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The Book of Binding - The story of Cloud Xan The Battle for Pongmei Valley - 1680 CC (Canthan calender) Chapter 1; The battle begins in ernest High above Pongmei Valley, lived, well, lived was too stronger word, the man who currently inhabited the mountains was more a hermit than anything else. His name was Cloud Xan, a spiritweaver, a shaman; a Ritualist. Whom, unlike many in the world, had chosen to take a less distinct path along his lifetime. It was more than 70 years since the last great threat to Cantha had passed, the return of Shrio Tagachi. Cloud still remembered it vividly, having been one of many who had resisted the hold. It had been the first time the whole of Cantha had been united since 1527 CC, nearly a 60 year war had been raging in that time between two vassel factions. The Kurzicks in Echovlad Forest, and the Luxons of the Jade Sea were the main participants. As soon as Shiro had been defeated for the second time they had returned to the war. Now the Emperor had decreed that war must stop. Movement in the valley below caught Cloud's eye, he picked up on the motion, a bird flying swiftly towards the Kurzick border, no ordinary bird though. He could feel the power of the creature, not the normal weak blooded creatures which usually inhabited the skies above the valley. This creature was almost totally imbued with magic, even at this range he could feel that. There was only one creature of the sky that was that powerful. A phoenix. "So it has begun." To the normal peasant it would seem like he was talking to himself, to those with the sight, however, would see a single spirit by his shoulder, an ancient spirit of Imperial Guardsman Jin, slain along with Emperor Angsiyan. :It has, the day of reckoning. The consequences of these events will echo for all time, perhaps greater than Shiro's betrayal. As with the eldest spirits the guardsman still retained his mortal voice, but it sounded more like an echo of the past rather than him speaking. Cloud nodded, he agreed with the spirit, however it was not finished yet. If those consequences be good or ill, I cannot tell. "I agree that Cantha should be united under one banner, and that the age old rivalry between Luxons and Kurzicks has gone on too long, but ridding the land of all non-humans. I remember the Tengu wars, and how brutal they were. They have been too long forgotten in time, the Tengu have long been our allies, unlike their violent brethren in Tyria. The last we need is for both those factions to join an wreck havoc on the human race. And unless I miss my guess, and the distant whisper of dragons rising to control the world, we will need all the allies we can." Cloud sighed, the emperor may be wise beyond his years, but parts of the truth had been blinded to him. It was now that the celestial dragon, Kunnavang was needed more than ever, he hadn't heard of the dragon's return to mainland Cantha since Shiro had been defeated once and for all. :What will you do? Jin could already tell the ritualist was coming to a decision. "I will see what happens for now, I will not let my hard work in the year of Shiro's return go to waste by letting the current emperor die, and the land fall into anarchy. But there seems no point in intervening just yet." He paused. "Blood will be shed, by joining too early I could be adding to that blood. Best to let them fight it out for now, and add counter weight as needed later. This valley will become a beacon to those on the otherside as most battlefields do, that should be my main concern for now, the last thing we need is for more interference." :Understandable, there are many malevolent spirits which will be looking to take advantage of this. So long as Shiro... "Shiro's spirit is bound, there is no escaping his fate. An eternal prison which will only unlock when it is too late." :Too late? The spirit had never heard the ritualist talk about such things before. "Yes this world in time, is doomed, as are we all, Shrio will be released in time to witness the destruction, but will be unable to stop it" Cloud looked out across the valley. "Praise be to Kormir that she was able to stop Abbadon before that day came far sooner it was intended." The spirit realm is connected to the real world, lying just below the surface, a grey world, lit only by the inner radiance of the good spirits whom inhabit it, and where there is light there is always dark, here is no exception, the evil spirits casting shadows. An endless battle between light and dark rages here, and though the light fights hard there cannot be light without shade. But dark thrives in the absence of light. One day the spirit realm will break into the real one and darken it forever, ending in the destruction of the world. Though Ritualists are loyal to Grenth, those with the power are called by Dwayna to protect the border, Cloud remembered his calling well, his first steps in that grey world. Now he walked through it like a stroll through Shing Jea Monastery. The elder creatures of dark know him too well, and avoid him. However one newer one foolishly stalked closer, nearing it's prey it raised out a hand to rip spirit from flesh and then to feast on both. It was then the ritualist turned, spear shimmering into the realm, it's point glowing brilliantly. "I send you on!" The spirit howled as spear impaled itself into it's dark matter, within a few moments it was gone forever, cast into the next world, from which there is no return. The only place the aged ritualist has ever travelled to, but will one day. An outside sense ripped through the calm reserve, and instantly Cloud was pulled from the spirit realm. Another siege turtle shot soared in the air, he could hear the spirits caught in the impact howl in pain for a heartbeat, then felt them depart, such spirits would only linger for mere moments, in a vain hope they would be brought back before they passed on. It