Effledus

Lufgaw stood with his torn tunicand observed the effects of his wife's intervension not only calmed him, she also saved the life of 'Enrys's friend besides spare the servants from having to cleanse the blood and the nameless girl remains, Lufgaw thought he had to find a way to call her but as the girl refused to introduce herself and he had no intention of asking he decided to call her Rumples-girl, he knew that was going to upset her and that was an childish act that was willing to afford.

The king looked at the strange behavior that had Oriana, Matakin spokeswoman when the beautiful Sereya made her appearance in the throne room, that behavior escaped his understanding, he came to the conclusion that it had something to do with discovering that Rumples-girl also was related to the old fae who deceived her mother, but that don't have any relation with his wife.

Then his eye fell on the prince of Spindewass, by the way he struggled with the guard it seemed that he wanted help Rumples-Girl, he was brave, the king had to admit that he was but that doesn't make him less fool, the most he could do would be to serve as a human shield, give her a few more seconds of life and incidentally increase the workload of the servants, didn't escape the king's gaze the expression the boy had as he looked at the Queen of Effledus, was goes without saying that Lufgaw jealously guarded his wife, the king didn't doubt his wife, but there have been many fools who behaved in a more insistent to say it in one way and Lufgaw had a sector of his mind reserved to think in different ways to punish them.

Then, his beloved, using her heavenly voice announced her pregnancy and invite everyone to the celebration, Lufgaw wanted to got rid of Rumples-girl, this time with exile or something similar, but decided to abide the will of his wife and let her come, he was about agree with the statement of Sereya when the old dragon Mortimus made his bustling entry into the throne room.
Lufgaw had to admit that he was surprised with how the dragon found out things, even though he was on good terms with him and always was willing to talk for long periods of time with the dragon, was also a part of him that wasn't very happy with his pressence, mainly because he started to visit Effledus after Lufgaw claimed the throne, from the perspective of the King sometimes his behavior mocks the many who suffered to build the kingdom that he enjoys now.

Aquila expressed her desire to discuss the matter of the empire right now, Lufgaw planned to do it some other time but, why do you have advisors if you aren't going to hear them?, first responded to the dragon "Good to see Mortimus, tonight we are celebrating my wife's pregnancy you can share this joy with us if you like, and as for these huma-" stopped, that in itself would be an act of discrimination which now wanted to try to phase out of his mind "These unexpected guests come to share information about the threat that the empire pose on us all" he looked at the blonde and said," 'Enry of Mewhave and Rumples-Girl are here for a coincidence" he whispered to his wife "Come with me to the throne" and walked to his own throne as he waited for his wife to sit in hers.

"As Aquila said, I want to hear what you have to say before the celebration, I'd like to hear the message of the Queen Rapunzel too", she was friends with his wife assumed that it would be appropriate to invite her but didn't know if she could be on time or not, but being honest it wasn't something that bothered him much.

Day felt like his heart had been stepped on by a giant. Crushed! Queen Sereya was pregnant! He had not even noticed, he had been so absorbed by everything else about her. At least, her announcement brought him back to his senses. But when she smiled--directly!--at him, he fell into his lovesick trance again. The look from Sereya’s husband gave him a little jolt of fear that woke him up.

“Be realistic, Day,” he murmured to himself, shaking his head. There were plenty of other attractive females in the room, he reminded himself. Like Oriana, and the unnamed Golden Girl, and heck, even the bird-looking woman was not half-bad... although her talons were a little scary.

And then there was this sudden booming voice, and Day nearly jumped out of his skin. It was a giant white dragon that entered the hall, and he was chatting up a storm. The sudden entrances of dragons was something Day imagined he would never get used to, no matter how friendly they were.

And this dragon was beyond friendly... he seemed to already know half the people in the room, and he was on a first name basis with the Beast king. He even knew ‘Enry... and didn’t seem to approve of the Golden Girl. Day looked at her and lifted an eyebrow. Why was everyone on her case? Day didn’t know her, yet he had been willing to save her from certain death. He would do that for any civilian... he wasn’t about to watch the girl get her head ripped off. It was just a matter of common decency, something expected of a Prince. And it still upset him to think of what King Lufgaw was about to do. They were not safe here, not at all. It would be best for him to pal around with the Rumple Golden girls... watch over them.

The Eagle woman suggested that they attend to serious matters first. Day felt somber at the moment, and prepared to relay his message about Contalabutte and the fall of Spindewas. But just as he opened his mouth to speak, there was a great commotion as Queen Sereya’s family burst in through the doors.

The family reunion that passed before them made Day just plain sad. For one, it reminded him of his broken heart, and so averted his eyes from seeing how beautiful Sereya looked and how she had the best in-laws and the nicest little brothers. And, it was extra painful, because his family used to be like that. He used to have a father, and he used to be joint at the hip with his sister. And now all of that was gone. He didn’t even know where his sister was. And he didn’t even want to think about what was happening to his mother at the moment...

“Greetings, family of the Queen,” Dayerin said, standing straighter and sounding more like a prince than he usually did. “I’m Dayerin, Prince of Spindewas. And if you’ll excuse me, I have important business to address with King Lufgaw and his court.”

He knew it was a rotten time to bring up the looming war while the Queen’s family was visiting. But he was impatient, and desperate, and he just had to get it out there. He had to get his family back together.

“Spindewas needs help. Desperately,” Day began, looking earnestly at the King, and passing glances at everyone else in the room. “I need to assemble a rescue mission to get my mother out of there... Briarose, she’s trapped, and married to the horrible Contalabutte. Believe me, he’s as horrible as Emperors can get, and his forces are composed of dark Fae, and sorcerers, giants, not to mention dragons... We had no idea how to fight them in Spindewas, not even the ogres could make a dent in them. They're not your average soldiers, but the kind of stock you in Effledus would be more familiar with. He wants to gobble up all our kingdoms in Faecleir. It’s in all of your interests’ to help me get rid of him!"

Mortimus smiled at Bettina's response to his gruffness. He then felt bad about being so rude, it was just that their last meeting had ended rather bitterly. Hed invited them to his cave for a general catchup, and after theyd left he found the Alcaris, a rare magical stone that his dead friend, the great wizard Calladus, had left him in his will, had dissapeared. Now it might not have been Bettina, but she was pretty high on the suspect list. Hed said some pretty mean things to her when he found the pair again. Not even 'Enry could break up this arguement, and despite Bettina denying she even knew of the stones existence, Mortimus was unconvinced and flew away. He felt bad. She was a dear friend, and he'd crossed the line. He felt especially bad when he found the stone the next day. Hed apologised to them both via fox, but somehow Mortimus felt that wasn't enough. He'd talk to them later, he had gifts for them too, as well as a couple of propositions, but hed discuss those later.

It wasn't true that Mortimus did not approve of Bettina, he simply did not agree with the path she had taken and saw her as a bad influence on 'Enry. He did not approve of cons and smuggling, and believed that Bettina's talent was being wasted. She could use her skills for things that were so much more productive and law abiding, scouts and infiltrators were always needed in the kingdoms of Faecleir. Bettina and 'Enry had known Mortimus since they were quite young, as he visited Mewhaven alot and was always popular with the youngsters who climbed on him and listened with awe to his near infinite number of tales. Of all of puss' offspring, 'Enry was his favourite as he was quite shy but inquisitive and lapped up Mortimus' tales of faraway lands and horrific monstrosities as he would do with milk. Bettina on the other hand, was quiet and a little shifty. Mortimus sensed darkness in her past but brightness in her future, and was shocked to learn her tale. She had always looked up to him (literaly) as a childhood hero and Mortimus was touched by this. He did not hate her, he cared deeply about her, but he was protective of her and did not want her to get into too much trouble and if this dampened their relationship then so be it. When he next talked to her he would make ends meet, probably with a hug (although hed have to be careful not to squish her).

"Well, my dear, ive had complaints from this one hag who lives in a cottage in the woods. Don't really like her to be honest, shes suspected of overfeeding and then eating children that she lures into her home with breadcrumbs and shes also a tad insane. Apparently her magical cauldron has gone missing. No, im joking, im here because of him." He said to Bettina, pointing to the prince of Spindlewas as he made his plea. "The boy shows promise, but he has a lot to learn. Im willing to help and guide him on his journey, for it is in my best interests that the Empire falls. Now, i have some things for you both, come see my after this shindig, and ill give 'em to you." He looked at 'Enry "For now though, i hope you like this." He said, passing the bespectacled feline a small bottle of liquid. "Its catnip, Cuddlepuss, enjoy!"

