Magically Appeared (TFF Royalty RP)

[Andromeda]

(OoC: This is a TFF Royalty RP, as such only members of the club are allowed to post in the RP.)



The sun was pouring down overhead open fields of crops spreading a vast length around a village. At the center of the fields sat the village of Ithure that maintained all of the fields balanced between the Kingdom of Kithur and Jumin. Ithure was currently part of Jumin due to a raid two months ago, but the Kithur army was not present to fight. It was often that Ithure changed hands between the two kingdoms in the war that raged around them. The village was a little value to either aside from increasing territory and villages owned. Previous the village had been in the hands of Kithur under the name of Hiorit. Every time they were taken over the name changed, but for them a name was not important. They just wanted to keep their way of life, so rulers and soldiers did not matter to them.

It was midday and everyone in the village was in the fields tending to the crops. They had go through areas of the fields rather than the whole field each day, as there was too much for them to cover. The war was nearby, as it always was, meaning that they tried to remain in groups for protection. They could cover their entire land in four days picking the cardinal directions to work in. Today, they were in the east field, the crops already up to the shoulders of most.

Eris sat in a row pulling out weeds and cleaning the path. In the row next to her was Teris, her friend from childhood, and next to her Gurin, her brother and Teris’ husband. Eris had known Teris for as long as she could remember and like most women she was married shortly after she pasted eighteen. It had made her happy to welcome her friend into her family; she had grown closer to her since. She had wished that she was married already, but her Kign wanted to wait. Eris did not understand why he wanted to wait knowing now that she was carrying his child, but she would be patience.

The thoughts had entered her mind as her palm passed over her stomach. It was difficult for her to concentrate on work lately knowing that she had new life in her. Each day she had a new excitement pass through her body and mind with the future in her thoughts. She would enter the family smiling to her often pensive, withdrawn parents. Eris wondered when she would start noticing the changes to her body speaking to the mothers in the village for advice. They had been reluctantly enthusiastic for her, but she was too excited to give it much notice.

“Eris!” Teris said calling out to her. The sudden sound had broke Eris out of her daze alerting her to them. “We’re moving on now. You finished there?” Eris looked around seeing that most of the weeds still needed to be pulled. She began to franticly pull at them not wanting to be left behind. “We’ll be over there. Don’t stay too long.” Teris moved on with Gurin leaving Eris alone. She sped through the weeds to catch up to them quickly embarrassed by her daydreaming, again.

She met up with them as they ended the row and began on another. The sun slowly pulled down in the sky soon to bring a close to the day of work. They were almost finished with all of the fields. Eris had kept her focus through her work pushing aside her eagerness as best as possible. However, her body was sweating heavily suddenly. She ran her hand across her forehead with her dirty hand smearing earth into her skin. Her head was pounding painfully forcing her hand to support her from falling over. Eris collapsed to the ground unable to push back the pressure.

Teris and Gurin looked back to check on Eris to find her passed out on the ground. He rushed to her side checking her body for signs of life. There was still breath. Gurin sighed relief and called Teris to find help. He picked Eris up carrying her out of the field at the edge of the village. Others had already begun to gather around from Teris’ frightened voice. Gurin began to lay her down on the ground when he felt a sharp strike across his fingers. The pain made him nearly lose his hold on Eris. It was a brief moment and though Gurin was confused he did not think upon it with his mind focused on Eris instead.

Gurin managed to get Eris to the ground, but his hand received another stabbing pain causing him to retract his hand this time. He shook his hand and arm to throw off the pain, but it left him feeling numb almost. Gurin looked over his fingers to see if he could see cuts or blood from where he was injured, yet there was nothing. However, there was a sudden snap he heard that broke his concentration. It had come from Eris, but he did not know what had created it. He looked closer at her hoping to find what was causing it and maybe the reason for her fainting. Another noise came from, a spark or a crackle sound. It made Gurin step backwards in surprise.

The other villagers approached concerned by the way Gurin was acting. He looked around at them worried at what their reactions might be or if it was harmful. His arm was still feeling strange from just two strikes. However, the noise passed away returning to the quiet ambience of chatter from the villagers. No one had seemed to hear any of it and Gurin was not certain what he had seen himself.

Eris’ eyes opened slowly to the crowd around her. She found herself on the ground pulling herself up in worry uncertain to the masses that had gathered. Everyone seemed to have a relieved expression on their faces as some of the villagers departed. “What’s going on, Gurin?” Her face narrowed in worry.

“You passed out in the fields. I carried you back to the village.”

“I did?” Two voices calling out from behind the crowd pushed their way closer. The sounds made Eris turn in familiarity seeing her parents break through the wall of people. “Mother…”

“What happened, Eris? We heard you passed out.”

“That’s what Gurin told me as well. I don’t know what happened.”

“Gurin?”


“I don’t know either, she just passed out.”

“It was probably just the heat,” Teris said helping Eris up to her feet. “It has been getting warmer the last few days.”

“Yeah, that’s probably it,” Eris said nodding.

“You go back and rest. We’ll finish up what is left,” the village head said. He was not the elder, but the son of the elder, who was too old to leader the village anymore. He nodded to Eris and her parents letting them go back with her. Gurin and Teris spoke with the village head for a moment before following up behind Eris.

Eris was feeling well enough to walk on her own as they entered the village. Her parents remained close by watching her with worry. She greeted some of the aging villagers who were now unable to work in the fields. They kept an eye on the children that were too young to help out. Eris approached one of the houses, wooden with dried grass for a roof. There were several children of varying ages running around the front of the house playing with each other. The aging woman watched them from her chair in the front of the house.

The children spotted Eris walking in and changed their focus. They all ran towards her with her parents kept their distance, their twisted expressions of concern seemed almost permanent. Gurin and Teris followed in with Eris. All of the children greeted Eris pulling on her clothes and fingers to encourage her to play with them. She knelt down in the dirt letting them pile on top of her.

“Careful now children. You don’t want to hurt, Eris,” the woman said.

“It’s alright. I don’t mind. Where’s little Umino?”

“Oh, he’s sleeping soundly by me.”

Teris walked over to woman picking up Umino out of his bed. She cradled the baby in her arms looking down smiling at him still sleeping. Gurin walked over besides Teris looking over her shoulder. “Thank you for watching him,” Teris said to the woman.

“Oh, its my pleasure. It’s the least I can do with these old bones of mine.”

“Time to go Eris,” Gurin said seeing her on the ground almost covered in the children. The children groaned with disappointment starting to get off of Eris.

“I can stay a little longer right?” The children froze waiting to hear what the decision would be. Her parents stepped up from the distance they were waiting.

“You need to rest, Eris,” her mother said. “You don’t want to have too much excitement.”

“I’m sorry…” Eris said dejected.

“You’ll be back tomorrow?” one of the children said.

“I promise.” Eris joined up with her parents as they all walked to their house. The house was wooden, made mainly of logs cut and stuck together. There were parts of the house that were a little better off than the rough exterior, but it gave them shelter. Eris was passed along to her room where she could lay down even though she wished to stay with everyone else. Gurin insisted though that she rest taking her to her room personally. “But Gurin, I’m feeling better,” she said as she was forced to lie down.

“Don’t argue with your brother. You need rest. It was a long day.”

“What about dinner?”

“I’ll call you when it’s ready. Just rest now, okay?”

“Alright…”

Gurin stepped out of Eris’ room looking through the crack in the door to make sure that she was lying down. He could see her close her eyes and his muscles relaxed. The rest of the family was in the main room waiting for him to get back. Gurin shook his arm nearly subconsciously as he sat down next to Teris, his parents opposite of them. They could tell that he was worried about something, but had been refusing to speak about it openly.

“What is it?” his father said. “What has your face twisted like that and your hand shaking?”

“Gurin?” Teris said with concern and confusion. She had been distracted watching Eris that she had not noticed Gurin.

“Father…I’m not sure, but something happened out in the field.” Gurin looked at his hand that had been injured when holding Eris. He tightened it into a fist feeling the pressure of the muscles in tension. Even after the time that passed it was still left with a strange sensation that he did not understand. “It’s my hand. While I was carrying Eris back something struck me. The second time was much more painful and I still feel its sting.”


“What struck you?”

“I don’t know. There’s no cuts. My hand appears unharmed. But when I got near to Eris once she was on the ground I heard a noise. There was a noise coming out of her, violent and sharp. It sounded almost like the thunder rolling in on the clouds before a storm. That is the best as I can describe it. But it’s gone now.”

“Are you sure it was coming from her and not near her?” Teris said with disbelief.

“I don’t know even know what it was that I heard. All I know is what I said and that it happened. I don’t want to believe that it came from her either, but…”

“That’s enough,” his father said holding the hand of his mother. Her face was slowly cracking fearing the worst. His father held her close trying to give her stability. So much had already happened to Eris that something else now seemed like further ill fortune for the girl. It had affected their mother the hardest when she saw what had become of her child. Then it only twisted her heart further to see that she had completely forgotten what happened making up her own memories. Her brave face could only take so many hits before it shattered to pieces.

“Very well…” Gurin said turning to Teris to find the same failing expression across his wife’s face. “Umino needs his bed.”

“Oh…right.”

Teris stood up and walked out of the room slowly. Gurin looked at his father, both having the same thoughts. He walked away going to begin to prepare dinner. It was several minutes later when his parents entered the kitchen to help in cooking. Teris remained in her room leaving Gurin concerned, but he gave her some space for now.

Eris ate dinner with everyone in an uncomfortably silent room. The conversation was forced and rough breaking before emotions could be allowed through the façade. Eris did not seem to notice, but there was distraction in her eyes and a smile across her lips. It made her mother breakdown eventually forcing her to leave before she became too suspicious. The meal ended eventually and Eris found her way back to her room as the others quietly found tasks to keep them busy.

She was told to rest again even though she did not feel like she needed it. Eris laid back on her bed resting her hands on her stomach thinking about the baby again. It was difficult for her to get it out of her mind and think about other things. She had eventually given up trying to not think about it and just let her mind go. The excitement ran through her body causing her to become warm with jitters. However, time passed and she found herself asleep.

The entire house came to rest and the moon passed overhead. The village had become quiet and most of the lights were extinguished. Clouds passed through blotting out the moon until it became too difficult to pierce the thickness. A rumbling echoed through the clouds darkening them. Then suddenly a white light burst from the clouds sending a massive bolt of lightning piercing the air. The bolt struck Eris’ house waking everyone from the loud crack.

Gurin and Teris were the first to arrive in Eris’ room where there was a bright light expanding beyond the door. When they opened the door Teris could barely hold her breath in at what she saw. Their parents arrived soon afterwards leaving their mother in tears. She retreated out of sight collapsing against the wall. Gurin and his father tried to enter Eris’ room, but there was something in the air that made the hair on their arms stand on end. The air snapped and bit darting around violently unable to stop moving.

Gurin looked inside to the room to find Eris, but the light was too bright for him. He could not imagine anyone being alive in the room, but he did not want to think negatively. Each time he tried to approach his body became numb feeling stabbing pain through out his body. His father was not having any more luck than him. “Eris!” Gurin shouted hoping for something. “Eris!”

The light began to fade away suddenly as did the strange feeling. Gurin rushed into Eris’ room as the light retreated quickly returning the room to normal. At the center of the light was Eris laying on her bed sleeping. Gurin went to her bed quickly shaking her awake, hoping she was still alive. Once the light had completely gone Eris’ eyes began to open to the relief of Gurin. He looked back at his father to signal him that she was alive. Teris ran through the hall to where their mother was resting.

“Eris?” Gurin said questioningly. He was no longer certain what was going on with his sister, but there was a clarity coming to him that made him afraid.

Eris awoke to the stares of her brother with her innocent eyes looking at him confused. “Why are you in my room? Is it morning already?”

“You mean you…” Gurin looked up at the ceiling to see the large hole left by what had struck his sister. He was confused by her absentmindedness and yet more puzzling was that she was completely fine. No one had been able to reach her, but she was alive perfectly untouched. Everything in her room was blackened or destroyed beyond recognition.

“Gurin…what’s going on? What happened to my room?”

[Merlin]

On the far eastern edge of the continent of Rumnir, the foreboding Pilmin Mountains stood guard, turning away any who sought the mysteries that lay beyond. The biting cold blurred the line between seasons, the very sun turning a blind eye to the snow-drenched landscape. Explorers and hardened soldiers alike agreed that transversing the ‘Frozen Hell’ was a task best left for the most foolish of souls, for the inevitable outcome was an icy death, an existence snuffed out and buried.

“Tee-hee! I made a snowcone!”

“If you don’t shut the hell up… I’m going to take that snowball and stick it so far down your throat, you’ll be shitting ice crystals out your ass!”

High in the Pilmin Mountains, two agents from the Juminian Military were crossing the border into the lands of Pilner. The common-sense equipment for such a journey was a heavy winter jacket and pants, lined with insulation to shield the body from the subzero temperatures, but such clothing was nowhere to be found. On the contrary, by the looks of their clothing choice, they seemed to think it was some sort of summer romp through the grasslands. Even more peculiar than the lack of appropriate clothing was the fact that the weather seemed to have no apparent effect on them, besides the childish quips of the older of the two agents dangling perilously on the edge of a bottomless cliff by only her tip-toes.

“Alastora! If you fall off the cliff, don’t expect me to unbury your retarded ass.” The voice of reason, or perhaps the voice of impending doom was coming from the younger of the two agents. The fiery-haired female was leaning against an ice embankment, her azure eyes staring off in random directions, pretending to ignore the younger agent in front of her. She might have only been eighteen years-old, but she was definitely the more mature of the two. She was the only one taking the mission seriously.

“Uguu… Stop talking about my butt, Sizuru!” The pitiful doe-eyed expression of Alastora might have been effective if it had been used on someone who actually cared. She hopped back onto safer ground and proceeded to walk towards Sizuru, placing a cone-shaped chunk of snow on the ground.

Sizuru’s cringed as she tried to bottle up a giggle inside. It was no use, her serious face melted away into laughter. If there was one thing Alastora exceeded in, it was taking the edge off of a dangerous situation. “Haha. Ok sillypants, its time to get serious.” Sizuru pointed towards the southwest, saying, “We are exiting the mountains over there, at which point we will be in Pilner territory. Don’t expect a friendly welcome from them. Mages aren’t exactly on the top of their dinner party list.”

Alastora pushed her crimson locks of hair behind her neck, tying them with a short, red piece of ribbon. Her ruby eyes and crimson hair were definitely a rarity, no matter what part of the continent she was in. Even with her cheerful demeanor, the typical response of strangers was one of fear and confusion. On the outside she simply shrugged it off, but deep down it bothered her that people stared at her constantly, simply because she was different. Little did they know how far that difference ran. Neither one of them was a typical human. Both were physically and mentally trained as elite assassins. While their job title might make them seem rather dangerous and different from the average person, it was their skills in magic that truly made them unique. The truly gifted magic-users were being scooped up by one government or another, or in the case of Pilner, brutally murdered.

The government of Pilner, along with its newest religion, was systematically killing anyone who showed signs of magic. The priests of Pilner proclaimed to the people that the ‘demons’ must be slain in order to purify the world. The gullible masses were afraid of the unknown and ate up the nonsensical stories like candy, turning in their friends, neighbors, and loved ones in hopes of being closer to their gods. Jumin, the country directly north of Pilner, knew full-well the implication that this new religion would have. The Juminian military had been recruiting mages since their first appearance, training them for numerous purposes, such as defending the lands, attacking enemy countries, or in the case of Sizuru and Alastora, surgical strikes against dangerous targets. If the religion of Pilner spread into their lands, it would compromise their military strength across the board. The religion needed to be contained and if necessary, eradicated.

Sizuru and Alastora headed southwest, their target: The Pilner Church of the Holy Flame, one of the largest churches in Pilner. While their religion encompassed all of the elemental gods of the religion, it focused primarily on the worship of the god of flame, Phoenix. It was allegedly a bird-like creature made of pure flame that protected the people in battle and cleansed the land of evil. The church was ironically placed in the coldest part of the country, along the mountains near the border of Jumin and Pilner. Perhaps it was due to the recent war between nations, allowing easier access for nearby soldiers to pray before battle in the north, but it seemed rather silly to place a church focused on flames in the middle of a winter wasteland. Whatever the case, their goal was to eliminate the Priests of Flame and strike the fear of the gods into the hearts of believers. Obviously, a straightforward attack from magic-users would have the reverse effect that they were aiming for, emphasizing the need to cleanse the land of demonic mages. Their plan was much more elegant.

After two days of dangerous climbing, they successfully made it past the border and deep into the northeastern edge of Pilner. They descended the treacherous mountain range and arrived near the rear of the church a few hours later. The journey from Jumin to Pilner took almost two weeks and they were definitely feeling the effects. Even with Alastora’s flame-based magic abilities to combat the cold, two weeks of climbing in blizzard-like conditions across seemingly impassible rock formations was quite a tiresome feat. After scoping out their target, they made camp near the base of the mountains.

----------------

The Pilner Church of the Holy Flame was a massive church, capable of comfortably sitting over five thousand people at a service. Stained-glass depictions of birds, flames, and other religious icons adorned the many windows surrounding the structure. The roof was constructed of multiple pointed arches, the highest of which overlooked the alter. Most of the roof was constructed of typical materials, but above the alter was an enormous stained-glass recreation of Phoenix, the treasured god of the church. The site was truly breathtaking, even to a nonbeliever. Of course, nonbelievers could instantly tell what all the tithes and donations, otherwise known as ‘embezzlements’, were funding. The exorbitant cost of jewels, rare metals, and colored glass could only be counteracted by the amount of money the religious system was raking in off of the ignorant. The sweet nothings of priests and priestesses swayed the hearts of tens of thousands and the number increased daily.

While the church typically had only a thousand worshippers on a given day, this day was special. Every year, Pilnerians from across the country come to celebrate the Day of the Phoenix. The sun had barely peeked out of the distant horizon but the church was already brimming with worshippers, gathering around the sanctuary for the festival. Rich or poor, all were dressed well for the occasion, wanting to look their best in front of friends and distant relatives. It was often a time for relationships to bloom among the younger generations, with special events designed to encourage teens to pick their future mates.

“I think I’m going to hurl…” Sizuru was holding her stomach tightly, her face a pale shade of violet. Sizuru and Alastora were sitting on top of the highest two arches on the church roof, looking down on the scene below. Sizuru was obviously not a fan of the atmosphere, her insides churning violently at the idea of mass love, specifically when it involved a bunch of teens. Her teenage life was quite different from that of the typical youngster. She never had the chance to experience having a boyfriend or having get-togethers with girls. She had spent her entire life training to be a death-dealer, so the mere thought of all the mushy, lovey-dovey action that could possibly be taking place below was enough to make her nauseous. “Oh god… please make it stop…”

Alastora was completely oblivious to her partner, staring wide-eyed at the scene below. The stained-glass made it difficult to see but she tried her best to get glimpses of the action in the main part of the church. “Wow! Did you see that? This has got to be the weirdest church ever!” She turned her eyes towards Sizuru, finally taking notice of what was going on directly in front of her. “Uguu…. Don’t barf on me!”

Sizuru stared blankly at Alastora, the pain slowly fading away. “Once the priests move into position and begin the sermon, we make our move. Understood?”

“Uguu… Are you sure you’re ok?”

“Stop saying ‘uguu’ you damned tard,” Sizuru said in a stern voice. “All you do is go ‘uguu’, ‘uguu’, ‘uguu’… I swear I can’t tell if you’re a dinosaur or a girl.”

“Uguu……..”

“…”

“What?” Alastora stared at Sizuru with a completely baffled look on her face.

“You did it again…”

“Did what?” Another fine example of Alastora trying to lighten the situation.

Sizuru ignored the pointless question and turned her focus back to the service below. There were four vice-priests and one priest that took place in the service. Three of the vice-priests were present, along with the priest, who was climbing to the pulpit. The fourth and final vice-priest was nowhere in sight. “Shit. Where did the fourth one go?”

Alastora turned towards the snowy embankment in the distance and pointed. “He’s over there getting spanked by a choir boy.” She turned back towards Sizuru with a strange grin on her face. “Er, I mean he’s spanking a choir boy. I’m sorry!”

“Would you please focus? This needs to go off without a hitch!” Sizuru’s temper was starting to flare, and Alastora took the queue to get ready for her performance.

The vice-priest finished his one-on-one lesson and headed towards the chapel. After a few moments he took his place near the alter with the other vice-priests. The scene was set and it was time for Alastora to make her grand entrance.

“OK, let’s do this!” Sizuru jumped to her feet, signaling that Alastora do the same. “When I give the signal, I’ll shatter the glass and you go in.” Sizuru focused intently on the glass phoenix before her. It was a shame that such a beautiful piece of architecture was going to be destroyed, but it was all in the name of Jumenian progress. She raised her hand towards the sky, giving Alastora the ‘thumbs-up’.

Suddenly, the glass spontaneously shattered, as if some heavy object had been dropped onto it, but no such object could be seen. Alastora’s entire body ignited like a torch, her hair rising on end and her flame-colored eyes burning brightly in the pale morning light. The flames danced around her body, increasing in velocity and intensity. Alastora jumped through the window, the inferno around her forming the shape of a massive bird.

The crowd was in an uproar, mass hysteria running rampant through every corner of the building. The priests backed away from the spectacle, unsure of what to do or say. The people turned towards the priests for guidance but the religious figures were speechless.

A deep, booming voice cut through the noise like a knife, stating, “People of Pilner. You have sinned against this church and against your gods. What book… what chapter… what passage in our texts condone the brutalities that are taking place?” Every living soul in the room focused upon the voice coming from the fiery birdlike monstrosity that had perched itself upon the alter. “The Children of Mana are not demons! They are human beings just like you. Everyone is unique in their own ways, but together you are all the Children of God. Cast off your selfish ways and return your faith to whence it came.”

The crowd collapsed to their feet, bowing down before the Phoenix, begging for mercy and forgiveness. The priests slowly backed away from the creature, unsure of what would happen next.

“All those who go against the Will of God will be burned for all eternity in the flames of Hell!” The four vice-priests spontaneously combusted, as if on queue. Their flaming body parts rolled across the stage in various directions, sending fear to the very core of all that was there. The Phoenix turned towards the pulpit, where the head priest still stood, shaking in his boots.

“Please… forgive me for I have sinned. I will change my ways!”

“Blasphemy! Hell hath not the fury that you deserve!” The Phoenix opened its beak wide, sending a stream of white-hot flames towards the pulpit, engulfing the priest in its torrential heat. When the flames subsided, the only thing left was a pile of ash where the religious leader once stood. The Phoenix turned back towards the frightened crowd, stating, “Go forth my children and tell everyone what you have seen. Those who stray from the path of the gods shall be punished!”

The creature flapped its fiery wings and ascended into the sky, leaving the dumbfounded congregation left with five dead church figures and a busted stained-glass window to ponder over.

On top of the roof, Sizuru greeted Alastora, who dusted off her clothing and sat down. “Great job Alastora! You almost had me fooled!”

“Its too bad the wings are only for show… I wish I could actually fly with them!” Alastora seemed disappointed, as if she was not happy with the result.

“Well the wind would probably snuff your ass out… then what?”

“Uguu….”

[DragonHeart]

The wolf paced back and forth and howled its defiance, always remaining just beyond her reach. She called out to it, encouraging it to come closer, but always it refused. Today was no different. Feeling her strength ebbing, she withdrew, releasing the spirit once more. It gazed at her for a long moment before bounding off and dissolving in the wind. She'd lost the battle.

“Still won't give you her power?” Sadi twirled a card between his fingers, watching her with interest. “I almost saw her this time. You must be close to her heart.”

“I just don't understand this.” Kaida said with a sigh. “The fox accepted me so easily but still the wolf eludes me.”

“You just haven't proven yourself to her yet. Keep at it and you'll win her over.” He held the card so she could clearly see the outline of a canine with bright yellow eyes.

She snorted and knocked his hand away. Undaunted, Sadi merely watched the card drift away in the breeze as Kaida stood up, brushing the grass from her pants. She gazed at the sky.

“That's enough training for today. I'm going to fly.” She called the eagle-spirit to her, feeling the familiar rush in her veins as the magic sang in her blood. The spirit answered and flew down, merging mind and body. A golden eagle stood where she'd been just a moment before.

“I won't wait up for you,” Sadi grinned and waved, knowing she could be gone for a day or more. It didn't bother him, of course. Kaida was often plagued by the feral spirits she could not yet tame and only the solitude of the wild soothed the tattered edges of her soul. A small price to pay to see her find happiness, if only for a time.

She leaped to the wind, spiraling upward on the invisible staircase of thermals, balanced as gracefully as a real eagle. Kaida's favorite from the beginning. She circled once above him and with a warbling shriek, disappeared.

[Zell Dincht]

Korin stared into the earthy mountains that separated the Northern Kingdom of Jumin from the State of Pilner in the south. Nearly four weeks ago a special team had been tasked with the disruption of a church in the northern most region of Pilner where the Fire God Phoenix was worshiped. The sole most important task of this team was to inspire the people of Pilner to halt the senseless killings of the many magus who inhabited the land. If a person so much as sneezed magic they were put to death.

Korin wasn't sure if putting the magic users to death was so much of a bad thing. Maybe it was better to be dead than to be used for your gifts and magical abilities, only being treated like a tool.

Aside from Korin's viewpoint there were two sides to the argument in the ranks of the Jumin Royalty and military strategists. The minority contested that the eradication of the magus in the Pilner region created an advantage for the Jumin Military. Since there were no other magic users in the Pilner forces their forces could easily be struck down. The majority knew however that this genocide could no longer ensue, it was morally wrong to wipe out an entire group of people that the Jumins knew to be at least some what civilized or rather in some peoples opinions tamable.

"Korin," a first class scout approached the mage.

Korin grunted his acknowledgment of the soldier. "What have you found?"

"Nothing on this side of the ridge sir, but the rest of the scouts have yet to return." Korin nodded and started slowly from the main encampment. He raised his hands and brought them together forming a spire with his body. Hands above his head he let out a mighty tremor of a yell and brought his fists down onto the ground.

There was a loud quaking sound that came from a dust cloud encircled around the magic caster. The ground shot up from a circled shape and formed the very spire he had been making with his body. A simple makeshift look out Korin had named the amazing technique. From his perch a mere 50 meters high he could see quite far into the distance.

Hours went by that the gruff man sat and stared at the mountain passes, he knew that if the team did not want to be seen he would not see them. But showing himself and his known spire might call them to him. He had urgent news and yet another mission for the duo. He hated to be the one to tell them that after a month in the frozen mountains they would yet again have to come to their countries aid. This time they were not going after religious fanatics. Now they would all focus their efforts and magics against Kithur.

[Victoria]

The bellringer rang the bell. The small crowd roared at the start of the brawl. Such was the atmosphere of the underground fighting arena of Lothua. The arena was first made a few years ago when a strong warrior by the name of Makunouchi arrived in the refugee camp. Her fiery ambition always wanted to test her strength against someone stronger than herself.

The white haired beauty charged ahead to the opposite corner. A strong ripped looking man with a scar across his face awaited on the other corner. Within seconds, her red eyes focused upon his dark eyes. His arms closed in for a grapple, but he ended up grappling nothing but air.

In the small gap where his defense was down, she jumped up from her crouched position. His chin was struck hard with her knee. His face got sent back from the impact, and during her air time she clenched her fist and landed a left hook to the side of his face.

