Reinier's Test
Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 10:51 pm
Chapter 1: Sword and Stone
Kaerius stood just outside the entrance of the cave, his back to the opening with his arms crossed, as he took his last glimpses of the field around him. The man had been draped in a dark copper robe, with a brown line around the edges of the sleeves, neck, and the bottom near his feet. His jet-black hair protruded slightly from under his hood, which he kept up for the moment to keep the sun out of his jade eyes. A slash mark could be seen vertically across his eye, when his hood had been taken down, a true sign of his warrior-hood. He let out a sigh, wondering where the rest of his party was. His leader had helped create a capable party for the dungeon quest, but due to certain circumstances only five people could arrive.
The man let out another sigh, and uncrossed his arms as he turned to the group who had assembled behind him. The group of five stood in the field, without one of their three “Tank” players. The team which had been assembled to be balanced, with three heavy hitter classes and three light hitters with strong magical skills. Kaerius, the Blademaster and leader of the group. He worked hard to get through the ranks of his Guild, to make it to where he was today. The Heavy Blade, recently deceased, could not make it and there hadn’t been enough time to find another of equal strength. And finally, there stood the Heavy Axeman, Cuviro. He stood six foot five, and seemed to be about three hundred pounds of muscle. The strong silent type, he didn’t speak much other then the occasional grunt.
As far as magic uses went, the group had one person. A rather young girl, Altia, had risen up the ranks of the guild seemingly over night. A gifted Wavemistriss, she would speak her mind, frequently, whether or not anyone asked her to. Estia, the brunette Archer of the group, had been in the guild for seemingly ages. She had made the switch to the class when it first became available, as she loved long range weapons. She eagerly awaited the day when CC Corp releases a “gunner” or “shotgun” type class. And lastly, Zhalius the Long Arm. With sapphire hair that would make ice jealous, he had become known as the most vain person in the group.
Kaerius inspected the group, shook his head in disagreement, and spoke, “At least some of us decided to get out of bed for this. Our mission is simple, as you should know. We are to secure the weapon known as the ‘Areia’s Blade,’ from the Gott of the dungeon. It won’t be easy, that is for certain. I have faith in our group. Any questions before we head out, people?” Kaerius scanned the group, wondering if anyone would speak up. He shook his head once more in disagreement as he noticed Zhalius examining his hair in the blade of his spear.
“It’s a shame that one boy died, it would be nice to have a balanced party. Oh well, can’t be helped I suppose…” Zhalius said, combing his hair with his fingers as he continued to gaze in to the spear. Kaerius let out a grunt and proceeded through the group, not acknowledging the man. “A bit of remorse and compassion go a long way, y’know,” the boy muttered, lowering his spear and following behind the leader.
The group entered, ever careful of setting off any little trap that might cause unnecessary harm. Kaerius stopped dead in his tracks, and lowered his hood to soak in what had happened in the second room of the dungeon. Normally, a group would be treated to a monster fight by breaking the seal of a monster portal, but this hadn’t been the case. He surveyed the room, cocking his head back to see if his party saw what he did, and then turned his head forward once more.
Spires of earth had been wrought from the ground below, bloodied and broken. Whoever had passed through this area meant business. “Less work for us!” Estia called out, moving forward. Kaerius shook his head as he pressed onwards, the group following behind. The cracking of the earth under the feet of the warriors echoed as they made their way through the cave dungeon.
Once more, Kaerius came to a halt in the next room to survey the scene, ever cautious about his surroundings. A narrow pathway greeted the group, but something seemed off about the room. Zhalius, however, continued on leaving the group behind. He stopped in the middle of the room, and turned around. “Why are you so cautious? It’s a normal dungeon! You old people are all the same,” he called out, before turning around and continuing. Kaerius looked down and around the room, leaving no mental or physical stone unchecked in the room. He gave a peculiar look down at the ground once more, and shrugged. He began to follow behind the boy who had chosen to continue on. “What the-…” and then silence.
Before Zhalius had even said the statement, Kaerius had thrown up his arms to halt the rest of the group, for he had noticed a discoloring in the earth. The floor had rocketed upwards in to the ceiling, crushing Zhalius against the roof. “I never liked that boy anyway. We move on,” Kaerius told the group, pressing forward and waiting for the floor to lower once more. He inspected the floor when it had lowered, and knelt down and inspected it in wonder.
It’s pressure sensitive… There must be around it…
Kaerius stood, inspecting the room once more. He noticed something new about the ground. It had been elevated to the side, so someone would be able hug the wall and walk to the other side of the room. And so Kaerius did just that, and followed the wall to the other side of the room, with the others following close behind. The group soon entered the next room, which was vastly larger then the last. The room stretched left to right about fifty feet, and stretched forwards to the point of being unable to see the exit.
New room, new puzzle…
“So it’s true…” Altia had spoken, which had become a rarity among the group. “They say only the crafty find the field, and only the smart make it to the next room… Zhalius had never been the brightest bulb… Next, they say only the agile live to advance…” Her dreamy voice echoed in the new room, which was rather spacey. From what Kaerius could tell, even the most clumsy of bulls would be able to make it through this room alive, but he knew better then to act on this.
“Guess all of you are dead, and I get to go to the next room!” Estia spoke, letting out a giggle. The starry-eyed Wavemistriss looked over to Estia, whose giggle had transformed in to a full out laugh. The reverberations bounced throughout the room, creating enough sound to wake the dead.
“And only the strong live to see Areia’s Blade,” Altia spoke, then added, “So you won’t live past this room, you fool.” Estia’s eyes shot open, and her mouth shut from the woman’s sharp tongue. “So, ye of faith,” the Wavemistriss shot up her orb like wand towards Estia, “travel first and guide us through the room.” A smile crossed her lips, and her dreamy eyes opened slightly.
Kaerius shook his head in disapproval at how poorly the team had become to be at this point, but they had traveled too far in search of the sword, for it all to end by petty squabbles and the death of the vain one. Kaerius raised his hand, ready to speak, but before anything came out, Estia stepped forward, bow in hand.
It would seem as if someone had something to prove, today. Let’s just hope we don’t lose a capable member of the team so early.
The woman stood statuesque, just staring off in to space ahead of the group. After a moment, her shoulders had risen, and the echoes of her exhaling echoed through the room as she took off sprinting. The group had been taken back by her rashness, but followed anyway. The sounds of their footsteps echoed through the seemingly endless room, with no puzzles or doorways in sight. “Estia!” The Wavemistriss shouted the name, raising her wand towards an oncoming obstacle. An earthen wheel rumbled from across the room, Estia in its’ line of fire.
Cuvio snapped forward first, shooting his left leg out forward, landing on the toe-balls of both feet. The earth shot upwards, encasing his feet, causing him to ride with the wave of sand. The Heavy Axeman rose up and shot forward in front of Estia, and with his fist instead of the weapon in his hand, punched the block of rock. Shards flew in every which way, with the group standing unscathed behind the massive bulk of metal and muscle. Cuvio turned around, and looked downwards to Kaerius, and simply said, “We move.”
“What the hell are you thinking!?” Kaerius pushed forward, getting inches away from Cuvio’s face. He had to get up on the tips of his toes to reach close to the man’s neck. “You know as well as I do that Earth Bending in this area’s dangerous. No telling what could happen in an unstable area like this. That Sword feeds on stupid mistakes of bending here Why-!” And before the man could continue yelling, the earth underneath began to shake and rumble.
