#felterra

Alek glanced down at Ajax and swore. He could clearly see bone gleaming wetly in the flashing of lightning the boy was throwing out.

"Get my men out of here, lizard," he snarled, eyes shining with the blue-white light of his magic. "I will hold here and give you time to escape."

Alek hesitated for only a moment before clapping a hand to the younger man's shoulder, pouring as much power into him as he dared, before turning and sprinting away. "Die well, thunderchild!" he yelled back over his shoulder as he leapt onto the back of the last truck.

Ajax grinned fiercely, lightning crackling around him, and lunged headlong into the horde of demons rushing to meet him.

"Come to me, shadow-spawn!" he bellowed as they died in droves around him. "Come face the last son of Aigio Village!" He had stopped counting how many times they had hit him. He knew he had only moments left before they tore him apart.

With his magic singing in his veins, Ajax threw his head back and howled with laughter. The song in his soul reached its crescendo, and he finally let go of his magic entirely. "I AM AJAX NIKOLAOU, THE THUNDERCLAP, AND YOU WILL REMEMBER MY NAME!" He grinned one last time, finally at peace with the power that had plauged him for so long. "This is where my saga ends."

Behind them, in the distance, there was a brilliant flash of light, and a thunderous bang that shook them all to their marrow. In the back of the truck, Alek saluted, fist over his heart, as one by one, the soldiers around him rose and did the same.

"Rest easy in the fields of Elysium, thunderchild," he said softly.

A.N: OW. Boy pulled a Rockjaw Grang on me. (Bonus points if you know that reference.) Anyway, I'm gonna try to start posting more, but I'm not promising anything. Like I said, I'll do my best.

Misa Nozaki was stressed, strung out, and up to her elbows in blood as she desperately channeled magic into her fingertips, rapidly knitting back together the insides of the man lying on the table before her. Misa was a healer, and while Flesh Smith magic was incredibly potent healing magic, it worked differently from other types in that to heal someone you had to physically touch them.

And to heal massive stomach wounds like the one of the man before her, it meant she had to literally reach inside him so that she could touch each damaged part and fix it. It was a slower form of healing, but more complete, more perfect, and often left the person in better shape than they had been before they were injured.

Torn tissue swiftly healed itself under her fingers, and she was soon done and moving onto the next victim of this most recent demonic breach. The demons had been stepping up their attacks, and lately it felt like the TFS had been dashing from one breach to the next with no time to rest and recharge in between.

The sounds of battle were all around her, but she shut her ears to them as best she could and focused on the injured civilians before her. Without warning, she was lifted from her feet and hurled almost 10 feet before she crashed to the ground in a heap. It took her a long moment to unscramble her brains and figure out what had happened. One wall of the building had been blasted inwards, and a dozen very large demons had stormed into the room. The few guards in the room had immediately turned at thrown themselves at the intruders, and were now desperately trying to hold them back while those that could fled from the room.

Her eyes dilated. The world stopped around her. She heard a small sigh, almost like a breath of wind in her ear, and she looked around, but could see no one.

*Alright, little sister, you know the drill.*

She grimaced slightly. "You know how I feel about how you use my powers."

*Yes, I do, but I also made a promise to your mother that I would protect you, and I will be damned if I go back on my word. Now, are we going to do this the hard way, or are you going to let me do my job and ensure the safety of you and everyone else here?*

Misa sighed, but, after a moment, nodded. "Very well. Do what you wish."

Time unfroze, and the demons suddenly smashed the guards aside, turning to the helpless people around them, grinning wickedly.

"Well, what delightful sssssssport we ssssseem to have found here!" hissed the leader, a serpentine demon, not unlike a naga in form. He turned as Misa rose to her feet, hair hiding her face. "Oh? Sssssso eager to die, pretty one? Very well, I shall grant your desssssire!"

He surged fowards, razor talons slicing at her, only to be brought up short as she simply reached up and caught his arm, her grip like iron, her strength inexplicably beyond his.

"Wh-what?" The demon stammered, tugging. "L-let go of me, you filthy human!"

All the demons, and everyone else in the room for that matter, froze as she began to laugh. This was not a normal laugh, but the deranged, high pitched giggle of an utter lunatic.

She finally raised her head and the demon recoiled in fear, the mad light in her crimson eyes leaving no doubt as to what was about to happen to him.

