BOOK1: CHAPTER7: “Artefacts and Oddities”
Sitting quietly around the small stone tiles of the decaying rooftop, Tharne looks softly and silently into the nothingness beyond the destruction skirting the great city. From their vantage point they could see the edge where the great glowing orb distorted and [protected them from the intense destruction above them. From the corners of his vision, he almost though he could see those shards of fire, ice and earth plummeting in upon them.
Shaking his head he worked his fingers through his hair, finally bringing his thoughts back into clarity. Around him the others sat or moved together. Ivy, her small form nestled between two moss covered branches, sat nearby with Mia, both working silent and focused as one, the grass at their fingertips grew and snaked together into wondrous shapes and knots in an ever expanding myriad of structure. Nima and Ryan stood gently arguing and attempting to outdo each other. Ryan would clash his chimes sending leaves fluttering from each of a thousand branches gently toward the forest floor and Nima would shoot each and every one before they landed, new saplings growing where each arrow nested. Blake, Like Tharne, stood near the edge of the rooftop, staring into the void.
“You feel it too, don’t you” Blake suddenly said, his quiet voice carrying as a whisper carried by the wind.
Tharne simply nodded, Blake’s eyes told him that he too felt what they all did, something was coming. Something slowly creeping, like a poisonous vine just out of sight. Something delicate and subtle as a lace net, being carefully lowered by a hidden spider looming over them all. Sometime soon, the net would fall, the end would begin.
“We should move on” said Blake, “we risk another attack if we linger any longer”
again Tharne simply nodded. How could he trust these three new people they had found with the safety of Ivy and Nima? How could he trust even them? Reaching out with his mind again he felt Blake’s essence lingering, like a strong gentle stone flowing with a raging river. Never stopping or rushing, he seemed to go always where the flow took him. From behind, the familiar sensations of Ivy and Nima brushed across the back of his mind along with two new ones. A gentle spring breeze, smelling of wild flowers and a sense of adventure belonged to Mia. And a fiery ever changing cloud of enthusiasm was Ryan’s.
In the hours of recovery, as they all rested and regained their strength, the three siblings had told their own story in exchange for Tharne’s, Ivy’s, and Nima’s.
Apparently they had awakened together in a small garden somewhere to the north in the great city. They had tried for days to find an entrance to the immense tower at the city’s core but had never found one. While exploring the ruins of the city they had been attacked by a pack of lumbering humanoid shadows, grasping with slicing claws and teeth. Pushed back into a collapsed house filled with the overgrown trunks of great trees and climbing vines, their last stand had pushed them to similar circumstances as Tharne’s, Ivy’s and Nima’s where a bonding with a tree had wielded a great weapon to fight back the shadows and protect their friends. It seemed they had tried to split up to cover more ground but their strange magic only worked well when they were together.
“when we work together” Ryan had said, “ we can accomplish anything”
“But apart we are as seeds floating in the wind” added Mia solemnly “Never able to grow to our full potential”
A sudden scream from behind ripped through the air, rippling through his body as cold shivers struck from his head to his feet like lightning. Whipping around he found the others staring toward the far edge of the long roof, motionless and alert, holding their weapons ready
with a horrible realisation, Tharne shuddered. “Where is Ivy?” He said.
“Something horrible just reached up and took her down over there” spluttered Nima
“I have never seen anything like that before” Ryan added. “It made me cold all over just looking at it”
Before he knew what he was doing he had already run halfway to the edge of the rooftop, behind he could feel the others presence and hear their footsteps dulled and muffled by his growing panic. Sliding to a stop at the edge, his mouth opened wide as is eyes followed the incredible scene in front of him.
Below them, A huge rift had opened where the streets and houses themselves had fallen in during some terrible event, deep within stood a cluster of subterranean buildings and walkways. Inverted towers met reaching ones, looking like huge cave formations and winding bridges seemed to stretch deep underneath the great city itself. Strange Artefacts and odd machines littered the surface. Most horrifying of all was that amongst the buildings and structures wound a great glowing red thread of crystal, as they watched a part of it began to reverberate with a horrible power and then erupted out to shatter a tower with its huge crystalline spear. Then it grew quiet again. The crystalline structures slow spread seemed to be engulfing the entire subterranean complex and around it, darkness followed.
