The sun began to set, the sky transforming from sky blue to a mixture of gold and red. The road on the Debon Plains was completely empty of all caravans and horses, save for the galloping of the hooves that came from Rothardan's white ethereal horse named Alatariel. The horse was carrying it's master, Rothardan Lionheart, to the city of Taras so that he could prepare to awaken the Knights of the Holy Order. It was time, the knights themselves would come together and defend those who needed defending and Rothardan would be their leader.

The new god of light had arisen and given Rothardan his blessings, but there still was one player on the field who would reveal himself soon enough. As he rode on Alatariel, Rothardan's mind kept flicking back to the insane dark elf, his foe who had been warped by the darkness long ago... now warped even more by the fact that the crazy crazy elf was now the god of darkness.

Rothardan pulled up on the reins that were upon Alatariel to stop him, the horse obeyed and slowed from a gallop to a trotting pace... heading towards the waters of a nearby pool so it could refresh itself and rest. The Paladin got off his horse and stretched his legs, then stretched his majestic angelic wings as well... sure he could have flown back whilst Alatariel warped back to the celestial realm... but Rothardan liked to ride back home sometimes so he could think... it was impossible to think whilst flying through the skies for some reason.

Whilst Alatariel drank his fill of water Rothardan unsheathed his blade and began to twirl it in his hands before moving onto slashing in the air as if striking down an invisible foe. Again and again he slashed the air as he practiced his katas with his weapon, listening to it whistling through the air again and again and again. Now that things had been decided, and light and dark had taken their respective positions again, Rothardan would need to be ready for anything... anything...

((OOC: Did... did you call me Seele-Pup? Do I have to kill you now?))

Huge leathery wings beat in the air, disturbing the clouds as they shot through the skies, yet barely making a sound. The thick muscles were coated in a layer of thick ebony scales, ranging in size from a copper coin to a knight's shield. The wings met on a massive torso, the sun glittering dully on the dark scales, too numerous to count. A long sinnuous neck ended in a huge head, glowing yellow eyes scouring the ground below. A crest of thick horns curled around the base of its skull to its jawline, ending where the curved mouth and row after row of sword-length teeth began. Each of its four heavily muscled limbs were as thick as pillars and ended in five wickedly sharp, long claws. Its thin tail whipped the air behind it as it flew, easily cutting through the sky. It was a shadow dragon, one of the oldest, largest, and most powerful of its kind. Born on a distant world, few of the natural shadow dragons of Imythess could ever match its majestic presence. And near its crest stood the powerful beast's master. The God of Darkness smiled and patted one of his mount's twisted horns, murmuring softly to it in a long-forgotten draconic tongue. He had acquired the beast's loyalty years before, and their dark partnership would stretch many years into the future.

The newly crowned deity turned his golden eyes back tot he ground below, narrowing them slightly so that he wouldn't be bothered by the wind. They were currently over the Debon Plains, near the village of Kellen. Although the authorities here had outlawed the hunting of gryphons in the area, he cometimes found he needed a bit or piece of one of the noble creatures for his work. He only killed them when they resisted, which was rare. Most gryphons were intelligent enough to allow a God to snip off a lock of their mane. While searching, he caught a twinge of power below them, a holy presence that brought a thin smile to his lips.

"Rotharden..."

Without another word the shadow dragon tucked its huge wings in towards its body, rocketing towards the ground below. The dragon burst out of the clouds with a mighty roar, claws curled and ready to strike, its maw gaping open. They careened towards the small pond, pulling up at the last moment. The dragon skid to a halt, its legs effortlessly crushing the few leafless trees that had attempted to live near the source of water. Seele stood on the top of the dragon's crest, a crooked smile on his face, watching the Celestial with open malevolence. Dark power crackled in his golden eyes, power that seemed to be waiting to be unleashed. The dragon growled menacingly, black, acidic drool spilling from its mouth to wilt the grass beneath.

"Little one... what are you doing here, so far from anyone? So far from any... help?" Seele's voice was amiable, almost pleasant, but there was an undercurrent of violence in his tone, a constant reminder that the wrong move could result in Rotharden going head-to-head with a God.

