger, then carried them through the window frame. Everyone watching was in disbelief at how much elevation the angels gained with each flap of their white wings.
--------------
Music Track: The Elemental Stars //Motoi Sakuraba
Album: Golden Sun OST
Josh and Eron couldn't believe it. The Cathedral was beautiful beyond their wildest dreams. Hidden above the highest clouds, it was a floating, golden sanctuary. The magic of hundreds of sigils was the only thing keeping it aloft. The two angels dropped them off at the entrance. Inside were statues of many nobles of the world below, presumably of the few who ascended to become angels themselves. They were led upstairs to a sunlit chamber, reflections off the golden surfaces nearly blinding both of them.
In the center of the chamber was the grand archangel Asha. She stood taller than any human the two of them had ever seen, and more sigils than they had ever seen in their lives graced her gigantic sword sheath and what little armor she wore. Her golden-hued robe dragged on the ground, and her wingspan was nearly the length of the chamber. Everyone in the room, even the other angels, bowed out of respect for her. "Josh, Eron, arise," she began, "for you have become the salvation of Bant. Without your help, we would not have been able to liberate Valeron from Sedris' undead army. As such, you shall be rewarded for your deeds."
"If we may," Josh started to ask, "could we have a word with you about the history of Alara first?"
"Certainly."
"As I'm sure you know by now, we have traveled all of Alara, and we have visited Sharuum. That name should ring a bell to you, since she mentioned you."
"Yes, we go back a long time," the seemingly ageless angel replied. "All the way back to pre-Sundering Alara. A much more peaceful Alara. Of course, that was when Malfegor rose to power. I did everything I could to destroy him. However, I judged that even though I had the power to defeat him, unleashing my full power on him would endanger far too many lives. Instead, I delivered a blow that would equal his. Instead of endangering all of Alara besides Bant, our clashing blows annihilated just Vithia. I feel sorry for those who lost their lives back then, but it was necessary to preserve justice and order in the world."
"Just as the legend says."
"Before Alara's mana bonds were severed and the world was Sundered, I made a pact with four others. Those four were Sedris, Sharuum, and a certain Nayan and Jundian that are now deceased. The pact should rest with their descendants."
"Sharuum has told us that those people are Mayael and Kresh. Is there anything you can tell us about them?"
"They have not left their homelands, but that is all I can tell you. Was there anything else you two wanted to know about?"
"I can't think of anything else. What about you, Eron?"
"Nothing," he replied.
"Now I shall bestow my great blessing upon both of you," Asha continued. "Eron, step forward." In silence, he complied with her request. "I bestow on you one of the most sacred sigils in all of Bant. It is the Sigil of Flight's Wings; cherish it well." As Eron clutched the golden medallion, large wings white as snow grew on the backs of his shoulders. The bow on his back as well as his stock of arrows became similar in color.
Josh's mouth was wide open. "Look at yourself...!" was all he could say to his friend. Neither of them could believe it--she had transformed Eron into an angel!
"Because you are not of the Blessed caste, I cannot transform you into a true angel. However, the Sigil of Flight's Wings will give you the ability to fly with the speed and maneuverability of one. I have also given you the ability to fire blessed arrows from your bow. The light of justice they bear shall smite evil." Eron was speechless. Even among Blessed, this was a rarity. "Now, Josh, come forward to receive the Sigil of Flight's Wings. Eron, return to your position."
"You're making me an angel, too?" he asked, lost in mixed emotions.
"Because of the armor you wear, I cannot make you an angel; flying would be too difficult. However, I can grant you the ability to fly with a different method." Asha folded her hands in prayer, and the ceiling of the cathedral receded. The top level was completely exposed to sunlight. A few seconds later, everyone present heard the shrill cry of what sounded like a falcon. A multicolored blur looped around the sanctuary once, then made a landing next to Josh.
Neither of them could bring themselves to say anything. The strikingly gorgeous bird of prey was bigger than any bird either of them had seen; it was larger than either of them. Its plumage was colored the same as the flag of Bant; white on its underside, green around its head and neck, and blue everywhere else. Josh touched the golden-hued saddle and found it to be made of a material more comfortable than anything ever used for that purpose, yet it was sturdy and secure enough that falling off was near impossible. "Is this...?" the knight trailed off.
"This is the sacred, legendary bird of unparalleled grace and speed across all of Bant. This is the Halcou, and it is the origin of the name of the martial arts passed down for centuries. With the Sigils of Flight's Wings you bear, you two should be able to travel anywhere in the world quickly. Now, both of you, fly down to the world below, and tell your fellow heroes that Alara's salvation is renewed!"
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Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Music Track: Majestic Kingdom //Dennis Martin
Album: The Legend of Dragoon OST
"Morning," Josh greeted Eron after a good night's sleep in the castle at Eos.
"Ow," the ranger winced as he stretched getting out of bed. "I think I slept on one of my wings last night...my back aches a little. I had no idea having wings was such a pain at times."
Josh couldn't help but chuckle a little. The two of them got dressed and headed to one of the castle's dining rooms, meeting the rest of the party for breakfast. "Even after a day, I still can't believe you can fly, Eron!" Shalin smiled. "I'm jealous!"
"And I had always thought the only creatures capable of flight were the dragons," Ace added. "It makes me wonder if you could take on a dragon now, Eron!"
"Maybe," he humbly answered. "Not alone, but with your help, maybe. I'm just happy Asha blessed us with such great gifts...especially taking into consideration that neither of us are members of the Blessed caste."
"So, what did you two find?" Aravan asked.
"We flew to Valeron and back, and Bant is completely clean," Josh answered. "We saw Grixis' storm clouds above Naya, and the jungle wasn't exactly in the best of shape. We could see through the canopy, and that isn't a good thing."
"What kind of condition were the trees in?" Shalin asked.
"We couldn't tell from up there, but it wasn't as bright of a green as the trees in the forest around here. And the Nayan jungles were far more vivid."
"That means Naya should be the next land we travel to," Eron suggested. "We need to figure out what's wrong, and fix it."
"Our first stop should be the village of Nakai," Josh continued. "That is one of the few places around there that people know us at. It's just a few miles past the border."
"That matca village?" Shalin asked.
"That's the one."
"You know humans and elves are at odds, Josh. They won't allow me to enter. If anything, I'd be happy if they let me out of their sight without torturing me."
"We'll be able to convince them. I'll just say that I'll take full responsibility if you do something bad."
"I hope you're right."
"Anyway, once the food's here, we'll eat, then go back into town to restock on rations and other supplies. How are you and Eron doing on ammunition?"
"Never hurts to buy more anyway," the ranger replied. "Once we leave Bant, I doubt we'll be hitting any place that would be willing to sell us arrows anyway. From the looks of it, Naya's in big trouble. The ecology as they know it could be in danger of falling apart, depending on exactly how bad their situation is."
"Then we leave at the time we agreed upon before."
--------------
Music Track: Dark Mountain Forest //Koji Kondo
Album: Zelda: A Link to the Past
"My god..." Shalin gasped as she crossed the border into her homeland. The dense canopy of Naya that normally let very little light touch the jungle floor was no longer the vibrant green she had known for over eighty years. It would be considered healthy by any ecological standard except Naya's former self. For the first time ever, she could see the sky above, and it wasn't one she wanted to see. Flashes of lightning erupted periodically, followed almost immediately by rumbles of thunder.
The larger holes in the canopy looked like they were caused by lightning bolts seemingly cleaving trees in half. At times, they couldn't tell the difference between the rumbles of thunder and the rumbles of a Gargantuan's footsteps. The only benefit to the condition of the jungle was improved visibility.
Aravan stayed as close to the center of the group as possible, Naya being the exact opposite of his homeland. The very elements that the high arcanists, scholars, and other mages had tamed to their whims ran completely free here. He flinched when he saw a group of five wasps larger than the size of his fist emerge from a bloodthorn bush that looked just as vibrant as before. Just as one was about to sting him, Eron put a holy arrow straight through its abdomen. The creature literally exploded, Asha's sacred light eating its skin away before a significant amount of poison could be released. Shalin lit the other four stinging insects on fire with the Pyroclasm spell Ace taught her. With their wings burned away, stabbing the foes to death felt like a formality.
The walk south was even more treacherous than their first trip through Naya, seemingly every wild creature attacking them on sight. After hacking and slashing their way through the onslaught, they finally found Nakai again, still protected by healthy bloodthorn bushes. Three drumhunters inspected them, then sent the message that they were clear to enter.
"It's been so long since I've been in a human village in Naya," Shalin said. "I almost forgot what they looked like."
"What happened there?" Eron pointed to the smoldering remains of a building.
"Someone's house got struck by lightning. Ever since those strange clouds came in, weird things have been happening. Plant life isn't as vibrant as it used to be, and the Whitecover doesn't protect our village at night anymore. Aisha will tell you all the details. She's still in the same house. She should be happy to see a couple of familiar faces." After nodding their heads in agreement, the warriors led the party to the village shaman.
--------------
"Josh, it's been months!" Aisha greeted him. "Who are these people?'
"You don't recognize my friend Eron as well?" he replied.
"Wait a second..." She ended up pausing for almost thirty seconds. "It is Eron! But you have wings..."
"It's a long story--"
"I don't mind. Besides, I'm sure you'll introduce your other friends in the process."
"Alright, I'll start from after we left, then. It's been so long. After we left Nakai, we found this elven girl, Shalin, and she explained why the elves didn't get along with humans. Some outside force had spread a strange, parasitic form of life all across southern Naya. Naturally, they blamed humans for it because that was the only other form of intelligent life they knew besides leonin. And leonin didn't have the technology to produce something like that. It had even gotten inside the Sacellum and turned a Gargantuan into a frenzy. We had to fight it and unfortunately kill it, but we stopped the plague from spreading. Then the elves ran us out of Naya, across the mountains into Jund."
"I've heard about that land from scouts--everything there wants to eat you."
"Yeah--we were almost eaten on multiple occasions. There, we met Ace--he's the muscular man behind me. Then we searched for clues about the source of the parasites, and that led us into the corrosive, unhealthy land of Grixis. That is definitely where the parasite came from, as we saw humans and miscellaneous other animals that, due to the disease, were neither among the living nor the dead. I'm not exactly sure how that works, as we've seen two elves die to this disease before."
"So this virus is eventually fatal?"
"We're not sure, but it does kill victims from time to time, at the least. Anyway, we found that Sedris, a former Vithian king, was using the plague to get the other regions off their feet so that his undead army could take over all of Alara. We had no choice but to retreat back to Bant. After regrouping there, we headed across the ocean to Esper, and met Aravan back there. His world is pretty much the opposite of yours...they've tamed pretty much every force of nature there."
"No wonder he looks like he's made out of the steel of a sword."
"We eventually figured out Sedris' intentions, and returned to Bant. The place was covered under the same clouds that are above our heads as we speak. We cleaned out every castle that the enemy was using as a stronghold, and Asha, the ruler of the angels, made me an angel herself. That's why I can fly. So now we're pretty much retracing our steps across Alara, trying to figure out ways to drive the worldwide invasion back. Anything you can do to help us, Aisha? Any information would be welcome."
"If there is some form of 'corruption' of life, as you call it, it's spread all over Naya. Some of us have a resistance to it apparently, but we've lost a few warriors to it, and we've had to fertilize and water the bloodthorn bushes just to keep them alive. Because of the disease, hunting for food has become very hard. We have a large reserve of food, but it will run out eventually. A greater concern is fresh water. The only dewcup that holds fresh water is a long way from here, and travel has become more dangerous by the day. The elves, having revered the Gargantuans before, are now slave-drivers of them. They use them as powerful steeds and run over those who resist. They're mistreated, and any resistance the beasts put up is quickly quenched."
"What?!" Shalin shouted. "They detested and persecuted me for that reason, and I controlled my Gargantuan companion through trust alone! How could they?!"
"Every liana leading anywhere near a human village has been cut off. Even if we were to mount a resistance force, we would have to travel through too much enemy territory just to get into the treetops."
"That's not a problem. Being an elf, I know a back way in, and it leads almost directly to the palace. Unfortunately, it's a real back road that's dangerous even when you don't have Sacellum archers breathing down your throat."
"Then it's hopeless. We have lost the war with the elves."
"Not yet you haven't," Shalin smiled. "These four here have more combat experience than your best warriors do, and they can--" She was interrupted by an agonizing scream from another room. Without saying a word, Aisha ran into the back room of the house, and the others followed.
Music Track: Prepare for Battle //Dennis Martin
Album: Legend of Dragoon OST
The source of the scream was a strange-looking girl laying on a bed. Her arms were festering, blood seeping out of multiple cuts. The red ooze tainted the coat of leaves and green flowers she wore, the hood of the coat decorated with white and red flowers. Shalin gasped. "Help me, Shalin!" Eron shouted. "She'll die if we don't do something!" The two of them knelt down and began casting spells of healing. "Answer the prayers of the battle-scarred! Asha's Blessing!" A column of white, healing light enveloped the elf. Five seconds after it faded, her skin began bleeding again, still festering as before. "Dammit! Why didn't it do anything?!"
"Purify this crippled body and mind! Refresh!" Shalin cried. A similar column of light fell upon the girl, this one green. As Shalin put her heart into the spell, the light grew more brightly. Slowly but surely, the festering skin began to look normal, allowing Eron's healing magic to take effect. After seeing the elf's skin return to normal, Shalin collapsed, but she was still conscious.
(Silence Music Track)
Her skin returned to normal, the girl finally opened her eyes. "Thank you, Eron and Shalin, for saving me."
"What...?" Eron gasped. "How do you know my name?"
"I believe we first met at the bottom of the Sacellum, where you stopped the spread of the banewasp virus through Naya. My name is Mayael."
"Wait, what...?" Shalin asked in a weak voice, still on the ground, lying on her back.
"Thank you for saving the forest of Naya from the calamity caused by the Mending," she began.
"The Anima?" Shalin gasped. "Where are you?" The others felt refreshed as well.
"Now is not the time. It isn't just Naya; the entire world is suffering from calamities caused by the Mending. The vile creatures causing the decay of the forest emerged from a land to the east of the last Nacatl fortress, Qasal. In order to stop this event from repeating itself, you must head past there. There used to be nothing past the mountains, but the Mending has caused them to merge with a land where survival of the fittest is the law of the land. Go back up through the Sacellum and head east. I wish you luck."
"Where are you?" Shalin asked again as the spirit faded away. "She's gone..."
"At least we're not completely clueless," Eron pointed out.
"Mayael, the Anima of Naya?" Shalin asked, confused. The fact that her head hurt from the heroic effort she put into her healing spell didn't help her in understanding what was going on.
--------------
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Music Track: Seeking Power //Hitoshi Sakimoto
Album: Final Fantasy XII OST
"So, Shalin, you are conscious again," Mayael said as the elven girl opened her eyes. "You were out for almost an hour. I owe you my life. Thank you."
"Sharuum told us that you are one of the guardians of Alara," Aravan said. "Is that true?"
"That is true. I am one of six guardians that protect the source of Alara's abundant mana, located deep within the Maelstrom."
"The Maelstrom?" Shalin asked, still dizzy from being out cold for so long.
"When Alara was Sundered, five powerful people were chosen by the gods to guard the secrets of the Maelstrom, should the five worlds Mend. Soon after the worlds came back together, Malfegor, the guardian from Grixis, somehow shared his powers with Sedris; now, both of them keep watch over it."
"What exactly is the Maelstrom, though?" she continued asking.
"When the worlds came together, the borders of the five worlds overlapped, and relatively small areas of each world seemed to disappear. Shalin, this is the reason why there is now very little on the west side of the Valley of the Ancients, and why the kingdom of Qasal is so much smaller than it used to be. Each of those missing segments is now present in the Maelstrom. All five colors of mana are so abundant there that the sky glows in those colors. And in the center of the Maelstrom lies the Progeny--the being that regulates the balance of mana in all of Alara. It's said to be at least as powerful as a god."
"No wonder Sharuum didn't talk about the Maelstrom, even when I asked her," Aravan replied. "If someone were to be able to harness the power behind all that mana..."
"That one could destroy the world many times over. That is exactly why the Maelstrom has been such a closely guarded secret. But even if someone knew, he would need one of the guardians to open the way for him."
"What if Sedris gets his hands on this power?" Josh asked. "He could use it to shape the life of Alara to his own plans!"
"Sedris may be powerful, but he isn't that powerful. Besides, his own body and soul could not handle the white mana he would need to work with in the process, because he is undead. No one is going to abuse the power of the Maelstrom in our lifetimes, I assure you."
"So, what's this back way you've been talking about, Shalin?" Ace abruptly changed the subject?"
"There are two ways into the Valley of the Ancients," Shalin answered. "Both can normally only be accessed by elves, especially given the animosity between themselves and humans. The first way is through the Elven Palace--"
"All of the lianas near the palace and the ones near human settlements have been severed," Mayael interrupted. "Plus, trying to barge right through their front door would be suicide. They'd fill us with arrows and bolts before we could even make it in. I know; the Scattershot Archers all trained under me."
"Which leads into the other way to get in. At the bottom of the Sacellum is a second entrance to the Valley of the Ancients. The palace and valley are connected by a liana totally off the network. That road is the key to this whole thing. We're going to enter the palace from the back door. We go to the bottom of the Sacellum, through the Valley, and up to the back door. No one would ever suspect it."
"It's a daring plan, Shalin, but it's better than anything I can come up with. The corruption has spread outward from the palace, meaning its source has to be somewhere inside."
"Wish us the best of luck tomorrow, Mayael," Josh said, waving for the party to leave to get some rest.
"I'm coming with you."
"You sure? This is going to be a dangerous operation, and you could get killed easily."
"Being the Anima, I visit the palace more often than any place except the Sacellum itself. I know every room in the palace well. Once we know where the source of the corruption is, I can get you there in the shortest amount of time possible. Plus, not all of the Gargantuans are corrupted. I can still show Shalin a thing or two that could help her be a better godtoucher."
"That's a good enough reason to let you come along. Alright, we'll come get you tomorrow morning." Mayael waved to the travelers as they left to find a place to sleep for the night.
--------------
Music Track: Illusionary World //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy IV OST
The next morning, the six of them met in the most open place they could find near the town--a clearing near the matca stadium. "Shalin," Mayael began, "since you will be traveling all over a dangerous world, I will grant you the ability to summon some of the greater Gargantuans that roam Naya. Though most of them are in the hands of the dark elves, I have managed to keep a few safe from the corruption. There are three I'd like to share with you in particular." At that, she dropped to her knees and closed her eyes.
Everyone gasped in awe at the display of magic Mayael showed; even Shalin had never seen mana that concentrated in her entire life. The glowing streams of red, green, and white branched off in three different directions, each opening a gate to the aether. Out one portal came a brown, dinosaur-like beast that towered almost all the way to the tree branches fifteen feet above them. Though it had the shape of an herbivorous dinosaur, the mouth full of sharp teeth was indicative that it was a carnivore. Out the second came a very muscular, red beast with the biggest, sharpest claws any of them had seen before. Even dragon's claws were smaller than these. Shalin was the only one not taken aback by Mayael's ability to command such colossal beasts.
Out the final portal was a beast a couple feet shorter than the other two, but thirteen feet was nothing to scoff at. The bone-like mask on its forehead looked near impenetrable, and its paws were much larger than those of either of the other two behemoths. "These are greater Gargantuans that specialize in one capability," Mayael explained. She started pointing to the beasts in the order she brought them out. "We call this the Spearbreaker, named because it broke in half the spears of the drumhunters who tried to hunt it. Its hide is virtually indestructible, making it an excellent defender."
"You're letting me command this?" Shalin asked.
"I wouldn't if I didn't trust you. Besides, you've come a long way since I first initiated you." Mayael pointed to the next creature. "This is the Rakeclaw, feared for its powerful slashing attacks. But it should be feared for another reason--this Gargantuan is extremely fleet of foot."
"Even more than the Cliffrunner?"
"Yes; the Rakeclaw is the fastest Gargantuan on Naya. If something aggravates it, there is no getting away from it. Now, for the last one, the Meglonoth. It can make brutal charging attacks when it lowers its head, and it can stomp things virtually out of existence. They are all going to be useful in certain situations, but the Meglonoth is your best means of attack. Shalin, the art of bringing forth these creatures has been bestowed on you; I hope you never abuse it."
"I thought you trusted me?" Shalin asked, confused.
"I do. I just hope something never drives you to abuse this power." Mayael walked next to the Spearbreaker's hind legs, and all of them could feel a slight tremor when it sat down. "While they're here, though," she said as she started climbing up its back, "we can use them to ensure safe passage to the Sacellum."
"We're going to ride those things?!" Aravan gasped. "They don't look at all safe!"
"Then climb up with me, Aravan. This one has the least vigorous motion." As soon as Ace went for the Rakeclaw, Shalin was forced to go with him to ensure the beast wouldn't become reckless. That left Josh and Eron to find a place on the Meglonoth's furry back.
"Come on, Shalin," Ace whined, "I wanna see how fast it is!"
"Ace, I promise you," Shalin sighed, "Once our mission is over, you can race across the vast fields of Bant, as fast as it can carry you."
"Enough bickering," Mayael had to shout for everyone to clearly hear. "We leave for the Sacellum now."
--------------
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
CHAPTER 8-3: The Back Way In
Aravan and Ace slid off their mounts, dizzy from the vigorous motion the Gargantuans exhibited even when walking. The other four followed, Shalin making sure both of them were alright before recalling her new beasts back into the aether.
"The plan worked exactly as I hoped," Mayael said. "If we had come here on foot, the elves would have shot us down." The dewcup next to the Sacellum had dried up completely, the plant life completely wilted in places. Loud blasts of thunder echoed in the skies above, the two Nayans holding back their fear as best they could. "Let's go."
Music Track: Dark World Dungeon //Koji Kondo
Album: Zelda: A Link to the Part
The inside of the Sacellum hadn't changed much. Josh and Ace rotated the religious statue at the back in the same way as last time, opening the road into the depths of the temple. Immediately after turning the corner at the bottom of the staircase, several scarlet wasps and a pair of Jundian slimes began attacking the party from the left. The toxic stingers perforated both of the angel's arms, and Aravan's flesh became covered in an acidic coat for a few seconds. "Become buried in an arctic prison! Icefall!" the Esperite cried, cringing from the pain of the ambush. A hunk of ice dropped on one of the slimes, and a large piece of shrapnel from the impact froze the other. Josh and Ace cleaned up the mess with their weapons, shattering the amorphous organisms into many pieces.
Shalin cast the Pyroclasm spell Ace had taught her during their past stay, and it seemed to be more potent than the Jundian's equivalent. All four of the wasps had been lit on fire, but their wings refused to burn. Eron shot an arrow through the head of one of them, but could do nothing to stop the other three from making suicide blows on everyone else except Aravan and Mayael. Just a few steps in, the party was already starting to look like swiss cheese. "They're not summoned monsters," Shalin sighed, seeing their corpses were still present. "Why are they so aggressive? I've never seen any wild creature attack anything on sight, even if it knows it'll lose."
"I'm detecting a strange form of magic inside the corpses," Aravan answered, "and a stronger form of that magic farther down this passage. The banewasp poison does induce aggression, yes, but this magic seems to be magnifying that state of aggression."
"We do have one advantage, though. I've been in here before, so I know how this place is structured. Plus I know a shortcut, but it requires Josh's help."
"Why mine?" the knight asked. He pondered for a few seconds. "Oh, that big room with the statues! We could use the halcou to almost completely bypass it!"
"Not all of us put 35 skill points into Ride," Aravan groaned. "What if one of you rolls a one?"
"I still think it'll be worth a shot. Anyway, if memory serves, we don't have to worry about that until two more floors down."
As they rounded the next corner, they ran into another group of scarlet wasps. Aravan's ability to detect magic served them well, Shalin and Ace able to roast them with Pyroclasm and Sizzle spells from around the corner. All that remained were four smoldering corpses.
Down the stairs at the end of the winding hallway they went. "Oh, this room," Shalin said. "We could use Josh's halcou to fly over that huge pile of rubble!"
"The question to Josh is," Aravan added, "is a shortcut like this worth expending the 70 mana points necessary for its summon?"
"I believe so," Josh replied, then dropped to his knees. He projected an image of the Cathedral of Bliss on the east wall, and the fabled, holy bird of prey came through it and into the dungeon. He led the party into the most open place in the room, then jumped onto the bird's back. It effortlessly lifted him into the air, then ferried him across the room. Once he was on the other side of the rubble, he slid off and let the bird land next to Aravan.
Eron simply flew to the top of the rubble, finding the most stable place to stand on it. "About time my ability to fly becomes useful!" he semi-joked. "If anything tries to attack us while we're flying over this, I'll shoot it." The legendary bird flew back and forth over the ruined statues, carrying Ace, Shalin, Mayael, and Aravan over, one at a time.
As soon as they opened the west door, a blob of acidic slime lunged at Ace, who was leading the party. The amorphous life-form hit him so hard that he toppled Josh and Aravan over like dominoes. Eron wasted no time blasting it with the strongest surge of light he could produce, dazing it long enough for Ace to get up and incinerate it with the first spell that came to mind.
The next level down was, as Shalin recalled, the statue room. Josh's halcou began ferrying the party across a large gap in the catwalks. It carried him to safety first, then Shalin, then Mayael, then Ace. Just as the bird jumped off the ledge when it was ferrying Aravan, he slipped and fell all the way to the bottom of the chamber, scraping a narrow ledge and one of the Gargantuan statues on the way down.
"Aravan!!" Eron cried, then dove to the bottom level of the statue room. He was bleeding heavily, but was still conscious. "Answer the prayers of the battle-scarred! Asha's Blessing!" Just as the winged ranger had completed his spell, a zombie elf struck his head from behind, and he collapsed. Once his wounds had finished closing, Aravan mustered the strength to stand back up. "Freeze right where you are! Time Stop!" he cried. The zombie elf's body stopped moving; it was in suspended animation. It wouldn't last long, but it was long enough for Aravan to drag his friend to the staircase near the north wall. By the time his spell wore off, Eron was on his feet, and had already prepared to cast Chastise on the fallen denizen of the forest.
Eron and Aravan made the long walk back to the top of the catwalks, this time the winged Bantian carrying his friend across the gap. "So much for taking shortcuts," he sighed, panting from having to lift another human.
