Imperia

Castle Corundar's courtyard was filled with battalions and legions of Soldiers, all ready for battle. The Giant Keep overlooking Maera was the home of the Corundar Family, the Rulers of the Human Empire and the descendants of High King Joenn I. They were preparing for war, and not the Civil outbreaks between the Barons and the Lords. A Messenger had entered the Castle not three days earlier, carrying a message for High King Haejar. It told of the broken Divide, and several ransacked villages around the Divide. The letter also said that there had been rumours from survivors that High Queen Eiressa had led the charge against the villages, her villages, in a completely different personality and look about herself, but the High King dismissed those claims from the start. Prince Rickard, despite being the one to lead the armies to their holding ground, was still in his bedroom, saying farewell to his Wife and his first child, Kristopher.

"How long will you be gone?" Oriana asked as she sat upon the double, king-sized bed. She wore a traditional red robe, with a golden trim around the edges. She loved her husband, and hated whenever he left the same room, nevermind traveled halfway across the world to defend it.

"Around a month, give or take." Rickard replied, already dressed in his Battle Armour and ready to go. "You won't be lonely, you'll have Kristopher, plus my brother will be staying to defend the Castle and my Mother will be staying as well."

Before anyone could speak more, there was a knock on the door as it swung open. Prince Andreas, the second son of High King Haejar and the brother of Rickard, walked inside, dressed in royal clothing instead of the Battle Armour crafted for him. Rickard wondered why for a few moments, but then realized why he wasn't armoured. He was staying at the Castle whilst himself and Haejar went to battle, so that at least one member of Corundish blood could keep peace in the region.

"Come to say farewell, Brother?" Rickard asked, a slight hint of sarcasm in the tone of his voice.

"Yeah, I'm getting an early night." Andreas replied, laughing.

"Ooh, getting sent to bed early, are we?" Rickard said as he placed his hands on his hips and stared into his brother's eyes, in an attempt to jokingly intimidate him.

"Nevermind that, I've got someone waiting for me." Andreas added, slyly. He was an attractive man, and had many females hoping to get on his good side in a hope that one day he might be attracted to them.

"You sly dog!" Rickard exclaimed, holding his hands up in the air in shock. "Who is it, is it that Elven lass from the kitchens?!"

"I swear to Solomon, you two are just like small boys!" Oriana replied, obviously annoyed by the conversation between the brothers.

"What?! I didn't say anything!" Rickard replied, drawing his sword. "Knave, you dare get me scolded by my Mistress?!" He was obviously joking, as he threw his shortsword to Andreas.

"I do indeed!" Andreas replied, unsheathing the steel sword and clashing the blade with Rickard's. "I challenge thee!"

"Too bad, I'm off." Rickard replied, sheathing his sword. "I shall see you soon, my love!"

Rickard exited the room and walked to the courtyard, where his squire, who was Dairan, a young noble from one of the lower houses in the Empire, was waiting for him with his horse. He mounted his steed and waited from Dairan to mount his as well.

"Soldiers! Onwards!" He yelled as the Gates were opened by a set of Guards, allowing the army to march out of the Keep. Rickard rode ahead of the legions, with Dairan following behind.

Wondering through the streets of Maera, Kyle and Eve could be seen. Eve was skipping with her arms behind her back, smiling intently. Her sword tapping against her leg as she skipped. Kyle, on the other hand, was simply walking with his hands in his pockets, slouching a little as his uncovered, half closed eye scanned over the area. His emotionless face making to reaction to anything. The two had been called over to the King, hired for their business of course. It's unknown as to why they were hired at this time, news is that the army had already been dispatched. And a simple bodyguard job would definitely get declined. The two are designed to kill, to fight. Not to watch over some old guy.

After some time of wondering around, the two had reached the Keep. Identifying themselves to the guards to be escorted inside, heading towards the king.
Inside the Keep was a massive main room, several large pillars were set up in two lines down the middle of the room to allow a dark red carpet to be placed, leading directly towards the large stone throne. A few statues stood in front of the pillars, showing the past rulers and heroes, a larger statue of Imperia's founder stood directly behind the throne, overlooking the rest of the room. The King could already be seen, sitting apon his throne. Without even allowing the king to speak or introduce himself or whatever. Kyle already spoke, mumbling of course, but using his power over sound to project his voice.

