Legend of the Egis IC

[Armaclite]

Chapter 1: Agni, God of the Inferno

A distant cool, but gentle breeze blew as skies settled over the horizon of where a light black haired girl stood with her sword held in her hand. The girl has beautiful eyes, but a gloomy expression embraced her face. You could see the sadness expressed by her eyes though she showed no signs of it. Another girl with red hair dressed in a black vest that covered her white blouse she wore underneath with white pants that extended all the way to her white boots that overlayed her pant legs. The girl was watching from a distance on a hill the mysterious girl by some kind of strange object that seemed to be responding to the sword she held in her hand.

Glimpsing at the silver shine of the blade, she realized she had never seen a sword like that one before. When it reacted to the object she felt a shockwave through her body then an uneasiness embrace her heart for a moment. Though the feeling only lasted for a moment, it almost felt like her body was going to be crushed by the power of the weapon the mysterious girl dressed in a black dress held. She couldn't help, but wonder who this girl was.

Originally she didn't come out to spy on the girl, but rather take a stroll through the forest. It was during a walk through the vast forest of greenery that she came across this girl. The girl stared up toward the hill momentarily as the red haired girl pulled her head away from the cliff hoping she wasn't seen by the girl. When the red haired girl pulled herself away from the cliff, rock fragments fell toward the ground where the other girl was a bit suspicious. She shook her head and said something quietly to herself that no one else could here before she treaded away through the thick grassy area that she was standing in. Remembering her face, the girl below her didn't look entirely friendly and looked to be quite a formidable foe and the last thing the red haired girl wanted to do was get into a battle with her. When she was gone Melianth asked herself in her mind. Where is she going and what was that strange weapon she held in her hand? Just who was this mysterious girl? She contemplated much about it, but having no answers she turned her attention away from the girl not trying to repeat kicking dirt up again and causing it to slide down the cliff to give herself away again.

When she thought about the girl and what she wore, she remembered on the girl's wrist was a strange bracelet that held several colored like gems in it. She knew it had to be an Egir or an object that held an Egis in it, but she had never seen one that contained so many Egis in it. The one on the red haired girl's glove held only one large jewel, but this girl had several jewels on hers.

There was an unsteady illumination in the head that started to turn crimson colored. The Esir in the area must have been surely been becoming unstable since her Egis on her Egir was reacting abnormally. The girl didn't know very much about the Esir, but she knew when it turned a pale like red color and was starting to resonate violently that it was going to cause a problem.

While examining the area affected by contaminated Esir that was extracted from either Radatia or Ragna, she was able to determine that most likely there was an Egis in the area that had not been discovered yet. The way the animals were reacting to it, the Egis had to be very powerful.

The Esir in the area was slightly becoming misty making it hard to see and breathe. She had to do something about the Egis in the area before it absorbed too much Esir where it would cause an instability in the flow of Radatia and Ragna. If this happened, she surely knew it would cause an explosion that would devastate not only the forest, but the wildlife inside the forest as well. There had to be some way to detect the Egis quickly since time was running out. She knew there wasn't much time since her Egis was starting to respond abnormally toward the Esir in the air.

Right when she was about to move, she saw a group of soldiers approach her with swords drawn from both sides, "Princess Melianth, surrender yourself at once!" One of the soldiers demanded who pointed his sword at the girl.

Melianth turned her attention away from the unstable Esir in the region for a moment and concentrated her attention toward the soldiers. She knew if she were to be captured there that she wouldn't be able to save the area from the catastrophe that was about to occur. Since the forest was right near a village, she had to do something or innocent people were going to be killed. She couldn't allow another Nerjannu to happen.

The soldier stepped forward and announced himself while keeping his blade pointing at Melianth, "Did you not hear me before? I told you to surrender and give yourself up. You're under arrest for the destruction of the Verdana Empire. Seize her men!"

"I can't be captured here... but there are so many of them and the only way to escape is the cliff... meaning I'd have to jump down to where that girl was earlier, but that's a long jump." Melianth thought to herself as she tried to come up with some plan to avoid the soldiers who were pursuing her. Judging by their blue and white armor she knew they were from Feluzia and that it was probably her mother who ordered them to capture her. Otherwise they were from the Pangaea Order under direct orders from Necronus to capture her. Either way, she didn't want to find out. She was surrounded and the only means of escape was down and it wasn't like anyone was going to come and rescue her since there was no one around where she sighed to herself. "Damn, there's no one to assist me and I'm trapped, but I can't allow myself to be arrested here or a lot of people are going to die. What to do?" She questioned as she turned her eyes briefly toward the cliff thinking about jumping. She gritted her teeth since she was having a difficult time coming up with a decision, but being captured wasn't one of them.

Taking them all on at once was out of the question and using her Egis in an area that contained unstable contaminated Esir was a recipe for disaster. There wasn't really anything she could do since even taking them on with her regular sword was suicide and since using her Etherium Weapon was out of the question there were no other alternatives to what she could do.

[Strayed Risaia]

Every step Aedan took deeper into the forest intensified the sense of wrongness in the air. He'd felt it the moment he entered the nearby village: a wave of tainted Esir washing over the region. It came from the forest, so he took it upon himself to investigate and determine the severity of the problem and whether or not the village needed to evacuate. At first he expected to find toxifying air, mutated animals, or even a demon-spewing rift forming because of carelessly used Egis.

