Siena the Queen: Story Teaser

*Cite bukan aku wat. bace slow2, mmg mantap la cite dia...
(aku tukang tambah gambar je =p)

Siena the Queen



"Humans."

The voice was quiet, and low enough that I could feel it rather than hear it.

"You dare to step into this place?"

Our giant adversary stood calmly in the middle of the room, a huge armoured figure that was easily three times taller than the big warrior standing to my left. The giant hefted the strange weapon it was holding in its left hand, and rested it against its shoulder.

"You dare to challenge... me? Six of you, when an army would not have been enough?"

It looked down at the wreckage between us, the strange greenish blood and the broken bodies of the Sha that ambushed us only moments before the giant appeared, with an apparent disinterest. It was already very clear that this opponent was going to be far tougher than any we had faced thus far in this corrupted temple.

"Come then." Its weapon made a whistling noise as it swung through the air and came to a stop pointing straight at us. It appeared to be a massive spear, but the blade that tipped it was bigger than a GreatSword, and glowed with a disturbing orange light. I would not wager on anyone being able to survive a direct hit with that monster, and that was without even considering the fact that we had no idea of the capabilities of our opponent. My two blades seemed almost weightless in my hands as I stepped forwards, my companions spreading out behind me.







4 hours earlier...


I detest the Mutant Forest, as it was popularly known. It reminded me more of a jungle than a forest, with near-constant rain and a humidity that my Desert background struggled to adapt to. The weather was terrible, and the various mutated beasts that infested it were not particularly dangerous, if you knew how to handle them. They were persistent though, and every single one of them considered humans as prey. The damned weather, combined with the constant threat of a sudden attack put me in an absolutely foul mood, and I guess my companions sensed that, so they wisely kept quiet. Oh yes, and I did not want to be here. Old loyalties and old promises had however conspired against me, and thus I found myself compelled to lead one half of an expedition to the very heart of the Mutant Forest. Luckily the first part of the journey was almost completed, but the real fun was only just beginning.

"We are getting close, now." One of my companions, a follower of the style of the Force Shielders, or simply Shielders, spoke. She appeared far too young to be here, but that was not my decision to make. Besides, the heavy scarring on her right arm was a memento from one of the near-constant battles in the war between Sage Procyon and Sage Capella, so she was used to combat.

"I recognise these ruins," she continued. "This is the area of the Entrita, so we should be careful."

"I am more worried about those who we are about to meet." My other companion, a Force Archer, was a tall, quiet man that had barely spoken since we arrived at the entrance to the Mutant Forest.

"We have our orders." I replied, ending that particular discussion. I did not agree with those orders, but as I said... Old loyalties, and old promises, can compel a man against his will. I really did not care to join forces with a group of Capella soldiers, and I wondered how that arrangement had been made. We were enemies, fighting a war half a continent away, and yet here we are... Some deals were obviously made behind the scenes, and it was not for the likes of me to question why.

We managed to make our way through the broken walls and shattered paving stones without attracting the attention of any of the giant Entrita that roamed this place, our Astral Bikes moving silently above the rubble. The Entrita were big and vicious, and some part of whatever twisted force drove their mutation had made them immune to most of the common stun abilities. They were not that dangerous, but I had no particular desire to fight one if I did not have to.




"Welcome." We heard the merchant before we saw him, a small figure in a dirty hooded robe, almost hidden in the shadows of the huge ruin behind him. I wondered why he had taken up residence in this corner of the ruins, in the middle of the forsaken Mutant Forest. A dealer in cheap Mithril parts, trash that served well enough to impress the gullible but had as much use in real combat as did training armour. It was rare, I will admit, and I had no idea of what his source was for the crafting components that he dealt in, but I could not imagine anyone buying this. Then again, perhaps the younger idiots who fought their way through to this hole was impressed enough to spend the money, who knows? What sort of a being chose to live here, in this hell? And more interestingly, how did he escape the notice of the Entrita?

I kept the disgust from my voice as I acknowledged his greeting. "I was told that you would be expecting us."

The disgusting creature nodded, smiling happily. "Yes, yes, I supplied the previous party as well, but this is better, much better, I was wrong about the previous ones," he stopped, spat something into the thick undergrowth behind him. "These will work, that I can almost promise you, my reputation was damaged by the previous set, but how was I to know? I would never enter that place by myself, oh no, but you can go and see for yourself."

I looked at my companions, and the confusion must have been clear on my face.

"He is probably talking about the previous expedition. They found something in the ruins," she pointed at the massive structure rising out of the plants and trees behind the merchant, "something big. We just got the name, Siena, and it involved the Plant Clan. I know they tried to kill it, but they could not enter deep enough into the ruins-"

"That is correct."

