NationStates Jolt Archive

Engel gave a sad smile," True it was indeed expected, but it was necessary that i did so. I could not possibly allow you to release the one who i had bound under the mountain so many centuries ago. Though i must admit that i had not meant to destroy you in the process. My apologies. But now let me help you." With that, he knelt down near the head wraith and muttered,"Deus , annuo clementia super suus animus." Taking a feather from his robes, he let it drop onto the wraith. Once it made contact, it was absorbed into him releasing the healing energies of the spell.

The wagons and Krigade had headed back to the temple, Krigade, face still wet with tears.

Looking at the head wraith, he said,"I think it would be time for you to rejoin the group, they must be worried about you. I on the other hand will watch from afar. I still have a task to complete."

the head wraith once more stood with life "thank you monk I understand The Great Daemon told me of the avatar. That will not do for our lords plans or yours so we shall ally against this force and then we shall head our seperate ways."With that he offerd his gauntlent to make an alliance with the great angel.

Malaki mountes Aryll once more and took flight. He was still weakened from his spell but having not recieved an answer from the wraiths he feared they may have similer motives to their leader. They met up with fire and flew north, towards the polar ice mountains

OOC: that reminds me does anyone have a map(or wants to make one) for this world??

Before leaving, Engel said,"Wraith, if wouldn't mind doing me a favor. Would you please keep safe Juraviel, Cazzira,and Krigade? Each of them is a descendant of two of the seals that I had guarded. Please keep them safe until I'm able to be more involved at a later time." With that, he spread his wings and with a mighty flap of his wings, he took flight, silver tipped feathers falling through the air.

The group arrived at the shrine. Krigade in a major funk, the 'imps' discussing some arcane, incomprehensible point.

The wraith wondered if they would accept his protection after the actions of his brethern.But he would try until he once more was face to face with the Great Daemon. He and his followers rested until Cazzira and the group appeared.

His mind raced to find this foolish dark priest. Upon detecting him, he began chanting,"Sanctus lux lucis expello malum in infinitio!" Upon finishing his spell, he gestured and sent a large blast of holy energy at the priest. Not waiting for it to hit, he quickly summoned the sacred lance Seraph's Tear and charged. Now was the time to show the difference between an angelic captain and one of heaven's most powerful soldiers.

Krigade simply walked around while the 'imps' looked at the wraiths, and one of them got a telescope like object, which it pointed at them and gazed throught the eyepiece.

The dragon banked sharpely to the left and the shrike followed as a massive bolt of energy wizzed past Malaki's head. "****, that blasted angel..."
They began flieing as fast as possible towards their destination, the dragon summoning some fireballs and sending them into a nearby town, hoping to distract the Sepharim (and is it just me or am I the only one who seems to have something against teleports??)

OOC: Err... back up... it wasnt at him i was aiming at a village which now lays there burning... he may want to help it btw 8>) thats the distraction not he needin to blok it...

OOC: err....oops :D my bad i'll edit that earlier post then

Inside a wagon, "This good deed is expensive, we really need to find a were and a troll." A voice said
"That we do." Another replied
"I wonder if we'll have to deal with anything personally?" A third asked
"They won't like it if we do." The second said with a sadistic type laugh.

Outside, one of the 'imps' approached the wraiths, "Why, and what are these?" It said, gesturing to a feather it had picked up.

ooc: I havn't done any teleporting.

Seeing the flames head toward the village, he began to chant,"Sanctus aequora , orior oriri ortus quod vallo vestri populus." With a small gesture, a wall of water shot out from underneath the ground extinguishing the flames. Turning back Engel gave sigh of frustration. It appears that the dark one had escaped this time. Cloaking himself with a minor spell, he flapped his mighty wings and flew towards the monastery.

Malaki landed in a frosty glade of trees high in the mountains. He spoke a few words to Fire and she let out a roar, to be answered by another. Minutes later a small Blue came out of the trees, its breath frosty in the pale light.
"Khellendros, my bretherin, the time has come for you to join us"
Khellendros was the greatest dragon mage ever and his scales gleamed a brilliant sky blue
"What is your purpose??"
"It is time for the gods to return, we gather the chromatic dragons (hint hint) before the mettalic's are awoken"
"very well... I will contact Lyra (a white for those of you playing at home) and meet you in Beryl's lair (black) within the hour. And one other thing... Who's the human??"
"He is no mere human, he is the herald of Thraxis, queen of darkness"
Khellendros took flight almost before the sentnce was done. "So this is the fluctuation I feel, the god's are trieing to return once more..."

Landing on a talll tree, Engel paused to consider his options. He could go back and watch the group or........find any of the remaining metallic dragons. "Hmm.....where would i hibernate if i was a gold dragon?" he muttered. Stretching his wings once more, he took flight.

OOC: lolz thats the spirit!!... and i gess we'll be plaing similer cards in hellgate roflz...

OOC: Yep. Heaven vs. Hell vs. Human nations.....I wonder who's going to win lol

OOC: humans will but at cost...

IC:Malaki, Aryll and Fire flew with all speed to the mountains where the great black and great red dragons slept (I would just like to mention these are not the last dragons but the greatest of each colour) They knew that Khellendros would simply teleport himself and the white to the range of Volcanoes that they could alredde see smoking in the distance, and, yes there was a flash of blue and white in the distance atop the greatest volcano...

One of the 'imps' was wandering the interior of the same wagon that Krigade had been in when he came upon a row of dragon statues, of every species and colour ever seen, and few that had never been seen.

the head wraith looked down at the imp and what was in its hand...."well imp unless i'm mistaken it looks alot like...a bird feather to me. Probbably a dove."

Flying swiftly back towards the monastery, Engel smiled. He had successfully located a gold dragon. He was able to convince it that danger was afoot and to alert all the other dragons as soon as possible.

The 'imp' grinned a knowing grin, "I know of only one 'bird' that has a feather like this."

While flying, Engel suddenly let out a sneeze. Rubbing his nose, he thought," Is somebody talking about me?" Shrugging it off, he continued.

Landing near the old monastery, Engel decided to disguise himself once again.(click here (http://img.ragnarokonline.com/download/wallpaper/wallpaper_78_1024.jpg) to see disguise, though his hair would be silver and not brown.) Summoning a horse, he rode toward the group. Hopefully, the wraith would recognize him and not say anything.

One of the 'imps', the one with the feather, saw the man ride up and spoke, "Greetings good sir," The 'imp' began twirling the feather in one hand, "Have you come on buisness?"

OOC:sorry it took me a few days to get DSL up and running thats why I haven't posted in awhile.

IC:The wraith sat down in meditation and noticed the great angel walk in he decided not to mention who he was to the group....yet

Engel stopped his mount and replied," Greetings, I have indeed come on a business of sorts. May I inquire about whether or not you might have seen either a dark priest or a priest by the name of Engel, I am searching for him for I bear grave news." Engel inwardly flinched. He disliked that he had to lie as of yet, but he had no choice. Hopefully everything would work out.

"A dark priest, no, a regular priest, yes." The 'imp' replied, "If'd be a trouble-making dark priest, he would have been bottled, for trying to break into restricted sections. They have much in them that appeals to servants of the darker gods."

Engel's eyes glinted with amusement. "I'd suppose so," he said, "But you say that you've seen a regular priest. Do you happen to know where he went, I happen to know him." Once again, Engel flinched inwardly as he happened to glance and Krigade.

"He got in a rather messy fight, 8 on 1," The 'imp' replied, "Why the interest?"

Krigade was still quite depressed.

Engel drew his eyes away from Krigade. He came up with a simple answer and replied," Well you could say that I'm his twin." With that, he removed his helm.

Krigade's head snapped up, saw the face and turned and ran away, tears pouring down her cheeks.

"You not nice." The 'imp' commented

Engel felt a pang of guilt, but maintained his composure. He replied, "What do you mean? What happened to my brother?"

"You're fairly dense, but he went and got himself killed." The 'imp' said

"I see," Engel replied. Turning his mount, he rode after Krigade. He sincerely hoped she wasn't doing anything foolish.

Krigade had found a mid-sized waterfall, and was standing at the edge of it, self-preservation, both natural and magickal, warring with emotion.

Seeing Krigade near the edge, Engel called out,"Wait Krigade!" Muttering a spell, he knew she'd find the energy behind familiar but he didn't find it important at the moment. Using a haste spell, he quickly leaped off his mount and dashed over to here, grabbing her arms.

As she was grabbed, she burst into tears again.

Turning her around, he looked into her eyes and said, "What do you think your doing? You can't be thinking about killing youself?"

"What do you care, revenant." Krigade snapped

"What do you mean by revenant?" Engel inquired. In the back his mind, he began a very very long incantation of sleep and paralysis just in case something gets out of hand.

