Kaalia, the Origin

Chapter Four
Revelations

It just didn't seem to end. Kaalia and her Baneslayer had been diving into homes to either rescue the citizens inside or cleanse them of the undead that infested the place for what felt like hours. They moved to their next house, and just as Kaalia kicked open the door, a surge of Black magic crashed into the Baneslayer, sending her spiralling through a wall and landing in a heap.
"Baneslayer!" No response. Then, suddenly, a burst of light and the Angel reappeared, righteous fury burning in her impossibly blue eyes. "Deal with the house. I'll deal with this." She flew off up the hill towards a place covered in darkness, sword drawn. Kaalia pushed into the house and spotted three Zombies crouched over a half-eaten corpse.
"Hey!" That got their attention, and one of them charged her. Drawing her dagger with lightning reflexes, she slammed it into the Zombies head, making it drop straight away. She threw the dagger at one of the remaining Zombies and launched herself at the other, fly kicking it to the ground. Standing over it, she kerb stomped its head in, then retrieved her dagger from the skull of the other. She looked down at the corpse which they'd gnawed down to the bone in places and sighed. Crouching over the body, she closed the eyelids and hung her head in a quick, silent prayer to Tariel.

Standing up and sheathing her dagger, she frowned. The Angel should have been back by now. Just as she had that thought, a painful scream filled the air and Kaalia felt the Baneslayers presence disappear. Without another thought, she summoned a Karmic Guide. "Up the hill!"
The Angel Spirit nodded and took off up the hill. Kaalia waited the full eternity of a minute before the Angel returned, Black lances of power sent from the darkness shattering uselessly against her natural shielding, unharmed but covered in black scuff marks.
"Necromancer stationed inside the church of Gil Reith. Incredibly powerful, more powerful than any other necromancer inside your records."
"Take me there. We need to end this."
As the Karmic Guide carried her through the darkness, Kaalia pondered the significance of the location as she watched her Balefire Dragon and Angelic Skirmisher continue to cleanse the town.
As they got closer to the church and the Angel set her down, Kaalia spotted a steady trickle of undead moving out of the building, running in that shambling way that only Zombies could muster.
"There's no way we can sneak in. Whoever's in there probably knows you're here, and this is no time for stealth," Kaalia reasoned. "You stay out here and try to stifle the flow. I'll deal with inside." Nodding, the Karmic Guide flew off and began swooping down at the Zombies coming out of the church. Sprinting to the rear entrance to the church, Kaalia barged through the door and ran into the main hall, standing between the pews.

The church was an old building. Tapestries of Gil Reith battling hordes of creatures hung from the ceiling, floating candles illuminating an irony that didn't escape Kaalia at all. The Emblem of Gilbrack was emblazoned on each pillar and into each stained glass window. In accordance to churches on Vanaketh, the altar was positioned at the front of the church, with pews behind it to the back. On the altar was a kind of giant stone doorway, again displaying the Emblem of Gilbrack. None of that mattered; all Kaalia cared about was the somewhat scantily clad woman sitting on the altar with a sensual demeanour, her purple silk robes sliding over her apparently flawless skin.
"You reek of Angels."
Kaalia snorted in derision. "Yeah, so?"
"I hate Angels," Liliana explained matter-of-factly. "To think someone as small as you could prove to be such a nuisance."
"Leave, witch! These people have done nothing to you," Kaalia shouted, stepping forward and brandishing her dagger at Liliana. The Planeswalker spotted the dagger and her eyes flashed with glee and greed.
"Do you know where we are?"
"Church of Gil Reith, why?"
"Have you heard his story? No? I'll educate you. Your legends say that he was a powerful Mage who could summon and control Demons, Dragons and, unfortunately, Angels. Well, what you don't know is that one day he forged a weapon into which he poured a portion of his power in the hopes that, when he should one day die, the person who wielded the weapon would have the same ability. The catch was that it had to be someone inside his own bloodline. Soon after that, his Spark ignited and he became a Planeswalker. His power grew, and he eventually got to a point where he could summon creatures of legend from entirely different planes."
Despite her hatred of this woman, Kaalia found her story fascinating. She'd been taught about Planeswalkers, beings so powerful they could change their appearance, were practically immortal and had total mastery over a given field. Liliana pressed on.
"The story goes that Gil Reith defended Vanaketh from another Planeswalker, but ultimately fell despite his power. The weapon he forged, however, was hidden away and forgotten about, passed down through generations as a family heirloom, it's origin slowly sliding into obscurity, until a man named Kresh Tenvir hands it to his daughter, Kaalia, just over half a year ago."
That made Kaalia stop. She looked at the dagger and, in particular, the runes. She watched as they shifted from indiscernible to easily readable.

