Fantasy Prologue- A New Land 'Where the hell am I...?'

[Beaurmont]

"He-...o -ou live -nger?" A distorted voice whispers faintly at the edge of my mind. Even then the darkness still grips as my senses tightly, keeping me captive in this cold place. "Th- an won- awa-en." It continues, giving me a painful headache. My body entire body is cold and lifeless, no matter how I try it won't move for me. However, as if I spoke too soon a jolt of energy surges through my body in an instant, shocking my body awake. "AHHHHHH, FFFFFF-" I scream at the top of my lungs, having pain shoot through my body in great intensity. I lay on the ground, writhing in pain, mumbling profanities here and there. "Look, he awakes! It's about time friend, we were sure you had been taken by Velenmer." A warm voice spoke above me, laughing all the while.


Slowly, my eyes open for what feels like the first time and the light drives away the darkness. I stare up at a blue sky filled with large white clouds, a single gigantic sun lies in the middle, casting its beams across the land. For a moment, I'm filled with the awe and just sit there gazing at the skies beauty. "Er...you there stranger? You're not...dead from that right?" A voice beckons, standing over me. His shadow casts over me, blocking all light from the sun once more. A tinge of fear strikes my heart, causing me to flinch at the change. Defensively, I throw my arms in front of me in an attempt to protect myself. "Be easy stranger! I mean no harm! Be easy!" The shadow retracts from view, backing a few steps away. "The lads definitely got a knot loose..." He mutters, scratching his head.


I get up slowly, now in sitting position. The darkness is gone again, a calm falling over me. I continue to stay silent, but stare at the people who have gathered around me. There were a total of five men and two women, all wearing strange colored clothing. The closest one, presumed to be the guy who stood over me, was the only one different. He instead wore heavy armor, with a blue cloth wrapped around his right arm. He had dark brown hair, and blue eyes, the same color as the cloth in face. He glared at me, uncertain of what to do with me. I could feel my face turning red as everyone was starring in my direction, their gaze was piercing. Strangely enough it didn't feel as if their gaze was malicious, but rather curiosity. So, I did the same, moving my sights from the ground up to them. Each and every one wore robes of some sort, clean and with a single strange symbol lying on the chest. The entirety of the robe was blue, save for the yellow sign, and it ran down to their legs.


"Alright stranger, what're you called? Where do you come from?" The armored one asked, resting his arms on his hips. For a moment, it was like his question didn't register, or perhaps like I couldn't answer. My brow furrowed, and uncomfortable tingle in my brain as I tried to answer the question. Just who was I? I could feel the headache returning, causing me to wince slightly from the pain. However, from the pain a single word arose in my foggy mind. "Beaurmont. I..I think my name is...Beaurmont."

 

[Alirofgar]

Wind rushed into his lungs with such a violent force it shook his body. His eyes shot open as his body jumped up. Bringing a fist to his mouth he coughed violently for a few minutes. When the coughing fit had receded a calm came over him. Looking around he found that he was surrounded by old forest ruins. Many of buildings had been crumbled in by time. Vines grew up the walls that still stood. Moss was all over the cobblestone walkways. outside of the perimeter of the ruins trees that disappeared into the skies. Huge leaves and branches littered the ground and ruins all around him. There was a nip in the air he wasn't to found of, it felt as though a could rain was coming. The wind began to pick up as he thought that. He saw something rather odd fly by him. It was as though the wind itself was given a temporary body and it flew right by him. The being didn't pay attention to him at first, but then did a double take as if it had seen something wrong. The apparition made a u-turn and made a be line right for him. At this point it was right in front of him. From this close it looked as though it were a female... nymph? The nymph looked at him curiously as she circled around him. She smiled at him when she was done, as though she was approving of his presence. The nymph looked behind her and pointed. Off in the distance a dark cloud was forming and closing in fast. She beckoned him to follow. He wanted to ask the nymph many things, but it was as though he couldn't find the words, they never went out of his mouth. He had no clue where he was, what his name was, or who he was. Given the options, following the wind to possible shelter sounded like an alright plan to him...

 

[Beaurmont]

The armored man raised an eyebrow, a bit of suspicion now tracing along his features. "You're not sure? That's strange..." He suddenly turns back to one of the others, a bit worried. "Maybe that shock was too strong, It fried his brain. Can that happen?" He asked. One of the robed men grew flustered, maybe even slightly offended. "Of course not, a weak bolt like such could not do enough harm." He huffed in retort, crossing his arms. One of the women next to him stepped up slowly, walking next to the armored man. "There are exclusions to everything, you would do well to remember that Nicolas." She wore a calm demeanor, her words were held with a bit of poise. "However Legam, I too agree with Nicolas. That manner of bolt was held back considerably, not even strong enough to fry a chicken. If there is something wrong with his mind, or even memories, it was not due to our magic." The man apparently named Legam sighed, now returning his attention to me. "Fine then Ellain, then what do you make of this? Should we bring him back to the Cathedral? Grand-master Aidrien will not be pleased if we wait too much longer..." He stated, seemingly reminding everyone of their busy schedule. Ellain smiled slightly, and nodded. "You are correct Legam, we are sort on time." She turned toward the rest of the members, and now with a commanding tone. "Get back to the rest of the party and make preparations to move again. We leave in five minutes." Each member silently acknowledged her order and swiveled around to the opposite direction. Soon enough, Beaurmont was alone with the last two of these strange people.


"Hear me Legam, I want to keep Beaurmont around me at all times. Also, leave the Grand-master to me. It will easier for both of us that way." Swiftly, she took a few steps closer to Beaurmont but kneeled on the ground in front of him. "Would you like to travel along...Beaurmont? We can give you food and a place to sleep. Though I may not be able to answer all your questions but, if Aithinis wills it, you will learn." He stares back at her, devoid of any emotion, contemplating her offer. It was almost too much, too fast, without little time to think. He sat there for some time, unsure of what to do. While Legam's impatience was showing increasingly, this woman...named Ellain sat attentively, awaiting his answer. She had a very calming effect on him, one that made him feel like he could trust her. Not saying anything, he simply nodded in response. "About time, we're already late as is." Legam exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. Ellain threw a look, but the man's stubborn attitude repelled it like an arrow to a shield. "I'll be heading back to the rest, finish up here so we can go." He muttered, stomping away. Once he was gone, her normal poise and elegance slowly diminished. She lowered her head and sighed with exasperation. It surprised Beaurmont a bit at her sudden personality change. Quickly however, she retained herself, now starring back into Beaurmont's eyes. "Forgive me, dealing with them can be quite draining from time to time. I find respite once alone but...I hardly ever get the time." With a quick smile she rose from her kneel, and now stood up straight, patting any dirt off of her robes. "Come along now, there is little time left to squander." With a hand held out, this was the start of something beyond Beaurmont's control.

 

[Alirofgar]

The dark clouds grew ever so closer and with it the wind plowed through him without hesitation. The spirit guiding him payed no heed to the fast winds and acted as if she were walking in the park on a nice day. It was hard to walk forward and the wind always threatened pushing him over. The two had walked for about two miles by this point, and she still gave no hint of stopping. Little had changed in the scenery around them, the trees still disappeared in the clouds and there was huge leaves and branches everywhere. The only big difference was the ruins he had first arrived in were far behind them now with no trace of it in sight. His faith in his choice to follow the spirit began to waver. Why didn't he just try to set up camp in the ruins where he first arrived? What had driven him to make such a rash decision to follow when he had no idea what was anything right now? As if sensing his doubt, the female spirit looked behind her and came back to walk beside him. She looked at him with pleading eyes that were a light gray, like storm clouds almost. All he could think was how fitting that was, stormy eyes for the wind girl. She shook her head in a direction beckoning ever further. The rain began to fall, lightly at first, but quickly it picked up in pace until you couldn't see five feet in front of you. The wind girl was pushing him forward now until he was running along with her. The icy water bit at his face like wolves after a fresh meal, the wind making it bite into his skin. Water was constantly pouring down his face as he ran ever faster and faster. Up ahead he could see the rain bending around something not quite there. When he was closer he could see that the rain was bending around a door like shape. Was it made out of wind? The wind girl opened the gate before him. A slight light came through the opening, shining onto the wind girls face. She turned around with a smile and waved him on in. His faith had been for not...


He rushed into the open door without hesitation, delighted to escape the clutches of the cold rain. Once in, a dazzling light blinded him forcing him to put a hand in front of his eyes until they adjusted. He looked around in awe as he gazed upon the world in front of him. The world was bright and sunny, with a vast expanse of plains out in front of him. The land seemed to curve down into a bright pool surrounded by trees. There was six other hills with doors like the one he had seen before. A womans voice came from behind him as the sound of a door closing shortly followed "I'm glad to see you had made it with me." Turning around quickly he saw the wind girl behind him, but something was different. She seemed to have a physical form now. She had a solid light blue base, and white rune markings that curved around the sides of her body. She wore a white bra and a skirt that was made out of a feathery, ribbon, material. "Wait you can talk?" She just smiled at him. That's when he realized what happened. "Holy shit, i'm talking too!" For whatever reason, he decided to check the rest of his body to see if it was all there. Giggling the girl replied "Why yes you can, odd one, can you remember anything else?" He looked unsure about trying, the idea of it sounded like a bad idea to him. Seeing the look on his face the wind girl rolled her eyes and said "You should at least try and think of something, I don't even know your name yet." After saying that she winked at him. He had to admit, he didn't mind the flirting she was doing, and getting his name would probably be important thing he should do. Letting out a sigh he focused his mind to search through whatever might be there. As soon as he began jolts of electricity started to go into his body, and he had a massive headache. "woah are you ok?" He could hear the concern in the wind girls voice, but tried to continue. venturing deeper into his mind all he could see was darkness. Then there was the sense of falling. ever faster and faster. The weightlessness left a pit in his stomach. He could feel the ground approaching him closer and closer it came, the wind rushing past his body in a feeble attempt to save it from the ground. He felt grass touch his head and then everything was black...


He could hear voices talking through the darkness. "Is he dead?" "He looks weird." "Smells funny too." "Can i have his cloths then?" "As long as i can have his soul." "Wait, I think he is moving." His eyes fluttered open to meet an open blue sky. All around him, black silhouettes surrounded him. "OUT OF THE WAY! MOVE IT!" It was the wind girls voice from before. She rushed towards him and helped him lean up off the ground. "Are you okay? How are you feeling? My god i feel so bad, this is all my fault." She looked as though she was about to cry. Trying to reassure her, He tried to lift his hand up to wave it off as if it was no big deal. Now that he was sat up all the way he could make out the people surrounding him. From left to right there was golden dragon creature. It seemed male, and was similarly built to a human. It had a torso, arms and legs, and stood up straight. Only difference was that it had golden scales everywhere but its under belly which was a bright tan. He had sharp claws at the end of each finger, and had three toes in the front and one claw in the back for his feet. He could see his tail swishing back and forth, and his golden bat like wings were hard to miss. He wore a simple white monk rob and his eyes were golden. The dragon was the tallest among those present. To the dragons right was where the wind lady was standing before she had rushed over to him. To her right was a lady made of fire. She seemed a little excited at the fact that he was alive, because her hair has blazing like an inferno. Her entire body was made of condensed fire, ever moving and flickering. She wore no cloths but didn't look like she needed any because nothing descriptive could be seen. Her eyes burned brightly as she looked at him, and it looked like she was hovering. A Gray timber wolf with bright blue eyes much like his own stood to the fire lady's right. It had a whit underbelly, and a gray top coat. He sat there patiently sizing him up. To the wolves right stood a fish lady. She had big bright red eyes that seemed glossed over. She had a fin on top of her head, and two on the side, that all met at the back of her head. Her cloths were teal with dangling crystals of the same color hanging off of them. She wore a skirt that left one leg completely uncovered while it progressively went lower as it went to the other leg, almost covering it. Her top was covered in a light shirt of the same style that stopped just over her diaphragm. Next to her was a dwarf clad in bronze armor. His hair and beard were red, and were braided in a Celtic knot working. He had a shinny war hammer made out of a weird metal he had never seen before. His eyes were green, and his lips were a little puffy behind his beard that covered his face. The length of the beard went down to his waist. He was less the half the height of everyone there. To his right was a dark hooded figure who had a old wooden scythe. A weird smoke came from under his gray robes. His hood was so dark you could not see what was inside of it. "What happened to you lad?" The dwarf had asked in a gruffly voice that sounded as if it was laced in wine drunk. "I... I don't know... I felt as though I was falling, then nothing..." He responded. "This one has had a strong connection with death before..." The hooded figure stated in a gravely voice. The dragon seemed intrigued by this "Oh has he now?" one eyebrow was raised. "So who might be our mysterious guest." The dragon continued. "Hey now! This is what caused all of this!" The wind girl responded, looking a little peeved that the dragon would ask such a thing. In response the dragon gave a stern look back to her. This time the fish women spoke "She is right, we should refrain from asking such questions. I have a feeling it might not be good for our "guest" to dredge up the past." "His past is gone with the reaper by this point..." The hooded figure spoke again. After this the group fell silent. As if she couldn't hold her excitement anymore "SO WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH THE BOOGER! CAN WE KEEP HIM!" She looked pleadingly at the dragon. In return he said "Now lets not be rash now. We don't even have a name from him yet. Why did you even bring him in here in the first place Airiel?" The dragon looked at the Wind girl that had led him here. "He's special. I found him in the abandon ruins of Woldrar while coming back home. And as the wolf said, he isn't from around here. So I led him here." The dragon put his head down in contemplation about the situation. "Fine, he can stay here, but he is your responsibility. And as such, first thing you need to do is give him a name." Everyone piped up with suggestions yelling one over the other. "HEY!" Airiel yelled "I GET TO NAME HIM! Back off." She sat there looking at him for a good minute and then smiled and nodded at him. "I've decided! His name shall be Cy!" Without waiting for his approval she gave introductions to everyone present. "The dragon you see there is Aithinis, Lord of light, civilization and protection. I am Airiel goddess of wind, and wisdom. The fiery one there is Solux, goddess of fire and love. The Fishy one is Manet, goddess of water, childbirth, and crops. The dwarf there is Dravon King of the earth, wealth, and war. The dark one there is called Avex, patron to those of the night, reaper, ender and beginner." Cy's eyes looked upon the wolf in the middle of them all. "What about the wolf?" The gods looked back and forth to each other "What wolf?" Airiel asked. Cy got up from his siting position and walked over the the wolf that had been sitting there watching the conversation unfold. "Who are you?" Cy asked the wolf. It smiled at first with an all knowing smile. Then the wolf raced forward and bit on Cy's left hand. Pain rushed up his arm as his hand became moist with blood. Cy withered in pain on the ground until the pain was to much and he blacked out.