Lufgaw saw the arrival of the family of his wife, to be honest the number of times they have seen each other wew limited since her father Jonathan had an opinion about things and Lufgaw had another, was what they call a culture shock, Either way he smiled and bowed slightly when his wife presented to each of the members of her large family, then came the plea of the Prince of Spindewas.

He began with "Spindewas need help" that wasn't the wisest decision and made the king lose some of the interest he had in the matter, the needs of a human kingdom that was far away from Effledus don't concern him in the least, The second thing he said was his legitimate desire to save his mother from the clutches of the man who killed everyone he knew but to the ears of the King all seemed more like a desire for revenge, Lufgaw knew about that, the first thing he had to do when ascended to the throne was to convince a fair amount of the population that a war of revenge would destroy everything they built.

Sereya sat on his lap and the king hug her waist feeling where their child grew, now that he had the information he wanted neither needed nor wanted to build a relationship with the Prince or his kingdom, or so he thought until his hand touched his wife's belly.

"Mortimus, you know you're welcome but this isn't the time for your nonsense, if you want to talk with an old friend do it elsewhere" gave a little grunt, the idea of ​​the dark faes put him in a bad mood "Rumples-Girl and 'Enry , you have no direct interest in this war if you wish can tour the castle or rest until the celebration" decided to fix everything by making known her punishment immediately wich seemed fairly light but were more important things now, "Next time you wish to enter Effledus must ask permission right on the border, I'll see that the name 'Enry and company have free passage, if you try again your trick and your life will end in that moment" now if they wanted to continue here in the throne room was their business, as long as they don't try to flee before the celebration to Lufgaw wouldn't care.

"Dayerin of Spindewas, Your request is understandable as is what you want of Effledus but What can you offer to my kingdom?, do you expect me and my soldiers go to war to die just to save your mother?, Do you expect to convince Lufgaw just with these words?," the king had to make clear that he and his kingdom weren't a useful tool that humans can use when needed and then discard "Our kingdoms never had any kind of relationship, Spindewas never attempt to do anything when we needed help, if your father or your father's father had done something for Effledus them I personally would enter in the castle where Briarose is held prisoner and save her if with that I can repay that debt but that isn't the case" looked at his wife "If Effledus goes to war nothing will stop me until the empire falls even if it means walk over the corpse of your mother, is not going to matter me if the Emperor use her as hostage, Do you still want my help, kid?" for the first time since they arrived Lufgaw looked straight into the prince's eyes, first he would listen to the prince and then he'll hear position of Matakin and the reply of Rapunzel.

After making his plea, Day's memory went back to the invasion. He had never been a real fighter in the conflict. It seemed like he had been in a state of perpetual training, but he never had the discipline to advance and become a real warrior. Any other young man with his attitude would have been thrown out of the training yard and given a job doing manual labor. But since he was Prince, they dragged him along through training, though carefully protected from battle.

The day when the capital was attacked, Day was within the ogre reservation outside of town. That was where he went whenever he felt overwhelmed from news of a lost battle or the death of a valued general. And that day, he was reeling from word of his father’s death. The ogres mourned deeply for the half-Ogre King Ruffdor, wailing and howling. Day was getting another ogre tattoo, this time on his chest. As he had the sharpened thorn tapped into his skin, it seemed like a pain a thousand times easier to deal with than the pain of losing his father. The tattoo was of his father’s name in Ogrese symbols, bordered by bramble thorns. But the tattoo was only half-finished, because that was when the Ogre camp was invaded.

Day tried to fight, and that was when he realized how under-prepared he was. He watched his Ogre friends die, throwing themselves in front to save him from the vastly more powerful warriors of the Empire. But it was all a waste, because it ended up that he was captured anyway, and kept alive by order of the Emperor... but only to be used as a bargaining tool.

The Prince was so absorbed in these memories, that he didn’t bat a lash as Queen Sereya climbed into her husband’s lap or as ‘Enry, Golden girl and the dragon had a side conversation. King Lufgaw was sentencing them. All of that suddenly seemed unimportant. For a minute, it seemed like no one had even heard his plea. But these moments of being unacknowledged only strengthened his resolve. And once King Lufgaw moved on to address him, Day locked eyes with him.

“I understand, King Lufgaw, why you would not join my cause just to help my kingdom. There is not much I can offer you, being a dispossessed Prince,” Dayerin replied evenly, though there was sweat beading upon his brow. “Spindewas in far gone, and it will be in ruins if it is won back.” It pained him to admit this, and he said these words with difficulty swallowing, when he thought of his home in such a ravaged state. But he continued: “As for my mother, I’ll take it as my responsibility to rescue her. What I really need your help with is bringing down Contalabutte. And I will tell you why you should care: while I was imprisoned in my own castle, awaiting the Emperor’s sentence, I was visited by his first wife, Scheherazade.”

His mind’s eye clearly remembered her face. She was aged, and her once-black hair was entirely gray. But her eyes held such an acuteness, a great wisdom and her voice was delicious to the ears, like honey and melting butter. At the time, he could not believe that of all people, the famous Scheherazde would choose to visit him.

“She told me stories as I sat in my cell. The first was her own, and then she told me the story of each of the Emperor’s wives. She concluded each story with the words, 'And the Emperor from afar heard her name and desired her, and did whatever he could to make her his wife.' And that was the end, no 'Happily Ever After,' as stories are usually told. She even told me my own Mother’s story, the way it is told in other parts of Faecleir. And it ended the same, and that was when I knew... what his intent was. After that, she told me one last story... and that was the story of the Beast King and how he fell in love with a beautiful human maiden and she him. She spoke of your wedding. But then she mouthed the same ending, but left it unfinished. ‘And the Emperor from afar heard her name, and desired her,’ Scheherazade told to me.”

Day looked pointedly at the Beast King and Sereya, who’s stomach was burgeoning before their eyes. He stopped short, looking with double concern at the young Queen.

Mortimus sighed. Contalbute was truly a nasty piece of work, He was slowly bringing misery and damnation to all of Faecleir and not many people were doing anything about it. The tale of Dayerin was hard to swallow, but the thing that brought the most pain was the prince's mentioning of dragons in the Empire's armies. Mortimus, in response to this, murmured a single word, which was loud enough for everyone present to hear; "Darahurne". It was not a curse, for Mortimus would never lower himself to use such language, it was simply a name, a name which brought a mixture of fear, disgust, hatred and sorrow to the old dragon. He hoped no one in the congregation had heard of such a terrible thing, maybe the other Dragon present had, but he was still young, only the oldest of Dragon-kind tended to know what the Darahurne were. That was the tipping point, time to make an inspiring speech.

He rose to his full height, revealing many a battle scar and wound. His face showed pure wisdom and his scales shone with ancient power. "Thank you, your majesty." he boomed "But i must decline your offer, i must stay, for there is much to be said." He looked down upon Dayerin "The boy is right, Lufgaw. This coming battle isn't just about his sole revenge. The growing power of the Emperor shall affect us all. He must be stopped, before his Empire consumes everything we care about. I have a proposition for you, honorable delegates. That proposition is Unity. I have been alive for a very long time, and i should know that the chain of unity has been broken for many a year. It is slowly being fixed, yes, but there are still weak points. And i mean no offense to you, oh king, but I am afraid you are one of these weak points. To achieve such unity you must fully let go of your hate. Humanity is a beautiful, joyous thing to behold, they have no wings, no claws, no innate ancestral magics, yet they have thrived. Yes, humans can be overambitious, the Empire being an unfortunately perfect example, but with tutorship and trust, humans will happily coexist. We must find Unity, for then we can build an army the likes of which has never been seen. An army built upon trust, friendship and honor. A grand army of every race, every kin, every creed which shall drive this unwanted blemish from our lands and prove that unity is possible. As much as i know you all have grudges, some spanning eons, i am afraid we must bring about this new age of unity before we are broken and consumed by the locusts, with no allies to turn to. "Look around, my king, we have talent here, Oriana, master dragon rider and magic wielder, 'Enry, offspring of the valiant, witty Puss in boots, Rumples- Girl, nimble, quick thief, never makes a sound, and last but not least, Dayerin, a born leader who wears his heart on his sleeve and embodies compassion. With nurture and some TLC, we have here some upcoming commanders." He looked at Dayerin, And kneeled, which was quite difficult for a dragon to do. "Price Dayerin, worthy son of Ruffdor the valiant, i pledge my fealty to you as a mentor and guide, and i take it upon myself to help you spearhead a company that shall strive to unify the kingdoms and, save your kingdom." Then he straightened up, and looked at Bettina. He smiled craftily, she'd hate him for this, but it was time to get his own back for all that teasing, and also to let 'Enry experience a real slice of the adventure cake that he had always wanted. "And for this company i volunteer my good friends, 'Enry and Rumples- Girl, for they have always had a taste for adventure, and i think with a little mentoring, we shall see their true colours shine. Also it will help to redeem themselves of their previous, ahem, mishap." He looked at the delegates with the biggest, kindest grin on his face that he could muster. "And so, from the bottom of my heart, i ask you, delegates, what say you to my offer?"
And then he sat down, content and quite pleased with himself

