JOSHUA

Joshua observed the Elve woman as she returned from meeting the King and it was his impression that she did not have much confidence in the Kings words, or that the human King held the Elve Maidens words in any higher regard, quite possibly even less so. Other then a brief nod of greeting upon her return, they both remained silent as she sipped her juice and he from his mug. As the Kings servants went about the Hunters to fulfill they're duties prescribed by the Kings pronouncement that it was time for all to rest, he bid the Elve Maiden a pleasant eve before she left with the servant that approached her.

Joshua caught the eyesight of one particular servant whom veered course and headed toward him, already knowing what the young man was about the say, Joshua stayed the mans tongue by a raise of his righthand,[i]"I've made accommodations, thank you"[/i], he informed the servant with as polite sounding command as possible before moving forward and getting lost in the shuffle of people before the servant could utter an equally polite protest. Once outside the Castle gates he stopped and looked about the city, though the blanket of darkness had just but shrouded the sky, the streets were near deserted, what few stragglers still on the streets were encourage by roaming units of the Kings Guard to return to their homes or spend the night in a cell.

By the time he had reached the outskirts of the city, the skies above had become thick with an overcast that hid the stars from view, for some odd reason a sense of foreboding touched him and caused him to shiver. He cast his eyes northward toward the Carpathian mountains then spoke softly under his breath with a questioning tone as if someone was standing before him,[i]"Do tell Lord of shadows, what evils send you forth this very eve, eh?",[/i] He paused as if to expect an answer in return, he continued on his way into the forest, seeking sanctuary deep within the remotest section of the trees.

[i]"Lema ed' templa sina edan quenat"[/i] came the words of the transformation spell from his lips with authority, the words had no sooner been uttered when the ground around him became a spinning vortex of dirt and leaves, shrouded within the spinning debris, a spectrum of colors near too bright for eyes to behold flashed and faded, then flashed again. Bael'Ka-Na'Har'Onna beat his powerful wings downward using the updraft of the vortex to gain lift. Once in the air the vortex of dirt and leaves dissipated and fell. With a few more powerful strokes of his wings, he shot through the overcast and continued to climb skyward, now free of the confinement of human form, he relished the feel of the air flowing across his massive Dragon body. He twisted and turned, dived and climbed giving his wing muscles a much needed workout before raising higher to glide upon the thermal drifts.

He turned his orbs to the heavens and sought the constellation of Draco, gaining a sense of solace in the star shaped form if his Patron. In his mind three questions were asked of himself, allow the humans to retrieve and keep the cup?, return the cup to be kept from humankind under the protection of the enclave of Elven Mages?, or keep the cup from both and ensure neither ever unlocked the hidden knowledge that came with the immortality the cup offered?. Several hours later, with dawn not long from cresting the far eastern horizon, he was still weighing the pro's and con's of all three questions.