The small stones that littered the ancient broken cobblestone walkway rattled as a thunderous roar rose from the ground. Stone cracked and sand flew as the Centaur Battle Mage thundered out of the ruins. Hooves fell rapidly against the cracked roadway. Then above the clamor of hooves rose something even more terrifying; a screech of an unprecedented high pitch.

Shaking his head to clear his mind from the paralyzing effects of the gargoyle's keel, Boreas glanced back. What he saw didn't surprise him, but rather urged him on faster. Out of the ruins of the once great temple flew a swarm of gargoyles, only able to rise from their lair because of the fast-setting sun. Turning back to the path in front of him, Boreas nearly slammed into a large crumbling stone pillar. Without slowing, however, Boreas' rear hooves pushed off the ground in unison to the right, sending him in the opposite direction, barely missing a bloody and painful death.

As he ran the sun dipped behind the horizon, cursing the world with darkness. Only the Battle Mage's ability to see at night allowed him to swiftly navigate the increasing amount of pillars and rubble. Looking back again, Boreas saw that the many gargoyles were close behind and picking up speed. Taking a quick count before returning his gaze to the road, Boreas counted about thirteen of the beasts. Thirteen powerful gargoyles, all after him.

Then the keel came again. Only this time more powerful. Boreas lost his balance as the screech hit him. He went flying forward, propelled by the speed of his hell-ride. As he fell, however, he retained enough knowledge to tuck his head down and flip his horse-like torso over. He turned the fall into a roll, coming back up onto his feet and turning to face his impending doom. As the centaur rose he reached down, withdrawing the large two-handed sword that was strapped against his side. As soon as he drew the blade he had to lift it in defense.

A gargoyle screamed and fell dead, crashing in a pool of blood and sand. Then Boreas roared as the rest of the flight passed him by; the centaur receiving a vicious gash across his face. Boreas was in trouble, and he knew it.

"I do love battle." The elf said to himself.

WHAM!

The elf, Xelphias, had just landed on the head of a certain gargoyle, who, in fact, just happened to be in the way. "Oops, my mistake." The elf said. Xelphias had been observing the centaur for quite a while. While departing from the desert ruins, he had been attacked by maybe a dozen gargoyles. Xelphias decided that it was time to step in when the half-horse man had been knocked on his bottom. Though the centaur rose to fight, Xelphias wanted to help him out, for his battle-loving sake.

"You gargoyles... always messing things up." Xelphias said, as he knocked two gargoyle heads together. He threw a punch to another one's face, but was cut off as another gargoyle tripped him. "Oh, that was a mistake on your part." He said to the gargoyle, as he drew his blade in an instant, severing the head of the bold, yet foolish gargoyle. Xelphias wasn't one to fool around in battle, but if he could get a bit of amusement here and there, he was sure that it was worth it. "He scumbag, over here!" The elf said, as yet another gargoyle made his way towards the half-horse man. The beast turned, and was instantly knocked to the ground as a foot landed straight on his nose. He grabbed the gargoyle by the neck, and threw him a couple feet. "Learn some manners."

Xelphias turned to the centaur as only a couple gargoyles remained. "Stupid little rascals, always frightening people." Just then, a gargoyle tried to attack Xelphias from behind, but failed as the elf, not even looking, kicked him in the stomach with brutal force. Xelphias then turned to the centaur, and addressed him politely. "My name is Xelphias Qaex. And who are you, may I ask?" The elf waited for a response, keeping a creeping gargoyle in the corner of his eye.

Boreas spun his blade to the side, deflecting an advancing strike from a gargoyle, severing its arm in the process. Following through with his strike, the powerful Centaur beheaded the beast before turning his arrention towards two more of the beasts that were swooping towards him.

Ducking, the Battle Mage barely avoided an attack from above him before thrusting his two-handed sword upwards, gutting one of his opponants. Ripping his blade back to his side, he prepared to engage the next adancing gargoyle. His eyes widened as the beast dropped from the sky, an elven warrior astride it. The man landed near the centaur before dispatching four more of the stone-warriors. This elf was good, but Boreas would not be outdone.

Whipping his body around, Boreas extended his sword, cutting down another of hs foes. As he turned back to regard the elf, he recieved another slash, only this one cutting his chest. Bringing his powerful blade to bear, the Battle Mage worked his sword, slicing up the gargoyle that had wounded him. The ranks of stone-warriors were thinning, but Boreas knew that more would be coming soon.

"My name is Xelphias Qaex. And who are you, may I ask?" the elven warrior stated, obviously having to much fun during this battle. Scowling, Boreas dug his rear hooves into the ground, sending himself hurtling towards his newfound alley. As he rushed forwards he let go of his blade with his right hand, thrusting forward with it to bash a gargoyle in the face, crushing its weak skull.

"You may call me Boreas. Watch your back youngblood," the centaur scolded, glancing towards the ruins. From the rubble he could see swarmd of gargoyles teeming from its depths. They were all headed towards the two warriors. Thinking quickly, Boreas whipped his torso around, placing it next to the young elf and kicking the one remaining gargoyle in the process.

