As the mist cleared, the two approached each other. Godara immediately began looking for intent from Seven. This stone seeker clearly wasn't alive like others he'd read, but the monk could sense a faint intent behind the metal exterior, nothing violent, but strange, as if it was permanently split in decision.
A vibration emanated from the creature of steel, a cacophony of alien sounds. Godara began to concentrate to see if he could pick out meaning behind the sounds. He attuned himself to one frequency, the highest pitch noises, realising the sounds formed chunks - no, words. A language? Concentrating further, he realised he could pick out the meaning of a few. Godara recalled a teaching from the Blazing Foot Temple - while not well versed in it, he recognised this as an ancient language, said to be spoken by gods.
Communication was getting nowhere with this onslaught of words.
"Calm," intoned Godara. The verbal assault ended. "My broken understanding will have to do."
"You... sun stone?"
"{Yes.}"
It must have understood the basic point of that, thought Godara.
"Why?"
An unintelligible mass of words followed. These must be separate voices - the split intent was not indecision, but split consciousness.
"Calm."
There was no point in suffering this further - Godara decided to get straight to the point.
"Sun stone... after?"
He was unsure if his meaning would get across, but this was crucial. He had to know what this stone seeker's plans were after obtaining the Sunstone. If these consciousnesses intended to harm Avelaide, he'd have to end them here. But no response came. The metal warrior stood motionless. This time, the intent was clearly indecision.
Then, a single word. "{([Speed.])}"
"That's no answer... 'Why?'
Again, motionless. Crashing sounds from the top of the temple reminded the pair of the other seekers vying for the Sunstone above. If this metal being had no motives, then perhaps a temporary alliance would do - no wish was better than a wish to harm Avelaide.
"We go. Speed."
Godara held the flat of his sword outward, attempting a gesture of companionship.
"(Yes.) "
It touched its shield to the sword. An understanding!
"[We... Seven.]"
A name?
"Godara."
The hunters hurtled back up the temple, single minded in their objectives. They sprinted for the end of the journey, for the peace of the land, for the Sunstone.
Thanks @dcw03000, your feedback means the world. I hope to see you in the next Tournament. @AxNoodle will be entering their perspective of the battle soon as well
Seven had spent their travel to Solastir thinking and training, though never ceasing their sprint. They practiced concentrating the power of the Stone of the Titan, focusing its resistant powers into different areas of their vessel of steel. Most usefully, focusing its repulsion into their legs, Seven was able to unlock ever greater speeds.
{This shield is ever a mystery.} [It allows us to absorb speed.]
{Indeed. So why did it take speed from the lizard’s flames?}
(The fire moves onwards, like us.) {It has no form to move, however. It exclusively consists of energy.} (It moves nonetheless.) {Then energy has speed.}
[Impossible, for it moves nothing.]
(Then energy is speed.) {That explains all.}
[What of matter?]
(Matter exists to be moved through. This obstacle, for example.)
Seven bursts through the wall, and is immediately thrown back by a blast of electrical power. Standing up, they saw who must have been the attacker, and take a dash towards them. The winged attacker dodged. In one fluid motion, Seven punched the Forge Stone into the ground, broke off a chunk, and hurled it at their enemy. It again dodged and began to retreat further into the city. (Perhaps this one knows the location of the Sunstone, and aims to claim the speed for themselves.) [Then, we chase.]
Seven stood, among four other stone hunters, considering the next action to take. [This one has the speed.]
(Then we take it.) {Let us observe other attempts first. This one clearly has no intention to -) The lizard-riding hunter was the first to run forwards, quickly countered and pushed back by a spirit of flame. Next came a lightning-wielding one, also pushed back by a spirit. This one piqued Seven’s interest - a being of pure light. {The light one is fast.} (This confirms the Sunstone has speed to be gained.) [Light is energy, and energy…]
(We test the theory.)
Seven made for the stone, but the spirit did not disappoint as they were sent flying through the building’s levels, into an area below.
It wasn’t long before they were joined by the lightning-user and Spirit. {This one may be fast, but…}
Part 2: Stoneseeker’s Clash [This one obstructs.] (Through them.) The spirit of light flashed before seven, coming in with a devastatingly fast bash. Meeting the blow with the shield of their own, Seven recycled the spirit’s attack into an onslaught of charges, zipping around the spirit to charge from new angles. However, all attempts were countered perfectly by the bright assailant. [This one has speed.] {As does the other one.}
One of the earlier hunters appeared beside the spirit, a lightning-wreathed sword heading straight for the undefended back of the spirit. He flew away just as quickly; without so much as a blink of an eye between movements, the spirit deftly deflected the sword, countered the secondary swipe, and delivered a light-speed kick into the lightning user. The two hunters hurtled back into the fray.
A single moment - Slice, block, dice, dodge, bash, stop, crash, block - a millennia of fighting - Slash, elude, lash, evade, slam, juke, dash, rebuke - with no end in sight
{We have bided enough.) Face aglow, Seven released the culmination of the blows it’d collected in a blazing flash. A piercing blue light erupted from the spirit as Seven channeled the immense energy through the Forge Stone, quaking the air. Though the spirit caught only a glancing blow from the shockwave, it stumbled -
A sword again arced for the unprepared spirit, a-
Seven was sent flying. The spirit all but phased through the sword and leveraged Seven’s shield into a throw. [A challenge.]
(We must press o-) {Zeal. Our previous actions had no positive effects.} (All the more-) [No. These ones match our speed, if not surpass it.]
(Then we’ll go faster the next time.) {A simple solution…}
[What is that one doing? No speed emanates from that stone.]
{That one’s going to-}
Seven’s legs hardened -
A shield appeared between the other two fighters, intercepting a lethal strike. {We appear to have saved that one.}
[Again, we travelled without moving.]
