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Reol stood still for but a second; then curled his whip around in an attempt to take off Xen’s head. Yet he blocked it with a single dagger, and sliced the whip off at the handle.

Reol dropped the now useless weapon, raising his shield in front of him as his eyes widened in fear. Xen’s face was completely impassive, showing no hint of his next move. Yet when he struck, it seemed as if he had hardly moved.

A dent appeared in the shield, then another. The metal flexed under the powerful blows, rippling like water. Eventually, it could take the stress no more, and it fell to the ground in shards. Reol’s face was frightened now, and he assumed a combat stance as Xen advance on him.

“Humans…” He spat the word, looking at Reol with loath in his voice and eyes.

Xen sheathed his daggers, mirroring Reol’s stance. He growled menacingly, and Reol stumbled back in fear, but before he could move, he was lifted two feet off the ground. Xen’s claws were buried in his throat.

He coughed once, then raised his head and stared in Xen’s eyes. He didn’t see them, though. He never saw anything again.

He spat in the dead face of Reol as he dropped him to the ground. “…are pathetic,” he continued.

Before he drew one breath after throwing Reol’s body, Horas stood behind him, raising his sword to strike down and end the fight. He brought it down, but met only air as Xen dodged with inhuman speed. With a motion that seemed almost impossible, he flipped backwards over Hora** head, twisting the sword arm as he did so. Kashan heard a sickening crack, and knew that the arm had been broken.

Horas howled in pain, yet stopped as Xen’s grinning face appeared in front of him. With a single motion, he drew his daggers and sliced across his throat.

Hora** head fell to the ground.

Kashan screamed in rage, running over with claws drawn and ready. Yet as he struck, Xen simply raised the daggers and slid them into the claws, engaging them completely.

19-Sep-2006 23:45:56 - Last edited on 19-Sep-2006 23:50:05 by [#80N8R0VWZ]

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“You are the Balancer,” he stated, matter-of-factly. “My master has informed of you. He told me to be wary, but you don’t seem up to a bar fight, let alone a battle. Tell me, how was a squirt like you able to defeat Krown?

Kashan ignored him. He drew back the claws in one swift motion, and the fight began.

~~~~

A soldier came running up the stairs. He seemed weary, and most of his clothes hung around him in tatters.

He spoke with Kareel for a moment, and then turned around and ran back out the stairs. Kareel went pale.

“What is it?” Kai yelled to him after he had finished off the fire giant he had been shooting.

“The troops at the Salve* they’ve all been killed. The army of Morytania is coming. They will arrive in two hours,” Kareel announced, fright in his voice.

“What?! They were supposed to be able to hold them for at least another day!” Kai exclaimed, fright obvious in his voice as well. By now, Kareel had walked towards him, and they began speaking about their tactics. They were, after all, the highest-ranking officers in the battle, and were to oversee it completely.

“There’s not much we can do. We could, at best, send a few warriors to the east wall, but I’m guessing that won’t make much of a difference,” Kareel said bleakly.

“I believe you are right, but we must try. Send two squads to the east wall,* Kai replied after a moment of silence.

Kareel conceded to this, and jumped down the stairs with surprising agility for his age, returning shortly after.

“I sent a runner to the battlefield. Thor and Vermund will defend the east wall as best they can. They are to slowly retreat to the fountain, where we will meet them, and make our last stand. Until then, the best we can do is to continue fighting.” Kareel was panting slightly.

“Very well,” Kai conceded as he turned around with his bow, preparing to shoot down a hobgoblin. He was distracted before he got the shot off, however, by Arya.

19-Sep-2006 23:48:52 - Last edited on 19-Sep-2006 23:50:19 by [#80N8R0VWZ]

[#80N8R0VWZ]

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“Good lord! Kashan’s fighting Xen!” She announced, and then added in an annoyed tone of voice, “Why does he keep getting into fights he can’t win?*

Kai had spotted him now, as well, and spoke.

“I can’t get a clear shot; they’re too close together. If we shoot, we could do more damage than good. I guess we must wait and see how he does,” he said as he took aim on the hobgoblin again.

Arya didn’t seem too happy about this, but knew he was right. If she tried to shoot Xen down now, there was a more than a good chance she might hit Kashan.

