The Vagabond grunted. He stepped out of the boat, putting the piece of cloth away into his bag. He turned to face marcus.
"Perhaps for the sake of communication i shall relay the version of the story i've heard."
Starry leaned down to help pull the boat.
"The legend tells of 'The First Relic and the Last Evoker.' They say that the first relic found, perhaps even the first created, was actually useless. No matter how many evokers took it into hand, it refused to bond or show any sign of power. Thus, people believed that it wasn't a relic at all, and many a king held it as a simply valuable jewel. The first king that possessed it lived in this land, they say. And he used it as a sign of power for many years. Until a thief (Who was never caught) managed to steal it, mistaking it for common loot. The relic changed hands countless times, each time its background changed, until its original origins were forgotten. They believe it exists in some vault or to some king even today, its past life forgotten, its holder most likely believes it is decorative."
He stood up, stretching his back from having been laying in the boat.
"But... Stories began to surface of its true wealth. They say that its power would only be released in the hand of 'The Last Evoker', someone destined to use its power to bring a new age to humanity, and that evokers forever would be changed... but the story was a fairy tale, and its truth was lost to time. Until me." He pulls the rags off of his staff, revealing the symbols and images engraved into the gold. "The symbols were barely decipherable, and the images were cracked and difficult to replicate. But the records i saw that day did not lie. They were the oldest i have ever found, and they told of 'a relic with no power' being sold to a man who served a king." He held his staff across his palms, making it easy to see the letters.
"I believe the Last Evoker is alive. I believe he is already here." He slammed the staff in the dirt. "I believe in the string of fate. And i believe if we find the First relic, then we will find the last evoker."

Marcus had listened to the Vagabonds' explanation with interest. He had never heard of an 'Evokers String', but then again, he barely knew how his own relic worked. "The First Relic" That sounded as if it came straight from a legend and apparently the Scholar thought the same. "Wishful thinking by hopeless romantics, The First Relic is nothing but a fairytale. If it really existed, it surely would have been mentioned in one of the texts I've translated." It was a shame, but Marcus had to agree with the man. It was most likely just a stroke of luck or the work of the gods that had driven three evokers together, not some old connection.

The sound of wood on sand interrupted the conversation. As the scholar requested, Marcus quickly jumped out into the water, immediately soaking his feet which were only clad in supple leather. It'd take a while for them to dry, but hiding the boat was a more urgent concern. When the Vagabond had stepped out of the boat as well, Marcus helped the Scholar to drag the boat onto the shore and into the shrubbery that lined the beach. Before they covered it, Marcus grabbed his back, bow and quiver and swung them on his back. A few branches, sticks and sand were enough to keep the boat out of sight for anyone who wasn't specifically looking for it. He had continued to listen to the Vagabonds' explanation of his legend, and Marcus had to admit that the more he heard of it the more plausible it seemed. Wasn't the world after all filled with mysterious things? He decided to not mingle in the conversation and just be a listening ear. He didn't know anything about the subject and just left the two learned men to their discussion. As they started walking, Marcus was reminded that he had paid the guard for a bed in which he hadn't been able to sleep in the end. Such a shame... After a while he remembered something the Scholar had said and interrupted part of their conversation. "East? Where exactly are we going Scholar?"

Artemis snorted derisively at the tale. "Why would such a thing exist? A bond between a Relic and Evoker is decided by the blood of the old kingdom, a genetic trait all Evokers share. Any unbonded relic can bond to any evoker, though the effect is rarely the same. All of the evidence points to the blood being the source of the power, not the relic. Why should your 'last evoker' be any different?" He turned towards the east and looked up at the mountain tops, just visible over the treeline in the failing light.

"That's where we're going," he said, pointing to the snow capped peaks. "In the mountains there's a temple, I think some kind of military outpost, left over from the Old Kingdom. If we get there we should be safe." Eying the horizon, he picked up his pack and unhooked the lantern, checking the oil and lighting it. "E should make camp once we're in the forest, we can start the journey in the morning."

"Hmph." The Vagabond decided it wasn't worth the argument. He knew the story was real, and as soon as he is able to look through Artemis' research, the sooner he would be able to pursue his goal without these two. He looked over where they were headed over the mountaintops, thinking to himself of his plan. The string of fate is there, the meeting with these evokers proves it. If that String is there, then the first relic must be too. He thought decisively. Starry had come too far and sacrificed too much to let one skeptic fail him. The age of evokers will come to its end, and he would make sure it happens in his life. He had seen firsthand what a relic can do, and he knew how it changes people. He rubbed his side as he walked, the injury in his leg seemed to be hurting more and more lately. As he walked he wrapped the staff in rags again, putting the orb back into his pack.

-

Tyrell extinguished the flame, grabbed a torch with his ringed hand and held it near the flame to mask the glow of the ring. Then he ran back into the crowd that was partially running away from invasion though was also partially running away from the evokers they saw fighting, luckily due to how dark it was they weren't screaming at Tyrell and lightning brains presence in the crowd. He turned to face hims lightly as he ran. "We'll have to run around the inner city to get to the docks-" He looked back and they could already see some of the Imperial troops. It had been a while since he had seen them anyway. "We're also going to need to run quite fast or be caught by the bad guys and then we may as well have surrendered to the women who just tried to capture or kill us."

When he could smell the harbour he realized that they must not have been as far away as he thought. Though the large doors, not built to withstand an assault simply to clos eit off during certain times, closed. He hardened his skin to stone, and inflamed them simply to get people to move out of his way as he charged at the door, shoulder first. Crashing through before the guards had time to bar it. He turned back to the crowd who had stopped. "Get in a boat you idiots."

Myth burst out of the crowd after Tyrell, calling out, "Yup yup yup!" Dashing through the hole in the doorway, he noted that many boats had already launched. Myth ran back and forth a couple times to take in the options, from larger trading ships that two men could never sail, to rowboats and canoes. Settling on a large canoe-y thingy, long and slim with supports to either side, he checked around to see if anyone was coming his way for the particular boat. Noting no one, he hopped in, looking at the oars lying at the bottom of the boat. Uncertain, he slipped the oars to their positions, or just two sets, and took a seat.

