Warlord Arcanist (Chp 6)

This chapter is being posted for the journeyman level and higher! Please enjoy!

CHAPTER SIX

A CLASH OF TITANS

Tidal waves dominated our tiny corner of the ocean. Not only did we have a hurricane aura, but the gargantuan creatures battling for survival added to the fury of nature.

Swimming on the surface was nearly impossible. Instead, I dove underwater and swam forward with as much strength as I could, breathing easy the entire way. The obsidian on my knuckles, knees, elbows, fingers, and shoulders made me feel… awkward. In my mind, I was some sort of twisted monster, but when I caught sight of myself, I remembered Luthair.

When we had merged, he had covered me in black, shadowy armor. This obsidian… It was different, but familiar. Was it my protection? Was it an offense? A useless byproduct? I didn’t know. I’d have to practice with it more.

The stormy waters made it difficult to see and swim, especially with my sword, but I sensed Terrakona and then headed in his direction. Waters with blood were warmer than the icy ocean currents. I swam through warm patch after warm patch, trying not to think about the gore.

I angled toward the surface, ready to fight whatever I came across. Before I reached my destination, vine-like branches from a willow tree wrapped around me and yanked me out of the depths. Terrakona, without needing instruction, lifted me into his crystal mane, all while lashing at the corrupted kraken with his tail.

I tightened the straps of my shield and corrected the grip on my blade.

Rain beat down on everything—me, the ocean, the ships, the pirates—and nothing I did kept the water out of my eyes. Still, I  attempted to shield my gaze.

Zelfree’s chimera screeched with its roc and turtle heads. The kraken-portion of its body didn’t make a noise, but multiple tentacles rose out of the waves.

The dread form kraken whipped the chimera with its puss-covered tentacles. The resulting cracks sounded like thunder in the storm. But the chimera wasn’t hurt. The beast had access to atlas turtle magic, and a barrier shimmered into existence before anything could touch it.

Terrakona rushed forward through the waves. I almost lost my balance, but I kept hold of the crystal mane. Terrakona struck at the kraken, his fangs flashing in the storm. The pirate rocs—both wearing leather armor on their chests and heads—dove for Terrakona’s eyes. Their talons were as large as a man and sharp enough to pierce metal. Terrakona stopped his attack and dodged away, but not fast enough. The attacking roc still drew blood. Their talons punctured the scales on Terrakona’s face and nose.

When the rocs flapped their wings, they took to the hurricane skies in an instant.

The hippogriff swooped in to attack Terrakona on his injuries, but this beast was too slow, and too outclassed. Terrakona opened his maw, struck forward, and crunched the hippogriff between his venomous fangs. The plague-ridden creature was dead in an instant.

Cannonballs flew down from the airships, pelting the waves like hail. Guildmaster Eventide created more barriers—this time, protecting me and Terrakona from the cannons.

Captain Devlin shot down from the black clouds, riding his roc eldrin. Mesos clashed with a pirate roc, tearing into the enemy with her talons. Devlin manipulated the winds to disturb the airships, and the enemy pirates responded with bullets and wind magic of their own.

What was I going to do?

I had to deal with the kraken. It was the threat that Terrakona and I could handle.

Without Gallus the Gray, the kraken didn’t have an arcanist, but that didn’t cut off its magic. The kraken would just be enraged—every eldrin that lost its arcanist always went through intense pain. And the monster fought like it had nothing to live for. It lashed out in all directions.

And the water…

I caught my breath once I realized the dread form kraken was creating a whirlpool. The waters swirled and swirled, becoming ever more dangerous with each passing moment. The diameter of the vortex grew larger, threatening to take the merchant ships and even the atlas turtle down to the depths.

Master Zelfree and his chimera entered the colossal whirlpool. He tried to counteract the magic, but Zelfree’s mimic couldn’t copy true form magic, nor could he copy dread form magic, both of which boosted a mystical creature’s capabilities. The monster kraken had more power over the ocean due to the corruption running through its veins.

And while they fought for control of the water, Captain Devlin struggled to keep control of the sky. The sky pirates leapt onto their rocs and teamed up against Mesos. They clashed in the wind-torn skies, their talons deadly. Golden feathers, ripped from the giant rocs, got caught in the storm and flew off into the dark clouds.

Eventide and Gentel swam out of the whirlpool, and they used their barriers to drag the merchants and their ships with them.

With his chimera aura active, Zelfree would have access to three kinds of magic. Eventide was invulnerable. But Devlin only had Mesos, and he was against two mystical creatures and their arcanists. They came at him with pincer strategies—one on the right, one on the left—attacking relentlessly.

“Terrakona!” I shouted. “Focus your attention on the rocs!”

“As you say,” Terrakona telepathically replied.

