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| Gert-Kaar's eyes flew open as he recognised WhiteShadow's chanting. He cried; "Purification? But that's... That's impossible, you're a warrior!" WhiteShadow ignored him, however, concentrating on his chanting. His hands began to glow blue, sending off flares of light. Yasmine and Zedd had turned away from the fight, instead fighting the flames that threatened to engulf them all. Suddenly, Yasmine cried out in pain as she slipped on one of the broken cages, falling flat on her back, the flames licking at her feet. Distracted by his friend's cry for assistance, WhiteShadow stopped his chanting, turning to see if Yasmine was okay. Seeing Zedd helping his sister to her feet, WhiteShadow turned back to the necromancer, still dangling by his shoulders. To his shock, once he faced Gert-Kaar once more, WhiteShadow found the necromancer's palman hands in his face, palms outward, with the fingers curled into a claw-like shape. Suddenly, Gert-Kaar finished his own whispered chanting, opening his eyes wide and crying out; "Megid!" The concentrated Megid attack hit WhiteShadow full in the face, causing him to release his grip on Gert-Kaar and sending him flying across the room. WhiteShadow flew over the heads of his companions, his limbs flailing as he slammed at full speed into the still burning bookcase. Gert-Kaar broke out into a triumphant laugh, his hands on his hips as he cried out; "Feel the cold hands of death, murderer! Feel the pain my children felt!" WhiteShadow let out a grunt of pain, trying in vain to move his body. With the flames licking at his back and clothing, he wanted nothing more then to run forward, away from the pain, but his body wouldn't respond. It was as if the flames had already consumed him, and were burning along his muscles, all over his body. Dimly, as if far in the distance, he could hear a voice crying his name. His vision blurred as he continued to try to move, either pain or no response meeting his mental commands to his limbs. Zedd gritted his teeth as he braced himself to go into the flames. At his side, Yasmine kept screaming WhiteShadow's name at the top of her voice. But above the noise, above the flames, and above the screaming, Gert-Kaar's manic laughter rang out like a bell. Covering his face with his hands, Zedd ran into the fire, grabbing WhiteShadow by the shoulders. The heat was already making him sweat, and WhiteShadow's clothing was burning hot. The Motavian's bulk didn't help matters either. But, with grunts and groans, he pulled WhiteShadow from the fire, rolling him on the floor to put out the flames on his back. Yasmine helped, tearing WhiteShadow's black robes from him, leaving him wearing only his pants and a coat of smoking fur. Gert-Kaar hadn't moved the entire time, regarding Yasmine and Zedd as no threat. However, his gloating came to a crashing halt as WhiteShadow's prone form uttered a lame cough. "What?!? He survived a Megid technique to the face - IMPOSSIBLE!" Turning to their adversary, rage crossed Yasmine and Zedd's faces as they prepared to strike down the necromancer. "You couldn't bring death yourself;" Muttered Yasmine; "But now we're going to bring it to you, you monster." Knives in hand, the two NeiChildren advanced on Gert-Kaar slowly, menace in every step. Snapping out of his outrage, Gert-Kaar quickly chanted and his Deban shield came up once more. Zedd paled a little and hesitated at this, but his older sister continued forward, focussed on her target. The necromancer had that same smirk on his face once more, and he stood, arms crossed, waiting to see Yasmine's vain attempts at attack. Zedd turned, going to WhiteShadow's side. His vision cleared, WhiteShadow looked at Zedd and tried to will himself to go help Yasmine, but the pain was still too great. Suddenly, Yasmine leapt into the air, executing a perfect somersault, the knife flashing as she spun through the air. Coming out tf the spin, she was above her enemy, the knife flashing down in a deadly arc. Just as it was about to cleave through the necromancer, however, the knife once again struck the shield, sending Yasmine sprawling to the floor. Gert-Kaar laughed, throwing his head back and guffawing loudly. But just as his triumphant mirth reached its crescendo the roof exploded silently, a great yellow beam of light piercing through it to strike Gert-Kaar right through the tip of the skull. The necromancer's screams could not be heard over the sounds of the walls and roof collapsing but Yasmine could see by the expression on his face and the way his mouth moved that he must