Lazarus pushed himself up from the dirty ground. Blood dripped down his chin, his yellow eyes crackled with arcs of lightning, murderous rage barely contained within them. Snow and ice fell like rain.
White mist enveloped most of the once-pristine field. Storm clouds covered the sky above him, with lightning bolts dancing across them.
A large white corpse rested in front of him, its single large eye staring at him in its eternal rest.
Screaming out in fury, he rushed forward and shoved the carcass, praying to all the dead and living gods to breathe life back into his most trusted companion. His powerful arms rocked back and forth, hoping against all logic his touch would bring it back.
That it would end this nightmare here and now.
Shards of ice crawled over the wyvern's body, encasing more and more of it with every passing second.
With a surge of power, Lazarus hammered at the ice, obliterating it with each lightning-infused punch.
The wind whistled nearby, and he could feel a chilling presence join him in the field.
"Such a shame, for Daedalus to die like this. You have my sympathies, my friend." A cold voice intoned, the air cooling with every word.
Turning around Lazarus threw his hand forward, a large bolt of lightning shooting out of it and racing towards the cloaked figure.
Before it hit its target, it froze solid and shattered at the same time, showering the area with blue sparkles.
If Lazarus could feel anything except anger, he would have found the sight beautiful.
"He would still be alive if not for your treachery Corax!"
Lazarus screamed back.
"Treachery?"
Corax spoke slowly, a hint of sadness in his tone.
"It is not I who turned on you, Lazarus, but you who betrayed me. I thought I could trust you with the truth of my power, but you are too taken with hate."
Lazarus ignored his words, charging forward with gritted teeth.
Lightning coalesced around his hands, turning into a glowing yellow spear with arcs of electricity coiling around the tip.
He saw Corax raise his hand and reacted, moving to the left milliseconds before a line of ice spikes shot up where he would have been.
The ground under him broke as he activated an ability and shot forward as fast as lightning, jamming his spear toward the body of his opponent. Before it struck home, multiple lightning bolts fell from the clouds above. They zigzagged across the grey sky and streaked towards Corax.
Just before they all struck the fur cloak of the traitor, he vanished into a storm of snow, a gust of icy wind blowing out and chilling Lazarus to the bone.
A voice echoed from all around the frozen expanse, coming from every direction that snow existed.
"Give it up Lazarus, you can not kill me. My aura is already beating yours, and with Daedalus having died, you are leaking mana like a faucet. You need time to heal. Time that you don't have. I will extend you a courtesy this last time: Tell me where Tyvil is, and you may live. You may escape this and prepare for what you assuredly know is coming."
A figure coalesced in a cloud of frost not too far away, a slender rapier made of blue ice held in his hand.
"And let you join forces with more of those Ravager worshippers? Never!" Lazarus responded, moving forward to attack Corax again.
This time, he barely made it two steps before ice coated his leg, causing him to trip.
He fell into a roll, managing to regain his footing and thrust his spear forward.
A great surge of lightning exploded from its tip, banishing the ice and snow for many meters around it.
Dozens of snow golems appeared in its path, slowing the spear down, but not stopping it completely.
As the wave of energy grew close, a round shield of blue ice appeared in Corax's hand. With almost inhumane speed, the shield was raised to collide with the heart of the electricity, a subtle pale glow emanating all around it.
Lightning and ice mixed, creating a wall of yellow and blue.
When the mana finally faded, Lazarus could make out the figure of Corax casually throwing the shield to his ground like a frisbee. It quickly dissolved into motes of pale blue light.
"Here I was thinking the gods were mocking me with a soul artifact like a shield. Isn't it odd how things always seem to work out?" Corax said, humor in his voice.
The man began to walk forward, the ground freezing under his feet. A large shadow appeared in the blizzard behind him, vaguely in the shape of a wolf.
Just seeing the creature made Lazarus feel both anger… and fear.
'Once that thing is fully grown it will be unstoppable!'
His father had fought alongside the Arch Magos of Fire against a Ravager once, and the experience had changed him forever. He never spoke about it, only saying that if the Ravagers really wanted this planet, it would be theirs.
And here he was, facing off against a man who had bonded with one.
It was why Lazarus had turned on his friend to strike him down before he could grow powerful enough to unleash the creature's devastation on humanity.
His mana reserves were critically low, and the storm clouds above began to dissipate, their place being taken by more snow.
Unwilling to yield, he summoned an artifact he had earned upon graduating from the Academy, a set of armor made from the bones of a Storm Hound.
The yellow plating covered his body, and he immediately felt faster and stronger. He resummoned his spear, a flash of lightning in the clouds above signaling its return.
Corax made no move to stop him, continuing his stride with purpose and grace.
Right when the man entered his reach, Lazarus snapped his arm forward to strike him. Before it connected, the blue rapier rose and parried the strike. Corax spun into the opening, slamming his shoulder into Lazarus' chest.
Lightning shot out at his attacker, but froze mid-air before connecting.