Seven turned their head back at the human they’d defended. A brief nod of recognition. {It’s in our interests to fight with this one. We share a goal.}
A flash of lightning, a kick, a rapid charge, a swift feint, a crashing hilt. The spirit was forced back, on the defensive from the coordinated assault.
Unrelenting, the pair tore forward - slash crash bash thrash - A blazing brisk battle - hack smash stab grab - accelerating, faster, not a moment to counter
The air grew hot with friction as the trio became all but a blur, then the spirit was tossed - (We can always go faster,) {we can always improve,}
[limits are fiction;] Immense power flowed through the shield and Iron Heart, Seven’s glow covering their whole body - (MATTER IS ENERGY) The air screaming, Seven tore towards the spirit {ENERGY IS SPEED}
a red trail appeared where they had stood a moment ago, lunging ahead [SPEED IS ALL]
tearing though the spirit, launching it
an army of one, mists shooting, blast through a pillar -
A dense mist exploded around the avatar followed by a burst of bright, white light.
Image by DC comics, edited by @Tonysparks, myself and a touch of AI
Part 3: Stoneseeker’s Communication
{It’s over.} (But we’re not finished.) [This one approaches.] Seven stepped forward to meet with the approaching human. Vibrating to sound out words, Seven attempted to converse. “{Thank (you}’ re admirably {f}(ast){or cooperating}.” Seven’s words fell on completely still ears. They tried again. “[{We} assume (you{ are }]speedy){[ here for the Sunstone.] This (stone}s of power are our -)”
“Calm,” intoned the human. {We are understood?} (Perhaps an agreement can be come to. We seem to have similar ambitions.) Some unknown words came from the potential ally. “You… sun stone?” [Not fully.]
“(Yes.)” “Why?” “(You [must ]have the same [{ ambition, to become faster -)} ”
“Calm. Sun stone…” A pause, then,
“After?”
{After the Sunstone?) (We press onward, obtain the power then… then…) [We’ll take the stone, and after that we…]
{We…}
(go onward, forward, faster than before!) {To where?}
[It matters not. We have our answer, ]
“{([Speed.])}”
“Why?”
(Why? We need not a why -) {This one is right. Our purpose may be speed, but why do we aspire to improve?} (We’re not stopping now.) [But for what reason did we start?]
(To go faster, -) {No. Why must we? What purpose is to be gained in becoming closer to all reality has to offer?} [The will that drove us to move earlier…]
Seven stood motionless, each spirit attuning themselves to their environment. They could feel four influences, minor though they were, embedded within their vessel. The Forge Stone, Iron Heart, and the Stone of the Titan along with the long-dormant Vae’Vyn programming. Was this programming influencing the stones…?
A crash rang out from above, reminding the hunters of the other two hunters and the ongoing fight for the Sunstone.
“We go. Speed.” “(Yes. We also look to become faster. Call us Seven.)” “Godara.”
As the two blazed out of the room, a thought occurred to Seven. [Every stone we’ve claimed, the power we’ve gained, was previously used for violence.]
(Violence leads to the stopping of motion, the end of energy.) [Then violence is our enemy?]
{War… the pointless ceasing…}
(Our vessel’s will aims to protect the motion of the world.) {Life…}
(Life is motion.) {Motion is speed.}
(Speed is all.)
[We have our answer to the question.]
“{[(WE WILL SLAY THE BEAST OF WAR.)]}”
The hunters hurtled back up the temple, single minded in their objectives. They sprinted for the end of the journey, for the peace of the land, for the Sunstone.
Don’t worry, you didn’t rush me, I just finally had the time to get on with finishing it. There was no chance of me getting anything done on it this past week. The collab was fun!
In two weeks from the 28'th of March, I will have a few days off from work, and I would love to use these days to write the final battle between the five stone hunters and Bahamun.
So I'm gonna set a deadline for at the 27'th of March before the final battle. If there is any more stories you'd like to write make sure to post them before then. Tenebris, remember that you may ask me to fill in for Alissa during her and Sofia's fight against the avatar of flame if you would like to.
Tenebris wanted to add Sara's and Alissa's fight against the avatar of flame.
I'll post the last fight's first part this week regardless if Tenebris have posted his segment. Then during the weekend I'll post the second and concluding part.
Which is good as I may finally wrap up FF7 Rebirth. God damn game is long.
First rays of the morning sun spread in the sky, chasing away the night. Sara flew above the sand dunes towards the brightening western horizon. Solastir awaited.
Sara no longer had her heavy armor which she wore during the battle of the legion stone. Right after leaving the oasis, she paid a visit to a certain grumpy blacksmith in Monastir, and almost begged for a lighter armor suited for flying. The dwarven blacksmith reinforced her old traveling dress with light and durable mithril steel: Breastplate, gauntlets, and boots, and helped Sara equip them. He was a master multitasker, for he managed to do all that while cursing, smoking, and complaining for being awoken so early in the morning. Sara gave him the last pouch of coins she had left, offered her deepest gratitude, and flew away.
As she reached a lake, Sara saw smoking ruins of a village at its northern shore. With a light tilt she glided closer, and her eyes widened and mouth opened from shock when she saw bodies: Monks lying on the streets, floating in the water, and burned into ash. Dozens upon dozens of lives ended only mere hours ago. The buildings were still burning, and the few walls which were still standing had deep claw marks.
Battle of the lost legion all over again, Sara thought as she flew high above the village. She gasped when she saw wounded monks helping other survivors, tending their wounds, digging them out of rubble, and calming the despairing ones in vain. One of them looked up and saw Sara. She wanted to stop and aid them, in any way she could. But she forced her eyes shut and left them behind. A heat of shame washed over her body.
Alissa, thou monster! Is this how low thou would stoop? With the blood of innocents on thy fingers, thou would try to take the sunstone? All the pain thou hast caused... And what thou hadst done to Master Gidel...
