In the dark of endless night,
the wind would cry and scream and bite.

Each shriek a note in symphony,
A screaming and bloody cacophony.

Stained with rust of moonlit hue,
His smile reveals thine quarry true,

A dirge for the lost in Rebena’s helm,
Hidden from sight in the the sunlit realm.

Hidden from the mortal world,
coiled in the blackness swirled.

Out of dark of endless night,
the wind will cry and scream and bite.

- Author unknown, from the Lost Legends

---

The drums of war continue to beat even after the fighting has ceased. This is the nature of war. Each drop of blood spilled, a seed sown. This world is no different. - Rinkoo

---

It'd been three years since the end of the East-West Wars, brought on by the West's frustration with a lack of representation in the political games of Lifan. Victory was almost assured for the East, boasting not only the center of magical learning, but a populace far outstripping that of the West. The war was brief, in the eyes of the few Immortals, spanning only two years and ending in the three month Siege of Ward. While Ward continues to boast no enemy force has breached its walls, it is no longer done so with the gusto of old - Ward knew that once it fell, the rest of the West would fall and with time being their enemy, the West had no choice but to capitulate to the East's demands.

Strangely enough, the peace reached was largely palatable for both sides. The West gained increased representation in the centeral government. For the east, they gained trade treaties largely benefiting their causes, allowing the East to import and export an increased amount of goods. It also gave Lifan authority over the Arenas of the West, something formerly run by the cities themselves.

It was in this world the young were released, both sides making an effort to return to the traditions of old. Most trainers had put off their travels until the end of the War, some, braver than others, made efforts to complete the Eastern edge of their Rites.

Orin (Kimlee and Eien)

Eien, the last to step through closed the portal with a snap, letting the swirling vortex collapse into nothingness. Eien had only been to Orin once before, giving him only one location to send the group to safety. While he assumed his Shariha could use these portals without knowing the locations, he didn't want to risk inadvertently killing off a large section of their party by throwing them into an unknown area - such as a wall. He couldn't imagine matter being placed into other solid matter would bode well for the human form.

Many things were rare for Eien, most notably any form of extended speech - which often coupled with his general lack of initiative. However, toward was not one of those rare days. Immediately after he collected himself, he moved over to Kimlee to run an idea by her. With her approval he stepped into the center of the group.

"At this point, it is probably best we split into two groups," Eien began, his voice strangely powerful for such a usually soft-spoken person, "It will allow us to survey more of the area. I want a telepath in each group so we have a fast way to communicate should something happen. Kal, Chyou, Samuel, Rook, and Night will be one group. Kimlee, Riccardo, Itsuki, Saibrah, and myself will form a second group. From there, everyone should form some kind of search net with others close by them. It'd probably be unwise to wander off alone."

Often times, remnants of the older times of Nerta would be uncovered, times when magic was not constrained like it was now. Unbridled magic was the most powerful, but also the most dangerous of them all. The Conclave often told stories of these times to young mages; Eien had known a few. These stories all had a common vein - a young mage dying out of ignorance of the power of the magic they were calling upon. To really ensure these lessons actually sunk in, the instructors would almost always pair this with an elaborate illusion, especially for the truly stubborn youth. Eien suspected that this could be a very dangerous place for them to tread and was going to take no chances.

He said nothing to Kimlee about his suspicions - he couldn't afford to have her lose her nerve. Her Hawkline would be crucial to escaping should things go south. Nodding to his sister, she called forth her Hawkline, their mode of transport down. Kimlee immediately swung her leg over her Hawkline's crouched body,

"Everyone remember the plan," he added, tapping Kimlee's shoulder. With a small nudge from her, the bird took to the sky.

(( Everyone should regroup in Rebena in their groups (or wander off on your own) - if you are in my group, some of you can say you rode Eien's Ohitsuji down there.))

Samuel stepped through Eien's portal, amazed at the utility of the Natrelmon he had caught. It seemed as if all the Trainers here were becoming masters in their own right. He was suitably impressed as he exited Toran and entered Orin. Albion zoomed through, keeping close to his ear, and Atrixus fluffed its feathers slightly at the sudden climate change.

It was much colder here in Orin, and much windier. Samuel had never been this far east in his life. The city was flat, and through the buildings he could see huge forests surrounding the city. The way the tall pines swayed, it was obvious that they blocked much of the wind. Despite that, the chill was fairly great within the city. Samuel didn't mind it; he had grown up in Relin wearing simple tunics. Some of the others might feel it more, and he felt Atrixus' body warm on his shoulder as it breathed a small puff of flame.

