Serena gave off a slight grimace when the man’s blade blocked her attack, suddenly hearing a voicing in her head, telling her to watch out, made her pause for a moment, looking around before she returned to the blade coming towards her. She narrowly dodge the attack, the armor on her left shoulder blocking part of the blade that she couldn’t avoid, though it took the impact, the stress of the impact stressed her freshly bandaged wounds, making her grip at her shoulder.

She had been ready to go in for a counter, but then she saw Singrad grab hold of Soron, before she could rush in to try and assist him, a fist already slammed into his side, then suddenly go limp. She turned her head away for a moment, closing her eyes as her brows furrowed, though she didn’t know him for very long, she knew at the very least he was an honorable warrior and to see him suddenly taken out like that, she couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated.

Her eyes opened and returned back to Soron when Sulley cried out to his companion, suddenly feeling a shift in energy from the dragon, she felt like she could feel his anger through the air, it making her body shake a little. She shielded herself as sudden heat shout out of him, not believing that a dragon had this kind of power, whilst she had heard stories of how powerful they were, she hadn’t expected them to be as strong as Sulley was, though it probably was also do to the fact that he was using strong emotions for his strength like she was speculating, it was still impressive to her nonetheless.

Serena’s eyes widened however when he summoned a huge vortex of black flame, forcing her to fly up and back from the area, the heat so intense she didn’t know if she’d be able to escape the area of the attack.

“Damn, I’m not gonna make it! No choice, I’ve gotta use them,” Serena spoke to herself with a grimace as she extended out her arms, a green and white aura mixed around her as she cast her spells, “Divine Radiance!...Tranquility!” Serena shouted, her body first taking on the effects of her Divine Radiance which increased her offense, defense and some of her endurance, allowing her take some of the flames that managed to reach her.

Then her Tranquility spell took effect right after, lightening her body which allowed her to back away faster from more of the encroaching flames. She panted heavily as she wiped away some sweat on her face both from the flames as well as fear of being swallowed up by black flames that felt hotter than the sun.

She felt some heat on her, looking over she saw that her left wing had been lit at the bottom tip of it, quickly bringing towards her she smacked the burning feathers, hastily putting the black flame out, “Jeez and I thought Ava’s power was intense, but this is on a whole other level, glad he’s on our side, but still...what an intense power...” She spoke to herself once more, merely hovering in the air as her body shook slightly, both not wishing to get in Suleykaar’s way as well as some fear holding her back.

---

Ava shifted in her rest slightly, sensing the conflicting going on and having a feeling that her sister was in danger, her eyes weakly opened, looking around at the ceiling as she her vision focused.

“S-Serena…?” She called out as she struggled to sit up, seeing nothing other than an empty room, dimly lit by the conflict going on outside.

“What’s going on?” She asked herself as she got out of the bed, wobbling as her still injured and fatigued body tried to hold itself up.

She went over to the window, looking out she saw various hues light up the sky in the distance as well as various rumbles, she didn’t know why, but her chest had a weird numbness in it, something that felt like her sister was in the middle of whatever was going on.

“Right, I gotta go out there, hold on big sis, whatever you’re mixed up in, you won’t have to face it alone.”

She went over to their bags where her scythe lay, grabbing it, she held it with both hands, using it as a stave to help keep her body up as she stumbled to the door.

Don’t leave, stay in bed and heal, you’re in no condition to be helping anyone... Ava imagined the words coming from her sister, something made her cock a grin with a snicker.

“Yeah...you’d most likely say that...and you’re probably right but...I can’t leave you in that danger alone sis, I have to go, you mean more to me than you could possibly imagine,” Ava spoke quietly to herself, exiting out of the room.

It took her a while to get down the stairs without falling, really feeling how worn out her body was, she knew how foolish she was being and the smartest thing probably was to stay in bed, but her determination to help her sister gave her all the strength she needed to continue on ward. After making it out of the inn, she took to the air, her wings not flapping as fast as they usually did, no doubt because of how drained she was, but she made due as she flew out of one of the opening in the tree.

Looking around, she saw various soldiers and enemies attacking one another, something that greatly confused her, then a sudden flash of flame appearing out in the distance, it so strong that she felt the heat emanating from it.

“Knowing you sis, you’re probably over there huh? Can never take on something easy, can you?” Ava said to herself aloud as she cocked a grin and then began flying to where she saw the flames appear.

“Hang on, I’m on my way...”

@Rai

Alexis watched in surprise as her arrow was caught by the man she'd shot at. That never happened before. The man then began to form his own bow out of some kind of shadowy magic, and Alexis realized that he definitely knew where she was now as she saw him take aim in her direction. She began scrambling to get out of the tree, climbing down as quickly as she could without falling. She'd only gotten down a few feet before the horde of arrows was let loose, and at that moment, she lost her grip on the branch she'd been holding to help her support herself. The branch she was standing on swayed dangerously as she tried to regain a handhold, which didn’t help her effort. She decided to try and get to the branch below her, jumping down after psyching herself out for a second. When she landed she almost lost her balance- but she pulled herself together and was able to stay standing.

She was still too high up, and now there were arrows to deal with. One of the shadowy arrows lodged itself in the tree, right in the spot where she had just been standing before her jump. Quickly, she crouched down on her current branch, a silver force field forming around her body in a bubble as she did. She stayed there for a few seconds, waiting for the hail of arrows to pass. A few bounced off of her force field, and a few others punctured the thing before she let it break, a light rain of glittering silver energy falling through the trees as she checked around her for the best way for herself to get down. It seemed like the guy wasn’t going to shoot at them anymore. Good. She stood back up slowly and began to move towards the trunk of the tree, planning to shimmy down the rest of the way until she heard a loud CRACK- the branch she was standing on now began to break. "shoot." The branch cracked again as she tried to move to another one, and broke before she could reach it. She and the broken bough both began to fall to the ground many, many feet below.

She tried to curl up as she fell through the branches, to make herself smaller so she wouldn’t hit all the branches on the way down. Or at least that’s what she hoped for. She landed hard, a little ball on the jungle floor. She groaned as she began to try and sit up, a hand going up to a spot on her head where she'd hit something on the way down. At least none of the arrows had hit her, but I guess this tree had it out for me… She smiled at the thought. It was stupid, she knew trees didn’t have any ulterior motives or anything like that, but she was just distracting herself ever so slightly from the throbbing in her head as she pictured the tree planning out its next little trick...

A voice spoke from somewhere nearby, though she couldn't make out what had been said as she tried to stand, stumbling backwards into the tree's trunk as she used it to support herself. Her head was spinning, and as she tried to move away from the tree she found she couldn't walk straight. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around her and she was pulled into a supportive embrace. A person in a white cloak was helping her stay standing, helping her walk a few steps before it seemed they gave up on that. The person picked her up, beginning to carry her further into the jungle, away from the battle.

Alexis didn't struggle against them. They looked like a member of Taxis, the green sun symbol of the healing faction sewn onto their cloak making that assumption a pretty safe guess. So, she assumed they were probably just moving her away from the fight because she was injured from falling out of the tree. The pain in her head (and common sense) also made it hard to want to try and get away from this person who was probably just trying to help her. She didn't really feel like she had any serious injuries though- other than the pain in her head and the general ache over her body from hitting the ground, she was fine.

The one thing she did try to do was to see the face of the person carrying her, which was mostly hidden in shadow by their hood. They noticed her looking, and said something to her then. Alexis couldn't hear it, her world would be silent for a while because of the bump on her head, but she saw the person's lips moving for a second before a heavy sleepiness fell over her a moment later. She fell asleep in this person's arms, as they carried her into a small clearing, a glimpse of the moon and the clouds through the gap in the trees was the last thing she saw before her eyes closed.

---

(WIP- this part is what's been making this post take so long so I'm just gonna add it all here later. No one else can even see the actions in this part -it only affects Alexis- so I figure this is okay. I just didn't wanna hold people back anymore when the parts you all need have been done.)

---

When Alexis woke she was alone in the clearing, lying on the ground with the stranger's white cloak covering her like a blanket. She sat up, noticing immediately that she felt a lot better than she had before falling asleep. Her head still ached slightly, but it was barely noticeable now. Overall she really just felt like she'd taken a nap and the pain went away. That Taxis person must have healed her and then left her to wake up here- hopefully they'd known it'd be a safe place.

After a little bit of looking around, Alexis figured out which way she needed to go in order to get back to Sunfire and the battle, and so she set off. She got to the edge of the jungle and the battlefield before she ran into anyone else, and honestly she had no idea what to make of what she saw as she left the trees. A large portion of the field was on fire, black superheated flames erupting over the field. She froze in place at the sight, just watching as she tried to figure out what was going on. How long had she been gone? Who or what was causing the fire, and which side were they on? Watching the scene, she couldn't tell. It seemed like anyone close-by the spreading fire was simply engulfed in flame.

Eventually she remembered the mind-link. "Hey.. what's happening?" Hopefully someone knew what to do about this. Hopefully they weren't all about to die.

@FallenTrinity @WingsOfBronze
@Sohtem
The death of Soron was only the beginning in Singard's mind. His fists both bloodied, one from his own and another from his foes. He turned slowly to face those who looked on in horror at his deed. This man I killed must have been special to them. He thought as his colorless eyes faced the Vrondi elite captain who only looked on with a distasteful expression on his face. Having told Soron to stay back earlier he felt remorse for the bravery he showed. But one even as capable of slaying dragons as Soron was defeated within a glance. Just like the Vrondi elites who charged Singard, and the seraphim earlier. This very thing seemed to keep the Captain at bay, only to observe. For the battle was not one of power alone. A truth yet to be seen as the other side began to tip the scales of this skirmish. Tears rolling down the warm cheeks of the dragon lord. His fiery soul unable to dry the well of sadness pouring from his core, his heart. Singard looked on with little concern. He ripped Soron's blade from his hand and observed the wound left by Soron's second strike he did not see. The wound began to fester and blacken with the poison of a Basilisk growing deeper into Singard's hardened flesh. As he came to notice this he ignored the cries of Sulleykaar for his fallen comrade. It was only after the flames of the dragon's soul dried away the waters of his eyes did Singard notice the spike in aura arising within the battle. The taste of aura was a fine skill to acquire and Singard was a master of it, and because of this he could sense the heat arising from the essence of this dragon and knew he soon would retaliate.

Singard's hands flew back to halt his master's movements. "My Lord. Remain where you are." He spoke assuredly of what will happen next. He could not however stop the horde of cultists who ran forward with full sprints to fight whatever stood before them. Sulleykaar rose now, his wings expanding and his flames soon to take form. The air around them began to lose its cool and heated rapidly as if nearing the sun. Grass ends lit ablaze and clothing and hair follicles did too. Cultists were slowed to a halt as the heat was beyond fleshly withstanding. Soon the area was hardened and held the cultists in place. Singard being within range was affected as well and was coated in a glass. Sulleykaar tossed his weapon now. It ate the ground beneath it as it rolled across the glassy floor and devoured those in its way. As it headed for Singard the glass around his body began to snap and crack until he broke free. He brought both hands forward in anticipation of the roaring flames. It seemed he aimed to catch it. The flames destroyed all that came even remotely close to it.

"Oh. Looks as if they actually have someone powerful among them." Spoke the beautiful mysterious man. He looked at Sulley's with a smile emerging on his lips, a sign of subtle excitement building within his uninterested expression. From behind Singard but not close enough to be in range of the initial attack he stood, Basilisk even further behind him still emerging from the tree tops as a observing tower. "He is familiar.. Perhaps an old soul looking for its place in this realm. Defeated. Ripped apart and used. That is the life of a Dragon in this day. The accomplished dream of my father and mother." He spoke softly as he went on. Eyes barely seeing the battle and instead looking into a distant memory. His companion bowed as much as he could before speaking. His posture being very low and nearly leaning on the staff he had in his arms. "Only the beginning is it not master?" He was given a smirk as his master looked back to him before replying. Indeed..

The flames came forward and Singard was not immediately overtaken or destroyed by the flames. Instead his outer flesh began to dissolve and his hair began to burn away as well. As this happened he roared in defiance to the Dragon's flames. "I-I EMBRACE!!!" His outer being was layered with an aura of darkness. This aura did not go away even as the flames met his palms and began to push his body back, but he held with determination and dug into the earth with his feet. The flames roared past his body but the source remained before him. The flame moved in swirls as a massive orb in his palms but his body was being burned away by the second. "DEEEAAATTHHHHSSSUUUURRRGGHHHH!!!" His face was little more than a skeleton, all features burned away. His body was little more than a skeleton as well but his hardened muscular structure remained intact despite being burned black. Despite all this he held on and roared his final cry before the flames engulfed him entirely. The center of the flames began to swirl with darkness and erupted into a pillar of flames that went into the sky and rained harmless sparks down on those below. Remaining in the location Singard stood was a black skeleton with smoke streaming up its body and into the sky to evaporate. This was what remained of Singard's body. The aftermath being devastating to the cultists. Their numbers being cut severely by the flames killing all within its trajectory. Very few remained to come out of the forest to the battle field, hardly a replacement for the loss. "Interesting.." The cultist leader spoke as he looked at the resulting damage done before him. "A worthy sacrifice Singard was. He finished his last mission with time to spare." The silver sand timer floating above his head faded away as it grew more and more transparent. "Come.. let me complete the goal of tonight. To make all aware of my arrival." He began to step forward. Next to him on both sides was a torched field and where he walked was perfectly fine. Singard's attempt to stop the flames gave him a clear and narrow path down the battle field. He then began to sprint, his cloaked companion who could hardly walk or stand earlier began to move with him. Both moving at high speeds down the path and past Singard. One was running and the other seemed to fly above the ground. As they ran the only person within the area who was in their way was Sulleykaar.

He smiled at Sulley. Catching his eyes with his own before the cloaked man came out from behind him, like a shadow coming to life, and soared toward Sulley. His cloak expanded and began to widen unnaturally so. A black mass that widened beyond Sulley's size but came in as if it would devour him. This also blocked his vision of anything in front of him, both above, to the sides, and below. As this happened the man swiftly sprinted underneath Sulley and toward the army that stood far behind him to remain safe. With a flip he curled up midair and began to flip rapidly into a ball. He came hurtling into the shields of the soldiers and in doing so impacted them so hard they tore like paper when coming into contact with his sudden entry. Confused and broken up he tossed soldiers aside with little effort. They attempted to strike him but missed every time as he effortlessly and fluidly moved his limbs to avoid the blades. It was after a few dodges that he jumped into the air and with a unnatural force jumped back down straight into the soldiers. His impact cratering the ground below and sending soldiers flying around him. He then moved like a bullet through the air and above the soldiers who remained grounded. They could only look on in horror and bewilderment. Another cratering impact and he was within the center of the soldiers formation. Standing in front of him was the Guardian. It stood as the Basilisk did and only observed from afar, not entering the battle itself for some deep purpose. Perhaps as a last resort despite the Vrondi being fully prepared to use it. He looked up at the guardian with a smile widening on his lips as he freely expanded his arms as if to greet the guardian with a friendly gesture. "Now." Arms spread out he gently strolled to the Guardian. Soldiers having a nervous twitch in them from what he had displayed himself capable of doing and did not rush him. They only watched as the Guardian stepped forward once and brought its right arm back. "Come to me." He spoke softly, sweat dripping down the edges of a soldier's face as he watched unsure of what would happen next. With a loud crash the fist of the Guardian came down on the mysterious man. His body was ripped apart into bloody pieces. His delicate flesh being thrown across as delicate limbs to every direction. Black and crimson blood covered the fist of the guardian as it returned to its standing posture. The soldiers around this began to breathe again as the danger seemed to have been handled with little casualty. The question on everyone's mind now was.. is it over?

@13org

"Kukukuh.. So many demands." His reptile eyes rotated around the area for a brief moment before narrowing on Lila. "It seems you have many surrounding you right now.." He chuckled again. "Do not fear me. I am no threat. A friend no. But an enemy even less." The leaves surrounding them began to rustle and dance with unusual vigor. Two cultists emerging from the dark with long blades in hand. They seemed like twins as their sabers were held in opposite hands. Their faces were covered in tattered black wraps with a single white eye visible beneath a hole on its surface. They cackled as they stepped toward Lila, seeming to find zero threat in her appearance and not noticing the large dragonkin standing behind the thin tree. They edged forward to surround Lila, but stayed within distance to avoid her scythe.

