Ilos Part 12 <old>

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While not as dark per-se as the last part, this one is still pretty graphic when it comes to battle. I’ve added cautions, but I’m mentioning it here as well: this part is violent, very violent, so if killing is not your thing, you may want to skip this chapter.

Once again, fair warning.

NOTE THAT THIS IS THE OLD VERSION, WHICH I AM KEEPING ON HERE TO SAVE THE COMMENTS (and I don't know how to delete it -.-).

THE EDITED VERSION IS POSTED AND THIS OLD VERSION CONTAINS NOTHING NEW TO THE STORY.

-Tas

 

 

 

Part 12

 

 

Ilos, Day 9

 

“Look at this Barsath, a champion, eagerly waiting to fuck me.”

Barsath sighed to himself. Mardus Travant, or the Duke as he demanded everyone call him, was an idiot. The man was completely unfit to rule in any form or fashion, caring only about his food, his drink, and his women, frittering away the treasury until they’d had to sell most of the things in the palace to keep up with the expenditures. Unfortunately, positions of power did not change so easily that he could simply take over, nor could he take the Duke’s appearance and rule that way. It was too well-known that the man was lazy and would avoid any and all work not forced upon him by his equally well-known main aid and advisor Barsath to suddenly have either change too quickly. Barsath ruled the city of Travant in all but name anyway, taking care of all of the business, all of the coin, and more importantly, all of the Spirit magic covering the city.

His own perceptions were the only ones unaffected by the spells produced by the earthen tower that loomed behind the palace, a gift from a mysterious man with dark red skin who appeared suddenly and raised the thing out of the earth. Most of the spells were innocuous, unnoticed by the populace of the city, yet very useful. Not a single real coin had come out of the palace since the tower had been built, only bits of metal that anyone in the city saw as the real thing, another spell making sure they spent or accidentally ‘forgot’ the bits in the city. The most noticeable spell was known and liked by most of the men in the city, the one that made women almost completely suggestable.

Barsath was a mage, more specifically a Spirit mage. Spirit elemental magic was almost entirely devoted to the mind, modifying and reading perceptions, emotions, desires, and even thoughts, something that Barsath found utterly fascinating. Being able to own a person so completely excited him in ways nothing else could, and now that power was controlling the Duke’s newest acquisition, one of the fabled champions.

Somehow word had spread of the champions long before anyone in the city had ever seen one, stories of beings with supreme prowess that held immortality. It was said that among champions women were much less likely to appear, but those that did had unearthly beauty that could put any Ilosian woman to shame. Barsath craved one of these women, but had decided to let the Duke be the front in case champions were not so easily controlled by his spells.

The girl that the Duke was speaking of, Aria by name, certainly fit the description of champion women, yet showed no sign that she was resisting the spells on her. Barsath had wanted to get to the girl first so he could test some spells from a distance, but learned that the Duke had already sent a messenger to purchase her before he could do anything. He hadn’t believed the part about the beauty of champions, so he took a look for himself when she’d arrived.

She was small, much smaller than he imagined as well as younger, yet her beauty eclipsed anything he’d ever seen. There was not a single blemish on her skin, and her body was constructed just right to be pleasing to the eye. There was an innocence about her that he ached to shatter, and that drew him even more. He even placed one of the sets of clothing the red-skinned man had left him in her room, eager to see the results.

The clothing was some construction of magic, and after testing a few sets on some of the Dukes personal whores, he’d learned a few things. The cloth was formless until the entire set was put on, then it changed magically to complement the owner and fit their own personality to some extent. It was impossible to rip or tear by any means he could acquire, but unfortunately would not change so drastically once set the first time, so he made sure to use them sparingly.

He’d gotten a look at her as she exited the changing room to go see the Duke, and had decided right then and there that he simply had to have her for himself, regardless of if the Duke had had her first. Being forced to watch the Duke use his prize was not something that appealed to him however, so he’d been sitting behind the wooden chair the Duke thought was a grand throne. Maintaining the spells on the champion girl as well as on the numerous other women that were chained to the walls in the hall wasn’t all that difficult with the help of the tower, but he did have to be there to use the stronger version, otherwise he’d be relaxing in his rooms right then, or perhaps plotting how to steal Aria away from his stupid ‘ruler’.

Standing, he moved to the side to respond to the man, forcing his voice to be as integrating as he could, not that that was very much. “Yes my Lord, surely you are the best leader in all of Ilos to have even champions kneel to do your bidding.”