Kaerius pulled out his sword and took the lead, not quite running but not quite walking. Rocks began to fly towards the group, insignificant pebbles at first, but they gradually began to grow in stature. The Blademaster in the lead sliced and parried the rocks which were hurled in his direction, all the time trying to decide the next move. Altia sped forward, her wand shinning brilliant copper, as she began to shoot up walls of earth to deflect the rocks. “Kaerius!” she called out, with the man unheeding.
Arrows flew past the two up at front, shattering the rocks ahead. A bow of verdant proportions made it easier to shatter the rocks with little effort. “Kaerius!” she called once more, trying to get his attention. By this time, the rocks had begun to fly from every direction, ranging from tennis balls to basketballs. “KAERIUS!” she screamed, raising her rod to the heavens, causing a substantially thick wall to surround the group, providing protection for awhile.
The man turned to the Wavemaster, his face holding no emotion. “I thought I said ‘No bending,’ earlier. Now, if I didn’t then that’s my mistake, but I could have sworn that I did. You know as well as I do that the sword feeds off the energies it takes for us to bend the earth, making it all the harder for us to get the sword later on. What is so important?” A sphere of a radius of no less then four feet crashed in to the wall, tripping over the group, at that moment. Cuvio had been grazed in the head by the blow, but no response from the man.
“THAT,” she yelled, pointing to the passing rock, “is my point. We can’t make it through this room as we are. If we were all Fist Fighters, perhaps, but we’re not. You know this hall is at least two miles long, making it at least a twenty minute walk, or fourteen long run. Plus the dodging? No way we’ll make it. The rocks get bigger, we both know this.”
“Then what,” he said with a sigh, waiting for the next rock to pummel him in the back of the head, “do you want me to do about it? Break through the floor?” He looked at the group, his eyes unwavering and full of lost hope.
“I hear you,” Cuvio said, raising his axe above his head. Copper flames engulfed the head of the axe, and with one smooth strike to the floor, the flames dispersed across the floor and along the newly created walls. The floor under them cracked and crumbled, and with a scream from all, with the exception of Cuvio, the group fell to the floor below.
Kaerius laid on the ground, spread eagle, panting viciously. His eyes as wide as can be, concentrating upon the new hole in the roof of the new floor upon which he doubted the group would ever reach just for the facts listed above in Altia’s conversation. The group gradually got to their feet, as the Blademaster continued to lay on the floor, with bits of rock chronically falling on him from the roof above. “He’s in shock,” Estia said aloud. “Pick him up, we move on.” Cuvio looked to Altia, then to Estia, and began to move towards Kaerius.
“I’m fine,” he simply said, gradually getting to his feet. He brushed the dirt and rocks off his robes, and let out a sigh. “Clever… I didn’t think anyone would feel the vibrations bouncing up from the room below, what with all the extra annoyances around. Kudos, we push on.”
Flashmail!
To: Kaerius
From: Altia
Subject: None
Do you feel it? The sword has a new master. He’s waiting, as well.
Kaerius gave a nod in her direction, and pushed forwards through the long hallway. Another room, another test. Kaerius thanked his stars for landing them in a safe room, instead of one of the “Sharp/pointy/throw-rocks-at-you, kind of rooms.” The next, and hopefully final, room had none of these. In the middle of the room, there stood Zharius. He stood with his arms crossed, and clearly translucent, and more clearly dead. “Behind me is the final room, holding the sword you seek. Oh ye travelers, blah blah blah, solve three riddles to get it, but get it wrong and you all die. Stand form for a dungeon such as this, don’t you think? First riddle!” He shouted, laughing a bit.
I never liked him, I’m glad he’s dead.
“Which weighs more: A pound of gold or a pound of feathers?” Zharius asked, a grin across his face.
“Feathers,” Altia said, stepping forward, “due to the fact that precious metals use a special weighing system called a ‘troy,’ where twelve ounces equals a pound. And seeing as how feathers are not a precious metal, they don’t use that kind of system. Therefore, feathers weigh more. Next question, lacky.” Altia smiled and waited.
With a scoff, he began his next question. “You should always keep this, no one else wants it,” Zharius said, the grin turning in to a devil of a smile. He felt confident in this one, the cocky bastard.
“Kaerius has issues with this. Your temper,” Estia said, hugging Kaerius. The man through his shoulder back, knocking the woman loose. “Next!” she called out, a little saddened by the man’s attitude.
The smile on the boy’s face disappeared, and with no emotion he said, “What can you never see, but is always in front of you?” No quick responses from the group this time. The smile returned, and the man began to polish his scythe.
“The future. The fates jest with you, boy, now move,” Cuvio said, beginning to move forward. He swiped his hand through Zharius as he moved forward. The man disappeared, and with that, the group continued on. Each member cautiously and without a sound checked their equipment and stock of items to see just how prepared they were for whatever they faced. Kaerius took the lead, and drew out his sword. On the move, he threw out his arm, and with it, the door that blocked their path. The door flew forwards in to the room ahead. A laugh could be heard from the room ahead.
“Hello!” Reinier called to the group, a broad smile on his face. He stood shirtless, with two sashes wrapped around his waist. One copper with the other underneath, black. The sashes reached inches above the ground, both of which were on his left side. His eyes had become a uniform violet with flairs of crimson around the corneas, instead of their normal right eye copper left eye green. His gauntlets, too, had changed and completely disappeared. In their place, one sterling bracelet wrapped around his right hand. Close to his wrist, the bracelet formed a “C” where the top of it curled once more, making a backwards “C” inside. The bracelet wrapped around his arm five times, and on the bottom, closer to his elbow, made the same figure, only backwards and under his arm. Most notably different, however, was the fact his wings had disappeared. And considering how much he used them, it surprised the group.
“You’re supposed to be dead, how…” Kaerius muttered, blankly staring upon a not-so-dead Reinier. He stood there, arms crossed, with most of his weight placed on his right side, causing him to lean that direction. “Did you find the sword…? How did you even know of this field? We didn’t solve the riddle of this place’s location until five minutes before departing…”
“I know things, and more importantly, people,” Reinier’s smile vanished as he uncross his arms and equalized his weight. “You all let me die. You knew that harlot entered the tournament, and yet you let her kill me. Why? Why would you let her do that?” His eyes narrowed, as he began to radiate a copper glow. He stomped upon the ground, causing a basketball sized sphere to pop up from the earth below. It hovered in front of him for mere moments before he shot out his fist, causing it to fly towards the group.
Cuvio threw himself in front of Kaerius, swinging his axe at the sphere. The sphere burst in to sand upon contact, instead of being sliced in to two pieces. The dust swirled around, before flying up in to the Axeman’s face, and in to every open orifice of his head. Before he could scream and grab his eyes from the itching pain of them being scratched by the sand, it had all vanished in to his body. He dropped his weapon, and fell to his knees, screaming violently. Before anyone could move or say anything, the screaming stopped and Cuvio fell to the ground.
Everyone turned away their heads from the sight, except Estia who continued to scream and look at the sight. Five spires had shot their way out of the back of his head, killing him almost immediately. Reinier let out a brutally chilling laugh, as he yelled, “See!? It sucks to die!” The laughing continued for awhile, before he composed himself once more. He let out a cough, and raised his open hand above his head. “For what we all came to see… Obsidian’s Kiss!” Sand rushed about and around Reinier’s body, concentrating itself in to the boy’s hand.