I spun around, ready to unsheath the twin blades from their scabbards on my back. Three people appear to have snuck up behind us, while we were dealing with the merchant. Their armour had the very distinctive blue-white colouring of Mithril, with the purple markings identifying them as ranking Capella. One Warrior, one Wizard, and one Force Blader. Pure luck, to have one of each of the six major fighting styles, or was this part of the arrangements? I could feel my companions moving behind me, and the tension was obvious in the thick, humid air.

To be continue...

The Capella wizard had stepped forwards, holding her hands out. "You are here for the same reason we are. I am very sure you don't like this any more than we do, but we all have our orders. Siena was determined to be a much greater problem than originally thought, based on the reports from the previous expeditions. We all know we cannot be seen working together, but this is a danger on a scale that will threaten all of Nevareth, and it needs to be stopped before it can be allowed to grow to a point where it cannot be contained any more." She smiled, but there was absolutely no warmth behind it. "So here we are, some of the best as I understood it. We don't have to like it, but we do have to follow orders."

The big warrior behind her stepped to the front, and looked at the little merchant with the same distaste that I felt. "You have the items? The ones you claim will allow us entry past the warp that leads into the deepest part of the ruin?" It was obvious that he did not believe that the merchant could possibly produce anything useful.

"Yes, yes, I have those. Indeed I do, you know me, these ones are not the promised, but they will lead deeper inside, perhaps, how was I to know the others would not work-"

"Just hand them over." The warrior cut off the merchant's rambling. I smiled, for a moment almost forgetting that we were enemies. The merchant sullenly produced 6 strange, glowing green orbs from a rusted crate half-hidden nest to him. "These better work, after the previous little mistake of yours."





I motioned my two companions back. "Keep an eye on these three. They are not our friends, that is very sure."

"That big guy," the Shielder pointed at the Capella Warrior, "Look at his rank. They are not messing around with this, sending someone of his rank out here."

I looked at the purple sigils indicating the rank, but I've been out of the conflict for too long. "Praetor something or other. It's all the same, everyone and his dog has the Praetor title-"

"Praetor of Brilliance. He is ranked just below the Quaestors. The Wizard and the Force Blader are ranked as Praetors of Will, but I have never seen someone of his rank out in the field." The Archer's voice was tinged with respect. "They are taking this seriously."

"So what does that make you two then?" I made no secret of the fact that I considered the ranks to be meaningless. I myself was without title at the moment, from choice, and I paid no attention to the various ranks.

"Knight of Valor, and he's a Knight of Devotion." I nodded, as if that information meant anything to me. "Good. Let's form up and get started then. Stay sharp, because I don't trust these people, and I definitely do not trust this little worm with his 'special items'."

They nodded, and I allowed my personal shields to fade for a moment, and checked and refreshed them. The movements, and the flow of Force was a second nature to me after all this time. One shield up, another, reinforcing the first. I extended the Force through my legs and arms, increasing my reaction time, making me harder to hit in battle, and then as a last measure allowed the Force to flow from me into the two bound blades on my back, increasing their attack power. I could see my companions and the Capella soldiers going through the same motions, each using skills and techniques from their specific battle styles. There was another brief moment of tension when the Capella Warrior extended one of his skills to include myself and my two companions, before I lowered a part of my defences and allow him to strengthen us as well as his companions.





I moved to the still-silent merchant - apparently he was offended, but at least he was quiet now - and took three of the strange green orbs. They were uncomfortably warm in my hands, a damp heat and a smell that reminded me more of decomposing plant matter than anything else. Perfect for this hellhole. Just perfect.

"Let's go."

The six of us approached the huge ruin, wary of the surroundings and of each other. There was a small gap at the base of the ruins, that I did not notice before. Strange. It appeared to be covered a field similar to that at the entrance to the common warp gates, but with a sickly green colour. I could feel the orb in my hand grow warmer and warmer as I approached, and it was a most unpleasant sensation. I took a deep breath, and stepped into the field.




5 days ago...




"You will, of course, go."

I stood without answering for a long moment, admiring the view from the big private residence. That statement, coming from the Sage himself, was not a suggestion. The Sage did not make suggestions, he gave orders. Damn the man. He had found me where I had thought myself comfortably hidden in obscurity, removed from the war, the fighting, the politics, but somehow his people had found me. Or, it was more likely, he had always known where I was, and simply allowed me the illusion of obscurity until he needed me. Damn him. He knew me, and he knew that whatever else I might be I was loyal, unquestioningly so. I owed him my life, many times over, and he was well aware of this. So he had reached out from here, in this office, given some orders, and here I was.

