Siya Ukomo's Story

"Utterly ridiculous."

Icy blue eyes were kept trained on the speaker. Celeste had already known that the King of Earth would disagree. It may not have been written on his expression but it was written in his blood. This was the son of the man who had thwarted her father’s attempts at peaceful unity time and again. She watched the King tear her card into pieces and dissolved them. A hint of currant entered the air.

"I will only speak of this once. So, do listen well." Byre turned and looked at the Princess of the Winds. She matched his indifferent expression with one of her own. If a person would only state something once, that something was either powerful enough to etch itself in the memories of the audience for days to come or it was ridiculous to the point that the speaker would never want to bring it up again. It was usually the latter.

"Severus Damien is dead and I have killed him." His words did not drip with ridicule or humor. "Now, you know your enemy. What will you do Fire King Siya, Wind Princess, Celeste? Shall we now play a game of war? I will take hold of the Water Orb and all of yours. Make this as the declaration of war."

That hadn’t been the response that Celeste was anticipating. Either way it was looked at, the Earth King’s logic was flawed. Byre did not have the Water Orb—he was still playing on the same level as the other Kings. None of the Kings were in any position to wage war with the others—least of all the King of Earth. His kingdom was still recovering from the wrath of his father and, as “The Little Tyrant”; it was hardly likely that he commanded the hearts of his people. Internal rebellion was likely to start on its own and, if not, it could be easily sparked.

Furthermore, even if Byre had killed Damien, the victory was a worthless one—the King of Water hadn’t had his orb. Killing an orb-less king was equivalent to executing the beggar on one’s front porch.

That led straight to the main dilemma, whoever had stolen the Orb of Water was still out there doing who knows what. That was the main issue and Byre knew it. Or, at least, he should have. Declaring war on the remaining two stable kingdoms should have been the last thing on his mind and it certainly would be the largest mistake he could make. Mistakes were something that none of those present could afford.

Byre had turned his back on the other Kings and was now walking away, dragging his Protectors with him. He stepped out of the Shrine, into the shadows, and faded from sight.

Celeste wasn’t about to let the Earth King off lightly. The scent of mist took the air as the Princess spoke. Her gentle but firm voice resonated through the air, making sure that her words reached the King. “Earth King Byre DeLaCroiw—we have not the time for your game of war. Now, there are much larger things at stake. You may choose not to side with us but know this: The lone warrior may the bravest of them all, but there will be a time that he slips. He will turn and find no one to help him regain his stance.”

After having been dismissed by the Kings, well more like being kicked out by Celeste, they all had gathered outside of the Shrine area, in the woods of the surrounding forest. Hebi turned his cold green eyes towards each of the Protectors. His eyes went to the one he'd antagonized earlier.

"You're gaze towards your King speaks volumes, Kaed."

The fire Protector turned slowly to address Hebi. He ignored the comment, shook his head slightly and turned back to what he was doing. Kaed had one of the small knives in hand and was wiping the blade down with a bit of oil on a cloth.

Hebi smirked, "What do you think, dear former Lare of a non-existant country?"

Unfortunately for Hebi, Eugene disliked his fellow protector as much, if not probably more than he loathed the protectors of the other factions. Such scepticism would have surely been catastrophic amongst allies. Yet it seemed that Hebi Irikisha’s personality naturally bred animosity, like smoke after a fire. Without gracing the capricious protector with his attention, there was a sharp intake of breath as Eugene reluctantly spoke. “I think you should shut that worthless trap of yours,” he hissed under his own breath, “No, on second thoughts, why don’t you keep wailing on them. That way I’ll at least have something interesting to watch when they try to kill you.”

Bored emerald green eyes gazed at the interactions of the other protectors of the other High and Mighty Sad Excuse for Rulers. He really did not like iinteracting with the others. Although, he is quite feeling good since he had finally gotten his hands on a bowl of doughnuts with varying flavors. As a result, he continued munching one while seeing the rather clear hostility between the two Earth Protectors. Well, it was not much but quite entertaining. As such, he continued eating when one of the doughnuts fell in the ground as it rolled between the snakey-type of person and a Lare.

"Try is the key word there, ex-king of some country. Of course it would be entertaining," he continued. His gaze shifted downwards to watch the pastry like thing roll between himself and Eugene. He turned to look at Freece, but didn't say anything. Only a cruel smile curved his lips as he crossed his arms and searched for another target to antagonize.

"So, what is your relationship with your King, dear fire Protector?"

Kaed sighed heavily and looked over, "I protect him, like you're supposed to do with your King."

"Ah, protect, yes I've heard of that. However, with that gaze of yours... makes one think there's more going on then just.... protecting..."

Kaed sheathed the little knife and drew his sword then, turning to face Hebi full on. The Earth protector uncrossed his arms, a look of triumph spilling over his pale face, sickly green eyes widening as they watched with anticipation. Unfortunately, that anticipation was short lived as a hard grasp on the back of his head took hold of his hair and he was suddenly dragged along side his King who growled at all of his Protectors that they were leaving.

Siya Ukomo

The note slid over to him and Siya took it gently. Prior to such, the Protectors had moved a distance away from the three Kings, knowing that such meetings were only meant for King's to hear. It was... common knowledge between them all. Siya opened the envelope and read the contents. A faint blush rose over his cheeks as he realized the very true statement that she'd written down on the paper. Slowly he closed the note and looked up as Byre spoke and promptly tore his apart. A flash of anger and shock washed over the fire King.

"Severus Damien is dead and I have killed him. Now, you know your enemy. What will you do Fire King Siya, Wind Princess, Celeste? Shall we now play a game of war? I will take hold of the Water Orb and all of yours. Make this as the declaration of war."

His dark eyes bore into Siya as he spoke, shifting between him and Celeste. Siya felt his chest clench tightly, his heart pounded hard in his chest. It couldn't be... no... it didn't seem right? Was it even possible that Byre would think such things? Was it even true that he'd killed the Water King? Now he was after both him and Celeste as well? He couldn't... no, he wouldn't believe it. He slammed his hands on the table and stood up abruptly, determined to face Byre. However, the Earth King had already begun to take his leave, dragging Hebi and the other protectors with him.

Celeste's cool voice followed him right after, “Earth King Byre DeLaCroiw—we have not the time for your game of war. Now, there are much larger things at stake. You may choose not to side with us but know this: The lone warrior may the bravest of them all, but there will be a time that he slips. He will turn and find no one to help him regain his stance.”

