Raiyn Illander's Story

Kirrah Shay

The sudden attack in the forest hours ago still plagued her thoughts. The man who had jumped in to save her and then just walked away. He had been searching for something, but when he didn't find it, he gave her one last look and then left. She was still wounded, her leg and shoulder being the worst of the injuries. Kirrah had managed to wrap them both, but it had taken her quite some time to get to the village. Even then, she knew her blood had left a trail easy enough for a child to follow.

She didn't wish to stay in the town for long, but she couldn't keep wandering in the state she was currently in. Her vision wavered in and out as she tried desperately to keep herself from passing out. Her heart thrummed in her chest, loud in her ears as she stumbled into the town, barely standing. Even so, the familiar pressure in her chest caused her to stop and stand straight. Fear pulsed through her.

"Not here," she whispered as she looked around desperately for those who she knew had Demon Jewels. Her eyes settled on a beautiful woman with pale white hair and deep icy green eyes. Next to her was a taller man, who's hair was nearly the same color and his hazel eyes were just as cold. Kirrah's heart raced as the power inside her picked up and threatened to take over.

Dropping to her knees, her hand clutching her chest, she fought off the power that enabled her to destroy demon jewels. Fearing what could possibly happen if things got out of hand.

"Look what we have here, Talazar. The little Jewel Princess who's escaped us for far to long," the woman's voice started sweet, but as she ended the sentence the note turned bitter and into a growl of distaste.

Kirrah looked up, grinding her teeth in irritation and pain as she fought back the power. The woman dropped down next to her, drawing her blade and leaning against it. Kirrah's eyes were drawn to the pulsing black jewel settled in the hilt of the weapon.

"Come now, let it out Jewel Princess. We just want to have a little fun is all," the woman laughed lightly, but the mirth never reached her eyes.

Talazar

Talazar chuckled lightly to himself, a sick, devious and laugh that more or less rumbled in his chest than it did come out of his mouth. He smiled, the broad grin full of tainted thoughts as he contemplated what to do with the girl. Leaning on the large scythe, his eyes drifted over wounds she had sustained, and he couldn't help but feel joy at the sight of her pain. He noted her leg and shoulder, roughly patched and no doubt still bleeding beneath the bandages.

"Caused us some trouble there," he said finally as he adjusted his gaze to her face. "It's really a pain when you have to do things yourself, but then again it's all the more fun." Straightening himself Talazar stepped forward, now letting the scythe rotate in his hand and fall backwards, the blade digging into and dragging through the ground. He approached slowly, each step purposeful and somehow graceful, each move he made full of wicked intent. "Now then, we've found her, so what to do with her?"

He looked to Nira, raising his eyebrows slightly. Truly he didn't care about her opinion at all, but it seemed like the slow stalling speech, coupled with rhetorical questions that would be answered aloud, no doubt maliciously, was the best way to instill fear into a target. He laughed again as he crouched next to the girl before placing a hand under her chin and pulling her head to face her.

Looking into her eyes, he made no attempt to hide what he was feeling, how he so wanted to simply tear her apart. "It's a shame someone like yourself was cursed with such a vile power... Perhaps we can help that?" He laughed again before standing, dragging his scythe back up in the process. "But don't fear child, I can assure you, we mean plenty of harm..."

Kirrah Shay

The power of the Jewel Princess was becoming harder to bear. Her vision swirling in and out of focus as she knew she was losing herself. The words the two Shades fell on deaf ears as she couldn't concentrate on them at all to save her life. However, her eyes fell on the large scythe was dragged behind the man. Her heart jumped in reaction to the sight.

He leaned down in front of her and pulled her face up to look at him. The only thing she could recognize for a few seconds was his pure malicious intent. For a moment, she almost agreed with him. Allowing him to kill her would certainly be relief enough from the hell that she'd been dragged into. However, she knew that the other side of her would not allow for such a thing.

The man straightened and pulled his weapon up out of the ground in preparation for an attack. His proximity only made her power all the harder to control. The woman was no different. Her wicked laugh filled the air and soon they had drawn attention to themselves. The town was in an uproar, but Kirrah wasn't paying any attention to it, just as the two Shades weren't as well.

She was losing sight, her body trembling in between pain and pure power. As the weapon started its fall towards her, a black cloak clouded her vision and she was instantly pulled into a flash back of where she'd seen that cloak before. The sound of steel hitting steel was heard loud and clear.

"The only ones to die today will be you," the young man's voice called coldly to them.

"Who the hell are you?" The woman called angrily as she leveled her blade at him.

Kirrah lost track of what was going to happen next. Her mind was lost to her as she stood and drew her sword which was now powered up. The blue jewel pulsed brightly whereas it had been lifeless moments ago. Kirrah's eyes were narrowed and showed nothing but calculating intent, her gaze drawn to both of the Shade's jewels. Lifting her blade she targeted the woman first and launched her attack.

Talazar

Talazar eyed the man who dared stall his judgement, a frown forming on his lips at his sudden appearance. He then stepped back, pulling the scythe with him. Carefully he thought about his next move against this cloaked figure, then he smiled and let out another laugh as the man spoke, stating that he'd be the one to die. Unlikely, he thought as he took several paces back. Extending his left arm and bending his elbow slightly, he held the massive weapon out in front of him, tilted slightly to the right, his grip just below the midpoint of the shaft.

"Well well," he mused, "A chivalrous knight or do-gooder come to rescue the Princess in distress? How noble, yet foolish." His eyes gleamed again, seeming to shine with the thoughts that ran through his mind. "I'd ask you you are, but I couldn't care less."

Looking to his right, he watched as Kirrah assaulted Nira. He was half tempted to aid, but he knew Nira could take care of herself, and if she couldn't, well, that was her fault. Fixing his gaze back onto the man before him he spun the scythe in his grip, turning it like a windmill before him, the metal blade catching the sun's rays and gleaming wickedly, reflecting off the light in a somewhat ominous manner.

"You chose a bad opponent." Talazar stated simply. "And an audience to watch you fall? Oh, much better." He swung the weapon out to his side, cutting through the air in one large arc before spinning it again, reversing his grip and returning it to his front, now grasping it with his right hand as well, the blade facing outward and angled towards the left.

He smiled again, waiting patiently, cherishing the moment before battle, though not as much as the combat itself. "You're move."

Raiyn Illander

He glowered at the man as he pulled back. He lowered his sword in response, turning his body sideways and letting himself readjust for the fight. His eyes never left the man as he stood there. Behind him, he heard the girl get up and knew immediately that she was what he was looking for. The Jewel Princess in all her glory.

A huff of irritation spilled from his lips as the Shade before him spoke of his 'saving the princess'. He ground his teeth at the accusation, "I'm not here to save her," he replied heavily. Turning his blade slightly, his hand gripped the hilt tighter as he prepared to launch his attack.

The green jewel on his sword hilt glowed brightly as he called forth the power of the earth. The road beneath the Shades feet rumbled as vines from long gone trees sprouted up and entangled the man. Raiyn knew it wouldn't hold for long, and he wasn't even sure if he'd make the distance in time to land a blow, but he had to try.

Lunging forward he came at the Shade with his blade held downwards, preparing for an upward strike, one that would slash across the man's upper body in a single blow.


Nira Ku

"Foolish woman," she spat as she watched the Jewel Princess get to her feet. There was something different about her this time though. Then realization hit and Nira smiled devilishly, "My my, you are the true princess after all. Let's see what kind of power you're harboring shall we?"

Nira's blade cut across Kirrah's, the wind magic twirling around the Shade's in a tight hold. Frowning, Nira unleashed her own jewel's power. The black electricity cut through the air and cracked down the blade. The Princess stumbled backwards, a frown on her pale face. Nira watched as the girl reached out calmly and took hold of her arm which was no doubt numb from the jolt she'd just received.

"Hurt? I'll show you more of that," Nira lunged forward, her sword cutting across the air as she went straight for Kirrah's chest. The Jewel Princess sidestepped, bringing her sword upwards and knocking Nira's weapon out of the way in such a manner as to throw the Shade off completely.

Turning quickly, Nira just barely managed to block the swing of Kirrah's heavy sword. The blow itself jarred her but she managed to stay standing in the same spot. Grinding her teeth she shoved the girls weapon away and went at her again.

