Moment of truth

[moonshadows]

            I can’t say it’s been boring watching Lina these last few years – far from it, she’s been highly entertaining and her potential has been slowly turning from promise to actual. She’s clever enough to have winnowed out the fragmented clues to the existence of Nightmare magic, tenacious enough to hunt until she finds them – or until My Lord Beastmaster’s convinced that she should see them, however you want to look at it. Her single-minded attention to her goals is admirable in a pawn, making it simplicity itself to move her around the chess board, aiming her for the back row to see if she’ll blossom into a more useful tool. The mere fact that she cobbled the Giga Slave together from forgotten bits of lore speaks very highly of her talent, and her restraint in not immediately casting it shows the level of self-control hidden in that fiery aura of hers.

            For the most part I’ve hung back, watching her through the anchor in her aura. When it was useful, or when it amused me, I would take some innocent form and interact with her in person. A simple traveler on the road, the ancient keeper of a moldy old tome, never giving her my true name, never showing her the same face twice. A thousand nobodies following her as she wandered.

            When she became entangled with Rezo’s plots, however, My Lord Beastmaster held me back entirely. True, we want to see if Lina will be able to cast the Giga Slave, but the consequences of Rezo’s situation are not something anyone sane – be they human, dragonkin, or mazoku – really want to deal with. This, she decided, would be a true test of our pawn: letting her thread her own path and seeing how she dealt with the convoluted ambitions involved. Of course, this test won’t truly be over until either Lina or Rezo is dead. She’s fencing words with him right now, learning the true reason he wants the little statue she holds.

            Well, that’s interesting. Looks like My Lord Beastmaster’s not the only one who knows the anchor-in-the-aura trick. The chimera may have more skill at shamanistic magic than black magic, but he is still partially mazoku, and made so by Rezo himself. That tenuous connection between creator and offspring seems to have never been severed entirely. With a few words, Rezo turns the swordsman into a feral creature which then attacks My Lord Beastmaster’s pawn. I’m watching from the Astral Plane, carefully bound tight to prevent detection, and so I can feel clearly what happens the instant that Rezo’s aura envelops the Philosopher’s Stone hidden in the statue. The entire Astral Plane trembles as the thing behind Rezo’s eyes stirs and I find myself trying a little desperately to remember exactly which fragment of Lord Ruby Eye this is. With any luck at all, it will be one of the coherent ones.

            Rezo absorbs the Stone, using it to power his spell – in actuality, undoing the binding spell. If I required air, I’d be holding my breath. This could go very, very well or very, very badly. Lina’s sensitive enough to feel the unbinding of Lord Ruby Eye’s aura as it unfolds from within Rezo; I just bind myself tighter and hope it’s not one of the rabid ‘eat everything, destroy the world’ fragments. The seal is broken; Rezo’s eyes open.  The maniacal laughter would be less comforting if it weren’t coming from Rezo himself, but in the instant before his aura is devoured and Lord Ruby Eye manifests on the physical plane, he thinks he can see.

            “Who are you?!” He demands, panicking as Lord Ruby Eye starts manifesting. Then again, with multiple arms protruding from his body, panic is a rather appropriate response.

            “I am he whose rebirth you desired!”

Oh, thank you for being one of the coherent fragments! I can feel My Lord Beastmaster switching gears, re-assessing the political situations and planning for the aftermath of her pawn’s death – just in case. This has turned into a win/win/lose situation, but at least if we lose, so does everyone else.

The fragment of Lord Ruby Eye devours what was left of Rezo and warps Rezo’s body into something more comfortable, standing before the small group in full form and making them the offer of being his minions, or being his lunch. So far, so good.

“. . . Before I release the other parts of me sealed in this world.”

Okay, not so good. Thankfully, he’s somewhat weakened after his imprisonment, and his aura is moderately bound. It doesn’t extend more than a mile or two, not far enough to be detected by anyone important. With a bit of luck, the pawn will make herself truly useful, and none of the others will have to know that this ever happened.

While our pawn bickers with the chimera and the Swordsman of Light, the sorcerer that was following the chimera strides forward. Despite the seriousness of the situation, I am greatly amused. What does he think he’s going to do, threatening Lord Ruby Eye like that?

“Don’t flatter yourself! Mankind has advanced in the thousand years you’ve been imprisoned! Now, watch as the great Zolf defeats the legendary Dark Lord!”

