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Clash of the Spells: The Wonders of Blaze
By:
Faraz "f_4ever" Hussain
THIS IS THE SEQUAL TO CLASH OF THE WINGS.
Note: all of the characters are fictional and have nothing to do with reality whatsoever. I did this story, as well as Clash of the Wings (the prequel) for my Creative Writing class, so don't be surprised by the abrupt ending (I only had a week to do all of this and turn in the final draft). I may choose to patch it up in about a week or so. Until then, enjoy!
As light filtered through Varina’s room, she rose up off of her straw cot and opened the shutters to her one room house.
Her round face was creased with worry lines and her hazel eyes had black rings underneath them. Her hair was a tangled mass of black strands and her faded green gown was well worn. She also wore a small pendent with an emerald that was shaped like a dragon. It was the only thing that was given to her by her husband before he ran away.
Her house stood at the very edges of the village on the other side of a river and was surrounded by forests on three sides. The village itself lay in a lush green valley between two chains of mountains.
Why do I even put up with this? she thought as she shuffled over to the fireplace and added wood and herbs to the fire that had been smoking throughout the night. They have treated me like a demon and they call my child the demon spawn of the black witch. Just because that blood path mage Novar wreaked havoc, it doesn’t mean that everyone does. I wish Firesky didn’t have to live through this. She gently shook her daughter awake as she walked over to the kitchen to make a meal of oatmeal.
Her daughter was more like her father; with dark brown hair, a sharp jaw, and blue-green eyes, her daughter barely resembled Varina.
After they ate their meal Varina went out to her garden to get herbs that she knew she would need to treat the other villagers. Firesky went outside to play with the only person who didn’t despise her, a young boy named Flamehawk. With short blond hair and a perfectly smooth face without emotion, he looked like the standard apprentice monk; but due to experience she knew that he acted nothing like one of the temple priests.
Varina heard Firesky laugh and smiled to her earlier remark. Maybe I was wrong. After all we do have Flamehawk as one who actually cares about us, she thought to herself as she gently clipped a large blue herb off of it’s stem and placed it into a small wicker basket.
As the day wore on and the sun reached its peak, Varina was surprised that no one had come to get medicine for their various injuries. Just then, a cry pierced the air and all of the animals flew or ran away from the trees and raced deeper into the forests. Her natural instincts took over as she ran to the other side of her house and ordered the children to run into the forest. As the children turned and obeyed her command, she turned and was amazed to see a fast moving dust cloud rush into the village. Cries of agony rang out into the panicked city and the watchtower rang out the tone for war. A horde of barbarians ran through the shattered city gates and started to slay everyone in the village.
She screamed as she saw Flamehawk’s mother go down and as hot tears dropped from her eyes, a cold rage filled her heart. She knew that she wouldn’t survive no matter what happened, but she had to think about her daughter. What would happen to her? Probably the same thing that happens to most prisoners of a barbarian horde, she thought bitterly, either they are used for personal purposes or they are sold on the black market as slaves. Neither was a good option. She knew what she must do.
As the barbarians came closer to her, she quickly gathered her meager mage powers that had come from her ancestor, the legendary warrior that had first imprisoned Shavara in his kingdom. She started to chant archaic words and her hands moved as a thin green thread flew through her fingers creating a pattern of power. She released the pattern, then cut her hands with her nails and watched as a drop of blood fell onto the energy thread. Her pendent started to glow as she finished her incantation. She cried out “Zelfire Demon Block” and her body turned into pure energy that ripped at the ground.
The earth groaned as the ground rose and the water from the river created a tidal wave that covered the entire village. As the earth rose creating a chain of mountains, the whole village shook with fury and a deep trench was created around it.
Firesky cried out as she watched her mother sacrifice herself. She started to race towards her mother, but Flamehawk pulled her back and held her as she beat her arms on his chest.
“Why? Why her? Why not me? What did she ever do to deserve this?” she sobbed as Flamehawk gently stroked her hair. “Why her?” she sobbed as she grew weak and fell into Flamehawk’s arms, “Why…”she whispered as hot tears fell down her cheeks and onto the forest floor. Flamehawk just held her and whispered comforting words to her through that night. As Fireskyran out of energy, she felt exhausted and fell asleep in his arms.
