Chapter XI: The Bird in the Nest

For one fleeting moment, Rykoshet’s dark eyes met with those of Tzee Xicu, and a pulse of energy erupted from between the point where their two weapons had met. The eyes of the Yagudo’s demigod shone bright red, like rubies behind her mask, and they blazed like tiny crimson stars. The two locked gazes, the weight of the Astral Signa pushing down on the edge of Rykoshet’s great sword, and in that moment, each took the measure of the other. Each knew that the other would give no less than all they had within them to win what was at stake.

Then, with a mighty thrust forward, Tzee Xicu cast Rykoshet away from her, sending the tall Elvaan skidding backwards, scraping his blade across the ground while grasping the handle to slow himself. No sooner had Rykoshet been knocked back, however, than Icon charged forward, directly behind him, axes swinging. Tzee Xicu nimbly leaped back, dodging Icon’s rapid assault as the silent warrior pressed onwards. In one swift motion, the Yagudo brought her staff up, hooking Icon’s axes over the long handle, and in a frightening show of strength, hurled the warrior directly into the air. For her trouble, she was greeted by a barrage of ice magic. The frozen spears of energy made her dig her talons into the ground to hold her balance, and she swiveled her head up to see Konstantine and Darutaru, already calling forth another spell. With a mighty sweep of the Astral Signa, a torrent of energy shot forth from around her, sending the pair of black mages hurtling off-balance.

Tzee Xicu went on the offensive, the Astral Signa seeming to blaze in her hands, though no flames came off of it. With a mighty forward thrust, she send waves of energy rippling through the air towards the downed black mages, but immediately Baeladar was there, his shield raised. He ground his teeth as the force bore down on him, but dug his feet in and held steady. Tzee Xicu poured on the power, but even as she did so, Danienne sprung up from behind Baeladar, scythe spinning over her head, and came down with a crash on the fearsome Yagudo. She swung her mighty weapon at furious speeds, driving Tzee Xicu back as she raised her staff to deflect the onslaught. The revered Yagudo’s eyes narrowed, and she smoothly transitioned her defense from a two-handed motion to twirling her staff rapidly within a single clawed hand, as her other one shot out. Instantly, Eig was overcome with the force of Tzee Xicu’s aura, and the song-spell she had been using to increase Danienne’s speed came to an abrupt halt as the Mithra bent over as if struck in the gut, dropping to her knees.

Even as Danienne began to slow, however, Atin rushed in from Tzee Xicu’s side, his great katana trailing sparks behind him as he swung it up across the ground. The Manifest deftly avoided the first stroke, but at the cost of dropping her guard to the front. Danienne landed a solid blow to the Yagudo’s torso, and Tzee Xicu grunted at the injury. Atin pressed his attack, swinging his great katana over his head and taking the stance to perform Tachi: Yukikaze. With the release of his chi through the blade, he slashed into Tzee Xicu, who felt the force erupt even through the magical defenses she had protecting her. She staggered, off-balance, even as Esane rushed in from the other side, and swung his own scythe with as much power as he could muster. A visible tear in the air appeared by Tzee Xicu as her shield was slashed, and she vainly struggled to maintain her footing before falling backwards.

Instantly, they were on her, hammering away at the defenses she had placed. The two dark knights and the samurai worked in tandem, and Tzee Xicu could not defend in every place at once. The three assailants were so focused on what they were doing that they failed to notice the glowing surge of energy forming at their feet until its spiritual power practically overwhelmed them.

All three were blown backwards with tremendous force, Danienne alone managing to plant her scythe in the ground and skid to a stop some dozen or so feet away. Atin bounced one on his back and then flipped over, landing hard on his stomach and chest, the murasame he wielded sliding harmlessly into the shallow water pool lining the bridge. Esane was simply thrust through the air, coming down on his back and shoulders, struggling to rise after the impact shook him through his armor. His scythe came down next to him, and he instinctively grasped at the handle, but then recoiled. The shaft had become so hot it burned him through the thick gauntlets he wore, and he stared at it for a moment before raising his head to see Tzee Xicu. The ruler of the Yagudo was no longer alone.

