Aleris

The dust storm barreled across The Scorched Lands, disturbing the air and the sand in its wake. The dry ground could not fight it’s might, nor stop itself from being drawn into it as it grew larger. It shadowed cliffs and ravines blocking out the sun as it crashed against them and into them building fury deep and roaring it’s way up and over the tops blasting even more sand into the sky. The only sign of civilization in sight to this barreling dust storm was the Ironhold Prison, a fearsome looking sight for any coming near it, it’s high walls sheltering the interior, but any on the water tower could see as the dust storm broke and two figures plummeting from the sky to the rocky dry terrain bellow.

Soul was first back on his feet right arm down low, the three blades on his gauntlet dragging through sand and rock. As he neared his foe he flicked up his arm trying to catch the demon on the three blades. His left hand also swinging in for a full forced punch to pummel his enemy into the rocks.

The demon was just fast enough to smack away the blades with his twin scimitars rolling back into a crouched form as Souls fist pulverized a boudler into pebbles. The demon darts in twin blades slashing and weaving at the arraki.

Soul weaves left and right smacking away at the blades with his own gauntlet, sand blasted shoulder length black hair waving in front of narrowed dark crimson eyes. Plague’s own red eyes glaring back as with one last snarl of anger that he could not hit his target he drove both blades at the arrakis chest.

Soul catches the blades on his gauntlet and delivers an uppercut with his left, as the fist moves the rocks and sand below move with it following its form to drive a rock fist into the demons jaw lifting him and propelling him backwards.

Plague lands on the ground and grins, “You should know by now Arraki that I am more immune to physical harm than you.” He springs to his feet his etched blades glowing as the sand begins to swirl again. “I must say you have put up much more of a fight than your father, which is surprising considering he had centuries more experience fighting than you.”

Soul remains still staring at the dark grey skinned demon. He watched the sand course around the demons form and he could feel himself tapping almost subconsciously into the resource of his own sword, a sentient blade that had years before combined with his form and now lived within him. He jerks his gauntlet at Plague a pure burst of energy heating the air around them to thousands of degrees, his own skin blisters and his body fights to heal them before they get worse and the sand turns to glass.

Plague brings both scimitars in front of himself the blades crossed as the burst hits him directly dragging him back fifty paces and leaving both blades shining white hot. The demon clenches his teeth starring through the dissipating heat sizing up the arraki.

“I keep telling you I am not, and never will be my father, nor anything like him.” Soul says calmly, the blisters on his skin covering over with new skin, a couple drops of acidic blood falling to the sand to burn through the tiny particles. “I wish to live my life in peace.”

“That is too bad arraki! Yes live an immortal life in peace, only certain creatures are allowed such privileges as immortal life. Your race stole it for their own biding. I must take it back from you!” The demon shouts, hell bent on ending the arrakis life.

The blades still glowing snap forward and a flash of red crashes into the arraki’s body throwing him hundreds of paces, slamming him into rocks and sands. The ground then raises below him turning into a giant granite hand that clamps down on the arraki. Plague dashes forward, building up speed, then at a hundred paces away he kicks off the ground both blades raising high in an arc to come down and slice off Souls head.

Soul watches as he pushes back against the giant granite fist squeezing him. The fist did not bother him, it could not squeeze the life out of him, but cutting off his head, well that would just about be the end of it as it would give Plague free roam at his soul and his energy. The arraki pushes at the arm with brute strength, then finding the minute water particles in the air he shatters the rock with ice, the ice erupting in the center breaking the stone apart and causing it to crumble. As he falls he lifts his gauntlet to take the blows of the scimitars then lifts his left hand to grab the demon by the throat. He lifts the creature, who is smaller in overall stature, off the ground and stares eye to eye forcing a magical bond onto the demons arms and legs.

He can feel the demon fighting the bonds. “Don’t you understand.. It seems neither of us can kill the other.” Soul can feel bonds being forced onto him from the demon. “We seem very equal.” The arraki grits and fights back, losing strength on his own bonds and being forced to let the demon go who stumbles back.

“I have no equal arraki, do not be so egotistical.” Plague responds, breaking the bonds on himself and swinging both scimitars as the arraki disappears in a burst of sand. “No! Stop running from me!” The demon snarls smashing his blades into the ground and erupting into the sky with a funnel of sand and rock trailing.

