Azriel Kollure's Story

The howling wind was defending, shwush, pouring in from all directions yet he barely heard it. All he could hear was that small but strong voice in his head deep and full of memory, his father’s voice ringing in his ears, “Trust, that’s the thing, son, without it you can no more be a Vanguard than you can a bird.” And he did trust. He loved this feeling, the tug of the planet below calling him as he fell, he was at peace, his eyes closed and just drifting calmly in the wind as he fell thousands of feet through the air. He wondered how long he’d been falling this time, not that he really cared, the duration didn’t matter it was the initial feeling of his stomach flying to his midsection and his heart thumping against the wind that he loved. Against the din of the wind in his eyes as he fell toward the ground he heard a more distinctive roar and so he spun himself, letting his back fall toward the earth first and raised a single hand above him, toward the sky.

Within a matter of milliseconds he was whisked away, feeling a strong and sturdy grasp grip onto his hand and pull him along into the air, out of his free fall. He at last opened his eyes with a smile as he saw the now very near trees passing a dozen yards beneath his feet which dangled in the air, “Nice catch, Seph!” he congratulated. The Huge bronze and green colored dragons above him let out grunt that echoed through his body as it swung him up and tossed him in front of it before he fell onto it’s back and they two soared away. The early morning air was brisk and cool in the high mountains as the ever present soft blankets of snow crested the Five Peaks. Yet the air was warm and inviting as the duo soared back up to their point of origin, the summer breeze keeping the chill of the mountains at bay. Flying at level with one of the ever rising peaks the dragons glided and skipped, every now and then touching the tree tops below as they flew above. They came upon a huge chain, reaching out from the mountain depth and turned, following the chain up.

Higher and higher they flew, swirling and circling the chain in a tight spiral as they rose, high into the clouds where the chains vanished. The clouds were a misty cool on the young people’s faces, even though one of them was currently a multi ton flying lizard, and as the burst through into the bright new dawn above the clouds both felt that ever familiar swelling of pride and awe as they looked upon their home. “I never get tired of that.” he expressed. Their home was Skyguard Rock, a floating mountain, upon which stood the Citadel of the High Guard, the Vanguard Keep, or the Sentinels Sanctuary. So many names for this city on a hill with a massive white stone keep built at its center.

Turning to the far right of the huge, floating, city the duo made for a cluster of floating rock that formed a ring around the main mountain, “So, what’s next, Azriel? More skydiving or agility practice?” the dragon spoke in a gruff voice almost a growl or low roar, yet it was under toned by the light tones of a young woman’s voice. It was an odd sound but then again this was an odd creature; a Human with the ability to transform into a dragon. “My vote’s agility, I got a good feeling about today.”

“You read my mind, Sephera. Let’s hit it.” the young man astride the dragon called as he held on tighter to the harness and pushed himself up, so he was no longer sitting on the saddle but now standing on the stirrups. They took off like a shot as the large and powerful wings thrust backward and the young man let out an excited and adventurous yell. As they approached the cluster of floating rock fragments the young man drew out his blade, careful to keep it clear of the dragon he rode and stood higher in the saddle. They passed by the first rock, upon which a strange contraption of gears and pulleys and other mechanical works with a large red target outstretched toward them, he reached out with his blade and struck the target, the machine turning as it began to click in rhythm. “I’ll never understand that Mermin engineering.” Azriel mused to himself and his partner as they began weaving through the ever shifting stones.

Sephera knew the basic layout of the course by heart, but the constantly changing stones that tumbled about them kept the training visceral and real. She concentrated on flying and left the duty of spotting, as always, to her partner who was busy scanning the field of debris for the ever so elusive targets of the course. “Call it, Az!” Sephera called in her mixed draconic voice.

Azriel didn’t need to be told twice as he spotted a glint of red among the grey and brown rocks flying about them, “Triple threat, right side fifty meters. Give ‘em the gape.” He called in their practiced fashion. On queue the sentinel opened her jaws and prepared for the upcoming turn, just as her Vanguard had said three red targets appeared in a rather flushed line on the right side of the turn. She let the aura built within her jaws and felt the energy reach peak levels as he throat exuded a green glow, then with a widening of her mouth the green energy shot off in a concentrated beam that cut across the sky. The beam was weakened and did not destroy the larger rock as it skipped over the first and second target, knocking them back and sending them spinning, but the third was just outside her range from her turn. She cursed mentally but heard a familiar scream as a red flash shot form the corner of her eye and struck the target. Azriel held out a still slightly smoldering hand from which he had let loose a fire bolt and exhaled, “Close one.”

“No penalties yet… next course please!” the dragon commented as they again banked sharply into the next section of rock that made up the course. Here they had to be even more nimble, actually landing several times on stone and kicking off from them to change direction suddenly. “I thought they posted a notice about a new obstacle somewhere in here, think we missed it?”

“Maybe, I don’t- Whoa!” the Vanguard cried as he looked about and caught sight of a glint a few yards ahead of them and fast approaching. There were five polished iron orbs suspended by leather tethers form several rocks blocking their only open route. They were small and hard to see, no bigger than a watermelon, but still posed a severe theat. He didn’t wait to speak to his partner to whom the iron balls, while not seemingly dangerous to a dragon, posed a greater threat and just acted to protect her. He lunged from her back, leaping forward at remarkable speed as a blue trail of light flowed after him toward the orbs with his blade held high. He struck two with one swing, feeling his momentum slow as he began to lose altitude, yet he could not stop, he swung again with a twist of his body to knock another from Sephera’s path. The world turned slow yet the dragon moved fast and as he looked up at the last two orbs he spotted the reflection of bronze scales in the polished surface of the last two targets. He had no choice and so he reached out toward them with his palm and let out a cry as he forced his body’s natural energies to erupt into the atmosphere.

