Isthanar : The Waters of Life

The sun was setting, when the last of the fights were to happen. Many fighters showed their skill before them and were judged. Now it is time for the last one to show how strong he is. The arena was incredibly large, capable of fitting a whole capitol of watchers and for a hundred combatants to fight each other one on one without bumping into others. Made from the whitest marble people has ever seen, the arena towered above everything around it, making the forest look puny in comparison. People watched and cheered the fighters, expecting a very entertaining fight. The place was getting dark in the arena, so many torches and braziers were lit, making the whole place creepy and mysterious.

Most people did not see when the first fighters entered, his Spirit of Darkness covering him, before he finally removed the veil around him to show himself. His long while hair was in a ponytail fashion, his clothes mostly black and his smile showing extreme confidence in himself. He carried two long swords on his back. People knew him as the Trickster, a person who used anything in order to win a fight, no matter how cruel or cheap it was. The crowd started cheering only when the second combatant entered. He was a muscular man with short blond rain, rough facial features and leather armour, carrying a large two-handed sword. He was of the Issari Elite, a hero of the people, someone who single-handedly defeated a rebellion, threatening to kill many civilians.

”Ready, Trickster?”, said the Elite, drawing his sword.
Niath just looked at him and responded by drawing one of his swords. Earth cracked beneath the Elite's feet and the air moved as he jumped at Niath. The Trickster barely evaded the attack.

This wasn't his Air speed... This will be a problem.
Each of the opponents knew the other's skills and abilities. The Elite was knows as Thairan, who used Air, Thunder and Life, restraining the opponent's moves with air and then attacking them from range with lightning. Unlike his opponent's ranged attacks, Naith fought in close range, forcing them to evade the half-angel's attacks. Combined with his constant reuse of illusions to mess with them, most of his enemies were always on the defensive, hoping for an opening. Thairan immediately started throwing lightning at the hybrid, forcing him to jump back.

He wont let me get near him. I need to see how I should close the gap.

The Trickster drew his other sword and ran directly at his opponent. As soon as the expected lightning came, the half-angel stabbed one of the swords in the ground, the lightning hitting it and going in the ground. Bits of the lightning tried to hit Niath, but he was a few steps away. The half-angel then became invisible, summoning illusions, confusing the Elite enough to close the gap even more. Thairan, quickly guessing the plan, summoned gusts of wind in all directions. This surprised the half-demon a bit, for he expected more lightning around them.

He may be an Elite, but even an Elite has problems fighting an invisible foe, no matter how much stronger his elements are. But why air? I... Ooh... If I use the Siritha to burn the wind, making an opening, he would immediately use lightning to stop me. Naith summoned both Niratha's and Arithial's powers to create one powerful illusion, hoping to distract the Elite for a moment, while he, still invisible, put his hand on the ground and summoned all of Siritha's power to engulf the ground with fire, reaching the Elite's feet. The illusion made Thairan to look away from Niath, long enough for his invisibility to fall and to make a path of fire toward the Elite. The two moves made his spirits useless for a moment, but it was enough to make the Elite stop his Air attacks. The Trickster used this opportunity and ran immediately towards his opponent, completely destroying the gap, before his opponent can react. The two fought, long blade against the two-hander. It could easily be seen that the Elite had great advantage, but that was to be expected. Naith barely kept the attacks away from him, hoping for his spirits to recover fast enough. Minutes past as the two combatants exchanged blows with one another. It seemed as if the Elite stopped using his powers, thinking that his opponent's spirits are too tired to do anything.

Just as an attack was about to cut though the Trickster's defences, the blue flames of Siritha completely engulfed him, making the Elite back a few steps. People started cheering, for they knew how evenly matched they are now. The Trickster was one of the strongest close-fighter Issari members and people expected he would be a match for an Elite who specializes in ranged attacks.