"What do you want?"

"Lord Damon-Cowles," High King Haejar asked as the Lord of Farrencliffe entered his tent, already dressed in the Damon-Cowles traditional battle armour and his signature navy cape covering his left arm. "I trust that your men have arrived?"

The tent was filled with many people, High King Haejar, Prince Rickard, Lord Quentyn Damon-Cowles, Ser Roderick, the leader of the Imperian Army, and Ser Nathaniel, the Royal Spymaster. These men were stood before a round table, with a map of the ancient fortress of Darrundel laid out before them. They knew their plan, but they knew the unpredictability of the Felyan Line from the documents retrieved from the Maeran Scholar Archives. And there they stood, discussing the plans of battle and the readyness of their troops, before one-by-one, they left the tent to attend to their duties, leaving Rickard, Haejar and Quentyn alone.

"And you're sure your plan will succeed, Quentyn?" Rickard asked, playfully. He loved to mock his supervisors and vassals, he was a young man in body, but a child at soul. "We cannot have a faulty plan at risk when we face these monsters."

"Of course it will," Lord Quentyn snapped back, grabbing the hilt of his sword and standing with his head raised to the clouds. "The Felyan Charge ends here."

With that comment, Quentyn left the tent. The Royal Family did not know the deceit in his heart, as his lies wrote a tale in his eyes. He walked away to his tent, leaving the Corundars to plan their own battle strategy whilst he tended to 'his'.

Kaijuu simply nodded and continued to walk. She had guessed that this trip would take her into the human's den and she had accepted that it was necessary to get what she wanted. Humans were such strange creatures, they built their society around the silliest of rules and then let one of them decide the fate of them all. How foolish, one man would never be able to properly decide what was best for them all, she guessed that was why they were at war now. But then again she didn't even know much about her own species either so she couldn't very well judge.

As they traveled Kai let her mind wander, she wondered what her life would have been like if she hadn't started this quest, or if her parents hadn't been killed. She had to admit she knew her life wouldn't have been as exciting if she didn't have her revenge to drive her. Her mind eventually wandered to the task at hand and she wondered about this whole demon bonding thing again. He had said if it didn't accept her blood it would kill her and that simply wouldn't do. Kai thought about if there was any way to ensure that the demon accepted her blood, to make sure that she was able to use its powers, at least to get revenge. She also thought about the monastery and just what did it mean to become a White Wolf, she had heard about the Order being disbanded and its members being forbidden to continue to hunt monsters but she didn't pay much attention to the news. Now that she was supposed to join this new Order it dawned on her that she would be expected to follow its rules and keep to its code of conduct.

"Argus, just what am I expected to do in this new Order? By that I mean, what rules am I expected to abide by. I have my own code of conduct and if the rules of the Wolves come into conflict with them I won't be joining."

"Two rules, Kaijuu, that is all." Argus explained as they continued through the densely-packed forest. "One: Wolves always try to save enflicted civilians, say a curse has been cast upon a woman, making them a monster? We save them, not kill them for they have not done anything within their own boundaries. Two: We do not involve ourselves in the agendas of Empires unless they inflict with our own intentions, like the Felyan Charge to the South, we can be involved with that."

Their conversation was cut short, however, when Argus stopped and his ears perked up like a dog's. He could hear something, off in the distance. It was faint, but seemed like a chorus, repeating in a melody. He put his index finger to his lips and sprinted off into the woods, listening for the melody increasing in sound.

Kaijuu nodded at the rules of the White Wolves, they were few and not unreasonable, she could work with those. She rolled her eyes at the "Save the innocent" thing, no one was ever completely free of guilt, but she could deal with it if it meant increasing her own power. She was most pleased with the other rule, she didn't concern herself with the agendas of mortals unless it directly affected her own agenda so this rule fit right into her code of conduct. Before she could even think of any other questions to ask she felt a change in the air. Argus had become alert to something in the distance and he motioned for her to be quiet. She cocked her own ears and managed to hear a quiet song, almost like a lullaby.