A pulse erupted from his palm and knocked the last two balls back as he fell away below the opening in the stones the shining spheres had been blocking. He reached up and again heard his father’s voice as he waited ever so patiently with no fear threatening to invade his mind. He was rewarded as a clawed hand grabbed his own and pulled him along again, just as it had earlier. “Thanks Az!” Seph roared as she tossed him onto her back again, “That was not an ok obstacle, I’m gonna have to have a talk with the professor after this.”

“Later,” the young man called as he got back in the saddle, “finish line first.” He called and his partner silently agreed as they flew on into the course. The rest of the path was business as usual as the duo glided through the shifting rock of the agility course, striking the targets here and there and dodging the many obstacles placed throughout the field. At long last they turned the final corner, having made a full circuit to the other side of the large geared contraption. Once more Azriel prepared and lunged from her back of his partner, saving a few moments from their time as he struck the red target knocking it around to the other size and stopping the machine as Seph caught him on her back. As the two turned and hovered, looking at a panel of white tiles above the geared contraption. “Ha! 172, a new course record!” Azriel cheered as Seph let off a small burst of her breath weapon into the air in a celebratory display before they slipped away form the timer and headed back to the Citadel Rock,.

A few minutes later they Sentinel’s claws touched the white marble stone work of one of the many launching platforms upon the Citadel Mount. Her Vanguard wasted no time hoping to the ground and stepped away as the dragon folded its wings and arched its back, taking a few steps forward while its scales began to glow a bright green. The light intensified to an almost blinding level as the dragon’s form got smaller and smaller until at last it was engulfed by a shining cocoon. The Vanguard counted out three fingers nonchalantly while rubbing his other shoulder as the light dimmed and the cocoon shattered, breaking into shards of aura which disintegrated upon striking the ground as a young woman strode forth from within. She flicked her fine blonde hair as the cocoon shattered and vanished completely and stretched her hands upward, fingers interlaced as she loosened up. “Ugh, nothing like a morning flight, eh?” she asked turning to her partner who just smiled and nodded as he walked toward her, still rubbing his right shoulder. “Come on, let’s get some breakfast!” she called as she turned and began heading up the stairs toward the upper city, her vanguard following closely behind.

The city was still quiet, most of the houses still dark in the red glow of the early morning, but it slowly was waking as they climbed higher and higher. The city was occupied by those who support the Skyguard both on and off the field, blacksmiths, bakers, seamstresses, and of course the graduates of the Skyguard Academy themselves took up residence in the city that surrounded the Citadel, leaving the students of the Academy to live in the dorms or the young graduates to occupy the barracks of the fortress. Passing by a large bakery near the entrance to the academy portion of the Academy a man within gave off a high pitched whistle as the duo passed by on the street, causing Sephera to turn on her heel and wave to him. “Morning you two, out for a stroll by the dawn?” the baker asked with a chuckle as he polished his display case, already laden by fresh pastries for the morning rush.

“More like a flight.” Sephera asked as they stopped outside the shop, Azriel smiling to the baker.

He stopped rubbing his shoulder long enough to wave to the man and push Sephera toward the shop “Morning, Sid, how’s the family?”

“Ah, little Alicia has a cold. Not much mum’s magic can do about that so she’ll just have to rest up and muddle through,” the vanguard smiled attentively as he withdrew several gold pieces from his pocket and tossed them to the baker ordering their ‘usual’ that being his personal favorite pastry, and apple fritter, and a buttered croissant and banana for Sephera, knowing her favorite. “Not eating at the dining hall this morning?” the baker asked rhetorically as he gathered their order without being told what it was in any more detail.

Sephera took her bread and took a bite, savoring it before swallowing, “Just set the new record for agility, so we’re celebrating.” She commented as she glanced at Azriel who was eating his fritter with his right hand and rubbing his shoulder with his left, “Had a few scares but it was more or less the usual, a few targets, some flying rocks and- what are you doing to your shoulder?” Sid nodded in agreement to her curiosity.

“Eh, I just pulled it earlier.”

“When?” Seph inquired with clear surprise, “Since when do you hurt yourself during training?”

“Remember that un-braced Pulse spell I had to use earlier?”

Seph rolled her eyes and put down her breakfast, making Azriel sit in one of the Bakery’s café chairs, “Take off the pauldrons.” She ordered, knowing she couldn’t mess with the metal clasps herself. He complied with a wince, Sid taken aback by how much of a deal Azriel was making out of a simple pulled muscle. Seph though the same until she touched his tunic’s shoulder and felt the bone, a slight shimmer in her eyes as she looked at his arm. “Az!”

“Wh-what?” he exclaimed in shocked surprise.

“Moron, that’s not a pulled muscle, you fractured it!” she chastised him as she hovered a hand over the bruised arm, “Honestly, you’d think you’d know the difference.” Azriel just huffed followed swiftly by a wince as a green glow emanated from her palm as ethereal tendrils entered into his skin, she held his arm tightly as he winced again, “Oh, you big baby, I swear…. You’re such a girl.” She commented.

Az just grinned “You know… not the best insult you could have chosen.” Seph just stopped her healing for a moment as she looked him in the face with a frown and a furrowed brow. A small bolt of static electricity shot from her palm into his shoulder, making him jump and yelp in pain, whipping the smile form his face. “Ok… Ok, I get it… shutting up now.”

