Completed Sun and shade

[Livia Quinnick]

They were surely as good as dead.

To see this behemoth of a monster, a creature she could not fathom being strong enough to bring it down. Livia's magic was to find a path, to lead her the right way, and she did that for Ivan without it's presence, but that triumph was soon wasted as Ivan was blocked and thrown by this beast.

Her heart leapt up her throat, and she stifled it, begged her lips to keep shut and not to let out that sob she knew was coming.

She would rather kill more soldiers than deal with this impossible thing.

Panic rose to her olive eyes, watching as Ivan caught the brunt of the beast's sweeping blow, a force that carried wind that washed over Quinnick. The smell of decay made her want to gag, but the continuous onslaught of undead came her way, before the stragglers diverted towards Ivan, slowly recovering.

That was all the attention she could spare her colleague.

Livia stared down the still growing number of long dead soldiers and beings, arrow after arrow shooting to find their mark. She lost herself to the task, shooting them down to slow before they inevitably sank and became lifeless.

But it was all for naught.

A deafening cry overwhelmed her ears, and Livia released that stifled whimper. "No!" She looked to Ivan again, hot tears welling in her eyes. It was desperate, how she finished her quiver at her back and began to pull from the reserves either side of her hips. Livia began to move, doing her best to reach where Ivan began to rise with difficulty.

The fear and helplessness she felt only made her corruption magic pull at her consciousness, coaxing, convincing Livia to give in. To give up... or was it to finally accept the very depths she could fall to it's intoxication? It was magic not of her blood, not of her natural affinity, but it was all she had left.

Livia stopped feet away from Ivan and kept back the number of undead. At this rate, she will have no more arrows left and only the daggers strapped to her person. "How does it have magic when our own is gone?" A shiver ran down her spine, magic reminding her not all of it was gone... she just had to dig deep, but Livia was never one to dive head first. Her eyes lifted, watching as horn became weapon of the beast and she used this moment of reprieve to help Ivan stand. "I cannot keep shooting arrows, Ivan." But she could, and then what? Succumb to her fate?

Ivan Skender

 

[Ivan Skender]

A grimace formed on his features, as he winced in pain. Though the worst had past - for now, at least - the aftershocks of the blow still shot through him as he attempted to get up. He heard Livia's voice, understood her words, though at that moment, he felt much too battered to even reply.

A helping hand came though, and with Quinnick's aid, he rose to his feet again, the pain from his cracked rib receding, even if only slightly.
​

How does it have magic when our own is gone?​

The answer to the second bit of the question was evident. The runes all around them continued to shine, an ancient enchantment that, though battered enough to allow them a sliver of arcane might, was still very much potent to the point of nullifying any magical advantage they might otherwise have had.

But that hadn't been what Livia had asked him. Not really.

- "That." - He said, pointing with his warhammer towards the collarbone of the ghoul. - "That glow isn't natural." - He continued. - "There's something at work here that allows it to bypass the runes and keep casting magic." -

As if on cue, another mighty roar bellowed from the beast. The small, luminous dot on its collarbone shone brightly once again, but this time -- yes! There was something different. As the undead started to rise once again, Ivan saw it; a flicker; a quivering of the blue glow that seemed to cause the undead to stutter, as they rose from the ground. It was only a moment, but it was enough.

That was it!

As the laws of magic went, all magical charms had an end, no matter how powerful they'd been at inception. Much like the runes had faded just enough to allow them to feel some arcane power - reduced as though it was - the talisman, or whatever it was, that powered the beast's magic would also eventually decay away... And perhaps, with some outside pressure, they could make its might erode faster.

- "Keep shooting them." - He told Livia. - "We need to tire it out." - He continued, referring to the beast. - "If we force it to resurrect enough--" - His sentence was cut short as his eyes caught a glimpse of a new entrant to the hall.

An undead, on the surface unremarkable when compared to its deceased companions. This one however, carried a weapon: a steel bow, its frame blackened either by the nature of its metal, or by age - he could not tell - and a broken string which dangled harmlessly off of the lower tip of the frame, its consistency long decayed away.

