Thane Illuvatar's Story

Thane watched the show from afar. Truthfully, the only entertaining parts were the dragon's thievery and the ruckus with the jester. But then again, he wasn't an entertainer so he couldn't judge. As the crowd scattered, the Nephilim rose, accompanied solely by his dragon and a saddle filled with oddities, following the young entertainer into the throngs of citizens lining the streets. Itan, the pearl white dragon floated about fifty feet in the air above him, casting a fair shadow as they moved forward. Passing through the crowd was not difficult for the large man, as those who didn't step out of their way to gawk momentarily at the rarity before them, were bounced away and brushed aside by his massive size. Eventually, he caught up with the girl. "...We got ourselves a fortune here. He could hear her congratulating her dragon. "An entertainer by trade and thief by choice. Am I correct?" He asked with a laugh as he leaned on a crate. "All though I can't say I'm much better. We merchants are a bit more silver tongued than thieves, but at the end of the day, the goal is the same. Walk away with more coin in your pouch than the other guy." His hood fell away, loosing his short scarlet hair to the mercy of the breeze. "Don't worry I'm not going to hang you out to dry. I've gotten in my fair share of trouble here too. I'd go down fight alongside you. What's your name pickpocket?"

With a smile, Thane let loose a loud, shrill whistle. As soon as the noise faded, several dozen small objects fell from his dragon's saddle and into the street, stopping about half an inch from the ground and hovering in mid-air. For a moment, they hung suspended, then lightning quick, they knitted themselves into about six skeletal hands, each one rapidly clawing and scuttling its way to a different coin and then another. In a matter of seconds, the hands had collected the dropped money, a dark purple liquid oozing from the gaps in between bones. As soon as all the coins had been collected, the hands dropped them into the satchel and all but one immediately fell apart, the remains slowly dissolving into the liquid and the liquid into the ground until there was no trace left. The solitary hand wove the drawstrings of the satchel in between its finger bones and gently climbed its way up Elanor's leg and back until it reached her shoulder. "The sympathy trick would work on most people kid, but not me. And thievery or not, you worked for those coins. So take them." The hand dropped the bag onto her shoulder, then fell apart and to the ground following suit with the others.

---

Thane chuckled as she walked off. He knew she'd taken the pouch as he knew she would from the moment he saw her. Her thievery wouldn't get her too far though. He'd know better and saddled all the things he could use, including his money, on his dragon Itan's back. What she'd find in the pouch would maybe be enough for a hot meal, but that's about it. He'd been in big cities before and he knew better than to keep too much gold on him at one time so that he could avoid situations like this. With a shrill whistle, he called Itan down to the ground only long enough to pluck the goods and supplies he needed to open shop then sent the ivory beast out to hunt. In a matter of minutes, he had unloaded a tarp, tent, folding table and several boxes filled with jewelry and other miscellaneous items, all of which would sell rather quickly.

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As the day came to a close, Thane smirked at the profit he'd made. A few sacks full of cheap trinkets could pay off for a good merchant, and he was excellent at his profession. Another whistle brought Itan back as Thane folded the table, tarp and tent closed, eager to pack it up and head to an inn for some sleep. Deciding that the shop would be safer with the dragon rather than him, Thane told Itan to fly up to the foot hills and nestle the items with him for the night, something that the dragon was used to. With a smile, he watched his friend sail off into the night, then turned down the street, heading towards the nearest in. From that first step, until he was nestled in his room, the profits that he hadn't spent on his lodgings, safe with Itan, a tune crossed his lips. With a final tweet of a whistle, the thought of the small thief crossed his mind as he watched the embers in the fireplace slowly die.

Talon wasn't too surprised that the dark elf knew who he was. Most people could tell by his tall tell blue-grey hair and eyes. The scar over his eye was also another mark that told others who he was. The V'lyn house was known for their hair color and being assassins.

"I've heard of your father, boy. Good man, good assassin. Seeker be with you, from one Clan of Assassins to another. I am Locien Kestal of the Kestal Clan and this is Lieutenant Rania Birviel of the House of Birviel, you two have a lot in common, if you're the last of your line boy," the dark elf gestured to a woman who was in a cot with her dragon right next to her.

In return, the assassin bowed his head to the dark elf before him, "May Riena guide your steps, fellow assassin. I'm Talon V'lyn from the house V'lyn in Skyfall. I believe my father spoke of meeting a dark elf in his youth a few times before. Alas, he is dead. Killed by these rebels who call themselves the 'True Dragons'."

He listened to Locien's words as he put the lore of the two elven races into a short few moments of time. Talon had heard of the dispute between the two and only knew a little about the goings on between them. Other than that, he was no where near being fully versed in their history. He thought it unnecessary to hear the background, but then maybe it was as the lighter skinned elf sourly spoke up at Locien. Talon raised an eyebrow as he looked between the two.

"Yeah tensions between my people and theirs are still tight after a few thousand years. At any rate, there have been a few stragglers from this cult that I want to try and catch alive and interrogate, hopefully my dragon managed to not singe one for that occasion. Any questions? No questions on my skin, why I am even here and not being with my own kind, and the ever popular, 'am I a wandering swordsman'. Apologies those questions follow me everywhere sometimes."

His lips pulled back into the slightest of a smile as he listened. Obviously the dark elf was a man who liked getting straight to the point rather than beating around the bush with useless talk. A kind of man that Talon would like very much, "No, you're not the first dark elf that I've seen Locien. I find your kind more appealing to work with," he said slowly as he flicked his gaze to the woman. It wasn't that he disliked the lighter skinned cousins of the dark elves, he just didn't like their politics. He'd seen too much of that via his father and Queen Fae.

"I don't have any questions other than how my..." he glanced over his shoulder at Jennifer before continuing, "companion and I can assist you in your endevour to capture one of these mages. I'd very much like to learn as much about them as possible, just as you do. They destroyed Skyfall and Crystacia. They're obviously powerful in that fact. We need to find out who their leader is and start working towards catching him to stop this rebellion as quickly as possible before full out war engulfs the land."

City Kingsburrow

Kill as many as you like, Vier. The more bloodshed, the more power is given to our one and true God. Don't alert the guards or the city on what you're doing. There will be time for that later. Ro'ell is next to fall. When you bore of the city, move on, his deep voice reverberated in her mind as she wandered the streets of the city. Already she'd killed a dozen men and hidden their bodies in various places around the city. She was enjoying herself very much as she flicked her eyes around each and every person that walked passed her.

Vier had discarded her black cloak marking her as one of the True Dragons. No, in order to keep a low profile and not be spotted by the guards, she'd donned simple leather pants and a tight black jerkin that was unlaced at the top to show enough of her curves to keep most men occupied. That is, until she dragged them down to a dark alley and killed them in whatever fashion she saw fitting. Three belts curved their way around her waist, each one holding an array of weaponry. The larger belt held her sword at her side, the two smaller ones held daggers and throwing knives tucked away tightly against her body. Tall boots that clicked softly across the cobblestones came up to her knees and gloves covered her delicate fingers.

Brushing away long black hair that hung loose about her shoulders, her dark eyes settled on an inn that looked promising. She'd seen several men with weapons walk in there a few moments before. The True Dragon was looking for someone a little more... lively to kill than the last few she'd done in. Their pleas for their lives were music to her ears, however she wanted someone who was going to fight her for their life, not simply cower in front of her. Those kinds of screams were something to look forward to. Her lips parted and she smiled evilly as she sauntered up to the door and gently pushed it open to allow herself in.

Sweeping her gaze around the room, Vier spotted a man whom looked highly promising. She'd never seen someone like him before. He was much taller than any man she'd known, and his body was filled out very nicely. Taking a moment to gaze at him, she calculated how much of a fight he would bring her should she play her cards right. Reaching up to her leather jerkin, she curled one finger under the leather strings and pulled, allowing it to loosen a little more. She pulled her hair over one shoulder and moved gracefully through the room towards the man.

It was nearing noontime, and the bar would soon be filled with patrons looking for their afternoon meal before going back to whatever work they had to do. However, for the meantime, it was mostly empty as she walked through. Vier was only partially grateful for it's being empty. Making a scene in a tavern was one thing, but when there were many people around it could have been fun. It would have given her more reason to kill more than just one man.

Slowly, Vier walked up to the man seated at the table near the fireplace that was long since dead. With one hand on her hip, she rested her weight on one leg and smiled down at him, "Alone are we?" She asked slowly, letting her rich voice penetrate the air. The sultry tone unmistakable as she stood there. Leaning over, she reached out one hand and slid it from his chest up to his shoulder before positioning herself right over his lap whether he wanted her there or not. Her other hand reached behind her back and her fingers curled around the small throwing knife tucked away on the underside of her belt.

"Mind having a woman for some company?" She continued, layering her voice and lowering her eyes to look him up and down in a seductive fashion. All the while, her other hand worked the little knife free from it's holder and into her hand. Vier pulled herself up closer to him using every muscle in her own body to steady herself on him and keep his attention on her body rather than her hands.

She leaned forward then as the knife came free finally and she whispered to him, "How about entertaining me for a while, yes?" Her tone changed then and as it did her hand came forward under cover of her leaning body to strike him across his chest. She wasn't trying to kill him, not yet. Vier wanted to toy with him first, a terrible habit really. Playing with her food before eating it so to speak. She couldn't help it though, and her lips pulled into a bigger, wicked grin as she attacked him.

The fire was dead, it had been for quite a while. Yet something seemed to hold him in front of the large stone mantle. Something he couldn't quite place. "Alone are we?Mind having a woman for some company?" A tired grunt was all Thane chose to answer with, showing that he really didn't mind being alone or having her as company either way. His attitude would be no different from what he could tell. Her voice was soft, too soft almost. Something was amiss here. "How about entertaining me for a while, yes?" Without a word, Thane moved to stand and was met with a small knife slicing its way across his chest. The cut fabric fell away to show his breastplate, a fresh scratch adorning the center of it. While it hadn't done much damage, Thane despised the mark on his chest and resolved that when he was finished, if the metal hadn't mended itself, he would repair and re-sigil it personally. "Bitch." He muttered, wrapping his massive hand around her knife-toting fist. "That'll take me a good hour to repair. I didn't want to work more today." Standing, he lifted her by the hand he'd clenched in his own fist until she was on par with him height-wise. "that was extremely rude, awakening a poor traveler with a knife. Were you not taught better?" He dropped her back to the floor and pushed her away as soon as her feet hit the carpet. "Go home child. You'd do well to not aggravate a Nephilim." He announced loud enough for the few remaining barflies to overhear. That would normally be enough to stave off any who would openly attack him, but if not, his actions always spoke much louder than he.

Talon V'lyn

“You’re as disgustingly considerate as ever,” the mage muttered under her breath. Talon rolled his eyes as Vy flew steady towards Crystacia. He could tell that she wasn't enjoying the flight at all and he took comfort in that fact. It was his one pay back against her constant taunts.

“Even to someone like me. Your acting so far has been rather enjoyable Talon, but I’ve never believed in chivalry and honour, so I’ll enjoy peeling away that facade of yours.”

Talon snorted in response, "It may seem like a facade to you, but I assure you there's nothing to 'peel away'," he answered coldly. Irritation easily spilling to the forefront of his emotions. In return, Vy's laughter could be heard through their connection and Talon's frown deepened.

“Feel like throwing me off your dragon yet? It would be incredibly simple. And, you’d never have to listen to another sentence of my poisonous words ever again.”

He let his gaze drop down to her eyes, staring at her for a long moment before answering. His lips pulled into an evil smile as he looked at her, "Now that would be too easy. To let you off like that would just be a waste. I'm enjoying the fact that you're so utterly uncomfortable when you're riding Vy. Don't worry, Jennifer, you'll get used to it soon enough. Though, if you don't, that's fine by me as well," he said with a soft laugh. He would never throw her off the dragon, no matter how much she aggravated him.

That's because you would miss it, Vy said slyly.

You are ridiculous.

I'm just stating a fact. You're feelings are too easy to read, my little assassin.

Talon's eyebrow twitched as he glowered at his dragon. He didn't answer the large silver beast as they came into view of the city. The sunlight was rising, lifted far up over the mountains. The cold air was beginning to warm up, but not nearly enough yet to brush off the freezing of the night air. Vy circled around, coming down low as they prepared to land near the barracks.

Something's wrong, Talon, Vy advised him as he landed, shaking the earth with his huge weight.

Talon dismounted quickly, landing fluidly with the cloak like part of his clothes flying upwards for just a second before settling behind him. Turning swiftly he reached up for Jennifer once more and helped her down.

"You should stay here. No need to push yourself further," he told her then started towards the barracks, his hands reaching for the throwing knives in his clothes and unknown to him, the brace glowing slightly as it prepared for a fight.

City Kingsburrow

The little knife hit metal instead of flesh and Vier was startled. Her attempt to wound him had been thwarted and she found herself lifted off the man's lap as he stood. She dangled in the air as he held her arm in his large hand. Pulled up to his enormous height, she stared him in the eye, refusing to let his sheer size deter her. A wicked smile lifted her lips as he dropped her unceremoniously and pushed her away. Landing light on her feet, she stumbled away from him from the shove.

"Go home child. You'd do well to not aggravate a Nephilim." the man rumbled at her.

"I was taught very well," she answered in kind, "And I am no child," her smile widened. Her eyes shot to the side as one of the patrons stood up, his hand on his weapon as he eyed her and the man she was engaged with. Vier's tongue left her mouth and ran across her lips as the warrior drew the weapon slightly from it's sheath as she looked to him.

Power flooded her veins and filled her body. Her fingers splayed open and she lifted her hand, pointing right at the man. Black mist swirled around him, working it's way up towards his chest and mouth. At first he just looked at it as it did nothing to him, but once it reached his throat, he let out a terrified scream. The mist sunk into his body and he lurched forward, blood spraying from lips before he crumpled to the floor.

"Armor or not, I can still kill you," she said with a soft voice turning her attention back to the towering man she'd chosen to fight with. Her heart thrummed as she lifted her gaze. A dagger seemingly appeared in her free hand and she laughed lightly, "But I want to play first before I kill you," she lunged forward then her body light and fast. She used a chair nearby to launch herself upwards and above the mans head, coming down on him from above with her arm pulled back and the dagger ready to plunge into the soft tissue between his collar bone and shoulder.

