Legacy - Christopher Pastrana (books to read in your 20s TXT) 📗

Reinhardt knew something was wrong. Not bothering to run or hide, he waited for the attack to come.
         Dust shot up from the ground as gales of condensed wind struck the ground. Zephyreus brought up a ball of air around him so thick the falling blades were pushed away from him. As the final desperate attempt to kill Reinhardt ceased, Boreas lay dead on the battlefield. Zephyreus dropped to his knees, exhausted from the fight. Eureas lay unconscious nearby, a stone having struck the side of his face.
         Blood dripped down Reinhardt's arm in tiny streams. Roas' arm reached out to help Reinhardt stand up. He hadn't when she had shown up but a friendly face was a pleasant change.
         "Are you okay? I felt that strange storm coming towards you, and when it wasn't turned away I knew something was wrong. I barely had enough time to raise a shield before it reached you." Tearing off one of her sleeves, Roas applied it to the cut on his shoulder.
         "You stopped all of that from hitting me?"
         "Not all of it apparently. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to stop wind with fire." For the first time he smiled at her joke. Blood began dripping onto his cheek in small droplets. Looking Roas he could see that she hadn't escaped the blast as well as he had. Tears lined her clothing as well as burns and lots of blood. Her lack of boots also caught his attention, though in the moment it was more of an amusement.
         "Looks like you had more trouble than I did." Making a gesture towards her feet, she smirked innocently.
         "They didn't match my outfi..." Roas' dark red eyes moved past Reinhardt. As the color drained from her face Reinhardt turned around, looking for what she had seen. In the distance, moving through a line of parting soldiers was a man slowly walking towards them. He looked no different than any other man. Altogether average, but his eyes were silver, and Reinhardt knew who he was. The one person he had wanted to avoid was now standing in front of him. Leader of the Duzee nation, Wind Master, Father of the Winds, Astraeus. Death From Above

     Calmly and confidently Master Astreaus made his way past what was left of the winds. Looking around he shook his head, obviously disgusted with the actions of Notus. Not only had he managed to kill himself, he had struck down Boreas in his attempt to kill Reinhardt. As his silver eyes locked in on Reinhardt he gave a pleasant smile.
         “So you’re the one who has been giving us issues. Let me introduce myself, I am Master Astraeus, Father of the Winds, and leader of the Duzee Empire.” The man’s kind words and pleasantries did little to hide the rage burning within his eyes. Having already lost a considerable part of his army, and worse, two of his students, Master Astraeus stood moments from erupting.
         In the moments during Notus’ final attempt to kill him something strange had happened. Reinhardt had lost his ability to control the elemental shift's of others. While he was within the void the dark watchers had given him a warning about being within the presence of the masters, that it would hinder his own power.
         When the war council had convened and both Master Yesenia and Conners were present it hadn't stopped him from stealing the powers of a couple kids who had been playing pranks while everyone was concentrating. If he had been able to use it then, than what was different now? Thinking it over, he came to a simple conclusion. Even though they had been present at the council neither of the masters had been using their own powers.
         When an elementalist uses their gift they release their powers into the surrounding area. When this happens they mix energy into the essence of whatever they are trying to control. This bond typically cannot be broken but Reinhardt could slip his own energy into the mix and gain control. Could the power of a master be what was blocking him? The sudden appearance of the wind master and Reinhardt’s powers disappearing couldn't have been a coincidence.
         "Master, this is the one who stopped us from capturing Donovan in the mountains. He lead the attack on our expedition force, and killed Notus and Boreas." The look Astraeus gave Zephyreus froze him in place.
         "I know what happened here. There deaths are their faults, not this peasants!"
         "Yes Master, I'm sorry."
         Turning his attention back to Reinhardt, the man brushed his long hair out of his face. Roas had regained some of her courage and stood joined her partners side.
         "This fight isn't for you girl. Go play with the other pawns and let the strong fight in peace."
