The Elemental Chain Saga Book Two: Dragons Ascending

Chapter Twenty-Five: Aura and Esscence

Cooper saw as the darkness was cast and as its dark energy gathered before shooting at his chest. And in those few seconds of fear, he was already moving, twisting Cometfell so that the bolt was deflected off the tip of the sword. The shadows exploded into the ground at his feet and he was slammed backwards by the shock wave of power.

He looked at Essence as she held her hand above her ringed one and a dark light spilled forth. Cooper dived forward, lunging out with his weapon. Esscence dodged the blow with an elegant sidestep, twisting as she did.

The dark light was now completely covering her two hands, draped around them like sinister gloves. She grabbed Cooper's shoulder. He gasped as a fiery pain flared up and he struck out with a kick instinctively, forcing her to leap back to avoid the blow.

She laughed "Oh, this will be fun. I work in Curses, you see. Your arm is already slowly losing its power; soon it will be useless." Cooper blanched. He could feel as his left arm numbed and the feeling spread down to his hand, slowly but steadily. He needed to end the fight before Esscence could numb his sword arm.

He slashed at her and she deflected the blow with a bolt of shadow, smacking the strike off course. As the sword went wide, his side was exposed and she sent another bolt of shadows at Cooper. It struck home and the darkness expanded around him before exploding in a black light. He felt as his insides burned with pain, his stomach churning with agony.

He tumbled to his knees before listing forward. He could barely breath, the magic had been so strong; he was out of his league.

He heard her speak above him "I guess it's already concluded. I'd barely begun experimenting with you, pity. I'll just clean up, okay?"

Cooper struggled to move but his body disobeyed him. He screamed as a wave of shadows washed over him and as shards of shadows splashed through the darkness and stole into him. As the darkness receded, Cooper was washed into a sitting position, slumped against a boulder. Blood spilled forth from his various wounds, he didn't much mind, though, it meant he was alive, in pain, but alive.

He cast his eyes at Esscence as she walked towards him, taking careful, purposeful steps. She actually looked shocked "You're truly a tough one. I thought you dead." A warrior charged at her from her left as she talked. She turned and yelled. Shadows consumed her and blasted out in all directions, ripping into the warrior, protruding from his back, striking him off his feet.

She turned back to Cooper, looking a little pale "Ugh, that hurt. No matter, you'll all be dead soon. And won't that be sweet!" She laughed as the catapult was launched, another boulder taking flight, her blue hair shaking as she laughed with dark mirth. "I could leave you here to die, child, but no, I want to exterminate you myself like the little pest you are. I have a certain reputation to uphold. Don't take it personally."

Cooper wasn't going down without a fight, he never gave up without a fight. She lifted her still darkness-clad hands, pushing her hands forward. The shadows stretched out, zipping forward from her hands into claws of pure darkness.

Weakly, he held out his good hand, letting Cometfell fall beside him as he twisted his hand so his palm faced forward. Water rushed around him, condensing in front of him into a floating ice shield. The claw hands struck hard, Cooper grabbed Cometfell besides him and slashed, striking the shadow claws, hard.

Rosary screamed, retracting the claws and retracting the shadows around her hands. Her hands and arms were bleeding and she let the darkness enclose around them, protecting them from further harm. She gave Cooper a weak grin "Well played," her fair face had a trail of sweat running down it. A harsh battle was being fought around them, soldiers clashing against the combined might of the mercenaries and the Andanobians, the elemental warriors pitching in to help. But around them, there was no one, none more since Esscence had killed the soldier. The catapult launched once more and a groan escaped Cooper's lips.

Esscence heard it and smiled "Yes, watch as your friends fall. It is what you deserve for marring me. Those shadows were an extension of my own body. You cut them, so you cut me...but you'll pay."

With one hand, Cooper held up the shield, his aura diminishing to his final reserves that he had saved. With his other, he pointed his hand palm-up to the sky. Esscence spoke under her breath, building what looked like a lance of shadow in her hand.

"Aural aurora Araucaria," a ball of pure auric energy formed above Cooper's open palm, a halo of energy taking shape around it. He poured the last of his energy into the spell. The light built up, glowing so brightly, it illuminated Cooper, almost blinding him with its radiant light.

The dark lance in Esscence's hand solidified, gleaming in a wicked light. Esscence spoke haughtily "Sometimes, brute dark magic is the preferred method of killing. Our leader himself taught me and a select few of its secrets. It is one of his favorite weapons. And it will be your personal death," and as the catapult once more called out the death of dozens, she cast the dark lance. And Cooper yelled in utter defiance, blasting the aura at his target.

The aura pulsed as it clashed with the darkness, energy crackled and the air thrummed with Big Magic. The point of collision was a blur as the temporal energy, long dormant in their masters, fought at one another. Bolts of energy erupted from the blast and rendered the ground, sizzling through the air, striking down friend and foe alike.

The energy warped and with a crack, the spells burst like a bomb, stretching in diameter as it sizzled the earth. The blast of energy swallowed the area where the catapult rested, and expanded still, consuming all. Swallowing up where Altor the dragon, Cooper Auranson, and Rosary Esscence were.
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Five stone pillars glowed with an ancient light, suffusing into the air around them, weaving the light and enchantments into the very base of the atmosphere and sending the rolls of power out through the large opening above, were a starry sheen gleamed brightly like the morning star.

Wrapped around a giant glowing red pillar, a gruff voice spoke "Should we intervene?" the scathing voice asked "I will burn him to a crisp at your order....or without, if need be..."

"We should wait. Let the little ones fight their own battles." A playful voice piqued in a sing-song voice.

She shook her head "What of you, Lyth?"

Lyth spoke like the calm of spring, her voice rolling smooth like rippling waves "Your Grace, you flatter me by asking for my humble opinion. If I were to propose something, I would say to hold him as he is, not to kill him, but to intervene, none the less."

She hesitated, but only for a moment, before nodding, finding an answer in their collective words "Send Armvals. She'll know what to do. Pray we have chosen well."
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DragonDog1: I finally got to write this chapter, this has been in my head for so long and I'm glad I could finally get it down on 'paper'. I hope you all enjoyed this installment of the story. Please comment and vote because your opinions matter to me greatly. Thank you!