@Lord Zee@SouffleGirl123@Cuccoruler

Octavia giggled a bit at the young guardsman's joke. "Oh really? I fear that the kingdom of darkness is too dangerous. Even to such a strong guardsman such as yourself. I was lucky and barely made it out alive!" She replied teasingly.

They eventually arrived at Octavia's chambers. They exchanged their "good evenings" before Octavia entered her room and collapsing onto her bed, falling asleep in a matter of minutes.

========================================================

The next morning, the chiming of bells echoed throughout the kingdom of light, as the first lights of dawn poked through the sky. Villagers and a few aristocrats had gathered in the throne room, wherenthe king sat upon his regal throne and Octavia stood beside him, awaiting the upcoming ceremony. The room was veiled in a hushed murmers as the people talked of the events and rumors of yesterday's events.

The king slowly stood up from his throne and raised his hand, instantly silencing the murmers and was replaced by a hundred anticipating stares. The was a seemingly long silence. The king extended his hands and received the flower buds from the fae child. In his palms, the buds started to glow. "Yesterday... 2 valiant soldiers of light... A child of man and a child of fae... risked their lives to protect my daughter... Therefore... For their act of great kindness.. And selflessness... I grant them one wish each." His voice finally boomed throughout the room so all may hear. The buds then arose into the air, then slowly started to rotate in a circle, and along with it came another long period of silence.

"In the beginning... When our world was but a newborn. There existed 2 separate worlds. A world of light... And a world of darkness... From those worlds two brothers were born... Twins... Each born of the purest of light and the purest of darkness. Born into their own realms, never to share them with their other half. The brotherly love they felt for each other was a sad one... Those pitiful brothers... Only getting as close as the border itself so that they may meet and play together... Their existences were lonely ones. Without the existence of any other beings in this world, they longed for that of another. Thus... They started to create.

The brother of light... He wished for companions in which he could love and recieve that love in return. From the Earth, man was born, from the trees, came the children of fae, from the running waters, came the elves, and from the sky and light of the sun, was the brother of light's finest and most beautiful creation, the angels.

The brother of darkness... He seemed to create beings that were as strong and long lived as he. From the souls of the fallen, he created phantoms and reapers, from beasts, he made were wolves, from frost, he made vampires, and from his own blood, he created his most powerful and terrifying creatures... Demons.

The proud brothers shared their creations with one another and were finally able to share their worlds. They promised to never have their creations fight and for peace to reign eternal. However... As time passed, the strong bonds of brotherhood waned. And the promise they made... Broken. The two brothers, once so close, declared war and could be no further apart." The king booming voice fell silent. "We are at war... We have been at war for over a thousand years. This is not new nor has it changed..." The king took a long deep breath.

Suddenly, three faeries popped out from the flower buds clad in white. "Rida... For your valiance and wit, I assign to you these 3 faeries. Embued with the power of light, they shall serve you well." The king announced.

Octavia stepped forward. She wore a white dress and matching headpiece. She stretched out her wings, her dagger in hand, and lightly touched each shoulder once. "For your courage and for protecting me with your very being, I bestow upon you the honor and title of 'sir'. Now rise Sir Lucius, Knight of Angels." Octavia's voice echoed throughout the room. Unlike before, she did not give off the appearance and aura of a child, but rather, a divine authority; a queen.

With the ceremony concluded, the people applauded and cheered, congratulating the new knight and squad captain. They came up to greet the two and amongst the crowd, Octavia slipped back to her spot next to her father. The Kings smiled approvingly and pet her head a bit. Amongst the crowd, Octavia spotted the guardsman from last night and sent him a smile and a slight wave, before returning her gaze to the crowd.

“Oi, Erik!” A sergeant of the Forces of Light waved one of the older guardsmen over, lowering his voice. “Has Will seen him yet?” They shared a conspiratorial grin, Erik winking. “Nah, haven’t e’en had the chance to mention it. It’s that time of year again, huh?” They looked in unison at their unsuspecting victim, who was just now armoring up for the days patrols. “I want ye to take him out on gate duty. Same as we did to you.” Erik nodded, composing his face as he turned. “Aye, William! Yer with me today-“


Kelvin marched quietly through the green, wondrous terrain of the Light realm. Part of him was overjoyed to be back among the greenery, where he had been raised so long ago. It seemed impossible; yet it also disgusted him. The joy, happiness, the lack of care seemed to bleed from the land. He had long since cloaked himself in illusion. It was natural- to look like himself again, if only temporarily. Kelvin strolled along, avoiding the shadows more out of fear of himself than of others seeing him. A thousand years is not nearly long enough. Memories whisked by through his mind, his vision seeing the land as it had changed. Hills wearing away, grass growing and dying, trees growing, spreading, and dying. New life sprouting, branching upwards. He had walked this same path time and time again, every year. It was a comfort, knowing that the rest of the world accepted the truth of life and death, even if they did not. Muscles he no longer had would have tightened at the sight of the Royal Castle, as it came into view. Unchanging, yet as beautiful as when he had first seen it ages past. It was sickening.

