Final Scene
Title: Final Scene
Genre (Month/Year): High Fantasy (March 2009)
Word Count: 3,426
Rating: weak PG-13
Warning(s): Some violence
Include in Anthology: No
“Stop it!”
A sharp clang reverberated through the chill air as Alyx’s staff made contact with the Blank’s broadsword. She had managed to stop the blade from beheading Kael, much to the obvious surprise of the Blank. As the white cloaked man tried to register the fact that a slight, willowy girl had managed to block his powerful swing, Alyx glanced down to check on her childhood friend.
Kael was lying flat on the ground, chest heaving and body trembling. He had a nasty slash on his scalp, and despite the blood dripping into his eyes from the wound he couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from the sword that had nearly killed him. In fact, he didn’t seem aware that Alyx had halted the immediate threat. Kael’s right hand scrabbled across the hard ground in an attempt to reach his nearby dagger, and as he stared his lips moved, shaping ancient words as the youth desperately tried to remember some song, any song, that could possible save him. Alyx had been warning Kael for some time now that if her friend couldn’t cast a spell without help from an instrument, he would end up in trouble. The attack from the Blank had obviously made that point. If they both escaped that day with their lives, then Alyx would make sure Kael started practicing his song-casting.
“You’re a sly one,” the Blank growled, pulling Alyx’s attention away from her friend. “I didn’t hear you approach, and you certainly do not appear strong enough to stay my weapon in such a way. Tell me: did the worm of a mage here cast some sort of enchantment on you to give you an advantage?”
Alyx shook her head, making sure her staff stayed steady against the sword. “I move under my own abilities. My friend here was too busy defending himself to cast any sort of spell.”
The Blank’s eyes suddenly flared with some sort of emotion - Alyx was not sure, but it may have been a mixture of disgust and triumph. “Then you admit it - this boy is a magician.”
The girl’s eyes narrowed. “Why does it matter that he can use magic?”
“Because that means he is a spawn of darkness.” The Blank’s cloak, white to symbolize his mission to cleanse the world, fluttered in the sharp breeze. “All mages, witches, and other creatures of magic are demons in disguise, brought here to destroy the world’s harmony and bring us all into chaos. For this crime, he should be punished and wiped out from-”
His blade twitched. Alyx tightened her grip on her staff and made a sweeping motion, pushing the sword aside and away from Kael’s still-exposed throat. The Blanks stumbled back a step, startled.
“What’s this?” The cloaked man asked disbelievingly. “Do you wish to prevent me from doing my duty? Fulfilling the mission given to me by the Lady of Light?”
Alyx gasped a little as she realized the situation she had just gotten herself into. She had created a conflict. Not just that, but her opponent was a Blank, a member of the Order of Light. According to rumor, all members of the Order were deadly in combat, as they were trained to destroy even the strongest of mages. So not only had Alyx started a conflict, but it was with one of the deadliest men alive. She began to tremble as this realization suddenly clicked in her mind.
“I-I’m sorry,” she started to stutter, lowering her staff slightly. “I didn’t mean to challenge-”
“Such actions are blasphemy,” the Blank muttered, apparently not hearing the girl’s attempts to halt the impending fight. “A blasphemer is nearly as terrible as a magician, and as such deserves the same punishment.”
Without warning the Blank lunged at Alyx, sword poised and ready to run her through. The girl hurriedly brought her staff up to stop the blow, halting the blade just inches away from her belly. That didn’t stop the larger man, however. He quickly pulled back and launched a flurry of attacks, each blow potentially lethal. It was all Alyx could do to stop the sword, and she couldn’t even try to retaliate. Instead, she was focused on surviving an adversary who was taller, heavier, and stronger than she was. However, she was decidedly faster than her opponent, and that allowed her to stay one step ahead. After a few minutes of stalemate, of the Blank’s continuous attacks and Alyx’s continuous blocks, the girl actually started to believe that there was a good chance she could leave this entire situation with her life.