He listened intently as Eien spoke, giving commands as to splitting into two groups. That was probably wise, as multiple teams would be able to cover more ground. He nodded politely at the man he assumed was Kal and at the tall, pale young woman named as Chyou as they were named. She was eerie-looking, and almost as tall as he was, though she was of a slender build. Her piercing eyes and long nodachi slung across her back gave her an imposing visage. She looked more than capable of handling herself.

"All right," he said as Eien and the other group moved off. "I'm Samuel Talm," he said in way of introduction to the two unknowns. "We best head down sooner rather than later. Is everyone ready?"

Frigid gusts of wind cut through Rook like a knife as he exited the portal which had mysteriously appeared after a brief flash of light. The weather here was a lot less forgiving than Toran's. Thankfully, He had the common sense to dress appropriately after being informed of their venture by Eien. In place of his usual cut off, Rook wore a thick, red, long sleeved shirt with a black jean-vest over top. The vest also had a hood which he immediately pulled up to combat the biting wind.

There was new additions to the saviors of Toran, four to be exact. Kimlee and Kal, whom Rook had met before, and two others that differed drastically. One was a tiny male, almost half Rook's size. The other was a strange looking female, as tall and slender as the blade she carried. She had an intimidating aura around her, like she was someone you wouldn't want against you.

Eien began giving orders to split up into two groups in order to search the area more efficiently. He was to be paired with Kal, Night, Samuel, and the strange female, Chyou. Nodding his approval, he momentarily reacquainted himself with his friend Night, before walking over to Chyou to introduce himself.

"Hello. My name is Rook." he announced, offering his hand.

Ooc: Deleted this post due to a change of plot.

Saibrah found himself a slight distance from the rest of the group during Eien's directions, having been one of the last to enter through the portal. Remaining unobtrusive and reclusive during their meeting in Toran, he doubted if anyone save for Eien, Itsuki, and Samuel knew he was participating. He was not entirely without direction, however. Recently, Saibrah had pulled from Toran's library an old tome describing a mystical pair of knives from a not oft-repeated fairy tale of the Master Thief, and having poured over the book he found all cryptic clues to point towards Orin - or rather a place around Orin - which conveniently, had been where this group of amateur trainers were traveling.

Noticing the release of Natrelmon, Saibrah gingerly tapped an amulet hanging from his neck twice, releasing two puffs of mist which materialized into his Mythari and Nybion, two similar and powerful dragons, one his partner since childhood and the other a gift from Itsuki. Mythari swirled in the air around his head, pulsating crimson and cyan draconic energy and filling the air with quickly dissipating runes of an ancient and forgotten language. It eventually settled to Saibrah's right, hovering in the air while beating its four wings in a syncopated rhythm. Nybion had settled to Saibrah's left, preferring to stand and stretch its transparent wings momentarily before shimmering a brilliant white and whipping its long, spiked tail back and forth to limber itself.

Wordlessly, Saibrah approached Itsuki from behind and set his hand on Itsuki's shoulder, both his dragons following a short distance behind. "It's been a while, Itsuki." he said with a smile, greeting one of his closest friends with warm regard.

Itsuki was one of the few that knew of Eien’s abilities to make portals, and one of fewer still who knew how exactly they were made and under what circumstances that ability was attained. It was not the largest secret in the world, but it was a secret that, in its own way, had helped the bond of trust between the pair develop more closely than it might have done otherwise. As Itsuki reemerged in Orin, his first thought was how uncomfortable the people using the portal for the first time must have felt - it was a unique experience that he had only barely managed to get acquainted with himself, and it was also something that practically none of the others could have been expecting. He imaged the sensations running through some people’s bodies were quite unpleasant.

The air of Orin was almost brittle with how cold it was (at least compared to Toran), and it felt almost as if any sudden movement would break the icy tension and cause an avalanche of cold. Sakura-oh, Sagralia, Mujin, Mythari and Lunaclay had all been released from their relics in anticipation of the events that were about to unfold - at the very least it would be a chances to get a glimpse into the most ancient past of Nerta, and at best… There could be anything there, from ancient relics like the Daybreak Coronet a tome had guided him to recently, or… Anything. The possibilities were infinite.

As Saibrah came up behind him, Itsuki simply nodded as the two made contact and turned to face his friend.

