[IC] Kingdom Hearts: The Keyblade War.

[Flood]

As Azazel lay awake, waiting for the morning to come, he reflected on his journey through the worlds. He reflected upon how he watched Heartless consume worlds, how he documented the effects of losing one's heart. He watched innocent people become consumed by Shadows, noting how they screamed as their bodies were torn apart. He looked into the mirror and saw it in his eyes. His own Heart screaming to save those people and his cold logical Mind silencing it so that he could find out how to control it. Control the Dark, so that the rest of the multiverse could live without fear of the shadow.

As Azazel lay awake, he tried not to reflect on before. Before the Darkness ate Eden. Before every time he closed his eyes, he saw the death of everyone he knew. Before he unlocked his Keyblade, before he slaughtered thousands of Heartless with Magical Destruction. Before he used Wind to tear apart Soldiers, before Magnets could be used to create a black hole from which nothing could escape, before Ice turned all it touched into a tundra. Before he knew Magic was a weapon and before he was even Azazel.

He was Chen Chideta, a simple magician in a simple world. He entertained children, he solved problems. Not once had Chen imagined that life could be anything but happy. Sure there was minor stuff, like a bad breakup, a family member dying. He could never imagine another human being dying of something other than time. He couldn't even fathom the idea of any being hurting another being. Not in a world where violence didn't exist, the closest thing to perfection one could imagine. But that passed.

The Darkness came. Never-ending Darkness, swarming through the streets. Where there was once boys and girls playing in the streets, now there was nothing but Shadows. He once remembered laughing with his best friend at the ice cream store on a bright Sunday morning. Now all he remembered was the screaming coming from the open windows as a Fat Body crushed the lady who owned the store. Chen remembered the smell of freshly baked cinnamon pie rolling through his window as he looked at another person's problem and wondered, 'How can I help?' Now all he remembered was the burning flesh as swarms of Red Nocturnes fired upon those he had called friends. Every time Chen closed his eyes, he saw burning. And he screamed, he pleaded, he cried and he prayed and he wished for just one chance. To turn back time so he could tell everyone, nobody was safe, tell them that they needed to run.

But his prayers remained unanswered. On that day, Chen Chideta died. Only Azazel was left, Azazel and his insane goal to grab the Darkness, to grab it and direct it. Azazel would make sure that no family, no child, no city, no world was ever destroyed like his. Even if he had to throw away his Heart in the process. He would become one with the thing he hated most. But not yet, now he would journey with these Keyblade Wielders, those who remained in the Light he had fallen from. But for now...

For now, Azazel lay awake.

[Apollosarcher]

Arthal awoke that morning feeling worried and alone he steadied himself and collect the dark vessel, storing it safely in a bag. He then walked into the warp room carefully setting the orb on the pedestal near it he a map of the universe, pulsing dark locations appeared over world. He began to check the co-ordinates and positioning getting the close to the piece after they arrived it would simply be a game of hunting and finding the piece. More importantly avoiding getting attacked by either side of the war or individuals out their who would want to take the pieces for themselves.

Arthal finally got things together then he headed into the main hall reaching into the cupboard he paused pulling out two fresh fruits from the world tree. He reach back in and a cup of honey tea sat before him he pulled out sitting down he carefully took a bite from one of the fruit before sipping the tea. Perfect as if he made it himself or another elf had, it even had a hint of cinnamon in it. It was as if the temple itself had read his mind and brought him what he wanted.

The Elven man smiled and at then slowly sipped on his tea until it was completely finished, after putting his cup in the sink and fruit cores in the trash he went to each door and knock."Wake up, get yourself something to eat from the cupboard and get ready. I know where were going." He told them each after he knocked upon their door, finally he finished that and moved to wait by the warp room. He wondered if the cupboard would give them each what they desired for breakfast.

[Rex]

Seth sighed as he moved his arm away from his eyes. After the nightmare, he wasn’t too eager to get back to sleep he didn’t know when the nightmare woke him up, but after about four hours (He assumed) Arthal knocked on his door to wake him up.

“I’m coming,” Seth said as he sat up and shifted to the edge of the bed. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. This is going to be a long day Seth thought as he stood up and stretched. He walked over to the door and opened it. As he stepped out into the hall, the uncomfortable pit in his gut came back. I know, it’s terrible isn’t it the voice said.

