Cualeden took another stride, making sure his foot was securely in place before pushing himself up to the next crevice. Sweat trickled down his face, as another blast of smoke and heat blew from a vent not to far away. "Ah, yes, I'm nearing the volcano!," he said to himself eagerly, adding a slight skip to his step. As he stood firmly on the crevice, he managed to catch a glimpse of the scenery above. It was less step, but just as rocky, if not more. In between the gaps of the rocky landscape, pools of lava was formed below. " I'll manage to harvest the Lava Blossom! This will be truly beneficial to my spell book!," he muttered to himself again, resuming his trek up the mountain.

He grasped his spell book tighter, a firm grip around it, along with his staff in his other hand. That's what this dangerous trek was about, his spell book. He was going to risk his life, yet again, to achieve another spell. He recalled back to the man who had promised to let Cualeden copy a spell from his own book.

It was a dingy house at the base of the Lhachlith Volcano, with several surrounding houses nearby, all similar in structure. Cualeden was passing through, slightly bored from his adventures. He had spent a lot of time just traveling, with no purpose, only passing through the country. Nothing of interest had happened in weeks, only him, walking through barren landscapes. A man, about the age of fifty or sixty, grabbed at Cualeden's sleeve, yanking him aside viciously. "Hey, what!," he shouted, disturbed that the old man thought it appropriate to pull him away.

"SSSH, be quite you fool!," the man whispered. "Follow me, I'll give you the answers you need," he quickly added, scuttling away like a rodent. Cualeden felt odd about the whole thing, but his lust for adventure was great, luring him to follow the man. They entered his house, which was one room. It was filled with a fireplace, small eating area and storage area, a couch along with a bed. The whole space was filthy, along with all the furniture. "Sit, sit," the man croaked, taking a seat at the table himself.

Cualeden sat at the table, taking a first full glance at the man. He was old, and had a large white beard, along with unkempt matted white hair to match. He wore dirty rags, and overall, was extremely thin. His eyes were dark, dark brown, or at least he thought. They could be called black... He shrugged it aside, and listened to the raspy voice that began to speak.

"Ah, yes, judging by your clothes, your a wizard, correct?" Cualeden opened his mouth to agree, but the man continued. " I'm in need of something of your assistance. I would like you to retrieve the Lava Blossom." Cualeden didn't wait for the man to let him speak, but rather, said in a loud, educated voice. "The Lava Blossom! Truly a beautiful plant. It has such excellent properties, which are normally shrugged off as useless. It only blooms three times a year, on an exact day, and if I recall, today is one of those days! The blooms are so beautiful, and the only part of the plant with magical properties. It is called the Lava Blossom for the center of the plant has a small pit of lava inside! Their properties are, well, they have minor healing lotions, which are only side affects if they are to be created in a potion, they also have thorns, which have minor poison, which as well only could only be used as a side affect for a potion. Its most major, unique affect is in its petals. Its juice is rumored to create the ability to view heat, through walls, rocks, anything!" He inhaled deeply, a sparkle in his eyes.

"Yes, they are wonderful things," the man muttered, slightly frustrated. "Well, yes, I would like you to retrieve three of these blossoms. Once so, return here, and I will let you copy some spells from MY own spell book! Yes, I may not look it, but I'm a retired adventurer, and I have a few spells which you could copy for yourself. Now, I'm a alchemist, or Witch Doctor, if you will for this little town." Cualeden looked around, to see that it was indeed a mini lab, filled with plants and other magical substances. "Alright, I'll set out today!" he shouted excitedly, jumping up, sending his chair flying. "I'll have it before night fall," he added, running out the door, and up the mountain.

He pulled himself up the next ridge, and saw the specimen. It was beautiful. He walked forward, and picked its single flower gently, placing it in the sash at his hip, given by the man. It would be immune to the flame, and protect the specimen, even if he crushed the bag with his own body weight. "Well, one down, two to go!," he said merrily, heading across to the next ridge.

Valerik's cold sleek fangs pierced into the beggars exposed flesh. His screams echoed down the dark ally, reaching no mans ears. Valerik began to suck the blood out of the man, drinking away his life force. He let out a moan, and crumpled to the ground. The now rejuvenated vampire stood up, and drew his sword. The beggar began to crawl away, but did not have enough energy to move fast.

