CHAPTER 15:  Return of a hero

 

      Back in the tower of The Lord of the Night, Losnyr’s eyes quickly peered

around the room.  Mortimer was standing in the middle of the room smiling at

him, Kennen was resting against a corner, and Jedd was leaning against a

bookshelf.

      Jedd’s eyes, as always, glowed a soft light blue, the usual smirk running

across his face.  “You teleport slow,” he said.

      Losnyr’s eyes widened.  “H… how did you get here so fast?  Did you leave

all the monsters?”

      “Are you kidding?  Since you told me to hurry, I lead all the little

bastards up where I wouldn’t have harmed any of the temples, used

Zeranlxanrax, and then came here.”

      Losnyr was confused.  “Zeran-lan-wha?”

      “A really powerful dark magic spell Jedd likes to use gratuitously.”

Interrupted Mortimer.  “But never mind that… do you have the orb?”

      “Yes,” replied Losnyr, handing Mortimer the grey orb of the Will o’ Wisp.

      “Now then,” said Mort, “All we have to do is this.”

      The Lord of the Night held the orb up.  It started to glow with a

yellowish-golden light; Losnyr realized that Mortimer was charging it up

with holy magic.

      Suddenly Mortimer held the orb up, and in one motion, threw it to the

ground.  The stone orb shattered, but the light that surrounded it remained,

perfectly spherical.

      Moments passed, and slowly, the light started to expand, and form into a

shape.  There was a bright flash, and where the orb light was, there now

resided a large blob of thick transparent-blue goo.

      “The hell…?” said Jedd.  “Did something go wrong?”  LotN’s expression did

not change.

      “Nothing went wrong,” said Mortimer, “Kaytosi is a doppelganger, so…”

      “Ke-toesy?” said Jedd, confused.

      “…doh.”

      Losnyr was resting his head on his hand.  “Great,” he said.  “just tell the

entire planet of Flaerie our real names.”

      Mortimer stared at Losnyr.  “Sarcasm, huh?  I think you’ve been paying too

much attention to Jedd…”

      Suddenly all eyes moved to the blue blob, which began expanding and

changing colour.  When it was finished, there lie on the ground a figure

that looked almost exactly like Losnyr, a man in blue robes with the hood

covering his face; only there were a few differences.  This figure was a bit

taller than Losnyr, he wore a cloth black belt clasped with a transparent

blue gem shaped like a raindrop, and he wore black oilcloth gloves.

      Jedd, unsurprised, said, pointing at Losnyr, “Okay, if that’s Ke-toesy,

then who’s that?”

      “My name is Losnyr,” said Losnyr, his eye still on the figure of Kaytosi.

      “Oh, I heard Deranral call you that.  I thought it was some sort of

Alterian insult or something.”

      Kaytosi’s body began to move.  Slowly, his leg twitched, and then his arm,

and he slowly pushed himself onto his feet.

      “I… I am alive… and… in the tower of the Lord of the Night?” he said.

“Yes,” said Mortimer, “you were brought back, because you are needed to save

Alteria’s future, to save it from…”

      “Deranral,” stated Kaytosi.  There was a tone of sadness in his voice. 

Then he saw Kennen.

      “Uh… hi?” said Kennen. “Um, sorry about killing you and all, my employer…

Deranral told me that you were wanted for trying to assassinate him.  He

didn’t mention anything about you… if I knew it was you, I wouldn’t have

done it.  I’m really sorry… you can hit me if you want.”

      Kaytosi seemed to think for a second.  Then suddenly a fist, several meters

in diameter, came out of his sleeve, striking Kennen.  Kennen’s body soared

and smashed against a back wall, creating a large hole surrounded by cracks.

  The room went silent, save for the sound of Jedd laughing his ass off.

      Kennen fell face first to the ground, creating mumbling sounds in doing so.

  The wall regenerated itself back to normal with a slurping sound.

      Mortimer’s eyes widened. “Hmm.  I sense my tower is under attack.”

      “Correct.  It is.” said a voice behind him.  There, standing in the back

middle of the room, was the form of Deranral.

 

 

 

CHAPTER 16:  Deranral’s Ultimatum

 

      A throwing dagger, 2 blasts of water magic, a blast of dark magic, and a

crossbow bolt fired by Kennen all went through Deranral’s body and struck

the wall behind him.

      “Damn, it’s an astral form,” said Jedd, “one of us is too pansyass to show

his real face.”

      “I will,” said Deranral, “In five hours you may meet me on an island due

south of Maeldeon.  Meanwhile, you can deal with a few presents I left

outside.”

      “Fine,” said Mortimer, as Deranral’s figure vanished, “I suppose he is

making us fight these so we can waste our power against them, and we won’t

be at our peak when we eventually fight him.”

      “I know,” replied Kaytosi, “What shall we do?”

      “Losnyr, Kaytosi, prepare yourselves.  Jedd will lead you into the armoury

of my tower, where you can help yourselves to a couple of spears.  Jedd, you

can then join them in the final battle against Deranral.  Kennen, you will

help me.  I’m going to show Deranral he isn’t the only one who can summon

monsters.”  Mortimer had a sinister grin on his face.

