CO: Kris, Repent, Rad, Derp and AB
“Who is not happy?”, Talia asked, as she felt some kind of pulse beating within her. She stared at the children and then at Virgil, looking for further clues.
William who has been studying her gaze grinned, “Why are you looking at this gentleman for comfort, brother. Is he someone important in your new life? I know what it is like to have someone dear to you… and how does it feel when said person is taken away from you…”
It all escalated pretty quickly from there. William had teleported in a strange manners, leaving behind icicles which showed his pattern of movement behind. In a matter of seconds he was already close to the old wind elemental warrior, Virgil.
“No, stop!”, Talia called after him as she ran in his direction.
“Be a dear and subdue her”, William told Shani, who nodded slowly before throwing herself at Talia. The girl was never aggressive, but she turned violent at William’s commend without a second thought. Talia stared at Shani who hissed at her, blocking her path.
Virgil’s fireball crashed against the ice where Wiliiam was before. Seeing that the general was closing in fast Virgil leapt into the air over William slashing at him from above, throwing down heated wind shears and firing two more smaller pellets of fire as he landed.
He didn’t notice that Talia had returned. His mind, his general demeanor, all of his being was focused on combat and the three others currently involved with it.
Tobias’ prep continued, making slow low notes as he continued to draw out the circle for his spell to work. His eyes darted side to side every now and then, seemingly in a trance like state.
To the impacts Wiliam found himself yawning and removing himself from each location the blows of Virgil landed. It was not perfect mind you and the blows did missed him by a hair, but it was easy to see he could remove himself from one location and reappear in the next without much trouble, “You are losing your touch Wind Warrior”, Wiliam seemed rather out of it. He didn’t look so strong, but he speed was rather impressive, even Talia was rather surprised to see someone much quicker than her uncle.
“Shut up.”
Virgil growled as he began the offensive again. A visible ring of heat beginning to swirl around him as he began chanting under his breath, a voice that soon echoed in all directions:
“So rayndr ec so meva, so meva ec so bufan.”
The ring of heat slowly began to condense around him until they formed into two bright glimmers on the tips of his blades. An furious yel preceded a heavy slah from both his weapons into the ground calling forth two large, violent tornadoes wreathed in flames surging towards William at an alarming pace.
Wiliam expression was unchanged but his eyes show clear dreadness. He indeed disappear, however when he relocated himself it was clear that great damage took over his body as his cloths were torn and blood dripped from his arms, legs and face. He heaved as the ice that followed him around shattered like crystals beside him, as if a chandelier was smashed right over his head.
Wiliam raised his hand to his face and smeared the blood as he tried to feel the warm fluid’s progress upon him. As he looked at his hand a smile spread over his face, “Well, time sure had his way with you, but it seems I might have underestimated you… a little”, he chuckled as he wiped blood off his lips and shook his hands as he was getting ready for his own impact. Quick movement of his hands and ice projectiles were shot at the direction of Virgil and Tobias as he himself continued to move closer to Talia, “Don’t take it the wrong way! You are a worthy opponent, but I just simply do not fancy battling you!”, the smile never leaving his face.
“Virgil!” Tobias called out pointing his bow in the sky signaling he was ready. “You’re right, I’m not the one you should have been concerned with, and that is why you will lose it all. Now Tobias!!”
The wizard smiled as he began to play. The soft beginning caused the book to light up and fly to the middle of the circle that Tobias drew. The quickening paced bled power into the siglis causing them to light up into a multitude of colors which shot into the air as an assortment of chains and other restrictive equipment, the secondary violin formed a circle as last time, but then soon formed into an arcane copy of himself playing alongside him. The two began a complicated jig in circles around the spell circle itself as the chains advanced on William, aiming to wrap themselves around his person emitting sharp pulses of arcane power at each pull of the bass line.
The small break would only occur once the chains were fully administered. The essence of the elements soon began to course through the chains thrashing and forcing themselves through his body.
The second break cause both Tobias and his clone to pause entirely, pouring all of their focus and energy into causing as much damage as possible, while pulling him towards the center of the circle.
The finale sent a final shock wave causing a minor explosion of magical power, dissipating the chains and the clone while sending the book flying to Tobias. As he grabbed the book, the pages that were used fell out of the book and reduced themselves to ash.
