El-Vador's Travels (50 page)

He
waited until the last dregs of power seeped from Arawn's gasping
body, then addressed his exhausted foe. 'Are you finished?'

The
man took some time to catch his breath, but there was a look of both
fear and defiance in his eyes that suggested he was about to do
something stupid. 'Curse you!' he shouted unimaginatively between
gritted teeth, flecks of spit arcing through the air as his nostrils
widened. 'You cannot defeat me!'

El-Vador
offered him a sardonic smile. 'I already have, cease your attack.'

Arawn
shook, whether from humiliation or anger the Elf could not tell, but
at the last he began to mount a final attempt at an attack.

'Cease
this foolishness, Arawn!' barked Chlodochar. 'You are clearly
beaten.'

But
Arawn wasn't listening, so consumed in rage and shame was he that he
barely heard the voice.

El-Vador
noticed that the Brother had now superimposed himself between the two
opponents. Arawn would now have to break through the Brother's
defences to harm the Elf.

He
approached the Brother's position and laid a hand on the creature's
shoulder. 'If you'll allow me, Brother?'

Chlodochar
shook his head. 'No, if Arawn unleashes that power it will surely...'

The
Brother didn't get to finish his sentence, a huge ball of swirling
dark energy soared out at them, El-Vador watched it from the corner
of his eye and mounted a defence that encompassed both himself and
the Brother, grasping the ball with strong claws of power and hurling
it back at the recruit that had unleashed it.

For
an instant none of the crowd was even aware of what had happened; it
took their minds a moment to catch up and register the blur of action
that had occurred so much quicker than their eyes could see.

Of
Arawn there was no sign, the energy had impacted upon him and
engulfed him whole, though El-Vador suspected the man had died in
sending out the last of his life force into the attack.

Chlodochar
stood gaping at the nothingness that was once his most prized pupil.
Whether the creature had expected such a resounding victory or not
the Elf could not tell, but he certainly seemed at a loss for words.

'Arawn
is no more.' he told the assembled Brothers, looking at them as if
for counsel. With none forthcoming he laid his eyes upon the
recruits. 'Who next shall respond to the open challenge?'

El-Vador
was barely listening to the words. He knew what the response would be
already, he was more interested in surveying the reaction of the
Brothers above.

'None
of you wish to face him?' he asked the silence as the ebbing of power
stilled the cavern entirely.

Chlodochar
reached out a hand and placed it on El-Vador's shoulder, as if trying
to hold him back from destroying the rest of the recruits. 'You have
defeated the greatest recruit among us, no other wishes to accept
your challenge and thus the challenge is complete. You may be
seated.'

El-Vador
silently strafed across the arena floor and the recruits rapidly made
space for him, the Brothers above were silent.

There
were no further arena battles that day, apparently the death of
another recruit had dulled any appetite for contest. Most of the
recruits were staring at him with expressions of fear and open
wonder, yet he barely noticed. He departed with Chlodochar's blessing
when it became clear that no other combatants would stand.

That
night, he received a knock on his chamber door, upon opening he
detected the unmistakable breathing of Chlodochar standing beyond the
threshold.

The
creature brushed in without waiting for an invitation, motioning
silently to El-Vador to close the door once again.

'Power
comes easily to my people, we are an ancient race before the fall. In
my youth I used to practice my gift alone constantly in order to stay
alive.'

'Were
you an orphan?' El-Vador asked, not knowing where the Brother was
going with this.

Chlodochar
nodded sadly, removing the hood of his robes. 'Few of us lived in
those days, before being hunted down to extinction.'

'Extinction?
You are the last of your kind?'

Chlodochar
replied with an indifferent shrug. 'It matters not. I had no great
affinity with my race, and made my way here to the sanctuary as soon
as my power was detected by the Brothers.'

He
spoke casually, as if the knowledge that his entire race had been
massacred had no effect on him whatsoever. That one of the very
things driving El-Vador was of little consequence in the grand scheme
to Chlodochar's mind was unsettling to the Elf. If this creature
could move on from such slaughter and put it behind him, should he
not also?