There was no one on the path, which only made sense. The castle was a busy place, but over time most mortal races had begun to avoid this entrance at this day and time. As he approached, two guards straightened from their idle chatter, moving forward to greet him. One was older, Kelvin had met him before- the much younger, closer to the age Kelvin had been when he died. He already understood what was happening, this tradition had begun before either of the current guardsmen’s fathers had been born.
“Hold! What is your business, traveler?” The older guardsmen spoke first, the same greeting as a year ago. “I seek audience with his Majesty, the King of Light.”
“Aye, we can deliver your message.”
“I must see him personally.” The older guard paused theatrically, nodded, and glanced at the younger.
“William, check this man for any other weapons.” Kelvin held still as the younger man approached, nodding. The young guard stood square in front of him, glancing down, and gasping in horror- his shadow thrown across Kelvin transmuting living flesh to emptiness and bone, pristine armor to aged, rusted pieces, framed on rotting leather. Behind him, the older guard roared in laughter, until the man on the ground drew his dagger shouted a spell- launching himself at Kelvin, falling through him as he attempted to stab the ‘monster’. The dagger glowed, but passed through Kelvin harmlessly with the guard, who stumbled and dropped the dagger on the ground, which immediately threw up a gout of white magical flame. Immediately the illusion melted away, revealing Kelvin’s full body, riddled with arrows, imbedded in a skeletal frame sheathed in armor.

Kelvin immediately drew his own sword in response to the magic, towering over the younger guard. Behind him, the older guard cursed and turned to shout towards the castle, only to pause- the castle was gone.

The world had disappeared, leaving the two men alone in the darkness with the strangely illuminated spirit. The spirit of death loomed over the older man, reaching for his throat- and suddenly the world was back, bright again- and the apparition was gone, a trail of ice leading across the drawbridge and into the castle. The two guardsmen lay where they were for a long moment, the older trying to catch his breath, while the younger his bladder. “Sound the alarm!”

Kelvin’s anger had barely been in check. No, he couldn’t have truly strangled the guard, but there were much worse ways to die, through black magic. It was a waste to kill however, when a simple illusion could suffice for those weak of mind. This was the first time he had been actively attacked in this ritual, and he was tired of waiting. For hundreds of years, he had requested audience with the King. For hundreds of years, he had been denied. No more. Kelvin reinstated the illusion of his body to mask his true presence and sheathed his blade. As he moved through the castle, ice left a faint sheen where his steps would have once made contact, though no sound echoed from the incorporeal feet of a dead man.

---

There was a naked man on the edge of the Deathwood Forest.

Naya, who had traveled this far with the intention of collecting fresh burdock for a morning sickness brew she was working on for the butcher’s wife, had not fully been expecting to happen upon such a site. She blinks once, then again, then a third to be sure, but the image remains unchanged. “Curious,” she murmurs, her breath coming out in a white fog as she unshouldered her bag and let it drop to the ground before pulling her spear free from where it was strapped to her back. “Man beast, are you dead?” she calls, poking at his thigh with the hilt of her weapon.

The naked man thing does not respond. Curious indeed.

The witch takes a step closer, crouching down and gently prodding at the stranger’s lips so she could get a good look at his teeth. Naya does not find any fangs, so it is safe to assume the creature is not a vampire. A fellow human then? Maybe the poor beast had one too many ales and had tried to stumble home but ended up in the Deathwood instead? That didn’t really explain why he was nude though…

Regardless, she couldn’t very well leave him. He was smack dab in the middle of the burdock thicket and his corpse would attract all sorts of nasty predators that wouldn't hesitate to trample all over the delicate plants.

“Man beast,” Naya says again, reaching forward with a gloved hand to give his cheek a couple of firm pats. The man thing grunts, but does not awaken. “Which side of the border do you belong on, friend?” She asks, reaching forward and peeling open his eyelids. His irises are a lovely shade of chestnut. “You will catch your death out here, stranger,” the witch warns, pulling her hand back to give his face another series of taps, each one a little harder than the last.

The naked man thing refuses to respond yet again. Now he’s just being contrary.

With a sigh Naya lowers her spear, quickly peeling off her black coat and covering him as best she can, but with his front pressed against the freezing earth like it was he was still in danger of hypothermia. Even humans who lived on this side of the border where not completely immune to the harsh conditions of this world. ’We humans really are such delicate things,’ she muses as she sifts through her bag, sorting through herbs and potions in search of her smelling salts. ’Tedious.’

Eventually the brunette woman finds what she was looking for, pulling the tiny flask free. She uncorks the top, her nose scrunching up as the potent smell of salt, lavender, and ammonia fill the air. “Wake up, stranger. I can’t spare my coat for much longer,” she urges, waving the flask right under his nose and shivering as a frigid wind sweeps past them. Even wearing gloves and a thick sweater, the witch’s teeth were already beginning to clatter together audibly.

Still no response. Was he dead?

Naya peels a glove off and reaches under the coat, pressing two fingers against his neck and feeling for a pulse. It thrummed away under her fingertips and the alchemist could see the blades of grass close to his mouth shifting with each exhale. Not dead then. The lithe woman places the smelling salts on the ground directly in front of him and gets up, stomping off deeper into the thicket in search of something.

She comes back with an armful of fallen tree branches that have dried out and as much club moss as she can feasibly carry. Naya typically used the plant to treat scurvy and dysentery, but it was also known to some of the older folk as, ‘vegetable sulfur’ because of it’s highly flammable stalks. She arranges the pile of wood and makes a little nest of kindling sticks and moss before pulling out the bit of flint she’d retrieved from her satchel earlier and dragging her dagger over in quick jerks.