         "Astraeus, don't be so mean to the poor girl. It's clear that she has some potential with that fire of hers, so let's see if this aspiring warrior can surpass a master." An unexpected man appeared besides Astraeus. Tall and muscular, he was the exact image of power and discipline expected of any leader. Unlike the elegant demeanor of the Wind Master, he was unattractive and rough. Wearing only common black trousers, the man was soaked in blood. The scars covering his body were visible on every limb. While some were old, many were fresh and still bleeding.
         "What are you doing here Birver? I thought I told you to hold the Eastern Line?" Astraeus was not happy at this man's appearance, but he didn't seem to demand the same respect that he had from his own soldiers.
         " There is nothing going on over there. The 'Army' that you had said was going to arrive left without making contact with us. I wasn't about to miss a good fight so I came this way to lend a hand. I left the Reapers over there to handle the defense."
         Listening to them speak he knew that Klaas hadn't attacked as he had originally planned. The change was surprising and cast a dark light over the fate of his already dwindling men. Even with this change he might be able to make a difference. If he could kill Astreaus himself, than Klaas wouldn't have to get involved. This mystery man could pose a problem if he got involved.
         "Can you trust those blind warriors of yours?"
         "I'd trust them with my life, as I have on many occasions. They will fight and die to protect me." With each exchange Reinhardt could tell this was no simple man. He was begging to believe that he was seriously outmatched, and without his ability to steal elements he had only the Dragon's Tail to defend himself.
         In the back of his mind the black creeped into his thoughts. He could use the sword and gain an edge in the fight. Shaking the strange desire from his mind he focused on the two in front of him.
         "Fine if you want to kill the girl than be my guest. This one belongs to me for all the problems he has been causing me lately."
         "That sounds like a good deal to me." Looking over to Roas the mountain of a man winked crudely. "It's nice to meet you girl, I would like to introduce myself before I kill you. My name is Birver Fatir, but you can simply refer to me as Master." Now frozen in fear Roas didn't have time to react before the massive fists of the fire master were connecting with her body.
         Turning to help his teammate a blade of wind blasted by his face, stopping Reinhardt where he stood. Looking back to Astraeus he had a small smile across his lips. Taking hold of a nearby spear, Astraeus began to spin it wildly between a few of his fingers. The tails of his long white coat flapped loudly. A soft fur lining on his color swayed back and forth as his body began to rock.
         "You have your own problems to worry about. Leave that one to her own fate. I'm surprised that you both managed to do so much damage. The size of your force was almost laughable. I told Klaas that nobody would actually attack an army of this size with only a few hundred men, but he proved me wrong. You are as dumb as he thought."
         Everything had begun spiraling into place within his mind. The four winds had been out looking for Bricco because they knew where he was. The charismatic wind elementalist had been trying to get them all killed with this assault on Astraeus. Anger ran over every inch of his body, and once again the sword was calling to him. His mind was swimming with the desire to drive the black blade through all of these men.
         Forcing the idea from his mind again took far more effort this time. Something about the blade frightened him, it seemed alive. Somewhere deep within the metal was calling to him, making him crave the blood of his enemies. As Astreaus began to come towards him the desire faded and his mind focused on the battle.
         In that moment Reinhardt felt something he had never imagined was possible. Instead of gathering power from the sky and surrounding area, the silver eyed master pushed his energy from his body and wind began to form around him.
         "From the expression on your face I am going to assume this is the first time you've ever fought a master. That lack of experience will be your downfall peasant!" Fluidly lashing out with his spear, long blades of wind ripped through the air towards Reinhardt. Unleashing his Dragon's tail he began deflecting the attacks. It was a strategy he was glad to have learned from Briccio.
         "Not bad boy! But this is just amateur!" Increasing the speed of his strikes it became clear how different the four winds were to the master. Each strike required almost no effort, and no energy was wasted in the onslaught. Barely managing to keep up his defense, Reinhardt couldn't find time to attack.
         Slashing across his body at waist level, a huge wave of air threw Reinhardt into the air. Gathering energy behind himself, Astraeus lept into the sky, pushing himself with his own wind. As he continued his quick volley's of