Evurn and Ordak had run for where King Nevron had crashed. Their enemies were still around them, but the half-orc and the shadow elf did not cease their fighting, though Evurn was past the point of fatigue. The white dragon was dead, but the rider was not. Ordak dragged Nevron from where he had landed, and Evurn went to healing him immediately. He coughed blood but became conscious. His helmet lay broken beside him.

  "Damn Marog!" He then saw who it was who healed him. "Evurn of the Shadowlands, what a sight to see."

  "No times for sweet nothings, Dragon Rider. Can you fight?"

  "Always."

  The fire beasts had fallen back, but now another, larger form emerged from the lava. It was the beast from before, and it stood upon the bridge leading to the tower.

  Its entire form was enraged with flames, and with each step, lava flowed forward across the stone bridge.

  Ordak rubbed his nose. "It goes to the tower. What's the plan to take it down?"

  Evurn looked at Ordak and then the king.

  "Go for the tower. This foe is beyond blades and arrows. Beyond either of you."

  The white-faced men had made it to the base of the tower.

  “Keep the path between us and the tower clear. I will deal with this.”

  Ordak and Nevron looked at one another and backed away from the shadow elf.

  Evurn stood alone, pointing his staff at the enemy before him.

  He said nothing, and the creature hissed and growled, each step coming closer.

  "I look upon an enemy I have not seen in some time, and yet here you approach, a foul beast of the abyss of Aieclo. I know not what you are. Return to the pits that spawned you!"

  Evurn slammed his staff into the ground, sending ripples of rock into the creature’s leg. It moved through them with ease.

  Evurn cast a ball of flame, and it had the same effect, as he expected.

  He looked back, seeing the Aela Sunrise now at the top of the tower. Ordak and Nevron were still locked in battle as more forces swarmed.

  "I did not toil through my life to deal with another wretched beast of Wura. Back into the pits that spawned you!"

  The creature jumped, moving much closer now.

  "I . . . consume . . . I serve Marog."

  Evurn cast his magic, sending a stream of red and black into the creature. His body felt weak as blood flowed down his arms, striking the creature beyond that of elemental magics. The creature pushed forward, and Evurn lunged, striking the creature with his staff. The creature was consumed with his spell, the very bone of its head split down the middle, but Evurn's staff cracked with a resounding pop. The shadow elf recoiled, falling back as the creature stumbled upon the bridgeway. The magics had devoured its head.

  Evurn looked at his staff and then to the creature falling for the final time, its corpse falling from the bridge. Now the way was open to more of the creatures from before. Evurn slammed his staff into the bridge, and the staff shattered in his hands, sending a blast of energy into the bridge and collapsing it from where Evurn stood as far as he could see. He fell to his knees, having nothing left to give. He reached for a potion but did not have one of use for the fatigue he felt. Fire leaped up around them, and the tower was isolated from even Ordak and Nevron as the rock was worn away from the growing lava flows. They fell back beside him.

  "What do we do?"

  There were few dragons remaining. Marog had fallen before, but they saw his form slowly floating up to the east of the tower.

  Nevron whistled for the remaining few dragonriders high above them. The flying beasts were pushing them up and out of range though the riders still fought on.

  “They cannot hear me,” Nevron said. “What options do we have?”

  Evurn looked between the Dragon King and Ordak. He looked back up to the tower.

  "We must rely on the Stormborn but come on, we may still find purpose. We must be ready to assist if we can."

  Braei stood alone. The Scourge Siren had been weakened when Valrin had attacked before, but now she returned, attempting to grab Aeveam. Valrin was just out of reach. Braei could see the Aela Sunrise on the side of the tower. Valrin held the Sword of Etha but could not get through the waves of energy coming off the Scourge Siren. Braei stepped forward, attempting to cast her spells into the left side, trying to open the path for Valrin, but as she did, it left Aeveam unguarded. Valrin struck the energy with the Sword of Etha, but it did nothing.

  “None can stand against me. Give up, Rusis. You are of a wretched race, a weakness in the firmament of all that was made. It is why the Dwemhar sought to destroy you. Give yourself now. Bow down, and I may consider you a servant of mine. You are of tremendous power, but you cannot seek to hold against me.”

