The Man From The Shadows

Raleek quietly gulped as he scanned the army of Ice Demons around them. He wasn’t sure how they were going to get out of this one.

“Wolfme….” He called out just loud enough for the group to hear. The gales of wind and ice had all fallen died off and the silence was deafening. He couldn’t bring himself to call out any louder than a whispering shout. Icy fingers snaked around his spine and for the first time in his life he was truly afraid.

“It is when we face our greatest fears that a man is truly defined by what he does in the face of that fear,” Pa whispered. Raleek wasn’t sure if the man was trying to find courage in himself or if he was trying to encourage it in him. He was sure that nobody in the group other than him, had heard the man’s simple phrase, since it was like the breath of a whisper to his heightened sense of hearing.

“Yeah” Wolfme answered, still staring at the army with wide frozen eyes. Even his wife was silently weighing up her options. Olive had absently slid closer to Raleek for comfort. He knew she would fight to the end, but at the moment she was just as afraid as anyone else.

“The wood you turned to Iron, are you sure that it will keep the demons out of the Inn?” Raleek choked on the words. He didn’t have faith in others' abilities on a good day and now he would have no choice, but to believe the words of another.

“Aye, sure enough. It will only hold for so long though. If they attack the Inn all at once, even the Ironwood won't hold them back for long. It’s a strong incantation and would normally hold for about twenty years, but with that much force attacking it…. well, everything has its limits.” Wolfme explained finally looking at Raleek.

“Right.” Raleek nodded and looked around for some sort of inspiration. He took in the measure of everybody’s features, including the random folk that had positioned themselves on the roof to help fight at some point. He felt like there were far too many lives depending on his ability to fight the enemy and was almost overwhelmed by it all. Not to mention they were all looking to him for leadership. He wasn’t sure he could do it. “We are going to have to kill as many as we can then.” He finally called out to their small group of fifteen.

“Well, what's the plan boy?” Ma asked in her bold overbearing way.

“You, Pa, and Caleb need to go back into the Inn while the rest of us fight. If we can’t defeat enough of them, it’s going to fall on you three to protect the children and the innocent people inside. When the demons are gone, you must get the kids to the island, and keep them all safe. You may be retired from, the life, but you're the only ones who can do it if this goes south.” Raleek admitted to her.

“Very well, but me, hounds are staying out here to fight. I ain’t taking no for an answer.” She motioned toward the hounds that were still hitting the army with hit and run tactics, in the distance. If nothing else they were keeping the army's focus split, which could prove to give them the advantage in the end. “Come on Pa,” She finished as she took a hold of the back of Caleb’s shirt and started dragging him up the stairs backward.

“Wait I want to fight.” Caleb protested, flailing his arms to keep his balance. “I want to fight,” he repeated until she spun him around and whacked him on the back of the head.

“Hush boy. Get on in there. You’ll get to fight someday but that day ain’t today.” Ma scolded giving him a gentle shove through the door, as she followed him inside and Pa brought up the rear fastening the door shut behind them.

“Raleek are you sure about this?” Olive quietly asked him, he could smell her fear and hear it in her well-placed words.

“I would send you inside too, but I don’t see that happening. If I’m wrong about that, I beg you to join them inside.” Raleek turned his pleading gaze towards her, and she reached up smacking him in the side of the head, before folding her arms and snubbing him.

“Not a chance.” She hissed.

“That’s what I thought.” He mumbled rubbing his head where she had hit him.

“Why would you send, them inside you fool? We need as much help as we can get out here.” Doe narrowed her eyes at Raleek.

“Darling, if we can’t thin their ranks, that gentleman and his wife is the last hope for our children. That is why he sent them inside.” Wolfme calmly told her.

Raleek was surprised; at how insightful the guy was, but he didn’t dwell on it long as he scanned his group once again. Gauging each of them and what they appeared to be capable of. Judging by their appearances, they had seen their fair share of rough battles and could be of some help. Plus, they were on the roof, which gave them a certain advantage over the approaching enemy. They all seemed to have some sort of long-range weapons on them too. A strategy began to form in his mind. It was going to be a slow process, but it could be done provided the enemy didn’t have advanced combat sense.