"It's better than going across a monster-infested floor like the one below," Shalin said. She led the group down the long stairway leading all the way to the ground level. The gigantic chamber hadn't changed much--it was still dimly lit, but no Gargantuan remains were there anymore. The hallway leading outside was wide open, just as when they had defeated the fell beast months ago. "I do have one question, though. Was it really you who appeared to us here?"
"Yes," Mayael answered. "It still makes me wonder why elves had to defile a place they used to worship in...even though they are tied to Sedris now. Speaking of which, Eron, why did you kill that elf? You didn't have to."
"If any elves find out we're here, that would jeopardize the entire operation," he replied. "They'd notify their buddies in the palace, and we'd be staring down an army. We may be powerful, but we'd lose to that many of them."
"We really are peace-loving people, but we defend our gods and territory like any other civilization would. It's the same with humans, viashino, and all the races of Alara. If Alara wasn't in such a state of chaos right now, none of this would have happened."
Shalin led the way out of the Sacellum and into the Valley of the Ancients. It was biologically and climatically much the same as the rest of the Nayan wilds, except separated from the rest of the jungle by a steep cliff. "Alright, the easiest way to get to the palace from here would be riding on Gargantuans again. These kinds of beasts pass through the valley regularly, so we wouldn't be noticed."
"On the contrary," Mayael began replying, "the Keepers of Progenitus, a special order of elvish epicists that speak directly to me, watch over the valley constantly. They would notice us riding on our beasts. Shalin, do you have anything smaller to ride on?"
"Not enough to support all six of us."
"Then we'll just have to walk to the palace and hope we don't run into any roaming Gargantuans."
Shalin and Mayael led the group along the base of the cliff, heading north to the palace. A Gargantuan or two stomped past them along the way, but it didn't even notice they were there. The only threat they walked past was a single crimson wasp hive, but they were able to pass by with no trouble.
Three miles later, Shalin caught sight of the liana that led to the treetops. She led the party upward, and the palace quickly came into sight. Made almost entirely out of natural materials, it was built straight into the trees. Taken aback by how beautiful it was, she only wondered what it looked like from the front. "We're here," Mayael said, stopping the group in front of the back door.
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Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
CHAPTER 8-4: Stealthy Snoop
Music Track: Tank Hangar //Konami
Album: Metal Gear Solid
"The greenhouse looks unguarded," Mayael reported after a few quick observations. Shalin quietly opened the back door. The entire palace appeared to be built right into the underlying jungle structure. Various forms of exotic plant life were being grown in the gardens dotting not only the greenhouse, but in what little of the south room they could see upon their entry.
"Even corrupted by Grixis' banewasp curse, they still make sure their own home is vivid with Naya's vibrant life," Shalin noted aloud. "Who's going to scout ahead?"
"More importantly, who has the highest Move Silently modifier?" Aravan asked. "Let me look at your character sheets." He paused to evaluate the abilities as written. "Eron, that would be you."
"My wings would stick out so badly in this place--it's fairly dark and they're white as a midday cloud!"
"That doesn't affect your--oh, right," he grimaced in embarrassment. "The guards would get a +10 to seeing you in lighting like this. Shalin, that would leave you as the next best. You can handle it, right?"
"Mayael knows this palace better than anyone," Shalin suggested. "We should have her scout."
"We need to protect Mayael at all costs. If she is killed, our entire mission becomes moot. Shalin, you're going. Mayael can provide directions."
"Alright, I'll do it."
"Wait, there's one more thing I just thought of. Josh, how will we deal with your armor? Obviously taking it off isn't a viable option. Even with Hindering Light and Angelic Shield both cast on you, your AC would only be 24."
"Can't a simple Accelerate spell fix that?" Ace asked.
Aravan put the palm of his hand over his forehead before replying. "Ace, you've been on enough adventures to know that Accelerate only gives an initiative bonus equal to half the caster's level. That spell has absolutely nothing to do with dexterity or AC."
"I can cast Silence," Eron suggested.
"I can as well, but that has a couple of nasty side effects. The worst one is he will be unable to speak with us at all. If he gets in trouble, he won't be able to get help. Another side effect is he will be unable to cast spells. That means he will have no way to heal himself."
"I think it's worth the risk. Are you okay with this, Josh?"
"I believe this is our best option," the knight agreed.
"Alright. I'm sorry to have to put you through this."
"It's okay."
With a deep sigh, Eron began casting. "In my presence you will know quiet! Silence!" Josh and everything he wore emitted no sound whatsoever. He could still move his lips, but they produced no sound.
"Ready?" Mayael asked. Josh nodded, then everyone else did after that. She poked her head around the corner to find a room densely covered with giant leaves. Just as she turned a corner, Eron heard the sound of a sword being drawn.
Music Track: Encounter //Konami
Album: Metal Gear Solid
An elvish guard wielding a scimitar rushed toward Mayael. Eron dove in front of her, taking the blow in her place. After the sentry removed his sword, the Bantian felt a burning sensation around the wound, quickly noticing the charred skin. Breathing a sigh of relief, the Anima joined Shalin in creating a magically-fueled wind tunnel to blow the elf off her feet.
"Primal flames, leave no trace of this beast behind! Banefire!" Ace said in a much quieter voice than he would normally use when casting. A multitude of fireballs followed by a yellow-and-white stream of flames directly hit the guard, but she was somehow still standing and coherent afterward. Josh charged the assailant, his blade pointed straight away.
Knowing she was a goner, she began casting a powerful spell in a language only Mayael and Shalin could understand. "Rage and blow, storms of fury! Tsunami!" Just as the knight's blade cut a hole through her chest, the fiercest windstorm any of them had ever seen ravaged the room, stripping the leaves off even the sturdiest tops of the trees in the room they were in. By the time the winds stopped, everyone was on their knees, panting from the burned skin due to the intensity of the storm. Ace and Josh had fallen face-first onto the floor, and everyone else was on their knees. Eron worked hard getting everyone back on their feet, Shalin's Vitalizing Cascade doing the rest of the recovery work after the angel's revival.
Music Track: Tank Hangar //Konami
Album: Metal Gear Solid
"What does the DM think he's trying to pull here?" Aravan sighed. "Two of our casters are already halfway depleted on mana on just one encounter? What kind of sick joke is this?" He got one of the guards in the east room in sight. "You cannot keep a secret from me! Soulgaze!" The information that the spell revealed was startling. "No wonder they were so tough..."
"What is it, Aravan?" Eron asked, still a bit winded from the sword blow that barely missed one of his vital areas.
"These sentries are level 43. There is no way we can take more than one of these guys. Two if we get really damn lucky. We're ten levels below them." Josh's lips started moving, but they stopped when he remembered he couldn't speak.
"Well, I did personally train several of the higher-ups here," Mayael replied. "Only the best of Nayan elves are recruited into my army. I never thought it would come back to haunt me so..."
"This just makes stealth all the more imperative. Mayael, you said you know this place well? What's the quickest way to get to the throne room?"
"There are a couple more greenhouse-like chambers to the west. After that, there's a hallway, then a fountain built right into a tall tree. To the west of that is the main entrance, and the throne room is almost directly above that. It shouldn't take long, especially with the resources we have."
"That's five rooms in total by my math." Aravan pondered a possible means of attacking the issue. "Let me try something in the next room over." He poked his head back around the corner. Three guards patrolled the area; one stationed in almost the exact center of the room, and two more walking back and forth on the other side of beautiful gardens. "Be locked in a temporal prison! Time Stop!" As the name of the spell would suggest, the guard stationed in the center of the room entered suspended animation as long as the spell remained in effect. He repeated it with the guard on the south end of the room. Once the north guard turned around, the party ran for the south door.
Shalin poked her head around the doorway to examine the next room, but pulled back quickly as an elf turned a corner. Once he turned back around, the party made a break for it, hiding behind the foliage as best as they could. They made it into the long hallway Mayael described earlier. "Phew," the Anima sighed.
"How many more times can you do that, Aravan?" Shalin asked. "It looks like it takes quite a toll on your body when you cast that spell."
"Not really," the Esperite replied. "I can still cast it five more times before draining my mana completely. I'll only use it if I have to, but I'll be fine."
Shalin poked her head into the south doorway. This was the "fountain room" Mayael had described. A lone guard circled the fountain, and there wasn't much cover in the room. Rather than risk another painful battle, Aravan simply stopped him in his tracks. The party leisurely walked across the hard wood floor, stopping on one side of the west doorway. Shalin peered into the next room. Immediately after two guards standing directly on the other side turned around, she withdrew.
"There's two of them right on the other side of this door," Shalin whispered, "and there's two more on the other side of the garden in the main hall, mainly focused on the front entrance."
"The security's too tight for us to get through," Mayael added. "I should have known better. It looks like we could get through on the west side, but we'd have to pass through nearly every room on the first floor to get there."
"Dammit," Aravan sighed, "I didn't want to have to burn all my mana. Who knows what's actually in the throne room. One of these nights, while the DM is sleeping, I should sneak into his cabinet and look at all the enemy and trap placements for the rest of this campaign. It'll make things a lot less painful for us in the future."
"If we have a future, that is," Eron said in a quiet voice. "It isn't looking good for us."
"I only see one way out of this, but it involves me burning almost all of my mana." Without waiting for a reply, he began casting Time Stop. Once the two guards next to them had been immobilized, the other two detected the Esperite was casting a spell, and came running. He was forced to use his last two spells on them. "Make a break for the north door!"
There was a small hallway to hide in between the entrance room and the one leading to the throne room. Mayael peeked into the next chamber, and saw that security was almost as tight. Four elvish guards circled the tall flower beds placed in auspicious spots. It formed a maze-like structure, but that was easily circumvented by going along the outside of the room. "I'm out of mana," Aravan sighed. "What are we going to do?"
Ace studied the patrol routes of the elves, but didn't come up with a plan. "The route is too tightly guarded. The only thing we can do is make a break for it. How about I cast a spell, such as Sizzle or Volcanic Fallout, to distract the guards while we make a break for the stairs?"
"It's a daring strategy, Ace," Eron replied. "But it's just about our best option. Since we aren't focusing on stealth anymore...Shalin, could you undo my Silence spell for me?"
"Sure thing," the godtoucher answered, then began casting Refresh. The sonic wall blocking Josh dissipated.
"Since we're going to be crashing through," the knight finally broke his forced silence, "how about we cast Hindering Light and Angelic Shield on all of us? That way, it will be easier to plow through." Everyone nodded in agreement. Josh got to work with the Hindering Light spells while Eron set up six Angelic Shields. "These won't last forever, so let's make this quick."
"That took the rest of my mana," the winged ranger added, "so we have to make this count."
"Go!"
Music Track: Encounter //Konami
Album: Metal Gear Solid
The sound of Josh's clanking armor was more than enough for the four guards to begin attacking them. The sound of fire and brimstone, if anything, made it more difficult to hear the armor. After the spell fired, two of the guards drew flame-tipped scimitars. The other two began casting spells. "Mayael! Shalin! Go up the stairs!" Ace cried. "We'll hold them off as long as we can!"
The two elves ran up to the throne room, which was covered in black tendrils, coming from a strange, black orb directly above the throne. "Oh my god," Mayael gasped. "No wonder the forest has been dying. Those Grixis bastards have been diluting the soil and our fresh water sources with banewasp poison!"
"Help me stop this nonsense, then!" Shalin knelt at the center of the chamber and began casting a spell, speaking in only a language other druids like Mayael would understand. The tired Anima joined her. With every passing second, the orb became smaller, and the poison diluted. Not even Eron's scream distracted either of them at this point. They were so close to freeing Naya from Sedris' clutches.
Two more human screams followed at long intervals after the first one. Just as the elvish guards made it to the top of the stairs, the source of the poison had completely vanished. The four undead guards, and presumably every Nayan afflicted by the disease. After their festering flesh became normal again, they collapsed. Mayael began healing them while Shalin ran downstairs to check on the others.
Music Track: Despair //Dennis Martin
Album: The Legend of Dragoon OST
"Noooooooo!!!" Shalin broke out in tears. There were signs of heavy burns from both wind and fire spells, as well as cuts all over the bodies of the angel, knight, barbarian, and arcanist. When she checked their pulses, she found them all to be dead. She wailed even more loudly than before, running back upstairs.
"What happened down there?" Mayael asked.
"They're all dead!" Shalin balled. "My friends are all dead!"
"That saddens me greatly. You were the turning point that will help restore Naya to its former beauty, but you paid a price greater than your own death for it. The least we can do is get them up here and prepare them for a proper burial." At that, Shalin helped Mayael pull the bodies upstairs. For the first time since the party's arrival in Esper, sunlight broke through the canopy covering the throne room, illuminating the room much greater than she was used to. "Shalin."
"What?" she snapped, sobbing.
"There may be one thing we can do for them. It involves Naya's greatest secret...one even more carefully guarded than Progenitus."
"What?" Without saying a word, Mayael surrounded herself with a circle of red mana. A bright fireball rocketed skyward from the Valley of the Ancients, and was on a collision course straight for the exposed throne room. It circled above the throne room, producing a rain of embers. But they didn't seem to burn her. Instead, it was a refreshing flame. As the fireball slowed down, Shalin identified its true shape. It was a bird with tail feathers and wings made entirely out of flame! The rest of its feathers were all fiery colors, vivid reds, oranges, and yellows.
Music Track: The Elemental Stars //Motoi Sakuraba
Album: Golden Sun OST
"This is Naya's most treasured secret--the phoenix. Only the druids closest to me know about it, and for a good reason. It is the symbol of renewed life. Look...!" Eron's eyes began opening. "It was able to renew your friend's life, just as our legends told us!" Then, Aravan's opened. Shalin was still crying, but with tears of joy instead of sorrow. Then, Ace's eyes and Josh's eyes opened.
The godtoucher hugged all of her friends, one at a time. "You think I could die that easily?" Ace said.
"You guys are the best!" she continued crying.
After Shalin had calmed down, Mayael began speaking. "I believe I speak for every living thing on Naya when I say that we owe you an unpayable debt. Without you, Naya would have withered and died, and would have become a wasteland like Grixis. At the least, I believe Naya can try to repay you in two ways. First of all, the phoenix before you. Shalin, I entrust you with it. Second, I am going to entrust you with the most titanic and grand of all Gargantuans, the Godsire. This very beast is the one everyone, even the most powerful of druids, lays sacrifice too. I believe these two will be invaluable weapons in your battle against Sedris.
"I...I don't know what to say..." Shalin stuttered. "This is a bit much!"
"Not at all. They would have died had you and your friends not come to our rescue. Now, Shalin. Fly eastward to Jund!" At that, Shalin sat aboard the firebird, her eyes set toward the mountains.
--------------
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
CHAPTER 9-1: The Dark Side of Jund
"Wait, Shalin!" Josh said. "How are the others going to get across the mountain?"
"Oh...right," the excited Nayan blushed. Mayael chuckled. Shalin called out to the Nayan wilds for her Cliffrunner and Rakeclaw, the fastest beasts she'd be able to follow from her aerial perch. Eron had to carry Aravan below the liana network to the dinosaur-like Gargantuan, then Ace to the red monstrosity.
"I'll follow them," Eron assured. "I can see over the trees, plus I know the area well from our last visit. I'll get them into Jund safely."
"Alright, you guys go ahead," Shalin smiled. Once the beasts stomped out of sight, she turned toward Josh. Just as he had finished summoning the sacred Bantian bird, her smile turned into a grin. The two legendary birds jumped off the top of the palace, got lift under their wings, and soared above the treetops.
"I just wish I could have seen Naya from here back when the jungle was healthy."
She couldn't keep it in any longer. "Race you!" she said, completely ignoring Josh. Her mount's blazing wings grew even hotter, propelling the bird ahead of the rest of the party--even the group of three they had sent off earlier.
Josh had no choice but to try keeping up with Shalin. The mountains quickly came into sight. Just as he finally caught up with his friend, the godtoucher leaned lower on her bird. A trail of white flames burst out of its tail, and she found herself screaming, holding on for her life.
By the time Josh caught up to her, she was out cold, her phoenix standing next to her. Josh tried casting a healing spell to get her back on her feet, and it worked. "Where...am I?" she asked dizzily.
Music Track: Magma Rock //Motoi Sakuraba
Album: Golden Sun: The Lost Age
"You fell off the phoenix, over the mountains and into Jund." In between sentences, booming thunder echoed. "You're not trained to handle that kind of speed. When you're riding, you really should be more careful. I was nervous enough pushing the halcou to its fastest just trying to keep you in sight."
A while later, the stomping of Gargantuans echoed from beyond the mountain. Eron led the party into Jund...or as it was in its current state, Dark Jund. The gray, volcanic clouds had been obscured by Grixis' stormy panorama. However, other than the lightning, it was surprisingly quiet. At Josh's request, everyone dismounted, but Shalin kept her phoenix and beasts at hand, just in case they were needed. There was no sense in wasting mana that way.
"Wow, Jund looks mostly unaffected by Sedris' raid," Ace noted aloud.
"That is because Grixis shared black and red mana bonds with Jund before the Sundering," Aravan replied, "just as we shared black and blue mana bonds in ages past. Now that the Mending has taken place, Alara seeks to reconstruct those bonds. Said reconstruction has not been a peaceful process in Bant or Naya. I do not expect it to be peaceful here, either."
"You're always so worried, Aravan. But this time, I agree with you. This place is way too quiet. Especially if Jund is having as many problems as you have talked about."
"I'm going to scout ahead," Eron offered. Without a reply, he took to the air and started flying eastward. The other four followed him more slowly, keeping their eyes on him.
"This doesn't make any sense," Ace sighed. "Usually you can hear goblins and humans screaming bloody murder, the war cries of viashino thrashes, and the roar of dragons looking for a meal. But it's so quiet."
"Oh, we also need to find Kresh," Josh changed the subject. "Any idea where he'd be?"
"He'd probably be heading for the Bloodhall, for it is time for the Life Hunt. He is the greatest warrior in all of Jund, but he's forty-two years old. He does carry quite a legacy, but I don't see him surviving a fourth Life Hunt. Not to mention that this is going to be my Life Hunt as well."
"Life Hunt? What is that?" Aravan asked. "The term has come up in various history books in Esper, but we know very little about it."
"I've already explained it to the others, but I figured that now is a good time to tell you, Aravan. At least before it's too late. Once every eight or so years, the Vision Shaman Rakka Mar gathers Jund's best warriors to the Bloodhall, which is beneath Mount Worldheart. There, she arranges teams of warriors to climb one of the volcanic mountains home to a dragon, slay the dragon, then bring back proof of their victory. Few hunters return, and even fewer succeed in the mission. Unfortunately for me, it is my turn to participate in my first Life Hunt."
"So your people really just was about survival to the ultimate extreme," Aravan replied. "Every day a struggle to get to the next. And all of this could be circumvented with a little logic."
"After traveling with you, I am aware of this. But it has been tradition since the Sundering, and Rakka Mar is not about to break that tradition."
"Rakka Mar works for Sedris!" Josh interrupted. "She's using the Life Hunt as a medium of getting you killed!"
"What choice do I have? It's tradition. Every warrior on Jund who comes of age must participate. No exceptions."
Just then, Shalin saw Eron turn around. She stopped the group until he came back. "What did you find, Eron?" she asked.
"I found the explanation as to why it's so quiet over here. Follow me to the ridge overlooking the west edge of the Rip." The entire trip from the mountain to the clifftop was completely uneventful; not even so much as a goblin passed by them.
Just as they reached the clifftop overlooking the river of lava, the scream of a viashino pierced the air. Squinting his eyes the best he could, Aravan gasped in disbelief at what he saw. Hordes of creatures from all races of Jund surrounded a red-and-black dragon with four arms, gigantic wings, and a faceplate that boasted demon-like horns. Even two of Jund's dragons stood behind it, as if bowing down in worship. The monstrosity literally swallowed the warrior whole, then picked up another viashino and threw him into the lava. It breathed black flames on a third dragon that tried to attack it, knocking it out of the sky and sending it reeling.
"Why aren't they rising up against him?" Josh asked.
"We revere dragons much like Shalin does the Gargantuans. But there's something different about that dragon. I've never seen a dragon that looks like that before. Not to mention I've never seen a dragon that breathes black flame. Something doesn't add up."
Shalin was glad she didn't dismiss her summons. She jumped back onto her firebird and called her beastly companions next to the rest of the group. Josh and Aravan climbed aboard the Cliffrunner, leaving Ace by himself on the Rakeclaw. With a battle cry from the red beast, the two jumped downward, everyone surrounding the demonic dragon feeling the brief earthquake caused by the impact of the beasts' landing.
"So they have come to us," the dragon spoke, shocking both the party and the humans surrounding him. "Excellent. That saves us the effort of finding them."
"Dragons shouldn't be able to talk!" Ace shouted over the stomping before urging his mount to a faster speed. Once he and the rest of the party had reached the crowd, they discovered how big this dragon was--he was easily the size of the Rakeclaw, possibly a little larger. A wave of black fire the dragon had produced kept the party from advancing any farther.
"So you are the ones that tried to take on Sedris and lost," the dragon introduced himself. "I am his right-hand servant, Malfegor."
"Why did you destroy the Nayan way of life?!" Shalin shouted from aboard her firebird.
"Sedris did not provide me with reasons. He merely gave me directions. A rogue faction within Jhess had already distracted Bant's armies during the civil war, and the Nayans' inability to command their Gargantuan army left them ripe for the picking."
"You're just as heartless as Sedris himself!" Josh exclaimed. "You started civil war in Bant just to get the upper hand on a war of your own?!"
"It was the perfect chance. Our invasion wouldn't have been successful if the Bantian army was united. But divided among her nations, Bant was easy to take over. With the racial debates among humans and elves, Naya was in a similar situation, and thus, was also easy to take over. Sedris' only mistake was to slightly underestimate your power." Malfegor released more flames just above the crowd, causing the people to disperse far away from him. "And that is my purpose in Sedris' grand scheme. I cannot allow you to deter his plans any more!"
--------------
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Music Track: Attack //Masashi Hamauzu
Album: Final Fantasy X OST
After his brief speech to the party, Malfegor took to the storm-filled skies of Jund. Josh called back his aerial mount, then joined Shalin and Eron in the skies. Helpless while the dragon was in the air, he could do nothing but watch the battle above him. Aravan stood behind the Jundian, aiming ice-based spells at his foe.
Josh drew his blade, leaned low on his bird, and had it charge the dragon at full speed. Before Malfegor could react, the scales on his right side had been pierced by the light half of the Sword of Light and Shadow. The dragon cursed aloud, blasting him out of the sky with a black fireball before he could make a return charge. With a roar, Malfegor launched a counterattack--volcanic embers rained from the sky, singing Eron's wings. Shalin didn't seem to be bothered by the attack in the slightest. Her phoenix rocketed forward, the rider holding on for her life from the intense speeds required to drop superheated flames from its tail.
These flames, too, radiated the very holy energy Sedris' right-hand dragon hated. Filled with rage, the dragon literally picked Shalin off her mount, then began raking with his claws repeatedly. Four claw swipes later, he threw the godtoucher into Eron with great strength, both the angel and Shalin plummeting to the hard ground below. All five of them grounded, the horned dragon descended to ground level while Eron got Shalin back on her feet. Shalin quickly returned the favor to the injured Bantian.
"Still haven't had enough, have you?" the dragon's voice boomed. "Well, how about this?!" Black flames erupted from Malfegor's mouth and formed a ring of hellfire around all five of his opponents. He watched as they screamed helplessly, Eron unable to muster the strength to fly out of the fires. The walls of dark fire collapsed in on the dragon's victims, burning both body and mind. After the attack dissipated, Ace and Josh fell unconscious. The other three shook uncontrollably, as if they were experiencing seizures.
Just before Malfegor was going to release another black eruption of fire, he screamed in agony as a crudely-constructed sword cut him from behind, through one of his weak points. He managed to stab the dragon twice more before a powerful tail slapped him away.
Eron, Aravan, and Shalin were coherent enough to see what was going on, but nothing more. The angel did his best to cast a spell of Resurrection on Ace, but fumbled the words twice before succeeding. The risen barbarian was immediately dumbfounded at what he saw. "Kresh?!" He immediately recognized the muscled warrior, legendary among his people. Having survived three Life Hunts, his hair appeared to be blood-red from the twenty-two braids he wore. Each braid was evidence of having won a great battle, and it showed from how well he was able to read the dragon's moves.
"Not now!" the veteran warrior cried out. "This dragon has subverted and manipulated the rest of his kind, and must be eliminated at all costs!" After bringing Josh back to life, Eron backed as far away from the dragon as he could while still being close enough to aim well with his bow.
Aravan and Eron fired spell after spell, the foe only showing signs of fatigue after they had completely depleted their mana reserves. While Malfegor was reeling, Kresh stabbed his blade into his foe's chest, barely missing vital spots. "It must be your lucky day for Jund's greatest warrior to assist you in your meaningless effort," the demon groaned. "But you are too late. Sedris' plan has already been set into motion. As powerful as you've grown, you still cannot stop him. Nothing can stop him now. Alara will be his!" At that, he fled the battlefield, coughing as he flew east.
Music Track: Primal Rave //David Wise
Album: Donkey Kong Country 2 OST
"Kresh, you truly are a hero of Jund!" Ace complimented.
"He was threatening my very way of life. You just happened to be in danger, and dealing with him saved you. Don't think I'm going to save you again if I see you in trouble. Now, I must be going."
"Wait!" Shalin shouted. "Mayael said you were one of Alara's guardians--the one from Jund!"
"That may be true, but I'll save Alara in my own way. I don't need your help. Now, I must go see Rakka Mar. It is time for the Life Hunt again." The warrior ran off before Shalin could reply. After much arguing, the party decided to follow Kresh to the Bloodhall.
--------------
Music Track: Magmoor Caverns //Kenji Yamamoto
Album: Metroid Prime OST
"Where's Kresh?" Ace asked the Vision Shaman standing next to the Bloodhall Altar.
"He already left for his fourth Life Hunt," Rakka Mar replied. "On that note, Ace, you have now come of age. You are past your sixteenth year, correct?"
"...Yes," he sighed.
"Then it is time for your Life Hunt. You are well aware of the ritual, are you not?"