At any of the waves Wiliam was able to simply lift his hand and raise a layer of ice around his body, but the impacts were growing further and further frequent that not only the process of the shield raising was halted, that the shield itself was becoming weaker each time it was up- to the point where the 2 finals impacts were thrown directly at William, throwing him off balance and some distance away. He gasped badly as his body struggled on the ground for air, as the ice formed on his body to patch his wound and prevent his blood from leaving. As immortals as the Generals were in the idea of the word, once their vessels expire so did they.
It was then that something hit Tobias from behind. It will not be right to say that the musical wizard did not notice her presence, but it will be accurate to say that he was too exhausted to react properly. Standing in red, expressionless, and a plank of wood in her hands, Shani stood beside Tobias as his hands went to the back of his head, wincing in pain.
She lingered for a moment to see if Tobias would rise. Since he stayed still clutching his head, she dropped the plank of wood and began moving forward for Talia once more.
***
[Flash back]
Tarrik could feel the sensation of lingering memories that were engraved into the brain of the dead woman, and they were both readable and blurry as if staring into a muddy puddle. William, this new man that appeared in the Matron’s house was a stranger to Shani, but he was someone the Matron knew of--- Or at least she used to. He was a guard in the high court of King Kale, but it was long ago. . There was something else in him now. Something dark and vengeful.
He was seeing through her eyes the events of 17 years ago-- a brief meeting, gathering of few brave souls in a court-- probably King Kale’s palace- Those heroes were chosen for a mission by the oracle of earth. From the brief memories Tarrik could have learned that this William was an enemy even back then.
Back to the present, William stepped in, surprising the two girls. The Matron tried to protect Shani but their fight was a quick one, in which William had the upper hand. He overpowered the matron using ice magic that made her unable to move. But as frozen as she was, she was still aware to all that transpass before her, as she could still see, hear, smell and feel just fine.
He did something to Shani so he could control her, and used her as catalyst to open a portal, which showed a vision of three men. William seems to be familiar with them. The faces that appeared in the portal were unclear, but through the Matron eyes Tarrik could have recognized one of the trio-- The High Priest Bolgan.
Was he also a vile creature like this… William?
Their conversation seemed to be a tense kind of friendly. As though they were allies who didn’t see eye to eye. It was hard to understand what was being said, but it was still fairly clear, they wanted the same thing.
Shani was held in the air, her life energy power feeding the portal and preventing it from closing. The Matron knew that Shani was being used against her will, and this was devastating to her.
After William finished speaking he turned in her direction. The image was interrupted at that moment, but it was not hard to guess what followed next.
William had attacked the Mother, leaving with Shani. The icy sensation lingered in the chamber. William was looking for something or someone… and it was easy to follow his tracks for it was still fresh… and visible…
[End of flashback]
***
Sometimes, when someone takes a life, especially through magical means, a part of that person's essence lingers with the killer. This time, there was practically a line drawn in the air to lead Tarrik to William and with that, Shani. Knowing that when he was using his vision to pick up spiritual energies, his eyes would go black as night, Tarrik promptly flipped his hood up to cover his face as he exited the room with haste. Pausing only briefly to mourn the loss of a wonderful woman, leader, and mentor. There will be more time for that later though, as Shani was in trouble.
Like most people that see the Matron, it seems he simply walked out of the building. Not surprising, the trust the Mothers show in strangers is almost unsettling. Keeping his head low, Tarrik kept up a pretty quick pace while trying to avoid drawing attention to himself. It took everything in him not to sprint along his path.
“Strange day today, good, but strange.” Cliven mused to himself. He’d made a good distance in a short time and was coming up on the small village of Kail, already met few interesting people and had the pleasure to visit the local bar. “Still, these seem to be good folks. Definitely worth sticking around.”
Leading his horse along Cliven made his way deeper into the village. Sleep was on his mind now, and he figured the Mothers could point him to a place tonight, at least until he could find work, maybe he’d fit in well here. Maybe.
It was about then that Tarrik caught a glimpse of a rough looking fellow strolling back into town. Remembering back to earlier today while he was in Matron’s mansion he saw this stranger wandering around about the same time that William would have been there, from what he could tell. Tarrik thought to himself, could this be a coincidence, or did he have something to do with it?
“Hey, you, stranger.” Tarrik called out to the man, avoiding eye contact as he was afraid to let his vision go at the risk of losing the trail. “How long have you been in town?”
Cliven stopped, and nodded, “Not much more than a day, I only just disembarked from a voyage myself.” Cliven searched the man, he seemed distracted, concerned was a better word once he got a look at him though. “Something the matter stranger?”
