The Tile and the Labyrinth

Kyrias bent down and picked up the stone. It had been lying there, so alone, in need of someone – just as he was. He had sacrificed group contact for the past year and a half, wandering the world in search of Cobalite, as well as a possible link to his past. What he’d found was incredible, and now that his journey had come to an end, he wished only to tell every person he knew of his discovery. But where were they? He had made many friends over his travels. And now, nothing but the vast expanse of green. It was saddening to see something so empty, but intriguing to know that in the center was a Cobalite stone; a stone with supernatural properties that could increase one’s ability in magic. If they were trained to use it.

The expanse rose. Behind him was the Darydian Labyrinth, an unforgiving plot of forestland named after its first brave explorer, Osmim Daryan, which swallowed up whoever dared enter. It would be foolhardy to say he had made it through alone. With a guide and a proper map, he barely made it through alive. He was one of the few, but for good reason. Kyrias was a man who let nothing fall to chance, who, in the end, rationally thought out every situation and discovered ways of getting out safely. The Labyrinth, while a challenge, could never have defeated him. Even still, he knew he would be far safer with a guide and map.

There was a specific reason to go through the Labyrinth. This emptiness in front of him - the vast expanse of green – was his home. The Draydian Labyrinth created part of the border between Lanadra and Cowa. The Cowains were a friendly bunch, but Kyrias felt far more at home in his homeland, and now he had reached his destination. Lanadra was in front of him; unfortunately, there was not a single Lanarian in sight. Normally there was intense border patrol, because often would a person cross the Labyrinth and leave injured out the other side, if they were able to leave at all. Kyrias had received the proper perspective before crossing. There were hundreds, if not thousands of persons waiting to enter the Labyrinth. Those without maps had dared to bring blank pages to map it themselves, as if they felt they could. In the end, Kyrias felt he was the only one amongst them with the common sense to ensure he would cross over safely. And in the end, he found himself very alone on the other side, staring at this same vast expanse of green.

At the top of the low-sloped hill was the stone he’d found. It had the appearance of a blue Tiger’s Eye, and could possibly be mistaken for Obsidian if the collector was inexperienced identifying different types of stones. However, nobody but the trained would identify it as Cobalite. As soon as it felt the touch of Kyrias’s hand it dissolved, and the particles entered his skin as though he were made of strange putty. It was a strange feeling Kyrias had all but gotten used to.

“It’s everywhere,” a voice whispered.

Kyrias turned, expecting to see a face somewhere, but there was nothing. He turned around again and surveyed the area closely, then began to walk onward. However, as he walked, the expanse of green became more flat, more regular, and more unnatural. The ground was changing quite noticeably, and though the geologist within him wanted to explain the immediate cause, there was no time. His adventurer’s eye was leading him across this expanse, to where there were more people, his own kind. Possibly his family. After leaving them for so long, he felt they deserved a hello, a hug. They would want to see his face, grown up, after three years of absence. They would want to see what a success he had become, what he could now do with the power he had.

“You can’t leave so easily,” a voice whispered same as before.

Kyrias made a motion to look once again, but to no avail. He had turned to face his backside, and while he was not paying attention to his front, an infinitely large building had cropped up. When he turned to face front, he saw this towering structure, and gasped. If he had taken just a single step more, he would have stepped on tile flooring, as well as a letter wrapped in a starch white envelope clearly addressed to him.

“Well, pick it up!” the voice said.

Kyrias opened and read the letter:

“Dear Sir Kyrias,

Both I and my cohort have long been waiting to write you this letter. The time has come for us to ask you to return. If you would, please step on the tile before you. We assure you that everybody will welcome you with open arms.

See you in class.

~A Select Few, The Dome Teachers.”

He had strayed away from this place and kept away from it for a year and a half. What purpose was there now to return? Did they need him? He had mulled over returning several times in the past, but concluded every time that his journey was far more important than a few students. But now that The Dome, this towering, infinite and invincible structure, had approached him directly, he was unsure what to think. There was an aspect of his old job that he missed, the satisfaction of teaching a student, of seeing them grow and mature, of watching their skills enhance with the passing days, yet at the same time there was part of it that he loathed. There was always somebody who would disrespect him, or who would show him malice.

However, there would also be these types of people in the real world as well. He had learned that in his travels. The Dome had isolated him, but now that he was worldlier, perhaps his stay could be, perhaps, worth it.

He took his first step onto The Dome’s tile flooring. The tile continued on, unroofed, for several hundred yards before approaching the actual structure of The Dome. In that distance, Kyrias could almost make out the shadow of a figure. Assuming it was a person waiting for him, one of his friends, or one of his students, who he hadn’t seen in this long year and a half, he began to run towards the entrance. The shadow waited.