The Baker just laughed, “You two, I swear…” he chuckled as he looked through the window of his shop at the academy dorms on the other side of the Citadel Walls, “It’s almost time for graduation, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, our whole class should be getting assignments any day now…”

Az nodded as he let the magic stitch up the fracture in his arm, “Yeah… wonder what the others are up too right now…”

The morning light cast over Kirill's form, warming his bare chest as he stared across the misty skies towards the bursting orb of heat. The Sentinel sat atop the main structure of the Citadel, right at the peak wear a long turret struck into the sky. He gripped the harsh roofing below him, his long fingers and toes helping him stay aloft. Kirill loved to witness the moment between day and night, when they sky was still in transition. He loved the smell of the morning air, the purity behind an untarnished day. Although it would be much better in the snow, Kirill still found he could enjoy these mornings.

Kirill missed his homeland, even if he had been an outcast to his people. They hate shunned him when he was revealed to be a Sentinel, a beast in their eyes. But apart from their hateful words and horrible actions, Kirill had payed them no mind. He did not care about what others thought, especially the individuals who held no power. They were like squabbling rats to him, morsels of meat that he could easily rid of. No, what he truly missed was the rolling hills of pure white, the peaks that rose up in the distance, and the way a sunny day still chilled you right to the bone. He missed the way his breath wafted from his lips, how his fingers turned to ice if he kept his gloves off for too long. As beautiful as the Citadel was, there was far less snow in this place....far less purity.

In the midst of the rolling mist, Kirill could spot one of his fellow Sentinel flying with her Vanguard, the green of her scales shining bright as the lifting sun grew brighter. Kirill loved to practice in the morning light with his partner, but they had not reserved the track for today. At the thought of Eshe, Kirill blinked and glanced back at the sun. It was now fully above the cliffs, a perfect circle sitting atop the horizon. He was to meet his Vanguard at the practice field at sunrise and he hated to make her wait. Slowly and carefully Kirill stood, making sure to keep his bare feet curled around the dangerous perch. A light breeze flew by, ruffling his messy white hair and white linen pants. He huffed, breathing in the air deeply before turning and walking along the tip of the roof.

The sparring field they had chosen was a quick fly from the rooftop. Kirill stood at the edge, looking down at the few people that were moving around below. His cloudy blue eyes followed their various movements before he released a gust of air and let his body plummet.

In mid fall, Kirill released his human skin the done the body of a dragon. It appeared that it could have hurt, but Kirill thought of it as the best feeling on Earth. At first his body glowed dimply, building upon itself before he was like a rezoning beckon of glowing blue ice. Then it burst from his skin, tearing apart the human body he wore. The light continued to grow, quadrupling in size before it slowly solidified and diminished. In the place oft he light was the massive body of a blue scaled dragon, long bat-like wings folding against his body to continue his dive.

He spread them right before he hit the ground, sending out a hawk like screech of exhilaration. The few people below screamed and fell to the ground to avoid his massive form as he glided above them. He chuckled at the sight of the cowering humans, then lifted his massive wings once more to propel him him high above the buildings. He beat his wings twice before angling his long scaly body towards the sparring fields, before tucking his wings in once more to dive. Kirill's dragon form was built for speed, so while he was massive in size, he was by no means hefty. His serpent like body cut through the air currents, his long tail propelling him down in a perfect dive.

The sparing ground came faster then he would have liked, forcing him to spread his wings as far as they could to catch the wind and stop him mid dive. The massive membranes filled with air, slowly him down instantly. He hovered mid flight, searching the ground for his partner but not spotting her. With a snort, he folded his wings and let his body fall to the ground, catching himself on his long lizard like legs. Kirill twisted his head around, looking around the arena for Eshe and finally deeming her not present.

'Your late...' He growled out, using his Mind Snare ability to send a telepathic communication to his Vanguard. They had set up the connection long ago so that Kirill did not have to request permission to speak to her. The massive dragon turned his head to face the direction he could sense his partner in, awaiting her response and appearance.

“I don’t know, I’d guess that they are either just now waking up or going through morning training. Everyone is really anxious right now, you know?” Seph lowered her hand after a few moments of healing and wiped her brow, “There, best I can due for the moment, try not to move that arm for at least twenty minutes so the magic can do its work.” She warned as she took up the seat across from him and rocked it back onto its rear legs with a sigh, propping her head in the palm of her hand.

Azriel nodded dutifully as he looked up through the skylight, a common feature in buildings on the Rock, and spied another dragon flying against the backdrop of the blue sky. “Thanks.” He added.

“Next time don’t do something so stupid…” she chastised as she shot him a glare as if the whole situation was his fault before returning her gaze to Sid who was chuckling again. “What’s so funny?”

“You kids, you’re always like this, so care free and self-assured. It’s a good thing.” He assured as he began cleaning his counters, “So when is graduation for you kids?”

“Not sure” Az spoke up, “we’ve still yet to finish exams… and then there are our trials.”

“You still have an exam?” Seph asked with surprise.

He looked at her with a raised brow, “Yeah, I’ve got to pass my bladed weapon exam still, I told you that yesterday.”

“What? They are actually testing you on that? Isn’t that your best class?”

“Yeah, that’s why Professor Kayle is making me use a claymore for it. It’s my worst weapon, guess she figures it will be a good experience for me.” He added as he looked at his arm, “So I’m glad you fixed this up, I’d never have passed with a broken arm.”

“So have they summoned your year to the Masters yet?” the baker questioned.

Seph and Azriel took on a more somber demeanor then as Sephera spoke, “Yes and no.”

“What?”

“See most of the teams don’t get summoned until their trials are assigned, however the most veteran teams are called in beforehand to be given a special preliminary briefing.”

Sid was puzzled, “Most veteran teams?”

Az spoke next, “Yeah, see when you are in your final year some teams are selected before their trials to go out on missions with actual knights, often those teams are the top preforming duos or have a special skill set needed or something like that. Seph and I were called in yesterday to the Masters’ hall along with four other teams because we have been on two technical deployments already.”

