Chapter 30: Protectorate

I even remember meeting the Lord Corrupter himself on my day of judgement.

Moments later, the plan was underway. Though they had discussed in length their battle strategy for several minutes during the telepathic conference, Eclair knew that only sixty seconds had passed in the real world.

Éclair now stood in the dark, lonely hallways that served the home of the Fallen. She didn’t know if the plan would work. She didn’t know how she even felt about the possibility of blowing themselves up if things went awry. Though the situation demanded her complete and utter focus, all she could think about was Grafael.

How could he just walk away like that? How could he?

Her mind reeled with questions. Some kind of agreement shared between Ryan and Grafael. Whether or not Grafael had been dealing with the Berserker State up to this point and just never told her. Whether or not Ryan, as a part-Saurian, might also suffer the same affliction. But most of all, she wondered what Grafael intended to do now. He often stated that his honor hinged on his ability to protect her. Now that he thought he could no longer do that, would he ... would he just end it? His culture glorified ritual suicide. Did he leave in order to find a place to die?

Éclair put these thoughts from her mind. Chances were, they were all going to die here. If any of them had any hope of survival, she needed to focus. Éclair looked to Leon. If they had been allowed to continue the Exam, she would’ve been training with him right now. Though only a few hours had passed since the attack, it felt like a lifetime.

As they now stood in real-time, the walls no longer seemed hazy and dreamlike. Éclair turned towards the place where the Fallen had directed them. It was in the opposite direction that Grafael had left.

“Well?” she heard the voice of the Fallen’s leader, the one called First. Whether or not that had any bearing on the ranking system for Elementals was irrelevant as far as Éclair was concerned.

Leon nodded his agreement. Together they raised their weapons high over their heads - Leon, his swords, Éclair, her bow and arrows. They then slowly placed the weapons on the floor. Though that hardly made them defenseless, an Elemental without his or her weapon was much more vulnerable. Against the Fallen, vulnerable was as good as dead, and they knew it. They hardly stood a chance with their weapons, never mind fighting unarmed. After all, they weren’t foolhardy superheroes just begging to get their limbs chopped off.

Slowly, the circle parted to let Éclair and Leon leave. Ryan hesitated the longest, but eventually gave way. Éclair could only hope he wasn’t planning anything too deviant from the plan. Knowing him, he’d probably come up with some idiotically heroic scheme to protect her should things go wrong. She wished they had more options. She wished she didn’t have to risk Leon’s life along with her own in this mad endeavor. She wished she had more time with everyone. She wished Grafael would come back. As she took one horrible step after another towards her doom, she found herself wishing for a lot of things.

They arrived at the spot the Fallen indicated, exactly twenty steps away from their comrades. Suddenly, the hallway vanished. Her allies vanished. They stood in what appeared to be a desert of white sand. It was nighttime. Several white moons cast a dim light over the barren landscape. Unlike the other worlds, this one was completely bare of life. Not a soul in sight. Obviously, the Fallen didn’t want any distractions from their prey this time.

Neither Leon nor Éclair moved as their world changed around them. Leon drew in a deep breath and said quietly, “Here we go.”

Éclair felt something pulsate behind her. She turned back as a humming noise filled her ears. The air shimmered slightly at the edge of the desert where they entered through the portal. There seemed to be a dark haze from the area that they just left.

“Leon,” said Éclair questioningly.

“It’s some kind of forcefield based on Shadow Elemency,” he answered her unspoken question. “They don’t want the others going back on the agreement and interfering.”

“How can you tell?”

“I can tell.”

The tone in his voice brooked no argument, so Éclair didn’t argue. There was no time to argue anyway as blue glowing suppressant ropes appeared on the ground at their feet.

“Bind yourselves,” said the grinding voice of the Fallen’s leader. “Make the ropes tight when you bind each other. We will know if you do not.”