By the time she actually gets a spark the witch can’t feel her fingers. The woman leans down and blows over the tinder, sighing in relief when she sees a miniscule bit of smoke and the delicate glow of a flame. Naya transfers it quickly to her wood pile and nurses the blaze until takes root and becomes an actual fire. The heat of it was blissful, but the witch doesn’t stop to appreciate it, instead marching back over to the stranger and dragging him close to the bonfire. He’s heavier than he looks and by the time she is done the woman is panting slightly from the exertion. “More trouble than you're worth,” she grumbles, re-covering him with her coat and going to retrieve her smelling salts, satchel, and spear. Naya returns, pulling her gloves back on and huddling close to the fire, waiting for the man beast to wake up and the feeling to come back into her fingertips.



@SouffleGirl123

@Narcotic Dollie

Lady Livia glided in between the cold stones of the underground crypt. It felt reassuring and homely to her as she flitted about amongst the dead. The ancient books had been right, a crypt hidden under such a quaint forest. She rolled the name around in her head, Deathwood, very appealing to one such as her.

She floated through a few more chambers admiring the craftsmanship that had gone into making the various coffins that were sealed tight. They were ancient coffins, that much she could tell by the style of the carvings. They were still young in her eyes, only a couple of centuries old at most.

Sadly she tore her eyes away from the craftsmanship and death that surrounded her. Floating up through the ceiling and the soil that covered the tomb she made her way flickering across the forest. She didn't travel at any great speed, she was in no rush. The plants and rocks brushed through her incorporeal form. She smiled behind the shadows that covered her face, a twisted abomination frolicking through flowers, now that was new she thought to herself.

Then she saw it in the distance, a light. She stopped curling her shadowy form around a tree and peering at the light in the distance. Then she saw the small figure, it wore dark clothes and was hefting a larger mass nearer to the fire that was crackling handsomely by this point. Deciding that the figure could do her no harm she glided towards the light source.

She positioned herself in such a way as to take the figure by surprise, hiding herself in amongst the shadows that dotted the clearing.

'What have we here?' she inquired aloud, her voice was fragmentary and sinister, a chorus of loud whispers that seemed to seep from all the shadows at once. 'A lost lamb and her sheep all alone in the forest?' she continued, 'poor thing all alone.'

"Sir Lucius, Knight of Angels"

The title was beautiful, exquisite and most of all, it was his own. It had a certain ring to it, one that Lucius absolutely adored and it would now define who he was. He was a Knight of the light now, he had to hold himself to be better then he was before. Titles of nobility were seldom handed out and this rare exception meant that a new line had started, and it was his own.

What was more so impressive was the way Octavia presented herself, he had believed that the King would grant him his title but he found himself in awe at the angel who he had helped save, was now truly in her role. It suited her extremely well, here was someone whom he had believed to be just a princess but how she acted now, was far more impressive. He gave a small smile at the thought of 'Queen Octavia." But realized the only way that would happen would be for the king to step down, or to be killed. All of which was unlikely, no, dare say inconceivable. For now it would just be a thought in his head, of a possibility.

After the official ceremony was over, many people besieged him with questions, everyone was excited to hear the story of the Octavia's rescue. Though he might have altered a detail or two, his version of the story was on point. After awhile, the crowd started to dwindle down and disperse away from Lucius, much to his thanks. He had just been about to give his thanks to Octavia once more when a guard burst into the chamber, yelling something about an intruder coming for the king.

Lucius's grip tightened on his staff, so, who dared to come into this beautiful castle and seek to thwart his ceremony? Well, he would show this intruder what it really meant to be soldier. No... To be a Knight of Angels.

Rida wasn't exactly pleased with the faeries but figured she could at least find some use for them. "Thank you your highness, I will make good use them." Rida said as she flew off before being stopped by a few of the fairy nobles who wanted to talk to her. "So how was to it to save a princess! Do you feel blessed?" Some of the fairies asked. Rida knew she would have to answer some of these kind of questions though. She put on a convincing fake smile and told stories of heroics and in the stories she made the princess to look like the real hero of it. She mentioned nothing of the princess hiding and shaking.

After a bit of the pleasantry she left the room, the two fairies she had brought with here were the true members of her squadron. They would be the ones that hide the most and protect from the shadows. The fairies she was given for now would have to go through vigorous training to be prepared for actual battle. For now these little ones in white were useless to her.

As she approached the other two fairies they nodded to each other and took the white fairies of elsewhere to begin their training. There wasn't a guarantee that these fairies would survive though. Soon enough Rida heard the commotion of the attack. She shot out into the main hallway and hid herself in a corner of the ceiling to observe what would happen.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

While all of this was happening a small chow chow dog was outside of the castle. It did nothing more than watch the castle, coming up to the guards from time to time to get petted. This was Mozu, the young werewolf that acted more like a dog than a human. When the attack started though there was a bit of chaos and Mozu ended up running into the castle in a panic. As she did though she came upon Lucius. Immediately Mozu stopped and then started to follow him. This man had caught her interest, and something about his scent was almost intoxicating.