"Boring.. these are no challenge at all for you.." Whispered the voice of the reptile into the ears of the unaware cultists. They looked around nervously. The man lifted a finger to his jaws as if to signal to Lila to remain silent. It was at this moment he began to vanish, even from Lila's senses. His presence seemed entirely gone. It was only when two loud blows could be heard did he reappear in front of Lila. The Cultists rose upward from the strikes he did not even seem to do, as his position and their position was too far away for two blows to be made and then to stand next to Lila before the bodies even dropped. Despite this mystery he stood with a smirk on his jaws and looked down at Lila. While in range of her weapon he didn't seem to flinch at her.

"My name is Wasu and I intend to observe. However I was distracted by your presence.. Lila. Oh. I am entirely weaponless." As he spoke he gave a oddly pleased expresion. Suddenly a flame erupted from afar behind the jungle trees and bushes as the battle raged on in the field not too far off.

@Ayame
{TIME FRAME/ WELL PAST MIDNIGHT}
The battle on the territory of Blaze was well dwindling down as the fires of the Fotian soldiers turned the bodies of the cultists into ash and their ash into dust that flowed in the winds. The high breeze was caused by the warm waters by the docks. There Calamity bathed off her blood alone and out of sight of most civilians. However a few guards saw her on their patrol. One found her crimson form alluring. The blood dripping from her hairs and turning the water around her red. He called the attention of his fellow guards to her and the three Fotian men stood not too far from the water's edge. One whistled as she rose out of the water and her clothing was dampened. Her dragon features did not change their obvious appeal to her. Though as she walked she strolled too far for their appreciative language to be heard. All but for one as he approached her. "The night is dangerous. Where are you headed?" He asked. His armor covering his face for the most part. As the battle was nearly done the night was nearing it's end.

-----
{TIME FRAME/ STILL DAY}
Castiel was alone in the mist. Bones breaking with each step as he headed toward what massive creature awaited him at the source. However soon a tall black silhouette of a man came from the mist before Castiel. Upon closer inspection its body seemed almost ethereal but also distorted with long slender legs and arms. It's body was a clumped mass of a misshapen form. Like a bag filled with twigs and stones, spikes coming from some of the edges. It walked with a massive staff the length of a tree. Its height itself was over twelve feet and it's slender form appeared even more so. It took a moment but it leaned in toward Castiel, it's body remained shadowed but it's face beneath long black and mangled hair was just a large silver skull with empty sockets. "You... there.. Do you seek.. the Lord of death? He rules over this land... Soon to be all..."

As it spoke in it's gentle elderly mans voice the ground around them shifted as the bones moved like something was beneath them. Soon Castiel will find himself standing on a massive pile off bones and within the clearing mist were mounds and towers made of bones and black stone. A basilisk could be seen in the far distance wrapped around a tower. However the mist would begin to clear only briefly before the dark mass of another serpent could be seen below the hill of bones before Castiel.

The Lord seeks strong souls..

@Vesuvius00

As Alexis returned she came across the voices of the soldiers. Their relay of what they saw went similar to this.
Back! GET BACK FROM THAT DRAGON!
FALLING BACK!
This guy's insane!
Captain fall Back!

Don't worry about me. Get the medics here and plenty of water!
Medics forward!
That's too much heat! I can hardly see a thing!
It's a friendly! It's a friendly!
My God!
HE'S wiping them out in one blow! REMAIN IN FORMATION!

WHAT happened? Did it work?
Geez a dragon huh..
That's no dragon like I've ever seen one.
Yeah! Burn mother fuckers!
Haha ye- the fuck is that!?

IIINNNCOOOMMIIIIINNG!!
SHIT WHAT IS THAT!
IT'S SOME MAN! HE'S BLOWING RIGHT THROUGH US!
SHIT!
HE'S GETTING THROUGH OUR DEFENSES!
HE'S stopped at the Guardian...
Good. Time to crush that son of a bitch.
Do It!
Done...
Blood dripped gently from the fist of the Guardian as it stood among the soldiers. Steam still rising from beneath it's armor with a constant breath of heat. Completely unresponsive as it's usual nature.

@Landaus Five-One

The capital of Vrondi was peaceful. Despite the battles raging all over the lands the people were mostly tucked in their beds for a nights rest. In the morning sunlight they will rise and begin to charge their soul's batteries in the sunlight. Given it was the cover of night none but guards saw the transformation. However they found this unsurprising as the Vrondi Capital had wells of knowledge on Dragons and their abilities. Some even being birthed here. The libraries and stores however were mostly closed. A few were open but they are small. The major Magoi shops and libraries were closed until the morning. The inns were open but not very busy as All did not stay up late due to the lack of sunlight at night. A few mixed blooded or foreigners remained awake in the inn and other locations for the subtle night life of Vrondi.

---

Location: Outside Blaze Town

Calamity blinks, as she looks at the man. "...Somewhere..." she trails off, not really sure why this male was talking to her. "I can take care of myself in any case." Her eyes narrow, as she stares at him with suspicion, not really sure why he approached her. Normally the cold aura she radiates keeps people away from her, especially men, so she has no idea why he approached her.

She looks him over, recognising him as a Fotian soldier. The only thing she really liked about Fotia were the armour the soldiers and elite wore. She always liked red. It's always been her favourite colour, especially when it comes to fighting, as it's a lot harder to see blood on something that's already blood red. Another reason was because they looked a lot like dragons in them.

---

---

Location: Feral Grounds of Nero

Castiel eyes the silhouette, his eyes full of annoyance. As the figure looked ethereal, he automatically hated it, as it reminded him of who his father was, and he hates his father just as much as his mother. He stands still as the figure moves closer to him, and wasn't at all put off when he sees the skull. He grits his teeth, incredibly annoyed now. "No, I do not seek the 'Lord of death'. I just want to pass through," he bites out. "Who the hell are you anyway?"

[RESERVED]

The Temple of Knowledge Seekers, or Mindah Tarvitaan to those who study there. It sits high in the Gaia mountains on the far side of Gaia. Its beautiful mountainscape and vibrant valleys are the usual visuals seen to the monks who live there amongst the flowing rivers, majestic waterfalls and its variety of dragons that seem to dance through the sky. It is said that the meaning of life can be answered at either sunrise or sunset from outside this temple with such a view. However, rare is it for visitors to make such a trek to Mindah Tarvitaan as it is still a treacherous and dangerous journey unless guided by the dragonriders of Gaia. Sometimes during the season of changing colors, some of the initiates will travel down the mountainside into the villages below to help the people of said villages. Planting gardens, cooking for the less fortunate or even just making their days brighter with demonstrations of what they have learned so far. It is only at the Trail of Sight do monks leave the temple, venture out into the world to discover its mysteries, as well as its atrocities. Sometimes they are gone for days, weeks, months or even years before returning to give their answers to Sophia or Master Qobo.
Qobo Milah, Sage of Mindah Tarvitaan and grand master of Qobo Milah, the art of the swift palm. Qobo has seen many come and go in his lifetime and many who left great legacies behind. Simsae Tovu, a fotian who introduced the temple to Fos Tul Lah, art of the fire dance, Dromo Subak, taught the ways of the Paku Savat, Steel Fortress, the art of solid defense. There were many others who left fond memories behind for the temple. There were some who left negative impressions but were banished, wiped clean of their memories from their stay at the temple and sent down the mountain, never to be seen again.
But Qobo never dwelled in those memories, for he prefered to live in the present with sight on the future of the temple and its inhabitants. Currently it was nightfall in the high temple. The wind blew gently as the moon lit up its structures with a pleasnt lunar color. The occasional chirp or screech from a dragon passing could be heard from time to time over the trickling waterfall whose creek ran through the meditation area of the temple. Surrounding the creek was a beautifully sculpted zen garden, embellished with simplicity yet elegance. A monk tended to the finely grounded stones with a wooden rake that shaped the sand into waves around the scattered potted plants and spiraled out from perfectly placed boulders and stones. On one end was a small pond filled with a few of the scaled fish of the valley below, it to accompanied by a small trickling waterfall and water wheel. Qobo sat on one of the boulders in the center of the garden, the wind and brisk chill of the air pushed his long facial hair back ever so slightly but just enough to be felt. He sat cross legged, his walking cane resting on his lap as the of the monk redesigning the garden filled his ears. He had caught wind of battles happening around the lands and had felt the emotions that came with it. Fear, confusion, sadness, anger…
Anger. This one became very prominent recently. He could not pinpoint how or who, but it was strong enough for him to feel it from the mountain temple. With it was grief, confusion and fear. His heart ached as he gripped onto it. Yet something else became present. A soul of some kind that was familiar and yet forgotten. He couldn’t place his finger on the soul in question but knew that it was close to the other soul who let waves of rage flow off of them. But this one soul...this one soul he felt he knew came with another feeling that sent a shiver down his spine…
Death…
’I must talk to Sophia as soon as possible.’ He thought.
His meditation was soon interrupted however as one of the other elder monks quickly shuffled over the walkway and stopped beside Qobo.
“Master Qobo…” The monk, exhausted from his hurry managed to say between breaths. Without looking, Qobo knew who it was with an idea of why he was there. He took in a deep breath and held it for a moment.
“Master Qobo…”
”Master Phu…” He greeted as he exhaled. He knew what was to come. It happened at least twice if not three times a week.
“The young ones are out of their rooms-”
”Out of their rooms again...I know.” He sighed before turning his head slightly to Phu.
”Go check the Library. I will be there shortly. Sophia and I must talk.” Phu bowed before scurrying off. Shaking his head he slowly stood up, holding his cane in his right hand as a portal quietly opened up behind him, one that would take him into the Great Library. He looked into the portal and observed. This portal opened to the back corner of the library’s hall where Sophia tended to stay. He watched as the children entered, played for a bit before being hidden under the dragon’s wing. He let out a quiet chuckle as Phu was fooled by Sophia on the young ones’ locations. It reminded him when the library had reopened and they were allowed inside. The nights he was supposed to be in bed, he would sneak out and enter the library and would sit with Sophia and study before she would send him back to the room. Unfortunately, he did not have the luxury of arriving before the elders did. This got him into trouble many times before he figured out how to portal jump. Ever since he did, he would use it to escape to the library and return to his room before the monks could catch him.
Sophia giggled as she saw the young initiates running to their rooms.
Differently from the rest of the descended, the monks, both elders and initiates there at that temple were pure, honest, and incorruptible. The Great Library was always removed from the rest of the world, high up in the mountains, away from the ignorance, greed and cruelty that covered the rest of the world. A place where one wouldn't be judged by their race, physical appearance, skills or even their past. No politics, no violence, no greed. A beacon of knowledge and hope, to all those who had pure minds and hearts, who wished to learn and share their knowledge. That's why Sophia loved that place and the monks who lived with her. That paradise, that small piece of heaven that Sophia built with so much effort and time... It wouldn't be tainted with the corruption that ravaged the rest of the world, Sophia would do anything to prevent it.
When the young initiates left, Qobo had stepped through, just in time to hear Sophia call a close one. He waited another moment before speaking up.
”An initiate is is still a bulb in a garden and must be cared for and maintained at all times before it can blossom into a beautiful flower. They must study, train and learn to love what life has given them and most importantly...They must not be out of bed past the time they are told else be punished for such behavior. Is this not the rule of the temple, hm?” Qobo stepped forward as his cane clacked against the floors of the library, echoing around the open space. His presence made known, a small chirp and slight screech was heard on the far end as a small golden dragon quickly flew up high, swooped down and almost sent Qobo to the ground with force. With an “oof”, the small dragon climbed up onto Qobo’s shoulders and let out another happy little chirp, causing the grand master to chuckle.
”And hello to you to Druulo.” He managed to let a small smile make itself known as he scratched Druulo under the chin, causing the golden drake to nip his finger playfully. He turned his attention back to Sophia. Despite his eyes remaining somewhat closed, he looked at her with slight irritation at her actions before stepping to stand beside her.
"Don't be like that, Qobo. They were just giving me a goodnight kiss." she said with a smile.
”That is what i would say if i was a bit younger and more naive. However, I am too old for such frivolous inquiries. I will not punish the children for they are just that, children.” He stayed silent for a moment before chuckling.
”It also doesn’t help that I was as rambunctious as them, just a bit older however. But if possible, please sensei, do keep these little pleasantries to a minimum. They are young but not without discipline and i don’t want them getting the idea that this is normal. With that being said…” He looked off to one of the corner columns of the library that were shadowed by the light. He stared hard into the dark space and shook his head.
Sophia giggled after hearing him.
To her, they were her children. They came here willingly, searching for her knowledge, protection and love. Though only kids, their heart were pure and their minds, thirsty for knowledge
"It’s amusing isn't it? Even though they are only children, they choose the path of knowledge with such enthusiasm. I can’t feel doubt or regret on their hearts." Sophia said to him.
"Sometimes i wonder if the day where I will be able to freely share my knowledge without fear will really arrive..." she said, with sad eyes.
”Kaylia, step into the light please young one.” With slight surprise, a young Nayu’s golden eyes pierced through the darkness before disappearing as she stepped out from behind the column. Her hair veiled her eyes and expression as her head was lowered in shame.
“Yes, Master Qobo.” She sounded a bit defeated if her posture was anything else to go on.
“I’m just a little bit airheaded today, sorry for not having noticed you, Kaylia.” she said looking to Qobo and Kaylia.
”Why did you stay behind as the other kids went to bed?” He opened his eyes ever so slightly, causing Kaylia to flinch.
“I don’t want to go back right now. They were making fun of me.” This peaked Qobo’s interest.
”Oh? How so?”
“They say I’m a monster and bloodsucker because that’s what the Nayu are. They feast on blood. They call me beast. Am I? Am I a monster?” Qobo cleared his throat. If Sophia knew him well, she would know that this angered him.
Sophia watched quietly as Qobo and Kaylia talked. For her surprise, the little Nayu didn't want to go back because she was being called a monster due to the fact that she was a Nayu.
She knew that things like that angered Qobo.
”Do you think you’re a monster?” A tear ran down her cheek and onto the floor. Qobo sighed as he shook his head before stepping forward, carefully kneeling down to her level.
”Kaylia...I remember when you first came to this temple. One of our older initiates, Khor Sei...Do you remember him? I do...He said that during his Trial of Sight he came across a group of children who were being forced into training. Training to be assassins for Aion. He saved you from that place and what did you say?”
“I don’t want to kill...I didn’t want to be a monster. But why me, Master Qobo? Why do they make fun of me?”
Sophia's chest tightened after hearing those words. She was sure that the other kids didn't meant any harm. They were pure and innocent, Sophia knew that, but they were still kids, prone to make mistakes and sometimes, say things without thinking. Sophia could see that that child was suffering silently, insecure about her own nature.
”You didn’t want to be a monster...That’s right. Do you know what I see.” Her hair waved side to side in an answer of no. Qobo smiled.
”I see Kaylia of Basille, a young bright student of Mindah Tarvitaan, a prodigy of the arts and one of a mature mind. You see, it’s our differences that define us as individuals as we were made in the image of the gods. Sophia was made to be the dragon of wisdom, Suleykaar was to be made the dragon of peace and unity, I was to be made as a child in an old man’s body.” He heard a slight chuckle in her voice. Tapping her on the chest, he gently raised her head so he could look into her eyes.
”And you were to be made as a prodigy of this temple. One that has exceeded many of the young and bright enough to teach the old something new. Kaylia, you are not a monster nor are you a beast. As for “why you”, I think it’s because they are jealous of what they see or don't yet fully understand and yet they are too young to understand that it is a positive thing. Who knows, one day you may lead this temple yourself and stand where I stand, beside Sophia. Grand Master Kaylia.” She seemed to smile a bit before Druulo leapt off of Qobo and onto the young girl, causing her to giggle. Qobo chuckled.
"Even after so much time, your heart still remains pure and kind, Qobo." Sophia thought to herself with a smile on her face.
Many of the monks who went through the trail of sight often came back changed after seeing so much cruelty and ignorance, taking even years to get back to normal, but Qobo was different. He still had the same kind and pure heart he always had.
”It would seem as though Druulo has taken a fondness to you, Kaylia. He doesn’t do that to most of the monks here, new or old. Think of this as sign of good fortune. Now run along, Druulo if he so chooses may go with you as well.” She lit up as she looked to the dragon who licked her on the nose. Quickly she bowed to both Sophia and Qobo before running off, Druulo in tow. Silently Qobo nodded with approval before turning his attention back to Sophia.
"Come closer, my child" Sophia called her before she got out of the library.
As the girl came near her, she stood up, walking towards her as she slowly shapeshifted to her "human" form, hugging her tightly.
"My dear child..." she said, holding her shoulders and looking to her eyes.
"You shouldn't be ashamed of your nature. The fact that you drink blood doesn't mean that you are a monster. You don't kill, harm or torture others to drink it, do you? The animals on the forest who kill others to survive aren’t bad, are they? " she asked.
"Drinking someone's blood if they gave you their permission is not 'evil' or 'bad'. Making someone deny their true nature, labeling it as ‘wrong’ or ‘savage’.. This is the bad thing." she said.
"Look at my body." she said, giving a step back. Her skin was as white as the moon, and at the same time, as black as the night sky. Her long white hair and horns were unlike any other.
"Am I a monster?" she asked.
"Even as a dragon, I'm completely different from other dragons. My shapeshifted form is a hybrid between descended and dragon. Due to the magic power inside me, I'm unable to shapeshift as other dragons do."
"It isn't your appearance, race or even your past, who defines who you really are. What defines yourself, are your actions right now. It's never late to change." she said to her.
"You are intelligent, talented, pure and extremely kind Kaylia. Don't be so insecure about yourself. You know who you are, don't you? I'm sure that they meant no harm. It is probably only a joke, they're only having fun. " she said, hugging her just like a mother would hug her child.
"If you ever need to talk to someone, feel free to come here. I always have time to help one of my children." she said giving her a small kiss on her forehead.
"So, don't be angry with them, ok? Try to talk with them, say to them what you really feel. I'm sure that they will apologize." she said, smiling to her as the girl hugged her back before being interrupted by Druulo pulling her by her clothes and running away.
”As for the other ones-” His voice grew slightly colder as he thought of punishments before remembering why he came to her.
”Sophia, there is a matter at hand we need to discuss and it deals with what i felt happening down in the lands below....” His voice hardened a bit as he started walking forward.
"Despair, agony, blood and death... I can feel it too." she said with a sad voice, turning back to her dragon form and laying down again.
"I’m afraid this might not be just an ordinary conflict between two nations, Qobo… We might have to interfere this time..."
Qobo lowered his head and sighed.
”I must meditate on this first.” He said as he turned away from her, the sound of his cane announcing his departure was heard.

