I was nearly useless in a normal conflict, but I had no way of defending my mind. Sure, I could remember all the fantasy novels I read over the years, all about concentrating, or imagining solid walls, or who knew what else. But after my training with the elder hobgoblin, Nord, I had first had experience in knowing that clearing ones mind was no easy task.

Heck, even sitting on a deck with nothing but the birds to disturb the peace, it was hard to get into a meditative state. I was now in a life and death battle, and I knew for a fact that I was not going to achieve enlightenment in the next five seconds with a shadow monster munching on my brains!

Still, I wasn't about to roll over and die...

Despite knowing it would do little good, I focused all my efforts on imagining driving out the invader. In seconds I had a screaming head ache, but I had no way of knowing if that was due to my own lack luster attempt at meditation, or from the very assault I was attempting to prevent.

"Pathetic." I heard, spoken in my own mind but with the voice of my enemy.

Suddenly the desiccated clearing and the massive forest that surrounded it were gone. No longer could I hear the other's efforts at taking out the minions, muffled or other wise.

Instead, I opened my eyes and found myself lying down on the grass in a very familiar place. It was a calm, summer like, night, and I lay in lush greenery, the dark barked trees danced in a calm wind above me, their purple blossoms fluttering down and around.

I cursed, knowing that I had lost the battle of wills. After all, had I been able to keep that monster out of my head, I highly doubted that I would be hanging out in my mental land scape. What terrified me was that I did not know where the Specter was, except that he was here somewhere...

I scrambled to my feet and glared around, prepared for the shadowy monster to jump out from behind a tree at any moment. Nothing.

"Damn it." I hissed, under my breath.

Not knowing what else to do, and knowing that this place was quite small, and there fore there were not many places to hide, I decided to make my way to the main attraction. As I said, I did not have far to go. I stepped past a bush and walked into yet another clearing. But mine was much nicer than the Specter's, and at the center stood a small, Greacen like temple. It had changed much since evolving the goblins, and I had become quite proud of the place.

Instead of the campfire, or even the small sunken braziers, there was now a marble structure complete with pillars and a domed roof. Growing in the rafters were wisteria like flowers, hang down from above.

I shook my head. Now was hardly the time for such frivolous thoughts.

I ascended the short stair and entered the single, marble platform. There were no walls, just the pillars and the trees all around me, growing out of both ground and a shallow pool of water that hadn't been there the last time i was here. At the center of all this marble sat a single fire, a large brazier filled with smoke-less flames. The whole place was a contrast of light and dark, but it felt comfortable and familiar to me.

the fire represented the power of my lands and its people. It was the very thing that I needed to protect above all else. And, no doubt, it was the one thing the Specter wished to get his ghostly hands on. It actually did not look overly impressive, albeit large and energetic. But as I approached I could feal the condensed pressure of it. This was the very essence of these lands that I had been entrusted with.

And right now, I was failing miserably at the job. Not only was the small portion of my domain that I had control over in grave danger now, but so were all the parts I had yet to touch. Maybe I could allow some of the lands Aeros had gathered fall back to the old gods who used to claim them- as I suspected the swamp beast had once been- or new gods, like the Specter, to come about and take them over... But I couldn't. Was I secretly greedier than I once thought? Or maybe I really was letting my subjects spoil me a little too much.

One thing I did know: even if I were to allow the accumulated lands of the Monster Nation to be parted out once more, there was no way I was going to allow this monster have control over any of them. Despite his claims, and his pedigree, this Specter was no god! He didn't care at all for the lands he let fall to decay, and he viewed the people and creatures entrusted to him as mere fuel for his own growth. No, I could not let this dire state to continue any longer.

While my back was turned to the beautiful trees I felt my enemy approach. He may be a sneaky shadow beast, but this was my mind. Perhaps he realized that I knew he was there, because, instead of attacking, he spoke.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"This-" He hiss in a voice dripping with contempt and disgust. "Is the base of your power?"

I heard him break into a high pitched, nails on a chalk board, laugh and glared into the flames. Slowly, as his laughter fizzled out, I turned to face my foe once again.

His shape had changed. Maybe this was how he truly looked. Or, more likely, it was how I perceived him, given this wasn't an actual physical world, just my mind projecting thought and magic in a way I could comprehend. This was all just in my head.

He was about twice my height, still made of shadow with deep, oily purple eyes. But now they were joined by a large, misshapen mouth of the same purple glow. He was no longer thin in any way, instead possessing the shape of what I would describe as a bridge troll: big and beefy, no neck, and large hands and feet. All the while still being made of the shadow stuffs. But he some how looked more solid now, tangible.