The king's face seemed immutable but that was only because was fighting the urge to run and make a slaughter on Contalabutte, so crude and horrible that the people would talk about it for generations, trying to contain himself as he listened to the prince would have been useless if wasn't for the presence of his wife, yet Lufgaw felt real Rage different from the emotional outburst that almost cost the life of Rumples-Girl, no, this cold anger spread through the room and the more sensitive like the Bear guard could feel it alongside the fear, fear that only The enraged Beast could provoke.

So Contalabutte wanted his wife, cursed human full of himself, then came the speech of the dragon that didn't help calm his anger, that was one of the things that that he didn't like, how could be so wise and so naive at the same time, the King was about to reply when Aquila brought some sense to the situation, the advisor mentioned the most of the things that Lufgaw was going to say although she said it in a much more polite way, yet the king himself would speak again.

"Mortimus, now I see that your hundred years of which you're so proud have served you only to see a part of the world, the bright part where everyone is happy hold hands and hug leaving behind their differences, Naive!" roared "Do you want me stop hating humanity? you talk about unity and friendship and strive to join us together in some kind of comradeship, but humanity we know it is very different," Lufgaw hated talk about this in front of his wife But the harsh reality was necessary for them to understand his point of view "You can call me weak spot, a monster or even stupid animal, you can believe that in comparison to your century I am only a cub, but these eyes have seen great tragedies, these ears have heard screams of agony and cries bereaved, these hands are stained with the blood of those who I have appreciate and this mouth has desperately asked for help every time I broke my own self to become the one who stands before you, Let me tell you something, I had a brother... as a child we had no name and we always moved by fear of humans, the most important was avoid humans but they still found us, I crawled on a puddle of mud mixed with the blood of my parents and my brother fought that's why they captured him but I was a weak child that wasn't worth to kill, years later when I started to fight the hunters I saw my brother again, humans put him strange collar, he couldn't talk nor think and they usually used him to capture other species but now he was sent to kill me that's why he died, I was forced to a deathmatch with the only family I had left, that's what the humans you praise so much did with Effledus" It wasn't a topic that had mentioned earlier, he hugged his wife seek comfort and continued "No Mortimus, the hatred of Lufgaw will never fade but I will not condemn them all, I will judge each human as individual with the same eyes that witnessed how humans slaughtered, killed, raped and kidnapped my people for their own gain," looked to Dayerin "Congratulations prince you have the support of Effledus in this war, don't expect any more", of course the king hates humanity as a whole, don't hate them would be like spit in the graves of the fallens but he had a plan, his job is to be the foundation of the kingdom during his life he would be dedicated to make from Effledus a a powerful kingdom able to defend against anything once that is a reality, his successor could handle the search of understanding, a man so stained with blood hatred and bitterness can't be the bridge to the unity of the continent, so he'll bet on the future.

Dayerin pictured his father on the throne, listening to the shrill and conflicting opinions of his advisors. What he saw was a remarkable confidence, a calm air that marked him as King. That strength and self-reliance that allowed him to make rulings even if they were unpopular with some people. That wise, internal voice that he never strayed from. How sorely Day wished he could tap into that.

As he stood in Lufgaw’s Hall, young Day’s head spun. How do I know what is right or wrong? What am I getting myself into? What if this war is the wrong path? Can I really trust any of these strangers to know what is best for me and Spindewas?

One thing was for certain. He couldn’t accept his life as an exile. He had to bring about at least one thing, and that was the freedom of his mother. He had to do something. And he had a feeling that a dragon would come in real handy.

“Mortimus, well now, I think you’re a new friend of mine,” Dayerin returned the dragon’s bow. He was very flattered and still could not believe that a dragon had actually bowed to him and “pledged his fealty” to him. And not to mention all of that lofty praise...

“...Dayerin, a born leader who wears his heart on his sleeve and embodies compassion.”

If Day listened to this dragon enough, he would definitely get a big head. Which made him wonder... was this dragon buttering him up for some ulterior purpose? The eagle woman and King Lufgaw both called the dragon naive, but Dayerin was not so sure. There was definitely more to this dragon that met the eye and ear. All those battle scars... those did not produce naive dragons.

Day cleared his throat and surveyed his company with wide eyes, feeling that he must give some sort of summation to all the input he received. “Thank you everyone, for your input,” he said collectively. Some of it was troubling, he had to admit. “King Lufgaw, I thank you siding against the Emperor. Queen Sereya offers herself as bait... a most noble suggestion, your Highness.” He looked in her direction and felt his cheeks warm in admiration of her bravery. “But I plea that you don’t put yourself in jeopardy, my Queen. You don’t know Contalabutte... if you dangle the carrot in front of his nose, he’ll find a way to rip it off the string and take it. But I’ll let you make that decision with King Lufgaw.”

“I agree plenty with Mortimus,” Day concluded. He looked towards Rumples-Girl and ‘Enry and a slightly mischievous smile lightened his face. “And I look forward to working with my commanders, ‘Enry Son of Puss, the Fair Lady with the Golden Hair, and Ori--”

His attention was caught by Oriana. Something clearly was not right. The girl was wincing in pain and speaking in a voice that was barely audible. It appeared that she was being comforted by her dragon. His time riding with them seemed far away now. There was something closed off and forbidding about the way Qing Jin protected her. Yet Day strode towards them and brought his full attention to them.

“What is wrong with Oriana?” he asked in all seriousness, a slight tremble in his voice. Of all the people there, Oriana was the closest to his friend. He had known her the longest. And they rode a dragon together, after all.

Mortimus leaned into his chair as he took the lashing from Lufgaw and his advisor. They were oh so right, yet ohhhhh so wrong. He was charmed by the Golden Childs response to this debate, he had heard of her before, as he was in extremely good standing with the dragon hatchers of Matakin. He was also delighted by the princes response. A new friend in the bag! "You are too kind Dayerin, lad. You know, i was a friend of your fa-"

But he was cut short when something black and massive crashed through the ceiling and dove at Dayerin. Mortimus leapt in his new friends defence and the two beasts tumbled. Mortimus staggered up and gazed in horror at the familiar creature. It looked much like a dragon, though it was horribly mutated. Instead of the usual two wings, it had four, and instead of four limbs, it had eight. There were other revolting details too, such as spiny potrusions, lashing tentacles and exposed blood vessels. The nightmare creature dove at Mortimus with a blood curdling roar, but he muttered a brief incantation which hurled it into a wall. Before the horror could get back up, Mortimus unleashed his icy breath, which froze its eight limbs into place upon the polished marble floor.

