Zakalwe
Inactive Member
Avatar of Kohana:
Laughing Rain walked into the palace rose garden, flanked by her four servants, who carried the train of her dress. The leopardess scanned the grounds, and saw the two To'Yaree standing at the far end, and kneeling in front of them was another form, one that the queen didn't recognize. A smile couldn't be kept off her muzzle as she walked as gracefully as she could towards the small group, believing that her task had been completed.
When she arrived though, she found that the form at the Yarees feet was not that of an old wolf, but instead that of an ancient looking squirrel with a fu manchu moustache that reached nearly to his knees, had he been standing of course. Rain's emerald eyes flashed with rage as she looked to her two guards, and they took several steps backwards, bowing in submission.
Rain's paw quickly flashed into the folds of her dress and pulled out a crude looking revolver like firearm, which she pressed the barrel of against the head of the kneeling Sha'Nai.
"Tell me where he is! Tell me where the heretic is hiding, and I may spare your life, Ancient One. I swear upon the heavens that if you don't start talking, I will kill you, then your family, then all of your villiage in retribution for your insolance. I have no qualms with ordering my military to do it, and I have ways of finding your people's villiage."
If the Sha'Nai was worried for his life, he didn't show it. He just slowly brought his boney right paw up to run the claws through his beard, muttering softly to himself. Even when Rain cocked back the hammer of her gun, the old fool didn't even flinch, just stared straight ahead with a knowing smile on his face. The leopardess pulled the trigger...
CLICK!
Rain looked down at her paw, and the gun, to make sure that she had remembered to load it. The chambers were all full, so why then had it not fired, splattering the man's brains all over the garden? She thumbed the hammer again, advancing to the next chamber, pulled the trigger.
CLICK!
The squrrell slowly rose to his feet, still only tall enough to come up to Rain's waist. He looked up at her with frighteningly sharp grey eyes, which narrowed slightly as he reached out and took the gun's barrel in his paw. Rain tried to wrestle it from his grasp, but his grip was as solid as a mountain's. Very slowly, the Sha'Nai put the barrel against his chest, and then nodded.
Rain was, at first, taken aback. But she didn't waste the chance to save face with her servants and tried again to fire the gun. This time, the hammer slammed forward, releasing an explosion of blue flame which was followed by a wet tearing sound as the spike like ammunition slammed through the smaller male's torso, leaving a hole four inches in diameter in his chest.
Everyone in the garden was amazed that the small male would choose suicide rather than give the location of Gnarlpaw, if he even knew it. The queen's aides turned away, some gagging and choking back bile, while the To'Yaree just shook their head and made a sign of reverance for the fallen warrior. Rain on the other hand stared straight into his eyes, unable to tear her gaze away.
The reason why, might have been that the Sha'Nai did not crumple to the floor, but just remained standing there, blood and ichor falling from the gaping wound. Then, very slowly, a irredescent blue liquid started to mix with the blood and the gore stopped falling from his body and seemed to be held in by an unseen wall. Then, the blue fluid began to fill the hole, and the wound began to heal.
Rain's eyes started to go wide, as did all of those gathered, she wagered. She shook her head as she tried to back up, only managing to stumble over her own opulent dress.
"No! It can't be. There is only one person capable of looping a Lifestream! Only one person who has mastered the Immortal Art! You can't be him!" She stammered, falling over backwards and now being forced to look up into the face of the Sha'Nai, who slowly stepped forward, the wound completely healed, and the only sign he had been shot was the hole his his brown robe.
"You have disobeyed the laws of the Art, Laughing Rain. Even your school of Death and Destruction had rules for their use. I know, because as you will remember, I too forced myself to learn the dark ways, as well as the light."
Rain threw her paws forward, and a jet of green flame shot out at the old male, but he just raised his paws to waist level, and the flames gathered into a large ball right above them, hovering, then with a flick of his wrists, they were snuffed out. Waving her paws and chanting a new spell, the ground all around the Sha'Nai erupted with decaying bodies clawing their way from the soil. Once again though, her adversary raised his hands, this time to his chest, and then as if pushing them all back into the ground, the undead hordes were swallowed by the dirt.
"You cannot be him! The Heretic was from the Kee'Awloo. You are of the Sha'Nai. He may have passed on his tricks to you, Ancient One, but you are no Gna-" Before Laughing Rain could even finish, the squirrel was wrapped in a nearly white light. When it subsided, in it's place stood a lupine figure, leaning on a tall wooden staff.
Instantly, all those in attendance fell to the ground, heads pressed to the dirt in reverence for the true ruler of the Kohanians. All, that is, except Rain, who's eyes reflected nothing but pure hatred.
Scrambling to her feet, she clawed at her dress, tearing it off to reveal the tight black leathers of a true Dy'Unnar spy.
