The Andurin

In the dark of the night, I made my way through the maze within the Forest into the clearing of the gathering of the Kolga.

The protection arrays and security have been pretty dense. Slit throats, impalements and beheadings have been the retribution dished among the sentry. They were unsuspecting and unprepared but nevertheless deserving of their fate.

I have come to warn, to repay, to kill and to instill fear into these men.

No, not to me. They are not men but a curse and a plague.

Making my way through the jungle I found myself slaying 30 to 40 men. A couple of Ragnar beasts with their riders and guards were particularly troublesome. Nevertheless, no screams nor distress signals, nor glowing crystals occurred during the carnage.

If I say so myself, one of my finest hours. Best work ever done for a former Augir. Precise, cold and with bated breath just as I like my servings of comeuppance.

Crossing the ravine in one swift motion to reach the clearing where the gathering was occurring is no mere feat. Few masters could do the crossing without alerting the surrounding watch towers.

As I stepped just outside the outermost part of the clearing I could see the main altar and the surrounding members of the Eternal Moon. They were hundreds of them and as expected many of them high ranking, easily noticeable by their dark silvery robes.

The High Priest adorned with scarlet gold attire was already leading the procession to the altar. The remaining members formed in a circle and within the circle they were forming the sigil that surrounded the altar with their orgon crystals lightning up the place.

The chanting of the ancient tongues was quite evident during the proceedings, which one of the tongues being used, I had no idea.

I never learned any other ancient tongue outside of the Andurian dialect and even then only enough to get through what I needed. My friend and teacher, Burin, will have a field day saying how inadequate for an individual of my standing to be so unrefined.

“An incredibly skilled butcher.” He would say.

Perhaps I am a killer, a tool for slaughter but even if I am those things and more, I am sure of one thing above all others:

I am retribution. I am requital and I am wrath.

As I stood there watching the reverie of the congregated through the procession I saw a delicately dressed maiden being lead to the altar amidst the chanting. Slowly, at a pace following the beats of a drum. In other words, following the cacophony of the chants. One chant, nonetheless, it felt like the sound of many voices.

The orgon and the sigil combining with the inner core of the participants, I suppose.

Chalk up one more for Burin and me being uncultured in the ways of the Will.

I can only laugh at myself.

I must say, the girl was beautiful even if only having her facial features visible, so much so that it was enchanting, even to me. And to my credit, I can say for certain that I have never cared for such things before.

Sad thing is, it was obvious she would be the sacrifice for the night. At least she still had the pathway and the many stairs to go before she reached the altar where the High Priest had arrived previously.

“Make way, make way.” Shouted the leader of the pack that lead the girl.

As I heard the common tongue of the old empire being hollered and the crowd of onlookers parted to the sides so they could pass, I noticed the unexplainable.

Through the hundreds of people gathered, the girl glanced my way. It was just for a moment but we crossed eyes. She noticed me. For a split second but there was a convergence of resonance.

I knew it, I felt it.

I was in trouble. I needed to make a swift decision.

Either attack the High Priest and die with him in a suicide charge or take the girl out and try to hastily make my escape. Whatever was going to happen it would take but a few breaths to send the entire place into mayhem.

The one great thing of truly mass secret gatherings is that many people rarely knew who was with whom or who was who. After all, you are not supposed to be here uninvited.

Almost none could pull off what I had done. This may be the one time this situation might help me somewhat.

Already hiding my alertness, my hands were inconspicuously on the handle of my blades under my fake dark silver robes.

Holding my peace, I waited for the girl to signal her guards about me. Since she was the closest one to me, I have decided that to tamper with the ritual, this way would be the best course of action albeit not the one that I intended.

With bitterness in my heart I waited.

One breath.

Two Breaths.

Three breaths.

As I waited for one more breath before dashing in for a kill, the girl fell to the ground.

Halting the procession but not the chanting, one of the guards helped her stand up again. And as she stood up again she glanced at me again but there was no resonance this time.

A master’s vision is always abnormal but mine is specially so due to my training and domain of arcane arts into very peculiar fields. And with it I noticed it, I saw her blue eyes vividly but the only thing I could see were the eyes that I have seen way too many times during my Augir days.

The eyes of someone pleading for help.

Who was she? How can she resonate a convergence and everybody else is none the wiser but me?

Pure coincidence matched with my plan with this ceremony. All I wanted was to disrupt a High Priest ritual of the High Chamber. I didn’t know today was a very special offering on the High Moon day.

I have always been daring, stupidly so at times but this one felt as that I may be chewing on a bit too much.

By the Maker’s will what have I gotten myself into?

My mind went into overdrive and I quickly devised a modified version of my original plan based on my intuition and foresight. Albeit limited as it may be.

Again, Burin would laugh hysterically at my predicament.

I made my way through the circled sigil into the second level of the formation by bribing exorbitant amounts of orgon crystals. The excuse of gaining a greater blessing by being closer to the resonance of souls is always useful in these endeavors.

Although after tonight, this method will never work again.

My temporal storage ring was almost depleted except for the ones I needed for the mission.

And to be honest, chanting Malgrunian tongue to preserve my cover that I had just barely heard in passing while being here was extremely taxing for various reasons.

