Awakening the Lightforged

The lights went out.

Estingai whirled around, priming all twelve pairs of biogems, and donning her mask—more of a helmet, really, styled after the visage of an icehawk—almost without realizing she'd done so, seeing only by her enhanced senses and the dim light of the others' gemcrests reflected off the glassy walls. Despite her Samjati blue skin, she didn't possess the golden eyes and natural night vision like Svemakuu and the others with stronger Samjati blood.

What she saw turned her veins to ice.

A tall, imposing figure outlined by points of Auroralight shining in all twelve colors approached from the darkness with a steady, purposeful stride. It wore armor of polished iron that Estingai knew all too well, the metal reflecting the light of the infused biogems set into it.

Estingai's hands flexed toward the weapons at her waist, but she drew neither. Swords did little good against a lightforged. She didn't have enough rounds with her to shoot the creature until it could no longer heal itself, and the rail gun strapped to her back would take too long to charge for close-range use. Even then, the report of either firearm would deafen everyone in the chamber, enhanced hearing or not.

Estingai could create her own weapons, anyway. Better ones.

The rasp of titansteel and readying of firearms behind Estingai told her that the others had drawn their weapons. They didn't have any better options—she and Svemakuu were the only two here with rednodes.

Something seemed off about the Lightforged's armor as it approached in silence. Like all lightforged Estingai had encountered, it wore a full helmet with a detailed faceplate—this one stylized after a Lightside draakon—concealing its own face as it mocked the Samjati tradition. Tall, wicked antlers sprouted from its forehead, the helm crafted to accommodate them, as was Svemakuu's. Its armor glittered with infused biogems it could draw power from if needed, and the plates were iron. The metal had no effect on the lightforged itself, yet it burned anyone else, Natari or Samjati, who touched it. That was all standard, yet this lightforged seemed more impressive than those Estingai had fought before.

Is it more ornate? Did the Imaia send an officer after us?

As far as she knew, lightforged only had one commander among them...

No.

Estingai froze, coming to her terrible realization just as crystals of frost and motes of flame shimmered around the lightforged's outstretched hand. A moment later, they formed into a massive blade of silver and gold as long as the lightforged was tall. The Deathknight's blade, almost as wide as Estingai's hand, extended from an arched cross guard, thickening near the end where a small crescent of metal had been removed, golden cracks webbing out over the silvery metal. The weapon ended in a wicked, hook-like point.

"Kifrytari!" Someone—Tepjo?—breathed from behind.

Estingai steeled herself even as her heart pounded and her legs threatened to turn to jelly.

Kifrytari. This was the Imaia's Deathknight, commander of their twisted, all-but immortal lightforged. The creature that had murdered and broken many whom Estingai had held dear. Most lightforged carried some sort of iron weaponry to use along with their Auroramancy, but that cursed blade was synonymous with the Deathknight.

Blacknodes and clearnodes still bright, Estingai brightened her greynodes, granting her increased speed and reflexes, and brightened her rednodes.

A solid, golden substance coalesced in Estingai's hands, forming two round shields, each over a meter and a half in diameter. Hardlight didn't cut as well as a sword made of metal, but the blunt edges of the shields would work better for Estingai's purposes.

A quick glance to her left showed her Svemakuu had formed his own shields, though his were darklight. The deep violet, almost black substance seemed to fade into wisps at the edges and had more of bounce to it when struck than hardlight.

The Deathknight stopped a few paces away and leveled its massive blade at Estingai and Svemakuu. Then it switched its grip on the weapon with a flick of the wrist and slammed the tip down into the floor, sinking almost a quarter of its length into the stone.

Estingai blinked as the Deathknight then fell into a ready stance.

Rather than wonder at that, Estingai roared as she leapt forward, knowing Svemakuu would follow. Her cry echoed off the walls, bolstered by the cries of the commanders' aides as they rushed to help.

"Protect the commanders," Svemakuu barked.

Estingai rushed the Deathknight, roaring and raising her shields as she flared her violetnodes, directing twin bursts of lightning through her hardlight weapons and toward the Deathknight.