Disgusting was the word going through Caezel's head as he briskly walked at the end of the long path home. He saw the wooden structure through the trees as he considered the events of the previous day after a walk that pissed him off more than it helped.

Angel in the center of town. Angel, human mage and disgusting fairy over the border and let back home by a demon for which the most basic most base obligation would have been to kill off the trespassers. Villagers letting the angel make horrible noise they called music in the ears of children. It showed a comfort that poked at the core of one of Caezel's worst possible thoughts: Peace.

Peace, where his feeding habits would be frowned upon at best. Peace, where fairies could roam freely. A peace where the Demon King could settle a final score with one he had always suspected, but never proved to be a traitor of the first degree. The last possibility more than... well, not more than fairies, but most else concerned him. War made the Demon King obliged to spend his resources elsewhere. Peace would allow him to do other things... such as hunt Caezel down. That could not happen.

In fact, Caezel decided, there could only be a single option for ensuring that didn't happen. He would have to personally escalate things. He wasn't sure how far he would get, but he could at least see what he could do in the meantime.

He knew of a certain phantom he could follow. He had followed the phantom before, in fact, though never too far - he had indirectly shown Caezel the route to the light's castle and a quick and safe one for a vampire at that. This time, Caezel supposed, the phantom would take him all the way to his destination. What happened after would be a question he would answer when the time came.

He arrived at his home and went into the massively crowded hut, filled with scrolls, potions complete and in the making, and various other items stuffed into a room magically extended slightly... with the extensions further filled with tables of potions affixed to the tables with a custom sticky substance and a large, old torn armchair. From the armchair he pulled a dark grey cloak, and from surrounding tables he stuffed a mixture of potions into a pouch which he added next to the blade on his waist, and covered the setup with his cloak.

He wouldn't stand idly by and watch as the way of things fell apart anymore.



Caezel watched as the phantom "passed" the two unsuspecting guards, staying behind as a cloaked figure facing away from the sun. He had gotten there without much trouble, with minimal burn and annoyance, empowered by potent chemicals of suggestion he had taken along the way to ensure he wouldn't turn back. The whole situation had gone even better than he expected - the phantom brought him to the castle and opened the way.

Of course, he wasn't one to miss a perfect opportunity to feed before he followed.

He spotted the young guard and thought I had best have a snack before I enter even as the older guard ran to the alarm...

A Messy 5 Minutes Later

Blood dripping from his mouth and the covered blade in his hand, Caezel stepped over the guard's bodies and followed the trail of ice

He followed the Phantom down the halls of the castle, blade dripping slowly at his side as he walked almost like a second phantom behind the real one. He figured his best course of action would be to follow the phantom... and seize the opportunity to do much more when it arose. Caezel had in his grasp an opportunity he had been seeking for two thousand years, and he would take it.

Even if - no, especially if - it meant he could feed on more exotic prey while doing so.

@Gate Keeper
{A slightly hasty writing, sorry if I ended up going a little below my personal standard ^.^}

"Wake up you lazy good for nothing!" Fleur awoke to the sound of the inkeeper's raucous and decidedly un-musical voice protesting her sleep.

"What could possible be worth getting up this early for? Is there a princess that needs saving? A dragon that needs slaying? Are my pants on fire?" Fleur rolled over slowly, her head pounding from last night's libations.

"Well the damn castle's under attack! So maybe on the princess thing, don't be rediculous on the dragon bit, and if you don't get up I'll light your damn pants on fire!"

Now that got her attention. Rousing she quickly got dressed and fitted into her armor, grabbing Hector from the corner she pause briefly to adjust her hair in the mirror, you never knew right? "If you'd opened with that you decrepit old man we wouldn't be arguing right now."

"You've been here for weeks without doing a thing!" He protested. "When I hired you to save my grand-daughter I didn't think you'd be a lazy scoundrel, filling her head with stories of glory."

"What am I supposed to fill her head with!? All I've got are stories of glory and...other things that I'm sure you'd protest even more!" She made her way to the door of the inn with the old man in tow. "You're the one that agreed to free room and board as long as I liked as payment, so don't come crying to me now, besides I broke up several fights didn't I?"

She bid the man farewell, with a rude gesture that will remain unnamed, and headed towards the caste proper. She saw guardsmen running about without any real direction. She surmised quickly that it wasn't a full assault, instead it was likely an intruder alarm. Nasty things about nowadays and all, so that didn't fill her with as much relief as you might imagine.

"What's going on?" She pulled aside one of the guardsmen she recognized from one job or another. "Where can I help?"

"You missed the ceremony." He responded, he looked a little in shock, understandable considering he was being attacked in what should have been one of the safest places in history. "Where were you?"

"You know what I think of ceremonies, but I doubt they'd sound the alarm for deficit of my charming presence. Get your head together boy and tell me what I need to know!"

The joke seemed to calm him, Fleur had found that joking sometimes shakes a person from the horrors around them, other times it pissed people off that one could make jokes a such inappropriate times. It was hit or miss at best, but joking had the fact that it was fun going for it, so there you go.

"I'm not sure, something about a man?" His eyes lit up as he remembered something. "Find Sir Lucius, he's surely better informed, he was in the throne room."

"There we go boy! Now try not to die ok?" With that Fleur set off in search of Lucius.

