Conjunction

"Where would we find such a person?" Kadal wondered. "Should we send word to the other tribes?"

"We have not needed to call upon a warrior-shaman for a generation," the old woman replied, turning her head to glance at Kadal as she rummaged through her shelves. "But the rites and rituals that can forge a hunter into a magic-bearer are not lost to us. That, too, was passed down by our ancestors."

"Then...a warrior-shaman can be made?" Kadal asked.

The Shaman began to set some of the containers on the table, then opened a large, wooden chest on the far side of the room. Kadal couldn't see what was inside it, but the Shaman soon retrieved a large box, also made from aged wood. Kadal began to rise, intending to help her carry it, but the Shaman waved her away.

"I am not yet so old," she chuckled, heaving the box onto the table with some difficulty. She opened the lid with a creak, Kadal craning her long neck to peer inside. It was full of charms and fetishes. There were necklaces made from colorful beads that were adorned with precious stones and pieces of carved bone, small tokens, and sculptures. She began to remove some of them, setting them down on the table beside the clay vessels.

"Jewelry?" Kadal asked, cocking her head curiously.

"Not quite," the Shaman replied. "These are blessed objects, each one the product of a ritual designed to imbue it with power. By wearing them, one can become stronger, swifter, a fiercer opponent in battle."

"It is your wish that I become a warrior-shaman?" Kadal asked, her frill flaring in disbelief. "B-but I am no shaman! I've never been on a vision quest, I've never taken part in any rituals. What do I know of such things?"

"You do not need to know anything that I cannot teach you," the Shaman replied. She reached out and took Kadal's hand, placing one of the necklaces in her palm. It was made from woven rope, decorated with colorful glass beads and ancient shells that must have been unearthed in the Coral Sea. There was a large pendant made from a piece of carved bone, ivory from one of the whale graveyards, no doubt. The Shaman closed her fingers around it, Kadal taking in a deep breath, feeling a strange sensation wash over her. It almost seemed to vibrate in her grasp, resonating with her being like a kind of strange music.

"Do you feel it?" the Shaman whispered, Kadal glancing up at her.

"Yes."

"Are you ready to wield nature itself as a shield?"

She nodded, the Shaman smiling.

***

Kadal stood in the center of the room as the Shaman walked around her, dipping her fingers into different clay pots, and painting their contents onto her scales. They were viscous pastes made from sacred herbs and plants that were found in the Coral Sea, staining her hide with shades of blue, red, and white. The tribe used body paints for ceremonial purposes, and as decoration, but these were different. As the Shaman applied them, she could feel their power starting to flow through her, as though the substances were seeping through her skin. Her heartbeat quickened, her pupils dilating, the coral walls of the chamber seeming to shift and move in the light of the fire.

"Do not fight it," the Shaman whispered, "this is but the beginning of your spiritual journey."

She dipped her hand into another clay vessel, tossing some kind of powder into the fire. The flames erupted suddenly, rising up to lick at the ceiling, their orange glow taking on an ethereal, green hue. Kadal recoiled in alarm, feeling its heat on her scales, but found herself transfixed by the sight all the same.

The Shaman thrust a cup into her hands, encouraging her to raise it to her lips, the bitter taste making her gag.

"Drink deeply," the Shaman insisted, "and prepare yourself. You are about to walk the path of a shaman. You will commune with spirits, the world as it truly exists will unfold before your eyes. Do not be afraid. You are a warrior, and fear has no place in this chamber."

Kadal began to feel dizzy, the room seeming to spin around her, but she focused on the fire. The green flames appeared to sparkle as she watched them dance, as though a myriad of tiny stars had taken the place of its floating embers. The walls were melting, running together like colored pigments, her perception of time slowing such that every second lasted for what felt like minutes.

The Shaman walked in front of her, raising a hand filled with some kind of fine, white powder. She blew it into Kadal's face, then stepped clear, the hunter's perception of the world around her warping even further as she inhaled. It was as though the everyday world as she knew it was being peeled away before her eyes, replaced by a realm of ever-shifting, rainbow-colored shards of glass. At its epicenter was the fire, beating like a heart, its roaring flames seeming to pulse in time with the rhythm of the Universe.