The impact from the knee and the hook was enough to disorient his balance and caused him to land on the canvas. The referee of the match got in Matsuri’s way and instructed her to go into the neutral corner.

She took a deep breath as the count began. She wiped the sweat off her brow and cracked her neck.

“Three… Four…”

The count continued as the man got to his knees and put his arm around the ropes for support. His other hand was on his knee to push himself up.

“Five…Six…Seven…”

He managed to get into his fighting pose. His breathing was faster than normal and his vision had just returned to normal after it blurred when he stood up. The referee checked him over and looked into his eyes. Her opponent nodded that he could continue.

He shook the cobwebs from his head and charged at her. Her eyes peered into his soul as he drew closer and closer to her. The match had just begun but he was the first to stand up to her accurate attacks. Perhaps it was because of his type of build.

His right arm closed in as he clenched his fist to strike her body. The moment that it was about to strike, she weaved and dodged the punch and sidestepped out of the corner.

She kept her distance from him for a while to find an opening for her strongest attack. She adopted this attack after someone used it against her a few months ago. She used her footwork and weight shifting to weave her body in a manner similar to the figure eight. She stepped closer to him with each weave, gaining speed. He made an attempt to tackle her and counter the move, but she was quicker. She landed a punch and kept weaving her body. She landed another punch with her other arm. Then another. And another. And another.

The speed and power of her impacts grew stronger with every weave. It became too late for him to try and evade and his eyes cringed with the pain of the body shots. The impacts had almost made him sick in the stomach. If he took anymore, he would throw up soon.

Her flurry of attacks ended with a strong quick punch that left a burning sensation on his chest as his body quickly hit the canvas with a strong thud.
The referee stepped in and she went to the neutral corner. He started the count, but inspected him more thoroughly. He waved his hands that signaled the end of the match.

The bell rang a few times. She sighed and took a few breaths. She rolled her neck around and stepped outside of the ring.

She put her palms together and bowed as a sign of gratitude for the victory. However, she wasn’t satisfied with her opponent. She walked to a bench nearby and sat down. One of the members of the audience walked up to her.

“That was a magnificently quick match as always, Ms. Makunouchi.” They smiled.

“Just call me Matsuri,” she replied with a sincere smile.

The smile quickly faded when she slouched forward and frowned.

“What’s wrong?” the young person asked.

“…He wasn’t as strong as he looked, was he?” Matsuri sighed.

“I suppose not…” the person cocked a brow. In the background, someone was heard, calling for someone.

“Oh! My father is calling for me. I better get going. It was nice talking to you. Keep up the good work!” the black haired boy sat up and dashed off to his father.

Matsuri waved. It was the first time someone from the audience came up and talked to her. At first she felt somewhat awkward, but the feeling soon left her as the feeling of disappointment took over. She sighed and stood up. She shook her hands to remove the stinging sensations.

He wasn’t all that strong, but body felt like steel. Ouch…

She walked up the stairs and outside of the underground. She stretched and yawned. She looked up at the cloud-filled sky and sighed.

“It sure looks gloomy today…” she said to herself.

[Andromeda]

He did not know how to answer the question that his sister gave him. She needed any answer, any would have done, yet his lips could not open. His jaw was clamped tight and his hands shaking. Gurin could not even hide his own fear from his sister. She was staring at him, those empty eyes drilling through him leaving him bare. His legs felt like running and his heart was breaking while his mind feared the worst. He lost the feeling in his legs collapsing to the floor unable or unwilling to stand, neither matter to him.

Eris rushed out of her bed to catch Gurin as his knees hit the ground coming to rest on his legs. Tears began to stream out of her eyes afraid of what was happening to her brother. She had seen her room and did not know what happened. When she had been awake it was normal, but now her entire life was charred black. There was nothing in her room, beyond her bed, that was still intact and she did not know why. Before she had been too confused to have emotions, but they were suddenly surfacing in her quickly as she held on to her brother.

She held close to him as though she was seeking an answer by pulling it physically out of his back. Seeing how he fell apart in front of her scared her to what it was that he knew. There was something he had seen that destroyed him inside. The thoughts were tightening around her heart making her chest prickle in pain. She wanted to know what he knew and why he was in such pain to make him collapse.

Eris could see her father behind him near to the door keeping a distance from her. She was not sure if it was because of what Gurin had seen or if it was something else. Her eyes searched around for anyone else, but it was just the two of them in her room. She began worried where her mother was, if something had happened to her. If something had happened to their mother it could explain why Gurin was so devastated. However, she still did not have an answer for her a room and the state that it was in. There was something in her mind that was still not fitting, but it continued to jump to new conclusions before she could rationalize the ones she had.

“What’s going on? Gurin, please tell me. What happened? I need to know…please!” She looked at him surprised by the shattered expression that he held across his face. Never had she seen her brother look so completely helpless and without words to speak. She had always known him to be strong and watchful. Even when she was young he was always with her picking her up and cleaning her off when she fell. He was strong, not even the soldiers, which pass through frequently, seem to make him scared. Eris was afraid what this meant if he was in pieces. “Please…”

Gurin looked into her eyes with only silence filling the void. He could barely hear Eris crying even when he looked at her. It felt like the world was closing, leaving him behind to remain in an empty abyss. He wanted to answer her question. He wanted to speak, yet his voice choked through his throat. There were no words he had to say. Even thinking what he was feeling would have meant bringing reality and substance to what he could not accept. He could not speak, say the words, his thoughts that were a mist for if it were whole he would be crushed under its weight.

Their father approached them, but became interrupted by the sound of someone banging on their door. The three of them broke from their emotions, forgetting them in that moment, Gurin more so than Eris. After the banging came voices, filtered and muffled through walls and distance to indistinguishable sounds. Teris was closer however; she entered the hallway looking down at them.

“What do they want,” their father said approaching the doorway of Eris’ room.

“They’re wanting to know if anyone is hurt.” There was another voice through house before he could give Teris a reply. “They want to speak to you.”

“Very well…” he said walking towards the entrance of the house. He sent Teris back to their mother to stay with her. Eris remained with Gurin, though her thoughts continued to be confused. She wanted to know what they were going to be talking about outside.

The door opened and closed quickly as he disappeared outside. In front of the house was half of the village with torches lit to provide light in the night. The flames gave the mob an unsettling sinister motive, but their expressions spoke another story. They looked confused and concerned worried that something had happened to the Rhiemiu family. None of them knew what happened merely seeing the strange lightning bolt that did not cease. Many feared that it was the army from Kithur attacking with its magic. However, the more rational people came to then conclusion that was not case since there was no further assault.

“What’s going on inside your house?” someone said speaking up first as he exited the house.

“Is anyone hurt? It looked like it struck Eris’ room.”

“Eris? Is she alright? She’s not hurt, is she?”

“Please…please, calm down everyone.” He raised his arms up trying to bring down the voices in the crowd around his house. There were more around than he was expecting, but it was not something that could have been easily ignored. They all were right in being confused, fearful, scared and afraid. He only hoped that they would listen calmly. “Everything is being handled inside. There is nothing to be concerned about.”

“But that huge light!”

“It was lightning, wasn’t?”

“But there isn’t rain. There is barely even a cloud, that’s not possible!”

“Please, everyone. My house is fine. I appreciate your concern, but go home and return to sleep.” He was worried that they would want to stay and help. They were all kind people and everyone helped each other out when there was trouble. If it were any other time he would have allowed them near, but he could not let them inside. He did not know how he was going to hide this until everyone forgot. It might not even be possible he feared. They were not dumb; it would only take one to figure it out. ‘I don’t know how they would react if they knew. Would they fear her or hate her? Would she be exiled or handed over to Jumin?’

“What’s going on?”

“This isn’t normal!”

“Why don’t you want our help? You would never refuse help. If we were in trouble you would insist on helping us!”

“That’s right, something wrong!”

“Please! There is nothing to be worried about. It is late a night, you all need your rest if you’re going to work the fields in the morning.”

“If something happens to someone in the village we stop and help!”

“Right, it’s our way!”

“Thank you…but please. Get some rest.” Some of the crowd was beginning to disperse to his relief. However, there still remained many unconvinced and concerned. He did not know what else to tell them that would not be repeating what he had already said before to them. There was nothing more that he could tell them.

Gurin stood up suddenly with a determined look on his face leaving Eris even more worried. He walked out of her room towards the front door leaving Eris on the floor. She ran after him to stop him from whatever it was that he was planning to do. Eris did not even understand what was happening, but she could not let her brother do whatever it was he was planning. She was unable to reach him before he got to the door. It was open to the crowd and they were both exposed to the stares of the villagers.

“What’s going on father?” Eris said in awe at the number of people gathered around. “Why is so many people gathered at our house?”

“Go back in, Eris, now!”

“But father!”

“Eris! You’re not hurt!”

“She’s alive, what a relief.”

“We didn’t know what to think when we saw that bolt of lightning.”

“Father?” Eris looked at her father who held his head away. “Brother?” Gurin’s body was shaking, as he could not look at her. “What are they talking about? I don’t remember a bolt of lightning.”

“You shouldn’t have come outside, Gurin.”

“I couldn’t…” Gurin said.

“Take her back inside!”

“Father, please!” Eris said pleading to him, tears renewed in her eyes. “You know something! Tell me! Please!” Eris fell to the floor in the doorway in tears. She was alone in the dark. It was clear that something had happened, something that they did not want to talk about. She needed to know what it was. Eris knew that it had something to do with her. The villagers were talking about lightning and she could not remember it at all. There was something in her room, something had happened and it destroyed her room. Nothing was left untouched but her. It did not make any sense to her, but they knew what it was and refused to tell her what they knew. Even the villagers knew something that she did not.

Her stomach churned again, twisting into a bundle that left her throat gasping for air. The binding feeling seeped through arms weighing them down. There was a thought washing over her mind, it was dense. She could not escape it as it came barreling at her blinding her completely. Her bones ached as it lapped inside her. Her heart pounded trying to release it self from the grip that her insides continued to twist. It came over her removing her sight leaving blackness in her eyes that glowed in her tears.

“Gurin!” her father said.

“No!” Gurin shouted over everyone. It surprised everyone bringing the crowd to silence in an instant. His father stared at him blankly not knowing what to think. Yet when he saw his eyes, Gurin’s eyes, there was no longer any question. It was clear to him now.

“No-“ his father said, but cut off.

“Don’t stop me, father!” Gurin said throwing his arm out in front of his father. He stepped out from under the house into the crowd. His father rushed to his side pulling at his arm to get him back into the house. “No.”

“You don’t have to do this,” his father whispered to him.

“I do,” Gurin whispered back. “She has suffered enough already. I’m her brother and I’m not going to throw her to the wolves. If I can keep her safe from harm, even for one more day then I can be content.”

“Gurin…”

Gurin stepped into the crowd letting them fall back to make way for him. He stopped before he was completely surrounded by them. A semi-circle formed at him leaving him an audience waiting to listen. “What you saw is correct! It was lightning from the heavens on a stormless night!” Gurin paused for a moment as murmurs grew in the crowd. “Listen, it is what you thought or felt. That strike of lightning…was what is said to be magic!” The last word sent all of them into an uproar and everyone began to back away from Gurin. They looked at him questioningly with eyes that held fear of the unknown. “I just learn this night that I have these strange abilities!”

They all looked at each other wanting answers. It was someone that they had known for so long and now did not know what to do. It was not their nature to turn on one that they knew so well and saw as part of their family. They had all shared times with him, even meals at some point. He had helped them in the past, but things changed in an instant. Gurin was no longer the same person they knew. There was something different in him now, he had become foreign to them. He was unrecognizable through their fear.

It did not take long for someone to grab him shattering the bonds of friendship. He did not resist them as it slowly boiled into a frenzy. Gurin was pulled along away from his house. Teris was watching from the window with tears falling down her cheek. Eris was screaming out for him burning her lungs. Their father turned away walking up to Eris taking her out of sight. Gurin’s face suddenly disappeared into mob until there were only disjointed voices left.

Eris was dropped onto the floor inside their house after having scratched and clawed at her father to get free to save Gurin from his fate. She did not know then, but she understood now. “Let me go, father! We have to save Gurin!” Eris jumped up going for the door, but her arm was ripped back to where she had been dropped. Her father forced her back to the ground where he held her down at the shoulders. “How can you let him go like that? He’s not the one they want!”

When she spoke those words it became clear to her. It was the light that cleared the fog from the room. Everyone looked at her unable to deny the truth. There was no longer any words or turned heads hiding what thoughts and emotions did not want to be seen. Their mother broke free of the sorrowful grip that tormented her. Teris stopped looking for Gurin in the window that would never see him.

They were all watching Eris, no longer confused or lost.

[Victoria]

Kisara looked up at the sky and frowned at the black clouds. Not too far off she saw a lightning bolt hit someone's house, so she thought to check it out. Anything that had lightning, had her name all over it. Afterall, she had just coughed. Whenever Kisara coughed, lightning usually appeared out of nowhere. This time was no different. She squatted down and re-fastened her white sandal straps.

She arrived at the house and noticed a whole group of townspeople crowding over the front yard. They were all concerned with what had happened with the people of the house. That was when the man of the house came out and said that nothing was wrong, and everything was okay.

The look on his face was obvious enough to her that he hid something. She just didn't know what that something was. But since the lightning had hit their house, she had wanted to wait till the people died down to apologize to him for harming the house.

Another man from the house appeared and brought up that the lightning was all him. That he was the one who caused it to happen because he had powers. She moved up to get a closer look, and noticed his face was sweaty with anxiety, and that his eyes were somewhat twitchy. He was lying. Kisara assumed that he was protecting someone else inside the house. Because why would he protect her? He doesn't even know her. Something fishy was going on with the house, but she couldn't quite figure out what. But she had to apologize anyway, because she was sure that it was her fault.

The villagers yelled at him and attacked him, while taking him away. The crowd had left the house and she was the only one left in front of the house. She ran her fingers through her silky blue hair and flicked a white bang out of her eye and sighed. The people of the house had went inside, as the brother got taken away. She looked in both directions and decided to walk up to the door to apologize.

She took her hand and knocked upon the door, “Hello?” she stood at about five foot seven. Her head a few inches from the top of the door frame. Her rod was a very light blue with a white orb attached to it. The white orb was just an ordinary glass sphere, and had a special blue insignia on it. The insignia was identical to the one on the back of her dress. The insignia looked as if it was a foreign symbol that was not of this world. She had in fact designed it herself. It was a symbol of her powers. It was a lightning bolt with an eye inside of it. She was dressed with the appearance of a mage, but actually knew an average amount of martial arts, just in case she needed to defend herself.

“What do you want? We're not seeing any visitors right now. Didn't you see what happened?”

“...Yes, I saw. That's why I came here for.” she rubbed her nose and sniffled.

“What did you come here to do? They already took him away. There's nothing else here that you'd want.”

“Actually... I came to apologize to you.”

“Huh? What for? I've never even seen you before. Why apologize to someone you've never even met?”

“Because, that, erm... lightning. I...”

“What? Are you saying that it was your fault? That's a bunch of malarky. The man you saw get taken away was the culprit.”

“But, um..” a soft cold breeze shot through the area which made her shudder. She coughed and sparked lightning that struck the door, making a peep hole. “Sorry about that,” she said.

“...” he just stood there and looked at the girl through the new hole. She looked somewhat cute and conservative. She put her eye up to the hole and looked in. He took a step back in bewilderment. Her eyes and no pupils in them. Her skin was also very slightly paled.

“What the heck was that!?” he asked in excitement.

“May I come in? It would look somewhat odd to be talking to someone outside, and.. it's also somewhat private.”

“...Fine, fine.” he said as another breeze shot through and tickled Kisara's nose. As he was about to open the door, her vision switched from outside, to the inside of a house where she was behind a man that was about to open the door. She looked around frantically and noticed a young girl that stood to the right of her. The girl had her mouth gaped open in shock.

Just when she was about to alert the man, she sneezed once more and appeared outside of the door.

“Come in.” he said. She curtsied and walked in through the doorway. The girl was still there, staring at her in shock with her mouth gaped open. The man had not seen nor heard that she teleported inside the house.

Kisara scratched the back of her forehead in embarrassment and sweatdropped. The girl was about to finally scream, but Kisara put her hand over her mouth.

“Ssh! I'm about to explain everything right now. Just please calm down and your questions will be answered. Trust me.”

The girl's breathing slowed down and she eventually nodded that she had calmed down. Kisara removed her hand from the girl's mouth.

[Andromeda]

There was clarity in Eris suddenly; she understood to some degree what had transpired. She knew what her brother was doing and the rest of her family. The fog that had been around her was gone giving her the view that everyone else was seeing. It was then she realized that there was something inside her that she did not understand or want. She had something else that was a part of her that suddenly appeared in her life to try to destroy her peaceful existence.

Yet in that unsheltered vision she had a new wind appeared to muddle the waters in her mind before they could settle. A woman appeared at their house bringing new problems with her and only layering confusion on issues that were trying to rest. The woman boldly entered their house saying that the cause of everything was herself. She seemed to openly carry around the visage of a magic user, seemingly unafraid of what becomes of them. Her manner was brazen and Eris’ father was not the only one that wanted her out of the house. However, the display of magic was enough to make everyone submit. Eris had wished that she could have used whatever untold powers inside her to make the woman leave for disturbing them.

Unfortunately, the only reaction Eris had was to scream from the surprise of the woman entering their house through some type of magic that made her appear inside. She was unable to release much more than a burst of air before the woman already had her hand over Eris’ mouth. Her heart was racing in her chest wanting everything to just slow down for a moment so that she could fully comprehend what was happening. But she would have to wait a while longer for that to happen. The woman finally released her mouth when she had calmed down enough to satisfy her.

The woman sat down where everyone else was making herself comfort without much acknowledgement from the others. Eris looked at her narrowly with contempt. Her father grudgingly joined them, but their mother disappeared to their bedroom. Teris sat down at Eris’ side placing her arm around her holding her tight. It was a comforting warmth for Eris, but it was still difficult for her to calm down with her emotions running out of control.

“Why are you here?” Eris said starting the conversation with unsubtle anger.

“W-well, I said I-I wanted to apologize for causing the lightning.”

“You caused it? You destroyed my room, my life! And my brother’s life!” Eris was straining in Teris’ arms to get free. There was no reasoning left in Eris’ mind anymore. Her eyes could only see anger and hatred without any compassion.

“I-I’m sorry…but…”

“My brother! My brother…was taken away…because of you! Give me back my brother!” Eris pushed back Teris finally breaking free from her grip and lunged at the woman without hesitation. Her father tried to step in between Eris and the woman before anything happened, but he was too slow to react. Eris was already on top of the woman having her thrown against the floor pinned down at the shoulders. “Give him back!” She raised her hand up over her back in a fist. Her hand was shaking heavily paused, unclear whether it was anger or sorrow that made her freeze for a moment. “Give him…”

Before Eris could complete her action her eyes glazed over and she fell over the woman unmoving. Her body was limp no longer shaking from the heightened emotions flowing through her body. Her father finally made it to Eris the moment after she collapsed and pulled her off of the woman. The woman crawled up from underneath Eris free again. Teris helped carry Eris back to her bed to let her rest.

The woman had followed them back seeing the destruction in the room. “Oh my…” Teris and their father looked back at the woman wishing that she had not seen the room. They escorted the woman back into the main room of the house. The three sat back down with the air of tension even thicker now.

“I must apologize for my daughter’s actions,” their father said.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t fully realize the situation. It wasn’t my intention to…”

“I know. However, I believe that you are mistaken in your belief as much as I would prefer to believe otherwise.”

“What do you mean?”

“Unless your lightning can’t harm humans, it wasn’t you that caused it.”

“Uh…no, not that I’m aware…its quite fatal.”

“Exactly, you saw her room where it struck. It hit her bed, exactly where she was and she came out unharmed. So I’m afraid you have nothing to apologize for. I would ask you to leave immediately.”

“But if that is so and she can use magic…”

“Leave this house now!”


“Brother! Gurin! Come back!” Eris chased after him as he faded away from her sight. No matter how much she ran he never seemed to get closer to her. She ran until her legs could no longer move and he still continued to fade into the distance. He was out of her reach her arms could not stretch far enough to take hold of him. He was gone from her and no longer would be around. They would never be able to walk through the fields anymore.

The evening sun would never burn against their backs when they finished a long day of work. She could never see the shining gleam in his eye when he smiled at her that still had the child like innocence she remembered when they were young. He could never be with Teris anymore and have that family they were talking about. All of his dreams were gone as the clouds shattered to the ground. The trees were dead with leaves no longer blowing in the wind. There was no wind. It was empty and Eris was alone. The world was gray, plain uninteresting gray devoid. She could not even hear her crying or her tears splattering against the ground.

Suddenly the world shattered, cracking dividing into large pieces of earth. The entire ground broke up quaking around Eris leaving her on the only stable piece of earth. She recoiled in fear not wanting to die as she saw the massive chasm below increase even further. The chunks of earth crumbled and fell down into the growing pit until fire burst out. She could feel again, but now she wanted that feeling to go away as heat over took her now. It burned her throat and the very air within her lungs. She collapsed to the small piece of earth gasping out for air wishing for her brother to return to save her.


Their father was escorting the woman out of the house when the entire ground shook violently knocking them to the ground. The house was vibrating sending everything to the ground crashing loudly. Their mother came running into the room screaming in terror, as none of them knew what was happening anymore. Shouts were muffled and muted out by the wood planks protesting to be free creating a roaring noise that eclipsed everything.

It was not long afterwards when a light burst out of Eris’ room along with a massive strike of lightning that ripped through the quiet night dwarfing the previous strike. The noise nearly shattered their ears at the proximity. When the lightning hit the ground it made the earth leap in fright as the wood shattered into splinters flung from the epicenter. Everyone hugged the floor as the force of the impact sent out a wind pushing everything away.

Another strike crashed next to the house in the front blowing the roof of their house completely upon impact. The initial strike still continued increasing in strength burning a hole into the earth vaporizing the wood floor. Further strikes came across the village digging through houses and dirt roads leaving only craters behind. The impacts were stronger than any normal natural lightning strike leveling houses in a single nearby strike.

The primary strike was still holding even after all of the others had finally stopped. The village had returned to peace except for the roar in the house where Eris was held. All of the walls of the house had been crushed or destroyed now leaving only the floor weakly holding together as the family and the woman were left to a mound of debris. The roar was so loud that not even their voices shouting for Eris could be heard.

The woman tried to stand up moving towards Eris, but the waves coming off of the lightning knocked her on her back before she could even step. Dust clouds from the shaken earth pushed around the impact expanding outward. It eventually reached the family, where it ran through the mouth of the woman bringing her to cough immediately. A lightning bolt struck out from the sky, but was immediately caught in by the maelstrom that was developing. However, the woman could not stop coughing sending further strikes into the maelstrom until it suddenly burst destroying itself and returning the night.

Once the wind had ceased they rushed to where Eris was laying still unconscious in her bed the only part untouched by the lightning. Their mother could barely utter words as she collapsed to the ground. Teris shook Eris at the shoulders shouting for her to wake up. “Eris! Eris, wake up!” Eris slowly came around opening her eyes and quickly becoming afraid looking at the expressions on the faces she saw.

Eris was given the room to sit up when her eyes suddenly caught the view of destruction from her room. Her eyes widened in horror as tears dripped down her cheeks. “What…what have I done?”

[Victoria]

The girl named Eris lunged at Kisara and pinned her against the floor. Kisara couldn't help but look on at Eris as she raised her arm and formed a fist. Eris hesitated for a moment as Kisara still looked on.

“...Go on. Hit me. If it makes you feel better, then hit me.” Kisara said as she closed her eyes and winced in preparation for the hit. But it never came, as she saw Eris' eyes gloss over and pass out on top of her.

Eris' father pulled her off. Kisara sat up and sighed.

This isn't going as well as I expected it to. Maybe I should have waited a while. she thought to herself as Eris was carried back to her bedroom. Kisara stood up and dusted herself off. She thought of leaving them alone for now, but then she remembered about the damage that she did. She followed without hesitation and took a look through the doorway.

“Oh my...” she spoke softly as the father and other woman glanced back. They escorted Kisara back to the main room and they sat down with tension in the air.

“I must apologize for my daughter’s actions,” Eris' father said.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t fully realize the situation. It wasn’t my intention to…” Kisara looked down at the floor.

“I know. However, I believe that you are mistaken in your belief as much as I would prefer to believe otherwise.”

“...How do you figure?”

“Unless your lightning can’t harm humans, it wasn’t you that caused it.”

“Uh…no, not that I’m aware of…last I checked, its quite fatal.”

“Exactly. You saw her room where it struck. It hit her bed, exactly where she was and she came out unharmed. So I’m afraid you have nothing to apologize for. I would ask you to leave immediately.”

“But if that's so, and she can use magic…” Kisara scratched the back of her head and pondered.

“Leave this house now!” he exclaimed.

“...If that is your wish.” she humbly said and sighed. She warped outside to the front and took a deep breath. She sat by the side of the door and looked up at the sky. A few moments later she felt the ground shake. It started slow and increased its vibration.

“Here we go again...” she said to herself as she heard things falling from inside the house. The house's wood slowly broke free of their restraints and a bright light emanated from inside Eris' room that attracted the biggest bolt of lightning she had ever seen. Just before the lightning struck home, Kisara covered her ears to protect her ear drums from the loud boom.

It struck and caused a harsh wind that almost made her fall over. But she kept her grip and sustained her position. Another strike was made nearby and desolated the roof of the building across the front. Kisara could only look on as the terrifying power of Eris was displayed. Each strike had more strength than the last as it decimated the whole village by destroying every house in its path. There was no mercy behind this power. Eris needed to take control of her power before anything else chaotic happened.

The primary bolt still held as the others subsided. She looked on as its power grew slowly. The whole house was destroyed except for the floor. The family was still alive and taking cover from the mayhem. Kisara crawled closer and attempted to stand up, but she got struck her and sent her back to the ground.

Dust from the area became unsettled and made its way inside Kisara's mouth. Her eyes watered as she tried to suppress her coughing, but to no avail. She began to have a coughing fit and bolts of lightning traveled from her mouth toward the large mass of electricity looming over Eris' room.

Each bolt from Kisara's coughs built up inside of the maelstrom and caused it to implode on itself, ending the chaos and bringing peace back to the area.

Once the wind had calmed, the family got up and rushed to Eris' side. Kisara followed silently. Eris was unscathed as before and remained unconscious through the whole ordeal. The mother fainted from excess emotional stress. The other young girl shook Eris and attempted to wake her. Kisara noticed that Eris slowly came to and slowly sat up, taking in the new scenery. She was bewildered by the expressions of those around her.

“What.. What have I done?” she sobbed as tears ran through her cheek.

Kisara looked around at the wasteland that was once the village and gave a deep sigh. She looked onto Eris' family and wondered if if they would let her near. One thing was for certain, and that was Eris was not fully aware of her powers, nor how to use them properly. From witnessing the whole ordeal, Kisara now fully understood the method of Eris' power. Now if only Eris could be convinced to go with her.

This is certainly going to attract way more attention than what I need right now. I need to get her out of here, and fast.

It took Kisara several moments to build up the courage to act as a strong woman. She walked over to where Eris and family were gathered and pounded the bottom of her rod against the ground to get their attention. She knew they would not welcome her but she did not care.