A prehistoric, completely earthen sword with no hilt appeared in the boy’s hand. The whole sword, made of rock, appeared to be something anyone could simply breathe on and it would shatter. Reinier lowered his sword and continued to look upon the group. “Don’t look too disappointed by the sword. Looks are deceiving, remember that old platitude? Common people. It’s a good thing the sword comes with good old Gaia’s Bracelet, huh?” Reinier lifted up his right arm, sword parallel with the earth, to show off the bracelet. He flexed, and the bracelet lit up, burning a bright copper and bringing the sword to life.
Copper flames flooded the room, doing no damage to anyone in the room, most likely due to their affiliation with the element. The door became sealed by shadowy earth, and seemed almost as if the door had never existed in the first place. The group shaded their eyes from the glowing intensity of Reinier’s glow, and within minutes, it all suddenly vanished. There stood Reinier, middle of the round room, with a seemingly new sword in his hand. He seemed almost God-like now, probably to his liking, with the glow encasing his body in an almost flame like manner. The sword seemed normal enough, albeit the menacing copperish violet gem, the colors waltzing and swimming around each other, in the middle of a diamond hilt on the sword. “It’s too gloomy down here. Let’s fight outside…” Reinier said to himself.
Three spires corkscrewed up and around the people in the room, with the exception of the recently deceased, and a storm of sand rushed up through the middle of said spires. In a blink of the eye, the sand fell to the ground, the players vanished. Above the dungeon, multiple spires appeared, and with a rush of sand, as did players. Reinier through his sword over his shoulders, and rolled up his arms over it as if it were a stick with two pails of water at either end. “Anytime now…” Reinier muttered, annoyance in his voice.
Kaerius raced forward, blade shown, his feet gliding across the sands. He swung viciously at Reinier, who simply dodged. Same position, just taking steps backwards, shifting his body down and around every which way to avoid the blade. The others followed suit, and began their long-ranged assault. Arrows of verdant grace soared through the air, narrowly missing the two men. Spires and sphere also soared through the air, and also narrowly missed their ally and foe.
Kaerius shifted his leg in the sand, causing three spires to shoot up towards the boy, one from his left, one from the center, and one from behind. Reinier shifted to the right, just as necessary for Kaerius to attack. He rushed in low, his sword in both hands and below his belt. He thrust the sword upwards toward Reinier’s chest, but received an unexpected surprise. The Blademaster flew backwards, landing on his back, after receiving a torrent of petrified feathers to the face. Or what felt like petrified feathers, at least.
Reinier’s arms were now at his sides, with the wing on his right side fully extended outwards to his side. The cracked rock on his chest revealed parts of the other wing, still folded inside. He recoiled his wing, having it wrap itself over his chest and around his side. The earth recalled itself and placed itself over his body, once more concealing his more avian side. Reinier knelt down to one knee, and outstretched his left arm. The tip of the bitter blade slid smoothly against his skin, from the fulcrum of his elbow to the edge of his wrist. The crimson rain poured from the wound, draining itself against the earth as Reinier flexed his hand in to a fist and out many times to get the blood flowing.
Looks of nausea flooded over the girls as they watched this, not knowing what was happening. Kaerius, however, did know this ritual. “Zharius, rise. Be stronger then before, now…” Reinier muttered, hobbling backwards to his feet. He leaned down on his sword, summoning up the earth to patch his wound. Kaerius shook his head in disbelief and disgust at the sight. Reinier began to fish around in his pockets, searching for a special item used for just his occasion.
“Why would you use such a spell against us? Waking someone from the Eternal Slumber is a heinous crime, and you know it!” Kaerius yelled, but Reinier continued to dig through his pockets as if this were a game. Well, as a figure of speaking of course. A yell of joy came from Reinier’s direction, as he held up a gemstone of sorts. Not terribly large by any means, no bigger then your thumb, with a certain sparkle that only a ruby could give. “What in the hell…?” Kaerius mumbled, watching Reinier toss the stone to the ground. Upon impact with the pool of his own blood, the stone began shaking violently, which in turn, caused the earth to shake as well.
In mere moments, the gem, as well as the blood, soaked deep in to the earth. Spikes of sapphire began to poke out of the ground, gradually inching their way out of the ground. Soon, Zharius had his head out of the ground, a hand fully out, and part of his spear out in his other hand. The boy managed to get both hands out of the earth, and ripped the rest of his body out of the ground. He cracked his neck to both sides, and gave a smile as he looked up to the sky. By this point, Reinier had closed his eyes, bringing the handle of his sword near his face, inches away with his curled fingers facing his nose. A perfect circle of concentrated energy swirled about the boy, flairs of the energy crackling and dancing around, not reaching higher then three inches from the ground. It swirled and twisted in a clockwise fashion, at bay for now at least.
Kaerius flew from his spot, the sands under his feet guiding him to his target. Sword drawn, he hoped to simply take down Reinier without casualty, and take Areia’s Blade. Unfortunately for Kaerius, things never go that smoothly. Kaerius could feel chains begin to wrap around his left leg, and almost simultaneously he felt his whole body jerk downwards, then upwards. From an upside down view, he could see Zhalius with his spear raised in the air, a chain snaking from its top. The Blademaster scoffed, and with a slice of his sword, he was freed. With a summersault in the air, he landed on his feet, a few yards away from the spear wielding fiend.
Almost on cue, arrows flew in to the Long Arms’ back, yet he seemed to feel nothing from the blows. He didn’t, as a matter of fact, due to them flying straight through his body. The arrows landed in the ground, holes still apparent in the Long Arms’ body. “What the…?” Zhalius muttered. “This is your idea of bringing me back? A body of mud? You stupid mother-!” Zhalius stopped mid-sentence, dropping his spear to the ground. Reinier had managed to stab through Zhalius without moving an inch. The sword had extended straight through Zhalius, knocking loose the ruby within his body.
“Good guinea pig. No more use for you, good-bye,” Reinier muttered, watching as Zhalius melted in to mud-water. He flicked his wrist, and the sword shot backwards in to its’ handle. “Doesn’t it remind you of a Chinese Yo-Yo? I love this thing. Anyways, Zhalius was simply to test out the usability of the Berserker Stones. Immune to physical harm, making the puppets valuable weapons. Now, where did we leave off… Oh right, killing ya’ll…” Reinier took one last look at his weapon, a cruel smile upon his face.
A single bladed sword, unlike the rest of the swords Reinier used, with teeth like blades hanging downwards from the sword’s blade. Each tooth gradually got larger as the sword progressed, with the last tooth being the longest and being sharpened on the outside as well. Up close, you would be able to see where the sword separates and is able to extend. Reinier flung the sword outwards with the target being Kaerius. The Blademaster did a back flip to avoid the blow, only to watch the sword curve outwards and still hit him, midair. The sword wrapped around the man, with luck what wrapped around him wasn’t the blade, and threw him down in to the ground.
