Dariea held out her hand. Her poise was steady. She began to touch one of the many silver trees which had sprouted up around them. It’s leaves were rubbery and had a sheen to them which partially reflected it’s surroundings.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting this.” She said as she touched it.

Alongside the silver trees, thick cracked trunks were set on the outskirts, as if chosen as a way point. They weren’t like those Jano had seen before. There were many solid branches, which led to several offshooting limbs; where each was thin and spindly, hanging down limp and light. Dariea began to wave her arm and the branches swayed with her movements. She looked utterly lost to it for a moment.

“This is very interesting indeed.” She said finally, smiling sardonically.

A faint sound, almost like a heartbeat, began to rumble through the space. It was rhythmic and reminded Jano of the war drums of the Chaos-Shapers. He looked at Robin who seemed to make the same connection and she readied herself for battle. Even with a strapped up arm she looked intimidating to him. The noise became louder and the rhythm began to change. It sped up and slowed down. It was no more like a heartbeat and rather more like some piece of music which might be played at a festival.

Dariea took a step forward toward the open space in the tree line which had so suddenly surrounded them. Jano reached the opening and saw an intricate garden laid out before him. There were elegant ponds on either side of them, though from where he stood he thought they might be small lakes. There were vast spans of trimmed gardens and several bushes were shaped like men and women, some displaying intimate moments such as a large pair displaying what to Jano looked like a stolen kiss. Others were arraigned in more martial pursuits, with bows and spears carved into the greenery. Jano examined a figure of a female surrounded by billowing essence, with leaves almost suspended in mid air. Upon closer inspection, they were held with the thinnest of branches. Such workmanship could not have been mortal, he thought as he lightly examined the work.

Jano looked at Dariea who was looking up. She stared and Robin was doing the same. A sprawling dark form hung from the ceiling, something which must have arrived concurrent to the sprouting of the garden. It raged silently above, but it seemed to be growing.

“What is it?” Jano wondered aloud.

“It is a maelstrom of destruction.” Robin replied.

Dariea looked almost as shocked as Jano did at her response. Though probably for different reasons. Jano had no idea how it could be anything other than a sprawling mass. He continued to stare. Then he saw it was made of several of the grass sculptures, all brought together by force. As though they had been sucked up. The longer he looked, the more he saw. Homes, people and everything in between was hanging from the thing. All in some various stage of ruin.

Dariea led the way to another section and soon stopped. When Jano caught up, he realised why. An impassable wind with swirling darkness at its centre was violently tearing everything up past the exit of the garden.

Dariea turned to Robin. “I assume this seems vaguely familiar to you?”

The mass above began to expand quicker now. It reached for them, the wind picking up as it did so. Robin looked awestruck. She simply stared at the violence and power of the essence before her. “Well yes. But I have no hope of dispensing this. It is the form of the Raging Darkness and it’s effects depicted as a garden. It is exquisite, and something which only a master of our clan could hope to tame. And even then perhaps it would take several at once. To see it before me like this…it is sublime..”

“What is the Raging Darkness?” Jano asked.

“It is a master technique of my people. It basically unleashes raw Shadow Air essence but directs it to consume anything in sight, using the environment against itself. It’s basically like ten hurricanes in one. My mother is the only one I know who can perform it. Its potential uses are… well they’re all around you. Take a look. They’re devastating as it only gets stronger as it goes. It’s like whoever crafted this is taunting us.” She didn’t stop staring at the brutal, battering wind before them.

Dariea thought for a second. The wind whipped at them as they stood and a few strikes almost hit Jano. He looked on apprehensively, hoping somebody had an answer to pass through. Creatures were one thing, but an advanced technique was way beyond him. The Raging Darkness reached the floor. It began to lash out at the garden around it. It lashed at one of the sculptures and roped it into its gnawing wind. At first Jano thought they were under attack, then the more he watched, he realised the essence was simply lashing out at random.

“We do not need to tame it. At least, I don’t think we do. We need to control it or quieten it.” Dariea said at last. Robin did not seem impressed at the revelation.

“And your point is? I am still not strong enough to do that. It’s only going to grow more fierce. This is it in its early stages. Soon the garden will be torn up and drawn in. Along with us.”

“But together we may be.” Dariea responded instantly. They were shouting now, the Raging Darkness whipping itself into a frenzy.

“And how do you propose we do that?” Robin said. “Unless you have some magical way to combine our power or have a special kind of essence vacuum, or…” Robin stopped talking after seeing Dariea’s smirk.

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Robin stared and then looked at Jano. “Well, would you care to explain?” She said finally looking back at Dariea.

“If you can harness some of it, move it away or draw it into your spirit. Jano and I could attempt to use the Chaos Crush technique to do exactly that. It won’t hold all of it, but it might do just enough. And that is a kind of vacuum indeed.”

