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Arlix couldn't have estimated the chaos that broke out through his own ranks, for as soon as the light went up, he threw a hand up to shield his own eyes, then felt a form collide with his own, taking him down securely to the ground. After a quick moment, he pushed the figure off of him, realizing it was Kahler using his own body to shield the high chief. He was on his feet in an instant though, eyes a bit dazed from the flash searching to grasp the situation.

Men equally dazed, though still wary struck at the pooka and wolf as they passed; though not in any organized manner. Nothing Arlix really noticed either. It was Kalai's actions he noticed; but he also heard Ask's words. Kalai wouldn't dare hurt his people... or if he did, he'd have to answer to an extremely angry Arlix.

Then as Kalai's magic was set off, arrows took flight. Truly, Arlix didn't blame the action; they were startled, and they struck at the closest thing with magic. "Hold fire!" He shouted above the commotion, but it was too chaotic for all to hear, and though the first volley struck harmless, defenses were beginning to organize. Gritting his teeth, Arlix rounded on Kahler with a loud shout of "Get them to hold fire!" Before hefting his scimitar, should things truly get chaotic. The second volley however, had arrows that would be aimed true at the one open target in the area. That damned caster.

As much as Arlix's heart of hearts would like to see the man, Kalai pin-cushioned for his arrogance; the high chief knew he could not allow such. "Get down!" He snapped at the man, running quickly to quite bodily take Kalai to the ground as Kahler had done to him earlier. After that, retribution would definitely be served on those who were foolish enough to make defenses when the situation didn't concern them anymore.

__________________
I will not kill you... in all technicality time will kill you. I'm just a contributing factor ~ Damarian Vasilis Zaccheo

I do not get moody. I get murderous ~ Saigyn

[A Guest?] ~ Advanced -Arlix-
[The Five Lights] ~ Advanced -Laeris Etheral Jostish- -Valcenz-
[Dove's Bane] ~ Advanced -Alloyscious Haryiel-
[Labyrinth] ~ Advanced -Triton Ochayne Demisou-

It didn’t help that they had been hunting this particular revenge for some time. A fortnight of practice and Al-kin hadn’t allowed them so close before. With mind reeling, Al-kin gathered in more strength off of the ley lines, lending speed to flight, much in the way a bird might use a tailwind.

The uses aren’t intended to do much more than give room for them to make it out of Arlix’s lands. Al-kin owes that much to the human. Still, chances are one or the other of the mages may well see enough in the light castings to make sense of them and learn more about the creature they follow. Any attempt on their part to gather in knowledge must be, somehow, stopped and there was a trade off in knowledge for safety.

If it weren’t for the fallen one, Al-kin would not have done so much. If it weren’t for the need to leave behind the land that had opened its arms in welcome, Al-kin may have done nothing and accepted fate’s decree. Once caught, there was little they could get from Al-kin beyond a broken, dead body that didn’t quite defy logic.

The burst of speed could do little as the speed of the following fire balls was all that much more quick. Explosions came from just ahead at the village entrance, to the right, and just behind. The explosions slammed Al-kin into a corkscrew tumble half into air and then against the ground, sliding into the side of a tent.

The tent poles hit the pooka’s ribs and a small cry of shock broke from inside. Cursing softly, Al-kin shoved against the ground and, ignoring pain, tightened ley lines as one might tighten a trip wire. With the finesse of a fisherman, a net was thrown overhead and into the sky, much like the small handful left along ground level behind.

This done, Al-kin forced an already too broken body upwards and back into the run. A smoldering hole filled the space upon the path where a fireball had struck and the explosion had left its mark. Al-kin gathered in power and made to jump, taking in a breath of preparation as the hole was approached.

It was the breath that was the mistake. Inhalation of smoke into already poor lungs, the shaper lost hold of the ley line weaving and instead of clearing the charred circle, fell into it onto hands and knees. The racking cough took up all concentration for a moment, a breath, and the next breath brought on the next.

Al-kin felt heat burning through leather and cloth. Stumbling upward, the slender creature grasped the silent sword and pulled it free of its scabbard in a graceful arc. There had been hope that should the village be cleared, their fight might have made it to the river and beyond. Granted, the ley lines were not so fat as they were in the village, yet it may have at least satisfied the responsibility to the village.