The reality was far worse. The power coursing through the air and the rate of corruption could only have been caused by a naturally occurring Egis. Unless he could find and stop it, an explosion that would obliterate all life in the region was inevitable. There wouldn't be time to evacuate the village.

Aedan paused when he heard the distant clink of metal on metal and ducked behind a large tree as it drew closer. A large squad of soldiers clad in blue and white armor rushed by after a few moments. He watched them with a puzzled frown.

Did they have something to do with the Egis? The soldiers were obviously in a hurry and they were heading in the direction he suspected it was in.

Aedan rushed after them with as much quickness as he could muster while remaining undetected. It wasn't difficult, he was reasonably skilled in the fine art of remaining undetected and the soldiers were too concerned with reaching their destination to scrutinize every tree in the forest.

To Aedan's dismay, the soldiers lead him to a cliff. A girl with fiery red hair about his age stood near its edge and they approached her with their swords drawn.

"Princess Melianth, surrender yourself at once!"

A princess...? Aedan paused for an instant. His first instinct was to side with the girl, 'Melianth', but the logical part of his brain quickly override that decision. He didn't know anything about her, it could have been a perfectly legitimate arrest. Besides that, finding the Egis was more important and all he would accomplish by attacking the soldiers was death or capture as long as the corrupted Esier prevented him from summoning his Etherium blade.

The lead soldier barked an accusation and again ordered Melianth to surrender herself.

Aedan remained in his hiding place behind a tree, his fist clenched. He could spare half a minute to see if the soldiers and the girl they wanted to capture had anything to do with the Egis or not. After that...

[Armaclite]

Melianth didn't know what to do since she was cornered on both sides where the soldiers formed a pincer formation around her. If she jumped off the cliff she could hurt herself if she wasn't careful. A sprained ankle or worse would just mean they would eventually go looking for her again and capture her anyway. She didn't know what the soldiers meant when they insisted she was responsible for the destruction of the Verdana Empire. She did know that the empire itself fell around seven years ago after The Great Five War had come to an end.

From the distances a girl stood above her and the soldiers along a mountain like path staring downward. The girl saw that the soldiers were after some red haired girl dressed in fancy clothing. Her clothing wasn't what any normal person would wear. Besides, who would wear nice clothes like hers if they weren't renown? When she heard the word princess she whispered to herself while her pet blackbird rested on her shoulder, "Ezoth, do you think that was the girl a man was talking about in the village?" She paused for a second as she brushed her hand across the wings of her bird. They were smooth and had a gentle touch to them. "She certainly is dressed like a princess, but I don't know too many ladylike girls that wear pants. He mentioned the Verdana Empire too... could he be referring to Empress Finathia's daughter that went missing after its destruction?"

She then shook her head when she thought about the fact it wasn't any of her business. Even if it wasn't any of her business, those soldiers could not be allowed to stay in the area. She knew they weren't entirely there just to capture some girl who was dressed like a noble. They had to be there under the orders of one of the aggressive nations like the Kingdom of Rudoria, the Ezhrein Empire, the Cimmerian Empire, the Feluzia Empire or perhaps even the Pangaea Order. Judging by their blue phoenix insignia on their shields with a criss-cross they were most likely sent by the Pangaea Order. She would know since she cooperated with the Pangaea Order for a time.

"Either way, I can't let these soldiers and that girl stay in this..." She paused for a moment and felt another person in the area though the essence was faint her sword still could pick its scent up."Another person too? Just hope they stay out of my way. I can't let those Egis be used for tools of war or let the beings on this planet use them."

An echoed ripple could be felt at her fingertips when a voice spoke inside her sword. It was her Ethera companion Aria who spoke to her. "A powerful guardian watches over the Egis. What will you do, Master Rana?"

"What else? Crush it with my magic." She smiled for a moment as she stared off into the distance. An arrogant smirk engraved itself on her face as she peered into the sky above. "I am after all the best magic user on Gaea."

"Just don't overdo it" The voice spoke gently toward Ranathia as it finally went silent. Ranathia turned her attenton back toward the soldiers and signaled her bird to fly off her shoulder and go look for the Egis while she removed the soldiers from the area. "Now go, Ezoth! Find the Egis before they do!" She yelled at it as she formed a glyph below her feet and vanished in a moment reappearing in front of the soldier who was about to try to grab Melianth only to have her bar his path as she was reconstructed by her teleportation magic.

Melianth thought to herself in shock. "Teleportation magic? Who is this girl?"

The soldier stared at the girl in anger as he stopped promptly kicking up dust on the ground. He was annoyed that this girl even though she didn't look that tough, why she would dare get in his way where he growled at her. "Get out our way, little girl. You don't want us to rough you up, do you?"

"Rough who up?" She smirked deviously toward the men as she knew they were no match for her as she rose her sword into the air and caused it to resonate with the Esir in the area calming it. She then held her Egis up in the air saying toward the soldier. "If I were you, I'd leave now. This place is no place for you. It's my problem and I'll deal with it myself. Take the girl if you want her, but leave this area now!"

"Hey now!" Melianth exclaimed since she was shocked frowning toward the girl in anger. She couldn't imagine who would dare say such a thing when someone was in trouble. That people should help those in need and her annoyance was quite tickled by her words.