“How far can each of you, shoot?” He asked them. “Shoot as far out as you can, so we can gauge the distance we need.” He instructed pointing at the tree line.

The men on the roof gave a nod and prepared to fire their weapons. Raleek could hear the hum of enchantments radiating off the bows and crossbows, that weren’t present until they were being used. Now he was wondering who they were since hunters had tried to steal one of his sons not too long ago. He didn’t have time to worry about that at the moment. He would have to deal with one problem at a time and it seemed like the bigger one was forcing him to look at it instead. The twang of several strings sounded in unison, and it rained down shimmering arrows a good distance away. Raleek noted that the arrows fired from their weapons doubled in, range from the normal arrows. The enchantment he was hearing had to be one for distance. However, there might be others on the weapons or arrows as well and he had to remember that. The shady individuals who were now helping them probably had an arsenal of enchanted weapons on them.

“Impressive, how often do your men hit their targets?” He asked, he was a little impressed by their skill, but being able to fire at that range didn’t ensure that they could hit the broad side of a barn. They weren’t aiming at anything at the moment.

“Every time.” A burly middle-aged man said stepping forward to assume leadership of the group. “We never miss our target.”

“Never, well that is a mighty declaration. There is a first time for everything.” Doe growled looking up at the man.

“Not for us. We’re Rangers, and our arrows never miss.” The man growled back.

“Now isn’t the time to argue, let's just hope that your record holds up.” Raleek intervened, “But I will warn you, that if any of my group gets hit by your arrows, I’ll make sure to take you for your word and make you pay accordingly.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less. If we are going to be fighting with each other then you might as well know my name.” The man casually said looking out at the army.

“I don’t care what your name is.” Raleek narrowed his eyes. “This doesn’t make us friends.”

“Raleek, they are not hunters. Didn’t you hear him? They are Rangers, there is a difference.” Olive scolded him for his rudeness.

“Your efforts are appreciated my lady, but the man is right to be suspicious. Normally we don’t tolerate assassins, but the situation calls for drastic measures, and our business here is far more important than ending one's life.” The man pleasantly stated with a polite smile. “The name is Racknos.”

“Yeah, sounds about right. Freaking spiders, lure you into their webs and mess with your mind.” Raleek grumbled.

“We’re not weavers.” Racknos countered and then stood up to retake his place in the formation on the roof. He was finished with the conversation. Assassins were ignorant of the deeper meanings of life, and he could fault the young man for that. They were taught only to deliver death to an unknown foe and never think of it again. Where a Ranger was always thinking about how to preserve life and protect it to the best of their abilities. They saw the bigger picture. The only reason why they, were helping right now was that the universe had a very important role for this young assassin to play for the betterment of the future. They didn’t understand why the universe chose such a class of character for the job, but they didn’t have to. They just needed to trust in the higher energies and do as was expected of them. Besides this encounter had been prophesied in the temples of the sun, for over a hundred years and that was why they were here.

They were charged with the honor of receiving the fire of life and making sure that it made it to where it needed to be. It just so happened that these ice demons chose this night of all nights to attack and now they must help clear the way.

“Weavers? What the hell is a Weaver?” Doe asked wrinkling her nose at the slight confusion that she felt over the simple statement.

“A Weaver is the lieutenants of the darkness; they are among the most powerful of its warriors. They get into your mind and weave your understanding of right and wrong to their benefit.” Raleek quietly answered her. He had heard of Weavers, but he had always thought them to be a myth.

“Just shut up with all the talking and let's get this moving,” Doe growled hating to be made a fool.

Raleek’s mouth turned up slightly at the corners in amusement. He could see the pride in his assassin companion and couldn’t help but shake his head and then continue with a strategic plan of action, that he drew in what was left of the snow, using his knife. His companions silently waited as he worked everything out in his mind in several different ways. He was trying to figure out which would be the best route to take. The men on the roof kept watch and fired at a bold demon who thought to advance toward them. That tactic proved to be effective in making them hesitate, but it wouldn’t last for much longer.

