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The Dark Sorceress

By Xan Steel

A Slayers Fan Fiction.

Captain Hycote had been summoned to Fleet Admiral Gorina for reasons as of yet unknown. It always made him nervous heading to her office as it typically meant he was about to get a reprimand of some sort. Yes, it was true that he usually fought the system, because he believed in a sense of morals that Command seemed to lack most of the time, and he'd be lying if he didn't say he was surprised that he was still a captain after all these years of bucking the system. Not to mention that he was nearing his retirement at thirty years of age with having been in service for fifteen of those years. When he got to her door he knocked before entering to let her know he had arrived. He then move over and stood in front of her desk and saluted her. "Captain Hycote, reporting as ordered Ma'am." She turned from her view window to look at him as she returned his salute, "Have a seat Captain, there is something we need to discuss." Hycote sat in the chair that was in front of her desk, as she sat down behind her desk. "Captain I'm sure you're wondering why I called you here." "Not really Ma'am." She gave him a stern look for cutting her off like that which caused him to clam up. "I called you in here, because we've discovered the location of the Dark Sorceress." Hycote sat there stunned for a minute, because he suddenly realized he wasn't being reprimanded. Gorina had stopped to gage his reaction and noticed a change in his demeanor. "Thought you were being reprimanded?" She asked him as he nodded in response. "No, you're not. In fact this mission is nearly tailor made to fit you and your style of command." "How do you mean Admiral?" He asked her. "Your ability to adapt to the situation and disobey command hasn't gone unnoticed, not to mention the fact it will be needed on this mission, as I believe we have infiltrators among our ranks, both above and below me."

He continued to listen to her and the worry she admitted to, and believed that he was the only one she could trust with this mission. "I need you to find her, bring her to me directly, no one else, as I need to see if she is willing to teach us her skills in Black Magic." She said. "You don't want to use her as a weapon then?" "No, as I believe it's going to take more than one person to win this war on the survival for our people." He nodded and understood her reasoning. Having more Battle Wizards that knew more of the ancient magic, that had been lost over the centuries would be a greater boon to them. She turned to her comm console and hit a button. "Main engineering, Commander Frigh speaking." "Commander this is Admiral Gorina, what's the status of Dark Bringer?" "She should be ready in about three hours Ma'am." "Not good enough, throw more people at her as I want her finished in fifteen minutes, understood?" She heard a long drawn sigh at the other end. "Don't worry we'll have her done." "Glad to hear it, Gorina out." She turned back to Hycote. "Make no delays in your trip, and keep a weary eye on everything, even your own people." "Yes Ma'am." He said as she dismissed him.

As he headed to the transport bay, he started to think on his mission. The thing the bothered him the most was her body language. It was true that he trusted her the most out of all the other admirals that he had to work under, but something about they way she handled herself in their meeting said something else to him. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind for now as he entered the transport bay. "Captain, they're ready to bring the Dark Bringers engines online." A young ensign said as he approached Hycote. "Ah thank you Ensign Torger, and I take it you are here to bring me aboard?" He nodded as he escorted him to the transport pod.

On aboard Commander Frigh approached him. "Captain." "Commander, is she ready to go?" "In a few minutes, right now we are bringing the engines online. Note that these engines are experimental, and have not been tested in deep space at all. So there's no telling what will happen. With that in mind I'm staying onboard with a few of my staff to keep an eye on it and be able to repair if the need arises." "Then I welcome you aboard Commander, please make sure to keep this ship running at all times, our mission is not only time sensitive, but of major importance to the survival of our people." Frigh nodded and then ran off to the engineering section as Hycote headed to the bridge. Once there he looked over the bridge layout. At the back entrance where he stood, was a center seat that had a helmet interface that hung from above in the middle of a large engraved magic circle. On the outside of this circle sat four more chairs with Battle Wizards already in the seats with their helmets on. Each of these chairs sat around the circle in a compass like fashion. As he moved past them towards the front he came to the captains chair, from there his first officer sat to his right. His tactical officer to his left, his communications officer to his front left on a lower tier of the bridge and to the right his pilot.

