Peter Koevari - Prophecies Awakening

Kassina growled and her face contorted as her swords were met with the determined queen’s defence. She spat through the right eyehole of Andrielle’s helm. The queen groaned as she stepped backwards and shook her head in confusion, her vision partly blurred. Kassina pushed her to the ground, where her body landed on top of Faowind’s cooled corpse. The dark sorceress laughed wickedly as she raised her sword.

“Say goodnight, great Queen, as I put out your lights forever and send you to the underworld!” screamed Kassina.

Andrielle scrambled to stroke a shining jewel on her armour that emitted a bright blue light. Kassina watched as Andrielle’s armour moulded into a solid mass, allowing only a tiny slit for her to breathe through.

Kassina snarled as she brought her face to the queen's helm and screamed, “Damn you!”

Helenia cried out as a vampire’s blade found her shoulder. She fell to her knees and groaned with pain as the vampire started to swing his sword to slice through her neck. Vartan screamed as he ran between them and met the sword with his own, then punched the vampire hard in the face. The sorceress turned away from the immobile Elven Queen, and watched as Vartan dispatched the last two vampire assassins with relative ease. Their bodies fell apart before her eyes.

Kassina spread her legs out to a wide stance and pointed a sword at the boy of prophecy. “It's time to end this. Vartan, come and fight me… Maybe you will do a better job than your useless mother. What was her name? Oh yes, I remember your father’s blood curdling cries… Victoria."

Be careful, Vartan, said Keturah. She is hiding something, but I can't read her… she has some form of protection.

He turned to stare Kassina down, his body pulsating from the adrenaline and anger built up inside of him. He gritted his teeth as he cried, "Don't you dare say her name!"

Vartan charged at the sorceress with confidence; each swing of his sword connected powerfully. Sparks flew into the air between them as they focused on nothing other than each other. The battle was fought with such ferocity and speed that it was difficult to tell what blows had landed. With a scream, Vartan brought his sword down with fury toward the top of her head.

Kassina crossed her swords high to catch his. He grunted with frustration as he applied all of his might to push his sword downward. Beads of sweat poured down his brow. Kassina groaned as she forced his sword higher into the air.

Vartan yelled in her face, “You heartless wench, it is you who will die here tonight!”

Vartan, listen to me! pleaded Keturah. Something is wrong — get away from her as fast as you can!

I can handle this. She will die at my hand! responded Vartan.

“That may be so…” said Kassina, grunting as she forced his sword even higher, their faces only an inch away from each other. Vartan could feel her rich breath on his skin. Her eyes glowed red momentarily, then she stuck her slithery tongue out and licked her lips seductively.

“If only you had made the right choice, Vartan, and joined us, everything would have been different. We could have ruled the world together under the Blood Red Moon. You could have had everything, you could have even had… me,” she said.

Vartan spat in her face and kneed her hard in the ribs. Her hold wavered momentarily, and then she pushed his sword back up with all of her strength. Her suggestive smile twisted into a contortion of hate.

“That was the wrong choice-you fool!”

She grinned at Vartan with a knowing smile, and cast a spell.

“ Praefocere limus venenatus defundatur. ”

A slimy green liquid burst from her mouth and landed on Vartan’s face. He struggled as best as he could but was unable to stop the liquid from shooting up his nose, sliding down his throat and infecting his body. The tip of his sword dropped to the ground and he felt dizzy. Vartan weakly picked up his sword to defend himself before falling onto the ground. His body felt so heavy that he could not move a single muscle. Kassina laughed loudly as she sheathed her swords and raised her right hand in the air, letting off tiny sparks before sending a few bolts of lightning into the sky.

“Silly boy! Did you really think that I would leave myself so drained that I could not cast spells of the lowest order?” said Kassina. “Tricking all of you to get you alone was the easy part, but this will be the beginning of Marithia's end. With your death, your precious prophecy, that all your hopes rest on, dies with you and for all who resist us.”

The sorceress closed in on his fallen body. Vartan could only watch as her hair blew in the smoky wind; she tucked her hair behind her ears. His eyes were heavy and increasingly difficult to open. Vartan blinked as he hazily watched Kassina raise a shiny dagger into the air, running her tongue along the blade, and felt the burning white pain as she plunged it into his stomach. His blood splattered on her face, and he could only watch as she licked it off her lips.

Again he felt the pain as she stabbed him through the ribs. His voice was heard from afar as he screamed out in agony and spat out steaming hot blood. Kassina lay down on top of his body, digging the dagger in deeper. She smiled as she slurped the blood off his lips and swallowed it. He could feel her hot breath on his neck as she slid her tongue along it before bringing her face back up to his.

“You have the sweetest blood I have ever tasted. I will take great pleasure in draining the rest of your body and turning you into my personal slave,” said Kassina with a wicked smile. “I know of your powers, but as a vampire you will be immortal, and I have methods of making you obey me so you will never take your own life. Your prophecy will never be fulfilled, and this world is ours.”

Karven saw through the swarm of enemies around him and caught sight of the fallen boy of prophecy. The dragon king roared and his charge shook the ground as he closed in on their position. "No! Vartan! This cannot be!"

Vartan’s eyes became heavier as he choked on his own blood, his pain turning to a dull ache. Kassina’s eyes suddenly widened and she cried out in agony. Her body slowly began to disintegrate on top of him.

Vartan heard Kassina’s voice whisper, “Who?”

As the dark sorceress’s body turned into dust, Vartan saw Trisa standing above him, with Helenia’s sword shaking in her hand and Karven's great form behind her. Vartan felt weak, and his eyes were too heavy. He closed them, barely able to keep up the energy to listen to what was going on around him.

Trisa wrapped her arms under his. “Quickly now, help me move him!”

Vartan grunted in pain as he was carried for a short distance. He opened his eyes one last time and saw Helenia’s and Trisa’s blurry faces crouched over him. Standing behind them was his mother, her form translucent and flickering in his vision.

This is not right, my child. It was not the right time for you to end your human life. You must hold on and you must live. Focus on something that you can hold onto, quickly.

“I love you, Helenia…” began Vartan, as his eyes closed and he began to drift into unconsciousness.

“I love you too, but you can tell me that again later! Vartan — Stay with me!” Helenia screamed, slapping his face.

“Look — what is this?” said Trisa’s voice. “It fell out of his backpack.”

Vartan felt his head being shaken until his world became dark and he could hear no more.