Virais was prowling about in the wilds around Sunfire, mostly trying to navigate between his various adventures and of course answers. Soaring low through the trees, ducking, weaving, and dipping all around the thick, strong branches that tried to keep him down. He was like a graceful dancer, fluttering through the foliage and catching the glinting light of the piercing sun on his nimble wings. It was moments like there that made him feel alive and ready to face whatever may come his way. Before long he was near his destination and that almost broke his heart as that in turn meant he'd have to land and deal with... 'normal people'. Regardless, he crested a hill and ducked below a low hanging branch to have the city of Sunfire in sight... and to see that it was burning.

What was once supposed to be a shining example of commerce, learning, and wonder was now under siege by a twisted dark faction who seemed to be committing to the attack with reckless and horrific abandon. Though the fight was brutal for both sides it actually appeared that the forces of Sunfire were winning. At least until some weird and foul magic came into play, taking over a big statue and turning it against the defenders. In fact with that card changing sides the tides had seemed to be most definitely turning.

Wiggling on his perched branch Virais had an internal conflict raging on. He wasn't a warrior or soldier for some big war, but this place was supposed to have answers for him or at least leads to help him find the real answers. Not to mention seeing all of those poor people being killed by monsters and madmen. This was a simple fight over ideals and views, this was good versus evil and he wanted to help. Growling and letting out an annoyed, "Mmmmuuurp!" to verbally express his displeasure he had made his choice.

Leaping down and extending his wings he took to a low flying attack run from the enemies left flank, setting his vector towards the front lines. Once he was within range he started letting out hot puffs of fire, launching his fire bolts at the Cultists at random. Each one sizzling through the air before making impact on them, burning and blazing across their frames. While not the most 'impactful' method of attacking, it certainly made the ones he did hit hurt or die from where he hit them. Although before long his strafing run was complete and not a second too soon as the skies started to grow dangerous with hostile fire.

Dropping from the air he landed near what appeared to be a pair of brave warriors and the big, currently evil statue. Leaping over and across slain foes and allies alike he made his way closer to the warriors, one female and one male. Letting a resounding and rather young, "Chirrrrup~! Meurw!" TO let them know he was here to help. Though perhaps the language barrier would make things a tad difficult to understand. Regardless, his intentions were pure and his heart was even more so so there was no way they couldn't understand that!

So with allies at his back and a fire in his belly he let fly several fire bolts at some of the smaller and less armored Cultists around and when one got to close, he leapt up to sink his rows of sharp teeth into, coiling around them in order to bring down his prey much like a wild predator would. Only to let go and attack another. There was no way he'd be able to take on that statue, but the least he could do was buy the other warriors a chance to do it without enemy help!

Suleykaar’s eyes unwavered while he soar through the air. At such a height and on a different occasion, he may have slowed down enough for Alexis to gander around with Soron busting Suley’s chops about dropping him into lakes from tree height. Sadly, Soron was not speaking, not reprimanding Sulley’s leave on the battlefield or anything. He was silent as the night sky and limp, lifeless.
 
’Soron...brother….I’ll save you….I promise….I won’t let you die this way… He thought as the air roared by him.
 
"Suleykaar?" He heard it in his mind but did not answer. The only thing that repeated in his head was “Get him to the temple.”
 
"You're not alone, okay? I'm here with you. I'll stay with you." A few tears rolled down his eyes.
 
’Soron….” Was the only response. It had been nearly an hour since Suleykaar had left the battlefield in haste to save his friend, and the cost of burning out his mana reserves were being noticed. His vision was starting to darken as his head started to go limp and then, a drop in altitude. Soron body seemed to float upward as they became weightless and Sulley knew that Alexis had felt it. With his connection still intact he managed to get through a few words as the Temple came into view and the darkening of his sight grew.
 
’Alex...is….I’m….crash….brace….’ His head was bobbing up and down with the quick jolts in the altitude change until he fully went limp and simply fell from the sky. It seemed unreal to the monks below that a dragon had also come to the temple. Moreso, that this same dragon did not seem to slow down. One of the monks who had gained “Dragons Sight” looked up to see that he was also carrying two people with him and this dragon was also unconscious. The alarms rang again as a few shouted out to the new arrival, Master Qobo and Sophia to watch out. The monks did many things to evade. Teleport away, shadowstep, air walked, disappeared underground or simply vanished inside the temple walls’ escape routes. What some managed to see was a massive bubble cover them both, including the dragon itself. This was seen by the very same monk. He took notice that it was coming from the girl and with the look in her  eyes she was beyond scared and then it came...The impact.
 
It was amazing if one saw it from an aerial view. A massive two hundred foot dragon from head to tail, encased within a bubble of sorts, cratered the carved out walkway on the hill just below the temple before ricocheting off and towards the temple, throwing the two he carried from his grip as the massive red dragon tumbled head over heels and slammed into its walls, casting debris out like that of a fan. The girl's bubble held until the dragon hit the wall, causing her tumble even more. Soron on the other hand was not reacting to the toss and so a few monks took quick action, slowing him down until he stopped.

Sophia

Suleykaar

Soron

^{@FallenTrinity}

---

Interacting with
^@Vesuvius00

---

“What I seek is neither power or knowledge. But an audience to speak of the atrocities that occur below the mountain. Also I seek.” The warrior said.
 
“Very well, warrior. You will have your audience. Those who approach Mindah Taarvitan without greed or evil intentions will always have a place here.” Sophia said, assuming a more relaxed and less imposing posture.Qobo had taken notice to her subtle change in demeanor and followed suit, relaxing just enough without failing to drop his guard.
 
Those who often climbed that mountain, knew what they would find there. But he claimed that he wasn’t seeking knowledge or power, but instead an audience. That was something new. The warrior certainly caught Sophia’s interest. But his next action, would make Sophia even more curious.
 
“Warming herbs from Fotia." he said, taking two cups and pouring some tea, offering them to Qobo. Qobo glanced over to Sophia for an answer.
 
"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 said, looking to Qobo and Sophia.
 
Sophia slowly walked forward to the man, shapeshifting in her ‘almost’ human form. Her human form had an ‘exotic’ beauty to it. Her skin was as white as the moon, but at the same time, as dark as the night sky. Offering someone tea was regarded as a sign of peace in many civilizations around the world, by many eras. It was rude and dishonorable to not answer it adequately.
 
Silently and delicately bowing her head in a discreet gesture, she took the cup full of tea, giving it a small sip and passing it to Qobo shortly after who nodded and accepted the offering of peace before sitting down to join the newcomer.
 
“This gesture clearly shows that you are a lot more than just a brute warrior, moved only by its muscles and power. I salute you.” She said, smiling kindly to the man.
 
”And a connoisseur of fine herbs and tea hmhmhm.” Qobo quipped.
 
Sophia couldn’t help but feel happy to see other people who still followed old and honorable traditions.
 
"I will show you that you are in danger despite how strong you may know you are." he said, as fire erupted from his skin. As he growled, the fire grew stronger. For Sophia, that demonstration of power was unnecessary. He surely lost some points with her thanks to that, and Sophia didn’t bother to hide her slightly dissatisfied expression. Qobo had taken notice to the blatant show of strength and silently agreed with Sophia as he noticed her subtle changes in expression. To ask for an audience was new to them, sure. But for a show of power? He had only seen this from men and women of the Fotian area during his Trial of Sight. He opened his eyes ever so slightly in irritation.
 
"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..."
 
“Vulcan. You said you came here seeking enlightenment. Your first lesson is about power, and its nature” Sophia said, looking to him with a serious expression.
 
“Power comes with knowledge, and not the other way around. It’s not one’s power that shows its value, but it’s knowledge.”
 
“Your first gesture by far outweighed your display of power. No power is absolute, it doesn’t matter how strong it may be. Just like nobody has infinite knowledge. It doesn’t matter how wise, old and intelligent it claims to be.” she said, slowly walking towards the man, looking to him like a teacher would look to a student. Qobo sat quietly and nodded sagely to her words. He began to reminisce about his past lessons from her. Aah, the nostalgia.
 
“We cannot show you the path you should follow to reach your goal, but we can show you the right direction. We will gladly be your guides in your journey, if you wish, of course.” she said, extending her hand to him.
 
But before Vulcan could even react, a huge, red dragon came crashing down from the sky. It appeared to be extremely exhausted. Sophia didn’t even have the time to react before the huge dragon came crashing in the temple’s walls, hitting and destroying everything on its path in an amazing spectacle of destruction.
 
Qobo had heard the alarms toll and looked to the sky, taking quick notice to the descending dragon and with no hesitation he went into action. Quickly he spun around, placing his hands on the ground and lifted himself up in what seemed like a flip of sorts. Within this same motion he grabbed onto Sophia and the newcomer, lifting him off the ground with wind manipulation before falling back towards the ground with the two of them, a portal opening up from below that showed the more inner sanctum of the temple, away from the library but not so far away from the entrance to the temple itself. As they passed through, a few chunks of debris flew past them as it hit the ceiling above before bouncing off and back onto the tiled floor. They were standing upright when they entered through the portal, allowing them to quickly make for the front once again if need be.
 
”Sophia! Are you alright!?” He asked with concern as he looked over their guest. He had a feeling Sophia was fine, hence why his concern was more for the Fotian warrior.
 
Sophia was still trying to understand the situation. Was it an attack? No… the dragon appeared to be extremely exhausted… Then what was it?
“Y-yes Qobo. I’m ok.” she answered him, regaining her composure.
“Quickly, go inside, see if there are anyone hurt.” she said to the other monks.
“I’m sorry for this interruption, but we have an emergency right now. We would be grateful if you could wait a little, and even more grateful if you wish to help us.” she said, to him, turning into a dragon once more and flying above the crash area. She was very worried about the children, but she couldn’t just run to them. She didn’t knew if the dragon was friendly or not, or if they were in danger.
 
Below was a bit on the chaotic side, having hit one of the walls which was hollowed out for escape routes, there could be seen a few monks helping out some exit the wall. Fortunately, noone was killed but some critically injured due to the crash. A large chuck of the wall was demolished and debris had scattered around quite a bit. Below on the hill one of the pathways had been destroyed by a 6 foot crater due to the golden bubble that contained the three. The dragon did not move but it seemed that nearby were two other outsiders. One seemed to have fallen asleep but the other…
 
“Master Qobo! Everyone is accounted for.” A young Tearnais initiate reported. Qobo nodded as he felt around the temple. His other concern was that of the children.
 
They are safe...Scared but safe. He sighed in relief.
 
”What of the Dragon?” The initiate bowed.
 
“The dragon seems to be fine. He is breathing but very hurt. There were tow others with it. One female and a male. The female seems to be asleep but the male...There is no response from him…” Qobo bit his bottom lip as he turned and made his way towards the entrance of the temple.
 
Seeing as Qobo already had the situation under control, she landed near him, on the crater.
“Get the two others, take them somewhere safe and take care of their health. If the male doesn’t respond, take care of its body and wait for the others to wake up. They would want to give him a proper burial.” Qobo bowed in response.
 
“And… Are the kids ok?” Sophia asked, trying unsuccessfully to hide her preoccupation.
 
”The children are fine. They were startled by the shaken earth but nothing mo-” It was then a few yelled out to the two Temple leaders as the large red dragon slowly began to move.
 
Sophia visibly calmed down after hearing that. She had a special affection to those children.
 
“Master Qobo!  Master Sophia! Quickly!”
 
”Sophia…” He looked to her with urgency and nodded as he made his way to the head of the dragon.
 
It mumbled something as it seemed to struggle to sit up. Its body seemed to move like the land itself was placed on top of it.
 
”urph….ugh….Sor-on...I’ll...sa-a-ve... you…”
 
“He is extremely exhausted. But he seems to be unharmed.”
 
”Sophia, do you recognize him?” He asked with curiosity. As he awaited her response he decided to get a feel for his soul. He reached out as his eyes glowed white.
 
Those red scales and that size… She heard of a certain red dragon in stories, but it was too early for assumptions.
 
“No… I don’t.” she said, lost in her own thoughts.
 
’Anger...an unrelenting anger that rolled in waves like the ocean. So much hatred and intent to kill. Sadness, like that of a thousand funerals. Fear...isolation, loneliness…’ He pulled away with wide eyes.
 
” It’s him....The one I felt from the battle below before I felt death en masse.”
 
“Are you sure Qobo?” She asked, curious.
“I wasn’t going to say it before i had more clues… But there was a certain red dragon, a powerful one, whose deeds marked the great wars…” she said, looking to Qobo.
 
“If he is this dragon, even I must be careful around him.” she said with a serious face. If that dragon went on rampage, Sophia herself would have a tough time stopping him.
 
Sulley had barely opened his eyes. They were glazed, blurred and the sounds around him muffled. He went to move his wing but stopped as pain filled his head causing his eyes to roll back momentarily.
 
’Great….Broken…’ He thought to himself behind the pain. He barely managed to turn his head so his chin rested on the ground. He had looked up to see an old man and dragon standing over him.
 