The next morning, she woke slowly and her head felt fuzzy, as if everything that had happened was just a dream, but as her head cleared up, she realized that she had fallen asleep in Flamehawk’s arms. A new set of tears threatened to overpower her, but she held those in and gently slipped out of her friend’s arms when she realized that he had fallen asleep while standing up.
She numbly walked over to her mother’s garden and chewed on a handful of strawberries that her mother used to put in cold teas to make them taste good. As her eyes started to water with more salty tears, she roughly brushed them away with her wet sleeve. It won’t do any good if I caught cold and mother ended up giving away her life for no reason. As she walked over to a scorched hole where her mother had stood when she cast the Demon Block, she noticed a sparkle on the corner of her eye. She turned to see the dragon pendent glistening in the sun.
That’s when she made up her mind. She would not let her mother’s death be in vain, she would survive. But how? she thought as tears started to trail down her cheeks. This time a soft and gentle hand brushed them away as she looked up into Flamehawk’s almost black eyes.
“Don’t cry, we’ll survive somehow,” Flamehawk said solemnly “With my hunting abilities, and your gardening, we will survive.” To prove that point he went into her mother’s house and brought out a sword, a bow and a quiver of arrows. “I’ve been keeping these at your house, because my parents didn’t like my interest in hunting. They thought that I would be better as a monk,” he said proudly. “Now I can hunt for game and all you have to do is start a fire.”
As she rose to her feet and smiled
at him, she felt a tug on her heart and blushed a crimson red. She quickly hid
her blush behind her hand, and rushed into her house to start a fire. Why am
I thinking of this now? she thought as she struck flint with stone. As the
spark flared, she blew on it, creating a small and warm fire. I don’t like
him, she thought to herself. Or do I?
As the years passed, Firesky and Flamehawk practiced with the sword and Flamehawk fashioned another bow for Firesky, so that she too could hunt. Flamehawk was far ahead of her in swordsmanship, but she didn’t care. He can’t really cook his catch well and he has to be better at something, she mused as she picked a bushel of a green plant from what she now considered to be her own garden.
Firesky had grown into an attractive young woman with dark-brown wavy hair that hung at her shoulder and covered one of her two emerald-green eyes. Her hands were surprisingly smooth and her build wasn’t lean nor pudgy, but at a pleasant area in between. At this moment, she wore a loose brown shirt that had golden thread dragons sewn into the edges and the collar. She also wore a pair of dark brown breeches, which were held up with a silver colored rope, which held a hawk clasp that tied the ends together.
She heard a pair of feet padding silently towards the house and chuckled to herself. “Flamehawk, you know that I can hear you right?” she laughed as she spun around and looked at Flamehawk’s grinning face.
Flamehawk had also grown considerable and his hair had actually changed color from blond to a light blue and hung loosely around his neck; his eyes had also turned to a shade of brown that could only be described as the color of gryphon feathers. His face had a light tan and his grin sported a small smile crease that had become permanent on his otherwise smooth face. Like Firesky he wore a loose shirt with dragon embroidery, but his shirt was the color of crimson blood, and the dragons were sewn on in silver thread; otherwise his pants and belt were exact replicas of Firesky’s own clothing.
He laughed and tossed a pair of skinned and gutted rabbits onto a table. As he walked over to a water pump and rinsed his hands in the cool water, he said “You know, we really should leave, it does get kind of lonely without anyone nearby.”
Firesky looked surprised and laughed out loud. “You know I’ve been thinking the same thing,” she said warmly as she speared the rabbits and placed them on a fire, “I’ve always thought that you enjoyed living away from the rest of civilization.”
Now it was Flamehawk’s turn to look surprised “I’ve always talked about how I wish that I could actually dare to venture deeper into the forest. Why do you think that I would wish to look deeper? We already get plenty of game and a large variety of food here.”
“I don’t really know,” Firesky admitted honestly. “Then it’s settled. We leave in a week?”
“You bet!” Flamehawk exclaimed happily as he hugged Firesky, which sent shivers of needles down his spine. “I’ll start packing.”
