Chapter 13

From DALpedia

Posted by: Xorlak on Sunday April 1st, 2007

The door opened with a slow clank, forming a short ramp to the landing pad. The pale gray light emanating from that open door did nothing to illuminate the dark interior of the ship.

As soon as that door was open, Renard felt a chill rush though his bones. Not that it was cold outside, but there was something else in the air, something else he didn't care to think about...

Virmir began walking forward, out the door and into that cold air. Renard followed, arching his head upward to look at the swirling black and red clouds above.

And the endless spire.

The black tower surged upwards, defiant of all physical laws. It tore right through those clouds above and disappeared, endlessly rising upwards...

The Tower of Heaven's Bane.

The capital of the Dark Empire...

Renard and the Velkens had landed on the airship dock fifty floors up. From his vantage point on the exterior platform, the silver furred fox could see the black mountains all around and below. And still he could not see the top of the tower, even when they were flying in. How such a massive structure was constructed in a few short months he could not imagine, though he was certain some sort of black magic was involved. The Dark Emperor himself was up there, somewhere...

Renard finally turned his eyes from the twisting dragon statues above as the group approached the doors leading inside, rubbing his now sore neck with his right claw, and looked straight ahead at the back of Lord Virmir. His master was always loaded with equipment, and he could see the crimson gems glistening slightly in the hilt of the Flamberge strapped to Virmir's back. The other sword was the Wind Serpent, and though it looked less impressive, he knew his master favored it more. Those enchanted weapons were an alluring mystery to Renard, and he had no idea how they worked. There was a lot he didn't know...

Under Virmir's left arm was their prize. A long cylinder wrapped tightly in cloth. Renard was glad he wasn't the one that would have to present that to the Emperor. Though it was rare that he ever saw the Dark Emperor in person, whenever he did he was filled with a deep dread. As if some long dormant instincts within him were telling him to flee as quickly as possible.

If Virmir was weighted down by either his duty or all of his cargo, he did not show it. The short fox strode through the entryway with his nose held high, his tail swaying back and forth calmly. Though Renard felt completely safe among his fellows, he could not help but cower slightly under the gaze of the massive reptilian guards positioned on either side of the doorway. The beasts were four or five times larger then any of them. Renard wished he would become as confident as his master one day.

After following Virmir down long dark hallways for a while, the ten Velken warriors finally stopped at a stairwell. Virmir turned and nodded at Renard and the others, then he was off up the stairs by himself carrying the long package under his arm. Virmir was never much for words, but all the Velkens knew that the gesture meant they were dismissed. Renard breathed a sigh of relief. He had no desire to go any higher in the tower, though he did worry for his master a bit.

They would be staying here for a short while, and each Velken was given a room in the tower. Looking up at the faces of the twisting serpentine statues that lined the dark hallways and the ominous glowing torches, Renard wasn't sure what to expect... He broke away from the group as soft idle chatter began to emerge. He didn't feel like socializing right now. He just wanted to get some rest.

The conversation he had with Helix still weighed heavily on his mind. The two hadn't spoken since then. He kicked himself mentally over and over for saying such things about their duty. What if he were to report that to Lord Virmir? No, his friend would never do that. Virmir, even, would never do that...

As he rounded a corner, Renard felt another aura had broken off from the group and was following him. It was Helix. Blast it, what could he say? He quickened his pace, to try and make it to his room, but there was no way he could do that without running. So he slowed down and tried to act casual.

"Hey, Renard."

Renard's ears turned as he heard the friendly voice behind him. He stopped just outside the room designated to him and turned, rubbing his right claw over the bandages on his left arm, and nodded a "hello" back.

Helix slowed his pace as he approached, his ears alert and his eyes cast upwards, looking at all the snarling demon and dragon statues affixed to the walls. His tail thrashed around behind him, as it often did when he was bored. Renard loosened up a little at that, as Helix was clearly not here to discuss serious matters.

"So..." the taller sliver fox said as he stopped. He clasped his hands behind his back and looked around a bit more as a mischievous grin slowly crossed his muzzle. "... think this place has a restaurant?"

Renard raised one brow. "A restaurant?"

Helix raised his arms defensively.

"What? I'm kinda hungry!"

"IDIOT!!"

Melface was immediately smacked in the face. The impact was so great that he was instantly sent hurdling into the black metal wall. The wall collapsed when his tiny frame struck it, and he continued flying through into the next room, crashing into a group of scaly Lizard Men. They all landed in a tumbled heap, dropped swords and armor clanging about.

Jayce clenched his right fist, black flames swirling about the gauntlet as he menacingly advanced upon the hole in the wall.

"You insolent cur! How dare you loose so many lizards in such a minor siege!"

Melface climbed out of the pile of bodies. His child-like face was bleeding profusely from the strike, though it was quickly healing. He did not expect the blow. In fact, a physical strike like that would not have hurt him at all had he phased out, but the burly Draken's immense speed caught him totally off guard.

"Apologies, my Lord..."

The child-like demon tried to compose himself, straightening out the folds in his off-white cloak. He continued.

"The Demon Lord... I have no power over him. Evidently the others did not as well..."

Melface's eyes widened in horror as Jayce was upon him. The prince of the Dark Empire wrapped his hand around the top of the nightmare demon's skull and lifted him right off the ground. He wiggled his legs slightly when lifted, as he was raised to over twice his height. He gulped as Jayce brought his face near his, eyes seething with rage, and fangs showing themselves through clenched teeth. Perhaps he would have been better off with the Demon Lord, Melface thought...

"Demons are inferior, weak, pathetic pieces of scum." Jayce glowered into Melface's face, "I shall find this so called 'Demon Lord' and dismember his arms and legs and any other sort of bodily extremities he may have. I shall then proceed to cut them into tiny cubes and allow my lowly Shadow Beasts to feed upon them. Then I will chain his remaining carcass to the hull of The Jagahn and throw him overboard, dragging him around wherever I choose to go."

With that, he tossed Melface over his shoulder like a rag doll. The child-like demon was aware enough to phase out of existence before he struck the wall again. He appeared on the ground to Jayce's left, bowing lowly as if he were there the whole time.

"Y-yes, my Lord..."

Jayce ignored him and proceeded to storm out the door, a few of the lizards following him. The dark prince wasn't quite paying attention to where he was going, though, and his left shoulder armor blade slammed into the doorframe as he exited, ripping the attached door apart as if it were paper.

Melface slowly rose, his tiny fists clenched tightly. The wound on his face was gone now, although a bit of the black blood had stained his robes. What a mockery! He would torture these miserable humans of Tjed a thousand times over for this embarrassment he has suffered... He clenched his teeth tightly as he seethed...

"Perfect!"

Ven flashed the knights a 'thumbs up' as they finished their routine. The tunnels of Tjed were cut many years ago with the intention of defending the capital city beyond. Part of the defense was a multitude of confusing passages, many leading in circles or simply dead ends. The other part was a large number of hiding places cut into the sides from which soldiers could easily ambush their enemies from behind, as well as a few falling rock traps.

Of course, there were a few disadvantages as well. The tight corridors weren't exactly the best place to fight in, although there were a few room-like caverns scattered about. If the knights got scared or confused, they might be given to turn around and trample each other trying to escape. Then of course there was the fact that their enemies weren't exactly human, but humongous snarling beasts... The High Knight of Tjed could only hope that the tunnels were too small for them to move effectively in.

Ven wiped his brow and rested against the cool rock wall. The black cloak that he always wore was thrown open, so his armor underneath reflected the orange torchlight as he looked down the corridor from which the enemy would shortly emerge. There were only a few more preparations left to be made, but he knew time was running short. Luckily Duilin was with them, and he saw Zeros' around as well, though he didn't know where he was at the moment. Suddenly remembering the injured lizard Jaocobie, he thought he would go check up on him. He turned and made his way deeper into the rocky network.

Posted by: D. Ein on Sunday April 1st, 2007

//pardon in advance for the huge post\\

The deathly shround in the middle of Kandarin slowly began to fall. The unpenetrable mist, which seemed to be miles thick, was now vanishing. A faint outline of Jovil began to appear... what was left of it, anyway. No building survived. Pebbles and larger rocks were scattered everywhere, and the once magnificent main palace was without its towers. The island was also littered with the corpses of the recently deceased Kandarinian citizens. Among them, a clouded figure was walking towards the shore...

---

"That fool Horus never realized what he did. The idiot created an implosion in this dimension, throwing me.... well, somewhere else. After dismantling the thrice-cursed machine, I took a closer look at its insides. Though many things were unfamiliar to me, I figured out that time inside the implosion was accelerated beyond rational belief. After using the machine's spare parts to trap its essence and that bumbling moron Ein into two little bits of dark glass (which I now refer to as "Soultrap amulets"), I was stuck in a world only 3 kilometres across for a very, very long while. I passed time by slowly killing my good citizens, just out of spite. Creating minions out of them seemed illogical at this point. I simply kept the germs off of their bodies using my Lich power for later use.

With so much time and so little to do, I decided to explore the ruined remains of my palace. After long months of trying to make something out of the rubble around me, my armour was damaged beyond repair. Inside the palace, I found my old Lich robes folded nicely in a magically-protected chest. Thank heavens I didn't throw it out. Pays to think ahead.

I can't say the break from cruel reality was unwelcome, though. So it is perfectly understandable that when I realized the remains of the dark glass inside the machine's body could be used to reverse the implosion, I did nothing at first. I decided to think of it as an extended vacation... A helpful one, at that. Within three months, my little eye "problem" was gone, and I had my old harmless eyesight back.

What I did not count on, however, was that even though time outside was drastically slower it was still running. With the help of my newly reacquired Lich robes, I decided to check my remaining citizens' loyalty by sneaking around them through the help of phase shift. Seems much has happened in my absence. A preacher from other lands somehow leaked into the isles, converting most of the population to his religion. He was now the leader of Kandarin, and the heretic weakminded simpletons hailed him as Marshal. How... disappointing.

Some relief was to be found in Undecimus, where a small group of dedicated loyalists were resisting the grasp of the false religion (which was called the Manifest). In fact, just when I had arrived, they were battling off a wave of Manifestian zealots. This particular pocket of followers was using the standard-issue Kandarinian spearguns and wristblades. There were only about twenty of them, though, and the attack force appeared to have had a head count of about fifty. I threw myself out of sync with reality even further, almost completely vanishing from view, and watched.

The resistance was doing good, at first. The sharpened spears easily pierced the badly armored zealots at a distance. But when the attackers came closer...

Their abilities were nothing I had witnessed before. Somehow, the heretics gained the ability of teleportation, vanishing and appearing right behind the defenders. I tacitly watched as they sliced the resitance members' throats, until there were only five left. That's when I came out of phase shift.

The effect was rather powerful, and left me with a nice fuzzy feeling in my stomach. The attackers and defenders alike stopped what they were doing and all stared at me in silence. With a jeering smile, I cast a nice little chain lightning spell. As my arm went up, the zealots fell down. In less than a blink of an eye, a surge of raw power ended all their lives. Unable to wipe my stupid-looking smile off my face, I came closer to the defenders.

-"M-M-Marshal? But... the dark... disappeared... ahh..."

The soldier talking to me rolled his eyes and collapsed on the floor. The other four dropped down to their knees. My smile vanished.

-"For crying out loud, get up. You're not impressing anyone."

-"Yes, Marshal..."

-"And quit with this Marshal business! I am no longer in control of my country, as I'm sure you've noticed. From this day on, I will be referred to as "Kronos" or "Sir". At least until I get enough followers to make up stupid rules like condemning the mention of my name."

-"Yes... sir. But sir, there's only five of us..."

My smile returned.

-"Don't you know who I am?"

The other fifteen began to twitch, and slowly rose to their feet. Their gashing wounds slowly disappeared. It took them some time to come back into an acceptable state of mind to realize that I was now present. As expected, they dropped whatever they were holding, and stared at me in silence, jaws wide open.

-"Heh... You look like you've seen a ghost. Come now, it's rude to stare."

Only then it came to my realization that I only resurrected fourteen of them. The fifteenth one came to life on his own, oddly enough. I looked carefully at the force lines in the area, and my suspicions were confirmed. Fourteen lines extended from me to the fallen Kandarinians... and the final one connected the last Kandarinian to one of the original five remaining defenders, a woman of about my age. A Necromancer...?"

---

"After some time, my followers became used to the idea that I was back. The woman, whose name I found to be Eve, was indeed a Necromancer. A rather weak one, at that. She could only support one undead, as opposed to my known limit of 30,000. Ironic that I used to think that that number was rather modest. Through some small talk, I also uncovered her age to be 26 (what a miss! I'm 35!), and that she learned the Dark Art from an ancient book. The book was apparently passed down as a family heirloom, though no one before her read it. It didn't make much sense to me either, but there were more pressing matters at hand.

-"My Marsh- er, sir, the Manifest grows more powerful each day," a soldier informed me. "We and two other groups are gathering forces for an all-out assault."

-"Hold it! You said there were other groups remaining?"

-"Yes, sir."

-"Is there a central authority about them?"

-"Well, sir, we're mostly following the orders of a man named Hannibal... uhh... Hannibal Roth."

-"Ah, yes. Damien's little brother." Damien Roth almost lay forgotten in my memory. I should check on him later. "There's one more thing that interests me. Who is this... preacher?"

-"He is called Necirrejel, sir."

Ah... so the bastard returned as soon as he got the word that I was gone. Smart one, he is. Best if I draw his brain from his lifeless corpse for some use later on. Stuffing for a celebration pie, perhaps...?"

---

"The three rebel groups were now assembled and ready to take on several hundred zealots, along with an undoubtedly more powerful Necirrejel. I was pacing around them, watching them ready themselves for the upcoming battle. A soldier came up to me and, with a slightly confused look, asked:

-"Uh, sir... don't you need to get ready?"

-"Oh, I'm not going."

-"...sir?"

-"You see, my faith in you is very strong, and I believe that with a final blessing from your master, you will be able to take on Necirrejel and the Manifest without breaking a sweat."

-"But sir..."

-"Surely you don't doubt my faith?"

-"Of course not, sir, but..."

-"Then go, and may, uh, the blessing of Kronos be upon ye... you all. Yeah. Now get out of my sight."

Even more confused than before, the troops left, leaving me alone. When they were out of sight, I put on the two soultrap amulets around my neck. With a sly smile, I blasted a black lightning into the sky."

---

"It is very hard for me to describe the level of cofusion the soldiers returned me with, but I shall leave the matter with this: it was undoubtedly much greater than it was when they just left. They found me sitting on top of a short crumbled wall. I jumped down and asked:

-"So, how was the battle?"

Eve replied:

-"They're all... uhh... dead, sir."

-"So it was successful?"

-"Sir, they were dead before we got there. Only Necirrejel was still breathing, and we finished him off pretty quickly."

I summoned my most innocent tone:

-"Oh?"

-"Yes, sir... Are you sure you didn't, uh, do anything?"

The innocence was gone. I looked directly into Eve's eyes.

-"Let me quote myself. Don't you know who I am? Have I been gone for so long that you have forgotten the true definition of power? They didn't stand a chance. None of them did. You just don't understand... The might of a mortal to me is as dust is to the sea."

-"Y-Yes, sir. What do we do now?"

I sighed.

-"Well, I need to rebuild my empire to its former glory. As much as I wish the opposite, it will take some time. After all, you know what they say: Romme wasn't built in a day. I'll need you to send someone to Asgarnia, and see if we have any friends left there. Also, dispatch a messenger to the Dark Empire, inquiring about the status of the alliance."

-"Consider it done, sir."

Eve went off. As I was about to return to the ruined military complex, I stopped to think. Reflecting somewhere in the past, I compared myself back then to right now. I'm going soft with these soldiers... Where has my iron hand gone? No matter. I will need as strong of a personality cult as it is humanly possible. This should help me with rebuilding, and perhaps speed the process up a little. Once my following grows large enough, my old self will be back. It will be back...."

//Some notes: first, let me apologize in advance for the hugeness of the post. Since Jenia wanted Kerig to interact with Kronos, and I didn't want to be disturbed until I was done all the stuff I wrote up above, I just decided to post all of it in one go. Secondly, Kronos is effectively back to his old appearance (with the translucent cloak and no blindfold). Finally, Kronos will likely be the only character I'll use in this chapter with the possible exception of Ein.\\

Posted by: Dude Man on Sunday April 1st, 2007

"So you are sure this is where they are?" Rufokanno asked his new employer.

"As sure as you are that the Velkens know about him." Ophelia replied.

"Me want to know why you want to find him so greatly."

"You don't need to concern yourself with that. I just want you to help me fight him when I find him."

"Fine."

Ophelia and the drow continued to walks the hallways of The Tower of Heaven's Bane.

"Yes, I am certain the Velkens are here." Ophelia said, as he spotted two in the hallways.

Rufokanno thought he recognized one of them. "Ophelia--"

"Not now." She interrupted as she approached the two Velkens, Helix and Renard. "Greetings my friends. I assume you're enjoying your stay at Bane?" She looked the two in the eye, although it would be hard for them to tell with the shading mask she wore. "My friend here says that one of you was spending time with a man named, Duilin Talonscar..."

//Update others later\\

Posted by: akuradavis on Sunday April 1st, 2007

//Not sure if this is too long, or too short... but I'm posting it anyways.\\

It was dark. Not the traditional dark, but a eerie dark. There was an uttermost lack of light in the cave, as was part of the training. Jareth did not think much of Tysid's training methods, though he had to admit they worked.

He slowly backed away from the center of the room, at which he would guesstimate it at about 18' wide, 20' long and 7' high. He felt the cold cave wall against his back, and started to circle around the room as quietly as possible. The sheathed Drayfear in his hands, he started to advance on his masters last known location.

Jareth had to win this. This was his final test. After this, he believed he would be ready- for finding his past. He heard something, off to his right side. He swung Drayfear with all his might in that direction, and was shaken by the impact on his master's sword.

"Blast." Jareth muttered under his breath.

"Come on, kid. If you want to defeat me, your going to have to do better then that!" Tysid said ferociously.

Jareth backed away, and feigned a downward swing, but changed and swung at Tysid's feet. He knew his master could see well in the dark, so he was at a disadvantage. He just might have to"¦

"Unsheathe the sword, boy! Don't fear its power. You must feel it in order to understand why I gave you that sword!" Tysid said, interrupting Jareth's thoughts.

That means I didn't hit him. Jareth thought, taking 2 steps backwards.

"Alright, here it goes, old man!"

Jareth pulled the sword out of the sheath, taken aback by the dark metal of the long one edged sword. For a moment nothing happened, then he started to feel a power overwhelm him"¦

Posted by: Jenia on Sunday April 1st, 2007

//Well, in response to Ein's post, I'll lengthen Kerig's and Weloss' post\\
Back in the, now stranded, main island of Kandarin, a small pile of dry ground began to move...

It twitched a little at first, and suddenly, a somewhat large hand erupted from it.
A gray-haired head followed shortly.
"Pfft!" Kerig spat some of the earth in his mouth out "That was one nap! I feel great!"
A familiar voice echoed in his mind...
"About time you lazy bum woke up" Weloss told him, appearing to be quite displeased.
"Do you even know what was going on?"

Kerig scracthed his forehead, and decided it would be best to get up first.
He whipped the dirt off his clothing, not minding the little remaining on his gloves.
"So..." He said, seemingly blissfull as he started walking in a random direction "Why don't you tell me what was going on?"

If Weloss had physical hands, he would have used the chance to slap Kerig. As smart as Weloss considered Kerig to be, such attitude would have earned at least a slap and a random insult. He decided to skip both.
"You were sleeping." he said, at first, calmly, and then suddenly his tone became furious "FOR A WHOLE YEAR! At least that is what it seemed like, you hibranating little... And as for you being underground when you woke up, well, some local kids just found you and thought it would be funny to bury you under the castle walls."

Kerig stopped. He just realised the castle had mostly disappeared, save for the main building. The village around it had completly disappeared as well, leaving nothing but rubble behind.
"Yeah, well, that necromancer made short work of those kids" Weloss added "So I guess we could thank him when we meet him. And yes, he got rid of all which seems to be missing, numbskull."
Kerig suddenly remembered he was supposed to meet the said "necromancer".
He smiled happily as he rose an inch above the ground and began gliding away.
"Let's find Mistah Crow-Nose!"

A while later, after gliding over water for some time, Kerig came upon another battered landscape. He wasn't going in a straight line, as he wasn't sure where to go, but he was certain he will find what he was looking for.
He noticed a crumbling wall nearby, and ruined millitiary complex in the distance. Around it, he noticed, some people were granted artificial life, leading him to believe the necromancer he was looking for was there. He hastened on, increase his glide's "pace", if one could call it that.
He admired those around him as he went by them.
"Aww, look, Weloss, they are so cute, it's like he keeps many happy string puppets together as friends!" he said, as if it really was the nicest sight to behold.
Weloss didn't reply, as he only wished they would get there sooner...

Fernis was bummed. She was stuck in a series of caves. With Tjed's millitiary. Carrying out a request for a person who turned into a sword. And for what? To get names.
Finding the very thought of her situation disturbing, Fernis hurried over to the winged man calling himself Duillin, as he held on to Iduran.
Having earlier left Elphos behind to help tend the wounded (since healing runes was what he made most progress with), she had to go through the soldiers and their many stares alone.
In her hand, she was carrying a strange looking metal sheath. It was completly and throughly etched with runes, both inside and outside. Fernis had been working on this for several houres, and she knew it still had the chance of not working.
She still had to try.

Finally, she found Duillin. She didn't even bother to check if he is busy. She just turned to him and flatly spoke out-
"You. I need to have Iduran. Or, prefferably, just take him and come with me."

Yaaaaaaawn.
Iskatyl began stretching as he woke up from his sleep.
Those port inns of Tjed really were nice. Much nicer than the wilderness, at least.
He pulled on his clothing, wrapped himself in his indigo cloak,tucked the knife in his belt, and left the room.
He politely said goodbye and thank-you to the innkeeper as he left, worried of his big brother. He heared that recently an entire ship's crew was recently killed and the killer's identity was unknown, so he automatically assumed it to be his brother's doing. He knew his brother came to Tjed.
His brother was definetly here...
Somewhere...

He left the port and began walking, following the road, hoping to run into Zakon...

Ah, the night sky. Barely clouded, and the moonlight was so very pleasant.
A perfect night for the joy of cleansing.

Zakon's cloths gently waved in the cool night breeze as he stepped on several unsuspecting daisies, approaching a local farmhouse.
It has been several days since he massacred an entire ship's crew just as it arrived at it's destination, Tjed, and he already felt the familiar tingle called bloodlust.
Although somewhat disappointed in himself for being so impatient, his steps toward the dimly lit farmhouse were light, silent and steady.

By the snoring and talking coming from the old wooden shack, he assumed there was a rather young family living there.
A young couple, not yet in their thirties, and their two sons, to be exact.
Zakon found the very thought of cleansing such juicy targets very delightful, and proceeded to approach the door.
It was locked. How typical, he thought.

Taking out a knife strapped to his belt, he began to closely observe the lock. After a few moments he apparently found what he was looking for, as he smiled lightly to himself and slashed the lock, splitting it clean into two smaller pieces.
Opening the door was no feat now. All left now was to make sure all is cleansed.

Inside, in a candle lit, small and undecorated room, was the entire family-

The red-nosed father, whom Zakon assumed to be drunk, and a baby wrapped in plain cheap cloth, were sleeping together peacefully on a simple wooden bed, without even a pillow or a blanket to cover them.
Nearby, on plain round wooden stools, by a fireplace charred black, sat the two remaining family members, apparently having a conversation before his arrival, now staring in horror.
He noticed how they were both poorly dressed in rags, but each one was holding a candle. He thought it to be stupid, to waste candles when one is poor and cold, when one can use a nearby fireplace instead.

Suddenly, the woman screamed. How unpleasant. The baby soon joined the mother by crying, almost causing Zakon a headache.
The red-nosed man rolled off the bed lazily, almost causing the baby to fall along with him, and uttered a curse as his face hit the hard, wooden floor.
However, the man's nose quickly lost it's red color when he became pale, and whilst the baby's screaming stopped, a small leg and a kidney rolled down before his eyes.
As pale as he was, he did not have a chance to join the woman's screaming in the baby's place, as the only thing remained connected to his head was his left, bulky arm.

The crimson color of blood painted the floor as Zakon sliced through the bigger child's head with one hand and grabbed the woman's neck with the other.

She struggled, trying to free herself. To run. To scream for help.
But it was of no use. She choked, holding both her hands against the arm lifting her into the air by her neck.
No, the death of this one would be special. One like never before.
Zakon didn't care both candles were now on the floor, that the plain wooden shack would easily catch fire...
He threw the woman into the air, and, in that instant, his image blurred.
As he reappeared behind her, bent down on one knee and crossing his hands before his face as if in self defense, the woman burst and fell apart, like an old, broken doll.
No joint was left connected, and yet her internal organs fell on the floor being completely intact, as if all he did was take her apart. Barely any blood actually spilled on the floor, even though there were over a dozen pieces.

Zakon smiled to himself, feeling pleased and fulfilled. He indulged himself in the excitement he felt as he stared at what was left beginning to burn...

A while later, Zakon decided that it was enough watching for one night, and left the burning, crumbling shack.
As he walked away, he noticed the daisies he stepped on earlier. Tsk, such cruelty. To kill, but not to do so absolutely, is plain cruelty.
He stopped and pondered as to whether he should take the time to slice up the flowers as well, and noticed his shirt caught some fire. He quickly put it out, as it wasn't too serious.

Truly, tonight is already pleasant. But the night is not over yet...

Posted by: D. Ein on Sunday April 1st, 2007

//Akura, your post is just fine. It's too small if it contains less than 3 sentences. <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_razz.gif" alt="Razz" title="Razz" />\\

"Now that the immediate threat surrounding my followers is gone, I decided to get to slightly more important but less urging matters. I quickly assembled ten undead wyverns, and assigned each to two people. One spotter and one courier. The wyverns took off, each to a destination of a former (and current, as I hope) ally. One was sent to the Dark Empire, one to Asgarnia, one to Vandrin's county, and the rest to the minor houses under my protection.

I've long ago noticed the presence of two beings nearby - a humanoid and a non-corporeal one. Strange how they remained hidden from me for almost a year... The implosion must have had unforeseen effects on magic. They are not much of a threat at the moment, so I decided to ignore them for now.

-"I see you have returned, Kronos. Were you enjoying yourself? Even Death needs a holiday."

There was no need for the classical double-take, as I recognized the cold voice almost immediately.

-"Hello, de Sade. That's a nasty habit you have, sneaking up on evil overlords without making yourself known first."

-"Overlord? Gloat not, puny one. 15 minions and five dozen followers is not much of an accomplishment."

De Sade was really getting on my nerves now. The sorcerer was definitely past his expiry date.

-"It's funny, de Sade. With all your fancy Astral business, you keep forgetting just how vulnerable such overuse of magic leaves you."

I finally turned around, and, with a menacing grimace, pulled out a shard of dark glass. De Sade glanced at it indifferently, obviously not realizing what it does. I held up the shard by the string sewn through it, just in front of de Sade. He waited, likely for me to make the first move. Which I did.

As I expected, de Sade was maintaining his ever-present life sheath spell on him. The dark shard drained the barrier around him like a whirlpool, and by momentum, began pulling his very essence into the shard. De Sade flinched, and took on a defensive spell. Didn't help him much, though, because all of his magic power was now contained in the dark shard. Without it, de Sade was just a wrinkly old Lilithian.

With a ceremonial look, I swung a punch at de Sade. The punch nearly cracked his skull, even though my physical strength was no more than that of a common man. It's a relatively known fact that Lilithians survive only through their extensive use of magic. Their bodies are as weak as insects. I looked at the ugly pile of skin and bone lying at my feet. De Sade was managing to say something.

-"Rejoice not, Kronos, all victory is but temporary. If only you understood the truth... that I let you win...."

-"Kill him before he gets all weepy."

With those words, I walked away. De Sade's astral power was now encased in my soultrap amulet. Not that I myself will ever use it... I'll need to find a decent application for these amulets sometime."

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Sunday April 1st, 2007

"Well, here we are, Jackie, Gaian! I told you my airship would hold together." Jelka turned the airship down to land in an air dock somewhere along northern Tjed. It seemed like a dark encampment dedicated to the Crimson Empire. It looks like these people followed Draven's rule rather than Retan's.

Jackie looked off the starboard side of the airship as it docked. She could've sworn she saw a small ship go under water near the horizon. Then again, this was a land she had never seen before, nor even heard of, so she ignored. The only thing she came here with her sister to do is to join the Dark Empire.

"Come on, Jackie, we have to hurry! I set up a meeting with this guy scheduled for a half an hour ago." Jelka stepped out of the airship with her sister Jackie close behind. They paid the docking fee and entered the camp.

"I don't think this is the right place, Jelka... are you sure about all this? I mean, I don't want to fly all the way back now, but are you sure we're on the right side?" Jackie walked closer to her sister, who was browsing the tents to find number 646. At last, she came upon the tent and walked in, her tail holding the flap open for her sister. She followed.

"State your names," said a man sitting in a chair across the room. He looked a bit odd for a person who is supposed to be evil. In fact, he had a strange light blue aura about him that made him look angelic...

"Jelka Loronnas Viperdale and Jacklyn Loronnas Viperdale," Jelka ststed firmly, "We've come to-"

"See what this is like." Jackie interrupted, "I don't know if this is the right choice, you know? Our lives are just... going a bit off... if you know what I mean."

"Of course," the man said, "I completely understand! In fact, I was like that when I first came here. You'll have to watch your voice, though. Most people think I'm with Draven, but Retan's the guy. Calls gods inferior, don't 'cha know? Pretty strange fellow, he is... Anyways, we're taking a secret route outta here. Most people think it's a secret way in. Won't they be surprized, eh? well, let's go! Follow me."

They walked out of the tent and passed all of the others until they got to tent number 666. The man opened the flap. Inside was a black-brick well with a pole going across it and a fat rope going down the well. The well it self was empty, and looked like it had a light illuminating the bottem.

"By the way, my name's Bjendell Mjord. It's a norse name from a rather... nothern family. Just call me Ben like everyone else. I know this might not be the time to ask, but what brings two Velken here, of all places?"

"We recieved a summons from the Dark Empire to lead a few troops to Tjed," Jelka said, "There seems to be a great war going on there, you know? I heard a little bit from where I lived that the Tjedians are the good guys, and my sister thinks we should join up with them instead..."

"Hmm... that's a bit strange..."

"Why do you say that?" Jackie asked, "What, are you going to agree with me?"

"Actually, yes. That's why I made the summons for you to come here. I need two expert Velkens to help with a small resistance group in Tjed. In fact, they are at this moment excavating the caves to get to the capitol of Tjed."

"What!?" Both Jelka and Jackie stared forward, jaws dropped. They turned to face each other, then back at Ben.

"Well, let's not waste any more time! Down the well, then!" The three of them climbed down the rope and hit the bottem of the well. They found a locked door, and a few minutes later, after Ben pulled out a key, they heard a knock.

"I feel another pressence... I can smell... Oh no... What do you want, m'lord... No, I'm fine..." Jacobie muttered sensless words in a sort of trance-like status. The medical unit that Ven assigned to Jacobie was working on his wounds with the herbs. Jacobie, not thinking straight, ate them all at the same time, not knowing that it may have a side effect of trance for about an hour.

"Who's this guy talking to, Edd," the first medical knight asked the other, "He looks like he's out of it. Must be the stuff he ate. He was in so much pain, he just ate them all with out thinking. What does the medical exam on this guy say?"

"He's goin' ta be fine, he's juss a lil' loopy," the other medical knight told the first, "So how's the family, Hans? Hopin' ya don' die out here?"

"Oh, shut up about that, Edd! I told them all there's a possible chance of that happening. Seroiusly, knock it off. It's making me worry what will happen to them if I DO... uhh... die."

"Well, ah' leass ya have people ta care about ya. I gots nobody but me wife, and even she can be a lil' harsh from time ta time. I still don' wan 'er ta feel miserable when she find's out I'm gone... Sad stuff, really. I toll 'er when I geh back I'd quit the army."

"Fat chance of that happening, Edd," the first knight said to the second, "Anyways, I'm probably going to quit, too. I can't let the wife and kids worry about me all the time... It's not good for anyone to worry so much as they do, especially my wife, Verronica."

"Woah, Hans! Ven's commin' this way! Prob'ly want's ta see thah' Lizzard Jacob, or John, or whaddeveh his name be. His trance shoul' be wearin' off by now, too. Thah's convinient... really, thah creeps me ouh' when thah happens."

"Uhhnnn... What happened out there? Wait a minute... Where's that general. Is that him up there? General! Could you please tell me what's going on here?"

Posted by: Dude Man on Sunday April 1st, 2007

Duilin continued moving along with Ven and the group examining the sword. The weapon was so majestic and almost felt like it was alive. He quickly gained a sense of value to this blade. He should defiantly take good care of it.

He then noticed that one strange furry woman had come to talk to her. "You want my sword? Um, I'm actually going to have to say no. I'm sorry." Duilin replied. "Who are you anyways!?"

"Duilin, don't be so rude." Rink warned.

"Well, it's my sword, and she's a complete stranger. I think I have every right to be rude, it's rude of her to want my sword." Duilin snapped to the imp.

"But you just got it." Rink said.

"You don't understand, Rink." Duilin said, lifting the sword. "This sword is what remains of Iduran. This sword IS Iduran. This sword is also all that is left of Romme, that place marked a point in my life where I finally stood up to the Dark Empire, when I finally learned that I don't have to serve their corrupt ways and that I can finally make Gaian a place that isn't one big hellhole." He lowered the blade and then looked at Fernis. "The answer is no. I need this sword and I need to use it to help defend Tjed." Duilin then sped up his pace to catch up with Ven...

--- ---

Marshall and the group had just arrived at the Aspye Hideout. Wilham has been taken in to be questioned by Peter Kropotkin.

"Marshall, you look like you've been through Hell. What happened?" Firstman asked his friend in concern.

"Met up with an old friend." Marshall replied. "So, what happened wile I was gone."

"Actually, quite a bit. You know the Vandrin County, right?" Firstman asked.

"My memory isn't that bad, it has only been around a day since we last went there. What about it?"

"Well, apparently we've been finding a lot of mutant activity going about. We're getting worried that they might find us out. You and Coriko are our only mages, with the leaders fighting the Zhao Chin Empire in Amantan, so we don't have much to defend ourselves against the mutants."

"Well maybe this Wilham guy might want to help us out more."

"I was meaning to ask, who the hell is that guy? Where is he from?" Firstman asked.

"No idea, he's been pretty cryptic. I'm not even sure if I can trust him."

"Me neither..."

Posted by: Coriko on Sunday April 1st, 2007

Coriko followed Marshall into the base. Firstman refered to Coriko as a mage. That was a step up. Wilham was brought up.

"C'mon guys," Coriko jumped in to the conversation trying to liven it up "We can take take them right, besides what do you want us to do with this mission? And Wilham, I don't know but I have a feeling he may be helpful to us. At least for right now."

---

Jayce entered the room taking half the door frame with him. He looked pissed off beyond belief. Druid was leaning against the wall. He was playing with a ball of shadow energy. It pulsed in his hand as he opened and closed it. Druid had a sinister looking grin on his face.

"So, why did you have me join again?" Druid said as Jayce passed in front of him. "I mean besides saving your ships from that rock creature, i did very little for that invasion. I want earn my keepand i am more than capable of it. I have powers that can be invaluble to you. Send me and some of my shadow warriors out, and we'll take a town,city or country for you. Because sitting around here is not working for me, I'd rather be out there killing some people who are preventing me from getting back to my own dimension."

Posted by: Burton Pro on Sunday April 1st, 2007

Nick stopped for a moment. He sensed something. Something that was gone for a short while. Was it Kronos. He would have to find out. He sent an telepathic message, Kronos are you there? He would wait for a response before moving from his posistion.

---

Drew pounded his fist on the table. There was nothing but silence. " So back to what i was saying." He played it out casualy. " If we're going to get out of this never ending war we must join a side. The only question is what side?"

The crowd pondered.

" The Dark Empire?"

" Hm."

" Err.."

" If we do not come to a conclusion by sometime this week we may not be here by the end of this thing." Drew said confidently.

//hm? Didn't know we started.

Posted by: Jenia on Sunday April 1st, 2007

Fernis twitched.

"No"!? I didn't ask you, idiot.

She hurried over and grabbed him by his arm.
"Look, Iduran is a person. Saying you own him is a disgrace!" She insisted "If you won't hand him over, then come with me. I'm not telling you not to fight for Tjed with him. It's for your and, especialy Iduran's, good."

Kerig had at last reached and entered a large ruin.
The entrance was unguarded, and the structures didn't seem to be manned at all.
Well, it WAS only a ruin, after all. It barely had any cielings left.
Here and there, Kering noticed what seemed to be a lone person either walking or sleeping in the distance. Kerig wondered why would someone be sleeping on the floor, but the Weloss enlightened him about those being corpses.

Eventually, after passing about half the length of the ruins, Kerig came upon what seemed to be the countryard.
He looked around. There were tents, people walking around and more corpses here and there. When the fact was pointed out by Weloss, Kerig noticed some people were living on energy tubes coming from one place. Kerig hastened his glide in that direction, and soon he noticed a dark figure.
"That must be him!" he exclaimed happily and hurried over. He passed what seemed to be an old man lying on the floor, but he didn't care much. Probably was another one of those creatures Weloss called 'corpses'.

He approached the dark figure from behind and paused.
"Well?" Weloss started inquiring "Say something!"
"Hi! I, err..." Kerig was embaressed, as he wasn't sure how to speak to a lich (or a necromancer, for that matter).
"Hello! Are you, umm, mister Crow-Nose?"

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Sunday April 1st, 2007

"Hey, Dori, do you remember what I was supposed to say?" Justin looked back behind himself at Dori, infront of a large door that the man in the black cloak took them to.

"Hmm... Somethin' somethin'... blood somethin'... Crimson... yeah, I have no idea. Just make something up! It'll be fine. If it doesn't work, I'll just bash the door in for you." Justin rolled his eyes and sighed. At this point, Dori was of no help at all. He stepped back a bit, ready to say something he'd just made up.

"Uhh, if blood isn't blood... then what is it? Yeah, you might as well just bash the door open, Dori. I really should have wrote that down instead of compleatly ignoring Thand." After Justin spoke, Dori readied her claw, but it was of no use. The door was opened by someone else. In the doorway stood an angel-like figure and two Velken females.

"That won't be nessecary, I can assure you. My name's Bjendell Mjord, but just call me Ben. I might as well ask you for your help. I need to get out of here, but the only way out is if I go with someone who's trying to get in."

"No, I don't think so pal," Dori rudely shoved Justin out of the way, "We came here to buy passage into the Dark Camp, and we're not leaving until we get what we want! No, if you'd be so kind as to get the hell out of my way!" Justin got back to his feet and yanked Dori's shoulders to pull her back.

"Sorry about that," Justin began, "Dori's got a real temper."

"Justin, you'd better shut-"
"Yeah, she can get like that a few times. There was this one time where she got me so ticked, I stabbed her in the kidney."

"Justin, I'm not playing around. STOP IT RIGHT-"
"But most of the time, she's a sweet girl. I'm sure she'll come around to that side more often."

"SSHHHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTT UUUUPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Everyone was silent for almost a whol ten minutes until Ben spoke again. "Anyways," he continued, "I heard you mentioned Thand. I asked him to send you to me, actually. He's a friend of mine. Used to work with him on healing arts back at the monistary. He's a great medic now, I heard."

"Well in that case, lets just go. I forgot what we were supposed to be doing here anyways." They continued back down the dark tunnel to the 'under-water cargo freight that the man in the black cloak used to sail down. He was waiting for Justin and Dori to return, but not the others.

"More slaves, is it? Ya got Velken twins now, did ye? A fine catch if I'm able to say so to ye, sir. Heading back up, are ye? You know the drill. Stay below deck until I tell ye.

"I don't think he can hear me..." Jacobie said aloud, "Hey! One of you get the general's attention! I'm sure he's headed this way anyhow... The orb!" Jacobie pulled out his orb which was in his armor. He spoke into it and turned it green.

"General. Are you there? Is this thing working? I haven't tested it for a while. In any case, get down here. I need some help as to what's going on. Jacobie greens, out. Remember, say your name, then say Blues... Hah! Blues! That's funny... sorry, I'm still a bit out of it in the head right now... Oh yeah, right, uhh, Jacobie greens out."

Posted by: Xorlak on Monday April 2nd, 2007

One could hear the chanting of monks in the air, though it was likely just the wind...

The room was black, except for an eerie pale blue that emanated from the cracks in the walls... No illumination was provided from the four large steepled windows, one upon each wall. Only black clouds were visible in the night sky, rotating around that room as if it were the center of the universe.

The black throne near the northern window rotated silently, as if were floating upon air. In it sat the Dark Emperor Retan, uninterestedly leaned back, his left gloved hand fingering the top of the golden dragon scull that formed the arm rest.

The short lizard Grav paced back and forth in front of him, nails clicking upon the hard metal floor. In his claws were an unfurled scroll and a quill.

"We've made contact with a new nation in the south, your Lordship... Hragvien. They wish to form an alliance."

"Kill them."

Grav nodded and scribbled some on the parchment.

"... They've also have a neighboring collection of city states... Ghestern."

"Kill them."

"Uh huh..."

Grav wrote some more.

"Oh, hmm... The kingdom of Prek has sent us a message. They are dissatisfied with the way we've been sinking their ships, and have declared war on us."

"Prek? Why do they still exist?" The Dark Emperor's burning eyes narrowed.

The reptilian eyes of the short Prime Minister widened, and he began to nervously fumble thorough the papers.

"Apologies, my Lord. They were eradicated the other day. Their letter simply took that long to arrive.... heh..."

"Do not bring outdated trifles to my attention, lest I become irritated..."

"Y-yes m-my Lord..."

Grav fumbled through the papers some more.

"Finally, we've received a message from the Kandarinain Sovereignty. They inquire about the status of our alliance..."

"They are still around? I take it their ruler has returned before our fake has had a chance to position himself."

"It would appear so, your Masterfulness."

Retan drummed his fingers on the golden dragon skull for a moment.

"Their hold has slipped much. Inform them that the alliance remains in tact."

"Yes, my Lord."

"Then immediately issue an edict. All their claims within the Dark Continent now belong to me."

"Yes, my Lord."

"Should they disagree, gently remind them of my unbounded generosity in allowing them to exist in my lands in the first place. And in my unbounded generosity, I shall allow their current overlords to remain in control of their lands, though they will now be under my flag and pay me tributaries. I do not feel like issuing new Lords at this time."

"You are certainly most generous, my Lord. And if they should resist?"

"Inform High General Gorus that he may raze any and all Kandarinian outposts at his leisure."

"Yes, my Lord."

Grav finished writing and the bowed lowly before leaving the room. The Dark Emperor's chair turned to face the window as he steepled his hands. Grav returned a few moments later and bowed on the floor again and waited their silently for five minutes before Retain acknowledged his presence, though the chair did not turn.

"Speak, Grav."

"The High General of the Sky has returned."

"Send him in."

Renard's ears shot straight up. Did she just say Duilin?

What is this? Some sort of inquisition? No, he hadn't done anything wrong. That human saved him after all. And then Virmir himself thanked him.

Then Renard recognized the man standing next to the jester-like woman. The mage! That guy who attacked him in the inn! But those guys were just street scum. What in blazes was one of them doing here?

Renard took a step back, his tail pressing against the door to his room as he tried to keep it from tucking between his legs.

"Y-yeah. So?"

Helix stood perplexed at his friend's behavior. What was he so freaked out about? The woman was kinda hot, but nothing to get all jittery about. Helix folded his arms and leaned against the wall.

Jayce turned suddenly, seeing Druid standing there for the first time. He stormed over to the man, placing his left hand on the wall and leaning over him. His breath stunk of something like fish.

"Yes, you didn't do very much at all did you? I suggest you head out as far ahead of me as possible and destroy as much as you can before I arrive. You wouldn't want me thinking you useless..."

Jayce flipped around, storming out of the room.

The gates in front of the menacing sea bound ship, The Jagahn, opened widely. Hundreds of boats spilled out, one after another, each filled with snarling Lizard Men. Some even did not take to the boats, but instead swam deftly like fish. A similar scene errupted at each of the other two warships, all surging through the dark waters, heading for the beaches of Tjed...

"Relax, I'm here," Ven said as he walked into the room like opening in the cave where Jacobie was recovering.

"You seem to be doing better," he said as he leaned over the injured lizard. "But stop with the 'general' stuff. 'Sir' will do if you insist, as I'm just a knight. Or you can just call me Ven."

"Sir Ven!"

Another knight ran into the room, a young kid with yellow locks. It was starting to get crowded. He was out of breath and took a moment to compose himself.

"We-- we saw. In the ocean... Hundreds of boats, coming this way..."

Ven clutched his fists.

"Oh, blast it! Are we ready? It's not going to take them long to figure out we're in here."

Ven clenched his teeth. They would likely destroy the evacuated city of Kesnar first. Blast it. A huge shame, and a terrible loss, but with the walls in such bad shape it was no longer defendable. At the very least the distraction would buy them some time..."

Posted by: D. Ein on Monday April 2nd, 2007

"The Dark Empire messenger has returned with some rather unsettling news.

-"All my current fortifications in the Dark Continent, eh... Mmmkay, not like I had anything there in the first place. I'll let my messengers know to modify the message they are carrying. Everyone is to leave the premises at once and meet us at the southeasternmost corner of the Continent. We'll figure out what to do from there."

I noticed the humanoid creature calling my name.

-"Yes, what?"

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Monday April 2nd, 2007

"Well then, I guess this orb is useless then. I can get up and help with the preparations for defense, uhh... sir Ven, was it? Right then, help me up, one of you." The first medical knight helped Jacobie up to his feet, which now seemed to be in perfect condition and fully reattached. He pocketed the orb that was now letting go of its green glimmer.

"I'll follow your lead, sir Ven. I must warn you though, I felt some strange, godly presence comming this way as I was knocked unconcious. It wasn't Retan, although I felt he was comming here anyways. No, this is something far beyond his power, nay, far beyond even his hopes of more power. It's a group of six people, and they're traveling by sea..."

"Oi! You can come up now! I've reached the surface." The mand in the black cloak turned the ship's sails, spinning it to the direction of the south. Around one third of a mile out was the dock and another secondary dock with airships.

"Hmm... I think we may have to steal an airship. Well, it is night, and it should be simple enough. Jelka, you'll fly it up to the mountains where the group is. Another friend of mine is there... well, more of an enemy I suppose... so watch out for him. He seems to be tailing his brother, though, so we should be in the clear."

Everyone boarded the airship and Jelka started to take it off. After a good twenty feet-or-so in the air, shouts could be heard to bring the ship back down. Nothing was going to stop them though. Jelka turned on the booster engine and the airship zoomed off into the distance.

"At this rate, we'll be there in an hour. I hope you're all in good stride for the battle yet to come..."

Posted by: Dude Man on Monday April 2nd, 2007

Rink caught up with Duilin. "See, that's what I was telling you. Just go with her."

"Sheesh..." Duilin rubbed his forehead head and looked at Fernis. "Fine, sorry. Lead the way."

--- ---

"I want to know where he is. My friend Rufokanno said you were traveling with him for a short wile." Ophelia answered. She then shifted her eyes and gave a quick glance at Helix leaning on the wall and then looked back at Renard. "I don't care why you were with him. I just want to know if you have any clue where he could be heading. Did he say anything about where he wanted to go? Where you even think he might be going?"

Rufokanno didn't even look at the two Velkens or at Ophelia, he simply just scanned his eyes around the building.

--- ---

"Helpfull or not. He hasn't given us much information about himself." Marshall said pointing at Coriko. "I learned from the past actions not to trust people I just met." It was true; when he just traveled off with Zeros' and his crew he got banished from the Blue Minotaur. He didn't want something like that to ever happen again.

Wilham and Kropotkin entered the room. Kropotkin seemed rather pleased with what he was told by Wilham.

"Thank you very much Grand General Wolfe." Kropotkin said. "Marshall, you don't need to worry yourself. He can be trusted." The two men then joined the others. "In fact Wilham has a very interesting story, which I'm certain you will want to hear..."

