Next Mage
54.Earth

~Marilla's POV

My chest tightened in fear as the Ragnarok leered spitefully, showing off it's pointed teeth as it grinned like a maniacal shark.

Sweat dripped down my neck and formed on my palms, and I hastily wiped them away, focusing my attention on Oliver and trying to take in slower breaths.

"Okay," he scorned, the cheerful light that always danced in his eyes snuffed out by dark hatred. To my left, I noticed Terra crouching down, fists ready as she nodded at Oliver. What is she doing? I wondered, "Let's fight," he hissed.

The crowd of mages descended upon the Ragnarok in a screaming flurry of weapons and magic, but the monster simply stood there, face impassive.

Only when the first mage reached it, then it moved.

The Ragnarok was fast.

Too fast.

It dodged every mage's attacks, slithering through the crush of bodies in swift movements, lithe body moving up and down, left and right, over and under. And then it began to attack.

Grinning wickedly, the Ragnarok thrust out it's spiny tail, spearing through any unfortunate limbs or bodies that got in the way, tearing and scratching at the soft flesh.

I scurried around like a frantic ant trying to help it's teammates, healing wounds and splinting broken bones. Running in the direction of the Ragnarok, I tried to get to the center, curing any of the hurt mages who I had come across.

I pushed through the mass of mages, finally reaching the Ragnarok, who was flinging mages around like they were it's toys. I growled in anger. Slipping through the crowd of mages, I stealthily crept behind the Ragnarok. It's sharp tail swung dangerously close to my face, drops of blood already speckled on it's shiny white surface, but I ignored it, focusing on drawing my power.

I summoned a water bubble, not surprised to see it an inky black. I froze it and separated it into large shards of ice, the cold, wet points gleaming dimly in the little light that filtered through the dark fog. Squinting, I took aim, making sure I got just the right spot, knowing that I couldn't get this wrong--

Someone shrieked behind me, and I threw the spears of ice in panic like darts, hitting the Ragnarok's cold, bony tail. Most of the ice fell to the ground, bumping off the skull-shaped end of the beast's tail and melting the very instant it touched the dirt, as if the island was too impure even for the cold, black water.

My throat closed up, my breath leaving me traitorously as the Ragnarok turned it's burning eyes onto me.

I felt my body shudder, then stiffen as fear overtook my senses. My head shouted at me to move.

What are you doing! Don't just stand there! Do something! My mind hissed, but my limbs stubbornly stayed put. The Ragnarok advanced on me, bony tail swinging behind it like a deadly club.

Hands shaking, I raised them and attempted to summon a water bubble, but it was too late; the Ragnarok was bounding towards me now, claws thumping and digging into the dusty black earth, teeth bared and muscles rippling as it finally crouched down to strike--

A flaming arrow soared through the air, cutting through the fog like a glowing phoenix, whistling in the wind--

And landed right in the middle of one the Ragnarok's crimson red eyes.

The creature let out a lion's roar of pain, swinging it's head violently in an attempt to get the arrow off it's head and thrashing it's tail from side to side. I backed away from the lashing, howling beast and into the crowd, the Ragnarok's caterwauls rising into the fog and echoing through the forest.

The flame-tipped arrow's fire was dying out into faded sparks, but it had left a scar that could never be removed:

The Ragnarok's eye had been partially burned out, a gaping hole dripping blood and bit's of melted flesh where it's murderous red eye had once been. I bit my lip to stop myself from gagging and turned away, walking further into the mob of mages.

The arrow clattered to the ground, the last of the flames extinguishing with the noise of everyone around us, the whole clearing going silent.

There, breathing ragged and one remaining eye burning with fury, the Ragnarok gnashed it's teeth in pain and enmity.

"Who did this?!" It thundered, and the whole forest seemed to quake with the sound of it's voice; it was so full of hatred and vengeance that I even saw creatures rushing out of the forest.

"Who dares to attack me?" It boomed again. "Whoever is at fault," it hissed, red eye raking across the field of mages, as if scanning for any suspects-- "Will pay the price of suffering my wrath," It's sentence was barely a whisper, but it was dripping with so much animosity that it caused my insides to freeze, by body seemingly growing cold.

Then the Ragnarok began to shriek.

The sound was as high and piercing as a dog whistle, the noise filling our ears, our heads, ringing in our minds and forcing us to close our eyes and cover our ears in agony. Mages began to scream in terror and pain, joining in the terrifying chorus.

