The Stalemate of Powers

After years of the domination of evil, a great power of good has revealed itself. It took the form of a man and called himself a wizard. This good walked the earth, bringing hope to the damned and strength to the weak. He revived the spirits of creatures that once were pure, but were destroyed by the powers of darkness and evil.

Animals roamed once again, birds covered the sky, and fish replenished the seas. Darkness fled from him and evil cowered in the shadows in the corners of the Earth. The evil that remained gathered together and formed a body of its own, monstrous in size and in power. A wizard, Evil now called itself, because it too possessed the powers of the elements.

What one created the other would destroy and what one destroyed the other would revive. Only one solution remained, to end this stalemate of powers, a duel, a battle to the death.

* * *

Upon a hill called Amon Nar stands a wizard, cruel of heart and evil in every way. By the many he has slain he is called Herugoth, Lord of Death, but by the living he is known as Mornar the Black Flame for like fire, he consumes all good in his path. Across the valley, upon the hill of Amon Khelek, Celebar stands strong and proud. He is pure of heart and lives to protect all that is left in the world that is still good. Many powers, great and powerful they both possess; fire, earth, wind, and water are at their command and must obey them at the wave of a hand.

Mornar is strong and towers above all other living things. He is clad in black armor made of impenetrable steel and helmed in black as well. The eyes of Mornar are red and burning of fire for fire is where most of his powers lie. Every living creature that stands in his shadow falls dead of fright, every creature except Celebar, who fears none. Mornar wields a staff as black as his heart and an ax. His ax is called Amarthang meaning “Iron Doom,” it can fell a forest with a single swing. Nothing can stand in its way when it is in the powerful arms of Mornar.

Celebar is slightly less powerful than Mornar, but he has the will to overcome evil. This gives him the strength to destroy the Lord of Death. Celebar is clad in no armor, but robed in silver and his head is covered only by a wizard’s cap. He needs no armor for none can protect him from the mighty Amarthang and no armor is stronger than the will of Celebar. His eyes shine with the light of the stars, and he is mighty in the powers of the wind. Celebar is a healer not a slayer and anything or anyone pure that he looks upon is healed by his glance. He also carries a staff; his is made of silver and is crowned with a diamond. At his waist is sheathed a sword called Thaliontir, meaning “sure protector” because it is unbreakable yet light and sure to protect its wielder. Celebar also holds the Mighty Horn of Belegras, made from a hollowed dragon’s claw. It has magical properties of its own, but they are unknown as the horn may only be blown once.

A league separates the two hills upon which these powers have come to end the battle of good and evil, but distance is no matter to them. Between these hills a river flows, wide and swift, not fordable for a hundred leagues in both directions. This river is called the Palanduin. Animals come from far about the wastelands surrounding these hills to drink from the waters of this river, but they all fled at the coming of Mornar, even the birds in the sky have gone into hiding.

* * *

Mornar is first to move, raising his staff to the sky, summoning clouds to cover the sun. In darkness, he would be invisible to the eye, only sensible by the feeling of dread as he draws near to strike. Celebar, knowing the disadvantage he has in darkness, begins by summoning winds to keep the sky clear. The clouds are strong and the sky grows black, and in return the wind grows stronger to push them away.

“Is this the limit to your powers oh mighty Celebar?” sneers Mornar.

Just as he speaks, Celebar turns the winds into a funnel and drops the tornado onto Amon Nar. Without delay, Mornar strikes the earth with his staff and roots wrap around his ankles to hold him down. The power of the wind is great in Celebar and it will be long before Mornar can undo it. Celebar gathers his strength for his next attack as Mornar struggles inside of the tempest.

Mornar gives up hope and can take no more of the winds brutality. In the midst of Celebar’s great funnel, Mornar takes up his ax, cuts himself loose and is tossed up into the sky. Mornar’s voice echoes throughout the land “Arr nan a Lhack!” He calls upon his most faithful servant, trusting him to come to his aid. As he plunges back down towards the Earth a great beast emerges from the horizon. His servant Lhach, a dragon, sweeps over the wastelands and catches Mornar. Lhach is a black dragon, both swift and evil, and Mornar’s chief servant. Mornar holds his ax ready to strike as he flies like an arrow straight over the Palanduin to Celebar upon Amon Khelek.

With his staff in his hand, Celebar speaks to the earth, “yield to me protection and conceal my whereabouts.” A forest is spat up upon the hill. Mornar seeing this does not slow to avoid the trees, but speeds through them, swinging to kill. The trees stand their guard, but are hewn down as Mornar passes. Lhach emerges from the woods on the other side and Mornar checks his ax for any sign of blood, but sees none save the trees’. On the second pass through the forest, Lhach sets ablaze all that is left of the trees, but there’s still no sign of Celebar amongst them.

“Fear?” asks Mornar, “Many of those I sought to destroy, I found cowering in fear just as you are now. And every one of them has felt the blade of my ax.”