Krigade struck the man.

ooc: Revenant = ghost/specter/similar ilk.

Giving her a amused look, Engel replied, "Why would i be a revenant? I'm quite real you know. For one thing if I was a revenant, would i actually be wearing or be even near this holy symbol on my armor? Now come on the others must be worried about you." With that, he picked her up and put her over his shoulder and started walking back to the group. His mount followed.

Krigade began kicking him.

Engel smiled with amusement. This seemed familiar. Letting out a small laugh, he said,"You know, kicking my armor isn't going to help you." Suddenly by chance, Krigade's heel managed to hit him on the head. Halting for a moment, Engel could have sworn he saw little angels dancing around him before he fell over knocked out. His mount gave snort of amusement.

She landed rather painfully, and had her breath knocked out of her.

OOC: My apologies for my absence. I've been very busy with schoolwork, and just now had time to read through what I missed. I don't see a great deal my characters can do right at the moment, but I am still watching this thread.

Inside his mind, Engel was pondering how she was able to kick so hard. "Hm.....either she's been working out or she got steel reenforced shoes. *sigh* That's the bad thing about having a material form, you can get knocked out. Oh well. I wonder when i'll wake up."

Krigade had sprained her arm in the fall, and was moaning in pain.

Groggily, Engel sat up and rubbed his head with armored hand. "Ouch. Nice kick there. But now look what you've done. Here let me help." Scooting over to where she was, Engel cast a small healing spell. "There, that should help ease the pain. Now come on we got to get back to the group."

Krigade continued to scowl at the 'not-Engel', but followed.

"Ah cheer up, scowling isn't suitable on such a pretty person such as you," said Engel. With a sudden dash, he turned and went up to Krigade and started tickling her. :D "Come on smile. You know you want to smile. It's good for you," he said while chuckling.

While she wasn't ticklish on the sides, she was on the feet, and proceeded to kick the man again.

Getting another kick to his head, he fell over yet again. You could almost see swirls in his eyes.

She went back to scowling at him.

"Argh....did anyone get the number on that wagon," said Engel groggily as he once again regained awareness. "You know, you didn't hafta kick me so hard. By the Light, I still have a ringing headache. I wonder if those imps have something. Come on now, let's get going. We can't have them worrying about us now can we?"

Krigade scowled again, but returned with him to the wagons.

Malaki smiled. He had been watching the events of the of the party for a fair while and found the angels "brother's" predicament with Kirgade he wished she had never been captured by the "imp"s. He remembered her those years ago when she first enquired about the dark spells. Though to her he was just a dark shape in a dark alley he would always find her oddly beautiful. "I always thought you were special" He murmered gently. He did not have long to admire her antics however as he had to depart to meet the dragons. All the colours were assembled now, and without golds and silvers, coppers and bronzes to stop them there was no hope of defeat. He had only one thing left to aquire before the ritual. A soul. He knew the perfect one too. After all... the elves had been gone far to long, as had the gods, so what better way to return them than the death of an elf and te manifestation of an avatar then a god?? The elven child continued whimpering though. he knocked the blasted thing over the head and lashed him roughly to Aryll's back. They took flight and soon they were joined by a massive Red, Blue, Green, Black and white shapes. Along with a veritable army of smaller ones. If the angel tried anything now he would meet a blast of pure hatred of his kind. As they flew, the scales glinted in the sun and not one village or farmstead was harmed... more like hundreds... and more like annihilated... they made "camp" in what a few hours ago was a flourishing city. The draconian soldiers had plenty of fun. They had met with the aerial armada atop the smaller dragons and more arrived by the hour. Soon not a thing could stop them. Soon their queen would return...

Engel paused. Something was absolutely wrong. Checking over his shoulders to make sure nobody was watching him, he pulled out a small scroll and summoned a dove. "Make sure this message gets to the ancient gold wyrm Aniel. Return with his reply as soon as possible," he whispered. Engel sensed the coming tide of darkness. As strong as he was, he knew full well that he was no match for an entire army of dragons unless he wanted to sacrifice himself again.....that idea didn't appeal to much to him though. He pulled out the small gem from the rosary that was on his former body and glanced at it. Yes, he knew the time was coming when these mortals learn of their true nature. Interesting indeed, he had never expected to meet up with some of the descendants of the sacred seals. Yet here he is now. Uttering a small prayer, he turned and said," So where shall we go now?"

OOC: Would you mind if one of my were-dragons joined in?

OOC: Were-dragons...? O.o interesting....

OOC: I will be using the were-dragons in the book "The Last Dragon Lord" as my base. My entire nation is based off that book (and a couple of other books and movies). I have re-read that book several times and know a were-dragon's abilities, weaknesses, and strengths to a good enough degree to RP as one.

OOC: I will be using the were-dragons in the book "The Last Dragon Lord" as my base. My entire nation is based off that book (and a couple of other books and movies). I have re-read that book several times and know a were-dragon's abilities, weaknesses, and strengths to a good enough degree to RP as one.
ooc: I don't see any reason why not.

"I don't know." Krigade said as she kicked him again, this time in the shin.

"Really do you have steel tipped shoes or do you just have a grudge against me?" muttered Engel. True, the armor absorbed the kick, but it is quite irritating when you keep on getting kicked. If he didn't care so much, he would've summoned a small plague of pigeons or bugs or something of the sort. Sigh, you just can't find peace these days, thought Engel.

------ Elsewhere --------
The dove flew swiftly, upon sighting the lair, it flew into it. It silently hoped that it wouldn't get roasted or anything.

"You've stolen Him, so you get kicked." Krigade said as she kicked him again.

Engel wondered whether keeping his disguise up was worth it. He could swear that later tonight if he checked, he would have a nasty bruise where Krigade had landed several kicks. Sighing, he took out an old tome and started reading it while whistling softly a light cheery tune.

She scowled at him, tempted to kick him again, at the fact that he was cheerful, when he shouldn't be, in her opinion.

Engel mentally winced as he sensed Krigade's killer intent. Mentally scolding himself, he resolved that attempting to read the mind of women is hazardous for any member of the male gender regardless whether human or celestial. His eyes glazed a bit as he received a mental message from his dove, "Message delivered. Returning to base." Engel let out a small chuckle. The reason why he used this dove so often was because it most certainly had an interesting sense of humor.

OOC: Thanks. F.Y.I., Were-Dragons always travel in pairs, one male and one female. These companions are telepathically linked with each other and are soul mates for life.

IC: A young man (http://img.ragnarokonline.com/download/wallpaper/wallpaper_75_1280.jpg) stepped out from behind a tree, leaned his staff against it, and said, "Hello, you two busy?"

At both his chuckle, and her being startled, Krigade kicked him again.

Meanwhile the 'imps' watched Krigade beating on the 'knight' and the new arrival.

The man picked his staff back up and said, "I do believe that is enough. Young lady, if you don't stop, you will end up hurting your foot."

While he was talking, a young woman (http://img.ragnarokonline.com/download/wallpaper/wallpaper_76_1280.jpg) peaked out from behind a tree.

OC: Cool, another person using a pic from RO. :D

IC: Engel said, without lifting his gaze from his reading, "Hello sir, who might you be." Although he appeared at ease, Engel had tensed his muscles and was ready to take whatever action was necessary to protect Krigade.

"Are you perhaps interested in any wares?" The 'imp' asked

IC: The man sat down and says, "My name Linden Rathan. That of my lovely companion over there is Maurynna Rathan, my soultwin. She's a little shy."

The orb on Linden's staff begins to emit a faint golden-yellow glow. He blinks and sits against a tree. Maurynna creeps from tree to tree until she is behind the one Linden is sitting against.

Linden looks at the 'imp' and says, "Little one, that would depend on what you are selling."

OOC: Do these 'imps' look like Jaken from Inuyasha?

"What do you want?" The 'imp' asked

ooc: Not really, Jaken is an imp, these are 'imps'. 'Imp' is the closest description but not really accurate.

IC: Linden says, "Do you have anything in the way of sword sharpening equipment," he pulls a long, slender blade out from underneath his cloak that was covered in Runes, "mine has gotten a little dull."

OOC: Perhaps you could draw a picture or find the closest looking picture on-line somewhere.

"Might I see the blade?" A black 'imp' asked as it opened a flap between the wagon's bench and the inside, and stepped out.

Linden hands it over, "Careful you don't activate the Runes. That would be quite hazerdous to everyone's health if it isn't done properly."

Engel smiled a little as he bowed and said, "Well met Lord and Lady Rathan. My name is Caelum Requiem. If I may ask, what brings you here." Engel sensed nothing too dangerous coming from them, but he knew something was special about those two. He decided that it was just easier if he kept an eye on them for a bit.