The Ragnarok went a pitch higher, and I felt the blood roar in my ears, my head starting to spin, the pressure building up in my head until I was sure my eardrums were going to burst...

Then the creature stopped it's deathly song, grinning evilly and gazing towards it's castle.

My stomach dropped as the ground began to thunder and rumble slightly, the sound of dozens of feet dashing through the castle, out the gate, into the battlefield... Ragnarok mages.

The rumbling ceased as the mages stopped right in front of us, evil facing good, the Ragnarok leading the wicked mages with a deadly gleam in it's eye. The Ragnarok mages then went limp, their arms falling to their sides as they stored up power.

Everyone already knew what was happening.

I readied my fists and tried to steady my breathing, but my lungs seemed to stop working and I could only take fast, shallow breaths.

The Ragnarok mages suddenly came alive, their eyes like burning coals, and, faces contorted into menacing snarls, they charged at us, screeching, as if they had already won the battle.

I crouched down, sweat rolling down my forehead, limbs shaking and bones weary, desperately summoning a ball of water, aiming for the nearest mage and throwing it at them.

The water soared right pass the mage, and my face fell in defeat.

The Ragnarok mages melded into the mages fighting for good, their copious numbers overtaking ours by a few dozen. I felt my hope drift away into the wind, about to join the thick, impenetrable smog that floated in a never-ending cloud above.

A Ragnarok mage ran towards me, his fist connecting with my cheek, sending me flying across the clearing and crashing into a tree. My head lolled to one side, my vision going hazy, and the mage that had attacked me bounded up and raised his sword to deliver the finishing blow as I faded into unconsciousness.

At least I wouldn't feel it, I thought wearily, closing my eyes to accept my fate.

But then, all of a sudden, the ground began to shake.

~Oliver's POV

I watched as giant cracks formed in the black, cold ground, so deep that I couldn't even see the bottom. The earth rumbled and quaked, like we were trapped in a snow globe and someone had just shaken it. Ragnarok mages tumbled into the dark abyss of the cracks, stumbling around the edges before falling into the holes like flies falling into the deadly mouth of a carnivorous mouth.

I noticed one particularly large crack running straight through the middle of the field, it's gaping maw so wide that it seemed to make up half of the clearing. I scanned the battlefield, and then spotted Marilla slumped against a tree, her eyes fluttered closed and a burly Ragnarok mage hulking towards her menacingly.

Oh, no you don't, I thought, gritting my teeth and running towards Marilla, my hands trailing sparks behind me. The Ragnarok mage swung his sword over his head, just about to stab it through Marilla's neck, the sharp point already piercing her skin and a bead of blood appearing on her pale flesh.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion, and I reached the mage, plunging my flaming hands into his arm and digging my fingernails into his rough skin.

The mage howled in fury, dropping his sword in a loud clang and turning towards me, eyes as hot as the flames surrounding my hands. The skin on his arm had been burnt raw.

The mage charged towards me, but I thrust my arms out and burnt his face, causing him to stagger sideways and plunge into the dark depths of one of the cracks in the earth.

The ground still shaking, I stumbled towards Marilla, hands shaking, and I bent down to cradle her head and feel her pulse. She was alive.

Unconscious, but alive.

Sighing in relief, I relaxed and stroked her soft chestnut hair. Suddenly, the ground ceased it's quaking, the whole earth seemingly going quiet as the once-constant rumbling went silent.

I looked up from Marilla's pale, cold face, gazing across the clearing, my eyes glazed.

I knew what had happened.

Terra slumped to the floor, mages still milling about as her eyes rolled back into her head, rendering her unconscious.

Looking back down at Marilla, I stroked her hair one more time before setting her cold limbs down onto the hard, black ground. I noticed Emma struggling towards me, pulling Terra's limp body along as she headed over to Marilla. I gave her a subtle nod before disappearing into the heat of battle, feeling the energy course through my veins, the power surging through my body. I dodged fists, swords, axes, clubs, gliding through roaring crowds and masses of fighting, screaming mages until I reached the middle of the chaos.

Taking a deep breath and closing my eyes for a brief second, I relished all the little moments I had shared with everyone in the past; I savored the feeling of this deep magic that had ran through my veins since the moment I was born... Opening my eyes and gazing into the darkened sky, I smiled with grim determination.

It was time.

Time to light things up.