Steven Burke - The Dark Tide

As the vile water lord swam back and forth behind his demons, a lone figure detached from the shadows of the shore. From the vast distance where Lord Nicor was, it was not clear who or what the thing was. The result of this blatant indifference would cost Kana’s minions significantly in the end. The unknown individual walked right to the edge of the water and stooped down with one hand flat against the cool surface. After several moments, the person stood erect and stared out into the thick wall of mist. Shaking its head slowly, it turned around and returned to the shadows from whence it had come.

Blissfully ignorant of what had just occurred at the shoreline, Lord Nicor unleashed his water demons. A wave exploded into the air some fifty feet high and immediately rushed forward toward where the figure had been. The wall of water was some three miles wide and had the force of a tidal wave that had started miles further out than this one had. The wave moved swiftly and unimpeded until it hit an invisible barrier. The water rushed up the unseen barrier until its energy was spent. The demons along with the water they had gathered together fell back into the depths of Lachlan. Lord Nicor rushed to the scene in a blind fury.

“What magic is this?” bellowed the water lord at the barrier. He frantically searched for a way to circumvent this obviously powerful magical wall. His temper was getting the better of him already and the fight had just begun…or at least they had tried to start.

“I am sorry Nicor…you see, I prefer to remain dry this fine morning” replied a deep clear voice from nowhere in particular. There was an ominous quality to the voice.

“I will give you dry… I know you are here you white haired, interfering…” blasted Nicor as he raised high out of the waters. He took on the form of a giant squid as he began to swat the air around him before stopping suddenly at the sight of his query. So, the guardian decided that I am too powerful for his lesser counterparts to handle.

“I am here to show my friends what I require them to do to your scattered army. No longer will the guardians tolerate your kind to come from the underworld. Prepare to return to that gulf of misery and woe that you sprung from.” The guardian took on a solid form some fifty feet in the air right in from of the giant squid. His eyes had a steely look in them and as he made a pushing motion with both hands in the direction of the water demon, the darkening skies lit up with purple, gold, and white lightning.

“You cannot hurt me…my powers have almost fully recovered. Besides, you do not have it in you to kill anything!” After shouting this rather weak insult at the guardian, the water demon turned into his usual demonic form before the effects of Lord Adair’s attack were felt.

There was a blinding flash of light as the lightning that had been gathering in the clouds converged on that water demon. A gust of wind was the result of the guardian’s pushing motion. The wind wrapped itself around Nicor and held him fast. Before the demon could do anything to counter the attacks, Adair launched a combination of elemental projectiles at him. A ball comprised of earth, wind, water, and fire consumed the struggling underworld demon. As the ball of elements swirled, lightning continued with increasing ferocity to slam into the now helpless axis leader.

“You cannot kill me! You can destroy this body but not my soul! If you think that by killing me that you will stop this war then you are sadly mistaken. Kana is more powerful than you know!” The water demon turned slightly to the waters behind him and shouted, “Minions, attack!” The barrier had fallen during the brief battle in the air.

“We will deal with your friends…unfortunately you will not be around to see the battle. By the way, you have no idea how powerful I am or what I am willing to do to stop you and Kana. The time for banishment or imprisonment is past. I have learned from my past…in this war there are no prisoners!” With that ominous declaration the guardian slammed his hands together. The ball encircling the water demon collapsed until there was nothing left. There was an ear splitting cracking noise as Lord Nicor was simply crushed out of existence. A black horizontal shock wave emanated out from where the water demon had been.

The guardian had always erred on the side of caution when it came to dealing with enemies. He understood that there was good in everyone, no matter how buried that goodness may be. During this latest war he had learned a new truth and that is in order to save thousands, millions even, he would have to obliterate some creatures entirely. That is what he had done here to the water demon Nicor. He had not only killed the vile beast and sent him back to the underworld, but he had also cursed his soul. He made it impossible to again gain a physical body. So, in a way he had reached a compromise with himself. He did not destroy the demonic soul; he simply banished it in a way that would keep him out of the world of the living as long as the keeper stayed in the underworld.

The guardian appeared right next to Lord Neb with an unheard pop. A fine silvery mist clung to the head guardian as though it was trying to calm his master. Lord Adair had a grim look of determination as he stood next to his friend. “I will leave the rest of this mess for you to clean up. I really need to make some others visits if we want to truly be prepared for the dark fiends making their way to central Tuwa.” He sounded very distracted as he spoke and did not stick around for a reply from the water elemental. Neb wanted to ask more about this dark threat, but he knew that his master would explain when the time was right.

“Good luck old friend.” Lord Neb said this to the vacant spot where Lord Adair had just been. He turned his attention to the renewed assault from the pestilential water demons. The difference now was in his approach to dealing with the demons. Now that the accursed Nicor was gone he could be more aggressive in dealing with these vile beasts. He liked it when he was able to use unrestrained creativity.

The water elemental spread his feet apart slightly as he squared to face the hordes making their way to the shallows. With his arms he made an exaggerated scooping gesture. As he did this, a gigantic water orb rose from the surface of Lachlan dripping menacingly. As the object climbed into the darkened sky above, flashes of light appeared to be hitting the surface of the watery ball. In fact, the water demons were being sucked into Neb’s creation against their will. After a few moments of this most unusual display, the demons were all trapped within the liquefied cage. As if on cue, Lady Necia appeared next to Neb with loud booms.

“So, is it time to do away with our unwanted guests?” queried the fire elemental dryly. Her dry sense of humor was thick and was a good sign that she was getting on board with what must be done. Neb gave her wise companion a sideways glance with an arched eyebrow. She smiled wryly as she waited for Neb’s reply. She was trying to bridge the natural gap between them.

“Ever the patient one…you are right though. It is high time we rid Tuwa of these fiends. I will let you do the honors then.” He in turned looked sideways at his fiery companion, though he did not smile. It took a great deal to make him smile these days though this new version of Necia almost cracked his stoic face. He was becoming grimmer with each passing day of this violent conflict and felt that at some level he would never be quite the same.

“Stand back…I do not want you to evaporate or anything.” Necia burst into flames and rose into the air high above her fellow guardian. She continued ascended into the air slowly as she prepared to attack. He transformed into the fiery element and began to swirl with increasing speed.