The soldier laughed at her demand noticing the weapon the girl held. His eyes then began to glisten when he realized this was the same exact girl they were having a hell of a time tracing. It wasn't necessarily the girl herself they were after, but rather the weapon she carried that could manipulate and control Esir. If he apprehended this troublesome girl he knew he would be rewarded greatly. That even Melianth wasn't worth as much as this girl's capture. "You're that black haired brat who keeps eluding us, but not this time! This time we have you for sure!"

"Forget the princess and take her instead! We'll just say that the princess met with an unfortunate accident." The soldier grinned at his other collegues. He was ordered to take Princess Melianth alive by his superiors since it was even an order from Necronus, himself, but this was a rare opportunity that presented itself and he didn't want the leadership of the Pangaea Order to shift. He didn't want it to become a nation, because everything he worked hard to keep he might lose. He decided instead that he would incapacitate the princess then have his men throw her off the cliff to her doom.

Feeling the foreboding feeling she felt earlier on her Egis disappear, she finally realized that it was safe to use her Egis. It didn't act abnormally anymore to the Esir in the air. It was then she realized that weapon the girl held was probably an Egis Weapon which were used to calm unstable Esir.

When she turned her attention back toward Ranathia she was awed when she saw the soldier that tried to go through Ranathia was lying on the ground burnt like a piece of toast. Ranthia's hand was still illuminated by red though it was a pale red by now. While she wasn't paying attention she must have blasted the soldier with a fire based magic, but she didn't feel any essence from the girl's Egis. She used a spell without an Egis? In any case, this girl wasn't any normal girl and she wasn't about to let Ranathia steal all the fun.

Another one of the soldiers yelled toward the horde ordering them to attack the girls. The soldiers came at the two one after another with their swords drawn attacking the girls without any restraint.

[Strayed Risaia]

It took less than thirty seconds for the scene to change completely. One moment the soldiers were advancing, ready to seize the princess and the next a glowing glyph appeared on the earth between them. A raven-haired girl in a similarly colored dress that was even more unsuited for the forest than Melianth's upper-class clothing emerged from it. But then, she wasn't human. She couldn't have been if she was able to use magic without triggering an explosion from the naturally formed Egis.

The significance of the girl's ability to use magic seemed lost on the soldiers, or at least the squad's leader.

"Get out our way, little girl. You don't want us to rough you up, do you?"

The raven-haired girl responded to his threat by raising her ornate blade into the air. Impossibly, the Esir's corruption immediately began to fade.

"If I were you, I'd leave now. This place is no place for you. It's my problem and I'll deal with it myself. Take the girl if you want her, but leave this area now!"

The lead soldier ignored her and rushed forward. The girl raised her hand, which grew bright red with power. Fire exploded from her palm, and the soldier was reduced to a blackened husk before he could even finish his first swing.

His comrades immediately sprang into action, rushing both of the girls with their blades drawn.

Aedan cursed under his breath and activated the synthetic Egis strapped to his wrist. His most potent weapon, the Etherium falchion known as The Conquerer appeared in his waiting grip.

He sprang forward, moving as quickly and silently as he could manage while the soldiers were distracted by the girls in front of them. Aedan lunged with his falchion, thrusting it forward to impale the closest of the soldiers through his back.

[Armaclite]

Ranathia smirked as the soldiers charged her while she saw the other red haired girl was holding her own and then noticed the figure she had detected earlier had also joined in. She wasn't too concerned about the person, but it did strike her curiosity why they were there. Like the other girl he was taking on the group of soldiers too and it was time for her to do her thing too. Gripping her sword tight and turning it so it pointed in a ninety degree angle she pulled it back then started to thrust it forward violently shooting out white arrows of light that illuminated themselves around the sword. She was thrusting the sword so quickly it was hard to tell if she was moving at all.

Melianth overheard her yell the words Raining Lightspear. She then realized the girl had to be extremely skilled if she trained in the Zurbanaltu style. The way she used the sword and the fencing style she used combined with sword dancing, it was definitely the Zurbanaltu style that didn't use a shield.

Melianth diverted her attention back toward the soldiers as she palmed her hand out. Threads of lightning formed themselves around the glyph she created where upon she exclaimed. "Piercing Lightning." She let loose a sideways lightning bolt that ripped across the area striking one soldier down after the other. Since they were all grouped together the ones who were hit by the bolt itself were easily taken out. The ones around them were hit by the aftershock of the attack. She couldn't quite remember where she learned that move, but it was one of the few magicks she learned. When she lost focus for a moment a soldier tried to impale her with their sword only to have her created a powerful yellow transparent barrier around herself where the soldier was blasted into a tree.

Ranathia was still making her way through the soldiers easily taking one down after another. The soldiers couldn't even touch the dancing maiden with their swords since they were too slow and her sword movement was lightning fast. When three soldiers tried to catch her off guard and try to use a net to capture her with she jumped straight into the anticipating their attack where she came down hard implanting her sword deep within the ground generating power into yelling. "Rending Quake!"

When she finished saying the phrase the ground started to shake where the two sides of land divided into two. It was rather reckless since the ground below Melianth's feet where she still stood near the cliff trying to fend off soldiers started to break apart. She could feel the trembling of the earth inside her body as it felt like her spine was vibrating violently due to the small sized earthquake Ranathia generated. As the land divided into two, pieces of rock that were loosely implanted into the ground were starting to break off from the side.

Seeing this, Melianth immediately rushed off the area she was standing to learn it collapsed and luckily she got away otherwise she would have fallen to her death. This black haired girl was no slouch when it came to skill and she was quite powerful too. No normal person could generate a vibration that could cause an mini-quake like the one she created.

