The Crystals of Narlkant

Good trial, not a lot of action due to it's nature. Just remember, the more violence, the greater the volume of the comments. Also, you might want to put a link in your sig...

That's a good idea, I'll do that. Now more fic.

Chapter 12

Seth looked suspiciously at the glowing figure. He put his hand on his knife as his companions vanished along with the figures they were facing. The creature spoke in a voice which seemed to come from inside his own head. ?Your friends have gone to face their fears. Will you??
There was a long silence before the mercenary replied. When he did speak, it was with great reluctance. Unlike the others, he knew exactly what his task would be.
??Yes, I will face my fear.?
Before he could query his own decision, the figure swept into him. His vision was blocked out by light, accompanied by the roaring of flames; and when it returned he was standing alone in a massive coliseum. It was more than twice the size of the wooden one that clan Dark Claw had constructed, and the walls and seating were constructed entirely from white marble. The arena floor was golden sand, and there was no way in save for a single door.
The door opened, and Seth braced himself for the person he knew was coming out. His greatest fear was not death or the difficulty of the upcoming conflict. It wasn?t even fear of the person. His fear was of what he had to do.
?Seth, just the person I wanted to see.?
Seth?s heart rate increased as he recognised the speaker. He realised that he wasn?t breathing, and started again. ?Kirsty, you can?t be here. You died! I saw it!?
The girl smiled at him. ?Oh, so I?m dead am I? How come I?m here, completely unharmed then??
?I don?t know, that?s the point! You must be an illusion, or else I?m in a different reality. You died, I know it.?
?And whose fault was that?? Her expression suddenly became cold.
?What??
?Who was supposed to protect me; who was too slow in taking down Tarek; who couldn?t even beat Ryan without help.?
?I??
?You failed Seth. You would?ve been killed by that Fire Demon if I hadn?t been there. You can?t do anything right. The day our village burned, where were you? When the survivors were butchered, where were you? When you were needed, you were never there!?
?That?s not true!?
?It is, and you know it! There is no more need for you in the world, and I will relish removing you from it!?
Drawing a knife, Kirsty ran towards Seth with incredible speed. The mercenary dived out of the way of her attack, releasing his Morningstar from his belt as he did so. He rolled to his feet, weapon at the ready, just in time to get kicked in the head. Ignoring the blurring of his vision, Seth retaliated with a swipe of his weapon. Kirsty backflipped out of range and then lunged in with her knife.
The weapon stabbed through the flesh of Seth?s arm, causing his counter attack to send his Morningstar flying far out of reach as his grip involuntarily loosened. Quickly, he unhooked his climbing rope and grapnel.
?Kirsty, what are you doing! Why are you fighting me??
?Hurry up and die, coward!? The girl attacked again, kicking the mercenary in the arm and breaking his hold on the rope. He shouted in pain, one arm totally disabled. With his working hand, Seth drew his knife. The wyvern-tail blade dripped with black venom, menacing even without being used as a weapon.
He waited for the next attack. When it came, the mercenary dodged out of the way and slashed at his friend?s body with the deadly blade. Kirsty gasped audibly as the venom seeped through the cut that Seth had made in her skin. ?You? you?ve? I? *******??
As Seth looked on in horror, Kirsty began to change. Her body lost its form, becoming bigger and more fluid. Eventually, when it solidified, Kirsty was gone. In her place was Stuart Claw.
The mercenary looked at the bandit, fear showing in his eyes. ?No? not you as well? What the hell is this place!?
?I believe that this is your mind. You are here to face your fear correct? And your fear is having to fight against your friends, no? Well, then I believe you have to overcome your fear in combat. Pick up your weapon, and let?s get started.?
?Stuart, no? why me?? Seth picked up his Morningstar from where it had fallen and sheathed his knife. When he was ready, he faced the bandit. Stuart grinned at him, and pulled a lightning sphere out of his pocket.
Knowing exactly what would happen if the sphere hit him; Seth dodged to the side and narrowly avoided the sphere. He sped forwards, weapon swinging, only to have Stuart dodge out of the way and punch him in his wounded arm as penance. Before the mercenary could get his balance back, another punch floored him. Refusing to give in, he swept his Morningstar across the floor, wrapping the chain around Stuart?s leg. The bandit cried out in pain and fell to the floor next to Seth.
Before his friend could get up, Seth closed his eyes and stabbed his dagger home. He pulled the blade free and opened his eyes to see Stuart staring blankly up at him. ?Seth? why???
The mercenary felt a shiver go up his spine. ?Stuart? No, I think that you?re using my memories of people I know to manipulate me. Whatever you are, get out of my head!?
Stuart?s body degenerated into a dark creature with too many tentacles and three eyes, which sniggered and darted out of reach. It spoke in a high pitched voice with an edge of steel.
?So you recognised me. Big deal. You can?t get me out because I?m part of you! You ever heard of people having an evil side? Like that wizard you and your friends killed; he had a voice inside his head, but he lost control of it. Like you have. Once I kill you in here, I?ll be able to control your body!?
?Seth??
?Oh really? Well, you?re just going to have to see what you can do against me, because I?m not going down without a fight!?
?Seth!?
?What the??? Seth turned away from the creature for a moment, expecting a back attack at any time. What he saw made him forget about it for a moment. Standing ready for combat were Stuart and Kirsty.
?Hi, just a quick question. Where the hell am I and how did I get here??
?Seth! You have to? wait a second; I distinctly remember falling into a volcano. What the crap??
The creature lashed its tentacles in anger. ?Damnation! You called them in here! Well, I?ll just have to take you all out!?
?I think not. Stuart, Kirsty, now!? On the mercenary?s command, Stuart threw a lightning sphere at the creature and Kirsty leapt forwards and impaled it with her dagger, pinning it to the floor. While it was stuck and immobilised, Seth spun his Morningstar around in a large arc and brought it smashing down on the creature. There was a silent scream, and the creature vanished in a puff of black smoke. The mercenary turned to his friends.
?Stuart, this is my mind. I think I called you in here because I needed help. Thanks for that. The exit should be that door over there.? He gestured at the single door as Stuart nodded his acknowledgements and left.
?Kirsty??
The girl smiled again, and leaned close to his ear. ?I loved you??
Seth looked at her in surprise, as she stood up and walked towards the door. ?No, wait!? She paused and looked back. She waved him to follow her, and he did so. At the door she spoke again.
?Seth, thank you. You brought me back from the abyss, which is more than I ever hoped for. You go back into the real world. I?ll stay here. Your mind could do with some tidying up. Go on, though if you die I?ll be most annoyed!?
She smiled, and he smiled back at her, then stepped through the door and into the real world. A white mist was completely encircling him, but as he watched it, it grew thinner and thinner until it vanished completely. Seth glanced over his shoulder, but there was only the wall of the room.

