Of Might and Magic - Western Lands

The wards were glowing a dark red and pulsing ever brighter as Siah got closer to the gate. Four guards stepped out of the guardhouse. Siah did not pause, but continued walking right up to them. He lowered his head when he stopped a few feet away.

A large guard spoke with fake authority, "What type of magcik do you practice? Where is the school in which you learned this magick?"

Siah remained silent.

Euthelis thought of something. 'Perhaps I can convince him to help me find someone who knows of Enthracia.' He stood up and walked away from Bizal toward the gate, where the magick ward was glowing a dark red. He pulled out his staff and flared it up. The ward turned an emerald green.

"What is it with the magick users? Both of you, back away from the gate."

"Do not worry, he is with me," warned Euthelis. The guards recognized him and allowed them to pass through the ward and gate.

Euthelis sent a mental message to the demon beside him. 'I told you not to underestimate me.'

"Once more! Enter my mind once more and I'll rip you through Realms you'd never imagine in your worst nightmares!" Siah was ready for the slaughter back at the gate, but calmed himself and walked with no apparent unease.

He looked about and focussed his mind on the inner city...

There was dark magick, but it was not strong at all. He couldn't find it through the masses of people, magickers, warlocks and battle-mages. He focussed some more... nothing!

"I need a silent place to meditate and focus, then I'll reward you for your help." Siah was frustrated.

"If you insist on threatening me, perhaps I won't help you in the future." Euthelis smirked, trying to lighten the mood. I know of a good, quiet garden near here where you can think and meditate. He turned onto a narrow road to their left. They passed a man in a black cloak walking hastily down the side of the path.

'I'm sorry for this third intrusion, but that was a member of the assassin guild. We had better tread carefully if they are traveling in this area.' The elf turned into a narrow alleyway that led out into a small but beautifully landscaped garden. He walked to then center of the ring of rose bushes and sat on one of the rocks that lined the inside.

The Elf rose off of the ground, Siah was glowing white, his armour brighter than the sun! He was levitating too. A force so powerful flowed from him that some bricks of the nearby buildings began to corrode.

Small flames shot out of the joints in Siah's armour. He removed the Elf's staff and let it clatter to the ground. Fire swirled around the Fire Dancer threatening to consume him in his own element! All his limbs were held in place, even his tongue and heart were held by the powers of Aether.

Siah landed on the ground with the Elf in his levitating prison of fire and dark matter. A sone bench disintegrated in the presence of the dark magicks eminating from Siah.

He raised his hands in the air and the ground beneath him glowed red hot, the sand and stones melting. "Say hello to Aether!" Siah thought menacingly.

Euthelis concentrated. The flames around him were a combination of dark magic and fire element. He designated to different particles, and with a simple thought, he absorbed the fire into his hands. He then released it, blasting apart the ball of dark energy long enough for him to escape the prison. He grabbed his staff and instantly began his fire-dance. Flames began to spew from the levitating rune, until the entire garden was consumed in flame.

People began to flock to the scene, including a few of the assassins.

Siah held the elf in place, in mid air. The flames not botherig him at all.

Without moving so much as a muscle he stopped the Elf's heart! He looked at the Fire Dancer with a questioning look on his face. "Going to escape the very fabrics of this Realm...? I think not!" Siah laughed.

The heart beat again at Siah's will and Siah looked on. He plunged his hands into the ground and two massive pillars grew into the air, between them appeared a red viscus fluid.

"The kingdom of the Succubi! Have fun, die slow..." The Elf moved towards the portal.

Just as he was about to go through the portal, an assassin hit the demon in the back with a ball of magic energy. The portal closed and Euthelis hit the ground running. He sprinted through the ground, staff in hand, not bothering to look back at the garden that he had burned to ashes.

The portal remained open as Siah hadn't used the closing incantation. The assassin burst into flames and Siah released the Elf's body and heart instead of ripping it out. Without hesitation Siah stepped through the portal and disappeared.

The red liquid splashed on the ground and the two pillars collapsed, sealing the two worlds off from each other.

Euthelis didn't stop running until he reached the gate into the Castle Westen. He demanded he speak with the captain of the guard, and once he recieved an audience, briskly explained the situation. The captain withdrew to the keep, leaving Euthelis waiting for a response. Another guard came out and whispered to the other two that were standing at their posts. They grabbed the elf by his arms and dragged him all the way to the main gate of the city. They threw him out into the hot, sandy desert.

Without water or food, he wouldn't survive, but he knew he wouldn't be allowed back into the city.

As he wandered hopelessly back to his cave, he heard a growl behind him. He span on his heel to face a fearsome desert tiger. It was a tannish brown with spots of a darker shade. He grabbed his staff, prepared to fight the king of the desert.

The tiger leapt at the elf, just as he pulled out his fireshaft. The tigers claws slid off of the staff, but Euthelis pushed upwards just as the talons were about to cleave his brazen face. The beast flipped backwards, landing soundly on it's feet.

It charged again.

Euthelis dove sideways away from the momentous tiger. He began his fire-dance, and once the rune was in full-girth, began spewing fireballs at the desert king. The cat dodged them, until one stray flame grazed his side, just powerful enough to send him flying backwards. It stopped attacking and nursed its wound.

Euthelis ended his fire-dance and slowly approached the tiger.

"Mi su nimi on?"

'There is no need to speak in the language of the beasts. I speak the common tongue. My name is Ixenjii, former king of the Desert Tiger tribe. That is, until it was wiped out by hunters. Now I am alone.' Euthelis was shocked to get such an intelligible response from the tiger, let alone telepathically.

'So you confront many people? You were a formidable foe.'

'Not as formidable as that demon you fought earlier. I came to test you, and you passed.'

'Test for what?'

'How would you like to be my master?' The king of the desert bowed at the tan wood elf's feet, leaving him astonished even more than before.

The elf and the tiger had made a plan. They had no chance of getting back into the city. Their only hope was to travel to Haven for supplies. With the tiger's speed and strength, Euthelis would ride on his back to the city. He needed to make a new beginning, and Haven would be the perfect place to do so.