Let the battle between the semi-finalists commence! Original contest post is here. Spoiler: Fire Within and Fire Without Fire Within and Fire Without Suddenly all sounds grew silent. Xithu-otl found himself submerged, floating beneath a liquid surface. Although freezing cold, the equal pressure from all sides gave him the impression of weightlessness. Xithu-otl was extracted from the heat of battle that was roaring above him. His thoughts transported him back to the first time he felt like this: a lifetime ago, he did recall having witnessed light for the first time. Coming at him from the other side of the surface that separated him from the world above. The difference this time was his inner motivation. Back then eagerness to discover the other side, now a burning flame to right the wrongs and fight the foes of the Great Plan. The flame took hold of his mind and body, spreading a warm fire through his every vein and muscle. It activated him to emerge through the surface once again. At the breaking of the water all sounds came over him like a waterfall. The roaring and hissing of lizards, dinos, deamons and bloodletters made the air vibrate and the earth tremble. Hellfire and dark magic was answered with javelin showers and Star power. Climbing from the freezing water Xithu-otl took position beside the closest Engine of the Gods. Charging from it's eternal energies he conjured a magic shield around a unit of Skins with blowpipes to give them at least one or two more volleys of poisonous darts. Fifty feet to his right a giant cloud of ash and smoke poured down from the sky. The smell of sulfur and charcoal instantly clogged his nostrils, causing him to drop his spell. From within the dark cloud a set of wings spanned wide and an ax came forth slicing through a unit of hardened Saurus Warriors like a sacrificial knife through a rat-man's throat. Xithu-otl looked over his shoulder at the Polar Gate, only a mile away by now. It was still untouched by Chaos. Guarded by a dozen priests, both retaining a magic shield and others preparing a destruction spell for if the worst was to come. The sudden burst of air and sound of flapping wings brought Xithu-otl's attention back to his right flank as the greater deamon took to the sky. Two flocks of Ripperdactyls swept down at it without hesitation. Two-third of them ended up on the ground trampled by the deamon's hooves when he was forced back down from the impact. One of his wings was damaged so heavily that he discarded it with his own ax. No longer able to fly he brutally stormed forward through the ranks of lizards swingend his ax left and right whilst simultaneously conjuring a fireball with his other hand. The blazing ball of hellish fire struck the magic shield around the portal. A dome of blue energy flickered as the flames got deflected in different directions. The knees of two of the priests buckled under the impact of the clash. The shield might not hold long under many more of those hits. Xithu-otl started hastily moving backwards to the gate keeping constant visual on the greater deamon. Halfway he paused to take a deep breath, turned an open hand towards the fiend and projected magic missiles directly at him. Four of them hit him, two on his chest, one in his armpit and one on his neck. Spitting out his last foul words he was blasted asunder. Xithu-otl sounded a sigh of relief, leaning on his staff he waited a couple of seconds to regain some strength. Above him the gray cloudy sky showed five streams of dark heavy clouds pouring down towards the icy waste lands. Around Xithu-otl fellow skins and sauri paused their movements awaiting the obvious thread that was coming. The first one struck down about one and a half miles to his left: another greater deamon. The second one three miles in front of him. Just before the dark clouds hit the ground a horde of juggernauts swarmed the field, a stream without end. The third came down out of sight, the last two streams poured down behind him. In anticipation he ran further towards the gate. He reached it just before a greater deamon and a deamon prince stepped forth out of the gathered darkness. Both had their enchanted weapon drawn, ready to strike. On the top of his lungs Xithu-otl screamed: "destroy the gate! Don't let them reach it!" Behind him the magic shield pulsed for a last time as the last defensive priests fell to the ground. With his eyes closed Xithu-otl directed all of his energy at the gate along with the four remaining priests. The ground trembled as the deamons came closer. With his last energy drained Xithu-otl fell to his knees. In front of him the stone structure of the gate cracked and broke in pieces. The gateway flickered twice before it imploded completely. The shockwave of the implosion knocked him over. Again the sounds of battle died away as Xithu-otl took his last breath and closed his eyes, the flame inside quenched. ... Finally inner peace. Spoiler: "Purpose" Purpose The moons gazed down over the Temple City, the lighter moon in dominance bathed the city in its white glow. The night was humid, filled with the croaks of night birds and the buzzing and clicks of Lustria’s many nocturnal insects. Atop the main temple pyramid an elderly Skink sat cross-legged. His scaled skin was gnarled and weathered like an ancient twisted tree covered in part by a faded feather cloak inlaid with golden charms and jewels. His staff of office lay silently to his side. Iluikakonetl’s eyes were closed as he sifted through his memories and braced himself for the visits he was to make with the prisoners as decreed by the Slann, Lord Tamasolli. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ It had been a time of peace for many turnings of the sun. No raids had come from the realm of the Dark Elves to the North, there had been no incursion by the ratfolk in generations, and the wards maintained by the Slann had held strong and so many had forgotten the terror of a daemonic incursion. In this period the Skinks had worked tirelessly with the Sauri and Kroxigor to repair and maintain areas of the city that time and forgotten war had sought to ruin. The fruit harvests were bountiful and the stars showed good omens for a long time to come. It was at the height of this era of peace that a strange cohort of Sauri emerged from the spawning pools. They were aggressive and prepared for war, their minds feral and maddened. At first it was seen as an omen, that war would soon come to the temple city. The other Sauri prepared for imminent battle whilst the priests scryed the stars and consulted the sacred tablets. But no enemy came. The days stretched into weeks, weeks into months, but still peace reigned. The aggressive spawned Sauri were restless and barely kept under control. Letting them loose in the jungle surrounding the city only served to reduce the local wildlife population, to the effect of even greater peace. What made matters worse was the Sauri had seemed to become more and more aggressive for all their decimation of Lustria’s wildlife. Finally, something gave and the aggressive spawned Sauri in their maddened frenzy broke the bonds of brotherhood and duty and descended into murdering their kin. Many were slain before the maddened Sauri were killed or subdued. As Iluikakonetl was about to give the order to slay the mad Sauri the momentarily roused voice of Mage Priest Tamasolli echoed in their minds ordering them to stop and bind the Sauri instead. For there was purpose for them in the Plan. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Several enchanted gems of great antiquity embedded within carved stone walls bathed the chamber with a dim blue light. Chains of starmetal were pulled taut as the prisoner’s body lurched towards the elderly Skink Priest. Iluikakonetl looked at the Saurus with eyes filled with deep sorrow and regret. Ignoring the prisoner’s hisses and snarls, he slowly eased himself to the stone floor and sat before the chained Saurus. He was quiet for a long time as if waiting to see if the madness consuming the prisoner would fade. It did not. If Iluikakonetl was surprised by this, he gave no sign. At last he spoke. “There is purpose for you. The Mage Priest knows it.” Iluikakonetl’s voice echoed from the chamber walls, repeating the words ‘knows it’ like a mantra. The Saurus gave no reply and continued to strain at the chains. “Often, I have wondered how much the Old Ones designed us for war. I do not believe it was their original intention, but a product of necessity...maybe a contingency...” He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. “But what use is a thing solely of war when there is peace? Where do you fit in the Plan where there seems to be no purpose or place at this time? Are we to keep you and your surviving spawn brothers in chains until war does come?” The Saurus snarled, ropy drool dripping down to splatter on the stone floor below. “Maybe if you kill enough the madness will leave you, that you will no longer be driven to kill and kill and kill.” The Skink Priest opened his eyes. “But we both know that will not happen. The lust for death, the lust for bloodshed...it will only grow. Were it not for the Mage Priest’s foresight of the Plan, you would already have been granted the peace of death. No, there is purpose for you and your spawn brothers.” For the briefest of moments the maddened rage-filled eyes of the Saurus seemed to clear. Iluikakonetl tilted his head slightly, the fins of his head crest catching the glow of the light giving gems and deepening the shadows across his face. “You are wondering why I am here.” The Saurus gave a half snarl that ended with a hissing grunt. The Skink Priest narrowed his eyes and was quiet for a long moment. “There are two reasons. The first as decreed by Lord Tamasolli was to gauge how much of you and your brothers were more than just maddened beasts. The second was to let you know, whether you can comprehend it or not, that you are still our kin. If it becomes necessary to grant you death it will be with a heavy heart. Despite the madness afflicting you, despite the blood of our kin you have shed, despite the sorrow and shame you bring to our hearts...you are still our brother.” The Saurus was oddly quiet as Iluikakonetl rose to his feet and left the chamber. Whether the elderly priest acknowledged this change as he left, he gave no indication. In the dim glow of the chamber the prisoner sat alone with his madness and his thoughts. Sometime later a pair of Skinks would appear and thrust a piece of meat on a long pole for him to consume. He would snarl and pull at the chains and they would quail and hurry away once their duties were complete. The Saurus looked up to where the Skink Priest had departed. For the moment the bloodlust and the anger drained from him. He tried to speak, tongue and jaw trying to make sound. Alone in his prison he managed to speak a single word. “...Brother...”