took a special condition for a spirit to remain in that realm for too long. These spirits were only fuel for the fire which weakened the border. With a sigh the ritualist stood and looked out across the forest, though looking implied he could see using eyes, Cloud never had true sight, blind from birth. Even at an early age he could see without seeing, a sight beyond sight, even beyond the simple magesense those with enough power have, everything has a spirit, and Cloud could see those spirits perfectly, his powers so strong he could even tell those with and without bodies apart. A sudden force hit him unexpectedly, one of the wards he'd set was under attack by a particularly strong spirit, near to where the Kurzick soldiers had been killed, taking up his spear, he descended the mountain quickly, paying little attention to the battle raging. Cloud could feel the rend widening, the death of the siege turtles was bound to cause another small rip between worlds, at least that's what he hoped for, it was entirely possible that their spirits would just pass through the path of least resistance, and widen the rend. Spirit magic was less of a precise art than Necromancy, at times at least. He joined the ranks of the Imperial army, casting a simple spell over his armour to match it the the Ritualists within the army, mages of all kinds were normally protecting themselves one way or another, so such a simple enchantment wouldn't be abnormal on a battlefield. Further into the forest they marched, encountering pockets of resistance, it was during one of these small skirmishes he made a break for the rend. Chapter 2; The darkness grows Too late. The spirit grinned, for over a century it had fought the Ritualist, slowly wearing away his wards, whispering in the ears of those that listened, waiting for his time to come. The air smelled sweeter than ever, the colours more vibrant. A dying soldier from the imperial side lay at his feet, the perfect vessel. :Do you wish a life immortal? To seek revenge on those that not only doomed you to death, but left you writing in pain, begging for mercy? Do you wish to feel the soft touch of that healer you visit so often? Embrace me, and I will grant you these simple wishes and more. He had perfected the soothing words only a decade ago, willing other spirits to do his bidding, the only difference was this spirit was still connected to life. "Wh..what are you?" The soldier managed. :I am the one who will set you free, not from the chains of life, but from the prison you have lived in since you were born. A prison which has guided you to an early death. You deserve better. He could see in the man's eyes that a choice had been made, the right one, but not for the man. "Yes. I... embrace... you." The spirit smiled, and descended peacefully into the man's body, from there he started to heal the man, taking a little control, then more, until he had a firm grip, then with the healing complete, and the man's spirit off guard he pushed him out. The spirit's voice becoming harsher. "Free at last, foolish mortal, did you really believe I would honour the agreement after spending so long imprisoned in death?" He chuckled and drew the man's sword, feeling his nemesis' presence drawing near. Cloud felt the unnatural death and doubled his pace, seeing the un-matching body and spirit. "Kaluthan!" The man turned, grinning. "Cloud." He swung the sword experimentally. "I've been expecting you." He punctuated his words with another swing. "So many spirits to feast on." Another swing. "So much blood to be spilt." Two swings. "And there's nothing you can do to stop it!" Spinning on the spot and using the sword as a conduit Kaluthan fired dark bolts of lightning at the seemingly unsuspecting Ritualist. Only for them to deflect away harmlessly. "I send you back to where you belong." Cloud said, raising the spear, and thrusting forward, though Kaluthan in his height had been a powerful mage and warrior, the body he inhabited was neither. And having been out of life for a long time Kaluthan's reactions were not as great as they could be, as such the spear impaled itself in the man's chest, casting spirit back to the spirit realm. :It's not over yet. With a sigh the Ritualist pulled the spear out of the now dead body, and recast the warding, the rift would close only in time. For now it would allow easy traffic of spirits through to the spirit realm, and the destruction of any back flow, with the exemption of holy magic, to allow resurrection at the hand of healers. Nearby a warrior received the blessing of Balthazar, though the gods generally preferred to keep out of conflicts such as these, they always enjoyed adding in tiny amounts of counterweight. Cloud felt the essence of the warrior god combine with the warrior's already impressive strength, none who faced him survived. So the Gods are watching. Grenth will be pleased with today's actions, with such death and destruction. And there's nothing like a war to please Balthazar. Melandru and Lyssa will stay neutral, but Dwayna will not be pleased. "That is correct." A nearby statue lit with an eerie light, Cloud reacted ready for more spirits but the presence around it was familiar. The statue was the Canthan of the goddess blessed herself, Dwayna, guiding light to the lost, healing light to the wounded, blessed light of magic. Cloud knelt at the foot of the monument. "My lady." "Rise." Her voice echoed everywhere, but only to him. "This conflict will be stopped one way or another, a spirit aims to take human form once more, you know of the one I speak, that is but a side show to the real danger this world faces. I wish I could tell you more, but I fear if our interference is found in this issue then people will expect us to quell other threats. We are guides to the light, not tools. You know this, but others will not understand. Follow your heart and stop the tragedy. "One way or another the end of this petty conflict