“Okay.” Raleek stood up and looked at everyone. “Doe and I will infiltrate their ranks by way of shadows. We will then perform warfare of hit and running. Going for the kill but moving on even if a kill is not achieved. This will cause confusion and a little panic within their ranks. The Rangers will keep them at bay with their arrows, Wolfme and Olive will pick off the ones that slip by the arrows using only weapons we have seen effective thus far. The Hell hounds are causing chaos in the ranks in that direction, so Doe you will go in that direction, and I will go this way.” Raleek explained pointing in each direction as he laid out the plan. “If there is too many for Olive and Wolfme to handle, they will retreat into the Inn and use Wolfme’s seeds to fortify it from the inside. Which should keep the enchantment of ironwood repaired and strong enough to hold out until Doe and I return.” Raleek added tossing Wolfme the gun that Pa had left leaning against the railing when he went inside. It was fully loaded and prepared since he had got it ready for Ma. “If we don’t return, you have to keep the enchantment up until the snow is melted. When it gets warmer the Ice Demons will be forced to retreat. There are plenty of supplies in the basement, it should be enough to last until spring.” he added, glancing at Olive.

“How do you know that?” She asked suspiciously.

“I’m an assassin baby, I like to know what is in my surroundings at all times.” He winked at her.

“Assassins don’t worry about supplies.” She challenged.

“Most Assassin’s don’t have families either.” He arched a brow and then nodded at Doe indicating that he was ready to begin this strike. She nodded and the two of them shot off at accelerated speed vanishing within the shadows, before Olive could respond.

“Yeah, well…. Well…...” Olive growled jerking a pouch off from around her neck that she had hidden in the front of her shirt. “Well, I got some tricks of my own, Mister Shadow Assassin Man.” She grumbled and shot forward until she was just inside the max range of the arrows and then she threw the pouch as far and as hard as she could, letting out a shrill whistle. The Hell hounds leaped over some of the demon's heads and raced to catch it in their mouths. Once one of them caught the pouch it exploded, and a white-hot fire spread across the scorched ground where the hounds had been running. The one who caught it barked happily and wagged his tail as he pranced through the white flames. The Demons screamed and hissed moving back away from the intense heat.

She watched the fire spread out perfectly and then straightened out her clothes flipped her hair and headed back towards the Inn, undaunted.

“What the hell was that?” Wolfme gasped as his eyes widened at the tall pillar of a perfectly formed wall of fire.

“The ground-up scales of a lava fish.” She shrugged, it spreads fast and uniform when touched by the flames of hell. It can’t be put out and it’ll take all night to burn itself out. My dad gave it to me for my twelfth birthday. He was mixing some more up earlier too.” She explained turning to watch the flames.

Raleek

“Damn she is a fiery one.” Raleek breathed as he neared the edge of the Ice Demons. The explosion had caused him to duck into the shadows and look back over his shoulder. He had to admit that it gave him the perfect cover to enter the ranks of the chaotic Demons. The explosion had rattled the formation and confused them as to what was happening and he only needed to slip through the chaos to get behind them, before he began his tactics.

He moved with swift agility as he shot into the trees and used them to get the rest of the way. Once he was behind the enemy, he could do a rear assault with his guardian's help. He would have to get far enough away to summon the scorpion to him though. He shot deeper into the woods until he was sure that he was a safe enough distance away to afford himself the time he needed. He would rejoin the fighting rather quickly once his guardian was summoned to his side. The two of them should be able to put a pretty good dent into the army.

Sliding to a stop he slammed his fist to his palm and closed his eyes to summon all his elemental energy to the point of bursting and then shifted into a graceful martial arts stand thrusting his palm toward the ground. His eyes lit up and the energy streamed out of his hand spilling onto the earth. It rapidly took shape, and a luminescent blue began to outline the shape of a scorpion on his forehead.

