Legend of Parocaav: The Quest for Redemption (First Draft)

Chapter XLIII: The Water Mage

All of the strength in Roku is gone. Her muscles ache. She feels like she just got hit with a house. Before she has a chance to heal herself, another wave crashes down on her. Her body moves like a rag doll in the water and ends face down in the mud. Carefully, she lifts her head while rolling over onto her side. Everything she sees blurred and hazy.

"Poor Riinah. I thought you Bringers of Hope were suppose to be stronger than this!" Merii laughs, "I forgive you though big sister. You just don't know what power a Water Mage possesses."

Drayk starts to shoot lightning bolts from his hands at Merii. Her body liquifies to water, allowing the lightning to jolt her without her being harmed. She then solidifies and giggles excitedly.

"That's more of what I'm talking about!" Merii joked, "I like you Drayk. You've got spark. Pun intended!"

Merii raises her hands high above her head in a spiral motion. The a huge section of the river lifts up off the ground and from the mark its left in the planet's surface. It forms into a giant serpent, the water hardens into scales. The serpent opens its mouth wide to show its giant fangs. Its scales are a variety of blues across the length of the serpent. On its head, it has fin like wings to help with agility. The giant snake is well over a hundred feet in length.

"I want you to meet the leviathon. This is the creature that has served along side the Queen of Tides since the beginning," Merii explains, "She gives me the ability to use Water Magic to its fullest capabilities dear sister!"

The leviathon roars out and strikes at Drayk. He swiftly moves out of the serpent's path. Roku jumps to her feet, freshly healed of her wounds. Her fingers brush across the claw marks on her face as she wipes the dirt away. A physical reminder of what she is up against, but more importantly for the reasons of why she is fighting.

"Merii! If you are so powerful, why not help us defeat that tyrant bastard!?" Roku calls out to her.

"I don't care what happens to this world big sister. I just want to kill you," Merii says with an evil smile on her face, "You take care of the boy leviathon! Riinah will die by my hands only."

Drayk puts his left hand on the and draws a very complex alchemy circle with his right. The ground glows beneath him and a broadsword spawns from the dirt. He grabs the giant blade. The blade itself is almost as tall as he is. The handle looks as though it is made out of pure white pearl. An Earth Mage crest is carved into the bottom of the pearl handle. The blade he had learned to summon from a book he read at the tavern back in Oasis. The Legendary Blade of Gaia. A sword forged by the Great Master Leon nearly a thousand years ago and presented to the Earth Clan as a gift. The serpent strikes at him again, and he dodges while slicing along the leviathon's face.

Realizing this Water Mage was not going to allow her to fight with her swords, Roku decides magic is her only option. Her hands glow yellow and she shoots yellow plasma balls at Merii. Her body liquifies just before they reach her and she absorbs the plasma. Rather than solidifying, Merii charges Roku in liquid form. The water envelops her and she cannot breath. A sense of drowning overwhelms her. Panicking, Roku tries to yell out, allowing air bubbles to escape from her.

Roku can hear Merii laughing as an echo in the water around her. Her hands glow yellow once more and she touches the liquid Merii. The Water glows yellow and they both get electrocuted. Roku falls to ground and Merii gets thrown several yards away. Just as Merii hits the ground, her body changes back to normal. Roku coughs and gasps for air, desperately trying to catch her breath.

"That hurt big sister!" Merii yells.

"I don't care you little psycho!" Roku exclaims, "You're trying to kill me, and I can't let that happen. I don't even care if you really are my sister or not."

"You don't mean that!" Merii cries out, then giggles, "You do care that I'm your sister, right?"

Merii cracks her neck by quickly moving her head side to side with a smile on her face. She winks at Roku and makes the moisture in the air flood around her. Roku is now entrapped in a huge ball of water. She tries to swim, but is unable to move out of the center. The water starts to vortex into a whirlpool, spinning Roku round and round violently. Not knowing what to do, she decides to just ride out the water calmly. Her body shines bright with an orange aura. The color darkens into a red and the water boils away around her.

"Since I gained the knowledge from Lady Parocaav and mastering Red Magic, I find mages who only wield one element to be weak," Roku teases.

"You will regret those words big sister. You are underestimating my people's legacy," Merii states with no emotion in her tone.

Drayk goes flying backwards between them, closely followed by the leviathon. He sticks his feet into the ground and skids to a stop. The serpent draws nearer and he sticks the mighty weapon straight out in front of him. The leviathon opens its jaws wide as Drayk lunges forward. The broadsword catches the side of the beast's mouth, ripping a chunk of flesh from its face. A few teeth break off of the piece of jaw as it hits the ground. It roars out in pain as blood drips from it.

"I'm gonna have fun killing you leviathon," Drayk smiles as he charges at the serpent with his blade ready to strike again.

Steam shoots from the palms of Merii's hands, lightly burning Roku. She puts her hands into the spray of steam. Wind blows the steam back at Merii and knocking her back a couple of feet. Not giving her a chance to recover, Roku blasts Merii with plasma balls. She falls onto the ground, her whole body shaking from the shock. Her body liquifies once again, this time to escape the jolt. Merii's water form soaks into the ground, completely disappearing from sight.

Roku looks all around herself, not lowering her guard for a second. Just waiting for Merii's strike. Little bits of pebble sized water droplets rise from the ground behind Roku. The water mists to unseen particles. Suddenly, Merii drops from the sky onto Roku. Her hands instantly cover Roku's throat, choking her. They hit the ground, and Merii has her pinned. Roku tries to pull her arms away from her neck, but is unsuccessful in doing so.

"So glad it worked out this way big sister," Merii says with ecstasy in her voice, "Now I can watch the life leave your eyes up close."

The leviathon topples over onto its side, calling out in pain. Drayk jumps up on top of the giant serpent and casually walks down its body. The tip of the broadsword carving into the leviathon's flesh as he does. Once he reaches its head, he stops. Drayk looks into the beasts eye, which is looking back up at him. The cold grey eyes of the beast stricken with fear. Drayk plunges the sword right through the eye of the leviathon. The serpent's body turns back into water and slashes down from its suspended form.

Drayk lands on his feet and looks over at Roku, who is being strangled by the Water Mage. The broadsword disappears in a flash of white light. Its great power is never to be used for long by its summoner, or twice by the same person. The feeling of the pearl still etched in his hand's memory. A power he can never use again. He focuses on Roku and her sister. His eyes glow white and blue as images of the cosmos flash in his mind.

Roku's body disintegrates from underneath Merii and she falls to the ground. Roku reappears next to Drayk with a white flash. Merii screams out in anger and runs at them. Drayk just swats his hand to the side and Merii is struck with cosmic energy. She flies to the ground, her body completely paralyzed.

"Last chance to accept our offer and join us to stop Lord Xivaac," Drayk calls out to the Water Mage.

"Go to Hell, Bringers of Hope!" Merii screams as loud as she can.

"Suit yourself," Drayk sighs.

He clenches his fist and Merii is absorbed into a small orb of blue and white light. Once he opens his hand, the orb explodes in a massive blast. A shockwave shoots for miles in all directions and the boom can be heard all the way back at Oro. Drayk drops to his knees, then face first into the ground. That spell had really taken a toll on him. He felt weak. Tired. He loses consciousness just as Roku places her hands on him to heal him.