WoS Chapter 6

Maetesk raised his head as he felt another wave of power from the centre of the maze.
'Perhaps haste is required.' He turned as Jade appeared.
"How many...?"
'We saw there were many of you to start. But your lights are dim now, few in number. Many, perhaps all have fallen. We cannot tell for sure.'

Seraph was rapidly losing strength. He needed to land or else he would die. He decided to land on an island, it was an island halfway between Alriiea and the frozen north. On that island, he was able to find fresh fruit and drinkable water. He decided to rest on a mountain in the island. He was slowly regaining strength. Just then, he sensed that someone was watching him. He rose and took on a cloak of magic. " You there. Show yourself!" He was then facing a spirit.

---

A shadowy figure was standing atop a mountain. He was staring at the waters below, as if it were a very special gift. He then looked above and saw an unfamiliar sight, a ceree landing on the island. He wanted to get the ceree's life force, but decided against it. He wanted to take care of the ceree until it is fully healed. He started to go down the mountain. When he was halfway down, he saw the ceree sleeping. He was pale blue, and he looked liked he just came from a frozen wasteland. He tried to approach the ceree, but the ceree awoke and covered itself in a cloak of magic. It seemed it was calling out to him. " You there. Show yourself!" He then faced the ceree. " Peace, brother. I mean you no harm. I am Rubian, an Aespectrill. Descendant of the Great Ancestor Noundele, brother of shadows. What is your name."

The pale blue ceree's cloak disappeared, but it didn't lower it's guard. " I am Seraph. I am a ceree, descendant of the Great Ancestor Kaldreiia, mother of dragonkind. Born from the essence of elf and dragon. Chieftain of the Sacred Wings tribe in Alriiea. Pleasure to meet you. May i ask you one thing, what are you doing in this island?"

Rubian took some time to answer. " I left my family long ago. I am a nomad."

Seraph was surprised at the answer. " I have been a nomad as well, but now I have resumed my title as Chieftain for a good purpose. Will you join me back to Alriiea.

Rubian tried to smile at the offer. " I'd like that Seraph. We shall go when you are ready."

Radu had almost laughed as he stepped off cael... but then he heard jade speak "maetesk is right... it's possible all are gone now" he sighed and continued moving "we must keep moving, i feel the center of the maze is close at hand, and with it saffye" he sighed continueing the way he had been walking before

radu very much disliked this maze, the high stone walls where endless, and there was no way to fly out of them... he began to wonder 'would it of been better if i had just stayed with my clan?' he sighed and shook his head. he stayed next to liara as he walked, since it calmed him to be beside her

"..." Nothing. Malkuthe felt nothing as he passed through the wall of black cloud, he couldn't even see his own body, nor feel it for that matter. And as though in a moment of divine intervention, it vanished. There she was, 'master' in all her glory, but something was wrong, her eyes were glazing over and tendrils of magic ran amok.

The waves of power were enchanting, but he fought them to get to 'master'. When he sat beside 'master', 'master' nicked his shoulder to draw a drop of blood.

"Your mother was a white, wasn't she, Malkuthe?" 'master' said in a strained voice. Malkuthe whimpered in concern and fear for 'master's health but he answered with a solemn yes. "Then the blood of a white it shall be."

The white lines of magic turned creamy pink and then blood red. The Rose of Sanctuary started dripping a glittering red liquid that looked nothing like blood, but it formed into a long-necked crimson flower. It was a sight to behold.

Outside, in the maze, as Jade and Cael followed their new companions, the elf almost dropped the dagger he was holding. Red veins were spiderwebbing across the marble walls.

'Don't say that, there might still be others, but...just...promise me you'll stay alive, ok?' She nuzzled his cheek.
Suddenly red veins started to crisscross the surrounding walls, coming from the direction of the library.
'That's definitely not good!' Liara jumped back from the marble surface.

Radu jumped back, surprised. he growled as the marks spread across the walls. he stayed close to liara "follow the direction the marks came from... i think they will lead us to saffye" he said walking that way "i'd advise against touching the walls though"

Nodding, Liara kept away from the walls, following Radu. 'I think you're right. Even though I can't wait to get out of this maze, I don't want to see what Saffyre's doing to make these strange...marks.' She shuddered. 'They look like blood.'