The Duke already had his belt unbuckled, cutting short his customary whipping and beating he usually subjugated his new possessions to, and when he leaned down Barsath got a look at the girl over the back of the Duke’s disgusting shirt. That beautiful black dress and bra were off one shoulder and pulled down to expose a perfectly formed breast, having likely been fondled. Aria’s eyes seemed to be made of gold, the darkness of her hair and clothing setting off the interesting color. Her perfect face was formed into a worshiping expression that all the women had when he increased the power of the spells on them, and her eyes were dull as they looked over the Duke and met his. He could feel the emptiness in her head, the almost complete lack of any emotion but a sense of devotion.

Then her eyes widened, a sudden fear shining deep within her mind, and the dullness in her eyes vanished, replaced by a piercing clarity. Barsath felt his eyes widen as his connection to her mind was severed and a kick from her legs sent her flying backwards off the dais and high into the air. She broke the spell?! HOW?

He could barely follow her path as she sailed down the room, landing silently in a crouch about halfway to the main entrance. Her hands fixed her bra and dress, then made a motion and drew out a quarterstaff and a pair of long knives from a glowing square that appeared in front of her and vanished as she made another motion. The wooden staff was secured somehow on her back, one end slanting over her shoulder, and she grasped the long knives tightly, the knuckles on her hands going white from the pressure. The men at the tables as well as the Duke were just turning to find her suddenly in the middle of the room, unable to follow her flight in their ‘wine’ induced haze.

Aria’s eyes met his as she looked up, and the temperature in the room seemed to plummet. He flinched from that gaze filled with icy blazing rage, but couldn’t drop his eyes. She was tiny, her head barely at his chest, and she was even wearing a dress, yet he felt as if he was staring into the darkness of the Abyss itself. There was destruction in those eyes, a light that would consume everything in the city starting with that very room, but most of all it would destroy him.

And then light did consume everything. An image crafted in white light burned into his eyes, the outline of the girl before him if that girl had wings growing from her back, spread out as far as they would go. Before he could even finish flinching from the sudden blast of light, everything went dark.

The panic was immediate, thinking he’d blinded him somehow, but then he caught the tiny crack of light from the door at the end of the hall. There were no windows in the room, it was completely reliant on candles and torches for light, and she had extinguished all of them. His eyes still reeling from the flash of light, they reported nothing but darkness from the room in front of him, and fear leapt into his throat.

Aria was coming for him. He’d twisted her mind, forcing her to want the Duke with all of her being, but she’d broken the spell, and now she was coming.

It was then that the screaming started. Men yelled and screamed and pleaded in terror as the sounds of blood hitting the floor and men gurgling their death rattles filled the room. One of the two guards near the Duke drew his sword, the rasp of metal on metal as his sword cleared the sheath followed closely by a liquid splurting sound and the sword clanging as it hit the ground, his metallic armor sparking off the stone floor as its wielder too fell.

Barsath’s legs moved on their own, carrying him backwards to the small door behind the Duke where he scrambled to find the iron handle. Metal boots clanked up next to him, the other guard, there to protect him, but the tiny sense of relief was burned away by horror as he felt a warm liquid splash over him and heard the man hit the ground with a wet thud.

His hands found the ring on the door and pulled, casting light once again over everything. The dark silhouette of the winged girl crouched before him there, and he flinched back with a shout until he realized it was just the afterimage of the blinding light still burned into his eyes. The Duke’s high tinny scream suddenly cut off into a bloody gurgle, and Barsath fled, desperately yelling at the top of his lungs. “Guards! Guards! The palace is under attack!”

His voice echoed down the hallways, and was rewarded with the sound of shouting voices raising the alarm and armored footsteps pounding towards him. He ran towards the sound. She’s coming! Oh Xynus she’s coming!

The seven guards slowed to a halt as they rounded the corner and met him, their faces hardening as they saw the blood that covered his robes on one side. The one in front addressed him. “Barsath! What’s happening? Where’s the Duke?”

His breath coming in gasps, Barsath tried to answer. “A champion- the feast room- killing everyone- the Duke- is dead!”

“What does he look like?” The guard gripped Barsath’s shoulders, straightening him from where he was leaning over when he didn’t answer immediately. “Get ahold of yourself! What does he look like? What weapons is he using?”

Barsath gulped, forcing his body to stop breathing in quick panicked gasps. “She’s small and young, about this high, with long black hair and wearing a black dress and boots.” He gestured with his hand at the middle part of his chest. “I saw her with a quarterstaff and two long knives. Please you have to stop her! She’s going to kill me!”

The man frowned at him, but then his eyes widened as he looked back down the hallway. Barsath twisted in the guard’s grip to see and tried to scream, the noise coming out in a squeak as his throat clenched.