  Braei did not know where Marog had gone, but she knew he'd be back. All of her mind and body was in shielding Aeveam. The Aela Sunrise was pulling away.

  “Not even your love can reach you. I loved once, and he came to kill me. Never trust those who say such trivial words. Words are nothing. You are alone just as I was. You are alone to darkness and death. You will die, Braei!”

  "Then I will die protecting her!"

  Braei reengaged her energies, feeling the gauntlets upon her wrists shattering as she did. She focused her energies above her head, curving the fingers of her bolts into the Scourge Siren's face. The face of her enemy was like a skull, and from its eye sockets poured blood.

  “You are alone, Rusis! Give me my daughter.”

  It was then the bow of the Aela Sunrise smashed into the Scourge Siren, striking shadows with the ship’s power and throwing his enemy back. Valrin leaped forward, wielding the Sword of Etha, holding the blade above his head as he went for the Scourge Siren.

  "You will die for this!" the Scourge Siren shouted loud and long.

  Then, in a splinter of light to his right, Marog slammed into him, suddenly lunging from the side and throwing him back onto the Aela Sunrise, the Sword of Etha clanging on the ground of the tower. Marog turned, reaching for it, and the Scourge Siren blasted him with her powers as in an explosion of energy, she knocked the Aela Sunrise from the tower.

  Braei took the chance, grasping the Sword of Etha. The Scourge Siren turned, lunging for her as she thrusted, stabbing the Scourge Siren. The energies of her foe rolled over and around her, attempting to grasp her. She felt what was like needles upon her back.

  “I will not be defeated like this. I need no one to reach my ascension.”

  "No one is that powerful," Braei said, gripping the hilt of her blade and making a second strike, a wide slash.

  The Scourge Siren fell back, a clawed and blackened form now crawling across the tower. She went to reach for Aeveam, and Braei charged forward.

  "And you will not ever threaten my love again!"

  Braei drove the blade into her shoulder, twisted it, and then ripped the Sword of Etha from the Scourge Siren, tearing her form apart in a rippling blast of energy. The blackness and shadows of darkness rolled out of her dying skeletal form. The shadows took form, a shade of what remained.

  They reached for Braei, when a white light came from behind her. Aeveam was standing, and as she summoned her Dwemhar energies, she shielded them from the last influences of her mother's power. Braei fell back as Aeveam wrapped her arm around her. Braei noticed that the black wings she’d had on her back had faded away, joining the darkness of her mother's dying spirit. But Marog was there, high above the tower. He reached out, pulling what remained of the darkness of Eliue.

  "I am present. I devour. You have not stopped me," he roared.

  Part Ten: The Last Song of Aieclo

  Valrin opened his eyes. He saw the tower and Marog high above it. He could see the blackness rising to meet the dark supposed god. He had been thrown against the lower helm of his ship. He had landed in a boiling hot spring. It could have been much worse.

  He climbed up to the helm, reaching the wheel and noticing that several of the crystals had been broken along the back of the ship. But the ship still worked. He looked up and saw Aeveam. He saw Braei holding the Sword of Etha. The Scourge Siren had been defeated, and Braei had done it. Marog, though, Marog was still taking the power of the Scourge Siren somehow. They had to stop him. He had to get to Braei and Aeveam.

  Suddenly, Marog pointed to the west, and the winds kicked up, blowing across Aieclo.

  "I speak as Marog, lord of all. Aieclo shall be sunk into the depths of the sea as the kingdom of Misla rises in the east. It is as I speak.”

  The smokes that were filling the air were now blowing to the west, and steam rose in the east. Then, Valrin heard a roar on the wind. He stood up, climbing up to the railings of the ship. In the east, the horizon was now a wall of water. A tidal wave was approaching Aieclo.

  He engaged the ship, pushing for the central tower, but the winds blew him downward. Even now, Elera and her dragon were crawling toward Evurn, Ordak, and Nevron, who were attempting to climb to the highest rocks near the tower. Elera did not seem able to fly, and even if she could, the winds were too turbulent. Marog grew in size, energies flowing around him. From the center of the tower, white light rose to meet the darkness as water surged around the base of the tower. Marog outstretched his hands, and the water converged, rising all across Aieclo.