This has got to be some of the most tried and tested, typical new genre film copying I've ever seen, and it's been done well. Usually I'm against having loved one ressurected along with friends, before one final battle, with a little emotional scene at the end, but this was pulled off pretty well.
I expect Seth to fight in the name of Kirsty now, and if my assumptions are correct, he'll most probably die. Just basing this on what I would do though.

One complaint though.
"So you recognised me. Big deal. You can?t get me out because I?m part of you! You ever heard of people having an evil side? Like that wizard you and your friends killed; he had a voice inside his head, but he lost control of it. Like you have. Once I kill you in here, I?ll be able to control your body!?
Nothing wrong with it. I just hate how epic scenes like this are explained all in one sentence, moments after he appears. What made things worse, was that he died seconds later. Where's the drama and awesome fight scene?
Far worse than having a main villain named Bob. Pfft...

Nothing is worse than a main villain called Bob. However, I agree that this chapter was too rushed. Hopefully that'll change in the next few chapters, as the final battle is coming up!

Eventually.

*Casts Bumpga IV*

Nice spell there Elmdore! Okay, new chapter coming up! It's the beginning of the end! Too many exclemation marks!

Chapter 13

The single torch glowed with more light than it really should have. Four figures stood around it, all of them watching the pillar of white mist with worried looks on their faces. They had tried everything they could think of, but nothing would release Seth from his prison.
Suddenly the mist spiralled away into the air, leaving the mercenary standing there and looking around. Sasha smiled, Zaltan nodded in satisfaction, Mathew allowed a look of relief to spread across his face, and Shade clapped him on the shoulder.
Seth looked at his companions. Evidently he had been in his trial a lot longer than they had. There two ways out of the room, he noticed. The first was an impressive looking door with the symbols for Earth, Air, Fire and Water on it. The second was a less glamorous hole in the floor.
?So, what do we do now? We need to stop whatever this Warsate guy has planned, right??
Shade nodded. ?Yes, the sooner we can do that the better for everyone involved. We can?t count on getting any support from anywhere, but we have a healer, a strike mage, an old bloke with light and healing magic, an assassin, and a mercenary who?s hiding something about himself. I can tell, you know. You can explain later, once we get through this.?
Mathew continued with the plan. ?I?m not just an old guy with magic you know. Anyway, here?s the plan. We magic users will use the door, and you two fighters can use the hole in the floor. You have the equipment you need; I know that for a fact. Well, there?s no time like the present, let?s get going!?
Seth unwound his climbing rope and hooked the grapnel over the edge of the hole in the floor. Without waiting for Shade, he clambered down the rope until he reached its end. He was still at least twenty meters from the ground. Cursing, he climbed back up.
Shade was waiting at the top, waving a second coil of rope. ?I was going to suggest tying them together, but I felt that it would be unkind to interrupt what you were doing.?
The mercenary rolled his eyes and pulled up his rope. After they had attached the ropes together, Shade went down first. He found himself suspended several meters above a glowing circle of runes. Standing in separate circles, evenly spaced around the outside of the main one, were Dragon, Adzed, Tarek, Seymon and Warsate. All of them were chanting in a single monotonous voice.
The assassin began to swing the rope like a pendulum, until he was swinging directly above Dragon?s head. He let go, drawing his swords in freefall, dropping down onto the servant?s head. Before he impacted with his target, he was knocked off course by a barrier of stone which suddenly appeared in midair. The chanting cut off abruptly, all except for Warsate?s.
Dragon sneered at him. ?Fool, only the Chosen of Earth can strike me now! Silex!? A pillar of rock burst up under the assassin?s feet, propelling him skywards.
?Zerris!? A cyclone caught him before he hit the ground and flung him towards Seymon.
?Akros!? Ice surrounded the assassin, freezing him in mid flight.
Before the final Servant could complete the combo with a fire spell, Seth dropped down from the hole in the ceiling. He landed in front of Tarek, Morningstar already ready in his hand. ?I said I would hunt you down, and now I have! You?re going down Tarek!?
