6 Chapter 6 – Escape

Elain, having barely risen to her feet, was now leaning against the wooden outer wall of the inn, continuing to watch on as events continue to unfurl; what Oryn had just done surprised and confused her.

"Mana diffusion?" a technique many swordsmen knew once they reached a certain proficiency; every knight she knew certainly did, but it was a sword technique she did not expect a simple guard to have; not that it is a difficult technique, infusing mana in to a blade to disperse directed magic took time to learn for non-magicians, and the energy used had to be equal to or greater than the spell it was diffusing.

But for someone his age and from his rough stance she determined he clearly has a novice skill level; it was just unlikely he should have that skill.

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Fyropea frowns, her ruby glowing brighter, sending the energy through her arm, and shooting out more waves of fire magic, each successive fireball growing larger, showing she intends to end this quickly; only for each one to be struck down with a slash of Oryns blade, not even moving him from the place he stands, annoying her further.

If magic did not work, then something more solid might.

Summoning four large mana crystals, each one the size of a large dog above her, Fyropea launches them at Oryn.

For a moment he tenses, ready to run away, clearly nervous and afraid, hesitant to move.

"W-why must I…" he muttered under his breath "I can't… Crap!"

At the last possible moment Oryn shakes his head, jumping up towards the missiles, the first crystal passing under him.

With a quick step he uses the crystal to leap further, kicking the front downward so it impacts the ground, and landing on the second, kicking that one down too, leaping off towards the witch.

Landing a few feet from Fyropea, Oryn bends his knees, flowing in to a forward roll, onto his feet, and lunging forward thrusting his sword towards her heart; the speed and smoothness of the act catching the witch off guard, barely managing to move away, the tip of his sword scraping her ruby.

"GHK!" she fumes, continuing to move backwards opening several feet of distance between them. "Humph… annoying!"

************

Oryn now stands between the witch and the Princess, sword held in what Elain could clearly see was a basic stance; he clearly requires improvement, adding to her confusion of the unnaturally varying levels of skill he has showed;

(How can someone who can use Mana Diffusion, and move like that be so novice in his stance? It cannot be a tactic to sow uncertainty in to his enemy; showing off his abilities would make the tactic worthless at this point?)

Not only that, his stance held uncertainty, trembling a little; she had seen this many times before in inexperienced warriors filled with anxiety and fear, often leading to them flee.

Oryn was becoming an increasing enigma; this kind of anxiety would be difficult to act, as any warrior worth anything would always have some tell of experience, even if they downplayed their ability, but Oryn? he obviously lacks confidence, or perhaps his skill level outweighed his actual experience; rich lords sons who had been trained since a young age could freeze in their first real battle; but Oryn doesn't seem like a nobles child, he doesn't carry himself in that fashion.

************

Fyropea holds out her hand and summons a mana sword, hanging in the air ready to fight. "I suppose I can enjoy a little more fun, but let us make this quic-"

"Shut up… I can't… Just… t-too much… SHUT IT- SHUT IT!"

Oryn mutters, Fyropea about to reply when she notices he is not even looking at her, but down, shaking his head.

Casia, who had now stood up nearby, is close enough to hear him talk to himself.

"No… I can't do that! I don't know how to… stop it… just… shut up… stop… one at… I can only do… please… this is not the time to… you're gonna get me killed… GAHHH QUIET!"

He grabs his head in pain with his free hand.

"O-Oryn?!" Casia shows concern for him, the madness from earlier had returned.

Running over without thinking, Casia grips his arm tightly as Fyropea begins laughing.

"What is this?! The princess defended by a boy whose mind is in chaos; This amuses me! How fun-"

Fyropea's red jewel surges with energy, once more moving across her shoulders, down her arms, this time out through the tips of her fingers that are pointed at the two; dark lightning striking out at Oryn and Casia.

Casia cries out, and hears Oryn mutter "Got it!" before he grabs her waist, just as the ground explodes behind where they had been; at the last moment Oryn moved at great speed, and is now several feet away.