Something suddenly caught Alyx’s foot, and she stumbled badly. The Blank took complete advantage of the situation, plunging his blade into the youth’s thigh until the blade appeared on the opposite side, slicing muscle in the process. Alyx screamed in pain and her leg buckled, forcing her to collapse on the ground. The Blank pulled his sword out of her leg and let her fall, watching Alyx writhe, obviously disgusted. The girl clutched at the wound with her free hand in a futile attempt to stop the blood that was pouring from it. The pain was intense, and one of the worst she had felt in a long time.
The Blank sneered as Alyx focused a glare on him. “You weak piece of filth,” he snarled. “You can’t even use magic to survive more than five minutes of battle? Pathetic.”
Alyx cringed, the Blank’s hateful words bringing back similar sentiments from her father. Tears began to leak from her eyes, but she kept her gaze fixed on her adversary, not wanting to give him the pleasure of seeing her suffer too much.
“The world will be a better place once I slay you. And after that, I’ll destroy your fellow mage.” The Blank nodded to Kael, who had managed to sit up and watch the fight, though he was still muttering, still trying to find that song. “You tried to defend him and failed. You tried to defend yourself and failed once more. You truly are useless.”
The Blank swung his sword over his head, prepared to give a killing blow. As the blade swung down towards her head, Alyx found herself lost to memories, to voices brought back by the Blank’s final words. The world slowed as her mind traversed dark, familiar paths.
You truly are useless, her father muttered, his knuckles bloody from the beating he had given her. No wonder your mother left. She knew you wouldn’t accomplish a bloody thing right from the start. Looks like she was smarter than me when it came to that. Now I’m stuck with a kid that’ll never be worth anything.
Maybe her father was right. Alyx had tried to be useful. She had tried to learn combat on the road and how to harness the magic she knew she had, but what had that amounted to? She had failed to survive so much as a few moments of true battle, and she was too panicked to even try for a spell at this point. She had found a staff with odd markings, obviously magical runes, and yet had never learned how to activate it. Alyx gripped the staff in question, which was still in her hand, feeling the engravings dig into her skin. She had tried to harness the power in the staff, had tried to learn how to fight, had tried to learn how to wield her magic, and had failed in all three parts. Alyx closed her eyes as the blade swung closer. She truly was worthless.
Even some of the most worthless-looking things can prove themselves. That was Talek. It was the tone of voice he normally used when teaching magic to Alyx and Kael, when he was trying to instill some important kernel of information. A gold piece covered in grime and filth is still gold, and thus still worth something. The last necromancer died some hundred-odd years ago, Alyxendra. Your necromancy can be worth something. However, you’re still wiping away the grime from your life. Give it time, girl, and you’ll be worth it.
As this rang through Alyx’s mind, Kael’s frightened face from just moments ago flashed in her mind’s eye. Kael. Who would protect him if Alyx died? Who would keep him from running into something headfirst and thus getting himself hurt in the process? Alyx needed to survive, then, if not just to prove her worth, then to protect her closest friend. She shouldn’t die here, at the hands of a overzealous warrior.
She couldn’t die.
She wouldn’t.
As determination flooded her mind, Alyx felt something connect with a solid click, which she felt more than she heard within her own head. Instantly she felt the elation and lightheadedness that always came whenever she tapped into her magic, except this time the sensation was so much more intense. Power flooded her system, seeming to fill her body to the brim. The magic begged to be used, to be released into the outside world. And Alyx knew just how to use it.
Alyx’s eyes snapped open and she brought her staff up in a blur, catching the oncoming blade right before it reached her throat. She pushed, and the surprised Blank was forced to stumble back a handful of steps from the unexpected force. Alyx quickly regained her footing and grinned at the shocked look on the Blank’s face. She could still feel the magic levels within her increasing at each moment, filling up her body and pouring out into her limbs, all the way up to her fingers and toes. When the flow of power reached the hand holding the staff, it continued to flow out of her body and into the weapon, filling the object with her magic and triggering its own power.
As the staff recognized the power being offered to it, it latched onto the source. A jolt rippled through Alyx’s being as the staff drank in her power, and she felt her magic levels being drained dangerously quickly. She tried to drop the staff, to cut off the transfer, but it was as if the weapon was bound to her hand. The runes that decorated the staff began to glow a deep purple that was nearly black. Overhead, clouds began to gather, swirling to meet the growing source of power. As the sky darkened, the Blank looked around anxiously, gripping his sword ever tighter and shivering at the power he could feel building up in the air. It was almost like the sensation that occurred right before a huge lightning storm erupted.