”Ple-please...He-help...Hi-hi-hi-...” He kept forcing himself to move or at least shift to his smaller form but it was no use.
 
”Dragon...You’re soul is currently weak right now. You need to rest.” Suleykaar shook his head subtly.
 
”N-no...Mu-Must...sa-save...Brother….” Qobo glanced to Sophia with soft eyes and yet they held a bit of confusion. Brother? Who was his brother?
 
“We will do the possible to save him. Please rest. Right now, you are too weak to do anything.” she said to the dragon with a serious tone.
 
”I-I’m….No-no-not...WEAK!” It was fairly pitiful of an attempt to show defiance but he added a weak glare only enhanced by a growl that still held true despite the exhaustion. Qobo was not frightened but a few of the other monks flinched slightly. Such ambition and tenacity from this dragon. It was unheard of. It would seem that this dragon would go down fighting...but why? Qobo looked to Sophia for the ok to assist the dragon to slumber before he too died.
 
Sophia understood what Qobo meant with his eyes, and silently nodded.
“I’m not asking. You will rest for now. I won’t let anyone die inside my temple. That also applies to your friends.” she said, with an authoritative voice.
 
Giving one final push, Sulley spoke up before-
 
”Pro-promise…. me...Pr-pr-pr-promi-” It would sound like the ringing of three bells as golden ripples rolled across the points where Qobo touched. And as if turning off a light, Sulley’s sight went dark as he was instantly put to sleep. Qobo looked at the dragon with soft eyes.
 
“He has quite the temper…” Sophia mumbled to herself, shaking her head in disapproval.
 
Qobo glanced over to her before turning his attention to the dragon once more.
 
”I have only ever seen this much tenacity in the pits of Fotia when one refuses to die or give up. But this one….This one has brought that feeling to a league of its own. One would even say a dragon’s will, hm? hehehehe.” Qobo chuckled as he leaned on his cane, looking over to Sophia with a light smile.
 
“Qobo… I do plan to keep my promise.” she said, looking to him with a serious expression.
“About not letting anyone die.”
 
Qobo’s smile soon turned to a thin line.
 
”I do not doubt that. But what I wish to learn is why would he go to this length for someone? I have never come across another dragon besides yourself who would nearly die for descendant…”
 
“That's exactly why I plan to keep my promise. For a dragon to care so much about someone else… I am deeply curious about why he is going so far for his ‘brother’...” she said, glancing to where the other two who came with him were after they crashed. Qobo nodded in agreement.
 
”When he wakes up…” He glanced to Sophia, knowing she knew what he was thinking.
 
”Until then what do we do with him?” His eyes narrowed as he eyed his entire body and how it destroyed the wall around them.
 
“Let him rest. I’ll keep my eye on him for now. He is too exhausted to do anything, but once he wakes up, he will probably be very agitated.” she said, worried about the others if he decided to fight.
 
Qobo looked back towards the other two on the ground as they were soon carried away to their respectable places in the temple. As he looked at the two he spoke up in agreement.
 
”Huuuuuh….Very well. I will go make sure the other escape routes are intact just in case and will let the elders know should this escalate to escape with the children.”
 
“Meanwhile, I’ll try to take him to somewhere a little more spacious, so we can start repairing the walls... “ she said, looking to the big dragon. It would certainly be a very hard task, but she would be able to do it.
 
“Maybe the gardens... “ she said to herself, thinking.
 
”The gardens are spacious and vast. If need be the large training area may work as well. The one we use...As for the wall however. Have some of our Oro Initiates work on that. We can use that as a substitute for training. Earth manipulation training.” Qobo nodded sagely.
 
“Thanks for understanding, Qobo.” she said with a smile.
“I’ll take care of him. The gardens are very peaceful, but i don’t think they are peaceful enough to calm down this red dragon when he wakes up.” she said, getting near the big red dragon and thinking in a way to take him there without having to break down another wall.
 
Qobo looked at her as she seemed to study the red dragon. She must have been figuring out how to transport him there. Funny enough Qobo had been doing the same until he thought of something. He sighed.
 
”It will drain me a bit but I don’t foresee a problem with it but I’ll attempt to make a portal for you two.” He nodded as he backed away from them.
 
Sophia smiled upon hearing him.
“I don’t think i would be able to carry him without dragging him through the floor…” she said, with a giggle.
“Thank you.” she said, with a slight bow.
 
”Of course…” He bowed in return before concentrating on the ground in front of him, just under the two dragons. It was small at first but soon began to grow in size as he concentrated on expanding the hole itself. Sweat started to form on his head as it grew but soon the tails of the two fell through. Slowly but surely the dragon’s seemed to slid into the void that would place them in the gardens of the Temple. Qobo called out.
 
”You know how to get in touch with me should something arise. Please do not hesitate!” He yelled out just as her head started to disappear.
 
“Thank you, Master Qobo, but you’ve already done enough.” she said, smiling.
“I’ll examine him while he sleeps. He is probably hurt from the fall.” she said, going to the gardens.
 
Qobo nodded as he closed the portal in front of him but soon he felt light headed, falling down to his cane in exhaustion. Wiping his brow of sweat he turned to the temple itself and made his way towards one of the two. The girl, to see how she was doing.

The snow fell. Small waves of flurrying frost sprinkled onto the field and met the remaining flames that withered in the empty black ash of what was a lush field of grass and flowers. Again a cold breeze waved inward with unnatural pace and encircled the mass of land that the remaining warriors all held fast in. The Vrondi soldiers kept their focus on keeping the giant woman away, her 14 foot height putting her above any of them. She bashed and clawed away at the barrier that continued to form layers beneath the breaking ones.

Soldiers continued to fall periodically from exhaustion, their vibrant glow fading away as they merged with the dark from the failing moonlight. The captain stepped forward and placed a hand on the barrier. “This won’t hold for long…” His soldiers looked to him with concerned faces. “I will hold this one back. Conserve what little energy you have.” He looked at a device on his wrist that held an orb within it. It flickered with strange red lights before multiple red lines and a single moving one began to appear on its surface. “Our morning light will soon be here.” He glanced to the edge of the mountain scape and saw no twilight as of yet.

His blade was then pulled from his side and was flipped effortlessly into his right hand. He leaped into the air, his feet having a glowing outline as it did so and leaving behind air pressure beneath him. “Animus!” A few soldiers shouted as the man soared and ran up the side of the barrier. He flipped once reaching the very edge and came downward to the woman below. The captain’s name was Animus, a young warrior for the Vrondi elites who went up high in the ranks and showed undeniable loyalty to the Vrondi King and the Taxis.
His body began to be engulfed in light and glowed brightly. The woman below saw this and reacted by throwing her hands up to block the blinding light. Animus then shot downward with unnatural speed and met the arms of the woman with his blade. The impact roared and sent the woman falling down with her left arm still midair. Animus was already on the ground and charged at her. She hissed violently and emerging from her jaws was a cloud of green mist that moved like smog. Animus fell back with a flip and avoided the slow moving smog. He lifted his shirt above his mouth. “A Basilisk…” He grunted with unease.

“M-master… Help..” Riryoku’s frail voice squeezed from his vocal cords such words that conveyed his helplessness. However a red circular glow emerged from beneath his hood in the shape of an eye. “No… I must make the greatest use of master’s power.” His head moved and the black ooze dripped onto the ice. But as it did so it froze into place. ”There’s nothing you can do…” Spoke Mirror with a serious yet uninterested expression. He looked to Lila. “Channel your soul into your blade and lop his head off.” But before Mirror could turn his head the ice around the neo guardian began to crack. Mirror’s eyes narrowed with a glare at the snapping ice. ”This bastard…”

”One must not fear when carried by my father’s will.”

Echoing with a stern silvery voice into the minds of Lila and Mirror was the man within the guardian. The ice crackled slowly. Then it broke all at once as the guardian’s new form seemed to flex its arms outward. The ice shards flew around like chunks that crashed around the field in both small and large sizes and a large shard falling and killing a few cultists and a few more having to be blocked by Vrondi soldiers. “Lay down your weapon child…” The voice spoke once more, but its helmet turning down with unnatural speed to look at Mirror and Lila with a red glow beneath the helmet and within its darkness. The blow from a large ice shard cracked the ice beneath Riryoku and it revealed that his body was frozen entirely beneath the ice. He laid there, his cloak solid and underneath was his black ooze all hardened. “D-damn you… Mirror..” Winced Riryoku as his head struggled to move.

“We are on the same side. Seraphim above all others, those who seek to undo this are to be annihilated without discrimination. Then and only then will this world know peace.” The armored body of the man waved his hands with opening arms as he spoke. His gestures suggested compassion and a willingness to be submitted to like a conquering king. Mirror scoffed at this and spat on the ground with displeasure fuming from him. ”But you don’t mind killing other Seraphim to get your way? I hate these contradictions.” The cold wind began to encircle Mirror and Lila. A flurry of ice and snow soon summoned around them both and Lila could feel a slight cool breeze from it but it was nowhere near as harmful as it was outside of it. It also allowed lighter movements and slight glides.

Riryoku’s frozen body began to crumble beneath the cloak like black snow. “M-master… I cannot fight. Please. Once more I wish to aid. You…” As he said the last word a black aura began to emerge from his body like smoke. His body cracked beneath it. He raised himself up with his scythe. He was much wider than before and his feet were no longer visible beneath the cloak. His ooze was frozen like snow and could not move it seemed from his position. However his arms held onto the scythe with fluidity but not the same as before. He wavered left and right a bit but his movements remained simple and slow. Mirror lowered his body. “He’s all yours… LILA!” As Mirror spoke her name her shot forward and his body began to turn into clear ice like a sculpture. It shot forward like a bullet and crashed into the leg of the ice guardian.

The ice layered around the left leg and accumulated a huge chunk of ice that formed around the leg from the impact point. The leg broke free effortlessly and shattered the ice into the air. The ice shards moved like it had a mind of its own and whirled around the black armor until it formed into a Dragon from combining shards that grew in size rapidly. The head of the dragon was above the guardian and looked down on him with glowing cyan eyes. Mirrors voice could be heared echoing throughout the field as a blistering cold waved outward. “ZERO!” The dragon almost roared with Mirror’s cry of rage. The wave of ice brought about the freezing of the guardian once more by layers of ice. Except this time it had a frozen dragon sculpture around its form.

“MASTER!” Cried Riryoku as his body could not move, but he remained vigilant to parry Lila’s blade as best he could. She would also find it strange his lack of breathing, blood flow, or heartbeat.
@13org

Ziton looked with a raised brow and tilted head at the man before him. Even more so as his demeanour changed from a crippled blind man to a possible threat. His frown began to turn into a smirk and Velai slowly began to move to back to remove herself from between the two. Ziton took his weapon away from Velai, it a barrel now aimed to the ground yet loosely handled in his hand. He turned his head yet kept his eyes on Paon. “Ey boy. Watch the girl.” A blade was tossed to the wall beside Velai from his left hand which was free with a simple and blurring flick of his wrist.

The boy gritted his teeth as his head raised and he closed his teary eyes to nod rapidly and stepped to Velai, his sandals making a soft slapping sound with each step. Ziton’s smile grows as his head rolls back and his eyes look down at Paon. “I see you're one of those dragons masquerading as one of us. But you're not the only one who wears a mask my friend.” He points his left hand’s index finger to his eyes which glowed in the night and re red ring around his pupils. “There's a monster in me too.”

Paon tilted his head and watched the frown become a smirk. This one seemed to have just as much fire in him as he did. His eyes remained focused on the man with the bounty and did not even flinch when the blade hit the wall by Velai. Paon was more focused on the possibility of a fight….and saving the girl and if he was lucky getting the boy.

Paon kept his eyes on Ziton as he spoke once more….of course he was looking up and seemed quite non threatening even with his scales visible. “A monster eh….totally couldn't tell by those eyes of yours that something was different.” He slowly moved, as if he was checking the stance of his prey out. He stopped. “And yet...I’m moving more than you. How interesting” Paon seemed to want Ziton to make the first move. There was an odd eagerness in his eyes as well….a plan forming there that was not his usual mode of attack.

“Enough chitchat.” Ziton lifted his weapon up to point it's barrel down at Paon. His finger was placed over the trigger and his eyes were dead set on Paon. “Perhaps you've never seen this before.” He grinned with pearl white teeth with fangs after saying this. The moonlight reflected on the metallic barrel and illuminated the fine smooth texture of the wooden grasp his right hand gripped onto. The boy now lifted the blade from the ground and held it to Velai’s neck with nervous hands. Velai attempted to relax under the rattling knife and looked to the boy who had wide eyes set on Ziton and Paon.

Paon looked almost bored once more. His mouth somewhat parted to reveal his fangs coated with a layer of venom causing strings to follow his mouth opening. “I have. And its not very creative for fighting” As he finished the sentence he suddenly moved to the side showing that his species...whatever it was...was built for speed.

