Morlay

Rivera felt the zombie, she felt the current go through Locien. She didn't think. She didn't have to. Of course, timing was also of the essence when she moved. Something hit her. At first, all she registered that she was dazed. But when she couldn't move...she knew. Everything was so...clear. Her hearing, her sense of touch and pain. The cold of the snow as she lay on the ground.

Ildhrenion was powerful. But he had been too preoccupied with Locien to keep up his battle witht he zombie, and Rivera had completely forgotten him. The bandits were watching their unconcious leader fall to the ground, followed by Rivera, the blade of the axe sticking ou of her right side. The zombie, not able to move past the wall of magic himself, had thrown the axe, and Rivera hadn't even noticed it until well after it had hit her, and the shock had passed somewhat.

She heard men scrambling, and then heard the worst sound of all. She heard her brother yelling her name. It was hard to breath, it was hard to do anything, but she could still feel her brother there. He reached her first. She felt his hand try to repress the blood. Rivera lifted it off her, as well as did her best to keep the others from her. Struggling to breath and stay concious, she put her left hand up to Theodin's face, smearing it with her own blood, but saying softly,

"Wux...zklaen troth jacioniv jaka. Wux re wer..annyo. Clax...doege di...jacioniv...Turalisj Isthasy." ("You...must protect her now. You are the... last. Take...care of...her...Big Brother.")

Her hand fell as soon as she stopped speaking. She knew she was dying. With her last breath, she said one thing.

"Veyet'toon, Locien. Si mi bivai... si itov wux."
("Goodbye, Locien. I am sorry...I love you.")
Her eyes stilled, fading. Her body stopped moving. She had died, and all Theodin could do was stare down at his sisters' body in shock.

Ildhrenion was shocked as he watched Rivera pass from the world of the living into the afterlife. He closed his eyes as he said a small prayer for her soul to pass safely. He suddenly started to detect movement from Locien's body. "Oh no, here comes the hard part." he softly said to himself. Locien slowly lifted his head, his body still slightly shaky from the pain of the shock. He saw Theodin's face in a look of shock at something on the ground. He looked at the direction he was staring and he saw her.

"VERA!" Locien cried out as he struggled to his feet yet he only made a few steps towards her before falling to his knees. "No... Rivera PLEASE don't be dead, you promised to be by my side! You promised me!" He felt hot tears flowing out of his eyes. "Is this how my Father felt, how he felt when His own wife died and my fate uncertain? Is it you heartless bastard?!" He yelled at Raziel from behind him. "I tried my best to be prepared for a moment of vengeance but instead I get more pain!"

His shaking hands went towards the headband that represented himself as a Chieftain of the Fenris. He took it and threw it at Ildhrenion's feet. "This isn't happening. Without her, there's no reason for me to fight, she was the only thing I possibly will ever love Foster Father. For her I would've done all the things that fate, destiny threw at me and not flinch!"

Locien took the axe and removed it from Rivera's body and tossed it aside, he then took her body and cradled her in his arms. "Rivera, without you, what do I have left?" He asked as his voice was cracked with emotion, with tears flowing from his eyes. "I have nothing left. My heart is shattered. You may not have killed me Raziel, but you killed something that you will never experience. May you live in rejection and loneliness Overlord. You are despised, you are vile and cruel, and you will never experience something as real as Love." He bowed his head and let his forehead touch Rivera's, openly weeping. "What am I fighting for?"

"Locien you have to be strong." Ildhrenion said. "She wouldn't want you to be in grief..." He trailed off after that sentence because he really couldn't move or make his Foster Son hear him.

Elehna was in a completely different world of her own, having no idea that she had just lost her adoptive sister also. No - The Princess had drifted into a world of unconsciousness... Yet, she was not aware of her state. She saw the strangest of visions as she lay on the cold snow as bloodshed and murders were taking place around her.

" Arn ge itak nor shesh te poldi re Kema henia pacske jhywen. Ryjo baw di maeno gob kesh." Was all that Elehna could hear in her head. There was no voice, no clear image of something or someone saying the words, but she knew for a fact that the words had been communicated via the Spirit. The language was the purest of the ancient language, with no proper definition. It was an understanding... And understanding between Elehna and her friend; one she could and would have to accept.

The female spirtual elf continued to lay in the snow, her mind completely open as Spirit danced around her before finally feeling content that Elehna understood before slowly sinking back into Elehna, whilst at the same time dispersing throughout the forest and for miles after that. It was taking the new Queen a while to come around, having no idea that she'd be waking up to more heartbreak and devastation...

It had been a good twenty minutes or so since Elehna first fell unconscious to the ground, having experience something not many could even imagine. She began to show signs of life as her fingers twitched and her closed eyes flickered. Elehna had lost a lot of heat, her skin ice cold. There was no doubt that she was having trouble coming round, her hearing soon beginning to work.

Elehna could hear sobbing, anger, upset... It was all a bit of a blurr at first but it soon became clear that something had happened. The fact that she hardly had any engery didn't help the process of her coming round any quicker. It was torture. Elehna's brain was slowly starting to work properly and she was beginning to understand that she needed to be awake and present to help out however she could... But she struggled... She really struggled to...

