Destined To Die

Chapter 28 - Twilight of The Godslayers

-28-

-Twilight of The Godslayers-

Maddy rode along the back of Sabbath, tearing through the wind and the rain as they trying to remember what Abigail had taught her about fire during their brief training sessions on the road. Fire felt wrong in her hands, she wasn't sure why, but the act of destruction didn't come as naturally to her as it did to Abigail. Thoughts raced through her mind, almost in slow motion, as she went over all she'd learned. She leaned on what she knew, how to reach into a thing and stimulate growth, but struggled to find a way that it'd help in this situation. Being close enough to patch up whatever Akane had become would just put her in the middle of a fight far beyond her capabilities, not so helpful at a distance. But maybe there was a way.

She closed her eyes, hangs holding tightly onto Sabbath's fur and trusting him to get them close enough as she extended her consciousness out beyond herself. A web of energy was woven through the world all around them, the paths of power that flowed through the land. As she opened herself to the strength in the soil around her, the power was almost overwhelming. What had been a faint flicker in most other places was like a bed of glowing embers here, she felt the enormous energies that had spilled onto this place, faded from ages past but still lingering in the earth itself.

Maddy instinctively reached towards it, connecting with the dormant energies that had sunken into the land like blood. She could feel her senses extend outward to the grass that grew from the suffused soil, the weeds, the crops in the fields, a network of simple consciousness that stretched on and on throughout the valley. Healing, using energy to stimulate growth, this was something she could do.

She opened her eyes as a trio of thick black roots erupted from the soil as Jun advanced on Akane's monster, wrapping around his leg and sword arm and pulling him backwards with force. Completely caught off guard, he was flung back off his feet and dragged towards the standing stones through the mud by the roots that now moved to entangle him. The grass itself grew at incredible speed, thickening and wrapping itself around his lower body, fuelling its explosive growth off the raw energy that Maddy was channelling into it from the land below.

Sabbath darted across the land, paws ripping through the soil as he moved in an arc around the battlefield, keeping Maddy out of close combat with either of the warriors, muscles like steel cables moving through the fur beneath her hands. From up on the ridge she could see Abigail chanting aloud, words lost to the storm, staff held high into the sky as the sky flashed overhead. A flare of bright emerald witchlight sprung from the top of her staff like a beacon in the night, before a bold of sickly green lightning lanced down from the sky and struck the tip. The staff was overcome with crackling green electricity and veridian flame as Abigail extender a finger down, aimed squarely at the winged goliath bearing down on their friend.

The lightning shot forward, trailing green fire, but he managed to bring his massive shield up in time to block the brunt of the blow as the runes along his armour flared. He stood his ground, weathering the storm of fire and electricity, but for the moment his advance was halted.

Maddy's attention was brought back to Jun as he wrenched his sword arm free, slashing down onto the roots that wound tightly around his legs, slicing through them like butter. Connected as she was to their rudimentary consciousness, Maddy felt a pang of sharp pain as they died. Still, she pushed on as Jun pulled himself free, urging even more roots to spring from their earthen tombs and rise against the man. Another quick slash, another slice of pain, and Jun's other leg was freed entirely as he rose to his feet. The blade moved faster than Maddy's eyes could track, the air around him an impenetrable wall of steel as every attacking root was shredded before it could get close. He was aware of her now, the same trick wouldn't work twice. She looked through the darkness, seeing his misty white eyes clearly in Abigail's witchlight, white as clouds in the sky as they locked dead into hers.