Valerik took a step towards him, lunging the cold steel into the mans back. He let out a final moan, and was dead. His body lay limp on the ground, the little blood he had left in him spilling on the cobble street. Valerik stepped over the body, and headed over towards a pub, called 'The Haven'. He walked into the dimly lit room, and headed over to the bar tender.

"Ay, I need ya" Gronn said. The half orc was missing an eye and two fingers. He was constantly wiping glasses, and was rarely serving his patrons. "What?" Valerik demanded. "Some man needs some 'extraordinary' help. You are one of them undead right?" he said, inspecting Valerik as if he was merchandise. "Yes, now were is this man?" Valerik asked, his interest rising. "Over their in the corner," he said pointing to the far right.

Valerik had not noticed the man huddled in the corner, only thinking it as a dark shadowy blob. Valerik walked over their, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. He took a seat across from the man. "You need help?" Valerik asked. The dark robed figure wore pure black, a hood hiding his eyes. Only his lip and nose peeked out from underneath the blanket of shadow. "I need help, yes, but you are merely a human, a young, foolish human," he said, dismissing Valerik.

"No," Valerik said, "I am not only human. I am diseased, or blessed, with vampirism. Death is what is keeping me alive," Valerik told him. Immediately, the dark figures emotionless face spread into what seemed like a smirk. "Ay, I can use your kinds help. But I am not playing games. I need someone dead," he said. "Sure. I can handle it, were is he?" Valerik demanded coldly.

"I will arrange his location. He on the summit of Lachlith Volcano," he told him, adding, "You may call me Cronzan." Valerik nodded. "When will he be there?" he asked. "In two hours. I will arrange your transportation there," Cronzan said. The vampire shook his head, "I will ride on my ash dragon," he told him.

Cronzan nodded in agreement. "Very well," he said. "When you bring me Cualeden Neferdit's head, I will reward you greatly," Valerik nodded, and left the pub. He met Akor outside Lomedor, and mounted the dragon. Akor headed east, flying at top speeds. Soon, the mountain range came to view. Immediately, Valerik knew which one was the volcano. Smoke and fire gushed out of it constantly, spewing over the sides.

Valerik pointed towards it, showing Akor their destination. Akor flew closer and closer to, until at last, they were near their destination. The dragon bellowed in pain, his own deadly smoke pouring from his own mouth. Akor felt very unsafe with smoke in his eyes. He could not see properly, giving in to his animalistic instincts to run. Valerik began to soothe the dragon, petting him calmly. As soon as they were twenty feet above the summit, Valerik dismissed Akor, jumping off the dragon. Immediately, the dragon flew off, darting back to the edges of Lomedor.

Valerik could see a human walking up the mountain, bending down to pick something. The vampire swiftly walked towards him, saying in a loud clear voice, "Cualeden? I need to speak to you!" Fire spat out of the mountain, and Valerik quickly jumped aside, letting the lava spill down the mountain. He took a step towards him again, watching his footing on this dangerously unstable mountain.

