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The ordinary warriors on both sides of the fray separated, leaving the duelists plenty of room to fight their encounter. With Tormentor singing its' song of destruction through the air, Surya made his first probing attacks, noting as he did so that the blade was deflected inches from Ruruk's skin by a crackling purple field of shimmering energy. No sooner had he observed this than, with shocking abruptness, the Githyanki quester had vanished before his eyes! Despite his shock, the Tellaran did not miss the very faint sound of a footfall right behind him. Throwing himself to one side, he swung his shield up just in time to defend himself as Ruruk struck at his unprotected back, having used her Dimension Slide ability to get herself behind him. Rage boiled up in the heart of Tormentor's Bearer, and the sword thrummed with dark pleasure at the hate and fury it was created to feed. Opening himself to its' malign power, Surya let his control slip and succumbed to the bloodmadness that had ever lurked on the edges of his mind since he took up the damnéd blade. A welter of blows battered the Githyanki backwards. Blood filled Surya's eyes, and everything except his foe was drowned in a red mist of fury. Dark Gith blood spattered as wound after wound was dealt, the shimmering energy shield no defence now as the grey blade flickered. Surya shifted his grip, ready to attack again - and his foe was gone. Whirling again, he found... nothing. Ruruk was not beind him this time. She was gone. Frustration stoked the fury, already out of control, and, screaming incoherently, the Tellaran fell on the first rank of hapless Githwarriors that he reached. Blood and limbs were scattered in all directions as he winnowed them like corn. As he did so, his reason surfaced just a little, enough to observe that the scattered Githyanki knights in the enemy ranks were still leading the warriors as if nothing had changed; mental communication was still linking their commander in - wherever she was. Then a movement caught the corner of his eye, and he swung back. Ruruk was back again; the worst of her wounds were gone, and she looked fresh and unwearied. "Does this mean you're staying to the end?" snarled Surya. "Yes;" she replied, "your end!" and sprang to the attack. The blades flashed and clanged against armour and shield once more. Surya's own blood flowed from a couple of minor wounds now, but he was utterly unaware of it. His blazing, berserk anger consumed him, and all he knew was death for his enemy. Ringing, Tormentor sheared through the Swordseeker's armour, tearing her flesh, and finally struck the side of her head with appalling force, slashing the top of her head off in a shower of brain and blood. Instantly, a ripple of discouragement washed visibly through the Gith ranks. Gasping, and barely able to move as the preternatural anger-driven energy drained from his body, Surya bent and lifted the Swordseeker's own silvery sword, feeling the alien shiftings as its' fluid metal blade shifted to the changes of its' angle. Scrambling up the shifting rubble of a nearby half-demolished building, he brandished the weapon above his head and screamed. Somehow, the lone figure, encased in glittering black plate armour, sweat and blood pouring down his face, dark cloak flying, attracted the attention of the combatants of both sides in his region of the battlefield. The fighting slackened as humans and Gith alike found their gaze drawn to the last Tellaran. Telling them what they already knew, Surya yelled at the Gith that their leader was dead and her sword taken. It would be returned, he promised, but under terms. There was a pause, and then the ranks parted and a tall, gaunt Githyanki knight stepped forward, his silver sword blazing with mental lightning. Giving him no time to speak, Surya pressed home his point, bellowing the news that the swords the Gith thought were still in the Citadel were in fact already returned to ... well, wherever the Gith came from, carried by the formerly discredited Ta'nara knight Kazoth. The knight turned, and directed a silent query at one of the Gith mages standing behind him. This worthy cast a spell, clearly some sort of communication magic, and conversed with an unseen party for some moments, before looking back at the knight and nodding. "You speak truth," he admitted. "Hand over that sword, and we shall leave." Surya shook his head. "Pull all you men out bar yourselves," he demanded. Soon, the githwarriors were vanishing as they planeshifted away, and the single knight was the only one left. Surya handed him the silver sword, saying, "Perhaps you can learn from this that some humans can be trusted," The knight looked at him in surprise. "Trust?" he said, "trust is for fools. But you have been good and worthy adverseraies." With a soundless snap he was gone, and the day was won for Gozan's army. The victory was bitter, however. Even the, a sussuration was running through the ranks of the army, growing stronger and stronger; "The General is dead! The General is dead!". It appeared someone had assaulted Gozan Vraspan in front of his command tent and slain him. Who was responsible seemed to be a confused issue. Some said that Gith assassins had teleported in to slay hi, others demons, some that some unknown third party had done it. What was clear was that the morale of the army was crumbling visibly; the charismatic and successful Gozan was the key to their loyalty and success. Surya made his way as quickly as he could to Gozan's command tent to see for himself. Having paid his respects to the slain General, he spoke briefly with his successor, a very tall, slender, winged Kin named Beldin, giving him some good advice, before retrieving the party's horses and riding out from Vorsand, hoping to meet up with the others once he was clear of the army. |