Sara flapped her wings as hard as she could and gripped the hilt of her sheathed longsword.
I'll find thee in the city first... and... Thou shall--
"You'll kill her too... So surprising!" a voice of a young girl said near Sara.
"Wh-what?" Sara said in surprise. Looking to her side, she saw a familiar looking dove flying beside her, its feathers shining as brightly as a moon.
"Just like the singing lady," the echoing voice of the dove said. "You'll cut everyone standing between you, the stone, and the throne. How violent!"
"That's not what I--"
"Oh, but you don't have a choice, do you? You must do what is right, even if it brings out the worst from you!"
"Shut thy beak!" Sara said and waved her hand at the dove. It disappeared when her fingers almost touched it. "I've not come this far to stop now!"
"A pity," the girl's voice said from Sara's other side, where the glowing dove had appeared. "It seems our little princess of Lohtoreth has already been consumed by the flames of revenge... Just like Alissa... Just like King Uncle!"
"Leave me alone!!" Sara shouted and waved her other hand in fury. Only the howling wind accompanied her afterwards. She let out a deep, sad sigh, held her forehead with her fingers, then flew on with all her speed.
"I'm not like Alissa... or like my Uncle. I know what I must do, for the sake of my kin."
"But is your method truly the correct way?" the sound asked with Sara's own voice. Whether it really was Sara's voice all along, she didn't give it much thought, nor an answer for the question, as the city of Solastir grew ever larger before her. An explosion echoed within its walls.
Boots of metal stomped on a polished palace floor as Sara ran through a corridor towards a wide-oped door. She spread her wings and ran for her dear life when roaring wall of fire blasted through the corridor after her. The moment she stepped outside, Sara jumped with the flap of her wings, and the red fire spread below her into the garden, feeding the already-burning plants and flowers there.
Sara winced and covered her face with her hands as the sight-distorting heat slammed into her, lifting her higher up to the cool morning winds. Thick grey smoke formed its wall around the garden, and to its center walked the Avatar of Flame, mirror-image of the human warrior holding the Sunstone. With his golden spear and shield at the ready, he looked up at Sara with shadowed eyes and an expression -- either stoic or that of a tired guardian -- on his face.
With his burning spear flipping, the Avatar raised it over his shoulder and pointed its tip at the Angel high above. Sara touched her forehead with her sword's blade in a ritualistic manner and closed her eyes for a second.
Master Gidel... help me, like you always have. Queen's Thorn... remind me of his teachings.
Then with her left hand's finger, Sara touched the yellow Stone of Song and Beauty in her necklace, the light-blue Heart of the Guardian in her sword's guard, and the white Stone of the Lost Legion in her breastplate. Swoosh! The Avatar threw his spear, which flew at Sara with incredible speed, and the Angel readied her sword.
Clash! Bright sparks flew all around as Sara parried the spear off its mark. She had no time to think of an attack approach as another two spears were flying at her. Clash! Clash! A shower of sparks. The Avatar conjured a new spear from his palm whenever he had thrown the previous one. Boom! Boom! Each spear which Sara parried exploded on the surrounding buildings and streets of the garden as they fell.
The smoke of the garden swirled violently, and through it emerged the black dragon Kamurik, and riding upon it, Red Scourge Alissa herself. The Avatar turned, and Kamurik landed upon him, pinning him down with its right foot. While he laid supine, Alissa thrust her spear at him, and he grabbed the blood-red blade with his left hand as it pierced his chest. Swirling flame-tongues spiraled from the Avatar's hand along the spear and climbed to Alissa's right hand, who couldn't pull her weapon off in time. The Red Knight was no stranger to burning, but the pain caused by the flame-tongues around her right arm made her scream.
Foom! The Avatar burned fiercely under Kamurik's right foot like a comet, which was too much to bear even for a Black Royal Dragon. Scales flying off its toes, Kamurik pulled its foot off him, backed away, and threatened the Avatar with its open maw. He stood up, but as he heard violent crackling from behind him, the Avatar turned around with shield ready.
Kra-kam! Sara pointed her left hand and the sword in her right hand at the Avatar, sending blue chains of lightning at him from the tip of her sword and fingers. The Avatar blocked with his shield, and when the lightning chains attached to it, Sara tried closing her hand into a fist, then pulled the shield with the lightning, as if it was a rope.
But the Avatar cut the lightning chains with his spear's blade and charged at Sara. She quickly gripped her sword's hilt with both hands and parried, evaded, and blocked the numerous attacks of the Avatar. The countless hours of training had come to fruition as Sara kept her ground against the Avatar unscathed for six seconds, until he thrust his spear into the ground. Bright fiery cracks spread on the ground under Sara's feet, and she instinctively jumped and flew up.
Boom! The ground exploded around the Avatar, then through the smoke, Kamurik's black tail whipped him in a blink of an eye. Slap! The Avatar was sent flying across the garden, rolling each time he touched the ground, until he hit the ground deliberately with his spear, manipulating his roll to land feet first against the palace wall, then he jumped horizontally at Kamurik, fire showering from his feet like a comet's tail, and buried his spear into the dragon's chest. Kamurik let out an anguished roar, stood on its hind legs, and began falling to its side.
With a raging warcry, Alissa jumped from her saddle and aimed her blood-red spear at the Avatar. Ka-Boom! He thrust his spear at Alissa's, and both weapons exploded at the same time. Alissa flew many meters away before hitting the hard ground. She laid supine and looked at the Avatar, who had blocked the explosion with his shield and was standing tall under a fleeting rain of burning blood. He jumped high with a trail of fire, and plunged at Alissa with his spear. She rolled out of the way, stood up, and took a defensive stance. Her charred and smoking right hand shook from pain, but she deflected the Avatar's following attacks as best as she could.