We couldn’t fly, but Terrakona was large enough to reach the enemy if he stretched upward. We couldn’t swim straight for them, however. The rocs would fly away if they saw us coming.

“Go beneath the waves,” I commanded. “We’ll jump up at them from underneath!”

Terrakona dove into the ocean with me on his back, and we glided through the water with ease. When Terrakona turned for the surface, I tensed. We broke into the sky and with one hand, I held on to Terrakona, and with the other, I brandished my blade.

We didn’t leap out of the water—Terrakona just stretched his body up high enough—and fast enough—that we took the enemy by surprise. The massive rocs flew higher in the storm-filled skies, just out of reach. If we had gone ten feet farther, Terrakona could’ve sank his fangs into the bird. The pirate arcanist glared down at us, a sneer on his bearded face. The man pulled out three throwing knives and hurled them down.

Two hit Terrakona, and then clinked harmlessly off his scales. The last one hit me, but I lifted my shield and defected the knife, saving myself from injury.

Then I focused on using my new evocation. Heat erupted from me so fast that the rain around me became a constant steam. When molten rock formed from the creases of my palm, I hurled them up at the nearest roc and its pirate rider. It felt like slinging mud, but the bright flash of blazing lava was a far more impressive projectile.

My molten rock struck the roc on the leg, just above its taloned feet. The massive bird screeched and then nearly fell from the sky in pain. I held my breath as it flew in a half-circle and then dove for me and Terrakona. At ridiculous speeds, the roc and its rider rushed us. The bird didn’t aim for Terrakona’s head—it aimed for the long, serpentine body that was exposed and above the water. With deadly talons, the roc slashed open a portion of Terrakona’s body.

I never knew the talons of a roc could be so dangerous…

But the roc hadn’t cut deep enough. The superficial wound barely bled, and they had made the terrible mistake of getting close.

The pirate threw three more knives—each carried by his powerful wind evocation—and they shot at us like bullets. All of them bounced off of Terrakona’s scales. The knives weren’t powerful enough, even when propelled with magic.

Terrakona lunged for the roc before it could fly too high. He clipped the gigantic bird creature with a single fang.

I didn’t know how deadly world serpent venom would be, but in that instant, I had a better idea. The roc shuddered and thrashed, and then it stopped moving, paralyzed mid-flap. It plummeted from the sky, twisting as it went. Halfway to the ocean, the beast went limp, and the pirate leapt off and landed in the water.

With more courage than I thought a sea thief would have, he dragged himself out of the waves and managed to get on the back of Terrakona’s massive serpent body. I stepped off the crystal mane and slid down the jade scales. The pirate spotted my approach and then threw more daggers, but I blocked them with my shield and then rushed forward the moment I had proper footing.

The sea thief wore leather armor—a piece of me could feel it pulse with magic—but I didn’t care. I swung upward with Retribution, cutting clean through his whole body. His arm. His chest. His shoulder. One upward strike was all it took. My blade didn’t even seem to register the man’s bones. It startled me a bit how clean the slash was.

But I quickly shook away the feeling. I had seen Retribution in action before. The bones of the apoch dragon tore through anything magical.

The roc and his arcanist were dead.

When I glanced up into the sky, I noticed that the storm was fading.

Captain Devlin and Mesos were caught up in an intense battle with the arcanist pirate. Captain Devlin had likely lost his concentration and couldn’t maintain his hurricane aura. The clearer the skies became, the easier the airships could maneuver through the sky.

At first, I feared they might attack us, but Eventide was still close enough to defend us with her magical barriers. Then I realized their actual intentions—both airships turned and started their retreat.

“Terrakona,” I said from down on his lower back. “The last roc! Focus on that!”

Although the storm had waned, the kraken’s whirlpool continued to rage. Zelfree’s chimera and the plague-ridden kraken slammed into each other, one evoking barriers and winds, and the other evoking hail and yellowish gases. Plague blood circled in the waters, but Zelfree would be fine so long as he had man-eating roc magic coursing through his veins. The man-eater mystical creatures were immune to blood diseases…

I just hoped Zelfree wouldn’t die the old-fashioned way.

Terrakona struck upward, but Devlin and the pirate roc were too high in the sky. The trees and vines growing off Terrakona’s back shimmered with powerful magics. Vines shot into the sky, all aiming for the enemy bird. But the enemy roc evoked winds and went even higher up, nearly touching the fading clouds.

“Captain!” I shouted. “Here!” I motioned him to our location.

Normally, I’d be too far away for anyone to see me, but roc arcanists had the innate ability to see at long ranges, much like eagles and hawks. Devlin immediately angled Mesos for us. They dove for Terrakona’s location, and the enemy roc flew toward the airships, as I had hoped.

