Ascending Legends

[Dragongal]

Arryn thought for a few seconds. "Unless they've said specifically not to, do it. If afterwards they'd rather be dead, yknow.... at least we gave them the choice. "

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn didn't like thinking about that idea very much, but he was glad to have gotten it out of the way. <I don't really want to be in that situation, but I wanted to ask.> Dayn snuggled up closer to Arryn, aware of his injuries, before tucking his head against her chest and closing his eyes. <Goodnight love.>

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn put one arm around his neck and put her other hand on his muzzle before nestling against his side and falling asleep.


Arryn found herself in the church again,but with her was Dayn in his wolf form. She was about to suggest they leave when the backdoor opened. She expected the banshees, since that is how the dream normally went but instead it was the skin changer. And it was the there for Dayn. She drew her sword and got between them, but it threw her aside with an easy swat of its paw. She hit the ground hard, the wind getting knocked out of her. She looked up as it was about to finish Dayn with one hit-


Arryn sat up with a yelp, unable to breathe, her heart pounding. It wasn't one of the usual nightmares, but it wasn't much more pleasant..

 

[BookWyrm]

The jolt stirred Dayn from his sleep, and when he realized Arryn had probably had another nightmare he leaned up and gently licked her face. <Its okay Arryn, I'm right here. Was it another nightmare?>

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn did her best to slow her breathing and looked to Dayn, tears coming to her eyes. She was very glad to see him after that dream. She put her arms around his neck for a few moments before cuddling up against his side again. "Not like the memories -well, kind of, we... we were in the church, but the skin changer came in and I couldn't protect you. It just.. tossed me aside." Arryn put hey hand over her heart, feeling another pang in her chest. It almost seemed to be getting worse....

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn could feel the discomfort even among his own pains. Why the dream though? It all added up to be her normal nightmare, but why the skin changer? Was she more worried about losing him than she was about herself? <I'm here Arryn, and I'm not going anywhere.> He laid his head on her shoulder for a while, letting her feel him there with her. He let her hear him breathing, let her feel his heart beating, and his warmth as he lay there with her. <I know you aren't feeling well. Do you want me to get Mum?>

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn shook her head. "It's not worth worrying her. Thank you, though." She smiled and ruffled the fur behind his ear before leaning back against him again, writing for her heart to slow before falling asleep. She woke again a few hours later, this time in the same pain she'd been experiencing the last couple days. It felt like she couldn't get air past the pain as she struggled to keep from crying out. She squeezed Dayn's paw to wake him, as another wave of pain hit her, making her gasp and curl up defensively.

 

[BookWyrm]

Just as they seemed to finally get some sleep Dayn was woken again, this time by Arryn squeezing his paw to wake him. She was having another episode, the pain was even lapping over into his body. He whined quietly as he licked her face, trying his best to calm her some. With the two of them wrapped around each other he wasn't able to move, so he did the next best thing and barked, trying to alert Lenza to the situation. <Its okay Arryn. Focus on my voice, you are going to pull through this. It is going to be okay.>

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn whimpered as she curled up tighter against the pain. Lenza ran in, her clothing a mess as she'd swiftly changed with the speed of someone used to being called for in the night. She struck a match and lit a candle, looking over the two. She knelt down beside them, holding her hand to her daughter's head and taking her wrist for her pulse. "Do you know if anything triggered this?" She was asking Dayn, but Arryn replied, "Same... pain as... before." Lenza looked to Dayn for confirmation.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn nodded, wincing slightly before leaning down to lick Arryn's face. Why was this happening again? Theodas had said they might need to do the procedure again, but he hadn't expected this. Dayn whimpered and whined as he looked from Lenza to Arryn. Gently he squeezed Arryn's hand, since she had already grabbed his paw it was a little easier than trying to pry her arm out.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn had her eyes shut against the pain, but she could feel Dayn squeeze her hand. She nestled against him more, glad that he was there this time. Lenza got to work fixing a potion as another wave of pain hit Arryn and she curled up tighter. When the fire was lit in the hearth, the pain seemed to ease off some, which was a relief that allowed her to actually get a few breaths in as she lay against Dayn, panting, exhausted already. A bit later, after a few more minor waves of pain, Lenza gave Arryn a vial, telling her to drink it, which she obediently did. Lenza stoked up the fire, having noticed how the light had helped Arryn some. "I'm going to get Theo, watch her for now, I won't be long at all." Lenza left immediately.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn wasn't going anywhere. He licked her cheek again as he tried to bring some form of comfort to her, and to help ease off his anxiety. <I'm going to have grey hair before this is all said and done.> Dayn hoped that she would laugh, even despite it being such a stupid joke.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn smiled weakly. "At least it'd... compliment your brown fur... nicely... old man." Three years was not a large difference for their ages, but that wasn't the point. She was trying to ease him, as he was obviously worried over her and she didn't like him being upset. A few moments later, Theodas rushed in with Lenza. When Theodas stepped in front of the fire, casting a shadow on Arryn, another wave of pain hit her, making her yelp as it set in. He stepped aside and the pain eased off. "We can try it again, but if it's this bad, it makes me think we need to see Libro... it shouldn't be this bad." He was clearly quite concerned and confused.