Mortimus stood over his enemy, and uttered a longwinded incantation. In an instant, the creatures wings dissapeared, for they were not of flesh and blood, but rather, baleful magical constructs. Mortimus had drained his enemy of all its magic and, to the creature, magic was what oxygen was to other living things. It had maybe a few agonizing hours to live. "State your intent in Effledus, hellspawn." Mortimus rasped in a hoarse voice. The creature spat, "Nay." it said, the voice being female "not until you answer my question. You fought against me well, as if you knew what i am, what we are." she smiled, gasping for arcane air. "Do you know what we are?" Mortimus struggled to control his hatred as he uttered the word once more "Darahurne." the darahurne's smile widened "Good, very well, i shall tell you what i know." she wheezed "We, on Contalbuttes behest, have set up a new eyrie beyond the Kalgrist river. Contalbutte told our leader to find the boy, Dayerin, and he in turn set up the eyrie and sent us, his scouts to either capture or kill the prince. I got seperated from my scouting party, but i couldnt believe my luck. 'Should've known it was too good to be true." Mortimus stiffened at the darahurne's revelation, the prince was in more danger than he could have possibly imagined if the darahurne were brave enough to cross the border. "Thank you, daughter of Kaz'atuin. For your cooperation i shall grant you one last honor." He boomed "I shall end your suffering." The darahurne gasped "Wait, before i am granted such an honor, i must ask, who are you? Your elder aura feels......familiar." "My name is Mortimus." The old dragon grunted in reply. A mixture of pain, shock, awe and horror spread itself across the dying darahurnes face "The white warden!" She gasped "Lo, you are a modern legend amongst our people. We teach our children to fear your vengeance. All darahurne fear you as their greatest enemy." At this remark, Mortimus bent over to whisper in her ear, "And so they should." And with that he pointed a talon at her forehead and a shard of pure malachite shot into her brain, killing her instantly.

Mortimus backed away from the body as tears flowed down his wisened face, and broke down. He began to sob and shake violently, cursing himself for being so pathetic. "Your highness." he sniffled "I beg you, do not let my sorrow belie such celebration. Here, Mus Atuin." he said, struggling to control his emotions in order to recite the spell. At this ancient command, a pillar of marble rose from the floor. He reached into his rucksack and pulled out a magical stone, the one he had accused Bettina of swindling, and placed it onto the pillar, which throbbed with magical power. "As long as this stands, the palace will appear empty to the minions of Contalbutte. Also, no, i do not see you as inferior, i love you dearly. You are a great ruler, and you are wise beyond your years.I understand we all have our own posioned apple, you have just witnessed mine." He turned to Dayerin, 'Enry, Bettina, Oriana and Quin Jin. "As for you, my dears, whom i christen 'Dayerin's defenders', i would like to have a word with you after the meeting. Things have just become a lot more complicated." Then he took his leave, wanting some time alone, and as he ambled through the corridor to the balcony he broke down again, murmuring to himself, "Its all my fault."

All reacted in different ways, but still all came to something like an agreement which meant that the alliance was formed and for the first time humans and other races would fight together, although the number of humans depended on the opinion of Queen Rapunzel who should be on the way depending on her opinion Lufgaw could retire Effledus's soldiers, he wouldn't send them to die in vain but that didn't mean that he wouldn't personally fight the empire, if the Queen of Towerlot was against then he would fight as a man for the honor of his wife rather than as a King for the sake of his kingdom, if his many friends wanted accompany him in the battle he wouldn't stop them.

The first thing that surprised him greatly was when Sereya offered herself as bait, Lufgaw didn't respond but that would happen over his dead body, in fact they would have to kill him a few times because of he would return from the very underworld in order to avoid that happening, for the first time he looked with some appreciation to Rumples-Girl though he still dislike her neither liked the way she said it at least the girl rejected the idea of ​​using Sereya, though since it was obvious that the partner of 'Enry knew nothing about the history of Effledus nor the background of the King and his wife nor history of Aquila he could expect her to have those biased opinions.

Dayerin of Spindewas thanked and showed his wisdom by saying that the decision to use the Queen as bait fall on Lufgaw himself and Sereya, there was nothing more to say so the king was preparing to end the meeting but he couldn't shake off a bad feeling, as if something bad was about to happen or someone was looking at them he watched his surrounding with concern he looked to the roof just before a creature burst into the room, Lufgaw limited himself to protect his wife and before he could attack the intruder the Dragon had already done it, Lufgaw listened with some interest the little exchange between the infernal creature and the dragon.

At least now in the eyes of the King the dragon had a legitimate reason to join the war and, while understanding that there must be some dark past between him and the creaturem Lufgaw didn't like the way that proceeded, not only Mortimus make stupid questions that were worthless as intelligence, that the Emperor wanted to know the location of Dayerin didn't help more than that he wanted to marry Sereya, then he killed the strange being in the middle of room and also did some spell that supposedly would serve to make others see the castle empty, an empty castle is suspicious enough.

Mortimus underestimated him, humans underestimate him, the cursed Emperor with his infernal vassals underestimated him once more everyone there could see his full beast form,
"Sereya close your eyes" and then roared to the others "What you're about to see is something that happens on the battlefield," of a jump reached the corpse of the creature put his paw on the neck and ripped the head with his claw that threw near Aquila, Mortimus don't even bothered to clean up his mess so once again showing his strength The Beast threw the headless corpse through the hole of the roof, He didn't want that alleged commanders shrink in terror on the battlefield the first time they saw a being beheading another, there are some being that you can only be sure they're dead cutting off their head though The Beast had other plans for the head,

He returned to his human form, this meeting had stretched too so gave the final orders, "Aquila, Bring that head to the elders they have to find out all they can about that creature, the rest of the body is in ceiling or somewhere nearby in case they need it" looked at the guards" Someone clean this place and move the gem of Mortimus to another room maintaining the spell" he thought it was the best time to use that it took years to perfect,"Command the border's troops to fall back and tell all leaders that we will use Niflheim" guards looked surprised and then after a bow they get out of the room.

For the sake of the new alliance Lufgaw decided to told them the nature of Niflheim, "Using the many magic points that extend to all Effledus some selected can start a semi-permanent spell over the whole kingdom, basically we'll be virtually isolated from the outside, everyone outside Effledus will see just thick fog nor even the magic mirrors will be able to see what happens inside the fog and those who dare to enter will be lost until they die of hunger, unlike glamour this confuses every sense so don't even me could find a way without a guide stone, which are within the Kingdom will not see the fog so the general population wouldn't get scare by the sudden emergence of the fog" that spell was designed so that noncombatants were safe in casi of any invasion or war and the wounds or tired could retreat in a rather safe way, Lufgaw thought they could use Effledus as a medic camp and his wife and Queen Rapunzel could take care of that, though was a talk about that directly with the Queen. .

Reminded the Queen of Towerlot, without a guide she certainly would get lost, "Pixies" said and two little beings appeared a proper one and the one who mixed the messages which stood proudly waiting for his mission, Lufgaw sighed and said, "Go to the kitchen and tell them to prepare everything" it wasn't a necessary message but he didn't want to send him something as important "You go with the captain of aerial troops, he have to ask a guide stone from and advisor and take some of his men to fetch the Queen of Towerlot, she would be on her way but you'll lead them where she is" the Pixie bow and disappeared.

"Now my guests, you better prepare for the celebration, soon we'll have a few things to celebrate, just ask if you need something, Aquila take care of everything and don't forget your head" cleaned his hands with one of the few pieces of fabric that still had walked toward his wife and whispered her "Come to my chambers, we need to talk" and left the throne room.

Dayerin’s ears had perked when Mortimus was about to say something about his father, and then the unimaginable happened. The ceiling broke open and out leapt a monster straight from hell. There was hardly time to react. The inky black creature filled his field of vision, along with a shower of glass and stone, it was heading straight towards him...

Mortimus saved him, resulting in a great clash of white and black beasts. Dayerin found himself on the floor, and didn't remember diving. A swift glance at the Golden Girl, her arm bleeding, and he realized that she had pushed him. His attention, though, was yanked back to the conflict between dragons. He flinched when the mutated dragon tumbled into a wall. Day jumped to his feet and drew closer to the Golden Girl, 'Enry and Oriana. There was nothing he could do to help Mortimus with his battle besides get in the way, and so he thanked the stars that Mortimus had the upper hand. It turned out to be an impressive display of Mortimus’s prowess, as he barraged the intruder with ice and incantations.

The verbal exchange between Mortimus and the creature made Day sick to his stomach. So, this horrid creature with doubled limbs was what Mortimus called “Darahurne.” And what was more, the Darahurne were sent by Contalabutte to track him down. Day shook his head, anger building and making his tall frame tremble. If the Emperor was out to kill him, then that meant his mother’s sacrifice had been for nothing. He had promised not to harm her children, but to give them a safe exiledom, in exchange for her hand in marriage. And yet, Day had not spent more than two days out of Spindewas’s borders, and Contalabutte had already put a target on his head.

Is he after Morn, too?

Day watched numbly as Mortimus broke down into tears and left, and King Lufgaw went beast-berserk and decapitated the Darahurne and tossed the body out the roof. As the bloody corpse flew through the air, Day felt a few speckles of Darahurne blood rain upon his check. It burned a little, even as tiny drops. Dayerin wiped his face and dusted stray bits of rubble and dust off his jacket.