The 'imp' inspected the blade, muttering. "For sharpening, one gold, sharpening and sharpness charm, five gold, sharpening tools, nine gold." The 'imp' said

Linden looked at Caelum and says, "Well, we sensed something on the wind up at the castle we share with the others of our kind."

He looked at the 'imp', "Hmm, I'll see what I can do."

Linden draws a circle in the dirt with a pentagram in it and writes some runes in it. He jams his staff into the center of the drawing and piles a little debris around it. The circle glows with a blue-white light and the orb on his staff glows golden-yellow. He pulls the staff up from the ground and the debris morphs into a pile of fourteen gold coins.

He says, "That should cover the sharpening, sharpeness charm, and sharpening tools."

Maurynna giggles from behind the tree.

The first 'imp', the grey one that had first spoke picked up the coins and subjected them to a number of tests, to test purity, and the fact they weren't 'leprechan gold'. Finding them satisfactory, the black 'imp' slid it's hand along the blade.
After a few strokes of that nature, it reached into the wagon and came out with a small bag. It then handed the person the blade.
Linden would find his blade had a incredibly fine edge to it.

Caelum had an amused look. 'Interesting,' he thought,'Not a majorly difficult spell, but interesting nonetheless.' With that, he went back to reading the tome.

Krigade took that oppertunity to kick Caelum again.

Caelum could only let out another sigh. Things could only go one of three ways. One, she'd eventually break through his armor, which was highly unlikely but still possible, two she'd break her foot or something like that, or three she would get tired of kicking him and take a break.

Linden said takes the blade and returns it to its sheath, "Thank-you."

He looks at Caelum and says, "The dark magic smell is still on the wind. We should not linger in one place for long."

Krigade scowled at him again, but didn't kick him again.

Meanwhile, there was a puff of flame as a demon appeared. If Engel was astute, he'd realize that the demon was moderately high up in the infernal hiearchy. The demon walked over to an 'imp' and began speaking with it, in a language that none, save the 'imps' could understand.

ooc: got to get to bed.

His amber eyes glowed gently. Engel sensed a demonic presence. Unsure of what was going on between the 'imps' and this demon, he decided to consult with the rest of the group. Casting a silent spell of protection and warding on Krigade, he excused himself and went to speak with the others.

Linden scoops out a hollow in the dirt and allows it to fill with moisture from the surrounding area. Once it was filled, he passed the head of his staff over it. The water's surface smooths out and becomes still. He uses the scrying 'mirror' he made to scan the surrounding area for any sign of dager.

The demon continued to talk with one of the 'imps'.

Maurynna leans from behind the tree and whispers to Linden, "See anything?"

Linden responds, "Nothing in the immediate area."

The demon noticed the two talking/working magicks and chuckled, a low gravelly, soul chilling chuckle. "Silly weres, like I wouldn't put up a ward if was after them."
The demon concluded it's buisness with the 'imps', looked at Caelum, made an exceptionally rude gesture, and disappeared.

'Caelum' chuckled lightly, he wasn't particularly offended but rather found it quite funny. He'd have to have a drink with the demon sometime he must have some rather interesting and funny stories to tell. Since the "threat" was gone, he just found a nice rock to sit down on and continued to read his tome....well not before first making sure that Krigade hadn't set up any traps nearby or within kicking range.

IC: Linden stands up. Maurynna's eyes follow him up.

Maurynna asks, "What is it?"

Linden smiles down at her and says, "Probably nothing. Just going to check out a smell from over by the wagons the 'imps' are using."

Linden bent down scooped up the bag with the sword sharpening tools in it and slipped it into a brown leather bag hanging at his waist as he started to walk over to where the 'imps' were.

OOC: Uh, I guess I forgot to mention that Were-Dragons have almost the same accuity of the sense of smell as full Dragons do. Same goes for sight, taste, hearing, and any 'other' senses they may have. Only the senses are slightly weaker in human form.

Krigade decided to switch styles of attack, this time bouncing a pebble off of Caelum's armour, even thought she was aiming at his head.

If Engel could do an anime style sweat drop, he would have a rather large one. The pebbles simply bounced off the armor making a ringing sound. He felt like he was a giant bell or something of that sort. With a mischievious grin, he summoned several water ballons behind his back and lobbed them at Krigade.

Linden, still following his nose, was nosing around the 'imps' wagons.

Maurynna, gathering up some courage, pulled out her wand, waved it about while muttering in her native language. A rather large ball of water appeared over Celum's head. It fell with a splash as she released her magical control over it. She giggled while covering her mout with her free hand. Though, you could see the smile in her eyes.

Caelum laughed, shaking his head, he launched water droplets everywhere. This was rather fun to be sure, summoning more water ballons, he lobbed some at Krigade, many at Cassori, and several at the elves. If anyone realized who he was, they would definitely revise the common idea that angels are all stiff as a stick.

"This means war." Krigade yelled as she was drenched by the ballons. She began lobbing the stones with much greater speed, in much greater volume.

Meanwhile, one of the Ah-Uns that pulled the wagons, had one of it's heads glaring baelfully at the intruder.

ooc: Ah-Un from InuYasha

Engel's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Out of pure reflex, he quickly parried the incoming projectiles with a blade of light that he instinctively summoned. Unfortunately for him, he was er...a bit distracted by Krigade's thoroughly drenched clothes and happened to "miss" one and got a nice knock on the head. Swearing that the little chickens were dancing around his head, he fainted.

Unbeknownst to her, some of Krigade's deeply buried powers were awakened at the sight of the 'light blade'.
She decided to pay him back, and grabbing a bucket, she stalked down to a stream, filled it and began walking back.

Engel was quite enjoying being knocked out. Seeing Krigade in wet clothes certainly made his day....if only you could see his thoughts.....er...ahem....nothing too bad I think.....

--- under the mountain where the conflict between the dark priest and the wraith took place----

She could sense Engel's "death" and she rejoiced. It had lead to a considerable weakening of the seal that he had placed here to bind her. It was only a matter of days before she could escape.

Krigade dumped the bucket of water over Caelum. Since it had been drawn from a glacial stream, it was quite cold.

Shooting straight up, Engel slipped on the now wet floor and fell on top of Krigade. He blushed lightly as he eventually realized that they were in a er...odd position to say the least. "Ahh...sorry about that," he said as he quickly stood up. "Umm....I guess I'll get out of this armor and cook some dinner since it's getting dark now." With that, he quickly shuffled into the woods, removing his armor plates was actually quite simple if you knew how to. He ran his hand over a scar that he had received from fighting the demons that Krigade had summoned when he was still a high priest. Quickly putting on a metallic blackish sable colored tunic that seemed to ripple in the light, he quickly started a fire and began cooking.

When he fell on her, she tried to knee him. The blow was only stopped by his codpiece, otherwise he wouldn't quite be the man he was now.

Several minutes later, pleasant smells of food filled the air. "Hey time to eat you people!" Engel shouted. Conjuring up some bowls, he began to ladle some delicious looking stew into them and handed them out.

Krigade took some of the stew, and began to eat. Some of her magick, being somewhat unfettered, dried her clothing as she ate.

Maurynna put her wand back into the carrying case she had for it hanging from her waist. She looked up and saw the fire. She stood up and started to walk towards it.

Linden looks at the reptilian creature. He jams his staff into the ground so that its free-standing.

He holds out a hand for two-headed animal to smell and soothingly says, "No need to fear me. I don't mean you any harm."

Linden looks away as he hears the call for dinner. He retrieves his staff and walks towards the flame.

He calls out, "What's cooking?"

"I wouldn't do that." One of the 'imps' commented, as the Ah-Un bared it's fangs.

The demon that had appeared to do buisness with the 'imps' reappeared, and walked toward Krigade.

Linden stops and turns to face the 'imp', "Well, it looks like these guys are more agressive then the ones up at the castle. Oh, that reminds me," he pulls a few tightly compacted cube of leaves from his pouch, "the ones up at the castle love this stuff," he says as he walks over and hands the cubes to the 'imp', "try giving it to yours and see how they react." Linden turns back around and continues to walk towards the fire.

Maurynna peeks around a tree surrounding the fire. This time, instead of sitting behind it, she sits on the side facing the fire.

The 'imp' took the stuff.

The demon walked up, took Krigade's chin in hand and bent her head so it could look in her eyes.
She protested slightly, both at the heat, and slight stench.

Linden arrives at the campfire. "Well," he says sitting down against a tree next to Cassori's, "its been an eventful day." He picks up a bowl and hands it to Cassori before getting one for himself. "Perhaps," he continues, "we should discuss our plans and decide if Cassori and I should continue on by ourselves or stay with your group."

Engel eyes gave off amber light as his anger rose. With a thought and his will, he summoned his armor. Grabbing hold of Krigade, he pulled her back and place himself between the demon and her. 'Hell if I let her get tainted again,' he thought,' I failed her once before and ruined her past, but not this time. Not again.' The very air around him seemed to infused with holy fury and righteousness. If one was careful, one would be able to make out six mighty wings of light from his back though of course he kept them from physically manifesting.