"You will meet with some Capella," his voice did not even change as he mentioned the name of his most hated enemy, "and you will join forces with them. If these reports are to be believed this Siena is behind the recent activity of the Plant Clan in the Mutated Forest. We cannot divert a large force to deal with this, and any overt actions in there will draw a reaction from the Capella forces. Going by the reports of Heill himself we need to take care of this matter before it becomes a real problem. It was him who suggested this impromptu alliance, and I can understand the logic behind his suggestion, distasteful as it may be."

I nodded, wondering not for the first time why he had found me and brought me here. Surely he had more than enough people that could go, that would be happy to go.

He must have sensed the direction of my thoughts, or something in my face betrayed me. "You are still one of the best. I know you will be able to do what must be done here. You are not filled with hate like so many others that I might have called on, and you have... other attributes that are very well suited for this role." I silently completed the sentence.

...and you are expendable, should anything go wrong.

Well, what could I do? There was no choice here.

"When do I leave?"

to be continue...

The momentary coldness of the gate was enough to make me shiver slightly, after the damp humidity of the Mutant Forest, and I was almost grateful for it, rather the cold than that godawful humid heat. My relief was very short-lived, as I emerged from the gate to find the area on the other side even worse than the outside. The first thing that struck me was the smell, a cloying, sickly-sweet stench that made it hard to breathe, and I heard one of my companions gasp as they entered through the gate behind me. The room was eerily silent, not even the slightest rustling or far-off noises that was the constant background sounds of the Mutant Forest.

My eyes took a moment to adapt to the gloom, and it became apparent that I was standing in a large room, rather than a cave, a broken-down, collapsed room, covered with twisted plant-growth and illuminated by whatever the hell was growing on the broken walls, but a room nonetheless.

What happened to the builders? Victims of the Great Destruction... This ruin was supposed to be a temple, but how long ago, and dedicated to what...





"Pleasant-looking place." The big warrior strode past me, his Greatsword unsheathed and casually resting on his shoulder. I did not for one moment make the mistake of thinking that his casual pose reflected his actual attitude. The other four spread out, keeping a wary distance from each other.

We've not even introduced ourselves. As if that matters, here and now, names would just get in the way. I have my orders, and no doubt they have theirs, if I knew the Sage at all.

There was what appeared to be a statue, half-hidden in one overgrown corner. It could be an altar as well, my knowledge of ancient architecture is not sufficient to make an educated guess. What was obvious though was the relatively clean, flat surface about halfway up. It was the only surface in the room not covered with some kind of growth, and it seemed as if someone had taken some pains to clean it.

"Stay sharp." I motioned my Shielder and Archer to take up positions behind me and moved to the altar - and it was an altar, rather than a statue - knocked against the clear spot with the hilt of my blade. I decided to take the risk, reached out and touched the back of my glove to the stone. It was slightly damp, and unpleasantly warm, but nothing else out of the ordinary. Tucked away in one corner was what appeared to be small book of some kind, and I carefully pulled it out from behind the stone where it was half-hidden. The little book appeared to be a journal, and a badly damaged one at that, torn across the back page and with the entire bottom half badly scorched.

"What did you find?" The Capella Wizard glanced at the book in my hand. "Can I see that?"

I paused for a long moment before I handed the book over. We might be here together, but trust was a long way off. Damn political interference, forcing this so-called alliance. I did not understand why we were working with the Capella, and the Sage had obviously seen no point in informing me. I had my orders - I was the appropriate tool for the task, and my place was not to question.

The Wizard had carefully opened the book, and her face was grim. "It seems that our information was accurate, after all." She turned to look at the Warrior. "Siena is in here. Somewhere." He nodded, and turned to face me.

"This is going to get interesting. I hope you are prepared."

"Worry about your own preparations, not mine." My voice was cool. "What's in the book?"

"Confirmation." The Wizard answered.

"Confirmation of what?"

"The threat that Siena poses. This book appears to be the journal of a single man..." Her voice faded, then picked up again. "He entered here, attempted to confront Siena, and failed."

"One man... What could he possibly hope to achieve? The Dark Clan is the only truly sentient one from all the Clans." I wondered what she was not telling me. The Wizard looked at the Warrior, and something passed between them. Surprisingly, it was the Force Blader who spoke next.

"Siena was once human."

"What?" My Shielder laughed scornfully. "That's impossible. What possible source could you have for that claim?"

"Enough." I silenced her. "I don't care. We are not here to discuss genealogy. We have our orders, and whatever is lurking in this place needs to be eliminated."

The Warrior nodded, slowly. "We will of course gather as much information as we can from this place-"

"Do what you want. Just don't get in my way." I had no time for this.

The Warrior met my eyes, and his voice was as cold as mine. "Likewise."

"Over here!" My Archer broke the tension, pointing to the right, past a twisted curtain of roots that had grown through the ceiling. "There appears to be a passage through here."