--- ---

Count Vandrin really needed a way to cool off after being held hostage by Duilin. He found just going for hikes and explorations to be quite a good way to cool off. He had a group of his mutants with him, for protection.

Vandrin had found this strange ancient underground temple made with strange bricks of stone. It appeared to have scraps of a thin reflective material left on, which much have been chipped away over the years. He walked down the staircase into the darkness. "Flaze, light up a torch." He said to one of his mage mutants.

The thin mutant grabbed an unlit torch which was hanging by the stairway and snapped his fingers over it, lighting it up with a small flame.

"Flaze, come with me. The rest of you stay outside."

Vandrin continued his way down until he made it to the bottom of the stairs which led to a room. "It's still to dark, light up the torches on the wall." The mutant scaled along the walls, lighting each torch in a similar motion as he did last time. As the torches began to light, a small altar with a stone tablet on it was revealed.

"My, my. What do we have here?" Vandrin said to himself as he stepped towards the altar. "An ancient tablet written in old Terianian." Vandrin was quite an educated person; he found much interest in ancient history and studied a few old languages. Vandrin then scanned his finger across the ancient text as he read. "White Chimera...people broke off to several different groups...only few of original remain..." He then stopped reading. "This looks more like a diary entry rather than a religious tablet." He picked up the tablet. "Who writes a diary on a stone tablet?"

--- ---

"High General Goruss!" General Ssobra (small Mage lizard) said entering a room with Gorus on a large bed, with several female Lizard Men.

"Make it quick. Ssobra. I'm busy!" Gorus grumbled.

"The mountain basse is almosst fully repaired."

"Almost isn't done. Now get out of here!"

"Wait, that'ss not the main reasson I'm here!"

Gorus sat up began to growl.

"Umm, well that half demon that came here. Jaysse's legion ssays they have had a few troubless with demonss aiding Tjed. He has reassonss to belive that one of them might be the one that attack uss earlier."

"Really?" Gorus sat back down and rubbed his lower jaw. "Leave me."

The female lizard man then got up. "No, not you, Ssobra."

Ssobra rolled his eyes. "But ssir, we can't just let him get away."

"Ssobra, I actually already knew he was going to Tjed. I sensed his aura going towards their. In fact I already have one of my ships going to Tjed to help in battle."

"Don't you want to go there yoursself?" Ssobra asked.

"No not really. Lately we've been having trouble with the Vandrin County. Apparently that egotist Vandrin thinks he has more power than Empire. He's not even as big as Kandarin for Gaia's sake. Anyways, leave Ssobra."

Ssbra then turned to leave the room.

"Oh wait, actually one last thing, Ssobra. Make sure Retan hears the news that there have been a few sightings of Aspye Revolutionary flags, with the black, grey and the red and all that..."

"Yess ssir..."

Posted by: Coriko on Monday April 2nd, 2007

Druid stood up and straightened his cloak.

"You heard the man boys."

As Druid said this three shadow warriors flowed off of the wall and took on their form as his warriors. They had the shape of very skilled and fit warriors. Their black bodies terrifyingly dark. The type of darkness that destroys souls. The red pulse was very dark and slow. When they got excited, angry or had a blood lust it speed up and became very erratic. It also changed in colour to look more like blood. These creatures were born and bred to kill. Druid knew denying them this was cruel, and he was more than happy to allow them to run free causing hell on earth. Druid picked up his staff and balanced it in his out stretched hand. he then pulled the gem out of the staff and rested it in his other hand. He then snapped the staff in half.

Back in his own dimension we never used a staff. But when he was attacked by Silas and the other traitors he put some of his energy into the staff. In case Silas stole his powers he could reclaim some of it, or if he was transported somewhere (like he was) he would probably be safer if he didn't have all his powers, in case he blew up where ever he landed. You know somehting like that.

Druid tossed the broken staff on the ground and focused his attention on the gem. This is where his powers were and he wanted them back. The gem started to glow and then it spread to the rest of his body. The gem then was absorbed into his hand and he was re-united with the rest of his powers. Druid took a few deep breaths and then turned to his warriors. They stood ready for any order their leader gave.

"He wants destruction, lets give him some!"

Druid then turned and walked after Jayce, his warriors following closely.

---

"Alright Wilham, lets hear it" Coriko said to the two new arrivals.

Posted by: Jenia on Monday April 2nd, 2007

With Duillin following closely behind, Fernis hurried to the place in the cave used a supply storage room. She dug a tiny hole in the center of the room and placed the sheath on it, allowing it to stand.
She carefully backed away from the sheath and took a deep breath.

Alright...
But I guess I should give him a little more information first.
He must be confused out of his wits.

She turned to Duillin, and suddenly remembered she had not introduced herself to him yet.
"I am... Indher, the runemaster. Call me Lerfina, if you like." she began what seemed to be a lecture with a most serious tone.

"I will spare you the smaller details, but I believe you should know...
I am the one responsible for Iduran's appearance here. I attempted his complete resurrection, but there were many things I did not expect. For one, I did not expect his very being to shatter within a day and be absorbed into the nearest foreign object. Second, I did not expect him to drag me all the way to Tjed. In other words, I'm helping the soldiers of Tjed because it's Iduran's will, not mine. Which brings me to what I have brought you and him, mostly him, here for..."

She turned to the sheath, standing stiff on the ground like an altar.
"My business with Iduran is not finished, and so I've made this. In theory, it should allow him to communicate with us if you place him into it..."

Fernis shrugged. The runes didn't exactly let Iduran speak as he pleases. She didn't know any other way, so she made a series of runes that lock onto a consciousness and translate it's thoughts into sound. Of course, having been a soul for a while, Iduran should have mastered thought-control, but there was still a risk of invoking an Iduran who is simply unable to shut up...

Kerig was somewhat startled.

The response seemed too... Simple.
"Umm, hello..." he said in response "We have been looking for, uh, you, for about a week now..."
"That was aYEAR you boot-brain" Weloss reminded him.
"I-I mean year! Right!" Kerig corrected himself and continued.
"You see, my little friend here..."

Weloss pointed out to Kerig that he was huge, but Kerig decided to ignore that one mistake.
"...Claims that you, uh, mister Crow-Nose, have the power to get a certain thingy..."
Weloss angrily told Kerig to call it 'Etherium', as 'thingy' sounds stupid.
"...A thingy he calls 'ethnenyum' or something like that, from souls, and uh, if you get it..."
Weloss urged Kerig to use the word 'power', even though he was hesitant.
"...If you get it for us, we, uh, will let you use our new power as you please..."
Kerig paused to sigh.
"He just wants to use the power, he doesn't really care how, and frankly, I think accesing the physical realm when you are indestructable is pretty rude..."
This was another one of those times Weloss would have sighed, had he been able to.

"That was the most pathetic speech I've heared during my eternal and boring existence." He told Kerig with a tone of disappointment.

After several houres of travel, Iskatyl reached a fork in the road. Looking in the distance, one road seemed to lead to shore, while the other seemed to lead towards a mountain.
After a minute of standing and thinking, Iskatyl decided to head towards the mountain, since there are bound to be more people inland, and hence, there was a greater chance to run into Eranor...

Iskatyl began to quitly and clamly walk towards the mountain, not knowing about the attack of the lizards and that which awaits him...

Having easily ended the story of another family of farmers, this time without burning anything, Zakon enjoyed the calming sound of his own, steady steps on the damp grass.
He walked and walked, staring at the moon as he slowly licked the blood off his knife.

Which direction was he walking now? He didn't notice, nor did he care.
However, something seemed to be getting on his nerves, even though the night was peaceful.

Yes, while the night was peaceful on the outside, deep within Zakon, an argument was taking place...
Someone claimed that cheese is irrelevant to pitfalls, someone else laughed at him, and another claimed that one by the name of "third person" was lying and should be hanged as soon as he recieves his neck for his eighteenth birthday.

These arguments, though not uncommon, greatly annoyed Zakon. He repeatedly told them to shut up, and they did...
For about ten seconds.
The voices then continued to chat about roses, violins, cooked rice, bubbles, clouds, frogs...
And various other irrelevant subjects.
Zakon was especially annoyed when one of the voices suggested him to be renamed "Moza'ovolkillaz", and almost attempted to stab the voice, but then he was reminded that he would have to split his own head open to do that.
The voice that suggested the name apoligized, and suggested the name "Mastah OVCHEEZ", and upon not recieving any response what-so-ever, it finally decided to shut up.

BANG! Zakon's concentration on shutting up the foolish voices in his head has led him to running face-first into a boulder.
Annoyed even more at this turn of events, Zakon split the boulder open, and sat down on one of the formed halves.
It was time for a rest.

Posted by: akuradavis on Monday April 2nd, 2007

//2nd post. Hope it's not too bad... heh.\\

Floating. He could only feel a strange floating sensation. Then, a tingling feeling started creeping up his arms. In a matter of seconds, it was over"¦.

Jareth opened his eyes, and found himself sitting on the cave floor. How did I end up here? He thought, looking around. The torch on the wall was lit.

"You"¦. *cough* did well. *cough* At least"¦. You still knew your"¦ *cough* limits and sheathed the sword, boy"¦ *cough*" Came a rough voice.

Jareth looked in the direction the sound came from. There, propped up against the cave wall, was Tysid. But something was wrong. He looked"¦ different. Then he spotted it. There was a large gash across Tysid's chest, and his left arm was disconnected, lying on the ground in front of him. Blood covered Tysid, and the floor around him. Light danced off of the crimson puddles, and the blood glowed faintly. I knew he wasn't human. Jareth tried to stand and felt a sharp stab of pain in his left leg. Looking closer, he noticed he had a small cut across his leg. It must have been an intense battle.

"What happened, old man?" Jareth asked, using the cave wall behind him to help him stand.

"The power over whelmed you"¦ *cough* this power"¦ you must *cough* you must use it"¦ under stand it"¦ *cough* and you will find your past"¦ and more. Leave me. You have passed my final test." Tysid said, in a calm voice.

Suddenly there was a loud scraping sound. Cave dwellers. Grotesque things that are attracted to blood. The have small bodies, and skin made as tough as rock. Most are naked, and they all have very good sight in the dark. They eat anything that's meat, alive or dead.

Jareth could tell Tysid was struggling with the pain. "I just can't leave you here, to die! The cave dwellers will eat you!"

"GO!" Tysid's voice boomed. Tysid reached out, chanting something like an incantation. The light flickered out. Jareth felt a pull, as was suddenly ripped backwards, in to the depths of the cave.

Posted by: Zeros' on Monday April 2nd, 2007

Zeros' shifted himself, Allen walking along with him. He stared over at the old man, sighing and glancing around. They were in the middle of Tjed now, which was realtiviely undamage, althought shaken by the assault.

"Allen?" Zeros' inquired, worried about the old alchemist. Allen blinked and turned his head towards Zeros'.

"Hrm? What's is it?" he asked, wiping his forehead and rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Are you *sure* you're ok?" he asked, worried about the other mans health. Zeros' glanced around, the streets deserted, thanks to the attacks. All the windows were boarded up, closed tight and it didn't look like they'd be open anytime soon.

Allen nodded. "I'm sure. Don't worry about me," he said quietly and breathed in and out, abit heavily. Zeros' sighed and nodded, continuing his walk forwards, the old man accompanying him. He knew about the tunnels that Ven and Duilin were in, but he didn't think it'd be best for Allen to talk that way.

"If you say so..."

Posted by: Burton Pro on Monday April 2nd, 2007

//I'm assuming Kronos was talking to me...

"M'Lord, Is there anything I can assist you with? Or do you want me to return to you?" Nick sent another telepathic message.

---

"Well Drew, What is your say in this matter?"

"I was thinking of going towards the stronger of the Empires." Drew folded his arms. It made the insigna on his shoulder more out there. "I say we should set up a meeting with one of them soon..."

The crowd made a clammor...

Posted by: Dude Man on Tuesday April 3rd, 2007

"Lerfina, alright." Duilin replied upon her greeting. "So I'd finally be able to talk to him again eh?" Duilin thought for a bit. That would be interesting, it would almost be like having Iduran with the group again.

"So it a sheath for the sword as well? I assume it'd be fine if I used it. I've got another weapon that's even bigger which I've actually enjoyed using." Duilin stated. He almost felt like a weapon hog, I mean he had two majestic weapons, then again Zeros' had that Demonic/Angelic sword, which was comparable to this one, and it could change so maybe it would count as two weapons. Also Xenai and Zion had those metal beasts that transformed from those crazy-big swords.

"So yeah, anyways. Sure, let's try it out." Duilin said holding out The Iduran. "Oh, uh, by the way. Sorry about what I said earlier...I've just, um, been kind of stressed ever since I transformed into that big demon form. I've never had that happen before, so it was kind of mind scrambling..."

Duilin took the sheath, and strapped it around him. He then slid the majestic blade into the sheath...

---

"With Zeros' and Duilin here I'm sure they won't let anything happen. They're amazing fighters." Rink assured Ven. "But perhaps it would be wise to better the defences here. Is their anyway we can quickly increase the fortification of this place?"

--- ---

Wilham sat down and clasped his hands. "Well, I'm going to share with you some lost ancient history. You see about 1,000 years ago, before the years were even recorded, most of Terian was populated with a vast and flourished republic. A group of summoners, known as the White Chimera were guardians of this republic, and keepers of global peace. They constructed several small temples across the continent, where they stored tablets recording our history, and teachings of our code and magic. The White Chimera had many people with them and admiring us."

"However like all groups, they had their problems. They had corruption, people didn't agree with their leaders so...they broke off, into the Black Dragon, who eventually went corrupt into an assassination group. They in fact were the ones who began to break the White Chimera down, and kill off their leaders. They forced them to then split apart. A few people suggested an interesting and creative way to do this. Since the group of traitors chose to name themselves the 'Black Dragon', the White Chimera chose to make it look like this happened again but several times. They based their new groups off of what happens when you split the color of white light. The groups were..."

"The Red Cyclops, the Orange Wasp, the Yellow Albatrash, the Green Serpent, the Blue Minotaur and the Purple Nymph..."

Marshall gave a wide look of interest. "Yes...that must explain the close similarity between Blue Minotaur and the Red Cyclops. But why did some of the new groups go corrupt?"

"It's just how time goes. Nations can change a lot over a thousand year period." Wilham replied. "But as you may have already guess as I was telling the story. I am part of the remnant of the White Chimera. You see some of us stood with the main group and build a secret hideout on a remote south-western island, which has by now been flooded over with water."

"How could you have survived so long indoors, without proper resources?" Firstman asked.

"Not only did the White Chimera practice summoning magic, but many of us practiced other arts, such as alchemy. We have plenty of stone and sand, which our most skilled alchemists can transform into the resources we need."

"Amazing." Marshall commented, just amazing. "But, one question remains. How did you get from their to here, teleportation, magical underwater-breathing?"

"No, actually. Teleportation can be dangerous if you don't know what the land is like, and nobody has enough mana to maintain breathing, protect against the extreme temperatures, and defend themselves against the sea creatures. We got here by building submersible ships."

"You mean boats that can go under-water?" Firstman asked. "How is that possible?"

"Well, people have made boats that can go in the air. So why not?"

Wilham grinned. "Anyways. Now that I have explained this to you, I want to explain why I am here. You see we have been studying the surface for the past few years, to learn about the current events and learn your new language. We have noticed these empires have enslaved Gaian. We dislike this, and we believe that it is time for us to rise and help overthrow them. We've been watching your liberty revolution, the Aspyes and we like your style. We want to help you. But first we need you to help us."

"With what?" Marshall asked.

"A couple people in this Kandarinian Sovereignty may have discovered us. We need to make sure we aren't found out, else we will defiantly be overthrown."

"How, you're underwater." Firstman replied.

"If we can travel in great distances underwater, than so can today's nations. What we need to do is travel across Terian and remove tablets from our old temples. As we went to retreat some planning on our movement to the new location may have been left over. So, will you help me do this?"

Posted by: Xorlak on Tuesday April 3rd, 2007

Virmir silently strode into the dimly lit room, surrounded by the blue iridescent hue, and bowed lowly in the central circle, holding the cloth wrapped cylinder to his left side. Though his ears were laid back, the Velken refused to show a hint of fear, his icy eyes focused upon the ground.

Retan remained seated with his back turned to the silver furred fox.

"Virmir."

"Yes, my Lord."

"I have selected your race because of its impeccable speed and precision."

Virmir did not move. Retan continued.

"Yet, I am displeased with the amount of time it has taken you to perform your task..."

Virmir twitched slightly.

"My apologies, my Lord. One of my men was wounded, and we were diverted for a short while."

The chair began to spin around slowly.

"Need I remind you that if not for my intervention, not a single one of your kind would be alive? That it is by my grace and generosity that you and every single one of your men breathes? That your very home world still exists?"

"... No, my Lord. This we all know and are eternally grateful for..."

Retan's burning eyes narrowed.

"The life of one of your men is insignificant. Your priority remains the mission. Always. Should your men die, more will be fetched from your homeland and they will be replaced. It is that simple. Is that clear?"

Virmir shut his eyes tightly as he listened to the Dark Emperor's words. They seemed to hang in the air, the echo pounding in his ears for a moment after they were spoken. Finally Virmir responded.

"... Yes, my Lord..."

Retan rose to his feet, his black cape flowing behind him.

"Excellent. Return to me what is mine."

On both knees, Virmir took the cloth-wrapped cylinder in his claws and held it above his head, as if making an offering to a god. Suddenly the object floated into the air and towards the Dark Emperor. As it did the cloth fell off, revealing a brilliant long spear...

... with a fiercely glowing blue gem just under the blade...

A dark aura seemed to flow around the weapon and stab at Retan's gauntlet as he plucked it out of the air. Retan snapped the fingers of his other hand, and immediately the aura shattered like a pane of glass, the gem growing dim.

"Excellent..."

Retan released the spear and allowed it to float in the air, rotating around him. Along with the other weapon. The sword with the red gem in the hilt...

Renard narrowed his eyes slightly. Why are so many people after Duilin? What could the winged human have done? She obviously wanted to kill him, as she was with that mercenary. It made his fur bristle just thinking about it.

"Sorry. I don't have any idea where he is," he said as he shrugged slightly.

In truth, he really didn't have any clue. The two had parted ways with few words, and Renard suspected the man was upset with him, since the fox had not mentioned the fact that he was a specialist mage in the Dark Empire...

The outer cabin doors atop the Jagahn flew open. Jayce stormed onto the deck, an entourage of lizards following. He'd had enough. If you want something done right...

With a mighty leap he bounded straight off of the ship, flying high into the night sky as a black aura engulfed him. He soured over the hundreds of tiny boats filled with Lizard Men below, parting the waves as he flew. He gritted his teeth as Kesnar came into view just past the sandy beach, a blackness concentrating among both his clenched fists...

And the winds began to pick up...

Ven chuckled slightly at the lizard Jacobie's premonition. He must still be woozy, under the effects of the medication, he thought.

But that did not change the fact that there still was something very bad headed their way. Very bad indeed. Ven broke into a light jog, his metallic boots clanking upon the cavernous floors as he headed back to the main stretch of tunnel.

"Look alive, folks! They're coming!"

At this, the knights began to scamper around, climbing up into little nooks and crannies amongst the walls so that they might get a jump upon their adversaries. Traps were set up. Wooden thresholds that would spill rocks from the ceiling with the pull of a rope. It wasn't much, but they needed every little bit they could grab...

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Tuesday April 3rd, 2007

"We're here!" Jelka yelled to the others. The night air was damp and silent; the smell of blood drifted through the air like a dark shroud. Everyone in the airship jumped out as Jelka landed on a peak near a cave.

"I know the way from here," Ben stated, "Follow me, and stay close. I can fell something strange..." Ben entered the cave and lead the party through a bunch of twists and turns along the black caverns. Orange tourch-light glimmered off of the party's armor. Ahead, they could hear clanks of metal scraping the ground.

"The souldiers are ahead!" Justin called out, "Unsheath your weapons!" Another scraping of metal echoed against the walls as the party readied their weapons. They all broke out into a sprint until each of them came upon Jacobie and Ven, standing in the middle of the cave.

"You..." Jacobie looked at Justin, "The soul... of my lord... I will not let you fall, my lord!" Jacobie Unsheathed his katanas at a blazing fast speed. Something about Justin made the Lizard snap back into reality.

As he rushed to the front of the army in the cave, a weird, dark purple glow emmited off his crimson armor. It seemed as if nothing would be able to stand against him... not even Retan himself...

Posted by: Coriko on Wednesday April 4th, 2007

Druid watched as Jayce took off. What arrogance he thought as he looked around at the crew. All viscious looking and yet Jayce goes solo. Druid ran to the edge of the ship and lunged over the edge. His warriors sprinted after him. Druid free fell for a moment and then a blast of shadow energy propelled him up into the sky. Jayce came into view and Druid flew faster. The warriors hovered over the edge as Druid fell and then followed after him when he launched upwards. The red pulse quickened because they knew something was coming, something big.
---
Coriko listened to Wilham's story. It was a little far fetched, but still in the realm of belief.

"You know what, I'm in. I mean so far these missions haven't ben much of a challenge. What do you say Marshall? A real chance to test or abilities."

Coriko looked over at Marshall looking for reassurance. He didn't want to do this with out him. Coriko enjoyed working with Marshall. He could depend on him in a tight spot, and going at this with out Marshall was not going to end well.

"Well, what do you think Marshall?"

Posted by: D. Ein on Wednesday April 4th, 2007

-"Nicholas, come to the southeasternmost corner of the Dark Continent. Once you are there, rally everyone to one location. I will be coming to pick you up shortly."

I opened my eyes, closing the telepathic channel. For now, I will need all the help I can get. First, though, a good means of sea transportation needs to be created. I believe I know just the thing.

-"Hannibal! Come here."

Hannibal Roth, a tall blonde man, was instructing some soldiers nearby. Once he heard his name, he rushed over to me.

-"Yes, sir?"

-"As soon as Damien arrives, I'll need the two of you to go and find me a nice big carcass. Considering your brother's specialization, I don't imagine that to be too hard for you."

-"Air magic, sir?"

-"Precisely. The carcass should be large enough to house... I don't know... about 3-4 thousand people."

-"That's a large carcass, sir."

-"Be a problem solver, Hannibal. Find two smaller ones."

-"Yes, sir."

Hannibal returned to the soldiers, muttering something under his breath. Now, to the matters more at hand...

-"Etherium, huh. The soul fabric. That's quite a lot you're asking for. What might this new power be? Would I have an application for it that would be handy in my situation? Such as, say, instant, unbound, unlimited teleportation of five thousand people from one side of the planet to the other?"

Posted by: Dude Man on Wednesday April 4th, 2007

//Haha! Nice one Ein!\\

"Well, actually this doesn't seem like too much of a challenge to be honest. Then again it does seem rather peaceful, and I could use a good hike." Marshall replied. "So yeah, let's do it."

"Ah, hell I'm in too." Firstman grinned. "I've gotten enough rest."

"Excellent. But there is one thing, we were only able to figure out the general locations of where the temples were, and secondly, some of them seem rather dangerous locations." Wilham explains. He then reaches into a pocket in his robe and removes a scroll of paper with a map on it.

http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/1231/wctemplemapqn6.gif

"Well, one of those places is actually not to far away from here." Firstman said, pointed at one of the marked spots (the blue one).

"Wait, hand me that map." Marshall said, taking the map. "Actually, I think this is it."
"You sure?" Firstman asked.

"Yeah." Marshall answered. "I mean, this place is mostly just an upgrade from a former underground bunker."

"Then we're a quarter done." Wilham said.

"Don't we need to find the tablet?" Marshall asked.

"I'd be nice. But that's not important. Maybe Kropotkin can look for it."

"You know." Kropotkin began. "I think there may be a few crates of stuff we found here, when we discovered the place. I'll go look for it, in the mean time. You kids go off, and find the rest of the spots."

"We'd best start with this place then." Marshall suggested pointing to the red dot.

--- ---

Vandrin had returned back to his castle, he was talking to one of his servants, as he usually does.

"So apparently the tablet is from an ancient group of guardians known as the White Chimera. It mentions a little bit about the group moving towards a southern island." Vandrin told.

"Yes, lord Vandrin. Very interesting, Lord Vandrin." He said, as he adjusted his lord's suit.

"I find this rather interesting. I've uncovered a piece of lost ancient history. This could make met quite famous, and perhaps improve my already great image." Vandrin said sounding rather snootie.

"Lord Vandrin!" Called one of his messengers entering the room.

"Do you always have to yell whenever you enter a room!?" Vandrin shouted.

"Sorry, my lord. I just like to make a notably entrance."

"Well nobody cares about your entrance, you're lowly messenger. Nobody cares about messengers. They care about important people, important people like me!"

"Sorry, my lord. Anyways, I have an important message from Kronos, Marshal of Kandarin."

"Oh yes, I was wondering about him. I heard he got killed by a gaint metal dog wearing a hood, or something like that."

The messenger handed him the note.

"Well, yes of cource I'm still loyal to him." Vandrin said, as he read. "Sign over to the Dark Empire! To Qor with that!" Vandrin tossed away the note. "That damn empire has been on my nerves for the past year. I favour Kandarin over them."

"But my lord. If we don't then we may be in threat of a large attack." The servant warned. "You have any idea how strong the Dark Empire is. Starting a war with them would be suicide."

"Pah! Their febble dark side is no match for my skills!" Vandrin sneered wile pointing towards himself.

--- ---

"I hope Zeros' and Duilin hurry back." Rink said, giving a deep breath.

Lagart tightened his grip on the Talonscar Mace. Rink thought it looked a bit odd not being used by Duilin, but it was a mean weapon and it was good that at least somebody was using it.

"Hey boys, sorry about the delay..." Said the voice of an old man.

"Goldolf." Lagart called seeing the old drow enter.

"Had a bit of a scuffle earlier, but I'm still breathin'." He coughed a bit. "Don't know for how long though."

"Are you hurt?" Rink asked in concern for the stranger.

"Nah, I'm just old. It was joke...Hey what the heck are you anyways?" Goldolf said looking at the imp.

"I'm Rink, an imp."

Goldolf rolled his eyes. "First lizards, then demons now imps what next? Angels!?"

--- ---

"It's uhh..." Duilin said looking at the sword in the sheath. "Not working..." He looked at Lerfina "You sure you did everything right? I mean--"

Suddenly he heard a rumbling throughout the cave. "Damnit, looks like they're coming. Lerfina, you going to help? Because I'm gonna go."

Regardless of her answer Duilin dashed off towards where Ven and the others had grouped...

Posted by: Jenia on Wednesday April 4th, 2007

//Note: The spelling mistakes in Kerig's post are all done on purpose\\

Kerig was quite confused at all this.
Weloss was expecting this, however.
He began explaining to Kerig what he should tell to the lich, but on the outside, it seemed as if Kerig paused to think.

"Err..." Kerig began his attempt to explain "Well, tepwerorteshon is not our forte..."

He looked left and right, as if thinking to himself for yet another moment.
"But if you can cast a normal tereplot spell, then, umm, we could simply lend you our raw energy... Except I don't know how to tranfer it to other people... Well, if Weloss gets enough erthyum, I guess he could somehow create a way for us to share it... I mean, we DO have enough to traspnort at least quadruple, if not more, of the amount you asked for, but most of it is stuck at pure spirit phase... I mean sure, the Etheyurm would remedy the probelm, but even if you seperate a hunwed souls from ther bodies, We could still only barely acess a little more than a single percent of Weloss' engery..."
Kerig suddenly realized he had been talking for a while about the teleportation thing, rather than getting to the point of the power.
"Or, well, he can just fuse with a person or object to make it indersuctable and maybe add a few extra celsetial body parts...That was the orignial idea, anyway..."

Weloss seemed to be disappointed again.
"The more you talk, the more you get tongue-tied, you know?"

Fernis sighed. No, she wasn't going to go. The last thing she wanted was to openly oppose the dark empire. Now, the lizards from before were not a problem, since they were few.
They perished quickly, and even if they did remember her, they wouldn't have lived to tell their commanders the tale.

This, however, was different. There were many lizardmen out there, and if even one tells about her to his commander, her freedom will come to an end.

She hurried out of the room, grabbed the confused Elphos on her way and headed for the back exist, the one leading to Tjed's capital.

Iskatyl was quite surprised as he saw a band of lizardman dash towards the mountain.
He thought it was an odd day for mountain climbing, and continued aloing the road.

During his walk, he went by two houses. One contained dead bodies, and the other one, which was burnt to a crisp, contained nothing but charred bones.

Knowing he was on the right track, he pressed on.

Zakon was surprised enough by the band of lizards dashing into the cave, right in front of his face, not noticing him, to suddenly ignore the voices in his head.

How interesting. What an odd day it is for a band of armed green men to go cave-exploring.

He chuckled and waited until the last of the lizardmen entered the cave, and then leapt from his location and split the last lizard to enter the cave in two.

The lizard didn't even let out a single cry as it's upper body fell forward. It's lower body shortly followed.

He safely landed behind a whole rock, large enough for the other lizards not to notice him unless they approach.
Sure, this wasn't as fun as, say, slaying a squirming pig, but it would serve as a fine dessert from him after the two farmhouses he dealt with.

He inserted his pinky into his mouth in anticipation.

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Wednesday April 4th, 2007

"What have you to tell me, my apprentice? What news have you? And what of the shade you sent; did it's job, then?"

"Not quite, m'lord. He was unable to stop my brother. I told you, I need much more training before I can match his strength!"

"NOT WITH THAT ATTITUDE!!!" Valimore stood up from his throne and lifted his arm towards Draconis' neck, slowly lifting him upwards by the throat, strangling him. "If your next two plans don't get me a dead lizard, I won't let go!" Valimore relaesed his grip and flung his arm outwards, sending Draconis flying off to the side, hitting a wall with great force.

"*cough* I'm sorry *cough* m'lord! It shall not happen again. I promise!"

"It had better not... Bring forth the creature... I wish to speak with him about his fickled 'single-god' belief. NOW!!!" Draconis raced towards the back of the throne down a trap door, pulling a keychain out of his robe pocket. He picked out a golden key and climbed down the ladder to the trap door, opening a cell next to it. Inside ravaged a red-skinned demon with two great horns and fangs.

"RREEEAAAGGHHHH!!! WHO IS IT THAT WISHES TO SPEAK WITH ME, MORTAL!?!?!?"

"My lord seeks an audience with you. It's very improtant, so shape up, you foul creature. MOVE!!!" Draconis and this strange demon climbed up the ladder and out the trap door. As Draconis closed it, he placed the keychain back in his robe pocket.

"WHAT NOW, VALIMORE? I TIRE OF THIS, I HOPE YOU KNOW..."

"Yes, I know very well. As do I, Grogg. I just wanted to let you know that your 'god' still sleeps. His angelic form, however, is about to ruin everything! Is there any way you can awaken his so-called 'god form' so that he is distracted?"

"I'M AFRAID I CANNOT DO THAT, VALIMORE. YOU SEE, THERE IS A PROPHECY THAT TWO LOYAL SERVENTS FROM DRANNIVILLE WILL AWAKEN HIS TEMPLE DEEP WITHIN GAIAN. HOWEVER, I AM NOT FROM DRANNIVILLE, THEREFORE I DO NOT FIT THE PROPHECY."

"I can't believe you! You've been no help at all! If I didn't know better, I's say you're keeping close to the vest... but I cannot just let you alone... If I did that, your father would surely kill me. He is probably the only one in this world I fear... except one other. But that does not matter. What does is the fact that you are of no use at this time. Perhapse I may call upon your services again to locate the ones from this 'prophecy' of which you speak. Until then, back to the cells with you. Draconis!!!"

"I'm on it, m'lord! Back down the door, demon!"

Posted by: Xorlak on Wednesday April 4th, 2007

The burly Jayce touched down in front of the ruined walls of Kesnar, pounding a crater two feet deep into the sandy beach as he aura dispersed, though a thin veil of blackness remained about his huge form.

Behind him the lizards landed, hundreds upon hundreds, rushing into the doomed city with hissing war cries. The walls were completely overrun within moments...

Yet there was no one there...

"Hsa... my Master... the humanss of Tjed have fled. They have abandoned their city..." a larger armored Lizard spoke. He was taller than the High General and hung over him, though there was still a timidness within his demeanor.

"I can see that, wretch."

Jayce pushed over a crumbling section of wall with his left hand as he stepped into the city proper.

"Find them! Find them now!!"

Lizards scampered about, ducking this way and that at the dark Draken's orders. Kesnar was entirely swarmed by the scaly men, and the streets packed nearly shoulder-to-shoulder. Jayce pointed to a group coming in behind him, then to the buildings before him.

"Torch it."

Windows were shattered and burning torches thrown in. Within a few moments a few houses were up in flames, and the fire began to rapidly spread...

Near the outskirts of the abandoned city, a reptilian officer thought he saw some movement to the north, although his eyes weren't well suited to the dark. A small scouting party returned shortly.

"Cavessss. There'ss cavess up there..."

"Hiding placess... inform the High General at once!"

Ven's sword was out in a flash, and it began to glow a bright white, bathing the dark cave in a soft glow.

"Blast it! Who are these guys?"

They certainly didn't look like members of the Dark Empire. This was a bad turn of events... They couldn't afford to wear themselves down fighting unknown enemies before the lizards even arrived! Still, they had no choice but to defend themselves.

With a rush, some fifteen knights charged though the tunnel behind Ven and Jacobie, rushing to meet the mysterious attackers.

"HYAAAAHHH!!!"

Ven split the air in a diagonal slash, sending forth a crescent shaped surge of wind at his unknown adversaries...

Posted by: Dude Man on Wednesday April 4th, 2007

Along with the group of knights Lagart was with them (so 15 knights plus Lagart). The burly Lizard Man would ready to strike once they charged forward...

Duilin arrived at the scene, and was on the opposite side of as Ven and Jacobie were; therefore he was behind the new coming enemies.

"Who are these guys?" Duilin questioned. "Why must so many people want to attack us?" He groaned. Not yet ready to try out The Iduran he opened his hands and pointed them towards the unknown foes, two bolts of lightning then shot towards them...

--- ---

One of the ships began to spawn out more shoreline boats filled with Lizard Men, they bared the symbol of the Dark Empire. However their colours were Dark Green, indicating they were part of Gorus Van'deln's forces.

A group of Lizards arrived into Kensar. It was lead by a lizard man with slightly dark bluish hue to his skin. He wore metal shoulder and kneepads, over his simple black clothing. He was brandishing a large sabre.

"Greetings Prince Jayce." The blue skinned lizard man said, with a tone of limited respect in his voice. "I am General Xarn. High General Gorus has sent us here, to hunt down a criminal as well assist you in your attack, with Retan's permission of course. If you don't want to fully co-operate then don't get in my way and we won't get in yours." Just before he turned away he spoke again. "The criminal has been identified as a half demon that goes only by the name of Zeros'. We have reason to believe you are an acquaintance with him..."

Posted by: D. Ein on Wednesday April 4th, 2007

-"KHAKH! KHAKH! Extra body parts? That's MY forte, child!"

Just then, I heard the whole sentence.

-"Wait, did you say... indestructible? Now THAT is interesting... Hmm......."

Still, though, I'd need some way to transport all those people from the Continent to... someplace else... Damien could... yes, a conduit... Kronos, you have the mind of a genius.

-"Well then, the pact is sealed. Here."

I threw Kerig the soultrap amulet containing de Sade's essence.

-"That's a good two hundred souls for you right there. That guy sure knew his magic... though in the end, as you must understand, that was his downfall. You go run and play somewhere else, while I need to do some important... business... yes... Anyways, tell your friend that he can have the amulet if he helps me out with a few rather annoying problems... Otherwise, you'll have to, ah, give it back..."

A loud thunder crash behind me interrupted my chain of thoughts. Grand, Damien makes a flashy entrance as usual. Another thunder crash informed me that he and Hannibal departed to search for that carcass I requested.

-"Am I talking too fast for you, child?"

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Wednesday April 4th, 2007

"Stop! We've come to help! Ugh, what does it matter, I have to stop it." Ben ran forwards infront of the group and grabbed at the slash Ven made with his sword. He dragged it around the air and flung it around, disentigrating it into tiny pieces.

Jackie and Jelka held their arms out and countered the bolts of lightening with a combined, super-strong wind blast. The blast swarmed around the bolts of lightening and absorbed the power from them, disolving into thin air.

"HYAAAH!!!" Justin raced forwards at a blazing speed, passing around the knights, avoiding each of their swords and blocking all attacks thrown towards him.

"Justin, no," Ben called out, "Those are 'our' troops! They're allies, you idiot! Go past them to the Lizards!"

"What do you think I'm trying to do!? They came at me! Am I supposed to let them kill me, is that what you're saying?"

Jacobie sheathed one katana and held Ven back with his free hand. "These are my friends! They mean you or any of us no harm; they'll help us defeat the enemies ahead!" He let his katana back out of it's sheath and ran to stop the knights and Justin from fighting each other.

Posted by: Jenia on Thursday April 5th, 2007

Kerig easily cought the amulet.

"Err, no, Mister Crow-Nose..."

He turned to look at the amulet...
"So, can we use this?" He said out loud to himself more than anything.
"No! You imbecile, will you just let me speak to him myself!?" Weloss was apperantly running out of patience.
"Fine, fine...Talk to him yourself..." Kerig sighed as he placed his free hand on his face, hiding one of his eyes between his fingers.
His eyes slowly closed, as he was apperantly putting himself to sleep.
But just as they closed tight, the eye not hidden between the fingers opened wide, and it was blood red.

His facial expression suddenly changed into a bloodthirsty, furious one.

He sharply removed the hand from his face, leaving one eye closed.
"Look, this is stupid!" he said angrily, waving the hand holding the amulet.
"This contains spell power, not a soul! You saw him... He still talked back to you AFTER you filled this amulet with his power!"
He stepped forward, his foot sinking into the soil despite it being rock-hard.
"You see... Your made a common misconception by dwellers of the physical realm... Etherium is not the only thing forming a soul... It is what BINDS it to it's physical form! In other words, it's the only material which is both physical and astral! Now tell me, would a man who lost the connection with his body be able to use it to talk back!?"
He didn't wait for the answer.

"No! He wouldn't! Sure, etherium's 'glow' is like a sun to your spirit sensing... It makes the rest of the soul pale in comparison, so you think only etherium is there... But for fact, it's not! What I need is to assimilate..."
Suddenly, with his free hand, he grabbed his face again and closed his open eye, as if in pain.
"Don't be..." his voice seemed to return to it's regular tone "...so...rude..."

//Meh, will do the others later...\\

Posted by: Dude Man on Thursday April 5th, 2007

"Are you sure my friend?" Ophelia asked Renard. "He didn't say anything."

"Maybe he lie. Perhaps he want to keep half demon safe." Rufokanno stated.

"Shut it." Opehlia sneered. "You sure, he didn't hint at anything? Did you see which direction he went too when he left?"

--- ---

Marshall and the gang make their way west to find the next temple.

"So, any idea where this temple would be around?" Firstman asked.

"Well..." Marshall said looking at the map. "It should be around the ruins of Bandervil."

"Woo...isn't that where Haraldur defeated Abodahon and the Grey Empire?" Firstman asked. "I heard Haraldur made this HUGE explosion and turned the entire fortress into dust."

"That's impossible." Wilham said. "Nobody has that much power in a single attack. It's just not logical. It would have taken him all day to make a blast so powerfull it would destroy an entire fortress. They would have taken him down before he could have fired the attack."

"Oh..." Marshall began. "Haraldur, he was beyond impossible..."

"Was?" Wilham asked.

"Yes, sadly that was also where he died. It's rumoured that he died in an attempt to kill both Abodahon and Melkoth in one strike. He succeeded...but...well you know." Firstman explained.

"Actually, I think what happened is that he allowed himself to die, so he could start a revolution in the netherworld." Marshall replied.

"I don't doubt Haraldur's motivation and abilities..." Firstman said "But I hear it's impossible for somebody to be free in the netherworld. The Dark God of Hell's powers are limitless, even compared to Haraldur's, in the netherworld. He'd never be able to pull it off."

"I just like to keep my hopes up. Some day, he will return." Marshall said with hope.

"So uh, how long until we get there?" Wilham asked.

"At this rate, it'll be awhile, actually. Maybe a day or two, heh." Marshall chuckled. "It'd be best if we had a ride. Want me to summon up some Wyverns?"

"No, I'll take care of it...." Wilham responded. He held out his gauntlet and spewed out a large fog of white mist, which began to take form. "Something we can ALL ride on..."

Posted by: Xorlak on Thursday April 5th, 2007

Renard's ears laid back and he touched the ends of his claws together. Half demon?

"Well, I-uh..."

"Hey, look. He said he doesn't know," Helix quickly interjected from the side. The slightly taller and lankier sliver fox pressed his way in between Renard and Ophelia.

"We found the poor kid beat half to death. I'm surprised he remembers his own name. Now if you don't mind, we're kinda busy here."

Helix flicked his tail once and gave Ophelia a sort of sneer, while waving his right claw in a 'shoo'-ing motion.

Jayce turned and growled at the newcomer General Xarn.

"This is my island, General. I will be the one taking it. Yes, you would do best to stay out of my way..."

Jayce turned and stormed off into the increasingly burning city. Now here comes Gorus to try to steal some of his glory. How irritating...

... Zeros'... The winged one with the white hair and sword? Ah yes, now he remembered. But he was sealed away... perhaps he escaped? That must be the one who attacked Melface and the others. Jayce grinned. As he recalled, he owed him a match... This night was starting to turn delicious...

"My Lord!"

A lizard bowed before him.

"There are caves in the northern mountains... That is where the humans have fled..."

Jayce's smirk grew more insidious...

Ven lowered his sword, then stood there blinking for a moment.

"Oh... Well, I suppose this is good news then! ... Just be careful not to burst into caves with waiting armed soldiers next time... We're a bit jittery, you know."

Ven didn't quite have the time to consider his new allies, for his attention immediately snapped to the opening of the caverns ahead. Through the darkness, he could see a spray of tiny orange lights drawing up the mountainside...

Torches...

Then came the hissing sound of hundreds of lizards, their war cry... The rocks rumbled slightly under their heavy footfalls.

Ven took his sword and held hit vertically before him, the white light emanating from it glowing anew.

"This is it..."

Posted by: D. Ein on Thursday April 5th, 2007

"Urghhh!!! So THAT'S what he's after?!

-"Look, I don't have time to be chasing after people to fetch their souls for you. Here, how about you have five of these amulets, and you can do the rest yourself. Now, you can either help me after that or just do whatever, I don't care. I got plenty left. Those five should hold a good dozen souls each, so go and play. I have to take care of the really important things now."

Stupid, pathetic little people with their selfish minute obsessions....

I was slightly cheered up by a thunder crash somewhere to the left, and noticed Damien with a gigantic whale skeleton over him. He was holding it up using his air magic. Hannibal was already standing next to me.

-"Your skeleton, sir."

-"My skeleton is inside my body. This, however, is good... Oh yes, and Damien, I'll need you to hold it up for a while longer... a long while... along with many other people."

Damien's eye twitched, and turned away from me. Well, screw him too.

By my command, the bones of the gigantic skeleton all separated, then reconstructed. The creature's skull was now inside its ribcage, serving as the main carriage. The rest of its bones were arranged outside of the skull, providing protection from whatever harmful sources we may encounter. Thankfully, the gargantuan creature's carcass was bleached, so I would not have to bear the rotting death stench. I waved my hand up and down, signaling Damien to lower the "transport". He complied, and all of the remaining Kandarinians quickly rushed inside the skull, finding a comfortable place somewhere in a mess of jaws, teeth and miscellaneous bones. I entered last.

-"Take us up, Damien, and off we go to the Dark continent... Southeasternmost corner, please."

The bones crackling occasionally, the abomination rose in the air. I suppose I'm the captain, and Damien is the helmsman. He made himself a convenient hole in front of the skull to peer through. Meanwhile, I searched for Eve.

-"You there! Yes, you, the necromantress. I want everyone in here to be able to raise at least one corpse before we land on the continent, is that clear?"

-"Well, sir, I'm kind of not in the corpse department..."

-"Then what the hell kind of a necromantress are you?!"

-"Ah, the cursing kind, sir."

Curses...? Hexes and the such? Most interesting... Perhaps even more useful than death magic in some cases.

-"Cursing, I see." I quickly created a bone minion out of a pile of bones nearby. The creature shambled towards Eve. "Show me what you can do."

Eve extended her hand towards the undead, and a strange wreath of leaves appeared on its head. The same kind that high-ranking officials wore in Romme. What is she doing, decorating my minions? They're meant to shred people to pieces, not have plant life over their heads! Slightly annoyed, I forced my minion to swing at Eve.

The skeletal arm made a crushing blow, staggering and tripping the necromantress. Instantly, the wreath of leaves turned to metal and crushed the minion's skull. Of course, the minion was still standing... but a normal person wouldn't be... Very, very interesting...

-"I see... Well then, go teach them whatever little you know about death magic, then move onto curses. Don't move too fast, though. Their puny little brains need time to process information that complex."

-"Did I do that right?... oh, what? Yes, sir."

//the comparison with Romme served as a placeholder for Rome... The thing looked like this.\\

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Friday April 6th, 2007

"No time to loose! We must break the army!" Jacobie Raced through the opening of the cave and shocked about a fourth of the lizard army. Many of them dropped their weapons in surprise.

"My fellows, I'm afraid your siege ends here... Time to die! ATTACK!!!" The lizards gasped and picked up their weapons, surprised by this traitor that came upon them. He flung his blades out there like a mad man... or mad lizard-man.

"You heard the lizard! Destroy them all!" Ben let off his cloak and burst it off of him with great angelic wings. He flew up in the air and readied an attack, flapping his wings to keep his balance in the air.

"Well... this is it. Nice knowing you, Dori. I won't go down without a fight, though!"

"You're not going to die out there, Justin! Remember your powers! Didn't that lizard guy say that he found the soul of his lord in you? Think! You have Drannica in your guts. Put him to use..." Dori ran out in the valley to attack lizards at will as did Jacobie.

"Maybe she's right... I am a gepardi, after all. Time to see if this works..." Justin held his hands near his waist. His shape grew with a bright white aura. He transformed himself into a giant half-breed between dragon and human. Fangs sprang out of his mouth; large wings sprouted out of his back to resemble a dragon's. He was about the size of a full dragon, but still possesed human form.

What is this inside me...? How is this happening? Where am I? Did I die already?* Justin's soul rested in a dark void as the soul of the great god Drannica resides within him.

"I HAVE COME UPON THE EARTH AND WITH MY TWO FEET TAKEN POSSESION! DIE, MORTALS!!!" The great half dragon came down upon the army and picked off Lizards at random. He grabbed a few of them and ate off thier heads, flinging the bodies to the ground.

"What is that thing out there? I think we should have just stayed home at Dranniville... In fact, I'm glad we're up here defending this place rather then trying to defend home... Let's get em, Jackie!"

"Right, Jelka! Should we give 'em the gale, or even the tornado? Yeah, let's do that!" They went out and formed a power stance, charging wind from around them, forming balls of wind in their hands.

Posted by: Xorlak on Friday April 6th, 2007

Ven nodded in approval at the newcomers. It seemed they might have a chance after all...

Yet the lizards kept coming. As soon as they were felled more rushed in to take their place, brandishing their heavy swords, maces, and axes. They were like fearless drones, totally oblivious to the destruction around them, and capable of only one thought... Get into the cave and kill...

Ven held his sword horizontally to his right and rushed madly at the lizards, his entourage of knights behind him.

"FOR TJEDDDD!!! HYAAAAAHHHH!!!!"

He met them just outside the mouth of the cave. With a bright white slash he severed the arm of the lead lizard. These were the slightly smaller and more manageable C-Class lizards, yet he knew the fearsome B-Class would likely come later on...

Steel met steel in a massive array of sparks and noise as the lizards and humans fought. The humans were unfortunately out matched and out numbered against the gigantic reptilian beasts, yet Ven's blasts of wind magic helped even the odds slightly as great slashes of his glowing sword set blades of wind through the enemy ranks, maiming their tough hides.

A dark figure stood at the foot of the incline as lizards rushed around him, scurrying up the hill... Behind him, the former port town of Kesnar burned brightly...

"Heh..."

A thick haze of blackness engulfed Jayce and he rocketed into the air, stopping some twenty five feet high. He floated there for a moment as the blackness danced around his already dark armor. An inky mass swelled in his right palm.

