Originally uploaded Sep 26, 2023
Varay Pov
The Retainer's twig like fingers and hands moved over her face as she fell to her knees. Her hands scrambled as she felt around for the shards of her broken mask on the forest floor. The sharp glass like pieces cut through her thin skin, drawing her crimson blood. In a maniac like gesture she tore away at her own skin and hair, cutting her ponytails loose. Blanketing her face in cascades of unruly black hair.
"My mask. Where's my mask." She kept repeating in hushed tones. I began to slowly back away, my entire body tense as I readied my mana for her to retaliate. I was being cautious, I had used up more mana than I was comfortable with and I could tell she hasn't unleash her full strength yet.
"My mask!" She shrieked as if a spirit had possessed her, gripping at the shattered shards. Digging them into her skin and drawing more blood.
Witnessing the particles of mana gather around her to form a murk green and black aura I had little time.
With an explosion of mana in my legs and with the ambient mana wrapping around me and propelling me forward. I dashed towards her as I gathered motes of blue mana in my hands. Forming another sword, this time far larger in size.
My entire body ached, perhaps aftereffects from her toxins. I ignored them as I rushed towards the Retainer before the corrosive aura completely enveloped her body.
As I drew closer and closer with each passing fraction of a second, a sense of dread crept into my body. A sense of doubt and fear of something far greater than me.
I felt a familiar sensation of my sword piercing and cutting through flesh. As white frost spread from my weapon to her body, sending crackling patterns of ice across her entire body.
But the liquid that leaked out of her that should have been blood was a murky green substance, like that of water from a swamp or marsh.
The entry point of the tip of my blade where a wound should have been hissed as the green blood ate away at the mana of my weapon.
The Retainer slowly raised her gaze from the ground and met mine. And I saw the sight that she tried so hard to cover. A wave of absolute fear shot across my entire body as my hairs stood on end.
Quickly releasing my grip on my conjured weapon I kicked off the ground as I placed a fair amount of distance between use.
Curtains of long black hair fluttered in the air but even they couldn't help hide her true face. Gnarly skin that resembled the texture and color of a decaying tree. With large hollow craters in her checks and abyssal black lips that were somehow darker than her already jet-black hair that formed around her jagged yellow teeth.
But her physical features weren't what stirred the feeling of panic and animalistic fear in my heart. It was her eyes. Her stare that made my heart drop to the bottom of my stomach. Two gaping holes of darkness, as if they were stabbed and ripped out of their sockets. Staring into them felt as if I was staring at nothingness itself.
"I am afraid that keeping you around as a pet is no longer an option." She spoke in mere whispers as she wrapped her thin fingers around my sword made of blue ice.
I couldn't help but wince as she spoke, despite the low volume. With a small tug my weapon that was buried in her side was yanked free and the black sludge that was secreted from her skin ate away at it until there was nothing but gunk.
I involuntarily took a step back as the hole that I made with my spell was wiped cleanly away as a wave of green and black washed over her pale skin.
There wasn't many options left for me. Retreating right now would only be a cowardly move, a desperate attempt to save my own skin. And that is only ignoring the problem until it grew too big. I had to end it here and now, and that I was my at the end of the day.
Making up my mind I sent mana into my limbs. Reaching out with my mind I felt around for the nearby water mana as I emptied my own core for my next attack. I will end this with this last strike.
The mist of the forest cleared as a hurricane of frost ripped across the grassy floor, shaking trees and ripping the smaller ones out of the soil. The Retainer took a step back as her corrosive aura congealed itself into multiple claws and shot forward in an attempt to rip apart my spell.
But that was only a distraction, using the cover of the icy wind that obscured her vision and deafened my own sounds I swiftly flew around and behind her. Planting my feet firmly on the ground I I condensed mana in to own limbs, collecting them their as the pressure grew and grew. Until it exploded and sent my forward like a flying arrow right at the Retainer.
A wave of cold washed over my body as another set of armor grew around me, encasing me in a icy defense. I gritted through the pain that my limbs and core felt. With her distracted she only realized my approach when it was already too late.
Bracing both of my hands I channeled more of my strength through them as I strengthened my bones and muscles. My armored hands came into contact with her shadowy aura and the pain was apparent even through my icy shield. The ice sizzled as her corrosive field began to decay my mana, and I could feel them eating through my skin.