Zellio stood at the door, waiting for the approaching man. He’d never met him, but it made no difference. He’d heard magical whispers telling him that the Dome was coveting a certain retired teacher. If the whisperings had been accurate, the man in the distance was he. As such, he was exactly what Zellio needed to finally sever the bonds between himself and the Dome. He needed to anger it so that it would release him.

The man drew closer and closer until they could both see each other clearly. To Zellio’s surprise, the man caught sight of his face and waved to him with a broad smile on his face. “Disgusting,” Zellio said under his breath. Was he simply trying to be polite? The man seemed to recognize him more and more as he came nearer.

He came within ten feet of Zellio and his expression changed. He stopped and examined Zellio. He’d been acting as if he knew Zellio, but now he wasn’t so sure. There was silence as Zellio straightened his back. The wind blew through the area and turned the grass into an uneasy sea of green.

“You’re not Karaza.” The man’s voice was only half certain. He certainly looked like his former student, but something just made him seem wrong. Perhaps it was the chill in his eyes or the frightening look of his hands, which had just emerged from under his circular cape.

“I guess not,” Zellio said with a cheery laugh as he pushed his long dark hair out of his eyes. His hand crossed in front of his face. As it did so, his eyes changed. Where a second before there had been playful curiosity there was now hate. “An acquaintance of his, are you? That’ll make tearing the flesh from your bones more fun for me.”

“And who are you?”

“My name is Zellio Vere. But you have no real reason to remember it, Kyrias, former teacher of the Dome.” He smiled with a repulsive air of smugness. Kyrias was, however, unimpressed by his knowledge. “You’re life is my ticket out of this hell.”

Kyrias looked at him and then at the entrance to the Dome. The door was closed and he assumed Zellio had arranged for it to stay that way. Until he was actually inside the Dome, he could do nothing to fix that.

“Alright then,” Kyrias said finally. “If you insist.” Zellio’s mouth formed a sick grin. As Kyrias readied himself for battle, the man disappeared. The grass around the tiled path shot up in the air as the sudden gust of wind hit it.

Judging Zellio to be similar to Karaza, Kyrias had expected such a tactic. Before Zellio could react, he spun around with his staff in hand. The weapon connected with Zellio’s jaw and knocked his head to the side. Kyrias swung again and again until he was satisfied that his opponent was dizzied.

He hopped back towards the door to gain some distance. Zellio staggered, recovered, and then ran towards Kyrias. As he got closer, a stone pillar burst from the ground. Unprepared for such an obstacle, he crashed into it. He shook it off and crashed through the barrier with his fist. He continued toward Kyrias and broke through each new pillar.

He took a few steps toward Kyrias and expected some new form of retaliation.


OoC - God only knows how many mistakes I missed with my hasty proofreading. I hope there aren't too many. And now, I'm gonna get some rest before my long day of cat hunting. ^^

OoC: I'm very much looking forward to this fight, namely the ending, after reading Vere's character. I hope I'm not wrong by calling him by his last name - Kyrias doesn't know that Vere is the name of the ring yet. Oh man, I can't wait until later in the fight.


When nothing happened, Vere stepped closer, close enough for his grey eyes to be visible to Kyrias. They had a remarkable sheen that pierced through Vere’s long bangs that Kyrias had not noticed. In this proper light, he could peer into Vere’s soul, and see just how troubled the boy truly was. Although Kyrias could not truly peer into souls or read minds, he knew, and not just from the fangs and the vampire-esque clothing, that there was a deeper trouble concerning Vere.

“Why don’t you move as well?” Vere stated, rather bluntly.

“There is no point. If you plan to eradicate me, you will do so. What resistance should I provide to stop you from achieving your goal? I did not come here of my own will, and you are clearly not who I intended to see at the door. Therefore, if there is no use for me here, and if you think there is no use for you here, be done with me.”

“You’re bluffing! No man would cease resisting in a fight.”

“True; very true. Then I shall resist you. But before I do, I would have you know that killing me will not get you out of here. The Dome is everywhere. I believe it was your voice that told me so. If you manage to leave now, you will simply be pulled back in later…” and with that, Kyrias held his staff in front of him. “You know, I thought I could leave once. And then I remembered that this staff had a home. That home was here.”

But Vere had had enough talk – already he was attacking Kyrias from behind, a move which Kyrias spotted and blocked with his staff. Vere, taking advantage of his speed, continued to move around the completely still Kyrias, attacking with his jaw and fists. There was, however, no apparent retaliation from Kyrias until one of Vere’s attacks struck him on the shoulder and caused him to bleed slightly. To this Kyrias faced Vere, who was infinitely proud of himself for striking an infamous Dome teacher. His smirk, would it be allowed, would have breached the width of his face. His teeth, in perfectly alignment, showed themselves to Kyrias – they were all ready to attack again with full force.

