A slight wind blew on a cloudless day. It was warm but not sweltering, bright but not blinding. All in all, it could be described as a beautiful day, and it was helping Valdearg to relax immensely. Disguised as a simple traveler, he was seated on the ground with his back against the wall of the Kaima Inn. His clothes were raggedy, with several holes in the pants and one sleeve missing from his tunic. Both the pants and tunic were a deep shade of blue, although it had a brown tinge to it from the dust that he had walked through. Sturdy shoes were on his feet, but they too showed signs of use. The black was wearing away, making them look more gray than anything else. His face and arms were tanned, a few light scars crisscrossing there way down the arm that lacked a sleeve. Despite the poor appearence, he was clean shaven, making do with the large knife belted at his waste. Taken together, he was a poor person who was simply taking a break and would be on his way soon. A person that few people noticed and even fewer paid any attention to. Which was just the mood that he was in.

Even though he was resting, he kept his hand on the hilt of his sword, not wanting anyone to get a good look at the hilt. If an observant person noticed the good hilt, they might begin to wonder how he could afford a blade of that quality. In truth, he had aquired it some time ago, but that was longer than any of these people had been alive, and he wasn't about to let them know that. With a slight sigh, Valdearg closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the cool wall, breathing slowly, almost as if he intended to go to sleep. That wasn't what he intended, but he learned that people pay less attention to a person who is asleep.

Just as he was finally getting some rest, the peace was shattered by a scream and the sound of hoofbeats on the road. Eyes snapping open, Valdearg caught sight of a mounted group entering the city. All of them had swords out, and they did not look like a friendly group of people. They wore armor that was a mismatch of whatever they could find, and several of the swords had rust on them. Without stopping for anything, several of them vaulted from the horses and headed for the houses, obviously intent on stealing whatever they could. For a few moments, Valdearg simply sat there, wondering whether he should get involved. After all, it was a human affair. With that thought, he decided to ignore it unless they tried ot threaten him. There were enough of them that even though he could over power them, it would be more trouble than it was worth.

Zenith Meria, the ArchAngel of Life, had gone to Estolad for a small break from his work as a Keeper of the Sacred Deed. For a young man of only nineteen Zenith had done so much in his life, and had also learned so much. Zenith had his normal white cloak fully wrapped around himself hiding all that lay benieth it. He didnt want the people within the city to know who he was, not on his time of rest anyway. The angels wings were also tucked under his cloak and the weather made the day that much better. It was peacefull, and Zenith loved that feeling.

The angel looked on at some young children playing in the streets, but everything peacefull seems to come to an end at some point. That was something Zenith knew all to well within Arda. Soon the angel heard something getting closer to the town, he stood in his place and looked on as a band of men on horse back thundered their way into the town of Estolad. Zenith seen a few of the men running towards the house that the children were playing at, one of the men broke into the house while to other looked towards the children. Quickly the man smirked and raised his blade, he then slashed down towards the children in order to "Teach them a lesson!"

Suddently the mans blade stopped with a loud clash on metal. Looking at why his blade had stopped the man seen Zenith. The angel had used his Teleport skill and raised his arm in contact with the blade, with luck the armour Zenith wore below had blocked the blade with great effect. The man looked on at the cloaked angel and yelled out, "What the hell ya doin! Get outa ma way boy!" Zenith smirked a little and then quickly kicked the man in the gut sending him to the ground. The man looked up towards Zenith and was about to get to his feet and attack when suddently the angel threw his white cloak off.

As the cloak fell to the ground Zenith armour was now in full view. He has on the full Resplendent set that was linked together as one piece of armour, yet Zeniths movements were not limited while wearing it. Laying on the back of the armour where two holstered blades, with the Resplendent Tower shield laying on top of them. Hanging at the angels left side was his Resplendent Countering Longsword and strapped to his right leg was a dagger made from the fallen tooth of Ita the Goddess of Chaos.

The man quickly got back to his feet, his arms holding his rusty blade tight as he looked onto the form of Zenith. The golden Resplendent Armour glimmering somewhat in the sunlight. The man then ran towards Zenith to attack the angel, raising his hands Zenith went to counter the attack. Two blades then appeared in the angels hands as he used the effect on his gauntlets to summon the two swords that lay on his back into his hands. Quickly the angel blocked the mans attack, with the mans blade shattering from the impact.

