"Alright, Deborah! Hip, hip!"

The giant eagle flapped her wings agressively before charging, flattening them out, and using the air to lift off. Within moments, the three were high above town, with only the castle towers at a higher height. It did not take long to make it to the castle gate, where the knights assigned the mission could appear at any moment.

Zechariah gave Deborah a salmon upon landing. "Good girl!" He could feel Lanna gripping him tightly. "That wasn't so bad, huh? Now we just need to wait on them, and then we'll find Rubius Makarrah! Once we get to him, he'll be in charge! In the meantime, we just have to cooperate with each other. I have to admit, I haven't really talked much to someone in metal since my parents, fully trained knights, died to an assassin. The seven years after that were hell for my sister and I. We would not be around if it weren't for Stormhale's crusaders arriving when they did, not only assisting the rebellion sparked from the assassination, but also providing that distraction I needed to shoot that murderer down. Aelus wanted to reward me with knighthood for my efforts, but I had to turn it down, to protect Hannah from further assassination attempts. You probably know her as the Dove of Stormhale." There was a hint of sadness as he spoke. "Yep! That's my sister! Always trying to avoid people getting killed! Who can blame her?"

A very unusual tingling sensation crept down Rubius' spine. Something, though unknown to him what, was itching him to stay at the tower. A spirit, perhaps, or a soul trying to persuade him. It was probably nothing, his old mind probably just playing tricks on him, but he had decided to stay.

Rubius walked slowly back to his tower. He creeped slowly up the seven steps, opened the large elegant wooden door and entered the tower. Immediately the scent of incense had blasted his nostrils. The smell was soothing, enlightening and inviting. There was also another stench though it could not be pinpointed. Rubius took a deep breath and walked over to a red chair and sat down on it. He didn't bother to close his door; there wasn't a soul for miles anyway.

An unusual feeling lingered in the back of his mind. It was somewhat of a sense, not a feeling. He could sense war. Chaos. Pandemonium. Avion was ripping apart at the seams, literally, and he could feel it. Rubius didn't like it either but what is inevitable is inevitable, and this is something he has came to accept. He could but only await the day the Stormhale Guard clashed with Valtrennian forces.

Aquila Mornmist
Aquila knelt before the king awaiting his command. Her mind was filled with an eager anticipation awaiting his command. She lay ready to give her life to the man that garnered her such respect and gave her a place as a knight in his kingdom. As the king began to speak the ground trembled and shook as if it was crying out in pain. The king let out a sigh and cursed the magic stones. Aquila had no direct knowledge regarding the stones, but her faith and loyalty in the king was unquestionable. If he felt the stones were a threat then on her honor as a knight she would destroy every single one. The king regained his composure and told her and several others in his presence to seek out scholar Makarrah at his tower. She had heard Scholar Makarrah was one of the most renown historians in Avion. If anyone could give her information regarding the whereabouts of Icingdeath he would be the one. She collected her thoughts to respond to the kings request. "Yes my liege I will leave for Markarrah Tower right away." Whatever aspirations she had for finding her father the kings request would always come first in her mind.

As Aquila left the king's chamber she raised her sword Frostfang in the air checking for cracks or dents. After her inspection was done she slid it back in her scabbard and draped it over her back. She stopped by a few local shops to gather food and equipment for the journey. Aquila exited the castle gates and noticed a large eagle landing in front of her with two warriors riding upon it. She noticed one of the warriors was the impatient hunter that was recently in the kings presence with her and other knights. The other warrior was a young woman wearing a light plated suit of armor. The armor had a faint resemblance of a royal soldier. Aquila stared at the hunter for a moment pondering who his companion was. She nodded in their direction and then started down the Avion Highway hoping to reach Markarrah Tower by nightfall.

"Hang on tight, Lanna! Deborah, Hip, hip!"

Once again they were in the air. They were so high up, Zechariah had to shout. "How do you expect to get there in time by foot, Mornmist? It will be faster if you at least had a mount! Oh, well! Don't worry! At least we're going to the tower!"