Sara looked at Alissa and the Avatar, and stopped flying closer. The Red Scourge was reaching her limits: Her guard was broken repeatedly by the Avatar, whose fire only burned stronger as the battle went on. If Alissa reacted too slowly on any moment, her life would've ended right there. Sara turned her head to look at the burned village in the distance, then her eyes shifted upon the shimmering lake.
Kamurik raised its head, looked at its deep, cauterized wound on its chest, then roared when it saw the Avatar fighting Alissa. Without mercy, the Avatar hit Alissa's weapon off her hands, then he thrust his spear at her. Clash! White wings blocked Alissa's view as Sara rushed from the side to parry the deathblow. The red-haired Angel stood before the unarmed Knight, and protected her from the Avatar.
The stone of Song and Beauty in Sara's necklace shined its golden light as she sang in elvish. Heart of the Guardian responded by lending its lightning to Sara's sword. With a final echoing word, Sara thrust her sword towards the sky, sending a bolt of lightning to the heavens. Within the same second, six bolts fell down and circled the Avatar, forming a violent, crackling net of lightning that shrunk and forced him to kneel.
"Hark!" Sara shouted in common to Alissa, who picked up her weapon. "We can not vanquish this foe here! Mount thy dragon, and help me lure him to the lake beyond east wall!"
Alissa looked at Sara, then towards east, where the sun was rising over the city's tall wall. Sara glanced at Alissa. "Didst thou hear me?!" The Avatar broke the lightning net with his spear and gathered spiraling flames around its blade.
"Hurry!" Sara shouted and channeled lightning to her left hand. Kra-Swoosh! The Avatar pointed with his spear and unleashed a vortex of fire at the two fighters. Sara responded by casting pillars of lightning with her hand to break the vortex. During the dance of red and blue sparks, Alissa ran back to Kamurik, mounted it, then it spread its wings to fly.
Sara ran out of the burning garden and towards the east wall through the empty streets. The approaching flapping of flames warned her of the Avatar's thrown spear, which she turned to face, parry, then continue running after. Alissa saw from above how each explosive spear destroyed homes, shattered windows, and ruined the occasional school or hospital along the way. One hit a tower, which collapsed on the street right in front of Sara. She stopped running before being crushed by its bricks, then turned to look behind.
The Avatar ran faster than any mortal man and without any hint of exhaustion. Sara prepared to take flight, but the Avatar threw a fireball which exploded right above her, preventing her escape. Sara rolled towards the Avatar with some of her feathers burning, and the two were locked in melee combat again.
Alissa landed Kamurik on a nearby building's roof, which had a small tower at its center. She gave an order, and the black dragon began to tear the tower's top off with its claws.
The fight was taking its toll on Sara. While she grew weaker, the Avatar fought even more ferociously. He found an opening and thrust his spear at Sara, cutting her left shoulder. Sara groaned and glanced at the smoking, cauterized wound before blocking the next slash of the spear. The Avatar slid his spear's blade along Sara's sword to its guard, manipulated it to a low position, then violently pulled his weapon, cutting Sara's right thigh in the process. The new wound hurt even more than the previous one, and Sara backed away against a wall while the Avatar advanced. Then he noticed a rush of wind from the side and turned to look.
Crash! Kamurik had thrown the top of the tower at the Avatar, burying him in bricks and dust. Sara covered her eyes from tiny flying rocks with her hand, then she escaped from the dead end and took another street to the east wall. Alissa made Kamurik resume its flight when she saw fire emerging from under the bricks.
Bam! The Avatar jumped from the pile with an explosion and landed on the roof which Kamurik just left. They had almost reached the east wall. Alissa glanced behind: The Avatar jumped from roof to roof, chasing them relentlessly. He began throwing spears at the flying dragon, and Alissa pulled its reins from side to side, helping it dodge them.
More explosions echoed in the city as Sara ran. She looked up and saw Kamurik evading one spear after another. Each missed spear either hit the great wall or flew over it into the lake. Then Sara heard a roar following one certain explosion: The Avatar landed a hit on Kamurik's left wing, tearing it apart. The black dragon was making a speedy, involuntary turn to the left, descending towards the buildings below.
It flipped upside-down in the air, dropping Alissa off her saddle. From such height, she could not hope to survive. Alissa closed her eyes, and prepared to meet her end on the emtpy streets of a dead city.
Her body hit something, and Alissa groaned. But she did not fall on hard ground. Alissa opened her eyes and saw Sara right next to her, holding her tightly around the waist with her left arm.
Sara carried Alissa as she flew towards the east wall, white wings flapping during the ascension. Loud crashing and crumbling of buildings echoed from their left; Kamurik slid through the city as it fell. Sara grit her teeth: Her strength was failing in her left arm due to the wound on her shoulder. Alissa glanced into Sara's eyes with a clear message -- "Don't you dare drop me now!"
The wall was right in front of them, so Sara pushed with all she had until they both landed on top of the wall. Alissa stood tall in contrast to Sara, who fell on her knee, leaned right hand on her sword, and breathed heavily as her wings hung from her back like wilted plants.
Yet another explosion echoed from behind them, and they both turned to look: The Avatar was making a mighty leap from a tall building's roof towards them while gathering spiraling flames around his spear. At the very height of his jump, he unleashed a vortex of fire again at Alissa and Sara. The Knight's blue eyes went ablaze as she raised her spear and cast a pillar of blood-fire before her, consuming the vortex. The pillar broke as the Avatar pushed through it with his shield, then he thrust his spear into the wall when he landed in front of the two stone hunters. Bright-red cracks spread under their feet.
Boom! The top of the wall broke from the fiery explosion, sending Sara and Alissa down with flying bricks. Alissa managed to dig her gauntlet's claws into the wall, slowing her fall and leaving a growing scratch mark above her. Sara tried to regain flight, but large parts of the wall fell onto her spread right wing, and she crashed down onto the beach.
