Stripetail focused and began pulling the levels and controls , as his shield vied with the light beaming down. Tarrax sat down. his enmous form shielding stripetail from a safe distance. Stripetail focused the lens, which began pouring out a w beam of light, at the wall. Stripetail guided the cannon to the opening, and pointed it skyward. the plumes of gas were visible from here, and made an easy target. " repellum" Stripetail commanded and the canon fired upward. as the beam struck the planet. the countdown in the sky ticked under an hour. as vaalbara began to be pushed back by the light, the countdown stopped. Stripetail relaxed slightly, as he let the cannon, directed by his spell do its work.
To pass a small amount of time, Stripetail began to sing to himself, and what came out was a clear , mature, and powerful and yet poignant tone ' Hello, darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again...and the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains, within the sounds of silence." Tarrax responded 'in relentless dreams i walked alone, narrow streets of cobblestone neath the halo of a street lamp.." the pair of voices echoed around the chamber, filling what was otherwise a qiet chamber, and overcoming the soft hiss of the light pouring down. their two voices drifted out of the chamber and were carried on the wind, so that if the group fleeing on Fairchild so wished, they could turn back and hear the song.
And in the naked light I saw, 10000 people, maybe more. people talking without speaking, people hearing without listening, people writing songs that voices never share."
As the song continued, stripetail inwardly began to feel the light beginning to affect him. the longer he endured the light, of course, the worse it would be. he watched as the visage of vaalbara slowly began to recede from view, it no longer filled the entire sky, and was getting smaller with each passing minute
and the sign flashed out its warning.. in the words it was forming" .. and whispered in the sounds.. of silence" Tarrax and Stripetail finished the song on high notes, both completely in tune and on pitch . the song faded away, and the chamber was soon quiet again.. but not for long..
-
It was an audible clucking sound as Mertavius appeared in the corner. 'Why suffer this for them, seer? For what, in the great scheme? 2 worlds, out of quadrillions? Do you really think i care about either of these worlds?put them back as they were, I care not. Undo all the damage I inflicted, matters not a whit. I want to win our little game of course, you've always denied me a victory in the past, the lone being to do so. But this? Its not sporting at all, by the time you've recovered from this pointless gesture, I'll be 10 turns ahead, so far ahead, you'll never catch up, even if i grant you a small delay.' ' Its denying you a win." Stripetail replied, as the first of his whiskers ignited" You think this is denying me a win? have you not considered that weakening yourself is giving me a win? none on your side, save for Lord Tarrax over there, is remotely in your league in terms of power, any weakening on your part tilts the board completely in my favor, and it is already quite tilted as is. " Mertavius gestured , and the light dimmed gradually, before disappearing entirely.
smoke drifted up from stripetail, his whiskers burnt away, and blood tricking down his chin from the burns. " You could do this too, you know.Its a matter of choosing what truly matters.' Mertavius said' You fritter your power away, for fools who can never return the favor, in their short lifespans. What has their loyalty ever gained you? what has it profited you?' Mertavius demanded ' sending a bolt of green fire, that Stripetail stopped inches away from his injured face" Now, don't spin me a spiel about loyalty being its own reward, that is mortal-thought, not the thinking of greater beings.' Stripetail pushed the fire-orb downwards where it dissipated against the ground. " you are not thinking about the moves to come, only on the move in play. What good is winning the move, if you lose the whole game because of it? short-sighted Seer, very short-sighted. and rest assured, I will take full advantage, and punish you, and those you defend so valiantly, severely. Now, I could turn this light back on, right now, and increase its potency so that you are a walking, shambling skeleton in minutes, only your immortality preserving you, and ensuring you require months, if not years to regain your form. "" and what makes you think I wouldnt turn the light against you?' Stripetail retorted" Because you believe in nonsense such as being fair' Mertavius growled.
"Why taunt us, Dark one? Havent you done quite enough already? ' Tarrax said. "I'd worry more about your master, Lord Tarrax, than chiding me. Or are you foolish enough to contest me?" Mertavius Said " Havent I always contested against you ?' Tarrax said approaching the green squirrel, and towering over him, his draconic face narrowed in fury" And havent we always prevailed?" I only need to win once" Mertavius said, his paw growing a brilliant blue ' Il Gun Nomew" Tarrax roared, and and a violet flame shot from his maw and struck Mertavious hard. ' argjhh' mertavius screamed, as his skin blistered under the intense flames. mertavius, staggered back , and stumbled as the flames, spread over his body " your master will pay for your cheek' mertavius said, and he vanished in a swirl of magic smoke, and the light returned with greater intensity, colliding with a fresh defense spell stripetail had put up in the brief respite Mertavius had granted him. Vaalbara was now no longer visible in the sky. His skin was starting to flake off, in pieces. ' ppanus restprum " Stripetail called out, pain leaching into his voice as he cast the spell. a glowing shield surrounded Vaalbara and pushed it away, covering great distances with each passing second. the countdown in the sky vanished, and Stripetail staggered away from the controls after returning the lens back to his prior position, finally collapsing onn the floor, the ight eating away at his flesh. Tarrax rushed over to him, picked him off of the ground and flung him back onto the sadle he wore. " Lets us return to the ship ' Tarrax said. Stripetail was close to losing conscuiousness, the Dragon winced as he saw the blood streaming down his masters face, , and blodd puresd from the wounds on his arms and paws. Tarrax immediately took fight leaving the SAnctum and heading out into the atmosphere which was rapidly returning to normal. the wind tore at Stripetail, each second more skin flaked off, and his armor was stained with blood. " t- Thank. y-you.. Tarrax ' Stripetail murmured in a weak voice.
