Orlan

Aardvark, I believe you have won that argument!

Huzzah for Wyvie! Nice post ;P

Nice and straight forward, though the first stanza: Sounds a little akward. I've always been a fan of the ends of he Earth as a destination one goes "to" rather then someplace one strolls. Sands sounds like it modifies oceans instead of distant lands or the ends of the earth. You could add a few things here and there to tweak it a bit but not lose your rhyme. Something like But that's just me. Good Job overall.

Doom doom doom doom doom doom doom doom doom doom doom....

Orlan stood staring into the giraffe's eyes, wondering what he did to deserve this. He was Elder of the Pen, he had been there since the begining, the very creation of the Pen. He had cheered Ozy on and helped him think up names for it. Now, he was taking care of a giraffe. Something was not right here, but Orlan was never one to make a fuss, or get all uptight.....or really go overly excited about anything. He lived longer that way. The Sexy Elder held up his hand to the giraffe, his palm filled with fresh SuperMummy Giraffe Food, garaunteed to make your giraffe "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhnnnnnnnn stronger and healthier or I, The Great God and Pharaoh Nanotoknonnen, will give you no money back." The giraffe leaned down and took a bite of the food. Orlan meanwhile wondered about this Madame Quixotic, and not just because he had to get himself a rabies shot after she licked him, but rather because he was always unsure about people who told fotrunes and futures. Especially Rosemary.....I mean REALLY especially Rosemary. It's hard enough to have a romantic romp in the sack or hay or kitchen or shower or cloud or garden or other places with Tzimfemme when you have Rosemary following you around spouting about how doom will find it's way into your life. Doom....DOOOM!!!!! Though, Orlan thought, maybe this young chickadee will give better fortunes then Rosemary....and there's always fate-altering Tactical Nuclear Warhead that Orlan kept in his closet next to his triple locked and securitied lockbox that holds the only known picture of Tzimemme dressed. Speaking of Tzim, would she be looking for her fortune? Then Orlan remembered that there were new men to steal underwear from and he suddenly knew exactly where she was. "Meh," Orlan said, shrugging, "Not like I have anything else to do today." With that he turned on his heel and set off to sign up for a reading. Behind him the giraffe was looking for someplace to hurl.

Okies, just a little update this time and this time for a reason. I'm looking for some feedback on the scene with Donaxon and Ludia where he tells her what he knows. Was it believe able? Do you think a paladin would act like that? Is that what you would have done had it been you? Why do hot dogs come in packs of ten and hot dog buns in packs of eight? And so on and so on... Anyway, if you read it lemme know what you think. I go sleepy sleep now though.

Donaxon was not surprised when he was summoned to Avoil’s tent after he had escorted his former student, Vasia, and her companion, Kisean, back to the city. Donaxon was, in fact, looking forward to talking to Avoil. He needed to get some answers and an angry Avoil would be more susceptible to slip-ups. However, Donaxon was surprised when he arrived in Avoil’s tent to see him there with a smile across his face. “Captain Donaxon! Glad you could show up,” Avoil said. Donaxon immediately went on guard. He did not like the feel of things. Avoil had been acting weird lately but he had at least been predictable. Donaxon was certain that Avoil would be having a fit about what happened; yet right now he was acting cordial to Donaxon. “You had summoned me again?” Donaxon said softly. “Yes, yes,” Avoil said waving his hand for Donaxon to come closer to him. Donaxon obliged only a bit, taking a few more steps towards the ruler. Donaxon, using his own training, spread his chi out in the room where they were, looking for anything that could be considered a trap. He found nothing, but it did not ease his suspicions. Avoil must have sensed Donaxon’s unrest because he gave the monk a big smile. “Don’t worry, I’m not angry at you at all.” “You aren’t?” Donaxon said, a little more confused. Avoil shook his head. “Of course not, I only called you here to apologize,” Avoil said. “I did not mean to put you in such a compromising position. I know how a man of such strong convictions like yourself would feel about giving his word to people.” Donaxon did not feel the need to explain to Avoil that he created that position on purpose because something like that would have happened. “I accept your apology,” Donaxon said, bowing his head slightly. Avoil clapped his hands together, apparently pleased, and then waved Donaxon a little bit closer. Donaxon took another few steps toward Avoil, keeping himself as sharp as possible. “Now then,” Avoil said, talking in a more hushed tone. “I also called you here because I need your help in our next attack, for this time, it will be the last. I plan on going against the city in full force to capture back what was stolen from me.” “What was stolen?” Donaxon asked. Though his tone did not give it away, he was very interested in finding out the reasoning behind this siege. He had not met anyone who could give him a good reason for the siege. “An artifact of great power,” Avoil said in a low voice. Donaxon was only a few steps away from him and had to take another step in so he could hear. For some reason he could not hear Avoil’s voice, even when he used his chi to amplify the sound. “Something that belonged to me for most of my life, but that demon of a beast stole from me just recently.” Donaxon assumed he was speaking of Phaen. “If we made an assault on the city and are able to seize the artifact, then I know we can win. The artifact is a powerful weapon once it is back in my hands.” “And what is this artifact?” Donaxon asked. Avoil glanced around to make sure of something and then reached out his hand and placed it on Donaxon’s shoulder, pulling the big man down to whisper in his ear. “It’s called the Zarz’ah’t’zam,” Avoil whispered. Donaxon was certain that if he did not have his guards up at this moment he would have missed what happened. Donaxon suddenly felt sick to his stomach, and he felt very cold. He heard a voice in the back of his head, and it spoke slowly and softly. “Obey me…Obey me…” the voice said. Donaxon for a moment thought that he would do whatever the voice wished, regardless of his own personal safety. His chi then exploded from within him, shaking his insides. Though externally it looked as if nothing happened, inside, Donaxon gave a roar of power, drowning out the voice and any influence that it might have had. Donaxon knew the voice, he had heard a voice like that before, compelling him to do its bidding. He knew it was the voice of a demon. A demon that right now was staring him in the eyes. The Uri-Van were trained to resist all forms of control in their training. They were trained to be able to be their one and only master. To master this training a demon was summoned before the student and they were to resist the command of the foul beast. The demon that Donaxon had faced so many years ago had used the same tactic that was being applied now. Donaxon focused his mind and followed the voice back to its source, deep within Avoil. With the utmost care Donaxon dove into Avoil’s mind, looking for the source of the voice, and he found it almost instantly. A dark power was deep within him, using its control over him and anyone he touched. Donaxon did not linger long, for if he was discovered he would have to do battle with this demon. “You will retrieve it for me, won’t you?” Avoil asked in a soft voice. The voice was still flooding into Donaxon’s head telling him to obey, but he was ignoring it completely. Donaxon decided to play along. “Of course,” Donaxon replied. Avoil sat up immediately, removing his hand from Donaxon’s shoulder. The voice vanished and the demonic feeling quickly vanished from the room. “Excellent,” Avoil said. “Well then I shall let you go to your planning.” Donaxon did not risk saying anything more; he simply nodded his head and left the tent. Outside the tent he stood for a moment, letting out the deep breath that he had been holding. This was not a good turn of events. If Avoil was possessed by a demon, whatever the artifact he was after was also going to be demonic. Donaxon needed to alert someone to this, but it had to be someone he could trust. Ma’aten was immediately out of it as was Wreit. Both, Donaxon was sure, were under the demon’s control. He needed a mage; though, the only one he would trust would be Coania. Which meant he would have to tell Ludia. That thought did not sit right; still, he knew what had to be done. He did get something positive from the demon. In fact, he was able to get the greatest tool he could in order to battle a demon. He knew its name. * * * Ludia set her last piece of armor in its proper place on her armor stand. She had just spent the past few hours polishing her armor to a glorious shine, as she always did when she needed to think. What she saw earlier that night had unnerved her far more then it should have. She was always loyal to Lord Avoil, yet he was not acting like he should. She remembered with a deep fondness the way he had personally taught her to use a war mattock, his weapon of choice. He was always a kind man, with no temper and a soft smile eternally etched across his face. The Lord Avoil she had seen last night was not the same one that she knew. He was vicious, and the smile had long gone. He was not the same. Ludia repeated that over and over to herself as she stood up and undid the belt that kept her underclothes against her body. She heard the rustle of the tent flaps a little too late for she had her clothes nearly over her head. She spun on her heel and brought her clothes to the front of her body, trying to shield what she could. “We need to talk, now,” Donaxon said. He stood just inside the flaps of her tent, and was staring directly at her, his face a mask of seriousness. Ludia was outraged at this intrusion. She gave the monk an indignant look. “What, in the name of the Goddess, do you think you are doing?! Get out!” She desperately wished she had something to throw at the big man. The only thing she had was her underclothes, and she was not about to throw those at him. “I said we need to talk,” Donaxon repeated. His voice carried the same serious tone that Ludia also saw in his face, but Ludia could not get past the fact that he had just barged into her tent when she had been changing. “We can talk another day when I have my clothes on you brute!” Ludia screamed. “How dare you come in here and see me like this!” Donaxon looked her up and down once, appearing to not be that interested in the fact that she was naked. “When I saved your life from the fire you were naked,” Donaxon said in a flat tone. His expression did not change to include the irritating smile that Donaxon usually wore. The logic of his words, and the fact that Donaxon did not look like he was playing around struck her hard, though she was still mad at him for barging. In. “Turn around, then!” she yelled at him. He turned without a word and Ludia quickly put her clothes back on, making the belt a little too tight. “Alright then, what is so important that you need to peep on me when I’m changing?” Donaxon turned back and looked her straight in the eyes. “Avoil is possessed by a demon,” he said bluntly. Ludia did not know how to respond to this. The utter lunacy of the sentence was only outweighed by the fact that Donaxon seemed to believe it wholeheartedly. Ludia knew immediately that this was a lie. “Of course he’s not,” she said. “You seem certain,” Donaxon noted. “If there was a demon within ten miles of me I would know about it,” Ludia said confidently. It was true though, if there was even so much of an imp anywhere near her she would be able to sense it. Any competent Paladin would. “Then how do you explain this?” Donaxon asked. He was suddenly standing right in front of her and reached out his hand, placing it on her shoulder. Ludia felt sick to her stomach and a chill ran down her back. She found herself feeling a dark power all around her, its stench unmistakable. This was the power of a demon. Ludia felt another power, a power she knew very well. “No!” Ludia cried out, bringing her arms up and knocking Donaxon’s hand away. The chill and sick feeling went away and she found herself back in her tent, shaking. “That was what I felt from Avoil,” Donaxon said. “You lie!” Ludia yelled, taking a step back. “You know that you felt Avoil in there as well?” Donaxon said, a challenge in his voice. “I felt a demon and I felt Avoil but that doesn’t mean that he’s possessed. How do I know that you are not the demon?” Ludia said, sending her own challenge back out at him. It was true that she felt Avoil in that darkness, yet that did not mean anything for sure. “Strike me down,” Donaxon said. “What?” Ludia said, staring hard at him for a moment. “If I am a demon, strike me with your holy power. I know Paladins excel at the exorcizing of demons, and I know you have more power than any paladin in this camp. If you believe me to be the demon, then strike me down. Yet if I live, then I could be telling you the truth.” Ludia knew what he said was true, if he was a demon, then smiting him with the holy power of Faowind would obliterate him. But if he was a demon, why would he give her that chance? Did he think that she would not take the challenge? Donaxon must be a demon, she thought, and this was just a bluff. He was unhurt after he came out of the Demon’s Fire; only a demon could do that. Lord Avoil was not the demon, it was Donaxon. Ludia decided to call his bluff. She stretched out her arm putting her palm right in front of his face. His eyes stared back at her from between her fingers but she paid them no heed, she simply closed her eyes and sent out her prayer to Faowind. Surely the Goddess of Faith and Mercy would answer her call and blast this demon into nothingness. She would destroy this demon before her. “No.” Ludia was struck frozen. Faowind’s voice carried a level of finality far beyond that of a mortal woman. Ludia felt empty all of a sudden: empty and ill. “But Mother Faowind…!” Ludia sent out her prayer. “The power you asked for shall not be used on a mortal being,” Faowind’s voice sounded in her head. Ludia could not believe it, and for a moment she would not, but she could not disbelieve the words of her Goddess. Her Goddess was the absolute in her life, an eternal stone in the sea of her existence. Yet Ludia knew that the Goddess was only reaffirming what she knew deep down. Donaxon, regardless of how he irritated her, was not a demon. “I take it you’ve found an answer?” Donaxon said. Ludia opened her eyes and stared at him hard. His eyes had lost some of their edge, and they seemed softer to her. She realized he knew what had just happened, and that he pitied her. She did not need his pity right now. Right now she needed answers. “You are not a demon,” Ludia said, her voice quavering. Her hand fell limply to her side. “But neither is Lord Avoil!” she shouted before he could say another word. Donaxon stared hard at her for a moment. She felt as if there was a great weight on her shoulders right now, and it was confounding all of her senses. “Regardless of what you think, I am not telling you this to confuse or hurt you.” Donaxon began. “I need Coania’s help to stop whatever the demon inside of Avoil was doing. Coania is able to make her own decisions, but I know you care deeply for the girl and wish no harm to come to her. I promise you now that none shall. In ten hours I shall return here. If you wish to help, I will welcome your wisdom and skill. If you wish nothing of it, I shall not trouble you again, but if something is going to be done we need to do it soon.” Donaxon sighed for the first time Ludia watched the monk’s emotions show on his face. He looked pained. “I do not envy the soul searching you will have to do tonight, yet soul searching is all any of us can do right now.” Donaxon turned and walked out of the tent. Ludia stood there, staring off after him. She did not know what to think or how to feel. Nothing was right. Everything was skewed. There was only one thing that Ludia knew for certain. Right now, abandoned by her Goddess and possibly the pawn of a demon, she had never felt more alone. * * * Donaxon was not feeling very pleased with himself as he walked out of Ludia’s tent. Right now he was sure that she was awash in a river or emotions. He felt sorry for her, but he could not help decide this for her, nor could anyone else. This was a decision she needed to make on her own. Donaxon felt the shadow on his heels; it was a presence he had felt before. The steps quickened for a moment and an older soldier was walking beside Donaxon, keeping fluid pace with him with the only sound being his steps. The armor that should be clinking together and making a riot of noise was silent. Donaxon glanced to his side once to make sure this was the same assassin that had broken up the fight he had with Kisean many days ago. “Your armor seems to be lacking noise,” Donaxon said softly and giving not indication that he was talking to the soldier. “Loud armor attracts attention by all, silent armor attracts attention from only a few,” the man replied. “Your name?” “Litlo. I work for Vasia.” “You have impeccable timing, I need you to tell Vasia something for me.” Donaxon stopped and bent down as if he was inspecting the ground. “Of course,” Litlo said, stooping down and acting as if he too was interested in the ground. “Tell her in ten hours we need to meet someplace free from prying eyes and ears,” Donaxon said. “Your numbers?” Donaxon thought for a moment. He decided to put his faith in her. “Three,” Donaxon said. Litlo nodded and then spun on his heel and took off further into the camp, his armor now rattling as he walked. Donaxon stood as well, this time heading off to find Coania. * * * Coania sat for a long moment, staring at the knapsack she had just packed with a few choice spell books. Donaxon had told her that he trusted the lady named Vasia who Coania had helped the previous night, but also that the mage needed to be prepared for anything during this meeting. Coania was a little scared at everything that Donaxon had thrown out at her ten hours ago. He found her reading about the trap spell that was used to catch Vasia and Kisean earlier that night. Donaxon had seen her break the spell that held the two immobile and told her that she had a lot of power to be able to break the spell without even knowing what it was. Coania had been scared that he was coming to punish her for going against the orders Avoil had put down. She apologized to Donaxon and said she just did not want to see anyone get hurt. Donaxon laughed and reminded her that he was the one who threatened Avoil’s entire army, and the last thing the monk wanted to do was punish Coania for something he would have done anyway. It was after that when Donaxon explained to her about the demon inside of Avoil. Coania could not believe it at first, since it did not make any sense. She did not know how Avoil could have been possessed by a demon and not have anyone know. After Donaxon showed her what he had felt she felt more inclined to believe him, yet she was still uncertain about it all. Unfortunately, she was unable to verify his claim, without exposing herself. She would have to assault Avoil’s mind to see if he was possessed by a demon or not. The problem was that if she assaulted his mind and there was a demon, the demon would be alerted to her presence. If that happened she would not be allowed to live. On the other hand, if there was no demon in Avoil then what Coania was planning on doing would be considered treason and her family would be the ones to suffer because of it. In the end she decided to trust Donaxon. Though she had only known him for a short time, he had shown Coania more respect then most everyone else she had ever met. Donaxon did not care what her social status was, or if she was good at magic. He treated her with a great deal of respect. She decided she trusted Donaxon nearly as much as she did Ludia. Ludia was the other thing he told her about. Coania stood up and slung her knapsack over her shoulder and started off to Ludia’s tent. Donaxon had said he told Ludia about Avoil, and that she did not take it very well. Coania knew Ludia well enough to know that the paladin was very confused right now. She had always been loyal to Avoil, and even more so to her Goddess, Faowind. From what Donaxon had described Ludia had tried and failed to use the Goddess’s power on Donaxon. Coania did not even want to imagine what it would be like to try and fail to use magic. She was scared that Ludia would not be the same. She made good time across the camp and was at Ludia’s tent before she realized it. Donaxon stood there. The sun had risen and, though she thought it was a trick of the light, Donaxon seemed to be surrounded by a glow. He looked down on Coania with a serious look painted across his face. After a moment he turned and looked back at the tent. Coania did the same. “I did say that you didn't have to come with me on this,” Donaxon said. “You also made it sound like you didn’t give me a choice in the matter,” Coania said. Donaxon looked down on her with a little smile. “I know,” he said, “I do that a lot.” Coania flashed him a little smile. Donaxon tuned back and his face became serious again. “I hope she makes the right decision,” he said under his breath. Coania was sure she was meant to hear that. Donaxon reached forward and pulled back the flap to the tent to let Coania in. Donaxon was step behind her as they entered the tent. Coania’s heart leapt when she saw what was inside. Ludia stood in the middle of her tent donned in on her full armor. The armor was burnished to an unbelievable shine, almost mirror-like. It was as if she had spent the last ten hours polishing it, and Coania was sure that she had. Her hair was braided into a single braid that fell over her shoulder and breastplate. She had her Bless Blade strapped to her side and she wore a vibrant blue cape. She was, in all her glory, the strongest paladin in all Zolan. “I take it you believe me?” Donaxon asked. “No,” Ludia said flatly. “I believe in myself.” “Even better,” Donaxon said. They began talking about something but Coania could not find herself able to focus on it since she was certain that there was something else in the tent. She reached out with her magic to see if she could find where the source of it was coming from. She found it after a few moments, on the other side of the tent. She lashed out with her own magic, illuminating the outline of a person in a soft green. She knew that Ludia would not be able to see the light, but from Donaxon’s reaction, he saw the light. “Who are you?” Coania asked, readying her magic on the edges of the outline. Ludia spun around and drew out her Bless Blade, pointing it in the direction that Coania was looking. “I am your escort,” came a voice. The outline of someone slowly became more solid, and soon Coania was staring into the golden eyes of an older man. The old man wore some ancient robes and had a long grey beard. His staff was unlike anything that Coania had ever seen before. It was every color, but also no color. Coania then saw that the man himself was also a light shade of grey. He was not actually here. “Spirit walk,” she breathed. The old man smiled at her and nodded his head. “First you find me with no trouble at all, then you get me to show myself, and at the business end of your spells, and then you even know the high level spell I’m using. I’m surprised we haven’t had more problems from you, young miss. I don’t know how long the sorcerers of Agregra would be able to stand against someone of your caliber.” The old man’s voice was soft but powerful. Coania instantly became embarrassed from the praise and could feel herself turning a deep shade of scarlet. “I…I didn’t…I mean I just read a lot of books…” Coania stammered, her heartbeat loud in her ears and the magic she had prepared fell away into nothingness. The old man continued to smile at her. “If you’re our escort, where are we going?” Donaxon asked. “To my home, deep below the city,” the old man replied without looking at Donaxon. “How?” Donaxon asked. “You should ask this little lady right here,” the old man said pointing his staff at Coania. “She should know.” “Coania?” Donaxon said, turning towards the mage. Coania was embarrassed, but she knew the answer already. “If he can spirit walk, then he can gate us there,” she said, looking suddenly at some extremely interesting speck on the ground. The old man chuckled. “I can indeed,” he said. Light flashed everywhere. * * * Jiklan followed Coania to Ludia’s tent. He did not care for the pathetic little girl who claimed to be a mage. She knew nothing of how real mages should act. That and she was always helping that idiotic Donaxon. Jiklan felt something happen from within Ludia’s tent and then rushed in. He saw a flash of light but then there was no one in there. Jiklan waited a moment, thinking, before he decided to go report this to Ma’aten. Something was going on in here.

