"Ardor!"
Solon leaped over the chasm once more to land beside Sadoul's crumpled form. He cradled the other's head, shaking him gently to wake him, but the blond wizard did not stir. Solon heard another two thumps behind him announcing the arrival of Ghaleon and Jeal.
Jeal dashed next to Solon to glance down at the unconscious Magician of Fire. He wore a guarded expression on his face. "What happened to him?"
"He just collapsed," Solon said tensely. "I don't know why. Listen, his breathing is so shallow."
The men paused, watching, listening. Sadoul bore no visible wounds, and his eyes had shut as if in sleep. But his breath rattled quietly in his lungs with the voice of the dying. The slightest heave of his chest accompanied the struggle for air, otherwise he moved not at all.
Ghaleon turned from Sadoul to look up at the shapeless mass on the pinnacle above and then down to Kazyr who still hugged the framework of the spire across from them. The white-furred mage didn't face them, wolfish form remaining huddled against the bluish stone of the structure.
"Something's wrong with Kazyr too," he said.
"What?" Jeal looked up and across the chasm. He frowned slightly, reaching for the crossbow slung on his back as if that would stave off the danger. "You really think so?"
Ghaleon nodded, a slow measured movement. "I can't be certain, but I would think Kazyr would have joined us long before now."
Jeal toyed with the lever that would ready his crossbow for loading. "It's that thing, right," he said, motioning his weapon at the quivering mass at the top of the spire. He pulled the drawstring back, catching it with the hook just above the stock of his crossbow and reached for a quarrel. "I should be able to hit it even at this distance."
Ghaleon doubted that the creature would be dispatched so easily, but said nothing. Behind him Solon continued his attempts to waken Sadoul. Ghaleon's lavender eyes perused the dizzying skies for outward signs of danger, but finding none, turning their attention back to Jeal.
The Danek emperor lifted his crossbow and narrowed his eyes. The leather skinned creature belched a green gas from its perch almost eighty yards above them. Eighty yards, virtually the limit of his crossbow's power. Jeal's mouth pulled into a grim line. Though they stood in the calm of the storm, that would not prevent a stray wind from knocking his quarrel astray. He braced the stock against his shoulder, took aim, and pulled the trigger.
Jeal relaxed slightly as the quarrel sailed towards its destination. The squarish head of the projectile struck the mass, and the liquid within the being sloshed loosely in response. For a moment the quarrel sat buried up to its head in the folds of the leathery skin. Then with a sound of disgust, the missile shot free from its hide and no sign of the wound remained. Jeal watched wordlessly as his quarrel fell down the chasm between the spires.
"I would not try another shot," said Ghaleon.
Jeal nodded.
"So what are we to do?" asked Solon.
Ghaleon and Jeal turned towards the Magician of Water. Sadoul still laid listlessly on the ground, head cradled on Solon's lap.
Ghaleon glanced across to the other spire. "Carry him across. That way we can keep an eye on both him and Kazyr at the same time." He turned back to face them. "I think I'm the strongest of those of us remaining. Boost Sadoul on to my back. I'll keep a good grip on him when I jump across."
The former Magic Emperor knelt as Solon propped up his friend against him. Solon threw Sadoul's arms loosely over Ghaleon's shoulders and Jeal tore a long strip of cloth from his cape. With it he bound Sadoul's wrists together, leaving about six inches of cloth between them.
"Now he shouldn't slip off you," Jeal said simply. "You'll still have to hold him a bit though, to keep him from sliding around."
Ghaleon nodded his thanks before giving himself some running space. He grabbed Sadoul's legs to boost him further up on his back so that he would not drag while he ran. But Ghaleon knew that he would have to let go of him once they became airborne. He would need his hands free to grab the spire on the other side to prevent himself from falling. Hopefully Sadoul's weight would not drag him over as well.
"Wait, let me cross first," said Solon. "That way I can help you if you have trouble when you land."
The Magician of Water sprinted across the roof to Lucia's chamber and easily leaped across the gap. He landed with a grunt, glancing first up at Kazyr and then back to let the others know he was ready.
Ghaleon waited until Solon had completed faced around before beginning his dash. Then he lunged forward, one hand gripping Sadoul's left wrist and the other arm pumping madly to gain speed. He felt Sadoul slide every so slightly and tightened his hold. When he reached the precipice he pushed off and let go his grasp to prepare for the imminent landing.
