Legend of Parocaav II: Against the Darkness (rough draft)

Chapter XXXII: Battle in the Hills

The middle head of the chimera roars out with a piercing cry. Flames shoot from its nostrils as it lets out a breath. The old man flinches slightly while planting his feet securely into the dirt beneath him. He shoots balls of electricity at the beast, but they do not even effect it.

"Storm Magic is powerless against Pyroxe!" Lady Samantha shouts, "You cannot defeat it!"

Determined, the old storm mage lets a stream of lightning pour from his hands. The chimera is engulfed with the sparks from his attack, but the beast seems to be unaffected. Pyroxe roars out really loud, hurting the old man's ears. He covers them, trying to drone out the sound. This new Dark One is much more powerful than Xivaac was. The man was never able to defeat him, just fend him off till he gave up. He might not be able to do that now. Lady Samantha and her beast is too powerful.

Just as the old man is about to surrender, a blast of ice strikes the chimera. It falls to the ground and roars angrily. A white light flashes, blinding the man as well as Lady Samantha. Once their visions return, they see Tao standing in front of the old man, defending him. He twists his arms in a circle and ice shoots up from the ground, enveloping Pyroxe.

"Ah. Tao. We are yet to be introduced," Lady Samantha says with a smile, "I cannot let you save this man! He must not teach the Bringers of Hope!"

Tao says nothing, he only stands still. His arms are flush against his side and slight smile breaks his face. He takes a deep breath while levitating off the ground, his body glowing with a white aura. Just as he lifts his arms out to his side, the weather changes. The clear blue skies lose to growing dark grey storm clouds. Rain starts to fall from above with thunder crashing in the background.

Tao turns to face the old man and shouts, "Get your family out of here!"

Without hesitation, the man returns to his home to evacuate his family. He might be an old powerful mage, but he knows when he is out-matched. Lady Samantha shoots a black fireball towards the house, but Tao leaps in and deflects it into the sky.

"This fight doesn't concern him anymore Lady Samantha," Tao says in a calm voice, "This is between you and me."

Tao spins around in a circle, making high winds. The moment he stops spinning, Lady Samantha is encased in a small electric tornado. She screams out in pain and anger. Her body disappears into darkness and reemerges safely outside of it. She thaws out the chimera and infuses more fire into the beast. Pyroxe's body is now covered in black flames. The chimera flies up into the air and slams itself down on top of Tao. Just as it does, he draws a sword and clashes with the beast. His blade is locked momentarily with the beast's claws. Tao quickly pulls back and slashes Pyroxe across the face. Blood drips down to the ground as it jumps back, roaring. It shakes its head and snarls at Tao.

Tao smirks back at the beast as his hands glow dark blue. Ice shards shoot from his hands, impaling Pyroxe several times. The beast drops down to ground, too injured to proceed any further. Lady Samantha flicks her wrist and Pyroxe returns to the flames from whence it came. Tao laughs as he rushes at the Mistress of Darkness. A look of excitement is in his eyes as he slashes at her. Lady Samantha dodges his attempts and pulls a dagger out. She begins to use it defensively, blocking Tao's attacks. Sparks fly as he continues to strike at her. Not giving her any time to do anything else, Lady Samantha has no choice but to play defense.

The look she sees in his eyes is what makes her feel uneasy. A look of shear enjoyment is what she sees, almost as if he is enjoying the fight too much. She now starts to realize why this man caused so much trouble back in the Ragnarok Wars. In a lot of ways though, he reminds her of Drayk. Her brother fights with the same determination and speed. This man might only be a Ragnarok Mage, but he fights harder than the Bringers of Hope.

Finally, Lady Samantha finds an opening and takes it. Her dagger scratches his face as she leaps over him. She lands behind him and plunges the dagger into his back. Tao shouts out in pain and disappears in a flash of white light. Lady Samantha looks all around, not seeing him anywhere. Suddenly, she is struck by intense lightning from above. She looks up to see Tao smiling with a confident look on his face.

"Seeker!" Lady Samantha shouts out.

"Now now Lady Samantha," Tao teases, "So much anger."

Lady Samantha envelops herself in darkness and shoots black fireballs at Tao. He dodges them and retaliates with shards of ice. She covers herself in a fire veil so they cannot hurt her. The darkness fades away and her entire body turns to shadow. She melts into the ground, hiding among the shadows. All of the shadows in the area merge together, so nothing has a shadow anymore. Spikes of darkness shoot from the ground at Tao. Unable to fight back, he has no choice but to avoid them.

He closes his eyes and tries to sense the Mistress of Darkness. Her presence is felt hidden in the shadows and cannot truly pinpoint her location. In desperation, Tao makes the storm clouds thicker, trying to eliminate the localized shadow. Unfortunately, this backfires against him. Lady Samantha is now felt throughout the valley.

She has become so much more powerful than she ever had been before. Shadow Magic is an ancient and lost art. The Shadow Mages had died out during the Ragnarok Wars. To be fighting it now, Tao is almost surprised. He hasn't fought anyone like this in many years. Even back during the war, he always struggled against them. He takes a deep breath and thinks back to his master's teachings.

Tao finally remembers an ancient enchantment that might be of use here. He mumbles the words under his breath and his body slowly turns to shadow. Shortly after, he too melts into the shadows in the valley. Once submerged, Tao can sense Lady Samantha more clearly. He sends out high voltage pulses toward where he senses her. She screams out and returns to the surface, which Tao follows.

"Gah!" Lady Samantha snickers, "You are more trouble then you're worth Tao!"

"You can't beat me. You may have unbelievable power, but you wield it poorly!" Tao exclaims.

"The next time we cross paths, I will kill you!" Lady Samantha roars as she disappears into darkness.

The valley soon returns to its peaceful state. Tao lets out a heavy sigh of relief and plops down into the grass below him. A smile spreads across his face as he stares up into the once again clear sky. Sorrow for Drayk hits him. He had seen a cold and dark soul behind the eyes of Lady Samantha. She has completely lost herself within it.

"I'm sorry Drayk," Tao sighs, "Sammi really is gone."