“You don’t have anything to pack other than a few pairs of clothes,” Firesky replied merrily. “Now look at me, I do have stuff to pack, so off with you!” she said as she made shooing motions with her arms.
Flamehawk only made a face that sent Firesky into fits of laughter, and left with a smile on his face.
***
The week was spent making preparations for the journey. After everything was completely packed and food stores were piled onto the considerably light packs, Firesky still had two days to spare. She called upon the magical properties of the pendent to create a small irrigation patch so that the garden would get enough water to survive. After that she felt drained, so she climbed onto her feather bed and as her head hit the pillow, her awareness faded into the darkness.
The next day, she cleaned up the house that had been her home for as long as she remembered. After that she wrote an elegant letter stating that this was the house of Varina, a healer who had sacrificed her life to save a village that thought of her as a witch. She had to smile at the last sentence, for it was true. Then she sealed the letter and signed her name on it with melted candle wax.
With nothing left to do, she quickly wrote Flamehawk a simple note stating that she had gone out and would be back by nightfall. She quickly placed a small lunch made from herbs and roasted rabbit into a pouch that she had placed on her belt. Then she proceded to a corner of the house where she slung a quiver of arrows over her shoulder and strung her bow.
As she was leaving, she noticed a small glimmer on her pendent and decided to take a look. She unclasped her necklace and looked at the dragon icon, which had started to glow a soft orange. As she traced over the delicate handiwork with her fingers, she felt a presence in her mind, but after a few moments the presence and the glow left and she dismissed the entire idea as an illusion due to the sun.
Firestar smiled and placed the necklace around her neck. She decided to head into the forest. As she walked into the forest, she stopped to pick up a few pleasant smelling light-green flowers that had started to bloom around the ancient trees.
A light smile played across her smooth face as she recalled how she used to walk with her mother everyday. She had given up feeling sad long ago and was now trying to make the best of her life. Yet she stopped frequently to gaze at the few landmarks that she remembered from her childhood and felt a small tug in her chest.
Eventually she started to think about Flamehawk. Do I truly love him? she mused as she walked into an unexplored part of the forest, deep in thought. Is it just because he is my friend? Is it because he is the only person around here other than me? He does look handsome, she thought as she tried to sort out the thoughts in her head. The last remark made her laugh out loud and brought her back to her senses.
She stood at the edge of a small clearing in which light shined brightly through the trees overhead making her squint. The trees in the clearing were lush and green; birds of many different colors flew and chattered lazily as they searched for worms on the grassy forest floor. Yet none of this seemed amazing to Firesky, for in the center of the clearing lay and even more luxurious item. A light sword with a smooth shining surface, a golden hilt dragon shaped hilt with a clear orb made from crystal lay wrapped in small roots with red flowers.
She involuntarily took a step forward and a soft beautiful music filled her head. As she walked towards the sword, the music grew louder, but stayed at a comfortable level and a soft cascade of an unknown instrument joined the music. She lowered her gaze and a look of wonder creased her face, the melody was coming from the orb on her dragon pendent, which had suddenly become warm.
She turned back to the sword and watched in awe as the roots unwound themselves and the sword slowly fell onto the grass. It was at that moment that she realized that she was to wield the sword to fight evil. I’m the Demon Cutter! the blade stated, making Firesky jump; you have to learn how to wield me. With that a plain sword sheath materialized in front of the weapon.
Firesky placed the sword in the sheath and hung the sword from the silver belt that she always wore. She felt a door open in her mind and winced as energy coursed through her body. Sorry, but I have to awaken your abilities so that you are ready when the time comes for you to defeat your adversary, the blade projected as she got used to the newfound energy.
Now to learn shielding, the
sword declared as she felt energy build around her. Take some of the energy
that is flowing inside of you, and think of a barricade; build that barricade
with the energy.
She did as the sword told her and smiled as she felt the satisfaction of the ancient blade. Good, now you have to keep on repeating that, over and over, until it has become instinct. She groaned and did as her new teacher said.
