The Legend of Sylph Stridemoon - Chapter 3 - Stand and Fall

For those of you following along, here is chapter 3. Enjoy.

---

Sparing no time in their assault, they immediately rushed Sylph much like the first thief.

"Ah, they seek an encore," Sylph taunted aloud, and began parrying the incoming onslaught of haphazard slashes and spins. The men were faltering... not only because of their lack of combat prowess, but their astonishment at Sylph's seemingly non-human agility.

Taking advantage of holes in their attack patterns, Sylph managed to disable each man with one swooping, elliptical slash.

"You're making this far too easy, Gustach," he taunted once more. Gustach, however, stood there grinning. He didn't say a word; he simply snapped his fingers a second time. The number of minions that attacked him the first time was now increased by a factor of three. Two of them again had the same pair of ring blades; the others wielded swords and short spears. Sylph slowly backed away, feigning trepidation.

"Again, Gustach. You are making this far too easy."
Sylph eyed the group before him, all the while tapping into the destructive energy of the Ether. Stretching out his offhand and raising it to the sky, he manifested the energy in lightning bolts that easily found their targets in the group before him. They all fell at once. Their bodies, sprawled on the ground, emitted faint traces of smoke.

Gustach clapped twice. "I'm impressed, mage. You are quite the showman. I'm afraid, however, that I am going to have to ask you to take your bow. If you do not, then I must again warn that there will be dire consequences."

"I'm assuming that you're ordering me to surrender, which can mean one of two things. Either you think you can overpower a Red Mage of the Royal Order, or you're actually intimidated. Take your pick."

Gustach scowled at this retort. "This ends now." He snapped his fingers twice in succession, and this time a single slender figure emerged from the crowd brandishing a peculiar weapon. It was actually a little taller than the entity that wielded it; a curved pole with a long, deadly curved blade at one end. The other end was sharpened to a point. Its wielder was fully wrapped in shadow, or black garments, or something... Sylph couldn't tell. He attempted to keep his concentration on the figure's eyes, the only revealed portion of the body. They were red, like the others, but they were strangely alluring. Given the body structure of the figure, Sylph deduced that they were indeed feminine.

The dark group surrounded the pair, but left plenty of room for battle. This was no longer just a demonstration; it was a concert.
The shadow fighter was the first in an attempt to strike... the weapon had a longer reach than Sylph had expected. Had he not dodged in time, his bowels would have gushed out.

His dodges, counterattacks, and spells seemed to be useless... even after succeeding with a freezing blast to the shadow fighter's leg, she broke free and continued her assault. It was as if she had all the energy in the world to spare.

Sylph, however, did not. Tapping into the Ether too many times ate away at his will to continue fighting. His rapier was far too short to get inside the range of the weapon that the shadow fighter brandished.

Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in his back. Everything went dark. The Ether no longer pulsed.

...had he lost?
Did he give up?

He did not see her strike...
...Gustach...
...the village...

________________________________________

Sylph awakened later on... he did not know how much time had passed. He was lying on the ground, yet he could not open his eyes. He still felt the pain in his back. He knew that coming to his feet would be difficult, but necessary.

The Ether was quiet.
It was warm.
The temperature was steadily rising.
Sylph finally opened his eyes.
The sky was no longer black, but red, and laden with flying embers.