Siya's head dropped forward. A heavy sigh left his lips and his shoulders sagged a bit. After a moment he looked to Celeste, "I don't think he's truly left us, Celeste. Let us try to believe that he is still our ally, no matter what he may say. Until he completely proves that he's declared war against us and comes after our lives... only then will we think him our enemy."

A loud sound stopped Siya from further expressing his thoughts. It was like the forest had suddenly come alive after Byre's departure. A deep growl filled the air and following it, the sound of breaking branches, crumbling bushes and finally a large rock-like beast broke into the clearing. Of course, it wasn't only one beast, it was a few beasts and not all of them were rocks, others were twisted up vines taking form like that of foxes or wolves, even twigs had bonded together to form tall like figures that limbered in and loomed over the group with deadly intentions.

Siya's eyes widened slightly as he whirled around to face the sounds. He exited the small Shrine where the table was and got out into the open. Drawing his sword, he prepared to face off with the first of the many creatures, all the while his thoughts going to Byre and his declaration of war. Had he spoken to soon?

Diavel Melchor

Shades covered the forest floor. A dark figure walked silently through the seemingly endless mass of trees. Spiky brown hair reached to a sharp jawline from under a black cap. A blank expression sat upon a tanned face.

Diavel Melchor stopped as he noticed the forest become significantly thicker. The hatted sorcerer looked up at the evening sky. This had better be the right place. He quickly added another thought, If not, I'm going to burn the whole forest down and find the destination the easy way.

The sorcerer reached out with his left arm. His left hand and half of his forearm were pure black--almost as if his skin had been eaten by the shadows themselves. A purplish aura flared around the darkened skin as Diavel lay his palm on the elk tree beside him. He blinked slowly. He opened his eyes to slightly different scenery.

The sun drifted high in the sky, no longer was it setting in the western horizon. It was midday, perhaps, or just a little later. The forest was an emerald shade of green. Birds were chirping and many woodland animals were trudging through the forest, the sound of their footsteps echoing through the trees in a symphonic sort of way.

A foreign sound drifted to Diavel's ears. It was the sound of wind blowing against ones ears. The tanned man turned his gaze skyward just in time to see a woman--her hair as green as the forest--fly overhead. Following her were four other people, an elderly man balancing on a walking stick, a younger fellow reluctantly carrying a winged girl on his back, and a tall man wearing a red suit of armor. A cruel grin crept to Diavel's lips. Emrys. He felt his left hand, still held against the tree, twitch in excitement. So, the knight had survived after all these years...

The group trudged out of sight and the scene shifted.

The sun was lower in the sky now. Another troupe of humans, led by a blue haired man marched through the forest. Diavel's eyes rested on a single person, ignoring the rest. A dark haired and pale-skinned slinked with the other members of the group--he moved differently than the others, almost in a snake-like fashion. Without warning, the man glanced in Diavel's direction as if he could sense the sorcerer's prensence. His lips curled in a cruel smile. Perhaps he could.

Diavel rolled his eyes at the thought, taking his hand off of the tree and returning his mind to the present time. It was an insignificant thought and Diavel had just seen all that he needed to see. They were in the right spot. A devilish grin turned the sorcerer's face ugly.

"Tarean!" He called. "It's time!" The darkly clothed man rubbed his hands together. Time to have some fun. He held out his left palm and a ball of purplish light flickered to life, hovering in the air above his hand. Diavel took a deep breath before proceeding to blow on the purple orb causing flashing sparks to fly off the orb and into the shadows of nighttime forest.

There was an inhuman growl as several bloodred circles appeared in the shadows. The eyes belonged to creatures that could not possibly fit in the area that they appeared to be present at...

Aarynn Fletcher

Flynn was in awe. Between the ancient air of the Shrine of Aridea—which he had only caught a glimpse of during his travels—and the sheer aura emitted by the gathering of some of the most powerful beings in all of Lastra, the Protector found it slightly hard to keep his mouth from being caught in a gape.

The first thing his eyes had caught sight of when the Fire Troupe had entered the clearing of the Shrine of Aridea was the red. A woman, probably around his age, with forest green hair and sky blue eyes, had been clad in a red mini-dress and had been observing the entire group as they entered. The Princess of the Winds was as pretty as rumors had said—though, the stare of her eyes was cold and distant.

Beside her stood a large man, suited up in full set of red armor matching the princess’ dress. The stare that he received from this man was much colder—this man clearly didn’t like him for some reason. Flynn thought about it for a moment. Had he ever done anything to upset this man? The samurai had never seen the man in his life. Then again, Flynn had a horrible memory. He just hoped that this wouldn’t end in some sort of confrontation.

While he had been busy contemplating his possible relations with the knight, the Earth King and his Protectors had marched into the clearing. The King betrayed little emotion as well as little word before going straight to business, convening the intended meeting. The Protectors were to wait outside while the Kings parleyed.

Very quickly, Flynn had found a soft spot of grass to lie on. None of the other Protectors had approached him and so, he found himself observing the evening sky. Small puffs of clouds drifted overhead forming ambiguous shapes. Hazel eyes caught what appeared to be a man running, running from something large. Two smaller figures formed behind the running man—the figures were also running. The reddening sky suggested a fire blazing all around the three forms, enclosing them in the same area as the larger cloud. The four clouds flew in close to each other, specks of moisture being exchanged. The larger cloud had just begun to consume the two smaller clouds when a voice snapped Flynn back to the present.

“Haunting memories?”

It was the knight from earlier. From up close, he seemed much larger and intimidating. Not that he needed the accentuation. He carried a large white shield and it appeared as if his sword, a typical straight sword, was sheathed into the shield. The man’s expression was grim and emotionless—there was no contempt at this time.

Flynn got up and brushed the grass of his armor and clothes. “Nah, I was just—”

“There is no need to lie, Master Fletcher.”

For a moment, Flynn was confused. How had this man, who he had never met before, learned his name? The moment passed over with a shrug. It didn’t really matter anyways. “You’re right. I’ve been cursed with recollections that trouble me.”

“Memories are not curses.”

He eyed the knight. The man wasn’t looking at him; he was staring off into the distance as if looking for something that wasn’t quite there. “What makes you say that?”

“It’s something you realize when you lose your memories.”