“See those of us who have deployed before are instructed on some basic rules and then are assigned more teams with us to do the trials with.” Seph added.

“Ah, so you are the leaders of the trials then, right?”

“Well, not really,” she said as she peeled her banana, “we aren’t actually any higher ranked or given special orders or anything like that, though typically we do act as the defacto leaders of the trial teams, you know flying at the front of formations and such.” She explained before taking a bite.

The Baker rubbed his chin in thought, “If you’re not going to be real commanders though then why call you in?”

It was Az’s turn now and he shrugged innocently, “It’s complicated, but the gist is that the Masters want the most senior teams who have been in the field to be aware of their responsibilities to the others. Since we’ve been out there before we are expected to have a better appreciations for the outer world or something.” He let that sink in before continuing, “But we aren’t supposed to take direct command or something like that. The teams who form the squadrons pass or fail by their performances in the field as a collective group. So we aren’t really given any special rights or anything.”

“Well, except for the power of Veto.” Sephera corrected him.

“Veto? As in denial of a vote?” Sid questioned

“In a way… see normally it takes a three fourths vote for a squadron to abandon a mission if it becomes too dangerous or gets out of hand. But since the trials is a test and young members like us always have something to prove the Masters give the veteran teams a Veto…” he drew a finger across his neck in a gesture of finality, “If Sehpera and I agree that the mission has become too hazardous for our squadron we have the right to order everyone back to the Citadel, no questions.”

“Jeez, big responsibility.”

“Yeah,” Sephera said, “and it comes at a cost, if we exercise the right of Veto against the will of the others we pay a heavy price. The others will eventually be given another trial if this happens but if we use the veto then we have to face that fact. We’ll be expelled from the guard if the veto is abused. And even if used properly we have to wait three years to take another trial if we exercise it.”

“You two talk WAY too much!” came a booming voice from the doorway as two more people entered. One was a lithe man, much smaller than the other and wearing soft clothing with no visible metal upon it while the other was a massive man, coated in huge leather plates with two large halberds crossed on his back.

“Ah, the Vesbern brothers!” the baker announced, both of them waving in greeting to them.”

The smaller one approached first to the counter and Az noted that each of them was carrying a heavy pack, “Morning, Mr. Sid. How goes it.”

“Fine, thanks, what can I get ya?”

“I’ll take three of my usual, Sid.” The big guy said as he came up to the counter too. The smaller brother just chuckled and looked over at Azriel and Sephera and winked to Seph who just smiled and gave a small wave. After ordering they both approached their fellow Skyguard, “’Ello ‘Ello, what have we here?”

“Good to see you too, Rupert,” Azriel said as he greeted the large vanguard who almost slapped him on the shoulder but he managed to slide his chair back to avoid it, “Watch it! Seph just mended that arm.” He commented as he glanced over. Seph had stood up and was hugging the other Vesbern tightly, prompting an eyebrow raise from Az who whistled sharply, “Oi! You two, save it for later will ya?”

Seph turned to Azriel with an annoyed expression, “I can hug my boyfriend whenever the hell I want, thanks.” She have the young man a kiss just to prove her point before sticking her tongue out at her vanguard who just laughed along with the larger brother. The Vesberns were a rare bunch; it was rare enough for a family to have a Sentinel, let alone twins. Of course only once, hundreds of years ago, had there ever been two sentinel twins born at the same time. The Vesbern brothers were twins but only one was a Sentinel, the other joining the guard as a Vanguard when he’d turned of age. They were the highest ranked team in the academy, currently the best of the best, with over four deployments before their trial they were easily the most experienced as well. Rupert’s dual halberd style of combat was impressive and Azriel had to admit he had never managed to win against him in armed combat, while Jerome was the foremost student of the arcane able to perform a wide variety of combat spells well beyond that of the other Sentinels. Jerome was a powerful dragon too, being a strength type, and though he lost in races in combat the duo or unmatched, able to move and fight together better than anyone else in their year. All told it was unsurprising they were there to receive a pre briefing like Azriel and Sephera were.

“Careful, Jerome,” the brother called, “she’s claimed you as her property, next she’ll put a leash on you and parade you around town.”

“What a fine idea!” Seph mentioned.

Jerome spoke up, his hand at Seph’s waist, “How about we just go for one last walk or flight around town instead?”

“One last?”

Azriel was as interested as Rupert now. Those two had seemed a good couple, was Jerome about to drop the breakup bomb. Az had warned him if he hurt Sephera he’d had to chop him up into tiny bits. Would he have to follow through? Jerome just gestured to his backpack, “Didn’t you two notice?”

Both looked quizzically for a moment before Sephera spoke up in surprise, “You got your trial already?”

“Yep, called us in this morning before most of the dorms were even awake, there were three other teams waiting for us when we got to the Masters’ Hall.” Rupert explained.

“Where are you headed? Or can you not say?” Seph asked.

“Well, uh,” Jerome thought for a moment, no doubt determining if he should say or not but the worried look in Sephera’s eyes got to him, “It’s just a small hop into Kalium to retrieve some property of the Kalium family left over after the coup. The current government is finally allowing some of the more personal items of the family to be returned.”

“A lot of bad blood between the Guard and Kalium,” Az practically growled, “don’t let your guard down ever for a second.” He advised. Kalium was a place that few members of the Skyguard ventured in recent years. Ever since the military coup the Skyguard has been at best an unwelcome guest at their whim and at worst the Guard had to evacuate several teams form the nation when the Regime turned hostile. Typically only the most senior already oath bound Knights were sent into that nations. Finding out that the first team sent into that nation for a trial in twenty years was going to be led by the Vesberns was of little surprise to him. Azriel was glad it wasn’t him being sent there, he had a rather poor opinion of that nation since his father had told him about the coup, most in the High Guard had a low image of the Military Regime of Kalium.