“We’ve both been very busy, I suppose.” he replied, a lot more sombre than he had been in the past - his recent spiritual transformation would likely come as a great shock to Saibrah as soon as he realised precisely what had happened - but the shock would perhaps give way to more pleasant emotions in time. For now, there was no time for the catharsis that a long chat would provide - everyone was at Orin for a singular purpose and that purpose was to find whatever Night’s tome promised.

Before he set out to leave with Eien, Kimlee and Saibrah, Itsuki walked over to the arguably most potent-looking trainer of the other group, Song Chyou, and presented to her a crystalline feather created by the Daybreak Coronet. It was flawless in form and extraordinarily beautiful, even more so for being bathed in the fiery light of the Atrixus perched on her shoulder.

“This feather will give you the ability to telepathically contact me any time - and if you encounter hostile magicks, its power can be invoked to create a ring of energy that will prevent the entry or exit of any hostile spells or Natrelmon moves temporarily. You look like the most competent person in the group, and if you’re a friend of Eien’s you’re a friend of mine.”

The words needed no extra explanation, especially given that Chyou could contact Itsuki in the future by telepathy, and with that Itsuki turned to leave. He’d have liked to have spent more time with Saibrah before they set off, but they had the journey to engage in small talk. For now, preparations had to be made so they could set off and actually find what they were looking for.

Now in Rebena (Eien and Kimlee)

It was pretty easy to pick out Rebena from the air, given they knew what to look for. The dense patch of fog covered an area. It was eerie in that it didn't move from its location, as if it clung to something.It was pretty obvious it was some kind of magic - no matter how many times they circled, they could still see nothing in the center. Indicating for those that flew to land at a center point, Eien decided to rethink their strategy for executing their exploration into the territory.

Once on the ground, Eien opted to split them into three separate groups. Eien would go with Saibrah. Kimlee would go with Chyou and Itsuki, a choice he had made to protect her given her last excursion alone. He wouldn't say this out loud, but he was probably more confident in those two being able to protect her than himself - he knew he was good, but Chyou's training and Itsuki's high level Natrelmon would be much better than his. For the third group, Eien suggested that Rook, Night, and Samuel head in as another group.

---

Eien

Eien stepped into the strange mists, heading off in one direction. He was unsure if Saibrah would actually go with him or not, but it was imperative they have some part of their group head in that direction. He kept reaching out to each group with his mind, just to make sure they were there. Next to him floated his Ohitsuji, Eien having called out his companion in order to help protect them and sense through the mist. The sheep-type bleated a soft, low note - a warning to them to walk carefully.

---

Kimlee

Kimlee was surprised Eien had put her with Chyou and Itsuki. Usually he would have wanted her to be with him in order to keep her safe, despite her assurances that she was more than capable of keep tabs on herself. It made Kimlee visibly a bit nervous considering Eien's proficiency's. It meant that Eien was very concerned about how dangerous this place was. Kimlee could see shadows flickering on the edges of her vision. It was disturbing her to see such images. Cold sweat began to run down her face, her feet not listening to her commands to move forward - at least initially.

After a deep breath, she moved along with Chyou and Itsuki into the fog...

((Not sure what else to add since Rebena is Alex's thing - doing rolls.))

Adequately dressed for the location, having known they were traveling to Orin (Just not this second), Night was in black sweat pants, yellow/brown steel boots, and a white long sleeved short underneath a black wind breaker with red trimming that had "TORAN" in large red letters on the back. Carrying with him a medium sized black back pack with various supplies, including relics and other items of interest, Night stepped through the portal...

And found himself barraged with gusts of wind he had never experienced before. "Alright, I wasnt ready for this." Night plainly stated as he shielded his face from the wind. Despite his get up, he was a Toran born who had never been over the mountains, let alone the Eastern cities. Looking around, Night observed the others as they came through the portal, and acquainted themselves with each other and their surroundings. Reaching into the bag for his relics, then pausing as Eien spoke, Night's face grew into a determined smile as the strongly-spoken trainer finished giving out orders. "Let's ride, Hrimfaxi" Night breathed into a frosty blue coin he had removed from his bag. In a flash of light, a tall, strong Frallion was before the group. Eagerly climbing on, Night gestured and shouted to the group as he took off towards Rebena, having studied the tome's map extensively and knowing the way. "Hey! If you know the way, I'll meet you there, if you don't, just follow me or someone who does!"