I looked away from the Capella, and moved over the broken stones towards the Archer. "He's right. There is a corridor opening up past this bit. Seems to be the only way out of here."

I did not wait for my companions, they could join me or not, as they liked. Once past the mess of roots that had blocked the way the corridor that appeared was in much better condition than the first room we found. The floor was smooth, and the walls were covered in strange engravings, twisting spirals and symbols that I could not recognise. I heard my companions behind me, moving cautiously. Apparently they had decided that this was the only possible direction for us to move in, and I smiled without any humour. Sometimes there was only one option, and there was no need to stand around discussing it.

The attack came without warning, a squirming mass of plant-infected reptiles rising from the floor.

"Mushid!" I called out a warning as I rolled to the side, came up with my blades extended, binding force and channeling it, moving my weapons in the set positions that I've repeated so many times in the past it was pure instinct. Shaped and directed Force punched out in front of me, shaped to flow through and disrupt the nervous system of whatever it encounters. The Mushid stopped dead, and I got a clear look at them. These were much bigger than the common vermin that infested parts of the Mutant Forest, and they appeared to be stronger.





No matter.

The first one died while it was still stunned, as did the second, scaled skin and bone no defence against razor-sharp Mithril. The third and fourth I cut apart as well, two horizontal slashes that I used as momentum to launch my next attack. I heard fighting behind me as the others arrived, explosions as elemental Force was unleashed by the Wizard and Archer, the familiar dull roar of a shield spinning through the air. Within seconds it was over.

"Too easy."

"Don't get overconfident. We may just have alerted whatever is deeper inside here."

The corridor was a mess, splashes of blood and worse, black burn marks against the brown stone, and the smell in the air was even worse than when we entered.

"I guess we can expect an attack at any time, from here on in." I moved further, past the wreckage of our battle. No one appeared to be injured, and I would have been surprised if these Mushid has managed to even scratch any of us. They were bigger than usual, but vermin is vermin.

"Wait!" I stopped, looked back. The Force Blader was pointing at some words scratched into the stone, on top of the carved patterns. I swore softly - how had I missed those? - and moved back to the group.

"Anything useful? Or just some random rubbish?" I was irritated at myself, because I should have noticed this.

"Well, nothing that I can grasp any meaning of." The Force Blader moved his fingers across the writing. "Regeneration. The bond must be cut at the same time." His eyes narrowed slightly. "I wonder what this refers to? The script seems similar to what we saw in that notebook, perhaps this is a warning of some sort?"

I nodded, reluctantly. Stupid to disregard any kind of warning, because we were essentially blind in here. I turned, and started moving down the corridor again, only to find a deep end around the very next corner, a pile of rubble and plant-growth blocking the way.




"Well, this is it for whatever that clue meant."

"Not yet." The Warrior moved past me, and studied the blockage for a moment, then reached up and with a massive heave pulled protruding stone block from the top of the pile. We jumped back as this triggered a small landslide of stones and thick clots of mud past us. There was no dust, at least, it was way too damp for that. I looked at the size of the stone block the Warrior had pulled from the top of the pile, and tried to hide my surprise - the block was massive, much larger than what it had appeared at first. This guy had some serious power, that was very obvious. I wondered what it would be like to meet him in battle, if there was some skill behind that strength...

to be continue...

jap2 smlm bz lvling hehe.. kk next post update

There was now a gap near the ceiling, and it appeared big enough to squeeze through. I made my way to the top, balancing on a piece of rubble. On the other side of rubble I could make out some movement, but it was too dark to see anything else. Nothing doing then... I pulled myself through the gap, jumped down-

-right into the middle of another pack of Mushid. There were even more roots and vines here, and almost no light, and it was much narrower than the corridor we came from. There was almost no space to move, to fight properly. This time however the Warrior was right behind me, his Greatsword slashing almost effortlessly through vines around us, not even slowing as he cut through a Mushid, making space for himself to move in. I jumped past him, finding enough space to go through the movements, gathering and focusing force on my blades before releasing it by slashing down in front of me. The power was visibly in the air, a crackling arc of Force that cut through the air, cutting a patch through the crawling Mushid.



"Don't you ever stop to think?" The Warrior asked. "You are not alone here, and rushing is going to get you killed, slowing us down."

"So move faster then." The other four had also made their way past the obstacle into the suddenly crowded passage. Up ahead I could see something big, standing motionless.

"What is that?"

"Be careful." The Force Blader spoke again. "There was something in that message back there..."

I ignored him, took the lead once more. As I moved closer I started to make out more details. The figure appeared to be an... Armap? Here? It looked like an normal Armap, but there was a very strange pulsing vine tangled around its feet and legs, giving it the appearance of something growing out of the ground. The vine stretched over the ground, disappearing into the gloom beyond the Armap.