“it’s way too damn early for me to be dealing with you,” Seth said before he headed to the kitchen. He looked around, but didn’t see a fridge or even a stove. He scratched his head and said, “How the hell are we going to cook?” Seth opened the cupboard and was surprised to see a mug of coffee and a bagle with cream cheese.

“Guess that answers my question,” Seth said as he took the plate and mug before sitting down and eating.

[Double]

Cyrus didn't get much more sleep that night. Something about being in this temple seemed to keep his memories on his mind at all times. From the dream he had had previously, to the mysterious picture that shouldn't have been there, and finally now, with him sitting very much awake at a desk in his room. He was clearly burning the midnight oil, but at least he had found something now to keep himself busy. He found a small black book in the desk's drawer, its pages blank. Obviously it was meant for the room's occupant to use as a journal should they feel the need to keep one. Cyrus had never thought much of keeping a thing like that, at least not until now. He spent a good chunk of the night filling in pages of the small book. Overall he divided the book into two halves. The first half of the book's pages were to become memoirs of sorts, where he would write down the things he'd seen and done up until the present time. The second half of the book, he decided, was to be an active journal for recording thoughts, feelings, and events that were happening at present and going forward.

The first page was the hardest to write. But perhaps that was normal? It would make sense that a writer would have the greatest difficulty in deciding on a proper way to begin a book, and that appeared to be the case here. So Cyrus chose to leave the first page blank and start from the second page, where the actual entries would begin proper. He could write in a poetic intro of some kind later. From there it was a matter of starting from the beginning. And the beginning, for Cyrus at least, was the day his Keyblade came to him. He began by recounting the dream he had the night before Radiant Garden was attacked. His fighting a small group of Heartless and then managing to defeat the larger one before waking up.

After recounting how his Keyblade first appeared in the real world and his being saved by a Keyblade Master, Cyrus stopped and closed his eyes in order to think back to that day in greater detail...

---

"So you chose to follow me after all, did you?" asked the Keyblade Master when he noticed the young Cyrus running after him, "My name is Cormac. And yourself?"

"...Cyrus." the boy answered, his breathing made heavier by the running he'd just done, "So... you'll teach me?"

"Mmm." responded Cormac with a small nod, "But first, we need to do a quick rendezvous."

"With who?"

The man gave a sort of half-smile, "Let's just say you're not the first fresh Keyblade Wielder to follow me."

As they rounded a corner, Cyrus spotted a kid roughly his age. Short, blond hair with red clothes and a long crimson scarf blowing in the wind behind him. He was just finishing off a small group of Heartless with his own Keyblade, one with a less ornate design than Cyrus' and a somewhat bronze handle. Though he fought with some skill, he was obviously nowhere the level of Cormac, "Ren!" the Master called out, "I've found us a new Wielder, from this world like you. Looks like you'll get to have that training partner after all." the kid, Ren, turned around and raised an eyebrow at the sight of Cyrus. Still, he jogged over and gave a short respectful bow to his Master before speaking.

"As you say, Master." then he approached Cyrus and stuck out his hand, "I'm Ren, what's your name?"

Cyrus tentatively shook the kid's hand, "...Cyrus. Looks like I'm your new training partner."

"Good, good." said Cormac, "Now, Cyrus, if you're going to follow me then I expect you to always follow instruction. But more importantly, I have a small bit of rules that I expect you to remember... Ren?"

Ren cleared his throat, "Stay your blade from the Hearts of the Innocent." he began, even counting them off on his fingers as he went, "Strike down Corruption in all its forms wherever you may find it. Never compromise your Heart, be it to Light or Darkness, nor the Hearts of those who fight beside you."

Master Cormac cleared his throat a bit, "I believe you forgot one..."

Ren blinked in surprise, "Oops! And forever uphold the Beliefs held dear in your heart."

"That's better. Now, whose hungry? We can get something to eat before the training starts..."

