Nathrangking

Tears come to my eyes as I feel her soul shattering agony. My own heart is heavy as my wife battles for her life. I hold shut the gates that trapped my wife for so many eons. It comes crashing down. Every failure drives spikes through my heart ripping it apart. My spirit is drowning in pain compounded upon itself. My strength does no waver though my emotions are clear. "I'm sorry my light." I look into Fox's eyes without sorrow or hate. I send through our bond only warmth and love. I send it all to her leaving the connection open and flowing endlessly. My voice betrays the sadness that inundates me. "I did not kill your brother. I could never harm you Fox. It should have been me. You should have used that accursed knife to kill me. I'm sorry Fox. Once again my prison was made by my folly. I failed you. Kill me. It will not free you, but perhaps it will ease the pain. I had hoped that I could do so. Perhaps I still can." I don't look away from her eyes. "I gave you the knife to protect yourself and now you are doing so. If I fail you then I have nothing. I destroyed my mindscape completely. In these last moments my only comfort is that at last your mind will be at peace. Remember this Fox, live with caution not fear."

A talker who is trying to goad me into making an error. They never learn. "Impressive, I'll admit. Knowing a secret such as this is no small feat. You are correct that my spells are useless in this place. However, to battle using such weak things as spells have always been beneath me. Let me tell you a secret, little metal angel. I call myself this day the name with which I was born. Then I was not Circestran, nor was I the huntress of the damned, the slayer of infernal deities, the sorceress queen, empress of mindscapes, and the conqueror of death's own realm. No, then I was Kishuphra firstborn of sorcery and magics. The power which birthed the ancient gods and the cosmos are my younger siblings. My turn." The darkness fractures and with a heave explodes in a wave of scarlet light. The realm vanishes and the storm defended doorway appears. "You have nowhere to run this is the mindscape at the soul of mindscapes. It cannot be broken for the will of the ancient ones are it's fabric. You cannot escape, for only those who know it well can leave. Welcome to my former prison and your grave." Massive bolts of lightning strike the ground. Hurricane like winds gust and scream. Massive hailstones rain down.

Are you going to eat that? Back to basics.

Great. He is a big talker. As though I have never slain one of those. "This mindscape is a rudimentary thing. Let me show you. Eshaor." The ground begins to burn. Thick billowing smoke fills the sky. The earth begins to come apart as molten fire erupts from the ground. Stone begins to melt. Circestran unfolds her wings and rises off of the ground.

Circestran stands unimpressed. "Do you think that I'm impressed? When Mindscapes were young I had mastered them." She dismisses her shield and blade. A blinding wall of scarlet energy surrounds her as she starts to chant. Armor of thick plates of demon carapace appear over her body. A helm that radiates an aura of death rests upon her head. Empty eyes stare vacantly from atop her brow. An intricate metal poled polearm with axes and a spike on either side appears in her hands. Spells are inscribed on every surface. The axes gleam like a predators eyes. With a though Circestran dismisses the light. "I am known as the huntress of the damned, the slayer of infernal deities, the sorceress queen, empress of mindscapes, and the conqueror of death's own realm." She bows slightly then straightens. Circestran raises the polearm "Today you die."

Circestran sighs. She races forward. Draws back her blade and strikes him hard with the pommel on side of the head.

Circestran's face blanches. She curses. My love he's coming! She reaches out to the poison which infects her victim and pulls on it. Reality twists around her and her bones burn as she latches onto him. She emerges in a wood beside Nathrangking. I hear the message that my wife yells in my mind through the void. "Darkness crush his bones." I call the wind and toss aside the man who stands in my way as my wife appears beside me. Gusting winds lift me above the woods I fly low and see a figure stumbling through the woods. I drop down in front of her and dismiss my weapons. I drop to my knees. My head is bent and I don't look at her. "I don't know what lies he fed to you. You fear me and run into the prison you fought so hard to escape." I form a knife and toss it in front of her. "If you want to kill me you will need that. If I have wronged you let justice be done."

*Wins.*

Fool. Circestran instantly folds her wings and drops father than thought. As she falls she lashes out with her blade and catches him halfway through the leg. That same moment she strikes it with her hand. The wound begins to fill with poison as it festers. Circestran continues to fall as the wind whistles a solemn tune. She twists space around her and appears a mile behind her enemy. "Is he your god that you worship him? You so wish to die that you follow his words blindly? By keeping her trapped you have already failed. Her life is not yours or his to control her fate is her own. If she sought to leave would you allow her? Think of this what would you do to live life anew?"

A buckler of raven bone appears across Circestran's arm as she watches the burning figure ascend to meet her. He will be cautious now. Let us see how skilled this one is. Behind her shield three floating throwing knives appear. She releases them, turns, and flies away. She stops a mile away, turns back, and waits. "You claim to know love. Is this why you seek war? None who are so wise and knowing seek battle when peace can be achieved. He gave you a body which he can easily take away. How long will you be free once he tires of you? I do believe that you care for Fox I hear it in your voice. Don't do this. I can defeat him with help from my friends. He is young and brash. He does not understand as you do not. I will not leave my friend behind. I swore by the ancient gods to protect her on pain of my death. I will not fail her. "