"Get on," he commanded, leaving no room for arguement.

After addressing the centaur, the half-horse man seemed to be charged at Xelphias. "Umm, ok?" The elf did not know what was occuring, so he held his sword at ready, waiting for any life-depending actions. Just then, a gargoyle was rushing towards Xelphias. "Two at once, perfect." Looking back and forth between the two beasts, the elf was pondering his first move. Got to act quick, got to act quick. He decided to take his chances with the stone beast first, and then take on the centaur. He charged at the gargoyle, but stopped as a sword bashed the skull of Xelphias's prey. He turned, and saw it was the centaur.

"You may call me Boreas. Watch your back youngblood," The centaur said. "Get on," Xelphias turned, and noticed that the whole squadron of stone beasts were charging all at once. The elf hesitated. "I can take them." He told the Boreas. "Watch." Xelphias flew himself in the middle of the stone gargoyles, constant turning and deciding what his first move would be. A gargoyle attacked, but his head fell to the ground as Xelphias did some amputating. "I always love a good fight!" The elf called back to the centaur. Two more of the stone beasts charged, swords at hand. Both were disarmed with two kicks from Xelphias as the elf did a backflip while kicking the two gargoyles' weapons. He then stabbed one in the stomach, pulled back, tripped the second one, and kicked him in the temple, leaving him unconcious.

Three more threw themselves on top of the elf, one dying instantly as Xelphias's sword as erected upwards. The two remaining gargoyles punched and kicked at the elf, and he soon had several bruises protruding from his cheeks and thighs. He stood upright, kicking the two stone beasts off of him. He then tackled one, and stabbed him in the throat. The other attempted to attack Xelphias from behind, but failed as the elf quickly turned and thrusted his blade into his chest. "Stupid gargoyles." The elf muttered as he turned to the centaur.

"Sorry for the wait, I'm just a battle-loving guy." The elf said, as he brushed dust off of his tunic. "Gargoyles; I hate them so."

Iye was just passing by when he would hear the high-pitches screams of one or several gargoyles chanting at unison, he felt the effects of his sounds traveling firstly through his ears, and down his spine before spreading over to the rest of his massive body, producing a sort of a paralyzing effect. The feeling was very disturbing and would make one dizzy or even lost their mind if they were not careful and didn’t have the necessary physical power to fight off those effects. Well Iye had plenty of it, he was a centaur, one of the most physically powered of the humanoid races, and one if not THE fastest. His frame was very massive consisting of an upper torso of a man, with a sun-kissed complexion and the lower body of a heavy horse, the coloring of his horse part was snowy white, which matched perfectly his hair, but also had some shades of light grey. He wore a traveling backpack attached to his lower body and a mace held close to his waist by a leather cord.

From the very second he had heard the scream of the diabolical beasts he knew that he had to prepare his only weapon, a mace, he preferred axes and maces over swords, it came easier from him to crush his opponent’s skull than trying to slice them in half. With his weapon readied, he charged towards the exact location of the scream, as a flying beast charged at him back, he was grateful that for the moment only an enemy spotted him, and it would be easier to take out, with supreme strength and speed, Iye managed to crush the bones of the gargoyle in a blink of a second, while still continuing on his charge, he didn’t even glance over his shoulder to see if the enemy was still able to fight back, he was sure he messed up some of its vital parts.

Though another thing caught his attention, deep into the ruins there were two other beings, and they seemed in a very tight situation, the swarm of gargoyles was between him and the other him, obscuring his vision. But he could clearly see that there was another centaur there, and a human, or perhaps an elf of sorts, he could not distinguish Xelphias’ exact race.

What would the chances be to see another of his race right in the middle of a desert? Iye felt like investigating this matter and try to help his ‘brother’, before and his companion will become nothing but a pile of dead flesh. With the now bloody mace, he once more charged, his hooves falling heavily on the arid, sand-like soil, raising the dust before him, making him almost impossible to spot. He sundered through the lines of the gargoyles, hitting to the right and left, destroying their organized attack, enough to give the other two the chance to get out of it, to be honest, there were too many and probably the three of them wouldn’t stand a chance against them, plus the beasts had wings, had the advantage of large numbers and the one of surprise on their side.

After spinning around through the lines of gargoyles for a few times, he steadied himself, his rear hooves pushing hard against the ground, giving him a good start as he left towards the direction of the two, at his highest speed. The other centaur became clearer and clearer as he approached, and suddenly a familiar feeling traveled the whole being of Iye, what was happening to him? Did he meet this other guy before?

Boreas spun to followed the naive elf's movements. The younge Battle Mage was going to get himself killed. Did he not see the swarms of gargoyles soaring towards them from the ruins in the distance? Scowling, the Centaur dug his hooves into the ground, charging off after the moronic elf Xelphias. He reached the boy just as he felled a gargoyle and turned to address Boreas. Pulling up, the Centaur skidded to a halt in front of his companion.