...baby don't hurt me....don't hurt me....no more.

Changing Tense in a novel is trickey....not to mention it's confusing. I think Wyv means that these first few parts are the retrospective musings of the retiring assassin. and that the story is still going to be in past tense. And if that is right, I think it's going wonderfully. Yui had said you might want to put more emotion in, though I think it's good as it is. The story is called An Assassin's Retirement, which makes one think it's going to be her looking back on her life...and if that's so, chances are she's become extremely emotionless (or has just learned to deal with it all.) We even see that in the begining with how she acts in the third installment. Hard to look back on a life with emotion if you've lost all of them. Emotionless people make the best assassins. The only thing I saw was "the sun casted" or something like that in the first post. I thought the past tense of "cast" was just "cast" though I dunno for sure Good story. Make more. Assassins rule.

mmmm....mindless reading.... Always a good reason to read. mmmmm...Honda Tohru....

Ludia awoke with a start. Her hands immediately started patting all over her body to get rid of the flames that burned her body. It took her a moment to realize that she was not on fire, and that she was not where she used to be. A look around told her that she was in her own tent, which confused her. The last thing she remembered was the demon dropping a ball of fire on her, and then the pain of her entire body burning had blinded her. By all accounts, she should be dead. The aches that ran through her body told her that she was indeed still alive. She became woozy for a moment and then shook it off. Her body was sore all over; it even hurt to breath. She looked down on her hands. The skin was scarred lightly here and there but it was not as bad as it should have been. She put her hand to her chest and found that her entire torso was wrapped in bandages. She then checked the rest of her body and her arms and legs were also wrapped in bandages. The bandages felt cool and soothing next to her skin. She raised her hands and touched them to her face carefully, a little afraid of what she would find. Her face felt the same, which was good. She reached under her cot and grabbed a mirror that she knew was always there and raised it to face herself. Her face seemed the same, maybe even better then before. She was shocked to see that she looked a little younger then before. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders, as full and rich as ever. Unfortunately this only confused her more. A soft sigh and some movement caught her attention. She turned and looked down to the side of the cot and saw Coania sleeping there. The mage was curled up in a tight ball, goose bumps on her arms giving away how cold she was. Her glasses were askew on her face, as if she had fallen asleep with them on. She was sighing softly with each breath. Ludia leaned over and placed a hand on Coania’s shoulder. “Coania…” she said with a gentle shake. The mage made no response for a moment, but then began to blink herself awake. Coania turned and looked up at Ludia, squinting her eyes as if she was unsure of what was happening. “Ludia?” she said in a confused little voice. It seemed as if everything suddenly dawned on her and she immediately shot up and leapt at Ludia, wrapping her arms around the paladin and immediately sobbing into her chest. “Oh Ludia! You’re all right! You’re alive! He kept saying that you’d wake up but it kept getting later and later and I was beginning to lose hope but it’s true! You’re alive!” Ludia did not react at first; the barrage of emotion from Coania caught her completely off guard. She then resolved to return the hug, rubbing the girl on the back. Coania kept talking rapidly but things became muffled and unintelligible as the girl began sobbing more and more. Ludia decided if she wanted to get any information on what happened she needed to get Coania to become more coherent. “Coania,” Ludia said. The mage made no indication that she heard her. “Coania!” Ludia shouted. This time Coania looked up at her. Her face was beet red from all the crying and her eyes were filled with tears. “Coania I need you to get a hold of yourself for a moment. I need to find out what happened.” Coania sniffled and stared back confused before letting go of Ludia and sitting back onto her heels. Ludia found that she was a little saddened that she was no longer being hugged. “Now, what happened to the demon?” Ludia asked the first question that came to her mind. “It was defeated by the city of Agregra,” Coania said. Ludia’s eyes went wide. “How much damage did it end up doing to the city?” “None, they defeated it before it could attack.” “How?” Ludia asked with a dropped jaw. “I can really say, I only caught a glimpse of it since we were rushing you to your tent but it looked like it became trapped in a prison of magic that just kept collapsing upon itself until it was destroyed.” Coania sniffled once and wiped her eyes and nose on her sleeve. “Alright, maybe I can ask someone else later,” Ludia said. She made a note to ask her other mages later and see what they know about what happened. “Now, what happened to me? The last thing I remembered was the ball of fire landing on me, and then everything blacked out.” Coania suddenly became silent and bowed her head down, sniffling even louder. “Coania?” “It’s my fault,” the mage said, the oncoming tears no longer of happiness. “I tried to stop the ball from falling on you but it cut through my magic shield like it was a cobweb. It’s all because I wasn’t strong enough that you were injured.” That was as far as she was able to get since she started crying once again. Ludia felt sorry for the girl, she was obviously being hasher on herself then she should have been. Ludia slid off of the cot onto the ground next to Coania. She put an arm around the crying girl’s shoulder. “I’m sure it’s not your fault, Coania,” Ludia said in a soothing voice. “A demon’s power is far beyond that of the normal individual. It was not your fault that I was hurt, it was all my own. Only I can make the decision of what I do, and I accept the responsibility.” Coania’s sniffling subsided a little bit as she lifted her head to look at Ludia. The paladin felt a great deal of pity for the mage. She was meek when it came to fully using her powers. This failure when she tried to use all her powers might shy her away from ever using them at full power again. “Now, I need to know what happened after the ball of fire hit me.” Coania wiped away her tears again. “Captain Donaxon saved you,” Coania said. Ludia had trouble swallowing for a moment. At first she refused to believe that Donaxon had saved her; she had accused him of being a fraud and a liar earlier. She did admit that someone had to have saved her, and she had to find out whom. “How?” Ludia asked. “When the fire hit I heard your screams and started to run into the fire to try and help you.” Ludia resisted the urge to chide the girl for doing something so stupid. “Before I could get there Captain Donaxon was next to me and he swatted me back. I then watched him disappear in an instant into the flames. A moment later the flames exploded upward and vanished. Donaxon stood there holding you in his arms. Your body was badly burned and both your clothes and your hair had been incinerated. He looked from you to the demon for a moment and then swore a little and turned back to me. He told me we needed to get you to your tent immediately.” “Was Donaxon hurt?” Ludia interjected. Coania shook her head. “No, he seemed fine. We got you back to your tent and Captain Donaxon got some sort of liquid from his tent. He had me dip bandages in them and then wrapped your entire body in them, from head to toe. He then had me start to try and heal you. I did what he told me but I could not fix the damage done to you by what Captain Donaxon called ‘death fire.’” Ludia resisted the gasp that formed in her throat. Death fire should have instantly destroyed them both. “He told me it was all right, that I just needed to start the healing process. The he put his hand over your heart and closed his eyes. I couldn’t feel or see anything but a moment later the opened his eyes back up and said you’d recover. He told us to have a mage by your side at all times, and Rolien, Maya, Helm, Ailee and myself took turns watching over you.” Ludia recognized the list of names as the mages that were assigned to her archaeon. “You said I was burned badly and my hair was gone?” Ludia asked. Coania nodded. “Why do I look like this?” she asked, touching her full head of hair. “Captain Donaxon returned a few days later and removed the bandages over your head and hands. When he did the burns were gone, your face was clean and your hair had begun to grow back. Since then your hair grew a few inches each day until it became as long as it had been. But, you still would not wake.” “How long have I been out?” Ludia asked. “About ten days,” Coania said. Ludia gawked at Coania. “Ten days?” Ludia repeated. “Captain Donaxon said the liquid he dipped your bandages in would help reconstruct your body but it would take all your energy to do it so you would not wake up for a while, but I was scared after you were out for a week. I didn’t know if you were going to wake up at all, regardless of the fact that you were looking better each day.” Coania had to stop for a moment since she began tearing up again. Ludia slid off of her knees and her backside landed on the floor with a plop. The only reason she did not fall completely over was that she was able to get her hand under her to steady her. She could not believe that she had been asleep for the past ten days. An entire week and a half was gone. An immediate worry came over her. “Who’s been leading my archaeon?” Ludia asked Coania. “R’Tearin has been in command, but Captain Donaxon requested that the archaeon be put on hiatus until you were able to lead it into battle again. I think Lord Avoil agreed to it since we have not been called up for any of the battles lately.” Ludia did not know what to make of Donaxon right now. She was torn between anger at his presumptuous attitude about running her archaeon and gratitude that he did not let anyone else lead her archaeon into battle. R’Tearin was a great soldier but she was very selfish about her archaeon. “How many battles have there been?” Ludia pressed from Coania. “A fair bit, Lord Avoil has been ordering more and more lately,” Coania said. “We mages are getting used often and the wear is starting to show on us all.” Ludia needed to get better answers, but she did not know where to get them. Coania cared little for the upper politics of it all. Ludia needed to know from someone involved, but only one person came to mind. “Where’s Donaxon now?” Ludia asked suddenly. “He went to see Lord Avoil,” Coania replied. Ludia helped herself to he feet with some serious effort. Coania stood up to help her stand. “Get me some clothes I can pull over these bandages, I want to go see Donaxon,” Ludia said. * * * Donaxon stopped when he heard the voice on the other side of the tent flap. He was a little surprised to find no one guarding Avoil’s tent tonight, but Avoil had been acting differently lately. The voice proved it since it was Avoil’s, agitated and erratic. Donaxon could not make out some mumblings, but he did distinctly hear one thing. “If he thinks he’ll keep me from it, he’s a fool,” Avoil said loudly. Donaxon was leaning forward more to try and get a better listen when a Wreit came up behind him. Donaxon was not surprised at the appearance. “Captain Donaxon?” Wreit asked. Donaxon turned and smiled down on the advisor. “You were looking for me?” Donaxon said. He had come to Avoil’s tent in response to a summons that Wreit had put out. He was working on Ludia when the runner found him. Coania was already out when he had gotten to the tent and he did not think she needed to be woken up from her slumber. “Ah yes, I had gone to your tent to see if I could find you,” Wreit said. “I was at Captain Ludia’s tent,” Donaxon replied. Wreit’s eyes gave away his amazement. He obviously thought that Donaxon did not care about what happened to Ludia. People underestimated Donaxon and great deal of the time. “Ah,” Wreit said, a little lost for words right then. He finally was able to get his act back together after a moment. “Yes, Lord Avoil had requested your appearance, follow me.” Wreit opened up the tent flap and walked in with Donaxon a step behind him. Donaxon waited in the same place he was forced to wait when he first met Avoil as Wreit went in to announce Donaxon. A moment later his voice called to Donaxon. “Come, Captain Donaxon.” Donaxon was only mildly surprised at what he saw when he entered the larger meeting part of the tent. Avoil looked as disheveled as he had sounded a moment earlier. Though it was hard to notice for the average person it was painfully obvious to Donaxon that Avoil was not in good shape. The once proud lord was now hunched over in his chair. His hair was a little more unkempt and his goatee was no longer so nearly trimmed. The dark circles that were beginning to form under his eyes hinted that the lord was starting to struggle with bouts of insomnia. Even as Donaxon shifted his eyes through the spectrums he saw much the same thing. “Ah Captain Donaxon, just the man I wanted to see,” Avoil said. Though his body seemed to be at the edge of faltering, his voice was crisp and clear as always. “I need a favor from you.” “Ask away,” Donaxon said. He did not think that omitting the titles would be that bad. He was right, neither Avoil nor Wreit said anything. This gave Donaxon another indication of how preoccupied both of them were: Wreit with Avoil’s health and Avoil with something completely different. “This fighting has gone on with enough problems for both sides,” Avoil began. “We need to see if we can come to a compromise, yet I don’t see anyway to do this face to face with Phaen. He and I share an old, old animosity. I think we could do more good if we had mediators, someone we could talk to that would find the best solution to our problem.” “You’re going to ask the queen for help then?” Donaxon asked, a little surprised at the thought. “No, no,” Avoil said, waving his hand off with a little laugh. “The queen is just a girl, she would be of little help to us. I see no need to get her involved in this at all. Besides, if she gets involved you can be sure that she’ll have that Royal Sorceress of hers running both our houses in our stead. The last thing I want is to have to deal with Mellara.” Donaxon wondered about that remark. Mellara was reportedly one of the most tactile minds in the entire four kingdoms. If Avoil wanted a mediator he would find none better. “What I want is to offer Phaen to send forth a mediator of his own, and they will talk with our mediator to see if we would be able to come to some sort of agreement about this whole matter.” Avoil seemed pleased with his idea, which confused Donaxon because the monk thought it was utterly stupid. Why would he be offering this at this point, Donaxon wondered. Something did not add up. “And who would be your mediator?” Donaxon asked. “Ma’aten,” Avoil replied. Donaxon nearly choked when that came out. “Ma’aten?” Donaxon asked. “Yes, Ma’aten. He can effectively represent the entire House of Zolan in this,” Avoil said. Now Donaxon knew something was not right. Ma’aten did not even understand what the phrase “interests of others” meant. Something did not smell right and Donaxon decided to give himself a failsafe. “I don’t think that Phaen will be likely to give into your suggestion. I assume you want me to deliver this suggestion then?” Donaxon said. “That is right, we have learned that even though you work for me, they think highly of you for your noble actions when you fought their home guard leader, Kisean.” “Where did you learn this?” “From those we captured, of course,” Avoil said. And tortured, Donaxon put in silently. Something was definitely not right. “Of course, but how do I get them to trust me?” Donaxon asked, fishing for something. “I’m sure just your word would be enough,” Avoil said, a smile across his face. Avoil had erred exactly as Donaxon had wanted him. Donaxon responded with his own smile. “I will immediately carry out your orders, Lord Avoil.” * * * Lorathe pointed him out to Ciran as he was nearing the castle wall. Ciran immediately halted any arrows that had been nocked. Both Lorathe and Ciran knew that arrows would be a waste on this one. The big man took meaningful strides as he approached the wall where Lorathe and Ciran were. Ciran could see Lorathe gathering magic all around her, puffing up like a peacock to try and scare the big man. Ciran just wondered if it was all for a waste. If the man were not a mage he would not be able to see any of it. The big man stopped within speaking distance and looked up at Lorathe and Ciran. “Good day,” he said in a calm voice. “The same to you,” Ciran replied. “May I help you with something today?” Ciran figured being civil was the best choice. Every encounter with this man had been honorable so far; Ciran figured the man deserved the benefit of the doubt. “I bring news from Lord Avoil, Ruler of the House of Zolan,” he said. “As far as I know, no news from Avoil is good news,” Ciran said. To his surprise the big man grinned a bit at that joke. “True enough, yet this may be a rare occasion that proves that wrong. Lord Avoil requests that a mediator be sent out who will keep the interests of both houses in the highest regard. They will be welcomed to a mediation wherein both sides can find an ending to this siege.” Ciran wondered about this. He did not seem to understand why Avoil would go to the trouble of sieging Agregra if it could have been solved with a mediator in the first place. He still did not even know what the purpose of the siege even was. “You’ll understand if I seem less then enthused about proposing this to Lord Phaen,” Ciran said. The big man smiled and nodded, spreading his arms wide apart in a gesture of openness. “And that is why I have been ordered to guarantee the safety of those who heed this call,” the big man said. “Ordered? That sounds like he plans on using you.” “True again,” the big man said. His face looked up at Ciran and became very serious. Ciran got a chill down his back and fought hard to keep it from affecting his posture. “I swear that whomever steps from your gates with the intention of mediation will come to no harm so long as I am alive.” Ciran immediately knew that to be the truth. The big man had stopped short of killing Kisean, and had saved the lives of others in the same fashion. He seemed to never fight to the death, always preserving life in all the skirmishes he was a part of. Kisean had even said he would trust the man for a fair fight if they met again. Vasia had said to be wary of men like that, that they usually had other agendas at hand. Ciran