Finally, her eyelids opened a little weakly, light hitting her eyes harshly. It made her groan quickly, the noise making her throat tickle which then made her cough. She couldn't make out if Raziel was still there or not but that wasn't of her main concern. Still laying on her back, Elehna attempted to speak. "Wh-" Her first attempt failed, her voice cracking. She coughed before trying again. "What has happened..." She questionned in a quiet voice, still trying to find the energy to get up from the cold snow.

Ildhrenion looked at Elehna and walked to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Rivera...she...." Ildhrenion couldn't have the heart to say it. Locien however set her body down and stroked her hair whilst more tears fell from his face on her. "Ildhrenion, You and the others are going to have to find a way to save Morlay....without me." he calmly stated in an upset and depressed voice. He picked up the Fenris headband and tossed it at his feet once again. "Pawn that off will you? I don't care anymore. A life without Rivera is nothing for me. But don't think this means I'm quitting. Far from it. I'm continuing the fight. But elsewhere. neither Lyncon or Morlay loves me. So it's best I left and traveled the world on my own."

Whilst he said this he picked up his swords and gave a small glare at Raziel as he sheathed them and started to walk back towards the Village to get his stuff. "Locien," Ildhrenion stated. "You cannot abandon Morlay nor Elehna. They need you."

"No they don't. Rivera is gone..... what can I fight for without her by my side?" Locien asked. "She's gone, and I am forever alone even if I kill the Overlord one day. The Fenris clan will die with me. What can I fight for?"

"Locien.... PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!" Zianro shouted in his head giving him a small headache. "I know how much Rivera meant to you and how much she loved you and you her, but you cannot abandon Morlay! Your are my son Locien and that makes you a Fenris. It's time you gave more backbone and started to BE LIKE ONE. Now you either keep walking and get your stuff, then head back to Morlay and live in the wilds like you used to, or, You can just stay wherever they bury Rivera and weep for a hundred years and do nothing. Your choice."

Theodin had simply been staring at Rivera, even after Locien had pulled her body out of his arms. Her blood was still warm on his cheek. But whe he hears the words come out of Locien's mouth, nothing but a torrent of self-pity, something inside of him snapped.

"No they don't. Rivera is gone..... what can I fight for without her by my side?"

"Rivera is gone..."

"Gone..."

The word echoed in his head like a drum, and with orange, rage filled eyes, he stood. Within four strides he was over to Locien. He didn't say anything, he just grabbed the dark elf by his collar, pulled his left fist back, and punched him straight in the face. Staring at the ground for a second, completely ignoring any of the gasps of shock and protest, Theodin lifted his gauze to Locien, tiger-like stripes scrawling on his face as he tried to control his rage.

"Gone? You think...she's...GONE?!" He panted, struggling for the right words. "You know nothing of this world! You want to wallow in self-pity because you lost someone you love? Fine, go ahead and disgrace yourself. But you had best be damned sure, that there is no way in this world or hell, that I will let you leave and disgrace my sister, your Chevalier, goddmait the woman you loved! You have a duty to this contry, and a duty to my sister! If you leave now," He stopped, panting harder than ever, and pointed at Rivera's body, "Then she died for NOTHING! Nothing, do you understand, you washed-up peice of self-centered pity! And I will NOT let you do that to Rivera Pyren's memory!" He had andvanced as he spoke, screamed more or less, and he grabbed Locien by the collar again, yelling in the other man's face.

Theodin was angry. He had just lost his king, his queen, and then his sister. And now Locien wanted to just quit? No. He wasn't going to let Rivera die like that. No way.

Locien took the punch and the yelling whilst Zianro was literally yelling in his head what really mattered. He looked at Theodin with a look only a fellow friend would give and just said to try and calm him down. "You're right Theodin, you're right. I'm being a fool. I just wished that she was still here with us. Like you and her I lost my Parents, MY CLAN even. I'm not going to quit after seeing death too many times. No, I need to be strong for her. I now fear that now without her, I'm going to descend into a nightmare. A nightmare I'll never escape. She was my love, my Chevalier. I wish that somehow the bond was stronger." He said whilst he paused to think of his next words carefully whilst looking at Rivera's body. "So strong, in fact, it would've given us a chance to live together, grow old together, then die peacefully together. Don't you wish that sometimes with you and Elehna, Theodin?"

"Our fathers were good friends with each other. Let us in the least live up to their Legacy, Lord Chieftain of the Pyrens." Locien then stated. "We need each others support. The ancient laws of the Fenris and the Pyren dictates that much. We defend Morlay and Lyncon from any evil. We are the peacekeepers, the case solvers, heck, We're the example of what morlay and Lyncon, Spiritual and Dark elf alike should be. We should be at peace with each other." He looked once more at Rivera's body. "I just wish, we will always be together..Vera my love." he said in a choked voice.

"There, now are you gonna give up now?" Zianro stated. "Kal'daka and your Mother will be sorely pissed at you."

"I won't give up." Locien stated out loud.

Theodin let him go. He still didn't get it. He was able to calm himself down enough for the purple to return to his eyes, and he said in a very flat voice, as if it was all begining to sink in, "It doesn't matter what I want. What I want isn't important. But what I do with the time that I'm given in this life is. There's no sense in wishing for something to happen instead of somethings else, worrying about what you can or cannot achieve. You do what you can with what you have. Because that's all you can do, Locien. Rivera knew that. She knew that well." He turned, and walked toward his Queen. He knelt next to her. "Elehna...are you alright?"

