Quiet Courage

16

In a burst of white light the pair emerged standing in front of Charna and the watery form of Imagehi. Both of whom jumped back to avoid contact with the field of mental magic. Cienn blinked and gasped as Kain's knees gave out next to him. He grabbed him quickly with his telekinesis, holding him upright until his sudden spins left him.

"Yeah, definitely did not enjoy that." He said with a rather disgusting gurgling burp. Charna blanched at the sound.

"How did you get here?" she asked. Imagehi's watery form nodded slightly above them.

"Teleportation." Kain said sickeningly, covering his mouth as he fought to keep down his lunch. Cienn rolled his eyes. It wasn't that bad he'd thought; kind of exhilarating actually.

What? Imagehi asked within their minds' as her ethereal form couldn't actually speak.

"The fifth channel," it was the voice of the actual Durchali ambassador. Who was in fact a powerful medium like her imposter had boasted. The healer mages had restored her to full health hours before the battle began. Those in command around her looked at her confusedly. "Long before any of the nations we inhabit existed, there were five channels for mind magic to go through. Four of them exist today but the fifth vanished, thought to be gone forever. Until today." She looked on in awe at Cienn and suddenly dropped to one knee. "It is an honor to see one such as yourself, Your Highness." She said in her strange accent. Cienn balked and moved quickly to make her rise.

"I am no one's highness my lady. Trust me." Kain stepped forward then, his momentary sickness passed.

"The Gods have shown us the way to victory." He called out to the battlefield. Aludaria raced down along the line of rebels, Kain swung up into her saddle with ease, turning her about to face his troops again. "Rally to us and we shall show you the way to dispense of these beasts of darkness." Aludaria turned to face the advancing dark army as Kain drew his sword. It set alight at his word and he raised it high. Behind him the soldiers and sorcerers of his army raised their arms in salute, chanting victory to the heavens. Above them the Gods rung out in holy choir as the men and women of the ruins of Bylis charged at the demon army.

Cienn reached in and unleashed his power. He whipped up in a glowing white whirlwind, levitating high above the battlefield swooping down to lash out with his telekinesis. He came down with a shattering blast wall in the heart of the demonic mass. Dozens of dark creatures squealed in unearthly terror as he let his glowing white magic lash out at their shadowy forms. One by one he pushed, pulled, leapt, and floated throughout the battlefield, laying waste to demons with increasing brutality. Their strange black ichor began to dampen the ground in rivers as the rebels quickly turned the tide of battle, led on by Cienn and his friends. All of which seemed bolstered by the Gods involvement against their rival above.

Charna dove out in front of him as a particularly nasty looking insect-like demon swooped up suddenly. With a roar she slashed out with red battle magic. The creature screeched painfully high as it bisected in half from her slice. Its two halves twitched and moved on the ground for a moment before it dissolved into the dirt.

"Ew," Cienn muttered as another such demon rose up over the mushy remains of its brother. He blasted it's frightening pincered head clean off with a telekinetic blast. The momentary surge of the rebels began to wane as a new wave of demons rose up from the ooze on the ridge. Cienn looked at it with enhanced magical vision and gasped.

He was suddenly pulled to the past and witnessed as a singular soldier with an over robe of Jay blue place a small altar like the one Cienn remembered from the temple of Nanali. Only this time the little green-black statue looked like The One's true form, a grotesque floating skeletal version of her once regal self. The dark paladin recited a short prayer over the altar, causing the statue to sink into dark shadows. He rose and charged with his fellow troops.