Golden hues blended into purple smudges as the sun raised on the horizon in the hills around Amador. A short and stout balding man hunched next to a tree, watching the sun come up. With a small smile to himself the plainly clothed old man slowly stood with a small grunt of stiffness. As he slowly walked towards the city, a young soldier on a giant warhorse thundered up.
`Child Blanka, your attendance is required in the Hall of Anointed,` rasped the shrill voice of a young Child of Light by the name of Tuyn.
Smile gone, Blanka hurried to his small home inside the city to change into more appropriate attire, Continuing on to the Fortress of Light.
No matter how many times he had seen it, the Fortress of the Light still washed Blanka over with awe. Tall spires of battlements stood out from a gray mass of round towers, each containing an enormous portcullis, and tipped with swaying banners with golden sunbursts.
As Blanka entered the sacred Hall of the Anointed in the heart of the Fortress, he tucked his leather gauntlets behind his thick belt. Saluting his senior officer Child Jerez. Behind the muscular officer stood a line of subordinate officers. Child Inon gazed at Blanka with friendly eyes; his notched spear propped against his shoulder. The brothers Anor and Vaylor where against the wall looking Blanka up and down, snickering to themselves. Vaylor flipped a coin over and over in his fingers. Hand Skyre peered down on Blanka with cold eyes that spoke a violence he was only too happy to give.
`We have been informed by Hand Skyre of a darkfriend cursed with the one power who has attacked and killed a patrol of our men near the mountains passes. The sole survivor, an agent of Hand Skyre's named Viellain returned missing half of his right arm. His last words where that a man calling himself Dozentrio, using the tainted filth power had killed his comrades.`
`Child Blanka, Captain Commander Pedron himself has ordered that you accompany Children Inon, Anor, and Vaylor, and dispatch this shadow, immediately.`
Blanka and the party of Children left at once on the search for this Darkfriend. Galloping on war trained steeds; the four soldiers covered ground fast. Child Inon led them through village after village in search of the man with the description of Dozentrio. On and on they rode until they came to a small village with only blackened skeletons of what where once houses.
`Ready yourselves Children,` ordered Inon.
In the middle of the once thriving village stood a man with his back turned, ash and mud covering his cloths and skin alike. The man slowly wept, hands grasping his face as he sobbed. The party of Children cautiously rode up, hoisting weapons, as they seemed to look everywhere at once.
`Sir? Sir where is you family? What has happened here sir? Look at me man, where are the people from this village?` questioned Inon.
Slowly, the sob turned into steady, chuckles, soon turning to deep laughing. The man known in the description as Dozentrio the tainted channeler turned a soot smeared face to the Children with eyes glazed over with tears. They where tears of joy.
With no time to respond, Vaylor could not even heft his shinning spear before a shaft of liquid flame took him full in the face, roasting the skin from his skull and melting his hair. With head still broiling, the lifeless body of the faithful Child fell dead.
`Bastard!` screamed Anor in a half mad froth.
Action engulfed the courtyard of the skeletal village as if time had crept to a crawl. As if in slow motion, the four combatants threw themselves into action.
Spurring his horse to a charge, Inon pointed his spear squarely at Dozentrios chest. Anor flipped off of the back of his horse and suddenly had a long sleek dagger in his hand. Blanka grunted with anger, eyes growing dark as he lifted a heavy mattock above his head.
Moving like a demonical reptile, Dozentrio shifted to avoid the foot of steel from Inons spear. Grasping the oaken handle of the spear, Dozentrio let out a hysterical cry as Inons spear exploded into thousands of inch size splinters. Shrieking in pain Inon reeled in his saddle, hands gushing dark red, and starring at the basket sized hole that was now in his chest. Blanka rushed forward, lugging his mattock in a half arch heading for Dozentrios knee. With a smirk, Dozentrio made a simple sweeping motion with his left hand, and Blanka felt the sensation of the bones inside his legs shatter, as dirt and fire erupted under his feet in a cacophony of earth.
Suddenly the blade of a dagger protruded from the ribs of Dozentrio. In surpise Dozentrio looked down to see Anors dagger flowering from his torso.
`For my brother, you monster` wept Anor.
`Not today boy.` Dozentrio grunted as he turned to face the man who had stabbed him.
Anor began to float into the air, arms and legs flailing as he struggled futily to regain control. With dagger still protruding from his chest, Dozentrio clenched his open right fist in a violent motion. Anors body jerked as arms, legs, and head separated themselves from the torso. Lifeblood fountined into the empty dark street, draining from Anors lifeless corpse.
Dozentrio began to laugh. Hands raised into the air and palms turned up, Dozentrio cried as he laughed into an empty sky. He laughed so hard that tears streamed down his cheeks and made the caked ash on his face run. In his hysteria the clouds in the sky darkened and lightning began to flash with crackling booms.
`I offer these fools souls to you my lord!` he screamed into the emptiness.
`For youuu my lor`
Suddenly, in mid sentence, Dozentrios skull exploded into thousands of acorn sized chunks. Brains and bone alike burst in a light red mist. A headless body of the one once known as Dozentrio slumped to its knees and keeled over.
Behind the headless corpse, on shattered knees wobbled the bruised Child Blanka.
`The mission is finished.` Blanka lipped, just as he collapsed to the ground.
Bleeding to death internally, Blanka preyed to the Creator for rebirth and for his safety. He preyed that his love Vylon would forgive him for not coming home to her this time. He clutched the rose she had given him to his chest as he slipped into sleep.
The Battle was won.