By the time the sword was satisfied with her shielding, it was well past midnight and she was completely exhausted. Now, pull upon the energy from my orb, it has tremendous power, and is slowly replenished as I draw from the meager energy that all living things give out. Now pull the-
But Firesky was already running through the forest on her way back home, Oh please be there, please don’t be worried! She thought as she raced into the night. By the time she reached the hut, Flamehawk was anxiously pacing around the house. As he saw her, he ran to her and gave her a tight hug.
“Where were you?” Flamehawk said awkwardly as he let go of her; “I was worried sick.” Then he got a look at the sword and his eyes went wide.
“I’m sorry Flamehawk,” Firesky whispered seriously, “if it wasn’t for this stupid sword’s lessons, I would have been back much earlier.”
The blade just snorted and slowly crept into Flamehawk’s mind. The sword acted quickly as it tore open Flamehawk’s weak mage channels, making him cry out in pain and then pass out.
Firesky caught Flamehawk’s body as it slowly fell to the floor and pulled him over to his cot. She remembered how much it hurt when the sword slowly opened her mind. She quickly strode over to the scarcely furnished kitchen and prepared a tea made from herbal leaves that dulled headaches.
Flamehawk woke with a start and attempted to sit up, but fell down, wincing in pain. He gratefully accepted the tea that Firesky had made him and drank it down in one breath. Then he closed his eyes and went to sleep.
You better get some rest… the
blade stated without emotion. You have a long day ahead of you.
Firesky sighed in contempt and walked over to her bed. As her head slowly hit her pillow she closed her eyes and heard the blade whisper sleep, and she slept.
***
WAKE UP YOU LAZY OAF! the sword shouted in
Firesky’s head making her scream and causing Flamehawk to wake up. From now
on, you wake up at the crack of dawn, and go to sleep when I deem fit. After all
you have to get ready for the final battle. By what I have seen in your minds,
you have terrible skill.
Flamehawk just groaned and got up. He quickly shed his clothes and donned one of his blue-green shirts and a pair of brown baggy pants that hung below his ankles. He pulled on his leather boots and went to the privy.
Firesky slowly shuffled over to the kitchen area and fixed a hasty meal of garden greens for both herself and Flamehawk.
When Flamehawk came to eat his meal, Firesky quickly grabbed one of her gray shirts and a pair of red-brown leggings and walked out the door.
After they had taken care of their daily duties,
the Demon Cutter called both Firesky and Flamehawk over for lessons. Now,
since Flamehawk has minor magical powers and Firesky hasn’t had much training
in hand or sword combat, I think that you, Firesky should be a mage, and that
you, Flamehawk should be trained in the arts of Shadowstrike and you should
learn the minor healing and offensive spells.
***
The two trained until the sword was satisfied and since it was past noon, they prepared a quick lunch. As they ate, they basked in the sun relaxing their tired minds and bodies. Firesky talked in private with the sword and Flamehawk decided to take a walk.
He walked into a forest and started to think about
the only thing on his mind, Firesky. Does she think of me at all as a lover,
or just as a brother? Her hair is so-
His thoughts were interrupted by a high-pitched shriek. A young forest-gyre flew over Flamehawk’s head and a burst of terror showed that the bird was being chased. To prove that point, a large hawk flew into the trees and started to chase the young bird.
I guess that I should save him, Flamehawk thought as he strung his bow, notched an arrow onto the string, and let the metal head fly. The blade pinned the hawk to a tree and the forest-gyre came back and landed roughly on Flamehawk’s unprotected shoulder. Flamehawk winced as the claws pierced the upper layers of his skin.
Thank you! The forest-gyre projected into
Flamehawk’s mind, I hunt and mistakedly ate hawk’s baby, now hawks after
me.
Flamehawk chuckled, Come with my friend and me,
we are leaving this place to meet others like me, he projected back at the
forest-gyre. My name is Flamehawk, what’s yours?
***
After Flamehawk left Firesky decided to do some exploring on her own. She quickly packed up her belongings and wrote yet another note to Flamehawk, telling him that she had gone for a walk as well.