Seph rubbed her upper arms as if stave off a chill that was in truth a sign of concern, “When…when do you leave?” she asked.

“Tomorrow morning.” Jerome answered with a solemn look to the floor, “It will take a few weeks to get everything situated, we probably won’t be back before you head off on your own trial.”

“Oh.” She said with clear disappointment.

Azriel couldn’t’ stand it any long as he rocked is chair back before springing to his feet with a stern expression, “Right! You two, get going.” He said, pointing to Seph and Jerome, Rupert nodding in the background. “You’ve got one more day, now go spend it wisely!” he demanded.

“Wha-but, uh, I, I mean, we’ve still got to prepare for the journey!” Jerome insisted but Rupert waved a finger at his brother.

“Now none of that, you two get going, I can handle the preparations by myself brother!”

Sephera shook her head, “We can’t make you do that, Rupert.”

“Oh just get going already!” Az demanded, “I’ll give Rupert a hand with the packing. My exam isn’t until later in the day so it will be fine.” It took a bit more to convince them but at last the two left the bakery, changing form and soaring away into the clouds together. Azriel sighed, “Jeez, they’re both stubborn as a dragon.”

“I think it’s an inherent trait for Sentinels.” Rupert proposed as they head into town to get the preparations going. It would be an uneventful day, as the two dragons went about the city having one more day together before the trials and the two Vanguards did all the heavy lifting. The Vesbern Brothers and company would leave the next morning with little delay, Jerome kissing Sephera goodbye tenderly before morphing and flying away with the others and his brother.

That would be the last they’d see of each other, for a long, long time.

OOC: Notes*: Okay, so as you may have guessed this is the point where I’ve set up a time skip. NO PLAYER IS IN THE GROUP THAT WAS CALLED THIS MORNING though you can make an NPC to interact with if you’d so like. As for the teams summoned earlier to be given a pre briefing unless you were SPECIFICALLY sent a PM about it by me do not be one such group. The purpose of that is so that we can drive the story and it will come up later. My next post will be a time skip forward to when the gang is summoned for their Trial. Please wrap up any first day or morning business soon. Thank you.

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After hours of training, both sisters had been effectively warn out...

Say slowly pulled back the string of her bow for what felt like the millionth time. It took the strain of every muscle in upper body to even gather the strength to pull back the string. And physically letting it go caused her pain. For the past hours she had repeated the same pattern of notching an arrow in her fingertips, pulling the string back, aiming the arrow head for its target, and releasing... Though through the hundreds of arrows she had loosed her aim had been getting better and better, her muscles could no longer take the strain of pulling. This was the last arrow for the day...

Just like before, she took her time aiming the arrow. But just as she was loosing the arrow, she felt a churning, gut burning pain in her stomach; causing her to curl at the midsection while loosing. Grunting she loosed the arrow, on an unintended course, off the ledge of the platform completely. Shit... She uttered to herself as she stood back up and took a moment to realize what had hit her: Hunger. An enemy that no amount of training could cure, and no magic could fix. Only food would help. Standing back up straight, she walked over to the table where she had first gotten the bow and rested it on it, along with the rest of the arrows and her quill. Sighing she walked away from the archery targets, trying to locate her sister: Her way down to the city below.

Lowa herself had completely spent herself. Panting like a rabid dog, or dragon in this case, Lowa had sprawled out in the cold, still wet, grass of the training fields. Their, lying on her back upside down with her tongue hanging out of her mouth and on her own face, she began to relax. For the past hours she had pushed herself to her limits, and beyond. After being blown off by both Eshe and her partner, Lowa had raced herself around the skies of the Citadel. Even though every muscle in her body burnt, she had enjoyed it deep down inside... The liked the feeling of pushing past her breaking point.

In the wet grass she had begun to fall asleep... until the flat of her sister's foot on her head forced her to open her massive plate-sized eye to look at her sister. "Get up..." Say stated in between pants to her dragon. "It's time to eat..." Eat...? Lowa thought to herself. But... I'm not even- Before she could finish the thought she felt her stomach churn over itself, grinding and groaning for her to get some food. Maybe I am... she thought as she slowly rolled over to her left side to get back on her feed. Shaking the grass off of herself, she took a moment to stretch out and lower her wing for her sister to climb up.

Slowly stepping up the wing of her sister, Say reached her hand down to her sister's back where her saddle should have gone. Whispering a few words to herself, her crystal amulet began to glow. From where the saddle should have been, grew an actual saddle. Made completely out of the same material as herself and Lowa, there was no metal to possibly hurt Lowa in flight. Even Say's sword was carried on her back to prevent Lowa from being hurt in any way.

Throwing herself into the leaf-saddle, she hooked her feet into the vine holsters and smiled a little. She loved this feeling, being one with her sister. Even though she pushed Lowa to her max so that she could be her best, she loved Lowa more than anyone in the world... and Lowa felt the same way. She knew that Say could sometimes be a hardass, but knew that Say loved her and only wanted to make her the best sentinel the Skyguard had ever seen.

Turning herself to the edge of the Citadel, Lowa slowly spread her still slightly sore wings and pushed off the edge, allowing herself and Say to fall right off the edge. Gripping her sister's saddle tight, and holding part of Lowa's long hair with one hand and the saddle with the other, the pair went into a free-fall of the edge. Allowing them to pick up speed in the fall, Lowa kept her wings tight to herself, almost around Say to keep her safe. Though Say had NEVER fallen off the back of her, Lowa always wanted to keep her big sister safe.