"Now isn't the best time for this," Aravan interrupted. "Look outside. Alara is in danger, and we've been the ones fighting back Sedris' forces. If it weren't for us, Alara would have been overrun by his undead army. These were the same things that were affecting Jund's climate, and even the very way of life here. Don't you have more important things to do than send people off to near certain death just for tradition's sake?"
"The Life Hunt is more than just tradition; it keeps our people strong. Without the Life Hunt to harden the bodies of our people, we would have died out long ago. For 1,500 years, it's always been held once every eight years. Those who have come of age must join the hunt. Though Kresh was only required to be on one Life Hunt, this is his fourth. But Kresh's Life Hunt does not concern Ace at all. The only thing Ace should be concerned about right now is his own Life Hunt."
"Can't the Life Hunt wait until after we defeat Sedris?" Ace asked. "Once we defeat him, Jund's style of life will be back to the way it has always been, and there will be plenty of time for me to go on the Life Hunt that I need to."
"The dragon roosts at the top of Mount Worldheart as we speak. If you wait that long, it probably won't be there anymore. So yes, your mission will have to wait."
Ace finally conceded his argument. "So, where is the hunt?"
"You are the lucky one. The dragon you are supposed to hunt is at the top of this mountain. I've already assigned you a team of people to make the climb with."
"But I have already chosen my team. The people are right here."
"You will have a worse chance of success with them, as none of them are used to the harsh mountain climate here. Yet you still want to go with them?"
"Yes. I have journeyed all over Alara with these people, and we are loyal to each other, even to the death."
"Very well. From town, go back up to the entrance level. Then go to the west side of the caves. The path up begins there. I wish you and your companions the best of luck." At that, the party left the Bloodhall and found a place to turn in for the day in the underground town. They would need all the rest they could get.
--------------
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
CHAPTER 9-3: The Heated Climb
Music Track: Magmoor Caverns //Kenji Yamamoto
Album: Metroid Prime OST
Ace led the way to the path up the mountain. Two red oozes darted in front of him as the path curved around, but he quickly defeated them with one slice of his weapon. Every creature in that narrow tunnel fell just as easily. Rounding another corner, the mountain cave widened as he could see light. Defeating any creatures that attacked them along that path seemed like a formality. After passing through the tunnel, the group found themselves climbing a mountain trail. Flashes of lightning illuminated the path as thunder echoed loudly around them. The mountain path's curve reversed direction, and the group found themselves at the entrance to another cave within it. When the rest of the party followed Ace inside, they found breathing to be difficult.
Eight feet in front of the party bubbled a lake of magma. The solid ground path narrowed the farther away from the entrance it went, cutting off completely halfway to a wall of solid rock. Josh, his body sweating already from the combination of heat and the armor he was wearing, discovered a gap in the east wall, but could not see what was on the other side of the gap. The only way across was to jump among the many stone islets that had formed in the magma due to Mount Worldheart's inactivity.
It wasn't as simple as jumping from stone to stone, however. A large, serpentine creature known as a hellion swam around the lake of molten rock, the glowing substance dripping off its fireproof scales every time it surfaced. Firebreathing lizards floated on top of the magma, their fireproof bodies letting them swim through the thick goop as though it were water. The party waited for the hellion to move to one of the chamber's far ends before hopping across the stepping stones, but it never did so. "How are we going to cross without getting knocked into the lava?" Shalin asked.
"I have an idea," Aravan replied. "Rain down, shards of ice! Crystal Spray!" A stream of ice crystals spread out from the Esperite's hands, hitting the areas of magma between the stepping stones. All he managed to do was create a large amount of steam.
"Mount Worldheart blazes with the essence of Jund's rage and ferocity," Ace said. "It'll take a more powerful spell than that."
"Become buried in an arctic prison! Icefall!" A huge chunk of ice materialized between two of the islets, then quickly melted away. "Dammit!"
"It'll take a more powerful spell than that, Aravan. Mount Worldheart is representative of the very soul of Jund."
"But I don't get a stronger ice spell until level 43!"
"We're just going to have to cross by jumping. Aravan, get a spell ready to fire at anything that attacks us. Especially the hellions--those things are vicious."
"And coming from Ace's mouth, that's saying something," Shalin added. The Jundian led the way across the lake, each jump requiring a different distance and angle. As expected, when the hellion jumped out of the lava to knock Josh off the path, Aravan froze it in place temporarily with a falling iceberg. By the time the ice melted, though, the creature was already dead.
After making the final jump in a series of eight, the party made it to the gap in the wall. "Solid ground, finally," Josh sighed. That hope was short lived after rounding the S-curve. The magna lake had been split in two. A humanoid fire elemental stood on top of a large, flat rock platform. Very narrow paths dropping dangerously close to molten rock connected ledges near volcano walls. Eron took flight, but quickly found himself panting. Forced to land, he drew his bow and began shooting at the elemental. The moment Josh drew his sword and slashed at it, it conjured a sword of fire and clashed blades with the Bantian. His superior strength won out, cutting a hole in the side of the creature. After a second successful blow, the elemental exploded in a blast of fire, knocking everyone on the ground.
As soon as she mustered the strength, Shalin cast Vitalizing Cascade to heal herself and her friends of the burning injuries they sustained. "No wonder so many people die on these Life Hunts," she said. "Barely any people even make it to the dragon!" Ace led the group across the narrow paths across magma. Three balancing ordeals later, they reached more stable ground leading up the mountain.
The next level up seemed worse than the last. A trio of hellions swam in the magma. The fact that there was magma all the way up here didn't make sense to Aravan--there should only be magma at the bottom of a volcano. The only explanation he could come up with was that this one had multiple chambers scattered about the place. The only path above the molten rock twisted and turned in many directions, the party treading carefully to avoid falling into the bubbling ooze.
Just as they walked to the end of the path leading back outside the mountain, one of the hellions leaped above them, spewing fire their way as well as dripping magma onto them. They broke for the door, then rolled on the solid rock surface outside to put out the flames. Shalin sighed as she was forced to dig deeper into her mana reserves to get the party back in good fighting shape.
As soon as Ace saw the path curve back into the volcano, three dragon hatchlings swooped in from above and began raking Josh and Aravan with their small claws. Shalin fired arrow after arrow into them, being careful to avoid hitting her allies. "Pour down holy rain from the gates of heaven! Tempest of Light!" Eron cried as Aravan winced from one of the juvenile dragons nailing a weak point. Small beams of light rained down, pelting the flying creatures with holy energy. Two of them were blasted off the mountain; the other one was sent flying into the steep slope to the east of where the moaning Esperite.
Back inside the mountain, the journeyers found themselves on a path above the one they were on before, but just as curvy. It was more narrow than the one closer to the lava, but there was little danger of being attacked. They managed to keep their balance all the way across, following the trail back outside the mountain. Their breath of fresh air was short-lived, heading back into the inferno, this time on the opposite side of the wall cutting in two the third and fourth levels of the mountain.
The west side of the fourth level was covered with the bases of a bunch of stalagmites, each platform connected by a narrow walkway that looked like it could collapse at any moment from how close it was to the magma. Lizards, elementals, and other creatures guarded each platform. Aravan scolded Eron for being reckless with his spells as the angel blew another Tempest of Light to knock the lizards unconscious and dissipate most of the elementals. A Riptide spell from Aravan finished the job. "Shouldn't you be a little less flippant with how you use your magic?" the arcanist asked. "You're our cleric, remember? You need to bring back dead people. It would really be sad if someone died and you didn't have the mana to revive him."
"Shalin can do that with her phoenix," Eron replied. "Plus, her magic, aside from her healing, is pretty useless here."
"Point taken," he frowned, following the now-vacant path leading up to the fifth level. "How many floors is this place, anyway?"
"The people that have made it all the way to the top didn't care," Ace answered. "All they wanted to do was come back with evidence of a slain dragon, or large amounts of sangrite." At least there was no wall splitting this chamber in two. Unfortunately, that was the only good thing. Magma bubbled on the bottom of the entire surface--every walkway was either connected to the outer wall or the three pillars in the center of the room, arranged in a triangular pattern. "What are we going to do to get farther up? I don't see how we can cross. I can probably jump it, but I doubt any of you guys can. Either way, it's too risky."
"I tried flying already, and it's too tiring," Eron added. "I can't muster the energy with this heat."
"I doubt the halcou would hold up any better," Josh sighed. "...There's got to be a way we missed."
"Wait," Shalin interrupted. "I think I have an idea. What if my phoenix took us to the top of this chamber, one at a time?"
"My etherium limbs would start melting, and my flesh would cook," Aravan expressed concern. "I've seen your bird--it's literally on fire."
"I have an idea," Eron chimed in. "It won't stop the pain completely, but it will dull it. How about I cast Hindering Light on everyone?"
"You're right, Eron. Since the phoenix's fire deals magic damage, Hindering Light would reduce it significantly." Everyone nodded in agreement, then Shalin brought forth the sacred firebird from the aether. He sighed a faint sphere of gold light enveloped himself and each of his friends. "This is why I've been stressing for you to conserve your mana. What if we have to do this and you didn't have the mana?"
He didn't even reply; he just walked over to Shalin's summoned creature and mounted. Being gentle, the bird circled around the outer edge of the room, slowly ascending to the upward-spiraling path to the north. It dropped the rider off, then dove back to the others in a beautiful display of technique. Shalin asked it to ferry Eron next, then Ace, then Josh. When it was the godtoucher's turn, she whooped loudly as her mount rocketed upward in a burst of white flames. She dismissed the avian before heading upstairs.
The two Bantians breathed sighs of relief when they had noticed the temperature had dropped upon going up to the sixth level. The only lava they saw was trapped in cylinders of pure sangrite stretching from the floor to the ceiling. The rock walls and the pillars of sangrite formed a maze of sorts, but it was relatively straightforward. The dragon fledglings from farther down the mountain started to become more common. Aravan cast Crystal Spray on each one he encountered to freeze it, then Josh and Ace shattered the ice with their powerful swords, blood spattering everywhere around the victim upon impact. After making it all the way to the south exit, Ace noticed a sangrite deposit at a dead-end within sight. He doubled back to cut a pair of crystals from it before catching up with his friends.
The next floor up, Aravan's frown turned into a smile. "About damn time we hit a save point!" The chamber wasn't exactly cool at 84 degrees Fahrenheit, but it was comfortable, reasonably large, and there was nothing to ambush them. The only thing of note was a passageway to the south that was wide enough for the group to enter only in single file.
"We can rest here for a while if we need to," Eron suggested. "Obviously one of us has to keep watch, but it's better than pushing ourselves to exhaustion."
"How's everyone doing for mana?" Aravan asked.
"I'm still at full capacity," Josh replied. Ace said the same.
"I know you're still at full, Ace. Your spells are almost completely useless here. Shalin, what about you?"
"I'm at around half," Shalin answered.
"I'm indifferent about this...It's up to you guys. We can sit down and rest for at least a couple hours, or we can continue."
"I'd say we should keep going," Eron suggested. "The Hindering Light spells I cast are still in effect. Besides, we can always come back here if we need to rest later."
"Good by me. However, I am going to take the time to use this Save Station to record our progress...just in case. Soft reset is the adventurer's best friend, they say."
"Wait, what?" Josh asked, confused.
"Nothing..." Everyone else turned their heads toward the etherium-enhanced spellcaster before heading through the south corridor, single file. As soon as the last of the five left the narrow passage, white flames erupted around both the exit they came from as well as the south exit leading up. Lava bubbled below them, the room temperature on this side noticeably warmer than the rest area. It appeared that the southwest, southeast, northwest, and northeast sections of the floor had collapsed, leaving the rest of the room exposed to Mount Worldheart's blazing inferno.
Suddenly, the party heard a loud shriek from below them. Its source shot upward from out of the lava, and Shalin couldn't believe her eyes. It was another phoenix. That creature was supposed to be unique, according to what Mayael taught her. Upon closer inspection, she found that this bird was completely on fire--not just its tail and wings. "You cannot keep a secret from me! Soulgaze!" Aravan cried. The Esperite stood in place as the spell provided him with details about this new foe that they obviously had to defeat to progress up the mountain.
"What are we looking at here?" Ace asked.
"It's actually not that powerful compared to what the DM would normally throw at a party of this level. 24,000 hit points, absorbs fire, half damage from weapon attacks, weak to water and ice. Normally, this thing would be a huge threat here, because if it consumes sangrite when it's close to death, it immolates, then revives itself. Thankfully there is no source of sangrite in this room, so it's just 24,000 damage and we're home free."
"Anything to watch out for?" Eron asked.
"It's got a breath weapon and a few powerful spells, but that's about it. With Hindering Light still in effect, this should be easy. How much longer does that it before it wears off?"
"About five minutes."
"Should be plenty of time to drop this thing." Josh covered for Aravan while he cast Icefall after Icefall. The icebergs didn't pin the bird down like a normal creature, but it did significantly decrease how hot its fire burned. After taking three spells from the Esperite, the bird dove underneath the platform and began casting a spell. Fire and brimstone rained from the ceiling. Eron's Hindering Light was able to lessen the blow to the point where Shalin didn't have to spend mana getting everyone back on their feet. The bird came up on the other side and rammed Josh and Aravan from behind, nearly knocking them to their doom below. Eron ran toward them, helping them up and healing their wounds after reciting a prayer to Asha.
With cover from both Eron and Josh, Aravan moved to the west wall, where he could be provided with better cover while casting. Ace's sword wasn't exactly the most effective means of attack on something made almost entirely out of flames, but he couldn't really do anything else. It only took a total of six Icefalls to make the bird disappear, along with the white fire blocking the paths leading out.
"That drained the rest of my mana," Aravan panted. "I think we should rest back at the Save Station."
"I agree," Eron replied. "My mana is drained as well."
--------------
Eight hours later, the group woke up, refreshed from their rest. Sleeping conditions weren't exactly ideal, but Aravan didn't complain. At least they found a place where it was cool enough to fall asleep. The sun had gone down, but due to the presence of cumulonimbus clouds covering all of Jund, no one could tell what time of day it was from just looking at the sky. Ace led the party back through the narrow corridor and up to the eighth level of the mountain.
At this point, they were so high up the mountain that they only encountered more dragon hatchlings. Eron resisted the temptation to blow them all away with a big spell; instead, he shot arrows at them from a distance while Josh and Ace attacked from close range with their blades. "Now you're learning," Aravan applauded. "You spend less mana by letting the people who don't need mana to attack do so." The rising ledge to the north led them outside the volcano, then back in at the ninth level.
Two more juvenile dragon attacks later, Aravan spotted another Save Station in a cool room. "Another save point, huh...and so soon after the last. We don't need to rest again, but we're definitely saving again." After recording the party's progress, Aravan elected Ace to lead the way up the spiraling cliff. They circled the mountain twice before reaching the top level. They walked single-file through a long, narrow passage before reaching the crater.
As they passed into the crater, a large, red-scaled dragon reared its head from behind the edge of the crater, then took flight. Four horns protruded from each side of its head, and the three nails on each of its claws looked sharper than even the most well-crafted sword. Even a swing of its long tail looked like it could send someone flying for miles.
Music Track: Challenge //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy X OST
"Our quarry is a hellkite overlord?!" Ace gasped. "That's what Rakka Mar sent us to defeat?!"
"Well, let's start by looking into what this thing's capable of," Aravan replied, then cast Soulgaze on the dragon. Even he was taken aback by how strong this creature was. "Level 44, huh? 55,000 hit points means we're going to be in for a long battle, and 2,200 mana points means draining all of its mana isn't a viable option. Its Attack is 165, Defense is 120, Magic is 130, and Magic Defense is 105. This thing absorbs fire, is immune to earth, takes half damage from lightning, shadow, and wind, and is weak to ice and water. Light does normal damage. It has Damage Feedback, Speed Cast II, and Extra Action as passive abilities, meaning it attacks twice per round. Speed Cast II makes my countermagic almost useless. It's immune to blinding, silence, poison, slow, stop, confusion, freezing, disease, petrification, gradual petrification, zombification, instant death, and all forms of ability damage."
While Aravan was listing its qualities, the hellkite swiped at the cliff above the party, causing boulders to block the way back. "Dammit, that thing trapped us!" Ace cursed.
"Wait a second," Shalin said. "Aravan, could you list its immunities again?"
"Sure," he replied, then listed them all again. "Why you ask?"
"You didn't list Evangelize, did you?"
Aravan paused for a few seconds, then announced his discovery to his friends. "Guys! As strong as this thing is, it's susceptible to Shalin's Evangelize spell! Whatever you do, do not kill it! Shalin can make this dragon her friend!"
"What?!" Ace shouted. "There's no way she can befriend a dragon, let alone that one!"
"It may be difficult for it to succeed, but the information my spell gave me says it isn't immune to her Evangelize spell. After I burn all my spells, my job will be to keep track of its hit points, so she knows when to make her attempts at befriending this thing. We can't let this chance go to waste! Now, let's go!"
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Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
CHAPTER 9-4: The Ultimate Predator
Music Track: Challenge //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy X OST
Josh and Ace covered for Shalin while she called her phoenix down from the skies. She joined Eron in flight, giving her both a tactical advantage and a handicap. The dragon let loose a stream of fire that turned from white to yellow to orange the farther it got from its mouth. The blast settled on top of the knight and barbarian, knocking them to the ground. Ace was the first to get back up, and he began casting Accelerate on the party, one person at a time.
Though the hellkite was fast enough to corner anything on the ground, Shalin's firebird was far more maneuverable. It flew circles around the red-scaled behemoth, serving as a diversion to keep it away from Aravan. She and Eron let loose with a volley of arrows. Each one seemed to merely bounce off of their foe's thick scales. The arcanist shouted for her to get out of the way. The phoenix dove right in front of the dragon, evading the large chunk of ice he dropped onto it. The Jundian predator was struck square on its back. The ice melted rapidly upon piercing the dragon's scales, but it roared, half in pain, half in anger, from the chilling mass.
Josh dropped to his knees, seemingly in prayer. The dragon catching that out of the corner of his eye, it dove back inside the crater, claws brandished. "Reduce this enchanted body to its natural capability! Disenchant!" Just as he fired his spell off, the dragon made a low fly-by, swiping its claws at all three on the ground. The spell broke all enchantments that their quarry had cast upon itself. It did come at a price, however; Aravan moaned, his chest and left arm throbbing in pain. It felt like the filigree structure grafted onto his left arm would shatter at any moment.
Eron fired arrows toward the back of its head, but even those seemed to just bounce off. The firebird descended closer to its rider's allies, getting in range for her to get them back on her feet. "Dewcups of Naya, rain your refreshing water on us! Vitalizing Cascade!" A torrent of refreshing water cascaded above the bleeding fighters, quickly closing their wounds and energizing them.
Aravan let loose another Icefall, with a similar result. The dragon's internal heat melted the ice very quickly, steam erupting from the wound. Before it could recover, he hastily cast the spell a second time. Angry at the caster, the dragon spit four fireballs at him and Ace before swooping in for an attack. It grabbed Aravan in one of its hands, then flew almost straight up. After reaching sufficient height, it reversed direction, diving to the ground at an incredible pace. Demonstrating a great deal of strength, it hurled the mage to the center of the battleground above the magma.
"Aravan!!" Eron shouted, then seemed to enter a free fall. After a harsh landing, he knelt next to his fallen comrade and folded his hands in prayer. "The fires of hell cannot claim the truly just! Revitalize!" A beam of light from heaven broke through the clouds and shone down on Aravan. The holy energy entered him and not only restored his consciousness, but made him feel completely refreshed.
Without even thanking his friend, he went back to letting loose ice spell after ice spell. He went through all of his available mana, and this thing still didn't look terribly tired. "Try it, Shalin!" he shouted.
The airborne Nayan druid nodded, then closed her eyes, putting complete trust in her bird. "Calm your anger and fight for the good of Alara! Evangelize!" She pointed her glowing hands toward the dragon, and a bright flash lit up the area around the crater. It continued to chase Eron through the skies as if nothing happened. "It didn't work!"
"Try again after we hit it a few more times!"
Now angrier than ever, the dragon let loose a massive amount of fire into the air. It mixed with the volcanic ash in the sky and fell to the battlefield as a corrosive rain of fire. Again, it just bounced off the dragon's scales, but all five fighting against it felt like their skin was being eaten alive. Shalin quickly cast Refresh on herself to neutralize the toxin, but she was concerned for her friends. "Aravan, should I heal everyone?" she asked.
"Hold back around 200 points of mana to tame this beast. Otherwise, do as you see fit with your mana." She proceeded to restore everyone back to normal, but she was approaching her reserve quickly.
"Pour down holy rain from the gates of heaven! Tempest of Light!" the angel cried. It began raining holy light from above again, but this time, the beams were designed to injure, not heal. The dragon was pelted all over its body, roaring in pain from some of them entering the wounds where Aravan's Icefall attacks hit it earlier.
"Try it again, Shalin!" Aravan cried. She did as instructed, and there was still no change in the dragon's behavior. "Damn it! This thing really doesn't want to come peacefully, does it?"
With an eardrum-shattering roar, all five members of the party could feel the temperature around them rising to unbearable levels. A dome of fire formed, all of them enclosed inside. The ground near the edges of the dome wavered back and forth, and it looked like it was melting. A sheet of flames fell on top of the dome, causing it and the sheet to collapse on top of everyone. Only Shalin and Eron withstood the massive attack.
The angel let loose one more rain of holy light while Shalin prepared a spell of her own. After he finished casting, Eron fell to the ground, exhausted. "Calm your anger and fight for the good of Alara! Evangelize!" Shalin cried out in desperation. Slowly but surely, she noticed the hellkite's eyes change from blood-red back to a much darker shade of the color. After letting one more blast of flames loose above her head, it stopped attacking them.
(Silence Music Track)
Once he was certain the dragon was calm, Eron mustered the energy to stand back up, then spent the remainder of his mana reviving and healing the others. None of them could believe what they were seeing. Shalin was petting the dragon's head while Ace stood on the other side of it, excited to be able to take to the skies on Jund's ultimate predator. That would make him the ultimate predator, he concluded.
--------------
About two weeks later, the party, with the exception of Ace, met Rakka Mar at the Bloodhall. "Where's Ace?" the Vision Shaman asked. "And where is proof of your success? You should have proof of your victory, such as a fang or nail of the dragon. He wouldn't desert his quarry--he knows the consequences of abandoning the Life Hunt."
"Regarding Ace, there's something we need to show you," Shalin replied. "Follow us outside."
"This isn't something you could just tell me?"
"If we told you, you wouldn't believe us," Eron answered.
"This had better be good." Shalin led her friends and the Jundian shaman upstairs and out the west entrance to the caves of Mount Worldheart. A loud roar indicated the presence of a dragon nearby.
"Look to the south, Rakka Mar," the angel said, pointing. A huge, red-scaled dragon was seemingly resting on the ground, just standing there. It wasn't causing any ruckus among wildlife at all. As she got closer, it roared again, this time spewing flames almost straight upward. She saw a muscular, human frame between its shoulders. Upon getting even closer to the dragon, she could not believe her eyes.
"It was a complete success, Rakka Mar!" Ace shouted, waving from his perch aboard the hellkite.
"Impossible!" the shaman shouted. "Why isn't it devouring you like it has everyone else?"
"Deep inside," Shalin began, "even the most ferocious predator has a heart. It was all about appealing to the beast's inner emotions, just as Mayael taught me when I was raised as a godtoucher. "Once it became calm, the remainder of the process was elementary. It was just like Mayael taught me from childhood."
"Impossible!" she cried the louder. "Sedris! That was my last effort to stop these people from taking what rightfully belongs to you, and I have failed! Forgive meeeeeeeeeee!" After those last words, Rakka Mar's body began shaking uncontrollably in unusually potent epilepsy. She collapsed to the ground during the seizures, and rolled down the rocky hills to a lava lake over a hundred feet below.
"So she was Sedris' underling after all," Josh sighed, shaken up from seeing such a gruesome death...even if it was the death of their enemy.
"So what's our next move?" Aravan asked.
"We now have the greatest predator in all of Jund at our side," Ace pointed out. "We can use it to fly straight through Sedris' front door, and end this once and for all!"
"It's worth a shot," he replied. "We should be able to do it this time. We are level 40's, after all."
"Then it's settled. Everyone, climb on the dragon! We're storming Sedris' castle!"
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Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
CHAPTER 10-1: Breakdown
The land of death and decay didn't change much after Alara's transformation. A permanent lightning storm still covered the sky, and the landscape was still as desolate as before. The only change any of the riders noticed was at the center of the Necropolis of Sedraxis. Somehow, Sedris' castle floated hundreds of feet above the city. As the Jundian predator flew closer, Aravan identified the source as an Esperite anti-gravity spell. "This makes no sense whatsoever," he started. "And even if they had the technology, it would take an incredible amount of mana to be able to make something that big float."
"I don't get it, either," Eron concurred. "I can detect extraordinary amounts of mana being channeled to hold the floating castle in place, but none of it stems from a black source. No one from Grixis could have produced this field."
"Could our return have been too late? Ace, turn north."
"The sooner we defeat Sedris, the sooner we can return home," Ace replied. "We're going in as planned."
"I may not have a home to return to. And the rest of the world would treat me as an outcast because of my filigree enhancements. You know that. You know all those people we've saved in Bant and Naya? They pretty much ignored me, and that's only because we saved them. Can we at least have a look?"
"Alright," Ace sighed, rolling his eyes. The dragon slowly turned to the northeast, gaining sufficient altitude to clear the mountains. The hellfires of the Burning Fields below nearly made Shalin and Eron nauseated from the abhorrent stench. Demons patrolled the outskirts of the Necropolis of Unx to the west. They turned around to see the dragon, but paid no attention after a few seconds.
Music Track: Phazon Area //Kenji Yamamoto
Album: Metroid Prime
Once they had passed over the mountains, Aravan could not believe his eyes. "Oh my god..." he gasped. They were clearly south of Palandius, but it was not the beautiful city he recognized. Small, blue spheres that looked like will-of-the-wisps hovered around almost every etherium structure, the precious, magical metal the buildings were composed of dripping away like candle wax. Some of the more delicate buildings had already collapsed.
After landing a couple of miles outside the city, Aravan cringed. The great vedalken city was crawling with creatures from the Tidehollow. The aether-liches that had been banished to the depths of Esper had surfaced once more, and with them came striges, scullers, and other nasties. Despite the filigree buildings breaking down in front of them, the radiation didn't seemed to bother their entirely metallic bodies at all. It did, however, bother the human and vedalken denizens of the city. There were several dead bodies within sight, their etherium limbs broken off from the remainder of their respective corpses.