---

I didn’t know that he had seen how i was using those runes on the stones and he and picked one up in his mouth and held it there. I charged forward and leapt up, hoping for him to reveal his softer scales underneath his neck so i could teleport underneath and slice his throat open. But when I teleported, I was surrounded by fangs and was tossed about on his tongue. Learned then that he was also a bit of a ventriloquist since he seemed to talk just fine with me in the predicament I was in. Never thought a dragon was that smart. In fact, most dragons I came across were feral. Suleykaar was a sentient dragon and soon learned an annoying one at that.” She laughed as she held him by his arm as they walked.
“He sounds wonderful. I would love to meet him.” He deadpanned.
”I’d rather you didn’t…” Ariel gave him a light punch on the arm.
“Oh stop I’m sure he is a wonderful individual.” Soron shook his head and sighed but smirked. He stopped walking and looked up to the sky.
”I missed you so much Ariel.” She leaned away for a moment and looked deep into his eyes before leaning in with a gentle kiss on the lips. But soon their peaceful moment was Shattered as the winds changed and the light around them started to fade. His instincts kicked in and he looked up to see the head of a dragon in the sky with piercing eyes. Quickly he moved Ariel behind him and his gaze narrowed as he went for his sword. He heard the words spoken but it did not come from the dragon but from something else, something that sent a shiver down his spine.

Though the land Soron walked in was peaceful and reminiscent of paradise it began to change as a uncharacteristically strong wind began to bellow from the infinite landscape with a hint of a cold chill within it. Soon the clear skies began to swarm with grey clouds. Clouds that formed from such a distance it made the skies above feel more vast. The clouds began to form into the head of a massive dragon, eyes glowing with flames. The winds grew exponentially as this happened. Then a shadowy figure appeared on the horizon, standing calmly in the storm.[/i]

The dark figure began to gently move in closer but at a distorted pace. Moving slowly as if far away at the horizon line to appearing much larger by the second. Stepping with a slow walking pace was a giant figure of a man with long flowing hair. He however was purely darkness and it escaped his body like a clouds of black ash. His eyes glowed with the intensity of the sun. His form was slender with a strong upper body and was not wearing any clothes. It stood at 16 feet tall and looked at Soron from about 400 meters away. The sky began to roar as thunder rolled and lightning sparked from the sky dragon’s jaws and hit the ground next to the giant obscure shadow. The ground ripped open around it and the grassy field was turned up in a line where the lightning struck across. The shadow raised a hand and a giant and long chain that glowed with a transparent fiery hue appeared in his palm and was connected to the dragon head made of clouds in the sky. This shadow man pulled the chains and with that the dragon above was shaken and calmed some, lightning no longer charging in its jaws. “His soul is mine.” Rumbled the shadow with a coarse and withered voice that carried like an echo in the storm.
Soron had heard the tall figure speak its demand to which he lowered his head, eyes narrowing even further.
”My soul is mine and mine alone…” Exclaiming to the figure with defiance and determination.
“Yours..?” It asked with legitimate confusion. It's head cocking to the left as he struggled with the chains containing the Dragon's movements. “We will see…” The massive fists of this ominous shadow dug deep into the earth and fastened the chains into the ground like anchors. The massive head of the dragon lost and retained form all at once as it's body was clouds and storm. Despite this it roared in pain from the chains that seemed to wrap around it's cloudy surface. The shadow rose now to face Soron and stepped forward. After doing so, and lifting it's foot to continue its slow pace walk to Soron, darkness rose from the grassy plains beneath its foot print. Rising from the darkness was dark skeletal dragons the size of dogs. They ran out with swift speed past the shadow and ran to Soron. Small yet sharp bone teeth ready to bite into him. Their eyes radiated a blue light.

Lila Moriarty

Lila carefully heard as the strange dragonkin talked. It was hard to decipher him, his voice wasn't threatening, his movements weren't menacing, but he was still very suspicious. She simply couldn't see through his intentions.

"Do not fear me. I am no threat. A friend no. But an enemy even less." He said, in a cryptic tone.
Lila maintained her pose. She might be young, but she had shed too much blood already to be fooled by smooth words.
He claimed he wasn't a threat, but he hadn't even lifted a finger to help her with the cultists.
"Either he is with me, or against me." she though to herself, trying to analyze the mysterious dragonkin without success.

That was when she was interrupted by two cultists. Their movements were synchronized, even the way how they held their blades. They cackled as they surrounded Lila. Their synchronized movements were actually helping Lila, as she only needed to focus on one of them, and she would automatically know where the other was.

"Boring.. these are no challenge at all for you.." the dragonkin whispered. The cultists immediately looked around, afraid that they weren't alone. The last thing Lila saw was the dragonkin making a signal with his hand to her remain silent. After that, the dragonkin disappeared completely. Sound, smell, nothing. It was like his existence was completely erased, even for Lila's enhanced senses. Lila was surprised about that. Nobody had ever escaped her senses like that... Who was he?

Two loud blows broke the silence as he reappeared in front of Lila. The two cultists flew with the impact, their bodies falling shortly after he reappeared. She wasn't able to even see his attacks. He would indeed be very troublesome to deal with if he turned out to be her enemy.

Apparently oblivious about Lila's distrust on him, he simply stood there, with a smirk on his face, looking down at her, due to his height. Although he was inside Lila's range, he didn't seem to be even a little worried about that. Was that trust or arrogance? Was he putting himself inside the range of Lila's weapon purposely, to say he wasn't an enemy, or he was simply there because he was sure that she wouldn't hit him even if she did attack?

The thought that he was actually looking down on her, not seeing her as a threat irritated Lila, but nevertheless, he had proven his point. Lila had a delicate and inoffensive appearance, she was aware about that fact, but even after seeing her killing the cultists in one swift attack he was still standing there, looking at her. Not even the most courageous warrior would purposely put his body in front of a blade.

"My name is Wasu and I intend to observe. However I was distracted by your presence.. Lila. Oh. I am entirely weaponless."

"Wasu... I can't say I trust you, but you have proven your point."
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, at least for now." she said, lowering her scythe. Whoever was that man, she would watch him very closely. He knew Lila even though she had never seen him before. His abilities, his objectives... he was covered in secrets. And Lila didn't liked that even one bit.

But she had more important things to worry about right now than Wasu, for example the heat and the horrible smell of burnt corpses coming from the battlefield, behind the jungle.
"Fire..." Lila mumbled to herself.
"Farewell, Wasu. The next time we meet I will have my answers." she said, grabbing her scythe and heading to the battlefield to help the soldiers. Whatever it was the situation there, surely it wasn't very pretty, especially with the heat and the terrible smell of burnt corpses coming from the battlefield.

With shadowed complexions and periodic outbursts of sobbing they spoke. Velai the young seraphim sat on her knees. Her face revealed the teary eyed look of fear a young calf has when faced by a wolf. Indeed it was this fear that made the darkness in Mirrors room palpable. The one standing before her had eyes that glowed yellow in the dark with a red ring along his black pupils.

His eye glow was broken up by curls of hair that fell like strands above his forehead and beneath his curved hat. His smile had the same curvature as he looked down on Velai, hands in his pockets. His lean body beneath the large black and long sleeved coat had a curve as his shoulders were leaned far back. Behind him was a boy leaning against the wall, he looked mostly displeased by the conversation however his sheepish manner of looking to the floor conveyed his compliance. With a heavy and controlled pitch he spoke to Velai in a voice that carried a vibration of resentment.

But even as he did so he smiled with a nonchalant air of nonverbal expressions. Yet this did nothing to dispel her quivering legs from the curse of fear. "Yes I suppose you know who I am. I am one half of the terrible two, Ziton the Seeker. You may be wondering where my sister Alitheia is. You see the entire point is that we don't work together. In fact we are in competition against each other. She has two artifacts I only have one, with this I'll be at two and well...” He stopped to look at the window’s high moon with sudden entrancement.

“...Y’know." He shrugged. He didn't care for Velai and her whimpers and ended the beating around the bush. Though it was clear he was ready to do so at length. "ANYWAYS I have to get something from your boss. Do me a favor and tell me where he keeps his most valuable possessions." Velai could hardly move but she managed to nod slowly. He smiled and gave a light hearted oook before stepping back to allow her to stand. Velai slowly rose to her feet by using her hands. She then slid her hand to fix her hair.

There within her long hair she held a blade she planned to use when able to, it was small but sharp. It was right as she managed to wipe her stands from her face that a barrel of what mysterious weapon the man had was pointed at Velai. She felt herself freeze underneath his gaze with that thing pointed at her. She had seen books about Fotians and Lassa having projectile weapons that required delicate processes that made them inefficient save for hunting.

But only the most elite of soldiers had one and even then it was not relied on without heavy modifications. Was he an elite, or ex elite from elsewhere? Velai slowly backed up with fear gripping her, she did not know how it worked but it was said to be very deadly.

"Try anything and you'll see why I have a bounty on my head higher than any other. Yes my sister has me beat in artifacts at the moment. But when it comes to mayhem I am number one." He grinned intensely while letting out a chuckle. "Oh come on it’s your fault for hiding it. All this time there was an answer. My life would have had meaning a long time ago." He looked with narrowing brows, his smile evening to display his rising aggression. "You Aion are in my way.

Just like everyone else!" Velai screamed at this point, but was hushed by the unwavering weapon in Ziton's hand. "Please I have no idea what any of this is about.." Velai tried to say it as loudly as he allowed her to and looked to the boy who stood on the wall who met eyes with her. She pleaded for help with her expression of fear and a shake of her head. But the boy merely looked with eyes growing numb to what he witnessed. But it was clear the boy was not unaffected by this and seemed to be frozen by his own fears. Ziton looked with sudden intrigue at Velai and his anger was subsided and was replaced with a smile once again. He pointed to the boy.

"That there is my protégé’. He will take my place one day if my mission is not complete before I die. Don't look that way. I saved him from slavers, he's not entirely thankful but he should be. Silly boy." He lowered the gun but kept an eye on Velai. "That chest? It has GOT to be in this room." He said with charismatic expression, which again did nothing for the feel of fear that pervaded through the room. “And I’m not talking about yours.” He winked.
----------------------
Wasu watched as Lila spoke words to him briefly before leaving with a puzzled expression. What was happening at the battlefield that was causing such chaos? He was curious and had to be well informed on what happened during this battle. So he vanished after Lila did and did so by gently fading away, his laugh still lingering as an echo. He appeared a few seconds at the tree tops. He stood at the top of a leaning branch of a very large tree.

He whistled at the sight of the carnage of what remained of the cultists on the field and was visibly shocked by the sight of their leader blowing through Vrondi soldiers. He stood leaning forward now and rubbed at marking on his head between his eyes that was made in red. It blocked the mind reading of the Vrondi but was a pain to keep on for so long. “This mission will be over soon enough..” He looked to the shades to see if there was sight or sign of Lila entering the fray. He thought back on her brief appearance and thought that she was well taken care of due to lack of bruising and her family’s lineage ran through her veins.

She had one of the bloodlines of a true Nayu. It was old blood from the founders of Nero. This made him excited for he wished to be full blooded. Despite his acceptance into the Dolofon it was not enough to be a half. “If only you knew what you had. I’ll show you the way soon enough.” He looked more serious now as he watched the unfolding slaughter and confusion.
@13org
"Get in formation! Circle around the guardian! Hold that line!" The Vrondi Elite captain walked through the frozen soldiers shouting orders that broke them from their grip of fear and disbelief. It seemed they had swatted a powerful enemy away with thanks to the guardian. The power of the king was continually reliable. With the power of the guardian behind them hope remained steadfast and within their grasp. The look of fear soon was replaced with furious determination. The Vrondi soldier’s warrior spirit was reignited by the brightness of the glory that stood at their backs.

They punctured more cultists that came forward. They switched to blades when their grips were made too loose by the blood flowing across the spear’s handle’s surface. There would be no more casualties tonight it seemed as the only blood that flowed now was that of the Vrondi’s enemies. The numbers of foes within the trees and hidden areas were dwindling as well. For as the night grew forward the battles across the Edafos weakened hour by hour. It was this hour, four after midnight that the loss of hope began to arise stronger than ever before. For this night the cloaked one that aimed to envelope Sulleykaar slipped off after distracting him with its shadowy cloak.

However whether it was illusion or reality made little difference, Sulleykaar was merely an afterthought to the cackling cloaked figure. He walked with his staff in hand as if he was an old one once more. He used the staff with each step, each more tiresome than the last. “You.. Fools.. You cannot know what you do not seek.” He stepped forward one last time and raised his hands to the sky. The moon seemed to glow upon his shadowy figure. The ends of his cloak floated upward as well as his entire body.

No longer needing the staff it fell to the ground with a wooden rattle. “Our lord adorns his armor. For the battle has just begun. WITNESS YOUNG AND OLD A TRUE CHILD OF OUR CREATORS!” He pointed his withered and boiled fingers from beneath the tattered sleeves of his cloak to mark the guardian. With that a silence fell over the soldiers, all but those who had to periodically slay a cultist before they could enter their blockade.


The guardian stood tall as it always did. Soldiers close to it looked back, a few others from among the ranks chose to do so as well. Those who did would see nothing out of place as the eerie winds of the mountains of Vrondi blew down on them for what would be a refreshing breeze. Instead it marked the change of fate that arose before their very eyes.

The black blood of the fallen cultist leader began to fester as if it sprang to life onto the Guardian’s surface. Soon it covered its armor and the light that burned as its body began to change hue from a bright fiery yellow to a cool blue like streams of the starry night sky. It emitted the blue as light but it was contained in a dark blue aura that when met with the constantly flowing energy of light within it appeared just as a galaxy would, dots of white with streaks of multicolored orchid and cyan. It was soundless at first, the taking over of the Guardian. But as the power that was well known to be contained within it was being given a new handler all those of the soldier ranks and those helping within range of their messages knew and heard.

It was over, they lost control of the Guardian. It was something that was left at Sunfire by their King for their protection and more importantly was entrusted to them to control it wisely. This was why they held back on using it they didn’t want to risk over using it unless necessary. But now it was gone, and for all those lives lost instead of using its power from the start left many immediately devastated. “GO! RUN! GET AWAY AND GET IN FORMATION BY THE TREES! HURRY!” Shouted the Vrondi elite captain with urgency, his eyes seemed all too sure of what would happen next. His blade was released from its sheath and he held it with his right hand and turned his beast to face the Guardian.