He felt Theodin letting him go and then stated the truth once again. The truth be told however Locien still couldn't believe it happened, Rivera, the one woman he loved and probably the only one he loved was gone. He was just now getting the hint of that reality. But he was scared, it was unnatural. If only he had ordered her to stay in the village.

"No, no more crying over what had happened. I have to keep moving forward. Rivera I'm so sorry. I wish I couldn't be able to continue fighting without you, but I have to do it. I'll never find another woman like you however." Locien thought in his head giving a small farewell to Rivera finally in his head. "Remember when we confessed our love to each other? I said that I will love you till the end of time. I will never find another woman, for you always will be in my heart. Kal'daka willing, when I die I will be running to embrace you in a warm blissful afterlife."

Locien looked up to the skies as he said this and closed his eyes, and silently let the tears come out until they exhausted themselves. He then dried his eyes, and made sure that his heart was always hardened to any other woman.

"Rest in peace Rivera." He said to himself silently.

It was rather amusing to watch the old sage and the rest of Locien's flunkies try and stop the dead bandit Raziel raised on the spot. It appeared as though the concept of undead eluded them completely; they were nothing more than objects controlled by the will and fueled by the magic of the one who created them. They felt no pain and cared not for wounds; while being damaged tended to dissipate the magic that moved them, it was a hopeless action if the caster continued to pour more energy into the corpse. If he so wished, he could make this recently deceased man powerful enough to take on the rest of the bandit troop, but there was no need for such nonsense. He had a very specific goal for this undead in mind, and once it was done, he let it out of its control.

"If you want to blame anyone, blame your ego. This is exactly what I said was going to happen if you continued to oppose me." He replied calmly as Locien cursed at him. The rest of the scene was even more hilarious in a sense, and depressing in another. No, the Overlord didn't care about Rivera or how her death made everyone feel. The depressing part was how worthless a hero the dark elf turned out to be; not only did he completely disregard the safety of everyone around him as he engaged in a hopeless battle against Raziel simply to satisfy his own ego, he actually decided to quit right as his little girlfriend died. That was by far the most pathetic excuse of a hero he had yet to see or hear of; even that one mercenary hired to kill him in the past had more conviction and sense of duty than this.

Of course, despite it being a rather pathetic display, Raziel did not feel personally disappointed or saddened by it. He honestly didn't care that much anymore, which way things would go from there that is, not after Elehna showed her true colors. Everything would work out in his favor anyway; he hadn't spent many years planning and given up everything he did to be defeated. Granted, he would likely have to adjust his plans to fit for the princess being his enemy, but it wasn't going to change that much. At least he hoped it wouldn't; there was a chance he would have to kill her though, and preferably as soon as possible, before her powers and control of them grew significantly. Now was the perfect time, but as he glanced towards the girl lying in the snow, he instantly realized it would be a while before he could bring himself to harm her. Even if his mind was cleared of doubt, his heart still refused to accept it.

He watched idly as Theodin seemed to talk some sense into Locien, and of course, hitting was involved. It was really ironic; no matter how much the "good guys" preached peace and claimed to abhor violence, it was always their first and last resort. It was like they could get nothing at all done if they didn't contradict their own teachings of what's good and right in this world, but then again, it was a world ruled by fake gods. Nothing could be right in a world like that, everything was twisted. Even the one thing he believed to be pure and uncorrupted - the young queen of Morlay - was at least as sinful as himself. The problem with that was, she denied all her sins while he admitted them. In a way, he was more virtuous than the elven girl.

Raziel cleared his throat as all the drama in front of him seemed to come to a close. "I hate to interrupt all your crying, but aren't you guys forgetting someone?" He asked with a smirk on his face. "Just ignoring me and pitying yourselves all this time, that's pretty rude. But it's alright; I'm a forgiving person." He snickered as he said that. "Are you done licking each other's wounds now? I'm in no rush, really, but I'd rather be aware of how long I have to wait." He continued to mock them, awaiting some kind of response. He noticed Elehna was coming to but paid it little mind; her interference at this point wasn't going to change anything.

Theodin's eyes shifted as Raziel spoke. "I believe that would depend on who it is you would like a response from. From Elehna, you'll probably be waiting for quite a while. From myself, you'll be waiting until hell freezes over. I have no wish to face you. I for one have a duty to my Queen, not a death wish. From Rivera, well, you saw to that. Locien...you'll have to ask him, I don't speak for him." His voice was dripping with sarcasim as he spoke. He couldn't help it. He wanted nothing of a fight, as he knew it would be suicide even if he wasn't in the condition he was now, but that didn't stop him from being angry at the one who had killed his sister.

Locien simply said nothing. He had nothing to say, nor did he have anything else more to say. Only a stone cold glare gave the answer on what he wanted. The look simply said, 'Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday my revenge will come.' He couldn't take anymore pain then he already had. The pain of losing someone he loved dearly was almost as agonizing as the electric current that ran through him.