"I'll check this out." Surprisingly, it was the Shielder that spoke. She raised her shield, glowing with the reinforced lattice of Force strengthening it, and moved past us. I always wondered how they did that, focused enough of their concentration to keep something as solid as a shield materialised and still managed to pay enough attention to do anything else. Same for the Archers.

The Armap roared, suddenly, shockingly loud, as the Shielder came close to it. It attacked, throwing a projectile that the Shielder easily deflected. The Wizard suddenly appeared next to the Shielder, unleashing a storm of power that burned into the Armap.

"There's TWO of these!" The Shielder shouted back, above the roaring of the huge Armap. "Another one, up ahead, and they are connected with this vine!"

More Mushid appeared out of the darkness ahead as she yelled, and just as suddenly we were in a very nasty fight in that narrow, crowded corridor, with barely any room to move our weapons. Elemental power flowed out around the Wizard, ripping Mushid apart as she moved through them. My Archer unleashed a constant stream of power into the stationary Armap, with no apparent effect.

"Kill them both, at the same time!" The Force Blader shouted, loud enough to be heard above the battle. "That's what it meant, that message!"

I could see the Archer and Wizard looking at each other, before the Archer nodded, almost imperceptibly.

"Keep them off me."

He started to run, increased his movement speed as he blurred past the first Armap, then stopped right where the Wizard was standing. I could see the Force gathering around him, a sudden bright illumination that lit up the entire passage, clearly showing the second Armap, the vine between the two, and a large gate beyond them, with the same pulsating vine snaking its way across and through the gate. The light faded, returning the passage to the darkness, but not before I saw the two weapons the Archer was holding in place of his summoned bow. I knew those weapons very well, they served as focus points for an incredibly rapid release of power, but there was a limit to how long they could be kept summoned. The Archer stood calmly in the middle of that dark passage, weapons pointing upwards, ignoring everything around him, apparently trusting in the Wizard to keep the Mushid away from him. His arms moved, a blur in the darkness, one weapon pointed at the Armap that I could see, and the other into the darkness. The release of his power was audible over the roar of the Armap. Pure Force slammed into the Armap, ripping through it, cutting it down, and it slowly collapsed in front of us.



"Let's move!" The Wizard called out. "The gate has collapsed as well, when he killed these two."

The Warrior nodded as he moved past the Archer, still standing in the same spot with his bow visible once more, and I could see him breathing heavily. "Well done."

I followed, waiting for the Archer to start moving before I did, bringing up the rear of the party this time. We entered past the collapsed gate, and it was obvious that we were 'inside' once again. We were in a large room, overgrown with plants, but quite obviously a room, with that same strange light coming from the walls providing enough illumination. We must have somehow moved outside the temple, and now we've come inside again, but what the purpose was of the two Armaps outside... Were they guards, of some sort? I did not like the fact that nothing happened when they died, not at all. Something was wrong here.

"This is not right." The Force Blader spoke, looking around him. "Those Armap, outside, they were there for a purpose. We could be walking directly into a trap here."


...Maku Sha...


I looked up sharply. That voice was not that of one of my companions, and even though it was faint it seemed to come from everywhere around me at once. It sounded female, but alien at the same time.


...Sha...


All of us were looking around now, weapons ready.


...Maku... Remove these vermin from my temple, at once.


"At once, my Queen." A voice rumbled, like distant thunder, chewing through the words as if the mouth behind it was never intended for speech. I spun in the direction the second voice had come from. The first one was vague, but the second one seemed much, much closer.

The owner appeared at the far side of the room, a huge, shambling figure twice as tall as a human, clutching a double-headed axe that was bigger than I was. The beast was roughly human in shape, but grotesquely muscled, huge and round, with a thick tail that dragged across the ground behind it. This was going to be nasty.



I glanced at my Archer, saw that he was still not completely recovered after that fight in the dark passage behind us. "Hang back at first, cover us if needed." His eyes narrowed, but he said nothing, and nodded curtly.

"Speech indicates intelligence. Our report was most likely correct, this is just further confirmation." The Warrior motioned the Wizard back as well, looked at me. "Do you believe now?"

"Does it matter?"

Maku Sha bellowed, swinging that massive axe wildly through the air, and charged towards us.

to be continue..

Maku Sha's charge towards us stopped abruptly, shadows lifting up from
the cracked stone floor, weaving through and around those huge legs.
The beast roared at us, a loud, animal noise that had nothing in common
with the speech that came from its mouth only moments before.