With this new arrival, the beast stopped on its tracks, instead reaching out to the dead ranger. As its collarbone lit up yet again, down the ghoul's extended arms, and out of its fingertips, a stream of thick, brownish blood rushed towards the archer. It then fused with the bow, and suddenly, out of the aether the undead conjured a black arrow, with a dark string also materialising to help the zombie propel it against its target: the two initiates across the room.​

 

[Livia Quinnick]

Livia had not seen the newest arrival that rose from the depths, even as the colossal beast gave it life, weapon, and target.

All she had heard was to wear it down, and her quick reflexes turned to the masses still coming towards them. Her accuracy was deadly, but the chance her arrows missed earned a click of her tongue, as if this were simple practice and not a life or death situation. She wanted Ivan's courage, his ability to not cower even now when it hurt to move. His mind was sharp, despite all that was against them.

Liv held her ground, quelling a large number of the undead before looking down at her remaining arrows in her quiver. She had at least forty left in both quivers at her hips, and prayed to whatever god that may hear that it was enough.

Ivan had said they needed to wear out the magic. She shouldered the bow, transferring her remaining arrows to the quiver at her back and releasing the belt at her waist. Her frame now had movement, ease of moving forward as each hand reached for her largest knives on her person.

Thank fuck the undead moved at a slowed pace.

Livia struck, slicing and wounding many before finishing them off. She was a trained dancer growing up, and so her feet never betrayed her with each step, her core strength true as she planted herself where she needed to be. Her arms, they moved so quickly, so sharply, it was honed with discipline. There was no need for strength when Livia's reflexes gave the undead no reprieve in the several cuts in key areas that slowed them tremendously.

After felling ten opponents, she was given a moment to breathe, as if she had been too afraid to take one through all of that. She gasped, hands bracing against her knees as her lungs took in large amounts of air.

Ivan Skender

 

[Ivan Skender]

With its enchantment taking hold, the ghoul charged them again.

As Livia struck out on her own, clearing the hall of the undead, Ivan faced off against the beast. His injury made it impossible for him to mount up an effective defence, let alone a counterattack, and so instead, he resorted to merely thwarting his foe's attacks. He dodged and parried, deflecting his opponent's increasingly vicious attacks with greater and greater difficulty.

His injury hurt, and he felt his warhammer growing increasingly heavy in his hand, but still, he endured. Every now and again, he even managed to strike the ghoul with a hit of his own, even though fully aware that his attacks would be turned back by the barrier. Slowly however, as he came to grips with the pace of the fight - of offence and defence, attack and retreat - and he became used to the ricochet effect his blunt weapon had when making contact with the barrier, he slowly but surely started to feel the combat taking its toll on the beast and its shield as well.

Of course it was not to be all smooth sailing. He was an injured, teenaged initiate fighting a primordial beast of death after all. With one of his attacks causing a stronger rebound than before, he soon found himself being thrown somewhat off his feet. It took him but a second to regain his footing, shifting his weight as he prepare to deflect yet another attack... But then, a sharp pain pierced him as he felt his shoulder being sundered from the back. Through the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a dark arrowhead, protruding from his shoulder, before it dissipated away.

"That fucking archer."

Was his last thought as he was caught, yet again, in one of the beast's attacks, the ghoul's scythe cleaving through his light leather armour to pierce his skin through his abdomen.

A flesh wound, fortunately. Nothing more...

Well, at least for a short while. The creature was starting to prove as deft and agile as any opponent he'd ever faced, and so, when his poise was thrown off-balance by the black arrow, and his defensive stance broken by the scythe attack, the ghoul swept through the air with its long limbs, sending the blonde against the wall once again.

On the floor, he had but a split second to roll away from the spot where he'd landed before the beast came crashing down on him once more. It was as he stood again that he saw the archer - which had moved across the room - with a clear line of sight to either of the initiates.