 

[Alirofgar]

Images flashed before Cy's eyes. A large, bright city busy as could be. There was dragon statues everywhere. Markets were on every corner and the streets were crowded with pedestrians walking along them looking at the merchandise. In the middle of the huge city was an amazing cathedral shining bright in the midday sun. The images faded out until he was left in a bright light.


As soon as he came to conscious Cy grasped his left hand in pain. "HE'S UP EVERYONE!" It sounded like Dravon's husky voice booming out to him. The sound of Dravon bellowing hurt Cy's ears greatly, so much so he had to put his hands over his ears to help dampen the sound. It wasn't just Dravon though, everything sounded so loud to him. Multiple bodies came running through some sort of curtain "Is he okay!?" It sounded like Airiel, but Cy kept his eyes shut trying to deal with the loudness of everyone's voice. "Ask the bloke yourself." Dravon remarked. Cy could feel the eyes staring at the back of his body. Figuring it would be rude to just ignore them, he made an attempt to sit up. Doing so sent fire through his body. He winced at the pain, but made it up. Cy opened his eyes, and the world around seemed so much... different. There was a fire inside of the hut of straw, where Solux sat comfortably staring at him. It looked as though it was night time, and the room was in poor lighting, but Cy could see the dark just fine. Everyone was gathered around him on a wooden framed, straw bed. Looks of worry were on them as they looked at him. Remembering what had happened to him before he blacked out, Cy quickly looked at his left hand. Instead of a bite mark, Cy found a crude black tattoo in the shape of a wolf head. Upon further investigation he saw that the tattoo ran up along his left arm as two solid black lines and ended at his shoulder blade as a small ravens wing. Bewildered by this, Cy turned and asked Aithinis "What happened to me?" When Aithinis spoke, It was still quite loud to Cy's ears, so he had to cover them. Cy couldn't catch what he was saying because of this. Looking perplexed, Aithinis spoke to Airiel briefly, and she nodded back to him. She walked over to Cy and took his head and put it to her chest. He could hear the blood rushing in her body, her heart beating, and her breathing. It had a calming affect on him. While relaxed Airiel said "Is that better Cy? Can you hear us now?" It was at a reasonable volume now. Blushing a little, he took his head away from Airiels chest and nodded. Aithinis, without waiting, said "As i was saying... We dont really know what happened to you Cy. You mentioned a wolf and then you collapsed on the ground with these markings on you. They resemble our markings, but aren't all there. We don't really know what this means to be honest, no one here has seen anything quite like it before." Next to chime in was Manet "While you were out, did you see anything, hear anything? It might have some connection to what has happened to you." The only thing that came to mind was the city he had seen. He nodded and told the group what he had seen. They all sat there in silence. Avex was the next to speak "His presence here causes a threat to what little balance we hold. We know too little about him and who he is. I say, we throw him into the world we govern and let him figure this out on his own." "Now wait just a minute!.." Airiel began the rebuttal but was stopped by Aithinis who raised his hand to stop her. His face looked grim as he spoke. "I agree with Avex. Whatever Cy might be, he is dangerous and unstable. However, I think it would be wiser to keep him locked up where we can reach him." Cy wanted to think that Aithinis just had a bad sense of humor, but by the tone he was making, he was dead serious. Dravon spoke up "Aye, I agree with that. This young pup could upset the balance we have here, and could be even more dangerous in Getha." The group had seemed to have reached a verdict, and Cy wanted nothing to do with it. Cy quickly dashed through the straw walls tearing them apart. He began to run downhill, however he didn't get far. He was lifted into the air by a purple smoke and was paralyzed by it. "And where do you think you are going little dog?" Avex spoke with malice in his voice. "Right in a cage thats where." This time it was Dravon. Underneath Cy metal began to surge from the grounds. It formed a perfect cage right around Cy. "Put him suspended over the World pond." Aithinis ordered "I'm sorry Cy, but you will have to accept our verdict." And with that everyone left him for the night and went through each of their respective doors, leaving Cy to wade through his rushing thoughts...

 

[Beaurmont]

Light filters through the holes at the top of the cart's hood, beaming down all at once onto Beaurmont's face. It was as if the sky was trying to grab his attention once more, he felt so drawn to it, like he was being called. Footsteps echoed in tandem with each other, a crescendo of movement from the foot soldiers walking alongside the wagons. He listened almost absentmindedly to their march, trying to count just how many men were out there. He was never allowed to leave the cart, as per Ellain's orders. She felt like he knew too little about the world, and the men of the party believed Beaurmont to be a refugee of war. She didn't want them to begin making false assumptions against him, especially since they were technically under Legam's order. The cart hit a stone in the road, causing it to jump up suddenly. He barely noticed it, but the driver groaned with frustration every time he hit a bump. Beaurmont actually counted it, 12 times so far with only 9 times did the driver actually notice. To tell the truth, Beaurmont found no joy in counting, in-fact for some reason he actually hated anything that had to do with numbers. Yet, it passed the time, distracted him from the pain of his own thoughts. With solitude, it brought contemplation, with that the fogginess returned. He had to avoid it at all cost.


He turned his head to glance around the carts interior, as if he hadn't already done so a number of times. Sacks and bags were tied and packed away in multiple corners of the vehicle, along with several small chests filled with who knows what. He wasn't entirely sure what was in the sacks, but he was fairly sure the chests held something metallic and clanky. Perhaps tool...or maybe its filled with nails? He wondered, starring at one of the wooden chests, its dark oak color blending with the shadows. While still laying down he lazily rolled onto his side, just close enough for the small box to be in arms reach. He placed a hand on the top, rubbing his fingers against the cool and smooth material. "Aye, don't touch goods which aren't yours." A voice declared from the outside, stopping Beaurmont from further inspection. Still laying down, he turned his head slightly toward the opening in the back of the car, where one of the men under Legam's command was walking. He scowled at the 'refugee', a bit cross at his touching of the box. Beaurmont retracted his hands from the chest, but made no attempts to apologize. There was no reason to be at fault anyhow.


Boredom would soon grasp at Beaurmont again, so he let out a low sigh. Truly their could be nothing more boring than doing nothing itself.


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


"Beaurmont, we've arrived. You can open your eyes now!" a voice chimed from outside of the cart. Still groggy from both the trip and the nap, Beaurmont slowly opened each eye, to find that it was now late in the evening. A great amount of time has passed, when it has only felt like an hour. He got up from his sitting position to stretch and awaken. Ellain appeared from one side of the cart, carrying a small little pouch that sloshed at every step. "Would you happen to be thirsty, friend?" She asked, a coy smile on her face. Beaurmont looked at the pouch a little confused, but jumped down from the cart anyway. He hated the blasted thing now. Quickly she passed the pouch over to Beaurmont, leaving it in his hands. "We're busy unloading and unpacking, so I can't take too long. Simply wait by this cart for me and I shall return shortly. " She states, before spinning and walking away in the opposite direction. As Beaurmont watches, he sees that several important looking figures all bow in a strange...greeting towards Ellain. Each have the symbol on their chest as well, but wear rather strange, even for these people, sets of jewelry and clothing. Ignoring the men, he sit on the edge of the cart anticipating Ellain's return.

 

[Alirofgar]

That first night in the cage was torture. The cage was very small and didn't allow much room for him to stretch out, and any time he could go to sleep his dreams were plagued with nightmares and death. This cycle of sleep lasted for about a week until he became used to it. It has been almost a year now Cy has been stuck in this retched cage. A small beard has grown on his once smooth face. In an attempt to keep himself sane, he did pull-ups and upside down crunches from the top of the cage. Despite locking him in a cage, the gods weren't all bad though. They made sure He had plenty of water, and fed him often. It was almost as he was a pet to them, and he hated it. As time drew on, his "powers" became more and more apparent. He found that he could hear conversations from a good distance away, as well as smell and pick out certain odors around him. His nails turned more into claws that left scratches on the cage. Dravon was forced to keep eye on the quality of the cage because of this. The two of them would have some conversation from time to time. Dravon seemed a little ashamed for doing this to him, because he would keep his head down, but gave no sign of changing his mind on the matter. Cy began to feel spite towards Aithinis and Avox. The two of them would often stare at him from their doors with a sort of fear and disgust. As if him being alive was some sort of mistake. The only times he somewhat enjoyed was when Airiel came to visit him. She would talk to him about the world he had been thrusted into and all of the wonders it had. Magic, culture, language, she even brought some works of art at times to show him. She was a very kind goddess, and he considered her a friends. He knew that this wasn't her fault, it was Aithinis's and the male gods doing. It didn't look like Solux or Manet wanted him in this cage either. They would often come to talk to him as well. He noticed a pattern with the gods, and when they would appear outside of their doors. Most of the gods weren't there besides at night, except for Dravon who would chill with Cy most of the time, and Avox would come and go with no particular rhythm. The weather was the same all year round it looked like, always clear skies. One night, Airiel came to talk to him while the others slept. A look of worry swept her face. "Airiel? Whats wrong, something seems to ail you?" Cy asked when she approached him. She glanced at him for a second and then looked away. She looked as if she was struggling to decide weather or not to talk to him at the moment. Shew threw her hands down in a little fit, turned around and flew up to Cy's cage to meet him face to face. "Cy, what do you think of the world I've told you about?" She looked him dead in the eyes as she asked this. "Well, to be honest it sounds quite nice. It sounds peaceful and full of life." Cy turned to look at the stars as he finished his sentence and let out a sigh. "Just wish I could go see it for myself..." A few seconds latter Cy heard a metal door swing open. Looking over, Cy saw Airiel there with the keys to the cage in her hand. Dumbfounded Cy asked "Wait, what are you doing! You'll get in trouble for this!" Shrugging it off she said "Let me worry about that. The world we govern, it is going to change and not for the better. I think you can make a difference. A evil is rising and none of the gods here will be able to do a thing about it." "What will i be able to do, that a god cant? I'm not even sure if im safe to go out of here!" "You are the most free out of us all. There are powerful gods and warriors out there Cy, just like yourself. Go and find them, Maybe you can bring some hope to the grim times to come..." Without another word, Airiel started to help him out of the cage and to the ground by the pool. She took out a small blue pendant in the shape of a diamond and handed it to him. "This will lead you to what you will need." Glancing over his shoulder a look of fear crossed her face. Turning around he saw that Avox had just came threw his door and had seen them. Airiel pushed him into the pool of water. Cy turned around as he sank into the depths of the pool. He saw a wave of darkness shoot across the pool at airiel. Cy struggled and tried to swim back to the top, but something was pulling him down. Deeper and deeper he went. A white light began to shine. Cy was dragged into that light until it had swallowed him whole. After the bright light was gone, Cy gasped for air on solid ground. He wore a black leather jacket, white under shirt and blue jeans. Despite just being in water his hair was perfectly dry. Cy had found himself in a forest near a trail. Looking at his hand, the pendent shined brightly as a wagon passed by. Flagging the wagon down Cy asked "where is this wagon going?" "Rueo Cathedral" The man replied. "How long of a walk is that?" "about 13 day walk, 5 by cart, i would rekon." "Is there any place closer i can go to?" "I'm afraid not, Your in the middle of a bad forest, so no one has settled anywhere near here. Then you have the great plains to cross, but if you are going there, you might as well go to the Catherdral too because any village will be within three miles of the place anyways." Cy said thank you to the man, and he went on his way. Rueo Catherdral... That was about as good as any place to start. If nothing else, he could gather information about where he should go there. Looking back at his pendent for reassurance, he put it around his neck and began to walk.

 

[Beaurmont]

Nearly 45 minutes passed before Ellain returned to the cart, having FINALLY finished most of the packing and unloading. Beaurmont felt an absolute hatred for the travelling cart now, there is only so many times he can count something before it becomes ridiculous. As she arrived Ellain seemed a bit more uptight then before, like anxious or she was awaiting something. Beaurmont cocked his head to the side, curious about her expression. "You're free to follow me now Beaurmont, we have someone you need to meet!" She answers his curiosity, smiling happily. The stranger never got to look at her before now. Long, straight blond hair that fell down to her shoulder with curls at the ends. Deep blue eyes that always seemed to be watching, a beauty mark to the left of her nose. Her skin was fair and flawless, he features strong and shaped well. Though Beaurmont knew very little about...well everything, he could tell the woman was beautiful. As if she could see the cogs in his head click and turn, she sat there for a moment, allowing Beaurmont to observe her features. To her, this was the simple observations of a child. "...While I don't mind you gazing at me, its actually endearing, others might take offense dear refugee~" She stated, smiling sweetly. He snapped back into reality, nodding his head in acceptance. "We can go." He answered, signifying he would follow. "Of course, I hope you will enjoy your stay in the Cathedral." With that, the two of them began walking in the direction of a large metallic arch at the end of what seems to be a field.


Discovering his surrounding, Beaurmont tried to note every structure or site of importance he could find. As Ellain explained, this field was actually called a courtyard. It was an area outside that is a sort of walkway to get into and out of the building. The courtyard was maintained by keepers, usually men of faith, that would ensure that it was in a good state at all times. Men....of faith..? He wondered to himself, trying to make sense of what Ellain had explained. Perhaps...they were the monks or priests she mentioned along the trip here. Generally, the 'Men of Faith' had a few things in common. A long blue robe that covered most of their body, a golden insignia around the chest area, and a book of some sort in hand. They traveled through the courtyard, walking along the cobblestone road to the main hall. This place would be like a crossroads, something Ellain compared it to, where it goes off in many different directions. Namely, the hall was comprised of 8 different paths, disregarding the entrance from the courtyard. Strangely, all doors were locked shut so that no one could enter any of the doors without special permission. For some reason, only those with deep faith and or pure of being can enter. What this meant...he understood little about it.


