Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ruby was the first to enter the monolithic archway. The moment they got inside the banging stopped, and they were all left with an eerie silence as they saw the underground acropolis be revealed to them. First, they were in a gigantic hall with square columns surrounded them every which way. There seemed to be nothing within except for the odd smouldering torch. However, as they passed through the next archway they found themselves on a stone carved bridge looking out over a gigantic chasm in the ground. More bridges around them, leading to different places could be seen. Far below, there was obviously more kind of structure that was being used, but ti was hard to see from up here. Then, as they reached the end, they found a stone wall, with no where to go. At first, Alexis thought themselves trapped, but just a she was ready to start turning back the wall shifted. It cracked down the centre and began to grind open. As the light spilled through, they found a pristine hall within, braziers, gigantic ones were on the other side, and gigantic stone columns kept close to the walls around the outside. But the hall within was massive, with a throne at the very end, and with many seats between all of the columns along the walls and braziers. Lucas waited for a moment, examining the situation before nodding to the others to follow. As they began stepping down the steps and into the hall, they suddenly felt very small. Lucas could see figures on many of the seats, they were ethereal, humanoid, but almost not. "Aether" he said quietly to the others.

"AND I AM BA, THE ARCHON OF THIS ACROPOLIS." Ba's booming voice echoed out across the hall. "BE GONE" he stated, gesturing to the other Aether within the room.They quickly got up from their seats and left through cracks in the walls that opened into doorwyas, quickly closing behind them. Ba, a giant Aether of glowing, sandy colours stood up and began heading down the steps from his throne to the team. With each step he took, more of his ethereal skin began to take shape, turning into tanned, shimmering skin caressed with armour. From his shoulders came a cape and his shoulders some heavily detailed pouldrons. His hair was long and very wavey, beginning black at the roots and becoming more blond towards the ends that reached half way down his back. Amongst the waves of hair were small braids. His eyes glowed without an iris just as his body shrunk to be just a little taller than any of the Team. Lucas spoke first. "Ba... it is always an honor to stand before you."
"You ought to kneel" he said, his voice not quite so threatening now, but still firm. Lucas paused, but Ba continued. "This quest you are on, I am not mistaken that you are heading in a direct path to the east, where you no doubt know a great tomb sleeps. Many would forget that I still watch over that place, and my gaze stretches as far as my mountains may see. I know when mortals are up to something... peculiar. They leave a smell, and you all wreak of it."
"You are correct, Ba. We are travelling east, but merely out of our own curiosity. Forgive us for passing you without consultation. It was not our-"
"Do not... lie." Ba said, coming around Lucas like a snake, moving his shoulders just enough as to moving around Lucas. He then moved to the rest of the team, looking at them all dead in the eyes. "You are all fighters, the ones that control the expedition hosted by the Star Elves of Evermoon. You teach the young, and lead them. And yet you are all down here... You are miles away from your southern-most team of children."
"We head for the tomb, as you suspect."
"Go on, mort- Not quite... mortal, are you?" Ba twirled, facing Lucas from behind the team, astonishment in his eyes. Lucas swallowed and blinked slowly. He then turned and said "all too mortal, but just as proud as you are by blood" with a very stern expression. Laxion felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, Lucas had that face about him, the kind where he didn't like the discussion and was about to stop holding back his tongue. Ba could have laughed, "a heritage of great purpose, stripped from you, perhaps? What is it that doomed your ancestors to no longer have what made them so mighty."
"I think you would be surprised to hear my ancestors were of the High Heavens, and in their need for power against Hell-"
"They thought the Well of Immortality would save them?" Ba really didn't sigh this time. "I know not of the High Heavens, nor this Hell you speak off. But I do know of the well, and for any kind of sentient being to drink from it when they already know the blessing of eternal life is simply fool's play-"
"If not for their sacrifice then you would not know the world you live in today. Fire, blood, that's what would be over this land. As for the eternal life you know, it is a curse, for a life without dying is not a life worth living. What is the point in being happy, or proud, when you are not going to be sad... or gone there after? Start getting to your point, Archon. You are not the only one without authority here. And you know too well that it was us that defeated the darkness that covered your skies not too long ago and spewed forth demons." Ba returned to the front of them, surprised. "Demons, blood, death. What is it all worth when you can't hide from what killed you even after passing through the veil. I want you gone."

