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

Chapter XLIV: Zuhvia, Lady of Storms

The skies grow dark as the sun sets beyond the horizon. The only noise is that of the flowing water of the river, not even birds crickets are about. A small fire burns near the River of Souls, several yards from the water. Around the flames, sit the Bringers of Hope and Tao. None of them are speaking right now. Tao knows that the two of them both need time to understand what they have witnessed. Drayk takes a sip of beer before lying onto his back. Roku smiles and cuddles up with him while watching the crackle of the campfire. Tao glances over to them and smiles just as he lies down on his side, facing the warm glow of the fire.

"I believe it's time for bed," Roku says while yawning and stretching.

"Sounds like a good idea," Drayk admits, "You know, I've been thinking.... Lady Parocaav is worried, I can feel it."

"Oh yes, she is," Tao laughs, "She underestimated the power she gave you two."

Later in the night ~

The Bringers of Hope, along with Tao, are fast asleep near the burned out campfire. All is quiet and peaceful. The skies are clear without a breath of wind. Only the sound of nearby crickets break any silence, but only slightly. A full moon shines brightly overhead, reflecting perfectly amongst the river's flowing water.

For some reason, Tao awakens. He sits up to look around the area, which he sees nothing out of the ordinary. There's a weird feeling he cannot ignore; something is wrong. No more than a few minutes later, a strong wind picks up. This wind carries in dark clouds above, blocking out the illuminated moon. Lightning crashes down out in the distance and thunder roars throughout the land.

Rain starts to pour violently, waking the Bringers of Hope. They sit up and look over at Tao, who is just as concerned as they are. The three of them stand up prepared for the worst. It's not long before they see a woman walking towards them. Her long dark brown flows gracefully in the wind and appears to be no older than the Bringers. She is wearing a plain dark grey shirt and light blue jeans.

"Greetings! Bringers of Hope!" The woman calls out to them, "My name is Zuhvia, Lady of Storms!"

"Zuhvia?!" Tao exclaims, "You.... you're still alive?!"

"Ah, Tao. It's been a very, very long time," Zuhvia says with a smile, "What's it been? A few thousand years?"

"Who is she?" Roku asks.

"Yeah, I'm not even sure who she is," Drayk admits.

"She was a spy back in the Ragnarok Wars. She played the Ragnarok Mages.... helped lead to their demise," Tao explains with heartbreak in his voice, "You are the reason Lady Parocaav won that war."

"Yes, which it's a good thing too. You were quite a menace to the Goddess of Life. You had to be stopped, as did the Ragnarok Mages," Zuhvia laughs, "Yet, you were deemed the hero of the war, even though you failed."

"You're wrong, I did not fail," Tao casually tells her.

"Enough talk! I have come to finish you off once and for all, Tao of Ragnarok!" Zuhvia shouts as her hands spark with purple electricity.

Raging tornados spiral down from the sky, ripping into the ground on contact. Lightning continues to strike, but is getting much closer. Strong winds blow as Zuhvia starts to glow in a light purple aura. With the movement of her left arm, lightning strikes at the Bringers and Tao before they have a chance to move. She snaps her fingers and electrical explosions erupt all around them.

Without hesitation, Roku heals herself and draws her twin blades. As soon as she tries to rush her, Zuhvia shoots electricity from her right hand. It channels down the blades and electrocutes Roku, causing her to fall to the ground. Seeing this, Drayk jumps to his feet while dropping his sword to the ground. He covers himself in a red aura as his inner Fire Mage emerges.

Fire shoots from his hands, straight through the electricity shocking Roku, hitting Zuhvia. She's completely engulfed by flames. A strong, spherical blast of wind pushes the fire away from her. Drayk lifts his right hand up and a flaming twister wraps around Zuhvia. Just as she fights her way free, Drayk shoots fireballs at her. They explode on impact with her.

"Pesky Fire Mage!" Zuhvia roars, "You are underestimating the true power of a master Storm Mage!"

She raises her hands high above her head. The clouds above start to get darker until they are almost pitch black. Violent rain pours down in the area, extinguishing Drayk's flames, along with his red aura.

"You see, a true storm mage is a master of water, wind and electricity all combined, working together in perfect harmony," Zuhvia explains, "And I, Lady Zuhvia, am the true master of the storms!"

Before he can react, Zuhvia strikes at Drayk with a bolt of electricity. He drops to his knees before falling face first into the dirt. Seeing this, Roku runs over to assist him. Just as she reaches him, she is struck by several bolts of lightning from above. Water splashes in a small puddle from Roku landing in it, who has found herself unable to move. Every muscle in her body is slightly twitching from the shock.

"So, it's between you and I once again, Tao," Zuhvia jokes, "The Bringers of Hope do not have the knowledge to face a Storm Mage as you do."

"Even if I was not here, they'd be alright," Tao states while watching them stand up behind her, "I am not going to fight you."

"Coward!" Zuhvia screams as she shoots a bolt at him.

Tao sinks down into the shadows below his feet just before the bolt strikes the ground where he stood. Enraged, Zuhvia turns to face the Bringers of Hope. They both ready themselves for another strike from the Lady of Storms. Anger fills her as she stares into their yellow eyes.

"Prepared?" Zuhvia says in a sarcastic tone just before lightning strikes at them from above.

Roku is struck down by the first attack, but this attack is different. She quickly notices she is totally unable to move, her body has been paralysed.

"Careful Drayk! Her strikes have paralysis!" Roku calls out as best as she can.

Images of the cosmos fill Drayk's mind and time itself almost appears to freeze around him. The electricity gives off a warm sensation as they pass by. He can sense the attacks, and everything feeling slowed around him makes his movements seem quick. Zuhvia strikes over and over again, but is unable to hit Drayk. Every time a bolt gets close to him, he is able to dodge it just as swiftly.

Suddenly, he appears behind the Lady of Storms with his hand emitting a frosty steam. Once his hand comes in contact with her, her body starts to freeze. From head to toe her body freezes solid. Drayk casually walks in front of her and stares into her eyes. A dark blue and white aura encases his body as he laughs.

"It's over, Zuhvia. You might be the master of Storms, but I am a Bringer of Hope, and a Ragnarok Mage," Drayk says with a monotone, "Goodbye."

Drayk moves his hand out toward the Lady of Storms. A small portal opens in front of the palm of his hand. From it, a tiny meteorite shoots Zuhvia's frozen self. A loud cracking noise echoes as she crumbles to the ground in pieces. Once her body has been destroyed, the skies begin to clear overhead. As they do, they reveal the morning sun had risen while they were fending off Zuhvia.

Drayk lets out a sigh of relief while turning to look at Roku. She is still laying on the ground, not able to move a muscle. Tao is standing over her, assessing the situation. A worried look overcomes his straight face as Drayk gets close. Puzzled, Drayk looks at him before glancing down at Roku.

"She is still paralysed?" Drayk says confused.

"Correct," Tao states.

"What do we do?" Roku manages to ask, "I can't stay like this forever."

"You stay here and watch her Drayk. I'll return shortly, I know a way to help her," Tao tells him as he vanishes with a bright flash of white light.