Celeste MacAvelia

The King of Earth hadn’t turned back—the Princess of the Winds’ hopes for a united Lastra had been delayed, again. Quite frankly, Celeste was a bit upset—she had been a fool to have hoped that the path to unity would be easy. On the other hand, she had made a gain. She wasn’t the only one who was upset.

The Fire King drooped in a sigh and he turned slowly to look at her. "I don't think he's truly left us, Celeste. Let us try to believe that he is still our ally, no matter what he may say. Until he completely proves that he's declared war against us and comes after our lives... only then will we think him our enemy."

Those are words of a benevolent king—a beloved ruler, Celeste thought. Benevolent and beloved but naïve and lacking in forethought… If one truly wanted to win, the first move was an essential step—a defense by reaction was difficult and a victory with only reactions was impossible.

Celeste’s thoughts were interrupted by a movement in the direction that the Earth King had left in. The princess looked on, inquisitively. There is no way he is coming back…

She was right. Unless Byre had taken on a couple hundred pounds and the complexion of a boulder—which Celeste supposed was possible—the creature that burst through the dense forest meant trouble. It was followed by several other beasts composed of various wilderness components. There was clearly some denomination of Earth magic involved. Byre…

Celeste was immediately out of her seat, her right hand flying to Amalthea. She pulled out two glistening black knives. A haze of green flickered to existence around the princess. “Siya, I’m going to need you to—”

The King of Fire had already exited the Shrine and was drawing his sword to face against the creatures.

Celeste cursed and launched herself into the air, currents of wind lifting her into the nighttime sky. This was more trouble than she had been willing to bargain for.

Celeste, Emrys and Flynn

The armored butler had been confused when the King of Earth stepped out of the Shrine without the other Kings. His confusion turned short of panic when he dragged the hateful Lare, Hebi, away stating, “Let us leave. It is time to prepare for war.”

“Well, that was really a jerk move,” the red-haired Protector beside the butler noted. “I think I’ve just decided that I don’t like him.”

Liking the Earth King was the last thing on Emry’s mind at the moment. Celeste. She hadn’t walked out of the Shrine. What had he done to Celeste? The butler’s heart only settled when he heard the Princess’ voice, layered in emotionless and foreboding warning, echoed out of the Shrine. The butler spoke grimly, “I’m not sure what exactly is happening, but it certainly isn’t anything good.”

Flynn shrugged. “Eh, it’s nothing big. Even if he is serious about leaving, there’s nothing that can touch us if we were to be in an alliance—The Earth King wouldn’t dare attack us.”

A firm hand grasped the samurai’s shoulder. “Be careful Master Fletcher. You speak to soon. Look!” Emrys pointed in the direction that the Earth king had exited the clearing. Trees shifted and moved as if they were reeds being brushed aside by animals. The first beast burst into the clearing, an earthen creature crawling on four legs. Red eyes blazed on a rock-like head. An assortment of other creatures, all formed of different things, stepped out of the forest depths.

“Now, that is just plain dirty,” Flynn commented. Then, he grinned, catching the pun that he hadn’t intended. “Literally!”

The remark had brought no smile to Emry’s face. The knight drew his sword and readied his shield just as the figure of the Princess of the Winds dropped to the ground beside him in a crouch, two knives unsheathed in her hands. “Are you all right, Milady?”

“I’m fine, Emrys,” came the cool reply. “I'm simply not liking the forest's excretions.”

"Excretions," Flynn reiterated, chuckling and unsheathing his katana. A red flame crept up the black blade. "Maybe, it's having indigestion—I doubt Byre and Hebi tasted good."

The forest haired woman eyed the samurai inquisitively. Such a strange Protector, joking at a time like this.

The butler stepped in front of Celeste. “Please stay back Milady, you need not deal with this rabble.”

Apparently, the beasts didn’t like being addressed as “rabble”. There was a collective roar from the creatures—one that caused the ground around the Shrine to rumble—immediately before the assortments of dirt, rock, and tree parts charged forward towards the Shrine, tearing up the ground as they ran. Several of the creatures, being formed of light-weight tree vines, were faster than the others. Within a matter of moments, this first wave of forestry was upon the Kings and their Protectors. Two creatures broke off from the main group and launched itself at the the trio, their hard rock claws flying through the air.

One set of claws were deflected by blur of red and white. The first creature lost it's balance and toppled over.

The second creature lashed out from the side and was met by Emry's tower shield. The sound of rock smashing against steel echoed through the clearing. The creature snarled in delight from under a mess of roots and tree-vines. It's second claw flew out from behind the knight's shield.

There was a scream. Not one of agony but one of combat.

A mass of forest landed on the ground beside Emrys. The creature's arm had been severed. Furthermore, the creature was now on fire. It howled in rage and agony as a red-haired samurai plunged a flaming sword into its side. The creature rolled to its feet and tried to shake the Protector off. Holding on tightly, Flynn took a deep breath and muttered an incantation. Then, he blew out, straight into an opening in the creature's side. At first, nothing happened. The creature roared and lashed out at the man on its side. Flynn had hardly the time necessary to extract his blade before being pummeled by a tree branch. The samurai landed on the ground beside Emrys with a grunt. He collected himself and had began to brush the dust off his clothes just as an explosion destroyed the forest creature. He looked at the knight with a grin. "Impressive, huh?"

He was answered by a swift movement and barely evaded the shield which flew over his head. There was growl as the first creature—which had earlier been deflected and knocked over—crashed into Emrys' shield. "You'll have your compliment after this is all over." The creature slid off the shield and ran off in a different direction. It was running towards where Celeste was fighting another creature. Emrys cursed and called out, "Celeste!"

The Princess of the Winds heard the call just as the mass of vines and stones pounced at her. Within two seconds she had impaled her daggers through the paws of the creature she had been fighting—anchoring it to the ground—and ducked, sliding straight under the attacking creature. The two creatures collided in a mass of forestry.

She turned to see her butler's horrified expression. The princess gave him a smile and mouthed a 'thank you' before launching herself back into the air. The two knives, glowing green shapes flew back to her hands. “Siya!” Celeste called out, “We are going to have to work together on this one if we are to avoid casualties! We need to stick together in a group, if we try to fight individually we’ll just end up being picked off one by one!”

Emrys turned to the man beside him, "Master Fletcher, I believe you should go and tend to your King."

The samurai nodded before running off.

