Return to Aether

An End

The Sacred Bull was nearly upon Falco when a roar rang out through the arena. People screamed as through the crowd ran Aedan. Down into the arena did the golden tiger leap and so died the Sacred Bull, slain by the animal companion of a previous ruler of Aether, the animal companion of the paterfamilias of the rightful ruler of the island.

Immediately, Falco and Rowena ran over to one another and embraced. Allowing themselves a brief moment for a kiss, the Divine Deucalion of Aether and his Queen stared deeply into each other's eyes afterwards before returning to the matter at hand.

To their surprise, things had turned considerably. From the crowd a cry could be heard, a man's voice saying: "By the will of the Storm Falcon, the Donkey God and all other divinities save one, the companion of Tigris has slain the Sacred Bull!"

A woman's voice was then heard crying: "The time of the Earth Bull is over on Aether!"

Then a new cry came out as a finger from the crowd pointed at Taurus, a cry of "Kill him!" The cry became a shout and soon all save for Falco, Rowena, Achilles and those loyal to Taurus were shouting it.

Alas, no sooner had the shouting started, it was soon silenced by Taurus himself. Stepping towards the very edge of his box, the High Priest of the Earth Bull shouted "Silence!" and the entire crowd found themselves cowed by the Twin and Body of the Earth Bull. "Who among you have the courage to slay me? Do you, Chiron? You, Aten? What of you, Gaius? As long as I rule here, the Earth Bull is the sole deity and this island shall forever be known as Colonia Tauri! Aether is a thing of the past! Elephas, kill Falco and Achilles!"

No sooner had Elephas stepped forward to descend into the arena did he find a spear hurled into his body. Achilles had collected his weapon from the cadaver of the Sacred Bull and with it he had ended Elephas' life.

"Are you such a coward that you can't face me yourself, Taurus?" inquired Falco.

"How shall it be done then, Falco?" asked Taurus in turn. "Magic? Weapons? How is this final battle of ours to occur?"

"I'll defeat you anyway I can, Taurus, but I will defeat you."

For a moment there was nothing but silence as Taurus stared down at Falco. The Divine Deucalion of Aether didn't need to see the eyes behind the mask, but he knew that Taurus was staring at his sword.

Finally, the High Priest of the Earth Bull uttered: "Yes, indeed." With a simple nod of his head, Taurus knocked Falco back ten feet. Then did the Twin and Body of the Earth Bull descend into the arena, saying: "I've been waiting for this for a long time, Falco, and it is clear that leaving it to an animal is no longer sufficient."

The High Priest of the Earth Bull raised his left hand and to the astonishment of all who did not see enough magic in their lives, arrow heads began to form from the man's fingertips. The arrowheads extended as the shafts began to grow and soon and the arrows shot forth from Taurus' fingers.

Raising his own left hand, Falco smiled as a wooden shield formed, blocking all five arrows. As the shield fell to the ground of the arena, the Divine Deucalion of Aether began to look over his opponent. Taurus' body was heaving, his grip had tightened considerably upon the shaft of his axe and he was close to forming a fist with his free hand. Falco could only wonder just how much magic Taurus had used in his life before this point. Was it possible he was out of practice or that his knowledge of spells was limited?

"Magic doesn't seem to be your forte, Taurus." Stated Falco. "Perhaps you would like to switch to using weapons now?"

Enraged, Taurus conjured a fireball with his free hand and hurled it at Falco. Prepared for such an action, the Divine Deucalion of Aether deflected it with his own free hand, sending the fireball to the sand of the arena's floor. Again, Taurus conjured a fireball and hurled it at Falco and again the Son of Tigris deflected it, this time sending the fireball into the body of the Sacred Bull. A third time did Taurus conjure a fireball, this time much larger than the previous ones, and hurled it at Falco. Knowing that simple hand magic could not deflect a fireball the size of a sheep, Falco moved out of the way until the fireball came into contact with the arena's wall.