“You just,” Tarrik wasn't sure how to quickly get information that may be more helpful than just following the trail he was on. “You looked familiar. You didn't happen to have a visit with the mothers earlier today, did you? I'm looking for someone that was there not long ago.”
“It just so happens that I have.” Cliven responded, figuring it best to be honest here. “Name’s Cliven Crane, what can I do for you?” Cliven held out his hand in an offered handshake. A form, more or less of greeting last he checked.
Tarrik, afraid couldn't get any more information without looking the man in the eyes, dropped his vision back down to the normal spectrum. Then he reached his hand out to the stranger to shake it. “Tarrik Sommerset. I know this is a long shot, but would you have met a woman named Shani? I believe she would have come back into town today as well.” Tarrik was staring into Clive’s eyes, looking for recognition, guilt, something. What he saw surprised him. It was as if he was recalling a fond memory.
“Yes, I met her shortly after coming ashore. She’s the reason I’m this far inland. We split not too long ago when I went to inquire about a man named Virgil. Haven’t seen her since.”
“Virgil? Did you find him?” He and his ward Talia had a way of getting into trouble. There was a good chance they would have some part in all of this.
“Sure did, he was with a family who lives back a ways”, Cliven indicated the direction he had just rode from. Then shook his head.
“Tell me stranger, why all this interest in Shani and Virgil? I don’t really think it’s my place to say but this town seems to have it’s share of secrets and quirks, not sure if it’s the place of a stranger to get involved.”
Tarrik again took a quick second to look over Cliven before deciding if he had anything to do with it. His curiosity seemed genuine enough. He must not know what's going on. “She's in danger, and I have a feeling that Virgil may end up involved. There are many secrets that seem to come out of that household. If you know a thing or two about how to use those things you're carrying around then I could surely use the help of a stranger. Now, I’m in a hurry, so if you’re going to help, we need to move fast.” With that, Tarrik turned, refocused his vision and went off at a faster pace than before towards the Sinclair's house, right where the energy was leading him.
Cliven shook his head.
“Why do we always find the strange one’s Avel? “ he asked his horse before starting off.
As much as he just wanted to get some rest now, he still owed Shani, and the Mothers what he considered to be a debt.
“Let’s hope it’s nothing too strange old friend, I’m getting up there in years as it is. Don’t know how much more strange I can take.”
As Tarrik came towards to outer banks of town, a large flash of light, as though someone managed to ignite a whole tree at once, rose from behind the Sinclair's house. And that seemed to be exactly where his path was leading him. Now he began to sprint. He jumped the fence around the outside of the Sinclair’s and as he rounded the side of the house, found himself staring into a battle between William and Virgil, with a stranger doing some sort of musical magic creating a beautiful light above him. And then he spotted Shani, ferociously, and uncharacteristically, blocking the path of Talia. From what Tarrik has seen Talia do, Shani may be in a lot of danger putting herself there.
***
Shani’s eyes were like huge black coals devoid of light. She looked so… inhuman. Talia wasn’t the type of a person to be taken aback by something like fear, but the sensation she got from staring at the young woman’s eyes was more than enough to unsettle her and send shivers down her spine. It felt so unnatural to see one of the mothers acting without any remorse or compassion, like husks controlled by a great puppeteer. Talia looked at the strange older man, and then she looked to Virgil as if wondering if he held the answers to everything that took place before her eyes.
“Shani, stop wasting time, dear”, said William in a very majestic manner, ignoring his obvious pain and wounds; In fact the whole way he carried himself seemed to be implying that not only he was unbothered by the last series of attack, but that he was finding all of them (and mostly Tobias and Virgil) annoying. The ice soon melted unnaturally into his body, healing his wounds slowly, but surely.
As hard as Virgil pressed the onslaught, the ice and the cold surrounding William served as a strong enough wall to keep him at bay, even in his now weaker and beaten state. It also didn’t help that Virgil’s own abilities were taking a toll on him as well. As he fought, Virgil had the nagging instinct to take in surroundings, even if just for a second. So after gaining a safe distance he saw what was nagging him, and followed the instinct of his body movement to shove Shani from Talia’s path with his shoulder. “WHY DO YOU NEVER LISTEN!!!”