Aelianus

Aelianus came rushing forward through the streets, the chain around his chest jingling with each of his happy steps. The man had just returned from Talazar chaining him to a tree, leaving with Nira before stating simply, "Stay here and don't interfere." Now, under normal circumstances Aelianus would've obliged the man, but he was curious about this 'Jewel Princess' they were supposedly after. Finally, following several agonizing moments of wriggling, he managed to weasel, his way out from the binds, though he still wasn't entirely sure how he had done it.

Walking around the small village now, he noted a crowd that had gathered and headed in that direction. The idea that Talazar and Nira were there didn't cross his mind really as he pushed through the people, and he was somewhat dumbfounded at the sight.

Talazar was to one side, facing off against a cloaked figure whom he could only assume was definitely not the Jewel Princess. He looked towards the other side and found Nira, combat already in progression. Her enemy was a young girl, and a cute one at that. Aelianus guessed this was probably the target, but didn't get much time to think on it as his attention was drawn back to Talazar. He watched as the man was ensnared and bound by several vines and while the man was strong, he doubted his ability to escape easily from that.

Aelianus acted quickly, stepping forward from the crowd and drawing his sword, the metal shrieking as it escaped it's scabbard. He continued the draw in one large arc, the dark jewel glowing on the crosspiece as a jet of flames shot forward, encasing Talazar and incinerated the vines around him. Of course he trusted Talazar to handle himself after that, so he turned back to Nira and the pretty girl. Should he help? He really didn't know...

Talazar

Talazar grunted in annoyance as several vines spawned from the ground before wrapping tightly around him, holding fast. He glanced up to see the man approaching, his sword trailing downward as he intended to make an uppercut. Struggling against the vines, he knew he would be unable to escape fast enough and instead of becoming fearful, he simply became more enraged. There was no way he'd go down like this, not in such a demeaning manner.

Suddenly he had to turn his head, shutting his eyes as a wall of flames engulfed him and freed him. He had no doubts on who this savior was, but he felt no need to thank the man, especially not after recieving a slight burn on his arm and neck. He ignored the stinging now as he opened his eyes and looked at the man still charging forward.

Suddenly he leaped down to his left, avoiding the sword stroke with ease before pivoting on the ground and using the motion to bring the scythe around with his right hand. The blade swung cleanly through the air towards the man's exposed back, and if all else failed, Talazar would use the power that resided in the weapon, the jewel already glowing.

Raiyn Illander

His eyes widened slightly as he realized his mistake. He could feel the tingle of something coming at him from behind and he was too late to move. Next came the sharp sting of steel cutting right through his cloak and leather vest. Blinding pain exploded across his back and he arched forward, falling to his knees from the impact.
Wincing, he curled his fingers into a tight fist as he fought off the pain. Looking over his shoulder he glared coldly at the man who had cut him with the large scythe. Then he shifted to look at the young man who had interrupted his attack. The Shade had a grin on his face as he watched the fight from a distance.

The boy had used fire magic from his demon jewel. Something that Raiyn had no affect against fighting. His earth magic would be disintegrated no matter what he did. With a soft growl, he slowly got to his feet. Leveling his weapon at the Shade he tried to figure out what to do. The woman, the Jewel Princess, was lost to him on all accounts. She was blindly being led by her power to destroy the demon jewels before her.

She wouldn’t be thinking rashly like he was. Not to mention they were outnumbered. Raiyn’s eyes shifted slowly between the two men before him then to the woman that the Princess was fighting. The light haired girl was emotionless as she fought against the Shade, pushing the elven woman to her limits.

The Princess’ target was already wounded while she only seemed to sustain a few new injuries since last he saw her. Raiyn turned his thoughts to the jewels present. If he could get his hand on one, he could nullify it and that would help to bring her to her senses. However, if he did that, she would lose her fighting ability. He’d seen her fight earlier, and she was terrible at it. He couldn’t believe she survived. Unless she had help before.

Either way, they were going to need help to get out of this situation soon. He could only last so long against two powerful Shades. Not to mention he wanted the demon jewels in one piece whereas the Princess was sure to destroy them if she had the chance.

Raiyn prepared his sword for another attack, deciding to go after the newest addition to the group rather than try his luck with the large scythe once more.

Aelianus

Aelianus watched as Talazar executed a flawless evasion and counter-strike, letting out a small cheer with his success. The man beamed widely, however his joy was short lived. Suddenly the man Talazar had attacked had regathered himself and was preparing for another attack, this time however, he was coming for Aelianus. The poor man frowned as he looked around quickly, then simply bolted back into the crowd. He knew it wasn't the bravest of things to do, but he also knew he'd more than likely lose against most if not all opponents.

Quickly he weaved and twisted his way through the people, pushing them out of his path, though still managing to exchange a polite "excuse me," or, "pardon me" in the process. Upon breaking from the rear he thought perhaps he should hide behind either Nira or Talazar, so he doubled around and made a large semi circle back towards Nira. While the girl probably won't help, perhaps Talazar would, though considering how the man usually acted, he'd simply watch until he felt the need to intervene.

Running past Nira's battle he had no clue if he was still being chased, and frankly he didn't want to check behind him to find out. "HELP!!!!" he yelled simply as he bolted around in a random bee-line to nowhere. True he looked like an idiot, and true his actions of cowardice didn't help the shades at all, but he didn't care, he just didn't feel like dying today.

Talazar

Talazar smiled as the scythe's blade made a clean cut through his target's cloak, and seemingly further through a vest. He knew that while it wasn't critical damage, it would surely do a fair number on him. He straightened now as he watched the man before him fall to his knees, and he smiled. There was no need to attack again, he enjoyed letting them suffer a while or agonize themselves with the idea that the final blow could come at any moment. The fear and pain that resided in their eyes during such times was the worst of drugs this man could ever use.

Leaning on the scythe once more, he waited, looking around at the crowd with a blank expression, it changed once more to his devious smile as it fell upon the man. He watched him intently as he stood now with a slight grunt and leveled his sword. Tilting his head slightly, Talazar was amused that his new target was Aelianus. Very well, the man had no issues with this. It simply helped to inflate his ego more with the thoughts that his target was running from him. He allowed himself a glance towards Nira and the Jewel Princess now to check on the progression of that battle. Now, who to help? he wondered to himself.

Looking towards Aelianus again, he just caught the tail end of the poor man disappearing into the crowd, fleeing from the battlefield. "Coward." said Talazar as he straightened himself once more and readied his scythe. For now if the man chose to pursue Aelianus, it would give Talazar just enough time to help Nira who appeared to be sustaining some damage. This wasn't a surprise however due to the Jewel Princess' power when Demonic Jewels are present. Even if the man decided to attack him however, Talazar had no issue with that either. He was confident in his skills. Finally he made up his mind.

Raising the large scythe into the air he held it high above his head, the blade gleaming wickedly in the sun's rays, the Jewel between the two iron bolts doing much the same as he collected the power in it. He was about to slash downward and send forth a massive shockwave towards the Jewel Princess to push her away from Nira, when suddenly something caught his attention. Now he suddenly turned, sweeping the scythe down and to the right like a baseball bat at the newcomer who had just appeared from a rooftop. While normally he'd of ignored most people, he knew from her stance, the way she was gripping her two dual weapons, and the way she was inspecting the scene that she intended to help. He was not aware of anymore shades in the area, and she possessed an Angelic Jewel. A prime target then, he thought as he redirected the huge gust of air towards the new girl.

Kirrah Shay

She batted aside the blade that came at her. It was so simple, the woman before her moved so slowly. Kirrah let her Angelic Jewel power up and the air around her swirled in a rush. Bringing her blade towards her body, she leveled the weapon at the Shade as the power of her jewel propelled her forward. In a sharp gust of wind and a small dust cloud left behind, Kirrah was on the Shade in a matter of seconds. The elven woman's eyes widened slightly in fear and shock as she barely managed to get her weapon up to block the otherwise deadly blow.

Steel scrapped across steel until the sound of flesh being torn could be heard. The Shade gave a sharp scream as Kirrah's blade went through her shoulder, nearly halfway down the blade. With the woman paralyzed on her blade, Kirrah reached out for the Demon Jewel on her sword. As her fingers were about to close over the dark jewel, the boy who had jumped into the fight was next to her. His free hand batted hers away from the jewel while the other held his sword up against the Shades throat.