?Infernus!? A jet of fire singed Seth?s tunic as he dodged aside, and melted the ice surrounding Shade. The assassin dropped to the ground in front of Seymon and thrust forwards with his blade. No wall of ice deflected his blow, and the servant barely dodged the blow.
?What is this madness? I?ve never seen you before, but you are the Chosen of Water? I take it this means that Nyle failed. No matter, you?ll do!? Seymon drew his sword, frost coating the blade, and blocked the assassin?s follow-up attack.
?Light! Holy lance!? A beam of pure white light sped across the cavern and impacted with Dragon, throwing him backwards out of his circle of runes. Mathew, Sasha and Zaltan stepped across the chamber as the servant got to his feet.
?You imbecile, do you really think that you can really beat me alone?? Dragon drew his sand katana and advanced towards the wizard. A trail of sand marked his progress across the floor.
Sasha tugged on Zaltan?s sleeve, and turned his attention to Adzed. Lord Rodolfo?s former adviser had drawn his sword and was advancing towards them, holding the Windblade aloft. ?You fools; I can take you out just as easily as I killed your friend. Zerris!?
Slashing winds sped towards them, but the mage and the healer leapt out of the way and continued to advance towards the Servant of Air. Zaltan drew his sword and thrust at Adzed, only to have his blade expertly deflected. They clashed again, each trying to get his opponent to let down his guard.
Seth?s eyes narrowed. Tarek stood in front of him, Flametongue drawn. ?You?re very clever when you have an escape route, but what about now? Can you beat me in combat, you murderer??
?An empty threat, I assure you. There is no way that I could possibly lose to the likes of you. Infernus!? A fireball exploded at Seth?s feet, but the mercenary didn?t seem to notice. His Morningstar swung at Tarek?s head, but was blocked by the Servant?s burning blade.
On the other side of the chamber, Mathew was in trouble. He wasn?t a combatant, and he was hard pressed to block Dragon?s attacks. The flying particles of sand made his eyes sore, but he refused to pause to clear them out. Suddenly Dragon stepped backwards, then leapt forwards with a massive overhead swing. Mathew gripped his staff in both hands and raised it in a desperate block.
There was a snap, followed by an explosion of light. Mathew was propelled backwards, dropping both halves of his shattered staff. Hauling himself to his feet, he saw Dragon approaching, a grin plastered onto his face.
As the Servant swung at him, the wizard attempted to dodge. He was too slow, taking the point of the sand katana in his shoulder. Through a haze of sand and pain, he saw Dragon raising his blade for the final blow. As his weapon came down, Mathew forced himself to step backwards out of the way, raising his fist as though he was blocking with a sword.
?Light! Holy Blade!?
A glowing blade of light appeared in the wizard?s hand, deflecting Dragon?s weapon with ease. The Servant of Earth staggered, surprised by the brilliant weapon. Mathew took the opportunity to use a little magic to remove the sand from his eyes and heal the wound in his shoulder. Then they were back in combat, particles of sand and sparks of light flying as their blades met.
?Akros!? Seymon pointed at the ground, and a sheet of ice appeared, trapping Shade?s feet. The assassin caught his balance and concentrated on blocking his opponent?s attacks. Being unable to move severely hampered his ability to hit the Servant, as Levka dodged back after each attack. Fortunately, he had been trained to the highest degree, and was able to defend himself perfectly. At least for now.
Zaltan deflected another swing from the Windblade, attempting to manoeuvre Adzed so that his back was facing Sasha. He was having limited success, as the former court wizard was continuously knocking him back with gusts of bladed wind. Suddenly, unexpectedly, he saw his chance.
?Sasha, now!? The healer nodded, knives appearing in her hands as if by magic. Too late, Adzed realised that he had been outmanoeuvred. He spun around, blade out, and severed Sasha?s right hand. Then he gasped in pain as her other knife sank deep into his chest.
?Zer?? Every combat in the room ground to a halt, and the silence was broken only by Warsate?s chanting. Adzed took a single step forwards, as though to attack the healer, then crashed to the ground.

Nicely wrote, no big flaws to speak of, just little detail issues.

Like:
"?Zerris!? A cyclone caught him before he hit the ground and flung him towards Seymon."

And

"?Akros!? Ice surrounded the assassin, freezing him in mid flight."

This is just me though, but I like lots of details, I'd of wrote something like "Akros!" As the mage shouted his spell, the air around the assassin greatly decreased in temperature as ice seemed to form around him, than, in a instant, the ice came together freezing him in place."