The blades within the hands of Zenith were a Holy Blade, and the Blade of Balance. These two blades were two of the brother blades of Arda and had easily shattered the mans blade. Zenith then said, "You ever try to attack children again, and you will lose more than your sword!" After finishing this a large rainbow coloured bird flew down from one of the buildings within the city and landed on the shoulder of Zenith. The bird was Zeniths Anima, Heru. Looking on the other men in this group the angel said, "So, whos next then?" The men were taking back a little by these words as they looked at each other blankly.

Valdearg watched, slightly stunned, as the situation completely reversed itself. What had looked like a complete slaughter until a few seconds ago was now turning into an interesting fight. The band of criminals was being held at bay by one person. Still, examining the person's armor and weapons, Valdearg wasn't surprised that none of the criminals wanted to be the first one to die. Even if they somehow managed to oversome the stranger, their ranks would be decimated. Now the situation was turning into something that Valdearg didn't mind interfering with. It was unlikely that there would be a real warrior out of the entire group, so two trained fighters should be able to send them packing. A grim smile came across Valdearg's face as he stood up, moving carefully into the shadows provided by the building. The fools wouldn't know what hit them, and Valdearg didn't believe in giving criminals a second chance.

Without a sound, Valdearg moved swiftly around the buildings, staying hidden from view. After a few moments of careful moving, he was positioned behind and slightly to the side of the warrior who was defying the criminals. With the utmost care, he unsheathed his golden scimitar, keeping it low so that it wouldn't reflect any light and betray his presence. The blade would shine like the sun if it was hit with any light, a blind fool 10 miles away would be able to see the blaze. Shifting the blade to his left hand, Valdearg picked out one of the criminals standing towards the center of the group. Summoning up his magic, Valdearg shifted through the spells he knew, trying to pick which one would be most effective. With a spell in mind, Valdearg focused his eyes on the unlucky criminal.

A second thought made him change his target. He didn't want the group to scatter in every direction, they would go where he wanted him to. In a second, he had a new target, one on the edge. Whispering the words of the spell, Valdearg watched the result, ready to move. Out of the clear blue sky, a lightning bolt flew down, striking one of the criminals dead on. All that was left of the person was a smoking corpse. Before most of the criminals had time to react, Valdearg burst out from hiding, striking out at the nearest person. The criminal was still stunned from the lightning, and his move to defend himself was too slow. Valdearg's blade entered the man's chest and then slid out again as smoothly as if sliding into water. Jumping back slightly, Valdearg stood the same distance away from the criminals as the other warrior, anticipating an attack of some kind.

The blades within the hands of Zenith soon began to give off a strange blue as his bless weapon took effect upon them. Zeniths eyes began to scan along the group of men trying to think what one should attack the angel. Zenith tightened his grip upon the hilts of his blades as he still looked on. The angel had alot of spells he could use against these men if they were to attack, but of course if he could help it Zenith would not kill these men. Althought that did not look like it was going to happen here, they had attempted to do one of the lowest things in Zeniths view, trying to take the life of a child!

Zenith had been very protective of children within Arda, mainly because of his own past. After all it was Zeniths own brother Alba that had killed most of Zeniths family leaving only Zenith and his sister Rinoa still living. The angel had killed his brother for that act a few months ago however, and had been alot more protective of others ever since that day. Zenith was suddently broken free from his trance as a large bolt of lightning came speeding down from the sky and smashing into one of the men, his body burning and ripping apart before falling to the ground like a lifeless doll shell. Right after this happened Zenith seen another man running out with a golden blade to strike one of the group that had invaded the town. Again the down fell to the ground with a thud as the soul left its shell.

This golden bladed man then jumped back near Zenith, the angel looked towards with a small smile before saying, "Well atleast im not alone in this battle then! Although your methods were a bit harsh!" Still with his blade glowing Zenith looked at the men once more as the became more and more afraid of what they had gotten themself into this beautifull day. What was meant to be a simply raid had now turned into a battle for their very lives. It was rather interesting really.