"Hey, big-man, let's go! Never been in a boat before, but how hard can it be, right? Oh a black-lady." Looking back, and sighting a black-clad girl already slipping through the crowd, heading towards Tyrell behind a part of the crowd, Myth cautiously lit up his gloves, and fired a bolt of lightning, arcing past the bystanders and the civilians to hit the black-clad woman, tossing her back. His part done, he grabbed what looked like the boat's oars, and held them uncertainly.

Altim took a gander as he stepped into the street out the shadows, and he found few men retiring to the safety of their homes as he was. Daror conjectured the darkness encompassed the city, so safety could be found in the light, away from Amaryth. Heading west wasn't ideal, but perhaps he could fetch a boat... Making his move, his feet pounded the ground as he ran in the direction of the lakes, the eastern gate, and beyond to the cities of Riarson and Fort Madaris. The two cities built near the mountains were a good escape, although Altim himself had never seen it—he imagined they'd be tightly guarded.

His heart raced, and time picked up the pace once the gates drew near. Weaving his way through the crowds like a talented seamstress, further he hurried on while avoiding attack by the black-clad women and using the throng as a buffer. Deep breaths heaved from his chest when he approached the docks through the gate, and a certain panic filled him as the race to get into a boat and paddle off presented itself as a challenge amidst the foes embattled on the pier. Was it required that he fight his way out? 'Shit,' he thought. He couldn't turn back; fighting was necessary even if he lacked weaponry.

Marcus nodded. He could see the contours of mountains off in the distance where the scholar had pointed. Mountains... He suddenly realized that if they were to go in that direction, he would get even further away from his small cabin in the Southern mountains. With a frown on his face, he thought as he walked. Since the screaming and the sounds of fighting had come from the southern part of the city, it was most logical to assume that the army, or whatever it was that had turned the city into chaos, had come from the south. Meaning, that as they were walking here in the north, his forest and cabin would most likely be swarming with soldiers. They would be at least have placed some outposts or spies along the route they'd have taken, wouldn't they? In any case, he couldn't return, not for now. Moreover, what would he lose by not returning? Some of his poacher traps, more arrows, his winter clothing, some gold coins and well.. his privacy. He could live without those.

They had reached the edge of the forest in silence, all three lost in their own thoughts or simply preferring not to speak. When they entered the forest, Marcus took his bow from his back as well as an arrow. "Maybe it'd be an idea if I go first? In this light I can still make out animal tracks and we don't want to cross paths with a boar or bear, right? If I have an eye out for that, would you please look for a proper place to make camp, scholar? It seems like you have experience with this. And of course, if you think you see something proper, please be kind enough to mention it Vagabond." They walked along in silence, sometimes stopping when Marcus noticed some strange prints on the somewhat muddy forest floor. Darkness was setting in rapidly though and the further they went into the woods, the harder it became to see any signs of animals. Their ears would have to do the work now.

The vagabond nodded, taking a few steps back to allow Marcus in the lead. He made sure marcus was still withen his range, enough so that he could help him if anything came out of the forest. He took the silence time to think. If they were hitting mountains then they were far indeed from his old hometown. He was reviewing his leads to the first relic in his head.
"Reports of useless relic"
"Unseen king holds the key"
"You cannot harm"
Mostly aimless, of course. But that was the nature of the first relic. It would be difficult to find, but starry knew it would bring the fate of the evokers to a close. After all, starry knew the truth of the relics. Of how they changed someone, and how it bound evokers together, forcing destiny upon them. The Evoker blood was not a blessing, its a curse. A curse to all those who wish to force their own path. If the string of evokers had not bound starry and the noble, his family would be alive today. But that was another matter. Starry had kept that mans relic, a memento of how he had actually killed the noble. He had stabbed his leg, and after poking his eyes out he had taken the nobles money and sigil, which he kept around with him even now. He had taken the relic and simply walked away, letting the string snap before ending the life of the noble. Now that starry was thinking of that, It occurred to him that he didn't remember which of his valuables was the mans relic.
He shook his head, holding his arm out to stop artemis.
"I feel odd. and eerie. Can you look around? Tell me if there is anyone else nearby?"

Imperial Kalesian command post, near Amaryth's Eastern gate
“The Outer City is all but ours.” Commander Sykora said out loud, very proud of his own achievement, as if he alone was responsible. “Not quite, commander. There is still the issue of the docks. Members of the heathen church and a few of the Untrained stand in the way. This reinforcement will fix that.” The person speaking handed the commander a set of orders indicating a full regiment of Maulers and three Kalbeasts be deployed to aid the forces sent to the docks. “Thank you, Processus Kovac. While I am loath to lose access to those outside, taking the outer city is essential.” The Processus nodded. “Deploy them inside. You do not need them outside right now.” After this, the Processus turned around and went back to her work, harvesting information from her underlings, who in turn acquired it from theirs. It wasn’t the simplest system, but it worked.

Near the docks, not much later
The barricades blocking the streets leading to the docks were surprisingly strong to have been built so quickly. The soldiers there, most bearing the colors of the knights of Idris, were ready for anything. Nothing the Empire had thrown at them had even moderately phased them, let alone broken through. For the most part, it had been small units of infantry, easily crushed. Then suddenly, it was not just odd units of infantry moving down on the barrier. Suddenly, the crowd had stopped coming, only to be replaced by ranks of infantry, with Mauler Cavalry moving on all sides, including across the rooftops. Not to mention the Kalbeasts at their head.

The soldiers at the barriers, foolishly tried to fight. Possibly holding to the idea of a “last stand”. Commander Sykora did not really care much about that concept. He simply had the Kalbeasts punch straight through barrier after barrier, just after the Maulers had flanked them. Oh he could remember the days when he personally had ridden one of those. Those were the days. Nonetheless, not a single barrier held out against their strike and the conquest once more moved towards the docks. Soon only the Inner city would remain. He did not yet know how to conquer that, but do it he would. For the Empress, might she live forever.