The rocks on the mountain were loose, making it easy for one to lose their footing. Valerik was forced to squint his eyes for the smoke was stinging them. 'This will be a difficult fight,' thought Valerik nervously, eying his oppent. He was dressed in wizard apparel, with a spell book in his hands. 'I hope this ends well for me,' he thought, wondering how powerful his this Cualeden could be. If Cronzan thought he was a threat, then this man must be a danger as well.

~~~~~Cronzan's Perspective~~~~~~~~~~
The old man sat in front of him, his eyes streaming. "I did what you asked!" he sobbed. "Give me my daughter!" Cronzan merely shook his head. "Get out of my sight," He uttered, striking the man across his face. The old man sobbed, and got up, yelling as he exited, "YOUR A DEMON!!! YOU WILL PAY! I WILL" His last sentence getting choked off from his tears and sobbing.

Cualeden heaved himself up, and wiped his forehead, a smirk on his face. 'I'll retrieve these flowers in less than an hour, at the rate I'm going at!,' he thought cheerily to himself. He caught a glimpse to his left, and spotted an odd looking man, approaching him. 'How odd, another being at the summit of this volcano,' he thought to himself again, a perplexed look forming on his face. 'Well, I better be careful, I think I should take slight precautions, its not every day you find a friendly person on the top of a mountain.'

"Cualeden? I need to speak to you!," the man shouted, from a few paces below. Just then, a river of lava sprung from the mountain, streaming down. The creature jumped backward, landing carefully on the nearby rock. Just then, something strange happened. His vision became tinted with blue, so he assumed his eyes were a similar shade. The world around him dimmed, except for the scene in front of him. The lava was no longer lava, and now, it was water, clear and crisp. Time seemed to have frozen as he glanced back to the man. "What,"he muttered, teetering backwards slightly. This was so odd, what was happening?

Then it hit him. There was no reflection in the water. This man wasn't a man, he was a vampire, a creature of the night, and he intentions were most likely not friendly. The blue tint in his vision disappeared, and returned back to his normal color, and vision. The world stopped moving, and the noise of everyday life returned, along with his normal way of thinking. 'Thank the books and my powers of scrying!,' he thought to himself, grasping his staff tighter. He must do something to this vampire, to ensure that his life would be safe, even if it meant the life of the vampire. He would have to end it quick, so that he could finish harvesting the blossoms, and return for his award. He would catch him off guard, that would be his course of action.

He pulled out his spell book, opening the page to the Polymerization spell in one fluent motion. He shouted the arcane words sending energy flowing throughout his body. Something odd also overwhelmed his body, a new sensation. 'Is this energy, or is this some other power,' he thought to himself. He didn't have time to dawdle, he would have to stop thinking and finish the spell, to not risk failure. His body grew till he was seven and a half feet tall. His clothes disappeared, and instead, thick layers of brown and black fur grew across his body. He grew thick muscular arms and legs. He was a gorilla.

He lunged forward, his fists clenched together, hurdling down to the vampire, ready to beat the man to a bloody pulp.

Valerik regained his composure after the near fatal spew of lava, flame, and debris. He continued to step towards the wizard, taking a non aggressive pose. The man's eyes suddenly became blue, unlike their original green. Valerik stood in wonder and amazement at what this man was doing, but then realized that it could be spell.

He quickly drew his sword out of its sheath. The blade rung as the steel slide past the hide scabbard. Cualeden's eyes then returned to their forest green shade. 'Odd,' thought Valerik, 'His eyes are almost identical to an elves.' Valerik had encountered many elves throughout his long lifetime, and actually had a preference to elven blood.

Like wine, blood tasted better the more it aged in a living vessel. Elven adults had more rich, filling blood than that of a young human. But opposite to aged blood, fresh blood was a delicacy as well. Babies, children and newborn calves were all treats to Valerik. The only drawback was that even to Valerik, killing these young beings took a blow on his conscious (just a little one though,).

The only problem with elven blood was acquiring it. Although the inquisitive creatures loved to explore, they were more intelligent to wander the streets of Lomedor in the night. Elves also stuck together in cities, like a pack of animals. A perfect example: Yomenïampa, a place were elves huddled together, avoiding the deathly visit of a vampire.

Cualeden began to change shape and form. Large, beastly muscles formed, his size doubled. His clothes began to tear and fall to pieces. Fur grew all over his body, and then the transformation was complete. He now was a gorilla, a viscous jungle creature intent on killing Valerik.