She turned her attention away from Ranathia and noticed a strange male figure had also joined in the fighting. She wasn't quite sure why he was here since no normal person would travel out to some place so dangerous. Perhaps he was a mercenary or working for some guild? A sick feeling came across her when she realized he could be after that Egis as well. Melianth desperately needed the money. The hilt on her sword was damaged and the Egis would give her enough to pay for her sword's repairs.

Forgetting about her damaged sword in her sheathe she turned her attention toward the male figure and asked out of curiosity. "What brings someone like you out here, sir?" She questioned as Ranathia looked not interested at all and had finished off her soldiers that she was dealing with. Melianth thought to herself that this male mystery person must be skilled to be able to take on Pangaea Order soldiers, but by attacking them has now made himself an enemy of the Pangaea Order. "You shouldn't have interfered really... Now you're an enemy of the Pangaea Order too. Not much can be done about it now since it is said and done, but I do appreciate your assistance. Thank you." She finished her statement as she smiled at him with a warm smile. You could tell Melianth was girl who was trained well when it came to manners and that she spoke a very understandable tone.

"My name is Melianth Rystaliuskal. Who might you be?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile elsewhere, a dark figure approached the forest with several men cladded in blue and white armor. One of the armored people was wearing dark blue armor and certainly wasn't a regular soldier. Neither was the one who lead the group that was wearing jet black armor with his entire body covered in armor. You weren't even able to see even his face since his helmet covered his entire face. Judging by the individuals tone, he certainly didn't sound very friendly.

"Report." The man gestured toward one of his men as he approached the soldier guarding the forest. An ominous aura could be felt from the man which caused the soldier to even tremble at his presence. He knew this man too well since he was one under his command.

"We sent a squad of men after the princess who ventured into this forest. Unfortunately some of them were defeated by a powerful magic user. Someone who has the ability to use magic without relying on her Egis." The soldier said nervously toward the man. Being around the ruler of the Pangaea Order was certainly startling for the young fellow as he tried to hold back his nervous beating heart.

The dark armored figure thought to himself a moment about the soldiers words as he placed his fingers momentarily near his lip pondering the thought. A magic user who doesn't need an Egis to use magic? No doubt they were one of the races who were born with the ability to use magic. The race certainly wasn't a human since no human ever was born with the ability to use magic and the few humans that could were former test subjects of a project launched by the Cimmerian Empire called Project Nexus. He also knew it couldn't be his sister since even though she has the ability to use magic without an Egis being present that she had never been trained how to use that ability. Had to be someone who was an expert in the field of magic and could develop equations and formulas easily to utilize it. Failing to think of a logical answer he turned his attention back toward the soldier. He'd think about who it was later, but he had a vague idea who it could be.

Diverting his attention back toward his men, the man dressed in black armor peered at the man with a sinister gaze in his eyes underneath his visor that completely covered his face. "And the Egis?" He questioned as his impatience grew from the lack of effort put forth by his own men to capture one little red haired girl alive. He wasn't at all pleased with his soldiers efforts thus far, but he didn't react violently toward them either.

The soldier gazed up again looking into the man's eyes with a nervous tone.

"Our men are still searching for its whereabouts."

"Good." The dark armor cladded man said with a little pleasure for his words. He still wasn't at all impressed by their effort. They should have captured the annoying princess who fled into the forest. Even if they didn't, he still remembered the raven haired girl he ran across in the past. He was most interested in the sword she carried and thought this was a golden opportunity since if their was an out of control Egis in the area then it would lure that girl in as well where he wouldn't give up his chance to capture her.

When he was away from his soldiers he started to speak once again with an irritated tone. "I can't believe these underlings have failed to produce me with any results. How hard can it be to catch one child? Let alone, my little sister. Either way, she won't escape this time even if that idiot Gerard failed in seizing that brat. There is no escape for you Little Mel. Not this time." He grinned and laughed sinisterly since he knew he had her finally. It was just a matter of time until he would find her. The other skilled officer that was with him remained silent about the entire matter. He didn't really care if the soldiers failed to catch the girl or not since it gave him a new prey to chase after. Surely his lord would allow him the opportunity to go after the girl after the soldiers failed at even trying to keep the princess stalled.

"He was foolish enough to try to take that raven haired brat on too. At least he had guts, but a foolish decision on his part. Now he's nothing more than a toasted carcass lying out in the forest for the monsters to prey on for nourishment."

[Strayed Risaia]

Aedan's blade penetrated the soldier's armor without much difficulty. The man gurgled as he feel to the ground, choking on his own blood while Aedan lunged for the nearest of his comrades. He killed two more in the same manner before the soldiers finally began to notice him.

Three of them charged him with their swords at the ready. Aedan forced the first soldier's blade aside, into the path of the second. He twisted and spun to dodge a hack from the third, elbowing the man in the back as he passed. The third soldier immediately spun around, but Aedan buried his falchion's blade in his head before he could react.

His surviving comrades immediately rushed Aedan. The first found his his sword deflected and the Etherium falchion impaled through his neck. The boy threw the armored corpse at the second soldier in mid-swing. The man stumbled back, grunting as he tossed the body of his comrade aside, but but the bloodied falchion flew threw the air and beheaded him before he could recover.

Aedan used the lull in the fighting to take a breath before hurling himself back into the fray.