Ignoring all of that I pushed forward, unleashing a gale of wind and icy backwards I propelled myself forward and broke through. Encasing both of her arms in a tight death grip I forced my strength through them.
The witch let out a pained roar as she tried to pull herself free from my cold grip. But my arms and hands stayed strong. The flesh of my hand turned a concerning red as I could see layers of my skin disappear. Yet my spell was working, as the thin coat of frost slowly began to creep up and around her arms, slowly making their way through her own defenses of poison and toxins.
But before my spell could spread completely around her body the Retainer gave a strong yank as she kicked me square in the chest. Tearing both of her frozen arms from her shoulders, both of which shattered like brittle glass.
I could now feel the sensation of burning on my hand. Looking down at them I could see pus forming around the raw flesh. Sending sharp needle like pains down my arms with every twitch. Mana traveled up and through my arms as I tried to soothe them with the cold.
"You dare you this?!" She screamed as fire ignited her hollow empty eyes.
"A mere lesser do this to a Vritra lady like me?!" She huffed as she began to hobble away towards a nearby tree.
"I will flay the skin off your entire body and hang you on my walls for everyone to see. I will wait for your skin to heal and grow back just to do it all over again. I will broadcast your sorry state for your entire continent to see!" She howled.
Ignoring the Retainer's curses I didn't quiet understand what she wished to accomplish by going to a tree but I wasn't going to find out. Dashing towards her I ignored my body's protests of pain.
She jerked her head back. Then with a sharp movement she spat some black liquid from her mouth. Pushing against the ambient mana around me I evaded the attack. Quickly closing the gap I got right up to her face as I unleashed another ice attack directly in her face. Her toxic aura was now lessened in her weakened state.
She reeled back as she forced her eyes shut. In a swift movement another sword grew in my hands and I stabbed it into her midsection. Channeling my power into the sword it glowed a bright blue as I could feel her internal temperatures dropping.
Suddenly I was thrown backwards. Fingers of her mana gripped my throat and was sending a searing pain through them. Without a second thought my placed my frost covered hand over my neck.
The Retainer now partially blinded still continued to make her way towards a nearby tree. With a quick gesture her path was blocked as a wall of glacier punched upwards from the ground. Her aura, despite being weakened still began to rot away my mana.
With one final mental push I forced the last bit of mana out from my core. Building off of the already existing wall of ice, it grew. Surrounding and encapsulating the Retainer within it. She unleashed her own mana to try to combat it but we were both spent, and she was lacking two of her own limbs.
I could still feel traces of her corrosive mana but it was done for now. She laid frozen in her icy prison. With her core drained of strength she won't be getting out it anytime soon. With the job done a wave of fatigue tug at my mind as I sank to my knees.
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And with that a new kind of doubt blossomed too. This Retainer was far stronger than the intelligence reports Cynthia had originally given us. Perhaps it was a faint from the Vritra's to make us lower our guards. But if a Retainer gave me this much trouble I worried what the much more powerful Scythes were capable of.
With this new bit of information we would need to completely reconsider the strengths of all the Retainers and Scythes. Not to mention any other kind of secret tools and weapons the Alacryans may deploy. We barely had an understanding of their magic system but they seemed far too familiar with our continent and its various cultures and methods.
It all felt too much like a lopsided war. A war where we had very few chances for victory. If a Lances such as I could barely handle a Retainer than what does that say about the future of this conflict.
I could feel my body drag itself down as I fell over. The damp grass touched my skin as I stared at the trapped Retainer. And my mind drifted off into blackness.
Tessia Pov
Captain Glory's body tumbled back onto the ground. The mana abandoning her body as she raced towards the grass. The surviving Dicathens fell silent as she body hit the floor. The Lance then turned his eyes towards us. And an overwhelming pressure fell upon us. A feeling a helpless prey might feel when it makes eyes contact with its' predator.
And almost instantly all the good will and faith we all carried was snuffed out like the flames of a dying candle. Several of the soldiers broke ranks as they began to scramble away, only for them to die first as spellfire burnt through their mana defenses and reduced them to corpses.