Kikyo, now in control of Misa's body, grinned insanely and giggled again. "Ooooooo I have some new toys I see!"

She leaned close and whispered into the demons ear. "It's playtime, bitch!"

*************************************************

When Misa finally regained control of her body, there wasnt much left of them save for various unidentifiable parts and truly startling amounts of blood and other bodily fluids scattered around.

She sighed at the shocked expressions on the faces of everyone around her and walked out of the room, knowing that none of them would allow her to heal them now.

"Y'know," she said under her breath. "You make it awfully hard to do my job sometimes. Whatever happened to 'do no harm', huh?"

Her only reply was a sleepy giggle at the back of her mind.

((Authors Note: I hope you guys liked this one! This is a new/old character that I had been toying with putting into my stories, and decided to write a short to see how it went. As always, feel free to shoot me a comment or leave a like and tell me what you think! I makes me happy to know there are people out there who actually read my stuff! I will also be following this up with character bios for both Misa and Kikyo sometime in the next few days when I have more time to sit down and flesh them both out a bit better.))

A Line in the Dirt

The demons had somehow found out about the refugee column and waited in ambush at the mouth of the pass.

This was the only way through the mountains, and they had laid their trap well. 

Alek knew he didnt have enough troops to force a breach and protect the refugees. 

He split his forces, sending a third to the rear to guard against a possible second attack from that direction. The remaining two thirds he had dig in at a narrow part of the pass where a small number of troops could easily hold off a larger force. 

He had then gone forward to where the pass narrowed further still, the sheer cliffs towering to either side only forty feet apart. 

He stood there in plain view, sword in one hand, shield in the other, resplendent in his full armor. He took his sword, and scratched a long line on the ground one cliff face to the other. Then he banged his blade against his shield twice, and settled into a ready crouch. 

His meaning was clear. 

If the demons wanted at his men and the innocent people beyond, they were going to have to get past Alek first. 

Four times they came at him, swarming up the hill like a living tide, howling and shrieking in their wretched tongue. 

Four times he beat them back, through a combination of consummate skill, sheer ferocity, and a bloody minded refusal to be moved from his chosen spot. 

Then came the helknights.

Three of them, clad in smoking black iron plate and wielding wickedly serrated swords that glittered with dragonsbane. 

They came at him in a pack, covering each other and trying to force him aside. Twice he took blows that he could have avoided if moving wouldn't have opened a gap for them to get past him. 

Alek doggedly fought on, but he was tiring, a myriad of small wounds sapping his strength and combining with the debilitating effects of the dragonsbane from the other two blows he had taken. 

Suddenly, they rushed him, slamming into him, once, twice, three times, their poison blades biting deep. 

Alek bellowed in fury and pain, and finding a hidden well of strength, unexpectedly surged forward to meet them as they came at him a fourth time. 

He killed the first two with brutal strokes from his sword. The third just barely avoided his blade, only to be crushed into the cliff face by Alek's shield. 

Alek dropped to his knees, panting hard, his vision swimming in and out. He heard footsteps and looked up. 

One of the Demon Lords stood in front of him. He didnt know this one. He was too tired to care. 

"Are you quite finished?" the demon asked mildly. "Because I have much better places to be than waiting for you to die."

Slowly, painfully, Alek rose to his feet, set his shield and then raised his sword. 

"I didn't hear a bell," he growled. 

The demon sighed and drew an elegant rapier. "Oh very well then."

They traded blows back and forth, but the demon was winning, slicing and stabbing, finding Mark's again and again. Alek had dozens of wounds now, and his breath was coming in great, ragged gasps. With almost contemptuous ease, the demon finally slapped his shield aside, spun on his heel, and delivered a kick to Alek's chest with tremendous force. 

Alek crashed backward and landed flat out, seeing stars. As his vision cleared, he saw the demon loom over him, blade poised to strike. 

:That is not your life to take, dark spawn.: 

War's massive blade hit the demon lord like a thunderbolt and killed him instantly, cleaving the demon across the torso from shoulder to hip. He strode past the collapsed Alek, laughing. 

:Rest, my friend. You have done your duty. We will handle it from here.: Death and Famine passed him as well, and Allister appeared next to him, medkit in hand.