- "The bowman Quinnick!" - He called through gritted teeth. - "Shoot it!" - ​

 

[Livia Quinnick]

Livia seized momentarily. She had turned to watch Ivan, seeing him attempt to wear down the barrier before blood blossomed from his shoulder. She sheathed her weapons and quickly pulled the bow over head and had it poised, arrow at the ready. What threat had done that?

Ivan was thrown again, and Livia hissed a curse, moving cautiously back his way before he called out the archer.

Her stomach sunk, and she turned her head in time to see a darkened arrow nocked and aimed her way. It loosed, and Livia turned on her feet to narrowly miss it. But she did not rest. Bow and arrow quickly found position and flew through the air, a second arrow ready and flying with quick succession as Livia tore her muscles to repeat an onslaught.

Her arrows found their target, but the undead archer did not falter. It slowed, at least, but it still lifted it's bow and fired another arrow her way. Livia was not so quick this time. Arrow head pierced through her thigh, and in her surprise, she let out a pained screech. The wound seared with unbridled pain, and after a moment she steeled herself to stay planted. Livia needed to not move her leg a muscle, otherwise the pain would bring her to an excruciating standstill.

Three more arrows were loosed from her bow before the beast caught her in another sweep of the room.

Livia got caught in the follow through, sent straight into the wall that was painted in the blood of the Kaliti soldiers she had been tracking. Something cracked in her body, something broke and left her stunned with shock. The brunette slowly stirred, pushing herself up until pain registered in the form of a broken wrist, bent at an unnatural angle. Pain. She was good with pain. This was not her first broken bone, nor her first living wound. Livia Quinnick was not a strong combatant, but there was one thing she was good at on the field. She always got back up.

Her good leg planted firmly in a kneel, and she rose, trying to put less weight on her wounded leg but it could not be helped. Livia did not pay attention to the pain that wanted to consume her, she did not give energy to her blurring vision. Battered and bruised, she did her best to rise, but the Archer had come to claim victory.

She was sure an arrow would pierce through her eye, or even strike through her ribs and into her heart. The Undead Archer merely gripped at her hair, pulling her down hard that she was sure her skull had cracked. When her eyes focused, she saw her bow laying hopelessly amongst the mauled bodies of the Kaliti soldiers, getting further and further away from her outstretched hand. The Archer dragged her a length, slow and steady that if she were not injured and concussed, she would surely escape this hold.

Her magic flickered in her once again, and Livia no longer dampened it's presence. It crackled within, materialising weakly but enough to clutch corruption at the hand of the Archer and release it's hold onto Livia. With a pained groan, she rolled, and the arrow bolt in her thigh moved deeper into her muscle, the arrow point just shy of breaking through the sinew and flesh at the back.

Adrenaline flowed, and Livia gave no beat for the Archer to recover. Dagger back in her left hand, Livia slashed and fought her way to reach for the bow they wielded, using it to put distance between herself and the undead. She dropped the blade to hold the bow, injured hand reaching to the quiver for one last arrow.

Where she aimed previosuly, her fletched arrows feathered the undead's middle, but now she stood close enough to aim for it's head, watching the arrow point pierce past deteriotated eye and wedging between to what should be the brain.

 

[Ivan Skender]

The undead archer fell to the ground with a thud, leaving behind its bow, whose enchantment seemingly vanished. The object seemed to react to magical might however, and so, should Livia pick it up, the charm that had been imbued into the weapon by the beast's blood would take hold once more.

Not that any of that mattered to Ivan, though.

Accosted by the undead and the ghoul, the blonde struggled to overcome the onslaught of foes that seemed to pour his way. Soon enough, his position looked as though it would be swarmed by even more hostiles, as the creature let out yet another one of its mighty resurrecting roars.

This time however, the strain became obvious.

The blue glow in the beast's collarbone stuttered and faltered, making it look as though the enchantment would be left to collapse. The creature also seemed to wane for a second, though its power soon return as its life-giving blue light revived a few moments later. Very clearly though, the ancient magic's power was lessening quickly.

They might yet survive this.