---

Cyrus stopped a moment, and returned to the first page of the book. He finally settled on how he wanted the book to begin for whomever may read it in the future. It went something like this:

"Stay my blade from the Hearts of the Innocent.
Strike down Corruption in all its forms wherever I may find it.
Never compromise my Heart, be it to Light or Darkness, nor the Hearts of those who fight beside me.
And forever uphold the Beliefs held dear in my heart."

These were the principles I upheld. My creed. I once followed them, fought for them, without question and without regrets. And in spite of everything I've seen, all I've done... I still do. I was a boy back then. My world was small, confined, and so limited. But it was about to burst open wider than ever it had been. A war was raging, one I barely understood. But from the moment I said "yes", chose to follow the man who became my Master on that fateful day, my role was decided... even if I didn't know it yet. I had no idea just what the future had in store for me... nor the cost of it that I would bear. My name is Cyrus Grimm... and this is my story.

---

A knock on his door, and Arthal's morning call to everyone prompted Cyrus to take a break from writing. He closed the book, and pocketed it. He was unsure if they were ever to come back to here, and it would probably be wise to not leave a thing like this somewhere where someone could find it by chance. No, he would keep the book on him and write in it bit by bit whenever he found himself with a free moment. And although he expected those free moments to be few and far between, he wouldn't let that deter him from completing the book.

After leaving his room Cyrus made for the kitchen area. There he found Seth and Arthal, having breakfast from the look of it. Strangely, they're selections were entirely different, as if they had made breakfast separately. Cyrus soon got his answer to the riddle when he searched the cupboard, finding what looked like an already-prepared muffin and cup of coffee. A type of simple breakfast that Cyrus had taken to having for himself as the war often left little in the way of free time for cooking or leisure.

"Curious... this temple gets more interesting by the day it seems."

[Flood]

Azazel looked over at the door as he heard a knock echo through the silence. Apparently it's time to go. He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds and got up. Time waits for no man, unless you know Stop magic. He chuckled at that random thought.

"I will be out momentarily." Azazel called to Arthal as he got dressed. After doing so, he exited his room and went to the kitchen to eat. He opened up the cupboard to prepare his food and raised an eyebrow at the sight before him. Some milk and a slice of pie. He took out the pie and took a bite of it. "Cinnamon pie." He whispered to himself quietly. Azazel frowned and threw the pie away. This temple knew too much.

He then decided to go see if there was a library, reading was good. He noticed Cyrus and waved as he passed him.

[Apollosarcher]

Arthal sighed walking up in front of the others he cleared his throat and spoke. "Sadly we won't have time to look deeper into the building for it's secret's. We will be using this as our base between missions, our first mission will be to the land of dragons to retrieve a piece of darkness their." He told gesturing them to crowd around a table in living space. He rolled out a map of the area they would be landing in. "Here's where the gate exit's, we will be using old warp gates to travel, though with their age we probably need to give them days to recharge between trips."

He showed them they would be exiting near the royal palace. "Supposedly Keyblade warriors had a good reputation here and got to build their gate here beside the palace." He sighed rubbed his head. "Problem is we don't if that's changed much since the war. We could be hated or loved, more they likely they probably just be wary." He sat the black orb down on the map, it pulsed gently now humming softly as it did. "I'll be using the orb to guide us towards the piece though the shard with it's extreme power could in a weapon or person. It could even have become it's own monster, if the orb fails us... Follow the heartless, they will always lead you to greater darkness." He sighed packing it all up straightening his clothes.

He looked towards warp room and summon his keyblade, lifting it a keyhole appear on the portal. "I'll be heading through first to get our bearings. Follow when ready, be sure you have anything you might need from here, we won't be back for several days." He finished a beam hitting the keyhole sudden the our burst into light and they could see the grand palace in the land of dragons. "I'll see you on the other side my friends." Waved the Elf before stepping forward reaching out when his hand touch the light he vanished. The orb and map safely in his bag before he'd departed.

[Double]

While eating the last bite of muffin, and sipping on whatever coffee was left in his cup, Cyrus heard Arthal's announcement and almost immediately proceeded to tense up. Though he tried not to show it, it wasn't hard to see in his reaction that the man had reservations about going to the Land of Dragons. Still, he finished his coffee and silently made his way to where the gate was so he could follow Arthal. Moments before that Azazel greeted him with a silent wave and Cyrus returned the favor.