At the end of the long hallway stood Aria, likely having just exited the feast room, the long knives in either hand dripping blood onto the tile. Her arms were covered in the dark liquid, and spots of it were scattered across the rest of her body. She was too far away to tell, but he could feel those golden eyes burning into him, ripping apart his nerves as if they were paper.

The long knives spun in her hands too quickly to follow, spraying blood across the floor and walls in two long lines of drops crossing behind her. The weapons slid silently into their sheathes at the small of her back as the guard thrust Barsath behind him and drew his sword, knocking the weak-kneed mage to the floor. The other guards followed his example, unlimbering their weapons as Aria darted towards them.

The hallway that took Barsath a good half-minute to run down she covered in seconds. Her hands flashed and a pair gleaming knives drew paths to the eye sockets of two of the guards just before she reached the group. The length of wood that was suddenly in her hands blurring as she ducked under the lead guard’s swing and drove one end into the man’s throat. The sickening ‘crunch’ sound of a windpipe being crushed put energy back into Barsath’s legs as he scrambled to his feet and fled, pursued by yelling and the screams of dying men. Another group of guards, nine this time, thundered past him towards the noise, but he knew that they wouldn’t last against that creature.

There were no promises to kill him that came from the girl’s mouth as he ran away, no threats, no sound at all. There was no need. The memory of her eyes, those golden glaring eyes, was enough. Aria would come for him, and when she caught him, he would die.

A deep bell began to toll above him, the alarm that would summon the guards from throughout the city to the palace to defend it. Perhaps there was hope for him if enough guards came to hold her until he could escape the city, but he knew it to his bones that they couldn’t stop her. The tower. If I can reach the tower I can get the things I stashed there and get to my horse at the stables. No one ever went near what looked like a massive golden tower behind the castle, and it made the perfect place to keep valuable things. A large portion of the coin he’d taken from the Duke was there, along with several Gems of different types. With those he’d be able to escape and get to another city, someplace he could use the valuables to buy himself safety.

He lifted his robes to keep them out of the way and ran as fast as he could. His breath burned in his lungs, coming in gasps, but he refused to slow. Minutes passed as he sprinted down one hallway then another, taking the fastest route towards the back exit. The sounds of battle had faded behind him, gone or blotted out by the continued tolling of the bell above. Allowing himself a little hope, he rounded a corner and skidded to a halt, almost tripping over his own feet.

The quarterstaff sailed into the air above the trio of guards, a small figure clothed in black racing towards it. Blood spurted as she leapt, her long knives cutting open the throats of two of the men before sheathing them and catching her staff as it fell just in time to deflect the third’s swing, disarm him, and end his life with a strike to the throat.

Before the man had even hit the ground she was charging towards Barsath, her quarterstaff once again holstered behind her. A hand seized the back of his robes, yanking him backwards as the glint of a throwing knife streaked through where his head had been, clanging off the opposite wall. He stumbled backwards, barely catching his balance.

“Run Barsath, this is no place for you. I’ll take care of the little wench.”

The Commander of the Travant Palace Guard, Fargus Merid, stared out of his plate helmet, his second-in-command watching from next to him with a smug little smile. Both were wearing full plate armor, the Duke’s symbol, a crow, inlayed in the center of the chest piece with gold. There were another ten or so guards there as well, all with crossbows as well as swords, their faces full of confidence with their strongest warrior and leader there.

The Commander and his subordinate turned to face the corner just before Aria came around it, her quick steps still completely silent.

“Fire!”

The noise of crossbow bolts punching towards the girl filled the air with their whistling cries. Without any hint of surprise or hesitation marring her features, her dash turned into a dive, skirting under the cluster of crossbow bolts before turning her movement into a handspring and booting Fargus in the chest. A heavy dent appeared in his armor as he stumbled backwards, Aria using the rebound to twist in midair, another pair of knives finding two of the crossbowmen before she landed softly, long blades now in hand, and charged past the Commander.

Barsath had retreated a good distance behind the line of guards, and while he couldn’t make his legs work past backing away slowly, his mind was no longer so encumbered. Champions were said to be very powerful, but this was something else. She was strong and incredibly fast, but the way she fought was so far beyond the skill of the guardsmen that they didn’t stand a chance. Watching her again though, he noticed some things. She was attacking with a specific strategy this time, dancing around the guards to avoid engaging the Commander or his second. It seemed as though she were avoiding her stronger opponents while she dealt with the weaker ones. More importantly, she wasn’t using magic at all, even when it would put her advantage way over the top, which didn’t seem like it was something she would hesitate to do. From his observations of her fighting, she used every advantage at her disposal, striking at weak points and hitting the guards where it would disable them, keeping them as off balance as possible and attacking constantly, not allowing the men to regroup. Surely flashes of light in the eyes of her opponents would serve to take them out of the fight long enough to make her work easier, yet she still had not used magic.