The demonic visage of Ifrit, God of Fire, hovered in the air behind her. His red-fleshed body appeared hewn from fresh volcanic rock, and indeed flames still leapt into the air from his skin. His eyes were fierce, glowing yellow like twin suns, and fire dripped from his snout onto the ground, where it hissed and smoked even on the stone floors. He turned his massive head around, curved horns glinting in the light produced by his own body, the wickedly sharp claws surmounting his hands clacking together as he awaited the will of the one who summoned him. The others reared back, gaping at the apparition before them. The beast was at least ten feet tall, even higher considering he floated unnaturally above the ground, the hooked claws on his feet never touching the earth. His scaly hide gave off such heat that the entire room, even outdoors at night, suddenly gave them all cause to sweat. The beast roared, and an inferno poured from his maw.

Betrayil was the first to act. Even as the others recovered from the initial shock of the Fire Avatar’s appearance, the ninja was already on the attack. Tzee Xicu flung her staff forward, and Ifrit instantly shot ahead, claws back, preparing to rend him in half. Betrayil blurred out of sight and vanished as Ifrit’s claws tore a shallow trench in the ground where they struck, the shadow it had attacked blinking out of existence. Turning, the beast unleashed a blast of flame, but yet again it found nothing but illusion, leaving the ground scorched and withered where it had attacked. The beast growled as pinpricks of ice shot up around its boiling flesh, the real Betrayil unleashing a barrage of tsurara upon it, his corresponding hand signals and release of chi flaring them to life with the ice-ninjutsu Hyoton. Ifrit roared, waves of overpowering heat sweeping forth, but still Betrayil pressed his attack.

“Hiraiko!” he called out, even while in motion, arching completely backwards to avoid the swipe of Ifrit’s massive claws. “Hiraiko, do something!”

“I . . . I . . . “ the summoner could not respond. She hung her head in futilety. “That’s Tzee Xicu.” She said in weak response. “And I . . . I’m just . . . “

Hiraiko bit her lower lip. She was in the presence of the most powerful Summoner in all of Vana’diel. What could she do?

“Hiraiko!” Betrayil said, screaming urgently, and the distraction was his downfall. Ifrit’s mighty arm swept outwards and took the ninja full on the side, the arm almost as big as his entire torso. He cried out as his flesh burned even while he flew to the side, landing just short of the high stone wall surrounding the area. Hiraiko shouted his name in panic, immediately running to his side.

“You are right to be scared.” She heard Tzee Xicu say as she fled.

“Oh FUCK YOU, bitch.” Came the immediate response.

Ifrit swung his head around as Tzee Xicu focused on the voice. Vile, fists clenched into tiny balls of rage, stood facing the demonic form of the fire God and the Yagudo who had summoned him. Behind him, Middlesky and Decay, their swords drawn, focused in on the duo as well. Around the three mages, the air shimmered with heat as it met the aura surrounding them, and Vile’s breath steamed as it came out of his mouth. Ifrit came forward at a charge, even as tiny droplets of water began to form on the surface of the two Red Mage’s swords. Vile stood, words of power whispered rapidly under his breath, even as the terrible beast bore down upon them. Ifrit came within a foot of where they were, arms raised of his head, preparing to destroy all three where they stood, and in that instant, Vile raised his head, and with a shout, the mages combined their forces into one. The pools of water surrounding the bridge suddenly shot up even as the liquid in the air itself gelled together, and Ifrit cried out as tendrils of water snaked out in every direction, enormous spikes shooting forth into him.

The Fire God was not to be so easily defeated, however. Almost as soon as the spell came to fruition, he blasted forth heat like a furnace, the flames which shot out from his back intensifying as he attempted to overpower the trio. Decay and Middlesky cast their swords upward, liquid energy pealing off of them in waves, even as beneath them, it shot out in torrents from Vile. Still, Ifrit pushed forward, and as powerful as they were, they did not have the stamina of a God. It became apparent that should they falter for but an instant, the Avatar would shatter through their spell, painful as it was for him to endure, and their lives would be next.

So focused was Tzee Xicu on exerting her will over Ifrit and overpowering the three that she failed to notice the blur out of the corner of her eye until it was too late.