Shortly after shouting at Talia, a flat dIsc of ice whizzed past Virgil’s face and just over Talia’s head. The air around them curved it off to the side, just barely saving Virgil’s neck but still giving Virgil a fairly decent cut across his cheek. The line that cut into the earth before the disc shattered was clean and precise. Had it not been for his magic working passively in his favor, that could have been a lot worse. Virgil scoffed and turned to face the two as William lowered his hand and smirked.
“As much as I’d love to play with you all, I can’t waste time here. I have another brother who is just dying to test the new toys the empire has gotten a hold of, and I’d love to clear the way for him to do that. As I said before, I am only interested in one thing--- or more to say one person---”
“You already told us you want your sister. Who else could you possibly be so cryptic about?” Virgil figured he already had an idea. It was either of the other three, though most likely Jared or...
“Why, I’m talking on Fergal of course, you remember him, don’t you? Of course, such a respected elemental warrior will not forget a man of such caliber, no matter how far in years you are. Fergal wants to try and be all mighty again. You know, the whole war legacy he wishes to invoke”, William said.
Virgil stood in silence as he reverted the swords to their half states, barrel present and raised as small cinders began to swirl around both barrels. All while doing this Virgil began chanting under his breath. Except this time he wasn’t getting anything. Virgil wouldn’t be able to pull anymore power without taking from his own defenses. Given the close call he just had, Virgil wasn’t prepared to take that risk.
“Yes, apparently both him and the emperor himself still want to have at it. They still dream of shaping the world as they see fit, and they both want to get back Emonalach… speaking of which… Shani, if you please?”
The young mother closed her eyes and reopen them. They were still dark but something about them hinted that the woman was about to act by some kind of a strong will which was not her own. Talia noticed how bewitching were Shani’s eyes and she was mesmerized, yet as much as she was taken by them she still noticed the quick body movements of Shani. It looked like silly at first but as the rhythm increased steadily and Talia soon found this style of enchantment to be rather familiar…. She recalled that Virgil told her about ways to control magic with chants that were made by drawing symbols in the air, allowing the body to be the catalyst of the words which were invoked. It was a very slow process of magic casting but Virgil said it was very effective if done right.
“W-what is she doing?”, Talia asked.
“Talia!!” Vrigil tried to move but the ice gathered around his feet locked him in place, his heat no longer strong enough to melt it. Vrigil began to hack away at it with his swords.
Amused by Virgil’s attempt to free himself, William turned to face the young girl and provide her with an allusive answer, “Did you know that the Mothers hold a very interesting power within them?”, he asked with a sly smile, “It’s not exactly a gift though, just their basic art of training with their fire spells. A principle of philosophy of how to use the gift with which they entrust themselves to the order of flame. Think of it as harnessing a magic of trust and bound and increasing the effect of it; Endless light- a fire to replace darkness… Very effective when boosting another person’s spell, and it has a very special side effect to those that carry within them a power that is composed of void and disconnection… a power that is shared by my brethrens and I…. And speaking of brothers”, He threw his gaze back at Shani, “So I realized before even trying to approach you brother dear, that you may not be so easy to wake by simple call. That is why I allowed myself to bring this lady with me to help, Shani, if you please?”
Although Talia didn’t know what Shani was planning she decided it was best to stay away from her--- she flinched and started to move back only to find out that the young red acolyte was following her footsteps, increasing her pace with her as Talia began to run, all the while never stopping to move her fingers in the air.
It all happened so quick from there. Talia tumbled and fell. Was it bumping against something on the ground? Or was it the fact that earth grew slippery as the ice expended under their feet while talking? Whatever the reason, the fact remained that she’ve lost her balance and didn’t had much time to regain her position. Before long Shani caught up with her. Talia tried to crawl away, pushing her body with her legs, but the young mother was quicker. Her palms shone with a strange energy indicating that the spell was done and as soon as she placed her bright hands on Talia the girl began to scream.
The screech was horrible, like a gust of terrible wind hitting the mast of a ship caught in a storm. Talia’s body shone and a power recoil followed; an energy feedback, as if a power, which was evenly matched to that of Shani collide against the former. Shani was thrown fair distance away as a result.
If the scream was horrible the silence that followed was even more deafening and dreadful, heralding a change.
“I hoped… I would not face you.”, Talia said in a voice that was not hers and in a manner that was not hers. “You… really can’t have no for an answer, can you?”,
“You are the brother of wishes after all.”, William chuckled, “So, grant me this one, if you may?”, William smiled.