The demon finished looking at Krigade, glanced over at Engel, and spoke, "How the mighty have fallen." Which of the two it was directed at was unclear, or even if it was directed at one of them.

As the demon turned to leave, it looked at the two Were-Dragons, "Weres." The demon spat, a note of contempt in it's voice as it disappeared.

ooc: need sleep(somewhat sick)

IC: Linden growls deep in his throat. He begins to rise and draw his sword, but Maurynna grabs hold of his arm and restrains him. Linden looks down at her shaking her head. He lets go of the hilt of his sword and sits back down.

OOC: Okay, here is what Linden's sword looks like.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b140/SFShadowPhoenix/Wallpapers/sword.gif
Here is what Maurynna's sword looks like.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b140/SFShadowPhoenix/Wallpapers/scimitar.gif

Malaki was incredibly happy. He was growing a bit tired of flying. He and his aerial armada, now consisting of dragons, drakes, shrikes, a few airships and a few of his experiments they had summoned along the way had at last arrived at the city of Sanction. They had butchered the knights guarding the city. They had converted the temple. Now they waited for the next full-moon to summon the Avatar. Then he would summon his mistress. Then he would be immortal. He had just one problem. That blasted angel. He had a plan however, of how to destory it. He summoned the Mercenary Captain of one of the Airship's and asked how many krystals he had left.
"Lord Malaki, these moun'ins round here are a overflowing wa'erfall of krys'als"
He was not a bright man. Indeed his parents are at fault for that.:headbang:
but in any case, as he and Malaki, the new lord of Sanction, discussed this further his smile spread, scaring the captain a fair amount. He dismissed the captain after aquiring 5 of the massive Krystal's used to power airships and getting a dragon to take each to a different point on the city walls, forming a massive pentagram...

As it grew later, Engel pulled off a sleeping roll from his mount and settled himself under a tree. Yawning, he said, "Good night." before he got in and soon fell asleep.

Krigade was tempted to wreck mischief on him, but fell asleep near the fire. The 'imps', for the most part, return to the insides of the wagons.

Later in the night, Engel's eyes opened a bit so he could see if anyone was still awake. Satisfied that everyone was asleep, he slid out of his roll and got up. Quietly walking over to Krigade, he crouched down and gently touched her cheek. 'Beautiful as ever,' he thought. Standing back up, he followed a small trail he had made many years ago until he came to a large freshwater pond. He leaned onto a tree as immense pain tore through him.

"It can't be her, I sealed her away all those years ago.....how could she possibly escape?" he muttered while his left hand clutched his heart. Eventually, the pain left him and he sat down on a stone. He mentally went back in time, when the world was still young. She and he were both seraphim. They had once been in the same squad. They fought together, ate together, and sparred with each other.....yet that all changed the day the rebellion occurred. She had slain several of his closest friends while leading the rebellion. She even tried to "persuade" him to join her side. In a desperate attempt to halt her rebellion, he teleported them all to earth and there he managed barely to slay, incapacitate, or bind the rebels. After a long duel that lasted several hours, he had managed to trap her with a temporary binding spell. Then he had used his remaining energy to seal her underneath a mountain.

With that, he thought his matter was all over. "Oh Lord," he said, "What am I to do....." A single tear slid down his cheek as he continued reminiscing.

One of the 'imps' had followed Caelum and was watching him.

Mentally berating himself for not sealing off the area first, Engel pulled out some spell tags before chanting. Tossing them into the air, the tags attached themselves to trees. A barrier of holy energy was soon formed. Another user of holy energy could enter into the protected area or one could try to pierce it, but if it was pierced, it would alert him immediatly. Satisfied with the seal, Engel decided to go for a swim, tossing his shirt onto a rock, he jumped in.

The 'imp', being inside the barrier when it was formed, remained content to watch.

After several minutes, he climbed out of the water and dried himself off. Dispelling the barrier, he walked back towards the camp. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he went back to sleep.

The 'imp' followed. As Caelum neared the camp, it stepped out beside him.

Waking up with a start, Linden blinked the sleep from his eyes as he realized he needed to stretch. He took a look around and noted everyone there was asleep. That's when he saw the empty spot where Caelum had rested. Hoping not to run into him in the forest, Linden stood up carefully trying not to wake anyone, though he had to remove Maurynna's head from his lap where she had fallen asleep. He carefully walked off into the woods to a secluded clearing that he judged to be large enough. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate. His body shifted to a red mist that slowly altered its shape before reforming into his Draconic (http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b140/SFShadowPhoenix/Character%20Pics/1116025501Bronze_Dragon.jpg) body.

"Ahhh," he thought as he stretched his wings to their fullest.

He streched out each limb one-by-one and closed his eyes in bliss before sitting back and staring up at the moon.

As each of the party slept Malaki sent a dream to each.
To the were-dragons he sent the image of the dragon being slain. To Engel he sent images of a city covered in a massive pentagel of fire. To the 'imp's he sent images of unending trade and wealth, above the body of a fallen angel.
And finally he went outside to send the final dream. To Kirgade he sent memory's of what her powers were, hoping to unlock his teaching's fully. He had always hoped to find her again. Indeed were it not for her he would be doing none of this. She was the goddess to him...
He sent a common dream to each after these. This one was of peace under the watchful eye's of a goddess, who forever kept peace and order in the world, and of them bringing him the crucefix.
He looked out over the city, HIS city, and saw between the five krystals a light purple glow shimmering over the buildings, brightest over the temple. And then he slept, to dream of Krigade

snip
As the 'imps' themselves were only superficially interested in trade and wealth, the dream had little effect, likewise with the dream of peace, under a goddess.

Krigade slept very poorly, tossing, turning, and generally suffering throught a nightmare. This was caused by her defenses, that were still active even thought her knowladge/skill was all but gone, and her horrified reactions to the actions in the dream.

Linden, sensing Maurynna's distress through his link to her, was about to race back to camp when he realized she was just having a bad dream. He did what he could by sending warm feelings over the link between them.

Engel woke up after the dream. Sitting with his back to a tree, he gazed up at the moon. His thoughts drifted from thought to thought. The flaming pentagram was indeed interesting to say the least. But if the dark one thought he could be taken out that easily, he was sorely mistaken. Even so, he was worried. If the dark one killed his mortal form, that wasn't anything to worry about. It would take another being of either celestial or infernal might to slay him permantly. But...there is a dark spell that mortals could use that might potentially draw him from the Light and cause him to serve the Darkness.....that of course would be....terrible.

Watching Krigade toss and turn while sleeping, he made his way over to her. Gently, he slid his hand down her cheek before whispering, "Let the mournful notes of the angel's requiem bring to you a peaceful rest." After this, he began to sing softly in the celestial tongue of the beauty of the heavens and the coming of peace and serenity.

Krigade's tossing lessened a bit, but not much as the music worked it's 'magick'.

One of the 'imps' had emerged with a 'gramophone' and pointed it at Caelum to record the melody.

Maurynna wakes up and yawns. Looking around and not seeing Linden, she stands up, while brushing the debris from the back of her clothes, and looks around the tree.

"Linden," she thinks, "I hope your not doing what I suspect your doing."

-----underneath the mountain--------
Veriel strained her ears as she was somehow able to hear the faint song of the celestial tongue. "It has to be him," she muttered. Rather than testing the bindings again, she decided to bide her time until the seal was weak enough then she would find him.

Malevolent laughter could be heard ringing in the air around the mountain.

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

Engel continued his melody, but his thoughts began to shift to other things. And his song changed as well. It spoke of the sorrows of angels, of the tears that they shed as they fought their brothers, sisters, friends, and lovers during the rebellion, and of the eternal pain caused by betrayl of those most dear and close to him. Crystal droplets of tears fell as he continued to sing.

One of the 'imps', bearing a crystal phail, walked over, and began catching the tears.

About half an hour later, Engel ended his song. Muttering a small blessing over Krigade, he stroked her cheek once more. Walking over to his mount, he gently shook it awake. Quietly as possible, he packed his equipment. When everything was ready, he got onto his mount. He glanced at her once again before riding off towards the captured city. He would do his best to protect her even if it meant being forced to serve the Darkness.

Where his sleeping roll had been, there now lay an intricately made rosary with small veins of mythril and a rare type of gold called tears of the sun run through it. Upon it was inscribed," Let the Angel Requiem charge into the Darkness so that the Light of others may be saved."

One of the 'imps' intercepted Caelum and asked, "Wherefore art thou bound and whyfore art thou headed there?"

Engel replied, "To put an end to what should have never been." Without another word, he rode off speeding into the darkness like shooting star.

