To Be Decided

[Tichondrius Illitharis]

Prologue

Thunder rolled, lightning ripping the black sky apart. The halls around him echoed as Carcius walked forth. He could sense his enemy, his opponent easily. The stench of his corruption tainted the very air around him. Too many of his brothers had fallen this day for him to fail now. Carcius tightened the grip on his halberd, the feel of the weapon in his hand comforting in the dark gloom of the temple. He paused, letting his gaze sweep the walls of the black temple. Symbols that hurt his eye were drawn in fresh blood, covering the walls in a pattern he did not want to discern. The walls pulsed under his gaze and Carcius knew that if he were to put his hand on the wall, he would feel it pulsing underneath, the very stone alive with the foul powers of sorcery.

He walked forward, the trail of corruption drawing him forth. The floor was covered with blood, and here and there bodies hung from spikes, horribly mutilated and desecrated. Most wore the robes of the priests of the temple; some wore the simple attire of villagemen. Carcius quickened his pace, knowing that time was running out. In the shadows of the side passageways, things stirred and hungered for his blood. But as he passed them, they cringed, shying away from him. His armour, wrought of cold iron and inlaid with numerous wards and litanies of purity served to amplify the wards tatooed into his own skin, and Carcius' mind was one of steel and faith. His very presence was an anathema to the lesser daemons, and they dared not approach him.

Before him, the passagway ended in a tall door, ebony wood inlaid with gold filligree. Without breaking his step, Carcius gestured with his halbered, forcing his will through the weapon. A blast of pure force shot forward, shattering the door into fragments that were blasted in. With another thought, Carcius set the fragments alight with holy fire, the wooden chips bursting into silver flame. Screams of pain and outrage erupted, far too sharp and bestial to have come from fully human throats. Bursting through the portal, Carcius took in the scene of madness in an instant.

The hall in which he found himself was large, almost like a cave. Before him was a large high backed throne, that sat on a pile of skulls. Surrounding the throne were a dozen armoured and faceless warriors. On the throne was a single figure, almost a giant compared to the others, wearing ornate and ancient armour. His skin was pale and veined, his teeth were needles and his eyes burned with hatred and anger. Numerous trophies adorned his armour, tied together by a rope made of human skin. On his back was a massive zweihander, which Carcius knew was covered with thousands of tiny mouths that constantly thirsted for blood. He was a champion of the Dark Powers of Chaos, and Carcius knew him well. "Agron," he hissed.

Agron laughed. "Foolish daemonhunter. I knew you would come. I can feel the death of your fellows outside, as they struggle to give you time to kill me. Fools. In the end you still serve the purposes of Khorne. The blood spilt, yours or that of my minions, all give glory to the Blood God."

Carcius took up a combat stance, readying his will. "No. I am a daemonhunter. You will die this day, Agron, and pay for all that you have done to the people around you."

Agron laughed again. "Always so hasty for the kill, you daemonhunters. Not so different from us, then."

Carcius hissed in anger. "We are not alike, traitor! I do not bow my head to Chaos! I serve to protect the innocents from the foul touch of your dark masters."

Agron sighed, reaching out to pluck a chalice standing nearby, and draining its contents in one gulp. Thick, red blood poured into his throat. "You bore me with your preaching, daemonhunter." Waving his hand at Carcius he said to his guards, "Kill him."

As one, the dozen guards charged forward, their serrated blades materializing from nothing. Carcius ducked the blow of the first to reach him, then stabbed the halberd up, punching clean through the armour and slashing free of the guard. The armour shivered, and collapsed in a dull clang; there was no one inside it. The suits were powered by spirits of bloodlust, hatred and malice. He blocked the strike of the second one, then swung a gaunleted fist at it. As he did so, Carcius focussed his will, and blue fire burst into life around his fist. The gaunlet punched through the helmet, the cursed steel melting under the sapphire fire. Sweeping his halberd down, he barely blocked the strike from the third, but before he could retaliate, the fourth swung the serrated blade at his head. Dropping down, Carcius slammed his free hand into the ground. A wave of force rippled out from his hand, battering the daemonic suits off their feets.

