The Shattered Sword

By FireDemon

28/3/03

Prologue:

Kalina's hand opened letting her staff clatter to the stone floor of the ruins. A breeze ruffled her wild copper brown curls, yet the girl did not move. She stared transfixed at the shadowy figure that shuffled forward, his shadowy hands groping at air.

"My queen has come," He wheezed. His gnarled hand reached out and touched Kalina's face, raking across the girls' tender skin, breaking her out of her reverie. The girl threw out a hand, and opened her mouth to speak.

"STOP!" The demon yelled.

Kalina froze.

"Nun yagos de alimina alianta siray![1]" The cold and rasping voice commanded. Kalina stumbled backwards, her hands scrabbling on the stone floor, searching for her staff. Finding nothing she turned back to face the advancing demon. It had the most grossly mutilated body the girl had ever seen. Kalina brought both hands to face palm out from her chest, and opened her mouth to speak the spell. No sound emerged.

"What have you done to me?" She asked enraged. The demons cold cackle seemed to fill the cold ruins,

"Little Mage," The demon whispered, his voice an eerie caressing sound, caught between wanting to touch her, and wanting to flee from a wielder of the light, "I have taken away your spells. Come back to me, little mage, and I will make you mine." His hands stretched out. He wanted what was forbidden to him. A Mage to give him to powers of light, "Little Mage: Don't you hurt without your powers? I can give them back to you."

Kalina spun and ran, stumbling over rocks; he had lost his power over her; for she was no longer the mage he named her.

Kalina burst out of the stale air and into the gentle rain of the open air. She would have to leave. There was no place in the circle of 10 for a mage child who could not speak spells.

~~~

Jayla leapt forward, parrying the demons slash, and then riposting with one of her own. Her swords ran dark with the black blood of the demons that had died on her sword. Jondils' sword plunged into a demon just outside her peripheral vision. From everywhere she could hear inhuman howls from dying demons, and war cries from her clan. Another half circle with her sword blocked the demons axe, and then an offensive strike with her second sword slashed across the demon's face. Two more demons appeared where the dying demon had fallen. Jayla pulled her stroke, reversing the direction, and lopping off the demons hand bringing her second sword forward to plunge into the second demons eye. Pus spurted across her fingers and the back of her hand, burning the tender skin of her sword hand. Jayla let out a fierce war cry, using the pain to spur her forward. Both demons fell to her swords. Jondil fighting three demons at once stumbled into her, and she changed her direction to help him fight. His left eye looked as if it had been gouged out, and his face was mutilated. Jayla screamed again, and plunged her sword into the demon with renewed vigour. Both demons leapt toward her snarling, Jayla laughed fiercely, her strokes a mixture of instinct, knowledge, and sheer impulse.

She briefly stumbled in her stroke as she felt intense unbelievable pain slash across her favourite sword arm as the demons claws connected. She kept her second sword moving, weaving a silver web of defence the equal of any demon stupid enough to try her mettle.

Recovering her momentum she lunged forward again, killing demons as fast as they appeared. Finally the flow seemed to slow, and Jayla's vision went black as she collapsed from her exhaustion under the cold uncaring moon.

~~~

Perrin D'Agsti strummed his lyre in the back room of his fathers tavern at the same time shaking messy hair from his eyes. Lena sat on the floor. She sucked on her thumb and curled a lock of hair around a chubby finger as she listened to his song. Perrin added his voice to the rich even pitch of the lyre. He looked up as he heard low even claps from the doorway. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen lounged in the doorway,

"That was lovely Perrin," She said. Perrins heart leapt. How does she know my name? He wondered. There was something very wrong with this.

".Y-you kn-know my n-n-name?" He stuttered. The woman smiled, and sauntered over, and sat down beside him, touching his face, an even mixture of revulsion and compulsion evident on her face.

"Of course Perrin. You are a child of light, how could I not know your name?" She purred reaching her hand out again, yet not quite allowing it to touch. Perrin stood up abruptly letting his lyre fall on the ground, and backing away,

"No." He muttered shaking his head, and trying not to focus on the womans' blurring outline, the woman advanced, Perrin's leg twisted and he fell to the floor of the tavern.

"Don't come any closer." He told her. The woman stopped, and backed away, obeying him. Her hand touched Lena's head and Perrins little sister burst into tears on the spot.

