The Chronicles of a Scalebound Sage

WM [56] Hydra Fire

Kara found herself in a tunnel widened by Waddell to serve as the command post. Light crystals illuminated the space as Kara looked over one of the many maps the reconnaissance team acquired from the enemy. The border fortress was vast and extended throughout the mountain. Which made finding all of the wendigo stragglers a hassle. Their poisons had already done its work on weakening the defense and soon the mountain would collapse in on the remaining wendigo. 

It didn’t please Kara, she wanted to kill the Hand personally. Although she knew she was no match for any wendigo Hand in a direct confrontation. They had a contingency planned for that eventuality. Waddell was currently undergoing the Ritual of Roots. The final part of their plan, and a one way street for Waddell once it was done.

Despite Kara’s protests against it, this would be Waddell’s grave as well. For every person that died while they were in the effect of the poison, regardless if they were wendigo or druid, a portion of their power would become Waddell’s to control. It was a temporary boost, one that would cost his vitality until there was nothing left of him. However, with it Waddell would be able to fight the Hand on an even playing field.

Kara looked over at Waddell who was sitting crossed-legged in the center of a circle of chanting wizards as they directed the lingering power into him. His already muscular form growing larger, his veins pulsing with energy as he consolidated the new arcane power he was being granted. She appreciated his resolve but was saddened what this would mean for the valiant warrior she had come to know.

A soldier approached her, snapping her out of her reverie. “We found a holdout of wendigo. They are in the medical ward,” the soldier continued, with her hand on her heart. “Our forces were pushed back. It appears they created some kind of potion to heal their people. Several strong individuals were standouts. We believe the Royal Knight Commander is amongst them. We also identified a tiger demon, and the same chimera familiar that led the werewolves and monsters to our old base.”

“It is here? Is it a familiar of one of the knights?” Kara questioned. “Unimportant, have you heard anything from Lieutenant Steffen?”

“No, but.” She seemed hesitant. “We have found members of his squad in one of the tunnels. All of them were beheaded. It wasn’t clean, likely the work of a familiar.”

Kara was careful not to show her shock, she needed to remain stoic as the commander. “Are there signs that the wendigo have started using our tunnels?”

“No,” the soldier said.

Kara sighed and looked over the maps in front of her. “Where is the Royal Knight Commander, point him out on the map? If we can’t find the Hand she has either fled like a coward or is up to something, either way we will be moving on to the final phase of the plan. Get everyone through the escape tunnels into the Chaos Lands.”

“What about you ma’am?” the soldier asked.

Kara’s eyes flicked to Waddell, her resolve hardening. “I’ll leave when it is done.” She raised her voice, calling out to Waddell. “Lieutenant! Enough of your meditating. It’s time we finished this. We have wendigo to slaughter!”

Waddell’s eyes snapped open, dark green energy still pulsing through him as he rose, ready to unleash devastation on their enemies.

“Here, I thought you forgot about me Commander,” Waddell said with a smile. “I am with you.”

***

Kara watched as Waddell effortlessly tore holes through the mountain with his magic. Tons of stone forced apart as they positioned themselves over the last stronghold of the wendigo savages. Once he was ready he gave her the signal as he placed a hand on the ground. Mana pulsed out of him causing the stone to ripple like waves in a pond. Then it all collapsed downward and the stone beneath them gave way. The cursed feeling of wendigo magic caught some of the collapsing ceiling but unlucky wendigo were crushed beneath the explosive falling debris.

Kara readied herself as she landed behind Waddell who stood like an impenetrable wall. She was already whispering her spell wand in hand and ready to lash out at her target. Then she was thrown to the ground suddenly as Waddell was attacked on all sides simultaneously. He grabbed two people out of the air with speed that had she not witnessed she would have thought impossible. One was a wendigo royal knight; he was crushed in seconds. The other was the tiger demon, still struggling in Waddell's grasp. The mere fact he was still alive sent shivers down Kara’s spine. If they attacked without the Ritual of Roots that demon alone could have killed them easily.