Once they reached the metallic arch, two men wearing large steal plating lined with gold stood guard at each end. Upon their arrival, the men uttered not one word, simply nodding at Ellain when she passed. Beaurmont side glanced at the woman, but she made no indication of explaining who they were, so he dismissed the subject for now. The area past the arch was more elaborate than before, with statutes lined in different positions and twin large pools of water on either side of the cobblestone road. "...I always find it quite peaceful within here. Do you think the same, friend?" She asked, humming a tune. Beaurmont tried to seem...sincere but simply nodded his head towards her. He still wasn't very good at expressing himself, but Ellain seemed to take that as an adequate response and continued on. Past the twin pools, an entrance to the large building finally revealed itself behind the mass of small structures. Large slabs of smooth rock held up the building as a sort of foundation, the giant Cathedral was high enough it rose to the clouds. He gazed upward, trying to see the top but he simply could not. "This building of stone can support itself?" He asked, a bit of awe in his question. Ellain chuckled a bit, turning toward Beaurmont happily. "I'm glad you asked, there are many different materials used to construct the Rueo Cathedral. It was constructed long ago, thousands of years before our time. Supposedly, it was made by the order of Aithinis and his angels so that humans could reach out to him easier. This...was before his disappearance around 700 years ago." She explained, a bit sullen in her voice. Beaurmont stood silently, allowing her time to continue. She walked over to one of the slabs and ran her hand along the smooth surface. "This...stone material is actually marble, an abundant resource that is both strong and beautiful to look at." She said, looking back with a smile on her face once again. "But, that's all for now. I'll answer all your questions after this meeting..."


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


Once inside they entered what Ellain described as the 'crossroad', a room even larger than the courtyard outside. The walls were filled with paintings and murals of all sorts and colors, inscriptions in languages he couldn't understand and pictures of various creatures. The center of the floor held a single little birdbath resting by its lonesome. On the floor, the same sign on the men's clothes was painted about as large as the room. This bird bath directly in the middle. Each and every path had a large door at least 12 feet tall made of stone, closed without indication of ever being opened once. Above each door a single worn picture stood, but like before, Beaurmont could make little sense of anything. He had to take a step back at the simple magnitude of this room. This time Ellain did not stop to answer his obvious rising amount of questions, walking forward toward the bird bath instead. Her footsteps echoed in the empty room, cutting through the silence. Once reaching the bird bath she placed an hand within, muttering something incoherent. Suddenly, the door to the courtyard shut behind him, seemingly locking itself. Wait...what? Beaurmont thought to himself, sending a confused glance Ellain's way. She turned to him, an empty smile on her face. Did...she just trap me within these walls? Her chant continued with growing energy, her words, while slow at first, began to increase in speed and aggression. He couldn't understand what she was saying, but something within him, something deep and powerful was telling him to leave now. Beaurmont turned toward the now closed entrance and tried bashing his body against it. Futile as it was, it was the only thing he could think to do. Ellain allowed him to do as he like, not breaking her chant. It grew in strength and the air of the quiet and lonesome room turned...erratic. His skin tingled, his hair rose on end like a warning that would spread through his body. "ANIMUN AEM XUL!" She exclaimed, a light flowing through the bird bath. Carvings along the small bath began to light up, slowing moving from top to bottom in a spiral. It reached the ground, spreading throughout the entirety of the floor and to the walls. The light grew and grew, blinding Beaurmont to the point he had to squint. Ellain turned toward him, still smiling sweetly. "Its time to wake up, my dear Archangel." He stood there aghast, before the light grew too powerful, encompassing the entirety of the room. Once again...he was in the darkness.

 

[Alirofgar]

It was mid-day as Cy walked down the worn dirt path. The sun was shining as a few clouds raced across the skies. A light breeze ruffled his hair as he walked forward. It was about three hours from when he first dropped out of the gods world into this one. He couldn't have gotten very far in that time, but he was already pretty tired, and was starving. Walking along he saw some deer tracks in the road heading west, however with no weapons to hunt with he doubt he could do anything about that. Ignoring the tracks he continued along the path until it was about 2 hours away from sunset. The sky was painted in a hue of red and orange as the sun began to sink into the hill line. The light gave the forest a deep eerie feeling about it. The shadows grew longer as the air began to cool, basking the grass in shades of read and darkness. He should look for some food and set up camp for the night. Cy went off trails a bit as to not get in the way of any wagons that might roll through. He searched until it was dark, but was unable to find any kind of food. Accepting defeat, Cy found a soft patch of grass and went to bed hungry...


The trickle of a babbling brook woke Cy up from his slumber. It was just now dawn, and a pain is his left shoulder had emerged. Had he slept on it funny? Or was his hunger just messing with him? Wait... His hunger was gone? And why was he by water now? That didn't seem quite right since he hadn't eaten anything yet. Feeling his hands a little uncomfortable Cy looked down at them. They were covered in blood, and beyond them laid the remains of what looked like a deer. Overacting a bit, Cy crawled back until his back hit a tree. Eyes drawing back to his hands, hey saw them shaking a bit. His breath became sharp as he began to hyperventilate. A young, squeakish, voice emerged from above him "Hey mister, you alright there?" Looking up he saw a squirrel was staring at him with deep beady eyes. Cy just stared at the small animal, squinting. "Di-did you just speak?" The squirrel looking at him scampered down the tree and sat on his knee "Well i don't see anyone else here right now. You sure had some night with that pack of wolves huh? Why are you looking so weird at me? It's starting to creep me out. "Still gawking at the squirrel talking to him on his leg the only thing he could say was "But, YOU'RE TALKING! How can a squirrel be talking to me?" "What do you mean? Animals talk all the time! Although i guess this is the first time i've had a talk with someone who is humanesk too." Interrupting the small creature Cy said "Humanesk?" "What? Don't tell me you have no clue about what's going on? You have the smell of the wild's on you! And you were also a Wolf hunting last night with the local pack too. You really don't remember?" Cy just sat there in a daze. What was even going on right now. "Alright" Cy continued "So you are telling me, that I, turned into a wolf, went hunting with them, ate a dear, and can now talk to animals too." "To be honest, you looked like you would be better off in nature than with humans. Although they are our brothers, they have abandoned us in the wild as family and now destroy our homes each year. We don't mind the hunting, because that's what nature is, But they are taking over our homes, polluting our grounds. And to what? Build some statue for the glorified killings of their own kind? Humans are a strange race indeed. You aren't like that. Last night you were the embodiment of the wilderness, racing through the night with your pack." "But you cant tell me that i'm not normal then can you? Do you know anything about whats happened to me." "No, I don't personally, maybe your new pack will though." "Where can I find them?" "They usually hang around the pond. If you follow this creeks flow you'll end up there." Standing up The squirrel scampered up Cy's clothing. "I'll come along too. You seem like you might need the help." The squirrel seemed to smile at him "What's your name?" Cy asked "Reto. NOW ONWARD MINION!" Cy just gave him a weird look "Minion?.. Minion? Really?" "Alrighty then how about, Lacky! OHH i know, indentured servant!" "How about partner for now" "I can live with that." Cy now smiling, went over to the river washed his hands and face, and proceeded down the stream. The Cathedral would have to wait for now.


As the walk to the pond progressed, the strength of the current increased rapidly. By the time they reached the "pond" It was just now getting to be early morning. It turned out the "pond" was a massive waterfall with about a mile's worth of water at the bottom. From the top you could see that the vegetation down there was much more green and dense then where they had previously come from. Maybe it was because it was so deep into the forest? Water bouncing off the cliffs made mist that was beginning to cling to Cy's shirt and hair. The sound of the rushing water forced Cy to yell at Reto for a conversation. "So... Is this it?" Cy asked Reto. "Yup, this be it. Oh yeah I never did catch your name. But not like i'll need to know your name for much sense you're my lacky HAHAHA!" Reto was attempting to change the topic. "It's Cy, Partner, and how do you expect me to get down there." "like this." Without a moment's hesitation Reto jumped off of Cy's shoulder and down the cliff. A few seconds later he saw the crazy little guy emerged from the surface and began a long swim to the land. Reto paused and looked up, as if waiting for Cy to jump in himself. The closer he got to the edge of the cliff the more he became weary of jumping off of it. The cliff was a good 900 meters high. A fall from this height would hurt. However, going down the sides of the waterfall would take to long, and so would trying to find a path through the woods. Holding his hands above his head, Cy began to pace back and forth trying to gather up his courage. Realizing It was pointless, Cy's face turned serious. He crouched and sprinted forward as fast as he could then jumped off the ledge. The sense of weightlessness filled his being. This... This felt familiar. His body becoming weightless, ever going faster. The wind gushing past his body. He had done something like this before... He had fallen for a good twenty seconds by the time he realized it and noticed the water was only a few feet away now. In a panic he threw his arms out and re-positioned himself in a standing position. A light began to gather around him, and wind was circling around him rapidly. His body stopped only a few inches away from the water. Amazed at what he had done, he smiled and began to laugh hysterically "Now THIS, is cool". But then whatever he had done wore out, because he fell into the water. It was freezing to the touch, ice cold almost. Shivering he made a mad dash swim to catch up to Reto who was close to the shore. It took almost ten minutes to swim to shore, and by the time he was there, He was oh so cold. "Are you going to be alright?" Reto asked as he shook off the water from his fur. "I d-d-d-don't know. Unlike y-y-y-you I don't have a f-f-fur coat. ACHU!" Cy sniffled a little and rubed his nose. "Why not just turn into a wolf like you did before?" Reto asked. "I didn't do it on p-purpose last night. It happened while I slept." Reto's ears perked up, and he quickly looked behind him. Cy gazed to where he was looking and saw a pair of yellow eyes looking back at him. Reto ran up Cy and hid behind his back. "Go get em Cy! I believe in you! I'll just... Watch your back from here! Yeah, that's what i'm doing" That last part Reto muttered to himself. Cy institutionally held out his hands in the shape of claws, ready to strike at whatever he faced. The pair of eyes moved forward revealing a wolf behind them. The wolf that came out was Tan with a black muzzle and black paws. Cy picked up his scent and felt as though as he should know him. Cy asked the wolf "Do... Do I know you?". The wolf who had originally had its head down perked it up and looked at Cy. After a second the wolf began to speak. "Cy? Is that you? Yo everyone come out! It's just Cy!" After the figure said that a multitude of wolves came out, about 13 in total, and were all different then each other. They were all talking amongst themselves as they emerged out of the dense forest. The tan one stuck a paw forward and bowed his head "How are you today my lord." Lord? What was this one talking about. All eyes were on him, most filled with awe and happiness. "What do you mean 'lord'?" Cy asked the tan wolf. A murmur went through the crowed, as they all looked to be in shock. "S-surly you jest" The tan one spoke. "Do you not remember what had happened last night. Your very presence gives off the air of a god. New minor god, albeit, but god to everyone in the woods non the less." Cy was taken aback a little. "I just woke up this morning with blood all over me, thats all i remember." But it did make some sense as to the experiences he was in. It explained why he could talk to animals, why he became more wolf like over that year in the cell, and why the other gods didn't know what he was, or see the wolf. "Is there anyone I could talk to about this nearby? I have no idea whats going on right now." Looking back and forth at each other, the tan wolf spoke again "We shall take you to where you desire, Lord Cy." And with that, still cold and shivering, Cy went off into the depths of the woods with a pack of wolves to find some answers as to what was going on.


The further they went in, the more dense the forest was. Hardly any sunlight came through the canopy. If it weren't for the fact Cy could see well in the dark, he would have been stumbling everywhere while he tried to follow the pack. The thicket of the forest was tall, and the trees grew wild. Wines hung from place to place in no specific order. The crowd was silent as they trekked through the forest. Had he said something wrong? Had he offended them in some way? As he was thinking this to himself he noticed that there was light just ahead breaking through the dark forest. What laid behind was breathtaking. The clearing was in a circle, with buildings on all sides of it. A huge pond was in the towards one side of the clearing and of to its left was what appeared to be a city. The buildings were made out of old stone, and was covered in vines. The buildings were in the shape of pyramids almost, but they had multiple levels on them with flights of stairs on each side. There was many figures running around the city in a hurry and others, who were rather lax just sitting there enjoying the day. There was also a good number of people in the water, as well as a few flying around in the air. "Welcome to the lost city of Chincula, Home to this areas dyrids and protection to all animals." Cy felt a strange connection with this place. As if, this was where his home should have been. The area seemed so peaceful, and full of life. Reto piped up out of his inner coat pocket. "OH! I've heard of this place from my Grandmother. It's supposed to be one of the strongest strongholds for the wilderness left in this world." " Aye that it is." The tan wolf replied. "Forgive my rudeness Cy, but my name is Vall. I thought it would be appropriate to reintroduce myself to you since you don't remember last night." "Good to meet you Vall. Would you show me around a bit?" Cy asked. "I was planning to do so anyways. The rest of you, go back to border duty." The other wolves trotted back the way they had come previously. Vall waited until the rest had gone to relax a bit. "So you really dont remember a thing then?" Vall asked Cy "Trust me i wish i did remember." Looking a little down, Vall let out a sigh. "The only person I could think of that is here that would have any knowledge of what has happened to you would be the priestess Varshull. She is located in the biggest temple in the middle of town. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'll show you there, but i really must get back to the pack as soon as possible.” Cy felt a little guilty somehow. “It’s ok, I think i’ll manage from here. Thank you for all of your help.” Nodding acknowledgment to Cy Vall left to catch up with the rest of his pack. Cy really did hope that he didn’t hurt any of their feelings by accident. Vall seemed like a cool dog to be around. “I guess it’s time to go explore this city now. Right Reto?” Reto, to excited to speak, simply nodded. With that they were off to explore this interesting place.

 

[Myr Echidni]

Falling. A bright blue sky with nary a single cloud. A bright sun. There is wind quickly blowing past him as he fell through an endless sea of blue sky. "So...tired..." He looked up, and saw what looked like a dark swirling abyss of clouds quickly closing up. Down below, he could see green forming. It was the dark, effervescent green of the treetops. Falling still, slowly approaching the trees, it is difficult to keep his eyes open. He closed my eyes as he fell towards the treetops, and the wind faded with his consciousness.


