Anyway, w00t, magical bar fight involving swords and fire. This excerpt is my favourite moment in the narrative so far. Yay for burning things.
Quote:
The demon heaved himself back to his feet, drawing his sword once more. Fury twisted his face, which dripped with sweat and the blood that still oozed from the cut in his cheek. He snarled inarticulately and strode forward, aiming his sword at Pyralis.
Pyralis did not draw her sword. Instead, she quite sedately removed the glove from her left hand, tucking it into a pocket. She raised her hand to reveal the perfect circle, the channel symbol for the elemental magic of fire, that was tattooed in black on her palm. The demon saw this and stopped in his tracks, his rage abating slightly in the face of this threat – but not entirely.
“I will destroy you, mage,” he growled.
She kept her face neutral. “I will give you this one chance,” she replied steadily. “If you leave now and cease targeting me, I will not pursue you.” Although she had made it her purpose to track down and kill creatures such as this one and had no wish to show this one any mercy, she saw no sense in needlessly wasting her energy on this one when there was another, more powerful demon that she was in the process of tracking down. Nevertheless, she opened herself to the fire element, and felt the energy course through her mind and body, tensing her muscles as she forced herself to contain it.
“And if I do not?” he grinned, undoubtedly seeing her supposed compassion as a weakness.
Her response was straightforward. “I will vanquish you.”
For a moment, he appeared to consider this notion. However, it was not long before his uncontrolled rage had made for him the decision to remain and continue his attempts to kill her. He set himself, and then raised his sword, running forth with a frenzied howl.
Her voice was mild. “Flame.”
A wave of purple-red flame ignited before Pyralis and rolled toward and over the demon. He was knocked back, emitting a horrifying agonised shriek and disappearing into the inferno. Pyralis kept the blaze contained, focusing it upon the demon and minimising the damage to the Minotaur’s stall. She channelled the flame from within, relished the way it blazed through every facet of her being, accustomed to the excruciating burn that accompanied the manipulation of the untamed and destructive element of fire.
She clenched her hand into a fist, drawing the flame into a tight ball, intensifying its heat. The demon still lived within it, twisting and screeching as the fire slowly, piece by piece, completely devoured him. Her head began to ache, her mind burning from the force of her concentration, but Pyralis refused to pay it any heed, drawing the focus of her spell even tighter. She could not allow herself to falter at this point. The demon had to be eliminated entirely before she could release her hold upon the spell, for she would not be able to conjure the energy to create another spell of this strength.
Finally, the flame pierced into the body of the demon, stabbing through his flesh and rending him in two. His shrieks became excruciatingly high-pitched, a screech of utter agony that reverberated within the energy field of the fire spell. As he dissolved, a greenish-black haze seeped from his core, bleeding into the purple-red of Pyralis’s spell and becoming engulfed. The purple-red blaze squeezed tighter still around the demon, moving of its own accord now, until it had compressed itself into a blinding star and then disappeared entirely.
Pyralis did not draw her sword. Instead, she quite sedately removed the glove from her left hand, tucking it into a pocket. She raised her hand to reveal the perfect circle, the channel symbol for the elemental magic of fire, that was tattooed in black on her palm. The demon saw this and stopped in his tracks, his rage abating slightly in the face of this threat – but not entirely.
“I will destroy you, mage,” he growled.
She kept her face neutral. “I will give you this one chance,” she replied steadily. “If you leave now and cease targeting me, I will not pursue you.” Although she had made it her purpose to track down and kill creatures such as this one and had no wish to show this one any mercy, she saw no sense in needlessly wasting her energy on this one when there was another, more powerful demon that she was in the process of tracking down. Nevertheless, she opened herself to the fire element, and felt the energy course through her mind and body, tensing her muscles as she forced herself to contain it.
“And if I do not?” he grinned, undoubtedly seeing her supposed compassion as a weakness.
Her response was straightforward. “I will vanquish you.”
For a moment, he appeared to consider this notion. However, it was not long before his uncontrolled rage had made for him the decision to remain and continue his attempts to kill her. He set himself, and then raised his sword, running forth with a frenzied howl.
Her voice was mild. “Flame.”
A wave of purple-red flame ignited before Pyralis and rolled toward and over the demon. He was knocked back, emitting a horrifying agonised shriek and disappearing into the inferno. Pyralis kept the blaze contained, focusing it upon the demon and minimising the damage to the Minotaur’s stall. She channelled the flame from within, relished the way it blazed through every facet of her being, accustomed to the excruciating burn that accompanied the manipulation of the untamed and destructive element of fire.
She clenched her hand into a fist, drawing the flame into a tight ball, intensifying its heat. The demon still lived within it, twisting and screeching as the fire slowly, piece by piece, completely devoured him. Her head began to ache, her mind burning from the force of her concentration, but Pyralis refused to pay it any heed, drawing the focus of her spell even tighter. She could not allow herself to falter at this point. The demon had to be eliminated entirely before she could release her hold upon the spell, for she would not be able to conjure the energy to create another spell of this strength.
Finally, the flame pierced into the body of the demon, stabbing through his flesh and rending him in two. His shrieks became excruciatingly high-pitched, a screech of utter agony that reverberated within the energy field of the fire spell. As he dissolved, a greenish-black haze seeped from his core, bleeding into the purple-red of Pyralis’s spell and becoming engulfed. The purple-red blaze squeezed tighter still around the demon, moving of its own accord now, until it had compressed itself into a blinding star and then disappeared entirely.
