The Chronicles of a Scalebound Sage

Tensions were high as everyone stared each other down. The feeling of something about to happen, an explosion of motion, the chaotic clashing of bodies, the desperation of fighting for one’s life. Despite the chaos in the city it seemed so quiet in the alley as both sides were frozen in place. They all seemed to be waiting for some unseen force to break the tension and make the first move. 

Who moved first, what finally set off the chaos? No one knew; it all happened seemingly simultaneously. A spear flashed through the air and a sword moved to deflect. Someone jumped out of the way of a slash of frozen air. Water moved as straight as an arrow into the unprotected stomach of Hakan, piercing through him before he could react. A second shot was deflected by a skilled sword, saving the man from certain death. A dodge, a slash singing through the air, then blood in the alley. 

In mere moments Olaf was dead; Tyr's frozen sword stuck through his neck and his twin blades clattered to the ground. Hakan the spearman had lost a lot of blood from a Water Missile through the stomach and was slumped against the wall. Ingvar looked like he was about to run as he hid behind the ever-smiling Lief, whose features seemed to grow more uncanny as the fight went on. Lief and Svan’s swords were locked in a bind as the two men positioned themselves to overpower the other. 

“Yield, Lief, and we’ll let you guys go,” Svan stated. “We didn’t want this fight.”

“No, I don’t think I will,” Leif said as he seemed to gain strength and push Svan back. “Tyr dies.”

The man pressed the bind more, using only one hand which surprised everyone. Svan pulled himself away, positioning the blades to allow him to Flash Step back a few feet. Only for Leif to jump the distance in an instant, his sword covered in an inky blackness as he swung. A wave of darkness traced behind his strike which flew outward, scoring the walls of the alley and cutting through Svan’s chakra-infused blade as he tried to defend himself. 

The horizontal arch of shadows continued outward but Svan managed to dodge by bending backwards at the knees, placing a hand on the ground for a backflip. He kicked Lief in the jaw with the maneuver. Tyr and Tanisha only had moments to recognize and duck the thin arch of darkness magic before they were hit. Hakan wasn’t so lucky; the wave cut through him at the waist and he fell in half to the ground.

Tanisha recognized the magic type and knew who it was. They were dealing with Loki, her mother’s Right Hand. It wasn’t him in the flesh, but one of his shadow constructs which could take on the shape and appearance of others. The fact that one of them was here was not a good sign. 

Thyra’s wyvern familiar above and Loki’s shadow constructs below. They were being hunted by the Hands, but they weren’t after her; they wanted Tyr.

This wasn’t a time to be thinking about that. Tanisha shot her Water Missile at the construct to give Svan cover as he retreated without a weapon. The construct deflected the water with a swipe, despite the fact that the entire lower jaw was missing from where Svan’s kick landed. There was only black void in the place of the missing maw. Svan picked the twin swords off the ground from the deceased Olaf, just in time to defend himself from another attack. Tyr took the opportunity to use his speed and acrobatics to jump on the wall and flip over the construct with an in-air Flash Jump.

The construct pulled a second sword made from pure darkness to block a sword swipe aimed for its head. Tyr then jumped away, having successfully split its attention enough to allow Svan to break its defense with his twin shortswords. Tanisha saw an opening. They gave her a clear line of sight, and she released a Water Missile that struck the construct in the head. It fell to the ground and dissipated into boiling shadows. 

“Help, the Isi traitors are over here!” Ingvar screamed as he ran, throwing his sword to the ground.  “Help, help it is Tyr Isi! The heir of the traitorous house!” 

As he approached the exit to the alley a figure cut off his path. It was the large, angry form of a pissed off hydra; teeth bared and heads focused on the fleeing man. He could feel Tanisha’s hostility towards the man through the bond and knew this was no friend. Without hesitation he lifted his front claw and swiped, cutting the man to ribbons with a single attack.

“Bjorn!” Tanisha and Tyr both said in surprise.

Tanisha ran to Bjorn without hesitation. “We need to move, guys.”

“Right,” Tyr responded.

Tanisha and Tyr jumped onto the box seat while Svar held on to the side. They didn’t have long as there were Salstar knights and the prince’s soldiers moving in on horseback and on foot. Tanisha noted that there was a distinct lack of the Salstar’s drake riders, who all traveled on the insanely fast drakes. She smiled, knowing they probably couldn’t chase Bjorn given the fact all draconic creatures were afraid of him. She looked up and saw that there was no sign of Magnus, either. 

Bjorn took off running as soon as everyone was on board.

“We have to get back to the estate!” Tyr yelled. “Bjorn, turn right at the next street!”