Paon launched at Ziton aiming to either slice with the blade or bite with his teeth any part of the man. After all, all he needed was a wound to get the venom into so it can do the rest of the job. The back of his mind however was occupied with trying to figure out how to deal with the two innocents.

Ziton chuckled with Paon’s reply. He watched with eager eyes and a smile as this smaller man wavered to the side and fluidly darted at him. The weapon in his hand turned with his arm with a blur as it narrowed down at Paon. “Shatter.” His finger pulled back on the trigger. Ejecting from it was a small circular object that was black in color. It left the end of the barrel with smoke trailing behind it. However once it reached a foot beyond Ziton, still heading toward Paon, it dissipated after coming into contact with what seemed an translucent surface between the two. The air had a crack in it that glowed purely white. The cracks broke like slowly shattering glass between Ziton and Paon. But it remained midair like a giant web. Ziton raised his free hand with a welcoming gesture.

Paon watched as the object flew at him. He had put too much energy behind his launch and found himself turning to avoid injury to whatever this was. The surface cracked and his body hit some of the lines causing cuts to go through his leather and hit his flesh. He ended up with a cut on his side and one on his upper arm. He hissed before landing into a crouch.

Paon slowly stood and twirled the blade now pacing in front of the cracks. A metallic looking fluid oozed out of his wounds in place of bright red blood. He had seen these sort of weapons before...but this was new. His tongue flicked and tasted the scents around him as he paced. It was clear he was trying to think of how to get to Ziton. The pacing and twirling of the blade making him seem aggravated.

The slowly rising pace of Ziton’s chuckle could still be heard. He watched with amusement at Paon’s reaction. “I always savor the look on ones face after seeing that.” He spoke as he waved his dangling curls over his face back with a raised head. “Say. Why are you playing hero? Huh? I'll tell you something about these people. They're all hiding something and I'm all about finding it. What's a matter between us descendants have to do with a dragon?” As his words rang out Velai met eyes with the boy and looked calmly at him, sweat still dripping down her face with more accumulating on her forehead. He gulped and slowly calmed with her.

Paon shook his head. “Everyone hides something.” He stopped and turned to face Ziton. “You have a very hefty bounty on your head and I really enjoy increasing my numbers” He tilted his head. “As for playing hero….Something new” He turned and paced some more, his throat starting to have a faint rainbow coloration.

Paon had noticed Velai and the boy. His tongue flicked and he no longer smelled quite so much fear from them...so the woman could handle herself a tad. Good to know. He paused and with his eyes moved to the right. It was clear he was trying to tell her to move somewhat. He paced until his throat was now glowing a bright rainbow coloration and stopped directly in front of Ziton. Paon gave his own smile before his mouth opened larger than it should be capable of and rainbow colored flames burst forward with a scorching heat. It was a concentrated flame that had a narrower flame, but was still large enough to almost burn the child should they have not moved.

As Paon gently paced a foreign object was placed between Ziton’s lips. It dangled a bit with its paper white exterior and thin shape, though it was shaped to be thinner at the ends. He lifted the object from his lips and held it between his index and ring finger. “Ah I see. So that's how it is.” His smile remained as he spoke. The boy was coerced by Velai’s calming scoot back and her hard stare to Paon to move. But only reaching the wall far wall a few feet away.

Ziton watched the rainbow glow emerge from Paon’s flesh. His eyes widened with awe at the colors and lifted up the small object he had. The flames broke through the small openings the cracks allowed. However doing so broke the flames up. Ziton waved his hand upward to match the sparks of colorful flames that threatened to meet him.

“It's too late. You lost the moment I pulled this trigger.” The small openings that were made between the cracks lifted and faded away into pure white. The flames were cut off as barely any of the rainbow sparks made it to Ziton. The rest were absorbed into the white barrier and fizzled away as it did so. The white barrier was entirely 2 dimensional and remained with an unnatural aura. It was circular despite the acute edges and 5 feet wide and tall a few feet off the ground before Ziton and Paon. Ziton's chuckle could be heard once more. His object now lit with flames as it rested in his lips and smoke plumed from his nostrils.

Paon managed to end the flame and close his mouth. Swallowing as steam escaped his own nostrils. He tilted his head at the small openings and then blinked as they became one solid circle. Too bad Ziton was able to not get roasted before the web became a shield. “Clever” His voice was soft and he slowly paced once more. Though this time he seemed to be up to something. He sheathed his dagger as he moved.

“Though you say lost like I had something to lose.” He stopped. “This was different. You have showed me I need to practice more if I am to kill during the day” He bowed before suddenly lunging for velai and the child. It seemed his intent was to grab her and run off with her and possibly the boy as well. In his mind he hoped he had calculated the length of the webbing correctly. His movements were fast and oddly silent as he moved.

The boy Paon went for gasped as he was rushed at. He closed his eyes and winced and Velai attempted to stand and reached a hand to grab Paon’s hand. The boy’s cloak was gripped onto by Velai. She aimed to bring the boy with them. However as Ziton stood and puffed away and Paon rushed to escape with the two the boy in Velai’s grasp opened his eyes before they reached the door and brought his knife down to try and cut Paon’s shin with wild slashes. Tears dripping from his eyes from fear.

Paon gripped velai tight and mentally approved of her grabbing the boy. He was also mentally glad that he had decided to have his scales out as the boy tried to slit his shin. He focused on getting to the door and getting out the door. Rushing at the fastest speed he could in this two legged shape.

Managing to get out Paon now focused on leaving. With an inhale he began to rush back to the entrance of the inn. His mind thinking that Ziton would not try to attack them when surrounded by people and also hoping that the guy was too slow to keep up. He also hoped the kid would stop slashing at his legs. Did the boy really want to stay with that guy that badly? He really did not seem to understand that angle. Paon flicked his tongue and managed to not wince as the two wounds he had sustained still hurt and moving this fast was bound to catch up to him. He shook his head as he moved and instead decided to focus on his goal of making it out of there.

“Open.” Ziton spoke and his words echoed through the 2 dimensional white barrier. It fell inward as it distorted the form of reality around it into a tunnel that revealed the back Paon’s running form. The boy seemed to notice the distortion behind them as Ziton stood, still in the room, but right behind them. He aimed the weapon again and fired while reaching in with his free hand and grabbing the boy’s hand. The projectile he fired hurtled towards the back of Paon’s right shoulder. Ziton then yanked to try and pull the boy free and into the tunnel.

Paon heard something. Something that sounded like it would hurt when it hit him. He inhaled and kept his grip on Velai, hoping that she could keep her grip for a moment. The projectile was headed close and he felt the tugging still from Ziton. He had to think fast, and what he came up with...was his tail. His long tail seemed to take awhile to sprout out of him in his point of view...but reality it was fairly quick.

Paon felt the projectile hit his shoulder and hissed knowing that he wasn’t quite fast enough. It felt like the thing had broken on impact as well causing smaller pieces to go into his already open wound. If he didn’t have that wound he probably would have been okay. His tail suddenly swept and attempted to coil around the boy before Ziton could pull the boy from Velai...but he couldn’t see behind him so it was more wild guessing and sound based movements than anything else. That and the bright feathers at the tip and slightly curled horn like spikes probably did not help with trying to coil without injury.

Just as Paon did Velai attempted to hold onto the boy. Her vocals letting a scream escape as the boy used his hands to both cut Velai and grab her chain within her tunic top. Ziton gripped the boy’s cloak and pulled. The boy had a slightly more serious face but it was painted with unease and fear. He wildly swung his knife to Paon’s tail as he kicked to stay free and broke away with Velai’s chain.

Velai fell back into Paon from the chain snapping and as the boy was brought into the collapsed tunnel of reality it began to close rapidly. Finally leaving nothing behind from it's presence. Velai breathed heavily after catching herself on Paon and looked to him. “Back in the room! I have to stop him!” She cried out as sleepy patrons too afraid of the battle outside to sleep tonight watched what happened with silent confusion.

Paon growled as the boy tried to stab his tail. It made it too hard to coil around the boy and he felt the sudden tension release as the boy was snagged by Ziton and Velai was suddenly released into his arms ending with him holding her to his chest. Paon managed to stop himself as she shouted for him to stop and winced. Sensitive to loud noises that loud volume hurt. Paon stared at her blankly as his tail slowly went back into his shapeshifted form. “...You want me to go back in there?” He shook his head. “You are insane. Besides...it sounded like they needed you to find what they were looking for...without you they can’t get it” He winced as he continued to hold her with one heavily damaged shoulder. “I think it’s better for us to get out of here and be more safe somewhere rather than you staying here with your information” He started to walk clearly the pain was starting to get to him to some degree. His shoulder hurting more than his side at this point. “I am not going back there when i wounded myself to get you out of there.”

Velai shook her head. “You're wrong. They took my key I have to get it back.” She placed a tender hand on Paon’s shoulder. “I can't heal but I can ease the pain and expedite the recovery…” Her hand glowed with a pure white aura and washed over Paon and his soul with a warm light. “You don't have to come…” She said with a sorry expression. But she realized by his bloody wounds and what transpired she alone could not stop Ziton.

Papers flew across the room as shelves were emptied. Ziton kicked over Mirror’s desk and his orb fell and broke on the floor and crumbled to silver moonlit dust. The boy behind Ziton locked the door with Velai’s key as he was told to and stood and watched Ziton make a mess of Mirrors room. “Ah… I see.” Ziton’s eyes met the photo of Mirror on the wall and lifted it. There was a wall safe. Ziton looked over it carefully before bringing out two tools that were dark in color. He tapped them together and then placed in the keyhole of the safe.

When one would return to the locked door and break inside they will find the room a complete mess. The bed was flipped, tables turned and papers thrown around. The window would be wide open with an eerie wind blowing the curtains into lively dances.

@Rai

Vulcan's display was a well thought out solution to the issue of the monks not seeing a possible threat to them. As Well thought out as Fotian Intel could let him know. Vulcan, and most descended, did not know about the infinite power within the temple walls. Only a true master of their soul could reach the form Vulcan displayed, but as he settled the flames of his soul away he perceived the twos, Qobo and Sophias, reaction. He stroked the hairs on his chin out of curiosity.

Surely only their masters have reached This? Was there something greater? He wondered with a solemn nod to their calm to his rare display. He felt despite his years there was more to discover in this world. "Perhaps remaining within the Fotian walls and training that lad Magnixx has kept me ignorant." He sighed and sipped his tea before the dragon plummeted from the sky with a loud roar that was not his own but the sky itself crying from the parting winds.

Vulcan found himself refraining from going into a full battle stance. He merely jumped to his feet and made it clear through his lack of initiative that the monks would clean their own messes. He did however follow to make his willingness to aid them known. "I will help as best I can." He spoke as his body soared through the air and soon his feet met the stone floors of the temple which was littered with rubble. The mountain winds carried away dust as the gaping hole the dragon created tore the temple cieling open for the cold to settle in.

Vulcan beheld the dragon before him. It's massive size could structure a home. It's scales could serve as armor for hundreds of soldiers. Vulcan stroked his beard in thought as he watched the injured that were with the dragon. "Perhaps this is no mere savage beast... But an ally?" He spoke in thought but loud enough to be heard. He watched as Qobo and Sophia speculated as to what may have resulted in this and gave his idea. "There is a war going on all over the lands. This may be another casualty..."
____________________________

Animus backed away from the smog. It was clearly deadly as the grass curled and froze like stone before being engulfed by the miasma. His eyes narrowed at the sight of this and then quickly shot up as he watched the parting dark green smog convey to him and those behind him the woman that spewed it. She looked down with glaring eyes at Animus.

Her severed limb within her intact hand. She lowered her stub and raised the end of the cut arm to meet the flesh of its missing part. The crimson that flowed met and merged the two pieces together and then the blood stopped flowing. Animus and his soldiers looked at this with awe on their faces. Bringing his head down he gritted his teeth with an intense will growing within him.

"Not here. Not yet." As he growled these words his entire person began to grow brighter. He flipped his blade in his hand and pointed it to the woman. His blade flashed a bright light that blinded her. Her voice screeched and she backed away into the cloud of poison. Animus leaped back to the barrier and ran up it's side to rejoin his soldiers.

Once he landed the poison cloud met the barrier and crawled up it slowly. The clawed hand of the woman gripped the barrier through the smog which frightened a few soldiers. Her tongue then met the barrier and she slid it across it's surface. A trail of her clear saliva ran down it. Her voice let out a long sigh, a look of pleasure upon her face.

"Mmmm... Your souls look so delicious."

The soldiers looked back and saw the dragon ripping cultists apart that were too foolish to escape. They wondered if it was feral or not but either way it aided them it best they could.
_______________________________

Lila was only waiting Mirror’s order to attack, but when she was about to kill her target, the thing inside the guardian, spoke. His voice echoed through Lila’s head.

“We are on the same side. Seraphim above all others, those who seek to undo this are to be annihilated without discrimination. Then and only then will this world know peace.”