Watching the interchange between the 'imp' and Caelum from just inside the trees, Linden snorted.

"Typical youngster," he thinks, "always think that they are the only one who can save the day and forgets about team work."

He turns his large, Draconic body around and starts lumbering back towards camp. Mid-way, he shifts to red mist and resumes his human form.

An alarm was raised in the city Sanction as a rider was seen heading towards the walls.
Malaki watched the angels approached and sent out dragons to circle him, make sure he dident make trouble. soon a duststorm picked up around his horse and almost blew him over. With all hope it would send him flying into a tree, or maybe take to the air and fly into the temple (hint hint)

Engel watched as dragons circled him. The air around him flared with holy energy to shield him from the storm. Summoning his energy, his wings flared into existence as he took flight and dismissed his mount. Taking flight, he mentally sent a message to Malaki, "Meet me at the temple. I wish to speak with you."

-----back at the camp--------

The rosary gleamed in the light. It lay there upon the grass, it seemed almost as if waiting for someone to pick it up.


------underneath the mountain-----
Veriel let out a malevolent laugh. Soon. Soon. So very soon. She'd be free. Only a day or two now. Pulling out a small feather shaped locket, she opened. Inside was a picture of her and another seraph sitting underneath a tree after a difficult sparring session.

Krigade continued to doze fitfully.

One of the 'imps' went and picked up the rosary.

The rosary gleamed in the light. Once the 'imp' had picked it up, it let out a power shock of holy energy. Apparently, it wasn't meant for the 'imp'.

The 'imp' rubbed it's arm, but didn't put the rosary down.

Eventually the shocks stopped. Once it did though, it seemed to have a mind of its own as it seemed to be drawn toward Krigade. An invisible force seemed to pull it insistently toward her.

The 'imp' used a stake to lock it down, and prevent it from moving.

Once staked down, the rosary ceased its movement. Instead, it seemed to conjure up a piece of paper that read.

To whomever is holding this rosary,

Please release it so that it may find its true owner.

PS: Trying to keep it from its owner is a bit....dangerous to say the least.

Linden said, from the shadows of the forest, "I would let it go to whomever it is meant for, little one. A magical aura like that rosary has shouldn't be messed with. Trust me, after being around as long as I have, I know from experience that things with powerful auras should not be messed with unless it is meant for you."

"Oh, but it'll get stolen otherwise." The 'imp' commented

Linden stepped foward, "With an object with an aura as powerful as this, I wouldn't worry about it getting stolen. After a few centuries, I got the sensing of the strength of an aura down so well I can tell the difference between even very slight variations in power. This rosary has a good kind of magical aura around it. And, I would predict, an anti-theft charm as well."

The 'imp' unstaked the rosary, "Alright then."

Linden nodded, "Besides, who would get away with stealing it when there are two Dragonlords near-by? I can't think of anyone I know."

"A rival caravan could." The 'imp' said

Once released, it flew straight at Krigade as if not wanting to be caught again.

She continued to sleep, still tossing and turning.

Linden smiled and asked, while allowing a Draconic shean to momentarily grace his eyes, "Do you even know what a Dragonlord is, little one?"

Maurynna walked silently and stealthily from the shadows to stand behind Linden.

"Taxanomically, no, in general, yes." The 'imp' replied

"Well then," Linden says, "you are in for some a big surprise if Cassori, myself, or both are ever needed in a battle."

Cassori smiles before asking, "Where did Caelum run off to? I was meaning to ask him something."

Linden responded, "Saw him ride off alone, after talking to one of the 'imps' about something."

"Possibly, I believe we may have one or two dragon-lords somewhere inside." The 'imp' commented

Meanwhile Krigade somewhat woke up and stretched.

Linden kneels down so he is at eye-level with the 'imp', "I take it you are speakiing of your masters, correct?"

The rosary flipped onto its back side when it flew into her. A small compartment opened up and smalled folded note fell out. It read.

Krigade,

Congrats you made it to your second level of training. Maybe you'll become a priestess soon and fight me on even grounds. Maybe...joking joking. I'll take you out for dinner later after your graduation ceremony.

Your ever faithful wack-a-priest,
Engel Requiem

"Nope." The 'imp' replied

She read the message and began crying again.

A key then fell out from the note, it seemed to fit into a keyhole in the center of the rosary. As some of Krigades tears fell on the rosary, it gave off a calm, comforting, reassuring warmth.

With tears still leaking from her eyes, she put the key in the rosary, and turned.

"Then, little one," says Maurynna, "Who are you speaking of?"

Linden nods, "Yes, who? All the other Dragonlords I know of, and thats pretty much all of them, are still back on the island."

As the key was turned, a soft sound of gears turning could be heard. Once it could turn no more, Engel's voice filled the air as he sang softly:

Let the silver moon now shine.
I hope this night never ends.
As long as I can watch over you.
I will forever happy be.

I've watched you since you joined the Order.
I've seen you try so hard.
But please don't ever turn to Darkness.
For that will surely break my heart.

I heard you finally passed that test.
I'm happy that you've done so well.
But I weep that soon I can no longer watch over you.

You've come so far.
But you have so far to go.
Don't worry.
I'll always be there.
To hold your hand.
And guide you until eternity.


After the song stopped, a small slip of parchment suddenly appeared in Krigades hand. It said.

Dip this rosary into some holy water and it'll guide you to a pond. At the bottom of the pond, there should be a box. Your graduation present is inside.
- Your ever faithful wack-a-priest,
Engel

"Most likely before your time." The 'imp' replied

Krigade began crying again as she listened to the song.

Maurynna sighs, "What a beautiful song."

Linden looks directly into the eyes of the 'imp', "Before my time? That would imply that this Dragonlord is at least a thousand years old."

While Engel was waiting for Malaki in the temple, he reached into one of his pouches. His eyes became frantic for a moment as he wondered where he could have left that rosary....then he felt someone unlock it. So, she had got it after all, he thought, I wonder if she'll go look for the present I buried. It should still be in that pond I swam in last night.

"Something like that." The 'imp' replied, "Thought with SA, time is generally irrelevent."

Krigade began looking for water.

"We need some more light," says Maurynna. She pulls out her wand and mumbles, "Illuminosa." A bright, white glow forms at the end of the wand.

Linden taps his staff on the ground and the orb in it begins to glow, faint at first, but it eventually reaches a brilliance that could illuminate the clearing on its own.

Maurynna's hair flaps in the wind as she asks, "SA? Would you please clarify what you mean by that?"

"Suspended animation, or pickled in general terms." The 'imp' replied

"Hmm," Linden says, "so, basically you 'bottled' this Dragonlord, correct?"

Maurynna asks, "Do you know this Dragonlord's name?"

"Not bottled, pickle." The 'imp' replied, "And off the top of my head, no I can't remember thier names."

Cassori looks at Linden. He says, "No, I haven't heard of any Dragonlords that went missing. Must be someone who hasn't been to the island yet."

He turns back to the 'imp', "Why exactly did you, uh, 'pickled', this Dragonlord? Or do you not recollect that either?"

"They requested it." The 'imp' replied

Meanwhile Krigade had found some holy water, and dipped the rosary into it.

Linden sighs, "Always the little merchant. How much are you asking for the Dragonlord?"

"Not for sale, at least not in the normal sense." The 'imp' replied

ooc: Last post/night

Linden groans and sits down. Maurynna leans down and asks, with a little ice to her normally cheerful voice, "And what do you mean by that?"

Malaki let the angel stew, get nervous. He also wanted to make sure that the six great dragons had time to arrive where they needed to be. one at each point of the star and Khellendros the great blue to fly over the temple.
Satisfied, Malaki gave the massive oak door's a shove, the sun shing through after him, and strode straight up to the angel.
"Engel, so nice to see you back among the living". He laughed as he looked into "Caelums" eyes. "Oh yes, I know all about you now. And now, a gift to one so holy" A flicker of a smile crossed his face
From the points of the stars and above the temple, massive, booming voices were heard. From the floor of the ancient temple massive chains, both pyhsical and magical, sped out. The wrapped around engels arms, legs, torso and head, Even binding his massive wings.
"I presume your not afraid of hights, Holy boy"
Engel shot up, through the ceiling, flew severel km's above the temple until the chains "ran out" and gave a jerk. From each point of the star, and the blue above his head, a blast of breath shot out. Fire, poison, ice and lightning struck him. and that was just some of the breath. Malaki flew up upon Aryll and hovered infront of the angel. "I'm sorry to do this... But she WILL be mine!!"

Malaki flew back down and sent a vision to Kirgade. He showed her the location of Sanction and, far above, tied by chains, the angel. He sent a note to her apon wings of a black raven.