have been in serious pain. Despite herself, Yasmine allowed a menacing smile to cross her own face. As the evil necromancer disintegrated, his robes fell to the ground, the leather bound book thumping loudly amongst the rest of his belongings. Both Zedd and WhiteShadow had witnessed the event and sat frozen in place, confusion written all over their faces. The beam of energy had left them stranded at the top of a tower, now devoid of walls or a ceiling. The fire had gone out due to the high, chill winds. Suddenly, Yasmine uttered a gasp as she looked upward to the blue sky. Following her eyes, her two companions also gasped in shock; although WhiteShadow's intake of breath was more of a groan. Floating above them was a single Palman, his garb bright white, his shock of red hair flaming in the sunlight. White teeth peered out from his beard as he grinned in triumph. "Ho, travellers!" Said the man, floating down to land softly amongst the scattered books and cages littered across the roof. "Hope you don't mind the interference, but Gert-Kaar was distracted from loving himself so much that I saw my oppurtunity to strike." Yasmine and Zedd remained where they were, dumbfounded at the display of power. Zedd tapped WhiteShadow's shoulder gently. "Was... Was he flying?" Summoning his strength, WhiteShadow struggled to speak. "What are you doing here, Radlin? ... Uh, unless you're telepathic finding us would have been hard." Radlin's grin only became wider. "Ah! He speaks! But you're right, WhiteShadow, I'm not telepathic just yet. I've been following the various rumours about you ever since you managed to supercede me in learning the purification technique back at my school. But after the recent uproar in Aiedo about an attack on the Hunter's Guild, and so close to the elections to, I picked up on your trail; although you gave me some trouble when you went into the mountains. Of course, that's no longer a problem." His grin widened, and floated off the ground for a moment. "But why? As far as you're concerned I'm just an intruder with an odd interest in rats." WhiteShadow groaned. Radlin chuckled in response. "Far from that, WhiteShadow. You're an enigma, and the source of your power is still beyond my understanding. I haven't come here to punish you for sleeping in my rafters..." WhiteShadow's eyes opened wide at that comment. "I've come to train you." In some places in the universe, the government resides in a historical place, known by all and sundry. In other cases, it resides in the seat of power, to simply be close to its own defence. In Motavia's case, the latter is true. Just in the mountains outside Aiedo sat the government house, a fine white palace where the current president resides. Having no standing army, being close to the largest gathering of dangerous mercenaries and hunters was the next best thing. The mood was usually serious in the Presidential Palace, but today menace hung in the air like never before. The undead attack upon Aiedo, and more importantly, the Hunter's Guild, was bad timing for all concerned. The presidential elections were a mere month away, and the fact that nobody knew who stopped the undead and how they did it only added to President Xidex's worries. The election itself was still up in the air; Xidex having served two terms already, but his popularity had not waned one iota in the face of the two other candidates. Of his opponents, Xidex feared Cepturillian the most. The man was the latest owner and propietor of the Hunter's Guild itself, thus affording the candidate known as "Ceph" a lot of power and clout. Ceph's platfrom was simple; he held all the cards, and based his campaign mostly on Xidex's "dubious past". This had always amused the current president, seeing as his mixed birth had only added to his popularity. It seemed that he was part esper, and part Motavian, although the Motavian blood of his heritage had thinned somewhat in the intervening 1000 years since his great great grandfather had one hell of a drunken night in the town of Molcum. Still, Xidex was shorter then most men, his facial hair thick and full, his fingers and toes short and stubby. The irony struck him often, that Ceph attacked Xidex's own past, when, according to the the current President's information, he had "won" the Hunter's Guild in a crooked card game a few months ago. The former owner, Leo, was known for his gambling problems, but as a public relations move, Ceph allowed Leo to keep working at the Guild. An act of kindness, Xidex had mused, from what appeared to be a snake. |
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