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


"Ugh fuck. What....what's all this? Dirt?! Where the fuck?!" The boy looked around and could see nothing but dense forest. His legs hurt and it was difficult to stand up, but he managed. "....How did I get here? Where exactly is HERE?" He tries desperately to remember anything at all. All he can remember is a small memory of falling from the sky. A gentle wind blows through the forest. "Ahhh that's....unusually breezy." He looks down to find himself bare naked. He can just barely see the sun setting through the treetops. He begin to follow it. After a few minutes, the boy came across a startlingly gory scene. Sitting in a pool of blood is a body. The cause of death appears to be bleeding out through the neck, as his head is nearly cut off. "Ooooo yay free clothes." Though they're bloody and nasty, he have no other choice. It's either freeze to death during the night, or don the bloody clothes. He looks around, and finds a shortbow and a quiver full of arrows, and shortsword about the length of a machete. After donning the Nomad Hunter's Garb, the boy straped the quiver to his right side, the shortsword to his bad back in a way where it looked like it was laying atop his ass, and slung the bow over his shoulder and chest. The Nomad Hunter's Hood feels quite nice, and the knee length cape serves well to block the wind. As he pulls the hood over my head, he hears a rustling behind a quite large tree nearby. He quickly dashes away to hide behind a similar tree, and brandishes his newly acquired shortsword. The rustling is suddenly violently loud, then stops altogether. This shit is fucking terrifying he think to himself. Then he hears a voice coming from a branch above him. "You seem to be quite scared, boy." "EUGH-- WHO THE FUCK!?" The speaker begins to crawl down the tree towards him, as if she were crawling across a floor. "St-stay b-back!" He can now clearly see the speaker's figure. It would appear to be a woman wearing a slim white dress with openings on the outside of her thighs. and a spider web shaped cestpiece that extends up and around her neck, and over and around her ample chest. She has long, extremely dark violet hair, and glowing yellow eyes. Two bull horns adorn the sides of her head, and large black wings extend from her hips. Quite a strange place to have wings, but if you really think about how a humanoid would fly, that would be one of the most efficient places for them to be.

Spoiler

"Oh? What are you going to do with that dagger, boy? You can't even stand there without your whole body shaking." "Who the hell are you?!" He yells to the strange humanoid. "Just...a hungry demon out hunting." "Well I certainly as hell won't be next!" He kicks off the tree and sprints away as fast as his legs could carry him. "And where the hell do you think you're going?" He slams into something and falls onto his ass. It was the demon woman. This is it. This is how I die, and I'm going to die a...I can't remember. Am I a virgin? Wait...why can't I remember anything? He almost completely zones out with a bewildered look on his face, much to the demon woman's surprise. "Boy? Uh... BOY?!" She shouts to get my attention. It doesn't work, as he's deep in though and concentrating on trying to remember who he is. The demon woman flicks his forehead. The hit is powerful enough to blast him back a foot and lay him out completely. "Don't you know it's rude to ignore people when they're talking to you? Honestly, the nerve." "Uhh....s-sorry."heI stammers. "I was just concentrating on trying to remember. Where am I right now?" "Wh- uhh...we're in the Effervescent Forest." "I see...Why is it called that?" "Wh-...what is wrong with you kid? This is shit you should have learned years ago in class." "I'm sorry, but I'm not from here. All I can remember is falling from the sky and seeing some swirling back clouds above me." The demon woman looked quite surprised. "What a rare opportunity then. I shall take you with me, and study you. Saying you fell from the sky and swirling dark clouds implies you may be from a different world. Where are you from?" "Well that's just the thing. I can't remember anything, not even my name. Wait...I think...The only thing that comes to my mind when I try to remember my name is 'Kailyndis,' though I don't believe that is my real name." Then Kailyndis it is. Can you amply defend yourself with that blade?" The demon woman conjures up a skeletal humanoid figure. "If you don't want to die, then you best defend yourself." The skeleton takes a swing at him with a short spiked mace. It's rather slow, so it's easy enough to dodge. He slashes at the skeleton, but it only serves to lodge his blade in the side of its shoulder. It turns and easily moves the boy with it. He holds onto the blade for dear life, but is quite easily thrown off. The blade still lodged in it's shoulder, the skeleton takes another swing at him, again, easily dodged. The skeleton would most easily be defeated with his own mace, but judging from it's strength the boy would not be able to disarm it. Unexpectedly, it does a fast spinning strike, and barely grazes my face with the edge of a spike.


"SHIT! FUCK THAT FUCKING HURTS GOD FUCKING DAMMIT" he yells, clutching at his face. he quickly turns and runs a short distance, and finds a nice rock about half the size of a human head. The skeleton is surprisingly quick on it's feet, and easily caught up to me. The boy picks up the rock, and throws it with all of his strength, hitting the skeleton in the shoulder opposite of the shortsword, breaking it clean off. The boy smirks, and jumps back some distance in an effort to lead the skeleton away from the rock. He dashes past the skeleton and picks up the rock again, this time aiming for its sternum. Once more, he throws with all of his strength, and smashes it right where he was aiming. The skeleton's ribcage shatters, and the skeleton falls apart, defeated. "Clearly, you're shit at fighting." "Oh piss off. I didn't exactly expect my sword to become lodged in it's side. Normal humans often feel a lot of pain from that." "Whatever. Take this gift from me. It would be a shame for you to die so easily." The demon woman places her finger against the boy's forehead, and it begins to glow. His vision goes dark, and various runes surge through his head. It felt almost as if they were being implanted directly into his brain. Then, blackness.


After a time, he woke up. His head was resting against something soft and silky. He opens his eyes, and they wander up to the face of his pillow. Strangely, it's the demon woman. "What did you do to me?" he asked weakly. "I looked through your mind in an effort to find your memories. They still exist, but they are locked away with some of the most mysterious and ancient magic I've ever seen. I also gave you the ability to use Black Magic and Ancient Magic. Stand up."


Kailyndis now has the ability to use Black Magic and Ancient Magic. Currently known spells: Nigrum Ignis (Black Fire), Emundetur A Fluxi Seminis (Flux) [A spell used to distort the space my enemy occupies and kill them by misplacing the space.]


She stands and dumps him onto the ground. "Ouch-wutchu have to do that for?" he asked rhetorically. The demon woman conjures yet another skeleton. "Concentrate. Look into your mind and cast." Kailyndis had no fucking idea what this bitch is smoking, but he definitely wanted some. Thankfully, this time the skeleton was unarmed and did not move. He concentrates, and tries to remember the runes that he saw when she placed her finger against his head. He uses his finger to draw out the runes, which appear in a dim black light with a slightly violet outline. "Nigrum Ignis!" The skeleton bursts into brilliant black flames and it almost immediately burnt to ash. "Oooohh good good. Now try the next one." The demon woman summons a humanoid doll with empty dark eyes. Kailyndis concentrates and draws the runes. "Emudetur a Fluxi Seminis!" The space around the doll begins to shimmer, then pockets form throughout the doll's body where its body has disappeared. One forms in the middle of its head, and it falls to the ground. "Wow you caught on quick. Normally it takes weeks, even months of practice for people to learn even a simple Candle spell, yet you easily casted two C rank spells not 5 minutes after seeing them for the first time. I was right to keep you alive. You have the potential to become a master Black Mage." It was already dark out. The sun had long since set, and it was starting to get quite cold. Shivering,he pulled his hood back up over his head.


Kailyndis' stomach growled, his body ached, and he was more tired than he had ever been in his life. "Lets get moving. You'll only freeze to death if we stay here. Take this." The demon woman took a strange orb from out of what looked like a small, hand-sized dark portal, and hands it to him. "Eat." Like the obedient bitch he is, he bites into the orb. It's rice! She gave him a rice ball. There is a sort of meat in the middle, but he cannot identify it from the taste. "Ahh that hit the damn spot. Thank you...uh.." "I never told you my name. It's Albedo." Wow. Why is that so familiar? We set out, traveling god knows where.

 

[Alirofgar]

Cy and Reto walked down a stone path to the entrance of the city. On the ground there appeared to be a glowing rune running along the entire border. Cy didn't have a clue what it meant, and Reto was still gawking at the city. The pathways and building were covered in ivy and moss. Slight patterns still remained on the stones defying the decay of time. It really was an ancient place with a sort of air about it that made it feel sacred. Up close the temples that acted as housing for the dryads were about five stories tall with about seven levels in total. The streets were filled with dryads of all kinds and were very loud to Cy's ears, and yet it seemed so peaceful. Cy started pondering to himself if humans had a similar existence in there cities. He assumed the only human he had met so far was the one who was in the carriage. Cy felt a slight tap on his head. Turning to it Cy saw Retos face next to his as he began to whisper "Is it just me, or is everyone looking at us all of a sudden?" It seemed as though Cy was just wandering the streets in deep thought, and without realizing it, The area around him got really quiet compared to before. Looking around Cy saw that almost everyone in the streets were now looking at him. The glares were boring a whole in him, and Cy didn't quite like it. A little embarrassed Cy rubbed the back of his head and waved at everyone with a smile. There was a murmur in the crowd in a language Cy didn't quite understand. "It might be best if we make our way to the Temple as fast as possible." Reto spoke softly into his ear. Cy liked the sound of escaping these judgmental glares. Looking towards the city line towards the middle of the city, it was easy to pick out the tallest temple. The two of them made a b-line for the temple at a brisk pace. However they couldn't escape the glares from everyone. Was it because Cy was a human in a place there hasn't been for thousands of years? Everywhere they went, the crowd instantly hushed and stared at them. Something strange happened, because the closer they got to the center of the city some of the dryads began to follow Cy. The murmurs started up again as the crowd grew in size. This time he could make out a few words from there talk. "Lord... Equalizer... Protector...God...?" What were they talking about? The large temple in the middle had a few things different from its surrounding buildings. It appeared to be in the best condition, with almost all of its ancient markings still there. It also had a stone archway with stone statues in front of it. The noise behind Cy began to get louder and louder. Curiosity won over and Cy turned around and met face to face with hundreds of Dryads in front of him. Cy turned his head slightly and asked Reto, who was still on his shoulder, "Why... Why are they all here." Reto just chuckled a little and then said "Your guess is as good as mine. Don't forget it’s my first time here as well." Cy heard a few light steps behind him and the crowd began to kneel, even the wind Dryads who were previously flying excitedly came to the ground and bowed their heads. Looking back behind Cy there was a figure walking down the long steps towards Him and Reto. Her skin was very pale, almost like snow. She wore a metal armor chestplate, and leggings. The armor design was very angular and had red fur linings on the edges of the armor. She carried a curved silver Japanese lance, or Hozu hi Yari, by her side. She locked eyes with us for a moment and spoke "State your business here.” She was looking down on us with a smug look in her eyes. A little pissed about that, Cy stood his ground and tried his best serious voice he could manage. “I was told by Vall that the priestess Varshull could answer my questions.” Her eyes were cold like ice after the mention of Varshull. “And what business do you have with her? In fact, why did Vall even let you in here to begin with. Humans haven’t been allowed in here sense we commandeered this city.” Commandeered… That struck him on a off chord. “Commandeered?..” There was a look of annoyance in the ladies eyes as one of her eyebrows twitched. “I know we have had this place for a long time but you should at least know the stories.” Cy just sat there and cocked his head a little. She gave me a look of disbelief appeared on her face. “Y-you mean you haven't heard of the heroics of the Dryads taking back their land from the humans. or the civilization that disappeared over night.” Cy waved a dismissive hand at what She was saying “no no, sorry not from around here. I know nothing about this place's history or culture.” She looked taken aback from this, but before she could continue A women at the top of the pyramid yelled down to Cy, Reto and the women in front of them. “Amari, Let them pass.” She wore an emerald green dress along with golden jewelry strewn about her body. Her skin was a lot like Airiels. Atop her head was a circlet. Cy and Reto took in the beauty of this women. She walked back inside right after saying that. The woman in front of Cy and Reto turned back towards them with a disgusted look. Gritting her teeth she said “Follow me.” And so Cy and Reto followed the woman named Amari to the top of the temple.

 

[Beaurmont]

Like before, Beaurmont was veiled in the darkness' cold embrace. His body was stiff and jagged, unable to move, unable to see. It was as if all senses were cut off from him, his mind screaming from the inside to get out. Like an echo, a soft whisper of his name reverberated in his ears. Calling to him with a ambiguous voice and light tone, reaching him through the dark. Yet, this name was different but known to him. It was similar, but not....not quite it. It continued at a slow pace, every few seconds the voice would call for him. It was recognizable, but also foreign to him, as if they were trying to stay unidentifiable. Unexpectedly, the darkness was shot away in an instant as he regained consciousness. His skin tingled uncomfortably, his ears ringed, his sight blinded. He awoke, upright and starring at the ceiling, in bed confused and coughing violently from whatever it is Ellain did to him. Ellain...that woman. He thought a bit cross, trying to collect himself. "Oh? Up so soon? I was told that you would be out much longer, for a few days at the least. No matter, it is good you have awakened earlier than scheduled." A muffled voice states excitedly. He tried hard to focus on the voice but his ears still rung with too great an intensity. "You are just as the Grand-Master and Patriarch had said you would be, simply amazing I have to say!" The voice continued, not stopping to allow him a moment to think.


A hand touched at his forehead gently, soft fingers traced diligently as if searching for something. "O-oh my, your mind is still- I should..." They muttered, a bit worriedly. "Here, let me ease your pain for you, if only a little, Xul Stosuc." W...what did they say...I can't...His thoughts came out weakly and very soft. His body and mind were both straddled, leaving him rather feeble. But, as the person began to softly trace their fingers along his forehead the pain was eased. He could finally collect his thoughts, albeit very slowly, but it was progress. It was almost a little surprising as well. The intense ringing subsided, the fire along his skin dissipated and ,most importantly, his mind was calmed. "There, you should feel much better. It cannot restore you much, but the pain should be mostly gone." They with genuine concern. Finally, he opened his eyes, at first struggling to using them, his sight returned gradually. "Oh, do you need help sitting up Xul Stosuc? S-should I call an attendant or-" The figure began, jumping up from their stool beside the bed. He carefully rose, pushing the pillows behind his back to help keep him up. He felt frail, weakened indefinitely. His apparent attendant stared at him with worry, unsure of what to do about the situation. They were a blur for a moment, but soon he could begin making out details easier. Their gender was rather..ambiguous to be honest, but they had golden blonde hair, fair skin, and friendly green eyes. He struggled a moment to try and speak but it was as if his throat hadn't been used in weeks. His attempts were in vain as only pained and hoarse sighs came out. He clutched at his throat annoyed, clasping a palm on his neck. His brow furrowed, starring down at the blanket lying on top of him. Where...why...? "You must be thirsty...here." They then timidly passed over a small cup of water toward him, waiting patiently for him to take it.