A good day, Alek thought. This was a good day. 

Then he passed out. 

He awoke three days later to learn he was, once again, being called a hero. Alek went to the ceremony, accepted the award, and then out it in a box with the rest.

He did this because it was right, and he had the power to do it.

Even to a dragon, some things are worth more than gold.

Like drawing a line in the dirt and daring the foe to cross it.

"Follow behind me!" Alek bellowed over the cacophony of battle, smashing aside a demon with his shield and cutting down another three with fast, brutal strokes of his sword.

"Come, stay close!" Misa called to the civilians she was shepherding. Behind them, eye-searing bolts of light stabbed out again and again as Essylla blasted any demons that dared come close.

The demons had caught them off guard and overrun their camp. They were fighting a desperate rearguard action to get the civilians out safely.

"Mommy!"

The petrified cry reached her ears through the roar of combat, and Misa turned to see a little girl, no more than four or five, pinned against a wall, a thrakka raising its sword.

*DONT YOU FUCKING DARE, DICKWAD!*

The demon soldier recoiled in surprise, it's arm gone at the elbow.

Kikyo cradled the child against her, whispering soothingly.

"There, there, little one, it's okay, I've got you, you're safe now," she murmured. "I want you to be a strong and brave girl for me, okay? Keep your eyes shut tight, alright? I'll get you back to your mommy."

The little girl nodded and squeezed her eyes shut, plugging her ears with her fingers for good measure. Kikyo looked back at the thrakka, who had been joined by three others, and hissed, baring her needle sharp teeth.

"You die know, shitfucks," she snarled, and lunged at them.

********

The girl's mother couldnt stop thanking Kikyo. Not knowing what to do, she retreated, and left Misa to deal with it.

"Please, please, it wasnt me!" Misa protested, but to no avail. They. were calling her Hell Maiden now. The Savage Physician.

Well, maybe it wasnt all bad. At least they didnt seem afraid of her anymore.

((Tadaaa! I know it's been ages, and I'm so sorry! >_< I got so caught up in Seeker, and work, amd all the other insanity. I'll try to get back into posting more. Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay home! ♥️♥️))

Alek gripped the arms of his chair as the bridge of his ship, the battlecruiser Heart of Fire, shook hard.

"Damage?" he called out.

"None, mi'lord," replied one of the crew, glancing up from his display. "I got the shields up in time."

Alek nodded. "Good man. Helm, bring us about, six points to starboard!"

"Aye, sir!"

"Comms, signal the fleet. Form up on us, defensive formation Alpha!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Tactical!"

"Yes, mi'lord?"

Alek pointed at the view screen and the enemy cruiser it was displaying. "I want that ship killed."

"Consider it done, mi'lord."

The ship shivered again, this time with the force of it's own weapons fire, and the enemy ship's shields blossomed with discharging energy.

Reports were coming in fast now, but Alek easily stayed on top of everything due to literal centuries of command experience. The pirates had caught them off guard, ambushing them as they dropped out of FTL flight, but they were rallying quickly, and punishing the criminals for their audacity. In rapid succession, three of the pirate frigates detonated, leaving behind rapidly expanding coronas of flaming gases and debris, and one of their cruisers was badly mauled, and began desperately trying to limp away.

But they weren't having it all their own way, either.

"Mi'lord, the Angel of Absolution has engaged a pirate cruiser and is taking heavy damage!" The heavy cruiser had misjudged the pirates evasive maneuver and been severely hammered on its exposed flank.

"Have her pull back and send up the Skyweaver and Trik'aloon to cover her!"

As the damaged cruiser fell back, the two assault frigates powered forward to take its place, catching the offending pirate ship between them in a savage crossfire, blowing huge holes in the hull. Trailing smoke and scrap, the cruiser tried to break free, but was immediately stuck in the engines with a lucky shot from the still retreating Angel, crippling it and bringing it to a halt.

"Uh, sir?"

It was more the note of confusion in the crewmans voice than his actual call that caught Alek's attention. "Speak, yeoman. What is it?"

"Sir, I'm recieving an incoming message."

"Source?"

"Unknown, sir. It doesnt seem to have an origin point, amd it's coming in on all frequencies."

That was odd, indeed. "What does it say?"

"Just one word, sir. 'Seraphim', repeated over and over."