Within the tower of Rubius Makarrah, there was another soul. Forgotten, a sword like any other leaned against the wall in one of its rooms. With its black hilt and scabbard, it would have completely merged with the shadows of the room, were it not for the scabbard's bright silver line, which reflected the small amount of light in the room, making the otherwise dark sword visible. Even so, it was not easy to spot, for the room was anything but empty. Bookshelves lined its walls, and right next to the sword was a desk with several tomes on it, its shadow effectively blocking away most of the light that the silver line might have reflected.
The sword was, in no ways, special. Or so it would seem for anyone who just looked at it. Deep within the blade, a being slumbered. A state in which it was not aware of its surroundings, or where anything in its surroundings was aware of it. But its dormancy was nearing its end. It was waiting, and it could sense that it was time for it to awaken soon. So it waited for that moment to arrive. The moment when it could wake up and become aware of its surroundings once again. It had been a long, long time. It had forgotten most of what it had known before during its long dormancy. Or maybe the knowledge had merely sunk deeper into its being. It did not matter. Soon it would awaken, and it could learn about the world.
It waited, and waited. Patiently. It had slept for a long time. A few more minutes, or hours, or weeks, or months, or years, or even decades, would not make the slightest difference. It had all the time in the world.

Lanna had little time to react to much, for it seemed that as soon as she and Zechariah had landed, they had taken to the air again. She had felt herself tense as the eagle moved quickly, putting them high above the safety of the ground, but just as quickly, the unease turned to a sense of excitement, adrenaline filling her as she experienced the incredible sensation of flight for the first time. As they began flying once more, she smiled slightly to herself, relaxing her grip on Zechariah. She had listened to him speak, having little to say, but nodded acknowledgement to his words. He spoke enough for them both, after all, and it seemed more sensible to remain quiet until things became clear. Everything was happening so quickly.

Briefly, Lanna watched the armored woman below. Something nagged at her mind, perhaps the way the woman had looked upon her with a questioning stare, but said nothing. Was she perhaps someone Zechariah knew? It did not matter greatly at the moment, rather, it hopefully did not matter, but there certainly was something different about the armor-clad woman. She seemed intent on going in the same direction as she and Zechariah were flying, leaving Lanna to wonder if perhaps she would see her again. The young girl let the thoughts drift from her mind as she admired the scenery below, coming to greatly enjoy the rush of wind in her face, feeling quite relaxed and even safe to be above the reach of any dangers below.

It has taken most of the rest of the day to reach the plains described by King Aelus, though by Zechariah's standards, it did not take very long. After all, he always flew on Deborah's back to get to where he had to hunt in Eagle Forest, which is a rather vast piece of land to look after while the 'fire-heads' of the city handle politics. He hates being a vigilante about that forest, but not a ton of law enforcement patrol it for poachers and other deviants who disrespect nature. Among other things, he is not known for the patience he can possess, at times. In a way, he had to be impatient out there. Who else will take care of Eagle Forest properly?

As the trio flew, the hunter could not help but notice how much Lanna was enjoying the flight. It reminded him so much of his sister. Just the thought of Hannah and the reminder made him smile, which he rarely ever does since the night his parents died. Just then, Deborah let out a screech which let him know they were almost there. He snapped out of his daze in a jiffy.

"Alright, Lanna! We're approaching the tower! Once we land and introduce ourselves, Makarrah will be the chief of the mission! He is the scholar, so it's only natural that we obey him! Judging by how far we went, Mornmist will need the rest of the day to get here! Once she arrives, in addition to being given the scoop, we can head out at Makarrah's command! I don't know that knight, personally, but she is one of two that was assigned the mission before I volunteered! Whether Astral will still be coming with us is beyond me! We'll know once Mornmist arrives!"

They landed just several meters away from the door. "Well, Lanna, I may not be a knight, but my parents were. As such, I do know a few rules of ettiquette from when I was a kid. I'm not completely rough around the edges." He got off Deborah first, rubbed her feathers in appraisal, then offered to help Arlanna down.