When Devlin drew close, I shouted, “Attack the airships! Get them into range of Terrakona.”

For a split second, I feared Devlin wouldn’t take my commands—he had fought against Guildmaster Eventide, after all—but to my relief, he replied with a curt nod and whistled for Mesos to attack the airships. They took off as a team, no further questions.

My heart beat fast, but confidence fueled me.

Terrakona lowered his head, and I climbed back up his crystal mane. It was difficult climbing with the obsidian rock jutting from odd points in my body, but I managed. Together, we swam through the chaotic waves, heading in the direction of the airships. The pirate roc attempted to attack Devlin, but Mesos flew with better precision. She and Devlin shot past the enemy bird and used their powerful gale-force winds to rattle the airships.

The enemy roc swooped back around and used its own wind magic, but by this point, it was too late. The airships were forced to descend, and Terrakona was ready. With all the power of a coiled snake, he leapt up from the ocean and crunched a portion of the airship in his massive mouth, the wood splintering and cracking so loud, it nearly hurt my ears.

The second airship attempted to ascend, but Terrakona released the other and lashed out before they could escape. Again, Terrakona took a bite out of the flying vessel, shattering the wood and magic that kept it afloat. I held on to my eldrin, smiling to myself once I knew they would never be able to escape.

The pirate roc and his arcanist, likely sensing their defeat, shot into the sky, flying as fast as they could.

But where would they go? Without their airships, they had no place to land. We were in the middle of the ocean, after all. They were flying away from us, but straight to their deaths.

“I’m heading back to the guild house,” Devlin shouted as he and Mesos flew by.

It was only then that I saw their injuries. Mesos had been injured by the enemy’s many attacks. Blood wept from slashes and bullet wounds. Even Devlin looked as though he had been through a tornado of daggers.

When Terrakona turned around to survey the fight, I was able to witness the last of Zelfree’s clashes. His chimera caught the plague-ridden kraken before it could escape. The turtle head and roc head grabbed the squid-like kraken on opposite sides. With brutal strength, the two heads ripped the kraken apart, slowly tearing the monster in half.

Blood gushed from the giant body, pouring into the ocean like a crimson lake had been dumped into the waves.

“Let’s go,” I said, tapping Terrakona.

The world serpent nodded and headed into the dying whirlpool.

The kraken gurgled a bloody scream and then collapsed into the ocean, sinking below the surface until he was swallowed by the darkness. But I hadn’t urged Terrakona close because I was worried about the kraken—Zelfree had admitted concern about his chimera aura, and I knew he hadn’t fully mastered it.

The final swirl of the whirlpool left the ocean filled with gore. Terrakona swam through the kraken flesh and blood, unconcerned. When we drew close to Zelfree’s chimera, I tensed.

“Be careful,” I said, more to myself than Terrakona.

“Agreed,” Terrakona telepathically replied. “We must be ready for anything if we are to be victorious, and occasionally that will require patience. We must act at the correct moment.”

The massive three-headed creature waded through the calming ocean, its kraken head splashing through the waves with four tentacles. When the turtle and roc head roared, the hair on my body stood on end. Then the chimera thrashed and shuddered. Its two golden wings stretched wide, but I suspected the beast couldn’t fly—it was too awkwardly shaped. The atlas turtle portion was heavy and gigantic.

When the chimera turned its three heads in my direction, I knew we would have to deal with it. Its six eyes were crazed.

“Don’t use your venom,” I said. “Just subdue it!”

Zelfree’s eldrin wasn’t evil or malicious, and it hadn’t been infected with the plague. It was going crazy because Zelfree had created his aura properly. The three heads were too much for Traces to handle because of the improper magic, and now she thought everyone was an enemy.

A low growl rumbled Terrakona’s entire body. “I will do as you say.”

My world serpent sank into the ocean. I sheathed my sword and held on as tightly as I could. We rose up around Zelfree’s chimera, faster than I had been expecting. I figured Terrakona would use his vines to hold down the three-headed beast, but I was mistaken. Terrakona did what any good snake would do: He wrapped his body around the chimera.

The chimera’s tentacles lashed around, and the roc head screeched. The more the beast struggled, the more Terrakona could wrap his body around the thing. It had a twisted shell, but Terrakona didn’t focus on that. The world serpent circled around the massive neck of the chimera. With three heads, all sprouting from the same location, the beast had a large throat.

I could barely see everything from my perch on Terrakona’s head, but I felt the fight between the two creatures grappling. I wanted to help, but I didn’t actually want to kill Traces. I couldn’t use my blade or my new evocation.

“Enough!” I heard Zelfree shout, though I never saw him.

The chimera’s body shimmered and shifted… and then broke apart before my very eyes.