"Don't," he ordered Kirrah who gave a soft, irritated, growl at him in response. She wondered why he was stopping her. What could he possibly want with a Demon Jewel? Unless he intended to take it and use it himself. In which case, she couldn't allow that and so she let go of her sword that was embedded in the woman's shoulder and drew her dagger. She thrust the weapon at the boy who gave a startled shout and back away from her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He shouted. With his distance from the Demon Jewel, Kirrah returned her attention to the Shade who had backed away and managed to get the sword out of her shoulder.

Nira Ku

She had gave a snort of annoyance at the man who had run passed her and yelled for help. She could care less for the boy that had joined the Shades. He was a coward and had nothing to do with them. The group of Shades were merciless and he was far from that. Nira hated having him around, but for some reason Talazar tolerated his company. She was even more irritated with him when his shout had broken her concentration.

With that loss, the Princess before her had reeled backwards, drawing her blade to her body and pointing it right at Nira. The magic in the jewel flared up and the rush of air was the only warning that Nira had. She managed to get her blade up and knock the sword away from her chest and right into her shoulder. The wind pushed the woman hard into her and the blade went nearly to the hilt through her shoulder causing Nira to scream in pain. Then she watched in horror as the Jewel Princess reached for her Demon Jewel. She tried to figure out what to do and quickly, however, the boy who had jumped into the fight stepped in and solved the situation for her.

A sharp laugh escaped her lips passed the pain in her shoulder, "Fool. Did you think she would allow you to take the Demon Jewel?" she directed at the boy. He turned a sour glare on her, but Nira only laughed once more. She stumbled away from the Jewel Princess who was picking up her sword slowly. Nira knew she couldn't take her eyes off the woman for a moment, lest it would mean her death. From the corner of her eye she saw Talazar attack another woman who had jumped into the fight. Grinding her teeth, Nira glared at the boy and the Princess.

"You seem to have gained some friends since last we saw you, Princess," Nira growled.

The woman narrowed her eyes at Nira and didn't respond, typical for her being in the state she was in. With the power of the Jewel Princess taken over her body, the woman rarely ever spoke and she was damn deadly. Nira eyed both of them, turned her attention slightly to Aelianus and rolled her eyes. He would be of no help to them. Wounded as she was, that would leave Talazar to deal with all three of them. Though she knew he would love to handle all of them, she wasn't about to let them all die because they've been out numbered.

"Talazar," she called, "We're leaving," she hissed the last bit, rage fueling her at their failure to kill the Princess. She slowly backed up towards her two companions, preparing the spell that would take them back to their Master Kreon.

"Next time we meet, Princess, your blood will stain my sword," she yelled then cast the spell.

Tilting her head just slightly, Krisiana watched as one of the males, the one who held power over fire to be exact, began running in random zig-zags, before he yelled out for help. Shaking her head just a bit Krisiana removed her attention from the male, not really seeing him as much of a threat. Instead Krisiana's eyes were immediately drawn to the white haired male, holding the rather large scythe before her. She shifted her stance just a bit, her hold tightening further upon her blades as she braced herself for some sort of confrontation, knowing it would come sooner or later. She'd just stepped forward a bit, preparing to confront the Demonic Jewel wielder, before a strong blast of air surrounded her frame. Shifting her head downwards, she managed to keep her footing, though was pushed back a few feet. Letting out a frustrated sigh, the girls dark eyes shifted towards the male, tilting her head just slightly. "Well, guess I know who I'm up against.." Krisiana muttered to herself, while straightening her frame a bit. Shifting her stance once more, she twirled one of her short swords in her hand, the dark red jewel beginning to glow brightly as she allowed the jewel to power up.

The blades of her small weapons sparked slightly as the Jewel soon reached its full power, the silver melting into a deep red that was hot to the touch. Stepping forward just a bit, Krisiana made a move for the male, though stopped upon hearing the other shades voice. She tilted her head some, listening as the woman let out a rather pain filled sounding scream, this seeming to catch the attention of the white haired man before her.

Krisiana took a deep breathe, allowing herself to relax just as she watched the three vanish, though not before she heard the female shades words. "Next time we meet, Princess, your blood will stain my sword." And just like that, the shades were gone.

Shaking her head to clear it some, Krisiana's gaze now shifted to the young woman, still holding her large sword in a vice like grip. She studied her for a few moments, noting the amount of injuries she was currently sustaining, before her gaze drifted towards the male of the group. Not sensing a threat within them she cautiously stepped forward. This must be the Jewel Princess.. She thought to herself, stopping just a few feet away from the two, as she slipped her swords back into their holsters at her hips.

Remaining silent for a moment or two, Krisiana finally decided to make herself known to the two. "You must be the Jewel Princess.. They weren't kidding when they mentioned you were powerful.." Krisiana's voice was quiet as she studied the girl and the boy before her, waiting for any sign that either of them noticed she were even there.

Talazar

"Talazar. We're leaving."

Talazar was about to continue with a follow up strike at his new opponent when Nira's voice rang out to him. Turning, he saw the Jewel Princess restrained by the young man he had previously fought with, and Nira herself in front of the two, clutching her shoulder which had obviously been cut. He eyed the gash carefully, easily able to tell by the amount of blood flowing from the wound that it was something to worry about.

"Very well." he stated simply as he returned to a resting position, allowing the massive weapon to rotate in his grip again and fall back lazily into the ground, the blade once more impaling the dirt. Glancing around he caught sight of Aelianus who appeared to have finally found some sense and calmed down. He rolled his eyes in annoyance. If it weren't for Nira being in need of attention, he would definitely continue this battle. He had unfinished business with two opponents now, and retreating like this was not his style. Grabbing hold of Aelianus' collar he gave the man a hard shove forward, then waited as Nira cast her spell.

Looking around now he felt no need to check his surroundings. He was certain that Nira would have moved them somewhere out of the way and for the most part safe. His anger fell onto to young man before him now.

"What the hell was that?!" he yelled as he stepped towards the man. "You RAN? Are people really to take us seriously if one of our members is a coward?" Aelianus had no chance to respond as Talazar swung out at him, the back of his hand putting a bright red mark across his left cheek. He sighed, now shoving the man away as his attention was diverted once more to Nira. Carefully he approached her and looked over the wound. The Jewel Princess was indeed powerful, but Nira's skill was definitely a hard thing to overcome. If it weren't for the fact that Talazar knew who her opponent was, he'd of deemed her weak, and said that she got what she deserved for underestimating the girl. Still however, Nira was a valuable asset to the small team, and he knew the boy would be of no use at all. That meant they needed her skill.

Ignoring any grunts or slight cries of pain and or agony, Talazar ripped off two chunks of his cloak, then a long strip. Carefully now he made a rough bandage, his face totally devoid of any emotion as he tore away at shirt around her shoulder and wadded the cloak before pressing it to either sides of the wound. He then secured it with the long strap, tying it tightly on her shoulder. No doubt she would need a better fix, and no doubt she most likely wouldn't be able to do a lot with that arm for some time, but the job was done for now. Without another word he patted her on the shoulder and stepped away.

"So, what's the next move?" he asked quietly.



Aelianus

Aelianus didn't expect any more from the man as Talazar approached him, his face full of the usual anger and hatred. The back hand didn't surprise him at all either, as normally if he failed to do something right, Talazar turned to a form of physical punishment. He wasn't sure why he stayed, he wasn't sure at all why he didn't just leave, he just didn't.

"Sorry." was the man's only response as he put a hand to his face, pressing against the now stinging cheek. He wandered off to one side as Talazar turned his wrath into his own form of sympahy, though he didn't show it. Aelianus waited for him to finish doing a rough patch up on Nira and had to hold back his need to go over and investigate it himself. He knew the man was annoyed with him for now, and getting in the way of that wasn't going to help.

Aelianus would remain silent until further notice, he looked up only once as Talazar inquired about their next move.

Nira Ku

"So, what's the next move?" Talazar asked having patched up her deep wound. She gingerly touched the shoulder where he'd not been very gentle, but she would have thought something wrong with him had he been anything less than rough when tying the bandage down. With a pat he'd stepped away from her while she stood there fuming in anger about the woman who'd managed to stab her.