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The demon struggled with blows that rang out with demonic maya, each attack carried an explosive pressure that would have crushed boulders. Despite the power behind the strikes he could not free himself while Waddell defended himself from the Royal Knight Commander. However, as soon as Waddell got the opportunity he punched the demon so hard he went flying. That is when Kara saw her target. The little bastard of a familiar that put them in this situation to begin with. She knew it was dangerous and if left unchecked would only become a bigger threat. She raised her wand and unleashed her magic. A green bolt of energy shot out striking where the monster was with explosive force. 

Before Kara could confirm the kill Waddell had to throw magic throughout the entire ward keeping the Royal Knight Commander at bay with spikes of jagged stone and streams of molten rock. There was no safe haven for the wendigo as they collectively were forced to retreat or die. The Ritual of Roots put Waddell on a time limit, but until his vitality burned out, he was at the same power as any wendigo Hand. Many of them fell as the battle between Waddell and the Knight Commander intensified.

The ward was a larger space than Kara had envisioned. The collapsed roof and the ongoing battle separated her from Waddell and also hid her from sight of the larger wendigo defensive. She knew she had to move, not just to take advantage of the opportunity to kill any healers or downed wendigo, but also to not get caught in the brawl. She was nowhere near powerful enough to stand close to the battle as it unfolded. 

She found the first of her wendigo sacrifices, they were unsuspecting soldiers that were too injured to fight back. Their deaths would empower Waddell further, but Kara knew that was an excuse, she would kill them regardless. She spoke the words of power and shot lightning from her wand frying the men and women to charr. She couldn’t wait until she found their healers and soon they would die too.

She found another wendigo man unconscious between rubble. She raised her wand ready to end his life, but before she could her instincts told her to duck. A claw passed through the space her head would have been. A wifwolf had joined the battle and her strike was poised to take off her head. Kara dodged again, this time flipping back and putting her wand away taking out her twin daggers as electricity coursed through them. She wasn’t in the mood to play with dogs.

The wifwolf lunged again, a blur of claws and fangs enhanced by her Flash Step. Kara kept her composure, sidestepping with practiced precision as she parried with her electrified daggers. She anticipated the wifwolf’s moves, ducking under a swipe and driving one dagger into her bicep, then thrusting the other between her ribs. The electricity surged through the wifwolf, making her snarl in pain, but before Kara could capitalize, the wifwolf kicked back, forcing them apart. She stumbled but regained her balance just as the ground beneath them trembled violently. 

The ground shook as the fight between Waddell and the royal knights reached a new peak. The Royal Knight Commander’s darkness magic and Waddell’s geokinetic power shook the mountain, threatening to collapse the fort before they were ready. Waddell was expending magic to keep himself in the fight while also defending himself from the knights and guards that joined in the battle. Little did they know the more of them he killed the stronger he became. 

Kara had to turn her attention back to the wifwolf who was bleeding profusely. The fight wouldn’t last much longer, then Kara could get back to slaughtering wendigo. Her eyes flicked over to see that the chimera beast was standing. Someone had jumped in the way of her attack and protected it. At first she looked like a wendigo, but the tail, ears and aura were all wrong. She was something else, another demon perhaps, Kara didn’t know.

The chimera scales still smoked from the lightning strike he barely survived, and the demoness’ armor bore scorch marks. The demoness turned around, her golden eyes looking on to Kara with single minded fury. She still couldn’t stand on her own and needed to use the chimera as a crutch.

Kara smirked as she turned back to the wifwolf, a spell formulating on her lips to kill the mutt. Suddenly there was a roar which radiated magic from the direction of the chimera. For the briefest moment Kara couldn’t move, her forming spellform failed and the backlash was instant. Her magic became directionless and volatile, seeking an escape, it tore ruthlessly through her body. Green bolts of energy ripped their way out from her core. She fell to her knees and coughed up blood mixed saliva as she stabilized her mana.