Side? Which side? For Lila, there was never a side. She did only what she was told to do. They marked a target, and she killed it. It was simple. Lila never understood the concept of peace. She was raised to be a weapon. Peace was something completely opposite to her nature.

The calmness she felt before striking a target, the excitement from the hunt and blood… Could that be considered peace? After all, she felt at peace during those moments...

”But you don’t mind killing other Seraphim to get your way? I hate these contradictions.” Mirror answered, spitting on the ground and summoning a cold wind around them.

Contradictions? She couldn’t understand where those contradictions were… They were weapons too, right? A warrior feels at peace when doing what it was trained to do its entire life, right? Then the only way these warriors can know peace is by killing. Why was that wrong?

“He’s all yours… LILA!” Mirror said, attacking the guardian.

It doesn’t matter. She didn’t understand their logic. She didn’t need to. The only thing she understood right now was her desire to kill her target. The hunt was the only thing that mattered for her that moment.

“As you wish, Mirror.” She said, with a twisted giggle. Her muscles, which were tensed up all that time, released all that tension in a split of second, sending her flying towards her target. Differently from before, her movements weren’t gracious and calculated, instead being extremely feral. She moved herself without caring for how she looked, or if her movements were correct or not, she was like a beast. Her eyes were fixed on her prey. Her entire world now was resumed to her and her soon to be dead prey.

With a blindingly fast movement, she swung her scythe, aiming to his neck.

As the blade sliced through the air it's blade met another similar to it's own. Riryoku grunted from the blow as his widened and partially frozen form cracked underneath his cloak. The dark aura remained and escaped from beneath the cloak where his feet once were. The outer edge of his cloak where the darkness seeped out of began to show a pool of slow moving black ooze. He was slowly defrosting.

“This child! She has the hunger of a dragon within her. Is she a prize from your war on the bloodied throne?” Words flowed while he swung his scythe. He did so after flipping it down and brought it straight up at Lila.

A prize from the war? Bloodied throne? Lila didn’t understand those things, they didn’t matter… The only thing that mattered right now was that he was still alive. And that irritated Lila.
Instead of blocking his scythe, she simply disappeared in the shadows with a twisted giggle, both her body and her blade becoming one with the shadows.

After a brief moment, her blade appeared, emerging from the shadows, almost like cutting it. Her body followed shortly after in another lunge, aiming to cut Riryoku’s arm.

His aged voice let out a groaning yell as his arm was cut off. It fell to the ground. His other hand held onto his scythe. His body lowered itself by the cloak widening even more and the ooze below it being retracted into the cloak. The ooze held the broken slush of previously frozen sludge together to reform his body to it's previous thin form. His severed arm returned to slush underneath the cut sleeve that laid as a cloth next to him.

“D-damn you..” He attempted to rise to his feet but seemed very frail as he did so. “Your savagery cannot harm me.” He muttered as the ooze dripped from his stub and then form into an elongated thin arm and hand. “I will never give in…” His body flattened rather quickly like he returned to slush. It moved to Lila’s side before he rose up above her and brought the scythe downward on her head with a loud cry.

Savagery? Why he said that word as something bad? The tiger shows savagery when hunting its prey, it's both natural and beautiful. If you have to kill, what’s the harm in at least liking to do it?

So what if he kept growing his members back? He feels pain, doesn’t him? She just needed to keep cutting him.
Lila was indeed surprised when he tried to attack her. He still had strength to attack even after all that? What was that man? Why he was turning to that weird black liquid? Many questions rose inside Lila’s head, which was already fuzzy due to the bloodlust, excitement and joy for the hunt.
The scythe hit Lila, but it offered no resistance, instead, passing right through her body, as she slowly and gradually faded in the shadows.

“The moment i drank your blood, your fate was sealed. You are my prey.” she said, with a twisted giggle, her voice a mix of excitement and threat.
Lunging towards the old man once more, she swung her scythe in a clean horizontal cut, aiming to cut him in half. A silver streak in the absolute darkness from her ‘Eclipse’.

The familiar rattle and audible pop of the shattering core gave way to Mirrors failed attempts to hold his for at bay. Only with the crumbling of his coating did he return to form defiantly in front of the enigma. It pushed with a rested hand on ice that hugged its legs and sent shards and boulders of ice several yards away. "Your defiance is being noted." The once elegany voice now held a distorted anger. The red eyes beneath the helmet gave an intense glow before the being gripped the silver spear. "Be not ignorant. I am Nuxta, the second born."

Mirror looked up to him with a glaring expression. His body, clothes, and all were emitting mist from the frost forming on him. "You talk too much. You have ZERO-" As Mirror spoke ice and snow began to form around Nuxta and crawl up his armor. "chance of getting me to listen to YOU!" Mirrors hand raised up and the clapped together. The cold winds blew outward from the source where a mass of ice was summoned around Nuxta once more. This time the ice was twice as thick and it all was shaped like a cone.

"The entire point.. is that you won't be going anywhere."

Hearing a chirp Mirror turned. He saw the light of the sun slowly meeting the horizon and giving illumination to the fine scales that reflected it's light from the young dragon. Mirror's eyes widened at the sight if something so feral yet adorable. It was in line with Lila and her savagery. The sound of Riryoku being cut In half in the background.

The milky white angelic wings on Velai’s back that nearly met the floor as she stood were neatly folded on her back. Their coloration on the ends have been dirtied a bit as well as her legs and knees from being on the ground earlier. The incident still had her rattling inside and she feared it would not ever be over. Her eyes reflected the warm light from the fireplace that her and Paon sat in front of. After altering a patron to go tell the guards Velai moved Paon to a warm rug made from fresh animal furs.

There she tended to Paon’s wounds. The warm light glowed upon their flesh and illuminated the sweat and stress on their faces for each other to see. They faced away from the other patrons who were occupied speaking with guards on what they saw. To the people of Sunfire the events have been resonating around this inn and if not for its past accomplishments of pleasing many for decades it would be barred off. A guard remained on duty within the bar and inn now indefinitely to keep watch.

Even more so as the door to Mirror’s room was opened with force and inside nothing was found but an open window and an empty wall safe. Velai let Paon rest by sitting up as he pleased while she knelt next to him with a damp cloth to wipe his wounds. “Hold still.” She spoke softly as she applied the ointment beneath the cloth. It layered a transparent green liquid that had a thick consistency. It gave a feint glow when applied.

“I don’t have much of this. But this together with my soul’s charge should help you recover from the minor damage very quickly…” She applied a bandage to the wounds that were white and thin like paper but had a sponge like object beneath it that absorbed his blood. “Besides that the Taxis can help… although they are busy with the war.” She gasped at the thought of more peril befalling her night. It was really early now and she did not know if any of the earlier patrons she got to know so well survived or not. With this she sighed deeply. “My name is Velai… Thank you so much for what you did back there.” Her eyes watered as she spoke with an entirely unaware expression as she attempted to smile. Mirror I’m sorry.
@BlackPanther
-----------------------------------------




“Good work back there… Baqar. Just remember when we get to the city to try to think outside of the box. I can’t keep telling you what to do every time.”

The dark skies gave little illumination to the black beast that steadily stepped it’s four legs upon the surface of a beaten path within the swaying jungle leaves. Vrondi’s land was quiet now, the flashes and screams were nothing but whispers in the dark. The horrors of the battles still waging were silent here. The glowing eyes of a man, the moon’s weak reflection upon the light green horns of the boy or the red of the mans. The heavy breathes of the black beast with its red eyes that lacked the conscious doted sphere of a pupil.

The boy sat behind the erected pillar that was the man Ziton. Ziton’s hands were grasping the reigns of the beast that strolled along, making little noise as it did so in comparison to the whistling tree limbs. A trembling was felt by Ziton on his leather. “Don’t be afraid of the wind but what it carries with it.” Ziton muttered with a slight turn of his head before returning it to its forward positon. The boy named Baqar whimpered and turned his head against the back of Ziton’s leather garment. “What is in the wind?” He asked with a tender voice. The white fanged grin of Ziton emerged on his face before his supple lips parted to speak a simple word that carried like the wind. “Change.” After saying this he let go of a rolled up paper that begged to join the breeze’s flow. It opened revealing the bounty papers for him and the boy was within said image now.

Behind the traveling group, besides their bags of belongings all stuffed within a leather sack so much so it has reached an disproportional circular shape, was a caravan with a fading torch next to a bloodied body of a Sol man. Papers of the same bounty sheet were scattered about the ground and met the flame of the torch. One by one they burned away.

Ziton’s chuckle could be heard in the winds as he disappeared into the black bush before the sun’s early rays even met the horizon.
----------------



A bright streak of light could be seen above Vrondi’s capital soaring across it and toward the highest structure where the castle of Vrondi sat. There him and his followers met many of the world’s greatest leaders to speak and have their orders. It also held within the foundation of not only Vrondi but the ancient dragons that once ruled the land and skies of this territory. The light faded away as it met the castle and inside the king of Vrondi was said to be recovering from the night of battle. Just as the sun broke its light free from the edge of the planet’s surface did the glow of the high tower begin to be seen. The reflected twilight gave a shimmer to the castle of Vrondi’s King.

The light gave life to many of creatures of Vrondi, one particular one leaped from his bed of vines and met the window to greet the early light. He placed a dusty cap on and grabbed a bag filled with rolled papers. He darted outside, the young Sol lad with white hair and crimson eyes. He made his way down barefoot through the clean corridors created by the tall buildings that cast shadows on his figure. He made a stop once reaching the center of the city. The area was large but mostly empty save for a few drunks and homeless. He lifted out of his bag a thin rod that turned into a stand.

He placed a paper on the stand which read as he spoke out loud, mostly for preparation to clear his throat. “Meeting of the Kings and Queens of the lands today! Urgent discussion on the brutalities ravaging our land of late! More news inside!”

Gaia was honestly beautiful. Vrondi may be her home, but Alexis thought almost every day about how the jungle's beauty seems a bit dull when you're surrounded by open space as far as the eye can see, and when the sunset is as pure and glorious as this one, unobstructed by any towering trees.

She was sitting on the edge of the cliff, legs dangling over the side as the sky burned away in hues of Red and Orange. Her friends; Ryba, Aster, and Genos were all nearby, either sitting around the budding campfire Genos had made or just wandering around their chosen campsite, making sure they would be safe there for the night. She'd already done her checks, and so she would watch the sunset until the others were all ready for supper. It was Ryba's turn to cook.

As the sun dipped halfway below the dark line of the horizon, Alexis felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Ryba smiling curiously at her. "Mind if I join you?" Alexis smiled back before responding.

"Yeah, but hurry. It's already half done." She and Ryba both laughed a little as they settled next to each other on the edge. Alexis looked back out at the sun, and after a moment, Ryba spoke again.

"Well, okay I don't actually want to watch the sun set." Ryba motioned to the view as she continued. "As pretty as it is... I'm actually worried about you."

That was new. Alexis glanced over at Ryba in confusion, but said nothing yet. "I don't know.. I guess, you've just been a bit distant lately. Like, you're always searching for a reason to get away from the rest of us now, even if it's just for.. a sunset?"

"A little 'me time' isn't too much to ask is it?" Alexis answered immediately. "I mean, we are all together 24/7. and it's not like I go very far from the group when I'm thinking."

"If it were just a little time, no it wouldn't be a problem." Ryba paused for a moment, an unreadable expression on her face. "I understand the 24/7 thing though... sometimes even you can be a bit too much for me."

Alexis smiled teasingly, she had an idea of what Ryba meant. "What?! How can I be too much? I'm just, sunny."

Ryba smiled back before moving to scoot away from her, waving a hand towards Alexis dramatically as she spoke. "That's just it! You're too happy all the time!"

"Or, you usually are, anyway." Ryba's expression went back to serious, and Alexis realized what was gonna happen next. "But ever since-"

"I really don't want to talk about her right now." Alexis interrupted her, shaking her head. The sun was about to completely disappear behind the horizon now, the light from the campfire already shining bright than what remained of the star in the sky. As Alexis looked at Ryba in that light, she couldn't tell if she was about to get hugged or smacked- although, Ryba was the kind of person who could end up doing both.

"We have to talk about her sometime. You can't keep disappearing or falling behind just because of thoughts of the past."

"...falling behind?"

"Yeah, when we're all walking? You walk slower when your 'thoughts' start getting to you. So spill. What exactly are you thinking about?"

"It's not all one thing, it's-" Alexis interrupted herself, shaking her head. "I just, miss her. A lot."

"Well, so do I." They were both silent for a moment. The sky was a rich and deep purple now, with a stain of red still on the horizon in the spot where the sun had been just a minute before. The campfire's light behind them cast dancing shadows over their skin as Alexis avoided Ryba's gaze."But at least I've done my grieving."

Alexis stood, stepping away from the edge a little before she spoke. "Ryba, I can't. I can't just let memories go like that." She stared at the sky as Ryba stood too, refusing to meet her friend's eyes. "She may have died, but she still existed. Why should I forget the time we shared?"

