Resurrections

Branches ripped at his clothing and smacked across his tear-streaked face as Lantamaral Lain pushed his way through the underbrush as fast as he dared go. Behind him, he could hear the sounds of the pursuit that had dogged him since Molcum.

The Dark Espers weren’t bothering to push through the wilderness like he was—he could hear them blasting their way through with magic, without regard for all that they were destroying.

"Find him!" he heard the woman’s voice call over the destruction. "Bring me the Protector!" The woman seemed to be in high standing among the Dark Espers and seemed to be in command of the force that had attacked his adopted home.

Lant tripped and went sprawling in the dirt. As he scrambled to his feet, something icy cold and very strong clamped around his ankle like a vice and pulled hard, tossing him back down. He heard a sultry chuckle and looked back.

"Hello, Protector," Morgan said pleasantly, smiling like a wolf.

* * *

Eldara leaned into the wind and pulled her cloak tighter about herself. Beside her, Tamgren stumbled in the snow and she caught his arm, pulling him back up. "Are you all right?" she called over the howling of the wind.

Tamgren nodded briefly, his face beet red from the cold. She pitied him—and Rika and Alys too, for not being natives to the utter numbing cold of Dezolis.

The Most Reverent led the way. It was hard for Eldara to think of Rachel Toraneille in that way. Though Rachel obviously didn’t remember her at all, Eldara had known her when they were both children in the Mansion, before Eldara had left for Gumbio us for her special Magi training. She hadn’t been informed of Kyra’s death, but since the Espers and the Magi had both started priming for a potential assault on Algo, the two groups had drifted apart. Eldara didn’t get to the Mansion much any more, and h er position as Councilman was more in recognition of her standing among the Magi then anything else, as she didn’t really function in an official capacity among the Espers.

The Church-sworn Magi had been formed after the Redemption after a petition by the old Archbishop to have a garrison posted at the newly rebuilt Temple. At that time, the Magi had been more of a sub-group among the Espers, but it was Eldara’s stron g suspicion that eventually they would be a group entirely separate from the Espers.

Alys, Myrelle and Rika had filled in the rest of the story for Rachel after she had spoken about Chaz the night before. That was a name Eldara was familiar with, at least in passing. Eight years ago, word had still traveled between the two groups, if slowly. Rachel had taken Myrelle to her room and they had spent the better part of the night together while Rachel dissected his story—most likely in the hopes that it would give her a clue as to the location of the Silver Fang. If anything, Myrelle’s story more upset then informed Rachel. The knowledge that Seth was also looking for, and might even have secured possession of the Fang, deeply disturbed her.

"If Seth has the Fang," Rachel had explained, "then he must have another secured area where he’s keeping it other then the Stronghold." She shook her head. "Or my probes missed it completely, in which case I’m incompetent, and I don’t think I am."

"How much farther do you think it is?" Tamgren asked her, and she returned to the present.

"It’s in a valley not very deep into the mountains," Eldara told him. "We’re almost there now." She pointed. "Just over that ridge, I think…"

A sudden flare of light illuminated the mid-morning sky and a bright purple bolt of lightning flared down from the white clouds above. Eldara felt a surge of magic travel outwards from where it impacted like a shockwave. The signature was startling ly familiar to her—and she was suddenly terrified.

Someone had called down lightning on Tachel’s camp!

And whoever was doing it was using the Eclipse Torch.

"Tachel!" she screamed and took off running, pushing past Rachel without a second thought. A moment later she heard someone follow her, calling out her name, but she didn’t look back.

Eldara topped the ridge and then descended into a battlefield.

* * *

Rika made a lunge for Eldara as she took off running. "No! It’s too dangerous!" she cried after her as she missed and fell into the snow. "Eldara! Stop!"

Tamgren had mirrored her gesture on Eldara’s left and missed as well, but successfully kept his balance in the snow and took off at a run after her, right past Rachel, who stood stock still and unmoving. Within a second they had both disappeared ov er the edge.

"Damn it!" Rika yelled, pounding her fist in the snow. "What’s gotten into Tamgren!" A moment later, Myrelle’s head poked up out of the snow where he had been thrown from his perch on Rika’s shoulder when she had fallen.

"What’s going on?" he demanded.