Beaurmont weakly grasped at the cup with his free hand, and immediately began downing it as quickly as he got it. Once finished, he sighed and gave the cup back to its owner. He dried his lips and turned toward the ambiguous attendee. "Where...am I?" he demanded, trying to understand his situation. The attendee looked a bit surprised in the least, but calmly smiled. "The Rueo Cathedral of course! You are in one of its medical facilities within one of its main buildings." They begin to get excited, standing up with a burst of sudden energy. "The Patriarch has told us you opened one of the doors in the 8 paths! This is a monumental achievement! With this, so much old knowledge and culture will be revealed to us once more." They exclaim, throwing their hands into the air with gusto. Beaurmont sits silently, a bit...okay very confused. Apparently, something very big happened and he has no idea what. The increase in questions was becoming painful, so he wanted to start with some basics. "Who..are you? Why am I here, where is Ellain?" He asked, his voice still weak but his eyes serious and cold. The attendee halted their exaggerated display, now looking back him he answered rather sheepishly. "You...care to know about me? Heh...M-my name is Andra. I have been tasked with acting as your attendant or caretaker. I have taken care of you for...I believe four days now." They start, smiling happily. "You...you may not remember what happened, but Ellain has awoken you from your long sleep great one. It has been many centuries since a single angel has walked these halls." Hold on there, angel? Even more questions rose from his explanation, vexing him to no end. He closed his eyes for a moment, rather unhappy with his situation. He opened them again, and glanced toward the single exit at the end of the long room. "How...can I leave this place?" He asked, intent on leaving immediately.


Shock was a understatement when he saw Andra's reaction. "L-leave?" He stuttered, rather unsure of how to respond. "Well..I don't..." He tried to give a response, but simply ended up fumbling around his own words. He felt a tinge of guilt for them, but didn't have time to waste. "Forget it. I'll...find it myself." He removed the blanket from over top of him and placed his feet onto the ground. Once he tried to stand up however, his legs gave out immediately and fell to the floor. "AH-AH NO YOU CAN'T-" Beaurmont could hear Andra panic and run from the other side of the bed. My legs...I can't...use my legs. He thought to himself, body paling. "Please Xul, it has only been a few days since your release. Your...mortal body probably cannot operate normally yet." Andra pleaded, trying to help him up from the floor. He turned toward Andra, a scowl on his face. He punched the ground with a fist, frustrated to no end. She got me, she really got me. The attendant looked at him with a mix of worry and pity, trying to understand what to do. "Okay...I can help you leave. But why do you need to go? Whats wrong?" They asked with a serious tone. He closed his eyes, pondering the options before him. He could stay, rest and maybe get answers from Ellain should she return. Maybe even find out who he is and what is going on. But this could leave him entrapped with no way out. Like this, Ellain doesn't know he is awake yet so he could slip out while he still had the chance. This was more dangerous, but at least he'd not be taken off-guard once again. Then came another pressing matter. He glanced up at Andra, the new attendant. Just how much did they know? Are they on Ellain's side? Will they betray him? Beaurmont took a good look at Andra, unsure what to think. But somehow, when he glanced into their eyes he felt calmed. "Can I trust you Andra? Will you take me to Ellain?" he asked, trying to trust them. To be honest, he really needed a friend in the world. The energetic attendant smiled, giving a hand out. "I would be honored to assist you Xul Stosuc."


The two were now in the halls of the large building, trying to avoid any and all attention. Which wasn't hard, as there were few people even in sight. In-fact, it was generally empty. He eyed these halls as they moved, taking note of each and every room that was deserted, nary a soul in sight. They moved at a slow pace due to his weakened state, Beaurmont had to place most of his weight upon Andra. He felt a bit guilty about it, but the faster they could get out the better. "Why is there no one else within these halls?" He questioned, unease starting to scratch at him. Andra was quiet for a few moments, before giving a shrug himself. "I was simply told to care for you in that room. I...haven't seen anyone in the few days I've cared for you." It seems, that they know little as well. At the very least, he won't get answers from them. Once reaching the end of the hall they met a large white double-door, leading into the courtyard. However a single armed guard blocked the way, clad in armor from head to toe. It seemed to be one of Legam's men, tasked with guarding them. "Hold Andra, what are you doing with...Xul Stosuc. He's awake...already?" He muttered at the sight of Beaurmont, bowing at him as he got close. "My Stosuc, please forgive my query I meant no disrespect. You were not supposed to wake for another few days-" He starts before being cut off by Andra. "Yes, that is precisely why I am taking him directly to the Patriarch now. She needs to know that he has awakened and in need of her guidance." The guard nods quickly, accepting that answer immediately. He mutter something like 'right away sirs' under his breath and push open both doors with one arm, backing out of the way for them to pass. Beaurmont smiled faintly at their success, Andra was a rather clever individual. As they walked pass the guard confidently he turned toward his friend and was about to congratulate him before something in his gut dropped. A sickening pain hit and he body knew what the cause was. "M-madam Patriarch!" Andra stuttered, timidly starring forward. He also shot a glare forward, meeting the calm and elegant smile of a familiar face. Bearmont's face immediately scowled, his words like venom. "Ellain."


This Patriarch that he has heard so much about turns out to Ellain herself, of course. But, perhaps to his advantage, Ellain seems to be rather confused by the situation. "...I am surprised to see that you are up so early Xul Stosuc, it seems your power was...miscalculated." She said in her usual composed tone, but it was evident, this was not to her liking. "None the less, it is good you have awakened, we can begin our preparations faster then expected." She took a few slow steps closer, eyeing both Andra and Beaurmont equally. "Ellain...what did you do to me?" He asked, furious to no end. However, he didn't get the response he thought. Ellain lost her poise, her elegance, confusion took to her features. "W-what do you mean Xul? I don't..." She started, seemingly trying to make sense of the situation. Then slowly it dawned on her, and it returned as quickly as it left. "...Beaurmont." She simply stated, discovering where she went wrong. A snide grin ran across her features quickly. "So you managed to stick around then...this is quite the set-back." She muttered, glancing between the two. "Well then, you boys have created a problem for me here. The shell I have provided for our angel still walks...and ironically said angel almost let him escape." She turned to Andra, still smiling. Beaurmont and Andra turned to each other, confused by what was happening. "P-Patriarch, what are you-" He started (apparently a boy.), but was cut off by her again. "Andra, you are a piece of the pie that is Beaurmont. A shard of personality that was left behind by the angel Aithinis. It was a lot of work, but once I extracted you successfully from the relic, I was able to mold you into a living being. It was simply the best I could do to keep you alive, without tipping souless off." She explained, sending a quick taunt Beaurmont's way. "The man you are holding up is nothing more than a shell of a human, something left behind when his actual soul left this plane. He is the ideal body for you to occupy."


Silence took the courtyard after, both Beaurmont and Andra stood there with little to say at all. Ellain sighed as she continued to watch the two, obviously feeling like she had won it all. "You boys just didn't know, it wasn't your fault you were chosen. It's how fate decided to play out. You see, we humans are destined to rule over the planet, to guide it and its inhabitants to the true light." She began, pacing back and forth between the two. "Listen boys, its actually fairly simple. We need to govern our people, and help the lesser creatures of this world. There are many dark forces fighting against us, and we just don't have the strength to keep going." She pauses for a moment, seemingly thinking about something. "Which is why we need a guide, our Xul Stosuc or Guardian of light. With his power, we could easily force the lesser being under our ranks as the great empire did 5,000 years ago. Firstly, we'll make an example of the Dryads who stole lands from our ancestors and further weakened the power of the Order. There can be no other way."

(No grammar or spell check has been done. Will return to fix.)
​

 

[Alirofgar]

The trek up the temple stairs took a while, and the awkward silence that fell the group didn't help that much either. Cy noticed that clouds began to gather towards the east. Was something going on over there? He couldn't help but take something away from the wind, or nature in general anymore. It was like it was always trying to tell him something important, something that might help him in the future. But without any evidence to back his feelings, Cy just shrugged it off as him being paranoid about his situation. No one said a single word as they finally reached the top of the temple. Maybe ziggurat was a better way to explain the look of these places. The top of the ziggurat had large archways all around it. Walking inside of it, he saw a large pool of water, a large tree that overlooked the water, and a very old statue of a man clad in robes holding a long branch. The branch, or staff, broke into three parts at the top of it that circled each other. Standing before that statue was the one who had ordered Amari to take us up here. Amari motioned for us to pass by, and we complied, however along the way she stopped us for a second and said "Watch your tongue before her grace." Cy and Reto simply nodded as they walked by. The way this room was set up reminded Cy of the realm of the gods. The only thing missing was a cage in that tree. Cy walked up to the person who was probably Varshull. As Cy walked up to Varshull she asked a question. "Do you know who this man is?" Cy shook his head, but then realized that Varshull wasn't looking at him. "No, i'm afraid not." "This was the first human to have accepted the ways of the forest and the dryads." There was a sense of nostalgia in her voice "Do you know what became of him?" again Cy replied "No." Varshull let out a little sigh and dropped her head a little before continuing "He was ostracized by his fellow man because he saw us as equals. Shamed by his race until he had reached his end, taking it for himself. Do you know why i'm telling you this?" Varshull turned around to face him and continued without giving Cy time to respond to the question "It is because he was your first follower. The one who believed that all life was equal, and called the forest his home." Cy didn't really know how to take this. This person seemed like a great man that Cy could get along with, but first follower? "What do you mean by follower?" Varshull walked over to the tree that overhung the water and glanced longingly out somewhere Cy couldn't see. "His name was Yuna. And you met him a long time ago and told him to seek us out. At the time you were no more a mere pup, but now you are fully grown." Turning to Cy she had a smile on her face and tears flowed down her cheeks. She bowed and said "Welcome back, God of the wilds. It is good to see you are of existence now." She looked at Cy now to find him flustered with a confused look on his face. Cy had hundreds of questions he wanted to ask Her. She sat down by the pool and motioned for Cy to sit as well. Doing so Varshull began to speak. "Let me start from the beginning then. It is obvious that you yourself are not from our plane of existence, or maybe even that of the missing gods. Am i right?" She looked to Cy for confrontation "To my knowledge, that seems about right. I woke up in a weird place and a goddess named Airiel guided me to a door. Once on the other side i met five other gods. One of them, Avox, said i reeked of death and am not from this world." Varshull looked surprised by this, but continued her explanation. "It seems that, as one door closed for you, another opened. You were in another plane of existence, and some unknown power drug you over to our's for you to fill the void that no one else could have. That so happened to be That of our patron god that we Dryads, and most forest life, have had strong faith in for many of generations. It would seem that, our prayers were finally answered and you appeared." Cy took this in slowly so he could chew on what Varshull was saying about him. "What makes you so sure that I am a god?" Cy asked the priestess. Smiling she said "May i see your arm." Cy handed her his arm, and she pulled up the sleeve to reveal his tattoo markings that had formed when he was in the God realm. It glowed a bright emerald green. "These are called Nomaku In Dryad tongue. Loosely translated to Human dialect it means, Godly Chain. It is the undeniable proof that you are a powerful ethereal force in this world now." She rolled up his other sleeve, that had only the base of the tattoo which was a wolfs head. "You are not yet, however, fully divine. For one reason or another, you have been only given the connection to the forces you commune with, and not the eternal life that comes with being divine. Otherwise your arms, and your sides, would be covered in tattoos that told of your tale and traits." Reto piped up from his shoulder "So what does this mean for him? He is only part of a god without all of his powers and immortality?" Looking at the Squirrel Varshull answered his question "Your friend here is a smart one. Yes, that is precisely what it means. If he were to die in this state, then the likelihood of him becoming a full fledged god is close to nothing, and the spark would die out. The idea of that god and what he represents would have no deity behind it and would be more of a philosophy until adopted by another god. In order for him to become a full fledged deity he must undergo some task in this world, or perhaps many." This all made a little sense to Cy somehow. It would explain why he was in the gods realm, why he had turned into a wolf, and the whole speaking to animals. It might also explain the stares. Hell Cy would stare at a god walking into his city too. Something clicked inside of his head. "You said before that Yuna believed in equality of races and animals. Does that mean you don't have that right now or had it before." This seemed to have hit a sore spot, because her expression darkened. "Only Dryads and Dragoneers remember those times. All of the races were once equal, that is to say, before the disappearance of the six major gods of our pantheons. Their names were Avox, Aithinis, Airiel, Solux, Manet, and Dravon. For one reason or another they disappeared one day and the world slowly fell into war and chaos. As of right now, the humans believe the other races to be lesser species and animals there slaves. We have stopped their advances on our territory but still they persist on everyone's borders." How could the humans forget about their past though? And furthermore believe that they were so much better then everyone. Seeing that Cy was lost in thought Varshull made the suggestion that he might want to retire for the night. It was getting ready to be sunset and they were welcome to stay as long as they want. "I'll have Amari escort you to your room. It will be two floors down from this one." Smiling, she waved us off. The decent to the room was just as quite as the ascent with Amari. Thankfully it was much quicker. It looked like rooms were built right into the outside of the Ziggurat on each level. The room was modest, and had plenty of lighting. A weird orb hung in the center of the room that cast the room in a light blue luminescence. Just before Cy was getting ready to close the door Amari said something to Cy. "I am sorry for before your excellency. I had no idea who you were." Cy simply smiled at that remark. "It's fine, I didn't know who i was either so don't worry about it. Honestly, I would prefer if you treated me like i am a normal person anyways. It's weird to have people regard me as a god." Amari seemed to be in a little bit better mood when Cy said this. "Hey Amari, would you care if you taught me how to fight and use magic? Is there anyone here who could teach me something like that?" Amari grinned at the question and told Cy and Reto for whatever reason to wake up early in the morning. "Your training Begins tomorrow!" And with that she was off in a rather chipper mood. Turning back to look at the room it consisted of a queen sized bed, a desk and a chair. Cy took off his jacket and boots and placed them by the chair. He then flung himself on the bed and curled underneath the covers. The bed felt as though it was emanating heat to dry his somewhat damp cloths. "Hey Reto, you feel like sticking around still?" Underneath the covers a little mass started to squirm its way up to the top where a little head popped up from underneath the covers. "Yeah, sure that sounds alright with me. It's not like i have anywhere to go back to anyways." The subject seemed a little sore so Cy left it at that. "This will be a new beginning for both of us i suppose. You ready for it partner?" Looking back over he saw that Reto was already fast asleep. Following the example, Cy tried to fall asleep as well.