I am sorry it came to this Madam. But, sadly, you were stolen from me. And I want you back more than anything. Please, return to me Kirgade, for, though you may not remember me, I love you.
.
Your, Malaki Sarivnim

P.S. sorry if the note dont work its the 1st one ive used 8>/

"Simple." The 'imp' replied, "They were to be given to the correct people, as yet, the correct people have yet to show up."

Krigade sat down, held her head and began moaning as the stresses threatened to turn her catatonic.

Maurynna snaps her head to look at Krigade with a reptilian grace. She puts her wand away and moves over to see if there was anything she could do.

Linden, on the other hand, continues to interrogate the 'imp', "And how are you supposed to know who the proper 'people' are?"

Engel winced as he felt the breaths hit him. The pain was incredible, but this was nothing but childs play thus far. As the breaths stopped, Engel cracked a smirk and said, "Really now, did you really think that dragon breath could kill me? Sometimes I wonder if you ever bothered to read the ancient texts of other gods. It'll take more than just chains and breaths to kill me." With that, energy seemed to be drained from all around him and focused into a small orb in his hand before suddenly pushing outward and engulfing him and the dragons in blinding light. After the light faded, Engel could be seen breathing hard with numerous cuts and gashes. Smiling, he said, "Though even as dense as you are, I must admit this is indeed quite entertaining. The reason why I asked if you read other ancient texts would be that if you did, you'd know that I was once a Harbringer of Death." With that, he let out a dark, malevolent laugh that rocked the temple. His eyes changed from their gentle amber to a dark, crimson blood-red color. Those eyes that once showed peace, compassion, and kindess no longer did so. Instead, they were hard and cold, reflecting one who had brought death many. Mighty or weak, rich or poor, his eyes reflected the death he had brought without mercy. His wings, once white tipped with silver, became darker than midnight tipped with copper. He let out a dark chuckle before continuing, "Thank you foolish priest, you have shown me that this world needs Death once again and so I have returned once again not as a Guardian but as a Harbringer."

---------------------underneath the mountain------------------------
Veriel gasped as she suddenly felt the seal shatter. She sensed that something had shifted the balance. With a might flap of her wings, she took flight once again free to bring death and destruction back into the world.

"The right people will be the right people." The 'imp' replied, "Unfortunately Schrodinger prevents further elaboration."

Krigade continued to hold her head, as she rolled on the ground. The mental agonies were threating to break her mind.

Linden stands up, "Maurynna, did you sense that?"

Maurynna walks back over to him, "Yes, the balance has been shifted."

Linden frowns, "And not for the better of the world, I fear. Do you think we should shift?"

Maurynna shakes her head, "Not just yet. Let's wait until the last possible moment."

Linden nods his agreement.

A fiendish smile replaced his normal peaceful and cheerful one. The massive amount of dark energy made the air feel burdensomely heavy. With a grin that revealed sharp canines, he let out a long howl that caused waves of fear to spread across the land. In a blink of an eye, Engel vanished.

------In a town several miles away---------------

Screams of terror filled the air as the Harbringer of Death made his presence known again in the world, bring back a terrifying form of merciless divine justice. With a quick slash, he cut through two haughty fighters that had previously taunted him earlier with two daggers (http://www.firewhip.com/product-back-minisword.jpg)that he had summoned. Several guards quickly charged. With a contempteous glare, he made a slashing motion with his hand. Several lances of ice tore through them. Walking over to them, he said icily, "Foolish mortal. Did you really think you could stop me?" With a dismissive gesture, dark blue flames engulfed their bodies, incenerating them. He soon vanished in swirl of wind.

The cries of pain and suffering rose just as flames on the building began to rise higher and higher.

-----yet another town------

Zephyr was terribly scared, fiery demons were now running amok in the city. With a small chant, he blasted several demons away, their burning blood burned into his priest robes. Grabbing onto his younger sisters arm, he dragged his sister with him just as he saw one flaming demon overwhelm a knight and tear him open feasting upon his blood while the knight was still alive. His younger sister whimpered a bit. She was fresh out of the swordsman academy. Their town was known for producing many fine knights and swordsman, and yet, here they were now being overwhelmed by demons. He suddenly coughed up blood as a demon shoved its hand through his torso. His sister let out a cry of terror. He could only watch helplessly as the demon turned and stalked toward his sister. It was just about to slash her when it suddenly flew into a wall, its body giving off steam. Nearby stood a figure with his palm opened toward where the demon was before. He was dressed in a sable cloak that seemed to drink in the light of the burning town. With the last of his strength, Zephyr said, "Please sir. Please take care of my sister." Within seconds, his death rattle sounded.

Engel stood motionless as he let his gaze drift toward the girl. She whimpered in fear as his eyes settled upon her. She reminded him of someone. He would look into this later. With a gesture clearly showing that she was to follow him, he said, "Come. Don't worry. I won't hurt you, you remind me of someone." She slowly rose from her position and inched forward. Grabbing her hand, he led her through the street, seemingly unaware of the destruction and chaos surrounding them. That is until some demon rushed them. When that happened, it would find itself splattered on a wall or sliced into fine slices.

Linden groans and starts to walk out of the woods, "I can't take it anymore. I'm going to shift."

Maurynna says, following him, "No, Linden. The Council didn't authorize us to shift off the island..."

"Except in extreme emergencies," interrupted Linden, "And I think this qualifies."

Maurynna starts to protest, "But..."

"No buts about it, Maurynna," says Linden, "I'm going to do it as soon as we can get out of this forest so I'll have enough room."

"Very well," sighs Maurynna, "Do it if you must. I'll shift if you need my help later."

As Engel and the girl made their way closer to the exit, they passed by more and more corpses. Some were strewn haphazardly other were torn to shreds. If you stared into Engel's eyes, you would no longer see pair of crimson or amber eyes. Instead, you would see one eye crimson and another amber.

-------Flashback----------------

Clutching his head, Engel fell to the ground before falling unconcious. Within Engel's mind, there was a soul shattering conflict occuring. Two Engels were facing each other. Both sported burns, cuts, and gashes. Gasping for breath, both gathered their remaining strength for what both knew to be the final attack. A minute later, the mindscape was smoldering from the spells and attacks. What remained was a combination of both. This Engel was a mixture of both sides of Engel. After having awakened, he made his way toward a nearby town. Upon reaching it, he saw that it was under attack. Part of him cried for him to save it, the other told him to slay those who opposed him. Walking through the streets, he saw people die left and right. He soon found himself watching a priest get gutted. Upon spotting a girl near the priest, something in his mind triggered his protective instincts. With a quick spell he sent the demon into a wall. Unsure of why he interefered, he decided to take the girl with him as the priest had requested. He would allow her to follow him as long as she wished. Perhaps, he might be able to recover some of the memories lost during the fight within his mind.

The rosary Kridgade had dipped into the water began trying to lead her in the direction of the pond. Upon sensing her distress though, it gave off a comforting warm aura.

Once clear of the forest, Linden turned into the red mist and shifted to his draconic body once again that night. He rose into the air as Maurynna watched from the tree line, still in human form. After she had lost sight of Linden, she turned back and re-joined the others.

Meanwhile, Linden was following the scent of the horse the man he knew as Caelum had ridden away on. He knew that if he could find the horse, he would probably find the man. He had some questions that he wanted answered.

OOC: err...you might have some trouble with that....just remember, i dismissed the horse already...so it might just lead to a whole lot of trouble....

OOC: You discount a Dragonlord's sense of smell. The freshest scent Linden will be able to find of you will be the one you left on the horse's saddle. He can always follow back along the horse's path and find the spot where you went in a different direction. Of course, the Dragonlord's sense of smell is more powerful in Draconic form.

Malaki laughed. He wondered how dumb this angel thought he was. He may have escaped the chains of steel and magic but what of the ever twining chains of mind??. It would not matter anyway. Now that he fought his struggle, and his beloved Kirgade was (he hoped) heading to Sanction, he was ready to begin the ritual. He and the dragons descended deep into the catacombes of the temple, the dragons having to shift to human form, each pair of eyes was all one could look at to tell them apart. They reached the ancient summoning "station" were once beings capable of destroying empires were conjured. Slowely and in ever rising and falling voices, each in harmony, they began to summon the Avatar of Woe. Yes, it would not be long, first the Avatar, and then the goddess to save the people from it.

OOC: The Avatar will arrive when 2-3 of the other characters arrive in sanction. The goddess will arrive at a time determined by the Avatar's "Progress" Also keep in mind that Sanction currently hosts legions of warriors of various species and has an armada including airships and dragons.
Malaki gave specific orders than Kirgade was to be treated as a queen if she arrived. anyone else whos not an angel will be slain on sight.
And btw what happened to those Metallic dragons Sorak??

OOC: Ah...don't worry about the dragons. :D They'll be here in good time.