Barsath finally managed to get his legs to work, turning and running toward the tower once again while Commander Fargus kept Aria busy. The man would die in the end, but he’d served his purpose of restarting Barsath’s mind, so it was no great loss. She must be using sures to defend herself, and maintaining that spell against the power of the Sprit magic trying to bring her down must be placing a huge strain on her energy. If I can defend the tower or distract the girl for long enough, I should be able to bring her back under my control.

A few minutes later, Barsath stumbled out of the doorway behind the palace clutching his chest, his lungs and legs burning from his fear driven flight, and he slowed to catch his breath. There were not even seconds to spare and he needed to prepare things, but he also needed to be able to speak clearly. The earthen tower stood tall in front of him, the very top sparking with the massive Gem that was the source of its power, and therefore his own power. The bell behind him was still tolling, and the reinforcements from the guards that manned the walls would be set to arrive soon, but he would need to direct them behind the palace. He spotted a pair of servants, gardeners perhaps, cowering behind some bushes and seized them, dragging the men to their feet and bringing them under his control.

Su’is.”

The men’s eyes glazed over and that delicious worshipful expression occupied their faces, their perceptions altered with the tower’s power so that they would do whatever Barsath needed them to.

He looked at the man on the right. “Go get me two horses, saddle them, and bring them here as fast as you possibly can. If anyone stops you tell them Barsath sent you himself.”

The servant nodded vigorously until Barsath released him, then took off at a dead sprint towards the stables. He’d run at that speed regardless of the pain or damage his body took until he’d fulfilled his task.

“You. Go to the front of the palace and find the guards that came from the wall. Tell them Barsath sent you as a messenger and that they should come to the tower.”

“Yes my Lord.”

Releasing the man and putting him out of mind, Barsath walked quickly over to the earthen tower that dominated the area, crouching down to stuff the various valuables lying there on the ground into a pack he had kept nearby. There was little to push in, and the pack was not too heavy when he finished, but the value of the items inside far exceeded the coin that remained in the rest of the city combined.

Barsath, being a Spirit mage, didn’t know many of the other words of power, and had only trained to use Fire when he was first learning magic. He could use that and possibly hurt her, but the tower only provided power to Spirit spells. He’d have to rely on his specialty. Even someone as strong as that girl must be low on magical energy by this point, and if she runs out she’s mine. All I have to do is delay her, but how?

Standing by the tower made of compressed earth with backpack of valuables in hand, Barsath pondered this dilemma until the noise of horses drew him from his thoughts. Just as he had commanded, the servant had brought two horses, both saddled and ready to ride, and was running beside them, his tunic drenched in sweat. Good, now to dispose of the trash and I’ll be ready to flee.

He addressed the man kneeling before him. “Well done, now go tie those to that post and then kill yours- ah!” That’s it! Aria doesn’t hesitate to kill soldiers, but what about innocent servants? Champions are supposed to protect Ilos right? In that case she would have trouble attacking an unarmed man who has nothing to do with her. Maybe they can delay her long enough for her magical energy to run out!

“Go find as many servants as you can within one minute and return here.”

The man dashed off once again, returning exactly one minute later with another five in tow, all wearing the same gardener’s outfit. “Su’is.” Barsath hit them all with his magic, their expressions of confusion and fear vanishing.

“You four, when you see a short girl with long black hair and wearing a black dress, go tackle her. You other two, when the same girl comes, keep your bodies in between her and me and do not let her pass you.”

“Of course my Lord, whatever you desire!” The lead servant exclaimed from his kneeling position, having been under the spell for the longest.

The look on the man’s face was so pathetically worshiping that Barsath couldn’t help but pat him on the head. After all, he was no more than a dog, so it was only right.

He didn’t have to wait long. A few minutes later a guard in full armor stumbled out of the doorway, clutching at where blood spurted from his ruined throat. Aria followed him, leaping his falling body and sprinting towards Barsath without the slightest pause. However, while her gait was somehow even quicker than before, her movements not nearly as sharp as they had been. She was running out of energy to keep her sures spell up, and it looked like she had weakened it to try to last longer. The four gardeners ran towards her, arms spread to catch her and bear her to the ground. Her eyebrows flicked down for just a moment in a concerned expression, and Barsath smiled. I’ve got you now you little bitch. You’d have to go right through them to get to me in time, and any sort of non-lethal measure won’t do it. They are so devoted to me right now that they’ll continue attacking you until their bodies give out entirely! You’re mi-

“I’m sorry.” The whispered words drifted on the wind, heard in the silence between tolls of the bell.