Elsewhere in the outer city
Thora was beginning to dislike this place. There were soldiers everywhere. And where there weren’t soldiers, there were crowds. She disliked both of those. Almost all her concentration was focused on keeping the thirst in check. Since that strange foreigner, she had fed twice. She did not know whether anyone had seen, but she was afraid that was the case. It was proving more and more difficult to control, or at least it felt like it was. She didn’t know for sure. She was starting to want to get out of the city more and more, but had no idea where to go to do so.

Unknown location in the City
For a few moments after the signal was sent Slavómir had struggled to get the darkness to recover. He thought it would have been easier if they had simply used one of those Evokers who could wield fire to create the signal, but it did make sense that they did not want a simple one. A random fireball could happen. Fire evokers weren’t that rare as evokers go. Nightweavers, however were. It would not be good if any signals were sent when they should not be. All he had to wait for now, was the instructions to lower the darkness. While it was not hard to maintain it, it would still be relaxing to not maintain it. And he would feel safer. So long as he wove a darkness this large, he could not use the darkness for self-defense around himself. No matter how powerful a relic, it would always have limits.

Tyrell turned as he heard the beast coming. He stepped in the boat, unable to jump for fear that he'd just go straight through it. The weight alone even not being in his full stone form sank the boat slightly. Once he settled he grabbed a pair of oars. "You seriously haven't been in a boat before? I thought Blademasters were supposed to be all knowing and skilled in thousands and millions of spectacular things." He pulled the right oar back, before plunging it in the water and then started rowing with both oars. when someone tried to run for the boat he raised his palm and collected the flame in it and they turned and ran to another boat. He kept going until they were in the middle of the lake and then he moved to the other side of the boat to look directly into the face of his new found friend.

"Right, so we helped eachother out of that mess-" he pointed his thumb back at the city, occasionally the sound of a scream could be heard in the silence in the middle of the lake. "-The real question is where do we go from here? What do we do?"

Alessia Rezalla-Rhidian was far from home. She had never travelled much beyond the Kalesian capital city, and now she was not only travelling to new lands, she was conquering them. It seemed that her life was destined to only get stranger now that she was an evoker. Evoker. Even now, two years after the fact, applying that term to herself seemed strange. She had never wanted power. Not like this anyway - she had been quite content serving the Empress, may she live forever, through the pursuit and application of knowledge, a long standing tradition carried out with vigor by at least a third of the Noble population in the Empire, and many common citizens too. Of course she had had some degree of influence and political power, just like all Kalesian nobles, but now her power and influence was very much literal.

And she was about to wield that power, not for the first time ever, but for the first time with malicious intent. She stood now in the streets of the city of Amaryth, the city marked to become the latest addition to the Empire. She had been told that the battle had gone extremely well so far, that it was relatively bloodless. That may have been true, but she was still not entirely prepared for seeing the many corpses of the soldiers, from both sides, that had died for this city. Her stomach turned in revulsion at the death and she had to fight her instinct to flee to safety. After all, this area was safe, it had been among the first secured by the Imperial troops. She would not do dishonour to her name by fleeing, or even displaying her feelings for it all publicly. Between her training as a noble and the reassuring thought that, ultimately, the people of this city would be much better off under the benevolent rule of the Empress, she was able to put aside the worst of her feelings and focus. She needed to be ready. The moment the signal was given, she would have to bring down the Dread Omen on the heart of this city.

~|~

In a rare event, Katarína Kovac, processus of the Imperial Army, smiled. The city was not theirs yet, but soon it would be. Imperial forces now had control over every sector of the Outer city. As she stood there, mauler cavalry were rapidly finishing the process of encircling the lake. They would be spread a bit thin, but the troops marching at their rear would fill those holes within a day or two. It did not matter in the long run whether a few escaped, so long as the majority did not. Once their capital falls, which she knows well it will, the nation as a whole will be demoralized. Much the same way people everywhere in the capital soon will be. All in all, a good day.

She turned to the latest notes concerning civilian distribution, assimilating them quickly into her city overview. Troops were rapidly emptying the region around the inner city of civilians, getting them to a safe distance. She had personally felt the power of Dread omen, and it was not pleasant. Keeping civilians relatively safe from that would go a long way towards bringing them into the embrace of the Empire.

Seeing another note, she decided it was time to initiate the first stage of the play. Turning to a messenger, she started speaking. “Get Commander Jahoda to send a few squads to start beating on the Inner city’s western gate. Let them go at it for a while.” The messenger nodded, then ran off to deliver the command. It did not matter much whether they actually managed to damage those gates. As with so many other operations, that was only a distraction. While she would prefer not to damage the walls, she was fully prepared to unleash a crew of tunnelers to burn straight through the hills and into the fortress itself. The tunnel running beneath a part of the outer city was particularly useful for that.

~| An hour or so later |~

The processus imagined she could hear the beat of the ram against the gates of the inner city, though she knew it was far too far away to be heard here. Especially with the pitched battle between imperial archers and the defenders on the inner walls. She had ordered a few ladder squads to begin, but she had no illusions about any of them succeeding in actually taking any significant part of the walls. The royal architects of Othea were renowned for their skill at making hard-to-take fortifications. Katarína had not seen fit to put any of the imperial evokers into the action yet. In fact, she had ordered the shadoweaver to cease his illusion any moment now. Combined with the seeming success of the sudden return of sunlight, the fact that a few soldiers were slain would at first boost their morale. The drop when the Dread rose would be so much greater. It was unfortunate that loyal Kalesian soldiers had to die, but it was also necessary. Shortly after the rise of Dread Omen, the imperial evokers would begin their work. Without warning, as it was meant to be, the sunlight suddenly flared through as the cloak of darkness tore apart. Thankfully the Amarythian civilians were already out of the way. The escape from the dread ought to make integrating them into the Empire somewhat easier.

“Alessia Rezalla-Rhidian. It is time.” She did not say anything more. It was unnecessary. The Evoker knew her job. Katarína Kovac did not look forward to the Dread Omen, but at least she was prepared for it.