"Pitiful creatures. Come out and fight like a dragon! Oh, wait. You insects don't qualify..."

With that, he thrust his right hand forward, the orb of shadow tripling in size. Streams of dark violet danced around the pulsing sphere as it seemed to absorb any light available in the already pale night sky.

"Sorry!"

With that, the orb was shot forth like a cannon ball. Then another, and another... The three spheres of blackness surged overhead, striking the mountainside above the cavern entrance in three locations. The very mountain shook with each blow, and boulders began to rain down. Inside the tunnels vibrated, knocking waiting knights down as bits of ceiling began to collapse overhead...

In the darkness of the northern night sky...

... something large approached...

Posted by: Dude Man on Friday April 6th, 2007

"Our orders come from High General Gorus." Xarn growled back. "Therefore you have no legal power over us."

Xarn overheard the mention of the northern cave. If the humans fled their likely Zeros' has too. He then turns to his squad. "After Jayce's army runs through, rush in and seek out and kill any winged humanoids." He ordered.

As his army marched towards closer towards the caves, Xarn took out a communications orb from his pocket. "Thogus. We've met with Jayce's group and the shoreline city is barren. We overheard they're going towards the northern caves, meet us there in ten minutes..."

--- ---

"Watch your tongue fur-ball!" Ophelia sneered towards Helix. "I may not be very high ranking..." She then stepped forward. "But I could break you, so watch it."

She then looked back at Renard. "One last question...What did you and Duilin talk about? Remember you're not in any trouble. Relax, think hard and try to remember..."

--- ---

"Holy crap, do those guys ever move fast." Rink gasped as he saw Jacobie and the rest zoom off.

"Oh, tryin' to out stage ole' Duilin are they?" Duilin said, half jokingly. "I'll show them."

The half demon dashed towards the oncoming group of lizard men he lifted up his hands and an orange glow emitted around them, he then jumped in the air and performed a flip and then landed in the middle of a group of lizards. He swung his arms out, summoning a Demon Flail in each hand. He then swung the demonic energy-weapons about smashing away the Lizard Men, leaving melting wounds on their bodies...

"That's six..." Duilin said announcing his current kill count.

He then looked and saw a large figure come through the black haze, which shot a large ball of shadow magic.

"Jayce..." Duilin said. With Zeros' away, he'd have to take him. He cracked his knuckles and then walked towards him. He put his hand over the handle of The Iduran. No, not yet...

Duilin pressed his hands together flowing demonic and lightning magic together and spread his hands apart creating a golden-orange blade. "Come on, princeling." He taunted towards Jayce. Duilin arched the energy blade back and swung it forward increasing its size as it zoomed down towards the Draken...

Posted by: Xorlak on Friday April 6th, 2007

Renard opened his mouth but before he could say anything, Helix pushed his hand into his chest and the shorter Velken fell back against the door. Helix then rose into the air several inches so that his eyes were slightly above Ophelia's, and he looked down at her, his teeth clenched and a feral growl emanating from the back of his throat.

"Did you just threaten me?"

"Helix!"

Renard was ignored. Helix extended his claws to his sides as he floated a few inches higher, the fur on the back of his neck standing straight up.

"Just who do you think you are?!" He paused to sniff the air, taking in her scent, "... Human! You or your brute lay a finger on us, and we'll flay you open!"

"Is there a problem here?"

The voice was from down the hall. A Velken Blade Knight, with his sword drawn... The other seven Velkens behind him took to the air and flew down the hallway, some zipping over Ophelia's head as gray blurs. In but an instant they had formed a half circle around the four congregated in front of Renard's door.

Another Velken Blade Knight spoke, floating about a foot off of the ground. "I suggest you leave..."

Posted by: Jenia on Friday April 6th, 2007

Kerig took a deep breath and took a look at the five other amulets he was given.
"Can we use this?" He asked Weloss.
"Mmm... The souls are trapped... Completly... " Weloss began pondering "As long as you hold unto these, I believe I can take them apart and assimilate the etherium... But it will likely couse the amulets to fall apart... Bah, nevermind that! All I need is a little. Once I have any at all, I can assimilate raw souls as much as I like."

Kerig smiled at it and put on all five amulets, just so he wouldn't have to hold them and yet Weloss' access to them would remain easy.
He then turned to hurry after the lich.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-it!" he yelled out "Mistah Crow-Nose, we are coming with you."
Weloss was suprised. "He gives us what we need and doesn't ask us to stay! Why don't you just ditch the place, goddamnit it!?" he inquired angrily.
"I...It is only proper to repay favors!" Kerig said to both Kronos and Weloss.
He then fully turned to Kronos.
"Weloss will need a little while to absorb...These... I don't know where you are going, but wherever that is, I'm sure we can help in some way... Once we get there..."

He ignored the fact Weloss accused him of being a softy, as this wasn't the first time.
"We might be stupid, pathetic little people-" Kerig added, but his string of thoughts was interrupted by Weloss (who told him to speak to himself) "But...At least I'm definetly not selfish..."

Fernis, having left the caves, took a good look at the sky. It was quite starry, and it seemed so peaceful. Looks can surely be decieving...

Elphos was still confused.
"Hey, Fernis, why are we in a hurry?" He asked, confused.

"Do you, little pulpy unarmed human who cannot defend himself in any given way..." Her tone was almost angry "...want to get cought up in fighting off GIANT LIZARD MEN holding all kinds of SHARP OBJECTS!?"

Elphos seemed to mumble something, but Fernis didn't really notice.
She simply assumed the answer to be 'no'.
"So there!" Her voice was more of a commanding one this time "Not only I'm doing you a favor as your beloved master, but I'm saving the butt of my puny little appretince."
She smiled devilishly at him, and he couldn't help but smile softly back, though incencirely.

"Alright then." Fernis spoke more calmly now "We are heading for the capital. I'll deal with Iduran and his problem... Later."

The two slowly paced toward the city.

Iskatyl hurried down the path has he saw another group of lizards head towards the mountains. The group was too small to be an attacking force, so it was probably just a second scout group.

He soon came upon a cave entrance. What he saw had shocked him, and he froze for a moment.

There, Zakon was fighting off, all alone, what seemed to be two forces of lizardmen.
Some were coming out of the cave, and some were the group Iskatyl just saw passing by.

"Eranor!" he cried out to him "Brother! What is...!"

"I told you..." Zakon replied angrily as he sliced off a lizardmen's arm, from which he proceeded to slice the neck "NEVER call me by that name!"
The lizard he sliced dropped dead, and as he turned 180 degrees to parry an attack from a second lizardmen, he sliced open a a third one which happened to be standing between the two.

"My name is Zakon now." he said, slightly annoyed, but only at being called 'Eranor' "And can't you see I'm busy now?"

Iskatyl shrudded as Zakon coused the blade of the lizardman's sword to fall on the floor before he proceeded to swing at the lizard himself.

"But...Brother!" Iskatyl sounded more worried than terrified "You can't take them all by yourself! Please stop and run, or you will die!"

Zakon began to laugh wholeheartedly but his laughted was interrupted by another slicing motion.

"I've already taken down at least a dozen." Zakon said confidently "They are big, but they are slow... They are inexperienced, weak minded fools. This... Is nothing more than a warm up..."
Zakon turned to face another lizardman rushing at him
"DIE HUMAN!" the lizarman cried out.
"Heh..." Zakon sighed before leaping right under the lizardman "You're more human than I am."
With that, the lizardman fell down, it's upper body seperated into three pieces.

He then turned to Iskatyl.
"Join me, little one. Perhaps you could learn something by practicing on them." he said it calmly, as he was doing no more than enjoying a nice cup of tea "Otherwise, do stay away, brother, I'd hate to see you hurt by someone as incompetent as..." he noticed a lizardman swung an axe at him, and he nimbly dodged, slicing it's head (and apperantly the skull as well) open.
"...These greenhorns."

While Zakon smiled and plunged his free hand into the now open lizard's head, throwing something which seemed awefully pink and gooey at another approaching lizard, Iskatyl suddenly noticed one of the lizardmen was aiming for him.
"AAah!" Iskatyl yelped as he ducked to dodge the incoming blow from what seemed to be some sort of a halberd.

Out of pure survival instinct, his eyes suddeny recieved a white sheen, and as he grabbed the knife strapped to his belt, not a moment seemed to pass as the lizardman's upper and lower body fell down, each in turn.

Zakon had the time to see this, and smiled.
"See, brother, you can do it if you try..."

Iskatyl was almost panicking.
"But... I didn't control it, brother... I was afraid, unlike you..."

Zakon turned to him, ignoring two more lizardmen approaching him from behind. He gave his little brother the warmest smile.
"Then come, aid me, brother." Zakon's voice was filled with honest good will "Be afraid..."

He turned around, slicing both approaching reptillians.
"...That your brother might fall!"

Shaking, Iskatyl nodded, but removed and threw his cloak away, rushing to aid Zakon.
Neither of them noticed the crashing and rumbling not too far off...

//Note: this was done assuming theres more than one cavern entrance, and both of them approached a less known one... Solve's drannic's problem, anyway.\\

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Friday April 6th, 2007

"WHO IS THIS FOOL!? WHO DARE ATTACK ME, GOD OF THE LAST REALM!? DIE, YOU FOOLISH MORTAL!!!" Drannica held his hand out by his body and a great, white blade of energy raced out. It was incredible in size; about ten times the size of a normal blade of energy like that. He held it back with two hands and brought it forwards with a great, mighty slash towards Jayce, tearing the fabric of time itself around him it was so powerful...

"How would you like a taste of your own medicine! You ready down there?"

"Almost! Just give us a few more seconds, Ben... There! Let 'er rip, Jackie!"

"I'm already on it, sis! Let fly the tripple combo tornado!" Ben reached his hands out as did the Velken twins standing below him. An enormous flash of energy covered the lands, and for a moment, all that could be seen was white. Immediately, the light rushed towards the winds that stirred around in the air. A giant tornado began to ravage the Lizards on their side of the battle field. Lizard-men were flying out of the skys left and right, pumbling other lizard-men as they fell downwards.

"Now then, I'll take care of Jayce. You down there, demon! I'll assist you! Blade of Fury!" Ben crafted an energy sword with half wind magic and half angelic magic, similar to that of Dulin's. He flew forwards with great speed and zipped through the air to where Dulin was.

"Feathers of the angels, I grant your power on this being! Give him speed amongst the skys!" White feathers circled around Dulin for a short few seconds, disolving infront of him. The power had worked, but it looked like Dulin thought of it as a flight spell, and not one of speed. Ben looked down at him, expecting to be insulted.

Posted by: Dude Man on Friday April 6th, 2007

"Oh wow!" Duilin said sarcastically. "You're a real sport. Thank you for that VERY necessary enchantment spell." He groaned and rolled his eyes. "What are you blind!? I have these huge WINGS. What do you think, they do? Look pretty? They make me fly."

//Okay Drannic, if you even looked at my character page you'd see a picture of Duilin with wings. Wings usually give people the ability to fly. Also, with any spell you have to let the other player choose if it works or not.\\

--- ---

Rufokanno stepped forward and cracked his knuckles, but Ophelia stopped him. "Not here." She said. He looked at Renard. "Maybe we'll talk later when your friend isn't being so pushy." She turned to Rufokanno. "Let's go."

Ophelia then scratched her neck with her middle finger, directing the action towards Helix and then continued moving.

--- ---

The white fog then formed into a fair sized green dragon.

"Wow, you're good." Marshall commented.

"Grand General, my friend." Wilham grinned.

Firstman rolled his eyes. "That's just...werid."

"Why?" Marshall asked.

"You know...white fog shootin' out a people's hands and turning into dragons. Seriously, the gods must hate us." He said, half jokingly.

Marshall smirked. "Oh, Patrick..."

The group then climbed onto the dragon.

"This should speed us up..." Wilham commented.

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Friday April 6th, 2007

//Note: that was a boost. You'll need it to stay in the air for longer periods, rather than what anybody's wings are used to. I should have posted this before... sorry 'bout that...

"That should help you stay in the air for a much longer time. Sometimes, I need a boost myself. Also, It'll make you faster while in the air. Anyways, let's continue; I'll need your help, and quickly, by the looks of it..."

"Draconis, I feel it's time. Our forces are degrading amidst the battle. Unfortunately, this is because of Justinian... What a fool, Constantine is. I have therefore decided to let you kill them all, even our troops if you get bored. Think of this as a gift, or a promotion."

"My lord... how will I get there in time; when I arrive, the battle will most likely be over!"

"Here, take this." Valimore tossed him a black rune with a fire symbol on it. It glowed with a black aura. "That's a teleportation rune. There are only so few left in this world, so use it wisely. It will take you to the second rune, but it is not instantanious. It will take time to recharge when it's finished taking you there as well..."

"How long should this take then, m'lord?"

"About a half an hour, by the looks of it. Touch the fire sign and hold on to it tightly. I will see you when you get back. To do that, you'll have to figure that one out for yourself..."

"Yes sir, m'lord! I'll be back with their heads on a rope!" Draconis did as Valimore instructed, slowly disolving him into a red mist, then disappearing completely.

"That took 'much' sooner than expected... That's not going to be good..."

Posted by: Coriko on Friday April 6th, 2007

Coriko watched in amazement as a white fog formed. He knew some creature was being summoned and he had seen variations of this summoning before, but it still amazed him. Slowly a shape started to form and a dragon formed. Coriko was taken back by the creature. The others made banter while Coriko starred at the creature. The others climbed on him while Coriko was lost in the creatures eyes. He broke the gaze and climbed onto the dragon.

"Alright, lets head off."

---

Druid touched down on the beach with a smooth drop and the warriors descended after him. The beach was already swarming with lizard men. Looks like flying here had no advantage. Druid walked up the beach while loads of lizards scrambled around following orders. He didn't like the lizards. He found them contumelious and abhorrent. Druid walked further up the beach when he spotted Jayce. A lizzard was talking to him, probably telling him about their recon. He walked up to Jayce.

"So, what do you want dead?"

Posted by: Burton Pro on Friday April 6th, 2007

Nick made his way towards the southerned end of the continent. He passed many glorious wildlife and some old 'places' He made his way through the ruins of bandervil and the crater of haruldar. He would be at the pick up point in no time.

//short sorry guys.

Posted by: Dude Man on Saturday April 7th, 2007

// Well, you have two lines in that post Burton. So you're good! =) \\

The green dragon spread its wings and soared off into the air, flying through the sky above.

"Wilham." Marshall called, wile keeping his balance and grip. "We should try to make haste, this dragon here isn't much larger than the average Dark Dragon, and we might get spotted out."

"Well..." Wilham called back. "If we speed up, we might go too fast and one of us will fall off."

"Yeah, why don't we just fly lower? I'd like to avoid getting ripped to shreds by hungry lizards." Firstman suggested. "Flying or otherwise, mind you." He mumbled afterwards.

Posted by: Xorlak on Saturday April 7th, 2007

"Helix, you're all fuzzed up. What was that all about?"

Helix landed on the floor, his teeth and fists clenched.

"That woman just threatened me! The nerve!"

"Why?"

Helix was starting to calm down. "They just came outta nowhere and started harassing Renard about some guy he met. He said he didn't know but they didn't believe him, so I told them to buzz off."

One of the older Blade Knights turned to Renard.

"Is this true? Who were they?"

All eyes turned to Renard, and he shrunk back.

"Well, I... uh..."

"C'mon, Renard. It's okay."

"Yeah."

Renard ran a claw over the back of his head.

"I never saw the woman before... but that guy..." Renard hesitated and looked at the nine sets of eyes and ears expectantly pointed in his direction. "That guy with the tatooed skin... He was one of the guys who attacked me in Asgarnia."

"WHAT?!"

Helix turned and immediately broke away from the group.

"That's it. They both die right now!"

"No, wait!" Renard reached out and grabbed Helix's black robe with his left hand. But a sharp pain from his wound stabbed through him and he let go. "Just drop it, alright?" He said as he clutched his arm.

"Why? That guy tried to kill you, right?"

Renard sighed. "Just forget the whole thing ever happened."

Renard quickly turned and slipped into the door behind him, with many wide stares from the others. Once inside his assigned room he threw himself upon the bed. Blast it. He hated Gaian. He hated killing. He hated fighting. All he wanted to do was go home...

Still flying high in the air, Jayce twisted his body and flashed a sneer at Duilin and his impending blade. Immediately his right hand was upon his own sword strapped to his back. With a gargantuan diagonal slash, he deflected golden energy with the massive scimitar, sending sparks flying in all directions.

Flicking his wrist, he then preformed an upward arc with the mammoth sword, smacking Drannica's white energy blade into oblivion as a pitch black shockwave spred forth. The resulting tremor was massive, and shafts of darkness and light scattered everywhere, boring deep holes into the ground where they haphazardly struck.

Jayce threw his head back in laughter.

"HA HA HA HAA!!! YES! This is more like it! Come, peons! I shall slay you all!!"

The very air seemed to wave as a deep black flame burst forth from his body, swirling around him and his sword rapidly. He paused for a moment to consider Druid's question, though, placing his left black gauntlet on his chin.

"Hmmm, very well Druid, I shall let you have one."

He scanned his opponents, then pointed to Drannica with the huge blade.

"There. The one who has delusions of god-hood. Kill him. Considering how you've handled Boron, he should be an appropriate match."

Jayce then immedately switched back to battle mode.

"Now the rest of you DIE!!!"

His form blurred as he fell to the ground, performing a huge slash all the way. When the scimitar struck the ground, two massive crescents of black energy burst forth, tearing the air and ground alike as one raced for Duilin and Ben each...

A group of two dozen soldiers were walking down the path Indher and Elphos were on, and parted ways so the two could get past. Obviously they were going to reinforce the front lines.

"You two should hurry inside the capital. No telling when lizards may be showing up this far north."

The soldiers suddenly stopped and cast their eyes upwards.

"What is THAT?"

A huge shadow was moving overhead. It was too dark to descern form, yet it was certainly large enough to block out the stars as it moved past, moving southward...

Ven and the knights had to dodge the raining lizard men, who hit the ground with muffled groans. With a renewed vigor, he rushed the next group, sending fort a white blast from his blade which impaled the closest armored lizard...

Posted by: Dude Man on Saturday April 7th, 2007

Duilin jumped in the air, floating a bit due to the crazy enchantment spell. "Interesting." He then pushed himself upward, and blocked the oncoming dark energy crescent by creating an air shield around his hands and smashing away at the dark energy.

"Come, on. I thought you darkens were supposed to be cream of the crop here!" Duilin mocked Jayce. Duilin then pressed his hands together making a gob of bright yellow energy in his hands he then pushed his hands forward and small bolts of lightning then sprayed from each of his fingers towards Jayce (Palpatine style!).

--- ---

"That wasted time." Rufokanno mumbled.

"Perhaps, but if that little fox was telling the truth, that means that Duilin doesn't want anyone to know where he is going. If he did lie that confirms that Duilin's been spreading his propaganda on other people. He tried to spray some on me"¦"

"He killed Brice." Rufokanno added.

"What about your orc friend? Wasn't he slain by the Velkens?" Ophelia asked.

"Me cared little for orc." Rufo replied. "But who care? How we find Duilin?"

"I think I might already know."

"Then what point of this?"

"Mostly, I was just seeing how the Velken was, what effect Duilin put on him. I think he made have made a big influence."

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Saturday April 7th, 2007

"HMM... THIS ONE IS STRONGER THAN EXPECTED. I'LL HAVE TO CHARGE MORE ENERGY FOR THIS. I DIDN'T THINK I'D HAVE TO FIGHT!" Drannica flapped his wings twice before taking off into the air and beamed upwards, a great white aura showing his path. He placed two hands near his stomach and began to charge a white orb, slowly gathering strength, but brighter than the sun. It seemed like daylight now... but something strange passed by, in the air, infront of him... a Drow...

Draconis fell downwards slowly with the rune tight in his grip. Soon after, he landed behind Dori and put the rune back in his pocket. grabbing both his hands back, he formed a dark blade of energy with a great speed and rushed towards Jacobie with it, blood-stained after killing so many of his own...

"Jacobie, you will die! Take this!" He slashed the blade of dark energy down at Jacobie. Having just enough time to react, he blocked it with both katanas in his grip, slowly moving Draconis backwards. Soon, the katanas were placed across his neck.

"I shouldn't have shunned you out long ago, Draconis... I'm sorry, brother, but you're putting my mission in peril!"

"Mission!? What mission!? You have been exiled from the order and I have been sent here to kill you!"

"No... I thought I was... My lord... NNOOOOOOOOOO!!! YOU LIE! I'LL KILL YOU NOW!!!" Jacobie slashed both of his katanas across the Drow's neck, his head falling backwards. Blood drenched the lizard-man as he stood infront of the headless Draconis.

"I HATE YOU!!! DIE, ALL OF YOU!!!!!!" The Lizard-man began to glow a dark red glow. He raced around at ten times the speed of before and started to kill off many more Lizard-men. "DIE!!! YOU WILL ALL DIE!!!" He got so blood-thirsty, he came up to Ven and slashed at him with intense power. "DIE!!! RRRRAAAAAAAAGGHHHHH!!!!!!"

"No... Jacobie, no! Don't give in! Hold him off, demon, please! I have to deal with something." Ben stretched his wings and glided down to the ground behind Jacobie, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him back. "No! Don't give in to your hate! You're a good guy, remember?"

"Jacobie no good! Jacobie want kill! WANT KILL!!!"

"He's your friend, remember? He saved you from not being able to walk! Stop this, Jacobie! He's with us! I can't hold him back much longer, Ven! You have to fight him, but don't kill him! Ahh!"

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Saturday April 7th, 2007

"*Sigh*, I'll have to find another new apprentice... What a waste. I cannot stand this, I'm going over there to end this... this nonsense. I'll just grab the third rune and take them all down!" Valimore got out of his throne and walked forwards to the door, grabbing a rune that looked the same as Draconis' and Dori's off a desk.

A bit sooner again, he was teleported to the great battle that raged on. However, he was standing next to the cave, behind Dori. "Hello there, Nymphadora! Did you miss me?"

"AHH!!! You! Run, run! All of you, get out of here!"

"WHAT IS THAT DARK STENCH? IT SMELLS LIKE... MY BROTHER'S SON!!! WHAT IS HE DOING HERE? COME TO END THIS MINOR SCUFFLE, HAS HE? HEH... FULLY CHARGED! YOU'RE GOING DOWN, MORTAL!!!" Drannica shot a giant orb of energy that soon transformed into a beam as he fed more of his power into it. It was headed for Jayce...

"They all think I'm dead... what a bunch of idiots..." Draconis stepped out of the shadows in the cave. His shade appeared to have done it's trick in making Jacobie crazy. Behind him inside the cave came out around five hundred more shades, looking exactly like him.

They rushed behind the front lines of the knights of Tjed and wildly attacked them with standard steel cutlasses. The real Draconis, however, held his trusty blade Tyrr, a sword enhanced with extremely powerful black magic. There was a fall-back to the blade as it did not work on the pure of will and heart. It was still a powerful weapon, none the less...

Posted by: Xorlak on Sunday April 8th, 2007

"How dare you! Demon wretch!"

Jayce spread the fingers of his left hand and cast forth a stream of Dark Thunder. The black lightning raced from his fingertips, twisting and bending around the bright snaking light Duilin was sending his way. The two forces battled, the bright flashes casting long shows across the battlefield. Larges chunks of dirt and stone dislodged from the very ground and flew skyward around them.

Then Jayce lifted a brow as saw a second beam of energy headed his way.

"Blast it!"

Jumping backwards away from the lightning stream, the dark Draken took his gigantic blade in both hands and cleaved downwards upon the energy. A shockwave burst forth, splintering a set of nearby trees and crumbling some boulders into dust as the blast split into two. One thundered into the forest, immediately igniting several dozen trees and adding to the crimson glow thrown off by the burning Kesnar. The second spiraled straight into the mountainside, tremoring the earth and shaking loose more boulders from above. The tunnels suffered, and more debris rained down inside...

Ven quickly raised a blade to defend a strike from the mad Jacobie.

"Blast it! What's gotten into you?!"

Ven nimbly sidestepped again. All around strange shades were attacking his men.

"Fall back! Into the caves!"

"But they will collapse upon us!"

Ven gritted his teeth, not quite able to heed anything but the lizard who had gone mad in front of him. Blast it, what to do? Perhaps if he hit the lizard bluntly, it would knock some sense into him without killing him.

Arcing his sword to the side, Ven leapt backwards as it glowed brightly. With a mighty slash, he summoned forth a gust of wind to blow from the lizard's left. Rather than cutting blades, this was more of a wall, intended to knock the lizard clean off his feet...

Posted by: Dude Man on Sunday April 8th, 2007

Duilin lifted with hands cutting off his lightning stream and zoomed to the side totally avoiding Jayce's dark lightning.

"Oh am I getting the prince-ling upset?" Duilin taunted again. The half demon's hands began to glow an orange-red as flames surrounded them, he then clapped his hands together and spread them apart, increasing the amount of flame and rounding it into a large orb. He held the ball of flame as he continued to expand it...

---

Lagart continued to fight off the Lizard Men using the Talonscar Mace. Him being a B-Class lizard, he was able to best the lower C-Class warriors. Rink was hovering above and around Lagart giving the occasional support, by shooting a few fireballs at them.

---

"Allright boys." Xarn growled as he arrived a few twenty yards outside the battle. "Once Thogus gets here, we charge in." He looked at the angry draken price. "And try not get hit, by any of Jayce's attacks by accident..."

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Sunday April 8th, 2007

Ven's wind attack did just the trick. Jacobie was knocked forwards, face planted on the ground. A second later he got up and looked around. "What in the... Unnghh, my head... What happened?"

"No time to explain, Jacobie!" Ben yelled, "We have to defeat these shades... huh?" Jackie and Jelka were already half way finished with them. Ben raced into the air to find Dulin and Jayce. He found Dulin on the ground, charging some sort of fire ball. He flew next to him and started to charge a ball of white flames.

"Let's combine the attack! I'll shoot when you're ready, just give the word!" He charged faster and faster until he was about leveled with Dulin's orange-red fire ball.

The beam Drannica shot had missed. He started to decend down to the ground, loosing his form and energy. Thet beam really took it out of him. Drannica's sould had left Justin, and his soul reunited with his body. A few moments later and he shrunk down to his regular size, face first into the ground.

"Heh... what a great battle! Such entertainment! But I'm getting hungry... I haven't fed for years... ah! A nice meal awaits here!" Valimore raced forwards with his thunderous vampiric speed. Dawn glistned in the air, but it wasn't enough to hurt Valimore, as he was immune to sunlight. He grabbed hold of a knight and tore out his throat, drinking the blood from him.

"Very well..." Dori though, "If nobody will stop him, then I'll have to!" She sped forwards, her assassin's claw stretched outwards infront of her. "This is for the Republic! Eat Metal!" Dori slashed at the air around Valimore, creating great waves of metal energy. Valimore, too busy feeding, was hit twice in the back.

"I'm sorry, sir. I'll try not to let him do this to me again. What's your plan of attack, sir? My katanas are ready for anything!" Jacobie stood infront of Ven, readily guarding him with his katanas drawn out.

Posted by: Dude Man on Sunday April 8th, 2007

//It's Duilin not Dulin.\\

Duilin nodded towards the newcomer, who appeared to have a similar magic technique as he did. He continued charging his fireball, he knew this wouldn't kill Jayce, or even scare him off, but it would get him riled up. Duilin shot lightning into his fire orb making it a more golden colour. The orb was a ball of flame with sparks of lightning shooting around it.

"Not yet...just a little more..."

--- ---

The Green Dragon soared only ten yards above the ground towards the ruins of Bandervil. The dark taint the demonic evil was still fresh among the place.

"Where do you want to land? On top of that hill?" Wilham said.

Marshall grinned "Yeah, that might be fun."

The dragon landed on the hill, this was where Haraldur and Abodahon both died. The place was still charred and burned the entire location has been highly neglected, due to the infamous history that was here. Many people say it's haunted aswell, by the ghosts the dead followers of Melkoth and Abodahon, though their reign was short lived, they are still marked as two of the most powerful people in history, as their reign was much larger in ancient times and the fact they nearly had global control in less than a day.

The group hopped off the dragon. "So, where do you think this temple would be?" Marshall asked.

"We marked it a bit more south, but it could be around here for all I know." Wilham answered.

"This place got totally hammered a year ago." Firstman said. "I'll be damned if a temple that's over a thousand years old would have survived."

"The temples were all buried underground, mind you." Wilham stated. "It very could be have been part of the empire's structure."

"Well, maybe the Crimson Empire kept the tablets. Where would they take them?" Firstman asked.

"Let's not jump to conclusions so fast." Marshall pointed to Firstman. "We should try and find the place first."

--- ---

"So what we do now?" Rufo asked, walking along with Ophelia.

"We find Duilin." Ophelia replied.

"Where is he?"

"I'm not sure yet."

The two arrived on a balcony, with a wide view of the darkened landscape of Gaian.

"But you said, you already know." Rufokanno groaned.

"What I ment, is that I can find out..." Ophelia closed her eyes, for some reason she felt a strong connection with that man, something about him. Duilin made her start to think deeply about her past, the past she so egarly tried to forget, but the sudden appearance of this one man made her remember. That Black Mage that mysteriously appeared after her home was destroyed. He took her away...

"He went to Tjed." Ophelia said opening her eyes.

"How you know?" Rufo asked, rather confused.

"Let's go."

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Sunday April 8th, 2007

"Right! I'll keep charging! Just give the word." Ben started to copy Duilin's technique by putting a white lightning into his fire ball, making it even brighter and stronger.

Meanwhile, Jacobie stood near Ven, killing any lizard-men that came near him. He slashed off their heads and kicked them at other lizard-men coming near to back them off. "What's the plan, sir?"

Posted by: Coriko on Sunday April 8th, 2007

Druid smiled knowing that with his shadow warriors this was going to be way too easy. He lifted off the ground and rose up till he was level with Drannica. He raised his hand and a small burst of shadow energy came out of his palm and exploded. Druid smiled at his opponent. The Shadow warriors were behind Druid ready for the fight.

"Alright, so you're 'god-like'? You just look like another self proclaimed lunatic with delusions of grandeur. I am going to slaughter you in such an agonizing way the hell I send you to will seem like heaven after what I have put you through!"

With that Druid fired a large blast of shadow energy at Drannica.
---
Coriko listened to Marshall and Firstman. He scanned the area trying to find remnants of the temples sticking out of the rubble. He didn't want to have to go to the Crimson Empire.

"Hey," Coriko yelled pointing towards a hole in the ground. "Look there are stairs leading down. Maybe we could start there? It is leading underground."

Posted by: Dude Man on Sunday April 8th, 2007

"I doubt it, Coriko." Firstman said. "Those are likely remains of a dungeon left over from the fortress."

"Well, it wouldn't hurt would it?" Marshall said.

"I guess not." Firstman shrugged.

The group went down the stairway into the dark underground building.

"It's pretty dark down here." Wilham said.

"Coriko, light some of your arrows. Maybe we can use them as torches for the time being." Marshall suggested.

//I'll wait for Xorlak to post, before I update Duilin again.\\

Posted by: Xorlak on Monday April 9th, 2007

Jayce flipped his sword once, smirking at Duilin and Ben. He'd take the both of them out at once...

KA-BLAM!!

A violent explosion slammed into the burly Draken and he was sent tumbling, though he was quick to regain his balance some twenty feet away from his previous position. He clenched his fist and slashed the air.

"What the--?! Who dares strike ME?!"

His eyes darted around, finally catching a huge object floating above...

Jayce's eyes narrowed and he snarled. Suddenly the object was bathed in a crimson light as hundreds of torches upon it were ignited...

It then began to rain fire... Explosions ripped through the lizards as they stormed the caves. Great fireballs stormed down, pummeling the scaly forces as they confusedly ran around in circles. More were directed towards Jayce, who began to nimbly jump around and dodge the blasts that tore deep chunks out of the ground...

Through the smoke, the mammoth object above began to take shape... It was a floating island, the underside like a great upside down pyramid. And upon that island stood a mighty fortress, with hundreds of cannons, all pointed downwards, blasting everything to oblivion...

"Glad to have you back." Ven nodded to Jacobie. Suddenly, bursts of fire began to explode all around, and he was forced to take cover behind a large set of rocks. He looked up at the thing in the air, eyes wide...

"I know that floating fortress... it is... it is the flying capital of the Crimson Empire..."

Standing upon the very highest tower of the Crimson Palace, Draven threw his head back in laughter. Though he was very high up, it was loud enough so the menacing echo could be heard across the battlefield.

"AH HA HA HA HA HA!!!!"

He flipped his cape and it caught in the wind. The sun was rising to his left. He pointed a gloved finger down at Jayce, who was just a tiny black speck far far below.

"What's the matter? Didn't invite me? Tch! Rude."

The ground under Jayce disintegrated and he was engulfed in blackness. A vein throbbed on his forehead as he clenched his teeth. He was off into the air in a second, souring upwards at the floating fortress, a long tail of blackness trailing behind him.

"DRAVEN!! I will chew on your bones, human!!"

Draven folded his arms and smirked.

"Bite me."

Immediately the cannons opened up. The sky around Jayce was ripped open and hundreds upon hundreds of blasts tore through the air, painting it a bright crimson with the brilliant flashes. Jayce brought his mammoth scimitar above his head and began madly slashing, deflecting fireballs this way and that, sending them smashing into the ground with huge explosions. His advance was greatly slowed, but he still inched his way upward, despite the intense rain of fire...

Draven threw his head back and laughed again.

Posted by: Dude Man on Monday April 9th, 2007

"My god..." Duilin whispered as he saw the floating island. "...Draven."

"Okay, after this attack, you're going to have to fight Jayce yourself. I'm going to confront the man on that floating island, Draven. Maybe I won't need to fight him."

Yet I'd like to...

"Okay, buddy...ready and...NOW!" Duilin then released the giant fire-lightning ball and it flew towards Jayce. However, he kind of had his mind set on Draven. Normally Zeros' would handle this sort of thing, but he's been rather inactive, perhaps he's testing Duilin. But why?

Posted by: Coriko on Monday April 9th, 2007

Coriko pulled out a couple of his thicker and longer arrows from his quiver.

"These arrows are meant to be on fire." Coriko pointed to the lenghtened tip. "These should burn for a long time so until we find real torches, these will do nicely."

Coriko caused the tips to light up and handed one to each person.

"Alright, let's continue on."

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Monday April 9th, 2007

"HYAAAH!!!" Ben flew his white ball of flame right beside Duilin's. they swirled after Jayce in the sky, distracted by Draven. "I hope that puts a dent in him. If not, then I hop this will!" Ben flew into the air and rushed towards Jayce.

"Angels from above give me your blessing! Bestow upon me equal power!" Ben's form began to change. He grew larger and larger until he was the same size as Jayce. Forming a white energy blade, he dashed towards Jayce with it pointed forwards.

"How dare you! It's rude to attack someone whilst their back is turned! Taste this!!!" Valimore threw his hands forward and shot a red beam at Dori, hitting her in the forehead and knocking her unconscious.

"Hmph... there's nothing I'd like better than to rip off your head, Miss Nymphadora, but I have more pressing matters to attend to. I'll see to your death in due time though, so please my dear, just be patient..." Valimore jumped into the air with great force and grabbed onto the floating island, jumping again in the air.

"Good day, Lord Draven. I would just like to ask you to save someone for me. I'll greatly assist you if you would honor my request... or is it immortality you seek?" Valimore bore his vampire fangs to Draven. "It's a simple little process, really. Quick and painless. What say you, crimson lord?"

"What is that island up there? I've... never seen anything like this before... What should we do? Wait a moment. That's... DRAVEN!!!" Jacobie placed his hands on the ground and lifted the earth surrounding him and Ven.

"Should I take us up to the island? What's your say?"

Posted by: Zeros' on Tuesday April 10th, 2007

((Sorry. My internets been crapping out.))

Zeros' and Allen arrived at inner Tjed, away from the battle that was currently happening. He dropped Allen off at a doctor, wo had gladly accepted the old alchemist into his care.

((Allen's now inactive until further notice.))

Zeros' frowned. He had to find out where the battle was. He knew there was a battle nearby, he could sense and 'feel' it. He sighed and shook his head, heading the direction he sensed Jayce's aura.

Posted by: Xorlak on Tuesday April 10th, 2007

Draven leapt off the tower and flew down to the edge of the floating island, where he landed near the shady newcomer outside the walls of the thick wall surrounding the Crimson Palace. The entire outside of the structure was marred and burnt, as if it had been through an oven... He held out a gloved hand as if stopping the figure's advance.

"Put your fangs away, Vampire, I am familiar with your kind's tricks and have no desire to submit myself to such degradation. So long as the one you speak of isn't of the Dark Empire, our paths won't cross. However, if you're seeking employment, I am looking for a few good men..."

He folded his arms and smiled maniacally at the last part...

Jayce was too busy dodging the cannon blasts to notice the twin balls of energy headed his way...

The sky flashed a tremendous white as he was struck in the back, the shockwave from the blast ripping apart a grove of trees underneath. He spiraled downwards and crashed head first into a pile of rocks, digging down several feet and becoming buried in the mess.

There was silence for a moment...

"ARRRRGHHH!!!!"

The pile of boulders exploded, shards of rocks flying in all directions. Jayce flew upwards from the crater some ten feet, his long black hair a disheveled mess. He slashed his sword once and clenched his left fist, spotting a larger Ben headed his way.

"You!"

Blackness engulfed the mighty blade. With two hands he took it above his head and slashed diagonally, meeting Ben's white blade with a thunderous clap. Another shockwave burst forth, carving more scars into the land as tendrils of black and white from the two weapons violently clashed...

Ven regarded the island above, then looked back at the lizard.

"No, Draven is on our side."

Ven stumbled as an explosion from a stray cannon blast tore a hole in the ground nearby, spraying the two with sand.

"... At least, I think..."

Ven did not like relying on the so-called Crimson Emperor one bit. However, he had to admit he was relieved to see his arrival... He just hoped the madman didn't destroy Tjed in his rage as well...

The silver knight then stood up, peering over the rock at another explosion in the distance.

"There!" He pointed to a vile black warrior battling another with a sword of light in the sky. "The one in black, that's their leader... If we can take him down, we might have a chance... C'mon!"

Ven leapt from the rock and began to jog down the shallow mountainside. The huge man in black armor radiated pure evil. It was one of those fearsome High Generals, he knew it... Of course, he knew he didn't have a chance on his own, but maybe if they all worked together... just maybe...

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Tuesday April 10th, 2007

"Hmm... I accept your offer! The one I wish not to be harmed is named Jacobie. He's a lizard, easily recognizable by his crimson armor and dorsal-spined fin. Well then, waht can I do for you, my lord?" Valimore grinned viciously, bearing his fangs, having even more menacing look than did Draven.

Meanwhile, Jacobie rushed behind Ven and Justin, regaining his power, followed as well. They came up behind Ven and jumped forwards, dragging their blades togrther in an awkwardly unison sort of way. Jacobie and Justin looked at each other and nodded, then looked forwards at the dark figure. They crossed their blades to form an 'X' and slashed downwards at the High-commander.

Posted by: Dude Man on Wednesday April 11th, 2007

Duilin swooped up and floated in the air only a few meters away from Draven. "Well, if it isn't my good buddy Draven. How's rebuilding the Crimson Empire going?" Duilin greeted with a sneer. "I hope you're not here to suck up to Retan and attack Tjed, because you especially won't gain anything from trying that."

Duilin looked around, and spotted the vampire nearby. "New friend of yours?"

---

Lagart dashed towards the Vile Black Knight, as Rink flew along, delivering a series of small fireballs to distract him...

--- ---

The underground bunker, was pretty much just empty space, save for a few pitch black metal bars which isolated a quarter of the room. Behind the bars were dead bodies which had most of their guts and flesh rotted away, it looked like the dead bodies were there for over a year. (z0mg it's Abodahon's Dungeon from Chapter 9!)

"Man, it stinks down here." Firstman groaned, plugging his nose.

"Yeah. I think I also smell a small bit of anti-mana gas, not enough to fully disable magic however, this place must have had vents for the stuff." Marshall said pinching his nose with his pointer finger and thumb. "I assume this was a dungeon that was supposed to hold mages, like the one in Kandarin."

"You think this could be the temple?" Firstman asked.

"Could be." Wilham replied "Perhaps this dungeon was built upon the temple. But that means that the tablets might not be here. I'd actually feel safer if we could find them."

"Well, I don't see them around." Firstman said, walking around the room. "Man, it smells. Can we make this quick?"

Marshall observed the room a bit more. "Perhaps they were stored away, somewhere."

Posted by: Xorlak on Wednesday April 11th, 2007

"Well now, what do we have here? It's fly-boy junior! I'd explain my plan to exterminate the Dark Empire from the face of the planet once and for all, but it'd likely go over your head."

Draven folded his arms, waving to tips of his right fingers upwards.

"Best to stay out of the way. Wouldn't want to get hurt now, would we?"

Draven turned his glint towards the vampire, then pointed down below.

"Come, Vamps, we've a dragon to slay..."

With that, a crimson glow engulfed the man and he leapt straight off the floating island, a trail of red tailing him as he glided down towards the battle below...

"Arghh!!!"

With a mad flurry of slashes, Jayce blocked all the blades sent his way along with a few fireballs.

Ven was right up behind him with a bright glowing sword.

"HYAAAAAHHH!!!--oof!"

The dark Draken's elbow connected with the knight's chest, and Ven was sent flying backwards, back into the ground.

"What is this? Lizard Men dare stand against me?" Jayce indignantly growled as he regarded both Lagart and Jacobie among his adversaries. There were a total of five on him now, and though he had yet to break a sweat, he had little room to strike back as he was busy deflecting all the attacks...

Posted by: Dude Man on Wednesday April 11th, 2007

"Damnit." Duilin groaned. "I hate it when he does that." Draven was never much for conversations. 99% of all of all conversations Duilin had with Draven, were mostly them exchanging one sentence, including an insult or two, and Draven flying off.

Duilin allowed himself to fall back first towards the ground and pushed himself faster, zooming past Draven, due to his enchantment spell. He stuck his tongue out at Draven as he zoomed past him. Just before he hit the ground he stopped floating a few feet over the ground, and a bit behind Rink and the others. He then rotated himself until he was right side up, over the ground and landed.

"Duilin! Quit showin' off and help us fight this guy!" Rink snapped.

"Yeah, yeah..." Duilin mumbled back to the imp. "Lagart, let's rush 'em!"

The lizardman nodded and ran towards Jayce with Duilin. The half demon jumped in and leaped over Jayce, blasting a series of lightning bolts, alternating with each hand as he flew over. Lagart dashed right towards the High General and smashed his mace at him.

And Rink continued to annoy the draken with a sequence of fireballs...

Posted by: Dark Spartan on Thursday April 12th, 2007

//Damn it! Sorry guys, I've just been so swamped with schoolwork and stuff these past weeks, I haven't had time for DAL. However, I did manage to write one post. I'll be posting a lot more this weekend, you can count on that.\\

""¦Sir?"

Carmine had turned his attention to the howling of a wolf amongst the Glacia mountains, only to turn around and see de Sade absent.

"Hello? Sir? Where are you?"

No reply.

"He's always doing this, I'm sure he'll be back."

Twenty minutes later, still no sign of the Lilithian.

"Oh dear," Carmine sighed. "Seems he's vanished into thin air! I must tell Damien Roth immediately!"

Through a fissure in the rock below, he saw the silhouettes of Alex and Midna.

"De Sade would want me to finish his work, but those two are just too powerful. I should return to Asgarnia and request reinforcements!"

Turning around on the heels of his feet, he began dashing back towards the thousand-foot tall Asgarnian Citadel that lay in the distance.

The two Twili found themselves probing deep into Glacia's depths through the complex network of mining tunnels that honeycombed them.

"So why are we heading further into the mines?" Midna complained.

"We promised Barnes we could ensure that the tunnels up ahead haven't collapsed."

"Alex, we don't have time for this! De Sade could already have beaten us to the next page, and here we are wasting time clearing rocks!"

"Relax. Like he knows where it is."

"Do you?"

Finally defeated, Alex sighed. "Not really, but I have a good feeling."

"Oh, really?" Midna turned towards him, hands on her hips. "Where?"

"I could swear I feel something within these tunnels"¦"

"That doesn't necessarily mean it's the page"¦it could be some other residual aura you might be picking up. How can you be sure it's the page?"

"It's the same feeling I've gotten picking up the last few pages. It's down below, I can feel it."

"If you say so," Midna said, rolling her exposed eye. "I just hope you know what you're doing."

"If I didn't know what I was doing, would we be this far?"

Midna had talked herself into a corner. "Well, I suppose not. You've proven yourself to be a pretty formidable fighter"¦"

A sound echoed within the cave.

"Did you hear that?" Alex asked.

"The dwarves are probably blasting again," Midna replied.

"No, this is different. It didn't sound like an explosion, but more like--"

Without warning, the rocks under Alex's feet gave way, sending him plunging down into the mountain depths. With a sharp scream he fell and hit the cave floor some fifty feet below. Midna, floating this whole time, simply descended into the hole.

"Alex, are you okay?"

Alex picked himself up, rubbing his back. "Yeah," he grunted. "I'm fine. What happened?"

"Seems the rocks collapsed under your weight. It's not a total loss. You said the aura came from below anyway."

"True"¦true"¦"

Finally turning his head up from the ground, he saw off in the distance something that caught his eye. For a minute he stared at it in awe. "What is that?" he asked, pointing in the direction he was looking.

Midna turned her eyes towards where he pointed, and also stared in awe.

What they saw was a geological impossibility. This deep below the mountains there was an enormous open cavern, spanning at least a mile wide, a thousand feet up, and a thousand down. A rocky bridge connected the outer rim of the cavern to the center, which housed a huge flat spire of rock protruding up from the floor a thousand feet below. On this spire sat a temple.

"Holy"¦" Alex gasped. "What is this place?"

"If I remember correctly, it's the most holy, or in this case, unholy, temple of the Nightshade people. They were a reclusive race that shunned the daylight, never venturing above the surface, keeping to themselves."

"Why unholy?"

"As a race that could not live with sunlight, their desires turned their prayers to the dark gods of the underworld. The Nightshade, thousands of years ago, waged a holy war on the dwarves, who had recently moved from above ground."

"What happened to the Nightshade?"

"They died out, probably because of their defeat at the hands of the dwarves. That's not to say that the dwarves also suffered heavy losses, though. Nightshade technology is some of the most advanced in the world, and few people have ever found any relics proving so."

"I'm definitely feeling it now. The fourth page MUST be in there."

"You want to go in there? No telling how dangerous it'll be."

"Why? You said they were extinct anyway. What's the worry?"

"The Nightshade, in their twilight hours, were terrified of any outsiders getting hold of their technology who were intent on destruction. Nightshade beliefs hold that if the underworld gods are appeased, they will be resurrected to rule another day. The Nightshade did not want to take any risks that would prevent that from happening. The Nightshade people were masterminds of engineering, they could secure anything within or behind some deadly trap or puzzle. Chances are that temple is trapped from top to bottom. If you wanted that page, you would be in for some challenges. Still up to it?"

"I made a vow to your people, Midna," Alex replied. "I'm not going back on it now because of a few traps. Plus, de Sade and his little soldier friend seem to be leaving us alone for now. We might as well take advantage of this window while we can."

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you."

"Trust me, I've faced worse."

Without another word from either, they proceeded onward to the Nightshade temple.

Posted by: Xorlak on Friday April 13th, 2007

Fireballs singed his sides and blades nicked his armor. A deep blackness surrounded the irate Draken and he threw his head back and screamed.

"INSECTS!! DIE!!!"

With that, he slammed his blade into the ground, which promptly disintegrated into a mass of inky darkness. The rocks ruptured as the wave of black expanded, digging a deep crater as it shot outwards in all directions...

Jayce shut his eyes when he preformed the attack. When he opened them, he saw Draven with his fist reared back.

WHAM!!*

With a super-heated punch, Draven smacked the dark prince right in the forehead. Jayce flew backwards ten feet, leaving his sword stuck in the middle of the crater, until he dug his black metal boots into the ground to stop his rearward motion.

Draven smirked, bringing a gloved hand to his chin.

"My my, a tad overwhelmed, are we?"

Draven's aura was burning brightly now, and he widened his stance and arms, looking ready to perform either a projectile or physical attack, whichever the situation called for.