“You summoned….” The scorpion’s voice was a low hiss in his mind as its back formed under his feet and he began to rise.

“I thought you might want to kill some demons with me.” Raleek cleverly answered. There was a certain way his guardian liked to be spoken too and it was very temperamental. He had to say just the right thing, or the energy beast wouldn’t help him.

“It’s been ages since I’ve tasted Demons.” The scorpions hissed in a way that Raleek could see the smile in its voice. “What kind of demons?”

“Ice.” Raleek mused and prepared himself for the instant rush forward. His guardian never gave him a warning before racing into action and he had been forced to train himself to anticipate it, after several landing on the ground, of course.

“My favorite.” The Scorpion laughed and shot forward like a bullet. He was on the hunt and his senses were focused on the army of ice demons. Raleek nearly fell off but managed to catch himself and crouch low to lessen the force of the wind that pelted him due to the creature's fast pace. They made it to the fight in the blink of an eye and the Scorpion was already tearing into them by the time his wits caught up to him. The enemy was being snapped in half and absorbed into the energy creature making it more solid with each kill. Soon it would look like a massive white scorpion tearing through their ranks. Knowing that his guardian would go until it was stopped, Raleek leaped off its back and raced in to kill some as well. With his first strike, he saw the commotion arise straight across the field from him and knew that Doe was doing her part as well. To his left, the Hell hounds were tearing the enemy soldiers in half before racing after the next.

He was covered in the enemy's black blood when he heard a song being chanted in an ancient language that seemed somewhat familiar, coming from the right side. He glanced in that direction and noticed that the enemy had somehow circled them without him knowing it and he grew worried. He cast a glance at the Inn only to find that the archers on the roof had already seen it and were positioned in accordance. He realized that there was a whole lot more than he had first thought there was, and they knew what they were doing.

A loud clack of claws sounded behind him, startling him out of his thoughts and forcing him to spin around to see what it was. His guardian had captured an enemy that was going to attack him from behind. The Demon shrieked as it broke in half and became part of the Scorpion, which had begun turning black from all the blood it had soaked up.

“Pay attention, my little friend.” The scorpion hissed and Raleek nodded in response. He refocused himself on the fighting but found it hard to ignore the singing that was growing closer by the moment. It was enchanting and beautiful, but he also sensed that it was some sort of summoning ritual that was a far greater scale than his own. He couldn’t help, but glance in that direction as a radiant light, swirling with orange and reds began to funnel down on at least seven individuals that circled a smaller figure covered in red and white robes. The figure held an Elvin-made sword of the whitest iron high into the darkening sky above its head. The ivory hilt sparkled in the light bringing out an intricate design that Raleek had never seen before. At least not until he had gone down into the ancient ruins to rescue the kids.

As the light grew closer, the scorpion hissed and started backing away. Raleek looked at him concerned, he had never seen his guardian act that way before and now he was curious about it.

“What are you doing my friend? The battle isn’t over yet.” He questioned the creature.

“The light, of fire as arrived. I am a creature of the shadows and the light it hurts my skin.” The scorpion hissed and vanished. Raleek’s energy snaked back into him, and he knew that his guardian had left this realm.

“Looks like the battlefield will be full of steam soon.” He mused since he was of a water element and the approaching light was of fire, he was fairly sure that he could put out that flame if he had to.

With his energy back he was able to sense a swing coming at him and he managed to duck the blow in the nick of time, spinning around to thrust his blade into the gut of the Demon, he pushed himself up into a stand and drug the blade up with him cutting the creature enough to reach in and pull out its heart, crushing it with his fist. The Ice Demon exploded into tiny shards of ice and was gone.

Olive and Wolfme

“What is that?” Olive asked when she heard them singing in the distance. Wolfme could only shake his head and shrug in response. He didn’t know any more than she did. All he knew was that the divine-sounding song was being sung in a long-dead language that few if anyone could even comprehend.

