The gate exploded into tiny shards of wood, leaving the entrance wide open as if it had never even been there. The ball of ice had hit the castle doors as well and turned them into sheets of ice. The guards were temporarily stunned by the attack, and that infinitesimal delay cost them their lives. Kishi began whirling her staff again over her head this time, and she rose into the air some ten feet above the ground. She appeared to turn a dark purple color as unnatural lightning gathered about her. She sent several wicked bolts slamming into the bewildered guards, and they were all immediately vaporized. She then lowered herself to the ground again and made a sweeping gesture at the frozen doors. They blew apart as a gust of wind hammered into them and left the entryway empty with the exception of the queen’s guard, who were waiting in the foyer beyond.
Arrows flew from every direction at the high elven queen. Kishi reacted just in time to deflect most of the arrows with a magical shield. She had to dodge the others using her agility and speed to avoid all but one arrow while she called up her magic. An arrow had pierced her thigh near the right hip and sent her tumbling backwards. As she lay on the ground, she could feel pain spreading throughout her entire body as if it were some kind of poison. She instantly realized that the arrow must have had a poisoned tip. She reached down and gently pulled out the arrow that was covered in her blood. She shook the dart to see if there had been something on the arrowhead, and it became clear that it had been doctored with some foreign substance. As she gripped the arrow firmly, it burst in flames and vanished. She would have to take care of the poison after she dealt with the queen. She stood up and closed her eyes for a moment while her body shook tremendously from the effects of the poison. She quickly sealed the wound and steadied herself for an attack.
The arrows stopped flying at her while the guards watched closely waiting for the vile high elf to drop dead. They were sadly disappointed as she became still and opened her eyes. She had isolated the poison and surrounded it with her magic. In essence, she had locked away the poison so that she could later remove it. Now she turned her attention to the unlucky soldiers that would now feel the full, unadulterated wrath of the most powerful sorceress in Tuwa. Her staff disappeared into thin air, and she cupped her hands together in front of her. A conglomeration of different colors and substances began to form into an orb shape in the air slightly above her hands. The ball seemed to have colors that represented the four different elements in nature which had a sickly hue to it. The small ball grew to the size of a person’s head and then solidified into an ugly looking ball. It began to rotate slowly and continued to pick up speed. The guards were mesmerized or were in some kind of trance because they did not react at all when the ominous sphere emitted a black hand that reached out at its prey.
The ethereal hand went to each guard and wrapped its black fingers around their necks. The hand would then squeeze hard, and the person’s eyes would go blank. Their souls were literally ripped from their physical bodies, and their spirits were forced into the netherworld. Their physical bodies were left intact as though they were still alive. In fact, they were still alive, but they no longer were capable of doing anything aside from standing there. Such magic had not been used in Tuwa since the days of its formation. This act of manipulating the elements to perform such dark magic left a mark upon the place where the spell was cast. After Kishi had demonstratively destroyed the queen’s guard, she proceeded into the throne room where Daria sat upon her throne. As the assassin approached the doors to the chamber, she noticed that there were no guards there. She opened the doors slowly and slipped in quietly to the ornate room. The queen of Nairi sat there with a look of resignation and expectancy on her face.
“So, you knew I was coming,” stated Kishi bluntly. It was not a question, and Queen Daria nodded her agreement with what the high elven queen said. The assassin could see that her prey was waiting for her to finish the job. It was a pitiful sight to see one of the most powerful and influential leaders in the land of Tuwa sitting upon her throne resigned to the fact that she was going to die.
“Let us not mince words. Finish what you have come here to do,” said Queen Daria bitterly. “Seal your wicked fate by killing your only ally. Know this. I curse you and all those who carry the name of high elf. May you die viciously painful deaths, and may your souls be racked with eternal torment for your sins.” Daria had a stern and meaningful look on her face as she spoke. After she had pronounced her curse, the look of resignation returned.
Kishi, who still held the death orb, sent out the black hand once more, and it reached out to Queen Daria and ripped her soul from her body. The queen’s eyes slid out of focus, and she remained seated on her throne with a faraway look. Having done what she had set out to do, she turned about and exited the soulless halls of Nairi castle. As Kishi entered the light of day once more, she could see that the battles on the sides of the canyons were intensifying. She needed to relay to General Jaali that she had been successful and to put an end to the wicked men once and for all. She started to run at a very fast pace back down the path she had taken to enter the castle. There was no one along the way that tried to stop her because they were all dead. As she ran, she wondered how long it would take General Yukio to find out what she had done. She had her answer immediately after thinking this. Yukio’s voice could be heard above the sounds of battle and caused an eerie silence to fall. The only sound was that of an enraged general who had somehow discovered the loss of their queen. Threats, blood oaths, and extremely vile language rang through the air while everyone and everything listened to his ranting and raving. Queen Kishi stopped running and smiled. I guess I do not need to hurry anymore; the whole world knows what happened now. General Jaali knows what to do.
“Kill them! Kill them all!” shouted General Yukio as he finished his vulgar tirade. The ground shook momentarily after he shouted his order.
The Nairi army redoubled their efforts as they renewed their attack on the advancing high elves. They were so enraged by the loss of their queen that they unwisely left their defensive positions to attack the approaching army in hand-to-hand combat. General Jaali acted at once to take advantage of this slip in judgment. He sent the archers up to higher ground and ordered them to rain arrows down on the soldiers in the rear of Yukio’s army. After an hour of intense battle, the ranks of the army of men began to lose their resolve. General Yukio, though still enraged by what had happened and what was happening now, called for the retreat. Jaali let them go so that he could reunite his divided army and take an inventory of his troops. Plus, he wanted to speak with the queen before deciding what to do next. After a few hours the entire high elven army that had come to Nairi was gathered together outside the castle gate on the canyon floor.
“My queen,” said General Jaali, finally finding Kishi. They hugged each other and looked one another over to see what damage had been done to them. Jaali had a nasty cut that started just below his left eye and went down past his jawbone slightly. Aside from that, he was unharmed. He noticed that Kishi’s hip was bloody and had a sickly greenish look to it. “What happened here?” He bent down beside her to get a better look at her sickly wound.
As the general touched her hip gently, she said, “Nothing that cannot be fixed.” As he stood up, she gave him a wry smile, and they both laughed warmly. She reached up and gave him another tight embrace. He always liked the feeling of holding her and under different circumstances would have acted on the feelings that he had for her. Now was not the time, however. As they stood there holding one another, the general wheeled her about while still holding onto her. They both saw the army of General Yukio leaving the canyons; they appeared to be heading southeast.