__________________

‘What will my death be like?’ he thought- and knew at once
with abrupt certainty, that it would be just like his life:
... the same balance of bearables.
~Amis

Arrows flew past Kalai - in truth, he had expected as much from the dirty savages that surrounded him, only the ancient one had kept him from destroying them thus far, and now Kalai's very life was threatened because of that fact. Before another volley could be fired, he reached into one of his wide sleeves and produced a small, leaden vial. It was a spell that he had not yet mastered, although it was close to his own school of magic. His master had gifted him with a few vials that could produce the spell for him - he would only resort to using it in a dire situation. Avoiding being turned into a pin cushion was a good example. The barbarians raised their bows again, and Kalai moved to uncork the vial.

The arrows flew, and Kalai was knocked off his feet before he could do anything with his potion. The vial threatened to roll away, but his nimble fingers managed to grab it at the very last second. One disaster avoided, but his gown had been dirtied as a result. A minor inconvenience in comparison to the barbarian on top of him. It was not hard to figure out that the chief had saved him on purpose, but Kalai never the less considered melting the man's face off on the spot. It was not to happen, however, as the cry of Ask shifted his attention to the druid - towards which the hawk was now advancing. Reaching out, Kalai was able to send another fistful of fire arcing above the warriors. The angle was steeper this time, and the margin smaller. For now, he could only hope that he'd at least get close. Turning around, the southerner made an attempt to get the barbarian off of him. "I thank you... chief. But, will you please leave my back".

As the fireballs exploded and the quarry fell, Ask returned to his withering old self, now clad in thick robes of wolf fur. He had a plan this time, and as he stretched his arms out in the air, the shadows of his face seemed to darken as he concentrated. A rumble sounded from deep beneath the earth, and rocks of all sizes began to clump together at the druid's feet, jumping on top of each other to form a pile. It was a summoning spell, one of the ancient druid's specialties. He needed something with the raw power to quickly punch through the magics in his way, and fast-paced violence had never been the focus of Ask's studies. His way was battles of attrition, preferably with time to prepare. For the village, he had already formed a plan. Catching a swallow with invisible magics, not so much. Especially not with Kalai, his main source of violence, hindered.

Ask remained in that state, arms outstretched as larger and larger rocks dragged themselves to the growing pile by his legs. He could only hope that the quarry would remain down for a while longer. Needless to say, his hopes were crushed mere moments later, as the charred form of the prey rose from the pit in which it had lain. Redoubling his efforts, Ask called for the rocks to move faster, and for his companion to stall it more. There were too few rocks. The druid needed more time.

Arlix was struck dumb when he hauled his head up to look at the chaos circling around him. He didn't even notice the caster who he had pardoned from a pin-cushioning fate, though how was he to know that the man apparently had everything under control. His expression fell to something akin to sadness as he watched the fires ravage the borders of their humble abode, as well as the large earth... golem? That was being raised.

Suddenly, hands caught onto his arms and hauled him to his feet, and off of the caster, though Arlix hardly seemed to notice. In fact, if the people who had lifted him, his own people, hadn't continued to hold him upright; he might have simply collapsed again. It felt like his world was falling down. How could he have done so horribly?

He opened his mouth as though to speak, though not a word came out.

"F-he-rr" he heard dimly to his left, though he couldn't tear his gaze away from all the destruction made by the edge of their humble abode. Though it was on the edge of the village, it was still in their lands, and it would leave treacherous scars that would definitely be long in the healing.

"F-th-r" he heard it again, a little clearer, but then strong hands gripped his shoulders and shook him back to attention. No... it wasn't the hands that shook him. He looked around in consternation as he was jolted again, only to realize the ground beneath him was trembling and bucking with a deep, somewhat earth-like groan. His eyes wide, he looked to the figure who had grasped him to see his own son staring back at him.

"Isej!" he shouted, though it was drowned out in a sudden, deafening rumble as the ground's trembling became even wilder. Pushing Isej aside, Arlix stalked back towards Kalai, reaching a hand to grip the caster's shoulder. "What are you doing!" He hollered over the rumbling, thinking it was the fault of the man and his druid companion.

It was then he heard yelling behind him and he whipped his gaze around quickly to view a golem, even larger than the druid's construct. It was mountainous! And climbing out of the earth as a humanoid does out of water and Arlix couldn't deny that his own limbs trembled with shock and awe.

Kalai suddenly forgotten, he held up his scimitar with a loud shout of "Get the defenses ready! Archers, bows to aim! Fighters, hang back, wait till the opportune moment."