Celeres’s fist smashed into the side of Tzee Xicu the Manifest’s face, the impact of his blow splintering the side of the Yagudo’s ceremonial mask. Tzee Xicu’s concentration broke, and Ifrit halted as if a collar around his neck had been jerked backwards. Before Tzee Xicu could raise the Astral Signa in defense, Celeres’s follow-up kick rammed like a charging wivre into her sternum. She gasped, and in that instant, Ifrit blinked out for just the batting of an eyelash. That was all the time needed.

Like an eruption, the aquan magic Vile, Decay, and Middlesky had been building to try and push Ifrit back shot forward, overtaking the suddenly defenseless deity. Ifrit’s roar shook the room as he was enveloped in the surging waves, and as the magic poured over him, he seemed to come apart, evaporating in the wind of power that came over him. The three mages stood, each drooping from the effort, the contest having drained them of their energy.

Celeres, sensing victory, pressed his attack. He brought his fist forward again, and then cried out as Tzee Xicu caught it, her talons pressing into his wrist. The Yagudo ruler rose up to her full, incredible height, surges of energy coming off of her in waves. Celeres tore his hand free, flesh scraping off, but had no time to dodge as the Astral Signa suddenly caught him across the face. He spat blood upon the ground, and felt his knee give out as the staff took him full in the side. With a contemptuous blow, Tzee Xicu sent the Monk sprawling to the side. The summoner strode forward, advancing on the trio of mages, even as Baeladar came forth to meet her. He raised his sword to catch her, but a burst of energy from her hand sent the Paladin spiraling to the ground. The mages, still worn out from their struggle with Ifrit, were powerless before her.

“Hiraiko . . . “ Betrayil muttered to his lover from the corner where she sat poised over his body. “Hiraiko, you have to help them . . . “

“But I . . . what can I . . . “ she started to say, even as Tzee Xicu attacked with all of her might. “Betrayil, help me!”

She gasped as Betrayil’s hand shot up into hers, and one of his ninja powders fell into her palm. Clutching it tightly, she turned back to the battle.

The Astral Signa came down, and with a resounding clang, met Fated’s shield.

Tzee Xicu growled as the fresh-faced Paladin held fast, standing over Vile and struggling to keep his legs from giving out. Tzee Xicu brought her staff up again, hammering at Fated, but the Paladin refused to give way. He felt the bones shake in his arm, and his heavy armor suddenly made him feel as if he were trapped inside an enormous cathedral bell every time Tzee Xicu brought the staff down. Dents formed in Fated’s shield, but with all his might, he held fast, keeping the Yagudo master at bay for every second he could.

“You are nothing.” Tzee Xicu said, halting her clubbing assault and now rearing down over Fated, her eyes blazing behind her damaged mask. She pushed the staff down with both hands, making his legs tremble to stay upright. “I can see it in your aura, sense it around you. You do not have what it takes to stand with this company, and you know it.”

“That might . . . be true . . . “ Fated responded, “but I . . . got you in position . . . for this!”

“What?” Tzee Xicu cried, even as Fated suddenly slid out from under her, the Astral Signa crashing to the ground in her hands. She raised her head, just in time for the blade from Icon’s axe to catch her squarely on the chin of her mask. A bloom of energy appeared where it had hit, Icon’s energy channeled through the axe, even as it returned to his grasp. The power from the attack was suddenly met with an opposing force from behind, and Tzee Xicu screamed as Rykoshet’s blow took her full in the back. The might of the spinning slash he struck her with hit so hard that the blade of his great sword shattered from the impact. The two bursts of energy release from Icon and Rykoshet collided, with Tzee Xicu in the middle. The flows of spiritual force rose up, and in the air above her, an enormous shimmering blast of power suddenly released, raining down upon the defenseless Yagudo.

“NOW!” Rykoshet ordered, diving to one side.

Instantly, the room came alight. Decay and Middlesky converted their physical strength into magical energy, even as Odessa and Konstantine, whom had been discretely restoring the health of all the injured as the battle raged, feverishly chanted at the duo and replenished them fully. Liyah and Darutaru, in tandem with Vile and the two Red Mages, unleashed a barrage of lightning energy, all of them under the influence of Eig’s songs, the sound of which Tzee Xicu had failed to notice picking up again with the din of battle raging about her. In one combined strike, they unleashed the full force of the power of thunder in the direct spot where Icon and Rykoshet had created a burst of light energy, further intensifying the effect. The ground shook and burst open at the feet of Tzee Xicu, who became naught but a silhouette, before even that was lost in the fury of power brought to bear against her. The following explosion shook the entire room, if not the whole of the top floor of Oztroja. Baeladar and Fated took as much of the brunt of it as they could, shielding the others from the devastating after-effects of the burst of magic they had unleashed upon Tzee Xicu.