GIL REITH TENVIR

That almost made her drop the dagger.
"I'm a descendant of Gil Reith..?"
"I know, I think it's a waste, too."
Kaalia shot Liliana a glare.
"What, you thought your abilities were purely in your blood? Stupid girl, it was always the dagger. Now," Liliana said, clicking her fingers. "Hold still. I have a dagger to retrieve." From out of nowhere, Zombies appeared all around Kaalia, grabbing her and keeping her still in a vice grip. Liliana plucked the dagger from Kaalia's hand, fingering the blade happily.
"I'm indebted to you, girl. Without you being noble, I wouldn't have the one thing I need to kerb my problems." Kaalia smirked as she saw the runes on the blade revert to unreadable. Liliana saw it too, causing her to snarl. "Looks like I need one more thing."
Without warning, she drove the dagger into Kaalia's stomach. Screaming in agony, Kaalia could feel the dagger sapping at her soul and slumped in the grip of the undead that held her. The world around her lost its colour and went blurry, all sounds muffled. In the distance she heard a voice.

"Get your filthy claws off my friend, witch!"
Kaalia was vaguely aware of having the dagger pulled from her and being dropped to the ground. "Kaalia!"
She watched through blurry slow motion as Tarelle swept into the room, taking out three Zombies with a single spell, decapitating another with a swing of her broadsword. She bent over Kaalia.
"Hang on, Kaalia, I'll get you outta here!"
Kaalia tried responding, but didn't hear herself say anything.
"Shut up, princess, I'm not leav-ugh!" A blast of Black magic caught Tarelle in the chest and sent her careening into a pillar, knocking her out instantly. Kaalia rolled over onto her stomach and began crawling towards her, but was stopped by Liliana standing over her, Kaalia's dagger in hand.
"And so ends the Tenvir line. Not with a bang but a whimper. I'll be stopping by to see your father before I leave, I think."
She was interrupted by an explosion of light and power from behind Kaalia, rubble being sent everywhere. A shockwave destroyed all the Zombies in the room, and Liliana stepped back in horror.
"You..! You're supposed to be dead! I watched you die!" She ducked under an arc of White-Red magic, then opened a gateway into the Blind Eternities, fleeing through it. As the gateway closed, Kaalia rolled back over onto her back, watching the ceiling slowly fade away into nothingness...

...but not before a silhouette crouched over her.

Wow .... Just wow!!!

These keep getting better and better!!

Awesome job pal!!

Dudethatchapter is amazing and it's ajani but I hate the cliff hanger

What's Ajani?

How would I go about sending this into MaRo, anyway? I've thought about it seriously today, and I'm keen.

Holy .poo.
I think the RW guy is indeed Ajani.

What makes you guys think of Ajani, besides the Red-White magic? There's absolutely nothing saying who it is. I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'm not saying you're right either.

What makes you guys think of Ajani, besides the Red-White magic? There's absolutely nothing saying who it is. I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'm not saying you're right either.

I just thought it was Kaalias great grandfather who had the spark. But that's my thought!!

Quote from: xStrayKnightx on December 18, 2013, 11:48:07 AM

What makes you guys think of Ajani, besides the Red-White magic? There's absolutely nothing saying who it is. I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'm not saying you're right either.

I just thought it was Kaalias great grandfather who had the spark. But that's my thought!!

That was my thought as well

The generation gap between Kaalia and Gil Reith is more than a few generations, but I get your point.

So, Tarelle's unconscious, Kaalia's on the brink of death, the town is still under attack as far as we know, and Liliana has the Dagger of Gil Reith. Things are looking pretty desperate.

The generation gap between Kaalia and Gil Reith is more than a few generations, but I get your point.

So, Tarelle's unconscious, Kaalia's on the brink of death, the town is still under attack as far as we know, and Liliana has the Dagger of Gil Reith. Things are looking pretty desperate.

Can you (for the first time ever) have the bad guy win?

Everything about Kaalia's card necessitates that good doesn't triumph. If I did anything else, I'd be going against an already pre-established story snippet.

That's not to say we're near the end. Far from it.

Chapter 5
The Abyssal Archangel

"Kaalia, be still! You've suffered more than physical injury in that fight," a mans voice said from seemingly far away. Her vision dim and blurry from what she groggily assumed was blood loss, Kaalia tried to respond.
"Shh, Kaalia. All in due time. Just don't die on me!"
Above her, the sky roiled. Pitch black clouds threw lightning arcs of red and white power all around them.
"Go, get down there and..." The man was issuing orders to others. Unable to fight the pressing darkness, Kaalia slipped into unconsciousness again, screaming in her ears.

