Prologue - Monster Beneath the Maelstrom
Lightning raked glowing claws across the blackened, crimson sky, briefly illuminating rapidly moving clouds. The bolt left a residual impression in my eyes. When I blinked, I could still see where the bolt struck. When another bolt flashed - this one tinted purple - I became aware of the currents circulating into one central point. A third one - red, to match the sky - showed me it was a violent whirlpool, pulling the tumultuous clouds into an abyss. Mini funnels spun in and out of the bigger circulation, nearly dropping into tornadoes on the blackened, flat earth.I stepped slowly toward the center, drawn in awe. As I moved, bolts of energy colored in black, red, and purple crackled across the whirling clouds. They struck at the ground, sometimes so close I could feel the electrical sting. I was not concerned. I knew, somehow, they weren't going to hit me.
My feet suddenly froze, instincts flaring, as I became aware of another presence. I stared hard into the darkness ahead of me and waited. Yet, even as the flashes of light illuminated the air before me, I could not see whatever awaited me in the shadows. It seemed to naturally elude the light.
The observation sparked a faint memory. I knew I had encountered an enemy like this before, yet what the enemy was remained just out of reach.
As I waited, daring the presence closer, I decided that this wasn't quite the same. This thing was different. It was the shadow, not imitating it. I wouldn't see it with my physical eyes no matter how long I stood there trying. Whatever it was, my intuition was telling me it wasn't supposed to be here. It didn't attack, but it was the enemy. It was waiting for me to decide the first move.
Accepting this as fact, I readied my stance and summoned my beam sword. The color of it was a stark contrast to my tormented surroundings. Its soft, white glow radiated several feet around me. There was a pale blue tint to my weapon, and the cool color helped me remain calm.
I felt the presence shift toward my flank, remaining just outside of range, to study my first move. That was my opportunity. I gathered energy into my legs and bolted forward. My opponent was suddenly behind me, keeping up with my pace without getting too close.
Gathering another force of energy into my feet, I simultaneously leapt backward and flipped around to face my enemy. In a split second, the gap was closed and my blade of light cut into the darkness. Even as I made the motion, I knew the presence wasn't there. It wasn't just part of the shadow; it could move freely wherever there was darkness. And since the lightning and my own beam sword were the only sources of light, it had ample room to move.
It was behind me again, but it didn't move. Though I couldn't "see" it, I was aware of it at all times - a fact both of us seemed to know.
With deliberate, calm movements, I spun to walk toward it. I felt it move to my flank again, remaining always at the same distance. Sticking the point of my blade out to its maximum length, I moved forward, prodding it into the shadows. It was then I realized the creature was keeping a certain distance from the light of my blade.
Channeling a burst of ith'rya into my sword, it flashed as bright as the sun for only a second. I saw my opponent before my eyes as darkness illuminated by light. It was a formless, shapeless black mist that hovered a foot off the charred, dead earth. An aura of crimson flame writhed about its edges.
The light of my blade went back down to its normal radiance as I waited for my opponent's next move. Bolts of lightning illuminated our arena, and I saw my enemy no longer hid in the shadows. Limbs vaguely resembling hands and feet spread outward from the mist, the fiery aura growing to encompass its new, vaguely human form. It took a stance much like my own and summoned a writhing blade of wild energy that was a negative to mine. Though it was all darkness and shadow, there was a certain, surreal backlight of red, purple, and black hues to the blade. Then, it attacked.
As our weapons clashed, power flared on impact. We fell into a dance of death, circling each other as we sought out the flanks and weaknesses of the other. Guarding, dodging, parrying, blocking, feinting, slicing, stabbing, twirling, moving - we went high and low, for heads or feet or anything in between. It quickly proved in vain, as both of us seemed to know what the other would do a second before it happened. I had the brief, appalling realization that it was like fighting my self. Our thoughts were the same.
Leaping back, I broke off our dance and watched the thing carefully from a distance. It did not engage me, but waited in motionless poise. My mind spun in thought, grasping ideas, turning them over, and letting them go. They were all useless, beyond my skill level, until I fell on one idea. It would be a stretch for me, but I would have a chance of success.
I raised a hand toward the sky, concentrating on the lightning itself. Sensing my resolve, the creature was upon me in a second. I blocked its blade with my own and forced it into a power lock. Sparks flew as our ith'rya clashed. It tried to break it, to push out of the lock, but my power was a match for it. If it wanted to be free, it would have to win the contest.
The enemy's ith'rya of darkness slid up to the power I was gathering in my hand. This slowed me considerably, but it also meant that both of our concentrations were split between the two actions. I decided to use it. As lightning struck around us, near us, I pushed my power against its, raising the ith'rya in my hand to a fine point. I was acting as an antenna, coaxing the lightning to strike right on us. I wasn't disappointed. The next bolt - fiery, bloody red - sizzled up from my feet. I channeled the energy through my own, sending it outward into my opponent.
Intense lashes of burning pain washed over both of us in massive waves, feeling as though it would linger forever, until a great spark of light zapped us apart. We flew several feet in the air in opposite directions and landed unceremoniously onto the dusty, rough land. Black clouds plumed around our impact points. Neither of us moved for some time.
As I gradually came to, I realized dimly that that much energy should have killed me. Another part of me noted that a lot of things should have killed me recently, and they hadn't. Currently, I couldn't remember what those things were.
Slowly, on shaking limbs, I brought myself up onto my knees and sat back to see how my opponent fared. It was up, staggering and swaying on its feet. The wavering flames of darkness rising from its indistinguishable form seemed different, unstable. I could tell it had suffered considerable injury. While it was occupied, I forced myself onto my feet. The shaking nearly brought me back down, and my will faltered. I didn't want to fight. I was tired. I was in pain. But I knew if I didn't fight, it would kill me.
Gathering my ith'rya around me, I grew steady on my feet. Power flowed through my veins again and healed unseen injuries. I nearly missed my enemy's attack. I got my blade up just in time, but its power caught me off guard. Knocked back again, I fell on my haunches before I could recover. My sword hand burned with new pain. The monster's power had grazed it when it attacked.
My opponent didn't let up. It swung at me, forcing me to remain at a disadvantage, and I wasn't a skilled enough fighter to multi-task getting to my feet while still fending off the attacks. Still, I was amazed to find I could hold it at bay with one hand, while the other kept me balanced in a sitting position. There was a certain rhythm to the shadow's attacks that I understood and followed.
Finally, it seemed to realize the futility of its attacks and broke off, retreating to a safe distance. I tried to get to my feet and felt resistance. I looked down to see my legs and hand encased in darkness. The world tilted as the weight of the situation slapped me in the face. That's what its attack had been - a diversion from the trap it was setting. Well, it had worked.
The creature raised its blade, tip pointed toward the sky above me. I felt invisible bands of ith'rya flow from the ground, rising toward the maelstrom as an antenna. The more I came to see what it was doing, the greater the panic inside of me encased my heart and mind in ice. Thoughts spun away uselessly. All I could feel was fear. One flash of lightning, then another, and then the rising prickle of electricity -
- Then, it was light. It was pure and white, filled with serene bliss.