The knight, in turn, ran after the Princess of the Winds, calling out to the other Wind Protectors as he did so. "Freece, Aeraki! Join forces with the Fire Protectors—take out those rock creatures! They pose the greatest threat!"

Marsaili pulled a face. Why was everyone so boring? Not even poking at Kaed's (obvious) attraction to Siya seemed like fun.


Well, not when the Herby guy was taking all the good jibes. That guy seemed to suck. Although it was rather fun. Marsaili groaned loudly and poked at Kaed's shoulder with the handle of her sword.


"Heeeeey. Heeeeeeeey, Kaaaaaaaaed. Pssst. Kaed. Hey. Hey Kaed. Psssssst." Marsaili mock whispered, her orange eyes bright and playful.


Kaed turned to the incessant pestering of the young child who poked him, "What is it! Marsaili!?" He nearly shouted at her, though his voice was clipped. Between her and Hebi, the normal Protector who always seemed to have a good hold on his anger, had just about lost it completely. Though he had to say, watching Lord Byre drag Hebi by the hair was almost satisfying, made better had Kaed done it himself.


Marsaili blinked and drew away from the yells. Demon she may be but being shouted at was never fun for any child.


"Sorry. I just wanted someone to talk to..." Marsaili looked down at her teddy and poked the loose stuffing a little before wriggling away from the other Protector. It wasn't her fault if she was bored! Demons get bored super easy! Like, she had once gotten so bored, she decided to sink this big ship. It was a super big one and was all "insinkable".

Hey, when anything had a few holes screwed out, it went down. And that wasn't easy stuff to drill out either.


Marsaili made a face as she thought about who else she could bother but realised only Kaed would tolerate her and he wasn't too forgiving right now. So she was stuck. The hellspawn sighed heavily, glaring a little at Kaed. She couldn't blame him though. He was being bullied about something really important to him. But still! It wasn't very nice.


Kaed sighed heavily immediately regretting losing his temper. Even though he'd scolded the girl plenty of times before, he'd never yelled at her like he did right then. Sheathing his sword which was originally intended to be sheathed in Hebi's chest, he turned and knelt down in front of Marsaili who was currently glaring at him. Yeah, he deserved that.


"I'm sorry Marsaili," he replied softly, he reached out and gently patted the top of her head, running his fingers through her hair slightly and smiled at her, "What did you wish to talk to me about?"


Marsaili squirmed under the Proctector's gaze. Nobody really asked her stuff like that. She was more of an interjecter than a conversation starter. Although, something had been preying on her mind.

"Who are all those guys and how come you know 'em?" The demon asked, her small face furrowing. She hadn't met any of these guys before. But she was a rather new Protector and had never really ventured around Lastra. She wasn't there to sight see after all. But still, it intruiged her to no end. Who were these people? And why did Kaed hate Mister Herby so much? Sure he was...frustrating (Marsaili didn't think so but Kaed was a little sensitive, obviously) but why all the hate?


Kaed smiled at her warmly and shifted his body to a better position in order to talk to her and maintain eye level. He sat down, one leg lifted up revealing the black pant beneath the long robe like dress that fit his frame. The split ends of the robe fell away, off to the side and he shifted again so that the other leg was underneath the risen one.


"I met them a long time ago. The only one's I don't know much about are the new ones. Hebi was a protector to Lord Byre's father, and his father before. Eugene was once a Lair to an old country some years ago, but he started serving as a Protector soon after Lord Byre took over from his fathers death.


"Freece, well... Freece has always been the same, a man who is easily distracted by things and has no real care for anything else." Marsaili giggled at this. This Freece guy sounded like a few demons she knew, Aza and Zale. The little mischeif makers where her partners in crime back home. She was obviously the brains of that operation. She had to say, she missed them. She missed hell. "Then there's Celeste's protectors, Aeraki has been with her since Celeste began her reign, a unique creature who posses a special skill over the winds. Watch her carefully some time Marsaili, I think you'll find what she does interesting.

"Then there's Kanan. I don't know much about him, he is very new, much like yourself. However, I get the feeling that he's worthy to be a Protector and will do everything in his power to protect Celeste. Finally there's us and you know all about that," he sighed heavily and looked up through the canopy of tree limbs over head, "I knew the Water King and his well too..." he muttered softly but didn't indulge in anything more.


Marsaili looked Kaed dead in the eye and frowned a little. She wondered what that meant if he knew that Watery guy. Was he sad? The hellspawn cautiously patted Kaed's knee and gave him a tiny shy smile. Well, that's what people did to make others feel better, right?


"Uh huh, I know you," Marsaili poked her fellow Protector's chest lightly and grinned, "and Flynn, the late samerai. He is always late. And I said before, where I come from, late means lava." The hellspawn shrugged. "And then there's me too." She grinned again before lifting her teddy.


"And Mister Smiles too! He's my Protector. My daddy gave me him. So he can be Siya's sub-protector, OK? Cos if he's protecting me and I'm protecting the King, it works!"


The girls touch on his knee was a surprise and he looked down at her, crimson gaze widened in shock at her action. She replied to him in a matter-of-factly tone and he smiled in return, a slight laugh coming from him as she poked his chest. His gaze shot over to Flynn as Marsaili continued on with how he'd been late early that morning to the meeting with Siya.


He turned to look down at the teddy bear that Marsaili always had with her, it was the first time he'd heard the name of the bear. Or maybe he had been told it, but he hadn't been paying attention. Mister Smiles, hu? Kaed reached out and gently touched one of the bears ears, the fluff around the stitching was coming out so he was careful not to desturb it too much.


"Yes, I think between you and Mister Smile's our dear Siya is in the best hands, don't you think Marsaili?" He started to stand then and that was when the ground rumbled under his feet. Immediately he turned, all thoughts of their conversation gone as a large rock like creature came bursting through the trees. Siya came into sight as well and Kaed's heart leapt as he watched his King jump out right in front of all of the creatures.

"Siya!" Kaed shouted and drew his sword, calling on his fire to leap forth and protect his King


Marsaili leapt to her feet before wincing a little. She still hurt from earlier but as the hell energy was still rather detatched, it would be easier to summon. She clenched her fists and a tall hell hound shaped animal took form in front of her.


"Easier...than I thought it would be!" She giggled quietly, her hand reaching out to grasp Kaed for support. It may have been a little easier bringing this piece of hell up but holding it here? Now that would be a different story. A handful of metal scraps in her pocket disappeared as the demon made her creature charge. The beast of pure darkness collided with the rock creature, causing a gasp to emit from Marsaili.