@Lord Zee

Even after two years, the feeling of warm sunlight was something Asher was beginning to suspect he would never get used to. The brightness was nearly intolerable and the warmth made his skin crawl. Although that really wasn’t saying much, as just about everything in this backwards land made him feel that way. But it was of little consequence, as his destination was within sight. With him was a small squad of soldiers and their intent was bloody.

“They have certainly made quite the eyesore,” Asher noted to himself, taking in the castle before them. Oh it was certainly splendid, what with its bright colors and grand architecture, but it was clear that it was built for form over function. Thankfully, it would make assaulting it only slightly suicidal. Truth be told, Asher wasn’t entirely happy with his little plan, but if there was a chance to end this miserable war, he was willing to take it.

“Rhys, Valerie,” he hissed at the two vampires in his small entourage,. “You’re up.” Their job would be simple: cause all sorts of hell on the outskirts of town and draw as many guards away from the castle as possible. Kindness was an all too exploitable characteristic, as the prince was certain that as soon as word got out that the small folk were being killed, the guards would trip over themselves to save them.

It did not take long for the screaming to start, which was the only signal Asher and the rest of his cloaked men needed to begin making their way to the castle. “Our objective is the king’s daughter; dispose of anything that gets in our way.”

@Meiyuki@Narcotic Dollie

Angelo yawned softly as he woke up that day in the tavern he felt weak that morning since he spent so much time in the dark side of the border. Angelo hoped that maybe a lot of exposure to their side would make it so he could last longer their...at least that was his hope on the matter. Angelo got up from his bed that the tavern gave him then he used those herbs that the witch gave him yesterday to help him restore his strength sooner.

Once Angelo was changed and ready to go he left the tavern and instead of going to same town twice in the same day he decided to take a different direction and hope for a new village to come into view. Angelo found a forest that was on the dark side of the border and he decided to take his chances. Angelo soon started to play a soft melody fit for being in a forest even a dark one like this....

@Lord Zee@Sarcelle Renard@Meiyuki@ArenaSnow@Cuccoruler@Gate Keeper

All was peaceful until the sudden sounding of the alarms wrang through the air. Then all hell seemed to have broke loose. An intruder had broken into the castle and the sounds of screams and chaos could be heard in the castle town.

Octavia stood infront of the king, dagger at the ready, in an effort to protect her father. The king placed his hand on her shoulder. "Octavia you must flee this place immediately!" He ordered.

"What? No! I can't just leave you all to die!"

"Please, my child. Should I die, you are the only hope this kingdom has left! I will be fine, my beloved daughter. Now go! Fly!"

"But father I-"

"GO!"

Startled, Octavia took a couple steps back then nodded with a serious look in her eyes. She hurried over to the nearest window and stepped onto the edge, looking down. She looked back hesitantly with a worried look. "I-I'll be back with reinforcements! I promise!" She said, then took off.

"I know you will. " The king replied watching her go. He turned his attention back to the soldier's. " Hold fast, men! Be ready for anything! "

--------------------------------------------------------

Octavia's mind was racing a mile a minute of what was happening. It had all happened so fast that it made it hard to understand it all. However, it was her recklessness that would soon be the doom of her.

A sudden pain pulsed through her body like a single heart beat, followed by the hot feeling of blood pour out of her her left wing as an arrow imbedded itself into her wing. For a moment, it felt as all time had stopped.

Octavia found herself desperately reaching up to the sky with both hands, as if she was reaching for an invisible hand, before she plummeted down into the forestry and shrubbery below.

The vegetation had broke most of her fall and took the lethality. However, a loud, sickening snap could be heard coming from her right wing, followed by another sharp pain. Octavia slowly, desperately picked herself up from the ground and onto her hands and knees, then looked down at her misshapen, bloody wing through one teared up eye. Her body drenched in sweat and her own blood, along with several cuts, gashes, and bruises that were etched into her face andbody. Her clothes had become nothing more than torn raggs. Slowly, ever so slowly, she folded up her wings, letting out a broken scream of pain and agony. She covered her mouth, smothering her screams as tears flowed heavily from her eyes, until she had finally managed to fold her wings completely.

Breathing heavily, she used a tree for support herself as she weakly stood up and started to slowly limp until she tried and collapsed on her back, onto the ground once more, causing her wing to unfold and sprawl out on the ground. Her vision had quickly become blurry as her frail body slowly began to bleed out, her glazed over, blank stare met with the open sky that was peeking out through the canopy above. She laid there with exasperated breathes, staring at the sky until all started to fade into darkness.

@Ace of flames01 Fleur was busy looking for Lucius when she saw it. Against the bright blue sky was a figure. Could that be Lucius? Her wings began to flutter as she took to the skies.

Much to her horror, she heard the tell-tale sounds of bow-strings snapping. Quickly she moved to avoid arrows, only to discover that there weren't any. There arrows weren't for her, they were for the figure which seemed now to be faltering. Fleur's heart sunk as the figure plummeted from the sky outside the castle.

Whoever had shot the figure would soon be upon it to ensure it's demise. There were only a few light creatures that had wings, fae and angels. She wasn't about to allow one of them to die. With a quick incantation she waved Hector at the sky, filling her path with fog and mist. She heard the arrows wizz by, some of them coming entirely too close. She winced as a final parting shot grazed her wing during her descent.