Argus ran off into the woods, she didn't run after him but instead simply strolled along. He could be running head first into a trap for all he knew but she decided to walk and observe. She used her senses to scan the surrounding area for any signs of intelligent life while keeping her eyes trained on Argus in the distance. The melody slowly grew louder and louder the closer she got to it and she wondered just where it was coming from. She couldn't see or hear anyone in the distance although there was a faint smell in the air that she couldn't quite attribute to any one species. And who played music at this hour anyways, it didn't seem like a very good strategy unless the person was trying to attract attention to themselves.

The whole thing seemed highly suspicious to Kai and she increased the strength of her flame, making it both larger and brighter. Whoever was doing this might as well know just who they were messing with. Overhead the sound of thunder could be heard and Kai's flame took on a slightly purplish hue. Before she could even summon a proper cloud and begin the storm the music grew even louder . Kaijuu found it difficult at best to focus on anything but the music, it was so, soothing. She found herself moving faster and faster towards the sound, her senses started to dull and all she could hear was the music.

Argus found the source of the music was a grove-like entrance, with the cave-like opening heading downwards into the ground. The music resonated from further down into the cave, echoing throughout the cave and bouncing off it's grey stone walls, making the music furthermore relaxing and enchanting. Argus knew the melody as he approached, it became audible, but still far off. The tune was that of a simple handmaiden's tune, sung during household jobs like cleaning and cooking. It was known throughout Ethaeri and sung by many people, handmaidens and housewives alike, but there was something about the being singing this tune that Argus was attracted to. Her vocals were so sweet, so innocent, and it sounded like the voice of a young woman, doing whatever duty she had within the cave. This attracted Argus even more, whatever this woman was doing in the cave was strange, and if she was lost, she would not be singing this particular tune. Argus came to the decision that this woman was imprisoned within this cave, and he made it his temporary duty to rescue her.

As Argus took a few steps into the cave, he definitely knew something was wrong, yet his body and his mind wouldn't recognize the trouble he might be in. The music was loud and clear, and it was the only thing that Argus could hear, and he loved every moment. His mind became blurry and dazed, he couldn't think or remember, all he had to do and know how to do is go deeper ito the cave, stumbling like some sort of undead creature, unable to pick his feet up or even walk properly.

Kaijuu blundered through the forest. Her senses were dull and her mind was blank, all she could feel was the music flowing through her. Her mind briefly registered Argus disappearing into a large hole in the ground but all she could do was follow him. The music was so familiar, it was warm and comforting and it reminded her of something from deep in her past although she couldn't pinpoint it. When she entered the cave the song was reverberated on the walls, bouncing back at her from all directions. She was sure she had heard this song before but she couldn't remember where. As Kai walked through the cave she was taken back, back to a time before her heart was filled with rage. Back when she could still see the good in all creatures, back when her parents were still alive.

Suddenly it hit her, that was where she had heard the song, her mother used to sing it all the time when she was working and Kai would listen to it day in and day out. The voice and the melody all sounded so familiar, memories all rushed back to her all at once. She remembered how happy her life had been before that fateful day and suddenly her heart was filled with a deep longing. Kaijuu had never heard anyone but her mother sing that song, she must still be alive somewhere deep within this cave and she used the song to call Kai to her. In some deep recess of her brain Kai knew this couldn't be true but she wanted to believe her mother was alive somehow and she sped up.

Kai was practically racing through the maze of tunnels, she had lost sight of Argus but all she could think of was following the sweet sound of her mother's singing. If she could have flown through the cave she most certainly would have but the tunnels were too narrow to allow for flight and so she ran as quickly as she could towards the source of the song.