Solon reached out, grabbed Ghaleon's wrist as he neared, and guided his landing. He steadied Sadoul as the unconscious wizard nearly slid off Ghaleon's back. Jeal leaped over the divide as Solon finished untying Sadoul.
"So what do we do now?" asked Solon as Kazyr quietly crept down the spire to join them.
Jeal's brow furrowed in thought. "Well, getting rid of that thing up there is obvious enough. But how is still the question."
"Is he hurt?" Kazyr asked hoarsely, gently shaking Sadoul with a clawed hand. "Is he hurt badly?" The mage leaned his lupine head closer to his friend's face, gazing intently at him through uneasy blue eyes.
Ghaleon crossed his arms in front of his chest as he looked down at Kazyr and Sadoul. The former had begun softly calling Sadoul's name in hopes of waking him. Ghaleon shook his head, trying to make sense of things. Why had the creature only struck when Sadoul tried to teleport? Kazyr seemed effected by something as well, although to a lesser degree.
Jeal made a sound of impatience and swiveled to face the climb ahead. "Well, sitting here isn't getting us any closer to freeing Lucia and the other dragons. I'm going to go on ahead."
"No!" Kazyr said suddenly, eyes wide with fright. "You can't go! If you do it will get you too! Just like Sadoul!"
Ghaleon narrowed his eyes as he watched the white-furred mage. "Kazyr," he said evenly, "how do you know that?"
"I don't know!" Kazyr shook his head frantically. "But I do. I can sense it! It's trying to stop us, and it will do anything to do so." He trembled, wrapping his arms about himself. "It's striking at each of us. One by one, we will all fall prey..." Kazyr sobbed quietly. "I don't want to die. I don't want any of us to die!"
Ghaleon looked to Jeal and Solon. "Do either of you feel anything?"
Both replied to the negative.
Kazyr laid a hand on Sadoul's forehead, brushing back the stray hairs. "For Sadoul it is doubt, uncertainty. For me it is fear. It will draw forth one of our most hidden emotions, and it will be our downfall."
Ghaleon grimaced, drawing Althena's Sword from its sheath. "Keep and eye on them," he told the two who remained standing. "I'll be the one to get rid of that creature. And whatever you do, keep your thoughts straight!"
Solon nodded as Ghaleon began the arduous climb up the spire to its peak.
"Are you certain you want to go alone?" asked Jeal. "What if you should succumb?"
Ghaleon glanced back at Jeal as he reached for a handhold above him. For a moment he considered the latter's request. "No," he said finally with a shake of his head. "If this thing attacks the mind, strength in physical numbers is no help. Sadoul and Kazyr are already affected. They are the ones who need your help now, not me. I," Ñhe glanced down at the golden hilt of the sword in his graspÑ "I will place my trust in this sword and hope that it will see me through."
Jeal inclined his head. "Very well, good luck to you. I don't know what we can do for them, but at the least we will prevent them from harming themselves." The Danek emperor offered Ghaleon a curt wave as the latter resumed his path.
Sadoul was hurt when he tried using his magic, that much is obvious , Ghaleon thought as he neared the peak. So what triggered the effect in Kazyr? Something less detectable, of course. The severity of Sadoul's attack is probably linked to the power of the spell he was using. Kazyr used no spell at all, but he did use his amulet's magic. Perhaps that is why he is not affected as badly. That also might explain why Lucia does not want to use her magic as well. The effort would incapacitate her.
Resolving not to use his magic, Ghaleon approached the quivering sack of fluid above him. The creature made no physical sign of recognizing his approach, remaining firmly in place, the fatty folds of its skin rippling ever so slightly.
"You're not going to scare me," Ghaleon said sternly. "Kazyr recognizes what you're doing, and now I do as well."
The liquid beneath the skin seethed, and a puff of gas exhaled through the minute pores in its body.
Ghaleon let out a breath and continued talking to himself, knowing that if he did he would be more likely to keep his thoughts coherent and avert the danger. He would not hide his emotions where they could not be found!
"What will you do to me?" Ghaleon asked, never taking his gaze off the monster. "Uncertainty? Doubt? I know that I must defeat you. There is no qualm about that. So what else would you try to instill in me? Fear? I shall not fear you because I know what you are."
Sweat built up on his palms as his anticipation grew, and he was glad for the gloves that covered his hands so that the sword would not slip from his grasp. Althena's Sword felt warm through through the thick cloth; confident, reassuring. The mass quivered before him, perhaps even oblivious to the danger he posed.