She looked down at her own hands, feeling a sense of disconnect, as though they were no longer her own. Her sense of self was dissolving, her nerves seeming to extend beyond the limits of her own body, interweaving with the living world that she was becoming immersed in. There was no barrier between her and the roiling, magical energies of nature, not anymore. She was exposed, naked before its power, but she could not help but welcome the feeling of oneness.

In the depths of the fire, she saw moving shapes, gradually becoming more defined as she concentrated on them. She saw the battlemage, the power that he commanded. She felt his determination as he trekked into the unknown as though his emotions were her own. A pang of dread disturbed the peaceful ocean of sensation that was washing through her, her perspective shifting. Kadal suddenly beheld the sun as she had never seen it, a burning ball of roiling flame that seemed to occupy the entire sky, the land beneath it scorched barren by its unforgiving heat. On the horizon, she saw ruined spires made from glass and stone, far larger and grander than those of the Coral Sea. They twisted towards the sky like beautiful, glittering corkscrews, catching the glare of the sun in their many windows. Could this be the sacred city? She had spent her entire life protecting it, but she had never gazed upon its magnificence with her own eyes.

There was something nestled at its center, buried deep within its hallowed halls, an orb that was blacker than black. It almost seemed to absorb light, bending reality around itself, Kadal unable to tear her eyes away from it. She understood what it was intuitively, as though the void had answered her question before the thought to ask it had even entered her mind. It was a piece of a dead star, the corpse of a God.

Overwhelmed, she dropped to her knees, digging her fingers into the sand as she panted. She was vaguely aware of something being forced into her mouth, her eyes opening after a few moments more to see that reality was mending itself like a wound. The Shaman knelt at her side, a now-empty clay vessel in her hand.

"What did you see?" she whispered.

"I saw...the city," Kadal gasped. "The world was burning. There was...a black orb...like a ball hewn from the darkest obsidian. The mage seeks it, he is so determined to possess it..."
"I saw the same dark vision," the Shaman replied. "The Gods have spoken to you, Kadal, they have given you their blessing. Rise as a warrior-shaman. Don the charms, wear the paint, and stop your enemy before he can lay a hand on that orb."

***

Caden rolled up the leg of his pants, wincing as he exposed the jagged tear in his calf. It went deep enough that the sight of it made him light-headed, dark blood still seeping from it. It hadn't hurt at first, but the longer he had walked, the more it had begun to ache. He kept reminding himself that he could fix it, trying not to look at the wound for too long as he raised his staff, beginning to recite the incantation.

It had taken some time to find a place where he felt safe, and where there was enough plant life to heal himself. A nearby cactus and a few desert flowers began to wilt as he drew upon their energy, those silver strands coalescing around his injury, his flesh knitting back together before his eyes. This was a greater task than a few blisters, the flowers beginning to shed their dead petals, the cactus seeming to deflate. When it was done, he washed away the blood with his waterskin, allowing himself a moment of relief.

He glanced back in the direction that he had come, sensing that the reptiles were still tracking him. They had to know where he was, but they were only following him, never getting close enough that he could see them. They were persistent, they wouldn't hold back forever. It wouldn't be long before they figured out some new angle of attack.

How had they seen through his invisibility spell? Was he a worse magician than he had assumed, or did they have magic of their own? They were shamans, that much he knew, but he had no idea what form their primitive magic might take.

In any case, he couldn't hide anymore. If they attacked him again, he might have to kill some of them. The idea didn't appeal to him. Even as a young child living on his parent's farm, years before he had joined the Sorcerer's Guild, the slaughter of livestock had always upset him. He vividly recalled his father thrusting an axe into his hands, and demanding that he kill a sheep, the animal cocking its head at him and blinking stupidly. His tears had made his father relent, and that might have been one of the reasons that his family had given him up to the guild so readily. He didn't have the temperament of a farmer, let alone that of a killer...

Remembering the previous fight frightened him. He had given in to the violent impulses that the magic inspired in him, and it had felt...good, liberating. It was a feeling akin to running at full tilt, feeling the pounding of one's heart, the wind in one's hair, the sense of freedom. As much as he wanted to tell himself that it had been necessary, he would be lying if he said that he hadn't enjoyed it. It had come so naturally to him, like something that he was supposed to do. Was it coming from the staff, or was it awakening something that had always been lurking inside him?