draws close. Make it a favourable end my Ritualist." "Yes my lady, it shall be so." Cast out his sense, the wards were still drawing energy, but little by little, they would run out of power eventually, something strong was harnessing the death of so many to free itself, from there it would only cause more death and release the spirit realm upon this one. Adopting the meditative stance he thought for a while, his heart had died a long while back, yet Dwayana had instructed him to follow it, he sighed mentally. His path was with the spirits, so where better than to find the path he needed to walk in the spirit realm. Of course it wasn't that simple, transition between the two realms was unpredictable at best, the spirit could enter at a certain point, but the body would remain as an anchor. Travel was possible in the spirit realm, but there was no guarantee, except for those corporeal, for which these matters are unimportant, that the body would be move too. It was a risk, but was it worthwhile. Of course, Dwayna had tasked him with following his heart, and he would do so, he focused and passed into the realm with ease. The actual asthetics of the spirit realm is created by memories of the fallen, it is why it looks akin to the real world, usually there are few difference. This time however the realm was warped, the memory of the feel of water met Cloud's mind, only a small trickle, but one which covered as far as the eye could see. That was not good, this was all just a side show. He should find the source of this, but for now Cloud needed to stop the conflict, the constant death was only fuelling the ancient evil. He moved forward, traversing quickly, he was aware of a few spirits stalking him, they would not dare attack though, he should quell them now, for they would only report to their higher master, but to do that would risk more fuel. The water beneath him suddenly stirred, and the spirit he had encountered earlier rose again. "You have come to join us brother? A wise decision, our master would regard you with high praise." Cloud swore, then drew his spear. "Wait." The spirit of Cloud's elder brother, Hyn held up a hand. "I am merely a messenger. What you face here is too great for you, even with the gods help." "You have lingered too long here brother, I send you on!" The spear moved before Hyn even had a moment to process the words, he screamed as he was sent on to a world he had evaded so well for so long. "I will be avenged!" His spirit melted away, as others rose. Cloud instantly pulled back towards life, forcing his own wards apart in his haste. He almost fell as he came through, knowing it was his body he was inhabiting before having to check, he reset the ward quickly, then realised where he'd come out. Maatu Keep. Imperially controlled, unconsciously he cast a glamour over his armour, making it the appearance of an imperial army ritualist. "Important news to report to the commander, where is he?" He spoke to the first soldier he met, sounding confident and official made the soldier snap to the alert, and nod in the direction of the commander. Cloud nodded his thanks then turned. It was time to resolve this little conflict. Chapter 3; The imperial camp Captain Hataru was a conscientious man, though he disliked the slaugter of the two rival clans, in the end it was for the greater good. His promotion to captain had been secured in the fight against two other rivals; the Jade Brotherhood and the Am Far. Quelling those common thugs seemed like years ago. Kaineng's streets had flowed red with the blood of the criminals, however at least in that battle they had used slyness, infiltrating the Am Far's ranks lending their strength to crush the Jade Brotherhood, then on the verge of victory, assassinated leaders. To win against those we struck at the head, and the body failed afterwards. This time we fight a Hydra, it is proud, arrogant even. Strike at the head and another will grown. Strike at the body and there is nothing left for a new head to grow from. Hataru remembered his battle speech perfectly. We will make the death toll of their men and women so high that no one would dare join them. In the name of the Emperor they will die! He looked up at the Imperial Ritualist walking towards him. "Report soldier." Under the mask Cloud's features arranged themselves into a slight sneer. His voice betrayed no emotion as he spoke. "The Kurzicks are losing ground fast. The Warden-beasts of the forest are proving more of a challenge." He paused, not for effect, but wondering how to phrase the next sentance. "However the deaths, they are ripping open the rends between our world and the spirit world. We should consider a different tactic." "We must fight on. Failure is not an option." Hataru looked suspiciously at the Ritualist. "You are not one of my soldiers though. Who are you?" "My name is Cloud Xan. Ritualist of Dwayna." Still his voice betrayed no emotion, it put Hataru on edge. "And if you continue to fight like this an old spirit will break through to this world. He will be stronger here, too strong for even me." "Whom?" The Captain was suddenly very interested. "Not..." "Shiro?" Cloud knew the fear that surrounded the man all to well. He'd fought against him. He remebered that day, the day he'd given a malevolent spirit a chance. And regretted it. The scar no longer afflicted his body, but it was always in his mind. With the help of other brave Heroes Shiro had been sent away. Only to return at an even worse time, his power was diminished though, and even with an ally he'd been defeated easily. "Worse than Shiro, more powerful than the six united. In this world his gaze is death. His mind is sharp, and his will iron. He despises all free life, and wishes this world to burn, devoid of life. There is only one place he can be stopped, and for that to happen this battle must end!" Hataru frowned, not sure if the Ritualist spoke the total truth To Be Continued...