'He must of discovered my nature some how!' Valerik thought, 'He now wants to kill me, just like any other human,' Valerik spat at this thought. Mortals disgusted the vampire. The gorilla leaped, his fists clenched together, aimed at Valerik. Quickly, Valerik side stepped, turning his back towards the slope leading down the mountain.

But the change in slope caused Valerik to loose his footing on the loose gravel. He began to slide down, forcing him to hunch his back and grab himself with his hand. He stood up, and charged up the mountain, his progressed slowed due to the falling gravel from his earlier fall. But as soon as he reached the gorilla, fire spewed out of the mountain, towards the two of them.

Valerik side stepped away from this onslaught of flames, this time his back facing the summit. He turned, back in the original position the fight had begun in. Valerik waited until the last of the airborne debris landed, and he started to jump.

But he quickly stopped as the ground began to shake. Lava and flaming rock spewed out quicker than water falling down a waterfall. Now, the lava was breaking up the gravel, and was all around Valerik. He was on a platform of rock that hadn't slid down the mountain. Valerik felt his own platform begin to slid. He saw the gorilla, on his platform. Valerik leaped on one platform and quickly jumped, sword over his head towards the gorilla.

Cualeden landed, sending pebbles flying in the air, a small stream of lava erupting from ground below, landing nearby with a hiss. He hadn't managed to destroy the vampire, for he had jumped back wards, landing with his back to the slope of the mountain. He slid for a second, but caught his balance, and managed to turn to the right direction. Just then, the mountain bellowed, as if fighting was prohibited. Molten rocks rained down, along with rivers of lava. It had a huge affect on the terrian of the fight. The ground had been separated by the lava, and created large islands separated by the lava. The scene was beautiful, as if sculpted from the gods themselves. Cualeden wanted to sketch the sight, to make sure he could remember it, but he wouldn't, for this was not the time to dally.

The vampire didn't waste any time, and lept in the air. He jumped on several platforms before reaching Cualeden, and lunged forward, his blade aimed to strike him. 'I could do several things,' he thought to himself rapidly, trying to think of the best solution for the problem. 'I could take the blow, and catch him off guard, or I could jump backwards, avoiding the blow all together. Judging by how fast he is going, and how strong he looks, I presume he won't do much damage to me. I will have a chance to counter attack, and unlike his attack, I will send him flying, and possibly land in lava, ending the fight all together.' He braced himself, ready to face the vampire.

With his new plan in mind, he stood still, his arms raised in front of him in a defensive position. The blade cut into his flesh, sending dark red blood pouring down on the ground below. His mind blanked. He was alone, on a mountain, with a man that wanted to kill him. He was alone, and now, he was hurt. This would be a long fight, and there would be pain. He could lose his life, and leave his brother, mother and father alone. He would waste the money that they had spent on him. He would win, for his life, and the lives of the ones he loved. He focused back on the fight. He let out a roar, sending their platform down an inch or so. Cualeden yanked his fist back, and pulled it forward, aimed for the stomach of the creature.

Valerik was soaring in the air, his blade aimed to slice open the ape. But for what Valerik was able to gather, now Cualeden was bracing for impact. 'Why would someone voluntarily take a blow?' Valerik thought. In the few seconds Valerik had before he hit him, the vampire pondered his mind, searching through the thousands of years of experience he had lived through.

Immediately, it hit him. Cualeden was taking the blow for a counter attack. While Valerik was following through with the attack, the gorilla would manage to do a well placed punch. Valerik grimaced, worried about the counter attack to come. The vampire's blade slashed across the ape's arms. Cualeden had managed to enter a defensive stance before Valerik's attack had connected with him.

Blood splattered on the dirt, hissing as it spilt into the lava. 'At least I managed to do some damage,' Valerik thought. Cualeden shifted his weight, for extra energy. The entire platform sunk in, as the giant gorilla prepare its blow towards Valerik's exposed stomach. The vampire pulled his blade back, finishing the blow.

As soon as Valerik's blade was at his side, a humongous fist was planted in Valerik's gut. The vampire was only able to release a grunt of pain, and then he was sent flying. Valerik flew through the ash, his body like a rag doll. He crashed into a piece of debris that recently erupted. The smoldered rock collided with Valerik's spine, causing him intense pain.

His flight was stopped by the rubble, in which now he fell on a platform. The thud from his body echoed across the mountain, but quickly silenced by another spasm of lava, which erupted on the opposite of the mountain. Valerik moaned in pain, attempting to get up. His attempt resulted in failure, his body colliding with the ground again.