Rising quickly, Carcius stabbed one in the chest before it could recover, and flicked his hand at another. The ground around the suit rose up and smashed down on it, flattening it instantly. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his leg, and felt as though his left leg was on fire. Turning around, he saw that one of the suits had stabbed him from the ground, the serrated blade punching through the weak rear armour of his left leg. Howling in fury, he brought the halberd around, slashing off its arms and head in a single swipe. Whirling back to face his remaining foes, he caught a strike in his hand, and pulled the daemonic suit in, impaling it on his halberd. Kicking the now-lifeless armour off the weapon, he ducked a blow from yet another daemonic armour, and slapped an open hand against the suit. With an effort of will, the magical forces sustaining the daemon, allowing it to exisist in the armour, were severed, causing the armour to drop noisily to the floor. Blocking another of the daemonic weapons Carcius slashed off the legs of its wielder, then brought the halberd around again to take its head off. 'Eight down, four to go', Carcius thought, and turned to seek the four survivors, when instinct yelled at him to create a shield. Trusting his instinct, Carcius brought up a shield with the ease and speed of long practice.

Barely seconds after the shield formed, it flared a bright silver as a bolt of daemonic energy smashed against it. "You put up a good fight, daemonhunter," Agron said, letting his hand fall down to his side. "A pity you did not choose to embrace Chaos. You could've been a Chosen of Khorne too." He slid the daemonblade from its scabbard. "No matter. My blade has not tasted blood in some days. You will be a fitting meal for it." With that he charged.

Carcius barely had time to raise his halberd to block Agron's blow. He might have been fast, but the Chaos champion was far faster. Even as he did so, Carcius felt his mind come under attack, deadly blows hammering against his mental shield. Carcius could barely block each of Agron's mighty blows, and Agron easily dodged his counterstrikes. Slowly but surely, he felt himself being driven back, where the four surviving suits waited to stab him in the back, even as his mind's defenses wavered until Agron's mental assault. Throwing caution to the winds, he gathered his will and his strength. As Agron's next blow came, both physically and mentally, Carcius slammed the full force of his will back into Agron's mind, causing him to flinch, and drop his daemonblade. Carcius kicked the daemonblade aside and stabbed Agron in the chest.

The Chaos champion roared in fury and anger, as the holy weapon set his very flesh alight. Silver light flickered from the wound, and Carcius brought the halberd around to decapitate Agron. The champion's hand blurred and caught the halberd, while his other hand punched Carcius in the stomach, causing his armour to buckle and sending him flying. "You dare make me bleed?! Foolish daemonhunter, I am Agron the Bloodrinker! I have killed over a million men! I am immortal! You cannot win against me!"

Even as he climbed to his feet, Carcius smiled. "I have already won, Agron," Carcius said. "I have made you hurt. I have made you feel pain. With my blessed weapon I have rent a hole in your cursed form. Even if I should perish now, you will always hurt. And when you hurt, you will think of me. And of the blow I gave you. That I made you bleed. I cannot lose, Agron. I have already won."

The Chaos champion roared his fury and charged at him to tear him apart with his bare hands, ignoring his blade on the floor. Even as the remaining animated suits closed in on him, Carcius cocked his halberd back, gathered his will, and launched the halberd at the charging champion. Lashing out with his will, he infused the halberd with all his energy, all his power, even as the first of the serrated blades came at him. Before his vision died, Carcius saw the halberd, propelled by his strength, accelerated by his will, infused with his energy, impale Agron, and nail him to his throne.

 

[Tichondrius Illitharis]

Chapter 1

"With the death of Agron, the cultists' assault on the surviving Aurors faltered and the Aurors were able to enter the temple after Carcius. They found him dead in the throne room, with Agron pinned to his throne by Carcius' halberd, the halberd pinning him straight through his heart. His corpse and weapon were taken back to the Aurors' headquarters, and interrned in a crypt; a statue raised to honor his sacrifice and his halberd kept to commeorate Carcius' selflessness and skill." Professor Hughes waved his wand, and the book that had been following him around closed itself and landed gently on his table.

Turning back to his class, he continued, "All this, however, was only discovered recently, went the ruins of the Aurors' castle was recently discovered in the peaks of the Alps. The ruins have tentatively been dated to well past three thousand years, and are one of the few ruins from that lost time. Carcius' tale, however, has been known for much longer; the tale being passed down by word of mouth and print. The discovery of the ruins was sensational, but the discovery of a massive crypt under it even more so. The crypt," the professor paused and flicked his wand and an image materialised. The doorway was old and crumbling, but in its original condition it would have most obviously been impressive. Most of the slumbering class sat up at once; the images the professor occasionally showed were intresting to say the least. "This inscription here," the professor pointed at a line of corroded runes at the top of the doorway, "translate roughly to 'The Tomb of Heroes'."