Say loved this: the feeling of falling. Though it wasn't as magical as the feeling of flight, it was sure up there. The feeling of her bones in the saddle weighing nothing felt amazing to her. Slowly she let go of her sister's reins, raising her hands up to her sides as her hair flew in the wind. Finally, for the first time in days, Say let a smile creep across her face. A true smile. A smile of happiness and joy. But she had to quickly wake herself up, and grab the reins again to signal Lowa to pull up before they got too low to the ground. Flicking the reins 3 times, Lowa began to turn herself forward, opening her wings only slightly to catch some air so they began to fall at an angle. After letting herself level out a little, she quickly let her wings out from her body, allowing them to fill with air and catch their fall. Pushing them down as hard as she could, Lowa pushed against the air current to slow them down.

Now they had gotten close to the town below, and it was time for the both of them to make a critical choice... where to eat? But this wasn't actually a question to either of them. There was only one place the sisters ever went when they felt they deserved to... Sids. The greatest baker, perhaps, in the entirety of the world. Tarts, breads, rolls, and butter... Gods if there was a single thing Sid knew how to do, it was butter. Anything from Sid's, the sisters knew, would leave them fat and happy. Patting her sister two times, Say let her know to head for Sid's.

Lowa had approved, completely, with her sister's choice. She, too, loved Sid's bakery more than anything in the world. But it wasn't just the food she loved. She loved everything about Sid's. The smell, the atmosphere, the people, and even Sid himself. Sid had been one of the nicest people in the world to the two. Lowa felt like Sid was more than just a baker, he was a Craftsmen himself. His sweet smile, his calm tone of voice, his swift hands able to create anything from bread. There was no one in the world that Lowa liked more.

Finally gliding through the city, Lowa found a nice stretch of empty street near Sid's that was perfect for landing. The hardest part of landing, was landing in the street... With city buildings around, the air Lowa's wings would push would be reflected and put back into their sails; which made landing in a street an exact science. After carefully landing inside the canopy of the city, Lowa lowered her wing down to let Say climb down before turning back to her human form. Just as quickly as she had transformed, she reformed into her normal look: Her long black Skyguard jacket, hate, and hide-skirt with her long pure white hair hanging visible on her back.

After a few moments of finding themselves, they began to navigate towards Sid's. Finally finding their way their way to the door of Sid's, they found themselves starring up at the massive mountain of flesh and muscle they called Rupert, walking out the door with his partner. Say and Rupert had met a few times sparing, but had never really talked... and they weren't going to start now. Simply moving out of him and his partner's way, they simply pretended not to notice them.

But once inside, there was no turning away from the face's of the two people Say couldn't stand to be around... the vanguard Azriel and his sentinel Sephera. Now, Sephera was someone Say could like. She was very polite, and soft spoken, much like herself. She was even very sweet at times. But Azriel... was someone she couldn't like.

While Azriel had never been rude to Say or Lowa, Say didn't like him. Mind you, there is a deference between "like" and "respect". Without a doubt Say respected the hell out of Azriel for his combat skills and his leadership skills, but there was an air about him she couldn't agree with. He always acted like everyone was under his thumb... (almost as if he was the GM or something...) Like it was his right to be the top of the class. But for as long as Say had known him he had never done anything to provoke her, and she hoped it would stay that way. But... deep inside... something inside her liked Azriel: The way he looked and how he acted. As if it was a challenge to her. A challenge she would like to "test" herself on...

As is most often the case Lowa, on the other hand, carried a completely different outlook on them. Sephera was one of the only people in the world Lowa wished she could be as beautiful as: Her hair was as blonde as gold which was always something Lowa loved about her. And the way she carried herself, even in her dragon form. She thought Sephera was simply beautiful all around. But Azreil was a whole different kind of animal. While Say might have had a small secretive admired on him, like most girls of the Skyguard did, she flat out crushed for him. Everything about him was a slight turn on for Lowa: From the way he acted to the way he dressed. Even the way he carried a sword could make any girl bothered and hot.

Say tilted her head at the sight of the two, asking herself what they were doing here. Well, not really. They were most likely getting food just like them. But she wondered why they were here at this moment, the same time as them. Lowa's eyes widened as she spotted Azriel, and her cheeks dashed red. Trying to hide this, she covered her face with her black hat a little bit and even tried to hide behind her sister.

Say had shrugged off the question and walked forward through the door, with her sister behind her. "Well... Isn't this rare." She asked with a little chuckle. "First those two outside, and now you two. Never knew Sid's was such a popular place for Skyguard..."

---

Waking up that morning Arziel stretched as per his routine. He did some slight exercises, pushups and the like, and finally headed over to his window to pull open the curtains. The outside air was cool and refreshing and the sun glistened on the horizon. Looking down at the town he spied Sid placing a sign outside hi shop and was transported back to the day Jerome and Rupert had left. Say and Lowa had arrived at the bakery that morning as well and shortly after they had entered the nonchalant and rather cheerful atmosphere turned.

As the Sylvan sisters had entered the bakery a small cough escaped behind Sid. His daughter Alicia had snuck from bed and come down the stairs. She was pale and wheezing with gasping breaths as she entered the bakery. “Daddy?” she barely squeaked out as she leaned against the wall for support. Sid went to her but before he could get any answers form her she collapsed. Her body was feverish, her face pale, and as they all gathered around her the tiny child let out a rasping and broken cough. The sound of it still echoed in Azriel’s ears.

Alicia’s cough brought Azriel back to his own childhood, in the western farmlands of Zepher. In that place there was a rare illness that afflicted the young called Rattling Cough. It was a truly dreadful plague that almost always resulted in death for those stricken by it. Unfortunately the only known cure for the illness was a rare herb found only in the north, far away from the west of Zepher where the illness existed.