It came time for them to disperse. Day felt safe after hearing about this Niflheim thing. But if only Morn was here with him! He was hungry, thirsty and needed a bath, but he didn’t feel right about seeing to his needs when Morn might be in great danger. He had to talk more to Mortimus.

Day left the hall in a hurry along with Golden Girl and 'Enry, sidestepping the dust and debris from the broken ceiling. He hurried after the direction he saw Mortimus left. He went down the largest corridors, and finally found Mortimus on the balcony.

“Mortimus,” Day greeted solemnly, sensing something of the dragon’s melancholy mood. He approached slowly, and kept his voice mellow. “Thanks for protecting me from that... attack." He turned to the Golden Girl. "And you too, Miss. How's your arm?"

Mortimus could sense Dayerin, 'Enry and Bettina behind him, thus he did not need to turn around to see them. He let out a sigh. His sorrow had melted, leaving only boredom. His pipe, the size of a Faes arm, was clutched between his immaculately clean teeth, the smoke from the pipe weed soothing his soul.
"My dear boy, i would never let anything harm you, lest of all one of.....them." he sniffed. He put his pipe in his pouch. "Theyre up to something, you know, something so big, yet so secret that no one knows about it. I can feel it, my dears, and it is rare that i am wrong. "
Then he turned to face them. His age showed when he was solemn.
"When i said i would train you, i was not bluffing. You all have excellent potential just waiting to be utilised. I must just ask two things of you in return. One, that you devote yourself to your training and two, talk to me if you have any troubles. I am not just your teacher, i am your friend, do not be afraid of being open with me. In this war, we can ill afford to keep secrets from our allies." he stiffened "And on that note, yes, i shall tell you the implications of my relationship with the darahurne, in due time. For now though we should enjoy ourselves." He smiled, his bad mood had vanished.
"To be honest i think the ale is calling to me." He chuckled. "When you are ready, talk to me, and we shall get down to business. Make sure you tell Oriana and Quin Jin to come too."
Then he bade them leave, all except Dayerin.

"My boy, before we were....interupted." he said "We were talking about your father. Ruffador the valiant. Such a great man. You may have picked up that i make friends easily, but me and him were exceptionally close. So close that......" He stopped and took a breath, ready to drop the bombshell
"Dayerin?" he asked, "What would you say if i told you that i was your godfather?"

Oriana went to answer Day, somewhat glad he had brought himself back to her. She honestly wasn't used to male contact, at all. It was mostly when she was in the academy to become a royal convoy guard, seeing to the protection of caravans to and from Matakin. Honestly, if it wasn't for Day, she would have become one. But now, she had to save everyone's butts. A light frown made its way onto her lips. She didn't like that thought one bit.

She felt her magic spike violently, almost breaking the bubble, just before the Darahurne attacked. She gasped at the black beast. It was awe, and dread, inspiring to a young Dragon rider. Qing Jin, who just hated the thought of Darahurne alone, for he had lost his true parents to them, or so he was told, had gone to attack, his claws ready, when the great white dragon, Mortimus saved them.

Qing Jin was just glad his ward wasn't injured. Oriana on the other hand, was curious about the wanna-be dragon, as the Dwarves called them. She wanted to float up to the roof and look at the body, she had even begun to hover slightly, when a claw tugged her down. Qing Jin looked down at his ward and shook his head, signalling for later. She pouted but with a sigh and a brush of her tattered dress, began to walk to the man that would take her to a room.

She bowed slightly at him and smiled some. "You are taking us to our rooms, yes? I don't need to head there now of course but I do have some questions..." She paused here, her head tilted slightly. She wanted to word the question well. "Do... Do you know where I could find a weaponsmith? I need to get some weapons if I am to be a part of the war... Some well made armor as well..." Her forehead crinkled some as she thought. She, tiredly and somewhat sadly, attempted to remember her training. She racked her brain for the list of weapons she had felt the most "in-tune" with. If her memory served her correctly, it was the rapier and tonfa, mostly, with the claymore a close second.

Most of the party ran off after Mortimus before the Chamberlain could do his job. On the outside he remained composed but Aquila could tell from a slight twitch in his eye that he was not happy being ignored. His whole demeanor changed when the one remaining guest began asking him questions.

“Of course. Why our kingdom is home to some of the best arcane blacksmiths in all of Faecleir! They can make armor deflects blows, flaming weapons and all manner of other enchantments! In fact if you would just come this way I can show you around the armory.”

“Ahem,” Aquila said landing on his shoulder. “Don’t you think there are more pressing matters to attend to? Like preparations for the party tonight?”

“Ah yes, some other time then,” he said bowing deeply. His face seemed to go blank for a moment, as if he were concentrating on something. “Oh dear the cooks are burning the pig! If you’ll excuse me!” He said with another bow before disappearing into the floor. Aquila took to the air just before he did so and then landed on Qing Jin.

“There will be plenty of time to equip you all after the celebrations. Is there anything else you need, or shall we track down Mortimus and join the others?”

"What would you say if I told you that I was your godfather?"

There was an uncomfortable pause, and then Prince Dayerin laughed in the face of the great white dragon. The idea of the dragon being his godfather--just seemed ridiculous, and he was sure Mortimus was pulling his leg. It seemed like the old dragon liked to joke around a bit, after all. “I’d say you were smoking too much Hatchen moss.”

Day wasn’t sure exactly what Mortimus had been smoking, but it smelled strong--at least to a human. The young prince felt his head swim, just from the little bit of smoke that still hung in the air.

“Speaking of moss. After that Darahurne almost took me out, I need some,” Day reached into a pouch on his belt and produced a fresh little bundle of Beard, which he had purchased that morning. The price and quality of the Giant’s Beard in Matakin was simply too good to pass up. Day pulled out the one magical item he carried, a fire starter. He turned the little wheel on the fey-designed contraption, and a spurt of flame appeared and lit his roll of Beard. Day took a drag, and felt his troubles begin to melt away.

“So let me get this straight, Mortimus,” Day smiled up at the dragon, casually taking a seat on the balcony railing, holding his softly glowing bundle of moss. “You were buddies with my dad. And you’re also my godfather. Now, you’d think that my parents would tell me... oh, I don’t know, that I had a godfather who was a dragon? You’d think they’d invite you over, so I could meet you? You’d think that you would come to Spindewas every year on my birthday... and I don’t know... help out King Ruffdor when his kingdom was being invaded? You know, try to stop your old friend from being killed, save his wife from marrying a monster...”

Day’s voice became choked. His melting troubles turned into tears, and he bowed his head and wiped his eyes dry. This revelation, if it was true, and somehow Day now believed it was true--was absolutely horrible. He thought of all the times when he was a boy, when knowing his dragon godfather would have helped him. Maybe he would have turned out into a better prince. Maybe he wouldn’t have given his parents so much grief. Maybe he wouldn’t be a dopey Beard-head. Maybe he would have been strong enough to kill Contalabutte the moment he stepped foot in his kingdom.

“How come you were never in my life before now!?” Day shouted in a sudden outburst. He looked up at the dragon as his words echoed. He knew it was wrong to shout at a being much wiser than him, a being who had saved his life within the last hour. But it still felt good to make his anger known.