Jano listened and suddenly grew quite nervous. However, as those two were talking he walked a little closer to the furthest reaches of the snarling wind. Curiosity ran through him. His stomach swirled and he felt the heat emanating from his face. He took a deep breath. He struck the swirling wind in a cutting motion with his scythe. A white hot flash erupted in his spirit as a surge of essence flooded him. He braced and fell back, landing with a thud somewhere a short distance away.

After a few moments of heavy breathing and regret, he opened his eyes. Dariea and Robin stood over him. He thought he recognised the shock on Robin’s and the disappointment on Dariea’s.

“I’m sorry… I thought…” he tried.

Dariea walked forward and pulled him up. “You didn’t think to run that idea past me first?” She didn’t sound as disappointed as he first thought she might.

It was then that Jano realised the Raging Darkness looked a little less vicious than before. If only a little. Then Dariea held out her hand and after a few seconds of deciphering her intent, he handed over the scythe.

“That was a very good idea. The scythes will be less effective for us than they are for you, as it grows more familiar to one master, they become less available to others. But still, we have stronger spirits. We may be able to weaken it after all.”

Dariea handed the scythe to Robin. “Here, it may even heal your arm should you strike well enough and take enough essence. It is after all, your natural attunement.”

Robin took the weapon and looked at it skeptically. “So you’re saying this will draw the essence directly into my spirit?”

“I hope so.” Dariea said.

“It certainly did for me.” Jano croaked from his position, still doubled over.

With a shrug which suggested a strong hint of ‘here goes nothing’, Robin lashed out at the essence. This time Jano saw the violent reaction of the technique. It was obviously not able to cross some sort of barrier into the garden and the most it could manage was a retreat and mild strop on the other side.

Robin was not pushed back. Instead she was able to attack twice more, with each go significantly drawing more of a reaction from a now noticeably smaller storm. After the third strike, she handed the scythe to Dariea. Robin was out of breath sure, but she seemed stronger already. And that was before she had even processed the influx of essence into her spirit. It had certainly overloaded her as it had Jano, but she was much more experienced.

It didn’t take long for Dariea to significantly reduce the size of the body of the storm. She turned and held the scythe to Jano and she examined its handle as she did so. A faint smile on her lips was suggestive, but he chose not to pry. She turned to focus on the wild and unbidden essence.

“Come on then. Let’s try the Chaos Crush once more.” He began to recognise the early signs of the technique taking form. “Just focus on doing it yourself, and I’ll help where necessary.”

He pictured the runes, they were difficult to place. His spirit was full once more from the scythe strike. He channeled chaos and started to focus his will on the swirling shadow air. Slowly but surely, they managed to encase the raw power within. Bit by bit, it grew less forceful and more contained. Dariea took the lead with the technique and the last of the wind was gone. An open space where it had once been.

Dariea walked through the section which had just been filled with the violent storm and which now revealed a lush garden in the same style as the beginning. Jano followed with Robin close by, she was fiddling with her bandages.

“So my people were chosen as the final guard to the Relics? That is interesting.” She said. “Doesn’t her condescending smile ever grate on you a bit?” Robin added much more quietly to Jano.

“I assure you, that my smile will grow on you. Unfortunately I think you may have spoke too soon.” Dariea responded and Robin flashed a look of mangled surprise and annoyance before turning to see the latest obstacle.

The heat was oppressive. A wall of flame burst from floor to ceiling. Its flames licked and spat at them as they tried to back away. Jano looked at the others and held up his scythes again, but this time Dariea held up a hand. “No, that should not be necessary.”

“Robin, can you call down a whirlwind of some sort? Try and force it toward the centre of the flame.”

“Yeah I should think so. Typical that the one time we need Gryff he’s not actually here.” She replied.

Jano heard the bandages fall to the floor and Robin began to call forth her shadow wind attacks. “Jano, prepare to create a stone bridge for us to pass if you can. It would be ideal if you can make it wide enough so that we can all pass at once.”

Jano started to draw in stone essence once more into his spirit. Being a cave, stone essence was literally everywhere and his spirit was still strong from its recuperation thanks to Eradin’s bane. Next, he found some suitable stone and began to shift it. The flames buffeted around it and he could feel the heat which tried to melt the stone. “I won’t be able to hold this for long.” He shouted as he assembled the makeshift bridge. He had to hold it against the fire and the buffeting wind attack of Robin.

A cool sensation snapped through the air as Dariea called on a flood of water to descend from the ceiling. “Run toward the flame. Now!”

They each did so and the fire grew hotter as they approached.

“Faster!” Dariea shouted.

Their feet pounded on the stone bridge and the heat was almost unbearable now. The whirlwind was buffeting some of the flame away, but it would not be enough on its own. Jano felt his concentration starting to slip. The bridge shook as he panicked but he held it together. Either side of the bridge was fire and beyond that was a darkness such as Jano had never seen.

A flood of water washed around them. The refreshing cool was a balm to the soul as it carried them through the wall of flame and spat them out the other side. The flame collapsed and soon there was nothing but a lush garden behind them.

They each took a deep sigh of relief.