Lazarus stepped back with the blow, readjusting his stand to limit his opening. He stood with his shoulder perpendicular to his opponent's chest, his spear held with both hands, aimed towards his heart.
"Don't you get tired of this, Lazarus? Four years of the Academy, and you never once beat me. Now you are trying to finally, yet you are tired and lack your familiar. I can sense your mana from here, and there is barely any left! This isn't bravery, this is suicide."
Chilled air spread around them, embracing Corax like a friend and Lazarus like a parasite, clinging to his body in frozen crystals.
"I'll never surrender to Ravager slaves like you!"
The warrior of ice suddenly stopped and laughed, the sound seeming to affect the weather around them as it somehow became even colder.
"A slave? That's what you think of me?"
Shaking his head, Corax continued.
"No, I am no slave. I am the master. Fenrir obeys me, Lazarus. Aren't you curious how for years I have managed to hide him? How I have powers beyond anything thought possible? It's because I killed a Ravager and bonded to its gem. Fenrir obeys me because I am his rightful master!"
Those words froze Lazarus more than any of Corax's ice could. For a moment he considered the possibility of it being true, before dispelling the thought and recentering himself.
"You lie! No mundane could ever kill a Ravager!" He responded.
"Unless the Ravager was already dying. Betrayed by one of its own." Corax said, his rapier disappearing.
"But you don't need to trust my words, look at my status yourself."
With a wave of his hand, a screen appeared in front of Lazarus. All it said was "Partial Status Offered". If he accepted it, he would be momentarily blinded, unable to respond to anything Corax did.
However, his curiosity got the best of him, and his eyes widened.
{Elemental Gems}
{Corax Everesence}
Element: Ice Wraith
Tier: Mythic
Class: Cryomancer
Rank: Magos
Abilities: [Hidden]
Aspects: [Hidden]
Aura: [Hidden]
Transformation: [Hidden]
Minion(s): [Hidden]
Mastery Skill: [Hidden]
Familiar: Fenrir
Familiar Element(s): [Ice] [Hidden]
Familiar Tier: Mythical
Familiar Rank: Ravager
Familiar Aspects: [Hidden]
Boon: [Hidden]
'Fenrir is the rank of a Ravager? So it's true, he has bonded to the gem of a Ravager! And mythical? Only the Emperor of the Everentile Empire is supposed to have a gem of that rarity!'
Thoughts and questions raced through his head. This changed everything! Someone who had the powers of a Ravager could reclaim entire countries from the endless hordes of Beasts! They could destroy thousands of the creatures at once!
A human that could take on a Ravager alone!
"I see you have finally accepted the truth of it all. But now I need you to tell me where Tyvil is. He has the information I need, Lazarus."
Corax said with a smile on his young pale face, a glimmer of hope in his frozen heart that his friend could return to him.
'No… a human with that power could also help the Ravagers… he could still be corrupted! It could all be a trick! He can't be allowed to find Tyvil!'
As new thoughts replaced the old ones, his grip tightened on his spear, and he dismissed the status screen.
Corax sighed deeply, sadness leaking into the gesture.
"I really am sorry it has come to this, old friend."
Without knowing how or why, Lazarus felt a pinprick of pain pierce his throat without Corax ever moving.
His eyes widened as he remembered something important.
He never learned his friend's Mastery ability.
They had just recently ascended to the rank of Magos, and unlocked the ability to master a combat form, and he had been too focused on his own to learn that of his friends.
The only friend who had stood by him from the start.
A friend he had turned against for no other reason than fear at the power he held.
He felt his blood trickle down his throat. It felt warm and full of life.
His body tried to heal the wound, but his mana was already too low. With the last of it being spent on that attempt, his spear and armor faded into sparkles.
Ice began to spread from the wound, his skin turning cold and lifeless. He fell to his knees as his consciousness began to fade, his thoughts turning slow.
He could vaguely make out Corax standing above him, his rapier now in his hands again but stained red with blood.
As his body fell to the snowy ground, his old friend simply turned and walked away, the shadow of a wolf following not too far behind.
Lazarus Eyial died there, his soul leaving his body into the embrace of the gods.
With him, the Eyial family of Riverlane lost their heir, and the Ravager Bound Corax was set loose onto the world.
Without a soul, the body crumbled into yellow dust, nestling a single yellow stone that shone with the brilliance of a lightning bolt.
An elemental gem.
***
Asmodeus laughed, a strange sound that felt masculine and feminine at the same time. His multicolored eyes could not believe the sight of Corax having killed his old friend.
"Yes, this one will do fine. The other eleven are progressing equally as well, but they lack something important..."
The voice seemed to pause in thought.
"Ah, they lack Chaos! It seems a thirteenth Ravager Bound need be chosen, and this one shall be different than the others, but who shall it be?"
The voice disappeared for a moment, his strength passing over the world in a wave.
"This one shall do... Ojero Guestino..."