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Ekanta ducked in a frightened manner. This wasn’t right! She wasn’t a fighter! It seemed as if fate had intended to change this. Jumping out of the way Ekanta looked to Wyvern.

“I’m sorry I’m not going to be of as much help to you as someone else would.” She said. Her voice was oddly calm, the opposite of what she was feeling, “But I’ll try.”

Ekanta concentrated and summoned water from the air. Only a little came to her. What are you going to do with that?! Clean his ears with it? she scolded herself. The mermaid didn’t know why she couldn’t call more into her grasp. Then she realized the time.

It was getting later in the day. She needed to get back to water soon or she’d be . . . quite literally, a fish out of water! As time wore on her powers were more focused on keeping her ‘human’ and she could use less and less of them. This wasn’t good.

w e ' r e ¤ f l o a t i n g ¤ i n ¤ t h e ¤ a i r
d a n c i n g ¤ i n ¤ t h e ¤ m i d n i g h t ¤ s k y

Shyrion thought for a moment about the child’s question… well, generally, the way most were able to tell dragons apart from humans; was the fact that they could use all of the elemental magic… that, and most of the time they had had wings sprouting from their backs… the vast majority were young-looking, but the humans Shyrion had seen had all been young—and dragons could hide their wings in any case. But…

“That’s true, hon,” said Shyrion. “BUT all dragons have a different feel to them. For example, if you have a dragon and a human, the human will be like a candle-flame, while the dragon will be like a star. A great big, burning star. It’s because they were appointed guardians of the worlds a long time ago by the Goddess.” This said with a hint of derision in her voice; just because she was jealous. “That, and they spend so much time around that Jewel where they live. Oh, and if you see a human with wings, it’s a dragon. And if you see a human playing with any other element but Fire, it’s a dragon.”

Those dragons with their high-and-mighty selves… nearly as bad as Axys was, in the ex-general’s opinion…

“You’ll want to be very careful, though. Dragons are some of the most powerful things around.”

~~~

Axys glared around at Silverwing beneath his green prison. So even weakened, he still had the strength within him to summon one last ice spell? Looked like that was it, though, the summoner thought with a grin. Axys broke through the ice, only to find that the Dragon below him had now revealed her luminous white wings, and leaped into the air. She had sheathed her blade.

Suddenly a myriad of plants rose up all around him, threatening to sting him with their thorns and venom. Axys wrenched his staff from the earth and whirled, weapon flying in his hand. Dark energy trailed in its wake—cold energy that froze the earth all around the summoner solid. The plants about his feet withered and died.

My master! Lend me your strength!

He felt the demon lord’s acknowledgment, and power surge through his veins. With an insane cackle, the summoner raised the tip of his staff to the sky, energy gleaming there like a miniature solar eclipse. And then, Axys reached for the old magic, nearly forgotten. Fire—if ever there were an element closest to the darkness, it would have to be that one in Axys’ opinion. With Fire he could wreak destruction unparalleled. He had never practiced the flame’s healing touch, but his skill with the element was great nonetheless…

Axys watched as the flame he summoned whirled about the eclipse like the rings of a planet. The darkness and flame mixed together in a dangerous combination, which he then shot at Link—a great roiling mass of shadow fire. The summoner called forth two thin, winged serpents from within the Void—their feathered wings burning a bright red—which coiled about the frame of the summoner.

It now appeared as though Axys had four feathered wings. The summoner lifted off the ground, far above the dangerous plants that were beginning to grow all over the earth below. The serpents hissed, mouths opening wide, long necks extending towards the dragon in the air before them…

Axys’ green eyes blazed fiercely in the darkness as he summoned more darkness to the tip of his staff…

~~~

The two shadow guards looked at the two warriors running towards them, at Leitha’s fiery bo staff, and at Lance’s blade.