He carved a bloody path through the soldiers, hacking, slashing, stabbing at any who turned their blades towards him. The rest he simply stabbed through the back while they futilely struck at the girls raining fire and lightning down upon them.

The last of the soldiers fell without a single attempt to surrender or retreat.

Aedan sighed as he turned to face the red-headed girl, trying to inject as much politeness into his urgent tone as he could manage. “There aren't any witnesses apart from the two of you, so I don't think this 'Pangaea Order' will know anything unless one of you tells them,” He said.

“My name is Aedan, and I think we're all here for the same reason: the berserk Egis in this area,” When he faced the two girls, he stood some distance away with his sword still drawn. Obviously he didn’t entirely trust them and seeing what they were capable of only served to underscore the importance of not letting them catch him off-guard.

“All I care about is stopping it from killing everything in this region. I doubt it's good to either of you if it explodes, so can we agree to work together long enough to avoid that...?”

[Armaclite]

"Well... just be on guard, because my brother is unpredictable and so is my mother. They'll eventually figure out that you've been meddling in their affairs where they'll have wanted posters of you posted everywhere. I fled to this area since it's an autonomous state outside the influence of any nation and is controlled directly by President Barachisius of the Pangalactic Federation."

Melianth looked a the young and nodded in kindness that there wasn't much time for introductions. Also, surely that wasn't the Pangaea's Orders main containment force. She knew better than anyone that her brother had an ace up his sleeve and was waiting for the right opportunity to use it. Though the eerie air left her with an unpleasant feeling inside her body. Unlike the other two people, she could hear the cries of Gaea inside her head. Melianth saw everyone around her disappear when she temporarily fell into a trance. She was a mysterious place that was filled with white snow like particles that fluttered all over. It was beautiful, almost like an endless winter where she could feel the cold embrace of the place. She questioned to herself. Where am I? What is this place? The voice in her head spoke toward her. "The dark hour approaches as the hourglass fades into the sands of history. The hour hand will soon reach twelve. When midnight approaches in the Spectral Plane, the world be devoured by the Destroyer of all Destroyers. You must stop this before it happens. Time is of the essence, the zero world for Gaea slowly approaches."

A mysterious girl with red hair attached herself to the bubble Melianth was inside. The bubble was laid with light and both the girls were naked. Melianth kind of blushed at the thought of the girl being naked.

"Put some clothes on!" Melianth exclaimed at the girl who laid on her bubble naked touching her.

Then her face turned red when she realized she was naked too. She wasn't even wearing her undergarments. She was just as naked as the girl in front of her and she couldn't help being embarrassed since the thought of being naked in front of someone bothered her.

"WHAT KIND OF PERVERTED FANTASY IS THIS ANYWAY!? Where are my clothes!?"

The girl caressed her face reassuring her. She didn't want Melianth to feel frighten so she wanted to calm her down letting her know that she wasn't naked in the real world. "Don't worry, you are inside the consciousness of the planet's memory. What you see before you is memory particles. Memories of the planet that flow through the core of your world. You must seek out the other two who form the Holy TRIAD. You are our only hope and without them, you are powerless to stop it."

Melianth saw she returned back to the world. She thought to herself. What was that place she was in? Who was that voice that spoke to me and what did its words mean? Can't stop what? Damn divine entities who speak in riddles and rhymes... Ah, I'll forget about it for now and was it just a dream? Perhaps if I pinch myself... "Ouch!" Ranathia turned her attention back toward Melianth and questioned confused. "What are you doing?"

"Oh... nothing..." Melianth assured Ranathia though the look in her eyes didn't convince her at all.

Who was the girl that was groping me? How embarrassing too... but at least it wasn't that one pervert Daakunaito. The nerve him touching my ass all the time and rubbing it rubs me the wrong way!

Are these the thoughts of the planet? How am I able to sense them? I'm just an ordinary girl... I never asked for this kind of power... Just what am I? Who am I? I don't understand this at all... She didn't want to say anything about it to anyone else since they might not believe her or it might cause people concern. She tried to refrain from worrying about it herself as well. Her mind began to wander still as she also sensed an unpleasant being in the forest. It seemed to be very violent, because she could feel all the dead bodies that weren't far away from the beast. They were indeed her brother's soldiers and most of them were mutilated or dismembered enough so you couldn't tell who they really were. Melianth's head with pale for a brief moment where she acted disoriented for a brief second before snapping out of it as if nothing happened at all.

"Nice to meet you then, Aedan." Melianth smiled toward the boy as approached and extended her hand out for him to shake. "I hope we get along together then."

She didn't know if the boy knew who she was. Sure the Rystaliuskal family was well known since they were a family of rulers. But since the Verdana Empire was reduced to a mere ruin, they are reign over the Feluzia Empire. Since she held the Rystaliuskal royal name and since she was the daughter of Finathia and Azmaldus. Her brother controlled the Pangaea Order which acted as a mediator between each nation. She wasn't entirely sure why he was after her unless it was to force her to become an heir to the region he controlled and use her as a diplomatic puppet. She'd rather die than become some puppet princess for her brother. She didn't want to announce she was the rightful heir toward Feluzia, but she despised her horrible mother who mistreated the people. She couldn't deny her title princess since she did descend from the royal family line, but she moved took over her uncle's household hoping to escape royalty. She just wanted to live life like any other ordinary girl.