Again, neither Leon nor Éclair made any visible reaction as they bent down to pick up the ropes. They each took turns tying the other’s hands. When Éclair made a strong knot that bound Leon’s wrists together, he did the same for her. They each made their knots tight, though it wouldn’t matter much if they didn’t. Blue ropes suppressed all the psions in an Elemental’s body, making them as weak as any human. Just tying the ropes around any body part would have the same effect. If they couldn’t use their psions, they’d be completely at the Fallen’s mercy.

Leon took longer to tie his knot around Éclair’s wrists. Though his hands were free, they were still tied together by the wrists. He still managed, tying a knot similar to the one Éclair made for him. They didn’t want to upset the Fallen by making a sloppy knot.

When the blue ropes wrapped around her wrists, Éclair felt the last vestiges of her psions vanish. Her powers, her Elemency, had been sealed. Such a thing had not happened since she had been held prisoner by Lord Gregory. It was more disconcerting than she thought it would be. She had taken her powers for granted for so long. They were always there ... always with her. And now they weren’t. It was like a part of herself had been stripped from her. It felt kind of like the time when she was forced to leave her home and her inheritance as the heir to the Empire. It also felt similar to the way the world seemed to dim when Grafael walked away ... probably to end his own life.

If you are no longer among us, my friend, then I may be joining you shortly, Éclair thought to herself, stifling her tears.

Then the Fallen were there. Dark shapes against the drawback of the white desert silhouetted by the light of the three moons. There were three of them. Where the fourth was, she did not know. She hoped the fourth one was preoccupied or perhaps too injured to fight. She hoped for a lot of things.

The Fallen’s leader approached, his subordinates on either side. When they were a hairbreadth away, Éclair tensed. Though her sensory abilities were being suppressed, she could sense them. She felt an actual tingle go down her spine at the mere sight of them. There was something unnatural about these creatures. They took human forms, but these were things as far from human as possible, as far from mortal as possible. Even in Demihumans, Éclair felt a kinship that all living beings shared. But these things, they didn’t feel alive at all. They felt like a void. A void that suffocated life and light in its wake.

“We are glad that you chose to cooperate with us,” said First, sounding satisfied.

Éclair couldn’t help but smile. “We’re glad you chose to cooperate as well.”

NOW, ÉCLAIR! screamed the voice of Kormal in her head, who had made contact even as they were sent to another dimension.

With Kormal’s help, Éclair tapped into the emotions that let her use Light Elemency the first time. The feelings and memories that were aroused within her by the Dark Water. Watching her mansion go up in flames. Getting captured by those Morlocks. They cast her into slavery for nearly a year. She only survived that hellhole thanks to Grafael and Leon. And now, Grafael was probably dead, and Leon would soon be as well if she didn’t do something. She let these feelings of loss and outrage wash over her as well, fueling her power. Enhancing it exponentially; making it stronger than the last time when she summoned it to protect herself from the Dark Water.

They had been expecting the blue ropes. But there was something that the Fallen hadn’t accounted for. Those with Light Elemency couldn’t have their psions suppressed in the same fashion with just blue ropes. It took a special kind of binding to suppress psions charged with Light Elemency. Ropes that glowed silver instead of blue. They were useless against ordinary Elementals, but perfect for Light Monks. If she really could use Light Elemency, then the Fallen had used the wrong kind of binding for Éclair.

You called me the Daughter of Light! Let’s see if I can live up to that name!

White light engulfed Éclair’s arms, and the ropes burst. With her hands now free, Éclair used one hand to snap Leon’s ropes with a chop and the other to punch the lead Fallen in the face. Both independent actions were done simultaneously within the blink of an eye. She couldn’t fire her light like a projectile, she somehow knew that instinctively. But she could hold it within her arms, turning her limbs into swords of light.

The Fallen flinched back as Éclair’s fist connected with his face. He stood there frozen, as if an electrical shock had gone through his system. The other Fallen didn’t show any surprise as they reached out for Éclair while her arm was extended. From their vantage point, Éclair knew they’d be able to touch her. The light only went up her arms, and they aimed for portions of her body not covered in light. If they touched her, it would all be over.

