~*~*~The Great Magic Bears War, part two...
The battlefield was rife with flashes and thunderous echoes as two great Magic rulers collided in an epic struggle for supremacy
The Great Magic Bears swept their soulful eyes across the vast basin and in a low melodious voice began the Tacit chant. Times were dire and the hope of the bears wavered. They focussed their entire thoughts on stopping the Evil.
The Evil Bears sense the powerful enchantment; the Magic Bears wielding their incantations; waving of wands.
The great AntiKodaBear attuned to this force, calls upon the mystics of old to guard him and keep the bubble of protection from cracking as he stealthily teleports into hearing distance of the chanting bears.
He begins a chant he, too, has learned. The counter-spell, if you will. While fire is rained upon the Magic Bears, the Evil Bears coordinate and gather momentum.
KodaBear is not sitting by idly; his great strength and cunning enable him to give surprise as his magic also allows teleporting and he drops in behind the Evil Bears as they attempt the ritual which will shake the earth and open a rift, causing all that is good and pure to tumble and be lost forever. KodaBear, whispers a prayer to his gawds before opening his paws and weaving his magic, lingering until his strength is at its pinnacle before loosing it to stagger many Evil Bears, closing their minds in a grey miasma-world; hopelessly lost as the woven-binding, which contains their minds, grows stronger the more they attempt to break free of it.
KodaBear, thinking the world safer as he bounces, flirting with dangers, risking capture and defeat, causing annoying distractions, steps too close and finds himself caged within an Evil spell of forged Ethandril iron, the only known metal that can contain good magic.
The Magic Bears sense at once this cage and their strength is weakened by half as KodaBear is restrained and sapped of his energies.
Heartless, counter to his name, refuses to believe they could lose. He stands and waves his wand fearlessly across the great valley, chanting; avoiding the fireballs raining down. The Great Magic Bears, although they are weakened as the power of the Evil Bears grows, and Magic Bears begin dropping like mosquitoes in a mist of poison, huddle tightly and continue the incantation; some weaving spells of protection around their strongest Sorcerers, freeing them to concentrate without worry.
As their numbers fall, the Magic Bear's magic fades. Weakening, the Magic Bears struggle to overcome the colassal odds.
An immense snarl rises from the swirling blackness that threatens to overtake the land forever; then silence.
An overwhelming silence that intimidates; deafening with its absence of sound.
The Magic Bears, though their numbers dwindle to mere thousands, are trembling as they gather, tattered and torn, for the final stand.
Fear saps bravery as rumour is passed that the great KodaBear has fallen. Hope is ebbing as the massive enemy shows its full strength and powers, circling the Magic Bears; their evil oozing, creating a stench that causes numbness to weaken the Magic Bears further.
"Shall you bend and grovel?" The AntiKodaBear laughs, his voice a dark nasal whine. "Crawl and you shall find a place in the New World!" His black stare peers at the miserable myriad of Magic Bears left.
The Magic Bears gaze, weary, yet proud. Stalwartly, in unison they holler: "Never!" and elevate their wands dispatching waves of bluish-purple energy to touch the Evil Bears; the dazzling array of power sweeping along the valley, lighting the skies as if a mighty lightning storm filled the earth.
"You weak, insipid fools! You shall taste defeat!"
His paws raised, his mouth open he starts to recite the long forgotten power that will lock the Magic Bears into the abyss meant for him and his minions.
The ground shakes and a mighty howl is heard as the dusty earth splits. The trembling Magic Bears gaze fearfully as flames leap upward, as if alive, coming for them, lapping at their fur; singeing it maliciously.
The Magic Bear's brandish their wands fiercely, casting spells of liquid to rain upon them, putting out the closest flares.
"Yes! Yes! I shall have this land!" The AntiKodaBear exclaims, dancing about, his malevolent cackle striking fear into even his own.
"Not in my lifetime!" The mighty bellow of the KodaBear is heard from the swirling mist; an immense shadow striding nearer the surprised AntiKodaBear.
"You! How did you escape?" the shaken AntiKodaBear shrieks, trembling; unsure of his power.
KodaBear rears tall and gazes intently upon the shrinking AntiKodaBear, "Ethandril iron has a weakness," he s******s scornfully. "You should have imbued it with a Tensile incantation," he mocks.
As he finishes speaking, his paws clap together and a cosmic rumble is perceived; vibrating the ground violently. "It is you who shall now be forever encapsulated!" KodaBear's growl rumbles throatily.
A loud hum begins, slowly rising its pitch to a terrifying scream.
The EvilBears begin to shake. Fear can be seen in their eyes. They begin to salivate nervously as the hum grows louder; deafening. Their paws lower as they cannot think; cannot speak. They paw at their heads in an attempt to stop the noise. They watch in terror as the flames, formerly obeying their leader, AnitKodaBear, now turn and begin to consume their numbers, gulping hungrily, far faster than before.
The smell of scorched fur is overwhelming.
The Magic Bears, freed from the spells that confused their wits, hurriedly cant the Prison curse, aiming it at AntiKodaBear.
The AntiKodaBear is not finished; he has one final ploy. Feeling his own magic waning, he knows the time is upon him.
He dizzily assembles his remaining strength and mumbles the invocation to teleport him to another dimension, where he will wait, regaining his strength; being better prepared for the next meeting.
"Oh yes, there will be a next meeting KodaBear, my frenemy," he promises, meeting the Great Bear's eyes.
Gandalf, astute and suspicious repudiates his retreat and, as the AnitKodaBear's form begins to shift, the mighty Gandalf leaps onto the his back, his piercing-white teeth flashing.
"NO!" KodaBear shouts frantically as the Prison incantation completes and the two bears, Gandalf the Great Magic Bear and the AnitKodaBear disappear; locked into the prison formed between the magic realm and the realm of the ordinary folk.
"No!" weeps KodaBear, the horror at what he's effected causing the great bear to fall to his knees. "What have I done?" his mournful wail shattering the air.
The Magic Bears, shake off their dismay and focus their full attention to the remaining Evil Bears, steadily overcoming their weakened numbers, returning them to the chasm from which they spawned, sealing the crevice with a potent magic spell. They turn their attention to healing their numbers and freeing those caught in lingering spells evoked from the Evil Bears.
A paw rests lightly on KodaBear's shoulder. He looks up, into the face of Heartless, tears still flowing.
"It had to be, my friend. Gandalf will return. He will find a way. Trust and believe. Magic will sustain him."
The few hundred remaining Magic Bears exhaustedly gather around, sadness enveloping them at the loss of their mentor.
"He will return, KodaBear, never doubt."
The end...?
Teeth sink deep into the AntiKodaBear's neck; his paws grapple with the weight crushing him as he plummets through the kaleidoscope of spinning visions, landing sharply on a shale outcrop, the sky rolling with thunder and fire overhead.
Gasping and shaking the weight off his back he turns and comes face to face with Gandalf.
"Yes, my friend, you have been enclosed." Gandalf derides, the deep satisfaction of success outweighing the fact that he, too, is trapped in the prison.
Gandalf's raucous laugh grating on his sensitive ears, "Me?" he looks around weakly, "No, my friend," he spits, "It is you who have been trapped." Gandalf feels the foreboding fingers of ice creep along his skin, his thick fur doing nothing to protect him. He staggers to his feet and pushes away from Gandalf. "You who will have to find the key!" He stumbles, injured, away from Gandalf, the mists swirling around him...
Gandalf looks around, wonderng, "Is this the Prison or...?"
Humbly submitted for your pleasure,
daddy's-kitten