"Morovin is here," Rachel said suddenly, starting out of her trance. "And he’s got the Eclipse Torch. He wants to eradicate Tachel’s forces before he can oppose him." She smiled thinly. "I found the Eclipse Torch and I’ve managed to render it dorma nt for a few minutes, but it won’t be long before Morovin finds his way through my spell. Now he knows where I am, so I’ll likely be the target of the next assault. Tachel needs the rest of you, so get clear before we start fighting. With any luck, I can draw the devastation away from the camp."

Rika almost protested, but saw the determination in Rachel’s eyes. "I understand," Alys told her. "Do what you have to do. Rika, Danielle, Myrelle, come with me."

"Wait," Rachel said suddenly. "Myrelle, you stay. You know magic, don’t you? Good. I’ll need all the help I can get. I’m going to need you to help me hold off Morovin so I can strike back now and again. I might be able to end this right now."

Myrelle’s eyes lit up. Rika felt a pang of fear for the Musk Cat, for what he might be becoming. "Fine," he said anticipation in his voice. Rika gave Alys a brief, questioning look, saw her nod, then followed her and Danielle down the ridge.

Rachel beckoned and approached the ridge, then crested it. Myrelle sat down next to her and looked across the valley.

Tachel’s camp was fairly large, but it was devastated. The group was pock marked where Morovin’s attacks had leveled it, and the general melee consisted of Dark Espers, Magi, Dezolisians fighting the Dark Espers, and more Dezolisians fighting the D ezolisians fighting the Dark Espers. Myrelle latched onto Alys, Rika and Danielle as they descended into the battle, but quickly lost them in the confusion. "Where’s Morovin?" he asked.

"I don’t know. I can’t pinpoint him until he strikes back, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to unless he can get the Eclipse Torch working again. Do you know how to link minds?"

"Umm…no."

"That’s all right, I’ll do it. Relax, and don’t fight me." Myrelle felt Rachel extend her magic towards him and penetrate his consciousness. Abruptly, he felt all singularity of his personality become merged with Rachel’s, as they became as close t o one person as two people can be.

"This is a little dangerous," they said in unison, though the words were Rachel’s. "Which is why it’s rarely done between two Espers, since they’re usually functioning on roughly the same wavelength. Why have we done it, then? Because, Myrelle, our magic styles are different. I don’t really understand. That’s all right. You manipulate elements at a basic level, to accomplish the effects you require for staying alive on Dezolis. We Espers use more specialized magic then your…What is it that y our people call it, Myrelle? Weaving. How poetic. In any case, I can’t assume that you’ll know what I’m doing when I get started, and I need you to keep up. Which is why I did it. Oh. Why is it dangerous? Because if I die, you’ll be a vegetable for the re st of your life, Myrelle. I…see. Do you want to stop this? No, I don’t. I’m going to hurt them, Rachel."

For an outsider watching, the path of their thoughts and linked voices would have been almost impossible to follow, but with their thoughts moving practically as one, he was not only keeping up with Rachel, he almost knew what she was going to say before they spoke it. The ground began to rumble beneath their feet.

"Morovin’s coming back," they said. As they began to move their differing magical abilities along a single path, lone consciousness practically vanished. "We have to keep hitting him, draw his attacks away from the camp. I’m going to try using my I>t’santari. The Elsydeon can be our trump card."

Lightning arced down from the clear sky as clouds began to gather above their heads. A chill wind blew. The lightning exploded nearby them, but they quickly erected a barrier of shimmering magical force around the explosion to contain it.

"Now, while he’s off balance, follow the path of the lightning back to its source." Their single duality flashed along the magic’s path and found the Eclipse Torch, wove its way through it and found Morovin. They struck him. Hard. Morovin reeled, a nd returned fire through the Eclipse Torch. The ground buckled around them. Myrelle’s magic worked flawlessly, a simple Weave of earth expanded around the entire area, enhanced by Rachel, and calmed the fault line Morovin had created.

"I’ve got him pin pointed," they exclaimed. "Now, we’ll render the Eclipse Torch inoperative again." Back along the ways of magic, which Myrelle had never truly explored, into the heart of the artifact. Their magic struck against it and…

"No effect," they said. "He’s defending against us. He’s off balance. Keep trying to break down his defenses and he won’t have a chance to hit us back." As one, their faces began to knit in a mixture of concentration and pain. "Have to keep up."

