Legends of Belariath
Scathien
Revenge of the Phoenix: Chapter 7: Final Battle
The guild master was speechless for a short time. Finally, words started to stumble out of his mouth in a rush. “Scathien! What are you doing here! What happened to my class! More importantly where is my relic!!!”
Obviously, Scathien should not have been able to escape under his own power from the undeniably deadly traps within Furnak’s sunken tower. Nor could he defeat the powerful water elemental that guarded the uppermost floors to prevent escape after someone had entered the tower. The guild master now knew the odd familiar presence he sensed within “Markus” that he sensed when he first started here. It was the sensation that burned in the depths of his soul.
Scathien felt that sensation as well, but he fully understood it. The very essence that was Raysure the Phoenix God was split between Scathien and the guild master. However, while Scathien’s power was freely given to him, the guild master had found a way to keep the power within him although it had weakened over the years.
Still, the phoenix spirit suffered as its power remained split into two. Both sides struggled, now so close to each other that they sought to join one another to be complete once again. Scathien knew the guild master must be feeling it a lot more than him because his side had weakened so much over time.
The phoenix spirit urged him to strike and free his other half so that the phoenix may finally rest and move on with its existence bound to the true owner of the relic. So Scathien struck, hard and fast. The elite guards moved to block but were too slow to stop him and halted in shock as the serrated flaming sword rammed deep into the guild master’s chest. The dying man’s eyes suddenly widened in shock and pain as the serrations along the edge of the sword caught and ripped more flesh on its path through the body before bursting free out of his back in a spray of blood and gore.
The elite guard started to back away after the blow was struck, watching as Scathien violently ripped the blade free from the now dead guild master’s chest. Scathien just smirked. It had all gone according to plan. It was so very simple. After all, it wasn’t like the guild master could resurrect himself on demand. The guild master needed to follow the cycle just like the other bearers of the relic right?
Apparently not… Suddenly flames exploded from the corpse of the guild master, reducing his body to a pile of thick gray ash. Scathien just stared in disbelief as those ashes stirred and from them arose a youthful guild master, his body returned to perfection by the regenerative flames of the phoenix rebirth.
His naked skin burned with an otherworldly flame, and he started to laugh sadistically as a burning whip formed in one hand and a swirling orb of fire in the other. “Scathien, you foolish little child… Do you truly think that I survived through so many years because of sheer luck? There are many that have tried before you and have gotten as close as you have. As you can see, every single one of them has failed. You however, are special Scathien. For once I destroy you, the relic that has eluded me for all these years will finally return to my grasp!”
Scathien muttered quietly under his breath, “Damn windbag…” Finally he sheathed his sword as he stared at the guild master while the two elite guards started to stalk toward him. Scathien began to speak as he stepped back and let his men move forward, blocking the guard’s progress as they prepared to fight. “Will you give it a rest? The phoenix spirit trapped within –my- relic will not permit you to divide its power any longer. One way or another I will make sure that that power you hold is returned to me and I will step over your burning corpse as I take your seat of power!”
A low growl of sheer anger flooded the guild master’s senses and in that rage he pumped even more power into the swirling orb in his hand and hurled it toward Scathien. As he saw the incoming fireball Scathien stepped back and brought his hands up as he called on the protection of the phoenix spirit within the egg around his neck.
The fireball traveled closer and closer before suddenly behind Scathien the after image of the phoenix trapped within the egg formed and swept its massive wings down over Scathien before fading away just as the ball of fire exploded at Scathien’s feet.
The flames expanded and covered the entire room, removing everything vulnerable to flame in a massive flash of heat and fire that even incinerated both Scathien’s soldiers and the guild master’s elite guards along with anything that wasn’t made of stone. Scathien cursed as he watched the men he had promised to protect reduced to nothing but ashes.
The flames subsided as quickly as they formed as the spell faded and the guild master started to laugh sadistically as he began to lash out at the still standing Scathien only to hit the defensive barrier that was placed around him thanks to the phoenix’s protection. As time passed the guild master continued to alternate between lashing out with the flaming whip and pelting it with small fire bolts, mocking Scathien’s ability to fight back.
“Hah! Look at you Scathien! Your men are gone and you can’t even bring yourself to attack me because you know the moment you loose focus on that barrier the phoenix has provided you it will dissipate and you will be vulnerable to my attacks!” What angered Scathien the most was not how the guild master was mocking him, but that he was absolutely correct. He knew if he tried to retaliate his focus over the barrier would diminish and the guild master’s attacks would surely break through and destroy him.
Suddenly he felt the presence of the phoenix spirit as it (for the first time) attempted to communicate with him. Its language was ancient and he couldn’t understand anything it tried to speak to him. When the spirit realized this, it switched tactics and formed a vision in Scathien’s mind while taking control of the barrier to keep it strong while the vision played out, straining its power in the process.
As the image played out, Scathien saw two men hurling flames at each other while above them two phoenixes strained to fly toward each other only to be stopped by leashes held by both men below. One leash was made of light, and the other of thick heavy chains. Suddenly the man holding the leash of light dropped it and fell to his knees defeated as the twin he held captive suddenly rushed forward and merged with the one bound by chains. Whole once more, the phoenix burst free of the chains that bound it and flew away.
Scathien felt he knew what the image meant, and finally he took a step backward from the guild master and dropped to one knee, deciding to play the part of the defeated. “No please! Enough! I submit to your power… Please, take what is yours once again…”
With that, the attacks halted, and the smug looking guild master watched as Scathien removed the ruby swirled mythril egg from around his neck and tossed it in the guild master’s direction. A few moments passed as the guild master stood in triumph, but his eyes shifted from that knowing smirk to shock the moment he put on the necklace that held the relic.
“No! What have you done to me! What is happening to me?” The guild master clutched at his chest, more pointedly he clutched at the relic hanging around his neck as he felt all his power he had kept over the years since the phoenix was separated from him being sucked into the relic back where it belonged. The phoenix spirit was whole once more and it compelled its true owner to strike.
Scathien needed no further urging. Quickly he rose to his feet and drew that dangerous longsword that he had forged himself in preparation for this very day. The shimmering runes that he had placed there, the mark of his firebrand suddenly blazed to life as Scathien quickly rushed forward and stabbed at the stunned guild master who was still clutching at the relic in his hand.
He looked up into Scathien’s blazing eyes as the light in his own began to fade as his lifeblood coursed along the blood red and black blade of Scathien’s sword. He wanted to laugh, he wanted to mock Scathien’s futile attempts to kill him, but he found that he was unable to this time. His mouth opened and he let out a cry of shock and fear for he knew that the Phoenix spirit was no longer bound to him and would not save him this time. Soon his dead body slumped to the ground, the serrated mythril longsword still deeply embedded in his chest. The guild master was no more…
It took months, but here he was standing overtop the fallen body of the former guild master of the Western guild of Fire Mages. A faint smirk formed on Scathien’s lips as he ripped his custom forged blade from the dead man’s chest and took his (assumed) rightful place on the guild master’s chair. He glanced toward the students that started to file in after hearing the commotion and quietly thought back on all the steps that brought him to this point….