In the turn of events, Arlix's attention was suddenly directed to the opposite side of the encampment as defenses began to form. The people were obviously terrified, but under Arlix's shouts for order and offensive maneuvers, they were once again united, whole, if obviously set aback by the appearance of the mountainous golem.

It wasn't even waist high from the ground, and still the land around it bucked and roiled unsteadily beneath the feet of all. Its face was all rocky planes and angles with eyes a softer, though unrelenting ocher that peered down and studied all before it, suggesting the appearance of intelligence as large, clumps of hands, vaguely attempting to appear humanoid pinned themselves to the ground to give the golem more solid hand holds to pull itself up from its pit. The texture of the creature in general was that of a mountain, with random traces of ore seeming to line the creatures body; the flash of something silver along the left arm, a sparkle in the chest. The sight was truly awe inspiring, as much as it was terrifying, for one step of the thing could easily destroy at least one quarter of the encampment, should its full mass ever come to rise.

__________________
I will not kill you... in all technicality time will kill you. I'm just a contributing factor ~ Damarian Vasilis Zaccheo

I do not get moody. I get murderous ~ Saigyn

[A Guest?] ~ Advanced -Arlix-
[The Five Lights] ~ Advanced -Laeris Etheral Jostish- -Valcenz-
[Dove's Bane] ~ Advanced -Alloyscious Haryiel-
[Labyrinth] ~ Advanced -Triton Ochayne Demisou-

Seeing what amounted to some powerful earth magic that the older human was knitting, the pooka quickly began a new weaving. This time, the soft green aura which might have easily passed as a trick of light, flared to life almost instantly. For just a solitary moment, the ley lines flooded. The weaving fitted itself with almost a separate consciousness. Al-kin’s eyes widened in shock and the slender body was suffused with magic.

Uncertain what caused the surge, Al-kin tore some of the woven powers free to fill broken lungs with magical dams against the infectious cough that had felled the earlier weavings. For that one moment, anything seemed possible. Al-kin grinned wildly. Black tendrils sprang free of their bindings and serpent like, swayed and twisted about in an invisible wind. There was a cessation of thought, as something free and true bore itself through the genderless creature, tearing Origin out of it’s spirit, pulling it forth. For that one moment, nothing civilized advanced, but rather a creature of a dark primitive past when magic itself was more wild then tame.

The Blade sang aloud, a high pitched hum that increased as Al-kin swirled it and reveled in the onslaught of power. Suddenly the small rock architecture of the mage seemed small, pitiful even. Al-kin’s teeth bared themselves, impossibly white against the glowing green.

Then just as suddenly as the ley lines had swollen with power, they were sucked dry. Like a rushing tide across a tidal flat, what had been, ceased. Al-kin, as helpless as a fish caught in a puddle, did not so much as pale as go colorless. Stumbling, sword fell to the ground in a soft clatter and Al-kin’s hands hit the ground with so much force that the soft voice broke into a cry of pain.

Weakened more by the return to original state from such a high position of being than by an actual loss of what had been there previously, Al-kin found that the charred ground held a great deal of fascination when one’s death was immanent.

At least.. the cough was gone, hey?

Up! Up you fool! They’ll spit you on their magic! the Voice screamed, choosing to no longer remain silent.

"I am so sorry… ishiba" Al-kin grunted, clutching the ground to keep in contact with it. Something was wrong with the very earth. It was emptying, as if the very spirit of it were siphoning away. It trembled under them all and Al-kin heard the deep groan of rock and sand as a mother at her birthing hour.

What good does sorry do me, Alarin! the sword cried. What good does it do me but to be left here, never to be freed? Get up, you fool! Don’t you suffer me this empty future!

Al-kin could not answer, for there was a separate pain in voices on the air. Were the mages tearing the village apart now? Al-kin could not bear to look, could not bear to know that such pains were brought on by their kindness. And here, what good would be done before the elderly mage’s rocks crushed this body to nothing?

Roused by the fear of such failure, Al-kin’s head rose and dove grey eyes sought out the old man’s magic. It was not the time to give up, no matter the odds.

[ooc: Bugger all. Terrible grammar, post, etc.. but I'm too tired to fix it. Do that tomorrow afternoon. Concept remains the same.]