Alek froze for a second, then turned to look at the officer, the force of his gaze pinning the young man to his seat. "Are you sure?"

"Y-y-yes sir!" he stammered, surprised at Aleks sudden intensity.

Alek spun around, barking orders. "Helm, bring us around, get us out of here, full speed! Engineering, I want as much power to the engines as you can give us! Pull from shields and weapons if you have to. Comms, inform all ships to break off, disengage, and haul ass! Move! NOW!"

The bridge became even more frenetic as crew jumped to obey, shouting to each other as they went. The Heart vibrated as her powerful engines roared to full burn and she began to turn, surprisingly nimble despite her size. Other ships were copying her, much to the evident confusion of the pirate vessels they had been fighting moments before.

"Mi'lord, I'm detecting an immense energy build up behind us!" yelled one of the crew.

"On screen!" Alek called, and the view switched to the space behind them, showing the pirate fleet, still milling about in confusion, and the ships of his own fleet streaming after them. As they watched, a small brilliant point of light appeared among the pirate ships, rapidly expanding, the ships vanishing within the blinding glow.

When the screen cleared, the pirate ships were gone, as though they'd never existed. There was total silence on the bridge, aside from the muted thrum of the engines and the soft sounds of the consoles and displays.

Alek sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his finger and thumb, closing his eyes. "Would you care to explain what THAT was all about?"

He opened his eyes to glare at the being now standing before him.

She appeared to be a tall, blonde, green eyed human woman in her late twenties to him, but he knew that she would look completely different to every person on the bridge.

The Seraphim Mercy smiled at him and winked, completely unaffected by his glare. "Nice to see you too, Alek. I have news. We need to talk."

((I'm sorry I've been gone for so long, everyone! Between work and family drama, and the holidays, I've been too tired to write much. I'm hoping to have more energy and inspiration after the new year, but in the meantime, I will post when and what I can. I will have some info on the Seraphim in the next few days, so look forward to it!))

"Pleeeeeeeease?"

The battle had been a hard one, but it was a crushing victory, and command had informed them that it would be a while before the demons considered trying again, so they had celebrated in the mess hall of the Seeker, partying hard late into the night. At this point things had started to wind down, amd everyone was simply sitting around chatting, relaxing, and generally enjoying themselves.

Darrius shook his head at his sister good naturedly, and sighed in mock annoyance. "I'll no get any peace from ye till I agree, will I?"

"Nope," Erissa confirmed, beaming at him.

"Alright, alright," he said, and turned to his brothers. "But if I'm gonna sing, that means you two have to play, and Erissa, you and Alek have to dance."

Joseph and Allister both grinned, andAlek laughed, standing up. "I'm game for that! C'mon, Eri, let's show them a thing or two about dancing." 

With a sweep of his arm a beautifully embellished mandolin appeared in Joseph's hands, and he tuned it for a moment before nodding in satisfaction while Allister did the same with an equally gorgeous guitar. 

Tables were quickly pushed aside to clear a space. Alek flared his wings politely and bowed, while Erissa giggled and curtsied prettily. They began to turn and spiral around each other in a truly impressive display of skill as Joseph and Allister started playing, and after a few moments, Darrius began to sing, his voice a clear tenor, rich and warm.

"Gentlemen it is me duty

To inform you of one beauty

Though I'd ask of you a favour

Not to seek her for a while

Though I own she is a creature

Of character and feature

No words can paint the picture

Of the queen of all Argyll

And if you could have seen her there

Boys, if you had just been there

The swan was in her movements

And the marvel in her smile

All the roses in the garden

They bow and ask her pardon

For not one could match the beauty

Of the Queen of all Argyll"

Alek and Erissa whirled, spun, and danced, Alek using his tail and wings just as much as his arms and legs while Erissa wove glittering patterns with Quietus and Demise. 

"On the evening that I mentioned

I passed with light intention

Through a part of our dear country

Known for beauty and for style

In the place of noble thinkers

Of scholars and great drinkers

But above them all for splendour

Shone the Queen of all Argyll

And if you could have seen her there

Boys, if you had just been there

The swan was in her movements

And the marvel in her smile

All the roses in the garden

They bow and ask her pardon

For not one could match the beauty

Of the Queen of all Argyll"

Essylla now joined them, glowing brightly with magic, slipping between and around the other two, leaving sparkling trails of magic behind her as she flew, adding to the beautiful scene.