Argus had lost all sense of time, location and direction. All he heard was the song, coursing through his bloodstream and lulling his brain and muscles, all he heard was the song and all he wanted was the soothing sensation of the song. It was like a lullaby, slowly sending him down into a deep, trance-like sleep. He wanted to drop down and sleep, forgot about his troubles and just sink into the ground forever, any worries forgotten and any problems solved, but he knew he must find and rescue the woman trapped inside the cave, she needed him for protection, as she would never get out of the maze-like cave system without him. He couldn't exactly remember where he had heard the lullaby tune before, but he knew it stemmed from his traveler past, but he didn't care about any of that, he wanted to forget his past, ignore the present and stay away from his future, although his mind knew that wasn't possible, he was certain that it could happen.

As he stumbled out of the long, main corridor, he entered a large cavern filled with stalactites, plants and a small pond full of fresh water. It seemed cut off from the rest of the world, the water seemed cooling and fresh, the stalactites firm and the plants were filled with pink flowers. At the end of the cavern, was the woman that Argus had been searching for. She was sat upon a smoothed boulder, her legs outstretched over it. Beside her was a wooden lute that seemed well-made and cared for, as well as a lot of the flowers that were growing on the plants near her. Her voice and vocals were smooth and soothing, as she wove braids into her hair whilst she sung. As soon as she was alerted to Argus' presence, she stopped singing. Argus snapped out of the trance he was in and unsheathed his blade, looking around confused. He had no idea where he was or how he got there, but he wasn't afraid to fight his way out.

Kaijuu was practically speeding through the cave, she wanted desperately to reach the end and find her mother but every time she thought she was nearing the end and she turned the corner there were more and more passages. She had no clue where she was, only that she needed to keep moving forward and find her mother. Her fantasy had gone far beyond just that and she had convinced herself that if her mother was alive down here then her father must be here as well. She was already thinking about all the stories she'd tell them when she didn't look where she was going and she fell headfirst into the ground. Kai blinked twice and sat up, shaking dirt and grit out of her hair.

When she stood up again she realized that the music had started to fade, it had been getting increasingly louder as she had moved through the tunnels but it was definitely getting softer now. She shook her head again, trying to dislodge any dirt that might have gotten stuck in her ears and was blocking the music but it didn't work, the sound was definitely getting fainter by the second. Kaijuu started running again, focusing all her energy on the sweet sounds. She usually hated being underground and she hated not knowing where she was even more but right now all she cared about was finding the music and her parents with it. She ran as fast as she could, not even caring if she fell again all she wanted was to get to the source of the music before it faded forever. She could hear it echoing off the walls but it was as if the original voice had stopped singing. Why would her mother stop singing, Kai hadn't reached her yet so why would she stop now?

As Argus walked around in a circle, holding his blade out in a mixture of anger, angst and fright. The rasp made by the long-sword's steel against the leather of the sheath had shocked the woman, who had stood up and dropped whatever she was doing to watch Argus. As he continued circling himself, Argus noticed some other entrances into the cavern. As the woman began to walk towards him, he noticed another woman walk out from the left of him, dressed in a white gown like the woman singing the song. As the woman managed to get near Argus, she wrapped her arms around his neck and began to sing once more. Argus' hand released it's tight grip on the hilt of his longsword and didn't care as it plummeted to the ground with a clatter, all he heard was her music once again. The other woman joined the first next to Argus and wrapped her arms around his left arm, and in a matter of seconds, Argus was overwhelmed by another woman that grabbed him in a hug around the back. The two others joined the song and dragged Argus over to the smooth rock, where the two in front of him sat down on the rock and he sat down below them, with the third woman kneeling before him.

He had once again lost his sense of time, reality and concentration. He simply smiled as the woman who sang the song first wrapped her legs around his chest, holding a pink flower in her hand. She leaned forwards and held the flower close to his mouth. Argus' mind didn't see the point of eating a flower, but the smell was so rich and sweet, and combined with the soothing vocals of the three women he felt in heaven. He bit down into the flower, getting some petals and half of the center. It was creamy and crunchy, and was like ambrosia in his mouth. He couldn't help but chew, and continued to eat the flower whilst they began to do something to him, pulling his head back and resting on the stone, removing the band that kept his hair into a ponytail and flattened his hair down so it drooped over his shoulders. As Argus finally finished eating the flower, He let out a sigh, and let his eyes close.