As Aravan led the group to within a mile of the city, he groaned in agony. "It...burns!" he winced. "It feels like my arms are immersed in acid!"
"Aravan!!" Shalin cried. "Don't take another step into that mess!"
"Though at a much slower rate, it's still harmful to flesh! Save yourself!" Not listening to her friend, Shalin grabbed one of the Esperite's hands and helped him walk back a few hundred feet, where the radiation was less intense.
"What happened to this place?" Ace asked. "It looked like your people had everything well under control!"
"Sedris' zombie invasion, no doubt. He knew that we weren't trained well in combat, so he was just waiting for us to leave before sending his troops in. What an underhanded tactic."
"Aravan, you said etherium is a magical metal?" Eron asked."
"Yes, it is aether-infused. Why you ask?"
"Well, I can't stop the decay completely, but I can slow it down a lot if I just cast Hindering Light on you. It creates a barrier that reduces the impact of attack magic, so it should work on this."
"I'm not sure, but it's the best shot we have now. Also, you may want to cast it on everyone. It still breaks flesh down, just at a much slower rate. What is your caster level, Eron?"
"I have taken 29 levels in ranger and 11 levels in amesha, so 40."
"And with your current mana capacity, you can cast this spell how many times per day?"
"353 goes into 18...argh, someone else do the math! Math was never my strong point!"
"19 times. Caster level 40th means the spell lasts for 200 rounds. At six seconds per round, that's 20 minutes. And spreading it over the party, that means we have 80 minutes of protection. Should be plenty of time to figure out what's going on."
"Alright then, let me get all of you ready." Eron cast Hindering Light on himself and each of his friends, one at a time. Once he was finished, he stepped back into the radiation zone. Most of the blue, floating spheres bounced off the faint shield of golden light. Aravan followed him, and the burning sensation was nowhere near as painful as before.
"I suggest we seek out Sharuum. She'll fill us in." As the arcanist led his friends through the decaying town, he found both the invaders from the Tidehollow, as well as its remaining citizens, to be very hostile. Almost all of those still living in the city had become aether-liches, having their etherium frames treated in underground shelters just to be able to survive the radioactive fallout. The entire city looked like the aftermath of a nuclear explosion, minus the explosion.
Many of the undead Esperites pulled out handheld beam weapons and began firing. Most of the shots bounced off the barriers. The group didn't even fight back--they just fled across the bridges and roads of Palandius. Red lasers reflected off the magical spheres and into the delicate buildings, speeding up their decay. Ace suggested summoning his dragon so that they could all flee faster, but Aravan reminded him that there would be no place for it to land. After leaving the east city limits of Palandius, they finally reached Sharuum's Tower. Strangely, it didn't seem to have undergone any change.
--------------
Music Track: Time of Judgment //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy X OST
"What the hell happened?" Aravan asked the great sphinx hegemon upon entering her quarters on the top floor of her tower.
"We were played for fools," she replied. "As soon as you five freed Bant, Sedris sent an enormous army straight over the mountains to the south and into the Esper mainland. The remainder of Esper's twenty-three sphinxes came out of hiding to hold the line and drive his army out, but their numbers were far too great. Furthermore, the necromantic pulses the zombies emitted have had a very strange effect on etherium."
"This is why I was arguing to the Senate about taking precautionary actions against such an invasion. It was bound to happen, with the five worlds as one again...it was only a matter of time. We could have been better prepared."
"Aravan, that's all in the past. We need to focus on the crisis at hand."
"Can you tell us anything else about what's going on, and your plan to stop it?"
"The necromancers' auras are breaking the delicate bonds of our filigree parts and structures. Four of the sphinxes even sacrificed themselves to protect me, as well as this tower. They embedded special runes onto me, as well as the tower we stand in."
"Can you embed this rune onto my arms?"
"Unfortunately, no. I do not have the power to do this myself; we need other sphinxes. By my count, only eight of Esper's twenty-three sphinxes are still alive. Because the vast majority of our flesh had been replaced with etherium, we were particularly vulnerable to this kind of radiation."
"Do you have any idea where they are?"
"You'll need to go back into the Etherium Mines. As dangerous as that place is now, that is probably where the remaining sphinxes are being held hostage. The mindlock orbs we installed down there to protect us are now endangering us. I am beginning to wonder how many of them are suffering from radiation poisoning as we speak."
"Say, Sharuum," Ace said, "you're protected from this radiation, right? How about giving us a ride to the mines? The cities of Esper are all overrun with undead."
"You must show greater respect to Sharuum!" Aravan scolded his ally. "Sharuum is the wisest being in all of Esper. To ask that she be used a beast of burden is an unforgivable sin!"
"Furthermore," the hegemon continued, "I must stay here, where it is safe. I am the only one with the intellect to restore Esper to its full glory after these attacks. If they capture me, Esper may as well disappear off the face of Alara. Aravan, that means you would not have a home to return to."
"If this won't work, then can we at least use the top level of your tower as a takeoff point?" Ace asked Sharuum. "I have a dragon that we can use to get there."
"So, the godtouchers of Naya have even tamed the most ferocious predator in Jund...amazing. I have no problem with that. If you have the power to tame a dragon, then you should be able to free the remaining sphinxes."
"What about Sedris himself?" Shalin asked. "His castle now floats in the sky, and it is only a matter of time before he takes back Alara again, undoing all our work!"
"As soon as you free the remainder of the sphinxes, come back here. I'll tell you all I know about him. I wish you the greatest of luck in the mines."
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Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
CHAPTER 10-2: The Bowels of Esper
Music Track: Phazon Mines //Kenji Yamamoto
Album: Metroid Prime OST
The interior of the mines hadn't changed much since Aravan's last visit. Frankly, it was one of the safest places in Esper, given the condition that the cities and even the cesspools were in. Large amounts of mining equipment still stood in the center of the main quarry, but upon closer examination, it was nonfunctional due to small, but vital, etherium components decaying. On the upside, the mine's automated defense system was also offline.
Aravan led the party to the northeast exit and into the room with the Save Station. Surprisingly, it was still functional. "So, while data is saving, do we have a plan of action to discuss?" the wizard asked.
"No, but I do remember a shortcut we can take," Eron replied. "Last time we were here, there was, as far as I could tell, a one-way elevator on the west side of the main quarry. If we make use of Shalin's phoenix or something else that can fly, we can save ourselves a lot of time."
"There's not enough room for Ace's hellkite to take off. Whose mana is the most expendable?"
"I would have to say Josh's. I rarely see him cast spells."
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen his spell list in a long time. Shalin and Josh, can I see your character sheets, please?" Without a verbal reply, the two did as he requested. "Let's see here..." He paused to contemplate. "You can cast Hindering Light as well, Josh? Why didn't you tell me? That's another 20 minutes of protection per 90 mana capacity!"
"Minus 70 points of mana so we can take this shortcut," Josh corrected him.
"Right...but given what is on your sheets, I still think it's more efficient to go about it this way." After Aravan returned the two character sheets, Josh dropped to his knees and began casting the summoning spell to bring the sacred bird into the mines. No matter how many times they saw the bird, it was just as awe-inspiring as each time before. The green, white, and blue bird began ferrying everyone to the top of the west side of the quarry, one by one. Aravan opened the door into the winding passage leading all the way back to the Map Station. Flying in this small of an area was impossible, leaving Josh with no choice but to recall his avian ally.
The remainder of the trip to the first elevator was fairly uneventful, a single aether-lich the only resistance the party encountered. "Wow, this has been easy so far," Aravan said as the elevator descended, intersecting the Tidehollow halfway down. "Too easy. You'd think that with the invasion, this place would be full of scullers and such. Sure, we've run into a radiation pocket or two, but not enough to warrant widespread death of mine workers. This isn't adding up." Noticing his Hindering Light spell was about to wear off, Eron cast it again to renew the barrier.
The explosive crates in the eastern hallway had been replaced. "What a pleasant surprise," the angel said, then fired two arrows at one of the boxes. The room lit up brightly from the resulting explosion, knocking a trio of striges from their hidden perches in the ceiling. There was no sign of life in any of them after the blast.
Most of the research labs were completely empty, even this far down. No turrets, no workers, no scullers. Nothing. The party quickly moved onto the next room. The W-shaped chamber rang another bell in Eron's mind. "Hey guys, there's a shortcut here too." He guided Josh to the end of the middle section of the W. "Look for a small gap in the floor here and see if you can fit your blade in it." The knight began tapping the end of his weapon against the floor. After two minutes of searching, he finally found the small gap. "There's a hidden door here," the ranger continued, "and it's supposed to be one-way. But if you pry your blade upward, we should be able to get enough of a hold on it to open it from this side." Josh was able to pull the door up just enough for the others to catch it.
On the other side of the crawlspace was the dynamo room. "Well, that was fast," Shalin said. "We're back where we were last time."
"The way to the third level is through the radiation zone past the southeast hallway," Aravan informed everyone. "Is the barrier in danger of running out soon?"
"No," the ranger replied.
"Then let's go."
After another long hallway, Aravan led the way into a large chamber, the only thing artificial about it being the decaying walkways and the tunnel high above them--the one that they saw this chamber out of during their last visit to the mines. Beneath the walkways, the entire floor glowed blue, the only thing protecting the party from the intense radiation being Eron's Hindering Light spell. Even with the spell in effect, Aravan was still in a constant state of pain--it just made the pain bearable. In its present state, the etherium ore was unminable--the workers would die of radiation poisoning long before they got the ore to a storage room.
After a nerve-wracking walk across the suspended paths that looked like they could collapse at any moment, Aravan led the way to the elevator on the south end of the second level. As soon as everyone was on the lift, he flipped the switch to start it moving down. "From here, I have no idea what's to come. I still have the map of this place from our first trip here, but I've never actually been down to the third level of the mines. It supposedly crosses the depths of the Tidehollow and into the true bowels of Esper; it's the deepest place not covered in water."
"You've said repeatedly that the supply of etherium has been dwindling," Eron changed the subject. "Why didn't you guys mine out the area we were just in? It looked plentiful."
"Back then, there was no need to go that deep into the mines. You see, deposits from the cesspools filtered its way into the Tidehollow, and the Tidehollow intersects this portion of the mine numerous times. It was far more trouble than it was worth coming down here. I would assume that the etherium deposits down here have also been corrupted because of the invasion." The lift stopped upon reaching the bottom of the shaft. "Josh and I will lead the way." Before leaving the shaft, Josh renewed the magical barriers protecting the party from becoming dreadfully sick.
Music Track: Phazon Mines Level 3 //Kenji Yamamoto
Album: Metroid Prime
The third level of the mines looked less like mines and more like a natural cave complex. With many of the bridges collapsed due to chemical breakdown, the party was forced to jump from stable ledge to stable ledge. Shalin slipped just before one leap about halfway down, causing her to fall all the way to the semisolid, radioactive etherium compound at the bottom of the chamber. She screamed in agony as the blue goop ate away her flesh like a mosstodon's highly acidic saliva. Eron dove off the platform, exposing himself to the poison in order to lift her back up to the tunnel leading forward. Even after being pulled out, she still winced in pain, the highly toxic compound dripping from her clothes and long hair.
Josh did his best to ease his friend's pain with the healing magic he knew, but it didn't heal the Nayan girl's flesh nearly as fast as it had been worn away. Eron's exposure, thanks to the barrier Josh erected, only caused his flight to become slightly off balance, and even that effect wore off after he stood on solid ground for a while. Aravan looked down and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw there was no etherium corruption anywhere in the room. The place was enough of a deathtrap already--scullers roamed the edges of the Tidehollow, and their pet striges flew overhead, ready to prey on any unsuspecting thing that passed by. The waters of the Tidehollow looked more like oil by how dark they were.
Besides the electronic doors, the chamber they were in looked completely natural. Ace spotted a narrow ledge on the west side that would take them above the dark river. Just as he led the way in sidling across, three of the striges caught sight of them and started trying to rake them with their sharp talons. "Send these infidels through the eye of the storm! Hurricane!" Shalin cried, barely keeping her balance. The mana slipped between her fingers and was drawn around a corner.
"Damn, another mindlock orb," Aravan sighed as his comrades picked up the pace ever so slightly. Before all of them could cross, though, the striges began pecking at the party's exposed hands, causing them to lose their balance and tumble to the ground just north of the polluted river. They had to run uphill to get to the next door, sidestepping out of the way of the relentless birds.
"Finally, an empty room," Ace panted, looking at how badly his right hand had been torn up. Out of range of the mindlock orb, Shalin cast Vitalizing Cascade to ease everyone's pain, but it didn't seem to be as effective as it was when she first learned the spell. Perhaps the wounds were worse than they looked. Either way, everyone finally had a chance to catch their breath without being attacked. "How are you feeling, Shalin? Your hair isn't dripping blue anymore."
"Still dizzy and a bit tired," she answered, "but I can keep going. How are you two doing on mana?"
"Not too good," Josh replied. Eron nodded in agreement.
"Aravan, how much more is there to this place?"
"Not a lot, actually," the Esperite answered. There's only one more area like this we need to go through, then we're hitting a pair of research labs."
"Why would anyone build a lab in such a dangerous, remote place?" Josh asked.
"This was where most etherium compounds were developed. It's just easier to do research down here, particularly when the supplies of etherium were abundant. Ever since the Mending, though, no one's been able to get to the labs due to the radiation problem. Plus, that very radiation would make it difficult, if not impossible, to perform research here." Without another word, Aravan opened the door to the next room.
This chamber was filled with the decaying, magical metal also. "I hear something murmuring on the left side, far in the distance," Shalin told her friends. "It's faint, but I can hear it."
"Reduce this enchanted body to its natural capability! Disenchant!" By the time the party found the source of the voice, it was too late. A hammer, made out of pure white mana, destroyed the barrier protecting Aravan from the highly toxic metal. Just as the wizard ran for the west entrance to the research lab, a pulse of dark energy from the aether-lich that dispelled the Hindering Light knocked him into the semisolid, blue compound. By the time Eron was able to lift him out of the muck and next to the lab entrance, he was already unconscious, his metallic arms looking like they could snap apart at any moment.
"Fireheart of the world, rain burning destruction! Meteor Storm!" Ace cried. Fiery boulders appeared at the top of the chamber and rained down, crushing the aether-lich that nearly did Aravan in. He also assumed the rain crushed every other foe in sight. Once the coast was clear, Shalin opened the door leading to the lab. Ace was forced to carry Aravan's body.
The research facility was almost completely empty. Stasis tanks, functional but inactive, scattered the room. When Eron turned around, he immediately noticed a red sign above the door. The sign read "quarantine" in all capital letters. Having never heard the term before, he got to work reviving Aravan. "The fires of hell cannot claim the truly just! Revitalize!" A column of holy light shined directly over Aravan. When he got up, he felt fully refreshed. "What's quarantine mean?" the Bantian asked.
"No wonder that room was so dangerous," Aravan began. "A quarantine area is kind of like a lockdown chamber, except it is mainly used to confine toxic substances or virulent diseases to a single area, letting the disease die out. We would have quarantined those affected by radiation poisoning, but the problem was far too widespread for that method to work." Looking around the lab, he noticed a blue sign in the distance, which read "save" in white, capital letters.
He led Eron and the rest of the group toward the door before opening it. Inside was a computer terminal and a magical dome, both similar to the one on the first floor. The Esperite breathed a sigh of relief. He opened the way to the safe zone, then closed the hatch as soon as everyone was inside. "Phew," Shalin panted.
"About time we find a Save Station," Aravan added. "I swear, the DM just wants to be unfair to his players toward the end game. I strongly recommend we rest here while I record our progress. Especially you, Shalin. You took quite a spill back there."
"And what was that just a few minutes ago, then?" Josh scowled.
--------------
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Music Track: Phazon Mines Level 3 //Kenji Yamamoto
Album: Metroid Prime
"And...done," Aravan said upon finishing logging the party's progress in both the system as well as his journal. "I did some scouting during the night, while you guys were asleep."
"What did you learn?" Josh asked.
"On the side of the laboratory, opposite to where we are now, there's a tunnel that leads into what appears to be the main R&D chamber of the complex. Several of the missing sphinxes are being held in jail cells there."
"Can't they just bust out? You said their magical abilities are almost unparalleled!"
"There's a slight problem with that--their mana would just get absorbed through the mindlock orb. It's embedded into the catwalks that meander above the room. Furthermore, I doubt they have much strength left--there are three pools of wastes in the room. Without protection, even the sphinxes can't hold up forever against it. I wonder what their corruption level is at already?"
The size of the C-shaped tunnel made the party question how Sedris' soldiers managed to get the sphinxes into their current positions. At the end of the tunnel, Aravan opened the electronic door, then let the others peer around the corner. The jail cells were similar to the ones that they were imprisoned in during their previous visit to Esper. The three glowing pools were arranged in the shape of a regular triangle, its corners positioned at about half the radius of the room. After taking his turn to look around, Eron cast Hindering Light on the party while he still could. As soon as all five of them entered the room, the door closed and locked behind them.
Music Track: Vs. Omega Pirate //Kenji Yamamoto
Album: Metroid Prime OST
A large plate in the center of the room slowly slid open, revealing a shaft. The lift underneath slowly rose, revealing a horrific, human-shaped construct. The twelve-foot-tall creature was comprised entirely of etherium stained with copious amounts of blood. The metal itself had small holes poked through many locations. Some appeared to be caused by energy weapons; others seemed to be caused by acid rain or etherium radiation doing its course. The parts it was comprised of looked like they came from a myriad of sources: buildings, gears, etherium-enhanced bladed weapons, and even the bodies of slain Esperites. Aravan gasped in horror.
The creature fired beams from its glowing right hand, as though it was holding a beam weapon similar to the ones that aether-liches and other formerly human inhabitants of the mine carried. Josh and Ace drew their swords and started hacking away, but even the Sword of Light and Shadow merely bounced off its metal body. It effortlessly kicked Josh aside, sending him flying over one of the pools of blue liquid. Ace struck the creature again, this time higher up its leg. It still shrugged off the blow, the Jundian barely dodging a counterattack.
Breathing heavily from the maneuver required to evade the foe's attack, Ace had to put more energy forth to deliver the same strength with his next attack, this one higher than before. The creature roared in pain when the sphere surrounding its left knee joint shattered. "That's it!" Aravan shouted. Eron took flight and opened fire on the other knee. It took eight arrows to break the other sphere.
Once both had shattered, its hands started glowing. It slowly backed toward the blue pool on the north end of the chamber, then unleashed white and black spheres of almost pure mana. The two converged at Ace's location, then collapsed upon each other, forming an explosion that sent the warrior hurtling into the air, then crashing back down. The angel flew toward him to get him back on his feet. "Magic?!" Shalin exclaimed. "How is that possible? The mindlock orb prevents magic from being cast in here!"
Aravan peered toward the ceiling, and found the blue orb's light had faded. "It seems that when its shielding is down, it turns the orb off to start regenerating that shielding. Hit it with your spells as hard as you can while it's recovering!" As the red creature began absorbing energy from the pool, Aravan, Shalin, and Josh fired their strongest offensive spells at it: Naturalize from the knight, Gale Force from the godtoucher, and Icefall from the wizard. The rending vines ripped pieces of its metallic body apart, while the combination of wind and ice exposed the remainder of its frame to extreme cold. Once Ace was back on his feet, he jumped in on the assault with a powerful blaze of fire. The sudden change in temperature caused the magical metal to fracture in a few places.
During the third volley of spells, the shields surrounding the metal abomination's kneecaps had completely regenerated, and the mana slipped away from its adversaries. "So we're back to where we started," Aravan said.
"Thank you for stating the obvious," Ace replied, narrowly dodging an intense, red beam aimed at his face.
"That's it. I know how this fight works now, guys--it's simple. Wail on its legs, then blast it as hard as you can while it's down. These kind of battles are annoying to the players, and I really hope we don't end up fighting another battle like this."
After a second round of spells, the creature had been stripped of a significant portion of its metallic armor. After it had grown its shields back again, it cast a spell that formed a large, pitch-black cloud above the room instead of reactivating the mindlock orb. A black, corrosive rain fell over all six combatants. The poisonous liquid harmlessly slid off both Aravan's and the monster's etherium, but his four friends were brought to their knees. It felt like their skin was on fire during the few seconds the rain fell.
No matter how hard Josh and Ace beat on the creature with their swords, it didn't seem to disrupt its concentration at all. A second cloud appeared at the room's ceiling, spitting out the same substance. Ace and Josh dropped where they stood, their will unable to overcome the sensation of being on fire all over their bodies. That was when it clicked.
Shalin and Aravan resumed casting the strongest offensive spells they knew, a strong burst of wind knocking their adversary back before it tried to tear a hole through Eron with its sharp claws. This time, though, it fought back with magic of its own. Aravan couldn't believe Shalin was standing after she had been tossed skyward from the same type of magical explosion that caused Ace to collapse before.
During the next volley of spells, Eron approached his fallen comrades in an effort to bring them back to life. Unfortunately, the abomination slashed at him with both claws, knocking the wind out of him as he sailed into the east wall. The next Gale Force snapped its weak leg in half. It collapsed with a loud crash, Eron rolling out of the way to avoid being crushed under its weight.
Silence Music Track
Once the foe was nothing more than scrap metal, the magical bars penning the sphinxes inside their cells disappeared, and the wise creatures limped into the room. Shalin ran toward Eron, his wings and white robe dirty from rolling around. She healed his injuries the best she could, then she joined him in getting Josh and Ace back on their feet and in at least traveling condition.
None of the sphinxes said a word to the party besides simple thank-yous. With Aravan's mana totally spent, the party had no choice but to go back out of the mine the long way.
---
Music Track: Time of Judgment //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy X OST
"The five of you have done Esper a great service," Sharuum congratulated them within the chmber at the top of her tower. "Arise."
"Will the sphinxes be alright?" Aravan asked as he, then his friends, stood up.
"The metallurgeons are not certain. One of them will be alright, but they're not sure about the other four. We sphinxes are particularly susceptible to radiation poisoning."
"Then why don't the scullers and aether-liches just die on the spot?" Shalin asked. "They're made totally out of etherium, so wouldn't they be more exposed?"
"It doesn't work like that, Shalin of Naya. Sure, etherium is the medium by which living things are poisoned, but the poison has no effect on the body unless the etherium in question is connected to the flesh. The poison breaks the flesh down, then the etherium near it."
"Wait, Sharuum," Aravan interrupted. "You're not making a bit of sense. If the radiation requires etherium and flesh to poison, why is it causing our buildings to collapse?"
"This is the very reason why I was against spreading etherium thinner in building construction. The etherium that our bodies is composed of has to be fairly concentrated, as you know, Aravan. Because there is a relatively constant amount of force on building structures, we could afford to spread etherium according to the structure's weight. When such thinly-spread etherium is exposed to radiation, it melts down, and the integrity of the structure is compromised. Thankfully, my tower was far enough from the fallout zone that I wasn't affected."
"So what's the game plan from here?" Josh asked. "We've saved every region from the invasion. I think it's time to take this to Sedris' front door."
"I feel that would be better discussed when we know the status of the sphinxes. I'm sure they would like to give their input on the issue."
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Music Track: Time of Judgment //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy X OST
"It only took six days for the sphinxes to recover from injuries that bad? Incredible..." Even if the best clerics and balmgivers in all of Bant were treating someone with a similar condition, it would take weeks, Josh thought. They looked good as new, as if nothing had ever happened.
"That's one of the many advantages to becoming filigreed," Aravan replied. "The metallurgeons are so well-trained that people rarely spend more than a few days in the hospital." He paused. "However, there are more disadvantages to becoming filigreed than we initially thought. I discovered a good number of them just traveling with you. Another issue is, like I've been saying, the supply of etherium has been slowly decreasing. We probably lost most of the remaining ore in the mines to corruption, meaning we must find new sources of carmot outside Esper."
"What?"
"Carmot is the scientific name for etherium ore," Sharuum answered, then stood up. All four of the other sphinxes in the room bowed to her, and the humans and elf followed their example. "You may rise."
"I was hoping to use this as a diversion to return home while you guys go to the castle on your own," Aravan sighed. "I guess this is what you Bantians call 'fate'."
"Now, let us begin discussing that issue," Sharuum started, then flipped a switch behind her. The tower's roof began retracting, and the floor of her chamber rose to the top. "It is time for you five to make the journey into the belly of the enemy. You must infiltrate Sedris' castle, defeat the traitor to Vithia, and make sure he never rises from the dead again. However, it won't be so simple."
"I wasn't expecting it to be," Josh agreed. "Vithian castles were designed similarly to Bant's--very tough to penetrate, even for the best of Jhessian scum."
"Sedris knows, and fears, how powerful you have become. During the invasion of Esper, Sedris stole large amounts of resources and technology from us. His undead army has repaired his castle, and with our technology, has turned it into a floating fortress, making it impossible to get to by land. He has also prepared a large anti-air force consisting of kathari, specters, and even the occasional demon. Sedris has ordered them to fight to the death with any intruders."
"So, what is your strategy for getting in, then? The castle is landlocked, and the airspace surrounding it is, like you said, heavily guarded."
"I'd like to see all of your character sheets," Aravan finally spoke up again. After collecting them, he spread them out in front of himself, careful not to let the wind blow them too far. "The only way I can see us getting through is if we try to crash through this air force. However, it'll require the cooperation of all four of you. Plus, I don't know what I'm going to do if we go through with this plan. I may end up going with Ace, but I'm not sure how that will work out."
"It's the best plan we have. What do you guys think?" Ace merely nodded. Shalin made an even more subtle reply in the form of a red summoning circle. Her phoenix burst out of the circle in a flash of orange and yellow, looping once above the tower before landing next to the Nayan. She lightly patted the bird's head before mounting, the blazing creature still perched atop the etherium structure. "I think she agrees with you, Aravan!"
"So, this is your strategy for getting into the castle?" Sharuum asked. "It's daring...but it's good. What about the rest of you?"
"Ace has befriended a Jundian dragon, which will be our main force of offense during the operation," Aravan answered. "Eron can fly by himself, and his holy-based spells will be a godsend. Josh has a bird of prey called the halcou, which, according to Bantian lore, boasts unparalleled grace and speed among all living things there."