"The Land of Dragons... last I heard their former Dynasty had all but crumbled into warring factions. Something about the Emperor dying and there being no heir to inherit his throne." Cyrus said aloud to anyone who cared enough to listen. Unfortunately, that was as much as he said before starting to clam up and saying nothing more on the matter. Again, it wouldn't take a genius to see that there was something about the affair that Cyrus wasn't telling them.

"In any case, I've visited the Land of Dragons before so I imagine you'll be needing me so we don't lose our way." he said with a short sigh that made him sound none-too-excited about the trip, "And, yes, they're sure to be wary of us. The war hasn't exactly been kind to their world."

Unable to put it off any longer, he took a reluctant step through the warp gate. It was time to face one of the dark chapters of his past. How many years has it been? He asked himself mentally. Six? Seven? Either way, things are about to get... complicated.

[Flood]

Azazel stopped in his tracks and listened to Arthal. "The Land of Dragons? I don't believe I've been there in my travels, what could it be like? I imagine it is nothing good if a Shard of Darkness is there." He spoke out loud to no one in particular. He turned to the warp gate and began to walk through.

Azazel then listened to Cyrus and frowned. "It appears as if my initial thoughts were correct. That's quite disappointing, I was hoping to meet some friendly dragons. Are there actually dragons there?" He kept a close eye on Cyrus as he rambled on. Azazel was hoping for a reaction so he could confirm some of the things he was saying. Cyrus seemed to have experience with this land...

Azazel stepped through the gate with Cyrus and frowned. This way of traveling was much more comfortable than his was. This would bear further research one day.

[Rex]

Unlike the rest of the Keyblade warriors, Seth had never heard of the Land of Dragons. It seemed that the place accepted the Keyblade warriors, but since the war they might hate them or just stay away from them. All this was word of mouth from the other warriors. Seth walked over to the cupboard and opened it. He reached in and took out the travel mug and sipped the pumpkin spice coffee.

"Perfect,” Seth said. You know they might be there the Voice said. Seth sighed and added, “I know, and I’m ready to face them. I still need to find out who sent that man to destroy the Orphanage and why he did it.” I highly doubt they’ll sit down for a cup of coffee and answer all the questions the voice explained.

"I know,” Seth said as he took another sip of coffee and added, “Then I’ll force the answer out of them.” That’s what I was hoping you’d say the voice chuckled. Seth took a deep breath and stepped through the gate.

When he reached the other side he quickly ran towards a bush and vomited his breakfast and little coffee he had into the bush. He shivered and said, “Not so tasty the second time around.” Get used to it the voice laughed.

[Apollosarcher]

Stepping into the land of dragons Arthal gave a whistle, the sky was breathtaking he could have sworn the mountains in the distance of the palace turned in a dozens different colors. The sun setting behind them just so they lighting gave it an ominous or uplifting feel, depending on how you looked at it. Their were no mountains in Elf burrow and he had seen few before, yet here he could see these massive mound stretching up into the sky impressive as they were protective of the lands that stood behind them.

Arthal looked towards the palace, it was in ruins. Parts of it remained upright it looked as if it had been that way for many years now. Then he felt it, Heartless hordes of the little shadows rose up around them Arthal summoned his blades ready to defend the portal. "Well I didn't expect this much of a welcoming committee, guess they knew we were coming or they really like this place." The elf said, more and more forming rows upon rows yet none of them moved as if they waited for orders. He threw one of his blades at them, they didn't move simply dying to it more formed as if curiously looking at them.

They began to move away from them, they quickly left as a deafening roar filled the sky. Something that had long ago gone extinct on most worlds, something strong enough to give everyone and everything pause... A dragon. The beast roared echoed down from the mountain, the Heartless scatter like children caught stealing sweets. Arthal stared up as the beast flew swiftly between the mountains then disappeared behind a cloud in the distance. The Elf smiled, amazed such legendary creatures roamed the world still, he slowly headed towards the path leading towards the mountain. If dragons sacred the Heartless, follow the dragon.