Hycote took his chair while looking over his console. He turned to the pilot, "Ensign Fugo once Engineering reports that the ship is ready. Depart on a heading of 234-Mark-12, maximum warp." "Aye aye Captain." After a minute an engineering call came in stating that everything was in the green for launch, as Fugo began moving the ship out of dry-dock, and once clear of the station engaged the warp drive and watched the star field become strings of light. Fugo turned to the captain after warp had been engaged, "Captain, our heading is taking us to the Korvidian expanse, which is nearly within our borders." "Noted." His first officer Timond turned to him. "Captain, I mean no disrespect, but what is our mission here?" "Our mission Commander, is to retrieve the Dark Sorceress, and hope she is willing to teach us her skills in Black Magic." It was at this point his Battle Wizards came and stood before him. "Is our skills in magic not good enough for you?" Hycote looked at them a for a few moments before answering. "No. They are not. You all lack the ability to keep your spells stable. Barrier spells only taking a few hits before you have to recast? That leaves us vulnerable. Your strongest attack spell is a flame bolt, which sad to say is an entry level spell you learn in at the start of Battle school. You've had to use me more and more in the fifth chair for us to have any chance of winning our battles. I want to correct that by having someone far stronger than I teach you better, more ancient magic." They looked at him for a moment before one spook up. "Sorry we're not good enough for you." He started to walk away. Hycote spoke again. "You should be. I kept you on because I know you all are capable of more. I've seen your scores from Battle School, and it makes me wonder why they were so good, if you are giving me nothing but lack luster performance out in the field. Something is holding you back from unleashing your true potential and I want to find out what that is. I shouldn't have to back you all up in every battle we come across. I need you to be stronger as I know you can be." Hycote finished and dismissed them. Hycote was a stern individual when it came to his crew being the best they could be.

Twelve uneventful hours had passed as Fugo announced they were entering the Korvidian expanse, and would take another two hours to arrive at the coordinates. His tactical officer, Lieutenant Jorin, spoke up, "Captain, long range tactical scans have revealed the presents of a Manorian battle cruiser near the vicinity of the star system we are approaching." "Thank you Jorin, Is there anyway we can mask our approach?" Hycote asked while listening to see if his Battle Wizards would say anything. Lieutenant Corin his communications officer spoke up, "We could cut main power at warp and let momentum carry us in. Then use thrusters to put us into orbit around the planet we're headed too." Hycote thought that this was likely the best option as serval others agreed with him. "Do it."

Two hours passed as they slowly approached the planet, and from the viewer it looked like a wasteland. The colors ranged from blacks, greys, and tans. Scans indicated a lack of water and atmosphere except in one small area that was three kilometers in size. "That is were we are headed folks. Commander I'm leaving you in command of the ship, as I need to attend to this personally." Hycote finished as he got up and motioned Jorin to follow him. Commander Timond got on the comm system and told transport bay three to be ready with the Captains arrival. Hycote also took two of his Battle Wizards with him, Marike and Fadorin, as well as a field medic, Juytoan. Once on board the transport the bay doors opened, as it took off and headed towards the planet. While descending Timond came through the comm system, "Captain! Fugo is estimating that you have about two hours before the cruiser arrives. For now I'm moving the ship to the northern polar region and using the planets magnetic field to mask the ship." "Understood Commander, I'll inform you when we're finished." "Understood Captain, Timond out." The pilot approached the area slowly so the onboard scanners could get a better look at the area for a landing spot, and managed to find one in the dense foliage that was half a kilometer away from a small temple like structure. Once the transport finished landing, all but the pilot disembarked and began their hike to the structure. While the distance wasn't all that far to walk, the dense foliage made the trek more difficult than it needed to be. The local wildlife stayed out of sight as this was the first time any humans had knowingly landed on this world.