"Magic captured the others, but I will not use it," Ghaleon spat as he slowly walked towards the creature. The stone beneath his feet had leveled to where he no longer needed to spread his arm or hold the framework for balance. The being pulsated on its small platform, a slab of mold overgrowing a table. "Though I am a mage, I am also one of my world's greatest warriors. What I can't conquer through magic I will through steel. You don't know what it is you face; you who cannot move and cannot fight."
Ghaleon's eyes narrowed, and he held the pommel of Althena's Sword in both hands now. Though he stood not four feet from the giant mass, he circled it warily, unwilling to be caught off guard from any direction.
"No, I will not fall for your ploys," he growled vehemently.
The creature made a bubbling sound and seemed to grow larger in volume.
Ghaleon sized up the monster from his position and eyed a drum tight section of skin that appear to hold some sort of air bubble just beyond it. "Now!"
He lunged forward, raising Althena's Sword above him. Eyes glinting with a confidence borne of hundreds of battle, he swung down his blade. The holy sword connected, bursting through the layers of skin, slicing through the viscous fluid, and tearing free to one side in a single flawless motion. Ghaleon landed in a crouch, eyes on the damage he had caused and pleased with its result.
Althena's Sword throbbed hotly in his grasp.
"One doesn't fool with a person who has been through as much as I." Ghaleon's catlike eyes sparked dangerously in the light reflecting off his blade. "You know that of the five who are here I pose the greatest danger to you. I must thank you for striking the others before me, so that I would know of your power and thus be able to fight it."
The being throbbed weakly, purple slime oozing from its wound.
"Jeal and Solon can do nothing against you, as you've probably guessed. Kazyr has been afraid of loss, and you use that fear against him. Sadoul's bravado is now tainted with doubt. But I... I who would dare to enslave a goddess... I am the most powerful mortal Lunar has ever seen!"
Althena's Sword flared in light and Ghaleon screamed, dropping the holy blade from his grasp and clutching his charred hand to his chest. Abruptly the monster vanished and Ghaleon found himself surrounded in blackness.
He seethed with anger and whirled about in search of his antagonist. His wounded hand throbbed, and with a dull pang he realized that Althena's Sword had rejected him. But why? He fought for Althena's creation, her mission!
Ghaleon dropped to one knee, shaking his head weakly as the pain crept through his wrist and slowly up his arm. He knew, somehow, that if the damage reached his heart he would die.
"Althena, forgive me!" he growled through clenched teeth. "But why?"
He shuddered.
A presence hovered near him though he could not see it, and he knew it laughed at him. He had fallen for its trap though he had denied it, just as he had denied this part of himself for so long. Even after his redemption at young Hiro's hands, even after his death at Alex's, even after he had discovered kindred spirits in Kazyr and Sadoul...
Ghaleon raised himself, his rage disappearing to be replaced by a cold determination. "Pride," he said, knowing that which watched him would be listening. "I have fallen because of my pride. Pride made me lash out against Althena. Pride kept me on my course even when I learned that Dyne had lived. I refused to turn back not because it was impossible, but because of the disgrace I would feel had I surrendered myself to the forces of Althena. Pride lead me to believe my actions against Hiro and his friends would eventually be in guidance, never thinking that the pain involved may have been eliminated.
"But I will no longer live by pride, for I see now that clouds one's thoughts and heart."
He smirked despite the new wave of pain that wracked his body. The pulsing death in his arm had reached his shoulder, but the entity nearby had taken a puzzled stance. Ghaleon groaned as images surrounded him. Worlds were born and died in the field of his vision, and the whole of the Blue Star whirled away, a single dust mote in the depths of space. People fought, won, and lost, and nothing he did would ever change what had happened. Even this fight, against the Maker, he could never accomplish alone. He could not even conquer Althena were it not for the aid of others.
Ghaleon shuddered at the knowledge, feeling the truth of his pride stripping away all the protection he ever built around his soul. "You want me to acknowledge my insignificance," he gasped, feeling the pain rippling along his lungs. "Well, I do!" he replied defiantly. And it was the truth.
"You want to know why I fight? Why I seek to win despite the odds? Why I don't care if my enemy is a creator of gods?" He fell to his knees as the pressure in his chest increased. Invisible blades pressed against his lungs and cut with every beat of his heart. He summoned reserves of strength he never knew he had and glared at the danger he could not see.
"Because I am mortal and I can die."