63 Thunder and Lightning (1/2)
Nikolai flashed over the battlefield, the sound of his passage sending the 'Scurries', as one of Kazimierz' previous persona's had dubbed them, reeling. The pressure of his arrival tore a rift through their lines, hundreds of unlucky Scurries bursting into flame in the wake of the energy he unleashed. He saw tribesman chanting and screaming in delight as his passing devastated the enemy lines. Nikolai couldn't help releasing a few pulses of Magic to encourage his people. Excitement ran through his veins at freedom after so many days restrained, whatever Kazimierz may have claimed to the contrary.
Nikolai cast spells to observe his body even as he streaked across the sky, trying to get a grip on the changes he was experiencing. The will of the True Imperial was locked away in a cocoon, slowly melding with the ancient powers which streamed through his veins. He'd hoped the will would vanish, but it seemed to be undergoing some form of transformation instead and only time would tell what it would become. He twisted his body, spinning with arms outstretched, revelling in the power he now wielded. Passers-by would only see a shooting star lighting up the horizon with terrifying speed and Nikolai stifled the desire to crow with delight as Magic pulsed around his body.
He'd missed the sensation.
In the blink of an eye he closed in on the familiar forms of Kazimierz and his companions. The Vilinian Master Mage hovered with his eyes closed and a dark cloud swirling behind him. Nikolai screeched to a halt at a distance, spinning Nezgrom and creating all sorts of barriers in preparation. The Animas sensed his arrival and formed a semi circle facing him and blocking his path to Kazimierz.
”You won't get in his way.” Zebreski raised her palms, glittering smoke spinning around her wrists and arms. She mumbled a few spells and Nikolai watched barriers spring up around her. The other Animas summoned weapons and Magic, ready to strike at a moments notice.
”Whatever he's doing looks… ominous.” Nikolai waved at the dark cloud. ”I thought you hated Nostrum? That definitely looks like one of his spells.” While a black cloud didn't necessarily indicate Dark Magic, the twisting energy was giving Nikolai chills just by being this close. Nezgrom slowly lit up, activation runes spiralling around the powerful War-Staff, ready to hurl deadly energy of all forms at his enemies.
”Told you we should have killed him when we had the chance. It hasn't even been an hour, and he's causing us trouble.” Lucas swung his Greatsword in emphasis, but showed no sign of moving, glaring sullenly at Nikolai instead.
”Leave now Morales. Kazimierz already let you go once.” Zebreski growled, ignoring her companion and summoning a crystal wand engraved with powerful illusory spells. Nikolai felt his mind warping every time he looked in her direction, the power emanating from the wand at the limit of transcending to a Master Mage's level. The Animas didn't seem to be interested in fighting as long as Kazimierz remained undisturbed and Nikolai was content to wait for a little longer to ensure his spells were ready. Most Magic combat started with the creation of defences, since most Mages would carry talismans capable of deflecting the small attacks their opponent could create at a moments notice, which meant larger and longer spells had to be utilised to determine a victor. It was always a strange situation, both sides building even greater defences while they spent some effort to prepare their attacks, and once someone felt confident, destruction followed.
”I can't let him do what he wants to my people.” Nikolai raised his War-Staff, and the Animas moved, arrows shooting from summoned bows and Aura blades tearing through the air towards him. He grunted as the arrows exploded against his outermost shields and he flashed to the side as they bore down on him. With a flick of his wrist and a spoken keyword, Nezgrom vibrated and unleashed five crimson flashes, shrieking as they poured down on the archers in the distance. To a Mage, archers were terrifying opponents, their long range attacks easily capable of disrupting any Mages concentration. It was difficult to chant calmly when a bolt of steel was about to punch through your eye after all. The archers hadn't even sensed the attack, and the crimson bolts slammed into them with terrifying force, bursting on impact and creating a ring of destruction that crashed against the powerful shield surrounding Kazimierz.
Nikolai spun out of the way of a massive Aura Blade and hurled a few more bolts at Kazimierz' shield, hoping to break his concentration but the Anima had planned his defences exquisitely, Nikolai's attack breaking against his shield in a cascade of chaotic energy. Zebreski's chanting finished, summoning a huge cloud that swept across the sky and Nikolai was forced to dodge. A ripple passed through the air and Nikolai found himself floating in a dark void, his senses slipping away. Fear gripped his heart, and Nikolai twisted but it felt like he was strapped in place. Cold tendrils appeared from the darkness, silhouetting a terrifying eye that gazed upon him in disdain. He opened his mouth to scream, but the tendrils shot into his body, digging deep into his soul.
His blood rebelled at the invasion, rushing through his body to hurl the streams back with Divine essence and peel away the darkness which enveloped him. Blinking furiously, Nikolai retreated as the illusion shattered. The cloud of illusory Magic was still forming around Zebreski, which meant mere moments had passed since the illusion struck him. He shuddered to think of what could have happened if he hadn't absorbed the vial of refined Imperial Blood. Whatever spell she'd engraved in that wand was terrifying, able to bypass his defences so easily.