Other than my being picky its great,
Two thumbs up.

Yeah, you've got a point. Trouble is, I have this habit of envisioning my fic as I write it, and then only putting down the barest details so I can get onto the next bit. It's annoying, because it means I can't accurately convay the drama the way I imagine it.

On a side note, did you read the rest of the fic as well, and if so, what did you think of it?

Fights are finally becoming even... epicier, but I don't think this is your best work so far. It's as if you've tryed to fit too many combats into one chapter, though I presume we're drawing towards then end, meaning something amazingly unexpected is bound to happen soon. It better.

I also visualise events that happen in my fic, so there's nothing wrong with you, I think. Who knows, if you spend some time describing each event you may wind up liking it more. I've been trying that recently and honestly think my style is improving.

Bah, description is difficult. Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 14

Sasha looked down through watery eyes at Adzed?s body. The hatred which had driven her to kill him was already fading, and she realised that her hand wasn?t responding. She lifted her arm to get a better look at it.
?Oh?? The end of the healer?s arm was a mess, although it looked as if the Windblade had only shredded her hand. It would be impossible to re-attach now, she was sure of that. She also noticed that she was losing a lot of blood. As the sounds of combat began again, she healed the stump and looked around for Zaltan.
The mage was firing bolts of magic at Warsate, but they were simply being blocked by a dark force. The dark wizard seemed oblivious to the furious assault, and continued chanting. Suddenly he extended his hand to Adzed?s corpse. A glowing green sphere rose from the body and sped towards him, passing through the barrier as though it wasn?t there.
?No! The Air Crystal!? Zaltan and Sasha were too slow, and could only watch in fear as green blades of air began to circle around Warsate?s body.
Shade blocked another blow from Seymon?s frozen blade. His feet were going numb, but he persisted. The Servant of Water was good, but no match for the assassin. Evidently Seymon realised this too, as he leapt backwards out of range.
?Hmm, you?re not bad. But this ends now. Akros!? A jet of water blasted the assassin. It began to harden into ice as Levka exerted his will on it, and Shade realised that he only had a few seconds in which to act. As quickly as he could, the assassin pulled out his pistol crossbow. He loaded it and pulled back the string, praying that he would make the shot before he froze solid.
He fired. The bolt sped through the air towards its target. Seymon brought his sword up almost impossibly quickly, and deflected the bolt downwards. Instead of taking him through the heart, the projectile pierced his leg just above his boot. The Servant seemed not to notice.
?Nice try, but I don?t think you have the energy left to fire another one. And so you die.? Shade said nothing, mentally counting the seconds. ?What are you do??? Seymon?s legs buckled and he fell to his knees. ?What? No! You? poison? im?possible! I?? The Servant of water fell flat on his face, limbs convulsing slightly. The poison of the Acid Frog had done its work.
The Water Crystal rose from his body and sped across the room to where Warsate was standing. A blue tinted mist surrounded the dark wizard, who merely continued his chant.
The ice surrounding Shade suddenly shattered, and he sat down to massage the life back into his feet. He deliberately ignored the clash of steel and Warsate?s chant in the background.
Seth saw Adzed fall, but paid no attention. He was solely focussed on Tarek and the burning blade which threatened to cleave him in half. Ducking under a swipe to the head, he shoulder charged the Servant, sending him staggering backwards.
?If you have to resort to tactics like that, then you?re as bad as those bandits. Also, you?re not even as good at fighting as that stupid girl who was with you. And she was a total imbecile. I mean, it was a good thing I burned her really.?
Seth gripped his Morningstar tighter and attacked with a renewed fury. With his other hand, he drew the wyvern-tail dagger, wielding both weapons simultaneously.
?Do not.? He batted Flametongue away with his Morningstar. ?Speak ill.? His venom coated dagger punctured through the Servant?s chest and into his lung. ?Of the dead!? He swung the Morningstar around in a lightning fast arc. The spiked ball impacted with Tarek?s head, destroying it utterly in a spray of red fluid and brain matter. The body fell to the floor with a soft thud.
Then the Fire Crystal rose from it, slipped through Seth?s fingers and joined the Air and Water Crystals with Warsate. Flames sprang up around the inside of his rune circle. The chanting continued.
Seth sank to his knees in front of the bloody corpse of the man who he had chased across the whole of Narlkant. ?Kirsty? I?ve avenged you??
A voice sounded inside his head, with a familiar tone to it. I knew you would. Thank you. The mercenary looked around in surprise. I?m still in your head, idiot. I was right; it needs some tidying up in here. Mathew blocked another blow from the sand katana. Dragon was demoralised by the sight of the glowing blade; conversely, the wizard felt exhilarated as his own magical energies were diverted to maintaining the blade and preventing him from getting tired.
?So, the others were too weak to stand up to their opponents. Never mind; if I kill you, the ritual will still be complete. Either the Servant or the Chosen may be sacrificed.?
Mathew blocked another swing of Dragon?s blade, and countered with an attack of his own. ?Ritual? I won?t allow you to live to its conclusion. And after you die, I?ll take out your boss!? The wizard blocked another blow, and fired a beam of concentrated red light. The attack caught Dragon off guard, penetrating through his stomach and out of his back. The Servant?s eyes opened wide as he realised what had happened.
?No? not like this! I?m not going to die! I am invincible!? Mathew dispelled his glowing blade and swept the light beam upwards, cutting Dragon in two. The Servant?s insides slithered out onto the floor, and he fell over. The Earth Crystal sped towards Warsate, and the ground below his feet ruptured into a forest of knee high spikes of rock. Suddenly the chanting stopped, and Warsate called out commands in a loud voice.
?I call upon the destroyer of worlds, master of elements. You are called to our mortal realm; I summon thee, come, U?Shedrill!?
The large circle of runes in the centre of the chamber glowed even more brightly than before, emitting a translucent veil of light upwards to the ceiling. Abruptly, a white burst of energy filled the circle. It was prevented from escaping by the veil of light, and instead rushed upwards, leaving the chamber through the hole in the roof. The sound of crunching rock echoed down below.
Miles away, on some forgotten battlefield, it was dusk. Ga?Rath picked up the nullstone from the corpse of the last soldier, making sure to keep it wrapped up. The fools had refused the help of the healer, and now they were dead. Suddenly, a blast of light illuminated the while area as though it was midday. The familiar looked around wildly for the source.
It was not difficult to find. It was a column of white light which originated in the precise centre of Narlkant. Secondary beams of light burst from it, orange, green, red and blue. Without a second thought, Ga?Rath accelerated towards the light.
Warsate laughed. The sound was not a pleasant one. Before anyone could stop him, he broke his own rune circle, releasing the elements within. The earth shook, a howling wind sprang up, flames licked the walls, and hailstones formed in the air.
While all this was going on, Warsate levitated himself to the rim of the large circle, the Crystals orbiting around his body. He looked back at his helpless victims, trying to stay up in gale force winds and an earthquake, while being pelted with hailstones and trying to avoid the flames which threatened to engulf them. He darted through the light veil and into the column of light.
?Silex! Zerris! Infernus! Akros! Master of elements, hear my voice; I offer my body as a vessel for your greatness! U?Shedrill, I will serve!?
The column of light turned to pure blackness, and the elemental effects in the chamber immediately stopped. The room was pitch black. Mathew?s voice sounded in the darkness, and an orb of light materialised in his hand. The others crowded around him, hands on weapons. The black pillar of energy was gone, and Warsate hung in the air like a puppet.
Slowly, he descended to the ground, landing lightly on his feet. He looked around and spotted the companions facing him with weapons drawn. When he spoke, his voice was as coarse as it had always been.
?At last, after four millennia of imprisonment, I am finally free!?