“We did it,” Esane said, coughing up dust and smoke. “We did it!”

The others raised their heads, looking up at the whirling cloud of dust their attack had created. Liyah staggered for a moment, drained of her energy, and went down to a knee. Darutaru also exhaled noisily; glad to be done with it. The others slowly began picking themselves up, Konstantine and Odessa nearly exhausted at this point from keeping everyone in one piece during the struggle. A rush of exhilaration began to sweep through them. Esane was right. They had done it.

It was with some alarm that they realized their hair was all starting to stand on end.

“Weak . . . weak and foolish, children of Altana . . . “

“It . .. “ Rykoshet said, dropping the hilt of his now-shattered blade to the ground with a clatter, “it just isn’t possible . . . “

The dust cloud dispersed with a sudden gust of wind, and there, in the center, stood Tzee Xicu the Manifest. Behind her, glowing with a radiant aura, electricity crackling off of him after having absorbed the full brunt of Those Guys stratagem, was the Avatar of Lightning, Ramuh. His pale face and glowing blonde hair stood in stark contrast to his pitch black armor and robes, and the enormous figure towered above Tzee Xicu, the staff he held surging with the absorbed energy they had just released.

“You have proved even weaker than I feared.” She said in an indiscernible tone, almost seeming regretful. “You have defied the judgment of the Yagudo once today. Now your punishment I shall mete out personally.”

Ramuh’s eyes flared to life like lighthouses in the night, and the assemblage before Tzee Xicu had no time to even cry out before the waves of energy overtook them. The light was blinding, and the bolt Ramuh released hot enough to boil flesh from the bone. They stood helpless before it, and could only watch as their doom crashed down in the form of lightning.

The eruption from the ground shook them from their feet and knocked some few backwards completely. There was a tremendous upheaval of the earth, like wave rippling through solid stone, and something burst upwards from underneath them with a thunderous shout. Rock and debris pelted them, and the group as a whole had to shield their eyes from whatever had come up in front of them.

Rykoshet was the first to recover, lowering his hand to stare ahead in disbelief.

A colossus had emerged from the very ground at their feet, and taken the full-on strike of Ramuh’s lightning. It was a monstrous hulk, standing taller and broader than any golem, fists like boulders scraping the ground even as it stood at its full, wall-like height. Teeth bared in what resembled a grin, Titan, Avatar of Earth, stared back at the astonished Tzee Xicu.

What truly caught her off-guard, however, was the extra pair of hands suddenly on her staff.

The effects of the invisibility powder Betrayil had given her blowing off in the wind, Hiraiko stood before the ruler of the Yagudo, her hands locked around the Astral Signa. The feeling it gave off was indescribable, a connection between this world and the realm of the Avatars seemed to be forming in her very soul just by making contact with the ancient weapon. She stared up at Tzee Xicu, even as the same rainbow-hued aura which surrounded the Yagudo crept over her.

“This fight is not over yet,” Hiraiko shouted, “Tzee Xicu the Manifest!”

Tzee Xicu screamed in anger as Ramuh raised his staff into the air, electricity pouring out of it. Titan bound forward, leaping without pause into the eye of the storm. The two collided in the air above the summoners, and both Hume and Yagudo were fully aware that the stakes were victory or death.

Chapter X: What Passes for Negotiation

The stars above normally shone as points of light which would provide the dim aura which gave twilight its name. Now, with the world shrouded in the hazy pall which had formed in the sky the moments the demons swept into Vana’diel, they were naught but small points of gray shapes, blotching the night with their presence. The light was not an issue, however, as torchlight sharply stung at the eyes of the prisoners who stood at the foot of the platform they had been brought to. The structure Rykoshet and the others were placed in front of seemed more of an altar than anything else, built out in the open air, a large space for performing rituals left open at the top. Yagudo in outlandish ceremonial masks, their feathers dyed unnatural colors, stood poised at the top. The other beastmen, gathered about on the ground, looked up with reverence dancing in their eyes as from the shadows around them, drums beat in a frenzied rhythm.