After another failed attempt, Valerik managed to stand, picking up his sword which lay a few feet away from him, miraculously undamaged from the collision. Valerik made his counter attack. He focused his energy, calling upon the forces within him. He pointed towards a point near Cualeden, but not directly at the wizard.

His energy swarmed out of his core, and out of his hand, materializing at the point Valerik had chosen. Lightning gathered there, and struck the ground. It was not aimed towards his foe, but the edge of the platform. The desired effect: to launch the gorilla off the platform, or at least unbalance him, giving Valerik a chance to strike

Cualeden's fist had direct contact with the vampire, much to his pleasure. He could destroy this vampire, even as a novice wizard, without much experience. It would be his first defeat! The vampire was sent flying, tumbling around in the air and rubble as if he had no direct control of his body. He finally landed on a rock, causing it to shake slightly. The mountain swallowed up the noise, with another spasm of lava and flying rock. The terrain was now slightly more difficult, with flying debris and lava pour. This surely was going to be an epic battle.

The vampire tried to stand up, but unsuccessfully. He toppled on the ground again, too weak to even stand. 'Maybe,' Cualeden thought in his primal gorilla form ', I ruptured his spine, paralyzing him.' His hopeful thoughts were shot as the vampire stood up finally. 'Well,' Cualeden thought hopefully ', I may not have ruptured his spine, but I seem to have caused him some pain at least. I should be able to hold this defensive stance for a while, along with a few powerful punches, ensuring my victory. I only hope that he knows no spells, for I have no way of countering them.' His hopeful thoughts were shot down, for sure enough, the vampire was ready to cast a spell.

Sure enough, a bolt of lightning was sent from the sky at the platform. He sidestepped slightly, in an attempt to dodge the bolt, but the bolt wasn't aimed at him. It struck the mini island, causing it to teeter minuscule amounts. Lava wrapped around the sides, and a few dabs of it burned at his huge right foot. Cualeden roared in pain, and swayed slightly, only enveloping more of his foot in the lava. He pulled it out quickly, revealing a burnt foot.

Cualeden began to shout, as if to explain the weakness of the vampires plan, but to his obvious shock, all that came out was a gorilla yell. 'Heh, I've seem to forgot my limitations as a gorilla,' he thought again, ashamed ', well, that vampire was foolish none the less. He tried to create a huge tremor in my platform, but the lightning was powerful enough to sway the rock as much as he thought. I've simply got a burnt foot. But what if that was his plan? I'm very hindered now, and each step could cause an infection of the burnt tissue. Ether way, I'm still powerful enough to kill that thing!'

With that, he jumped from platform to platform, until he reached the vampires. He jumped at the it, swinging his massive right fist for its head.

Valerik shrugged, disappointed in the weakness of his attack. But at least it did some damage, the gorilla's foot was burned. Valerik's scowl widened, as his disappointment grew. 'I have to get my head in the fight!' he thought, almost punishing himself for one bad decision. That one under planned attack could ruin him in this fight. Valerik put one foot back, as if bracing himself for an attack. He knew in the pit of the stomach that the gorilla known as Cualeden would soon launch a counter attack. His sword was diagonal, crossing in front of his face.

Then, the gorilla began to roar, guttural phrases and sounds emitting from his mouth. Several birds in the sky began to speed up flight, caught off guard by the obnoxious and threatening. Valerik's scowl leaned upward slightly. His smirk quickly faded, as the gorilla began to move towards him. 'He obviously didn't quite understand the limitations of his spell,' he concluded, 'he tried to speak, ending in failure,' he turned his attention back towards the charging ape.

He had to do something fast. Cualeden was in mid air, his fists clenched together, ready to do a lethal blow. Valerik's thought process was rushed, his mind evaluating all possible decisions. He could dodge, and counter attack, moving dangerously close to the edge of his platform. Or he could try and go underneath the gorilla, moving to the other platform, but that would be incredibly dangerous and far fetched. Then, an idea popped in his head, and instinctively, he did it.

His love and desire for lightning magic had made his third and final plan instinctively the one he was going to perform. He outstretched his hand, aimed for the gorilla. He grimaced, focusing his mana from his core, to his outstretched hand. 'This better work,' he thought. He had begun the spell before he had even weighed his options further, choosing his first lightning based plan before he had a chance to perfect it further. The last lightning plan had been a minuscule success, only resulting in a slightly burnt foot.

Valerik's energy rushed down his arm, gathering in an orb just in front of his hand. As soon as the vampire concluded that he spent enough energy on the orb, he released it, sending the lightning at the novice wizard. The lightning flew towards the gorilla, the beam crackling with energy. Several little bits of lightning branched off, hitting two low flying birds. But the primary beam, with about 98% power, was heading still towards the gorilla in mid flight.