Unfortunately for him, Cael had already touched the wall out of sheer curiosity. The red spiderwebbed up his arm and all of a sudden he was seized by the wall. An almost invisible speck of dust now traveled along the lines, swirling and making sharp turns every now and then.

Within moments, after that painful journey, Cael stumbled out of the wall. He stopped in his tracks when he saw a large Agador beside the purple Ceree they called Saffyre.

---

Jade wondered what Cael was doing and gave an audible gasp when the boy was sucked into the walls. She herself had wanted to touch the wall, but now, she thought against it.

Without warning, she felt something wrapping around her limbs and soon enough she was sucked into the wall.

---

Back on Alriiea, under the moon that had been shining almost through midday, the Forbidden peaks were wreathed in fire and ash. Explosions racked the valleys below and the milling masses of Ceree spread through the Gasir Plains and Yedruun Forest were panicking.

Many screamed at the high pitched sound of shattering crystal that carried down from the mountain as though by magic.

The Dark One was free.

radu blinked and looked at the wall searching for signs of cael or jade...." where did they go?" he blinked he tapped a talon on the wall, instead of getting sucked in, a markings moved away from his finger... then he placed his paw on the wall, this time not so lucky. he was sucked in, as he was his tail curled around liara's paw, accidently pulling her with him through the strange journy. he landed face first and looked up "malkuthe.. and saffye!" he growled talons clacking against the stone

Malkuthe's head whipped around to see the new arrivals. The wanted to hurt 'master' but he couldn't leave 'master's' side to defend 'master'. He let loose a low growl and with that wove his magic, drawing a little bit on the waves of magic that crashed against the walls of the Labyrinth.

He created a small blue barrier around him and 'master' but something that Malkuthe didn't expect happened. The spell 'echoed' and instead of just one blue dome, it created three concentric domes each stronger than the last. Energy crackled between the boundaries of each and they dug into the ground.

Malkuthe looked at it with marvel, always the one that could learn something by just seeing it done. He mewled happily and nuzzled against 'master'.

---

Saffyre noticed those that had arrived and gave a start when Malkuthe's barrier had expanded threefold. That wasn't the focus of her attention now. The tides of magic were stronger than ever before and they threatened to rip apart the fabric of reality.

Suddenly, something became clear to her. Without the Gelendrian Bloom to balance out the power, the two artifacts should never have been brought near each other, much less in a recreation ritual, but still, there was little choice now. If she destroyed Sylfe in the process, she would be happy to have ended their problems.

She lifted one of her arms from the ground and pointed directly at the exotic Ceree. Making a drawing motion, she sent threads of magic around the Lily of Life. She imagined it would be a very uncomfortable sensation.

---

From the depths of the void an ancient malevolence stirred in time with the smaller malevolence in Sylfe. Two others stood guard, a man in bright shining armor and a woman in fine silk robes. "Brother?" said the woman with contempt. It was simply for this that they had settled their differences. But to be honest, it was like having an older brother and it was quite comforting when problems arose.

"He is stirring, sister." said the man in armor. "I know not how long we can keep him from waking," he continued with a great aura of gravity around him. With every passing moment, the void seemed to grow wilder as the once-free magic of it began to leak from the age-old evil that was slumped in his throne before the two.

"The hall of the Eternals must be called!" cried out the woman.

"But it cannot convene in time. I believe that time is a luxury we cannot afford," said the man, the gleam in his armor dampening a little bit. "Pray for the best."

"Brother, whom to? We are the ones people pray to." said the woman with a smirk.

Radu's eyes widened, he was some how able to see the magic pulling liara to saffye. why saffye wanted liara... radu didn't know, but he jumped between them. he literally bit down on the tendrils pulling on liara, and they snapped. he growled taking his rage form. his burning red eyes glared at saffye and malkuthe, no longer even able to register malkuthe as a previous friend...

he roared shaking the entire room. the web on magical tendrils that covered the floor veered away from R-Radu, creating a large circle of clear floor around him and liara. he curled his tail around liara "saffye you shall not touch her" he growled

"But oh, Raducan, I have." said Saffyre in a strained voice. She opened her palm and there was the Lily of Life, glowing with great might. The waves of magic were practically screaming in the ears of any who could sense them.