AN UNKNOWN PERIOD OF TIME LATER

Kaalia groaned in protest as the suns rays hit her face and rolled away from them, only to gasp in pain loudly. Opening her eyes, she moved to sit up in the bed she lay on, but her shoulders refused to operate. Moving the blanket down her body, she inspected the spot where Liliana stabbed her.
"No scar..."
Kicking the rest of the blanket off her, she took in the rest of her surroundings. The bed she lay in was luxurious and an impeccable white. The walls and ceiling were painted an impossible combination of deep red and fiery orange, while the floor was covered in a fluffy jet black carpet. "Whoever lives here certainly has a taste for fine things," Kaalia stated somewhat uselessly. Trying, and failing, to sit up, she decided to roll out of bed. Hitting the floor on her stomach, she felt something of hers float down to the floor on either side of her.
"What on Vana- OH MY GOD!"
Shrieking in terror and confusion, Kaalia forced herself up onto her feet. Finding a mirror, she stomped over to it and screamed again. A beautiful set of wings, the feathers a brilliant white and outlined with black, dangled from her shoulders onto the floor. Breathing heavily, she tried to move them and gasped in pain again, letting them sag back down to the floor. She closed her eyes and counted to ten slowly, then reopened them.
"Nope, not a dream. I'm dead! Why else would I have wings?"
"Uh...that would be my fault."

Jumping, Kaalia swirled around to find a man standing in the doorway. He was tall, about 6'3", with ear length white hair that was tipped in black and red. His eyes were intensely and surprisingly green, softening out his angular features. He was incredibly toned and tan. Shirtless besides the two leather straps wrapped over his shoulders and crossing over his chest, his pants were tucked into boots. On his hips sat two sabres. He held himself with a gracious ease that belied his figure, making him seem lithe and predatory. The smirk, which seemed permanent, spoke of volumes of confidence.
All in all, he was very handsome. Kaalia's mouth went dry.

"What have you done to me?"
He looked her up and down in a way that made Kaalia flush. "Nothing bad."
"Bad!? I HAVE WINGS!"
He shrugged nonchalantly. "Fortunate side effect."
Kaalia was starting to hate this man. "Side effect of what?"
"Notice you're not bleeding-"
"Yeah, cause I'm dead!"
"You're not dead, now shut up. I healed you and nursed you back to health."
"That still doesn't explain the wings," Kaalia said, gesturing to them. "There are people in the clergy who can heal without giving people new appendages."
The man sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You were stabbed with the Dagger of Gil Reith. In that situation, the Dagger has soul-sapping capabilities. You were drained a little, so I used some of my power to fill in the gaps. When the soul's altered, so is the body. Ergo, wings."
Kaalia glared at the man. "You don't have wings. And what do you mean by your 'power'?"
In a flash, his forearms and lower legs were covered in a spiky black armour with red stones glowing with power laid into them. Something about them suggested not armour, but demon skin. Runes that burned with white flame appeared on his chest, and a pair of vibrant red wings shimmered into existence behind him, each feather edged in black and tipped in white. Kaalia stepped back in terror.
"This is my true appearance. Aren't you glad I didn't greet you like this?"
"W-what are you..?"
"I am the Abyssal Archangel, the being that gives all of Dega it's mana. I am a Planeswalker, and Vanaketh is my home. I was once a simple Mage, but Heaven, Hell and the lords of the sky saw fit to give me Ascension."
Kaalia swallowed, her eyes wide and mouth hanging open.
"You...you're..."
"I am Gil Reith, the Abyssal Archangel, and you are my descendant."

-----------------------------

"It's been long foretold you would come here," Gil Reith stated bluntly as the pair of them walked through the halls of his home. Kaalia was looking around as they walked, taking in every detail in case it was still a dream.
"Where is 'here', exactly? Are we still on Vanaketh?"
"Yes. Just my own private realm. I was trapped here, but the events Liliana put into motion caused my freedom. That was what the explosion was when she was standing over you."
"I remember," Kaalia growled. "That witch has my Dagger. And I can't chase her down!"
"Your Dagger? Is it truly yours if you let her take it?"
That gave Kaalia pause. "Well, I certainly didn't want her to take it!"
"That aside, anything that's truly yours will never be taken from you. Lesson one."
Kaalia sighed. "I'm not sure I'd want to go after her right now, anyway."
Gil Reith chuckled. "Probably not the best idea. You have an Angel's wingspan now, and she has a particular hatred for Angels."
Kaalia looked at him sideways, spotting an odd expression in his eyes. "That sounds like the voice of experience," she hazarded, gauging his response.
"You'd be right. It was her that forced me to fake my death; it was her that I defended Vanaketh from. Which is why she was saying she watched me die. For all intents and purposes, I was."
They arrived at a cliff face, the winds swirling around them and threatening to grab them at a moments notice.
"What are we doing here?" Kaalia asked, leaning over the edge slightly.
"Learning to fly." Gil Reith nudged her slightly, pushing her over the edge with a short scream.

These are awesome! I hope there will be more.... If not I will be very sad +1!

I love these stories man. And I swear it was ajani, but that is still an amazing twist. I love the stories, keep em commin +1

You lost me at fly kicking and "kerb" stomping a zombie in a house.. 😰