“Lady Alessia” Was Alessia’s annoyed reply. Just because Kovac was a processus did not give her the right to ignore formality, especially since they were hardly in a pitched battle right now. Alessia had been listening in to the orders given, and in the short time she had been near this processus she had already decided she didn’t like the women. She was too cold, and seemed to ignore the fact that the Kalesian troops under her command were actual people too. Her tactics might be effective, but they called for good Kalesian men and women to die needlessly in endless diversions. It was one thing to die heroically for ones Empress, but entirely another to throw lives away in hopeless battles just to scare the enemy. She knew better than to question the processus though. It was not her place.

She placed her hand on the small unassuming book that held so much power - an unnecessary gesture, but one a reassuring one, and with a thought began to summon the Dread Omen. She had learned of its effects, as she always did, first from the book. One day she had been able to comprehend the page that the book had opened on, for no reason apparent to her, and upon reading it found the knowledge within burned into her mind. A few moments of focus on the area she wished to affect and the spell came into being. The sun appeared to morph into a crimson wound in the sky, bathing everything in a light that somehow drained all the colour from the world and awakened an almost primal dread in the pit of the stomach.

Or at least thats how everyone had described it to her. She was never affected by the Dread Omen, for what reason, she knew not, only that that seemed to be one of the rules of this relics functioning. In such an unfamiliar land, the effect would spill over outside the inner city a moderate amount, which was why the civilians had been moved. The Kalesian infantry would of course be just as affected as the defenders in the city, but they were both trained to fight under the effect and expecting it to occur. By mutual recommendation, Alessia and the various processes’ of the army had ensured that while the army had been preparing, they undergo a number of drills and small scale training battles while under the effect of Dread Omen, in order to harden them and ensure Alessia’s most easily applicable combative spell was still an actual advantage for the imperial forces.

Of course for Alessia, maintaining this spell was no more effort than studying from three separate tomes or scrolls at once, and so she made herself comfortable and opened her book to continue studying its enigmatic pages. The processus at her side would need no words to know it was in effect after all.

Mere moments after she issued the order, Katarína began to feel the Dread. Light grew dim, the sun turned red and everything began to feel hopeless. Only because she was prepared did she resist it at all. From her small vantage point, she could see how Kalesian officers were doing their best to boost morale flagging among those who were too close to the Inner city.

The rise of the Dread Omen was the signal to all the Imperial evokers currently near the front lines. A signal to begin their work. The effects were seemingly without pattern. She had heard in a lecture that there was a pattern to the relics, but not really understood what that pattern was. One evoker approached her. The woman’s channeled her power upon a small, angled table, and an image of the battle appeared. It wasn’t detailed. Or rather, there were too many details even for her to catch. The image simply wasn’t large enough to convey them properly.

She recognized a few positions, like those of major archer companies and the gates. colorful fields appeared before a few of them, arrows passing through those fields changing. In one place, into bolts of fire, in another into what might have been shiny metal. “Close up on the western gate, Evoker.” The image blurred as the evoker changed its focus. As ordered initially, the few remaining members of the ramming squad had already thrown their ram to the side and were running back towards the front lines in a zigzag pattern, avoiding the rain of arrows and worse. Right then, as if on cue, the front lines broke apart, letting what looked not unlike a massive, metal-plated, upside-down boat through. What lay beneath it was impossible to see, but the two kalbeasts pushing it were readily visible. The processus knew that one of the rarest evokers in the entire empire walked beneath it. Not even a boulder thrown from the top of the fortress walls could crack the roof protecting him. Halfway to the gates, the procession halted, and the kalbeasts were turned about, leaving the hull behind.

Just then, a massive boulder flew from the fortress walls, as if on cue. It struck the side of the hull, but bounced off, landing on a fleeing Kalesian soldier. She could not see whether the boulder had dented the hull. It did not matter, for the Evoker had begun his work. It was barely imperceptible at first. Faint ripples in the ground, moving for the gate, steadily increasing in strength. Soon enough, the gates would topple. It was only a matter of time.

Myth stood defiantly on the boat, despite its constant rocking. It earned Myth's muttered curses as it wouldn't stop rocking, but Myth adjusted and stood tall as the other guy began rowing. He watched the docks, and once he was sure no soldier or animal could jump and capsize the boat, he responded to his partner in escape. "I've got no idea, for I know little true knowledge of the current going-ons of this world, and I don't have ties to anyone in this place. So, I can go wherever I want. You? I dunno. However, I must gloat in my successful escape."

Then, turning his attention the slowly-growing-distant dock with the Kalesian troops and the like, he calls out.
"Take that you invaders! We have slipped through your grasp like a nimble thief between the hands of a fat man! A very fat man! we have escaped, and your black-clad women cannot stop us now, for we row towards freedom! We shall continue on our way, and nothing you can do will stop me!" In answer, several Imperials, who apparently had secured the dock as far as it'd be secured, and were simply 'standing guard,' turned towards him and his companion. One brought out a bow; as he nocked an arrow, he sent a bolt of lightning into the Imperial, tossing him back.

"Lightning beats arrow!"

With that, Myth sat down, satisfied. If he spotted an archer, he would send an instant-speed bolt of lightning flying at the man, which strongly discouraged more people to take up arms to the two escapees, Evoker or no.

Looking at his companion, Myth said, "I'm a genius when it comes to words, aren't I?" He smirked, silently laughing at his own speech. He didn't care for fancy; he just liked being himself, regardless of the opinions around him.