City Kingsburrow

"Armor or not, I can still kill you, but I want to play first before I kill you."Merely annoyed at the girl's tenacity, Thane sighed. He side stepped and turned, narrowly avoiding Vier's weapon. Meanwhile, he let his abilities weave themselves together and crawl towards the fresh corpse in the room. "I've already told you girl, go home. Nephilim are not the best playmates. Especially one who needs a nap."

He circled around her slowly as he started reading her movements. In one hand, he held a large blade, a short sword to Vier, but more along the lines of a large hunting knife to him. In the light of the inn, the blade looked a pale orange, shadows dancing along it as Thane moved. In the other he held a large sickle. The curved blade shone with a brilliance that could be achieved by no regular steel, the silver and steel metalurgy giving the blade a pale, white sheen, even in this light. After a moment, the sickle fell back to his side, hanging by the leather strap that pierced the bottom of the handle.

"We giants among men have a knack for being puppet masters," He told her as the dead man slowly got to his feet behind Thane. "And to get to the master, one must first go through the puppet." With an astonishing speed, the cadaver picked up his dropped sword and placed himself directly between Vier and Thane, its sole purpose, to defend the necromancer that stood at its back.

Soran Keel

"Bout time Talon, was beginning to worry! Come and join the fight I'm in, I'll let you meet a former kinsman of mine that has got to go."

"Fool," Soran growled as he watched the dark elf turn his attention to the woman. Their conversation irritated him and at being tossed aside like he was nothing more than a child was even more infuriating. Soran closed the distance between him and the dark elf, his blades pulled up and leveled to run Locien through. He was no longer interested in taking his time killing the man, he wanted blood.

Soran moved quick, his face an ugly twist of rage. Dark power radiated from his every pore. The magic not only pushed through his skin, but also to his weapons, sheathing each blade in a dark mist that swirled around slowly. With a growl of anger, Soran made to run Locien through as he descended on the dark elf.

Talon V'lyn

He heard the shout from inside the barracks, Locien was calling to him. His tone belied his words, though, he seemed to be angered about something. The assassin picked up the pace and rushed inside. Locien's attention was on another elven woman that he'd never seen before, beckoning for her to try to kill him. Talon raised an eyebrow as he prepared to leap between the two to stop whatever was happening. However, there was a second elf that he didn't notice until the man uttered something he couldn't hear and lunged forward. Twin blades came at Locien who's attention was elsewhere.

Talon knew that if he didn't move, the dark elf would be run through by the stranger with bright white hair and mismatched eyes. The man looked every bit insane as he lunged forward, his face telling Talon that he was intent on killing Locien. The assassin rushed forwards, putting Locien right behind him and raised his dagger to try to block the first hit, knowing the second one would most likely go through him. However, the elf stopped short, his one weapon caught on Talon's dagger, the other pressing against something invisible.

Talon only spared the strange phenomena a single glance before turning his attention to the attacker. His eyebrows came down as he glared at the man, who's lips had pulled into a wicked smile. The stranger pressed forward, leaning in towards Talon, his tongue slipping out between his teeth to run across his thin lips.

"You must be the 'help' that Locien spoke of. Get out of my way, boy," the man growled, his smile turning to a snarl.

Talon didn't answer him, only pushed back harder against the man. The knife slipped slightly, letting the blade cut into his forearm that wasn't covered by the long sleeve. The glowing of the bracelet became brighter as the strange shield strengthened. The magic pulsed and threw the white haired elf away from him. Talon pulled his arm back and threw the throwing knives in his hand. Both projectiles went straight for the man, but he was quick to deflect them. The twin swords flipped upwards in half arcs, nothing but silver blurs as the man moved gracefully.

Talon sheathed his dagger and in the same motion, both hands pulled out another set of knives. Moving forwards quickly, Talon followed the elf as he receded into the darkness of the barracks, a smile ever present on his lips. The first set of knives flew from his hand as he threw them, his arm crossing his body in a full swing. Then his other arm did the same, throwing the next set. The momentum of the throw had his body twisting slightly and as he went into the move, his free hand reached back into his clothes and pulled out three more knives.

They flew from his fingers as he twisted around completely, the momentum from his earlier throw giving the last three more speed. Talon slid to a stop, his body sideways as he glared into the darkness. His eyes had been following the elf's slow movement into the shadows, then finally to the glowing red and yellow of the mismatched eyes until they both disappeared as well. With a soft growl of disappointment, Talon straightened his body, letting his muscles relax before turning back to Locien.

"Who the hell was that?"

City Kingsburrow

Vier

Her eyebrow raised, a smile stretching across her face as she watched the undead step before it's master. Her eyes brightened and her heart quickened with excitement. Yes, she'd done well to pick this one as her next target. Vier's lithe body fluidly took a step back and her arm tightened as she pulled the muscles together. Her throw off to the side was quick and unexpected. The knife went through another patron, the blade sticking out from the man's eye. As he toppled over, Vier let her own dark magic weave across the room and fill the recently dead man. The lifeless corpse stood up and moved to her side.

"Oh how entertaining," she said, a rich, crazed laugh falling from her lips, "Let's see what we each can do, yes?"

She flicked her hand forward and her undead puppet lurched towards the other one, drawing it's own weapon. Shadows wreathed in the corners of the room, spreading to create a darkness that was unnatural to the inn's dining room. With her power thrumming through her, Vier was in her element. It had been a long time since she'd had to use so much power before. She was enjoying this way too much, her body overwhelmed with expectations from the Nephilim before her.

Tendrils of darkness swarmed across the floor, covering her as she called it to her to take her from one place to the next. At the same time she ordered the darkness to slowly curve its way around the man, holding him in place so she could attack him. She disappeared from where she was, lost in the darkness. Her body was moving forward though she couldn't feel it. Vier appeared on top of a table in mid stride as if she were running, then she was lost again. Turned to face him, she was now using the large structural beam overhead as her place of launch.

Crouched down, her legs shot forward propelling her body down towards the tall man like lightning. Vier's arm was pulled back once more, ready to plunge the weapon down into the top of his shoulder. All the while her eyes wild and her mouth curved upwards. The darkness was still attached to her, making it seem as if she had a cloak of black mist trailing right behind her as she shot downwards.

Thane's puppet was still fresh, it had it's own thoughts for now, so it could handle itself. He was more preoccupied with the flying madwoman wreathing herself in darkness. With a sigh, he drew his arm back and clenched his fist. "Blast girl, I told you to leave me be!" As he swung forward to meet her knife, a cluster of petrified bones knitted themselves around his arm, the sharp edges and blunt sides all just as sturdy as his sword. "Insolence," He cried out as the gauntlet of bone and steel knife clashed with a deafening shriek. "Is no excuse for your actions here!" The sickle spun once, twice, and cut downward, the holy properties of the blessed silver severing the tendrils of darkness that held him. It would not be without fault though, as the silver burned him as well, a necessary fault. Silver didn't mix well with Nephilim, an unfortunate effect of their origin, yet most of them could be found with a silver weapon on them. As he slowly stepped out from the darkness that encompassed his legs, he sighed once more. "You're not bad, I'll give you that. But you can't hope to outlast me and my defense is strong." More and more of the bone dug itself from the ground, his pack, anywhere he could find it, and formed a layer of sickly, pale white armor that replaced his cloth and metal attire. "And unlike other foes, mine will replenish itself as often as need be."

I saw an death black dragon just in our path.So annoying still if this wouldn't had been enough 3 persons came.After some time i figured that they were most probably rebels.
Before i could decide what to do she jumped into a battle with them.
One of the enemies wanted to finish her with one single blow.Again i could feel an sentiment of extermination from the crossbow.It's curse was again taking control of my body."Die!"I shouted angered.In the meantime i aimed the chest of the person who wanted to kill her.A few second later the arrow i shooted transformed into a magic huge fire arrow.

It's destructive power was so great and devastating for it's enemies.I took of my helmet this time the expresion of my face changing from an normal person to that of an predator an hunter who wanted to kill all."Time to burn down everything and to kill you all!"I screamed nervous.
I was contained by another sentiment one of madness.Rarely it happened that this crossbow to transform me into a real monster.Without thinking at what could happen i began shooting small fire arrows in all directions this action creating an fire in the zone in which we were fighting with them.
"Burn in hell!"I said them on a changed tone.My weapon managed again to curse me as it did recently and one centhury ago.
---
City Kingsburrow.
Moseun Zarka.

Finaly i arrived in this city hoping to find an ally.An ally who would lead me to Domieen.I
as an servant of Barthomel wanted some explications why until now my master was not revived.My
dragon landed near a inn."Time for a little break."I told him while entering in the inn not knowing how
many persons where there.As i entered the inn i observed an fight between a girl and an human being
which seemed to be very special. "This fight is one that The Dragon's Scourge can't just watch.On
whose side shall i be?"

I asked the two persons on a loud tone.I had no idea who they were but i decided
that my break was finishing here.I continued to look at them as i prepared my iron claws.This fight was
too great to not interfere.
From their appearance and battle skills i figured that no one of them was an normal person.
My nickname was so popular but no one know it's true meaning.Only the rebels knowed whose scourge i really was.
I wasn't expecting to find a rebel here but i wanted to participate at this battle.

He let the dark powers envelop him, holding him in place. He had just a few more tricks up his sleeve, several of which could possibly end this fight by bringing the city down around him. But he wasn't all that destructive yet. The bones that knit into armor around him slowly took on an amorphous shape, the clatter of bone on bone a deafening hum that rang through the nearly empty building. The space between them filled with the dark purple liquid and the aroma of fresh graves and oddly enough, blossoming lilies, filled the air of the room in an almost palpable manner. The bones were taking on life of their own and from behind the mass of marrow and energy, Thane spoke, his voice as thunderous as a torrent.

"I offer you this girl. I am no more than a humble merchant, but as you've seen, there's always more to the story. These corpses and bones, cadavers and remains bow to me as though I were a tyrannical king. Come with me girl, and you shall live and train, fight and kill to your heart's content," From the mass of bone and energy, a skeletal hand extended itself towards Vier. "I will show you what it means to command death not unlike the Reaper himself. But refuse," A shrill whistle rang from behind the wall and in moments the steady thud of massive wings in the air was audible. "And your corpse shall feed my dragon at breakfast. The choice is up to you and you could always simply walk away." The bones slowly grew restless, eager to return to rest, as was Thane. But he would not allow them, until the fight was finished. Silently, he waited for her answer.

City Ro'ell : Talon V'lyn

“Whatever went down in there, do not put the blame on yourself...” The soft voice came from the elf, Whiskers. Talon allowed her to turn him to meet her gaze, her red eyes were soft, framed by her silky hair. She looked at him in sorrow, but her words were comforting. The assassin took a deep breathe to try to relax his body. He didn't say anything to her, only nodded then continued on his way down the street.

Behind them, the one named Damascus dropped, his helmet and weapon clattering to the ground. Talon whirled around to see what had happened, then noted the change in the man's appearance. With an eyebrow raised, he walked to the man and put his hand on his shoulder. After assessing if Damascus was wounded or not, he finally knelt down and eyed him closely.

"Are you alright?"

That weapon, Talon. It's not a natural weapon. I would be wary of it... his dragon called lightly.

Talon's gaze dropped to the weapon that Damascus let fall to the ground, then back to the man whom he knelt next to. The brace around his wrist pulsed painfully, the glowing growing stronger, but nothing came of it. Grinding his teeth, Talon reached over and gripped his arm as he stood, stumbling slightly. With the distance from the weapon, the brace seemed to relax as well.

I think we should get more information on that, Vy said.

I think you're right. This thing is driving me nuts, and I can't take it off...

There's got to be a way. Just be patient, we'll figure out something.

“Say... I imagine that we are all a bit exhausted. Why don't we find a place to rest after finding the others, and I fix up that hand of yours?”

Talon looked to Whiskers and gave a soft sigh. She also told him that she was going to ride with him, the tone of her voice made it clear that she wouldn't have it any other way. As much as he wanted to get moving to get Jennifer, he knew she was right. They were all tired and should probably rest before going anywhere so soon. To add to it, the mention of his hand had his attention drawn to it, and only then did the pain register. With a soft curse, his hand that was already tightened over his forearm, clenched harder. The broken bones had already swollen the hand.

"You're right," he hissed softly between clenched teeth.

Vy laughed lightly through their connection, Your temper does get the better of you doesn't it, my little assassin?

An eyebrow twitch and a glare skywards was all that was received in response to Vy's laughter. Looking back to Whiskers and Damascus, he motioned for them to keep moving.

We're landing where you are soon, Talon. It seems that Zoron is in quite the hurry. It may take some convincing to allow him to rest elsewhere before retrieving his rider.

Locien's been taken?

Yes, not too long after landing it seems.

Do we know why?

Aside from his being the Pride of the Seeker, no.

Duly noted.

"Nevermind, it seems that our transportation has come to us. We might not have any luxury of resting though. Locien's been taken as well."

As he spoke, overhead the dragons came spiraling downwards, their slow circles making them larger with each pass. Finally all four dragons landed in the rubble of the city, each majestic beast looking over each of their riders. Talon moved to Vy, the large dragons silver head bending down to nudge the assassin gently in the chest affectionately. Talon reached out with his good hand and patted the beasts soft nose in response. Glancing to Whiskers, he jerked his head to the saddle on Vy's neck as he made his way there. Swiftly climbing up with one hand, he settled himself and turned in order to reach her and bring her up behind him.

City Kingsburrow : Vier

"I offer you this girl. I am no more than a humble merchant, but as you've seen, there's always more to the story. These corpses and bones, cadavers and remains bow to me as though I were a tyrannical king. Come with me girl, and you shall live and train, fight and kill to your heart's content. I will show you what it means to command death not unlike the Reaper himself. But refuse, and your corpse shall feed my dragon at breakfast. The choice is up to you and you could always simply walk away."

Vier looked around, her skin crawling slightly as the bony hand stretched out for her. She reflexively took a step backwards, her gaze shifting all around the room. Her heart shot to her throat, but it wasn't fear the crawled along her skin. It was jealousy. How did this man have so much power? How? It was the only thing that ran through her mind as she watched his prowess. Of course, the call for fighting and killing to her own content was... oh so tempting. Vier could only stand there, stock still as she pulled through her mind the options... the many possibilities.