Alissa jumped from the wall when her claws lost their grip, and landed on top of a tall palm tree which swayed from her weight. Bam! The tree exploded in half when the Avatar threw his spear at it. Alissa jumped down and rolled on the sandy beach multiple times before taking one final, desperate stand against the Avatar, who landed before her like a meteor.
Sara coughed as she laid prone in a dust cloud. She could hear Alissa's battle with the Avatar, and as the dust settled, she could see the shimmering lake behind them. Sara tried to move, which caused her to scream: Her whole body was in tremendous pain. Her right wing was buried under bricks, her forehead bled blood upon her right eye, and her sword laid before her -- just out of reach. Tears blurred her vision as she watched helplessly: The lake was right next to them, but the Avatar did not fall for Alissa's attempts to throw him there. She was tiring down, and death seemed inevitable.
Sara tried to sing, but it only caused her to cough blood. The Heart of the Guardian was with the sword, but no matter how she reached for it, it was too little too far away. Clash of spears and roars of fire became a distant echo as Sara's consciousness was fading into bright light.
"Art you hurt?" A young elven boy asked as he ran from the distance to Sara. His brown hair was messy, clothes dirty, and he carried a stick like it was his most treasured possession.
"Feofil?" Sara asked, still laying prone. She rubbed her teary and bloody eye with her right hand's finger. "What hit me?"
"Hah, nothing!" the young boy laughed and swung his stick in the air to his shoulder like a knight would his sword. "You tripped on your own feet again! How will you ever learn to fight if you keep doing that?"
Sara couldn't find words, so the boy clicked his tongue and looked up. "Well, it's getting late again. You better return to the palace before your Uncle sends a search party! Wouldn't want his tinhead guards to find our hideout!"
The boy started running to the distance while jumping and swinging his stick heroically. "Wait, Feofil!" Sara pleaded and reached her shaking hand towards him.
"See you tomorrow, Sara!" He said cheerfully and faded into the light.
Art: shizen1102
"Don't go," Sara cried. "My gift... let me give it... to... you..."
Her eyes looked into emptiness, she slowly stopped crying, and finally stopped breathing. Her body moved into fetal position, then her right hand's finger touched a white stone on her breastplate. The Stone of the Lost Legion, which pulsed bright emerald-green light as a bloody teardrop trickled upon it.
A sharp inhale. Sara's body writhed as the green aura of the Legion stone spread from her chest to her torso, legs, arms, and wings. When it spread to her head, she started blinking again. Sara pushed herself up with shaking hands, and saw raging Alissa screaming at the Avatar as he would soon finish her off.
Sara pulled her right wing with her both hands until it slid from under the bricks. The pain was still in her body, but she had the strength again to fight on. With her wing free, Sara could pick her sword, channel Guardian's Lightning to its blade and to her left hand, and with a warcry, she spread her wings and dashed forward.
Alissa fell on her knee as the Avatar thrust his spear on her left thigh. He then turned to face the approaching Angel. Sara flew with rising speed, yet the lightning chain in her hand was faster still, and she cast it at the Avatar, who blocked it with his shield. Sara expected this, so she pulled the lightning with her left hand, forcing the Avatar's shield to a low position, then she pointed her crackling sword at his chest. The Avatar prepared to impale the Angel with his spear, but Alissa, witnessing her chance, slashed the Avatar's hand with her blade, making him drop his spear.
Kra-kam!! The lightning blade of Sara's sword penetrated the Avatar's chest, yet she kept flying, and pushed the Avatar into the air above the lake. His fire burned Sara's whole body, so she wrapped her wings around herself. The white feathers went ablaze, and the Avatar conjured a new spear in his hand as they fell.
Splash! The lake's water quenched the fire on Sara's wings during a cacophony of hissing, boiling, and screaming. The Avatar tried to grab the panicking Angel with his fading hand as she swam away from the hot water, until his last flame exploded one last time. Boom! A wave of the underwater explosion carried Sara to the beach and caused a fleeting rain over the two stone hunters.
Alissa looked at the boiling and steaming part of the lake where the Avatar fell until it boiled no more. She then looked at Sara crawling on all-fours, coughing water from her lungs, wiping her face, then looking back at Alissa. Her blue elven eyes turned fierce when they met Alissa's -- Sara stood up, took a stance, and pointed her sword at Alissa, who didn't even flinch. The Red Knight wiped sweat from her brow and huffed as she stared into Sara's cautious eyes.
Neither of them said anything. Waterdrops fell from Sara's scratched sword, blackened tiara, messy hair, charred wings, and soaking-wet armor as the two red-haired and blue-eyed fighters of different origins stared at each other. Then they heard heavy stomps coming from the east gate. Both saw Kamurik approaching: The black dragon's left wing was broken and its right frontal leg was limping, but it still searched for -- and found -- its rider faithfully.
Alissa looked at Sara once more without any emotions visible on the Knight's face, as if she felt nothing at all. Sara opened her mouth to say something, but instead she grit her teeth, furrowed her brow either from anger or disappointment, then she closed her eyes and ran away. Alissa saw how the Princess spread her charred wings, tried to fly, but only glided few meters above the ground as she went through the city gate and hurried back to the palace.
What luck to get this finished right when the forums went down!
Well, that's all my cards done, and I'm satisfied with the chapters I've posted. I'll keep writing the other ones just for the fun of it, but go ahead @Jonteman93 - Proceed with the last battle. Let's finish this!
"The light of the sun will burn bright, burn away
all darkness and purge the beasts of the endless depth. The flame will
give power to those that choice to fight at the cliff of the world.
