Defenders of Destiny Book One: Conflux

Chapter 33: Wind in the Sand

Nilepyt's body crashed down with a great shockwave that shook the ground and crumbled nearby undamaged buildings. The Phoenix had managed to claw and tear the snake's head off from the rest of its body before it could recover from its thrashing. Standing between both pieces of the Titan serpent it spreads its flaming wings and cried out victoriously.

The Moharans and Holaarians watching it knelt down and bowed in gratitude. In the battlefield, the demons immediately turned around and fled, the will of Nilepyt keeping them there broken. The aerial army pursued them the entire way back to the hole they crawled out of, killing any they could.

At last, the battle was finally over.

Once the demons were long gone, a group of Holaarians flew up to the Jewel of Fire high in the sky to deliver the good news. The few surviving Moharans and the other Holaarians then set about cleaning up the vast and densely populated battlefield of their dead brethren.

Casandra gingerly placed a hand on Celestia's wing stub, making the young girl wince. "If I had the other piece I could reattach it."

"I didn't see where it landed," Celestia replied. "It could be anywhere. Do you think I'll be like this forever?"

Casandra shrugged and brushed a strand of dark hair from her eyes. "I don't know, Celestia. With the exception of your severed wing your body is strong and is recovering well. I cannot tell if it is going to revert to your wingless form."

Graham, holding one of Celestia's clawed hands in his, said, "Maybe you just have to will it. The battle is over and there is no more need to fight. You don't need your wings or claws anymore."

A huge form landed heavily nearby, stirring up a large cloud of sand and dust. It folded its leathery wings against his body and with a roar began to shrink in size. Its long tail shortened into nothing, its four legs thinned and shortened into two arms and two legs, its wings vanished, and its long reptilian neck and elongated horned head shortened and rounded into a woman's face with a scalp of long, milk-chocolate hair. Karmen lay in the dragon's place and curled in the fetal position, her eyes closed and her body still. Aragol removed his cape and draped it over her as Casandra walked over to check on her strength. She had never transformed twice in one day before and she worried she may have strained herself too much.

Once she was near enough she began sensing for her wari and found it weak but intact. She found no injuries or illnesses and sighed in relief. She looked at Aragol, who was eyeing Karmen with concern, and smiled. "She will be fine, Aragol. She just needs rest."

Aragol smiled back and nodded. "Thank you, Casandra, for everything. You're probably the only one of us capable of standing up to Minara and you did well back there."

Casandra shrugged. "I didn't so as well as I had hoped. She is much more powerful than I could ever imagine. I was using all my power to weaken her and yet she recovered so quickly..."

"You did well, nonetheless. I am honored to have had you fight by my side."

"Fighting is not something I am accustomed to, but thank you."

Aragol furrowed his brow and glanced back at the Phoenix as it sat on the ground and rested, recovering from its vicious battle with Nilepyt. He looked back at Casandra. "Do you think this is it? Are we finished? Did we cleanse all the anchors?"

"I have no answers for you, Aragol. We were never told how many anchors there would be. I suspect we will have to wait for the black-cloaked man to return to us."

Aragol nodded and then bent down to carry Karmen in his arms, his cape draping over her like a blanket. He smiled at Casandra once more. "Rejoice, Casandra, victory is ours this day."