The creature raised its own hardlight shield, blocking Estingai's attack even as it sent a burst of violet fire toward Svemakuu, forcing him to shelter behind his shield. At the first sign of pressure from her foe's barrier, Estingai twisted out of the way just in time to avoid being thrown back by the wall of hardlight. She thrust for the creature's armpit, where the armor was weak, but the Deathknight blocked the edge of her shield with its armored wrist and spun, missing Estingai with its kick, but connecting with Svemakuu's side, forcing him back.

Estingai gritted her teeth.

Don't worry about him. His greynodes protect him.

While as a Fireborn, Estingai's greynodes enhanced her speed, Iceborn like Svemakuu and Narvyk used them to enhance their strength. Their greynodes also made them more durable, able to take an enhanced blow without their ribs shattering. Estingai glanced at her husband, who met her eyes through his elk-like mask and nodded.

They would attack as one this time.

Estingai flared her greynodes and violetnodes, leaping toward the Deathknight as energy roared through her. She aimed high, directing a crackling bolt of lightning toward the Deathknight.

Svemakuu aimed low. Just as the Deathknight conjured another hardlight shield to block her attack, Estingai's vision flashed white-blue. She bared her teeth as the Deathknight blocked that as well.

Estingai switched tactics, dismissing her hardlight blade and instead using her rednodes and violetnodes in combination to send darts of hardlight wreathed in violet flames speeding toward the Deathknight. Svemakuu supported her with needles of ice. The Deathknight countered both with another shield—this one of darklight that deflected the projectiles back toward them.

Estingai had expected that.

Flaring her greennodes, she ripped chunks of volcanic rock from the floor and hurled them at the Deathknight—one low, one straight at the darklight shield.

The lightforged conjured another hardlight shield to stop the first from hitting its feet, but stumbled as the second hit its darklight shield with enough force to bend it and hit its mark. The shield absorbed enough of the blow to keep it from injuring the Deathknight, but hardlight and darklight both had an important drawback: the more force brought against a construct, the more Auroralight one had to feed into it to maintain the structure.

That was the only way to defeat a lightforged skilled in Auroramancy—wear down its Auroralight. Whatever allowed them to heal used Auroralight, and that was finite. Estingai just hoped she and Svemakuu were skilled enough to hold out that long.

They danced with the Deathknight in a display of fire, ice, lightning, stone and constructs of darkness and light that pushed Estingai to the limits of her abilities.

Starless nights, can we win this?

Estingai was starting to doubt that they could.

She had one ability she hadn't used yet, one she only used if absolutely necessary, as it consumed Auroralight at the fastest rate of all twelve abilities. Svemakuu hadn't used it yet either, and neither had the Deathknight. The extra sense Estingai's blacknodes granted her allowed her not only to detect someone using Auroramancy, but what biogems they brightened. It took training to recognize the individual signatures, almost like little rhythms and melodies, but she'd done so until it was instinctual. The Deathknight had yet to brighten its ambernodes.

Just as Estingai primed her own ambernodes, the Deathknight forced her and Svemakuu back with twin walls of hardlight.

Estingai braced herself, keeping upright as her boots slid over the smooth floor despite the cracks she'd created in it. The confines of the cave already hampered the more acrobatic fighting style she and her husband had been trained in, and their current opponent's capabilities eliminated the close-quarters advantage it normally provided them. Estingai flared her rednodes for a moment, creating her own hardlight barrier and pushing back enough against the Deathknight's that the creature released it.

Jaw clenched, Estingai glared at the Deathknight for a moment.

Burn it.

"Dim clearnodes," she barked, hoping the Deathknight would take a moment to do so. Estingai flared her greynodes and her ambernodes, allowing her to draw and cock her revolver with supernatural speed, then unload on the Deathknight. She brightened her rednodes as she pulled the trigger, creating small hardlight shields around her ears under her helmet. Just to be safe.

She unloaded all six rounds of her first moon clip on the Deathknight, two center mass, two to the head, and one to each kneecap, aiming for the gemstones in the armor when she could. Her ambernodes allowed her to anticipate where the Deathknight's shields would pop up and fire at the best target.

The speed at which she pulled the trigger would have jammed most firearms, but she always carried one made for Auroramancers like her.

Ambernodes still flared, quickly eating away at her Auroralight, Estingai released the spent clip and loaded a new one, repeating her pattern. She did the same with her third clip, conserving the last two rounds and holstering the firearm once more as she dismissed the shields around her ears. They rang still, but only slightly. She'd dented and scratched the Deathknight's armor in a few places and cracked one gemstone, but the number of rounds at the creature's feet meant most had hit its shields of hardlight and darklight. Svemakuu had emptied his clips as well. There were more rounds at the Deathknight's feet than she'd fired.