Cualeden let out a roar as he soared towards the vampire, ready to perform the final killing move, and hopefully, gather the rest of the flowers, and have the old man teach him some new spells. Personally, for him, the three spells he knew currently were becoming a tad boring, and having a new selection available in his spell book would help spice up his life. Imagine, new spells to stretch and challenge his mind! He reverted back to reality, for something strange was happening. The vampire wasn't moving, not trying to dodge the blow. 'What,' Cualeden thought, confused. 'What is he doing? Oh no.' It had struck him. It should have been obvious.

The vampire was doing exactly what he had done previously. He would take the attack, and then counterattack. 'Wait,' he thought again, still slightly confused. 'How is this possible, this attack will kill him if he takes the blow.' He didn't have a chance to think about what the vampire was going to do. He was moving to fast, and was only a few seconds away from hitting it. But there was still something strange. He had is hand outstretched, as if ready to cast a spell. 'He's going to hit me in mid flight!' Cualeden thought, only now realising the full error of his attack. He could receive any number of wounds. There was no way of telling what spells an enemy had. It could be any number of them, including Enervation, Fireball, Rock Missile, Ice Arrow, the possibilities were endless. No matter was the spell, he would get hit, and it would hurt.

As he neared the vampire, a ball of energy formed in his opponents hand. 'Most likely a lightning spell, judging by that ball of unformed energy,' Cualeden thought, trying to asses the damage that might be done to him. The several years spent studying was beginning to pay off. The vampire released the spell, sending a huge lightning bolt soaring towards him. Several chains broke off, striking low flying birds, sending them to the ground, and landing in the lava with a sizzle. The brunt of the bolt had unfortunately struck him.

It burnt his skin, and sent him off course. The bolt was extremely powerful, the vampire must have put a lot of energy into that single spell. Cualeden landed on the same platform as the vampire, skidding on the ground, and as doing so, morphing back into his human form. His clothes were burnt and tattered, and he had a large wound in the center of his chest. He was in pain, the move had harmed him greatly. He needed to try a different approach, and catch him off guard. He stood up weakly, facing the vampire, panting heavily.

His head was low, as he growled words, loud enough for his opponent to hear. "Today," he said, his head hanging low, his matted hair dangling in front of his face. He lifted his head up, shouting ", you die!" As he said the words, he recited the incantation for the Polymorph Self spell again. He pulsed mana throughout his body. His form began to change. His arms spread until the were about twenty feet wide, his head began to grow. He grew bright blue feathers across his body, and bright green markings across his face. He was a giant bird.

He shrieked in his new form, taking off into the sky, and after flying for a few seconds, turned around, facing his foe. He dived down, his razor sharp talons aiming to pick up the vampire.

Valerik tried to grin, only to be to worn out to move his muscles. He grunted, holding his weight on his knees. Luckily, the brunt of his attack managed to hit Cualeden, piercing the wizard gorilla in the chest. He flew through the air, landing on a platform. He slowly reverted back to his originally form while skidding on the platform, reverting back to his normal human state. 'Hopefully he's as weakened as me!' Valerik thought hopefully. He was becoming incredibly exhausted and weakened, not having very much energy left.

'I can't stop! I can't end here!' Valerik thought. 'I am immortal! I'll never die! Especially by this clumsy idiot!' Valerik thought. He refused to die. He would not allow such a petty human to take his life. His curse allowed him to live forever: he was immortal. His gift would not end at the top of a volcano on a mission. He would complete his task, kill the wizard, and leave the mountain.

Valerik regained his composure, standing up straight with some difficulty. The cuts and scratches on his face stung as an onslaught of smoke singed his wounds. He grunted, holding back the fierce pain. His clothes were ripped, torn, covered in blood. His fangs and teeth were black with soot and dirt. By his appearance, it seemed he was mauled by wolves and thrown into a forest by a giant. By the looks of it, he was not going to win the fight.

The exhaustion was overwhelming, forcing Valerik on one knee. He struggled, attempting to get up. He was unable to, but only lifted his head to see what Cualeden was doing. "Today you die!" he roared, his body changing. He turned into a magnificent, beautiful bird, massive in size and shape. His talons were sharp, able to rend his flesh easily. 'So I'll die from a bird,' Valerik thought sarcastically, the grim joke passing through his head. An uncomfortable shot through his stomach.