Jayce angled his head forward, back to the correct position, and cracked his neck once. It was a loud popping sound.

"Shame that you have fallen so much as to... side with this pathetic hovel of a nation..."

Draven was unfazed. "Tch! Shame my trust was betrayed. And I've only picked the side that irritates you the most..."

The Crimson Emperor's hands began to glow a bright red just then, as twin spheres of flame appeared within them.

Jayce brushed a strand of black hair from his face.

"Fitting, then. I'd be rid of all my problems at once..."

An eerie wind then began to blow. The burly man brought his arms to his sides, an even deeper blackness emanating from him than before... The very ground shook as chunks of rock were lifted skyward before being reduced to pebbles that swirled around him... He widened his stance and opened his hands like claws, a bright crimson burning within his eyes...

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Friday April 13th, 2007

//note: I'm not gonna be able to post as much. My computer crashed and I'm using a friends.

"I'll take out the other problems we face." Valimore began to charge a dark orb of energy in his hands and constantly threw them forwards at all of the knights gathered about. More and more orbs flew out as the vampire's power increased with each death. Soon, his power consumed him and he charged bigger and more powerful orbs to throw.

Posted by: Dude Man on Saturday April 14th, 2007

"You wish prince-ling!" Duilin shouted. "You'll be rid of us the day Draven finds a lover!" He insulted. He smirked a bit, since that was mostly a shot against Draven.

"Something big coming. Jayce is much powerful." Lagart stated. //engrish ftw!\\

"Don't worry." Duilin assured, his hand then glowed yellow. As the glow faded a yellow bubble of air grew around his hand, he then arched his hand towards Lagart and Rink and tossed the bubble, creating a shield of air magic around them. "That should protect you, for the most part. I think it's stuck to your aura, so you guys should be able to move wile the shield bubble is around you."

The half demon looked towards Jayce as he was charging his dark attack. "Two can play at that game..." His hands then started to glow a dark orange and he spun his hands around, summoning a demon flail. He spun the demonic spinal cord faster and faster as the energy aura around it started to get stronger...

--- ---

"I'm not finding anything." Wilham said. "I don't think this is it."

"Yeah, me neither." Firstman said.

"You sure?" Marshall asked. "Coriko, have you found anything?"

Posted by: Xorlak on Saturday April 14th, 2007

The change happened very quickly once the dark man gathered the desired energy. Ignoring the snide comments shot his way, Jayce began to float a few inches above the ground as he crossed his arms. His muscles bulged, his arms, legs, and neck growing longer. Twin gleaming white horns protruded from his hair, which in turn took on a goldish tint. His black armor changed shape along with his body, becoming the thick ebony scales of his skin. Two wings spread from his back, and a long thick tail grew. He then touched the ground, his feet now massive claws, as were his hands spread out before him... The shadow elemental dragon opened his maw and roared, towering over Draven and the others at twenty five feet tall...

The force from the roar blew Draven's hair back. The orbs within his hands doubled in size.

"Tch! Bring it!"

Thrusting both hands forward, Draven shot forth an intense beam of blinding red light. The dragon Jayce in turn dove right at the burning man, allowing the blast to strike him square in the chest. If the resulting explosion phased him, he did not show it, for he drove right through the flames, disappearing for a second before his massive black form appear on the other side, looming upon Draven.

Draven's aura doubled in size and he began floating a foot above the ground, bringing his left hand up as a translucent red half-sphere shield began to materialize before him. But the black dragon's claw was already blurring as it raged forward, striking the human with a thunderous blast. Draven was violently thrown backwards, smashing through the inner wall of the crater the two were fighting in. The ground cleaved under the force of the blast, creating a canyon some fifty feet long that promptly tumbled upon the Crimson Emperor.

A moment later a dusty gloved hand reached up from the hole in the ground.

"... ouch..."

Ven watched the transformation wide-eyed. Every bit of common sense within him told him to run away, but no, Duilin was facing that thing. And he had to help. Ven pointed his silver blade skyward, the reflection of the rising sun beaming off of it. The blade began to glow a bright white once more...

A small animal covered in off-white fur watched Draven get pounded into the ground from the safety of a copes of trees halfway up the mountain. From here, the arctic fox could see everything without making himself conspicuous. No, Melface didn't want to get involved just yet. Not until he knew where that Demon Lord was...

The nightmare demon leapt up on top of a small boulder and sat down, flicking his tail about idly. He could smell the Demon Lord, but didn't have any idea where he was at. Quite strange. He certainly wasn't involved in the battle. Oh well, at least it was entertaining watching his master totally annihilate everyone.

Posted by: Dude Man on Saturday April 14th, 2007

"Holy..." Duilin's jaw dropped as he stepped back, his demon flails slowing down slightly in their spin. Alpha Retan was bigger, but it was still awhile since he's seen a monster of such size. He watched as Draven was smashed away.

"Bah. I got him!" Duilin jumped into the air spreading his wings, and flapped them down, pushing himself thirty feet into the air. He began to twirl his demonic flails like a buzz saw, and they were glowing a deep golden colour. "Chew on this!" He then swept his arms and let the flails fly towards the Shadow Dragon.

Posted by: Coriko on Saturday April 14th, 2007

"Yeah, I think I have."

Coriko was running his fingers around a wall. It felt wrong, it felt out of place. He looked at the brick work. The other sides seemed to continue past it. He placed his hand and ear on the wall. He could hear a rustling of air that seemed unsettled behind the wall.

"Hey, I think there is something back there. Help me brign the wall down."

Posted by: Dude Man on Saturday April 14th, 2007

"I will handle this." Marshall said, proudly. He held his amulet and his hands began to glow blue, and he brought forth his right hand and summoned a blue mist that transformed into an ogre. Marshall then waved his hand towards the brick wall. The ogre stomped towards the brick wall and then brought back it's fist and then swung it forward with immense force, and the wall was smashed down...

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Sunday April 15th, 2007

"So, this is the full force of a Draken in transformation, huh? It just looks so... weaker than I had anticipated... Ah well. I guess I'll have to use my 10,000 years of knowledge to figure out a way to destroy it."

Valimore leapt higher in the air and began to charge a black ball of both dark and vampiric power. It grew massively with a potential to kill 50 humans in one blow. after it's radius reached a massive 25 feet, he began to put more vampiric energy into it. It seemed to suck out all light around until all that could be seen was pitch darkness.

---

"What is this!? I can't see! I'll have to make some light." Ben curled his head back and pushed his hands out forwards, creating a large beam of light energy. It pulsated as the battle raged on. All could now be seen more clearly. "I'm gonna have to sit this one out, guys. I have to keep this light from going out, or that vampire is going to kill us all!"

---

"What is this? Some mortal fool disturbes my darkness?" Valimore could now be seen... but he had dramatically changed since there was last light. His orb had disappeared, but he gained an immense amount of height. His form began to change as he took the shape of the Draken. Around two minutes later, he looked exactly alike, except he was pure black.

Flapping his wings twice, he rose into the sky and zoomed downwards towards Jayce, claws out and forward. "How do you like my vampiric deception? It decives the mortal mind and forces false immages into it, except the pain is still the same, and so is the power! MEHHEHHEHHEHHEH!!!!!"

Posted by: D. Ein on Sunday April 15th, 2007

//BOO!\\

"Turning around, I saw the diminutive figure running after the transport.

-"With me? Very well... get in."

I ordered Roth to lower the transport a little. Kerig safely climbed inside.

-"Alright, Damien, resume course."

//Huge posts FTW. I just need to get this transport thing over with. By the way, looking at the amount of posts that were made in my absence: two pages? Come on. I'm not that important. The RP pretty much came to a grinding halt.\\

Posted by: Xorlak on Sunday April 15th, 2007

Jayce turned a burning crimson eye towards the fake image of himself.

"What mockery is this?" his voice was a low rumbling that shook the very foundation of the island. He spread his wings out widely and ducked low, burning eyes narrowing. With a flick of his right clawtip against the ground, he blasted grains of dirt at the fake, which promptly melded together to form razor sharp obsidian ice-like shards...

With an indignant roar, he snapped his attention towards Duilin, slashing the whirling flails in half with his left claw. They disappeared in a flurry of golden points of light, which clashed against the black aura forming around him. He promptly spun around, spinning his wide tail at the half-demon, a blast of black wind following in its wake...

Draven climbed fully out of the hole with his teeth clenched and eyes twitching. His armor and cape were torn and nicked. Blast it! His plan to corner Jayce as he attacked the so-called 'heros' was working perfectly. But the inhuman beast had so much power! No! If he was unable to take him down, how could he possibly hope to face Retan?

Draven exploded in a fury of flame as chunks of rock were blown away from him. Clasping his hands together, he slowly pulled them apart as a shaft of fire formed between them. Grabbing the end of the crimson blade with his right hand, he cleaved the air, sending a rush of super-heated air into the ground, which split open a gap about a foot deep.

Duilin and the vampire were providing an excellent distraction. On the opposite side of the crater within which the black dragon was fighting, Draven could see Ven charging white light into his own blade. The knight was pathetically weak, but at least he had the right idea... Draven held his own crimson blade up into the air in a similar manner, and it began to swell with it's own light, this one a bright red. Ven nodded to him from across the ravine...

Posted by: Jenia on Sunday April 15th, 2007

//HEY! j00 c0ntr0ll3d k3r1g! n0 f41r! Well, fine, I guess it IS what I would have done anyway...\\

After Kerig was safely on 'thing', he bowed to Kronos.
The bow was more an expression of politeness rather than respect, and so he proceeded to the back of 'transport' , where he sat down on the floor and closed his eyes.
For some reason he couldn't help but giggle quietly a little, as he felt as though the back of his hand was somehow being tickled.

Then it hit him. He opened his eyes and looked at the back of his hand.
Large, obvious black spots were beginning to cover his hand, and they seemed to be slowly spreading. He heard a deep, extremely silent voice coming from them.
"Unghh.... Buwaaaahh....ghnnnaaaaghrrrr..."
Kerig looked at his hand, wondering what this could mean.
"Calm down, featherbrain." Weloss attempted calming him "It's me. I'm... Making progress. Rather than watching me, why don't you pay attention... That woman is telling a very interesting story right now."

Kerig didn't see the need to object. He got up and ignored the tingling on his arm in favor of listening to the woman's 'story'...

They walked for a while. Fernis heard several explosions in the distance, but she kept walking.

"Ugh... Fernis...?" Elphos seemed worried "What if... What if Tjed loses? What is the entire island is suddenly destroyed? Will we make it?"

Fernis was silent. She just kept walking, apparently ignoring Elphos and his questions.

Just when Elphos felt like giving up, she suddenly stopped.
"You... Are right." she said, as if surrendering "We will have to use our orb, then."
The expression on Elphos' face grew sour. Sure, he didn't like being so close to danger, but leaving your condition at the whim of lady luck wasn't exactly something he could recall as being a good thing.
He remembered the last time they used it. They first fell into swamp, full of leeches, and then transported right into between a large shark's jaws. By the time they were anywhere near their destination, they were wet, stinky, and covered in leeches, not to mention had to get new cloths.

Fernis had already taken out the orb.
"Come closer and grab on tight."
Elphos nodded and placed both his palms on the orb as it begun to glow and the mist within began to roll.

Soon enough, they were surrounded by what seemed to be a cloud of dust and disappeared.

The last of the lizardmen fell.

Iskatyl inhaled deeply, attempting to calm his storming mind. He was too shocked facing the vast amounts of creatures he had just now killed so easily to notice the tremors, thunder, or even the appearance of the large object in the sky.
"B-brother... Please, let's stop... Just..."
"Come home?" he was suddenly interrupted by Zakon, who seemed not only unfazed, but downright unsatisfied "I think not, little one. One does not retreat to the shack when there are pests on the field..."

Zakon obviously took the time to actually notice what was going on not too far off.
The appearance of the fort in the sky seemed to especially... Intrigue him.
"Neither does one stay put when a large fly buzzes into their face." he added as he started running towards the direction of the commotion.

His intention was all too obvious.
"W-wait! Brother! Don't go!" Iskatyl grabbed his cloak and hurried after him.

//PHEW! These posts feel SHORT...\\

Posted by: Dude Man on Sunday April 15th, 2007

The half demon, was surprised at how little his demonic spell did against the mighty dragon. Duilin pushed himself up and over the oncoming tail, performing a flip. As he leveled himself he noticed Ven and Draven, charging their blades with light. He supposed that he'd have to be the distracter, again.

"Is that all you got!?" Duilin called, shouting another taunt to the dragon-Jayce.

Duilin focus his Air-Elemental energy, and a yellow aura of lightning began to surround him, he then shot his energy into the air and then focused it down to the dragon-Jayce, by pushing his hands towards it, and down rained a series of lightning bolts upon the dragon.

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Sunday April 15th, 2007

"Hmph! Dodged me, did he? I'll show him who the better one is here!" Valimore brought his wings high into the sky and made a great flap, causing a great, black wave to purge the earth surrounding Jayce. "This black sonic boom had better work." He uttered under his breath.

---

"I see what's going on! Very well, then. CHARGE!!!"Jacobie yelled, his katanas forced in the air. He began to charge them with light energy as did Draven and Ven. His charge speed was faster, but his blade was a bit weaker. White ripples of light energy swirled around the blade and were soon absorbed. His charge speed slowed down and more and more light energy poured into the two glowing katanas.

"What is he doing down there? Ahh!!! My energy! He's using MY energy!" Ben's light beam was being absorbed by Jacobie's katanas. They glowed with power, almost full of light energy.

---

"Oh, come on, guys! You didn't start without me, did ya? I guess I'll have to kick into overdrive! HYA!" Tiberius, stepping out of the shadows from the cave after tailing Justin, Finally got up to leaving the cave and starting his fight in this epic battle. He sped out into the open valley.

"What in the...? Is that a... DRAGON!?!?!? I can play that game too, buddy. Get a load of this!!!" He leapt into the sky and surrounded himself in a great white aura, taking the shape of a Dragon. The aura glowed, focusing more and more size and detail as it charged. "Just a... few... more... minutes..."

Posted by: D. Ein on Sunday April 15th, 2007

Hannibal Roth was walking on the ribcage frame and inspecting the integrity of the transport. Everything looked normal, other than a few cracks here and there - but those healed instantly, as Kronos was continuously channeling his power through the bone. Looking down, Hannibal noticed the transport's massive shadow being cast down onto the sea. It was somewhat blurry and moving at the same speed of the transport, but something seemed amiss... Looking up, Hannibal found his answer. The sky was pulled over with clouds, and there was no visible sun to create this shadow.

Confirming Roth's suspicions, the shadow seemed to become starker, until it was clearly visible that it was a completely different shape. While the transport was somewhat of an oval, the shadow was perfectly round. It continued to get starker until a large metal frame finally showed...

---

"With all the protection around the central skull, I barely noticed as the entire transport shook with an explosion. Something was attacking us from outside, it seems. I looked through one of the empty eye sockets. At that moment, I understood where the factories from Xim had gone such a long time ago.

Below us was an enormous metal ship, with catapult-like weapons all pointed at the transport. Everything about this ship - the rusty, but thick iron it was made of, occasional gears showing here and there - suggested clockwork craftsmanship. The real question is, though, why is it attacking us now?

Damien was looking at me intently.

-"What will we do, sir? That explosion kind of worried me..."

-"You, Damien, worry too much. I don't pay you to worry. Well, as a matter of fact, I don't pay you at all... but that's besides the point. Just get us to where I told you to get us." I turned around at some nearby soldiers. "Can someone go get Hannibal for me?"

One of the soldiers ran off, no doubt to fetch Hannibal. Sure enough, soon, Hannibal was standing next to me.

-"Hannibal, as I am aware, you are an assassin, no?"

-"Yes, sir."

-"Like a ninja?"

-"Yes, sir."

-"With smoke bombs and all that rot?"

-"Er, yes, sir."

-"Well, show me what you can do."

In less than a fourth of a second, Hannibal swung his hand in a particular way - and teleported to a few meters away from me.

-"Neat. Go down into that ship and shut it down."

-"Yes, sir."

Posted by: Xorlak on Monday April 16th, 2007

The mighty black dragon flinched as he was pricked by lightning bolts. Clearly annoyed, he opened his toothy mouth and let loose a stream of bright violet energy, crackling with tendrils of blackness. The blast raged towards Duilin head on, smashing through several of his lighting bolts on the way...

Just then a black shockwave slammed into his side and he stumbled. The dragon Jayce craned his head around and glared at the impostor version of himself who threw the sonic boom, eyes burning brightly. He slammed his thick tail into the ground and immediately large jutting rocks burst forth from under Valimore, looking to impale him...

Draven brought the flaming crimson blade to his side.

"Now you DIE!!"

The ground behind him gave way as he exploded, sending chunks of dirt streaming away. He shot forward like a cannon ball, straight at the mammoth black dragon.

On the opposite side, Ven did the same, summoning a bright green gust of wind to ride on. He sped forth, his white blade at his side streaming through the air...

Draven arrived first and performed a giant diagonal slash upwards against the black dragon's golden chest. The distracted dragon let out a scream of surprise as the ground underneath erupted in a pillar of flame. Meanwhile Ven flew right behind the beast, ducking under a wing and slashing against the back of the neck. As his sword connected, there was a bright flash of light and a thunderclap.

Draven and Ven then circled around, ready for a second strike. Draven dove deeply towards the chest again, this time aiming to plunge his sword into the beast's heart. Ven went for a slash against the front of the neck this time, spiraling towards a spot halfway up...

Until he was plucked from the air like a children's toy. Ven felt a large claw wrap around his legs, and he was immediately disorientated as he was pulled through the air. Using the knight as a sort of bat, Jayce smacked Draven away with Ven's body. The burning man flew downward and bounced off of the ground once before he too was plucked out of the sky. With a warrior in each claw, the black dragon smacked them together once, twice, three times. He then began spinning them around, faster and faster while both of them screamed. Finally he threw them up into the air, and as they began to fall back down, smacked them with his tail. Both of them flew like cannonballs, straight toward the mountains to the north...

The vulpine-form Melface was very amused at the proceeding of the battle. Suddenly he realized that those two men-turned-rag-dolls were headed right his way. The white fox's red eyes grew wide and he blinked out of existence without so much as a puff of smoke. Draven and Ven hit right above where he was, cutting through a few trees in the process, and slammed right into the rocky facade of the mountain. Immediately the ground shook and great boulders became dislodged, rolling down the hill as the two were cover in debris and dust.

After a moment a gloved hand reached out from under the rocks. An irate Draven climbed up, looking haggard and dirty. Looking around with teeth clenched, he reached down to the rock and pulled Ven up by the collar, who was looking much more starry eyed.

"B-b-bad...i-i-i-idea~..." Ven managed to splurt out.

Draven smacked him in the back of the head.

"Idiot. I only tried it because you were."

Posted by: Jenia on Monday April 16th, 2007

//Fernis and Elphos are out for a while. Kerig and Weloss are skipped, as Kerig does nothing but watch Kronos's necromancer underling, if you can call her that\\

Zakon swiftly skipped from rock to rock as he went up the mountain.
Not too far behind him was his brother, barely managing to keep up the pace.
"W-wait, b-brother!" he called out to Zakon, hoping his brother would slow down "Why are you climbing the mountain? Wouldn't it be easier to get there by..."
"Coming through here..." Zakon interrupted with his usual, peaceful demeanor "Is not only excellent excirsize, but is also a good way not to waste the warm up I just had."

Suddenly, just on the other side of a large boulder standing before him, something smashed into the mountain. Zakon slowed as strange, dusty-looking fog appeared there.

But Zakon didn't want to wait. Ignoring Iskatyl's calls, who was still had quite a distance to cover, he slowly looked at what lied in wait on the other side.

"Idiot..."

Zakon suddenly realized two people were there, speaking. Although he only cought one word of their conversation, or whatever it was, he didn't care for the rest. He quickly glanced at them, nothing they were both fully armored.
How annoying, he thought, realizing he would have to destroy their armor first, as battered as it may be. He noticed the man with the black, red trimmed armor was not only closer, but his back was turned to him, too.
The course of Zakon's next action was all too obvious - he lunged, aiming at the line easiest to aim at running across the man's plate armor.

Posted by: Dude Man on Monday April 16th, 2007

"Oh sh-" Duilin exclaimed as he saw the stream of shadow energy flying towards him. He held his hands forward and created a shield bubble around him, he had to give it a continuous stream of his energy in order to hold back all of it.

He noticed that Draven and Ven were just tossed away. "Okay...that's it!" Duilin focused his fire, air and demonic energy causing bolts of red-orange lightning to shoot around him, and pure red flame to spin around his aura. Hopefully the fake draken could hold Jayce off, while he was charging up his attack...

--- ---

Rink and Lagart were near the inside of the cave, Rink was safe behind Duilin's Wind Barrier, but Lagart was fighting off some of the remaining lizard men with the Tjed knights.

"They're getting hammered out there!" Rink exclaimed in anguish. "What in blazes is Zeros', doing!? I think we should just help him..." Rink jumped up and went to move through the barrier...

"No!" Lagart shouted, after smashing away another lizard warrior. "Jayce is unstoppable in dragon form. We better use staying here. Little guy like you, not make much difference."

Rink stepped back. "Yeah, I guess you're right..."

Posted by: Xorlak on Tuesday April 17th, 2007

As Draven scowled upon him, Ven's eyes widened and he pointed.

"Uh... behind... behind...!"

"What are you--?"

Draven's eyes suddenly narrowed, and they slid to his right. He suddenly snapped around, extending his right open palm as a bright crimson flash emanated from it. It was like he was holding a bomb in his hand that just went off. The wave of flame was intense, and the surrounding foliage withered away from the blast of super heated air, a loud cracking sound echoing off the mountains. Ven covered his face from the unexpected blast, though thankfully none of the flames were directed his way...

"Who dares distract me?" Draven challenged through clenched teeth as he walked through the dying flames to see who he might have blasted to oblivion.

"Piteous humans..."

The black dragon grumbled as his long neck turned, deciding which of his play-things he should destroy next. His crimson eyes settled on a half-demon putting on light show as he powered up. That's the one... He flicked his tail once, cutting a hole in the ground as a large rock shot up into the air.

Jayce began to trudge to Duilin, hanging high over him, shaking the ground with each step...

Posted by: Coriko on Tuesday April 17th, 2007

Coriko moved backwards as the musty dead air filled the cavern the party was in. There was a lot of dust. Coriko peered throught the dense dust that must have been at least a decade old. The outline of a podium or plinth could be made out, with difficulty, through the dust.

"Hey guys, umm... whats that?"

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Tuesday April 17th, 2007

"Forget something, Draken? How 'bout you take two of these and call me in the morning!" Jacobie shot two beams of dense light energy out of his katanas, aimed straight for where the Draken was trudging. "Oh, one more thing! Try dodging this, you pitiful excuse for a Draken!" Jacobie mocked the black Draken. He put his two katanas together and fused them to make one giant dai-katana, throwing it right at Jayce.

---

"Hmph... This form is boring. I'd rather just like to suck his blood dry. Come and face me, Draken! What's the matter, you big, fat, pompus, over-sized piece of trash? Had a bit too much to handle!?"

I hope that half-demon hurries up. I'm running out of taunts to say at this worm. Even I'm not as powerful as a Draken in a full fledged Dragon form...*

---

The beam of light surrounding Tiberius focused fully into a giant red Dragon. He flew high in the air and looked back down at Jayce. He inhailed a great deal of air, preparing a fire blast. *In just a few moments, this guy'll be toast!* Tiberius thought. He was quite a bit over his head and much too over-confident...

---

"Ouch... that long fling had to hurt. Jackie, do you think we should go over there to help?"

"I guess... Okay, let's go..."

"Right! I'll call in the airship!" Jelka took out a weird device from her pocket and dialed a bunch of random numbers on it. The airship came out from the sky and down infront of them as Jelka put the device back in her pocket. "Let's go!"

Jelka piloted the airship to where Ven and Draven stood. The stopped it out infront of them and Jelka hopped out. "Need a lift, guys? It's porbably only a matter of time before that Draken-thing is out cold..."

Posted by: Jenia on Wednesday April 18th, 2007

BANG.
Although Zakon didn't realize it yet, he was lucky he lunged at such great speed. The part of his cloths that he put out earlier was no completly burnt off.

Fortunately for him, the rest of him wasn't close enough to the blast to be seriously harmed.

Zakon smiled to himself in delight.
Not only did his target dodge, but it also fought back.
The only thing bothering Zakon at the time was the fact his target attacked him with magic, and Zakon hated magic attacks with a passion, as it was the only thing he could never just cut through.

Unfazed, he took the split second of confusion to ponder his next course of action. Should he indulge himself in this "challenge" which has presented itself to him, or should he strike at the other one?
"Stop, brother!" his pondering was interrupted by a voice that was no longer so far away "Don't do it!"

That moment, Zakon made his desicion. He lunged at the man wearing silver armor, aiming to cut his plate rather than run his knife through the line across the man's face.
He had to try them both, at least, before Iskatyl stood in his way...

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Wednesday April 18th, 2007

"Looks like somebody already got here before us, eh, gentlemen?"

"I don't fink oi loik the looks a dis, mate. Ever'thin's on foia!"

"Calm yourself, Barbadose! I didn't make you my first mate for absolutely no reason. Let's just walk around the port and make for land. Tell the fleet to make port; We're here for Tjed."

Aaron Grey... Same sensation as any kind of mad man. 'Rule the world! Let not a single person live', that whole deal. Problem for him is he's only 17, yet his determination sends him ever-forwards. He Leapt out of the ship he was on out by the port, along with his crew and his first mate, Barbadose, also his childhood friend.

Behind him was a massive fleet of 200 ships holding an army of 2,000 men all in grey chainmail and dark grey capes. The army was closing around the area and setting up camp for conquest. The set out thousands of tents. Each tent was able to hold in it two soldiers.

"Right! Call for the general! We're making out stand for this little island today..."

Posted by: Dude Man on Wednesday April 18th, 2007

//If you're going to attack with 200,000 men, prepare for a few posts, as stated in rules. Which I'm sure you read <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_wink.gif" alt="Wink" title="Wink" />.\\

Duilin's fire-lightning aura had doubled in volume and he continued to gather his magic and demonic energy around him. He wanted this to count, he needed a bit more time...

--- ---

"I think you found it, Coriko." Wilham said. He then stepped towards the podium. "Yeah, the tablet is still here. Odd" The stone tablet was resting on the podium. "Hmm, it looks like this was the official announcement for the movement to the island. It's a good thing we found this."

"So, shall we get moving to out next location?" Marshall inquired.

Posted by: D. Ein on Wednesday April 18th, 2007

Hannibal fastened the belts on his assassin gear, which was oddly enough all white. He liked the colour; it reminded him of the blankness one experiences near death. He's been there too many times to count.

Slowly, Hannibal walked out of the central skull piece of the transport, and looked below. The ship below was reloading its weapons, reminiscent of the clockwork scorpion tanks that Kandarin used to have. Strange... Where would they get such technology?

The weapons were almost all loaded, and aimed at the ship, while Hannibal was trying to figure out a way to get down to the ship without breaking both his legs. However, as the ship fired its salvo, he got an idea. Keeping the speeding projectile in his line of sight, he threw a small canister from his belt down onto the ground. A black fog surrounded him, disrupted only by a sharp purplish flash coming from within. In a blink of an eye, Hannibal vanished from the transport and reappeared on the incoming stone projectile. Dashing around wildly, he jumped off of it, and hopped onto the next charge. Using the salvo as a ladder, he swiftly got down to the cold metal surface of the ship.

Roth looked around. He was on the surface of the gloomy ship, the catapults firing its shots at the bone transport. There was a metal spire in the middle, possibly some sort of a ram or an energy weapon (or both!). There were absolutely no openings of any sort on the ship, save for the holes that supplied the ammo to the catapults - which were too small to fit through. Hannibal walked around a bit, when he noticed an inconsistency of sounds that his footsteps were making. Could there be a hollow space below his feet?

Now treading carefully, Roth sampled each area he stepped on. Some sounded more hollow than others, possibly indicating a bigger space. Slowly, Hannibal lay down on the rusted iron, his ear and his palms pressed against the hull. There was a slow throbbing sound from within the ship. Closing his eyes, Roth became one with the metal... and fell right through it.

Looking around, Hannibal found himself in a dimly lit hallway. There were many sounds surrounding him - metallic clunking, hissing of pipes, the occasional electrical discharge - and, of course, the deep pulsing coming from the depths of the ship. Finding it very odd that the hallways were completely devoid of any people, he continued walking through the corridor.

Suddenly, and at last, he heard footsteps nearby. The assassin quickly leaned to the nearest wall, his suit camouflaging to the texture and colours of the metal behind him. He was practically indistinguishable from the wall.

The two men passing by were chattering in some foreign language:

-"...apocrypham necavere audes? Caudessimus est! Ego enim non... Tacite!"

Both of them stopped and cautiously looked around.

-"Noliquid erat. Vale!"

The other man left, and the first one remained in the hallway. He was studying a panel on the wall, while Hannibal was studying the man himself. He was dressed in all black clothes, with a black-against-red circular insignia on his back. The insignia looked like a very thin dragon tying around itself in a knot. It absolutely didn't make any sense to Hannibal, who has never seen this symbol before. Nevertheless, in order to move anywhere, the uninvited guest must be disposed of. Very slowly, and very silently, Hannibal drew two long blades hung on either side of his belt. Creeping like a spider, Roth sneaked up on the man, and slashed his blade at the person's neck.

What Hannibal thought to be a move to scratch one's neck was actually a defensive maneuver. With a start, the assassin noticed that his blade was blocked by another one, one which he swore was not there a second ago.

-"Necavo tuum... FURCIFER!!!"

Shouting some other incoherent garbage, the man whipped around, sending his empty open palm at Hannibal's stomach. The powerful strike knocked Roth back and down onto the corridor. The dagger was no longer there - somehow, the defender was holding a maul now...

-"Quam stultus es... Quam... parvus... es..."

Panting from effort, the black-clothed man swung the maul right at Hannibal. The weapon struck the the floor below Roth, who was no longer there. Rather, he was behind his victim, holding a blade to his throat.

-"Die..."

The death was quick. Not at all how Hannibal wanted it, but it did justice.

---

Hannibal's opponent was quick and skilled, features that Roth noted for future encounters. Instead, he decided to attempt to avoid any further confrontations. Surprisingly, there didn't appear to be that many people within the mammoth ship. Hannibal scaled entire empty corridors before the came to the core of the ship. What he saw nearly knocked him back as hard as his opponent.

There was a giant beating heart in the middle of the room, blood from it seeping through a grate the floor. The heart was pumping blood ferociously through vein-like tubes protruding from either ends of the room. This must be what makes this thing tick, Hannibal thought.

Treading carefully to avoid the blood, Hannibal crawled up to one of the tubes and sliced an opening in it. Immediately, the heart began to pump faster, probably to compensate for the rift. In response, Hannibal opened up the wound even further, and a large stream of blood was now seeping through the opening. The heart continued to beat at a steady, unchanging rate. Eventually, the blood will seep out... time to get out of here.

Hannibal rushed through the door, and headed for the point of entrance, where he infiltrated the ship. After teleporting outside, he noticed the catapults still firing. Thinking quick, Hannibal jumped onto one of the projectiles. He rode it to the transport, which was still holding. As soon as he was within range, he teleported inside the skull. The ship beneath was already losing buoyancy.

Posted by: Xorlak on Wednesday April 18th, 2007

(Drannic: Change 200,000 to 2,000 and you're set. Heh...)

Draven turned and watched the tall black clad man go after Ven.

"Tch, I've more pressing issues to deal with."

A red flame engulfed the man as he flew a few feet into the air, suddenly finding himself blocked by an airship.

(Please provide a bit more detail about what things look like in your posts, Drannic.)

"No, I do not need a lift! Blast it! Get out of my way!"

Draven clenched his fists and scowled. With another fiery explosion emanating from his body, he was off, winding clean around the flying ship and back towards the battle, towards the crater with the huge black dragon within...

"Huh?!"

Ven was startled, as he hadn't seen the black clad man come at him. With a whirl, he twisted out of the way of the man's knife, allowing it to strike the metal plate that protruded from the top of his right shoulder, and bringing his sword up in response. Ven took a full leap backwards, blade at the ready.

Suddenly that plate split in two and fell off, leaving his right shoulder exposed with only thin cloth to protect it.

"What the...?!"

Ven widened his stance. There was certainly some foul magic at play here if he was able to crack plate metal in two with only a knife...

"Who are you?"

He brought his sliver sword up, not about to let that knife near him again.

Jayce found himself struck in the side by beams of light and he stumbled, flalling to one knee. Flames from a red dragon licked his hide, but he was able to compose himself to block the sword thrown his way with the tip of his tail.

Back on his feet, he stretched skyward and roared a deafening screech. Rocks cracked and boulders split, and the very crater he stood in seemed to deepen, flecks of stone spinning into the air and disintegrating. With a quick serpent-like twist, he spun around, running his wide tail across the ground to strike the crimson armored lizard Jacobie. At the same time he opened his mouth, spewing forth a black mist at the red dragon that blew flame on him.

Posted by: Dude Man on Wednesday April 18th, 2007

Duilin had seemed to tune out the Draken's screech as his magic aura was acting as a barrier around him. Duilin's irises began to glow as his aura expanded and the occasional spark flew off of it to the ground. Duilin really wanted to leave a mark so he kept on pedaling to the metal...

---

"It looks like Duilin's got something big coming." Rink commented. "With Duilin's strength increasing so much, who knows how this could turn out..., I hope he doesn't go fully demonic again, that was scary."

Lagart nodded, as he watched the battle, with Rink...

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Wednesday April 18th, 2007

"I wonder what his problem was." Jelka leapt back ont the ship. "Hey, look! That knight's getting attacked! We should-"

"Good GOD!!! Why is everyone attacking every living thing we have out here. An army has amassed on the shore!" Jelka quickly took the airship down to distract the army and flew above them, landing on top of a few soldiers.

---

Jacobie flew backwards a few feet, hitting the ground next to Duilin. "I hope *cough* you're... CHARGED *Ugh*" With that said, Jacobie fell unconscious for the moment, bits of blood leaking from his mouth.

Valimore ran out towards Duilin and Jacobie, appearing there in an instant. "Hurry up, will you!? I've already lost two of my apprentices to the war, and I'm not ready to see another one die... not after how long I've been caring for him. I guess we may be allies, as long as you do not oppose the Crimson Emperor. I must get Jacobie to a safe area. I will see you in due time."

Valimore picked up the life-less Jacobie and in an instant, he disappeared. Reappearing near the caves, he put Jacobie on a wall of rocks near the cave entrance. "Look's like I'm going to have to tend to these wounds... I hope that demon kills that Draken in cold blood... He deserves nothing better."

---

The red dragon's flames met evenly with Jayce's, but it slowly died away, and he was burned up a bit in the face. He flew back a bit in pain, then flew higher in the sky. His shape started to change to an even larger creature, resembling much of a golem. A white aura began to surround the dragon and his shape took the form of the golem more and more every few seconds.

---

"What's this? A cat-like... thing... landing on MY minions!? Your time is up, you foolish girl!" Aaron brought his metal fists up to his face and punched Jackie out of the ship. After which, he pounded Jelka to the ground, smashing her to death. She screamed, crying out for help, but none could hear her cry, and alas, she died. He threw her corpse near her sister's. Jackie was knocked out on the ground beneath the airship, so he left her there with her sister to die. "I don't know if you two are related, but you can die together all the same. Ignorant little..."

Posted by: Jenia on Thursday April 19th, 2007

Tsk. The black-armored mage has left. But at least the man before him wasn't too boring either.

Zakon gazed upon him with hungry eyes.
Should he talk, to scare him? Or perhaps, this will reassure him...
Perhaps he should just attack again, without saying a word?
And yet, the temptetion was too great. Zakon smiled at him as one would smile at a long lost friend.
"Surprised?" he asked, his tone signaling he wasn't anything more than interested "With my eyes and this knife...I can cut through anything."

His eyes then suddenly widened, his smile turned diabolical.
"ANYTHING." his tone made him sound like a savage beast now "That includes that puny sword you're holding!"

And then, he lunged...

...Or so he thought. Someone seems to have grabbed his shoulder, preventing him from proceeding.
"Cough... I finally...cought up... with you..." Iskatyl's voice was weak, and his breathing was fast. It was quite obvious he wasn't used to dashing like he just did.
"I...I won't let you kill people who did nothing to you..." He said, cousing Zakon to shake his head and sigh.

"I guess I have no choice, little one." Zakon finally gave in to Iskatyl's shoulder-pulling "I mean, he DID only have only his shoulder plate destroyed when I aimed at his chest... Having you stand in my way now might actualy be risky."

Iskatyl's grip loosened. Zakon turned his head to look at the crater below and several thoughts crossed his mind.
"I can still beat you to that crater if I hurry." Zakon breathed deepely, enjoying the fresh mountain air, regardless of the traces of smoke. It was as if he was not in any fight a few moments earlier.
"But I'm not that mean. In any case..."
Zakon turned to the man holding the sword.
"As you can see, my little brother convinced me not to fight you. I suppose I should answer your question... I am Zakon."
He bowed slightly.
"I see the lines where things end. With this knife, I bring these things to the lines where they end. Me and my little brother have been given this power, but he doesn't seem to enjoy cleaning up as much as I do."

He slid his knife back into his belt, the old friendly smile returning to his face.
"And who might you be?"

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Thursday April 19th, 2007

---

"Skirmishers! Follow me! We're going to send a message to Tjed. The rest of you, continue to set up camp. And send a few of the slaves to clear out the city's rubble. Here, we begin anew!" Aaron began to lead 250 men from his military force. These are the skirmishers. They had plain steel spears with golden tips and Legion shields to boot. Their march was perfeclty syncronized; not a person out of place.

//Keep in mind, these are skirmishers. Their armor and weapons suck, along with there tactics, but they do look good... Hehehe...

---

Justin put his right hand infront of his face extending his index and middle fingers, placing them on his brow and closing his eyes. After a few seconds, he opened them, looking up at the mountains. "There you are. Hope you can help me out." He began to sprint at a speed of ten miles per hour, but tripped over a rock and smashed his face into the mountain wall.

"Ow..." He said in a high-pitched voice, "that hurt rather... well a lot." He got back up on his feet and began to climb the mountain wall, finding loads of rocks to grab hold of. Rock after rock, his speed increased, and he sped up the wall like a professional rockclimber. After two minutes of scaling the mountain side, he was about one foot away from the peak where Ven, Zakon, and his little brother Iskatyl were standing.

"Hey! One of you up there! I can't get up this spot right here, as there appears to be no rocks around. Could one of you help me up?"

---

Ben hovered down to the ground, as he didn't need to keep his beam of light anymore. The vampire was gone, to the caves by the looks of it. He could begin to help out the defense. He flew over towards Duilin and landed about two feet next to him. Blood was stained on the ground. Lizard blood. Ben ignored this and held out his hands towards Duilin.

"I give this demon my power. RECIEVE!!!" A blue beam of pure energy shot out of Ben's hands and towards Duilin. It was a bit slower than an ordinary beam, but it was packed full of magic energy. "Duilin, take this and use it well. This is every single piece of energy I have left."

---

Posted by: Dude Man on Thursday April 19th, 2007

//Green energy would actually be earth magic. But it doesn't really matter what colour basic energy is, just depends on the person, I guess. Check the specializations page.

Oh and Duilin's floating in the air BTW, but I guess that doesn't really change anything.\\

Duilin nodded towards Ben. "Thanks." He absorbed Bjendell's (that's Ben right?) energy into his surrounding glow of magic. His aura was massive, glowing between, yellow, orange and red. The half demon then raised his arms and the glowing magical energy flowed towards his hands, and pressed them together. He then spun the magical energy with his hands into a red-orange coloured orb the size of a softball and then held the small orb of energy out. The orb expanded into 40 feet in diameter he threw the orb high into the air.

'Dear Gaia, make this work...'

The orb then exploded into several smaller ones, and began raining down a series of lightning shaped bolts of golden magic energy at Jayce. The orbs themselves zoomed down at bullet speed towards the draken...

//This attack is kind of like an uber charged up combination of Demon Flame, Thunder Rage and Stun Orb.\\

Posted by: Xorlak on Friday April 20th, 2007

Ven ran his thumb over the hilt of his blade and rotated it once. But it was a double edge sword, so it didn't change it's position.

"My name is Ven Hyul, High Knight of Tjed. If we weren't in a state of crisis right now I'd arrest you myself for such a show of violence. But as it is now there's a huge dragon I must help slay immediately."

Ven slashed his blade once, kicking a bit of dust up with the force of the wind.

"I'd leave this land now if I were you. We don't take kindly to those who attack knights."

With that, he jumped over the side, landing an a lower cliff near Justin, who he just realized wanted a hand in getting up where he'd just been.

"I'd be careful. There's an assassin up there."

Not willing to waste any more time, Ven leapt into the air as a gust of wind congealed into a rush of golden energy beneath his feet. Blade held to his side, he began to fly south to resume his battle with the great black dragon, riding the wind beneath his feet.

Jayce turned towards the forming golem, ready to snap it in half with his jaws. But just then he was surrounded by golden light. Orbs began slamming into his back, causing him to stagger and lose balance, each letting lose a blinding explosion that ripped away large sections of ground. As the stream of blasts intensified, the dragon was tossed into the side of the crater, the earth around breaking up as he slammed into it, burying him deeply into the side and as a second, even greater hole was torn into the ground adjoining the first. He bellowed as he was blasted by golden flames, the rock walls around him shattering. A thick cloud of dust rose, and when it settled, the dragon lied buried under a mound of rubble, motionless...

Throughout the course of the battle the terrain of southern Tjed had been transformed from a serene hilly grass and forested landscape to a wasteland of deep craters and jutting rocks, this last attack making it more so than ever.

Draven arrived on scene just then, a light flame surrounding him and looking quite haggard as he flew some fifty feet above the fallen dragon.

"Perfect!"

He clenched his right fist as he sneered down upon his incapacitated foe.

"Bind him! Bind him right there! Quickly!!"

With that, his aura exploded and he blasted upwards into the sky, spiraling until he was parallel with the looming Crimson Captial, which remained floating in place the whole time.

Crimson aura flaring, Draven stretched both arms to the sky and held his palms upward, a tiny point of vermilion light appearing above them... Tch, sacrificing the entire island of Tjed is a small price to pay to rid the world of the vile Draken...

Crimson-Death Annihilation Attack!! (CDAA): 10%

Posted by: Dude Man on Friday April 20th, 2007

"How was that prince-ling?" Duilin mocked, as Jayce lay motionless on the ground.

He then saw Draven swoop over and order him and the golem to bind him. Sounded like a good idea until...

"Wait...is that...NO!!" Duilin shouted. Draven was insane; the CDAA was the attack that killed Alpha Retan and probably the entire arctic region if it wasn't for Zeros' barrier. If he used it here, Tjed would be destroyed. Duilin wouldn't allow that to happen, not after his failure to save his home town and then his failure to save Romme, he just couldn't let that happen again.

'I'll need your help on this one, old friend.' Duilin unsheathed The Iduran, the blade glistening as he rose it up. He dashed through the air towards the burning mad-man. He then stopped only a couple feet beside him and pointed the blade only inches away from the head of the Crimson Emperor.

Duilin gave Draven a deathly glare. "If you don't stop, I swear to god I will kill you." Duilin said with total seriousness.

Posted by: D. Ein on Saturday April 21st, 2007

"The ship below sank, and Hannibal was back - we were almost at the shore, in fact. Even from here I could see masses of people, many wearing the colours of Kandarin.

Soon enough we landed the gigantic transport, and my officers began loading people inside. There were two thousand people here at least, and they were taking a while to move, sadly... I ordered my officers to hurry up. People passing me by weren't looking at me, but I could see that they were doing that with great strain. Oh well."

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Saturday April 21st, 2007

---

"Hmm... Looks like I did this for no reason. Confoundit! Looks like a big fall... I've survived worse." Justin leapt off the wall and headed straight up to the Floating Island. holding both his hands out, he just barely made it on the island's edge. He began to climb up to where Draven was. "Great... more climbing."

---

Tiberius had taken the form of a golem and walked towards the great crater and pile of rubble Jayce was in. "I've got a better way to kill a Draken. Just let me rip off his head!" Tiberius jumped down into the crater and shifted through the rubble until he could see Jayce's head. He grabbed the sides and began to yank it back. "This may take a while..."

---

"That power... I have to protect us all. We musn't let Tjed fall to anything! We've come too far!" Ben held his hands up above his head. "I know I gave away all my energy, so I'll have to take some back. Drannica, hear my plea! Give me your blessing, and I shal protect this world from darkness. Give me your energy!"

A great beam of light began to come down to where Ben was standing. "Is it... working?" The beam came down into his hands and fully recharged his energy. Just as his energy was fully charged, the beam shifted its position. Soon, it broke into smaller waves of light and focused on the defenders. All of the Tjed knights started to glow with a birght purple aura. A darker purple energy swirled around their swords. Their morale was restored and increased ten fold.

---

"Aaron! Sir! What is that that's swirling around those soldiers?"

"It's favor. Favor from the gods. They seem to have the divine intervention that's missing in our army. Perhapse if we can just rebuild here, we could make peace with them. They could be a part of my empire!"

"That's a grand idea, sir!"

"Quit sucking up, Barbadose. I hate it when people do that. Anyways, I have to find the leader of this army. Tell the skirmishers to stand their ground; I'll be right back." Aaron raced out into the field of craters, searching for anyone who might be with the other army. Just then, he stumbled upon Duilin in the air, pulling out the Iduran.

"Excuse me, good friend. Do you happen to know the head knight of this army? I wish to have a-WHAT IN GOD'S NAME IS THAT ISLAND!?!?!?"

Posted by: Xorlak on Saturday April 21st, 2007

"What is this? Tch! Get out of my way, half-demon, or I will obliterate you along with the dragon!"

Draven lowered his left arm and swung his hand through the air as if swatting away a fly. A wave of flame came forth blasting in Duilin's direction.

The pin-point of light above Draven's other hand grew slightly.

CDAA: 15%

(Drannic: Duilin and Draven are floating rather high in the air, above the battlefield.)

Suddenly, all the knights of Tjed stopped and rose their blades to the sky, shafts of light penetrating skyward as they all shouted,

"Ooooooh!!!"

in unison, their moral increased.

(Kessen 2. Heh...)

The cloud of wind Ven was riding disappeared and he fell, deftly landing at the northern edge of the larger crater. It was a sight to see, the great black dragon buried in stone and the golem trying to remove its head. Above, Draven and Duilin were in the sky bickering. Though he didn't know the reason, it didn't surprise him. He heard some newcomer shout out his question to the warriors above asking about the leader of the Tjed army, and that was his cue.

"These knights are under my command, sir," Ven shouted, "What business do you seek?"

In the golem's hands, Jayce's burning crimson eyes suddenly snapped open. His maw opened with an angry roar, spewing forth a vile black mist from it...

Posted by: Jenia on Saturday April 21st, 2007

Kerig was paying close attention to what was going on around, but he wasn't bothered by any of it. Since at the moment ntohing too interesting was being said, he was playing with his pinky, trying to bend it in various strange ways.

His right hand was completly black already. The blackness, like a stubborn stain, was spreading to his arm...

"Can I kill him now?"
"NO!"

Zakon laughed. But he was unsatisfied, for fact.
And his brother was in the way.

-"Hey, Tyl, he said he has a 'dragon' to deal with..."

-"Yes, I think he did..."
-"I'm still hungry. You won't mind me getting us some steak and ridding them of a problem while I'm at it, right?"
-"I...I guess so..."
-"Good. Stay here. Wouldn't want you burnt by that dragon!"
-"Y-yes, brother..."

Zakon smiled to himself as he took quick leaps down the mountain.

He had gotten what he wanted... And obviously, he planned to do much more than just keeping his promise.

//Sorry guys, in a hurry\\

Posted by: Dude Man on Saturday April 21st, 2007

"Don't you just Tch at me!" Duilin shouted. "Has your ego gotten in the way of the fact that if you release your attack then you'll destroy Tjed?! Jayce deserves to die, but not at the cost of all these people!"

The half demon gave even more sternness in his voice. "I'm dead serious Lars. If you don't think I will, just try to obliterate me along with him!" He narrowed his eyes, and his iris darkened. "Because I would love it..."

