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All
Songs of War were lost.
Axis thought frantically,
twisting his ring, watching the patterns unfold. Give me a Song that
will destroy Gryphon, he begged, and for a long, terrible moment, he
thought the stars would remain obstinately still. But slowly,
grudgingly, they formed a pattern, and what they formed horrified Axis
almost more than the slaughter about him.
If he sang that it would
kill him. There is so much power involved...no one could wield that much
and live. But what choice did he have? He would die anyway, and better
that he die saving the remnants of his army, saving then for Azhure, or
even StarDrifter, than die uselessly bemoaning his lack of ability.
"I'm sorry," he
whispered to no one in particular, then he began to sing.
It was the bravest thing
he would ever do.
With the first note he
felt the uncontrollable power flood his body. He fought to direct it
while he still could, fought to give it meaning, but nevertheless, he
felt it rope and twist through his body, felt it burn and ruin. Felt
himself begin to die.
He had not thought that
death could be so impossibly painful.
Arne, standing guard
beside the StarMan, turned at the scream that issued from Axis' mouth,
and at the same time had to dodge the plummeting body of a twisted and
burned Gryphon. All about him Gryphon fell from the sky, but Arne had no
eyes for them.
What was happening to
Axis?
The StarMan had fallen to
the ground and was now convulsing. Wisps of smoke rose from his eyes,
and--Arne gagged--they were burning!
Arne dropped his sword
and fell to his knees. "Axis," he whispered.
The man's twitching had
stopped and he was almost dead. His face--what was left of it--twisted,
and from somewhere he found the strength for a last whisper.
"Azhure, I am so
sorry. So very sorry."
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