“Nina, wait,” Vakdragnar called as he jogged after her. Her pace did not slow while she made her way swiftly through the dark. It wasn’t until he rounded another narrow passage within the cavern before he caught up to her. She did not seem to care that Vak was trying to explain himself earnestly.
“I think you came in at the wrong part of the conversation,” he told her.
“No, its fine, Vak. You are right; I am far from normal. I’m just a witch, right?” She said, refusing to slow down or even look at him.
“I did not say that,” Vak assured her. “I do not blame you for summoning that demon.”
“Oooh, thank you!” She said sarcastically. “Can we please have just ONE conversation where we don’t talk about that night?”
Vak paused and then called after her, “Doesn’t that strike you as extremely hypocritical?”
“Excuse me?” She said, completely stopping. Vak could see he might have struck a nerve with that comment as she turned around to face him. “What did you say?”
“We have both been comforting one another with the same advice. We are both so stubborn and guilt-ridden it is frightening. Neither of us is willing to let go of the guilt.”
“You think we’re the same?” She asked quietly.
“In that, we are so very far from normal,” Vak explained quickly. “The things we’ve done and the things we can do set us apart from everyone else. We’ve both done things we are not proud of, and we have become extraordinarily good at swallowing the blame. You accidentally summoned a demon to save your life. I use my anger to solve my problems. Ignoring the conversation will not change that.”
“Why did you make mine sound so much worse?” She demanded while fighting back a smile.
“It isn’t. The demons you summon are very weak,” Vak joked. She couldn’t hold back a laugh.
“No,” She said with a smile. “You are just abnormal.”
“We both are,” he told her. “That is my point. We both need to stop worrying about normal.”
“So, what do we do? Stay away from everyone? Live down in this Underrealm, so no one else gets hurt?”
“No. I don’t know about you, but I have things I want to do in life. Places I want to see, goals to achieve. I cannot simply hide,” He said, feeling an odd sense of resolution. Vak was done, allowing his fear to control him. “You should not worry. If circumstances force you to summon more demons, I’ll simply fight them too.”
“And if you can’t control your anger, I promise to bring you back to yourself.”
“Like you did with that Goural by the lake.” He said, remembering her calling to him and shaking him out of his rage.
“Exactly.” She told him.
“I think they call that co-dependence,” Falcix said, finally catching them. “I’m not entirely sure it’s healthy.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Nina said, smiling. “Vak is right. We should embrace our abnormality. What makes us different should make us thrive.”
Falcix just watched them with his beak open. It looked as though he, for once, couldn’t find anything to say. So, he shrugged his wings and continued to lead them down the passage.
They continued to delve through the caverns, walking without anything words passing between them. The mood was decidedly happier. Even Falcix seemed in good spirits as he hummed some soft melody. It was not long until a reddish light crept into the cavern from up ahead.
“We’re here,” Falcix told them, and they slowed their pace.
Vak could not see anything beyond the eerie red glow looming, and its color was a terrifying reminder of his rage aura. He looked to Nina, who nodded supportively.
“What is the plan? Vak asked. “What are we walking into?”
“Well,” Falcix began.
“Let’s just see for ourselves,” Nina interrupted, walking further along the tunnel.
“She sure does enjoy a good exeunt,” Falcix said.
Vak shrugged his shoulders and followed after her, towards the light.
When they arrived at the other side of the tunnel, the eerie red glow was the radiant light of lava churning along; it illuminated the entire room. The molten rock flowed nearly fifty feet beneath them, violently crashing into the cavern walls below.
Suspended above the fiery death was a series of large island-like platforms. Some were a large as thirty feet in diameter, and Vak thought they looked somewhat unsteady. The entire room looked as though some quake had shattered the immense cavern.
There was no direct way across, and while they were connected below, the crossing would be difficult. He thought he might be able to jump the distance between some of them, but not all.
In the center of the room, perhaps five islands away were three hulking Goural. They pursued a group of creatures made entirely out of rock and metal.
“Falcix, are they…”
“The Ignari, yes,” Falcix answered him.
“We have to help them,” Nina said. Her hands clenched into fists as she watched the hulking four-armed creatures leap from island to island in pursuit of the fleeing Ignari.
“Small hiccup with that plan,” Falcix informed them. “The Ignari are the ones who captured my Master. They are holding him in their stronghold capital.”
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“Perhaps if we save them, they will free your Master in recompense,” Vak said.
“Doubtful. The Ignari don’t share the same values as humans, or even the Rowavir. They are like an alien species upon this planet. They’re unreasonable, and we might want to let the Goural destroy these scouts here.”
“Are you insane?” Nina asked him. “We can’t just watch as they kill them?”
“The Ignari and the Goural have been at war for ages. The ones killed here are less than a drop in the sink of blood between them.”
“Well, as colorful as that is. I hate a leaky faucet.” She said as she jumped from the cavern entrance to the first island. She made an impressive leap but fell short, and caught only the edge. Her feet scrambled in the air as she tried to get her balance. In an instant, Vak had hurdled over her and landed in a roll, spun, and was at the ledge.
“I’m fine,” She called up to him. “Go help those Ignari.”
“Nina, are you sure…”
“I said, I’m fine!” Nina told him in a tone that made him stand back. She could use her magic to help herself up, and he did want to show her he knew she was capable. Vak nodded his head and turned to leap to the next platform.
“And Vak,” Nina added, while Vak turned back around. “Don’t hold back.” She said with a smile. Vak nodded again, and he was over the next gap and onto a new island. This one was a bit unstable, and he felt the entire platform shift as he landed on it. He started running towards the next one immediately as he felt it sway.