--- ---

Wilham, Marshall and the group beginning to head their way out of the dusty dungeon, when suddenly the entire room begins to shake.

"What's going on?" Marshall asked.

"Maybe its an earth quake." Wilham replies.

Then in the middle of the room an orange glowing circle appears on the floor, as if being projected by an amplfier of some type. The design of an inverted pentagram then appeared in a similar manner in the circle, flame then sprouted from the projection and trio of people appeared from the strange pentagram.

"We are the Talonscar Elite! Our master's resting place has been disturbed! DIE MORTALS!"

"Uh..oh..." Firstman gulped. "Looks like I'm gonna need more than just one of Coriko's fire arrows...."

Posted by: Coriko on Saturday April 21st, 2007

"On it!"

Coriko yelled to the others over the sound sound of the Talonscar Elite. He rolled over summoning his bow. He already had one of his special arrows that explodes on impact firing shrapnel everywhere loaded and ready to be fired at the leader's head. He held it there not moving a muscle, barely breathing. Coriko locked eyes with the leader of the Talonscar Elite.

"Your move tough guy!"

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Saturday April 21st, 2007

---

"Right. Name's Aaron of the Ario empire. I was hoping to make some sort of treaty, if you don't mind. I will need your assistance in an upcomming battle. I offer you 2,000 of Ario's finest, but I need some help with something in Ariosis, my homelands, about 75 miles south of here. If you help, my soldiers will gladly join you in combat."

---

The golem was not phased by the Draken's dark fire. He merely resumed to try and pull off its head. "What's the deal with this thing anyway? Rockgolem is my strongest form, and it's barely doing a thing against this neck. It's like the thing is made of steel!"

---

Justin reached the top of the floating capitol and took a great leap into the air, grabbing hold of Draven's legs. He took out his demon fang and slashed upwards at Draven, aiming for his hands so that it might stop his magic attacks.

Posted by: Xorlak on Sunday April 22nd, 2007

"You miserable ingrate!" Draven was clearly irate now. "Do you have the slightest idea what a draken truly is? The lives of a few rejects are well worth the death of this abomination! If you think you've hurt Jayce with your pathetic attack, you are sorely mistaken. This is the only possible way. He will not allow himself to be hit again. Ever.

"By standing in my way, you are ensuring the death of every living thing on this planet. They will enslave everyone of use and then kill the rest before moving on to the next. That is their way. Now move it!!"

Suddenly, he felt someone grab a hold of his legs.

"IDIOT!"

Draven faltered in the air, trying to kick Justin off. Dodging the blade, Draven held his right palm right before Justin's face.

"If you fight against me, you fight for the Dark Empire! DIE!!"

It was like looking down the barrel of a cannon. A blast of flame burst from Draven's hand with a thunderous boom...

Above Draven's head, the brightly glowing orb shrank slightly.

CDAA: 10%

Ven ran a gauntlet under his chin.

"I don't quite have the authority to aid you, however if you do help us, I'm certain King Henri will grant you aid as soon as this crisis is over."

Ven gave a warm freindly smile and extended his right hand to shake, resting the tip of his silver blade on the ground with the other.

"So then sir, consider it a deal."

The black dragon smiled a devilishly toothy grin, his crimson eyes narrowing. He spoke in a surpsingly deep eloquent voice...

"My hide is much tougher than the flimsy metal you call steel, I assure you..."

With that, Jayce arched his neck back, a few of the boulders falling off. Suddenly his right claw burst forth from under the rubble, the massive blade-like claws slashing down at the golem...

Two of his appendages were free now, his head and claw...

Posted by: Jenia on Sunday April 22nd, 2007

Zakon let out a devious snicker as he had reached the battlefield.
As much as he would have liked to start with whatever was closest to him, a promise held greater priority.
He will start with the dragon, and just kill everyone else afterwards. Except maybe the guy with the glowy orb. Magic users were annoying.

He dashed across various corpses, some human, some lizard, some disemboweld and some just had limbs burned off...
The land, as scorched as it was, was perfect for moving around. Kicking up dust behind him, approaching the dragon.
Should he jump on him as he dashes? No, that would be too risky. The wisest move would be to approach from behind and catch the first limb flying in his direction.

As he increased speed, he readied his reflexes for sharp, scaly things to burst from under his feet...

As confident as he was in his ability to grab whatever goes at him, he didn't realize there was a difference between the dragons and the draken...

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Sunday April 22nd, 2007

---

"WWWAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!" Justin couldn't manage to avoid the blast. He fell down at a great speed, but fortunately for him, Ben was in the air near-by and picked him up. He flew over towards the ground and placed him down.

"No, no, no! I need to fight that guy up there with that orb-thing above his head. See him?"

"Alright. Here goes." Ben kicked off the ground, holding under Justin's arms. As soon as he was at a regular height with Draven, Ben threw Justin forwards. His fang was closing in infront of his right hand. He slashed forwards, hoping for a hit.

---

"Jolly good, then!" Aaron grabbed his hand and shook a few times, then he cupped his mouth to shout. "BARBADOSE!!! SEND THE MEN TO ATTACK THAT BLACK CREATURE AND THAT MAN UP THERE!

"AYE, SIR! MEN!!! Our allies are the knights in plate armor. Our enemies, that guy up there," he pointed towards Draven, "and that thing down there." He pointed to Jayce. "Archers, follow me! The rest, attack that thing down there." Barbadose took out his bow allong with half the army.

The army's weapons was evenly seperated with 500 crossbowmen, 500 longbowmen, 250 skirmishers, 250 short swordsmen, and 500 broad swordsmen. The archers followed Barbadose to an edge of a crater where he settled them in and prepared their arrows and bolts alike.

"ON MY MARK!!!" he screamed back, "READY! AIM! FIRE!!!" 1,000 bolts and arrows flew in the air, ripping up the clouds. Their target of attack was Draven and the floating capitol.

"Let me ask you something, knight. I know there has been an attack on the Arctic Region before this, and that man up there was the attacker. If the Arctic Region is still standing, then how did they divert the energy from the land? Was there someone who used some sort of barrier, or did he just hit what he wanted to and there just so happened to be minimal damage on the land?"

---

After being out for a while in the dusty cave, Jacobie came back around. He stood up and wlaked forwards. "We cannot just let him destroy this island! We have to do something!"

"I'm afraid I can do nothing, but you probably could, Jacobie."

"Why not!? Nothing has stood in your way before, so why now?"

"I have made peace with the Crimson Emperor."

"SCREW PEACE!!! When has peace ever solved anything!? It might be a relaxing thing, but it's only just delaying another war!"

"How true... Fine. I'll assist you, my apprentice. If we are to strike just this last time, know that even if I die, I will be reborn again, and I will restore you as well, Jacobie. Let's go." Valimore and Jacobie raced back out of the caves. Their targets were different, but both were evil enough to be destroyed. Jacobie headed for Jayce, where as Valimore was headed for Draven.

"How'd you like this!?" Valimore took a great leap in the air and began to hover for a moment. Merely seconds later, black bat wings shot out from his back. He flew forwards, baring his fangs, ready to destroy and mabey devour Draven.

"Get a load of THIS!!!" He stuck his hand out and 6 giant, sharp pins nearly 3 feet appeared out of his palm. They grew more and more until they reached 8 feet. Each took the shape of swords. He flicked his hand forwards and a sword headed for Draven. He flicked it four more times and all headed his way.

"Sorry old mate, but I can't let you blow up anything anymore. This is gaian! It's where I keep all my stuff, so you can't do anything anymore. I hope you like the present I just gave you. Enjoy fighting the blades of Vampiric eternity! MEHHEHHEHHEHHEH!!!!!!"

---

Meanwhile, Jacobie was headed for the Draken. He noticed that a huge number of troops were headed that way as well. He though if he couldraise their morale, they might have a fighting chance. As they marched forwards he yelled out "Let's kill this thing! CHARGE!!!" They all started running out at the Draken. It looked like it had just thrown back a golem, but this hadn't moved any of them spiritually. They headed in berserkly, ready to kill anything in sight, and their sights were set on Jayce.

---

As stated before, Tiberius was thrown backwards by the Draken. *I have to get this guy killed! If he's dead, I can capture his essence!* "Is that all you got!? Come on, fight, weakling! Take this!" He lunged forwards at the Draken, hoping to make a hit in the jaw, possibly disabling his black fire breath.

Posted by: Dude Man on Sunday April 22nd, 2007

//How does everyone automatically know that Draven's CDAA will destroy Tjed? Duilin only knows from past experience.\\

Duilin was silent and he just watched Draven get yanked down. He noticed an entire army just started to attack Draven and Jayce.

"Holy crap!!" Duilin shouted, he lowered himself towards ground level to avoid the arrows. "This is going too far." He looked at the dragon, being feebly attacked by a large amount of people. Jayce just wasn't going down...

Draven was right; Drakens are the strongest being, period. They are a hell of a lot stronger than humans and even demons. If Draven doesn't use his CDAA against Jayce, the draken would just move on and destroy every other nation. But is there another way to defeat Jayce? Fighting Draven is pointless, but if he followed his way, then it would mean the death of everyone in Tjed, the last free nation. No, Draven is wrong; Tjed is needed to help fight the Dark Empire, and if Tjed is lost, then that just brings Retan closer to dominating the world.

"There has to be another way to kill this thing..." Duilin said to himself.

---

Suddenly two legions of Lizard Men began rushing in; lead by a blue skinned lizard man and a large brown skinned one. They charged towards Aaron's army. Their armour was strong, and these lizard men seemed to slightly larger than the ones before.

---

The Talonscar Elite shrugged and spoke to Coriko in its deep echoing voice "Okay." He then shot a flaming horned skull towards him.

Marshall shot a lightning bolt at one of the others, with his MagiPistol. The elite simply blocked it with his gauntlet. "Bad move." The elite roared. He then shot two balls of black flame at the summoner, who sidestepped to avoid the shots...

Wilham dashed towards the third one and swung his fist at its head. The elite grabbed Wilham's gauntlet with his own and twisted his fist. Wilham then swung a kick smacking his foot to the side of his foe's face, forcing him to let go of his fist and step back a few feet.

//Coriko, you can control the Talonscar Elite that you're fighting, since he's an NPC. But put into consideration that they are 'elite'.\\

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Sunday April 22nd, 2007

---

"Blast! Shortswords, skirmishers, attack those blighted creatures! Broadswords, fall back and defend the marksmen squad! I'll handle this Draken... personally." Aaron tightend his metal gloves. They were made of the second strongest material in Gaian, dragon hide. Dragons and Drakens are two different things, he realized. They'd have to make at least a bit of a difference against that draken, he thought. He charged in and flew at Jayce, hoping to make somewhat of a dent.

---

"Uugghhnnn... What the...? Woah, lizards! Big ones! Got to act fast!" Doriana was lying behind a crater. She got back up and prepared her assassin's claws, flying out like lightning and ready to cut through steel. She ran out and slashed wildly at the lizards, hitting one after another. It didn't seem to affect them that much, though.

"Uh oh... this can't be good. I NEED SOME HELP OVER HERE!!!" She continued to try and slash at the lizards, hoping for reinforcements. Just then, men with long spears and short swords started to engage the front lines of the lizards, making more of an impact. More and more men attacked the lizards until it seem like everyone had atleast two opponents. It mattered not to them as they were the finest of the Ario Empire. Skirmishers threw their spears at the lizards. If one broke, they would take out a secondary short sword to continue the onslaught. Mabey they'd have a chance against Jayce... Just mabey...

Posted by: D. Ein on Sunday April 22nd, 2007

"The people were all loaded now. The transport slowly rose up into the air once again, and set off way north. The cities of Kandarin will soon rise again."

Posted by: Xorlak on Monday April 23rd, 2007

"What the?! What in blazes is wrong with all of you?!"

Draven dropped his fists to his sides, his aura magnifying intensely. He literally exploded, a great blast of fire emanating from his body in all directions, wrapping him in an scorching ball of flame several feet thick. Any such arrows headed his way burst into flame well before coming close, turning around and raining back down upon those who shot them. Justin would be scorched before he could get close...

"He's reviving! HE'S REVIVING!!"

The black dragon far below was stirring...

Wrapped in the bright flame, Draven looked up at the vampire with narrowed eyes.

"What is it so impossible to find a competent underling?! I realized undead were stupid, but you a clearly a reject amongst ingrates. Very well, if you wish to be a slave to Retan by attacking me, you shall be removed!"

Draven pointed a single finger at the vampire, a mammoth plume of flame blasting forth with a brilliant crimson flash. The fire pillar decimated the oncoming swords, vaporizing them into tiny black particles as the blast raged on, headed straight for the vampire...

Draven turned to Duilin as he shot the beam, clenching his other fist.

"Duilin! You fool! Call them off right now! Stand down and allow me to strike down Jayce, or I WILL KILL EVERYONE IN MY WAY!!"

Above his head, the orb dimmed to a tiny glimmer due to neglect...

CDAA: 5%

Ven clutched his head with both hands.

"NO!! Not Draven! Blast it, why does eveyone always attack him?! He's on our side!!"

Ven brought a gauntlet to his chin.

"Hmm, well, I suppose that black and red getup he wears doesn't help. And then there's that grin of his..."

Ven raised an eyebrow at the allied commander.

"Attack on the Arctic region? Why would anyone do that? There's nothing up there but snow and ice, as far as I know."

He held out a finger as-a-matter-of-fact-ly.

"I wasn't there, but I did hear Draven, Duilin, and some others fought a giant evil dragon there, much like this one."

He waved his hand, indicating Jayce in the crater below as he was being assaulted.

"And it was so powerful, that Draven had to use an attack that nearly... destroyed..."

The knight blinked twice.

"... that nearly... destroyed..."

He looked at the dragon below, then up at Draven, then at the surrounding land of Tjed. Then at all three one more time. Suddenly he put two and two together and clutched his head with both hands again.

"HOLY CRAP!!!"

Jayce grinned more widely.

It was a devilish thing, a black dragon grinning like that, mouth full of teeth and burning crimson eyes...

All projectiles sent his way turned to black ash before they could strike him, crumpling and turning to dust before they could strike him. It was like the very air around him repelled anything and everything, crushing it to the vile nonexistance that the black dragon represented.

Raising his right claw into the air, Jayce smashed down burying it deeply in the rocky terrain. The ground shattered, a huge fissure appearing before the onslaught of attacking men. And the fell in screaming all the way... At the same time, the loose rocks began to spin around in a gust of violent wind, smashing into armored men from the sides...

With a tremor, the dragon's left claw broke free from the rubble...

He was nearly halfway free now, and not looking the least bit worried...

"Duilin, you must contain the blast like Zeros' and the others did years ago. It's up to you now."

The old knight whispered into his ear...

Posted by: Jenia on Monday April 23rd, 2007

"Ack!" Zakon nibly but barely dodged a large rock flying at him during his dash.
He placed his right hand on his knife and swiftly pulled it from his belt.

Just as he was thinking how stupid those people were, to attack a dragon head on, another rock came his way. He wondered what kind of wind favors dragons as he dodged it, not bothering to assume it could be a magical one.

He was having trouble running straight because of the flying rubble, but he continued nontheless.

All of a sudden, right after dodging a rock, the dragon's left claw burst from the ground, right in his face. Zakon nearly staggered, barely managing to avoid having his face's right and left seperated, but he was ready for this.

With a snicker and a whispery "Gotcha!", he sent his free hand to grab the dragon's arm.

Posted by: Dude Man on Monday April 23rd, 2007

"Huh?" Duilin looked around, as he heard the old knight's voice. He then grinned and looked at the sword in the sheath. "Well what do you know...it works."

He looked at Draven, giving him a thumbs up, almost reluctantly. He has got to create a barrier to block the CDAA, like Zeros' did five years ago. Zeros' had a technique called Fusegu Ankokujidai that formed a barrier of earth and rocks around Draven's CDAA. However that ability was earth elemental, yet Duilin practices only Air, Fire and his natural demonic, and demonic won't work. Duilin could create air bubbles, but that couldn't block a CDAA, perhaps if he could build on it. He was pretty good at improving spells...

Duilin closed his eyes and sat on the ground, focusing his energy. "I can do this...My strength has probabbly almost doubled over the past two days already..." He remembered Aegidius told him something about his human side was enhanced, and grew strength off his nobility and awareness, wile his demonic side simply fed off his rage.

He nearly became human again when his demonic rage settled, and he briefly saw Iduran. Maybe he can push his new human strength to the limit. "Let's save Tjed."

The half demon began to let off a light golden glow, his clothing lightened and his orange belt became a shining golden yellow, his hair colour became lighter revealing a dark orange. His wings disappeared and his scratches on his face and body healed. He floated above the ground; an aura of light was shining around him.

He then sent a few telepathic messages...

To Ven...
'Don't worry Ven. I've got in under control.

To Aaron's Army...
'Don't attack that man in the black and red armour; he needs to use his attack to defeat the dragon.'

...And to Rink
'Hey Rink look at me, haha!'

Duilin floated higher into the air until aura began to glow brighter. He then was at the same height in the air as Draven.

"Go for it Draven. But there is no way; I'm letting you destroy Tjed. Just watch..."

An orb Yellow-Green energy began to glow in between his hands as he brought them together, and a faint glowing gold ring appeared around the area of the Draken...

Duilin's Uber Shield: 5%

Posted by: Coriko on Monday April 23rd, 2007

Coriko raised his bow to deflect the arrow. His bow didn't break, it exploded and the force sent him flying into a wall, hard. The elite warrior slowly walked over to Coriko, who was slumped against the wall. The warrior leant forward to grab Coriko by the throat when Coriko "woke up" and delivered a painful flamming upper cut to the elite's jaw, causing him to stumble backwards. Coriko Jumped up and enflamed his entire arm. He then jumped forward attacking the elite, punchi ng his arm right into the elite's face. The elite's chest armour was on fire and he ripped it off in act of self-preservation and anger. He looked up to see an arrow flying at his chest and before he had time to react it pierced his heart. He clutched it and feel to his knees, dying.

"Wow, these guys sure no how to throw a party."

Coriko then ran off to help the others.

//how many off the elite are there?\\

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Tuesday April 24th, 2007

---

"No..." Aaron held on to a sharp cliff inside the fissure, "My men... all of those poor people. They have never fallen in battle... They were the top class..." He lifted himself up to the edge of the fissure and climbed out. "Ariosis is not going to want to hear this... Ah, but what does that matter now? There's nothing I can do against that thing... Unless..."

---

"BOO!!!" Valimore reappeared behind Draven. "I was merely testing your... capabilities. You seem to be well enough into a class of your own. More to the point, seems like it's okay for you to blast that thing to bits, so I'll lend a hand." Valimore floated back a bit from behind Draven and held his hands up. "This might pacen things up a bit, but nothing will go in until I have to word. "

---

Posted by: Dude Man on Tuesday April 24th, 2007

Wilham continued to fist fight with the elite, wile Marshall was having a 'gun fight' with the other one, Wilham seemed to have the upper hand in his fight but Marshall looked like he could use a hand.

Wilham blocked another punch from the elite and swooped his foot across his foes legs tripping him to the ground. The summoner general then slammed his elbow down on the elite's chest, he then grabbed his head with one hand and his neck with his other, ready to break his neck, but the elite had a sudden burst of strength and grabbed Wilham's hands and ripped them away from his head. The elite then sprung back to the ground and delivered a pummelling towards Wilham, only a few strikes were blocked. Those gauntlets were pretty strong, and Wilham had a splitting head ache from all the punches. The Grand General has been through worse so he shakes it off and delivers one high speed punch right towards his enemy's face, knocking him again to the ground. He then gets back into the 'neck break' position and a snapping sound in heard, and the demonic elite's body stops moving...

Posted by: Coriko on Tuesday April 24th, 2007

Coriko saw his two commrades fighting. Wilham looked like he had his elite under control, Marshall looked like he could use a hand though. Coriko took a run at the elite. He leaped forward towards the guy yelling out a battle cry to get his attention. When the elite turned to look at Coriko that is when he swung his flamming fist down into the elite's face, who let out an agonizing scream. The elite's eye was spurting blood everywhere. The elite swung his powerful arm and it connected with Coriko's ribs. He was sent flying across the room into the marble podium where the tablet was. The podium shattered as Coriko crashed into it. He stood up, slightly hunched over clutching his chest. Blood was dripping down the corner of his lips down his chin. He smiled an almost sinister smile showing his blood soaked teeth. The elite turned his attention to Coriko.

"Oh man, you so just made a big mistake. Marshall NOW!"

Posted by: Xorlak on Tuesday April 24th, 2007

Draven began floating higher, arms stretched skyward.

"Do what you please. I don't care what happens, as long as that thing is wiped out..."

Draven's eyes narrowed, as Valimore was still lurking around.

"Vampire, you wear my patience very thin... I don't take kindly to 'tests'. I suggest you flee for your life as quickly as possible while I'm concerned with more pressing issues..."

The tiny speck of light above his head swelled, becoming a deep red orb a foot or so in diameter...

CDAA: 15%

"Huh?"

Ven blinked twice before realizing the voice came from Duilin, high above. Perhaps they were working on some different, less destructive spell?

"Uh, right."

He looked down at the dragon, which was stirring quite a bit. Blast it, whatever Draven and Duilin were doing up there probably required the dragon to stay in place, something that he wasn't likely going to do in just a few short moments. Ven held his sword to his side and slid down into the crater on his boots. He hated just standing and watching...

The half-buried Jayce felt something catch his left arm, but paid it no mind as it weighed nothing at all. Instead his head was turned to the onslaught of men rushing his way. The winds had died down by now, and the fissures stopped growing larger, humans scurrying around them like ants. He allowed many to draw close with a vile grin, opening his maw at the last second and spewing forth a series of black orbs. They struck the ground with shattering explosions that rumbled rocks free from the crater walls. Yet rather than spew debris into the air, wherever they struck was left with a black hole in the ground, as if they disintegrated whatever they touched into nothingness, rocks or men alike...

He shifted his weight some as he spewed forth orb after orb, his right wing becoming dislodged from the rubble and unburying itself...

Posted by: Dude Man on Tuesday April 24th, 2007

"Goodnight!" Marshall said with a smile, he then fired a single lightning bolt at the elites head, knocking it lifelessly to the ground.

"Well, I guess that answers that." Wilham said, taking off one of his gauntlets and rubbing his wrist.

Marshall let out a deep breath. "Yeah."

"So, who were those guys?" Firstman asked who sat out of the fight, due to his lack of any special magic (and a character shield).

"They must have been left over minions of the Grey Empire." Marshall replied. "I never really fought against the Grey Empire before, but if this is what their warriors were like, they must have been strong."

"Well, they did say they were the 'Talonscar Elite'." Wilham said. "What does that have to do with the Grey Empire?"

"Oh, one of the rulers of the Grey Empire was named Abodahon Talonscar. Perhaps they were his elite guard." Marshall replied.

"Well, let's get outta here, before more of those guys show up." Firstman said. "Their entrance is scary enough..."

--- ---

Duilin continued to charge energy into energy shield, the orb was getting larger, forcing Duilin to stretch his arms skyward as well. Normally Duilin would be feeling uncomfortable and out of place, hovering next to Draven, but at least his technique was only being used to keep Draven's CDAA from destroying anything. In fact, it might even help keep Jayce from, fleeing away after the CDAA is released, because the shield he was making was going to be both blocking physical and magical matter.

Duilin felt so much more in focus and at peace, he didn't feel hate for Draven anymore, or even Jayce. All he felt was the need to protect Tjed and the people of it, from getting hurt by Draven's attack.

"What I'm doing is making a shield Jayce, like what Zeros' did last time, but this one will be made of energy. I will release it right after you release your attack and it will block the explosion of your Annihilation Attack, from damaging anything outside of it. Not that you'd care." He then grinned a bit. "And probably, it will make your spell more concentrated, plus it will bind Jayce there, perhaps making it more effective. Just for you, Draven."

Although what he latter stated, was not his primary goal, as he was mostly just wishing to keep the CDAA from blowing up Tjed, but he his second point would inspire the crazy fire mage to be a little more co-operative with him. Nevertheless the noble super human continued to bring more energy into his shield, making sure it was at level with the CDAA...

Uber Shield: 15%

---

"Is that...Duilin?" Goldolf, the old drow said approaching closer to the crater, along with Lagart and Rink.

"Yeah, it is." Rink replied.

"What's he doing with that Fire Mage?"

"I think the Fire Mage is charging a very dangerous spell to kill that dragon and Duilin is creating a shield to make sure, it does only that." Rink replied. "Hope it works..."

Posted by: Jenia on Wednesday April 25th, 2007

"Ignore me, will you?" Zakon snickered, thinking this was too easy "Big mistake, pal."

He knew he could just use the dragon's foolish ignorance to approache the neck and attack that, but that would be no fun at all. Instead, without letting go of the dragon's arm, he aimed and swung his knife at a line he saw crossing one of the arm's joints.

"Aaaand... STOP!"
From a whirling light, Fernis and Elphos appeared near an abandoned fort.
The earth was damp and gloomy, with no trees being seen in the distance.

"This certainly looks better than the swamp we landed in earlier." Fernis commented, pulling off the last leech attached to her "I hate leeches."

Elphos nodded, but continued to stare at the large ruined fort nearby.
"I have a bad feeling..." he said, sounding like some old prophet.
Fernis scarcthed her head in response, but decided to suggest they go inside the fort.

Inside, several campfires were lit up along the walls. In the center of what seemed to be the remains of a large hall, a small midget stood near a table of fitting size and a large pile of what seemed to be black boxes.
The said midget was talking to several shady-looking people, though Fernis didn't really bother listening.
She was far more interested in the pile.

"Hey, Elphos..." she whispered in his ear "You said you have a bad feeling, right?"
She then pointed at the large pile of boxes -
"You know what these are, don't you?"
"Those are..." Elphos fell into deep thought for a moment, but then his jaw dropped.

"That's right." Fernis said, nodding "Bombs. You know what I'm thinking, don't you?"

Elphos nodded in response, and they both began sneaking towards the pile.

Just when they were close enough to almost touch one of the boxes, the midget seemed to notice them, as he pointed at them and yelled out something they couldn't understand.
"JUMP!" Fernis grabbed Elphos and jumped into the bomb pile while activating her orb.
With a flash, Fernis, Elphos and the bomb pile disappeared, leaving the strange group in the abandoned fort both shocked and annoyed.

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Wednesday April 25th, 2007

---
//Not much to post... meh...

"Meh... don't you like tests? espesially when you can prove you're the greater? Ah what ever. Take this!" Valimore blasted a dark red beam of energy into the CDAA. "This'll give it a kick." He forced more and more energy through his arms out his palms and up into the CDAA.

---

Posted by: Xorlak on Wednesday April 25th, 2007

Draven rolled his eyes at the vampire, but an extra power source was useful none-the-less.

His expression became stern as he looked down upon Duilin.

"This is going to kill you, you know. You'd be better off running away so that you might face Retan. It's pointless to risk your life for those of little use..."

Above his head, the brightly burning orb swelled to over five feet in diameter...

CDAA: 27%

"AHHHH~~!!!!"

The sound of the Tjedian knights' screams was cut short as the dark blast engulfed them, as if their very voices were crushed and ripped away.

"Blast it! Fall back!" Ven shouted to the knights. They had the black dragon loosely surrounded, but none were able to go near, lest they were vaporized into nothingness by the vile orbs of darkness spewed forth from the monster's mouth.

Ven held his sword high, charging it with light energy once more. He certainly needed another plan of attack this time, as he had no intentions of trying dashing madly at it again...

Suddenly Jayce felt a sharp pain in his left arm. Gritting his many teeth, he craned his neck up and over it, glaring down at Zakon who was still holding on. There on his arm was a small nick in his scales, a trickle of dark blood bubbling out, hissing as it dripped onto the stones below. The human managed to cut a hole in his scales?! With an indignant roar that tremored the ground, he lifted his right claw and smashed down at the little man...

Posted by: Dude Man on Wednesday April 25th, 2007

"I'm surprised you're warning me of that, Draven." Duilin replied, using a more calm and kindly tone than usual. "But I'm not running. Tjed is not useless nor is the life of any living person. It's something you probably don't understand."

The ring around the area of ground that Jayce was on began to glow slightly brighter, and the orb of shield energy expanded in size.

Duilin noticed that the vampire boosted up Draven's CDAA, that would cause a bit of an imbalance because of that, hopefully he can speed up the charging of his shield...

Uber Shield: 25%

---

Rink, Lagart and Goldolf rallied closer with Ven, the drow and the lizard switching their focus between Draven, Duilin and Jayce.

"Ven, maybe if we circled the dragon we might be able to distract him with some distance attacks of some sort, or perhaps if there are any mages left we could bind him?" Rink suggested to the knight.

"Well, I dunno any binding spells, just like shootin' fireballs and frost shards n' such..." Goldolf said to the imp.

"Well, clearly we need to find a safe way to distract the dragon, if we want him to stay put, and not kill people..."

Posted by: D. Ein on Wednesday April 25th, 2007

"The weather outside was almost scary. The transport was ever so faintly swinging back and forth in the raging wind, and the waves below were reaching 3 or so meters. The whole sky was pulled over with storm clouds, but it wasn't completely dark. The occasional beam of light cut through the thick haze.

I left the bridge to go check on Eve. She was teaching the troops inside to raise corpses en masse, and they seemed to be doing pretty good... considering there were no corpses around. Looking closer, I noticed Kerig among the soldiers. So the little one came along anyway, did he...

I leaned against the bone behind me, and observed the lesson."

Posted by: Dude Man on Thursday April 26th, 2007

Marshall and the crew exited the dungeon.

"So, where is our next location?" Firstman asked.

Marshall looked at the map. "Hmmm...south of North Point. We might have some encounters from the Dark Empire. We may be attacked by a Dark Dragon or two, because I hear the Dark Dragons like it around there...."

"Well, we've got our, dragon." Wilham said. "I'm sure we'll be fine."

--- ---

The mountain fortress of Lizaberg was almost fully repaired, and Gorus' room was being renovated.

"High General Goruss!" General Ssobra called, wile entering Gorus' temporary dwelling. "The mountain fortresss interrior has been repaired. Tomorrow, we sshould have all of the roomss fixed up. We're also renovating your room as requessted."

"Excellent." Gorus said, changing his shirt, and then strapping his pickaxe on his back. "Any other good news?"

"Well, we've disscovered that Count Vandrin hass refused to leave Terian. Retan'ss orders ssay you're allowed to attack them."

Gorus smirked. "Excellent..." He cracked his knuckles. "I'll lead the attack myself. I want you to organize an army of one thousand lizard men, no make that five."

"Five thoussand...yess ssir..."

"We will attack them in ten hours. Give them no warnings."

"Oh, I forgot to mention ssomething about Vandrin, ssir."

"What?"

"Vandrin hass actually declared war on you. Apparently he belivess he is a match for uss."

Gorus let out a laugh. "That is hilarious. I'm going to enjoy crushing that old fool's bones between my teeth..."

Posted by: Coriko on Thursday April 26th, 2007

Coriko smiled. His chest hurt really badly, but these guys were so optimistic.

"Alright, so what are we waiting for?"

Posted by: Xorlak on Thursday April 26th, 2007

"Tch, reason and common sense are all that are required to understand."

Draven cast a glance as the floating Crimson Capital nearby, and the floating island began to slowly move away to the east. As it was, it was way too close to where the blast would hit, and the Crimson Emperor didn't want to risk his newly re-obtained base of operations.

The sphere above Draven's head was pulsating brightly now, swelling to over ten feet in diameter. A fierce wind was beginning to blow around him, the soon-to-be-massive globe the center of the storm...

CDAA: 37%

"I know how to distract him."

Blade gleaming brightly, Ven brought his sword high and then cleaved the air, a crescent shaped blast of light materializing from it. The energy blade sliced through the air and smacked the black dragon in the side of the muzzle. Turning his attention from the little man upon his left arm, Jayce's eyes narrowed upon seeing Ven... Without any effort, the dragon simply stood up, rocks falling off of him completely, and took a few steps over to Ven, who seemed to shrink as the dragon's massive shadow loomed over him.

"Ah crap..."

Posted by: Dude Man on Thursday April 26th, 2007

"Then clearly you don't have either." Duilin said back to Draven, keeping a calm tone.

He then noticed Ven shoot a blade of light magic at the draken. Duilin rolled his eyes as Jayce got up and began to move. Hopefully Ven will be able to hold the draken off.

Uber Shield: 35%

---

"Way to go Ven." Rink said half jokingly. "Well, we need to find a way to keep him from moving to much." He looked to Goldolf and Lagart. "We need to split up, maybe surround him. Lagart do you know any magic?"

"No. I just mÃªlÃ©e weapon fighter." The lizard man replied.

"I got an idea." Goldolf said. "Hand me yer mace." The drow then took the Talonscar Mace and held in. Goldolf's hands began to glow blue and the glow then flowed into the mace.

"There, now you should be able to shoot frost blasts from it for a lil' while." He handed back the mace, and the drow and the lizard then dashed off to opposite sides of the dragon.

Rink fluttered up into the air and lifted his hands upwards summoning a spiral of flame around his hands. He then pointed his hands forward shooting a barrage of fireballs at the draken.

Lagart and Goldolf shot a few frost shards at its sides...

Posted by: Jenia on Friday April 27th, 2007

While enjoying an entertaining lesson in necromancy, Kerig took a look at his hand from time to time, curious about his partner's progress.
The last time he looked, kerig's entire arm was now completly black and had a clear "border", showing weloss was now progressing towards fortification and strengthening rather than spreading of greater space.

"Buuuugh....ghuuuuuununghaaaaaa..." a quite humming came from within his hand, quickly replaced by the familiar voice coming from inside his mind.
"Bah!" Weloss appeared somewhat angered, despite having what he wanted "I forgot you use a stupid thing called 'languege' out in the physical. Stupid sound-based communication... This is too complicated!"
Kerig laughed softly at his partner's comments on speech, but then noticed Kronos was in the room.
"Hey, hey, let's go brag about what you can do to Kronos already!" kerig happily whispered to his black arm.
Weloss approved, but was quite disturbed Kerig would speak to his arm...

Kerig popped up in front of Kronos.
"Hey, mistah Crow-Nose!" he said happily, showing his arm. Only now he noticed the arm was bigger than it was before...
Besides being pitch black, it looked oversized for him, it was sturdy, and it had three large demonic claws.
"Weloss made progress and I thought we might show it to you!" Kerig said placing his arm in between him and Kronos.

"Try smashing something into it! Or Slicing it with something! Or blasting it, or something!"
Kerig sounded very enthusiastic.

"And I'll be damned if whatever you throw at it doesn't break, bend or bounce off!"

"Oof!"
Zakon let himself go and rolled in the rubble, getting dirty to avoid the dragon's other claw.

The experience was quite unpleasant, and he was no longer in a good mood.
Some of the black, bubbling draken blood was still on his hand, mixed with mud. He licked it off, savoring the spicy taste.
"That dragon is evil." a voice in his head stated to him.

"Tell us something we don't know." another voice responded to the first one.
"That dragon likes cheese." the first voice added in response.
"Oh great." a third voice interrupted "Why does everything you say has to do with chee-"

"WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP!" Zakon cried out, trying to figure out how to put the dragon into as much pain as possible.

The voices were obidiently silenced, and Zakon watched the dragon stand up, and do what appeared to be...

"He is...walking away?" Zakon whipped off some of the mud on his forehead "How very...rude..."
He began to dash towards the dragon's right foot, quickly noticing a line not to far from the foot's base.
"I'll teach you... Not to walk... Away from..." he came close and immedtiatly began waving his knife madly at the foot, as if trying to cut it more than once.
"I'LL JUST TEACH YOU NOT TO WALK!"

In a whirl of light, Fernis and Elphos appeared in a raging battlefield, along with their large pile of black boxes.
"I knew I should trust my gut on this." Elphos said just before Fernis pushed him away from a place where the dragon was about to put his foot in.

"Run now." She said, activating the orb again "Nonsense later."

With that, that two disappeared again, leaving behind a medium pile of what appeared to be black boxes right next to the Draken's left foot...

//My connection is out, peeps. I should have it back by monday.\\

Posted by: D. Ein on Friday April 27th, 2007

"I looked at the outstretched abomination of an arm.

-"That's... interesting, Kerig. You tell your, ah, friend there that he's making good progress. Just as long as you don't suddenly break out in a rampage, I'm fine with it. Otherwise, I'm afraid, I'll have to show you to the door... in a manner of speaking."

Content with the necromancy progress, I left the cavity, and returned to the top of the skull. There, through an eye socket, I saw the approaching frozen desert... Beautiful."

Posted by: Xorlak on Friday April 27th, 2007

Draven's right eyebrow rose at that.

"Petty insults now, eh?"

Ugh. Maybe he'd angle the attack and hit the missing-wings half demon too.

Above, the orb was swelling in size, becoming a raging globe over twenty five feet in diameter. The sky was turning red, and the clouds began to circle about...

CDAA: 57%

(Double time from here on. This is taking too long. Heh...)

Jayce's large draconic foot crushed some boxes that were not there before. They immediately exploded, a fireball coursing up his leg, blasting apart the ground. The dragon let out a shriek and stumbled, effectively moving out of the way of Zakon's attack.

"ENOUGH!"

Regaining his footing, he spread his wings wide, sending an intense gust of wind outwards from his body in all directions.

Ven brought his sword and arm across his face, bending over slightly to avoid being knocked backwards.

Flapping once, the dragon lifted off the ground a few feet, in inky blackness forming about his mouth as he prepared some evil attack.

Ven gritted his teeth, noting that if the dragon were to look up, whatever those two were planning up there would be spoiled.

"We must keep him on the ground!"

Ven charged, holding his sword high, slashing at those mighty claws as the hung above him...

Posted by: Dude Man on Saturday April 28th, 2007

Duilin smiled, but his expression went back to neutral. "Well, it is common sense to know that it's best to access you allies. And perhaps keeping them alive better helps the both of you. Despite what you may think of this little kingdom, I find that they will be key allies in defeating Retan and the Dark Empire."

He then smiled again. "Also, if you're going to call my insults 'petty' perhaps you could think of a better insult to call me, then half demon."

The glowing energy in his hands grew brighter, and the ground around Jayce even began to glow...

Uber Sheild: 56%

---

Goldolf was barely able to keep his balance from the gust of wind, but Lagart seemed to be barely be affected due to his massive size compared to the drow, but only slightly over average compared to the other lizard men.

"Guys I've got an idea." Rink called to the two, a he floated high in the sky. "Maybe, try and freeze his legs. Goldolf charge your magic, you know how to do that?"

"Yeah, think so." Goldolf said, he then emitted a chunk of ice magic in his hands, and the icy matter began to glow blue. "Oh I've got an idea..." The drow charged more energy into frost blast, when it reached a size of three feet in diameter; he blasted the freezing energy towards Jayce's hind legs...

Posted by: Dark Spartan on Saturday April 28th, 2007

Across the giant stone bridge the two Twili crossed, the ever-present Nightshade temple looming in front of them. Its gloomy, yet magnificent architecture was a beautiful and intimidating sight to behold.

Upon pulling open the massive double doors, each of which easily weighed over a thousand pounds, the two found themselves in the palace mezzanine.

"This place is huge!" Alex cried. "We'll be here a while if we want that page. What does this fourth page grant?"

"If I remember correctly, it allows the Warrior the Aura of the Juggernaut. This ability grants the warrior near invulnerability for a limited time, but at a cost. After its effects expire, the warrior falls into a state of unconsciousness for several hours."

"Hmm. Seems like a rough deal," Alex said. "But then again, you said invulnerability. Let's get on it."

The Nightshade temple would prove to be Alex's toughest challenge yet. Every room, every corridor and chamber had some kind of trap rigged, all perfectly capable of ending his life in an instant. He would need the Aura of the Juggernaut to survive here.

Being the fast runner he was, Carmine had returned to the gates of Asgarnia, only to see other Kandies loading up countless crates, barrels, and other equipment onto carts. Thankfully, he saw the stocky bearded figure of Commander Stroud overseeing the activities.

"Commander Stroud, sir! What's going on here?"

"Lieutenant Carmine? You're alive? We were certain that you"¦never mind. Where's de Sade?"

"Strangest happenings, sir. We were in the Glacia mountains tracking Alex, I turned around for one moment to get a better look, and I turn back around, and he was gone!"

"Hmm." Stroud adjusted his belt. "Do you know where he might have gone?"

"No, sir. He hasn't returned since then either."

"How long ago was this?"

"I would say at least three hours ago."

"Three hours? Son, how in the hell did you make it back here so quick?"

"Very determined, sir."

"Well Carmine, I'm certain Damien won't be pleased with your failure"¦then again, he has been acting strangely ever since he sent you on that assignment. For now, let's keep this between us."

"Yes sir."

"Son, you made it back here just in time. We're pulling out of Asgarnia."

"Why, sir?"

"The higher-ups want us somewhere else. They haven't told us yet, but I don't suppose we can do anymore damage here. We're losing too many men to the rebellion. I say, let them have their damn city back. We've nothing to gain here anyway."

"What about de Sade, sir?"

"He's one of those mumbo-jumbo Archmage fellows. I'm more than certain he won't need military assistance to get him out of whatever situation he's in. Now, I want you to holster your speargun, give me a salute, and board that cart to a fresh campaign.

"Yes sir," Carmine saluted, climbing aboard a personnel cart which promptly rolled off, out of the city gates.

Stroud sighed. "Yeah"¦let them have their damn city." He stepped onto a passing cart and departed as well.

Hearing the news from above, the deafening roar of cheers and joy flooded the underground tunnels.

"It's finally over"¦" Isaac Kleiner sighed. "We have our city back."

"Won't Alex be happy," Ilia said.

"Speaking of Alex, when is he coming back?" Fenix said. "He's been gone for most of the day"¦"

"Well, regardless," Vance said, "he'll be pleased to know that the Kandarinian influence in the city is gone. We'd best get to rebuilding."

Alex picked himself off the ground after nearly avoiding a trap including two logs which swing toward each other, which would have easily crushed his skull had he not ducked.

"You weren't kidding," Alex said, pulling the rifle off his back, "when you said this place was trapped."

"Getting to the final page is going to be difficult," Midna warned, "but it'll be even harder to get out of here. Chances are there's some kind of elaborate trap guarding it that will trigger when you grab it."

"We might as well keep going then."

"The Nightshade were also big on self-harm to escape some of these traps. In order to survive, you would walk away from the trap injured in some way."

"That's kind of"¦demented"¦" Alex said, "Why?"

"The Nightshade were torturing professionals. They would leave these traps for their victims to endure, sometimes connected to the reason they were arrested. For example, a murderer would have to dig through a pit of bloody knives to find a key to the next room."

Alex winced. "Thank God for the armor then. Hopefully injuries will be minimal"¦"

Alex opened the door into the next room. In the center of the room was a large furnace, and on the other side was another door. As much as he pulled or pushed, Alex couldn't make the door budge.

"Maybe the furnace holds some clues"¦"

Alex pulled open the big hatch on the giant furnace, the space inside could easily hold a person. At the far end of the chamber hung two keys on chains.

"One of those keys might unlock this door," Midna said. "But which one is it?" She floated around the furnace. "This furnace is ready to be fired," she noted. "Fuel is stocked and everything. All it needs is an ignition source."

Alex put his hands on his temples. "Wait, I hear something." A voice inside his mind echoed. It was one of the Nightshade executioners.

"It appears that you have come across our sacred temple," the voice began. "Only the most formidable and purest of soul will be able to survive. You will see before you a large furnace, with a locked door on the other end of the room. Within the furnace are two keys. If you will note, the hatch is too small for you to climb in while wearing any sort of armor, so you will have to shed your protection. Also note the keys are far back in the interior of the furnace. One has a weak link, and the chain will break when you pull it. This is the correct key. However, if you pull the wrong key"¦once you're in Hell, only the Devil can help you escape."

Alex sighed. "Figured as much." He pressed a button on the wrist, and suit parts came clanging to the floor, revealing his jacketed self within. He took off the jacket, and climbed into the furnace chamber, inching his way back ever slowly to the back of the infernal device. Before him hung two keys. But which key was the right one? He could not examine the chain for the weak links, as the furnace chamber itself was not tall. Taking his chances, he pulled the left key.

The key did not break from its chain. The furnace hatch slammed shut, and the front of the furnace ignited, slowly making its way back to Alex. In his adrenaline surge, he yanked the other one, which snapped right off the chain. The fire, however, was relentless.

"Shit!" he hollered. "Midna, do something! Open the hatch, destroy the damn thing if you have to!"

The imp pulled as hard as she could on the hatch, but it was locked fast. "The hatch won't open!" Midna cried. "Cover your ears, Alex! I'm taking this thing apart!"

Using her hair-hand, she began grasping at pipes and panels vital to the furnace's forging operations. As she pulled them apart, smoke and flames gushed from the pipes, filling the air with a noxious drape of smoke. The fire continued.

"Hang in there, Alex!" Midna screamed as she pulled the panels of the furnace chamber themselves apart, fighting the incredible heat that emanated from them. Finally, she pulled the one up that Alex was underneath. With no hesitation, Alex climbed up and out of the furnace just as it got to his boots, which ignited.

Jumping into the floor, he stomped out his flaming feet and turned to Midna. "Thanks for the help," he said. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," she coughed, "I'm fine. But we won't be if we stay here. There's enough smoke in the air to kill us in minutes. Unlock the door!"

Alex re-suited up and jammed the key into the lock, turning it. Hearing that satisfying click, he opened the door. The two rushed to the next room, slamming the door behind them.

"Alex, this is already maddening," Midna said, fanning her hair-hand to ease the pain.

"We've got to keep going," Alex said. "God knows what the next trap holds for us, but we've got to be more careful."

As the two recovered, they wondered what infernal puzzle awaited them in the next room"¦

Posted by: D. Ein on Saturday April 28th, 2007

//Welcome back, DS.
Xorlak: How many DBZ characters does it take to screw in a lightbulb? <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_razz.gif" alt="Razz" title="Razz" />\\

The solemn temple, undisturbed for over a year now, has been awakened. Strange clicks and shuffles were heard from behind the walls, as if some sort of a gigantic mechanism was beginning to work...

Deep below, the ancient doors to Iban's sanctuary slowly creaked open. The sanctuary looked like a very big room, but there were no walls, no ceiling, nor floor. Everywhere one would look, he would see nothing but the black abyss. The only detail was a long narrow stone passageway, leading to a floating chunk of rock with a throne on it. On the throne lay a small tied up scroll...

--- --- ---

"We were already landing when one of the couriers came to me.

-"Sir, someone contacted us through the M-Grid. It is the Asgarnian division. They've just arrived."

-"About damn time... We'll have to come for them later. Meanwhile, concentrate on getting the people out of here. We'll need to set up a camp or something. Not many people can survive in the cold."

-"Also, sir, there is some evidence that there was a war here nearby. There's still corpses remaining. Just thought you'd like to know, sir."

-"Good... good."

Posted by: Xorlak on Saturday April 28th, 2007

(Over nine thousaaaand!!!)

"You are a half demon, are you not? You consider that an insult? True... I suppose demons aren't the brightest of races."

Draven's maniacal glint had returned now. At the very least the half demon was keeping him entertained while pouring energy into the spell...

A whirl of flashes engulfed the crimson sky, as the orb grew and grew. It was now a massive surging globe, well over fifty feet in diameter...

CDAA: 77%

With a flick of his talon-like hind-claw, Ven was sent souring backwards. He slammed into the rock wall of the crater-- hard-- and fell forward on his face, still clutching his blade.

Jayce flapped his wings once more, kicking forth another gust and giving him a good several feet more altitude. The ice blast missed him completely, passing right under him. He looked about to expunge the caster, but something else caught the dragon's attention... The dark Draken's neck craned upwards, and he grinned widely.

"Petty humans and their spells..."

Another blast of his wings, and he was souring skyward, straight up at Draven and his raging, incomplete spell...

Draven's eyes widened as he looked down.

"Oh, blast it!!"

Posted by: Coriko on Saturday April 28th, 2007

The black figure felt pain, felt fear, felt hate. Pain. The pain was unbearable. The pain was agonizing. The pain was gut-renching. This type of pain destroys your soul. Luckily this creature had no soul. But his master did. Fear He never felt fear, he was trained not to. The fear wasn't for him. Fear for his master. Hate. Hate for the man who did this. Hate for the man who lifted then from battle. Hate for the man who is causing his master pain. Hate in its purest form.