Ildhrenion shook his head at Locien and whispered to Theodin. "Theodin, when you have the time we need to discuss some things that will concern my foster son. There's no way he'll be able to fight if he closes his heart to the world. We have to find a way to tear down the walls he's building around himself. I know this is asking too much, but what other choice do we have? We have to find a way to make Locien love again. But how, that's what we have to discuss."

It became obvious what had happened, even though no one could bring themselves to actually tell Elehna as she lay in the snow, trying to regain some energy to sit up and move. When she heard Theodin shout and get angry, even the noise of him punching Locien made Elehna cringe and close her eyes, tears escaping from the corners. She couldn't believe it and she didn't wish to believe it. Her adoptive sister was also dead. The Princess wanted to keep her eyes close and pretend she hadn't heard what she just had... Maybe if she stayed still and shut herself off from the world, maybe it wouldn't be true... Maybe Rivera would still be alive.

No, it seemed as though as much as she prayed for it not to be true, reality was soon kicking in. She reopened her eyes as the devastated Theodin knelt down near Elehna to ask her if she was alright. The young Queen nodded as she very slowly used what ever little energy she had to sit up and look over to her dearest friend's dead body. The site was horrible yet even as she had her own blood covered all over her, she still looked so beautiful and at peace. Elehna looked to Theodin and clung onto him in an embrace, even as he spoke to Raziel. He would not get a reaction from Elehna, nor Theodin or Locien. They would not fight him. The Overlord had broken her heart.

Elehna could not let go of Theodin as she sat in the snow and he knelt down next to her. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck and her head was buried in his shoulder. "I'm so, so sorry." She whispered in a shaken voice to him for the lose of his sister. There wasn't much she could do for Locien, even if she did have the energy to get up. She doubted any words she could offer could make him feel any better about loosing Rivera - They had all suffered loses that day.

The young Queen couldn't even bare to turn around and look at Raziel. He didn't seem to grasp the concept of what he had just did and just how he had affect everyone. She had thought differently of him, thinking he was a good man even if everyone saw him as evil - Heck, she had really liked him, maybe even loved him at some point. But after all the events within the past hours, he had made her his enemy because she made the wrong choice and then killed someone she loved dearly. It tore her apart. It was now clear; the one man she could trust and who had been there all a long was the man who held her tightly in his arms.

"Well, you've got guts kid, I'll give you that." Raziel smirked as he heard Theodin's reply. Defiant it may have been, but smart, not so much. Rather, not the reply itself, but the fact that the elf wasn't running away all the while. He was the one the Overlord had intended to kill originally, Rivera was simply the first to go because Locien got in his way. To be honest, he didn't care about killing the late king's foster daughter, and he wouldn't have if he just got his hands on her brother first. But as always, a certain idiot had to get in the way and completely disregard all of his warnings until it was too late. For some reason, that seemed to make everyone think he would just turn right around and go away forever. The dark elf scoffed. Even if he had a lot more time under his belt, he didn't believe he was ever quite this ignorant of his own mortality. It seemed the more "good" someone thought themselves to be, the stronger they believed that nothing bad would ever happen to them or their loved ones.

"Indeed, princess, you should be sorry." He commented as he listened to her quiet sobs. "This is, primarily, your fault. You could have easily prevented this, if you were just willing to compromise a little. Hell, I could even be convinced to invite your friends to the Lost Tower. You had a lot of power over me." He mused. "But you got too used to getting everything you wanted without ever giving anything in return. Admittedly, I let you manipulate me for a long while, but you got too careless." Raziel concluded. "You seem to think quite highly of yourself, but you're nothing more than a spoiled brat. You always preach about valueing life, but you didn't give a damn about the people who died because of your hissy fits back in Lyncon, did you? Or did you honestly think nobody got hurt when a wall was blown clean off with wind alone? Please. You, of all people, should have been able to tell otherwise." He scoffed. "To think that someone like you would have this power... it's sickening."

He stared down at the two spiritual elves in contempt for a few moments before turning away sharply. "And you are even worse, Locien. Fighting a hopeless battle against evil? Generally admirable, but you are supposed to put your life on the line to protect others, not the other way around. But of course, that doesn't apply to you. You were never fighting for what's right. At best, you were fighting for revenge, at worst, because someone told you to. Well, come on then. Is there not another person you need to avenge now? Isn't there less for you to lose now? So why aren't you attacking?" He questioned the boy. "Let me tell you why. Because you didn't really care about Rivera. You only cared for her as far as she was your woman, your property. The person behind that label never mattered to you. Not that I could blame you for that." He smirked. "But I am tired of this web of lies so thick that the spider itself got stuck."

Raziel took a deep breath before continuing. "You'll forgive me if I skip right over a pawn of the gods and a bunch of brigands." He gave a twisted smile. "You all make me sick. Is this what is considered to be 'good' these days? Unbelievable arrogance coupled with endless lies and hypocrisy? Where did all the timeless ideals go? What happened to the value of truth, compassion and sacrifice? Or are you all content with having your will taken away?" He paused for a moment. "Actually, don't bother answering that. None of you can even be called people; you are mere tools in the hands of something you don't understand." The Overlord concluded and waved his hand a bit. The wyvern that carried him to this place scooted over closer in response to the gesture. He silently climbed onto its back.