Flicking his wand again, the image progressed, and it moved in, and a collective gasp came from the class. The interior of the tomb was massive, with multiple, neatly ordered alcoves, each one holding a single elaborate sarcophagus. Each sarcophagus had a single diamond carved into a symbol that none of the students, all six years, recognized, and the image paused. "This symbol is the then symbol of the Aurors then. Of course, they weren't called Aurors, but we'll get back to that later." The image continued, until it came to a second doorway, where it paused again. The doorway was more elaborate than the first, but it was wrought of a weird silvery material, that glittered in the dark, untouched by the ravages of time. "This material is unknown, but it seems to respond to those with magical blood." A hand entered the image and touched the door reverently, and jerked back immediately as the doorway rumbled, and opened. The image continued, the unseen recorder moving in. A massive cavern greeted their eyes, and a single massive bridge stretched out before them. Flanking the bridge in where pairs of statues, each one different, but all gazing down at the bridge. As the party of explorers walked down the bridge, the class watched in rapturous silence, as though they could feel the weight of the gazes of past heroes upon them through the image.

After what seemed like an eternity, the bridge ended, with yet another doorway wrought in the same silvery metal, with an inscription at the top. "The Vault of Eternity," Professor Hughes translated, even as the hand brushed the door again, and the party entered. Before them was a perfectly round chamber, with various doorways. An excited shout came from the image, which swung around. A young wizard entered the image, and was pointing at an inscription at the top of a shimmering door, mouthing something to the other explorers. "This inscription reads, 'Here lies Carcius, the Bane of Agron'," Professor Hughes translated. "Needless to say, this caused great excitement." Indeed, the explorers had wasted no time opening the door and were speeding down the hallway to the door at the end. As they opened the door reverently, the chamber beyond glittered brilliantly. The entire chamber was covered in the shimmering metal, and pillars were evenly spaced in a circle around the single sarcophagus in the middle. The sarcophagus was wrought of pure gold, and a single diamond carved in the ancient Auror symbol was laid in the very center of the sarcophagus' lid. There, the image paused. "That is, as you can probably conclude, is the sarcophagus of Carcius himself. His body lies within, perfectly preserved and wearing his armour. His halberd was kept outside, in a small chamber built into the pillar at the head of the sarcophagus." Professor Hughes flicked his wand again, and the image of the burial chamber was replaced by that of Carcius' weapon. Murmurs of appreciation and wonder passed around the room as the students saw the legendary weapon.

The weapon resembled a spear with a weighted blade, and its shaft was wrought of black and gold. Easily two metres in length, with the blade taking up about a fifth of the length, the halberd had runes down its black sides. Runes were also carved into the blade, which seemed to glimmer with a soft blue light. "The unique thing about the halberd is that, after examination by numerous experts from various countires, the weapon is capable of casting magic. Though the tales of Carcius make reference of Carcius casting without use of a wand, it is possible that Carcius used his halberd instead. As to how the halberd does that, is still unknown." Hughes glanced at his watch; seeing he had only fifteen minutes left, he nodded to himself.

"Alright. Any questions?" Hughes asked. Several hands shot up. "Yes, Ms Angelos."

A short, long haird girl stood up, adjusting her glasses as she did. "What were the ancient Aurors called?"

Hughes nodded. "Right. The inscriptions and translations are abit hazy, but the runes used translate roughly to 'demonhunters'. Ancient muggles tended to view Dark Wizards as demons, and often called for demonhunters to deal with them; its concievable that the ancient Aurors were the demonhunters in question." His eyes scanned the room, and picked out another hand. "Travius."

The broad shouldered Travius stood up. "This here Carcius; he was damn powerful, wasn't he? Did he have any descendants? I mean maybe Harry Potter was one ... ?"

Hughes chuckled. "That theory isn't very far off the mark; Harry Potter did defeat the greatest danger of our time. Unfortunately, no records exsist of Carcius' family. It is therefore usually regarded that Carcius' bloodline ended with him. Next ... Lowell."