Just as Kai thought the music had faded forever she heard it again but it was stronger this time. Like there were more voices singing the song, she smiled and slowed her pace moving more cautiously through the tunnels. As the music got louder she could also pick up other sounds, she heard water falling from somewhere nearby and she went towards it. As she walked along she could almost imagine what it would be like to see her family again. The last time Kaijuu had seen them she had been too young to fly but now they could all go flying together and she could show them how much she had grown up and how much she had learned. She made one final turn and her eyes were momentarily blinded by the light. When they had finally adjusted to the sudden change Kaijuu made her way forwards towards an opening in the tunnel.

When she finally left the tunnels she saw that she was in a large cave. There was a large pool opposite her that flowed down into several other pools, floating in all of the pools were lilypads with strange flowers she had never seen before. Around the pools were several girls. They were who the song was coming from. Kai looked around the room but she didn't see her mother's familiar face anywhere but now that she was here, surrounded by such lovely voices, that didn't seem to matter anymore. She chuckled at herself for having such silly fantasies. Her parents were long gone, that was why she was even down here in the first place. It seems as though her laughter must have startled the girls because they abruptly stopped singing and stared at her. Kai blinked and shook her ead, her senses all came rushing back at once. What the hell was she doing down here in this cave? And where was Argus? She didn't want to leave the cave and risk being lost here forever but she didn't want to stay with these girls either. She spread her wings to look as intimidating as she could and bared her claws and fangs.

She was lost, confused, and sorely disappointed and like a wild animal she backed away into the wall, ready to lash out at anyone who came near her.

Argus found himself in a blissful heaven. His head felt like it was lying on a cushion, smooth and soft. He was lying on the knees of the main woman, and the silky soft feeling was her garment. They were massaging his shoulders, head and legs, making Argus' muscles soft and comfortable, although there was something strange about the massage they were giving him. Every time they began to focus on a muscle, the muscle began to feel numb, as if they were personally freezing his muscles from the outside. Whilst the woman that Argus lay his head onto massaged his shoulders, and the third woman kneeling down in front of him massaged his legs, the second woman continuously fed him the strange, pink flowers that Argus was growing a slight addiction to. He did not know why they were feeding them to him, but their smell and taste was delicious in their own right.

The Woman massaging his legs began to slow, yet the woman massaging his shoulders continued thoroughly, though gently, and continued to sooth and relax Argus. As Argus sensed the third woman stand up, she walked over to the small pond and fetched one of the smoothed pebbles from the edge of the pond. She cupped her hands around it and whispered something into it, making it glow with a crimson hue. She then took Argus' long-sword, which had been neatly tucked away behind the smoothed boulder, and etched a large marking into the middle of the pebble. The women whispered between themselves for a few moments, but it sounded like childish, teenage giggling to Argus, all he heard was the music, all his senses were clogged by the intense taste of the flowers and all he felt was the relaxing massage.

The women slowly lay Argus to the ground on his back, continuing to sing their sweet lullaby. The woman placed the pebble on the center of Argus' bare chest, as his overcoat and shirt had been removed by the women shortly before the massage began, along with his boots and gloves. The pebble shone crimson again and made Argus' shoulders drop, like he was either deep asleep or unconscious, but he was still wide awake and living in a peaceful, tranquil-like state. One of the women then cut Argus' left palm, which felt like a tickling sensation because of his dulled senses, and collected the blood in a goblet that was near the boulder. They began to pour the blood onto the stone, causing Argus' eyes to shoot open. He was unable to speak, unable to think and unable to blink, just lie there, away from the world.

Something was going to happen to him, and yet he didn't know why or what.

Kaijuu was dazed and confused, not sure where she was or how she had gotten there. She had her back against the wall of the large cave and her claws and fangs were bared. She looked at each of the strange girls in the cave and assessed their level as a threat before moving on to the next one. They were staring at her. wide-eyed and looking as shocked to see her as she was to see them. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, parts of her brain were focusing on her battle strategy, whether or not she should make the first attack, another part was saying she should flee and find her way out. All these different thoughts were vying for her attention, making a cacophony of noise in her head and then suddenly, it all stopped.