Her throat constricted as she almost agreed to him immediately, but the words were cut off. What of Domieen? What of her alliance to him? Could she turn her back to him so easily? Perhaps. Her lips curved upwards, baring pearly white teeth and an evil smile that was filled with cunning. She was thinking deeply on the offer. The temptation was getting to her. How could she not deny the power she saw before her? It almost exceeded that of Domieen's.

Almost.

Slowly, she replaced the knife in her belt and put her hand up on her hip. Throwing her hip off to one side as she leaned her weight on one leg, she eyed the man before her with interest. Her hair fell over one shoulder as her head tilted slightly.

"How... intriguing. I try to kill you and you offer me to live and train with you?" Vier took several steps forwards, careful to keep her hands seen at all times so that he didn't mistake her for trying to attack him again. She got close to him, but not too close, her eyes flicking up and down his frame, "Not a bad offer," she whispered to him.

"I don't see any other option for me," she reached up and twisted a lock of hair, "I'll accept your... offer."

City Kingsburrow

"I don't see any other option for me. I'll accept your... offer." The words were honey to Thane's ears as a hidden grin found its way across his face, underneath the bones that separated them. The remainder of the bone fell away and the room returned to normal. Or rather, as normal as it could be with two living dead men shambling around the tables. He kept the skeletal hand linked to his own palm for a moment, then dropped these bones like the others. His weapons fell back to his side where they hung by ropes, making it obvious he wasn't going to attack her as he stepped forward. His hand outstretched and took hers, obviously a handshake to seal the deal, but he had known more than that. A Nephilim does not make offers with his words.

As their hands touched, a single strand of purple energy flowed don his arm and branded itself into the back of her hand in the shape of an eye with a wave through it. For a while, the symbol burned white hot on her hand, most likely causing her some pain, but she wasn't showing it. He liked this one already. The final leg of the deal came through images that bombarded both their minds. Origins of the Nephilim, their ancestors, an unholy host of what could only be described as fallen angels. And just like that, the deal was done. The images stopped themselves and the mark faded in to almost non-existence. If someone hadn't known better, they wouldn't have seen it at all. "This way then." Thane said cheerfully as he led her out of the inn.

Talon V'lyn

“I know you don't like this, but it seems we got no choice but to find a safe area to recuperate, luxury or no.” Whiskers told him gently as she was seated behind him. He gave a soft growl in response, irritated that they were going to be delayed. He felt a bit ashamed afterwards though as he knew that their immediate concerns were with the group that were there.

"Where's Jennifer?" Rania asked gently.

"Taken, like Locien," Talon growled in response, his anger clear on his face as he glowered at the ground. He still felt as if he could have done something to prevent her from being captured. However, he hadn't known that he'd been following an illusion of herself since crash landing into Ro'ell's streets. That woman... he shook his head to try to clear his thoughts. She was going to be the death of him, he was sure of it.

You cannot effect a rescue when everyone is beaten and tired. You're going to get yourself killed and that won't do her or Locien any good, Vy said, turning his large head to look up at him with one silver eye. Talon reached up with his good hand and pushed it through his hair, pulling back the long strands and exposing his scar.

Alright, I understand.

Good. I don't suggest we fly too far, but we cannot stay here in the city either. Perhaps we can go to Kingsburrow. it is only a few hours flight from here.

Talon gave a short nod of his head and turned to the elf behind him, "We will fly to Kingsburrow. it's not too far from here. We can rest there before going after Jennifer and Locien," he paused, his blue-grey gaze hardening and glinting like flint steel as he looked at her, "the moment my hand is taken care of, I'm leaving for them whether anyone is ready or not. I'll go alone if I have to."

After his proclamation, Vy heaved a heavy sigh. The dragon was well aware of his companions desires and personality. It wouldn't have been the first time that Talon had done such things, and Vy knew it wasn't going to be the last either. Looking out at the others, he nodded his head to the unconscious warrior leaning limply in his saddle. His gaze settled on the dark elf who seemed to be acquainted with Locien.

"Lyuze is it? Can you ride with him until we get to Kingsburrow?"

Once she gave her answer they were off to the neutral city.

Kingsburrow : Vier

Vier allowed the man to step towards her, his larger size easily dwarfing her. He reached out and took her hand, to what purpose she was unsure of until a strange power penetrated her skin. The back of her hand burned painfully, but she ignored it easily. Her eyes were examining the strange mark that made its presence on the light skin of her hand. Then images penetrated her minds-eye, flooding her with knowledge, most of it about who and what he was, where he came from.

He was a nomad, a Nephilim, as he'd stated before. She marveled at the expanse of knowledge the nomads possessed. Their skills in magic were of a kind she'd never seen before. Then beings that she didn't know how to describe penetrated the images. They were beautiful, yet slightly terrifying to see. All the while, the only thing that Vier could think of was, what power! The next step was gaining it. That would come later though.

Elation filled her, all thoughts of the True Dragons whom had been nothing of real value to her, were gone. Vier wanted to know more about him, more about this power, but most especially, about how she could obtain it. Then the visions ended, the knowledge ceased its flow and left her hungering for more. She gave the man a wicked grin as he led her from the inn, "My my, what a powerful creature you are. Offer me a job and show me all of this, yet I've not gotten your name. I'm Vier, you?"

Thane stopped in a plaza, not far from the inn where Itan rested his wings, waiting for his master. When he saw Vier, a low growl escaped his throat, only to be met with a light slap on his snout. "Itan. This is Vier. She'll be travelling with us for a while. Get used to it." Thane clambered up onto Itan's neck then reached down and pulled Veir up into the saddle behind him. The massive leather straps that held it in place were as wide across as Thane's shoulders and wrapped into an 'H' pattern on the opposite side of the massive, shallow basket that held both riders and goods alike. "It's Thane by the way." He told her as Itan lifted them into the sky. "And this is Itan. My travelling companion."

Once they had reached a height that was suitable for Itan's tastes, Thane whispered in the beast's ear, then climbed back into the basket-saddle. "We start now, with any questions you might have. If there are none, then we begin with a simple test. Do you think you can handle that?" He pulled a small bone out of his pocket and tossed it gently into the air, keeping it suspended a few feet from the saddle's floor. "I will control this bone with my capabilities and in the meantime, answer your questions. You will try to wrest control of it from me. If you can take it, then you pass and we may move on. If not, we begin from scratch. I will break you down and rebuild you into an image of insurmountable power, nearly as much as a Nephilim."

City Laowlee : Jennifer and Locien

"It seems I may have underestimated your talents, Pride of the Seeker," Domieen's form came out of the shadows and barred the exit to Jennifer's cell. His clawed hand reflected the minimal light in the dungeons. If the room could have gotten any darker, it would have from his presence. Slowly, the True Dragon came forward into the room his eyes hidden by his hood.

Darkness swirled around Domieen's form, rising up to cover the lower half of his body. Raising his gloved hand, the darkness stretched forth from his arm and fingers and slowly crawled up Locien's legs. The tendrils of magic tightening over him until it reached the lower part of his abdomen and stopped, holding him in place. Domieen turned his hood to look at Jennifer.

"It seems you desired to see her. Well then, elf, you get to watch her lose all of her power. Do you think she'll survive from it?" He taunted as he moved towards Jennifer. He reached up and took hold of the black creature that was latched to her neck. A clawed finger poked gently at the things neck and it released her, a dark slim leaving a trail between it's mouth and her skin. The True Dragon pulled it away from her and let it drop to the floor where it curled in a circle and seemingly went dormant.

"Can't have you dying on me yet, you've got far too much power for that, illusionist," his fingers pulled her chin up to have her look at him, "Besides, I have a question for you. Where did that assassin of yours find that vambrace?"

City Kingsburrow : Talon V'lyn

His finger traced the design of the brace around his wrist. The silver glinted in the late afternoon sunlight. It was going to be dusk soon, and Talon wanted to be out of Kingsburrow before then. His eyes were staring at the silver attachment without really seeing it. At the forefront of his mind were thoughts of Jennifer and what had happened in the past couple of hours.

Vy?

Yes, my little assassin? The dragon replied lightly.

Why did she create that illusion?

You wish to know the mind of a woman? One such as herself? That is a mystery even I don't know the answer to, young Talon. Perhaps she wished to see your judgment of her. Maybe she did it for her own pleasure. Who knows the truth other than herself.

Talon sighed as he gazed at the brace, his finger still tracing over the insignia. The silver swirls around letters that he couldn't understand. A kind of elvish he was sure, but one that was much older than what he knew. He took a deep breath and pulled the sleeve down, looking up from his deep thoughts. The shadows were stretching and they curled upwards towards him, the touch of Riena always at his back.

However, there were others who stalked the darkness as well and one such being was much more deadly than he. The sharp knife pressed against his neck as a low cruel voice whispered in his ear. Talon's reaction was too slow to break out of the iron grip that held him across his chest.

"Where's the dark elf? Where's Locien?"

Talon turned his head just enough to get a slight look at who was behind him, but he figured by the crazed sounding voice it was the same elf who had attacked Locien in Crystacia. Reaching up, he grabbed the man's wrist and pulled forward. Twisting around, he faced the man and with his free hand he had already produced his dagger. The weapon thrust towards the elf's stomach, but was met with another blade. Steel scraped as the two were locked together. Talon's eyes narrowed as he glared at the man who smiled wickedly back at him.

"Not here," Talon growled back in response.

"Now you're hiding him from me?"

Talon didn't reply. His jaw set and he pushed hard against the elf. The brace pulsed again and a powerful pulse in the air sent the man stumbling backwards into the shadows. The assassin followed, he pulled his throwing knives from his clothes and the sent them into the alleyway where the man had gone into. The sound of his knives being knocked aside told him where the elf was. Lunging forward, he slashed into the darkness at the elf. Once again they were locked as the two blades clashed together.

"Not bad, assassin, not bad. But you're lacking. In everything. You can't truly be an assassin unless you wish to see some pain in your targets eyes," the man leaned forward, his sinister smile sending chills down Talon's spine. The second blade came at him and Talon barely managed to knock it aside, his hand connecting to the elf's wrist to keep the weapon from going through his shoulder.

"I do enjoy a good fight. You and Locien both give me a thrill when fighting. Perhaps I'll kill you here and now before I go after Locien seeing as you're in my way," the elf laughed and twisted out of Talon's hold. Their knives scrapped across each other in the alleyway as the fight escalated and Talon's brace glowed brightly as the power pulsed through him.

Vier

"I will control this bone with my capabilities and in the meantime, answer your questions. You will try to wrest control of it from me. If you can take it, then you pass and we may move on. If not, we begin from scratch. I will break you down and rebuild you into an image of insurmountable power, nearly as much as a Nephilim."

Vier's lips pulled into a smile as she gazed at him from the seat on the dragons neck. They were up in the air heading somewhere, but she didn't care about the destination. Her eyes shifted to the bone that was slowly twisting around in the air above his opened hand. She called her own power to her hand and let the darkness twist outwards to join the bones dancing. Her smile never faded as she concentrated on grabbing the bone, wresting it from his magical grip.

"Is there a reason you offered to teach me all of this? You and I could have easily fought for a while longer," she said as she leaned forward onto his large shoulder, running her fingers up his arm. All the while her magic twisted around his as she fought to grab that ridiculous bone from his control. The bone quivered for a mere second, tilting towards her, but snapped back under his control and swirled around as it had before. Vier's smile faded as she leaned against Thane and she glared at the bone that seemingly taunted her.

"Only a stubborn fool tries to force a stalemate to a victory. And it almost always results in his loss." He replied, focusing only half on the bone and the other half on her as she tried to pull it out of his power. "But you had... potential. And it's time to face facts. The Nephilim, if any, are few and far between. We need to pass on what we know. So for the past few decades, those of us who hadn't been hunted and killed, no easy feat trust me, have passed their teachings onto beings with some latent abilities." He could feel, if only for a moment, Vier pull the bone towards her, but just as quickly, he snapped it back to its rest over his hand. He grinned.

The girl was good, no doubt there. Even with only half his concentration, Thane's abilities were normally beyond others' manipulation. The feeling that came off of his prowess, the pressure, for lack of a better word, could almost physically push back a normal necromancer. This girl on the other hand, she could give him a run for his money if he trained her right. But to do that... "That's it." He said, letting the bone fall into his hand and be subsequently crushed in his hand. "We break you down and we start from the beginning. The story's beginning, the magic's beginning, your new beginning. You'd best hold on tight."

As she leaned on him, Thane's arm wrapped around her, his grip not unlike a vice as the dragon plummeted toward a vacant field, miles across and filled with nothing but gray dirt and dead grass. At the drop, the two of them went airborne and Thane could feel his body being lifted off the rough surface of the saddle. The dragon's dive was aimed at a massive mound of earth, no doubt a large barrow and Thane announced above the rush of wind, quoting Nephilim scriptures. "And the earth shall tear asunder, in accordance with a Firstborn's will, allowing passage to our first trophy, the dead and corrupted. The world of the Ravaiim."

At this, the barrow split down the center, a jagged tear in earth and matter itself, that crossed the mound nearly four hundred paces in width and wreathed with the same purple smoke and liquid that Thane called upon. The pressure behind this magic was great, far greater than that behind his own. As they passed through, a regretful grin spread across his face. In an instant, it was over, the tear in the ground turned to one in a different sky and in the next instant, Itan and the two necromancers were safely on the ground. "Hope you enjoyed the trip." He called, climbing down to the earth below.

City Laowlee : Domieen

The dark elf managed to get free of his bindings, a feat in and of itself. One that Domieen could only admire for the time being. His grip was wrenched away from the illusionist as the man managed to push him away several steps. With his sword drawn, the Pride of the Seeker cut free the woman and caught her as she fell forward limply. Domieen ignored the man's words of taunting, they meant nothing to him. He was more interested in the power that the dark elf was emanating.

Green fire erupted at the dark elf's feet and continued upwards, encircling him in the bright flame of magic. As the fire grew, the light started to seep underneath Domieen's hood. The large piece of cloth covered an inhuman face. With both of them encased in fire, the light only illuminated his face for a few seconds before burning out completely. Glinting yellow eyes with slitted pupils were revealed, set on a reptilian face. The black scales from snout all the way back into the darkness of the hood shone brightly against the green light. The nose was flared in excitement at the magic displayed before him, the lips of the long snout pulled back to reveal the row of razor sharp teeth much like a dragons. The smile was nothing but chilling as thoughts of how he could possibly break the elf ran rampant through his mind.