In front of him, the Goural were pursuing the fleeing Ignari quickly. There were eight Ignari in total, and many looked to have a series of silvery-gray metal protruding out of their bodies, not unlike Iron. They were a myriad of rock types among them except the one of importance. This one had a slimmer, white form like marble and in place of the iron were amethyst protrusions. Her noticeable difference made Vak feel like she was someone of import to them.
Two of the Iron Ignari stayed behind to slow down the approaching Goural. Vak leapt to the fourth island as he desperately tried to close the distance. The two Iron Ignari began to make swipes at the Goural with their sharp iron spikes. One made contact with a beast, drawing blood. The Goural howled in rage, grabbing the attacking Ignari and flinging him from the island like a small toy.
The Iron Ignari rolled over onto another island and then towards the other side. Unable to slow his momentum, he went rolling over the edge towards the lava below. Suddenly the rocky base of the pillar suspending the island exploded. Out of the side, the rock grew into the shape of a net. The iron Ignari hit hard but did not descend into the lava below.
Vak looked across the platform to the amethyst and marble Ignari. Her hands glowed, but as he watched, the glow slowly faded. Is this one capable of magic? She seemed to mold the stone with ease to save her friend.
The other iron ignari left alone with the three Goural was not so fortunate. Two Goural grabbed him by either side and split him apart in a shower of rocks as they began to devour his corpse. Their teeth crunched with every bite, but Vak was near to the island they were on.
The third Goural did not join in on the kill and leapt after the fleeing Ignari. It bounded after them like an animal playing with its prey. There were only two islands between them, then one. It jumped towards the awaiting Ignari, and suddenly a wall erupted between them. The stone wall grew to protect the Ignari behind it, and the Goural was forced to kick off it. It leapt back to the platform it had been on rather than fall down to the lava below.
Vak could not watch more of the fight as he leapt onto the platform with the two feeding Goural. They greedily shoveled in bits of the fallen Ignari into their waiting mouths.
It is now, or never, Vak decided. Nina’s advice to try and truly control his rage echoed through his mind as he let his anger overcome him.
The red vibrancy of the chamber exploded around him. Any other color present in the room had been entirely washed out with the red aura of Vakdranar’s rage. The two Goural turned their heads to him and snarled.
Vak concentrated. He tried instead of fighting his rage to let it work for him. He tackled the one on the right, gliding dangerously close to the edge. He kicked off of the creature, feeling its bones in its chest collapse under his feet. He launched himself at the other Goural before it realized what had happened.
He struck it across the head and felt it snap. It howled in pain as half of its jaw hung off its face. It raised its fists to answer Vak’s challenge, but he caught them with his own hands. It raised its remaining arms to club Vak over the head when Vak ripped the lower arms out of its sockets. The Goural cried in agony as Vak tossed the arms over the edge into the waiting lava below.
Then he went flying as he felt the creature strike him in the back. The one he’d tackled before was up, and Vak was sailing through the air. Suddenly he was caught by a glowing green hand. The palm felt familiarly smooth as he looked back to see Falcix and Nina slowly making their way across the islands. Nina nodded to him.
Vak got up and leapt from the outstretched hand to the island with the two Goural. The third one had noticed Vak causing a ruckus and began charging back towards his pack.
Vak did not have time to pay it any mind as the now-two armed Goural caught Vak in mid-air before he could land. The Goural squeezed him and cried in anger.
Then all of its hair stood on end as an enormous build-up of lightning from the rage aura coursed through the Goural and energized Vak. The Goural died holding Vak, and it crumbled to carbon dust. The third Goural was on the platform and inspected the area where its packmate had been moments before. Then it looked to Vak and howled a hauntingly devastating cry.
It lunged at Vak and slammed its fists into the island where Vak nimbly dodged out of the way. The other one joined in, and the island shook from their impact, and Vak realized too late what they were doing. The island began to break apart as they leapt away safely onto other platforms.
What the Goural didn’t understand is that his rage made him stronger in every way, not just in his upper body. He pushed off of a piece of the crumbling island to leap over the two Goural. Vak now stood between them and the Ignari.
They watched his leap with a disbelieving look on their faces, and they failed to react in time. Vak had barely landed when he launched himself at one of the Goural, striking it hard enough in the chest to send it staggering back towards the edge. It was helpless to his onslaught as he heard its bones snap under further punches.
Behind him, he saw the remaining Goural try to help, but a dark tentacle rose from the ground between them and wrapped him up. It squeezed the Goural until it popped like a bloody balloon. Vak could see from his peripheral vision that Nina had slumped down on an island not far away. The strain of her magic took its toll.
The final Goural never stood a chance as it took punch after punch to its midsection. Its hard stomach became soft and broken, and finally, after a final blow, it lost its footing. The Goural plummeted into the lava below. Its body skidded across the lava, like a drop of water on a heated pan. Then his entire body ignited as the churning lava lapped up it up as greedily as the Goural had been eating the fallen Ignari.
Vak stood quietly for a few moments as his rage vanished. He took a small breath and smiled. For once, he did not feel the guilt he often associated with anger. He had used his rage to defend, and as he turned around, he set his mind to the task of getting Falcix’s master back from him.
“Prophets from the hereafter, thank you for coming to our aid,” The Amethyst Ignari said, standing a few islands away.
“We saw you were in trouble, and we helped,” Vak explained.
“I am pleased you did. I am Sanga, General to the Iron Legion.”
“My name is Vakdragnar.”
“You are truly a skilled warrior, exalted one, and the company you keep is equally impressive. The woman with you has the radiant aura of God surrounding her. I shall do a devotion for your timely arrival. Please, come with us. Honor demands I repay the bravery you have shown here today.”
“Thank you,” Vak said carefully. This General seemed to have some strange ideas of who she thought they were.
“Our home is not far from here. We would be humbled if you would come with us to Kark, the shining city.”