Her magical stamina was gone. Alyx could feel the staff beginning to feed on her physical stamina without any signs of slowing its insane consumption of her strength. She staggered, the previous sensation of elation gone, replaced by fatigue. She gripped the staff tightly in order to stay on her feet, hoping that she would be able to remain conscious until her weapon stopped eating her away from the inside out.
And then, just as suddenly as it started, the process stopped, the link between her and the staff dwindling to a small thread of connecting power. Alyx swayed, relieved that she was still able to stand after that horrendous trial. Wearily, she glanced at the staff. As she watched, the dark glow of the runes intensified, finally culminating into a burst of blinding light that centered near the top of the staff. The light poured out of the staff, twisting itself into a long blade that tapered downwards, colored the dark purple of midnight. The staff - now a scythe - hummed slightly, something Alyx could feel in her very bones.
“What?” Alyx murmured to herself, unable to tear her eyes away from the weapon in her hand. She was still swaying slightly on her feet, and exhaustion was nibbling at the edges of her mind, but at the moment she forgot that all, awed by what had just happened.
“You…” Alyx glanced over at the Blank, who looked absolutely terrified. The terror was quickly wiped away, however, to be replaced with a fierce determination. “You are a demon, spat out from the darkest depth of the Lower Plane,” the Blank whispered. “Killing you will be a great honor, and I will be duly rewarded by the great Lady of Light.”
The Blank lunged at Alyx, who took a clumsy step backwards in order to dodge the attack. She was still drained, and her limbs felt five times heavier than normal. As Alyx tried to bring the scythe up in order to defend herself, she belatedly realized that the weight of the weapon was different. Used to an evenly-weighed staff, the scythe, with its heavy blade on one end, was setting off the balance Alyx had accustomed herself to. As she tried to adjust herself she continued to move back, trying to avoid the Blank’s sword. It was no good, she realized - she was too tired to adjust quickly, and too weak to actually use the weapon correctly. All Alyx pretty much had at that point was a useless weapon and a quickly fading stamina.
Just when she was feeling like she was about to simply collapse onto the Blank’s ever-moving blade, she felt something happen in her mind again. Instead of the click that had accompanied the triggering of her magic, however, there was a crack, as if something important had suddenly given way. Strength flooded her body, but it was a foreign strength. Even as she felt her flagging energy renew itself, Alyx couldn’t shake the feeling that this strength simply didn’t belong.
As the foreign power settled into every part of her body, Alyx felt something suddenly seize control of her body. It was a startling experience. She didn’t feel anything push her conscious self aside in order to take over. Instead, it was almost as if someone had tied strings to her limbs and simply made her a large, living puppet. She was aware, but unable to physically do anything.
Her body moved at an astonishing speed, grabbing the scythe in a new, foreign stance that made the weight balance out again. Quickly, the scythe was positioned to block and then push away the attacking Blank. Startled by the sudden resistance, the Blank paused before once more lunging forward. Alyx’s body moved once more under the command of that outside force, rapidly blocking each and every attack and even attempting to return some blows. Soon enough the Blank was forced to switch to defense instead of offense. His face shone with sweat as he tried to protect himself from the oncoming blows, which seemed to be getting more intense and furious as time wore on. He didn’t even seem to notice that Alyx was slowly pushing him back, step by step, with each attack.
The Blank suddenly tripped, his heel catching on a rock that he had not seen. As he panted there on the ground, Alyx brought the scythe to bear on the man, its blade of light scant inches from his throat. Though her body showed an outward calm, Alyx’s mind was panicking. She was still under the control of whatever had seized her moments before, and though she was glad that the outside force had saved her life, she wanted her body back. Also, the fact that she had been taken over so quickly and easily made her nervous. Had she inadvertently become prey for some otherworldly power? Perhaps a mage who would never let her go and simply use her to do unspeakable things? The thoughts that ran through her head made Alyx panic even more.