The
light of the stars will burn dim, burn with guidance showing the way to
those that are lost in darkness - and those who seek to oppose it. The
light will give insight to those can no longer see, and guide their
blades true.
The light of the moon will burn divine, burn
away the corruption of the abyss and protects those that dare to stand
in the light. The holy fire will give the warriors of light a weapon to
strike down the monsters from the lake of eternal night.
The celestial entities, unified, will bring us to victory against the abyss and its corrupting darkness."
The flames of the braziers are burning with a dark orange light, calmly, as if they as well are resting.
Bahamun is standing in front of his throne of the sun. Amir stands at the opposite side of the room. The clashing sounds of battle reaches them from the halls beneath, and the fire from outside.
Bahamun's eyes scouts Amir, this boy who claims to be his grandson. His eyes falls upon his hands, his arms, his hair, his nose, his eyes. He have seen those eyes before, but where?
Sand and dust falls from the roof as the the walls quake to the battle of the halls.
Amir takes deep breaths. He had heard so many stories through his entire life about Bahamun Sahul Salagin, the legend of Asolamun, the father of his mother. He had thought so many times what he would say if they ever met, but now he is wordless. This man, this legend, shines with a terrifying aura and the gentle warmth of a father and grandfather.
Amir thinks back at the father with the stone of immortality. That man gave a similar feeling of warmth and terror. The stone had corrupted him, or he allowed it to, onto an irredeemable path. The same was true for other stones. Their bearers could only resist them for so long.
Amir spoke:
"The stones, they are clouding the mind of their bearers."
A flash of light spread from the halls beneath the room that they stood in, and soon a spirit of light formed around the sunstone before morphing into it.
Bahamun spoke:
"Of this you speak I know. The stones delude those that get a claim on them. Weak minded fall victim to their desire for which they use the stone."
"Not only weak minded, but those strong of heart and purpose, their goal and desire get twisted. Their sense of right and wrong is warped by the power of the stones. I do not claim this out of delusion or wrongful belief but from the experience I gave gathered on my journey here." Amir answered.
The flames of the braziers grew in intensity for a short moment before falling back to their peaceful state leaving only a cloud of flame floating in the sky. The flames hovered towards and morphed into the sunstone.
"I ensure you, my goal shall not be twisted by that of mere stones, but fortified. When the time is right I shall go and claim the stone of the moon, and the stone of the stars. With them I shall lead the warriors of light, no borders divided, no cultures apart, to the gates of the abyss. Together we fight the darkness, we will burn away the corruption, we will destroy the champion of the abyss, He whom is called - Sephis."
The mechanical fighter Seven and the monk Godara entered the room from the door leading to the halls beneath.
"Then when the abyss is defeated, then what? Will you put aside the stones, or will you seek a new enemy? Will you fight the darkness that remain, the darkness of night?"
The angelic elf Sara and the Dormanian rider Alissa entered the room from the halls above.
"You doubt me because of lesser people. But I ensure you that my path is certain. I shall prove to you that my mind is clear. Today I shall give you all defeat, and I shall allow you to return home to live out your lives as you see fit. You shall fight me as you know me. I shall no sunstone use. Then one day I shall ask you to join me in our journey fight against the abyss."
Bahamun raised the sunstone, and with a flash, the sunstone disappeared and formed into a halo of glimmering light.
"The stones guides you on a path without destination."
Battle for the sunstone, part 1 - The legendary warrior of Asolamun
VS
"The night falls to the ascent of the sun"
Five stone seekers, bearers of stones of heaven they have collected on their long journeys. Champions whom have triumphed many challenges and grown in strength by their quests. Wielding the powers of lesser stones, greater stones and three true stones of heaven, or the strength and resolve to triumph without their power - and something far more... dark. Now these great warriors from all around the world, and beyond, faces the greatest warrior of all, the legendary warrior of Asolamun, the conqueror of Solastir and bearer of the sunstone - Bahamun Sahul Salagin.
Seven, bearer of the forgestone, the iron heart and the stone of the titan.
Seven was first to dash forward. With incredible speed he charged at Bahamun and in the blink of an eye he struck with his fist. Dng! The sound echoed through the room followed by an aura of glimmering green light that originated from Bahamun's golden green shield. Seven having had his mighty strike completely blocked swiftly raised his other arm and struck down the shield while he retained his assault with his first fist.
A deep metallic and glimmering sound ran through the room as Bahamun bounced the green orb at the end of his spear's shaft into the ground. In the next moment he swung the spear upwards and struck Seven's arm out of its path and the robot lost balance.
As Seven stumbled to the side, an orb of lightning bounced through the air towards Bahamun. He stepped out of its path just as Godara attacked him from the roof. Bahamun bashed his shield against the approaching monk, sending him flying across the room. In that moment, a wave of fire spread across the floor towards him. Bahamun redirected his attention, spear high, towards Alissa's burning assault. His spear met her burning swordstaff high, and a shower of blood fire fell over him.
Seven having regained his balance once again charged. Bahamun swept his leg across Alissa's causing her to fall over. Bahamun then dodged out of the way as Seven flew into the wall at the other side of the room. Bricks and stones flew out at all directions. Then through the smoke and dust appeared one, two, three bricks glowing red heading towards Bahamun at high speed. As he raised his shield to block the bricks, but before they reached the shield they exploded in a cloud of dust and flame.
Bahamun stepped back while covering his eyes with his other hand. Then sound reached his ears. He turned towards the singer, Sara. But in that moment, burning thorns covered in dust traveled past him. He quickly turned back towards Seven, but before he could raise his shield, the robot with burning energized thorns pulsing through him, was already at him. Bahamun was struck at the side with such force that he flew backwards, towards Sara. Before she could doge out of the way, Bahamun grabbed her so they flew together. Then a moment later he thew her forward to stop his own velocity. He stepped onto the ground in the great hallway, and looked towards Sara whom avoided crashing into the great gate by the strength of her wings. Bahamun gave a slight smile of amusement towards the winged elf.
