James Somers - The rise of Lucin

The man did not look like a warrior. He was dressed in a tattered robe and his hair appeared gray. The man reminded Lucin of men of long ago; in particular of many prophets of Elithias he had killed over millennia. A staff was in the old man's hands and Lucin couldn't take his eyes off of him. Even from his great distance away, Lucin could see him raise the staff into the air and then bring the lower end to the ground again in a striking gesture. It was then that he saw the others.

Even with the eyes of his human host, Lucin could not have mistaken the beings that were appearing all across the ridge before the mountain. These beings were his former brothers, the Mithri-the mighty host of Elithias. Fear struck at Lucin's dark soul while he watched chariots of fire leaping forth from the mountain ridge as seemingly hundreds rode through the air descending toward the valley floor and the battle being fought there. The lightning began to fall, like fire from Mithrium, into Lucin's ground forces, especially the Agonotti. The lightning branched into death-filled fingers that destroyed the Agonotti forms with every touch.

This was it, thought Lucin. The Eternal One had tricked him into coming into this valley to destroy his army and cast him into the pit until the great Day of Judgment. Lucin panicked and ran for his life from the approaching horde of Mithri. Vock stepped into his path, holding him and asking, "My lord, where are you going?!"

"They're here, I must go!!"

"Who is here?!"

"Our brothers, from Mithrium! Don't you see?!" screamed Lucin with his finger pointing into the air toward Mt. Sayir.

But Vock did not. He said, "I see nothing!"

Lucin looked at Vock and then back to toward the mountain-the chariots were still coming.

"Stay if you like, but Elithias will not take me so easily!" shouted Lucin and he pulled away from Vock, running around the other side of the rebel landing zone in an arc that would ultimately bring him back toward the base of the mountain.

Vock followed the fleeing form of his master in bewilderment. Has he gone mad? Vock trained his sight back on the area that Lucin had been pointing to. His Agonotti were being impeded by the sudden ferocity of the weather. It was too coincidental. Lucin had to be right. Vock noticed an invisible wave that was sweeping into the valley from the western side, before the mountain. The human soldiers were collapsing and his Agonotti were bursting into their molecular forms and disappearing altogether, but he could not see any attackers. Vock turned to run as the invisible wave came closer affecting everything in its path. For a moment he thought, I can vaporize my form and escape, but a flash erupted in his path and for a fleeting fraction of a second Vock could see the terrible, bright form of one of his former Mithrial brothers in the way before him. The strike, invisible to all others, disintegrated his physical form completely and sent his dark soul to its imprisonment within the bottomless pit to await the final dreadful judgment of the last days.

TIET had almost reached the leader of the symbyte army. His blade had cut down many of Lucin's human slaves along the way and a few of the Agonotti as well. The Mithrial-man had taken a strange course though and he was now fleeing on foot away from his command position. Had the dark lord himself suddenly become a coward? Tiet might have entertained that thought for longer had he not seen where the Mithrial man's current trek was carrying him. The Equinox!!

Tiet's ship was lying askew across the valley floor nearly a half mile away from the main fighting and Lucin's black clad form was running right for it. Once there, he would find Mirah and the girl, Ramah, with Emil protecting them-Lucin would surely kill them all.

Tiet broke into a sprint, full of panic. He felt out of breath before he had taken five steps. The thought of losing his wife and the others gripped him in a strangling hold that both pushed him onward and sapped his last ounces of strength, all at once. Tiet evaded the rest of the fighting altogether, sensing a peace about his son that was uncommon-Kale was safe, but Mirah and those aboard the Equinox were not. He was pouring every last ounce of strength into his stride, but Lucin was so far ahead of him. Tiet's former injuries were sending out pain signals that he was trying to ignore, but his torso felt like it was on fire. He tapped his com-link located on the breast of his uniform trying to hail the ship. Static. Tiet kept pressing the com-link hoping to hear the beep that sounded when a connection was established. He had to warn them. He had to tell them that the Wicked one himself was coming.

EMIL was standing at the bridge window watching the battle raging in the valley a half mile away. He wanted desperately to be there fighting along side his father and Kale, his best friend. But the king's order was firm in his mind. He was charged with protecting Mirah and Ramah. There was no telling what would happen if he wasn't here to see to their safety.

The storm clouds hanging over the valley were obscuring the sunlight and making it difficult for him to make out what was going on. The laser trails from pulse weapon's fire was the most visible thing in the valley. A sense of foreboding suddenly invaded his consciousness, sending a chill over his body. The flashing of lightning revealed a dark figure approaching the ship-the sense of foreboding was forced out of Emil's mind by the threat of imminent danger. This was what he had been left at the ship for-he had sworn his life for the safety of the king's wife and for Ramah. He had a job to do.

Emil tapped the intercom button and said, "Doctor K'ore, someone is approaching the ship. I'm locking everything down as I head outside. Don't come out for any reason."

"I understand," said Mirah's voice over the speaker.

In the background Emil heard Ramah's voice saying, "Be careful, Emil!"

"Yes, Emil, please be careful," added Mirah.

"I'll do my best, ma'am," and he switched off the intercom.

LUCIN approached the heavily damaged vessel that housed the transgate technology he would use to escape the planet. He could see light coming through the cockpit windows twenty feet above him. The main hatch to the side of the cockpit was closed as well as the loading ramp entrance. Lucin removed a Barudii blade from the sheath on his back and ignited its molecular dispersion field, intending to cut through the hull if need be. Despite the storm noise and the sounds of battle in the valley behind him, he heard the whisper of something coming through the air at him.

Lucin dodged left of an incoming spicor disc and just managed to catch another already in flight with his ignited blade, nullifying the spicor's charge. He looked to the top of the bridge section of the ship and saw a dark-skinned youth leaping away from the hull surface toward him. The young man said nothing. He quickly linked two kemstick hilts, end to end, and ignited the weapons forming a staff.

"Step aside, boy. I don't have time to toy with you," threatened Lucin.

The young man remained silent, but he began to cautiously close the distance between them. Lucin struck at the boy furiously with his blade, using multiple strikes to try and penetrate his defense, but to no avail. The young man quickly mounted a counter-offensive with the dual blades of his kemstaff, incorporating complex strikes and spins, but he was unable to land the killer blow.

Lucin thought, I don't have time for this. He was waiting for just the right moment and then it came. There was a fraction of a second where the dual hilt became exposed and Lucin took quick advantage of it, striking the young man's weapon and nearly severing his left hand in the process. One of the hilts fell away in two pieces as Lucin simultaneously knocked the other out of his path of attack and brought a powerful kick to the boy's head. He reeled backwards, dropping the functioning kemstick, as he tried to keep from falling to the ground.