Once again an echo pealed through the dome and Malkuthe's barrier expanded again. Now there were six concentric domes with lightning that crackled.

The lily passed through the domes without damage and took its place beside the Rose of Sanctuary. Within moments it began dripping a viscous white liquid that blended with the red from the Rose.

A flash of light followed and what came next was disappointing for Saffyre. What remained was an ethereal copy of the Gelendrian bloom, but the ritual was still far from over.

R-Radu roared, jumping towards saffye. he was stopped by the closest dome... he reared up and dug his long talons and sharp blade like alerons into it, cracks spread across the dome and within seconds it shattered like glass. he did this on all the domes in his way, but he took his time. he didn't want to waste his energy on these domes, while there was still saffye, and of course malkuthe.

as he shattered the last dome he glared at malkuthe, in this form he was just as large, if not about as powerful as malkuthe. malkuthe stood protecting saffye, like the simple minded puppet he had become. a memory of malkuthe playing with radu when they where much younger stirred in his mind. he tried to transfer the memory to malkuthe, in hope that the real malkuthe was still somewhere in there... he gave malkuthe a final chance "move i don't want to hurt you"

Malkuthe simply cocked his head at Radu after the memory. "I don't want to hurt you." was what Radu said, but it didn't register with Malkuthe. He got up and growled menacingly.

When Radu didn't budge, Malkuthe roared and from the ground under his feet, black spines erupted, showering everyone with dirt.

R-Radu folded his wings over himself, the black spikes hitting the dark grey shell over them, they peirced a bit but didn't do much damaged. R-Radu growled and opened his wings quickly, blowing away the spikes with a pulse of energy "if you will not back down then i will show no mercy!!"

he roared and from his mouth erupted a burst of rainbow colored fire, that compacted and turned into a beam of energy aimed at malkuthe. his talons extended and his blade like alerons poised, he was ready for a real fight, but did not want to kill the one who was his friend

Malkuthe looked at the beam of light with an expression that could only be called curiosity. He caught the beam in his maw and it started to unravel, leaving the Agador with a singed mouth.

Malkuthe took to the skies and rained down black darts on Radu. They burned and fizzled, coated with a poison that only Agador blood can cure. The thing was, Agador blood can also turn a being that drinks it into Agador.

Suddenly realizing that 'master' was vulnerable in her state, Malkuthe created the shield again and this time it echoed so much that the domes became twelve.

R-Radu shuddered, his markings glowing and keeping the poison from affecting him... for now. he flew after malkuthe, drawing in a deep breath he blasted a shining golden beam of light at malkuthe, twice as powerful as the last. after he did this instead of keeping his distance he flew directly behind the blast. after the blast would hit malkuthe, r-radu would be directly behind it and ready to deliever some heavy blows

The bar of molten gold light was nothing Malkuthe couldn't handle. Drawing his wings near him, Malkuthe sped for the beam in a corkscrew dive. As he did, the bar of light unraveled in the same way, tendrils spinning out as though taking apart the twisted fibers on a rope.

When the entire bar of light was unraveled, Malkuthe let loose a black flame from his maw that seemed to boil away reality around it. The waves of magic seemed to echo with it and eventually, it was a large river of stygian fire.

Pulling out of the dive right before the wall of fire dissipated. He tried to strike out at Raducan with a talon precisely placed to kill, but just before it could draw blood, it met an invisible buffer. The power of the Rose of Sanctuary prevented any harm to come in its presence, but it seemed the dome prevented the power from leaving the heart of the Labyrinth.

R-Radu growled not knowing why malkuthe had stopped before he killed radu. radu swung a paw out, talons extended in a blow that would of ripped out malkuthe's throat... but but his paw hit the buffer as well... then he realized it "the rose" he murmmered... he suddenly had an idea. he moved his head close to malkuthe's chest, using a burst of grey fire to push him back a good distance

he turned towards saffye, and let out a blast of blue energy, but kept it constant beam instead of a single blast. the blast hit the domes and stopped at first... but slowly the outer most dome cracked, and shattered, the blast hit the next one and it cracked. eventully radu would go straight through

Malkuthe whipped out his wings to slow him down. Radu was blasting through the domes to get to 'master'. He couldn't let 'master' get hurt.