"Kreon has made it clear that we kill her, no matter what. Failure will not be tolerated," she ground out between her teeth. Her pale eyes narrowed as she glared at the ground. Removing her hand from her wound, she gripped her sword tightly as she thought about their next move.

"That boy is going to be a problem. I don't know what he wants with the Princess, but it can't be anything good," A smile weaved its way on her lips, "Since he's decided to put his nose in the wrong business, we can't have him hanging around now can we?"

She turned her wicked gaze to Talazar, never once looking to Aelianus as she spoke, "These towns don't have much to their buildings. Their wood is brittle, dry and old. I don't know about you, but this season has been quite dry hasn't it?" She asked turning slightly to face him. Nira let her long white hair fall over her shoulder as she tilted her head slightly, the evil smile growing larger as she put one hand on her hip and rested her weight on one leg accentuating her curvy figure even more.

"It would be a shame if one town went up in a blaze..."


Kirrah Shay

"You must be the Jewel Princess.. They weren't kidding when they mentioned you were powerful.." the woman who had joined in on the fight said softly. She had dark hair and a red cloth covering her face from her nose down. Her weapons look very different than what Kirrah normally saw around. However, the girl had an air about her that told her she was stronger than she looked.

Kirrah swayed on her feet then, her last thoughts being on who the girl was and what she wanted, as the power of the Jewel Princess went dormant again. She dropped to her hands and knees, panting as she came back to herself. With a shaking breath, she slowly pulled herself up and sat on her knees, her head tilted backwards. Her eyes were closed as she sat there trying to gain her strength back. Whatever had happened, she could tell she used a lot of power because she was absolutely wiped out. Kirrah had no energy left, what-so-ever.

A sound caught her attention and she pulled her head forward, though it took some effort, and looked to see what happened. The boy from before had knelt down next to her, his eyes cold as he looked at her. She pulled back slightly from his proximity.

"You may be the Jewel Princess, but you're not very strong," he said harshly.

Kirrah returned his cold gaze and got to her feet with a slight stumble, "You wouldn't know," she shot back and retrieved her sword from the ground. Her eyes alighted on the dull blue stone that was no longer active. She hadn't been able to summon the power of the wind since she acquired the sword. The only time she was able to do that was when she was under the control of the Jewel Princess. The only reason she could tell were the cuts along anything that she had attacked after losing control over her own body.

She didn't remember the fight, nor that the girl who was standing a little ways away from them had already spoken. So she walked right passed her without a second glance and slowly made her way through the thinning crowd. The villagers kept their distance from her as she moved by them. Her destination was the end of the town, back into the wilderness where she would continue on her way to no-where.

"You have the eyes of one who wants death," the boy called to her. This halted her steps and she stood there for quite some time staring at the wood wall in the distance that marked her exit.

"What's it to you?"

"Choosing death is the same as quitting. Quitting is for cowards, for the weak."

Kirrah whirled around to face the boy, her anger clear on her face as she gripped her sword tightly, her knuckles turning white, "Who the hell are you? What do you want?"

He crossed his arms over his chest as the wind picked up through the town and tossed his cloak around his lithe form, "One who hasn't quite yet. Your fighting style needs work, especially when your not under the influence of your power. You're out of control because you've given up and you're afraid."

"I don't care what you think, but I don't wish for your help or your company," she replied shortly and turned back around to continue on her way out of town.

Krisiana watched as the girl before her collapsed to her hands and knees, looking as though all energy had been completely sucked out of her body. A small frown pulled at her lips, though it wasn’t visible due to the cloth across her mouth. She made a slight move towards the girl, shifting her weapons into their holsters at her sides. Krisiana stopped short, watching as the male stooped down in front of her. With a tilt of her head, she listened to his words.

”You may be the Jewel Princess, but you’re not very strong.” He spoke harshly towards the girl, this causing Krisiana to frown even more before she watched the girl move to her feet in a shaky manner. She scooped up her rather large sword before she replied, almost just as coldly to the male. ”You wouldn’t know.” Letting out a soft sigh, Krisiana reached up, tugging the cloth away from her mouth as she allowed it to hang around her neck. She slowly shifted her stance, relaxing just a bit as she brought her arms up, crossing them over her chest. With her head tilted just slightly she watched the exchange between the two, continuing to frown at the harshness of the male, though also frowning at the seemingly lacking spirit of the girl.

While Krisiana knew it must have been very hard to carry the power of the Jewel Princess, she thought the girl should at least have some fight to her. She was after all, a very powerful young woman with the strength to destroy the Shades. Releasing a soft sigh, Krisiana shook her head, dark strands of hair falling into her eyes as she realized the two had finally stopped their small argument, just before realizing she stood there alone with the male. "Well... That was quite interesitng.." Krisiana spoke slowly, her shifting around slowly.

Kirrah Shay

“If you two are done… I think we should take this matter somewhere else. While I don’t know either of you..I don’t believe being out in the open like this is such a great idea..”

Kirrah looked over her shoulder to the woman that had spoken. Her face remained the same, rarely ever changing from the emotionless void she'd lost herself in over time. She turned away again, looking to the edge of town.

"Do what you want," she muttered just loud enough for them to hear and continued walking. She wasn't going to stay in town anyway, especially since the Shades had attacked her openly. Kirrah didn't want to bring more trouble to the villagers. The last thing she wanted was unwanted company as well. How could she get close to anyone anymore? With everything that's happened to her in the past several years, she couldn't allow herself to let anyone in. They would only end up like everyone else that she'd been naive about.

Memories flooded her, but Kirrah quickly pushed them away, putting them down in their dark hole once more and before she knew it she was on the road out of town. She didn't look to see if anyone had followed her or not, nor did she care.

Raiyn Illander

His cold eyes watched her as she fought back, her anger clear and her mind obviously set in stone. It wasn't that he cared much about how she'd gotten the way she was, it was that she was valuable because of her ability. No, he didn't want the power to destroy the Demon Jewels, he wanted her fighting power and her ability to find them. No Demon Jewel was ever left undiscovered by her. At least, that's what all the rumors said. Raiyn wanted to find out for sure, though the little performance he'd just witnessed was almost too good to be true. Aside from the fact that she had no control what-so-ever and had the Shades stayed longer, her power could have killed her.

He'd seen users of Angelic Jewel's go to far with their energy, putting themselves in deep coma's or dying from the lack of strength to recover. Then again, the look in her eyes told him everything else he needed to know too. She wanted to die. Perhaps she hadn't quite come to terms with it herself, but her heart was set on the thought already. He could tell.

Of course, there was the question of how the hell she had survived for so long on her own. He was interested in that as well. Raiyn wouldn't ask though, he wanted to watch and see for himself. He turned his attention to the girl who had spoken, she made the statement of staying out the opened was probably not a good idea. That he had to agree with, but the Jewel Princess was already nearly out of town. His frown deepened as he watched her long blonde hair and tall tell blue clothing swish back and forth as she walked.

"Yes, you're right," Raiyn offered, his tone was cold but it was always like that. He started after the Princess, but kept his distance, giving her quite the lead on him. He wasn't worried about loosing her. He'd easily find her no matter what, besides, he could always follow the Shades. They seemed to know where she was at all times. Then his eyebrow came down as he sensed something on the edge of town behind him and the girl that had suggested they get out of the open.

"Back again," he muttered harshly as he turned around. Raiyn unsheathed his sword and got ready for whatever was about to happen next. All thoughts of the Princess long gone for the moment. He had himself to worry about.

Aelianus

Aelianus with the aid of Talazar managed to jump up onto the top of the highest building in the town. Talazar was quick to follow, using his powers to push himself off the ground on a single large gust of wind. Aelianus smiled broadly, yet still didn't like the idea but again didn't complain. With a nod from Talazar, he unsheathed his sword, the metal emanating a dull ringing as it broke from it's sheath.

The jewel set in the crosspiece began glowing now as it's powers activated and Aelianus proceeding to swing the weapon in several large arcs, each swing casting out a burst of flames that shot in more or less randomized directions. All around below him now, houses took to flames quickly, the fire leaping up and licking at the dry walls. The people, he watched, ran in a panic, everyone suddenly dropping what they were doing to scramble around desperately, some to save their homes or families, some to try to get off the flames that clung to their clothes. They were all destined to die here, he knew, especially if Talazar or Nira failed to achieve whatever it is they wanted.