Yet there were still some who held firm. Their resolution unfettered by the change of events. A barrage of arrows of icy filled the sky as they rained down like hail upon the Alacryans.
The ground beneath their feet erupted as a pillar of flames incinerated the enemy soldiers that were unfortunate enough to be there. Walls of ice sprouted up from the ground as they acted as defenses for our troops to regroup.
With a mental push I reached for my beast will and it instantly reacted. I could feel every single minute movement in the trees and feel through each blade of grass. Being in the middle of a dense forest only heightened my will's abilities.
With a mere thought several of the branches from the nearby trees extended forward. As they ran through any poor Alacryan that was in the way, their thick dark brown bark were painted red.
Green vines undid the earth as they erupted upwards from the ground, violently snaking their way around as I directed the to their targets. They coiled and slithered around like snakes, capturing people in their long grasps and chocking the air out of them.
"That was a neat trick." Commented Darvus as the ripped one of his axes out of a pile of rubble that was once one of Olfred's summons.
Before I could quip back the Lance was upon us again. His approach could have been felt by the change in the air as the mana reacted to his will. Upon instinct I kicked off the ground as Darvus did the same as large claws made of stone rose up from the ground and closed around air.
The Lance shield his eyes as a gale of fire and wind momentarily blinded him, but even that didn't slow him down. With a flex of his muscles the air rippled as the fire dissipated. He turned his attention back to Kathyln and Hester who were trying to coordinate their attack. But before he could fly off to deal with them his body jerked back for a moment.
He looked down and saw my vines coiled around his ankles, giving the other mages enough time to focus their attacks on him while he was momentarily stuck.
A rainbow of spells rained down at him as they exploded in colorful clouds of dust and fire. Without warning a barrage of spikes and swords made of stone burst forth from the Lance's position, impaling and outright killing many of our soldiers. Two arms of thick forest green vines automatically shielded me from any serious damage but the deed has been done.
We were lacking numbers, and without any countermeasures for the Lance it was only a matter of time before we all either died or were taken as prisoners of war. I thought back to what my grandfather told me. As a member of Dicathen royalty if I were to be captured alive a fate worse than death awaited me. Being tortured was one thing, but I could be a valuable bargaining chip the Alacryan could use to subjugate Dicathen. And I wasn't going to be the one that costed us this war.
My mana core was depleting fast, the vines acted as if they had a mind of their own. Growing and striking any foes that got near me and defending me when my guard was down. But it was taxing my core too quickly. I could feel my own movements growing more sluggish as my mana levels dwindled. The vines grew fewer in number as well. I could not sustain my beast will for very much long.
As I was deep in thought and planning on what to do next my ears were pierced by a bloodcurdling scream. Whipping my head around I saw a large stone spear, several meters long planted firmly in the ground. With Darvus still clutching at his twin axes skewered by the spear and hanging in the air.
"Darvus!" Screamed Caria as she rushed towards him.
"Caria, wait!" Stannard shouted, trying to grab her but it was too late. A stone pillar came crashing down as it swallowed my female squad member under its weight.
"You children are still too young for war." The deep voice of the traitor Lance boomed as he floated down towards us. The air hung silent. Each side had taken massive casualties, we were both in no state to continue a large scale battle, but they still had a Lance on their side.
None of the other mages dare even move, else they draw the unwanted attention of the Lance who was now looking down at us. The mana around him was sturdy and powerful, like a great mountain that we couldn't hope of defeating.
"If you surrender I shall allow you to keep your lives." He said in his deep baritone. As if we should grovel and be thankful for his mercy. The notion of that thought struck a chord with me as I stood up against him, looking up into his face.
"Or what? You're gonna kill a bunch of helpless children? A Lance like you would do something as disgrace for as that? Murdering the children of a continent you swore to protect!" I cursed him out as I could feel a gentle hand on my shoulders.
Looking over my shoulder I saw the face of Kathyln, still the same face she always displayed but something was different. The usual cold and calm air around was changed.
She stepped up right next to me as she began to speak in a calm but stern tone.
"You Lances were trusted by each royal family to protect not only their safety but for the security of our continent. Wasn't that the whole purpose of the council formation? If are going to kill us than at least tell us why? Why have you done this? Why have you turned your back on your own people?"