"Swift step too?!" Elain mutters; Mana diffusion was one thing, but Swift step, the skill to momentarily increase ones speed through use of mana, was certainly not a basic skill. "Who is this kid?"

Fyropea frowns at missing, and once again fires a blast of dark lightning, only to be dodged again by Oryn and his Swift Step; since swift step could only be used in a single direction he couldn't simply keep moving around the limited area, appearing whenever he needed to change direction to avoid becoming a target.

Casia held tightly on to Oryn, arms around his neck, her head against his chest, his arm wrapped tightly around her, and feeling each of his sudden accelerations; despite the situation she blushes a little, embarrassed, having never been this close to a boy before, let alone held onto one.

Following each burst of acceleration, she could hear the crack of lightning, and the explosions that follow; she also hears Oryn mutter under his breath, arguing with the voices only he can hear.

"Enough… I can't think; what can I do?! I can't keep this up! What do I do?"

He sounds confused, even afraid, searching for answers in his own thoughts, seeking advice from the phantoms within; Casia could almost relate, in her short battle she had been the same way, grasping for answers to an unfamiliar and scary situation; though for Oryn, she wonders if in his madness he got a reply!

Fyropea yells out in frustration before screaming "Would you STOP!"

A blast of energy discharges from her body in a wave of mana; loose objects, from rubbish to the dead bodies, are blown away from her.

Hitting Oryn in mid step, the force sends them several feet away before they crash back down.

"Were you trying to make me dizzy little boy? You want to make me dizzy? To have my world spin? I like your idea, but I think you have the wrong method… let me show you!"

The witch places her palms together, looking as if she is praying, muttering an incantation with words of magic; energy all around her begins to crackle, the red jewel in her chest glowing even more brightly than before, building up a larger amount of mana, the veins protruding around the crystal bulge and pulse.

Casia groans sitting up as she shakes her head to clear it, before noticing Fyropea.

Reaching over to Oryn, Casia shakes him by his arm to get his attention, as he also sits up.

"Th-this spell, we have to stop her before she completes it!"

She didn't have to be a magician to feel the magical pressure building in the air; their skin tingling all over from static.

Focused on building up her power for the spell, Fyropea is technically defenceless; advanced spells take time, so they don't tend to get used a lot in battle without someone around to protect the caster, or have a defence of their own set up beforehand.

Oryn and Casia both move their bodies to stand up and attack, but the pressure from Fyropea forces them back down on to one knee, feeling extremely weighed down.

Elain feels it too, and leans against the Inn wall.

"Her Mana pressure is building!" though usually not an issue for the experienced warrior to overcome, Elain can't help but worry for her less experienced charge.

Casia struggles to get back up on her feet, taking note of what she is feeling. "I've never felt this much pressure from a spell being cast before…"

Of course that meant little as Casia was not experienced beyond her own lessons.

Oryn also struggles for a moment, as much as Casia is, until he says "…as much… as the pressure…" and after a few moments of focusing he starts to stand, trembling from the effort of pushing an invisible weight off of him.

Casia had been educated in magic so she knew what was happening and tried to follow suit; Magic uses Mana; Mana is condensed energy, and the more that it is condensed, the more it affects everything around the caster; air itself grows heavier; compass needles spin endlessly; In legend there is a story about a group of magicians who pooled their magic in to one powerful spell, the mana required was so massive the effects were felt for miles.

The place they had been stood crumbled around them from the pressure, and like a magnet began pulling in every loose object until it vaporised from the energy around the group, and tore apart anything that was nearby.

While Fyropea's spell paled in comparison, Casia was for the first time feeling the effect of higher spells; what frightened her more was the idea that Fyropea still wasn't using her full power.

Oryn stands firmly in place, his legs aching as he holds himself up, beginning to step forward; Elain is pleased he managed to do it; the only way someone could negate the effect of mana pressure was to equalise it with their own; which meant Oryn was able to emit enough magic to where the pressure itself was dampened, something Casia was trying, and only slowly managing.