* * *

Eldara and Tamgren fought back to back, Eldara wielding a full metal staff, the use of which all Magi were trained it, and Tamgren with a sword with a laser charged blade he had brought from Zelan. They had already felled two of about forty Dark Es pers who were storming the encampment. The rest of the force seemed to be Okerin’s. Okerin’s force outnumbered the priests behind Tachel, but the Magi dominated the Dark Espers in terms of numbers, if not power.

Farther across the valley, Tamgren could see what was apparently Tachel’s base of operations and it looked as if the priests and Magi were rallying there. He could see Rika, Alys and Danielle moving as a group towards it, cutting a swath through th e enemy ranks. But where were Rachel and Myrelle?

His blade hummed in his fist as he carved through another Dezolisian soldier, cleaving through his collarbone and into flesh with relative ease. Tamgren was no swordsman, but the almost superhuman quality of his weapon made up for it to some extent .

Tamgren had been reticent about delving into the armory of Zelan for weaponry—as far as he was concerned, weapons were the least interesting of the technologies Zelan had to offer. He was far from being a pacifist; it was simply that weapons develo pment held no interest for the young scientist.

Once again the invisible energy field around the blade proved its lethal potential as he managed to get the drop on yet another Dark Esper. As the man fell, he saw behind him a perfectly still, one-armed figure in black.

"Eldara!" he cried. "It’s Morovin!" He darted forward, blade flashing.

"Tamgren, no!"

Tamgren slammed into the Archlord and brought him down, pinning Morovin’s arm by his side and slamming his forehead into Morovin’s skull, snapping the Archlord’s head into the ground. Morovin grunted as his skull cracked against the floor of the va lley, but seemed strangely limp. A largish glass sphere rolled away from him.

"I’m through!" Rachel and Myrelle cried out.

Eldara could only watch helplessly as Tamgren slammed into Morovin and they both toppled. She brought her light metal rod around into her opponent’s jaw, and the Dezolisian fell like a rock. There were few staff fighters in the world to rival the M agi. Gripping her staff two handed near both it’s end points she stepped nearer Tamgren. She swore. Dark Espers were gravitating towards their threatened leader. Raising her staff, she launched energy from its tip and sent one sprawling. She spun and brou ght the length of her staff down, hard, on the skull of a Dark Esper that got too close, then quickly brought it up under the stunned heretic’s chin. His jaws snapped together and the Dark Esper screamed as he bit through his own tongue.

"Eldara!" Danielle appeared beside her, blaster flaring. She glanced around and saw Alys and Rika holding back the tide in the area around Tamgren. She quickly dropped her guard and spun to look at Tamgren. The Archlord of the Dark Espers was strug gling back now, but Tamgren seemed to have the upper hand. She tried to approach, but found herself halted by an invisible barrier Morovin had erected. As she extended her senses into the barrier, she called out "Lutz?"

"There!" Alys pointed to the ridge. Eldara followed her gaze up to where Rachel and Myrelle stood motionless. As her gaze returned to Morovin, she saw the Eclipse Torch lying in the snow just outside the barrier.

Something clicked.

"Light, no!" she screamed. "They’re going attack! Tamgren!"

A cocoon of green magical fire suddenly erupted around Morovin and Tamgren.

"Tamgren!" Rachel shouted, ripping free of the link so quickly that Myrelle collapsed to the snow, barely conscious. She stemmed the flow of magic, but it was too late, too late…

Howling in agony, Morovin shoved the upstart brat off of him and drew upon his healing magic to extinguish the fires covering his body. Magic exploded around his barrier as his Espers rushed to his aid. It would only be a matter of time before the Protectors clustered around his shielding fell.

He was having trouble putting out the flames, his concentration blurred by the pain. He needed to defend himself. Where was the Eclipse Torch?

His questing eyes found it, lying where it had rolled just outside his barrier. Mustering what power remained in his pain racked body, he began to extend his shields to encompass it.

There were no weaknesses in Morovin’s barrier. Eldara was an Esper of no mean power, but she couldn’t compare to the likes of Morovin, Rachel and Chaz by any definition of the world. She was barely above average and against a sorcerer as powerful a s the Archlord…

Eldara! Rachel’s voice sounded in her mind. The Torch!