"Alright, dear, calm your tits. No need to go bashing into that thing, it hurts, ya know?" The hellspawn complained, clutching her side. Stupid hell essance, always so disregarding of the poor demon's health and wellbeing. The form flickered as Marsaili fought to stay alert and focused. Focus was hard to maintain when you had a big old drain on your mind.


A large being came forth from the earth, his form that of dark magic and the air was filled with a certain scent. Sharp sulfur and brimstone filled the area around Kaed immediately after the black dog was summoned. The tall Protector was about to lung into the fight as well, but a tug on his clothing took his attention.


Looking down, he spotted Marsaili's small hand gripping the side of his robe tightly. She leaned towards him, her lips moving as she said something that he didn't quite catch. She doubled over slightly, her other hand snaking over to grip her side and Kaed dropped down next to her. Wraping his arm around her, he pulled her against him and stayed there, covering her as she controlled her summoned creature.


Several of the twig like creatures limbered over to him and Kaed ground his teeth in irritation. The fire wall he'd sent to Siya moments ago had taken much of his energy so he needed another sacrifice. Reaching into his pocket with his hand that was around Marsaili he felt a couple of rings there. He invoked the power to change them into energy and he felt the power rushing through him.


Fire erupted from the tip of his blade and he allowed it to lung forward off the steel's tip and engulf each tall twig figure. The creatures went up in flames in a matter of seconds and waved their spindly arms around giving off a high pitched, inhuman shriek. A growling sound got his attention and he spun around to face the next opponent. It was a wolf like creature formed from vines. The wolf-thing bristled and arched forward it's back. From the back of the thing, it released a dozen sharp vines at them.

Kaed pulled his sword back around them, dragging Marsaili to the other side so he could better sheild her. His blade cut through the vines as they shot at him, a few getting through and cutting into his arms and exposed back, "Focus on the rock, Marsaili," he told her as he fought off the attack, "If you need more energy, there are more sacrifices in my pocket. Take the dagger if you need," he managed to get out as he struggled to free his sword from the vines wrapping around it. An eruption of fire did the trick, and he continued with slicing.


Marsaili exhaled deeply as she forced herself to focus. Her huge animal like thing reared up and roared. A sweat broke out over the little girl's forehead and she burrowed into Kaed for protection. The demon knew pretty well that if something went after her, she'd be doomed. The large demon threw itself at the rock creature, causing a tiny gasp to fall from Marsaili's lips. She clutched Kaed's side tightly and sighed harshly.


The beast snarled and its huge jaws snapped around the rocky beast. The hell hound jumped back and growled darkly. A few wolf-fox vine creatures launched themselves onto the hell animal. Marsaili let out a weak cry and started swatting at her back in desperation.


"Shhh, get away, get off me..." She whined as she fought to hold the huge beast of energy. The being seemed unconcerned of his demon's problems and slashed his claws through the vines. The flora shriveled up on contact with hell. Suddenly, Marsaili's concerntration broke and her beast faded into nothing. A quick slash across her back forced the little girl to her knees. She fell almost limp, her hands torn away from Kaed's robes. A shrill scream grabbed the other Protector's attention as the hellspawn was ripped away from his side by a gang of vine foxes. She wriggled, too tired to do any real damage. Marsaili's demonic qualities fell away and revealed a scared little girl underneath. She let out another scream as one of the monsters slashed across her stomach, slicing neatly through the skin.


"Kaed! Siya! DAD! Help me!" Marsaili cried out, trying to crawl against the things dragging her away. The vine creatures carried on their attack, biting and scratching at the hellspawn who had almost no strength left. She didn't have any magic anyway. She had used the last of her sacrifices earlier and was much too tired to gather up any form of protection from hell. She was completely at the mercy of the animals.


"Someone, please!"


Her scream caught Kaed's attention and he whirled around as he lost her from his grip. He lunged forward, desperate to get her back but missed entirely and instead failed to protect himself. The vine wolves lunged at him and several of the nasty things cut deep into Kaed's shoulder, back and legs. Unable to move, pinned as he was, he couldn't get to her. Twisting around he concentrated his efforts on freeing himself before he was further injured.


Siya whirled around as he heard the high pitched scream. He watched in horror as Marsaili was ripped from Kaed's grasp. The vine wolves tore into her without mercy and she was terrified. The Fire King wasted no time as he pulled away from his own fight and sprinted towards her. Already he was preparing his magic to burn away the vines that tore into her.


As he rushed to her, he spotted the Wind Princess' protector turning at the same time. It was the younger, newest protector who had turned. His one bright blue eye widened in shock at the sound of Marsaili's wails. Without a thought it seemed, Kanan brandished his sword and a rush of wind blades tore through the area, sending with it a calming smell of chamomile.


The wind blades cut through several of the vine wolves just as Siya's fire erupted over the group and burned them to ash. Kanan continued his attack, turning to where Kaed's form was being overwhelmed by vines. Wind blades slashed and cut into the thickests parts. Siya dropped next to Marsaili and pulled her close to him.


"Marsaili? Hey, hold on, ok? You'll be just fine," he told her as he looked over her wounds. Across from him Kaed was freed from his prison. A mixture of wind attacks and his own explosion of fire was what did the trick. Kaed slowly crawled from where he'd been trapped and looked over Siya's shoulder.


The large rock formation was going on a rampage and his current target seemed to be the bulk of the group. Kaed was too tired to continue fighting, and he also knew that Marsaili was in no shape to do much about it either. Siya caught Kaed's gaze and turned to look over his shoulder.


The young King gasped as the rock beast tore at the ground in preparation for a charge. Siya pulled Marsaili up into his grip and moved out of the way as quickly as he could. The beast tore through the area and hit a couple of trees before stopping. Turning to look over his shoulder Siya shouted to the others, "Help me kill this thing!" After calling out he starting building up on his power, the more fire he could produce, he thought that he could at least melt the beast down.


Marsaili's orange eyes widened and she let out a wail as the rock formation charged again. She was starting to get familiar with the thing's attack. Run, charge and go through anything in its path. In her panic, the demon burrowed into her King and cried out for the one person she knew would help.