At least it would’ve been, but Leon had other plans. Leon’s real swords suddenly appeared in his hands, and he slashed the enemy. Éclair had already given him some of her Ice Elemency which he maintained around his Psionic Blades already imbued with wind. Leon’s blades made contact, slashing both arms of the Fallen. He wasn’t quite able to sever their arms, but he was able to make contact by combining wind with ice. Both Fallen fell back to their paralyzed leader. They stared at Leon’s swords in puzzlement.

Éclair allowed her smile to deepen. “Confused, boys,” she said as she reached behind her back and pulled out her bow and quiver of arrows that became visible as she grasped them. “Don’t be, it’s a bad look on you.”

It was Rachel’s cloaking powers that allowed them to turn their weapons invisible. Mozar created holographic projections of their Psionic Weapons to fool the Fallen into thinking they had placed them on the floor. The curious Werewolf kept all manner of weapons and gadgets on his person that Éclair thought should become standard equipment for Elemental infantry. She’d be sure to make the recommendation to Saria when they made it back.

Now that they stood with their weapons with one Fallen seemingly paralyzed, the balance of power had shifted. Éclair drew back an arrow, imbuing the Psionic Blade at the tip with Light Elemency from her hand. As a result, her weapons began to glow white instead of blue, a fact that was not lost upon her enemies.

The Fallen reacted instantly, jumping back and abandoning their frozen leader to gain some distance. By their newfound caution, Kormal had been right. Light Elemency was indeed their weakness. Éclair released her arrow imbued with light. But instead of aiming at the Fallen, she aimed for the last place they’d be expecting. She aimed for the forcefield. Kormal had been right about a number of things. Everything the Fallen had done up to this point had transpired according to his predictions, including the Fallen erecting a barrier separating the two groups.

The hazy shimmer of black fizzled out of existence as the arrow disintegrated against it in a small explosion of white light. As soon as the forcefield disappeared, the others came running through the desert sands almost immediately thanks to the telepathic link with Kormal that kept him appraised of the situation. Everyone came except Tork who stayed behind to tend to Torsha. Everyone had already begun combining their attacks. Ryan and Mozar combined their fire and lasers. Rachel sent electric currents through Kormal’s flying weapons that he controlled through telekinesis. His knives were imbued with his psions, so even though he didn’t use an element, the concept was still the same. They had figured it out when Ryan combined his flames with Mozar’s laser beam, an attack that was imbued with psions. They concluded in their discussion that it was the mixing and matching of psions from different people that was the important part, not necessarily the combination of different elements.

Squad 99 bombarded the Fallen with combined psionic attacks. The Fallen’s black weapons appeared in their hands as they attempted to block the onslaught. Though they held off beams of fire and the axes of lightning, they couldn’t defend themselves from two opposite directions.

As soon as the others came through the barrier, Éclair and Leon circled around the Fallen in order to catch them in a pincer formation between the two groups. Éclair released another arrow of light, and Leon swiped the air, sending another wave of wind and ice from his blades. He had enough charge for only two attacks. Holding someone else’s element in one’s weapon did have its drawbacks. It wasn’t a sustainable technique. But they had already decided to make those few shots count.

The Fallen were soon overwhelmed and fell to the ground as they took hits from both sides, including an arrow of light from Éclair. For a moment, Éclair was tempted to believe that they had won. But then she felt a hand grab her wrist. It wasn’t Leon’s hand.

First of the Fallen had recovered faster than Éclair would have thought possible. Éclair didn’t remember falling, but she was soon staring up from the ground as Leon dueled the Fallen’s leader. His blades were no longer imbued with Éclair’s ice, but they still made contact with the Fallen’s weapons. Éclair didn’t understand this. She didn’t understand a lot at that moment. How could she see things so clearly? He ... he hit her, didn’t he? Why didn’t she feel a blow? Why didn’t she feel any pain? All she knew was that she couldn’t move. She couldn’t feel anything, really. But she could still see and hear everything. The only thing affected seemed to be her mobility. What had he done to her?

He ... he paralyzed me the way I paralyzed him! Is this what he felt like when I froze him in place? Then, another thought took hold. He broke free, somehow! Maybe I can, too!