As the light faded away and his face was shut back in darkness, he started to laugh, the hoarse sound shaking his body. The one word that stood out from the elf's proclamation was 'dragonslave'. How very wrong the elf was. He was no slave, not even to Barthomel. No, he was the old dragon God Domieen, the one who'd fought against Barthomel and knew it was going to be a loss. He had changed sides near the end of the fighting, his idea's going a different direction than those of the other two Gods. It was a history lost to the peoples of the land now, none knew of his change, none knew of his defying death.

He stood there in the darkness of the cell, unmoving even as the True Dragon's that he'd gathered came rushing to aid him, having felt the explosion of power in the dungeon cells. His laughter still shook him, the deep growling filling the cell entirely and sending chills down the backs of the humans standing near him. His clawed hand extended outwards so he could see the silver. It wasn't an gauntlet that adorned his hand as many thought, no it was his true form, left over from the transformation he'd taken soon after the fight with Barthomel had ended. He hadn't taken his dragon form in so long, the clawed hand was the only reminder.

Upon the glinting silver was the woman's blood, three small stains that streaked three claws. Pulling each finger to his lips, he ran his forked tongue across the silver, tasting her blood, her power. It was rich, and just the small shock of power that ran through him gave him more energy than he'd hand in years. It was half a thought to save some of her power for himself, but he would need it all to raise Barthomel. He could gain power by other means, not that he didn't have enough at the moment. Still, he wasn't at his full potential. Being cramped up in the form of a human, with only his head and clawed hand remaining that of his dragon form, albeit smaller.

Soon, he would be able to return to his majestic being and when he did... "You've yet to see the face of death, Pride of the Seeker," he uttered, his voice growling the words even as he smiled under the hood of his cloak.

Talon V'lyn

Talon!

The assassin could feel the dragon take off into the air, the silver beast intent on assisting his rider. He mentally thanked Vy for the help as he fought off the elf. Soran was his name, if Talon remembered correctly. The sound of a crossbolt being fired caught his attention and he missed Soran's twist. The sharp kick to his stomach sent him backwards and he hit the wall, hard. The air was knocked from his lungs and he stumbled forward on his feet, doubled over. A harsh cough cleared his chest and he could breathe again.

However, as he recovered from the hit, the dark elf had turned his attention to who had shot at him. Talon noted the crossbolt in his shoulder as Soran rushed the woman who'd shot him in an attempt to help. Cursing to himself, he shot off the wall and barreled into the man, taking them both to the ground. His bracer glowed brightly and pulsed sending a force of air right at Soran's chest. The dark elf let out a cough, blood flecking his face as the force of the impact most likely broke a few of his ribs.

Even so, the elf grabbed Talon's upper arm, a shock of magic rushing through him. In response, the bracer reacted, sending a wave of power coursing up to his other side to counter the attack. In the end, the only part of him that went numb completely was his arm that was held by the dark elf. With his good hand, bracer and all, he thrust his dagger at the elf's exposed shoulder. The weapon was knocked aside as Soran managed to move his dagger up to block the attack. Both blades screamed against each other until they locked on their hilts.

Looking up for a mere second, Talon yelled at the dark elf, Lyuze, "Move!"

Dropping from the sky was Vy, the large imposing form of the dragon coming in for a sharp landing right in the dark street. Talon disengaged himself from Soran at the last moment as Vy dropped down and snapped his large jaws at the man. The shadows shifted, telling Talon that somehow, this man had a connection to Riena. That, or the man was tainted in dark magic, which was probably more likely.

"Seem's I've been outmatched, again. I'll see you soon, assassin," the voice from the darkness uttered smoothly. Talon watched the alleyway where the man had gone for a while longer before turning to Vy and Lyuze. He walked up to her and put his good hand on her shoulder, the other was barely getting feeling back.

"Thank you, but be careful next time," he said and patted her shoulder before walking away to gather Whiskers. Tapping her back gently, he got her attention as she'd been deep in thought and had missed what had transpired entirely. Though, Talon was sure that Vy's landing most likely got her attention. It was hard to miss a dragon landing in the vicinity.

"If you're ready, we should be going now. I can't delay any longer in getting them back."

Vier

Her eyebrow raised as he explained to her why he'd chosen to offer her this chance rather than just finish out their fight. It was an interesting aspect of judgment, something she never would have thought of. The bone fell into his hand and he crushed it into nothing more than dust and she eyed him carefully. Then her smile returned as he spoke.

"We break you down and we start from the beginning. The story's beginning, the magic's beginning, your new beginning. You'd best hold on tight."

Without warning, he wrapped his arm around her and held her tightly against him. Startled by this intrusion of space that she had not planned on, she gasped slightly. Though the gasp could have been mistaken for a bit of fear as they were suddenly dropping from the sky. However, she wasn't afraid of the fall, she was thrilled by it to say the least. Her eyes looked down to where they were shooting towards and all she saw was a mound of earth. For a moment she thought that it was a simple illusion that they would go through, but Thane began speaking again, something that sounded almost poetic. Beneath them, the earth split opened at the end of his words. Dragon and all fell down into the mouth of the earth and the beast reared up, dragging his wings hard to stop their fall.

Above her, Vier looked to see a different sky than the one she knew and she took in a small breath of amazement. Never had she seen such a place in all her life. The power that she'd felt when passing through the purple smoke was astonishing and played with her senses. He released her as they landed and she leaned back to gaze at where she'd been taken. The place was like it's own world entirely. A grin spread across her face as she sat there on the saddle atop the slightly shifting and growling dragon.

"Hope you enjoyed the trip."

Turning she lowered her dark eyes to him and smiled wickedly. Vier ran her tongue across her lips as she leaned forward, using her body language as an emphasis on her feelings, "Very much so," she purred to him and gracefully got herself down to the ground. Standing, she sidled up to the tall man and ran her finger up his arm and chest as she grinned at him, "What's next?"

"What's next? What's next is we train." Thane gestured to the landscape of the world, the cracked and desolate landscape was dotted with what only be described as boils and callouses. It truly was a corrupted world, the landscaped not unlike diseased flesh. "And this will be our grounds." From the ground rose behemoths of decaying flesh and brittle bone that all held Thane's words in the highest regards. Immediately they began to form a building out of anything they could find and making it stable. "We'll be here for a good long while. Luckily time is... different here so we have more than enough of it." He turned his eyes to the horizon where a ravine split into the bleak sky. "A great battle took place past that canyon. Come on, we're heading there." He said as he began to walk. Stopping, he turned back to the massive corpses. "Keep building." Without another word, he led the way to the battlefield.

Vier

"What's next? What's next is we train." Thane gestured to the landscape of the world, it looked like she had walked into the underworld. The desolate place was nothing but death all around her. She could feel it in the air as well, thick and heavy.

"And this will be our grounds."

Vier's eyebrow rose as she watched several creatures rise up from beneath the earth, dust and decay falling from their bodies as they stood. They themselves were nothing more than bone and strips of flesh. They turned and started building, using just about anything around them. It was remarkable to say the least, disgusting as well. Though Vier could only grin at the show of power.

"We'll be here for a good long while. Luckily time is... different here so we have more than enough of it. A great battle took place past that canyon. Come on, we're heading there."

Vier followed him wordlessly, her eyes scanning the empty landscape as they moved. The canyon before her looked oddly familiar, like something she'd seen sketched in an old book once before. The battle that he spoke of she had a small idea about. Was it? Most likely. Her eyes flicked up to his form as he strode across the earth powerfully. Thane seemed to be at home here in this desolate land.

"That battle you speak of. It wouldn't be the one fought by the four dragon God's was it? Ieer, Ki, Domieen and Barthomel. It is said that their power was so tremendous during the fighting over this canyon that it was all absorbed by the rocks and earth here. If one looks carefully enough, one can feel that power pulsing still. I'm intrigued to see what you have planned, Thane," she cooed as she strode next to him, her legs moving a bit faster to keep up with his long strides. Her eyes shifted and she looked upwards, meeting the top of the canyon that they were headed to. If she imagined it hard enough, she could almost see the four dragons of old fighting once again. What a spectacle it would have been.

Talon V'lyn

"Talon! Wait up for me! Why were you in the library just now?"

The young elven woman with blonde hair ran up to him in a rush. Turning to face her, Talon pulled the sleeve down on his wrist as he'd been glaring at the silver bracelet, deep in his thoughts on what he'd read.

"Rania! I'm sorry I didn't know you were here," he stumbled, his blue-grey eyes widened slightly as she startled him from his thoughts. With a short shake of his head, he turned and continued walking with her right next to him.

"I went here because I needed to look up some things regarding Dragoon's history. Seems we've all missed an important detail in the retelling. You may or may not know this, Rania, but the four names of the dragon Gods of old?" He looked to her for a second before ticking them off on his fingers, "Ieer, Ki, Barthomel, and Domieen. Anyone of those ring a bell?"

He waited for her recognition of the name as they stepped out of the library before he continued, "Come, there's lots to talk about with everyone," he beckoned and started back to the inn where they all were staying at.

"That battle you speak of. It wouldn't be the one fought by the four dragon God's was it? Ieer, Ki, Domieen and Barthomel. It is said that their power was so tremendous during the fighting over this canyon that it was all absorbed by the rocks and earth here. If one looks carefully enough, one can feel that power pulsing still. I'm intrigued to see what you have planned, Thane," Thane stopped abruptly and spun on his heels, visually perturbed by something Vier had said. "Make no mistake girl," he hissed. "The old gods are dead. Not just to me. To any remaining Nephilim. To this world. Soon enough their lives will sputter out like the weakening flames they are. Their religion is base, their morals, petty and their most 'devout' followers, corrupt to the core."

He turned back and led on, unsure if Vier was following or not, but now, he didn't care too much. If she was, she'd train, if she wasn't, the world would swallow her whole. It was the nature of this place, its attempts to regain the hundreds of millions of lives that were lost when Thane and his brothers rode across its plains, slaughtering all its inhabitants. The world itself tried to reclaim life, but even it wasn't foolish enough to try and claim Thane. The Nephilim's lives weren't anywhere near valuable enough to consume.

Domieen : Jennifer and Talon

He watched as the body of the assassin hit the ground, a small spray of blood following as he landed in his own pool. The white light of the brace seemed to die out entirely as he watched the young man. It was seconds after he'd let loose his illusion that the mage burst into the room. Her earlier grin long since gone as she entered the room and set eyes upon the assassin and Domieen. She looked utterly enraged as she took in the situation, a pleasing look of horror on her face as he observed her.

Her voice split the air as she struggled to contain herself, but to no avail. The woman's power erupted from her, rushing right at Domieen who only pulled his lips back into a cruel smile. He let his enlarged claws shrink back to their original size before raising it and deflecting the blow. Jennifer's immense power was quite honorable against his, that much he did give her. However, there was lack of thought and real concentration in it, thus lending to his easily stopping it. The magic dispelled around him, blowing the wind about furiously and knocking into many of the pillars behind him.

Jars and vases exploded upon impact, small chunks of stone flew about the room and any tables and chairs were knocked over. Domieen let his hand fall as he eyed her carefully, his twisted smile visible now as his hood had fallen back to reveal his face. The black scales reflected the light as he stood there, his bright yellow eyes slit and focused on her. As his lips parted, it was quite unusual to see them move as he spoke.

"Is that fear I see, mage? What happened to agreeing with me earlier? Don't tell me you've actually fallen in love with this worthless human," he shrugged his shoulders and sighed in mock disappointment, "No matter, you're going to join him in a matter of moments anyway."

With a flick of his wrist he sent his own power right at her, the curl of dark magic flooding the room in it's deathly grip. A power that was meant to kill upon impact. However, a flash of white light burst into existence and hit the God's power straight on, sending it upwards and into the palace ceiling. The entire building shook from the impact and sent a shower of destroyed rock down on them all. Domieen lazily looked down at Talon's body before retrieving the fallen blade that the assassin had used to stab him with earlier, and had fallen out of his wrist after Domieen had run him through with his claws.

"Still alive?" His clawed hand wrapped around the handle of the long sword as he stepped right up next to the young man who shifted ever so slightly. The bright white of the brace glowing now, but not as bright as before. "Seems that brace is the only thing keeping you alive. Don't worry, that won't last long either," as he finished speaking, he raised the weapon and drove it through the assassin's back, earning a sharp cry and a cough in response. Domieen didn't let go of the blade, his power built and he expelled it down the shaft of the weapon, through Talon and into the floor.

The young man's body tightened at the touch of the magic, lifting off the floor slightly from the brief pass of power. The magic expelled all through the palace and stretched outwards into the city. The dark mass crawled up the side of buildings, across the cobblestone streets until it had stretched all the way to the city walls. A few seconds after it faded, the city seemed to groan in response. Starting at the palace everything began to crumble, falling apart and dropping into the depths of the earth. The city streets cracked and pulled apart, buildings toppled over or fell in on themselves as the earth shuddered and shook from the immense power.

In the palace, Domieen released the handle of the blade and looked up to Jennifer with a smile, "I hope you've enjoyed Kingsburrow."

Large blocks of stone came crashing down around them as the floor pulled apart, opening up into nothing but darkness below. Domieen faded away as the marble beneath him cracked and dropped. Talon's body rolled as the earth beneath him gave way. Beneath Kingsburrow's palace were the dungeons, beneath those were caves. Water splashed as the rocks fell, filling the underground pool with rubble. Talon fell amongst it all, landing half in the water, his upper body sprawled across a large slab of marble that was tilted at an angle. Rocks splashed all around him, the destruction going further and further back into the caves.

The city crumbled, each moment that passed, the city seemed to fall down into the depths of the earth faster and faster. Finally when everything settled, it was as if Kingsburrow had never existed at all.

Vier

"Make no mistake girl," he hissed. "The old gods are dead. Not just to me. To any remaining Nephilim. To this world. Soon enough their lives will sputter out like the weakening flames they are. Their religion is base, their morals, petty and their most 'devout' followers, corrupt to the core."

Her lips curled into a cruel smile as she watched him storm away from her. For a moment, she just stood and let him get ahead of her before using a bit of her dark magic to whisk herself back to his side. She eyed him from where she strode, her lips twitching as she fought to keep her grin to a minimum.

"I was one such follower. To Domieen, who is alive and well I might add. He's raining destruction upon the upper world as we speak. His intentions to bring Barthomel back to life are quite formidable. You intend to ignore a God?" She asked, then shrugged as if she didn't really care what he intended to do either way, "Well, all that matters is I'm here now. Ready to learn as you bid, my dear Thane. I suppose here, nothing of the upper world matters. There are no Gods, no deities. A pleasant change from what I'm used to."