Anger radiated from his godson. Mortimus nodded as he took the lashing. He deserved to be yelled at. No,scratch that, he deserved nothing at all.
"Day, please.......please let me explain. I've always been in your life. But not directly. Sure, i met you a few times, but you were small, and damn, you were such a cute baby. Spitting image of your old man. But when you were, i don't know, five, your father and I.....we had a fight."
Mortimus sighed and looked at the forest below as a greenscale worm scittered past.
"To be perfectly honest I don't know what it was about, it was so long ago now. 'Twas probably something really stupid. But either way we both said some things that we regretted. We said we.....never wanted to see eachother again. I left for Matakin, my homeland and for the first year or so i was confident that i never wanted him in my life again. But then i thought about him, and your mother, your beautiful,beatiful sister and of course you, and i cursed myself. You were, are, my godson, i should be there for you, not willow around in some godforsaken cave! But i was.......scared. What if Ruffador hadn't forgiven me. What if he'd brought you up to hate me? I couldn't go back, for i was a coward. Instead i used my powers to watch over you, and my heart died. You'd made mistakes, we all do, but i could have been there to put you back on track. I hated myself, i still do, but still my cowardice prevailed. At last i got my chance. Contalabutte was waging war on Spindewas, so i decided to redeem myself and help my best friend. Thank the stars I did. On the eve of battle, me and your father made up. We fought, side by side, the Lion and the Levithian. Oh Day, you should've seen him, he was like a beacon of hope, cleaving into the dark servants of the Empire as though they were nothing. I personally saw him behead two Darahurne with one sweep of his greatsword. But then that traitor, Bujinnor, sniffed us out and bore his master to us. Bujinnor is Contalabutte's dragon, by the way. Contalabutte challenged your dad to a duel, and of course he accepted. To be honest i didn't think anyone could beat your dad. But Contalabutte, of course, cheated. A.......darahurne was nearby, chanting spells to dampen Ruffadors fighting ability and clouden his mind. It was him who was responsible for your father's death. I tried to stop him but he threw me into a pit with his magic. By then Contalabutte had killed my best friend. Driven by grief i flung myself at the enemy, but i was overpowered and captured. I eventually escaped, but by then Contalabutte had married your mother and exiled you. I tried to find you, truly i did. I heard how you were trying to assemble a force against the empire, and i was.....so proud." he beamed at his godson, his eyes full of tears, warmth and kindness
"Tis the real reason i came to Effledus, i sensed you'd be here. I'm a terrible godfather, i know. But i want to put things to rights. Let me help you, Day, i beg you. Let me try to be the godfather i shouldve been. Ill try and not dissapoint."
He touched Days shoulder, letting warmth flow through him
"Now come on, we shall drink and be merry. I can't wait to see you try Sourscotch!" he smiled and wiped his eyes, and was about to leave the room when a thought struck him
"Oh by the way, if it's of any consolence, the darahurne's name was Vrael."

The fey captain, one Captain Pinskunx Tipst, looked at the Towerlot Twins, aghast. One of the armored pixies buzzed forward and puffed herself up as the way warrior pixies do before they fight. She rubbed her wings together and they made a remarkably grating sound.

“Stop that, Eth,” Captain Tipst requested quietly. He was sure he knew how to handle this. Still floating in mid-air, he looked back at the Towerlot Twins.

“Your Highnesses, it is not necessary nor appropriate to threaten me,” the Captain frowned at Airna and Nanji, keeping a safe distance. “I will not fight you over a dispute of attending the High Queen’s celebration. However, I can not let you enter Effledus before King Lufgaw has word of it. I will send a courier ahead of us. Oh, and who... or what... is this? Is he part of your guard?” Tipst pointed at Liryamm the finless mer.

Lir’s language barrier had kept him out of the conversation. But he did not like the look of things. His stance was also defensive when he saw the Twins look ready to fight.

Rapunzel spoke up for him, and went along with what the Fey suggested. “Aye, he be part of my Dafarzian Guard. He will come wit’ us.”

Captain Tipst accepted this, and then turned to the messenger pixie that accompanied his force. He spoke rapidly to the pixie, as some fey have a special ability to do. His words were condensed into one long jumble, all spoken in one breath. But the pixie understood, and flew off to ask Lufgaw if he would allow the addition of the Towerlot Twins and their Dafarzian body guard.

In the meantime, the Captain lead his force and the guests on the carpet. His wings whirred and shimmered in the sun as he chattered with his warrior pixie friend, using rapid fey-speak. They flew over the remainder of Towerlot, and then came Effledus looming ahead. It was completely white, blocked with mist. The Captain held out his Guide Stone, which began to glow. The light made the mist part, and the party slipped through the Niflheim. It closed neatly behind them.

“Welcome to Effledus,” the Captain congratulated the newcomers, and then dropped to the misty ground where there was a sign post grown over with ivy and moss. “And here, we wait until King Lufgaw gives you permission to go further. By the way, you may call me Captain Tipst.”

As Mortimus spoke, Dayerin thought back to all of his earliest memories. He needed confirmation that what Mortimus said was true, that he had visited him as a small child. His earliest memory was a time when he was two years old, and it was snowing in Spindewas... a rare occurrence. He remembered being bundled in layers of warm furs, carried by his mother in a sled, cuddling with Mornalee and a puppy they once owned. And he remembered his father standing amidst the snow and gesturing excitedly at something large and white. Day had always interpreted it, in his memory, that the white form was a great snowman that his father had made... a larger than life snowman, more like a snowgiant, that was enchanted to move and talk. He thought his father was capable of anything. But what if that huge talking white thing was actually...?

Day held his tongue while Mortimus continued with his tale, the story becoming more and more interesting. Despite the haze in his brain from smoking Beard, Day paid attention. If this had been any other man the great dragon spoke about, Day would not have believed his story. But because Mortimus was talking about his father, it oddly made sense. Ruffdor had been one of a kind, a special half-man, half-ogre. He had had a way of entangling himself with enchantments and powerful beings, and meeting them on his own terms. It was not far-fetched that he would form a bond with a dragon, a bond which then became estranged. Ruffdor had been bold, proud... he was probably the one who started the argument, and was so good at shunning Mortimus that he did not speak a word of him to his son.

By the end of Mortimus’s story, Day’s eyes were wet again and he had abandoned his roll of Giant’s Beard. He snuffed the half-smoked stuff and squashed it underfoot. He took a shuddering breath, feeling horrible about his outburst. It was a lot to absorb, all this that Mortimus had told him, and Day was silent as he thought about it all. The circumstances of his father's death made his grief fresh again.

“There’s a lot my father never told me... that he never got the chance to tell me,” Day realized guiltily. “I’m sorry, Mortimus, for... for being angry.” He looked up at Mortimus, surprised by the warmth that came when Mortimus’s pearly dragon claw touched his shoulder.

“I’m game for some sourscotch,” Day cheered at the mention of inebriated merriment. “Maybe we can try being drinking buddies first, and then see how it is to be godfather and godson.” He grinned. Day had always wanted to see a dragon get drunk, he heard it was a once-in-a-lifetime sight.

He left the balcony edge and followed after Mortimus. When the white dragon mentioned the name of the Darahurne that had killed his father, it was not a name that Dayerin recognized. But he instantly hated it. “I’ll drink to the death of Vrael.”

"Aha! Very good. Very good indeed, Oriana." Mortimus chuckled as he was lifted into the air
he looked at Quinn "And praise to you, my son. A very powerful magical enhancement and concealment spell. I'm impressed that you managed to combine the two, as well as keep it conceal it for this long. I'm loving the bubble effect, very creative. You have talent."
He noticed Quinn's shocked face.
"Oh, you're wondering how I detected the spell. Well, all I can say is that I practiced. Its like most things in life, practice makes perfect. If you allow me to teach you, if you join me and dear Day's little clap-band, i'll show you a few tricks. Like Wormenhurst, for instance." He grinned "Oh boy, you'll love Wormenhurst."
"As I was saying." he smiled as the spell halted. "That was very good, Oriana. You know, most wizards that I have the pleasure of teaching have been extremely lazy when it comes to the manipulation of the air, preferring to use the easier, more aesthetically pleasing sells like the manipulation of fire. However, you, you show promise, little Ori. You bring hope to an old dragons heart."
Then he grinned mischievously
"However, there is always more you can learn."
And with that, without warning, he lifted himself, Oriana and Quinn Jinn high into the air, chuckling as they rose up.
"Smell that air, 'tis good air, same can't be said for Spindewas' air at the minute. Poor Briar......." he stated wistfully.
"Anyway. I have a once in a lifetime opportunity for you two. Well, strictly speaking, to you two, Day, 'Enry and his companion as well, whose name is Bettina, by the way, just don't tell Lufgaw."
He cocked his head at them
"You cannot argue that the Hatchen isn't Matakin's most renowned mountain, it cannot be done. Yet I must ask you, have you heard of Titan's Table? It's quite near the Hatchen and is a lot taller, its peak hidden in the clouds. In fact, it has no true peak, for, as it's name implies, it is a table mountain, the peak is flat and round. But why is it special, you ask? Well, believe it or not, it is where the prime minister of dragon-kind and his elder council reside, discussing with dwarven delegates the fate of dragon-kind, making sure the treaty is upheld. I mean, we don't want the dragons to suddenly be treated like slaves, now do we? Not that that will happen, of course, but it makes sure relations are friendly. Only a select few are allowed to know the existence of the council, let alone visit them, but luckily, a certain dashing, surprisingly handsome dragon is allowed there, and so are his companions. The council are secretive, even most dragons don't know of its existence, but if you are me, the only elder dragon alive who isn't part of the council, you have certain privelages. Oh, and the current prime minister is my nephew, but I'm sure that has nothing to do with it. Anyway, i know you were in Matakin not long ago, but I need to see them. The darahurne are on the move, it seems, the council has to know, and i thought id give you the chance to see the secret side of dragon society. 'tis rare that a regular dragon is allowed to traverse Titan's Table, and it will be the first time that humans are allowed to. I need to do some things in Effledus first, and when we go to Matakin i need to show you some things in my cave, too, but i assure you you'll find the experience fascinating."
Then he let them slowly float to the ground.
"So, what do you say?"