“H-How is this.. Happening!?” A broken soldier fell to his knees at the sight of what he was witnessing. The guardian was ever changing now, the sound of its new form giving a sound of fluctuating waves against the ear drums. Waves that could be felt through small vibrations that grew stronger the closer you were to its source. The muscular form that guardian once represented began to recede as darkness began to envelope the entire guardian. Blocking out all light from its body and turning all of its features entirely black.

Then black ropes began to eject from its form from all directions. Black ropes that moved with a mind of their own like tentacles they tore into their victims. Those unlucky enough to not escape were torn a hole in their torsos and when these tendrils pulled out a powerful light was attached to their ends. They retracted all to the guardian and the light was absorbed into the dark surface. Soon a loud roar could be heard after over several dozen soldiers were killed in this manner.

The elite captain of the Vrondi deflected what ropes he could with his blade but even as he seemed to more focused on combat many fell around him. It was when the soldiers were able to scatter away from the tendrils and the guardian itself by over 30 meters did they notice the hooded man stepping through their ranks. “Yes now you know.. now you know..” He cackled with a triumphant tone. The Soldiers stepped aside for him out of fear and hopelessness. For what would fighting this one do to change this situation? The outcome seemed all the same. They needed more than what they had and the King was busy with his own battle.

Very few knew why the King was busy or what could keep him busy for so long. Regardless of this communications were set on high for a retreat. But many would have to remain. This was a fine line between them and their homes and if it were crossed there was little hope for Sunfire itself. Most there would rather die than have Sunfire be taken and stood in place despite their fears.

The cloaked man continued forward, but instead of walking he merely floated. His cloak hovering above the blood soaked grass. He came to the guardians form. But now it was sleeker. Slender as it was it remained at its height of sixteen feet. Soon the silhouette began to sleek away beneath the armor and revealed the new form of the guardian. What was not a perfect ebony was silver and all glistened with the starry night skies reflection on its surface. The tall figure stood before the cloaked man who bowed to it.

He fell to the ground with meekness and struggled to raise his head. Hints of his silver mask could be seen beneath the cloaked hood. “Master.. I am unworthy.. WE ARE UNWORTHY!” The head of this new guardian turned and looked down at the man. The silver spear in its grasp reflected the moon’s light as it was lifted and pointed to the small man. “Your road is commendable one. Rise my trusted servant.” A elegant voice spoke from beneath the armor of the guardian.

It was the voice of the cult leader that was presumed dead by a single strike. It’s silver tone could be matched by no other on this field and even graced those who were stricken with fear. The moonlight shot out of the spear like a ray of light and formed within the grasp of the hooded man a silver scythe. “You have much to do and this is only the beginning.” With their words being exchanged the soldiers scrambled among each other to formulate a plan. If they failed here it was over.
@FallenTrinity@Sohtem@Vesuvius00

Calamity was approached by two Fotian soldiers. However only one came within a few meters of her to speak. He removed his helmet with a simple unstrapping of a leather belt bellow his chin. The dragon helmet he had was carried under his left arm. Doing this helmet removal revealed his face in the dim lighting of the full moon sky. He had a square jaw from many years of working as a soldier. He was not old but was surely not young. His hair was short but was twisted in multiple directions from it's curly texture. A single long strand went down his left cheek and stopped to his chin and had a gold ring on it holding the strand together. His eyes were a light brown but were simply dark brown in the moonlight. "It is unsafe for a pretty lady to be alone at night. Though the sun will be up soon it's best you headed inside for the remainder. If you're looking for a place I might be able to accommodate you." He raised a brow to her claws and wings that sat on her in contrast to her fair flesh. A chuckle could be heard from the soldier not too far away as he attempted to look as if he was patrolling rather than ease dropping.

"What do you say to a good drink and a warm meal tonight. I might look this way but I can treat a woman." He smiled confidently but could not make out her intrigue in his armor. He instead confused the look for interest. Or even if not an Fotian mans drive was not kept at bay so easily.

----

"Very well.." The large bag of bones that walked as a several meters tall man moved to the side and waved a long arm to gesture a allowance of Castiels proceeding through the feral grounds. "Welcome then.. to the new kingdom of our Lord." As the mist faded a stone pillar of bones and dirt was visibly seen erecting from a mass of even more bones. Armor and weapons later scattered around from countless failed conquests of these feral grounds. A large serpent moved it's way from beneath the bones and slithered within the massive castle of bones. White blue and red lights could be seen trailing around the surface of the castle like spirits searching for a home. The wind was picking up now with a cold wind from afar declaring that if one would go further a whole different world awaited them ahead. A cold one.

@Ayame

A crash of flesh against gravel stone and bending it to it's will by brute force and the quake of the stones surrounding it echoed through the mountain side. With constant thrashing the figure of a large being rose from the cliff edge to rise to his feet, fearless to the endless drop bellow him. He only looked up. His face shadowed by the darkness of the night and the moons graceful light was beyond his reach on the top of the mountain. Or so It was for now. Another crash and he planted a hand into the rocks and with synchronized repetition he brought foot to rock and hand to edge to lift himself up and continue a swift rise up the mountain side. The winds howled as he did so with all their might to force him down. But he pressed onward. Soon though he made rest on a cliff ledge with a cave. He made a fire within and sat with legs crossed while chewing on the bones of his finished meal. The winds howled... It was soothing despite its ferocity. The cackle of flames met the winds in a dance before him and he found himself clapping lightly to a tune I his mind. Thoughts of domestic life, home and a warm dance was in his head. It was time to sleep till morning. So he rolled himself within a furry skin and layed next to the fire. It was only a half an hour when he heard the wind shift from it's constant howl to a whistle. Then he felt as his flames moved to accommodate a presence drifting it's dance partner the wind from it's usual rhythm.

A blade came down but it only met earth as it's intended target rolled out if the way. Suddenly the furred blanket was tossed in the air and threatened to cover whomever wielded the dagger. With A swatting hand it was pushed aside and went to the cliff ledge outside the small cave entrance. A fist met the dagger wielder immediately after he deflected the blanket. A fist that roared upon impact with flames that left smoke trails behind as the man was sent flying out of the cave an off the edge of the cliff. A heavy breath could be heard before a center was refund through balancing himself to a stiff stance. "Even to reach this far...? It can't be." Looking out the cave with a fireball I his right palm for illumination he witnessed black thin silhouettes like cloaks flying in the sky converging on him. Black serpent like dragons with riders wearing the dark cultists accessories of death and brutality. They leaped from their beasts to meet the cliff side and caught on with claws and tools and ropes. Some even flew toward him as they could remain airborne in these high winds. "You wish to taste My flame?" His fireball was tossed from his hand like a pebble and ignited one of the flying beasts, its rider falling off. He summoned another fireball and grasped it with both hands. They ignited as flames roared from his palms and around his entire fists. "My quest does not end here. I have no choice but to lay down my all in this." With that said He leaped from the cliff edge much to the surprise of his many foes. With A step he lifted himself midair as flames ejected from his foot in powerful bursts with each charging step of his. He planted a kick to a cultists side before it could react and tossed a small orb of fire at another. His fist turned another to ash right after. That side of the mountain was falling apart when he wss complete and he escaped the eventual fall of boulders to the ground below the mountain. He pressed upward and finally reached a cliff side that led to no others. Where The snow fell and his body was coated with layers of slush and ice. He seemed unaffected by it however and merely shook it off periodically as he marched through thick snow at a slow pace toward the Temple of Knowledge Seekers.

"Ah.. at last."

His appearance did not look the part of a mountain climber. Let alone a snow mountain.
@13org@FallenTrinity

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Location: Blaze Town

Calamity purses her lips. "And what is it that you can offer me?" she asks sweetly, as she slowly stalks closer to the Fotian soldier. She had heard the other guard chuckle, and knew the other guards close by were listening in to their conversation. She stands so close to the soldier talking to her, there was barely any space between them. She gives him a sultry look. "You do see these, right?" she asks, flicking her tail, and flexing her wings.

"Are you sure you'd be able to handle me? I am more than just a woman," she purrs. "I guess you're handsome enough...but you might be a little too young for my taste... How old are you, boy?" she asks, tilting her head a little, licking her lips. Calamity's whole demeanour changed. She was softer, not as cold. She looked like she was playing hard to get, when all she wanted to do is play around with the guards... mess with their heads a little.

---

---

Location: Feral Grounds of Nero

Castiel watches the figure suspiciously, before shrugging as if he didn't particularly care, and began walking slowly towards the pillar. He was still very much alert, and ready to fight if he needed to. He just didn't show it in his demeanour. To anyone else, he looked like a foolish traveller who wouldn't listen to the warnings of the skull person.

Lila Moriarty

The smell of burnt flesh was nauseating. All she could feel in the field were the burnt corpses of cultists, and a few more cultists still charging to their death. A real carnage happened there. Luckily, whoever did that was on their side. The guardian stood tall behind the soldiers. The king's power once again saved the city. The guardian was undeniably strong. It was the last stand of the city, an unsurmountable obstacle to any potential intruder. Or so they thought.

Since the situation was apparently under control, Lila calmly walked in the direction of the soldiers to report what happened in the forest she was before. The number of cultists attacking dwindled as the time passed, what was once a brutal onslaught now was reduced to manageable numbers, that battle seemed to be won already, but looks can be deceiving.

A strange cloaked figure walked towards the soldiers, ignoring even Suleykaar, like it was nothing. Walking with an tired pace, like it was an old man, he cackled. Aside from the staff he used to walk, Lila could feel no other weapons on the old man. What was he doing?

The scene that followed was simply terrifying.
Raising his hands to the sky, the cloaked figure started to float, not needing its staff anymore, as it fell to the ground.

“Our lord adorns his armor. For the battle has just begun. WITNESS YOUNG AND OLD A TRUE CHILD OF OUR CREATORS!” he spoke, pointing to the armored guardian with his old and wrinkled fingers.
Lila couldn't understand what was happening. By the screams of the soldiers, something was happening with the guardian. They yelled in terror, screaming to everyone get away from it.
Black tentacles got out of the guardian, slaughtering anyone unlucky enough to be near the guardian. That was when Lila finally realized what was going on. Somehow, the cultists took control of the Guardian. A weapon strong enough to decimate the city of Sunfire by itself.

With a loud roar shook the ground, coming from the guardian, but there was something different with it. As Lila approached it, she felt that it wasn't the same guardian. Its form had changed. It was still the same size, towering over the soldiers, but its form was sleeker.

“Master.. I am unworthy.. WE ARE UNWORTHY!” the cloaked figure said, bowing down in front of the new, corrupted guardian.
“Your road is commendable one. Rise my trusted servant.” an elegant voice came from under the corrupted guardian's armor. Lila didn't know who that was, but it was obviously an enemy. The cloaked figure, which was unarmed a second ago, now wielded a scythe in its hands.

What could Lila do? Beating a guardian was simply an impossible thing to do alone, even for her. Neither Mirror nor the King were there. The only ones who could possibly maybe stand a chance against the guardian, as they knew its secrets.
Although Lila couldn't beat the guardian, she wouldn't simply stand there without doing nothing or flee. She still could do one thing.

As the cloaked figure and the corrupted guardian talked with each other, Lila grasped her scythe with one hand, her scythe resting over her shoulder as she put the other hand into the ground, assuming a crouched position, just like a predator about to pounce.
"Its the first time in a long time I need to use my powers..." she thought to herself, licking her lips.
Her muscles tensed up, her senses became sharper than ever, she could feel every single smell and sound on the battlefield: the soldier's nervous steps, heartbeats and sweat as they ran away from the guardian, the stench of burnt corpses, the weird smell coming from the corrupted guardian and the elegant voice echoing inside the amor, the blood... The amount of information Lila was receiving that moment was overwhelming. Her blind eyes darted from one side to another, responding to every smell and every sound she heard.

Tightening her grasp on the scythe with all her body tensed up, she dashed forward, her body slowly fading away from vision.
Her steps were inaudible as she dashed through the battlefield, dodging from the soldiers who were running away. Her blind eyes wide open, she was completely focused on her target. As she approached the cloaked man, darkness filled the area like a mist. Those inside the bubble felt their vision becoming darker and darker, until they could see nothing but a pitch black darkness, their senses dulling out, as the sounds and screams from the battle became distant, until they were nothing more than whispers.

She needed information. She needed to know what was happening, how they took over the guardian and what could be done. Luckily, there was one way to obtain such information... Lila knew what she needed to do, as she licked her fangs.
Still invisible, she pounced on the cloaked figure, with her mouth open and her fangs wet with toxins. using the point of her scythe, she would throw the old man's head back, exposing his neck. Using her legs to immobilize his arms by jumping on him and her free hand to take a firm grasp on his shoulder, she would sink her fangs on his neck.

By drinking his blood, she would be able to get some information about what was happening.
Although she was told by the Seraphim that drinking blood was a bad thing, she couldn't restrain her predator side for too long, especially while she was under combat, where her instincts became sharper.
"Its been so long since I drank fresh blood!" she thought to herself, her fangs dripping with toxin. Her blind eyes were focused on the man's throat, her face blushing, lusting for blood as a tingling feeling of pure excitement ran down her spine.
That side of her was a side only Mirror knew. That terrible grin, her lust for blood and meat, her black, blind eyes fixed on her prey...
That was the last thing many of her prey saw, the eyes of a predator and her expression of excitement as she drank their blood.
The only moment when she was allowed to let her predator side run wild, the only moment where she was away from the eyes of the Seraphim...
Away from anyone who would call her a sinner or a monster... When she was hunting, everything else didn't matter.

In the Vrondi Capital, Zargoth looked directly at his daughter annoyed but his facial expression changed to a smile and he was happy for once in his life. ”I wish my family still lived… the Platinum Dragons that I come from are only five in total. Why did my father gave me the area where the Black Dragons and Pulsar Dragons were from?” Zargoth thought to himself, lost in his mind for a bit with a endless question of why. His pulsing purplish scales changed slightly to Platinum but only for a split second as if he reminded himself of being a full blooded platinum dragon and not a black dragon he is now. ”Daughter, there’s many stories I could tell you but it is for another time,” Zargoth said. He watched his daughter be her usual cute self with a confidence that all the answers he seek will be answered sooner or later.

Yioplya watched her father’s entire aura surrounding him change from a purple to a Platinum in color and it awed her. She had a smile across her face and it was happy. ”Stories? How many stories do you have father?” Yioplya asked, confidently and kindly. She giggled a bit at her father’s watchful eye.

Zargoth rubbed his head for a bit when his daughter asked those questions. ”Yioplya, all the stories are mostly about certain events in history that I remember completely…,” Zargoth said. He had never thought about all the stories he had, but he know that most of the history he has in his head is different events. ”Out of everything I enjoyed almost all the events I have lived through except when I was cursed to a Black Dragon from my origin of being a rare Platinum Dragon,” Zargoth said. That event pained him to this day and he wants to return being a Platinum Dragon.

Yioplya was shocked hearing her father talk about events, stuff and things. She had no idea what he was talking about. ”Father, you protected the Kind Dragonlord’s integrity. She has always wished she had never done that but you couldn’t blame her. The Forbidden Spells are dangerous you even told me that,” Yioplya said, happily. She remembered all the talks she had with her father when her family was alive and well but the one about Forbidden Spells stuck with her. ”I know I should ask Maria about her forbidden spell,” Yioplya thought to herself, with a curious look on her face.

Patricia and Jacob heard what was said and specifically heard Platinum Dragon from Zargoth’s lips and they were startled because that is a terrifying species of dragon but few in number. ”Are you kidding me, Zargoth was one of the five legendary Platinum Dragons? People really need to keep these things in the know and not forbidden knowledge,” Patricia thought to herself, with an annoyed look on her face. Patricia walked up to Zargoth and his daughter with a inquisitive look on her face. ”Zargoth, I now know why you were called the Terror Dragonlord… It is because you were the only Platinum Dragon within a Black Dragon and Pulsar Dragon Territory,” Patricia said, with her arms crossed and looking up at Zargoth.

Zargoth looked down at Patricia and laughed. ”Hmm, I guess you could be right about that,” Zargoth said. He had a jovial demeanor, it has been forever since he showed this side of him. ”Many things are a mystery to me. Why did my family allowed me to rule over Black Dragons, Pulsar Dragons, their descendants and Seraphim of the Flowerdancer bloodline?” Zargoth asked, curiously. He shrugged his shoulders since he has never really figured that out ever.