A buckler of raven bone appears across Circestran's arm as she watches the burning figure ascend to meet her. He will be cautious now. Let us see how skilled this one is. Behind her shield three floating throwing knives appear. She releases them, turns, and flies away. She stops a mile away, turns back, and waits. "You claim to know love. Is this why you seek war? None who are so wise and knowing seek battle when peace can be achieved. He gave you a body which he can easily take away. How long will you be free once he tires of you? I do believe that you care for Fox I hear it in your voice. Don't do this. I can defeat him with help from my friends. He is young and brash. He does not understand as you do not. I will not leave my friend behind. I swore by the ancient gods to protect her on pain of my death. I will not fail her. "

Circestran grins as she sees her enemy pivot and strike from the right. She jumps out of the way and brings down her blades on the extended arm. Her right blade vanishes after she strikes. She taps the arms and sends a curse up it. The limb bursts into unnatural flames which grow stronger by the moment. She takes to the sky out of his attack range. I sigh. Summoning two great swords of light. "Winter has done nothing, but take from you. Are you free? Can you love? Have you seen the cosmos beyond these walls. Have you known beauty in its rawest form?" I take a defensive stance. "You have not truly been freed. You are in a prison of your own making." I look over at Fox a tear falling from my eye. "I could not battle my demons alone Fox. Neither of us could. I swore to protect and do whatever it took to keep you safe, but if you don't want to go I can't make you. Stab me Fox. Go ahead. If you need to stab someone let it be me." @Scarletfox

*Wins.*

*Wins.*

Do you like candy? Walking from here to the other side of town in 10 seconds flat.

Despite the danger or possibly because of it Circestran smiles. Finally, a worthy adversary. She spins her blades and leaps forward with all of the speed of the ancient demon gods whom she has slain. Time stops as she runs forward an almost maniacal grin on her face. Power pulses around her as she moves. "Why do you serve him? He has trapped you. I will free you if you let me." Once again my eyes return to Fox. My voice fills with genuine pain. "You should have used the knife on me. That I would not have shrugged off." My pain rushes along our bond despite my attempts to stop it. I temper it with a wave of warm light as I did before. "You made me stronger. Kill me if you must, but I will not fail you." @Scarletfox

Circestran calmly calls for another barbed arrow as the monster that she is hunting looks up. She aims for the creature's skull and looses the arrow before dismissing her bow. She begins to mutter archaic spells. The air around her crackles with power. As she chants she angles herself to the ground and descends at intense speeds which whip her hair about. In a moment she touches down. Two long thin barbed ebony blades of razor bone appear in either hand. Vast energies circle her she takes a fighting stance holding the blades at high and low guard. I grimace, but I don't move. "I have no quarrel with you. I am here for Fox alone. I will leave you in peace if you wish, but only once we have leave to go." I look over at Fox a look of concern appearing on my face. "I was worried Fox. When you stabbed yourself with that knife I was afraid for you. I don't know what Winter did to you, but we must go before he comes back." My eyes return to the man holding the sword. "I can free you from him." @Scarletfox

Now we know the first oath of Yalig nar. IT all makes sense now!!

*Wins plainly.*

Navani comments that Jasnah has journals from her shadesmar trip that she has not allowed them to see.

You know that you are a sanderfan when you start imagining what life might be like if you lived in the cosmere. You know that you are a sanderfan when you decide that RoW is taking too long to come out. You know that you are a sanderfan when you worry that most of the good sanderson memes are already spoken for. You know that you are a sanderfan when you start thinking that being such a Hoid should be a thing.

*Wins at half past 6.*

*Wins.*

*Wins.*

An eternity in a moment is how long Circestran holds me close. I sense the rush of power before it comes. The chamber becomes impossibly cold around us. The ruins begin to burn before my eyes as though they are the driest of woods. Tremors begin to rock the chamber though I dismiss them with a thought. I rise unsteadily to my feet and help Circestran rise. "I believe it's time to go." I nod my head and send a single thought to the realm with what seems like the sigh of an old friend sending us away the mindscape vanishes around us. For a moment void and then light. Shadesmar appears around us as we land on our feet. I stagger, but remain upright. Goodbye old friend. "I bought us a little bit of time, but she is coming for us. When she does I fear for any who are in her way. There is something that I must do. If you can my love find the one whose mind feels like this." I draw upon the tiny essence of Winters Mindscape which lingers and send it to Circestran through a link that we had long ago stopped using. "Find him queen of light, but do not fight him. He is a dangerous foe whom we should battle only together. Call for me and I will come." Circestran nods in agreement. She closes the gap between them, rises to her toes and delivers a kiss to his lips. It is a short one, but it causes Nathrangking to sigh. "Stay safe. If you die before we reunite I will find your spirit and make it wish that I had killed it." She quickly turns away and takes to the sky before Nath can respond. She mutters as she rises. The universe tears for a moment. Power, time, space, and the fabric of existence all lose meaning for a moment before she vanishes. Her form becomes one with the power that she has tasted as she hurtles through the space between realms. Before she can think she appears in the sky above a city at night. She can feel that her target is near. She descends onto a deserted road and knows that her target is just ahead in the gloom. She calls her ebony bow formed of the bones and sinew of a demon king and arrow to her. She silently notches the arrow. Without a thought she fires into the darkness. I shed a tear. "The ancient gods preserve you my love." I reach deep within myself ignoring the emptiness where my mindscape had once been and reach for the bond connecting me to Fox. I draw it close and my body shatters. In agony I race through the realms in little more than the blink of an eye. My body sags as I feel the drain on my powers. I drop down into a forest clearing where I see Fox. I step forward cautiously my hands held high so that she can see that I'm unarmed. As the fear on her face is undeniable. "I came back as I promised that I would." @KyL