She grinned up at him, "Break me, mold me, make me what you need me to be, Thane. I'm more than ready," she cooed.

"These gods are not all they seem child. As powerful as they are, they have flaws. And no god, created with the divine right to rule has flaws." He muttered to no one in particular. As they neared the lip of the canyon, the overwhelming stench of a mass grave washed over them. The only reaction he had to the reeking pit however, was his curled fist tightening around a pendant that he'd almost forgotten had hung from his wrist. "You may think you're ready, but you've no idea what precedes this power." His head turned downward, the black abyss staring him in the face. He could almost see the sparks fly when weapons clashed ages ago. "War begets Death, Death begets Strife, Strife begets War. It is the way of all worlds, a vicious cycle of unwavering madness." He knelt to the ground and thrust his hand into the dirt until he was elbow deep through earth that should have repelled him like steel.

A thick, crimson liquid gurgled to the surface around his arm, only to be soaked into his pores. For a few moments, this went on until Thane finally withdrew his arm from the dirt and rock. "Once you can learn your place in this cycle, then you will begin to realize power." The only clue as to Thane's previous action was his shirt's sleeve, dyed an unsettling, reddish brown.

"They used us," He said standing. "Sent us to do their bidding." He turned on Vier, a dead darkness in his eyes as a spot of the liquid coagulated on his thumb. "Their own selfish desires, their fears of being overthrown? Proof that these 'gods' aren't so godly in reality." His hand outstretched, faster than could be expected from Thane, and planted itself on Vier's head, its thumb placing the spot of what was now identifiable as fresh blood on her forehead. "Your first test Vier, is to survive the makers and their abominations." From the pit, a deafening moan rose, followed by the clatter and tear of decaying hands clawing their way upward. "Now. Now we break you and start anew."

Vier

She listened intently to Thane's words as they stood there under the shadow of the cliff face. Everything he said was filled with truth, a truth that she hadn't realized. Domieen had been very powerful, terrifyingly powerful, but there was that feeling that he feared the humans and their power. Vier had never noticed it before, but as Thane spoke about the weakness of the old dragon Gods, she felt it all to be true. Domieen was no true deity, he was going to fall and most likely by his own hand.

The warlock watched the Nephilim as he knelt down and shoved his arm into the soft dirt. His clothing stained a rusty red color as he pulled his arm back out and stood. Facing her, he reached up and pressed his thumb against her forehead, putting a bloody streak across her beautiful features. He spoke to her as a crevice opened up next to them, filling the air with the scent of decay. Her body trembled, not from fear but from excitement at the impending fight.

"Your first test Vier, is to survive the makers and their abominations. Now. Now we break you and start anew," Thane said softly to her, his tone holding a sense of authority and pride.

Turning, Vier looked down into the darkness, her eyes catching the distorted forms of the dead as they crawled up towards them. Their decayed faces opened in screams of rage and hunger. With a wild light in her eyes, she slowly knelt down to touch the dirt beneath her. Vier could feel the power that was pulsing through the earth, an old power that was much the same as Thanes when she'd fought him. She could feel the energy reaching for her, curling around her hand as she concentrated on it. However, she also knew it was far too much for her to handle just yet without killing herself.

With a wry grin, she stood up and drew her dagger from one of the belts around her waist. With her free hand she willed her power to existence, reaching out into the dirt to see what she could summon and control. The shadows lengthened at her bidding, tightening and forming into an almost solid form as it slid around her legs and began to encase her. As the first of many of the creatures broke the surface and stood, she was then lost in sight as her power extended and pulled her into total darkness. Vier's body was seen again as she reappeared behind the first creature, her knife held outwards from her body. The thing trembled from the sudden attack before falling apart and toppling back into the dark crevice.

Her eyes looked downwards to the enemy and with her hand outstretched, she drew the dark magic down into the depths and began covering several of the creatures in her deadly power. All the while, the thrill of the fight pumping through her veins. It was just the start of a very long fight and she idly wondered how long she would last against them all. At the back of her mind, she hoped to impress the Nephilim, so she pulled all the stops on her power and let loose into a calculated fight.

"You've shown courage if anything. But courage is coupled with overconfidence and ignorance child." The corpses that had crawled out of the pit halted for a moment, many in the middle of some action that only highlighted their grotesque lack of sinew and muscle. A deep rumble resonated from the ground, so deep that it was deafening and Thane's shout could barely be heard above it. Stone shrieked as it clashed with more stone and hundreds of pits, each larger and more prominent than the last opened wide in the earth around them. "I told you, did I not? This world is dead, devoid of true life!" Thousands of hands clawed their way to the surface as Thane could feel his strength sapping ever quicker. The only power he had left after the few thousand ghouls stood on the plains was the tiny reserve he held to banish them when need be. He could only stand for a moment before he fell to his knees, the pressure of calling back this multitude of souls sapped him of both his arcane and physical strength. "I do not control these beings Vier," He called to her. "They are and always will be of pure hatred for the one who wears their blood. Now survive and return to the homestead. I will recognize you as worthy then. And don't worry, I can keep an eye on you from there. Should you need help, it will provided, albeit at the cost of your victory." As he finished, one of the few larger ghouls that had been working on the shelter came to his side and carried him back towards the low, alabaster white building.

Vier

Her heart accelerated as the holes in the ground opened up and allowed more of the fiendish creatures forth. They clambered their way to the surface and stood in a mass before her. Adrenaline pumped through her, exciting her as she eyed her challenge. Now this was more like it. This would get her blood pumping and she would very much enjoy the fighting. Her eyes flicked to Thane as he dropped to his knees. Vier didn't move though, only eyed him from his position. A huge ghoul came next to him and picked him up as he finished speaking to her, giving her the last of her orders.

"They are and always will be of pure hatred for the one who wears their blood. Now survive and return to the homestead. I will recognize you as worthy then. And don't worry, I can keep an eye on you from there. Should you need help, it will provided, albeit at the cost of your victory."

With a smirk she gave him a short nod, though she had no intention of asking for help at all. She'd endured much in her life, this bought was no different. Either she succeeded or died trying. That was how she'd lived life, that was how she climbed the ranks through Ro'ell, city of mages. Taking a deep breath she turned her attention to the now moving mass of destruction. Vier's eyes jumped from one fiend to the next, sizing them up and figuring the best course of action. Once she'd gotten something in mind, she launched into the fray. Her weapons cut through rotting flesh, her aim was for their throats an attempt to behead them and keep them down on the ground. For the most part, she succeeded in that.

Her body twisted around two of them, her arm stretched out to slice through their thin layer of skin and bone. The knife cut deep, nearly decapitating one, then she twisted around and did the same to the next. Both dropped to the ground. Using the built up momentum from the twist, she moved on to the next opponent. Her knives moving constantly as she went. They reflected the unnatural sunlight in that world as she went. Her magic built up and she expelled it out into the masses. The dark tendrils of necromancy reaching out to the dead. The black magic curled around several of the fiends, crawling up their legs, around their upper body and slowly down into their mouths. Once the magic was inside them, she turned them to her will and they began fighting their own.

Another blast of magic curled around her, the darkness shifting her from one place to the next. Coming out of her spell, she charged one, her knives pulled back as she went. Then she thrust them forwards into the creatures throat, tearing them outwards and severing all of the tissue so that his head hung backwards and exposed the decaying bone and tissue beneath. A sharp sting found its way into her side and she responded by whirling around to deal the creature a nasty slash to his chest. Another twist and her other dagger met the throat.

Twisting around, Vier caught the slash of another's claws and batted it away. With a sharp kick she knocked it backwards into its comrades and then lunged at him. Her dagger went right through his throat and she pulled back as they fell onto the ground. Dust kicked up around them and she pulled her magic around her to move from that spot. Another cut to her lower back found its way there before the magic could take her. Ignoring the burning of each wound, she kept moving. Her smile never faded as she fought.

***

Vier's chest heaved as she dispatched the last ghoul that tried to take her throat. She was on the ground with it leaning over her, one decayed hand over her throat, the other dug deep into her side. Her knife finally made its way to its throat and slashed deep across it. The thing collapsed on her and filled her nose with a disgusting smell. A cough filled her as air finally made its way into her lungs. Pushing the creature off her, she got to her feet. Stumbling for a little bit, she eyed her handy work. It had been a long and harrowing fight. The masses had nearly swarmed her and taken her down several times, but her magic kicked in and she was able to keep from being torn to pieces.

However, she hadn't escaped every thing thrown at her. Vier'd been thrown around, cut up and bitten. Blood covered most of her armor now, and she was bruised from head to foot. The dirt where the fighting had taken place had places where the earth was caved in from her being thrown into it so hard. Vier took a deep breath and got her balance back, straightening her battered body as best she could. Turning, she headed back to the building that was built by the ghouls earlier. As she entered the building, she pushed the door opened, a wide grin on her face even as her vision wavered from the blood loss.

"My victory," she cooed before dropping to the floor as everything went black.

Thane sat slouched in his chair, exhausted from his earlier display but slowly regaining fractions of the strength he put into the corpses as they fell. It was several hours before he even had a tenth of his strength back, but he knew he wouldn't get it all as they ghouls died. Just bits and pieces. Deep in thought, Thane almost nodded off to sleep when the creak of the door caught his attention followed by a drowsy and battered, "My victory." then thud as something, or rather in this case, someone, fell to the floor. With a sigh and half opened eyes, Thane shuffled over to Vier and picked her up, stripping her cloak from her shoulders as he did. " Hell in a hand basket," he muttered as he walked with an exhausted, slow gait towards one of the few other rooms in the shack he called home, where the only bed lay. "You look worse than I expected kid. But you made it. About half of those were using the femurs of your predecessors as weapons." He said chuckling as he set her down on the small cot. Taking a look back, he grinned. She was almost a normal human without the psychotic tendencies when she was sleeping. Almost. With another heavy sigh, Thane slumped backwards into his throne of bones in the main hall, resting his elbow on the arm of the chair and his cheek on his fist, propping his head up as he drifted into sleep."She made it at least." He remembered whispering to seemingly no one. "There's hope yet."

The scream pierced the air, and more importantly, Thane's sleep. The memory that constantly played in his head had shattered, once again, at a pivotal moment. With an unconcerned sigh, he hobbled from his chair across the expanse of white that called itself the house. He pushed the door open that led to Vier's room and sighed. Domieen had wormed his way into her head and now he still had his talons in her.Another sigh escaped from his lips as a gauntlet that pulsed with unidentifiable energy materialized just above Thane's outstretched hand.A demonic face with a gaping maw shone on the buckler of the gauntlet, and through it, poured unholy whispers. With this hand, he reached through the veil of mist and grasped Vier's shoulder, gently pulling her back down to the bed. He could tell Domieen could feel the Abomination's power through her, and to an extent, Thane's own, so he channeled it. "Domieen, through an ancient gate you've overstepped your boundaries, into a world that you have no power in. A godless world. Do not try to strike through the void. Mortis, the gauntlet I now wear, was created by god far more ancient and far more powerful than you for use in the Nephilim's ride in their conquest of worlds. It's not as powerful as it was then, but should you strike, it will at least cripple you for a time, possibly more. Know this. Vier is my apprentice, my subject now. I have plans for the girl and they do not involve you. Do not interfere." With the last sentence, Thane physically pulled Vier through the mist, regaining his focus at the screams of agony and chants to a deity long forgotten emanating from the jaws carved in Mortis. Without a second thought, the peeled the glove from his hand and tossed it aside, the shrieks and prayers silencing abruptly as it clattered to the floor. "Bastard." He muttered as he slumped against the edge of the bed next to his student.

Talon V'lyn

Jennifer tugged at his arm, pulling him towards the back door as he watched the old woman vanish around the corner. His eyes narrowed at her as he stumbled back slightly. He didn't feel all that great letting the old woman take care of things on her own. He knew how powerful Domieen was and that alone was enough to push fear through his heart at her well being. Turning to Jennifer he frowned, "We're going to leave her?" he muttered, knowing all to well the answer. Talon ignored her joking comment, instead he followed her to the back of the house.

There Talon found the chest that the elder woman had spoken of and he took it from the desk as Jennifer led the way out the back door. He was met by blinding light, which was slightly confusing as he could have sworn it was nearing nightfall when he and Jennifer had left the caves of Kingsburrow. It took him a moment, but he finally realized they were in a powerful shield that protected the area. Stepping towards it, his hand reached out and he touched the barrier. It shimmered briefly but then gave way to him and he walked through it as if nothing were there at all.

With the mage right beside him he entered the darkened forest. There was no light here and it should have taken him longer to adjust his vision, but it seemed that the moment he stepped into the shadows, he knew exactly where he was. It was a strange feeling but something he was sure to get used to. Taking Jennifer by the hand he pulled her along, "Just follow me, don't use magic to light the way," Talon told her softly and started off into the night. He was more sensitive to magic than ever before and he could feel the presence of the True Dragons on the other side of the barrier to the elder woman's home. Just the same, he could feel Riena's embrace all around him and knew that the goddess was right there with him the entire time.

He moved quickly, fluidly through the forest without making a sound. He trusted Jennifer to be just as quiet, after all she was a sneaky woman in her own way. Talon didn't stop until they were far from the house. Kneeling down, he put the small chest on the ground and opened it. Inside was an array of weaponry, mostly throwing knives of different varieties and several daggers, more than he usually carried. Taking the weapons, he began putting them into their holders in his clothes, all the while keeping an eye out about him and Jennifer.

The assassin stopped as he began to sheath the third dagger somewhere on his person, the blade hovering over the belt that he'd intended to put it in. His eyes shot upwards and he looked back the way they'd come. Over Jennifer's shoulder his eyes caught the faintest flash of light before it faded away as if it'd never existed. He felt the pulse of powerful magic in the air, heavy like a growing pressure. With a frown he turned to Jennifer and finished sheathing the weapons, "Let's hurry. I'll try to call Vy, but I don't know if I can reach him."

He took her hand and started back through the dark forest, his mind stretching and reaching out for his dragon in the hope of getting a connection again.