Upon reaching the temple they discovered an energy barrier protecting it from entry, but as they walked around it they didn't notice any normal entrance into the interior. "Captain, this is an ancient magical barrier." One of his Battle Wizards said while running his hand over it. "Are you able to take it down?" Hycote asked. There was a long pause before he spoke again. "No, no one that we have is capable of removing this barrier." "Are you sure?" "It was made with Runic magic, which has been lost to us for centuries." It was at this point that a man with a walking staff, clothed in a black and blue with a cape and a bowl cut hair style that was a blackish purple, came out of the foliage towards them. The Battle Wizards immediately went into attack postures as this man raised his arms as if scared, "Whoa, hold on now, I'm no threat to you." "Who are you?" Hycote asked as he motioned his Battle Wizards to relax. "I am but a humble mysterious Priest that has guarded this temple for many years." Hycote looked him over a bit and noticed his style of clothing was odd to say the least. "Might I inquire as to what you are doing at my temple?" The Priest asked. Hycote continued to study him for a moment, he could now feel his presence magically and felt his magical strength. Hycote took a risk with him, "We're here to ask for the Dark Sorceress's help in training our people to defend themselves from our impending doom." The Priest studied him for a moment, before he looked skyward, then nodded and looked back at Hycote. "Well, it would seem as though your wish is to be granted." He said with a smile before continuing, "But I can not guarantee that she will help you, that is a decision she must make on her own." Hycote spoke, "I understand." "Now if you will stand back, I will remove the barrier." The Priest said as he walked forward and touched the barrier. Suddenly a shaft of bright white light shot straight up into the sky. Commander Timond contacted the group in just about the same time, he spoke excitedly. "Captain the hell what is going on down there, that beam of light just alerted our enemies to your location. You have about 30 minutes to get back to the ship before they arrive." Hycote spoke calmly in return, "Hold your position Commander, as we are entering the temple." "Y-Yes sir." The Priest turned to look at Hycote, "Enemies?" "Yes it's seems we are not the only ones looking for her, and while our intentions might not be nobel, theirs is certainly worse." The Priest nodded just as the barrier fell before them, while a door opened up. "This way please." The Priest said as everyone followed in behind himself.

They walked down a long corridor as the Priest and the two Battle Wizards cast a light spell each to give themselves light as they walked along. As they walked everyone noticed the walls were covered in etched images of battles between great creatures and small humans. As they got to the end of the corridor Hycote stopped to look at one in particular. He reached out and touched it softly, "Am I to believe what this image is depicting?" The Priest turned to look at him, as Hycote looked at him, "The war of the Monsters Fall?" The Priest smile grew as he held up his pointing finger like he was counting the number one. "That's correct Captain, it seems you know your history." "I was always told that was a myth." "Oh I assure you Captain, every image on these walls is historical fact. Not to mention the one you seek also played her roll in a few of them herself." The Priest finished as he turned and walked through another door. Hycote and his team followed as the room opened up. The Priest was lighting a brazers in the room to add more light. Hycote saw the room was rather large with more images of battles. In the center of the room there stood a stone table, and on that table there was a young girl sleeping. Hycote walked over and looked her over. Her outfit was black with red trim, her cape was black on the outside and red on the inside, her hair color was fire red. The magical aura he felt from her was terrifying. 'So incredibly strong,' he thought to himself.

The Priest walked over to the table and stared at the sleeping girl for a moment before raising his arms and staff above her, and began to chant. "Oh mother and creator of all things, send down your light and awaken this sleeping soul." The air gave off a definite vibration of power as a light engulfed the young lady laying on the table. Once the spell finished and the light faded, Hycote watched the girl slowly stir and awaken. She yawned long and loud, which was rather unbecoming of a lady. "Oh man, I feel like I slept a thousand years." "Ten thousand to be exact." The Priest replied. She sighed, "Zellos you are not the first thing I want to see or hear in morning..." She turned to look at him with a shocked look. "Ten thousand?!?!" She exclaimed softly. Zellos nodded, "That's how long it has taken for humans to recover, and unfortunately it seems as though they still enjoy fighting one another." She did a quick scan of the room. As Zellos continued, "If you're looking for your friends, I'm afraid they are no longer on this physical plane." She looked at him as her memories of that ill fated day started to return as tears began to well up. "But it seems as though Mother had a moment of compassion, they are not dead, but are in fact living on the Astral Plane." She wiped her face and eyes clear as she smiled that they were still alive to a degree, "We talked a lot you know, Mother and I." "What you and Mother talked about was never revealed to the monster race, Miss Lina." She smiled and spoke again. "She told me there would come a time she would need to use me again, before I could be reunited with them, and that I would have to make a number of choices during that time."

