by Thereasonwhy
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"I am, I want to see what you mean by the Blood of my Mother. I want to know what you are talking about with the
Archon Stones.
Emily went on and on about them and what she thought about them. She and I want to see what a true conduit of power is. I" But, she cut me off. A sad look in her eyes, quickly replaced by a desperate hope not yet forsaken.
"I understand. Just, please bear with me. It's her blood, the very few things left to this reality of her. I know she is with you, she is tethered to you, but she cannot speak to us yet like she does you." The
Queen said quickly, handing her the stone she phased into existence with a small wave of her hand.
Vilorlith whispered softly into Illy's mind, the same mellifluous tone that made her hair stand on end. "Please tell her, for the cycle we built, we were the circle to surround our children. There is no end, only a new beginning."
Ilgor slowly repeated the words to Alnya, Syn had appeared at the balcony to listen to the final phrase. Her wings glowing with the light of a second sun as her eyes widened.
***
Those who wished to challenge Ilgor had gathered at the outer ring of the amphitheater, most of
The Shrine Guard had made an appearance,
Cori had joined along more out of curiosity. Though Ilgor knew damn well that she was just itching for a fight. She had been sitting in
The Elsewhere for far too long, sparing endlessly with Syn's Legion. While challenging, her own prowess quickly overtook all but the top ranking officers.
Ryhs had hefted his warsword to his shoulder, waiting in a high guard. A statue of bulk and long ingrained training made to be his instinct. Neaves had wandered above, heat radiating from her hands. Pyria had taken position higher still, waiting for her shot. Cori only ambled slowly forward, spear slung across the back of her neck, resting her hands on the haft.
The crowd that had gathered to watch this sparring match began to whisper as Syn erected a potent barrier between them and the combatants. Closing her eyes, gripping the stone tightly, listening to the encouraging words of Villy in the back of her mind. She thought back to the family still on the Great Tree, and horrors they were sure to be trying to survive. Maybe the Shadows would leave them be long enough for them to take them back to The Elsewhere as well.
The stone sunk into her skin, her veins burned with divine light as it coursed through her own blood. Familiar. Something known to happen. She knew it would happen. Vilorlith's voice suddenly became clear to her once more, a peace profound as her goddess poured her ability into her child. Doubling over, dropping her saber to the ground, she tried to reign in the power coursing through her. "The time limit" She whispered to herself breathlessly.
The sound of crunching gravel gave her just enough warning to move. Jumping back her long braid being pinned to the ground by Cori's spear thrust. Being jerked forward by the sudden anchoring, the wind obeyed her command. Ilgor turned mid air to land a heavy boot into Cori's chest, sending her flying back, spearless. Movement from the corner of her eye, Ilgor whipped the spear out of her braid with enough time to parry the lightning-ridden arc of Ryhs sword.
A second strike from Ryhs only to have the force of a hurricane fling him away, leaving a trail of glass on the ground where his sword dragged through the earth. Ilgor didn't give him a chance to recover, launching herself into the air to land a savage downward kick to his head. Downing him. She could feel his heartbeat still ticking away through the subtle vibration through the air, dimly aware she was happy she didn't kill him.
The sensation of an intense sunburn raced across her skin as she looked up to see a tower of flames racing toward her from Neaves. Instead of moving, Ilgor smiled. Arching her back she grabbed the magic Neaves was using, recognising it. She was igniting the air, not conjuring true fire like Syn had taught her. Ilgor pushed a wedge through the fire effectively deflecting it off to her sides while she jumped. Pushing the air against the bottom of her feet.
The goblin sized cannon ball that plowed through Neaves, resulted in a deluge of molted air as Cori ran to grab Ryhs and drag him out from beneath the hazard. A mess of flame cloaked wings and long ears fell to the earth. Landing with a hard thump, a concussive shockwave cushioning their fall. A cloud of dust rising from the impact, Cori had but a moment to parry Ilgor as she appeared like an arrow in flight, saber in hand. Cori knew this trick, waiting till the last second to catch her friend in the side of her ribs and throw her off course.
Ilgor landed, hand gripping the earth to slow her as she skidded backward. Pyria had taken this opportunity to start throwing her darts down on the battlefield. Ilgor barely paid attention to them as she effortlessly dodged them, floating between the hail of sharp metal implements like a leaf on the wind. With a smirk and wave of her hand, she pushed a massive downdraft down on Pyria. She fell like a meteor to the earth, landing hard on Ryhs.
"Ilgor" It wasn't just in her head, they all heard Vilorlith's voice. She ignored the warning though. She began to giggle as she drew lightning around her hands. Cori began to hum her own song, casting out the protective ward over the Mistwalkers. With a flourish, a graceful pirouette, Cori lunged at Ilgor. Pushing the air under her own feet the same as Ilgor had.
While Cori knew she was nowhere near as strong as Ilgor in terms of magic, she knew her friend's ability well. Knew how she was going to react, a feint to the left. Ilgor swung her saber wide as she attempted to parry the false strike. Only to be caught in the ribs again with an audible snap as a few of them broke, sending Ilgor flying to the ground. She knew Illy was already reflexively healing her broken ribs, but it was enough time for Cori to change the pitch of her song to match Illy's.
She cackled as the energy she had been storing up was instantly grounded when Cori pressed her hand to the ground. She didn't expect Illy to summon a gust of wind to send her foot right into the side of her own head though. Out cold, she was flung back into the now conscious Ryhs who caught her in strong arms. Quickly but gently setting her down, he rose into a high guard. Watching as the electricity arced across Ilgors skin, a grin of pure ecstasy on her face.
"Ilgor, stop." Vilorlith's voice rang like a bell. Syn had stepped inside the barrier, quickly walking over, hand outstretched in warning. A warning that wasn't heard as a collapse boom of thunder sounded as Ilgor let loose a beam of concentrated lightning at Ryhs. A ring of runes and light swirling around her hand, commanding the force of the sky at the swordsman.
Syn's yell fell on deaf ears as the swordsman caught the strike, shoving his sword into the ground fractions of a second before the energy caught him. His vision went black around the edges, weak on his feet, he stood tall. The excess energy arching from his torn wing, to the ground and back. He watched as Ilgor's eyes rolled into the back of her head, falling back she was out cold. "Too much this time, Darling. Too much, we need to practice before you try that again." Villy's own sing-song voice filled the amphitheater before fading out completely.
"That was... dangerous. Vilorlith had glassed the Citadel using that same spell before that Shadow killed her." Syn said, putting a steadying hand on Ryhs shoulder.
I haven't written a fast paced fight scene in a while. While kinda spoilery, not really. This is just an Idea I am playing with for a scene in the third book.
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