Death From Above

Calmly and confidently Master Astreaus made his way past what was left of the four winds. One by one his observed each of his apprentices. His disgust shown on his face without hindrance. Notus had only managed to kill himself, and Boreas. As his silver eyes locked in on Reinhardt he gave a pleasant smile.

“So you’re the one who has been giving us issues. Let me introduce myself, I am Master Astraeus, Father of the Winds, and leader of the Duzee Empire.” The man’s kind words and pleasantries did little to hide the rage burning within his eyes. Having already lost a considerable part of his army, and worse, two of his students, Master Astraeus stood moments from erupting.

In the moments during Notus’ final attempt to kill him something strange had happened. Reinhardt had lost his ability to control the elemental shift's of others. While he was within the void the dark watchers had given him a warning about being within the presence of the masters, that it would hinder his own power.

When the war council had convened and both Master Yesenia and Conners were present it hadn't stopped him from stealing the powers of a couple kids who had been playing pranks while everyone was concentrating. If he had been able to use it then, than what was different now? Thinking it over, he came to a simple conclusion. Even though they had been present at the council neither of the masters had been using their own powers.  

When an elementalist uses their gift they release their powers into the surrounding area. When this happens they mix energy into the essence of whatever they are trying to control. This bond typically cannot be broken but Reinhardt could slip his own energy into the mix and gain control. Could the power of a master be what was blocking him? The sudden appearance of the wind master and Reinhardt’s powers disappearing couldn't have been a coincidence.

"Master, this is the one who stopped us from capturing Donovan in the mountains. He lead the attack on our expedition force, and killed Notus and Boreas." The look Astraeus gave Zephyreus froze him in place.

"I know what happened here. There deaths are their faults, not this peasants!"

"Yes Master, I'm sorry." 

Turning his attention back to Reinhardt, the man brushed his long hair out of his face. Roas had regained some of her courage and stood joined her partners side. 

"This fight isn't for you girl. Go play with the other pawns and let the strong fight in peace." 

"Astraeus, don't be so mean to the poor girl. It's clear that she has some potential with that fire of hers, so let's see if this aspiring warrior can surpass a master." An unexpected man appeared besides Astraeus. Tall and muscular, he was the exact image of power and discipline expected of any leader. Unlike the elegant demeanor of the Wind Master, he was unattractive and rough. Wearing only common black trousers, the man was soaked in blood. The scars covering his body were visible on every limb. While some were old, many were fresh and still bleeding.

"What are you doing here Birver? I thought I told you to hold the Eastern Line?" Astraeus was not happy at this man's appearance, but he didn't seem to demand the same respect that he had from his own soldiers.

" There is nothing going on over there. The 'Army' that you had said was going to arrive left without making contact with us. I wasn't about to miss a good fight so I came this way to lend a hand. I left the Reapers over there to handle the defense."

Listening to them speak he knew that Klaas hadn't attacked as he had originally planned. The change was surprising and cast a dark light over the fate of his already dwindling men. Even with this change he might be able to make a difference. If he could kill Astreaus himself, than Klaas wouldn't have to get involved. This mystery man could pose a problem if he got involved.

"Can you trust those blind warriors of yours?"

"I'd trust them with my life, as I have on many occasions. They will fight and die to protect me." With each exchange Reinhardt could tell this was no simple man. He was begging to believe that he was seriously outmatched, and without his ability to steal elements he had only the Dragon's Tail to defend himself.

In the back of his mind the black creeped into his thoughts. He could use the sword and gain an edge in the fight. Shaking the strange desire from his mind he focused on the two in front of him.

"Fine if you want to kill the girl than be my guest. This one belongs to me for all the problems he has been causing me lately."

"That sounds like a good deal to me." Looking over to Roas the mountain of a man winked crudely. "It's nice to meet you girl, I would like to introduce myself before I kill you. My name is Birver Fatir, but you can simply refer to me as Master." Now frozen in fear Roas didn't have time to react before the massive fists of the fire master were connecting with her body.

Turning to help his teammate a blade of wind blasted by his face, stopping Reinhardt where he stood. Looking back to Astraeus he had a small smile across his lips. Taking hold of a nearby spear, Astraeus began to spin it wildly between a few of his fingers. The tails of his long white coat flapped loudly. A soft fur lining on his color swayed back and forth as his body began to rock.

"You have your own problems to worry about. Leave that one to her own fate. I'm surprised that you both managed to do so much damage. The size of your force was almost laughable. I told Klaas that nobody would actually attack an army of this size with only a few hundred men, but he proved me wrong. You are as dumb as he thought."

Everything had begun spiraling into place within his mind. The four winds had been out looking for Bricco because they knew where he was. The charismatic wind elementalist had been trying to get them all killed with this assault on Astraeus. Anger ran over every inch of his body, and once again the sword was calling to him. His mind was swimming with the desire to drive the black blade through all of these men.

Forcing the idea from his mind again took far more effort this time. Something about the blade frightened him, it seemed alive. Somewhere deep within the metal was calling to him, making him crave the blood of his enemies. As Astreaus began to come towards him the desire faded and his mind focused on the battle.