Patricia uncrossed her arms and was wary from everything. ”I have no idea why they gave you the land. Only time will tell,” Patricia said. She had an air of exhaustion to her because of all the motions of keeping up hope of freedom and seeing her daughter. She yawned loudly and walked back to her husband and needed a place to stay.

Zargoth thought for a second and remembered a strange thing that had happened to him during his recursive memory sleep. He heard his father’s voice in the back of his head guiding him to the correct spell that he required. ”Are you kidding me, my family all this time have been alive? Now that is slightly annoying and they are older than I am. I am the youngling of the Platinum Dragons,” Zargoth thought to himself, annoyed. He used his more human-like hand to face palm and was slightly annoyed. ”Yioplya, we can probably wait until the morning we should help the Descendants of the Kind Dragonlord to someplace safer than in the middle of the street. They probably need someplace more comfortable to sleep,” Zargoth said, slightly annoyed at the circumstances. He had a smile across his face though.

Yioplya heard what her father had said and was a bit pouty. ”Alright fine, as long as we get to see everything what this city has to offer I will be happy enough,” Yioplya said, saddened a bit.

Jacob and Patricia heard what Zargoth had said towards his daughter. Patricia giggled at this and feels as if this feels like deja vu for them. ”I miss my daughter,” Patricia thought to herself.

Jacob laughed silently trying to keep in his jovial nature in himself. ”Thank you Zargoth,” Jacob said, kindly towards the cursed Platinum Dragon that is a black dragon right now.

Zargoth laughed at his daughter’s reaction of what he had said. ”Don’t worry about it daughter. This place will be more lively in the morning because this place is mostly Solarians. Even though it is pretty at night,” Zargoth said. He enjoys night time a bit more than most dragons, since his dragon scales were Platinum and they shimmer a slight rainbow in color but it was a trick of the eyes mostly. ”So many titles I have been given throughout my life I don’t remember them all,” Zargoth thought to himself.

@Rai

---

Meanwhile at the Dragonpass Encampment, Maria was drawing on the ground with how everything was before the destruction of the Black Dragons. ”I miss all my friends, family, and Descendants that used to be in this exact location,” Maria said, sombering remembering the past. She had no idea her woes was going to get worse and not better even though it would take a long time before the healing can start over. She wondered where Zargoth was at. ”What is taking Zargy so long?” Maria thought to herself, a bit angered. Her aura around her was fluctuating to be slightly a bit red, in terms of her anger.

Johnson saw the rainbow aura change to red and was a bit worried about his family’s living. He saw the drawing on the ground and laughed. ”That’s a nice drawing. This is where the Pulsar Descendant City used to be?” Johnson asked, curiously.

Maria looked up at Johnson and sighs. ”It used to be in this area, yes. But it is buried underneath the land now,” Maria said, sadly. She missed the Descendants who used to call this area, the Paradise of Dragons since that was it was. ”The Paradise of Dragons, was the town was called,” Maria said, acknowledging the fact she cannot ever get back the past.

Johnson heard Maria’s words and was saddened at that. ”Wish I could have seen that town,” Johnson said. He had remembered one thing from his parents crazy ramblings. ”Damn, they even knew how old Yioplya was? She looked like she was only 20 years old when she was in her shapeshifted form. Hmm,” Johnson thought to himself. He remembered the exact age his father had said to him. He was startled in remembering that exact age. He was dumbfounded at the age. ”Stupid question, how old is Zargoth and you?” Johnson asked, dumbfounded.

Maria stood up from her position and laughed at the Solar Dragon. ”Easy, I am only two years younger than Zargy. But I won’t tell you the EXACT AGE. But I can tell the exact age of his only living daughter. However, back then he was a Platinum Dragon and not a Black Dragon...,” Maria said, happy. She loved talking about that one distinguishing factor. ”Yioplya is 3,200 years old. She told me to only tell this to people who want to know,” Maria said, happily.

Johnson was startled when Maria said the age exactly. ”You keep track of time better than the Stonefield Family,” Johnson said, impressed. He was happy to hear that means Yioplya is too naive for her own good but Maria is the Kind Dragonlord. ”She trusts you much then, I couldn’t trust my parents as far as I could throw them,” Johnson said.

Maria giggled at what Johnson what said. ”Descendants only live for 200 years unless they have Ascended. Therefore, it is kinda simple for us Ancients to keep track of time. I like keeping track of Zargoth, Mine and his daughter’s birthdays since it is better than not,” Maria said. She went back drawing on the ground with her hand.

---

At the Gates of Sunfire, the Flowerdancers and the only Tetra-Lira stood there and watched in awe at the entire spectacle unfolding before their eyes. Heather was utterly terrified of what was going on and didn’t want to join the fray since it terrified her so. She was shaking and couldn’t understand why she was terrified at this entire events. It was going fast in her mind that she couldn’t bare it. ”Why am I terrified? Why am I fearful? What’s wrong with me?” Heather thought to herself, shaking and dropped to her knees. She was frozen in fear and her wings were shaking. ”Mommy, what’s going on?” Heather asked, to her mother.

Patricia saw what her best friend was doing and tried to help her friend up with her strength and it worked. She slapped her friend. ”Snap out of it please, you are stronger than me in all ways, you should be protecting me and not the other way around,” Patricia said, a bit angered at these turn of events. She had never done something so rash in her life but to snap her best friend out of something that would end up them dying probably.

Alexis saw what Patricia did to her daughter and was happy to see someone other than her or her husband Magnus doing something rash. ”Utter Terror it seems from what I can see from the Battlefield. But it will probably be a good idea to leave,” Alexis said, with a shiver in her voice.

Magnus heard what Patricia had said and his wife. He was pleased somewhat in their action to do this now and not too late. ”Could be nice, even though we have weapons from our ancestors. It will probably be better if we live,” Magnus said, annoyed. He wanted to use the Claws, he has against some Cultists since he was preparing to fight them but his wife asked to wait for their daughter and Patricia. ”You are a Flowerdancer daughter and we have never swayed from anything in our lives. Even if we have enemies in high places,” Magnus said, he only mentioned that since he was referring to Zargoth.

Heather felt being smacked on the face by her best friend. She heard everyone’s encouragement and stopped being terrified for a bit. ”Thank you, everyone, we could do something before things,” Heather said, jittery. She was still terrified but the encouragement speech from her family and best friend helped her a bit. ”I will make my ancestors proud of me,” Heather said. She didn’t realize what her father was referring to since she was trying to keep Zargoth or Zargy out of her head.

Alexis used a buffing spell onto her own daughter and it was similar to the Kind Dragonlord’s Rainbow Protection, in terms it will make Heather more courageous than not. ”I hope that helps, daughter it won’t last as long as Rainbow Protection but it will help,” Alexis said, hopeful it will work.

Heather felt the spell work quickly, it increased her courage and reduced her terror by much. Her angelic wings were no longer shivering at the sight of the battlefield. She saw her Angelic Sword of Light on the ground since she forgot to put it in her sword sheath. She picked it up and put it back into the sword sheath. ”I don’t think using my sword is going to help in anyway,” Heather said. She helps people much but this isn’t a good thing to do and she’s not really up to the challenge of doing anything since her body language wants to run away right now. ”Uuuh, I don’t know what to do,” Heather said.

@Rai

---

Paon had made his way into sunfire in his humanoid shape hours ago, trading the skins he had for coin. Then he had made his way to the inn. The rest easy as it was called. He had gotten plenty of food and fruit and a drink of nector. An extremely sweet substance not many consumed, but he loved it.

Paon had taken his hood off and fallen into allowing himself to become of no importance. His seat in a rather secluded area and the wait staff believed him blind. He played along like always. He had watched the various events unfold, but soon spotted a man with a hat that had the company of a child. All his attention had gone to that man. Not having a contract as of yet meant he was able to do as he pleased and at the moment it pleased him to realize the man was one with a bounty.

As the more rowdy of customers vanished, he remained focused on the man. His pupiless eyes focused just to the left of him. Not long after the man seemed to disappear and so did a larger amount of people. His head tilted and he decided to follow after a bit more time passed.

Paon had after all, asked and paid for a room. He had pretty good cover to follow. So he made his way to the rooms of the inn. Now he switched to a more predatory mode. He slide down and for a second a purple forked tongue shot out of his mouth. Tasting the scents like a snake he slowly untangled the knots of scents to find the ones he wanted. He stood once more and walked silently past each room.

Paon stopped when he heard the scream. That sounded promising. Forked tongue shot out once more and he pinpointed the room. To not cast a shadow under the door he stood to the side and leaned his head to hear within. Something about a chest....seems like something this individual would speak of.

Paon moved in front of the door his steps now heard as he opened the door. His eyes did not seem to focus on anything and he felt along the wall with a confused expression. "How strange this does not feel like my room" he seemed to be talking to himself. He paused before tapping the floor with his foot. "Oh! I apologize if I barged in on anyone....I must have miscounted" playing up the blindness with the ease any actor would crave...his small height and soft features making him seem even less intemidating. The only hints toward his true danger was the dagger hilt at his side and the earring covered by his hair. The ruby tear drop shaped stone both showing and hiding his faction.

Soron sneered as he watch the figure approach. He closed his eyes for a moment. He had just died and now his soul was being contested for ownership. He had this feeling that he knew this figure somehow. It was at the back of his mind slowly working its way to the tip of his tongue but he still couldn’t put a finger on it. He shook his head as he thought.
 
“Soron…” He looked at his love with soft eyes. She seemed nervous but at the same time it held confidence. With a subtle nod she agreed to what he was planning.
 
”I’m not done. Not now. After all I’ve dealt with in my life and this is how I’m destined to go?”
 
”Till the end…”
 
“Till the end..” She echoed.
 
Soron, whilst holding his long sword he stared into the figure with defiance as the runes across the front of his body suddenly lost its color. His eyes glowed a deep gold before quickly, lightening to a white. Smoke seemed to trail from the edges of each and every mark on his body, slowly engulfing his body with a thick layer of smoke.
 
“Another one..? No.. not this time.” The voice if the creature was calming as it echoed. Yet it grew more intense and ferocious as it neared its end. It's form that once moved as gentle waves of dark now spiked and flared up rapidly. It's hands were brought up from below and palms faced upward as it infused a terrible darkness below the traveling shadow dragon skeletons. As they ran they merged together to form a 13 foot tall and 20 feet long skeletal dragon. It crushed the soft earth beneath it as it made it's way to Soron. It moved like a train as it kicked up the ground beneath it as it charged full speed and jaws extended open to bite into Soron.
 
The smoke that engulfed Soron abruptly stopped its rather serene, gentle movements and shifted into a much more violent pattern. A gurgled growl escaped the onyx fumes as a elongated head began to form, teeth curved back like talons, and eyes that glowed a bright lunar color. Behind its head, ten solid black bonelike structures formed, connected by a thin layer of grey. It flicked its tongue at the large shadow dragon that approached before hissing at the aggressor. In a moment it leaned forward and turned quickly, spiralling down Soron’s body with haste as it lunged towards the approaching dragon, the fan behind its head opened wide in a display of intimidation. This was the basilisk of Basille, a fraction of its true size. At 25 feet long and standing  5 feet tall, it was a small part of darkness that represented Soron and who he was.. Upon his back a single black wing began to manifest. Its purpose was unknown, even to Soron but he paid it no mind.
 
The basilisk slithered along the ground and met the dragon head on, its mouth agaped. With a violent jerk, it thrashed its head to the side in an attempt to throw the other dragon off balance. The moment it would make impact, the basilisk would then begin to wrap itself around the other dragon and constrict it, biting into its smoky flesh. Soron reached for the back of his belt, hoping that he still had his equipment. Subconsciously relieved by the realization he did, he withdrew an orb of Sun’s Rays and chucked it at the larger figure before bringing his finger up, charged with electricity.
 
A loud almost echoing roar could be heard from the black skeletal dragon as it's bones snapped beneath the constricting pressure of the Basilisk. It was when those bones broke that the giant shadow figure took a step back. It's foot moving sporadically as it in fact shrunk in size. This caused its footing to fall off balance and it fell to a single right knee. It looked to the sky as Soron tosses his orb. “More..” It demanded. The dragon above it all in the sky cried out with a ear shattering roar as the chains were tightened upon its surface. Light in the form of energy fluctuated down the length of the chain and to the holder. The shadow figure seemed to be distracted as the glowing chains fed energy into it's being. Soron let loose the Sun’s Rays, its burning pillars of light flashed in every direction, so close as to narrowly avoiding the Balsillie Basilisk, causing the thing to shriek in surprise. Soron watched closely to the figure as it dropped to one knee, the cause of the bone dragon breaking. But when the figure commanded more, he heard the tightening of chains and a roar that could shatter mountains as he looked up, noticing the light beaming down from the sky along something. He couldn’t see what but he knew it wasn’t good. The basilisk hissed and screeched as it aimed for its next target, that of the figure. Once the figure fell, the Basilisk charged forward, attempting to bite into the being’s other leg.
 
’Whatever he is, he’s being fed by that dragon up there. They’re connected somehow, they have to be...but how?’ He squinted his eyes as he began to think. Quickly he retrieved one of his teleport stones and held it to his mouth, cupping his hands in the form of a funnel. Gathering what air he could, a jet of wind shot the stone from his mouth towards the pillar of light before vanishing in a cloud of smoke and near the-
 
Chains?
 
Soron looked as the light travelled through it. It was feeding this thing energy and he had to stop it. The figure may have not shown him too much of its power so far but he wasn’t about to chance it. With a deep breath he sheathed his blade and a look of both determination and fear struck as he gripped the chains, attempting to yank them from the ground.
 
As the basilisk went in the shadow figure didn't seem to take notice. The serpent would come in and bite for the leg. However it would merely pass through it like a cloud of black smoke it was waved apart but reformed immediately. Despite this it lost no balance and seemed to only grow more as light was absorbed into it from below it. A few chains planted into the ground was steadily rising due to Soron. However it did little. The long arm of the shadow having well planted it within the spiritual realm. It now looked with large hollow glowing eyes as energy could be seen leaving it's immaterial body. “It's pointless to struggle.” Soron ignored the figure as his claim to impossibility only fueled him, especially after feeling the chains move. He activated the runes in his feet and gripped tighter to the chains.
 
”Pointless?” He echoed with question as he growled, taking a step back with the chains still in hand.
 
” Pointless is the life I lived, how I died…” He kept stepping back in the hopes of yanking the chains from the ground.
 
”After my love died before my eyes, ripped apart by a basilisk what was I to do, who was I to be? I seeked revenge on that which took the only precious thing from me and when I got it, do you know how I felt? Hollow, empty...Like a piece of me was gone that I would never get back and for years - heh - I traveled the world - heh - trying to fill that void with something...Anything - heh - that could make me feel whole again.” He backed away panting and withdrew his blade before striking at the chains with all his might.
 
”What do you know of LOSS? What do you know of PAIN! What do YOU...KNOW….OF…HAVING….NO...PURPOSE!!!” With each strike, Soron’s true emotions began to show through, the thought of fading away slowly gripping at his mind. He felt fear, something he hadn’t felt for a long time. Asriel listened to him.
 
As Soron went on distracting the figure, Asriel closed her eyes, taking use of the distraction. Behind her the manifestation of four tendril-like forms of light left her back. Their motions seemed to be like that of waves on the ocean as they moved about. She held out her hand, a golden light slowly solidified into a thin pillar next to her palm as its form became that of a spear. She opened her eyes, a gold and blue color to them as she raised the spear and hurled it at the shadow figure. If it would connect, the tip of the spear would burst into a large ball of light, piercing the body of the shadow figure. With this she would move to Soron’s back, a second spear in hand and pointed towards the figure. Soron stopped and pointed his blade towards the figure as well.
 