He released a high piercing wail that filled the entire dome and most probably carried outside of it. Within moments, Jade, Cael, Erithe, Maetesk and Liara were pulled out of the dome by black talons, there, the Rose would not protect them.

He fired a few bursts of black flame that again echoed and multiplied into a whole barrage. Yet again, they seemed to boil through the fabric of reality.

---

In the depths of inter-planar space, the ancient evil stirred once more, but this time stronger. The woman that was there yelped as what seemed like a sphere of magic erupted on her side.

Whatever could do that was very powerful indeed, able to influence outside their own reality from inside a mortal plane. The woman began to fear for Shah'Haien.

R-Radu sensed this and suddenly dove to the side, letting the flame hit the domes. he floated in the air brwathing heavily....
a voice echoed in his mind 'radu... i'd suggest a different form' he remembered it, it was the voice of derek from his dream oh so long ago... he wondered. his elf form would be generaly useless... wait he remembered derek's form, walking like an elf while having the power of a dragon... it was worth a shot

R-Radu shrunk returning to his normal form, and concentrating hard he began to change, as if becoming an elf. but it stopped half way, some where between ceree and elf... he stood his body was like that of an elf, yet with the features, fur, tails, and wings of his ceree form. there was no term that the ceree had for this form, but anthro would sucifice he smiled looking at his shorts and open black shirt.

in his right hand a sword formed and he looked at malkuthe "lets really do this" he growled jumping at him with the speed of an elf, he suddenly flipped in mid air, giving a ceree strength double kick to malkuthe's chest

The kick didn't really hit Malkuthe, but it was enough to send him flying. It was of little consequence now, though, the recreation ritual was well underway.

True enough within moments, the bloom solidified and took its place with the other two flowers. The waves of magic stopped being so wild and rather became quite complacent. Saffyre stood from where she was and looked at Raducan with eyes that promised a killing.

---

Without the chieftains, the tribes were in disarray. Black stormclouds were forming above the Forbidden Peaks and lightning flashed unceasingly. The ground spewed molten rock and steam. The situation was getting worse.

Radu turned towards saffye, knowing she couldn't kill him with the rose of sanctuary nearby, nor him kill her... man that thing was as annoying as it was useful. Radu glared at saffye his golden eyes meeting her own "you want to fight me? then bring it on psycho" oh yes he went there. he glanced back making sure malkuthe was a fair distance away from the kick... he dived at safffye, sword aimed for her heart, not that this woulod do much more than piss her off when it struck and didn't hurt her.

his sword struck and shattered straight through the domes, as it did it glowed, markings similar to his own shining on it's blade. his sword came speeding for saffye

Of course, the stubborn purple wouldn't give in to the power of the rose, nevertheless, she had no fear in her heart. Saffyre stopped the sword with a single talon, yawning to emphasize the lack of effort and hurled Raducan across half the dome.

Violent shaking followed and the dome collapsed on itself. The library was completely gone and the three flowers were all just spinning calmly in what was once the focal point of great magic. When the dome vanished, the walls crumbled too, except for those that were part of the original labyrinth that sank back into the earth.

"Who will challenge my power now?" said Saffyre sternly, walking towards a Raducan that was still sprawled on the ground. She hurled the Purple another few hundred paces away with magic and then beckoned to a still-panting Malkuthe. The fake Raducan, beamed up at Malkuthe and then with an even wider smile looked at Saffyre.

All the other Agador followed, not even minding the others. Saffyre gave them one last smile and then something folded around them, and they were gone.

Radu groaned, and tried to pull himself up, but pain surged through his arm with a sickening crack... he fell back returning to his normal form. he could not move his right arm and a little blood trickled from his muzzle. his eyes wavered and he let out a shallow breath... the world went black as he passed out.

a few feet away, the sword radu had been holding shimmered, stuck in the dirt, hilt pointing towards the heavens above. the blade flicked and for a few seconds one could see the image of Amteth, looking towards the direction of saffye... as he disappeared he seemed disappointed. the sword turned into golden dust and floated over radu, blending into the yellow marks of his fur