"Daddy. Please!" She whimpered and almost instantly, a calming feeling of hell washed over her. The child's muscles relaxed as the comforting growls of pure hell hounds spitting fire filled her ears. Her daddy didn't seem too pleased and was giving her a bit of a helping hand in killing the thing that tried to hurt his baby girl. Combined with Siya's fire, she felt comfortable in the thing's demise. The blast of heat showering her back told her that the rock beast was slain. All the energy slipped away from her and her eyelids fell shut as she let the tiredness claim her. Before she fell unconcious, she mumbled to Siya quietly.


"What even were those things, Siya? And why did they wanna hurt us?"

Hebi Irikisha

His King dragged him some ways away from the meeting, Celeste's voice carried through the woods after them and despite his position, Hebi grinned maliciously. Soon enough, he was released from Lord Byre's grip and he stumbled, falling down to the earth on hands and knees. He stayed there, unwilling to get up and have his King take him back down to the ground again. Instead, he bowed his head to Byre and let his dark hair fall over his face, hiding his grin.

"Once, we returned to the Castle. I will have the armies mobilized to strike at the Fire and Wind Kingdom. Furthermore, we will seek the Water King. Eugene. Hebi. Nes. Your place is by my side. Do not ever forget this."

"My lord," Hebi said softly in reply.

“Yes sir. Get up you disgrace, we’re moving out,” the voice belonged to Eugene who kicked the earth Protector hard in his ribs. Hebi fell over from the attack and gripped his ribs with one hand. He looked up at the tall Lare through dark strands of hair. One eye was closed tightly from the burning in his side, but the other one stared steadily upwards at the man. Hebi responded with a cruel smile curving along his lips. Slowly he got to his feet and brushed himself off.

"Did that remind you of your time as a Lare? Wonder how your citizens dealt with such a vicious and cruel ruler. Perhaps you should take lessons from our Lord Byre. At least then the only thing you'd have to worry about is your enormously large ego!" Hebi snapped back, but made sure to keep a good distance from Eugene. Should they fight right then, not only would Lord Byre deal out harsh punishment to them, but they'd also lose their chance at getting a head start to find the water King. Ah, the Water King. Hebi's green eyes flickered with an odd light, his tongue snaked out to lick at his lips before he turned and followed obediently after Lord Byre.

Siya Ukomo

"What even were those things, Siya? And why did they wanna hurt us?" Marsaili's voice was soft as she slowly lost consciousness. Siya glanced down at her and pulled her close to his body. He cradled the small girl in his arms as he released his fire upon the charging rock creature. His eyes were narrowed in concentration as the fire exploded from him. In the split second before the flames engulfed the rock, he spotted one of Celeste's protectors lift into the air and launch a... dragon? at the rock creature. Never-the-less, the dragon creation tore the rock in half and helped to aid his flames in melting it down.

Once the dragon was finished, it went off and began destroying other creatures that had seemingly risen up from the forest. Siya sighed heavily, his breath short. He leaned over Marsaili's unconscious form and watched her sadly. She would need some healing very soon, the best that he could do was to stop the bleeding. Reaching down he ignited his hand and ran it over the worst of her wounds. Her being unconscious made things easier, though he still winced inwardly. The poor girl was going to be in so much pain later on.

"I don't know, Marsaili," he whispered to her though he knew she couldn't hear him at that point. He turned his head and caught sight of Kaed who was kneeling on one leg, his sword held tightly in one hand and his gaze flicking about the area for any stragglers. The Protector turned and looked upon his King, then got to his feet and made his way over to the young Fire Lord. Kaed dropped down next to Siya and looked at Marsaili with a frown.

"Will she be alright?"

"She will, I've stopped the bleeding, she just needs to be healed," Siya answered and closed his eyes tiredly. However, he forced himself to get some semblance of strength and energy. The fight was over with, short and quick as it was. Even so, he was tired after having expended so much energy to take out the bulk of the enemy and the large rock entity. He looked up at Kaed who wrapped an arm around Siya's shoulders and hugged him tightly.

"You're alright?"

"Fine, Kaed. You're in worse shape then me," Siya pointed out, eyeing the multiple places where Kaed was bleeding from. His Protector only offered him a smile and stood up slowly. Kaed sheathed his sword and offered his hands out to take Marsaili. Siya stood up and gave her over to him. Turning, Siya looked to the other Protectors and Lady Celeste.

"I don't know what you plan to do, Lady Celeste, but I still plan to find the King of Water. I have a feeling that no matter what enemies may be following us, they may already be several steps ahead of us in finding him. If we find him, we can protect him until he's given his orb. There's no way we can find the orb, we've not the power to do that. Only the Water King can. I'll be on my way once Marsaili has been healed in the village not far from here. If you wish to accompany me, I'll gladly welcome you and your protectors. I could use all the help I can get."

Siya looked to Flynn and Kaed before nodding his head in the direction that he wished to head in. The nearest village was a couple hours away and if they retrieved their horses, they could be there even sooner. Besides, their horses had more supplies than what Siya had right at that moment. Bandaging the wounded Marsaili was first on his mind.

Kanan Thiyer

He finished off the last of the walking twigs and a couple more of the wolf like vines that lunged at him. His blade swung continuously, sometimes sending out waves of wind blades, other times just cutting straight through by the swords edge. He twisted around and launched another pass of magic at the approaching enemy, tossing them backwards. Kanan wasted no time and finished them off with a final attack of wind blades, the sound of sharpened air cutting through branches filled his area of the fight.

Then it was all over. He glanced around, taking count of the bodies of the elemental's and who was injured if any on his side. He was happy to see that his Queen was just fine as she was hovering up in the air. Off a distance away, Siya stood with his Protectors. It seemed that the girl had taken quite a blow and even the tall one named Kaed seemed to be injured just as well. Siya, though, looked unharmed. Kanan felt relief at that notion, but felt bad for the Protectors, especially the unconscious girl in Kaed's arms.

He listened to the exchange of words from Siya to his Queen before sheathing his weapon and looking around once more. Siya began making his way to where they'd come into the forest earlier. It was obvious he was heading back to where they'd left their horses or whatever means of travel they'd used to get to the Shrine. Kanan spotted Aeraki and started making his way to her. She was inspecting one of the elemental's quite closely so he leaned over her shoulder, his single pale blue eye narrowing in on what she was looking at.