Reinier jerked the sword backwards, causing the blade to retract, and with the blade came Kaerius. Arrows and rocks flew at the sword, trying to break it and free Kaerius, but the sword weaved in and out to dodge the girls’ attacks. When the Blademaster had reached a few inches away from Reinier, the boy shot his arm up and whipped the Blademaster with it. He threw his arm downwards, smashing Kaerius in to the ground while breaking some gravel. Reinier continued this process for quite some time, while he waited for the two girls to run over to try and save the man.
When the two finally got close enough, Reinier lazily lashed Kaerius in their direction, having the sword let go of the man. With a barrel roll in the air, Kaerius landed on the ground and rolled in front of the two girls. Estia laid down a suppressive fire of arrows upon Reinier, who simply raised a wall of rock to block the barrage, while Altia began to heal Kaerius. The Blademaster began to rise, and Estia finished off her assault. The arrows simply sunk in to the rock, and an instant later, shot outwards towards the group. Kaerius and Altia shot up walls just in time to block the attack, but Estia had never been the quickest draw in the west.
Five arrows flew through her chest, two through her neck, and one in her left cheek. She stumbled back before collapsing to the ground, landing on her back. The battle continued, even though the group lost another member. The two remaining people shot the wall forward, and to their surprise, Reinier appeared above them atop a swirling vortex of broken up rock. The wall simply broke apart and became apart of the vortex of rocks, as Reinier rode forward. An array of bullet sized rocks jettisoned from the dome towards the two, who began to duck and dodge away while making a retreat.
Lashes from Reiniers’ sword soon followed the barrage of rocks, his aim at this point: to take out the Wavemaster. The two had broken their formation, with Kaerius running around to Reiniers’ back, to try and get an attack or two in. Altia, in her attempts to block the attacks, held her wand high as she walked backwards, conjuring wall after wall to block the whip attacks and flying rocks.
Kaerius flew through the air, surfing upon a wave of sand, towards Reinier. The Heavy Blade lashed both arms out, and instantly the vortex of rocks stopped, and caved in. Reinier fell in to the dome of rocks, with Kaerius flying straight over the boy. The top of the dome closed over Reinier, much to the surprise of the two fighters. Kaerius stumbled over to Altia, and began to think of a next move. Time was short on this matter, of course, because within seconds Reinier shot out of the dome in a corkscrew fashion, and hovered above the two.
His sword had split in half and now resembled the bone structure of wings, only now with blades. The sand and rocks twisted and conversed around his body like a more solid string of lava in a lava lamp. Reinier shot down to the ground, with the sand and rocks shooting outwards, creating a crater around his body. He landed in a kneeling fashion, with his hands outstretched in an upside down V, his hands barely touching the ground. He leaped to his feet, shifting his arms in a circular motion to make two fists near his belt line. As he stood, the sand converged upon his body, creating armor which now covered his entire body, including his face.
The armor completely conformed to his body, adding no new details with the exception of his mask. The mask covered his entire face, showing only his eyes which now glowed a vibrant violet. Two horns now sleeked backwards from where the middle of the two lobes of his brain were. Reinier did a back flip from where he stood, crouching down a bit when he landed, and shot out his hands once more. With his arms in the same upside V shape, claws shot out from his finger tips, he shot his body forward towards Altia. He simply glided across the ground, almost as if he flew across the sands, his eyes set upon the Wavemistress.
He pulled his entire body back, ready to shoot his claws forward in to her neck. As he attack, a wall formed in front of him, his hand flew through the wall. His arm completely entered the wall, all the way up to the elbow, before he came to an abrupt halt of smashing in to the wall. Reinier cocked his head to the side, a smile forming under his mask at the sight.
There stood Leucosia, sword drawn and aimed towards the boy. He ripped out his arm, and without second notice, threw his body out towards the woman. Reinier threw his right claw through her heart, and upon contact, she burst in to sand. Reiniers’ eyes shot to the left, and there she stood once more. With a single bound, and a single swipe, he lunged at the woman once more. And once again, she burst in to sand. “I could smell your power three servers away, Reinier. There’s a Berserker Stone in you, isn’t there?” Reinier roared and stomped upon the ground, causing a boulder to shoot up from the earth. He threw his claw into the center of the rock, spun once in a three-sixty degree fashion, and threw the rock at the woman.
With a single swing of her sword, Leucosia split the rock in two, the rock fell to the ground on both sides of her. Reinier leaned forward, ready to attempt an attack once more, only to be met by Leucosia right in front of him. A gasp escaped his lips, just before her fist met his face. Reinier flew backwards, shards of his former mask flying forwards as he flew backwards, and landed on the ground with a thud. The impact of his land caused him to do a back flip, which he caught his bearings and landed on his feet. He sunk his right hand deep in to the ground, to come to a screeching halt.
Blood poured over the top of his face, trickling from his forehead down the right side of his face. His breathing had become labored, most likely due to the fact of the new weapon and the ill effects of the Berserker’s Stone taking effect now. By this time, Kaerius and Altia and rejoined the battle, and stood on either side of Leucosia. Reinier shook his head, causing what was left of his helmet to fall to the ground, and looked towards the group. He extended is arms out away from his body, creating a ninety-degree angle from his chest, closed his eyes, and tilted his head back.
A rush of energy, straight and pure from the earth itself, shot upwards, and began to radiate from Reiniers’ fists. The earth blackened around the boy, as the energy spilled upwards from the earth in to his hands. Reinier took to the sky, flying towards Altia once more. Leucosia met him mid air, sword aimed towards his jugular. Reinier dodged to the side, kicking her in the ribs. Using the force from his kick, he flew downwards towards the woman. Kaerius threw himself in to Altia, pushing her to the side, as he drew out his sword. He raised it above his head, ready to slash down upon Reinier, but instead received the blunt blow of his attack.
With a clang, a sword fell to the ground as Kaerius stood there with his mouth open and stuttering in pain. Words couldn’t escape his mouth, as he looked down to see Reiniers’ hand in his chest, gripped around his heart. From his chest, outwards, energy flowed through Kaerius, as he gradually turned more and more statuesque. Within seconds, the man had turned in to a statue from head to toe. Reinier lowered his hand, no longer glowing, as he looked over to two horrified women.
Reinier fell to one knee, grasping his side with his blackened right hand, as he gasped for breath. He struggled to keep his eyes open, but could barely even do that at this point. He looked up to see Leucosia standing over him, glaring downwards. A smile formed across his face, knowing full well he could do nothing at this point. He tried anyway, as he attempted to throw his left hand upwards at her face, an orb formed in his hands. He shot the orb, as he collapsed to his side. He lay there on his right side, thoughts of his past flowing in to his head.
Leucosia knelt down, her sword in one hand, the orb of energy in the other. “Be purified by Terra,” she muttered, forcing the orb of energy in to her sword. She threw the blade in to Reiniers’ side, waited a moment, then pulled out a bloodied sword. The blood, however, resembled tar more then anything else. Reinier began to cough, sand and rocks escaping his mouth, as he began to smile.
“I found the sword… it’s pretty… nifty…” He continued to cough, but attempted to chuckle at the same time. With one last groan, he let out a sigh and closed his eyes. Leucosia let out a gasp, as she reached down and applied pressure against the side of his neck, with two fingers. Her fingers pierced his skin, only to cut through crumbling rock. A gentle wind began to blow, with Reiniers’ remnants fluttering in to the wind.
Four items lay where the boy used to: The Berserker’s Stone, the Light Keystone, Areia’s Blade, and Taimat’s Dagger.