~~~~

The fight was beautiful to look at. They both moved with such speed, so fast that it was hard for the normal man to see what each did.

They fought for what seemed like hours to the two combatants, even though it was not even a full minute.

Kashan had never seen anyone move so fast, or so accurately, and probably would have had problems keeping up, had his moves been deliberate.

The first attack had been from Kashan, a quick jab towards Xen’s throat, which he dodged, and counter attacked by stabbing upwards at his elbow. Kashan managed to wrench himself to the side, and thrust his leg into Xen’s stomach in the same motion.

He tumbled backwards a little, growling as he assumed a combat stance

“It would seem my master was right about you,” he said as he spat some blood on the ground. “I will not underestimate you again.”

He growled, and with blinding speed, red flames lit on his body as if he were a man-sized candle wick. They cast an ominous glow around him, lighting up the darkness of the night.

He moved swiftly, and struck at Kashan’s head in a twirling motion, keeping up a constant flurry of attacks with inhuman speed. He seemed like a tall flame as he slashed and sliced at Kashan. His style was different from anything that he had ever seen, nothing like any of his group’s. It came closest to Toin’*, but the strikes were separate, and much more accurate.

19-Sep-2006 23:48:53 - Last edited on 19-Sep-2006 23:50:33 by [#80N8R0VWZ]

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He ceased his attacks, and Kashan grabbed the chance, striking out even faster than before, attacking at least ten times each second. Yet just before each hit, a small circle of red energy appeared at the point he stabbed. It resisted any hits, and Xen was simply standing there, speaking in a strange language. Suddenly he looked up, eyes full of fire.

“You are finished!”

A tendril of flame lashed out at Kashan, wrapping around and engaging his claws. Xen raised his weapons and grinned, striking out in a blur. One dagger sliced across his stomach, the other slashing down the length of his arm.

Kashan doubled over, and fell backwards to the ground. His wounds were bleeding badly.
He stared at the sky, but didn’t appear to see it. His breath was rapid and hoarse.

~~~~

Arya saw as Xen sliced at Kashan, and suddenly she saw nothing but that. Suddenly, time seemed to slow down, and even Xen moved so slow it was as if he was moving in water.

She saw as Kashan crumpled over, and she saw as Xen moved to him to finish his prey. He said something, though she couldn’t hear what it was, and then crouched down beside Kashan. He raised his right hand dagger slightly above his head, spoke some more, and thrust his hand downwards.

End of Chapter 17.

19-Sep-2006 23:48:54 - Last edited on 31-Oct-2006 19:56:49 by [#80N8R0VWZ]

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Chapter 18 - An army arrives

“No! Not now! You won’t get to take him away from me!* she thought, and took aim on her bow.

“Arya don’t! They’re too close to each other, you could hit Kashan!” Timier shouted to her, but she ignored him. She let her arrow loose.

It cleaved the air with amazing speed, splitting the air in its path like no other.

~~~

Xen pranced gleefully towards Kashan’s prone form, lightness in his stride.

“It would appear that The Balancer is no more. Those weak Saradominists have no chance now,” he spoke to Kashan, arrogance in his voice.

He crouched besides him, moving his nuzzle of a mouth to his ear. Kashan couldn’t move his head to face him, only stared at the dark sky, wide-eyed from fear.

“I’ve got a present for you,” he whispered softly in his ear. Kashan’s eyes became even wider.

He didn’t remove his head, and his hot breath felt like a torch on Kashan’s neck. For a second he thought nothing was going to happen, but then he was deprived of his hope. Xen’s teeth met his neck harshly, blood flowing freely from the wound.

Kashan tried to scream, but the sound refused to come out of his neck. His body twitched uncontrollably as the pain shot through him, but he couldn’t move. After several seconds of the agony, Xen raised his head and dagger.

His face was bloody, though not of his own blood.