Keeping the façade was the hardest thing I had ever done. Thankfully the orgon crystals I held were making things bearable.

It must be said that a forest clearing filled with people on a High Moon as a backdrop with a high steps altar with orgon crystals resonating is always an imposing sight. Conversely, ours will never be quite like this, I wonder if some of this can be applied to our practices.

Very hard to know, sometimes just because you could does not mean that you should.

I decided to focus on the task at hand. The chants were ongoing, increasing in cadence as the woman climbed the stairs.

“Fellow brethren now we must give our gratitude, allegiance and converge with the great spirits of Malgrun.” The High Priest resounded over the crowd’s voices as he spoke in the common tongue.

He said other things in the Malgrunian tongue but as I was only repeating the chant, I hardly could make sense of any of it.

My hands were firmly on my blades as I watched the High Priest place the woman on top of the altar face up. Slowly glowing orgon crystal stones began to flicker. Everybody could sense the increase in the energy resonance around the clearing.

The High Priest continued his babbling or whatever he was saying.

I griped the handles of my dual blades and prepared mentally to dash at the altar in three breaths for a suicide sprint at the priest and the girl. Kill the priest, kill the girl. Reverse the scales.

They will not succeed in whatever they were planning, that was all that I was thinking. Even unto death.

Ten breaths were the distance needed to reach the High Priest but there were guards around the altar. So I made a straight line cutting at the knees or the groins of the Malgrunian adepts as I headed towards the steps. About twenty of them where in front of me.

First breath. A scream and an adept fell.

Second breath. An adept reacted and turned to face me. He fell as my blade cut his groin. Some adepts ran away from the screams.

Third breaths. Three more Malgrunian worshipers fell by razor thin scratches on their body. My blades glowed like blue fire in the night. The glow was visible, I was exposed.

Ten more worshippers and I would reach the guards; the High Priest cannot stop the ritual now. This is the best chance.

Kill or be killed.

Fourth breath. The Malgrunian adepts realizing what was happening maintained the formation but several of them stepped out of it. They started to come after me.

The reconfiguration of the sigil made the energy resonance dimmer.

The High Priests will need more time to kill the girl. I had many more pursuers on my tail from many directions. Dozens against one.

Problematic, yes very problematic. Yet doable, within the range of my abilities but definitely deadly.

Fifth breath. Lightning hits, it crashes like a thunderstorm, hundreds upon hundreds of rays and thunder but none touch the ground inside the clearing.

Sixth breath. Trees are torn asunder, beasts scream in terror as lightning continues to strike and the earth rumbles. Outside the clearing fire begins to rage. The continuous strikes make a dome like crystalline structure visible to the naked eye.

Seventh breath. The majority of my pursuers hurriedly dispersed somewhere, only a few continued to chase. I hastened my killing, finally reaching the top stairs of the Altar. I must face the guards. Nine are visible, but there may be some hidden ones.

Eight breath. I clash with two guards as I throw my two blades at one, he deflects one but the other grazes him by a hair on the neck. He drops, the blue glow of the blade is reflected in his neck wound. I crash into the second guard with full momentum and crush his throat.

The High Priest reacts finally waving his hand and ten more guards appear from under the altar.

This was trouble. Too much trouble

“Let’s dine in the void for an eternity High Priest.” I shouted as I charged towards him.

Ninth breath. My blades return to me floating behind me and into my hands. I prepared to get crushed by the seven incoming guards that were trying to surround me. Still, I had a surprise for them.

The crystalline dome cracks.

Thunder resounds inside the clearing. Fear is seen in the faces of the worshippers; the sigil formation is disrupted. From the visible rift on top of the protective dome a ray of pure white light descends upon the altar, right where the High Priest of Malgrun was standing.

Tenth breath. The clash between the light and the High Priest was so strong that the guards were sent flying off the top of the altar. The force of my forward momentum prevented me from tumbling off and losing balance, I hanged on and steadied myself keeping my bearings.

My ears were buzzing.

Eleventh breath. The clash of light dissipates revealing a man clad in full armor emitting a golden hue. Reddish and purple energy flow from the High Priest who had materialized a staff.

At least that was what seemed to me, the phenomenon was inexplicable to my knowledge. The armored man bares down on the staff with a sword with the same golden hue.

Twelfth breath. I decided to rush towards the altar avoiding the clash of the hooded priest and the armored knight, retrieve the sacrificial girl and make a quick departure now that the dome protection is cracked.

I reached the altar and with the infusion of a concoction of my friend Burin, the magical trappings were dissolved. I had intended to use the solution on the High Priest but this outcome can be considered optimal.

They only problem was that her bosom was laid bare. Chalk up one for unintended hero perks. Or maybe not.

In my defense I, Or, Augir of the Four Winds am no virgin but also not a seducer.

The battle raged on, the High Priest and the knight were going for the kill on each exchange. It was a glorious sight; the half-naked girl was also transfixed on the battle. Always a fascinating sight.

“Cover yourself!” I said to the girl as I hurriedly used the tablecloth on the altar as a momentary substitute. The blue eyed beauty readily agreed.