He took a drink from his waterskin, mulling over what to do next. If hiding was no longer an option, then he would have to keep moving. But what about rest? What about food? What about the stops that he had to make to replenish his water supply and heal his blistered feet? The reptiles were certainly faster than him, stronger, they had more endurance. There was no chance that he could outpace them.

Something appeared at the periphery of his senses, shining as bright as a beacon, an entity more imbued with magic than he had ever seen striding towards him. He rose to his feet, gripping his staff in his hands. So this was their plan, they were sending a champion after him. Judging by the magical aura that emanated from them, this must be one of their shamans. There was so much...life in them, those sparkling strands of magical energy swirling inside their body, bright and vibrant.

There was no escape, he would have to face this challenger.

Caden stepped down onto the sand, his staff clutched in his hand, planting it in the ground defiantly as he waited for the figure to round the nearby reef. The other reptiles were drawing nearer, but they were still holding back, perhaps only wanting to observe what happened next. He could see a few of them poking their heads over the corals that rose up to either side of him, ducking in and out of cover for fear of catching a lightning bolt to the face.

His opponent came into view, jogging around the reef, eyes like a pair of gold coins fixing on him. It was a female, the largest that he had seen so far, a good seven and a half feet tall. His head would only just reach her shoulders if they were to stand side by side. He could see her developed muscles moving beneath her shining scales as she walked, a subtle layer of fat that clung to her thighs, and the bosom that was contained within her sling quivering with each step due to her immense weight. Despite her size and her brawn, she was still lean and streamlined, her mottled hide so smooth that it looked waxed.

Her garb was different from the rest. While she still wore a sling and loincloth to preserve her modesty, she was also adorned with decorative jewelry. About her neck was a large pendant, the hairy rope decorated with colorful beads made from glass, and seashells of all shapes and sizes. Just above her scaly cleavage hung a charm carved from ivory, made to resemble what must be the skull of one of the reptiles. There were similar decorations around her wrists and ankles, colorful feathers, and precious gemstones contrasting with the oranges and browns of her scales.

Her body paint, too, was far more elaborate than that of her counterparts. His eyes were drawn to her long torso, where her muscular midriff had been painted with runes and swirling patterns in shades of blue and white, extending all the way down to her steely thighs. There were patterns that spiraled around her arms, climbing her neck to frame her jaw. Her eyes were outlined in a shade of red that seemed to seep down her scaly cheeks like tears of blood, the dark crimson of the pigment framing her yellow irises, giving them a hypnotic quality.

In one of her hands was clasped an axe of intimidating proportions. Its haft was as long as his leg, carved from a solid piece of white ivory, more runic symbols etched into its surface. It was tipped with an obsidian axe head that must have weighed as much as a cannonball. He could see the tool marks on it as it reflected the sun, how the reptiles had chiseled the stone into a razor's edge.

As he met her furious gaze, the reptile's frill opened up, framing her lizard-like head. Blood rushed into it, turning the membranous material a shade of blushing red, the two eyespots growing clearer to stare back at him.

The other reptiles cheered her on, a chorus of hissing and warbling echoing between the spires. Who was she? Their Chieftain? Their Shaman? The leader of their tribe? She raised the axe above her head, loosing a feral yell, its challenge not lost on Caden.

"Fine," he snarled in response, shifting his weight as he pointed his staff in her direction. "You want to do this? Let's do it. I'm done running."

His adversary loosed another bestial roar, beginning to charge across the sand, moving far faster than anything of that size should have been able to. Caden stood his ground, his lips moving as he began to chant, invigorating energy pulsing through his body. By the time she came within ten feet of him, his spell was complete, a powerful gust of wind whipping at his cloak as it kicked up a wall of obscuring sand. The reptile faltered, Caden darting in, using his magic to give his stave the power and weight of a swinging hammer. He felt it connect, the impact powerful enough to displace the air around it, clearing a hole in the airborne dust for the moment.