Blood coated the greenery as all four of the servants fell, throwing daggers buried in their throats, Aria dashing between two of the men and snatching her blades from their punctured windpipes, whipping them forwards again.

Barsath stumbled backwards, fear once again clutching his chest. In front of him, the other two gardeners collapsed as well with lengths of metal buried in one of their eyes, the six men having failed to slow the champion a single step. Desperate, Barsath pushed everything he had into the spells trying to break through her shield, trying to erase himself her sight as he tripped, hitting the ground on his back.

A throwing knife streaked through where his head had been just a moment ago, followed a split second later by Aria herself, her long knives held out as far out to the sides as possible as she flew through the air above him. She landed in a roll, coming to her feet in one smooth movement and twisting, those golden eyes scanning over him, but not stopping.

She can’t see me! Her shield is gone!

However, she didn’t stop moving, sheathing her blades and unlimbering her quarterstaff before approaching the tower. Barsath slowly climbed to his feet, smiling to himself. What was she going to do, attack the tower? Her stick would snap before-

Aria twisted, spinning a full turn and bringing around the staff with all of her might against the side of the tower. Dirt scattered everywhere, settling to reveal a good tenth of the tower base destroyed and the staff in perfect condition.

Barsath gasped. “Wha-!” What?! How?!

Aria’s head snapped to the side, her hand flicking out. Barsath flinched, and a throwing knife shot through where his throat had been, leaving a cut on the side of his neck. Had he not jerked just then…

How did she…? Sound! She heard me! Dirt showered everywhere again, and Barsath hurriedly concentrated, twisting her perceptions and emotions to take control of her like he had done before. “Now girl, I want you to-“

Her head twisted again. CRACK.

-

There was an earthy smell, his face pressed against something cool and soft. He was on the ground, in the… garden behind the palace. He opened his eyes, seeing the champion girl a good distance in front of him winding up to take another hit at the tower. What had…?

A sudden image came to him, Aria’s glaring golden eyes as she swept her quarterstaff through chest level where he’d been standing. The crack sound and sense of impact on his arm, then darkness. How is she immune to my spells?! She cannot see me, but she could still attack even when I was manipulating her? That’s impossible, she should have been incapacitated in devotion! Dirt showered everywhere again. Never mind! I can’t let her destroy the tower! If she does then the spells it is holding, including the one that causes her to be unable to see me, will vanish!

If I can’t control you with the usual way, then I’ll just have to make you unable to do anything! He concentrated again, using the last of his magical energy and whispering so she wouldn’t hear. “Su’is.

Aria staggered, her eyes going wide as the spell he’d cast took effect, cutting off all of her external senses and making her feel like she was burning alive. This was something Barsath loved to do to some of the captives, just to see how long they’d last until begging for mercy. The longest so far was only about ten seconds, but he expected the girl to easily surpass that. Regardless, the tower was safe now that she couldn’t determine where it was, and the pain would bring her to her knees soon enough.

He started to get up, and screamed as a searing pain blasted through his right arm, flopping back down to the ground. Tears streamed from his eyes as he gasped like a landed fish for a few seconds, recovering.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he sat up, making sure not to jostle his right arm that lay across his lap, groaning from the bruises that no doubt covered his body from the tumble he’d taken. Having made it safely if painfully to a position where he was leaning back on his left arm, he looked down to determine why his right was in so much pain, and screamed again. His right arm was mangled beyond belief. The entire thing was covered with blood that leaked from the numerous places where bone stuck through the skin at odd angles. The flesh on his forearm where he’d taken the blow from the quarterstaff was split so badly that his wrist and hand were still connected by only a few strands of meat. There was only a little pain yet, but he knew that would come soon.

The sound of dirt hitting the bushes made him freeze. It wasn’t possible. There was no imaginable way she could still be moving.

Crack… Crack… Crack…

Barsath looked up.

Unable to see, hear, smell, taste, or even feel anything with her skin, Aria was somehow next to the tower again, twisting to deliver another massive blow against the hard packed dirt. The mage gaped. How in the Abyss is she still attacking?!

Eyes closed, the girl stepped to the side, bringing her quarterstaff around in front of her through the gap she’d made in the dirt until it hit another part of the base. Crack. Step, swing. Crack. Step, swing. Crack. Resetting herself, she spun, bringing her weapon around to blow away another portion of earth. She’s using the feedback she feels in her body to measure where she is against the tower?! I can’t stop that sensation! Another one or two of those attacks will bring down the whole structure! Is there anything I can do to stop her? I need something! Anything!

Crack.