She made her way to the crash site of the fallen ally. Following a short trail of blood, and the sound of soft groans Fleur saw her, not Lucius, but Octavia. Her heart sank.

She quickly surveyed the angel's injuries. This wasn't good, blood was pouring from an arrow wound in one wing, and a nasty break in the other. Combined with whatever injuries she could see from the fall. Fortunately it seemed Octavia had taken a tumble through the branches before finding herself on solid ground.

Fleur carefully examined the break in the angel's wing, her hands traced the bones in search of any unseen damage. After another quick check for injuries she, set the bones of the angel's wings in place, illiciting a series of screams from Octavia. Fleur was a talented healer, but not quite a master. She wasn't exactly confident in her ability to snatch Octavia back from what she hoped wasn't the brink of death. Gathering up as much power as she could Fleur channeled warm, restorative energy into the angel.

"Come on, your people need you, and I do not want to be the one that let you die." As the glow faded Fleur was confident that Octavia would live. Her wing even looked mostly repaired, but she wasn't quite sure about internal injuries yet.

She heard the sound of movements from the woods. Likely drawn by the screams from earlier.

Fleur looked back to Octavia. "You good to fly or run or some such?" She looked towards the wood. "I don't think we've got a lot of time for much else."
@Ace of flames01@Lord Zee@Sarcelle Renard@ArenaSnow@Cuccoruler@Gate Keeper

Opening her blue eyes to a grey ceiling, Aurora let out a long yawn, stretching her arms towards the sky and blinking the sleepiness away from her blue orbs. Another day of adventure, that's how she saw it. Rolling out of bed, she opened the blinds of her window to look out towards the sky. What a beautiful day. No clouds in the sky, the sun is up, shining brightly, an angel is falling through the air. With a shrug, the brunette goes towards her kitchen to make some coffee, until her thoughts caught up with her. Angel. Falling through the air. Crap.

The fairy quickly dashed to her wardrobe, pulling out her soldier uniform and donning the armor that came with it as fast as she could. Almost forgetting her axes as she started to bolt for the door, she went back to grab them, then took flight from her housing to see what the heck was happening. It was chaos everywhere. The intruder sirens were blaring, people were running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Looking over the situation, Aurora had to sigh. As much as she would want to help out the angel, she wasn't sure where they landed. Plus, the civilian's needed help, and she didnt see many soldiers out right now. She dived downwards to the middle of one of the large groups of civilians, shouting out for everyone to halt. Those who did hear her over the cacophony did so, while others only followed suit when they noticed her uniform.

"Please, remain calm!" She spoke out loudly to those who would listen. "Head to the castle, you will be protected by the soldiers there!" Not everyone had heard her, but those that did hear her started to head to the castle, as well as instructing those that had been panicking while she spoke. Aurora sighed in relief. That's one group down. She flies back into the sky again, surveying everything within her sight to find either another large group of panicking people, or hopefully the perpetrator of the madness. She finally found something, but she sort of wished she hadn't.

A large procession of cloaked men, walking through the chaos like it was common scenery, along with the only man not wearing a cloak, but had the surprising features of two black wings that jutted out of his back. As much as she wanted to end all Children of the Dark, this was impossibly insane. Gulping down the saliva that had built up in her throat at the sight, she started to descend once more, landing right in front of the large procession with as much courage as she could muster. Damn it, she had a job to do, no matter how freaking suicidal it was at this moment in time. Her hands drifted to the axes at her sides, as she called out to whom she believed as the head honch with striking bravado. "Come no closer, or I'll gut you and your entire entourage!" She knew for a fact that there was no possible way that she could pull off her threat single-handedly, but all she had to do was stall and hope for reinforcements.

...Maybe they'll actually take the bait and leave peacefully?
@Sarcelle Renard

The plan had been going far too well. The guards had already been in disarray when Asher and company approached the castle. Guards were already sounding alarms and almost didn’t notice cloaked group moving through the chaos, although the few that did were silenced before too much of a fuss could be made. Gut instinct told the prince that there was another force at work, but circumstances prevented him from dwelling on it for long. Too much could go wrong if he allowed himself to be distracted. You know, such as their target flying away, as his marksman was all too kind to point out to him.

“Clip her wing,” Asher ordered the eagle eyed werewolf tersely. A brief nod was the only response he got as the werewolf knocked his arrow and fired. The gorgeous weather was proving to be this lands downfall, as the lack of wind ensured the arrow found its mark and sent the angel spiraling down into the forest below. All things considered, there should be no feasible way for the angel to get away as long as Asher got to her in a timely manner. That said though, there was no way he and his men would be able to fight their way to her before somebody else stumbled upon her.

With a quick tug, Asher’s cloak was thrown to the ground. “The plan’s changed. I’m going after the girl, you all fall back and regroup with Uriel.” If everything had gone right on his end, the demon general should be arriving at the gates at any moment, ready to assist with their escape. The general had expressed his fair share of displeasure with the prince’s plan, but it seemed to be awfully difficult to say no to royalty. “I should be along shortly, but tell him-“

His words were cut off by the sound of a fairy landing in front of him and his troops, who all had their weapons drawn and were ready for a fight. This audacious fairy then threatened to gut all of them single handedly. Despite himself, Asher found a small grin forming on his mouth. “Didn't anyone ever teach you the difference between bravery and stupidity?” he asked the gung-ho fairy, but before she could answer he turned to his men and said, “I’m off. If this suicidal light child comes after me, take her out of the sky.” And with that, he unfurled his dark wings and took to the sky.