As Leon battled the Fallen’s leader, Éclair focused. She tried to make her Light Elemency spread throughout her body. She took hold of those feelings that allowed her to summon it in the first place. But those emotions were fading fast. She was only able to grasp hold of those emotions with Kormal’s help. She didn’t understand this power. Didn’t understand why it was a part of her. There was still so much she didn’t understand. She wished Zand were here. He always seemed to have an answer for all her questions.

The Fallen disarmed Leon and kicked him savagely in the chest, sending the young Lurranna flying across the desert for nearly ten meters before Leon slammed into one of the ship’s invisible walls and slumped to the ground. Éclair felt a lump rise in her throat at Leon’s distress. His eyes closed. He’d lost consciousness. All their plans, all their carefully laid plans ... all for nothing.

The others charged the Fallen with long-ranged attacks. First of the Fallen deflected or dodged the projectiles with uncanny speed and dexterity. Then he appeared at Éclair’s side in a burst of speed and pressed his black sword to her throat. Everyone stopped firing.

The Fallen exhaled sharply. “You were correct, Sage, firstborn among the elders’ children. Light Elemency is indeed one of our weaknesses.”

The Fallen raised a hand. Tendrils of white mist trailed from his fingers. “But it is a weakness that we have long suffered through. As a state of our existence, we must endure its torment a little bit daily.”

The Fallen glanced down at Éclair. She felt its blade against her throat, and she held her breath. Her heartbeat was steadily increasing. She desperately tried to force her limbs to move, to do something, but whatever he had done to her kept her from moving.

“We were not aware that you had awakened the daughter’s light. Master shall be pleased.”

Ryan growled. “HEY! You think this is fooling us?” He took an aggressive step forward. “You really expect us to believe that you’d kill her after all the trouble you went through to capture her?”

The Fallen dismissed his weapon and traced a finger down the side of Éclair’s neck. It was a horrible sensation, like someone held a blow torch to her skin. Somehow intensely hot and cold at the same time, all with a vague sense of violation. A trickle of blood went down her neck. Éclair bit her trembling lip to hold back a whimper. Ryan stopped in his tracks, stunned.

“It’s true, that we require her alive. But she does not necessarily have to be in one piece. You would be surprised what a human can endure without dying. Will it really be worth saving her if she loses all her limbs? And you should know that wounds dealt by Shadow Elemency are not easily healed. I can make her a cripple for life within an eyeblink should you force the issue.”

No one made a sound. A slight breeze blew across the desert sand, tossing tufts of white dust particles through the lonely world. She wished someone would do something, that someone would come up with a plan. She wished Leon would get up. But most of all, she wished that she could move. There was no feeling in the universe that she hated more than helplessness.

“Abomination,” whispered First of the Fallen. She couldn’t tell through his mask, but by the tone of his voice, he might’ve been smiling cruelly despite the eternal grimace on his mask. “I am glad. I am glad that you broke your word. We Fallen – all immortal beings – are bound by our word. We really would have let you go per the agreement. But now, since you violated the contract, we no longer have to honor that deal.”

The finality of the Fallen’s words filled Éclair with terror as she said, “Wha-what’re you going to...”

The Fallen raised a hand towards her friends. She knew that he meant to kill them. A black sphere of nothingness appeared around them. She could still see them hovering there in the black cloud, but by the looks on their faces, they weren’t having a good time. Kormal let loose a soundless scream, raising his hands and erecting a barrier of green, telekinetic energy. The barrier surrounded her friends, and instantly shattered. He erected another barrier. That one shattered, too. Again and again, the Sage created forcefields only for them to break and vanish from existence. The looks on their faces said it all. She could no longer hear them, but she could see their expressions. They were in pain. Intense, indescribable pain. Ryan wrenched back his head while screaming, though she heard no sound. Rachel covered her head and fell to her knees trembling, as if trying to hold back a flurry of blows. The Werewolf, Mozar, drew back his lips in a snarl, his eyes frenzied as drool foamed from his jaws. Kormal clenched his eyes shut with his hands upraised as he kept erecting barriers, but to no avail.