She had been so absorbed in what was happening within her that she didn't notice what was happening without. The girls had started to sing again, as harmonious as ever, and the music drowned out everything else. Now there was no question as to whether she'd stay or go, or attack first. She was staying and right now she couldn't dream of harming these girls even if they did attack her. She folded her wings, her claws receded, and her fangs sank back into her jaw. She swayed from side to side and smiled, enjoying the loveliness of the song. She didn't even mind when the girls approached her, there were four of them. Two of them held her hands and the other two held her arms, they gently led her towards the pools.

Kai was led to sit at the edge of the pools, her feet dangling in the water of the one below and her hair gently floating in the one above. One of the girls sat on the side of the pool above and began washing her hair and massaging her temples while another rubbed her feet. She sighed and relaxed for the first time in what seemed like decades, another of the girls massaged her shoulders and the fourth one was collecting the strange flowers from the pools. Kai didn't know what she was going to do with the flowers but she didn't particularly care. All she wanted to do was stay and listen to the music and feel their relaxing touch.

As Argus' eyes shot open, the pressure of the stone on his chest alarming him, the women knew he had broken out of the trance they had entered him into. The three looked upon each other, shocked, and then realized that their singing enchantment must have worn off when they began their second. Even though they were skilled mages, these women had not grasped enchantment, and thus had no idea what enchantments disabled others, and so on and forth. In a rush of both fright and angst, one of the women snatched the stone from his chest, awakening Argus truly from his trance. He tried to stand up, but his body was weakened from he strange massage he was given, and so he simply slumped back down to the ground. The women smiled at their weakened prey, and the two others watched as the leading woman, who had massaged his shoulders, knelt down by his side and and looked into his eyes, before smiling at him and beginning her melody once again, causing Argus to slump into her arms.

She giggled like a schoolgirl for a few seconds while she held him in her arms, before ordering the other women to grab his arms, which they hastily did and slumped his limp arms over their shoulders. They then dragged him through one of the cave tunnels, with the women's leader singing behind them, trying to keep Argus in the peaceful sleep they had him in. They had left his shirt and overcoat, along with his weapons and bags, in the former room as they would not be needed by him or them any longer. They would be burned, as is custom to anything that is discarded.

They brought him into a strange room, with pools flowing into one another in a calm and slow manner. In the middle of the room, at one of the pools, there were some more girls crowded around it, seemingly massaging someone sat at the edge of the pool, lying her head in the pool above, her hair wet. As Argus tried to lift his head up, his vision still blurry and his muscles weak, he could make out the facial features of the woman...

Kaijuu.

Sorry, accidental post...

Kai had never felt more at ease. She knew it was dangerous to let her guard down but she was enjoying her massage so much that she couldn't really think much about that. The woman who had been collecting the flowers came over and placed one under her nose, its scent was so sweet, Kai took a deep whiff of it. It smelled like everything else in this place, heavenly. The woman moved the flower and gently pressed it against her lips. Without even thinking she took a bite of it, it tasted just as good as it smelled and she smiled as she chewed. Every time they touched her it felt like all her muscles turned to jelly. She eventually ended up feeling like a mass of relaxation, in the same way her hair flowed with the water she was simply going with the flow. Kai couldn't move even if she wanted to, not that she did of course, who would ever want to leave this place?

The woman kept feeding her flowers while the one that was massaging her shoulders placed a small red stone on her forehead. She didn't know why it was there but she didn't much care. Maybe the girls were going to give her jewelry or some shiny objects. She sighed and leaned her head even further back in the water, feeling a momentary dull pain where they had cut her hand. The woman turned her wrist slightly to allow the blood to drain into a cup she had with her and Kai briefly wondered what they were going to do with her blood. Before she could even try to ask she heard footsteps approaching from one of the other tunnels that led into the cave. She turned her head, slowly and saw another group of girls come in carrying something.