Tyrell slapped his face with the palm of his hand with the whole arguement and waited for him to sit down. "You're going to get us both killed if you keep using your powers anywhere where the Church has influence." He shrugged as he looked back, the boat rocked slightly as he did so however he used the oars to steady the boat. Travel by boat was how he had gotten so far from the Empire rapidly he was used to spending days in such a thing. He had just hoped he wouldn't of had to be kicked out of yet another kingdom. He didn't know who he disliked more, the Church or the Empress. "Basically they're from up North. Unlike here they welcome Evokers, as long as they serve the Empress, through sometimes good treatment and other times enslavement. You refuse to co-operate and they'll breed several offspring from you and then kill you for the relic. It's all very lovely and gives you a warm feeling inside." He continued rowing to the nearby shore. He stepped out of the boat as they got there and he waded to through the shallows onto land where he coursed heat through his legs, steam rising off his clothes and he offered a smirk to his companion. "Heat powers come in handy."

That was when out of nowhere a Vocator jumped him, luckily as a natural reflex his skin hardened however it still hurt like a bitch. He raised his arm and sent a blast of fire toward her, pushing her backwards but also setting the nearby dried trees and bushes alight. "Oh bollocks."

Falling...

Falling...

WAKE UP.

Am I dead?

With a strained groan, Bor forced his stubborn eyelids to reveal his surroundings to him.

Water.

Wait. That meant his boat was capsized. How else could he be there? A quick inspection of the murk around him yielded unfortunate news: his canoe was nearby, wrong side up. With much reluctance, Bor swam up to the boat and hauled it to what seemed like shore. 

It was late afternoon. The sun thinned its orange rays as Bor pulled the canoe onto shore. The bloody thing could somehow be useful - as firewood. Bor sat down behind a tree to get over the shock and finally figure out how his boat was capsized.

Little did he know he had sat down under a wild Mystra tree.

Viney hands enclosed themselves around Bor’s throat. 

Don’t panic.

Bor let loose a savage war cry, unsheathing a handaxe and bravely hewing at the viney arms that held him prisoner. The tree unhanded his throat and let down an unearthly, almost horrific cry of pain. Its ‘hand’ was missing. The tree stopped wailing and let its hideous, alien features twist into a sadistic grin. Slowly but surely, the tree inched its way towards Bor.

There are spirits of the trees, but I never thought it this way...

Thinking critically, Bor grabbed a branch and a nearby piece of flint. He struck the two together, lighting an impressive fire. The tree flinched, but did not stop its ‘charge’. Bor hurled the burning branch at the living tree.

The last thing Bor saw before blacking out was a brilliant blue flame, the twisted features of horror on the the living tree’s face and a certain vineman running to his side.

Myth just smirked, trying to cover up his unease with the water. He had both his hands clamped to both sides of the boat, turning white from the pressure he forced upon the boat, he avoided splinters only by the unnatural protection of the gloves. For the rest of the ride to the opposite side of the lake, Myth's smirk became a frozen smile, hands clutching each side and doing his best to minimize the rocking [though he wasn't helping it].

As they struck shore, and Syrell jumped out, was ambushed, and blasted the Vocator with fire, Myth shakily jumped out of the boat, soaking his armored boots and shins, but he was more worried with being on the ground and not in a rickety boat. As he bent over, hands on his knees, he unsteadily said,

"You're going to get us both killed if you keep using your powers anywhere the Imperials have influence."
Then, as he took in the fire, he said, "Oh wonderful. Fire beats ambush. Where to next, firestone?"

They had been walking for about an hour before finally settling down, the sunlight had slowly started to fade and the subtle sounds of crickets and birds filled the air. It felt amazing to be back in a forest after more than a week of villages, cites and meadows. Nothing peculiar had happened on their way, although Vagabond kept nagging about 'something not feeling right' to the Scholar. The latter had reassured him several times that there weren't any threats nearby, but it seemed like his mind still hadn't been put at ease. Marcus had kept quiet most of the way, focused on possible threats or a suitable spot to make camp.

After a long walk, they had found it. A small clearing in the forest, surrounded by slim birches which wouldn't hide their camp that well, but they wouldn't obscure possible threats or pursuers either. Luckily for them, all three had been prepared for travelling when departing from Amaryth and soon they had put together something that had to pass for a camp, consisting of three bedrolls and their bags. After a short discussion, they had decided not to make a fire, to avoid attention, and instead share some of their provisions. Their three course menu existed of an appetizer of plain bread. Dried , salty meat had formed the entree and berries which the scholar had gathered were their dessert. Scholar and vagabond had been engaged in a long and heated discussion concerning relics and their users over dinner. The atmosphere could have been described as something close to cosiness, were it not for the menacing feeling that loomed over them as darkness fell for the second time that day.

With some effort, they had agreed to take turns in keeping watch. None of them had a reason to trust the others and so they naturally didn't. The scholar seemed to be the most trustworthy of the three, they could all agree to that, and so he had taken the first watch. As he prepared to sleep for a few hours, Marcus placed Sang-Min under his cloths, letting it touch his skin as he prepared to go to sleep. He made sure the Vagabond didn't see where exactly he put it and he didn't change nor took off any of his clothes and simply lay down in his bedroll. It gave him a reassuring to feel the cold metal against his skin although he wouldn't be able to us the blade this way. More important than using its powers was that here was no way in Honomi that he'd let the Vagabond steal Sang-Min, unless it was over Marcus' cold, dead body. The lullaby of critters and birds, combined with the eventfulness of that day was enough to make him fall asleep in a matter of moments.

Starry had found it difficult to sleep. It wasn't that he didn't trust his companions, on the contrary, he didn't feel scared of them at all. He had managed to get this group together well enough, but something was bothering him. He kept finding himself flashing back to his old days, when he was a farmer, but he couldn't remember anything that didn't involve the noble who had killed his family. He remembered his face, he remembered his fight with him, the use of the nobles relic, of starry taking the relic from him. Seeing the poster that announced the nobles death, and the wanted sign for Starry, looking over the poster, "100,000 wanted for the capture or confirmed death of S...."

Crackles, sparks, light. Somewhere the small sparks became a larger fire, igniting the bushes, catching the walls of the trees. Small flicks of flame flapped against the bark, rising up to alight the leaves, spreading across the treetops, the fire now free to grow as it wanted. What was a small fire upon one tree had now taken a forth of the forest, but the flames were not done growing. They spread around the campsite where a few poor travelers had come to rest, nearly surrounding them. The flames grew higher, and with the approaching darkness, they would draw eyes from a ways away.