 

[Myr Echidni]

After about a day's worth of walking, Kailyndis and Albedo eventually reached an oddly silent clearing in the dense forest. Upon closer inspection, he noticed an enormous star-like inscription burned into the ground. It must have been a hundred feet in diameter. "What are you waiting for? We don't have all century." Albedo grabbed Kailyndis by the arm and dragged him to the center of the circle. She thrust her arms out in front of her and begin to chant in a strange, slightly guttural language. The scorch marks in the ground began to glow a bright red-orange, and quickly burst into tall walls of flame. Albedo's chanting began to grow faster and more feverish. Soon, she was practically shouting. The louder she was, the taller and exponentially more powerful the walls of flame became. Strangely, Kailyndis could feel no heat coming from them. Albedo's chanting slowly died down, and with it, so did the walls of flame. However, the place they were now was very different from the forest they were in not a moment ago. The whole place seemed to have a dull orange glow and mist to it, and small fires could be seen in the surrounding vicinity. There were no trees. There wasn't even any grass. The ground took on the appearance of a sort of brown-orange dirt, and the sky was almost the same color, but a little more red. The black scorch marks were also present. "Surprised? Welcome to Tenebrae Aeternam, the realm of Eternal Darkness; the home of the demons. Come, we have much to do, and very little time to do it." Albedo grabbed Kailyndis by the arm, and began to lead him through the field. Soon, they came upon what could only be described as an enormous city, with a giant castle in the middle. The buildings were mostly small on the outskirts. In fact, they looked almost exactly like any normal farm houses. The entire city looked almost exactly like any other medieval human city. The only difference was the inhabitants. Midget sized red men, half-man-half-goat/ox/cow people, beautiful human sized women with small bat wings, and hundreds of other different forms of demons walked the streets. Half of the inhabitants were naked, and he even saw a certain imp with a green leathery belt wrapped around his waist several times. Wait a minute...that's...that's not a belt.


They walked down the street, heading for the enormous black castle spires in the center of the city. Along the way, Kailyndis noticed a strong looking kitsune man fighting a raging minotaur. It didn't look like the kitsune was taking the fight very seriously, because he was only using his hands to throw the monster, not once touching the enormous broadsword on his back. Kailyndis decided it was best not to intervene, and continued walking with Albedo. It didn't seem like it took too long to reach the castle gates. The gates were a simple set of large black iron bars with small spokes on the top, shaped like the spires atop the castle. Albedo stepped forward and raised her hand, and the gates opened. The courtyard was absolutely beautiful. There were flowers of every sort and color adorning every inch of the large gardens on each side of the walkway. Kailyndis could see branching paths heading off through the gardens, and figured he should take a walk through the garden some time. At the far end of the right garden, he could see a beautiful cherry blossom tree the size of a weeping willow. It seemed almost as if the tree were perpetually blowing in a light wind.


Kailyndis followed Albedo into the main castle. The interior was a stark juxtaposition to the exterior. The main hall was beautifully adorned with white marble pillars and statues, and a large crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. The floor was composed of shiny marble white tiles, just like the pillars, and a red velvet carpet ran through the center of the room, leading to a large staircase that split in two directions, with a gigantic door in the middle. The main hall had several openings on the sides, most likely leading to other portions of the castle. "Come on, come on. We don't have time to stand around gawking. We need to get a move on. Let's GO." Albedo forcefully grabbed Kailyndis' arm, and dragged him through the hall and up the stairs to the gigantic door. "The people you meet through this door are all extremely important. You WILL hold your tongue and treat them with the highest possible form of respect, or I personally will punish you." She didn't even give him time to reply. She raised her hand, and the gigantic door opened. Inside was a semi-large room with several high thrones reaching tens of feet into the air. Atop all but the highest throne sat some sort of insanely strong looking demon, each one giving off the most oppressing auras he had ever experienced. "A-Albedo? W-who are-" Kailyndis turned to where Albedo was standing, but she was nowhere to be found. He looked back up to the thrones to see her sitting atop the highest one. She smirked down at him.


The first to speak was the demon sitting on the second highest throne. He was a large lamia with a jet black snake body, and the appearance of a scene person on the top. When he opened his mouth, there was a loud, booming voice.


"HUMAN WHO DOES NOT BELONG IN THIS WORLD, I AM LUCIFER, ALSO KNOWN AS SAMMAEL; HEAD OF THE DEMONS, AND SERPENT OF THE GARDEN."


The next demon to speak sat on the fourth highest throne, and looked like an extremely obese red humanoid pig. Kailyndis could not tell whether (sh)it was a man or woman. (Hmm. Reminds me of half the bitches on tumblr.)


"HUMAN WHO DOES NOT BELONG IN THIS WORLD, I AM MAMMON, TEMPTER OF MEN AND TREASURER OF THE DEMON REALM."


The third demon to speak sat on the fifth highest throne, and was a gorgeous demon woman with deep red skin and breasts half the size of her body. She spoke in the most seductive voice Kailyndis had ever heard.


"Human who does not belong in this world, I am Asmodeus, Queen of the succubi, and owner of every brothel in both the human and demon realms."


The fourth demon to speak sat on the sixth highest throne, and was a large demon that looked almost like a cross between an eel and an angler fish. His words were occasionally disrupted by glubs and bubbly sounds.


"HUMAN WHO DOES NOT BELONG IN THIS REALM, *glub* I AM LEVIATHAN *glub*, RULER OF THE SEAS OF THE DEMON REALM, AND COMMANDER OF THE DEMON NAVY. *glub*"


The fifth demon to speak sat on the seventh highest throne, and could only be described as a giant bee with human arms and legs. When he talked, he sounded almost like a machine.


"HUMAN WHO *bzzt* DOES NOT BELONG IN THIS REALM, *bzzt* I AM BEELZEBUB, SECOND IN COMMAND TO SIR LUCIFER, AND COMMANDER OF HER LORD ALBEDO'S AIR FORCE."


The sixth demon to speak sat on the third highest throne, and while continuously shapeshifting while the other demon generals spoke, he took the form of a tall humanoid completely covered in black fur with blood red slit eyes, and fangs of the same colors. He had by far the most terrifying voice of the generals.


"HUMAN WHO DOES NOT BELONG IN THIS REALM, I AM SATAN, SUPPLEMENTARY KING OF THE DEMON REALM WHILE HER MAJESTY ALBEDO IS AWAY, AND COMMANDER OF THE MAIN ARMY OF THE DEMON REALM. IF YOU CALL ME STAN LIKE ANY OF THE OTHER FUCKSHITS IN THIS ROOM, I WILL NOT HESITATE TO FUCKING ATOMIZE YOU, YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT. " Kailyndis made a note to himself to not forget that.


The seventh demon to speak sat on the eighth highest throne. He had the body of a wolf, head of an owl, and the tail of a snake.


"Human who does not belong in this world, I am Amon, knower of the past, present, and future, and commander of the Demon Realm's mages. I see within you the potential to become the greatest spell caster that has ever lived. I look forward to our meetings in the future."


The last demon to speak sat on the lowest throne, only about ten feet above the ground, and took the appearance of a bored looking middle aged man with deep lavender skin and a long white beard. He spoke slowly, and yawned occasionally.


"Human who *yawn* does not belong in this realm, I am Belphegor, inciter of laziness and *yawn* I oversee the entire demon realm's supplies and agriculture. It's really fucking boring, and I just wanna take a fucking nap."


Kailyndis, it's time I formally introduced myself. I am Albedo, Queen and ruler of the Demon Realm. The eight demons you see here are my demon generals. For thousands of years, a prophecy has foretold of a mysterious man claiming to be from another world who would fall from an abyss in the sky and become the ultimate demon. KAILYNDIS, you are the human man the prophecy spoke of." Surprised, Kailyndis took a step backwards. Albedo raised her arms above her head, hands pointed inward. "By my absolute command, the Queen of the demon realm and her eight generals will now perform the Rite of Damnation."


A star-shaped pattern like the one they teleported from, albeit much smaller, appeared under Kailyndis. Out of each line shot out a black barrier with highlights of red and violet, clear to the ceiling. Pain rocketed through his entire body. It felt as if all of the flesh was being stripped from his body. No, it was even worse. Every nerve in his body practically exploded, He crumpled to his knees in pain, and clutched his head with steadily growing claws. Inside his psyche, he underwent the pain and suffering of every human in existence. Scenes of the goriest and most horrid tortures and bloodshed flashed through his head. He lived the existence of the worst lives ever lived by humans, and then everything went black.


When Kailyndis awoke, he was still in the center of the star-shaped pattern, but he no longer felt the pain. The images and scenes no longer plagued his thoughts. He began to laugh. His laughter grew more and more intense and feverish until the point he sounded like the most insane man on the planet. From his back grew large black bat wings. From his head grew four long and curled ivory white horns, two pointing upwards, and two pointing straight forward. A slim tail with a spade at the end grew from his behind, and his arms slowly became covered in diamond hard scales. He continued to laugh as he slowly transformed, and laughed so hard, tears began to flow down his face.


"I think the rite broke his mind a little too much. He won't be of much use to us unless we can do something about that." "Worry not, Amon. We only need him to be able to destroy. Once the transformation is complete, we'll give him a short while to rest, then we'll send him to that infernal Reuo Cathedral. Our inside man has relayed dire news that they're trying to resurrect an archangel. Simply, we'll send him," Albedo motions to Kailyndis, "to take care of it."


After his transformation had finished, the tall black barrier receded back into the ground, and Kailyndis blacked out. Later, he awoke on a large and very plush bed fit for an emperor of the universe. "Oh I see you're awake now." Amon was sitting by his bedside reading a book. Kailyndis could do nothing other than creep a demented and malicious smile, lightly chuckling. Then, Albedo walked through the door. "You're awake now I see. Welcome to the Demon Realm, o great demon. You have shed your previous existence and are on the path of becoming the greatest demon to ever have lived. With the shedding of your previous existence, you have also shed your name. You are now the demon KAISER. I already have a task for you. You are to go to the Rueo Cathedral and destroy everything. Do not leave a single wall standing. Kill everyone."


The newly named Kaiser smiled devilishly, burst into flames, and disappeared.

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

​

Kaiser instantaneously appeared in the skies over the Rueo Cathedral and the surrounding town. He roared. His roar was earsplitting and filled the night sky. He laughed maniacally and threw explosions of fire at the ground below. Screams could be heard from the townspeople below, and the Cathedral guard mobilized to defend against the threat...

 

[Beaurmont]

In a flash, a loud ear-drum piercing boom echoed throughout the Cathedral's streets, spreading like a shock-wave violently. The ground shook as if the earth had stirred in its sleep, causing anything not held down to fall and shatter. Beaurmont and Andra struggled to stay up, fumbling from side to side as Ellain stood still and calm. Screams could be heard in the distance and small pillars of smoke began to rise from various parts of the expansive city. As the shaking decreased another wave of severe explosions hit all at once, small tremors shaking the ground. The Matriarch quickly pivoted, facing another direction, biting her lip with obvious vexation. "By Aithinis' light, what is happening now?" She muttered, trying to come up with possible answers. Andra and Beaurmont exchanged glances, equally unsure of how to access the situation. Quickly a guard ran in the courtyard, wheezing violently as he tried to mutter something incoherent. Ellain turned to him, her face ice cold and calculating. "Stop for a moment and breath, I can't understand you. What's happening?" She asked, turning toward the direction of explosions once again. It took him a moment but he finally gathered himself enough to speak, though he still coughed every now and then. "There's...*cough* there's something in the sky. It's using some sort of *cough* dark magic and throwing it at the Cathedral. It's too high for our archers, but Legam is currently trying to assemble a unit of magi to shoot it down." He reported, hunched over slightly. Ellain, waited for him to finish probably planning her next moves carefully. "It's a lone attacker...destroying the...my Cathedral?" She asked, her fists clenching visibly. The guard nodded meekly, not daring say another word. "The intruder is located in the north side of the city.." She muttered to herself, before swiveling back toward Andra. "It looks like I'm going to need your help. Whatever it is, they were able to breach our defenses undetected and then cause great harm. We're going to need everything for this."


Andra watched as Ellain turned promptly and began walking toward the pillars of black smoke, unsure of what to do. The two guards that were there immediately ran to her side, becoming part of her entourage. "What happens next is up to you Andra, should you stay and fight you could save a lot of lives. Should you leave, that is your choice, but many may die because of it." She yelled before leaving the courtyard, and the two men alone. Another explosion hit, causing the ground to shake again, this one much larger than the others. Beaurmont felt relief that Ellain had left, as if a sort of pressure had left his chest. But once he glanced up at the sky again, all he saw was a portrait of black smoke engulf the city skyline. He could feel it, in the air. The wide range of emotions that trickled out everywhere like water; confusion, fear, rage and panic. Andra must have felt it too, for he shook visibly, his face twisted in pain. It must be hard...watching your home burn away. Beaurmont thought, his emotionless attitude still seemingly in-tact. "Beaurmont...we're going over there." Andra finally said, still glaring toward the pillars of smoke. "I will not allow my home to be destroyed like this, I can't let innocent people die." He continued on, as if he were trying to psyche himself up. The shell of a man stood silently, not shooting him down or backing him up. To be honest, he would be content with leaving this place and never coming back. But...something about Andra...just made him want to stay by his side. "Fine. But in my condition, I can do nothing. Can you handle it?" He stated, staring right into Andra's eyes. The supposed angel was quiet, gathering himself for a adequate response. "No, this place mostly trainers users of magic for defensive and healing purposes. I know a few offensive spells and incantations but...for something this powerful...I'm not sure." He started, avoiding Beaurmont's gaze and starring toward the ground. But before he could be cut off, he started up again, this time with a flare in his eyes. "But I'm not alone, and I will not give up the lives of my friends."


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


"Fall back! FALL BAC-" Another ball of dark energy erupted and engulfed the northern watch tower, with large cracks spreading across its surface. Slowly, the large mass of stone and wood began to creak and rumble from the inside as huge pieces fell to the ground. Bursts of black fire arose from all around the structure as the dark magic rapidly ate at anything that it touched. Bodies lay sprawled across the streets, both civilian and military alike. Screaming and panic could be heard in every direction as the flames ate away at the rubble. The watchtower, having reached the end of its bearings, toppled over in crumbling avalanche of flaming stone and wood. In a moment, it crushed the reinforcements deployed to the area, cutting the defense force in that area to but a mere 1/4 of its remaining strength. The few who still stood, shakily rose from the ground gazing at the destruction before them. A single figure in the sky watched with nasty pleasure as the men before him began to fall into despair. His cruel laughter only making the scene that much worse. Many of the soldiers dropped their weapons, letting the metal clash onto the floor. They gazed up, as the being began to gather darkness in his hand with a snide grin on his face. "...Please don't." One whispered, begging for forgiveness from some invisible entity. "Please don't take me yet." He glanced around him as many others of his unit gave into hysteria and madness the like, disbelief and shock spread at the sheer damage this being could do. Slowly, he gazed up one last time, with tears in his eyes, at the black being surrounded by dark energy. It gave him one finally cruel smile, before launching his magic with more destruction on his mind.