All the while, the Blank was muttering frantically. “Please don’t,” he begged. “Have mercy. I was only following the code of my Order. Please…”
“Mercy?” Apparently Alyx’s voice wasn’t hers to use, either. Though it was her voice that left her mouth, it seemed to be intertwined with another voice, a voice that was world-weary and deep. “You were not planning to show mercy to me, so why should I treat you any differently? If I were one of my brothers or sisters, you may have had a chance. But I’m not like them - I don’t believe filth like you deserve second chances.”
The Blank tried to speak again, to beg more, but Alyx’s controller flipped the scythe so that she could push the non-bladed end into the Blank’s throat. “I don’t want to hear any more of your blathering. You tried to kill us, and that is unacceptable.” There was a pause, and then, mockingly: “Killing you will be a great honor.”
The scythe was whirled around again at a blinding speed and the blade buried itself in the Blank’s chest, right above the heart. Instead of slicing the man open, however, the light simply shot straight through his body. He jerked and his mouth opened in a silent scream, as if the light was more painful than it looked. Dark purple light filled his mouth and eyes briefly, and as it did Alyx could hear the scream that the Blank had been unable to voice, whispering through her mind. When the light died, the Blank went limp, eyes open and glazed, his life gone.
Alyx lifted the blade out of the dead man, and she saw that the scythe had left no mark. Once the scythe was once more at her side, the force that had been controlling her for so long suddenly disappeared. Alyx sagged against her weapon, feeling like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Her exhaustion returned tenfold, and without the strength to withstand her magic, the scythe’s blade faded away until the weapon had once again become an unassuming staff covered in odd runes.
She stood there, panting, her wounded leg throbbing, staring at the dead Blank before her, until a weak voice interrupted her thoughts. “A-Alyx…”
Alyx turned and saw that Kael was still there, about fifty yards away. He had managed to regain his footing and he was simply standing there, staring at Alyx with wide eyes. Slowly, hesitatingly, he raised his arm, offering a hand to his childhood friend, inviting her to a safety that she had learned to trust years ago, when she had had no other means of protection. Now, when she felt so vulnerable and terrified about what had just happened to her, Alyx felt her mind begging for that safety.
As she was turning to walk to Kael, thunder rolled through the sky, sounding like cannon fire. With the thunder came a powerful voice that spoke with the voices of every living creature in existence. Both Alyx and Kael covered their ears in pain at that voice.
“At last, we have found our missing child.” Alyx shivered at that, but if asked why, she would not have been able to give an answer. “The ferryman returns, and thus the balance can begin to right itself. Come, ferryman - return to thy Valley and rebuild thy ruined kingdom.”
The ground rumbled, then groaned as a huge chasm split the earth. It opened right where Alyx was standing, and she screamed as she began to fall. Luckily, she was close the edge, so she was able to grab the ledge before she managed to drop completely. However, she had to let go of her staff in order to save herself, and she watched it tumble into the chasm below her. Alyx closed her eyes against that apparently infinite darkness and began to claw at the grip she had, trying to pull herself back up.
“Alyx!”
Alyx managed to hoist herself up to the shoulders, and she was able to see Kael running towards her, a frightened look on his face. Smiling in relief, she reached out with one hand, wanting him to grab her and hoist her up, to pull her to safety, as he had done so many times before. Kael reached out an answering hand to Alyx’s silent plea.
Their fingertips barely brushed against each other when something invisible wrapped itself around Alyx’s ankle and yanked. Her whole body jerked, and even as she scrabbled for a handhold she could feel herself slipping backwards again. Soon enough, she was only holding on by her fingertips, the chasm yawning below her once more. She looked at Kael’s desperate and terrified face one last time, and for some inexplicable reason she found herself smiling.
And with that smile, Alyx fell into the endless abyss.
~*~*~*~*~*
I'm sorry if this makes no sense out of context. As the title suggests, this is part of a much larger idea. This is the closing scene of the idea. I was originally going to write something completely different, but I realized that I couldn't finish it in time for the deadline. So I quickly scribbled this down.