Aelianus finally resheathed his sword, looking at the destruction he'd caused. A massive inferno ate away at the wood and oxygen in the small village, sending up an ominous cloud of black smoke in it's place. Turning to Talazar, Aelianus smiled at the man's nod, happy to please who he'd become to know as a sort of older brother, no matter how abusive.

Talazar

Talazar eyed the burning mayhem below with a satisfied look. He so enjoyed what he saw, people running around frantically in a panic as they attempted to save themselves or their children. The screams drifted up to him, and they were all the more pleasing, the sounds mixing with the crackling and roaring of the flames all around. He inhaled deeply, the smell of destruction evident in the air with the smoke.

Smiling now, he looked around and found himself facing Raiyn who stood far below him, sword drawn and ready. The girl from earlier in red was with him too. Wonderful, he thought, his grin turning into a wicked smile. He hesitated not a moment as he ran forward on the rooftop and launched himself off, somersaulting in the air before landing and rolling. Coming up on one knee, he held the scythe behind him, the blade in it's usual position within the ground. Dragging it forward in his left hand, Talazar traced a quarter circle around him then lifted the weapon up and crossed his arm over his chest, the shaft parallel to the ground and his arm.

Standing from his position he swung out one final time, the blade seeming to actually scream with murderous intent as it gashed through the air next to him. Steadying his stance, he nodded to Raiyn and Krisiana.

"Fancy meeting you two here," he began, eying the two before him carefully. He was confident in his ability to take them both, and he relished the thought of the two who managed to escape his wrath dying before him. He laughed slightly, then spoke again, "We have unfinished business, and I'm here to settle it... Now, come face your judgement."

Krisiana had just taken a few steps forward, before she stopped short watching as Raiyn stopped suddenly. Her frown deepened upon hearing his hushed words, followed by him unsheathing his weapon. Picking up that something wasn’t right, Krisiana immediately spun around to face the village, her hand raising to tug up her mask over her mouth once more. As her hand dropped she unsheathed both her short swords, her gaze darting around, completely alert. Her narrowed gaze darted around quickly, before she caught the first signs of the fire that broke out upon the town. “Damn..” She muttered to herself, her gaze turning to one of worry as she watched the towns people run, some screaming while others tried in vain to stop the fires.

Krisiana half turned her body, attempting to aid in someway, the terrified town folk, before her attention was diverted. She watched in slight irritation as the white haired male from before dropped from the rooftops, his large weapon digging into the ground, before he swung it around.

”Fancy meeting you two here. We have unfinished business. Come face your judgement.”

Krisiana couldn’t help the soft growl that left her as she shifted her stance slowly to face the man once more. Her grip tightened just slightly upon her dual blades, as she spun them around in her grip. Blowing out a slow breathe, Krisiana allowed her Angelic Jewel to power up, one of her blades sparking slightly. “Seems we do…” She replied quietly, her gaze remaining locked on the males frame. “Let’s finish this then.”

As the words left the young womans lips, Krisian swung her small blade around, sending a blast of fire towards the male.

Talazar's smile widened as the girl advanced first, her reply short and simple. He really did dislike long introductions and pleasantries, and was in fact overjoyed with her jumping right in. He stood back, waiting patiently as her dual blades come from their scabbards, the angelic jewel then instilling it's power into them. Talazar's eyes twinkled in anticipation for the attack, running several options through his head wildly before she finally sent forth a large blast of fire.

Stepping back just a moment, he brought his weapon forward again, then spun it in his grip, his two hands working the large metallic pole in a circular motion between the two like a windmill, the blade trailing behind. This alone was not enough by far to defend against the attack, but now he used the power of his jewel as well, the dull black inset now glowing between the iron bolts, almost making them seem as if they too were empowered. His windmill style block acted like a large fan, the wind current blowing at and for the most part, dissipating the fire, anything left being redirected back at the caster.

He broke the movement just moments later, his arms spreading out wide to either side of him, scythe held in his left hand tilted downwards. With that act, he sent out another gust of air, though more so in a shockwave effect with himself as the epicenter. The attack rippled outwards, growing as it expanded further out, knocking anyone caught in it down while tearing through several of the nearby buildings before that too disappeared. He sighed heavily, knowing that he probably shouldn't waste power this early, but he was in a good mood, or at least his definition of good.

"That won't work," he stated simply as he returned to a resting position, though this time allowing the scythe to fall forward into the ground. "Try again, I can assure you you'll never pass." He smiled again, licking his lips slightly in the process. All around he could still hear the screams, and feel the heat. It was by his definition, a perfect day. Destruction was all around and people were dying, suffering. Before him, stood two enemies to die and he had no doubt about his abilities compared to theirs. While he still wasn't sure of exactly how strong they were, he would kill them before they got a chance to reach their max.

Most enemies played it safe with him, which was their downfall. Anyone who decided to use weak attacks to try to weigh him up and measure his skill was cut down within moments. That type of frivolous work annoyed the man, and if they wanted to see his true extend, he showed it right away. Why let them wait? And if they weren't ready for it, then they shouldn't have chosen him as their opponent. He enjoyed the power he held, and he'd use it now on the two that stood in front of him.

"Come now, don't tell me you two are this weak? Attack..."

Releasing a small growl, Krisiana watched as the Shade quickly, and rather easily deflected her attack. Not being at all prepared for his, Krisiana hunched down, being knocked backwards by the shockwave that was sent at her. Skidding backwards several feet, Krisiana landed on one knee, her head tilted downwards to keep her eyes shielded from the attack. Seems it won’t do to be simple with him.. The woman thought to herself, as she slowly lifted her gaze towards him once more. ”That won’t work.” The man stated, looking overly enthused by the destruction that was surrounding him. ”Try again, I assure you, you’ll never pass.”

The smile that came to his lips caused Krisiana to shiver just a bit, her dark eyes narrowing into thin slits. She despised this man before her already, and was quite determined to wipe the smile away from his face permanently. Slowly raising to her feet, Krisiana brushed back her hair from her eyes, fixing the man with a hard glare as she contemplated her next move. Shifting her gaze around quickly, she took a mental note of how far the fire was from their small group, and how quick it would reach them. Letting out a deep breath, Krisiana once again allowed her Angelic Jewel to power up as she started walking towards the male. Hearing him question her strength, caused the girl to give him a smile of her own.

“Oh trust me.. I’m far from weak.” She stated in her usual quiet tone. Making a rash descion, Krisiana knew she’d probably regret afterwards, she broke into a run, charging at the male. Just before reaching him, she turned slightly. Flinging her right hand out, she aimed her blade for his shoulder, while she sent a second large blast of flames towards him now, the flames licking at the bottom half of his clothing.

Raiyn Illander

The blast of wind that took out the girls fire caught him and pushed him backwards. He raised his hands to cover his face and bent down to keep standing. Sliding across the ground he was reminded of the deep wound that he'd received from the scythe user earlier. The burn across his back was more than enough to tell him that he wasn't going to be at full strength in the fight. He didn't care either way, though. He straightened himself as the wind magic died out and glared at the white haired man.

He would have lunged forward to attack the Shade himself but the girl next to him was faster, much faster than even him. Her fire licked at the Shades' clothes as she came in close, her swords leading her attack. He lifted his blade and activated the Angelic Jewel. The green gem pulsed as he pulled at the power and brought a slight tremble in the ground. Vines from deep underground trembled as they curled their way through the earth and to the surface. He directed them at the man, attempting to ensnare him once more.

Just as the vines began their tight twist around his feet and legs, the air around Raiyn tingled. His eyes widened slightly in surprise as he realized that he hadn't noticed there was a third Shade there. Unable to find the source of the magic in time as black magic erupted around him, he dropped his sword as he screamed. The magic enveloped his entire body and the black mist crackled all around him. Once it faded away he dropped to the ground panting heavily. The wound in his back seared and his limbs felt numb.

Slowly, Raiyn pushed himself up to his hands and knees and reached for his sword. A sharp kick to his rib cage sent him crashing onto his back. He coughed, tasting blood in his mouth. Cracking his eyes opened he glared up at who had attacked him. It was the elven woman who had taken on the Jewel Princess not too long ago.

"Damned persistent aren't you?" He managed to croak out in a half growl.

