Ebony Mist -Original

Part XII: Hurricane

Before Alaura even reached the ladder, she was soaked to the bone, causing her to shiver as climbed. Her mind screamed for her to go back inside, but her heart wanted to see what the druid would do, felt as if she needed to be there.

Coming to the top, she found not a thatched roof, but a stone balcony perched at the highest point. Stepping onto it, the rain no longer pelted her skin, as it appeared to be avoiding the whole open porch as if it had a roof over it.

Alaura looked up at the swirling mass of clouds and paled at it's dark and dangerous hews, how the clouds twisted violently in the sky.

The princess's thoughts were pulled back down when a cloak was wrapped around her shivering frame, The inside of which was fur lined and warm. She looked into the black druid's eyes, which were the color of the raging storm.

"Keep warm, and stay low. Do not speak a word if you are to watch," he told her, before going to stand in the center of the balcony. Etched into the stone floor was a great arcane circle filled with rough runes. The druid lifted his hands and began to chant an incantation in a strange guttural language.

As Alaura watched, several pillars of light appeared about the island, and craning her neck over the edge, she realized they came from runic rings just like the one the black druid now stood upon. The light spilt over the sky, under the clouds, and began creating a protective shield over the island.

The princess watched in amazement as the rain crashed against the barrier, which soon reached to the shores of the island, the waves beginning to crash against it. She looked back up at the druid with a new wonder. Though it be only an island, she found it amazing that he could defy the elements in such a way. His chanting never ceased.

"It's always amazing to watch the master," Alaura jumped at the sudden voice next to her, and found Xi sitting next to her, the kitten nowhere in sight.

"How long does he have to keep it up?" she asked the demon cat.

"As long as the storm is dangerous. The moment he ceases, the barrier disappears and we are in danger from the hurricane," came the cat's explenation. Alaura gasped in surprise.

"But that could be hours, if not days! How does he manage it?" she inquired.

"He is the black druid, the most powerful of the druids. He is mystery himself, and even I do no know, and I have been his servant for many an age. He has held out before, so don't you worry," Xi explained. "Of course, magic doesn't come without its price, and master will have to pay it later."

"Wait, magic comes with a price?" Alaura asked.

"Yes. It's different for all. I am a being of magic, and the price of my life is the life of others. Though the master has made it so I have not need to do so anymore. Yours might be your talent. You must use your talent as the price for your magic. Take the paint to pay for the live creation," Xi told her, then suddenly jumped to all four feet, arching his back, hide bristling as he hissed. Alaura was taken aback and scooted away from him.

"What's wrong?" she asked meekly, glancing from him to the black druid. It was then that a great bolt of lighting snaked from the clouds, breaking through the barrier to reach further down still. It's light and crashing sound dropped upon the druid's head, light flooding around him so blindingly bright, she had to cover her eyes. A split second it was there, and then it was gone.

Now the black druid laid slumped upon the ground, unmoving. His words silenced, so the barrier began to fall, the harsh rain pelting them.

"No!" Alaura cried, and ran to the druid, grabbing his shoulder to roll him towards her, his eyes closed and skin pale.

Then the wind hit, and Alaura was almost flung backwards from it's sheer force, whipping her hair and the druid's cloak around her. She grabbed the black druid's arm, shaking him to wake him, as well as to keep hold of something so she wouldn't be blown away. She tried yelling, but her voice was snatched away before it could leave her parted lips.

Trees began to bend and wave in the wind, the waves of the sea crashing upon the shores, ever rising towards the keep. Dust and pebbles were blown up into the wind and swirled around the tower. Alaura had to close her eyes so as to not be blinded.

Then a warmth bloomed in her gut, a familiar feeling by now, which rushed through her veins and to her throat. As she managed to her feet, the cloak about her shoulders flew off, snatched by the wind. Alaura raised her face to the sky, and began to sing. The words came unbidden to her lips, strange words she did not know, but felt she knew their meaning.

As her voice cried out, a barrier arose from the arcane circle she now stood in the midste of, and covered the top of the tower. It shielded them from the wind, rain, and rubble. Her voice was now able to ring out stronger, singing as loud as she could in a passionate tune.

The figure crumped at her feet stirred, and began to rise. A large hand grasped Alaura's shoulder, but she did not stop singing. The druid managed to his feet, breath labored, and turned away. Back to back they stood, as the druid began to chant his words. The druid's chant brought the circles around the island back to life, and soon the barrier was again errected, protecting the island from the elements.

A second time the lighting in the sky flashed, seeking to penetrate the barriers around the druid. It broke through Xavier's barrier, but onc it reached the smaller barrier around the tower, it was stopped. It hopped back into the clouds in the sky, as it hurt by the wall it encountered. Again and again the lighting came, but Alaura's voice rang strong, keeping the barrier as an unpenetrable wall.

Then it was as if the lighting gave up its pursuit of the druid, and more quickly than it had come, the hurricane began to leave. The clouds shrinking and growing lighter in color. The rain letting off, and the wind dying. The waves, which once tossed in a great crashing manner, now calmed to the gentle tides.

The black druid ceased his chanting, and turned to Alaura, who still sang. Again he placed a great hand on her shoulder, and said to her. "It's done, you may stop." His words brought Alaura's singing to an end, and she turned to look up at him, and frowned.

"You're... so pale," she cried, and he smiled, and nodded. His eyes closed, and suddenly he was leaning towards her. Alaura gasped as he then fainted into her arms, knees buckling. His weight was too much, and she could only bring him to the ground, his head on her lap. "M-master!" she cried, shaking him to try to wake him up. "M-master, wake up!"

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~ElfyTheRinger