Comments and crit are appreciated~
Genre (Month/Year): High Fantasy (March 2009)
Word Count: 3,426
Rating: weak PG-13
Warning(s): Some violence
Include in Anthology: No
“Stop it!”
A sharp clang reverberated through the chill air as Alyx’s staff made contact with the Blank’s broadsword. She had managed to stop the blade from beheading Kael, much to the obvious surprise of the Blank. As the white cloaked man tried to register the fact that a slight, willowy girl had managed to block his powerful swing, Alyx glanced down to check on her childhood friend.
Kael was lying flat on the ground, chest heaving and body trembling. He had a nasty slash on his scalp, and despite the blood dripping into his eyes from the wound he couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from the sword that had nearly killed him. In fact, he didn’t seem aware that Alyx had halted the immediate threat. Kael’s right hand scrabbled across the hard ground in an attempt to reach his nearby dagger, and as he stared his lips moved, shaping ancient words as the youth desperately tried to remember some song, any song, that could possible save him. Alyx had been warning Kael for some time now that if her friend couldn’t cast a spell without help from an instrument, he would end up in trouble. The attack from the Blank had obviously made that point. If they both escaped that day with their lives, then Alyx would make sure Kael started practicing his song-casting.
“You’re a sly one,” the Blank growled, pulling Alyx’s attention away from her friend. “I didn’t hear you approach, and you certainly do not appear strong enough to stay my weapon in such a way. Tell me: did the worm of a mage here cast some sort of enchantment on you to give you an advantage?”
Alyx shook her head, making sure her staff stayed steady against the sword. “I move under my own abilities. My friend here was too busy defending himself to cast any sort of spell.”
The Blank’s eyes suddenly flared with some sort of emotion - Alyx was not sure, but it may have been a mixture of disgust and triumph. “Then you admit it - this boy is a magician.”
The girl’s eyes narrowed. “Why does it matter that he can use magic?”
“Because that means he is a spawn of darkness.” The Blank’s cloak, white to symbolize his mission to cleanse the world, fluttered in the sharp breeze. “All mages, witches, and other creatures of magic are demons in disguise, brought here to destroy the world’s harmony and bring us all into chaos. For this crime, he should be punished and wiped out from-”
His blade twitched. Alyx tightened her grip on her staff and made a sweeping motion, pushing the sword aside and away from Kael’s still-exposed throat. The Blanks stumbled back a step, startled.
“What’s this?” The cloaked man asked disbelievingly. “Do you wish to prevent me from doing my duty? Fulfilling the mission given to me by the Lady of Light?”
Alyx gasped a little as she realized the situation she had just gotten herself into. She had created a conflict. Not just that, but her opponent was a Blank, a member of the Order of Light. According to rumor, all members of the Order were deadly in combat, as they were trained to destroy even the strongest of mages. So not only had Alyx started a conflict, but it was with one of the deadliest men alive. She began to tremble as this realization suddenly clicked in her mind.
“I-I’m sorry,” she started to stutter, lowering her staff slightly. “I didn’t mean to challenge-”
“Such actions are blasphemy,” the Blank muttered, apparently not hearing the girl’s attempts to halt the impending fight. “A blasphemer is nearly as terrible as a magician, and as such deserves the same punishment.”
Without warning the Blank lunged at Alyx, sword poised and ready to run her through. The girl hurriedly brought her staff up to stop the blow, halting the blade just inches away from her belly. That didn’t stop the larger man, however. He quickly pulled back and launched a flurry of attacks, each blow potentially lethal. It was all Alyx could do to stop the sword, and she couldn’t even try to retaliate. Instead, she was focused on surviving an adversary who was taller, heavier, and stronger than she was. However, she was decidedly faster than her opponent, and that allowed her to stay one step ahead. After a few minutes of stalemate, of the Blank’s continuous attacks and Alyx’s continuous blocks, the girl actually started to believe that there was a good chance she could leave this entire situation with her life.