The woman grinned at him, leveling her long blade at his throat. The Demon Jewel cracked with power, the black mist swirling around the handle and half of the blade. She pressed the tip of the weapon against his throat and slowly knelt down over him, "I knew you looked familiar boy," she said.

Raiyn ground his teeth and didn't answer her. Her pale green eyes were shining with deadly intent, the look on her face put Raiyn in unease. He didn't like what he was seeing. She stayed where she was, holding the sword steadily at his throat. She flicked her gaze over to the Shade who was fighting with the girl in red.

"This reminds me. I've seen something like this before. I'll keep you alive until he kills her and then he can do what he wants with you. Getting in the way of the Shades is digging your own grave, boy. Oh wait... didn't she call for you? In her last moments she called your name... what was it?" the woman tapped her slender finger against her lip in mockery.

Raiyn's teeth ground together tightly as he glared at her. He kept his rage under control though, which was something that even surprised him. She was picking at an old wound, something he would have thought to have made him rashly attack her. Of course, he knew that was what she wanted. However, he wasn't just going to lie there and let her do what she wanted either. His hand had worked its way to his hip where his dagger was. The weapon was pinned to the ground by his leg, so pulling it out was slightly difficult, but he'd almost freed the weapon.

"That's right, it was Raiyn. She screamed for Raiyn as she was dying. That sound was like music to my ears, Raiyn. The way she called for you. Will this woman do the same too, I wonder?"

He didn't change his facial expression, but the dagger was free and in a single swipe he'd moved her sword off to the side and leaned forward. His hand grabbed her blade, just barely touching her Demon Jewel. The dark magic flared across his arm as she hissed in anger and tried to activate the power there. Raiyn let his own innate magic wrap around her Demon Jewel and in a matter of moments, the weapon was useless and would be for quite some time. With a shout of rage, she managed to stop his other hand from driving the dagger into her chest.

Letting go of her useless weapon, she slammed her fist into his stomach and he coughed, loosing all strength to keep upright. Raiyn berated himself for getting into the situation he was in. If he'd been paying attention he would have avoided the woman's attack all together. As it stood, he was probably not going to survive this fight. The Shade wrenched his dagger from his fingers and turned the weapon against him, slamming it down into his shoulder.

"I hope he kills you slowly in payment for destroying my Demon Jewel boy!" She cursed him.

He took in a shaking breath, his throat burning from the second cry that had torn from his lips. Raiyn would have answered her in kind, but as he opened his eyes from the pain, he noted a sharp sword held against her throat instead of his. Shock registered through him as he looked up to see the girl who had left not moments ago. He rationalized that it made sense because she was the Jewel Princess and having the Demon Jewel's nearby would activate her power and she would drop whatever she was doing to find them.

A sharp kick from the Princess sent the elven Shade off of him and the woman walked right passed him without a second look. He knew she was lost in her power and had no control, but he was betting on that part to save them from the three attacking Shades. He would have said he was fine against two of them on his own, but having been injured already and sorely out numbered, even he had his doubts. He slowly sat up and turned to see how the girl in red was doing with her fight against the scythe wielder. Only then did he notice that someone else had joined in on the fight and was currently engaging the young man up on the roof top. Raiyn didn't have time to think on it however and grabbed his weapon in an attempt to try to entangle the white haired Shade once more.

Talazar

Talazar saw the attack of the girl in red and quickly he dodged to the right. The fact that his cloak had caught flames was the least of his worries, and frankly he didn't care. Suddenly however, roots sprung from the ground again, attempting once more to ensnare him. He lout out a curse as his landing was more or less on his side, throwing off his counter-attack and saving the girl a wicked gash that would've near perfectly matched the one Raiyn had acquired earlier. He landed with a barely audible thud, his cloak trailing after him. Looking towards the boy now, he was going to direct his rage back onto him, but found Nira had it taken care of. He was already on the ground, pinned with her blade to his throat, and already the roots had ceased their advance.

Talazar let out a wicked laugh from his position on the ground, then tugged at the vines that had managed to wrap around his left arm. Freeing that, he readjusted his grip to about a foot beneath the blade, and made a short chop through the air, though directed more at himself. A smaller gust of wind came from the weapon as it broke away the vines, allowing the man to get to his feet. Looking around now, he waited and paced away slightly, eying the scene.

He was waiting for the girl in red to attack again and allowed himself a glance towards Nira as she let out a shout. He raised an eyebrow in question as he looked on her and while it seemed nothing bad had truly happened, he knew enough that nothing was truly as it seemed.

The man was about to turn away when suddenly the target materialized again. He hadn't seen her come in, and now she was after Nira. He watched as the girl launched Nira from the boy with a kick and rolled his eyes, then spoke to her. "Welcome back, Jewel Princess!" he stated simply. "I--" he was cut off. Another figure now appeared, though this one simply sped past all else after sending out a rather large gust if wind, more or less extinguishing the flames. "Damnit," mouthed Talazar as he glanced behind him, watching the man move for Aelianus. Looking away, he shrugged it off. If the boy failed, so be it. For now his attention rested on the Jewel Princess, and the other girl. Takin on his grin once more, he swung his scythe idly in his hands, waiting.

"That was good," he said more so to the girl, then he shifted his attention to no one in particular. "Now, who's good enough to actually strike me?"

Aelianus

The boy watched the scene unfold before him and was going to assist Talazar when suddenly a new figure came landing before him. Aelianus stepped back somewhat, smiled politely and stated simply, "Hi!" He had no quarrels with the man yet, but of course he knew most likely he'd be attacked. He took a few paces away, glancing around as if to find something to redirect his attention on, then suddenly pointed towards the left of the man.

"Oh look!" he said, hoping that'd distract his opponent, "Look at that... that. Arr... Uh."

Aelianus decided to stop there and simply bolted off, leaping awkwardly onto a slightly lower house, his limbs flailing before he came crashing down in a less than graceful manner. The boy slowly peeled himself from the woodwork and rolled over, rubbing his face, arms, and frankly every part of the front of his body. That probably wasn't smart, and the chains on his chest hurt terribly when he impacted. He wasted no time in continuing his retreat, getting quickly to his feet before yelling simply, "Help! Talazar, Nira!! Someone save me!!!"

Krisiana watched as the Shade easily avoided her attack once more, a growl of annoyance leaving her lips. Spinning around to face him yet again, the young woman’s gaze shifted about, seeming to search for anything to use to her advantage. She shifted her stance, keeping her attention completely focused on the white haired Shade, before her gaze caught sight of the elven woman. She’d managed to get the upper hand over the blonde haired male, pinning him with her sword to his neck. Biting her lip a bit, her gaze flickered between both Shades, seeming to wonder who she should take on. Help the blonde, or continue her attacks against the scythe wielder in hopes that she could at least wipe the smug look from his face. “Decisions..” Krisiana muttered below her breathe.

It was then she caught sight of the Jewel Princess once more. Without even glancing back, Krisiana knew the elven female would be handled with, so instead she set her sights back upon the white haired male. “That was good.” Krisiana heard the Shade remark. ”Now who’s good enough to actually strike me?” Rolling her eyes just a bit, Krisiana flipped one of her blades in her hand, before readjusting her grip upon the handle of it.

“You talk a lot. And your voice is rather annoying.” She stated softly, her tone sounding rather annoyed, before slowly advancing towards him. Krisiana then noticed the figure that rushed past them, seeming to head to the rooftops. She stopped for a second, turning her attentions onto the roof, before she watched as the third Shade, the one who always seemed to run, bolted away once more. Her gaze followed him for a few moments, hearing his cries for help before she once again refocused her attention upon her current opponent. The short blades sparked slightly in the sun, as Krisiana released a soft sigh. She tilted her head slightly, her gaze locked upon the Shade. Several different thoughts rushed through the girls mind, though she made no move towards him, knowing he’d most likely just deflect any of her fire attacks with his wind. Now what to do.. Krisiana thought, remaining cautious. From the corner of her eye she noticed the blonde male had finally gotten to his feet, though he looked a little run down and slightly pale.

Krisiana shifted slightly, before she made yet another split decision. Rushing upon the scythe wielder once more, Krisiana dropped to her knee’s. Stretching out her left hand, Krisiana aimed her now red blade for the males leg, while she skidded across the ground in front of him. This is never gonna work. She thought to herself, a slight laugh leaving her lips as she touched her angled her blade for the males right leg.