Naith attacked the Elite again, Arithial weaving illusion after illusion, making the Elite go on the defensive, not know which is an illusion and which is real. The darkness around them helped the hybrid's illusions to be harder to distinguish. The flames of Siritha were not summoned again, which confused both Elite and crowd. Thairan thought that the Fire Spirit is too tired to do anything else, so he sent a powerful gust of air, hoping to toss Naith away. The hybrid, summoned all the anger he had in him, feeding Siritha's fire. The memories of the Desert, all the fights he did to survive, all the days that he couldn't eat or drink anything, the losses he suffered, all the images of his past returned, his anger flowing through him. The flames reacted to the anger, covering him with flames so hot and intense, a small whirlwind of wind spinning around him and completely destroying the wind sent at him. The Elite stumbled back surprised by this. He knew what those flames represented and he knew all to well that even an Elite was in danger from them.


Why was I forbidden from using my speed?, thought Thairan to himself.

In the confusion he made with the flames, Naith jumped at the Elite, concentrating as much fire as possible on his flame and started attacking with as much speed as possible his opponent. It was no longer a battle of strength. The flames were enough to compensate for the lack of strength the hybrid used. He also summoned back the illusions, causing the Elite to receive a few hits. Thairan's Life energies immediately fixed the wounds, but it was rare for an Elite to get wounded. This continued for a while, until Naith had no energy left to fight. He managed to wound the Elite again, before kneeling tired, raising his hand to proclaim that he surrenders. People looked at the whole scene amazed and voiceless, most of them not knowing how Fire Spirits react to anger and other negative emotions. The half-angel knew that if his opponent had used the speed that he could summon from his Air, the fight would be over before it began, but he was grateful that things like that were forbidden, for the sake of the poor souls fighting to prove their worth.

”You fought well, Trickster. You are one to be feared...”
Naith had only energy to smile, before he fell on the ground. Medics immediately came to take him away, so he can recover. As soon as he got to him, they were amazed from the lack of wounds on him.
As he was taken out of the Arena, the Elites stood up, proclaiming that Naith is the last of the people who will become Elites this Eclipse. The Trickster fell unconscious, not hearing the loud cheer from the crowd.

Lillith quietly watchs from the stands as the Trickster fighting one of the best long range fighters that the order has. If the Elites have to many of one type of fighter they will be easily beaten. It seems that he have some conrol over his spirits while fighting which is a good thing. He is not good as her with her spirits, but he makes up for it grit.

"He is cute, if you like white hair. My lady." the ruby near her head said with a cheeky tone in his voice.

"Do bad it is not your Sebby." said an airy voice that comes from above with a laughing tone in her voice.

"Please you two don't go do this again. It gives me a headache." the red haired vampiress said with a clip tone. "Of course, My Lady." they both said at the same time. In no time the last fight of year came to close, and she opens a shadow portal to greet Thairan.

"Nice fight, Thairan. That being is quite good." she said in a cheeky tone. She know the battles are never easy, that is incuding hers from the day ago.

Thairan smiled at the vampire.
"His flames are dangerous. Do you know what the life of an angel-demon hybrid is? Their lives are hell, with only his closest friends and family to keep them from going mad. I am sure you know what happens in you feed your fire with all the negative emotions you can muster." The Elite looked at his last wound. "The last wound has problem healing...", Thainath laughed."I will go to heal it up. You better go and congratulate Naith. He is one of the few people who managed to actually hurt his Elite opponent." Saying that, he started moving away.


The darkness in Naith's mind slowly started fading away. He tried opening his eyes, but it was hard for him. The Trickster had little to no strength and even with the powers of the Waters, it will be some time before he could move. Mustering all he could, he managed to slowly open his eyes. It took some time, before his vision stopped being blurry. Seeing he is awake, one of the medics, an elven male with short black hair and cold eyes, came to him and helped him drink some water. The half-angel knew he was given Waters, so he just waited to feel his energy to return. When the medic left, a ghostly image appeared and started circling Naith's face.
"You just HAD to use every ounce of energy in order to just land a few hits... Why do you always have to be so careless? Poor Siritha is so tired now..."
"It was worth it...", said Naith, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"I agree... He instilled fear in most people. Most will not mess with him now.", said a black ball that came as if from no where.
"There is no reasoning with you two. Just be more careful next time. After all we all care about you."
Both spirits then disappeared. Naith stayed in the bed, until he felt enough energy in himself, so he tried to get up. The medics immediately tried to stop him.
"Sir... You are not yet ready to move. You may have no wounds, but with no energy in yo..." Naith interrupted the medic's words, by gripping his hand and almost breaking it with his strength. If it wasn't for the medic's Life spirit, he would probably scream in pain with a broken arm. He then spoke with a serious, almost threatening look on him.
"I am a hybrid. My whole life was a fight. Even if I am a friendly and happy person, my past trained me to quickly regenerate.", he then smiled and it looked like as if his whole personality can changed."I just need a few drinks. I promise I will not kill myself or start fights."
The medics released him, still unsure if they should let him go or keep him. Naith just laughed and went past them.