Something suddenly caught Alyx’s foot, and she stumbled badly. The Blank took complete advantage of the situation, plunging his blade into the youth’s thigh until the blade appeared on the opposite side, slicing muscle in the process. Alyx screamed in pain and her leg buckled, forcing her to collapse on the ground. The Blank pulled his sword out of her leg and let her fall, watching Alyx writhe, obviously disgusted. The girl clutched at the wound with her free hand in a futile attempt to stop the blood that was pouring from it. The pain was intense, and one of the worst she had felt in a long time.
The Blank sneered as Alyx focused a glare on him. “You weak piece of filth,” he snarled. “You can’t even use magic to survive more than five minutes of battle? Pathetic.”
Alyx cringed, the Blank’s hateful words bringing back similar sentiments from her father. Tears began to leak from her eyes, but she kept her gaze fixed on her adversary, not wanting to give him the pleasure of seeing her suffer too much.
“The world will be a better place once I slay you. And after that, I’ll destroy your fellow mage.” The Blank nodded to Kael, who had managed to sit up and watch the fight, though he was still muttering, still trying to find that song. “You tried to defend him and failed. You tried to defend yourself and failed once more. You truly are useless.”
The Blank swung his sword over his head, prepared to give a killing blow. As the blade swung down towards her head, Alyx found herself lost to memories, to voices brought back by the Blank’s final words. The world slowed as her mind traversed dark, familiar paths.
You truly are useless, her father muttered, his knuckles bloody from the beating he had given her. No wonder your mother left. She knew you wouldn’t accomplish a bloody thing right from the start. Looks like she was smarter than me when it came to that. Now I’m stuck with a kid that’ll never be worth anything.
Maybe her father was right. Alyx had tried to be useful. She had tried to learn combat on the road and how to harness the magic she knew she had, but what had that amounted to? She had failed to survive so much as a few moments of true battle, and she was too panicked to even try for a spell at this point. She had found a staff with odd markings, obviously magical runes, and yet had never learned how to activate it. Alyx gripped the staff in question, which was still in her hand, feeling the engravings dig into her skin. She had tried to harness the power in the staff, had tried to learn how to fight, had tried to learn how to wield her magic, and had failed in all three parts. Alyx closed her eyes as the blade swung closer. She truly was worthless.
Even some of the most worthless-looking things can prove themselves. That was Talek. It was the tone of voice he normally used when teaching magic to Alyx and Kael, when he was trying to instill some important kernel of information. A gold piece covered in grime and filth is still gold, and thus still worth something. The last necromancer died some hundred-odd years ago, Alyxendra. Your necromancy can be worth something. However, you’re still wiping away the grime from your life. Give it time, girl, and you’ll be worth it.
As this rang through Alyx’s mind, Kael’s frightened face from just moments ago flashed in her mind’s eye. Kael. Who would protect him if Alyx died? Who would keep him from running into something headfirst and thus getting himself hurt in the process? Alyx needed to survive, then, if not just to prove her worth, then to protect her closest friend. She shouldn’t die here, at the hands of a overzealous warrior.
She couldn’t die.
She wouldn’t.
As determination flooded her mind, Alyx felt something connect with a solid click, which she felt more than she heard within her own head. Instantly she felt the elation and lightheadedness that always came whenever she tapped into her magic, except this time the sensation was so much more intense. Power flooded her system, seeming to fill her body to the brim. The magic begged to be used, to be released into the outside world. And Alyx knew just how to use it.
Alyx’s eyes snapped open and she brought her staff up in a blur, catching the oncoming blade right before it reached her throat. She pushed, and the surprised Blank was forced to stumble back a handful of steps from the unexpected force. Alyx quickly regained her footing and grinned at the shocked look on the Blank’s face. She could still feel the magic levels within her increasing at each moment, filling up her body and pouring out into her limbs, all the way up to her fingers and toes. When the flow of power reached the hand holding the staff, it continued to flow out of her body and into the weapon, filling the object with her magic and triggering its own power.
As the staff recognized the power being offered to it, it latched onto the source. A jolt rippled through Alyx’s being as the staff drank in her power, and she felt her magic levels being drained dangerously quickly. She tried to drop the staff, to cut off the transfer, but it was as if the weapon was bound to her hand. The runes that decorated the staff began to glow a deep purple that was nearly black. Overhead, clouds began to gather, swirling to meet the growing source of power. As the sky darkened, the Blank looked around anxiously, gripping his sword ever tighter and shivering at the power he could feel building up in the air. It was almost like the sensation that occurred right before a huge lightning storm erupted.