"This guy is full of surprises."

She smirks, watching as he steps closer to Fyropea who still chants her spell; she would be open until the spell was finished, Elain hoping Oryn could end her life before then.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Oryn feels the pressure on him weaken; raising his sword he runs forward at the witch once again going for a thrust, and a few steps in to the stride, vanishes in to a swift step, appearing just a moment later behind Fyropea, who had side stepped at the right moment, a part of her cloak torn open by Oryn's blade.

Looking over his shoulder, Oryn sees Fyropea staring over hers at him, grinning before giving him a wink and crying out "welcome to my CHAOS VOID!"

Quickly he stands and turns to face Fyropea the moment an explosion of darkness erupts in a cascade of black mist from her, covering the whole area; the murky smog blocking not only light but all sound and feeling.

************

Casia is frozen in place; besides no longer being able to see even her hand in front of her, she can no longer even feel the ground beneath her feet; she doesn't feel weightless, but at the same time there are moments that feel like she is falling, unable to even tell if she is still stood up or lay down and unable to even say where up and down is; she could have been stood on her head for all she knew!

Unable to tell direction her sense of balance becomes unreliable, she could tell when she moved her legs and arms, but she couldn't tell if she was stepping on to anything.

When stepping forward it feels like she does so endlessly, unless she steps back; but then it just feels like she was stepping back forever; the same if moving left or right.

Having no sense of balance makes Casia dizzy, and her stomach churn.

When she yells out for help it doesn't come from her mouth, instead sounding like echoes from all around her, making her wonder if she is the one yelling out, or if she is being yelled to!

Her breathing grows heavier, but the heavier she gasps, the less air goes in to her lungs, feeling herself choke; she wants to run, panic rising sharply every second, screaming "HEEELP MEEEE!", again just sounding as if someone else is calling her for help.

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Elain is feeling the same; though she is leaning against a wall, she can no longer feel it pressing against her back, the pain that ran through her body had changed; it still hurts just as much, but it is no longer where it should be!

Somehow it feels like it is around her than a part of her; disjointed was the only word she could think of to describe the sensation.

She had experienced sensory deprivation spells before, but this was something entirely different; not just eliminating her senses, but turning, flipping and inverting them; no wonder she called herself the 'Courtesan of Chaos', this is chaos of the senses.

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The moment the darkness had enveloped Oryn he too was frozen in place; but for more than just the loss of his senses.

"Silent… so silent!"

Relief crosses his face, his head no longer hurts, and the voices that plagued him are no longer in his head.

"What are you doing? Are you scared? Don't stop!"

Oryns eyes snap open and widen, in front of him stands six people clad in Arysian Knights armour, decorated similar to Elains, but full bodied; steel helmets with visors down covering their faces and they stand bright against the solid blackness of the world.

"Like he can do anything; I said he was wasting his time getting involved in this!" A female soldier growls.

"He is performing his duty; we should be helping him, not berating him!"

"What about his duty to US?" a third male voice argues

"It's not his fault, stop blaming him all the time." A second female scolds.

"Yeah, he is doing his best." Another male steps forward, the tallest and thinnest of the group.

"His best was not good enough then, and here he is again about to fail the princess! He NEVER should have been allowed to join the order!"

"You're not one to make that judgment!"

"He's doing his best in a tough series of events!"

"He's gotten involved in something beyond him; his mission is a failure, just like him."

"I know you disagree with my decision… but do not ignore the potential that is there."

Silence falls throughout the group as a new, soft feminine voice interrupts.

Oryn tenses, looking at his shoulder as the hand of the woman settles upon him.

"Oryn was not ready for what we dragged him in to. Blame him if you must; but do NOT underestimate him."

Looking down to his feet, there were tears in his eyes, though he couldn't feel it.