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


Legam watched from the inner Cathedral wall as a mass of dark energy hit the ground where the watch tower once stood. At first, there was nothing, not a sound or explosion like he expected. However, like a delayed magic, it erupted forth encompassing the entire square in energy. He watched as everything seemingly disintegrated, disappearing into thin air. There were no screams, there was no explosion. A chill ran down his spine, shaking him to the very core. He was afraid, and he absolutely hated it. The knight bit his lip till it bled in an attempt to control his anger, no matter what he did he could never save those people. The man shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and glanced to his right where the unit of offensive and defensive magi stood. "How long until the barrier is up, we just lost an entire square to that thing." He spat, trying to quicken their pace. One of the head Magi stopped his chanting for a moment, trying to calm the Knight down. "As I have explained before, magic simply cannot be rushed. There are set rules for which we have to obey. It will be up when we can make it so." With that, he turned back and continued his preparations. Never has Legam been pushed back like this. Ever. Never will it happen to him again, he swore on his life.


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


Beaurmont, with the help of Andra, made their way through the empty streets of the city, attempting to find the intruder. They had been walking for five minutes, it would not take much longer to reach where he was located. Beaurmont however, was growing weaker by the minute, they could not continue to go on with him much longer. "Do you need to rest? We can stop if you need it." The angel urged, trying to be sure his friend was alright. "No. I am well enough. Let us continue." Beaurmont stated, though he admittedly felt exhausted. They pushed on, passing by pieces of stone rubble every now and then. Andra felt pain as he passed by every destroyed building, every dead body, every demolished square. This was his home, and it was being eroded away like a plague. His objective was clear, his mind resolute and yet he felt a twinge of fear. Eventually, they caught up with Ellain and a mass of men and women gathered together. She stood atop a small vegetable shop, apparently giving the crowd a speech of sorts. However, it was interrupted as a huge blast of magic his an area right next to them. It was strong enough to knock everyone onto the ground as smoke a debris fell all around them. Andra and Beaurmont kept their heads low on the ground, arms over each other to reduce any damage they might take. Smoke spread as the North Gate was all but demolished in a single stroke, reduced to a pile of matter. Slowly, Andra and Beaurmont rose their heads, coughing as they inhaled smoke. A malicious laugh filled the void as the intruder flew forward out of the pillars of black smoke, his face in a strange concoction of pleasure and enjoyment. Andra looked at the insane creature, unsure of what it could be classified as. "De-Demon! It's a demon!" One of the men yelled, pointing his blade toward the intruder. The demon merely began laughing violently, apparently not right in the head.


Quickly it regained, if you could call it that, its composure and began drawing black energy in his hand once more. Andra, instinctively ran forward pointing an exposed hand toward the demon. A single long mass of light formed in the shape of a spear, seconds faster before it could get its magic off. With hate in his eyes, he threw the spear with all his might at the demon. It flew through the air soundless and shimmering brilliantly, aimed directly at its wing. Agitated, it rose its palm before throwing the magic is gathered at the javelin, interrupting it mid-air. The two energies collided and ultimately canceled each other out, exploding and sizzling to the ground. The demon frowned unhappily, having his magic destroyed was obviously offensive to him. He began to gather energy again, this time in both hands and intent on success. However, the Matriarch rose from the ground furious to no end. She drew a blue dagger with a gold trim, and raised it toward the sky. "Itcon animul aut ereguf adommoc, Aithinis." A faint light glowed from the dagger as she spoke an incantation, imbuing it with magic of sorts. She turned toward the demon, her eyes focused and cold. She flipped the dagger so that she held the blade and took aim, calculating the distance. Andra, intent on fighting began creating another Javelin of light in his hand. "Anyone who cannot fight retreat to the inner wall, that entails anyone who doesn't know a form of magic!" The Matriarch order, still aiming her dagger at the angry intruder. Men rose from the ground hurriedly and began making their way toward where Legam was stationed. The mass clattering of metal echoed painfully in Beaurmont's ears as he watched.


With his magic ready, Andra raised his spear of light once more into the air before launching toward the demon. The winged demon smirked as he watched the javelin approach, taking pleasure in this like it was a game. He lifted a hand before throwing forward one of his spells, and just like before, when the dark mass of magic hit the light they canceled out and destroyed each other. Smoke gathered where the magics collided, shrouding the demon. But he wasn't done and the demon, now laughing hysterically, threw the second mass toward Andra in an instant. It appeared from inside the smoke, flying at high-speeds. The angel did not panic, and instead clapped both hands together before throwing them both out. A small spark of what appeared to be electricity climbed up his arms to his palms before a dome of light magic spread before him. Protected in a shell of warding magic, the dark energy collided with the wall, exploding, but doing no damage. Ellain took this as her chance and threw the dagger into the smoke cloud, hoping to strike the demon while he was distracted. There was no sound of impact, and it never fell to the ground. As both smoke clouds cleared, both parties ended up without a scratch. The demon held a dagger between his fingers, grinning wickedly. When it saw that Andra had escaped unscathed, he grew absolutely furious. The dagger fell into his palm, where he crushed it in his hand. "Tch, he's not weak to holy magic. This is no mere demon." Ellain stated, disdain in her words. The demon suddenly spread its wings and let out a loud screech before diving right for Andra, his horns ready. Ellain noticed the change and turned toward the angel with worry. "Andra, move! Do not let him reach you! Go!" Even while shocked, the angel quickly dissolved the barrier and turned in the other direction. He ran as fast as he could, jumping over rubble and avoiding corpses alike, but he can't outrun a demon. It was behind him in moments, gaining on him fast. There would be no way to stop it, no way to- [media]



[/media] (Play the media. ;3)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Legam was laying out along the wall clutching his blade's hilt hard enough his hands might bleed, it was absolutely maddening to be waiting on the sidelines. "Captain, the spell is set and ready. With your word, it will activate and defensive procedures will begin as normal." The head Magi spoke, turned toward him. Legam let out a sigh of relief, but it was replaced with vengeance and fury. He rose from his position, now standing straight. "Activate the Rueo's Barrier. I want that demon turned to dust." He growled, smashing a fist on the stone wall. The head Magi nodded and with the affirmation of the other magus, activated the magic circle. Light swelled within them, starting from their illuminated eyes before slowly moving down their robes. Eventually it made its way to the wall, moving along the cracks like a living force. It spread along the wall in quickening speeds, giving anything it touched or came across a light green hue.


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


[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GEme7bfIQ0[/media] (And this one too. ;3)


Drip. Drip. Drip. Blood fell onto the street slowly from the demons horns. Beaurmont wheezed silently before coughing up a spurt of blood into the demon's hair. Andra noticed the pursuit had ended, only to turn around and see twin red-tipped horns sticking out through Beaurmont's back. Dark red blood dripped onto the street slowly, adding to the blood of the countless towns people already spilled. Ellain stood frozen, starring at the scene from 5 yards away. The demon retracted its now bloodied horns from Beaurmont's chest, having pierced his heart it was happy. It hissed with joy as it backed up, ensuring to take a good look at its handi-work. Beaurmont wheezed a few more times, using the last of his strength to look back at Andra, his only friend in this world. Was this...why I was brought here? To suffer through so much...and only die a second time? He thought his body becoming so cold and hard to move. He continued to observe Andra, looking into his tear filled eyes. He tried to speak, but nothing came out. I never even found out my real...name. He thought, falling to the ground in what, to him, seemed like slow motion. Strangely enough, he felt no pain. Just cold, and very tired. He hit the ground in an instant, now starring up at a sky filled with green...light? It dawned on him, and for a moment he felt happy. Even at this sad turn of events. His eyes began to shut as the demon happily walked over him, starring at his next target Andra. "Hey..." He managed to whisper, coughing violently as he did. It caught the demons attention, almost like he was reminded of Beaurmont's existed. He looked down at him, still smiling with absolute satisfaction. "...L-look up for me." Somehow it understood, and glanced upward to see a displeasing sight. His prideful and egotistical smirk disappeared. It was replaced with confusion and fear. A large magic crest flew in the sky, in some strange picture that Beaurmont still didn't understand. Yet he could tell where it came from. In a split second green light rained down from the sky illuminating the entire city. Its skin began to sizzle and pop, steam rising from its body. It screech violently before re-opening its wings and taking off in a sudden attempt to escape the light. Can...I rest now? ..........


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

 

[Alirofgar]

Moonlight illuminated the room in streaks of light. The only sound in the night was the whispering of the wind. Cy and Reto slept in their bed, Reto on top of Cys chest. The room was filled with light breathing. Cy was having a dream, but it was blurry. It was as though the dream itself was uncertain as to what was happening. Light footsteps could be heard from outside. A few moments later the door burst open and Amari walked through it. "You're late! Get up and head towards the fields right now." Cy jumped out of bed in a startle, flinging Reto across the room and effectively waking him up. "Hey! What the heck was that for Cy?!" Cy's brain was still booting up from the sudden awaking. Late... What exactly was he late for? Sudden realization dawned upon him. He looked over at Reto eyes wide in a panic. "Reto! Come on we got to go!" Cy flung the covers off of the bed, put on his shoes, and raced out the door along side Reto struggling to keep up with his strides. Amari could be seen off in the distance walking at a brisk pace. Cy followed her to where his first lessons of this world would take place.


_____________________________________


When Cy and Reto had reached the practice place it was just now breaking dawn. There was a thick fog in the air as the sun broke the horizon. The air was chilly, and the moisture in the air had Cy's hair already wet. The area in which Amari had brought them was almost like an arena of sorts, but not a traditional one. It was an area that was enclosed in giant oak trees. Each tree was at least a mile in diameter and you could hardly see the top of these trees either. inside of the circle of the trees, the leaves of the trees created a dome of sorts. "Where are we exactly?" Cy questioned Amari, who stood in front of Cy with two other people next to her. One was clad in a robe and had a long, wavy dagger to his side. The robes were a deep emerald green, and was clad in a woven rope, also green, that ran along his shoulders and down his chest to his waist. The other person was clad in a white armor that was very angular and was trimmed in gold. "We are in the Diana complex. This is where we train all of our operatives in the basics of hand to hand combat, and magic. inside each tree are rooms of sorts that train more advanced techniques while the outside area is for the basics. Within our military structure there are four main branches to learn from that each have there own divisions as well. Are you keeping up with this so far?" Amari looked towards "Just one, what all will i be learning?" Amari smiled a slyly "If you are to be any kind of deity I worship, you will have to learn and become adept at all of our ways of combat. Not to mention the way of the wilds" That last part Amari muttered underneath her breath. "What was that Amari?" "Oh nothing. Now let me introduce you to my two associates here. The one in the armor here is Jumon. He is in charge of training our new recruits in hand to hand combat. And the one in the green robes is Salamon, and he is our teacher of our arcane arts. As long as you stay here you will be training with these two from dawn to dusk. I hope i dont have to tell you to show the up most respect to these two gentlemen. Even if you dont, they could kill you in two seconds flat anyways. Well ill leave you too it then, i have patrol duty now." Amari ran off into the distance leaving Cy to get down to practice.


___________________________________


For the next three days Cy Practiced with his new instructors Salamon and Jumon. The two of them had very repealing personality's it seemed like. Jumon was a proud decorated warrior who was stubborn to his core. If he gave you a task to do, he expected it done quickly and right the first time. Gods help you if you made him mad, which was easy because he had a short temper as well. However his skills in combat were best to none, and teaching them to others came to him naturally. Meanwhile Salamon was very thoughtful and inquisitive. His view of life was to be adaptive and look for as many loopools as possible. On the first day of training with Jumon, he had Cy go out and pick a weapon to practice with out of the armory. The armory itself was within the army's tree, and took up a considerable amount of the area. Within it held a vast amount of weapons ranging from Daggers and swords, to spears and bows. Cy found an odd weapon that was called a gladius just felt right to him. It was a short sword that was very flat and had a dip in the sword running along its edge on both sides. This particular gladius had a large opal stone in the hilt of it, with the emblem of a wolf embedded on the handle, the opal as its eye. Its blade looked as if it were made out of silver. There was another one, almost like its twin, that had a black steal for its metal with red streaks flowing through the blade. Its handle had a many snakes coiling amongst each other and had ruby's for eyes. "I don't believe ive seen these here before... I'll have to yell at the store keeper when we are done here. He should have informed me that we had such weapons at our disposal." Jumon made a grunting sound in disapproval. "Come, it looks like those weapons have chosen you, but now you need armor so you don't die will killing." Apparently that was a joke because Jumon laughed hysterically after that. He took me over to the armor section of the storage room, and proceeded to dig around. After a few minutes of Jumon throwing around armor he came back with two leather gauntlets that looked like they would run all the way up to his elbows, a chain mail chest piece, and leather armor for his chest and legs. It turned out that the gauntlets were reinforced with a special alloy that mad the metal just as effective as a shield to block swords, as were the other leather pieces. After Cy was geared up, they began to spar. Jumon stated "The only way to learn is to do, so do me will." Durring those three days Cy learned how to parry, the basics of warfare tactics, and how to properly use his swords to the fullest. Apparently Cy was a quick learn, because Jumon was very pleased with his progress. As was Salamon. Salamon had been teaching him the basics of nature manipulation, which is a must for any self respecting dryad. On Cys first day it was all about the way to manipulate your life-force, or mana, to create an occurrence that normally wouldn't be possible. On the second day, Cy was casting out adept level spells that normally would have taken a human years to learn. However, Salamon was convinced that Cy should just stick to the basics he had been teaching him as to avoid an event called magic burn. This is when a user progresses to far in a short amount of time without mastering the basics, and his life-force literately burns him for going to fast. The spells Cy had learned from Salamon was mana manipulation, which could be formed in a verity of ways, and Natures gift, which was a way of using mana to control plants. His training wasnt the only thing going well too. The city had accepted his presense with open arms. He would even be going on an expedition into the woods for border control tomorrow. That night Cy fell asleep with hope in his heart and the feeling he belonged for the first time in this world.


______________________________________


Jumon was the leader of this expedition for border control. Apparently the dryads were very territorial, and didn't like others in their land without permission, especially humans. So every day they have some people run around the forest and make sure there hasn't been any disturbance in the forest. However today was a bad day to go out on patrol, for Cy stumbled upon a most other worldly creature.