"It will not hold for long." The Force Blader spoke, and I thought I
detected the tiniest amount of strain in his voice. "I really suggest
we take care of this as fast as we can." He stepped past me and the
Warrior, his left hand moving through the forms of binding and
weakening. I've encountered those before, on the field of battle, and
barely escaped with my life. I remember that terrible weakness, my
blades suddenly almost too heavy to lift, unable to move...

I hate these guys...



Now, however, that dark use of the Force was on my side. I leapt past
the Force Blader, blades extended. Maku Sha had the smell of rotting
plants around him, a thick, sweet stench that made my stomach turn. His
axe came down towards me, but for all the power behind that swing it
was simply not fast enough, and the weapon crashed into the stones
behind me, spraying out shards of stone fragments. I felt them glancing
off my armour, meaningless minor damage. My blades glided through the
air, following movements that I have trained and repeated over and over
and over, making them a part of me. Maku Sha wore no armour, but it had
a thick, fibrous skin that would no doubt have served as good
protection against lesser weapons.

Sha roared again, this time in pain, as I opened two deep cuts across
its left leg, and came up behind it. Its tail flicked towards me,
narrowly missing my legs, and I jumped out of range. It could not turn
to follow me however, with those solid shadows still twisting through
its legs, holding it in place. And it had more than just me to worry
about. Incandescent Force flared around it, elemental power exploding
from the hands of the Wizard and burning across its upper body. My
Shielder had moved to the right, drawing another attack from Sha as she
moved within range. That huge axe drifted through the air, and
everything seemed to slow down as she raised her shield, I tried to
jump to somehow stop the axe from impacting-

-and bright blue-white sparks rained down from the lattice of Force
around her shield as she absorbed the blow, and coolly deflected the
axe into the ground, her expression not even changing slightly.

So they were good, these companions of mine. The Sage had chosen well.



The Shielder held that axe down, somehow, stepped back slightly, power
flaring bright yellow from the shield, pulling into the hilt of her
blade, and she jumped high, came down driving her blade straight into
the ground. The floor shook and cracks spiderwebbed out from the impact
point, and Maku Sha stumbled back from that massive impact, tearing
loose from the binding shadows around its legs. I moved to the side,
opening two more long cuts on its bulging lower back, green blood
spraying out around the cuts, building up attack on attack that left
Maku Sha's back and legs a bleeding ruin.

The Warrior shouted, driving his Greatsword into the cracked stones
left by the Shielder, and ripped that mass of sharpened Mithril
upwards, actually containing
the broken stone in a web of Force that exploded across Maku Sha. He
gave the beast no chance to recover, launching into an spinning attack
that destroyed it completely, cutting through skin and flesh and bone
with a sickening ease.

Maku Shao collapsed in front of us, those huge taloned hands slowly relaxing their grip on its weapon.

"... Beaten... by Humans..." Its voice was fading, almost inaudible. "But I am not the only Sha..."

I shook my blades sharply, cleaning off the worst of that thick green
blood. The Warrior looked at the fallen beast with some concern
apparent in his face.

"This was too easy. I don't trust this, not one bit."

"So what?" I smiled mockingly. "You don't hear me complaining."

"Caution does not imply complaints." The Warrior returned my smile with
a flat stare, turned to the others. "There might be more of these...
Sha, in here. We can use the same tactic we did just now."

"Same tactic? And what if we have more than one at the same time?" My
Shielder asked, stretching her left arm. That blow she took had to hurt.

"We deal with that if it happens." The Capella Wizard spoke. She moved
past the Warrior, and looked at the broken body of Maku Sha. "Even five
of these will not trouble us."

"Idle speculation. We deal with it as it happens." I tried to keep my
irritation from my voice. "There might be none, or one, or five, and
there is no point in worrying about it."

The Wizard stared at me for a long moment, and I tightened my grip on
my blades. Raw power was impressive, but I was very sure that I was
faster than she was. She looked at the Warrior, and he nodded.

"Let's move. No point in standing here."

My Archer appeared to be recovered from the power he expended in the
previous corridor, and he and the Force Blader brought up the rear of
our little party. There appeared to be some quick conversation between
them, but I could not make out what was said. That was something to
take note of, for sure. We were still enemies, and even under these
circumstances there was nothing to be gained from forgetting that
little fact.

The Warrior led the way, moving into the corridor where Maku Sha had
appeared from. The corridor was long and narrow, and it twisted from
left to right, making it very hard to keep track of which direction we
were moving in. It also became hotter and hotter as we moved further
down it, and the omnipresent humidity vanished, replaced by a dry heat.

"I don't like this, it feels as if we are walking into an inferno." My
Shielder was proved somewhat correct as we turned the next corner. The
corridor ahead of us had widened, but stretching as far as the eye
could see blue-white flames burned from circular vents in the ground,
with a soft hissing and crackling noise.