“I think it's obvious that you cannot control your talent, but also cannot use your talent consciously. I wasn't around for the first event personally, but from the second event alone, it's a given that your power is activated by heightened emotion. You hate me and wish for me to be gone, and that's fine, but know this. It would be better off for what's left of the people of this village, and this country, that you come along with me. Do you not ponder for a moment that if you stay here that everything will be fine? You know as well as I do that this incident was a huge beacon for the government. Do you want them to take you away? Do you want your fellow villagers to capture you and hand you over? That's what's going to happen if you stay here, and you know it. If you come with me, I can train you and your powers so that you may control them to a slight degree and so that something this tragic never happens again! It's your life, therefore it's your decision. If you want to attack me and be rid of me, be my guest and you can pretty much kiss your freedom goodbye. If you want to come with me, we'll stop by the mob of villagers and get your brother back before we leave...”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She didn't know whether to wait for a response or to just leave and survey the area. She decided to let the lecture sink in and survey the village.

“...I will come back in 24 hours for your decision.” she turned on her heel and walked away to check the rest of the village for damages and survivors. It was evident that she was using her rod as a cane as she walked away. Her right leg had a large scrape and it sent pain straight to her senses. She winced with every step that she took.

[Merlin]

It had been nearly two days since the attack on The Pilner Church of the Holy Flame. Sizuru and Alastora were once again high in the mountains overlooking Pilner and Jumin, only this time, they had no idea where they were. They had immediately departed after brutally killing five high-ranking church officials, heading straight back the way they came, or so they thought. Little did they know they had actually gone higher up into the mountains, towards the forbidden lands of the East. The only upside to this misfortunate turn of events was the-fact-that they were actually wearing winter clothing. It is uncertain where the two managed to find the clothes in such short notice, but one thing was clear: they were definitely glad to have them.

The air was growing thinner by the hour, daylight slipping away below their feet as they climbed towards the massive peaks above. The landscape was rugged: rocky hills, ravines, and cliffs in all directions, making it difficult to determine which way was up and which way was down. Even the sun was hiding from view, blanketed by snow flurries and low-lying clouds. The abysmal conditions would only continue to grow worse as night approached, making shelter a priority before both of them ended up frostbitten, comatose, or dead.

“I can’t see shit with all this damned snow everywhere.” Sizuru tightened the ivory-colored, fur-lined coat she was wearing, gripping it tightly to her body. She pushed her hands up into the coat-sleeves as best she could, trying in vain to protect her delicate hands from the freezing weather. “I’m sorry, Alastora. I don’t think we are gonna make it off this mountain. The sun has almost set and the weather is just going to get worse.”

Sizuru looked around her, trying to locate some rock formation, anything that they could use as shelter, but there was nothing… just endless snowdrifts. She sighed, her warm, moist breath forming a small plume as it left her chapping lips. “We should have just traveled by land and fought our way out… at least that way we wouldn’t have ended up stranded on this damned rock. Hell, at this point we ought to just climb up the rest of the way and…” She stopped in mid-sentence, finally taking notice of what Alastora was doing a short distance away from her. She had been oblivious to it, sulking away in an endless monotone of impending doom, completely ignoring the activity of the only other person near her.

“Woo-hoo! Its time to get those muscles movin’, that energy flowin’ and…” Alastora was often easily excited over the strangest things. What most people would consider life-threatening situations with zero hope of survival incited a strange twinkle in her eye like a small child opening up a much-desired present on some well-known holiday. While Sizuru was busy reiterating their nonexistent future, Alastora was giddy as a schoolgirl, prancing around in circles.

Sizuru was in no mood to laugh at the situation; she quickly pointed out that excessive body motion produces sweat which would then freeze and increase the rate at which one dies by means of hypothermia.

Alastora paused for a moment, stopping to ask what hypothermia was. She wondered what her depressed partner was mumbling about, the word seemingly foreign and nondescript. She figured it was another one of Sizuru’s fancy bookworm phrases used for the sole purpose of making her feel inadequate and uneducated. Of course, both of them had the same educational experience; Alastora simply chose to focus on increasing her battle skills and Sizuru on being a smartass. At least, that’s how she thought of the situation.

Sizuru pondered over the question momentarily, shrugged, and replied, “I have no idea. It just sounded good at the time.”

“Uguu… stop making words up!”

Sizuru grinned wryly, responding, “Just because I don’t know what it means doesn’t mean its not a word. It could indeed simply be a word that neither of us have been made aware of and I in my infinite wisdom coincidentally or perhaps randomly stumbled upon in this long-winded discussion over nothing.” Indeed, Sizuru was in fact babbling nonsensical catch-phrases and innuendos, something she was quite gifted at. It couldn’t win a battle, but it could bewilder an opponent to the point of absolute annoyance. Unfortunately for her, this was no battle and the attempt was rather useless against Alastora, who forgot about the whole discussion approximately three seconds after Sizuru stopped talking.

Those short, mind-numbing few seconds of absolute silence seemed to last for an eternity. Their eyes met in a disparate mix of confusion and stupidity laced with a hint of wonder at what the future held. What truths were hidden in that brief eclipse of sanity only the gods knew.

“Why exactly were you jumping around like a moron for?”

“Huh?” The conversation had thrown her off course. After a brief pause, she responded, “I came up with an idea!” Alastora clapped her hands in excitement, the oversized white mittens on her hands muffling the noise enough not to draw Sizuru’s attention. Her coat was quite similar to that of Sizuru, but was a beautiful garnet rather than the off-white of her partner-in-crime. It suited her nicely and under normal conditions could have made a lovely fashion statement. But alas, this was no town and there was no one around to admire how her coat complemented her hair and eyes. She knew better than to point it out to Sizuru, who could care less what she wore as long as she didn’t draw unwanted attention. One would think that her personality would be more than enough to draw attention to herself, but most of it was exaggerated. Alastora might effectively imitate an airhead to the nth power, but it was more to get on Sizuru’s nerves than anything. There was one thing Sizuru couldn’t stand above all else, and that was stupid people. What better way to make a lasting friendship than to pretend that your skull has enough free space for a small animal to live in comfortably?

Sizuru couldn’t imagine what possible use Alastora’s idea could hold, coming from someone who has random brainfarts and calls it ‘ingenious’. At this point she was out of viable options and had no choice but to listen. “What is this brilliant idea of yours? I’m simply brimming with excitement at the mere thought of your deductive power…”

“Uguu…”

“Well?”

“Uguuu…… um.” Alastora blushed, gently pressing her index fingers together. She was sure Sizuru was coming up with the perfect comeback right at that moment, and for once she really was being serious.

“No offense but I have a date with death, could you speed it up a little? I don’t want to keep him waiting…”

“We should have a duel!”

Suddenly, a masculine voice from behind them interrupted their conversation, stating, “That’s a wonderful idea. How about we play a little game: If you win, I’ll show you the way back to your homeland, but if I win, I’ll leave your beaten and bruised bodies in the snow and this mountain shall be your burial grounds.”

Sizuru and Alastora turned sharply, their eyes greeted by the sight of a man wearing a heavy, silver-lined grey cloak. Every inch of his body was hidden from view except for his green eyes, which shined like emeralds in the evening light. The eerie sight was disturbing, as if the man was some sort of apparition sent to haunt them. Slowly, the man loosened the rope that held the cloak snuggly around his waist, revealing the hilt of a massive katana underneath. The silver-encrusted hilt had intricate designs; the most notable was that of a dragon. The mysteriously-shrouded figure had another katana tucked away in his cloak, lying silently on his back, awaiting its master’s need.

What was more disturbing than his sudden appearance was the-fact-that neither one of them was aware that anyone else was around. He managed to approach them completely undetected, something that was thought of as impossible for two elite soldiers of the secret Juminian military unit: MCTU. They were trained to infiltrate locations where concealment was top priority, yet here they were being duped by their own methods.

Sizuru took several steps back away from the man. From her previous distance, approximately ten feet, she could easily kill an ordinary human with her telekinetic powers. For her to step back rather than kill the intruder was strange enough in itself. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but something compelled her body to continue to make small steps backwards. Something was seriously wrong and she could feel it to the core.

Alastora unsheathed her katana and placed her feet evenly apart, bringing her body into a battle stance. She wasn’t sure who the cloaked figure was, but she wasn’t about to be caught off-guard again. Defend oneself, ask questions second.

“Alastora… fall back.” Sizuru was trying her best to hide the peculiar fear that was running through her body as she took another step backwards.

“Why? Its two of us versus him. He doesn’t stand a chance!” She couldn’t understand why Sizuru was reluctant to fight. Normally she’d be the first one to jump at the opportunity to kill someone, not thinking anything of it. Alastora gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, staring deep into the eyes of her opponent without fear. Her training had kicked in and she wasn’t about to back down without a good reason.

Sizuru pleaded with Alastora again, her attempt at a strong order sounding more like a whisper. “Fall back!”

Little by little the man’s left hand crept towards the scabbard of his blade, finally grasping it tightly. He placed his thumb on the edge of the hilt, raising the blade ever-so-slightly out of its protective sheath. “You should listen to the young lady. It’d be a shame if such a beautiful woman died from being too hasty.”

All of a sudden the man’s overall aura changed. Alastora staggered backwards, grabbing her forehead with her free hand. Sharp pain rushed through her body like a tidal wave, the epicenter of which originated from the man. She fell to her knees, unable to combat the sensation of some invisible force pressing her down. Alastora cried out in agony, finally realizing why Sizuru had tried so hard to convince her to fall back. Sizuru rushed towards her comrade, only to suffer the same fate. She collapsed to the ground in a heap, her whole body feeling as if it was being crushed. The cloaked figure’s killing intent had been made quite clear. He was no ordinary human, not even a run-of-the-mill mage… he meant business and they were feeling the brunt of it.

As quickly as the sensation started, it faded away. The two comrades struggled to their feet, unsure of what to expect next. Sizuru was the first to regain her senses. She took a step forward, put on her most serious face and sternly said, “We don’t want to fight you. We are simply trying to get home. Please, let us go.”

“The defiled one speaks.” The man let go of the blade and placed his hand back within his cloak, out of sight. “Request denied. Perhaps you should have thought of that before you illegally entered our lands and brutally murdered a priest and four vice-priests.”

Alastora finally managed to regain her posture. She picked up her katana and used it as a resting post, leaning her hands on the hilt while the tip of the blade was firmly in the ground. “The priests of the Pilner Religion slaughter magic-users every day! Why do you support them?”

The man grunted, rebutting her question by asking, “Do you always rush into other people’s countries and slaughter them before getting your facts straight? Those priests were key members in the underground movement to overthrow the current religious regime. The Pilner Church of the Holy Flame was one of our major support networks, keeping us apprised of the latest developments and saving as many magic-users from the hands of others as they could. The only magic-users that were killed were ones that had committed heinous crimes against the people… those that would be hanged whether they had powers or not.”

Alastora’s expression changed to confusion. She looked to Sizuru for answers but only found a blank, emotionless face staring back at her.

“Don’t listen to him. He’s speaking lies to justify his own twisted need to kill.” Sizuru knew what he said was true. She had known all along that they were sent to kill members of the underground movement. She knew that the only way Alastora would agree to the mission was if she thought the priests were just like all the rest. The trust that Alastora had placed in her was quickly being unraveled by this man and all Sizuru could do was deny his statements.

“Lies? Don’t make me laugh. Of course you would deny your true goal. What country would admit to inciting an internal war in a country that they were still on shaky ground with?” The man looked over both of them carefully. He could tell that the younger of the two was clearly a liar and trying to cover up the situation. He had mixed feelings about the other. He had the strange sensation that he knew her, but he couldn’t place it. She was still far away and he wasn’t done interrogating them. “Tell her. Tell her why you came down here. Tell her about your government’s desire to cause a civil war between the magic-users and the regular people. Its ingenious, really. While Pilner is busy fighting their internal struggles, Jumin can focus on its enemy to the west. Not only that, but they can offer a ‘helping hand’ to the magic-users, opening the door to them.”

Alastora’s eyes began to tear up as she exclaimed, “No! We would never kill innocent people! Its got to be a mistake!”

“No its quite true. Your government wants to let Pilner destroy itself and Jumin can come in and pick up the pieces, integrating the survivors into its military. Jumin is on the losing side of a massive war. What better way to replenish the troops and get away with it?”

“Stop listening to him! He’s clouding your judgment.” Sizuru knew her words were like water. Alastora was going to find out the truth and there was nothing Sizuru could do about it. “Head out and I’ll fight him. There’s no need for both of us to die out here.”

Alastora was becoming severely agitated. She wasn’t sure what to believe. His words were powerful, sticking in her mind like a jagged dagger. She knew Sizuru wasn’t the most honest person, and frankly she didn’t care for her much, but they were still a team. She knew nothing of this man, and could only take his words at face-value. “Shut up! Just SHUT UP!”

Sizuru drooped her head in disdain. The situation had gone from bad to worse. Once Alastora’s playful demeanor melted away, there was no reasoning with her. She was running on pure adrenaline, making any further conversation utterly useless.

“We’re stuck up here on this god-forsaken mountain, completely lost because you thought you had found a short-cut and all you can do is bicker over the past! Its done and over with. I can’t do anything about it!” Alastora’s tear-filled eyes conveyed the pain and confusion in her heart. That sadness transformed into anger, and finally… into rage.

The air around Alastora rapidly began to change. The cold, dense air began to circulate around her heating up as it rose up towards the sky. Her hair stood on end, dancing above her head like a crimson flame. Alastora’s body was soon enveloped in white-hot flames, which fingered outward in all directions, causing the snow to instantly evaporate. The powdery landscape didn’t even have a chance to melt, changing from solid to gas instantaneously. Peculiarly, her clothes and body seemed unaffected by the drastic change in temperature. It appeared as though she was burning alive, but the flames were in fact not harming her at all.

“Oh? How ironic that the priests of flame were killed by a flame-user.” The cloaked figure once again placed his hand on the sheath of his katana. He loosened the garment even further with his free hand, allowing his body more room for movement.

Sizuru threw her coat to the ground, the close proximity to the heat making it rather unbearable to wear. “If you’re going to go psycho-bitch, I guess I better help out…”

As the man continued to watch the spectacle, both of his opponents suddenly vanished from his view. The entire landscape changed from the cold, relentless mountain range to that of a peaceful forest filled with the sounds of chirping birds and small creatures scurrying beneath his feet. The aromatic fragrance of flowers and trees reminded him of the southern region of Pilner during the fall. The problem was, it wasn’t the fall and he wasn’t in the southern region of Pilner. He let out a hearty laugh, realizing what had just happened. Sizuru had used her psychic abilities to fool his senses into believing he was in a completely different place and time. The move could be quite devastating, when used properly, causing the victim be completely unaware of what was really going on around him or her. It was a form of attack in itself because all the senses could be fooled, even those that respond to pain. Sizuru could make her victim believe he was being attacked by venomous snakes or drowning in the middle of the ocean. He couldn’t help but laugh at her choice of venue. His display of power had had a greater impact on her than he had originally thought.

While their opponent was trapped inside Sizuru’s telepathic attack, the two comrades focused on eliminating him with a combination attack. Alastora began forming a fireball of considerable size. The swirling mass of heat energy grew to nearly half a mile in diameter, dwarfing its creator in size. Sizuru had to shield her eyes from the sphere of flames, as it was radiating as bright as the sun. The sky itself yielded to the blinding light, turning night into day. Alastora began to struggle under the force, the untamed flames unwilling to yield to their confinement any longer. With the help of Sizuru’s telekinetic powers, she launched the blazing star at her unsuspecting target.

Within moments, the ball of flame had struck the ground. The monstrous impact sent shockwaves of energy, rocks, and debris in every direction, knocking both Sizuru and Alastora off of their feet and flying backwards towards a bottomless cliff. The resounding explosion was deafeningly loud, the roar of destruction making napalm seem like child’s play. They gripped onto each other tightly to help guard themselves from the onslaught. Not even Alastora was immune to the pure chaos she had created.

After the dust and debris had settled, the only thing left of the target area was a massive, smoldering crater. Near the edge of the nearby cliff, Sizuru and Alastora lay curled up in fetal positions. Sizuru tried to stand up, quickly falling back down. The entire landscape was spinning around her violently, her equilibrium in disarray from the explosive compression of air. She gently wiped the blood from her ears that had been slowly dripping on the ground below. She tried to speak, but the sound was so muffled she couldn’t even make it out. Alastora was still lying nearby, unwilling to even move. She knew full-well that if she tried to get up, she’d end up collapsing in a pool of her own vomit. She had put too much of her power into the attack, so much that they were within the blast radius when it exploded. A slight miscalculation, but a deadly one.

Minutes went by and Alastora finally started to release herself from her cradled position. She could feel footsteps in the distance, but didn’t have the energy nor the desire to see who or what it was. She glanced over at Sizuru, seeing if she was fairing any better. Her comrade had passed out from exhaustion, succumbing to the pain of their badly-coordinated attack. Alastora wished she could simply give up as well. It would be easier that way. Fall asleep and let death take over the necessities. The desire of her body was strong, but her willpower was still in tact. She once again tried desperately to rise to her feet. As she looked up, she saw a hand reaching down towards her. The hand was inviting and she cared less if it was friend or foe.

“Its all right. The battle is over. There is no point in continuing.” The cloaked man reached down towards Alastora, lifting her up into his strong arms. The veil had been lifted from his head, but all she could see were his emerald eyes, lovingly peering down on her. She didn’t understand why he was helping her, or how he even survived, but she did not utter a word. His embrace brought her comfort, easing the pain of her wounds. “Rest easy, I swear on my life I won’t let you die.”

-----

Darkness… bitter cold. Sizuru awoke to the realization that she was all alone. She couldn’t remember where she was nor why she was there. Her whole body was numb; she was unable to even twitch her fingers.

In the distance she could make out the faint silhouette of a man waving for all he was worth. He pointed towards her as several others arrived.

“Sir! We’ve found her!”

[Andromeda]

The women finished her speech to Eris and departed company. It was unsettling for her to hear the words even though she knew them to be truthful. She could see the destruction laid out before her eyes to know that both kingdoms would notice what she had done. It would not be long before they came looking for the cause and the villagers would come for her as well. Even with the time that her family had spent with them they still dragged off Gurin with little hesitation. They would treat her no differently, actually they would probably treat her worse for destroying their village and killing so many people.

Eris did not know what she should do with what she had done. It was difficult for her to even imagine being capable of such destruction. ‘This power is dangerous…I’m dangerous…I’ve killed…’ She looked down at her body wondering where it had come from and how it could be produced. Magic was an unknown quantity in the world and she knew even less than what was commonly known. All she could understand was that it was destructive on a scale that she had never witnessed before and she did not want to see it again.

Teris backed away from Eris letting her come to the end of the bed. Her father was with her mother helping her to her feet. Teris extended her hand out to Eris to help her up. Eris cautiously reached her hand out looking at Teris. She was afraid of what Teris might think of her knowing that she could do such terrible things. However, Teris did not seem to be afraid of her giving her a comforting smile. As Eris’ hand neared Teris’ a spark jumped across their fingers making Teris jump backwards. Eris retracted her hand quickly in pain that shoot through her entire palm. Teris had a similar reaction holding her hand in her other hand feeling numb suddenly.

Out of instinct for her friend Eris jumped out of her bed rushing to her with her hand out stretched to take hold of her. As her hand came close enough to Teris sparks jumped from her hand again across Teris’ shoulder and chest shooting pain through them both. Eris backed away immediately in fear for what she had done while her friend collapsed to the ground her face twisting as pain enveloped her chest.

“My chest…something…wrong…” Teris said between breathes of pain. Teris’ eyes began to glaze over as her face was released from the tension. Eris watched in horror as her friend slowly stopped moving lying in the dirt. She screamed out loud to the night sky pulling her father’s attention. He ran to her worried, but she ran away from him keeping her distance.

“Stay away from me!” she said through newly formed tears.

“But Eris…what’s wrong?” he said trying to talk her down as he approached her.

She backed away from him as he made steps towards her. “Stay away, father!”

“You’re scared right now. I understand that, but that’s why you have family.” He continued to approach her hold his arms out to her.

“Get back, don’t come any closer to me!” Eris was walking backwards not looking where she was going too afraid that she would do something to him. In her blindness she fell over a mound of debris knocking her to the ground. Her hands bit in pain again as they touch the ground causing her to cry out. Her father ran to her with his worry. Eris looked over her shoulder seeing him coming closer and crawled over the debris to get away. “I don’t want to hurt you! Stay away!”

“Eris…”

“…Teris…she’s…stopped moving…” she said crying more blinding her eyes from seeing as she held herself close in her arms. “J-just…stay away from me!”

He looked back to see Teris lying on the ground and then at Eris once more. But Eris was gone now. He could not see any trace of her in the night. She was gone from him out of reach now and on her own. There was nothing more that he could do for her he understood that more than he wished to show. He walked back towards Teris looking down at her in sadness. She did not move; the life seemed to have left her somehow.

Eris fell over some wood twisting her leg as she ran away from her home. She slid across the ground wanting to get up, but losing the will to stand. It was all behind her now, a choice made. She wanted it to be a dream and wake up to find that she had to go out to the fields to work again. She wanted her brother back and her family. She wanted her life. None of it could be hers now; she knew that she had to accept that.

As she laid on the ground her thoughts began to overwhelm her again. She was further out from her house and she could see the whole village, dim lights scattered around painting a pale silhouette of the tragic vision. There was barely a board standing in the village that had over thirty homes for families that she knew. All had been laid to the earth by her. ‘There is nothing left…I destroyed it all…’

Eris managed to pull herself up off the ground and started walking slowly. She walked through the village on the main road that cut it in half. There were craters from the impacts of the strikes lined with a smooth glazed surface like water almost. Parts of the houses were spread everywhere filling the street, as did the dead. Eris had never seen death on such a scale, nor so many familiar faces. She backed away from it all trying to run away from it all when something pulled at her.

“Eris! Please, help me!” a voice said. She looked around to see a young boy pulling on her dress that she had still been wearing from dinner. It was one of the children that she played with frequently when she came back from the fields. He pulled on her dress again making her want to back away before something happened to him. Eris pulled her dress free from the boy putting distance between them.

“Eris! My mommy, she’s stop moving…she’s under our house…”

Eris turned away feeling her eyes watering up again. ‘Took his family…I killed his mother…I…killed…’

“Eris? Please, she needs help. If she is free she’ll move again! Please!”

‘…killed…me…it was me…he’ll never have a mother…because of me…’

“Eris, please! Help her, please.”

‘…it’s because of me…’ Eris could hear the voices of the boy in her mind clawing through her. She could not keep him out seeing the face of the boy. He accused her, blamed her; he hated her wanting to see her dead for her crimes. She could not escape the screams.

‘It was you! You killed her. She’s dead because of you. I hope you die a miserable, terrible death. She’ll never smile again. I’ll never eat her food again. She’ll never hug me and hold me. She’s dead. You killed her. You killed her.’

‘Leave my mind! Stop, please!’

‘Murderer! Killer! Butcher!’

‘No, I didn’t…I…’


Eris fled out of sight of the boy left behind begging for her to come back. She did not stop until she left the village and entered the fields. It empty and quiet, but her mind still did not know peace. The images of the villagers haunted her waking mind as more appeared blaming her for their deaths and their dead loved ones. She knew them all and there was no escaped their retribution. Eris fell over collapsing on the crops.

Morning came to the village and the midday rose over the sky finally waking Eris. She remained in the field while the villagers tried to mend their lives back together. They spent the day cleaning up the mess and burying the dead. She wanted to approach, but was too afraid to go anywhere near them. It was painful enough from a distance seeing the people that she knew in a cloud of depression. Even her parents were out helping others, but she did not have the courage to face them.

When the evening started to arrive she moved away from the fields leaving the village behind sitting under a tree. She remained in view of the village, but out of sight waiting. Eventually, the time would come for her and her decision. There was little choice in her mind anymore of what she had to do. It was just passing the time now until the woman found her and she could give her answer.

The woman appeared before her as the sun rolled under the horizon. “I went to your parents. They said you ran off. You made a decision then?”

“Yes, I have come to a decision. I’m going to go with you so that I can become stronger, strong enough to control this power. Strong enough to avenge all of those that died. I’ll make that man pay for destroying my village and killing my best friend.”

“W-what did you say?”

“I’ll kill him for doing this. He’ll pay for this. I wasn’t strong enough to stop him, but you said that you could show me how to control it and become stronger. I’ll hunt him down and kill him!”

[Lady Rika]

The rough darkened bark rubbed off a shadowy ash along his pale, slender legs. Climbing up the tree was always easy it was just getting down that was hard for him. Especially with the white shirt held tightly in his mouth. The young boy always had trouble getting down from trees even when he was a child, but he knew that once he reached the top than it was well worth it. Looking towards the hills and forests he would see a panoramic view of wild unknown and untamed beauty. He tried to keep looking that way, and never let his emerald eyes wander at his home in Cormenyr
The ragged huts with poorly thatched roofs that leaked when the clouds darkened and cried. Or when a lively wind screamed and hollered threw the long, cold winter nights, letting in the frosted, bitterly cold enter the house.

When Aubrey finally reached the middle of the tree he stopped, finding a nice sturdy branch for him to rest on. This tree in particular was older than him; it had watched him grow up and had been there threw his times of success and times of suffering.
Releasing the shirt from his mouth Aubrey let out a sigh; his days were numbered. It would only be soon that he would be forced to pay taxes once again. Though they usually broke him, leaving him with next to nothing. He knew this would go far past breaking; he had no money left. Not one cent. Ever since the soldiers had began to use Cormenyr as a resting place from travel nearly all of his customers had ceased to come. Either they gossiped for the information, or they just knew in their hearts Aubrey wasn’t sure. All that he knew of was that the people of Cormenyr knew that he was now being forced to work for soldiers. As in mending their clothes being that many had large holes or were poorly patched. Then he would fix their shoes, reattaching soles or remaking new ones all together. Aubrey had most trouble with the leather shoes themselves just because he wasn’t as skilled with shoe mending. But he did the best he could.

Even though he had no problem helping the tired soldiers, he received no payment for any of his ‘good deeds’. Paying for his own materials and needles became very expensive but he never complained to them. Just took their clothing with a smile then fixed them, sometimes if they stayed their he would make minor conversation. Other times they would see themselves to the door and return in an hour or so. Though it took him only a matter of minutes to fix the shirts and pants.
Removing the spool of thread from his pants pocket, Aubrey thought it was time for him to begin on the shirt. Snapping his knuckles Aubrey unfolded the shirt he had wringed together, careful to wipe the small left over spit that had coated a few areas on the monochrome shirt. He had stuck the needle in the leather strap he used to tie his jet-black hair with, it was still their when he reached up for it.

‘I wonder what I can do for food?’ Aubrey thought to himself as he began to sew back the torn sleeve of the shirt. This small act was for his elderly neighbor who had hardly any clothes without holes. She was like the grandmother he never had and Aubrey often did things for her, tasks she had a hard time doing herself.
‘I can’t ask Miss Suimata for food, she has barely enough to feed herself.’ He looked over in the direction of her house; it wasn’t as rundown as some peoples. Mostly because he helped her repair a lot of it. Though she would want to reward him with something small, anything, he wouldn’t take money from her. Like this blouse, it too was for free, using the last of his white thread to repair the split sleeve.