"And what about you?" Aravan returned the other four sheets to his friends.
"I'll just go with Ace. That's the safest bet, given our resources."
Sharuum paused, then faced the four sphinxes. She turned to look each of them in the eye, one by one. They nodded after being stared at for a few seconds. "It's about time that we Esperites take action against this lich that threatens to transform Alara into a land of undeath. Aravan, climb on my back."
"What?!" he shouted. "You're Esper's hegemon! You're bringing yourself to such a disgrace?"
"Grace and status have no bearing in a world of undeath. Now, Aravan, climb on."
"Esper needs you as their leader! Your wisdom is what has kept us prospering through the problems of the world! Without you, our society would have collapsed long ago!"
"Alara needs me more than Esper right now. I will return to Esper as soon as our mission is complete. Now, hop on my back."
"Esper cannot afford to lose you--you are our last link to Crucius, the creator of etherium!"
"What danger will Esper be in once Sedris is gone? Now, Aravan, stop this nonsense. Climb on."
"I refuse. I may be a radical thinker among my people, but I am not stupid."
"If my words of wisdom will not convince you, then this will." Sharuum turned to one of the four sphinxes. "Step forward." This particular sphinx, though she had been outfitted with less etherium than Sharuum, was the bearer of a special kind of etherium that emitted a faint, deep blue glow to match the color of her wings. Even her tail, claws, and flesh were shades of blue. "May the Steel Wind be your guide for the remainder of your mission," Sharuum continued.
As the blue, majestic creature sat down, Aravan reluctantly hoisted himself onto her back. Though he had seen Shalin and her friends ride semi-sentient creatures before, it felt strange doing it himself. "It still doesn't feel right..." Aravan sighed. "A gargoyle is one thing, but a sphinx?"
"It is necessary for our plan to succeed. As I am sure you know, the Steel Wind is the wind of strength. The sphinx of the Steel Wind is the embodiment of that strength. Her etherium resists green and red magic. She is also enchanted with special magic that augments her physical skills, making her very fast. Her strength and speed come at the price of her spellcasting ability--in that regard, she is probably the least adept among all twenty-three sphinxes of Esper. That is the reason why I wanted to be the one to carry you instead--my magic is the most potent in all of Esper."
"I could never force myself to deface someone in your position in such a way," Aravan repeated.
Seeing Aravan on one of the sphinxes of Esper, Josh and Ace began summoning their flying creatures as well. The halcou was able to land on top of the tower, but the hellkite was forced to fly slow circles around the top of the tower. "I wish the five of you good luck. Now, go!" Sharuum waved them off after all of them were airborne.
---
Music Track: Attack //Masashi Hamauzu
Album: Final Fantasy X OST
The etherium additions to the castle became visible as the mounted heroes flew past the Necropolis of Unx, but so did their foes. There were dozens upon dozens of kathari with the occasional specter in the lines. "I'm going to create a diversion," Shalin shouted to her friends. The phoenix accelerated, its blazing tail glowing hotter by the second. Shalin leaned low on her bird to avoid being blown off. Just as she crossed into the enemy lines, her scream filled the air. The firebird rocketed forward from the force behind the tremendous explosion of a fireball, incinerating the skeletal birds directly within the blast, and crippling many more just outside.
Shalin's heart raced--her phoenix was flying so fast that she couldn't even begin to control it. Even the most gentle turns put a large amount of strain on her body. To her, it looked like she was flying through a blazing windstorm, the legions of roasting kathari on the edges of the storm. Her mount pulled up, well above Sedris' front lines before slowing down to the point where the rider could see again. The first thing she noticed through her dizziness was the gigantic gap in the enemy lines. Was her explosion really that big? Too dizzy to maintain spellcasting concentration, she had her mount fly to her allies' position.
Ace's dragon spewed a near-constant stream of fire into the gap Shalin created, the angle of the flames constantly moving counterclockwise to maintain the size of the gap the entire way through. Josh and Eron flew near the back, neither being much help in battles against hundreds of foes at once.
As the castle's bridge came into sight, Ace noticed his dragon's flames were deflecting off of something. Before he figured out what it was, it was too late. A demon flew right in front of him and cast a paralyzing stare at the dragon and Ace, then began feeding off the abundant sources of vis they would provide. Suddenly, Aravan's shout filled the air around the demon. "You will die, and no one will remember you. Unmake!" The black creature began disappearing from the inside out. There was a roar, then silence. No trace of it remained.
No longer paralyzed by the demon's stare, Ace's dragon landed on the bridge. Aravan and the sphinx followed closely. Shalin and her phoenix provided cover for the Bantians while they joined up with the rest of the group. All three landed safely, fleeing the many fireballs, lightning bolts, and crystals of ice that were cast their way. Ace opened the door and waved everyone in. A spear of ice barely missed the Jundian's neck just as he closed the door. "Alright, we're in!"
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Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
CHAPTER 11-1: Sedris' Castle
Music Track: Last Dungeon //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy VI OSV
The interior of Sedris' castle was unlike anything in all of Alara. Every single weak point in the structure had been replaced with the magical metal used in the construction of Esper's buildings. All of the defensive technology in Aravan's home world was in the hands of the hell-bent lich. With all the monitors and other light-emitting Esperite devices added to the castle, it seemed like the brightest place in Grixis.
Josh and Ace led the way through the hallway into the castle's west wing. The Bantian poked his head around the corner, finding the next hallway to be completely empty. "It's too quiet in here," he said. The moment Ace stepped into the next hallway, a low-pitch alarm sounded. Two large, electronic doors slammed shut, one on the north and south sides of the new hallway. Blue light from rotating lamps filled every nook and cranny of the castle as far as the eye could see.
The party turned around just in time to see Shalin fried by a large bolt of lightning straight from the hands of an undead mage outfitted with what appeared to be an etherium chestplate. More mages lined up behind the first one. "Corrupt the flesh of those who trespass!" Aravan cried. "Infest!" A cloud of banewasps formed above the casters and repeatedly stung the arcanist's foes. "Grab Shalin and run!" Ace did just as his friend asked, dragging the Nayan along the castle floor as fast as he could, back into the hallway with the two red doors. Aravan pointed to an electronic door about halfway down, on the east side. He opened it, then waved the party through. "In here!" he cried urgently. Once all five were in, he closed the door.
As the Esperite heard the mages' footsteps become more and more distant, he breathed a sigh of relief, as did everyone else. "Answer the prayers of the battle-scarred! Asha's Blessing!" Josh chanted, restoring Shalin's strength. Ace, Eron, and Aravan were forced to stand in the corners of the small room while Josh helped Shalin up.
"Thank you, Josh," she panted. "That was a close one!"
"Sharuum said it herself...we're not going to be able to defeat Sedris unless all five of us work together."
"Speaking of teamwork," Aravan interrupted, "how many of us, other than Eron, can cast revival spells?" Silence followed. "That isn't good. I suggest we change our default battle formation until another one of us can cast Resurrection, at least. I am aware Revitalize is nicer, but that is also a seventh-level white spell. Josh, you specialize in white magic, don't you?"
"Yes, but I am a knight, making my spell list limited and very specific. Eron can only cast high level white spells because he is an angel now."
"Josh, do you have the template you used in making your build?"
"Yes, I do."
Without so much as a reply, Aravan snatched both Josh's character sheet and template. "We're in luck. Knights of the Reliquary can cast Resurrection starting at level 49. That's all I need to see." He returned the sheets. "Until then, I suggest we keep Eron in the center of the party." Everyone else nodded in agreement.
"Then why don't we just whack more of those zombies until we reach level 49?" Eron asked.
"DM won't allow it. He said that at the start of the campaign. If we were underleveled, he'd fix that by throwing more monsters at us over the course of normal play. We don't gain experience points unless he says so. If my premonition is correct, we will reach that level by the time we get to the final battle." He paused to turn around. "Now, the other order of business. This machine appears to be a server. Let me try accessing it."
---
"Anything?" Ace tapped his feet impatiently.
"Sadly, no," Aravan answered. "No information on the layout of the castle--they're locking me out. The only thing I was able to access appears to be a security mechanism. By pulling the lever to the right of the monitor, we can adjust certain security doors. Ace, pull forward on it." After the Jundian did as instructed, all five of them could hear the sound of moving metal. "Let's see what that did."
The blue light filling the hallways before had become red, and the red electronic doors withdrew into the castle walls. "We can explore new areas of the castle now. I can see two ways open. Which way?" Aravan asked.
"Let's try north first," Eron suggested. After turning the corner, he couldn't believe his eyes. Esperite bodies were scattered throughout this hallway and the next.
"Inhuman," Aravan sighed. "These poor people had the etherium ripped right out of their bodies. No wonder there's so much blood here."
"What?" Josh asked.
"Etherium may offer magic resistance and may be hard to pierce, but if you know how to do it, it can be ripped off. Not used to the magic of death and disease, Sedris' underlings probably paralyzed them, then ripped their metallic parts out. What a cruel and painful way to go."
"So etherium is a double-edged sword, just as I thought. So, are we going to look inside any of the side rooms, or are we just going straight to the top?"
"We should get to the top of the castle as quickly as possible. The more exploration we do, the more resources we will have to exhaust defeating the enemy. Now, let's go." More bodies scattered the entire northwest corner of the first floor, very few of them in one piece. There was a piece of an arm here, a piece of a leg there, and many other parts that looked like they were thrown about. What was even more odd was that other than those mages, there seemed to be no guards.
The party circled the northwest hall once before heading east into a chamber with a small input terminal on the north side. Aravan pushed the "up" arrow on the terminal, and an electronic door opened to the north. "Clearly, this is an elevator," Aravan said. Once all five had stepped into the car, he pushed the button to take them up to the third floor.
The third floor elevator chamber was shaped exactly like the first, but both the blue and red security doors were closed, one on each side. "That's odd," Shalin said.
"It is," Aravan agreed. "Well, let's head back down." This time, he had the elevator drop them off at the second floor, which they found was wide open. He led the way east, then north into a room labeled 'CCS'. Through that door was a large mainframe with several monitors connected to it. "CCS must stand for Central Computer System or something. Let's have a look..."
---
"Excellent!" Aravan instinctively shouted. "I found the map of this place, including the security door positions!"
"You don't have to yell," Josh said. "It's a small room."
"Either way, our target is the fourth floor throne room. The thing is, the security doors and switches were positioned in such a way that someone without intimate knowledge of the building would have trouble getting in and out. Furthermore, we need to get to the south elevator. The way there is rather complicated, but--" The Esperite was interrupted by an alarm.
"I hear footsteps," Shalin said. "And they're getting louder."
Suddenly, a voice began echoing through the castle walls. "So you are the heroes..."
"Where are you?" Josh yelled.
"So they even installed a PA system in the castle, using our technology," Aravan said. "Unbelievable that this could be done so fast..."
"So you are the heroes that have been thwarting my plans at every turn," the voice continued. "You are speaking with Sedris, the new ruler of Alara."
"Over my dead body!" Ace shouted. "I refuse to let Alara be changed into a complete hellscape!"
"Well, I can assure you that you will all be dead bodies by the time I find you, and you will all be working for me! Now come and find me at the top of this castle...if you can make it there alive!" After Sedris' voice faded out, something was loudly knocking on the door to the computer room.
"We're trapped!" Shalin cried. "What are we gonna do?"
--------------
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
CHAPTER 11-2: Storming Hell
Music Track: Last Dungeon //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy VI OSV
"It'll be a bit of a tight squeeze," Josh replied, "but I think there's a way out. Someone will have to create a diversion."
"I'll do it," Ace volunteered.
"Here's my idea. Ace can fire off a spell to distract them, then after it's run its course, we can hopefully slip past. It's the only way I see." Without further reply, Ace's hands glowed red with mana as he began the incantation for the start of Josh's plan. When he nodded, Josh opened the door.
"Rain a thousand flames upon my opposition! Volcanic Fallout!" the Jundian cried. A hail of fireballs fell from the ceiling in the hallway adjacent to the small room. Screams of various kinds filled the east wing of the castle, the burning rain melting away the festering skin of the undead.
"Now!" Josh and Ace led the way out of the room, weaving around the burning bodies. Two lesser demons that had regained their senses followed them back around the corner into the elevator chamber. Josh waved the group into the open elevator as Eron fired holy arrows to keep the evil abominations at bay.
"Wring the life out of the helpless! Soul Feast!" one of the demons cried as Shalin ran into the back of the car. Aravan was levitated off the ground, then a cone of translucent shadows surrounded him. A wail of agony accompanied the dripping blood, forming a pool of red below him. As soon as he fell back to the ground as a result of the spell's expiration, Eron dragged him by his arms into the elevator car, and the rest of the group fell back as well.
"Thanks, Eron," Aravan sighed, his breath laborious. "That kind of black magic is cruel--it felt like that demon was twisting my soul in unspeakable ways!"
"Just like white magic is caring," the angel replied as the car rose to the third floor, "black magic is about hurting your foes in the cruelest way possible. Ace would know this--he can cast some weaker black magic."
"I'm familiar with black spells myself," the Esperite continued huffing and puffing. "I've used them myself to gather information by force. In Esper, black magic is primarily used to penetrate the minds of uncooperative people. Contrary to popular belief, it does have constructive uses. Unfortunately, most of our adversaries at this point have the mentality of 'Shoot first, ask questions later'."
With the castle's security system active, the blue door that was closed during their last trip to the third floor was now open. "Still have that map fresh in your head, Aravan?" Josh asked, leading the way.
"Not after having a portion of my soul taken from me," the etherium-laced spellcaster sighed. "However, I did sketch a copy of the map on the back of my character sheet, just like any smart adventurer would. Have a look." The mage's friends crowded around him to get a better look at the map. "There are three security rooms we'll need to flip the doors in, but other than that, the way to the south elevator is pretty straightforward."
"Certainly winds around quite a bit," Eron complained. "Getting around this castle must have been a pain during the Vithian era."
"That's the point. Anyone without intimate knowledge of the building's layout would be surrounded by soldiers long before he figured out how to escape. Luckily, we know exactly where we're going. Josh, lead the way and just follow my instructions. Head through where the blue door was, then take a left. The security station is in a small room on the left side of that."
Josh led the brave fighters forward, to the intersection Aravan described. He poked his head around the corner. "Clear," he reported. The security station was literally just around the corner. After opening the door, Aravan went in alone and flipped the switch. The red light filling the hallways changed back to blue, and the doors with them. "So, how do we get to the next one?"
"Back from the hallway, it's three immediate lefts. Told you it was simple." Josh poked his head around the corner of a long hallway, relaying that the coast was clear. Halfway across, a swarm of bats dropped directly onto the knight, effectively rendering him unable to move. A vampiress rose out of the floor, bearing her bloodstained fangs at the party.
"Tie the land to everlasting darkness! Nightcreep!" she cried. A cloud of black mana surrounded the hovering creature, then expanded to cover the hallway the combatants were in and beyond. Even the blue lights on the castle walls had been blotted out by the darkness. The only things visible were the vampiress and the party. She floated above Shalin, then dropped down, sinking both her nails and teeth into the trainer of Gargantuans.
"Pour down holy rain from the gates of heaven! Tempest of Light!" Eron shouted. Even the beams of light that rained down all over the hallway did nothing to pierce the darkness. The vampiress continued to harvest Shalin's vis even through the dancing beams of light that surrounded her, even cutting through her from time to time. She let out a deafening scream of agony when four of the beams converged directly on top of her heart. Both Shalin and the foe collapsed, the vampiress, her bats, and the darkness disintegrating shortly afterward. Not responding to any of his physical motion, Eron chanted the Revitalize spell to get Shalin back on her feet.
"Eron, thank you again," Shalin sighed, still dizzy. Her neck was still stiff from the attack. She took the angel's hand for support while his magic took effect.
---
"How's she feeling?" Ace asked Eron after Aravan had flipped the blue and red doors again.
"She says she's still dizzy, but good enough to walk on her own. Letting her rest was a good idea."
"So, Aravan, what's the way to the next switch?"
"Actually, looking at the map again, we can get to the elevator from here," Aravan smiled. "Just follow Josh and I."
"You sure?" Josh asked. "I thought you had a route planned from the start, and it was the only one!"
"I was wrong earlier--what, did you expect me to exhaust all the possibilities that quickly? I may be smart, but I'm no supercomputer!"
"Either way, let's at least see if you're right." They passed by four locked doors on the way, but Aravan was indeed correct--the south elevator was accessible regardless of whether the blue or red doors were open.
"Come to think of it," the Esperite said as the party boarded the car up to the top floor, "it would make sense that you could get here regardless of how the doors are arranged--if not, people could get completely trapped in here."
"So, what's our strategy for Sedris?" Shalin asked Aravan.
"Being undead, he'll obviously take extra damage from fire and light-based attacks. I'd say our best tactic would be to fight defensively and wear him down. It all depends on what conditions we'll be under. If it's an open area, an aerial assault may be a good tactic. But we don't know."
"Just remember why you are on this journey," Eron said. "Everyone in Alara is counting on our victory over this madman." The elevator led them to a balcony that spiraled around the central tower of the castle. Flashes of lightning filled the sky above, and the wind was blowing fairly hard.
"This is the last battle," Josh added. "The battle for Alara's freedom."
"And, being that it is the last battle," Aravan said, "the DM in the Sky is going to pull out all the stops. We cannot afford any misplays."
---
Music Track: Catastrophe //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy VI OSV
"Josh, Ace, Aravan, Eron, Shalin!" the lich lord Sedris greeted the party as they reached the castle rooftop. "I cannot believe you made it here! Your strength has surpassed my wildest expectations. I must say, I am impressed with how much power you have acquired in such a short amount of time."
"Enough with the small talk, Sedris!" Eron shouted, his glorious wings spread.
"So, the archangel Asha has sent an angel abroad to represent her people, has she? She has seen what we are capable of, and she knows she is powerless to defend her people, as long as darkness covers the land!"
"We have fought against the darkness, Sedris," Shalin replied, "and we have won. Naya, Jund, Esper, and Bant have all been freed from your cruel game, and have been freed by the hands of their people. We are here to prevent such a disaster from happening again."
"We want to avoid violence," Josh continued, "but I personally doubt that will happen. However, we are willing to give you one chance. We will leave your castle and spare your people on one condition: nothing on or from Grixis will harvest vis from anywhere outside Grixis. Simply put, what goes on here must stay here."
"You don't understand!" Sedris exclaimed. "Grixis is a barren land--our people struggle just to get to the next day! When we discovered new sources of vis outside our own borders, we had no choice! We only took what we needed to survive!"
"That's a damned lie if I've ever heard one," Aravan snapped. "Invading Esper through the Tidehollow was an unspeakably despicable act. Your troops have brought Esper to a virtual standstill, even the majority of the sphinxes powerless as they have the life sucked right out of them. Even the very etherium that bonds us Esperites together is breaking down. I experienced what that was like myself. You have not only destroyed large amounts of existing etherium, but by coming in through our mines, you have made mining and processing new ore virtually impossible. You have not taken just what you needed to live--you have brought the largest civilizations in all of Esper--no, all of Alara--to their knees!"
"The tar pits of Jund used to be confined to the east of Mount Worldheart," Ace started where his friend left off, "but now they have expanded almost all the way to the Rip! Even the dragons are upset--they often cannot find enough food to feed their hatchlings! What does that say about humans and viashino all over Jund? If not even dragons can find enough food to sustain themselves, what does that say about the rest? We have a hard enough life as it is--if this madness does not stop, everything on Jund will die out!"
"We have had to save the Nayan jungle from a slow, painful death twice because of you, Sedris!" Shalin cried, even shedding tears. "Not only have you damaged the ecosystem beyond repair, but you have also caused strife between humans, elves, and leonin all over Naya! Even the normally calm Gargantuans have become aggressive, expressing their rage against the poisoned jungle by crushing cities both human and elven! For everyone's sake...please listen to my friends!"
"You were once a Vithian king, weren't you, Sedris?" Josh asked. "Where is your honor as a ruler, a Blessed of the land? Rather than protecting your people like an honorable ruler would, you've sold your people into a spiral of death! No honorable king would even think of committing such a heinous act!"
"You have no idea what my people have been through," the undead ruler sympathized. "We recycle the same life energy with each passing generation, the energy becoming more and more stagnant every cycle. That's all we have. Just when our people were on the brink of death, we discovered new lands where the vis we need to stay alive was abundant. We looked forward to living normal lives again for the first time in over a thousand years!"
"And you could live with such a burden on your conscience?" Eron counter-argued. "The burden of being a mass murderer? Could you live with that for the rest of your life?"
"Fine, I'll cut all of you a deal. Become my second-in-command officers, and I shall let all of you see that we do not take any more vis from Alara than is necessary for the survival of our way of life."
"We do not bargain with people who have sold their souls to demons," the angel crossed his arms, standing defiantly. "Also, you do not understand that life is precious, whether it is one or many."
"Now I understand how adamant you are. If that is the case," Sedris shouted as he drew his blood-red scythe, "then I will have to convince you by force!"
END OF CHAPTER
--------------
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
CHAPTER 11-3: The Divisive Battle
[i]Music Track: Dark Samus //Kenji Yamamoto
Album: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption[/i]
"Suppress the forces of gravity! Levitation!" As soon as the undead king Sedris said those words, he started walking on air, capable of adjusting his altitude at will. Lightning flashed around the castle frequently, but the rain accompanying the storm evaporated long before it reached the ground. He raised his hands high into the air, and with a loud shout in some archaic language none of them were familiar with, a giant lightning bolt struck the center of the castle's top tower, barely missing Aravan.
Shalin and Eron took aim at Sedris, firing arrow after arrow into the storm. One volley sailed over his head, and a second was partially deflected off the blade of his cruel weapon. "Become a fetid, rotting slave to undeath! Putrefy!" Sedris shouted. Ace's frame tranformed from big and muscular to thin and weak. His blood began turning black, and his skin became soft.
Shalin dropped to her knees. "Purify this crippled body and mind! Refresh!" The spell embodying nature's regeneration restored Ace to his original bodily state, cleansed from all traces of undeath.
"Thanks, Shalin!" Ace smiled.
"Don't mention it. But I can't hit him easily from here. I think this battle is better fought from the air." Her friends nodded. Four summoning circles dotted the roof of the castle as Eron leaped skyward with assistance from his powerful wings. The four flying creatures emerged almost simultaneously, the Bantian sacred bird standing out most against the black sky.
"You're finished, Sedris!" Josh shouted, his blade drawn.
"Well, this certainly makes the fight more interesting," the lich lord laughed. "At least this will be entertaining."
"What part of 'You're finished' did you not understand?" At that, the armored Bantian let out a battle cry, his bird mount charging straight at Sedris. The evil king sidestepped and instinctively swung his scythe in the direction of the green, white, and blue avian, but it had already swooped above him. By the time he thought to look above himself, it was too late--the halcou had already ripped long cuts through his back.
Ace's hellkite wasn't fortunate enough to be so agile. When the Jundian predator swooped in, Sedris nearly chopped off one of its claws after falling back to avoid the rider's flyby attack. "Unleash your inner fury! Berserk!" Shalin cried. Letting out a tremendous roar out of its newly-found rage, the dragon made a sharp turn back toward the foe, nearly unseating Ace in the process. The anger fueled the heat of its breath weapon, the stream of yellow passing directly through Sedris' left side.
"Unload on him, Eron!" Aravan cried. "Be no longer a slave to time! Time Warp!" As soon as the Esperite cast his spell, Eron seemed to disappear. From the angel's perspective, instead everything around him had stopped. His friends, his foes, and even the sky itself looked locked in place.
"I do not know what you did, but thank you, Aravan," Eron thought. He then closed his eyes and folded his hands in prayer, floating just above the top of the castle. "There will be no rest and no mercy for the damned! Asha's Vengeance!" Beams of holy light rained from the sky as an expanding dome that shined as brightly as the sun formed around Sedris. After reaching nearly the size of the battleground, it collapsed in upon itself, even Eron shielding his eyes against the brilliance of it all. He was able to finish casting the spell a second time just as Aravan's Time Warp wore off.
The party's first reaction was to shield their eyes against Eron's spell, just as he did. They even had to turn away, despite covering their eyes, to avoid being blinded. "I had no idea Asha's angels were this powerful," Josh said to himself. "Could this have been the magic of vengeance that was supposedly lost to time?"
"I grow tired of this," Sedris panted, his undead body smoldering, burned by the angel's sacred light. "Bestow the curse of mental necrosis! Mind Twist!"
"Mind Twist?!" Aravan gasped.
"What?" Ace asked.
"It's an extremely powerful spell known only to the greatest of shadow users. The mind of the victim is pulled from the body and twisted in cruel, unspeakable ways. The end result is the reduction of the victim's Mana Points to zero. Given the power of spellcasting classes toward the end of a campaign, it's a common DM tactic, and a dirty one at that." The spell was exactly as Aravan described, minus intense screaming from Eron. When the ghostly hands manipulating his mind disappeared, he landed back on the tower, only barely able to fly. It wasn't worth risking. "This is why I wish Eron could learn at least level four shadow spells, so he could get access to Syphon Mind. Of course, that would make him a fallen angel, of which the risks and liabilities outweigh the benefits."
A determined look on her face, Shalin prodded her phoenix's right shoulder. Its head and tail burning white, the bird charged at Sedris, spinning around so fast that it looked like a burning tornado not unlike the one produced by the rider's own Savage Twister spell. She maintained the twister as long as her body would let her, just as dizzy as her foe was burning when the phoenix pulled out of the spin. She slouched over on her bird, not sure which way was up.
"I won't let this happen a third time!" Sedris shouted, lightning striking near his castle. "Begone, creatures of the wild! Evacuation!" All four flying beasts disappeared right before their riders' eyes, the creatures being forced back into the aether. The fighters fell back to the top of the tower, groaning from their crash landing. Ace got up first, then helped everyone else back to their feet before taking the business end of Sedris' scythe to the back. Despite heavy bleeding, he was able to get back up, seemingly shrugging the blow off.
"Answer the prayers of the battle-scarred! Asha's Blessing!" Josh cried out in prayer. The Jundian's wound began visibly closing, relieving the pain of being struck so squarely from behind. Like that bothered him in the first place. He guessed that his lifestyle back in the volcanic lands was what made him so physically tough.
"This is the end for you!" the Grixis king shouted, then began casting a spell.