By the Twentieth breath, the guards had all started coming back up the altar. I decided to dance with them, after all, the altar could not withstand another clash of similar proportions.

It was time to cleanse the rats.

The guards threw mist bombs to obfuscate the surroundings. Sadly, for them, their opponent was me. Without the protection of the High Priest his minions died like flies under the edge of my blades.

“Watch out!” Screamed the sacrificial girl warning the knight of a very dangerous magic attack.

The girl hid behind the knight in a corner of the altar’s base.

The knight roared creating an area barrier that dissipated the energy from the attack. The knight was on the losing end of the shuffle. The girl’s presence hindered him from exerting a full display of his power.

“The protection of the weak is the realm of the truly powerful or the truly foolish.” I said.

Most of us are not legendary heroes after all.

At this time, I’m thinking that he is a very powerful and foolish knight. However, watching Malgrunians get away with their schemes never sat right with me. Therefore, I decided to tag team the High Priest and finish the duel.

After disposing of the Malgrunian nuisances I immediately stood behind the High Priest, blades shining and at the ready.

“I, Zoer will not be played by ignorant fools!” the Priest roared.

Breaking his staff an enormous amount of energy was being gathered to the altar and the nearby area.

“Mana? Will? Life force?” I whispered

“More, maybe all of it.” Responded the knight as he adjusted his sword grip and helmet for a charge.

I did likewise and prepared for a full frontal dual attack with my blades shimmering in blue with all the power I could muster into them.

Whatever it was, a self-destruction spell, a massive energy black hole or a summon of some kind it didn’t matter. This was at the heart of the Eternal Moon Kingdom, their home turf.

The dome protection was gone, soon Malgrunian High Chamber members would come. If we don’t stop it, the girl dies. It was obvious to me that she was the crucial element.

We were two, a knight and an Aguir Battlemaster, so finesse was out of the question and not much of a chance of anything other than to overpower the strange convergence. If the girl is as important as she seems, our energy blasts will not harm her.

At least it will not harm her much, I think.

“You cannot stop this!” Zoer said with a devilish grin as he forcefully expanded the energy in a chain reaction through a blood hand sigil.

The armor and the sword of the knight glowed their golden hue brightly, my blades and my hidden tattoos glowed fiery blue. We launched ourselves into the expansive energy area targeting the High Priest. The three energies clashed.

BOOOM!!!

The thunderous wave reverberated around the clearing like the screams of many beasts.

The altar was eviscerated, the surrounded area marked with a ring of fire three furlongs wide, everything within it burned or charred.

The explosion scared and scarred the worshippers and all of them ran into the forest, even if it meant being eaten by beasts. Very few Malgrunians were watching from a far, behind bushes and trees.

My right handed blade was stuck into Zoer’s throat but he still refused to die. The blue glow of my beloved weapon was gone. The knight’s sword had lost its glow and his armor was slightly burned. I guess he took the brunt of the energy blast.

“Augirian armor, huh? The knight asked as he took off his helmet. The beautifully done metalwork was slightly dented.

“I guess it’s obvious since my robes went up in fumes.” I said while smiling and looking over my revealed armor suit’s impeccable appearance.

“You have grown up well Urai.” I added as I took off my alchemical mask from my face.

“Or! You are alive! For the love of Gurnir!?!” Urai said visibly shocked.

I guess transforming one’s face from an old man to a dead person can do that to some people. Nonetheless, Urai was still his brown eyed handsome self, just older.

“Yes, a night of many surprises.” I responded glancing over to confirm my other suspicion.

The beautiful little lady was perfectly fine after the burning blast. But I must say she’s a perfectly developed woman.

Hero Perk Number Two. Perfectly fine, absolutely naked.

Always a fascinating sight.

“Young lady, you’ll be coming with me.” I said looking at the female.

“You cannot do that; I came here to take her to her master. Who else you think can create such a blistering spectacle without harming us?” Angrily retorted Urai.

“Well, why isn’t he or one of them here but you?!” I asked

Urai was silent, almost like he couldn’t or wouldn’t say.

“Look your armor needs repair and you are clearly injured. If you want to leave in one piece with the girl, you are going to need me. Besides, you owe me a blade for MY kill.” I explained while pointing at Zoer.

He was calcifying at rapid speed into a heavenstone. Maybe it was due to the convergences of energies and he had no protection. I didn’t think Zoer expected a two versus one with opponents wearing legendary level armor.

Who would be insane enough to do a single unit surprise attack on a full moon gathering after all?

In short my blade was lost. It had no more power as it was being absorbed and I was unwilling to pull it out while the heavenstone was forming.

“We have a few more breaths before they come you know.” I said with finality.

Urai conceded begrudgingly. He and the girl came close and held my hands.

In an instant, we disappeared from the spot as if we were never there.

My blade remained stuck in the neck of Zoer, the High Priest of Malgrun, with a headstone that read the following:

-Word for word, Deed for deed, Blood for blood-

A killer had desecrated a holy site, played the role of executioner and foiled their plans. This was the beginning of heroes, villains, bards, courtesans, politicians and warmongers. The era of many sorrows.

The night of the Wailing Blade.