After a few more minutes past, he was finished. The blouse looked good as new, though he wasn’t sure how long it would last being as the elderly woman acted as if she were in her prime.
‘But that’s what I like about her.’
Carefully rolling it back up, he placed it in his mouth once more and slowly made his way down the tree. His knuckles growing white as he put so much pressure on the limbs he used to descend downward. His worse nightmare was of him falling; he had only fallen once. One time that changed how he looked at heights forever. Though he was very young at the time, and his small, careless hand grabbed an unsteady branch that in itself brought fear in him. A cold tremor running threw his body, as he felt himself fall backward. He couldn’t see what was happening so he had just shut his eyes. Luckily, his mother caught him. She had never been far from his side in those days when she was still alive. Holding him close she comforted his streaming tears, and trembling cries. Making him feel safe.
“Not much can make me feel safe anymore.” He whispered to the tree as his feet touched the soft earth. Letting him know that it was okay for him to let go.

Leaving the tree behind, he walked down the small hill that separated him and his neighbor. Though Aubrey didn’t see her outside, he figured she would be resting inside, maybe even asleep. It was only midday; the sun was bright in the sky, burning down upon his flesh that was openly exposed. Unlike many of the children his age, he wasn’t tan and dirtied from frolicking. He never really had any friends to play with, especially not now after the incident with his mother and working to pay for food and taxes overtook his life.
“Miss Suimata! Miss Suimata! Are you still awake? I fixed your shirt.” He called out to the closed door. The door just looked at him, unmoving. Its aged carving designs reminded Aubrey of a face. A neutral face, one in which the apathetic nature gave away not a drop of personality or what was going through their mind. All of it made him wonder more, wonder more about what happening inside. Had she passed into paradise, leaving the world of the living? Was she simply not home, or asleep in a sea of deep dreams? Frantic, he began to beat on the door. His heart pounded heavily in his chest.
“Miss Suimata!” he screamed, “Open the door!”

A flutter of strung together blinds quivered in the window only before the door opened.
There standing was the elderly woman, looking rather frightened from Aubrey’s screaming.
“Good heavens child what is it? You nearly gave me a heart attack in my sleep!” she rubbed her eye with one wrinkled hand, attempting to push the sleep from her face.

Aubrey turned his head to the side, trying not to let the blush swirling around his cheeks be seen.
“Im…im sorry Miss Suimata…I–I thought something had happened to you, since you didn’t answer your door.” He kept his head looking at the ground, staring at his leather shoes and her bare feet.
The old woman shook her head and let a small laugh escape her withered throat. Her white hair fell down longer than his, hers touching the tip of her bottom. Her long, sallow sleeping gown was thick with holes and tears. The woman forgot how many times she had Aubrey fix it for her, but it was her favorite; a soft yet heavily warm wool.
“Don’t worry my boy, I might be old but im not going anywhere.” She laughed, patting him reassuringly on his shoulder.
“Oh! You fixed my shirt! Already. Well what a sweet boy you are, come in come in!” Suimata led him into her house by his shoulder into the dimly lit room. Reaching over she two more candles, letting a brightness surge into the room. Though it was early noon, her house still remained as black as night. If it weren’t for the candles Aubrey would of believed it!

“Now, sit down and have something to eat, you look famished!” she exclaimed, taking the shirt and admiring its restored self. In truth Aubrey was starving, he had hardly any food in his house and hadn’t eaten for at least a day or two. He longed to get the taste of dryness from his mouth by eating some sweet meat cakes or even a slice of bread with goat cheese would delight him.
“Are you sure?” he asked, trying to be polite.
“Of course I am! It’s the least I can do is feed you, since you won’t let me pay you.” She chuckled, placing a peach tart in front of him.

The boys emerald eyes began to glow, it had been so long since he had eaten anything sweet. It looked so innocent just sitting there on the loam streaked plate. Everything else in the entire room, the dirt floor, the creaky table, even Suimata herself seemed to glow in its presence. Had it truly been that long since he had eaten anything delicious?
“Now it’s not fresh mind you!” she spoke as if warning him about the tarts spell.
Aubrey picked up the tart in one bark scratched hand; though it was only the size of his palm he would have to make it last for a while. For he knew that this might be the last time he could have sweets. Opening his mouth he hesitated before taking the first bite, letting the aroma of his breath overcome the tart. He took in the scent as his mind raced with thoughts of devouring the pastry.
“Go on…eat it!” Suimata harrumphed, almost in a scolding matter.
As soon as her encouragement came Aubrey bit into the peach tart, the sweet fruity tang over took his body. Tickling him in places he never thought possible: his mouth.
“Is it good?” the woman asked, “Do you like it?”
Aubrey didn’t say anything, just nodded ferociously as the tart disappeared before his very eyes.
“Well im glad you liked it, it’s hard to find a good quality anything anymore with them damned soldiers coming and taking it all for rations! Its like they just don’t care for us!” she cried, stamping her small aged foot.
He knew to agree with her, but if he did that than the last bite of the peach tart would be gone. What was left of it was waiting to glide down his throat as mush but he wouldn’t let it leave him. He wanted to savor the taste and the feel of it one last time. So he chewed the mush, chewed till the taste of the peach was completely gone from him.
As he swallowed he felt sadness overtake him, but not necessarily from the now eaten tart. More for his childhood, he knew it was gone now from his actions just a few seconds before. He had felt sad, over a pastry! No child would ever be sad over sweets, because they could just get more later. Either have their mother bake them or steal one from another house. But that was something he couldn’t do, he couldn’t take the time to enjoy things such as food, not to mention sweets because of his force to grow up faster than need be.
“How pathetic I am…” he mumbled to himself.

“What was that?” the woman asked.
Aubrey put on a fake smile and looked up at his neighbor, “Oh nothing.”
The aged woman eyed his suspiciously but said nothing more on the matter. Turning around away from the black haired boy the old woman began to walk slowly towards her bedroom.
“Im going to put this away, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Aubrey nodded and looked back at the table, and the dirty, empty plate.
‘Was I ever truly a child once? I know I was when mother was alive but…it seems as if it were but a dream. A bittersweet fairytale my head told me to help me sleep.’
As his mind played with these thoughts, the young boy played with the plate; rubbing off some of the dark brown that covered a whole side of the glass serving dish.
That was when the candle caught his eye. The glowing of the yellow flame leaving a burning impression as soon as he blinked; the shimmering golden light led him to stray from the plate and completely took hold of his attention.
He didn’t know why, but he felt his slender fingers reach out to touch glowing light.
‘Are you stupid! You’ll get burned!’ his sensible mind told him, but his body wasn’t listening, ignoring the commands his brain screamed.
As soon as the tips of his fingers spread overtop the tiny flicker, it abruptly went out.

Aubrey jumped back, nearly falling out of his chair.
“What happened?!” he wondered, leaning back over to stare at the candle. A small rising line of smoke rose to the ceiling of the wooden house. Aubrey’s eyes followed the smoke till he snapped out of his distraction.
‘The candle?’ he questioned, looking at it. It was so strange; he thought scratching his head, ‘Where did it go?’ That was when he noticed the light.
The same yellow glow, flickering carefully trying to stay alive, the same burning flame hadn’t went out. No, it had grown bigger but just by a little bit.
“But…how?” he questioned, confused and slightly frightened. The flame seemed to taunt him as it danced around in his palm. Moving around, sucking in more oxygen, its dance was almost humorous.
“No it can’t be!” he gasped, quickly standing up. Though this had happened a few times before, Aubrey had vowed to never do it again. Never let the damned fires of hell take over him, making him its puppet. But even though his will power was strong, this magic was obviously stronger. Much stronger; as it seemed to work at its own desire. Though Aubrey had tried to control it once and succeeded he wouldn’t be tricked by its beauty and power.

“Go away!” he growled, though fear was caked in those two words; without thinking he took a deep breath and slowly blew out the small flame. He watched it sparkle and flash, trying to continue to live but to no prevail. It died in his hand much to his relief.
“Uh…Suimata…I just realized theirs something I have to do at home…I’ll stop by tomorrow…sorry, goodbye!” He let his voice echo throughout the house as he ran from the hut, and out the door.

“I can’t believe it!” the old woman forced out the words, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Him too, she thought. Just like his mother…he too possesses the power of a mage.
Suimata hobbled over towards where he was sitting, his sweet indescribable smell still lingered, as did the scent of wild fire.
‘I remember when his mother first came to me saying she was with child…then when she died so suddenly by those afraid of the unknown power she held. I promised her spirit that I would watch over him, but not interfere too much.’
Sitting down, the old woman thought heavily, even she didn’t know why they put Aubrey Andain’s mother to death. She had always thought Cormenyr never did such things to people with ‘powers’.
“There must have been something about my dear friend that even I didn’t know. Heaven help that boy if they ever find out he has powers.” Her voice cracked out of age, “For its of the same element that they use to kill those who can bend what cannot be controlled.”

[Victoria]

“...What did you say?” Kisara stood speechless at what she witnessed. Then she sighed and rolled her eyes.

So this girl has just become traumatized from her own powers. Well... I don't blame her. she thought to herself and glanced at the aftermath. Her eyes looked back at Eris with a determined look on her face.

“Alright then. If you're that determined, then that's good. However, don't expect this to be easy. Your powers are very unique and I'll have to do some research to find a good training regimen for you.”

Kisara stood for a moment to ponder a good place for her to train Eris without being detected so easily. She dug through the depths of her mind to find a sound location. This country simply would not do. It was already aware of her existence.

After much thought, Kisara put her hand on Eris' shoulder and twirled her rod. She mumbled incoherent words and pounded it on the ground. In that very instant, the scenery around them swirled and transformed into a wormhole. The scenery changed colors and they could see the cloud formations easily in the sky.

The fresh air filled Kisara's nose as she took a deep breath. The wormhole vanished and brought back the scenery of a mountain range. The teleportation had brought them to an area that Kisara deemed acceptable for training.

As she took another deep breath, a smile ran across her face as she took her hand from Eris' shoulder.

“Welcome to Cormenyr. We are currently located on some mountain range within the country. Any questions?”

She watched as Eris looked around in a wondrous panic. She had been amazed yet spooked at the same time. Kisara put her arm around Eris and patted her shoulder.

“Relax, relax. I know it will take some getting used to, but we're going to be traveling like this for a while. That is, until your talent is optimized.” she sat against the rough surface of the mountain and patted the area next to her.

“Have a seat. This will be our training area for a while. So I'll explain some things to you.”

Eris reluctantly did as she was told and sat next to Kisara. She was still wary of her, but she had no choice but to be under her guidance.

“You're not aware of this, but I figured out something peculiar about the way you use your powers. And that alone is something that is troublesome, you see.” she turned her head to glance at Eris and then glanced back at the horizon drenched in the orange sun.

“Your powers are used when you're unconscious. That means, when you're asleep or knocked out. They also seem to be affected by your emotions. So if you ever get angry, then it goes haywire. So you must never get angry, or else. You have to be cool at all times to use your power effectively.”

She stood and used her rod as a cane. The wound from earlier still had its affects on her body. She pointed the rod toward Eris.

“Before we begin, I must say something. The key to your control is all in your mind. You have to be focused and strong. When I knock you out, you have to conquer whatever it is that is presented to you. Think of your mind testing your will.”

She scooted closer to Eris and placed her hand on the back of her neck. “I also know that whenever you have used your powers, it has always been attracted to you, as if you were a magnet. We have to change that, and I have an idea how... Think of a target range and that you are armed with a bow & arrow, or whichever weapon you feel most comfortable with. Those targets represent obstacles in your way, or your enemies.”

She raised her hand and chopped the back of her neck and put her to sleep. She stayed by Eris in case her experiment was a failure the first time around.

[Andromeda]

The sudden change of environment startled Eris leaving her uneasy and off balance. The woman continued on at a pace that left her unable to keep up until she found herself being cornered. She was dropped the task to figure out her power on her own with little to go on and even less understanding of what it was that she was supposed to do. Two days ago she did not even know that she had these powers and abilities, yet now she was expected to understand what she needed to do without reference. All she knew was that magic was an evil that had been corrupting good people making them into foul beings that went against the laws of nature.

She had come to the decision to understand what she was suddenly, but had barely the time to fully comprehend what she had done. Even now she felt as though she should not learn to control the power in her. It was the work of villains that became twisted by its sweet temptations. Eris did not want to become like the others that she had heard so many stories about from passing travelers. Hiding and staying away from others may be the better choice for her. If she continued it would draw attention to her and become targeted by Jumin or even Kithur. She might just as well end up dead.

There was little she could do suddenly being dropped to the earth by the woman. She wanted to object and say something but there had not been enough time for her. It was quick and she had barely the chance to take in the words before it happened. Her mind went blank as the world disappeared from her sight. She collapsed to the earth falling on her face, the pain ignored. Once she was out the woman placed her carefully in the grass facing up looking as though she was peacefully sleeping.

Time passed away through Eris’ mind unnoticed moving in a spiraling mess. The little amount of consciousness that she had drifted around unfocused. She found herself in a dream world where she was with her brother and family. Life was normal for her and there was no sadness. The dream continued ceaselessly as her thoughts dwelled further on the calm serenity that it brought. She could not even think about her purpose and reason, the world she was in did not even have magic. Eris was at peace.

The woman Kisara remained in watch over the still body of Eris waiting to see what would happen. However, time continued with only the wind changing. There was nothing from Eris for hours. Eventually, it came to a point where Eris should have been wake again, but remained still. “Nothing, I guess I shouldn’t expect much for her first time. But still, she’s been out far too long.” She stood up from her seat in the grass to approach Eris when the wind changed suddenly drifting in a new scent that choked the air. It was a foul odor that hung every, the smell of unwashed men walking through the mountains.

A mere moment later when she stood up was enough for them to notice of her position and become alerted. It was an entire band of men clothed in thick leather armor with uneven patchwork in the worn out areas. There was little consistency between each man in their attire making it clear that they were not military. However, not being military did not mean they were not threatening. Each one was holding at least one weapon on him, if not carrying more on their backs. Their motives were suspicious at best with them all changing their direction towards the two women.

The band of men stopped several arms length away from Kisara leaving a single man to approach. He looked important enough and arrogant to be the leader of the mish mash group. “Well met traveler!”

“W-well met. Is there something…something that you want?”

“Me and my men were returning from the hunt in some caves further up the mountain and were returning home to see a woman alone on the mountain. We were concerned there was trouble.”

“I-I’m not alone and we aren’t in any trouble. Thank you for your concern.”

“Ah, so I see there is another…”

“She’s got a pretty voice,” a man in the crowd whispered.

“Quiet,” another said snapping at the man.

“Well if you ain’t be needing help…” the leader said turning away looking back at his men. The tension in the air loosened as it looked like the men were going to leave. However, with the leader walking away, his back to his men, several men came running towards Kisara before there was enough time to react.

“Come along nicely,” one of the men said with a sinister taste in his words. Two men grabbed Kisara by the arms while two more picked up Eris carrying her off.

“Let go of her-“ Kisara said, but stench of men in proximity to her overwhelmed her suddenly. It drew up through her nose making her sneeze and disappeared with the two men that were holding her.

“Boss!”

“What?”

“The woman’s a Corrupter, she just disappeared with two of the men.”

“They’ll find their way back eventually, we have one that is enough. Get moving before she comes back.”


Eris woke up slowly yawning softly expecting to see the woman nearby. However, the scenery was different from how she remembered it. She was no longer on a mountain, but inside a large room that was filled with many other women. They all seemed gathered in small groups. The air held a sorrowful tint even though she could not tell if they were sad about where they were.

“Where am I?” Eris said standing up only to find that she was not wearing her clothes that she had before. She quickly sat back down holding her arms around her exposed skin as the clothes she had now barely provide much covering. “Where are my clothes?” Panic set in her voice alerting a woman near by to approach.

“You’re the new girl? You’ve been asleep since they dropped you in here. Do you remember being kidnapped?”

“No, I don’t know what happened. What’s going on here?”

“Your accent, its strange. Are you from Cormenyr?”

“No, I’m from the north. What’s going on?”

“Well the military in Cormenyr has been unstable for years following the war with Pilner twenty-five years ago. Because of that many of the old soldiers left and formed their own groups. They capture women and make us serve them and be their objects.”

“What? How can this happen?”

“These men are outlaws taking from anywhere nearby especially women and the King doesn’t do anything so they run free. The laws are not enforced and they don’t even hold us for ransom. They keep us until our use runs out.”

“But I’m not from Cormenyr. I didn’t know that…”

“Ignorance doesn’t make you safe.”

“B-but…” Eris looked down at the stone floor. She was in a new land not knowing the laws or how things worked. It was so much different from Jumin and Kithur. There they had more to fear from the soldiers, but even they would not have done something like this. ‘What am I going to do? Am I trapped, left to live out the rest of my life here? I-I don’t…I don’t…Please someone…’

[Merlin]

“How long has this been going on? Did you think I wouldn’t find out? You whore!”

Alastora was staring into the eyes of a very irate sister, so angry in fact that she was slapped in the face. Rather than attacking back, she simply shrugged it off, wincing at the sharp sting that was left behind. “Gwinnyn, he’s not your boyfriend and he never said he would marry you.” Alastora remained calm, even though the woman in front of her was furious. She added, “In fact, he only went out with you one time and you cheated on him the same day!”

“Shut up! I wasn’t cheating on him, I was breaking up with my ex!” Gwinnyn’s appearance was quite similar to that of her sister, Alastora. People often thought they were twins, but Alastora was actually a year younger than her. While Alastora was a red-head, Gwinnyn was the typical blonde-hair, blue eyes. She was always quick to point out that her hair color and intelligence were not directly linked. While their appearances might have been similar to the typical onlooker, their personalities were definitely light-years apart. Unlike the shy and timid Alastora, Gwinnyn was often very vocal about her opinions, to the point of being obnoxious. People who knew her would be more-than-happy to point out that she was a stuck-up bitch behind her back. Of course, they wouldn’t say anything to her face, because her uppity behavior was marked by an equally atrocious habit of picking fights. Ironically, her job description was “High Priestess of Pilner”. In any normal religion, such a person wouldn’t make it through the front door before being denied, but the Pilner Religion was far from normal. She was the perfect candidate to become yet another mass-murderer of magic-users. At least, that’s what they wanted. She of course had her own ideas in mind.

Gwinnyn was known as the Priestess of Forgiveness. Her career was marked by the highest rate of pardons for magic users, but those pardons did not come cheaply. The candidate had to meet specific requirements, most notably become her servant. While the title of servant might seem harmless, since she was a priestess, it definitely was far from it. The better term to describe such unfortunate souls was sex slave. The average male magic-user had no gripes about performing sexual favors for a beautiful woman. They could care less about a meaningful relationship or the-fact-that she had dozens of male partners at any given time.

That all changed when she met Tyrbane for the first time. He was the first person that actually made her regret the way she lived. Although she finally came to understand her life of sin, she was unable to break her habits. Hence, we arrive back at the beginning. Rather than admit that she herself is a whore, she calls her sister a whore and blames the entire problem square on Alastora’s shoulders...right in front of a church no less. They were in a small nameless town in the northwestern portion of Pilner. The peaceful little town was surrounded by a forest of trees, seemingly protecting it from the rest of the world. Gwinnyn worked at a much larger town to the east, but refused to live there. The quaint little village did not really suite her tastes, but it was the hometown of the man in question.

“Uguu… you lie so much you can’t even determine what’s real anymore. I’m not going to argue with you over it.”

“You knew we were going out and yet you still made advances on him! I thought you were my sister, but no you’re just a stupid bitch! I’m not letting you have him!” Gwinnyn was not the type of person to let a sore subject drop. She’d continue to push the envelope until her opponent finally cracked. The behavior was rather wasted on Alastora, because she had never once caved, never once attacked back, and never once threatened bodily harm. Despite that, Gwinnyn pushed, hoping Alastora would strike her. It was perfect. If Alastora layed a hand on a Priestess of Pilner, she would be thrown in the nearest dungeon and never see the light of day. How much does Gwinnyn loathe her sister, one may ask? Enough that rotting away in a jail cell was like a slap on the wrist. To her, Alastora was the embodiment of everything she hated. To top it all off, the man she was desperately trying to reign in had fallen in love with her sister, not her. She couldn’t stand that a man had finally turned her down. She was determined to force him into submission no matter what the cost, even her sister’s life.

“Whatever Gwinnyn. How about we just ask him ourselves? Let him decide whom he wants to be with. That’s fair, isn’t it? I mean, its his life too.” Alastora was sincerely trying to work out her differences with Gwinnyn, but she feared she was simply wasting her breath.

“What in the blue hell is all the racket going on out here? Can’t a girl get her beauty sleep?” Sizuru approached the two sisters from a nearby log house, forcefully dragging a young man along with her. She looked back at him for a moment, groaning, “This is your fault, so deal with it…” Sizuru rolled her eyes at Alastora and let out a yawn that seemed to go on forever. She sat down in the grass nearby, not wanting to involve herself in the matter. Of course, she was more than willing to be nosey and listen in.

The young man in question was none other than Tyrbane Silverhand. He stood nearly six feet tall, still wearing his tattered night clothes. Through the various holes and slits, it was clear to see that his muscles were tone and powerful, but not overly bulky. They were the type of muscles developed from focusing on speed and agility, rather than raw, sluggish power. He moved a lock of dirty-blonde hair out of his eyes and headed towards the two sisters. Tyrbane approached Alastora from behind, massaging the small of her back. The kind gesture might have been pleasing to Alastora, but it further infuriated Gwinnyn. Tyrbane looked at Gwinnyn and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Gwinnyn turned her hateful gaze towards Tyrbane, making it clear that she wasn’t in a good mood. “What’s the matter? WHAT’S THE MATTER?!?” She cringed as Alastora wrapped her fingers around Tyrbane’s right hand, squeezing softly.

It had finally sunk into his half-dazed head what was going on. “For the love of the gods, not this again.” Tyrbane gently squeezed Alastora’s hand and let go, walking forward. He placed his masculine hands squarely on Gwinnyn’s shoulders, with a slight bit of force and said, “Let’s get something straight, High Priestess. I am deeply honored that you pardoned me from the torturous grip of the religious fanatics, but I don’t owe you any favors. You are supposed to do it because it’s the right thing to do, not to get something out of it in return. I did go out on a date with you, but that’s as far as it went. I don’t have any interest in competing for someone’s attention. I’m sorry.”

Gwinnyn’s demeanor suddenly changed. Every muscle in her body tensed up, a slight tremble coursing through her veins. She looked him dead in the eyes, with a look that would cause the demons of Hell to turn away in panic. With a slow, stern voice she commanded, “Get… your… fµcking…hands….off…me…”

Tyrbane was shocked at her behavior, loosening his grip slightly, but not altogether. There was a strange aura around her, one that he had never seen before. The calm winds began to stir violently around her like a whirlwind. The twisting pocket of air slowly pushed outward, forcing Alastora to take a few steps back.

Sizuru quickly jumped to her feet, realizing that the situation was quickly going downhill. She took one glance at the green aura developing around Gwinnyn’s feet and knew this was no ordinary magic occurrence. Gwinnyn’s once-hidden powers were coming to fruition and the built-up tension was about ready to explode. “Shit! Tyrbane get out of there!”

Alastora panicked, trying desperately to approach her sister and the man she loved. “Gwinnyn, stop it! There’s no need for this!” Her cry of desperation was like a whisper against the torrential noise of the swirling vortex. No matter how hard she pushed forward, the wind would push back even stronger.

Gwinnyn grinned wryly, in a state of awe at her own power. She had never felt so good. The energy flowing through her was warm and enticing, making her want even more. “If I can’t have you, then NO ONE WILL! ” Gwinnyn shouted. Suddenly, the whirlwind converged on the palms of her hands, growing tighter in diameter. In an instant the wind was gone, but only for a few short seconds. As quickly as the wind subsided, it formed again, only this time it was aimed squarely at Tyrbane’s chest. The cold blast of air struck him hard, sending him flailing backwards and smashing into the ground hard.

Alastora rushed to his side, screaming in terror. His eyes were glazed over and he wasn’t breathing. “No please don’t… don’t die on me!” Alastora collapsed to her knees next to him, her tear-filled eyes bringing the attention of Sizuru, who was sizing up Gwinnyn. Alastora shook him with all her might, hoping he was simply unconscious.

“You stupid bitch. She’s your sister!” Sizuru ran to Alastora’s side and leaned over Tyrbane to assess his condition. She placed her forefinger and middle finger against his neck to check for a pulse. There was none. She looked disconcertingly at Alastora, unable to come up with words to convey how she felt.

Alastora bent down and hugged him, telling him how much she loved him. She felt a strange, wet sensation from his back. When she loosened her grip, she saw that her hands were drenched in his crimson blood. There was nothing she could do. All of her efforts were in vain. He was dead.

Alastora cried out in agony, the blood-curdling sound enough to wake even the dead. She wiped the tears away from her eyes and looked around to see where Sizuru had gone. That’s when she realized she was no longer in the small nameless town. She wasn’t even outside, but inside a large, well-decorated bedroom. She was lying on a soft, oversized bed with cream-colored sheets and a matching feather blanket. The sheets had nearly came off the bed, wrapped tightly around Alastora.

“Uguu… why do I have to keep reliving that day?” She sighed and looked around the room some more. She had no idea where she was or how she got there. The last time she checked, she was passing out after trying to nuke her opponent to death with a massive fireball.

“Daaammmnnn! You got a set of lungs like a pack of wolves.” The voice was coming from what appeared to be a young child, sitting on the edge of the bed. The pink-haired girl stared wide-eyed at Alastora, slowly removing her hands from her ears. From simple observation she looked like she was in her first few years of school. She was wearing a miniature gi and had two small katana on either side of her waist. They looked more like daggers, based on their size, but they were just as deadly as their full-sized brethren. She was on all-fours, inching closer and closer to Alastora, who backed away towards the wallboard behind her.

Alastora stared blankly at the girl for a moment, unsure of what was going on. After close scrutiny she finally realized who it was before her. “Yuuna, is that you? I didn’t recognize you with the hair dye. You’re still as cute as ever!” Alastora smiled warmly at Yuuna, welcoming her with open arms.

Yuuna turned her nose up at the offer, looking away from the guest. “Eh? You’re just jealous because I’m still cute, you old hag! Hmph!” She stole a quick glance at Alastora to see her reaction.

“Uguu… I see you haven’t changed much.” Alastora sighed and continued, “So much for you maturing a little. You’re 18 years-old Yuuna, you should start acting your age.”

Yuuna looked at her with a ‘don’t care’ attitude, scoffing at the idea of acting like a grown woman. It would ruin her image as the most adorable, cute, well-mannered child anyone had ever met. She had the acting down to a science, complete with the most heart-wrenching, bubbly attitude that would make the most stubborn of souls warm over to her happy-go-lucky attitude. Those who were closest to her knew she acted more like she was bipolar than anything. One minute she was pretending to be a cute little girl, the next like an obstinate, self-centered brat. No one was really sure which personality was the true one and which one was acting, because she had been doing it as long as anyone could remember. In fact, she might have even been bipolar, because there wasn’t exactly psychologists floating around to psychoanalyze the thought-patterns of people in those days.

