The Summoned
The Light Plane: LePaige's Castle
Norax's troops thundered toward the castle, archers attempting to
take out the defenses while heavily armored soldiers trundled siege machinery
to the front. Flashes of light erupted at irregular intervals, as the
wizards in the employ of Norax met one of Seeker's counterspells.
The aged wizard himself was in one of the higher parapets, well
protected by a ring of swordsmen. The archers in the room above him would
make sure that nobody would even get close, but Leo hadn't wanted to take any
chances.
Seeker's eyes were closed as he concentrated. His room had no
views of the outside, but he didn't need them - he knew everything that was
happening, and it chilled him.
He had felt it when Asa had used the Gatekeeping rod to unsummon
the creature brought by Norax. It had been a brilliant maneuver, as it would
have taken Seeker far too long to devise a way to defeat the thing, and none of
the other mages had even been position at the time. But Seeker wondered how
much Asa still had in him. Even with the power of the Gatekeeping Rod,
destroying Seleath would have exacted no small price.
Seeker's train of thought was diverted momentarily as he felt a
spell being crafted by one of the enemy. Focusing his concentration, he
brought together the necessary counterspell and deployed it before his enemy
had even finished the casting. Norax's wizards were stronger than this, he
knew. They were testing their bounds at the moment - Seeker was reasonably
certain he could keep up with them, but if they were to all attempt casting at
their full potential simultaneously he would likely be unable to stop all of
them. It was something he was hoping to avoid.
Paul was within the keep itself, with the other wizards. Paul had
been here for most of the day, while the other magic users had just arrived
after Asa had possibly saved them all. Within moments, they all had heard the
charge start, and Paul had to stop the others from casting off spells randomly.
"Not yet...." he had cautioned.
The battlefield was visible from their room, and Paul was watching
closely as the enemy approached, the clamor of their assault nearly deafening
even from this distance. Paul watched carefully as his enemies ran toward the
walls below.
"Now!" he said, his eyes snapping shut even as he finished yelling
to the others. Their chanting was lost on him as he prepared his spell,
concentrating everything on his magic. Vaguely, he felt the air warm around
him, likely the result of whatever magicks they were crafting. Briefly, he
chastised himself for not warning the others to not reveal their position. It
was too late though.
Paul opened his eyes, feeling as his own spell completed itself.
The air rippled in the midst of Norax's troops, and a large segment toward the
rear of the advancing group fell over suddenly, asleep. His spell had worked
beautifully. He looked around, seeing the fiery craters that his colleagues
had created. As he heard resumed chanting behind him, he quickly spoke up.
"Ration your energy, friends." he cautioned the others. "This will
be a long battle."
The other mages stopped what they were doing, waiting nervously for
further orders. The instant Paul had met them, they had implicitly trusted him
to be their leader -- a good thing, considering that they were very talented,
but unused to the battlefield.
"We only need one more moment, and this attack shall be
broken."
Rachel stood behind the enormous gates of the castle, shivering
with nervousness. Leo was at her side, as well as a large group of LePaige's
troops. They were all waiting for her.
"Rachel, are you ready?" Leo asked quietly, after witnessing the
wizards' magic assault. This had been planned a few days before, but with the
entire group caught unaware, he wasn't sure of the morale of the group as a
whole, let alone Rachel herself.
Rachel just nodded, however, and raised her summoner's rod to eye
level. She began to concentrate.
The front gate went down then, and Leo's men poured out of the
opening. A large creature, torn from the ground itself, was scattering Norax's
troops in all directions. Rachel's earth elemental had stalled the enemy's
attack, and now Leo's men were going to push it back entirely.
Asa stared down at the battlefield, having not moved at all since
his earlier feat. The archers next to him seem to have regained their nerve,
now that they had targets which would die once hit, and he had let them do
their job. Everything seemed to be happening quickly, and before he could even
register it, an elemental was on the field and Leo's men were pressing a
counterattack. Good - he hadn't been able to move from the spot ever since he
dispatched the creature. He felt as though he had already summoned far more
creatures than he should have, when in fact he hadn't really done anything yet.
It looked like he would get his chance to rest up between attacks. Leo's men
had taken full advantage of the surprise the elemental had generated, and
Norax's wizards were still unable to mount any sort of spell to negate it.
Isolated flashes of light broke out at the edge of the fighting,
bringing Asa's mind slowly out of its lethargic state. Quickly becoming
alarmed, he squinted to look closer. The flashes penetrated deeper into
LePaige's army, and Asa suddenly realized what was happening.
Norax was using the Tomb Sword.
Asa shot to his feet, ignoring the wave of dizziness that overcame
him. Desperately, he ran down the stairway to the main courtyard of the
castle. He had to warn Leo, before the knight himself was destroyed. Cursing
his inability to run faster, he streaked out of the castle gates.
Norax's sword struck another, who vanished. He could not be
stopped - the attacks of his foes glanced against his armor effortlessly, and
any who attempted to stay in his way didn't remain there for long.
People scattered before him, quickly realizing that they couldn't overcome him.
He smiled beneath his helmet, cutting down any who came in range. They
vanished before him soundlessly, easily.
And then, there he was. Norax recognized the man easily, and the
rage filled him again. Leo Eastman stood before him, the Halo sword clenched
in his hands.
There was a moment of calm then, between the two combatants.
Warriors ran by in both directions, seemingly unaware of Leo and Norax.
"You.... You should have died long ago, Eastman."
"As I recall, it was you who spared me." the knight returned, never
keeping his eyes off of his opponent.
Norax merely growled in response, swinging the Tomb Sword toward
his opponent. Leo barely managed to guard himself in time to deflect the blow.
Norax advanced, putting Leo on the defensive. Norax fought like a man
possessed, and Leo began to get winded keeping up with him.
There was a loud clanging noise suddenly, and Norax fell back as
Asa ran by, striking the warlord with all his strength. The gatekeeping rod
was strong, but not strong enough to penetrate the armor that Norax was
wearing.
"Asa!" Leo cried in alarm as the young summoner turned around.
What was he doing, trying to get himself killed? Leo rushed forward, but it
was too late. Norax's Tomb sword flashed outward, striking Asa in his abdomen
before the young summoner could react.
With a flash of light, Asa was gone.
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