The Archon turned to Ruby, had he have had eyes they could read, Alexis would have thought she'd see anger and surprise. Alexis didn't try to shush the girl, she was innocent beyond belief, but she was hardly ever wrong. She saw the world and it's evils from a different perspective than what they did. It was always good to let her ask a question or two. Lucas swallowed, awaiting the Archon's response. At first, he just scowled, but eventually he came to speak once again. "Humanity" he said, pondering the word for its meaning. Lucas watched as the Archon looked down at his hand, it was larger than his own, much more tan too, and almost glowed. From it came a golden fleck of light that grew, a tendril that spun up and down, creating a golden spear in his hand. As his grip tightened on it, the surface shimmered and turned to metal, and the top point was decorated with a pair of wings. "I have watched humanity fall victim to their own greed too many times. In the last millennia alone, many have accepted the corruption of the Vardent, and evil we Aether have long fought since the creation of this world. There were nine of us, once. Now there are only three Aether Archons. They sacrificed themselves to stop the Vardent and all they succeeded in doing was slowing down their onslaught. I would rather see you dead than trespass on the forsaken lands that once brought the Vardent close to the power it once had before my brothers' and sisters' sacrifice."
"The Vardent King" Alexis said, stepping forwards, a drop of sweat running down her temple. The Archon, Ba, almost twitched. Alexis continued, "I have read enough in Evermoon's library to know that the Vardent king united all the races of Otherearth, and particularly created a great alliance between Aether and Elves of both Evermoon and Sunspire. That is a feat-"
"It is true, the elves of the west and the elves of the east do not agree with one another. So you should know, any alliance causing them to work together, is worth respecting. You will not go near the Plateau of the Dead, or my armies will march after you. I do not care if it is one-thousand to seven."
"You would see us killed?" Lucas rhetorically asked, his voice... between shaken and anger. Ba scowled down at the Divine and said "The sacrifice of the few... is worth the life of everything you have known, and ever could know."
"But that isn't justice!" Lucas called, and Alexis was unsure of how to respond. The sacrifice of a few for the many, wasn't that rightious? "Justice saves all life,sacrifice isn't enough!"
"YOU WILL LEAVE!" Ba shouted, lashing out with a booming voice and swiping through the air before them with his spear. The force blew them all skidding backwards across the floor on their feet. And suddenly Ba was charging forwards and jumped into the air, bringing his spear down quickly only to have it blocked by the Purevelion Blade, shimmering brightly now that it no longer remained invisible. "There's something coming, and you know it." Lucas whispered, just as the others began whipping out their weapons. Alexis shouted out "Lucas! We're not here to start a fight!" but she was ignored as Ba said "this is not your war, Paladin."
"This is our war, and if there's a chance the Vardent can come back again - i won't stop at anything until they're wiped from the face of the world!" Lucas pushed back but instead of pushing Ba backwards with it, the Archon spun and swiped at Lucas' legs. He jumped and brought up his spare hand, emitted a flash of white light that created some distance between them. Ba suddenly split up into six more versions of himself, each one charged for a member of the team, lashing out with their spears. "If you will not take my warning, I will force you to submit!" Ba charged again for Lucas as the others dealt with the mimics, each one copying Ba's movements against Lucas, but at the same time able to make minute adjustments to compensate for each opponent. Lucas slashed and a beam of white light erupted from his blade, it soared for Ba but he deflected it to the ground. "I am the greatest tactician of war to have ever walked this world, you would do well to surrender!" Ba suddenly erupted, letting loose a torrent of energy that cascaded outwards and turned into flecks of golden auras dotted around the room. He and his mimics then made good use out of them, whenever they touched them the fleck would become a new weapon, and just like Ba, they would throw them at their enemy or use it to make a melee attack, or deflect.