Starry burst from his sleeping cot. "Fire, there's a fire!" Starry quickly got out of his bed, grabbing his relic to throw some supplies to himself, grabbing what he could. He stepped over to Marcus, pulling him out of his sheets. "Lets go, dammit! This fires going to eat us alive! Grab what you can!" Starry jumped over to his pack, quickly tying it around his shoulder, when he looked up and noticed Artemis' campsite was already ablaze. He stared intently at his stuff, trying to decide whether it was worth it to take what he could. He could, after all, claim he hadn't seen the books. And with the way Artemis acted about the story earlier, Starry suspected he wasn't going to be eager to help. He grabbed the books he could, opting to not risk taking anything else, he put them away in his bag, turning to check on Marcus.

The latter had quickly rolled up his sleeping roll and gathered his few belongings. Fortunately he hadn't really unpacked before lying down and once he had his sleeping roll, bag and bow strapped to his back, he was ready to go. Some of his provisions had been lost as they had been lying on the other side of the camp. The smell of both burned wood and meat filled the air.... Burning meat....
"Vagabond.... Where is the scholar?" The flames were so close now that Marcus almost had to yell to make himself be heard over the roaring flames. Panic and dismay could be read on his face as his gaze shifted between Artemis' side of the camp and Starry's face. "What are we going to..." He stopped mid-sentence to cough. The smoke was starting to become stifling. We should wait-" Starry didn't let him finish his sentence, grabbed Marcus' arm and started running, away from the all-consuming fire.

Tyrell looked at the fire, which at this point was moving away from them with the wind. He just stood looking at it. "Well we can wait here for it to die down, get back in the boat or I could try and stop it though I've never had much luck with stopping fires that I have already started. If the ground was moist and muddy I might be able to however it isn't. Alternatively I could walk through the flames unharmed and come back for you later to see if you are still alive." He flashed a coy grin before looking at the dilemma on front of them. He could always try and direct the flame towards the lake, or halt its progress in an attempt to burn it out. However He wasn't quite sure how that would end up, sparkie might have an idea though he wouldn't really expect him to come up with one anytime soon.

He heard the commotion over the fire, mainly as he had long ago learned how to tune out the sound of fire and heard the people shouting in the distance. Not that he particularly cared. They would have just died back int he city and there were worse ways to die than being burned, he used to not believe that would be possible but now he knew better.

A shadow crept through the streets. Sometimes with the appearance of a man, then dissolving half or completely into nothingness. After his confrontation with the black-clad female, Shin had been scouting around the city, checking how the invasion -which he could now say for sure it was- was progressing on both sides. The numb feeling in his wrist had subdued and he had applied a makeshift bandage on his side to stop the bleeding, leaving only a faint feeling of pain. To prevent a second unwelcome confrontation, he had remained invisible most of the time. However, he had switched to using his environment as a cover instead, since his skills demanded his constant concentration and took their toll on his energy as well. He ran fast, silently and in a slightly crouched fashion, using the shadows as well as his dark clothing and the overall unnatural darkness to his advantage. He avoided the main roads, to make sure he wouldn’t be struck by a lost arrow or run into too many people. Being invisible after all, isn’t all that effective in a crowd where people are able to feel you. Besides, he knew the alleys rather well so he wouldn’t have to worry about losing his way. He sprinted through the small alleys of Amaryth in the direction of the docks, where most foreign soldiers and free citizens were apparently going. Meanwhile, his mind was just as active as his body, analyzing his findings thus far.

The invasion troops had secured all of the outer city with the possible exception of the harbor, which was the only part of the city Shin hadn’t checked upon yet. The foreign troops were currently starting their first attack on the inner city where most surviving Othean troops had ensconced themselves. As here and there torches were ignited, the whole city slowly started to brighten in order to fend off the anomalous darkness, slightly diminishing the advantage of surprise which the elite troops had possessed thus far. This elite force of black-clad women had spread across the city and seemed to only be chasing certain targets. Their primary weapon was the sovnya, but they also made use of swords and several knives or daggers, he wasn't sure about the exact number as of yet. A very odd aspect of the whole conquest was that none of the invasion troops seemed to be raiding the parts of the city which they had conquered. He had studied and seen several professional armies in action and most of them still pillaged the cities they attacked. If they didn't live off of the spoils they gathered during raids, that meant they were remarkably content with their wages. A second striking aspect of this invasion was that in the last few hours, Shin had only occasionally stumbled upon skirmishes, mostly between guards and the foreign troops. The normal citizens were apparently taken to the city’s outskirts where they were most likely confined, or guarded if you will, without any bloodshed. These actions testified of a very strong discipline among the troops as well as a strange sense of kindness -or meekness- among the foreign troops in Shin's perception. But why?

His pondering was interrupted by an outcry and the clattering sounds of battle only a few streets away from him. Shin quickly shrouded himself in shadows and even put in some extra effort to make himself utterly invisible, despite the dim light which was spread by the torches not too far away from him and the rapidly unfolding scène.

The fight he had stumbled upon this time was between two of the elite black-clad women and a third woman. The latter, who wasn't clad in black, was obviously an Oragossi and used a weapon strikingly similar to that of the other women. The black-clads were facing the other end of the alley and even if he hadn't been shrouded, they wouldn't have noticed his sudden emergence. The fight appeared to have only just started and Shin watched from the shadows, intrigued by the deadly dance the three were performing.

The Oragossi was obviously being pushed back into a defensive fighting style. Her two opponents were faster than her, but she still managed to deflect their sovnyas with her glaive and employ swift footwork to evade the hits which were aimed primarily at her legs. Their sovynas seemed to turn into a blur as they rapidly pulled back and lunged again, only to be deflected and pushed aside. The Oragossi on the other hand wasn't able to land a single blow on her attackers and her defence wasn't completely impervious. As she was deflecting a lunge from the left, the rightmost black-clad managed to land a hit on her lower leg. Once.. Twice... It was, however, not enough to bring her to her knees, she was still standing, with a look of anger and fierce beauty plastered onto her face. As time went by, fatigue and an increasing fury started taking their toll on the Oragossi. Where the black-clads only slowed down a bit in their speed, she had to endure more and more hits, mainly on her shoulders and legs, as fatigue and apparent anger were weakening her defenses. At some point it seemed as though she was giving in to either one and there was no doubt that she'd be overwhelmed by her foes.