”But now I have been reunited with my love. The gap is filled and I will NOT have it torn away from me again. If anyone was to have my soul, it would be her and her alone… This caused her to widen her eyes. Was he serious? He had to be...He wasn’t one to joke about something like that. But at the same time, she knew him well enough to understand the hidden request within his words.
The spear flying at the shadow erupted with its light and shook the figures cloudy form like ocean waves against a mist. However as the shadowy fog dissipated there was revealed to be underneath a giant black skeleton with a red glow within its empty sockets. Sitting on its head were two large horns that curved backwards along the slope of its skull. This giant skeleton slowly stood to it's feet while staring Soron down.  The chain he slashed chipped away a bit and began to bend as it was pulled further. “Do you wish to hear me concede…? Never. Your soul will be mine one day. And if you are not careful it will be now…” It’s echoing voice boomed like thunder as the dragon above began to cry out with its own display if lightning to smite the ground in random locations across the field. “You face forces beyond what you know. Consider yourself lucky to have made it this far.” It's jaws snapped up and down with loud cackles similar to bone ligaments being dislodged. It erupted darkness from it's jaws like a vomit and it poured out onto the ground enveloping all in it's wake. Once it was released the grass of the field began to wilt away. It had a slow crawl as it went for Soron and everything else within its radius around it. After spewing the smoke it planted a skeletal right hand within the dark smog. Pulling from a vortex that formed around it was a black blade. It curved along it's edge but was sizable given his mass. “Become one with all the others.” The blade had a strange property to it. It emitted a ethereal glow that moved like insects trying to escape a glass jar. Low screams could be heard from the blade and they all ranged from male to female. It raised the blade up now and brought it down on the snake Soron summoned near it attempting to sever it in half before turning to Soron.
 
 

---

 
Sulley face was etched with anger as he watched Singrad begin to give to the flames, A thin smile making its way onto his face as he watched the man fight for life. He would not forget the man’s death as he savored every miniscule detail. The skin bubbling and boiling, falling off the bone like that of a good rack of ribs. Each piece seemingly to fall bit by bit. The smell of burning flesh, the screams of pain and the scent of fear from the untimely yet justified death of a murderer. In his eyes they all deserved to die and what he gave them was quick yet painful, not slow and excruciating save for Singrad’s as he seemed to be the only one who really fought to control the flames. But Sulley was no ordinary dragon. He was the Fire of Fotia and had earned that moniker in the past for a reason. His flames were like that of the sun not just in combat but in ambition. He stood out amongst the other dragonlords of old because of his dreams and ambitions. But now was not the time to reflect on that. He walked up to Singrad’s skeleton with a condescending look upon his face, placing his foot on the side of the skull. He looked up to those on the Basilisk while he slowly crushed the bones beneath his feet. That same foot slid back as he awaited the next opponent.
 
The two from atop their beast came down into the cleared path Singard made for them and bolted forward. Sulley leaned back and began to gather magic until-
 
’Dammit…’ He cursed himself. It appeared that he had used up a large portion of his magic on that move. Still, he had enough to do three things. First, he looked towards the one figure that ran and eyed him up. With his adrenaline pumping, he slammed his foot on the ground, causing a small sharp punjee spike-like pillar to protrude from the ground off to his side towards the sprinting figure in a way that would cause the figure to get close to Sulley. It seemed to have worked and Sulley spin around, hoping to bring a heavy heel into the man’s face. But instead he felt air as time seemed to slow. Hardened eyes followed the smiling man as he darted past him, distracting Sulley long enough for the other to attempt to envelop him in blackness. His instincts kicked in and with wide eyes and an audible “TCH!”, he lowered himself and rolled out. As his roll out brought him to face the blackness he fired a single shot of ice into what looked to be a solid shadow, possibly an attempt to pierce it but sadly it failed and soon Sulley, the dragon who helped give the upper hand to Vrondi, had to helplessly watch as Vrondi’s Guardian was taken over by this same smiling man. Sulley was in no shape to take on this new thing. Much of his magic pool had been used in the creation of Hellfire, even moreso that his friend, no, brother Soron’s death was the catalyst to his rampage. At the moment, he had nothing left and thus had to make an escape. He would be a burden on Vrondi otherwise. He had to recuperate.. He figured that most of the soldiers were mentality linked since he didn’t hear too much chatter on the field so he simply stared down those soldiers around him and spoke up.
 
”…I’m currently drained. I don’t have much in me from that attack but I managed to put a dent into their forces. If I stay I won’t be any help but rather a burden so I must go and regain my strength but I haven’t forgotten anyone. I’ll be back...” He looked up with disgust in his face towards the corrupted Gaurdian. An accusatory finger firmly pointed at it. At where the smiling man once was.
 
But yooouuuu...I’ll be back for you and when I do, I will leave your soul as nothing more than dust in the wind.” Venom dripped through his words as his voice slightly trembled. With that he turned back and darted for Soron’s body who was moved out of the path of destruction. His emotions started to surface again once he found his body, letting out another roar in the process before picking him up and giving Soron a hug. It lasted for a moment but it had felt like an eternity before tossing his lifeless body high into the air and leaping up after it, his body starting to shift and morph in the process. His wings were massive, extending over 50 meters in length. He began to flap his wings just as his tail had left the ground. Large gusts of wind thrashed at the ground below and trees ahead, nearly knocking over a few. Soron’s body started to fall back to the terra below but only to be caught in Suleykaar’s claws. The red dragon flew up higher and higher before leaning back and diving back down. On his way down, he took notice to one of those from the Rest Easy, Alexis. He squinted his eyes and shouted out to her, his voice booming over everyone as he began to level out. His target being that of Alexis.
 

 
Alexis looked up at him for a moment, before she nodded at him and then closed her eyes as if steeling herself for something. A second later, she jumped straight up into the air, reaching about 40 feet before her momentum seemed to give out and she began to fell back to the earth below. Her eyes would stay closed until Suleykaar caught her. As she began to fall, he tucked his wings in slightly, giving him that little extra momentum as she came back down. With predatory precision, Sulley stuck out his hind leg, and took hold of her before tossing her back up slightly for a better grip. A few more flaps and he begun to ascend into the night sky above.
 
Glancing underneath towards her he hastily spoke.
 

 
It was almost instantaneous. Visibly the wind around moved quickly behind him in a moments notice and would be felt by Alexis as she was whipped backwards from the propelling force if the massive ”BOOM" was anything to go off of. With this, Sulley was on his way to the Temple, hoping that the monks there could help him.
 

---

 

Sophia

Inside the Great Library, Sophia laid on the floor, surrounded by uncountable books, scrolls and grimoires. The cozy and warm interior gave it a serene, peaceful aura. If a scholar entered there, he would easily forgot to sleep or eat. Qobo had just leaved the library, and Sophia was getting ready to sleep, but one last thought kept her awake. She had a feeling that something was wrong. That war, that conflict she felt didn't seem like a normal one. She knew very well about what she had said herself to Qobo. Nothing good comes from interfering with wars and conflicts. They should let the kingdoms take care of their own problems. But even though that was true, she still had a feeling that what was happening was beyond a petty conflict born out of the greed of kings and kingdoms. There was something more... dark, wicked and powerful behind that.
 
"I should stop thinking about it and sleep a little." she said to herself, laying down her head and slowly closing her eyes. But the destiny seemed to have different plans for that night. Suddenly, a big, thundering sound echoed through the mountain, immediately awakening Sophia. Those were sounds of stones breaking and crumbling. Who was foolish enough to try to attack Mindah Taarvitan and the Great Library? Especially due to the fact that Sophia herself protected that mountain? No... That couldn't be right. But once more, a thunderous sound echoed through the mountain, confirming that there was something happening. Sophia gave a mighty roar, opening the big and heavy doors of the library with a slam. Almost like it was a warning for both the monks and for the potential intruders. Flying over the temple for a second, she looked around, quickly scanning the mountain to see what was going on. Not too far, on the side of the mountain, big flashes and flames illuminated the night, followed by loud sounds of stone breaking. But before she could even think in going near, the flashes stopped, and from the distance, a big being could be seen, walking towards the temple.
His body and his attire wasn't those of a mountain climber. Even over the coat of slush and ice covering his body, Sophia could see that he had the trained body of a warrior. Although he appeared to be tired, the explosions and flashes from before were undoubtedly his doing.
As he approached the temple, Sophia flew down, putting herself in front of the temple door with an imposing roar.
 
Earlier he had gone to meditate on whether or not to join the fight below. He wanted to tell his master that it was an unwise decision to go down there to fight. To join in their barbarism. They were a place of peace and serenity, not a temple full of sell swords and mercenaries. It was when he neared his zen garden did he feel the vibrations of an explosion, followed by said explosion. He didn’t want to believe it but then it came through again, only closer. He yelled to one of the monks to sound the alarm and within moments he disappeared and the bells tolled loudly across the temple and library. Monks from all sides came to meet along the wall that watched over the temple, each one representing a style of fight or mastery of an element. That was when he heard Sophia’s roar and made his way to her.
 
"Welcome to Mindah Tarvitaan, the Temple of Knowledge Seekers, warrior. I am Sophia, the dragon of knowledge, the guardian of the Great Library, the temple and this mountain." Sophia said, looking to the man in an imposing pose, analyzing the man with her eyes.
 
"I see you have traveled far, and faced many obstacles in your journey. Why are you here, warrior? What a warrior is doing in the Temple of the Knowledge Seekers? What do you seek, warrior? Power, knowledge or something else?" Sophia asked, paying close attention to his answer. This was when Qobo had made his appearance on the side of the warrior. His robe was off, revealing the toned body of the grandmaster. His eyes were hardened as hs once was cane transmuted to that of a sheathed sword. He made sure to let his intimidating aura impose greatly on the figure to show silently that the wrong move would be his demise. Despite Qobo’s now rigid form, he was quite loose, like that of a coiled basilisk ready to strike. The other monks did not move and awaited Qobo or Sophia’s command.

@13org
The response from the soldiers was a mix of hopeless confusion and intrigue. They saw Lila approach them and their numbers parted around her as she came through. They felt the fear they knew now from witnessing the power of darkness. It was now their hope to see what darkness could do against its own kind. However those who could not escape in time felt as their vision and senses faded. To their luck they stumbled outside of this bubble and escaped. Soldiers lined up once more but with what little shields they had left and weapons that remained.

A supply group came charging in from the trees however, a dragon carriage trampling to them with shields and medics prepared for battle and evacuation. The leader of the elites grabbed his helmet and took it off of his head and revealing his Sol traits of white hair and bright colored eyes. His face was tense but he exhaled with a calm breathe. His sweat almost dripped from his hair and he waved the liquid away from his scalp with a violent whip of his hair. He glanced back and saw the Basilisk still standing above the trees and leering down at the field below with glowing cold reptilian eyes.

He urged the soldiers to form a circle to cover their backs and their fronts and allow the supply carriage entry. He waved it in before turning to watch what would result from Lila’s sudden rush. The thought on most of the soldier’s minds were “Thank god that monster is here!” and again the hope that the Aion and the power of the first seraphim they represented and were linked to would be able to save them. They knew little about the texts pertaining to a lord of death and knew nothing of it beyond it was vile.

Darkness… It is merely the absence of light. But its properties have been realigned to meet the needs of petty beings with momentary lives. To rewrite the laws of this world should only be done by the creator and his rightful children. The thoughts of a smooth monotone voice echoed within the mind of Lila as the blood flowed from the frail man’s body and into her mouth. He winced with a loud and elderly shriek that cackled and rattled his mask. Thick blood with a lack of moisture it was nearly gelatinous in consistency. The blood however would surge the knowledge Lila sought within her mind, or so what he knew. She now knew the that the guardian has been almost entirely taken over by the one he calls Lord. He knows that dark cannot exist without light and as such the light of the guardian from Vrondi was necessary to bring about the shift. Lila saw the torture he went through in his younger years as a slave and then a peasant in Nero.

She learned that he found a few pages from a book within a dark temple he was searching desperately for something of value to sell to buy food. These pages awakened within him the search for more and more. He did whatever it took and committed the most atrocious crimes to get the other pages and even though he has yet to find them all he has found a way to summon the one briefly mentioned in the pages as the keeper of the gate. The one that harvests souls and keeps the end of the world starved and weak. All the details he did not know but he knew a voice called to him to complete this task and it was the one that controls the guardian now. Whatever he was he was beyond a mere king or queen in this world and he by summoning him sought a reward beyond riches.

@Ayame
The Fotian soldier felt himself taken back some by her strong womanly charms. Though she appeared youthful she had an air of a maturity with her lack of missteps as she slipped into his space without resistance from him. What soldiers did not know much of was the subtle differences of a woman that was not a bed wench. He however seemed to know the difference and despite his initial gesture being spoken with a light hearted joking tone he gulped at the sight of her wings and tail. He gritted his teeth and narrowed his head with a stiffened neck he spoke. “They do not bother me.” His free hand pointed to his helmet underneath his arm. It was shaped like a dragon’s head and he smiled after pointing this out. “This is what we all are inside. Both a fierce Dragon.” He reached a hand out to touch the strands of her hair with a finger and spoke softly. “And fair Seraphim.”

He could only chuckle at the inquisition of his age. She did not seem older than him by much but despite this he was still youthful in his complexions. “I am a young Fotian indeed. Thirty five years of age.” He saw her eyes and met them with his own to try and appear confident before he spoke more. “Ah but age doesn’t matter!” After he said this a exasperated voice called out from the other soldiers saying give it a rest already! Ha! I think he’s in love! as they appeared to be leaving for their barracks. The soldier turned to Calamity. “I think I recognize you now. Were you on the battle field earlier?” He blinked with surprise at this realization.


The bone tower appeared before Castiel now as the mist faded away in front of him. The mist moved like it had a sentience and crawled behind Castiel as he walked. It forever blocked the view of what was behind him as he moved onward and only allowed him to see the ever expanding barren land of bones, weapons, wandering souls and dirt. The bone tower however stood at it’s center like a temple to emptiness.

However it was not empty visibly so as a basilisk slithered with slow steady pace from out of the Tower’s lower entry holes and made its way toward Castiel. It was massive as it moved along the ground leaving a trail like a train in it’s wake. Its large forked tongue tasted the air and tasted Castiel. It knew a great many things from this alone and stopped 20 meters from Castiel. It began to ascend high into the sky to reveal its length as its body began to coil beneath its monstrous height. Its true length would be hard to estimate but what did stand above the mass of coiled basilisk was a 130 foot high beast. It’s scaled were arrayed with multicolored streaks that were only visible atop of its entirely black scales in the sunlight.

“Who visits the lord in his time of rest…?” A slow and soft echoing voice of a woman could be heard in Castiel’s mind. The basilisk before him staring into him and blocking his path with almost 200 meters of its twisted width.

@FallenTrinity @Vesuvius00
With a loud boom the soldiers nearly fell to the ground. The waves of wind that bellowed down from the massive wings of the dragon Sulleykaar showed to the soldiers the power that laid within a dragon. For those who knew well they knew this was another testament of a dragon god’s power or at least a previous one. He sprang another hope within the soldiers as they did forget he was with them. However, as Sulleykaar began to rise into the sky and shift forms, giving all below him a gust of wind that caused them to brace themselves. He took away some of their hope when he went above the trees and flew above the hills to call down from afar to one below.
A few archers aided Alexis on her return to the battle but were taken by surprise as the massive dragon emerged from above the highest trees and brought with him the sound of his thunderous wings commanding the air to bend beneath them with heavy pressure.

The cutting his wings did as they allowed him smooth flight was acute in the ears of those below. The archers could not move as they feared the sight of such a dragon and felt it’s roar from the skies like thunder. It was to their surprise that Alexis did not quiver to the sight of this or the sound as it called out to her. “Who the hell is Alexis?” An archer spoke before Alexis leaped into the air and soared with whipping hair and all into the grasp of the dragon. “WHAT THE FFUUUUUCK WAS THAT!?”

@BlackPanther
”Oh how strange this does not feel like my room”

These words prompted the eyes of both Velai and Ziton to dart to where Paon stood. The doorway was not well illuminated but it did reveal Paon’s person and his eyes that appeared as one would think blind. Paon quickly apologized for his intrusion but was already visibly irritating the man standing before Velai with lowered weapon aimed to her bosom. “Eeeeeh!?” He said loudly with a held tone of aggravation.

He looked to him with his glowing hungry yellow eyes. “Get the hell out of here! You blind!?” He questioned with a spitting shout of displeasure. Velai merely shivered as she sat. The weapon still pointed to her and unwavering. The boy behind the man looked visibly shocked by the new one’s presence and lowered in posture as he looked with wide eyes at what may unfold. Velai attempted to communicate as best she could and shook her head and revealed her fear in her expression as best she could to Paon.

“I know you’re not deaf. Get the fuck out before I make you!”