Boots pounded on the paved garden pathway, and Barsath turned his head to see the most beautiful sight he’d ever encountered. Nagaden, the Commander of the South Wall appeared from around the corner with his two strongest men, skidding to a halt in front of him.

Crack.

“Barsath! Wha- Xynus, your arm! What happened?!” The Commander exclaimed, taking a strip of cloth from his belt and hurriedly binding Barsath’s upper arm to slow the bleeding before shoving a potion in his mouth.

Crack.

Rather than try to spit it out, Barsath hurriedly gulped the contents to free his mouth. “The girl you idiot! Stop her! Hurry!”

Nagaden hesitated, obviously unsure about attacking a little girl.

Aria twisted, and dirt flew everywhere again. The tower shuddered, Barsath holding his breath as the top swayed, then releasing it in a sigh of relief as it stabilized. One more strike and its going to fall, along with all of my Spirit spells.

“She’s the one who killed the Duke, Nagaden! She’s blinded, so go cut her down!”

The Commander sighed. “Not worth my time. Saefan, go kill the girl.

Crack.

“With pleasure, Commander.” One of the men standing with Nagaden saluted, then walked towards the tiny champion, unsheathing his sword.

Crack.

The girl stepped to the side, drawing her quarterstaff back to hit the tower again, but Saefan grabbed it, pulling his sword back to stab her. “Time to die girlie.”

“No you fool, don’t touch-!” Barsath shouted, too late to do anything but watch.

Aria twisted, the glancing blow unable to cut the skin under her dress, what should have been a thrust through her chest leaving her without a scratch. Continuing her spinning motion, she yanked her staff from the guard’s grip and performed the same full powered strike she’d been using against the tower.

The man exploded, his armor crushed so far one side almost touched the other, and his insides, having nowhere else to go, fountained out of every gap in the metal plate as he flew through the air to impact the side of the palace.

Barsath turned his head, the contents of his stomach narrowly avoiding his body, and he could hear similar choking sounds from the two men with him.

Rather than go after the tower again, Aria began to spin her quarterstaff with increasing speed in complex patterns around her, moving as though she was in a dance, the peaceful look on her face contrasting with the blood that liberally coated her skin and weapon.

“Dida't! With me Grun! Attack with everything you have!”

The two men rushed forwards, swords drawn, and separated, attacking the champion girl from both sides. Grun struck first, sweeping his sword in an arc that was obviously meant to stop or at least slow the thrumming quarterstaff so Nagaden would have an opening to deliver the killing blow.

The hasty plan worked, slowing the quarterstaff as the wood and metal collided, but rather than being cut down from the Commander’s overhead slash, she flowed to the side, snapping her staff against Grun’s wrists, disarming him, his gut, denting the armor and forcefully bending him over, and his head, crushing his helm and part of his skull. The man staggered backwards, clutching at his ruined face and the deep red streams that poured out of it, managing four steps before he fell, drowning in his own blood.

Nagaden roared, moving with a speed and skill that befitted his title of strongest in Travant and putting Aria on the defensive for the first time. His longsword flashed in the light from the overhead sun as he struck again and again, always being turned away just before cutting flesh while Aria retreated in a slow outwards spiral.

Barsath could only stare wide eyed at the duel before him, unable to clearly follow all of the strikes the Commander made. He’d seen Nagaden fight before of course, training the other guards that watched the walls and the palace, but never had he seen the man attack with his full strength. The pair moved as though dancing together, an enchanting mix power and grace born from long combat experience, and Barsath felt hope well up in his chest. Surely if anyone could defeat this champion it was Nagaden.

The mage gritted his teeth from the odd squirming sensation that was the sign of a potion working enveloped his right arm as the bone fragments began to pull themselves back into place, the flesh knitting itself together. The vial must have been from Nagaden’s personal stash, because Barsath had never seen a liquid powerful enough to heal this much damage so quickly. He unwound the tight cloth around his arm, letting the blood flow down into his healing limb.

Minutes passed, and slowly the duel before him began to shift. Aria’s backward steps came less and less often, then stopped altogether, her whirring quarterstaff intercepting the Commander’s strikes earlier and earlier. The man still struck with all of his considerable skill and might, but the champion girl was slowly recovering. The deadlock continued for almost a half-minute, and then Nagaden took a step back.

What is this creature?! How can she take on Nagaden without being able to sense him at all?! I need to escape while she’s still busy! Barsath slowly climbed to his feet, careful to not jostle his still-healing arm, and hesitantly made his way over to where his bag of valuables had been thrown. Nagaden was slowly being driven back now, his teeth gritted as sweat poured off his body. Gathering up the bag, Barsath walked over to where the horses were, still tied there from when the gardener had returned from the stables with them, and began untying the knots with his shaking left hand.