Ryba sighed. "I'm not saying to forget her, but just to put it all behind you. Memories can be painful, and Clara wouldn't want you to keep bottling everything up, Alexis."

"Clara wouldn't want me to cry for her either. So, what then?"

"... She'd want you to live."

It was starting out to be a cloudless, moonless night. The stars were already peeking through the veil of purple and black, while the rest of the sunset's fiery red finally faded from the sky. The image of that sky was perfect, frozen in Alexis’ mind at the most beautiful, and terrifying, moment.

There was no warning, or at least not one that she would have noticed, as suddenly everything was falling. In her memory she screamed, before flailing about and attempting to get away from the edge. It didn't work, her movements only seemed to make the cliffside crumble faster. She heard Ryba yelling something at her, and saw her friend was standing on the air, holding a hand out for Alexis to grab. Their hands missed each other, and the rest of the ground fell away beneath her. Suddenly everything was dust and grit and stone. She couldn't breathe, and could barely think. The world went dark.

The bubble was a reaction: something summoned from her soul unconsciously in that moment. For the first time, she made a bubble strong enough to take the kind of damage that thousands of pounds of falling stone could deal, out of fear and a prayer in her heart for survival. That was the first time she ever made a forcefield that was gold.

...

That day was seared into her memories, resurfacing now in her unconscious mind's confusion. That moment, the beauty of the vast world before her suddenly falling away into dust and crushing darkness... The memory of it wasn't itself frightening or painful, but still it caused her to wake with a start after the rocks had settled.

Alexis opened her eyes, and for a moment she was confused as to why she wasn't currently buried under a ton of rocks and dirt. It took her a minute for her to figure out that she was awake... The memory continued to play in the back of her mind as she brought her focus back to reality. That landslide had been years ago, but right now she was fine. Or, as fine as I can be after that crash... Her friends had found her shortly after the dust had settled- her bubble had saved her life then, and thinking about it now, it had done so again.

No, wait. Not just her life. The bubble had protected Suleykaar too hadn't it?

Where was Suleykaar?

Alexis looked around at the room she was in now, searching for any clues as to where she had ended up, and for any signs of her Dragon friend. The room itself was simple; there were no paintings on the walls or books laying around, in fact there was only one decoration there, from what Alexis could tell. As she began to try and sit up, a symbol above the door caught her eye. She didn't recognise it, but felt like she probably should. It was definitely important, considering it was in such a prominent spot.

The next thing she noticed about the room was that she wasn't alone there. As soon as she had sat up, something else in the room moved too. A young-looking man, probably a mix of Oro and Nayu blood based off of his appearance, approached her as soon as he saw that she was awake. His hair was tied up in a ponytail, and he wore blue and white robes. His voice was smooth and serene as he spoke to her. "Good morning. I'm glad you're awake now."

"Good morning." She echoed the greeting, looking at him curiously as he came to stand next to her. He held up a hand in a kind of 'stop' motion before he spoke again.

"Please, don't move anymore yet. Are you hurt anywhere? I did check you for injuries already while you slept, but you were not bleeding and nothing seemed broken, so I could not do anything to help you yet." She looked at his face as he spoke, trying to guess how old he was while she processed his words. No bleeding was good, and she didn't feel like anything was broken either, so she was glad they agreed on that. Still, she sat in silence for a moment more as the man waited for her to say something.

"I'm.. okay? I feel sore all over from the landing, and I probably hit my head since I passed out, but I remember everything clearly before then so I think I'm fine there..." She trailed off for a few seconds as she tried to think of anything else she should say, but nothing came to mind. "I guess, no part of me hurts any more than any other part, and if I'm not seriously hurt like you say, then I must be okay." He nodded as she finished speaking, and she started to move to stand up. He didn't try to stop her.

She really was pretty sore, and tired too, now that she realized it. Standing was fine though, and as she took a couple practice steps she found that she could walk on her own too. She'd be okay if she could just get some sunlight and sleep, honestly. This past day felt like it'd been going on for months.

"Are you hungry? Would you like some water?" The monk asked once she was standing still, looking around the room again. While it was simple, it was like a higher-end room at an Inn, or a small apartment in the city. There was a dressing room off to one side, and a bathroom on the opposite wall. She also noticed now that there was a small table set with a plate of food and a pitcher of water nearby. She nodded at the man and he led her over to the table, sitting down at one of the chairs next to her while she took the place in front of the food.

"Thank you." She said as she picked up a piece of bread. He just nodded at her as she took a few bites. After this she paused for a moment. "Do you have a name?"

"Yes."

"...will you tell me?" He just smiled at her and poured a glass of water before handing it to her.

"Drink." He told her.

"Uh-huh." She smiled back at him before taking a few sips of the water. Neither of them said anything else until she'd finished eating, and the door to the room slid open. Alexis watched as an elderly seraphim man walked in leaning on a cane, and the young man who'd been in the room with her stood and bowed to the new arrival before clearing the table. Alexis stood too, uncertain what to do until she settled on just greeting the man.

"Hello."

@FallenTrinity

At the Dragonpass Encampment, Johnson noticed the sun rising in the east and it was an awe inspiring sight for him. He could still feel something dangerously wrong within the air since his senses are on overdrive right now. But with the crying Kind Dragonlord in his arms it is somewhat of annoyance for what’s going on right now. ”I guess I shouldn’t have asked about her father…,” Johnson thought to himself, annoyed at what he has caused.

Hannah looked at her husband and Maria and sighed at the dilemma her husband is now in. “Husband… why did you have to make the Kind Dragonlord cry?” Hannah asked, annoyed at her husband. She looked at her two daughters and was happy they weren’t really paying attention to what’s going on right now.

Maria had slowed down crying when she heard Johnson’s strong willed wife ask that question. She looked up slightly from Johnson’s shoulder and noticed it was sun rising. ”I-I am sorry… I-I’m always… like this when it involves my parents…,” Maria said, embarrassed with her cheeks kinda blushing. She had never been in the embrace of a man before, who was kind and gentle and wasn’t cruel to her. She pushed away from Johnson a bit shyly but stopped herself from doing anything stupid. ”I-I think… I need some space…,” Maria said, under her breath softly and it was really shyly.

Johnson rose an eyebrow a bit when he heard Maria softly and saw her blushed look on her face and laughed. He looked to his wife and shrugged his shoulders. ”Looks like you really need to find yourself, Maria. If you are this embarrassed to being coddled by someone who’s a father,” Johnson said, looking slightly at her aura that was showing her embarrassment more so than her facial features. His attention averted towards his hired guards mostly Winters. ”Winters, what is there to report?” Johnson asked, curiously.

Winters looked surprised at the question and looked at Maria a bit surprised. “Every single thing is okay I guess, but this is a surprise that you made a Dragonlord embarrassed,” Winters said, with a jab at her boss’ ego a bit. She always jokes around with Johnson and Hannah all the time.

Maria slowly calmed down a bit but she was still flustered by this entire ordeal of her going into a crying fit. Her facial expression was confused in what Johnson’s statement meant. ”I-I have no idea what you mean, Johnson… I should be going now and find some clues on the history of my spellbook,” Maria said, blushing and somewhat confused. She tried to remember things about where would be a good place to learn about spellbooks.

Johnson heard Maria’s flustered embarrassed self but had some intrigue about what she said afterwards towards the end of her statement. ”You have a spellbook?” Johnson asked, curiously. He is very knowledged on the lands and remembering hearing of some mysterious place to go. ”Hmm… the only place that knowledge is kept and I was told to stay away from was that Library and it had a temple near it. It was a warning from the king of these lands. I have no idea why he would give me a warning about that place,” Johnson thought to himself, remembering what the Vrondi Kingdom’s King told him.

Maria looked at Johnson and sighed. ”Yes… it was my father’s he and my mom, forced me to learn the Forbidden Spell, Dark Rainbow Surge. When I was only 7 years old...,” Maria said, with her tone of voice shifted to terrified again. She looked downwards towards the ground and her entire body and aura shifted from embarrassed to utterly terrified even though she’s now fully in control of the spell but it took a long time to control it.

Johnson eyes went from curious to outright terrified for but only a moment when she told the spell’s name and remembered it like it was yesterday, even though it was. ”I have an idea… you could go to Gaia and find a secret hidden away place that might have the knowledge you seek,” Johnson said. He knew this would help her in her knowledge seeking powers but he felt in his bones a terrible evil soul near him or around him. ”Hmm… That wasn’t there before… what’s going on?” Johnson thought to himself a bit concerned.

In the back of Maria’s mind, ”You… want… to… use… the Darkness… within…. The Rainbow… Princess… All your… troubles… will… end…” The voice pierced her back of her head and it had a evil tone to it but this is the first time it spoke to her in awhile since whoever it is had been satisfied.

Maria felt her entire spine start to shiver when that voice appeared in her head again. ”N-No… I-I don’t want to use that terrible power,” Maria said, aloud and terrified and about to breakdown again. She had never told anyone that she was haunted but it is easy it to see it in her aura and otherwise. Her body was shaking and her aura was the color of fear amongst most things.

Johnson saw and heard Maria’s tone of voice and he realized this dragoness is haunted. ”You don’t need to use the terrible power again. All you need to do is to go to that knowledge center in Gaia,” Johnson said, a bit worried. He had never thought anyone this kind would be haunted with a terrible curse.

Maria heard Johnson’s worried tone in his voice. ”T-Thank you… I-I’ll try to find that place,” Maria said. She had something in the back of her mind of a library but she never approached it before because of the voice in the back of her head told her not to. She looked at the entirety of this encampment and noticed one clearing near where she bursted out. ”I-I shouldn’t have used Dark Rainbow Surge…,” Maria thought to herself, with a bit of a worried look on her face. She gently walked towards the largest clearing in the back of the Encampment. It was going to take Maria awhile to get there since she wanted to slowly walk there.

Johnson sighed in relief to see the Kind Dragonlord about to leave. ”I think I should read the contract that my family got to do all these horrible things. I know my father kept it in his room,” Johnson thought to himself. He walked toward his home and entered the home, the only good thing is it felt like a great relief was off his shoulders. He walked up to his father’s room, which he saw the terrible thing, his mother’s ashes covering the bed. “Oh my god… that is a bit creepy I can see why she doesn’t like using Dark Rainbow Surge now...,” Johnson said, in shock. He stood there forgetting why he was in there for about awhile.

---

In the Vrondi Capital, Zargoth was awed the spectacle going on when the light started to hit the capital. He had never really seen a sight this awe inspiring since the city of Paradise but this was a different environment altogether. ”Wow… this reminds me of the Pulsar Dragon’s Paradise City somewhat… That is quite a good news,” Zargoth thought to himself, with a smile on his face for a bit. He down and saw his daughter Yioplya being shocked at the sight she saw. ”Daughter, why you are shocked?” Zargoth asked, to his daughter.

Yioplya heard her father and turned to her father. ”It is beautiful… seems like sightseeing is amazing father,” Yioplya said, with a smile on her face. She giggled at the entirety of what’s going on. ”I miss mommy…,” Yioplya thought to herself, while looking at this awe inspiring spectacle. She turned away from her father and tears started to form. She wanted to cry but she promised her father she wouldn’t cry. ”Father…,” Yioplya said, a bit worried.

Zargoth heard his daughter’s last thing she said and it sounded like she’s about to cry. ”Daughter… You promised me you wouldn’t cry,” Zargoth said. He heard a someone speaking in the distance and wondered who it was. ”Hmm, Kings and Queens? I do remember that from the onset of the Descendants breaking free of their draconic masters,” Zargoth thought to himself, he wondered what was happening since he did finally get out of the hiding place he was in. He walked to his daughter and put his hand on her shoulder. ”Daughter lets go and see what’s this city is about,” Zargoth said, kindly.

Yioplya heard her father about the two things he said to her and her smile became really big when he said let’s explore the city. ”Father, let us do that…,” Yioplya said.

Jacob and Patricia was pretty much trying to ignore Zargoth and Yioplya but they were mentally and physically exhausted. ”Zargoth… We should go our separate ways for a bit,” Patricia said. They still have money on them, they could rest at an inn.

Zargoth heard the Tetra-Lira descendant and saw that they were truly exhausted of everything that was going on. ”Ah, okay. I hope you get the deserved rest you require, even though you’ll need to get citizenship within the Vrondi Kingdom for you two and the one that isn’t with you,” Zargoth said, kindly. He walked away from the two with his daughter following him.

Jacob and Patricia walked towards the nearest inn of the Kingdom but they were mostly looking straight ahead or looking at the ground because they were new to the city. They weren’t really paying attention to their surroundings.

@Rai

---

In the Flowerdancer’s home, Alexis opened the door and noticed the sun coming out. She was a bit happy at what she saw but her worried look was still on her face. ”I-I think it is over,” Alexis said, to her family. She walked back into the home and went to her bedroom and just passed out from exhaustion since she can’t really easily get her energy back as her husband could.