The majestic ice horse took off, its hooves thundering in the windy plains that it was well accustomed to running through. Frallion had made the chilly tundra of the north and the tough slopes of the central mountains their domain with their hardy muscles and frosted manes, though it was on the flat plains where the Natrelmon could truly show off their speed and endurance. This could plainly be seen as Night and Hrimfaxi were already a good distance away from the city of Orin in the few moments they had been travelling. The horse could easily keep this pace for several hours, assuming his rider was up to the task. Night himself was actually uncomfortable as an equestrian, but didn;t really notice due to his determination to get to Rebena. He had a joyous feeling that he was travelling down a path already set before him, a path that would lead to a brighter world, if only for the few souls that would be aided in the quest. While he would normally be reluctant to undertake such a dangerous journey, Night was reinvigorated by the thought that Suzaku's will, Rinkoo's guidance, and Arandin's spirit all aided him in completing this task. His newfound powers didn't really hurt either.

Samuel arrived at Rabena because let's get this fucking thing going please jesus fuck

It was dark and foreboding, and Samuel felt a great sense of malice coming from within. It was overwhelming, even to a mind not opened by gishiki. He felt his hair standing on end, and not because of the cold weather. The darkness that pervaded the surrounding countryside was a testament to whatever evil resided within. He shuddered.

As Eien reorganized the groups, Samuel found himself separated with Rook and his good friend Night. It was a good group, both of them being very capable Trainers of their own accord. "We should probably keep a Natrelmon or two out ourselves," he said as Eien released his Ohitsuji and disappeared into the fogs. Samuel quickly decided on his two Light-types. The darkness here worried him, and what better way to ward darkness than beings of light? Albion zoomed around the heads of Night and Rook excitedly, but Lancelot stood tense and at the ready, its brilliant white sword shining and illuminating the area around them.

"Let's go," Samuel said sharply before taking point and leading the way into the fogs, Lancelot at his side and Albion fluttering a few feet in front, its natural light revealing the path.

Following Samuel's lead, Rook released his own Albion, and Kujaku. (which he totally didn't take off of Luzy's corpse). Being unsure of the surrounding area, he didn't feel comfortable having Ifrit out. It would be better to have fliers that could handle any situation.

Without missing a step, Rook fell in a few feet behind Samuel, allowing him to lead the way into the fog with Albion overhead of him and Kujaku slightly to his right.

"This should be interesting." He thought to himself.

"Do you know where we are going Samuel?" He asked while following.

OOC: I have had a change of heart regarding Chyou's appearance. While her stature remains the same, I wanted to change her skin pigmentation and hair to better suit what I envision her as. From this point forward, use any characteristics I mention in these posts as a basis for her appearance. I'll have her official biography updated within a few days to accommodate. TLDR; She's got orange - blond hair now (still long) and is now tan, with auburn eyes. I think it suits her Suzaku theme a lot more than albino. :c I'm also adjusting her outfit, but I'll clarify that IC.

IC:

Before the groups entered through Eien's portal, Chyou decided to change her attire in order to match their upcoming journey. Discarding her Hanfu, she reemerged in the attire of a warrior. Brass locks no longer linger in casual waves against her collarbone, instead she downed her locks in an auburn hachimaki: the Song house seal inscribed upon the cloth. As she walked toward the group, a thin-beam of sunlight would reflect off the burnt - red coloring of her armor. While composed primarily of metallic plates, the armor was incredibly light, and crafted so that it made no sound with Chyou's movements.

Chyou was shocked to see Eien's new-found magic. It seemed like only yesterday that the two played in Lifan's gardens as children,. As she took the first steps through the portal, a feeling of inertia took hold of her. While the epitome of balance, athleticism, and pose - Chyou found herself stumbling as she emerged from the gateway. After a brief moment of recovery, she positioned herself a few feet from Eien and Kimlee - a move not made out of shyness, but more of comfort. The journey into Rabena had Chyou in a tense state. On one hand, this was an opportunity to see an ancient realm of Nerta, on the other... it was a gateway into a hazardous void.

As Itsuki approached, Chyou couldn't help but notice the flamboyant nature to the boy: a characteristic she found most amusing. As he extracted the crystalline feather, a look of amazement reflected across Chyou's face. It had been the first time she had seen an artifact that, based on an estimation, was as ancient as her nodachi. With a deep bow, she accepted the feather, placing it between one of the plates of her dou (chestplate). 'It is an honor. I will keep your gift close to my heart, Itsuki.'