 

[Myr Echidni]

The wind was rushing past his ears. At this point, he could no longer control his flight path. That barrier...that god damn barrier. Cysts had begun to form on his body. Most of his skin had second, and even third degree burns. If it weren't for his hard, dense scales, that damn barrier surely would have killed him outright. He stared through his only functional eye as his wings ever so slowly fell apart, piece by piece from the bottom up. Suddenly, he felt a rather powerful presence close by. A stealthy incoming was impossible. Kailyndis adjusted his angle and begun his collision course with the ground. He wasn't flying very high, and quickly hit the treetops. Even though his skin was nearly burnt to a crisp, the puny twigs and branches never stood a chance. He crashed through countless branches, and exited into a grotto, where he slammed into the ground, and skid, stopping just short of a strange, wolfish boy; the source of the power he felt earlier. The boy looked at him in surprise, first noting him as a gravely injured person in dire need of help, but he quickly noticed his horns and tail, telltale signs of a demon. He stepped back in abhorrence. Kailyndis slowly began to move. He slowly rose to his feet, and gave a creepy smile to the wolf boy. Kailyndis lunged at him, only to be punched in the face and immediately knocked out. "It...wasn't even that hard of a punch..?" he quietly said under his breath.


The wolfish boy felt the air grow astronomically colder. The air around the grotto began to swirl, and a patch of swirling dark clouds formed overhead. They spun faster and faster. The clouds began to reach for the ground in a horrifying black tornado. Once the clouds had touched the ground and left, the wolf boy saw an extremely bizarre figure standing where they had touched down. It could only be described as a weird, humanoid chimera of owl, wolf, and snake. Wolf boy blinked, and suddenly the chimera was standing only inches from his face. He stared into the chimera's wide, unblinking eyes in horror. Clearly, the monster in front of him was a being of extreme...and deadly power. Wolf boy jumped back and took a position, ready to fight. The being only let out a deep, slow, and distorted laugh. The wolf boy saw what looked like a pulse come from its forehead. When the pulse reached him, he was blown back, clear across to the opposite side of the grotto, slamming into a tree. When he finally managed to stand back up from the impact, he quickly ran away through the forest. Clearly, this was a fight he could not win.


Amon turned to face Kailyndis' crumpled body. "What...what the fuck happened to you, to fuck you up this much?" Kailyndis could not respond, he was out cold. This is bad. I need to get him back to the castle. He won't survive much longer like this." Amon picked Kailyndis up, and once again, the clouds swirled down to cover him. When they vanished from his sight, he was standing in front of the demon castle. He swiftly carried the injured demon boy into the castle. "Lady Albedo. He's injured, and very badly. He needs attention immediately." "I see. Take him into his room. I'll be there shortly."


For the first time since arriving in the strange world, Kailyndis had a dream. A single scene of him standing with a tall guy with dirty blonde hair, and several guys about his height, two appeared to be mixed, and the other with bright beach-blonde hair. The five of them were standing together, arms over each others' shoulders, widely grinning like idiots. Kailyndis looked...happy. He could not remember who they were, or why he was standing there with them, much less why they were all smiling. He felt sad and forlorn.


Kailyndis once again woke up to his head in Albedo's lap. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing deeply; she was asleep. ...It would probably be best not to wake her. Wait a minute...why was he able to think clearly..? He looked down his own body, and noticed he was covered head to toe in gauze. Every inch of his body ached and burned. He felt something stirring in his chest. He raised his hand to his mouth and coughed. When he moved his hand, it was covered in blood. His vision began to fade, and once more, he was out.


Another scene flashed before him; a static picture. It was him and the same guys from before. This time, they were all sitting around a small campfire. A large bonfire was burning behind them. They were all smiling and laughing. He noticed the mixed boy with the faux-hawk was holding some sort of glass piece in his hand...


Once again, Kailyndis awoke. His head was still in Albedo's lap, but this time she was actually awake. "Finally. Do you have any idea how long you've been out?" "N-no. I hardly remember anything after that meeting with all the generals. I think I remember something about attacking a town...then there was a bright flash of light...something about a barrier? Whatever it was, it hurt really god damn bad. Then there was something like this wolf dude who punched me in the face. Next thing I know I'm waking up here, covered in...wait, where'd all the gauze go?" "Kailyndis. You've been out for almost a month. You were dead for three days before we managed to bring you back. Fucking deadlords, wanting so much just for your soul." "What? Why would they want so much for the soul of a piece of shit? Wait...how do I know that...?" Albedo sighed. "Listen. I've taken a portion of your power back. It was a mistake to give you so much in the first place. It broke your mind. The only reason you're sane now is because you had died, and your mind was restored when you were revived. You only have about half the power you had before, so I wouldn't go picking fights with archangels again." Albedo began to laugh. "Not that it matters anymore. He's dead!" She laughed maniacally. "Uuugh...can you not?" Kailyndis held his head. It was exploding in pain, and the movement of her lap caused by her laughter certainly was not helping. At that moment, Amon walked through the door. "Ahh good to see that he's among the living again. You know, Kailyndis, the lady hasn't left your side since I brought you back. How's your face? It must have been quite the punch to have knocked you out so easily. Hehehehe.." Bastard. Kailyndis attempted to rise from his bed, but Albedo grabbed his shoulders and kept him down. "No. You still need to rest and heal. Give it another day, then you can try." Kailyndis sighed, closed his eyes, and resigned himself to her lap. It was just as soft as the first time...


This time, Kailyndis did not dream. He only felt a feeling of extreme loss and sorrow. His face felt...wet.

 

[Alirofgar]

Week1


What was that thing? The horned one and the owl creature? were they really demons? It was plain as day that Cy stood no chance against the owl. Cy listened to his instincts and ran away while he could after the owl sent him flying across the plateau. Cy ran back through the woods as fast as he could to the town. He had to tell someone to call the rest back in before they get hurt. It only took about ten minutes to get back to the city at full sprint. once there Cy confronted Jumon about what he had seen. Jumon immediately relayed a command to come back until further notice to one of the nearby animals. Jumon turned to Cy and said "This stays between us." The look in his eyes told me that there was much more to it that he wasn't willing to share. after that incident Cy saw how weak he truly was. Wasn't he supposed to be this symbol of protection for those who "worshiped" him. What did being a god even entitle in fact? This world, what was it, what did he want to protect? Cy sat there outside of his room late at night thinking of these things. The moon was bright and full shinning down upon his sunken head. Should he feel ashamed for running away? Cy looked up to the stars, as if looking for an answer. A unreal calm washed over him as he looked up towards the moon. Cy closed his eyes and folded his legs criss cross. His breathing began to slow as he imagined himself as a tree, roots stretching far into the ground, and branches into the stars. This came natural to Cy, as if he had done this thousands of times beforehand. Clouded images began to appear before him. Cy was sitting at a desk while playing cards. there was others inside of the room as well, but Cy was alone. A white lanky man walked up to him and sat down across from the table. "Deal me in." he said as he tapped the table. Looking up, Cy saw a grin sliding across the face of this guy when he looked up to see the face of who it was. The mans face began to flicker as he looked at him closly, and was eventually replaced with the demon he had encountered before in the woods. The creatures wounds from before had healedThis time he felt no fear, no need to punch him in the face. It was as if he was in control now, and not in a bloodthirsty frenzy. The image changed again. Once again he was at a desk, but this time in the back of the class. He had some sort of device in his hand and there were weird creatures that appeared on the screen. Cy looked up from the device to see that next to him was a mixed man with very curly hair, a beard, and a long scarf that had rainbows towards the end of it. He had his chest puffed out and was holding his chest. He looked over at me and just began to bust out laughing. Like last time the scene shifted, or blink in and out. this time when the transformation was done He was face to face with The same man only in a hoodie and covered in blood from his right abdomen. He smiled a sad smile at Cy, but the wound began to heal and the blood disappear. Another image began to appear before him, but this time it was of the old gods realm he was held captive in. The courtyard was trashed, and the doors had multiple claw marks that sank deep into the wood of the doors. The realm was dark, and a sense of dread in the air. What exactly happened to this place when he left? The wind tickled the back of his neck, and it felt as though there was a presence behind him. Spinning around he found that Airia was standing behind him. But something seemed very wrong. Her once white complexion, was now dark like the night sky. She smiled crookedly before laughing for what seemed like no reason. What was going on? When she had quieted down she stood there in a slump. Then in a blink of an eye she was on him, hands to his throat. Cy was powerless to stop her. The scene began to fade out, and right before it did, he felt something wet on his cheek. After the image faded out he was back in reality. Something was wrong, very wrong. Cy started to see where he fit into all of this. He would have to restore the balance to this world somehow, before it was consumed in its own darkness. and in order for that to happen, he needed to be much stronger. He would have to apologize to Solomon later, but for now, outside of his practice he was training more.


Week 2


A week has passed sense the night he made up his mind to get stronger. Practice with Jumon went very smooth. He had started to teach Cy about long range combat. His skills with a bow were very poor, but when he practiced throwing knives and a sling, he had almost perfect accuracy right off the bat. Cy and Jumon also discussed about war tactics and some very interesting fights that had happened between the humans and the Dryads. When it came to practice with Solomon, it was rather slow. There was a lot of talk about theory of magic and what it was in our lives. We talked about the four kinds of elemental magics that the Dryads used as well: earth, wind, fire, water, And how theoretically Cy should be able to master all of these magics easily. However, because Solomon was very conservative, there was next to no practice. But that would be fine, because every night Cy went out into the woods to practice his magic and the theories behind them. Cy was actually able to morph his swords into a flail, and a shield as well. Along with that, Cy was practicing the different elements. Cy found out that he preformed best at earth magic and water magic. It was an odd combo to be sure, but it also made sense that he would be able to bend plants as well. plants came out of the earth, and they needed water, made sense.


week 3


after some consideration, Cy decided that it would be best if he also started meditating alongside his now routine self magic training. through experimentation he found that his mind was amazingly clear for the rest of the day, and not only his magic, but also his physical body, felt empowered more then usual. During this time Cy also found a new instructor for the ways of the shadows. Her name was Shafiil, and she was apart of the covert operations of the army. She generally wore light armor and a cloak. Her skin was a deep brown, and her eyes were red. Her hair was braided in long silver braids. Assassinations, thieving, espionage and a lot of other dirty work is where her department comes in. She is also head of the alchemist research department. Health potions, steroids, poisons ect. Shafiil's regimen also became apart of Cy's everyday routine. She had taught him the basics of alchemy and how to conceal your presence from your pursuers or those you're after. On the sunday, during Cy's nightly meditation, Cy had a weird vision during. He was in a tall forest, one in which the trees went into the clouds. Nothing of noticeable difference could be seen in the distance. Trees as far as the eye could see. Cy heard the flap of some wings in the distance. It was unnaturally loud compared to the rest of the environment. Cy began to look up towards the skys, but could see nothing but the clouds covering the tree tops. A shadow appeared in the sky behind the cloud, first small, then growing in size as the flapping got louder and louder. When the figure finally descended into view it turned out to be a falcon the size of a house! The wind coming from its flaps gave off a gale force. Cy had to cover his face from all the flying dirt and debris coming at him from the wind. When the giant bird had landed, it just looked at Cy with its head tilted. After it had stared at Cy for a while, and Cy at it, It shrank down in size and then flew straight into Cy and disappeared. When Cy had woke up, he was sitting hi up in a tree overlooking the city. How exactly had he gotten up here? Wait, this sort of thing happened before. Had he turned into a falcon and flew up here?


Week 4


This was a breakthrough week. Cy had not only perfected three different types of potions to use, but he had also created eight new different types of spells. The potions he had made were a health potion, a paralysis agent, and a lethal poison. Meanwhile the spells were: Fire blast, water cannon, earth slide, wind cutter, mist, stealth, Inner strength, and apply attribute. Cy also figured out how he could consciously become creatures of the woods. It had to be inside of a vision and he had to complete some sort of task set by that creature. At the moment he could turn into a falcon and a wolf. His sword play was now on par of that of a first tier Dryad warrior. While meditating on a Saturday night, Cy had the feeling that it was time to move. Something big was going to be happening soon and he would be needed by some important people. It was finally time to depart and head towards the cathedral he had originally wanted to go to. The place should be fine without him. Without saying a word to anyone besides Reto who refused to let Cy go alone, they flew off into the night towards the cathedral...

 

[Beaurmont]

-End of Chapter-



​

 

[Beaurmont]

-Chapter two: ''Out of The Fire, Into The Crypt.''

​

The sound of tweeting birds woke Andra from his rather pleasant nap against the mossy tree trunk. His eyes slowly drooped open, almost unwillingly, a little bothered by the streaks of sunlight passing through the tree's above. Lazily, he rose from his sprawled out position, stretching his limbs out comfortably. The weather was beautiful today, a light breeze passing through caused the trees to dance in unison. Spring time, a time of rebirth, union, and warmth. The thought made Andra smile a little as he scratched at an itch on his back. He looked down at himself, looking at the dust and leaves that seemingly collected during his power nap. His worn leather boots were caked in mud from the rainy weather, slightly heavier due to the added weight. Something he's specifically worn since being out in the woods by himself all this time. The rest of his clothing was made from furs while hunting, comfortable and warm for the winter times that had passed. He felt a bit of pride within himself for being able to thrive this well on his own, it certainly was no easy task.


Finally rather awake now, he jumped up from his seated position on the mossy tree trunk. With heavy boots creating deep thud sounds from each step he took, Andras strides over to a nearby tree with a large nap sack hanging on a branch. The dark brown sack had many pockets and buttons throughout it, rather elaborately made, with a single strip for which to place over his shoulder. He reached up to the branch and pulled the sack from the tree, bring it to his side in a swift movement. He turned toward a pair of birds, probably the ones who initially woke him from his sleep, tweeting loudly to one another over a nest. The sight caused him to smile sweetly, feeling peace in earnest our here. With the winters pass, life should be smoother in the coming months. Unbeknownst to him, of the pair of eyes that watch his every move.


The lonely hunter moved through the trees at a brisk pace, travelling skillfully through the trees and brush as if this home. His movements with quick, his reactions sharp, with little error in what path he chose to take. This was his favorite part of the forest, where he gazes up at the top most part of the trees. Streaks of light filter through the leaves in a dazzling ray of beauty like which he has never seen. As he quickly moves through the base of the tree, its as if a light show by nature itself.

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

​

After nearly 45 minutes of trekking through the forest, he finally reached the edge. Jumping through the last of the forest brush, he entered the warming embrace of the sun in the sky. He stopped in his tracks for a moment, observing the small hut in the distance. Andra took a deep breath, recovering himself from the long jog from the mossy trunk. He took smaller strides towards the hut, humming a light tune he remembered from long ago.