"Anyway, I did say I wasn't going to kill Locien, but I don't remember saying anything like that about the rest of you. Don't you think your time would have been better spent running for your lives?" He asked with a twisted smile as he held a hand up. The air around it distorted from the flow of magic alone as a green sphere formed in it. "By the way, little hero. I may have no intention of killing you directly, but I won't do anything to prevent you from dying either. Just so you know." He smirked and threw the green sphere upward. It exploded in mid-air, sending a wide circle of green flames outward over the surrounding area, creating a literal circle of fire some distance around the group.

"Let's play a little game called survival. This green fire is an old magic that goes by the name of 'The Reaper's Flame'. It won't burn your body, but your very life, and the smoke from it has a similar effect. To top it off, any being killed by or among either will quickly turn into an undead with a craving for the flesh and blood of the living. They only last for a couple of hours, but they chase their prey tirelessly." Raziel smirked and had his wyvern rise above the ground. "The rules are quite simple, really." He continued in a loud voice. "Whoever escapes gets to live." He finished with a laugh and directed his mount away from the place and back to the Lost Tower.

He had once again lost everything he held dear, although technically he merely found out that he never had it in the first place, and the only way he knew to cope with that was work. And, verily, there was a lot of that to do. After all, he was almost three months behind schedule.

"Whoever escapes gets to live."

Theodin turned an orange-eyed glare at Raziel as he rode off on his wyvern. He scanned the flames, people already being consumed, zombies beginning to take their place. Thinking quickly, as he realized there was no way he could jump over the flames in his condition, he sent out a whistle, calling Zith and Galathir to him. They came, and seemed to understand. All three began to dig. For now, the fire was moving slowly enough that the other men could handle the undead hoard that was slowly growing, that the three soon had a hole large and deep enough for Elehna, Ildrehnion, Galathir, Zith, and Locien to get into. The animals went in first, intending to keep digging, creating what one might call an escape tunnel. Elehna followed, Theodin helping her down. Then Ildrehnion. However, Locien wasn't moving. With a slight growl, Theodin picked him up, and more or less shoved him down the hole, saying, "Take care of Elehna. I'll try to follow soon."

Without saying anything else, he covered the hole, disregarding any protests they may have had. When he turned around, Theodin saw something that he knew that, if he made it out of this mess alive, would forever haunt his dreams until the day he died.

Rivera stood, grey eyes staring at him, her blood beginning to coagulate, drying, sticking to her. Flesh peeled away from wounds, exposing bone, muscle, innards. Theodin closed his eyes, sorrow written all over his face. He shifted, and his undead sister charged at him, an unearthly and hideous howl tearing itself from her throat.

"Theodin, be not afraid, I am not going to let the last of the Pyren die due to Raziel's trickery." Kal'daka's voice appeared in his head as he suddenly appeared next to the Were-Tiger form of Theodin. "If you think that I, your father Loki's God, am going to abandon you that easily after your sister's death? No, Elehna needs you more then you know. Therefore, calm yourself, and go into the hole yourself, I will hold them off."

As Kal'daka was saying this, around the Area where Theodin and the escape tunnel was he made his own ring of fire around it. "Go Theodin. Your time is not yet, but your sister's time, unfortunately came. The Pyren clan needs you to restore it boy. If you don't, Elehna will be forever miserable. She needs you, even to the bottom of her heart now that she's fully seen Raziel's true mentality. One thing more though Theodin, in order for Locien to do his duty, he must have a woman of Pyren blood. Since your sister is out of the question now, seeing as the events and the power of the reaper flame, you need to form a blood pact with a Spiritual Elf in the nearest populated village. There's such a village a few miles from the hole. Go now Theodin. They need you." Kal'daka spoke in full seriousness and in a sort of Fatherly tone. He was intent to keeping Theodin alive.

"Why are you still here? Run boy. Run!"

Elehna was in complete disbelief as Raziel announced his little game. Well- Not so much little. To win the game, herself and her friends would keep their lives but to lose, they would be killed either by the flames or the blood and flesh thirst undead, possessed by the flames. It was not the sort of game Elehna particularly wanted to play. It was monstrous.

The young elven female watched the Overlord fly up on his wyvern before it finally began to sink in how cruel he was being. It wasn't the man she knew before - or maybe it was except he hadn't shown his true colours or had no reason to before. Either way, she really didn't like it. "You cruel, evil man!" She yelled in upset and fury as he flew away, struggling to get up on her feet as her energy still wasn't all there. She needed rest.

Before she could really get her head around their situation, the young Queen felt Theodin escort her to the hole which Zith and Galathir were digging rapidly. She turned around and shook her head. "You are coming down too with me, right?" She asked in worry and concern, noticing a look across Theodin's face which could have only meant one thing. Elehna never got a reply, the answer being obvious for the moment. He planned on staying up there until they were all out.

The Princess was already down the hole, the two animals working at a quick pace to make a hole big enough for them all to crawl through. For Elehna, it would be easy. She wasn't exactly the biggest for elves but for the males, it would seem more challenging. She helped Ildhrenion down, waiting for either Locien or Theodin to be next but she couldn't wait. She could hardly see what was happening up on the surface of the ground and it would have served no purpose to wait. They'd come, she knew it. They had to.