Lowell stood up, brushing her black hair out of her face. "I know Aurors are powerful, but you said the Aurors held off thousands of the cultists? That's impossible. I mean, if they even dropped their wands, they'd be dead instantly, wouldn't they? And you said there were only about four hundred?"

Professor Hughes laughed. "You're thinking in present terms, Ms Lowell. Ancient wizards are always depicted as being much more powerful than present wizards. Also, the evidence from the castle indicates that ancient Aurors spent as much time perfecting their martial prowess as they did their magical. All of them would have been accomplished swordsmen as well as wizards. They would therefore be able to last far longer than modern wizards. Furthermore, many ancient spells are also more powerful. While it might take present wizards an inordinate amount of power to make them work, its possible that ancient wizards were much more proficient, and since they were more powerful to began with, it would be easy for them to cast such spells. Does that satisfy you, Ms Lowell?"

The girl nodded, then sat down. "Okay. Those with more questions can find me in my office. Your homework, ladies and gentlemen, is to write me an essay about the differences between present day wizards and ancient day wizards. For extra marks, observe for me," Hughes reached under the table and hauled a long thin roll of ebony silk, tied up with gold string. He untied the string and unrolled the silk, revealing an elaborate, two metre long halberd. "Observer for me," he said over the rising chatter of the shocked class. "And describe various aspects and attributes of Carcius' halberd." He smiled at the shocked class.

"Did you steal that, sir?" Travius called out.

"No, no. The halberd is being sent around the magical communities. I borrowed it for a week, for my NEWT students to gain first hand experience. For some of you, it'll be the first time and last time you'll come in contact with such relics." Hughes smiled. "The weapon will be in my office as well, inside a sealed chamber. Observe as long as you want, however," his smile disappeared. "Do not, under any circumstances, open the chamber. If you do you will fail your assignment and your module instantly. Am I clear?"

The class nodded nervously, unsure how seriously to take his warning.

"Good. Class dismissed."

******

"How serious do you think he was," Travius asked. Lowell shrugged. "It's the first time he's ever given that kind of warning, so I think he was pretty damn serious."

"That's not very lady like language," Angelos said mildly as they walked down the stairway.

Lowell ignored her and continued, "So you guys gonna go for the extra credit?"

"Of course," Travius said instantly."It seems like free credit to me. I don't know how much you can describe if you can't handle it personally so..." Angelos nodded in agreement, but said nothing. "Ah," she said suddenly, and pointed in front of them.

A boy was leaning against the wall, his fiery red hair making him stand out. "You guys sure took your time," he said. He patted Angelos on her head. "Hey there, chibi." Angelos sighed patiently. "Stop calling me that," she said in the tone that showed she'd been saying it time and time again. "Takahashi. Waited long?" Travius asked, as Lowell waved greetings. "Nope. Professor Aria just finished. She was lecturing us on some ancient Auror called ... what was it ..."

"Carcius," Angelos answered. "We were studying him too. Do you have an assignment concerning his spear?" Takahashi nodded. "Yeah. It's in Professor Hughes office, isn't it?" Travius nodded wordlessly. "Wanna go later to see it?" Takahashi asked. Before any of the others could reply, a loud grumbling interuppted their conversation. "After we eat, then," Lowell said, grinning at Travius, who resolutely ignored Lowell and began walking towards the Great Hall. She laughed and chased after him. "Are you angry, Trav? Aww c'mon, don't get angry..." Takahashi laughed. "They get along well, don't they." Angelos nodded, smiling. "Let's go then," he said, extending his hand. Angelos blushed, took his hand, and the two of them walked after Travius and Lowell.

 

[Tichondrius Illitharis]

Chapter 2

The darkness served as a cover for his deeds. He flicked his hand lazily, scattering the few red drops staining his wrist, then surveyed the scene. They'd come at him out of nowhere, attacking with sword and shield. "How barbaric," he muttered under his breath. He toed one of his former assailants, pushing his face up until he saw the tell-tale tatoo of a burning eye flanked by snakes on the corpse's forehead. Shaking his head, the man lit a cigarette and he continued on his way.

************​

Angelos dozed drowsily in the common room, leaning back against Takahashi's warmth. The room, late as it was, was deviod of anybody other than the two of them. Of late, however, Angelos had been unable to sleep well, dreaming dreams that woke her drenched in sweat and drowning in fear, though she could never recall the dreams. The first time she had told Takahashi, he had suggested that maybe she should have taken it up with the Professor Gabriella Belisarius, the Divination professor. She never liked Professor Belisarius, even though she was a first-class Seer, and few had not seen her somewhat amusing ability to avoid people and accidents even when she was deep in one of her ever-present books. She felt Takahashi shift behind her, and she turned to look up at him. "Sorry. Did I wake you?" he asked.

