Steven Burke - The Dark Tide

“You are going to have to do much better than that!” shot Xuzien at the hidden dark elves. He was eager to engage the enemy, however, he would be patient for the right opening.

“Bring it you ugly bastard” taunted Tanison from the shadows near the entrance to the cavern. She was inching her way slowly toward the goal, however, she could not pass up the chance to exchange pleasantries.

“As you wish” replied Xuzien with a deadly edge to his voice.

The walls came to life and encased the nine member team of Elilasnar. They were momentarily stunned by this attack; however, they did recover quickly. They started to burst forth from their earthen prison mere moments after being snared. Unfortunately they were not fast enough to avoid the magical attacks from the elven mages. Their numbers were quickly cut down to six. The atmosphere turned deadly as the two parties squared off.

“This is not going to end well for you at all…I have been watching your approach since Laikra. Do you honestly think I am not prepared for you?” Xuzien offered seriously. He was not a blood thirsty person by nature…as a matter of fact; he abhorred the loss of life. This was easily overcome with the knowledge of what these fiends had done to the giants and then to the people of Belva…the one place he was welcome and thought of as his home.

“You use a lot of words for someone who is a cruel joke of nature” retorted a dark elf heatedly. A moment later the tip of an elven sword emerged through the chest cavity of the one who had just spoke. Blood sprayed forth spectacularly and then the dead Elilasnar fell to the ground. There were elves behind them.

“Ilosiden vie galtroth!” shouted Darken as he swung his blade at the elves behind him. Tanison sprung from the shadows and severed the head off of the shoulders of one elf before being engaged.

The walls shook as the battle went to the next level. Magic was flying everywhere and the air was full chaotic shouts. There was no direction being given at this point. There was no room to maneuver and it made for a quick fight. Though there were small numbers, the action was intense. The blades of Master Aiden were a blur of death and destruction.

Blood splayed the walls, the ground, and the ceiling. After some more intense moments, each side took a moment to rest and regroup. The elves behind the dark elves had been decimated within minutes of the all-out fight. The dark elves only had three left…Darken, Tanison and the elf that had threatened his comrade with a dagger earlier in their journey. They were panting from the effort of the fight and the drain that their magic use had.

There were three elven mages, Xuzien, and Master Aiden left to protect the orb. They were not as tired, though that did not mean they were unaffected. As they waited for the fight to resume the air around them seemed to constrict. They sensed something different or some change. They did not have to wait long to know what their unease was about. Behind the dark elves appeared another ten of their brethren. They all took a deep breath and prepared to go out fighting.

“It’s time for you to leave” said one of the elves behind Aiden and Xuzien.

“What?” was all that Xuzien could utter. What was this elf talking about?

“The guardians need you still and you must leave now.” A portal of swirling mist appeared behind the group. Without delay, Aiden and Xuzien, a little more reluctantly, left. There was a faint popping noise and the mist dissipated.

“What a disappointment…I was hoping to cross blades with Aiden” spoke one of the newly arrived dark elves. A moment later he was struck with a deadly ice dart that protruded from his throat.

The battle recommenced and the three remaining elven mages summoned deadly creatures to aid them. An earthen Gollum and two wood sprites came into being. These magical creatures wreaked havoc while the elves moved in to put an end to anyone in their reach. Two of the elves went down after the fresh assault. The Gollum and one sprite vanished when their masters died. The remaining elf and sprite backed to the entrance of the cavern. The sprite then winked out of existence and the elf stood erect.

“What…you were expecting some epic speech or some statement that would be remembered by our peoples for generations to come…I do not think so!” laughed the last standing elf. The mage went transparent and then there was nothing but dirt, blood, and body parts everywhere. The tunnel had exploded and the dark elves were unprepared for all the unseen artifices that activated all at once.

After several moments the ground stopped shaking and the area outside the untouched cavern was silent. A dark elf emerged from the rubble and looked lucky to be alive. He took in the altered surroundings and did a quick assessment on any dangers that remained. After he determined that the worst was over he started to move around to see if anyone had survived. To save time, he reached out with his magic to see if there was another magical being present.

“I am here” the weak voice of Tanison was barely audible. She coughed and then went quiet.

“Where are you exactly?” asked Darken quickly.

“I am holding the door open for you as it were” she replied in a raspy voice. The chuckling that followed sounded full of fluid and sent the dark elf into a coughing fit.

Darken reached the entry to the Vida Cavern and saw what she had meant. She had apparently dashed for the entrance and used all of her considerable power to breach the barrier. She used her own body as a way to keep the crack open. She smiled weakly at her approaching friend. She held on long enough to say goodbye.

“This is not goodbye…you will be with the keeper soon and he will have use of you on the other side” Darken said. He was trying to sound confident; however, his voice trembled and broke as he looked at the broken form of Tanison.

“You know that I do not believe in love, so I will say this…we had some good times” she said in her imitation of a sultry voice. The light then left her eyes and her body went rigid. The barrier began to push on her body in an effort to close the breach.

“Yes we did” replied Darken quietly. He then used his power to widen the breach enough for him to crawl over his fallen lover. Once he was inside the cavern, the body of Tanison was severed in two by the magical wall.

As he approached the mound that held the orb he felt the resistance of an unseen force. It felt like a gigantic hand wrapping its fingers around him. He was then bodily lifted into the air slightly and all movement was restricted. Several fragments tore from the walls and flew at Darken with great accuracy. The blows did little more than irritate the already spent dark elf. He shrugged off the debris that clung to his face. After a brief moment of waiting, he had enough strength back to try to break free. He had no luck and remained where he was. He reached out as far as he could with a magical web in search of a life force to steal energy from.

He sensed that one of the elves was still breathing and still had energy to take. He sucked the life force right out of him and used the boost to break free. Without delay he grabbed the orb and the world around him stopped. It was as though time stood still. He stared into the swirling portents and was lost for quite some time before coming back to the reality of where he was.

He stretched forth his right hand that held the orb and he willed the orb to show him its power. Immediately the image of the guardian appeared before him. It looked like Adair knew something had gone horribly wrong and he also knew that he was being watched. He then snapped his head toward the view point that Darken was using to look at him. The dark elf could not help but laugh.