Elehna closed her eyes for a moment, they animals were becoming tired and the dirt was going everywhere, blocking the hole even as they dug, having no where to put the unwanted earth. Her eyes became golden as she reopened them, extending her arm as far as it would go. "Rahn tik fore." She hushed, not quite realising how she knew what to say. The earth became lose,, making it easier for the animals and the unwanted earth also becoming soft, not blocking up the tunnel as much.

She felt her energy leave her again but she tried her best to ignore the lack of willingness in her muscles. She tried to help out the best she could to make the escape route with Ildhrenion. "They need to hurry..." She said to the old man in worry.

As Theodin began his grapple with his undead sister, he thought one thing. "I will not leave until I have saved everyone that I can. They need me here too." The fight seemed endless, and he watched more an more of the men around him dying, and becoming undead. Finally, he grabbed Rivera's head in his clawwed hands, snapping her neck. It didn't so much kill her, but paralyzed her from the neck down, making it impossible for her to continue the attack. Theodin stared at al of the choas around him. Finally he came to one conclusion. There was nothing more he could do here. Closing his eyes once more, he looked down at his sister's body, and dove for the hole, covering the entrance as he went in, and crawled. It would have been easier for him to move in a size sense if he shifted back, but he also knew that he would lose conciousness if he did. Rivera had gotten a few attacks in before he had finally demobalized her. The only thing that was keeping him going at all was the thought of Elehna. She needed him.

He needed her.

Zith and Galathir continued digging, thankful for the help Elehna provided them, until finally, the somehow broke through into a cave of sorts. Zith inspected it, with Galathir stood watching, waiting for the others to come out, helping them.

Theodin finally collapsed on the cave floor, shifting back to his elf form. Vision hazy, he didn't bother trying to stay awake. Simply put, he couldn't.

"So, you're now outnumbered on both sides of the bad guy coin, Raziel and Solis alike, and are back to square one, so what?" Zianro tried to comfort his son still in his mind since he somehow decided to keep a vow of silence of some form. "I mean sure, they have armies but once you scare the pants off of another bandit faction the numbers will build back up! Speaking of armies and such, there's a village that's been harassed by a fairly large Bandit group. Not only that but there's a rumor of a Large Dragon in the mountains near it. They seem to be lookin for someone to put them down. I would volunteer you Locien, but with Vera's death in your mi-"

"Don't worry." Locien finally said out loud to Zianro and Elehna at the same time when she said Theodin had to hurry up. "I was afraid you'd say that." was the only reaction.

Ildhrenion sooner or later spotted the Were-Tiger form of Theodin in the Tunnel and started to heal him of his wounds as the beast climbed onward and upwards out into the cave with Ildhrenion guiding him up.

"Steady on there Chieftain of the Pyrens." The old Elf said. He then looked at Locien with sad eyes even though Zith licked Locien when the wolf saw him.

"Where, are we?" Locien asked.

Finally, they all reached a cave. It was reassuring to know they were away from the flames and hopefully safe. They all looked exhausted as Elehna looked around, dirt all over her face. The cave was dim, a little cold but that didn't matter. It was was somewhere to rest and by the looks of things, no one had enough energy to go anywhere.

Theodin finally came through, transforming back to his elvish state. Ildhrenion reached him before, healing his wounds as he lay in an unconscious state. It was saddening, but there was no point trying to wake him. He probably needed to the rest, they all did. As Ildhrenion finished dealing with his wounds, "Thank you." Elehna said in a quiet tone to the old man, nodding her head once before looking over to Locien. "I do not know." She answered, walking over to him a little. "But I suggest we stay here for the night. We need the rest..." Her voice faded a little, having never really properly spoken to Locien but she realised the dark elf was probably heartbroken, like they all were.

"Locien..." She said quietly, not able to speak much louder due to her lack of energy. She extended her arms and pulled him into a hug. "Rivera would be proud of you today, I'm really sorry-" Her voice cracked, becoming upset herself. She pulled away and looked up at him with teary eyes before nodding once and heading back over to the unconscious Theodin. There wasn't much she could say to Locien to make him feel better. She was grieving herself.

The female knelt down next to Theodin before laying next to him, resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes. She was crying silently but she knew no one would see if she buried her head. It seemed strange, but Elehna just wanted to be near her Chevalier. She'd wait for him to wake up... She'd take care of him...

Exhaustion soon took over, sending Elehna to sleep.

Even uncincious, Theodin felt his wounds closing. He felt something touching. But he couldn't wake. Not yet...He didn't want to face the reality that his siter was truly gone. But the cold metal of the black and gold amulet that he clutched in his left hand only confirmed it. Rivera Pyren was dead, and he was now the last of his line. The poet had said something about this...something about a blood pact. He didn't want to do that. No one could ever replace his sister, especially not to Locien. It wasn't easy to accept, but Rivera had served the purpose that she was meant to, and her time had come.

Theodin's eyes snapped open, taking in his surroundings. He wasn't cold, even though the cave was. He turned his head to the side, too sore to do much else. He could see Locien, Ildrehnion, Zith, and Galathir all sleeping, perhaps not very peacfully, but asleep none the less. The only one not accounted for was Elehna. At least until he tried to move, only to realize that someone was on top of him. Turning his head to the right, he could see her. She was laying beside him, her head resting on his chest. He could just see his own crest hanging from her neck.