'The
power came to my people easily, there were many that the Brotherhood
tracked. You are the first I have seen who can wield the same power
so naturally.'

'What
do you mean, naturally?' El-Vador asked incredulously, aware of the
impact of the voice on his prowess.

'Today
you proved the true potential magnitude of your power. That cannot be
learned through drills and knowledge, it can only come from within.'

'Not
that the other Brothers have noticed.' El-Vador muttered, thinking of
their lack of reaction to his destruction of both Shimon and Arawn.
'If I am so powerful why not name me Brother and be done with it?'

Chlodochar
tilted his head to the side, trying to gauge the meaning behind his
words. 'You seem eager for power, but do not let it go entirely to
your head.' he warned. 'The Brothers have taken notice of your
prowess but there is more to being a Brother than simply a
measurement of your power. Were you to turn that upon me in anything
save an exercise I would strike you down swiftly. Everything you know
of power I have taught you, but there is much I know that I have yet
to teach.'

El-Vador
couldn’t help but smile. The Brother didn't realise that he
would soon have the opportunity to learn how incorrect he was.

Satisfied,
Chlodochar turned to go. Just before El-Vador closed the door behind
him he added, 'Brother Manilus wants to see you first thing in the
morning. Go to his chambers immediately upon waking.'

The
morning arrived much too soon and found El-Vador at the door leading
into the private quarters of Brother Manilus. When last he had been
here it had been for killing Shimon, a weakling who deserved no
better. This time he had killed a recruit that had been considered
the best prospect the Brotherhood had. He silently wondered if the
difference in power would change Brother Manilus's reaction

He
rapped on the door with his distinctive knock.

'Enter,'
came the voice from within.

Brother
Manilus was in the centre of the room kneeling on his meditation mat.
It was almost as if he hadn’t moved: his position was exactly
the same as it had been at their last meeting.

'Brother,'
El-Vador said, making a low bow.

'The
way in which you defeated Arawn has left quite an impression on the
other recruits,' Manilus said. 'They fear you now, none wishes to
take Arawn's place for fear of being your next victim.'

'That
is not my concern, Brother.' El-Vador replied.

'You
will cease your training in the arena.'

A
wave of anger passed over El-Vador. 'Why?'

'I
am not a fool, we are at war with the others and cannot allow our own
recruits to continue cutting each other down. Your recklessness sets
a bad example for the rest of the recruits and to reward it openly
would send the wrong message.'

'Will
you be promoting me into your Brotherhood then?'

Manilus
shook his head. 'You are not yet ready for such an honour, as
powerful as you have become.'

Now
El-Vador understood. This wasn't about the recruits or El-Vador's
well-being, it was simply about control. El-Vador had defied the
Brotherhood by openly displaying his power and killing those who
opposed him. Now they saw him as a threat, they feared him turning
his powers upon them. They were right to fear, and he knew who he
must strike first.

There is vengeance and then there is killing. Do not equate one
with the other, for the feeling is entirely different. The
brotherhood made two fatal flaws with their tuition of my skills. The
first of these was to prohibit them after I had a taste of control
over my power. The second was to provide me with a way out.

I
never could deal with endings, for they were always the beginning of
something else.

'E
l-Vador!'
Chlodochar’s voice cut off his thoughts midstream. 'Why is you
disturb my sleep at this hour?'

'I
have come to kill you, Brother.'

Chlodochar
gave a slight nod, as if he had expected as much. 'Manilus would not
let you join the Brotherhood, he would not let you into our deepest
sanctum so now you seek to claim it by force.'

'I
seek to claim nothing.' El-Vador replied. 'You have already provided
me with everything I needed save a way out of this accursed place.'

'Then
why not ask for a way to leave this place?' his former mentor
countered. 'Why do you seek to destroy us all with the power we
helped you discover?'