What Caden saw chilled his blood. The reptile had blocked the blow with her forearm, her scales taking on the quality of chain mail, his staff merely bouncing off her. Now it was his turn to be taken off-guard, the air knocked from his lungs as his opponent delivered a swift kick to his belly, lifting him off the ground. He was tossed away like a toy, his fall cushioned by the sand, rolling for a few feet before he came to a stop. Leaning his weight on his staff, he struggled to his feet, spitting out a mouthful of sand as he watched her stride out of the dust cloud. She pumped her axe in the air, eliciting a roar from her audience, the reptiles going crazy as they watched from the reefs.

Caden was no warrior, he had never been hit like that before. He stumbled as he tried to regain his footing, a hand moving to his stomach reflexively. He couldn't take many more blows like that...

Wanting to put on a show of his own, he spun his staff, whirling it around in the way that the Master had taught him. He called upon its magic as it whistled through the air, kicking up sand at his feet, arcs of electricity beginning to crackle around the bronze figurehead. The reptile realized that he was casting a spell, starting to run at him again, but Caden intercepted her with a bright flash of lightning. It arced through the air, its forked fingers seeking her out, the reptile raising her axe. There was a shower of sparks as the bolt magnetized to its obsidian blade, the weapon seeming to absorb its energy, rendering it inert.

Caden ducked as she swung the weapon at his head, feeling it cut through the air an inch above his skull, scrambling clear of a follow-up swing as the reptile gave chase. He blocked the next strike with the haft of his stave, sagging under the weight of her blow, the magic-infused wood able to withstand the force. Pouring his will into enhancing its momentum and weight, he batted the weapon aside, a crack ringing out as he slammed his staff into her midsection. Again, he found her scales as hard as steel, but the impact was enough to make her stumble.

He called upon that power once again, that seductive rage, magic burning through his veins like adrenaline as he swung his staff. Swirling strands of starlight collected in its tip, piling on the weight, Caden's muscles burning as he drove what felt like an anvil on a stick at her. This time, it had more of an effect, the reptile doubling over as it impacted her stomach. It knocked her onto her back, Caden loosing a wordless yell as he heaved the weapon into the air again, magic giving him the strength that he required to lift it. His adversary rolled out of the way as it impacted the ground where she had been lying a moment ago, creating a splash in the red sand.

She leapt to her feet, beginning to circle him, keeping her distance this time. Her pupils were so wide, she looked crazed, her scaly lips pulling back to reveal rows of sharp teeth. She lunged suddenly, as fast as a striking cobra, Caden only just able to react in time to block a vicious swipe from her axe. A normal staff would have been cleaved in two by that thing like a piece of firewood, but magic made it as strong as steel, Caden deflecting another overhead strike. If she actually managed to hit him with that thing, it would go through his flesh like butter.

With a hiss of frustration, she stepped in to deliver a punch to his face, taking him by surprise. His head snapped back, Caden grunting as he felt his nose break, one of his teeth coming loose. He stumbled away, feeling the warmth of blood as it began to pour from his nostrils. The pain was intense, blinding, Caden hearing the monster huff with satisfaction as she watched him sway.

Without missing a beat, he began to recite a spell, the reptile cocking her head at him. The nearby desert flowers that sprouted between the corals started to wilt, her eyes darting about, almost as though she could see the shimmering filaments that he was drawing from them. The pain faded, his nose returning to its original shape, stemming the flow of blood. When he prodded at his teeth with his tongue, he was relieved to find them all in their places, his lips curling into a smile as if to demonstrate that fact to her.

"You shall have to hit me harder than that," he muttered.

She couldn't have understood his words, but her frill flared again, what seemed like two pairs of furious eyes staring back at him.

The reptile lunged, swinging her heavy axe, Caden blocking its chiseled blade with his staff. They exchanged blows, Caden letting the magic flow through his body, moving faster than he would ever have imagined possible. It was like he was more awake than he had ever been, so acutely conscious of his surroundings, the soreness in his muscles seeming to fade as the roiling energy coursed through them. The more he surrendered to its power, the stronger he became. He felt the wood quake in his hands each time her massive weapon impacted it, his feet skidding in the sand as he weathered her blows.