"You cannot keep a secret from me! Soulgaze!" Aravan cried. He paused to think about the situation before relaying the information the spell provided him. "Hey guys, we have him backed into a corner, but he's got something bad planned. Can you guys deal 12,000 points of damage in two rounds?"
"Not sure," Shalin replied. "We'll just hit him as hard as we can." Shalin, Ace, and Aravan began casting the strongest offensive spells they knew, and Josh got ready to plunge his blade straight into the lich's chest. Unfortunately, their adversary finished his spell first.
"May you know one thing before you die. There is always a greater power! Cruel Ultimatum!" A cloud of darkness fell over the tower. It was so intense that the only thing any of them could see was Shalin. Four demonic hands appeared from out of nowhere and pulled her mind and soul apart. The two were pulled back like elastic bands and flung at each other, then ripped apart again. Pulses of shadow energy battered her body as her mind and soul were flung at each other a second and a third time. When the dark clouds faded away, Shalin was on the ground, unconscious. Her body was covered with stripes of charred skin, and what was in between festered with disease, as though she was a zombie.
"Freeze underneath a mountain of ice! Glacier Force!"
"Blanket the land with a sheet of flames! Inferno!"
The interaction of the two spells slung by Ace and Aravan proved that strong enough magic can defy even physics. A rain of flames fell alongside shards of ice, and the sheets of fire and ice mixed violently. The party ducked for cover as the force of the explosion took out a piece of Sedris' tower. The undead master himself collapsed on the east edge, just in front of the section the blast had taken out.
[i](Silence Music Track)[/i]
"I hope...you all...die," Sedris gasped, knowing he was a goner. He wouldn't just return to the pool of vis in Grixis--he knew he would cease to exist. "Without me...to control...Alara's black mana..." he breathed his last before he could finish his sentence."
"Without him to control Alara's black mana, what?" Aravan asked.
[i]Music Track: Metamorphosis //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy VI OSV[/i]
Just as the Esperite asked that question, the castle began shaking. A vortex pulsating with vibrant white, blue, black, red, and green colors began forming directly above the rooftop, and it grew by the second. "The amount of mana radiating from that vortex is unlike anything I've ever heard of before!" Eron shouted. "We need to flee, now!"
"But how?" Aravan asked. "Our mana's spent, so Ace can't summon his dragon to get us out of here, and you can't fly!"
Without hesitation, Josh called the halcou back to the top of the castle. "I'm not spent yet, and I know you aren't, Aravan!"
"I like to hold a reserve back in case of emergency..."
"And this isn't an emergency?!"
"Alright," Aravan sighed as he called the Sphinx of the Steel Wind back to his side, the Esper mage exhausted afterward. The filigreed sphinx was slightly overburdened carrying Ace, Aravan, and Eron, but it leaped from the tower and successfully entered flight nonetheless. Josh propped Shalin's body in front of the bird's saddle before jumping into it himself, following the sphinx's northwest path. He looked back just as Mount Worldheart came into sight, and the tower top had been completely sucked into the vortex.
---
[i]Music Track: Overture //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy VIII OST[i]
[i]Nearly two weeks passed since the defeat of Sedris. Though the mastermind behind the zombie invasion had been eliminated, it came with unintended consequence--five strange vortices had appeared, one in each former shard of Alara. The locations of the other four were at the Cathedral of Bliss, which had been almost completely swallowed; Sharuum's Tower, which the sphinxes' force field protected; one high above the Mountain of Mortal Dragon, in western Jund; and the last was in the middle of the Valley of the Ancients, just outside Mayael's palace. The vortices swallowed structures and distorted reality around them, pulsating with amounts of raw mana no one on Alara had ever thought possible to exist in a single place.
By this point in time, the five worlds had become interweaved to the point where Gargantuans were used in Bantian agriculture, dragon sightings weren't terribly uncommon in Naya, and so forth. Even a certain order of Bantian knights had received etherium infusions with the new sources of carmot that Josh's group had made possible to mine during their trips to Esper. The identity of Alara was getting closer to one world instead of five.
Rather than sparking war, as the archangels predicted, the calamities caused by the strange vortices united the peoples of Alara; the leonin of Naya and the viashino of Jund worked together to survive the frequent fallouts from the Mountain of Mortal Dragon, for instance. Most of the humans remaining in Grixis took cover in the outlying Esperite cities that were almost completely unaffected by the corruption. Though radiation levels were dropping fast, they were still far too high to begin cleanup efforts and reconstruct the largest cities. To these people, though, Esper was heaven. Food was not hard to come by, and they could live their lives without constant fear of demon-led armies invading the hermitages.
The remaining guardians of Alara met in Castle Valeron's throne room, discussing a course of action. When Eron got word of the event, he led his friends there. And what a sight it was--Asha, Mayael, Kresh, and Sharuum--four of the wisest, most powerful people in their shards, were assembled in one place. Though Sharuum had to rest on a specially constructed balcony just outside the window, her presence was essential.[/i]
---
[I]Music Track: Uneasy State //Dennis Martin
Album: The Legend of Dragoon OST[/I]
"It is just as it was in pre-Sundering times," the golden archangel recalled aloud. "In that fateful battle with Malfegor eons ago, I discovered that Malfegor was more than the angels could handle. In straight combat, we would have been defeated for certain."
"Whatever happened to him, anyway?" Ace asked. "We ran into him back home, brainwashing dragons into doing Sedris' bidding."
"As far as I can tell, he is no more."
"Any idea what happened to him?"
"The only guess I have is Sedris took his share of guardianship back by force. I could be wrong--he may still be alive."
"If he is still alive, he isn't following Sedris' plans...that much is certain," Sharuum added before turning toward the party. "Though you had the purest intentions in doing away with that insane lich, a prophetic piece of writing deep within the Crypt of Knowledge speaks of a calamity that takes place if the bloodline of any of the Guardians of Alara is interrupted. The imbalance of mana will awaken the Progeny at the very center of Alara, deep within the Maelstrom. With a gaping hole now in Alara's black mana bonds, green and white magic will flourish. A shortage of any color of mana is going to have negative effects on the world."
"Without black mana, the magic of death and necromancy is impossible to perform," Asha stated. "Even the restoration of Vithia will be possible over time. The shortage of black mana seems like a win-win situation for all of Alara."
"You'd be surprised," Kresh finally spoke up. "Though our shamans cast mainly red magic, they draw black mana from the tar pits to make the process easier."
"Furthermore," Sharuum continued, "the shortage of black mana has led to strange climatic phenomena."
"I was about to get to that," the Jund warrior continued. "Jund's volcanoes have been cooling, and the land has been receiving more direct sunlight. Before all this happened, the smoke from the volcanoes, as well as heat from the lava, has kept Jund warm. After the sun goes down, it becomes very cold, making it impossible for anything but dragons to hunt."
"We are experiencing the opposite problem in Esper, with regards to climate. However, Esper has a bigger problem on its hands. As I have said, green and white magic has flourished since Sedris' defeat. Wildlife from Bant has begun migrating to Esper, and appears to be adapting to the climate very quickly. Etherium may boast amazing magical properties, but it is a delicate alloy. Esper's society has always thrived on the concept that magic can control all aspects of nature. The influx of green mana into Esper is making this much more difficult than it was before."
"I had no idea that the removal of black mana would threaten both of your homelands like that," Asha frowned. "If I knew this was going to happen--"
"It had to be done, or Sedris would have regrouped and built another undead army faster than any of our nations could recover. For every soldier you nurse back to health, he could create a dozen new undead slaves." She paused for a few seconds. "In fact, I knew from the very beginning that this was going to happen if Sedris, or any of the Guardians, were killed." Mayael and Kresh broke out in a panic, screaming at each other and at Sharuum. "Calm down, everyone!"
"Let her explain herself," Asha said calmly. "I'm sure she had a good reason for allowing this to happen."
"Thank you, Asha. Now, at the time of the Mending, I thought of a few scenarios that could result from Sedris' invasion. The first scenario is letting him do what he wanted. The end result would have been Alara becoming a wasteland, just like Grixis. Obviously, that is unacceptable. The second scenario is defeating Sedris, then letting the Maelstrom run its course. At best, Alara would experience drastic climate changes, and ways of life would change--but life would go on. At worst, the Maelstrom would swallow large sections of Alara--obviously not acceptable. That leaves us with the final scenario."
"And what would that be?" Mayael asked.
"Entering the Maelstrom and freeing ourselves from the Progeny's grasp."
"What?!" Everyone else couldn't believe what the Esper hegemon was suggesting.
"Hear me out. The Maelstrom was formed by the Mending of the five worlds. This means that it is composed of the land that disappeared when the worlds came together. Of course, I have no clue how much the land itself has changed, but the Maelstrom should definitely be traversable. In theory, we could go to the center of Alara and free ourselves from the Progeny."
"Are you saying we have to fight a god?" Mayael asked. "You're going to send us on a suicide mission? I refuse to take part in such a foolish plan!"
"Josh, I believe you and your friends are best suited for something like this. You've been to more places than any of us have, and together, you have mastered almost every form of magic known to anyone on Alara. Can we count on you to undergo this mission?"
"You're sending us into the Maelstrom by ourselves?" Eron asked. "If you come with us, we'll have a better chance of victory."
"Our bloodline must remain uninterrupted," Sharuum answered. "The Progeny is already upset from one of the lines being severed. Plus, if two colors of mana are out of balance, our problems would be four times worse than they are now. Plus, we have confidence. You five are probably the most powerful force in Alara right now. If anyone can do it, you can."
"She is right," Aravan said. "After our victory over Sedris, we reached epic level. If I had to decide, I'd say we should go for it. We have so much to gain."
"But we have so much to lose, too," Shalin replied. "Eron, I'm fine with whatever you decide, so I leave my decision with you." Ace nodded, then flashed a smile toward his angel friend."
"You guys are right," Eron smiled back. "With all of us working together, we can't lose!"
Sharuum bowed to the group, then the others followed. "We deeply respect your courage. Tomorrow, all of us will see you off as you take flight for the Cathedral of Bliss, and the Maelstrom. Good luck!"
END OF CHAPTER
--------------
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
CHAPTER 12-1: The Maelstrom
Only when the group landed on the deck of the floating cathedral of the angels did they realize how gigantic the rifts in Alara's sky were. The one floating above Bant encompassed the entire floating structure except the roof and the landing deck. The four riders dismounted, then joined the angel in waving one last time to the people of Bant before heading into the portal that swirled white, blue, black, red, and green.
Much to their surprise, the remainder of the cathedral was intact and almost entirely undisturbed. The only noticeable change was the panorama--it glowed in the same colors as the vortex from which they entered. The moment that Ace stepped out of the exit opposite the one he came into the sacred place, he beheld a foreign and unsettling landscape.
Music Track: Those Who Come Closer //Junya Nanako
Album: Final Fantasy X OST
A maze of winding paths wrapped above and below each other, so narrow in places that it looked like the ground would collapse underneath the feet of anyone who tried to walk across it. Small pieces of earth floated around the vicinity with complete disregard to gravity. Other than that, their entire surroundings were nothing but a rainbow panorama pulsating with the five colors of mana.
Shalin summoned and mounted her firebird with the intent of crossing to the other side of the mess of paths by air. With a shriek from the fire elemental and a cry from the rider, they raced forward. The moment they passed over where the path below branched into four, two hemispheres of electricity appeared, one above and one beneath the ground. The Nayan girl and her mount collapsed to the point where the paths branched off, stiff from the current having run through them.
"Are you okay?" Eron exclaimed, running toward Shalin as she silently dismissed her creature.
"I could use some help getting up," she replied, reaching for her friend's hand. The Bant ranger helped her get to her feet. She walked around for a few seconds. "I'm still stiff, but I should be able to at least walk."
"I suggest we keep Shalin out of combat until she fully recovers her dexterity," Aravan interrupted.
"Aravan, I'll be fine!" she snapped back, recalling her bird back to the aether again.
"Sorry, Shalin, just trying to be strategic. This is the real final area of the campaign, you know? The DM is pulling out all the stops, as this is his last chance to challenge us. I would like to err on the side of caution, so that we aren't killed by a silly trap such as the one you just walked into. Remember what I told you before we left? Use logic. Suppress your instincts. Think strategically. Your first instinct is not always the best solve to the problem, and in fact, I expect that our first instincts will not often solve the problems in this final area."
Shalin's reply was a sigh.
"I understand that you've lived your entire life relying on your instincts, and Ace too. But this final dungeon is going to take more than just quick thinking to get through."
"Alright, I'll try my best to not jump into things right away."
"This goes for you as well, Ace. By now, the DM knows how we play our roles, and he has probably constructed this final dungeon in a way that it will challenge the way we act. When you make a move, first ask yourself this: If I was DM'ing this campaign, what would I expect my players to do? Look for alternatives that aren't obvious, because the obvious 'solutions' are often traps. If you don't know what to do, just ask me, and I'll make suggestions. But please, try not to do anything rash. This DM full-well knows how to kill epic characters, and won't stop with us."
Everyone else in the group nodded, then Ace and Josh led the way along the far-right path of the four-way branch-off, with Aravan not far behind. It wound over some roads and under others. Keeping track of which road was which was dizzying. After wrapping around itself twice, the road they walked branched left and right. Aravan opted to lead the group left. After it passed under two more walkways, the one they were on became so narrow that they had to walk single-file to avoid falling into the abyss below. Shalin nearly lost her balance at one of the worst parts.
At the end of the narrow path, the party found another vortex similar to the one they entered the Maelstrom from. Aravan led the way in, followed by Josh, then Shalin, then Ace, then Eron. The group emerged in a place that the knight behind Aravan immediately recognized. "Valeron's Seaswept Cliff! But why is it here? It disappeared when the worlds came together!"
"This place is getting weirder and weirder by the second," Eron said, also recognizing the cliffside beach. A winding path up made it possible to scale the multi-tiered cliff easily and reach the grasslands above. Everything about this area, with the exception of the five-colored sky, was unchanged from pre-Mending times. "At least getting up will still be easy."
Though the aven watching over the area had unusual skin colors from being pushed into the Maelstrom, they were just as vigilant and peaceful as the ones Josh and Eron knew their entire lives. As the group continued their trek up, the Knight of the Reliquary caught a glimpse of a vortex in his left eye. He turned that way to verify its presence. "I wonder where this one leads," he mumbled as he led the party that way.
"What did you say?" Ace asked. Before he could reply, a white force field surrounding the vortex impeded his progress, stopping him cold. Aravan, Eron, and Shalin also found themselves unable to pass, but Josh walked through just fine.
"Something here wants me to go through alone," Josh deduced aloud. "Wait here--I won't go far. If it's too far, I'll come back and we'll find another way."
---
Music Track: "The Empire" //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy VI OST
As the bright light from being magically transported faded away, Josh felt intense heat. When he saw the source of the heat, he couldn't believe his eyes. An adolescent, male elf dressed in red and green slowly circled the Sun-Dappled Court in Valeron, conjuring up fireballs to set the entire place ablaze. "What's going on?! Where am I?!" Josh screamed.
"The hydra-god Progenitus has exacted vengeance upon the humans here," the elf said, approaching the knight. "You hide inside coats of steel and behind beasts of burden that you rip out of their intended ways of life, all for the sake of benefiting your own. You outfit them in ways that are unspeakably demoralizing."
"Who are you?"
"I am a messenger of Progenitus. Rather than live in symbiosis with the great beasts, you use them to fight petty wars. You deface the forest for the purpose of growing excessive amounts of food. Progenitus has always spoken this to the Anima: 'Take only what you need from Nature, and she will see that you are protected.' You humans, however, indulge in numerous luxuries at Nature's expense. Progenitus sees that as unacceptable."
"This happened months ago! What is going on?!"
"If my words won't reach you, then perhaps the gods' divine flames can!"
Music Track: Major Boss //Dennis Martin
Album: The Legend of Dragoon
"Safeguard us from the malicious and spiteful! Hindering Light!"
"Blood-boiling flames, turn this living thing to ash! Incinerate!"
A faint sphere of light surrounded Josh just before two columns of flame crossed right where the knight stood. The barrier deflected some of the heat and flames away, but he still grunted, the air impossible to breathe during the duration of the spell. After a few deep breaths, Josh drew his light-and-dark blade and charged the pyromancer. Moments before he was going to stab the elf in the chest, a column of fire erupted from underneath the Bantian, sending him flying skyward, then back to the ground. The loud sound of his armor hitting the ground was a good indicator of how hard the fall was, his equipment not breaking his fall in the slightest.
"Answer the prayers of the battle-scarred!" Josh cried in pain. "Asha's Blessing!" His prayers reached even through the Maelstrom, the angelic light soothing his wounds. Though the burned skin was turning back to normal much slower than usual, he could still tell a difference after a short time after he gathered the strength to stand.
"Human!" the pyromancer cried through the sound of the burning trees. "You obviously have a tremendous amount of courage to defy the will of Progenitus. Who do you fight for?"
"I fight for the people of Valeron, and as a Knight of the Reliquary, the entire world of Bant! By setting fire to the most sacred garden in the kingdom, your people have committed a terrible sin against our nation!"
"And you haven't sinned against our people? By deforesting Naya, you have upset the entire ecosystem, changing the way we live!"
"Naya...you're that elf I saw with my friend Eron during the war! But you're supposed to be dead!"
"Tell me, human...if you could go back to that very moment...the moment you and I saw each other...could you have stopped me?"
Josh dropped his sword and hung his head low. After fifteen seconds of silence, he slowly replied, "I...could not have stopped you. My arrival was too late to save the Court."
"Accepting your past transgressions is the first step. Now, abandon these tamed beasts, and join in symbiosis with them, as the will of Progenitus states." With that, the elf disappeared in a blinding flash of white.
(Silence Music Track)
The scenery had changed from a burning landscape to the twelve trees of the Court, fully restored, and the panorama had become the same five-colored swirl as the previous areas he had been. Suddenly, Asha's voice filled the air around him.
"The Progeny deters you not only with sword and sorcery, but with deceit and illusion as well. By overcoming your past mistakes, you are showing just how strong your spirit is. Now, head back through the vortex and rejoin your friends. You are one step closer to freeing the reunited Alara from its terrible fate." Just as the voice faded, Josh felt a tremendous amount of mana entering him. The ground around him--no, his body itself--glowed with sparks of green, white, and blue. He did not know the source of his newfound power, but he certainly welcomed it. When the light faded away, the trees had disappeared. He entered the portal that he came to the strange area through, and found himself back at the Seaswept Cliff.
"Josh! You're alright!" Shalin cried, then ran toward her friend and hugged him.
"What was back there?" Aravan asked.
"It was a dead end," he replied. "Let's move on to that portal further down the cliff. Eron, would you mind?"
"Not at all," the angel replied, carrying his friends to the level Josh pointed out, one at a time. The winged ranger and the knight approached within a couple feet of the vortex. "We can all go through this one," he smiled. The other three followed them.
Music Track: Those Who Come Closer //Junya Nanako
Album: Final Fantasy X OST
"Guys, I recognize this place," Shalin said in excitement as the five of them emerged in the new area. To their left was a steep cliff, and to their right was a dense jungle with a similar texture to the one in Naya. "I used to train myself here."
"In what?" Aravan asked.
"Riding whatever I could get to cooperate with me--all kinds of predators. Eron and Josh, you might remember my cheetah and lion friends. Do you?"
"Vaguely, but yes."
"I trained myself to be able to handle their speed here. Not many others went out here because of the danger of getting stomped by Gargantuans."
"You mean like those ones in the distance?" Josh pointed.
"Yes. That's why this place was called the Stomping Fields. Gargantuans naturally keep this area deforested. Before the Mending, this place was a popular hunting ground for predatory cats as well. Now they're rather rare in Naya. In fact, the elves that were closer to the Anima at the time wanted them taken away from me, saying I was mistreating them. By all technicalities, they're hypocrites--many elves use plowbeasts for transportation. I even used to jump on Gargantuans from low ledges on the cliffs, and the beasts didn't seem to mind. Ace, I think you'd have liked the cerodon that roamed around here. It was bigger than the Rakeclaw I command, and almost as fast."
"After our journey is over, we should go find one together--that sounds like so much fun," Ace grinned.
"They're feisty creatures," Shalin replied. "Even yearlings are strong. I tried riding one of the little guys, and the first few moments were a struggle just to stay on its back. Of course, you're much stronger than I am, so you could probably handle the big guy."
"That's plenty of reminiscing," Aravan interrupted. "Now, how are we going to get to the next portal? There's one halfway down the field, next to the cliff wall, from what I can see. Crossing normally is obviously too dangerous."
"Mayael once told me that the Godsire was a beast respected even by other Gargantuans. How about we use that? I knew we would need its help eventually."
"It's better than anything I've got," Eron replied. "It's too dangerous to try flying here anyway--we have no idea what these beasts are capable of."
"I agree with Eron," Aravan added. "Remember, Sharuum said that 'anything could happen' in the Maelstrom. This is the safest way to cross, given our current abilities. And I seriously doubt we're getting any more abilities during the course of this campaign. A few levels, maybe, but that's it."
Without saying another word, Shalin summoned the massive, green beast from the aether. The thirty-foot-tall Gargantuan towered over the ruined temples dotting the field. Even after it sat down, climbing up the back of the enormous, four-tusked creature was no easy task. Everyone, Shalin included, was careful as to not pull too hard on the beast's fur covering the middle of its back when climbing up. Once everyone was comfortable, the Nayan instructed her Gargantuan to head for the cliffside portal.
The other behemoths migrated away from the greatest of Gargantuans, even though it wasn't headed directly for them. The riders could feel the power behind each of its heavy footfalls, though it was only walking across the field. As soon as they arrived at the vortex, the beast let the five slide down its back and safely onto the grass below. As Josh approached the vortex, a strange magical force bounced him away. "Let me try," Shalin said. She was able to walk through the portal just fine.
"I guess we're playing the waiting game again," Aravan sighed, staying behind the nearby ruins to avoid attention.
---
Music Track: Seeking Power //Hitoshi Sakimoto
Album: Final Fantasy XII OST
"The Relic of Progenitus..." Shalin said to herself as she found herself in another valley. Once she had walked about a third of the way to the slab depicting the five-headed hydra, an elf girl wearing the outfit of the Anima appeared before her. "Mayael? What are you doing here?"
"That's Anima Cylia to you, traitor," she snapped back.
"What?! What are you talking about?"
"You have abandoned your people for the very humans that threaten our way of life. Rather than using your gift to keep humans in check, you have adapted their ways, using Gargantuans for personal gain. You bring shame to the line of godtouchers I raised precisely according to the words of Progenitus."
"Threatening us? Surely you know about the group of humans that saved the jungle from rotting away!"
"No, it was the Gargantuans you held in captivity that saved Naya. Without them, those humans were powerless. You took the credit for saving Naya, when it was the beasts that did all the work for you."
"Lies!" Shalin cried.
"Additionally, harnessing Gargantuans in the way you did is sacrilege. It is the most grave sin a godtoucher can commit. Why do you think we shun humans for using plowbeasts, the lesser Gargantuans, in the way they do?"
"You don't understand! I'm not doing this for myself, and more than just Naya is at stake here! Alara itself is in danger of being destroyed! When calamities befall the land," she began shedding tears, "tradition must be set aside in favor of preserving the world through whatever means necessary! If I must harness a sacred beast to do it, so be it!"
"The only thing an infidel like you deserves is death in the name of Progenitus!"
Music Track: Major Boss //Dennis Martin
Album: The Legend of Dragoon
"Come to me, purifying fire of Naya!" Shalin cried, her tears of sorrow now tears of rage. The Nayan firebird shot to the ground in a blaze of red and white. The moment it landed, Shalin mounted, pushing harder than normal with her legs. She channeled her rage through the phoenix, and it took off with tremendous speed, its tail dropping a stream of fire onto the ground beneath.
"You would betray every person you've ever known for over a hundred years just to keep a promise you made to a human? Humans betray us, and the very beasts Progenitus commands we protect, at every turn!"
"How would you know? You've never been around humans long enough to truly get to know them! Just like there are bad elves, there are also good humans!"
"So they've brainwashed you to the point that they would have you betray your own people? You're so hopeless, Shalin. And you showed so much promise." Cylia took a deep breath, then a fierce windstorm surrounded Shalin and her bird. The phoenix screeched, struggling to maintain flight in the hurricane-force winds. As soon as it lost its balance, the rider was sent flying straight into the slab. The firebird crash-landed close to Cylia, then exploded in a blinding burst of white flames. The godtoucher had to start climbing the nearby rock wall just to avoid being burned in the blast.
"Get out of my sight!!" Shalin screamed at the top of her lungs once she was standing on top of the relic. "I love humans!!" Once the magical flames finally burned out, Shalin jumped down from the relic and began shedding tears of sorrow again. A few minutes later, Mayael's voice filled the air.
(Silence Music Track)
"Shalin, to be able to stand in the face of people in power when you're doing something for a greater good...that takes great wisdom."
"Mayael, where are you?!" Shalin balled.
"That does not matter. The fact that you were not afraid to show your feelings toward humans, defying the religious precepts you've been taught for years...that takes great courage. Though she was the first Anima of Naya, this Cylia was an illusion created by the Progeny in an effort to destroy you before you could make it to the center of the Maelstrom. Now, as a reward for your courage, make my power your own."
The voice faded, and Shalin became surrounded by what looked like waterfalls consisting of green, white, and red mana. Just like Josh's, her very body glowed in the colors as she absorbed the magical energy into her system. As the falls dried up, she knew she had possessed great power--the power to command nearly every beast she came across in the entire world. It was the greatest gift a godtoucher could ask for. Even after she left the Valley and joined her friends back in the Stomping Fields, she was still shedding tears.
"What's wrong, Shalin?" Eron asked.
END OF CHAPTER
--------------
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
CHAPTER 12-2: Past, Present, and Future
Music Track: Those Who Come Closer //Junya Nanako
Album: Final Fantasy X OST
"What happened back there?" Ace asked Shalin as her titanic beast came to a stop on the south end of the field, next to two standing walls of a ruined shrine. The riders slid off, landing next to another rainbow-colored vortex.
"Something I thought was impossible. Cylia, the first Anima of Naya, lectured me on what I can and cannot do. But she's supposed to be dead!"
"When I was raised in the Shamanic Circle, I started seeing strange visions as well. You sure you didn't fall asleep or something?"