A shock ran through him as his spell was pushed away, just for the slightest fraction of a second, and his head whipped to the side almost of its own accord to watch the duel. Aria’s eyes were open now, those blazing golden irises glaring, but unfocused. She’d likely only been able to see a single image in the short time she’d negated the spell, but any advantage on her part couldn’t be good for the Commander. Indeed, Nagaden’s next slash whistled through the air as Aria moved around him, though he was still able to divert her strike at his head, if barely.

The pounding of armored boots came from around the side of the palace as Nagaden’s troops finally arrived, their march from the wall much slower than the Commander’s horse-assisted travel. The knots under Barsath’s hand came undone, and he mounted as the armored guards began filing into view, flinching as his spell was shoved away for a second time for that same fraction of a second.

That tiny portion of time was enough. Aria feinted at her opponent’s legs, pulling her quarterstaff in and avoiding Nagaden’s parry as she spun to the side, bringing her weapon around for a full powered blow. The Commander barely intercepted the attack with his own weapon, but his stance was so broken it sent him flying backwards… directly into the severely damaged base of the tower.

In a flash of clarity, Barsath understood. The first spell break was to see where she was in relation to the tower so she could position Nagaden in between herself and the structure, and the second was to give herself the edge needed to pull off the heavy attack with accuracy. The mage slammed his heels into the horse, his only thought to flee as the symbol of his power finally began to crumble. As soon as the fragile Gem at the top of the tower fell, all of the Spirit spells he’d set up across the city would vanish, and everything he had built would fall apart. Excepting the women chained to the walls inside the palace, none of the slaves were ever bound simply because they were so obedient. As soon as the spells failed, all of those women would flee, and with the hundreds of men that once made up the guard almost completely wiped out, there was no one to stop them. He’d accepted that and could probably rebuild, he just had to get away from Aria. No one could stand up to her, she was simply too powerful for anyone in the city to handle, but if he could make it to Varan, less than a day’s ride to the north, he could buy safety with the coin in his pack.

Barsath rode roughshod through the arriving guardsmen, knocking them out of the way and possibly even trampling one, but that didn’t matter in the slightest. They existed to serve him anyway, so what did it matter if they lived?

He was almost around the corner when the sound of shattering glass reached him, the Gem atop the tower was gone. Immediately he felt heat against his back, a creeping sensation that had to be Aria’s baleful gaze. The horses seemed to feel it too and leapt forwards, pushing through the sea of armored men and breaking out the other side. He let the animals carry him at a gallop around the palace and towards the streets, the sound of screaming drawing his attention as he reached the front.

A stream of women sporting broken chains were running from the palace in various states of undress, the ones kept in the feast room. Aria must have broken their bonds before she came after the rest of the palace, and now that the spells over them were broken they had left the Duke and were fleeing. A few noticed him and began running at him, leaping at his horses and trying to bring him down, fury etching their faces. One managed to get onto his spare horse, and Barsath quickly cut the lead line, but not before the woman could grab his bag, yanking it from his grasp. With a force of will he resisted the urge to go back for it, leaving her behind him as he galloped through the streets.

Just as he had predicted, the city was in utter chaos. The bits of metal that people had seen as coins were now completely useless, and fights broke out everywhere even as the slaves fled from their former masters. It didn’t matter to Barsath, he simply rode down anyone that was between him and the gates leading out of the city to the north. No one stood in the path of a galloping horse, or if they did they were trampled underfoot.

The skeleton crew that still manned the gates were completely overwhelmed, and the massive sections of reinforced wood stood open as the mage rode through to the open grassland surrounding the city.

As the minutes passed and the sounds of the city faded, the fear that drove Barsath onwards began to dissipate. He allowed his blowing horse to slow, climbing up the side of the valley the city rested in, then dismounted and turned around to look back at Travant.

The city was burning, fires sweeping the buildings as the people rioted, their normal lives completely disrupted as the illusions that he’d set up vanished. He gritted his teeth, wanting to torture one of his slaves for a moment before realizing that he no longer had any. It was all because of that stupid champion, that demon in the form of a girl. Somehow she had singlehandedly destroyed his perfect system, ruining all of his work and almost killing him. “Well it takes more than just a little girl to kill Barsath Desray! Despite all your efforts I’m still alive you little bitch!” He shouted at the city, shaking his fully healed right arm. “You can’t kill me! I’m too good for you! Learn your place you wretch! You can go burn in the Abyss with your anger, because you can’t kill me!”

“Oh, I can’t?”