She was in a bad position, it was only by pure luck that the wendigo attacking Waddell hadn't spotted her while she was incapacitated. She looked around to see if anyone else was targeting her. It took a few Blinks for her to get distance from anyone that might pursue her. She collapsed against a stone spike, the remnants of a previous battle. A new development grabbed her attention as a black mist started to envelop the area. At first it was barely noticeable to Kara’s senses, then it became darker and more of a void to her magic senses. It was maya and it was everywhere, it oozed over the terrain, devouring the light and casting an oppressive, soulless shadow over the chaos. Kara collected herself pushing her aura out and separating herself and her space from the infernal energy.

The tiger demon was still alive. Kara’s eyes watched as maya poured from his mouth like a waterfall. However,  she couldn’t watch what he was doing. Her attention was instantly brought back to the wifwolf who had recovered enough to engage again.

“Fuck, I waited too long.” Kara said to herself.

The wifwolf was the first to move. In a blur of motion, the wifwolf was upon her, claws ready to tear her apart. Kara pushed herself to stand without the assistance of the spike and shifted her stance. She lifted her living wood prosthetic arm in a desperate move to meet the attack. Her core hadn’t fully calmed so when she called on her magic electricity surged out from her prosthetic arm violently scorching the wood as it arched toward her attacker, but the wifwolf twisted in midair, barely avoiding the lethal strike. Kara backpedaled, her prosthetic arm absorbing the impact of the wifwolf’s claws with a resonant thud. She was nearly thrown to the ground but caught herself and jumped back to avoid another strike.

From the corner of her eye, Kara saw that the demoness had recovered and had entered the battle, muttering under her breath. The air around her warped, solidifying into the form of… well, actually… whatever spell she cast vanished from Kara’s magical perceptions. The demoness then pulled a great saber from some sort of inventory item and tossed it into the air. The weapon moved on its own, slashing down toward Kara with a force that would have cleaved her in two. Kara swung her daggers, deflecting the blow with a surge of green lightning, but the blade pressed the attack relentlessly. The sword was dangerous but predictable in its movements as compared to a real fighter. 

“Clever,” Kara admitted.

The demoness vanished just to reappear to her right. Kara’s eyes widened as she twisted to avoid the swinging new weapon, a bardiche that appeared as a flash. She then had to deflect the great saber with her daggers. The Demoness was relentless, the force of her attacks nothing special, but there was skill behind her training. Still she was a novice while Kara had been fighting and training for over fifty years. It didn’t take long for her to see the patterns in the demoness’s movements and dismantle her fighting style. All she needed was an opening and she would plunge her daggers into the gaps of the armor and kill her. 

When she clashed with electrically charged daggers against the saber, whatever magic was causing it to attack on its own dispersed leaving the demoness open. Instead of retreating, the demoness surprised her by dismissing the bardiche into her magic inventory and squaring up in an unarmed stance, her eyes narrowing with focused intensity. Kara raised her daggers, prepared to end it, but the demoness’s movements had shifted; they were faster, more precise, and significantly more dangerous than before. It was obvious that this was the true nature of her unorthodox fighting style.

While she moved her magic emulated maya, flowing from her mouth with every breath. Her punches and kicks left shockwaves of power which flowed outward with every attack. A rapid series of jabs and sweeping kicks forced Kara to backpedal and dodge even when out of range of her limbs. She barely parried a swift uppercut with the flat of her dagger, feeling the reverberation run up her arm. The demoness matched her speed and Blink with her odd teleportation skill. The fight became a deadly dance of who would land the first strike. Kara grit her teeth, adjusting her stance to match the demoness’s unorthodox rhythm.

A low feint from the demoness was followed by a spinning kick aimed at Kara’s side. She parried it with her prosthetic arm, using the momentum to twist and slash her daggers downward. She managed to land a glancing blow on the demoness’s armor, just below the shoulder and drawing first blood in the joint. There was a sudden flare of light, and Kara recoiled as a swarm of silver-gold ethereal feathers erupted from the armor itself, shooting toward her like a barrage of arrows. It wasn’t an enchantment but something else, an infusion. 