El-Vador
shook his head. 'You admitted yourself that you have not taught me
the extent of your knowledge. If you really wished to help me
discover my potential you wouldn't withhold information from me.'

Chlodochar
sighed. 'We feared that something like this may happen should your
power grow too great.' Without further comment he sent a gush of
darkness seething forth.

While
shielding himself from this first attack, El-Vador realized that
Chlodochar had always been keeping some power in reserve, now he saw
Chlodochar’s true ability, and it was most impressive.

The
Brother grunted in surprise when El-Vador was able to block the first
attack, then stepped back further into the room to regroup. He’d
come in hard and fast, expecting to end their battle quickly. Now he
had to re-evaluate his strategy.

'Your
defence is stronger than I expected,' he observed, and it was clear
in the tone of the creature's voice that he hadn't planned on
El-Vador living this long.

'My
defence is infinite.' El-Vador retorted, before extending his palm
and beckoning the Brother onto him once more.

Chlodochar
sent another gout of power toward the Elf and the room was filled
with the sound of it as it struck El-Vador's defence once more.
El-Vador would have been destroyed by such a probing attack prior to
his learning under Chlodochar. Instead he simply called upon further
reserves of his own power, letting it flow through him and guide his
defences. He beckoned to the voice to aid him, to supplement his
power and provide an impenetrable defence. A faint chuckling was the
reply he received but in tandem with that he felt the dark bubble of
power strengthen further. It was in the voice's best interests to
augment El-Vador's own capabilities in order to allow him to survive
this confrontation and they both knew it. The gambit had paid off.

Seeing
now that the Brother could not hurt him, El-Vador went on the attack
with tendrils of dark power surging out and probing every inch of
Chlodochar's formidable defences. In his past sparring sessions he
had been incapable of penetrating the Brother's defences. Now that
the voice was adding to his force he knew that he was finally calling
on his full potential.

He
drove Chlodochar back with furious blasts that his old mentor could
not counter, forcing him back across the room and against the far
wall, El-Vador had him pinned now, there was no escape.

His
killing blow was turned aside at the last second by a resurgence in
the creature's power, but the Elf quickly followed it up with another
series of probing strikes to prevent a counter. Chlodochar was pushed
inexorably back into the wall by the raging storm of El-Vador’s
onslaught. Each time he tried to change tactics, El-Vador
anticipated, reacted, and seized the advantage.

The
outcome was inevitable. El-Vador could simply keep pressing his
advantage until Chlodochar's energies had dissipated. Over the course
of his training El-Vador had seen every possible sequence, series,
move, and trick with the mentor's power, and he knew how to counter
and nullify them all.

Chlodochar
had realised this and was becoming desperate, his attempts at
counters more swift and wild in their ineffectiveness.

'I
will show you the way out of this place,' the creature gurgled
desperately. 'I will even aid you in your fight against the Orcs
should you wish it.'

'I
need no aid.' El-Vador replied, hurling out the a final wave of power
that engulfed the Brother with a screech that was barely heard over
the deep laughter resonating in the Elf's head.

He
felt nothing. Chlodochar, his mentor, the only instructor at the
Sanctuary who had ever actually helped him, was dead.

El-Vador
turned his back on the room and walked away.

There
was neither time nor reason to mourn Chlodochar’s death. For
all his use in the past, he had become simply an obstacle in
El-Vador’s path. An obstacle that was now gone. El-Vador had to
destroy them. All of them. To do that, he’d have to use the
complete power that the voice had gifted him with, but not before he
finally broke into this sanctum.

The
purging of the Brotherhood had begun.

When
Aliana's door opened he saw her cautious, uncertain expression.

'Chlodochar
is dead,' El-Vador stated. 'We move tonight.'

She
nodded. 'What must I do?'

He
offered her a faint smile. 'Stay out of my way. I will come for you
when it is over.'

'There
is nothing I can do to assist you? You wish me to simply play the
damsel in distress?' she said, a hint of reproach in her voice.