Estingai tensed, ready to come at the Deathknight again, when the commanders' aides—bodyguards, really—rushed past her, weapons raised and gemcrests shining with Auroralight.

That thing will slaughter them.

Estingai took half a step forward when something caught her arm. She whirled, wide-eyed, to find Svemakuu beside her. He'd erected a darklight shield between them and the Deathknight.

"Get the commanders out of here," he said, eyes dark, intense. "I'll wear it down and follow you out."

Estingai shook her head. "Neither of us have taken down a normal one alone. You expect me to leave you here with that?"

She glanced toward the Deathknight, stomach knotting as it killed the first two aides to approach it with spikes of violet ice through their necks.

"I'm not sure we can take that together."

Svemakuu wobbled his head, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "All the more reason for you to leave."

"Not without you."

His eyes grew strained. "Please don't fight me on this. I'll occupy it long enough to disengage, then lose it in the tunnels. I can stay down here longer than it can."

Estingai clenched her teeth. He had a point. Running out of Auroralight made one lightless, but waiting until the next aurora would fix that. Lightforged seemed to need Auroralight to live, from what they'd been able to gather. At the very least, they could be killed once their Auroralight ran out. If Svemakuu could trick it into following him deeper into the tunnels...

"Fine," she relented, "but you need to promise me you'll run when the time comes. Don't stay and fight like some honorable idiot."

He nodded, relaxing just a bit. "I promise. Now go."

Estingai nodded, eyes growing hot as she gazed at him through their helmets for one last moment, wishing she could kiss him.

With a strangled grunt, she ripped her arm from his grip, stalking back toward where the commanders, still around the table, stood tense and spellbound.

"Out!" Estingai barked, gesturing to the nearby tunnel. "Retreat as planned and don't stop until you get to your extraction points."

The commanders hesitated, but not long enough for her to need to repeat the command. As they headed for the exit, Estingai spun around for one last look at her husband in time to see the last aide crushed against the wall. Svemakuu still looked after her, darklight shield between him and the Deathknight.

The creature strode toward him, one hand crackling with energy as a blade of violet ice formed in the other. It stepped over the corpses at its feet as though they were nothing more than rubble.

"Svemakuu!"

Svemakuu whipped around, darklight shield dissipating into violet-black wisps even as he formed a blade of darklight large enough to match the Deathknight's own, moving with the speed of a Fireborn with flared greynodes.

His blade connected with a sickening crunch, sending the Deathknight back a step as it reached for its face.

Estingai blinked, eyes wide when she realized Svemakuu's strike had ripped off its faceplate.

When the Deathknight removed its hand from its face, the entire chamber grew cold. Estingai's knees threatened to buckle.

"No," she breathed, horrified, mind rejecting what she saw.

No. Darkness, please, no.

The skin was a pale white-grey instead of dark blue, the markings glittering gold instead of black, matching the glowing eyes. But Estingai knew that face.

"Kojatere," she breathed.

Svemakuu went rigid, darklight blade fading to smoke.

No. It can't be.

The creature wearing the face of Kojatere, former Champion of the Union, gazed at Svemakuu for a moment, then Estingai.

Estingai hadn't seen the woman die herself—she and Svemakuu had been far across the battlefield—but people they trusted had told Estingai that her mother-in-law—the woman that had taken her in after the Imaia took her family—was dead. Slain by the God King himself. This had to be some sort of trick.

But if it isn't... how?

"Estingai," Svemakuu cried, voice strained, "run!"

Estingai found herself frozen as the Deathknight looked past her, raised it's hand, then clenched it into a fist. Green light glowed at the Deathknight's brow and beneath its breastplate, and the cavern rumbled, loud cracks echoing throughout the chamber.

Estingai looked back at the commanders. All of them stood frozen, gazing at the Deathknight with the same disbelief that Estingai felt. They failed to move fast enough when the roof caved in on them. She looked back to Svemakuu in time to see the Deathknight's massive blade form in its hand. It raised the weapon.

Estingai stepped forward, then heard something above her.

She looked up just in time to see her reflection in the enormous slab of polished rock that fell down on top of her.