He looked around. Black. Nothing. Except. A figure. His master. Twisting. Convulsing in pain. His cloak rippling in the contained wind of their prison. Wind, the black figure felt wind. It was comforting, reminded him of flying beside his master. Comforting yes, but it didn't ease his pain. Pain, back to that feeling.

The warrior looked at his master. Body guard. Only job. Trained. Breed. Born to protect and kill. Failing. Ashamed. The strongest of the shadow warriors. Survived the worm hole. Survived the beatings. Survived the revolt. Protected. Served. Saved. Till now.

Ripping. Pain. It's started. The final death. He looked at his master again. Save. Protect. One last time. Not going to let his master down. Fighting by his master's side was an honour. And dying for him was an even greater one. Won't remember me. Another soldier he just summoned. But I will remember him.

Save. Protect. One last time. But how? Reach out. Walls burn. Destroys. But fade. Take the burn. End the pain. Pause. For my master. Not me. The supreme sacrifice. Pause. It's worth it.

The warrior thrusts his arms outwards, right into the portals walls. The energy drained from the walls into the warrior. He wanted to scream in agony, but couldn't help smiling. It would be over soon. He would die and his master would move on. To live another day. To exact revenge. The prison walls faded, winked, fluttered and then exploded outwards, ripping the shadow warrior apart as it was destroyed.

Posted by: Dude Man on Sunday April 29th, 2007

"No, that's not what I mean." Duilin retorted. "You use half demon, like it is an insult. It is true, that demons aren't the brightest, then again I don't belive any race is inheritably smarter than another."

Duilin went double time as he continued to push more energy into the uber shield. the ground began to glow more and more. It was almost ready...

Uber Shield: 79%

---

"Ven!" Rink exclaimed as he zoomed towards the knight.

"Dang nabbit! He's gettin' away!!" Goldolf growled as he stomped his feet. "Get back down here, ya stupid reptile!" He yelled as he shook his fist at the dragon flying away.

Lagart lowered his head, they were failing, but then noticed that under Jayce' shadow there was a sparkling lime green glow...

---

As Jayce swooped up towards Draven and Duilin, he super human noticed the dragon as well...

"Great..."

//Overused lines used by Brash ftw!\\

Posted by: Jenia on Sunday April 29th, 2007

Zakon was sent flying away like a rag doll by the relatively close blast.

For a moment, he lay still, but then he began to rise up.
His expression was blank, his eyes seemed hollow. Never, not one time, has he been blasted away like he was just now.
The confusion and anger he felt have combined together and exploded, resulting in him losing his sense of reality.

"You did it..." he muttered, making a few steps foward, his eyes focused on the dragon.

"You made me fail...TWICE..." the world around him began spinning and whirling. Bright spots of various colors appeared in his field of vision. He saw nothing and heared nothing -

Except for the large Draken, flapping it's wings.

"I will..." Zakon's own words echoed in his head surpressing all of the voices within, as he stomped upon a large corpse and took a huge leap off it's head.

"I will... I WILL..."
Though he was at a loss for words, his leap was so high, that even if he were to slip trying to grab into the Draken's scaly back, he will have many chances to grab unto the tail.
He had no idea what he was doing or will do. But he did know it must be as painful as possible for the Dragon.

Posted by: Xorlak on Sunday April 29th, 2007

The dragon blasted upward, its maw cracked open in a wide grin. A mammoth blast of shadow energy billowed from Jayce's mouth, surging upwards straight at Draven.

Draven clenched his teeth and lowered his right hand, immediately summoning a bright red orb of flame. The fireball blasted downwards, striking the stream of darkness head on and lighting the sky with a brilliant crimson flash. The dragon tore through the explosion though, the flames wrapped around his body for only an instant before they were replaced by a black fire that trailed behind the beast...

Draven lowered his other arm, summoning a translucent red half-dome shield under him. Jayce was upon him quickly, slashing his multi-bladed claw at the Crimson Emperor. Sparks flew as he hit the shield, and Draven was thrown backwards, streaming upwards, right into the fifty foot orb of raging fire floating directly above him...

"Ahhhhhhhh~!!!"

He did not fly into the flaming globe, but rather was forced against it. Draven held his arms to his sides, using all of his might to keep the delicate balance of energy from backfiring. The gigantic ball of flame warped, becoming more of an egg shape than the sphere it formerly was. The ground below rumbled and the sky turned black, red flashes of lightning spinning around. The attack was unstable and faltering... The clouds that once spun clockwise around the orb shifted in an instant, spinning in the other direction with increasing speed, along with the surging wind that blew about...

CDAA: 72%

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Sunday April 29th, 2007

// CPU crashed... again...

// Still not too much to write...
---

Aaron looked out at the battle raging on. He looked around and noticed his men were finished, and heading towards him. "What's our status, Barbadose? How are the men holding up?"

"They're heading back. We've done as much as we could here. Let's-"

"No. We have to let them stay, they're no longer part of our army. They're staying here in this colony we've established on the port. By the looks of it, it's almost ready. These people will have their port back and also more support."

---

Posted by: D. Ein on Monday April 30th, 2007

//Only 1, but it takes him 17 episodes - like Draven's CDAA <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_razz.gif" alt="Razz" title="Razz" /> \\

The transport has landed, and the majority of the people were let out. Immediately, they started to construct small temporary shelters out of the chunks of the disassembled transport, fortifying the walls with packed snow. The occasional trees were used for firewood to keep the people warm. Scouts were heading out in all directions, looking for more trees, and possibly, a rocky outcrop to make more permanent shelters out of. Meanwhile, Kronos was making his way to the closest of the numerous battle sites.

---

"Very soon I was at the battle location. I whiffed the rich, potent air, which was full of the delicious smell of death. Yes... many have met their end here. Preparing to awaken my first minion, I interrupted myself, as a brilliant idea crossed my mind. Instead, I sent a missive back to the camp requesting about half of the current populace. They need practice, and all of us need extra forces to help with the rebuilding... What a perfect coincidence..."

Posted by: Jenia on Monday April 30th, 2007

Getting off the transport, Kerig yawned and stretched his arms.

"Don't you dare fall asleep now" Weloss warned him, remembering how he slept for months in the past.
Kerig nodded, calming his partner by saying "I'm not tired, really."

As he walked around looking at the people work feverishly, he noticed the lich wasn't there.
Just as he was about to ask where he had gone to, he noticed several people started walking off somewhere.
"Follow them" Weloss told him, letting Kerig realize they were all going to see Kronos.

All of a sudden, Kerig noticed one bit which he should have noticed earlier-
His hand wasn't black anymore.
"Don't worry, I'm just finished." Weloss said "You can throw away what's left of the amulets."

Fire. Fire. Light, scales and flames.
Zakon barely noticed all the flames he was surrounded with as he climbed the draken's back, and didn't even bother to consider that he can easily die by being slightly cought in any of these.

He climbed and climbed, holding unto the scales so hard his fingers bled.
When he reach the neck, he grabbed it with his left hand and drew the knife with his right.
Quickly finding a line, he slashed, but was not to be satisfied...

Posted by: Dude Man on Monday April 30th, 2007

"Good thing Draven's drawing more attention than I am." Duilin said to himself as the dragon swooped at Draven. He did however keep his eyes fixed of Draven and Jayce, he chose to keep a closer eye on Draven, as since he's being attacked by Jayce he might release the CDAA at any time. He noticed that Draven's attack was weakening but he still kept up the pace...

Uber Shield: 85%

--- ---

Wilham's dragon flew the group towards the estimated location of the hidden White Chimera temple. The green dragon swooped past a cave in a small mountain, a pair of glowing eyes opened from within the cave. The swooshing apparently woke up a dark dragon sleeping in a cave. The dark dragon then glided out from the cave, turned in the direction the green dragon was flying and flew towards it...

--- ---

"Tonight, I will make my first strike on Lizaberg." Vandrin said to his servant.

"Shouldn't you be rallying troops then, Lord Vandrin?" His servant asked.

"No, I'm having my commanders organize my mutants for me." Vandrin said. "I will only have my mutants on this attack. These lizards are about twice the size of a human, and most of them know magic. None of my human followers are mages, however I have my mutants. Plus I also have my mutants which could match most of these lizard-men in physical strength. I also have my flying mutants, they have wyverns, which are just dumber lizards."

"I see, Lord Vandrin. Very good, Lord Vandrin." His servent said, sucking up as usual.

"Indeed." Vandrin said, grinning his dirty teeth. "Heheh, yes indeed."

Posted by: Xorlak on Monday April 30th, 2007

(Of course. Heh...)

Draven managed to get the massive spell under control, yet just barely. His teeth were clenched and droplets of sweat formed on his brow, despite the aura of flame surrounding him at all times. He knew well what happened to Retan's MDAA when that spell was interrupted so many years ago, and was not about to let that happen to him...

Jayce knew better as well.

So with a sneer, the mighty black dragon shot in the opposite direction, performing a flip in the air before blasting upward. Higher and higher he went, flying well above the mammoth orb that glowed like the sun. He spread his wings wide, arriving some hundred feet above Duilin and Draven very quickly, and very much out of range of their attacks...

"You thought you could bind me..." He indicated the human form Duilin below. "And you thought you could hit me..." his attention now on the burning man with his hands out toward the red sphere. "Utter failures. How does it feel? To have your very lasts hopes dashed? To see your very last chance of survival ripped away from you?"

He flapped his wings. They seemed to cut through the clouds that were rotating around the orb, the clouds dispersing as if they were repulsed by his very existence. Lightning struck around him, but all seemed to bounce away, the blackness burning about him far more menacing...

"And now you are trapped, unable to move without destroying your pathetically crafted spell weavings... What will you do? Abandon the spells you've wasted so much time building? Or die as you cling to your feeble plan? Either way is equally entertaining..." He smiled a devilish grin at the last part, opening his mouth wide as a deep black energy began to form within.

Suddenly, his crimson eyes went wide.

"... AHHHHH~!"

The dragon roared a deafening screech, throwing his head back in pain.

"OFF!! GET OFF!!"

He bellowed as his huge claws dug behind him, trying to rend free whatever caused that sharp pain at the base of his neck.

Draven's eyes went wide at this. The dragon twisted and squirmed high above, performing sharp turns and twists in the air. Draven could just barely make out a man clutching to the dragon's back. He shook his head, as there was no time to gawk. He focused his full attention on the burning sun he held in place with his palms above. It must be complete. It must!

The orb was now over eighty feet in diameter. The ground rumbled and the sea on either side of the island was cast back and forth in large rippling waves.

CDAA: 92%

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Monday April 30th, 2007

---

"You fool! Hurry up, Lord. I cannot wait to taste his blood..." Valimore licked his lips and poured more and more of his energy into the CDAA, until he gave it all. His form started to grow back to normal. His features returned to him in a flash, and he suddenly looked like... a normal human.

"HURRY UP!!! AAGGGHH!!!" He pushed more and more of his energy into the great orb, and as he did, he felt more human. "No... NO!!! AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" As Valimore put his last bit of energy back into the CDAA, he fell back. For once in his life, he looked young again, like a mere 20-year-old. Before he hit the ground, Jacobie came in and caught his falling master.

---

"What in god's name... happened? Master, what's wrong with you; you look even younger than me!" Jacobie placed the young form of his master down on the ground. Valimore opened his eyes and looked back up at Jacobie. His face caught a glimps of shock. "Get away from me, you beast!"

"What the hell's the matter with you!?"

"Ahh! S-s-stay away! G-g-go!"

"Master...?"

"Who are you calling master, you fiend!" Jacobie let go of Valimore and backed away slowly. He took one last gaze at the man who yelled in his face. He raced back out and took a ferocious leap upwards, grabbing hold of Jayce's tail. He took out one of his katanas and battered away at the Draken, thinking that this monstrosity... was his fault.

Posted by: Jenia on Tuesday May 1st, 2007

"Ungh...!"

Zakon rolled to the side.
Although he wasn't trying to dodge the claws, he rolled to the side, almost falling off the large scaley being. He wasn't fast enough, however, and was slightly wounded to the right of his stomach.

He did not feel the pain, however...
With one hand using to hold himself unto the draken and the other to hold the knife, he began to laugh and whisper various things about socks and cold coffee.
In the midst of all this he attempted to get back up. At first he pulled, but decided that it was just to slow, so he used the neck as hold to swing himself back up, still laughing for no apperant reason.
He began to do what appeared to be sniffing as he further climbed the draken's neck in search for more lines.

He soon found one and grabbed his knife in both of his hands, as if trying to put more force into it. Not that it mattered. Using only his feet to hold unto the neck, he swung his knife.

However, due to bleeding quite badly, he slipped right after swinging his knife, resulting in him hanging upside-down the draken's neck, knife in hand, still laughing.

Posted by: Dude Man on Tuesday May 1st, 2007

"This is gonna to be big." Goldolf said, looking at the massive crimson orb. "I think we should leave the island."

"I don't think there enough time." Lagart stated.

"Don't worry guys." Rink assured. "We've got to have faith in him. He can do this...I know he can."

---

"This is gonna to be big." Goldolf said, looking at the massive crimson orb. "I think we should leave the island."

"I don't think there enough time." Lagart stated.

"Don't worry guys." Rink assured. "We've got to have faith in him. He can do this...I know he can."

---

Duilin noticed the large black dragon fly above them.

"Definaly going to have to change the location of the shield." Duilin said to himself. He ignored Jayce's words trying to bring him down. He didn't need them; his new power didn't come from hate and rage.

He noticed the dragon was then attack, by somebody on his back. "Who is that?" Duilin asked. He was a bit worried about the person, but then again, he must be willing to die, if he jumped on the back of a monstrous dragon.

The glow on the ground disappeared as Duilin moved his hands skyward. The crimson in the sky was being countered by a pure white light at the bottom of the horizon, and the water below him began to glow white. This shield had to be at least just as powerful as Draven's attack. He looked at Draven, he seemed just as, if not even more stressed then he was, despite the fact, that he had a orb with the power the destroy the entire island. It is a lot of power for Duilin to compete against, will his shield even work?

'You can do this Duilin. Don't give up.'

Duilin nodded, and began to charge more energy, the orb turned to a pure white and the size increased, yet not as big as the CDAA, the orb was still impressive at a 30 feet in diameter, and the power inside was even bigger...

Uber Shield: 92%

Posted by: Xorlak on Tuesday May 1st, 2007

Draven clenched his teeth (again) as he watched the dragon flutter about. The spell was nearly complete but there was simply no way he would be able to hit the black Draken while he was moving around like that. He had never considered using the attack against an airborne target, but he supposed it would work well enough if it were a direct hit. That opportunity was not presenting itself, however.

He turned and flashed Duilin a quick glare. Had that stupid half demon not interfered when he began constructing the spell, he would have been finished before Jayce got off the ground and this whole mess would have been over. That idiot's ridiculous ideals may very well cost Draven his life, as well as the lives of every else involved. And that thought made the burning man seethe.

Of course he didn't have the time to dwell on it. Right now he needed to figure out a way to actually hit the beast...

Above, the raging sun-like sphere was a gigantic one hundred feet in diameter. The clouds raged around violently, crimson lighting streaking about...

CDAA: 100%

(That is one huge jump. Heh...)

Jayce flipped his tail around, trying to dislodge the lizard that had latched on. The pain in his neck was lessening, and he began to regain control of himself. Alas, the first uninvited rider's knife did little more than a mark this time for the black aura around the dragon intensified three fold, threatening to rot away the flesh of any touching him...

That man did accomplish one thing, though. The Shadow Draken was now ANGRY.

With a deafening roar that laid trees upon their sides, the dragon opened his maw wide, spewing forth countless orbs of blackness. Each ball of black flame seemed to draw the light around it, as if it were stealing it from the very air itself. Stealing it and destroying it. The shadow orbs flew in all directions as the dragon lashed his head around. They slammed into trees below, splintering them into nothing, while the near-misses merely withered away, dying instantly and turning to dust. They slammed into the mountains to the north, reducing surrounding circles of vegetation to much the same state while boring deep craters into the rock, though it was not evident where the debris went. Some errants were strewn far back into the still burning town of Kesnar, and before they struck the burning buildings, the flames seemed to leap into those black orbs, forever disappearing into that darkness before they struck, obliterating solid structures into nothingness. And some flew as far as the seas on either side of the island. The water boiled where they hit, giving way to heavy columns of thick black smoke surrounded by rings of jagged ice...

And several of those orbs were aimed directly at Duilin and Draven...

Posted by: Jenia on Wednesday May 2nd, 2007

//Whoa, Xorlak, did you completly ignore the second attack? Oh well, no matter. I was planning to let him drop when either ability reaches 100% anyway\\

Zakon still hanging upside down from the dragon's neck, somewhat like a necklace, came to realize the neck is too slippery with his own blood to swing himself back.

Snickering, he found a line at the front part of the dragon's neck.
He managed to lift himself up just enough to swing, but that swing had cost him his hold.

Mere moments afterwards, one of his legs slipped and he began to fall.

Posted by: Dude Man on Wednesday May 2nd, 2007

Duilin noticed Draven glare at him, but paid it no mind. He continued to focus his energy into his soon-to-be shield, until it could (hopefully) be strong enough to stop both a CDAA and an enraged Draken...

"Aw, shoot." Duilin groaned, as the shadow orbs flew towards him and Draven. Duilin flew from side to side avoiding the orbs of darkness that smashed into the water below...

If Duilin wasn't so close to having his shield fully charged, he'd likely have to continue, after dodging the shadow orbs. Duilin simply finished off charging the shield, until it was ready for launch. Now just to wait for Draven to attack...

Uber Shield: 100%

--- ---

Meanwile back in Terian both the armies of Lizaberg and the Vandrin County began to prepare, yet unbeknownst to either of them, they both plan to attack each other, and the question is who will attack first?

Count Vandrin was fitted with his own armour, coloured lime green and crimson. (See his face shot). He kept his current cape, and had his lost katana replaced with a new one. He didn't wear a helmet of course, as the tradition for all military leaders to never cover their iconic face (unless their icon is having their face covered, ie: Retan).

--- ---

"Umm...Wilham." Firstman, said sounding rather worried.

"Yes?" Wilham responded.

"Uh, I think I see one of them, dark dragons."

"Oh, great!" Marshall exclaimed sarcastically. Marshall turned himself around, so he could see the black scaled dragon flying towards them. "Yeah, it saw us. Maybe we should speed up."

"But if we speed up, we might fall, off. We don't really have to best grip on this thing." Wilham stated. "Maybe we should slow down, and fly right towards it. At least we'll have a fighting chance."

"No, I have a better idea." Marshall said. "I'll summon a wyvern and try to distract it."

"Good idea. Unless, you have a better one?" Wilham said looking to Coriko.

Posted by: Coriko on Wednesday May 2nd, 2007

Coriko was thinking for a seond. He was thinking fast.

"Get me on the Wyverin. If you summon one I'll ride on it and distract it. It won't follow the wyverin unless something draws it. If I'm on its back firing arrows at it, it is bound to follow. C'mon we don't have time! Either I do this now and catch up to once I've dealt with this beast, or we all die! Just tell me where to meet you and I'll be there. C'mon what is it gonna be!?!?"

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Wednesday May 2nd, 2007

---

Jacobie sitll held on the draken's tail with all of his might, slipping just a little, but still having a firm grip. He began to climb the draken's scales like a mountain, using quick thinking to speeden his pace. "I'll kill you if he doesn't..." Jacobie muttered under his breath, "know this while you still can, death will bacome you this day, foul beast..."

He climbed higher and higher until he reached a bloody spot. He stood and leapt off higher into the air, landing on the draken's head. He pulled out one of his katanas and held it up, blade facing down. "Take this!!!" He thrust his blade down with all of his might. "Valimore's spirit, make this work..."

---

"No one is to touch what's left of that thing until me!" Tiberius yelled, now in human form. he dashed over and jumped into the sky, slowly taking form of a wyvern. As he did, Tiberius flew up in the air and made for a fierce bite towards Jayce's neck.

Posted by: Xorlak on Wednesday May 2nd, 2007

(The second swipe did not get through due to his increased evil aura.)

Draven's arms were becoming very heavy, and he was exhausted from gathering energy for so long.

And then the black orbs came his way.

"Blast it!!"

He lowered one gloved hand and shot forth a few plumes of flame, destroying the errants before they came within striking distance of the giant globe of flame that he so painstakingly crafted. He was hunched over in the air now, trying to keep the massive energy stable. Blast it! He couldn't hold it much longer...

Jayce's movement was no longer erratic. In fact, he was headed straight for the Crimson Emperor and his giant sphere of flame. More warriors were hanging on the dragon, feebly beating on his hide with their weapons. But it seemed none of them could pierce the aura of blackness that surrounded him.

Draven considered throwing the attack right then and there, but another issue immediately presented itself...

The energy above him suddenly became extremely volatile, as if he were holding back a dam of water that suddenly bore hundreds of cracks. Looking up, he could see a black hole forming in the center of his burning sun-- one of those black orbs had hit!

The clouds spun faster, and the ground rumbled anew. It was now or never. The attack could not be held together in this state...

"You're on your own now," he said to Duilin though with the intense winds and noise he doubted his voice carried.

Draven then clenched his fists in the air, as if grabbing onto some invisible handle, then pulled them forward. Slowly at first, as if moving a great weight, then with the speed of a heavy heave.

And the gigantic ball of flame moved forward...

The black dragon ignored it, opening his maw wide and continuing on his path as he raged through the sky, mere feet from meeting the ball off flame. It was like a mountain of fire was thrown on top of him, and he intended to cut through it...

Draven turned tail and ran, blazing eastward through the sky. He had no intentions of seeing how this turned out first hand...

Posted by: Dude Man on Wednesday May 2nd, 2007

//It's just Wyvern, no I.\\

"Alright." Marshall said. He held his sapphire on his amulet with one hand and pointed his other hand to the left of the dragon they were flying on. A concentrated blue mist shot from Marshall's hand and formed into a wyvern. "Good luck." He nodded to Coriko. "We'll meet you just a few miles south of North Point. Stay safe, friend."

---

Duilin was suddenly struck with total nervousness, he began to shake and tremble. What was he supposed to do again? What if he misses with the shield? What if the fireball explodes after his shield wears off, somehow? He closed his eyes and his jaw was trembling as he felt the weight of the lives entire nation of people on his back...

'Duilin! Don't quit now! You can do this!' Rink's voice said to him.

Duilin opened his eyes, he saw the CDAA only feet away from Jayce. Duilin then shot the orb forward at Jayce and the CDAA. As the orb of light got closer to the burning globe and the dragon, it seemed to crashed against an invisible wall and spread across it, creating a massive light-yellow sphere, that contained both Jayce and the massive fireball inside, where they would hopefully stay...

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Thursday May 3rd, 2007

---

"What!? NO!" Jacobie jumped off of the Draken's back and landed on Tiberius, whose attack had failed. "Let's get out of here before we're trapped!" Jacobie said in the Wyvern's ear. Tiberius nodded and flew out of the great shpere that contained them with great speed. He flew down to the ground and dropped off Jacobie, then transformed back into his human form.

"Thank you, uhh..."

"Tiberius. Jason Tiberius, last known Gepardi to have been born in the arctic region."

"Right. You're from the arctic region as well? I was created by my master, Lord Valimore, which reminds me. I could use your help. He seems to have changed form... and he's lost his memories. Could you please help me prove to him that I'm not his enemy?"

"I suppose I could... What did you say his name was?"

"Lord Valimore, master of the Drannic tribes to the north. Please, we must hurry so that I may continue to serve my master! I fell useless to him now." Jacobie lead Tiberius to Valimore... or atleast what's left of him. Tiberius walked infront of Jacobie and shook hands with the human Valimore.

"Hello," he began, "I'm Tiberius. I think you've already met Jacobie. He saved you from falling to your death, so you should probably thank him. He's also-"

"Thank that thing!? Are you out of your mind!? That's a fiend! He's tricked you! Oh no, I won't fall for this ruse, so just leave me!" Tiberius slapped Valimore in the face and grabbed his shoulder so he wouldn't fall to the ground.

"Quit being a rude little idiot and thank your servant! He's been with you all his life, and if you keep yelling at him, you're going to put him through depression!"

"I... guess you're right. You must accept my dear appologies, for I had no idea that this lizard was Valimore's lackey. I am Lord Dranniconias, alter ego of Lord Valimore."

"Alter-what? I've never seen you like this before, master!" Jacobie said, "What's happened to you?"

"Heh. You still call me master. Very well, I guess I can explain. When Valimore was born, I was assigned to take over his personality so that his evil mind would not corrupt everything it saw... Indeed it was sort of like taking his life, but Drannica had no choice. Unfortunately, his dark powers were too powerful, and I was locked away in his soul for almost an eternity. Now that he has wasted all of his vampiric magic and his rage magic by helping that Draven character, I was freed from my cage."

"I... I can't believe what I'm hearing... My master was evil?"

"I'm sorry to break it like this to you, but his power was even greater than that of the dark god Umbranthose. You must understand."

"I do. Well, now that you're here, what should we do?"

"Well, my mission was to use another emperor to bring peace to this plain, but also to gain the help of a creature, a Drow, a knight, two Gepardis, a Velken, and a halfbreed. I must search now for these adventurers, for the fate of Ariosis rests in their hands.

"Hey, I'm a gepardi!" Tiberius told the prophet, "and I know that Jacobie must be the creature. Doriana is the drow, Justinian is another Gepardi, and there was a Velken that came here as well... two of them, I think."

"Hmph," Jacobie remarked, "There's an emperor that just came here by ship, and there's also a knight and a half-demon here. I think the emperor killed one of the Velken twins, though."

"Really?"

---

Posted by: Coriko on Thursday May 3rd, 2007

//Sorry DM i will spell it right next time. Note: DM gave me permission to say the one line for Marshall. Sorry if there are any words spelled wrong as well\\

Coriko climbed onto the back of the Wyvern.

"Alright, so... OH GOD!"

The dragon came up behind Coriko and bit off his legs. Coriko screamed in pain and fell off the Wyvern. As he fell through the trees he saw the Dragon attack and maime the rest of the team.

"Coriko, Coriko wake up."

"Hmm." Coriko was shaken out of his trance. Picturing the worst wasn't the way to go. Without wasting anymore time he jumped on to the Wyvern. "Go now!" The Wyvern flew forwards at the dragon. He locked eyes with the dragon and fired a blast of fire at its face. It recoiled a little but kept on coming. When the Wyvern was about to crash into the dragon it swerved to the left and Coriko fired a fire bolt at its eye. The dragon roared and whipped around after Coriko. "Beautiful, now just to hold off the creature till they are far enough away."

Posted by: Xorlak on Thursday May 3rd, 2007

There was a tremendous white flash.

Everything was utterly engulfed in the light, a light so intense that the shadows cast by the still standing structures of Kesnar were burned in place forever.

Then came the BANG. A single thunderous blast that shook the very foundations of Gaian. Across the mountains to the north, every single window in the capital city of Tjedon instantly shattered.

But the majority of that force was contained, ebbed within that yellow sphere in the sky. At least for the one second that had passed. The sphere was bulging under the forces within, expanding under the great pressure of the bomb that had gone off within.

Ven was unable to open his eyes for several moments it was so bright, but when he did, he saw that sphere and understood what was happening. He was no mage, only a fighter that knew a few spells, but he knew for sure should that sphere break it would be the end of them all...

Sword sheathed, Ven limped to his feet and held out his hands. A weak trickle of energy began to flow from them, upwards to the sphere above ready to pop at any second...

"The shield! We must reinforce it!"

Posted by: Dude Man on Thursday May 3rd, 2007

Duilin kept pushing himself forward, his eyes shut from the huge flash of light. He had to make sure the shield could hold, but the massive force pushing against him made every muscle and joint ache. As the blinding light settled, he could see the explosion still rumbling inside the sphere, it wasn't going to hold...

---

"My god!!" Belle shouted, from in her room, within Tjedon, she shielded herself from the shattering glass, yet a few pieces spiked her arms. She looked out the broken window, and saw what was happening. "Duilin!"

---

"You heard him!" Rink shouted, as he was pushed against a rock. "Everyone who knows magic, transfer your energy into that shield or we're all dead!" The little imp held out his hands and a beam of energy flowed towards the shield.

Goldolf who was pushed to the ground limped up, and held out his hands, also releasing a beam of energy into the shield...

---

But it has to; Duilin could then see that a few people were reinforcing the shield. Rink and Ven, no doubt, he could only assume that more people would help. Duilin's part still wasn't over. He pushed more energy into the sphere. He was feeling weaker and weaker, but he had to keep it up...

Posted by: Jenia on Friday May 4th, 2007

As the blast occured, Zakon was still in the air.
He was completly dazed, and hadn't realized he was falling yet.

While the blast was mostly contained, a great force was still unleashed.

Zakon was still close enough to the shield to have his falling body take the force's full effect, cousing his plunge's direction to change into a horizontal one.

He flew far away from the battlefield...

Posted by: Xorlak on Friday May 4th, 2007

The rate at which the shield was expanding (and thus thinning) slowed with the additional energy sources, but continue to expand it did... It was perhaps a five hundred foot wide sphere of rage at this point, the fiery explosion within multiplied several orders of magnitude due to the immense compression...

It began to lose its shape, becoming longer and taller like a cylinder. The bottom bore deeply into the ground, vaporizing it into nothing while the top stabbed deeply into the sky. The shield held, but continued to expand, taking more and more of the ground with it...

An aged hand rested firmly on Belle's shoulder. It was king Henri, flanked by two green caped knights. All stood wide eyed gaping at the open window, watching that distant crimson and yellow cylinder beyond the mountains grow wider and wider...

"By the gods..."

Posted by: Dude Man on Friday May 4th, 2007

Belle continued to look at the small floating figure in the sky, near by the giant glowing cylinder. She knew the man in the sky was Duilin, even though his wings were gone, she could recognize him. It's almost as if she could feel him from all the way over there. She could feel Duilin's fear and worry but also his determination...

---

"Look at it!" Goldolf called. "It's diggin' into the ground!"

"Could that be dangerous?" Lagart asked.

"I don't know. I've never experimented with shields and giant fireballs before." Rink answered.

Posted by: Jenia on Friday May 4th, 2007

The mist dissipated, and Fernis found herself standing in snow.
"Oh, look, we are on a mountain." Elphos informed her, looking somewhat happy as he began to shiver.

Fernis humpfed at him, but was quickly distracted by something not too far above...

"Smoke?" she pondered out loud.
"This shack looks familiar..." Elphos pointed at the smoke's source.

A minute later, Fernis approached the door and knocked trice.
A old looking, gray haired man opened the door. He looked through a pair of glasses at the furry woman before him and his jaw dropped.

"L-Lerfina?" he finally said, cleaning his lenses with a simple napkin "What are you...? No, nevermind, come in first."
He stepped aside, allowing Fernis and her apprentice to enter what appeared to be more of a lab than a hermitage.
Elphos closed the door and, having escaped the cold, took a deep breath.
"Long time no see, Doctor Vrach." Fernis finally said, a devilish grin covering her face.

Over a cup of tea, Fernis briefly described her exploits to the old man, who listened quietly, intrigued, as he sipped his tea.

"...And then, when the light disappeared, his soul was carved into a sword!"
She sipped some of the tea. It had no sugar mixed in, but it was warm and enjoyable nonetheless.
"The next part will especialy interest you, dear doctor." she said, her eyes sparkling "You see, the one to barge in was a half-breed... A half human, half demon to be exact... In front of my face, he was transformed from a demon lord to a half demon, then to a human, then back to a half demon..."
Now Vrach's eyes were the ones sparkling.
"'Transformed', you say?" He asked, curiously. "Ah, I wish I could have seen it. At least a small sample to study would keep my interested for a whole-"

He suddenly stopped.
He was mesmerized as he noticed Fernis was waving a tiny vial of blood before his glasses.

Posted by: D. Ein on Friday May 4th, 2007

"Panting with effort, the settlers struggled to raise the dead. Struggled a lot, I might say. Each was only able to raise one minion, but nevertheless, it was all good. Quickly, each one had at least one minion. The prodigies could support up to three now. Still not a lot, but better than just one. Once I made sure that the Kandarinians were unable to raise a single other corpse, I simply resurrected the rest, and began heading back to the settlement, a fair-sized undead armada following us in our footsteps.

Delighted, I noticed that a very large camp was built. People were still building bone-reinforced igloos, all in a circle around a huge fire in the middle of the settlement. The fire helped the ice melt a little, further strengthening the walls of the shelters, and warming their inhabitants a little.

Soon afterwards, I was greeted by a scout.

-"Sir, we've found a rock! A huge, huge rock! It's a mountain, sir!"

-"Eeeexcellent. Tell everyone to send their minions there, and I'll send mine. We'll have them gnawing at that rock in no time. Hopefully, soon, we'll have a decent village built. After that, we can start talking about a city. Even further on, I'll have myself a nice palace. Oh, yes, a palace indeed... I wonder..... Never mind. Anyways, go. Shoo now. Go do something useful."

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Saturday May 5th, 2007

---

"Trouble? Not while I'm here!" Aaron ran over towards Ven and held out his hands. "I'm no mage, but I do know that every living thing has atleast a bit of magic in them." His energy added to the power of the shpere, but it affected it only slightly.

---

"What is that thing doing? Why's everybody standing around with their arms out? Oh well, I guess I'll play along." Doriana ran to where everyone was standing to reinforce the shield. She mimiced their arms and held hers out. She knew quite a bit more along the lines of magic, but it was still not enough to hold the shield back.

Flying overhead, Ben had already held out his hands, adding as much as Doriana. "We need more people! What are they doing over there!?" He forced more magic from his hands. "By the gods, I command this sphere not to shatter!" The sphere was gaining it's form back, but it was still shifting from here to there.

---

"Hey, what's going on over there?" Justin said, about a half a mile away, looking out to see this great sphere. "Wait a sec... Draven threw a red orb... then Duilin must have... Oh no." Justin sprinted over to his friends as fast as he could. He leapt a few times to speed himself up. When he got there, he threw his hands out, and out shot a white beam. He was giving his life energy as well as his magical energy. It appeared to work, as the yellow orb thickened and grew stronger. It just needed one more push...

Posted by: Xorlak on Saturday May 5th, 2007

The column of light's momentum slowed, its rate of growth diminishing. Tjed rumbled under its fury as the light continued digging into the ground.

Ven clenched his teeth, his stance faltering. He fell to one knee with his arms still outstretched, beads of sweat dripping down his face.

And then it stopped.

The shield simply stopped growing, the fury inside contained.

The light began to dim, evaporating gently into the wind. Soon all that remained was a gigantic hole in the ground, right in the middle of southern Tjed. The crater spanned nearly one mile wide and was so deep the floor was not visible from anywhere along the jagged edges, only a deep blackness below...

Ven fell backwards on the dusty ground, shutting his eyes in exhaustion. When he opened them, the sky was blue and the sun beat down on his face.

"We... did it..."

Draven landed upon the highest tower of the Crimson Palace. He had set it in motion when he began his attack, so by now it was quite far away from the island of Tjed, floating a few thousand feet above the sea to the east. With hands clenching the railing, he watched as the great column of light disappeared after struggling so.

"Huh... well I'll be..."

The off-white fox's eyes went wide, and his ears shot up, his fur bristling.

No.

Freaking.

Way.

That did not just happen...

Disguised as a simple animal, Melface watched the empty crater for several moments as absolutely nothing more occurred...

He was hidden safely in a thicket of bushes, halfway up the mountains just north of the crater. Not that that demon lord, wherever he was, would be able to recognize him in his animal form, anyway. He briefly considered shifting to human form so that he could hurl an obscenity into the wind, but that probably would not have been a good idea.

So he just remained there. The sky was a sickening blue, and the birds slowly began their infernal tweeting again, now that the racket was over. He felt as if he would vomit. Ugh.

Time to leave.

Posted by: Dude Man on Saturday May 5th, 2007

Gorus' elite guard had retreated when they saw the CDAA...

Rink exhaled. "Finally..."

Duilin slowly lowered towards the ground, totally out of energy. As he came closer to the ground of Tjed, his glowing aura dimmed away, the colour of his clothing went back to grey, his wings started to grow back and his hair darkened to its normal black. He slowly stepped towards the group of people who helped him reinforce the shield...

Goldolf slowly stepped toward Ven, and held out his hand, to help him up. "Eh, lad. Come on, the ground ain't a good bed."

Lagart jogged towards Duilin, followed by Rink, ready to congratulate him.

"You did great, Duilin." Rink said, with a smile.

Duilin rubbed his forehead. "Uh..uh..." He then swirled his head around, and put his hand on the hilt of the Iduran, which was in the sheath, but then passed out. Lagart caught him before he could hit the ground.

"He need bed..." The lizard stated.

"Yeah, looks like Ven does to. Hey, how come Goldolf isn't tired?" Rink asked.

"How come you aren't?" The old drow asked back. The two shrugged at each other.

Posted by: Jenia on Saturday May 5th, 2007

Kerig laughed as the corpse he raised twisted and turned in weird ways.
"So, you have been paying attention, it seems..." Weloss commented, looking at the corpse still twisting and turning, obviously raised inappropriately.
"W-well, I have, I'm just trying things differently!" Kerig claimed, still laughing as the corpse grabbed it's foot from behind.

"Look..." Weloss said, impatiently "If you want to have a stupid doll, theres an easier way to control it. you can do it LIKE THIS!"
That instant, a black thin wire shot itself from Kerig's shoulder. It wrapped itself around a nearby corpse and then began puppateering it.
Two other similar wires shot out and did the same. A fourth one did shoot out as well, but it never reached it's intended corpse.
"Shoot!" Weloss seemed angry "Out of etherium! I need more if I am to expand further..."
Kerig laughed at his partner, but decided to get closer to Kronos and see what he is doing.

While enjoying their ninth cup of tea, Indher and Elphos jumped when they heared the good old doctor suddenly scream "EUREKA!"

"What is it?" Indher inquired curiously as Vrach put in his final mishmash of ingridients into five seperate bottles.
Vrach didn't answer, but rather signaled fot them to come over. What he showed them was a small chicken running around in the cage. It seemed to be quite hyperactive for a rooster.

"Now watch." he said as he took out one of the five bottles he filled earlier and poured several drops from it into the chicken's bowl of water.

The chicken drank from the water, had another lap around the cage, stopped, and began pecking at it's own feathers.
"It... grew fleas?" Elphos asked, not one bit of sarcasm in his tone.
However, before Vrach could say anything, another pair of wings suddenly burst out below the ones the chicken already had. The chicken's white feathers darkened, and appeared to sharpen, to become blade-like. It became angry, and started ramming at the cage's bars. It's beat grew longer, sharper, darker. Elphos fell over when it started breathing fire at him.
"Now, calm down. I gave him a few drops, not the whole bottle..." Vrach tried to calm him "It will stop in a minute or two."

Several minutes later, the three were enjoying a TENTH round of tea-cups.
"Vrach, you are amazing!" Indher claimed, obviously impressed "How did you do it!?"

"Well, you see..." Vrach scratched the back of his head, probably preparing to run his mouth "I noticed strange enzymes when I looked at the blood through my magnifying lens. They were turning off - and on, some of the cells in the blood. While I couldn't find how they turn them off, I figured they do so themselves when they become 'worn out', you know? But I did manage to mimic the way they make them turn on! Apperantly, the enzymes have the same properties as the boiled extracts of the verbena when turning on. My biggest problem was making it work for anything OTHER than the demon lord cells. The activation doesn't seem to occur without those around, and it only occurs for them! However, by observing the human cells coexisting with the demon lord cells, I figured out the most brilliant way to make the shift universal! You see, I added in some aloe vera extract. Did you know aloe vera makes your skin smooth? Anyway, with the aloe vera extract the activation enzymes activate ALL types of cells! But they still need the demon lord cells around to work at all, because-"
Vrach stopped. While Indher was listening curiously, Elphos has fallen asleep and was drooling all over the table. Fernis realized this and shook him awake.
"Put simply," Vrach said, sighing as he placed four of the five bottles on the table "These will make any latent, untapped and untappable abilities you have work for a while, as well as grant you a little demon-lord type power boost."

Several minutes later, Fernis already had the strange crystal ball ready.
"Thanks again for letting us have all four of these..." she said, smiling at Vrach "You sure you don't want to keep at least one more?"

"No..." Vrach nodded, smiling back as he removed his glasses and stepped away to avoid being cought in the teleportation "After all, it was you who got me the sample."
And with that, Fernis and Elphos vanished yet again, leaving behind an old, tired doctor to wash cups and spoons overused for tea.
"I really need to resupply my tea-leaves..."

Whoosh

When Zakon regained his senses, he was still in the air.

He was flying towards the sea at great speed, head first, but was still descending slowly.

Whoosh

He looked around, the beach's sand whirled into a collection of bright colors before his eyes.
He could easily just reach out with his hand and touch the sand, probably leaving long straight marks.

Whoosh

The wooshing was now getting louder. As Zakon pondered what was cousing it, he was suddenly hit water from above.

Finding himself drenched in sea water, Zakon spat out a curse and realized the wooshing was coused by waves. He lifted himself from the water to finally be on firm ground. Well, as firm as beach sand is.

Still drenched, he began to steadily walk towards the mountains, as if nothing had happened...

Posted by: Xorlak on Sunday May 6th, 2007

Ven shut his eyes and stretched, sprawled out on the dirt.

"I don't know, feels pretty nice to me."

He gave a quick smile before he clasped the old drow's hand and pushed pulled himself up. Dirt clung to the back of his black cloak, but considering he was already a mess, it didn't make much difference. He'd need to return to the capital and procure a new set of armor anyway, considering this set was missing a shoulder plate.

Once again he found himself totally indebted to the kindness and strength of other warriors. True, everyone had played a part, himself included, but if it were not for the combined efforts of Duilin and Draven, it was clear they wouldn't have had much of a chance at all. Where did Draven fly off to, anyway?

Ven strode up to the mammoth crater and tried to look down, but he was unable to see the bottom. The battle had not been without costs. Much of southern Tjed was ruined and Kesnar was destroyed, yet that was a small price to pay for the lives of the people safely evacuated to the capital city, hidden deep within the mountains. But of course he had to wonder, how close were they to the end of the war?

Ven brought his gauntlet to his chin as he stared into the black void carved deeply into the middle of his country.

"So... think he's gone for good?"

Pah!

Those sickening creatures with their high pitched songs were driving him insane. How could he possibly think with this miserable racket? It had nothing to do with him taking the shape of a fox, for Melface had sensitive hearing anyway. A red chested robin landed on the branch directly above. The off-white fox stared at it, and the two animals locked eyes for a short moment.

What is it that you fear, little creature?

Melface licked his jowls and smiled. The bird instantly died of a heart attack, landing on the ground with a dull thud. The fox trotted over to the carcass and bit it in half, blood smearing over his chin. Empty calories, of course. Flesh was so less satisfying than the spirit. Most animals had such tiny spirits, they weren't worth devouring at all. No, humans were his game. Their souls were so tender... So succulent...

Melface realized he was drooling, which was quite rude. He tried to wipe his mouth with a paw, but probably only ended up smearing the blood. Not that it mattered. He hadn't eaten since yesterday, and was desiring a human soul again. Blast it. He had become spoiled working for Jayce. Now things might get tough again.

Hidden behind the bush, he sat on his haunches and considered his options. With Jayce apparently gone he might have to go back to living in the wild again. Ugh. That meant his human meals would be few and far in between. Only the occasional child or farm worker lured away from their village, lest he risk some bounty hunter tracking him again and trapping him in the underworld for another two hundred years. Ugh. No, he had no desire to return to that type of life.

His other option would be to return to the Dark Continent and serve Retan. Of course, being the sole survivor of Jayce's personal elite meant he would likely have to deliver the news personally. Melface did not relish that thought at all. He didn't know Retan very well, but if Jayce were his son, then the father must be a hundred times worse...

But of course, he didn't quite want to get labeled as a deserter either. It was only a matter of time before Retan had the world in his grip, anyway. So yes, it would be safest to return to the Dark Empire. With his mind made up, the off-white fox began ducking through the bushes, making his way down the mountain.

Posted by: Dude Man on Sunday May 6th, 2007

"I sure hope so." Rink replied to Ven.

"Maybe, we be best gettin' back to Kensar?" Goldolf suggested.

"No, we'd be better off getting to Tjedon. I'm sure we all need some rest. Especially Duilin, he was pretty close to that contained blast."

Goldolf and Lagart nodded at Rink. Duilin was still unconscious in Lagart's arms.

--- --- ---

Marshall, Wilham and Firstman arrived at their location. It was in the middle of a rocky desert like area, a perfect hiding spot for a secret temple. In the distance they could spot the ghoulish castle at the end of North Point. Marshall felt a shiver run down his spine. "I don't like this place. I'm worried more Dark Dragons might find us, or worse."

"Worse?" Wilham asked.

"Well, not exactly worse, but say if we were to be found by Dark Empire soldiers, they would regonize me and Firstman as Aspyes and perhaps take us into captivity, rather then kill us on the spot. I've heard that their tortures are even worse than the ones I've endured at Kandarin."

"Well, those are rumors. I'm sure Kandarin has the worst. Their leader gets off on torture. It's disgusting..." Firstman stated.

"Yeah. Anyways, maybe we should try and find that temple now." Marshall suggested.

Posted by: Jenia on Monday May 7th, 2007

The mist dissipated. Indher and Elphos found themselves standing on something white.

"MORE SNOW!?!!" Elphos sounded quite annoyed, which Fernis noted to be typical to humans.

"No..." she said "This is ice. I think we are in the pole. Either south or north..."

And with that, the orb was reactivated, and the two disappeared, leaving a thin layer of mist behind.

Posted by: Xorlak on Monday May 7th, 2007

Ven shook his head once.

"No, I doubt there's anything left of Kesnar. We should regroup at the capital. It's a much longer walk but our forces are totally spent and we've healing facilities set up there. Plus I need to speak with his majesty."

He took one last look around, noting the torn landscape. Most of his men had been killed during the intense battle. The few battered men that survived were regrouping around him. With a wave of his hand he motioned his men towards the caves up north. They may have won the battle, but it was clear the Dark Empire would try to pay them back in spades...

Melface peaked through another set of bushes. The smoldering smell of that town they torched was thick in his nostrils, so he knew he was in the right place. This was about the area where he met the Demon Lord, though, and even through he knew he wasn't around any more, he was still extra careful. Instead of walking, he phase-shifted from bush to bush. It was times like this that he wished he could change colors, as red or gray fur would have been more appropriate, but off-white was his bound color, and it marked him no matter what form he took.

Eventually the Nightmare Demon made it to the edge of the overgrowth and stuck his head out from under a branch. The beach where the battle had taken place just yesterday was before him, littered with the bodies of lizards and humans. Finally... The fox trotted out of the forest, kicking up dust as he ran out onto the sand. Now all that was left to do was to cross the short stretch of sea and return to The Jagahn, which of course was an easy thing for him to do.

But he stopped halfway to the water, his ears standing straight up and his eyes wide... The ships!! They were not there!! Did they sink? What is going on?!

They left without me!!

Oh, confound it all!

Melface could not take it anymore. The growling fox was instantly replaced by a sliver haired child draped in an off-white cloak, his tiny fists clenched tightly into balls. He threw up his head and screamed.

"BLAAAAAAAAAST IIIIIIIIIIIIIITTT!!!!"

He fell to his knees and began punching the sand, sending the grit flying everywhere.

"Blast blast BLAST!!! How dare they!!! HOW DARE THEY!!!!!!!!"

The giant door slammed shut behind Grav with a loud BANG.

The Dark Emperor was ANGRY about something, and the short lizard did not care to find out what it was. He was glad to have more mundane tasks to attend to at the moment. Perhaps his vile evilness would be in a better mood during their next scheduled meeting that evening. So, the robed lizard continued down the halls to the grand staircase, leading away from the Great Chamber of Darkness, his claws clicking on the black metal as he strode on.

As he rounded the corner, he noticed a large group ascending the stairs and blocking his way. He paused and leaned on his staff as they approached him. The black and silver figures were all short like him. The Velkens...