As Itsuki departed, Chyou turned to see Kimlee mount her Hawkline. Without hesitation, Chyou sprinted toward Kimlee, her strides closing the distance in just moments. As Hawkline ascended, Chyou leaped toward the sky - entering flight.

- Timelapse: The flight to Rabena -

Chyou landed next to Kimlee and Eien. As the remainder of the group assembled, Chyou positioned herself with Itsuki and Kimlee. As the trio stood infront of the gates to Rabena, Chyou's hand fell to the hilt of her nodachi, the sheath illuminating in response. With a soft chant, Chyou summoned Atrixus and Mujin: Atrixus taking his perch upon her right Sode, while Mujin took her place floating around Chyou.

With one last, affirmative breath, Chyou stepped forward with Itsuki and Kimlee into the fog...

The dense fog that covered Rebena would, as time went on, inspire a feeling of dread within all who dared to enter its confines, and of those who already had, perhaps it was already kicking in. The ancient city seemed almost to stir at the introduction of new life, of new prey to feed upon…

The party had entered through a ruined wall before they split into the three groups they were currently in, and through completely unknown means, they had each been moved to a separate sector each, or at least, at the entrance to one of the sectors.

Samuel, Night and Rook would soon find themselves stood in front of a great wall, completely black, with a massive foreboding gate blocking their entry into the next room. Though the mist engulfed the three of them and wove its spell of terror on them, that sensation was nothing before that which they would experience looking at the gate that blocked their path. Samuel in particular would feel dread unlike anything he had experienced before in his life - the sensation just from looking at the gate would be worse than anything he had experienced in the Destruction of Toran, and as he continued to stare at it he would notice pale yellow eyes staring back at him. First from the left, in the periphery of his sight, and then from his right, just beyond his range of focus. Before long, he would see more pairs of eyes glimpsing out at him. Before he could move, or even register a cry for help, he would find himself alone in the mist with neither Rook nor Night there to console him as a massive Yata-Garasu flew directly at him, cawing loudly as it did so, before it was joined by another, and another, and another until his entire vision was filled with the flurry of black feathers and bloodcurdling caws that become more and more like human speech as the onslaught continued.

“Death is all that awaits you here.”

“Toran was your fault. You should have stopped them.”

“You’re no better than Galven.”

“You couldn’t beat Takai. You will never beat Takai. You should have died there that day.”

And then it was over, and he would find himself exactly where he was earlier, staring at the gate as he had been for the past few moments. Whatever his reaction to the ordeal, it would likely not be something he could keep to himself for long.

Itsuki felt the feeling of dread hit him the second he walked into the mist. Not only was his vision impaired, but he could feel the presence of malevolent spirits within the area around him. It was a highly unpleasant situation to be in, and it was most certainly not a place he would re-enter as soon as they achieved whatever it was Night had been hoping to achieve.

Itsuki began whispering a chant as he gingerly stepped forwards into the mist, and before long a globe of white fire burned fiercely within Itsuki’s hand, offering a little more light with which to see. The presence of the fire also soothed his nerves a little, though it was of very limited efficacy when it came to making him feel better about the ruined city he had just entered. He turned to look around him, almost hoping to see sunlight, but was greeted only by Chyou, Kimlee and the ever-present caress of the mist.

“We should… Try to find the boundaries of the city… The way the mist fell as we were approaching made it look like there were four quadrants, and we all came in through this one… But I have no idea where the others are, even though they were just here…” Itsuki began, his calm tone beginning to falter a little as the terror that the mist brought on began to set in.

“Night?!”

“Samuel?!”

“Eien? EIEN?!”

And all that came back from the mist was echoes, Ituski’s own voice reflected back at him multiple times over. The group was truly alone, now - and even the telepathic connection that they were supposed to have with the other groups seemed to fail him. Each group was, at this point, well and truly isolated.

Malice was all around him, Samuel knew. Rook was slightly behind him, with Night pulling up the rear. It seemed as if Night's tome hadn't said anything else about the interior of Rabena. They were all stumbling through the darkness together. The fog smelled vaguely of old char, as if something had been burned here long ago. Slowly, Samuel followed Albion as its faint light led the way.