“There” yelled Blake and all turned to where he pointed along a great set of rough descending stairs reaching along the sheer cliff face down into the gloom.
Down below them Tharne could see a giant humanoid creature of pure shadows and dust grasping Ivy in its great hands and tearing huge rending gashes in the wall as its hundreds of arms scrambled across the rock face.
A bright flash erupted from the creatures hand as Ivy attempted to free herself, her great Sceptre swinging and slashing at the beast to no avail.
“We must help her” Nima screamed and immediately began running down the winding stairs firing arrow after arrow down on the great beast. The others followed quickly, Mia taking flight as huge maple leaves sprouted from her back in full resplendent green, Tharne running as fast as he could overtaking Nima as she loosed another volley of arrows and, Blake and Ryan both began traversing the cliff face, Blake moving in a flash of blue like a lightning bolt from ledge to ledge and Ryan Dissolving and reappearing quickly as he teleported forward.
Tharne was desperate, he would not make it to Ivy in Time, and he felt that if he lost her he would never be able to go on. Thinking quickly Tharne made his mind up; taking a deep breath he leapt out off the cliff face and began to dive, Staff of willow held out ahead of him in both hands like a bar. Concentrating his energies behind the staff, a great glowing blue shield burst forth in a triangular ray, shaping around him, Pulling and pushing as he plummeted, his face a mask of determination he began to level out, the shape of the field grew and moved wider and thinner around him until great wings like a glider propelled him around the air. Desperately he tried to regain control as he dipped and turned, propelling the glider down and falling directly at the great beast. Almost out of control he pushes forward and the glider slams into the creature, its arms flailing back as it falls in a never ending torrent of limbs.
Beside him a flash of blue erupts as a sparking line of energy streaks the creatures’ core, and nearby, a great golden shockwave pulses as a sweet melodic Hum echoes through the surrounding caverns. Standing tall on the creatures flank, Ryan pummels his flailing chimes in quick succession. Nearby, Ivy falls from the beasts now open palm and Mia quickly swoops in to meet her, grasping her had tightly they swoop down to a nearby section of rooftop illuminated by great blue crystals glowing from within. Somersaulting, Nima joins the battle with a fierce blow from her bow; a trailing arrow and vine lock into the beasts many arms in an attempt to pull it down.
Suddenly, the creature lunges out with a great leap, its many arms outstretched and it grasps hold of a nearby structure. Turning to meet them, its glowing Blue crystalline eyes burn into their vision as its gaze penetrates like hot coals into their very core.
Regrouping together on the rock ledge, Tharne quickly moves towards Ivy.
“Are you ok?” he asks, desperately trying to keep his voice calm as he roils with worry.
“I think I am” she mutters weakly, clutching her left arm.
“It’s coming again” Ryan yells out furiously.
Turning Tharne sees the beast clambering like a great spider across the spiralling towers walls, positioning itself, it launches at them, it’s great mouth open in a toothless chasm of inky darkness and its sharp clawed hands extended as they reach forward,
Desperate yet defiant, Tharne watches as all five of his companions stand resolute with him at the edge of the cliff face and fight the oncoming black wave of horror.
A great shield erupts in front of them all as Tharne plants his staff directly and deep into the red black earth. Blue flame and red smoke entwine with golden light as Blake, Mia and Ryan focus their energies together into a singular beam and beside him Ivy launches an assault of curved white blades spiralling toward the oncoming fury. Nima stepping forward fires a great arrow forward which splits like a firework to embed itself on the roof and floor of the great cavern, piercing rooftops and foundations of structures it hits and between the arrows grows a net of vines in a random intricate pattern.
Giving it all they have the beast tears and scours through the net as it is pummelled and punished. Flailing and falling, the beast pushes through for a final assault. Falling forward it crushes the cliff near Tharne and as he watches the creature fall into dust and smoke He and his companions fall together toward the floor of the great cavern and into darkness.
Shattered Cosmos 
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