Vier

A hand gripped her both in reality and in her dream world where she was locked in a fight with Domieen. In her dreams she'd been blasting the dragon God with all of her power. Everything she had she exploded on him, but nothing seemed to help. Instead it seemed to fuel him and the more power she used the more he grew stronger and his own magic tightened around her. Once she figured it out, she'd stopped and had tried to figure a way out of her predicament. It was hard to concentrated as he was sucking at her own life, and the pain was making it hard to focus. Until she felt Thane's presence. Then she grinned at the illusion that was Domieen.

"Domieen, through an ancient gate you've overstepped your boundaries, into a world that you have no power in. A godless world. Do not try to strike through the void. Mortis, the gauntlet I now wear, was created by god far more ancient and far more powerful than you for use in the Nephilim's ride in their conquest of worlds. It's not as powerful as it was then, but should you strike, it will at least cripple you for a time, possibly more. Know this. Vier is my apprentice, my subject now. I have plans for the girl and they do not involve you. Do not interfere."

Thane's voice reverberated in the dream and the deep tones of his words vibrated her chest as if he were right next to her. Domieen growled in response, but the magic that Thane used broke his connection and threw the dragon God out of her mind completely. The God's words filtered back to her though as he was shut off from the world she was in, "You may be out of reach for now, but once you step foot out of that place, you're mine."

To this, Vier laughed back at him until everything faded and she woke up. Sitting straight up, her magic returned to her and she felt her entire right arm ignite with power. Her magic was mixed with something else that she hadn't felt or used before and she looked at her arm to see the darkness twisting around her arm. With a wry smile she forced it to calm and return from where it came from inside her. The darkness faded and she turned her eyes to Thane who was kneeling at her bedside. With a frown she gazed at the top of his head.

"Why did you do that?" She asked him, "More importantly, what are your plans for me?" Her smile returned as she leaned over and ran a hand along his shoulder in her usual seductive presence. Stretching out across the bed, she lay on her front and eyed him, waiting for an answer though at the back of her mind she was slightly worried for the large Nephilim that knelt before her. Flicking her eyes across the room, she spotted the gauntlet that he'd spoken of. From where she lay she could feel it's power, even if it was dormant at the moment.

Turning her eyes back to Thane, she ran her finger across his shoulder, tracing circles as she waited. Via her touch, she could feel his weariness. He'd used so much power in the last few hours that Vier was sure the large man was more than just a little tired. With a smile that broadened, she ran her tongue across her lips and locked her fingers around his shoulder. A slow surge of magic twisted around her fingers and she focused the pure energy towards him. It wasn't much, but she figured it would help to make him feel a little better. He was much more powerful than herself, but any little bit of magical energy was better than none at all.

When she finished she went back to tracing circles while she lay her head on her other arm, "I hope some of those plans involve killing Domieen," she whispered.

Thane went to brush her hand off his shoulder, but stopped himself, instead using the hand to lift himself up from the floor. "The details don't involve you, just the end result." He replied. "And as to why, there are reasons that you wouldn't understand." An ominous whisper flooded the room as he stood, the little light that hung in the air, suddenly dimmer. Mortis shuddered in the corner, its vibrations obvious from the sound of bone and arcane metals clashing together. That horrible cracking sound invaded Thane's mind and his head snapped to face the corner.

The gauntlet rose a foot or so off the ground before he could move towards it, his body almost too weak to move. But whatever was happening, made him move with vigor. As Thane stumbled to move then launched himself across the room at the buckler, the creak of his joints was audible and the agony his muscles screamed was almost as much so. At this point he was not fighting his exhaustion alone, but also the force of Mortis' will trying to force him back as it yearned for freedom. Finally, he managed to toss himself across the glove, pinning it to the ground and subsequently strapping the Abomination back to his arm. An effort, more mental than physical was needed to keep Mortis under control, but the fact that Thane punched it through the nearest wall probably helped a bit. After what seemed like an eternity though, Mortis finally fell silent again. Looking down, Thane saw streaks of crimson blood running down his legs. "Piece of shit weapon." He muttered as he sank into a sitting position against the wall, hoping the bleeding would stop soon.

Talon V'lyn

“And just what do you intend to do after locating Vy? Don’t go Talon. There’s a good chance that Domieen still believes you’re dead. You don’t need to risk your life any further than this,” her fingers slipped out of his grasp as she pulled back and stopped. Turning, Talon looked down at her as she gazed back at him with a hard glint in her dark eyes. He was caught off guard by her sudden plea to him. The assassin watched her for a long time, unsure of how to respond to her.

Reaching out, he brushed his hand across her face, entangling his fingers in her dark hair, "Are you telling me to run away with you? To turn my back on everything else?" He whispered softly in the darkness. He ran his thumb gently across her cheek bone, stroking her skin lightly.

"I'd be lying if I said that hadn't crossed my mind. Or if I said that it didn't sound amazing," he smiled softly, a sad tint to his tone however. Taking a step closer to her, he put his other hand on her face and brought her head up so that she couldn't look away from him, "I can't do that, Jennifer. What happens when Domieen raises Barthomel? One dragon God is bad enough to deal with, two would be even worse. They're seeking all the power that this world holds, to destroy it and re-build it. That means losing you and everything else I know and care about."

With a soft laugh he closed his eyes and pressed his head against hers, the tip of his nose barely brushing her own, "Like it or not, my 'chivalry' is kicking in. I'm going to protect you and everyone else," he pressed his lips against her forehead before speaking again, "Will you still fight with me? I would understand if you say no."

Vier

She raised an eyebrow as Thane told her not to worry about the details of what he wanted her to do exactly. Then she frowned as he told her that his reasons were something she wouldn't understand. Vier's chest constricted, she was a far more calculating and cunning woman than he thought her to be. Perhaps it would only take her showing him that to make him tell her what his plans were. With that in mind, her eyes followed him as he stood and his gaze shot off to the side of the room.

A sharp sound caught her attention as well and she looked to see what it was. The weapon that he'd had earlier began moving on it's own accord. The sight of it sent a thrill of shivers down her spine, some of fear some of awe. Thane attacked the thing, wrestling it down to the ground and strapping it to his arm. He proceeded, then, to shove the weapon through the wall and a little while after it seemed as if the weapon was restrained once more. It's shrieks died out and Vier's hearing returned with a slight ringing.

Her dark gaze watched as Thane slumped against the wall and slid down to the floor in exhaustion. He hadn't had time to rest properly, that much she was aware of. Blood stained his leg and she wondered where the wound was coming from. Slowly, Vier stretched off the bed, slinking much like a black cat towards him in a seductive manner, the only manner she knew how to act in. With a cunning smile she knelt down in front of him and let her eyes roam across his form as she looked for the wound.

"Shall I see to it?" she asked, speaking of the wound, her eyes flicking up to him. She pulled one finger up to her lips and bit it gently as she waited for his answer.

City Vaye

"Domieen only wants ones with power," he said harshly to the other five members that followed him. His eyes narrowed at them, they were the newest recruits to the True Dragons and already a few of them were letting their power get to their heads. One had tried to disregard his order and nearly killed several hundred people in the inn that they'd just left. Twice he'd told them to pick their prey wisely, twice a few of them failed to listen and they'd ended up with more bodies than necessary. More than enough to get noticed by the guards.

"We'll just take out anyone who see's us," another pipped in.

"Fools, are you trying to get us killed?"

"These petty human's can't kill us!"

"Not by them, you idiot. Domieen will have our heads for failure to follow orders."

That silenced them and they each looked to each other as they mulled over his words. With a heavy sigh of annoyance, the leader of the small band straightened his black robes as he peered out from the dark alley they'd taken refuge in. The streets were illuminated by bright glowing orange flames and filled with the sounds of the cities night life. He let his magic feel the air around them, stretching forth to touch and caress those that walked by without being noticed. For the most part all he felt were humans with now magic blood at all. Then he felt a group of mages, each of them were dressed very richly and he knew they must have been from Ro'ell. The city had been half burned (and could quite possibly be considered sacked), so it was no wonder that he saw the filthy men peeking out of their home land. Most likely seeking help in relief aids and such.

"Them," he ordered and the five other True Dragons slithered out of the shadows and fell into silent steps behind the group of high mages. Dark magic filled the air, the only thing that alerted the group of victims. Moments later and screams filled the air along with blasts of magic.

"There's nothing you can do about it." He said as his eyes lazily traced her movements across the room. "Mortis opens old wounds, Give it a minute, you'll see." He said, breathing heavily. As if on cue, an aged scar on his face, one that it looked like it should be older than him, slowly split open and dripped blood across his face. "See? Nothing you can do about it." He sighed and struggled to stand, but the open wounds were making it difficult. Finally, Thane got up, using his sword as a make-shift cane, and worked his way upwards. "I know what you want, but information like this is just a weight, a burden to bear and this is not one you should shoulder. Besides," He said grunting with effort at each step he took trying to loosen up even the slightest bit. "It's not entirely ironed out at this point." For a few seconds he leaned on the hilt of his sword, motionless save for the glint of power that surged through him and into Mortis as the buckler fed.

"Thank you though." He muttered at long last. "You're a good student, but I just need time to rest. If you need me, well there's no too many places to hide here, now is there?" Slowly Thane hobbled towards the door and stopped. He opened his mouth, presumably to say something, but instead continued down the hall to the washroom to wash up. Responding to his desires, the home had practically grown an iron and copper bathtub that was filled with surprisingly clean water by the time he'd made it to the washroom, a mirror hanging from one of the walls and a towel hung off the edge of the glass. As he took off his clothes he noticed that the wounds were slowly closing, but he still refused to take Mortis off, knowing that it'd attempt to rampage again. If anyone had seen it, Thane's washroom would've been an odd sight now. The blinding white room was colorless save for Thane, his clothes that lay strewn about on the floor, the copper tub and Mortis which still encased his arm as he hung it over the edge of the tub. As he soaked, he watched the blood slowly roll off his skin and dissipate into the clear water without a trace. The scars were closed and a fresh white, almost as if they were new.

Vier and Thane

Vier moved from the room she was in and inspected the house with a sharp eye. A small smile on her lips gave her the look of scheming even when she wasn't. Finally, the former True Dragon found her way to the small room that Thane had gone to. She could feel the heat inside the room telling her that he was most likely bathing.

An idea came to mind, but she didn't act on it, unsure if he would kill her on spot for doing such a thing. Though, her earlier seductiveness hadn't been tossed aside either. With a light toss of her head, moving her long hair over her shoulder she reached up and tapped on the door. Vier didn't need him, but she wasn't one to sit around idly alone either, it usually didn't end well.

"Do you need anything, Thane?" She asked, her voice curling with sultry tones. Vier leaned against the door and waited for his answer, a wicked grin ever present.

Thane could hear Vier over the hiss of steam pouring off the hot water. "Do you need anything, Thane?" There was something completely different going on, something that Thane could've guessed. "I'm fine, thank you." He said, slowly lifting himself out of the brass basin. The blood had run off his body and the wounds were closed, now all that was left was- "Shit." he muttered, looking down and realizing that the clothes he had been wearing were now dyed a crimson that would no doubt, linger for a good, long while. Wrapping the towel around his waist, Thane gathered up his clothes and pushed the door open, and leaned on the frame, opposite of Vier. With a sigh, Thane stared down Vier. "What's going on here child?" He asked, eyeing her grin.

Her eyes roamed his form as he stood leaning on the door frame. Water still clung to his skin, slowly dripping down his well toned body. She crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her eyes once more to his. Her smile grew as she stood there, taking the weight off of one leg.

"Nothing in particular. You can't expect me to stay alone by myself do you? Especially with someone... such as yourself," she leaned forward, running one hand along his heated skin. She moved passed him, her hand following her as she stepped into the room that still steamed from the water.

Reaching up she hooked her finger under the strings of her leather tunic. All of her armor was destroyed anyway, so she started to undo it quickly. Turning her head, she swept her dark locks over her shoulder and looked at him, giving him the same seductive look as always, "I don't suppose you would mind if I washed? All of this dry blood is bothering me," she said, giving a feigned pout.

Thane's brow furrowed ever so slightly as Vier ran her hand across his chest. This girl and her wanton desire for physical contact almost annoyed a rather patient giant, but at the same time it was strangely amusing. "I don't suppose you would mind if I washed? All of this dry blood is bothering me," "Council alive," He thought, turning towards his room that lay just down the hall from the washroom. "That girl is almost more trouble than she's worth." With a sigh, he started down the hall and called over his shoulder to her, "This house is almost as much yours as it is mine. Feel free to." With that he entered his room, impressive and ornate furniture - A canopy bed complete with torn black curtains, a massive desk and several chairs that a king could've rested in comfortably - seemed to spring from the walls merely at Thane's presence. The house responded to the needs of those in it, a simple enchantment but comforting none the less. "Come to my room when you're done. We've things to discuss." He called down the alabaster corridor as he disappeared from the doorway to change into a pair of pants, meant to accommodate a massive pair of boots and a belt with a cloth wrapping that hung from his waist to about his knees. Classic Nephilim attire that set him into a state of comfort as he laid down carefully on his bed.

The door closed to the washroom as she slipped out of her clothes completely. Her smile had turned to a frown, though, as she stood there fully undressed. Finally, after a moment, she looked to the tub and eyed the clear water carefully. It was probably the magic in the air that made it clean and hot from Thane's use. Gingerly she stepped in and couldn't help a deep sigh as the heat washed over her body. Slowly Vier sunk into the water, emerging herself entirely. She wondered idly why her tactics weren't working on the large man, then again, she'd always done such things to men. It had become too much of a habit.

Lifting her hand out of the water she eyed the crystal clear droplets with criticism. Perhaps she wasn't to his liking, or maybe he just didn't like women. Then there was the possibility that she was just going overboard with everything as usual. Her fingers curled into a fist as she stared, her eyebrows coming down in annoyance. Of course the other question was, why the hell was she bothered by his lack of reaction to her? It wasn't like she wanted anything from him in that way. Her throat tightened at the thought and she swallowed hard.

Turning her gaze away from her hand she sunk deeper into the water until her chin was dipped in the heated liquid. With her eyes closed she soaked for a while longer before finally standing abruptly and throwing water all around the room. With one hand on her hip she flipped her dampened hair about her shoulders and looked for something to dry off with. Dry, dressed and ready to go once more, Vier stepped out of the washroom and started down the hall. Her damp hair hung in curls around her face as she moved. The heels of her boots made soft sounds with each step. Once she reached the room where Thane was at she reached up and knocked on the door before entering, hoping that she wasn't disturbing him. After all, he called her.