Rykoshet chaffed under the chains they had put around his wrists. They were enchanted with the same magical energies the people of Tavnazia had used to safeguard their fallen city from the monsters which roamed in their blighted halls; not doing physical harm, but still sapping his strength to the point where he felt as weak as a chocobo hatchling. He struggled to see up to the top of the platform, but the height of the altar combined with the smoke hanging in the air from the torches made it impossible. Vile, beside him, had been gagged as well as shackled, the Yagudo taking no chances with any magic, regardless of how weakened it was. The Tarutaru only shot an acidic glare at Rykoshet when the Elvaan looked over at him, and somehow managed to convey the notion that if they survived long enough for Rykoshet to reach sleep, Vile was going to kill him while he was in it.

They had all been put under intense guard since being brought here. They had given up without a fight in the end, so outnumbered as they were, and Rykoshet had discerned almost immediately that fighting the Yagudo here would be wasted effort. He had allowed himself and the others to be taken so that they might reach this place, and speak with whomever it was that was really calling the shots. If they could make their case, he had thought, surely the beastmen would see reason. As the drumming intensified, the fire in the torches leaped, and the Yagudo at the top of the altar began tapping their staves on the ground in time. Rykoshet, for the second time today, began questioning his own judgment.

The drumming reached a fevered pitch, and the Yagudo seemed to be growing restless as the two garishly dressed priests at the top of the altar tapped their staves with increased intensity. In one enormous rush, it all came to a head, the Yagudo around them hooting and cawing, the drums beating in a headlong rush, and then finally, the priests brought their staves up and clashed them together, a shower of sparks breeding from their connection washing down on those below. The drums immediately fell silent, and the Yagudo fell into a hush. Rykoshet straightened his posture and looked straight up. One way or the other, this was it.

The Yagudo High Priests at the altar’s peak slowly drew their staves back down to the ground, and behind them, from the shadows, another Yagudo emerged. Wearing a mask unlike any worn by the other Yagudo, feathers alternating between green and blue as it walked like ocean tides, and standing a good foot taller than any of the other birdmen gathered there, came the Yagudo Rykoshet could easily guess was their leader. The Elvaan struggled against his chains. This was being put together like a ceremony, a show, and when religious fanatics like the Yagudo were involved, ceremony seldom ended well for those not sharing the same beliefs.

“Your Holiness,” a Yagudo from behind Rykoshet said in tones of awe, “I am Moo Ouzi the Swiftblade. I have brought you these outsiders, to receive judgment for their crimes.”

“Crimes?” Rykoshet said, startled, but the Yagudo who had been at the lead of those who captured them violently shoved him down to one knee.

“The prisoners shall not speak in the presence of our divine Priestess!” Moo Ouzi shouted with rage. Rykoshet grit his teeth, and the Yagudo seemed to restrain himself, drawing back his taloned hand. “I apologize, your Holiness, for my lack of restraint. It is not for this one to punish the outsiders.”

The Yagudo raised her hand in dismissal, and then lowered her gaze on the six assembled before her. She ran dismissively through Icon and Middlesky, then lingered for a moment on Hiraiko. Shifting her appraisal after a moment to Rykoshet, she seemingly ignored him and Betrayil as well, but then she saw the small form of Vile, glaring right back up at her with unrestrained fury. The Yagudo made a sign of revulsion at the sight of the Tarutaru, and took another step down to the group, hands clenching into fists. Rykoshet, for the first time since they arrived here, felt genuine apprehension. Too much had been left up to chance, and now it appeared his grand gamble was about to come up short.

The leader of the Yagudo gave them all one more cursory glance, and then, without a word, pointed one clawed finger in the air and made a decisive slashing motion across her own throat. The message was clear, and immediately the Yagudo began howling again.

“Sentence has been passed!” decreed Moo Ouzi, who then turned, snarling, down to Vile. “The intruders shall die for their crimes!”

The drums began beating again as the beastmen drew themselves around the others in a circle, taking out their weapons and advancing upon them. The Yagudo leader stood a silent spectator as her High Priests clapped their staffs together again, and the drums now were slow and measured. Rykoshet lowered his head in shame. He had let them all down.