"It is small, weak, and without any kind of defense." Growled the Specter, oily gaze glowering down on me. "You are, indeed, a pathetic being, unfit for the role you stole."

"Tch!" I said, some how feeling emboldened, here, where I made the rules. "Stole? It was foisted upon me, actually." Without explanation, or reason, as a matter of fact. Things had been so hectic since my arrival I hadn't even had time to figure out the how's or the whys yet. "And, despite being a weak and pathetic human, I think I have been doing a hell of a better job than you, thanks."

"You are unfit to take over where Aeros shone so brightly." Snarled the shadow, clearly displeased that I was not as frightened as he seemed to feel I should be.

"What is with all of you evil bastards playing up how great that damn lizard was?" I asked, now really annoyed. "He was rude, lazy, uncaring, and negligent! Heck, he didn't even bother to try and find a replacement before deciding to take the ultimate 'L' and leave this place for the great beyond." I knew that half the words leaving my mouth were likely gibberish to the specter but I was having a bit of a rant, while simultaneously trying to find a way to foist this guy out of my head. "I have been doing a pretty good job here, you know?! Sure, I've had a lot of help and guidance, but I was shoved into this. And look!" I said, indicating the space this bastard had just been criticizing. "It is a hell of a lot better than when I arrived, and I plan on making it even greater. Who the hell are you, to tell me other wise, Damn it!"

Okay, maybe I had some built up stress and frustrations... oops.

"You are weak." Growled the Specter, a sneer on his newly formed mouth, contempt dripping from his voice. "What good is your human kindness, and good will. Bah!" He said, flashing an arm downward, and I watched, horrified, as some of my carefully cultivated greenery wilted. Like every one of his movements were poison. "A god needs power! A god needs the will to control and take everything!" This he had shout out into the universe. Maybe he was enjoying having a visible mouth? I was not impressed.

Impressed? Forget that! I was enraged. "Get out of my head." I said, my own voice now a low and deadly growl.

the Specter laughed. "I think not." He said, also in a dangerous voice, taking a rolling step forward, the laughter no longer present. "I will consume you and your power. Any last-"

"Fuck you." I said, not even letting him get the cliched words out.

I had but seconds to make my move as I watched the Specter draw himself up to hiss full, and great, height, readying for an attack. No doubt, he was about to launch himself at me and 'consume' my power.

Unsure what to do, I saw that more of my inner world was starting to disintegrate. Around the Specter's growing form, everything was growing black and rotting away. And that's when I realized that his attack had already begun, and that my mind and spirit had already started to be consumed.

No.

In an instant I reached out for my power base, pulling on the bonds I had created and funneling the energy back into myself. It jumped to me with little to no effort, rushing in with an almost eagerness that shocked me. I had to back track a little, making sure that I was not draining the land or my people in a harmful way. The last thing I wanted to do was kill them all, trying to prevent another from doing that very thing.

"What are you doing?" I heard spoken. But I was lost in the power, energy flowing around and trough me, and the fire pit at my back jumped and danced, the flames reaching up higher and higher.

When I felt like I could not possibly contain any more energy, I opened my eyes and saw that the Specter had come right up to my face. But he was also starting to back step. I could only assume it was due to the intense light now flooding the whole area. had my fire really gone that crazy? No. No it wasn't the fire, but the glow of my own body. Normally, I really didn't even notice it, even though others have said it is obvious, but now i looked like a freaking flashlight. The light was harsh and hard to look at.

The shadow that was the Specter, suddenly did not look as confident, nor as scary. In fact, despite not having a particularly emotive face, he looked worried. Maybe even afraid.

Power burned though my veins and I could feal my skin crawling and shivering. It was like I was covered in bugs while being lightly electrocuted. It was not a pleasant feeling, but not painful either. But I did know that I was changing. I could laterally feal my body changing.

The specter snarled, and I watched as he launched forward, his shadow stuffs spreading wide in an attempt to actually engulphed me. But I had had enough. I had enough of needing to be protected, and I had enough of being underestimated. I was the land god here! Me! This Specter, would not win!

As the darkness of the Specter's body tried to bolt out my light, I saw a lavender and copper energy began to crackle around me, like fire and lightning, and the burning crawling of my body sped up. I didn't really know what to do with all this power, but I wasn't going to allow this enemy to take everything from me.

"Get out!" I screamed, and imagined my light forcing out the Specter's shadow. In that instant everything went white and I could feel myself start to return to the real world.