Leaning against the door she eyed him carefully and crossed her arms over her chest. Perhaps a different approach was the way to get closer to him, she thought. So she kept her distance and watched every detail, "What did you want to discuss?"

Talon V'lyn

Talon took up a seat next to Locien and watched as the mage took her place as well. Having ordered his drink, he waited for it to be brought as he listened to Locien's question and Jennifer's answer right after. He hadn't even had time to open his mouth to respond before the woman shook off the details of their escapade in Kingsburrow.

“More to the point, what happened to us is the least of our concerns. What matters is what we plan to do next about our dear friend Domieen. The True Dragons have razed every major city they’ve come across, and so far, there’s absolutely no sign of them stopping.”

Talon nodded his head and gave a hum of approval to her words. Straight to the point, a rarity coming from the beautiful mage. Maybe in time he would rub off on her further. Though it was only a small hope, if that. His drink was brought to him and he took a deep drink, enjoying the taste of the liquor on his tongue and down his throat. Putting the cup down with a satisfied sigh, he turned his attention back to the woman sitting across from him.

“Domieen was kind enough to inform us that he needed blood and magic to achieve his goals, so something tells me giving him war just plays into those gauntlet hands of his. What we do know though is that he seems to have taken up residence in Laowlee,” her gaze flicked to Locien, the look telling that she wished to have confirmation on that fact.

Talon nodded and took another drink of his ale before speaking, "She's right. There's no stopping his quest to tear down every city in Dragoon. If we want to stop him, we need to go straight to the source. I hate to say it, but we might have to tear down Laowlee just to put an end to this. It's probably our only shot too," he stopped and lowered his gaze to the table. The earlier conversation with Jennifer coming back to mind. He lifted his steely eyes to look at her for just a brief moment before turning back to the wood that he rested his drink upon.

"This isn't going to be easy, and I can't guarantee your safety or the others," Talon said slowly, looking up to the dark elf next to him, "Razing a city isn't one of my specialties either," he grinned, "but if you don't wish to endanger yourselves any further than you already have, I'll understand. Besides, I know you still have Soran to worry about."

He took another drink of the cold drought, "Well, think on it for a bit before you give me an answer, friend," he said and stood up. He took Locien's shoulder in hand and patted it before moving up the stairs to one of the rooms. He passed another man sitting outside one of the rooms and figured that it had to be the man that had spoken earlier, Locien's father. Taking the room across the way he closed the door gently behind him. With a heavy sigh he leaned against it for a long while before moving and opening the window to look out at the night sky. Talon leaned against the windowsill and held the cup in both hands, his thoughts deep on the conversation prior to landing in Vaye.

City Vaye : Collin

He leaned against the corner of a building, concealed by the darkness around him. He'd been lucky to escape Kingsburrow before it had crumbled into nothing but a pile of rocks. To even further enrich his luck, he'd caught wind of the small groups intentions to fly to Vaye, and so he'd followed them in the concealment of magic and trickery alone. Now, he stood in the shadows, wreathed in power as he watched the inn that the dark elf and company had entered. Sadly, he hadn't seen Jennifer or the assassin known as Talon V'lyn.

Not until a few minutes before. The large silver dragon had awoken from its coma like state and taken flight a few hours before. A little bit of waiting and Collin was rewarded with what the beast brought back. He hadn't made a move though as he watched Jennifer and her newest toy walk into the tavern. He wondered idly how well that young man was getting along with the woman that was nothing but tricks and lies. How many had he watched fall under her? He'd lost count a long time ago.

Collin's attention was taken as a window on the second floor opened and he witnessed the assassin peeking out. In his hands was a cup, probably some type of liquor. The young man looked ill at ease, his brow furrowed as he was deep in thought. The mage watched with interest for some time from his station across the street. His brow lifted as he spotted a glint of steel around the assassin's wrist. He was reminded of the text that Lord V'lyn had read back in Kingsburrow. Collin was interested now more than ever about the young man. How was it he was still standing? Surely the bracer of the God Ieer would have killed him by now. Or was it possible that Jennifer... No, that couldn't right. She would never... it was unthinkable.

Collin frowned as he gazed at the young man leaning against the windowsill of his room, sipping his drink. Something else must have happened in order for him to still be standing. Something that the mage had missed, or forgotten to calculate. With a frown he glowered up at the man. Either way, what it really came down to was if Lord V'lyn could play his part in giving Collin what he wanted. Jennifer's life.

City Lethandrill : Domieen

The glint of the red rays of the rising sun sent a sparkle off his guantleted hand. His dark eyes were wide with anticipation as he watched the city before him crumble and fall into nothing but smoke and dust. The grande city of Lethandrill, a cousin to that of the elves had put up little resistance to him and his True Dragons. The sky was filled with black smoke, fires raged all around, spreading to the forest surrounding the once brilliant city. Silver and bronze dragons fell from the sky like rain as they were defeated by his mass of black winged creatures.

A smile curled along his lips as he watched from a distance. He was carried by one of the black dragons under his command, the beasts mind completely twisted and lost. It was broken, just like the others and was nothing more than his puppet. The old dragon God sat upon his perch in ecstasy as the ruins unfolded beneath him. Domieen could feel the power rising from the death of the elves, their city's innate magic filling the air as it was released. He pulled it all in, gathering it up quickly and efficiently, holding it inside himself until he could release it into Laowlee and transfer the power to Barthomel.

The time of the True Dragon God was growing closer. Very soon, Domieen would seen an end to the age he witnessed and despised. Then he would reign supreme once again, like he had centuries ago.

"Two things." He said, flat on his back and staring upwards. "We could be a while though. Take a seat." He said gesturing to the chairs around the room, the leather and satin seats almost anticipating someone to take them. Their wait was minuscule however, as with a flick of Thane's wrist, the floor melded and moved, carrying Vier across the white mosaic floor and setting her just in front of a chair no more than four feet from the bedside. "I'm still very tired. Excuse me if I start ... slowing down. But I felt this would better be addressed now instead of later." Thane propped himself up on his elbows, wincing from the still fresh scar that crossed his chest and most of his stomach. The wound might have closed but it hadn't completely re-healed yet, that was evident. "The first thing is your role in this whole grand scheme. We've been out here for only a few days time from that inn you tried to do away with me in."

Thane turned, his muscles stiff, as if he'd just come home from lifting crates in a warehouse all day. "Here though, it's been almost a month. Time has no meaning in this twilit realm. I'm getting off track though. The point is, when the time comes, there will be a decision that needs to be made, and in all honesty, I don't believe you're ready for that. That's all you'll need to know for now though." Thane locked eyes with Vier, his gaze nearly set in stone as always. Behind it though, there was some sort of emotion, some feeling that was foreign to him as were most emotions. "The second matter, you can most likely guess. The physical contact, that power you tried to give me earlier. While appreciated, I don't understand the reason for it. A few days ago, you were trying to kill me, now you're here, learning from me and trying to aid me. Is it the power behind the Old Gods that anchors you here, or something else?"

Vier

"The second matter, you can most likely guess. The physical contact, that power you tried to give me earlier. While appreciated, I don't understand the reason for it. A few days ago, you were trying to kill me, now you're here, learning from me and trying to aid me. Is it the power behind the Old Gods that anchors you here, or something else?"

Vier's eyes narrowed at him and her usual grin turning into a deep frown. She watched him for a long while, only able to pull one leg over the other as she'd been forced to sit by his unusual magic. The ex-True Dragon watched her guardian for a long time before answer. How was she supposed to answer anyway? With a slight huff of air, she turned her gaze away. Her smile returned, though a bit forced to be it's usual seductive look.

"A woman can't touch what she likes?" she offered up first.

After a moment she sighed and stood, making her way to the door, "It's only natural to help one that has helped me, believe it or not I do have some morals. I don't know of these 'old gods' that you speak of, but there is one thing keeping me here," she stopped at the doorway and turned to give him a long look. Tossing her hair over her shoulder she opened the door.

"I guess it's up to you to interpret what you want out of me," she tossed back before leaving the room. Vier made her way down the hall to the room that she assumed was hers and sat on the bed. She idly wondered what her next test was, or if that had been a test as well. Either way she was going to get through it all, and for some reason the promise of power wasn't the forefront of her thoughts this time.

Talon V'lyn

His eyebrow arched as he turned to the knock on his door. At first he'd expected it to be Jennifer, but had it been her she would have just walked in. Instead, a deep voice called out from the otherside, asking if he'd ordered a drink. Turning, Talon set his own drink upon the table and reached for the door. He hesitated, though and reached for one of the daggers on his body before slowly pulling the handle.

"I didn't, I already have a drink," he said to the man on the other side. His eyes looked to the figure in the darkness, wondering what it was that was going on, all the while his other hand tightened on the dagger.

Talon V'lyn

Shock filled him as he felt Jennifer's body collide with his and her head press into his chest. Looking down he witnessed her small grin as she spoke to him and then lowered her gaze once more.

“You don’t have to convince me… Back in Skyfall, when I originally decided to help you. I thought you’d give up within days of setting out for vengeance, but you didn’t. You kept trying, despite all the dangers. More than that, you kept trying to save me, I decided to believe in you a long time ago Talon.”

His heart did a flip in his chest and he felt his throat closing at her words. His anger slowly faded away and he reached down and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him. Closing his eyes, he let his head fall forward and nestled in her short, dark hair. She smelt wonderful, a kind of wild scent that was unique to her, almost woodsy. He liked that smell. It was hers alone, a pleasant tease to his senses.

“I’m angry Talon because I can’t prevent you from facing Domieen. I’m angry because I’m not powerful enough to defeat him myself. I’m angry because I let Collin get to you so easily, even though I was right there. I’m also angry at your lack of self-preservation. That you'd throw yourself into harms way, willingly. I...I can't lose you. I’m sorry Talon.”

Her voice was soft as she spoke, a kind of sound that he was unused to hearing from her. Talon tightened his hold around her, drawing her as close as possible without hurting her. His arms dropped around her waist and his head came down to her soft neck where he nestled there, leaning into her and pulling her tightly against him. He shook his head even as he spoke to her, his tone much softer than before.

"You're not alone. I can't defeat him myself either. I'm angry that I can't do that either. There was nothing you could do about Collin, and it's my fault for not paying closer attention. I'll kill him when we meet again, I promise you this. He won't have you. I'm selfish, Jennifer. You're mine and mine alone. Despite what it looks like, or what you may think, I don't lack self-preservation either, Jennifer. I intend to live.

"That's why I'm fighting him. If we don't fight him now while he is still without most of his power, then we may never get a chance. He'll kill us all if we let him rampage around, especially if he raises Barthomel. It's all over if he manages to do that. We can't let him raise the old God, we can't. If that happens, Dragoon will be lost. That or we'll be fighting a very long war in order to survive."

Talon took a deep breath and steadied himself against her, "I promise you I won't lose my life to him or anyone. I promise to keep you safe and always by my side, I won't ever leave you. Please, trust me," he whispered the last part and pulled back just far enough to look down at her. His gaze had soften considerably as he held her, a kind of pleading on his face. Talon leaned forward and kissed her, then let his full weight take them down onto the bed beneath her, catching his fall with one hand. He pulled away after a moment and smiled at her.

"There's nothing for you to be sorry about. We will win."

Vier

Her eyes stared at the wall of her room. It had been sometime since she had seen Thane and he hadn't come to get her for more training. It was almost infuriating that he'd left her alone. Perhaps her advances, or lack thereof, were testament to that. With a heavy sigh she turned to her door to glare at it for a long while. Finally she moved, giving in to her impatience. If he was waiting for her to break from lack of something to do, well, he won.

Vier left her room and went through the house in search of him, though there wasn't much to search through as the house was fairly small. Her voice called out as she went down the hall. Perhaps he was in his room, that or he was in the larger room with the throne like chair. Eitherway, her voice would be heard.

"So, what's next Thane? You're student is eagerly awaiting your next challenge," she grinned despite herself as she walked down the short hall and stopped outside his door waiting for an answer.

"So, what's next Thane? You're student is eagerly awaiting your next challenge," Vier's voice pierced Thane's concentration like an arrow through boneless flesh. Sharp, sudden and so painfully obvious that you simply couldn't ignore it. With a heavy sigh, Thane's hand uncurled from the blazing, iron brand and watched as the forge sank into the marrow from which it had grown, the flame sputtering out as it's kindling was swallowed by the ground. The mark left by the brand slowly cooled under the sleeve of Thane's shirt as he called. "Come in Vier. I was just getting some effects in order." The tail end of the brand showed just below Thane's sleeve, the flesh an eerie gray color instead of the scorched red that would beget a human's own from such a severe burn. A mark Thane was sure she wouldn't notice, but if she did, it was of no consequence.

He'd seen the Seeker dropping down at him from the balcony above. The man wielded his sword with deadly precision as he fell down towards Domieen. However, the dark elf was far too late as the last of the Dragon God's spell finished and his body contorted completely. Even so, the blade cut deep into the dragon's shoulder, drawing a thick line of black blood across glittering onyx scales. The dragon came into his natural body quickly as soon as the spell faded away. The gauntlet enlarged as he grew taller and longer. Spikes grew out of his face and along his body, long fangs lengthened, his talons as well. The long tail that was nearly twice his length was thick at the rear and steadily became smaller and more whip like the closer to the tail it went. Spikes grew more frequent further down the tail.

Domieen whipped his tail around, crushing the pillars of the building, adding to his destruction as his enormous body began to destroy the ceiling. Enormous, thick, leathery wings snapped open and crushed the sides of the palace. The ground beneath him cracked from his shear weight. The moment he finished his transformation he'd destroyed nearly the entirety of the palace. The only thing that saved the group from being crushed by the rubble was Domieen's body. His wings had outstretched and threw aside any debris that may have fallen on the two elven women and Locien who was on his other side.

Beneath him almost directly lay Talon and Jennifer, also saved by the falling rocks by his large neck and head. The Dragon God's serpentine head slithered downward and deep red eyes narrowed in on the mage and her assassin lover. Domieen pulled back his lips and bared his large fangs at the pair. His voice grated in the air as he spoke to them, it sounded almost as if he hadn't spoken in years, and so the God's voice scratched and groaned as he bunched in closer to them. Every muscle in his body tightened as his wings shifted constantly and his tail whipped about behind him.