Or at least she would have been, but this was the moment that Shin decided to do something out of character. He had watched the fight with the cold sentiment of a spectator watching a play. However, at some point he had unconsciously started to clutch the hilt of his twin swords. He could turn the tables and save this woman's life or he could remain silent, do nothing and watch the foreign woman's life drain from her eyes. Shin knew he was more than capable of doing the latter. Had he, after all, not done the exact same thing not even a few hours ago as he had watched Yeong-An die? But Shin had known the petty lord, he knew that it was his own fault and that Yeong-An had killed countless innocents before today. Could that be what motivated the foreign troops as well; A sense of protecting the innocents?

Deciding to act before he could reconsider, Shin stepped into the light while remaining invisible. Without a sound he drew one of the twins and brought it into a defensive stand to his left. He slowly approached the black-clad woman on his right and thrusted his sword forward, straight towards her back. Only when she dropped her sovnya did the woman seem to realize that she had been struck from behind and as Shin removed his blade, she collapsed. Startling both of the remaining combatants momentarily. As if invigorated by the sight of her enemy’s blood, the Oragossi was the first to recover. She uttered a bestial growl and lunged at her remaining foe, beating aside her sovnya with a fierce attack and trying to close the distance between them. The black-clad woman, however, knew when to retreat. Seeing she was now outnumbered she leapt backwards and darted into a nearby alley.

Shin could have killed her as well, but allowed her to retreat. He concluded that he had been right in questioning their motives before, their forces had thus far acted responsibly and he would not pass unnecessary judgment upon them. He had already saved one desperate life at the cost of another, and so the scales remained balanced. Returning his attention to the wounded Oragossi woman, he saw that her guard was still raised. She held her glaive defensively in front of her torso and her eyes flickered back and forth rapidly as she struggled to find some sign of Shin. He continued observing her under the cloak of invisibility as she put her back against a stone wall, limiting her avenues of escape but preventing a strike from behind. He walked in front of her silently, skillfully treading on the balls of his feet so as to avoid even a whisper of his boots against the cobblestone.

Even in the dim light Shin could see several rivulets of blood trickling to the ground at her feet, each one coming from a different wound. He could not tell how severe they were in the darkness, but it wouldn’t do for him to save her from assailants and then allow her to bleed to death on the dark and empty street.

“Are your wounds serious?” he asked, shifting back and forth so as to disguise the direction of his voice.

The Oragossi did not respond immediately, instead she began taking deep controlled breaths in an effort to rein in the battle fervor she was immersed in. Shin could surmise from watching her fight that she let anger get the best of her rather easily. He had witnessed warriors like that before and for some it proved an effective combat style, however, it was a style that played towards raw strength and endurance. Something the Oragossi’s light frame suggested she lacked, which made her enigmatic to the logical Da-Hyunin. Watching her closely, Shin saw the flushed tone fade from her cheeks and the rigidity of her posture loosen. It even seemed as if she had shrunk from the fierce warrior he had beheld before into a simple girl.

“Reveal yourself, then we can talk,” she finally replied. Her glaive was held firmly and her gaze was more focused, despite the obvious distraction her wounds created. Shin saw little harm in showing himself to her now, she had regained control of her senses and appeared less likely to lash out. Putting more distance between them, because it is always best to err on the side of caution, he allowed the invisibility to unravel. He exposed everything except for his face, that he kept shrouded. With a pale cloth he wiped the blood from his blade and sheathed it, trying to express that he meant her no harm although the message might be easily misinterpreted by some.

“Are your wounds serious?” he asked once again, with an identical inflection and volume. Glancing at the multiple cuts she had endured, the Oragossi grunted and reluctantly leaned her glaive against the wall. Shin could see some of the more shallow incisions were beginning to clot and dry themselves, but they would still require her attention. He supposed, however, that her crude ministrations answered his question well enough.

“Who are you? Why did you help me?” she asked, as she began bandaging the more important wounds with strips torn from the hem of her tunic. Cleaning the wounds with water would have to wait.

“The more important question is...who are you?” Shin retorted. “Those black-clad women, they targeted you for a specific reason. What was it?” It would service Da-Hyun to understand what the invaders sought, and the extent of their capabilities. There were a limited number of possibilities regarding their choice to target the Oragossi woman, and he suspected he knew the answer already. Shin could see her cold glare, and knew that she didn’t appreciate having her questions disregarded, but that was immaterial as far as he was concerned. She seemed to consider his words carefully, as if mulling over whether or not to share her information with him, but she eventually conceded. Reaching behind her head, she pulled her long braid over her shoulder and indicated an ornamental clasp at its base.

“Considering your abilities, I’m sure you can imagine what this is,” she stated with a smirk. “Does that answer your question?”

Shin nodded pensively, not that she could see his gesture while his face remained cloaked in shadows and invisibility. With their advantage of both agility and numbers, the black-clads should have been able to kill her if they had wanted to, but they had seemed more intent on harrying their target, which led him to the conclusion that their objective was to subdue relic users. That was interesting information, and perhaps dangerous, he realized that it might have been a mistake to show mercy on the other assailant. If their goal was to obtain relics, they now had two targets and it was likely reinforcements would arrive swiftly. His eyes shifted to the body lying in a dark red puddle beside them. Hiding it might put their pursuers off track, but how long would it take for the woman to return with reinforcements? Moreover, how would he manage to break into one of the houses, hide the body, make sure the Oragossi wouldn’t be attacked in the meantime and disappear before their pursuers reached them? The benefits didn’t outweigh the risks and escaping as soon as possible would be their priority. With a glance, he evaluated the Oragossi woman’s condition. Despite her bravado, he could see that she would need help making it out of here safely. Fortunately, he had been sent to identify potential threats in Amaryth several weeks before the Da-Hyuni representatives arrived and, in doing so, had become quite familiar with the layout of the city.

