Steven Burke - The Dark Tide

The obsidian walls of Kana’s temple sanctuary seemed to absorb all light that touched its evil looking surface. The closer the lone figure came to the forbidding exterior, the more this unwanted guest felt the vibrations of the magic pulsating from the smooth exterior of the eerie complex the fallen guardian had created. It was difficult to avoid the evil feeling that this unholy place had. The solitary individual was cloaked in a robe that was as pure white as the snows in the harsh northlands. The sun shone a reddish color overhead as it began to wane. There were no clouds in the sky, yet the area around the temple was somehow dark and misty.

Milling around at the entrance to the dark monstrosity were two massive wolves that were clearly from the southlands. They both had black fur with fierce, deadly eyes that quickly focused on the stranger in white. They stopped in their tracks and began to slowly back towards the temple. The hair around their shoulders and all the way down their spines rose up as they began to growl menacingly at the mysterious visitor. After a few paces of retreat, they came in contact with pillars that were on either side of the entry way.

“Please tell your mistress that she has company…I do not relish being here, so if you would fetch here right now I would be very grateful” said the stranger from under his cowl. Brilliant blues eyes flashed with great intensity from under the cowl. His mere presence commanded respect…even from his enemies.

The dark beasts whimpered slightly as they turned tail and ran into the depths of the temple. Adair smiled slyly as he listened to the wolves howl in shock and anger as they searched out their master. As he peered into the black through the entry way he saw a flash of red light from within. Roars of pain echoed through the halls within and then there was silence. The ground shook with extreme intensity for a few moments and then all was still. A tall figure of a beautiful woman suddenly appeared right in front of Lord Adair. She had a fierce look on her face as she stared at her adversary. Once he was her master…now it was clear that she had a new one.

“So, what brings you to my new home Adair?” asked Kana haughtily. She sneered at the still cloaked figure of the guardian. She no longer felt the need to show any deference for the head of the guardian council. She was a ruler in her own right now and she had more power than the supposed all powerful master Adair knew. She was starting to feel that she could take him in a head to head competition now. Her power had grown with the aid of dark magic.

“I felt that it was time that we had a heart to heart” replied the guardian smoothly. He pulled back his hood to reveal his darkened visage. His white hair fell gently onto his shoulders and his goatee moved slightly as a gust of wind blew through the canyon floor. He had a cold, hard look on his face. He no longer held any hope of saving his oldest friend. She had chosen a path of darkness and he would have to deal with her with finality.

“So, old man, what is it that you want? I am rather busy unifying the peoples of Tuwa, so if you could get on with whatever it is you are here for that would be great” she spat acidly. Her face clearly showed that she no longer feared or respected her former master. What the guardian noticed was that she had considerable power emanating from her…something that was very disturbing to him. It had the distinct feel of the underworld.

“I see that you have gone to great lengths to break all the laws that govern magic…you carelessly use any power that suits your needs without regard for the consequences” Adair observed coolly. He noted that her significant power was more than merely breaking of sacred laws…the feel to it was other worldly. He suspected that she had made a pact with the keeper for the powers she now possessed.

“You always did fear power and those who have it. You indeed have reason to worry…I have become more powerful than you know.” She gave Adair a dismissive look as she started to turn away from him. She wanted to make it clear that she did not feel threatened and that she was in total control.

“I do not think that you are as powerful as you believe, but that is neither here nor there. I am here to discuss some important items of business and to fill you in on some losses that you may not yet know about.” He could tell that this caught her attention. I can feel her connection to the underworld…she is truly lost now. Why did she make a pact with the keeper?

“Losses…what are you talking about?” For the first time Kana had a look of mild concern on her face as she looked past Adair. What is he talking about now…I hope those brainless oafs have not messed up our latest plans!

“I mean the fact that Prekihar is no longer leading your foul demons from the north. Are you so out of touch that you have not realized that your minions have suffered yet another setback?” He looked at her meaningfully and did not hide his slight smile. He was enjoying this encounter.

“Show me Lachlan!” she shouted at the black walls. An image of the dark troops from the north appeared on the wall. They were disorganized and restless. The new leadership of Prekihar was not working out quite like she had hoped.

“They do not look too happy do they” chided Adair softly from behind the visibly shaking fallen guardian. Her body began to glow an intense red color. Waves of heats could be felt radiating off her. Her temper was always just under the surface and he knew that he could push her to the breaking point if he wanted to. In this case he needed to push her.

Kana turned around sharply and sneered nastily as she reared her right hand back. Black flames appeared in a spherical form encompassing her entire arm. As she thrust it forward at Adair she shrieked loudly. The ball of darkened fire hit the guardian square in the chest with tremendous force. For an instant he was covered in the black flames…then he simply disappeared. The flames vanished at the same moment.

“Where did you go oh mighty one…did my new powers frighten you?” Kana looked supremely unconcerned by the sudden disappearance of her mighty foe. She felt that she was completely safe in her new home and turned around to head back to her inner sanctum. Her new lair had a connection to the underworld and the temple itself provided her extra power. This gave her confidence that she could handle Adair.

There was a flash of brilliant light and a loud boom from the entry way. The shock wave from the sound blast knocked the unaware Kana to the floor. She hit the ground so hard that cracks appeared on the walls surrounding the entrance. Adair walked out of the bright light completely unscathed. He did not have a pleasant look on his face as he looked down at the prostrate figure of his former friend. His eyebrows were furrowed and his face did not hide his disappointment. He motioned with his left hand in an upward gesture and the body that lay before him lifted into the air and turned to look at him.

“I see that you have really gone down a path of no return…I am saddened by how far you have fallen Kana” Adair said quietly. His voice was firm when he spoke. His eyes were icy blue as he looked past the hovering figure of Kana. He applied pressure to her very essence which made her squirm.

“You know that you cannot kill me and I am too powerful for you to try and banish me like that fool Drogan. So, why don’t you be on your way and we can both get back to our charges” Kana said as strongly as she could. She was trying feverishly to break Adair’s hold on her. She had thought she would be able to stand up to him at this point and was not all that happy that she was unable to overcome his power. Even with her ability to draw additional power from her temple she was not able to overpower him.