“We mussst not harm humansss…” they hissed. But they had to stop them somehow, before the warriors could get to their master. The two guardians raise their blades, great black shields forming around them, and begin to charge towards Leitha and Lance—at this speed perhaps they could stop them… but if not, they would be given no choice but to fight…

~~~

Wyvern looked at Ekanta with a mixture of confusion and worry on his face, before dashing towards the shadow-Wyvern and blocking another of the Tainted’s blows with his overlarge sword.

“That’s okay,” he said, grinning. “Just do your best, all right?” The grin lengthened—he had an idea. The young dragon swung his blade wide, knocking the shadow off balance. He then leaped backwards, somersaulting in the air, his blade wheeling with him, before plunging his sword into the earth. The flames streaked out towards the shadow, which only managed to leap out of the way just in time.

And then, Wyvern changed form—why hadn’t he thought of this before? He saw the world shrink around him, his black scales gleaming in the starlight, and his fiery red mane flapping in the wind. Wyvern’s ebony wings unfurled majestically. He looked rather pleased with himself; well, as pleased with himself as a dragon in full form could look...

What he hadn’t counted on, however, was the shadow guardian doing the exact same thing.

“AH NO WAY!” the dragon shouted at the shadow dragon across from him. Wyvern looked down at Ekanta. “You want to hop on? I can take you where the water is—in the clouds!” There were a few wisps in the night sky…

a n d ¤ e v e r y o n e ¤ w h o ¤ s e e s ¤ u s
g r e e t s ¤ u s ¤ a s ¤ w e ¤ f l y

Leitha's concentration on attacking blocked all other thoughts from entering her mind. A whistling in her ears was all she could make out of the outside world. She charged forward at such a speed if she didn't watch carefully, she would trip over her own feet.

As she closed the distance, she shifted the bo staff downward. With quick reflexes, she pushed her legs forward to slide on the ground to dodge a blow. Her bo staff was spread out to trip the enemy before she ended up behind them. A solid connection told her she hit at least something. The fire on her bo staff twisted around as its heat intensified. She swirled off the ground, but didn't face the opposition. Continuing her momentum, she ran forward toward where she believed she was needed most.

"Oh yeah, the funnel game!" Tanya clapped her hands in excitement. "I almost forgot! It'll be real nice to play with your blackness, it so much blacker than the other stuff here. I'll be able to make it really, really black! Fun, fun, fun...."

For a moment, Tanya looked as though she was about to recommence skipping around and singing, then she apparently remembered what they'd been talking about that had led up to the funnel game. "Oh don't worry Miss!" Tanya seemed to still like calling Shyrion that even if she knew her name now. "I always have energy for games! I'm the best game-player around!" she boasted.

So saying, she started to bounce up and down with excitement. "So where are the dragons, Miss?" she asked eagerly. "Show me, show me! Then when I've got the nice pretty dragon, we can go play the funnel game with your friend!"

((Are they still at Orcos now, or in the Void, or where?))

A jolt of fear coursed through Link’s body as she saw Axys call fire to his aid. The one thing she couldn’t control was fire. Earth was her strongest, water one of her best, she was moderately capable of controlling wind, but fire was nearly a taboo force. How convenient for her, right?

When he launched his fire out at her she panicked, not knowing what to do. Almost a second too late she dove to the side, tucking in and rolling. The fire had brushed past her right arm but had injured her nonetheless. When she looked to it her shoulder was already bleeding. Looking up she saw the tainted distracted for a moment by another girl, possibly a human. When Link had dodged the fire she landed right next to Synrai’s covering on the opposite side of Felda, and now Ardan.

Link let the vines around her friend open up and release him, motioning to the two humans, “Take Synrai. Take him far from here. He need’s help, do what you can for him. Please hurry!”

She knew Ardan would at least understand her a little bit. Now for the dilemma of how she was supposed to defend herself. People always said fight fire with fire. She couldn’t exactly do that. She wondered why it was never fight fire with water, that made more sense, and that was what she intended to do.

Link stood back up and called as much water to her power as she could. Axys was distracted; this was the best time for her to strike. She let the water coil out towards the summoner and catch his foot, pulling him back down to the ground. Spiny vines were there to greet him, binding his feet to the earth.

~ * ~

Ekanta looked up in wonderment as Wyvern changed forms. She had never actually seen a dragon in full form. It was intimidating. She shook her head at the option of going up in the sky. She wasn’t one for heights and there wouldn’t be enough water up there either.

“No,” she said, “The forest! There’s a lake there that I stay in. I’ll have plenty of water to work with then. We should go to the forest.”

((Right, see you on Tuesday then!))

Tanya peered from the Void into the world where there were dragons and felt herself bubbling over with excitement. There were so many! So many dragons! Now she found she could tell which people were actually dragons because of how they felt, it was the one in dragon form fighting the shadow dragon that had shown her really. Since she knew he was a dragon, she figured anyone who felt like him was a dragon too. That enabled her to spot the other dragons. They looked human, but to Tanya, they sounded like a combination of trumpets, triangles and a rippling piano, they smelled like a rain of hot honey mixed with smoky ash and sharp lemon, and they tasted like metal boiled with cabbages and ketchup.