Sara took flight and ascended with her sword, queen's thorn, ready in hand. Far from his reach, Bahamun began rotating his spear before him. Then he smashed the green orb on the shaft into the ground causing a cloud of green glimmer light to rise from the impact. He then rotated his spear, and with the blade he swept through the cloud of light pulling it. Like a sling, he shot the light which form a green arc blade of light towards Sara. Sara blocked the energy with her sword, cleaving the arc in two pieces that slammed through the stained glass above the front gate. Glass splitter spread from the impact. Sara flew down to avoid the. With sword in hand she approached Bahamun, avoided his spear and flew around his back. She struck at him but was met by his shield. With his spear he slammed the ground once again, swung the blade through the cloud and upwards. With a flash of light the glass splitter was turned to dust and was swept away by the wind.
As Sara hovered away, a series of red glowing bricks followed by a bolt of lightning flew past her. Bahamun struck down the projectiles, and in the next motion he slammed the ground with the orb and with the blade he swung away one, two and three arc blades. Godara approaching from the level below jumped above the blades. Seven blocked the two first blade arcs with his shield which left a glowing mark that soon diminished. Alissa struck down the last blade arc with her swordstaff.
Suddenly a surge of lightning discharge lit up the hall as it fell towards Bahamun. He dodged out of the way but fell to his knees as the lightning met the ground with great impact. Bahamun slammed the orb into the ground twice, and swung the spear around. He caught the cloud and then sent away a huge burning arc blade towards Godara, Seven and Alissa. Godara dodged, but the impact of the blade's edge slashing through the wall caught him to lost balance. Seven attempted to block the blade but the impact caught him flying backwards.
Bahamun turned towards Sara whom flew up the great stairs. She ascended further and further up, then into another great hallway. Bahamun followed, up the stairs, through the hallway, into a room of song, and then into the great ballroom. The floor was of golden wood from the great jungles. The walls painted in red and gold. Great chandeliers of silver and gold hung from the roof. And across the room where a large number of mirrors. In the middle of the room he stopped. He slammed the orb into the ground and sent an arc blade to his side. The blade flew towards Sara in incredible speed. She raised her sword to block the blade but she was too late. The blade cleaved Sara's wings and slammed into the mirror behind her. She fell to the ground.
Bahamun walked towards her. He stopped as he stood above her, with spear in sword. She was smiling. Bahamun struck the spear down at her but was met by her sword. From the impact dark red fireblood fell onto the ground setting it ablaze, and it spread to the wall behind and all around her. The flames covered Sara. She rose up and the flames fell off to reveal Alissa.
MTG Cardsmith Community Forums
Comments
As the mist cleared, the two approached each other. Godara immediately began looking for intent from Seven. This stone seeker clearly wasn't alive like others he'd read, but the monk could sense a faint intent behind the metal exterior, nothing violent, but strange, as if it was permanently split in decision.
A vibration emanated from the creature of steel, a cacophony of alien sounds. Godara began to concentrate to see if he could pick out meaning behind the sounds. He attuned himself to one frequency, the highest pitch noises, realising the sounds formed chunks - no, words. A language? Concentrating further, he realised he could pick out the meaning of a few. Godara recalled a teaching from the Blazing Foot Temple - while not well versed in it, he recognised this as an ancient language, said to be spoken by gods.
"[We]... (speed)... {sun}... [this]... (stone)..."
Communication was getting nowhere with this onslaught of words.
"Calm," intoned Godara. The verbal assault ended. "My broken understanding will have to do."
"You... sun stone?"
"{Yes.}"
It must have understood the basic point of that, thought Godara.
"Why?"
An unintelligible mass of words followed. These must be separate voices - the split intent was not indecision, but split consciousness.
"Calm."
There was no point in suffering this further - Godara decided to get straight to the point.
"Sun stone... after?"
He was unsure if his meaning would get across, but this was crucial. He had to know what this stone seeker's plans were after obtaining the Sunstone. If these consciousnesses intended to harm Avelaide, he'd have to end them here. But no response came. The metal warrior stood motionless. This time, the intent was clearly indecision.
Then, a single word. "{([Speed.])}"
"That's no answer... 'Why?'
Again, motionless. Crashing sounds from the top of the temple reminded the pair of the other seekers vying for the Sunstone above. If this metal being had no motives, then perhaps a temporary alliance would do - no wish was better than a wish to harm Avelaide.
"We go. Speed."
Godara held the flat of his sword outward, attempting a gesture of companionship.
"(Yes.) "
It touched its shield to the sword. An understanding!
"[We... Seven.]"
A name?
"Godara."
The hunters hurtled back up the temple, single minded in their objectives. They sprinted for the end of the journey, for the peace of the land, for the Sunstone.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was a pleasure working on this with you @AxNoodle, you were an awesome collaborative partner.
Seven and the Monk
{This shield is ever a mystery.}
[It allows us to absorb speed.]
{It has no form to move, however. It exclusively consists of energy.}
(It moves nonetheless.)
{Then energy has speed.}
{That explains all.}
Seven bursts through the wall, and is immediately thrown back by a blast of electrical power. Standing up, they saw who must have been the attacker, and take a dash towards them. The winged attacker dodged.
In one fluid motion, Seven punched the Forge Stone into the ground, broke off a chunk, and hurled it at their enemy. It again dodged and began to retreat further into the city.
(Perhaps this one knows the location of the Sunstone, and aims to claim the speed for themselves.)
[Then, we chase.]
Seven stood, among four other stone hunters, considering the next action to take.
[This one has the speed.]
{Let us observe other attempts first. This one clearly has no intention to -)
The lizard-riding hunter was the first to run forwards, quickly countered and pushed back by a spirit of flame.