Madric watched intently, at first his elite had also been barred from using his air spirit. It had taken a lot of time to explain in a way they would believe how silly it was. As it was Madric's whip had danced across the poor mans skin time enough.

It was funny really, how most people did not expect someone of pure speed to be so dangerous. Like sure, even he, who was one of the fasted Ethandon in their history had trouble getting in, attacking and getting out before being hit himself.

He had enjoyed his battle. People had not cheered for him as they did the Trickster, no he was just an unknown. But that must of shocked them even more. His elite had been an air and fire user. Within the first thirty seconds the mans air spirit was tired and he was suffering from several wounds. Madric had only sported one wound which if you were to ask him had been a lucky shot.

Needless to say he had won the match as the elite had been given all the proof he needed to pass him on that final test

"Let's move I'm bored, and the fight finished while you wandered in your own mind."

Grunting Madric moved over to the medics bay to see this Trickster. He got there just as he was leaving "You fought well."

((Are spirits able to talk to anyone other then their 'master'?))

"That what I was going to do. Heal up fast. See ya later." Lillith said with wink and a wave before going into her dark portal. She step out with a sunny smile, that to some people that seems out of place on a vampire."Hello, boys. Naith nice work out there. I sorry if I miss your fight Madric, but I heard it was good." the red haired vampiress said in a warm, but dark tone.

Grell whistel at the dark haired man, but of course that he hear him. He cannot help flirting at cute guys, with dark hair.

The green eyed vampire sigh light at Grell's actions to males with dark hair. She really hopes that he would stop that, and it is a good thing that Morin is hidding out of sight of that fire spirit.

Just as he was leaving, Naith was intersected by a person that looked familiar. He poked in his memories a bit, before remembering who he was.
"You fought well."
"Thank you... Madric, correct? It wasn't the wisest or smartest thing to do, tiring my poor Siritha...", said the half-angel, smiling at the Ethandon."I am going to...", Naith stopped mid-sentence, because he sensed someone appearing near them. He turned and saw one of the Issari members, the Trickster did not have much contact with. He nodded in appreciation to her compliment and waited a bit for his two future brethren to exchange greetings. He was about to say something, when Narinatha appeared and interrupted.
"Naith is going to the pub, where he will probably have no company. Care to join him?"
Hearing Narinatha, the half-angel started laughing. A few moments passed before he regained his control.
"Ooh, Nari. You just have to interrupt us. Her offer still stands, if you want. The drinks are on me today. We have to know each other better, seeing that we are going to be all Elites soon."
Saying that, Naith laughed again.
"I just remembered I need to do something first. I will be waiting for you in the "Winged Pig". Everyone in the city knows it, so it wont be hard for you to get there."
Saying that, he ran for the nearest open window, jumped through it and summoned his wings, flying above the city, heading for the Issari housing.

Madric nodded when he guessed his name.
He did not expect everyone to remember him or even care that much about anything he does. He was about to become one of the youngest Issari members, let alone an Issari Elite.
He was not stupid, he heard what people said. No one believed that someone as young as him would survive the waters, he was going to prove them wrong, for while he was young he was also an Ethandon.

He smiled kind of ruthlessly as Lillith spoke "Not many people thought my fight was going to be much more then some arrogant kid getting put in his place the hard way."

"He is only a kid he can't drink."

This made Madric scowl "Leave off Ares." He whispered to his rude air spirit.
He nodded to Naith as in to say he will be there before running off.

((Sorry it is so short. Didn't have much time.))

