....Ma'chil's pause , brought about by the sudden, unexpected and abrupt announcement of the disembodied voice, almost cost him an a
The avian creatures, whose souls and bodies had been bent to listen to Ma'chil's adversary's will, took flight, only to descend upon him with pure , unbridled fury. One moment he was being stared at by almost a million avian eyes dripping with liquid fury, and the next moment a blizzard of feathers, claws and beaks descended upon him.
The first attack that came to him, and that struck true came from a bird that boasted of a massive ash colored body that hosted a seven feet long wingspan, a wickedly curved beak that looked well adapted to tearing flesh, and four one foot long curved on each leg. Then, with a speed that was impossible for his eyes to follow or for him to dodge, the bird tore off his right arm as it flew past him.
The force from the impact sent him sailing through the air. That, coincidentally put more distance between him and the claws of another bird that was mere moments away from claiming his head.
Rather than being stunned by the loss of an arm and his loss of the first exchange,, Ma'chil, as his rich battle experience had taught him, instantly reacted before the pain of losing a limb could cloud his senses, he activated one of his derived tskills , <
The sheer force with which the avian creature violently landed after having lost it's wing , proved itself enough to kill it. He himself crashed precariously close to the edge of the totally flat table land.
He never had the time to appreciate his handiwork as sixty chaotically flying birds of varying species were closing in on him.
They never got the chance though, as Ma'chil, spurred on by his battle honed mind activated two of his Derived skills,<< Warden of the drowned >> and << caller of the hand of dread>> in quick succession. The first skill , << Warden of the drowned>> caused the already lightless environment , made dark by the pitch black, seemingly light devouring sky, to obtain an even more darker hue as the phantom image of an eiree, seemingly hunted swamp was superimposed on reality. Then, courtesy of his second skill, << Caller of the hand of Dread>>, pitch black obsidian, tentacle-like appendages shot out from the image of the swamp's waters and latched unto all sixty sets of beaks, feathers and talons that were closing in on him before disappearing with them into the phantom image of the swamp's waters from which they had come from.
That did not put even the tiniest dent on the numbers of his avian attackers, not that he expected it to. It was an opening exchange after all.