[Flood]

Azazel blinked twice and stared at the sky, taking in their beauty and splendor. 'Absolutely breathtaking...' He then looked at the mountains and whistled in appreciation. "It's been awhile since I've seen mountains that big. Actually, I take that back. I've never seen mountains that big." He commented quietly to nobody in particular. Azazel shook his head and turned to the palace.

"Jeez, the palace is completely destroyed. You'd think that some bandits would've occupied it at the least." He sighed and shook his head slowly. "Guess that means we're not going to get a welcome wagon." Azazel said just as hordes of Shadows began to form. "Or maybe we will. Disappointing." He finished as he summoned his keyblade and the wind began to pick up around him. A strong wind blew into the ranks of the Heartless, and blew dozens away.

Azazel covered his left ear with his free hand as a roar echoed through the clearing. He winced and watched as the Heartless scattered at the sound, understandable really. Azazel definitely wanted to run. He stared up at the sky, this time out of fear and caution. If that thing was going to come after them, Azazel wanted to know exactly which direction it was coming from. Fortunately, the mighty dragon flew into the mountains instead, disappearing from sight.

"Man, we got luck there huh? We should probably go find that Shard of Darkness now, before that thing decides to come back." Azazel said as he turned to Arthal. Only to find that Arthal was heading towards the dragon. "Annnnd we're heading for the dragon. Of course we are." Azazel bemoaned under his breath as he followed Arthal.

[Double]

Cyrus didn't offer any visible reaction upon seeing the palace. It was, unfortunately, exactly how he expected to find it: in ruins. Not completely in disrepair, as it had been occupied by an emperor only seven years prior. But the emperor was an aging man, even back then, so for him to have passed with no heir to take his place would have meant the end of an era, the closing of a Dynasty. Usually this opened the door for the start of a new Dynasty. A few years of war leading to the crowning of a new Imperial line. That wasn't the case here. China still appeared to be in tatters. Either the power vacuum left by the emperor had not yet been filled or something was keeping it from being so.

"By killing me you've condemned China to ruin... I hope you're happy..."

Finally Cyrus moved. He looked off to the side, arms crossing as if he were suddenly overcome by a chill. That memory wasn't exactly a happy moment of his life and being here, in the very place it happened caused him to replay that event over again in the forefront of his mind. Forget the temple reigniting old memories, the journey as a whole was beginning to do that to an even greater degree.

In a strange way, it was almost fortunate that Heartless began appearing. They at least would offer some form of distraction. He summoned both blades but before he could truly begin attacking he took notice of the creatures' behavior. They formed up in ranks, like soldiers. For a moment Cyrus even saw actual human imperial soldiers standing in ranks only to blink and see them as Heartless once more. That made him stop, his Keyblades even vanishing. No, they couldn't be... could they? He pushed the idea from his mind and, thankfully, found himself distracted by a distant roar. He sharply jerked his gaze to the sky, where the roar had come from. Around him the Heartless scattered and disappeared, the roar was enough to frighten them away. Then Cyrus saw it, or at least caught a glimpse of it: a dragon, it's serpentine body gliding through the sky like an eel in water.

"Dragon? Here?" questioned Cyrus as he followed after Arthal, "There were no Dragons when I came here last," he started, wondering if the echoing words of his memory held more truth then he initially believed, "this is worse than I thought."

[Rex]

“I’m going to guess the palace was in intact the first time you all saw it. However, it looks like someone or something got to it before we arrived,” Seth said. The palace was still amazing to Seth though. Seth had only seen palaces inside the many books he read as a child. However, he was interrupted from the spectacle as a horde of Heartless surrounded them. Seth summoned his Keyblade and readied himself for a battle. However, a massive roar scattered the heartless like cockroaches when a light turns on. Seth looked to the sky and his mouth dropped as he saw a Dragon circling the mountain before it disappeared in the clouds. Seth couldn’t hold his excitement.

“Holy cow, was that a Dragon!?” Seth questioned as he continued to geek out, “I’ve never seen one in person, just in books. We’re going up there right?” Seth was like a kid who was told they could have anything they wanted in a store. Seth rarely showed his geek side of himself, but with a real live dragon right in front of him. He couldn’t help himself.