"How do we switch these off?" The Warrior looked around, but there was nothing obvious that could serve as a switch.

"This seems to be the way forward, impassable as it may appear at first
glance." The Force Blader was also studying the area in front of the
first fire-vent. "There were no markings or writings anywhere on the
way here that appeared different from the inscriptions of whoever
constructed this temple."

"What are you suggesting?" I moved closer to the fire, close enough to feel the heat. "We walk through this?"

"I am not sure yet. Allow me a moment," and that burned and scarred
little journal I had found as we entered appeared in his hands, as if
by magic. "Perhaps there is something clue in here."

"Or perhaps this fire is the reason that book is in the shape that it is in now."

There had to be a way through here though. There was more to this temple than what we had seen up to now, and something had spoken with Maku Sha before it attacked us. Nothing behind us, fire in front of us...

"Nothing in here." The Force Blader snapped the journal shut, and it
vanished again, somewhere into his armour, I was sure. "Something about
speed, but nothing conclusive."

"We can go through here." The Shielder's voice was soft, but firm. "It's is possible."

I understood what she was talking about, but even so... Extending
protection to Capella? This was the last thing I expected from her.
That scar on her right arm was most assuredly the result of an
encounter with Capella on the battefield.

"I can protect us, hopefully for long enough to make our way past this."

"Are you sure?" The Wizard glanced at the fire stretching out in front of us. "This could be much harder than it appears."

"Stand close." The Shielder did not waste words. "On my word, we move.
Do not waste any time, since we do not know how much ground we have to
cover."

We gathered around her, and she closed her eyes for a moment, moving
her hand slightly, shaping and binding Force. I felt her presence
reaching out to me, and saw the momentary flicker of her shadow moving,
even as she stood motionless. There was another flicker, almost too
brief for the eye to see, of all six of us covered with an inky
blackness, before the Shielder opened her eyes again.

"Move!"

to be continue...

aku xder byk gmba ni. terutama fs,wi,fa,wa. sapa2 tolong la paste kat thread S.shot, asalkan jantina char kena ngan cite hehe. nnt aku curi mcm gambar char korang mcm aku curi twin gunner mustang XD.

xpon korang qoute ayat cite tu, pastu paste gambar. ok gak. hehe

@Mustang
mintak org len la yg fs dia female

@Admin
admin pon men gak ke? mmg rock r admin ni

I turned and sprinted, not waiting to see if the others followed. Increasing my movement speed was a basic skill, but using that technique correctly was much harder than it sounded. I entered that passage of fire, felt the heat as nothing more than a distant presence. Silver light flared around me, a perfect sphere with me in the centre, and I caught a glimpse of the Wizard appearing right in front of me, vanishing again into the distance, another silver bubble in a world of fire.

The corridor seemed endless, filled with wall after wall of blue-white fire. I ran, hoping that the Shielder could keep up this protection... Suddenly the fires died down for a moment, revealing what appeared to be the end of the corridor only a short distance ahead - and then all the walls exploded upwards, burning fireballs that almost knocked me to my feet. I stumbled forwards, feeling a sudden burning as the silver bubble around me vanished to the fires, and dove forwards, crashing and rolling past the last firegate, and I heard and felt my companions doing the same.

The Wizard was standing there, waiting for us, and for a moment I really hated her. She appeared to be completely unscathed.

"Speed..." It appeared that the Force Blader had also made it through in one piece. "That's what it meant, obviously."

"Ah, hindsight." I came to my feet, trying to see if there was any obvious damage to my armour or weapons, and restrained my urge to make further comments. All five of us - not counting the damn Wizard - appeared to be moderately undamaged. I saw a burn mark on the face of the Warrior, and the Archer had a vivid red burn across the back of his hand where his gloves did not protect him.

"That was... unpleasant."

I looked around us. Some stairs were leading up and to the left, appearing far to deep for humans to comfortably use them. That was the only way to go, unless you counted going back through the hell of that firegate corridor as a viable option. We gathered ourselves, and started moving up the stairs, weapons ready. No words were needed now - we could not be more alert.

The stairs opened up to the largest room we had yet seen. Spacious, with large statues lining the walls, and more stairs raising up from the far corner. The only problem, as it were, was that it appeared to be filled with copies of Maku Sha.



I exploded into action, before the beasts could react. Force flowed across my body, extending my awareness all around me. This ability was hard to master, and you needed the speed and reaction of long training in order to use it to the fullest potential. I flowed past the Sha, my blades an extension of my arms, bound to me. The Sha were too slow, and I could read their attacks before they even tried, moved past and under massive arms and weapons, leaving gaping cuts and bright green blood behind me, building attack on attack, looking for and finding that instinctive combat rhythm that allowed me to move from one attack to the next seamlessly.