“The order of the Fire Bird,” Racknos answered her question as he dropped to one knee and lowered his head in reverence. “It is meant to happen. The order will summon the bird of fire that rising from the ashes of death and the flames of his righteous fury will eliminate our icy foe. For it is his time and he must be brought to existence before the darkness makes a move to consume life as we know it. With him will be his blade of shadow, with can penetrate the heart of darkness.” Racknos recited what he knew of the prophecy. “Low and behold the creature shall once again walk among us.”

“Uh…” Wolfme scratched his head. He was sure the guy was insane now, but he didn’t want to be rude at this point in the battle. “Whatever you say. You should probably start focusing on making sure that, those demons don’t penetrate our forces.”

“Fear not little Earth wielder. They will not reach us now.” Racknos smiled.

“If those Demons get past your range, I swear to all that is mighty, I will cut, thin small strips of your flesh off your body as slowly and as painfully as possible. You hear me! So shut your mouth and do your part!” Olive dangerously growled up at him as she pointed at the army they had been fighting. “If one hair on my children's head…...” Her words were cut off by Wolfme taking a hold of her arm to get her attention.

She turned to look in the direction that he was pointing, and her eyes grew wide. The group of people singing the songs were dressed in red and white robes, fully covered so that only the bottoms of their faces could be seen. They came to a stop and circled a smaller figure, who held a beautifully crafted sword high into the air. The light that pulsed off from them began to rapidly increase to cover a larger area. Suddenly the singing stopped and those who were circled the other one slowly started filing away from the center and towards the Inn.

“It would be wise if we all go inside now.” A soft soothing voice suggested as the lead figure came to a stop in front of them. While the others continued to go inside.

“No, my husband is out there fighting.” Olive gulped. The presence of this figure was so massive that she felt like she should be dropping to her knees to show the proper respect.

“That cannot be helped. Perhaps he is out of range.” The gentle voice coaxed.

“I think that we should listen.” Wolfme, whispered leaning in close to her ear, as Doe shot towards them.

“Get inside now!” She shouted pushing them towards the door. “This is the order of the Firebird. We’ll all die out here. Go now!” She insisted.

“What about Raleek?” Olive gasped.

“Raleek is a water elemental, and he can survive the heat that is coming,” Doe answered finally managing to shove Olive inside closely followed by Wolfme and the robed figure. They heard the rapid footsteps of the rangers retreating inside as well. The seven robed figures took up strategic positions inside the building and began to chant again. Translucent energy shimmered with specks of orange and red as it formed a shield over the entire building.

Olive began to struggle to get back out but was suddenly stopped by her father as her mother slammed her foot down on the floor.

“Olive Stronenburg, you will stop this nonsense now and be patient.” Her mother firmly scolded her causing her to fall silent in surprise. “These people know what they are doing, and you need to let them do it.”

“Now, now Ma, she is just worried about her husband. There is no need to yell at the pore girl.” Pa chided his wife as he guided Olive to a chair near the fire hearth.

Raleek

Raleek instantly began to form a water shield around himself and took a deep breath as the group broke away from the center figure and filed into the Inn. He could already see the heatwave pulsing towards him, he just didn’t know how hot it was yet. Suddenly the center figure turned the sword so its blade pointed to the ground and stabbed it into the frozen Earth. The second the figure pulled its hands off the hilt, a funnel of fire shot out of the ground and blew the hood off the figure. Raleek cussed when he realized that it was a female Sun Elf that looked to be about twelve in age. He knew better though, Sun Elves aged differently than everyone else. The girl was most likely in her sixties. Intricate swirls and designs appeared along her flesh shimmering with the colors of fire, and he knew exactly who they were at that moment.

“Oh, Shit….” He cursed and threw up his arms to protect his face from the sudden powerful blast of heat that was racing towards him. He had to immediately funnel all his water elemental energy into the shield and just hope it was enough to protect him, as a fireball came out of the sky at an accelerated pace and started to unfold into a fiery bird of massive proportions. Its wings swept across the land as its body slammed into the girl standing there. The force of the collision hit him full-on, and he was thrown back into a tree hard. He bounced off the tree and fell face first in the rapidly melting snow, unconscious.