"I was wide awake! We even had a summoner's duel, and I was so scared!"
"Ace, Sharuum did say that anything could happen in the Maelstrom," Aravan added. "And I think she meant literally anything. The Progeny appears to be constructing illusions, much like the ones used in courier's capsules in Esper--"
"That was no illusion, Aravan! She was as real as you are!" Shalin sobbed.
"Well, then it seems to have reconstructed a traumatic moment from your past. It's trying to get inside your mind. Don't let it." Aravan paused. "Josh, what did you see back at the cliffs?"
"I already told you--it was a dead end," the armored swordsman snapped back immediately. "You didn't listen, Aravan."
"I don't believe you. I rolled a natural 20 on my Sense Motive roll. There's no way you're telling the truth."
Josh sighed. "I wanted to hide it from you, so you wouldn't be focused on me. I knew that reaching the center of the Maelstrom would be our most difficult task yet, and I didn't want any of you to be distracted at all."
"This information may help us figure out what the Progeny plans to do next. Please."
"After I stepped into the portal, I, too, saw a traumatic scene from my past. Eron, do you remember the burning of the Court?"
"Vividly," he replied. "It's something I would love to forget about.
"Well, I ended up seeing the elf in the act of setting it on fire. You weren't there; it was just me. We fought for a while, then he just vanished. I was exposed to a light so bright that I couldn't see a thing through it, then I saw the Court as it looks today."
"The Progeny appears to be recreating tragic events of our past, and using them to try to destroy us from within. Remember that you cannot change your past, but we can change the future."
"Well said, Aravan," Eron applauded. "We will show the Progeny that we are the arbiters of our destinies. Onward!" Shalin recalled her Gargantuan, then Ace led the group through the semi-hidden vortex.
---
"It's boiling in here," Aravan gasped as the light from the portal faded away. Shalin started coughing from the smoke-filled air.
"Looks as if we're somewhere in Jund," Eron deduced. "Wait, where's Ace?" He turned around. "Ace?"
"Down there," Aravan pointed from the group's position in an alcove just below the extreme peak of the volcanic mountain. "We need to fly down there!"
Josh began summoning the regal bird Asha entrusted to him, but the mana slipped away before it even got to his fingertips. "My magic is being blocked, and there's no sense in splitting up. All we can do is watch him and pray."
---
"This is the Mountain of Mortal Dragon," Ace said to himself. "This is the location where I undertook the Dark Climb when I was a child. This should be a breeze now...but why here?" The easiest path to climb wound around the outside of the mountain, full of small rivers of lava, but nothing truly threatening. Just as the crater came into sight, he caught a glimpse of a young dragon diving on top of him. "Primal flames, leave no trace of this beast behind! Banefire!" A stream of orange and yellow flames spouted from his cupped hands, aimed directly at the young one. Deciding that this particular human was too dangerous to feast on, it turned around in favor of easier prey.
Ace rounded the corner leading to the mountain's crater, lava bubbling above the large, circular platform that rose from the center of the volcano. Near the center was a deposit of black glass--the very same deposit he retrieved as a child. The moment he touched it, a large, green-scaled dragon flew above the crater and spewed a stream of flames from its mouth, the hardy warrior barely rolling out of the way.
Music Track: Major Boss //Dennis Martin
Album: The Legend of Dragoon
"Karrthus made his home at the Mountain of Mortal Dragon," Ace said to himself. "No wonder no one's seen him since the Mending--the mountain got absorbed into the Maelstrom. I barely escaped alive in my last encounter with him. This time, two can play at his game!" At that, he raised his hands skyward, and his body glowed a deep red while the dragon Shalin helped him tame came to his aid. The crimson-scaled creature actually had to lift the warrior out of the crater to allow him to mount.
Aravan gasped as the two predators circled high above the volcano. Then, without warning, Karrthus darted forward, slamming into Ace's dragon. The two crashed down onto the side of the volcano, tearing each other apart with their sharp nails. "Primal flames, leave no trace of this beast behind! Banefire!" Ace cried, feeling the same pain his dragon did. Karrthus hearing nothing but his adversary's wailing, he was oblivious to the rider's spell, the dragon releasing its grip after being blasted by some of the strongest magical fire Ace could produce.
Even bleeding heavily from claw wounds and second-degree burns did not hinder Karrthus. The green creature spiraled into a draconic rage unlike anything Ace had ever seen before, tearing into the warrior's hellkite with tremendous power. He breathed a deep sigh, then blocked out even his companion's roars of pain as he concentrated. He drew tremendous amounts of mana from the crater before releasing it all in the biggest spell he ever cast in his life. "Essence of rage, manifest yourself in the form of unfathomable destruction! Violent Ultimatum!"
The Jundian's arms outstretched, a yellow dome of almost pure mana formed around him, superheating the air around it. A minefield of explosions erupted in the area outside the dome itself, which was growing in size by the second. Then, the release. The dome of mana collapsed in on itself, unleashing a shockwave of colossal proportions and a light so intense that his friends watching had to turn completely away just to avoid being permanently blinded. When the light faded, there was no sign of the dragon; it had completely disintegrated. The only thing the group saw in the smoldering terrain was Ace, laying on the ground.
(Silence Music Track)
"Ace!!" Eron shouted, taking flight out of the alcove his friends watched the short, but intense, battle from. The angel descended almost directly on top of him. "Are you okay?" No response. He began shaking his friend's body--still no response. He laboriously carried his friend up to where the rest of the group was, and carried him back through the vortex. The others followed, Shalin in tears.
---
Music Track: Those Who Come Closer //Junya Nanako
Album: Final Fantasy X OST
"This doesn't make any sense," Aravan sighed as he found himself back in what appeared to be the Etherium Mines--specifically the room where he fought the ghastly abomination constructed from the remains of his own people. "The same one sends you to a different place than the one you came from? This is not good dungeon design!"
No one else seemed to pay attention to him--everyone else was looking at the battered dragon rider, Ace. He was conscious after Eron's divine prayers of healing, but still badly injured. "Where am I?" he moaned.
"It looks like the mines back in Esper," Shalin answered, "but no one really knows."
"What happened? The last thing I remember seeing was Karrthus..."
"You collapsed after casting a very powerful spell that killed a dragon. I've never seen magic that powerful. Where did you learn that?"
"I don't know, but after that I blanked out..."
"My best guess is that the Maelstrom amplified his magic somehow," Aravan interrupted. "I've never seen magic that powerful, either." He and Shalin helped Ace get to his feet. The Jundian limped somewhat, but was able to walk. "Anyway, if this is the same place, we should head directly across from where we are." Surely enough, the electronic door he pointed to led them back to the same abandoned laboratory at the bottom of the mines back in Esper, but with one minor change--the door leading into the quarantine zone had been replaced with another rainbow-colored vortex. The Esperite walked into it and vanished. The rest of the party followed, but just passed right through. There was no barrier preventing them from walking; they just didn't move through it like he did.
---
Aravan found himself in what looked like a Vectis courthouse, except all the buildings around it were in the decayed state that Esper was in back outside the Maelstrom. Vedalken and humans lined the seats, but all of them were motionless, as if they were frozen in time. "Aravan, you are a traitor to your people," sounded a voice from behind him. He turned around to see a human judge who appeared to be presiding over a case.
"Judge Cinna? How did you get into the Maelstrom?"
"You have spoken nonsense in front of the Senate for the last time, Aravan. We have plenty of evidence to indicate your roles in the decay of Esper. All we need to wrap this case up is your confession."
"What are you talking about?!" Aravan shouted. "If I recall, I was the one suggesting measures to prevent such an event from occurring! Why would I do something like this?"
"Motives are irrelevant, for your actions have already spoken for you."
"Actions I am in no way responsible for!"
"As I recall, you said you would be responsible for anything that happened while those first four foreigners were here. By opening the quarantine bays at the bottom of the Etherium Mines, you have spread a destructive plague all over Esper. The sphinxes have managed to save a few important structures, but aside from those, every remaining etherium structure in all of Esper is in danger of collapsing and taking lives with it!"
"If you would just do your research, you would see that these people were able to delay the invading forces coming from the Tidehollow to the mainland! If it weren't for them, it would have been a lot worse! Have you not listened to a word the sphinxes have said? Sharuum herself said that after the Mending, we would need the help of those we had never seen the likes of before to handle problems we had never encountered in our entire history!"
"You should also understand that the sphinxes speak in a very cryptic language that is very subject to interpretation, and therefore provides no concerte evidence whatsoever. Do you have anything else to say, heathen?"
"I have said everything that needs to be said."
"Then I hereby declare you guilty as charged!" At that, all of the frozen observers faded away, along with the chairs they sat in. Except for the judge's pedestal, the room was completely empty. She drew a magical rod resting on her back.
Music Track: Major Boss //Dennis Martin
Album: The Legend of Dragoon
"Radicals like you do not deserve the opportunity to meddle in Esper's affairs. I cannot possibly see you getting anything less than the death penalty. Die, treasonous scum!" Both of them began casting spells, their hands glowing a deep blue.
"Become buried in an arctic prison! Icefall!" both of them cried simultaneously. Large chunks of ice formed on the ceiling above the wizards, aimed at each other. Letting them loose simultaneously, they shattered upon impact, shattering into hundreds of ice crystals.
"Your hasty resignation from the Senate was the first step toward your path to betrayal of your homeworld!" Cinna shouted. "Had you just kept your patience, like any good senator would, none of this would have happened!"
"I have told this to you as well as to my colleagues repeatedly: when the worlds merged together, there would be problems we could not solve without the help of outsiders. So what if they do not agree with the Noble Work? They still possess kinds of magic we have never even heard of. We may be the some of the wisest people in all of Alara, but we are not infallible!" The judge's body started glowing brightly enough to illuminate the entire room, then she vanished without a trace.
(Silence Music Track)
Suddenly, the voice of Sharuum, the Esper Hegemon, filled the air. "Aravan, you have proven yourself to be one of the wisest mages in Esper. Sometimes, you must reject the voices of those in power for those who are wise enough to make the proper decision." The Courthouse faded away, revealing a barren cityscape of collapsed buildings. "Cinna and the Courthouse of Vectis here were nothing more than an illusion created by the Progeny in an attempt to discourage you. Now, it is clearer than ever that you must free Alara from her fate of destruction at the hands of the Progeny. Take my power with you, and use it wisely in the upcoming battles."
The air around Aravan started swirling with a twister of white, blue, and black mana. "Esper's twenty-three winds are all converging around me," he said to himself. Before long, his body began glowing in the three colors of the twister, absorbing the mana into his etherium enhancements, and from there, the rest of himself. During that time, he experienced a vast rush of knowledge, learning to perfect spells he could only dream of casting before. "And I spontaneously get two hundred thousand experience points, as well? I guess the DM really doesn't want me to have to wait for the next level in order to be able to cast my new spells." About a minute later, Sharuum finished her transfer of power, and Aravan turned around to head through the vortex back into the mines, where his friends awaited his return.
END OF CHAPTER
--------------
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Music Track: Those Who Come Closer //Junya Nanako
Album: Final Fantasy X OST
"Finally, I found you!" Aravan shouted down the straight, but long, tunnel the group passed up on their way to the research lab. He was panting after his all-out run to catch up to his friends.
"I found a way out of here," Eron said. "I poked my head through the portal, and some place from Grixis appears to be on the other side. Couldn't tell just at that one glance, but I'd say we have to go there anyway. It's the only former section of Alara we haven't been to through the Maelstrom."
"My thoughts exactly. But you're from Bant, correct?"
"Yeah."
"So why would the Maelstrom send us to Grixis?"
"We'll find out when we step through that gate." Eron promptly led the party through the gate, and they found themselves in the Necropolis of Unx, on the clifftop overlooking Sedris' castle...except the top of the castle was in ruins. Everything else was just as it was before--the decrepit nature of the buildings, the local castle to the north, and even the arena.
"This place still exists outside the Maelstrom," Josh said. "Then why is it showing up here? According to Sharuum and the others, the Maelstrom was supposed to be the lost sections on the edges of the former shards!"
"She did say anything could happen," Aravan reasoned. Incapable of understanding such a mystery, Josh left it at that and led the way through the zombie-filled eastern street leading into the arena. Just as worn down as the rest of the city, it looked like no battles had been fought there for a while.
In the center of the metal mesh floor offering the only protection from the blistering hot magma below was another portal. As Eron approached, he found that instead of rejecting others, it forcefully drew only him in.
---
Though Rose's team was trailing by nearly two hundred points, there was still a little over five minutes in the round. Arrows continued to fly, most of them either bouncing harmlessly off the arena walls or off chest pieces. Eron was a quick shot, able to keep both of the other archers on their toes. No matter how rapidly he could fire, though, two opposing foes still had more brain power than he did. Josh heard the sound of Eron's groan above the clinging of blades. It was just as he feared; one of Shane's arrows nicked Eron in his left leg, bringing him to his knees. "Josh! Cover for me!" Eron continued groaning.
Despite wearing armor, Josh could still feel the power behind every arrow he blocked as Eron groaned pulling the shot out of his leg. "O Healing Power," his wounded friend began reciting, "soothe this wounded creature! Life Burst!" Eron's leg glowed with a white, refreshing light, and the wound began closing at a visible rate.
Music Track: Troops March On //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy VI OST
"Young ranger, your priorities are misplaced," Bant's Grand Champion of Sigils said, his blade drawn as the remainder of the soldiers mysteriously vanished. The angel immediately bowed to Rafiq out of instinct and respect. "Now, stand."
"What are you doing here, Rafiq?" Eron asked, then stood up.
"We lost the ports of Valeron to Jhess because of a decision you made on the field of battle, Eron. You chose to save yourself at the expense of your comrades," he lectured, pointing his blade at the angel. "You were the one to ask for Josh's help, when he was already occupied with me. You were the one that dropped the defenses of your entire team."
"I was watching out for my friend in battle! From childhood, we are taught that in martial arts competitions, preserving the lives of everyone involved is the number one priority! Surely you were taught that as well!"
"In even the most heated conflicts, such as the one you were in, there are always balmgivers on standby to make sure that no lives are taken!"
"It didn't matter! He took a heavy hit and was groaning in pain! He couldn't get up, and we needed him to have any chance against you! If we waited until the end of the round, he could have died!"
"That's right, Eron. Life is precious whether it is one or many. Though your timing was improper, your intentions were pure, and I must respect that."
"Wait, what?"
"Everyone in Bant thought I would ascend to angelhood. But the fact that Asha chose you to ascend before I did shows your superior purity, compassion, chivalry, and bravery. Now, angel Eron, in Asha's name, I bless you with the power of every Sigiled praying for your group's safe return." The knight-captain became enveloped in a ball of golden light, then disappeared. Just as with Josh, Eron's body started glowing green, white, and blue, as he tapped into the power of the sigils of every Bantian he had ever known. Even his white robes had changed color to a sparkling gold--the same hue of gold that the archangels wore. Though he was not a true archangel, his newfound power rivaled that of one. Once the streams of mana entering him faded away, the landscape started swirling around him, and he passed out.
---
"Uhhhnnnn...where am I?" Eron groaned, opening his eyes.
"You were unconscious for a long time," Shalin replied as she helped him stand back up.
"Never mind that," Ace pointed north toward the castle to the north of the arena, "that portal wasn't there before!"
"Ace, you really are insensitive sometimes. Shouldn't we make sure he's alright first?"
"No, Shalin, I'm fine," Eron replied, still moaning somewhat. "Ace has the right idea--I think that new gate is the way forward. Don't worry about me, really. I'll be fine!"
"You sure, Eron? You look exhausted."
"I said I'll be fine. Let's go!"
Music Track: Dream's End //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy X OST
After emerging from the gate Ace pointed to, the scenery changed to become like the wavering paths from where his friends entered the Maelstrom, only even more bizarre. Six vortices twisted over a large, floating piece of earth in the shape of an outstretched tortoise, pulsating more vibrantly than any of the previous ones they had encountered. Smaller floating islands passed over the one the party stood on from time to time, but very few of them were large enough to even hold one person.
The five vortices on the south end each had one dominant color in their swirl, the one they came out of being black. "So it didn't matter what order we did them in," Aravan deduced. "We had to go through all of them anyway. I know this is the last dungeon, but damn you, DM in the Sky!"
"This place is unlike anything I've seen anywhere on Alara," Josh added. "It's...unsettling, to say the least.
"Then we must be close to the Progeny." Aravan started walking north, toward the "head" of the turtle-shaped hunk of earth. "This particular gate is emitting a very large amount of mana, and glows more brightly than the others. I'm led to believe that this takes us closer to the center." Without saying a word, he stepped in, giving his allies no choice but to follow.
The portal dropped them off on an even more strangely-shaped piece of floating land--its twists and turns formed a labyrinth. Its surface was transparent like glass, but was hard as diamond. Shalin knelt down to call her phoenix to make surveying the maze easier, but the mana slipped away from her fingertips and into a pale blue orb embedded deep within the indestructible surface. "Damn it, not this again!" Aravan cursed. Having no choice, the Nayan brought up the rear of the group led by Josh and Ace.
Though they could clearly see the path they had to follow, it was still a long walk around the many twists and turns of the bizarre maze. Upon reaching the center, the platform shook as a truly bizarre creature rose from beneath. Magma dripped from the creature's face, which bore the texture of volcanic rock. Its right hand, arm, and shoulder were covered in waves of water, and its left was covered with vines and other growth seen throughout Naya. An etherium-laced torso connected its upper body to a festering lower body, skulls and other bones embedded in seemingly random places. "What in the world...?" Josh gasped.
Music Track: Boss Battle //Hitoshi Sakimoto
Album: Final Fantasy XII OST
The fourteen-foot-tall monstrosity swiped at Ace with its water-covered hand, knocking him to the ground with a single blow. Eron instinctively flew over to him and started casting a recovery spell, but the mana slipped off his fingertips. Ace was able to stand on his own after the failed spell.
Eron and Shalin opened fire at the creature's face, but most of their shots simply bounced off the rock-hard surface. Ace's blade cut right through the soft flesh on its legs, but didn't do a dent to the skeleton inside. The mutated elemental kicked him out of the way, sending him flying into the air and all the way to the edge of the center crossroads, nearly falling into the dangerous abyss.
Josh struck its other leg with the light half of his sword, and the beast wailed an agonizing cry. Eron flew up to its wide-open mouth and shot an arrow down its throat. The elemental began coughing up what appeared to be blood, but it was rainbow-colored--just like the pulsating panorama surrounding them. Josh carefully stepped between its legs, then ran behind it as it fell to the ground, face first.
Music Track: Dream's End //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy X OST
"What was that thing?" Shalin asked. "I've never seen anything like that before in my life!"
"From its physical makeup, I'd have to guess it's a creature of the Maelstrom," Aravan answered. "As Sharuum said, when we defeated Sedris, a very strange and powerful mana reaction began at the very center of Alara. All five worlds had to intersect at one point, and the amount of mana required to cause this event--the Mending--would be enough to distort reality and create very strange creatures. This creature we defeated just now carried a bit of every world with it. Its arms were representative of Naya's jungles and Bant's oceans, its head of Jund's volcanoes, its torso of Esper's technology, and its legs of Grixis' undeath.
"It was hideous, that's for sure," Eron added before turning to his fallen comrade. "The fires of hell cannot claim the truly just! Revitalize!" Again, the mana slipped away from his fingertips. "Oh, right."
"Nice job wasting 65 mana points, Eron," Aravan scowled. "We'll have to drag him to the next area before we can get him back on his feet."
---
"The fires of hell cannot claim the truly just. Revitalize!" Eron cried. A holy spotlight broke through the multicolored clouds above, coaxing life back into the warrior.
"I know I'm sounding repetitive, but thank you, Eron," Ace said in gratitude.
"It's okay, really. That's what I'm here for."
"What?!" Aravan scowled again as he turned the corner. On the other side of the thick, translucent wall on the inside of the U-shaped walkway were four computer monitors. "Everybody, you might want to have a look at this!"
"What...is this?" Josh struggled to say. The four monitors depicted mutated versions of creatures he and his friends had previously encountered on their long journey. The first depicted an archangel of Bant, except her right wing was tinted blue and black, and her left was tinted red and green. The second depicted an archdemon of Grixis, wings similarly colored to the angel except his right wing was tinted white instead of black. The third depicted five human-shaped silhouettes against the rainbow-colored background of the Maelstrom, and the fourth was nothing but snow, as though the device was malfunctioning.
"What does this mean...?!" Aravan gasped, closing his eyes in fear after looking at the screens for around fifteen seconds.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Eron sighed. "But everyone in Alara is counting on us. We have to go forward no matter what." Passing up the monitors, they found another portal on the other side of the walkway.
The vortex deposited them on a large floating island of solid rock instead of the glass-like paths from before. The background pulsed so vibrantly that it was often hard to look at. The only notable features of the place were a few computer terminals and another portal. Aravan inspected the computers and breathed a sigh of relief, then his mood swung quickly when he saw the others about to go through the portal. "Wait!!" he screamed.
"What, Aravan?" Ace asked. "We need to keep going!"
"Guys, this is the last Save Station in the entire campaign. I also found the closest thing there is to a map of this place, and the area we're in is labeled 'Final Rest'. We need to rest and make sure we're as prepared as possible for the final battle. You know, things like discussing strategy, how we're going to use our limited amount of magic, and so on. Being the final fight, this will be far and away the strongest foe we have faced yet. But this one battle is the only thing that stands in our way of victory."
"And the safety of everyone in Alara," Shalin added. "That's the most important part. I've never seen anywhere close to this level of concentration of mana before. The magic possible here, if unleashed on the outside world, could at the very least, reshape Alara as we know it. With the current imbalance of mana, the entire world is threatened."
"Everyone, you need to be as prepared as you possibly can for this next battle; the fate of the entire world depends on it."
END OF CHAPTER
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
CHAPTER 12-4: The Decisive Battle
Music Track: Giygas' Intro
Album: Earthbound
After taking deep breaths and drawing their weapons, the five freedom fighters bravely stepped through the vortex. The first thing they noticed was the storm of mana at the very center of a large, floating landmass, the swirling streams of mana twisting the ground beneath in ways no one thought possible. "Well, this is it!" Aravan shouted over the magical windstorm. Josh and Ace began walking toward the multicolored nexus of the mana storm, their hearts racing just as fast as their friends'.
When they had reached the edge of the safe ground, about sixty feet from the bright center, a creature looking like an angel leaped out from inside the storm. Her wings were tinted with the other four colors of mana as depicted on the monitor they had seen earlier. Even her sword hilt glowed vibrantly in all five colors of mana. "So, Asha still has not atoned for her errors, Eron?" she said, pointing her blade at the other angel.
"You're an archangel of Bant!" Eron shouted back. "Why aren't you helping the others protect her people?"
"Unlike you want to believe, lowly Amesha, Asha is fallible and corrupt. Without the necromancy and death energy of Grixis to keep her powers of light in check, she could do entirely as she pleases, without a feeling for her subjects. Furthermore, she did not realize the consequences of her actions, and she is going to pay dearly for it. With the defeat of Sedris, the balance of Alara's mana is upset, and the Progeny wakes again."
"By defeating Sedris, we have made Alara a better, safer place to live! That is the ideal Asha strives for, and the ideal everyone in Bant is taught from childhood! Surely she taught you that during your ascension!"
"I will no longer serve a ruler who purges those who do not conform exactly to her ways. I now serve the Progeny, who casts fair and perfect judgment to all five former shards of Alara. The Progeny is incorruptible, ineffable, and infallible. The Progeny has given strict orders to eliminate, through whatever means necessary, anyone who does not agree with the perfect judgment laid before everyone here. Asha must suffer for her transgressions. Join the Progeny in purging the corrupt, and live the ideal life in the new Alara!"
"Upon my ascension as an angel," Eron breathed heavily, "I forever swore to Asha that I would defend her and uphold her ideals. She needs me just as much as I--no, all of us--need her. And I have no intention of breaking my vow to her!"
"If this is the way it must end, then feel free to throw your lives away--they will only fuel the Progeny's purging flames!"
"Chaaaaaaaaaaaaarge!!!" Eron and his four friends shouted.
Music Track: Dancing Mad (Tier 1) //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy VI OSV
Of course, only Josh, Eron, and Ace charged the angel. Just as the two swordsmen were about to jump-slash her, she leaped up--straight into a shot fired from Eron's bow, from point-blank range.
"You cannot keep a secret from me! Soulgaze!" Aravan cried, then gasped in horror at how powerful their foe was. "Guys!!" he shouted. "Stay away from her!"
But it was too late. The angel raised her sword skyward, a holy bolt promptly striking it. "Pour down holy rain from the gates of heaven! Tempest of Light!" She threw her sword into the air above her, and spheres of holy energy fell around her like hail. One nailed Eron straight in the chest, and he struggled to stay aloft after the blow. The other two dropped to the ground almost immediately, moaning painfully on the way back up. Just as she caught her blade, Ace's sword arm started shaking from being nailed several times with the balls of light.
"As I was saying," Aravan resumed, "she has all kinds of area-of-effect spells that devastate groups of melee attackers. Keep spread out!" The group dispersed at his command. "Freeze underneath a mountain of ice! Glacier Force!" He led the angel straight into a rapidly-forming prison of ice, burying her in layer after layer of cold. After eight layers formed, a beam of the coldest temperature he could conjure shattered the sheets of ice. "So the DM is respecting the 9999 damage cap after all...I really wish DMs would stop doing that, especially if they expect their players to reach epic level."
"Pesky Esper wizards," she gritted her teeth. "This should teach you..." She raised her arms into the air. "In my presence you will know quiet! Silence!" From his neck up to his eyes, Aravan's skin began turning white, sealing his mouth shut as soon as the color change passed it.
"Purify this crippled body and mind!" Shalin cried. "Refresh!" Aravan's skin turned back to normal, the spell completely reversing the effects of the angel's silencing act. Just as the angel was re-casting it, Josh and Ace leaped toward her, slashing from both sides. The crippling mixture of light and darkness erupted from her wounds. After a loud shriek, she collapsed, and the storm sucked her body in.
Music Track: Dancing Mad (Tier 2) //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy VI OSV
Pulses of concentrated mana shot out in a myriad of directions as another creature flew out from inside the storm--this one appeared to be a Grixis demon transformed by the Maelstrom. The vile creature raised its arms skyward, absorbing electricity from the storm into its hands before releasing it on top of Josh. The knight dropped to his knees, electricity crackling all over his armor.