In his ear the voice of the woman behind gets close. "It's time to focus now Oryn; clear your mind and this is what you do…"

************

Fyropea laughs at the three as they stumble in the darkness; as the caster of the spell she is not only unaffected by its influence, she can see through the dark haze; Casia stumbles around in the darkness as if drunk; Elain leaning against the wall, hands out like she is trying to stop herself; and Oryn…

She blinks seeing him not move, just standing in the same place close to her, eyes closed with a few tears; an odd reaction she had never seen from other victims of this spell.

Suddenly he strikes out with his sword, slashing across in front of him, the witch stepping back but not before getting a cut across her waist.

"AAAAH! SON OF A-"

She groans angrily (he's striking in the dark. I should have been more careful with him so close!)

Oryns hand drops to his side, sword still in his grip, lifting the tip of his sword and Fyropea watches as he takes a step forward.

(He… he shouldn't be able to walk in any direction without feeling like he is falling forward. Still… he can't see me to hit m-)

Oryn struck out stabbing at her, Fyropea ducking, only to roll out of the way as he swings down at her.

"WHAT?!"

Confusion and anger hits her hard as Fyropea is forced to move again and again, slicing and thrusting his weapon through the air, each time barely missing her.

"How is this possible?!"

It was impossible for her to use magic without weakening the Chaos Void; her mana was dedicated to the spells integrity, so there is none left to spare.

"I should have slashed your throat when I had the chance!" she growls, pulling out a knife and waiting for him to strike again.

When he thrusts forward, the witch dodges, and slips around behind him to stick her knife in to the side of his neck; but her eyes widen as she freezes in place.

"I can see you." Oryn mutters looking over his shoulder to her, his eyes open to reveal a crystallised blue cover; they had become the same as mana shards, shining with energy.

************

Just as suddenly as the darkness appeared, it bursts in to smaller clouds of darkness and dissipates quickly in to nothingness.

Fyropea is shocked, not from her spell being broken, but the blade that pokes through her stomach, Oryn had twisted the blade back towards himself and thrust it in to her; her darkened, near black blood, runs downs her front, staining her clothes and right leg.

Finally out of the void Elain and Casia feel relief, taking a moment to readjust back to normality and reorient their selves before being drawn to Oryn and the witch.

"Mana Vision?! H-How… did you-? Th-that's a magicians… trick… Where did you learn…"

He jerks out his sword; his eyes returning to normal, and making Fyropea grit her teeth in pain before she leaps back several feet.

"You damn- ghk- You-you hurt me… broke my spell! Stabbed me-stabbed me- stabbed me! H-how could you do that- do that- do that?"

Blood pours from the open wound as she complains in a child-like tantrum, stamping her feet and crying; pulling a blue gemstone out from a pouch on her belt, and holds it over the wound as it begins to glow, the opening stitching back together, healing.

Once done she discards the gem and Fyropea stands straight, her eyes glaring with hatred.

"I never should have been so nice to my toys! I'm going to kill all of you; kill- kill! Send you all to hell- hell- hell! Bad toys- BAD TOYS! suffer! GAAAHH!"

Tears form in her eyes as she looks onwards, incensed and crazed.

Oryn readies to defend against what this crazed witch would do next; but what happens instead is a multitude of howls and snarls resound on the wind, hailing the arrival of a beast horde.

Everyone turns, including Fyropea as several wild beasts come bounding out of the shadow of the forest; stopping as they sense the danger of the group.

Beast hordes of the Wilds are a terrifying sight; unlike normal packs of animals, hordes are never a single species, they came in all shapes and sizes, dangerous, wild, and with a greater ferocity than normal.

As Fyropea had said, the blood of the dead would draw in the creatures of the wilds, intended as a distraction; she never expected a horde to be so close, and arrive so soon.

Elain had realised the lack of encounters in the wilds that morning was a sign that the Wilders had over-hunted the area, and hordes tend to form when either greater threats occur or if a dangerous decrease in animal population causes a need to group together for mutual survival; in this case, several wild Adirus were joined by a dozen Buruubah; the bear and boar like creature, that Fyropea had previously killed.