Ivan took the short breathing room to get rid of the few undead that still pestered him, after which he would turn to Livia.

- "The deadman's bow, Quinnick!" - He bellowed. - "Shoot the beast with it!" - It was unlikely that Livia's arrows - magical or otherwise - would be able to finish off the beast in this try, though they might be able to weaken it enough for one of them to deliver a killing blow.​

 

[Livia Quinnick]

She needed no assistance of her magic after Skender called out the waning magicks of the beast, arrow pointed as steady as she could despite the broken wrist that pulled the bowstring taut and loosed the pointed projectile. Livia fought against the rising nausea, her body trying to take back control and feed her pain. She was sleep deprived, now working to the limits of her body as she shot arrow after arrow at the beast and it's barrier, until her last quiver emptied of the fletched arrows she made.

"One last one." She murmured to herself, watching as the beast turned to her, rage fueling to depths she had never witnessed before. Livia turned her back to the beast, going against the advice Ivan had told her earlier. Her fingers curled around the arrow and pulled it free from the fallen archer's skull, turning to nock it and aim.

As the arrow shot forward, it never reached it's target. It was deflected by the makeshift scythe, pausing in it's arc by the beasts neck before barreling towards her. In one last desperate attempt, Livia expelled her muted magic, fighting against the binding that kept it dulled. It did not yield, but corruption crackled before her, zapping at the barrier the beast had been so fond of. The scythe caught her closed in on her, and Livia threw herself onto her good leg to miss the attack by a hair.

But she was no longer immune to the pain the injuries wrought. Livia seethed through gritted teeth, falling to her back and writhing with the overwhelming pain. Whatever she had bottled up in the late hours of the night before now poured through in unshed tears. She could not go on, not anymore. I may die here... the thought numbed her, paralysing her from getting up and continuing. That is what a Dreadlord would do. They could take more hits, they could keep going... they could ignore all this pain.

What if that was never her path? What if all her life would come to end here, in this ruin? Would Ivan survive, tell word to the Academy? Her family...

Livia turned onto her side and groaned, willing herself to move. If she was to die, it would be after getting back up again and standing on both her feet.

 

[Ivan Skender]

It would seem as though Livia's arrows had worked well... perhaps too well, for the ghoul suddenly turned and charged the girl, leaving the blonde - the natural blonde, that was - with room to manoeuvre across the hall.

This, Ivan did with astounding efficacy, slashing left, right and centre as his warhammer delivered unholy retribution to the few undead that still dared to stand in his way. His wound still ached, sharp pangs of pain being sent from his ribcage every time he overreached, but this was not the time to give into the pain, not when they were so very close to victory.

At last, he managed to get to where he wanted. Having run all along the blood-soaked walls of the chamber, Ivan now found himself facing the ghoul's back, as the creature unleashed its full wrath upon Livia who... seemed... to be holding on?

Ivan caught a glimpse at the girl, her defiant last stand enough to make him feel a pang of pride sprouting from his chest.

"Huh, Princess no more."

Impressive though it may have been, Quinnick's lonesome tenacity needed not be undertaken alone. With one final dash, he raised his warhammer, bringing it down on the beast's unprotected back. Once, and then again and again, after first attack got thrown back by the enfeebled barrier, Ivan relentlessly hammered at the beast until, at last, the blue glow finally broke, making way for his weapon to pierce the creature's flesh for the very first time since the fight had began.

But he didn't stop there. He then brought his weapon against his foe, smashing its pestilent husk time and again, until his enemy could ignore him no longer. Turning its focus away from Livia, the creature swung its scythe around, aiming for the blonde.

It was too little, too late.

Ivan deftly manoeuvred around the long, make-shift weapon the beast wielded, managing to instead hit the ghoul's arm with his warhammer, shattering the already-rotten limb in two. The creature roared in pain, its now-useless arm dangling harmlessly mid-air. With another one of its wide-reaching attacks, the crazed beast swept the room with its still-working arm. This Ivan managed to dodge, though, he seemed to forget the creature had more than those two limbs. So it was that he was caught by the third arm of the beast. It carved its long fingernails into him, sundering his light armour and piercing into his flesh.