Talia looked at Shani, “I know what you want… I was aware… I know that you want to use the lady as a vessel”.
“Oh wonderful! I don’t need re-explain everything again, just great! Well if you be so kind to-!”
“No…”, Talia said, her blue eyes sparkling.
“No?”
“No…”
“What do you mean by…. No?”
Talia looked around her and then back at Wiliam, “All this for one soul? I will have you know that Rosiel will not be restored. Abaddon will not be restored. Same for Ba’al and any of you to lose light of life in the coming days… That is my will”
“You little…”, William licked his lips and caught his head within his hands, “What do you mean you won’t bring them back, whose side are you on anyway?”.
Talia remained silent.
“I think…”, William licked his lips again as he started to pace back and forth, anger driving him insane, “I think you have stayed in that little form of yours far longer than you should have. And besides, what does the general of terror have to do in a human body anyway?”, William smiled softly, “Brother, I think… I think I can help you… that’s it!!… I think I will!”.
Winds of ice started to encircle William, “You don’t need a body brother… just return to being your old self…. You are very good at doing what you did so far… so just… be yourself….”.
The gust of wind hit, but Talia’s body answered with a gust of fire that surrounded her like a ball of flames, “I said my peace”.
“Oh, no”, William chuckled, “I have just said it for you, goodbye!”.
And then the ice hit…
***
Though she had dreamed of adventure her entire life, Jaylyn found herself paralyzed in shock and fear while violence unfolded around her. She stood, watching in horror as William spoke words that meant nothing to her. Virgil had attacked him and she heard her father’s pistols fire, but the stranger was too fast for either of them to get a hit. And Shani… Shani was a family friend who was always so peaceful and calm. It took much too long for Jay’s mind to realize that the woman in red wasn’t herself.
It wasn’t until Shani chased Talia down and attacked her that Jaylyn began to move. She drew her pistols as Talia began to scream and started after the pair. But before she could do anything to help, Jaylyn feld a firm hand on her arm.
“No,” An’Mar said firmly, tugging her backward and moving himself forward at the same time. “You stay where it’s safe. I’ll-”
But he didn’t have to help, and didn’t have to hold her back, as both of them watched Talia throw off her attacker on her own. Jay watched in awe of her friend’s power, and of the new voice that was suddenly coming from Talia’s mouth. None of the conversation made any sense, and Jay didn’t have time to think about it any further as both sides began building up their powers. And someone else was screaming Talia’s name…
The events that followed happened so quickly that even if she had her wits about her, even if she hadn’t had An’Mar’s strong hand holding her back, Jaylyn wouldn’t have been able to stop them. Wren had returned, dog and goblin in tow, and immediately saw Talia’s danger. She charged at William, but the man been so focused on his prey that he didn’t notice the her attack. Or, perhaps he didn’t find the small woman enough of a threat to react.
Wren made it to the stranger and gave him a mighty shove causing him to lose his focus, icy magic flying at all angles. It seemed to have worked, as Talia was spared from the cold blast. But Jaylyn let out a cry of horror as she watched her mother collapse to her knees instead. Wren curled in on herself, cradling her left arm close to her body.
Wrenching herself free of An’Mar’s grip, Jaylyn ran towards Wren. She could help her! She could heal her! Ignoring all the chaos around them, Jay reached the huddled form of her mother dropped to the ground next to her.
“It's okay,” she breathed, hoping she sounded convincing. “I'm here, Mama.”
Wren looked up at her daughter, her face crossed with pain and frozen tears on her cheeks. She let out a soft chuckle that dissolved into a moan. “I thought I could… but I don't have that power anymore,” she mumbled.
A shadow fell over the two before Jaylyn had time to process what her mother was saying. She looked up to see both An’Mar and her father standing over them protectively, still facing William. Jaylyn grimaced as she reached for her mother's hand, hoping no one else got hurt while she was working.
“Of course you don’t, silly wench… “, William sighed, “Why would you do such a thing? why would you put yourself in danger? and furthermore, why are you still warm and alive? hmm”, he shifted his eyes over Wren’s body, “Ah! I see! It’s subtle but it’s there… a shard of ice. But how could you be protected, woman?”, he gazed at Wren and then at Jaylyn, “I feel some familiar power, a dormant one in you. Seemed to be shared with the identical little whelp besides you, is she your daughter?”, William chuckled, “What could this power be and why is it so familiar? Please answer me and I promise to let your daughter mend you without trouble”
Jaylyn stared up at their enemy with wide, frightened eyes. She opened her mouth to answer that they had no idea what William was talking about, but her mother spoke first. And when she did, Jay was shocked at the malice and venom that dripped from Wren’s usually kind voice.
