ALL NOVEL [78] Bite The Hand
The back line of the knights were in disarray; they had to flee the poison while those amongst them who could cleanse the area and heal the afflicted sprung into action. Tanisha saw a contingent of sentinels in heavy plate were in a shield wall formation, blocking escape through the hole in the gatehouse. They needed to make it past them if they wanted to get out.
Tyr’s voice cut through the chaos. “We need to make a push now, while they’re regrouping!”
The Isi screamed their defiance of the knights as they pushed to the last line of defense for their freedom. That was, until a black void opened in front of them. Spikes made of pure darkness impaled the fastest Isi warrior in the chest before she could stop or avoid them. Spikes continued to fly through the air, but most of them were deflected by the masterful techniques of the Isi disciples. Tanisha was able to dodge one aimed at her, but the group came to a stop as a figure rose up from the bubbling darkness.
As soon as Tanisha saw him all she felt was rage. The man who killed Helina was right there, right in front of her.
Identify
Name: Loki Dalus
Race: Wendigo
Level: ??
Vocation: Darkness Mage Conjurer
“I see this will require my direct attention,” Loki said as his form finished rising. “Patriarch of the Isi, you have fought admirably but…”
Tanisha screamed with all of her rage. “Bjorn, kill him!”
Bjorn ran to the front of the group and unleashed a wave of fire. The plume expanded out like an explosion before an electrical pulse flashed through the blaze. Aetheric symbols appeared, covering Bjorn’s body as the fire focused into a beam. The Hand was engulfed in moments as the flames continued into the line of sentinels, hitting the shield wall and killing a few of them instantly. Bjorn stopped the beam before it escaped into the outer city beyond. The last thing they needed was to kill a bunch of innocent people.
Once everyone could see, they noticed a second person in front of Loki. Thyra had taken the totality of the blast in his place. There was a smile across her burned face. She looked more like burnt meat, and in places she was little more than charred bone. Even with skin and muscle carbonized she ran towards the crowd of Isi disciples, focused squarely on Bjorn.
The woman was a sanguine mage; they were also known as the Immortal Mage Skirmishers. Their magic was entirely in their blood, which led to them having an extraordinary healing factor. It also meant their Mana Muscle Saturation made them unbelievably strong and durable. The trade-off was they couldn’t use any external magic.
Having both of the Hands here was bad; either one was on par with Joha, and Tanisha had a suspicion that Loki was stronger.
Chain Breaker’s Mantle
Seiðr cost: Variable
(I) Low seiðr cost per minute, seiðr will inundate your muscles and bones with power to temporarily increase your physical attributes. (II) Medium seiðr cost per minute, the Marks of Seiðr, greatly enhancing unarmed strikes. Unarmed punches and kicks will produce a seiðr shockwave, increasing the range of unarmed strikes a short distance. (III) High seiðr cost per minute, the energies within you grants the ability of Arcane Shift to teleport up to five yards.
Tanisha used the third level of her Chain Breaker’s Mantle, which caused the symbols and magic circles tattooed on her body to rotate and glow with a soft white-gold light. She used her newfound speed and Arcane Shift, which acted as a short-range teleport, to reach Bjorn before Thyra. She managed to grab him and push several Isi disciples out of Thyra’s way as the woman slammed her fist down in the space Bjorn had been a moment before. Thyra’s strike hit like a meteor, shattering the ground and sending concrete shrapnel into anyone too close to the impact. Most of the disciples managed to back away in time, but one person was torn to pieces.
A person can’t teleport another person with Blink or Arcane Shift, and even teleporters like Loki couldn’t forcefully teleport people through his black portals. Tanisha only got a few steps away from Thyra when the explosion sent her and Bjorn flying. The ground came up fast, and she had Bjorn in her arms. She let him go once they were standing again, but she was bleeding. She didn’t have the time to look herself over and just had to trust her constitution and Mantle.
“You're late,” Loki said.
“A thank you, would be better in this situation don’t you think?” Thyra responded.
“The chimera is no concern of mine; weak magic like that would not destroy my protections,” Loki sighed. “I will kill the patriarch. If the chimera is here then so is Freja. Find her and we’ll eliminate her, too.”
Thyra protested, “The boy’s father killed my familiar. I think I am owed blood by taking his son.”
“You already got blood for that. Follow orders,” Loki responded coldly.
“Fine,” Thyra grudgingly agreed.
Thyra stood up, her form almost completely nude after Bjorn’s fire. She didn’t even react as a sword from one of the Isi disciples pierced her chest where her heart should be. She merely batted the assailant away with a backfist. The strike looked casual, but the devastating effect left the disciple as more of a puddle than a person. The disciples had to turn their attention to Loki to keep from being skewered by the shadow spikes.