The arraki crashes into an alley within the Grand City hitting a wall then coming to a stop on the ground, panting. He had never been pushed so far, he had never known he had a limit until then. There was his coat exactly where he left it. The tattered brown item is pulled over his bruised and worn body. It had taken so much energy to block a trace by the demon that he struggled to lift the bottle of rum from the pocket and take a swig.

He sighs as the warm alchol burns down his throat, depressed slightly the he could never known the meaning of being drunk before stumbling out into the street dodging past some citizens who frown at his appearance. He takes another swig of rum, what was he going to do? He wasn’t sure if he could beat this demon. Sure he had killed plenty before, but this one seemed different and it was so set on killing every thing it could. He stumbles at a brisk pace, looking for a nice place to hide away and rest, for it had been too long before his last nap. He spies a ground of vagabonds keeping to themselves in a corner of the square and wander’s his way over, a couple shares of his rum an he nestled into a crook, an anonymous figure in a city. Well, as anonymous a seven foot tall, three hundred pound immortal could get.

The sun was setting, the square was getting darker and colder. The arraki now alone stirs on the stoop and sits up. More unpleasant characters filtered through the shadows about their nightly routine. He stands slowly feeling a bit of protest in his muscles. “Never had to use so much energy before.” He grumbles absent mindedly to himself. He tilts his head to see a group of four men, obviously human approaching. He sees the glint of red in their eyes and knows who they are linked too.

“Why must you keep using innocents in your little games, Plague.” He says noticing the flintlock muskets in each of their hands. “You should know by now that those mortal weapons don’t hurt me.

“Oh they’ll hurt you arraki, see I know a little thing about you now, the rune you use to make things not dissolve in your precious acidic blood.” The lead man speaks in Plague’s disembodied voice. The four muskets raise and the men disappear in a flash of smoke. Soul tries to dodge his coat getting hit with two of the musket balls, the other two smacking him in the right shoulder and upper thigh, dropping him to one knee. Acidic blood bubbles from the wounds burning at his coat and pants and dripping to the cobblestone street.

Gritting his teeth in pain he forces himself up. For a second he feels a pang of fear that he might die. Then the warrior and calm side of himself pushes that away and his left hand raises and from the shadows come large dog shapes with blue flames running down their spines. The dogs launch at the men knocking them to the ground and tearing the metal and wooden weapons to shreds with teeth and claws. Across the square oily black shadow begins to combine together. Soul watches as the shadow grows to fifteen feet tall and opens menacing red eyes. Tentacles erupt from it’s belly striking at the dogs and combining them with it self along with the four men.

“You think you can beat me at my own game? Yes now I do dabble in the elements, but I am a demon fool the darkness is where I was born. Where my flesh was binded to bone.” The tentacles slash out and knock Soul back into the stoop, cracking the rock beneath his body. He winces and stabs his fingers into the wound in his arm ripping the ball out and flicking it aside, his fingers move to his leg next. “How did you like my new treat?” Plague laughs through the shadow creature which flails tentacles through the stoop.

Soul launches himself skyward landing on a window sill twenty feet up. The simple solution would be to shine light on the shadow and cause it to disappear. But there was no moon tonight. “I need time.” He tosses a small blue flame to the ground. Kicking off the wall just as the curtain behind the window flutters and a woman looks out., a tentacle sliding past where he just was. Another flash of blue flame entwines with the second. Soul lands fifteen paces from the creature, the fire between him and it.

“A small campfire isn’t going to stop me arraki.” The shadow creature laughs, Plagues voice echoing in the square. Tentacles swing past Souls head as he waves smacking one away with his gauntlet. His eyes concentrate on the fire, it catches a leaf on the ground and the flash of orange catches his eye and he draws it in to his palms. His hands push together compressing the flame into a tiny ball, not much bigger than a marble. He falls back as a tentacle slashes past his head taking out a wall into a kitchen. The people scream the fireplace blowing out and the flames entering Souls palms.

“There is one thing you lack Plague that has been the downfall of everything and everyone I have ever beaten.” Soul smirks as the shadow creature stops and stares. “Ingenuity .” He launches the compressed ball of fire into the shadow creature, which absorbs it into it’s center. Soul rips his palms away from another and the compressed ball erupts in a flash of light tearing the shadow creature in half. Plague screams through its mouth as the square is lit up.