It was his younger sister, Elizabeth, who was afflicted by this illness in his youth. He still remembered her fragile body shaking against the chills and how she was so hot to the touch he almost recoiled, but worst was that cough, the rasping and wheezing cough that would forever haunt his memory. The doctors said that even with their best medicines she would only last a few days at the most. He remembered the despair in his mother’s eyes when she heard this. But there was something else in his memory as well; a fire, a fire that was lit in his Father’s eyes. He’d rushed form their home immediately, taking a horse to the nearest city. It was another three days before his father returned, this time astride a flying beast. He’d rushed to the neatest city and found an old friend, a Sentinel he’d known inthe Skyguard, then they had flown nonstop to the north to find the herb. They’d arrived just in time to save his younger sister and to this day Azriel remembered both the sound of that terrible cough, and the name of that magical plant that saved his sister.

“Kath-thorn…” Azriel had whispered to the others as Rupert rushed to get a doctor. Knowing that the sisters were well learned in herb lore Azriel asked the Sylvan sisters if they knew of where they could find this herb. He only knew of the far north of Zepher, near the border with Kalium, and it would take far too long to mobalize a team to gather such and herb at this point. He almost despaired as his mother had, but as Say looked to him he found a familiar fire in another’s eyes. The Garden within the Keep was home to a rich stock of nearly every herb in the world, from the most common of weeds to the rarest of flowers.

When he heard this Azriel moved swiftly asking Lowa for a lift to the Keep’s garden while requesting Say to what she could for the young child with the herbs that Sid had in the shop. No doubt Say wasn’t exactly happy with the arrangement of duties he had suggested but it was the best way, as they needed Lowa’s speed to reach the garden swiftly. Alicia had far less time than Elizabeth had had. The Sylvan dragon burst from the shop and shot into the air with Azriel astride, rushing to the garden. It was Lowa who had found the Herb and when they returned the doctor and Rupert had arrived. It did not take long once the cure was admitted for the child’s fever to lower and her breathing to ease. Sid’s gratitude could not be understated, and he was not along in that. It was their first major triumph as a team and the fact that the Sylvan sisters were still not yet deployed gave Azriel slight hope they might work with him and Seph on the Trial.

As he had said that morning, “I’d gladly fight with either of you any day, if you need anything just ask.”

Nine days passed since that morning with no word from the Knight Masters, which had Azriel and She on edge. There were now only two Prefect Teams Left, Eshe and Kirill and of course Sephera and himself. It was strange to think that the remaining teams would be split in two, a fact only he and the other Prefects were aware of, and sent off sooner than many probably thought. There were Nine teams left of the senior class, and soon another four or five would no doubt be gone. It was a sobering fact, and perhaps that was what had driven Azriel to take more to socializing than he already did. He wondered the Keep at all hours, speaking with everyone he met, aiding the younger teams of which there were around sixty or so in training and giving pointers to a group of rather rambunctious young third year Vanguards a few sword lessons to pass the time.

Damn it all, I’m getting restless waiting.

Of course maybe this new found flightiness was actually due more to Sephera’s demeanor as of late than his own personal concerns. Sephera was almost always found in the grand hall now, where they ate their meals every morning noon and night instead of circling around the city for fun, and she always sat with her face to one wall, the Living Wall. The wall is called Living because it changed daily as it had a shield placed upon it for every team deployed at that time, including those on Trials, and should communication be lost with a team a red cloth would be draped over their shield with the red being change to black if they were confirmed lost. Of the twelve shields embroidered with silver indicating they were of young teams on their trials four had her constant attention now. She had her books and was often surrounded by younger students and to most seemed as normal as could be, still lively and friendly, always ready to aid another, but to those who had known her for years they knew that something was off, and Azriel knew better than anyone.

As they sat there that morning eating breakfast her eyes were often glide up to the shield wall, staying focused on the display for several seconds longer than she normally would before returning to her meal. He knew exactly why and as she once again glanced up at the wall Azriel gave in and turned around himself, knowing full well what she was looking at. Four shields at the bottom right were covered in red cloth. He could not see the inscribed names upon them but he knew whose they were, he had watched them when they were hung first. Jerome and Rupert’s team had yet to check in.

He let out a held breath and turned to Seph again, determined to pull his partner form this funk, “Seph…Seph?” he paused before trying again, “Sephera….hello, yoohoo!...” he snapped his fingers once trying to draw her gaze to no avail, “Seph!...SEPHERA!” he asserted far more harshly, causing her to jump and shake her head suddenly aware how she had spaced, “You okay?”

---

---

Seph’s mind was a blank slate right now. All she could do was remember days past, when Jerome had held her, when they’d gone flying, even their fights and arguments were fondly recalled now. She was rubbing her own hands together she stroking the back of one with another’s thumb, like he had always done. She’d taken to sleeping with one of his tunics too, ever since he’d left for his trial. Looking up from the table where she’d hardly touched her food she gazed intently at the second Shield from the bottom right, the red cloth seeming more like a cloaking of blood than a simple woven tapestry. In the back of her mind she heard a whisper against the increasing din of the buzzing in her heard, “-eph…Se-”

She didn’t reply though, all her thought was focused on that sea of cold red that was so little and yet meant so much. Questioned fluttered in her brain; What could have stopped them reporting? What was the true purpose of their Trial? What could be so dangerous about retrieving a few heirlooms? “Se-era…-yooho-” that voice echoed in her mind again. No doubt it was the memory of Jerome’s voice, calling to her in her distant state. But as she desired less to think of the red and more to remember his voice she found the drone in her head receding and finally heard the voice in Earnest, “Seph?...” yes, that strong willed voice must be-“ SEPHERA!”