Oh, nice move. What are you going to do, human? Cast ‘recovery’ on him? I mentally lick my lips, waiting for his immanent obliteration. Civilized though I may be, there’s something deeply satisfying about watching stupidity run up against reality. Lina holds her head, also realizing that this moron is about to be flattened.

Zolf starts moving his arms in the gestures that prelude an incantation – if one isn’t skilled enough to bypass them. And this particular incantation . . .

“Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows!”

The source of the power being invoked smirks on the Astral Plane, allowing the power to be freely drawn and shaped. Our pawn also recognizes the spell that’s practically her personal signature, and the sheer foolishness floors her.

“Buried in the flow of time! In thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness!”

Here’s your magic lesson for today, kiddies. Always know whose name you’re pledging yourself to darkness in. It’s not just a flowery phrase – you’re actually swearing allegiance to Lord Ruby Eye and putting yourself in debt to him.

“Stop it, Zolf! It won’t work! Get back!” Lina makes a valiant effort to prevent the idiot from getting himself killed, but Zolf isn’t good enough to be able to release energy once he’s invoked it.

“Stop it, Zolf! No!” The chimera also realizes what’s about to happen. Hmm . . . he’s a little slow on the uptake. I guess his aversion to his mazoku portion resulted in him turning a blind eye to something that he should, by all rights, be very good at perceiving and using. This will be very useful, assuming they don’t all die.

“. . . shall be destroyed by the power you and I possess! Dragon Slave!”

The magic forms a loop, going from Lord Ruby Eye to Zolf and back again. A deep, rumbling chuckle rolls across the Astral Plane while Lina and the chimera wince. The chimera’s axeman acts first, running up and dragging Zolf off. Not fast enough – With a gesture, Lord Ruby Eye obliterates the both of them and feeds on Zelgadis’s horror. Lina’s trying valiantly to hold her rage in check, and it is at this inopportune moment that a voice calls my name.

                ::XELLOSS METTALIUM!::

                The phrase, and the aura of the one invoking it, cut across my psyche like a sharp blade through an unprotected abdomen. There is no denying the summons. I let go and allow myself to be summoned, appearing in the exact center of a perfect binding diagram. Wearing my usual form, I wince. That aura washes against me, painful, eroding me slowly. This is what I’ve been dreading since I swore by my name; I beat the panic down. There’s no point in panicking.

                ::HAVE YOU TOLD HER?::

                The words echo on more levels than just the physical; the echoes reflect back on me from all sides, carrying the aura of the Flare Dragon with them, eating away at my very substance.

                “She’s . . . uh . . . sort of in the middle of fighting a fragment of . . . well . . . you know who.” Extra insurance; if our pawn dies, the Flare Dragon’s Knight will surely come out of hiding to challenge the fragment of Lord Ruby Eye.

                A pause. Trite as it may sound, I assure you that with her aura lapping against me from all sides, I can feel my fate being weighed.

                ::ALL RIGHT. TELL HER AFTER THAT, THEN.::

                The power running through the lines of the binding diagram vanishes, leaving harmless chalk lines. The aura withdraws somewhat, letting me collect my scattered thoughts and bow blindly, trying to hide my panicky reaction to her very presence. With a soft pop, I revert to the Astral Plane. I focus on the anchor in Lina’s aura and shoot back across the continent, pulled to her side in the blink of an eye. She’s running away – smart girl. While she makes her way to the nearest town, I zip off to another little town I’ve been nurturing. My presence consolidated in the Astral Plane just above the pillar in the center of the town makes the stone glow purple. The people have been well-trained, and begin panicking at the sight. Fear, terror, anger, and all darker emotions are generated; the carefully-paved streets form an amplifying diagram, and I enjoy a leisurely dinner before returning to check on Lina.

                She, the chimera, and the swordsman are discussing the situation in a tavern. Well, eating and trying to avoid the pit of hopeless despair that is their probable fate. Back at the tower, Lord Ruby Eye is unbinding his aura slowly, feeding off the terror and panic it causes. I can feel it seep through the Astral Plane. Lina’s suggesting a strategy based around shamanistic magic; I chuckle silently as the chimera shoots the idea down. He’d tried a Ra-Tilt, and it did nothing. Silly humans – shamanistic magic is powered by the aura of the one casting it, and a human’s aura isn’t anywhere near powerful enough to kill a moderately-powerful mazoku. The Ra-Tilt is thought to be as powerful as the Dragon Slave, but that’s a misunderstanding. It has the same effect on a mazoku’s aura if that aura is equal to or less than the aura of the one casting, but the Dragon Slave is much more powerful because the aura it draws upon is much more powerful, as well.

