Challenge: Saladin Akara

As he ran through the forest, the feeling of being able to regain respect and his pride filled him, battling hard with the thoughts of Miyumi. As he ran through the forest, in an opposite direction to Wing City, he shed a single tear, somewhat sad at leaving the beautiful mechanic behind, alone. But Saladin knew that she would be able to survive alone, as she had done for so many years.

Saladin knew not what he was running towards, but he knew that it would involve a great battle, something inside him told him that he would face Death. This didn't phase him, he had seen her many times, and had been almost lost in her embrace on more than one occasion.

All that filled his mind was regaining the respect he once had, and also his pride. His pace was fast and constant as he ran through the forest, avoiding the trees but keeping his course in a general direct line to where he felt himself being pulled. His mind was soon empty as he focused on avoiding large trees.

Suddenly, after maybe two hours running, Saladin felt a sudden shift, the world seemed to move under his feet, all going dark momentarily as the feeling of moving at inhuman speeds made his stomach protest. A lesser man may even have vomited.

As the darkness subsided, Saladin found himself looking at a great city, the architecture seemed somewhat archaic compared to all else he had seen in this world. Stone buildings, some with tiled roofs, some with thatch, were surrounded by a great stone wall of grey. Saladin felt the pull even stronger here.

Allowing his long cape to fall silently to the ground, he spread his might wings. The thick, leather like appendages flexed their full twenty feet span as they lifted the Warrior from the ground and towards the city.

As he neared the city, his wings spread as he floated gently in the air, Saladin heard several people screaming. Turning his deep blue orbits, he saw three people walking the streets of the city, many more were running from the three as they walked slowly.

Saladin wondered why the three men were causing such panic and fear in these people. Suddenly, one of the three men sped towards a small child, taking the child's head into his hand, the man seemed to force enrgy through the child, making the infant melt into a pile of reddish liquid on the cobbled floor.

Saladin felt this may be the oppurtunity he had sensed. He swooped down towards the man who had attacked the child, drawing his long, slightly curved sword as he did so, his grip loose on the golden hilt. As he came to land, he brought his sword down towards the man's neck.

As the warrior landed on the cobbled street, his feet firm on the ground, his sword drove through the neck of the man easily, removing the fiends head in the process. At this Saladin turned towards the other two, an expresion of surprise was hidden from his face well.

Expecting to see mere men, he was instead greeted by two green skinned creatures, their single eyes a shade of purple, large fangs protruding from lipless mouths. The creatures, only the size of average men, growled deeply and rushed towards Saladin.

Saladin simply smiled as the two rushed towards him, taking a step forward, he span, driving the edge of his blade through the neck of the creature at his right. Then, as he returned to face the remaining creatures back, Saladin extended his left arm, palm facing towards the obviously stupid creature. Suddenly a ball of fire appeared in front of Saladin's left hand, his aura glowing slightly as he called upon the elemental within him. Flexing his fingers outwards slightly, Saladin sent the ball of fire speeding towards the creature. The fire caused the creature to be turned to a living flame, quickly deteriorating to ash.

Saladin smiled somewhat, as the third fell to the floor a pile of ash, he despised those who attacked innocents, and children were always innocent in any kind of conflict. Saladin, however, knew that this wasn't the event that would gain him respect once more, it was too easy, and he still felt that pull, even though he was sure that he was in the location that was the source.

Suddenly, Saladin felt a strange presence, a presence entering his mind. Saladin somehow knew that this was the presence that held the key to his goal.

"Come out and show yourself, scum." Saladin's voice portrayed a small amount of agitation.

Saladin heard a slight chuckle inside his head as the world seemed once more to shift, all becoming dark again. The chuckled still filled his mind.

The chuckle seemed to fill his mind, nothing else existed for what seemed an eternity. Slowly the chuckle subsided, leaving a certain amount of peace in the mind of this great Warrior. The darkness still prevailed, making it seem he was in a world of pure dark. But, somehow, the three demons he had slain were around him, in a perfect triangle, surrounding.

Suddenly, he heard a voice, he knew this was the voice which had filled his head with that chuckle. The words bought anger seeping through him, but Saladin ignored it, his Warrior training coming into play.

Pushing that anger down, appeared two red orbs, glowing, in front of him, some distance away. This man obviously didn't know who Saladin was, the leader of the mighty Kelantan people, greatest Warrior and Sorcerer there ever was. He would simply ollow this pathetic man to speak.

The laugh made no anger, that emotion was already pushed down. But the overwhelming sense of thick air began to bore down upon his form, creating what could only be fear.

Saladin had faced fear before, he had fought with the agents of that beautiful woman, Death. He would not allow fear to overwhelm him.

In his mind, he created a falme, slightly bigger than that which dances atop a candle. Into that flame he pushed all thoughts and emotions, all anger, all fear. The flame grew bigger in his mind as he did this, but he then began to push the flame away, until it was just a single spot upon some distant horizon, then it would disappear. In the Void, Saladin was pure calm, his mind empty of all except himself, the ground upon which his booted feet rested and the strange, pathetic man before him.

In this state, senses were heightened, and distantly, as though not his own thoughts, he noted that nothing stirred in these woods. Still fear trickled it's way past the Void and into himself, but he ignored it.

His manner remained regal still, even more so in this state. His back was straight, head held high. Sapphiric orbs glowing brightly now, like a furnace was burning fiercly behind those piercing globes.

Aware of those demons turning to stone, they were of no import to him. The man in front of him, sword held in hand, blade trembling had mentioned a proposition.

Saladin noted that his hand was rested upon the hilt of his sword, strange, he didn't realise he had placed it back in the scabbard at his left hip. These things mattered not to Saladin, he had seen strange, he had fought strange.

"Continue." Baritones vibrated through chords and past lips, confident, calm and regal, as was his manner. Vocals seeming empty, calm enveloped him. He would find what this man wwas offering, and then make his own decision.

But how did this man know about the elementals inside him? Why was this man also wanting to kill those demons? These questions would remain unasked at this moment.

Strange how nothing was in the woods, strange that there was an immense feeling of being hunted. Strange.

This entire world was strange. Kelante was never as strange as this. But it mattered little now.