 

      During the five hours of preparation, Losnyr and Kaytosi went to a small

island ripe with the energy of nature to calm themselves and put their minds

at rest.

      “So Deranral will end up destroying Alteria,” said Kaytosi, having heard

Losnyr’s tale.  “You may not have seen his true power, but I have.  From

what you have said, yes, both Jedd and Kennen have made quick work of all of

his summoned creatures and spells.  But it is my opinion that he was just

toying with you… His true power exceeds that of even Jedd.”

      Losnyr gulped.  “So do we have any hope in defeating him?”

      “Yes… Deranral may be powerful, but he has little combat experience

compared to the rest of us.  Losnyr, you have been training in Amtgardia for

over a year.  I have been questing and developing my skills for many a

decade, and Jedd has hundreds of years of combat experience, and has fought

beings more powerful than himself many times in the past.  Deranral never

did go through the training of a Mauriac; he never traveled to distant

planets to train.”

      “Forgive my rudeness, master… but I do want to know this.  How did Kennen

defeat you?”

      Kaytosi nodded.  “Kennen is a powerful warrior, perhaps one of the best. 

And I was using most of my power to bind Deranral’s; that is why he wanted

me dead.  I never thought he would be quite as low as to use an assassin, I

overestimated his morals.  Anyways, I sensed Kennen approaching one night,

and I escaped, leaving a false image and aura behind, which would fool all

but the wittiest assassin.  Unfortunately, despite how he acts and speaks

sometimes, Kennen is quite witty.”

      Kaytosi got up.  “Well, we had better leave early for the site where we

will fight Deranral…  We don’t want to use too much energy while flying.”

 

      The Lord of the Night, his summoned monsters, and Kennen were fighting off

the thousands of water-based creatures outside LotN’s tower.  Jedd, as usual

before a great battle, was in his favorite bar, to relax himself and rid

himself of his nervousness.

 

      Losnyr and Kaytosi arrived at the chosen island of battle to find Jedd,

lying on his back and staring at the clouds.

      “Well then, Jedd,” said Kaytosi, “I have not yet had the chance to thank

you for your help.  Without you, Losnyr would have most likely been killed

by Deranral.”

      “Actually,” replied Jedd, standing up, “I should be thanking you for

providing me with something to do.  This is actually getting kind of fun.”

      Suddenly, there was a flash of light.  A blast of water, originating out of

thin air, struck Jedd and sent him screaming into a forest on the horizon. 

Seconds later, there was an explosion of steam and heat, and a bare spot of

dead wet land where there used to be a section of forest.  Neither Losnyr

nor Kaytosi sensed any life from that area, much less Jedd.

      They did, however, sense Deranral.  Floating at least 20 feet off of the

ground, he looked down at them.  He held the tainted Oceanoid Spear in his

right hand, which appeared to have a 2-foot extension implanted at the

bottom of it.

      “Now you didn’t think I’d allow a Flaerien into an Alterian battle, did

you?”  he said, laughing, “And Kaytosi, I think you will see I have MUCH

more combat experience than you give me credit for.”

 

 

CHAPTER 17:  The Battle Begins

 

      “You… bastard!” shouted Losnyr.  He readied his spear, but Kaytosi grabbed

his shoulder.

      “Don’t lose your temper,” said Kaytosi, “that’s what he wants.”

      “But… he… killed… from behind…”

      “I know, and believe me, I feel the same way as you do.  But… we cannot get

desperate.  When you get desperate, you play right into the hands of your

opponent.”

      Losnyr nodded, and seemed to calm down.

      Deranral delicately raised his left hand.  “Who is next?” he taunted. 

Water energy around his left hand formed itself into a sphere, which began

to grow.

      “Time for us to get serious,” Kaytosi said; as he pulled his hood back,

revealing his well-groomed brown hair, blue eyes and strong face.

      Losnyr nodded, and did the same, revealing frizzy hair of deep blue, an

equally strong face, and blue eyes.

      The two Mauriacs nodded at each other, and charged Deranral.

      A fury of spear strikes attacked Deranral, but he blocked them all with his

own spear with seemingly little effort.  Both Losnyr and Kaytosi dashed

back, and fired large beams of water at Deranral.

      Deranral caught them both with his spear, sending them clear.  He then

raised his right arm, which sent an outburst of energy all around him. 

Kaytosi and Losnyr soared down, crashing against the ground.

      Losnyr slowly got up, wiping blood off of the left side of his mouth.  He

glanced over at Kaytosi, who had glided himself next to him.

      “We cannot fight him head on,” Kaytosi whispered, “We need tactics.  I will

attack from the front, and when I am almost upon him, you teleport behind

him.”

      Losnyr nodded.  He noticed the sphere of energy in Deranral’s left hand was

still there; only it was much bigger, about 2 meters in diameter. It was

still growing.