 

[BookWyrm]

The second the shadow was cast over Arryn and the pain returned, causing her to cry out, Dayn snaked his ears back and snarled at Theodas. He knew it wasn't his fault. In truth it was that bastard who had poisoned her. He will pay for this. Dayn hated this waiting around for someone to finally figure out what was wrong with her, but at least he was with her this time.


Elsewhere, a figure stood under an ancient oak tree. He was strongly built, heavily armed, and carrying several weapons. Definitely and intimidating figure in his own right, but the figure that came out of the trees was equally as intimidating. The masked man glared, though the other figure would never know it. He had heard this man stunk, but he never expected such a reek. "Whats the target?"


"He's a werewolf."


The masked man snorted. "Gonna cost extra." The other man smiled and tossed two bags over to the masked man. "Take those as an advance." The masked man nodded before stowing the money. "And the others?" The man shook his head. "I don't care for them. But, make it hurt. I want it to be agonizing." The masked man laughed before holding up a vial. Inside was a liquid substance and hundreds of tiny particles that clinked together when he shook the vial. "These will do the trick all right."

 

[Dragongal]

Theodas looked at Dayn when he growled, seemingly a bit off-put, but understanding that Dayn was just protective over her. "We can't get her to Libro until morning. Can you do anything until then?" Theodas shrugged. "It seems like it'll just cause unnecessary pain. I'd suggest continuing to give her the pain relief potions until we can get her there."

 

[BookWyrm]

Great, more waiting and more ineffective potions. Dayn tucked his head around Arryn as he growled quietly, his frustration limit only reaching so far. He squeezed her hand again as he licked her cheek. <I don't care what they say, I'm not leaving your side Arryn. I'll be here if you need me.> In truth Dayn was hurting as well. His injuries from the skinwalker, with the empathetic pain from Arryn on top of it, was making him extremely ill of mood.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn smiled a bit, the pain having eased off for the most part. Lenza looked at the two, and said, "Dayn, I'm going to treat your wounds, okay? I'll work around her. You'll be more use to her if you are in good health." Lenza made a few more compresses and laid on on Dayn's ankle, one on his ribs, and laid one on his pillow so he could lay his jaw on it. "I guess now it's just waiting...."

 

[BookWyrm]

The sudden unexpected medical treatment came as a surprise to Dayn. He hadn't really been worried about himself as much since Arryn started having the episode again. But that's not to say that he didn't appreciate the care. Dayn finally laid his head down on his pillow, letting the compress do it's thing on his jaw as he looked up at Lenza. He looked from Lenza to Arryn and back before sighing heavily, his obvious feeling of uselessness being expressed in the best way he knew how.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn smiled slightly at his huffing, snuggling closer against him and wrapping her arms around his arm as she laid her head on his shoulder and started to doze off. "I'll be back before dawn. I'll see if I can't find anything in a book for this until then." Theodas left, being careful to be quick in front of the fire so his shadow would hopefully have no effect on Arryn. Luckily, his quick movement worked. Lenza sat down in a large chair by the fire, apparently planning on staying there for the night. "Might as well get some sleep, Dayn. Won't help her if you're exhausted."





