Tom Lloyd: The Twilight herald

With great care Isak approached as it stirred again, brightening and expanding, almost like a tree waking slowly into summer. There was a note of muzzy confusion before the creature shook itself to wakeful¬ness and noticed Isak – and the water suddenly surged, a flurry of movement. He felt a shape arch up out of the water and stretch to its full height. Isak hurriedly retreated back in on himself and cut the How of magic flowing from him, but not before he felt a pulse of pure fury radiate out from the creature.

'Bugger.'

Vesna rounded on him. 'Bugger? What do you mean? What in the name of Ghenna has happened now?'

'Well, it seems things could have been worse after all,' Isak mut-tered grimly. 'I think I just woke something up, and it's not happy.'

Vesna opened his mouth but his retort was cut off as one of the Ghosts in the line gave a bellow.

'Piss and daemons, what's that?' The man pointed a hundred yards down the stream to where something was thrashing under the surface.

Isak strained to see, but all he could make out was furious spurts of water erupting. As the taste of its anger filled the air, Isak, to his horror, recognised it.

'It reminds me- But not the same- Oh Gods, the Chalebrat, from the battle with the Elves!'

'Like a Chalebrat?' spat Mihn from Isak's left, so sudden and unex¬pected that the white-eye jumped at the sound. 'You've just woken a Malviebrat? A water elemental? My Lord, ‹we. are the only ones near the water!'

All eyes jumped to the drifting water of the stream that ran no more than five yards to their left. Here it was calm and almost clear, about two feet deep and running smoothly over a bed of pebbles, a straight path towards the boiling chaos Isak had stirred up.

'Shit, it's coming this way!'

The churning column of water abruptly resolved into the shape of a tall figure striding down the centre of the stream, water seething and dancing furiously at its feet.

'Mihn, any ideas?'

The small man cast his eyes around desperately as the Malviebrat closed in on them. The soldiers lining up against them had stopped and all eyes were on the creature, exactly as Isak had intended. But there was no doubting the intent in its walk. 'I- Perhaps a show of strength? They are creatures of magic, after all, and however much you're angered it, it must have some sense of self-preservation.'

'Morghien?'

The wanderer's eyes flashed open and his features seemed to flicker for a moment until they became his usual weather-beaten face. Isak felt a moment of hope as he remembered what Mihn had called him once, the man of many spirits. One of those had been a local Goddess bound to a stream.

Morghien shook his head wearily. 'Seliasei cannot reach it; the Malviebrat will not listen to her.'

A show of force?' Isak repeated.

Morghien rubbed his hand over his face to wipe away the sensation of allowing the Aspect control of his body. 'Will probably not work, but it is worth a try. If you fight it, don't worry that your blade passes through it. Elementals use magic to hold their form; the more you cut through that form, the weaker it will become.'

'Worth a try,' Isak confirmed. He felt a wolfish grin creep onto his face as he readied himself and felt the huge reserve of energy inside the Skulls pulse with eagerness. 'Cover your eyes.'

Isak raised his arms, holding sword and shield up to the sky, and blistering light burst into life in an arc beyond his hands. He could feel the heat it gave off; even with his eyes almost entirely closed the light was nearly unbearable. The lashing coils of energy bucked and kicked as he fought to control them. The impact of the magic smash¬ing into itself reverberated down into his massive shoulders. The air shuddered and screamed around him as the streams of energy within the arc writhed about each other, but after a few moments Isak felt the magic reluctantly submit to his control.

He felt as though he were rising up on the air, and all sensation other than the enormous power in his hands fell away. Isak struggled not to cry out at the overwhelming strength flowing through his body; he felt invulnerable, divine. The Malviebrat seemed to recognise his divinity too: its advance faltered, but instead of stopping, a palpable surge of rage radiated out and on it came. Isak watched the fluid motion of its limbs and it stretched out into a sprint. It looked like Siulents as it moved. The white froth of its body was tinted the faint¬est of blues, and it was deceptively quick with the unnatural grace of water come alive.

As the Malviebrat surged towards Isak, fists bunched and ready, he heard screams from behind him as the horses caught sight of the unearthly figure. With a thought, Isak split the weaves of magic running between his hands. The creature was not cowed, but he re¬membered Morghien's words. The vast energy he held would disrupt the elemental's body, even if nothing showed. Wrapping one crack¬ling loop of magic around his shield and another around Eolis, Isak charged forward to get clear of his own men. He readied himself to fight.

The Malviebrat swung wildly towards Isak as he came towards it. The white-eye ducked and spun around, letting momentum carry the blade into its belly and on through its body. The elemental howled as it stopped and turned, raking down with clawed hands onto Isak's raised shield. To Isak it felt like an axe had been slammed down, send¬ing a shower of droplets into his face, blinding him for a moment. He slashed wildly upwards and felt Eolis cut something, momentarily driving the creature off. When he cleared his eyes it was on him again, but this time he was prepared, riding the blow as he cut to the knee, then reversing his blade and ripping it up into the groin, and right through to the elemental's shoulder.

Again the creature screamed, but the cuts, heavy impacts as Isak felt them, seemed to pass through and out without causing any obvious damage other than a blaze in the water of its body as Eolis cut through it. Isak gave steady ground, cutting forward again and again, until at last the elemental seemed to slow and Isak felt his chance come. With every scrap of a white-eye's unnatural speed he slashed and tore at his enemy, using his shield as a club to batter away at it, following each blow with another. The Malviebrat reeled under his furious assault and squealed like a wounded boar before bursting apart into a sudden torrent of water.

Isak stopped and looked around at the stream he was standing in. There was no sign of the elemental; the still air above seemed frozen with shock at the violence of his assault. He noticed his breathing again, ragged through his tight throat, and then the sounds of the Land once more rushed back to him. His toes twitched automatically as he felt the chill of the water invading his boots and that stirred him into action.

Turning back to his soldiers, Isak saw them staring. Most were wear¬ing helms, but Morghien and Mihn stood with their mouths hanging open in astonishment. Isak felt a growl of annoyance as he started back towards them. Just once, it would be nice if people didn't look at him that way after a battle.

Distant shouts reminded Isak that not all the enemy had fled: the cavalry were still formed up on each side of the stream some two hun¬dred yards away, arrows nocked, just waiting for the order. The smaller group of knights between them were noblemen and hurscals in the dull burgundy livery of Lomin, but Isak had eyes only for the man at the centre. The scarlet wolf's head helm would have made Duke Certinse's identity obvious even without the flag of Lomin hanging limply above his head. Isak, still standing in mid-stream, allowed himself a moment to stare at one of the few men in the Land who was his peer, in both age and station.