"I turned my back to you?" The dwarven Lances spoke through gritted teeth. Despite already looking down on us he seemed to grow in size as his mana flared up like bellowing flames.
"Do either of you princesses know what my people have been through? Being second class citizens who do all your dirty work." veins were visible on his forehead as he continued in raged filled monologue.
"We were always playing second fiddle to you humans and elves. Stuck in our cold murky caves where your people prospered. I don't think you of all people are capable of judging my own people." Hot glowing magma grew around his skin, forming a armor that moved like a living creature.
"This war was a chance for us. The Vritra has given us a chance to rise from our terrible underground ruts and rise up to our full potential. With their technology our race will fulfill our destiny."
He continued as he gestured towards all of us. Blaming all of us for the shortfalls of his race. "Soon my father's dream will become a reality. Soon we will-" His words were abruptly drowned out by what sounded like the loud deafening sound of thunder.
The gravity seemed to suddenly change around us as I felt my body becoming heavier. So much so that I struggled to stand up straight. I could feel a cold flame on my skin, the feeling of cold malice and power. Such power.
We could hear the sound of the powerful beats of wings before we saw it. The sight of something that is only shown in fairy tales. A large shadow loomed over all of us as powerful gales of wind tossed our hair and shook nearby trees.
I stared up and saw it. The dark scales that made the darkness of night seem pale. Its piercing eyes that glowed yellow with wisdom and ferocity. The beast landed with a loud thud that shook the very ground. As the soldiers that were close stumbled onto their backs as they scrambled to get away from it.
The fully beauty and grandeur of the legendary creature was made apparent to all who laid their eyes on it. But only I knew of its identity and its master. And she had grown a lot since I last saw her, she was now the size of a large house. Each beat of her wings sending out torrents of wind as powerful as a hurricane's while her claws looked more like master-crafted swords than any feature of a living being.
Arthur's bond, Sylvie.
I chuckled a bit in my head. That name didn't really suit a dragon like her anymore. No, this was a creature that is only spoken of in stories. A being thought to be extinct until the asuras of Ephetous made their existence fully known to us.
And upon her back rode a single figure. Wearing a deep crimson hooded cloak that obscured his face he casually jumped off the dragon's back. A large staff with a gleaming white crystal at its tip.
I strolled up towards the dwarven Lance with his staff as he made a grandiose gesture.
"This is what he wasted my time with? A mere Lance?" He questioned more to himself than expecting anyone to answer. His voice was slightly different, perhaps due to his age but I could almost instantly tell who it was.
"Lucas Wykes." I whispered in a low enough volume as to not alert anyone, as I came upon the name in my memories. He was presumed dead ever since the incident at the academy but he was alive and he was with Sylvie. And that meant Arthur was somehow behind all of this.
"Who are you." Olfred found the words to speak as he still carefully eyed the dragon from the corner of his eyes.
"Oh, that is not for you to worry about. I am just disappointed that it is you of all people." Lucas said with mock sadness as he swung his staff around without a care in the world. In fact, he looked more like a bored child than anything else.
Sylvie huffed, sending smoke out of her nose.
"Welp, guess we better get started. I am sure that demon would get pissed if I waste any more time." Lucas said as he stared back at the Sylvie than back at Olfred.
"You dar-" Before Olfred could finish his word Sylvie opened her giant maw. A powerful gust of air dragged the air around us all to her. In a panic I summoned a pair of vines to grab a hold of any of the Dicathen troop I could as I anchored myself to the ground.
For a split second I could have sworn I saw tiny motes of purple being carried into Sylvie mouth but it was over already. As Sylvie slammed her mouth shut with a loud noise all of the Alacryans soldiers all fell over. As if they were puppets that had their strings suddenly cut.
Their lifeless bodies tumbled to the ground without any ceremony or significance. Sylvie looked satisfied with her job and before Olfred could even fully register what had just happened large hands of fire grabbed him out of the air.
With his staff planted on the ground a large magic symbol light up the ground as a large beast made of fire and lightning was birthed from it, grabbing the Lance as it was born from the spellform on the ground.
Lucas then lifted his staff up and pointed its tip at the Lance. And with a wicked smile that was just visible under his hood said the following.
"Make sure to not die too fast. I need to release some stress too."