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Knightshade
quickly rattled off a spell he had learned long
ago, when he first studied the art of magic, and
a small ball of light shot from his outstretched
fingers and struck the huge wolf in the side. It
howled in pain, turning with blinding speed to
face the new threat. Unsheathing his sword,
Knightshade advanced upon the Fenris, shouting
for the youngsters to run clear. They were out of
danger for the moment, but Knightshade felt the
bestial force of this monsters gaze as it looked
at him with more intelligence than he thought it
would possess. Sweat trickled down his cheek as
he waited for it to move. He didn’t have to
wait long as the monster
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leapt at him, its huge
fangs snapping only inches from his face. But he
was expecting it and dodged at the last second,
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swinging his sword in a wide arc, the blade
biting deep into its side. The creature
didn’t even slow! Before Knightshade could
gather himself for the next attack, the beast had
turned and clamped its foul mouth on his side.
Searing pain coursed through his body as blood
flowed freely from the wound. It took all his
will power to wrench free, ignoring the new pain
that washed over him and struck again at the
beast...once, twice...yet still it came on! He
was fearing the worst, when he saw that at last
the venom that coated his blade was starting to
work. It was slower now, clumsier in its attempts
to bite him. Still, it managed to wound him once
more, before he finally dispatched it, and
slumped exhausted to the ground. |
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| Rowin and
Melaney rushed over to him...fear replaced with
concern. Melaney quickly cast a spell of healing
on him, but it did little to ease his pain.
Focusing his concentration, Knightshade muttered
the words of the greatest healing spell he knew
and felt the pain wash away as his wounds began
to close. He was still weak, but the danger had
passed. He wasted little time in grabbing them by
the arm and leading them back the way he had
come. The sun had already disappeared below the
tree-line and the light was fading. He cursed the
use of his magic, feeling spent and weary from
its use. He debated whether to try a spell of
relocation to take them home, but he was unsure
of how much more mana he could harness. He knew
that if he used more than his body could stand it
would be just as fatal as a sword through his
chest. His body would end up a burnt out shell.
Dead and lifeless. |
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| Hoping that
they could at least reach the relative safety of
Bloodwood, he kept a forced pace through the
trees. He was relieved to see the edge of the
Forest of Death nearby, to the south west, and
hurried in that direction. The youngsters were
silent, realising that they would have to do
plenty of talking later...when they were back
inside the walls of Leinster. For now, they
concentrated on keeping up with their rescuer.
Knightshade felt his hope at seeing Bloodwood
suddenly replaced with a fear unlike any he had
felt before in his life. Turning to the east, he
saw the source of it. All three of them stopped
still and stared at the apparition before them. |
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It stood
almost 7 feet tall, its skin a shiny blackish
colour. Huge wings, pale orange in colour, were
folded neatly behind it. It’s face was
vaguely human in shape, but was closer to that of
the imps that infested parts of Bloodwood. Its
eyes were mere hollows that contained small
flames that flickered softly. The same strange
flames engulfed its body from head to toe,
blazing madly to and fro as if caught in a
breeze...even though no wind existed. Knightshade
expected to see the trees and bushes burning
around the creature, but everything remained
whole and untouched. When the creature spoke, its
voice was deep |
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and cavernous, and so cold that it chilled the soul.
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| "I am
the Daemon of Fire, summoned here by the Lord
Daemon to conquer this land. You will be my first
victims, sacrificed in his name. Lord Light
himself shall kneel before my master. And his
death will not be as quick as yours!" |
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With that
the daemon raised its hands to cast the spell
that would end their lives. Knightshade, despite
his fear had not been idle, he had gathered the
two youngsters to his side and cast the spell of
relocation as soon as the daemon had finished
talking. They disappeared in a flash of magic,
before they even had a chance to see the look of
surprise on the evil creature’s face.
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An instant
later they found themselves standing in the
living room of Knightshade’s small house.
Weakened severely from the last desperate use of
magic, Knightshade felt a burning within himself
that was not physical in nature. Stumbling, he
went to a small table in the corner, where a
small object sat, covered by a white cloth.
Removing the cloth he revealed a small orb on a
gold
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stand. The orb was cloudy, but cleared when
he placed his hands on either side of it. Immediately the strain disappeared from his face
and the
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pain vanished. Rowin and Melaney watched
in awe as a soft glow surrounded him. Knightshade
covered the orb again, feeling refreshed in body
but heavy of heart. |
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| They were
alive and well now...but if that creature was
right...then there would be much bloodshed in the
days to come. Sighing softly to himself,
Knightshade rose and escorted the youngsters back
to their homes. Realising that this news could
not wait, he packed a few belongings and started
the journey to Kurz. Lord Light was there, and he
must be informed of what they had seen. Sleep
could wait. |
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| Page 2 of 2 |
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| Thank you for reading The Daemon of Fire. If you enjoyed this story, or even if
you didn't, please feel free to send me your
comments. |
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