__________________

‘What will my death be like?’ he thought- and knew at once
with abrupt certainty, that it would be just like his life:
... the same balance of bearables.
~Amis

Kalai scarcely had time to get on his feet before the ground started rumbling. Before he'd had time to look, his thin shoulder was gripped by the infinitely more robust barbarian, and the invoker almost choked on the man's breath as he roared his accusation. Lifting his hands in a gesture of alleged innocence, he protested, "I do nothing!". He seemed to have been forgotten even before he was finished, however. Seeing the elemental heave its way up out of the ground, he could not even bring himself to feel indignant. It was not so much that he doubted the druid's ability to summon such a monster, as the fact that he knew the druid was after the escapee. Needless to say, he was getting some seriously bad vibes from the rising monstrosity. Now, if the barbarians were to distract the thing, he could of course have begun a spell to blow it to pieces - Kalai was more or less a living artillery piece, after all. Instead, he turned tail and ran for his companion. Those filthy savages could fend for themselves.

Ask, on his part, felt the approaching beast moments before the rumble. He felt its presence, but he could not tell its motivation or its will. Why it had come to this place eluded the druid completely, but if the creature was hostile, everyone in the area was in a dire spot, indeed. Ask would have to speak with the elemental, but he would not have the opportunity to do so until the genderless one lay dead. As the rumbling began, Ask used the ground's movement to his favour, grasping a large stone just as it edged upwards, and shot it from the ground straight into his own budding elemental - and that was all he could do. There were too few rocks left in the area to make a difference, and calling another type of elemental would take much too long. His creation was now chest-high, and Ask balled his fists, reaching beyond the mortal world to call an earth-spirit to his aid. The rock pile at his feet suddenly came alive, and the amorphous elemental rose to face the druid's quarry. The largest of the stones swung like the head of a flail, effortlessly tearing down one of the shaper's magical webs in a taunting gesture.

The druid watched his work with displeasure. It was too small - there was a good chance that a fighter with a magical weapon could banish it. Thankfully, Kalai was on his way. With him, it should not be a difficult battle.

Arlix glanced over his shoulder to note that the caster had simply turned tail and ran. His eyes narrowed slightly as the word coward flitted through his mind, but then the earthy construct still rising had his attention. "Fire!" Arlix screamed out, and a volley of arrows rose, arcing gracefully into the sky to meet his commands, though the high chief's heart absolutely sank when the arrows did... nothing. They were barely even mosquitoes compared to the bulk's mass, and the earthy shelling of its body proved much too hard to penetrate.

His gaze traveled the elemental, searching vainly for any weak point his archers could aim at; and coming up with little else, he called out "At the eyes!" He knew it was useless though. The creature was much too tall already for the arrows to reach that high. There was little they could do in face of such raw destructive power.

"Scatter!" Arlix suddenly screamed, and echoes of his call rang from other lips as the monstrous thing leaned forward, reaching its odd hand forward, towards Arlix. Despite his shout; he felt frozen on the spot, his mouth agape, but then the limb went soaring above and over him, showering him with pebbles and debris from its massive arm, and Arlix could only stand in shock, gaping up at the creature. Though relief suddenly flooded his quick sinking mind. It wasn't going after his people; the by far closer, and easier targets. No... its massive bulk was stretching out to reach...

Arlix turned then, his gaze confused until it settled on the druid and his two legged war machine, though still he didn't understand. What was the purpose of this? Had they summoned something only to have it attack themselves, was it trying to reach past them and at the one they pursued? Or perhaps Al-kin had brought the creature forth to press in on the flank of her attackers. Either way, Arlix was clueless and utterly speechless.

It was then that the creature issued a low groaning sound laced with a type of primitive disappointment when it seemed to realize it could not reach what it sought. A sound that deafened Arlix's ears, and dropped him to his knees due to his proximity to the creature as with renewed fervor, it tried to fully pull itself from the ground. When the sound had passed, Arlix risked a look over his shoulders, though he could hear nothing as his people regrouped behind the thing, trying to attack as opposed to merely fleeing.

The thing was just pulling its leg out of the ground, and Arlix turned his body so he was sitting, facing the thing like a dumb struck child as it pulled its second foot out, and with a second groan, reached out towards the direction of whoever its quarry was. To do so, it took a step forward that shook the ground so utterly viciously and violently, that Arlix, still so close to the creature thought his ribs cracked under the force that he was jolted, and his eyes saw with another hint of sadness that many homes had been crushed under foot... but alas, he supposed homes could be rebuilt, if they got rid of this monstrosity!

