//------------------------------//
// Thanatos 
// Story: Order of the Black Sun 
// by daOtterGuy 
//------------------------------//

Sparks flew as arcane clashed against steel. Stygian leaned against his magically conjured blade, pushing it toward his opponent. Hisan, a blade of bone and metal gripped tightly between his teeth, glared back. Two green flames that burned within his empty eye sockets.

Somnambula’s second was a mass of bone and sinew. Exposed cords of muscle wound tightly over yellowed bone. He was adorned with light armour that prioritized mobility over protection, with several adornments providing additional smaller protections.

They were hedged in by cliffs on the other side, a less-than-ideal situation caused by a reckless, on-the-spot decision to tackle Hisan off the edge of a crevice. Magic had kept him from being injured, and being undead had ensured Hisan had renewed his assault without a moment’s respite.

Though he would not be there to get what the Order needed from Somnambula’s stronghold, Stygian was confident that the knights of the Earth and Valour would be more than capable.

A sword wielded in a skeletal wing covered in golden feathers lunged toward Stygian’s neck. Stygian conjured a second blade of magic to parry the blow.

“You appear to be losing your edge, Hisan,” Stygian remarked. “You would never have let someone pull that kind of stunt on you before.”

Hisan leaped back and moved the blade in his mouth to his other wing, an expression of pure rage directed toward Stygian.

“I have lost no such thing! I had simply expected better sense from someone I had presumed to be smart enough not to throw himself off a cliff!” Hisan retorted. “What did you hope to accomplish with this?!”

“Well, you see—” Stygian quickly drew his blades together in a cross to block Hisan’s sudden lunge “—you’re not even going to let me explain?!”

“You babble too much and, frankly, I care more that I am separated from Som then whatever harebrained scheme you think is going to work.”

“Rude,” Stygian replied. “I don’t interrupt your monologues.”

“That’s because you’re too caught up in your own head and unwilling to take the initiative.”

Hisan sweeped his blade forward. Stgyian ducked and maneuvered himself backward out of Hisan’s reach.

“No, it’s because I like to know what the enemy is thinking, since it makes them easier to outsmart.” Stygian conjured an axe behind him and swung it forward at his foe. “Recklessness is why you ended up falling for Apollo’s lies.”

The axe was deflected with a quick slash of Hisan’s swords. He lunged forward, slashing at Stygian with a flurry of blows. Stygian parried each one with perfect timing, his gaze fixated on Hisan’s harried movements.

“We did not fall for Apollo’s lies. We simply took the only available option to us.” Hisan cut sideways, catching his blade on Stygian’s. “No one would give Somnambula a chance, so we did what we had to. It is not our fault that the world has spurned us.”

Stygian narrowed his eyes, his face twisting into disgust. “If that is how you see your past actions, then truly you are meant to be with the mad God.”

Before Hisan could respond, a bloodcurdling scream echoed through the canyon. Hisan whipped his head toward the noise.

“Som?!” He shouted.

Stygian took the opportunity to form a spear in his magic and thrust it into Hisan’s torso. He pinned him to the rocky wall, green blood oozing from the punctured muscles. Hisan struggled against the weapon.

“How’s that for initiative?” Stygian said.

“I will kill you, Shadow!” Hisan shouted.

The crevice was lit by a burst of green light in the sky—Artemis’s signal that they had succeeded and were ready to retreat.

“Goodbye, Hisan. I sincerely wished that you and Somnumbula had made better decisions,” Stygian said.

Then, with a burst of magic, Stygian teleported away.