"So my lads I needs must leave you

My intentions no' to grieve you

Nor indeed would I deceive you

Oh I'll see you in a while

I must find some way to gain her

To court her and attain her

I fear my heart's in danger

From the Queen of all Argyll

And if you could have seen her there

Boys, if you had just been there

The swan was in her movements

And the marvel in her smile

All the roses in the garden

They bow and ask her pardon

For not one could match the beauty

Of the Queen of all Argyyyyyyyyyll."

Alek and Erissa stopped at precisely where they had started, with Essylla now hovering between them, panting hard but smiling as the room erupted with cheers and applause. 

((I hope you guys you like this one! It was inspired by the song "Queen of Argyll" by Silly Wizard. Please go give it a listen! Anyway, as always, lemme know what you think!))

Alek skidded to a halt at the edge if the clearing, chest heaving, taking in the entire scene at a glance. Essylla, Neveen, Misa, and Ajax all lay in heaps scattered around the clearing, broken, bleeding, and as far as he could tell, dead.

Now, as Alek himself had said, self control was one of his greatest strengths. It made him a phenomenal mage, a superb commander, and a skilled diplomat. But in that moment, seeing his friends lying on the ground before him, and Lucifer, the mightiest of Infernal Lords, standing there with a smug, gloating smile on his face, surrounded by his small coterie of sycophants and hangers on, every last shred of control he had vanished in an instant.

A bellow of pure, absolute, unadulterated rage tore from his throat. Lucifer turned in surprise, but he was on the demon almost before Lucifer had time to react. He sidestepped Alek's jackhammer punch with a startled oath, then grunted in pain as Alek's tail connected squarely across his midriff, hurling him almost twenty feet through the air. He crashed to the ground, gasping and winded. Lucifer bounded to his feet in an instant, but Alek was already on top of him. He was a blur of teeth, tail, scales, and claws, and it was all Lucifer could do to keep out of reach.

“Enough!” Lucifer snarled, and managed to catch Alek in the face with a powerful bolt of flame. Alek stumbled backward, unharmed but momentarily disoriented, which gave Lucifer the opening he needed to drive a long dagger into Alek’s exposed side. He bellowed, more in rage than pain, and seized the surprised demon by his pointed ears, and drove his knee up into Lucifer’s face with all of his might.

There was a resounding crack, like a large branch being broken, and Lucifer tumbled back from Alek, blood spurting from his nose. Alek took a step towards him, then cried out in pain and double over, clutching his side. The dagger that Lucifer had stabbed him with was glowing with a sickly green glow, pulsing slowly.

“Good enough for you, stupid hybrid mutt,” Lucifer muttered thickly, trying to stem the blood pouring from his shattered nose. “That blade is infused with necromantic spells. Itll suck the life out of you, and make itself all the strong for it.” Alek was down on one knee, gasping raggedly. Lucifer walked over to stand over him, his gloating still evident despite his ruined face. “You should have known not to fuck with the most powerful demon in. the Infernal Realm. Die in agony, you worthless wretch, and despair, knowing your name will be forgotten.”

FWOOMF

Lucifer was once again tossed into the air, crashing back down several yards away, as a tendril of magic lashed out from Alek's prone form and smashed him aside.

“My name?” Alek hissed, rising to his feet, the light from the dagger seeming to be flowing into him and twisting, mingling with his own aura. “My name is Aleksander Yanukovich Petronova. I am the son of Fireheart, Queen of the Red Dragons, and I will make sure that you NEVER forget that.”

His body was shifting, rippling, the necromantic power being drawn out of the dagger, which slid out of his side and clattered to the ground. His scales and claws became the white of bleached bones, ghostly green flames flickering around him, the skin sank, making him gaunt and skeletal, his features taking on a truly nightmarish aspect. Balls of green foxfire danced around him, and he spread his tattered and rotting wings behind him as frozen magic billowed from him in waves, coating the ground with crackling frost.

Erissa came sprinting into the clearing, ignoring Alek and Lucifer in favor of checking on the others. They were still alive, thank the gods, but hurting and needed help. She glanced over at Alek and grinned at his transformation.

