Arel Alurian chased the thief through the sky, his spell of flight letting him pace with the powerful thief, though the woman was no mere thief, that much he knew now. Her escape had nearly gone undetected, and it was probably an accident that she passed over a sigil that alerted others of an intruder. Many had died in the battle that ensued, and Arel was fairly certain that his beloved students, and probably most if not all of his tower staff were dead or dying. The woman flew a bit above him and then stopped, staring back down at the man. Arel was not entirely sure of her true nature, for she was one of the changing folk of the east, one of the Hengeyokai. Her form was that of a tall hybrid black cat, piercing yellow eyes stared down at him, and she had an aura of power about her that he could not deny. She was powerful, he knew that, but she wasnt all powerful. Arel spoke to her as he flew a bit nearer to her, keeping his distance to the opponent.
"You're a powerful adversary woman. I've met only a few that are your equal, but know that you have met your match. I cant promise you what will become of you, but i know that you must hand over what you have stolen. Those seals are meaningless. The temples they belong to have long been raided, those items are worthless, there purpose has came and went. All this damage, all this death, and your treasure is but a useless bauble." The two flew around each other in a circle as Arel talked. Both were on guard, and Arel could see that she was fixated on him, like a cat ready to pounce. When she spoke, he was suprised at how soft and feminine her voice sounded. "Arel Alurian, you are a fool. Seals designed by sheshensis, and here you think they have but one purpose. Are you so arrogant that you would lose your faith in the gods. The seals were created in the first age, and you think they were designed for temples built in the second age, that it was all some grand scheme. No Arel, even the priests of sheshensis have lost this secret, the fragments of it scattered so well that only a gods divinity could help mortals pick up the trail. For good reason too Arel, should you know the secrets of these seals, you would not rest until you had uncovered at least one of them for yourself. But my purpose here is two fold dear high elf, I certainly did come for the seal, as was my priority, but i also came for you as well." Arel narrowed his eyes, the grip on his sword was tight, and he mentally tested the magical ward the artifact was building around him. He would not underestimate this foe, he had seen the guardians she had summoned, all extraordinarily powerful, all sealed by his magics within the tower below him. He had not seen any of her personal power for himself, but he guessed she was more than some mere summoner, that she had far more tricks up her sleeve. She only payed partial attention to her words, though she had a soothing voice, he had a feeling it was one attuned to lies and deception, he knew the type, and would not be lured in. With a foe like her, he could not afford to lose any ground. He spoke to her curtly. "Foul Witch, whatever your plan is, whatever truths you tell with your lies is unimportant. You have made war against the high towers of Alborine, you have cast your spells against those of the most powerful courts, and you have murdered innocents under the direct protection of one of the Arch Mages of the White Tower. You wont survive this day, ill have that charm in my possession, and you'll lay ruined and smoking on the choppy waves below. I can offer you no leniency, it would be an error on my part. Prepare yourselves, ill let no more words slip past those lips." With that he gestured with his sword, Sky Fire, and blast of fire and lightning streaked out towards the witch, exploding in several cascades of crackling lightning with intermittent balls of fire. He was prepared when she appeared out of the blasts range, more than likely a teleportation or similar effect, and he was already upon her, a blast of lightning shooting from his hands and exploding over the left side of her body as he flew past her. The woman reeled from the damage, her leg and part of her arm were covered in burns, but she was surprisingly alive. She nursed her wound as Arel flew around her, he had taken some of the speed out of her, and more than likely she was incredible pain from the barrage. He kept up his attacks, blasting bolts of lightning towards her to engage her and not give her time to rest. He pointed his sword at her as he continued his attack and spoke. "Stop this now woman, continue this fight and i will seal and destroy your soul, surrender and i will make quick work of you. You will feel no pain and you may go on to your final reward. I give you my word. You cannot win, i sense your power, but I also sense your limitations. All your magic is back within the White Tower, your abominable demons chained by my spells throughout my domain. They cannot aid you, and no help will find you up here." The woman hissed through her pain and glared up at the man, but she spoke softly, and directly. "... This is true, all of my magic is back within that tower. But what else is in that tower I wonder..." Arel stared at her for a moment, he knew the ins and outs of his tower, and he had spells to scry upon it as he desired, there was little he couldnt find out about his property in an instant, and as he flew around he mentally scanned the tower, seeing everything he had expected, His dead staff and students, some dead guards, the bound demons all throughout the tower, and that was.. wait. Arel blinked, he hadnt noticed her before. How long had she been there? The woman smiled as she saw his expression change. She spoke softly. "Thats right, your daughter, tucked away and bound in an old closet. But safe." Arel's face reddened and he looked at the woman, quite ready to kill her now. "Enough! you do all of this and yet wish to sate my anger more by capturing my daughter and hiding her within my tower. Perhaps a trophy to pick up on the way out? Well you are finished Witch. Ill see you dead, ill see your soul destroyed, and ill see the world forgets of the pitiful Hengeyokai that raised her magics against House Alurian. The woman grinned, more human than catlike now. ".. Oh Arel, I had no intention of keeping her as a trophy. I needed her for you..." Arel motioned, a slight gesture towards the tower. Arel couldnt believe what happened next, The White Tower, a creation of his and the Arch Mages of Alborine, exploded. All throughout the tower the witch's demons exploded with great force, each explosion rocked through the tower, destroying walls and blasting away parts of the tower in great flaming chunks. Arel blinked and flew towards the tower. "Essielle!!!" He screamed his daughters name, but it was all in vain, the explosions were absolute. Arel couldnt believe it, the witch had somehow caused her minions to self detonate, had she planned this whole scenario, but why? Those questions were some of Arel's last. A blast of green fire exploded through the right side of his chest, detonating out of his rib cage, and destroying that side of his body. Arel's vision dimmed as he fell, the remains of his body flickering in green fire. His eyes werent fixated on the victorious witch, but on the strange sight as he fell and his life escaped him. Off to the side, as he plummeted to the ocean below, chunks of fire and ruin fell with him. Today not only would house Alurian fall, but the White Sky Tower of alborine would fall as well. As the light faded from his eyes, Arel heard but one more sound, a soft whisper next to him. "You lose, high elf."
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