“So, what brings you to my new home Adair?” asked Kana haughtily. She sneered at the still cloaked figure of the guardian. She no longer felt the need to show any deference for the head of the guardian council. She was a ruler in her own right now and she had more power than the supposed all powerful master Adair knew. She was starting to feel that she could take him in a head to head competition now. Her power had grown with the aid of dark magic.
“I felt that it was time that we had a heart to heart” replied the guardian smoothly. He pulled back his hood to reveal his darkened visage. His white hair fell gently onto his shoulders and his goatee moved slightly as a gust of wind blew through the canyon floor. He had a cold, hard look on his face. He no longer held any hope of saving his oldest friend. She had chosen a path of darkness and he would have to deal with her with finality.
“So, old man, what is it that you want? I am rather busy unifying the peoples of Tuwa, so if you could get on with whatever it is you are here for that would be great” she spat acidly. Her face clearly showed that she no longer feared or respected her former master. What the guardian noticed was that she had considerable power emanating from her…something that was very disturbing to him. It had the distinct feel of the underworld.
“I see that you have gone to great lengths to break all the laws that govern magic…you carelessly use any power that suits your needs without regard for the consequences” Adair observed coolly. He noted that her significant power was more than merely breaking of sacred laws…the feel to it was other worldly. He suspected that she had made a pact with the keeper for the powers she now possessed.
“You always did fear power and those who have it. You indeed have reason to worry…I have become more powerful than you know.” She gave Adair a dismissive look as she started to turn away from him. She wanted to make it clear that she did not feel threatened and that she was in total control.
“I do not think that you are as powerful as you believe, but that is neither here nor there. I am here to discuss some important items of business and to fill you in on some losses that you may not yet know about.” He could tell that this caught her attention. I can feel her connection to the underworld…she is truly lost now. Why did she make a pact with the keeper?
“Losses…what are you talking about?” For the first time Kana had a look of mild concern on her face as she looked past Adair. What is he talking about now…I hope those brainless oafs have not messed up our latest plans!
“I mean the fact that Prekihar is no longer leading your foul demons from the north. Are you so out of touch that you have not realized that your minions have suffered yet another setback?” He looked at her meaningfully and did not hide his slight smile. He was enjoying this encounter.
“Show me Lachlan!” she shouted at the black walls. An image of the dark troops from the north appeared on the wall. They were disorganized and restless. The new leadership of Prekihar was not working out quite like she had hoped.
“They do not look too happy do they” chided Adair softly from behind the visibly shaking fallen guardian. Her body began to glow an intense red color. Waves of heats could be felt radiating off her. Her temper was always just under the surface and he knew that he could push her to the breaking point if he wanted to. In this case he needed to push her.
Kana turned around sharply and sneered nastily as she reared her right hand back. Black flames appeared in a spherical form encompassing her entire arm. As she thrust it forward at Adair she shrieked loudly. The ball of darkened fire hit the guardian square in the chest with tremendous force. For an instant he was covered in the black flames…then he simply disappeared. The flames vanished at the same moment.
“Where did you go oh mighty one…did my new powers frighten you?” Kana looked supremely unconcerned by the sudden disappearance of her mighty foe. She felt that she was completely safe in her new home and turned around to head back to her inner sanctum. Her new lair had a connection to the underworld and the temple itself provided her extra power. This gave her confidence that she could handle Adair.
There was a flash of brilliant light and a loud boom from the entry way. The shock wave from the sound blast knocked the unaware Kana to the floor. She hit the ground so hard that cracks appeared on the walls surrounding the entrance. Adair walked out of the bright light completely unscathed. He did not have a pleasant look on his face as he looked down at the prostrate figure of his former friend. His eyebrows were furrowed and his face did not hide his disappointment. He motioned with his left hand in an upward gesture and the body that lay before him lifted into the air and turned to look at him.
“I see that you have really gone down a path of no return…I am saddened by how far you have fallen Kana” Adair said quietly. His voice was firm when he spoke. His eyes were icy blue as he looked past the hovering figure of Kana. He applied pressure to her very essence which made her squirm.
“You know that you cannot kill me and I am too powerful for you to try and banish me like that fool Drogan. So, why don’t you be on your way and we can both get back to our charges” Kana said as strongly as she could. She was trying feverishly to break Adair’s hold on her. She had thought she would be able to stand up to him at this point and was not all that happy that she was unable to overcome his power. Even with her ability to draw additional power from her temple she was not able to overpower him.
“You disappoint me Kana…I thought that you would want to know more about what has happened to other significant players, but I see that is not of importance to you.” As he turned away, the hold he had on her broke. She landed on her feet and stood shakily as she watched the guardian go. His body was a powerfully white color as he walked resolutely away from the fallen guardian.
“You are going to have to stop playing nice, old man” she was staring him down as he started to walk away. She motioned to some of her minions behind her to send off their unwanted guest.
Several wolves rushed past Kana with high elves on their backs. The riders threw purple bolts of lightning at the back of the guardian as he turned to face his nemesis once more. The blast from six elven mages would have burnt any other mortal or immortal creature to a crisp. The force of the assault merely made a now irritated master guardian shrug as though a cold wind hit him. He quickly wheeled about now and retaliated in the most violent way imaginable. He had lost his temper and they would feel his wrath.
In a swirl of white, the guardian made fluid movements with his arms as he faced his attackers. His robes flapped in the wind caused by his complicated movements. The unfortunate high elves were hit bodily by an unseen force and lifted off of their gigantic steeds. As though invisible hands were ripping at them, they were torn limb from limb. Blood stained the smooth marble floor of the temple’s doorway as body parts squelched to the ground. If any of the other guardians had witnessed this extreme show of force, they would not have believed their eyes. Adair was known for his diplomacy and patience. At this point he was done with talking…now was a time for action.
The wolves tumbled to a halt just in front of the still pure white guardian. They were clearly enraged, but fear made them pause momentarily. Then they jumped at the defiant elemental in an attempt to avenge their fellows who Kana had killed because of their impotence in the face of an unknown guest. A blur of white flashed briefly before the black beasts’ eyes before the sun was completely blocked out. Osborn, the most respected and feared bear in all the lands, stood on his hind legs and roared loudly as he began to swipe at Kana’s black beasts. The first hit took the foremost wolf’s head clean off. Blood smeared across the exterior temple walls. Eight of the southern wolves lay dead before any magical attack came at him.