« Last edited by Sotek on Mar 4th 2008 »

Oh, final boss is ummoned... interesting. I really think the killing of the servents could have been dragged out a little more, because each death seemed to come rather quickly for my liking, but it was still an epic fight. I'm also disappointed about the fact that none of the heroes died. Only a hand was lost. What is this lovey doveyness?

Nah, that subtracts nothing from how incredible I expect the next chapter to be. So please, do us proud. On top of this, I bring complaints though.
"Seth sank to his knees in front of the bloody corpse of the man who he had chased across the whole of Narlkant. ?Kirsty? I?ve avenged you??
A voice sounded inside his head, with a familiar tone to it. I knew you would. Thank you. The mercenary looked around in surprise. I?m still in your head, idiot. I was right; it needs some tidying up in here." Shouldn't Kirsty's voice be in italics... or something like that.

?No? not like this! I?m not going to die! I am invincible!? Argh... the clich�... it hurts.

Okay, italix edited, forgot about that, thanks. And as for cliche, My only comment is this: How did you get an accent on the e?

Oh, all right. I just figured that Dragon would be rediculously overconfident like that. Anyone spot the quote?

If I'm not mistaken, ?At last, after four millennia of imprisonment, I am finally free!? is from in the Bartemaus trilogy.

Epic chapters that I missed, uber fights although could have been longer, and now final boss... 14 pages of fic? Or will there be more twists? I wonder... in any case, I wait for more.

You are mistaken, although it could well be. Nevertheless, it's not what I had in mind. Oh well, enjoy the fight!