Ranathia shook her head as she stared at the two people. She knew these two certainly weren't experienced with dealing with Egis. Judging by the boy's careless attitude of not thinking things through thoroughly and hastily rushing through everything she could tell he had never fought an Egis Guardian in his life. Even she knew from experience of hunting the Egis that they didn't come for free. Most people would have known that monsters are easily attracted to naturally born Egis and the most powerful one uses it as a power source. That is the one that is referred to as the Egis Guardian. Judging by the reaction her sword had earlier from the Esir, it was most likely a Level A threat and two people who were inexperienced weren't going to stand a chance against it. A Level A threat produced even problems for Ranathia since even she couldn't defeat one alone like her brother could. She hated the thought of cooperating with beings from Gaea let alone a possible human. For now she'd set that aside since she needed their help to defeat the beast.

"Obviously you two have never hunted Egis before. Anyone who has would by now know that naturally born Egis don't come without a price." Ranathia said toward the two people as she adjusted the ribbons in her hair.

"I can't just let innocent people be killed. Besides, Velzeran is where my uncle lived and I can't just stand by idly and watch it be destroyed." Melianth answered back toward the girl impatiently not at all pleased by her response. This girl in front of them acted like she was better than them both and sounded like a know-it-all which was even worse. But she settled down thinking about how cool it was to finally meet a real Egis hunter. She had always dreamed of becoming an Egis hunter since she loved adventure. She even told her Uncle Izark that she wanted to become one when she grew up. He would always caress her hair in a friendly manner and laugh ensuring her that she would become one someday.

"Do you have a name?" Melianth questioned toward Ranathia since she hadn't even introduced herself yet. Melianth wouldn't go with someone who wouldn't introduce themself at least. It would make the person look suspicious and suggest that they were dangerous.

"Ranathia Primavalthera." The girl said as she turned her attention momentarily toward the two before returning it to the path ahead of her. The sword's reaction was getting even more intense due to the Esir. The intensity of the Esir could easily be felt inside her body, after all she was an Arcadian. Her kind absorbed Esir so they could use it as energy and it was the source of energy that powered their magic and magitech based technology. It was easy for her to determine what kind of Esir was pure and which was impure and contaminated. In any case, she needed to quarantine the out of control Egis before it caused anymore havoc. She didn't know how much combat experience Melianth or Aedan had, but she was sure of one thing, that they lacked knowledge when it came to dealing with the Esir and naturally born Egis. She could either guess they were mercenaries or fools who don't know where not to put their noses. Somethings. She thought to herself. Are better off unknown. At least they weren't as stupid as the soldiers to wander into the area without an Egis so she gave them credit there. Regardless, she didn't really care who they were. If they were after the Egis then she'd deal with them after they defeated the Egis Guardian. I can't let them get their hands on it. Humans only like to destroy what they come across and declare war on those who oppose them or try to live outside their means of society. The only things they know how to do is instigate war, cause suffering and reign death on everything they come across as their touch turns it all to ash and decay. Beings like them that are ignorant of their surroundings cannot begin to comprehend the power they hold. Not like humans would care since they only desire power and expanding their boundaries by raping the land and conquering those who oppose them. Such vile beings... She knew time was running out and that the Egis would soon within hours reach maximum capacity. If that happened, it would overload and explode releasing a chain reaction that would surely wipe out the entire Aegis Forest along with Elzheim toward the east, a hidden elven village and Velzeran to the southwest which was a moderately advanced city that was famous for its arena.

I know they'll come so I need not wait here. Arguing with a spoiled brat noble would just be a waste of time and disputing principles with that other naive one would lead to a deadlock. I don't have time to waste on such nonsense. Hopefully Ezoth found the Egis for me.

Primavalthera? Melianth whispered to herself. The name was quite famous and you'd be an idiot if you never heard the last name. The Primavalthera family developed the thesis on magic and how it is used. They were also the ones who developed the Egis. Anyone would surely know about the Primavalthera family. If it weren't for them, people would still be in the stone age. Is she somehow related to Reishin? Not surprising since she is very intelligent. She uses equations and formulas for spells like it is nothing and only an expert would ever be able to master teleportation. The Primavalthera family were also Arcadians which would make her...

That would explain why she could use magic without an Egis and why she would be carrying around an Egis Weapon. Her magic somehow didn't effect the Esir. It must be that sword she uses. I've heard Egis Weapons have the ability of forming a barrier around its user so they can use magic without restraint. All Esir that is contaminated is filtered out. But only those who understand complicated equations and formulas could hope to use them. It's not like anyone could use one since they require a complete understanding of how magic works and affects everything.

"Just to be clear with you two, I have no intention of becoming friendly with either of you. I'm also only cooperating with you two just until we defeat the Egis Guardian. After that, we go our separate paths. I don't trust your kind at all and especially someone that is a human. Before you react to that statement, know this. I have no ambition toward being a hindrance toward humans and I don't hunt them or destroy any that I come across. I simply refuse to co-exist with them, that is all." The girl said coldly as you can see a hint of sadness in her forest green eyes. Anyone could tell by her sad eyes that she had been through a lot and that there was reasoning behind why she wasn't friendly toward beings of Gaea.

Melianth irritated by how the girl was reacting barked back at her in anger. "You know, that isn't any way to ask someone for help! You're basically demanding that we help you just by how you sound! Who do you think you are!?" Even if she wanted to know more about Ranathia, she wasn't about to be pushed around by her either. How could someone be so rude and ask for help? She didn't even ask politely and didn't even say thank you about it either.