In that moment Reinhardt felt something he had never imagined was possible. Instead of gathering power from the sky and surrounding area, the silver eyed master pushed his energy from his body and wind began to form around him. 

"From the expression on your face I am going to assume this is the first time you've ever fought a master. That lack of experience will be your downfall peasant!" Fluidly lashing out with his spear, long blades of wind ripped through the air towards Reinhardt. Unleashing his Dragon's tail he began deflecting the attacks. It was a strategy he was glad to have learned from Briccio.

"Not bad boy! But this is just amateur!" Increasing the speed of his strikes it became clear how different the four winds were to the master. Each strike required almost no effort, and no energy was wasted in the onslaught. Barely managing to keep up his defense, Reinhardt couldn't find time to attack.

Slashing across his body at waist level, a huge wave of air threw Reinhardt into the air. Gathering energy behind himself, Astraeus lept into the sky, pushing himself with his own wind. As he continued his quick volley's of strikes, sweat began to run down Reinardt's forehead. Now outmatched and out maneuvered he was in trouble.

"What is this peasant?! I was told that you were inhumanly strong? You haven't even begun to give me a fight!" Spinning his spear rapidly above him incredible winds began to rotate around him. Growing with intensity every few seconds the wind stretched to the ground and into the sky. "Fear the power of the wind!"

The roar of the tornado was deafening. Now falling towards the ground Reinhardt watched as thousands of spears, swords, and countless other variations of weapons be swept up within the assault. If he was caught within the turbulent winds of the storm he would be cut to pieces in moments.

Catching sight of large boulders being pulled into the storm as well a plan formed in his mind. The chances of it working would be minimal, but he had no choice. This would be his only chance to kill the Master before being swept away to his death. 

Hurling the blade of his Dragon's Tail as hard as he could it wedged itself into the nearby boulder. The force of the pulling wind pulled him and the boulder towards the master. Leaping to a nearby boulder gave him the leverage he needed to begin spinning the rock attached to his arm.

After a few rotations it had the momentum he needed it to have. Timing his shot, he released the boulder. Allowing himself be dragged behind it, Reinhardt was flying towards the center of the storm, and Astraeus. The boulder crashed through a wall sharp weapons and moments later Reinhardt flew threw.

Almost within striking distance he reached up and grabbed hold of his sword's hilt, not seeing any way out of using the mysterious weapon. Through the roaring of the winds around him he could feel the sword vibrating violently. If he had to give it a feeling he would have said it felt excited, knowing it was about to be used.

Their eyes met as he retracted his Dragon's Tail. Realization crossed his face when he saw Reinhardt reach for the sword. Applying pressure to the hilt, it began to unlock from his back. The storm around him faltered and blood ran from the Master's mouth. From the corner of his vision another figure came into sight. Zephyreus was almost on him before he could react, following his first attack with a second, cutting Astraeus in two.

A wall of wind crashed into Reinhardt and threw him away from the dying master. Thousands of weapons began to fall to the ground, having been released from the storm. Breaking the hard rock floor beneath his body as he hit the battlefield again, Reinhardt's breath was forced from his lungs.

Silence fell over the area now that the tornado had faded. Zephyreus' boots landed softly beside Reinhardt. Looking up at the man he watched as gray eyes turned silver. Having killed Astraeus he had made himself the new Wind Master.

"I should be thanking you Reinhardt. Managing to distract the old man couldn't have been easy, but I am grateful you managed it. Klaas knew you had potential and very possibly could kill a master. It was unlucky for Astraeus that I discovered his plan to betray us. We need to unify all of the nations, and his plans wold have ruined us."

The War of Greed had gone on long enough.

In the distance a ball of fire the size of a house tore through the darkness. Looking over at the spot he shook his head. "I would have though Briver could have killed that one by now. She must be stronger than we thought. Not really a game changer though, it'll be done soon enough." 

In the distance a strange sound filled the night. Confusion crossed his face as he watched the dark sky for a sign of what had made the noise. Almost as in answer to the first ball of fire another rose through the sky, except this one was much further away, and from the same direction as the sound.

A deep humming began vibrating Reinhardt's chest, and grew with every thump. Hearing the sound again he couldn't help but laugh at the irony of everything. Things had looked hopeless and everyone had turned on him, but this was a creature that didn't care about sides, or strategy. The only thing it wanted was food, and at that moment it had an entire city to feast on.

Releasing another ball of fire into a nearby building, the red dragon roared. Zephyreus didn't stay to finish the weakened man off, he just began running towards the walls of Nivged. Forcing himself to his feat Reinhardt followed and managed to get through the city gates before they closed. Hell had been unleashed upon the city, and the screams of the Duzee people had begun filling the night with music.

Author's Note

This fight is the Climax of the story, Reinhardt faces off with one of the six masters, and pits all of his strengths against one of the most powerful men alive. Is written well enough to be the climax?

Reviews

[Bri 810]

I feel like this scene could have been made longer. It seems kind of short for the climax. Also, I want to know what's going on with the other two fighting too!!