She took her bow, her arrows, the Demon Cutter and a small water bottle with her. As she walked into the forest, the Demon Cutter told her that she had to go to a special temple to perform a sacred ritual. She took the sword’s advice and followed the blade’s directions until she reached the end of the forest. She stared in wonder at what she saw.
A small river ran in a circle with an outlet and an
inlet. In the circle was a magnificent temple that looked as if it had been
carved out of an enormous mountain. The temple is covered with art that
depict the story of Starblaze’s fight against Shavara, the Demon Cutter
projected as Firesky stared in disbelief at the intricate artwork. The whole
temple, which was shaped as a pyramid, was covered with intricate artwork that
showed a young man who was Starblaze, fighting a demon, Shavara who grew wings
and cast spells that literally tore craters in the earth. This is a true
story, the blade stated; the valley of Evandian is proof that
Starblaze’s fight against the demon god took place. We are here for a reason,
walk up the steps and enter the temple.
Firesky looked past the artwork and noticed that a small stairway lay hidden behind a curve of the temple. She walked over to the stone steps and climbed to the top. A large door made out of a material that was clear yet strong barred her way, and try as she might, she could not get it to budge.
Let me! The sword thought into Firesky’s head. The blade flew off of Firesky’s back and an orange light emitted from the globe. The light shone directly on the door and the door responded by sliding back.
Firesky walked into the temple as the blade created a light that made the inside shine as if it was out in the daylight. A small slope led it’s way from the door up to a block of stone with a hole that the sword sealed by sliding it’s blade into the opening. There was a small clicking sound and the stone swung back exposing a bird made from flame.
The bird yawned and looked into Firesky’s eyes, Boy, that was one long sleep. Firesky jumped a foot in the air as she heard the thoughts of the bird. Demon Cutter, I thought that you would have at least this under control. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you with getting the chosen! The bird paused and flew onto Firesky’s shoulder, which surprisingly didn’t light up in flames. I’m Starblaze, and you must be the chosen. I’m to instruct you in your mage arts and help you on your journey.
Firesky looked confused, “But… You died a long time ago. How are you still alive? Why am I the chosen? What am I supposed to do? What-”
These young ones are sure something aren’t
they Demon Cutter? Starblaze stated in a humorous voice. It’s hard to
imagine that you had to put up with this from me. Okay chosen-
“Please call me Firesky.”
Okay Firesky, it’s quite simple really. When I
saved the world, I had a choice, either become one such as Alaba, or just die as
a human. I chose to become a guardian of the planet. As to your question of why
you are the chosen, well, you have the dragon pendent, you are not full of evil
and… I don’t exactly know why else. What you are supposed to do is quite
simple, you train your mage powers while you are on your own quest of finding
civilization. Then when you are ready, you go and defeat Afiral, the mage that
is slowly turning the entire continent into his own ice kingdom.
“Why do I have to- why… Fine, I’ll do it even though I don’t like it one bit.”
Good, now the Demon Cutter spirit can finally
take a rest and go where he pleases. Goodbye Demon, it has truly been a
pleasure. With that, a spirit rose out of the Demon Cutter and vanished.
Now let us begin your training. To cast a fireball, just call upon…
By the end of the lesson, Firesky was fairly tired, but she had learnt how to draw upon the sword’s orb to cast spells. She had also learnt how to cast great balls of fire, Ray of Dust, Zelfire Amplify, and Zelfire Heart.
As Firesky walked down the steps, Starblaze took to the air and circled for prey. Duh, of course he’s just a bird with a brain, he still needs his food! Firesky thought as she strode back to the camp.
I heard that, the bird projected as it silently chuckled to itself.
“Obviously, I didn’t shield myself dummy.” Firesky shouted back.
By the time Firesky got back to the camp, she was fairly relaxed and was surprised to see Flamehawk stirring a pot of stew. She laughed and ran over to Flamehawk, who gave her a large embrace and showed her the forest-gyre who happened to be named Kyren. Firesky called Starblaze and laughed as Flamehawk jumped back.
She gave him a kiss on his cheek and shoved him aside so that she could take care of the stew, which actually didn’t smell half bad.
A few days later, Flamehawk and Firesky woke up early. Firesky went through another lesson of training that was instructed by Starblaze, while Flamehawk and Kyren went off to hunt for food.