Captain Tipst’s concern was growing the longer they stayed at the mist-surrounded post. He hovered slightly off the ground, his wings only a faint outline in the fog. Something was not right in Effledus. He felt a great disturbance. Word had gotten to him that a Darahurne had passed the borders and been defeated... an event which was terrifying in its own right. But he felt there was something even worse happening... and he felt an unsettling disconnection to the King. Tipst’s eyes widened as he looked about him, his paranoia growing, his Fae intuition feeling tremors of doom.

“We must go to the palace right now,” he told them all. “With or without the King’s permission, I feel we are needed there.” His voice was thin and tense and he exchanged a worried look with his pixie Eth. Together they led the way to the palace.

The captain ushered the group to follow him into the Great Hall where Lufgaw greeted his guests. Once that room came into view, he came to a dead stop. The hole through the ceiling and the ground littered with rubble was a harrowing sight. But more than that, Tipst felt the evilness of the Darahurne still present. It clung to the air like a foul stench. He saw its blood on the ground where it was decapitated.

Also in the room, he saw Aquila, the King’s advisor. Captain Tipst immediately reformed his face and tried not to look so frightened. This was not the type of situation he expected to share his first exchange with her. Even in her eagle form, she was so striking. He breathed a deep, calming breath and flew forward to speak to her. He bowed and removed his helmet, revealing a head of black hair as wispy as smoke.

“Lady Aquila, Captain Tipst reporting for duty. I have brought Queen Rapunzel, and her family and guard, who insisted on joining her. Is everything sound after the....” his eyes directed at the hole in the ceiling. “....attack?”

Aquila flew off of Qing Jinn as Oriana mounted and watched them depart. A few moments later she could hear Mortimus yelling followed by a small boom.

Just as she was about to fly off and find out what happened Captain Tipst and his pixie burst in followed by a group of strangers.

“Lady Aquila, Captain Tipst reporting for duty. I have brought Queen Rapunzel, and her family and guard, who insisted on joining her. Is everything sound after the....attack?”

Though he tried to appear composed, Aquila could tell he was agitated, and it unusual for him to have brought the uninvited guest without consulting with the king. “Greetings, noble guests,” she said with a bow. “There was some sort of boom just now, I was just about to go find out what happened. So you know something? ” Before the captain could reply Mortimus began yelling again and then there was a much louder boom that made the floor shake.

Without saying anything she took off in the direction of the noise to find Mortimus unconscious on the floor (which was now considerably cracked.) Bettina, 'Enry, Oriana and Qing Jinn were all nearby. "What happened!?"

Ever since he was a little Princeling, Day was never one to obey the instruction, ‘Wait here.’

“Wait, what? Mortimus--!” Day objected as his godfather sniffed the air and vanished. Feeling abandoned, Day looked about the hall once and groaned. He was beginning to get the impression that this would be life with a powerful dragon... not being told much, and left behind because some magical showdown was too dangerous to be around.

Well, that wouldn’t do. Day had to show Mortimus that that arrangement wouldn’t work for him. “Listen, Mortimus, I’ll meet you where they serve the drinks...” he spoke to the air. He hoped Mortimus had really sensitive hearing, or maybe the walls of Effledus were enchanted to carry messages.... there were some castles like that, after all.

He continued down the hall, thinking in the logic of Spindewas’s castle layout. That ended up not helping him here, as he traversed the maze-like halls. He spent what felt like a long time being lost, but it was probably only about fifteen minutes. Then a servant directed him to the dining hall.

When he stepped into the hall, that’s when his expectations of a fey party came to life. The hall was magnificently decorated, and everything seemed to have a faceted, jewel-like surface. The ceiling was so tall, that the hall was filled with multiple levels of parties. On the ground, there mingled the talking animals and earthbound fey. Above them, winged Fey flitted about and had the luxury of floating furniture. And above them, the pixies were buzzing on their own level and gathering around flowery garlands that hung from the ceiling.

Day sat down at a table with some empty space. He looked up nervously at the parties above him, worrying that something was going to drop on his head. Or what if a fey got really drunk and passed out and fell on him? The higher parties were much more wild than what was going on on the ground.

“Don’t worry, don’t you see the magic net?” said the fey girl sitting next to him. She had to be the most wholesome looking Fey he had yet seen in Effledus. She reminded him of his sister Mornalee, if Morn were a Fey. Curious about this magic net she spoke of, Day looked up and noticed a fine sparkling mesh. It had been invisible to him, before she pointed it out.

Day talked a bit to the fey, while having a few drinks. He found out that she was a halfling, and not much older than himself. The more alcohol he ingested, the more the she looked like his sister. He kept thinking of Mornalee. “Do you know how I might find the location of someone... I need to know where my sister is. Can’t I look in a crystal ball or something and see her?”

“That would be difficult for a human who doesn’t practice magic,” the halfling advised. “Most fey won’t help you with something like that. I would try asking the water fey. I heard Nariss is at this party. It’s rumored that she can find anyone.”

The halfling directed his attention to an indoor pool that was built on the other side of the hall. It didn’t appear that anything was going on in it. The surface was still, until a blue-skinned fey rose from the water. She was gorgeous, dressed in a sumptuous net of iridescent pearls. She glided to a table and stood as stately as a crane.

“That’s her! That’s Nariss,” the halfling said. Day looked at the water fey eagerly. He rose from his seat and headed towards her. It was intimidating to approach her--her beauty was almost painful to behold. She made Day feel as lowly as a worm. But he kept thinking of Mornalee, and took his best shot.

“Hi there,” he said to her. She was nibbling on hors d’oeuvres. When she looked up at him, his mind went blank. He could only think of one question. “Can I get you a drink?”

The water fey looked greatly insulted. She frowned and her large moist eyes narrowed at him. She turned away with such swiftness that a few pearls fell from her net gown. She went back to the pool and dived in.

Day had blown it. He turned back to the table and helped himself to another drink. He noticed that there was a wolf eyeing him across the table, dressed in a fancy velvet suit. Day ignored the wolf and thought still about his sister, how much he wished he was with her right now.

Lufgaw was sitting alone in his chambers processing the large amount of information he has received today, he replaced his torn tunic dress with an attire worthy of a the King of Effledus in preparation to celebrate what was supposed to be one of the happiest days of his life and that was slowly becoming one of the worst since the he had become the King of the Magic Kingdom, the enemy had giants, dragons, even dark fey and last but not least the hellish creatures like dragons, He made a mental review on countermeasures they would need.

The Giants had a fairly thick skin which made difficult to kill but were weak against magic and Effledus troops were prepared to perform that feat either the magical beings or those unable to use it, the last consistently attacked the heels and once the giant fall they smash their necks, of course Lufgaw didn't bothered in the whole process and ripped their throat directly though that action was too reckless for anyone else, to deal with the dark Fae would be wise to use the division of enchanted creatures their speed and instinct was the most appropriate to overcome the effect of Combat Glamour in the worst case they could use a powder of Rowen fruit although that could affect their own troops.

Now he just need the information about those called Darahurne for now Lufgaw knew that they were physically inferior to dragons considering the fact that the creature's head came off fairly easily.

For some time ago the king was listening an incessant whisper but ignored it until he felt something pulling his hair, the whisper became a voice he recognized as that the Pixie he send with the Captain Tipst to pick the Towerlot Queen.

"What happens?" the pixie who was nervous as feared retaliation for pulling the hair of the king replied, "His Majesty, the Captain Tipst wants to know if you allows the entry of three people who aren't on the list, two children of the Queen and a guard of Towerlot" Lufgaw sighed, the last thing he wanted on this day was to have more humans moving through the castle but more likely that the Queen of Towerlot wouldn't come if her companions are refused entry.