  "In strength, Aieclo was built. In weakness, it was destroyed. Another sought to claim that which I made, and it will not be as such. I am Marog. I am the ruler of all the seas of the North, for these were Dwemhar lands and were destroyed by those of weak mind."

  The waters were rising, but this was good. Valrin was able to guide the ship now within the seas.

  "Meredaas, Meredaas, be with me now. Evil rises. I invoke all powers as Stormborn of the Glacial Seas. Protect your servant, protect my crew."

  As Valrin shot across the waters of the flooded Aieclo, part of his crew on a lone crag of rock, and the other two atop a tower surrounded by growing waters, Marog looked down upon him.

  "Stormborn! These are my seas!"

  Valrin held the wheel of the Aela Sunrise, though a maelstrom was forming and he was swept to one side. Thunder and lightning filled the air around him, and a torrential downpour began. From the edge of Aieclo, the last lights of the towers darkened and then exploded with energy, sending a ripple across the oceans that snapped in the air.

  The fleet of Marog approached, a shield of energy cast forward.

  "You will be devoured by a Great One of Old. I cannot fathom the pain you will feel," Marog shouted.

  Tentacles shot up around the Aela Sunrise, and then came massive arms grasping the ship from underneath.

  "Now, I undo what was placed before. I roll back the workings of all." Marog beamed and laughed.

  Tentacles grabbed the center mast and the wheel. Valrin drew his blade, striking at the tentacles around him. But then, the waters were filled with creatures, but these were not of Marog. Narwhals, hundreds of them driving their sharpened tusks deep into the creature. Then, jumping over the bow, glacial sharks biting the tentacles and freeing the ship. Marog floated over, blasting the ocean, killing the beasts of Meredaas that had come to assist the Stormborn. Valrin engaged the ship, pushing against the waves, launching a volley of silver orbs at Marog.

  Dwemhar magic and bolts of lightning struck Marog as Aeveam and Braei joined in the attack. Valrin circled beneath them as the waters rose even higher.

  The lightning clawed up Marog. He screamed. He seemed to have some form of weakness to this energy from the Rusis.

  Marog ceased his screaming. He roared, and the mask grew in size on his face. He slammed the tower, and the entire structure was consumed in an explosion of rock and ocean water. Braei and Aeveam vanished.

  "No!"

  Valrin spun the wheel, making for the tower. A great light shot out of the darkness, and the Sword of Etha glowed. Braei held the blade and Aeveam held her hand. The blade was angled at Marog. But they were suspended in midair. The tower crumbled into the ocean beneath them.

  To the right side, Evurn was attempting to cast vines and rocks, layering his spells to make a path to them. But the winds tore apart his spells. Elera and Rornuk were still down, though the one rider who had ridden the white dragon before was trying to get the dragon up. It was too much. His entire crew had been beaten down, and so had their allies. As a few remaining dragons fought high above them, Valrin knew they were of no use to him.

  The waters were rising, but he just needed to get under Aeveam and Braei.

  Braei gripped Aeveam in her right hand and held the sword in her left. Marog was like billowing smoke. The mask at the center of his physical form rippled with the tendrils surrounding his face. She could feel nothing beneath her feet but the sucking sensation of the mouth of the maelstrom opening up. She glanced down, seeing Valrin aboard the Aela Sunrise.

  "I am death. I am darkness. That sword will not save you. You use its power from within yourself, holding what you hold dear. I will destroy him because none of what you fight for will matter once he has died. All paths determined by Eliue and the sacrifices of all will be undone."

  Marog descended for Valrin, and Braei spun the blade of the sword, throwing it with all the force she could muster. The Sword of Etha streaked like a comet, striking Marog with a glancing blow, sending the dark god flailing and undulating in form, rolling down into the ocean.

  Braei fell, and Aeveam caught them both using her power to hold them. She faltered, and beneath them, the sea stirred violently. Valrin engaged Marog upon the ocean, sending blasts of energy into the beast as it tried to move against him.