Lina and the chimera are attempting to explain to Gourry exactly why their magic won’t work against Lord Ruby Eye, and why they’re all so very doomed.

“. . . and white magic’s only for healing or purification.” Lina dismisses the magic that draws from the Flare Dragon.

In actuality, white magic burns and eats away at a mazoku’s aura. It’s possible that if Resurrection were cast on a lesser mazoku, it would obliterate them where the Dragon Slave would fail. Hence the only thing all five Mazoku Lords are agreed on is that no one must ever know what white magic does to a mazoku.

Zelgadis states that their only chance is the Sword of Light. Doubtful; it might hurt, but unless wielded by someone who knows exactly what they’re doing, it wouldn’t even kill me, much less a fragment of Lord Ruby Eye. After several hours, Zelgadis and Gourry are committed to a second attack. Lina’s hesitating, realizing full well the danger, but that steel in her won’t let her back down. She’s going to go for it, and not even the horde of trolls invading the town will stop her. They only serve to solidify her determination. Something good to remember – when Lina’s backed into a corner, she will retreat just long enough to regroup and then come back fearlessly, throwing herself completely into the task as though she had nothing to lose. Her use of the Dragon Slave to kill the trolls is more than just her flare for being overly dramatic; it’s a challenge, a message to Lord Ruby Eye that she’s not going to give up. She’s good enough that she could cast it without the incantation, but the feel of the words in her mouth is a sensory pleasure. And from the stinging indignation coming from the tower, Lord Ruby Eye didn’t miss the fact that she skipped the line “In thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness.”

Beautiful. I hope she fulfills all our hopes; I can’t imagine a more worthy vessel.

 

******************************************************* 

“So, at last you’ve decided to face me.” Lord Ruby Eye isn’t offended by the running away; he’s confident that they’ll either fall before him or join him. The wait just made it more enjoyable.

“Uh-huh. And man, are you gonna regret ever messing with us!” Lina’s words aren’t just ego or bravado; she means to pull out all the stops if she has to. If I had a pulse, it would have quickened.

There is the expected banter; Lord Ruby Eye mocks them, trying to toy with their emotions. They respond with threats and anger, and then the chimera strides forward and the battle is on. A blast, a dodge, and Lina tests the waters with a Gaav Flare. It might have had a chance, coming as it does from the Chaos Dragon instead of from Lord Ruby Eye himself, but it’s not even powerful enough to explode against Lord Ruby Eye’s body. He just absorbs the energy and spits it back with a chuckle. Zelgadis grasps the theory immediately, casting a Vlave Howl to encase Lord Ruby Eye in molten rock. He’s not very good; he has to chant the incantation, and I mentally tsk-tsk his technique. Lord Ruby Eye is amused by the chimera’s creativity, and lets himself be encased before using steam and lava to make a dramatic re-appearance, then forms golems out of the lava and toys with the three humans. Zelgadis uses the icy web of a Van Rehl to protect the three. Well, at least he’s quick on his feet.

Maybe not so quick. A last lava-beast knocks him down and burns him in a stream of fiery breath; he plays dead, knowing the rocky skin will protect him, and Lina leads it in a simple diversion to distract Lord Ruby Eye while Gourry summons the Sword of Light and strikes at Lord Ruby Eye’s heart. Needless to say, it doesn’t work. Lina’s really against a wall, now. My Lord Beastmaster watches through me with interest; our pawns are out of tricks. This fragment may be coherent, but he still wants to destroy the world. Being as the world is where My Lord Beastmaster resides, we are rather against its destruction.

Gourry throws the Sword of Light to Lina, and tells her to use it. She’s a little apprehensive, but seeing the glowing blade at her command settles her nerves and feeling its power amplify her aura sparks elation that crackles through her aura like green sparks. The Elmekia Lance she casts doesn’t really hurt Lord Ruby Eye, but it did give her a feel for how much her magic is amplified. Lord Ruby Eye isn’t impressed, but he doesn’t know what we know. Lina’s being pushed further; a moment of fear-induced denial, and then she scrapes together the steel determination to try what she’s been too cautious to attempt.