Okay… that last one didn’t sound anything like Jerome…

Startled Seph jumped a bit in her seat as she left her space subconscious state she had unknowingly entered and looked about her surroundings. Right! The Grand Hall… of course… how could I forget I was in the Grand Hall? she asked herself internally as she gathered herself, sweeping her fallen bangs behind her ears. She vaguely heard a question come from across the table. But as with her name being called she didn’t really hear it. who called my name again?

“Seph!” Azriel asserted one final time, finally drawing her eyes.

“Huh?” she questioned almost startled to see him there, “oh, right, sorry…uh… what were you saying?”

Azriel steadied his breathing as he looked at his partner, “I was asking if you were alright…. But since I know you’re not I’ll forgo your dismissive response.” He commented as he eaned further in towards her, “It’s alright Seph. Our contact network in Kalium is just really sparse, it only makes since that it would take them longer than expected to check in; look, which team scored higher in all events than anyone else our year?”

Seph let out a held breath, of course he knew, hell everyone probably does and is just too polite to mention it, and gave him a smile as she seemingly considered his words, “Yeah… you’re right… they probably just got held up.”

Azriel ground his teeth quietly for a moment as his jaw set, [iShe’s being bloody dismissive again![/i] but rather than push her yet he reached his hand across the tabel to take on of hers. His hands were rough, calloused and marked form all his training, while hers were supple and soft. It was the way of the Skyguard, if not by their dress you could tell a person’s job by their hands. She’d always liked how soft Jerome’s hands were, how their comforted her when he cupped her face. And yet Azriel’s hands provided just as much comfort to her now. Perhaps it was just their training and her ingrained trust in her Vanguard. No, it’s not ingrained trust in the system, it’s trust in him she thought.

Yet at that moment, just when she was about to break and come clean about her despairing worry both of their eyes were drawn to Azriel’s wrist. And to the shimmering seal that was located there. Looking up at each other all their prior conversation halted as both went into pure Guard mode, they stood as one with Azriel grabbing his bastard sword and claymore he’d had by his side for sword practice later and Sephera shoving her books into her pack. Standing up several of the younger teams watched them with admiration but they weren’t what the duo was looking for. Both Azriel and Sephera were scanning the Grand hall, trying to see which other teams had received the summons; there was the team of Seriss and Kael, then Talyera and Altan as well.

Azriel though, just how many will be joining us? as he glanced about to see who else had been summoned. Luke and Rommel, Lillian and Tiberius, and then there were others too. All told it looked as if every senior in the room had gotten a summons right them. Instinctually both Sephera and Azriel headed from the Grand Hall with purpose, though as they pass the Living Wall Azriel noted a stuttering step that Seph took near the right edge of the shields. He’d leave it for now though. Looking to those nearby who were moving to the courtyard he thought back to the Hall. He had seen Eshe and Kirill at some point that morning but now that he thought about it they had left the Hall earlier, probably for a flight or something. Too bad, I’d have liked to talk to Eshe before leaving. Maybe I’ll see her around before we take off though…

Leaving the Grand Hall with those that were also there in mass the duo headed to the courtyard at the central gate, the boundary between the Academy and the Skyguard Keep. It was very rare for anyone not in their senior year to enter these gates and the Keep beyond. Seph still recalled her first time through the gates when she was in her fifth year. Once at the courtyard they saw that this was already an odd calling before ever they entered the Court. Standing with them before the massive gates was a most unexpected sight, Eshe and Kirill, the only remaining Prefects; meaning that the remaining members of their year must also have been called. Azriel’s first thought was, why would they send all of us at once on one mission? but as Seph had already reasoned in her own mind and now was whispering to her partner, “They must be dividing us into two squads at once.” Azriel nodded.

“I guess they want all of us… should we wait for the others?” he asked those currently assembled.

Scipio never woke up on time.

He was a late riser, he loved sleeping, and therefor his body never rose when the sun did. Usually, he had to rely on Silveria to wake him, but today with little imp of a girl did not appear like normal. He awoke instead to a bright, glowing light right near his face. Thinking it was the sun streaming in through his open window, Scipio rolled over with a grunt and burried his face into his goose feather pillow.

But wait...hadn't he closed the window last night for this exact reason? He hated waking up to the sun in his face, so he had drawn the black out curtains and....

Scipio shot out of bed, his eyes immediately landing on his glowing seal. With a string of curses he rushed around his room, throwing on his usual loose white shirt and dark leather breeches tucked into leather boots. He fell, twice, in the process, his mind in a frenzy as he realized they were finally being called.

Where the hell was Silveria?

Scipio took a moment in front of the mirror to fix his bed head, hoping to calm it down somewhat so he didn't look like such a mess when he showed up a tad late. But, the locks seemed to not want to agree with him today, so he just ruffled them more (hoping it looked like he was going for that look) and rushed out the door. Halfway down the hall he realized he had forgotten his damned Seal and ran back, snatching the heated badge quickly before exiting once again.

He reached the open courtyard just behind Sephera and Azriel, glad that he wasn't actually late but on time. If he arrived behind a prefect, surely he was fine....meaning now he had to worry about Silveria. The little Sentinel usually did what she was told, but sometimes she had to be corralled in if she was off doing her thing. Just as he was about to turn and head back into the Citadel to look for her, Silveria popped up by his elbow.

Scipio gave a startled jump and glared down at the Sentinel, but at her cheesy grin his face relaxed into a grateful smile. Damned girl was going to be the death of him someday.

Silveria and Scipio stood next to each other as they awaited information on the gathering, Scipios eyes wandering towards the direction of the lake and Silveria twirling her light blue hair excitedly.