__________________
I will not kill you... in all technicality time will kill you. I'm just a contributing factor ~ Damarian Vasilis Zaccheo

I do not get moody. I get murderous ~ Saigyn

[A Guest?] ~ Advanced -Arlix-
[The Five Lights] ~ Advanced -Laeris Etheral Jostish- -Valcenz-
[Dove's Bane] ~ Advanced -Alloyscious Haryiel-
[Labyrinth] ~ Advanced -Triton Ochayne Demisou-

The first tearing of a web by the smaller golem wrings a cry out of Al-kin. The shaper moved back and tried in vain, to pull something from the still depleted ley lines. There was nothing left. All of it had gone into the larger creature. What had caused it? What was the reason for something so...

Alarin fumbled for the sword and finding it, stood in the hole. Breathing in deep, not stopping to think that such an act had been difficult but a moment before, the fighter took a step back from the small rock monster.

The other.

Al-kin's heart skipped a beat. It was crawling out of the ground. There was nothing Al-kin could do. There were no powers to draw about, nothing to do but perhaps push back with the sword. Still, there was no proving that the steel would stand up to such a battering from either, that there would be anything to hold it steady and keep it in one piece. No, chances were, a blow by either one of those creatures and the sword would shatter almost as easily as Al-kin's body would.

Though there was nothing but a small whisper of voice deep within, Al-kin could, at the least, hear the fear in it. Even Mamoru was frightened of what happened before them. With a frown, Al-kin gripped the sword's hilt with two hands because one was too shaky on its own.

"Jutta nandar!" the shaper screamed in battle and leapt forward. Magic would move but only with the caster still there. In Al-kin's case, the caster was the old man. Whatever he might have been, Al-kin was sure he was mortal in the end.

Therefore, with the next swing of the flail, Al-kin ducked under the sweep and rolled past the stone creature. Pressing with the balls of slender feet, the shaper crossed the space in two, long legged bounds, sword swinging upward in an arc attempting to sever the old man's forearm at the elbow. Casters needed two arms, after all.

__________________

‘What will my death be like?’ he thought- and knew at once
with abrupt certainty, that it would be just like his life:
... the same balance of bearables.
~Amis

The shaper's blade struck only air, as the druid suddenly shrank. It had never been his plan to stand idle and watch, and since the prey was stupid enough to attack instead of flee, Ask saw his chance. Turning on the spot, the wolf darted back toward the village, barking once at Kalai as they passed each other. Ask's elemental turned around with grim determination, and the druid himself only went farther from Al-kin's reach.

Kalai stopped at Ask's bark, and cupped his hands over his mouth. The invoker was apparently in good condition, as the sprint from the village hadn't seemed to affect him in the least. Calling out a series of arcane commands, he quickly brought his hands forwards, and then spread them out like wings. A wave of hot air suddenly expanded from the invoker's position, and a wall of flame rose behind him, forcing any pursuers to take a long detour. With the fireballs that grew in Kalai's hands, that did not seem like an overly good idea.

Arlix let out a cry as the second foot hovered over him, but the bellows had done well to strike him def. It was only temporary though, he could faintly hear muffled noises around him. Another step was taken, and Arlix felt himself lift off the ground from the impact of it and hit back down with a grunt. Realizing he was in the perfect spot to be stepped on, so out in the open, he scrambled to roll over onto hands and knees, and then find his trembling, unsteady feet. He feared another step was coming, but then the thing was reaching out its hand again and Arlix could see its target now.

Kalai... but why? Confusion flitted through his features as the massive hand went to capture its target, no one else seemed to exist for the elemental construct. Again, Arlix could only feel confused and dumbstruck as hands found his shoulders and arms and held him upright. All the people were in awe, and apparently a little def for they were all shouting to each other.

"Stand back," Arlix finally commanded, his own tone sounding as though he were being held underwater and was forced to speak. "Let the creature take what it wants. It has no business with us," he shouted, and even then he could just barely hear his voice, so there was no telling who else would hear his call. True, it wasn't really the noble action for him to take, but what else could he do in face of such a monstrosity? Perhaps it would simply take what it wanted and leave. So Arlix could hope.

__________________
I will not kill you... in all technicality time will kill you. I'm just a contributing factor ~ Damarian Vasilis Zaccheo

I do not get moody. I get murderous ~ Saigyn

[A Guest?] ~ Advanced -Arlix-
[The Five Lights] ~ Advanced -Laeris Etheral Jostish- -Valcenz-
[Dove's Bane] ~ Advanced -Alloyscious Haryiel-
[Labyrinth] ~ Advanced -Triton Ochayne Demisou-