Scanning the layout of the battle once more Zenith took only one step forward, as he did so four spinning blade appeared around him as his Blade Sentinel spell was cast. Over time Zenith had learned to cast spells without both words or even actions. All he had to do was think of his spell and it could take effect from that. The four blades began to spin faster in the air while staying in one blade. Zenith then smirked a little and as he did this the four blades shot off towards the raid group once more. The first of the two blades shatted three of the mens blades while the other two ripped into two of the men instantly killing them. In the two men Zenith had killed one was the man that had went to attack the children.

With two more of their men now dead, and three more without a sword Zenith said, "Really, Making me angry was not the right to do! As a Keeper of the Sacred Deed, My job is to rid Arda of Evil such as you! Coming here today will be the last mistake you make" Once Zenith had finished talking the four blades came back around Zenith, they would last five minutes after being cast which was always helpfull. Still the Anima just sat their upon the angels shoulder, not moving even an inch. The time would come when these men would learn of the power within Heru as well as Zenith!

A slight shake of the head was all the response that Valdearg gave to the angel's statement. In that, Valdearg disagreed with the holy being. With men like this, "harsh" was the only thing that they responded to. Mercy and leniency was a good way to get stabbed the moment your attention lapsed. The angel's glowing blades were evidence to their power. Anyone that was struck by them probably had little chance of surviving if the blow hit anything vital. Valdearg's own sword was now glittering from the reflected sunlight, seeming to glow also. That was simply an effect of the gold that had been mixed into the blade, giving it the name that it now had. Without letting go of the blade, he shifted it to his right hand, reaching his left down to his waist to pull out a long dagger. The first attack he had been forced to use his left hand to strike, and it was more luck than anything else that the bandit had been dazed by the lightning. His right hand was better with a sword, but he knew how to work a dagger with his left hand to help protect himself.

The angel took a step forward, and 4 spinning blades appeared. Valdearg's eyebrows rose slightly, but not over the spell itself. The man's lips had not moved, his hands had stayed locked on his swords. His new ally had cast a spell without saying a word or making a gesture, something that took quite a bit of time to learn. Valdearg himself had never bothered to study enough to learn how to accomplish it, letting himself get by where he was. Valdearg watched, still not saying anything as the man's spell took effect, efficiently and effectively lowering the threat posed by the bandits. With a slight smirk on his face, Valdearg also took a step forward, once again putting himself level with the angle. "And you said my methods were harsh." The angel had just killed 2 of their number without a word, calmly letting the blades pierce the defenseless foe. And this foe was defenseless against what Valdearg and the angel could do. They were common brigands, used to bullying simple village people around. They had nothing that could stand up to lightning bolts and magical blades.

The smirk grew into a small smile as Valdearg took another step forward. It seemed as though the angel and him were trading off spells, comparing what they could do in an attempt to frighten off the enemy. Now it was Valdearg's turn to see what would work. He let the first two fingers on his left hand come of the hilt of his dagger, locking them in a curious gesture that would bring out his next spell. Valdearg felt the spell take effect before any sign was visible. For a few seconds he simply stood there with nothing apparently different. Slowly, a few tendrils of smoke rose from his shoes. Small flames grew, licking their way up his body as he was systematically engulfed by the fires. Within moments, his entire body was aflame, but he was not burning. The Cloak of Flames spell didn't harm him, but it was unsettling to look at as an observer. Plus anyone that got near him would get badly burned for their actions. With that spell active, Valdearg continued to stare at the bandits, waiting to see what would happen next.

Zenith heard the words of the other man after using his blade attack on the bandits. The simple words of "And you said my methods were harsh." Zenith then looked towards the man weilding a very nice looking blade, the words from the angel at that moment were rather simple, "Well, sometime you need to be harsh!" Zenith let out a small laugh and then watch on and the men still paniced more and the man before his once again stepped forwards. It was as if Zenith and this man were in a spell off of some kind.

Suddently the entire body of the man erupted in raging flames and right away Zenith knew what spell he had cast. The Cloak of Flames spell was indead rather effective as the bandits fell back and onto the ground in shock, one yelling it horror as the man still had the flames around him. It was actualy rather comical as far as Zenith could see. All these men were so weak and seeing spells such as these must have been a large shock for them. Even though magic was widely used within Arda their were some being still unable to weild its power. And others who could only handle basic magical skills.