Next came a lightning-wielding one, also pushed back by a spirit. This one piqued Seven’s interest - a being of pure light.
{The light one is fast.}
(This confirms the Sunstone has speed to be gained.)
[Light is energy, and energy…]
Seven made for the stone, but the spirit did not disappoint as they were sent flying through the building’s levels, into an area below.
It wasn’t long before they were joined by the lightning-user and Spirit.
{This one may be fast, but…}
[This one obstructs.]
(Through them.)
The spirit of light flashed before seven, coming in with a devastatingly fast bash. Meeting the blow with the shield of their own, Seven recycled the spirit’s attack into an onslaught of charges, zipping around the spirit to charge from new angles. However, all attempts were countered perfectly by the bright assailant.
[This one has speed.]
{As does the other one.}
He flew away just as quickly; without so much as a blink of an eye between movements, the spirit deftly deflected the sword, countered the secondary swipe, and delivered a light-speed kick into the lightning user.
The two hunters hurtled back into the fray.
A single moment -
Slice, block, dice, dodge, bash, stop, crash, block
- a millennia of fighting -
Slash, elude, lash, evade, slam, juke, dash, rebuke
- with no end in sight
{We have bided enough.)
Face aglow, Seven released the culmination of the blows it’d collected in a blazing flash. A piercing blue light erupted from the spirit as Seven channeled the immense energy through the Forge Stone, quaking the air.
Though the spirit caught only a glancing blow from the shockwave, it stumbled -
A sword again arced for the unprepared spirit, a-
Seven was sent flying. The spirit all but phased through the sword and leveraged Seven’s shield into a throw.
[A challenge.]
{Zeal. Our previous actions had no positive effects.}
(All the more-)
[No. These ones match our speed, if not surpass it.]
{A simple solution…}
{We appear to have saved that one.}
{It’s in our interests to fight with this one. We share a goal.}
Unrelenting, the pair tore forward -
slash crash bash thrash
- A blazing brisk battle -
hack smash stab grab
- accelerating, faster, not a moment to counter
The air grew hot with friction as the trio became all but a blur, then the spirit was tossed -
(We can always go faster,)
{we can always improve,}
Immense power flowed through the shield and Iron Heart, Seven’s glow covering their whole body -
(MATTER IS ENERGY)
The air screaming, Seven tore towards the spirit
{ENERGY IS SPEED}
[SPEED IS ALL]
an army of one, mists shooting, blast through a pillar -
A dense mist exploded around the avatar followed by a burst of bright, white light.
Part 3: Stoneseeker’s Communication
(But we’re not finished.)
[This one approaches.]
Seven stepped forward to meet with the approaching human. Vibrating to sound out words, Seven attempted to converse.
“{Thank (you}’ re admirably {f}(ast){or cooperating}.”
Seven’s words fell on completely still ears. They tried again.
“[{We} assume (you{ are }]speedy){[ here for the Sunstone.] This (stone}s of power are our -)”
“Calm,” intoned the human.
{We are understood?}
(Perhaps an agreement can be come to. We seem to have similar ambitions.)
Some unknown words came from the potential ally.
“You… sun stone?”
[Not fully.]
“Why?”
“(You [must ]have the same [{ ambition, to become faster -)} ”
A pause, then,
“After?”
{After the Sunstone?)
(We press onward, obtain the power then… then…)
[We’ll take the stone, and after that we…]
{To where?}
“Why?”
(Why? We need not a why -)
{This one is right. Our purpose may be speed, but why do we aspire to improve?}
(We’re not stopping now.)
[But for what reason did we start?]
{No. Why must we? What purpose is to be gained in becoming closer to all reality has to offer?}
[The will that drove us to move earlier…]
A crash rang out from above, reminding the hunters of the other two hunters and the ongoing fight for the Sunstone.
“We go. Speed.”
“(Yes. We also look to become faster. Call us Seven.)”
“Godara.”
As the two blazed out of the room, a thought occurred to Seven.
[Every stone we’ve claimed, the power we’ve gained, was previously used for violence.]
[Then violence is our enemy?]
{Life…}
{Motion is speed.}
The hunters hurtled back up the temple, single minded in their objectives. They sprinted for the end of the journey, for the peace of the land, for the Sunstone.
@TenebrisNemo
@Tonysparks
@AxNoodle
In two weeks from the 28'th of March, I will have a few days off from work, and I would love to use these days to write the final battle between the five stone hunters and Bahamun.
So I'm gonna set a deadline for at the 27'th of March before the final battle. If there is any more stories you'd like to write make sure to post them before then.
Tenebris, remember that you may ask me to fill in for Alissa during her and Sofia's fight against the avatar of flame if you would like to.
Tenebris wanted to add Sara's and Alissa's fight against the avatar of flame.
I'll post the last fight's first part this week regardless if Tenebris have posted his segment.
Then during the weekend I'll post the second and concluding part.
Which is good as I may finally wrap up FF7 Rebirth. God damn game is long.
Burning Wings - Part I
Edit: Had to remake the card due to it being deleted with the update.
I'm focusing all my energy into this right now, but I still need one more day to finish part 2.
I feel you. Last I moved I got 2 migraine attacks because of the stress.
We are eagerly waiting for part 2.
Burning Wings - Part II
Queen's Thorn, 3rd signature card
Burning Wings - Part III (Final)
Music
Art: shizen1102
Well, that's all my cards done, and I'm satisfied with the chapters I've posted. I'll keep writing the other ones just for the fun of it, but go ahead @Jonteman93 - Proceed with the last battle. Let's finish this!
Despite the many setbacks this Tournament has faced, approaching a year later, the end is nigh!
Battle for the sunstone, part 1 - The legendary warrior of Asolamun
VS