“Ehhhh?!? How would you know if I have changed or not, miss ‘I ran away from everyone that loved and cared about me when the going-got-tough and even left my injured boyfriend bleeding to death on the ground because I’m a pansy bitch-ass that couldn’t even stop my sister from trying to steal him away’…?” Yuuna crossed her arms in defiance, raising her left eyebrow at Alastora. “Oh let me guess, you had a brainfart and thought you’d grace me with your mystical, life-shattering discovery that you are in fact an airhead and can’t tell the difference between useful information and a diarrhea-induced reflection brought about by the lack of substance between your off-centered ears. ‘Woah is me! Yuuna is still gorgeous and I’m a fat tard who blew myself up with my own spell because I can’t aim worth two shits! Please save me from my lamentation dear Yuuna, for a fortnight ago I was dead and now I am alive, breathing your precious used air like the bastard-child I am! ’ “

Alastora had nothing to say. It was useless trying to argue with Yuuna when she went on one of her wild tangents. She giggled at the last part. It was true that she almost killed herself with her own spell, but it wasn’t because she couldn’t aim. Her aim was dead-on. It was because she put way too much power into the attack, trying to finish her opponent off in one move. It was a rookie mistake, something a professional like her knew better than to do. Unfortunately she was exhausted, freezing, and not exactly in the right frame of mind to make tactical decisions on-the-fly. She wondered if the cloaked man was still alive. She found it hard to believe that anyone could have possibly survived it because Sizuru and herself had barely made it out. She wasn’t sure where Sizuru had gone, but she wasn’t too worried about it. If anyone could come out of a sticky situation alive, it’d be her. She had an uncanny desire to live for some reason.

Alastora’s thoughts suddenly changed momentum. It finally clicked in her mind what Yuuna had said earlier, that Tyrbane was injured, bleeding to death. She didn’t say that he was dead. There was a distinct difference. Of course, it could have been a simple slip of the tongue, but she doubted that Yuuna would goof up on such a detail. The cogs in her mind started churning, wondering what had happened and if she had in fact left him there still alive, even if it wasn’t intentional. The only thing she was sure of was that she had passed out and when she woke up, she was laying in the back of a carriage with Sizuru crossing the border into Jumin. Sizuru had told her that Gwinnyn had ran off into the forest and that Tyrbane was indeed dead. She then took Alastora out of the country before Gwinnyn decided to return to continue the battle. As far as Alastora remembered and from what she was told, he was dead. But now… now the past was coming back to bite her in the ass and she had no idea what the truth was anymore.

Yuuna stopped her tirade, noticing tears slowly trickling down Alastora’s face. “Gawd, I was just joking, you know that right?” She was back to her cheerful self, crawling up to Alastora and giving her a hug. “I’m sowwy! Don’t hate me because I’m cute,” Yuuna said, unsuccessfully trying to make Alastora laugh. The tears continued to pour and Yuuna was at a loss as to what to do. She really wasn’t trying to upset Alastora, but she knew it probably came out sounding that way. Normally she wouldn’t give a care if she hurt someone’s feelings, but Alastora was different. She always thought of her as an older sister. Alastora’s mysterious disappearance was hard on her, since she was already attached to her and thought she was a good match for her brother. Finding her brother lying in a pool of blood and Alastora nowhere to be found was obviously distressing to her.

Yuuna broke down and started crying, grasping onto Alastora even tighter. “I’ve missed you so much! Why did you leave? You were like my big sister! There was so much I wanted us to do together… go shopping, hang out in the big city, maybe even have a few duels, but you left us! Why?”

Alastora held Yuuna close and stammering, she replied, “I... I don’t know anymore. I don’t know what the truth is anymore. When I woke up I was with Sizuru heading into Jumin. I begged her to let me come back but she wouldn’t let me. Before I knew it I was absorbed by constant missions. God I’m such a bad person! I left you here all alone…”

Yuuna gently pulled away from Alastora, looking at her questioningly. “Alone? I think there is something you should see.” She wiped the tears away from Alastora’s face and her own. “Look at us, we’re a mess! Come on I’ve got to get you cleaned up.” Yuuna grabbed Alastora’s arm and dragged her out of bed and towards the bathroom on the far side of the room. “There’s a party downstairs and you’re the honored guest. I can’t have you looking like you got punched in the eyes, eh? Okaykaykay?”

Alastora begrudgingly agreed, still upset about the whole ordeal. Yuuna’s joyous attitude was starting to warm her heart again and she knew better than to say no to her. She figured, if Yuuna was trying that hard to keep a smile on her face, she should too.

The bathroom was as impressive as the bedroom. A large mirror which extended across half of one wall was the centerpiece of the room. Underneath it was a cabinet with three over-sized sinks built in. The room was lavishly decorated with… stuffed animals. It was obviously decorated with a children’s theme, yet strangely kept the classical upper middle class feel to it as well.

Alastora grinned at Yuuna and said, “This must be your bathroom, huh?”

“Why’s it got to be my bathroom? Is it because its cute like me?” Yuuna giggled. On the corner of the massive cabinet was a beautiful low-cut black dress inlaid with gemstones. On top of it was a pair of diamond earrings and a matching necklace. Yuuna pointed towards them, saying, “This is your outfit for tonight ma’am. If you’d be so kind as to take a quick bath in the tub which is conveniently filled with bathwater, we can begin!”

Half an hour later, Alastora was ready. She was amazed at how well the dress fit her. It was as if it was made specifically for her. It in fact was, but she was unconscious at the time and had no idea that Yuuna was secretly taking her measurements. That aside, she looked stunning in her new garments, bringing a tear of joy to her eye. “Thank you so much. I haven’t had the opportunity to dress up in years. I forgot how nice it was.” Alastora smiled, looking at herself in the mirror. It really had been a long time. She was so consumed with missions, she hadn’t been to a formal event since she was with Tyrbane years earlier.

“Well hurry it up! They are waiting on you, ya know…” Yuuna pushed her out of the bathroom and towards the hallway outside of the bedroom.

As they entered the hallway, they could hear the sounds of a jazz-like tune being played from downstairs. The mixture of instruments was pleasing to the ear, further relieving Alastora’s previous anxiety and worries. They walked towards the stairs, the sounds of music growing stronger as they drew near to the source. Alastora could now hear that there was a singer as well. She slowed her pace, focusing on the words to the song:

“You are far,
When I could have been your star,
You listened to people,
Who scarred you to death,
Strange that you were strong enough,
To even make a start,
But you’ll never find
Peace of mind,
Till you listen to your heart.”

The words were bizarre to her, it was almost as if the singer were singing to her. She thought the idea was rather odd, since nobody could possibly know how she felt inside.

“People,
You can never change the way they feel,
Better let them do just what they will,
For they will,
If you let them,
Steal your heart from you.
People,
Will always make a lover feel a fool,
But you knew I loved you,
We could have shown them all,
We should have seen love through.”

“You are far,
I’m never gonna be your star,
I’ll pick up the pieces
And mend my heart,
Maybe I’ll be strong enough,
I don’t know where to start,
But I’ll never find
Peace of mind,
While I listen to my heart,”

The words were tearing at her heart. She arrived at the bottom of the flight of stairs to see a crowd of people sitting down at circular tables in a dimly-lit room. Each table had a candle on it, to give some light to the surrounding area. There was a stage on the far side of the room where the musicians were.

The male singer was in front of the band, his left hand resting on a barstool which was sitting on the stage. His dirty-blonde hair was cut similar to an ivy crew, combed over to the side but still remaining light and airy. He was dressed in a black suit, his suit coat hanging neatly on the barstool. He glanced at her, smiling warmly as she walked slowly out of the stairwell and leaned against the adjacent wall. He changed his focus towards her, and continued his song:

“But remember this,
Every other kiss,
That you ever give
Long as we both live
When you need the hand of another man,
One you really can surrender with,
I’ll wait for you,
Like I always do.
There’s something there,
That can’t compare with any other.”

“You are far,
When I could have been your star,
You listened to people,
Who scarred you to death.
Strange that I was wrong enough,
To think you’d love me too.
I guess you were kissing a fool,
You must have been kissing a fool.”

The crowd clapped fervently at the performance, some of them even whistling. The song was heart-wrenching and they all knew how close to home it was for the singer. He put his heart and soul into the song and the crowd felt that energy. He bowed and began moving through the audience, shaking hands and thanking people for attending. Several ushers began removing the tables from the room, making space for the dance floor which had been covered by them. The men in the audience helped as well.

Meanwhile, the band changed tones, switching to a more upbeat number, similar to a waltz…something that people could dance to. The singer finally made his way to Alastora’s side. He reached out his hand towards her and while smiling he asked, “May I have this dance?”

[Andromeda]

‘This is an urgent matter.’ He knew all too well how important this was to them. Normally, he would have been able to manage this with very little exposure to the general populace. Unfortunately, that was no longer possible as it had already spread out too far to be controlled. He could try to clean things up, but that was not what he was supposed to do. That would be something for the diplomats to handle, unsavory work anyway.

It was more than two days after the incident, but it could have been worse had he been on assignment. He sat outside the village between some crops growing keeping out of sight. The fields around the village were fortunate for him to avoid being seen around until he wished it. The sun was rising again bringing morning and he had not a moment of sleep yet. He watched from the west fields of the village monitoring the developments on the Kithur border.

‘This is an urgent matter.’ The day before he was summoned before the council for an emergency briefing. He had been enjoying a day off from his work after returning from a two month long investigation into Kithur. It had been taxing on him, but it was valuable intelligence that the military needed in the war effort. Ever since Kithur had muscled their way into the Urth region to the north it had been difficult to plan an offensive. So many of the resources were pressed to stop the invasion from the north. The Kithur forces had gotten lucky finding some powerful magic users that pushed their forces through. Jumin had been left on the defensive too long.

Wihnem wondered what this briefing was that he was called to that required him immediately. It was late in the evening and he had been enjoying himself a deep bottle of Eliuqin Wine, a fine year it was. Now it was going to waste opened and barely a glass empty. However, duty came first, while enjoying the luxuries of pretending to be nobility was something that could wait.

His status as a noble was long lost, as was his connection to his family and name. It was taken from him when he was young, too young to realize the importance of it. Now all he could do was enjoy the moments of not being a tool for his military. However, they were passing thoughts of fancy that were not something that he afforded himself. His name was what they gave to him.

He stood before council, a darkened room in the late hours with only candles dancing eerie shadows across the wrinkled faces of the members. Wihnem was standing straight and rigid before them waiting for his orders. It was likely that he would be departing after they were finished with him not wanting to waste any time. The men were serious tonight and what they had to say could not be taken lightly. “Wihnem Nal Bironi reporting as ordered. What is your command?”

“Eight hours ago a patrol unit stationed in the Illarium Region witnessed a display of overwhelming destructive power in the village of Ithure. What originally was believed to be a lightning storm has now been confirmed to be the cause of magic. The attack nearly destroyed the entire village and a full report on the destruction has not been received yet. However, due to this act it has heightened the military in Kithur. Seventeen hours ago border patrols reported a large Kithur force marching towards the village.

“The King has ordered deployment of a full unit to the village. However, he is cautious to move in as no one knows who caused the attack. Your mission is to travel to Ithure immediately and discover the source of the attack. If it is a Kithur prelude to invasion eliminate the threat if possible. If it is wild user recently awakened capture them immediately. We can’t allow someone that powerful walking freely through our kindom.”

“And if they resist capture?”

‘Kill them.’ The Kithur forces had not crossed into their territory just yet, but it was only a matter of time before it happened. He knew that Jumin could not support a war on two fronts, but he figured that the same was for Kithur as well. More than likely neither of them wanted this, but the display was giving them itchy hands. However, it was unlikely that he would be able to do anything to resolve the problem himself. He had a different job to do here.

Since the morning was arriving the village would be awake now and he could learn what happened. He had arrived in the late hours from traveling for the entire day. It gave him the time to watch and understand the surrounding area. It was just a simple village, but one that was on the border of the two kingdoms. This made it more difficult since both Jumin and Kithur laid claim to the land frequently. If this had happened further into the kingdom the stress would be lessened. Though the fear of magic would still be persistent.

The town he passed through to reach Ithure had been talking about it. He had been able to easily pick up the rumors from passing through. Everyone was in fear of being attacked next, but none of them knew who it was that caused it. Left to the unknown they were wildly spreading fantasies around that were blowing it out of proportion. It would not be long before they would need to do something to ease the public’s mind on the recent attack. Wihnem was rather amazed how quickly one magic user had thrown the entire region into chaos, but perhaps amazed would be not accurate. He was hardly surprised and had seen it happen before, but it still astonishing how easily the unknown placed people into fear. Almost as though they were enjoying being in fear and sought it out.

Wihnem entered the village looking across at the destruction leaving him in awe. It was not often that he saw the effects of magic laid out across the land, let alone in a village. He had seen a few battlefields in their aftermath the similarities were startling. There were still a few dead bodies lying around some bloodied others burned severely from the heat of the lightning. The path of destruction was obvious as well as the manner. He knelt down near one of the impact craters examining the ground.

Before he was able to sit around too long he was interrupted by one of the villagers. The man’s face was dirty as were his clothes, no doubt long hours burying and cleaning up from the disaster. Wihnem stood up hefting his pack back into position. “Good morrow.”

“Ill winds blow, hardly good. What do you need stranger?”

“I meant no offense. I’m just a traveler forced south from the fighting in Urth. What happened here if I may ask?”

“A cursed day two nights ago when the gods turned their backs on us. And left us like this.”

“The gods did this to your village?”

“If only it were the gods it’d be easier to swallow, but no the devil’s cursed hand twisted one of our own. They did this. I suggest you leave now stranger; war is coming here soon. It’ll be the end of us all.”

Wihnem knew that he could not convince the man otherwise from his belief. But he was far from finished looking into this. There was still more that he needed from them before he could call his investigation complete here and move on to tracking. “Your village has suffered a great tragedy. If I may I wish to give you another hand.”

“Why would you want to help us?”

“Two more hands. I’ve nowhere to be.” He gave the man his sincerest expression and waited in the silence. The man turned away walking back from where he had come. He motioned then with his arm to Wihnem inviting him further into the village. It was the chance that he needed and took it without hesitation. Wihnem followed the villager in through the rumble catching the glances of others as he passed by them. There were the equal stares of suspicion and curiosity. They wandered why he was in their village and if he was just the next stage in their cursed fate. He tried not to stare back at them taking in the view, the devastation that left all of them homeless. It was as though the war had come through to them to spend a day to familiarize them with the sorrow before disappearing without a trace.

The man left him with someone that he could help. The villager, the man, was removing the wreckage of his house from the foundation. It was near the center of the village where it seemed that the attack was the strongest. There was little left of the man’s house other than small pieces of lumber whose use could only be for stoking a fire. Wihnem helped the man for an hour remaining quiet while listening to the man. He was a talkative individual speaking freely about everything, though he refrained from approaching the night of the incident.

As he had been hauling the bits of the man’s house around he noticed a large crater of what could unmistakably be the center of the strike. Though it was much larger than he was expecting. The pattern of the attacks and the rumors told him that there were numerous strikes, which made it even odder. It was unusual for more than one strike from an individual and the size was beyond anything that he had seen before. He was difficult to think that it was possible if he had not been standing there himself.

“I would stay away, stranger,” the man said as Wihnem stepped out of line towards the crater.

“What happened over there?”

“That ground is cursed tainted by the one that defies nature.”

Wihnem leaned against one of the longer pieces of wood that he carried staring at the crater. The man knelt down tossing a piece of wood over into the pile looking away. “It happened there? What was it?”

“It was a horrific sight. He was only further angered and for his rage he destroyed everything. Lightning rained from the sky. He turned it on his own right there. It was the largest of them and remained through all of the strikes as those all his anger was focused there.”

“Who was he?”

“Nobody, he’s a demon with no heart. He killed the ones he loved without mercy. He’s a monster.”

“What happened to him?”

“We locked him up in the crop house until its decided what will become of him.”

“Has he done anything more?”

“No, he’s been silent ever since.”

“Well I’ve held us too long.”

“Aye.”

Wihnem returned to work with the man clearing out the house. After he was finished he went to the next person helping them. He spent the day gathering pieces from as many as he could trying to get the picture. Some were less than willing to part with the information, but he had enough of an idea of what happened now. He had to sift through all of the bogus bits he received that had been distorted by fear, even exaggerated. It was all too commonplace for him, so he made it a general policy for himself to take the least over the top sounding and build up. There was typically less distance to travel then. However, he was having mixed thoughts about who was the real magic user.

Most of the villagers had the belief that it was the son of the Rhiemiu family who had declared himself a magic user to the entire village. When making such a declaration it would scare people easily into believe anything so long as it resembled the truth in some part. But he was not convinced from the strikes that he had seen. If the man truly were the one, he would have escaped after being captured so long, even if he had been drained. His magic would have come back in two days time. Wihnem had to consider the possibility that the son was the one and he could just be unable to control. It was definitely likely, but there was a couple that conflicted with the others. An elderly couple had mentioned to him about the family’s daughter, who everyone believed to be dead at the hands of the son. But they told him that they saw her leaving the village alive still. And while they were not certain, they thought they had seen her at the center of everything. Wihnem felt more strongly about the daughter being one that did it all. All of the pieces lined up more evenly if it was she and not the son. However, he knew that there was only one away to know for sure which was correct. He had to visit the son.

Wihnem waited until the village became quiet in the evening and gone to sleep. He had left the village as though he was moving on his way further south. They all saw him off grateful for the help that he provided them. Wihnem continued south for some time until night fell deeper and his figure faded from sight. He changed his course back to the village to the fields where he had been told the son was being held. The field provided him cover as he snuck into the village’s limits once more.

Once the moon was beyond its peak and falling on itself Wihnem approached the worn house. There were large doors on the front with a heavy board across iron braces. It was usually made to kept people out of it and animals, but it served the same purpose as holding someone in just as well. There were a few windows in the house that would be clear escape routes if it were not for the height one would fall from. Wihnem made his way to the door placing his hands over the heavy wood board. It was far larger than him and more than he could hope to lift on his own. A quick pull was enough for him to confirm it.

Wihnem rubbed his back as he looked around the ground for what he needed. There was plenty of debris around from the village making his search difficult and simple. Most of the scraps were too short or weak, but he eventually found what he needed. He took a few long boards of wood and propped them against the barred door’s heavy wood lock. Once set in place he used leverage to lift the board enough that it came free, barely. One door was free opening both now and he entered the darkened room.

The moonlight cracked through the window painting its pattern across the wood floor. The floor creaked under Wihnem’s firm step awaking the shadowed individual of ill fame. Rhiemiu’s son dared not to enter the light and reveal himself allowing only the reflection of pale eyes across a mudded face to be shown. As Wihnem stepped closer he smelled the familiar metallic odor wafting through his nose, blood. The stench was left to mill around unable to escape creating a thick fog of ill omen for the less stoic. “Son of Rhiemiu, I bid you greetings on this night.”

“A voice…unfamiliar to me. You aren’t the villagers. Who are you stranger?” The man remained firm in his cloaked position away from Wihnem. As Wihnem furthered his approach the man did not budge not caring it seemed.

“Son of Rhiemiu, I’ve come to see you.”

“I’m no one’s son nor is that my name.”

“Then what shall I call you?”

“I do not deserve a name or title.”

“I wish to speak with you.” Wihnem stopped his approach just before the moonlight leaving him darkened. The dust filled beam of light drew their line between the two. ‘This is close enough. I only need a moment.’

“What is it that you came to speak to one like me about?”

“I’m a traveler on a journey and found your village. My curiosity lead me to you to seek the truth.” He did not hold out his words as he would have liked for he feared it would be too suspicious. The son was observant and seemed to have some intelligence as well.

“Strange curiosity for a traveler. Do you make it your priority to know other’s business?”

“I mean no offense, but I’m a curious man. And I heard the tale of the tragedy.” Wihnem knew that he did not have much time with him to be idly speaking. ‘Just a little bit more…’ He kept himself still while he continued his test. “I had to see the man that caused it.”

“That’s some curiosity to make you break in here.”

‘Just as I thought. Not him, no reaction at all.’ Wihnem turned away pretending that his curiosity was sated. “Well I’ve no more words for someone ill mannered.” He walked out of the storage house making it to just outside before the son stopped him, speaking up.

“Wait, stranger. Why are you really here?”

“Curiosity, as I said.”

“That is not the only reason.”

“Very well…the door is not locked. The air is quite enjoyable right now.”

“I’ve no interest in that anymore one who has no family, the last to live to atone in small pitiful penance.”

“If that is your wish, but I hear that a young woman was seen leaving the village that night. She can’t be found they say.” Wihnem walked away from the building allowing himself to disappear into the fog of the night. He had what he came for now and would have to go on the hunt for the woman. The son was not the magic user, if he had been he would have sense it, the latent attraction of their opposite element. There was no pull at all; the man was no magic user.

“Eris…” Gurin said weakly beginning to move.

[Victoria]

Before she knew it, Kisara inhaled a foul stench that her nose couldn't handle and it caused her to sneeze. Two of the men had grabbed onto her as she sneezed and vanished along with her. The space around her warped around and swirled into a vortex as she fell through the dimension. During the teleportation, the two men looked around and noticed that this woman wasn't normal. She was a corrupted one. They had gone over their heads on this particular girl.

The vortex had finally made a stop and revealed a grey sky and a cityscape. But what Kisara didn't know, was that there was a person below her that she was about to land on. She opened her eyes and looked around during the small air time she had and realized she was in midair. This was not good, as she also noticed someone below her, but recognized the hair and the skin complexion of the person below her.

That's when it hit her; Literally. Gravity had taken its affect on her and summoned her down to the ground. The person below her had broken her fall, though the two men were not so lucky. The two men had survived the fall and took but a moment to stand back up and hesitantly attempt to capture Kisara again.

That's when the person underneath Kisara finally spoke.

“Get.. off of me.” she managed to say with the little breath that she reserved.

That's when Kisara's mind clicked. The skin tone, the hair, and now the voice. She remembered it all from her childhood. A girl that had magic just like her, except was taken away because she got into constant fights. They lived next door to each other and always played with each other when Kisara wasn't being trained by her grandfather.

Kisara sobbed when she discovered that Matsuri wasn't around anymore. Her playtime friend was no longer around and all she had was training. No more fun in her life. Well, that changed just then when she realized she landed on the very Matsuri of her childhood.

Her cheeks flushed red as she quickly stood up and opened her mouth to speak.

“M-m-m-m-Mat...suri? Is that you?” Water weld up in her eyes and a tear ran down her cheek.

Matsuri's eyes rested upon Kisara's when she stood back up and dusted herself off. The two men closed in on Kisara and were about to wrap their arms around her shoulders. Matsuri's eyes flared up with her fighting spirit as her mind clicked as she took in the visage of Kisara's body and clothes, and the tone of her voice traveled to the drums of her ear.

Matsuri sneered and cracked her knuckles at the two thugs who were inches away from grasping onto the girl who landed on her without her permission. She had only just begun to become angry. She dashed and leaped into the air and split her legs and smashed her feet into both of their faces simultaneously. Then she brought her fist toward Kisara and stopped short of her forehead. She opened her index finger and flicked Kisara's head.

Kisara flinched and rubbed her forehead. She glanced back at Matsuri and sniffled.

“Ow! What'd you do that for? ....And thanks for saving me, by the way.”

Matsuri leaned her forehead against Kisara's and sent and icy cold glare toward the back of her brain.

“Because... I somehow just felt like it.”

“You felt like it? What did I ever do to you, Matsuri?”

“You left me. That's what you did. You let me get taken away and you didn't try to take me back.”

“But we were both children!”

“But nothing! You had teleporting powers! You could have done something!”

Kisara and Matsuri glared at each other as they both began to grin and chuckle amongst themselves. They wrapped their arms around each other and sniffed each other's scents.

“It's been a long time, hasn't it, Matsuri? I'm sorry about everything that happened.”

“It's okay. I'm actually somewhat glad it happened. I've gotten stronger because of it.”

“That's good. I can tell you're not the same troublemaker you used to be.”

They released their embraced and looked toward the grey sky together. Matsuri took another glance at her and giggled to herself.

“You know... I actually don't know your name. I remember everything else, but.. your name evades me.”

Kisara turned her face toward Matsuri and stared back with a blank expression. She shook her head and let out a big sigh. She poked Matsuri's forehead with her rod and stuck out her tongue.

“Kisara. My name is Kisara.”

“Ah~! That was it! I knew it started with a K!” Matsuri slammed her fist in her palm as a light bulb went off in her brain. Though just as soon as it flickered, it went away as her eyes changed from happy to serious. She sighed and took a glance at the unconscious men from earlier and then back toward Kisara.

“So what brought you here to Lothua?” she glared interrogatively.

“Their smell made me sneeze. Those two along with another band of men came at me and my pupil. Although she was unconscious at the time.”

“Unconscious? What happened to her? Is she alright?”

“Oh, she was fine. Her powers are just very odd. But you know what, I need your help. They probably took her and have her somewhere. We'll talk on the way, okay? You're not busy, are you?”

Matsuri looked around and sighed. The thought of leaving Lothua gave her a slight chill, but then she thought that perhaps she would get to fight over there.

“No, I'm not busy, but... wait. Pupil? Since when did you become a teacher?” she raised a brow and leaned in toward Kisara's face.

“...What? Is it that hard to believe? She has electric powers too, so why not?”

“Oh, nothing. It's just hard imagining you as a teacher. You used to be so absent minded when you were younger, you know.”

Kisara blushed and puffed her cheeks. She turned her head to the side.

“Hmph. Well I'll have you know I'm not like that anymore.” she turned back and stuck out her tongue.

“I can see that, Kisara,” Matsuri cleared her throat. “So, are we going to save your friend or not?”

Kisara nodded and twirled her rod as she walked toward Matsuri and placed her hand on her shoulder. The two then vanished in thin air and appeared at the pathway in the mountain where Kisara was last.

Kisara and Matsuri took a look around at the scenery as Kisara ran her hand down her face. She didn't know where to begin tracking for Eris.

“I guess the first thing we should do is head to the nearest town and ask if anyone has seen her.” Kisara sighed and looked down the only path.

“I'll take care of that. You warp around and try to find any clues. She has to have left some sort of trail.”

“I'll try.”

Matsuri dashed off the path down the mountain to see if she can find a nearby village or town while Kisara vanished to the tip of the mountain for a bird's eye view of the whole area to see if there was anywhere that stood out. She took in a breath and concentrated.

Moments later, she found something.

[DragonHeart]

“Lady Farore, are you here?”

The door opened, accompanied by a gentle breeze, and the lady stepped just outside. She gazed at the page with pale blue eyes and a calm expression.

“Have you a message for me, child?”

“Yes, Lady. Watcher Jareth sends this to you with all haste.” The page handed her a single sheet of parchment, folded over and sealed with the silver eye of the Watchers.

“Thank you.” She broke the seal and read it immediately. An urgent message from one of her Watchers meant only one thing, and this was no exception. She finished and handed the letter back, to be returned to the Watching Post and burned. No evidence of their activities could be allowed to exist.

“What is your reply?”

“I will go and see to this matter. Direct any other messages to the Post until I return.”

“I shall. Be safe, my Lady.” The page saluted and left.