((Sorry for being a bit short, but I had a lot of work today and wasn't in the mood to explain every sprinkle of dust my character sees ))

It didn't take long for Naith to fly to his destination. He landed in the courtyard in front of the Issari Housing. Willing his wings away, a strong gust of air escaped from around him and only a few black feathers were left from the wings, gently falling towards the ground. The Trickster ignored the feathers and walked straight to the entrance. Nodding at the guards, he entered and proceeded to the nearest staircase. His room was on the top of the building with the largest window, so the half-angel can easily leave his home without having to climb down the stairs. When he reached the door leading to his room, he opened it and entered. Issari were not afraid of thieves. Only members of the Order were let in and after the horrible trainings all went through, they started to trust each other a lot. Unlike his brothers and sisters though, Naith had a trunk inside, nailed to the ground with one of the most expensive and complicated locks one can afford on the market. He trusted his comrades, but what was inside the chest was something that no one, but one of his kind has to see.
Unlocking and opening the chest, the half-angel looked through it. The content was placed in an order that no one but their owner understood. On the top were a whole armada of small souvenirs, perfectly covering what was below them. The Trickster moved some of the items, not caring if they got broken, until he got to a small box. Naith did not get it out, but just opened it and took a small medallion from inside, placing it next to his left leg. He then closed the box and moved some other worthless items to expose a strange stone tablet in an unknown language. Naith gently touched some of the runes and then returned everything in it's place and locked the chest. He then put the medallion on top of his clothes, where everyone could see it and used his window to leave, flying towards the "Flying Pig".
Seeing none of his future brothers and sisters inside, he sat on a table next to the wall and ordered himself a bottle of the best wine the "Pig" had to offer.

A moment after Naith entered the tavern he come in through the door to the big room. He had left Lillith's company without saying another word. He wasn't very chatty, it helped him focus on what he was doing, and when moving as fast as he did focus was needed.

Ares was not much of a talker ether, but what he did do was clear himself a little until he was visible, then he made offensive gestures as the other air spirit and motioned as if snapping the other spirit like a twig. Only after this had Madric realised and gave an apologetic gesture to Lillith.

He walked into the bar and sat down next to the halfling, he watched the halfling for a moment before sighing to himself, he was going to be near immortal soon, ageless at least, why not have a little fun while he was able to loose some brain cells. He leaned forward as the bartender came over, the bartender went to open his mouth but a little silver blue attracted his attention.

"A glass of sweetened port sir!" The hypo little spirit ordered for him.

Madric nodded and the bartender scowled. He walked up to the bar and stood over Madric, towered over in fact. Madric don't not flinch or even seem to notice him.
"I'm not serving some boy with not a hair on his chest, and I'm not going to let you sit up here where you don't belong. Your bad for business boy, skat!"

The mans fist slammed down onto the bar top an inch away from Madric's face, only now did he look up into the barkeeps eyes. He held the mans gaze for a second before yawning and moving in his seat to make himself more comfortable.

The barkeep took this as the final insult and raised his fist to strike Madric

Lillith walks into the tavern with a light smile on her face, when she see the guys. She wavy light as not to worry about Aries actions, because she knows that her air spirit can take him on. Closer she got to the bar, the barteander look livid and about hit the young man. Which a blur of dark colors, she grab the hand of the barteander so hard that she can feel that bones almost to their breaking point.

The green eyed vampire look down at the barteander with calm manner. "He will be Elite soon. That means that he will be proceting your ass, so let him have a drink or two. Oh, I will have some blood wine." the ageless woman said with a darker tone in her voice than normal.

"Yes, Madam. I will get it right away." the barteander said with a pale face, and sqeak. He moves like he seen the a ghost, or even hell in her eyes.

She than sit between Naith and Mardic with a slight smile, she likes to scare people to do what she wants. "I hope I didn't intrued on anything." she said with laughing tone in her voice.

((I hate rewriting stuff, especially after I know I wrote them before... Mind is surprisingly blank at the moment. I will probably add more divisions tomorrow after my mind starts working again. I just cannot write all of them in a good manner.))

