arm. Tyria, with mouth and eyes opened wide, continued to cry out in agony. Her screams filled Skald’s ears and racked his slipping humanity. Paralyzed with terror, he listened to her shrill screams. A rivulet of scarlet flowed steadily down from a smirk that crossed Xandus’s face. The mage’s hand clasped onto Skald and impeded the progress of the bloodied claw that dug into his chest. His other hand clenched tightly around Tyria’s neck as her body radiated in a pale green light. Three of the robed magi rose as their strength returned to them as many of the others were too exhausted to rise again. They glanced over to see Xandus and Skald, and at once, they began chanting words of power. From under the sleeves of their robes, dark tendrils flew forth and wrapped tightly around Skald’s body. Then, the coiling shadows around Skald pulled him back towards the magi. Xandus let out a grunt as Skald’s claw emerged from his chest. The pale light around Tyria intensified along with her screams as the hole in Xandus’s breast began to close. Skald’s feet dug into the marble floor, leaving claw marks as he resisted the pull of the magi. A forth mage staggered up to Xandus, “Master, how grievous is your wound?” Tyria’s screams subsided as her body fell limp. Xandus carelessly tossed her aside near the fallen altar. “This is nothing,” Xandus turned his gaze to Tyria, “the beast’s whelp was generous enough to aid in my healing.” Skald gazed at Tyria, motionless and facedown against the floor. Fury and sorrow raged within Skald’s mind. The animalistic presence that fought for dominance within his mind fed off of his emotions. Its control over Skald as hatred rose within his heart until he could no longer contain himself. Skald grabbed onto one of the tendrils coiled around him and gave forth a mighty pull on it. One of the magi shrieked as he sailed through the air and towards Skald. The man was stopped short of the floor by Skald’s claw as it dove into the man’s stomach and emerged from his back. Droplets of blood struck the floor and slowly formed a small pool underneath Skald. Without a second glance at the man, Skald lowered his arm and the magi struck the floor as he helplessly tried to cover his gaping wound. Skald then turned and, on his arms and legs, surged across the room towards the other two magi. Xandus watched Skald’s onslaught from beneath his cowl with a small smirk that revealed his amusement. “Master, what will we do with him? The ritual was a fai-” “I am fully aware that the ritual failed, fool.” Xandus cast an annoyed glance to the mage that cowered beside him. His attention turned back to Skald as the bestial man slashed another mage leaving a mangled body fall to the floor. He looked across the rest of the room with a frown. “It seems our little shaman has run away.” Xandus let out a sigh. “This has gone on long enough.” He knelt down and recovered his tome. He saw that the beast was preoccupied as he maimed Xandus’s former apprentices. Xandus carelessly flipped through his tome as the mage next to him grimaced at Skald’s brutality. Xandus snapped his fingers, gaining the other mage’s attention. He shoved the tome into his hands and began chanting the decrepit words within it. Shadows sprang out from the corners of the room and encased Xandus. The shadows swirled around
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