“And behold, death made flesh,” she said to herself. “That chilling beast who stands between life and death, gatekeeper of the underworld, and lord of the dark realms. Hail, Gravedragon!”

Fire as cold as ice swirled around Alek’s hands as he strode towards Lucifer, a terrible grin on his face, his eyes blazing with unholy energies. *Come then, little demons,* he said, his voice invoking a horrific and nameless dread in the demons who heard him, including Lucifer. *I have a bone to pick with you!*

As Erissa sped from the clearing with Misa and Ajax each under and arm, and Neveen draped over Oblivions back, Essylla in her pocket, she broke out into delighted giggles as the sounds of Alek's laughter and the screams of terrified demons echoed through the trees.

((Happy Halloween, everyone! I thought I'd do something a little spooky tonight, and thus was what came about! Hope everyone has a fun time and gets lots of candy! As ever, feel free to leave a like and tell me whatcha think!))

Essylla came zipping in through the door of his tent and landed on a table near where Alek was sitting, reading several scout reports. He glanced up at the pixie, and was about to go back to reading when something caught his eye and he looked back at her sharply. She looked……...smug. Extremely pleased with herself, like a cat licking its whiskers after having just finished off a bowl of cream. 

He knew that expression far too well, and was instantly wary.

"Well?" he said after a long moment, raising an eyebrow at her. "What did you do this time?"

She merely giggled, then, taking off, crooked a tiny finger at him to follow, and zoomed back out of the tent. With a sigh, Alek set aside the reports and followed after her. He followed the trail of giggles, and eventually followed her up into one of the observation towers. The soldier saluted him when he reached the top, then jerked his thumb at where Essylla was perched. Alek drew his binoculars from a side pocket, and slowly scanned the demon lines.

"Alright, where am I looking?" he asked her after a moment and not seeing anything obvious.

"Just be patient," she replied in a sing song voice. Movement caught his eye, and he retrained his binoculars in time to see a hellion, one of the demonic mages, walk out of the primary ammo dump bunker, step up onto the firing step of the trench, a spell bomb in his hands, and prepare to throw. Alek had just opened his mouth to warn their lines when he saw the wooden platform beneath the demons feet glitter for a moment, then snap and tilt sideways. 

The demon tumbled sideways with a yell, and the primed explosive fell back into the trench behind him. 

What happened next was pure pandemonium, and Alek saw it all. 

The demon tried to catch the bomb, but misjudged his lunge and ended up slapping it further away. The bomb bounced twice and then rolled to a stop next to a stack of rockets and misfired, igniting like a candle rather than exploding like it was supposed to. This lit the fuses on the rockets, which then banged off down the trench. Several rockets impacted the walls or demons and detonated, causing immense damage, but one rocket spiraled high into the air and then plunged back down into the camp. It slammed through the roof of one of the bathhouses, utterly destroying the building and tossing naked demons left, right, and center. It also startled a nearby ignolioc, a dog-sized, insectoid fire breather the demons used to heat water. They also tended to light themselves on fire when frightened. The ignolioc yelped in surprise and, fully ablaze, pelted away from the ruined bathouse..…..right into the still open door of the primary ammo dump. There was a brilliant flash and a throaty roar as a huge mushroom cloud rose from the bunker, burning ordinance flying in all directions, secondary explosions rippling through the demon forces. As a final touch, the roof of the ammo dump, having been blasted clean off the structure, cartwheeled through the air, then came crashing back down to earth atop the hellion who had dropped the spell bomb that had started the chain reaction. 

Alek lowered the binoculars as cheers and laughter erupted from the Alliance forces. 

Essylla was laughing so hard that no sound was coming out, doubled over and clutching her stomach, rocking back and forth as tears streamed down her face.

Alek was laughing nearly as hard. He finally managed to get himself back under control and eventually scooped up the still giggling pixie from her spot on the railing and placed her on his shoulder as he headed for the ladder to go back to his tent, then made his way down and began walking back.

"Well?" Essylla asked him when she finally managed to stop laughing. 

He opened his mouth, then simply chuckled and shook his head. "You really are just a disaster waiting for someone to happen to, huh?" he finally said, which set her off giggling again. 

((I hope you guys liked this one! Just a bit of silliness I thought might amuse you. ^_^))