The Sha were big, and powerful, but they were obviously not used to fighting as a group, and this helped me. As I punched a hole straight through to the centre of the group my companions joined in the fight, and despite the power of our opponents they were untrained, and no real match for us. Force flared and exploded through the room as we unleashed our combined power, ripping through the Sha. It was over in moments..

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped, as the last Sha died under the sword of the Warrior, and I could sense a terrifying presence, suddenly real and horribly close, all around us.


"Humans."

The voice was quiet, and low enough that I could feel it rather than hear it.

"You dare to step into this place?"

Our giant adversary stood calmly in the middle of the room, and it had appeared as if from nowhere, a huge armoured figure that was easily three times taller than the big Warrior standing to my left. The giant hefted the strange weapon it was holding in its left hand, and rested it against its shoulder.

"You dare to challenge... me? Six of you, when an army would not have been enough?"

It looked down at the wreckage between us, the strange greenish blood and the broken bodies of the Sha that ambushed us only moments before the giant appeared, with an apparent disinterest. It was already very clear that this opponent was going to be far tougher than any we had faced thus far in this corrupted temple.

"Come then." Its weapon made a whistling noise as it swung through the air and came to a stop pointing straight at us. It appeared to be a massive spear, but the blade that tipped it was bigger than a GreatSword, and glowed with a disturbing orange light. I would not wager on anyone being able to survive a direct hit with that monster, and that was without even considering the fact that we had no idea of the capabilities of our opponent. My two blades seemed almost weightless in my hands as I stepped forwards, my companions spreading out behind me.

...Veniti...

That voice again, vaguely female, appearing from everywhere around us.

"They die here, my Queen."

... do not fail me...

The giant warrior gave no other warning, and its attack was shockingly sudden, a diagonal slash that I barely avoided. If that blade had hit me my armour would have been of as much use as a sheet of paper. Even Mithril had its limits. The air around us was getting colder and colder, and I could feel my movements getting slower. The giant did not hesitate though, and attacked again, another slash that would have decapitated anyone it hit. We had to stay out of range.

The air was really cold now, cold enough for frost to form a feathery line across the back of my blade, and I stared at it with disbelief. What in the hells is this?

"Do it!" The Warrior shouted out behind me. "We will keep it off you, but get ready!" He came up on my left, his sword held high. "Take the right. We have to keep him away from the others."

I forced my mind into calmness, ignoring the cold around me. Force could not be bound while the mind was not perfectly clear, and able to concentrate. The cold was weakening me, weakening all of us, but we could compensate for it. Shadows rose from the ground again, twisting through the air below Veniti - the Force Blader was already busy.

My Shielder came up to my right. "I'll get his attention, so be ready." She ran past ducked underneath another decapitating slash, and took up a position right behind Veniti. I could feel the Force she summoned, reaching out into the stones underneath her, drawing up power around herself, a tight, solid mass of woven power that would protect her better than any shield ever could. I knew this ability, had seen it in action many times before, but I also knew that the concentration needed to keep this up means she would be unable to move at all.

The Warrior shouted a loud challenge, and dashed past me, jumping towards Veniti. Light and power blossomed behind me, the Wizard and the Force Archer focusing their control of Force to the point where their weapons changed again, into their more powerful forms.

This was it, then.

I steadied my hands, removed my awareness from the cold, placed knowledge of any discomfort far away. It was interfering, and I could not afford it right now. Force came when I opened myself, shaped along my blades and melted the building frost in an instant. I had to compensate for whatever damage the cold was doing. I ignored all the warnings from my training, about over-extending myself - theory was well and good, but there was no place for theory in the here-and-now, extended my awareness out around myself.

Veniti had spun around, impossibly fast for such a huge creature, his spear whistling through the air to crash into the side of my Shielder, and impossibly, she just stood there, absorbing the power from that blow. I felt a sudden savage pride, whatever Veniti was he would not have expected his attack to just be... ignored. Her shield spun out, becoming a weapon in itself, one that ripped through the air to crash into Veniti. At the same time the Warrior's attack hit the back of the armoured Veniti, and even though there was no visible damage Veniti turned around, snake-quick, whipping out his spear, leaving a glowing orange streak behind it. The Warrior simply turned with the blow, deflecting it with his Greatsword. Force started hammering into Veniti, ranged power from the Wizard and Archer, tight, impossibly fast precision from the Archer striking Veniti's helm, compared to the simply awesome flow of pure raw elemental power from the Wizard that ruptured the air around our opponent with fire and ice. The Force Blader was staying out of range as well, and I could see him perform bind after bind, while at the same time attacking with flows of pure crystallised Force that gleamed dark blue-black as it punched into Veniti again and again.



My turn.

To be continue...