The Cycle

of Strength

Dhari wasted no time after her dialogue, rushing at us with everything she had. All four of us leaped back as we prepared to defend. I encased us in a strengthened barrier, completely opaque and green. I knew it could buy us time, but the question was how long. Orella set up numerous runes while Ena made spirits of his dagger and himself. I empowered everyone with vigor, trying to wipe away any fear.

Suddenly, the barrier began to receive multiple blows from all around us. Since it was opaque, we had no idea where they were from or what was attacking. We slowly began to realize that there were more people than we had originally thought. If it was simply Dhari attacking, there would be a cadence of rhythm. However, there were numerous attacks and scattered randomly, along with muffled war cries.

The sphere started to crack near the bottom, and soon, all of the blows concentrated on the fissure to efficiently break the entire thing. We readied our battle positions as the barrier cracked more and more, the attacks becoming louder and louder. Finally, my creation finally fell through, splintering into thousands of pieces as they faded into nothing. The twinkling of the glass-like substance slightly covered our obstacle, but as soon as it completely dissipated, Dhari was revealed.

She stood in the center of dozens of people, all of whom were dressed in desert-type clothing. They had cowls over their head, covering their faces. Slowly, each soldier began to merge with the one next to it continuously, until there were only four left. Each of them held a different weapon, and they emitted a great aura of power. Dhari opened her mouth and spoke in a foreign language, as if she were chanting a spell. Her incantations were understood by her soldiers as they leaped out, ready to kill us in cold blood.

Dhari remained in the back chanting, her hair levitating, the ground beneath her rumbling. The soldiers' weapons glowed as they pounced forward. Each of them took one of us on, splitting up the prey for easier slaughter. Dhari broke her incantation to shout orders at her minions.

"Arash, take the dagger boy, you have the accuracy to strike him while he prances around like a little deer. Bashosen, go for the ring, show him how things are really done. Thuận, Thiên, take the last two, they've been together the longest," Dhari commanded.

The four of us spread out immediately to avoid getting in the way of each other, but I stayed close to Orella. All of the soldiers were lifeless but their fighting capabilities seemed to have far outweighed any living soldier.

Thuận and Thiên held a sword blade and hilt respectively, meant to be together. The former struck furiously and rapidly, with so much force that it broke the air with each strike. Orella and I dodged tirelessly, but were driven to a corner. I honed my barrier directly on my arm as I deflected a slash, taking the opportunity to strike with my inspired fists. The one who held the hilt took the fall, being forced quite a distance away, but without a scratch. Orella drew a rune and sent it towards the blade, but he sliced it in two. We faltered, but Orella regained composure to summon her tiger from the back of her mirror. The animal roared and tackled Thuận, just as Thiên leaped forward. The gems on the sword hilt glowed and emit a powerful force field that knocked Orella and I to the ground.

I flipped backward and used Hathor's blessing to help me jump back to battle, as its power travelled from my legs to my hands. I conjured barrier orbs around my hands and strengthened those, just as I did in training. I tried to punch Thiên, lacking speed but increasing power, but Thuận stabbed through the tiger and sliced my arm. I clutched it tightly to try and heal as I retreated back, tagging Orella back in. She faced against the both of them, but with unwavering resolve, conjured runes faster than ever. Orella did not send them forward, but kept them close to her body which acted as a shield. She flipped her mirror around once more, calling out.