'Not like this,' he thought. A image struck his mind. A beautiful women, her hair down to her shoulders. She was smiling at him. Valerik's eyes were glazed over, to overcome by this image. "Jeska," he whispered (refer to history). Then, her beautiful face was covered in blood, her neck the bloodiest part of her body. 'I did this to her,' Valerik thought shamefully. 'I killed her, her selfless sacrifice kept me alive,' He thought, tears streaming down his face, collecting the soot and dirt on his face, 'Her sacrifice is not in vain!' he thought. "I WILL NOT DIE!" he roared, rising to his feet in a burst of energy.

He waited till the bird was near him, and brought his sword in an arc near its talons. His exhaustion brought pain as he moved his sword with power, but he merely ignored it. He would not die here, ever.

Cualeden's talons came dangerously close to piercing the flesh of the vampire, ready to strike his opponent. The vampire appeared to have renewed vigor suddenly, and exclaimed ", I WILL NOT DIE!" Cualeden was unfazed, and continued to head for the beast that had planned to kill him. But something wasn't right, the vampire was preparing for movement. The vampire pulled his blade out, slashing at the bird that was Cualeden. Cualeden had no way to stop, and the blade strike was successful. It cut across his feathery body, sending blood spattering across the battle field, and sizzling as it spattered on lava.

His body un morphed again, by such a sufficient amount of damage down to him in such a short period. The sudden damage cut off his mana circulation, sending him back to his normal state. But he was still flying, and now, in his new original form, he was unable to fly, and was still heading towards the ground. His body impacted it with severe force, causing him to burn as he slid across the rock. Blood ran down from his many wounds, causing him even more fatigue. He was in extreme pain, and he had little mana left in his body.

Cualeden rose slowly, trying to keep the fight alive, and not die. He would not die here, he had already announced that he would not die here, and he would keep his word. He rose to his full height, blood pouring continuously from his wounds. He kept his head up, his vision blurring. His vigor was renewed, as he began to speak. "You will BURN IN HELL!," he roared, intense fury running through his veins. He pulled his staff from his side, and ran forward, yelling a loud battle cry, which echoed across from the field.

As he did so, he outstretched his hand, muttering the Arcane Words that would cast the spell Magic Missile. Once again, he drew upon the mysterious source of energy, but this time was different. It was different than normal. Instead of normal increase of power, it did different. Mana erupted in his body, increasing his total mana count. His eyes became acute, along with his ears. Two latent spells he had worked on had become clear. It all had become clear. Each spell he casted, he drew upon his ancient elven heritage, and now with its frequent usage, he was now a fourth elf.

His Magic Missile erupted forward, with a large amount of energy, aimed to strike, and hopefully kill the vampire.

This time Valerik's pleasure was so great, he was able to muster a grin across his face as his sword slashed the scaly feet of the colorful bird. Blood spewed out of the wound, landing upon the boiling lava. The sizzle of the liquid hissed into the air, smoke rising from the spot it landed. Valerik's sword came to his side, limply attached to his hand. He was running out of energy. He barely had enough energy to move stand, the overwhelming urge to rest crossing his mind more and more frequently.

And it seemed apparent that his last attack was a powerful one. Cualeden had returned back to his human state, flying through the air and landing on a platform. A blast of smoke gushed into the air. Valerik's eyes stung, the ashes landing in his eye. He brought his hand up to his face, brushing his eyes with his sore limbs. But as the ash's cleared, Valerik's jaw dropped.

'That was a powerful blow!' Valerik thought, amazed at what he saw. There, on an opposite platform was Cualeden, standing strong. 'How can a mere human obtain that much energy! A novice wizard!' he thought. He quickly pulled his mouth up, avoiding the ashes aimed to land down his throat. "You will BURN IN HELL!," roared Cualeden in renewed vigor, his fury apparent.

Valerik chuckled, his mind racing. Cualeden had an eruption of mana, his new source of energy apparent. A blue missile was racing towards the vampire. The magic crackled as it crashed through the air, speeding in Valerik's direction. He chuckled, keeping his head low. "You fool," he said in a low voice, "WE ARE IN HELL!" he roared, throwing his head up.

'I can't die!' he thought, the image of Jeska in his mind. He scrapped up the last pieces of mana from the core of his essence, casting his last spell possible. The energy flowed down through his arm. He didn't have time to gather the spell at his open palm, he was forced to launch the remaining energy as soon as it left his body. The chain lightning sprung forth, heading straight for the magic missile. If Cualden's spell was more powerful than Valerik's, the vampire would die. But if the two's spells were matched, Valerik could then have a chance to flee. 'Lightning, my life is in your hands,' Valerik thought, desperate for any hope to escape from this alive.