Magnus shrugged his shoulders when he saw his wife go to the bedroom. ”I’ll be at the Inn, you two stay here. You’ll need your rest from that ordeal,” Magnus said, handing his daughter the flowerdancer claws. He remembered did seeing the Red Dragon leave Sunfire but his thoughts were going everywhere and couldn’t really think about things at that point. Because it looked like the battlefield was turning into the favor of the Cultists. He walked out of his home and walked to Rest Easy, because he wanted to relax there. He entered the inn, and sighed and wondered where everyone is but he shrugged his shoulders. He sniffed the air and could smell blood but it was different. ”Hmm… that smells different… I shouldn’t ask anyone who works here what’s going on since I want to relax,” Magnus thought to himself. Magnus walked up to a bar stool and sat down on it.

Heather was shaken but she accepted the claws her father gave her and heard what he said to them. She had her hand still on Patricia’s hand and slowly dragged her friend to her room and she sat down on her bed. ”Patricia…,” Heather said, with a bit of a somber tone to her. She was teary eyed and crying.

Patricia was holding Heather’s hand within her room. ”H-Heather, you shouldn’t be sad we lived…,” Patricia said. She started to cry when she saw her friend started to cry or really more than that now. Her emotions were going crazy since all the horrible stuff she saw during that battle.

Heather looked up at Patricia and gently let go of her friend’s hand. ”I-I am sorry… I need to sleep...,” Heather said, cutely yawning. She laid down in bed and started to go to sleep.

Patricia leaned into her friend’s forehead and kisses her on it afterwards, she covered up Heather with her blanket. She walked into her room and did the same thing.

---

Meanwhile, in the Rest Easy Inn, he was still wondering about things but he couldn’t shake off the feeling he’s going to be meeting Mirror again. He just shrugged his shoulders and looked around for anyone. ”Anyone here?” Magnus asked a bit annoyed. He was thirsty for something other than what Nayu’s usually drink because he had enjoyed the taste of the nectar from this inn. He thought for a bit about the strange events that had happened but the Cultists are a bigger problem than he expected. "Hmm... something tells me the world will need to change for the better," Magnus thought to himself, while holding his left hand to his chin.

@Rai

Paon

---

Paon sat cross legged on the furs. His eyes reflecting multiple colors due to the light of the fire. He had remained mostly silent as velai worked. The wound in his shoulder having had pieces that needed to be removed resulted in him sitting in a stillness that could rival a statue. His skin had smoothed back to scale less smoothness to aid in what she was doing.

Paon finally seemed to move as she spoke. His head moving to look at her as she spoke. "Don't overdo it for me" not that he didn't think he deserved help more of he didn't want her to hurt herself. Paon stilled once more as she applied the bandage but tilted his head when she spoke again. "You're welcome"

Paon took in her expression. She seemed...sad? "Something is upsetting you...what's wrong?" he seemed confused by her expression. What could she possibly be sad about. She lived...he got wounded. Though now with his wounds covered and being healed he wasn't quite as upset about that.

 
Sully’s eyes fluttered open as the light of the sun invaded his eyes. Gritting his teeth slightly he rolled onto his scaled stomach and looked around before his eyes went wide.
 
’The temple! Where is it!? WHERE’S SORON!!!?’ he screamed mentally and roared with a mix of emotions ranging from sadness to raw anger. He soon scrambled to stand, slamming his massive claws down on a nearby rock, completely destroying it as he attempted to lift himself into the air, only to collapse when he felt a sharp pain shoot up his right wing which sent him crashing back to the ground. His eyes jolted to see it bandaged up but no one nearby. He let out another low eerie growl as he began to sniff around catching the scent of-
 

”Genun hinmaar dovah!! Kolos los zu’u!?”

His throat and eyes glowed a bright reddish orange as smoke bellowed from the sides of his mouth.
 
Sophia was resting under the great tree on the center of the garden, after bandaging the red dragon. Now she had just to wait for him to wake up. “He sure is taking a lo-” Sophia thought to herself, but was interrupted by a growl, coming from the dragon. She was certain, he was indeed very angry. She immediately got up, and walked in his direction.
 
“Calm yourself. My name is Sophia, this is my temple. I was the one who healed you. Your friends are currently being taken care of by the other monks. There is no need for you to -” She said, before being interrupted by the dragon, who was still very alarmed.
 
”This is NOT what I saw on the horizon….This is NOT the Temple...Where is the temple….” Worry was still heavy in his eyes but he hid it well behind the anger, or so he thought.
 
“The temple is currently being repaired. You left a huge crater in it.” Sophia answered, with a slight tone of irritation in her voice. He looked down as if trying to remember. The last thing that he could recall was seeing the temple on the horizon before his sight started to go dark.
 
“As I said before, calm yourself, your friends are being healed, both the girl and your ‘brother’. But… I’m afraid we will not be able to heal him by conventional means…” She said, delicately saying to him that he was already dead.
 
He looked down as he shook his head in disbelief before biting his tongue as he began to pace.
 
”No….No….Yes you can...I heard about this temple and how it can bring back those loved lost...” He remained silent for a long moment. It was too much for him. One couldn’t be sure if it was the death of Soron or the pain or both but so much pent up emotion broke his mental dam and he seemed to snap. His voice was soon filled with venom.
 
”You lieeeee….” When he turned back to look her in her eyes, she would see dilated eyes, his irises wide and glowing amber. His head was low as he began to move up towards her, his posture like that of a feral dragon creeping up on its prey. The air about him would have shifted from that worried mixed feeling to raw anger and an intent to kill.
 
Sophia knew it was important to give him some time, after all, she just told him that his brother was dead. She silently watched as he said about how he heard about the temple. His voice filled with pain and rage. She was already expecting an explosive reaction, but what happened next surprised even her. He assumed a threatening posture, looking to her with predatory eyes. His killing intent was filling the air, disrupting the garden’s peaceful aura.
 
Sophia was indeed trying to help him, but she wouldn't stand idly after being disrespected like that.
 
“I said STAND DOWN!” Sophia roared, opening her wings in an imposing posture, with a mighty roar.
 
”YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME!!!!!” He roared, slamming his wing onto the ground in return as the air immediately around him began to show visible heatwaves, his scales slowly opening and closing like vents.
Sophia quickly perceived that it wouldn’t be possible to reason with him right now. Sophia looked at him. In her eyes, there wasn’t even an ounce of anger, but instead, it was filled with disappointment.
 
“If power is the only thing you listen to and respect, then so be it.” she said. As she slowly opened her mouth, a bright light began to shine. A beam of superheated plasma cut the air with a loud, distinct noise. The heat coming from it was noticeable, even with her aiming directly to the sky, the power from her breath was visible. A pillar of light lit the sky, cutting the clouds, and silencing the birds. As Sophia stopped firing it, the light went out. The garden was completely silent. Not even the birds or other animals dared to make a sound.
 
“You will not like to see me angry. So I suggest you lower your tone and pay attention in what I just said. I said we wouldn’t be able to heal him with conventional methods. I never said that it was impossible to heal him.” she said, trying to reason with the raging dragon.
 
As he charged forward he took quick notice to the energy gathering in her mouth and felt that raw energy within that distance but once she released it, he stopped and shielded his eyes from the light before looking up to the sky to see the clouds parting away from it. He did not continue along his path but instead stayed where he stood, glaring at her. The anger in his voice receded into frustration as his breathing could be seen changing from quick, short breaths to something more controlled.
 
”Then what do you mean? Tell me…”
 
“There might be a way to bring him back… But it won’t be easy… You might need to make some sacrifices.” she said, with a serious tone. His eyes narrowed slightly.
 
“There are ancient rituals to bring back the soul of the dead to their body, but they require a good deal of power… And it depends on their own will if they will come back to their body or not.” she said to him. He looked away and seemed to gaze into the distance as he thought.
 
“The rituals only create the link between one’s soul and their recently deceased body. If the soul will return or not to their body, is completely up to them.”
 
”What sacrifices needs to be made…? ” he asked with concern.
 

---

 
”An Ally, for those below. But up here...He is a weary traveller in need of help.” He nodded sagely before glancing over at him with heavy lidded eyes.
 
”A casualty no, he is fine. Sophia is stabilizing him as we speak. The young woman is fine as well. But the man-” He sighed before looking back up to the large Fotian warrior.
 
”Unfortunately from this most recent incident your audience must wait until this situation is taken care of. For now I will have one of my older students bring you to a room for now and will provide you with food and drink, as you have travelled quite a ways to this temple. Rest for now, and we will provide you with an audience later. Turuk! Please bring our guest here to one of the rooms opposite of the entrance. Just incase of any other creatures happen to fall onto our temple, hmhmhm.” He chuckled lightly. Despite his chuckle he was still a bit shaken by the chaos that arose from the dragon. He could see why dragons were no longer seen as Lords or Masters from those below. But they also do not see the compassion some hold. Sighing once more, he made his way to the room that the young Sol girl was kept as she was treated for injuries, if any.
 
He approached the door and felt her soul moving about. So she was fine then. Good. This relieved him a bit to know that she was fine, but he was still curious about the group. Moreso, aside from the dragon, was her unique ability. That bubble. He felt as if he may have read about it once in his studies, but could not quite remember. He would have to ask about this; and so he made his way through the foothold of the door, his cane clacking along the floor. The monk tending to Alexis stopped when he heard the clacking. As soon as Qobo appeared, he immediately bowed low. It would be an easy assumption to see that this elderly man was held in high regards as the monk did not move until he was told.
 
”My my. It seems that you possess a great power in you. So much so that you had saved not only yourself, but your dragon friend as well. Rokuto, you may go.” With that the young monk stood erect and simply vanished into a small cloud of dissipating smoke. The Sol girl spoke up with a simple “Hello”, to which Qobo gave a slight bow.
 
”And hello to you too. It must have been a strenuous chain of events that landed you here at my temple. Quite literally I might add. Are you alright?” He showed a bit of concern through his voice as he spoke.
 
Alexis looked in confusion at the spot where the other monk had been standing before suddenly disappearing. She’d never seen anyone do anything like that before. The elderly man returned her greeting with a small bow and she wondered if she should bow back, but decided not to as she answered his question. ”Yes, I’m alright. I’m glad my bubble actually worked, honestly. I’ve never had to protect myself from that kind of hit before...” She trailed off slightly as she considered what to say next. ”You mentioned that my friend was alright, could you tell me where he is? Can I go to him?”
 
Qobo seemed to move over to the chair next to her, gesturing if he could sit. After being allowed, he would sit down, placing the cane in front of him for his hands to hold as the rest of his arms hung limp. He nodded to her response about the bubble. As she seemed to trail off, he spoke up.
 
”Yes, it was quite impressive in hindsight. A technique not well known to those even of the Temple. How by chance did you acquire such a feat?” He asked, yet his question seemed to be glanced over as she soon asked about her friend. His mouth opened ever so slightly before closing it again with a sigh.
 
”I do know where he is, but currently it is not the appropriate time to see him. He is still healing and may be for some time. Despite your defensive bubble it would seem to be, he still took some heavy damage after it...popped? Yes I do believe that was what happened. Give him some time and I will then take you there.” He gave her a slight smile before continuing on.
 
”I do apologise for pushing the matter but I am curious about that ability.” He left the comment open for discussion.
 
Alexis sat down shortly after the man took a seat himself, and listened as he explained to her why he wouldn’t tell her where Suleykaar was yet. It made sense, she supposed, but she was still disappointed that she had to stay away from him for a while still. The man then asked about her forcefield, or rather he re-opened his earlier question that she’d brushed past. She clasped her hands together in her lap before answering. She wasn’t sure exactly what he wanted to know. ”Well, most Sol know how to make a forcefield of some sort, and the color and strength of each varies by person… normally my fields are silver in color, but that gold one..” She shook her head slightly, more to herself than anything. ”It’s basically just a much stronger version of what I can normally do.” He nodded slightly as she spoke.
 
What had he asked before..? How did she ‘acquire’ that ability? She tried to meet his eyes as she figured out the phrasing of her answer in her mind. ”I learned how to make fields as a child, and have been getting progressively better over time. The first time I ever made a gold forcefield was about 2 years ago.” He opened a single eye to gaze at her. She seemed to be telling him just a half-truth, from what he could feel about her soul in that moment. It was off, but it was none of his business to pry, despite his ever growing interest. He was the Grand Master of the Knowledge Seekers after all. It wouldn’t be right if he didn’t try to fulfill his appetite for knowledge. So, not to make her feel uncomfortable, he resigned to ”How interesting.”
 
”The mind of a child is like a dry sponge waiting to be filled with water. They absorb knowledge quickly and with the right guidance, can show much promise and talent. I suggest you find a way to better that ability. It may come in handy, other than when plummeting from the sky of course…” He stayed quiet for a moment before letting at a low but audible chuckle. Alexis smiled slightly at the joke, not saying anything.
 