@Rai
Paon kept his eyes unfocused and blinked when zircon let out a rather loud eh sound. "Oh goodness am I interrupting something?" His tone sounded apologetic and innocent....yet there was still a hint of a predatory purr in that voice.

Paon focused slightly to the left of ziton when he spoke to him. "Yes I am blind." the lie was smooth and velvety as it left him...and by his expression he was getting bored? He raised a brow. "Well sir that's a bit rough of you is it not?" He slowly walked with his steps heavy. He stopped before he reached Velai.

Paon paused before tilting his head down, hiding his face from ziton, but able to wink at velai. "I am sorry that I intruded...but since I miscounted I do not know where my room is" His head went back up and focused slightly to the left of ziton. A pause before Paon sighed. "You know you having a hostage and a child makes this incredibly awkward for me"

Finally, paons pupiless eyes flicked directly to ziton and he smiled. "Why don't you make me leave like you said you would." as he spoke his voice was a purr and his skin changed from smooth and pale to having scales etched on the surface with the same colorations as his true shape. Though the scales were more visible on his neck and face. He slowly pulled out his dagger that had an odd shine...not from the metal but rather from the coating of venom on it.

As Alexis stumbled out of the trees at the very edge of the battlefield, she listened to the chaos of thoughts from the other Sol on the link. It seemed she wasn’t the only one with little idea of what was going on now... Except for the few voices yelling about Dragons and medics, her head was filled with the chatter of hundreds of voices asking the same question as her. She walked further into the battlefield as she listened, looking around and trying to piece together the scattered bits of the puzzle as she did. The black flames she’d seen before had died now, leaving a path of total destruction in their wake. Looking at the scorched area.. She figured out one piece of the puzzle.

Standing in pretty much the center of the destruction was Suleykaar, who by the look of it must have been the Dragon that all the people on the link were talking about. Honestly, Alexis was relieved to see him, even if at the moment he looked absolutely terrifying. He was a familiar face in the chaos. She started moving towards him, noticing as she did the opponents he was fighting. An old man wearing a cloak, and the other one was the same man she’d tried to shoot at earlier… the one who’d caught her arrow and fired hundreds back at her and the other archers without even looking.

She slowed her pace as she drew another arrow from her quiver, walking through a patch of embers as she watched the man’s path. He ran right past Suleykaar, and then towards the line of soldiers still standing around the Guardian. Alexis drew back the arrow on her bow. She was close enough, but he was moving so quickly that she doubted she’d hit him before he got to the soldiers. Still, she let the arrow fly, and sure enough she missed as the man seemed to disappear for a moment, only to come crashing down within the Soldier’s ranks. Voices and calls of warning flared out across the link, as soldiers tried to land a hit on the intruder. Alexis watched and listened as she saw the man make his way to the guardian, wondering just what was going to happen next.

Honestly, when the Guardian’s fist came down and obliterated him, she was surprised. This man had done some seemingly impossible things many times already this night. He couldn’t have gone out so easily... unless she was underestimating the power of the King’s Guardian. A few voices came through the link, relaying what happened as the Guardian stood as it ever did, a new bloodstain on its fist the only proof that any man had been there just a moment before. Alexis shook her head slightly, looking around her to notice that a few of the cultists who were still standing had decided to come towards her. She shot a couple of them down before she had to dodge out of the way of their weapons, retreating in an attempt to gain a little more distance. As she turned back to try and take another shot at the group, an arrow flew by her and hit the one she had been aiming at, and another came and hit a second cultist, bringing him to his knees only a few feet from where Alexis stood.

There were other archers on the field, and they helped her make her way to the rest of the soldiers who were still standing in formation around the guardian. She nodded at one of them in thanks as three of them came up to stand next to her, picking off cultists before they could even get close to this spot in the barrier of spears and shields. After looking around for a moment she realized why. This part of the barrier was weaker, after the man from before had come charging through like he did to get to the guardian. People were still trying to pass shields up to the front as they regained their spots in the line. She raised her bow as well and shot down three or four cultists before something strange began.

She’d lost focus on Suleykaar and his fight with the old man, what with the other one making his way to the Guardian so easily taking everyone’s attention, but now she caught sight of the old one again as he hobbled his way across the battlefield. He walked only a few steps, as far as Alexis could tell, before just as it looked like he might collapse he began to yell at everyone near enough to hear him. “You.. Fools.. You cannot know what you do not seek.” He stepped forward one last time, looking every bit the tired old man he seemed to be, before he began to raise his hands up to the sky… and float. He dropped his staff, shouting again while pointing to the Guardian now. “Our lord adorns his armor. For the battle has just begun. WITNESS YOUNG AND OLD A TRUE CHILD OF OUR CREATORS!”

Alexis was one of the ones who turned to look at the Guardian as the old man spoke, and after a few moments she regretted that she did. At first, nothing seemed unusual about it, but as a cool wind began to blow across the battlefield she remembered how she’d been surprised at the ease with which the Guardian had seemingly killed the other man. The impossible man. Not even a second after she thought this, she noticed the change that was beginning to take over the guardian. As the black blood spread over its surface, she was one of many who called out across the link for everyone to get away from the guardian. She watched in fearful awe as the change took place; somehow it was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Yellow light turned to blue and then it all looked as if it were trying to mirror the brilliance of the night sky, though that’s where the beauty stopped.

Panic spread through the link as people finally began to listen to the warnings of others- as they finally began to back away from the powerful thing that was once their Guardian. Alexis stepped back too, though she was still far enough away that she shouldn’t have needed to. People began to run, and then the Guardian attacked those who hadn’t yet realized the need to flee. She watched as people ran past her towards the treeline... she stood and watched the Guardian begin to rip people to pieces. Her mind seemed to have her frozen in disbelief, but she was also aware of a nagging voice in the back corner of her thoughts- a voice that told her she should be running too. It told her that she’d been right to be surprised at the impossible man’s quick demise. He’d wanted to die like that so he could corrupt the Guardian. and now he had.

The Guardian roared. That was what broke Alexis from her frozen stance. She began to back away from the chaos still unfolding around the Guardian’s form, still watching as she couldn’t seem to make herself simply run away. She’d started analyzing it, she realized. She was trying to figure out exactly what it was doing. More dark tendrils shot out from the Guardian, and Alexis flinched as they impaled another round of unlucky soldiers. But still, she saw the lights that they dragged back into the Guardian after those soldiers had died and thought, Dear god, those are their souls, aren’t they? She shook her head to try and convince herself that it couldn’t be… but she could sense that she was right. The guardian wasn’t just killing, it was making itself stronger.

“Yes now you know.. now you know..” The old man’s voice rang out again, and Alexis saw him making his way towards the Guardian, soldiers just stepping out of the way as he did. It seemed like no one wanted to deal with him now, or at least, no one was willing to try anymore. The man stopped in front of what once was the Guardian, which had stopped attacking people now, for the moment at least. He bowed to the thing, before crying out once again for all to hear. “Master.. I am unworthy.. WE ARE UNWORTHY!” Alexis shook her head at that. She didn’t want to witness whatever worshipping the old man would do. She knew there was only one true god, and this thing that has taken over the King’s Guardian certainly wasn’t him.

“Your road is commendable one. Rise my trusted servant.” She heard the words as they seemed to echo through the battlefield, the voice emanating from the Guardian’s changed form. “You have much to do and this is only the beginning.” This was wrong. The Guardian never spoke, never reacted to anything at all except anything that posed a threat to Sunfire or its people. Everything about it was just, wrong. People still ran from the spot where the Guardian stood, and Alexis wondered for a moment why she hadn’t already run far, far away. She heard a few voices on the link, a few people who were still pulled well enough together to think that they had to figure out what to do next. She also heard a few people talking about how all hope was lost, blah, blah, etc.

Looking at the Guardian, Alexis was beginning to think that she agreed with the second group more. What could any of them do against a thing that was made to wipe out every conceivable threat? The Guardian would erase the town before anyone could even get close enough to try and stop it… any plan they could possibly come up with was useless.

A loud booming sound from above snapped Alexis out of her hopeless thoughts, and she looked up just in time to see a giant Red Dragon in the sky over the battlefield. It wasn’t until he spoke that she realized that it was Suleykaar. “Alexis up here!! You’re coming with me!” She just looked up at him stupidly for a moment as she processed what he said. Go with you? Okay, I guess.. But I can’t fly, dumb-dumb. Her thoughts didn’t mean to be mean, they were just pointing out to her that she couldn’t go with him if she couldn’t even get to him.

Well, unless she jumped.

Don’t be stupid, no way can I jump that high. She began to argue with herself. But… well, I’ve never tried to before either. She nodded at Suleykaar and closed her eyes, taking a breath as she made her decision. It couldn’t hurt to try, right?

She'd done something similar with telekinesis once, pulling on the cliffsides to keep herself from falling off due to the wind during her travels. This time, she just needed to push the ground away from herself. Simple. She vaguely heard someone near her ask “Who the hell is Alexis?” before she jumped, hoping that she was right and that she actually could do this. She kept her eyes closed, she didn't want to see it if she started falling.

For a few moments she felt entirely weightless. Too long. She was falling wasn't she? Oh no, ohno ohnono.. She still kept her eyes closed even as her thoughts began to turn to panic. Though, it wasn't much longer until she felt Suleykaar's claws wrap around her. That shouldn't have been as comforting a thought to her as it was, but honestly she was a big fan of not going splat on the ground.

She opened her eyes, and immediately wanted to shut them again as she was tossed up into the air and then grabbed again. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she began to yell at the Dragon. She'd thought he was going to drop her "Hey! What the h-" Suleykaar interrupted her as she met his eyes for a split second before he spoke.

”Hold on!”

"To what, your toes?" Alexis muttered quietly to herself as she did actually try to find a grip of some sort. Suleykaar had his claws wrapped around her midsection, so she was pretty sure she was okay, until suddenly the air and everything else she could see started moving way faster than should ever be possible, and a deafening BOOM filled her ears. She tried to curl up into a little ball, but Suleykaar's grip on her didn't really allow her much movement aside from her arms, which she now had firmly wrapped around what was probably Suleykaar's ankle. She tried to resist the urge to scream. She couldn't really hear anything but wind so she wasn't sure how well she was doing.

After what felt like forever, but was probably only a few minutes, Alexis started to calm down a little. If she was going to die, she'd have done it by now. Right? She still held on to Sulley's leg for dear life, but as she focused on her heartbeat and what air she could get into her slightly-less panicky lungs, she tried to calm her mind as much as possible. Emotions were swirling around in her head, dancing to the still-rapid beat of her heart but becoming clearer with every passing second. There really wasn't much else to focus on, so she tried to separate her own emotions from whatever she might be sensing from her Dragon friend.

Fear, confusion, a sense of urgency, worry, grief, anger... Well, she knew at least one of those wasn't her. Why was Suleykaar so angry? She glanced around, for the first time actually looking at what was around her as they flew. The ground and everything below them moved by so quickly, so far down.. She had to tear her eyes away and look at the sky, or literally anywhere but down. Another figure in Sulley's grip caught her eye, though it didn't look like Soron was awake right now. Actually, the more Alexis looked at him, the worse he seemed. He didn't look like he was just.. sleeping...

"Oh."

The word was lost to the wind as she spoke, and so were the tears that began to well up in her eyes. That explained a lot. Alexis looked towards Sulley's face, he was completely focused on what was ahead of them as he flew. She wondered what to say, if she should even say anything. Would he want her sympathy? She shook her head at herself, asking herself what she had wished for someone to say to her when Clara, or Genos, or Ryba.. or Aster...

The list was getting bigger, wasn't it? "Suleykaar?" She tested her mental voice, wondering if he'd pay any attention to her or even notice she spoke to him. "You're not alone, okay? I'm here with you. I'll stay with you." Whether or not he answered her, she didn't want to say anything else, in case he didn't want to hear it right now. She did think to herself though, You shouldn't be alone right now. Or ever.

After a while longer, Alexis began to notice that the ground was getting closer to them. Not in a bad way, she supposed as she tried to keep herself from looking down. They must be landing soon, or something. After another obvious drop in altitude though, Alexis began to get a little panicky. "Suleykaar?" She tried shouting, forgetting for a moment that the wind would just whip her words away uselessly. After a second, and another drop, she switch back to mental communication. "Suleykaar? Are we-? Dear lord."

It was impossible not to look at the ground now. They were falling. She was sure of it- or at least she was sure she wasn't freaking out for no reason at all this time. Looking around, there was a mountain ahead of them, and the ground rose up steeply to the top of the peak. They were almost level with the top of the peak now, and still going very, very fast from what Alexis could tell. Was Suleykaar going to land, or..?

"Suleykaar?" She tried to talk to him one more time before she realized. They were going to crash. She was going to die, crushed by about a billion tons of Dragon. Great... No, wait. Don't panic. She told herself as she took a deep breath. She still had some energy left.. she just needed to time it right.

As the ground got closer, Alexis counted seconds as they passed. One..... Two.... Three... Four.. NOW. As she thought she concentrated hard on the area around herself, forming a bubble of space in her mind. Reality mimicked her thoughts, and a thin layer of perfect gold light began to melt into existence around her, from the air itself. She couldn't breathe now, but if she counted right she wouldn't need to hold her breath for long. Just as the bubble completed itself, they hit the ground.

The bubble held, to her surprise. The one thing she hadn't considered though, was that Suleykaar would lose his grip on her because of it, the solid golden light coming between his claws and her delicate body. So, just after they hit the ground, she was still moving, the bubble rolling across the ground for a second before it finally gave in to the force of the impact it had just taken. There was a popping noise as the entire bubble shattered at once, the golden glitter falling down around and over Alexis for a second until it returned to the air as light particles. Alexis' body rolled a little ways further even after the bubble was gone. She only knew because it hurt, and she couldn't really move her arms to help protect her head until after she came to rest on her side, facing where Suleykaar was passed out right where he'd crashed.

She had lost count of the seconds, though she was sure that the force field broke before she would've run ovt of air. So her vision going blurry wasn't because of that. She tried to count her heartbeats as they passed, but they were too fast.. or was it that they were too slow? She couldn't tell anymore as her vision went out completely. She thought she heard a voice, but when she tried to answer it felt like her tongue had turned to stone.

This wasn't so bad. She couldn't see or hear, or even feel anything anymore, but that was fine. She was just falling asleep.
I'll stay like this for a bit... goodnight moon.

As Sulleykaar undid his spell to appear as a fair man and returned to his beastly form to escape the fray with fallen comrade in tow. As he did so he cast a gale on those below and caused the soldiers to brace their arms against each other as blades of grass were lifted from their roots and spiraled several feet into the air. The red fangs of Lila expressed her desires with a crimson stain on the grass below. The blood of the hooded man dripped down his leg as it flowed into his black and grey cloak staining it with crimson that flowed endlessly into his robe. He opened his mouth beneath the mask to speak but could not, he could not hear, he could not bring himself to shake Lila off.

The small girl used his frail form almost as a rag doll save for his tight grip on his newly armed scythe. IT dug into the earth and kept him from falling back or over. He fell to a knee as he felt his life draining from him. “To be felled by such a simple thing… You have worked yourself to death. Riryoku.” The name of the hooded man was spoken by the silver tongue of the one within the guardian. He looked to the dragon that rose to the skies and did not flinch as the winds threatened to topple tree tops. “It appears my dear Sulleykaar has found it time to choose priorities. To think he would run for the life of a lowly dragon slayer. It matters not however…”

The shadows beneath the helmet of this man released a dotted glow like eyes beneath it. He watched Sulleykaar soar away with a loud boom. “Oh Sulleykaar… You have been far more help to me than you know.” The hooded man fell to the ground unable to stand any longer and his blood began to pool on the grass beneath his body. His scythe however remained dug into the earth and erect. It brilliantly shined the reflections of the moon’s glow. The head of the towering man before Lila and his servant looked down now back to them. It planted the spear in its hand into the ground to its right and watched with ominous silence as the blood pool touched the edge of his giant black metallic boot.

“Now is time…” He raised his free hand and pointed to the Basilisk standing tall within the distance then he brought the hand down as a wave to his fallen servant and then turned to Lila. “Witness my servants reward. His toil will not be unnoticed. Watch as one Ascends.” With echoing words that all within the field could hear the blood around Riryoku began to turn black. While this happened the Basilisk tore through the trees and onto the field like a barreling train. Its head’s width was around 30 meters in width with a only slightly thinner body.