Aquila looked to the sky at the majestic bird flying throughout. A sudden dizziness overcame her as she thought of the uncomfortable nature of flying through the sky with no control over your destination. The dizziness turned to discomfort and forced her to stop for a moment to gather her composure. After travelling a ways further down Avion highway she noticed a farmer delivering his goods to an unknown location. The farmer was more than happy to give her a lift in exchange for protection from bandits and miscreants that lurked around the area. With the aid of a passerby farmer Aquila neared her destination much sooner than expected. She was close enough to see the Gates of the Tower of Makarrah. Aquila notice the hunter and his companion at the entrance to the tower.

Aquila remembered the hunter from the king's summoning, yet the female warrior was a mystery to her. To her knowledge the king had not given this task to anyone except her, the hunter, and another knight. The king would not entrust such a high priority task to just anyone. Perhaps this woman could be an enemy agent seeking knowledge regarding Stormhale's progress with the Magi Stones. She had no direct knowledge of the hunter for that matter. Aquila decide not to let her suspicions guide her judgment. Soon she would be meeting with scholar Makarrah and decided to leave the decision regarding these strangers to him. She cautiously approached the two and greeted them before entering the gates of Makarrah. "Good eve to you my lady, and you sir hunter. "

"Ah, visitors!" Rubius said aloud to himself as he heard the beating of an extraordinarily large pair of wings. The man stood up and shuffled over to his door rather quickly. "Good evening, good evening travel-" Rubius stopped himself to correct his mistake, "knights!" The man let out a rather hearty and jolly laugh that was probably unusual for someone of his old age.

A quick observation led him to believe they might not all be nights, namely Zechariah. Something gave Rubius an air of familiarity about Zechariah though what it was he did not know. Perhaps he had seen him somewhere before. Or perhaps it was simply Rubius' old mind failing once again. Something else, maybe?

"Come in, come in please! Do make yourselves at home so we may discuss the task at hand in comfort!"

Rubius stood aside with his arm outstretched to signal them to come in and sit down on couches. There were three couches in total in his tower, all made of a fine white wood with red silk cushions.

Ever quiet and driven to go with the flow of things, Lanna had waited silently alongside Zechariah, happy to let him ramble on as they watched the sun drift lower in the sky. She did not realize how quickly the change of altitude, having traveled by such unfamiliar means, had exhausted her, and she felt barely awake as the armored woman from earlier approached. Again, she gave Lanna the impression she questioned something, a sense of caution in her gaze despite her politeness. Speaking of politeness, Zechariah's ability to be gentlemanly had caught Lanna off-guard when they had landed, but she was glad for the display as he helped her climb down from the great eagle's back.

Though slowly growing tired, Lanna felt a buzz of excitement once more as the old scholar introduced himself. A slight smile showed on her face, eagerness to hear what he had to tell them overcoming her. As he signaled them into his home, Lanna allowed the others to step in before her, stopping briefly to speak in her soft voice.

"It is an honor to meet such a man of wisdom. Thank you for your hospitality." She bowed slightly, a lifetime of being a lady long before being a traveling warrior showing in her actions, and then she joined the others inside.

Zechariah was not used to couches, but he sat in one, legs crossing like he would when sitting on the ground of the forest. There was much about the lives of non-hunters he had forgotten, especially while staying alive with his sister at Falcon Forest. Now that he is a hunter from Eagle Forest, the man felt he could adapt to his evironment when necessary. He brought out a bag of berries from his belt, holding his hand out for anyone who wanted any. He was accustumed to offering berries, since they are the main sweet food the forest had to offer, and many visitors to Eagle Forest had a sweet tooth.

"Well, Makarrah, you're the boss! What's the scoop on these magi stones people have been talking about?"

The blade stirred. The situation had changed. More minds were nearby than there had been before. For some time now, only one mind had been within its range, but now it was different. There were many minds -one, two, three, four, four minds. The moment was approaching. The moment it would awaken. The more minds were present, the better. Of course, it had been in the presence of more minds before than the ones it felt now, but they had been too similar, people of similar ways of thought. They weren't able to cause the blade to awaken. But now the sword sensed many minds, very different from each other. They stimulated the blade, bringing it closer and closer to the moment its own mind would awaken.
A single pulse of power came to being within the hilt of the sword, and ran through the blade before disappearing at the tip. Yet the sword kept slumbering. It was close, but had not happened yet.