The calm day was disturbed as a strong magic made itself known, destroying the peaceful tranquility of the sea. Four figures wavered in the air, appearing within the magic that was cast. Two women, two men, as opposite in loyalties as they were in dress. Death turned his cold gaze upon the port, realizing that they were still in Lomedor, the scene where the battle had originally started. They had simply moved, away from all of the foolish mortals that had decided to try and interfere with the four of them. In his mind, any being foolish enough to get in the middle of a fight between two goddesses and two demons was a fool, and deserved to die. Turning to face the two goddesses, he spoke, his voice a quiet whisper, the sound heard in silence. "Very well, let it continue. Let this great struggle resume once again, hopefully to be complete without any annoying flies trying to stop us." Raising his right hand, the hand that held his scythe, Death stood side by side with Mazzer, watching Liara and Lothlomedil carefully.

Casting a spell that summoned spirits, Death reflected on the irony. It was exactly how the last fight had begun. The spirits were sent out, meant to keep anyone from walking in at a critical moment. Cold eyes watching, Death held up his left hand, summoning magic once again. His hand was sheathed in a black fire, ready to fire an enervation bolt if he needed to. This time, it would be an all out battle to see who the victor would be. It was extremely probable that a great deal of Lomedor would be destroyed, but that was something he could accept. A smile flitted across his face, a thought that pleased him. The riders had been awakened. Even if he lost this fight, it would only be a matter of time before the four riders made the world kneel in defeat and beg for forgiveness.

Liara stared blankly as the Goddess transported them. She breathed a sigh of relief. Without mortal interference she could focus on the battle at hand. Never, in her eons had she witnessed the like of the battle that she knew was about to ensue. The divine pantheon faced two problems, Rakou, who sought to destroy the beauty of Arda, and these four riders that sought it for their own unknown ends. Neither will I let touch a single creature on my planet.

Liara focused on Mazzer. The mortals had succeeded in infuriating him, and giving him some minor wounds. After several moments of looking at him, the four warriors standing silently, Liara was the first to take action. The Goddess didn’t want to waste any precious moment, or the edge of surprise. Moving with as much elegance and speed as she could muster she leapt into the air, her feet level with Mazzer’s head. She held her staff in both hands and braced herself. Coming back down thunderously, her staff hit the ground with so much force the Earth opened up. The crack made its way across the ground towards Mazzer. The earth opening its mouth to swallow its prey whole.

((Sorry, writers block.))

Mazzer stood silently next to Death. His eyes were on the two goddesses. "Perhaps if these two deities were men," He started to say, taunting the two goddesses, "then I might be a tad fearful. But no, Death and I get stuck fighting Liara and Lothlómendil. Its a shame, for such good talent to be wasted like this." Mazzer finished, trying to get the two goddesses angered. Seconds after he ended his insults, he felt the ground shaking, finally realizing that Liara had already gone on the offensive. Mazzer, having almost no time to react, leapt to the side, not knowing how Death would fare against the Earth Goddess' attack, since he had been standing next to him.
The half-breed nearly stumbled over himself, recovering from the quake. Perhaps I misjudged them. Perhaps this might be an equal fight after all. Mazzer thought. He grasped his bow, and nocked a firey arrow onto its string. The bow radiated with shadows and flames. Again aiming through the eye socket of the demon skull that was framed onto the weapon, he released the string, firing at Liara.

Mazzer's attention shifted to Death. "I do not suppose you have a plan for this fight, do you?" He asked the entity. In truth, Death was the last person Mazzer wanted as an ally, but he was desperate and would take any help that he could get.

Lómen did no more than raise an eyebrow at the Rauko's foolish comments about the gender of their opponents making a contribution to the outcome of the battle. If he was foolish enough to place faith in gender over raw power, it would be a challengeless battle for the two goddesses. His comments could not bother her, for they meant nothing. She studied her two opponents, waiting for them to be the first to make a move toward her. She knew there was an attack that Liara needed to counter, but she was confident in her abilities and knew she could handle it. She wanted to fight this battle and have it done with. Swift, powerful attacks and efficient defending would suffice, as usual. She seemed to have more than just the obvious advantage in power, common sense was on her side as well. Good senses were always the key to effectively using your abilities. She figured the entity Death would be the first to engage in battle with her, and patiently awaited an attack with a grim face.

<< Sorry, I can't think of much to post. I'm off to go wash some laundry. ^_^ >>

Death easily avoided Liara's magic, gliding off to the side so that the crack in the ground separated Mazzer and him. Now, his eyes were cold, two chips of ice pierced into a person's soul. If that was all that Liara had at her disposal, then this was going to be a shorter fight than he had thought. Bringing up his hand, he unleashed another enervation bolt, hoping once again to catch the goddess Liara by surprise. Now, they would be giving all they had into the fight, each side trying to achieve supremacy over the other. With the bolt fired, Death took his scythe and moved once again toward the goddess of life, determined to defeat the being that represented what he took away. His eyes never wavered from her face, intent on what he would see in the eyes of a goddess. Normally, he could see the time that a person had left, but diety were immortal, so it would be interesting to find out what he would see.

While moving, he once again summoned the spirits of the dead, calling them to aid in this fight. Once they arrived, he sent them to help Mazzer as he fought Liara. He would accept no help in his fight with Lothlomendil, and anyone that tried to help him would meet the end of his scythe. This fight was to be between the two of them and no one else. As he walked, Death stole the life from anything that came within his reach, plants, animals, even a few people that had avoided his first wave of spirits. Each force added to his own, making him stronger as he stole the strength from the living.

Liara watched regrettably as Mazzer and Death so easily evaded her first offensive attack. “Men!” She scoffed. “But we actually want to be a gender with some form of talent!” She returned, effortlessly being heard over the cracking of the Earth. She knew both genders were equal, but these two did theirs shame. Mazzer returned fire, literally, with fire. Her hand rose and she command the fire to be extinguished, the arrow flew off course, directed by the wind.“Do not tempt to harm me with my own element Mazzer. It will do you no good child.” Although her voice sounded nurturing, the words she spoke were meant harshly.

Liara, moving with the grace befitting that only of a deity, she maneuvered out of the enervation bolts path. Her eyes rested momentarily on death’s shadowy figure as he called his minions into existence, to aid Mazzer. “Death, you always were the coward. Seeking minions to fight the battles for you. I could easily call all the creatures of Arda here to fight by my side but I don’t. Because this fight is between us, a fight that I shall finish.” Her focus returned to Mazzer. If Death wanted to aid his friend with minions, so be it. She could keep them busy. Her staff began to glow, a white, radiant form descended from the sky. The light particles began to swirl, slowly at first and then gaining speed until they condensed in the form of an angelic being. Her beauty illuminated the surroundings. “Go my beauty; keep Death’s minions at bay.” What better than minions of light fighting the minions of the dark.

“Mazzer, just because your father was demonic, does not mean you have to follow in his footsteps.” Liara doubted reason would work with him, but she gave it one last desperate try. Returning to the offensive, Liara stuck her staff in the ground letting it stand straight on its own. Her hands moved in a circular motion quickly. A small spark of fire grew into that of a raging fireball, no larger than a medium sized stone. She lunged forward, pushing the fireball out of her hands towards Mazzer. “My element is my own to command.” She added mutely to herself.