Amelia's spirit stood before the light, obviously a gateway of some kind, and hesitated. As the portal had opened she had caught a glimpse of something ancient and debased. It was coming closer to the realms of her life.
"You don't want to pass on? Lingering is what got you caught the first time."
"I saw something when you opened the gate," she thought and corrected herself. "No, several somethings, what were they?"
"The old ones? They are older than the Lord of Nightmares and myself. Older even than the titles we bear."
"What do they want with my home?"
"Your home is there," there was a impression of gesturing to the portal of light. "The old ones are the concern of those of us who remain, you need not consider them." Amelia's spirit reached out passing what appeared to be an arm through the portal, she felt the source of all creation pass over and through her. For a moment she was tempted to leave this limbo, then she snatched her hand back.
"No," she declared, and the portal vanished, leaving only the gray sameness of this spirit plane. The unseen presence sighed.
"Perhaps you can keep the other stubborn one company," it said.
"Where did all these people come from?" Val asked as they were winging their way back to the undead army, holding back speed so that the raywinging sorcerers could keep up.
"They started showing up soon after Amethyst went to sleep," Jol answered, shrugging. "Apparently not everybody came with us originally and they spread the word. I believe the exact comment was 'this was all we could raise at such short notice.'" The other three blinked and sweatdropped.
"Hey, I'm not complaining," Xina shrugged. Then she called at as the dark mass was first seen at the edges of the healthy woods. "There they are! Are you okay by yourself, Val?"
"We're both better off not having to worry about you falling off," he reminded her. Amethyst had been quietly brooding, this was quite obvious despite the sedate cheerfulness she was projecting. In fact, it was because the cheerfulness was sedate that they noticed.
"Are you okay for this," Jol asked, Amethyst, again. She smiled at him quietly.
"Come on, we have to give these poor souls some justice."
"Okay then, time to disembark!" the dragon shouted. Xina formed a pool of shadow and stepped inside, as Jolrael leaped off and began to levitate down at what was probably just barely safe velocity. Amethyst leaped off with a cry of "RAYWING!!" to head for the ground along with all the other sorcerers.
Xalan found the remains of the campsite perhaps an hour after the army of sorcerers had left. He searched about and found four familiar scents, which relieved him. His talisman enhanced senses, however, gave him information that disturbed him. They were going into battle.
"Umm, Tinuviel, perhaps I should..." he looked to see her poking a campfire that still bore some magical remnants of the spell that had started it. "Tinuviel don't..." the discharged spell suddenly flared into brief life, creating a small pillar of flame that quickly died. The flames didn't actually touch the elf, but they did cover her in a fine layer of soot. Tinuviel coughed once and pinched out the few strands of her hair that had caught afire.
"I was right!" she declared. "They did use magic to make these fires!"
"Okay, maybe leaving you here is a bad idea." he grumbled.
"Hmm? Oh, no I'll be fine," she said.
"Okay, well I'm going go off to find this battle now..."
"Oooo! Can I come?" Xalan sweatdropped.
"Sure..."
Zangulus smiled as the hoard of sorcerers landed. Of course they'd have to land, and that was too his benefit. The only problem he could for see was the possibility that his quarry would be riding the dragon instead of on the ground with the other men and women. An amorphous shadow touched down and the fox girl walked out, carrying the staff, and his worries were forgotten.
The hunter dropped from his most recent perch and approached the developing battle.
"Here they come!" Jol shouted, hefting his sword. "We have about thirty minutes until the sun sets and the shades rise up, so let's..."
"Could you stay behind me for a moment?" Amethyst asked, the undead horde was shambling towards them through the trees. Jolrael looked at her a moment and then backed behind the chimera.
"What are you doing?"
"I think I've found a new spell," she explained. "Something I saw while I was dreaming." Then she extended her arms forward.
"Everybody else is already started fighting," Xina noted. "How long is this going to take?"
"ELMEKIA WAVE!!" As the first ranks of zombies shambled to with in thirty feet or so of their position, Amethyst's spell completed. A blue white globe appeared in front of the chimera, exploded out into a wall of spiritual energy and then surged forward ripping zombies apart as it passed, breaking apart after it had mowed down a two hundred foot deep line in the zombies.
"Ummm, that was good," Xina muttered. "Why can't I cast magic like that?"
"Well, its not really as powerful as a concentrated elmekia flame, or even lance," Amethyst said after catching herself from falling. "But it does it hit a lot more things at once."
Then the zombies were advancing again.
"I've got an idea," Xina shouted. Paired walls of force ranged outward from their forward flanks, forming a funnel towards the three of them. The opening just happened to be wide enough to accomodate Amethyst's elmekia wave spell. Then Jolrael and Xina each took an outside edge of the funnel while the chimera sent spell after spell through the bottleneck, where the zombies were bunching up.
To their left and right all along the line, sorcerers were tossing fireballs and other such spells at the approaching undead horde. It was a massacre, without the more intelligent undead and the flying shadow beasts, the zombies and skeletons had only sheer numbers. Suddenly, by unspoken agreement, every sorcerer in the line cast a megido flare and zombies were ripped apart by the exorcism spells. Val periodically passed above and charred dozens upon dozens of the undead automatons.
By the time the sun had set, indeed a half hour later, the zombies had been reduced to mere stragglers. Then the shades and shadow beasts, arrived and, even without the zombies, the level of threat picked up. The living compacted together, trying to avoid being split up.
"We're winning," Xina declared, flinching as she heard another cry from some unlucky sorcerer. She was slightly behind the front ranks, in a position to be able to run up and down the line and strike anywhere along it over the backs of others. Then she caught a familiar scent and her eyes widened as she turned to see a familiar bounty hunter rushing at her from their "safe" flank. Xina sent a wave of force spears at the advancing bounty hunter, only to have them shattered by his blade.
"One more time, girl?" Xina growled and got ready to attack, when another scent and a flash of movement and light alerted her to another pair of newcomers. These were a happy addition though. Raising a force shield slowed down the bounty hunter enough that she could confirm her suscpision. Xalan was setting Tinuviel down within the "safe" places behind the front lines.
"Xalan!"
"Where's everybody else?" he asked.
"We've been scattered up the line a bit," Xina explained.
"Well, it seems that I have both of you here," Zangulus laughed as he shattered Xina's wall.
"Finish off the shades, keep an eye on Tinuviel," Xalan growled. "I got him."
"Don't let me convince you of your mistake boy," Zangulus laughed. Xalan smiled.
"LIGHT COME FORTH!!"
Black blade and claws of light clashed and the two combatants began the dance of a duel.
Xina hesitated only a moment.
"Come on, Tinu, let's kill some ghosts!"
"No, Knight of Cepheed, this time girlly," Xina pushed Tinuviel aside just as the first barrage of energy disks struck their former location. "And your dragon seems busy as well." Xina looked up to where Val was embattled against the remaining flock of shadow beasts. It wouldn't take him long to finish them off, but until then.
"What! Does everything have to happen at once here!??" Xina shouted. "Tinuviel go find Amethyst or Jol, tell them I have a mazoku problem."
"Mazoku...you're a..."
"NOW!! Interview her later!" Tinuviel blinked and then shrugged in exasperation going off to find the chimera or Jol. "Shall we try this again!"
"Let's see if you have any surprises this time girl!" the mazoku spat as she launched another barrage.
"COUNT ON IT!!!" Xina shouted as she leaped out of the way.