Chapter 15

Shade stepped to the front of the group, katanas held ready. He approached the thing that had once called itself Warsate, and addressed it cautiously.
?Who and what are you?? His voice sounded small in the deathly silence of the cavern, despite the force in it. Warsate simply laughed softly, his voice changing from gravely rumble to a powerful and dangerous thunder.
?I am the elite being, master of the elements, lord of destruction! I have swallowed oceans and eaten worlds! I am U?Shedrill, hear my name and tremble!? There was silence, then muttered voices as the group conferred.
?U?Shedrill? Never heard of him. What about you Mathew??
?Not mentioned in any of the books I?ve read. He?s powerful though, as the mages will tell you.?
?Yes, there is much power in him, most of it darkness.?
?But also the Crystals? power. That was great, but the darkness in him is greater.?
?That?s beside the point, how do we kill it??
?Trust you to come up with that Seth. It?s possessed Warsate, so killing him might banish it back to the other dimension. Ready? Go!?
At the wizard?s command they split up, each preparing to attack the daemon. Shade leapt forwards, with Seth close behind him. Zaltan moved around to the right, while Mathew circled to the left. Sasha prepared her healing spells for use on the injured.
U?Shedrill merely laughed. It barked out a syllable in an unknown language, and the elementally infused blades which had previously been wielded by the Servants flew to its hands. It caught Windblade and Flametongue, but the ice sword and the sand katana clattered to the ground next to it. It gave an angry grunt and two more arms sprouted from its body, slightly lower down than its natural arms and without a covering of skin.
Now armed with elemental weaponry and magic, plus dark magic, U?Shedrill was ready to wage war. It blocked Shade?s skilful attack, sending the assassin flying backwards with ice crystals forming on his clothes. Seth got a hit in, and was astonished when the spiked head of his Morningstar bounced of the daemon?s skin as if it were steel. Then he too was sent crashing to the ground, trying to put out the flames which had formed on his tunic.
?Solar flare!? Mathew?s attack hit the daemon in the back with the sound of breaking glass. It staggered forwards, leaving itself open to attack from behind. Zaltan exploited the momentary weakness, launching a ball of force at it and following up with a thrust from his blade.
U?Shedrill dropped to the ground, rolling with the attack so as not to take damage. It came up facing Zaltan, with its back to Seth and Shade. Wasting no time, the assassin fired a crossbow bolt into the daemon?s flesh and was as surprised as Seth had been when it merely ricocheted off.
?Shade! Try again!? The mercenary?s cry cut through Shade?s surprise; he loaded another bolt into his crossbow, aimed, and fired. As the bolt sped through the air, Seth extended his hand and used his force ring on the poisoned bolt. Instead of being knocked off course, the projectile accelerated to an alarming speed. When it impacted with U?Shedrill?s back, it pierced the daemon?s iron hard skin, cutting deep into its possessed flesh. There was an unearthly shriek, and suddenly Shade and Seth were fighting for their lives.
While the assassin was incredibly skilled, he felt himself tiring. He knew that the daemon was going to kill them, but he didn?t want to believe it. Suddenly, Seth leapt right over U?Shedrill?s head, landing behind the daemon and thrusting his dagger into the unprotected flesh of its extra right arm. The daemon made one final swing at Shade with the sand katana before its limb went numb from the combination of wyvern and acid frog venom.
The weapon clattered to the ground. U?Shedrill slashed Shade across the chest with its frozen sword, then span around to face Seth. The assassin fell backwards, the broad bladed knives concealed in his clothing protecting him from the sharpness of the sword but not the force of the attack or the freezing effect.
Seth dodged backwards away from Flametongue, wishing that the wizard would hurry up and cast another spell. As if on cue, a wide beam of light impacted with the daemon. There was no effect, and the light dissipated over a spherical shield which surrounded the creature?s body.
?Your pathetic magic is no match for me, mortal. Die!? U?Shedrill gestured towards Mathew with Flametongue, and four fireballs erupted from its tip. Seth didn?t wait for the attack to hit, although from the wizard?s cry of pain he guessed the result. Instead, he lunged forwards, swinging his Morningstar upwards into the daemon?s chin.
The thing which had once been Warsate staggered, then gasped in pain as twin blades cut deep into the arm with which it was holding the Ice sword. The blade joined the sand katana on the ground, and the daemon slashed wildly at its tormentors. The deadly wind cut shade?s face, causing bright red blood to seep over his black skin. Slightly too slow, Seth was burned on one arm and the left side of his body.
Zaltan leapt forwards, augmenting the power of his attack with strike magic. U?Shedrill raised its swords with lightning speed, catching the mage?s blade between them. It shouted out another word in the strange language and Zaltan found himself lifted up into the air on a swirling tornado of dark matter. Murdock?s spirit detached itself from the blade at the last second, striking for the core essence of the daemon.
Sasha finished her preparations, and cast her healing spell. A golden ring of energy burst out from her, and every wound it passed over, it healed. Mathew stood up, his burns gone. Zaltan got to his feet, surprised at the effectiveness of the magic. He, Shade and Seth charged U?Shedrill, just as the daemon reeled from an invisible blow to the head. The shattering sound indicated the destruction of its shield again.
?Solar Flare!? Mathew?s overpowered spell ploughed into the daemon sending it crashing into the wall of the cavern. Zaltan approached its still form, backed by Seth and Shade.
?Is? is it dead?? Shade?s question was the voice of what everyone was thinking. The possessed body moved, its hands tightening on the hilts of its weapons. ?Look out!?
The assassin?s cry was the only warning that Zaltan had. Without seeming to move, U?Shedrill was on its feet and swinging Windblade and Flametongue horizontally in a scissors motion.
A firestorm of destruction swept from the weapons; flames fanned by the wind until it became a wave of fire, sweeping away all in its path. Zaltan hastily threw up two shields; one around himself and one around all three of them.
His outer shield took the brunt of the attack, and only lasted a few seconds before it collapsed. Two screams accompanied the flame hitting his inner shield, and he bit back a wave of nausea as he realised that he had failed the assassin and the mercenary.
Finally the attack was over, but there was no sign of U?Shedrill. Retaining his shield, the mage looked back for Seth and Shade. There was no sign of them either. Finally he realised that Mathew?s glowing light was no longer illuminating the chamber, and the reason he could see nothing was that he was it pitch blackness. But if Mathew had let his light go out, that meant?
Zaltan extended his senses, feeling for any presence. He found several. There was a weak heartbeat several paces behind him, either Shade or Seth. There was a single strong heartbeat somewhere in the centre of the room, along with another weak one and something which was just a well of dark energy. U?Shedrill.
The mage turned, and began to walk towards the source of the darkness. In the pitch black of the cavern, he passed close to the faint heartbeat he had sensed. His foot hit something heavy, and there was the sound of a clinking chain. He swallowed. He had never seen Seth drop his Morningstar deliberately.
Suddenly he saw a light flaring in the darkness. U?Shedrill had ignited Flametongue, and the burning blade was coming closer.

