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ShadowSlash -> RE: =Elemental Championships 2008= Cellar Arena (7/28/2008 12:54:38)
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As Auron heard the result of his jet stream of water connect with the fire-woman, an explosion, the cat charged through the mist to Auron, a crackling sphere of blue-white energy materializing above it. The sphere stretched out a bit, then crashed down, aimed straight for Auron’s midriff. As the fire mage regained her footing, a large fireball streamed forward, then exploded into an inescapable burst of fire reaching 6 meters out.
Oh by the Water Lord… Auron was clearly not nimble on his feet enough to evade both attacks, and his staff would be of no use in countering an energy attack as it was made mainly of iron. He would have to rely on what he was best at – manipulating water. As tears welled up in his silvery eyes in frustration, he raised his arms, the rest of the water bursting from the ground, following his arms in a flat wall-like barrier. It rose up to the height of the top of his head, then arced slightly over his head and stopped there, defying gravity. As he did not have enough water to cover his back, this makeshift shield would have to do for the moment.
No sooner did the swirling mass of liquid rise when the streaking bolt of lightning struck, the energy crackling across the surface of the barrier, quickly dissipating into the water with a few threads of white energy appearing here and there, arcing back into the water. Auron had no time to react when the radius of small fireballs reached him, some colliding into the water shield and leaving puffs of steam where they hit. However, the last one in the barrage managed to get through a steamy hole another had left behind in the water, and flew into Auron’s side, singeing his robe, and burning some of his skin.
Auron had never felt the burn of fire, not in nine years. His only time had been when he was just a cub of one year, new to this strange world called Lore. Though surrounded by the great white dunes of smooth untouched snow and ice-cold waters, some lost adventurers had chosen to take notice of him and his “father”.
The sound of loud unending whistling wind assaults the men’s ears.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Their heavy boots disturb the smooth snowy expanse which has formed a hard icy shell over the soft snow underneath, leaving behind humongous footprints large enough for Auron and his playmates to crawl into. Holding strange burning pieces of flattened metal, they curse and kick away at the thick snow, jagged messy trails snaking across the land. The needle-like snow and blustering winds of the blizzard soon cover up these trails as if these men had never come to these lands, but they will leave their everlasting mark on Auron and the wolves, where neither snow nor wind can cover up their horrific acts.
“Look! Mother! There they are, coming towards us! What can they be?” A fluffy gray-and-white cub with twinkling curious eyes, Auron’s “brother” Caleb, barks to his mother.
The mother gets up, and squints to the direction Caleb is looking at. Suddenly, as she recognizes the still small figures in the distance, an expression of fear and hatred wash over her features.
She commands Caleb to call his sisters and brothers, and Auron to stick by his father’s side.
Auron is filled with dread. Maybe it is instinct. Maybe it is his still hidden aura spirit. But whatever it is, he knows these figures will not bode well. As he trots obediently to his father, the dark shaped figures come towards them closer and closer. Their cloaks and hoods flap violently in the wind, their details consumed by the rush of snow. Yet one thing can be seen clearly- they hold fiery weapons that flicker in the wind and still hold their burning power in the everburning metal.
They charge. Through the winds that threaten to blow them off their feet, through the frozen snow underneath their boots. Throwing fireball after fireball into the path before them, they clear the way of snow and ice, and they charge, straight at Father and his humanlike cub.
Father will not flee before these men. He is the alpha that will defend his family, and most importantly of all, his mysterious cub that had dropped from the northern lights. Father stands defensively, shielding his cub by standing right over him.
One holds a different weapon- a slim piece of wood with string strung through its ends, another slender piece of metal with its tip on fire, feathers stuck to the other end, nocked horizontally to the wood with the string. He carefully draws back the string… Auron does not know what it is. However, his father does. “Auron! Get away from-“
Moments pass in near slow motion. An angry flame is taking up all of his field of vision…getting closer…uncomfortable heat… He realizes it is a weapon, and dodges…falling over to the side.
But too late. Though the arrow never met its mark, the burning flames leaped to Auron’s unprotected skin, licking at his back hungrily.
Pain…as he has never felt it before. It burns, burns so much he cannot be sure if he is hurting anymore. His side goes numb, and yet the flames keep torturing him, greedily eating up what used to be some clothes. He cries for it to stop, but it is relentless. His vision is distorted by pained tears, blurring everything, until he doesn’t know which way is the enemy and which is his father. He sees a gray form, Father, rushing to douse the flames, piling snow on it. It finally stops, but now it stings. His whole side stings as if it were raw, as it probably is. But he is too pained to care now.
Father growls, curling his lip and baring his fangs. They have attacked his cub…they will pay. He leaps at the men…claws keen to rip flesh and taste blood…leaping…leaping… and a burning weapon is shoved roughly into his face. Father’s icy blue eyes widen in surprise…then in pain as he tries to stop his jump but only succeeds in burning his muzzle entirely in the flames. It voraciously eats at his fur, sizzling everything to black ash…then the sharp edge of the sword embeds itself between his eyes. For a moment, he is stiff- then he goes limp, hanging only by the sword which is still impaled in him. The man jerks it out, hot blood splattering against the pure white snow. Father falls, cushioned by the soft snow.
Auron regains some of his vision and his consciousness, and with it, the pain, but he does not care about it anymore. He throws himself at Father’s fallen body, the flames still licking at his forehead. He angrily throws snow over it, then gently wipes away the melted snow. “Father! Father!” He calls, but to no avail. Heavy sobs rock Auron’s small burned body back and forth, tears flowing freely from his eyes. The pain in his side is nothing compared to the pain he feels now at the loss of Father. He hears the men leaving in the distance, but nothing matters now. In a short while Mother will find him still crying, hugging the large body of Father. The warmth is slowly leaving Father’s fallen body…
He bit his lip in pain, both at the memory and the wound, fat droplets of tears quickly falling into the burn, easing the pain and extinguishing the small flames. He was about to bring some of the water-shield’s water to the wound, but noticed that there was a contaminant in it…flickering bursts of energy permeating the water. “You…..” Auron growled at both cat and woman, his hands working fast in the air, “molding” the contaminated water without touching it. He would have to unload the water of its energy…and the closest person to unload it into was… the fire-mage.
He pushed his left hand out with palm facing front, and the water rose like a wave, frothing at the top and crashing down towards the woman. “You will pay,” Auron vowed.
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