Kaerius stood just outside the entrance of the cave, his back to the opening with his arms crossed, as he took his last glimpses of the field around him. The man had been draped in a dark copper robe, with a brown line around the edges of the sleeves, neck, and the bottom near his feet. His jet-black hair protruded slightly from under his hood, which he kept up for the moment to keep the sun out of his jade eyes. A slash mark could be seen vertically across his eye, when his hood had been taken down, a true sign of his warrior-hood. He let out a sigh, wondering where the rest of his party was. His leader had helped create a capable party for the dungeon quest, but due to certain circumstances only five people could arrive.
The man let out another sigh, and uncrossed his arms as he turned to the group who had assembled behind him. The group of five stood in the field, without one of their three “Tank” players. The team which had been assembled to be balanced, with three heavy hitter classes and three light hitters with strong magical skills. Kaerius, the Blademaster and leader of the group. He worked hard to get through the ranks of his Guild, to make it to where he was today. The Heavy Blade, recently deceased, could not make it and there hadn’t been enough time to find another of equal strength. And finally, there stood the Heavy Axeman, Cuviro. He stood six foot five, and seemed to be about three hundred pounds of muscle. The strong silent type, he didn’t speak much other then the occasional grunt.
As far as magic uses went, the group had one person. A rather young girl, Altia, had risen up the ranks of the guild seemingly over night. A gifted Wavemistriss, she would speak her mind, frequently, whether or not anyone asked her to. Estia, the brunette Archer of the group, had been in the guild for seemingly ages. She had made the switch to the class when it first became available, as she loved long range weapons. She eagerly awaited the day when CC Corp releases a “gunner” or “shotgun” type class. And lastly, Zhalius the Long Arm. With sapphire hair that would make ice jealous, he had become known as the most vain person in the group.
Kaerius inspected the group, shook his head in disagreement, and spoke, “At least some of us decided to get out of bed for this. Our mission is simple, as you should know. We are to secure the weapon known as the ‘Areia’s Blade,’ from the Gott of the dungeon. It won’t be easy, that is for certain. I have faith in our group. Any questions before we head out, people?” Kaerius scanned the group, wondering if anyone would speak up. He shook his head once more in disagreement as he noticed Zhalius examining his hair in the blade of his spear.
“It’s a shame that one boy died, it would be nice to have a balanced party. Oh well, can’t be helped I suppose…” Zhalius said, combing his hair with his fingers as he continued to gaze in to the spear. Kaerius let out a grunt and proceeded through the group, not acknowledging the man. “A bit of remorse and compassion go a long way, y’know,” the boy muttered, lowering his spear and following behind the leader.
The group entered, ever careful of setting off any little trap that might cause unnecessary harm. Kaerius stopped dead in his tracks, and lowered his hood to soak in what had happened in the second room of the dungeon. Normally, a group would be treated to a monster fight by breaking the seal of a monster portal, but this hadn’t been the case. He surveyed the room, cocking his head back to see if his party saw what he did, and then turned his head forward once more.
Spires of earth had been wrought from the ground below, bloodied and broken. Whoever had passed through this area meant business. “Less work for us!” Estia called out, moving forward. Kaerius shook his head as he pressed onwards, the group following behind. The cracking of the earth under the feet of the warriors echoed as they made their way through the cave dungeon.
Once more, Kaerius came to a halt in the next room to survey the scene, ever cautious about his surroundings. A narrow pathway greeted the group, but something seemed off about the room. Zhalius, however, continued on leaving the group behind. He stopped in the middle of the room, and turned around. “Why are you so cautious? It’s a normal dungeon! You old people are all the same,” he called out, before turning around and continuing. Kaerius looked down and around the room, leaving no mental or physical stone unchecked in the room. He gave a peculiar look down at the ground once more, and shrugged. He began to follow behind the boy who had chosen to continue on. “What the-…” and then silence.
Before Zhalius had even said the statement, Kaerius had thrown up his arms to halt the rest of the group, for he had noticed a discoloring in the earth. The floor had rocketed upwards in to the ceiling, crushing Zhalius against the roof. “I never liked that boy anyway. We move on,” Kaerius told the group, pressing forward and waiting for the floor to lower once more. He inspected the floor when it had lowered, and knelt down and inspected it in wonder.
It’s pressure sensitive… There must be around it…
Kaerius stood, inspecting the room once more. He noticed something new about the ground. It had been elevated to the side, so someone would be able hug the wall and walk to the other side of the room. And so Kaerius did just that, and followed the wall to the other side of the room, with the others following close behind. The group soon entered the next room, which was vastly larger then the last. The room stretched left to right about fifty feet, and stretched forwards to the point of being unable to see the exit.
New room, new puzzle…
“So it’s true…” Altia had spoken, which had become a rarity among the group. “They say only the crafty find the field, and only the smart make it to the next room… Zhalius had never been the brightest bulb… Next, they say only the agile live to advance…” Her dreamy voice echoed in the new room, which was rather spacey. From what Kaerius could tell, even the most clumsy of bulls would be able to make it through this room alive, but he knew better then to act on this.
“Guess all of you are dead, and I get to go to the next room!” Estia spoke, letting out a giggle. The starry-eyed Wavemistriss looked over to Estia, whose giggle had transformed in to a full out laugh. The reverberations bounced throughout the room, creating enough sound to wake the dead.
“And only the strong live to see Areia’s Blade,” Altia spoke, then added, “So you won’t live past this room, you fool.” Estia’s eyes shot open, and her mouth shut from the woman’s sharp tongue. “So, ye of faith,” the Wavemistriss shot up her orb like wand towards Estia, “travel first and guide us through the room.” A smile crossed her lips, and her dreamy eyes opened slightly.
Kaerius shook his head in disapproval at how poorly the team had become to be at this point, but they had traveled too far in search of the sword, for it all to end by petty squabbles and the death of the vain one. Kaerius raised his hand, ready to speak, but before anything came out, Estia stepped forward, bow in hand.
It would seem as if someone had something to prove, today. Let’s just hope we don’t lose a capable member of the team so early.
The woman stood statuesque, just staring off in to space ahead of the group. After a moment, her shoulders had risen, and the echoes of her exhaling echoed through the room as she took off sprinting. The group had been taken back by her rashness, but followed anyway. The sounds of their footsteps echoed through the seemingly endless room, with no puzzles or doorways in sight. “Estia!” The Wavemistriss shouted the name, raising her wand towards an oncoming obstacle. An earthen wheel rumbled from across the room, Estia in its’ line of fire.
Cuvio snapped forward first, shooting his left leg out forward, landing on the toe-balls of both feet. The earth shot upwards, encasing his feet, causing him to ride with the wave of sand. The Heavy Axeman rose up and shot forward in front of Estia, and with his fist instead of the weapon in his hand, punched the block of rock. Shards flew in every which way, with the group standing unscathed behind the massive bulk of metal and muscle. Cuvio turned around, and looked downwards to Kaerius, and simply said, “We move.”
“What the hell are you thinking!?” Kaerius pushed forward, getting inches away from Cuvio’s face. He had to get up on the tips of his toes to reach close to the man’s neck. “You know as well as I do that Earth Bending in this area’s dangerous. No telling what could happen in an unstable area like this. That Sword feeds on stupid mistakes of bending here Why-!” And before the man could continue yelling, the earth underneath began to shake and rumble.