“Follow me.”

The frown and dark expression that appeared on her face clearly showed that the Oragossi didn't like to be ordered around, especially not by some strange relic user whose name she didn't even know. After a few whispered but elaborate curses -some of which Shin surprisingly recognized to be Da-Hyuni- and a vexing lack of movement, she finally replied.

"And why should I? I don't know who you are or what you want. If you don’t want to tell me why you saved me and where we’re going, I can find my own way just fine."
He had to admit that she was strong-willed, despite her wounds. Still, he could hardly repress an irritated sigh. Did she not understand that the black-clad would soon return with her friends?

"You know just as well as I do that we don't have the time for questions. She'll soon return with reinforcements."

Her expression didn't change, but she was obviously fully aware of their circumstances and so she slowly walked towards him, still holding her glaive. A faint limp bore witness to the severity of her wounds. As she halted before him, Shin couldn’t help but notice that the woman was half a head shorter than him, which however didn't decrease her intimidating look. She looked up at where his face was supposed to be and gave him a menacing look, which was somewhat shaky as she didn't know where exactly to glare at.

"Know that I don't trust you, or anyone for that matter. You may have saved me, but gratitude doesn’t equal obedience."

He continued studying her face and expression before nodding. After which he turned around abruptly and confidently walked into a nearby street. He adjusted his pace and movement to make sure that she'd be able to follow him, which also included remaining visible enough to be followed. The woman didn't walk half as silently as he had hoped for, her injuries were keeping her from walking in any style apart from a pained limp.

"Yuu." He suddenly said as they were passing through the third street leading away from the battle scene.

"Me?" She mumbled, perplexed.

Without looking back, he explained the single word in a soft tone.
"You can call me Yuu.The only other thing you need to know for now is that I'm leading you somewhere saf-"

Before he could finish his sentence, a sudden beam of light blinded him and stopped them in their tracks. "Amatsu's very own shadow..." He grunted as his eyes adjusted to the afternoon sun that had suddenly reappeared. Before he had the time to do so, the sky turned crimson red and a feeling of doom descended upon him. Dark questions raged through his mind, filling him with more despair than he had ever felt in his adult life. Why was he helping this woman? Why was he risking his life at all? He should just accept his own weakness and flee back to Da-Hyun where he would be safe. He should just leave the woman to die and hide in a corner, or at the very least sit down. He suddenly felt so tired...

"What do you think you're doing? Keep moving! These lights no doubt mean that they're planning a second ambush or an attack of some kind."

The woman's voice seemed to be far away and Shin suddenly realized that he had not only halted, he had sat down in the middle of the street.

"By all the gods..." The Oragossi sighed and lifted her glaive. A sudden sting of pain in his wounded side broke the trance Shin was in. He let out a soft pained yelp and she smirked. "Before you sit down and enjoy the view, would you mind showing, or at least telling me, where we were going?"

Shin glanced down at his bleeding side, focusing on the pain to clear his mind of the cloying webs of anguish which sought to cast him into despair. Whatever foul aura had taken hold of him seemed to have a severely lessened effect on the woman. He could see an uneasiness to her stance as she nervously glanced up at the sky, but she maintained her composure well. He could only assume it had something to do with the effect of her relic. There was no time to postulate, however, they had dawdled too long already. Indicating for her to follow him with a quiet hand gesture, Shin proceeded. They were, unfortunately, heading in the same direction which the black-clad had disappeared in but there was little choice in the matter given the constraints of time.

Turning a corner onto a larger street, Shin stopped abruptly as he heard the scuff of cloth against stone over the labored footsteps of his companion. Acting on instinct, he pushed the Oragossi against the wall with one arm, clamping a hand firmly over her mouth to halt any protest as a figure cloaked in black became visible to his well-trained eyes. She was scanning the street from the shadows of an alley across from them, her clothing and weapon revealing her to be another of the foreign agents. The Oragossi attempted to push his hand away, but he applied more pressure to hold her in place. Fortunately, she ceased her struggling as she too spotted the black-clad. To the Orogassi it might seem that they stood in plain view of the enemy, but Shin was focusing all of his will on maintaining the illusion that this was just another empty street. The exertion was draining what reserves of energy he still held, but he could not afford to move lest they be spotted. After a few agonizingly slow minutes the scout made a hand gesture, signalling an all clear, after which she proceeded into the street with four more of her comrades appearing behind her. They darted past the two evokers with frightening agility, disappearing into the alley the duo had just come from. Shin continued to hide the two of them from view for as long as he could manage, before finally his invisibility dropped completely. His previously hidden mask was now visible as well and he barely managed to reduce the light it emitted so that the mask didn’t act as a beacon for enemies.

He nearly collapsed from the strain, and felt the despair creeping into his mind once again, but a firm hand on his shoulder roused him once again. The Oragossi pushed him forward into action, and he stumbled onwards, too tired to care about how loudly he was walking. Fortunately, they did not have far to go. In the alley that the black-clad’s had come from there was a drainage shaft with a deceptively placed grate. Shin struggled with it for a moment, but then the Oragossi pushed him aside. She grabbed the bars in both hands and squatted, pulling up with her legs and plucking it from the ground with surprising comfort despite her wounds. She made a face when the smells of human waste, decayed food and worse things filled the surrounding air. “Couldn’t find a way out of the city with less filth now, could you?” Her sarcasm and obvious attempt to lighten the mood were wasted on the bone-weary Shin. He would have given her a cold and irked reply, were it not for her mischievous smile. That, and the fact that she nimbly swung her legs over the edge of the dark hole and let herself drop down before he could think of a proper rebuttal. A splashing sound and a muffled curse informed him that the Orogassi had landed safely and that the sewage water was rather cold. He swiftly followed her example and disappeared into the darkness.