Suddenly he was aware that his dragon had halted. Continuing forward, he found himself at a wall, a large black gate set in its ancient stones. As his eyes scanned the great monolithic barrier, he started to feel a prickling in his neck. A slight flash of light in the corner of his eye prompted him to look to his left. There was nothing there, but another flash turned his head again. Soon, he began realizing that there were dozens of hungry yellow eyes staring out from the wall, all staring directly at him. Never did they stay in his direct sight; every time Samuel moved his head, the eyes flitted into darkness, moving always to the edge of his view. His heart began to race and he could feel sweat rolling down his face.

He turned to inquire Rook and Night about the eyes, but he realized with a start that he was alone in the fog. Spinning, he found that Albion and Lancelot were both gone as well. "Albion! Lancelot! Rook, Night! Anyone!" he called out as loudly as he could.

As if he had stepped into an anthill, his yells seemed to awaken the eyes. Suddenly he was surrounded by blurs of black and gold. Huge Yata-garasu screamed at him and raked his face with sharp talons. He cried out and raised his large arms to shield his face from the scratching Natrelmon. Unable to stand with all the attacks coming his way, Samuel fell to one knee, crying out in pain. As he struggled to protect himself, he started to hear the voices.

Death is all that awaits you here. Toran was your fault. You should have stopped them. You’re no better than Galven. You couldn’t beat Takai. You will never beat Takai. You should have died there that day. "Stop it, stop it, please!" he cried out.

Suddenly he was aware of a warm touch on his shoulder. He yelled out in surprise and fell onto his back. His eyes uncovered, he found his Lancelot standing over him, an armored hand extended. Albion rested on Lancelot's shoulder, looking down at Samuel. Blinking his eyes, Samuel looked around. He found Rook and Night both standing there, looking at him. Glancing up, he caught sight of a single Yata-garasu perched on a stone gargoyle, its black and gold plumage framing its crimson eyes, staring down at him. As their gazes met, the Yata-garasu gave a single caw and took off into the fogs.

Samuel pulled himself to a sitting position and closed his eyes. It was only a vision. A mirage. An evil apparition that was the result of this wicked placed. Nothing more. Samuel crossed his legs, clasped his fists together, and took a deep breath through his nose, focusing on inhaling the color white. After holding it for a brief moment, he exhaled, focusing on releasing the color black. He felt a warm from within as a fell chill left his body. He repeated this twice more before opening his eyes once again.

Standing in a swift motion, he let out a deep sigh. "I'm alright. Best we carry on quickly." Lancelot gave him an inquisitive look, to which he simply nodded. Lancelot nodded in return, adjusting the grip on its longsword.

Kimlee

Kimlee followed behind Chyou and Itsuki closely, her Mythin and Hawkline forming a protective barrier around her with her 'guards'. The more and more she traversed this mist, the more and more disturbed she was getting. There was something sick here - something haunting - something so foul and so dark that it permeated all of her senses. The mist seemed to react to it and quickly swirled around her intensely, pulling her vision off to the side just for a moment. When she looked forward again, Itsuki and Chyou were gone.

"Itsuki," she whispered, not wanting to draw more attention to herself. Hearing nothing in response, she called again, this time louder, "Itsuki? Chyou?" Her fear was growing as she heard nothing in response, save for what she could swear was a cackle off in the far distance - something mocking her for not only her fear, but for her helplessness. After a moment, the mist cleared, at least partially. In the distance she could see a black formation, like a gate to a grand city off in the distance. She could feel her body being pulled towards it, her mind and body desiring whatever was on the other side of that gate. All of her inhibitions fell to the wayside, her fear now gone and transitioning into acceptance.

It would be moments before she would get there.

Saibrah steered Grodra away from the group's rendezvous before directing the hulking beast to the ground. It landed with a puff of debris and a slight indention in the earth around it, rearing back before finally settling to stomp over to the group. Saibrah swung off of his largest dragon, directed its massive head to his chest, which it easily eclipsed, and pet it momentarily before tapping his amulet and watching the behemoth dissolve into his universal relic. As their team reformed at the perimeter of the mist, Saibrah stood aloof from the group to inspect his surroundings. His pupils radically dilated for a split second before returning to normal as he attempted to peel away the layers of fog. However, nothing changed.

Saibrah gasped as he realized the implications. It couldn't possibly have been that his extrasensory sight was gone, or that it wasn't honed enough; it was that the mist itself was impairing his sight.