The skies began to crackle and a roar was in the sky. Rothardan knew this time would come and knew there was no running away from anything now. Sheathing his blade, Rothardan patted Alatariel on the mane, smiling at his companion.
"Go back to the celestial plane my friend and get some rest..."
Alatariel nuzzled Rothardan as if concerned for the Paladin, and Rothardan knew that he could be very well be facing down death by locking horns with Seele. But if he was going to die, he didn't want his faithful steed to do so.
"Please..." asked Rothardan, and Alatariel turned around with a certain sadness and faded away, disappearing into the celestial realm. Now Rothardan was alone, facing down the greatest evil known to creation.

His detect evil and detect alignment senses were going haywire, and they were giving Rothardan a headache. The Paladin tried to get his senses in order but it was no use, Seele was too evil to simply be put to one side. It would be something he would have to bare now. There was a roar that made Rothardan look up, the next thing he knew... he was staring into the face of a Shadow Dragon, one of Seele's many pets: his most faithful no doubt. Rothardan kept his hand on his blade, knowing that a fight was more than likely going to ensue shortly. Seele would be looking to take down the one thorn that was in his side for so long with his new found powers, and Rothardan realised that, once again, he could be killed outright.

Rothardan locked eyes with Seele and let the holy powers envelope him. Soon, Rothardan's true form emerged... not the brown haired Paladin but the silver skinned celestial warrior. Letting his Alter-Self spell go, Rothardan's skin and hair began to change as his previous form melted away like a puddle. Now he stood in all his power, but still he was dwarfed by the god of darkness. Oh well, at least he would go out with a celestial bang. Rothardan rose up in the sky, his wings silently beating as they let him ride the sky, and locked eyes with Seele.

"I always knew you'd end up like this Seele..." Rothardan said, his voice deep and commanding, amplified by the holy powers of the Paladin-Celestial infusion.
"The first time I fought you, I knew that Ranewan was nothing but a delay... that you were going to take the throne of darkness sooner or later. And here you are, as insane as ever and itching to try out your new powers like a child wanting to try his new toy.
"I suppose the only good thing about you being the God of Darkness is that you forced the hand of the God of Light, turns out that it was Gregory all along. You may be the most powerful dark being on this side of the world, but so long as there is breath in my lung, I will do everything I can to make your life more difficult and to ruin your day. You will not win Seele, that is my oath to the land, to stop your darkness form spreading and making sure you go down in flames."

"Flames? Is that how I shall end, little Rotharden?' Seele looked at his own hands, examining them carefully. "I suppose you're right. Flames it is, then." Black fire coursed from his fingers, slowly forming into a tangible shape. Seele jumped off of his dragon's neck, easily landing in a crouch. As he straightened his cloak rustled around him, blown in a wind no one else could see or feel, a vortex of siwrling arcane energy. The mass of dark flames had faded from his hand, leaving only a thin, ebony wand. The God of Darkness pointed the wand at Rotharden, laughing softly. "Just remember, you asked for this, old enemy." With lightning speed Seele tore the wand across the air in front of him, inscribing a summoner's glyph in midair in the blink of an eye. He thrust the wand through the center of the glyph, twisting the small magical instrumently clockwise. The entire magical symbol pulsed with dark power as the edges of the glyph burst into flame, a blinding flash that consumed the world for a moment.

The bright light faded slowly, revealing a hellish seen. Two large caniines, each the size of a full-grown adult male, stood on the banks of the pond, staring at Rotharden. Although this would have been bad enough, they were also on fire. The hellhounds bent back their heads and howled at the skies above, their call sounding more like a raging conflagration than the cry of an animal. Instead of fur waves of fire cascaded over their lithe bodies, incinerating the grass surrounding them. The spittle that dripped from their bared teeth was transclucent and red, sizzling as it struck the ground. Seele stood between the two hounds, petting them right behind the ears, apparently oblivious to the heat and danger of their deadly flames. The white teeth of the hellhounds were just about the only part of their body not covered in flames, but each tooth was razor-sharp, ready to tear the Celestial's flesh from his bones.

"You are right, of course. This moment has been my goal for many long years. Ranewan was a pleasant distraction, as are these bouts with you. Do not force me to end them." Seele was mostly obscured by the smoke rising from the hellhound's back, only his glowing golden eyes clearly visible in the mirage-like haze. "Your self-righteous sense of justice blinds you, Rotharden. Your devotion to the God of Light impedes your better judgment. I will offer this chance to you and you alone in recognition of your strength. You were a worthy adversary once." The God of Darkness through back his head, eyes locking with the Celestial's. "Let me craft you into one once again. Join me, and I will not be forced to turn your corpse to ash."