Before a single blow could be struck, the Yagudo gasped collectively, and Rykoshet twirled about just in time to see the body of another Yagudo sailing through the air. It crashed on the ground before them with a tremendous thud, and then weakly rose. The Yagudo tried for a moment to reach his feet, and then his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed like a sack of dead leaves, unconscious on the ground. The Yagudo were silent for only a moment before the sacred doors protecting the open-air chamber burst open, and gave way to the distinct sound of metal armor on stone floors.

Baeladar appeared through the smoke, Durandal already drawn, his shield in one arm at his side. The raven-haired Paladin settled his gaze upon the Yagudo’s leader, and then raised the point of his sword in the air towards her.

“I object.” The Paladin said in no uncertain terms.

“You would dare?!” screamed Moo Ouzi, even as a group of Yagudo circled their Priestess in a protective stance. “This is a holy place; you profane it with your presence!”

“Don’t remember asking for an opinion on that one, friend,” Baeladar said with scarcely veiled threat as he entered the chamber. Behind him, Danienne, Celeres, and the three mages they had brought with them followed after. There were anywhere between fifty and seventy Yagudo gathered in the area, and they stared at the newcomers with the kind of hate only a fanatic can achieve. For outsiders to tread willingly onto their holy ground was the worst kind of sin. “Now, I’ve asked as nicely as I’m going to. Release my friends or things will get rather ugly.”

“The blood of Altana’s children shall drench our altar tonight.” Moo Ouzi said in a fearsome snarl. “Brothers! Take them – “

“Stop!” another voice shouted, raising above the Swiftblade’s commands. They turned, and behind Baeladar they saw another Yagudo emerging. This one was tall and lean, and held a great katana in one of his hands. He came forward into the chamber, unaccompanied, eyes staring straight ahead.

“Mee Deggi,” Moo Ouzi said, “you have dispatched of the others.” Rykoshet’s stomach twisted in a knot at the pronouncement. “You arrive just in time. Join us in tearing the meat from these infidels’ bones.”

Mee Deggi nodded once, took a single step forward, and then tumbled sideways into the narrow stream lining the pathway to the altar.

“Now!” Rykoshet heard a voice shout from behind the unconscious body, just like that, the forms of the final team he had sent off to explore the castle materialized, the Invisibility spell Odessa had cast on them wearing off. The Priestess on the altar gave a visible command, and with a furious noise the Yagudo hosts rushed forward. The battle was joined. Steel met steel as the outnumbered Those Guys struggled to hold their position, collapsing into a tight formation on the natural stone bridge they stood on and forcing the Yagudo to come through the water to meet them. Rykoshet struggled to stand, but the chains binding him were draining his energy more by the second. He turned and ducked just in time to see the slash of a Yagudo katana where his head had just been, and stumbled backwards, trying to overcome the power of the chains.

A moment later, however, and he felt a rush of wind behind him, and heard the sound of metal hitting metal. All at once, his strength came back to him, and he raised his arms in amazement to see the enchanted links binding his shackles broken in two. Turning, he saw Danienne picking her scythe up out of the ground, and the others similarly freeing everyone else. Within seconds, the group that had originally formed was back up to its full power.

“Stop them!” Moo Ouzi shrieked, and howled as he himself leaped through the air, drawing out the enormous great sword he carried with him.

“Oh, shut up.” Rykoshet said in disgust of the whole situation, easily side-stepping Moo Ouzi’s clumsy strike. The Swiftblade, however, earned his name, the great sword immediately coming back up and nearly striking Rykoshet in the side, but the Elvaan clapped it’s blade between two hands, and with a mighty yank, tore the weapon out of its owners’ hands. In the same motion, Rykoshet grabbed hold of the handle, and then smashed the hilt against Moo Ouzi’s face. The loud-mouthed Yagudo sank like a stone, and Rykoshet appraised his new instrument. “Not bad,” he stated, “if a little weakly made for my tastes.”

“Glad to see you up and about.” Baeladar commented, Yagudo talons scraping against his shield as he backed up against Rykoshet. “I was a bit worried when I saw you on the ground like that.”

“It was part of a plan,” Rykoshet replied sourly.

“Ah. Well, good to know it’s all going smoothly.”