Over the night, Lenza kept the fire bright, and Arryn only had trouble twice, and it wasn't too bad either time. A half hour before dawn, Theodas returned, and Arryn, Dayn, and himself set off for Libro's. They made it there with little trouble, Arryn in considerably better condition than she had been with practically no pain. However, when they were crossing the threshold of the corridor to go into Libro's single, gigantic room, Arryn was thrown back with a yelp. She sat up, rubbing her nose like she'd walked into a wall. Libro rushed out with a crossbow, only to find it was them. "Oh, dear...."

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn calmed down some as he felt Arryn snuggling closer against him, her head coming to rest on his shoulder. He looked back up at Lenza when she said he should sleep. Yeah, that didn't sound so bad. Dayn let himself go under and was asleep within seconds. The next day he had been right beside Arryn the whole time they were on their way to Libro's. If she tripped up or wobbled slightly he was there to provide balance, but thankfully they made it without incident and Arryn seemed to be in better condition than before.


And then there was the incident with the crossbow.


Dayn turned around to face Libro, his lips curling back into a wicked snarl as he growled at the dwarf. His hackles bristled like a spiny ridge along his back as his ears slicked back against his head. It had been an accident, and it could have happened to anyone of them, but it didn't, and of course that made the situation worse.

 

[Dragongal]

Libro held up his hands nonchalantly, clearly not scared of Dayn. "That wasn't me, Dayn. It was her." Theodas helped Arryn up (since he had hands) and then walked forward. "What do you mean?" Libro shrugged. "I grabbed the crossbow when I heard the shield go off. It's a protective shield, it reacts to dark magical items or dark mages. It's automatic, she triggered it."

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn slowly stopped snarling and walked back to Arryn, clearly just not happy with much of what was going on at the moment. <Are you okay?>

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn brushed off her pants, saying, "Yeah... I just walked into a wall, though... and I can't cross the threshold, it seems." Libro shoo hs head and hobbled to the wall, leaning the crossbow against it and pulling a lever. "You can cross now." "I'm not a dark mage.... I mean, I'm here because there's some raw dark magic in me, but... why didn't it affect me yesterday?" "Tell me more about this magic." Theodas stepped forward, holding up the black crystal. "She was poisoned, and there was raw black magic in it. I got most of it out, but I had to fill this crystal with light to draw it out so it wasn't the most efficient, but it should not be nearly as bad as it is hurting her." "Hm... Where's the pain most of the time?" "My heart, and my blood burns my skin." Libro thought for a few moments. "It sounds like that little sliver of magic is trying to get into your heart. Corrupt your magic, perhaps your being, maybe even your spirit or soul. Did it hurt to use your magic?" Arryn had moved nnext to Dayn, nd laid a hand on his head. Her knees felt weak just listening to Libro's words. "I-it felt like my magic was readjusting.... I thought it was because my magic had given me so much trouble with the potions and the dark magic...." Libro shook his head.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn did his best to keep his reactions minimal. He hadn't been doing well ever since this whole situation began, but now he knew Arryn needed a steady wall to lean on more than ever. If he was going to lose his temper he would do it some other place. <Your heart already belongs to someone, and I won't let it go without a fight.>

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn smiled shakily down at Dayn. "That's probably the sweetest thing you've ever said next to proposing." Arryn looked back up at Libro. "Can we fix it...?" Libro nodded. "There's a way to take any magic from any mage. Doesn't mean it's easy or without risk. D'you know, if we left the sliver in and you trained it just right, it could work as a compass toward dark magics? After enough time, you wouldn't be stopped by my wall either. But I doubt our ideas of 'much time' are similar." Arryn shook her head. "I just want this gone. I don't like it, advantages or no." Libro looked at her for a few moments, then asked, "Arryngale, what is on the shield you used to carry?" "Um... a griffin...?" Libro quietly mumbled to himself about a few things, then said more clearly, "Well, now to fixing it."


Arryn gasped as she was hit with another wave of pain, falling to her knees as one hand went to her heart. Blood started running from her nose. "That's.. a new... side effect...."she grated out. Theodas knelt beside her, though he left room for Dayn, looking expectantly to Libro. "Theodas there had the right idea, but by now that sliver's pretty far set in your heart, as you can see. It's clear your body is fighting it in every way possible. That's good. We'll need to do a purification ritual."