((Why does everyone write Rotharden? :huh: ))

From a burst of dark energy came forth two dogs that, instead of fur, had fans of dark fire upon their bodies. Hellhounds, the dark dogs of the underworld and friend to no-one. They stepped forward slowly, their very footprints scorching the earth of the debon plains. Rothardan landed on the ground again, glancing at these dogs, and drew his blade immediatley. Upon being unsheathed, The Tear of the Seraphic began to glow with an inner light. Never before had the blade reached such a pinnacle of power, and Rothardan knew that one strike of this blade would be enough to destroy these dogs if needed be. There was no way around it now, Rothardan was going to fight no matter what happened... for he would never take Seele up on his offer of darkness.

Instead Rothardan reached inside of his bag of never-ending space and pulled out his powerful helm, placing it upon his head. Then he took hold of the shield that was in his bad and pulled that out as well, strapping it to his arm. Holding his sword and shield in a classical battle stance, Rothardan got ready for what could possibly be the last battle he would ever fight. Seele was far more powerful than Xoco the demon, the demon he had met in Arda. And Xoco had killed him outright with one powerful spell. Now he was facing someone indefinatley more powerful than the Dark Wraith, and the Paladin knew that, somehow, his time had come.

"Take your offer and feed it to those two hellhounds Seele, you know I'd rather die than join you. And if you don't believe me, feel free to attack and see."

Upon those words, the ground around the Paladin began to glow with a holy white light as Rothardan began to get ready to unleash his full strength of a celestial infused. The solar within him was lending him as much strength as possible and soon, two mighty foes would clash together in a battle that would be talked about for a long time. The dark god vs. the warrior of light.

Seele sighed dramatically at Rothardan's vehement refusal, shaking his head sadly. "You know you cannot win this fight, little one. Once we were equals. Now..." Seele let his words fade away, swallowed in the crackle of the hellhound's flames. He scratched behind their pointed ears, leaning down so his mouth was mere inches from their snarling snouts. His voice was a mere whisper, hidden by the growl of the nightmarish creatures. "He's yours, pretties." Seele stood back up, clasping his hands together. The hellhounds glanced at each other before leaping to either side, literally blazing a trail across the field. Grass burst into flame as they circled around Rotharden, snarling with a hatred born of madness. Seele stood with his arms crossed, simply watching, a small smile on his face.

Without any visible signal the hellhounds leapt towards Rotharden, moving so quickly they were simply orange blurs. One pounced at his back, the other at his shield arm. As they attacked Seele spread his arms, letting his robe mask his movements. Black power gathered in the God of Darkness, so potent that the air around him darkened, the grass at his feet withering and dying. The chains that marked his long-honored bond with a Kyton demon from the Abyss unraveled from his body, sliding towards the earth. The chains went from as thick as Seele's forearm to as thin as a thread, each almost indestructible, as black as midnight. Cruel, twisted bits of shrapnel were fused to the end of each chain, vicious hooks that allowed Seele to rip through his enemies. These chains burrowed into the ground, sinking deep into the soft dirt, spreading outwards, a web with the deity in the center. He watched Rotharden with an amused expression, his golden eyes crackling with black power. No sign of the hidden chains was visible on the surface.

The problem with having a god for an enemy was the fact that the god's magic was now indefinate in power. Before, Rothardan could have countered Seele's summouning or sliced the two helldogs two ways from sundown. However, these helldogs were more powerful and more quicker than normal helldogs, Rothardan could tell all of this from the way one of them was biting down on his left arm whilst the other one had pounced at him so quickly that the Paladin didn't even have time to raise his sheild. His plate armour was holding but the Hellhounds would bit through it soon enough and hit into flesh. Not even his tough and leathery solar skin would stop a large bite mark upon Rothardan's arm or back.

Suddenly, there was a neigh of a horse and two hooves came down upon the hellhound that was attacking Rothardan's shield arm... crushing it into the ground with a sick crunch. The other hellhound looked up in suprise, staring at Rothardan's ethereal horse that had returned, which led to Rothardan throwing the hellhound of his back. Then, picking up his sword that had been dropped when he was attacked, Rothardan brought the sword down upon the dog from hell and felt the power of the blade slice the hellhound down to it's teeth. The dog began to shake, as if it was some mad dance or as if it was being jolted by electric currents. Then it was set alight, this time the fires were yellow as the sun... the power of the holy sword Rothardan wielded had burst the hellhound aflame.