The Hands had successfully split the group. Thyra focused almost entirely on Bjorn. She clearly didn’t recognize Tanisha in her new form. The Hand’s regeneration was nearly complete as she took a step towards Tanisha and Bjorn.
Thyra cracked her neck. “You are a lot smaller than I remember. Do you shrink after using that fire attack or something?”
Thyra closed the distance between them in a split second. It was so fast Tanisha didn’t even know if it was a pure running speed or if she used Blink. Tanisha and Bjorn barely avoided the punch. Tanisha sidestepped and countered with three shots from her water missile, all of which hit. One in the head and two in the chest; it didn’t slow Thyra down as a second punch sailed through the air and almost into Tanisha’s face.
Tanisha had to jump back to avoid being grabbed, but was nearly speared when a knight tried to take a lucky shot on her. Bjorn’s smaller body allowed him to avoid a strike towards him as well. Tanisha used Arcane Shift and summoned her daggers to re-engage with Thyra. It was a dangerous gamble to get closer to the crazed Hand, but Tanisha had to trust in her training and her familiar.
Tanisha coated herself in seiðr, which took on the properties of maya as she exhaled. Although it was a notable amount sparklier. She had to trust in the AgniKavach form, with which she could take Thyra’s punches without instantly dying. Thyra was fast and far more skilled than her and she knew it, but Tanisha had far more options with her magic.
The first punch to make it through her defense was on her side, and it lifted her off the ground. The attack felt like it split her in half, but it hadn’t and Tanisha stabbed Thyra’s arm in retaliation. Tanisha dodged what she could, but Thyra was just too skilled and she was put on the back foot. Each attack that hit had devastating power behind it that tested every bit of her constitution, Chain Breakers Mantle and AgniKavach style.
Thyra was not just strong but also agile, and she even managed to destroy Tanisha’s water orbs with a fast jab that transitioned into a back fist which caught Tanisha across the face. Tanisha aimed her daggers for joints to hopefully slow Thyra down, but the woman was a step ahead and kicked Tanisha’s legs out from under her. Bjorn snapped his jaws onto her extended leg and quickly retreated.
Tanisha landed on one hand and kicked Thyra in the stomach. The force of her seiðr exploded outward, surprising Thyra with the sudden pain. The Hand’s smile widened; she was in total euphoria as she was pushed back. Her eyes now looked at Tanisha with intrigue, as if sizing up the young woman for consumption. Tanisha realized that Thyra was testing her, not using her full strength just to see if she was worth her time.
“It would appear that I misjudged you,” Thyra said. “Are you the demon in disguise? You did a poor job looking like a wendigo; we don't have tails or elf ears you know? You are weaker than I thought, but this could still be fun. Are you pretending to be a magic caster to confuse me?”
Tanisha was surprised by her sudden interest and manic expression. Thyra really didn’t recognize her, and probably couldn’t sense her magic because it had become seiðr and had the appearance of maya. That also meant she didn’t know Joha was off fighting the Drake Rider Commander. Tanisha also noticed that at some point during the fight her tail had unfurled; she quickly wrapped it back around herself.
Thyra stepped towards them; her muscles seemed to grow as her magic swelled. The Hand stopped walking and coughed. She pulled her hand away with concern as a crimson substance escaped her lips. It was the first time she had ever seen her own blood. None of her wounds bled, no matter how deep or severe. Her magic was in her blood and was her blood. And yet a small stream of blood was escaping the Sanguine Mage from the bite Bjorn placed on her leg.
Tanisha and Thyra both came to the same conclusion at the same time. His venom was strong enough to affect her. Tanisha had a win condition: keep her here long enough and she would succumb to the venom. She and Bjorn could do it, they could kill the Immortal Mage.
Bjorn took this newfound knowledge and breathed out another Poison Cloud; most of the previous one had been cleansed from the air by the knight’s healers. The cloud washed over the battle, forcing the knights to retreat again and giving Tanisha and Bjorn a fighting chance against Thyra.
“Bjorn, are you ready?” Tanisha asked with no mercy in her voice. “We have a Hand to kill.”
“This just means I have to kill that beast sooner, demon,” Thyra said.
Tanisha spoke the words of power to summon the Hard Air Constructs at a high cost. The spell was different than that used to summon Mystic Wind Hands, but she didn’t question how she knew the new incantation. The spellform appeared as a glowing geometric representation on the dorsal side of her right hand. She didn’t have time to examine it, however, as she formed the power into two invisible hands.
Tanisha threw her daggers at Thyra as the Hand ran at the pair. Thyra’s speed was only slightly slower than before. The Hand easily dodged the projectiles and punched Tanisha right as she put up her guard. Tanisha felt one of her arms and several ribs break; the sound resounded as loud snaps. It was at that same moment Bjorn bit Tanisha on the side, and Tanisha’s mind raced. Had he just betrayed her? Why did he bite her?