“Don’t worry,” he said cynically, “I’m sure Saradomin will give you a good job when you get up there. Oh, and you needn’t worry about your girlfriend. I will take good care of her when this battle is over,” he sniggered, and thrust the deadly blade downwards.

A silver streak appeared behind him, ramming into the back of his head at an incredible speed. Xen gasped, and his blade froze in mid-air, barely inches away from Kashan’s neck. He pulled the silver arrow from his flesh, looking venomously at Kashan. He stabbed down again, yet Kashan blocked the strike this time and took up the arrow from the ground.

19-Sep-2006 23:48:56 - Last edited on 19-Sep-2006 23:51:32 by [#80N8R0VWZ]

[#80N8R0VWZ]

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Turning it point forward, he rammed it full force into Xen’s chest.

He growled in pain as the sharp silver stuck in his flesh, and edged himself away from Kashan, rising to his feet as he went.

“You win this time,” he hissed. *Nevertheless, we shall meet again, and then you will meet your death, as all others. Varrock has fallen anyway, my task here is complete,” he spoke as he disappeared into the shadows once more. He flickered, and then he was seen no more for the remainder of the battle.

~~~~

“Timier, we need to get him out of there. He’s too badly wounded to do any more fighting, and if he stays down there much longer, he’ll be attacked, or stampeded to death,” Arya said, calm now, and tired, for some reason.

Timier conceded to this, and asked Kai to have someone get Kashan out of the battle. Kai went down the stairs, as Kareel had before, and came back not a minute later.

“I have ordered Darmal to focus his squad on bringing him here. Until then, we should defend him from above,” he said, slightly panting as Kareel had. Arya started to wonder how far they had to go to give orders.

The trio, Arya, Timier, and Kai, started shooting down anything that came too close to Kashan. Suddenly, a surge came through the beasts, and they all froze in their steps; then they resumed their killing as if nothing had happened. After more than a minute of shooting down a small radius around Kashan, they saw six men break from the fighting, and started to edge themselves to him.

The commander, Darmal, came up the stairs a few minutes later. He was a large man, cleanly shaven with a berserker helm on his head. It was apparent from his build that he had some relations to the Fremennik* of Rellekka, or the barbarians of Barbarian Village.
He carried Kashan on his shoulders, and dropped him on the ground a bit too hard for Arya’s liking.

19-Sep-2006 23:48:57 - Last edited on 19-Sep-2006 23:51:47 by [#80N8R0VWZ]

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“We got him. This man has better be worth it, we had to go through the main of the battle. I lost two men for him,” he said to Kai, hidden spite in his voice. He was clearly not happy about his orders to rescue Kashan.

“He’s worth it all right. He just defeated Xen, the General of the Army you, and your men, are fighting. He is in this state because of wounds he got from that feat, right after vanquishing Chronozon, the second in charge. He is worth more than your whole squad,” Arya said to him, deadly calmness in her voice as Timier rushed to Kashan’s side.

“That’s great. Unfortunately, they aren’t the biggest problem. The King Black Dragon still rules the sky, and our men can do nothing to him as he massacres them. If you really want a hero, you should have him slay the King Black Dragon,” Darmal replied, equally calm.

He then turned and went down the stairs. As he walked away, he did not bow to Kai, but turned his back on him, which, under normal circumstances, would have been punishable.

Kai turned to Arya, and sighed. “I believe he is right. The King Black is the biggest threat right now. We need to get him down,” he said as Timier started some healing spells.

Arya didn’t answer, but bowed over Kashan, along with Timier.

“Is he going to be all right?” She asked him, worried.

“I honestly don’t know. Those wounds are deep, and the poison on the daggers isn’t exactly helping. The top wound is very close to his heart, and the other punctured some vital organs. The one on the neck is savage; it’s as if the skin was literally ripped away. He’s bleeding immensely, I’m not sure I can do much,* he said; trickles of sweat dripping on his forehead.

“How can I help?” Arya offered, hoping to make a difference.

“Here, check the pulse,” Timier responded without taking his eyes off Kashan’s wounds, and slapped Kashan’s hand in Arya’s. “Don’t count, tell me how it is.”