Rothardan could feel blood trickling down his shield arm and realised that the dog had gone through the metal and into his arm. Damn, of all the things that Rothardan needed now was an infection. But he knew that he was about to suffer worse wounds when Seele would attack. As previously mentioned, his powers were not indefinite and Rothardan's were not. Though they were equal's before, Seele had become far more powerful and Rothardan knew he would need a miracle to get out of this one alive.

Rothardan turned to his horse, and the horse looked at him. Without a word, the horse once again vanished into the ethereal realm and Rothardan knew that this time, he would be facing the battle alone. But not even all his years of training could have prepared The Paladin for what happened next. Rothardan's head began to burn up, as if his whole skull was on fire. A thunderous pain screamed through his skull and into his brain as his detect evil senses went off like never before. Rothardan dropped his sword again and fell to his knees, screaming in pain like no man had ever felt. His screams could be heard from the tops of the Debon Mountains as the very evil of Seele himself caused his senses to explode in a frenzy of power.

The Paladin tried to get back up again, but the pain was too much. Nothing could stop the fire in his skull. Rothardan clawed at his head and tried to find the catch of his helm. Finally, after what seemed like forever, his fingers prised upon the catch and he undid his helm, throwing it to the ground. But that did the Paladin no good, for the pain continued and continued and continued, and there was not a damn thing the Paladin could do to stop it.

((OOC: I hope that post makes up for having to wait for a month for a reply. Sorry.))

Seele's smile did not falter for an instant as his first hellhound was crushed beneath ethereal hooves, the demonic beast whimpering with pain as its ribs were crushed, piercing its organs. He let that beast die, its purpose done, the remainder of its summoned life burned up in moments as it attempted to heal its wounds. The other hellhound was soon killed as well, holy energy piercing its body like a spear. The pure power of goodness welled up in the beast, its dark eyes wide for a moment with panicked pain before it exploded from within. Seele had already cut off the link between him and his creature, freeing him from the annoying twinge any summoner felt when their creature died. They were nothing more than pawns in this game, expendable bait that had served their purpose. He could taste the Celestial's blood, see the red rivulet that flowed down his arm. To be honest, the God was disappointed. Rothardan had once been his greatest form of entertainment. Now he was a doll, a toy to discard after it was broken.

Seele was growing tired of breaking dolls.

He focused all of his bleak power into himself, letting the dark aura roll off of him in waves. The grass between Seele and Rotharden turned black, crumbling to ashes from the sheer pressure of Seele's poisonous presence. The God laughed as his opponent roared with pain, knees buckling, hands clutching at his helm. He started to walk towards the fallen warrior as he tore off his helm, his skin pale and sweaty, his hands clutching at his temples. Seele's gait was slow and deliberate, his eyes fixated on the writhing paladin.

"Your mistake, Rothardan, was thinking yourself Holy. Pride is the sin you suffer from. Others have been punished greatly for their pride, but you... you, I shall let walk free." The ground around the Celestial paladin exploded as the chains ripped out of the ground, whipping around Rothardan with all of the vicious speed and strength of serpents, slamming into the warrior. The chains wrapped around his limbs, lifting the paladin off of the ground, holding him in front of the God of Darkness. Seele sneered, gesturing to the smallest of the chains. It was barely as thin as a piece of thread, yet the piece of shrapnel fused to its end was shaped like a dagger, the blade thin and razor-sharp. Seele smiled and ran one finger along its length, letting his power fill the miniature links, filling it with so much black energy the metal glowed with dark strength. It seemed to leave an after-image as it whipped through the air, burning with the aura of the God of Darkness.

The chain whipped across Rothardan's face twice, digging into his golden skin, spilling crimson blood, each drop shining like a precious ruby. "Learn from this, Rothardan. I am sparing you. Your pathetic life. Vermin. Abhorrence. How does it feel, to receive mercy from your better?" Seele's steady walk had brought to the paladin's location, less than a foot away from the ensnared Celestial. He reached out, thin fingers touching Rothardan's cheek. His fingertips would have felt like hot coals to the man, searing his skin. Dark Regeneration The skin on Rothardan's face began to knit itself together, closing over the wound. The God ran one finger through the paladin's blood, knowing his touch would burn far worse than the healed injuries. Two pale white scars now marred Rothardan's features, imperfections on the face of an angel. Seele smirked, almost laughing. He could feel the darkness that resided in those injuries, the traces of his aura that would forever mark the Celestial.

