Headed by a Snake

Yanaba brought her hand down as her song reached its deadly crescendo.

The ritual was successful, the attacks of her her tribesmen instilled with speed and lethality nigh-impossible for a mortal elf to comprehend... much less resist.

Yet the Ancient... he dropped his body low, reaching for the two swords on his back. With a casual swing, he deflected the first strike. A second swing severed the wrists of the second warrior.

He flipped backwards, twirling his swords about to deflect the third and fourth blades... and when he landed, life essence burst forth from bloody gashes in those men.

The first Masked One... he turned back, fear apparent in his eyes.

...Yanaba shook her head in disappointment. She'd taught them better than that.

They had failed her... and themselves.

The twin blades of the bronze-skinned foreigner pierced through the chest of that man.

The defeated warrior dropped to his knees, staring at the swords in disbelief. He reached his hand out towards her-- as if she could do something about it.

Yanaba narrowed her eyes, "(Warriors of the Ebon Mask tribe, hear me... this is...) the King from across the seas."

As much as she didn't want to believe it, the man prophesied to bring about the end of the gods-damned world was in their midst.

King smiled, still standing tall and proud, "So thou dost knoweth of my name..."

He flourished his blades, flinging the blood of her kin onto the sands, "Lay down thy weapons and I shall bestow upon thee my mercy."

That smile. That damned, arrogant smile-- she'd make him regret it.

The corner of Yanaba's mouth curved upward in a smirk, "You are mistaken, Ancient. I may know of you... but the current generation has long forgotten."

That King's smile fell... as she knew it would, "You... would dare?"

"(Brothers and sisters of the Ebon Mask Tribe!!)" Yanaba cried out, "This man must DIE!!"

The noble warriors of the Ebon Mask tribe attacked.

The resolve shown by the King from across the seas finally faltered, if only slightly.

The Ancient glowered at her in annoyance as responded to the attacks, kicking a man in the stomach and severing his right arm.

He ducked a sword slash aimed at his neck, then hacked his blade into the wielder's side, before savagely smashing his forehead against their face.

"S-stars and stones, m-m-my hand!"

"What-- what is this guy?!"

"He's a gods-damned monster!!"

"Form up! Use combination attacks!!"

Yanaba quietly ground her teeth. The current generation... they had no idea who that man was.

It was better that way.

She needed them to continue attacking, as if they believed they could win. If the Ancient were to sustain even a minor injury, then she might be able to defeat him.

Hastening the motion of her hands, Yanaba manipulated the wind and sand to empower her tribe's speed and agility.

The King from across the seas thrust his twin blades into another warrior, pinning them against an uneven rock formation. With a heavy hand, he grabbed onto their masked face and slammed the back of their head twice against the sandstone.

He blocked another strike with the meat of his forearm, leaving only a shallow cut. With a brutal kick, he swept the woman off her feet. Then, he drew his swords and delivered two quick and clean slices to her throat.

With a sweep of an uncaring hand, he deflected two blood-orange blasts of magic-- the first struck its caster and the second exploded in a blinding burst.

He emerged not a second later, cutting down yet another warrior. He danced around a second, dodging a white beam of ice mana while stabbing backwards-- piercing that man through his back.

"He's too fast!"

"He's a Blade Dancer!!"

Yanaba felt her eye twitch. Of course he was a Blade Dancer. They were ALL gods-damned Blade Dancers!

"Hey, you!" One of her braver warriors shouted, "From whence did you learn that style of Blade Dance? 'Tis nothing like the Highblade tribe... nor does it bear resemblance to that of the Moonwells."

"Hmph," King flourished his blades once more, crossing them in front of his chest in a salute, "It was I who gifted the Blade Dance to thy people, o'er ten thousand years ago."

"You LIE!" The brave man yelled.

The ability to speak did not make him intelligent. He charged the readied Ancient with not guile, nor cleverness, nor even a plan. With only false courage as his shield, he was immediately struck in the face by the hilt of a sword.

Staggering backward, he swung wildly in a panic. King stepped forward, narrowly yet confidently dodging the attacks.

"Oy oy..." A darker-skinned warrior stood up. The bloody slash across his chest was healing quickly with Yanaba's assistance... "Those movements... are they not from... *our* Blade Dance?"

The once-brave man was picked up by strong arms... and with an unforgiving drop, the Ancient broke the man's back upon his knee.

"That's impossible," Another elf growled. "We aren't gods-damned savages."

King shook his head as he returned to his feet, "⌈Winds, heed my call.⌋"

A swirling wind tornado of sand, glass, and debris swept aside a half-dozen of Yanaba's warriors. In the next instant, the Ancient's onslaught of blades dropped eight more.

Yanaba ceased her singing... She was too angry to continue.

She'd spent the better part of the last century training most of her tribe... and they were incapable of being even mild inconveniences to a single Gold-Rank Blademaster-- even *with* magical assistance.

"Chieftain... what do we do?"

"He's too strong!"

"Chieftain, please help us!"

"We can win if we all attack together!! Right? Right??!"

Yanaba grit her teeth, desperately trying to reign in her fury, "Ebon Masks... stand down..."

King rested his blades against his right shoulder, "Chieftain of the Ebon Mask Tribe, hast thou finally seen reason?"

"Hah!! Hahaha!!" Yanaba cackled... before glaring with solemn eyes.

"(F*ck. that,)" She cursed in the common tongue. "⌈Earth Swallows All.⌋"

She thrust her hand forward, grasping at the air... sending rocks and earth into the sky. An oppressive, thirty-fulm high wave of silt and sand washed over the so-called King.

"Yeah!!"

"The Chieftain did it!!"

"There's no way that guy could have survived that."

Yanaba ignored them. She sprinted forward, following the path of her spell. That wasn't enough. She doubted any spell she had would be enough to kill that man... but she still had to try.