The Ripper's one voice reminiscent of the Weaver made an attempt to speak out to Zadok. Seemingly just now having noticed it, a hundred of the malicious voices began to assault it. For several moments the Ripper was no more than a writhing, red mass unleashing a jarring discord of howling voices. Throughout the duration of the mental battle the Ripper was utterly incomprehensible and seemed distracted.

The Carver seized this opportunity to attack. It let its mind reach out, feeling the grains of the wood that made us his elaborate sculpture, the Universe. The Ripper was nothing but a great impingement, a taint upon the beauty that millennium of ceaseless work had brought about. The Carver called upon the sculpture itself, for its power was its own and was the source of Carver's. Within a precise hand, the guardian meticulously guided a surge of energy down countless tiny grains in the sculpture, right into the Ripper.

When the energy of creation came into contact with the Ripper's destructive power, the result was explosive. The invisible stream of magic was like lightning upon colliding with the Ripper. The resulting thunder shook the Source all the way to its outermost layers, and stirred up even more potent storms on its surface. The lightning's wave of energy would soon reach Elysium in the form of a brief flash in the sky, by then too weakened to cause any harm. A good deal of its adversary's power had been canceled out of blasting away by the explosion, yet the Carver still remained weaker and smaller than the Ripper. 

The Carver somehow managed to keep Zadok safely within its cohesion. It quickly communicated, [b]"I dread to think what the Demon might do to avenge that. Strike out at it with more of your holy magic, before it has a chance to recover!"[/b]

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Ifrit's petulant outburst managed to exasperate Shaige to some extent, though the Shadow's unnervingly stark visage and the stare of its amethyst eyes would reveal nothing. Frustrated at having not yet solved the mystery of whether this monster's master remained, he proclaimed, [b]"When I stood amongst the trembling humans atop the walls, they said that your Infernal King is dead."[/b] Shaige remained there, gazing at Ifrit for a few moments in an attempt to elicit a response- an answer to the question that still perturbed him.

Then, the Shadow dissipated in the blink of an eye. Soon after he reappeared by Ifrit's side, regarding the beast's broken bones and roaring flames. As a Keeper Shaige possessed the power of creation; channeling his essence into Ifrit would allow for him to repair the beast easily enough, though that would not be without consequences. The magic of a new master could very well corrupt Ifrit, turning his raging flames into a deathly chill or perhaps allowing him to enter the spirit realm without aid. However, this was only Shaige's speculation; nothing could happen just as easily as something.

 If Ifrit had worried that the shadow had left, he might be comforted to hear Shaige's emotionless tone from behind, [b]"Healing you would be as simple as imbuing you with a piece of my essence. That method, however, would inevitably make you mine. I would bring you to my domain, and you would stay in my service. If you wish, however, I could leave you in peace here. Returning you to the land of the living would serve little purpose, as the humans would no doubt return you to here, permanently."[/b]

Shaige knew that he was not truly offering any choice; death and eternal banishment was an option few would take, even to spite a Keeper. But giving his essence was truly the only method of healing that Shaige possessed, and he did not lie when claiming that such magic would bind Ifrit into his service.
 

[b]Compendium Entries:[/b]

[i]The Anointed of Caldor:[/i] The so-called 'fire priests'. They are based in Paterdomus and rule from its fortress of a cathedral, in conjunction with the water priests. They worship Caldor, a god of conquest, life, and warmth. As fire is said to be Caldor's gift, and a means of worshiping and communing with him, they worship it by extension as well. The Anointed of Caldor do not possess any holy magic as the rest of Elysium would know it, in the sense that it is divine or angelic. Instead, they see their fire magic, supposedly a gift from Caldor, as being the holy magic. Any other forms of 'holy magic', with the sole exception of what the water priests use, are considered evil and forbidden forms of witchery.

While the water priests tend to only involve themselves with civil affairs, research, trade, and the defense of the realm, the Anointed of Caldor are expansionist and militant. Missionaries and embassies have been established in nearly every city or nation of importance that will allow it. The fire priests have fought numerous crusades to the south in the past, seeking to spread their beliefs by force when necessary, as well as to conquer new lands to further establish Paterdomus' power. Currently they seek to expand further inland, into the foothills and mountains to Paterdomus' west.

Though the Anointed of Rhuax are technically only the temple clergy and savants themselves, the fire mages and crusaders are sworn into Caldor's service and are practically part of the same organization. While Paterdomus' crusaders and fire mages usually come from orphans adopted by the temple or landed knights who join on their own volition, all the nobles of Paterdomus and its hinterlands are vassals of the temple itself, rather than a monarch. This effectively gives the fire priests indirect command over all the realm's standing armies, in addition to the power to levy citizens into militias if necessary. As such, if the fire priests deemed it necessary, they could raise one of the largest armies in Elysium to fight one of their crusades.

 

[i]The Disciples of Unda:[/i] The so-called 'water priests'. They rule Paterdomus in conjunction with the fire priests. They worship Unda, sister goddess of Caldor. They see her as the bringer of rains, good fortune, and protection. Though she was once largely ignored by Paterdomus, with Caldor being their main deity, her following gained considerable respect hundreds of years ago when they blessed the Suri river with her power, dooming any of Paterdomus' foes to drown if they attempted to cross. This action undoubtedly save the city from the ice witches and their savage hordes to the North, some of Paterdomus' oldest and most hated enemies.

The Disciples of Unda are not nearly as aggressive as the the Anointed of Caldor, and their influence is the sole reason that the fire priests do not unleash the nation's full might on every tiny tribe that opposes their rule and religion. Though they try to discourage wars and crusades, seeking wealth elsewhere, they nonetheless do contribute to most crusades by sending small groups of their sorcerers, mainly to serve as healers but occasionally as diplomats, for those few times that the fire priests seek to negotiate. Currently the water priests are terrified that the Suri river's enchantment has been weakening as of late, and are desperately trying to repair it in fear that if it fails, Paterdomus will be in grave danger once more. The fire priests, however, dismiss the old legends as myth and continue waging their crusades, doubtful that Paterdomus' ancient enemies still remain a threat.