“If this doesn’t work, I’ll give up completely.” If this doesn’t work, she won’t have to.

“Even using a spell as powerful as the Dragon Slave, you cannot defeat the Dark Lord, Shabranigdo!” Derisive amusement drips from the words, strengthening Lina’s determination.

“No matter how strong you are, if I summon power from an even stronger Lord, you will die.” There’s no bravado in her voice, just a calm statement of fact.

She’s going to do it! She’s actually going to try it! In the Astral Plane, I form my usual body simply for the ability to cross my fingers and lean forward in anticipation. My Lord Beastmaster, though more reserved, is no less intent on the events unfolding.

“What?!” Lord Ruby Eye grasps immediately what Lina’s about to try, and that panic at the thought of one of the few things that can hurt him makes his booming voice tremble.

“You see, I’ve heard of another legendary Dark Lord: the Lord of Nightmares!” Lina’s in full control, cocky and self-assured. She wouldn’t be so comfortable if she’d been able to make out more than just that fragment of L-----‘s title: “Giver and Taker of Life and of Death, Lord of Nightmares and of Dreams.”

The chimera is stunned by the idea of an entity more powerful than the Dark God; the idea of that much power coursing through a human body causes him to recoil.

“Now you’ll see it – my most secret of secrets. The Giga Slave!”

I clasp my astral hands together; this is it, this is what we’ve been waiting for. The moment of truth. Lord Ruby Eye doesn’t seem excited by this pronouncement, but then again, he’s had direct contact with L-----, and we haven’t. Lina attunes the Sword of Light to her aura, making it a part of her casting and amplifying her call.

“Darkness beyond blackest pitch, deeper than the deepest night!”

The call goes out, shooting through physical and astral and piercing the barrier between this world and the worlds beyond. She’s invoking L----- not as the Lord of Nightmares and of Dreams, but just in a general ‘hey, you, the one Shabranigdo draws power from!’ sort of way.

“King of Darkness, you who shine like gold upon the sea of chaos!” The power starts to flow into her, crackling lightening that is both black and white at the same time. “I call upon thee! Swear myself to thee!”

Remember what I said about always knowing who you’re swearing yourself to? Pawn advances before the King, Check.

“Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess! Sword, accept this darkness and obey my command!”

There is a hesitation, and then the power of L---- Herself infuses the Sword of Light, causing the blade to lengthen and extend like an amplified Ragna Blade. Lord Ruby Eye’s fragment creates a barrier, suddenly afraid now that he can feel Lina’s invocation being answered. The ramifications of this are not lost on My Lord Beastmaster. King retreats from Pawn. Lina speaks to Rezo as though his soul is still intact, which it isn’t, but she doesn’t know that.

“GIGA SLAVE!”

Lord Ruby Eye’s fragment tries to counter with a blast of concentrated energy, but the Nightmare magic just absorbs it, and more pours into this world from the column of black-white lightening. Lina screams as the energy sears her soul on its way through her body, through the Sword of Light, shattering the barrier of red light and utterly destroying the fragment of Lord Ruby Eye. Pawn to the back row, Pawn becomes Queen. Checkmate. Queen takes King.

Queen’s not looking very healthy; the sheer amount of power she channeled has bleached her hair white. She’ll be several weeks eating and resting before she’s recovered. Aside from that, the shockwave of L----‘s power and the destruction of a fragment of Lord Ruby Eye have spread across the continent. Luckily, the barrier kept it from rippling across the entire world, but Lord Hellmaster and the Chaos Dragon are sure to have felt it.

::Let them come,:: My Lord Beastmaster says smugly through her seed in my core. ::Our Queen is on the board. Keep her safe for me, Xelloss. There is much we must do.:: The emotional equivalent of an affectionate pat on the shoulder comes through her seed; My Lord Beastmaster is very pleased by this turn of events.

::Yes, My Lord Beastmaster.:: Her will is my will; I am her tool completely. But even if this were not so, I would be eager to obey. Making sure Lina stays safe won’t be distasteful in the least. Lord Ruby Eye and the Flare Dragon are invoked hundreds of times a day; one more invocation won’t even register anymore. The power of Nightmares and Dreams hasn’t been felt on this world in over a thousand years. L---- answered Lina’s invocation, heard her request and her oath.

Soon, I’ll have to introduce myself to Miss Inverse. I can’t say the last few years were boring, but they’re about to get a lot more interesting.