A sudden pain twisted Barsath’s guts, and he hesitantly looked down to see a blood covered length of steel sticking out of his stomach. The long knife withdrew slowly, taking the strength in his legs with it and letting him collapse, landing with spasm of pain on his back as he tried to turn to face his worst fear.

Aria stood over him, one of her long knives dripping blood. The black dress she had on sported not a single cut, and even the blood was gone from her skin and the fabric. Her golden eyes burned into him, seeming almost to glow with her fury. This was not the cold flame he’d seen, but one that consumed everything before it, untempered by reason.

“N-no. P-please spare m-me!” Barsath whimpered, the smell of his own excrement suddenly filling his nose.

“You took that was most important to me and twisted it. The only thing I had left, the only part of myself that was still safe, and you decided to fuck with it. I’d lost everything, and you wanted to take all that I was, all that I had left, and you succeeded. Because of you I’ve lost to this place and this body, I can no longer think of myself as how I was. You stole all I had, and in return I took everything from you. Your city is crushing itself, your slaves are gone, your power is gone, and now you will die.”

Barsath shook his head, trying to deny this reality even as she raised her knife overhead. The tip of the blade slammed downwards, producing a lance of pain that drove through his eye and into his skull, lasting for only a moment before the mage ceased to exist.

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Comments

Ilos 12

Wow,
Aria is so powerful now. Several strong forces of experienced soldiers and a powerful mage are just playthings to her. I think the deity overlooking this World is setting her up to take his place. The only thing is, that in time Aria will be far more powerful than he is and is getting more powerful with every passing minute. When Aria meets the evil deity, she will have a very good chance of destroying it.

I wouldn't go that far...

Sadarsa's picture

I wouldn't go that far... She's spent at least a week grinding xp her every waking moment

I can beat most games in a day... MMO's i can max level in a week or two.... She/He was a top tier player. Any top tier play with that amount of time to do nothing but grind xp is going to become a serious badass. If you've played WoW Imagine being a level 60 player... rampaging through level 25 guards. That's about what happened here. (though the levels might be wrong)

~Your only Limitation is your Imagination~

Yes she is no Mary Sue

Thouhg I think she is not wielding a quarterstaff though. She is likely cheating and using a buck and a quarterstaff.

Skill and Power

Tas's picture

Ilos is significantly different than any other MMO, mainly because of the skill involved in combat. In regards to sheer power would say like a level 5-6 going through level 4 guards, but with Aria's skill with her weapons puts it more at a 12 vs 4 range (if we're comparing Ilos to WoW and level 100 is the most powerful one can get, that's about where things stand).
I wanted to give everyone a chance to see Aria at her most deadly against an opponent that her real skill with combat comes out with, and I think it worked pretty well. Now when I say Nameless is very close in both power and skill you can understand why the pair of them are so far ahead of the rest of the players and just how difficult the upcoming battles will be.

smash

zulu mack's picture

Hulk smash puny town arrrh

Good chapter!

Very well done, a terrible experience for Aria, but something that will make her stronger in the long run

Lucky

The mage should consider himself lucky to die so quickly as he deserved a much longer harsher end. Now, the question is will this damage to Aris self-image leave her caring about the world that would do this to her.

Agreed, that is the real cliffhanger

She has definitely discovered what her potential power level is and it is pretty high. But at what cost? Will she become callous and resentful of her new world? One cannot help but think though that until she fully integrated with her new physical reality could she have achieved the power level she seems to have now? So who will be the person to provide her an anchor, a emotional bond to her new life?

She is totally alone right now.

will she ever meet back up

will she ever meet back up with her friends, she could really use them about now

Aria is definitely not

Aria is definitely not someone you would want to meet in a dark alley any time soon, or for that matter even in a lit alley. Her powers seem to have grown geometrically and also seem to be growing even more now that the tower has been destroyed. Will most interesting to see how much she increases in power and what kind it or they may be.

Nameless

Sadarsa's picture

Wonder what Nameless is going to think? I mean, wasnt his plan to slip off to the side and let her pass by? Now he's going to come across a destroyed town, and the name Aria on everyone's lips.

~Your only Limitation is your Imagination~

I Thought...

…that Nameless was planning to bypass the town.

Eric

Yep

Tas's picture

Nameless was planning on letting Aria spend a day or two in that city while he passed it by, getting ahead of her again, but now...

-Tas

i had to read this again i

i had to read this again i was suffering from ilos withdrawals

Heh

Tas's picture

Well hopefully you won't have to suffer too much longer before the next part. I am still writing, just very slowly. I can say that there will be three (possibly four, but more likely three) more chapters before the end of the first "book", and I'm closeish to finishing the next one.

Thanks for commenting :)

-Tas