It was at this point Hycote walked up to them and gave a slight bow to Lina. "My lady, please forgive my interruption, but we are pressed for time, and I would like to ask you to come with us, for your safety." Lina looked at him for a brief moment and then turned back to Zellos, "He doesn't know me does he?" Zellos just laughed. It was at this point a wall near where they entered exploded, sending debris toward them. Hycotes solders and Battle Wizards got into defensive positions. "HYCOTE!" Came a yell from that direction. "Tarsus! Great just what I need right now, a hot headed baboon." He turns back to Lina. "My lady, please come with us, our people need your help to survive." Lina jumped off the table and stretched a bit to wake her body up. "All right Captain, before I go anywhere tell me what is going on?" He sighed knowing that if things dragged out to long they would have a fight on their hands. "Our people have lost touch with our magical abilities, this has caused us to loose an untold number of our people in the fight to stay alive. The ones that just made that explosive entrance, wish to use you as a weapon against us. We only ask to be taught so we can rely on ourself for defense."

It was at this point that several shots from plasma rifles came flying near them but missing. Hycote turned and cast a barrier spell to protect the three of them while they continued. However Lina was examining his spell. All she did was touch it and watched it dispel. "Woooow, you weren't kidding." Hycote just stared in astonishment as that was the strongest barrier spell he knew. Zellos gave an amusing smile. Lina then turned and waved her hand, "Barrier" her voice echoed, as a large field of energy covered everyone on Hycotes side. Lina then ordered everyone from Hycotes team to fall back closer to them as she readjusted the spell. The Battle Wizards began casting their fire bolt spell at the enemy. Lina examined that spell as well, and noticed its potential. While it was a weak spell in their hands, only because they weren't completely focusing their power. Its cast rate was incredibly fast, and it was a highly accurate. She decided to take a chance on it. "Zellos is there any other way out of here?" She asked. "I'm afraid not Miss Lina." He said melodically. "Figures" she mumbled. "Hycote take over for me here." He came over as she handed off her spell to him. He immediately fell to his knees as he used every ounce of his power to hold this spell. It required so much from him that he knew he couldn't last long.

Lina on the other hand dashed out in the front and began casting their spell. What surprised her about it the most, was that it was a lot like her Flare Arrow spell, only much faster, and it's power was comparable. She then wondered if she could do something similar with her Freeze Arrow spell. She tried it and was again amazed to see a similarity between the two spells. The Battle Wizards watched as large chunks of ice formed on the battle field and wondered where they were coming from. Hycote was panting at this point for the amount of strain a simple barrier spell was putting on him. "I, I can't, hold, hold on, much more." He finished as Zellos came up behind him and laid his hand on his should, and transferred some of his power to him. He then knelt down next to him. "You're doing fairly well for your level of skill." Zellos finished. "She's so incredibly strong, we would never stand a chance against her if she choose to side with them." "I don't think you have to worry about that my dear Captain." It was at this point they began to here Lina's voice echo in the room...

"You who crosses between sky and earth, gently flowing water, gather in my hand and give me power: DEMONA CRYSTAL!"

Zellos surrounded them in his own barrier spell to protect against her attack spell. They watched as the entire room, as well as Tarsus's men turn to ice. Once the spell finished Zellos dropped his spell and told Hycote to drop his, and as he did he collapsed on the floor. Zellos knelt down and cast a recovery spell on him so he could move again. Zellos giggled as he heard Lina yelling on the other side of the room. "That's what you get when mess with Lina Inverse, Sorceress's Supreme!" They watched as she walked back over to them with a bright smiling face. "Victory!" She said as she came over to Hycote. He just looked at her unsure what to say. To feel and see such power from someone so young, there was no one in the fleet or hell in the entirety of the people as strong as she was. She looked at Hycote, "Well I guess you have my answer. But if I sense anything out of the ordinary, I will walk away, as the last thing I want to do is get involved in more battles, it's the reason I came here to sleep." Lina said. "I understand, as all we want is to learn for ourselves." She nodded to him, "Well then let's go." She said with a smile.

Zellos watched them leave the temple as a voice spoke to him. "It looks like she made the right decision." "Yes it would appear so, Mother."