Vere dived towards Kyrias, who quickly made a sweeping motion with his right hand. From this hand came a wall of fire that, before Vere had the chance to hit Kyrias, burned Vere’s eyes and face. However, it barely scathed him. What little damage there was has occurred to his eyes, which quickly glowed red for a short moment and then returned to normal appearance, unharmed by the blaze.

Kyrias was slightly stunned at this, and was, for a moment, unsure how to deal with such a character. Not many could resist his Flame Wall, but he needed to fully understand who he was fighting. Until he knew, he would never be able to defeat him. As a test, Kyrias held his staff in both hands and charged at Vere, who smiled even wider now, and struck his neck with the staff. Vere flinched – or pretended to – and then looked at Kyrias from above, still smiling.

“Nothing!” Vere said, and struck Kyrias on the face with his open palm. Kyrias fell backward, and then picked himself up quickly enough to avoid another assault from Vere. Now Vere was freely dismantling the structure of The Dome, gnawing at tiles and scraping up grass, which was still blowing, a sea of green, in the lush, cool breeze.

Each of the six hundred rows of bleach white tiles, and each of the ten bleach white tiles that made up one bleach white row and the width of the bleach white pathway, had inscribed in them one or several names. Vere had just consumed and destroyed “Leighn,” a proud healer and medic of The Dome’s past, as well as “Nessa,” a huntress and bowman. Seeing these names torn from their location and dismantled, Kyrias knew he had to move the battle out into the green ocean. The vast expanse he had intended to visit all along.

He led Vere there, out from tile to sea, resisting Vere’s attacks with his staff. The man seemed mentally unstable, and never ceased to attack. His hell, Kyrias thought, might have been his own instability. Perhaps it was up to Kyrias to discover what Vere’s Hell truly was. But there was no time for that immediately – Vere was taking a different approach now that he had tested Kyrias. Now underground, Kyrias could no longer see where Vere was.

“Cybele’s Blessing!” Kyrias cried, putting his hand to the Earth. The ground shook, and ripped apart. Vere came out, covered in grime and dirt, scrambling for safety from the torrent that surrounded him. But it followed him. The Earth was ripping apart below him, and moving above him. Finally, when enough mass had collected above Vere, a swift flick of Kyrias’s hand released the Blessing from its prison in the air, causing the rock and debris to collapse upon Vere. It was where he had wanted to be all along; in the ground, as a dead person would be.

The ground repaired itself, even as Vere crawled up from under the mass, patching and repairing itself until every uprooted clot of dirt was as it had been before Vere had burrowed underground. Vere stood upright without much effort, and clenched a fist. Kyrias could still see Vere’s eyes, whose pupils had shrunk, and whose irises had become a pale multicolor. The grey in his irises was separating into a dull rainbow of colors, but the most prevalent color was green – the same green that now surrounded them on all sides. The structure of The Dome was now a small element in the background of their competition.

Zellio dug into Kyrias’s skin with his eyes. He licked his lips and laughed. “A staff, huh? That’s cute. But real men fight with their hands.” Kyrias brought his staff up in a defensive stance as Zellio ran towards him. As he got closer, a swirling cylinder of water appeared as if out of nowhere. Trying his best to stay dry, Zellio stopped and spun around the cyclone.

Wood met bone as Zellio’s fist stopped inches from the face of his opponent. Kyrias took the opportunity to taunt the man and said, “Real men bathe every now and then.” He smiled as Zellio’s face twisted into a frown.

Pushing both Kyrias and his staff, Zellio took several steps forward. In retaliation, Kyrias pushed back. “I tire of this,” Zellio said. He jumped back many feet and raised one of his hands toward Kyrias. “You’re not going to be able to stop this with a simple wall,” he told him with an evil grin.

Kyrias already knew what was coming. As the air began to twist and the light began to bend, he was already thinking of a defense. The ball of psychic energy quickly formed in Zellio’s hand. Without warning, it shot forth with incredible speed. At the same moment, an incredible wind swept across the endless sea of grass.

There was a clash of mighty forces. Zellio’s hair was carried out of his eyes by the raging storm. He pushed harder on his psychic orb, but its progress continued to slow and eventually stopped. It was all he could do to push it away from himself as the gale carried it away.

The treacherous winds became a cooling breeze. Whereas Zellio’s was blank, Kyrias had a smile on his face. “At this point,” Zellio said with a sickening look of superiority, “your life serves no greater purpose than to annoy me. And the end of that purpose draws near.”

Kyrias remained still but was silently waiting for his foe to slip up. As Zellio finished talking, he noticed an instant of mental delay. Before Zellio knew that he was on the defensive, a stalagmite had shot up from the ground. He only barely managed to avoid the large rock. As it receded into the ground, a second emerged with equal speed.

Zellio quickly found that standing still was no longer an option.

Now that I'm back, I can start doing this battle again. I'll have a post ready soon!