Her magical stamina was gone. Alyx could feel the staff beginning to feed on her physical stamina without any signs of slowing its insane consumption of her strength. She staggered, the previous sensation of elation gone, replaced by fatigue. She gripped the staff tightly in order to stay on her feet, hoping that she would be able to remain conscious until her weapon stopped eating her away from the inside out.
And then, just as suddenly as it started, the process stopped, the link between her and the staff dwindling to a small thread of connecting power. Alyx swayed, relieved that she was still able to stand after that horrendous trial. Wearily, she glanced at the staff. As she watched, the dark glow of the runes intensified, finally culminating into a burst of blinding light that centered near the top of the staff. The light poured out of the staff, twisting itself into a long blade that tapered downwards, colored the dark purple of midnight. The staff - now a scythe - hummed slightly, something Alyx could feel in her very bones.
“What?” Alyx murmured to herself, unable to tear her eyes away from the weapon in her hand. She was still swaying slightly on her feet, and exhaustion was nibbling at the edges of her mind, but at the moment she forgot that all, awed by what had just happened.
“You…” Alyx glanced over at the Blank, who looked absolutely terrified. The terror was quickly wiped away, however, to be replaced with a fierce determination. “You are a demon, spat out from the darkest depth of the Lower Plane,” the Blank whispered. “Killing you will be a great honor, and I will be duly rewarded by the great Lady of Light.”
The Blank lunged at Alyx, who took a clumsy step backwards in order to dodge the attack. She was still drained, and her limbs felt five times heavier than normal. As Alyx tried to bring the scythe up in order to defend herself, she belatedly realized that the weight of the weapon was different. Used to an evenly-weighed staff, the scythe, with its heavy blade on one end, was setting off the balance Alyx had accustomed herself to. As she tried to adjust herself she continued to move back, trying to avoid the Blank’s sword. It was no good, she realized - she was too tired to adjust quickly, and too weak to actually use the weapon correctly. All Alyx pretty much had at that point was a useless weapon and a quickly fading stamina.
Just when she was feeling like she was about to simply collapse onto the Blank’s ever-moving blade, she felt something happen in her mind again. Instead of the click that had accompanied the triggering of her magic, however, there was a crack, as if something important had suddenly given way. Strength flooded her body, but it was a foreign strength. Even as she felt her flagging energy renew itself, Alyx couldn’t shake the feeling that this strength simply didn’t belong.
As the foreign power settled into every part of her body, Alyx felt something suddenly seize control of her body. It was a startling experience. She didn’t feel anything push her conscious self aside in order to take over. Instead, it was almost as if someone had tied strings to her limbs and simply made her a large, living puppet. She was aware, but unable to physically do anything.
Her body moved at an astonishing speed, grabbing the scythe in a new, foreign stance that made the weight balance out again. Quickly, the scythe was positioned to block and then push away the attacking Blank. Startled by the sudden resistance, the Blank paused before once more lunging forward. Alyx’s body moved once more under the command of that outside force, rapidly blocking each and every attack and even attempting to return some blows. Soon enough the Blank was forced to switch to defense instead of offense. His face shone with sweat as he tried to protect himself from the oncoming blows, which seemed to be getting more intense and furious as time wore on. He didn’t even seem to notice that Alyx was slowly pushing him back, step by step, with each attack.
The Blank suddenly tripped, his heel catching on a rock that he had not seen. As he panted there on the ground, Alyx brought the scythe to bear on the man, its blade of light scant inches from his throat. Though her body showed an outward calm, Alyx’s mind was panicking. She was still under the control of whatever had seized her moments before, and though she was glad that the outside force had saved her life, she wanted her body back. Also, the fact that she had been taken over so quickly and easily made her nervous. Had she inadvertently become prey for some otherworldly power? Perhaps a mage who would never let her go and simply use her to do unspeakable things? The thoughts that ran through her head made Alyx panic even more.