IC: For several days, they traveled in silence. Slowly they made their way unknowingly toward Sanction. Finally during one night when they were camping, the girl turned and asked him, "Who are you?" Surprised that the girl had finally decided to talk, he replied, "Who are you should be what I'm asking." "Er...fine, my name is Iris Rosenmeer. Now who are you?" Looking back over at Engel, she was outraged to find that he had fallen asleep. The sound of blunt objects meeting angel were heard into the night.

Krigade had slowly made her way to the pond, thought in obvious mental agony.
The wagons had followed her.

Mid-Air

Soaring through the clouds, Linden spotted the horse that Caelum had ridden off on. Knowing that the horse would bolt if he landed near it in his present form, he decides to grab it from above in his fore-limbs. Then, when he knew the horse wouldn't get away, he see what scents he could get from the saddle. He sighed and flipped into a dive above the horse. His fore-limbs were ready to grab it when he got into range.

Back at camp...

Maurynna watched Krigade closely. Maurynna could tell that she was the key to alot of things. Via her mental link to Linden, Maurynna could follow his progress. She felt the agony in her heart at having to be apart from Linden, but she knew it was necessary.

The rosary let out a chiming sound that became louder and louder as Krigade drew nearer to the pond.

At the pond, the air seemed to twist and bend as a figure was soon formed out of the air.

------With Engel-------

Iris watched in amazement. They had been traveling down the road, when they came upon a small caravan of families being attacked and massacred by bandits. At first, Engel was about to head off on a side road to bypass them. But when she used her puppy dog eyes and pleaded with him, Engel had no choice but to aid the caravan. And here they were now, the bandits had threatened to do very terrible things with them if they didn't surrender, but in a split second, a spike of air lanced through him. Pulling out his two blades, Engel then proceeded to engage the bandits. He was moving like water, fluidly dancing an eerily beautiful yet deadly dance. It was the most unorthodox style she had ever seen. Several minutes later, the bandits lay dead.

A cry filled the air as one of the mothers had discovered that her daughter and son lay dying on the ground. Engel then seemed to change personality, he suddenly became this compassionate kind person. This just didn't make sense to Iris. Who is he? Where did he come from? Where are they going?

As Iris pondered, Engel moved to the mother and asked her to move aside. She moved aside only after being assured that he would do his best to save them. Crouching next to the two siblings, he closed his eyes and let holy energy course through him. He hadn't realized he could do this until very recently, when a voice inside of him started to speak with him.

------(flashback)-------------

Engel was walking with Iris down the road, she kept asking questions about him. He on the otherhand had fallen asleep and was sleepwalking.

------(Inside Engel's mindscape, flashback)--------

"Where am I?" he asked.
"You're inside your mind," answered a voice.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I am you"
"What!? How's that possible"

Several minutes later, he discovered that the voice was his other half. Apparently, the other half was the lighter side of the two and he was the darker. Somehow, they had fought and he had taken control, but not before the other wiped his mind clear of memory. When he asked why Iris reminded him of someone, the other answered that his memories were partially lost as well. And so, they came up with a plan. They would switch off until the other Engel had regained enough energy to maintain control. In return, he would then be allowed to watch and advise rather than be sealed back into the darkness of their mind.

Krigade, and the 'imps' watched and waited as the form took shape.
The stimulous was slowly bringing her back from the brink.

The wind soon ceased as the figure rose, his silver hair shifted and revealed amber eyes. The light revealed the figure to be wearing a high priest robe. It was Engel.....

Krigade began crying again as the form solidified, and she saw who it was.

Walking over to Krigade, "Engel" knelt down and held her chin and asked in his calm voice, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"You're dead." She wailed

A puzzled look crossed "Engel's" face. He replied, "Me? Dead?" His voice trailed off until the last word heard was "unless....."

She returned to crying, her mind back to the precipes, and teetering even more precariously than before.

Hugging her tightly, he leaned in and whispered next to her ear, "This might cheer you up. There's no way "I" can be dead. If "I" was dead. Then all the magic "I" had used would dissapate including the one used to create me. So..."I" must be alive somewhere. So all you need to do is find "me" Now come with me, my creator left me here fr a purpose you know." Walking to the waters edge, he turned and looked at her expectantly.

Maurynna sniffed the air. "Holy magic," she whispered, "the place reeks of it."

She sniffs and notes that the highest concentration of the magical aura seems to be coming from the water. She walks over to the edge of the pond and looked in. Maurynna knew that if she interfered with Holy Magic, it would have dire consequences for her, so she merely watched, and learned.

Krigade was still weeping, but she followed.

Diving into the water, "Engel" led her to a small underwater cavern. At one end of the cavern, there stood a door. Gesturing to it, "Engel" said, "This is as far as I can go. What you find on the otherside I will never know." Bowing low, he soon vanished with a swirl of air.

Krigade had followed the something, and entered the cavern. Once there she began looking for whatever it was.

In a dark corner, there lay a small book with the title "Requiems Journal".

Krigade went over and picked up the book, looking it over. She then began reading it.

Most of what was at the beginning was mostly junk, but as she read further, she came upon a page which read.

Year of the silver moon, second month, twenty first day.

It appears that I've been assigned a girl by the name of Krigade. She's not too happy about me training her. Oh well! :D Can't say that I'm complaining......she is quite pretty and....oh dear..unclean thoughts! Unclean thoughts! Note to self....wash brain with soap then proceed to incenerate it. Anyways....there seems to be something special about her....I'll make sure to keep an eye on her.

Another page read.

Year of the silver moon, third month, eigth day.

In the name of the Light, she has loads of potential...and I think I'm .....nevermind. Anyways, it appears she is very strong though a bit impatient. Powerful though....could make up for her lack of patience. That cutting spell of hers though worries me....if I was who I am, I fear that I could have suffered much more serious injuries. Still she has the potential to become the most powerful priestess I've seen thus far. Heck she made me partially manifest my wings to shield myself....I hope she didn't notice the large amount of silver tipped white feathers....maybe I can blame it on the doves....er...most likely not.

Several pages later, one entry read.

Year of the crimson star, tenth month, twenty-first day.

Yay! It's my birthday...though fortunately no one knows yet. It appears from what I've observed and researched that Krigade is one of the Descendants of the Seals. If I observe correctly, from her mother's side, it was the seal of the Cherubim and from her father's the seal of the Powers....this would explain her great power, but I'm indeed troubled. Powers are fiercly loyal, but strangely enough are among the most common of those who fall into Darkness...and...I think my feelings are interfering with my duties as a Seraph. I think....that I'm falling for her....nah..it's just my imagination.....I think....


The second to last entry read.

Year of rising moon, sixth month, seventh day

I can't believe it's finally time. I'm such a fool...it took me this long to realize I love her, but I guess that's what I get for being an idiot. Heh, here I am many miles away. I guess that priest Malaki won her over by now...what a fool I am. I guess that he's more exciting to her than I can. After all, he seems to have taught her how to use offensive spells rather than the healing and protection spells I focus on. But what is is, I'll just bring her this rosary I've been working on.....it should lead her to this journal eventually.

The final entry read.

Krigade,
I feel it's time for me to confess who I really am. I'm not really human or even mortal at that. I'm an angel. When you first came to the temple, I thought you'd be like any other student I've had, but you drew me in and I eventually fell in love with you despite my excuses. By the time you've read this, you're most likely a fully fledged priestess. Which means I can no longer watch over you. But no matter what, I love you. I love you know and I'll always love you no matter what. Your graduation should be the last time you see me most likely.May this feather that I leave behind bless you and Malaki. May you only know joy and never sorrow.

A silver tipped white feather fell out of the journal. Once it hit the floor, it shifted into silver feather shaped pendant which read, "No matter how long. Now matter what happens. I'll love you forever."

As she read the words written in the Journal, a change came over. She weeped no more as she exited the cavern, journal and rosary in hand. Calling on memories that had been previously blanks, she spoke a incantation.

A bubble of air formed around her, and carried her to the surface.
She then spoke with an 'imp' and entered one of the wagons.

When she exited the wagon, she was fully garbed in the vestments of a priestess. Around her neck was the rosary with Engel's declaration. She moved with an assurance, confidence and grace that she'd never exhibited before, including before her 'bottling'.

Speaking with an 'imp' she boarded one of the three wagons pulled by the mighty two headed Ah-Un, as they pulled the wagons toward the city of Sanction, where the man Caelum had travelled to. Her eyes had taken on a strange, quite un-natural tint, thought what the cause was, only Krigade, or the Masters, as the 'imps' called them, could say.

IC: Maurynna follows the wagons on her Llysanyin (OOC: Special horse bred specifically for Dragonlords, I'll find a descripition and put it up if you want; right now, all I recall about them is that they are smarter than your average horse) with Linden's mount trailing behind her. She had retrived them from where they had been tethered in the forest.