Talazar ignored the girl in front of him completely as he turned away, not caring at all if she attacked. He was certain he could fend off anything she threw at him, so far it seemed to be working. Looking up at the rooftops he witnessed Aelianus be his usual couragous self, and turn and run. What an embarrassment. The boy called out for assistance, and Talazar pondered this. Perhaps in a moment, once he finished his current battle he'd assess the skills of the newest opponent, but for now, first things first.

“You talk a lot. And your voice is rather annoying.”

The girl spoke to him, and Talazar raised his eyebrows as he turned back to face her, once more bearing the same wicked grin. She was annoyed, it was evident in her speech, and Talazar found this pleasing. He knew because her last few attacks had failed, she'd soon become even more annoyed, eventually pushed to rash moves, though the last one could probably qualify as such. He tiled his head to one side, contemplating this. As of now, he'd been strictly on the deffensive, but as it seemed Aelianus was occupied in his fleeing, and Nira had just been knocked away, that left him to face three opponents himself. Of course this was totally fine with him, especially since the boy was somewhat shaken. Very well, it was decided, time to attack. Time to kill.

"Then let us cease our frivolous discussion, and begin what'll decide whether or not you live." He sneered again as the girl rushed forward then came down to her knees, sliding across the ground before him with her blades aimed for his legs. So that's how she's going to play it. He twirled the scythe as he took a step towards her, meeting her advance in kind as he held the weapon in a dual grip above his head. The second step came down with the shaft of the mighty scythe which targeted where the girl would end up as she came at him, and even if he missed, it didn't matter.

The metal pole struck the ground hard to the right of the man, just infront of him. If it hit the girl, great, if not, so be it. He then pushed himself up on it, using it as leverage as he pol-vaulted over her. The wind jewel acted next, propelling the man further as he dragged the scythe up with him and spun up-side-down through the air, his grip reversing simultaneously as he righted himself and landed several feet behind his three opponents. His was scythe held diagonally across his chest ready to strike.

His boots thudded down to earth, a small cloud of dust erupting around his feet upon impact, his cloak trailed next. Dropping to one knee, Talazar completed the landing by swinging out with his left hand, dragging his scythe in a massive arc, his grip near the base of the shaft. The blade cut through and seemed to scream as it lead the way towards the boy, while at the same time a massive blast of wind tore out from it. The man was still smiling, his eyes glowing with anticipation for the bloodshed that had to follow. If this didn't work, he would ensure a hit it as he let the motion carry him around in a full 360 degree spin, himself standing in the process and his grip once more reversing as it traveled up the pole.

His attack had yet to finish as he was bent on not letting them get in any counters. He now began unleashing hell, spinning, slashing, stabbing and otherwise becoming a perpetual death machine, each of his strikes flowing harmoniously into the next as he attacked whoever happened to be closest, no doubt the boy or Jewel Princess. His motions became confusing to follow as the weapon in his hands was a mere blur, his speed in wielding it incredible, his stamina the same as he kept up his footing and turns. He let out a wicked laugh, enjoying this all too much.

Raiyn Illander

He watched the red clad girl go into a full on assault against the Shade. He had lifted his sword and prepared to assist her when the man threw his scythe into the ground and vaulted over all of them. The wind in his jewel propelling him further. Raiyn's chest tightened as the Shade landed near him and in the same motion the enormous weapon was heading towards him. Just barely getting his sword up, he managed to catch the blade before it hit him, but the magic was something else entirely. The wind cut across his chest, slamming the air out of his lungs. He coughed heavily as he tried to keep the Shades weapon from cutting him in two.

Having been dragged across the ground by the weapon, the man then launched into a series of attacks that had Raiyn pushed to his limits at fending them off. He was a great swordsmen, but this was a style of fighting he'd never seen before. The man before him was so powerful, he realized there'd be no way he could ever reach the scythe's Demon Jewel to turn off the magic. The blade cut into him as he fought desperately, blood seeping through his torn clothes. Sharp, burning pain cut across his stomach, arms and chest as the weapon kept coming at him.

His sword was keeping the weapon from cleaving him in two, but it wasn't enough to keep from being injured. Growing tired quickly, he had to think of something to do to get out of the bind he was in. As the scythe came in for another blow, he let it take him, keeping the flat of his sword up against his arm and side. Steel scrapped across steel and Raiyn was flung off to the side and into the rubble of a burned down house. Using the black dust cloud that erupted from his impact as cover, he undid the brooch that held his cloak and as the dust settled he used as much energy and strength as he could to launch himself at the Shade.

With his heavy cloak in hand, he managed to wrap the cloth around the deadly scythe and roll under the weapon. With a slight pull, he felt tension and he hoped that he had at least stopped the man's advanced attack, that or his cloak had just ripped apart with no hindrance to the man at all. Turning around, Raiyn tried to stay standing as he looked to his hopeful handy work. However, bleeding from several wounds, the electric shock he'd received earlier and the deeper wound in his back, all contributed to his dropping down to his knees and barely able to hold his sword up in a pitiful attempt to protect himself.

A slow realization came to him then. Raiyn was most likely going to die.

Kirrah Shay

She had left the town, but not a hundred feet out, she'd dropped down clutching her chest as she felt the burn of the Jewel Princess once more. She was shocked that her body still held so much power. Kirrah had thought that she had used up all of her energy during the last fight, but that didn't seem to be the case. In a matter of moments she lost herself to the Jewel Princess once again.

Back in town she had stalked towards the elven woman who held the boy down on the ground. He looked worse than he had before and a slight pang of fear had run its course through her chest before anger took over next and her only thought was to kill the elven woman and destroy her Demon Jewel. With a sharp kick after leveling her sword under the woman's throat, she allowed her wind magic to slice through the air in rapid succession, throwing up pounds of dirt as the Angelic power hit the ground.

The elven woman dodged each and every one of the attacks, nimble on her feet like most elves were. The sword that had held her Demon Jewel was lying next to the boy, and to Kirrah, the only Demon Jewel's she could sense were the scythe and the flame users weapons. However, the boy Shade was nothing to worry about and the least of her concerns considering the last fight they'd been in. Kirrah wanted to take out the white haired man and the elven woman as quickly as possible. Her sword came slicing down at the elf who bent backwards nearly to the ground to miss the attack. She then proceeded to pull herself into a back flip and aimed a sharp kick at Kirrah.

The hard leather of the elf's boot caught under Kirrah's chin and knocked her backwards. Stumbling, the Jewel Princess put her hand up to her lips as she tasted hot copper in her mouth. With a soft growl and her eyes narrowed in anger, she slashed her sword across her body expelling an enormous amount of wind magic at the same time. The power knocked into the elf who tried to avoid it, but couldn't. Falling backwards, the woman slid across the ground with a thud.

As she got up from the blow, Kirrah was already stalking towards her with deadly intent. The elf backed away slowly, a small smile on her lips even though a thin trail of blood was running its course from the corner of her mouth. The Shade wiped at her face as she spoke, "Interesting. You attack me, but I have no Demon Jewel anymore. What does this mean, I wonder? Are you angry that I almost killed that boy? Perhaps we should see what happens if we put those close to you through hell," the woman taunted.

As if on cue, the Shade with the scythe began a massive attack on the woman in red and the young man who had saved her twice already. Her attention quickly shot to the use of dark magic that emanated from the Demon Jewel in the massive weapon. Wind magic tore through the town, hitting her in the process. She quickly pulled up her sword and her own jewel shone brightly as her power produced a wall of air to protect her from the rest of the onslaught. A sharp kick in her rib cage reminded her that she was still facing the woman Shade.

Angered at the situation as it grew more dire, Kirrah gave a sharp shout and twisted around, backhanding the elven woman and sending her to the ground. Without a second thought she pulled as much power into her jewel as she could and prepared to launch herself across the distance at the white haired Shade. Behind her she could hear the snickering laughter of the elven woman, but she ignored it. Just as she was about to release her magic, she heard a shout from the other side.

"HAY SHADES I GOT YOUR FRIEND."

The Princess didn't stop to look. She didn't care who it was that had the boy Shade. The little coward could die like that for all she cared. What she wanted was her sword through the scythe wielder's chest and her hands on his Demon Jewel. The air around her quite literally exploded and Kirrah was shot forward right at the man, her blade leading the way.