Farore stood quietly for a moment, taking in the peaceful beauty of her Haven, the city she'd built and kept secret for so many years. The only place in Rumnir where those with the gift of magic could live without fear or pain. Many here bore the scars of their past, herself included. And perhaps sometime soon, a new person would come to live here, bearing scars of their own, to heal and learn to trust and love again after the harsh betrayal of reality.

~~~~~

If the appearance of a white mare in Cormenyr was strange, no one noticed or cared. Preoccupied with their unstable homeland, the people of the kingdom did not question the passing of the horse or her rider, the woman in the thick white cloak who carried Lothuan gold.

Farore traveled light and swiftly, passing through Lothua and well into Cormenyr through the secret routes of the underground. She was aided by the Guides who offered shelter revealed the hidden paths and also by the Watchers whose whispers came to her on the wind. The trail had gone cold but she intended to follow and so continued on to the last reported location, at the foot of the great mountains.

She sat patiently, listening to the memory of the air and the warnings of the sky. Satisfied, she had but to wait and soon they came, for they had watchers of their own. Soldiers, dirty and wild and savage. The mare sensed their hostility and snorted, pawing at the ground and tossing her head.

“Calm, Aega,” Farore said as she dismounted. The horse turned her head, listening. “I won't be long. Wait for me as you will, my dear.”

Aega nudged her shoulder and reluctantly moved away. As soon as one of the men approached her, the mare thundered away, vanishing into the forest. There she'd stay until Farore's task was done. In all their years of friendship, Aega had never faltered.

Her captors closed in with harsh laughter and taunting words. Farore paid them no mind and did not resist them. Calm and unafraid, she allowed them to lead her up the mountain to a place that was just one of far too many; a human slave camp.

~~~~~

Farore was shoved unceremoniously into the holding room, filled with girls and young women. With disgust she noticed that she was the only one with her original clothes. The men had stripped away the others' and replaced them with all too familiar slave outfits. She'd been lucky – they'd not had one made for a woman of her height and so she remained cloaked, hidden from their view.

The women looked up at her with dull eyes, eyes beyond hope that knew only pain and despair. Until now. She walked among them with a word or gesture of comfort to each, making her way slowly through the large room.

At last she came to the very last victim, shivering in the corner. Farore crouched alongside her and lightly touched her shoulder. She recognized this young lady from Watcher Jareth's description.

“Eris, it's all right child, I am here to help you. Come with me.” Farore stood and swept back her hood, revealing her piercing eyes and long golden hair. She raised her voice so that all might hear. “Come with me, all of you. You are bound to this fate no longer. Those who have families and homes that accept you may return. Those who do not may follow me and I shall guide you to safety.”

As they gathered around her, long-forgotten hope stirring in their hearts, Farore revealed herself at last. She pulled the cloak away, allowing them to gaze upon her with wonder and disbelief. Two great wings, the feathers white and soft as new-fallen snow unfurled from her back. A strong wind, warm and comforting and smelling faintly of spring swirled through the room.

Farore walked back across the room. The door was locked of course, but it was no barrier for her. She calmly pressed her hand against it, her magic responding to her will. The wood shattered, splinters exploding outward. The guards only had time to look surprised before they fell, pieces of wood driven through their backs.