Which one should she choose? Which would make the best pet? Tanya was torn, she felt like just grabbing them all. No, no, she reminded herself, the surprise prize is just one dragon. Maybe if I win more games, I'll get another one. But for now, she had to choose just one dragon. If she tried to get more than one, that would be cheating and she really didn't like to cheat.

She studied the dragons again, and gave up trying to figure out which one to choose based on how they looked. All the dragons looked fantastically beautiful to her. She then tried feeling them in greater depth to see who would make the best pet. The one who was in dragon form and fighting the shadow dragon seemed to be the loudest trumpet with hardly any triangles or piano at all. He also seemed to have both more honey, and surprisingly, more ketchup as well.

The one who'd been wrapped in green felt kinda like him, but at the same time not, he was special in that he seemed have flutes in his tune, and also quite a bit of lemon. Strangely though, underlying the taste of dragon, he tasted like marble.

Then there was a lady dragon who looked like a human with brown/red hair. Her tune had an echoey, buzzy quality and also a deep pool of violin, underlied by a clacking sound. Her taste was also peculiar, like a threadbare carpet soaked in petrol. Tanya made a face and mentally signed off that dragon. She didn't think she'd be able to get along with her.

Another lady dragon looked like a silvery human. Her tune rippled beautifully, and contained both violin and piano. Unfortunately, both her smell and taste seemed blanketed in a heavy, salty fog. Tanya sighed with disappointment. She was a very beautiful dragon and Tanya would have liked to choose her, but it'd have been hard for Tanya to understand what she was saying with that stupid fog around her. Tanya moved on to the next dragon.

This one looked like an equally silvery human, but he was male. His tune was heavily influenced with a guitar. He also tasted like seaweed crackers, but the rest of him was like a big flat shiny metal wall. He smelled like a hot spring and tasted like obsidian with loads and loads of cabbages and hardly any ketchup at all. Boring, and way too uptight. Tanya knew a few humans like him, they were generally nice people, but never any fun. Not even the lovely seaweed crackers would be enough to induce Tanya to choose him.

It looked as though she was left with the first two dragons she'd noticed, the black one, and the one who'd been wrapped in green but whom Tanya now saw was bluey-black. Who should she choose?

Tanya meditated anew on her two remaining candidates. Both were very handsome, and quite interesting too, definitely good fun. She decided to go with the loudly trumpeting one first, he seemed like he'd be oodles of fun compared to the one tasting like marble.

The black dragon proved to be quite salty-sweet, or no, more like a fruity chewy candy. He also had an unexpected streak of tuba and quite a lot of sulphur, though thankfully he had a big pool of gummy marshmallow and caramel so he wouldn't be as boring as the silvery male dragon. Tanya thought he'd be lots and lots of fun.

She was about to choose him, when she remembered the other dragon who'd felt rather like him. He had tasted like marble, and it had intrigued Tanya. With a shrug, she decided she might as well examine him a bit more closely as well before settling on the black dragon.

To her surprise, the marble turned out to cover a whole host of flavours, as well as one, very special note. There was blackness in this dragon! But... it didn't seem to be his blackness. Someone else seemed to have put it there. The blackness wasn't being very nice to the dragon, it was making pepperoni and producing notes of jangling metal-meat. Furthermore, it was leaking boiled maple syrup which clashed quite terribly with the honey and ash.

Tanya sat back with a worried frown. She really didn't like what the unfriendly blackness was doing to the dragon. She tried to call it out of him from where she was, but it remained too stubbornly entrenched to listen to her. She could tell it would take several long sessions to persuade the unfriendly blackness to stop being so unfriendly to the dragon, let alone uproot it. She could get that time with the dragon, but only if she chose it as her pet. Yet the black one was so much more fun....

She chewed her lips furiously as she thought. On one hand, she could choose the black dragon and have loads of fun. On the other hand, she could choose the bluey-black dragon and save it from the unfriendly blackness. Tanya hated the thought of such a magnificent creature slowly getting undone by her good friend blackness, but she also disliked the thought of giving up any opportunity for fun.

Suddenly, she was struck with a brilliant idea. "Hey, Shyrion? I think I want the black dragon, but can I please, please, please borrow the bluey-black dragon as well? Just for a little while so I can fix it? Please? I'll let it go as soon as I'm done fixing it so I'd have just one dragon pet after all and I wouldn't be cheating." she turned hopeful eyes on Shyrion looking exactly like a begging little puppy. She had no idea what she would do if Shyrion refused....

Felda nods at her friend and leans against him, quivering. She watches the man above outlined by scaled monsters and using Fire. He terrifies the gentle shepherdess, he seems so dangerous and furthermore is trying to cause so much harm to these people...somewhere in the village are two huge figures, long necks and bulky backs. In another area some huge tornado seemed to form which makes many villagers panic, those that have not fled into their homes yet have by now. Even the village guard, keeping to proper edict by not getting involved with outsiders' quarrels, have gone into the watch towers or clambered up the Wall's length. Half of Felda wishes to be back at the farm. The other half is grateful she had been here to help Synrai and get a chance to awaken even the smallest form of Fire. Ardan's words of comfort are left from her ears since her senses are dulled due to her fear. Once Link hops across from them however, everything becomes sharper with new clarity. The ever cold air seems frigid on her pale skin, hot blood on her arm makes it even colder. She becomes puzzled when Link tries using her hands to speak. Lips remain shut as the shepherdess knows they wouldn't be seen from her dark hood anyway. Ardan gives her a slight nudge and mentions the safest, most sure place to get Synrai. It is in his own house, which is nearly hidden by other huts. She pauses when the young guard is about to lift Synrai's torso.