Kaerius pulled out his sword and took the lead, not quite running but not quite walking. Rocks began to fly towards the group, insignificant pebbles at first, but they gradually began to grow in stature. The Blademaster in the lead sliced and parried the rocks which were hurled in his direction, all the time trying to decide the next move. Altia sped forward, her wand shinning brilliant copper, as she began to shoot up walls of earth to deflect the rocks. “Kaerius!” she called out, with the man unheeding.
Arrows flew past the two up at front, shattering the rocks ahead. A bow of verdant proportions made it easier to shatter the rocks with little effort. “Kaerius!” she called once more, trying to get his attention. By this time, the rocks had begun to fly from every direction, ranging from tennis balls to basketballs. “KAERIUS!” she screamed, raising her rod to the heavens, causing a substantially thick wall to surround the group, providing protection for awhile.
The man turned to the Wavemaster, his face holding no emotion. “I thought I said ‘No bending,’ earlier. Now, if I didn’t then that’s my mistake, but I could have sworn that I did. You know as well as I do that the sword feeds off the energies it takes for us to bend the earth, making it all the harder for us to get the sword later on. What is so important?” A sphere of a radius of no less then four feet crashed in to the wall, tripping over the group, at that moment. Cuvio had been grazed in the head by the blow, but no response from the man.
“THAT,” she yelled, pointing to the passing rock, “is my point. We can’t make it through this room as we are. If we were all Fist Fighters, perhaps, but we’re not. You know this hall is at least two miles long, making it at least a twenty minute walk, or fourteen long run. Plus the dodging? No way we’ll make it. The rocks get bigger, we both know this.”
“Then what,” he said with a sigh, waiting for the next rock to pummel him in the back of the head, “do you want me to do about it? Break through the floor?” He looked at the group, his eyes unwavering and full of lost hope.
“I hear you,” Cuvio said, raising his axe above his head. Copper flames engulfed the head of the axe, and with one smooth strike to the floor, the flames dispersed across the floor and along the newly created walls. The floor under them cracked and crumbled, and with a scream from all, with the exception of Cuvio, the group fell to the floor below.
Kaerius laid on the ground, spread eagle, panting viciously. His eyes as wide as can be, concentrating upon the new hole in the roof of the new floor upon which he doubted the group would ever reach just for the facts listed above in Altia’s conversation. The group gradually got to their feet, as the Blademaster continued to lay on the floor, with bits of rock chronically falling on him from the roof above. “He’s in shock,” Estia said aloud. “Pick him up, we move on.” Cuvio looked to Altia, then to Estia, and began to move towards Kaerius.
“I’m fine,” he simply said, gradually getting to his feet. He brushed the dirt and rocks off his robes, and let out a sigh. “Clever… I didn’t think anyone would feel the vibrations bouncing up from the room below, what with all the extra annoyances around. Kudos, we push on.”
Flashmail!
To: Kaerius
From: Altia
Subject: None
Do you feel it? The sword has a new master. He’s waiting, as well.
Kaerius gave a nod in her direction, and pushed forwards through the long hallway. Another room, another test. Kaerius thanked his stars for landing them in a safe room, instead of one of the “Sharp/pointy/throw-rocks-at-you, kind of rooms.” The next, and hopefully final, room had none of these. In the middle of the room, there stood Zharius. He stood with his arms crossed, and clearly translucent, and more clearly dead. “Behind me is the final room, holding the sword you seek. Oh ye travelers, blah blah blah, solve three riddles to get it, but get it wrong and you all die. Stand form for a dungeon such as this, don’t you think? First riddle!” He shouted, laughing a bit.
I never liked him, I’m glad he’s dead.
“Which weighs more: A pound of gold or a pound of feathers?” Zharius asked, a grin across his face.
“Feathers,” Altia said, stepping forward, “due to the fact that precious metals use a special weighing system called a ‘troy,’ where twelve ounces equals a pound. And seeing as how feathers are not a precious metal, they don’t use that kind of system. Therefore, feathers weigh more. Next question, lacky.” Altia smiled and waited.
With a scoff, he began his next question. “You should always keep this, no one else wants it,” Zharius said, the grin turning in to a devil of a smile. He felt confident in this one, the cocky bastard.
“Kaerius has issues with this. Your temper,” Estia said, hugging Kaerius. The man through his shoulder back, knocking the woman loose. “Next!” she called out, a little saddened by the man’s attitude.
The smile on the boy’s face disappeared, and with no emotion he said, “What can you never see, but is always in front of you?” No quick responses from the group this time. The smile returned, and the man began to polish his scythe.
“The future. The fates jest with you, boy, now move,” Cuvio said, beginning to move forward. He swiped his hand through Zharius as he moved forward. The man disappeared, and with that, the group continued on. Each member cautiously and without a sound checked their equipment and stock of items to see just how prepared they were for whatever they faced. Kaerius took the lead, and drew out his sword. On the move, he threw out his arm, and with it, the door that blocked their path. The door flew forwards in to the room ahead. A laugh could be heard from the room ahead.
“Hello!” Reinier called to the group, a broad smile on his face. He stood shirtless, with two sashes wrapped around his waist. One copper with the other underneath, black. The sashes reached inches above the ground, both of which were on his left side. His eyes had become a uniform violet with flairs of crimson around the corneas, instead of their normal right eye copper left eye green. His gauntlets, too, had changed and completely disappeared. In their place, one sterling bracelet wrapped around his right hand. Close to his wrist, the bracelet formed a “C” where the top of it curled once more, making a backwards “C” inside. The bracelet wrapped around his arm five times, and on the bottom, closer to his elbow, made the same figure, only backwards and under his arm. Most notably different, however, was the fact his wings had disappeared. And considering how much he used them, it surprised the group.
“You’re supposed to be dead, how…” Kaerius muttered, blankly staring upon a not-so-dead Reinier. He stood there, arms crossed, with most of his weight placed on his right side, causing him to lean that direction. “Did you find the sword…? How did you even know of this field? We didn’t solve the riddle of this place’s location until five minutes before departing…”
“I know things, and more importantly, people,” Reinier’s smile vanished as he uncross his arms and equalized his weight. “You all let me die. You knew that harlot entered the tournament, and yet you let her kill me. Why? Why would you let her do that?” His eyes narrowed, as he began to radiate a copper glow. He stomped upon the ground, causing a basketball sized sphere to pop up from the earth below. It hovered in front of him for mere moments before he shot out his fist, causing it to fly towards the group.
Cuvio threw himself in front of Kaerius, swinging his axe at the sphere. The sphere burst in to sand upon contact, instead of being sliced in to two pieces. The dust swirled around, before flying up in to the Axeman’s face, and in to every open orifice of his head. Before he could scream and grab his eyes from the itching pain of them being scratched by the sand, it had all vanished in to his body. He dropped his weapon, and fell to his knees, screaming violently. Before anyone could move or say anything, the screaming stopped and Cuvio fell to the ground.
Everyone turned away their heads from the sight, except Estia who continued to scream and look at the sight. Five spires had shot their way out of the back of his head, killing him almost immediately. Reinier let out a brutally chilling laugh, as he yelled, “See!? It sucks to die!” The laughing continued for awhile, before he composed himself once more. He let out a cough, and raised his open hand above his head. “For what we all came to see… Obsidian’s Kiss!” Sand rushed about and around Reinier’s body, concentrating itself in to the boy’s hand.