She led the way out of the building and through the camp and the efforts of the soldiers did not trouble her. A shield of wind deflected arrow and blade like, the sheer force of her magic pushing them aside as she passed. They tried to follow but the air turned cold and heavy until they couldn't breathe. She left them to die a miserable choking death, ignoring their pleas for mercy or forgiveness. As a woman who'd once suffered as a slave herself, she had no mercy to offer them.

~~~~~

At the foot of the mountain Aega stood waiting along with half a dozen Guides, summoned by the white mare at Farore's request. Men and women alike gazed upon her with wonder, for to see the wings of Farore was like seeing an angel come from heaven. She let them see her for a few moments longer, then donned her cloak and turned to address the anxious group.

“The people I have gathered here are people worthy of your trust. Go without fear or anger in your heart and they will guide you back to your homes. Those with nowhere to go will be guided to a hidden place where you may find sanctuary. I will go on ahead to prepare for your coming. Be at peace my dears, for you will not be troubled by the fear of the ungifted again.”

As the Guides came forth to take over for her, Farore pulled Eris aside and spoke quietly so that the others would not hear.

“I came here to find you. My Watchers saw what happened at your village. I am offering you shelter for as long as you need it. Would you like to come ahead to Lothua with me?”

[Andromeda]

“I came here to find you. My Watchers saw what happened at your village. I am offering you shelter for as long as you need it. Would you like to come ahead to Lothua with me?”

It all happened so quickly for her that she did not know what was going on. Everything moved suddenly for her the scenery changing and everyone disappearing around her. There was a stranger taking her away as she had wished, but left with no chance for objections. Before she knew what was happening she was outside again in the open space free from the confinements, but confused. There were many answers that were needed and she did not know where to begin. She did not even know what was happening or going to happen.

Eris waited for her thoughts to catch up to her trying to remember what was happening when everything changed for her. She had been in that place, whatever it was called. The woman had told her that it was a place where the soldiers had gathered and were taking women. The women that were capturing to made to serve the men in whatever capacity they required. It was often cooking and cleaning, things that were done while they men were away.

They acted as though they were all wives, but with even less respect than being joined under the laws of the kingdom. The women had no voice, the only words they could speak were in agreement or else they were hit for insolence. They were told when to sleep and when to eat, if they were allowed. And the men could do anything that they wanted, short of killing them, without repercussion from the leader. In fact, many of them seemed to get a perverse pleasure from beating them at times. Many of the women held bruises or wounds from such incidents. It was all they could to gather themselves and get themselves well. There were some that embraced death as the only exit from the life they were imprisoned.

It had been going on for many years only increasing the number of men when they heard what they would be given. This only gave rise to more depraved men joining and the treatment of the women growing increasingly worse. However, there was no remorse so long as they continued carry out the duties required of them. And the way of life persisted without anyone to prevent them.

Eris feared what was to become of her. She did not think that there would be anyone coming to rescue her and yet someone had. That woman that was helping her before was gone and she did not know what happened to her. She had thought that she was somewhere else in the room with the rest of the women hidden from her view. However, as she had searched the entire chamber there was no sight of the woman. The whole room was filled with women, but she had searched and asked about her. She learned quickly that she was the only new woman to arrive. Eris had entered alone.

‘She’s not dead is she? I just meet her, she was going to help me become stronger…but what am I to do now? I’m alone here. There is nothing.’ Eris’ heart tightened hurting her chest forcing her hand up. She had never felt so alone before in such a crowd. It was as though there was just blackness everywhere clawing at her legs to drag her in. Crying was all she was able bringing her legs to the hard stone floor. ‘Brother…help me…help me…please…’

She had been crying for so long that she could not recognize time anymore. The woman she had been speaking to her before interrupted her pulling her sharply out of her emotions. Her face was still flush with tears barely focused to see the woman. Like Eris, she too was dressed similarly, as were all the women. There was little variety in the wardrobe. “There, there calm your heart, child,” the woman said taking a worn cloth to her tears.

“Please…help me. I-I don’t want to be here,” Eris said trembling in the woman’s arms.

“None of us do. I’m sorry for being so harsh before. You’re young and this is probably the first time you’ve been away from your village.” Eris leaned against the woman’s shoulders finding a small comfort to calm her shaking body. It eased her, but she still was trembling softly. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen my daughter…”

“Y-you have a daughter?”

“So surprised? Yes, though I haven’t seen her in five years. Younger than you, but still its been so long since I could hold her.”

“Mother…” Eris said softly forgetting where she was for a moment. Her thoughts drifted backwards to Ithure. She could remember she was only a child running to meet her mother coming back from fields each night. Each night she could see her coming up the road and run out of the fence where she was playing to meet her. Her mother would kneel down and pick her up holding her tightly taking her back home. It was warm and safe, the rest of the world melted away to nothing. She could fall asleep in her arms.

“Irith…”

They were interrupted by the doors opening and dispersing the women as two men came into the chambers. Most of the women found a place to sit looking away from the men coming in looking around. Each of them knew what to do and just remained waiting to see what happened. However, Eris stayed with the woman near her holding on to her hand tightly. The two men looked around as though they were buying something and judging each for their quality. Eventually, they came to Eris with their eyes shining as though catching eye of a precious jewel.

“Heard we ‘ad a new one, she needs to be broke in,” he said with a perverse grin.

“She’s too young for me.”

“Ya donn’ know what ya missing,” the man said reaching down to grab Eris by the arm.

“Experience is better than youth.”

“Tch, whatever.” He pulled at Eris pulling her up off her feet quickly without effort. There was a foul taste of liquor on his breath making her ill immediately. She tried to fight him, but was out of reach and restrained before she could manage resistance. The man began to drag her off when the woman spoke up.

“Wait!” she said rushing up to the man as the other was already leaving with someone that he found.

“Outta way, woman!” The man lifted his free arm up to slap her away, but paused as the woman spoke once more.

“Wait, wouldn’t you prefer someone else? Maybe more in the mood.”

“I’m not in’nerested.”

“Someone with more experience, make it more enjoyable.” The woman walked around the man lightly running her hand around his body to tempt him. “She’s young, but no stamina. Don’t you want more?” She continued around him working in earnest to get his attention.

“Well…she is a lil’ small, don’ wanna break her.”

“Right, right…” she said returning to the front of the man and releasing Eris from his grip. “Quickly, dear,” she whispered to her.

“But why…” That was the last she had seen of the woman. It was a few hours later that she was rescued and brought before the woman that had done it all. She had seen her vaguely kill all of those men that had taken her. Her mind had not been aware at the moment it happened, but now it was completely awake. She knew what had become of them feeling sick from the images that it brought to her. The sight was horrible, even though they all deserve what happened to them. Eris could not let herself so easily accept their deaths as necessary. So many had died, like at her village. She did not want to see it again.

“You killed them…all…” Those were the first words out of her mouth to the woman who had offered her shelter. “How could just kill them like that? T-they…they were people…just like you and me. They were…” Eris was caught up in her conflicted thoughts. It was her immediate reaction to say it, even though she was having second thoughts about it. “What right did you have?!” She collapsed to the ground trying to understand why she was so upset by it. ‘Why am I defending them? They wanted to…to…’

It was then that images of the dead villagers from Ithure appeared to her. Everyone that she knew haunted her mind chasing her down wanting to be remembered, avenged. They would not leave her to peace and those that the woman just killed echoed in her thoughts. All she could see was blood pouring out of them all filling the ground until the grass was hidden under a thick pool of crimson liquid. It soaked through her clothes clawing at her digging through her skin until it burned through her veins.

“Please stop!!” she shouted through her illusion shattering it to pieces and bringing her back to reality. Eris breathed heavily on the ground trying to recover her body. As she pulled herself back up the woman was still looking at her as though waiting for an answer still to the question left unanswered. “I…I-I don’t want to see anymore death. Please stop killing…please! The blood is covering us all…no more blood…no more…” Eris’ breathing was increasing again in panic unable to release the red color from her vision.
‘I was so certain before…revenge…but I can’t…I couldn’t…’


“No more…”

[DragonHeart]

It was worse than Farore had realized; the girl was heavily traumatized by her experiences. Or maybe, she thought with some sadness, she'd become too accustomed to a world where only death brought any certain victory. As long as the kings of Rumnir allowed their people to engage in such barbarism, there could be no understanding, no compromise between them.

"You killed them all...how could you? They were people, just like you and me. They were...what right did you have? Please stop! I don't want to see any more death. Please stop killing...please! The blood is covering us all...no more blood...no more...no more..." Eris pleaded, panicked and half-mad. She was so young. Seeing her reminded Farore of those days twenty years ago when she had committed her first murder. Self-defense, but the guilt remained even now. Farore was covered in the blood of her enemies, but Eris couldn't understand just yet.

She didn't try to touch Eris as she spoke, her voice gentle yet absolute.

"I know child, I know. Only the gods themselves have the right to choose life and death for the world of man. However, what they did was not right and if I did not stop them, they would have kept on as they were. It is a harsh world, but sometimes only death can purge the evil that taints their souls. What is done cannot be undone. Come with me, come to Lothua, and I will show you what it is we're fighting for. Maybe with your help we can change the way things are and make this violence part of the past. Will you help us?"

As she spoke Aega came to her. Farore discreetly leaned against the mare, masking her own exhaustion. She'd used too much of her magic. Her strength was slipping away with her age and soon she feared she'd not be able to travel far beyond Haven. She needed someone to take over for her in the next few years. Someone like Eris...

[Andromeda]

Eris had listened to the woman’s words, but remained at a lost as to her real purpose. The woman had a definite interest in her, she could tell that. She wanted something from her, to take her away. But it did not make any sense; there was nothing special about her that she could think of aside from the magic that she recently discovered. ‘She doesn’t…did she save me just to have my magic that I can’t use?’ It was a strange realization in her mind remembering that magic users were highly sought after by the military and people wanting power. ‘Could she be one of them? She has magic herself…but why me?’

She backed away from the woman not certain what to think as her mind milled over the different thoughts. Her mind was getting carried away with ideas of its own beyond her control. They were all simply wild fantasies that only purpose was to instill more fear in to her, as though she needed help with that. Fighting against her mind’s aimless wandering was difficult as it was hard not to believe the possible truth in some of what she was thinking. She shuddered to think if any of them could be true.

‘She wants my power…I don’t even know what it I have. How does she know?’ Her thoughts only fueled more suspicious within her until all she could do was fling accusations, most which were not even reasonable. ‘Did that other woman just want my power too? Is that all I am to people?’ She wrestled with her mind trying calm down her pounding chest. The emotions were exciting her body making her sweat and churning her stomach. Her stress was peaking again, she did not know how many more times she could handle it.

‘My baby…I just want to live to see my baby…’ Her hand rubbed over her stomach giving her a focus for once. All the random stray thoughts were disappearing allowing her to think, even just a little. ‘She said Lothua…sounds familiar.’ It took her a few moments, but she finally remembered its meaning. When she was in school she had learned about the kingdom, but its doors were shut to everyone that it faded from people’s minds often. She had not heard the name in many years. ‘Lothua is supposed to be helping people with magic…at least that’s the rumor…if it is true. Maybe…she…’

Eris looked up at the woman away from her distracted expression before. She was still uncertain, but she was already in the middle of nowhere with no way to stay alive. There seemed to be little choice for her knowing that alone she would very soon die without survival skills. She knew plants well enough, but not the land. Her life would be short alone, captured again with her luck.

“If I said yes, how can I trust you? You’re a stranger to me,” she said pausing for a moment trying to think out her words carefully. There was still suspicion, the world was not kind and she had to learn to grow up soon. “You rescued me, but how do I know that it is not part of your plan? You know me as though you’ve been watching me. What is it that you want with me?”

[Victoria]

Kisara found a piece of clothing that belonged to Eris. She looked around for more clues, but all she found was an elderly old man nearby.

“Excuse me, sir? Have you seen a young woman about my age with clothing of this color?”

He peered into the depths of the scrap and then glanced at Kisara.

“As a matter of fact, a group of thugs took her that way. I've seen'em before. They collect all kinds of girls to enslave. The poor things.”

Kisara scowled and glared into the north direction the old man pointed out.

“Thanks for the information.” she bowed and walked to the north and around a corner. She warped back to the meeting spot.


Matsuri dashed around several directions and arrived to what appeared to be a campground site for a troop of soldiers. She could tell because there had been bodies on the ground. It appeared to be a one-sided battle.

Luckily, one of the men was still alive. Matsuri slapped his cheeks lightly to wake him up.

He groggily woke up and his vision took a moment to focus. He noticed a young woman that tended to him. He gave a sheepish grin until Matsuri lit up one of her fingers with fire and gave an icy glare. He gulped and looked around.

“What happened here?” she interrogated.

“I'm not quite sure myself, lass. It all happened so quickly.” he sighed and sat up.

“It was a woman with wings, I know that much. She was really strong, too. And to top it all off, she freed all the women my boss had picked up.”

“Hmm...” she pondered for a moment, “Thanks, bub.” she smiled sincerely and punched him out.

She dashed back all the way to the meeting spot where Kisara had waited for several moments.

“What did you find?” they both said in unison.

“You first, Matsuri.” Kisara yawned.

“I found a campsite that was laid to waste, but one guy was still alive, so I interrogated him. He said a woman with wings came in and released all the women that were captured.”

“Well. That was certainly more informative than what I found out. All I found was the general direction of the place. Who's the woman with wings?”

'You're going to hate this,” she sighed. “We're going back to Lothua. The leader of the underground saved your pupil. Ironic, eh?”

“Oh, damnit all.” Kisara sighed and leaned on her rod. Matsuri and her had just came from Lothua, only to head straight back.

Kisara stood and prepared their teleportation to Lothya, when a loud noise went off nearby.

That was when Matsuri spotted someone with their arm on fire.

[Merlin]

Pilner-Jumin Saga Finale Chapter I

Alastora stared in amazement at the sight before her. She couldn’t believe it. The man she loved was standing before her, offering to dance with her. The atmosphere was romantic, almost magical. Everything down to the gemstones on her dress was exactly how she imagined it would be when they finally reunited.

Tyrbane drew close to her, embracing her in his strong arms. He held her close, whispering sweet nothings into her ear while gently stroking her crimson hair. “I’ve missed you so much Alastora. I’ve never stopped loving you.”

She held onto him tightly, not wanting to let the moment end. She wanted it to last forever. His words strummed at her heartstrings, making her forget all her woes and the nightmares of old. She had waited over a year for this moment, and nothing was going to stop her from enjoying it. That’s when it finally donned on her. The whole situation was perfect… too perfect. Her mind was churning wildly, putting all the loose pieces together. Her subconscious drove her to hold Tyrbane tighter, clinging desperately onto the façade that was slowly starting to unravel. It was an internal struggle for survival: her hopes and aspirations versus the painful truth.

“What’s the matter, darling? Are you feeling ok?” Tyrbane looked worried, not sure what was going on. He loosened his grip and stared into her grief-stricken eyes, trying to figure out the mystery that was hidden within. “Did I do something wrong? I’m sorry… I was just so happy to see you. I’ve missed you so much, sweetheart.”

“No… please… stop.” Alastora pulled away from him, taking a few steps back. “This isn’t real… you aren’t real.” Her swollen eyes filled with tears once more. It was all too painful for her. Image after image was flooding her mind with the past, with the truth. “I’ve always dreamed of the two of us getting together and what that moment would be like, but it was just that: a dream! You don’t love me Tyrbane. You never have.”

He looked at her, shocked and unsure of what to say. “Alastora, I…”

Alastora put her hand up to stop him, continuing her confession, “All this time I thought I had a one-sided love with you, but I finally realize now that it wasn’t love, it was jealousy. Don’t you remember? I was so lonely and depressed that Gwinnyn asked you to take me out on a date for the night. It was so sweet of you to do that.” She smiled warmly at him, reminiscing that night. She paused, remembering more of the details of what had transpired. “You both meant well, but your act of kindness was wasted. I didn’t appreciate it, in fact I despised her. All I could think about was how to rid myself of the competition, to make you see me, to make you love me. I don’t deserve your love. I’m not even worthy to be called your friend.”

Tyrbane smiled at her, patting her on the head consolingly. “You’re not such a bad girl, just a bit misguided. Sure you’ve made mistakes, everyone does. Its what you do afterwards that makes us who we are. Do you learn from them or wallow in self-pity?”

Alastora wiped the tears away from her eyes, thinking about what he had said to her. “Its kinda sad, I’m getting life-lessons from my subconscious.”

“Ala…. stora…!”

She sighed, the hard truth finally coming to light. The real world had a habit of dragging you feet-first back into it. She wasn’t dreaming, she had somehow got trapped in Sizuru’s illusionary magic. Everything… the nightmare, the reuniting… was nothing more than a sick perversion of her own subconscious thoughts. Whether good or bad, those thoughts was trapping her in a web of lies, making her an easy target for her opponent in the real world.

“I guess this is goodbye, darling. My friend needs me.” Alastora grinned at the thought. “That’s right… I’m still needed. Its about time I stop being a baby and start enjoying life. I look forward to seeing you again in the real world Tyrbane. We have a lot to talk about!” She winked at him and turned her back to the mirage, her fantasy fading into darkness.

“Alastora! LOOK OUT!” Sizuru screamed for all she was worth in a vain attempt to wake her partner from the grips of her misguided spell. Her aim was perfect. In fact, she had never missed her mark, but something… some unknown factor had deflected the spell towards Alastora, who took the full brunt of it. Her opponent hadn’t even budged an inch from his location in the distance, making no visible move other than to lift his blade a miniscule amount out of its protective sheath.

To make matters worse, when the spell hit Alastora, she was already in the process of preparing her own attack. While the girl’s mind was rendered temporarily useless, her battle-trained body continued to haphazardly form a massive fireball above her head like a broken record player. She had been under the effects of Sizuru’s spell for over three minutes, mindlessly increasing the size of her attack to uncontrollable proportions. The once-spherical spell was beginning to distort wildly, shooting flares of destruction in random directions.

The heat was already at unbearable levels and showed no signs of cooling down. Sizuru knew she would never be able to transverse even half the distance between her and her partner before succumbing to the high temperatures. All she could do was scream. “Alastora… please!”

Suddenly, Alastora awoke from her mindless stupor. She looked up at the massive star spinning violently above her head. For a split second the spell yielded to her command, and in that moment she saw perfection. The flaming mass was a perfect sphere, the hottest energy focused in its core. She had no idea how she had gotten to this point in her life, but she already knew the outcome. Rather than panic, she simply turned her gaze to her life-long friend… and she smiled.

The image would be forever burned into the soul of Sizuru. A second later, her friend was no more… wiped off the face of the planet in a blinding white light. The snow and rocks nearest to the explosion vaporized instantaneously, while the materials farther out was ripped forth from the earth and hurtled away from the blast-point. Sizuru tried desperately to hold her ground, but was no match for the wave of destruction emitted from the epicenter. She was violently tossed like a rag doll, landing perilously close to the edge of a bottomless cliff. Sizuru curled up in a fetal position, covering her ears and face to protect them from the onslaught.

After what seemed like an eternity to her, the atmosphere finally began to calm down. She unwound herself and shakily rose to her feet. The terrifying sight before her sent chills down her spine, frightening her to the very core. The landscape was unrecognizable. The snow-covered mountainous terrain had been erased from existence, replaced by molten rock and lava. A black, looming mushroom cloud slowly rose from the place that Alastora once stood.

The only comfort that Sizuru had was the knowledge that her friend had died painlessly. She fell to the ground, sobbing. As far back as she could remember, she couldn’t picture a single time she had ever cried, but here she was crying her heart out. Sizuru had known for a while that her friend was troubled by something, but she dared not ask. The always-cheerful Alastora had made her missions interesting and at the very least bearable. They might not have gotten along well all the time, but they were truly the best of friends. They would do anything for each other, even sacrificing their own lives to protect the other. The irreplaceable bond they had was gone and Sizuru knew that the fault was her own. ‘What if’ scenarios ran rampant through her mind…

‘What if I had cast it earlier?’

‘What if I had made sure Alastora was clear?’

‘What if I had tried to force the fireball away?’

‘What if,’ she paused, noticing she was not alone. In her grief she had forgotten that she was still in the middle of a battle and her opponent was not dead. The cloaked man approached from the distance, easily crossing the treacherous landscape as if it was child’s-play. She tried to stand up, but her legs would not budge. Her whole body was exhausted from trying to survive the last attack that she was in no condition to continue. Time and again she clawed desperately at the ground, panic setting in as the man drew ever closer. “Dammit!”

“Its all right. The battle is over. There is no point in continuing.” The cloaked man reached down towards Sizuru, lifting her up into his strong arms. The veil had been lifted from his head, but all she could see were his emerald eyes, peering down on her with concern. She didn’t understand why he was helping her, or how he even survived, but she did not utter a word. His embrace brought her comfort, easing the pain of her wounds. “There’s been enough death for one day.”

“Tyrbane… is that you?”

“I’m sorry, Sizuru. I did not realize it was you two. I mistook you for the soldiers that had attacked our church. If I had only known you were coming, I would have…”

Sizuru grasped him tightly and cried on his shoulder. “No, we were the ones sent to kill the priests. Its an outlying church, there wasn’t supposed to be any Pilner soldiers in the area.”

Tyrbane forcefully pulled her away from him and grabbed her shoulders tightly. “What? Why the hell would you kill a bunch of defenseless priests? Your group had to have known they were part of the underground movement! What good would it bring your country to undermine our efforts to rid the land of this oppressive religion?”

She was speechless, unsure of what to say. All Sizuru could do was to stare blankly at him.

“Answer me dammit! Why would you stoop so low as to slaughter people who have spent their lives trying to save magic-users? What the fųck possessed you to follow such a stupid order?”

“We had no choice! You don’t understand!” Sizuru winced under the pain of his grasp, but did not fight it. “Disobeying a direct order is an act of treason. We’d be enemies of the nation and be hunted down to the ends of the earth. They have contacts everywhere. We wouldn’t get halfway out of the country without being spotted by half a dozen spies.” She grasped onto his cloak, pulling him closer to her. She looked deep into his eyes, saying, “You think we wanted to kill them? Idiot. Alastora would never wish to hurt your country. She loved you.”

Tyrbane loosened his grip and sat her down on a nearby rock. He kneeled down in front of her and calmly stated, “Listen to me, Sizuru. I know she was your friend and you trust her, but she obviously wasn’t telling you the truth. A year ago that psycho-bitch tried to kill me and my fiancé, her sister for god’s sake! Why? Because she couldn’t stand that her sister was happy and she wasn’t. Jealousy… plain and simple. I don’t know what the hell she told you, but that’s what happened.”

Sizuru looked at him in bewilderment. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “That’s impossible. Gwinnyn’s the nutcase! Alastora was defending you from her!”

Tyrbane laughed at the idea. He had spent many years together with Gwinnyn and she was definitely not insane. “My dear girl, I met Gwinnyn when I was only 18 and was with her ever since. She was my fiancé and Alastora was the one trying to break up our relationship.” His expression turned to sadness, as he continued, “and due to your damned friend, she’s now dead. I’d say you have no idea what that’s like but I suppose you’re starting to get the picture. You now know what its like to lose the one most precious to you. It sucks, doesn’t it? And trust me, it doesn’t get any easier. “

“Oh god… I… I didn’t know… I reassigned the wrong one…”

Tyrbane looked at her questioningly, asking, “What are you babbling about now?”

“Gwinnyn was one of our contacts in Pilner. That’s why we came to visit a year ago. Alastora came to me, all ecstatic about meeting some new guy, you. I had never seen her so happy. She told me all about the fun things she did with you the night before and how she had finally found someone she wanted to spend her life with. The next day, she came to me in tears, swearing that Gwinnyn was trying to steal you away from her.” Sizuru waited for a response from Tyrbane and when he nodded, she continued. “I was a naïve fool and didn’t even question it. You’re fiancé isn’t dead, Tyrbane. I reassigned her to Lothua. All that stuff about her being dead was a perfectly-orchestrated cover-up. I’m…. I’m sorry.”

“Oh what a touching reunion. Its enough to make me want to puke…” A silver-haired woman stood a short distance away from them, brandishing a large claymore in her right hand. She was wearing heavy leather armor with metallic plates covering chest, kneecaps, elbows, and shoulders. The plate covering her right shoulder was larger than the left side with a strange red engraving on it. The blade itself had strange markings across its surface, written in some unknown language. “With all the damage around here, I figured you had wiped out your opponent, but instead you’re sitting here all cozy with him reminiscing about the past!”

Having regained some of her strength, Sizuru jumped to her feet, readying a defensive posture. “Tyrbane, you should leave. This doesn’t concern you.”

“How dare you stand against me, fool. Stand down and I might consider sparing your pathetic life.” The woman laughed hideously at Sizuru, sneering at her and pointing the blade at her forehead. “I, Falaris of the Frozen Storm and leader of the M.C.T.U. have come to clean up your shit, so step aside, bitch.”

Tyrbane stepped in front of Sizuru, pushing Falaris’ blade out of the way with his forefinger. “You should watch where you point that… someone might get hurt.” He dropped his cloak to the ground, revealing his true form that had been hidden underneath. He was wearing deep green long-sleeved shirt and pants, with a beautiful golden breast-plate and matching greaves on top. He had two great katana, one on his side and the other tied neatly to the back of his armor. “The lady has asked for an asylum, and it is my duty as a warrior in Pilner to grant such a request. You are trespassing on our land and any act of aggression will be seen as an act of war.” He smiled wryly at her, placing his left hand on the sword at his side. “Your country is already on the losing end of a battle with Kithur. I doubt your government would be too happy that you’re picking fights with the south.”

Sizuru was once again surprised. The man in front of her was helping her for a second time, even after she had done so much to hurt him. It made no logical sense to him. If anything, he should be the one trying to strike her down. What would possess him to help out someone who just attacked his country and was the cause of the woman he loved being deported to the west? She was in no place to argue with him for she knew she could not fight with her commander and survive. Of course, she had no idea if he was capable of fighting with her one-on-one. The only hint of power she had seen from him was when the battle first began. Sizuru remembered that moment vividly as if it had just happened. The raw power he displayed from simply unsheathing his sword a fraction of an inch had brought both her and her comrade to their knees. The last time she had felt such power was from watching Falaris practice her skills. She knew she was no match for her commander, even at full strength. She also knew her commander was not the type to back down from a fight, no matter the consequences. She lived to fight, honing her skills to become the ultimate killing machine.

Falaris sneered at him, saying, “If you’re dead, there’s nobody around to tell your country that we were even here. There’s not a shred of evidence that can link us to the events that have transpired in the last week other than your word. Once you’re dead, what then?” She snarled at him, lifting her sword towards his shoulder. “Why don’t you be a good little boy and keel over.” Her claymore began emitting an azure aura, the air around her becoming freezing cold. Falaris grasped her other hand onto the handle and swung the blade sharply, trying to decapitate her opponent in one hit.

Tyrbane and Sizuru unexpectedly disappeared at the moment the blade was going to strike his neck, appearing a short distance away. Tyrbane was holding Sizuru in his arms and placed her softly on the ground below. The sun had almost completely set and the scarred land was slowly being covered with snow. A harsh snowstorm was approaching and even the heated rock would be no match for its torrential power. Tyrbane knew that the battle must be won swiftly and efficiently, for the storm would be the death of them all. He looked down at Sizuru and patted her head softly. “Rest easy, I swear on my life I won’t let you die.”

“The fųck…” Falaris rushed towards Tyrbane, claymore gripped tightly in her hands. She had no idea how he managed to dodge her attack, but she wasn’t about to let it happen again.

Tyrbane grasped his sword firmly, lifting the blade ever-so-slightly out of its sheath. Sizuru grit her teeth, knowing what was about to happen. The ground around them buckled slightly, as Tyrbane once again vanished. Rather than teleporting, he was moving at a speed that no normal human eye could possibly perceive. Even one trained in quick combat would be blind to the insanely-fast maneuvers he was able to perform. He had trained his mind and body to harness his latent energy and use it to boost his own natural strength and agility.

Falaris came to a grinding halt, unsure of what had just happened. She felt as if someone had just gone past her, but she had seen nothing and all she heard was the click of her opponent’s hilt tapping the sheath as it was placed back into its protective case. It was as if her opponent had simply vanished into thin air. Before she could turn to face her opponent, she watched in confusion as her sword fell to the ground with a thud, dragging her severed dominant hand along with it. She grasped her bloody wrist in agony, sealing the wound with ice. “You son of a bitch! I’ll kill you!”

“You’ve already lost. Surrender and I’ll spare your life.” Tyrbane carefully watched her, making sure she wasn’t going to try to attack Sizuru with her free hand. She reached down to pick up her sword and he responded, “What a waste. So be it. Your life is over.”

Sizuru watched from the distance, appalled at how easily her commander was being dismembered. The woman had fought countless battles against multiple enemies at a time and came out successful, yet this man was single-handedly annihilating her. She wasn’t sure if she should fear him or be at ease that he was on her side. Moments earlier she was posed to fight him, unaware of the monstrous strength and agility he possessed. In a sick way she felt thankful that she was not at the pointed end of his sword.

Tyrbane unsheathed his sword and struck Falaris swiftly against the neck. He was expecting her head to fall to the ground cleanly, but instead his blade was stopped by an icy shield that was more resilient than the hardest of rocks. He quickly drew his sword away as he witnessed the surface of it being caked with a thick layer of ice.

Falaris grasped her sword with her left hand and stood up, turning to face Tyrbane. Her wounded right arm was coated with ice and slowly, a hand began to form at its base. As the hand finished taking shape, she placed the blade in the newly-created hand of solid-water and took up an offensive stance. “You fųcking asshole. You got lucky the first time, but I won’t be so forgiving now that you’ve pissed me off!”

“Oh great, I have to fight the abominable snow-whore. Whatever. I was hoping to immobilize you but I guess I’ll have to get serious.” His eyes changed from their usual emerald-green to a bright silver as he readied his attack stance. In that moment he had analyzed every bit of her magical ability, limit, and weak point. The silver eyes weren’t some sly trick to show off, it allowed him to gain a deeper insight into every aspect of his opponent’s magic. It was the perfect technique to accompany his type of fighting. He could quickly find his opponent’s weak point and exploit it before the enemy had a chance to react. He usually chose not to use it, since scanning his opponent felt rather like cheating to him. An air of mystery was much more interesting. Unfortunately he was short on time and this woman wasn’t going to give up until she was dead.

After analyzing her magical ability, he noticed that her impenetrable shield of ice was not so invincible. It was indeed a strong defense, but by no means an ultimate defense. She was wasting energy by trying to hold a sword with her dominant arm and trying to defend against his attacks with the ice shield. Not only that, but he had indeed managed to cut through the shield on his last attack. He had only managed to inflict a flesh wound, but he was able to make it through. With this knowledge in mind, he knew exactly what to do next… how to slay the commander with his next hit.

Before he had a chance to execute his plan, Falaris made the first move, rushing towards him swinging her sword wildly. For a commander of a secret organization, she seemed rather idiotic when it came to actual combat. She insisted on rushing head-first into a battle using brute strength and magic power rather than analyzing the situation. She indeed had a massive amount of magic power, easily on par with Tyrbane’s, but she needlessly wasted it on large, lumbering attacks that could easily be dodged by his superior agility.

As her blade came forth with destructive force, he jumped upward, landing on the edge of her blade. While ice is strong as a solid mass, it easily buckles if enough pressure is applied to the right spot. Her icy hand shattered at the weight of his body, forcing the sword to the ground. Before she could recover from the loss of her hand, he released his second sword from its sheath and struck her ten times in rapid succession with both blades. Her defense crumbled, sending frozen shards to the snow-covered ground below.

Falaris grasped her stomach in pain, collapsing to the ground in a bloody heap. The commander was defeated and Sizuru no longer bound to the tyrannical rule of Jumin. Unfortunately they could not rest easy. The battle had taken longer than Tyrbane had expected and the mountain was unforgiving of their trespass. The wind grew strong, forcing Tyrbane to use his katana to keep his balance. He managed to find his way back to Sizuru, the sky blacked out by thick layers of clouds. It was night and the path towards freedom hidden underneath a foreboding atmosphere. The only visible light was from the molten rock, which was beginning to freeze, further impeding their vision with thick fog.

“Dammit all. I can’t see a thing in this storm!” Tyrbane fumbled around, trying to find Sizuru in the darkness.

Sizuru grabbed hold of him, placing his cloak over him to help block out the cold. She hadn’t been much help in the fight, but she did manage to at least find his garment before the storm arrived. She kissed him gently on the cheek, whispering, “Thank you for everything.”

“I’m afraid it was all in vain, miss. Even if I rush us through here, I have no idea where we will end up. We could end up off the edge of a cliff, or worse.”

“There’s no need for you to apologize. I’m the one who should be apologizing. Its all my fault…”

Tyrbane patted her on the back, saying, “Pshh.. nonsense. Your commander was a fruitcake. Its no wonder you didn’t want to go against her. Don’t sweat it. I came here under my own volition after all.” The snow was increasing in strength, pounding them with its relentless zeal. The wind howled with a strangely familiar tone. Tyrbane paused to listen to the wind, unsure if he was hearing things.

Uuuugguuuuuuuu…

“Is it just me or does that sound like…”

Uuuuuuugggggguuuuuuuuuu… UUUGGGUUU

“It can’t be… she’s…” Before Sizuru could finish her sentence, someone tripped over her, landing smack in the middle of her lap. The smell of burned clothing and flesh was disgustingly strong, making Sizuru’s stomach turn.

“Uguu?” The person fumbled around, trying to figure out where it was or whom it landed on. Its hands grasped Sizuru’s face, analyzing the person beneath it. As if it had realized what it had found, it cried out, “UGUU!”

“Do…you…speak…Rumnir?” Tyrbane laughed, realizing who had stumbled upon them. “We thought you were dead, silly. You shouldn’t scare your friend like that.”

“Uguu?!?” Alastora, seemingly back from the dead, crawled over to Tyrbane and wrapped her arms around him tightly, passionately kissing him on the lips. “I… luv… u!”

Sizuru had to forcefully pry Alastora off of him, her friend unwilling to let go. “Let go of him, Ala!”

“No! Uguu!” Alastora fought back violently, scratching and tearing at Sizuru’s arms.

Tyrbane gently touched Alastora’s shoulders, whispering in her ear, “Behave yourself, its ok.”

Alastora regained her composure, asking, “Where am I?” She looked around, unable to see anything in the darkness. “Is this hell?”

Sizuru smacked her upside the head and then hugged her. “No you dumbass, you’re still on the mountain! I thought I had lost you.”

“Uguu.. I’m sorry. I don’t remember what happened.”

“In any case, we need your help to get off this mountain. You think you’re up for it?” Tyrbane’s legs were going numb from Alastora sitting in his lap and he was eager to get going. He helped her to her feet and then assisted Sizuru in standing up.

“Tyrbane?!? But how? Why are you here? How did you get here? Why was I in your lap? Did I do something dirty? Uguu!!!” Alastora panicked, backing away from Tyrbane and hiding behind Sizuru. “No! Don’t hurt me please!”

“See what I mean, Sizuru?”

“I’m beginning to get the picture…” Sizuru turned around and shook Alastora violently. “Wake the hell up and help out! We’re in the middle of a snowstorm and we’re all going to die if you don’t do something!”

Alastora grinned and said, “Well why didn’t you just say so? D’oh!” She turned towards the south and her body began glowing bright orange, heating up the surrounding area and making the pathway visible. It also became clear why the smell was so strong. There wasn’t an ounce of clothing left on her body and her skin was covered in severe burns. She seemed completely unaware of the extent of her injuries until they became visible. “Uguu… don’t look at me!” She tried to cover herself up, finally realizing she was wearing no clothes.

Tyrbane removed his cloak and wrapped it around Alastora, tying it tightly around her waste. “There you go.” While she began to lead them through the storm, he analyzed her magic level to see just how bad off she really was. He was worried she had already gone beyond her limit and would be unable to go very far without giving out. He was surprised to see that she still was full of life and besides her skin, was pretty much unscathed. After such a disastrous explosion, she should have been vaporized along with everything else in the area, yet she was in front of him, moving around as if nothing had happened. He figured that she must have had a high tolerance for pain, because any normal person with such detrimental skin damage would have been writhing in agony. His sister would have her work cut out for her though. Tyrbane could just imagine what she would say when they arrived. He had to give her credit: she might have been screwed up in the head, but she was a hardy warrior. After everything she had been through, she never gave up. She even by some miracle of the gods was able to defy death itself.

As they progressed down the mountainside, Tyrbane pondered what Sizuru had told him earlier. The reality of those words hadn’t set in until now. For the last year he has lived with the knowledge that the love of his life had died in a brutal beating by the local townspeople in his hometown. He had no reason to ever argue the fact because there was in fact a woman whom was beaten to death that very day in town. She had been beaten to a pulp, unrecognizable to anyone. The problem was, it wasn’t Gwinnyn. He was so distraught by the sight he couldn’t think straight. Plus, he had believed that Sizuru was a trustworthy individual and had no way of knowing what was really going on.

His whole life had been turned upside-down that day and he swore to protect the other magic-users of Pilner from such a tragedy. He had already spent the last few years with Gwinnyn saving the locals from the grasps of the Pilner Religion, but he expanded it further, moving through the country-side with his sister, lending a helping hand to anyone who needed it, magic-user or not. He hated what the Pilner Religion was doing to his country, segregating it and forcing families to fight against one another for survival. He knew that alone he could not change a country, but he was determined to make a difference.

Now he was left with a bad taste in his mouth. He wasn’t sure what the correct course of action was to take. He wanted to drop everything and rush to Lothua, but it wasn’t exactly as simple as that. Lothua was a country locked tighter than a treasure chest, its defense strong enough to put the combined forces of Kithur and Pilner to shame. There was no way he could even make it past the border without drawing plenty of unwanted attention. His feelings clashed with his common sense, making it impossible to think clearly. He considered talking to Sizuru about it once they were a safe distance from the mountains, but he was unsure if he could trust her. Now that Alastora was back in the grand scheme of things, there was no way he would be able to tell if Sizuru was covering for her or telling the truth. It was simply a risk he was unwilling to take. Tyrbane definitely didn’t trust Alastora farther than he could throw a stick. Her behavior was even more erratic than he had remembered. Randomly clinging to him claiming she loves him like a lost child, then the next moment unsure of where she even was. He still thought it was suspicious how she survived such an explosion, but he had other things more important to think about.

At this point, the only person he could count on was his sister. Through all the hardship she had stuck by him, supporting him and being a guiding hand when he needed it most. If anyone could help him out it was her. Her spunky attitude reminded him slightly of Alastora, but she was always honest and to-the-point. She never embellished her speech with sugar-coating, telling anyone who’d listen to her exactly what she thought. While most people would consider it annoying after a while, it never bothered Tyrbane. He trusted her more than anyone, besides Gwinnyn of course. But of course he wasn’t sure about that. It seemed strange that Gwinnyn would leave without even uttering a word. They had been together for so long and were set to be married. To simply vanish like a ghost in the night puzzled him.

“Are you okay, Tyrbane? You’ve been rather quiet.” Sizuru was concerned for him. They had been traveling for nearly two hours and were finally approaching the bottom of the mountain. He had remained mum the entire time, keeping to himself and lost in thought. She could only imagine what was going through his mind. She wouldn’t blame him if he never wanted to see her or Alastora ever again. Hell, she wouldn’t blame him if he turned her over to the Pilner military to be executed. She would willingly accept the punishment for her crime was greater than any. She had harmed not only the country of Pilner, but someone she would have considered a friend, under different circumstances. She had completely changed his life without even getting to know him.