"Different kind of magic than I've seen before," he muttered to her. His eye flicked up to look at her, to see if she would confirm his suspicion, "I think it's safe to say that Byre and his group did not intend this fight. Which leaves the question of who did..." he pondered this on his own, leaving Aeraki's side to look to his Queen.

Dropping down to one knee, he placed one fist on the ground and bowed his head to her, "My Lady, forgive me, but I think that Lord Siya is correct in going after the Water King. We should find him first before Lord Byre or anyone else does. Offering him protection is, in my mind, the best course of action," he offered to her gently. He wasn't entirely sure why, but it just seemed that he should tell her about his agreement. Even if she disagreed, he would still follow her orders unquestioningly. However, it still felt right to go and try to find the Water King first.

"... corruent coram vobis. Prodiit, qui obscurus est terra. Tolle forma, resurge, et fac sicut vos es iube!"

A tree shriveled up and withered as the last words departed from Diavel’s purple tongue and drained the tree of the last of its mana. It collapsed into a heap of bark, vines, leaves and branches. Twenty-three, an inauspicious number, the sorcerer thought to himself with a smile. The pile exploded as an earth elemental doppelganger formed itself and raced off to join its brethren at the Shrine of Aridea.

Diavel had to resist the urge to run off after the beast. In the distance, the sounds of combat could be heard—the pinging of rock against metal, the cries of war, the bass of explosions. Part of Diavel—a really large part—wanted nothing more than to go and join the chaos but the other part of him kept him back. It is all part of the greater plan. We must cooperate with Hebi to accomplish our ultimate goals. The sorcerer felt a wave of annoyance crawl up his throat. About a month ago, the dark-haired Protector had approached Tarean and Diavel with the proposal and plan to obtain the four elemental orbs. The Protector had acted as if the idea had been solely his own. Diavel snorted at the thought. Such a pathetic arrogant fool. The fate of the orbs had been decided long ago—long before even the Aridean civilization.

The sorcerer gritted his teeth and had just been about to summon another elemental when, suddenly—with a slurp—, his feeling of annoyance was gone. In its place was an emptiness—void of all emotion. He found that he actually missed the feeling.

There was a yawn from beside him. “You seem to be enjoying yourself,” Tarean noted.

Diavel shrugged impassively. He was still feeling the numbness of having one’s emotion sucked away.

“Though,” the han’ruun continued with a tone of sarcasm, “I was wondering: You know not all of the Protectors and their Kings are as retarded as they’ve led us to believe, right?”

“Oh, I am very aware,” the sorcerer answered with a cruel laugh. “It’s no fun having an experiment with stupid test subjects.” He turned to the sky, looking at the stars. “Come Tarean, I believe it is time that we went hunting for the next Water King,” Diavel said with an enthusiastic tone. It had been a long time since they had seriously been hunting for anyone. Perhaps the next few months would be interesting ones.

From the Shrine of Aridea, a screech echoed through the night signaling the death of another elemental. Diavel scoffed but, even as he did so, a hateful upward curl crept onto his dark lips. “Intelligent little rats.”



There was the pinging of rock against metal as Emrys dashed in front of the Princess of the Winds to deflect another attack from an Earthen Elemental. As the collision pushed him backwards, the butler got a good look at the creature. This one had the figure of a bear and the complexion of a tree—sharp rocks formed razor like claws and long branches made up the creature’s rib cage. Between the branches of the rib cage, the knight caught a glimpse of purple—a activated rune. “Princess Celeste,” he called, “there is a rune on the Ele—.”

“Already on it,” came a reply from directly behind him. Two knives layered in a greenish aura flew out and curved towards the bear-like Elemental’s chest. One cut a branch in half before flying away and the second slipped straight through the opening into the Elemental. There was a sound like shattering glass and the purple glow from the Elemental’s chest disappeared. The lifeless heap of mana-less nature fell to the ground with a crunch.

Seventeen, Emrys counted. Of that seventeen, he had fought a total of eight and slain four of the eight. He glanced around the battlefield with stoic eyes. A dragon—smaller than what one might expect of a dragon—sped through the air, cutting down an Elemental not too far to his right. Aeraki was floating nearby, paintbrush in hand, directing her colorful creation. To his left, there was a flash of green and red as Freece smashed through a rock elemental utterly pulverizing the beast in the process. From the corner of his eyes, Emrys could see the Fire King crouching over his young-looking Protector who had taken a beating during the battle. A pang of pity pulled on the butler’s heart. Then, he noticed the black-haired Fire Protector walking over towards the group.

“Emrys!” Celeste called. The collected group of the Fire King and two Fire Protectors had caused a huge opening in their lines. Already, two Elementals had found the opening and were dashing through.

The butler was already sprinting towards the collected group. There isn’t enough time!



Fortunately, Flynn had seen the opening as well and, unlike Emrys, had been much closer to the two invading Elementals. The fiery haired Protector raised his left hand and swiped it through the air in one fluid motion. Two ovals of yellow whistled through the air towards the rock and wood creatures.

Unfortunately, the Fire Protector’s mana had been running low and the first oval had taken most of his remaining spare mana. The first missile struck its target in an explosion of orange and yellow—obliterating the Earthen Elemental. The second wasn’t nearly as effective. It splashed against the wooden creature with a flash of flames but did nothing but ignite the creature. The Elemental didn’t seem to notice the fire and continued straight towards Flynn.

The Protector groaned wearily and readied his sword for another direct engagement. Much to his relief, the Elemental didn’t make it into Flynn’s melee range. Two knives, glowing with a green aura, shot past him and struck the Elemental square in the chest. The creature fell apart before it could even touch the ground.

In an instant, the Princess of the Winds and her butler were standing beside Flynn, making sure that none could reach the Fire King and the other Protectors. Flynn looked over at Marsaili, who Siya was holding closely. Personally, he had never been too close to the other Protector and had even, at times, found a distaste for her. Seeing her like this, though, made him see her in a slightly different perspective—despite being a demon, she was also a child.

“What were those things, Siya? And why did they wanna hurt us?” she asked softly.

The Fire King sighed, as he attempted to heal her. “I don’t know Marsaili…”



The Princess of the Winds stood quietly over the group. She was taking in whiffs of air, trying to identify the aura of the Elementals. They were Earthen Elementals—it was all too easy to simply place the blame upon Byre and his Protectors. Celeste shook her head. There was only one thing that she was certain of: “It wasn’t Byre and his men. There are absolutely no traces of their scents on these Elementals. The person—or persons—who did this is pretty smart, trying to set us upon each other’s throats.”

