Sagacious Novelty
- Remian saw Victoria down below as she chased after him on her horse. And in honesty, he was surprised by the speed she had managed in a very short amount of time. It seemed she was no longer as inexperienced with riding as she had been when they first met a week and a half ago. Although he couldn't hear her, he doubted that anything she had to say was going to relieve the emotional turmoil he was experiencing-- only time would heal his wound. Or at least that was what he had always been told.
His mother had dealt with matters of the heart everyday since he had hatched. To compare his situation to hers was indeed criminal, but he didn't know how to else to deal with the idea of being rejected before he even had the chance to fully expose himself to the object of his affections. How he had even found himself in this position was still a bit of a blur. He remembered not caring for her at all only a few days ago. He wasn't even sure what had changed. Perhaps it was the journey that drew them together? She was everything he hadn't wanted in a significant other, and here he was, prepared to court her if she allowed it.
Then again, maybe that wasn't the proper way to grab the attention of the Princess. She was unique, and therefore he couldn't approach her the way he did everything else-- with this preconceived notion of how to handle things. There was no book for Victoria-- no instruction manual. And yet he thought he could apply such to the situation. In addition, he had no right be upset. He hoped that the more he told himself this, the easier facing her would become. But now, given his cruel words, he would need to apologize twice.
Just as he realized how foolish he had been, and prepared to drop down and speak with the woman like an adult-- Cato reeled back and threw her to the ground, covering her body in a cloud of sand. Remian's eyes widened, as Ronan and Bishop rushed to catch up with her. "VICTORIA!" His wings immediately seized flapping as his body began to plummet downward toward her in hopes that she hadn't injured herself in the fall. But what came next, was something he would have never expected.
Out of fear, his wings snapped, and propelled him back up as a rusted spear shot up out of the sand. "Remian! Get the Princess!" Ronan called, as he and Bishop were not close enough to assist. But before the bird could take another dive the ground began to shake. More spikes had made themselves known, popping out of the dirt-- sharp and pointed and more deadly than the fin of a shark.
Her brother cried, as Victoria whipped her head around to find that she was trapped in the claw of a beast so terrifying, that Remian had forgotten every bit of the training her had undergone for the past one hundred years. The ripple of silky crimson hair was all he could see from above, before she was pulled underneath. But she would not sink to the depth on her own. Another had captured both Bishop and Ronan and threatened to sink them as well.
A body had revealed itself-- the head of a creature he believed had been spewed right out hell. Remian narrowly avoided it's teeth as it shot up in the hopes of consuming the phoenix whole. In the time it took him to dodge the attack, and remove his weapon from his side the creature had slunk back beneath the sand as if it were naught but water, and took his companions with it. The last sound being the yelp of Victoria calling out his name.
He dove downward and flicked his wrist blowing on his staff as he prepared to sink into the hole with them. But it closed up just as he hit the ground with a thud. Remian let out a loud graveling cry, as he weakly got himself onto all fours and pounded his fist into the dirt. Unfortunately, such actions were to no avail. He was alone now, in the desert-- nothing but land surrounding him for miles. The bird tried to stand, but his legs were too weak, and he feared his arms were about to give out on him as well. His breaths were heavy, and he felt like his heart was cracking-- threatening to shatter and leave him here to die.
Even his wings had given up on him, falling over his sides like a wet towel; they were heavier than they had ever been. And this pain he was left with-- it was almost unbearable. He felt sick, and tired, and angry all at the same time. Were they dead? Had he had just lost everything? Remian was beside himself, laden by the overwhelming desire to sob. But he knew what Ha'an would say; crying would do him no good. It would not save his mother, or rescue his father, his only friend...nor...her...he didn't know what she was-- yet still she was important-- if not the most...
"Victoria?" He said softly, his fingers spreading out over the sand as he grasped some in his fist and turned his hand over to watch it slip through his fingers. "I am sorry." Admittedly, this was doing nothing but easing his own guilt. Remian slowly got up, his knees knocking together as he began dragging himself away from the place where they had been buried. Only to have his legs practically vanishing from beneath him, as he fell back to the ground.
He sighed heavily and turned himself over on his back, bringing his weapon to rest on his stomach. It was there, as he lay being caressed by the sun that he noticed a slight difference in the weight of his staff. He pressed on the groves in the side and sat up, as the side popped open and a note fell out written on a piece of parchment. He quickly unfolded it and read it aloud.
"Remian, hopefully it did not take you long to find this. I assume your staff is like your third arm, and therefore I pray it does not take you long to discover this. When I was kicked out of Rivdar, I fell in love with the white witch Kadavera, and she and I had plans to take back my Kingdom. Unfortunately, she was far better than I, and wanted to do so without murdering my wife-- who I wanted to see pay for her treason. It was then that I turned to Olivera. We needed to work closely together, and soon I found myself as a target for her affections. When she found out that I loved Kadavera, she chased her into the desert. For fear of being killed, she sought refuge in the Temple.
By now, I'm dead. Daemos has put it in Liam's head that I am a threat to him. He will use the grimoire to create his own book, like the one Daemos had by finding one hundred people willing to sacrifice themselves for him. And being as he is King, it won't be difficult-- then he will only need the blood of the Keeper to make it complete. To save your mother, you will need to trap the souls in the grimoire after it has been transformed into a the Book of Howls, and then drop it into the lava in Ashu. As for Kadavera, she and I still talk, although my wife is unaware and I am not exactly proud of myself. You must only say, Hasvan iagait gravasu, while inside the oasis by the old Ruins of Revell to gain entrance to her abode."
Remian took a moment to let the words sink in-- before he shot up into the air like cannon ball and flew toward the dip in the land where the group had spent the night previously. He could only hope that there was still time for his companions.