Kara spun away, evading most of the feathers, though a few grazed her, tearing through her cloak and glancing off her own armor. Her eyes widened; the demoness had more tricks up her sleeve than she’d thought. This wasn’t going to be a straightforward fight. As the last feather whizzed past her, she gathered her composure and steadied herself, a new spell already forming on her lips. If the demoness wanted to fight dirty, Kara would answer in kind.

Kara didn’t hesitate and sheathed one of her daggers. Though her core was still unstable and her magic unpredictable, she began to chant, her voice low and steady as she crafted a spell. To her surprise, the demoness mimicked her, repeating the words with a determined expression. Kara scoffed at the attempt. Demons couldn’t wield mana, and even if they could, casting a spell without knowing its effects was foolish. She pressed on, focusing on the gathering energy, and finished her chant, a glowing sphere of crackling arcane energy forming in her hand.

Mirroring her, the demoness somehow conjured a similar orb of power. Kara narrowed her eyes. Was this creature actually copying her magic? Whatever the demoness’s intentions, they were about to backfire. Without hesitation, she hurled her spell, and the demoness did the same. The two balls of energy collided mid-air, releasing a blinding explosion of arcane lightning. 

Kara was forced back, but she kept her footing, only skidding a few steps before stabilizing. The demoness, however, bore the full brunt of the impact. Her hastily assembled spell was no match for Kara’s experience and power. The force sent her flying backward, slamming her into a stone wall with a resounding crack. 

Kara could finally feel her core stabilize and with it her confidence rose as well. She moved like a predator, her daggers glowing with lethal energy. She was back in control as it should have been from the start. The wifwolf snarled and launched herself at Kara again, claws flashing in the emerald light. This time, Kara caught her mid-swing. A surge of electricity wrapped around the mutt's body, holding her in place as Kara clenched her fist. The wifwolf’s body trembled, muscles spasming uncontrollably as Kara’s electricity coursed through her. 

The chimera finally revealed itself again to take advantage of the momentary distraction. It lunged at her exposed side. Kara twisted at the last second, deflecting the strike with a well-placed Shockwave which pulsed out from her as a last line of defense. The hydra’s attack was nullified, but Kara wasn’t done. She unleashed a wave of electricity that slammed into the creature's body, his scales hissing as the shock spread across his long form.

She expected the familiar to stop, but instead, it opened its mouth and breathed out a cloud with a sickly sweet smell. Kara gagged as her vision instantly went blurry and her throat felt like it was on fire. Kara abandoned her assault and blinked backwards away from the creature. She dry heaved when she finally came to a stop taking a potion out of her inventory and downing it. She was prepared for poisons but didn’t know the chimera could breathe it out.

Kara turned her attention back to the demoness, who was struggling to her feet. The warrior was visibly injured, her chest rising and falling heavily as she summoned her remaining strength. Kara’s lip curled in disgust. She didn’t know what the demoness was, but it felt like a wendigo and at the same time something more, but she would die all the same. Kara held out her wand and a massive bolt of lightning arched toward the demoness.

***

The bolt of lightning roared through the air, bright and crackling, aiming to deliver the final blow. Tanisha's eyes widened, and for a split second, it seemed like there was no escape. Bjorn knew it was his turn to save her. He had to trust in the durability of his Aetheric Scales as he lept in front of Tanisha taking the full brunt of the blast. The pain was immediate and intense. 

A shrill hiss escaped from Bjorn’s mouths as the electricity coursed through him, his iridescent scales flaring with energy. Despite the pain, he stood firm, his three heads lowering defensively in front of Tanisha. The druid electrokinetic mage cursed under her breath, frustrated that they were all still in the fight, but she didn’t let up. Bjorn knew it was the same woman that he had seen at the druid outpost. He took the opportunity to Identify her.