OOC: Okay, sorry but I had a slight mix-up in the name department. Maurynna is the name of Linden's soul-twin, Cassori is the name of the country where they first met. Sorry about that.

As they traveled closer toward Sanction, Iris had gotten to learn more about Engel, or rather what he could remember. She even "convinced" him to teach her one of his sword styles. Rubbing her butt, she winced remembering how simple it looked when Engel performed what he called the Silver Wind style. She soon spotted some wagons with a lady in a priestess uniform and several imp like beings heading along the road. Running toward them, she shouted," Hey! Do you guys happen to have some food I can buy!"

Engel smacked his palm against his head. He was definitely reconsidering just dropping her off at the next city or town. But...and he sighed at this thought, his other half told him that this girl would play an important role though he had no idea when or how. Picking up speed, he dashed after her while his sable cloak, hiding his face, ruffled in the wind.

The 'imp' looked at the girl, "Of course, what kind of food are you looking for?" The one addressed asked

Bouncing up and down like a child, she said, "Anything sweet. Maybe some meat and bread too...ouch! What the heck was that for?!" Engel had caught up with her and bopped her on the head. "Now now," he said, "We don't have time for this." "Mou....why are you being so stingy Engel!" she shouted before tackling him which caused his hood to fall off.

Krigade's eyes flashed as she flashed to 'Engel's' side. She then began checking to see if it was really Engel.

"Ah...come on Iris, no need to be so agressive," Engel said as he started to get up. Glancing at the priestess next to him, he was shocked that she looked almost exactly like Iris. Pausing for second, he rubbed his eyes to make sure he was imagining things. As he stood up, a small ring fell to the ground. It was made of mythril and carefully wrought so that it looked like silver leaves formed into a band. On it, there was one phrase inscribed around the entire band. It read "Let innocent rest while the servants of the Light stand true".

"Are you Engel?" Krigade asked in a rather insistant voice, as she continued to scan his face.

Ruffling his hair, he said, "Yes I am. But do I know you?"

She just burst into tears and clasped him to her.

Maurynna contacted Linden telapathically. The link was poor due to the distance, but she managed to convey recent developments. Linden, who had just managed to catch the horse, told her that he would be there, bringing the horse.

Maurynna closed the link and rode up on her Llysanyin. Shan, Linden's mount, remained where she had left him. She hopped off of her steed and walked over to the group.

"If I didn't know better," she said, "I would swear you were Caelum."

Engel was momentarily stunned by the priestess's outburst. Gently removing himself from her grip, he asked, "Wait a second? Who are you and why do you look so much like Iris? You seem familiar though.....have I met you before?" Pausing several seconds as if to consider his course of action, he then said, "I'm afraid that you must excuse me if I don't remember who you are, I'm afraid I can't remember anything that happened before several days ago."

--------many miles away--------
The gold dragon Rerlix had just concluded his meeting with the other dragons. Within a few days time, their forces would be gathered and meet Engel.

She realized somehow he'd gotten amnesia. She dashed into the wagon, and came out with the journal and handed it to him. She hopped it would jog his memory.

Taking the journal carefully, he began to read. The ancient energies that he had bound to the book to protect it began to flow back into him, restoring lost memories. His eyes seemed to glaze over for a second. Suddenly, he slumped over unconcious.

Krigade grabbed Engel before he actually fell over.

Engel and his other half met each other in their mindscape. Soon another figure resembling Engel appeared. Bowing low to both of them, he said, "Greetings creator, I do believe that I've been sent to restore your lost memories. So shall we begin?" Glancing at each other, both Engels nodded. Outside of his mind, Engel's body began to heat up as if he had a terrible fever.

Maurynna knelt down, pulled her wand out, and tapped it on the ground. A rag soaked with ice water appeared. She picked it up and placed it on his forehead.

Meanwhile...

After an exhaustive flight, Linden landed out of sight of the group with a very frightened horse. He tied the animal's reigns to a sturdy tree branch before moving out of sight of the animal and Changing to his human form. He returned to the horse and began to calm it down.

Krigade grabbed a cloth and water and applied a cold cloth to his head.

Meanwhile the 'imps' had brought a few sweet buns, some regular bread, and some meat/cheese, for the girl.

The horse was restless at first before calming down eventually. Soon, it shifted forms. It was no longer a horse but rather it became a young male gold dragon.

Iris accepted the food gratefully and pulled out a bag of gold pieces that she had managed to nick from Engel while they were traveling and paid them. Sitting down next to Engel, she watched as he took in ever more shallow breaths, concern evident on face.

Krigade continued to treat him for fever.

Meanwhile, while the girl was distracted, one of the 'imps' returned the coin to her pocket.

------Within Engel's mind-----------
The lighter portion of Engel, the Guardian of Life, l now sat on a stone overlooking a roaring ocean below. Next to him sat the darker half, the Harbringer of Death. "So, where do we go from here Engel?" asked the Guardian. "That is indeed a good question my brother where do we go from here?" replied the Harbringer. They sat there in silence pondering for several moments.
"Do you still remember our deal Guardian?"
"Yes, I do."
"So what now?"
"Perhaps we can attempt the path of Union."
"Are you sure? If we fail, it will mean the death of both of us."
"I know, but if we don't, this event will only happen again in a matter of time."
"So we'll try it then?"
"Yes. Having any doubts?"
"No. Let's do it."
Without another word, they held each others arms tightly before jumping off the cliff into the roaring ocean of Engel's mindscape. White light filled the mind.

====out of Engel's mindscape====
Engel's eyes flew open. His amber eyes in obvious pain. He gasped for breath and muttered one name before falling back into unconciousness. "Krigade...." he had muttered. A second after this, his breathing stopped.

Linden

Linden took a step back when the horse changed. This was something he wasn't used to. He had never seen, or heard of, a Dragon shifting to the shape of a horse.

Maurynna

Maurynna placed two fingers at the side of his neck (OOC: You decide if she feels a pulse or not) and checks for a pulse.

Krigade freaked, and began working on a spell to revive Engel.

Maurynna could detect a faint but slowly fading pulse. In a few minutes, they would all know whether or not if the path of Union had been successful.

Maurynna exclaims, "Calm down! I still feel a heart beat. He hasn't died yet," she looks at a near-by 'imp' and says in a level tone, "If she doesn't calm down, please restrain her."

She retrieves her wand from where it lay on the ground and caused a small pot on a fire to appear. She began to mix various herbs from her pouch in it.

With Linden-------
The dragon gave him a reproachful glare that clearly showed that he wasn't happy.

-----With Engel------
Iris gave small yelp when Engel had suddenly woke and fallen back. Seeing the priestess watch over him with such care, she suddenly felt a pang of pain that reached down into her very being.

-----Within Engel's mind------
As the light began to fade, the Engel's could be seen for a split second before as the light faded, there was only one.

-----Outside of his mind------
Engel's amber eyes slowly opened up and shifted over to Krigade. Reaching out, he caressed her cheek delicately before muttering, "So you figured me out after all and you found that (gesturing to the pendant). No if you don't mind, I think I'll take a nap." After he said this, he fell asleep, his temperature still a bit high but no longer feverish and his breathing returned to normal.

Krigade broke into tears of joy that Engel was, if not better, at least on the mend.

Meanwhile one of the 'imps' was watching the girl quite closely.

About an hour or so later, Engel groggily rose from his slumber. "Argh....I feel like I've been hit by ten speeding wagons....." he said as he got to his feet. Memories of past and present flowed smoothly in his mind once again.

Checking that no one noticed him waking up, he tip toed to a nearby river. Taking off his shirt, he dove into the water. "Ah! Nothing like a refreshing swim!" he shouted. He smacked himself on the head for having shouted. Diving into the water, he hoped no one heard him.

As Engel had improved, the 'imps' had managed to lure the two girls, almost twins in appearence, as well as the dragonlord into the wagon for a meal.
The dining hall was fairly large and well appointed, but there was one small 'flaw', the hall was bigger than all three wagons combined.

Meanwhile as Engel awoke, an 'imp' silently followed as he went swimming.

Wading to the side of the river, Engel called out, "I know you're there. You can come out."

The 'imp' gave Engel a 'what do you want look' as it sat in the sun.

"So having you been following me?" he asked, "And if you have, why?"

"Yes I am." The 'imp' replied, "And while it's none of your buisness why, I was instructed to."

Linden breaks out of the woods, he had gotten tired of trying to figure out how a horse could change into a Dragon and the Dragon's reproachful stare, and almost falls into the water. He pinwheels his arms as he regains his balance.

Sniffing the air, he says, "I take it you are Caelum, or the man who used that name. Cause no one else I know has that scent."

Maurynna, rubbing sleep from her eyes with one hand and carrying a piece of left-over toast from the food the 'imps' had provided, walks into the light.

"Morning, everyone," she mutters handing the toast to Linden.