"So, Old One, you decided to stop your hiding, and come to face your destiny face to face. A brave move, but one that will ultimately lead to your demise. As you are well aware, while you are the only one able to loop a Lifestream, I am the only one able to cut them..."
Rain lashed forward, claws unsheathed as she attempted to slash at Gnarlpaw. The wolf moved deftly out of the way, dropping his left shoulder and leaning to his right, dodging the attack, and then drove his left knee up into Rain's solarplexus. The leopardess dropped straight down, clutching her chest as she struggled to get oxygen back into her lungs. Gnarlpaw just stepped fully to her left and leaned casually on his staff, watching her.
"You still attack blindly with rage and spite, Rain. You could become such a great warrior if you would just stop letting your emotions control you so." The lupine advised, shaking his head.
Rain panted softly, cleared her throat and then dove once again at the Kee, this time attempting to get a hold of his feet. She succeeded for just a moment, but then Gnarlpaw used his staff to lift himself and flip backwards, up onto the lowest branches of a cherry tree and laid his staff over his knees as he crouched there.
Rain rolled forwards with her momentum and feline agility and just crouched down on her haunches looking up at her adversary. She silently chanted a spell, and then held it at the ready in her right paw, while she tried to distract Gnarlpaw.
"So you thought I would be a good warrior, Master? I always was under the impression that you looked down on me, seeing as you were always the Grand Masters' favorite student. Always the head of the class, always getting the special attention. Maybe you're right, maybe if I just stopped living in the past, and moved into the current times, I could lead our people to a better future."
She threw her paws forward, and a black nexus opened in front of her. From it spewed black blades that slammed into the torso of the wolf, sending him flying off his perch and pinning him to the trunk of a pine behind him. Gnarlpaw looked down at Rain from where he was pinned about five feet off the ground, held fast.
"The Black Knives of Gwy'duun. You truely did master the Black Arts, Rain. There were many who tried to master that technique, and found their souls being sucked into the nexus instead. And not only that, but you were able to hold it at bay while you lured me into your trap. I must say that you amaze me, Laughing Rain, but you once again are thinking only from an offensive standpoint..." Gnarlpaw said.
Laughing Rain quickly spun around, assuming that her opponant was going to pull a trick on her, like using a substitute to take the Black Knives, while the real Gnarlpaw moved in for the finishing move, but she could not find anywhere that he could be hiding. When she turned back to the tree, she found him still hanging there, but now he was grinning, even chuckling softly.
"For too long, Rain, people have lived in fear of you. But now, they will have nothing to fear. I have returned, and your servants all saw me. News will spread of my presence, and the people will rise up against you. You may be a master of your field, but not even you will be able to defend against all of them." Gnarlpaw shifted himself, wincing as lances of dark power seared through him wherever the black knives of dark energy had pierced him. Then, slowly they all were pulled into him, and his body seemed to absorb the dark energies, turning his pelt a deep ebony, and his eyes went from caring gold, to a bloody red.
"And what is more, Laughing Rain, as I am the bastion of life, I will use your own hatred against you. I will create beasts who will feast on your kind like vultures upon the dead. For that is what you are, Rain. Once, you were alive, but now your own hatred for me has killed you. For that, I loose the Xyleel upon you. Beasts that move in shadow to feast upon the Lifestreams of those who would seek to use their power for the destruction of others. I will also further cripple indiscriminate use of our power by forcing you to give up a small amount of your lifestream to use our Awen."
Stretching his arms out wide, the wolf freed the dark energies. The shadows formed into four shapes, two were large black birds on his arms, and then two three headed canines at his feet. The beasts roared feircely, and then exploded forwards past Rain, and through the castle walls into the forests surrounding.
Gnarlpaw opened his eyes and let his arms fall to his side.
"And for you, Rain, I curse you to never be able to see the folly of your ways. You will never see the beasts you have loosed upon your own people, and you will never see me again. You may seek me for all of eternity, but you, nor any of your servants, will ever find me, for I take away from you any knowledge of my existance..."
Rain's eyes went wide again, this time in true fear of the power Gnarlpaw weilded. She tried to balk from his touch as he reached out and laid his paws on either side of her muzzle, staring deep into her eyes.
The leopardess' eyes welled up with tears as a pain unlike any she had ever known filled her. A wail erupted from her as all knowledge of what the Avatar of Kohana, or any of his creations of that day, were. When he released her, she felt completely empty, her life's purpose had been removed from her, and as she looked up, where the wolf had once stood there was nothing. Gnarlpaw still stood there, but from that moment on, Rain would never be able to sense him.
Taking up his staff again, Gnarlpaw shuffled his way towards the castle gate. Rain and her staff were getting up from the ground, shaking their heads and trying to remember what had just happened.
Gnarlpaw shook his head as well, and as he turned back to walk out of the garden, a single crystal tear slid down his muzzle, and fell onto the petals of a black rose.
Then, he was gone.