He let his memory take him through the shift in events. Solis ocupying Morlay, their flight, the King and Queen dead...then Rivera...he wondered how she was taking it. Byt he way he watched her sleeping, probably not very well. But then, that was one of the reasons he was here. Watching her, he softly brushed her flaming red hair from her face.

Locien looked at the Princess and gave a small yelp in surprise when she hugged him. He went quiet when she mentioned Rivera. "No your majesty, I should be the one whose sorry. Sorry for taking you out of your kingdom, causing you pain beyond measure. But I think that we'll pull through. You and Theodin will too, with each other by each other's side. You two care for each other obviously more then you let on." he said as he watched Elehna silently cry herself to sleep. "May you two find happiness and bliss, may you restore, the clan of Pyren together, and may you live, not only as Chevalier and Fenerin, But as husband and wife, and King and Queen of all Morlay. Theodin loves you Elehna, I'm sure you realized this."

When he realized she can't hear him wherever she's sleeping he went to talk with his Foster Father.

"Well Locien, what's the next move?" Ildhrenion asked in an obvious tone whilst petting Zith.

"That is a simple matter Foster Father, First thing we do, is what Elehna said, and rest. You watch over them, I need a layout of what's beyond this cave. I'll be back." Locien said as he walked outside of the cave.

He looked and he thought to the Distance at some thirty to forty yards through wood and forest a small yet highly populated village or town, He couldn't tell. He then saw a large mountain near it. He thought he could see smoke coming out of the top of it where a cave seemed to be.

"Hm, looks like my ghost of a birth father was right. There seems to be a dragon that's bugging a village. Tomorrow we'll go and lay low in the village, whilst I," Locien stated as he pulled out an all too familiar ring to him and slipped it on, turning his purple skin into fair white skin and his silver hair into a dark brown hair like Ildhrenion's, "Pose as a Dragon Slayer and Bodyguard."

Elehna's dreams were corrupted with images of which she didn't wish to see. At first, she had dreamt of nothing, being too tired. But the longer she slept, the more and more images slowly began appear in her mind, causing her to cringe and stir in her sleep. Her dead parents and Rivera were the main theme, as thought they were haunting her. It was saddening, yet terrifying.

As Theodin stroked her face, Elehna moved a little, burying her head into chest a little more before finally opening her eyes. She had tears in the corner of her eyes from her dreams, which she quickly wiped away as though nothing happened. She needed to act strong, she couldn't keep showing her weaknesses. No, she wouldn't. Not anymore.

The sight of Theodin awake made her smile gently as she removed her head from his chest to sit next to him to let him sit up. "Morning'," She said quietly, not wanting wake the others "How are you feeling today?" She asked, looking down at the dry patches of blood on his clothing a skin from where he had been wounded. Thankfully they were all healed.

The Princess got up from the ground of the cave, shivering lightly as the cold hit her skin. Her eye was caught by Locien as he appeared to be a spiritual elf. She raised an eyebrow, planning on asking him why when he woke. She tore her eyes away to look at Theodin for a moment, not looking herself. None of them seemed themselves, but it was too be expected.

Elehna had heard what Locien had said the previous night, about how he knew that she loved him and he loved her back. There was no doubt that she had loved him even when in doubt when she thought she loved Raziel. She had always been torn but now she felt ridiculous. How could she have thought to have loved Raziel? After his performance the previous day, she could no longer see the man she had seen or thought to have seen.

He was nothing compared to Theodin. Everything Raziel had said about her Chevalier just didn't ring true now she looked at him. He was loyal, kind hearted and simply just a beautiful person. It was hard to think that he loved Elehna from her eyes, she had done nothing to deserve his love... Nothing.

The young Queen realised she had been gazing at Theodin a moment too long and turned around, feeling hot in the cheeks. She needed to forget about love - It was slowing her down and hurt too much. She had loved her family and Rivera... and look where that got them...

No, she was just being silly... Loving someone hadn't killed them. But.. What if it had? What if everything was Elehna's fault? What if the Overlord was right all along? She was guilty. She had done all this.

Elehna was falling apart. She couldn't help but blame herself in silence, kicking herself. She had hurt everyone and she would never forgive herself... Walking towards the opening of the cave, Elehna cleared her throat. She needed to seem strong - No one else would be hurt. No one.

"So what is the plan of action today?" She asked to no one in particular yet awaited for a reply. Someone must have known where they were.

The puzzle of thoughts and unending feeling of sorrow and guilt were enough to drown Theodin on dry land. Once she had stood up and walked to the mouth of the cave, Theodin weariyl got up, and followed her. He was sore, he was in pain, both physicaly and emotionaly, but his Queen needed him. And he would be there. "Elehna..." He said softly. "None of this was your fault. You don't need to try and be someone that you're not. If you do...then things are only bound to get worse." He paused, thinking his words over before continuing. "You canno tlet this consume you. If you do, it will only drive you mad." He spoke from experience, remembering when his parents had died.

"The plan of action, is to go to that village." Locien said, possibly surprising Elehna once more with the disguise he once donned as a simple blacksmith in the city. We'll lay low there for a couple of days, That village, or town I can't tell since it's a few hundred yards away, is being harassed by a few bandit camps near the base of the mountain, and There seems to be a dragon living at the top of the same said mountain. I'll be posing as a Slayer-for-hire and your Bodyguard, using the illusion that I am a spiritual elf to blend in more with the crowds."