pushed that thought aside, how could Vasia know if she had never even seen the man. Ciran decided to put faith in the big man. “I will rely that information to Lord Phaen,” Ciran said. “That is all I ask,” the big man said with a bow. With no other words he spun on his foot and started back towards the camp. When he was out of earshot Lorathe let go of the power around her and turned to Ciran with an amused look on her face. “Good job, genius, you didn’t even ask his name,” she said, shaking her head at the archer. Ciran opened his mouth to retort but was stopped short. She was right. “Damn…” Ciran said. * * * “Ridiculous!” Phaen roared, slamming his hand onto the table. “Avoil is an idiot to think that I would do something so moronic when it’s clear the battles have all been in our favor.” “They have not all been in our favor, my lord,” Ort said. “We have lost many men over the past week to their constant attacks.” “We have plenty more in the city to fill those ranks,” Phaen said. Kisean clenched his fist around his halberd. He had heard those words out of Phaen far too often lately. Something was wrong right now. This siege was having a horribly negative effect on Phaen. “But, my lord, maybe we should send out a mediator to see what Avoil wants?” Ort said. “I know what Avoil wants and he’ll never get it, I will refuse him until the end of time if I must.” Phaen’s voice was getting louder and he was spitting more when he yelled. “But-” Ort began. Phaen reached over and put his hand on the advisor’s arm. “No, Ort,” Phaen said, his voice again low and soothing. The change from the yelling a moment ago felt wrong with Kisean. Ort immediately bowed his head. “Of course, my lord,” Ort said, immediately cowed. Kisean spoke up. “I think Ort has a point, my lord,” Kisean said. Ciran, Grol and Lorathe all turned to him. Ciran agreed with him, Kisean saw it in the archer’s eyes. Lorathe was still torn, as was Grol. Phaen did not like to have his orders questioned and that was exactly what Kisean was doing. To all their surprises Phaen did not yell. “Fine,” he said standing up. “Then one of you go out and mediate with that idiot. Yet refuse everything he offers or when you return I will put you on the rack. Obviously there is some malcontention in the ranks if you feel we should go the coward’s way out and offer peace in a battle we are winning. Now go!” Phaen pointed to the door. Kisean wasted no time in leaving the room. The actions he had just seen were not that of any sane man. Something was not right with all of this, and Kisean needed to get answers. “Do you think it was worth it to bring down his anger on you, Kisean?” Lorathe asked. The four captains of the home guard walked down the hall in a diamond formation with Kisean in the lead and Ciran taking up the rear. The other three had to hurry to keep up with Kisean. “There is something wrong, and I intend to find out what that is,” Kisean said. “We need to get someone into Avoil’s camp and to see what all this is about.” “You need someone who knows what they’re doing then,” Grol said with a grunt. “Were are you going to find someone like that? Ort is the only person I can think of and he cowed up instantly.” “Not, Ort, someone better,” Kisean replied. “Who?” Lorathe asked. “Who?” Grol echoed. Kisean suddenly stopped and turned to Ciran. The leader of the home guard had a grin across his face as he looked at his old friend. Ciran laughed once and shook his head. “Vas,” Ciran said, supplying the name. “Vas,” Kisean said nodding. * * * Kisean waited at the side gate with Ciran and Lorathe. Kisean wore his bracers and they reflected the light from the full moon above them. They had sent an arrow to the camp, magically shot there with Ciran’s bow since a normal arrow would never make it, with instructions on when they would arrive. A response came back with a runner saying an escort would arrive at the scheduled time. Kisean’s halberd was laced between the back of his neck and his arms and he waited impatiently. He had donned a magical breastplate he was given by Phaen many years ago in response to his excellent service to the House of Rhalir. It was a good breastplate but was more for ornamental value then anything else. “You look highly intimidating,” Ciran noted. “I feel like an idiot,” Kisean grumbled. “I hate this thing.” “Your own damn fault,” Ciran reminded him. “Vasia only agreed to do this if you were there to protect her.” “I know, I know,” Kisean said. It had taken a lot of convincing to get Vasia to agree to this. She was not enthused about this plan, regardless of how much Kisean assured her she would be fine. It came down to two things in the end: Kisean was to guard her and she was to get an ear clip to Gluake. Ciran was more then happy to oblige her on both, much to Kisean’s chagrin. “Will the ear clips even reach out there?” Kisean asked Ciran. “That they will,” Gluake supplied the answer. Kisean grumbled silently. “Don’t fuss, it’s your idea, remember?” “Sometimes I wish I could forget but you all seem to want to jam it down my throat,” Kisean said. “Your mediator is here,” Lorathe interrupted the bickering. Kisean turned to see Vasia walking down the road, a short, thin man at her side. The man was inconsequential when Kisean saw what Vasia was wearing. Vasia was wrapped in a leather dress that dropped to her ankles with slits up the sides to her waist freeing her long, leather-wrapped legs. The top was a form-fitting bodice that seemed to lack fabric down the middle, showing off more skin then most women could even imagine showing. She had her hair tied up to keep it out of the way of the leather straps that were holding the bodice up around her neck. Kisean could not help but stare. “You still sure about this, Ma’am?” the man at Vasia’s side asked. “I’ll be fine, Litlo,” Vasia replied. She tapped the side of her leather boots that came up to mid thigh. “I have my daggers handy at all times. Besides,” she looked up at Kisean and flashed him a gorgeous smile. “I have the strongest man in the city as my own personal protector. I have nothing to worry about.” Kisen was frozen with his jaw open. Ciran smacked him on the back and gave him a big grin. “Lucky bastard,” he said. He removed his ear clip and walked over to Vasia. “Nice breasts,” he said taking his time to look over the ample cleavage that was shown off. “You like them?” Vasia said, posing with a little girl giggle. “They’re a bit cumbersome when fighting but I’ve learned to make due with them.” “But of course, Lady Leather,” Ciran said with a laugh. He handed her his ear clip and she snapped it to her ear. She then turned to Litlo at her side. “You know what to do should anything happen,” Vasia said. “Of course,” Litlo replied with a bow. Vasia turned and straightened herself and then strode with long strides over to Kisean. “I’m sure I’ll be the talk of their camp for a while after this,” Vasia said with a wink. Kisean thought that was the understatement of his lifetime. She was going to be the talk of everywhere forever after this. “Horses approach!” came the cry from the wall above them. Kisean spun his halberd off his shoulder and slammed the butt of it down on the cobblestone. Vasia stood next to him as the gate began to creak itself open. Kisean saw the horses as they came to a halt before the opening gate. There were only three horses and four people. None of them were the man that Kisean had fought with. He felt slightly disappointed for some reason. “I come as an escort from Lord Avoil,” said a beautiful woman in a paladin’s armor. Kisean recognized her as one of the leaders of the army, but she looked much different then she had when he had fought with her troops before. She seemed more vibrant. Her face looked flawless, which Kisean did not remember at all. “Who is going?” “We are,” Vasia spoke up, stepping forward to stand next to Kisean. The woman on the horse gave Vasia a wide-eyed once look over and then regained her composure. She turned to the young girl who was on the back of the horse with her. “Coania?” she asked the girl. The girl took a good look at Kisean and Vasia, adjusting her glasses. Kisean felt like he was being appraised by a gem buyer. “His bracers and halberd…and both their ear clips. Aside from that though she had nothing,” the girl called Coania said. “Well nothing magical anyway,” she said after she apparently realized what Vasia was wearing. A young man on one of the other horses pulled his up to the lead woman. Kisean saw a medal of Faowind around the man’s neck, and noticed the runes on the woman’s armor were of Faowind as well. The man said something quietly to her as he eyed Ciran. The woman turned and looked at Ciran, looking him over. Kisean heard the words “arrow fletching” and the woman’s eyes widened. “You have an amazing shot, my friend,” she said to Ciran. Kisean was confused but Ciran apparently knew what she was talking about. “All armor has the same shoulder joints,” Ciran replied. The woman simply nodded her head. She turned back to Kisean. “Shall we be off then?” the woman asked Kisean. Kisean offered his arm to Vasia and waited for her to take it before he started off, following the two women on their horse. The other two horses took up the rear. Kisean glanced back once to see Ciran nod to him as the gates closed. “You names?” the woman asked. “Kisean Astindwain,” Kisean said. “Vasia Stayblade,” Vasia said. “Yours?” “Ludia Baenwan.” * * * As Vasia was asked, she turned down every one of the proposals, though in all honesty she did not need to be told to do so. The man she was supposedly “mediating” with was some fat mage with more drool then brains. Vasia kept her eyes and ears open the entire time that she was in the big meeting tent though. There were guards everywhere, though Vasia had no idea if they were around for her protection or for enforcement. Avoil put himself on impressive airs, standing off to the side and not saying much. The puppet strings were obviously there though. The fat mage, Ma’aten, kept glancing over at Avoil when he thought Vasia was not paying attention. Vasia was though. Vasia was constantly paying attention. Ludia, who had escorted them to the tent, and Coania, the mage who was on the horse with Ludia, did not come in with them. Aside from the guards, Ma’aten and Avoil, it was just she and Kisean. Kisean stood by her, holding his halberd before him making himself look impressive. Vasia spent most of the conversation trying to subtly repeat the conversation so that Gluake was able to hear everything. She wanted the sorcerer to know what was going. In the end they wanted money, some of the territory the House of Rhalir ruled over and something else that Phaen possessed. What that was Vasia was unable to find out and she was sure that Ma’aten did not know exactly what was wanted either. Vasia felt a breath on the back of her neck that was Kisean’s signal for them to leave. Vasia agreed with Kisean’s signal. The mediation was going nowhere fast and Ma’aten was becoming more and more agitated with Vasia’s outright refusals. Vasia stood up, made an excuse that she would talk over the proposal with Phaen to see for certain if she was right in refusing the offers and then started out of the tent. When she stepped from the tent she found herself staring at a mob of soldiers, all of them armed. Kisean was a step behind her walking from the tent and when he came out he was suddenly a step in front of her, his halberd held ready. He took a few steps at the mob and they gave a little ground, but they were obviously not here as an escort. A moment later Avoil stepped from the tent with Ma’aten right behind him. “You had no intention of an sort of mediation, did you?” Vasia accused. Avoil snorted. “Of course not, and you’re a fool for even thinking so. No, you see, this is a good way to capture important people and show the rest of Agregra the tortures they’ll be put under if they don’t give up,” Avoil explained. “It figures,” Kisean muttered. Kisean wasted no time in his actions. He wrapped an arm around Vasia’s waist and launched himself at a set of soldiers, his halberd spinning rapidly in a circle. The soldiers in the way were all knocked a fair distance away as Kisean cleared the first line of soldiers. He took a few steps to start a beeline run at the city when Vasia realized it was too late. She tried to stop Kisean before he stepped on to the glowing magic circle but she was not fast enough. Magic flared up from the ground and formed a dome around the two. Kisean skidded to a stop and slammed his halberd into the dome, causing sparks to fly but nothing to break. Vasia’s body stiffened and then stopped moving. She had control over her head but the rest of her body would not move. “You seem to underestimate us,” Ma’aten said, laughing a fat little laugh. Vasia found that laugh to be irritating, though not as irritating as the predicament they were in now. Bowman surrounded them, giving the magic circle some berth. “I think you overestimate yourself, you fat pig,” Vasia said. Ma’aten’s face contorted in anger but Avoil held up a hand to silence the fat man. “Regardless of what happens, don’t fret,” Avoil said. “I have no intention of killing you for several days.” In response the bowman raised their aims at Vasia and Kisean. Vasia desperately wished she could draw her daggers. She did notice that their original escort was riding hard for the group. “Lord Avoil!” Ludia shouted. “What is this?” “None of your concern, Ludia,” Avoil said. “But My Lord we gave them our word and-” “And nothing,” Avoil shouted. “Do you dispute my orders Ludia?” Vasia glanced to her side to see Ludia struggling with the question. What caught Vasia’s attention was Coania on the back of the horse. She was staring intently at the magic circle and Vasia saw the girl’s lips moving. “Of course not,” Avoil answered the question for her. “Fire!” The bowmen all let loose their arrows. Vasia clenched up, channeling her chi into her arms and legs to see if she could free herself. As the bowman shot the magic shield vanished. Vasia suddenly was able to move again when she felt an explosion of chi shock the air all around her. Most of the arrows shattered and Vasia was able to deflect the last few that made their way through. “You!” Vasia heard Kisean’s voice from behind her. She spun around to see a beast of a man standing in front of Kisean, an arrow caught in his hand. Vasia’s jaw nearly dropped off of her chin. She knew this man. She had learned everything she knew about fighting from this man. “Jidan Axe!” Vasia shouted. The big man glanced behind him and Vasia saw that it was indeed her former master. He had not changed in looks since she had last seen him. He was built stronger then the city walls and nearly as high. He wore his black pants and black tunic making himself blend in with at least some of the night. Kisean glanced behind himself to look at Vasia. “You know him?” he asked, backing up a step to shield Vasia. “He’s the Uri-Van who taught me all I know,” Vasia said. “You mean he’s a master of the Uri-Van?” Kisean asked. Vasia nodded. “No wonder I lost.” “Donaxon! What do you think you’re doing?” Avoil shouted out. The aggression that was shown by the soldiers a moment ago now waned visibly. Obviously no one wanted to take on Jidan Axe. “You should be asking yourself the same question,” Donaxon replied. “Are you going to go against my orders?” Avoil said in a threatening manner. “Since they are conflicting order, yes. Yes I am,” the monk replied. “You told me to guarantee their safety and so I gave them my word. Do you intend to have me break my word?” This time is was the Jidan’s turn to threaten. “I told you to get them here, it was your own fault, whatever you did,” Avoil shouted back. “Regardless, I’m going to make sure they are kept safe,” Donaxon’s replied. The monk clenched his hand and the arrow snapped in two. He caught the front half of the arrow in his other hand and sliced the arrow down on his now free hand. Vasia’s mouth dropped and she gasped loudly. She knew what he was doing. A moment later he closed his bleeding hand and instantly a glowing axe appeared in it. The axe was blood red and pulsing with power. “Captain!” came a voice. Vasia watched some paladin wielding a large war hammer run up in front of Ludia and Coania. She watched him slam the hammer into the ground and then place his palms together just below his chest. The stance was the first thing Jidan Donaxon taught any Uri-Van student. It was a defensive stance that gathered one’s entire chi to form a shield around them. The shield was large enough to protect those immediately around them, and it could be strong enough to withstand most attacks if you were strong enough. “R’Tearin! What are you-” Ludia began. “Don’t move, Captain! At all!” R’Tearin shouted back. Vasia thought that was a good idea. “I hope your magic bracers are strong enough to protect us if my defense fails,” Vasia said to Kisean. She too took up the defensive stance and formed her shield, encompassing herself and Kisean. “What?” Kisean asked. Vasia was concentrating too much to respond. “It’s your choice, Avoil,” Donaxon said. “You can let them return to the city, or you can start losing soldiers.” Donaxon paused a moment to glance around. “And you will.” The soldiers took a big step back. Avoil stared at Donaxon for a long time before do anything. Vasia had no doubts that if Avoil did not give in, nobody would be left alive in the sieging army. Wreit whispered something into Avoil’s ear and the house lord’s face became irritated. “Stand down!” Avoil shouted. The soldiers did not need any more encouraging. A path parted immediately towards the city gates. Donaxon glanced at the path and then back to Avoil. His face was emotionless as he opened his hand and the axe disappeared. Vasia relaxed herself and slipped her arm in Kisean’s and started dragging him along with her. She heard Donaxon’s steps a moment later and then suddenly, he was walking next to her. “Something’s not right, Vasia,” he said. Vasia could feel him using his chi to keep his voice from being heard. From Kisean’s reaction then he had also heard. Vasia had enough faith in Kisean for him not to give it away. “I’ll be getting in contact with you once I find things out.” Donaxon glanced around for a moment. “Something just doesn’t smell right.” They arrived at the gates a moment later and Vasia turned to her former master and bowed down low. He returned the bow with a smile this time. It was good to see him smile since the only time he was angry was when things became destroyed. “It’s good to see you again, Jidan Axe,” Vasia said. The big man gave her a grin. “You as well,” he replied. He turned to Kisean and nodded at him. “How are the ribs?” “Better, yours?” Kisean replied. “Healed. We’ll have to do that again some time on our own terms.” “Definitely,” Donaxon said. He turned back to Vasia. The look in his eyes was easy enough for her to read. It quite plainly said, “be careful.” Vasia intended to do just that. * * *