"Fine, allows them" he said reluctantly and stood, he didn't get to leave his room when the pixie returned "Your majesty, they are already in the castle, in the Great Hall", Lufgaw kept in silence and began to walk towards the mentioned room to greet personally the guests "Announce to the Queen Sereya that her friend is in the castle" The Pixie dissapear quickly.

"Welcome to the Royal Castle of Effledus" Lufgaw greeted the guests as soon as his footsteps echoed through the great hall, the Queen of Towerlot preserved the beauty spoken in her stories and her two children had some of that too, the man had the unmistakable aroma of the Mer so the King found dubious the history of him being a guard, "Do you understand my words?" Lufgaw spoke in Mer language, in the Great lake lived a Mer tribe so the king knew how to speak the language though wasn't sure if it was the same spoken in the ocean, the legends told in the tribe say that decades ago a group of Mer appeared in a lake of Effledus after a storm but it was the first time that Lufgaw saw one who walked on two legs.

The presence of the Mer distracted him for a moment but he quickly focused back to the Royal Family of Towerlot "I am Lufgaw King Effledus, I would rather meet you under other circumstances instead of the bittersweet that brings us together on this occasion" his eyes fell on the Aquila and Tipst and he only said "Good job," by now probably part of the celebration had already begun in the halls of the castle so Lufgaw should guide guests there though considering the state of the hall he should answer their questions.

Captain Tipst heard the same unearthly howling that Aquila did. The boom and shaking of the floor was even more unsettling. He looked up at the hole in the ceiling, where the darker stories above could be seen, straight up to the roof. The damage done to the beautiful palace was just beginning to soak in. His fists shook. This attack was unforgivable.

Aquila flew up to investigate, but Tipst stayed as he saw the King approaching. He bowed with reverence to Lufgaw, then stepped aside as the Beast King introduced himself to their guests.

Queen Rapunzel was wide-eyed and uncertain about all this trouble in Effledus. The palace looked like it had been catapulted, and the booms made it seem like it still was under attack. Who was yelling about doom and the end of everything? Rapunzel stayed close to her son and daughter. She gained some relief when she noticed that they were still optimistic enough to tease one another. There was still hope, as the twins were ever her source of optimism.

“I’m honored, King Lufgaw. Tank you for your invitation, and accepting the attendance of Ainra and Nanji, and our guard,” Rapunzel introduced with a curtsy. Like Airna, she suppressed her accent when visiting other kingdoms. She had not spent much time in the King’s presence before, only Sereya. It felt almost like meeting him for the first time.

Lir bowed to the King, copying Nanji. He found bowing to be awkward in his fin-less form. He was surprised to find the King speaking in his tongue. The accent was strange, not as perfect as Airna’s Mer, but it was still recognizable.

“I understand you, Your Highness,” Lir replied, relief and pleasant surprise in his voice. “I am Liryamm, son of King Guurstas, of Ittamarr. I am in debt to these kind royal Dafarzians.” He glanced sidelong at Airna, remembering that he had not told her much of who he was. Somehow it had not come up, explaining that he was actually a Prince of the sea realm. He felt embarrassed that he had not told her.

At that moment, Queen Sereya entered the hall. She reminded Lir of the most beautiful of shells, more radiant than a hundred thousand pearls. And her pregnant belly was comparable to an inflated puffer fish. He passed a hand over his eyes and averted his gaze. It was a custom of the Mer, to always avoid looking upon the wife of another, especially if she is the most breath-taking sight above water.

Rapunzel’s face blossomed with a smile when she beheld Sereya. “Sereya, my dear! How are you?” She closed the distance between them and clasped their hands together. A hug was a little out of the question, as they both carried bulging bellies, Sereya’s more so. In fact, it seemed just plain impossible that Sereya’s belly should be so large! Rapunzel was sure that she had been pregnant longer, and yet she was not nearly as big.

“How long have you been pregnant, love?” Rapunzel asked Sereya, a little uneasily.

Captain Tipst had bowed to the Queen with the others. How he loved his Queen, but in a patriotic, loyal-to-Effledus way and nothing more. Her beauty did not move him like it moved the humans and the beasts. He was fey, and such beauty was common-place to him.

“My King, Lady Aquila brought it to my attention that there is an occurrence in the stories above us. I will follow her and investigate. Please, my Lord, do not be troubled.” He bowed yet again to Lufgaw and donned his helmet. As graceful as a dragonfly, he lifted into the air. His pixie followed after.

Captain Tipst landed next to Aquila, stunned by the great white mass before him. The floor reeked of dragon vomit. He had an idea that this may be Mortimus the White Warden, but his mind would not accept that such a great dragon would be collapsed on the floor in such a manner. And the others gathered were complete strangers to him. And two of them were humans! The other was a cat and a dragon, which seemed much more commonplace in Effledus. He gave the feline and the dragon a nod of acknowledgement and respect. But humans!!

“Do you humans have clearance to be here?” he questioned them. Both of the human girls looked rather shady, like Beard dealers. He looked at them with plain distrust.

“You’ve got mail.”

Day looked up at the source of the growly voice. It was the wolf in the velvet suit, who was eyeing him from across the food table. The wolf was pointing across the room with his clawed paw. Day was confused a moment, and then noticed the little ball of light dashing towards him.

“Message for Prince Dayerin,” the pixie piped breathlessly as it came to a stop, nearly colliding with his stomach. The party quieted all of the sudden. Everyone’s head turned and looked at him.

“Um, okay,” Day said, uncomfortable. He wondered if it was a reply from Airna and Nanji... or even a message from Morn! He was eager to hear it, whatever it was. But he was surrounded by a lot of questionable characters, and would rather not have them know what his mail entailed. That wolf looked particularly interested. “Let’s go somewhere private, shall we?” Day said to the little messenger. He collected the pixie into his hand and made his way across the crowded room. Now that the word was out that he was the dispossessed Prince of Spindewas, everyone wanted to talk to him. He sidestepped their inquiries, denied the autographs, passed up free drinks and invitations to other parties.

“Sorry, no time,” he repeated. “I’ve got to go.” It was particularly painful to say no to all of the enticing fey ladies. It reminded him of his hey day in Spindewas, when hoards of girls aspired to have a piece of the young prince. Not that they cared what he looked like or how they behaved, they just wanted the bragging rights that came with nabbing a prince. Of course, half of those girls had been ogresses, and it had been easy to turn them down. But fey...!

By the time he stumbled out of the hall, he was exhausted and more than a little drunk. He heard the ethereal tittering of fey, saw the flitting of wings, and knew that a few of them were persistent.

Day ducked into a staircase, still cradling the precious messenger pixie. He went down a hallway and opened a random door and went through. But he still heard that incessant laughter following him. The fey were loving this little chase he was leading, and how could he escape from magical, winged creatures, so much more familiar with this palace than he was?

It was not long before he turned a corner and found himself surrounded by gorgeous fey groupies.

“Wait, stop!” he shouted as the fey closed in on him. He ignored as best he could their invitations, always reminded of the warm, trembly pixie in his hand. And then, he had an idea of how he could get rid of them.

“Listen, I have Airy-Moss on me. And I’ve been smoking it all day... you really don’t want to be near me!” He took out the Moss he had in his pocket and held it out. Airy-Moss was toxic to Fey because it contained parts of the rowan plant. Although there was no rowan in the ordinary Hatchen Moss that Day held out, the Fey did not bother to question him, and their noses turned up in disgust. They dispersed immediately.

Day breathed a sigh of relief, and leaned a moment against the wall just to breathe. Once he collected himself, he turned his attention to the pixie in his hand. The pixie opened her little mouth and was about to speak, and was interrupted.

“I know Airy-Moss from Hatchen Moss,” said a cloying voice. “That looks nothing like it.”

Day saw a flicker of wings in the shadows, and knew that one fey was not fooled. Without waiting to see what stunning beauty he was passing up, he leapt away from the wall and dashed down another hallway. As he glanced over his shoulder, his foot was snagged by a huge crack in the floor. He tripped and fell to the ground. Looking up, though, his breath caught in his throat. Some distance down the hall there was a huge white mass, sickeningly crumpled. Figures were gathered around it.

“Mortimus!”

Mortimus’s last words to him came back with a jolt. “Wait here Day. I won't be long. If I don't die that is."