19-Sep-2006 23:48:58 - Last edited on 19-Sep-2006 23:52:01 by [#80N8R0VWZ]

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Her eyes were strictly focused on nothing for a second, but then horror seemed to take her. “I don’t feel it! Is he…” Arya never got the chance to finish her sentence. Bright light suddenly came out of the wounds, almost blinding her and Timier.

Arya could hear Kai speak behind her. “What the hell…” She couldn’t agree with him more.

When the light dimmed, she saw the wounds sew themselves back together; his arm and chest became whole again, and the tatters of skin on his neck pieced themselves back together.

Everyone’s eyes were as if glued on Kashan. “Timier, this isn’t normal, is it?” Arya asked him, eyes still on Kashan. It was more a statement then a question.

Timier didn’t reply. Kashan suddenly flinched and raised his upper body as if he had been pulled, inhaling deeply as he went. It was almost as if he had been underwater for a while; desperate for oxygen.

He hastily patted his body, where the wounds had been, finishing on his neck. He then stared, as if in amazement, at Timier, then Kai, and eventually Arya. He gently put his hand around her head, and looked her in the eye with relief. She was stunned, as were Timier and Kai, and didn’t fight it when he pulled her head towards his, and locked her lips with his in a kiss, heedless of Timier’s and Kai’s presence.

Eventually, he parted her lips, and embraced her in his arms.

“Don’t ever leave me. I saw death, and I saw life without you. Don’t you ever leave me,” he breathed a low voice in her ears.

She was too stunned to reply, and could only repay his embrace.

For a while, they just sat there, stuck in each other’s arms. Then an archer, whom had been shooting from the southeast corner of the palace, turned away from the battle. His face was pale.

“Sir! The forces of Morytania are through the gate. They’re inside Varrock,” he announced to Kai in a frightened voice. Kai rushed to his side, along with everyone else.

19-Sep-2006 23:51:01 - Last edited on 19-Sep-2006 23:52:20 by [#80N8R0VWZ]

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Before them, they saw the army of Morytania. Hundreds, even thousands of beasts were before them. There was less variety in this force than the one that had come from the Wilderness, and they were fewer, but just as lethal for that. The army consisted of hordes of vampires and werewolves; a combination rarely seen, as the hatred between the two semi-species was renowned.

Leading the army, at the forefront, Kashan could see a tall vampire, which, somehow, stood out from the others. It was pale, with scarlet eyes and hair. A dirty white cloth covered one of its eyes, and a rag covered the complete lower portion of its face. It wore no armour, but its shirt and trousers were dark purple, and on its back, it had a torn, bloody, black cloak. In its hand, it held a tall, blood-drenched staff. It was not like any other staff, though, for on each end it held a long, shining blade.

“Saradomin help us! They brought Groshek into this!” Kai said with fear in his voice as he ran his finger through the air in front of him, mentally drawing the Star of Saradomin, apparently hoping that it would protect him.

“Who’s Groshek?” Kashan managed to ask, as he stared down at the flock advancing closer and closer towards the warriors of Varrock.

“He is an ancient vampire, rumoured to have fought in the God Wars. He controls evil magic, magic never seen anywhere elsewhere, ever. Some say he predates even the ancient magicks, which came centuries before the God Wars. It would be well advised not to engage him in conflict; he can strangle you, snap your neck, or even crush your body without ever coming near you,” Kai replied. Arya had never seen the general so frightened, and she had seen him during the whole of the battle.

Kashan had no reply, so he kept staring at the battle below.

19-Sep-2006 23:51:02 - Last edited on 19-Sep-2006 23:53:01 by [#80N8R0VWZ]

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The troops that had been fighting off the army of the Wilderness had retreated to the square, and, under the orders of a commander, had formed a last line of defence to the north and east sides of the square.

It was time for Varrock’s last stand.

End of Chapter 18.

19-Sep-2006 23:51:03 - Last edited on 19-Sep-2006 23:53:13 by [#80N8R0VWZ]

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