Ugh. He didn't quite care for furry mammals, even if they were of the few underlings that were his size. High General Virmir was at the front of the group. Of course, the sliver furred fox wasn't really a High General. It was a title Retan bestowed upon him so that the Velken could do anything he wanted without the possibility of being questioned or hindered by any other officer of the Dark Empire. They were Retan's personal assassins and elites. At least they were good at what they did... Commanding the skyward division was like a side job to them.

"I'm sorry, The Dark Emperor is not seeing anyone at the moment," Grav announced, fighting back a yawn.

Virmir considered him with a cold gaze. A few of the other Velkens had it was well, but none as intense as Virmir. His eyes were like twin daggers piercing into Grav's soul.

"We've been summoned," the fox stated tersely.

They all stood there looking at him, their tails idly waving back and forth. They looked looked like a pack of predators, ready to kill at any second. He could have sworn one licked his chops just then, but he could have imagined it. Though Grav didn't care for them, he could see why the Dark Emperor favored them. That and the fact that they were slaves.

And of course it all clicked right then. Retan wanted someone dead right now.

Grav stepped aside, forcing forward a reptilian smile, and nodded once. Virmir returned the nod, but without the smile. And so the entourage of eleven Velkens stepped past, onwards towards the huge black and gold doors, and the Great Chamber of Darkness beyond. Though the intensity varied, all of them had some measure of determination in their eyes. All but one. That one looked scared to death...

Posted by: Dude Man on Monday May 7th, 2007

Rink and his group followed along with Ven towards the cave. Despite the fact that Duilin was passed out, he wasn't that worried about him, for once. He noticed that Duilin was a lot stronger than he was before their 'banishment' by Retan. He was quite impressed with what Duilin just did, if it hadn't been for him then likely Tjed would be completely gone.

Rink however was a bit curious of why Zeros' seemed to have disappeared. He'd think that he'd at least make an appearance to reinforce the shield. But, everyone was able to do it without him. He did remember the time, where Zeros' did mostly everything himself, but maybe now Zeros' just wants to sit back and watch, seeing how Duilin seems to be getting almost just as powerful as Zeros' now.

He was also a bit worried about Zion and the others went too. Maybe they were still bound to Retan's banishment spell? Rink hoped not, he wasn't sure if Duilin could fight off the rest of the High General's himself. Then again, there is still Draven, but he knows how Duilin feels about him. Although when he was charging that shield he seemed pretty calm around him, he'd almost think that Duilin would resort to fighting Draven, before making the sphere around his attack.

And another thing that worried him was how Jayce died. Or if he even did. Rink felt uncomfortable, that he didn't actually see the mighty dragon fall to the ground dead, and the deep pit just made him even more uncomfortable. What if Jayce is just buried deep into that hole and is climbing out, and is going to eat him. The little imp shivered for a bit, before speeding up, moving quite fast for having such small legs.

//Expanding one liners FTW\\

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Tuesday May 8th, 2007

---

"Hmm... The deed has been done. Men, follow me! We make haste for the castle. As of now, you are under the service of Tjed. Do what needs to be done, and you will prosper." Aaron's army joind up with the Tjed knights as they grouped behind Ven. Aaron himself was exhausted after putting his energy into the shield. None the less, he ran to Ven.

"There is still the matter of my problem back at Ariosis... I was wondering if you could take me to see your king. The matters at hand are pressing, and Ariosis is in disarray... My men are now yours to command. Make use of their power."

---

"Whew! I'm beat. I think I'll take a little... nap... now......" Justin fell backwards. His life was wearing thin, and if he didn't get medical attention soon, he would surely die. Lucky for him, Ben was in the air near by, and he swooped down, grabbing Justin. He then flew over to follow the others. Where they were going had to be better than here.

---

The Velken twins have still been out cold for a while, and one wasn't getting back up. Jackie, finally waking up, stood on her feet. Once up, she made for the airship that she believed her sister was in... she was in it, but not her body. Her spirit was on the deck of the ship, body on it as well. When she looked over at her sister, she got up.

"Hmph... I could've used your help back there, Jackie. Well, it would have been nice. Well, let's make for home so we can preform the rituals... *sigh* again..."

---

Posted by: Coriko on Tuesday May 8th, 2007

Coriko swerved left and right avoiding the dragon's attacks. He was losing ground against the beats and would soon be eaten if he didn't act fast. Coriko saw a drop in the landscape and decided what his next move was. Coriko dived down towards the earth along the valley's wall the dragon went after him. The dragon was a metre away from his wyvern. Coriko sharply pulled up and leaped off of his creature onto the back of the dragon. The wyvern was bitten by the dragon and fell limp.

"You're mine now."

Coriko grabbed the horns of the dragon and pulled up. It followed and moved back up the valley wall. The dragon resisted so Coriko had no choice but to put it down. He pulled out one of his stronger arrows and lit it. He then plunged it towards the dragon's skull. But it splintered on impact. Coriko then put his hands on the dragon's skull and fired a blast of fire from his hands. The dragon roared and plumeted towards the ground. Coriko ran up the dragon's body and leaped off the head towards the valley wall. Unfortunatley he was a little short and plummeted, along with the dragon, to the valley's floor.

Posted by: Xorlak on Tuesday May 8th, 2007

Ven nodded at Aaron.

"Yes, I will make your deeds known to King Henri, and I'm sure he will grant your country aid. However you must understand we are still at war, and quite weakened at that. It may be some time before we are able to make good on our deal, but trust me, King Henri will not let you down."

Ven took a look around as he directed the limping army back into the caves. They truly were a mess. Half of the heroes that had fought the dragon were down, Duilin included. He couldn't help but think that if the beast suddenly sprung up from that hole in the ground, they would all surely perish. But no, he reminded himself, that thing was dead. It was dead...

Posted by: Xorlak on Wednesday May 9th, 2007

Turning from that black crater, Ven joined his remaining men as they marched into the caves. Though they had won a great victory, there was still a solemness in their step. The group weaved through the dark passages without exchanging words and after a long walk, light became visible at the end of the tunnel.

Renard wasn't sure what to think.

Lord Virmir was summoned before the Dark Emperor all the time, but it was rare that the rest of the Velken squad joined him. The very thought of that black shrouded man sent shivers down his spine, and Renard was trying his best not to show it. Would he be receiving orders directly from the Emperor himself? Would the Emperor split them up? The thought was nerve racking.

As usual, Renard was in the first row directly behind his master as they walked. Oh, how he wished he could have been placed more nondescriptly in the middle or end... The huge doors began to slide open with a loud CLICK. Everyone on Gaian was so big... Virmir strode confidently forward. He truly was an amazing leader. Renard couldn't recall him ever displaying a hint of fear. Ever.

The room beyond was dark, the walls lined with a blue iridescent hue. Large steepled windows dominated each wall, black clouds furiously swirling about outside. Renard couldn't help but turn his eyes to those menacing clouds outside. Underneath the far window was a black throne, turned away from the entering group.

When they reached the center of the room, Virmir lowered his gauze and bowed on the floor. Renard quickly followed suit, trying not to be the clumsiest in the group. He remained groveling there for a few agonizing moments, his heart thumping heavily in his chest.

Posted by: Dude Man on Thursday May 10th, 2007

"Hey, how's he doing?" Rink asked Lagart.

"Still asleep." Lagart replied.

"Yeah, that must have took a lot out of him." Rink shrugged. "We definitely need to get him a bed."

"We should tell Belle, what happened." Lagart suggested.

"Belle?" The imp asked, remembering the name.

"Yeah. She came with us. Duilin wanted her to be safe."

Rink remembered Belle; she was the servant at the Crimson Castle. Duilin seemed a little upset to learn that she may have died. It was a good thing he didn't get too attached to her. He remembered breaking the news to Duilin about Nevina's death, he slept an entire day because of that...

Posted by: Xorlak on Friday May 11th, 2007

Melface smiled, ever so slightly...

Humans were easy to find. They had the most repulsive of stenches. Who could tell they hid such succulent souls underneath their repulsive flesh?

The Nightmare Demon waited a while after the last of them disappeared into those caves. So these must be what they were fighting so fiercely to protect. Then, in the blink of an eye, there was no longer a child hiding in the bushes. Instead a tiny white bat fluttered into the cave...

Ven covered his eyes as he exited the northern end of the cave. Though the sun was beginning its descent into the western horizon, it would be still a good couple of hours before it fell far enough so that the high jagged peaks would block its light.

Before the exiting soldiers was a sprawling valley, surrounded on all sides by impeccably tall mountains. Thick, lush vegetation encompassed both sides of the shallow sloping path that poured down into the center of the valley. And there, right in the middle of it all, was the capital city of Tjed. Tjedon was composed mostly of white stone buildings, and at this distance the entire city seemed to glow because of it. There were plenty of towers peaking up from the great walled town, but the most prominent structure was the castle with its wide spires located at the far northern end.

"Come now, were almost there!"

The wounded and battered soldiers seemed to regain a spring to their step as they caught sight of that city, as if their hearts were filled with hope once more. Together they began the final leg of their journey. Down to the city.

The throne rotated. None of them moved.

The Dark Emperor Retan slowly stood up, towering over the tiny warriors. Crimson eyes burning, he clasped his arms behind his thick cloak and merely observed them for a moment. After what seemed like an eternity, the shadowy figure finally lifted a gloved arm, gesturing into the air.

"Arise and observe."

His voice was deep and commanding, with an angry impatience. Renard shuddered.

At once all eleven Velkens stood up, their arms to their sides at attention. They didn't dare flick their tails about, as was their unshakable habit. The ones who had managed to mimic their master's icy stare seemed to have lost it that moment, instead looking forward with nervous empty eyes. Virmir was the only one who remained impassive.

Suddenly a mist began to materialize between the Dark Emperor and his warriors. The swirling cloud began to take shape, full of translucent colors. Renard thought some evil demon was being summoned, his eyes going wide and his fists clenching tightly. But he soon recognized it as an illusion. It soon took the shape of a quarter sphere, as if someone had taken a large ball and cut it in half, then split that half as well. The slice was covered in blue, with white specs floating a mere inch above its surface. Below, globs of brown and green dominated spaces, but most the rest blue. One mass was covered in thick black smoke, as opposed to the white specks elsewhere. Renard suddenly realized he was looking at a map, and that mass was the Dark Continent. But it was so lifelike... He could see the clouds moving and twisting... The water was shimmering... This was no map. This was a view of Gaian from far, far above...

The surface of the quarter sphere rotated, islands disappearing as they rotated off of the edge of the section of Gaian made visible. To the southwest of he Dark Continent were two islands. The rotation slowed...

"The northern island is where I sent my son, Prince of the Dark Empire and High General of the Gaian Division."

All eyes were fixed on that tiny island. The mountains were just barely visible and they all watched the tiny clouds swirl about for several moments. It was as if some god of the sky had allowed them to look downward upon his domain.

Then there was a bright flash of light. A red pillar shot outward from the island, growing more and more intense. It burned like a torch, stretching several inches outward from that illusion. And then there was that aura. That horrible burning aura... Renard cringed as it all came back to him. His arm began to throb under his bandages as he remembered how much it hurt... the sneer, the fall... Draven. That aura was unmistakable. It was Draven...

Renard noticed his fellows flinch as well. They knew him too. Retan was truly a master of illusions to summon a projection that could emulate personal auras.

But then there was a second aura. It also seemed familiar... Duilin?!

"That is what happened to him," Retan said, as the pillar of flame finally dissipated. "There are two directly responsible. One is Draven. The other you will find out. You will kill them both and bring me their heads. You will then kill all the others who helped them in their battle. When you have completed that task you will kill every single living thing on that island..."

Posted by: Dude Man on Saturday May 12th, 2007

//Man, where is everyone?\\

"The battle has seized..." Said the voice of Ophelia.

"Where is Duilin?" Rufokanno asked.

"There" She pointed towards the caves.

Rufokanno shrugged. She seemed to have such a strong connection with this, Duilin for some reason. Or maybe she's just crazy. He just hopped he would get paid.

--- ---

"I'm not finding anything..." Firstman groaned.

"Me neither." Wilham replied. "What about you Marshall?"

"You think Coriko is okay?" Marshall asked.

"I'm sure he's fine." Firstman replied. "So, did you find anything?"

"Nothing."

Wilham let out a sigh of disappointment. He then leaned his right arm on a pile of rocks; suddenly a grouping of the rocks seemed to shift away revealing the staircase leading down. "There we go..."

--- ---

"Ah finally..." Rink said. "I'm so thirsty, I haven't had a drink for over a year."

"Yeah, my legs are achin'. Ain't workin' like they used ta..." Goldolf added.

Lagart just continued to carry Duilin, remaining silent.

Rink stopped for a moment.

"What's wrong little fella?" Goldolf asked the imp.

"Oh nothing...I've just got a bad feeling about something. Let's just keep going..."

Posted by: Xorlak on Saturday May 12th, 2007

The gates of Tjedon were a sight for sore eyes.

"Sir Ven!"

A black bearded knight climbed down from the guard tower, and began to jog over to the weary army.

"Sir Lymbart! Good to see you!"

Ven clasped hands with the slightly older man, who abruptly turned around and yelled.

"Open the gates! Sir Ven has returned! They've wounded men! Quickly now!"

Promptly the lumbering metal gates were drawn aside. Sir Lymbart turned and looked Ven in the eye, and the silver knight knew the question before it was even asked.

"We won," Ven said with a light smile, "we slew their dragon. Well, some of our powerful allies did. One of them is with us and has passed out. We'll have to see to it that he is made comfortable, and have a healer check him to make sure he's all right."

"Yes sir," Lymbart said as he nodded. The two fell in step and began to stride into the gleaming city with the rest of the entourage. "I don't recognize some of these heraldries."

"A number of allies have joined us in our fight," Ven said as he nodded towards a group of Aaron's men passing through. "Many of them need medical attention as well. See to it that all get what they need."

"Of course, sir. Do you require anything?"

"No, I must see the king. If you'll excuse me."

"Of course."

Ven separated from the group and began to head towards the white castle in the distance. It looked close because of its size, but it was still a good distance all the way on the other side of the city.

Sir Lymbart and a number of other knights began to help the wounded, directing them to the large hall set up for victims of the Dark Empire. The city streets were extremely crowded due to the fact that everyone from southern Tjed had been evacuated there, including the residents of Kesnar. Makeshift tents lined all sides of the streets and people were scurrying about, a look of uncertain loss upon their faces.

The hall set aside for the wounded was in fact the same hall that was set aside for victims of Mavas' plague years ago. It was one of the few buildings left in that central section of town that did not get destroyed in that battle. Of course the rest of it had been rebuilt. Men were escorted into empty cots lined row after row in that large stone building, and healer mages and doctors wandered from patient to patient, applying medical salves or even spells in the more extreme cases.

Posted by: Coriko on Saturday May 12th, 2007

Coriko groaned. He raised his hand to his face. The left side of his face was swollen, and he had blood on his shirt. He pulled his shirt off and saw he had several lacerations. He put his hand on his leg to stand up but felt a branch. He looked down to see a thick branch sticking through his leg. Coriko stared wide eyed at it. He wanted to pull it out. When he gripped it the pain was so bad it made his eyes water.
Immobile Coriko sat thinking. He looked at his surroundings. He landed in a forested area. "Not so bad". He looked to hsi right. A small pond. "Can work with that." He looked around to his left. A very steep valley wall. "And there lies the problem". How to get out.
---
Druid awoke not in battle but in a swamp. He was laying on his back on what he thought was hard ground. He turned over and face planted in the mud. His clothes were soaked and dirty. He stood up and was dripping wet and cold. He looked around his surroundings. He was in a deep valley with a forest to his right. But how did he get there? Last thing he remembered he was fighting some self proclaimed "demi-god" and then a white light. Something with his shadow warriors. Druid took off his shirt and cloak. His pants were dry to he didn't have to strip completley. He lay down against a tree and waited for his clothes to dry. "I may be here for a while." Druid heard something shuffle in the forest. He stood up on guard. Slowly he walked towards the sound.

Posted by: D. Ein on Saturday May 12th, 2007

"The undeads were mining rock, the civilians were looking for supplies, I was resurrecting and controlling the prementioned undeads... How utterly boring.

Though that was nothing compared to the boredom that ensued after the corpses had all been resurrected. Desperate for a distraction, I went into the central shelter and grabbed the M-Grid orb. With it, I walked outside, hoping to use it as a prism to burn some wood with the sun. Yes, I was that bored.

I found that most of the wood had already been taken by the Kandarinians; looks as if I'll have to settle for a small stump. I brought the orb close to the stump's surface, concentrating the sun's rays for a nice little spot of infernally hot light. Soon enough, the stump began to smoke, and I moved the M-Grid orb to change the light's focal point. An idea enlightened me; I started tracing out letters. K... R... O... N... O...

As I was burning the final S into the stump, I noticed that the snow was crackling, as if someone was walking behind me. Oddly, I didn't feel the presence of life anywhere around me. Slowly I rose to my feet, looking around, and finding nothing; but the snow was still crackling, and I was standing still. That's when I realized that it wasn't the snow. The sound was coming from the orb!

I have never witnessed this effect. I amplified the energy within the orb with my own, making the sound a little louder. Bringing the orb closer to my ear, I listened carefully.

Indeed, the sound which I at first thought was like crackling snow was not like that at all. It was more like... many twigs snapping in a hollow tree. It was a sound hard to describe. Listening even closer and further amplifying the orb, I was now hearing some sort of a background din as well, like a low humming noise. Where could the signal be coming from...?"

Posted by: Dude Man on Saturday May 12th, 2007

This temple was a bit bigger than the last one. It was about the same size as the one that was made for the Aspyes' hideout and might actually make a good vantage point as a new hideout. Although, it would be dangerous for anyone less powerful than Nik Tesla to stay there, as it was pretty close to North Point. This temple however, was just as dark as the last one, and with Coriko gone, they didn't have any torches.

Wilham however was able to spot a switch in the corner of the moonlight, at the bottom of the staircase, which the group had walked down earlier. "Ah ha." Wilham said, as saw it. He seemed to know what the switch was for. He pulled the switch and the torches in the temple automatically lit themselves, through some sort of gas ignition tubing in the walls, (most likely).

"Etiam is officina!" Wilham exclaimed.

"Huh?" Firstman asked, confused by Wilham's gibberish.

"Oh, that was just ancient Terrianian for, 'Yes,it works!'" Wilham replied. "Which is actually my natural language; it took me about a year to learn your current language."

"I see..." Firstman replied.

"Well, let's see what we can find." Marshall suggested to the two.

//Excuse, my lame attempt at Latin, D.Ein...\\

--- ---

Lagart placed Duilin on one of the cots, as gently as possible. Goldolf was getting a few bandages to seal his cuts. Rink hopped onto Duilin's cot, and sat next to him on the right.

"Just tell me if you need any further assistance." One of the knights said to Rink and Lagart.

Duilin groaned a bit, and then rubbed his forehead. "I'm awake...I think."

"Duilin!" Rink called in joy.

"Gah!" Duilin grabbed his head with his other hand as well. "Don't yell..."

"Sorry. You okay?"

"I've got an elixir in my pouch." Duilin replied.

Rink opened up Duilin's pouch and extracted the small vail of elixir. He then handed it to Duilin. "Make sure you don't drink too much...That stuff is kind of dangerous, you know."

Duilin took a swig of the elixir leaving only a little bit left over. He then rubbed his eyes and then sat up on the cot, and looked around. "Um, where did Ven go to?"

"To see the king." Lagart answered.

"Good. Do you know if Belle would be in the castle? I want to see her." Duilin asked.

Lagart simply shrugged, in response.

"Regardless, I kind of want to see King Henri. I just want to get caught up on what happened while I was gone. I assume the king of Tjed, would know the most."

"Maybe you should get some rest." Rink suggested.

"Don't need any." Duilin replied, lifting up the elixir vail. "This stuff is enough for me."

"I hear that elixir can stress out your body, however." Rink stated.

"Yeah, but that's only for those people who don't use potions regularly. I used to carry no less than, like, twenty potions and ethers, with me when I went on missions." Duilin shook his head after that, he still didn't like thinking to much about his days with the empire. It sickened him.

"Anyways, you too can mingle, or whatever. I want to see the king."

"Duilin!" Rink snapped. "Slow down, you just transformed twice, into different beings, killed Jayce and saved an entire island. Don't you want to take a breather, maybe at least talk a bit? I felt that you were stressed out a bit when you were up there enforcing the shield."

"What's there to talk about?" Duilin said lifting his shoulders and turning his wrists out. "I just did what I thought was best. I couldn't have let Draven's Annihilation Attack destroy Tjed, so I just made a shield around it, nothing to it." He was about to turn around and leave. "And it wasn't me, who killed Jayce. That was Draven."

"Regardless, you did an amazing thing! You deserve a little break."

Duilin gave a bit of a half smile, but it seemed more like an 'annoyed smile'. "No, what I deserve is to have you stop telling me to take a break. I also deserve to see Belle. I'm sure she's worried." He then walked out of the tent and towards the castle.

Rink followed him for a few steps but then stopped, and watched him walk off. "I'm worried..."

He was. Duilin has just learned to transform into a 'Demon Lord' and a 'Super Human', that's a big jump for his magical power. He could feel the strength of his aura was much stronger than it was before Retan's banishment spell. What also worried him was his almost total personality change he had when he transformed...

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Sunday May 13th, 2007

---

"Very good, my friend." Aaron was close to follow Ven as he made way to the castle. This king Henri fellow... seemed to him like an alright sort. Aaron pulled out a bottle of blue liquid and took a few glugs, after such regaining great amounts of fatigue.

"This stuff's quite there, if you know what I mean. It's an Arian ale, blue to the color, strong to the taste, and definately revitalizing to the sip. We'd be seeing lots of this around Ariosis, as it's remarked as one of the greatest ales in all of gaian. Alas, it still doesn't beat the ever-renowned classic ale. Only Arian ale isn't for taste, although it's pretty good to most. It's main purpose is to regain fatigue and magic energy. Would you like a taste?" Aaron held the bottle out towards Ven. It flickered with a magical blue light.

---

Ben flew to the ground and found a nice cot for Justin to lie down in. He placed him gently down on the cot and held his hand to his forhead. His hand glowed white twice, then stopped. After Ben was done with Justin, he walked around and performed more healing on other injured soldiers.

---

Posted by: D. Ein on Sunday May 13th, 2007

//That translates roughly into "Itself is the workshop!" ... Did you steal my textbook?\\

"The sound was getting louder, but ever so slightly. Whatever was emitting the signal appeared to be approaching me... or getting stronger. Sure enough, soon, I felt it myself. The energy I felt seemed to be vaguely familiar, but I just couldn't put my hand on it. It was like when you forget a word and it is on the tip of your tongue, but no matter how hard you try, you can't figure out what it was.

But after thinking about it, I decided not to pursue the subject. My underlings have obviously done something horribly wrong in my absence, and I must be present to correct mistakes. No rest for the wicked, as they say..."

Posted by: Jenia on Sunday May 13th, 2007

Dragging several corpses behind him on thin strings of blackness, more for kicks than for actual use, Kerig approached Kronos.

"Umm, mistah Crow-Nose?" he asked, holding out several rusty chains "Weloss is finished. D'ya want back your amulets? Oh, by the way, he is getting bored. Need help with something?"

Indher and her apprentice appeared not as mysticaly as mistily not too far from Tjedon castle.

"Oh great, Tjed again..." she groaned, ready to activate the ball again.

Suddenly she realized nothing was in flames.
The battle was over. And a figure seemed to be approaching...

"Is this... Duilin?" Elphos asked what Indher thought to be a dumb question.
"Right. Maybe we should try asking Iduran to talk again?" Indher said more to herself than as a response to her apprentice.

And then it hit her.

"Wait...." she placed a finger in the middle of her face, apperantly as a gesture for thinking "If Duiling knew Iduran in person before his death, perhaps he knew other Rommean people by name...?"
She nodded to herself and began walking hastly towards the half-demon.
"Hey! Du-Duilin! Wait! I need a sec with you...!" she called called out as her confused apprentice just stood in place, probably not yet realizing what was going on.

Sitting by a small campfire, Zakon enjoyed a pleasant outdoor meal.

Grilled lizards on-a-stick.
"Those are pretty good..." he said as he bit off the head of one and swallowed it without chewing.
"Well, I did try..." Iskatyl smiled at him "But you aern't eating them right..."
Zakon laughed at him as he licked his stick clean of the lizard. He then found a crawling nearby spider and decided impaling it would be fun.
After he did, he threw the stick into the fire.
"I wonder how long will it take to cook the spider..." he said in a completly honest tone as he watched flames dance before him.

Iskatyl shook his head and sighed.
"You already overcooked him, brother."

Posted by: Xorlak on Sunday May 13th, 2007

Ven was exhausted himself, so the blue liquid didn't seem like a bad idea.

"Hmm, don't mind if I do."

He grabbed the bottle with a nod and took a swig. Immediately he began coughing.

"*COUGH* Wow... *COUGH* Pretty strong stuff..."

He hit his chest once with a fist, trying to recompose himself.

By then the two made it the outer gates of the castle.

"New friend, Sir Ven?"

Ven pointed to Aaron with his thumb over his shoulder.

"This is Aaron. His army helped us fend off the Dark Empire."

The guards bowed slightly.

"A pleasure, sir."

Ven turned back to Aaron.

"I must speak with King Henri now, so we must part ways. I'm sure he'll want to speak with you soon though, so don't wander far. You and your men are welcome to explore the lower levels of the castle, as well as the town. When his majesty is ready to receive you, we will send for you via messenger."

Another guard came over and whispered something in Ven's ear, and the two began conversing in low tones as Ven walked off into the open halls of the white stone castle.

"What was that?"

"I don't know, looked like some rustling bushes to me."

"Do you think we should, like, check it out?"

"Dude, it's just some rustling bushes. What makes you think rustling bushes are suspicious? I mean, there are a number of perfectly natural things that could move bushes like that."

"*Sigh* ... Fine, I'll do it myself."

The Tjedian guard stepped out from his post near the outer walls of Tjedon, peering into the thick underbrush. All of the men from Ven's army seemed to have made it in, but he wondered if it could have been a straggler, or perhaps some villager who had responded to the evacuation call late. The bush seemed empty enough when he arrived, so he called out.

"Anyone out there?"

More rustling farther out. He caught a glimpse of someone running away, disappearing into the thick growth..

He turned back and glanced at the other guard, who didn't seem to be paying attention, so he turned back to the woods and stepped in, pushing away the foliage with his spear. After a minute he saw a glimpse of the figure again. A lost child?

"Hey kid, relax. I'm not gonna hurt ya."

What.

Do.

You.

FEAR?

The guard jumped back with a yelp, brushing the spider off of his arm. Blast it, he hated spiders. Good thing no one saw him flinch like that. He continued on after the kid.

After a few moments he realized he lost him, whoever the child was. He turned around abruptly.

And screamed.

A seven foot tall spider stood before him, his panicked reflection cast in its multitude of eyes. He instinctively slashed at its face with his spear, but dropped the weapon in response to the spiders crawling on his hands. He fell backwards, trying to brush them off, but there were far too many upon him. His armor dematerialized piece by piece, changing into more and more crawling spiders. Everywhere. He screamed as he rolled upon the ground violently, the arachnids crawling into his mouth.

Mmmm... delicious.

He loved it when they screamed. It made their souls taste oh so much better...

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Sunday May 13th, 2007

"Alright. I'll wait out here. Come get me when you're done." Aaron waited outside the castle walls. He strode around for a bit, admiring the stonework of the castle. Sure, it was basic, but there weren't too many stone castles from where he hailed.

"Hmm... hey, what's that over there...?" Aaron walked away from the castle and looked down on the ground. There was a shadow, but nothing to cause it... what could this be? It had a similar shape of a human, but looked a bit stranger. It looked like it hadn't skin, but scales.

Without warning, a black hand reached out of the shadow, grabbing on to the land around it. The creature pulled himself out. He was no creature at all, but a scaled human, pure black. He had on some sort of evil armor... it was all too recognizable. He was a general of the dark empire. on his back was a great claymore. He took it out and looked up at Aaron.

"Heh... Aaron Grey. It will sadden you to find that the empire crumbles. The Ario empire, atleast. Ariosis is in the grasp of the dark empire. There's not but a matter of time before-"

"FOOL!!!" Aaron lunged forwards at the black-scaled man in dark armor. His attack was deflected before it was even able to hit the man. Aaron spun backwards and hit the ground.

"Listen up, Grey!" the dark one said, "It's pretty rude to interrupt." Now, he grabbed Aaron by the throat. Aaron grabbed at his arm, but he could not pull himself loose.

"Now that I have youyr attention, and I'm sure you won't... complicate things any further, Ariosis is in ruin. What's left of your kin is your wife, your brother, and youre one child. That will soon change, however-"

"DIE!" Aaron let go of the man's arm and punched him in the face. His throat was released as he fell to the ground, gasping for air. As he caught his breath, he grabbed the man the same way. "You hurt any of them, and I'll make your life a living hell! MARK MY WORDS!!!" He threw him back into the shadow on the ground. A few moments later, it disappeared.

"I need to speek to this king... Right now!" Aaron burst into the castle and ran around until he found the route to the throne room. On that route, he found Ven. "I cannot wait. I need to see him now! Please, it's much worse than I feared. My family lies on the brink of death. You must take me to your king NOW!!!"

---

Posted by: Dude Man on Sunday May 13th, 2007

Duilin arrived at the gates just in time to see some guy yelling about needing to speak to the king.

"Hey man." Duilin said, to Aaron. "Calm down." He then looked at the guard. "Hey. I'm looking for Belle, she's this one woman who I had sent here to be protected. Where is she?"

Then he heard somebody call his name. He turned around to see who it was. It was that one strange cat woman. He forgot her name, already. "Oh, hello. It's um...you...What do you need?" He asked.

Posted by: Jenia on Monday May 14th, 2007

Indher smiled. One would find it hard to tell if the smile was innocent or mischivous...

"You...You knew Iduran before he died, right?" she asked, trying to sound as convincing as possible "You have been to Romme before it's destruction, right?"

She breathed in deepily as Elphos approached, carrying their small leather bag of supplies, however Indher ignored him.
"All I need is a name..." she said. She was panting, as if she had just finished jogging for several houres "The only one I knew was Iduran. So I bought him to life. But I missed my chance to ask him for more names of the people of Romme..."

Her smile faded. Her expression became somewhat sad.
"Please! I really, really need at least one name!" she begged as she held her hands together.

Posted by: Dude Man on Monday May 14th, 2007

"Well, I knew a solider named Patrick and a Wind Mage named Scorch." Duilin replied. He then rubbed his chin. "And I remember there was some big loud drunkard named Skippy, but he seriously wouldn't be worth anyone's time."

He thought for a bit more. "I was only there for three days, but I believe that Scorch was pretty mean fighter. I'm not sure where his body is, or even how he died." He lowered his hand from his chin. "But I did actually witness Patrick getting killed. His head was shot off by some crazy assassin kid. And actually, I did see his ghost. He just wanted to know how he died, and why. It was pretty confusing, and I never figured out if that was the real reason. Maybe his ghost is still there, but I don't know."

He shrugged. "Hope, I was at least some help."

Posted by: Jenia on Monday May 14th, 2007

"Patrick...soldier...Scorch...Windmage...Skippy...Unworthy..."
Indher hastle scribbled it down on a piece of cloth, smearing something with a finger rather than using some sort of pen.
"Yes, that is most excellent!" she turned to Duilin himself, smiling cheerfully now "I can progress now! I won't hold you any longer then - no, wait..."
She stopped and grabbed the small leather bag in Elphos' hands, taking out one of the potions given to her by Vrach.

"A part of these rightfully belongs to you, so I think you deserve having it..." She said, throwing the small, fragile glass bottle to Duilin, honestly expecting him to easily catch it.
"Use it... Or have a friend use it... When you feel that your power is insufficient..."

She then rushed to take out her crystal ball and activate it.
The usual sight of Indher and Fernis disappearing with a thin trail of mist followed...

Posted by: Xorlak on Monday May 14th, 2007

A group of guards followed Aaron down the hall, ready to take him down. Ven turned and waved them off, seeing the desperation in Aaron's eyes.

"Hmmm, well if you say so..."

He turned and began walking briskly, motioning for Aaron to follow. A few guards stepped aside as he walked. None would ever stand in the way of Ven Hyul, after all. The interior of the castle was simple, only a few decorative banners and carpets to signify it was the house of royalty. Ven eventually lead the man to a set of wooden doors, the two guards on either end nodding to him as he opened the doors.

As he strode in, Ven realized he had just interrupted a meeting. He bowed slightly.

"Apologies for the interruption, my lord."

Henri was seated at the head of a table, flanked by several finely dressed nobles, some of which seemed slightly agitated by the intrusion. King Henri's smile was warm and relieved, however.

"Ven! How wonderful to have you back!"

"It's good to be back sire. I have much to report, but there is man here I would appreciate you to take the time to listen to. His army has aided us against the Dark Empire's black dragon and I promised him a favor in return."

"Of course, of course."

Ven waved his tattered cloak and stepped aside, revealing his guest behind him.

"Enter, Aaron of Ariosis, and make your request heard to our king."

Posted by: Dude Man on Monday May 14th, 2007

Duilin caught the glass, and looked at it. "Uhh...thanks..."

"Duilin!" Shouted the voice of a woman, sounding very happy to see the half demon.

"Belle!" Duilin called back, as she ran towards him. The two hugged. "Well, I'm alive."

"I saw what you did, up there. There was that huge glowing ball in the sky, I was so worried, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Duilin replied.

"What's that?" Belle asked, looking at the vial in Duilin's hand.

"No idea, to be honest. This one cat-woman, gave it to me." Duilin replied. "Maybe, Rink or somebody might be able to figure it out." Duilin put the vial in his pouch, and then looked at Belle. "Anyways, let's go do something."

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Monday May 14th, 2007

"Thank you. I have just recieved a message from the dark empire. He's told me that my kingdom, Ariosis, is in ruin, and... and the last of my line is being hunted down like animals. Please, you must help my people!" A tear ran down his cheek. He fell to his knees, still glaring at the king. His expression changed not at all, but in his eyes, anyone could see his sorrow, his agony, his depressive state. "Please, I beg of you!"

Behind them, the doors burst open. It was the dark messenger. "How rude, even for an emperor. I just came by to tell you who it was that destroyed everything. Behold, your new lord, BELROK!!!" He took one bow and then burst into flames, disappearing into thin air. There weren't even ashes.

"New lord? Ariosis... kneels to... him? Please, king Henri, just send a few of your heros with me. I'll be able to take care of it all! Just a few higher-ranked knights, or battle mages. I also come to you offering our alligence. If you do this, I will forever be in your debt. The Ario empire will appear at any and all occasions, and we will make sure that Tjed will forever stand!"

---

Justin woke up and slowly arose from his cot. His form was changed slightly. He had a small white aura around him. "What is this...?" He began floating a few inches off the ground. Was this some kind of spell or trick? On the table next to his cot, he found a letter. He hovered to the ground and picked up the letter. It looked like lyrics to some kind of hymn, although it wasn't written in basic. It was some sort of wierd language, but for some reason, he could still read it. It was titled the requirum of darkness.

Where once was light, now darkness rules.
Where once was heart, there is no more.
Don't say goodbye. Don't say I didn't try.
This blood we give is fooling us.
This darkness in the end of all.
The dawn of war has reached it's noon,
and all will fail. All will fade.
We are lost, we can never go home.

So in the end, I'll be what I will be.
No loyal friend was ever there for me.
Now we say goodbye; we say you didn't try.
These tears you cry have come to lay.
Take back the lies;
the hurt, the pain.
And you will weep to be so alone.
You are lost, you can never go home.

"It's written in some sort of language..." and that's when it dawned on him. This language was what they used 10,000 years ago. It's from his birth mother, it says on the bottem; Jeniva Constantine. It was the writting of the gods. What did all of this mean? So many questions would go unanswered, but only one will have to be. Where is Jeniva Constantine?

---

Posted by: Jenia on Tuesday May 15th, 2007

The swirling stopped, and as the orb deactivated, their feet once again rested on firm ground.

"Lucky!" Indher sounded happy, looking at the scenery around them.
It was a peaceful, untouched forest, and the beach nearby was quite familiar.

They were back in the island of Romme.

"Let's get crackin'!" Indher said, obviously excited as she looked down her tiny list.
"Hmm...Skippy the unworthy... I'll start with him, sounds that sounds like the simplest task..."

Elphos wasn't paying attention to her. He was staring at something, jaw-dropped.
"Ugh... Fernis?" he stopped staring to turn her attention from her list.
"What is it?" she asked, uninterested.

Elphos pointed at a large, dark cave entrance. It was within a large boulder, and seemed to lead deeper underground. It's surface seemed rugged, as if it has several pick-axes dragged along it.
"Hey look, theres a mountain behind that hole." Indher said, not noticing anything special about the cave. She simply assumed Elphos wasn't used to staring into dark holes.
Elphos shook his head.
"No, no, look at these..." he turned her attention to the marking on the cavern's surface.
"These are claw-marks, Fernis! This cave could be a monster's lair!"
Indher sighed.
"Bah. So something DOES live here. Big deal. We will just tame it when it comes out."

Elphos was bothered by how Indher didn't seem worried at all, but came over to her and watched her start drawing a new, improved circle.
"Ugh, Fernis?" he asked, surprised to see her doing what she was doing "Why are you drawing it on a piece of cloth? Aern't you supposed to do it on the ground...?"
Indher, however, did not answer. All she did was smile.

Posted by: ElderScrollinIt on Tuesday May 15th, 2007

"I will go," said Elroy, standing next to the door, wearing white armor and a closed helm, "My king, I shall be one of the few to help. My skills are limited, but I cannot just sit idly by while a kingdom is under attack!" The demon walked up to Aaron and held out his hand to help him back to his feet. "What say you, Aaron of Ariosis? What say any of you? Will you not help fight when so many has helped you?"

Posted by: Xorlak on Tuesday May 15th, 2007

"Now just a darn minute here."

The one who spoke up was Baron Alphonse, the nobleman who governed much of the northern reaches of Tjed.

"We cannot simply divide our depleted forces up to aid foreign nations! The Dark Empire will strike again at any moment. We need all of our men here! Not to mention our own countrymen are suffering."

The mayor of Kesnar sat back in his chair.

"My own city has been leveled..."

Ven stepped forward. "Lord Aaron here has done just that. He has sent his own men here to aid us against the Dark Empire and their black dragon. The very least we can do is return the favor."

"But!" Alphonse snapped back, "Look what happened when he did! His country has been overrun when while his men were out. True, we must repay his kindness, but now is not the time! I certainly cannot lend any of my knights."

"That is not your decision." King Henri's voice was sudden and hard. "Your men simply live on your lands. They have sworn fidelity to me."

The Baron opened his mouth as if to sputter a retort, but it died in his throat. It was rare for the King to remind his subjects of his authority, but when he did, it was harsh. There was a moment of silence before the debate continued.

"He is only asking for a few men."

"Our elites, mind you. Our very best."

King Henri leaned forward, cradling his forehead as if he had a pounding headache. "Ven, before you returned, we were discussing the possibility of a counter attack, assuming that you were able to repel the invaders, which you clearly did..."

Ven's eyes widened. Fending off the Dark Empire was one thing, but attacking was sheer madness. But of course he saw wisdom in the old man's words. They may never have such a chance again. Ven brought a gauntlet to his chin.

"The black dragon we killed was one of their High Generals. It will likely take them time to reorganize to strike again. We may have a brief window of opportunity..." Ven mused out loud.

Henri nodded. "Suppose we send a small force to aid Ariosis. This will create a diversion, while at the same time pay back our ally Lord Aaron's favor." He leaned forward, steepling his hands under his chin. "Then we send a second group into the heart of the Dark Empire... to confront the Dark Emperor himself..."

Many of those present gasped. King Henri sat back.

"Of course. We will have to ask Duilin about this. I sensed that he weaved a large part of the spell against the dragon from here."

"And Draven..."

"True. We will not be able to do this without Draven's help..." How to get him to cooperate was another matter altogether... Henri waved the thought off. "Anyway, the second group will not be ready until tomorrow. The first group we can assemble now."

Ven nodded. After a long moment, he looked up.

"I will go with Aaron. I was powerless against that dragon. Perhaps I will be of more use fighting lesser enemies."

Henri nodded.

Posted by: Dude Man on Wednesday May 16th, 2007

"Ssir..." General Ssobra said entering Gorus' room. "The legions are ready."

"Excellent." Gorus replied. "Now crush them."

--- ---

Vandrin was standing up in the tallest tower in his castle, viewing the horizon. Suddenly from behind him a ghostly figure faded in.

"What's the news?" Vandrin asked, still looking towards the horizon.

The shadow mutant handed the count a scroll. Vandrin unrolled it and read it.

"Blast!" Vandrin crumbled the paper. "They're attacking too!" He turned around in rage, shoving the mutant out of his way, before going down the staircase. Despite the fact, that the mutants were all physically and/or magically stronger than Vandrin, they all treated Vandrin with the highest respect.

Posted by: Jenia on Wednesday May 16th, 2007

While Fernis continued to work on her complex glyphs, Elphos still seemed disturbed by the large hole nearby.

"There!" She stood up "The plans ready! So, my little apprentice, what do you think of-"

She was interrupted by a loud snore.
A sudden breeze seemed to blow from within the cavern...
"I don't like this..." Elphos was shaking. Fernis sighed and started walking towards the cave.
"Wait!" Elphos hurried after her "Where are you...?"
"To find out what is going on."
Although Elphos thought it to be rash, he followed her into the darkness...

After walking aimlessly for sveral minutes in the darkness, Elphos decided to ruin the peaceful silence.
"Umm, Fernis?" He asked innocently "Shouldn't we use a torch or...?"
"No need." She whispered and silenced him. She knew the only reason Elphos can tell where she is is by following her footsteps, which weren't that loud anyway, but she knew that light could alarm whatever may lie in the cave.
"But, Fernis..." Elphos continued his nagging.

"Shhh!" She silenced him again, but then they both froze.
A plume of flame shot down, almost hitting both of them. They could easily feel it's warmth.
But that was not what worried them.

Before them stood a large, red, sleepy dragon.

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Wednesday May 16th, 2007

Aaron looked at the knight in white armor, and again at Ven. He then saw the friendly hand that lay before him, to help him back on his feet. He grabbed it and was pulled up. "thank you... both of you. I shall never forget your help to save my people. Hence forth, I shal swear my people's alligence to you," Aaron looked up at the king, "King Henri of Tjed."

In a dark shadow in the corner of the room, hidden in darkness, was Doriana, who followed Aaron into the castle. She was able to sneak by because of her illusive magic, combined with her skills as an assassin. She let go of the spell and stepped out of the shadows.

"I shall go with them as well. I may be but a freelance assassin, and at times my purse is greater than my heart," she began, walking towards Aaron, "but more people need my help. I do this not for coin, but to strengthen the alligence of Ariosis."

Aaron was once again taken aback by the help, and was ever more greatful. He walked forwards towards Doriana and held out his hand. "May we forever be remembered in the history yet to come not just for Tjed or Ariosis," he began, "but for all of Gaian."

Posted by: ElderScrollinIt on Wednesday May 16th, 2007

//Dran P.M.'ed me and it's okay to say this.

"May the Dark Empire rue the very day they set foot on Ariosis!" Elroy looked back up at king Henri. He was confident that Ariosis would be taken back, and that he would be a big help, but four people wasn't good enough to retake a nation as big as Ariosis. They have need of many more people!

"My lord," he began, "this is a very strong attack force, but we'll need plenty more than this if we are going to retake Ariosis. I have visited the nation atleast once in my old days as an adventurer and a sailor. I can tell you that it's a long journey south, around three hundred-fifty miles or so off the coast of the dark continent, and about two hundred miles east from there. What's the plan?"

Posted by: Xorlak on Wednesday May 16th, 2007

King Henri shook his head. "I'm afraid we cannot offer an army. We simply do not have the men. Those that are uninjured must stay here lest the capital comes under attack. As Aaron suggested, a small group of finely trained warriors would do best in this situation."

Ven frowned, but nodded. "Yes, my lord. So are there any others? We've four..."

"Make that five."

Heads turned to hear a refined voice from the back. A black clad man strode through the congregated knights, a trench coat and wearing dark sunglasses. His black hair was long and tied back in a ponytail.

Ven had never seen the man before, and he looked odd amongst the knights and other warriors. But help was help.

"Excellent. Sir...?"

He trailed off, expecting the man to give his name, but instead the man simply folded his arms.

"Right."

Ven turned to Aaron.

"We should prepare. It may be a good idea to go down to the barracks and pick up a few good soldiers, unless you think we should travel small and quick. I've never been to your country so I have no idea what to expect. I will meet you in at the castle entrance in an hour, as there are some things I must take care of."

He bowed slightly before walking out of the throne room. Blast it... how was he going to pull this one off? The things he managed to get himself into never ceased to amaze him...

"Who disturbs my slumber?"

There was another plume of flame blasted before Fernis and Elphos as the dragon snorted in disgust, the entire cavern illuminated in orange light for a brief second. The red dragon was lying down, his massive body coiled around the cave wall. His long neck craned down, deep yellow eyes regarding the two morsels before him as he sniffed once.

"Thrice in a decade. I am becoming annoyed. Explain yourselves before my mood bitters..."

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Wednesday May 16th, 2007

"Once again, you have my thanks, Ven. I expected as much, so we'll meet here in an hour. The rest of you, let's just head out and wait in the castle courtyard. That's no command, just a suggestion. I'll be waiting there, so if any of you wish to do something here in Tjed, before we leave that is, now'd be the time."

Aaron bowed to the king and then left the room. Doriana followed close behind, and they left the castle to find a bench out in the courtyard near a small fountain. "So, what made you decide to help me, Drow?" Aaron said as he seated himself.

"Oh, none really. I'm just getting bored again. There's nothing for me 'here', so hopefully battle will be a bit more enjoyable then calm aftermath... It's actually quite anoying, actually."

"Heh... well I never thought I'd reach the point in my life where a female Drow came out of the shadows and offered me help. And what's more, just because she want's to fight?"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean? You think I'm one of those pittiable women who just sit around all day doing house-hold chores!? Forget that!"

"No, I'm just glad is all. You just so happened to be bored at the perfect time. It's going to be atleast a two day trip, but I'm sure you won't be too bored, what with the frequent water dragon sightings being reported at the northwestern coast, particularly the western coast."

"Water dragon, huh? Well, knowing Jason, he'd probably want to tag along just so he can get the creature's essence."

"Which is why I'm going to," said a voice from behind. Standing behind the bench in his white robes was Jason Tiberius. He was leaning on the bench with his hands grabbing the edge. "And I won't be going alone, it seems..." Behind him stood Jacobie and Dranniconias, ready to join their party and increase their chances.

"We're going to Ariosis, right?" Jacobie asked, "I've heard that they have very few stone castles, and that their cities are made of crystals and silver."

"Tis true," Aaron began, "our capitol is the most splenderous sight a mortal's eyes could ever see in their life time. The crystals have cursed all of Ariosis to remain on the island, except if the emperor says otherwise. And the castles we do have were crafted by the woodland elves in the great forests of Nurngar."

Aaron slowly spoke himself back into another reality where he was still at home, away from war and peace. It seemed as if time had stopped, and with good reason... It had stopped. In this imaginary world, Aaron saw all of his cities at peace. All was calm until a dark shroud began to cover the lands. The cities began to burn, innocent bystanders slaughtered, men women and children alike. Then all went black, as if the shroud had won its battle.

Suddenly, a circle of grass became visible, with him and Dranniconias standing on either side. "This is what will become of your homeland if Retan succeeds in his plot to rule everything. After the war has been won, you must immediatly bring up your army and lead them to Dranniville. That's where you'll find another high general."

Time began to flow again, and Aaron looked back at Dranniconias. He stared deeply in his eyes, seeing once again the blazing cities. "I have a map of Ariosis if you'd like to see it, Lizard-man..." with that, Aaron took out a map and showed it to Jacobie.

http://www.darkagegames.net/dalpedia/index.php/Image:Ariosis.jpg

Posted by: Jenia on Thursday May 17th, 2007

Fernis was quick to push Elphos out of the way, completly ignoring the fact that he was shaking in his boots.

A dragon. She had to use this chance...

"Why, dear dragon, theres no reason to be bitter..."

The smile on her face was snide. Of all the things her blood was composed of, red dragon blood was quite a major part. She knew it, and she expected the dragon to notice it soon enough.