Epicness on a high scale!

I'm glad to see the greatest fight in your fic is taking up more than one chapter, because it deserves that. Everything has been written in a way that makes it clear to imagine what's happening, so there wasn't much confusion, except for here.
"Seth didn?t wait for the attack to hit, although from the wizard?s cry of pain he guessed the result. Instead, he lunged forwards, swinging his Morningstar upwards into the daemon?s chin.
The thing which had once been Warsate staggered, then gasped in pain as twin blades cut deep into the arm with which it was holding the Ice sword."
One minute, the morningstar is rocketing up towards U'Shedrill's chin, and in the next he's being stabbed. You didn't really saw what happened to Seth's attack, or where the two swords came from.

Aside from that, this was great, and I'm looking forward to the next one more than usual. I expect more than one person to die, or rather hope that that will be the case, but no matter what I'll probably wind up liking this.
Just a speculation, but I'm predicting you may be annoying and make U'Shedrill win, so that he can dominate the world and then make a sequel. It seems slightly probable.

It's a daemon, it's ways are mysterious! Basically, Seth hit U'Shedrill in the chin, making it stagger. However, it's superficial damage due to the iron hard skin. Then Shade severed the tendons of the arm with his double katanas.

And as for your prediction... You'll have to wait and see!

I see....

Oh and as for the quote in the last chapter, I'm sure I've heard ?No? not like this! I?m not going to die! I am invincible!? somewhere before.

No, that's just Dragon being cliche'd. Enjoy the next chapter!