“I mean the shard of darkness could be up there,” Seth said composing himself before he continued, “I’ve read dragons collect shiny objects and valuable objects in their dens. It might be up there.” Calm yourself kid. This isn’t some kind of adventure game, this is real life. Dragons are not to be trifled with the voice said.

“Oh shut up!” Seth yelled before he continued, “This is my only chance to see a real life dragon and you’re not going to ruin it for me!” Seth treated the voice like it was actually standing next to him. However, to anyone else it just looked like he was talking to himself.

[Akayaofthemoon]

Bellasiel had awoken long before Arthal had called them to get ready and eat, it was unfortunate that she hadn't heard a word of it as she had been tuning out everything around her. Her eyes closed, her arms completely relaxed onto crossed legs as she let herself drifted into deep meditation. Usually, she would be connecting to the God Tree but since it was in another realm that would have been an impossible feet but it didn't mean that it couldn't help her center and focus for the journey ahead. She didn't know where they were going since she was away from the others but it didn't matter as long as they were able to collect the piece safely. Her eyes slowly opened as she continued to sit still for a moment to get her bearings, adjusting to the sound that came flooding in and the shuffling of others outside the door.Bellasiel stood, grabbing her pack before exiting her choosing room as the last person left what she believed was the kitchen and followed after. She waited as they entered the portal before entering herself, finding a land she had never been to before.

[Apollosarcher]

Arthal stopped new the base of the mountains as he listened for the dragon he pulled out the old map and the stone as he took shelter under a tree. Setting the map out on a rock he poured over it attempting to determine the easiest path in to the mountains after the dragon. "That dragon, it scared the Heartless meaning it's either very powerful and doesn't like them or it's commanding them. If's commanding them it's got to have the a piece of darkness in it or in it's lair, failing that it might know something about where the Heartless are coming from, more Heartless more darkness. More Darkness better chance of finding the peace and helping this place." Arthal said as he held the stone, still cold it would warm as they near pulsing and finally tug itself towards the piece if close enough.

The Elf looked up towards the tall mountains and the trails on the map. "Looks like most of the trail they used to use are gone, I can see one running deep in to the mountains but I'd prefer if we had a guide." He looked back down towards the valley below them, the it almost looked peaceful from this far away. "So now we have to choose, go down into a village that could be full of Heartless or climb up into the mountains blindly hoping to find the dragon who might even know were coming." Scratching his head a moment he sighed. "I think we'd be better off going down at least trying to learn about the area before we go chasing dragons." He had to admit the creature fascinated him, he would love to draw it and perhaps collect a souvenir.

"If any of you want to go check out the path or see if you can find a way up feel free to head that way. Just don't leave us behind, it's no good if you find the shard by yourself only the orb can contain it without the shards power taker over the individual or killing them, maybe worse. Finished the Elven guardians as he slowly started down into the valley after packing the map and stone back into his bag. "Search the valley for anything or anyone, maps would be useful, even shiny object perhaps to draw the dragon away while we search his lair? I won't order you to do anything just stay safe, we meet back in half an hour see what we've learned if your not their we come looking for you." Finished the Elf as broke off a piece of a try throwing it on the grass and slid down the grass slope that lead down into the valley, easier going down than going up.

[Double]

Cyrus, as it just so happened, knew the mountain paths himself. A map wouldn't be an absolute necessity for him, so he could theoretically navigate his way to the summit himself. That, it turned out, was at least one potentially good thing to come from his having been to this land before. With a hesitant sigh he started walking to where the mountain path had once been, "I may have a lead for getting up the mountain," he said, deciding what his task would be, "there was another path the former emperor kept as a close-guarded secret. He would use it for secretly transporting supplies or troops for covert missions. I can check to see if it's still intact." of note, the actual direction he was going was not toward the mountain, but back in the direction of the palace. The path, if he remembered correctly, could be accessed via an underground tunnel that ran from the backside of the palace and to a separate path following the opposite side of the mountain, manmade of course. Of course, this also meant going back toward where the Heartless were spawning, somewhat dangerous for one person to go alone.