“Huh?” Tyrbane stopped and turned towards Sizuru. “Sorry, did you say something?”

“Its nothing… nevermind.”

“Hey hey! We’re in Pilner! Now where’s that church located at? We’ve got a mission to complete!” Alastora had conveniently forgotten everything that had happened in the last week.

Tyrbane looked at her with disdain, wanting to choke the life at her at the very mention of that mission.

“Alastora, shut up…”

“But but… we’ve got some evil priests to slay, right? We’ve got to help out..” she stopped in mid-sentence, noticing that Tyrbane’s left hand was wrapped tightly around her neck. The suffocating grip was making her lightheaded as she weakly struggled to remove his hand.

“How dare you? How dare you talk about them like their nothing but targets in some stupid training session? They were human beings and you fųcking slaughtered them. Do you realize how many magic-users they saved over the years? Huh? DO YOU? Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t snap your neck right now, dammit!”

Alastora broke into tears, unsure of what was going on. “What are you doing Tyrbane? What have I done? Everything I’ve ever done was for you!” She coughed, unable to break free of his hand.

Sizuru tried to step in to break it up, but Tyrbane pushed her away. “Please Tyrbane, think about what you’re doing. Killing her would serve no purpose!”

“Everything you’ve done was for me? What the hell is wrong with you? Did you think that trying to kill Gwinnyn and I because I wouldn’t dump her for you was helping me? Did you honestly think that sending Gwinnyn to Lothua and telling me she was dead would make me happy?” He let go of her neck and shoved her to the ground, drawing his sword. “After everything we did for you, you turned your back on us. You threw away everything for your own sick fantasies. As far as I’m concerned you’re better off dead. God only knows why the hell you survived blowing yourself up, but I’ll rectify that matter here and NOW!”

Alastora crawled away from him, fear running through her veins. She looked like a frightened deer looking at the face of death. She glanced over at Sizuru, hoping that her friend had some sort of answer as to what was going on. Instead she was met with the look of disappointment.

Sizuru took a step towards her, saying, “He’s got a point, Ala. You lied to not only him but to me. The only reason I sent her to Lothua was because you swore he was in danger and she was trying to steal him away from you.” She shook her head in disgust, looking over at Tyrbane for a moment. Sizuru sighed and turned her gaze back to her friend. “The person endangering him was you. Because of you his life has been hell for the last year. I can’t blame him if he wants to kill you. Why would you do that? Why would you lie to both of us, especially me? I thought we were best friends. We always did everything together. Even when the commander tried to separate us we fought back and demanded that we remain a team. Did all of that mean nothing to you?”

More and more, Alastora felt like a trapped animal. Her best friend and the man she had feelings for were both facing her with menacing glares. Everything she had ever done wrong was coming back to haunt her, all at one time. She couldn’t deny anything they said, because it was all true. On the other hand, she had no way to explain why she did it. She honestly didn’t know. On top of that, there was no way she could think straight with someone pointing a sword in her face and threatening to kill her. Alastora wanted to crawl into a hole and hide, but she knew that wasn’t an option.

Tyrbane sheathed his sword and walked towards her. “Get up.” He grasped her hand and forced her to her feet, repeating, “get UP!” Alastora reluctantly rose to her feet, unsure of what to expect. “As much as I want to kill you, Sizuru’s right. Killing you is a waste of time. As soon as your wounds are healed, I want you to leave.” Tyrbane forced her onwards, towards the west. “If I ever see you again, I will kill you, understood?”

“But…” Alastora tried to reason with him, still confused about what was going on.

“This isn’t a negotiation. The next time you step foot in this country, you will be considered an enemy. Every soldier will be aware of your identity and given strict orders to kill you on sight. If that’s not clear enough for you, then you’re even dumber than I thought.”

“But I…”

Sizuru smacked Alastora in the back of the head and said, “Alastora, just stop. You’ve done enough damage already. If you’ve got any more questions I’ll explain it later. Right now, just do as he says.”

Alastora sighed, completely befuddled at what was going on. The three of them continued on to the west, towards the nameless town where their paths first intertwined.

**********
Pilner-Jumin Saga Finale Chapter II

“Holy hell, she looked like she got hungry and barbecued herself! Are you not feeding the poor girl?!?” Yuuna ran up to Alastora with a dumbfounded look on her face. “Ehhhh?!? Alastora? You look like twice-baked fried chicken! Didn’t anyone ever tell you that smoking kills?” She pushed Alastora towards a small house a short distance away. Tyrbane began to follow them, but Yuuna stopped him. “Oh no you don’t. I don’t need any perverted men in there when I’m trying to do my job. You stay outside!”

“I doubt that would be a problem… I barely kept him from killing her.”

Yuuna turned towards Sizuru, who was hovering over her like some sort of giant with fiery-orange hair. “Oh my GOD this talking ball of fire has BOOBS! Tyrbane where do you find these clowns?”

Tyrbane laughed at Yuuna, unable to keep his serious composure. “Yuuna, that’s Sizuru, you dufus. Don’t you remember her?”

“Ehh? All I could see was her boobs looming over me. How am I supposed to see her face with the miniature mountain range blocking out the sunlight? What kind of food do you eat woman? Its like fertilizer for your chest or some shit!”

Sizuru giggled, kneeling down so Yuuna could see her better. “Hey small fry. How have you been?”

Yuuna stuck her tongue out at her and pranced away towards the door of the cottage. “Come on Alastora! Its time for your make-over!” Alastora followed her inside the building and shut the door behind her.

“Don’t mind her, Sizuru. She doesn’t mean any harm by it.”

Sizuru stood up and looked towards the center of town. “It feels like its been ages since I was here last. Its so peaceful here.” She took a deep breath, breathing in the smell of evergreens and flowers. The air was filled with the sound of birds chirping in the background and small animals scurrying along the ground. “Its so much different from our life in Jumin. We never have time to stop and smell the flowers.”

Tyrbane approached her and put his arm around her shoulders, saying, “Well now you’ve got the chance. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you.”

“What about Alastora? I can’t simply leave her alone. We’ve been together for as long as I can remember.”

Tyrbane led her over to a set of chairs outside of the cottage. “Take a seat.” He sat down in the chair on the left and her on the right. “You’ve really got to think hard about what you want to do with your life, Sizuru. I know you’ve been friends with her for a long time, but she’s a loose cannon and not exactly trustworthy. She might be sweet on the outside, but everything she does is for herself. What kind of friend uses others to get her way? Forget about what she did to me for the moment, think about what she did to you. She used your position as team leader to force her sister to leave the country. All this time she’s been leading you along like a stray puppy, making you do whatever she commands. Is that the kind of friend you want?”

“I understand that, Tyrbane. She’s not exactly the greatest person on the planet, but she’s like a sister to me. I can’t just abandon her!”

Tyrbane sighed. He looked over at the children playing in the distance. They were so happy, unaware of the world around them. Their lives were confined to the tiny forest village they lived in, but they did not care. The problems of the world melted away in the backdrop. “The choice is yours, Sizuru. You’ll always be welcome here.”

Sizuru pondered over the situation. Her own people had rejected her, turning their backs on their own soldier. She had spent her life protecting Jumin and now she was nothing more than a traitor. The idea of living a peaceful life was appealing, but she knew it was not for her. She was born and bred a fighter and that is what she lived for. As long as there was a battle to be had, she would never be at peace. Such a life would feel empty to her. Not only that, Alastora needed her more than ever. If Alastora set foot in Jumin territory, she would be targeted by not only the MCTU, but the entire Juminian military. She had been rejected by both her homeland and the country she had worked for years defending. Alastora was a lost soul with nowhere to call home. Sizuru couldn’t possibly turn her back on her now. “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll pass. She’s my family, and wherever she goes, I’ll follow. I’m sorry.”

Meanwhile, inside the cottage Yuuna was hard at work trying to heal Alastora’s wounds. “All right Alastora, get on the table, please.” Yuuna pointed to a large wooden table located in the dining area of the house. It was normally used as a place for eating, but doubly served as a make-shift surgery table. She wasn’t about to dirty up a bed with injured patients and neither she nor her brother had the funds to afford better accommodations. It wasn’t the best place, but she made do.

Alastora lay down on the table cautiously, unsure if she should trust the three-foot tall girl, who looked more like a child than a healer. Even for her young age of 18, Yuuna was considered one of the best medical-type magic-users in the land. Her skills were very similar to that of her brother, but rather than focusing on seeing the magical side of her target, she saw the physical. She could see injuries from the inside-out, rather than just what one could visualize from the surface, allowing her to focus her skills on where they are needed most instead of randomly guessing. “Don’t worry, I’ve healed people a lot worse off than you.” Yuuna smiled sincerely at her, preparing the necessary ingredients in small bowls nearby. Minor injuries can easily be healed without the use of medicinal herbs, but severe injuries required more thorough preparation. She knew quite a few people who relied solely on healing magic or herbs. While both can be effective in their own right, the use of both together made for increased healing power, better results, and faster recovery.

In Alastora’s case, the majority of the damage was third-degree burns to the outer layers of flesh. While her appearance had been greatly distorted from the burns, repairing the skin would be of little challenge to someone as experienced as Yuuna. She had been refining her skills since she was a young child, healing injured animals and plants. After a few moments she was ready. She held out a small cup to Alastora’s lips and said, “Drink this. Its better if you’re asleep for this operation.”

Alastora willingly accepted the drink, feeling groggy almost immediately. Her surroundings grew increasingly blurry, eventually fading to white.

Once Alastora was asleep, Yuuna slowly removed Tyrbane’s cloak from around her. “Gah! You weren’t wearing anything underneath! Tyrbane… you pervert!” She reached for the small bowls she had nearby and began lathering Alastora’s body with a stagnant, green paste of herbs. She was quite used to the smell, having mixed up a wide variety of herbs over the years. This particular mixture was excellent for burns, allowing her healing magic to heal the wounds smoothly and leaving no visible scars.

Tyrbane and Sizuru waited patiently outside for nearly two hours, when finally Yuuna emerged from the cottage. “Well I’ve done all I can. The rest is up to her.” Yuuna walked over and collapsed in Tyrbane’s lap, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Good work, Yuuna.” Tyrbane gently stroked her light pink hair, adding, “You can rest now.”

“Aww, you two are so cute together!” Sizuru grinned, watching how well Tyrbane took care of his younger sister. “I wish I had a younger sister.”

“Eh, shut up. You’re just jealous.” Yuuna stuck her tongue out at Sizuru and fell asleep in Tyrbane’s arms with a smile on her face.

Sizuru shrugged off the insult and rose out of her chair. “I guess I’ll go check on Alastora. Have a good night Tyrbane.” She waved goodbye to him and headed inside the house.

**********

[Merlin]

Read the above post first, since this is the third part...
Pilner-Jumin Saga Finale Chapter III

The next morning, Tyrbane awoke to Yuuna fidgeting in his lap. He was surprised that she hadn’t woke up and went to her room sometime during the night. He figured she was probably too exhausted from the intensive healing she had been doing the night before. While some of the villagers thought it was disgusting that an 18-year-old girl would spend the night sleeping with her 25-year-old brother, most of them knew their relationship was most definitely platonic. Tyrbane would never dream of doing anything with his sister. The very mention of such things made him angry. She was his precious little sister and he would defend her with his life. Not only that, his love for Gwinnyn had never dissipated. If anything, it had grown stronger. With the knowledge that she was still alive, he yearned to see her once again. If he had his way, he would set off that morning for the border, but he knew it would be a foolish mistake. Going unprepared into a foreign land was a surefire way to end up dead.

On the other hand, many believed that Yuuna had a brother complex. They would never admit it in public, for fear of having their face punched in by Tyrbane, but they sincerely believed her overly-clingy behavior was suspicious, to say the least. If she was a small child it would be understandable, but she was a young woman. She often clung to him in public, telling everyone how much she loved him. Tyrbane simply shrugged it off as sisterly affection, but people often whispered in dark corners with rumors and suppositions on what was really going on.

Slowly, Yuuna awoke from her slumber and quietly stared into the emerald eyes of her brother. She yawned and slowly jumped down onto the grass-covered ground. “Good morning! Its time for our wakey wakey exercises!”

“Haha! I suppose it is!” Tyrbane rose out of the chair and stood next to her, following her silly stretch exercises like it was completely natural.

“And one and two and three and four!” Yuuna stretched her arms upwards, leaning from side to side. She then switched to doing pushups, followed closely by handstands. At the end of her morning exercise routine, she struck a pose, proclaiming herself a victor. Of course, it wasn’t a competition, but she had fun doing it anyway.

Tyrbane always found it humorous how she awoke groggy as hell, but moments later was full of an energy level that would make a long-distance runner jealous. “Hey Yuuna, let’s go for a walk. I need to talk to you about something.”

“Um…ok.” She seemed puzzled by his sudden desire to go for a walk, but she did not argue. “Oh oh! Are you going to confess your secret crush on your oh-so-adorable younger sister?!?” She giggled, poking Tyrbane in the ribs.

Tyrbane rubbed his fist into her misshapen hair, saying, “no silly, its really important, so just hear me out.”

“Bah, you’re no fun!” She skipped along behind him, following Tyrbane into the forest.

Once they were a good distance away from their cottage, Tyrbane stopped. “You remember what happened last year, right?”

“Eh… I’d rather not remember that subject, brother.”

“Well I was talking to Sizuru, and discovered that what we thought had happened wasn’t the whole story.”

Yuuna looked up to him with a confused look, hesitant to ask what he was getting at.

“Yuuna, Gwinnyn isn’t dead.” He leaned against a nearby tree, raising one of his feet and resting it against the base of the trunk. “Alastora convinced Sizuru to transfer her to Lothua.”

“Ehhh?!? Are you serious? Then why did you bring them here? Why did I waste my time healing some bitch that totally trashed your life for the sole purpose of benefiting herself?”

“It’s a long story…”

“Well its not like I’m going anywhere Tyrbane. Tell me what happened!”

Tyrbane proceeded to relate the events of the past week, explaining in full detail everything that had transpired and what he had learned. She listened intently, absorbing the information and trying to make some sort of sense out of it.

After a while, they returned to the cottage to check on their guests. Tyrbane opened the door and called out for them, but there was no response. They walked inside, heading towards the dining area. Lying on the table was a stack of letters wrapped together in a red ribbon. On top of the letters was a hand-written note, the ink still wet.

Yuuna picked up the note and read the first few lines. She handed it to Tyrbane and said, “its for you.”

Tyrbane took the letter from her hand and read the following:

Dear Tyrbane,
I know words cannot convey how sorry I am for everything I’ve put you through. I was selfish and a fool for trying to force you to love me. If there is anything I can do to earn your forgiveness I would surely do it.

The very least I could do is to repay you for all of your kindness. There is a man by the name of “Shadow” on the outskirts of Lothua. He will help you get into the underground.

I’m sorry,
Alastora

He folded the note up and put it in his pocket. “What do you think?”

“I don’t know. The whole thing sounds rather canned. Why would she suddenly want to help you out and what’s with all these letters?” Yuuna untied the ribbon on top of the stack and picked up the letter on top. “These letters… are all addressed to you.”

“Huh? Give it here.” Tyrbane grabbed the envelope from Yuuna and opened it quickly. The scent of perfume filled the room, the smell very familiar to Tyrbane… something he hadn’t smelled in over a year. The letter read:

My dearest Tyrbane,
Its been only a few days and I already miss you with all of my heart. I regret not being able to wrap my arms around you one last time, to tell you how much I love you. I know you must be wondering what happened and why I left so suddenly. I’ve been reassigned to the underground movement in Lothua. As much as I wanted to tell you, I was not given the opportunity.

Please don’t worry about me. I am safe and well. I count the days until I can see you again.

All my love,
Gwinnyn

Tyrbane dropped the letter to the ground and collapsed to his knees. “Why… What kind of sick person would hide these from me?”

Yuuna rushed to his side and picked up the letter. She quickly scanned over it, realizing whom it was from. “The hell…” She went back to the table and picked up the others, hurriedly going through the dates written on the outside. “Tyrbane, she’s been sending you mail for the past year!” She stopped when she reached the last letter. The date on it was from a little over a week before. “Here, read this one. It’s the latest.” She placed the letter in his hand, wiping the tears away from his eyes. “Come on Tyrbane, read the letter.”

My darling,
I fear that my feelings do not reach you. I check the mail daily for a letter, or some sort of acknowledgement that you are there. I have sent countless letters, yet you utter no word in response. Do you no longer love me? Have you found someone else? I can only hope that my letters have graced your hands.

I only ask that you write me back and tell me that you are well. I am growing weary, Tyrbane. The time apart from you is tearing at my heart and I fear that I cannot go on much longer without you. I miss you so much, my love.

All my love,
You’re wife-to-be, Gwinnyn

[DragonHeart]

Farore sighed, running one hand through her pale hair.

“Is it not enough that we are both gifted? This world has no place for us unless we stay together and make our own. True, I sent my Watchers to track you, as I do whenever I hear of such disturbances. Unfortunately they could not help you and you proved difficult to keep track of, which is why I came here myself. Where else can you go? There are men and women and sometimes even children here all too willing to make war on us. I can offer you sanctuary. You can refuse if you wish, I will not stop you, but I will not be able to offer you aid again. Our resources stretched thin as they are, I cannot spare a Watcher to look after you if you have no wish to join us. The decision is yours.”

She turned and mounted Aega. The mare snorted and pawed at the earth, eager to set out, but Farore held her steady. She needed an answer soon or she would be forced to move on. She could not afford to be outside Lothua's borders for too long, not with the bounty on her head.

“You have five minutes to make your choice. I cannot linger here any longer than that.”

[Merlin]

The journey to the border of Lothua was a short one. Tyrbane and Yuuna’s home lay in the northwestern portion of Pilner, so reaching their destination seemed like child’s play. It was disconcerting to Tyrbane to realize just how close he was to Gwinnyn and yet seemingly so far away. Tyrbane dismounted from the midnight black horse he had been riding and looked towards the northwest. In the distance he could see a number of guardsman pacing back and forth along a massive stone wall. If there was one thing that every member of the Pilner society knew, it was that Lothua was notorious for defending its borderline with extreme prejudice. Many pilgrims hoping to reach lands far to the west were met by sword and arrow. The Lothuan people did not take kindly to outsiders crossing their border, no matter how benign the reason. They of course had good reason to. Constant struggle amongst the various surrounding nations had left them time and again smack in the middle. They had finally made it quite clear that they would no longer be the battleground for which other countries waged their wars.

The Pilner-Lothua border had a number of defensive measures in place to keep wayfarers from wandering off-course. Just inside the Lothuan side of the border was a stone wall that stretched from one edge to the other. Guardsman were on constant patrol, day and night, pacing back and forth in random order. The positions were never set in stone, adding yet another layer of complexity. By the time one figured out some sort of ‘pattern’ to the movements, it would completely change. The final layer of defense along the border was the possibility that any guard could be a magic-user. They were all dressed similarly, making it impossible to see who was who until one was at point-blank range in front of a guardsman. Obviously, this not only steered away the casual passerby, but the more hardcore adventurers.

Tyrbane cared little about the guardsman on post. Unlike the average person, he could easily see which one was a potential threat long before it became an issue. What concerned him was determining where this ‘Shadow’ person was. A description would have been helpful, even if they were all dressed so similarly. He glanced over at Yuuna, who had just dismounted from a much smaller horse by his wayside. “I don’t think we can rely on that letter to get us into Lothua. I mean look at them. It looks like a bunch of damn twins!”

“You just leave it to me, big brother! I’ll get us in there without the help of some crazy bitch! Just you watch!” Yuuna grinned at him and hugged his legs, the only thing she could possibly reach at her height. She definitely was a unique individual. She was eighteen and the same height as the average six-year-old. In fact she looked like a six-year-old. She was not a stumpy dwarf with a regular-sized head and a shrunken body… her body simply never matured in looks past that point twelve years ago. She was a fully-matured young woman trapped inside the external features of a child. Yuuna wasn’t one to complain about her looks, since she quite enjoyed using it to her advantage at times, but deep inside it really did bother her. It was hard for many people to take her seriously when everything about her wreaked of ‘cutesy childishness’. Plus the only partner she could ever hope to attract would be a pedophile. No level-headed young man would wish to date someone so child-like in appearance. It would be impossible to show affection in public without it being misconstrued as something else. Perhaps that is why she seemed overly attached to her older brother. He was the only person that truly understood her internal struggle and supported her whole-heartedly. Sure, people like Gwinnyn understood, but she could tell that they were bothered by it, no matter how good they hid it. She couldn’t blame them… she did deliberately act like a kid half the time. Yuuna figured it was better than coming off looking like a sexually-charged six-year-old. She could only imagine how that would play out. It definitely wasn’t a pretty picture.

While Yuuna’s looks were often a problem for her, there were times when it came in quite handy, such as this particular occasion. Her impressive acting skills would be put to the test against the most hardened of defenses. She left Tyrbane’s side and waltzed over to the weathered stone wall in the distance. Two guardsman quickly took notice of her, coming to a dead stop to analyze the situation. She ran up to the edge of the wall and clawed at it, making it look like she was trying to climb it in vain.

The guardsman laughed at her, thinking she was too frail to jump over the wall, which was only about five feet high. “What are you doing, little girl? Why don’t you run back to your mommy and daddy before you hurt yourself?”

“Please help me! My daddy is being chased by bad people! Daddy says that they don’t like special powers and want to kill us!”

The guardsman on the right took charge of the situation, giving her a stern look and said, “Young lady, we don’t accept stray dogs. Go bark up someone else’s tree.”

The second guardsman chimed in, saying, “Yeah! Tell your daddy and his friends to stay the hell away from our border! Now get lost!”

Yuuna broke into tears, collapsing to the ground and sobbing. “Please mister! We have nowhere else to go! The bad people are everywhere! I’m scared! I don’t wanna die!” She wailed loudly, kicking and screaming on the ground like she was having a temper tantrum.

“Shut up dammit! Do you want to bring them all here? You’re just making it worse for your father!”

“No!!! I don’t wanna die! Save me!” Her screaming got louder and more obnoxiously high-pitched with every moment.

The lead guardsman sighed and hopped off of the top of the wall. He walked towards her slowly, unsure of what he should do. Technically, she had not violated their border, so he had no legal reason to kill her. Plus, as much as he supported his government, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for the girl. He really wished he could help her family out, but he would be jobless and most likely hanged for letting them pass. If the people she spoke of showed up, he could do nothing but watch. Violating Pilner’s laws was even worse of a crime than violating his own. Lothua might despise intruders, but they still held relations with various countries to one extent or another. It was simply out of his hands. At the very least he figured he could comfort her.

Yuuna continued to cry and scream, watching closely as he approached. Everything was going exactly as planned. The poor fool had no idea what he was walking into.

The guardsman reached down to pat her consolingly on the back, when suddenly Yuuna’s demeanor took a complete 180. Before he had a chance to figure out what was happening, he had a long, thin needle shoved in his neck. The needles served a dual purpose. The smaller versions of the needle were often placed over areas of the body as a form of medicine. The larger ones, such as the one she used, were used to inject substances into the body. Designed for the purpose of introducing medicine directly into the veins or other areas, under the hands of a trained medical technician, they could be laced with poison or nerve toxins and used to quickly disable an opponent. Normally such a technique is used from a distance, but she wanted to ensure that Tyrbane and herself wouldn’t have to resort to violence if she had missed. The head guardsman looked at her in astonishment, completely baffled by what just happened. He grasped the needle weakly, falling into a deep slumber and falling to the ground.

“You little bitch!” The other guardsman reached for his sword and paused, realizing that she had somehow struck him with a needle as well. He fell backwards, landing on his back on the Lothuan side of the border.

As Yuuna retrieved her needles, Tyrbane approached to survey the area. “Looks like nobody else is around for miles. We’re clear.” He winked at her and patted her on the head. “Good job! Its scary how good you do that…” He looked up for a moment and thought. “Hey wait… have you ever used that acting on me?”

“Tee-hee! It’s a secret!” She tucked the needles underneath her clothing, making sure they were secure and wouldn’t accidentally poke her. “Okay kay kay! Lets go!”

They prepared to head out when out of the blue they heard clapping from nearby. The clapping was slow and sarcastic in sound, as if the person doing it was not impressed with what he or she had just saw. “Wow. What an award-winning performance. It almost brought tears to my eye when I heard that touching story of survival.” A man dressed in all black magically appeared before them, blocking their path to Lothua.

Tyrbane peered at him conspicuously and crossed his arms. “You were there the whole time, weren’t you?”

“Heh. I have no interest in helping people who can’t even get past a couple of pansy border guards. They are nothing more than eye candy. The real troops are beyond that grove over there.” He pointed towards the west at a grove of trees a short distance away. “Your parlor tricks might work on these underpaid rejects, but against the real defenders? They won’t even give you the chance to open your mouth before they strike you down.” The man seemed preoccupied, his eyes dancing around, focusing on random points in various directions. His crimson eyes finally met with Tyrbane’s as he stared intently at the man before him. “The locals call me Shadow. My real name is irrelevant. I’ve been expecting you, Tyrbane Silverhand.”

[Andromeda]

Five minutes to think of an answer. That was hardly enough time for her to decide what she wanted to do with her life. All of sudden every decision that she had to make seemed to affect how her life would be. She never had to make so many decisions of importance before. Her life was so simple she did not want this. It had seemed so easy the first time for her to say yes.

She followed the woman hoping to find some answers and a way to become stronger so that she could take revenge. But it was too simple, she had quickly realized now that revenge was not something that she could do. She saw death, death in its birth and act laid out in her eyes. It was not the same as her villagers; they were dead before she saw them. She still could not look at the images of those men that came to her. Even the thought made her want to vomit.

Now she was faced again to decide to follow someone. A person that she did not know asked for her to come and be of help. It was like before and she wanted to say yes immediately, but the words could not come to her. The answer was not easy seeing what she had seen. The life that they had and that she would get drawn into by this woman. She could not do what she said; there was no strength in her arms to raise that callous hate on someone. Even the men that kidnapped her she could not manage to hate them enough to wish death upon them. Yet it had happened without her wishing it, but it was her fault. The woman came to her and killed them all because she was taken. They stood in her way and now could no longer stand anymore.

‘I don’t want to be cause of this fighting…I’m nobody from a small village. I’m not special.’ She felt tears building up around her eyes. All she seemed to be doing was crying lately unable to do anything. There was someone else coming to pull her out of her problems. ‘I’m crying again…can’t I do anything else…’ Eris wiped her hands across her eyes trying to stop it. She tried to look up at the woman bravely, but found it a futile effort. ‘I have to stop crying…I need to…to…I don’t know…I can’t…I just can’t…’

Eris turned away unable to stop crying and unable to convince herself. She did not know what she should do with everyone telling her what she needed. ‘I don’t want…I-I don’t want to cause…death of someone…all those dead…so many dead…’ Her head suddenly felt light making it difficult for her to keep her balance. She was having difficulty focusing her eyes the image of the woman on the horse became two separating into a blur. Eris collapsed to the ground breathing heavily her eyes barely open still. ‘I…I still…I must…’

She attempted to lift her head up to the woman that she could hardly see anymore. There were just large solid colors in her vision now. “I-I…I want to…I’ll go…with you. I-I don’t…want to cause anyone sufferin—“ Eris fell back against the ground her eyes fading out and her consciousness slipping away. It felt like her body fell in a hole beneath her.

A couple of the woman’s men rushed over to her hearing her call. “She passed out pick her up and put her on my horse. She’s coming with us it seems.” The two men nodded at the orders and went to pick up Eris’ body off the ground. When they approached her body though the hair on their arms stood on end. They looked at each other making the confirmation that they were feeling the same eerie sensation. However, not to listen to their bad feeling coming from their gut they took up opposite sides to lift her. The sensation only increased further as they approached.

“The winds…no don’t!” the woman shouted, but the two men were already grabbing Eris up. The two men received a strong jolt of static electricity through their bodies at a higher intensity than normally created. A crackle in the air barely noticeable preceded the splitting bolt from the heavens guided down to Eris’ body, but divided before touching discharging through the two men. They both flew back a few feet laying unmoved on the ground burns on their bodies at the points where the lightning shot through them seeking the ground.

Eris’ body lay on the ground unaffected with the others staring in confusion at what happened. The charge in Eris’ body had faded away leaving the sensation to disappear.

[Merlin]

Sizuru awoke from what seemed like a deep slumber. She couldn’t remember what had happened the night before, the details being blurred out like an unwanted memory. In fact, she could remember little about what happened after Alastora and herself had left Tyrbane’s hometown. She tried to focus on the days gone by, but to no avail. She let out a yawn, and unconsciously tried to cover her mouth with her hand. That is when she discovered her hand wasn’t moving. She couldn’t even feel her hand, either one of them. Sizuru figured she had simply slept on her hands and they had gone numb, so she tried to sit up to relieve the pressure. Try as she might, she wasn’t able to. She could get her torso up, only to crash back down onto the bed beneath her.

She was startled and confused. It made no sense. Even if her hands and arms were still asleep, she should at least be able to roll them out of the way to get the blood flowing through them. Suddenly, Sizuru felt sharp, stabbing pain in both of her shoulders. Unlike the sensation of a million small creatures scurrying beneath one’s skin, it felt nothing like numb limbs revitalizing themselves. She was feeling the pain of deep wounds, wounds she couldn’t remember obtaining.

“Ah, so you finally decided to wake up, Commander.” The voice was distinct, yet different somehow. Sizuru could tell instantly that it was Alastora, but the tone was all wrong. She seemed calm and collect, something that by definition did not go hand-in-hand with Alastora’s known personality. Not only that, she never called her Commander. “You shouldn’t try to move too much, you might start bleeding again.”

Sizuru was growing more concerned by the moment. Everything was wrong, the voice, the atmosphere, her own body… it was as if she was trapped within her own magic, but she knew that wasn’t true. What was happening was real. She looked around the room and focused on the site of Alastora a short distance away. Alastora was looking dead at her, eyes the color of dried blood, sadistic and yet calm at the same time.

The warrior of flame approached the bed and leaned over Sizuru’s face. “We wouldn’t want you to bleed to death, now would we?” She had a stupid grin on her face, one that in any other situation would have seemed laughable.

“What’s going on? Where are we? What have you done?!?”

Alastora took a step away from the bed and began pacing back and forth. “So quick to judge, as usual.” Her mannerisms were composed and her voice soothing, but with a vicious undertone. She paused for a moment to look at Sizuru, then continued to pace back and forth, the sound of her metal-reinforced boots clanging against a wooden floor. “You couldn’t seem to behave yourself, thrashing around like a crazed animal. We had no choice but to amputate.” She paused for a second time, emphasizing her final word. Her eyes had become empty, void of life. It was a side of her that Sizuru had never seen before.

“What…” Sizuru’s grogginess was beginning to wear and she was trying her best to take in what Alastora was saying. She glanced down the length of the bed, finally noticing the blood-drenched sheet that was covering her. The blood patterns seemed focused around where her arms and legs should be, yet there was nothing there… just the bedding below the cover and dried crimson markers. She felt sick and lightheaded, the room around her beginning to spin violently in her vision. She kept telling herself it wasn’t real, but she knew it was. Alastora had butchered her in her sleep, and there was nothing she could do about it.

******

“Its time to wake up Commander. You wouldn’t want to miss the reuniting of two sisters, now would you?”

Sizuru opened her eyes slowly, unsure of herself or her surroundings. She realized that she must have passed out from shock. “What are you babbling about, you sick fµck?”

“Oh come now, don’t you remember why we are here? My sister and I have a lot of unfinished business to work on. It’s a shame that you were so reluctant to come.”

The details were slowly coming back to her. Shortly after departing Tyrbane’s residence, Alastora insisted on visiting Gwinnyn. Knowing her friend wasn’t in the best frame of mind, Sizuru openly refused. What happened after that, was veiled in haze. She tried desperately to remember more, but to no avail. Her subconscious had already blocked it out, the memories too painful to recall. “Why… why are you doing this?”

Alastora reached her arm behind Sizuru’s back and propped her commander against the wall behind her. “There, there. All will be revealed in time.” The voice was still sickeningly peaceful, making Sizuru want to hurl. “Would you like a drink? You’ve been sleeping for a long time. You must be thirsty.” Alastora turned away from Sizuru, looking towards a doorway on the adjacent wall. “Nurse, do you mind getting the young lady a glass of water?”

Sizuru stared blankly in the direction Alastora was facing. She could barely see around Alastora’s frame, but what she saw disturbed her even more than she already was. There was a nurse, crumpled up at the base of the doorway with the hilt of Alastora’s sword protruding out of her lifeless body. A puddle of blood had slowly trickled out into the hallway, drying up sometime ago.

“Oh that’s right,” Alastora said, hitting the palm of her hand against her forehead and turning to face her commander. “She’s already dead…” Alastora sighed and approached a bed directly adjacent to that of Sizuru’s. On it was a young woman, whom appeared to be about the same age as Alastora.

The woman’s golden-blonde hair was beautiful, standing out in the grayscale surroundings of the drab room in which she lay. Sizuru tried to focus on her, even though the action was shooting pain through every part of her body. She didn’t care. She had to know what was going on.

“My dear sister. What has it been, a year now?” Alastora was talking aloud, walking casually towards the nurse at the doorway. “We had some fun times, didn’t we? No… Mommy and Daddy sent me away. Do you remember that, Gwinnyn? I do.” Alastora arrived at the nurse, wrestling her sword out of the clutches of the dead corpse. The blade was still drenched in the blood of two victims, the crimson liquid dripping ever so slowly onto the timber flooring and leaving a stain that could never be removed. She dragged the sword behind her as she returned towards the golden-haired woman’s bed, filling the air with the sound of grinding metal.

“Sold to the Juminian military in exchange for food and money, like some useless dog. I hope you enjoyed your life… my life.” Alastora picked up the sword and slammed it into the ground with force, the point blistering the wood to its core. Her demeanor had changed from peaceful to violent in that split second. She looked at the comatose woman with disgust, screaming, “Everything you have, even the man you love was paid for in blood! Do you know what its like to live your life knowing that your parents betrayed you and find your sister living a posh life with a wonderful boyfriend? It makes me sick. You make me sick!”

“Stand down, Alastora! That’s an order!” Sizuru wasn’t sure if Alastora would even listen to her at this point, but she was willing to give it a chance. Even after everything Alastora had done to her, to the people she cared about, she was still trying to help her friend out.

“It will all be over soon, my dear sister. I shall take back what is rightfully mine, and cleanse the world of your sins.” Alastora calmly removed the massive katana from its resting spot and lifted it above her sister’s head.

“God dammit, stand down soldier… STAND DOWN!” She had no choice. She had did everything in her power to reason with her, but Alastora had completely lost it. There was no reasoning with her, no stopping her sadistic need to end her painful history by ending the life of those around her. Sizuru knew what she had to do. She might not be able to stand up or even hold a weapon in her severed arms, but she could still fight… much better than her rabid partner. “I swear, if you do not drop the sword I will kill you!”

Alastora glanced over at Sizuru, still holding the katana poised for killing. Her expression was one of sadness. It was obviously fake, a pathetic attempt at sincerity. “You won’t hurt your best friend, now would you? We’ve been through so much together. You’re like, my only true family.”

“Family my ass. Tyrbane was right. You’re nothing but a sadistic little bitch. He should’ve killed you when he had the chance.” Sizuru focused all of her energy into targeting her opponent. It was hard for her to see from the angle she had been propped up at, but the task before her was still simple enough. In fact, it saddened her how easily she could have ended Alastora’s life so many times in the past… quickly and without pain. This time, she wasn’t going to be so forgiving.

Alastora writhed in pain, watching as her right hand bent backwards, past the breaking point. The sword crashed to the ground with a clang, while Alastora grasped her hand with the other, trying to bend it back. “You whore! Bitch! Dammit! How dare you!”

“Its sad, isn’t it… how your language degrades to the point of peasant-talk the moment you’re in pain? What’s it like Alastora? What’s it like feeling the same pain that you inflicted on me? Does it feel good?”

Alastora laughed sadistically, picking the sword up with her left hand and returning to her killing stance. One-by-one her fingers were torn from their sockets, falling limply from her hand. The pain was agonizing, but Alastora refused to give up. Even after her arms were shredded into millions of unrecognizable pieces, she pressed on.

“Its over Alastora. Its over…”

As Alastora collapsed onto the chest of her sister, she once again began laughing sadistically, her body writhing around like a wild animal. The behavior lasted for only a moment, Alastora growing quiet and whispering, “Please kill me…”

Sizuru stared into the eyes of her partner in disbelief, unsure if she had heard it right. The warrior of flame had burst into tears, genuine tears. This was the person she remembered, the girl she had befriended so long ago. This was the true soul of Alastora, unfettered by years of abuse and misfortune, the soul that had been buried in grief.

“Please, I beg of you Sizuru. Kill me before its too late!”

“I… Alastora… I’m sorry. Its been an honor working with you. I’ll make it quick.”

In that instant, Alastora’s body turned white-hot, the room glowing a brilliant orange. “The honor is all mine, bitch!”

The last thing Sizuru saw, was an explosion.

[DragonHeart]

Farore rubbed at her temples, distraught. She knew at a glance that her men were dead. All the more reason to take the girl with her; that kind of power could not be left on its own without grave consequence. Just the same, she could not afford to risk any more lives.

She dismounted, Aega moving beside her. Kneeling beside Eris, she reached her hand out. She felt nothing, even when she touched skin. It appeared that because Eris could not control her gift, the magic had discharged its full power at all once. It would be some time before there was a chance for the disaster to repeat itself.

She lifted Eris up to Aega's back. The mare snorted but held steady. Farore was not worried - Aega would know when the magic returned. She was no ordinary horse, after all.

Assured that they would all be safe, Farore remounted and they began the journey back to safety. It took several days, but following the secret paths of the underground, some of which known only to Farore herself enabled them to reach Lothua without further trouble.

With Haven's modest skyline just coming into view, Aega suddenly slowed, tossing her head. Farore knew instantly. She eased Eris to the ground as a precaution and waited for the girl to wake.

[Andromeda]

Her mind was fuzzy suddenly broken from the peaceful dreams of her sleep. Eris slowly opened her eyes to see the sky as her view. There were a few clouds floating by leaving her to realize that she was lying on the ground. She lifted herself up carefully feeling unbalanced for some reason. When she looked around the woman from before was staring down at her as though she had been waiting.

Eris folded her legs up at her side trying to figure out what had happened to her. She could see that the scenery was different from before with a wall in the distance that was unfamiliar. ‘How long have I been asleep? What happened last…’ Her mind was still feeling ill causing her to sway back and forth. The vision became clear finally as the fog lift from her around and the strange sensation faded away. “Where am I?”

“You’re in Lothua now, nearby Haven our destination.”

“Lothua?” she said in shock. It came as a deep surprise to her that they were already inside the kingdom while she had been asleep. The kingdom seemed so far away from the mountains that she thought it would have been a long trek through wild fields. She figured that she was going to be seeing the countryside of Cormenyr. Eris knew that she was not on a sight seeing tour, but it was a foreign kingdom and land that she had never been to before. She would have liked to have spent more time there, it seemed so peaceful.

Eris looked back towards the woman with curiosity. “How long was I asleep?”

“It’s been four days.”

“Four days?” She fell back on the ground trying to imagine the things that happened in such a time. ‘How could I be out for so long?’ Eris wanted up having the thoughts that she had been doing nothing for so many days. She wanted to move around again even though it felt like only a few moments to her. Her legs felt a little weak and unstable as she raised herself up higher. The increase in height made her head dizzy again dropping her to the ground. She slowly tried again to stand finding the awkwardness more bearable this time. Her knees locked in place once she was fully raised keeping her from falling back over.

Eventually, she began to move forward testing herself. The dizziness had finally disappeared allowing her to move freely without worry. She looked at the woman once more not certain what was going to happen now. Eris was back to where she had been before with someone offering help. The last person had abandoned her out in the mountains while she was asleep. She had been lucky that someone found her, something bad could have happened to her being alone in a foreign land. Now she was in Lothua for a reason that she was still not certain about. “What’s going to happen now?”