Soul waves a flash of flame into the fireplace, the three stunned mortals staring at him over the rebuilding wall. Once the wall is complete and the flame dissipate in the air where the shadow creature stood. He sighs knowing he hurt Plague this time otherwise the demon would already be here trying to stab him. Resting his face in his hand he closes his eyes, “I can’t go on like this. I need to find a way to kill this thing and be done with it.”

Lifting his head he stares around the square before moving off into an alley hoping it would lead him somewhere a bit more lively. Even though he was king at being anti-social the more people around him the easier it was to concentrate on something.

“Where are you going?” The voice brings Soul to spin and stare into the eyes of a pale skinned man with pitch black ebony orbs for eyes. “It seems my son has been harassing you for quite some time.” The demon strode forward his massive armored bulk casting long shadows that never seemed to end. His pale hair fell in front of a much paler face. “I am Osiris Nephthys, I am here to help you kill my son.”

“Why would you want to do that?” Soul questioned still on alert as to who this new creature was. “Not that I question killing within the family.” He mused slightly at his own family’s eagerness to kill him and each other.

“Because you see he has a valuable weapon of mine I am surprised he has not unleashed upon you yet.” Osiris says slowly, “It will take more than you to kill him though I know that is hard to say to yourself. You’re going to need me.”

“I don’t need any-” Soul barely gets the words out as a crossbow bolt flashes from the shadows at Osiris.

“No more talk demon.” The crossbow bolt barely missed the creature which phased away from it.

“Stop Redmont!” Osiris shouted snarling at the lycan, “This concerns all of us. If he unleashes Nemesis upon this city he will be unstoppable. He already has thousands of immortal souls to draw power from and if he can feed those to Nemesis then Nemesis will become unbeatable.”

The Redmont steadies his crossbow’s sight on the demon stepping forward slowly glancing at the other being near them. “We have a score to settle Osiris.” He turns his gaze back to the demon eyes narrowing.

“I think we should listen to him Redmont. You may have a score to settle but by the sounds of it what he has to say involves the entire realm, you can settle your score with him after this is over.” Soul turns slightly to look at the lycan.

“Who are you to tell me what to do?” The crossbow whips to the arraki. Canines exposing themselves under his upper lip.

“I was an acquaintance of Maxim.” Soul says.

“I don’t care. I was never much of the family type I havn’t spoken to another Redmont in years.” Darius laughs skipping his aim between the two.

“Fine to be honest I could just kill you right now and Osiris and I can have this conversation over your corpse.” The arraki growls turning on his foot to face the lycan head on. Osiris moves to Dariuses right ebony orbs narrowing.

“You act like I’ll back down from a fight.” The Redmont grins, “I may not be the family type but do you know anything about us?” The crossbow fires dissolving in the acidic blood of the arraki as the lycan draws his short sword to match the blow from Osiris.

The arraki catches the crossbow arm in his left hand right hand snatching the lycan at the throat and lifting him up off the ground. Darius chokes on air staring into the arraki’s bright red eyes. “This can end with us getting along.” Soul growls, “Or you can die. I am not going to stand around and let you bicker with this demon when innocents could be dying or about to die. Isn’t that another thing you Redmonts do? Kill things that would normally kill ordinary mortals?”

Darius chokes and fights against the arraki’s strength, but his lycan strength doesn’t seem to even come close to matching this other being. He spits out fine with a ragged breath and takes a deep breath as the arraki drops him.

Osiris takes a step back eyeing the arraki and lycan, “We need a place to talk where Plague can’t see or overhear. You should both follow me.” Osiris turns and almost completely disappears in the shadows half his form completely concealed.

Soul stares at the lycan before turning his head and following the demon. His tattered coat flowing behind him.

Darius reloads his crossbow and rubs his throat following the other two feeling the anger for them in his body wanting to unleash it, “No I’ve gotten better at controlling my rage I cannot unleash it upon them until the time is right. If this other man leaves us Osiris is going to die.” He grins to himself speaking in a hushed tone only he can hear. “I am going to kill you Osiris Nephthys, then your daughter and then your son.”