Talazar’s attacks were brutal, never was there a break as each swung seemed to melt into the next, providing an endless flow of sheer power. Slowly, he began wearing down the boy, every now and then managing to get a scratch or some sort of cut on him. He was bent on making sure the boy wouldn’t live past this moment, and in fact held him in the highest of regards for making it this far. It took true skill to manage to live this long against his deadly style of attack. Still, he was getting hits and even if they were small, each little thing added up in the end. It was only a matter of time before the boy finally faltered before dying.

Finally after several adrenaline pumping moments, one of his swings connected entirely with the boy’s blade. Talazar watched as his adversary was picked up and flung away, the block just barely saving him from being torn in two. The boy landed in a broken, burnt down house, a cloud of dust replacing where he once was in the air, his body trading place with it on the ground. Smiling again, Talazar stood straight, readjusting his stance to a resting position as he laid the scythe over his shoulder. He then moved forward to check on the child, knowing well that he wasn’t dead behind the cloud of ashes and dust, but probably hiding.

Talazar had to take a step back suddenly as the boy came lunging out at him. He didn’t realize he had gotten that close, and knew that with the proximity, avoiding an attack would most certainly fail. Instinctively, the scythe was brought from his shoulder and moved across his chest to block whatever attack would come. Luckily however, the boy didn’t lead with his weapon, but unfortunately did something even deadlier.

Grunting in annoyance, Talazar was twisted around entirely as the boy’s cloak wrapped eagerly around his weapon, caught and held fast. The boy rolled beneath it and continued on, dragging Talazar with him and exposing him entirely as his arm and weapon were extended far out to his side. The fact that the boy could still possess so much strength and sudden speed was truly a feat considering what he’d just endured, but Talazar didn’t have any time to think about it.

Letting out a loud curse, he saw the gleam of steel coming at him as he rotated in his place, the Jewel Princess following as she harness the air around her like a rocket, using it to shoot forward at an amazing speed. Having just a moment to react, Talazar allowed himself to be dragged further, turning still to just barely avoid the attack, though his own cloak was torn in the process.

His grip on the scythe was relinquished as he definitely couldn’t have managed the evasion whilst holding onto the weapon, especially considering it had been dragged so far away. Landing on his front, Talazar grunted again as he rolled through the dirt and leapt back to his feet. The situation had just turned, and he didn’t like that at all. The boy now held his weapon, and if he still had to face three on one, he wouldn’t stand a chance. The scythe was absolutely necessary and now it was the only thing he focused on, ignoring entirely the other man calling out to him that he had Aelianus. Let the boy die, his safety came second to Talazar’s weapon.

Nira Ku

The elf startled, jumping as the soft voice came next to her ear. How in the world did the boy get that close to her without her noticing? She growled at her own incompetence and quickly got to her feet. Turning, Nira faced him and scowled. Her sword was far from her grasp having been rendered unuseable by the damned boy. Not to mention that the Jewel Princess had come back out of the blue and nearly killed her.

"Now why would a beautiful girl like you be in the shades."

It might have been a rhetorical question, but Nira sneered back at him anyway, "For pure pleasure."

She didn't have a reason, other than Kreon being her husband and the fact that what he was doing was in her favor. Of course once all was said and done, she planned to dispose of Kreon and reap his rewards for herself and possibly one or two others. She reached behind her back and felt the handle of her small dagger, a useless weapon at most but a weapon none-the-less. Her gaze fell on the boys blades. Weapons of an assassin, or so she thought. Strange for one such as himself to be wielding them. Nira then smiled at him as her long, slender fingers wrapped around the hilt of the dagger.

"Why would such a lovely young man be tossed around in the cruel world? Do you not have stability? I could offer you that much," she said smoothly, her sly tongue never missing a beat.


Kirrah Shay

Her attack fell short, but just barely. Her blade went right through the mans cloak just as he turned. Kirrah couldn't see what it was that had pulled the Shade off to the side and caused him to dodge her attack, but at that moment, she didn't really care. Wheeling around, along with the aid of her magic, she pivoted quickly and faced him in a cloud of dust kicked up from her feet.

With a frown she decided quickly on what to do next. Twisting her sword in her hands, she pointed the blade downwards and pulled it up over her head. With a thrust, she slammed the tip of the blade into the dirt and started gathering all the power she could muster into the jewel. The Angelic Jewel pulsed brightly, the blue light swirling around faster and faster as she stood there.

Her eyes were locked on the scythe weilder as she summoned her power. The earth around him trembled as well, and she turned her gaze off to the side to see the boy pointing his weapon at the Shade, the green jewel glowing. Vine's sprouted and wrapped around the man's legs, but couldn't go any further as the young boy had no more strength left. Kirrah continued pulling her power into the jewel, bringing it to a the point of barely being contained. A couple more seconds and she released it all in a torrent of wind storms.

The air around her erupted, throwing her hair and any loose clothing upwards, flapping wildly about. Then the tornado shot out towards all three of the Shades, the wind thrashing about, tossing things as they moved and bringing up an enormous dust storm that was near impossible to see through. Kirrah could feel her energy slowly seeping away as she released the magic, but she kept it up, hoping to either kill all three of their enemies or drive them away. Either way, her power wasn't going to fade anytime soon, at least while the Shades were still present.

Aelianus

The poor boy didn't stand a chance at all as his adversary quickly closed the distance between them, the man being faster than he'd anticipated. Within moments Aelianus found himself knocked cold on the ground, suffering a hard hit from the hilt of the man's dagger. The last thing he remembered was looking back to see the figure a mere inches from him. He remembered the sudden impact to the head, then found the ground rushing up to greet him in a not so friendly manner. The world went black.

Awaking, Aelianus found himself tied fairly thoroughly. Though, this was nothing compared to many of the situations Talazar had put him in. He was being carried over the man's shoulder, and he glanced around as he was then set by the base of a tree. His captor knelt before him, took his sword, and strapped it to his own back. Well, that somewhat rude, the boy thought. Either way, he still managed to smile simply because it was what he did, and because he knew that within moments he'd be free of his restraints. The man failed to acknowledge any of the knives he carried, and thus would be his downfall as far as the wiring was concerned. The chains, well, he'd made sure he was able to get out of those after the twentieth time Talazar had attempted to secure him in a place he claimed he'd be of no trouble. Unfortunately the man was always wrong, but then, why would Aelianus stay there? He was curious, and he wanted to see what was happening.

"If you stay here and don't do anything stupid I'll come back and untie you later"

The boy's thoughts were interrupted, and he looked up now still smiling somewhat, a look of total happiness and clueless-ness sprawled across his face. He watched the man stand and leave, then said more so to himself, "Or I can untie myself now and be on my way, no?" he chuckled slightly to himself as he began working his arms to find any lose ends of the wiring or chain. After a few moments of nothing, he curled himself up as best he could, bringing his knees to his chest in order to reach his boot. Withdrawing the knife from the concealed leather sheath, he worked it in his hands until he could fit the blade beneath the wire. It took just two or three strands to be cut before the rest simply unraveled and fell away. Next was the chains, but he was a master escape artist; it took him no time again to be free.

Looking forward, he just saw Talazar evade an attack from the Jewel Princess. While it cost him his scythe, it was executed masterfully. The man was truly a great fighter, though the boy knew that without his scythe, he'd be useless unless he was facing only one opponent, strictly hand to hand. Adjusting his gaze, he found his captor had his back to him and was speaking to Nira. Nira looked slightly beaten, but he knew she'd be planning something and soon the man before her would be forced away, or dead.

Aelianus quickly unwrapped the chains from the tree and slung them over his shoulder in the usual manner he wore them, then stared more or less dumbfounded as a massive tornado erupted from the Jewel Princess. It was truly a powerful attack, and one he'd never seen as it sent up a massive cloud of dust, ash and any other debris that more or less ran visibility down to zero. Now was a good time to escape, and he'd rejoin with Talazar and Nira later. Quickly, ducking away, Aelianus disappeared into the bushes, taking the wire his captor had used on him with. For now he'd find a secluded spot somewhere in the woods and wait. Sooner or later he'd be reacquainted with his two friends, or at least he considered them that. Shrugging, he was gone.