A prehistoric, completely earthen sword with no hilt appeared in the boy’s hand. The whole sword, made of rock, appeared to be something anyone could simply breathe on and it would shatter. Reinier lowered his sword and continued to look upon the group. “Don’t look too disappointed by the sword. Looks are deceiving, remember that old platitude? Common people. It’s a good thing the sword comes with good old Gaia’s Bracelet, huh?” Reinier lifted up his right arm, sword parallel with the earth, to show off the bracelet. He flexed, and the bracelet lit up, burning a bright copper and bringing the sword to life.
Copper flames flooded the room, doing no damage to anyone in the room, most likely due to their affiliation with the element. The door became sealed by shadowy earth, and seemed almost as if the door had never existed in the first place. The group shaded their eyes from the glowing intensity of Reinier’s glow, and within minutes, it all suddenly vanished. There stood Reinier, middle of the round room, with a seemingly new sword in his hand. He seemed almost God-like now, probably to his liking, with the glow encasing his body in an almost flame like manner. The sword seemed normal enough, albeit the menacing copperish violet gem, the colors waltzing and swimming around each other, in the middle of a diamond hilt on the sword. “It’s too gloomy down here. Let’s fight outside…” Reinier said to himself.
Three spires corkscrewed up and around the people in the room, with the exception of the recently deceased, and a storm of sand rushed up through the middle of said spires. In a blink of the eye, the sand fell to the ground, the players vanished. Above the dungeon, multiple spires appeared, and with a rush of sand, as did players. Reinier through his sword over his shoulders, and rolled up his arms over it as if it were a stick with two pails of water at either end. “Anytime now…” Reinier muttered, annoyance in his voice.
Kaerius raced forward, blade shown, his feet gliding across the sands. He swung viciously at Reinier, who simply dodged. Same position, just taking steps backwards, shifting his body down and around every which way to avoid the blade. The others followed suit, and began their long-ranged assault. Arrows of verdant grace soared through the air, narrowly missing the two men. Spires and sphere also soared through the air, and also narrowly missed their ally and foe.
Kaerius shifted his leg in the sand, causing three spires to shoot up towards the boy, one from his left, one from the center, and one from behind. Reinier shifted to the right, just as necessary for Kaerius to attack. He rushed in low, his sword in both hands and below his belt. He thrust the sword upwards toward Reinier’s chest, but received an unexpected surprise. The Blademaster flew backwards, landing on his back, after receiving a torrent of petrified feathers to the face. Or what felt like petrified feathers, at least.
Reinier’s arms were now at his sides, with the wing on his right side fully extended outwards to his side. The cracked rock on his chest revealed parts of the other wing, still folded inside. He recoiled his wing, having it wrap itself over his chest and around his side. The earth recalled itself and placed itself over his body, once more concealing his more avian side. Reinier knelt down to one knee, and outstretched his left arm. The tip of the bitter blade slid smoothly against his skin, from the fulcrum of his elbow to the edge of his wrist. The crimson rain poured from the wound, draining itself against the earth as Reinier flexed his hand in to a fist and out many times to get the blood flowing.
Looks of nausea flooded over the girls as they watched this, not knowing what was happening. Kaerius, however, did know this ritual. “Zharius, rise. Be stronger then before, now…” Reinier muttered, hobbling backwards to his feet. He leaned down on his sword, summoning up the earth to patch his wound. Kaerius shook his head in disbelief and disgust at the sight. Reinier began to fish around in his pockets, searching for a special item used for just his occasion.
“Why would you use such a spell against us? Waking someone from the Eternal Slumber is a heinous crime, and you know it!” Kaerius yelled, but Reinier continued to dig through his pockets as if this were a game. Well, as a figure of speaking of course. A yell of joy came from Reinier’s direction, as he held up a gemstone of sorts. Not terribly large by any means, no bigger then your thumb, with a certain sparkle that only a ruby could give. “What in the hell…?” Kaerius mumbled, watching Reinier toss the stone to the ground. Upon impact with the pool of his own blood, the stone began shaking violently, which in turn, caused the earth to shake as well.
In mere moments, the gem, as well as the blood, soaked deep in to the earth. Spikes of sapphire began to poke out of the ground, gradually inching their way out of the ground. Soon, Zharius had his head out of the ground, a hand fully out, and part of his spear out in his other hand. The boy managed to get both hands out of the earth, and ripped the rest of his body out of the ground. He cracked his neck to both sides, and gave a smile as he looked up to the sky. By this point, Reinier had closed his eyes, bringing the handle of his sword near his face, inches away with his curled fingers facing his nose. A perfect circle of concentrated energy swirled about the boy, flairs of the energy crackling and dancing around, not reaching higher then three inches from the ground. It swirled and twisted in a clockwise fashion, at bay for now at least.
Kaerius flew from his spot, the sands under his feet guiding him to his target. Sword drawn, he hoped to simply take down Reinier without casualty, and take Areia’s Blade. Unfortunately for Kaerius, things never go that smoothly. Kaerius could feel chains begin to wrap around his left leg, and almost simultaneously he felt his whole body jerk downwards, then upwards. From an upside down view, he could see Zhalius with his spear raised in the air, a chain snaking from its top. The Blademaster scoffed, and with a slice of his sword, he was freed. With a summersault in the air, he landed on his feet, a few yards away from the spear wielding fiend.
Almost on cue, arrows flew in to the Long Arms’ back, yet he seemed to feel nothing from the blows. He didn’t, as a matter of fact, due to them flying straight through his body. The arrows landed in the ground, holes still apparent in the Long Arms’ body. “What the…?” Zhalius muttered. “This is your idea of bringing me back? A body of mud? You stupid mother-!” Zhalius stopped mid-sentence, dropping his spear to the ground. Reinier had managed to stab through Zhalius without moving an inch. The sword had extended straight through Zhalius, knocking loose the ruby within his body.
“Good guinea pig. No more use for you, good-bye,” Reinier muttered, watching as Zhalius melted in to mud-water. He flicked his wrist, and the sword shot backwards in to its’ handle. “Doesn’t it remind you of a Chinese Yo-Yo? I love this thing. Anyways, Zhalius was simply to test out the usability of the Berserker Stones. Immune to physical harm, making the puppets valuable weapons. Now, where did we leave off… Oh right, killing ya’ll…” Reinier took one last look at his weapon, a cruel smile upon his face.
A single bladed sword, unlike the rest of the swords Reinier used, with teeth like blades hanging downwards from the sword’s blade. Each tooth gradually got larger as the sword progressed, with the last tooth being the longest and being sharpened on the outside as well. Up close, you would be able to see where the sword separates and is able to extend. Reinier flung the sword outwards with the target being Kaerius. The Blademaster did a back flip to avoid the blow, only to watch the sword curve outwards and still hit him, midair. The sword wrapped around the man, with luck what wrapped around him wasn’t the blade, and threw him down in to the ground.