“You – “ Rykoshet began, but stopped to repulse the attack of a Yagudo trying to slice him down the middle. They were being hard-pressed to stop the assault against them, so numerous were the forces they faced. Outnumbered by at least three to one, Those Guys were struggling to maintain their position; even a momentary pause could spell disaster. They were being swarmed over, and it was clear that this kind of battle could only go one way. Rykoshet grit his teeth and kept swinging the massive sword Moo Ouzi had brandished. There had to be some way out of this.

Betrayil flowed like water, his twin katana dancing off of weapons aimed at him and Hiraiko, who seemed disoriented by everything going on. Celeres and Atin took attacks head on, Middlesky behind them, using magic to protect the two as the Yagudo’s steel bounced harmlessly off of his own stoneskin enchantment. Darutaru and Konstantine shot fire from their hands, but the confusion of battle was far too great for them to concentrate on anything major. Still, they managed to keep their attackers at bay, even as Decay, his sword sending out blades of wind magic wherever he sliced it, backed up Danienne and Esane, whose skills as Dark Knights were being put to the test by this tide of enemies. Liyah stood with Eig, the latter strumming her harp with fingers too fast to be followed, the former chanting protective spells to safeguard her companions. In the thickest part of the fighting, Fated valiantly defended the rest of them, like a spearhead against the oncoming Yagudo, as Icon, ever silent, swung his twin axes with skillful precision in the defense of his allies.

In the middle of all this, Odessa, who had removed the shackles from Vile and torn the gag from his mouth, struggled to understand what he was saying over the din of the battle raging around them. Celeres leaped forward, delivering a crushing blow to a Yagudo warrior that had raised its blade against her, but not even the swift Monk could be everywhere at once. Vile, his expression plainly furious, was shouting at Odessa now, but still she couldn’t understand what the Tarutaru wanted her to do. The sound of the Yagudo howling, the weapons crashing together, the shouts from everyone around them, it was just too much noise . . .

And that’s when she realized what the problem was. Vile wasn’t making any noise.

“They really didn’t want you using magic.” She said in marveled tone as she lowered her own head in incantation. Vile had not just been physically silenced; they had bewitched his voice as well. As Odessa intoned the words of the chant to remove a curse of silence, Vile’s voice suddenly rose in his own throat, mid-sentence.

“-until it can’t bleed anymore, you stupid cow, now use your shriveled brain and . . . oh, there it is. Good work, moron, you figured it out before we all died.”

Odessa didn’t have time to argue. Vile’s eyes turned from their normal angry brown to an illuminated purple right in front of her, and she chose to shield herself rather than contradict the Tarutaru Black Mage.

Vile, managing somehow to sneak in a foul curse every few words, chanted loudly and angrily, and in the air above him, a burst of light suddenly bloomed into existence. The Yagudo reared back in fear, their mages beginning counter-spells, but it was too late. Vile completed his infuriated incantation and a blinding surge of lighting shot up from the ground at his feet into the sphere in the air, and just like that it was raining electricity on the Yagudo horde. Tendrils of energy shot forth from the air, guided by Vile’s will, striking down the Yagudo where they stood. His teeth bared, Vile flung his hand up, and in one blinding flash, the ball of energy exploded outwards, defying the gray skies above by creating his own star there on the ground. A shot of lightning filled the air, and a second later it faded away, leaving only Vile standing, nose wrinkled as he surveyed his handiwork.

The others stood on the narrow pass they had been defending themselves on, blinking spots out of their eyes and struggling to hear one another over the thunderous sound Vile’s spell had made. Around them, the Yagudo who remained alive and conscious had backed fearfully up against the walls. On the steps, the Yagudo Priestess whom had been their commander lay prostrate, a smoking burn on her chest. Those Guys had been unharmed, save for their sight and hearing which were still recovering, but the fight was over. Vile, without saying a word, strode over to Odessa and beckoned her to come closer.

“What is it, Vile?” Odessa said, leaning in. As soon as she was close enough, the Tarutaru slapped her across the face and walked away. Odessa shot up, a hand on her cheek, her emotions a mixture of anger and gratitude that Vile’s hands were not as strong as his spells.