I done caught up on it again, ayuk! Well done, it's getting good, and we all like good. Wyv - Good plot Wyvie, good plot. And WONDERFULLY integratted with the random encounter on the ship. Nothing says random encounter like an ADD Serpent distracted by shinies and fly-ies. Sometimes I think you could give a little more description of the world since it's your world, but you've gotten good at your GMing. Gyr & Yui - Gyr much better on the de-uber-fying. Gyrfalcon is now more believeable to be on thie journey. In the begining it was a little hard to really understand it. You slip into the "a little pathetic excuse" every once and a while on why something won't happen, but it's still integrated well. The reason I tossed Yui in here as well was for my one main complaint. Tim. I loved Ozy's character of Tim and I know that Ozy had to take a break so you two just wrote him in, but whenever you wrote him in you always made him the ass, or the jerk or the idiot or the pig.....or something like that. Rarely did you show him in a good light. Tim was not THAT fleshed out as a character in the begining but he was still done well enough were you could have added a little more to it. I think it's funny too that you two wrote the only human like that (at the time you were writing him he was "normal human"). It seems almost racist....not in the negative connotation...more like in the Gyr's a Half-Elf and Yui's an Avian....they both have special powers and abilities....but then there's the regular old human.....nothing too special, and you wrote him as if he was just some jerk. It's a interesting read if you look at it that way. Not bad...just interesting. And as for Yui, not bad, she still seems a little 1D for me, and that scene after they meet Elena where she goes logical seems a little out of place, but she's getting more believable as the story goes on. Gwai - Sweet merciful crap there was improvement in Myth from the old board to this board.....did you eat your Writing Wheaties Nah I kid, but I know you've fleshed out Myth in YOUR mind, and you've gotten better at fleshing her out in ours as well. My only suggestion would be to be more formal in writing. Her slang talking and whatnot is good, but actual actions I'd go for a more structured approach....but that's just me. Ozy - Woohoo, you're insane! And you're Spike! I'm interested more in Tim again! And really you haven't written enough for me to crtique yet Orlan - A wonderful job reading this whole thing, I know you have all sorts of work to do and what not, but you still give wonderful feedback and you're a credit to your entire species....which according to Annael is Male so that's a plus. And also, you're damn good looking. Yay, okay, now I go bed, keep up good work, make story go now!