“I once met a woman who left the same wicked chill in the air as you do,” Wren replied. Her voice, along with the rest of her body, quivered with cold. But the healer’s determined eyes bored into William’s, as icy and angry as his own powers. “She cursed me, and I was forced to live with the effects of her evil touch until I gave birth.”
Jaylyn started. It was the first she had heard anything about a curse, and the story was too vague to make any sense of it. If this William detected a “shard of ice” within both her mother and herself, what did that mean for her own powers?
Another soft laugh escaped her mother’s lips and Jay’s attention was drawn back to the situation at hand. “How ironic,” Wren said, so softly that Jay wasn’t even sure William would be able to hear her. “How ironic that your sister’s curse left a remainder inside that kept me safe from your attack?”
William did not find this bit of information amusing per so. He grunted and gritted his teeth, somewhat shaking his head in soft anger. He actually wanted to strike but, as the old saying went, ‘A promise once given is not to be broken’. He did eyed Jaylyn long and hard considering everything he heard about Lady Rose possible involvement with the her mother. It looked like he took a small interest, but it was hard to read what his expression exactly meant.
‘If Rose was driven to harm her it would mean that she was a past enemy of my sister. And the little girl? Someone who has some gift of power- a memento of Rosier within’
“Heal her, little girl”, William said, dismissing Wren and the rest of the group around her, “It will be futile without a true cure of the ancients, but you may amuse yourself with the idea of possible immediate option of recovery. As I said before I am not interested in you…”
‘Yet’.
***
As Shani rushed Talia, Tarrik, could hardly believe what he was seeing. She had done some sort of magic to harness the fire inside of her. It brought forth a light so bright he had to drop his vision out of focus. Talia had been trying to back away, but William managed to slip her up with a bit of ice. Shani was on top of her before anyone could make a move. And then she screamed. No, she howled as Shani used that light and created some sort of endothermic reaction to cause her, what Tarrik could only imagine, an unbearable pain.
And then there was a response. Talia exploded with a power that she had not scarcely shown before and it sent Shani flying. Before he even thought about it, Tarrik was moving to Shani's aid. He could hear someone talking with William now, but he didn't take the time to see who. As he came upon Shani, he could tell she was out cold, but if there was any other damage, he could not see it in the dark. However, the burst of magic could have done any number of things to her. She would have to be looked over by one of the healers.
Taking his gaze off of Shani, Tarrik tried to assess his surroundings once again. Looking up, Talia and William clashed as Wren threw her weight into William. Wren? What was she doing?! William let out an explosion of ice crystals around himself. Tarrik quickly covered Shani. Luckily there was nothing to be shielded from as the array sent nothing at them. The others weren't so lucky, Wren seemed to be hurt. It did not take long for Jaylyn to get to her, but the fight was not over.
“What…”, Shani soon found herself kneeling as she pressed her right hand on her forehead, “What… Where am I?”, she asked slowly, taking in the sights and the people around her. She seemed to be succumbing to pain as she drop her gaze, still recovering.
“Shani! Are you ok? It's me, Tarrik. We're at the Sinclair's house right now.” He pulled his hood back and rested a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, and her gaze looked very confused but it at least looked like her own. “Do you remember anything about how you got here?” Whatever William had done to her, it may have been knocked out of her by the blast. Would it stay that way, Tarrik wondered. “We are not safe here,” he urged. “If you think you can move, we should try to get further from here.” Her safety was on his mind as the Mother Matron had just been killed, there was a good chance Shani would take her place. Losing both of them in one night would be a huge blow to the mothers. If he had the chance, he'd love to land a blow on this William. He had done much to warrant it, but truth be told, his strength was a little intimidating. “Shani, it would be best to get away from this fight.”
“Wait! What everyone doing here?”, Shani asked, “Mother…”, she bit her lips, the headache was just terrible, “We were together and now…?”, she pressed both hands on her head, “How did I reach here, Tarrik?”