Through gritted teeth, with a cry of pain, he raised his warhammer one last time. Up-close to the creature's skull, Ivan was now, for the first time, within striking distance of the beast's collarbone.

- "FUCKING DIE!" - He bellowed. With the picked end of his warhammer, he reached for his enemy, managing to rip free whatever was casting the light blue glow from the creature's body.

With that, the beast roared once again; this time a maddened whelp of pain, as though the ghoul felt its life slipping away - mostly because it was. Without its magical protection giving it potency, the creature's body started to decay rapidly, in a gruesome show not too much unlike what Ivan's decay magic was capable of when not suppressed. Its skin opened into gaping wounds of dry red, and its flesh started to - quite literally - fall from its bones, as the ghoul's entire body seemed to dissolve into nothing in front of their very eyes. By the end, there was nothing left of their foe but a scattering of ash, freely twisting and turning through the hall before finally falling onto the floor.

Ivan, having been dropped as the beast died, walked a few steps forward, to where he'd seen the strange object, which had seemingly gifted the beast with its arcane might, land.

He picked it up.

A black scarab amulet incrusted with a turquoise jewel. What appeared to be some sort of incantations and runes were also etched into it, though they had been severely worn off by time; barely visible. The blue jewel was also cracked, seemingly fractured by the strain the battle had placed upon it. Though clearly broken, Ivan kept it for himself, stashing the small scarab-shaped token into what remained of his clothes.

That was when something else caught his eye. From that angle, it was the first time he managed to catch a glimpse at the room the ghoul had crawled out of, and though the darkness made it somewhat difficult to discern exactly what was within, there was no mistaking the vivacious glimmer of gold... of mountains of gold.

- "Huh, looks like there'll be some treasure hunting after all." - He said, with a shake of his head. It made sense that - even though the ruins above had already been ransacked by generations of looters and scavengers from the desert - the closed off halls, protected by a mutant beast from ancient times, had survived intact. Whatever lay beyond those doors would be enough to make either of them rich beyond their wildest dreams.

And now they had all the time in the world to do as they saw fit.

- "You are one of us now, Quinnick." - He said as he walked towards the girl. He offered her his hand. - "A true initiate of the Academy." - His smile was warm; sincere. Though friendly, it was devoid of any slyness or playfulness, betraying its truthfulness. - "Now come on, let's close those wounds." -

Kress knew they both needed some time for some much needed relaxation.​

 

[Livia Quinnick]

Livia had been glad Ivan did not watch her much after he glimpsed her in passing, did not witness that she had stood to accept her fate.

He had saved her. She had released the breath she had been holding in that moment as the attention on her shifted to the relentless blond that was Ivan Skender. He struck and anticipated, fighting through the barrier and defeating their greatest foe.

Liv stayed standing, watching in relief as she saw the beast turn to become dust in the trapped air of this chamber. The lights of the runes captured them, and she watched it float upwards by the time Ivan made his way to her.

She was in disbelief.

They did this, together battered and broken, but they persisted and kept Death waiting in the wings. She looked down at his offered hand, brows furrowing at his words. His smile, friendly. It seemed to be the first time in their time in the Empire she saw Ivan look friendly.

Livia swatted his hand and closed the distance, lifting her good arm around his middle and pulled him into a hug. She remained there for a moment, thanking Kress that she had not been alone in all of this. She leaned into him at an angle, keeping the arrow still in her thigh away from knocking into him.

---

She did not think how they had returned to Tell Arran, but their stay had not been long before they secured passage back towards Anirian territory. Wounds wrapped and seen to, quiet hours kept between themselves, the travel back to Vel Anir seemed to take longer. She was glad for it, able to hide away the darkest thoughts she had in her time in the Empire before returning to normal Academy life, but also contemplate the blonde boy seated beside her in the carriage they bought charter for with a small morsel of the fortune they took for themselves from the chamber.