The Heir of King Meldh, Copyright 2004 by S.J.E. Brainerd
Kriki's Gift, Copyright 2013 by S.J.E. Brainerd

Monday, October 28, 2013

Kriki's Gift, Chapter XXIX, Reading 17



Kalmar and Gegen rallied behind Flindra’s mental shield and steeled their thoughts against the madness.  They were soldiers and immediately counterattacked by filling their minds with all things positive to counter the poisoned Darkness.  Their efforts released her from having to stave off the full battering.  Just as she had done when facing the evil seed, Flindra drove her focus deep into her extended memories until she experienced the sense of oneness with all that was now and all that gone before her.  Due to the overlapping proximity of Kalmar and Gegen’s thoughts, she dragged them with her so they, too, became aware of the encompassing wholeness and interconnectivity of life.  Existence was an exquisitely complex tapestry with the color and grandeur of the weft threads fully interwoven and supported by the sturdy warp filaments, in a masterful pattern of the Spirit’s design.
Fortified by this experience, the champions struck back at the Valkea and through her to the Kwetwer beyond.  If the power of the Nameless Ones was experienced as a paralyzing coldness, the answering challenge of the Champions was expressed as blindingly bright light, which produced a heat capable of melting a cold and evil heart.  For several moments, the opposing forces cancelled each other into nullity, but then Flindra, Kalmar, and Gegen drew deeper into their personal energies and the crystals responded with a power increase of three to the power of three.
Within the confined sphere they had projected around her, the Valkea could do nothing to hold off the energy of the crystals.  She was in a furnace fueled by the focus of the Champions and felt her will weaken.  The Nameless Ones had to rely upon her strength to keep open the hole that allowed them to broadcast forth their evil energies, so they became unable to respond to the Champion’s assault when the Valkea could no longer maintain the connection.  She had become so dependent upon the power of the Nameless Ones to fuel her attacks that she had no reserves of energy of her own to fight with.  Pushed by the growing force surrounding her, she collapsed inward much like a hollow gourd will wither and shrink when exposed to heat and sunlight.
The Champions pressed inexorably onward with their assault and the Valkea weakened and faded.  It was difficult to say when she actually perished – she merely vanished beyond the limits of perception.
“She’s gone,” Flindra finally announced.  “Let’s drop the barrier.  Kalmar why don’t you assess the situation around us while Gegen and I see what’s happening inside the caverns?  We can enter the caverns now that the Valkea’s power has been broken.  Before we attack the nursery we should be aware of the full situation.”
“An excellent suggestion,” Kalmar agreed.  “It shouldn’t take me long to talk with my men.  Then we will end this horror.”

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