As requested, I hereby post an account of the events of Time, a Chapter in the Demon of Andorhal Saga. This is in Magyk's memory, but due to the complexity of this event, it's not a great literary work. I've tried to make it as simple as possible. Enjoy!
"What? How?" spoke a cultured, commanding voice from the Council Halls.
"I fear that I did keep a truth from you and the others, though since none asked, I spoke no lie." uttered a similar voice, touched upon the edges of it's tone with somewhat less cultured marks, though none so strong as the dominant weariness within the man's voice. "I found the last Shard. It's not lost - I had it fixed as the setting of my family staff."
"The Shard of Time..." the first voice spoke, voice registering awe, shock, and desire. "You turned back time?"
"I had to. They were dead - all of them." the voice pauses. "But I failed... It's over."
"Send me back." spoke the defiant, commanding voice - pausing for a moment as the speaker's mind lingered upon the face and name of a woman who had earlier that night passed away, consumed in flame. "I have to go back."
"Magyk... do you have any idea how dangerous that'll be? Crossing my own timeline twice, contorting the pattern of reality to replay events for a -third- time, not to mention that every time I use that shard, it brings him closer to me." that voice pauses to exhale a slow, weary sigh. "You're right, though. If we do not - all may be allready lost. Doing this may well claim our lives, Sunwing. There will be a price to pay."
"If that is what it takes, Sunwhisper. Do it - turn back time."
"Very well. But know this - the timeline will only hold until the strike of the thirteenth bell. We must use the Staff to return to our own time before that point, or time itself will be torn open, and everyone inside will be erased from existance." The wearied voice pauses for his words to take effect. "There is no room for error."
Karazhan. The Ivory Spire loomed up and around them as the Brotherhood stood beneath it's gates, caught for a moment by the sheer magnitude of this dark place. Magyk and Jaelen exchanged a single glance as they contemplated what lay ahead. They had come to banish three powerfull demons from this plane, vanishing them back to where they came, and thereby removing the Master's three most powerfull servants. With neither figure willing to speak or take the first step, it was Catari's commanding attitude that saw the company forth - past the gates and the first hall. Around them, ghostly servants spoke of "The Master" in hushed tones. Jaelen and Magyk remained silent - waiting. They knew the first demon would come to ambush them shortly. Just as it had happened before.
As expected - Kupyal, the trickster-imp blinked into existance, dropping down towards Emmelina's shoulders as wards burst into life - sealing Magyk, Jaelen, Emmelina, Arli and Acsel into the corridor - with Catari, Haluthinous, Caledar and Cain left outside - helpless to do nothing but watch. Magyk, however - reacted with deadly speed - predicting the Imp's appearance, he turned and blasted the creature with flame, mere moments before Jaelen's explosion of energy struck the fel-beast, knocking it back in a confused daze. Outside the wards, and never the helpless onlooker, Catari playing with a curious magical trinket - hoping it might stop the Demon's escape. Though not in her intended fashion, the trinket fused into the wards, and as the Imp tried to blink away - it found itself unable to pass the ward. There, Acsel struck it with his own magic, before Magyk took the point of weakness and banished the fel-beast back into the Void. All fell silent - and the ward dropped. One had been felled, two to go... and high above them, the tower bell struck three times.
The Ivory Spire was a dark place, and fueled with the returned presence of it's Lieutenants, fel-things rose up to slow the progress of the determined Brotherhood. Yet for the young Sunwhisper, having endured these events once before, and running dangerously low on his own mana by natural means, the end was closer than he had thought. Weakened by his use of magic to bypass a rockfall, he felt the stir of the long-restrained fever within him, as a dark presence made a bid for control.
"He's here. He has come." he spoke, his voice a whisper as the fel-green of his eyes briefly burnt a blood-red before returning, leaving him staggering. The presence was growing about him - an evil thing from before memory was approaching.
"He's come for me... we're out of time. We have to go." Jaelen looked sharply at Magyk - preparing to use the Staff to open up Time again and return them both to reality.
"Go then, Sunwhisper." Magyk spoke, his tone deadly serious as he contemplated the meaning of his own words, allready accepting his fate. Yet before the ritual had begun, a portal in Time split open behind Jaelen. Through it, stepped a black-robed, cowled figure. Wielding the Staff of Time, identical in every way to the Staff Jaelen was holding, he roughly pushed the figure through the hole. Pausing to glance around themself, the slender figure stepped through the hole - and it snapped shut. The demonic presence faded - drawn away to stalk it's prey through time, as Magyk nodded his head. Without a vessel to take him back - he had until the thirteenth bell. Resigned to his fate he glanced up, as high above them, the tower bell struck six times.
"King to D6" spoke Magyk, perfectly calmly as Cain directed the orc into motion, thus sealing the fate of his counterpart - driving his blade into the neck of the Alliance King, and toppling him to the ground. Magyk nodded his head in contemplation - lightly touching his brow. That had been one of the hardest games of intelligence he'd played in a very long time - but none should see that. Above and around them, the bell struck ten times, and a voice of the final lieutenant boomed out. "Very well, you have passed the Test. This is not over."
"Too right it's not!" shouted the clear voice of Catari, as the Brotherhood approached the stairs, her might taken back to the previous encounter, and her almost demise at the hands of Lintai - the Succubus, before Magyk was able to drive her off the tower, plunging her back into the Void. It was close. Likely Catari would never know how close - as previous to Jaelen's first trip back in time, and even his first trip back, the deceptive seductress had been her death.
Magyk took a slow breath as the Brotherhood stepped out of the top of the Tower, into a separate plane to meet the final test - the Demon's highest and most powerfull servant, his Champion, Neelroon.
"I have many names." it spoke, taunting the approaching party as he raised his massive axe high. "Come."
With those words - the Brotherhood exchanged glances and charged forwards, striking repeatedly at the massive, powerfull creature. Yet even as they fought on, the being's immense size, strength, and magical ability saw it the better. Catari was knocked aside, Cain driven back by the blows of the mighty axe. Exhaling a loud, triumphant laugh, the Mighty Felguard raised his axe, preparing to deal Catari the final blow. As he did so - the distant bell struck thirteen.
Behind Magyk, time tore itself open, a portal similar to before, but angry and dirty, throwing out great bolts of amber lightning that twisted through the air, a hellish, deathly reality through the perimeter. About them, time started to collapse, but for Magyk - he was more than prepared. He knew the hole would consume them all, but only because of his presence. Stepping though the hole would seal it, restoring time. But Magyk was not prepared to leave it as that. Stretching out his arms, he drew shadow-power to himself from the saturated air, hands of purple and black clawing at the Felguard, who could not be bested in battle - but could be taken with the Mighty Lord. Hair whipping around his form, Magyk blazed up, his form a stunning image of the power of the Sin'dorei as he stepped back, falling into the broken time-hole, dragging the mighty demon with him. The instant that all was passed through the hole, there was a loud hiss - and the hole snapped shut. Mournfully, the bell struck fourteen. Thus passed Lord-Magister Magyk Sunwing, the Elf who would be King.