Shaping up very nicely. Sort of an Oliver meets Matrix sort of thing....though Kaolin is not really Neo and you're lacking big musical numbers. Though music probably wouldn't work and if Kaolin says "I know Kung Fu" I'm outta here. Couple things I copied and pasted as I was reading: I'm an avid believe of it being for things non-human. You might want to swap that to thier instead. Don't think you need the bolded "as". "Tired Dreams" seems a little akward. Though honestly I can't think of anything you can put in there right now lol. Sorry about that. That looks like it got cut off....but that migh be the short term for it, if it is you might want to toss it in quotes. I just have the urge to open Nero and burn a CD when I see iso Which are the quartet? IS it Loki, Zee, Kao and Javick? Whatabout Khaelin....er however you spell it. Might want to toss some names in. Yay, that was about it. Great story, good characters, I'd say drop a little more description, you did WONDERFULLY with the High Mistress Mage lady, that is good description. In the begining I had everyone pegged for seven or eight years of age, so if you add any descriptions might want to drop some there so people know sooner that Eli is 17 and such. Good job on Zee's accent, but you might want to keep an eye on it. I can't do accents because I ALWAYS forget about it. I think Zee's slipped from time to time....thogh maybe that was someone else talking. Anyway, maybe just keep that at the back of your head. Good work, Good job, Make more.

And another chapter out. The last part of this felt a little off for me so I'll probably rewrite it in a few months when I look back on it, but aside from that I thought it was a good part showing off Ludia's skills and abilities, and also Ciran's. But get ready for next time I post because I will be showing you Donaxon at his most hardcore. And as always lemme know if there's anything you want to still see

NEVER!! I shall defeat the UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!! Or not.....whatever I'm cool with it. Word.