Cyrus wouldn't refuse anyone who volunteered to go with him. The route he was planning to scout for was a somewhat dangerous one after all. That being said, he didn't actively ask for anyone to come along either. His mind briefly went back to the time he first learned of the secret route. Back when he was a boy, only a few months after leaving home with his new Master and training partner. After reading a recent letter he received, Master Cormac had told his two apprentices that their next destination was to be the Land of Dragons, to answer a request for reinforcements from an old acquaintance of his.

"Best not to get our hopes up... the secret route may no longer be accessible with it being so close to the Palace and all." he said, not even sure yet if anyone had chosen to follow him, "Better this than facing the native people of this world... mine is the last face they need to see." this he muttered to himself, though it was still just audible enough for someone to hear if they were following close behind him.

[Apollosarcher]

Arthal made his way into the village, most of the people shrinking back at the sight of Elf. He was a stranger and more importantly he looked different to the humans present, thus prejudice would abide. However he saw a little girl, she looked scared as he sat in alone hugging a doll to her chest. Carefully walking over he reached into his back and offered her an apple, she took it waiting a moment before biting into eating happily.

Soon the villagers emerged and began to speak with Arthal, asking him about where he was from, why he had come, and many more such questions. He avoided answering them as best he could before finally asking about the dragon, most of the town got quite after that. A older woman stepped up, her knee's shook as she leaned on her cane staring at the Elf who unknown to her had live a great deal longer. "The dragon is our lord, many such beasts awoke and protect villages like ours. In exchange it eats some of our live stock and we must give valuables we find. They defend us from the dark creatures, their might roars alone scare off hordes. Since the fall of the Empire and the defeat of most of the generals who tried to claim the throne we have lost all our soldiers and with no Emperor or army we had to turn the dragons." She said making her way to a chair. "Why are you so interested in them stranger, are you like the girl in black we saw weeks ago, will you try to slay our dear lord and leave us defenseless."

Arthal rubbed his head and sighed. "Honestly I came seeking an object, I will bargain for it even trade if your lord has it, I have no need to fight him us he wishes to fight me." He wanted to know more about this woman in black but he had given so few answers, he figured it would best to leave before they got angry. Bowing to them and thanking them for the help her started to leave the village.

Yet along the mountain and around the palace small groups of Heartless now walked in little patrols as if scouting or guarding something or someone. They would attack if someone near them otherwise they remained focused, a force here had given them orders. They had a leader and it was one who could command an astonishing amount of them all at once, perhaps a dragon or even a one of the former warlord or generals of the old Empire. Now more than ever it seemed that the dragon would have answers or at least a safe place to hide from the Heartless. After all they were drawn to the Keyblade and those who carried them needed a safe place to lay their head some nights.

[Flood]

"I'll come with you. Strength in numbers and all that good stuff." Azazel said as he walked towards Cyrus. "Let's head out then. And stay positive huh? I've heard that being positive makes good things happen. Probably goes double for Keyblade wielders right?" He continued as he followed Cyrus back to the palace. Azazel raised an eyebrow at Cyrus' words about the natives and shrugged. Azazel wouldn't poke his nose in Cyrus' business. 'I know I wouldn't want others asking about my past after all.'

When they arrived Azazel groaned at the sight of so many Heartless. "They sure came back fast. So much for the power of positive." Azazel considered summoning his Keyblade but shook his head. "I don't suppose the entrance is far away from all of the Heartless?" The wind picked up slightly and Azazel shivered. "Damn it's cold."

[Rex]

Seth thought about following Cyrus, but instead decided to follow Arthal into the village. Once there it seemed the villagers came out of their homes like people who had bunkered down during a tornado. Seth simply let Arthal interact with the villagers. He figured he would have a better understanding and better social skills with them then he would. Arthal was talking with an elderly woman and listened to her story about the lost emperors, solders, and about how the Dragon was their lord who protected them from the darkness. Seth was knelling down looking at a small destroyed statue when he heard the women talking about a woman in black. He stood up and when Arthal was finished talking with her. Seth walked up to her.

“Could you explain the woman in Black form me ma’am,” Seth politely asked before he continued, “Was she with anyone one else? Was she wearing a black cloak? Where these dark creatures drawn to her?” She might be the one that sent him to the orphanage or she might know who sent him. either way. I’ll find out one way or the other Seth thought. Let’s hope it’s the other way the voice laughed.