“The man over there, I think his name is William, he is very dangerous.” Tarrik spoke in a hushed voice. “He is the reason you are here. He had control of you somehow. He was using you, your power.” Tarrik looked over his shoulder to make sure that there did not seem to be a focus on them. “He made you attack Talia, and then she… well she fought back. But I haven't seen Talia do anything like that before.” He wanted to explain more, but this was not the time. He needed to tell Shani what she herself had done. It, too, had so much more power than Shani had ever shown to Tarrik. “How do you feel? Do you think you can move?”
The more he thought of the dangerous man, William, what he had done, what he's trying to do to the people he knows. The more he wanted to stand and help them fight. Though he had no fireballs, no ice crystals, no whirling colors of magical light, he was still a fighter. A blade cuts as sharp against a wizard as it does anyone else. He had killed the Mother Matron, he used Shani like a puppet, and he should not go unpunished. Tarrik fought with this as he wished to get Shani to safety. She was in no shape to fight, and he had no idea if she was steady enough to walk. As he had failed to protect her mother, he wished to protect her now.
***
Once his eyes could focus and his ears stopped ringing, Tobias picked himself up off the dirt and came to the conclusion that he should have stayed down. Talia was boasting a tremendous power and was clashing with what was left of William, which made Tobais wonder why Virgil wanted her gone from the fight. Virgil was almost free from the frosted ground underneath speaking of which, and the Sinclair’s were huddled off in a corner with Wren in less then good shape.
With a shake of his head to make sure his faculties were in order again, Tobias took to the family to see if he could offer any help. He had thrown one of his strongest spells at the general and it seemed to only piss him off. He did everything in his power for now on the realm of combat, now he needed to stay out of the way and let the heavy hitters play.
The magician slid to his knees as he arrived and surveyed the damage, her lips were starting to turn blue, but she still felt lukewarm to the touch as he reached for her hand. “What in the hells?”
“Good morning to you!”, said Wiliam with a small nod as he gestured both Tobias and Shani, which he was aware of slipping away from his control, “I feel such… anger coming toward me from each and every one of you. Tsk, tsk, you guys are no fun. And I didn’t even started this!”, His gaze returned to Talia as he sighed, “To attack or not attack?… Hmm I might use this line if I ever write about a grim prince and his relationship with his dead father”.
“For an Demon of Sloth, you sure do put a lot of effort into running your mouth.” Vrigil was free and his swords were coming at William’s midsection with all of his physical weight the warrior could muster behind the swing.
“Touche”, William smiled, “I get the feeling that those swords are up not because you are happy to see me?”
Virgil growled as the blades cleaved through the general’s side, making two slices to the back of the general’s knees after stepping past him, causing the general to crumble to his knees. Virgil whirled back with a heel kick to the general’s head laying him flat on the ground.
The warrior then went for the final hit, swords pointed down and ready to pierce the heart and the head.
“STOP!”, Talia called out in a strange tone again. Her hands reached out as swift flames passed just mere inches between the two, causing Virgil to draw back.
Wiliam’s was thrown back like an old rag. He leaned back with a smug smirk upon his face, “Felt like joining at last brother?”
“No, but I will not let you die here without a warning, consider it as one and last. Leave me be”.
“You are such a bore brother…”
“You already hurt someone dear to…”, The voice hesitated and then said, “me”.
“Oh? Blondie? She’ll be fine… as long as we get her an ancient remedy and stuff. You are really taking it far more serious than I intended it to-”
“Leave!”, cried the voice with a seriousness that made Wiliam lose his balance.
“Tsk”, Wiliam dusted his clothes off as he was once again standing, “I see where we stand. I am tired anyway, and the odds do not look good for me”, He shook his head, “I dare say that we are now enemies brother?”
Talia looked at him long and hard with her blue eyes, that seemed to be gotten even colder and distant.
“Oh well…”, William said, “It’s not over and blah blah blah…”, he waved his fingers as a portal opened up before him, “And you, wind elemental. Just so you know… I will be ready for next time!”, he blew off a kiss and a wink at his direction as the portal closed behind him.
Vrigil growled again. Though this timed it soon escalated into a howl of rage, punctuated by the warrior stabbing his swords into the ground and a small discharge of air around him. Ever since he became involved all those years ago, no one would ever give him the satisfaction of getting what he needed, now both in conversation and combat. It was maddening.
“I need to sleep”, a voice echoed in Talia’s head. Soon after she gasped as she felt something sucking out the air from her lungs. She was aware again, in control again.. But at the same time so powerless and weak, as if waking up from a mini heart attack. She fell and crouched down on her hands and knees, but the pain was unbearable and she soon collapsed.
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