Time was of the essence. With any luck, the princess would still be alone and recovering from her fall. Unfortunately, the young prince knew better than to expect life to play that nicely, so instead he prepared himself for another battle. The sun was high and shining bright, the air pleasantly caressing his face, and now more than ever Asher was ready to be done with this place.

@Narcotic Dollie@Meiyuki@Ace of flames01@Sarcelle Renard

As Livia awaited the witch's reply she suddenly felt an immense longing rise inside her. Death, pain, loss they were swirling nearby. Livia focussed her thoughts, a child of light? Yes… yes… fallen barely able to stand…

'Good bye little lamb' came the sinister whisper as Livia prepared to leave. She reconstituted herself a horrific shadow creature forming before the witches eyes. With macabre glee she let out a shriek that resonated of death and anguish and shot forward, flying through the witch and onwards towards the swirling vortices of death that tugged at her mind.

Livia travelled fast, her shadowy figure flitting between trees and shrubs at incredible speed. Whilst she couldn't fly she could move just as fast as any flying beast and that was when she came upon them.

The clearing was small and one of the figures was clearly wounded, the other seemed to Livia to be unhurt. Clearly this was a person of import then, a cold and malicious smile formed behind her hood.

'What have we here? she inquired, 'A lost bird and her keeper perhaps?'

That was when Livia noted the clothes worn by the uninjured figure. Clearly a warrior of some sort, young by her standards, they'd be just another fool to serve her in death. Livia extended her right arm, her outwardly skeletal appendage seemed to bleed shadows into the air as it slipped out of her shifting robes. The long black bones that served in place of fingers began to curl as Livia's wraith blade began to form. She liked the feeling of the long blade in her grip, it was one of the few things she could touch these days, and whilst it served as a sad reminder of what she had once been, it was also a symbol of what she hoped to become.

'Stand aside mortal' pronounced Livia her voice a shifting chorus of whispers that seemed to permeate the clearing. She raised her other arm, equally skeletal a single finger extended pointing to the wounded angel before her. 'She is coming with me.'

@Sarcelle Renard@Karos@Meiyuki

Breathing heavily, her voice had gone hoarse and she was barely conscious. She had to stay awake. "You need to run... It's not safe... I will be fine- nngh!" Octavia murmered then winced as she tried to sit but utterly failed.

Suddenly a new figure dining a dark cloak appeared and stated that Octavia would be leaving with her. "I... I am sorry but... I am not ready to die just yet... I cannot and will not go with you... Nngh!" Octavia replied wincing again as she forced herself to her feet then faultered slightly. She then extended a hand to the wraith. From her palm came a bright light. The spell itself was harmless... To a being of light, that is. To a child of darkness, however, it wouldn't do anything physical damage, but it would still stun them for a while, at least long enough for the two to get away.

Octavia grabbed the faerie's wrist and ran as quickly as her legs could carry her. "We need to hurry! That spell won't hold her long!" She said as she ran. Her head started to feel dizzy and her body became heavy. While her external injuries were not too serious, unfortunately her break had ruptured a large blood vessel in her wing, and was now bleeding out internally. She wanted to stop, she wanted to lay down and fall asleep, she wanted the horrible pain to go away, however, she knew she had to keep running and stay awake or she would die. However the arrow in her wing had to go and get rid of the extra blood in her wing. She stopped momentarily and turned to the fae woman. "The arrow in my wing, please... Pull it out. "

@Ace of flames01@Sarcelle Renard@Meiyuki

Livia spiralled and screeched at the spell as it shot towards her. The light was blinding and it threw her off for long enough that the angel and warrior figure were able to start running.

Livia re-marshalled her thoughts focusing her powers and dispelling the light spell that had stalled her. She scanned around, unable to see her quarry she let her longing guide her too them.

Her shadowy form shot across the clearing reforming as it moved. She passed through trees, rocks and other obstacles without a thought her mind focussed solely on chasing down her prey.

'Nobody can escape the restless dead mortals!' she called out after them, her voice a sinister whisper that cut through the forest like a discordant note.

Uriel wasn't entirely sure on what had drove the prince to plan such an event so suddenly. He had just returned from that little trip yesterday with the princess incident and he already heard of a battle meeting and the prince was the one leading it. With no hesitation whatsoever, he hurried towards the meeting. He listened intently and it was quite risky. Should he have captured Octavia while he had the chance, they wouldn't be here right now. Yet, something in his gut told him otherwise. There were three fully capable people against one general, no matter how experienced he was, he was bound to fail.

And so here he was, with his legion behind him. He had waited for the signal. It wasn't much of a unique signal. When the screams were heard, Uriel had quickly unsheathed his sword and then pointed towards the gates. He didn't need to speak, of course not, everyone understood what he meant. Werewolves shifted, Vampired have charged, the few Phantoms and Reapers that they had fought with them as well. The gate was open, welcoming them.