”Oh goodness my apologies, hmhmhm. I haven’t even introduced myself.” Using his cane as a support, Qobo stood up and stepped away from the chair before bowing.
 
”I am Qobo Milah, founder of the Swift Palm and Grand Master of Mindah Tarvitaan” He held his bow until Alexis answered him.
 
”Oh, right. It’s nice to meet you, Master Qobo.” Alexis stood too, and this time returned the bow. “My name is Alexis Emaura.” She stood back up straight after a few seconds. There was a moment of silence between the two, until Alexis’ thoughts caught up with her. She realized that Qobo had only mentioned that Suleykaar was okay, which kind of confirmed what she already knew about Soron, but still made her sad to think about.
 
”Umm… There was another person with us when we landed, right? I know he’s.. probably not okay. Where is he?” She stumbled over the words as she spoke, not wanting to say it out loud.
 
Qobo smiled back as he stood erect once more before hunching over onto his cane. But what came from her mouth this time he gave a grim look. A look that held sympathy. He opened his eyes slightly.
 
”The man with the snow white hair. Unfortunately, he...I’m sorry, but he has not made it. However. That brings up another question. Why was that dragon bringing him, and yourself here? I had felt from below a swirl of sadness before it erupted into pure rage. Almost demonic in a way as it was followed swiftly by a multitude of souls disappearing. Am I to assume that this man was the cause of this hatred I felt? The death of hundreds of souls, each of them quickly vanishing from existence?” His head dipped slightly to the side, awaiting an answer.
 
”If by ‘this man’ you mean Suleykaar, then I guess-”

”Suleykaar? As in the Dragonlord of Fotia?” Qobo interrupted Alexis, taking a seat once again and leaning back in the chair as he did.
 
”So it is who Sophia expected it to be…Strange. But why so far out? Does this have anything to do wi-” He let an audible “hmmm” before tapping his finger on the table.
 
“Master Qobo. If you don’t mind me asking, who is Sophia?” Alexis seemed to ask out of nowhere, interrupting Qobo’s thought. It surprised Qobo a bit that an outsider like her would know of his master. She didn’t seem to be from the town below. He quickly concluded that she must be a Sol and simply laughed.
 
”Hahahaha. The Sol people are an interesting group. Able to live off of sunlight, create light and, as you have demonstrated, read minds.” He let out another chuckle.
 
”I’m sorry I pried like that but… well, you did interrupt me first.” Alexis shrugged when she spoke, to which Qobo let out a second set of chuckles and nodded in agreement.
 
”That I did. Apologies for being so rude… Sophia is our founder. She is the dragon of knowledge and wisdom. Originally she was perceived to be a cruel dragon much like those of old, but was actually a contradiction to this belief. She was kind and giving, but while those traits were her strengths, they were also her weakness. She had let many people enter the library whose vastness was as wide as the pages it held. Sadly, those of the past used what knowledge they learned for evil. Inflicting physical violence on those they initially wished to do harm. After seeing what transpired, she closed the doors. The monks began building this temple around the great library in the hopes to eventually learn from its contents. One individual had made an impression on her when she appeared to them as a traveler seeking knowledge. She had asked about knowledge to make her stronger and better. But this man, boy I should say, said that he did not know. She asks this boy, “What do you mean you do not know? You do not know how to make me stronger?”. This boy, young and still learning about the world turns to her and says, “To know that you do not know makes you stronger. To think you know when you do not weakens you. Recognize this and you will become mightier than the strongest of champions.” The sides of his lips seemed to twitch upwards as nostalgia entered his mind.
 
”It was this young boy, who had not seen the world for what it was, spoke with such wisdom that she revealed to them who she was, and soon, opened the gates to the great library. This is my teacher, the one who opened the doors to those who seeked knowledge for the purest of intentions. Those who seek to use what we know for harm are not allowed. This way, we save the world from itself. ” The air about him shifted a bit as he held such confidence and charisma despite his age. Afterwards he remained in a peaceful silence as he let his story sink in. A few minutes passed before he spoke up once more.
 
”So if you do not mind me asking, how is it you came to be in the Fire of Fotia’s company, hm?” He asked with a light smile as he poured tea for the both of them.
 
”Well... he’s my friend.” Alexis paused a moment and took the cup of tea offered to her, thanking Qobo as she did. She realized that it might be more useful to explain the events up to the crash, so she cleared her throat and began again. ”We were in a battle just outside of Sunfire in Vrondi, fighting against an army of the cultists that have been attacking everywhere recently… I probably wasn’t conscious when it happened, but at some point Suleykaar’s best friend, the other man that was with us, was killed. That’s why I said that Suleykaar was probably the source of the rage you felt.”
 
”Suleykaar attacked in his rage, and killed a lot of the cultists. That’s about when I woke up and got back into the fight… He grabbed Soron and I, and we left shortly after. Last I knew the battle wasn’t going too well for Sunfire. I have no idea why Suleykaar  came here.”
 
Qobo listened to her explain how she knew Suleykaar and nodded as he listened. Biting his lip he looked back up when she mentioned coming to the temple.
 
”I have an idea as to why but I don’t know if-” Soon he felt the dragon’s soul once again burst to life as the emotions he carried crashed over the temple. If one wasn’t paying attention, or blinked, they would miss the speed at which Qobo jumped from his chair and ran out of the room, the sound of a portal opening then closing.
 

---

Alexis had tried to follow Qobo when he left the room so suddenly, but soon she lost him with the portal jump he used. She didn’t know why he left, but considering he was in the middle of saying something, she assumed he knew something was going on that was more important right now than her. She looked down the halls in each direction before picking one, and began to run to the next intersection from there. She had to find her way to Suleykaar.
 
Not much later another roar was heard before-
 
”YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME!!!!!” It was Sulley, and he did not sound like his normal cheery self. This must bee the raw anger that Qobo had mentioned earlier, that he had felt before all those lives were snuffed from existence. Alexis found an open doorway that led outside, and as she stepped out into the early morning sunlight, she saw a beam of light jettison into the sky, parting the clouds like a pebble sending ripples through still water. She paused for a moment, looking around to try and get a feeling for where she was. There were a few monks around, though none of them seemed to notice her as she began to run again, this time towards the light.
 
She skirted around the edge of buildings, staying outdoors now that she’d found her way there. It was easier to deal with rocks and walls than the maze of enclosed hallways. She had to stop running as the beam of light disappeared from the sky, the mountain air beginning to get to her as she took deep breaths and slowed her pace. She wasn’t too far from where the light had been now, she could still picture where it was in the sky by the rings of clouds left behind. There had been a monk nearby, an obvious seraphim tending to one of the many zen gardens that welcomed travelers to the vast garden of the Temple. He had stopped when the beam rose into the sky, shielding his eyes from the light but stared at it in awe as it parted the sky. He had turned back to the garden to continue working until she saw the sol girl from the fall.
 
“Hello visitor.” He said with a calm voice before continuing working, raking the gravel into ripple like waves away from large stones and trees. Alexis looked over at him when he spoke, pausing for a moment as she thought.
 
”Hello… Could you tell me where that light came from? And, how I could get there?” He raised his brow before nodding, pointing down the pathway nearby.
 
“Follow this pathway and you will reach Sophia. That is whose light you see.” Alexis thanked him with a nod before heading down the path. Soon she reached another archway entrance that led into a beautiful garden, though Alexis didn’t really notice the beauty of it all at first. Suleykaar was there, along with another dragon that must be Sophia. As Alexis started walking over to Suleykaar, she noticed Qobo was there too, leaning on a blade instead of his cane now and standing right next to the other dragon.
 
”Suleykaar!” She called out to him as she approached, running again to cover the distance more quickly. ”You’re okay!” She smiled at him and moved to hug him, though considering he’s about a hundred times bigger than her right now she just ended up laying against his side with her arms spread. Qobo nudged Sophia as Suley brought a single claw over Alexis’ body to return the hug.
 
Sophia still had her wings open, in an imposing posture when the girl arrived. Her eyes were almost piercing, watching every movement the other dragon did. She wouldn't tolerate someone coming to her garden, her mountain, and treating her that way, especially after everything they've done for them, helping them and even overlooking the destruction they caused. But above all that, she wouldn't let anyone no matter who they were, hurt the monks that lived with her.
 
She kept watching as the girl went to the dragon, hugging him. Suleykaar, that was his name... Wait... so was he really...?
 
”He is the Fire of Fotia Sophia. It’s who you thought it was.” He whispered.
 
I see… That explains a lot of things. Including his uncouth rage and rudeness… She said, looking at Suleykaar with piercing eyes.
 
”Alexis...I’m glad you’re ok.” He said with relief as his form changed back to his usual shapeshifted form. Alexis just hugged him tighter once she could actually wrap her arms around him. He loosened his hold around her and glanced up to Sophia and Qobo, his eyes still narrowed.
 
”My question still stands. What sacrifice is needed for-” Qobo held up a hand to Suley, who had calmed down enough to refrain from talking. Alexis broke the hug as Suley was cut off, and to look at Qobo now as he spoke.
 
”I need a way to track him.” Suley sneered.
 
”He should be in the Temple.” Qobo shook his head.
 
”I should clarify. I need something of his that he has had an emotional attachment with. Something that he may have put a part of him into. You see. Your friend, his soul is in another plane of existence. Since I have never felt his soul before other than your’s, I need something that would allow me to get a feel of his essence. Without it, I will not be able to bring him back. A somber look passed over his face.
 
Alexis looked between Suleykaar and Qobo for a moment as the words they said started making sense to her. ”So that’s why you brought us here?” She asked quietly, so only Suley could hear. ”You’re going to try and bring Soron back to life?” His gaze didn’t leave the monk or dragons but he spoke to Alexis.
 
”I’m not going to try, I am going to bring him back…” He said with determination.
 
”Suleykaar, the Fire of Fotia, now that you calmed yourself down, I have some things to say to you.” Sophia said, changing to her unique and unusual shapeshifted form. His eyes still narrowed but were a bit softer than before.
 
“First of all, I don’t wish to fight with you, but I will not let anyone, it doesn’t matter who they are, to bring violence to this peaceful mountain. Mindah Taarvitan and the Great Library are secluded from the world. We are not part of any kingdom, we take no part in conflicts or wars. But that doesn’t mean we are powerless and defenseless. This temple holds much knowledge and power… By guarding this knowledge, we protect the world from itself.” She bowed down as she got near his shapeshifted form. Suley’s eyes softened even more as his mouth began to twitch.
 
“We follow the old traditions, so it's expected that you respect them.” Sophia said, referring to the act that she just did. Since old times, if a dragon changes into its shapeshifted form, it’s seen as rude if the other dragon does not do the same.
 
“I will overlook your actions from a bit before. But if it happens again, I will not be so kind.” She said, looking him directly in the eyes.
 
“You are a very powerful dragon. That's exactly why you must be very careful with your actions. If you were weaker, I wouldn’t be so concerned. You could easily injure or even kill many of the monks here with your power. That’s why I’m giving you this warning: I am very patient, and despise meaningless violence, but if you even lift a finger to harm this temple, to harm the monks and the kids, I will do whatever it takes to stop you.” She said, looking at him with threatening eyes. Not like a predator, but just like the eyes of a mother protecting her children.
 
“I’m sorry for the rude words, but it was something that needed to be said, given the situation. Letting that aside, I’m sure that we won’t have many problems. As long as you respect the rules of the temple, and have good intentions, you will always be welcome here.” she said, looking to the dragon and the girl. Suley’s eyes seemed to glaze over slightly, as if slowly failing to hold back something.
 
“My name is Sophia, the dragon of knowledge. The Great Library is my lair, and the mountain is under my protection. As long as you are here, you are safe. As I said before, this place is secluded from the rest of the world. No war will ever reach this mountain.” Sophia spoke to the girl now, introducing herself.
 
Alexis nodded to her, mumbling something like ”Nice to meet you.” before the female dragon continued, speaking to Suleykaar again.
 
“Regarding the ritual, we can only open a path, be the guides for the soul to get back to its body. We cannot force it to come with us. Do you understand what this means?” she asked, looking to Suleykaar. This was when he could no longer hold it. Gritting his teeth he looked down with a “Guh” as he dropped to his hands and knees. Small water droplets hit the ground under him as he sobbed. Alexis quickly knelt down next to him, wondering what she should do until he spoke. Sometimes tears are a good thing…
 
”Please...Just save him. He is the only one I consider family. He is my only family. Otherwise...I have no one.” Qobo quirked a brow at the red dragon. This was the same dragon talked about in Fotian history? The same dragon who turned on his scaled brethren when they refused to meet the demands of the descendants? The same dragon who helped turn the tides of war? The one of Courage, Justice, Fortitude? He didn’t seem like it. He seemed like an ordinary citizen. Not the Fire of Fotia, not the Roaring Flame of Old but a rather lost soul. Desperate, alone and seemingly frightened in this new world. Master Qobo sighed with his head low.
 