"Sounds like a good plan." Ildhrenion said. "This'll be interesting."

"It sure will be, shall we go?" Locien asked wanting to get there as soon as possible.

Raziel was metaphorically spitting fire and brimstone when he arrived at the Lost Tower. The place was actually only calming to him, despite or possibly thanks to the grim and sinister scenery around it, but it wasn't nearly enough to cool him off even several hours after his latest encounter with the princess and company. He didn't bother trying to rest or calm himself down somehow, however. There was nothing that anyone could do about what happened and he wasn't going to dwell on it, either. He had done way too much of that already.

He scoffed at the quiet comment of the minion elder as the latter greeted him and said something about the Overlord "finally looking the part". Whether the old guy meant any disrespect or not, he simply didn't care, but he did have a point. Dressed in a regal camisole and fancy clothes, he didn't look much like the evil sort. Of course, he had always felt more inclined towards the "dashing trickster" villain stereotype rather than the "bloodthirsty demon", but it seemed he allowed that simple preference to affect his choice for too long. He should have left the former guise long ago, ever since he left Lyncon. It would have saved him time, among other things.

In any case, he wasn't about to waste any more time. He needed to start acting already. He didn't really see the alliance of the world's nations as a threat to his plans; if that were the case, he would have made a move long ago, Elehna or no Elehna. No, the only threat to him was the princess herself. There were still many things he didn't understand about her power, and while she had little understand and control of it at the moment, that would, without a doubt, change. Furthermore, her becoming his enemy meant he could no longer rely on the Heart's power. He would make use of it while he could, but all of his plans would have to be adjusted around the premise that it would "betray" him.

He headed to his study and put every protective ward on it he knew of, all without using any of the Heart's power; it was the very thing he was trying to keep from seeing inside the room, and he didn't get to where he was by thinking one could be too careful. He stopped after he tried calling out to the Heart and felt no response whatsoever; either it caught on to what he was trying to do and refused to respond to him, temporarily or permanently, or his magic was doing its job. Having no other way to test this, he could only hope for the latter.

"I guess I didn't realize how truthful it was when I said the only one I could trust is someone one should never trust." Raziel replied vaguely in response to Beleth's silent to everyone else greeting; the massive sword was still lying on the table where the dark elf had left it as he rushed to Elehna's rescue. "Please, you say that as if immortals are any better." He scoffed at the demon's words. "No offense, but you're a demon. I do not feel strongly inclined to believe that. And I am not immortal, just not as... temporarily challenged as most. Well, you should know all about that. You were the one who told me of the ritaul, after all." The dark elf replied calmly as he cleared another table of all junk and started placing some papers with various symbols and formulas on it.

After a few seconds he smirked. "I have nothing to hide from you anymore. I planned on draining your power for myself - as you have already seen in my mind - but that was when I could afford to lose it while unable to afford the same for my humanity, and related things." He shrugged. "But the situation has changed. Reversed, in fact. Right now, I can afford to lose everything except your power. In fact, I might be better off losing that, or I might hesitate at a critical moment." He went silent again as he listened to Beleth's words in his head. "I wouldn't say I trust you, but I have no doubt you were speaking the truth when you said you wanted to kill the gods when we just met. The archives here proved it was their trickery that resulted in your current state."

Raziel laughed lightly as he continued to prepare the table. "Yeah, funny thing about that. I have figured out how to break your seal a while ago. It was draining your power for myself while keeping your soul sealed inside the sword what I was having problems with. I could sort of make you possess me, but I wasn't sure I could control you, and... well, it doesn't matter anymore. The situation has changed." He worked in silence for a while, up until the moment he carried the demonic blade over to the table with all sorts of incomprehensible things written down. "As if you had never lied to me. But it doesn't even matter anymore. I have always been prepared to give my life to achieve my goal. If you kill me, well, at least it will be a like-minded person and not some hypocritical rube. Now quiet down, I need to focus."

The ritual lasted for several hours straight, and to an uninformed spectator, it would just appear as if Raziel was staring at the sword intently while doing nothing at all. But it was much more complicated than that. The room was filled with raw magic, and in his head, the dark elf constantly had to solve various riddles and equations, many completely irrelevant to magic, and many unknown beyond the mythical civilization. In other words, it would take a powerful Aesir wizard with an encyclopedic knowledge of magic and a quick wit to undo this seal, or a group of lesser wizards working together. It was a clear example of how much the ancient people trusted each other: theoretically, any of them could break the seal, but they knew they wouldn't.

As the process neared its end, the massive blade started to vibrate. The vibrations gradually increased until everything suddenly ended with a small explosion of raw magic. Its magnitude proved to be enough to knock the dark elf against the wall. As his eyes shifted back to the table, assuming Beleth betrayed him, his jaw dropped on its own. He expected to see some sort of monstrous creature assaulting him, but instead, sitting on the table was a woman quite unlike anything he had ever seen before, and it wasn't just about a few extra appendages like horns, wings and a tail. "Relax, I have no intention of attacking you." She said with a wicked smile. "Surprised? You must have thought Beleth sounded like a male name, didn't you?" She smirked.