  Aeveam trembled, struggling to keep them aloft.

  "I need . . . to get us . . . to land or to the ship," Aeveam said. "I—" They dropped for a moment, and Braei struggled to hold Aeveam's hand.

  Marog now consumed the Aela Sunrise.

  Braei gasped, looking up to Aeveam with tears streaming from her eyes. "Aeveam, you saved me before back when we first met. That should have been my end. The gods protected me. This moment is it. He is weak to my power somehow. I will not let this day be Valrin’s end. I will focus all that is left to pulling him from my love.”

  Aeveam grabbed her with both hands, pulling her upward, but again, they fell quickly. Her Dwemhar powers were giving out.

  Braei smiled, “Let go. These seas will forever be my home. Serve the Stormborn, protect him. Protect my love."

  “I will not let you go!”

  Braei electrocuted Aeveam's hand, forcing her hand to open.

  Braei closed her eyes, falling through the air and pushing herself toward Marog. I must save him.

  "I love you, Valrin."

  She summoned what energy remained with her and struck Marog from behind, her last spells surrounding him in lightning and the ancient evil back.

  Valrin held both blades crossed as Marog's face was just above him. Narwhals and glacial sharks were with him, striking the rolling darkness of the evil form but dying nearly immediately. Then, bolts of lightning struck Marog, rolling off him, and in a great flash, Marog was ripped off the Aela Sunrise. Valrin jumped to the wheel, wheeling right, releasing a volley of orbs from his ship's weapons. As he moved from the center of the maelstrom, he looked up.

  Where are they?

  "Braei?" he shouted.

  Aeveam floated downward, almost making it to the ship but splashing into the water. Several narwhals went to her as Marog rolled within the maelstrom, nearly being devoured until he smashed the center, stunning the creature within it and freeing himself, moving toward his fleet. Valrin guided the ship near Aeveam and pulled her aboard.

  She was coughing and out of breath as the ocean churned around them.

  "Where is Braei? Where is she? She was just there!" Valrin ran to the helm, turning the ship again and searching the oceans. "Braei! BRAEI!"

  "She fell, Valrin."

  He felt a surge of pain in his chest. The coldness of the ocean was burned off his skin as he looked toward the floundering form of Marog. He looked over each side of the ship. "Narwhals, glacial sharks, find her! Find Braei! Meredaas!" he shouted out to the god in anquish.

  The waters were coming up along the last peaks of Aieclo. Evurn and the others were literally standing atop a last bit of the rock they were before.

  Evurn can help.

  The seas were calming slowly. Though Aieclo was submerged, there were a few small islands that now remained. This, with what was left of his crew, was all that remained. He brought the ship alongside the others. Elera was crying off to the side, her dragon consoling her as best as he could. She too, had lost her love today.

  "Braei fell! Evurn, help me!"

  Evurn's face was red, and he just shook his head.

  "We all saw her sacrifice. The darkness consumed her as she freed the ship from Marog's grasp. There is nothing else we could do my staff is broken and — "

  “I don’t care for your excuses!”

  "Valrin, this is King Nevron, dragon rider and friend," Ordak said. "He knows much of these regions or can help us in some way. There is much to discuss."

  "Braei is dead!" Valrin shouted. He looked out to the fleet of Marog.

  Aeveam tried to stand but collapsed.

  Evurn rushed to her. "Get her on the rocks. It is still warm from Aieclo's fires. The ship is too cold."

  Ordak lifted her off and onto the small island. Evurn began to tip what residue was in the bottle of a healing potion.

  Valrin went to the helm of the Aela Sunrise.

  "Valrin!" Evurn shouted.

  "I go to Marog."

  "Stormborn, no. You cannot face this fleet."

  "Did you forget that I am captain," Valrin asked.

  Evurn shook his head. "No, Captain, but I implore you, we must not do this."

  "We won't."

  "Aeveam is too weak to even fight. We're all beat. I don't even have a staff."

  Valrin drew his blade. "Do any have desire beyond waiting on this island? Do any wish to serve the Stormborn?"

  "Valrin," Evurn said, "this isn't the path."

  Ordak jumped aboard. "Captain, I am with you."

 

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