A Decaying World Chapter 22: The Asen Fall

And here's the final chapter for this year. Be aware, that this is more of a draft than any of the chapters before. I normally edit these before posting them, but there's not enough time left before my vacation. There's also going to be another short story today. Didn't want to post these all at once, but that's just how it happened.

 

Chapter 22: The Asen Fall

From atop the hill overlooking the Sanctuary, only a small fraction of Mimeidr could be seen. No tree in existence could ever have hope to challenge its splendor. Neither in a thousand years, nor in a billion. Its sprawling crown had loomed over Meceruun's soil long before life decided to crawl from the oceans. Its position had changed over the aeons, however, as was evident by the ruins crushed beneath its roots. They disturbed the tree's precarious balance and gave its form a crooked appearance. Not that anyone would have noticed from up close.

Pulsing light emanated from Mimeidr's bark, invisible to the naked eye. It traveled across the land to confront the approaching darkness. Yet halfway there, the power waned and fizzled out. The tree had simply exhausted too much of his power. And the longer it tried to hold oblivion at bay, the more of its leaves withered away.

Looking at the fields leading up to the tree revealed a more immediate threat, however. An army of darkelves had surged up from beneath. They were dressed for battle and armed to the teeth, with swords and spears and claws and flails. Similarly dressed lizards were scattered through their ranks, only made visible due to their impressive size of at least 8 feet.

A beast made of wood and earth, with white moss spread out like hair, clombered along behind the army. Its body consisted of two giant faces opposing each other, with noses long enough to impale a human from top to bottom. They had no mouths to speak of, as that area was connected to small, tendril-like arms holding onto giant spheres with eyeballs in their center. Yellow, pulsing veins covered their circumference like a net.

Corpses of their surface-dwelling brothers lay in the darkelves' wake. Most seemed to have died without being able to offer resistance. More of them were gathered in front of Mimeidr and preparing for battle, despite being severely outnumbered. A group of mages sat around the entrance to the sanctuary, with their fingers were interlocked and their eyes closed. Whatever they were planning could not yet be deduced.

The thunder of the army's footsteps suddenly came to a halt. Two pillars broke through the ground and a dome of darkness expanded from within. It remained for about five seconds before fading away, unveiling Ri'zzar's bandaged form.

Crimson light emanated from within the Splinter of Desolation and forced the army to back away, lest they be consumed by its power. Ri'zzar clenched his fist to dim its influence and peered at the elves gathered in front of Mimeidr. They talked to each other in hushed whispers and held their weapons at the ready, apparently realizing that the time of battle drew near.

“Where did these maggots come from?” said Ri'zzar into the void.

A darkelf dressed in obsidian armor squeezed himself through the ranks and stepped onto Ri'zzar's right, avoiding the Splinter.

“They must have sought shelter after seeing Golgotha rise again.”

Ri'zzar chuckled and the Splinter flashed. His voice echoed across the field like the laughter of a demon. Some of the elves backed away, looking at each other in fright.

“As if the crippled spirit of Mimeidr could save them.” He raised his left hand and stared at the fire burning within the Splinter. “I could put them out of their misery with only a thought. But I can't afford to waste the power that I need to destroy the tree.” He clenched his fist shut again and turned his head to look into the unseeing eyes of the army's commander. “Crush them and stop anyone who tries to enter the Sanctuary. I cannot afford to be disturbed.”

A wide smile crept onto the commander's face. “As you wish.” He drew his sword and raised it high. Darkness trailed behind. “They've driven us into the darkness to silence our faith. Yet we grew stronger, even when robbed of our sight. They had to sacrifice Elvone just to kept themselves afloat. But now the time of reckoning has come.” He swung his sword forward. “Kill every single one of them and the surface will be ours again!”

The bandages around Ri'zzar's mouth deformed into the hint of a vicious smile. Opening his hand once more transformed him into a flash of light that shot past the elves and penetrated the barrier erected around Mimeidr's Sanctuary. It took him only the fraction of a second, therefore preventing anyone from noticing his passing. The army now charging towards them was too much of a distraction anyway.

A Decaying World Chapter 21: The Voidwalker

And one more chapter of A Decaying World. Not much else to say, really. I hope I'll be able to release one more chapter before the year is over, as I'll be away on vacation shortly after christmas. No idea how long the next chapter is going to be, however, as it is a finale of sorts. Not quite as final as Chapter 12 might have seemed, though.

 

Chapter 21: The Voidwalker

The arbiters could have struck hard and fast, preventing their prey from gathering their thoughts. Instead, they fanned out, with Halath walking clockwise and Aquis the other way around. The earth gushed out behind the Arbiter of Nature and rose into the sky like a waterspout. Its surface was coated in barbs whose tips were secreting a green, slimy substance. Nauseating fumes ascended into the air wherever it hit the ground.

That barrier was all that would have been needed to prevent our heroes from escaping. But Aquis created yet another layer by transforming the earth beneath her feet into sludge. It corrugated long after the arbiter had passed, as if a billion worms were moving beneath its surface, desperately searching for something to devour.