“Fear is an emotion I will not waste on you.” Celebar’s voice answers from amidst the fire, as if the flames themselves were speaking.

Then, as a white light like a star, Celebar shoots from the flames into the sky. This light takes the form of an eagle and clouds role back over the Earth below as the winds recede. Celebar in eagle form turns to a dive and sees Mornar upon Lhach through the clouds rising in a ball of flame. As they reach the clouds, Mornar is blinded by the veil, but Celebar is not hindered. He flies straight like a dart into Mornar’s face and throws him off of Lhach.

Mornar then sprouts wings and glides to safety on Amon Nar, but Celebar is right behind him and touching one of his mighty talons upon the hillside he returns to his rightful form with his sword drawn. Celebar summons rain from the clouds to put out Mornar’s flames and aims his first blow at Mornar’s throat.

“Today the Lord of Death will meet the fate that he himself has bestowed upon so many.”

But quicker than the lightning now bursting from the clouds, Mornar draws his ax, blocks Celebar’s blow, and with a grim smirk throws one of his own. Celebar’s sword proves true and blocks the attack without breaking, but the force of Mornar’s swing knocks him down to the ground.

“You are not a worthy opponent for me, just a mere chew toy for a loyal servant,” Mornar declares, “Rhak nar Lhach!!!”

Now Lhach, at his master’s bidding, drops from the clouds, bearing his claws down upon Celebar, but Celebar rolls aside and leaps up thrusting his sword into the side of the dragon. He pulls the blade from the scaly side and it begins to glow from the flames of the dragon’s blood. While Mornar stands in shock, Celebar rushes an attack and sparks fly as his sword clashes against the steel of Mornar’s dark armor leaving nothing so much as a dent.

Sudden Rage sweeps over Mornar, the flames in his eyes flare up, and the dying fire upon Amon Khelek comes suddenly to life despite the rain still falling from the clouds. He takes his staff and hammers Celebar, sending him flying across the river to the base of Amon Khelek and into the fire again. Mornar leaps across too, and lands at the top of the hill where the flames are the hottest. “Nar esar,” he calls them to rise in heat to consume Celebar, but Celebar works his own magic and makes a shield glowing blue around him.

Celebar, sheathing his glowing sword, gathers his strength and raises the entire river out of its bed into the air and drops it like an ocean upon himself and the hill; extinguishing the fire. Mornar, seeing this coming, spreads his wings and flies up to avoid Celebar’s attack. In the air he raises his staff and freezes all of the water where it is, creating a giant block of ice around the hill and enclosing Celebar in an icy tomb. Celebar releases the shield, which protected him from the falling river and created bubble within the ice, and takes Belegras from his belt. He blows upon the horn one long time and it shakes the Earth, breaking the ice to pieces, leveling the hills and shattering the armor of Mornar. The power of the horn is thus revealed and gone from the world, Celebar drops it to the ground and it turns to dust.

They then both draw their weapons and charge towards each other. Mornar swings his mighty ax and Celebar raises his sword to block, but the blood of the dragon has turned the sword to evil and it abandons Celebar. The sword is knocked from his hands and falls broken on the dry riverbed. Mornar swings again, this time Celebar raises his staff, but to no avail. His staff is severed in two, releasing its power into the world and the creatures that inhabit it. Mornar kicks the powerless Celebar to the ground and raises his ax for the final attack.

“You will rue the day that you showed yourself upon this earth to challenge the dominion of evil,” says Mornar, spitting flames as he speaks, “I will destroy everything, I will turn light to dark and day to night, forever.”

A wind starts to blow and the rain stops falling, the ground starts to shake and Mornar pauses to look around with wonder, at what power is causing such things. He looks first to the sky; a shadow darker than the clouds is coming swiftly from the east. As far as his eyes can see, there are birds and all sorts of flying creatures. Then he notices a shadow upon the earth too, as if the Great Forrest itself has uprooted and came marching with great speed. It is the creatures of Earth come to save Celebar, without whom, they will once again be doomed under the power of Evil.

Mornar drops his ax and raises his staff to summon a power beyond evil. He lifts it above his head and a shadow pours out of his staff, growing larger every second. A mighty eagle is the first to reach Mornar, but as it comes to the shadow oozing from Mornar’s staff the bird falls to the ground dead. The other animals seeing this do not have a change of heart; they maintain their course and die.

Celebar finds the strength to stand. He rises up behind Mornar, furious at what is being done. His wrath giving him strength, he picks up Amarthang and swings the vile ax over his head and down upon Mornar’s staff, slicing it in half. It bursts in a cloud of darkness and Mornar falls to the ground with the remaining creatures, only Celebar stays standing, only he is pure enough to endure such intense evil.

* * *

The clouds part and the sun shines down on the field of bodies. Celebar begins to weep, what he has fought for is gone; all that he loves is dead. His staff is broken and his powers are gone. He lies down, face to the sky and releases his spirit. Since he loved these creatures so much, his spirit stays and goes into them and they become pure and live again. They stand and drink from the river as it begins to flow anew.