”Suleykaar, do you understand the consequences of this ritual should it fail.” Suleykaar looked up at Qobo with teary eyes.
 
”There is a chance your friend’s soul will shatter from the endeavour. You could permanently lose your “brother”. The seriousness in Qobo voice held true words but Suleykaar shook a trembling head with a gritted smirk, despite the tears.
 
”I know him well. Nothing will happen to him. He’s strong... headstrong and strong willed. He’s coming back.” Qobo spoke up.
 
”But what if he doesn’t...How do I know that you won't rampage on the Temple in furious emotion and destroy everything we have built. Can you promise me that...That is the question I ask of you.” Suley sat up but kept his head lowered. He was silent for a moment before he looked up, still holding back his pain. In fact he wasn’t sure. When Soron initially died, he had lost his temper and went into a rage. Although barely controlled, he was sure there were still a few of the Vrondi that had been killed by his magic.
 
”I see...Then if that's the case I cannot-”
 
”I promise on my word as a dragonlord...and on my life...” He said defeated. Qobo remained quiet for a moment before nodding.
 
”Very well...Sophia, I need to go meditate. Please have the elders prepare the room and Soron. I will need Soron placed on the altar but anything that may be of great importance to him to be placed on top of  his body. Please also have healers begin patching the body, if they need blood-”
 
”Take mine…” He said, a bit of determination back in his voice. Qobo looked at him with a light smirk and a nod.
 
”Have someone take Suleykaar’s blood and have it ready in case it is needed.” Qobo walked away. Before Sophia walked away too, Suley spoke up.
 
”Thank you…”
 
Once Qobo and Sophia had left the two alone, Alexis hugged Suleykaar again, gently wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she thought what to say. He sat there quietly.
 
”I thought I told you before… You’re not alone Suleykaar. I’m not going to let you be alone.” She released Suley from the hug before moving so she was sitting in front of him, her eyes locked on his as she continued.
 
”and, I’m going to help you get Soron back in whatever way I can, okay?” Sulley looked over to her with a small smile and a nod.
 
”Thank Alexis…” He cleared his throat and stood up. Rolling his shoulders he looked over to her.
 
”Come on, let’s go inside.” With that he made his way out of the garden with Alexis. They were met by one of the Eldery monks he gestured for them to follow. His garbs were a bit different than that of the initiates, much like Qobo’s. He would lead them to a room, a rather large room. Its aura was serene and peaceful and from Sulley could tell, this was were the next hour or two of his life would be spent, awaiting to see if his friend would return from the dead.

Lila Moriarty

Virais

---

_{@Deos Morran}

---

Lila's last attack sliced not only Riryoku, but her 'Eclipse' ability as well. Inside the Eclipse, amongst the pitch black darkness, where no light escaped, only a silvery streak lit the area for a brief moment, cutting the darkness itself, the light from battlefield mixed with a vivid, crimson red blood coming from Riryoku, came from the horizontal cut made by Lila's scythe. The cut in the eclipse bubble slowly got bigger, until the bubble was no more.

It was almost ironic... Her, a creature born from the darkness, using a scythe given to her by Seraphim to banish her own kind, to cut the very thing that makes her a Nayu, the darkness...
The second she cut Riryokuk, she knew something was different. She smelled blood in the air. Not the weird, ooze that seeped from Riryoku's wounds, but real, fresh blood. Giving in to her instincts, she immediately dashed towards Riryoku's body, but when she tried to grab it, her hand met only blood and ash.

Both her hand and her scythe were dripping with his blood. She trembled in ecstasy for a moment, licking the fresh blood off her clawed gauntlets and the blade of her scythe, enjoying every single drop of it. But it wasn't enough... Most of the blood fell on the ground, mixing with the foul ooze.

Deep down inside, Lila knew that the ooze was connected with the one they called 'Lord', and if she drank too much from it, he could even be able to control her just like he did with the other cultists... She knew that, but even still, she was kneeling down, in front of that pool of black ooze mixed with blood. She had tasted that ooze before, she knew it had a horrible taste and smell, but she could still smell a faint scent of blood coming from that pool.
Lila slowly extended her hand, almost touching the pool, but grabbing her hand with the other, fighting against her own instincts.

The same girl who was fighting with an incredible ferocity and bloodlust a few moments before, was now kneeling down on the ground, hugging her scythe with both arms, in an defenseless posture. She was fighting against her own bloodlust, against the beast inside her.
When Lila drinks the blood of her prey, there is no turning back. The adrenaline, the joy from the hunt mixed with the ecstasy, taste and scent of the blood were intoxicating. Since Lila was raised by the Aion, surrounded by Sol and Seraphim, which treated hematophagy in the highest contempt, she never had someone to teach her how to control her own instincts...

Virais was dashing about the field of battle, lunging and blasting away with rather small, but accurate firebolts at anybody who got too close to the big, magic, darkness bubble thingy. Really in his mind it was weird to just join and fight a cause that you new nothing about, but it was what oen soemtimes had to do in the search of answers. Not to mention that answers were incredibly hard to get from a destroyed city and populous.

Leaping from the most recently slain cultist that who's neck he had torn clean from his body with sharp, and vicious teeth, he extended his wings to glide off towards his next foe who was unfortunate enough to get a pair of twin firebolts to sail at him. From there their numbers seemed to be thinning to the point that he could have a moment to look around and gather an idea of what is happening. It was in that moment that he saw the giant dark bubble of shadow fade away and the strange looking girl fall to her knees in seeming pain.

Glancing around with his long neck he saw that things were relatively clear given that they were in the middle of a battlefield. Now his next biggest concern was the wounded girl. Keeping low to the ground he started leaping and running over bodies, burms, and stray arrows that threatened to perforate his hide. One of which got quiet close and made him give out an involuntary, "Mwrup!" as well as a dive behind a dead body to avoid any follow up shots. Though after a brief moment of the coast being clear he returned to his beeline for the girl.

When the gap was finally closed he ran up to her, joining her in the pool of black and red but paying only attention to her, letting out several concerned, "Chirrup! Chirrup! Mrrwa!" Noises as his head coiled and snaked trying to see what was wrong, before diveing under her arm in an effort to try and break that death grip she had on her weapon. Though as his nose tried to burrow into the crook of her elbow he was letting out softer, more gentle noises in an effort to try and snap her out of whatever trance she was in.

As the small dragon approached her, he could see her fangs and hands, dripping with fresh blood. Her face wasn't that of a young girl, but the face of a predator.

"Blood... Hunger..." she mumbled, before he approached her.

The sudden approach of a small dragon caught Lila off guard, making her turn her head sharply at the small creature, but before she could react, she understood by the noises the dragon made that he was friendly, and meant no harm.

Its sudden display of affection really surprised Lila, since it was rare to someone to care about her.
"Blood, fresh blood..." the voice of her hunger invaded her thoughts, clawing on the back of her mind, as she looked at the small dragon again, licking the blood off her lips and fangs.

For a brief moment, she kept gazing at it with predatory eyes, loosing the grip she has on her scythe, and extending her clawed gauntlets towards the little dragon, the sharp fingernails reflecting the lights from the battlefield.
I won't let it control me... she interrupted herself, sinking her fangs into her lips. The sharp wave of pain made her regain her composure.
Looking at the small dragon again, she slowly extended her hand, touching it lightly. She was rather unsure on how to react to that display of affection.

"I-I'm sorry... I'm not... exactly myself at the moment..." she said, stopping her hand just before touching it, and breathing deeply.

"You don't know what I am, do you? To approach a beast with such kind eyes..." Lila said, looking to the small dragon.

"I don't wan't to hurt you..." she said, looking away.
"I am nothing but a weapon, a hunting beast. I was not made to love or be loved."

Virais heard and understood most of her words and even through her strange emotional rollarcoaster and the subsiquent predatorial gazes that she gave him he pressed on, nuzzling at her arm to try and tuck his neck under her held tight arms so that he could make her give him a hug.

Though as she started to soften and lighten up, using real people words with a much less threatening and mean voice he only picked up his actions, nuzzling instead at her arms at her exposed face. Using his small and a bit rough snout to and cheek to smeer the blood on her face all over his own and vice versa given how he still had quiet a bit of blood on his own fangs from his last kill.

The final straw was when she started talking nonsense about not deserving love, that is unacceptable and in response he let out a rather loud and high pitched series of, "Mrawa! Mrrwa! Chrrua! Murrp!" right into her face, clearly bothered by her self hate as he then returned to his relentless nuzzling.

Lila couldn't help but giggle kindly at the small dragon. He didn't seem to care about who or what she was. And somehow, he seemed rather bothered by what she had said before.
"I see... So you are no stranger to blood" she said, letting him get through her arms.

"You are the first one that really cared about me..." she said, gently caressing the dragon.

Something about how the small dragon was acting towards her made her heart a little softer... Maybe it was its kindness, or innocence... Years and years of being treated as a tool made her heart grow harder, her feelings duller, even making her forget that she was still a young girl. But for a brief moment, she forgot about that. About her training, about her orders as the emotions long forgotten gradually showed themselves.

She tightly hugged the small dragon, without saying a word. Although it wasn't able to see it, she was smiling...

Virais accepted her hug as her arms relent, letting him press his nosy snout up to her chest and up her body towards her shin, wiggling away to show that she was ok and things were gonna be ok. He couldn't see into her heart to find how cold it was and what was happening to it, but he felt better knowing that she didn't look like a crazy killer anymore. Which was always good.

As the fight continued around though he nosed his way up to her face where to nuzzled her cheek again. Rubbing his rough nose against her perhaps a bit obnoxiously before he started to pull away from her. HIs mission was done and he found that she wasn't physically hurt and now she was mentally ok.

That in turn meant they could return their attention to the raging war around them before anybody got some murderous ideas and decided to come and kill the defenseless duo. Still facing the girl he wagged his tail and let out a confident, "Marraw!" before turning to the fields of war with a snarl and his teeth barred.

"Yes... The blood still flows, and the battlefield calls us." Lila said, shaking her head as she slowly regained her composure.

"Thanks. Thanks for worrying about me. My emotions ran wild for a second there... I'm sorry." she said, smiling to the dragon as it wagged its tail, turning to the battlefield.

"If the situation was other... It would be easier... feeding, i mean... But i cannot drink this black, foul and corrupted blood... There is something in it... Something wicked..." she said, looking to the black ooze with a disgusted face.

Virais gave out a resounding, "Chirp!" as she spoke of being herself again and of course against that disgusting blood. Though now was the time for action and not a moment too late as a few cultists strayed into the fray with the new pair of friends. He was quick to act, bolting over to oen with his claws held out, raking and digging into his flesh as he bowled the cultist into the ground to chomp at.

Before long his first kill in this skimish was made and he looked around for another, selecting one out of a group that was heading for Lila and taking a swift intake of breath before letting fly a fire bolt to strike him in the face.

Lila was surprised when she saw the small and cute dragon breathing fire on its enemies. She smiled quietly. That little dragon was very similar to her. A cute and innofensive body, hiding a monster underneath.

"I see... You're the same as me then, right?" she asked, looking to the dragon, surprised.

Taking her scythe and grabbing it with two hands, she simply walked forward, with an elegant and calm posture, extremely different from the feral and aggressive posture from before.

A pair of two cultists ran towards her, in their suicidal attempt to kill their target, without even an ounce of self preservation. Lila simply looked at them and continued walking to their direction.
The cultists jumped on Lila as they got nearby her. Their swords pointing directly at her. But before their feet could even hit the ground, a silver streak cut the night as Lila swung her scythe in a clean arc in front of her, cutting the cultists in half.

Virais continued on his path, running and leaping around Lila in support of her much more skilled efforts. He could fight, sure, but he was no where near as vicious and graceful of a fighter as her. Instead he kept up his flames and firebolts, shooting and blasting away around her until the hordes of mad cultists were thinned.

Every so often he'd look to his new friend and let out a confident "CHIRP! MRRAW!" Which was his way of saying, 'good job!' and 'keep it up!' But as the fight carried on and he looked around to see the state of the battlefield it honestly looked liek they were winning now and before long the number of enemies was thinning to laughable levels. They had this one in the bag!

RUnning back over to Lila he braved the killing field she set up around herself in order to wag his tail feircely and let out a playful "Mrrwara!" to her, mostly to let her know that they were winning, becuase she seemed to busy to notice in his eyes.

As Lila continued fighting in the same elegant posture she heard the confident sounds the little dragon made. It certainly knew how to take care of itself, spitting flames on cultists with a confident air.

Coming near her, she growled playfully, waggling its tail near her. Taking a second to look around, she realized that the number of cultists attacking were getting lower and lower. But victory was still not that close. They still had to worry about the guardian which Mirror was fighting against. She trusted his abilities, but still...

"It's not over yet." She said, gently caressing the small dragon.
"Not yet..." she said, looking to Mirror. She wanted to do something, but she really didn't know what to do against such thing.

_@Rai