It was a large bundle and she wondered how they were able to carry it all by themselves. It looked sort of familiar actually, she squinted and looked closer at it. Then it hit her, it was Argus! They were carrying Argus into the room, her eyes shot open and she looked back at the girl who had been collecting her blood. She had started to pour the liquid onto the stone on Kai's forehead and before Kai could even attempt to struggle she lifted the stone off of her head flipped it upside down and pressed it back into Kai's forehead. Everything then went dark.

Even though Argus knew it was Kaijuu, he was in too much of a disorientated and delirious state that he didn't and couldn't acknowledge that she was there, and in any kind of danger. These were not normal women, these were magic users, enchanters using maleficarum, and he knew they had to be slain. Yet his mind and feelings had been separated, and he was stuck in the blissful state that they wanted him in, with their soothing singing and their relaxing massages, he was completely under their spell. Argus' mind couldn't help thinking they were preparing him for something, and although he couldn't get a clear glimpse of Kaijuu, he managed to see the goblet full of a crimson liquid, her blood, before they placed him down beside one of the pools, gently placing his head backwards.

One of the women still held the goblet of blood in her hand and another had his stone, whilst the leader once again sang to him and massaged his temples and shoulders, which made him unable to move or think. The women once again placed the stone onto his body, but instead placing it down onto his forehead. The leader removed the strands of hair covering the stone's etchings and held his head back, bathing his white, albino-like hair in the warm water. He was unable to find out what was going on, and couldn't find the power or concentration to use his White-Wolven Magic, and he simply didn't want to.

As the women went to pour his blood onto the stone, he mustered enough strength to roll to one side, sending the stone sliding off his forehead. The women looked at each other, and remembered the flowers. One of the women went over to their companions tending to Kaijuu and took a pair of their flowers, and returned to her companions. They placed Argus on his back and made him eat the flowers once more, relaxing him even more and allowing them to place the stone on his forehead with ease and pour the blood onto the stone...

When Kaijuu opened her eyes again she was a different woman. She had entirely forgotten about the outside world, the White Wolves, she had even forgotten about her mission of vengeance. All she remembered was the sweet taste of the flowers and of course, the music.The women released her and she felt an incredible peacefulness, she smiled and made her way over to Argus. She waded through the pool instead of walking around, her senses were so dull she could barely feel the water even though it reached up to her waist. Her hair was soaked and the water dripped down her back and splashed softly in the pool below.

The cut to her wrist had already healed itself by the time she reached Argus and sat on the edge of the pool beside him. He had a stone similar to hers on his chest and a woman had a cup full of what she assumed was his blood just like the one who'd had hers. She was just about to pour it onto the stone when he turned and the blood missed, instead of hitting the stone it ran harmlessly down the side of his face and the stone slid down the other side. Kaijuu laughed, she could see why Argus didn't want to join them but he simply didn't know what he was missing out on. Once he became one of them he would never want, or need, to go anywhere else for any reason. They could stay down here and be blissfully happy with their new clan, forever.

One of them went over to the women that had been tending to Kai and took a pair of their flowers. Kaijuu sat passively by as these strange women fed the flowers to him, returned the stone to its rightful position on his chest, and tried again to make him one of them.

Argus somehow managed to chuckle when they poured the blood onto the stone. As they flipped it over and pressed it into his forehead, everything went dark for a moment. Argus sat upright and looked around at the women, including Kaijuu, who he knew already had been enchanted by the maleficarum these women had. He stood upright and let out a long and loud Wolf Howl, before his eyes became almost reptilian, his pupils long and like a feline's and his irises like fire. He stared at the women like a lion chasing prey and laughed, before whispering something and clicking his fingers, allowing flames to erupt from his fingernails.

"Ladies, ladies," Argus said as he looked at them, all of them with shocked looks on their faces. "You're all amateur, seriously? Enchantment?"

Before he could say anything else, the leader of the women lunged at him and caught a stiff, clubbing left hand to her chin, sending her backwards into a pool with a scorched chin. He released his fist and looked at the other women, before seeing the stone that held Kaijuu's mind beside the pool she had. He knew these enchantments, these women were the Lotophagi, known by any other means as the Lotus-Eaters, three seductresses that lured men and women to their lair and bound them to themselves by using stones grafted with ancient Elvish. These graftings were filled with the blood of the enchantee, and was pressed into the forehead, thus dragging the mind out and trapping it within the blood of the stone.