Ludia rode her horse into the midst of the battle. She had been ordered to try and take the opening in the wall that was made earlier that week and right now Ludia was fulfilling those orders. Five archaeons were now immersed in battle before the gaping hole in the outer wall of Agregra. They were met with heavy resistance from Agregra’s home guard. The wall was lined with magic users and Ludia had seen that a dozen of them were focusing their powers on simply maintaining a shield over the hole. Ludia was trying to find out a way to disable them. She was not too deep in her thoughts that she missed the Agregra soldier who leapt at her, his sword held ready. Ludia’s Bless Blade was already in her hand as she swatted away the attack giving the soldier a slice down his arm. Before she could follow up he was off again. That was how all these battles had been fought. The home guard soldiers would take a strike at one person after another, trying not to get caught up in a one-on-one fight for any long period of time. It was a strange battle plan, but it was so far effective. A ball of ice was lobbed from the walls at Ludia’s general direction. The paladin pulled back on her horse’s reins to stop her from moving and Ludia held her hand up at the ball of ice. She sent out a prayer to her goddess, Faowind, and was filled with a wonderful feeling of reverence when the goddess answered her prayer. Ludia released her power at the ice ball, halting it in midair. A moment later a fireball slammed into it, melting it into a tiny rain shower. Ludia glanced behind her and saw Rolien, one of the other mages in her archaeon, finish casting the fireball. A circle of six full-fledged paladins surrounded her mages at all times during battles. She had learned her lesson once with that. Another ball of ice soared through the air, this time meeting Coania’s magic that caused a shower of rain to fall on the fighting soldiers beneath the magic. Suddenly Ludia heard a single ring of a bell, the tone very well known to her. Paladins had the ability to ring a bell that only other paladins would be able to hear. This tone was a tone of alarm. Ludia pulled her horse away from the skirmish around her and surveyed the field, trying to locate where the bell was rang. She saw a ghost of an image of a large white bell hovering over one of her Paladins, Wyein. Ludia saw that Wyein stood next to the slaughtered corpse of her horse and that the paladin was currently in battle with some large beast that Ludia had never seen before. The beast looked like an enormous hunched over wolf. There was a huge hump on its back and it was missing patches of fur here and there. Ludia was sure that she saw missing patches of skin in some places as well. The beast was snapping its mighty dog-like maw at Wyein and the paladin was barely able to swat it away with her war mattock. Unfortunately she was not able to avoid being struck by the beast’s claw. The blow knocked Wyein senseless, slamming her hard into the ground. Ludia sent out the prayer immediately and Faowind answered in kind. The beast was struck by a wave of power that Ludia sent out causing the beast to be knocked off from Wyein and blown back a few feet. Almost instantly the thing caught on fire. This was not a good sign since the flames were white in color. The beast was demonic; otherwise the holy fire would not be burning it. Ludia had no time to do anything about this since another of the beasts knocked her from her horse. Ludia easily rolled away from the beast’s claw and got to her feet. The beast snapped at her and Ludia leaned into the attack with her Bless Blade held before her. When the blade came in contact with the beast it shone brightly, becoming engulfed in white-hot flame. The beast exploded into nothingness, tossing white fire everywhere. The fire fell upon Ludia but she was unaffected by the flames. “R’Tearin!” Ludia shouted out. R’Tearin was always close by and came whenever she would call him. Sure enough, a moment later he was beside her, his enormous war hammer was rather bloodied. “These things are demon-spawn! Guard me while I rid ourselves of them!” R’Tearin, loyal as always, gave a salute and then crouched before Ludia in a defensive position. Ludia stood straight up with her heels together and both hands grasping the hilt of her Bless Blade. The blade of the sword pointed up and she rested the blunt side of it against her forehead. She chanted the words of her prayer quietly but quickly. She knew when she left her body the demon-spawn would most likely set their attack on her. Regardless, she needed to do this. Her spirit left her body with the final word the prayer. She immediately felt a pull upwards and began floating upwards to the heavens. She looked down at her body, now vacant. She had been correct in assuming the demon-spawn would be after her, for two immediately altered their courses and headed right at R’Tearin. Ludia felt a great swell of pride as she watched R’Tearin rally up another half dozen paladins to him with a single battle cry. R’Tearin held off the first two beasts while five others surrounded Ludia’s body in a star formation. The sixth paladin ran into the formation and stood back to back with Ludia’s body, chanting a prayer. Ludia’s spirit soared higher and faster. The world around her started to blur into a bright light and for a moment it felt like she was floating in a sea of light. Then suddenly things came to an abrupt halt and Ludia stood before a beautiful woman with long golden hair. She sat upon a throne made out of pure light. Her face was warm, and homely. Ludia instantly felt at ease. “Mother Faowind…” Ludia began. The goddess held up her flawless hand. “I know why you are here, Gentle Ludia, and I grant your request.” Faowind smiled down onto Ludia and everything seemed right. Ludia felt power surging through her spirit, filling her to the brim. “May the faith keep you forever, my child.” Things started rushing around her once again. This time Ludia could feel her spirit being pulled back to her body. It felt like she was slapped back into her body and her eyes opened immediately. The paladins around her were holding off the attacks from a slew of beasts. Ludia immediately placed all the power she was granted into her Bless Blade. The blade exploded in light and a wave of white flame erupted from Ludia and spread out in every direction in a ring around her. While the white flame passed harmlessly through any human, friend or foe, it immediately disintegrated any of the demon-spawn around. This display of power also stopped the fighting for a moment as those in the battle were stunned by the show of power. Ludia heard the arrow too late to react, though. It struck her armor in the shoulder, where there joint was easily pierced through the single thin covering layer jamming itself into her shoulder. She fell with a yell and grasped her shoulder in pain. Her paladins reacted immediately. Two were over her, one of them with his hand on her forehead, easing away the pain, the other was inspecting the wound. “I’m fine!” Ludia said angrily, waving her free arm. “Just get me back onto my horse.” “No,” R’Tearin said. Ludia looked at him sharply. He looked like a stone pillar standing over her like he was. “What?” Ludia asked, outraged. “No,” R’Tearin repeated. “Captain,” he then added after a moment. “You’re wounded, and we don’t know how long those things will be gone for. Right now we’re retreating.” Without waiting for any response from Ludia, R’Tearin swung his war hammer at the air. Midway through his swing he struck something and then a loud bell rang. This tone was for retreating. * * * “They were demons,” Ciran said. “They looked, smelled, and died like demons. They were demons.” He and Lorathe stood before Lord Phaen and Ort, describing what had happened earlier that day when they repelled an attack. “They started attacking Avoil’s troops immediately, and then they started going after our troops as well.” “But they attacked Avoil’s troops first, correct?” Phaen said. Ciran looked at him and then glanced at Lorathe. The sorceress had the same confused look on her face. “Well, yes, but-” “Then there is nothing to worry about,” Phaen said, a note of finality in his voice. Ciran stared for a moment. He did not get why Phaen just shrugged this off. “But, My Lord, they were demons. It doesn’t matter if they attacked Avoil’s troops first.” “I told you not to worry about it, Ciran,” Phaen said, his ire becoming more apparent. Ciran stood there with his mouth half open. Why could Phaen not see the big issue here? Demons had appeared, for ill or good, and that cannot be allowed to happen. “But, My Lord!” Ciran protested. “Ciran! One more and you’ll find yourself relieved from your position, is that clear?” Phaen had jumped out of his chair, his eyes seemed very wild and for an instant, he seemed not himself, in face or voice. Ciran still did not understand what was going on, but he knew he did not want to be on Phaen’s bad side right now. He simply bowed and turned on his heel, heading for the door. After a moment he heard Lorathe’s footsteps following him. When they left the room and shut the door Ciran looked up at Lorathe, her eyes betrayed her confusion. “What was that?” Lorathe asked. Ciran shook his head. “I don’t know, but something is wrong.” Ciran hoped that was not an understatement. * * * The arrow had a spade head to it so while it hurt coming out, it tore nothing. R’Tearin had done the honors of removing the arrow while Coania was summoned to help heal the wound. Now, at the orders of Ludia, they all left her and Coania alone in Ludia’s tent. Coania’s hands were glowing as he held them over the wound. Ludia could feel the magic working on her as the wound began closing itself. After a minute Coania removed her hands. “It should be okay for now, though you’ll be a little stiff,” Coania said. She sat back on her heels and was silent for a moment. Ludia could tell the mage had something on her mind. “What were those, Ludia?” “Demon-spawn,” Ludia replied, disgusted at even the word. She grunted as she sat up in her cot. Coania made no attempt to stop her from moving. “Obviously the mages of House Rhalir have resorted to demon summoning.” Ludia, being as devoted to her goddess as she was, abhorred demons and the demon-spawn. They represented the antithesis of everything a Paladin believed in. Plus they smelled horrid, and Ludia liked things clean. “But, then why did the demon-spawn attack their own troops as well?” Coania asked. Ludia paused. She had not seen that happening, but then again she did not pause to think about that. She shook the thought off. They simply were not good at summoning demons properly. “Demon-spawn are cunning in their own right,” Ludia said. “And they take pleasure in the pain of others, regardless of who they are.” Coania looked unconvinced. Ludia would normally dismiss the small girl’s worries since Coania had a tendency to overreact yet something about how Coania was reacting now was different. In the end, Ludia decided to put some more faith in Coania’s opinion on this matter. “I’ll keep my eyes and ears open next time. Maybe something is happening.” Coania smiled up at Ludia. Ludia suddenly felt sick. She swayed side to side once and then leaned forward over her knees. She knew what this feeling was: an immense magical spell was being cast. Ludia was sensitive to the magics, and would become ill if some was used in her direct vicinity. She had trained herself to be able to ignore it in most cases since it was only a slight ache for most average spells. This magic sickness was one of the reasons she chose to become a Paladin. Holy power and magic were completely different, at least to her. Yet, with how sick she was right now, something massive was being cast. “What was that?” Ludia asked, putting a hand on Coania’s shoulder for support as she tried to stand. If Ludia had felt it, Coania most definitely felt it. “It’s summoning magic,” Coania said as she helped Ludia steady herself. “And it’s big.” Ludia felt queasy the moment she stood up, but the urgency of Coania’s voice let her push past the pain. Using her hand to push off of Coania she made her way outside of the tent, pausing only to pick up her treasured Bless Blade. Her armor would just take too long to put on so she went out in her under tunic and breeches. Outside the tent it became apparent where the disturbance was coming from. Hovering above the mage’s camp was a magic circle. It was glowing bright red and was slowly rotating. From Ludia’s tent she had a vantage point down onto the mage’s camp. Ludia was shocked to see that most of the mages of the entire army were down there. Directly below the magic circle was a ring of mages, all had their hands raised in the air and their eyes closed. Ludia felt sick with the amount of magic in the air but her training helped her through. “What are they summoning?” Ludia asked Coania. Ludia noticed that all the soldiers and workers around her were all gawking at the same thing. “I don’t know. It looks like an elemental but it’s somehow different then what I’m used to seeing.” Ludia looked over to see that Coania had her hand up to try and shield her eyes from the sun and get a better look at the circle. Suddenly the circle began rotating faster and faster. It became so fast that it blurred from a circle into a disc of red light, and then it started floating towards the ground. Ludia had learned enough from Coania to know that a magic circle of that caliber could only be a doorway, and as it floated towards the ground something was coming through that doorway. The shape became apparent after not too long. It was human shaped; yet it looked like it was going to be twice the height of the city walls. However, whatever was coming through the doorway was a being of fire since flames cracked and popped and flared up all over its body. “I think you’re right, that looks like an elemental,” Ludia said, glancing at Coania. When she looked at Coania though, the mage did not have a promising look on her face. Her hands were cupped over her face and here eyes were wide in horror. “Coania? Coania?!” Ludia put her hand on the girl’s shoulder. Coania gave a loud gasp. “That’s not an elemental,” Coania in a small voice. Ludia was suddenly aware of the golden glow that surrounded the mage’s glasses. “That’s a demon.” “What?” Ludia said. “It’s masquerading as a elemental, but it has the same magical aura of those demon-spawn from earlier, only more powerful.” “But shouldn’t someone down there be able to know that? And I thought you said it was an elemental summoning circle.” “I said it looked like one, but it was different, and I’m sure no one is looking at it through my perspective,” Coania said, turning to face Ludia. Ludia saw that the glow was not from the girl’s glasses but rather from her eyes. The paladin knew that chances were no one down there was able to see what Coania could see even if they tried. Sometimes Coania could surprise everyone. “Are you positive that it’s a demon?” Ludia asked. She was unsure of what to do. “I’m sure,” Coania said. “And that means that the demon summoned was unrestrained.” Ludia did not need to hear anymore than that. An unrestrained demon was unforgivable for its terror would be unimaginable. Ludia drew her Bless Blade and slashed at the air in front of her. The Bless Blade struck the bell she formed and it rang with several tones of alarm. With that she took off at a full run, aiming right for the magic circle. The disc continued to fall down, slowly getting closer to the ground. Ludia was rushing her way through the various gawking soldiers, shouting orders now and then to those she recognized. She had to try and get to Ma’aten to stop him from finishing the spell, but when she looked up again, she realized that it was too late. The disc made contact with the ground and everything shook, Ludia had to stop herself so she could remain on her own feet. The moment the circle hit the ground the demon came alive. It raised its claws of flame into the air and let out a painful roar. Ludia looked back down at the circle of mages, and from where she was she could make out Ma’aten chanting and moving his hands quickly. She set off in a run again aiming right at the fat mage. The demon held out one claw of fire before itself and opened it up. A ball of fire appeared and when the thing closed its claw the ball of fire became a staff of flame. One end of it became bloated and then the blade of a scythe popped out of the end. The demon turned its scythe upright and slammed the butt end of it into the ground. The mage under it had no time to even blink. Several of the mages around him broke from their concentration and turned to gawk at their fallen comrade. “Don’t break concentration!” Ludia heard Ma’aten shout out over the commotion. Any gawkers that were not involved began to rapidly move away from the circle of mages. This caused Ludia to avoid getting barreled over by the mob. When Ludia was finally able to get away from the mob she watched all the mages as they all turned at once, facing the wall. She felt sick again as a wave of magic washed over her. She assumed that the mages were trying to move the demon towards the wall. The demon turned once to look at the wall and then turned back to look down upon Ma’aten. Ludia watched as the demon raised its scythe into the air. Its target was clear. Ludia was torn for an instant, thinking that maybe Ma’aten was better off dead, then her vows as a Paladin won over her, and she was bounding at the fat idiot. Ludia prayed to Faowind, this time asking for both her power and her blessing. A sudden thought sprung into her head, and she became worried that if this was not a demon, if it really was an elemental, she would not be able to stop it. She decided to gamble on Coania’s skills and a moment later she was in front of Ma’aten as the demon swung down its scythe. Ludia drew her sword and raised it to meet the enormous blade was that hurtling down at her. The blades struck with a mighty clang and Ludia was shocked for an instant to find herself still in one piece and not obliterated. Her Bless Blade was roaring with white flame, an audible scream of metal on metal was heard. For just an instant Ludia saw the flame of the scythe blade get blow back a tiny bit by her holy fire and reveal a blade made of bone. Coania was right, this thing was a demon. “Ludia! What the hell are you doing?!” Ma’aten shouted out. Ludia did not respond to him but continued to try and fend off the scythe which was quickly becoming heavier and heavier. “I had this under control!” Ludia would have laughed had she the breath. The truth was that she was too afraid to breath because she might stumble and let the demon break through. The demon lifted its scythe once again into the air. The sudden movement made Ludia fall forward. She got a knee under herself and was able to see the scythe coming roaring back down on her. She sent her prayer to Faowind with all the urgency she could muster, and the goddess once again responded in kind. Power flowed through her and Ludia immediately formed a shield around her and those by her. The scythe struck the shield and once again holy fire roared up to meet it. The two powers were soon evenly matched, neither giving ground to the other. Ludia was in excruciating pain right now. Her muscles were aching and her vision was beginning to blur. The combination of queasiness from the magic around her and exhaustion from the amount of power she was putting into the shield were beginning to win over her. Ma’aten was shouting something at Ludia but she could not hear him, though she figured he was not going to be of any help. Ludia dropped her other knee to the ground. She was positive she was not going to be able to walk for a while, her legs felt like they were no longer even there. She held her hands up, trying to keep the power flowing into the shield. The demon was not wavering at all, though, and Ludia was forced to face the truth. She was not going to be able to survive this. Ludia collapsed, the shield fell and Ludia watched the scythe fall down on her. It stopped a foot from her face. Ludia was too weak to so anything but look up at it. She wondered why it stopped, and then she wondered if she was dead and this was just an aftereffect. The demon lifted the mighty scythe and held it upright. Pausing a moment it turned and started its trek towards the walls of Agregra. Ludia had enough strength left to tilt her head to the side and watch it walk away. The demon twitched a little bit. At least Ludia thought it was a twitch. A moment later she saw a ball of fire fly from the back of the demon and soar through the air. Its target was obvious, yet with no strength in her body she could do nothing but watch. The ball of fire flew unmolested, landing right on top of her. Her whole body erupted in flame. She let loose a scream she did not even know she was able to achieve. It felt like every part of her body was filled with pain. Then she felt nothing. * * * Ciran and Kisean stood staring in wide-eyed shock as the giant being of fire turned and started walking towards the city. Kisean still had bandages on his chest and, despite Ciran’s urgings, was up and about. Ciran realized that if they had to fight that giant that Kisean would probably get killed. “This does not look very good,” Kisean said. “No, no it doesn’t,” Ciran agreed. “What is that?” Kisean asked. “I have no idea,” Ciran said. “Gluake?” “From what’s been described it sounds like an elder fire elemental, but I can’t tell for sure until it comes in contact with the wall,” Gluake replied. “I don’t want to spirit walk to find out for sure since I’ll need to pour most of my energy into stopping whatever it is.” “I’d rather not wait until it reaches the wall,” Kisean replied. “You’re still not in the best shape,” Gluake reminded Kisean. Ciran nodded to add his agreement with Gluake. “Well we need to do something to try and stop it,” Kisean said. “Lorathe’s magic would not be enough, and it’ll take too long to muster up enough extra sorcerers to air her,” Gluake said. Ciran sighed. “There’s always another option,” Ciran said. Kisean turned and looked at him confused for a moment. Ciran patted his bow. “You’re not serious,” Kisean said, his mouth hanging open a little. Ciran nodded. With Rummtier he would be able to at least slow the thing for a long enough time that Lorathe could put up some defense. “You are serious.” Kisean swore for a few seconds and then looked back at Ciran. “You’re the leader of us, I’m not going to do this without your say-so,” Ciran said. His old friend turned and looked from the fire being to Ciran and back again. “Fine, dammit,” Kisean said. “Gluake, get Lorathe here, but tell her to wait for Ciran to act.” “You’re not going to do what I think you’re going to do, are you?” Gluake replied. “He’ll be out for a few days.” “We have little other choice,” Kisean said. He turned to look at Ciran. “Where do you need to be?” Ciran had to be fairly high up to be able to shoot the fire elemental. He turned around and looked over the city once, noting one of the sight towers was fairly close by, and was high enough for a clean shot. “There,” Ciran said pointing at the tower. Kisean turned from the elemental to the tower and back. “Fine, get on my back,” Kisean said a little reluctantly. Ciran knew Kisean did not like this method of traveling but Ciran would not be able to get to the tower in time otherwise. Ciran climbed on Kisean’s back and wrapped his arms around his friend’s neck. Ciran did not really care for this method of travel either. Kisean took a running start and jumped from the top of the outer wall. He cleared the inner wall and slammed into the ground. Without a pause he took off running at his full speed down the street. Things blurred by Ciran as Kisean ran by people and buildings. The tower rapidly became more prominent and when they were almost there Kisean leapt again. This time he jumped to the side of a building and then used that as point to jump at the tower. For Kisean it was no problem to make the distance. A moment later they had made it to the top of the tower. “Is it just me or does it look angry?” Ciran said as he slipped his bow off. Kisean took a good hard look at the monster coming at them. “It’s angry,” Kisean said. Ciran took off the quiver of arrows he wore on his back and set it on the ground. He walked over to the edge of the tower and hopped up onto the ledge. Fortunately it was wide enough to stand on. Ciran stood staring at the behemoth that was coming at the city. “This might knock me out for a week or so,” Ciran said. “I’ll have to put as much power into this as I can, otherwise I doubt I can dent it.” Kisean sighed. “We have little choice,” Kisean said. Ciran reached out his hand and gather the small amount of magic that he possessed into his hand. The hand started to glow. With the other hand he held up Rummtier before him while he lifted the hand surrounded by the green glow and held it out to his side. Using a Soul Arrow was an arduous event. Ciran had read it in a magical tome that Gluake had come across and found out that he had just enough magical ability to make use of the spell. The one problem that Ciran had with using the Soul Arrow was the fact that the spell drew upon all the strength of the caster. The few times before when Ciran had used the spell he had been asleep for three days afterwards. Yet those times he never put all of his strength into the spell. This time was way different. Ciran reached his glowing hand into the imaginary quiver floating at his side. He pulled out a long arrow that was glowing as green as his hand. He nocked the arrow in Rummtier. The entire bow took on the green glow and then it was transferred over to Ciran’s body as well. The Soul Arrow was a rarely used spell for the single reason that it sucked all the life out of a user but did not return enough of an attack to be worth using. The reason Ciran was able to use it more effectively was because of Rummtier. Rummtier acted as an amplifier and increased the strength of the spell by an obscene amount. While Ciran’s magic abilities were lacking in strength when he used Rummtier he was on par in skill with many sorcerers. Ciran always thought it was a shame that there were not enough spells that utilized a bow. Ciran started feeding his energy into the Soul Arrow. He could feel himself become more tired yet he fought hard to keep himself awake. He looked out and the behemoth monster was a few steps from the wall and already raising up its scythe to strike at the. The arrow became more volatile all of a sudden, as if it was approaching the limit that could be put into it. “Gluake, if you can spare anything it’d be appreciated,” Ciran whispered. Gluake apparently was able to hear because a moment later Ciran felt a small surge of power flowing into him. It was not a lot, but it was enough to push the arrow to its limit. Ciran steadied his aim on the chest of the fire elemental and let loose the arrow. The arrow took off at an unbelievable speed. It left a streak of green power behind it as it flew, looking like a shooting star in the night sky. Ciran’s aim was true as the arrow slammed into the fire elemental’s chest. Nothing happened for a moment. The fire elemental paused, most likely unsure of what just happened. It tilted its head down, looking as if it was inspecting the damage to its chest. When it looked down its chest erupted in green sparks. The green sparks quickly gathered together and became something akin to water and then began to circle around the fire elemental’s body. With the fire elemental’s size it was not able to move fast enough to avoid becoming trapped within a prison of green liquid. The green liquid formed a box around the fire elemental, and then slowly began to collapse upon itself. Ciran was able to see the fire elemental struggling from within its prison. The fire elemental slammed one if its clawed hands against the side. The first few times it was stopped but the next time it broke through the green a little bit. Ciran was shocked to see the fire elemental’s hand was that of a giant skeleton, all bone. That was the only revelation he was able to have since the power of the Soul Arrow soon overcame whatever was inside, and increased the speed it was collapsing upon itself. It became half the original size it had been and then Ciran hit the limit of his remaining strength and passed out. * * *

Woohoo, another update. It's easier to write when you have time....isn't that strange? Anyway, read it, lemme know if there's things you want answered, or if there's still scenes you want to see, or whatever. I pretty much have the architecture laid out until the end, so I'm free to put in things now and then. Anywho...enjoy it.