Jameisa

Jameisa was ready for the impact that she knew would becoming. She was the summoning vessel and her family sword the Key, of light. It was needed to summon the firebird and she had been trained for this moment her entire life. She was the key bearer and fear didn’t reside inside of her. She knew that the chance for survival was slim to none, but that didn’t matter. The darkness was coming, and the creator of the Phoenix Fire had to be here to fight it, or all would be lost, and she was the only one who could bring him. Only her people knew of the approaching threat and that made her the sacrificial lamb so to speak. If she was powerful enough, she might survive if the bringer of the Firebird found her worthy, he would breathe life into her once again.

She felt the heat long before it arrived, and she heard the screeching of the bird itself as it slammed into her and spread its mighty wings in a sweep around her. The Ice Demon’s melted within seconds and if any were just out of the range of its wings, they would flee to lick their wounds. The blast of heat raced out in a circle around her as her eyes closed and death claimed her. As her life fled, he hoped that she had done enough to save the world with her sacrifice.

Emsuke and Emico

The last thing Emsuke remembered was sending all his spiritual enemy into a passing planet that had been dead, and that right before darkness claimed him, his older brother Saiem had tricked Loci into transporting all the living people on their planet to the one the planet that Emsuke had used his Phoenix power to revive. Before their planet blew up. He had collapsed and his younger sister Emico had caught him before he hit the ground. The next thing he knew, he was slamming into a young girl and his Phoenix power was eliminating some figures of Icy shadows, that his unfocused vision couldn’t quite make out. He had never really been able to control his abilities, not like his brother and he was afraid that he had just killed innocent people, as his arms circled the girl and caught her against him before she crumbled to the ground. He held her close, with her head pressed against his chest, she wasn’t breathing, and she felt extremely hot against him. His vision cleared and he noticed that the people his fire was eliminating were some kind of; Ice Demons, and he felt his sister land on her knees next to him.

“Emico!” He called out nodding towards the Demons.

“I’ve got it, brother,” Emico responded in her flat dark tone as she stood up and pulled the sword out of the ground using her powers to light it on fire. He hadn’t even noticed the sword until she carried it into battle and for the first time, he was glad his creepy little sister was with him. She flickered through the army as if she was a Demon of death herself, and he found it fitting for her. Letting her handle the straggling Demons that didn’t melt away he looked down at the limp form in his arms.

“You will not die.” He told her and took a deep breath. Then he gently blew some of his spiritual energy into her face. She suddenly gasped and coughed as she began to breathe once again. Her eyes fluttered open and his Phoenix fire spiraled back into him leaving the area covered in steam and silence. Emico appeared next to him startling him and he glared at her before she blankly pointed the sword in the direction of a building he hadn’t noticed. People were beginning to file out of it with looks of awe on their faces. He absently helped the girl stand up straight and let his arms fall away, a surprised expression on his face.

“Looks like you finally got noticed, big brother.” Emico smoothly stated. “No longer in the shadows of oni-san.”

He didn’t know what to say to that little comment. He had always been in Saiem’s shadow, he liked being in Saiem's shadow. This was way out of his comfort zone. He looked at her briefly before multicolored butterflies suddenly swarmed him to rest on his body, for the heat they would now need in this cold land. She gave him a slight smirk that seemed a bit creepier than her normally expressionless features.

“Where exactly are we?” He finally asked realizing that nothing seemed familiar and none of these people were like them. He looked around and noticed the scorched marks on the ground that looked like a gigantic Firebird. He knew that was from his Phoenix energy, but it seemed a lot stronger here and even the air seemed different. “What happened this isn’t the new planet. The phoenix didn’t revive this land.”

“No brother, it seems that when your energy shot to the dead planet bringing it life, you and I were plucked out of the flow and brought into a different reality.” Emico shrugged as she began to admire the craftsmanship of the sword she still held.

“How do we get back to everyone?” Emsuke asked her, forgetting about all the people and the butterflies that had gathered around them.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged leaving him baffled.