“Okay,” Rykoshet said loudly, still blinking somewhat, “not the way I had wanted this to go down, but I think our point’s been made. We’re going to be staying here for awhile, and since there doesn’t seem to be anyone left to oppose us with your leader joining the ancient spirits over there, you won’t mind if – “

He was cut off by the sound of clapping. Rykoshet paused, searching for a source, and realized it was coming from the still-shadowed top of the altar. The High Priests, he suddenly saw, had not moved during the entire course of the battle which had just taken place. They all stopped what they were doing, turning their eyes upwards. The Priests had crossed their staffs together again, and once again they could see a figure emerging from the heights atop the platform above them.

“You have put on quite the show for me, for which I am grateful. You should know, however, that within the catacombs of this castle, the Yagudo numbers are still great. They would have overtaken your silly group the moment you attempted to leave this room.”

The voice was high and lilting, strangely musical in its own way, though still distinctly Yagudo. Rykoshet brought up the barbaric sword he held, and the High Priests unfolded their staffs, revealing the source of the voice.

She was dressed the same way the priestess had been, but her mask was even larger, more resplendent, and her feathers moved like a constantly oscillating mirage, difficult to even fully focus on. It was as if she was a blur, or a spirit somehow existing in this world and another simultaneously. What was not hard to see, however, was the staff she wielded, the sight of which gave Hiraiko cause to gasp. She suddenly realized why the entire area had made her feel strange upon entering it.

The true chief of the Yagudo stood before them, and in her hands she held the Astral Signa, the weapon which allowed the avatars of the celestial deities to manifest themselves on Vana’diel. For centuries, it had been in the Yagudo control, and it and it alone had been the reason why the Tarutaru had always hesitated to come against them in force. Should anything befall the Signa, no one knew what repercussions it might have for the link between this world and the next. Also, should the Yagudo bring the power of the Signa to bear against them . . .

“Tzee Xicu the Manifest,” Baeladar declared, looking up at the ruler of all Yagudo. “A pleasure. Your man Quu Domi speaks very highly of you. I believe he’s in that puddle over there, no doubt enjoying dreams of your Holiness.”

“If we could speak,” Rykoshet interjected as the frightening visage of Tzee Xicu made its way down the stairs, closer and closer to them. “We have both been victims of the same demon attack. We’ve come here seeking refuge. This quarrel was brought upon us, we did not wish to fight with you.”

Tzee Xicu stopped at the body of her fallen Priestess, her tongue clicking behind her regal mask. “I shall have to appoint a new Avatar for our ceremonies now. Most troubling.” Raising her head, she stepped over the body lightly, regarding Rykoshet and the others. “The horrors from the nightmare world have attacked the lands of man as well? I see.”

“Yes,” Rykoshet said, hoping that he was finally making progress, “which is why we came here. It was the only safe place we could think of.”

“Safe?” Tzee Xicu replied, her tone almost sad suddenly. “That is what we Yagudo believed. The demons dropped from the sky, and overtook us. Our numbers were greatly reduced, only the size of our great Oztroja kept us safe. We drove them back, but they will attack again.”

“Then let us help you,” Rykoshet offered, taking a step forward. “we have a mutual foe in the demons. It only makes sense to work together.”

Tzee Xicu halted in her path, staring through her mask at Rykoshet. “Work together?” she stated. “The Yagudo working with the children of Altana? Elvaan, I am afraid you have misjudged the situation. Desperate though you may think us to be, the Yagudo would never allow infidels to befoul our holy temple. You came here as conquerors, willing or no, and the only way you are going to leave this place alive is if you succeed in your goal.”

“That’s not what we’re after!” Rykoshet protested. “Just listen to us!”

“I have heard more than enough!” Tzee Xicu suddenly roared, the change in her voice forcing Rykoshet back a step in surprise. “You have attacked my people, defied the judgment of the Gods, and now seek to insult the Yagudo with claims of alliance? I will not tolerate such blasphemy on our holy grounds! Your fate was sealed the moment you entered our castle doors, and now you will leave this room as the masters of Oztroja, or not at all! Prepare yourself for battle most epic, children of Altana, for I am Tzee Xicu the Manifest, and all others pale before me!”

An aura flared to life around Tzee Xicu, a rainbow-like shine of eight different shades. Rykoshet shouted his defiance, bringing his new great sword up, and the two crashed together as the struggle was joined.