Echoes of the Past

Chapter Forty Three - Part One

Chapter Forty Three: Dark Forces - Part One 

An Oneron soldier fell from the tower with a metal spear embedded in his chest, landing near the body of another fallen soldier. Evan could sense the battle getting away from them. They had been severely outnumbered from the beginning, and the enemy now showed no regard for the destruction their weapons caused. Smoke drifted across the battlefield; scorch marks on the ground that had been cracked and cratered.

Vogri whirled the staff around him and charged towards Evan from across the battlefield. The healing aura from his staff seemed to had restored him with more vigour than before. Evan worried he had been exerting himself too much already, and had to doubt even his own abilities to overcome this enemy. But he had one last trick to try.

He pointed the golden sceptre ahead and channelled his sorcery into it. As Melida had suspected, it appeared to be in tune with the wielder's impulses, and its energy could be summoned at his will. A spinning sphere of red energy grew from the emerald tip of the sceptre. A whirring sound built up, like a starting motor. Evan braced his arm and fired the ball. Vogri vaulted into the air with his extending staff as the energy ball struck the ground, exploding with plumes of dirt and singing the earth. He came down with his staff swinging. Evan brought the sceptre up and blocked the attack, pushing him back. He kept his sword on his back, needing to devote his full focus on the sceptre.

They exchanged a series of attacks, blocking and weaving around each other. It felt strange to use the sceptre like a sword, but it was made of a solid material that worked well to block the staff. At the same time, Evan understood the true power of the sceptre did not lie in channelling offensive light shows. There was more to release from within, if he dared to.

Vogri brought the staff down towards him in a wide arc. The sceptre swung through the empty air as the staff suddenly retracted, then extended again and struck Evan in the chest, shoving him to the ground.

Evan skidded in the dirt, clutching at his bruised chest. He was getting sluggish. And he still had to enter the forge and find James. He had been spending far too long with this one enemy. He couldn't be sure if the staff would keep restoring the wolf-man each time he was knocked down, so he would have to destroy it if he was to defeat him.

An Oneron soldier, swinging through the air, threw down a device that struck the ground by a group of nearby guards. A bubble of electricity expanded over them, white tendrils surrounding their convulsing forms, before they fell.

Evan rose to his feet, ignoring the buzz of the paralysing electricity that heated the air as it blew over him, and gripped the sceptre with both hands. Another Oneron dropped from above with a burning hole in his chest. Evan grimaced at the sight. Even with his focus on Vogri, he could see that, despite their training and skills, these Oneron needed a commanding voice to lead them, and point out weak spots and where to focus their attacks, or when to hold back. They needed Liana's command.

A thrumming energy emanated from the sceptre, mixed with the dull impulses from Runn. Despite his better judgement - he needed all the help he could get - Evan called upon their forces to fuel his actions. And it gave him an idea.

He began to run, but turned away from Vogri and headed for the overhead passage that connected a smaller building to the tower. His enemy chased after him.

Channelling his sorcery into his hands, Evan unleashed a flood of Wind into the ground. The force pushed him up into the air, hazy white energy swirling around him, and he soared up to land on the roof of the connecting tunnel. A sharp jolt thudded within him; another internal punch. Runn surged with a repressed aggression. Evan fought to master his internal influences, which was especially critical while he held the powerful sceptre. He hoped he was right in choosing to trust Runn, understanding that the demon meant to help him.