Identify

Name: Kara Rindr Springhold
Species: Druid
Level: ???
Vocation: Electrokinetic War Mage

Bjorn wanted to use his fire breath, but in such an enclosed space, it would eat up their air and suffocate everyone. He had to resort to other means so he would need to get closer.

“Why wont you just die already,” Kara growled.

“I was thinking the same thing,” Tanisha responded.

Adelheid, still recovering from the earlier assault, staggered to her feet. She was bruised and battered, her muscles trembling from the residual shocks of Kara’s attacks, but her fierce eyes locked onto the druid commander. She bared her teeth, a low growl emanating from deep within her chest as she circled Kara, looking for an opening.

Tanisha, protected by Bjorn, took a moment to catch her breath. Bjorn could see that her body was trembling from the repeated shocks, but he felt something else stirred inside of her. The bond they shared felt as though it thrummed with raw energy, a seething heat burning just beneath her skin. He could feel their shared power in a way he never did before. He wondered if it was because of the communing they had performed.

The druid mage wasted no time. She turned the full force of her focus on him and Tanisha in a bid to take them out together. The medical ward flickered with the green light of the arcane lightning. Bjorn braced himself but was thrown backwards as Tanisha jumped in front of him she used the second form of the Way of the Rakshasa her seiðr guiding the arcane assault harmlessly around her body. It moved like a snake curling around a tree, then the energy shot back towards Kara. There was no time to evade, she was struck with her own magic and a surprised scream escaped her lips. 

It was now or never. Tanisha and Bjorn rushed forward with a combination of speed and her Arcane Shift. They pressed the druid mage with all they had, Adelheid sprang forward as well, but whether it was blade, fist, claw or fang the difference in skill was apparent. Instead of a quick victory it was obvious it was going to be a battle of endurance.

The war mage was not going down without a fight and the longer it dragged on the more desperate she became. Bjorn felt something in Tanisha let go. Rage, hatred, anxiety and fear all of her emotions ceased as a smile stretched across her face. She wasn’t her in that moment, she was the other that also inhabited her body. The one that wanted nothing more than to kill and consume.

Something about Tanisha in that moment made Bjorn panic as he wrapped his tail around Adelheid’s waist and threw her away from the battle. Tanisha opened her mouth and let out a guttural cry, summoning the power of Hydra Fire for the first time. The flames were not like Bjorn’s current aetheric version of Plague Fire. These flames were black, laced with toxic necrotic energy. The inferno erupted from her mouth, spiraling out as a wave of heat and decay.

“What the fuck!” Bjorn and Failsafe both screamed in his head as he fell back on his haunches.

Kara’s eyes widened in shock, no one could have anticipated that turn of event.  She moved to dodge, or circulate her mana, or blink out of the way, but it was too late. The flame caught her and enveloped her in a dark embrace. The necrotic fire clung to her armor and skin. It was fueled by her lifeforce. Though far weaker than Bjorn’s Plague Fire, it too was not ordinary flame, it was death.

The mage screamed, her body convulsing as the fire scorched her body. In her panic, she stumbled backward, trying to shake off the flames, but they refused to relent. She coated herself in mana trying to put out the fire, but it just added more fuel to her agony. Her armor cracked under the intense heat, and her skin blistered where the necrotic energy touched her.

“Not so confident now are you?” Tanisha hissed through clenched teeth, her voice thick with exhaustion but laced with triumph.

There was no response at first, aside from the screams, her hands still crackling with green electricity as she attempted to free herself of the flames. Her energy was spent and her hands fell to her sides as she keeled over. Tanisha stood over the war mage and summoned her bardiche from her inventory. She raised it high to behead the woman. 

“You... won’t win… even if I die,” Kara said. 

Tanisha didn’t hesitate; she brought the weapon down, but in an instant, the mage was gone. She vanished without a trace as if she was never there to begin with. It wasn’t a teleportation skill and there was no sign of magic interference; she was just… gone.