      Kaytosi flew up to attack Deranral, as Losnyr teleported behind him.  He

moved to thrust at him with his spear but was caught, as Deranral, without

looking, brought his spear back to hit him in the sternum with the pommel. 

Losnyr fell back, stunned.

      Deranral then thrust his spear forward to knock Kaytosi’s out of the way. 

Kaytosi used his free left hand to fire a blast of magic at him.  In one

fluid motion, Deranral tossed his spear up, swatted Kaytosi’s blast away

with the hand that was holding it, shot magic at Kaytosi, and caught his

spear. Kaytosi went crashing down to the ground.

      Deranral turned to face Losnyr.  His spear whirled across, the blade

cutting Losnyr in the right leg, and the pommel catching him in the left

temple.  Losnyr also began a spiraling trip to the ground.

      Kaytosi staggered to his feet, and quickly flew to Losnyr, who wasn’t

moving.  Losnyr was bleeding from the head, and there was a large amount of

blood coming out of his right leg.

      Losnyr’s eyes opened, and he slowly got up.  “Deranral…” he mumbled, “…has

been fighting us this entire time… without using his left arm…”

      Kaytosi looked up.  The energy sphere in Deranral’s left arm was still

growing.  It looked to be at least 20 feet across.

      “Hey Deranral!” said Kaytosi, “What do you plan to do with all that

energy?”

      Deranral calmly replied, “Flaerie has been quite a pest.  It seems that the

entire wretched planet is against me.  I take this as a serious threat to

Alteria, so I’m simply going to swat it out of the way.”

 

 

CHAPTER 18:  Impending Destruction

 

      Upon hearing Deranral’s plan, Losnyr began to stand up.  “No…” he said,

“…we cannot… allow him… to…”

      “Okay,” whispered Kaytosi as he helped Losnyr up, “We must attack that ball

of magic.  If we do, he will be unable to control it, and all of its energy

will be released.”

      “What?!  That will destroy the planet as well!  And us!”

      “Well, he has not gathered enough energy to destroy Flaerie quite yet. 

However, that blast will destroy this island.  As for us…” Kaytosi paused. 

“I cannot guarantee we will survive, but nonetheless, we will save

Flaerie... and Alteria.”

      Losnyr nodded.  “Do you have a plan?”

      “Yes.  I will attack Deranral head on, with all that I have.  You sit back

and gather energy.  When you have enough, teleport to Deranral’s left flank,

and fire into that sphere.  As soon as you do that, teleport back to the

Lord of the Night’s tower.”

      Losnyr shook his head.  "Why do you insist on attacking him head on?  You

are putting yourself in too dangerous of a position."

      “Indeed I am,” interrupted Kaytosi, “I have retired myself as a Mauriac, my

life does not have as much meaning as yours does, Losnyr… You have the

potential to be the greatest of us all, but we do not have time to talk. 

Start gathering energy, NOW!!!”

      “But…” started Losnyr, but he was too late; Kaytosi was flying up to meet

Deranral.

      Losnyr watched the melee as he started to gather energy.  Deranral, who was

obviously using a large amount of magic to enhance his speed and reflexes,

was blocking every one of Kaytosi’s spear shots.  Finally, Kaytosi flew back

and began to use both his hands to fire blast after powerful blast at

directly at Deranral, who, twirling his spear like a baton, blocked them

all.  Deranral then charged Kaytosi, his menacing spear set up to impale

him.

      Losnyr, having finished gathering energy, took this opportunity to teleport

himself to Deranral’s left side, firing a blast into the giant sphere of

magic above him. The blast bounced off and hit a large portion of the ground

below with a burst of steam.

      Deranral stopped, and laughed.  “It appears we want to see this explode. 

Very well; I have already gathered enough power to destroy this pathetic

excuse for a planet.” And with that, his left hand went down, as did the

energy sphere.

      Kaytosi grabbed Deranral from behind as the sphere hit the ground and began

expanding.  “Losnyr!” he shouted, “I’m binding Deranral’s magic to prevent

him from teleporting, so you get the hell out of here!”

      “But…” started Losnyr.

      “NOW!!!” screamed Kaytosi.

      “You insane fool!” yelped Deranral, “We will both…”

      Suddenly all eyes went down to Deranral’s sphere, which was no longer

expanding.  It was shrinking.

      “WHAT?” shouted Deranral.  He then head butted Kaytosi to escape, and

blasted him to the sky.

      Deranral’s sphere shrunk down to nothing, and in the center, lying on his

back with his arms crossed in front of his face, was Jedd.  He was breathing

very heavily, his eyes were no longer glowing, his black coat was off, his

ponytail tie was gone, and he had water burns all over his arms and face,

where there now resided a very serious look.

      Jedd’s arm came out and fired the sphere back at Deranral.  After

effortlessly swatting it away and out of Flaerie’s atmosphere with his left

hand, Deranral gave Jedd a menacing look.

      Jedd stared right back at Deranral with his deep blue eyes.

 

 

 

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