"Suit yourself." Ranathia sighed back to them. She wasn't about to sit around and listen to this girl whine about manners. Manners were the least of her worries as she was concerned that the Egis would reach maximum capacity at any moment.

"The nerve of that girl..." She paused momentarily as she turned her attention toward Aedan. "She didn't hear a single word we said. Guess we better get going before she leaves us behind."

[Strayed Risaia]

“Uh, thanks...” Aedan said as he shook Melianth's hand. She was being remarkably calm considering the possibility of imminent destruction. He wondered if it was just part of royal decorum. Now that he was able to get a good look at the princess it was obvious that she had indeed once been a member of the highest strata of society. Her clothes were of a high grade, her skin was exceptionally fair, and she moved the sort of formal gracefulness that could only be achieved through focused training.

He was familiar with her family, the rulers of a now-ruined empire. That was all Aedan knew though, politics were rarely of interest to him and his constant traveling and exploration of the unknown regions made keeping up with current events exceptionally difficult.

The raven-haired girl spoke and Aedan shifted his attention to her. Her words made it clear she believed she was only one who understood the situation.

Before he could speak, Melianth angrily pointed out the thousands of innocent lives that were at stake. Aedan nodded in agreement. “That we probably won't be able to outrun the explosion if we let this Egis run its course. I'd rather take my chances with whatever monstrosities are guarding it,” Aedan paused to let his words sink in. “Yes, I know how corrupted Egis work. I know I don't look like an intellectual, but please don't make assumptions, Miss.”

The dry look he gave the girl was instantly replaced with an expression of shock tinged with awe. Primavalthera? She was related to one of the finest minds in history? She was a sibling of the man who had revolutionized the way Gaea looked at magic?

She could have been lying.

The possibility occurred to him as soon as the shock and awe had subsided. It was such an outrageous lie though, if this 'Ranathia' wanted to deceive them why would she have picked that? Granted her display of power before loaned credence to the idea, but...

Aedan looked at her with a skeptical glint in his eye as she continued to speak. He agreed with her sentiments up until she broke into a small rant about humans. Ranathia must have detecting hos annoyance, for she immediately backpedaled and began to claim that she wasn't actively hostile to them.

Again, he wasn't sure what to make of it. If Ranathia really meant them harm then she would have been better served by not telling them about her prejudices and silently stabbing them in the back as soon as the Egis was contained. As it was now, it just served as an irritating non-sequitor that would probably compromise their teamwork.

Aedan glanced at Melianth and nodded. “Right. I'll watch your back if you watch mine, alright?” He waited for the red-head's response before dashing after Ranathia.

[Armaclite]

Melianth smiled at him as she nodded closing both her eyes for a moment with cheerful expression on her face. "Mmhm. I don't trust her one bit either." She said as she turned away from him and followed along with him as they tried to catch up to Ranathia who had already moved on ahead. The girl sure didn't have any restraint or didn't like being cautious, because she just went on ahead without even really examining the situation or area.

They moved the forest moving through the branches that got in their way being careful not to allow one to pull backwards to slingshot another person in the face. Melianth realized she probably should have left some way of tracking where they were in the forest, because now that they were off the main forest trail, it wouldn't be very hard for them to get lost. There was a lot of cover in the area they were in and lots of trees that covered the entire area. The trees reached up into the sky and some of were so tall that they look like they could pierce the clouds above.

As they made their way through the forest, they finally caught up to Ranathia who was being approached by a mysterious figure dressed in black wearing a cloak. Melianth didn't know what to think with his face disguise and everything. He could be one of her brother's men in disguise. If it was, why wasn't Ranathia reacting at all? Did she know this individual that was approaching them. She also heard a bird calling from the sky and it was Ranathia's blackbird Ezoth. It had come back to her like a boomerang and landed on the same spot it sat earlier. She fidgeted the birds beak for a brief moment when it returned.

"Ranathia?" The man cloaked in black clothing questioned as he approached her. You could barely see his hair, but it was raven colored just like hers. The man also seemed to know Ranathia, but Melianth couldn't quite put a finger on who he could be. His face was covered and he wore a scarf that muffled his voice not allowing anyone to pick up who he was. It must have been someone really important, because no one would muffle their voice like that without a reason.

"Ranathia, who is that man?" Melianth questioned toward Ranathia struck by confusion. She wasn't sure if the person was a friend or a foe. If it were a foe then why was Ranathia being so friendly toward them and why was she acting like she knew the person? Melianth shook her head since it was obvious that it was some acquaintance of Ranathia's.

As soon as Ranathia noticed Melianth, she had vaguely heard the question she asked. She turned her attention toward Melianth as she still questioned both her and the other boys motives, "This is my brother." She paused for a moment as she saw her brother had a fierce expression on his face and when she said he's part of the Primavalthera family like me he was infuriated where he backhanded her across the face in anger.

"She called you Ranathia? Don't tell me you told that person your name!" He shouted at her as Ranathia pressed her hand against her face that throbbed from her brother's handmark. "You're all I have left Ranathia! If I lost you I don't know what I would do! I can't believe you just up and left and took my sword with you!"

"I'm sorry brother, but I can't allow Egis to be misused anymore. I know you just want to sit by and idly let the world be destroyed, but I do not! What happened to your pride about saving the world!" She yelled into her brother's ear only to have his other hand slap her fresh and hard across the face leaving another palm print, but a red one this time. It was obvious her brother was angry at her, but he didn't like the people she was with either.