"Wait." she whispers, fearful that somehow that dreaded man above would hear them amongst the din.
Felda removes her cloak and avoids Ardan's staring. The girl motions and Ardan lifts Synrai carefully, she fastens her cloak on Synrai and pulls the hood on his head.
"This way we can sneak...I'll hide under the cloak as much as I can. You lift him, I can help carry."

He feels Felda quivering and bites his lip. Ardan reaches an arm around her shoulders to rub her upper arm protectively.
"You have nothing to worry over Miss Felda, I am here and nothing ill will become of you."
It is noted that she seems rather stoic. As helpless as a baby nightingale. When the blonde woman from earlier lands near the Owlet looks up sharply and catches her Silent Language. He gives her a swift nod before she goes off. Then does he realize she has wings. His eyes widen and he looks around the village. Massive figures in the distance, a vast funnel of wind that dies down...this has to be because of the man suspended in the air. Ardan is disgusted to see that man using Fire, he does not even want an elemental relation to the ghoulish man. Now is the time to get Sir Synrai to safety though.
"Miss Felda, we must take him to my home, keep him safe...there we can secure him."
Every home in Rizane has a basement with a trapdoor leading deep underground for the residents to go into hiding. Every home is connected underground and some of the tunnels lead out to the undergrounds of the woods, but not too far past that. He gets his hands beneath the dark haired man's sides and stops when Felda implies him to pause. Looking up the young man's eyes widen immensely. She has removed her cloak, ever since the accident she has never taken it off. Once the cloak is on Synrai Ardan realizes that the way he'll be carried, someone might think it were Felda being carried away! Mentally cheering his friend's smarts Ardan lifts Synrai. The girl slips under when there is just enough space to do so and supports the unconscious man's back with her own, hers horizontal. Muttering a prayer to Azura for good luck the two humans slowly shuffle towards the main dirt road that leads to a majority of the houses. He is carrying the cloaked Synrai with an arm along the back of his shoulders and the other under his knees, the res of the cloak overlaps to drift under which hides Felda perfectly.
Lance glares at the shadow man before him. He hopes he will fare against it as well as the brunette woman. With a battle-ready shout Lance calls upon more Fire to thicken his flaming shield before he thrusts his sword at the minion to firstly test it. His feet are not planted in order for him to dodge if needed.

[Fenrys, feel free to have the minion kill off Lance.]

Reyen stayed in the air, taking this chance to completely understand the current situation. Synrai was injured, some people were carrying him off somewhere. Link and a few others, whom Reyen had not met yet, were also in the fight against Axys. Wyvern was elsewhere, also in a battle. He could handle that though. The obvious objective now was to beat Axys, or at least make sure Synrai escaped to safety. Hopefully those other two got him to safety fast. Who knew what Axys was capable of now...

Reyen returned hiss attention to his enemy. Just as he was about to lunge forwards toward Axys, a hideous hissing sound filled his ears. He looked over and something like Link leaping at him. Obviously it wasn't her, just some copy cat. This was just a grunt anyways. "I'll have to get rid of it sooner or later." He though to himself, pulling out his own sword. He held it in front of him, eyeing the creature as it got closer and closer.

Blood. Reyen... Smelled blood. He looked over and some human had just been killed... By one of these creatures, none the less. And now it was charging towards that woman who was helping Link with Axys. "s**t. If Link is left alone to fend against Axys, that might be trouble. Jeez, this is starting to get a little annoying.

Reyen looked at the shadow-Link swarming towards him. Reyen focused intently, and just like before, disappeared from his current location, only to reappear behind the guardian. His sword went back, hoping that the hilt, at least, would make contact with the creatures head. Reyen didn't really care if it did or not, his objective now was to stop the other one from continuing on towards that other woman.

Reyen wasted no time. He used his wind propelled speed once again, appearing now a bit in front f the other guardian. "Your opponent is me." He said, his open palm facing towards it. A gust of wind suddenly shot out. It wasn't too powerful, only had the intent of stopping the guardian from going any further. Reyen turned his head so one of his eyes could see the other girl. "Help Link with Axys.. I'll finish up with these two quick and help you out."

Reyen stood there, waiting for both guardians to gather. And to attack him, of course. His stance... He didn't really have one. His sword was simply held to his side while he stood up straight. Of course, however, this itself was technically a stance. An ancient one of the Dragon race, of his own clan. The ancient clan that even helped him develop his speed.

Ha. Since Reyen started traveling with Synrai, things sure have gotten interesting.