All the while, the Blank was muttering frantically. “Please don’t,” he begged. “Have mercy. I was only following the code of my Order. Please…”
“Mercy?” Apparently Alyx’s voice wasn’t hers to use, either. Though it was her voice that left her mouth, it seemed to be intertwined with another voice, a voice that was world-weary and deep. “You were not planning to show mercy to me, so why should I treat you any differently? If I were one of my brothers or sisters, you may have had a chance. But I’m not like them - I don’t believe filth like you deserve second chances.”
The Blank tried to speak again, to beg more, but Alyx’s controller flipped the scythe so that she could push the non-bladed end into the Blank’s throat. “I don’t want to hear any more of your blathering. You tried to kill us, and that is unacceptable.” There was a pause, and then, mockingly: “Killing you will be a great honor.”
The scythe was whirled around again at a blinding speed and the blade buried itself in the Blank’s chest, right above the heart. Instead of slicing the man open, however, the light simply shot straight through his body. He jerked and his mouth opened in a silent scream, as if the light was more painful than it looked. Dark purple light filled his mouth and eyes briefly, and as it did Alyx could hear the scream that the Blank had been unable to voice, whispering through her mind. When the light died, the Blank went limp, eyes open and glazed, his life gone.
Alyx lifted the blade out of the dead man, and she saw that the scythe had left no mark. Once the scythe was once more at her side, the force that had been controlling her for so long suddenly disappeared. Alyx sagged against her weapon, feeling like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Her exhaustion returned tenfold, and without the strength to withstand her magic, the scythe’s blade faded away until the weapon had once again become an unassuming staff covered in odd runes.
She stood there, panting, her wounded leg throbbing, staring at the dead Blank before her, until a weak voice interrupted her thoughts. “A-Alyx…”
Alyx turned and saw that Kael was still there, about fifty yards away. He had managed to regain his footing and he was simply standing there, staring at Alyx with wide eyes. Slowly, hesitatingly, he raised his arm, offering a hand to his childhood friend, inviting her to a safety that she had learned to trust years ago, when she had had no other means of protection. Now, when she felt so vulnerable and terrified about what had just happened to her, Alyx felt her mind begging for that safety.
As she was turning to walk to Kael, thunder rolled through the sky, sounding like cannon fire. With the thunder came a powerful voice that spoke with the voices of every living creature in existence. Both Alyx and Kael covered their ears in pain at that voice.
“At last, we have found our missing child.” Alyx shivered at that, but if asked why, she would not have been able to give an answer. “The ferryman returns, and thus the balance can begin to right itself. Come, ferryman - return to thy Valley and rebuild thy ruined kingdom.”
The ground rumbled, then groaned as a huge chasm split the earth. It opened right where Alyx was standing, and she screamed as she began to fall. Luckily, she was close the edge, so she was able to grab the ledge before she managed to drop completely. However, she had to let go of her staff in order to save herself, and she watched it tumble into the chasm below her. Alyx closed her eyes against that apparently infinite darkness and began to claw at the grip she had, trying to pull herself back up.
“Alyx!”
Alyx managed to hoist herself up to the shoulders, and she was able to see Kael running towards her, a frightened look on his face. Smiling in relief, she reached out with one hand, wanting him to grab her and hoist her up, to pull her to safety, as he had done so many times before. Kael reached out an answering hand to Alyx’s silent plea.
Their fingertips barely brushed against each other when something invisible wrapped itself around Alyx’s ankle and yanked. Her whole body jerked, and even as she scrabbled for a handhold she could feel herself slipping backwards again. Soon enough, she was only holding on by her fingertips, the chasm yawning below her once more. She looked at Kael’s desperate and terrified face one last time, and for some inexplicable reason she found herself smiling.
And with that smile, Alyx fell into the endless abyss.
~*~*~*~*~*
I'm sorry if this makes no sense out of context. As the title suggests, this is part of a much larger idea. This is the closing scene of the idea. I was originally going to write something completely different, but I realized that I couldn't finish it in time for the deadline. So I quickly scribbled this down.
Comments and crit are appreciated~