Now, time to learn how to use the Demon Cutter
as a sword…
Starblaze noticed that Firesky wasn’t paying much attention about halfway through the lesson and asked what was troubling here.
“I’m not exactly sure, I know that I like Flamehawk and I know that he likes me, but am I ready to have a relationship with a person who has been my only friend for so long? I don’t know what I would do if our relationship didn’t work and Flamehawk started to hate me.”
I’m not a great expert at this, but if
Flamehawk truly were your friend, he wouldn’t hate you if your love life fell
in darkness.
“I suppose that you are right,” Firesky replied and went back to the lesson with more force. But Firesky was still troubled at the end of the lesson.
After they ate, they set upon their way and arrived at the edge of Afiral’s realm just before the sun set. The entire land looked as if it were made of ice, yet when Firesky set foot upon the blue ice, the floor did not seem cold, nor was it slippery, like ice normally is.
About an hour after the sunset, Flamehawk set up camp and the group went to sleep.
Firesky woke with a start as Starblaze shrieked a warning to the group. By the time Flamehawk stumbled out of his bedroll Firesky was already in action. She grabbed her bow and arrows and ran out of her tent. The Demon Cutter silently floated into a scabbard that magically materialized on Firesky’s back. She notched an arrow onto her bow and got her first look at the enemy. Flamehawk, who had just gotten out of the tent with his own weapons, froze as he looked at their foes.
An entire army of skeletons dressed in armor were quickly making their way over to the camp. But that wasn’t what caused Flamehawk to freeze, for at the center of the front lines, an undead dragon was leading the army right at the camp.
An arrow whistled past Flamehawk’s head jolting him back into reality. He quickly strung his own bow and sent an arrow flying into the army. He smiled as he heard a satisfying crunch and saw his target topple over and disintegrate.
By the time Firesky ran out of arrows, Flamehawk was starting to run low, and the enemy forces showed little change in the number of their forces. He looked at Firesky apologetically and smiled at the nod that she returned. He pulled his broadsword out of it’s sheath that hung at his back and turned to face the enemy.
Firesky walked up to him, spun him around and planted a firm kiss on Flamehawk’s lips.
It was Flamehawk who broke the kiss after a moment and whispered to her, “I love you.”
“I love you too!” Firesky responded, “Now go.”
With that, Flamehawk spun around and cast a minor amplification spell on his blade, which started to glow. Without a backwards glance, he ran into the midst of the skeleton army, hacking this way and that.
Firesky pulled the demon cutter out of it’s sheath and drove the tip of the blade into the ground. The orb started to glow a strange orange color as she drew upon the energy of the orb and started to cast a fire spell. She raised her hands that had started to gather mage energy. Then brought them back down when she released the mage power and watched as a sheet of flame encased a group of skeletal warriors.
She raised her hands again and gathered a tremendous amount of power from the sword; with a sharp twist of her hands, she released another spell of fire, but this time the flame flowed out of her hands and blazed a straight path through the army of undead. But more skeletal warriors replaced the ones that she had just defeated.
This isn’t getting me anywhere! She thought as she released a Ray of Dust spell. Yet she knew that she would keep on trying, just for Flamehawk, who was fighting in the center of the skeletons.
The sun had begun to rise by the time that the orb ran out of mage energy and Firesky started to draw upon her own life force to cast the fire spells. The enemy force had shrunk significantly and now consisted of the dragon and about a hundred other undead.
She started to fall out of exhaustion when Flamehawk was hit on the back of his head rendering him unconscious. She cried out and threw a fire pebble at the skeleton that had hit Flamehawk. She threw another fire burst at the dragon who deflected the weak spell, grabbed Flamehawk and flew towards a large ice mountain, which was probably Afiral’s palace. Then the skeletons all left.
Firesky fell to her knees and wept as the battered bodies of Starblaze and Kyren landed next to Firesky. You must go to the final battle! Starblaze stated as he hung his head with grief. After we have replenished out energies and have rested, we will save Flamehawk and then defeat Afiral.
Firesky only nodded and fell asleep as the last few hours caught up with her body.