Nyru turned to his partner, Claudia exclaimed something about leaving. "What?!" he responded brashly, dodging an attack from one of the clones. As he clashed his sword with the echo of sand he looked across to her, "we're gonna leave them to fight this guy without us?! What's the point in us leaving ahead..." Nyru then pushed the clone away. He threw his arm down and his sword divided into segments. He lashed out once, then twice as the whip-like snakesword attacked and eventually latched a hold onto the clone's spear. He had to stop this thing from grabbing the shards of light dotted around the room. He could see the other clones and Ba using them as spare weapons to make powerful surprise attacks. "Go!" Laxion then shouted, throwing his spear across the room whilst the other end was attached to his clone. The chain pulled the clone and sent it soaring behind his spear across the room. He let out a breath and clenched his fists before saying "surely this guy can't focus in too many places at once, we ought to divide his attention, weaken him somehow! Even if we don't get out... I do not believe he'll kill us." With that Laxion began to hover on the spot, his fingers playing with the air at his fingertips. His fae ancestry mixing with his elemental magic, the air itself began to sparkle green and blue ever so slightly. Nyru gave his final glance towards Lucas, who even now was still battling with Ba, paying them no attention, doing his best to destract the Archon. But just then as Lucas spun on his heel for a super fast attack Nyru saw it, Lucas' miniscule glance, the shortest exchange of sight between the two of them that gave Nyru the OK he wanted. "You better be right" Nyru said to Laxion, just as the Fae-Elemental sent a burst of magical air towards his clone.

Nyru was suddenly tugged towards the clone by his snake-sword. He quickly released the segments of his blade, letting them fly around him like ravenous birds. Pushing his hand forwards he sent them soaring like bullets towards the clone, but it reached for a glowing shard. Just as the blades would have penetrated it, the clone was given a rush of speed with a burst of golden light. The clone rushed to the side of Nyru, with some distance between them, and suddenly fired a giant bow. But the shot was blocked by a wall of arcane magic. He turned and saw Alexis. She cast a powerful spell of warding, and at the moment she hit the ground with her staff the blue magic blocked both Nyru and Claudia from trouble. "Stop wasting time" she said, spinning her staff above her. The tip sent out a volley of slow moving missiles that arced high into the air. She then swiped down and each one came crashing down on the three clones, her own included. Nyru looked to Claudia one last time then darted off towards the exit.

"FOOLS!" Ba roared, commanding his clones to return to him in the form of shards of glowing golden light. As they condensed into his hand he threw them back out, creating a wall of soldiers with shields before him that pushed Lucas back, sending him flying across the ground and to a roll. The white-robed Paladin skidded to his knee and grabbing the ground with his spare hand. "You think you can run? You think you can hide?!" as Ba continued and Nyru and Claudia continued to run, the sound of incoming soldiers could be heard. "YOU CANNOT LEAVE. THIS ACROPOLIS IS GUARDED AT EVERY CORRIDOR, EVERY TURN, EVERY EXIT BY THOUSANDS OF MY SOLDIERS." But then the sound of marching turned to clattering, then to clashing weapons and the cries of men in battle. Ba paused, along with every one else as they looked at the gigantic archway, looking for any sign of what may be coming. "What?" Ba said, eyes glowing brightly, almost like fire. One of his Aether generals then came running in, "Ba! Vardant, they got across the bridge! The Acropolis is compromised!"
"HOW?!" the angry Archon exclaimed, he then heard the cries of his men again before sighing quickly and glancing down to the mortals of Team Elixer. "Go" he said, gritting his teeth. "Finish this ridiculous quest of yours. But know that I will be watching, and if you are seeking what I think you are, you will report back here immediately. Fail that, and you shall be executed for treason!" Suddenly, to one side of Ba's hall, a gigantic piece of the wall began to move, releasing dust and sand until it revealed a corridor. As soon as the archway began to take form Ba's rushed past them, heading down the other entrance with his general. Almost instantly the tides of war began to change with his presence. Team Elixer then all looked amongst each other. "What are you all doing?!" Alexis then demanded, then giving a menacing glare to Lucas who also seemed stunned. "WE HAVE OUR CHANCE. GO!"