"If you've no fear before... you should know fear now," he snapped his jaws right before the mage's face and in a single swipe tossed the assassin away from her. His talons slammed down around her, caging her before slowly closing, drawing crushed rocks in around her too. His red eyes were focused on her only, his power slowly seething as he watched her in elation.

"I'll crush you slowly, little mage."

A roar of fury came overhead and Domieen barely turned his head before he reeled forwards and his jaw opened emitting an eardrum crushing scream of rage and pain. His claws released Jennifer, but they weren't out of the woods yet. Domieen stumbled around in the room, his large feet slamming into the ground as he wriggled and writhed under whatever was attacking him. For a few seconds it could be seen that something had latched onto Domieen's large neck. A flash of silver was caught as Domieen tossed his head from side to side. Vy had dive bombed from the air above and latched onto Domieen's thick neck. Vy was large himself, but Domieen was nearly thrice his size and thus dwarfed the silver dragon considerably.

Vy gave another roar of anger and continued his assault on Domieen, flapping his wings hard against the air as he lifted himself upwards and tugged and pulled at the Dragon God. Finally after what seemed like an eternity of fighting, Vy managed to get Domieen to take flight and the two dragons left the crumbled palace.

Vier

"Come in Vier. I was just getting some effects in order."

Vier heard his call and went to his voice. She leaned in the doorway of where he was working and eyed him for a bit. Her gaze caught what looked like some kind of mark on his arm and she smiled.

"Interesting tattoo you have there," was all she remarked. She figured by now that even if she wanted to know something he wouldn't tell her unless it was absolutely necessary. Even so, she thought she would try. Whether it worked or not didn't matter at all to her. As she stood there she felt a slight tremor in the ground and her lips turned from a smile to a frown. It came and went so quickly that she dismissed it as her own imagination, especially when Thane didn't seem to do anything. However, a few seconds later and another tremor hit, this one much more apparent.

Vier pushed herself off the doorway and looked around, an eyebrow raised. The tremor faded, but it didn't last long. A couple seconds later and the ground was shaking so hard, she found it nearly impossible to keep standing. She leaned against the doorway and held on in order to keep her footing. This time the tremor lasted much longer and as it continued, Vier wondered if it was ever going to stop. That was when she felt it. A terrible power that seemed to be boiling into her very core. Something was coming and it wasn't pleasant.

Without saying a word to Thane she bolted from the door and made her way to the outside. In the world of the Nephilim she felt the power rising. In the desolate landscape she looked out across the orange like rolling hills. In the canyon where she'd fought the creatures that Thane had risen, she saw the earth rising and falling as if something was trying to break free. A bright white light shot down from the sky and penetrated the earth, sending a shower of dirt and rock all over. Involuntarily Vier had raised her arm to protect her face from the explosion.

When she lowered her arm her eyes widened and her heart shot to her throat. So, Domieen's fulfilled his take then... She thought to herself. Though she wasn't happy in the least. No, she was actually afraid as she stared upon the enormous dragon whose gaze was set towards the sky. The beast hadn't looked around, nor did it look like he planned to. He was the biggest dragon she'd ever seen in her life, dwarfing all dragons alive. So was this what the old Dragon God's looked like? No wonder they were considered Gods... They were enormous, and his power.... His power was frightening. She could feel it like heat waves rushing off of him.

Her heart slammed in her chest as she gazed at him. In the next instant, the orange and red dragon spread his wings slowly and then in a single jump into the air, he shot off into the sky. Vier could feel the power that he was using to move so quickly, and then that same power tore through the artificial orange sky overhead and he disappeared into the world above... into Dragoon.

"It's over..." she said softly, "Dragoon... it's...."

"It's over..." she said softly, "Dragoon... it's...." Thane followed her outside with a steady gait, the tremors and light show ... "Unimpressive." He muttered, the word hanging noiselessly in the air. Thane turned to Vier, a light in his eyes, but with him it could be rage, awe, or some other emotion entirely. Until he spoke that is. "You think it's over Vier?" He asked, his voice dripping with a mix of rage and anticipation. A twinge of something else mingled with his words, fear perhaps? With what he knew was coming for himself, maybe. But otherwise it must be ... something different.

"You've no idea when these things end do you? No this has just begun." A snap of his fingers brought a swarm of small bones, almost like a wave and carrying his sword, to his side. "This ends with the death of one, or with the death of all Vier. You know exactly what I'm speaking about." With one swift motion, his sword was in his hand, the handle facing Vier so she might grasp it. "You know what I'm asking you to do, but the answer is up to you." Marks that mirrored the one he'd branded himself with earlier shone through his shirt with an eerie violet glow. If it hadn't been the possible end of the world, it might've been an astonishing sight, as the cracks in the earth beneath them pulsed with the same light.

The marks themselves then warped and shifted into a curl that spiraled once, twice, three times on his chest until the tip stopped on the skin above the center of his heart. "You have your target." He said nodding towards the deep, lavender spiral as his arms outstretched to either side. "I can't promise anything besides a chance, but it's better than nothing. Now, your answer. Are you strong enough?"

Talon V'lyn

There was pain in his shoulder, someone had ripped out the dagger that had been thrust there and it wasn't kindly done either. He winced in reaction to it, but his expression softened as he felt the pain lessen and eventually there was no pain at all. Next came a voice. He wasn't sure whose it was, but they sounded utterly afraid.

“Common Talon, wake up!”

Slowly his eyes opened and he looked up into dark eyes and short dark hair. His eyebrows came down as he gazed at the woman who knelt over him. She looked pleased to see that his eyes had opened, but beyond that he wasn't entirely sure who she was. He was confused as he looked at her. Talon's head hurt considerably as he lay there, trying to figure out who she was. The more he thought about it, the more painful his headache, as if something were being suppressed.

"Who... are you?" He asked softly. The moment he asked, he winced again and rolled to his side, his hands coming up to his head to grasp the sides of his temples. Talon groaned heavily as he lay there on his side, curling in on himself as it seemed something inside him writhed and caused a lot of pain.

"What the hell..." he gasped, then rolled back onto his back and looked up at the woman once more. Realization came back to him and everything rushed back into it's proper place.

"Jennifer..." the assassin reached for her, cupping his hands around her face and holding her gently, "Jennifer, you have to listen carefully," he said, struggling to keep everything straight for he could feel it all slipping away once more, "That bastard did something to me, I don't know what it is. Some kind of poison, but there's more to it...ugh, damn," he shook his head. He was loosing it already, "I can't figure this out. Something's wrong, somethings off... shit," his hand released her and returned to his own head.

Slowly, he pulled himself up into a sitting position. His arm came down to rest against his leg that he'd pulled up and his eyes caught sight of the silver bracer. A thought struck him, and he hoped it would work. Turning back to Jennifer he managed a weak smile, "Don't worry, I'm not going to let this take over me. But I need your help, Jennifer. This bracer... its..." Damnit... what was it I wanted again? he thought desperately to himself as he gazed at her.

The bracer is powerful, use it to keep sane, my little assassin, Vy jumped in.

What the hell....

Oh you've got to be kidding me... damnit Domieen! The dragon's presence faded away, but what was left over was an overwhelming rage. It shook Talon as he sat there. He looked up to the sky passed the broken palace. His dragon was up there. It was his dragon, right? A being that was connected to him... somehow. He wasn't even sure how. Gods, this was irritating. Keeping a single straight thought was becoming more and more difficult. How quickly was this poison supposed to take him? Maybe it would drive him insane first, then kill him after? He didn't know, but it was starting to scare him. Fear was creeping up in his bones and closing it's icy claws around his chest and heart.

Once again his eyes dropped to the bracer, "Power... it'll help. What am I doing?" He muttered to himself as he stared at the silver band around his wrist.

Vier

Her eyes shot to the man who had come out to stand next to her. Barthomel had left the vicinity already and she was left in an utter state of confusion and lose. Once her gaze settled on Thane, though, she found that there was still a bit of hope left. Why was it that he'd taken her into training in the first place? Was it not to combat against the growing power of the True Dragons? The Rebel group she used to belong to? Was it not to fight off Domieen and his will to bring back the old Dragon God Barthomel? However, what he said next to her brought her pounding heart to a dead stop.

"You've no idea when these things end do you? No this has just begun. This ends with the death of one, or with the death of all Vier. You know exactly what I'm speaking about. You know what I'm asking you to do, but the answer is up to you." He brought the sword up to his chest, pressing the tip against his body and leveling the handle towards her. Vier's heart stopped as she gazed at him. Strange marks began to glow underneath his heavy shirt, causing her eyes to follow the markings around his body. She felt ice cold as she stood there, unable to breathe properly.

"You can't mean..." she started softly. Never in her life had she felt so cold before. Never had she felt so helpless and unable to make a decision or move.

"You have your target. I can't promise anything besides a chance, but it's better than nothing. Now, your answer. Are you strong enough?" Thane jerked his head towards the blade, motioning for her take the weapon.

If she were reading him right, he wanted her to run the sword through him. Why? Why would she do such a thing? Why would she kill him? Without a fight as well? That didn't make any sense! Everything in her body screamed that she shouldn't do so, screamed that it wasn't what she wanted, nor intended to have happen. Her eyes were wide as she looked up at him.

"You can't... You can't just ask me to kill you!" She screamed at him, enraged, "And without fighting me too, how... how..." her throat closed on her. Taking a deep breath she calmed herself. His glowing body had to mean something, maybe he wasn't going to just up and die on her.

But she had to make sure, "You're not planning on dying are you? This is some strange ritual of yours? Right? Something the Nephilim of old would do? You're coming back to me aren't you?" She asked, feeling her face heating as she finished speaking. Had she really just poured out her true thoughts to him? How unsightly, and utterly unlike herself... but she didn't care right then. She wanted an answer before she did anything. Slowly she reached up to the blade and took hold of the handle, but she didn't move it. Not until she heard what she wanted.

"You can't... You can't just ask me to kill you!" She screamed at him, enraged, "And without fighting me too, how... how..." Thane knew that it would come to this. Vier's voice passed through his head, the words barely even recognizable as they passed in one ear and out the other. A look crossed his face that might've been content, maybe one of triumph, or... yes. It was acceptance. "It's the only way Vier, you know there's more at work here than you could hope to accomplish, that you could possibly even dream. And with this it all gets set into motion."

"You're not planning on dying are you? This is some strange ritual of yours? Right? Something the Nephilim of old would do? You're coming back to me aren't you?" Thane closed his eyes and sighed. You might as well tell her. This will happen either way. With an almost agonizing slowness, Thane wrapped one hand around hers that gripped the sword and his other, he placed on the small of her back. "That," He whispered as the dust from Domieen's sudden appearance settled around them. "Is not my decision." With all his strength, Thane kept Vier's fist gripped on the hilt of the sword and pulled her forward at the same time, driving the silver and steel edge between his ribs, into his chest.

The amusing part is though, when you die you don't feel the pain. A drop of blood appeared under the sword, slowly traversing it's way down Thane's chest and leaving a crimson streak on the shirt until the wool abruptly devoured it. The sword, I can fel it in my chest. My muscles, they're not listening to me, slowly rebelling and falling into slumber. The area around the sword followed suite as time inched forward at a monotonous rate that seemed to slow to be real. But there is no pain, no suffering. Just... weariness.

With a herculean effort, Thane leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Vier and placing his chin on her shoulder. "I'm sorry Vier. I'm so tired." The taste of iron filled Thane's mouth as he rolled to the side, prying the sword from her hands and collapsing on the ground next to her, his blood seeping into the pores of the ash laden ground.

Vier

Her heart slammed in her chest as he reached out and wrapped his hand around her tiny frame and pulled her towards him. She almost forgot that she was holding the blade against him. Until it was too late. Only as he fell against her heavily did she realize that he'd taken her and driven the sword right through him. Then her heart hammered in a new kind of emotion. She felt as if her chest was going to rip apart, her heart was tearing slowly as she started falling to her knees with Thane's heavy weight against her.

"I'm sorry Vier. I'm so tired."

"No... No no, no. You can't. You can't do this," she stuttered as she watched him pry her numb fingers from the hilt of the blade and as the crimson blood spilled from his chest down to the ashen ground beneath them. Everything was painful then, nothing felt right.

"You can't... YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" She screamed, leaning forward and thrusting her fist down into his shoulder. Her breath heaved in and out of her chest as she stared at him. Finally she stood up, glaring down at him. Her hand outstretched and she felt the power writhe around her body. Slowly she rebuilt her long cloak, the one that had been thrown aside during her fighting in Vaye. That time seemed so long ago right then. Once it was back on her shoulders, she pulled the large hood slowly up over her face. The shadows covered her face up until her lips.

Her mouth opened slightly and she took a deep breath. Then a wry smile pulled at her lips, emotionless. Vier pulled more of the magic around her body and her form began to shimmer in and out of existence.

"You're the first I fell in love with," she whispered to the prone frame of the Nephilim before her, "You'll be the only and the last. You're right, Thane. This isn't the end," her form disappeared completely and she reappeared back in the world of Dragoon. She could feel the earth trembling already, the overwhelming power of two fully awakened Dragon Gods filled the air. It was about time she got back to work.

Talon V'lyn

His heart seemed to regain its pace as her warm body pressed against him. Her mouth against his own was so electrifying that he felt as if the deep kiss alone was enough to save his life. She opened his mouth, allowing her tongue to caress his own. He felt all of her love and affection pour into him through the kiss. A second feeling filled him, a feeling of pure, hot, energy. He wasn't entirely sure what was happening but he didn't want her to pull away just yet.

Even so, the power that filled the air started to sink into his body, reacting with whatever it was that Domieen had given him. In turn, his bracer dragged on that power, replenishing itself as quickly as it could. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer as his bracer began to glow, intertwining itself with her power. The clashing of magic was pushing the dust and smaller rocks around the room in a slow circle, rising up around the two of them.

The magic was working hard to rid his body of the poison, and it seemed it was working. For the most part anyway. He could feel his mind working properly once again, but there was a constant dull pain that just didn't seem to go away. Talon wasn't sure how they were going to combat that, but for the time being, he was happy just to be able to think straight. It was more than unnerving to feel his sanity slipping away so quickly.

Slowly he pulled away from Jennifer, kissing her several times as the power reached its peak and swirled around them. Talon gazed up at her and then gave her a small smile.

"Thank you," he said gently, reaching up and running his hands across her face, "We'll deal with the rest of this problem later. Right now, we have two God's we have to deal with."