Cursing herself, Eldara realized what Morovin was doing and dove for the Eclipse Torch. At the same time, she felt forces enter her body and she realized that Rachel was drawing her into a joining of the minds. The Lutz was already pushed to th e limits, but Eldara threw all of her power into maintaining the link over such huge distances.

Her shoulder slammed against the extending barrier, but the pain was swept away by the euphoria of the magic. Her fingers found the smooth surface of the Eclipse Torch and she snatched it up and clutched it to her chest as she crashed to her belly in the snow. Quickly, she rolled to one side so as not to be caught by Morovin’s barrier, and felt Rachel already guiding her power into the deepest recesses of the Torch’s power even as she began to throw her strength into whatever Rachel had planned.

The skies shattered. Thunder roared across the skies that were black as night, hot rain and hailstones like shrapnel hammered against the battlefield. Lightning slammed into the Dark Esper forces. Then, a moment later, Rachel withdrew her powers an d the deluge ceased.

Morovin looked up as he felt Lutz’s voice penetrate his mind.

Morovin.

Silence.

I will do it, Archlord.

There was steel in that voice, Morovin realized. Perhaps you might. This could very well be refreshing, Lutz. I had always thought Espers were soft.

As you wish.

As the valley abruptly emptied of everything save priests, Magi and corpses, Rachel slipped to her knees. Joining was not an easy thing under any circumstances, and not two in quick succession, one over a distance. The storm had taken a lot of her power, and as well she hadn’t been sure she could bluff Morovin… But she had.

She was so very tired.

Sighing gently, Rachel fell into the snow and slipped into a deep, cleansing oblivion.

* * *

"They’ll be all right?" Eldara asked.

Night had fallen over the mostly destroyed camp when Eldara had had a chance to join Rachel and Tamgren in the infirmary. Tachel N’Par himself, Archbishop of Gumbious, was seeing to their care personally.

Rachel seemed to be peacefully asleep. Tamgren was another matter. The priests had taken great care assessing his injuries, and he lay on the cot stripped and uncovered so as not to aggravate his massive burns. There seemed to be very little of his body that had been spared the fire. The priests’ own special brand of healing magic had managed to save his face, in particular his eyes, which had almost been melted by the heat. Though his vision might never be quite the same, he would see when he awok e.

Tachel lay a gentle hand upon Rachel’s brow. Nearby, Danielle stood silent watch, while Rika and Alys dozed nearby. Myrelle was nowhere to be found. "Lutz is merely very tired. She has taken her abilities and exhausted them over the past several da ys. She must have had practically no power left when she began the battle, and she was very flamboyant in her expenditures. While it may take her several days to fully recover, I expect her to be conscious by morning." He turned to Tamgren.

"This brave young man is another matter entirely. It was quite a potent counterstrike he was caught in. Luckily, he was at the outer edge of the power and he also seemed to have been caught in some of the ambient protection of Morovin’s shields—due to the proximity. Otherwise, he would be dead. But we don’t have the facilities necessary to treat him…even with our magic." Tachel shook his head. "If he hasn’t begun to recover by tomorrow morning, I think we should place him in a stasis—while in the s tasis he won’t heal, but he won’t suffer a relapse. With magical injuries this serious…"

"I understand, Archbishop," Eldara told him. "But you should be telling Alys, not me."

"Let her sleep. We could all do with some, I should think. Tomorrow, we will worry about battles and wars, and you can tell me all about what’s been going on outside this valley."

"I could tell you now, Archbishop…"

"Sleep, Councilman. We need you to function, don’t we?" Tachel smiled sweetly at her.

Eldara shook her head. "I…I think I’ll stay with Tamgren for a while. Just in case."

She felt herself flush uncomfortably as Tachel gave her a probing gaze. Then he smiled again. "You care for him, don’t you?"

"He was…very brave, Archbishop," Eldara replied defensively. "He recovered the Eclipse Torch for us and may very well have won the day for us."

"Of course, child. Please fetch me if anything should happen during the night." Tachel stepped around her and out the door.

Walking to the table set between the two cots, Eldara drew up a chair next to Tamgren’s and extinguished the single candle in the room. In the sudden darkness, she shifted so that she could watch his face and the steady, if shallow, rise and fall of his chest. Within a moment, she was asleep.

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