"The Maelstrom ran its course through demonic hordes as well," Eron sighed in observation. "There will be no rest and no mercy for the damned! Asha's Vengeance!" Thick beams of intense, holy light rained above the demon, cutting through its body like the sharpest sword in existence. The assault literally ripped open a hole in its chest. Seeing no way to defeat someone with holy power on his side, the gasping creature dove straight toward the angel, its body encased in electricity. Unable to fly out of the way in time, Eron found himself trapped beneath the abomination, electrocuted in its suicide move.
"Dammit, Eron, you're supposed to stay in the back row!" Aravan shouted. "You're a healer!" The demon, too, was sucked back into the center of the Maelstrom. "Without a healer, we're not going to make it!"
"You still have me!" Shalin reassured her comrade.
"But you can't rez at all. Eron was the only one of our party that could rez last time I looked at everyone's character sheets. And since this is the final battle, I am sure the DM isn't beyond using cheap, instant-death tactics to see that he is the winner of his own campaign."
Music Track: Dancing Mad (Tier 3) //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy VI OSV
Before Shalin could reply, cones of electricity surrounded the four fighters still standing. A second cone fell to the side of each of the first, then the sets began disintegrating from the ground up. Suddenly, Josh found himself attacked by a silhouette of an armored man exactly the same height and build as himself. He barely parried the blow. The others found themselves in similar situations, facing shadow beings that appeared to be clones of themselves. Eron, exhausted from battle, could no longer keep his eyes open.
"I swear the DM is metagaming," Aravan snarled. "You cannot keep a secret from me! Soulgaze!" He found all four of their foes to be surprisingly weak, especially for what he thought of as an 'endgame boss'. "Level 99 hit points with level 50 stats, huh? Typical." He turned to Ace and Shalin. "See if you can catch them all in an area spell--they don't even have enough hit points to survive the damage cap!"
The barbaric shadow warrior leaped above the summoning circle created by Shalin's copy, trying to come down on top of Josh. His sword felt just as heavy as Ace's, knocking the knight to the ground. Josh prayed to Asha for help, chanting a healing spell he needed to stand again. Unfortunately for him, his foe continued to wail on him while he was down, as the instinct of anyone from Jund would command. He, too, had no strength to keep his eyes open, and both Bantians were fading fast.
"Fireheart of the world, rain burning destruction! Meteor Storm!"
"Rage and blow, storms of fury! Tsunami!"
The massive updrafts created by the windstorm Shalin procured lifted their foes right into Ace's rain of boulders. The shadow clones of Ace and Josh vanished after their first contact with the burning rocks, and Aravan's followed on the third. The final one remaining was barely able to stand after putting out the flames with a quick casting of Refresh, but now she was accompanied by a dark version of one of the Nayan's great titans. The black mockery of a Spearbreaker stood in front of her as she cast a weaker version of Shalin's Nourish spell. That gave her the strength to climb up the Gargantuan's body and spray fireballs while riding the great beast.
"Make a mockery of Naya's greatest creatures, will you?!" Shalin shouted. "Tear my foe to pieces with a cone of wind! Gale Force!" Three hurricane-force wind gusts converged directly on top of the behemoth, blowing the rider from her perch and into the storm of mana. Once she had disintegrated, so did the beast. Shalin, Aravan, and Ace ran toward the two fallen. "Josh, are you okay?" Shalin knelt down to get a closer look at the injured fighter.
Music Track: Dancing Mad (Tier 4) //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy VI OSV
Before she got a chance to listen for a response, the ground beneath them began shaking, and the central nexus swirled more violently. From the hole that had been created due to the storm's distortion came the most bizarre creature they had seen yet. Its entire body glowed like the multicolored panorama of the Maelstrom, only brighter. A cord stretched from its chest to the center of the storm. It looked somewhat like a human, but far different than anything they had encountered during their trip across Alara. The closest expression to describe what it resembled was a glowing human fetus.
"This is the Progeny itself," Aravan gasped.
"For the sake of everyone all over Alara!" Shalin rallied her comrades.
The only noise the Progeny made was a shrill cry akin to that of a young child, and with it came terrible magic. A transparent spirit of a snake appeared, coiling around Aravan's head then taking a bite into it before vanishing. He dropped to his knees, hands on the sides of his head, trying to curb the splitting headache from literally having a portion of his mind eaten. Shalin gasped and ran toward her friend out of concern. Ace, paying no attention to them, charged the entity. His blade merely bounced off the side of the strange being. "What?!" he shouted.
"Let me try!" Shalin replied. "Tear my foe to pieces with a cone of wind! Gale Force!" A large tunnel of wind slammed directly into the divine child, but it, too, had no effect at all. "Nothing's working!"
"Reduce this body to its natural capability!" Aravan cried. "Disenchant!" A sphere of faint white light surrounded the foe, then shattered without effect. "Whatever is causing our attacks to bounce off cannot be removed by normal means! Dammit!"
With a second shrill cry, fireballs rained from the sky, and a yellow dome of highly unstable mana fueled by pure rage surrounded the party. Any fireballs that contacted the dome exploded on contact, until the dome fell in on itself. All three remaining fighters found themselves on the ground, Shalin the only one able to even get up to her knees afterward.
---
(Silence Music Track)
"Aravan!" Sharuum cried. "I feel something terrible just happened to Aravan!"
"You're not the only one," Kresh added. "It's like I can't feel Ace anymore. I didn't care for the guy much to begin with, but I have to respect his bravery."
"So, now it's them, too..." Asha sobbed. "First Eron, then Josh, then those two...was there no hope for a unified Alara to begin with? As far as we have come, we were sure that we could change our own fate. We thought that fate was something to be decided by ourselves, but perhaps it truly is the gods that determine our fate. We just should have gone in there with them. They would have had a better chance with us."
"Asha, it is not your fault," Sharuum assured her. "If anyone had the capability to free the unified Alara from the fate of the Progeny, it was them. We would not have done them any good."
"This means that their deaths will burden our souls for the rest of our lives, Sharuum. We are the ones who sent them into such a dangerous place."
"No, Asha. They went there on their own prerogative. It was ultimately their decision, and they accepted it. It is no one's fault."
"I still feel terrible for Eron. He ascended to become an angel, then sacrificed himself for a cause that was ultimately futile."
"Shalin?" Mayael mumbled.
"What, Mayael?" Asha perked up.
Music Track: FINAL FANTASY ~FFXII Ver.~ //Hitoshi Sakimoto
Album: Final Fantasy XII OST
"It's Shalin! She's still alive! I can feel her--barely, but she's still alive!" She folded her hands in prayer. "O great hydra-god Progenitus, grant Shalin strength in her time of need, for the fate of every living thing on Alara depends on it!" She turned back to the other guardians. "Everyone, we must pray for Shalin and the others!"
"I don't believe in that stuff," Kresh replied.
"Then try to reach out to Ace in your own way!" Asha folded her hands in prayer, then she, Mayael, and Sharuum closed their eyes.
---
Another wail from the Progeny, and lightning began striking around Shalin and her fallen friends. Just as she was about to be struck by one, a faint, rainbow-colored aura surrounded her and her friends, and the bolt slid around it. The four fallen opened their eyes and slowly got back on their feet. Once all five were standing again, the auras surrounded the divine creature instead. With a sound akin to a large piece of glass shattering, the mana holding the aura together broke into many pieces and disappeared. The vibrant colors of the Progeny faded slightly as it cried in pain. "Mayael...thank you," Shalin sighed.
Music Track: Dancing Mad (Tier 4) //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy VI OSV
"Save the thanks for later," Aravan added urgently, "we still have a job to do!" He turned to face his foe. "You cannot keep a secret from me! Soulgaze!" After casting the spell, he paused in thought."
"So, what are we looking at here?" Eron asked.
"Wow, I was honestly expecting worse. 99,999 hit points is a lot, but at level sixty shouldn't take terribly long. It's so powerful, it appears to be able to cast every single spell known to anyone on Alara, but cannot control its casting at all. From this, I can say that it will cast a completely random spell every round. That appears to be its entire battle script, regardless of its current hit point count."
"Any weak points?"
"Not really; it takes half damage from all elements. Stick to weapon attacks and non-elemental spells. You cannot drain all of its mana points either, as it will just draw more from the Maelstrom as a free action every round. Because of the large number of area-of-effect spells it can cast, we need to stay spread out." At Aravan's suggestion, the party fanned out, Josh and Ace on opposite sides of the Progeny, and Shalin and Aravan in the far corners. Eron flew high above his friends, keeping one eye on them and the other on his foe.
After another cry, a faint barrier of light formed around the mighty guardian of the Maelstrom, similar to Eron's Hindering Light spell. Josh and Ace wailed on it with their swords, the Bantian's light-and-dark blade a liability instead of an asset in this fight. The others followed up with the strongest single-targeting spells they had in their arsenal, being Gale Force, Purge, and Glacier Force. Despite the massive blows, the Progeny showed no sign of weakness.
A huge twister lifted Josh high into the air, sending him crashing to the ground after a long trip back down. He dizzily looked for where he dropped his sword, crawling back toward Aravan to find it. The Esper wizard helped him stand back up while Ace continued to slash away and the others repeatedly fired the same spells as before.
Two exchanges later, the Progeny unleashed a devastating spell none of them had ever seen cast anywhere on Alara. An enormous, fiery explosion engulfed the entire field of battle, the ancient being directly in the center of the white flames. The holy flames sent all five of them flying, their power collecting in the center of the blast, the caster absorbing it. The only thing that saved Ace was his high heat tolerance.
"It's now or never," Shalin said, being the first to stand up. The others rose much more slowly. "Empower us with the divine strength of the Nayan Gargantuans! Titanic Ultimatum!" Her hands swirled with amounts of mana she had never manipulated before, branching off into five streams each capable of producing an intense spell. When it had encased her and her allies, all of them grew to an enormous size--easily triple their normal height.
Eron and Aravan quickly found out that the power of their spells had also been magnified; the angel in particular saw how much more brightly his rays of judgment glowed. Aravan's blast of cold further agitated the Progeny. Before it got the chance to cast another spell, Ace leap-slashed it, the weight of his blade also magnified. With a loud wail, the divine spellcaster disappeared, as well as the nexus distorting the ground at the center of the Maelstrom. Once it had fallen, all five of the victors returned to their normal size.
Music Track: Escape
Album: Super Metroid
Seconds later, the entire area began shaking, and the multicolored panorama of the Maelstrom began cycling through its five colors like a strobe light. Suddenly, Asha's voice echoed above the earthquake-like noise. "Listen, everyone! In its defeat, the Progeny seeks to crush everything inside the Maelstrom with one final magical assault--the destruction of the Maelstrom itself! You need to hurry and escape--it could collapse any second!"
"But we're so far from where we came in here that it'll be impossible to get out in time!" Shalin panicked.
"You're a guardian of Alara--isn't there anything you can do to hold it off?" Eron said in a slightly calmer, yet still urgent, tone.
"With all four of us working together, we should be able to hold it back long enough for you to escape."
"How long?"
"My guess would be twenty minutes."
"Then we have twenty minutes to get out of here!"
"I figured the DM would throw a load-bearing boss at us soon enough," Aravan moaned. "It does make for exciting escape scenes, but it defies all forms of logic."
END OF CHAPTER
--------------
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
CHAPTER 12-5: Escape
Music Track: Escape
Album: Super Metroid
Knowing that getting out of the Maelstrom on foot would be nowhere near fast enough, everyone gifted with a flying mount called them forth from the aether. The sphinx sat down low enough for Aravan to climb aboard without event, but Ace had to hoist himself onto his hellkite. Shalin's phoenix glowed in bright, vibrant yellow, oranges, and reds, and the halcou looked majestic, as always.
"I see two vortices instead of one," Ace observed.
"Dammit, I knew this was going to happen," Aravan snapped. "He changed the entire dungeon on us for the escape!"
"Well, which way?"
"How should I know?"
"Just pick one! We don't have forever!"
"Right. Go right!" All of them flew through where the nexus used to be and into the portal to the right. Ace's dragon soared ahead in a burst of speed, flying into the white light at the center of the vortex. After emerging in the new area, Ace and Aravan found themselves on the ground, the two birds flying in the cramped quarters of the Etherium Mines.
"It's what happens when you teleport a summoned creature into a space too small to fit in--it is recalled back into the aether," Shalin explained.
"What are we supposed to do now? Even if we get into a more open area, I'm tapped out," Aravan moaned.
"Well, it's going to be a bit of a long shot, but I think my leotau will be fast enough for you two," Josh suggested. "Eron, you may have to ride with me at some point, which is going to slow the halcou down. If you ever fall behind, this is what it will probably come to." He folded his hands in prayer, projecting the summoning circle in the testing chamber the former jail cell faced. Immediately after the leotau appeared, Ace and Aravan pulled themselves on to its back. The five made for the east exit to the research lab, and found a vortex that wasn't previously there before, inside one of the inactive stasis tanks. The one next to the quarantine chamber had disappeared. All the active computer monitors showed "EVACUATE" with a timer beneath that ticking away the time remaining, down to hundredths of a second.
Ace clasped his hands together and began casting a spell to break the tank open. "Wait!" Aravan shouted.
"What is it? I'm gonna bust this thing open!"
"Josh, do you think your leotau can break the tank with a charge?"
"Absolutely." Without a reply, Aravan slid off, Ace following after the Esperite prodded him so. After a deep breath, the majestic, armored feline charged into the tank, shattering it to pieces and activating the portal. This time, Eron helped Ace and Aravan get back aboard Josh's beast before all five of them went through. Aravan got one last glimpse at the timer before it disappeared into the multicolored light; it read 17 minutes 22 seconds and change.
The warp dropped them in the middle of the Desert of Repentance, no idea where they were. "Dammit, now we have to search the desert for a way out?!"
"I'll scout out for an exit," Shalin offered, and her phoenix took to the northern sky in a blazing fireball.
"I'll go too," Josh said, then his halcou took off in the opposite direction. The group staying behind became more nervous with each passing second, large tremors creating quicksand in low spots of the arid land.
Over three minutes later, Shalin stopped her firebird above the remnants of an Esperite tower and waved. Seeing her stop, he turned the halcou around and flew full speed toward her. Eron kept pace with the running leotau as best he could, warning the riders of quicksand he could see better from the air. The vortex was partially concealed by the tower, which is what made it so difficult to spot. Once everyone had caught up, everyone dove through it, Aravan the only one aware of exactly how much time had passed.
The shaking became much more profound upon being thrust into the Valley of Progenitus--by this time, each tremor made the ground beneath visibly move, making it hard for the leotau to keep its balance. Shalin pointed out that the west gate from which she entered the valley was still there. She flew through it first, and the others followed in single file.
The party emerged in the Stomping Fields, just as Shalin expected. All the Gargantuans that wandered here previously had mysteriously vanished. Shalin's phoenix swooped high into the air, the two looking for portals hidden among the ruins. After circling the field once, she found two. The group opted for the closer one, hidden behind a pile of square columns that somehow the tremors had not knocked over yet. The shaking getting more intense by the minute, all of them rushed through the gate. "Damn you, DM!" Aravan shouted as he discovered they emerged back in the Etherium Mines, one cell over from where they had started. They backtracked to the Stomping Fields, riding and flying to the warp on the other side of the plains. This other gate led back to the Seaswept Cliff, the water by the beach churning violently from the near-constant tremors.
"Finally, back in familiar territory," Josh sighed.
"And with not much time to spare, either--only seven minutes left!" Aravan added. Rather than risk the Esperite, Ace had the leotau run down the winding mountain path while those capable of flight flew down to the portal on the south side of the beach. Everyone hustled through, and they breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the east end of the Cathedral of Bliss in sight. Just as they stepped onto the narrow path that led to the three-dimensional maze, all the routes collapsed to be level with each other, and another of those strange, five-toned elementals rose out of the ground. Aravan clasped his hands together, and one began glowing white; the other, black.
"I thought you were tapped out," Shalin said.
"Not quite; I have just enough mana left to cast this." He turned back toward the monstrosity. "You will die, and no one will remember you. Unmake!" An enchanted mirror rose from the ground up to the elemental's face. When the creature saw its own reflection, its body shattered into jagged pieces, as though it was made of glass. The phoenix and halcou carried their riders to the balcony of the Cathedral. Eron landed a couple hundred feet from it, exhausted from flying for so long. After walking to just in front of it, he sighed not once, but twice. With a heroic effort, he heaved himself back into the air, barely high enough to grab onto the edge of the floating sanctuary. Josh and Shalin dismounted to pull him up to safety. Eron collapsed on the balcony after being pulled up.
The leotau carrying Ace and Aravan carefully ran across the merged paths, focusing on keeping its balance while the ground shook harder yet. Once they were just beneath the sanctuary, Josh recalled his leotau back into the aether, then instructed the halcou and phoenix to pick them up and get them to safety. Shalin hugged Ace when her firebird dropped him off. "I'm so glad you're safe!"
"We're not safe yet," Aravan pointed out. "Though the exit portal is right there, we're still way above the ground. This place is going to blow in less than three minutes, and I'm completely tapped out."
"So am I," Ace sighed. "So what can we do?"
"There's only one option," Shalin started to suggest. "The halcou and phoenix will have to carry us to the ground, one at a time each."
"We don't have enough time for that!" Aravan exclaimed urgently.
"It's our only out. We don't have a choice. Aravan, Ace! Go!" Aravan gripped the halcou the hardest he could as it disappeared through the portal and to the western deck of the side of the cathedral back in Alara. Ace and the phoenix followed Aravan. When both of them stood on the edge of the deck, they simultaneously dove down, both screaming from the G-forces behind their birds' acceleration. The riders literally rolled off their birds and onto the grassy plains below, unable to stand from being so dizzy and tired. Seconds later, the riderless birds took back to the air.
Back at the top, Eron, Josh, and Shalin stepped through the vortex and onto the landing deck. The angel couldn't believe that the most sacred structure in all of Bant would be destroyed in less than two minutes. Josh and Shalin watched anxiously, waiting for their birds to come through the clouds and carry them away from the doomed Cathedral. "What's taking so long?!" Shalin half-snapped, half-moaned. The seconds seemed like minutes, Josh keeping track of each passing one. Twenty seconds passed, and still no sign of them. Thirty seconds. Forty seconds. Fifty seconds, and still no sign of them.
After a minute passed, a computerized voice saying "WARNING" repeatedly echoed beyond the unstable portal. Still no sign of them. Josh counted down the seconds in his head. Forty-two, forty-one, forty, thirty-nine, thirty-eight. At long last, the halcou and phoenix rocketed through the clouds and onto the deck. Twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven, twenty-six.
Josh loosened the halcou's saddle, scooted it up slightly, then tightened it again. Twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen. "Hurry, Josh!" Shalin shouted from her perch as the knight helped Eron get onto the avian. Josh was forced to sit behind Eron, directly on the bird's feathers. Twelve, eleven, ten, nine. "We have to go, now!" Eron looked back at the cathedral one last time as the phoenix and halcou took off with the remaining three in tow. Five, four, three, two, one, zero.
Pulses of mana unlike anything Alara had ever experienced before shot out from the vortex, cutting through the floating structure and sending debris flying everywhere. Large chunks of metal and stone became weapons deadlier than any sword man, aven, or angel ever crafted. The halcou and phoenix continuously weaved to lessen the chance of being hit by objects flying at hundreds of miles per hour. They touched down next to Ace and Aravan and gasped at the horror they witnessed.
---
Music Track: Majestic Kingdom //Dennis Martin
Album: The Legend of Dragoon OST
"Will he be okay?" Shalin asked the balmgiver tending to Ace at the Seaside Palace. "He was bleeding pretty badly when that statue piece fell on top of his leg."
"He's going to have to have his leg amputated and replaced with an etherium one," the female cleric replied. "It's the only way he'll ever walk again. We have several enchantments dulling the pain as best we can, but he was still groaning. We'll probably get him into surgery later this afternoon, and you have the metallurgeons who evacuated here from Esper to thank for that. Otherwise, such an operation wouldn't be possible."
"As much as I disagree with the use of etherium, I'm happy it's saving my friend's life. Esper was obsessed with the stuff, and it caused their entire civilization to fall apart."
"Well, that makes sense. You're a Nayan druid, and are trained from childhood to only take from nature what you need. Druidic magic is very good at destroying artifice."
"I learned to suppress that after traveling with Aravan. He taught me that there are both constructive and destructive uses of it. So long as it's being used to save lives rather than take them, I'm fine with it."
"You should stay in Valeron--you could teach our druids a few things that could help better protect her ports from Jhessian invasion."
"That war is still going on?"
"I'm sure that when things return to normal--rather, as close to normal as they'll ever get--we'll be at war with Jhess again over naval rights. It's been that way for years, and I don't see it stopping anytime soon."
"Well, I would stay, but I'm pretty sure after everything settles down here, Mayael and I are going to return to Naya to deliver the news. I'm off to tell the others about Ace."
"Have a good day."
---
"Is Ace going to make it?" Eron asked, still in bed as Shalin entered, Josh and Aravan turning their heads toward her.
"He's going to have his leg replaced with an etherium one, but it looks like he'll make it," Shalin answered. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "He's going into surgery tonight, and thanks to the magical properties of etherium, recovery shouldn't be more than a week."
"All the metallurgeons who survived the fallout must have been novices," Aravan added. "It never took anyone I've known that long to recover from very similar operations. Of course, most of those people are probably dead by now."
"What are you going to do now, Aravan?" Josh asked. "We're all going home once Ace's leg is repaired and healed, but you don't exactly have a home to return to."
"I'll probably stay somewhere in Bant for a while, heading to the outer limits of Esper regularly to collect data on the fallout. When it's safe, I plan to go back to assist in the cleanup plan. Of course, this is years down the road; I doubt Esper will ever reach her former glory again. How close we get largely depends on how much etherium in the wreckage is salvageable. I think the Ethersworn have learned why Crucius fled Esper after hearing just how far the Noble Work was taken, and we will make better use of what little we have."
"Speaking of plans, what are you going to do, Eron? There isn't a home for you to return to either, now that you're an angel."
"I'm going to see what Asha says," Eron replied. "Without the Cathedral, none of us know where to go, really."
"I think we should see her the day after Ace's surgery, when he feels well enough to at least be moved."
---
Music Track: The Elemental Stars //Motoi Sakuraba
Album: Golden Sun OST
"Thank you, all of you," Asha congratulated the five fighters, Ace's new artificial leg still wrapped underneath a number of sheets. "You have given the reunified Alara the chance to live on its own, apart from the Progeny that seeked for the world to be split. We owe our lives to you." Silence followed. "You don't have to say anything."
"Enough of the formalities," Aravan interrupted. "We know, we're heroes. I would prefer if we got down to business." He turned to Sharuum. "Great Hegemon, what are your plans for returning to Esper?"
"Sedris' wake of destruction has made Esper uninhabitable for the time being," Sharuum answered. "With all traces of his undead gone, the radiation should clear naturally, but it will take several years at least. Then, we have to address the issue of cleaning up Vectis and Palandius, as well as the outer cities also affected by the fallout. We must salvage as much etherium as possible out of the ruined structures, as we cannot mine new etherium from the bottom levels. Because the quarantined area is far underground, it will never be safe to traverse again. From there, we make careful, sparse use of the etherium we have to rebuild Esper. Again, this will take years. In the meantime, we sphinxes will stay in Bant, outside the castles. The rest of the evacuees will have to find shelter here in Bant, or elsewhere in Alara. It should not be difficult, as the societies from the other worlds are mingling with Bant and each other as we speak."
"Sadly, that has made Alara more dangerous," Mayael added. "Gargantuans and dragons now roam everywhere, doing as they please as though it was their home world. Of course, we are now better equipped to handle them, as you demonstrated yourself, Shalin. You trained a dragon to follow Ace's orders--something unheard of among godtouchers. After all this is over, Shalin, I would like to meet with you again, in my palace. We have important matters to discuss, privately."
"Now that Alara is permanently merged back together thanks to the Progeny's defeat," Asha continued, "she faces a new problem: her five cultures merging together with the worlds themselves.
---
Music Track: Overture //Nobuo Uematsu
Album: Final Fantasy VIII OST
Word of Josh's heroic deeds quickly spread throughout Bant, and he was later invited to Castle Valeron, where Rafiq greeted him with great news. The two of them toured Bant's many castles, Josh collecting a number of sigils at each stop. After returning to Valeron, Rafiq, the king, and the angels blessed him with a new rank: Co-Knight-Captain of the Reliquary. This, in name, made him an equal to the Grand Champion of Sigils.
Eron returned to Asha, who further blessed him by declaring him the next Asura of Honor when it was her time to go. He, too, collected numerous sigils for his heroic work.
Shalin and Mayael returned to her palace back in south-central Naya, where she announced that Shalin would be Mayael's successor as Anima. She couldn't believe she was charged with such a powerful and daunting duty. The two went all over Naya to spread the news to humans, nacatl, and elves all over Naya. Tensions between humans and elves relaxed, and elves began to interact with Shalin's Gargantuans more.
Ace spent a great deal of time in the castles of Bant, getting used to his artificial leg before returning to the skies above Jund. The hellkite he commanded made him a fierce predator, never a shortage of food on their dinner table. Not even the greatest of clans dared to hunt him or his dragon down.
Aravan and Sharuum stayed at the Seaside Palace, they and the others from Esper looking into the condition of their former homeland. In the meantime, he was raised in the way of chivalry, reintroducing offensive and support blue magic to wizards in Akrasa, and from there, all of Bant. The new skills introduced would certainly make following Hero Competitions more interesting than even the one where Ace and Shalin fought each other.
After a long period of time, Esper began to look like a former shadow of her previous self, and traces of life blossomed into grassy plains in Vithia, the world formerly known as Grixis. The more time that passed, the less apparent it became that the plane of Alara even fractured into five shards to begin with.
Though their homes were hundreds of miles apart from each other, the five heroes still stayed in contact with one another, gathering from time to time in places spread all across Alara. The names Josh, Eron, Shalin, Ace, and Aravan, the names of those who freed the reunited Alara from her terrible fate, would never be forgotten by her people.
THE END
--------------
Anyone following this story, if you've also read Alara Unbroken, I would like to know what you think of this compared to that.
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya