Marius' Point of View
I knew it was coming the moment I saw the first flash of green lightning. Still, to watch something so massive, so terrifying appear on the horizon...
Just as we had planned, one by one spots of brilliant blue light had appeared all across the roof tops of the city. They expanded outward, forming a crystalline barrier that curved toward the sea, the effort of at least two hundred mages.
I made my way down the temple of Eion, muttering a prayer under my breath. At the base of the tower was an ebony gryphon, it's feathers a dark navy blue and its fur as red as a setting sun. His name was Blur. The gryphon riders lent him to me for the coming battle. The other commanders had done the same.
I pulled myself onto Blur's back, wrapping the reigns around my wrists before gripping them. I made a clicking noise, pressing my knees against the base of his wings. Blur stretched his wings, and vaulted into the air. My stomach fell, and a brief bolt of terror shook me, which quickly turned to exhilaration.
The wind whipped my face. Once Blur was high enough, I turned my gaze to the sea. I watched as the tsunami crashed against the barrier. Cracks stretched over the glass-like barrier. For one split second I thought it was going to shatter and it was all going to end right this instant. But it held, thank the gods.
I directed Blur to the the roof of the senatorial building, the top of which was flat. There the other two generals sat on the backs of gryphons of their own, waiting for me. When Blur's feet hit the stone, I loosened my grip on the reigns, fingers already a little stiff from how tightly I held them.
"So far, so good," Cecello commented, his gaze locked on the barrier. The water level had lowered, but still crashed against the barrier.
"Let's go get Archmage Morillian. He said he'd developed a means of tracking the Staff of Sheraj'zul," Leonario stated, before he urged his snowy white gryphon to take flight. We followed after him, and flew towards the largest of the palace gardens, the one that faced the sea, where Morillian had been stationed along with another powerful mage to construct the barrier.
Other gryphon riders could be seen darting about in the dreary skies along the outskirts of the city and along the coast, searching for the naga that would be wielding the staff. The roll of thunder became ever louder, and there was a faint smell of sulfur that could be detected in the air.
Leonario had Morillian ride with him. Cecello flew off thereafter. He was to check in with each legion. I was to follow Leonario and Morillian, a third set of eyes looking for the staff and the naga who wielded it.
I followed Leonario through the skies. Arcs of green lightning bounced between the black clouds in the sky. I watched Morillian reach out, holding up some sort of crystalline beacon that emitted a dull sea green light.
There was a crash as green lightning slammed down against the barrier that held the sea back, sending more cracks throughout the barrier.
"A thousand curses on them," I grumbled under my breath as I urged Blur to fly lower, just above the roofs of the buildings. Didn't want to get hit by lightning. I looked down over the city as I passed over. Archers dotted the rooftops, and lines of soldiers could be seen marching through the narrow streets. In the back of my mind, I wondered how Veran was doing. I knew he had to be as terrified as I was.
As we neared the eastern side of the city, I looked up to see the crystalline beacon glowing a little brighter. Did that mean we were close.
Another crash and a flash of green drew my eyes to the barrier as another bolt smacked against it. More cracks splintered the barrier. Now, I could spot streams of water leaking through the barrier. Not enough to be dangerous for now. I saw flashes of blue lights along the rooftops as the mages attempted to repair the damage. Some smaller cracks receded, and the streams of water that had broken through shrunk in size.
Lightning began to crash down around the city at an increased pace, setting buildings alight, As we neared the eastern cliff that stood over the city, I looked over at Leonario and Morillian to see the beacon glowing ever brighter. We were close now.
Looking to the sky, I could see a small perfect circle in the clouds, directly over a patch of trees. A patch of trees I knew to house a little pond. It was a place I had visited often to be alone. My gut told me that was where the naga and the staff of Sheraj'zul was hiding. I guided Blur to the cliff, where the gryphon landed. I hopped off his back, running my fingers through his feathery mane for a brief moment.
"Stay here," I muttered to him. Overhead, Leonario and Morillian flew over, disappearing among the trees. Blur scrawed, leaning over to nudge his beak into my hand. "I'll be fine," I assure him as I pulled my shield around and unsheathed my sword.
I raised my shield, marching into the forest. I cringed as a crash of lightning came down in the forest, lighting the place up for the briefest of moments. There was a couple of screams just ahead, and a crash. I picked up the pace.
Through the trees ahead, I could see flashes of eerie green light where I knew the pond to be. I crouched, sneaking up to the edge of the treeline, concealing myself in the foliage. I peeked out between the two branches of a bush.
A female naga adorned in golden rings and jewelry, with pitch black snakes for hair stood at the edge of the pond. She held a long ornate rod with an orb as the head of the rod that flickered with sparks of green lightning. That was the staff. I knew it.
The smell of sulfur and burnt flesh was strong, almost overwhelming. Smoke filled the immediate area. I glanced to my left, where I saw a smoking charred heap. Some feet away from the heap was Morillian's beacon, shattered. I gagged, a sickening feeling creeping up in my stomach.
I had to steel myself. There was too much at stake. I creeped around the edge of the treeline, making my way to where I now stood behind the naga. I took a deep breath, gripped my scimitar tighter, and rushed out of the foliage at the naga.
Unfortunately, I was louder than I would have liked. The naga whipped around. The world practically slowed down as I saw the tip of her staff flare with lightning. Was this the end?
With an outward thrust, several arcs of lightning crashed into my chest, sending violent, painful tingles rushing over my body as I flew back, sliding some feet across the dirt. I laid there for a moment, letting the tingles pass. They pain faded with the tingles, and to my shock I was still very much alive.
"...What'sss thissss?" The naga screeched. "Why are you not ash!?"
I pushed myself to my feet, raising my shield. "I am the son of Eion, you wretch!" I shouted over the cacophony of the conjured storm. "I will destroy you!"
"You can try!" She shot forth another bolt of lightning at me, which I blocked with my shield. I skidded back a foot or so, tingles exploding through my arm. I continued to advance. Bolt after bolt of lightning crackled against my shield, slowing my pace and denting my shield. But I could not be stopped.
Once I was close enough, I charged forward, ramming into the naga shield first, shoving her some feet back into the wat
er. She had a slight size advantage however, and managed to push me back with her staff. She swung it like a club at my shield, which caused me to stagger back. The blow had put another dent into my shield.
She used this opportunity to blast me with another arc of lightning with the staff, flinging me onto my back again. She slithered over, hovering above me, holding the staff above her head, and brought it down on me. I barely had time to raise my shield to block the blow. As she went to raise the staff again, I brought my own blade around, ramming it into the underside of her tail. She screeched in agony, giving my a brief window to roll out from under her and get back to my feet.
I then moved forward, shield bashing her right arm, which I followed up with a quick slice along her stomach, a gash that bled black.
"Agh! Enough!" She screeched. She thrust the staff upward, summoning a bolt of lightning from above which crashed down and connected with the orb of the staff. It was so bright, I saw spots in my vision. Just as she collected power back from the storm, I went to ram her again. However, I was again flung back by a much larger, much more painful bolt of lightning. I skidded all the way back to the tree line.
My whole body felt as though it had been ripped apart. I tried to force my body to get up, but it wouldn't. The naga slithered her way back over, appearing in my line of vision.
"You are weak, sson of Eion. Not even capable of sssummoning your own lightning. A dissgrace. How doesss it feel, to know you are going to die here? I almossst want to keep you alive, to let you watch asss we sssink your city."
Anger pumped through my veins. I was not weak. And I would not let my city fall because of me.
I let out a war cry as I forced my body to move through sheer force of will. I raised my shield as she slammed her staff against it. I rammed my sword again into her lower underbelly, twisted it, and pulled out. She flailed backwards, as I must have gotten her right in the spine. I threw my shield aside, and got to my knees, shifting to straddle her, with one knee pressed against the arm that held her staff.
Both hands came to grip my blade, and I raised it. She brought her only free hand left up to my face, desperately clawing down it. I yelled out as pain blossomed in my face, blood dripping into my eye. With one downward thrust, I planted my gladius right in the center of her breast.
Her thrashing came to cease as the last hisses of her death throes left her lips. I raised my hand to my face, wincing as I tried to wipe the blood from my eye. To no avail, though.
"Cunt," I muttered, picking myself up from the corpse of the naga. I snatched up the staff of Sheraj'zul. The moment my fingers wrapped around the shaft, a sense of eerie calm washed over me. It was something like standing in the eye of a storm.
I watched with my one good eye as the sparks of lightning on the head of the staff faded into a stark blue color, and the orb itself morphed into a cobalt blue. The color reminded me of Grindyr's eyes.
Somehow, I knew this staff was the key to stopping the storm and the tsunami. I sheathed my sword, and made my way back to Blur, who thankfully waited for me. The gryphon cawed at me as I approached. I pulled myself back onto the beasts back.
"We're going to have to fly high, Blur," I said, urging him to take flight. The gryphon vaulted off the edge of the cliff, spreading his ebony wings. The wind blew at our backs, speeding us right along.
As we gained altitude, I raised the staff up, gripping onto the reigns with my remaining hand for dear life. I closed the one eye that wasn't blinded by blood, letting my instincts take over.
All around my, I could feel the whipping currents of air, not just the one at my back. I could feel the clouds above me, the raw energy bouncing around within them. Though, the energy felt unnatural, off. It needed to be gone.
There was a tug in my gut, similar to the feeling of when a gryphon initially takes off. I opened my eyes to see a bolt of blue lightning that originated from the staff, and shot upwards into the clouds. The clouds began to lighten up, and the green lightning dissipated.
I turned my attention to the cracked barrier. Water was rushing through, and had started to flood Alderas's bay. I guided Blur towards the barrier. We glided over it. The sound of rushing ocean waters below was all I could hear, aside the flap of Blur's wings. I looked over the side. The waters were dark, opaque. They too felt unnatural, even looked unnatural. Nothing like Alderas's crystal clear waters.
Loud cracks could be heard from behind me as more of the barrier cracked. I had to end this, now. It needed to end, or everyone would die.
I aimed the staff downward, willing the waters to recede. I groaned as another tug could be felt in my gut. It felt as though my insides were being ripped out, as another bolt of stark blue lightning shot forth from the staff, illuminating the harsh waters below. The water level began to recede.
However, they did not recede fast enough. There was the sound of shattering behind me, quickly followed by the rushing of water.
I watched as the harbor, Blackbottom, and the lower half of the trader's district was filled with water and crushed. The sea ripped at the buildings, breaking away chunks of them.
I scowled. Even after all this, I couldn't save the whole city. I watched, sick to my stomach, as the waters did their damage. I guided Blur back to the city, soaring over the chaos as I tried to search for anyone that I could save.837Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgS9pNvDl6
837Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwSAjaWF44X
A/N: holy shit I did it. I made it to 50k. I might cry a little. And on the plus side, this story isn't quite over. Still got a hand full of chapters to get out, and that will conclude the first book of what is going to become a series. (which i didn't plan for that to happen.) got completely derailed from my planned plot, but I think i'm okay with that.837Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXods6FL5G5