"I must admit..." She continued, as if to make pleasant conversation "That I did not expect to meet anyone here. After all, this land was but recently wiped out and restored..."
She brought her hand to her chin.
"In fact, I'm surprised you had enough time to fall asleep... Oh, how rude of me. I didn't introduce myself..."
She brought her hands to the sides of her head and removed her circlet, and her eyes flashed golden almost immediately.
"I am Indher, the last Runemaster, at your service..." she bowed slightly. It was quite obvious that the darkness didn;t bother her at all, as her direction was percise toward's the dragon's face. She tilted her head slightly to left.

"And the little man behind me? Just my apprentice."
She straightened her posture, but didn't put her circlet back on. Instead, she just held it in her left hand.
"Now, why don't you enlighted us with your name?"

Posted by: Dude Man on Thursday May 17th, 2007

Belle and Duilin were sitting at a table on the patio of a Tjed tavern. Belle was drinking some red wine, while Duilin had large mug of ale. It's been a long day for him.

"So, where did you get that sword? I don't recall you having that earlier." Belle asked, looking at the Iduran.

"Crazy story really. You probably wouldn't believe it." Duilin replied.

Belle leaned in and smiled. "Try me."

"Well, my old friend Iduran, I told you about him..."

"Right, continue."

"Well, apparently some crazy cat-lady brought her back from the dead. I only saw him for a second, but he seemed to have merged with his sword. Everyone else was trying to pick up the weapon, but it seemed to have some crazy magical aura around it, that repelled them all, except for me."

"Wow, you must be really proud of yourself." Belle teased.

"Damn right." Duilin shot back, smiling and taking a sip from his ale. "Well...not really. I'm sure Zeros' would be better off using the sword then me, plus he probably deserves it more than I do. I only knew the old guy for a couple of days, but I still liked the guy. He was really heroic."

"Yeah, I know..." Belle said, as if hearing the same thing for the umpteenth time.

"Heh. Sorry." Duilin said, remembering he's told her about Iduran before.

"That's okay. It's nice to meet somebody who actually looks up to another person as a hero, who isn't some blood thirsty emperor, like Draven or Retan."

"Or, Melkoth or my father." Duilin added.

"Your father?" Belle asked.

"Abodahon." Duilin answered.

"He was your father?" Belle seemed a little surprised. "I mean, he was so...evil...and you're so heroic."

Duilin shrugged. "Our reunion wasn't so great."

"I heard it was Haraldur that killed him, how did that make you feel."

"Don't care really. Can we change the subject?"

"Oh...sorry..."

---

Goldolf walked outside the medical tent, and took out a cigar and a box of matches. He put the cigar in his mouth and opened the box of matches, seeing that it was empty.

"Gosh dangit." The old drow thought for a second, and then made a face as if to say "Oh yeah, I forgot about that."

He snapped his fingers and summoned a started a small plume of flame in his hand with his magic. He fit the cigar with it, and shook away the flame. He then coughed loudly a few times.

Rink came out of the tent and spotted the old drow. "Hey, you know that isn't healthy."

"What do I care? I ain't got much time left at my age anyways."

"How old are you anyways?" Rink asked.

"Heck if I know, lost count after like two hundred, or somethin'."

"Two hundred? I thought humans only lived until they were like, eighty?"

"Yeah HUMANS. I didn't get grey skin and pointy ears from smokin'."

"Oh yeah." Rink chuckled. "So, anyways. Why did you and Lagart join Duilin?"

"I dunno, about the lizard man, I just met him. Belle knows 'im more than I do." Goldolf replied, coughing a few times after. "Man, she's a bewt. If I were in my prime time again I tell ya-"

"Uh, stop. I seriously, don't want to hear the famous 'prime time' story from another old man." Rink interrupted.

Goldolf laughed, before coughing a few times and dropped his cigar "Aw dang...Meh, I was done with it anyways." He looked back at the imp, while he crushed the cigar out with his foot. "So, what's the deal with Duilin? He seems the have a lot attitude and emotional changes when he, ya know, changes into that freaky demon and that glowing super human."

"How could you tell?" Rink asked.

"Sensed it. I have the ability to detect the emotions of people and if they're like good or evil. Can be dang annoying at times, people auto-matically think I'm some sorta wise-man. They come to me, fer advice on relationships. Heck, the whole thing is a bunch of bullsh-"

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Rink interrupted, before he started rambling. "Anyways, to answer your question. I'm not sure, really. But before I noticed that his demonic blood is kind of tied to his emotions, he tend to get 'more demon' when he gets angry, or when he starts craving fights. But when I saw him as a 'demon lord', I noticed there was almost an essence of..."

"Evil?"

"I don't want to say that, but it almost seemed like that. But I did notice that he was able to control himself for the most part, but I could feel that there was struggle..." Rink thought for a moment. If only Zeros' was here...

Posted by: Xorlak on Friday May 18th, 2007

"Duilin!"

A waving Ven appeared on the tavern patio. His armor caught on the edge of a chair and nearly knocked it over, but he grabbed and righted it before it could fall.

"Good to see you're doing better!" he said as he made his way over to demon hybrid, dodging around tables. Most were full considering Tjedon was over packed with refugees from all across the country. Ven was looking quite refreshed from the previous battle and his brand new set of armor a shiny silver as usual, though he kept most of the brilliant gleam hidden under his black cloak.

Suddenly he saw Belle and embarrassedly rubbed the back of his head.

"Uh... I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

The man in the black coat and rectangular shades simply followed Aaron without so much of a word, keeping his distance from the rest of the group. When they stopped to converse he didn't seem to pay much attention. He merely found a wall to lean on, fumbling in the inner pockets of his coat to find a long thin cigarette to place in his mouth before folding his arms and waiting.

"Heh..."

One man clapped after Aaron, Ven, and the rest of the entourage left.

"My my, a counterstrike against the Dark Empire. How cute..."

The sinister voice was all too familiar. Draven pushed a few guards out of the way as he stepped up behind the king, the black shroud illusion surrounding him disappearing to reveal a fresh suit of red-trimmed black armor and cape. A few guards rushed up to him, starting to draw their weapons, but the Crimson Emperor merely gave them a glance and they removed their hands from the hilts as if they were scolding hot, nursing their palms in pain.

King Henri turned halfway, regarding the new arrival with a dejected stare.

Draven swept his arm from under his cape. "You really don't have any idea what you're doing, do you?"

The red dragon flicked his tail, slamming it into the ground with enough force to shake the cave.

"Your tongue is too soft to pronounce my name, child."

He leaned over and gave her another sniff, the pulling wind so intense it ruffled her fur.

"Though you smell... interesting. Like a mix of creatures. Why have you come here? Speak quickly. I agitate easily..."

Posted by: Jenia on Friday May 18th, 2007

Indher humpfed.

My tongue is "too soft"? What a snob...

Indher didn't waver. She kept looking directly into the dragon's eyes.

"If by here, you mean this cave, then it is because my apprentice is a cowered who jumps at the slightest noise."
She sighed deeply and started searching for the piece of cloth she used earlier with her free hand. Elphos, on the other hand, shrugged.
"If you mean this land..." Indher found the piece of cloth and unfolded it, showing a complex, partialy incomplete drawing to the dragon "Then this, besides hiding where the dark empire won't find me, is my reason."

She gave the dragon a moment to glance at the unfolded piece of cloth. It was large enough to make at least four sets of daily clothing.
"You aern't too well versed in runes, are you?" she asked, doubting the dragon would attempt mastering runic magic "Well then, let me explain what it does..."

She spread the cloth on the cave floor. It wasn't flat, but one could easily see the shapes IF they could see in the pitch blackness of the cave.
"This..." She pointed into a simple figure at the very edge "Is what starts it all. It basicaly attempts to pull a soul of my choosing from the realm beyond. Through experience, I've learned that there are... Side effects... And thus, I was forced to make this ten times more complex than I first planned."
She began moving her arm from different parts of the cloth piece as she explained.
"You see, when the soul is pulled out, it is melded with another soul of a negative karmic polarity that completes it... In other words, if I attempt calling the best of the best, the worst of the worst will be called as well. Not only that, but if you try putting them into a body in molded state, the evil one shall be in control. That is what THIS is for. It forcibly seperates the two, sending the good one HERE and the evil one HERE. Now, an even WORSE side effect is that the good soul couses whatever vessel it has been sealed in to disitigrate within a day, and is then absorbed into a nearby object. Because of that, I have put down THIS - It creates a gem, each made specifically for each soul called. The good soul will be absorbed into the upper layer of the gem, which will be put into the forehead of a body created HERE, according to how the soul sees itself. Now, that only means the good soul will be absorbed into the body it creates a day after the calling, when the gem shatters, leaving a gaping hole in it's forehead. That's where the evil soul comes in. THIS couses it to be absorbed into the same gem's core. When a day passes, the good soul will escape and be absorbed into the body, while the evil soul will expand to the entire gem as the good soul leaves. This process will not only subdue the evil soul by the disintigrating power, but it will also prevent the gem from shattering. The general result - a complete revival of any dead person within a day, and with a pretty, magically empowering gem on their forehead to boot!"

Indher rolled back the piece of cloth.
"I believe you noticed how an entire nation was wiped out around here...? Well, I was planning on bringing each and every one of them back to life like this."

Elphos swallowed his spit. What bothered him was that the dragon has just asked to speak quickly, and yet Indher followed with a long explanation.

Indher, however, was certain it would pique the dragon's interest.
"It's good that we've met, actualy." she said, scratching her forehead. "Retan and his men would come here eventualy. If we were to never notice you, it would be quite the discomforting surprise to suddenly be waken from your sleep by THEM rather than us..."
She put her circlet back on, her eyes becoming more human-like again.
"So, how about, dear-dragon-whos-name-we-don't-know? How about you help us with my contraption? Even if avoiding the dark empire is not something you'd care to do, surely I can pay you in some other way..."

Yeah. Like sealing your cave after we finish. After all, you don't like being woken up...

Posted by: Coriko on Friday May 18th, 2007

Druid slowly walked towards the sound. He crept silently through the forest. His feet were charged with shadow energy so it dissolved the twig rather then snapping it. He saw something move so he ducked behind a tree. Looking around the tree he saw a figure holding a branch. Druid summoned balls of shadow energy in his hands and walked forward towards the figure. He put one of his glowing palms against the figure's head.

"Put down your weapon."

Posted by: Dude Man on Saturday May 19th, 2007

"No, not really" Belle replied to Ven. "We were just talking."

Duilin slightly shrugged after Belle spoke, he took another sip of his ale and then looked to Ven. "So, what do you need?" He asked, assuming he wasn't here for just chit-chat.

--- ---

"Yeah, I'm not finding it anywhere." Firstman concluded.

"Blast it." Wilham exclaimed.

"Maybe somebody already took it." Marshall thought. "What do you we do now?"

"Well, maybe we should just head to the next spot. But I still won't feel like our job is complete unless we find the lost tablet."

"But we can't go!" Marshall shouted. "Coriko is going to meet us here. We can't just ditch him."

"Yeah, like he ditched us?" Firstman laughed.

"He didn't ditch us, you fool! He fought off a dragon so we could escape."

"Oh yeah." Firstman scratched the back of head.

"Well, there is an old saying, where I come from." Wilham stated. "Itself, is the workshop!"

"WHAT?!" Marshall and Firstman both gave Wilham a very odd look.

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Saturday May 19th, 2007

Justin put the note in his robe pocket and hovered out of the tent. He looked down at his legs; it seemed as if they couldn't even touch the ground if they wanted to, as if they're being repelled. He didn't care about that right now. What he needed to do is find where this letter came from... or who it came from.

He burst up in the sky doing a few spins, rather enjoying his enchanted self. He took another look down, and he was about fifty feet up in the air. While flying above the castle, he saw in the courtyard that a lot of people were gathering together... his friends. What were they doing? Why were they all there? Justin was sure that they weren't just there to hang around.

A half an hour passed by and they all began to get up and walk towards the castle gate. Justin, after sitting in the sky watching them, decided to investigate. He slowly decended to the ground. When he was about two inches from the ground, he hovered forwards to the castle itself. "Time to find out what's up," he said to himself.

---

Posted by: Xorlak on Saturday May 19th, 2007

"Well, you see..."

Ven took a chair from a nearby table and moved it next to Duilin's, sitting down in it.

"I'm leaving on a journey. So I wanted to say goodbye, and thank you for your help. We're traveling to Arosis to fight off the Dark Empire there, and I'm not sure how long we'll be gone..." If they' were to return that was... Though Ven physically seemed refreshed, there was a deep tiredness in his eyes.

"That and... well... I hate to leave my homeland, but this is a favor I must help repay. That and this is part of King Henri's plan. Anyway, I know you've done so much for us already, but I was... wondering if you'd be able to protect the king in my place? We have knights for that-- good men of course, but I just can't help but feel something bad might happen while I'm gone. Could you keep an eye on him for me?"

King Henri's eyes narrowed. Draven smirked, wagging his finger at him.

"That's right," the Crimson Emperor continued, "your freaky eye trick doesn't work any more, so you're just a normal inept old man now."

Henri stood straight up, smacking his frail hands on the table.

"Blast it, Draven! What would you have us do then?! I suppose you have a better plan!"

Draven folded his arms.

"Well, I don't particularly approve of committing suicide, like yours."

Henri clenched his teeth. Draven continued.

"True, I did manage to kill Jayce. And I would have considered him the strongest opponent next to Retan if not for his blaring stupidity. But that does not mean the Dark Empire has been sufficiently weakened at all. Quite the contrary. His old man's real ticked off about now, and he's got plenty of evil things working for him. There's an oafish lizard with a massive army running the shots on the ground all over the Dark Continent. Then there's these silver demons, flying furry things that exist only to kill humans. They'd butcher any pathetic army you sent their way. There's free roaming massive Dark Dragons by the hundreds. Scaly wyvern riders. Wraiths and shades that bask in the eternal night of that land due to those thick clouds. Entire cities populated by mindless Lizard Man slaves. Servants of the underworld of all shapes and sizes. And plenty more I'm sure I don't know about yet. And you think you're going to send a little squad of sappy heroes in there to confront the Dark Emperor and make things all better..."

The red dragon's long scaly tail coiled around a stalagmite, snapping it off.

"Why should I care about a locust race such as humans? This is my island, and I am better off without them."

He stretched and the spines upon his back scraped against the cavern wall, dislodging large bits of stone.

"And I've lived through scores of empires and their reigns, both light and dark. One more is insignificant. Go away and do not bother me again, or I shall consume you as my snack."

That seemed to be the end of it for a moment, but the gigantic red lizard seemed to catch something in the air, as if he noticed a subtle yet pungent scent. Ignoring the two trespassers, he suddenly stood on all four feet, his wings scraping across the ceiling and freeing more rocks.

"By Gaian..."

With a slow lumbering gait, he made his way towards the cavern exit...

A sleek black ship dislodged from its dock halfway up the Tower of Heaven's Bane. As it floated upwards it rotated slowly until it faced eastward. Then with a mighty thrust, it tore through the sky with blazing speed, yellow plumes of light emanating from its rear and wings as it tore through the black clouds...

Posted by: ElderScrollinIt on Saturday May 19th, 2007

Elroy waited at the castle's front gates as did all his other companions. Just then, he caught some sort of stench... it was his own kin. It was another demon, and a very powerful one at that, too. He ignored it, though, as it has often happened in recent months. Nothing ever happened, except when Kesnar burnt to the ground. Still, he waited with the others in front of the castle, expecting Ven to show up in around ten or so minutes.

Posted by: Dude Man on Saturday May 19th, 2007

"Me look after the king?" Duilin thought for a moment. "Well, I guess so. Tjed, has likely not seen the last of the Dark Empire, and I'd like to perhaps get some more information on what's happened to Gaian over the past year." He then looked at Belle. "And I'd also like to stay here, with Belle, for a little while." He looked back at the knight. "Sure, I'll do it."

Posted by: Xorlak on Sunday May 20th, 2007

"Great! We're going to find a way to pay you back for all your help some day," Ven said with a light hearted smile. He stood up and took a look at the sun, which was beginning to disappear behind the high ridges of the mountains to the west. "I must make my leave, farewell!" He bowed once to Belle. "Always a pleasure, my lady."

With that he trotted off in a light jog, his armor clanking all the way.

It took a few minutes to reach the castle gates. When he did, he found Aaron, Elroy, and the others waiting there. The group looked a bit larger then when they left the throne room.

"Are we ready to go?" He asked as he adjusted his gauntlets.

Posted by: Dude Man on Sunday May 20th, 2007

"Nice meeting you, Ven." Belle nodded to the knight

"Good luck, friend" Duilin waved as Ven jogged off. He looked back at Belle "I'm sure he'll be fine. I'm more worried about Tjed, itself getting attacked again." He took another sip of his ale.

"What makes you so sure, they'd attack again?" Belle asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Your friend Lagart told me, just about all of Gaian, except for Tjed is under control of either the Dark Empire, or the Kandarinian Empire. Correct?"

"Yeah." Belle replied. "But I think it's the Kandarin Sovereignty. But yeah I understand. But I'm not one hundred percent sure, that Tjed is the only place free from the Empire."

"Well, what do you know? Like, what places are under rule of Kandarin or the Empire?" Duilin asked.

"Well, other then the obvious places, I don't know much. I hear that Helternia doesn't have too much occupation, under the Empire. But the entire continent is really poor and lacks resources. Other than a few seaports, and maybe Kandarin 'recruiting stations' I don't think the place has changed to much. Then again I could be wrong."

"Well, perhaps the king knows more. Perhaps we should go to talk to him, now." Duilin suggested.

"Sure. I actually got to spend some time with Henri. He's a pretty nice guy. I wish more monarchs were like him."

Duilin finished his drink and the two headed towards the keep...

Posted by: Jenia on Monday May 21st, 2007

Indher shook her head.

Theres more than one way to convince a dragon...

Her ears suddenly stood up, as if she noticed something out of the ordinary.
She began to silently follow the dragon, ctaching and dragging Elphos (who was still dazed) by his ear on the way.

Posted by: Xorlak on Monday May 21st, 2007

It took a few minutes for the dragon to snake through the winding tunnel before stepping into the sunlight in the outside world high atop the mountain. He stood there on four legs for a moment, seemingly contemplating the rolling valleys below. The day seemed nice enough, birds singing, a cool breeze flowing from the east. To the west the sun was nearly setting, its rays casting the dragon's body in a brilliant red sheen. Yet he frowned as he pointed his muzzle upward.

"The stench of death hangs in the air..."

Steadying his front two claws on a large bolder, he craned his neck towards the northwest. A blackness hung over the horizon there... the Dark Continent.

"The world... is dying... Drakens are here, sucking out all of it's life..."

He slowly turned his head back and regarded Indher.

"Your ramblings about bringing back the dead... This is part of your plan to fight the Dark Empire?"

(Chapter 13 ends in five days.)

Posted by: Jenia on Monday May 21st, 2007

((5 days? Hmm... Wait, 5 DAYS!? Xorlak, I might need you to scrape me one or two more for the scenario that we planned to take place!))

As indher stepped into the sunlight, she stopped. Elphos almost bumped into her, but managed to stop on time.

The dragon asked an interesting question.
"Why, yes." Indher said, quite confidently "Yes, it is. You see, I have a three-stage plan..."
In truth, she was making it up as she went. But it didn't matter.
"The said dark empire is currently at war. Once the war reaches it's peak, the dark empire's important facilities will be less tightly guarded. Their flanks will be especialy exposed from this side of the world, as they expect no one to live here."

She stepped towards the dragon, raising her head.
"I believe that by bringing back that which they least expect to face, they can be surprised. But that is not enough. The last stage of my plan is the most crucial one..."

She was kind of lost at that point. What CAN help the people she will return from the dead, and be as a finishing blow upon the dark empire...?

And then it hit her.
"I will..."
Her expression didn't waver the whole time, as if she knew what she was talking about from the very beggining.
"...Call upon... A power, beyond their greatest imagination..."
Yes. She was thinking of the god of death she had theorized about. If it truely exists, such a being would be powerful enough to smash through the dark empire's forces easily...
But talking about it was dengerous. The being could be listening, plus the dragon might not like it...

"...I cannot say any more."
She had finished by lowering her head and closing her eyes, as if humbled by her very thoughts.

Posted by: Dude Man on Monday May 21st, 2007

//Xor Guy: Will we return to the traditional, all main characters go to bed? There's a big enough break in action for that.\\

Gorus stood at a stone balcony on his mountain fortress, viewing over the army of lizard men. General Ssobra was to his left, looking at the army and then to the High General.

"When will the attack sstart ssir?" General Ssobra asked.

"Either tomorrow..." Gorus replied. "Or in five hours. Whatever I'm in the mood for."

//AKA, I'll have the battle of Subterranean Division Vs. Vandrin County, next chapter, whether it takes place immediately after or the next day.\\

--- ---

Duilin and Belle entered the castle, when they bumped into Lagart, Goldolf and Rink
//Man, I use Lagart and Goldolf too much.\\

"Hey, Duilin. Going to see the king?" Rink asked.

"Yeah, Ven asked me to protect him, while he's gone. Some trouble in, uh Arosis." Duilin replied.

"Arosis?" Goldolf asked. "Never heard of it."

"It's some southern continent. Keeps pretty much to itself. I'm surprised it wasn't on Haraldur's hit list, back when he was pillaging."

"Well, anyways. You boys going to join us?" Duilin asked.

"Sure, why not." Rink replied.

And the group went off to the wizard...erm...king...

--- ---

"You guys hear something?" Marshall asked.

"Yeah, sounds like...oh no!" Firstman shouted.

Suddenly from the darkness a shadow mutant appeared and zoomed past Wilham close-lining him to the ground.

Marshall immediately began shooting fireballs at it, with his MagiPistol, but the mutant doged them all, by strafing to the side, and doing a flip off the wall. The mutant then fired a shade blast, at Marshall, hitting him the chest knocking him the ground and pushing him back a few feet.

Firstman drew his sword and ran towards it. "Gnnn!!"

The shadow mutant however, shot another shade blast, knocking away Firstman in a similar fashion...

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Monday May 21st, 2007

"Yes, let's just be on, then... oh blast, which way to that port... Ah yes, this way." Aaron lead them to the caves south of the city. From there, he walked out to the field of battle where there was a great crater... where the remains, if any, of Jayce lie. There, he saw that some of his men were beginning to build a bridge across, but it wasn't complete. However, the port was rebuilt, along with some repairs on Aaron's great galleon, the White Tidian.

"Hello, sir!" said a villager from ariosis, "The port's finished just like you asked. We're also rebuilding some homes and farms that have been demolished during the attack."

"Very good!" Aaron began, "Send a messanger to the king of your great work." The port now looked like one of the great cities of Ariosis. It was made of crystals and silver, greatly crafted with beauty, and even stronger than masonry.

"I shall do so right away, sir. And one more thing, your ship, the White Tidian, has been repaired. It's cannons can now blast with ten-fold power."

"Yes, yes, the cannons. Just bring it back to the docks, and quickly now. I haven't got all day." The port was a bit crowded with markets, houses, and smitheys alike, looking even better than its old self. Aaron walked the party down a long silver bridge lined with shards of white crystals.

"This is only a taste of the great craftsmenship of my people. They're very cheap, fast, and detailed... Ah, never mind that. Here she is, the White Tidian. Aaron walked aboard his ship.

Justin and Tibbs stepped on, followed by Dori, Jacobie, and Dranniconias. Each gazed at the giant ship, admiring its size and beauty. The mast was pure gold, the sails were trimmed with elegant silver thread, the deck made of pure Nurngar wood from the woods at his homelands, and around the rails of the giant white ship were more silver trimms spotted with white crystals.

Aaron walked a ways back until he hit the back of the ship. He opened the door to the cabin and awoke the crew that was on board. "Oi! On deck, you lazy sods!" around ten men came out of the cabin with Aaron, each having a job to do. The sails were lowered as he looked back on the pier. "You comming then?" he asked Ven, Elroy, and the other man.

---

Posted by: D. Ein on Monday May 21st, 2007

-"Bored, is he, now? Well... Let's try to make him un-bored, shall we? Do ask your friend to kindly cut up that mountain over there - " I pointed to a mountain - "Into manageable bricks. I can see my minions are making good progress, but it would be a whole lot faster if he did it. And please, do it in a nice shiny way... I really need a distraction."

When I was done instructing Kerig, I headed off to the little square in the middle of the settlement, where the fire was burning. The static was long gone from the M-Grid orb, but... it seems... not for long. As soon as I arrived into the immediate area of the fire, the crackling resumed. Now it was different, though... somehow, it was much more menacing than before. However, there were things more important than this. I put the orb back into the main hut. Did they use wood for the fire? I could've sworn I saw them put regular wood, but then, why would the flames have the occasional burst of... blue?"

Posted by: Dude Man on Tuesday May 22nd, 2007

The shadow mutant was then tackled from behind and taken to the ground. Wilham dusted himself off. "Not smart." the white robed man then rolled over the mutant, so it was facing up, he then grabbed the creature by the throat and lifted it up. The mutant grabbed the golden gauntlet fingers trying to break itself free. The mutant then narrowed his eyes, and his hands began to glow with a black-violet aura. Wilham clenched his teeth and then his hands glowed in a white mist, suddenly a clashing explosion pushed the two fighters and forced them to the ground. A white coloured nymph bursted from the mutant's throat, oddly enough it was not covered in blood. The nymph was summoned right inside the mutant and the explosion was caused was a shadow spell from the mutant.

Wilham was wounded from the dark explosion and was breathing heavly on the ground. He saw that Marshall and Firstman were also wounded. The Light Nymph then floated over to the two Aspyes and casted a cyan mist around them, instantly curing their wounds. The two men got back up and noticed Wilham on the floor was injured.

"What the heck is that thing?" Firstman said, pointing to the nymph.

"It's a white nymph. I've heard of nymphs being of different elements than earth, but I've never seen one." Marshall replied, as the nymph fluttered over to Wilham, and casted a cyan mist on him.

"Bah!" Firstman gasped. "What's it doing to him!?"

"Don't worry." Wilham replied, as he got back up on his feet. "It was curing me. I saw you two were wounded, and I also wanted to kill that demon, so I summoned this Light Nymph right into it's throat."

Firstman coughed a bit, and rubbed his own throat feeling uncomfortable. "Owch..."

"Do either of you know where this demon came from?" Wilham asked. "Is it related to those demon-men we fought earlier?"

"No. It's one of Vandrin's mutants." Marshal answered. "He apparently discovered this ancient formula, and found a way to turn humans into...well these."

"Wait, an ancient formula?" Wilham asked, seeming shocked.

"Yes, why?"

"Oh my. I believe this might be the same mutation potion, which was used back in the old Terianain Republic war. It was a potion that was made by a man named Theodore Vandrin."

"Wait, Theodore Vandrin!? That's the count of the count of the Vandrin County, some miles east of here." Marshall interrupted.

"Could it be the same guy?" Firstman asked.

Both Marshall and Wilham gave him an odd look.

"Oh yeah...guess that wouldn't make much sense now, would it. Heh."

"ANYWAYS." Wilham continued. "When the Black Dragon split from the White Chimera, they hired an alchemist named Vandrin to create a potion to transform their prisoners of war into able fighting warriors on their side. There wasn't much information on it, and I think the project wasn't totally finished, but it does say in our texts that some mutants were successfully made...I never thought that the formula still existed."

"Well, can I say something?" Firstman said. "I mean, isn't a coincidence that somebody who made a mutant making potion thousands of years ago has the exact same name, as the person who is using it, today?"

"You know, I don't think it is. Perhaps our Vandrin is a decedent from the ancient one." Marshall replied. "Hmm, you know what I think. I think Vandrin might have the missing tablet. I mean, one of his mutants is here. Perhaps he himself was here, or another mutant found it and brought it back."

"Perhaps. Maybe we could go to the Vandrin County and look for it." Wilham said, rubbing his chin.

"Well, I don't think we will be so welcome. The entire county is built like a huge fortress. Nobody can get into any of the towns, unless they are with Imperial or Kandrin military personnel. Even the Dark Empire has trouble getting in, with them and the Kandies having a few disagreements."

Wilham thought for a moment. "Perhaps we could sneak in, or maybe disguise ourselves."

"But what about Coriko?" Marshall asked.

"Damn, you're right. That does kind of weigh us down a bit."

"I hate to say it, but I think we should just go. I have a feeling he might be dead." Firstman said, reluctantly.

"I don't know. Maybe one of us could stay and wait for him. Firstman?" Marshall suggested.

"But I'd be sooo bored. It's not like I could summon a friend, like you and Wilham can. Plus, what if another mutant comes? I'd be smoked!"

"Well, it's probably going to be even more dangerous at the county. You said it yourself."

Firstman groaned, and put his hand to his forehead.

"I've got an idea." Wilham said with a smile. "I'll leave my light nymph here with you, and send another nymph, back the hideout with a note asking for them to send assistance, here."

"I guess that will do, but why can't one of you stay?" Firstman asked.

"I'll need Marshall's summoning skills. Although he's not a quick and controlling with his creatures, having two summoners can be pretty handy. And no offence, but he's better than you. So far, you haven't done much to impress me."

Firstman gave an offended look at Wilham. "Oh gee! Thanks, thanks a lot!"

Posted by: Coriko on Tuesday May 22nd, 2007

"Put down your weapon."

Coriko was caught off guard. Where did this man come from? He had been listening and watching the surrounding area ever since he woke up. There's no way he was quiet enough to sneak up on him.

"Now sir," Coriko wanted to be polite as possible seeing as this man could kill him with a twitch of his hand. "I would put down my weapon if I had one. If you are talking about this branch, well that's another story." Coriko moved a little and showed the figure behind him. "Now sir lets be civil here. I am stuck in this valley, and I assume you may be as well, and have a branch stuck in my leg. So I propose we set aside any differences we may have so we can get out of this valley."
---
The man was offering him a truce. But was he trustworthy? He could be a high general of his enemy army. Then again these were Jayce's enemies not his. He was a mercenary in Jayce's army. Besides Druid fought with honour and killing an enemy while they were injured by something else was indeed the lowest of the low.

"Alright, what's your name?"
---
"Coriko, and what do you call yourself?"

---
"Druid. Now do you want me to do something for your leg?"
---
"If you don't mind."
---
Druid slowly walked forward towards Coriko. He put his hands on the branch. Slowly it started to turn black. Then the branch dissolved and shot up into Druid's hand. He then threw the energy away where it crashed into the valley wall. He looked down at Coriko's leg. Out of the hole where the branch was flames were spurting.

"What is that?!?!"
---

Coriko felt a searing pain in his leg and also saw the flames.

"Geez! That is new"

The flames were spurting out of his leg and slowly the hole in his leg was healing.

"That has never happened before."
---
Druid stepped back and re-summoned the balls of shadow energy.

"Are you a mage? Show me any weapons you have or you won't ever make it out of this valley."

Posted by: Xorlak on Tuesday May 22nd, 2007

(Yes, let's do the everyone-get-some-rest thing this time. Heh...)

Ven scratched his head as they walked through the port. What the heck was going on here? It looked like Aaron's men were rebuilding things on their own accord, but there was no way they could have rebuild so much mere hours after it had been destroyed! The majority of Tjed's population was walled up in Tjedon, and likely wouldn't leave until the king felt it was safe. And rightly so, considering the Dark Empire would likely strike again in the near future. It didn't make sense to rebuild until then, especially in such a valuable location. Then Ven noticed the shimmering docks were actually made of what appeared to be silver and jewels. The High Knight smiled then. It was obviously a decoy, made to distract any attacking army. Ven wondered if it was all an illusion of some sort.

The silver knight didn't pursue the questions on his mind. Instead he followed the party up the ramp and onto the glimmering deck of the ship. Arosis was obviously a very rich country, as even the Posidon X, Tjed's flagship, did not look so glamorous.

Behind him was that silent man in the black coat. Ven felt like asking his name one more, but decided to wait until the crowd of adventurers had dispersed a bit.

(Can't we pick it up next chapter? Heh...)

The red dragon lowered his head as he listened to Indher. When she trailed off, his gauze drifted to the setting sun, contemplating it for a moment. Finally he spoke, in softer tones this time.

"The night will be cold. If you wish, you may take shelter in the cave whilst you consider your plan."

Without another word, the dragon slowly lumbered his way towards the yawning blackness of the cavern.

Posted by: ElderScrollinIt on Tuesday May 22nd, 2007

"Woah... look at this place!" the demon thought, "It's beyond my very beliefe as to how much these people have in their stores..." Elroy continued with his party onto the White Tidian. Even more so than the city, the ship was a sight so beautiful, Elroy had to admire it, no matter how stubborn he was.

"Well then, I guess we'd better set sail, eh Aaron? This is quite a fine display of craftsmenship... and I wonder... how did they do this in such limited time?" Elroy walked around and looked at the great ship. He found himself lost in amazement. The ship's crew began to start the ship on it's long journey to Ariosis, its great sails taking with the wind.

Posted by: Jenia on Wednesday May 23rd, 2007

((Well, we can, but the timespan thing... I thought it would be easier to use the break between chapters and assume that Retan's men already had their trips of back and forth...))

Indher's expression turned sour.
"What? The night will be cold?" She muttered, more to herself than back at the dragon.
Elphos, on the other hand, seemed relieved.

"Well, at least he won't eat us..." he said, placing his right hand on his chest as he sighes.

The two followed the dragon back into the cave.

Maybe I can set up the glyphs in the cave itself?
That way I won't have to worry about them being destroyed as much...

---

Kerig raised an eyebrow.

"Cut the mountain..." He questioned "...Into bricks?"
"The sounds hardly fun." Weloss admitted up front "Plus, I don't think I can stretch further enough to do it."
Kerig shook his head as he turned away from Kronos and began walking towards the mountain.
"Let's try anyway, Weloss. We promised to repay Crow-Nose, remember?"
Weloss grumbled something about not promising anything, but decided to cooporate.

As he had reached the mountain, he stopped to stare at it from it's base to it's top.
"Hmm...Weloss?" he said, ignoring the many stares in his direction "Please create as many blades as you need to cut into bricks like theirs..."
As kerig pointed at some random bald man carrying a cart of ready bricks, Weloss interrupted.
"But I told you, I can't extend so far."
Kerig shook his head yet again.
"I asked for quantity, not quality."
"It's unusual for you to be so whimsical." Weloss said, as several hundred tiny, black needles raised from Kerig's shoulders.

Suddenly, with a flash, each needle burst into what appeared to be a gigantic, golden blade-sharp tentacle. Their bases remained tiny and black, however.
It almost seemed as if the needles were... Inflated.
"I don't have amazing ideas often, either."

"I see..." Weloss said, after all the workers stood back as they were told "You simply overpumped my appendages with our energy, thus making them something bigger. While these cannot cut living flesh due to the spiritual pressure of all living beings, any non-magical object will simply be cut due to the nature of my being..."
Kerig nodded, and hundreds of shining blades dropped down , slicing the mountain into as many pieces as there are blades ((+1 for you math freaks)) vertically.
"I wish I could get ideas such as these more often..." Kerig said, turning around as the very same blades slice the mountain horizontally.

The mountain didn't move through the entire process, so it seemed like the blades simply passed through the mountain like ghosts twice, so some people were actualy surprised when they started moving pieces of the mountain and they 'came off' in pretty shapes of blocks.
Kerig walked away, heading yet again for Kronos.
"Can't we go yet?" Weloss asked him.
Kerig did not respond. He did, however, seem pleased with himself.

Posted by: Dude Man on Wednesday May 23rd, 2007

Duilin and the group arrived at the door of the king's room. //or whatever 'room' he's in. I don't know what the castle is like...\\

"Greetings, Sir Duilin." The guard greeted him, as the half demon approached him. "How may I help you and your friends?" He asked.

"We're here to see the king. Is it okay if we see him?"

"I will check, and see if it okay. One moment sir." The guard then entered the room, and saw the king and Draven talking. "My lord, Duilin requests to see you, shall I let him in?"

//Sorry, if that post seemed rather bland. I had a long tiring walk home, today...\\

Posted by: Xorlak on Wednesday May 23rd, 2007

(We'll work it out. Heh...)

The dragon simply took his spot at the rear, in the largest opening. There were plenty off off-shoots and sub rooms branched off the main cavern so that his two guests could settle in without so much as seeing the beast.

Draven and Henri were in the midst of an argument, Draven's finger's shoving into the old man's chest.

"... think about it, for a while," Draven closed with one of his smirks. He turned slightly and saw Duilin in the doorway. Keeping his expression, he simply flipped his cape and promptly left via the rear exit. The nobles sitting around the table seemed at a loss for words, and Henri was no exception. Finally the king took his place, a warm smile slowly replacing his wary frown, though not entirely.

"Yes, let him in. Duilin, good to see you've recovered. Please enter. What is on your mind?"

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Wednesday May 23rd, 2007

"Set sail! We make for Port Sarkanndis in the eastern coast of Dranniville." The men began to shove off from the dock. The ship's sails caught wind fast, and off it went, much faster than a regular galleon.

"Well, I'll be up here, stearing the ship if anyone needs me. If you want, there's a bar down under the deck. Oh, and Ven, you might want to have a look at this. It's a map of Ariosis, sout of the Dark Continent." Aaron took a small map out of his right shoulder pauldron and tossed it to Ven.

http://www.darkagegames.net/dalpedia/images/a/a0/Gaian_and_Ariosis.jpg

"The reason I'm heading to Dranniville first is because there's a secret hideout in the center of the island. If anything were to happen to my empire, my family would flee to the hideout in Dranniville. None know of it's location, and even if they find it, they have to have a key with them. It's a giant cave that's immune to magic and physical attacks, and there's a great big stone door with a circular hole in it. It's the key hole."

"So, I presume you have the key?" Justin began, "Can we see it?"

"Yes, there's another problem with that as well. The emperor cannot use the key. Only one of his royal guards may, which is where you all come into play. Down in the ship's bedroom area are a few crates full of elegant swords. They are very sharp to the touch, and when you strike an enemy with one, they either freeze, burn, or are paralized. Wielding one of these allows you to use the key. You are all welcome to have one."

Posted by: Jenia on Thursday May 24th, 2007

Indher escaoes into one of the larger 'rooms', which she begins carving her complex glyphs unto the floor.
She didn't seem to want to sleep, even though Elphos begged her to do so.

And since the master did not sleep, Elphos had to stay up as well, watching and observing...

Posted by: Dude Man on Thursday May 24th, 2007

"What in god's name..." Duilin muttered when he spotted Draven, he was nearly about to chase after him, but forced himself not to. He simply stepped into the room, and looked at the king.

"Greetings, King Henri. I just stopped by to thank you for taking care of Belle, while I was gone. She told me you were very kind to her." Duilin said, bowing his head. "That means a lot to me."

The others entered. "I suppose it wouldn't be too much to ask, that my friends here could stay here for the night. They have fought hard, and they have earned a good rest. Also, Ven has requested that I fill in for him, while he is on his trip to Ariosis, so if you need anything done, that he would normally do just ask."

Duilin stepped forward. "I'd also like to inform you, that Zeros' has gone missing. I'm sure he's fine, but I don't know exactly where he is, or why he chose to leave. So it's mainly just going to be, I'm afraid." He smiled and looked at the imp. "And Rink, I guess." He looked towards Henri again.

"Now, I also want to inform you, that I plan to defeat Emperor Retan, if I have to fight him alone or not. I believe in order for the Dark Empire to be overthrown and freedom to be restored to Gaian, Retan must be destroyed."

The others seemed rather surprised that Duilin was willing to fight Retan, alone. Belle and Rink thought it was brave, Lagart and Goldolf thought it was stupid.

"I of course will need your help in defeating the Dark Empire, as you will most likely need mine. I'm not saying I want to become a knight or anything, I'm more of a freelancer, you understand. But I'm no mercenary, so I don't ask for any money. I only ask for your help and the protection of my friends." He stopped for abit, trying to figure out why he ISN'T asking for money, but deep down he really didn't want any.

"Anyways, my friend Lagart here has told me a few things about the New Dark Empire. He told me of the High General Gorus Van'deln who is a lizard man, with the abilities of a Gepardi. He might be able to help you out some, since he recently left the Dark Empire. I'll warn you, his *English* isn't that great."

"And, might I also ask, what was Draven doing here?"

"Duilin..." Rink groaned in annoyance.

//By *english* I mean, whatever the language that just happens to be exactly like English is. (I'd suggest Basic(Star Wars rip), International, Terianian or maybe even Gaianian. I don't think English would make sense, since there is no England (unless we make one, heh)\\

Posted by: Xorlak on Friday May 25th, 2007

Ven nodded while giving the map a good glance over.

"Hmm, I've never used an enchanted blade before. I'll be sure to check one out."

He fought back a yawn. The general weariness built up from the past two days seemed to try to crush him all at once.

"Tomorrow, though. I'm going to get some sleep, if you don't mind."

"Hmm, yes," Henri replied, nodding his head, "we were just going to ask you if you could stay, actually. We certainly need all the help we can get. And of course, you and your freinds are welcome to stay here as long as you want."

He leaned his head back, trailing off a bit.

"There is much to discuss... but I am tired. We will resume this tomorrow. As for Draven..."

He looked back and forth at the nobles uncomfortably, many of whom returned the glance.

"... he just suggested that Tjed become the fist province of the new Crimson Empire..."

The nobles began murmuring again.

"There's no way we can do this without Lord Draven..." one said.

"That man is insane," came another.

Henri rubbed his temples. "He's given us 24 hours to decide. I have no idea what he plans if we refuse..."

(Chapter ends tomorrow.)

Posted by: D. Ein on Friday May 25th, 2007

"Kerig entered the main shelter just as I was admiring the smooth stump that was left of the mountain. All minions were now redirected to actually building rather than mining the rock.

-"Very nicely done, I must say. Though I did expect something with a bit more bang, if you know what I mean... After all, your friend there, as I gathered, is a spirit. His power should be... What's the word I'm looking for... more impressive?"

I circled the room, and returned to my seat. Just then, I got an idea.

-"Say, those blades of yours... could you perhaps make something like that, except maybe more clawlike? I was thinking a final favour... you'll help me build my palace."

Posted by: Dude Man on Friday May 25th, 2007

"What!?" Duilin was shocked to hear Draven had the nerve to suggest such a thing. "Okay, don't worry about him. If he tries anything I'll handle it."

"Duilin. I think King Henri, deserves to make his own decision." Rink informed.

"Yeah, but he should know that I'm here to protect them." Duilin looked at the king. "I shielded Draven's strongest attack, with the aid of my friends. As long as you have me and the others, Draven won't be able to hurt you. Draven's just a crazed man, who lost his Empire."

"Duilin, I think we should get to bed now." Rink suggested.

"Yeah, fine." Duilin replied.

"Goodnight King Henri." Rink said. He looked to the other nobles and nodded "Goodnight gentlemen." The group exited, Belle gave a friendly wave as she exited. Duilin was the last to leave.

"Don't let Draven push you guys around. He needs you more than you need him." Duilin said, giving his final words of the day to the king and the nobles. The group was guided to their rooms by the guard outside.

They came to a hallway with the guest rooms about it. They were reserved for the more honorable guests, equivalent in comfort as the bedrooms for the high ranked knights. Since these five people helped save the entire kingdom, they have earned the high quality of rooms.

"G'night folks." Goldolf said to the others as he entered his room. "Hopefully, I don't kick the bucket in my sleep. Heheh."

"See you in the morning, guys." Rink said, entering his room. He smiled at Duilin, before closing the door (which was much bigger than him). "Good work, today. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Rink." Duilin smiled.

"Good night Belle. You stay safe." Lagart said to his friend.

"I will, Lagart." Belle said back to the friendly lizard man. "Have a good sleep." Lagart nodded back and then entered his room. Belle went over to Duilin. "So, are we going to share a room?"

Duilin yawned. "Yeah, if you want. I'm pretty tired. The elixir didn't have much effect on me other than speeding up the healing of my wounds, it appears." Duilin opened the door to his room and sat on the bed and took of his boots.

"Is Rink okay? I've noticed he's had quite a worried look on his face, sometimes." Belle asked.

"Really? The little guy worries so much, I barely notice. I never asked him, to much about it. But he admitted to me, that it was because of my apparent anger problems."

"Well, I've noticed you get a little worked up over Draven..." Belle said. "I know you hate the guy, but is it that personal?"

"Not totally. It's just he didn't even care that the last nation free from the Dark Empire, was going to be destroyed because of his attack." Duilin untied the pouch of coins form the strap on the leg of his pants and placed it on the drawer next to the bed. "And then he has the nerve to show back up, and then act like he owns these people."

"Yeah, but he can't be all bad. Didn't you tell me he said that he needed to kill Jayce because he was a threat to the entire world? I think that does show, he does have some care for the lives of others."

"Oh he does value to lives of others, but he doesn't value them like a parent does his kids, but like a merchant does his money. He cares about them being alive, but he doesn't care about their feelings. He just wants to control everyone. That's why I hate him."

"Well, isn't there anything about him that you like?"

"Maybe his humorous obsession with fire, I suppose it does have the optional to solve everything." Duilin laughed. "But in all seriousness, I don't think so. I might be able to tolerate him, if he didn't think he was destined to be the king the world." He yawned and then lied down his bed.

"Well, if I may play devil's advocate, do you think you're destined to be the savior of the world?"

"Nope, that's Zeros'." Duilin joked. "But really, I don't think that I am at all. It's just I've realized, I have been gifted with the demon's ability to have a huge amount of magic power compared to normal humans. It's not like I think I am the 'savior of ultimate destiny', it's just with my power I have the responsibility to protect the world from creeps like Retan and Draven." He then yawned again and spread his wings across the bed and closed his eyes.

"With great power comes great responsibility." Belle said as if saying an over used line. "But, don't worry; I don't think you're full of your self or anything. I kind of like how strong minded you are. It's quite heroic. It's actually why..." She turned around and then saw Duilin, sleeping peacefully. She smiled and then sighed. "Oh"¦Goodnight Duilin..."

(That's my final post of the chapter...)

Posted by: Jenia on Friday May 25th, 2007

Kerig let out a laugh.
"A bang, you say?" he asked, still barely holding his laughter "He is a pure spirit who can barely leak his power into this world through the etherium he currently has! Those blades? Merely several needles he managed to grow out which I inflated with our pure power."

Kerig calmed down. A strange aura surrounded him, as if he had made a choice of some sorts, and was planning to stick to it.

"If you want impressive, you'll have to get us more souls. 'Course, we could get them ourselves on the battlefield... And about make these things claw-like? No problem, just note that while they can cut through steel, they can't move anything heavier than a cup of tea."

He looked directly into Kronos' eyes and gave a warm smile. And yet, within his eyes, lay a hint of determation...

Posted by: Drannic_Lord01 on Friday May 25th, 2007

"Hmm..." Aaron listened to the open sea. It didn't sound as calmly as it had when he traveled to Tjed. He made nothing of it, as the open water was always changing.

"Lord Aaron," one of the crewmen said, "shouldn't you be seeing to your cabin? Night draws nigh."

"No," he replied, "something tells me that I should stay up here. I don't know why, though."

"Probably one of those days that's just gotten to your head. You don't need to worry, though. We know what we're doing. You can just head off to your cabin and get some rest, my lord."

"As I recall it, I'm the one making the orders around here, not YOU! I'm the emperor! ME!"

"I-I'm s-sorr-ry, my lord! I just wanted to h-help! I s-swear!"

"Oh my... the night rises, and with it brings rise of the full moon. I'm sorry, lad. I'm beginning to change form, is all."

"Oh, right. That wolf... Well, I'll just head off to my bunk, then. G'night, lord Grey." With that, the whole crew decided to call it a night as well. The headed for the back of the ship. Al though Aaron began to transform, his mind would stay with him. However, he was right in hearing the sea differently. A water dragon had been tailing them since the boat passed around the Dark Continnent.

Posted by: Xorlak on Saturday May 26th, 2007

Ven found his cabin easily enough. Even the interior of the ship was highly ornamental, his room laced in fine carpeting and a landscape painting on the wall. Ven wondered how such a lavish country as Ariosis could need the help of a smaller nation like Tjed, but then again it was probably higher on the Dark Empire's list for that same reason. The knight sat down on the bed in the corner of the room, the wood creaking under his weight as he set his sword off to the side. Of course there was no reason to remove his heavy metal armor. Ven leaned back on the pillow and allowed himself to drift off.

To be continued...

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