"Remember this failure. Remember this shame." Seele ran his bloodied finger down the right side of the paladin's face, drawing the same tattoo that swirled across the God's visage. "Goodbye, little one." He turned and began to walk away, nodding to his mount. The dragon extended one large, leathery wing for the deity, allowing him to walk to its neck. The chains dropped Rothardan to the ground, slithering back into the depths of Seele's cloak, wrapping around his body. Seele looked at the blessed paladin, his golden eyes unreadable. And then he was gone, the dragon carrying the God of Darkness away from the cracked and ruined earth, away from the scarred and ruined paladin.

[OOC: This was a fun post. ^_^ I just want people to know, Rothy gave me permission to cut his face up a little.]

"Your mistake, Rothardan, was thinking yourself Holy. Pride is the sin you suffer from. Others have been punished greatly for their pride, but you... you, I shall let walk free."
As Rothardan was lifted by the dark chains, the pain thundered through his head like a stampede of galloping horses. He was brought closer to his mortal foe, hoisted into the air like a straw doll, only stopping inches away from the deranged dark creature. Rothardan pressed his teeth together with such grimace that he could feel blood coming from his gums. He forced himself to endure the pain that was coursing through the veins in his head and looked straight at Seele, eye to eye.
"Your mistake Seele," quothed the Paladin in a raspy voice, "If you don't kill me now then this decision is going to haunt you."
But the deranged look in the god's eyes told Rothardan that his foe was not listening to a word the Paladin was saying. As he hung there, the Paladin's eyes caught sight of one of the chains that was flaying through the air... a small chain that had a wickedly sharp blade on the end. Bracing himself for torture, Rothardan knew that it all came down to this. Seele would no doubt put him through untold amounts of agony before considering Rothardan dealt with.
Closing his eyes, Rothardan heard the swish of the air and felt the tearing feeling as the blade whipped across his face once, no twice. Splatters of blood dropped to the floor and Rothardan opened his eyes once again.
He could feel blood dripping down his cheek and down his forehead, clouding his vision. Yet the Paladin did not scream, he would not give Seele that pleasure. He simply grit his teeth and bared it.
"Learn from this, Rothardan, gloated the dark god, "I am sparing you. Your pathetic life. Vermin. Abhorrence. How does it feel, to receive mercy from your better?"
Seele's fingers suddenly reached out towards Rothardan and touched his skin. From the moment the first skin cell touched Rothardan, the powerful pain in his head increased ten fold. Rothardan screamed, the pain his whole body was feeling was coursing through his lungs as the dark god began to trace the newly inflicted injuries and heal then using a dark regeneration spell, an unholy version of the heal spell. The unholy magic only amplified the pain and the screams of the Paladin, and all around them both, birds and gryphons alike began to fly from the mountain in fear as the screams raced through the mountain range and into the distance.
Soon, the dark god had finished with the torture.
"Remember this failure. Remember this shame." said he, as the chains were released and Rothardan dropped to the puddle of blood below him. The Paladin tried to open his eyes, but his vision was blurred and he could not make out the dark god climbing upon his dark dragon.
"Goodbye, little one." called Seele, as he took flight and flew away back to whatever hell he had crawled from... leaving Rothardan barely alive in a puddle of blood and dead grass.
The Paladin barely moved at all whilst his lungs tried to remember how to breath. The pain had gone now but so had every little feeling in Rothardan's body. It was too much for him, and no matter how hard Rothardan fought, he couldn't find a way to stop the drowsiness of death come forth. It was a familiar feeling, Rothardan having died at the hands of a dark god before. He felt it creep up to him, his eyes suddenly feeling like lead weights...
No.
Rothardan snapped oped his eyes and forced his arm to move. Slamming it into the ground, Rothardan pushed himself upwards and forced himself up, onto his knees first then onto his feet. He would not be beaten by Seele, no matter what was done to him. Seele had made a costly mistake by letting Rothardan live, he had sealed his own fate. Rothardan would smite Seele one day... oh yes he would.