Mordred spread her arms when Halath's barrier sealed itself and a myriad of wyrms shot into the sky. They danced around each other and merged into a blistering tempest of fire that rose far above the arena. When not a single body remained to be seen, a shockwave ripped it apart, enveloping the wall in a fiery net that no one could have passed without suffering life-threatening burns.

Maximilian watched all of this happen with trepidation, ready to unleash Elegnis' power at the first sign of an attack. “What now? Do we run or do we fight?”

“How could we fight someone who already defeated us not long ago?” said Feyadal. “But escape is no option. They'd simply create another barrier further away.”

“Not that it matters.” Alyssa followed Halath's every step with an arrow resting between the tip of her fingers. “Reaching Mimeidr before Ri'zzar is impossible without a portal.”

There has to be something we can do. Drake looked at the arbiters, as if hoping for a miracle. Yet all he saw was Mordred's haughty gaze, who was still waiting for the final touches of Halath's barrier at that point. Maybe turn powers against each other. And how would you possibly do that? Invite them to stand next to you and hope they attack without a thought? If you put it like that...

The vampire's gaze wandered over the billowing steam. It grew thicker when the slime came into contact with Aquis' mud, offering only rare glimpses of the arena's outer shell.

“Drake, any ideas?” Maximilian turned towards his friend, who showed no sign of having noticed his name being spoken. So he stepped closer and tried again. “Hello, are you listening?” When even that accomplished nothing, he raised his hand in annoyance.

“Ouch!” Drake screamed and rubbed the cheek Maximilian had struck. At that exact moment, his eyes opened wide, lit up with inspiration. While not of his own making, he remembered a method that could allow them to escape while also catching up to their enemy.

The vampire turned his head and flinched. Maximilian had almost slapped him again and only caught his hand inches from his face.

“What are you doing?”

“Just trying to get your attention.”

“You could have said something.”

“I did!”

“Oh … anyway, I think I might have found the perfect solution for our predicament.” Everyone's eyes focused on him while Mordred's firms ascended into the sky. “Remember our trip through the desert? When we helped the villagers by defeating that giant scorpion?”

“How could I forget jumping into the maw of a beast? What about it?”

“The creature came into this world by escaping the Void, which we then used as a shortcut into the swamp. That's how we could escape while also reaching Mimeidr in time!”

Maximilian nodded and a smile flashed over his lips, but his expression darkened immediately after. “Good idea, but how should we cross over when there's no tear in the fabric of reality?”

“I'm sure the Alp could help. But I haven't heard from him since he went missing.”

Alyssa joined them moments before Mordred's net closed off the arena. “What is this Void you're talking about?”

“It's a place for our souls to gather when we're asleep.”

“But you did enter with your physical bodies?” They nodded. “Then there's only one thing—”

“Are you done yet?” A wall of fire as wide as the chasm rushed towards them. Drake and Maximilian jumped into opposite directions while Alyssa propelled herself into the air. It would have been too soon to evade the attack entirely, but she managed to keep herself afloat by unleashing a short bust of air. Feyadal, however, could not get away. Claws created by the earth itself had latched onto his feet and were keeping him in place.

Halath smiled from beside her sisters. “One down, three to go.”

“No, not with such a halfhearted attempt.” Mordred spread her arms. A fiery bubble displaying the events beyond the fire came into focus.

Drake saw Feyadal's dilemma before hitting the ground and propelled himself backwards. The elf gasped and buckled over when the vampire's arm connected with his stomach. That's the only reason he didn't scream when his feet were wrenched loose at a painful angle.

“Are you okay?” A pointless question, as Feyadal could barely take a step without faltering. “Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you.”

“Better than turning into ash.” Kneeling down, he traced his fingers over his covered feet. He grimaced once, then raised himself into a standing position by reaching for Drake's offered arm. “They don't appear to be broken. But I won't be of much help.”

“No one will. You're all too pathetic to stand up to the likes of us!” Halath leapt from beneath the earth and pointed her palms forward. A myriad of barbs ejected themselves from beneath her dress, tearing it to shreds and revealing a wooden body underneath.

Drake stepped in front of Feyadal, dug his feet into the ground, and conjured a barrier. But the arbiter's attack was as powerful as the fist of a giant, easily pushing him backwards and into the elf. Feyadal pressed his hands into Drake's back, but without magic, there was nothing he could do.

The barrier shattered as they both toppled over. Yet Halath could not enjoy her victory. An arrow had pierced her face with perfect timing. Its force was powerful enough to push her skull upwards, almost severing the strands of flesh keeping her body connected to her head.

“Nice shot.” Drake scrambled to his feet and pulled Feyadal with him.

“Thank you. But it won't deter her for lo—”

Mordred's body wreathed in fire shot from the sky like a comet. The ground shattered upon impact, propelling Drake and Feyadal into Halath and Alyssa dangerously close to Aquis' barrier.

Huge bubbles rose from beneath the mud and splattered Alyssa's dress upon popping. A minor inconvenience compared to the foul-smelling odor assaulting her at the same time. It coiled itself around her brain and clogged up her cerebrum, slowing down her thought-processes. One could say she felt horribly drunk. A sensation entirely new to her.

She pressed her right hand onto her skull and toppled forward, constantly opening and closing her eyes. Blue and black shadows were moving in the distance, but she could neither make out what they were nor logically connect the dots.