“That shadow creature was a construct created by Loki, Ingrid's Right Hand,” Tanisha said. “I don’t think going to the estate will be a good idea, Tyr. He was going for you, they’re trying to kill all of the Isi.”

“So you think I should just abandon my family, run and hide like a coward?” Tyr screamed at her. “Look what we just did! I knew those people we just fought… They turned us against each other. Not to mention they…  they killed my grandfather.”

“I am not saying we run, I just don’t think we should rush in without knowing what’s going on,” Tanisha said. “They will have the estate locked down, we’ll be going into a trap. Thyra and Loki are there, no doubt, and we are just three people.”

“If you don’t want to go just let me off. I will go alone. It isn’t your fight after all, even if it is your former family.” Tyr clenched his fist. “No way in the Infernal Planes I am leaving, Tanisha.” He stood up, ready to jump off the speeding wagon. 

Tanisha grabbed his wrist hard enough to make him wince. “I’m not saying that, and don’t you fucking jump off this wagon and do something stupid and get yourself killed! Do you know a back way or something? We can’t go in the front.”

Tyr looked at her for a long moment then to Svan, who nodded. 

“There is a back way out of the estate; it’s hidden underneath it.” Tyr relented under Tanisha’s gaze. “We can probably get the wagon down there. I know of a hidden entrance not too far from here. I’m sure if there are any evacuees they’ll be using the escape tunnels in the dormitory and guest house.”  

“Everyone get ready to defend the wagon,” Svan interjected. “We have company.” 

Tanisha and Tyr turned around and saw four cavalrymen. They were Knights of Velheid and had the Salstar Domain crest on their breastplates. Each of the men had long lances poised which coursed with magical energy. Tanisha could tell they were wizards, using enchanted gear to provide magical effects. She aimed her Water Missile at the leading man, only for it to be completely negated by a shield that glowed as the water hit it. Leaving only superficial damage. 

Tyr and Svan held onto the sides of the wagon as the knights closed the remaining distance. The air got colder as they circulated chakra into their blades, deflecting the knight’s attacks as they aimed for the wheels of the carriage. Tanisha fired her Water Missile again, but was disappointed in the result. The knights merely raised their shields or were unaffected as their armor successfully protected them.

Tanisha reached her hand into the remaining small water orb. In a second the mana was absorbed back into her body; she figured if it didn’t work she should try something else. Right as she prepared herself one of the knights jumped from his horse onto the top of the wagon. He pulled out his sword, which caught fire as he coursed his magic into the runes. Tanisha acted immediately, putting her daggers into her storage necklace.

She jumped from the box seat onto the wagon roof along with the knight. She was sure to control her breathing and maya as she threw several punches, causing blasts of maya to shoot towards him. He slashed one of the maya waves, splitting the Infernal Energy, and blocked the others with his shield, which glowed brightly as the metal heated and creaked but held strong. 

The knight used Flash Step aided by his enchanted boots, and Tanisha had to weave out of the way of the first strike with his sword. It passed through the air where her head had been a moment prior. The heat from the flame around it kissed her skin but didn’t hurt thanks to her buffs, the Mana Armor and Maya Cloak. The wisps of blue-green maya grew more substantial, partially obscuring her form from her attacker. She moved to dodge the followup strike, only to realize too late that it was a feint and was bashed with the man's shield. 

Tanisha was thrown off-balance and tasted blood in her mouth as the man jabbed forward with his sword to impale her. She twisted her body in the air right as Bjorn abruptly jolted the wagon, one of his heads watching the battle between Tanisha and the knight. The knight lost balance and the sword scraped Tanisha’s scale armor along her side. The heat seared her skin even through her defenses and she had to sidestep a second attack, but the knight made a mistake while he was off-balance, leaving himself exposed.

He tried to slash her again, but she ducked under the blade and came back up at his side. Tanisha uppercutted the knight directly in the bevor of his armor underneath the chin. Maya exploded out from her with terrifying force, shattering the steel as the protection runes burned out, sending shrapnel inside the helmet with a sickening squelch as the man was lifted into the air and over the side of the wagon.

“You guys okay down there?” Tanisha asked.

“Could use some support,” Svan stated.

Tanisha pulled out her bardiche from her necklace inventory. She had far better control of her magic with it as a median than casting with the knives. They were decent wands thanks to their design, but she’d had the bardiche runes altered to fit her magic far better. A mage’s medium could change a lot about a spell, making them more potent, efficient or even change properties of any spell cast with them.

“I got you,” Tanisha said. “Just three more to go.”