"Sorry for the wait, I'm just a battle-loving guy." The elf said, as he brushed dust off of his tunic. "Gargoyles, I hate them so."

Boreas was hard pressed not to kill the elf himself. It was very rare that someone or something could upset the ancient Centaur so, but reckless disreagrd for one's own life was one of those things. Thrusting his two-handed sword into its sheath along his torso, Boreas grabbed the elf with uncanny speed.

Lifting Xelphias by the coller, Boreas' muscles rippled as he lifted the elf into line with his eyes. "Fool! Do your own eyes decieve you? Do you not see the swarms of enemies that happen upon us? You might as well be charging into the depths of the Abyss itself! Now get on my back before I leave you here to die!" the powerful Centaur Battle Mage roared.

Boreas dropped Xelphias back to his feet and turned to allow the elf to climb up. As he did something caught his attention. In the midst of the approaching swarms of stone-warriors Boreas saw a figure charging through the ranks, weapon flashing. It was a horse-creature. A Centaur like himself. As he watched, tansfixed on this new development, the centaur veered off, charging away from the mass of gargoyles and towards Boreas and Xelphias. As he neared the pair, Boreas's eyes widened.

Iye? But it can't be, the confused Battle Mage thought to himself. Quickly shaking himself from his memories, Boreas turned his head around and reminded himself where he was. "Get on! What are you waiting for?" he commanded before returning his gaze to the fast approaching Centaur.

Events, as it seemed, did not want to pass slowly. The sand was blowing harshly, and clouds of darkness were forming above. The climate was of desert, but every once in awhile, a storm must appear. Gargoyles were swarming out of the ruins, leaving Xelphias stunned. He had not known how many were approaching. Dozens, dozens, and dozens were just materializing rapidly. Xelphias knew not of where they came from.

"Fool! Do your own eyes decieve you? Do you not see the swarms of enemies that happen upon us? You might as well be charging into the depths of the Abyss itself! Now get on my back before I leave you here to die!" The centaur scolded the elf. Xelphias wasn't one to take insults so lightly, but due to their predicament, the elf gave in and hopped on his back quickly. "I am neither a fool, nor blind. But due to the fact that it is darkening, and the sand is stirring, my eyes may do all kinds of trickery." Xelphias looked at the centaur, and was about to tell him to proceed, when he got a glimpse at the half-horse's face. It was positioned backward, and the centaur's eyes were very dreamy. Almost as if events or memories were flashing before him. Xelphias looked over, and saw a snowy-colored centaur heading this way.

"Great, another centaur." Xelphias murmured to himself. This Boreas wasn't really making the Centaur Reputation the best in the world, but that did not matter at the moment. The snowy centaur was attained with a normal human tunic, and what appeared to be a mace. He had tannish facial features, and looked very fierce. He had just instantly killed a charging gargoyle and was headed for us. He didn't look like the evil-natured type, though he did seem as if a no-nonsense kind of centaur. Just like all centaurs, Xelphias thought.

The centaur was approaching rapidly, as well as the stone beasts. Battle cries signaled from the gargoyles' stone mouths, as they flashed their armor and waved their weapons. Just then, a gargoyle ahead of all the others was right behind Boreas and Xelphias, raising his axe. "Aaarrrgghhh! Die centau-" He was cut off. Just then, the elf jumped down, and amputated the stone beast's head. He looked up, and saw that the swarms of gargoyles were only a few yards away. He dove on the centaur's back, and yelled aloud, "Go!"

Iye blinked a few times as he got closer and closer by the other centaur and his elf companion, the brown centaur looked so familiar and soon he would know, he was Boreas, one of his childhood friends, they lived in the same village, they grew together. So many memories rushed through his being all at once that he completely forgot to even pay attention to the swarm of gargoyles which surrounded him. Of all he was the most exposed to an attack, he was practically within the lines of the winged creatures. One managed to get its claws into the shoulders of the snowy centaur and if he wouldn’t have been so heavy, the beast would have managed to lift him off the ground. The pain inflicted by the claws was terrible, the centaur struggled and managed to get out of the beast’s grip, he turned around, making a full circle with his body, the hooves stepping one close to another, throwing dust and burying themselves slightly into the hot sand.

The mace moved above his head a few times and broke a few limbs of the attacking beast, it was enough to make it retreat for now. Yet again, another winged beast tried its chances at Iye, it attacked him from behind, but that was the worse thing it could do. Iye kicked it out cold using his front hooves, the whole inhuman strength was put behind the strike, it sundered through the bones of the gargoyle and probably killed it.

The massive body of the snowy centaur turned once more into the direction of the others, once more he had the chance of running off and escape the attacks of the swarming gargoyles. Soon he will join the side of Boreas, noticing that he was using himself as a mount for the elf, he hoped that Boreas didn’t do that on an ordinary basis, and again this was a dire situation, only the impressive speed of a centaur or a horse would be able to get the elf out of this situation. “Hello Boreas.” Iye said, his breathing was heavy, but the words managed to get clear out of his mouth, even though he was running at his highest speed.