"I was just thinking of putting him in jail for assaulting a high-ranking member of the Issari.", said Naith, almost laughing. He then poured some of the wine in his glass and took a sip.
"I will miss leading the Special Forces...", said Naith almost to himself. The funny thing was that he knew almost no one of his own division. Most of the time he just looked at tons of paper, reading the situation and giving ordered about the member best suited for the job. For his agents he used nicknames in order to remember them easier.
Narinatha then appeared and started circling Madric, curious about him.
"So you are the kid that managed to pass the Exams. I imagined you taller and stronger...", Naith chuckled hearing that, drank his glass and proceeded to drink from the bottle, sure that in a moment she will start annoying the poor kid.
"Nari... Please don't annoy him to death. We are not interrogating him and even if we are, we must soften him up a bit with a few drinks.", he said to his spirit, loud enough for his future brethren to hear.

Naith looked and smiled at the interactions between his future brethren and their spirits. Most people did not know that the interactions between a person and their spirits revealed more about them than anything else. He liked, no... loved understanding people and every little aspect that made them who they are. Because of this aspect, he was a part of the Special Forces and with his past experience, he was able to quickly rise in the inner ranks.

Drinking his alcohol, he slowly started remembering his past and all the fighting and suffering he went through. The Trickster immediately shook his head, trying to suppress the memories.
”Too much suffering and sadness in the past... I don't want to burn down the tavern.”

Sadly he couldn't completely suppress the memories and bits of him were covered by the pale blue flames of Narinatha which he did not feel appearing. The flames made everyone look at him and forced most people to slowly move towards the door.

Something snapped in his mind and he immediately stood and ran for the exit. He could feel the unnatural shifts in the air, shifts he knew all too well.
”Time to bury the past behind.”, he said just as he left the tavern.
"You are going to kill him?", said Narinatha, following him towards an unknown target.
"I will not kill him... I will make him suffer, force him to regret everything and then obliterate him. He may be my cousin, but it is time to finish what we started so long ago..."

Niath knew what had to be done and how he should achieve that goal. Most people would consider what he was about to do a crime, but nevertheless circumstances forced him to bend the rules of the Issari in such a way that they only needed the smallest hint of pressure to break. Still it was a hard decision he made. Walking slowly toward the source of the unnatural winds, he reminded himself of the past, his time spent with his family, the time spent with his old love and how he lost her because of a stupidity.
”Do you think killing him will ease your pain?”, said a dark spirit appearing on his shoulder.
Niath continued walking thinking of the question, before he finally said.
”You know it is either me or him. He is here only for one reason and the only outcome is death... You of all of us must know the Family Laws...”, the black spirit nodded and disappeared.
I hope I chose the right decision..., said the half-angel to himself.
His white hair shortened and darkened as he moved, his eyes started glowing and large black wings appeared on his back. There only one thought in the mind of The Trickster as he moved through the dark and lonely backstreets of the city. He almost felt like Death himself was following him and everything acted like a long and complicated ritual, with his cousin as a sacrifice to some strange gods. The half-angel called the powers of Arithial to disappear from sight and walked toward the outskirts of the city, a place that was officially not a part of the city.
”Have you rested, Siritha?”, said the half-angel, as he walked. His fire spirit responded by coating his left hand with her flames for a moment.
”I apologize in advance for what I will have to force you to do, but that is the only way.”
He finally reached the place he had to get to, seeing his cousin standing in a large puddle.
He expects me and what I am to do..., thought Niath to himself, before he sensed an illusion behind him. He turned around, facing the vampire, walked to her and whispered in her ear.
”Do not interfere and stop everyone trying to come, even if I am about to die. This is a personal matter...”
The half-angel then turned and ran at his cousin, stopping just in front of the puddle.
If I just walk toward him, he will see my steps in the puddle and react and if I fly toward him, his Air spirit will pick me up.
Niath forced his wings to disappear and sat quickly moved to a more secluded place, removing the invisibility around him for a moment to think.
This is the only thing I can do....
”I am sorry Narinatha , but I have to tire you...”
Saying that, he called the invisibility around him again and walked toward the puddle, calling the illusions of Narinatha to cover his steps in the puddle as best as he could. Looking at the weary face of his cousin, Niath moved toward him, silently thanking Narinatha for her support. He could easily feel her stress and knew she tried as hard as she could not to tire her master. Thankfully, the puddle took him at most fifteen seconds to cross and Narinatha had enough strength to do it.
Niath quickly grabbed him, tossing his cousin on the ground as he removed the invisibility.
”Good bye, Thairan...”, was the only thing, Niath said, before he called all his anger and the power of Siritha to cover the insides of his cousin's clothes with flames more potent than the ones in his last fight. The flames quickly removed most of the skin layers of his cousin, but because of the almost automatic response from his life spirit, they regenerated, only to be burned away again. Niath's cousin couldn't move from the unnatural pain and from a certain half-angel standing on top of him. The screams engulfed the whole city, forcing patrolling Issari members to run and try finding the source. The life of Thairan lasted only minutes, before his whole body was turned to a half baked head and ashes. Niath then quickly destroyed the head, turning it into ashes. He then sat down in the now dry puddle and stood there.