Vasia was surprised how light Kisean was on her back. She knew that it must have been because of the magic but she was unprepared for how effortlessly she lifted him. She guessed this was how light everything else was for Kisean himself. “Now left,” Gluake said into her ear. Vasia had taken the clip off of Kisean’s ear and placed it on her own. She found herself able to talk with whoever this Gluake was freely. Vasia took a left from the cave she was in and started down a somewhat steep decline. Vasia had been following the directions to the letter, winding her way deeper underneath the city of Agregra. She had memorized the path she took thus far, but she idly wondered if she would be able to follow it again. “You’re almost there, take a right,” Gluake said. Vasia did as she was told and was face to face with a wooden door. She was about to put her hand out to try and push the door open but it opened on it’s own. “Hurry in,” Gluake said, this time his voice was coming from in front of her, not her ear. From her position it looked black in the room, yet when she stepped over the threshold of the door she found it to be as bright as it was at noontime. The room she was in was a large dome fashioned in the stone of the earth. The ceiling of the dome was painted with intricate designs and symbols that glowed from the unseen light that filled the room. There was another door at the other end of the room yet it was shut. The room was unfurnished except for a large round rug in the middle. The rug had the same designs and symbols as the ceiling had. “Quickly now,” Vasia heard the voice again, she saw an old man step out from the side of the room. Vasia wondered how she failed to notice him until she noticed he wore a robe that was akin to the rug and ceiling. The man had a worn face and a gray bear that went down just below his chest. His staff looked as if it was made completely out of glass. It reflected light off of it into a rainbow of colors. The last thing Vasia noticed was that he was staring directly at her with two eyes of gold. This man was obviously Gluake. He leveled his staff at Vasia and then Kisean was off her back and floating over the to rug. Gluake eased his staff down and Kisean landed softly on the rug. The entire room began to glow a green color and then most of the light began to gather into Gluake’s staff. The sunlight in the room dimmed but the green light continued to gather making it look like Gluake was wielding a staff of pure green energy. Gluake touched the end of his staff to Kisean’s chest and the green glow flowed from the staff into Kisean’s body. “Excuse me…Gluake?” Vasia said, trying to get his attention. The old man turned to Vasia and gave her a warm smile. “He’ll be fine,” Gluake said. “You did very well bringing him to me this quickly. The faster I can administer the healing magic the faster we can get him back on his feet.” Gluake pointed his staff at Vasia and se felt her added strength leaving her body. She suddenly had a great feeling of loss as the magic left her. Vasia looked back at the old man who was scanning over Kisean carefully. Vasia knew that some sorcerer was bound to the city, protecting it, bur she never really understood it fully. Now, as she was standing next to the actual sorcerer, she began to question if other old tales were this tangible. “So, where are we?” Vasia asked, trying to make some sort of conversation. Gluake did not respond for a moment as he motioned over Kisean for a while, then he turned back to Vasia and gave her a warm smile. “Directly below the center of the city,” he said. “Quite a bit below, but that’s just because I can do more magic down here. Not that anyone ever goes looking for an old sorcerer like myself.” Vasia immediately felt some sort of connection to this old man. He seemed like a grandfather she never had, though the more she thought about it he seemed more like a grandfather to the entire city. “Can you see…or feel…or sense the whole city from down here?” Vasia asked, confused about the question she was trying to ask. Gluake laughed a little and then pointed his staff up at the ceiling. Vasia looked up and saw that the ceiling was now painted to look like a map of the city. Vasia saw white lights begin to appear all over the map. “Those are the people who live in the city,” Gluake said. Vasia was amazed. There were thousands and thousands of lights all littered over the ceiling. Suddenly all the lights vanished and then green lights appeared on the map. “Those are all the soldiers enlisted in the guard.” The green lights vanished and were replaced by four red lights. “That is Grul, Lorathe, Ciran and Kisean, the captains.” Gluake pointed to each one of the lights as he said a name and the light glowed greater momentarily. “Gluake!” said a voice. The voice echoed all around the room. Vasia was sure that she had heard the voice before. “Yes, Lord Phaen,” Gluake replied to the voice. “What happened? Why did the walls fall and what are you doing to stop it?” Phaen’s voice demanded angrily. Gluake sighed. “When the fireball struck the wall it cause the High Magic to gather to that side for an instant to stop the magic. It obviously left the other side open long enough for one of their mages to crack open the wall and then rip it asunder. Kisean was able to stop them from getting through but he’s badly hurt.” “Well then get him unhurt and get him back to his post, I don’t want Avoil capitalizing on this and getting into my city,” Phaen’s voice said. “Of course, Lord Phaen,” Gluake said. The old sorcerer sighed again. “Not even a worry about Kisean,” he said softly to himself. “He’s not himself anymore. This siege is having a bad effect on him.” Gluake put on a smile when he noticed Vasia was still looking at him. “Is this where the ear clips go?” Vasia asked, remembering her own experience with the clip. She took it off the ear clip she wore and walked over to Kisean. “Yes, all of them come straight to me, wherever I am,” Gluake said. Vasia attached the ear clip back onto Kisean’s ear and then touched his forehead. It was warm again. Vasia gave a sigh of relief. When she turned around she noticed that Gluake was staring at her with distant eyes. “Something interesting?” she asked. Gluake smiled a little more deeply. “You remind me of someone I knew,” Gluake said. Vasia laughed a little bit. This was the first time anyone had ever said that she looked like someone they knew. She also laughed because Gluake obviously knew a lot of people. “Who would that be?” Vasia said. “Your mother,” Gluake said. Vasia froze and stared wide-eyed at the sorcerer for a moment. “You knew my mother?” Vasia asked. “I know everyone who has ever set foot in this city,” Gluake said with a wink. “But I also personally met your mother. Shortly after she became leader of the underground she went exploring and stumbled upon my home.” Gluake paused for a moment. “Though I sort of nudged her the last bit of the way. She was nearby and I thought it’d be nice to have tea with another person.” “She never told me about you,” Vasia said. “I asked her not to. Your mother was good at keeping her word,” Gluake said. “She stopping coming for our weekly tea when she found you again. She needed to teach you all the tricks of the trade I suppose.” Gluake turned back to Kisean and leveled his staff over the captain’s body. The green glow from Kisean’s body flowed back into the staff, illuminating the staff and the room once again before going out in a puff. Right now Vasia could do little else but stare. “Alright, Kisean will be fine, though you might want to make yourself comfortable on his chair, it’ll be a day or two before he wakes up.” “On what chair?” Vasia asked. A blinding flash of light flared up and then vanished, leaving Vasia a little disoriented. When she got her senses back she realized that she was now in Kisean’s room in the barracks, a place she had been a few times before. Kisean was lying on his bed now, breathing softly. Vasia looked down from where she was standing and noticed that there was a chair right next to the bed. * * * Ludia was angry right now. Very angry. She stormed across the camp; blood still caked into her armor. Belva was a pace behind her flanked by R’Tearin. The two of them had to run every once in a while to be able to keep up with their captain. Ludia spared them no time, she was heading for one place and she would be damned if the demons of hell themselves would stop her. She saw Donaxon’s tent, no guards were posted around it. In fact, there were no soldiers anywhere near the tent. Ludia took no pause before stepping into Donaxon’s tent. “You conniving brute!” she said as she stepped in. She was not shocked to see Donaxon sitting cross-legged in the center of the tent; that she had expected. What Ludia was shocked to see was Coania in the tent with Donaxon. The monk had his tunic off and his arms up in the air while Coania had her glowing hands hovering over his abdomen. Ludia did notice the exemplary body that the monk had but quickly pushed that out of her mind so she could keep focus. “Coania! What are you doing here?” “Well that’s good, I thought you were calling Coania a conniving brute, and I think she deserves more respect then that,” Donaxon said with a straight face. Ludia found him contemptible. “You be quiet!” Ludia commanded. R’Tearin and Belva came into the tent right then and stopped suddenly to avoid running into Ludia. “Coania, answer me! Why are you here?” Coania cowed back a little bit. She seemed to be frightened of Ludia right now, and after a moment of thought Ludia did not blame her. The Paladin took in a deep breath and tried to calm herself. It failed to work on her anger but it softened her voice a little. “Coania, why are you here?” she asked in a more steady tone. “Because none of the other mages will help Captain Donaxon,” she said in a quiet voice. Ludia gave her a confused look. Why would the mages not want to help someone who Lord Avoil obviously wanted keep in the best shape? Was that fat idiot Ma’aten planning something? “Why not?” Ludia asked, “Aside from his glowing personality that is.” Donaxon stood up next to Ludia, towering a full head over her. She again noticed that the monk was built like a wall. “Because of how Donaxon treated Ma’aten’s puppy,” Coania said with a little giggle. “His puppy? You mean Jiklan? What did he do to Jiklan?” Ludia spun to Donaxon and glared up at him. “What did you do to Jiklan?” “I did nothing to the mage,” Donaxon said. Coania was still giggling. “He had Misheal break the mage’s fingers,” Coania said, now laughing. Ludia knew who Misheal was; she was one of the commanders in another archaeon that Ludia had worked with. Misheal was a woman who took guff from no one. Ludia liked her. Donaxon gave Coania a little look. “Now, now, I never told her to break fingers, she did that on her own,” Donaxon said. R’Tearin failed to stifle a laugh and Ludia glanced sharply at him. He snapped to attention and stopped laughing but he still had a grin across his face. Ludia turned her gaze back to Donaxon who was smiling back at her. That just infuriated her more. “It doesn’t matter,” Ludia said. “I heard that you were responsible for this battle today.” “That is true,” he responded. “Then you are the one to blame for the misuse of my archaeon!” Ludia shouted at him. “Misuse?” Donaxon asked, seeming befuddled. Ludia figured that he was playing with her. “My archaeon trusts me, you monk, and I have to uphold that trust, yet I can’t do that when I’m used as a decoy,” Ludia said, the anger in her rising once again. She tried to calm herself enough to be able to hold a coherent argument but it was becoming more and more difficult. “What?” Donaxon asked. His whole body seemed to tense as he hunched over a little, suddenly seeming more alert and sharp. Ludia felt a little worried that he was going to fall on top of her. “You know damn well,” Ludia said, easing herself back a little but making sure not to give too much ground. “You duped everyone into attacking the city with the idea that we would be able to break through it. I went full force at that city and lost a fair number of soldiers under me.” Donaxon clenched his fist and his eyes narrowed. “Did Avoil not tell you what the plan was?” Donaxon asked. “Plan? Of course not! I’m sure My Lord didn’t know about your plan himself!” Ludia yelled. As if the mention of his name summoned him, the flap to the tent was opened and Lord Avoil stormed in. “What the hell happened?” Lord Avoil demanded of Donaxon quite loudly. Ludia and R’Tearin immediately moved a step back and saluted. Coania cowered further away like she always did. She had mentioned various times during the siege that she did not like to be in the same room with Lord Avoil. Ludia never got a straight answer why, yet she constantly reminded Coania that Lord Avoil was their leader, and he was always to be treated with the proper respect. “I assume it was one of the four captains of the Home Guard,” Donaxon replied standing himself back up straight. Ludia made a note to explain to the monk about proper etiquette. He obviously did not know how to properly salute a House Lord. “I spent all that money on you just so you can lose to some second rate soldier?” Avoil demanded. At this time Ma’aten waddled himself through the tent door. Ludia immediately threw him a look of the utmost hate and was pleased to see it was returned. “I lost to no one,” Donaxon said. “I won, but by that time their reinforcements had arrived. You would have lost all of those that were with me if there was a battle then.” “Lies!” Ma’aten shouted out. “Jiklan said you turned on him when he was trying to help.” “I saved your mage’s life,” Donaxon said. “The man I fought was protected by magic shields, the attack that Jiklan used, if you can call it an attack,” Donaxon added in what seemed to Ludia as an afterthought, “Would have opened him up for attack from the man. The only reason I fought him alone was that he would have easily killed anyone who fought with me.” “That’s ludicrous thinking, what makes you so sure of what the man would have done?” Ma’aten demanded. Ma’aten was fuming; Ludia had never seen him like this before. She found it to be entertaining. “Because that is what I would have done,” Donaxon said, not breaking his eye contact with Lord Avoil. “This is ridiculous! You first guarantee that you can get us into the city and then fail at it, and then you also injure one of my mages for helping you out. My Lord you can’t let this man go about doing that,” Ma’aten said to Lord Avoil. Ludia relaxed herself from her salute. Ma’aten had said that Donaxon guaranteed that he could break down the wall, and Donaxon had said that there were people with him. Ludia was forced to wonder if Lord Avoil had lied to her when he told her about the battle. “I guaranteed that I could break down a portion of the wall,” Donaxon said. “I never mentioned anything about getting into the city. If you assumed that you did so at your own risk.” Ma’aten looked as if he were about to reply but stopped short of saying anything. Ludia took this moment to turn to Lord Avoil. “My Lord, if you knew about this, why did you not tell me about this plan?” Ludia asked. “You didn’t need to know, and it was better if you didn’t since you would have tried harder and made a more convincing distraction,” Lord Avoil replied, not looking at her but keeping his eyes fixated on Donaxon. The monk returned his gaze calmly. “But My Lord, we could have avoided a great number of deaths if we would have known about this,” Ludia said, her mouth moving of it’s own accord. Ludia was not really sure where this sass was coming from but she was angry. She could not think of any reason why Lord Avoil would do something like this. “I’m sure we could have put up a convincing distraction if we knew.” “The number of deaths would not have changed regardless of the information,” Lord Avoil said, waving his hand dismissively. Ludia was shocked to see him so casually dismiss so many lives as if they were nothing. “Do you not have faith in Captain Ludia’s skills?” Donaxon said all of a sudden. Ludia saw the challenge in his voice and his face and she could also see the anger building up in Lord Avoil. “That is a moot point,” Lord Avoil said to Donaxon. “Regardless, a portion of wall is down, yet I don’t know if I am able to count on results from you anymore, Captain Donaxon, so I will let Ma’aten try his hand.” With that, Avoil spun on his heel and left the tent with Ma’aten waddling after him. Ludia stood, half in shock, half in disgust. She did not like the idea that Ma’aten was going to be able to run things as he wished. “Coania,” Donaxon said, reminding Ludia that there were still people around. “Go back to your tent now.” Ludia turned back to see Coania staring at Donaxon with a confused look on her face. “What? But you’re not fully healed,” she protested. “You’ve done a great job thus far,” Donaxon said, a soft smile forming across her face. “I can easily heal myself from this point, thank you. However,” Donaxon took on a serious tone. “I think it best to know what Ma’aten plans on doing.” Coania stood there for a moment and then understanding dawned on her face and she nodded. She stood up and turned to leave. “Captain Ludia?” Ludia turned and