Chapter 16

Zaltan readied his own blade, ready and willing to die before the daemon could reach whoever was injured behind him. With his attention fully focussed on U?Shedrill, the mage didn?t notice that the weak heartbeat beyond the daemon was gradually getting stronger.
?Mortal? your time is done! You and your friends have been useful, I admit, but you are no longer needed. Now I shall leave this place and wreak havoc on the world. Right after dealing with you!? The burning blade sliced through the air in front of Zaltan, scorching him with its heat but not actually impacting with his skin. The mage?s block came too late, but deflected Windblade from its path purely by accident.
?Light! Burning Gaze!? A stream of white fire shot out of the darkness, engulfing U?Shedrill in its holy embrace. The daemon screeched and writhed in pain, the flesh of its host burning away to nothing. A sphere of light formed and rose up to the ceiling, revealing Mathew standing and chanting.
The wizard was covered in blood, and leaning heavily on Sasha for support. The healer was transferring healing energy into his wounds and preventing him from collapsing.
While U?Shedrill was busy screaming in pain, Zaltan turned to look at whoever was behind him. It was Seth, and he was badly burned. There was no sign of Shade. The mercenary?s tunic was ruined, revealing the skin beneath and ? Zaltan frowned ? scales? His face was a mess, as was all the exposed skin that the mage could see. Deciding that he could wonder what was up with Seth later, Zaltan turned back to his adversary.
The white flames surrounding U?Shedrill ceased, revealing what was left. Warsate?s body was unrecognisable. The skin had been burned away, leaving only flesh and bone. The daemon spoke, sending vibrations through the air as it did so.
?Impressive. Truly impressive. I did not think you had it in you. However, this ends here. None of you will leave this place alive, and unlike those pathetic lich I will make good my promise!?
Warsate?s body went rigid and began to vibrate. Then it exploded, sending showers of tissue and bone splinters in all directions. The four Crystals dropped to the floor. A hunched figure floated in the air where Warsate had stood, knees tucked up to its chest, and a pair of feathered wings curled around itself.
The figure was dripping with gore. Its blue feathers were stained red, and the clawed yellow hands at its sides were in a similar state. Slowly, the wings unfurled, and the legs extended. As it stretched, becoming used to its physical form, U?Shedrill grew. When it reached twice the height of a man, it stopped and looked down at itself.
Its body was covered in deep blue feathers, except for its forearms, hands, and feet. These were covered in yellow skin like that of birds? feet, and they were clawed in the same manner. The daemon?s feet were like that of a falcon, only bigger. Its head was that of a bird, but with an intelligence that no bird possessed.
?So, this is what it feels like to be truly free. I?ll be taking these!? The four Crystals floated up to the daemon?s head height, followed by the four elemental weapons. The swords melded together, forming into a long blade which flashed with all four energies. U?Shedrill looked at it for a moment, then morphed it into a long black spear. The tip flashed in the way that the blade had, alternating between elements.
While the daemon was distracted, Sasha left Mathew and ran over to Seth. She knelt over the mercenary, doing her best to ignore the scales, and placed her hand on his chest. Healing energy flowed into him, curing the burnt skin. His eyes flickered open.
?Damn? Almost went the same way as you did?? The mercenary appeared to listen for a moment, then laughed. As he sat up and reached for his Morningstar, Sasha realised that his eyes weren?t focussed. Was he listening to a voice in his head? His wounds seemed to have healed, although the scales were very disturbing. After a few seconds, Seth?s eyes focussed and he looked up at U?Shedrill.
The daemon had absorbed the Crystals into its body, and was practically glowing with magical energies. Seth swore and got to his feet, looking around.
?Shade, come on, we?ve got to take this guy!? The mercenary charged forwards a couple of steps, then stopped as he realised that nobody was following him. He turned from the daemon to see where the assassin had got to. He would be hiding in the shadows at the room?s edge, surely?
The clank of metal on metal attracted his attention. It wasn?t Shade, it was Sasha. She kicked something again, apparently numb with shock. Seth walked over to see what the healer had found. When he got closer, he saw what had upset her so much.
Shade?s katanas were lying a few feet from a pile of knives. All the blades were blackened with soot and ash and all of the hilts were ruined. There was a pile of crossbow bolts to one side of the weapons. Seth concentrated on his memory of the assassin, recalling that his clothing had been lined with broad bladed knives?
There was no sign of the assassin anywhere.
Seth turned from the pile of blackened weapons, gripping his Morningstar much tighter than normal. U?Shedrill sensed his anger and despair, and laughed. The mercenary charged.
Zaltan blinked in surprise as Seth rushed past him, then took up his sword and followed. The combined assault of the mercenary and the mage would have terrified any number of ogres or swordsmen, but U?Shedrill was unfazed and merely gestured with its spear.
The charge was instantly destroyed as a wave of incredible force slammed Seth into Zaltan, and they collapsed in a heap. Another gesture coated them in ice, and a third chilled them even further and slashed at them with blades of wind.
?This isn?t working!?
?You think? You?re the one with magic, find its weak point!?
?I?ve already tried that, and it hasn?t got one! It?s a bloody daemon!?
U?Shedrill forestalled any more argument. It raised its spear to the ceiling of the cave and shouted words which it shouldn?t have been able to pronounce with its beaked head. Darkness exploded from the end of the weapon, followed by elemental energy. The magic struck the ceiling next to the ventilation hole and began eating into the rock.
On the plains above, Ga?Rath spotted the source of the energy column it had seen earlier. It slowed its flight, and stopped next to the large hole, nullstone clutched in its fingers. It was about to drop into the chamber below, when it sensed a build-up of energy. Rapidly, the familiar vacated the area, just as a circle of land five hundred yards across exploded in a blast of magic.
When the dust settled, Ga?Rath landed at the edge of the crater. It might have been dawn normally, but a veil of darkness shrouded the sky and obscured the sun. Or the stars, if it was not yet dawn.
At the bottom of the crater, Seth got shakily to his feet. Once again he had survived a massively overpowered attack. Zaltan was unconscious on the ground next to him, but not for long. Sasha and Mathew staggered over, preparing spells of healing as they did so. When the spells were released, Zaltan got to his feet and the four of them faced U?Shedrill. The daemon clacked its beak at them.
?You insects are proving remarkably difficult to kill. I have no further use for you, be gone!? As it raised its hands to fire a blast of magic, a black stone shot through the air, and entered U?Shedrill?s beak. There was a pulse of energy, and the daemon staggered. ?What is this insanity? My powers? I cannot access them!?
?Sasha, now!? Ga?Rath landed heavily on the ground in front of them, wings beating slowly. ?It can?t use magic with the nullstone inside it! Now?s your only chance to destroy it!?

Ga'Rath is the heroe! True greatness has finally been achieved in SuperCheats Fiction history. This moment shall be remembered.

Yet again, the fight was incredible and didn't get boring half way through like some fights tend to do. Dialogue was still rather typical, but subtracted nothing from overall awesomizm.

I'm also glad that this fight is taking longer than a regular battle, and the epicness is being spread around. Though I have two notes...

1. Ha! I knew the bird thing would be the final boss. I even said it in an eralier review. Aha!
2. I need to stop using the word epic in every review I write.

Yay, succsessness! I tried to make this the ultimate test of my characters' abilities, and it seems to be working so far.

1. Malfortunately, yes. Oh well, next fic will have less obvious foreshadowing.
2. I have no objections to being called epic.