Its length was unknown for a while as it came through the field of corpses and charred remains to the soldiers who lined up before it. “It’s coming!!” The Elite captain steeled himself as he steadied his weapon and brought it up to his face in prayer. The soldiers around him began to pray as well as their lights began to form into visible streams on their bodies. A solid barrier of light was formed before it took the form of a clear barrier. It was massive as all the soldiers were helping create this. Their focus being entirely on the charging basilisk. The collision of the Basilisk and the wall reflected the force of the charge back to the beast but the force did crack the barrier. Soldiers passed out one by one as they attempted to hold this barrier from the roaring beast that thrashed against it.

“Come to me… My Queen.” Spoke the silver tongue beneath the dark armor. The basilisk began to slow to a silent stillness. It looked at the soldiers who could only watch in fear behind the barrier. It’s tongue flicked at the barrier leaving saliva on its surface that burned away at its surface like acid. It then looked with its slit pupils to the lord of death. It began to lower its head and the pupils on its eyes widened until the entire eye was blackened. Opening its massive jaws a woman began to slither out of it covered in clear slime. She emerged and as she did the endless length of the basilisk began to turn white and shrivel up. The body of it began to wither until it was just empty white scales. She emerged from the liquid before the barrier of the soldier’s with a deep and pleasing sigh.

She stretched her arms and long limbs. She rose to her full standing and was around 14 meters tall. She looked down at the soldiers with pursed lips. “This won’t hold…” She said with a musical amused tone. She tapped the barrier with a clawed finger and it began to crack. “See? I have come to be with my king. Nothing more I assure you.” She knelt down a bit as she spoke, placing her hands on her knees like a mother to her children. The fear in the soldier’s eyes and hearts was palpable within their circle. They grabbed shields and spears from the supply wagon before hurrying the injured into it and watched it ride away to the trees.
---

The man's unpleasant walk through the snow was interrupted by the sudden sound of a beast He immediately took a stance for combat to face the dragon. His shoulders aligned and his legs lowered his stance as if he would spring forward. His simple thoughts were to, if he had to, take the dragon down with a slayer technique, blade less style. But before he could leap the dragon began to speak. It had the charm of a woman’s voice as it preceded over the mountain roar she unleashed earlier. “What I seek is neither power or knowledge. But an audience to speak of the atrocities that occur below the mountain. Also I seek.” As he reached for his pouch behind him Qobo appeared to his side.

The man seemed to acknowledge his presence with a simple nod despite the aura of ferocity that Qobo exuded as well as sit with crossed legs as he continued his process, almost ignoring Qobo’s presence as he did this momentarily. The man lifted a few small bowl like cups from the pouch and a metallic bottle. He unscrewed the quark and poured two cups of the clear warm liquid. It sat atop the layers of snow and he grasped his cup before Qobo. “Warming herbs from Fotia." He pointed with his free hand to the small shards of leaves grounded up to make the tea effectively soothing.

A warm mist rose from the liquid's surface within the cup as it sat awaiting an owner. The man gestured to Qobo before lifting his cup for a sip. Clearing his throat he spoke. "I am Vulcan the volcanic fist of Fotia. The amount of allies one has cannot be enough. But the good ones are hard to come by. I wish the rest of this land could live in such peace as this temple." He sighed turning his head from Qobo to Sophia and then to the surrounding monks. "I will show you that you are in danger despite how strong you may know you are."

His body began to light up with flames suddenly erupting from his body in soft warm flows around his flesh and clothing. He seemed unphazed by it and his clothes did not turn to ash under the heat. The snow around him began to melt rapidly as he remained in his seated position. He let out a long exhaled breathe and placed his hands together. "Witness the fire of Fotia." He let out a steady growl as the flames grew more intense and rose several meters into the air like a pillar before coming down and condensing around his body with a fiery glow.

His hair seemed to be on fire as it waved, beard and all, in the mountains chilling winds like dancing flames. "Without death one reaches heights said to be only available to the immortal. Yet this." He raised the cup and drank it now, flames finally dissipating over a short time as he did so. "This is not enough I'm afraid... very few can reach these heights. I hope to be enlightened here. And perhaps my hope will return..." He humbly bowed his head before Qobo and Sophia. Leaving it lowered with hands on his knees until he was given a reply.

But as he waited a loud hurtling sound could be heard echoing across the skies. He looked up and witnessed the massive creature collide into the mountain's top before him.
@FallenTrinity
___



Hope seemed lost. The soldiers felt this night will not end with their lives intact. All hopes to escape this fate left with the supply drop and injured evacuation. With no more medics among them to spare the soldiers steeped themselves before the words of the elite captain whom received a message prior to speaking. As he heard the message he smirked a bit with glimmer in his eyes. "Is that So? Well then... hold that barrier! We will not give in here!" He turned to Lila and the hooded man with sudden intrigue and clear priority.

The hooded man was soon dissolving into the black blood that formed a large puddle on the ground. His flesh beneath the cloak merged with the black and created a larger pool. Floating above the pool was the tattered bloodied cloak that now seeped with black coloration to make it pure midnight black. The being before Lila did not move save for its white cape that flowed in the light breeze with an ethereal weightless dance. It was the silence that made one wait patiently. For as they waited for a short time the liquid began to move together with a mind. It's mind showed clear desire to regroup into a form beneath the cloak. Soon the cloaked man rose from the ground once more and filled the cloak with the black blood that now formed the body of the man. It did not drip or appear as liquid once it formed entirely into his thin form. However he was taller and more slender as he stood with legs grounded and clawed feet dug into the earth.

The hooded mans hands grasped the scythe with one hand and grasped his mask with another. Keeping his head down he groaned as black ooze dripped from the hood hiding his face. He placed the mask on and looked up to Lila with a quivering head that shook the mask as he strained to do so. His scythe was now gripped in both hands and even as the bubble may have remained around Lila the man swing his scythe to her skull from the right going left. His speed was impeccable and his arms flowed with boneless fluidity. But as the blade almost reached it's intended target a layer of translucent blue ice coated the surface of the blades handle and the body of Riryoku. "Master!" He yelled with fear in his voice. "Fear not.. It is merely the children." The voice of the death lord echoed this with a light hearted tone from beneath the black armor.

"Children huh? That's a funny way to call the ones about to kill you." A calm cooling voice of a young seraphim approached the three as they stood in heated combat. The one adorning the guardians armor was soon enveloped in layers of ice that caccooned it in a solid slab of ice with broken sharp shards around the surface. The hooded man was frozen still but could still speak and breathe. This man approached from the side and held in his hand a bloodied white feather. It's tips were stained with blood. He looked with growing anger at the frozen foes before him as he approached at a gentle pace toward Lila. "What did I say about feeding Lila?" He let out a sigh as he walked besides her and looked down on her with his over six foot height and with a smile she could not see. Snow began to fall abruptly from the skies above despite the lack of clouds. It came from high above and rained down gently on the battle field. A few remaining fires being swept away by the cooling breeze.

"These bastards have killed too many of mine... This ends here. Lila... Get ready."

@13org

Lila Moriarty

"It tastes so bad... but..." Lila thought to herself sucking the blood out of the frail, old cultist as a torrent of knowledge, thoughts and emotions invaded her mind, coming from the gelatinous, strange blood.

Darkness… It is merely the absence of light. But its properties have been realigned to meet the needs of petty beings with momentary lives. To rewrite the laws of this world should only be done by the creator and his rightful children. a monotone voice echoed through her head. The entity the cultists called "Lord" had almost completely taken over the Guardian. The biggest and most powerful weapon, the last line of defense the city had against invaders, was now turning against them.

Lila was trying to concentrate herself on the things she felt, searching for information on the old cultist's blood, but it was hard... even if the blood tasted awfully, it was fresh blood. It was so long since she had fresh blood...
Lost in her own excitement and lust for blood, only fragments of the information reached her. A slave... no, a peasant coming from Nero... Hunger, obsession... Pages coming from a book to summon an entity... "Keeper of the Gate"... An unimaginable power...
The thoughts and feelings coming from the old man's blood were hazy... mixed with Lila's own feelings, swirling and shifting amongst a sea of excitement, bloodlust, pleasure...

Maybe that was one of the reasons why the Aion didn't let Lila to feed herself. That aspect, that unique trait Lila had was both a gift and a curse. The blood wasn't just nourishment for Lila... It was knowledge, it was pleasure... Lost in her feeding frenzy, she took a few seconds to realize what was happening with the cultist's body...

His flesh was dissolving, slowly becoming a black, liquid, merging with the black blood that was already below them, creating a bigger pool.
His tattered cloak, was now midnight black after touching the strange black blood.
Shortly after, he raised from the black pool, unscathed. Reborn by the unknown black liquid. His form was now as corrupted as the guardian's. Slender, with clawed feet and with a strange aura around him... Grasping his scythe with both hands, ignoring even Lila's Eclipse, he swung it, aiming for her skull with a speed and agility which would be impossible if he was in his old form.
Caught off-guard, surprised and confused about the black blood, Lila wouldn't be able to dodge his scythe. The only thing she could do, was use the shaft from her scythe and her bladed gloves to guard the blow, but even though, she could feel that it was no ordinary blow. Even if she blocked it, it would have quite the impact.

Lila waited for the impact, but oddly enough, it never came. Instead, a familiar freezing wind and sensation took place.
Ice... Lila said to herself, as she felt a figure she knew very well approaching them.

"What did I say about feeding Lila?" Mirror said, approaching her. The hooded cultist was frozen in place, still alive, able to breathe and talk, but immobilized.

"These bastards have killed too many of mine... This ends here. Lila... Get ready." Mirror said, with a serious tone.

Lila was told her entire life that feeding was a bad thing, but ironically enough, they knew how she hunted her targets. The Aion knew very well why the others called her the Seraphim's Hunting Beast. Once she tasted the blood of her target, escaping her was impossible.

"Yes... Mirror." Lila said, with her voice trembling from excitement. She was unable to even try to hide her feelings. With her face blushing red and an excited grin on her face. Maybe other Nayu wouldn't find that sight as unsettling and horrifying, but for most of the other races, it was the face of a monster.

Grabbing her scythe with both hands, maintaining the Eclipse spell, she assumed a low posture, almost crawling on the ground, ready to attack. She was only waiting for Mirror's command. Mirror himself knew how Lila's combat style changed after she tasted blood.

At the Gates of Sunfire, Alexis looked at the situation and it is getting worse. She was highly worried about everything that is happening right now. She slowly walked towards her daughter and grabbed her hand. “I wish I told you sooner… but I didn’t,” Alexis said, annoyed at herself. She looked at her daughter with a sincere look on her face.

Heather looked at her mother and heard the concern in her voice and how she grabbed her hand as if there’s something bad going to happen. “Mother, what do you mean? This battle or something far worse?” Heather asked, with two questions. She couldn’t tell what is going on since she was in the dark for most of her life about certain things and this cult was definitely one of them.

Alexis sighs at her daughter’s questions but it is true about these things. “Yes… everything I should have told you everything. Instead of being one who didn’t say anything,” Alexis said. She started to drag her daughter inside of the city, away from the city gates.

Heather was not resisting her mother’s pull to protect her. She was a bit worried about what these cultists wanted with their city. Her body was shivering in fear because of what was approaching the city, she could sense the souls of those in front of her and they were utterly terrifying.

Patricia saw, Mrs. Flowerdancer and Heather start going away from the City gates and started to run with them away from it. She was afraid almost as much as the two others. ”I want my mom and dad but I don’t know how to get to them from here,” Patricia thought to herself, shaken at what had happened.

Magnus shrugged his shoulders and put one of the clawed weapons away and ran towards their home, that has been long standing in Sunfire. “Somethings never change with all the people in the world…,” Magnus thought to himself, knowing some things about what this cult wanted. He is more of a family man, who is a half-Nayu living in Sunfire. ”I guess this is what I get for marrying a full Seraphim as a Nayu,” Magnus pondered, about certain things.

The Flowerdancer Family and Patricia reached the Flowerdancer’s home. They all got into the home and was a bit worried. “Err, what’s going to happen now?” Patricia asked, a bit terrified. She was a bit terrified, in her speech patterns.

Magnus sighs at when Patricia asked that in her terrified state. He glanced at his wife and saw her in a worse state than Patricia or even their daughter. ”In all my years alive. I have never seen a Seraphim so terrified in their life,” Magnus said, talking to his wife. He was only saying that because his wife was the only one that literally asked to marry a half-Nayu and half-Lassa. “You were a definite candidate for the most courageous woman I have ever met,” Magnus said.

Alexis glanced at her husband and heard all those things and sighed. ”Husband, why are you bringing this up?” Alexis asked, shivering a bit. She had never been so afraid in her life. His words were startling to her because she has never heard anyone say that to her because most of the people usually call her crazy for marrying a Nayu and they are usually other Seraphim. ”Ugh… alright alright I am sorry for being this afraid, I can’t help it for once I feel completely helpless for once,” Alexis said.

Heather heard her parents talk about things and was a bit confused in what they were talking about but the part of being afraid wasn’t a hard concept to her. ”Mom and Dad can we be brave for Patricia instead of devolving into terrified scaredy cats?” Heather asked. She was trying to be brave but her entire body was shivering as if she has already devolved into a scaredy cat. She held onto Patricia with one of her shaking hands.

Patricia slowly tried to walk away from the group but couldn’t get away from Heather who was shaking in her grip on her. “I won’t leave you…,” Patricia said, saddened of trying to leave. She didn’t want to disappoint Heather at all.

---

At the Dragonpass Encampment, Johnson looks at his two daughters and wife. He was confused at this entire ordeal right now. ”Maria is very strange indeed, I heard stories but seeing her face to face is entirely a different matter,” Johnson thought to himself. He was still impressed with her mindful telling of each event that she had in her life. “I have a question, what was your father like?” Johnson asked. He hoped this wasn’t too painful for her.

Maria heard Johnson’s question and her eyes went wide for a moment and stood up and walked up to Johnson and his family. She had tears in her eyes when he asked that question and she started crying near Johnson’s family. “I-I loved him dearly. He was the Dragonlord before me and Zargy took over. His title was the Valorous Dragonlord. My father’s name was Dargoth,” Maria sobbed, while standing there crying. She had never told anyone that her father was the Valorous Dragonlord or why he died.

Johnson heard of the Valorous Dragonlord and it struck a chord with him. “He used to keep the Stonefield Family in check. They wouldn’t do anything under his watchful gaze. He was the largest Pulsar Dragon in the known world and how you said that and you are crying means he is dead,” Johnson said. He had much experience in reading people a bit too well for his own good. He sighs and walked up to Maria and takes her into his arms. “You may cry on my shoulders for all you want Maria. Dargoth was a great man,” Johnson said, kindly.

Maria cries on Johnson’s shoulder and couldn’t stop crying. She misses her father too much. “Dad, why did you have to give me the reigns for leadership. I failed… I am the only Pulsar Dragon left… if you were alive you would be so pissed off at this,” Maria thought to herself, teary eyed and afraid of what her father might do if he was alive.

Johnson looked a bit distraught since all these enigmatic subversions all happened because of her father’s death. ”I feel like we all wrote in a poem of our self-denial and we are just etches on someone else's painting,” Johnson thought to himself. His facial feature was depressed while hugging the Kind Dragonlord in his arms.

---

In the Vrondi Capital, Zargoth felt a slight tune of regret in his heart because he could feel Maria crying from here in his head. ”Great… why is she crying now? What is wrong with her…,” Zargoth thought to himself, with a annoyed look on his face. He looked at his daughter, who was talking to Jacob and Patricia about personal things. He face palmed at the his own daughter. ”Daughter can you stop embarrassing, the Tetra-Lira Descendants,” Zargoth said, a bit annoyed.

Yioplya heard her father and giggled at him. ”It wasn’t too embarrassing father! I was just asking about when their daughter was born that was all,” Yioplya said, giggling and cutely dancing in front of Jacob and Patricia.

Jacob was grateful for Zargoth interrupting his daughter’s questions because they were making him blush. ”Thank you,” Jacob said, embarrassed at all the questions Yioplya was asking them.

Patricia looked at her husband and sighs. ”I am happy to give you all the information you need Yioplya,” Patricia said, giggling at her husband for being embarrassed. She was happy to give information about her family history and their precious little girl. ”Getting to know Yioplya made me realize. We haven’t got to know anyone in our long history of a family tree,” Patricia thought to herself. She looked at Zargoth and noticed his stance was a bit defensive and worried about someone else. ”Who is he worrying about?” Patricia thought to herself, slightly confused.