Argus knew he had to get that stone and destroy it, but these women would try and do whatever they could to stop him. The singing was the worst part, he couldn't stop that, and he couldn't hurt Kaijuu. He needed his weapons, his shirt and overcoat, and his potions, all within the other room.

If Kaijuu retained all of her feelings and emotions, she would truly see the power of a White Wolf now.

Kaijuu watched as Argus broke free of their spell. Actually, it looked like he hadn't even been enchanted at all. He sat up and said something snarky but before he could say anything more one of the sisters lunged at him. Kai could have told her it was pointless but she found that out pretty soon after Argus broke her jaw and sent her flying. Kaijuu smiled, brute force wouldn't work, not on him. They needed to be subtle and careful about this. She stood up and waded a little way out into the pool, watching him. His fists were still flaming and it didn't look as if he were going to come along easily. Tact had never been her strong suit but she was sure that if she could get him to see things her way he would gladly join them in eternal bliss.

She approached him carefully, wading through the water and placed a hand on his shoulder. The rest of the girls were still singing and although she didn't know the song she looked at him with the softest expression she could muster. Her eyes and hands were now fully human meaning that she couldn't see as well as she could have with her dragon's eyes. But it did mean that her eyes looked gentler and less threatening and hopefully they had a calming effect on Argus. She softened her voice as much as she could and when she spoke she almost didn't recognize it. "Argus, it's okay. Just let it happen, it's so peaceful this way I'm sure you'd love it. You can just lay back and relax, never have a care in the world ever again. Doesn't that sound great?"

She hoped that had worked, it was the honest truth and she hoped it had gotten through to him. She really did want him to feel as happy and calm as she did and the only way to do that was to let the sisters change him.

"You don't see it, do you?" Argus said, throwing her hand from his shoulder. He didn't need intimacy, this wasn't her, simply a brainwashed, mindless husk of Kaijuu wrought of feelings, instead filled with apathy and peace. "You've been branded, on your forehead."

Argus was in Wolf Form, their singing didn't faze him and neither did her petty feelings and soft voice, she wasn't getting through to him. He was filled with the demonic power that was given to him, his irises purple instead of hazel and his pupils straight like a feline's. He had transformed, and had shown his power as he watched the women squirm around on the floor, trying to readjust her jaw, which was dislocated and possibly broken underneath the burnt skin. Whether or not he'd have to hurt her to snap her out, Argus would have to see, but Kaijuu wasn't budging in her mind, because it simply didn't belong to her.

"You're not You, you're simply like them, wrought of feeling and filled with apathy. You'll stay here for eternity, and forever eat flowers or whatever else you do, think of your damn family, Kai!"

Kai felt a twinge in her head, something wasn't right but before she could put her finger on it the music filled her ears once more and she was again filled with bliss. It became clear that the other women were going to be tending to their injured friend for some time but Kaijuu knew she had to convince Argus to join them. Once he felt the pure joy of the lotophagi he would see just how wonderful it was down here and he would never want to leave. She had to convince him to join them, she just had to. "Oh but I don't mind if I'm not me. Whoever I am I just love being her. It's so peaceful like this Argus, you don't have a care in the world. Plus you can't tell me those flowers aren't delicious, I never knew how good vegetation could taste, you just have to join me!"

Instead of just resting a hand on his shoulder she took more drastic measures. She didn't want him to feel like he was being forced into this but she didn't want him going anywhere either and the sisters were preoccupied so she would have to keep him here on her own. She grabbed his arm and held it tight, her teeth lightly nipping his shoulder. She didn't want to hurt him but if she had to injure him to get him to stay she would. The sisters could always heal him afterwards anyway. She wasn't using her dragon teeth so that she could put pressure on his shoulder without breaking the skin. But if she needed to she could easily switch to the more powerful, sharper dragon teeth.

She continued to speak to him although her words were slightly garbled and her voice no longer had its silky quality. " I 'on't want to hurt oo but I need oo to 'isten to me."