The three remained at the campsite for a week. While Firesky’s and the Demon Cutter’s mage energies replenished, Firesky tended to the group’s physical wounds.
On the seventh day after the battle, the trio decided to leave the camp as it was and go to the mountain that was Afiral’s tower.
The journey was uneventful and took two days to reach the frozen gardens of the palace. That’s when Afiral stepped out of a corridor and grinned as a servant dragged the chained body of Flamehawk into the open. Firesky winced as she saw the wounds that covered the living body of Flamehawk; deep cuts lay all over the young man’s body. He must be in tremendous pain, Firesky thought as she turned her gaze to Afiral and got her first good look at him.
There really wasn’t much to look at. Afiral’s face was lined with large scars and his plain black robes stretched from the top of his neck, down to the bottom of his black leather boots. His straight black hair hung loosely around the mage’s thin waist and a few gray hairs lined the mage’s frowning eyebrows. His eyes were also black and his bony hands were wrapped around a long black scythe, which held a sharp silver blade.
“I see that you noticed my prisoner. I think that I will make him my personal slave. What do you think I should do?” the mage asked mockingly.
Firesky replied with snarled and spat on the mage’s robes.
“How dare you?!? You will pay with your life wretched person!” Afiral cried out as he levitated into the air and threw a dark orb of pure magic at Firesky, which he hoped, would catch Firesky off guard.
But Firesky was to fast for Afiral’s first trick. She pulled the Demon Cutter out of it’s sheath and deflected the black magic. Then she threw a fireball at Afiral, but he deflected it as well.
The two battled each other all night long and as the sun started to rise, Afiral cried out, “Enough of this. Now you have truly angered me, feel the power of the darkness that is even more powerful than the legendary Shavara. I call upon you, oh ruler of darkness, bringer of death. Power beyond human knowledge, darkness beyond the pits of space, pain beyond the depths of the lost souls, rage beyond that of the demon lord. I call upon thee oh nameless pits of darkness. Give me power!”
Afiral hunched over and clutched his chest as he started to growl. Then in one fluid motion, he became as straight as an arrow and thin, green, dragon-like wings sprouted out of his back.
Starblaze was also moving. With speed that can only be imagined, the bird quickly wove a pattern of magic on Firesky’s back and she sprouted large, white and feathery wings.
The two clashed over and over, and it seemed as if Afiral was winning, he had inflicted quite a few wounds upon Firesky, but she was not willing to give up.
Starblaze knew that Firesky would not win if he didn’t do something else to help her, but what could he do?
That’s when Alaba appeared in all of her glory. She looked like a young woman with dark brown, shoulder length, curly hair. Her eyes were slitted and shone merrily as her full lips displayed a slight smile. She was garbed in a one-piece robe that shone as her wings unfolded. She held out one of her hands and Starblaze turned into what he used to be.
As Firesky and Afiral stared in wonder at the magic at work, they saw Starblaze transform into the young man from the legends and they both gasped in unison as he took Alaba’s hand. There was a flash of light and the two were gone, but the demon cutter was altered. It now resembled a large white lance of pure power that longed to defeat the evil.
Afiral knew that if the blade touched him, he would die. He flew up into the clouds and took a risk. He made a sharp dive and flew right at Firesky hoping to catch her in his dark embrace, but Firesky was too quick. She banked to the right just before Afiral flew by and she struck his left wing with the lance of light.
Afiral cried out in pain as his body was devoured in sheets of white flame.
Firesky fell to the floor as the wings flickered out. She knew that Starblaze was gone and as tears flowed down her cheeks, she crawled over to Flamehawk and untied him.
That night, Kyren stood guard as Firesky nursed Flamehawk’s wounds.
***
The light streamed through an open shutter and Firesky woke slowly for the first time in many days. She recalled what had happened and went to check on Flamehawk. As she walked through the stone corridors of Afiral’s old castle, she felt surprisingly warm and looked out of an opened window.
The ice had all disappeared and all was well.
“Hey, I need some help here!” Flamehawk’s voice called out as Firesky stared outside.
“Coming.”
THE END
Hope you liked it.