A half dozen wingless dragon-like creatures about 4 feet in height; called Drackinders.

The largest of the horde are three Ogruun, standing eight feet, heavily laden in muscle and covered in thin red fur; its ape like face protrudes two large tusks from its mouth.

Like a bear they walk on all fours, and stand on its feet to gain height; roaring out as if announcing 'I am here'.

The final creatures are the Oolan, far more numerous, and the smallest in size; wide faces with terrifying grins filled with tiny needle like teeth, large orbs for eyes, long pointed ears protruding from the sides of their heads.

A small tuft of hair crowns the top of their skulls and run down their spine to a long swaying tail. Their bodies are like a mix of human and bat, they're slender and gaunt bones visible under their lime green skin; arms and legs like sticks, with a membrane of skin linking to its side creating wings meant more for gliding than flying, three fingered hands extrude long hook like nails.

Long thin legs bow as they walk, but tuck towards their torso when still or gliding; their feet more akin to talons of a bird of prey; even at just around two feet tall, three when stretched out, they are effective hunters, and dangerous in numbers.

The moment taken to let this sight sink in passes quickly, and when the Ogruun roar out, the horde attacks; the Oolan spring up in to the sky launched by their legs, gliding over the area like a swarm; landing on the dead bodies first, covering them, tearing them apart and devouring each corpse.

Fyropea was closest, so was quickly overrun by the Adirus and Buruubah; killing the first few as they rush in, but unable to summon enough mana to sufficiently make a killing strike as even more came upon her, causing the witch to move away, using a shield to defend herself; individually they are no threat, but for each one she thwarts another quickly takes its place, with more coming.

Captain Gerris, who had recovered from being thrown through the wall and stood back until now watching Fyropea work, is brought back in to the fight as he fends off the Oolan diving from the sky trying to attack him.

His only subordinate was swinging his sword around in a panic as three Drackinder surround him, and crying "GET AWAY!"

Oryn turns, giving a sharp whistle back towards the Inn as he moves for Casia, who has her shield raised, keeping the Oolan off of her as they claw at the invisible field making it shimmer in to view.

Grabbing her waist, Oryn lifts her up and runs toward the inn just as Melik bounds from around the back, the small two wheeled wagon in tow, and the two demi-humans moving along side it using their weapons in its defence.

The male demi-human roars out in excitement.

"Focus my love. I would not be pleased if you were injured." The female demi-human frowns at his reckless style of fighting, just chopping away with little finesse.

"HAHAHA, any beast that hurts me will not live long my dearest mate."

"You are strong my love, yes, but heed my words of caution."

Casia lands on the Adirus's back with an "OOMPH!" having been tossed on to her by Oryn.

Looking with a pout at Oryn for the undignified manner of her 'rescue' Casia notices a Drackinder rushing towards them; she cries out casting a shield behind Oryn, the land dragon running into the invisible wall and saving Oryn, who spins on his heel and kills the beast.

Elain meanwhile had managed to push herself to fight off any creature that came at her; having regained some strength from resting, she moves towards Oryn, who meets her half way to assist.

"W-we need t-to go." She is barely able to speak, or breathe, as Oryn helps her on to the small wagon.

After helping Elain on to the back, Oryn leaps on to the front seat, where Casia had managed to slide on to from Melik and sit.

Oryn yells out "MELIK, GO!" the Adirus starting to run through the horde, the demi-humans still keeping pace alongside, protecting the wagon, making their escape from the Inn.

Hitting the road quickly the cart turns so sharply it nearly tips over, but thanks to the Demi-humans who clamber aboard, it tips back, and the group quickly escape from the danger, though several beasts start to follow them.

Fyropea screams out in anger as she continues to move and fight back against the horde of creatures attacking her, unable to shift her focus for more than a second away to follow, getting more infuriated as she watches her target escape her.

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