The legion practically scattered but were still in Uriel's vision. They started to cause havoc throughout so that they would be able to make a distraction for their prince to return safely. Uriel, himself, was already advancing towards the castle grounds where the rest of the men were located. They said to regroup there and then safely take them back. His eyes searched for their prince within the group and yet he was not present. Someone came to him and told him of the circumstances and to fall back. But not before clipping this fairy's wings if she ever attempted to follow the young prince.

"It is you who should fall back young child of Fae." Uriel's voice boomed acting as an intimidation, warning the fairy as he pointed the sword towards her. This was a battlefield and his orders were certain. Should Aurora not flee from battle, he would be forced to fight her. His morals cannot be upheld in this place. There was nothing more that would make the general happier than to fall back and return to their side of the border. Hopefully, the crown prince already held the princess. His eyes remained on the fairy while the rest of his legion and the prince's entourage held off the remaining civilians. Their screams filled the place.

@RiverMaiden

Aurora watched the leader of the invaders take flight, not taking his threat to have her strung with dozens of arrows lightly. A small frown tugs at her face, as there was still a large group of Dark Children infront of her. She did wonder though, why did their leader leave the army to go after something else? Didn't they come here to raize the city to the ground?

As she pondered the situation, a man that seemed to be the general of sorts came out of the crowd, threatening her with his sword and advising retreat. Wait. What? Why was he giving her a chance to flee? Didn't they want to- Then it struck her like a lightning bolt. They weren't here for the city. If they were, they would have killed her the moment she had arrived. They had a different purpose.

They were here for the angel.

Having no choice, she raises her hands as if in surrender... Then fires an blast of pure light high into the sky, which exploded in a large, vibrant orb of colors. If none of the soldiers of Light saw that, they were obviously more distracted with something else of great importance. Aurora pulled her axes from her loops, twirling them within her hands as she readied herself to fight, a maniac grin stretching across her face in anticipation. There was no way the enemy was going to let her go after signalling her allies, and if she couldn't leave to save the angel, then she would fight and drive the invaders back.

"Let's play!" she shouted to the general with childish glee, lifting off the ground and flying straight towards him with her left Axe crossing her body, ready for a horizontal swing. Her right Axe stayed ready close to her body, ready to block any retaliation from the Child of Dark. She briefly took the chance to dodge a few arrows shot by the archers, but reached her target with no injury, loosing her attack onto his left side. If her attack was blocked, then she would just have to flit back for a moment to go from a different angle. Her earlier fears, her hesitation, the enemy's numbers, it didn't matter, she was just happy to be fighting again.

If any of the other soldiers from the Dark tried to interfere, she would retaliate with extreme prejudice.
@Polaris North

@Lord Zee@ArenaSnow
Kelvin ignored the scent of blood, only pausing to glance back and take note of the type of creature that crept behind him. Ah, the accursed one. Faded memories of an age past stirred, but he brushed the thoughts away to focus on navigating. The castle was almost the same on the inside as it had a thousand years ago, but those memories were very faded, dulled by time. He chose his path based more on gut instinct- or the lack of it, than real knowledge. The pressure in the air was crushing, though the halls were dead silent, despite the physical presence looming near behind him. The din of shouting guards occasionally passed by, but there was surprisingly little resistance as Kelvin glided closer to the throne room. His steps slowed and then halted before the entrance of the main hall, the official entrance to the throne room. Do I act out of selfishness, or for the justice of those who have died?

As he finally entered the main hall and last bastion of defense for the throne room, Kelvin paused at a flicker of movement outside the high windows. It was almost symbolic, watching an Angel fly free and unrestricted through the pane of glass. His expression didn't waver as arrows lanced from below, piercing the divine being. It spiraled down, out of sight- taking with it his anger. Satisfaction, Irony, pity, and a touch of Remorse were all that was left behind from that sight. One did not choose to become an angel, after all. He didn't question the origin of the arrows, the matter had already slipped his mind. A more pressing thought was the strange connection his mind had made between the angel and the blood fiend that had followed him. Again, he dismissed memories that should have long since decayed with his body.
There were more important things to ponder.

He paced across the beautiful mosaic that covered the halls floor, the grandiose pillars casting shadows that briefly revealed him for the monster he truly was as he passed. Halfway down the hall, he paused, facing the large doors. No doubt the greatest warriors of the Forces of Light lay beyond that door, prepared to put down any and every being that dared pass. The illusion of his living self melted, as he turned his focus towards something more important.

"My brothers and sisters..." His voice, not the cold whisper of the undead, but the strong voice he had possessed in life, emanated from where he was standing- augmented by illusion magic in a haunting echo that could be heard throughout the nearest sections of the castle, including the throne room, just beyond the doors. "I claim, as a Child of Light, cursed to the Dark, the right of petition before the King." He flared the magic, raising the volume even as his tone fell slightly. "What manner of father ignores the pleas of his child, no matter how distant?" Kelvin strode towards the doors, "Was I not once a defender of the Light? Was I not a loyal follower?" His voice broke slightly, and he went silent. The apparition halted just short of the doors, and instead of floating through, he focused, and the great doors shook as the banging echoed through the main hall.

"I seek the least owed to one who died for this Kingdom, but a word.

Grant me entrance."