In Saibrah's startle he was oblivious to Eien having already walked into the border of the mist. Saibrah jogged to his side while releasing his Mythari and Nybion, both creating a protective circle of five feet as they flew opposite of each other in close proximity slightly above and around the pair. Nybion's two Globes of Ielle orbited in a circumference twice that of the dragons', opposite of each other as well, illuminating what they could of the pitch dark. Both dragons remained alert and Mythari could contact Saibrah telepathically with anything it found distressful and vice versa. Saibrah himself was wary, two flames brewing in his hands which hung at his side. Saibrah had practiced being able to channel while preoccupied with things like walking and speaking, and had grown quite good at it.

The mist was as unnerving as it was ominous. Saibrah, not one to appreciate silence when uncomfortable, spoke up to Eien. "Exactly what are we looking for? I'm not sure if I entirely understand our mission here." Saibrah wasn't well acquainted with Eien but hoped that if Eien chose him to travel with, he had some other reason for doing so besides recognizing Saibrah as the weakest link in their group.

Eien

Without really thinking about it, Eien drew forth the white fire to his right hand. The unnatural behavior of the mist disturbed him, it's darkness seeming to have no end to its depth. Ohitsuji was also unnerved, the sheep conveying its observations on the mist to Eien. There was, at this point, no choice but to continue forward. He couldn't see the way back anymore and the mist was so thick that orienting oneself was nearly impossible. He moved along slowly to allow Ohitsuji to create its globes of light and move them forward along with the group. Even though it seemed senses were damped, he hoped that Ohitsuji's Psychic Field would still give them enough warning that they couldn't be jumped. At least, at this point, if something did the Lights would at least give them a fighting chance.

What bothered Eien the most about this was the fact that he didn't know what was going on with Kimlee. He couldn't communicate with her telepathically anymore - he hadn't been able to for awhile. Nor could he do so with Itsuki or Chyou. There had been nothing he had encountered before that had done this. He said nothing to Saibrah about it, as it would gain them nothing to discuss it. If he didn't have access to his gift, he didn't have access to it - nothing could change that at this point.

Saibrah broke the silence, catching Eien mid-worry, garnering a pause before Eien would reply, "I'm not sure. It is impossible to figure out which direction is which in the denseness of this mist." He assumed that Saibrah had to come to somewhat similar conclusions as himself, "There is something inherently foul with this darkness. It is beyond anything I've experienced before. However, at this point, I don't know which way is back." At this point, the only hope of getting out was to pray that they stumbled out somehow themselves.

The mist created an eerie aura around Rebena, almost like terror had manifested itself. They had been traveling for almost an hour, aimlessly moving through the mist. This place emanated an evil so powerful that it even affected Rook to his very core. It was as if shadows were slowly smothering him. Only the soft glow from his Albion and Samuel's natrelmon allowed Rook to maintain a sense of composure in these horrid ruins. He doubted he could rely on his Blood magic to protect him here, since he doubted that anything here was still actually living.

Suddenly, Samuel stopped. Rook quickly stopped as well, scanning the area as well as he could and telepathically asking Kujaku what it sensed. Samuel must have seen or heard something. Without warning Samuel fell.

"Are you alright? Asked Rook, not necessarily worried, but curious as to what was going on.

Samuel opened his eyes and sat up. Out in the fog, something cawed. With a few deep breaths, Samuel stood up and replied, "I'm alright. Best we carry along quickly."

Nodding in agreement, Rook continued to follow him. Whatever had happened, it had made someone as hardy as Samuel turn pale, although only momentarily. Rook began to wonder how they would escape this dreadful place once they had found what Night was looking for.

"Right, I didn't assume we had any real direction." Saibrah wouldn't pursue the conversation any further, but had missed any explanation to their purpose in Rebena before entering the portal; he entered solely because this was almost definitely the location of his next prize. A locket hung around his neck, occasionally intertwining with his relic. Inside of it was a degraded portrait of what seemed to be a happy family, faintly reminiscent to Saibrah but the origin of which always hung at the edge of his memory. Even the thought of the picture filled him with some glimmer of comfort and cheer.

Both were shattered as Eien finished his next sentence and Saibrah was yanked back into the reality of the situation at hand. Indeed, he too was aware of the intrinsic evil the darkness around them possessed. He suspected it was cursed or tainted with a long-forgotten magic, as it interfered with his own supernatural abilities. "I guess the only way then, is forward," he said plainly, as if it wasn't already obvious to the pair. Saibrah knew that was their only option, but as silence descended around them once again, he steadily grew more and more unnerved. He considered bringing up irrelevant things for discussion but sensed Eien had more important things to consider to himself.