Niath looked at the human not caring about his thought. Just as he was about to just stand up and walk away from him, ignoring him, Lilith came to them.
"Because of you, Resort, I will tell you a short story...", the Trickster sighed and moved to a better place. Issari guards moved to him, asking him what happened.
"I disposed of someone who would trouble the city, before he entered the it.", saying that, he waved them away. The guards looked at him for a moment, but knowing he is a high ranking member of the Special Order, they just moved away, letting Niath go to the nearest bench. He then waited for the other two to get to him and continued talking.
"A life of an angel-demon hybrid is hard... They are forced to live in a desert and only the smartest and most enduring can survive in there. My people stack in groups, called a Family. Each member must contribute to the Family. If one is unable to help, he is given a month to find something, or else he is exiled. It is a harsh life, but there is no other way. Demons hunt us for fun, Angels shun us and try to kill us if they see us because of our corrupted blood. The person I killed was the son of my mother's sister and he was responsible for my lover's death. We were seventy years old, when his air spirit fully bonded with him. In the cave we used as our home, he decided to have some fun with his new abilities. We warned him to be careful, but he ignored us and caused the cave to collapse over my lover, killing her. He did not even try to apologize, caring only for himself. If I wanted I could have challenged him there and killed him, but he was the only person with a Life Spirit...", he paused for a moment, bits of him on fire. Niath took a deep breath and continued talking.
"The real problem came five years later. A Demons found our new hiding place, deciding to try and kill us. Me, my cousin and ten others were the guardians of the Family. We managed to hold of the attacks, but one of them managed to kill a few of the family, before he could react. The Demon used his Air Spirit to move past us, before we could do anything. Strangely only the people close to my cousin has died, including his lover. Thairan accused me for their death, thinking the Demon had a Darkness Spirit. Even after everyone told him he did not have a Darkness Spirit, my cousin ignored them and swore he would kill me. That is when I decided to just leave the Family. I was sick of everything and did not care for Thairan. Three times he found him after that and three times he barely escaped with his life. I got my revenge for everything he had done. He was a selfish bastard, caring only for himself and abusing everyone around him. We let him torment us only because he was the only Life Spirited person...", he then stopped talking and looked at the human, thinking that he would never understand.

((I did the whole tree thing so that you could add in something to do with the people who want to destroy the Issari if you wanted.))

Madric said nothing as Niath told his story, it sounded to similar to his own in a way.
The Ethandon clan did not generally seek to waters gifts, so then why had he? To get away from the pride of his people.

His eldest brother had a fight with his father. Not just a few words or even fists back and forth but a whole yelling contest. The result was that they woke the next day to find his brother and most of the notes on the clans defenses missing. It was obvious that he planned to sell the notes and allow for others to wage war on his clan with a high possibility of wiping them out.

It had been up to Madric to stop his brother, but not only to stop but to also exact the courts punishment. Death.
So that is what he had done, and when he had turned up in the clearing his brother had camped at with whip in hand his brother had began to weep asking for a chance. But he had been forced to slay his brother.

As Niath finished he stepped forward "My words were ones of no knowledge, please accept my apology... Brother."
It would seem a little weird for anyone who didn't know anything about his clan for Madric to call Niath brother. But it was a tradition of sorts to do that when you had wronged someone like he just had, it showed they were brothers of fate and that they shared similar experiences.

Yep the Ethandon Clan was a piece of work alright.