Zenith then took it upon himself to take his turn in this stand off of spells. The young angel walked forward with a smile upon his lips from under his helm. The young angel then raised his left hand which was free from weapons and said out, "There is no converting you to Holiness, that much I know. It is time to get rid of more of Ardas darkness!" Once saying these few words another spell was cast by the angel. And a very powerfull spell at that.

A large burning ball of gasses appeared behind the men and the most part of them began to scream in fear, although for one of the men it was already to late. The ball of burning gasses began to pull one of the men inside of it as the Supernova spell took effect on the battle field. The man began to scream when fully pulled inside the supernova as his body was crushed and burned by the imploding mass. Soon the supernova vanished and the twisted body of the bandit fell to the ground dead. Sure it was a harsh attack, but with luck it would show these men never to attack a child again in their entire lives.

Valdearg shook his head at the man's statement. It seemed a direct contradiction to what he had previously said, but at least the man wasn't preaching to him anymore. These men deserved whatever they got, no sermon on human morality could change that. Besides, Valdearg wasn't a human. After centuries of life, he realized how little humans changed. True, there were a few people every generation who would go through a dramatic experience and completely reverse their life, but it was a small minority of the people. These men didn't have to attempt to rob the town, they could have had decent jobs, earning honest wages. If they tried hard enough, they would inevitably earn enough for a comfortable life style, if not extravegant. The truth of the human race was standing here before Valdearg, and he knew what these men were like.

The next spell cast further demoralized the helpless bandits, it even impressed Valdearg a bit. He watched impassively as a man was sucked into the firey conflagration. It was a powerful spell, one that took quite a bit of power and control. In a matter of seconds, the spell was finished, depositing a black, smoking corpse on the battle field. The air seemed warmer, but that was just an effect of the fire, and Valdearg barely felt the change. His skin was used to far hotter temperatures, and a fire like that would be the equivalent of a human campfire, made to keep him warm on a cold night.

The bandits were milling about uncertainly, obviously recognizing the fact that they were outclassed. Still, they were unsure what would happen if they tried to run. If they were in the village, they could beg for mercy; running, they were simply targets to be cut down. Valdearg took the decision from them. Raising his hands, he held them out, feeling the magical energy flowing through him. Whispering quietly, he took his turn in their strange competition. With a rush of heat, a wall of flames encircled the bandits and the two allies, separating them from the rest of the village. By now, several villagers had been watching the proceedings, and a few who were too close to the fires when they burst upward hastily jumped back a few feet. Valdearg's eyes were cold as he watched the now trapped bandits, a sharp contrast to the fires that burned all over him. The wall of fire burned merrily, almost as if it was gloating over the poor fools that it held within it's arms. With a stern face, Valdearg simply stared at the bandits, watching for the next move.

Zenith watched one as a ring of flames formed around himself, the person who was helping him, and the bandits. Now was going to be the time Zenith would be able to really show his power, if he kept the attack within these walls of flames then the people of this town would not get hurt by the blasts. Zenith looked towards the man helping him and said with a small laugh, "Well then, It seems you have a thing for fire dont you?" The angel then let out another small laugh before looking back towards the bandits. The angel then placed his blades back into their holsters as he looked at the groud of bandits who all in all did not seem very happy at all.

The angel raised his right hand up to his face and smirked as his hand began to glow a deep purple, the magical energy flowing around his finger tips. The angel was ready to cast another spell, but this time he was going to cast two spells at once. With his right hand glowing purple the angel then formed a large fireball in his left hand. With both attacks at the ready Zenith Meria then said, "Dont let the flames bother boys. You wont be alive long enough for that ring to do much damage!" Zenith then placed his glowing right hand out infront of him and smile somewhat as the magical energy surged to the tips of his fingers and the angel shot out the Magic Missile spell. He then quickly threw his fireball afterwards.

Both spells then split, now with three magic missiles and three large fireballs heading for the bandits. All spells made contact with a member of the group, sending two of the men into the raging ring of flames. While the other four people the blasts hit, well two had been killed while the other two had been badly injured. Zenith Meria was still not showing his true power and if he was to do so then the bandits would be in more danger than they were at that exact point in time. With there numbers falling by the secong the bandits knew their time was near, that they would not leave here without learning of the wrong that they had placed upon the world of Arda.