Six Animas burst from the cloud, weapons drawn and shooting towards Nikolai at inhuman speeds. Still disoriented from the illusion he'd fallen prey to, Nikolai spread his wings wide open and reinforced his barriers with the help of Nezgrom. The charging Animas crashed into his defences and he grimaced as half his barriers shattered at the impact. His wings exploded with power and a hail of lightning descended on his attackers, turning them into a hissing mess of smoke. Only one of the Animas survived, his mangled arms trailing smoke as he spun to the earth and Nikolai sped after him, two massive runes flaring to life in his hands. He thrust a palm down, igniting one of the runes to generate a huge wave of fire which rolled over the unfortunate Anima in waves, deconstructing his body further. The swirling smoke left behind tried to escape to its companions but Nikolai triggered the sealing rune in his other hand.
The rune exploded in size, wrapping the Anima in streams of light. He struggled to escape, the Magic bulging precariously as he battered the seal with all his power and Nikolai clenched his fist in anxiety as he turned to face even more Animas descending after him. Nikolai weaved his way through a series of Magical blasts and illusory clouds, grinning in triumph as the seal held, freezing the Anima in place. Satisfied that his plan worked Nikolai let the frozen smoke fall, knowing his seal would only hold the Anima in place for a short time. This was the same technique he'd used against the Warp-Lich over Konstanz, binding the passage through which it entered his world. Unfortunately Animas seemed to have a greater presence in this plane of existence and the same technique would only act as a deterrent.
But it was enough.
This was the best means he could come up with to deal with the Animas on such short notice and now it was proven to work. Armed with the knowledge, Nikolai exploded with power, using the Azokarri focus' connection to the veins of energy around Galicia to draw huge amounts of energy. Nezgrom thrummed under the strain, hurling devastating War Magic at the Animas. A cascade of lightning and fire cut through Zebreski's spells to home in on the Illusionist, battering her defences until she was hurled from the sky. Iridescent bolts of Magic slammed into the Animas, bursting on impact and creating rings of apocalyptic devastation. Fuelled by the energy of the land itself, Nikolai turned everything within a mile into a zone of death.
Even as the raging energy cleared, Nikolai was streaking towards the ragged trails of smoke and sealing them in place. The land was broken, seared by the horrific Magic he'd unleashed. Ash and lava were all that remained when a War Mage acted unrestrained. Breathing heavily under the strain of channelling so much power, Nikolai caught a glimpse of a furious Kazimierz waving his arms to suspend whatever Dark Magic he was casting, his powerful shield cracking under the waves of Magic Nikolai had bombarded it with. Ignoring the Anima, he flashed towards Zebreski, bolts of lightning tearing through the recovering Mage until she turned to crimson smoke. Slamming the seal onto her broken form, Nikolai grasped her soul form tightly, sending pulses of lightning to disrupt her struggles. Based on the Magic she used, Zebreski was close to becoming a Master herself and uninhibited she might be able to break the seal. Nikolai wasn't going to take any chances.
”Release her Morales!” Kazimierz roared, the dark cloud revolving above him like a hungry beast, streams of mist squirming across it like a writhing tentacled mass.
”Stop your spell!” Nikolai shouted back, gauging the spells still tied to Nezgrom. He'd unleashed almost everything at his disposal, falling back into his habits as a War Mage where there would be a company of guards to sweep him away once he was spent. Still, now he was faced with a single adversary.
A Master like him.
”My promise to release you is void Morales!” The cloud above Kazimierz seemed to feed off his rage, billowing in time with his words. Streams of fire spun below Kazimierz' feet until he stood upon a swirling disc of flame, the roaring heat so powerful it clawed at Nikolai across a thousand feet.
This was the strength of a Master Mage.
The domain of Laws.
A Mage channelled energy and used carefully crafted chants to bend the world to their will, but a Master understood the underlying structure to some extent, grasping an aspect of energy to the point a thought could summon that aspect at will.
That was a Law.
No Mage would give up their versatility to wield energy clumsily though, however freely they could handle it, and as such it simply increased a Mages ability to handle spells aligned with their Law. But when it came to raw power, a Law made all the difference.
Nikolai stared at the Law of fire forming around Kazimierz, studying its capabilities through his Sight. The fire flickered with instability, proof Kazimierz had formed his Law recently and there were hints of soul essence woven throughout the flames. A by-product of his nature as an Anima Nikolai assumed, calming his mind to call on his own powers.
”You're far too inexperienced to deal with me.” Nikolai boomed, a sea of lightning and wind spurting from his wings. Wisps of thunder burst from his fingertips, coiling dragons of lightning sweeping across the sky in defiance.