Reinier jerked the sword backwards, causing the blade to retract, and with the blade came Kaerius. Arrows and rocks flew at the sword, trying to break it and free Kaerius, but the sword weaved in and out to dodge the girls’ attacks. When the Blademaster had reached a few inches away from Reinier, the boy shot his arm up and whipped the Blademaster with it. He threw his arm downwards, smashing Kaerius in to the ground while breaking some gravel. Reinier continued this process for quite some time, while he waited for the two girls to run over to try and save the man.
When the two finally got close enough, Reinier lazily lashed Kaerius in their direction, having the sword let go of the man. With a barrel roll in the air, Kaerius landed on the ground and rolled in front of the two girls. Estia laid down a suppressive fire of arrows upon Reinier, who simply raised a wall of rock to block the barrage, while Altia began to heal Kaerius. The Blademaster began to rise, and Estia finished off her assault. The arrows simply sunk in to the rock, and an instant later, shot outwards towards the group. Kaerius and Altia shot up walls just in time to block the attack, but Estia had never been the quickest draw in the west.
Five arrows flew through her chest, two through her neck, and one in her left cheek. She stumbled back before collapsing to the ground, landing on her back. The battle continued, even though the group lost another member. The two remaining people shot the wall forward, and to their surprise, Reinier appeared above them atop a swirling vortex of broken up rock. The wall simply broke apart and became apart of the vortex of rocks, as Reinier rode forward. An array of bullet sized rocks jettisoned from the dome towards the two, who began to duck and dodge away while making a retreat.
Lashes from Reiniers’ sword soon followed the barrage of rocks, his aim at this point: to take out the Wavemaster. The two had broken their formation, with Kaerius running around to Reiniers’ back, to try and get an attack or two in. Altia, in her attempts to block the attacks, held her wand high as she walked backwards, conjuring wall after wall to block the whip attacks and flying rocks.
Kaerius flew through the air, surfing upon a wave of sand, towards Reinier. The Heavy Blade lashed both arms out, and instantly the vortex of rocks stopped, and caved in. Reinier fell in to the dome of rocks, with Kaerius flying straight over the boy. The top of the dome closed over Reinier, much to the surprise of the two fighters. Kaerius stumbled over to Altia, and began to think of a next move. Time was short on this matter, of course, because within seconds Reinier shot out of the dome in a corkscrew fashion, and hovered above the two.
His sword had split in half and now resembled the bone structure of wings, only now with blades. The sand and rocks twisted and conversed around his body like a more solid string of lava in a lava lamp. Reinier shot down to the ground, with the sand and rocks shooting outwards, creating a crater around his body. He landed in a kneeling fashion, with his hands outstretched in an upside down V, his hands barely touching the ground. He leaped to his feet, shifting his arms in a circular motion to make two fists near his belt line. As he stood, the sand converged upon his body, creating armor which now covered his entire body, including his face.
The armor completely conformed to his body, adding no new details with the exception of his mask. The mask covered his entire face, showing only his eyes which now glowed a vibrant violet. Two horns now sleeked backwards from where the middle of the two lobes of his brain were. Reinier did a back flip from where he stood, crouching down a bit when he landed, and shot out his hands once more. With his arms in the same upside V shape, claws shot out from his finger tips, he shot his body forward towards Altia. He simply glided across the ground, almost as if he flew across the sands, his eyes set upon the Wavemistress.
He pulled his entire body back, ready to shoot his claws forward in to her neck. As he attack, a wall formed in front of him, his hand flew through the wall. His arm completely entered the wall, all the way up to the elbow, before he came to an abrupt halt of smashing in to the wall. Reinier cocked his head to the side, a smile forming under his mask at the sight.
There stood Leucosia, sword drawn and aimed towards the boy. He ripped out his arm, and without second notice, threw his body out towards the woman. Reinier threw his right claw through her heart, and upon contact, she burst in to sand. Reiniers’ eyes shot to the left, and there she stood once more. With a single bound, and a single swipe, he lunged at the woman once more. And once again, she burst in to sand. “I could smell your power three servers away, Reinier. There’s a Berserker Stone in you, isn’t there?” Reinier roared and stomped upon the ground, causing a boulder to shoot up from the earth. He threw his claw into the center of the rock, spun once in a three-sixty degree fashion, and threw the rock at the woman.
With a single swing of her sword, Leucosia split the rock in two, the rock fell to the ground on both sides of her. Reinier leaned forward, ready to attempt an attack once more, only to be met by Leucosia right in front of him. A gasp escaped his lips, just before her fist met his face. Reinier flew backwards, shards of his former mask flying forwards as he flew backwards, and landed on the ground with a thud. The impact of his land caused him to do a back flip, which he caught his bearings and landed on his feet. He sunk his right hand deep in to the ground, to come to a screeching halt.
Blood poured over the top of his face, trickling from his forehead down the right side of his face. His breathing had become labored, most likely due to the fact of the new weapon and the ill effects of the Berserker’s Stone taking effect now. By this time, Kaerius and Altia and rejoined the battle, and stood on either side of Leucosia. Reinier shook his head, causing what was left of his helmet to fall to the ground, and looked towards the group. He extended is arms out away from his body, creating a ninety-degree angle from his chest, closed his eyes, and tilted his head back.
A rush of energy, straight and pure from the earth itself, shot upwards, and began to radiate from Reiniers’ fists. The earth blackened around the boy, as the energy spilled upwards from the earth in to his hands. Reinier took to the sky, flying towards Altia once more. Leucosia met him mid air, sword aimed towards his jugular. Reinier dodged to the side, kicking her in the ribs. Using the force from his kick, he flew downwards towards the woman. Kaerius threw himself in to Altia, pushing her to the side, as he drew out his sword. He raised it above his head, ready to slash down upon Reinier, but instead received the blunt blow of his attack.
With a clang, a sword fell to the ground as Kaerius stood there with his mouth open and stuttering in pain. Words couldn’t escape his mouth, as he looked down to see Reiniers’ hand in his chest, gripped around his heart. From his chest, outwards, energy flowed through Kaerius, as he gradually turned more and more statuesque. Within seconds, the man had turned in to a statue from head to toe. Reinier lowered his hand, no longer glowing, as he looked over to two horrified women.
Reinier fell to one knee, grasping his side with his blackened right hand, as he gasped for breath. He struggled to keep his eyes open, but could barely even do that at this point. He looked up to see Leucosia standing over him, glaring downwards. A smile formed across his face, knowing full well he could do nothing at this point. He tried anyway, as he attempted to throw his left hand upwards at her face, an orb formed in his hands. He shot the orb, as he collapsed to his side. He lay there on his right side, thoughts of his past flowing in to his head.
Leucosia knelt down, her sword in one hand, the orb of energy in the other. “Be purified by Terra,” she muttered, forcing the orb of energy in to her sword. She threw the blade in to Reiniers’ side, waited a moment, then pulled out a bloodied sword. The blood, however, resembled tar more then anything else. Reinier began to cough, sand and rocks escaping his mouth, as he began to smile.
“I found the sword… it’s pretty… nifty…” He continued to cough, but attempted to chuckle at the same time. With one last groan, he let out a sigh and closed his eyes. Leucosia let out a gasp, as she reached down and applied pressure against the side of his neck, with two fingers. Her fingers pierced his skin, only to cut through crumbling rock. A gentle wind began to blow, with Reiniers’ remnants fluttering in to the wind.
Four items lay where the boy used to: The Berserker’s Stone, the Light Keystone, Areia’s Blade, and Taimat’s Dagger.