Standing beside her, the Fire Protector, Aarynn Fletcher, nodded in agreement. “It must be the people who already have the Water Orb.”

Upon the topic of the Water Orb, Siya turned to look at the other Protectors and Celeste. "I don't know what you plan to do, Lady Celeste, but I still plan to find the King of Water. I have a feeling that no matter what enemies may be following us, they may already be several steps ahead of us in finding him. If we find him, we can protect him until he's given his orb. There's no way we can find the orb, we've not the power to do that. Only the Water King can. I'll be on my way once Marsaili has been healed in the village not far from here. If you wish to accompany me, I'll gladly welcome you and your protectors. I could use all the help I can get". His eyes betrayed a stubbornness and refusal to listen to other reasoning. Without another word, the Fire King and his Protectors stood and began to walk in the direction of the aforementioned village.

Aarynn looked back at the Princess of the Winds and her Protectors with a smile. The Princess kindly returned his smile and Emrys gave him a nod of approval. With a thumbs up, the Fire Protector turned and walked off.

Just then, Kanan walked up and dropped to one knee, bowing to Celeste. The princess shook her head and bade him to stand up—the time for formalities was not this time. War was at hand. She raised her gaze, looking around at the destruction wreaked upon the sacred grounds of the Shrine of Aridea. The Shrine itself was untouched. “This alliance is important, but I am unsure if we can risk leaving our kingdom with Byre preparing for an attack.”

“A good defense provides for a good offense,” Emrys noted. “Perhaps, we should pull back and organize ourselves before making our next maneuver.”

“Time is of the essence now. We must decide our next move now.”

Kanan spoke, slightly surprising the Princess. “My Lady, forgive me, but I think that Lord Siya is correct in going after the Water King. We should find him first before Lord Byre or anyone else does. Offering him protection is, in my mind, the best course of action.”

For a few seconds, there was no response.

The butler looked at Celeste, “Princess?”

Slowly, but certainly, the Princess of the Winds nodded. “You are right, Kanan. Whoever was responsible for this attack is sure to be going after the potential Water King as we speak—his safety is of the utmost importance.” Turning to Emrys, she grinned. “I believe it’s time we began the next phase of our goal.”

The butler nodded with a slight curl to his lips. “Freece, Aeraki,” he called. “It’s time to go, we will be accompanying the Fire King and his Protectors to the nearest village—following that, we begin the search for the potential Water king.”

Siya Ukomo, Kaed Kuhti and Kanan Thiyer

Siya carried Marsaili's unconscious body, his horse moving quickly as they left the forest behind. He was glad to have Celeste's help as she too followed them, using the air as their way of transport. He had wrapped Marsaili's wounds as best he could and then put her up on his horse. He wished to get to the town as soon as possible and get her treated. The sooner they did that the better.

"How is she?" Kaed asked, pulling his horse up next to Siya. The black haired protector looked tired, his body battered from the fight earlier. He was wrapped up in bandages as well and Siya was worried about him too. Kaed had lost quite a bit of blood, much like Marsaili.

"She's alright, but I want to get there as fast as we can. You need treatment as well."

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

Siya frowned but didn't answer to that. Kaed always said that. He adjusted his hold on the reigns as well as his hold on the small girl. Holding her steady, he pushed the horse to a faster run. The town wasn't too far, another half hour and they were there. Hopefully there was a healer there. If there wasn't, then he was going to be in trouble with Marsaili and he didn't wish to ask too much more of Celeste. The wind princess had done enough already.

Soon the town came into view and Siya felt his heart lift. He had high hopes as they entered the town, their horses coming to a trot from their galloping across the dirt road. He shot his gaze around the area, trying to find where they could get Marsaili healed. The town was rather busy, people bustling around and doing their own thing. It was well within Siya's territory and as he pulled his horse to a stop, he found that many of the people had noticed his arrival. What had started off as simply a lot of people going about their business, turned into people massing together to greet their King.

"My Lord!" Many called.

"Lord Siya is here!" Others yelled, vying for his attention. Then the whispers came, most were whispers about his being a young King, a boy really. Those he ignored, but the other whispers were about the condition he was in, especially those of his party.

"I need a healer!" Siya yelled out amongst the din of voices. The voices softened at his call and several of the people glanced about themselves unsure of what to do. He shifted his horse and gripped Marsaili tighter, his voice strained as he called again, "A healer! I need a healer!"

"Here," a soft voice answered his and he turned to see who it was. A man and his daughter came forward, the young girl was looking up at Siya with awe in her eyes whilst her elder father smiled warmly, "I'll take you to my home and treat you all there," he offered and started walking to where he'd mentioned. Siya pushed the horse forward and followed.

"Thank you so much, sir."

"No need to thank me, my Lord. It is the least we can do for our King."

Siya blushed lightly and looked over to Kaed who smiled at him in return. Once they reached the house, Siya dismounted and pulled Marsaili down in his arms. He followed the elder man into his home and settled the tiny protector on a cot set out for patients. The man took a seat next to her and lifted the cloth that Siya had tied around her stomach to see the damage. The blood had already soaked through the bandage. The elder man started his work immediately after looking at the wound.

"I'll be a little while, Lila, get me some water," he told his daughter. Lila nodded at her father and left the room quickly. The girl must have been no older than ten. Siya watched her go and then turned back to the elder healer.

"Thank you."

The man only nodded and Siya felt it was time to leave the house so that the healer could work in peace. He walked outside with his protectors following him. He looked over to Celeste and nodded to her.

"Thank you for helping me. We will get started in finding the water King as soon as we can."

"The sooner we do that, the better," Kanan offered. The air protector didn't often speak and so it threw Siya off. The young Fire King looked over to the young man who had an eye patch over one eye.

"I agree, Kanan," Siya replied, his surprise at the protectors voicing his opinion gone then. Kanan was right. Not only did they have Byre after them, but there was also a chance that what had attacked them in the forest was after the new King as well. It would be back if he were caught before they could get to him.

"For now, we should resupply our wares. We'll meet back here in an hour or so," Kaed said, his voice taking on a deep tone which was often heard when he was giving orders to the others back at the castle. Siya flicked his eyes up towards the tall protector and nodded his agreement.

"See you all in an hour," he said and started off to get what he could from the merchants in the small town.