looked at Donaxon but said nothing. “How many died?” “How many what?” Ludia asked, not understanding. “How many soldiers died today?” Donaxon said. The question caught Ludia off guard. “Eighty-seven,” she replied. “Why?” “I’d like to know how many souls I have to apologize to tonight,” he said, turning around and going to a bag in the corner. “Goodnight, Captain.” Ludia felt the urge to leave right now and she turned and followed Coania out, R’Tearin and Belva right on her heels. When she was outside of the tent she turned to R’Tearin. The male paladin shrugged. “I did tell you that Jidan Axe was a very unique individual,” he said, reminding her of the conversation they had when Donaxon had first shown up. Ludia was starting to realize how deep that statement really went. * * * Kisean awoke in his room. He knew it was his room since his halberd was hanging from the wall across from his bed. He tried to move but found anything to be very painful. His chest ached, but it did not feel like any ribs were broken. He found that to be rather confusing since the last thing he remembered was being struck in the chest by the giant of a man he fought just outside the wall. “Well, well, look who’s finally awake.” Kisean tiled his head to the side and saw Vasia sitting in a chair by his bed, a tome sat in her lap and she looked like she had been reading it for a while. “What are you doing here?” Kisean asked. “You should probably be asking yourself the same question, you know,” Vasia said with a nod at his body. Kisean found himself suddenly aware of the fact that his chest and arms were bandaged up, wrapped tightly in cloth. A moment of concern came over him as he looked at his bandaged arms. “Don’t worry,” Vasia said, seeing his concern. “Gluake kept your bracers on. He said they were probably the main reason you were still alive when he came by and bandaged you up.” “Gluake?” Kisean said, still a little groggy. “You met Gluake?” “I did,” Vasia said with a smile. “He’s an interesting person.” “When did he come by?” “About a day and a half ago,” Vasia said. Kisean’s natural reaction was to sit up in bed but his body screamed at him when he started to move. “A day and a half? How long have I been out?” “Two days,” Vasia said. “Give or take. I haven’t really been out much.” “You’ve been here the whole time?” “More or less,” Vasia shrugged. “Gluake wanted me to make sure you woke up alright.” “You didn’t have to do that,” Kisean said, feeling something in between shame and regret. He did not to have people worry or wait on him. He had been like that since he was little. Vasia, of course, laughed this off. “Of course I did, you fool,” she said, closing the tome. “I owe you and Ciran my life many times over. You two have risked your lives to save mine on numerous occasions.” “I count twice,” Kisean said. “Two is numerous, Kisean,” Vasia said with a smile. She set the tome down on a table next to her and stood up. “Now that you’re awake you’ll be fine in a couple of hours, I know that much about you. I have a lot of work that I need to get done, so I’m going to be heading off now.” She leaned over and kissed Kisean on his forehead. Kisean sighed and closed his eyes. “Don’t do anything stupid.” “I won’t, trust me.” “I do, and that’s why I’m worried.” * * * Vasia immediately noticed the two when she stepped out of the barracks. They had just jumped from one roof to another and where a long jump away from the palace walls. She immediately looked around for a place to get up to where they were. She had been at Kisean’s bedside for too long if the thieves were thinking of breaking into the palace. Vasia overlooked a great deal of things that happened without her consent in the underground, rape, murder, pillaging, robbery, however, there was one rule she advocated over all else. She would allow no one to steal from the palace. She did not want Phaen to come down hard on the underground. He main worry was that she would have to face Kisean and Ciran, and that thought scared her. She made it to the roof in time to watch the two cloaked burglars float across the street below to the palace wall by magic. This intrigued her, since there were few sorcerers who would deal with the underground, and those that did would want to be involved with whatever was happening. Vasia paused a moment, making sure that the two burglars did not know they were being tailed. After a moment they disappeared down the other side of the wall. Vasia closed her eyes and gathered chi into her feet. The distance was just large enough were you would not be able to jump it without added help. The Uri-Van training that Vasia received came in useful at times like this. Vasia opened her eyes and ran at full speed after her chi was gathered and when she reached the edge of the roof she released it out the bottom of her feet. The added boost let her clear the distance with ease. She landed on the wall and immediately leapt off the far edge, trying to avoid the sight of any guards. The fall was not bad, she gathered chi into her feet again, this time using it to cushion her fall. When she hit the ground she backed herself up against the wall, looking around to see if she could find tracks of the two that just passed through here. She silently wished that she had paid more attention when she was taught to use chi to see into the spectrum of magic. She figured that she would have been able to follow a trail of magic to the two she was following. She had spent most of her time with Jidan Donaxon learning fighting moves and hand-to-hand combat; her skills with chi were limited. Vasia heard a whispered word, and then another. She trained her ears in on where the sound was coming from, and saw an opened door about twenty yards across the grounds from her. The door lead down, and for the first time Vasia realized that she was in the royal cemetery. There were headstones all over the place and the door that was open lead down into an underground mausoleum. She crossed the cemetery and peeked through the opening. On the other side were the two she was chasing, one of them was reaching into their cloak. “No magic until we get there,” said one in a deep voice. “I know, I’m looking for my flint,” said the other. Vasia made a note: they were both males. After a moment a spark and a torch appeared. The torch illuminated the hallway that the two stood in. Vasia noticed that it went down a far way but did not seem to have an end. The two started moving swiftly down the hallway, getting farther and farther away from Vasia. She smiled as she realized that the two men were wearing boots that echoed on the stone floor. They were going to be easy to follow. Vasia started down the hallway after the torch had become dimmer. Her soft leather boots and skilled movements made no sound. Vasia followed the torch until it vanished, and then she took off at a cautious run. The two had obviously turned a corner. Vasia wanted to try and catch up but she also did not want to run into a wall. Vasia did this for a few minutes, going down in a maze, the ground always at a gentle decline. She began to wonder if these two were going after Gluake. Vasia reached a corner where she could still see light from the torch and slowly looked around the corner. The two men were stopped in the middle of the hallway, facing a section of stone wall. They had taken off their hoods and Vasia was a little confused when she realized that she did not know either of these thieves. They were not from her underground, at least. One of them placed his hands on the wall and closed his eyes. Vasia watched in awe as the wall began to waver, and then suddenly it melted away leaving a door in its place. Vasia was certain that she made no sound, and she was sure that she did not move, yet all of a sudden one of the two spun and looked directly at her. Vasia was frozen momentarily as she realized that the man had white eyes. “Get her!” shouted the other. The one looking at Vasia ran at her. Vasia was surprised to see how swiftly he moved, drawing a short sword in the process. Vasia was barely able the draw her daggers from their hidden sheath at the small of her back. The resounding clang of sword on daggers echoed up and down the hallway. The man wasted no time and slashed quickly at Vasia. Vasia was able to deflect one strike with one of her daggers long enough to slash out with her other dagger. The attacked leapt back in response. From behind the attacker the magic used sent out a dozen bolts of fire that arced around his companion and then flew right at Vasia. She knew that she did not have enough time to dodge them all so she gathered chi into her hands and moved forward swiftly. Vasia leaned to one side, avoiding a fair number of the bolts and then she slashed out with her daggers, forcing her chi into the blades of the daggers. Luckily, it was enough to deflect the bolts into the wall. Vasia did not have a moment to catch her breath after that since she found a short sword lunging for her heart. Vasia ducked down low and avoided the strike, the sword striking the wall behind her. Vasia put her hands on the floor behind her and kicked up with both of her legs. She caught the attacker in the chin and sent him flying up into the low ceiling. After he smashed into the ceiling he collapsed to the ground in a heap. Vasia rolled back in time to avoid being lashed by a whip of fire. She rolled to her feet and was frozen for a moment. The man she had just smashed into the ceiling was on his feet and coming at her again with no apparent injuries. Vasia knew that blow she had given him should have at least broke his chin. She came to her senses in time to raise her daggers and catch another slash of the short sword. Another slash came right after the first and Vasia dodged this one by flattening herself against the wall. She flicked out her dagger at the attacker but only caught a little fabric of his cloak. The short sword came back around, causing Vasia to cartwheel along the wall for a moment. She realized too late that she was now between the two men. The man with the sword came at her with an overhand chop and Vasia rushed into him. She slammed her body into his before he could react and she grabbed a hold of his sword arm. The magic user opened his hands and another dozen bolts of fire sped out at Vasia. Without pausing Vasia flipped the man with the sword over her and into the bolts. All the bolts slammed into his body while Vasia turned and started to make a break for it. Before she was able to get near the corner fire erupted from the walls, floor and ceiling in front of her, forming into a wall of fire. Vasia spun around in place and saw the sword user standing and shaking the fire out of his cloak. He picked up his sword where he dropped it and started moving at Vasia. Vasia readied her daggers again, holding them crossed before her. Vasia blocked three slashes of the sword and slashed back with a quick stroke. The man was able to dodge the blow by stepping back a little bit. Vasia saw the magic user’s hands begin to move rapidly. This did not bode well for Vasia. Whatever the magic user was beginning to cast was not going to be a good thing for Vasia. Suddenly the magic user jerked violently once, and then twice. The wall of flame suddenly vanished and Vasia spun to see Ciran running at her, his bow was loaded with another arrow. He let loose the arrow and it flew at the magic user. This time the magic user raised his hands and was suddenly shielded in flame. The arrow struck the flame shield and burnt to a crisp. Ciran skidded to a stop and had another arrow loaded. He pulled the bowstring back and the entire bow glowed for a moment before he shot the arrow. This time the arrow pierced the flame shield and in an instant all the fire in the hallway vanished, save for the torch that was sitting on the ground now. Vasia’s opponent turned to look at his companion who was now lying on the ground, three arrows protruding from his body. The final one was stuck in his forehead. “Hit the head, Vas,” Ciran yelled, he had another arrow nocked and loaded. He fired at the man who was still standing but the man deflected it with his sword. Vasia capitalized on this opportunity and stabbed one of her daggers into the man’s sword wrist. This caused him to drop his sword and Vasia gathered her chi into her free dagger and plunged it into the man’s forehead. It was gruesome but it seemed to do the trick as the man fell limply o the ground. Vasia took a step backwards and reached out a hand to the wall. The fight had taken a lot out of her and she was breathing very heavily. “You alright?” Ciran asked Vasia. He had unstrung his bow and held out his free hand to her. She took it and steadied herself. “I think so,” Vasia replied. She turned and looked at the two bodies on the floor. She then turned to the door that was dimly glowing in the darkness. Ciran kneeled down and picked up the torch from where it was dropped. “What is that?” Ciran said, holding the torch up to the door. The door looked as plain as any other door, aside from the eerily magic glow that was surrounding it right now. “I don’t know,” Vasia replied. She then remembered something. “Ciran, why are you here?” Ciran grinned and tapped his ear clip. “Gluake gated me to the cemetery and told me you were in trouble. I see he was right. I can tell that you’ve never dealt with puppets.” “Puppets?” Vasia asked, confused. Ciran kicked the body closest to him. “The souls of imps imprisoned into bodies of magic,” Ciran explained. “It’s a type of demon summoning. Fortunately the demon’s power is always localized somewhere, and these two had it in their heads.” “How did you tell that?” “Magic runs in the family, a little bit of it anyway,” Ciran said. “I can see magic more then the average person. An imp’s power is hard to miss if you know what you’re looking for.” “Then these things were summoned here?” Vasia asked. Ciran nodded. “From whom though I don’t know,” Ciran said, squatting down to get a better look at the magic user’s body. The bodies suddenly vanished in a flash of light. The light messed up Vasia’s night vision. When she was able to see in the dark hallway again the door was also gone. Vasia moved over to the wall where the door was a moment ago and ran her fingers over it, trying to see if she noticed something. “What was the door then?” “I was hoping you knew,” Ciran admitted. “The door was magical, that’s for sure, but right now I can’t see anything where it was. Gluake, did you see that door just now?” Vasia watched as the ear clip flared red for a few moments. Ciran’s expressions gave away a look of confusion. “But, how did you know she was here?” There was another pause. “Then you saw nothing? That’s not right.” “What’s not right?” Vasia asked, curious at the other side of the conversation. “Gluake didn’t sense the imps, nor did he see a door at all,” Ciran said. Vasia became confused. “Then how did he know that I was in trouble?” “The magic fire. Imp Fire is extremely detectable. Gluake sensed you, the Imp Fire, and gated me here to deal with whatever was happening. He didn’t and still doesn’t see a door anywhere.” Something was not adding up correctly here. Vasia knew Ciran well enough to tell that his mind was also churning out the possibilities. “I think we need to tell Lord Phaen about this,” Ciran said. He did not sound very enthused about the idea. After a moment of thinking, neither did Vasia. “I’d say we should wait. I don’t know what kind of reaction he’ll have to you if you tell him exactly what happened. He doesn’t like me that much as it is.” “You make a convincing point,” Ciran said with a grin to her. “But we should tell Kisean at least. Maybe he could make out more from this then we can. Gluake would you mind keeping this secret for at least a little while?” Ciran’s ear clip flashed red. “Thanks.” “Can we leave then? I don’t like graveyards,” Vasia said. “Neither do I, Lady Leather. Neither do I.” * * *

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/article.php?id=3608 Think Eva was strange.....this gives chills.

4,9,2

"Immersion"

I have been good, just finishing my classes up for a semester. That's RIGHT. I remember last time I talked to you you where trying for the interpreter exams. See? I told you that you'd do good....er well

Big P.... spell wrong? Hao culd Peardhill posiblee speel sunting sou rong? Yay! It's Madoka! Good to hear from you and I hope you're still teaching away in Nippon, even if you are teaching them.....Canadian....tsk tsk

w00t! The beautiful long, drawn out sentances make the piece flow like a dream and the disconnected flashes make it reminicient of Momento. It is definately something that needs to be read in one sitting. The flashbacks/zombie man aim lets things work out fairly well. Somesuggestions: Like Yui said, the terminology you use is a little repetative....not horridly, but alot of times you can safely use a "He" and still know that we're talking about. Tense is all kept in one....uh.....tense, which is good. A few extra letters on some words...the only thing I can remember know is the 2nd or 3rd post and the word "beautifull". Aside from that good. Oh one more thing, instead of "subtitle" for the curly haired man's book, just "title" sounds more impressive. Subtitle makes me think of spanish films