Riax patrolled past the Megalith again, its giant structure protruding into the sky above the Plane of Nil. His armour jangled with each step, his skull-adorned greataxe clanging rhythmically. It was nearly the end of his shift and his body was beginning to weaken with fatigue.

 

Riax sighed as he looked up into the cold, grey sky and gathered his mental strength for the remaining hour of duty. A trickling noise caught his ear a moment before he felt wetness in his boots. The area had flooded up to ankle depth, and not of trace of Taint muddied the intruding waters. An urgent thought rose up in his mind.

 

"Raiders on Nil!" he shouted, and his voice echoed out along the aethers to all the connecting planes. Reinforcements would still be minutes away.

 

As Riax looked around he spotted a planar gateway open, from which the offending water was flowing. He ran toward it, drawing his greataxe and lofting it high above his head. A woman emerged. Her flowing blue robes matched he tone of her skin, and the fins atop her head looked almost like a crown. She was seated upon the back of an enormous bronze turtle, a staff of coral in one hand and a white shield in the other. Lifting a hand, the merian woman brought a stinging rain down from above, the previously grey heavens suddenly turning solemnly cloudy.The Ur'Guard initiate charged the woman and sliced down with his axe. The woman lifted her shield and parried the blow deftly. Behind her emerged another figure, clad in angelically styled steel and bearing a pair of longswords.The new warrior ran at Riax, and the man found himself in pitched battle, parrying and dodging the Paladin's blows as he was slowly driven back.

 

In a bout of rageful energy Riax turned the tide against his opponent. He slammed his axe into the Paladin's leg and heard a loud crack come from it. He barged the man over backwards and brought his axe down repeatedly, eventually shearing the invader's head from his body. Riax drew a vial from his bandolier and quaffed the healing potion. Now covered in blood but ultimately healthy Riax turned his attention back to the battlefield.More enemies were pouring through the gateway. Monks with crystal-like staves were beating demonic imps from the sky. The voice of a bard reverberated around the area, his voice uplifting the Celestian battalion. A Celestine flew over the battleground on angelic wings, symbol in hand and spraying beams of light in all directions.

 

The waters slowly rose, and Riax found that his enchantments were failing him under the stress of the painful rain. Soon he was swamped in the water, being dragged down by the currents. Riax went under, swallowing a mouthful of water before clawing his way back to the surface. As his head broke through the corpse of a powerful archfiend slammed into the flood waters nearby, and Riax looked up to find the Celestine hovering above him, celestial wings flapping slowly.

 

The Celestine was chanting quietly to himself, and Riax noticed that his mental strength and clarity was beginning to wane.



"No no no," he said to himself, pulling a mana potion from his bandolier. Just as he raised the potion to his mouth he felt a hand pressing against his chest. The Celestine smiled sadly.Riax's entire being, his very identity was pulled from his body in that instant. His spirit floating freely, he felt warmth of sunlight on his skin. Rapturous joy overtook his thoughts as he drifted free of the mortal coil. Turning around to glance backwards. Beneath him Magnagoran reinforcements had arrived, but the Ur'Guard couldn't summon any worry for the battle. And his soul, now fully satisfied and peaceful, dispersed into the Light.