"No. I wasn't really sleeping anyway. More like ... drowsing," she answered, rubbing her eyes. As she did so, the tinkle of crystal from her wrist rippled through the air. The crystal bracelet was hers, though she could never remember where and when she'd gotten it. It'd been with her for as long as she could remember, and the matron had told her it was on her wrist when she arrived at the orphanage.

"You should try to sleep. I know you haven't been sleeping well," he said, concern in his eyes.

"Can't sleep, remember?"

"Maybe you should try going to the nurse for sleeping pills or something."

"I don't want to. We can't afford to miss any lessons, what with our NEWTs being this year and all."

Takahashi sighed, and brushed back stray strains of hair from her face, bringing a few bubbles of happiness to her at his touch. "You're pushing yourself too much," he said, resignation in his voice.

"No I'm not. Anyway, you have to admit our current assignment is interesting," she said, shifting around slighty.

"Yeah, it is. The halberd of an ancient hero, eh. Can't wait," Takahashi said in sheer, bubbling boredom.

Angelos giggled at his feigned boredom. "You don't fool me. I know you can't wait to see it."

"Cheh. A rusty old tool like that? You must be mistaking me for someone," he answered, resolutely not looking at her face.

She giggled again. "Liar," she said, then attacked him, tickling his sides. He responded in kind, and the two of them engaged in a brief but furious struggle to cause the other to burst out laughing, ending with him pinning her down on the long couch, holding her hands at her side to prevent a reprisal. "Do you give up," he asked, grinning at her.

"Never," she said, pouting, a powerful weapon in getting her way. But he had a weapon too. Leaning forward, he kissed her gently on the lips. "How 'bout now," he whispered after breaking the kiss.

"Cheater," she said without heat.

"Let's go see the halberd tomorrow, with Trav and Low," he said.

She nodded wordlessly, then pushed gently at his chest. He complied, getting up and helping her up from the couch. "Sleep well, princess," he whispered to her as he hugged her good night. "I will," she answered, though she doubted she would.

**********​

They watched the castle below from the cliff. Bringing the binoculars down from his eyes, Ragnar scratched his neck idly, tossing thoughts over in his mind. Ragnar was tall, easily seven feet, and built like a mountain. All that was courtesy of his half-giant blood. Despite his bulk, however, he moved gracefully and soundlessly. All that, was courtesy of his strict training. At his hip sat his weapon, a elaborate longsword that exuded a permanent aura of cold.

He turned to look a question at one of his companions. The bronze-skinned Maxwell nodded. "The halberd's down there alright. I can sense it," he said, even as he polished his mirrorblades. Maxwell was six feet and slim, but no one Ragnar knew could ply the paired mirrorblades more artfully than Maxwell. The mirrorblades were both the same length of his frostblade, but were made of a reflective metal, and were the source of the weapons' name.

The last of his companions turned to face them. "Then let's go get it." Unlike Ragnar or Maxwell, Lyrus was short, but packed with the flat hard muscle of an athelete. He held no weapons; Lyrus needed none, and was the most dangerous of the three. All three wore loose travelling cloaks, emblazoned with a burning eye flanked by snakes.

Maxwell shook his head. "Not so fast. I can sense the halberd, but that's about it. The castle is shielded from me otherwise; I can't sense any lifeforms, or wards."

Ragnar grunted. "I guess that answers the question about the castle's wards." He pulled three apples from his pack and tossed two to his companions.

Lyrus caught his deftly and took a bite. "The wards were built into the stones themselves, remember?" He stood up and surveyed the castle before them. "The Dragon Castle. Fabled keep of the Daemonhunters. Who would've thought it'd be Hogwarts? All this time it was before our eyes, and we never realised it."

"Regardless, Lyrus. Our orders still stand. Retrieve the halberd with minimum casualties to the wizards. They're mostly children, anyway," Ragnar said, finishing his apple and tossing the core away.

"What if someone gets in our way?" Maxwell asked.

Lyrus answered befored Ragnar. "We remove them. Permanetly."