Melianth looked at the man annoyed by what he was doing. Sure Ranathia came off on the wrong foot earlier acting so cold, but the way he was treating his sister was wrong. She couldn't sit by idly and watch him slap her again where she said in anger, "STOP IT! All she wanted to do was help you! And there you sit doing nothing? Obviously I don't know what happened in the past. I don't know that much about your family, but they created some fine things and developed the theory on magic. How can you scold her like that!"

"Who are you to tell me how I should discipline my sister?" He questioned toward the fiery red haired girl who dare speak out against him having compassion and being worried about his sister. Melianth understood he cared, but he didn't need to treat her like she was a child. The way he was treating her was wrong even if he did love her and wanted to scold her for her actions. Also, there wasn't time for that. It seem to her that he didn't care about what was going on in the area. That if the region was destroyed he still wouldn't care.

She couldn't help, but hold back the wow she felt in her heart. She finally got to meet someone as intelligent as Reishin Primavalthera, himself. She couldn't believe she came across him since people reported that he had disappeared several years ago. It was an honor to be in his presence, but she didn't have the time to ask him questions since there was a dire situation at hand still.

"Sir Reishin, I didn't mean to yell at you like that, but this isn't the time to be arguing or scolding your sister." Melianth said as she lowered her tone down seeing if the man would acknowledge her reasonably. She was hoping he wasn't completely like his sister.

"Forgive the way I reacted earlier. It's just so irritating when I allowed humans to learn technology that was better off left out of their hands." He paused for a moment looking toward the boy's direction before he continued. "Don't give me that look, child. I did not say your race was fully to blame, but they should take responsibility for their actions. I'm not going to blame you or expect you feel guilty for what your ancestors did. Unlike my sister, Ranathia, I accept the past. Please forgive Ranathia if she approached you in the wrong way. It isn't her fault that she has a hatred for humans. Her hatred was caused when a group of humans broke into my research lab at my parent's mansion and stole my research material. My mother and father were worried about Ranathia's safety since she was in the room, but when they entered they were both shot dead in cold blood while Ranathia watched from underneath the desk as her parent's blood poured toward her feet."

Melianth looked at Ranathia noticing the hint of sadness in her eyes. No wonder her eyes looked so sad. It probably also explained why she was so gloomy and wanted other people to feel bad. She started to actually feel sympathy for the girl since she had been through tough times. How horrible to watch your own parents be murdered right in front of your eyes. Any child would develop a fear, hatred or a racism after such a thing happened. She kind of felt bad for what she said earlier to Ranathia. She had no idea that Ranathia's mistrust came from the murder of her own parents. Ranathia looked away trying to concentrate on what she was doing.

While Melianth was over there listening to her brother talk, Ranathia was busy listening to her bird about the location of the Egis. According to what her bird told her, the Egis was nearby. The beast guarding it was probably asleep and up ahead she knew was an unpleasant sight.

"I'm moving on ahead, brother." She said toward Reishin as she moved in the direction of where her bird had flown earlier. Melianth saw her leaving and decided she would follow her as well. She looked back for a moment and asked Reishin if he was coming and he shook his head. "I'll stay here, because I have a bad feeling. Someone powerful entered the forest seeking the Egis and I'm the only one who can take him on. Go on ahead you two, I'll be fine. Please keep her safe, you two. She's all I have left."

"We will!" Melianth added as she quickly caught up to Ranathia. "So where do you come from, Aedan?"

[Strayed Risaia]

Aedan was in a state of minor awe after Ranathia introduced her brother. The man was quite possibly the greatest scientist on the planet, a colossus of knowledge on the arcane arts.

His awe instantly disintegrated when the man struck her across the face hard enough to leave a mark. Twice. Aedan very nearly summoned The Conquerer then and there, but restrained himself at the last moment. Ranathia was more than strong enough to fight her own battles and she clearly wasn't emotionally broken by her brother judging from the way she was willing to yell at him.

Melianth stepped in and began to voice his thoughts regardless. Reishin's behavior was deplorable on it's own and there was a natural Egis in the area that would bring ruin to the entire region if they couldn't get it under control quickly enough.

Aedan rolled his eyes and sighed as the man responded with an anti-human rant. Much like his sister, Reishin noticed his displeasure. Unlike her, he chose to comment on it in the most condescending manner possible. Aedan gave him a flat look throughout the speech, fully prepared to retort that perhaps he should judge all Arcadians as racist and rude individuals who stole from each other and beat their siblings going by the example he and his sister had set.

And then he elaborated on Ranathia's past.

Aedan sighed again and looked away, clearly annoyed by Reishin's word but unwilling to proceed with his planned retort in the light of Ranathia's suffering. Somehow he suspected that a human showing tact and concern for her feelings would be lost on both of the siblings.

Finally! Aedan thought as Ranathia began to follow her bird, Melianth close behind her. He hesitated for a moment, uncertain as to what to make of Reishin's warning before he began to follow the girls.

Aedan glanced over his shoulder at the Arcadian male. “I will, but not because you asked me to,” He said harshly.

"I travel a lot," Aedan said to Melianth. "So I'm not from any one place." That probably wasn't the answer she was looking for, but it was true and he wasn't terribly fond of the idea of talking about his father to a girl he'd just met regardless of how pretty or friendly she was.