"L-Let her g-g-go." He managed to get out. He had never stuttered before. Minstrels didn't stutter. It was like one of those unspoken laws. "You have no power over her." He said firmly. All trace of stutter gone as he realised that minstrels didn't stutter.

"Leave this place. I command you, as a child of light. Leave this place." The demon's face contorted and it leapt forward snarling.

"I'll not let you forget this Perrin. You should not have crossed me." The demons claw swept across his face tracing a line across his eye. "Your voice, that which you prize so highly I take, until you crawl to me and beg for it back." Perrin slumped to the floor, tears streaming from his eyes,

"Y-y-you D-demon!" He spat, stuttering furiously as the demon laughed and retreated into the darkness of Hell.

~~~

Tao held his hand to Rhysenn's face for a moment longer then needed.

"I will find something this time Rhy, keep still, use the dagger as you need." He pressed the chipped blade into the 12 year old girls hand, and ducked out of the shadow encroached hole that he had made his home. He stopped himself from casting the telltale worried glance back at the hole where the girl he loved hid. He would have to get something this time, Rhy would not last another day without food. Tao picked his victim with ease. The stiff stride revealed that the man had bloodline. His clothes bespoke wealth, and Tao could see the bulge of a moneybag under the mans tunic. Tao crept closer, inconspicuous amongst the crowd. Tao's nimble fingers slipped the bag off the man's belt, and he slipped it into his own shirt gleefully. A dark haired stranger shoved into him, pinching the bag. Tao cursed colourfully - he couldn't stop it. He couldn't yell thief; after all; the money wasn't his. He slammed his fist into a wall and caught sight of the unobtrusive almost unsubstantial figure almost seconds afterwards.

Angrily the black haired Kyantin leapt after the hooded man. Usually he took more care choosing his victims but today was not his day, furiously he muttered a prayer under his breath to the only goddess he believed in: Rhysenn.

Tao saw the man enter a tavern and ducked in after him. The place was dimly lit, the tables old and the girls who weaved between tables poorly dressed. It held some similarities to the tavern Tao frequented, but he doubted that these barmaids would hire their bodies out. He also doubted that he'd be clapped on the back if he announced he'd made a big one today. Tao slipped into the shadows that the table created and cut the strings to the man's purse, slipping it into his shirt. He stared at the man's elaborate dagger. He shrugged, it wouldn't get that much, but it was rather pretty. Tao took the dagger, and made a dash for the door.

Success!

He stopped only to steal a loaf of bread before skidding into the hole in the building where Rhysenn was waiting. He laughed gleefully,

"Rhy! I have food and gold. We're gonna be alright!" Suddenly the shadowy figure from the tavern stepped out, holding Rhysenn by the hair. Rhysenn writhed like she was on fire.

"Tao." She managed to get out, "I love you." The demon dropped her in a casual gesture, reminiscent of dropping garbage. Tao didn't miss the significance. Burning tears spilled down his face and he let out an animal howl of grief, rage rushing through his body.

"Give me the knife." The voice crackled. There was no emotion in the voice. Tao growled,

"No!" He said defiantly, cradling the knife closer. He spat at the creature. The demon, for Tao could see that was what it was stepped closer. Tao brandished the dagger. "Don't come any closer!" he yelled. The demon staggered back as if struck.

"As you wish it!" He fairly hissed. Tao felt the tears coming back,

"Never again. I will never again love someone. Not when it brings this much pain." The demon seemed amused he stared, flames seeming to flicker in his eyes,

"So that is your weakness, little thief. That pain will remain with you forever. The joys of unrequited love shall be yours for all eternity. You shall destroy everyone you love and experience this pain again, and again, and again."

He tossed his hood back, the luminescent skin stretching into a cold smile. "Until you decide to return my knife." He said, and then faded from Tao's sight. Tao collapsed to the floor in tears.

~~~

The darkness seemed to emanate from the creature, as the aura of light once emanated from the mother.

"You failed! You failed to bring me my queen. You failed to bring the bard. You failed to kill all the warriors of Aelfhiem. And you failed to bring me the knife. After I gave you specific instructions and watched you retrieve it you lost it!" The shadow on the floor quivered, looking for all the world like a blob of mouldy jelly.

"Master, forgive me! The children, they." The creature bellowed, and pointed a finger at the one on the floor.

"You have failed, and I am displeased." The figure on the floor looked up, fear in its eyes for a split second before it imploded on itself.

----------------------- [1] Stop/Don't Move.